Mark Souder

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. I thank our ranking member. The loud sound you hear is the big gulp of the public option swallowing the private option. We hear all kinds of excuses why it's not the same, but here are some of the key business points to remember here: There has already been confusion in the quotes here on the floor about this 7 percent that the private sector has between revenues, which is the loan income that the banks receive, and their profits. There's also confusion between the net profit and the gross profit. The gross profit has all the expenses coming out, whereas the net profit is the bottom line, which is a relatively small number. The reason this is important is that government, if they take this over and swallow the whole public sector into the public option, will have basically the same costs. Only when you compare cost to cost, the government can't deliver at the same price as the private sector. It never has, it never will in any category in the history of the United States. Now in this expense question--and we've argued about this for years-- one of the things that's clear is that the Federal Government doesn't depreciate. So fixed expenses, like buildings, aren't counted in their expenses that come off of the net profit, because that's a different budget. We do buildings in one appropriations bill, in one lump sum. It is not something that you would amortize over time. Mixed expenses--for example, the expenses at the Department of Education, such as lighting in the building, even in many cases staff-- aren't assigned to the student loans. They're assigned to the Department of Education. But even then when you ask the private sector to compete, even paying in that profit, 80 percent of the colleges chose the private sector because the service delivery was better. In fact, hopefully, the government is going to be wise enough here that they're going to contract out with the private sector at the end of the day to deliver much of these services because there is no capability in the Federal Government to deliver this. Now the proposal, on the face of it, isn't even plausible that we're hearing about all these new funding programs when the net profit out of the private sector is minimalist compared to the new program. So where does this money come from? The best I've been able to determine is it's a different method of borrowing. Banks have to use the LIBOR rate, the interbank lending rate, whereas we are apparently going straight to the Fed and Treasury. That's merely a transfer of government funds that are off budget onto budget but still reduces the liquidity in the banking system, and it's being used to subsidize the new programs in the student loans. Now why does this become important? Why won't the same grounds apply to SBA? Because if SBA goes directly into this same fund, there's no reason to use a bank. On what grounds do we use banks for farmers' loans? If they're going to borrow the money directly from the Treasury and the Fed, they can borrow it cheaper than any bank, and that we should eliminate any loans that are going through anywhere in the private sector where there is a government alternative.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. As we heard in steel, in my area I have two massive SDI, Steel Dynamics plants, as well as a whole bunch of supplementary facilities from OmniSource and others who provide recycled steel to them. I have five Nucor facilities in my district, that if our steel is going to compete and get the weight down and get different methods, we're going to have to have more innovation and research. Navistar also at this point has around 1,350 to 1,500 jobs in my area doing engineering and designing big trucks, military vehicles. We have a challenge in this in the military area, too, because the Humvee is done in Congressman Donnelly's district, but the engine blocks and the hood and a lot of those parts that we're constantly struggling with on weight, are in my district as well. I rise in support of this bill, even though I'm reluctant to have the government take over big parts of the R&D industry. We're in fact seeing other countries do this around the world. I don't know how we're going to achieve our goals to become greener, to get more efficient vehicles to help save our industrial base in the United States, if we don't do this. So I rise in support of this. It's why the manufacturing groups support it, why the Chamber supports it, it's why the unions support it, because without some assistance it is not clear how in the world we're going to save the manufacturing jobs in America that are so critical to the industrial base. And one last point. The industrial base that does the trucks, that does the RVs, that does the pickups, also does our military. And if we don't have the basic core manufacturing, it is not clear how we stay an independent Nation.

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend from Texas. I strongly support this bill, but I do so with some reservations. I would like to discuss some of the pressures that the government has put on a region like mine. My district is number one in manufacturing jobs and number one in percent in manufacturing, and actually gained slightly over number two last year because we lost fewer jobs than other areas of the country in manufacturing. Without core value-added industries, our country is in deep trouble. I grew up in retailing. Retailing and service industry and so on circulate the money among themselves. To add value to our country, it can be in software, it can be in manufacturing or agriculture, but it has to be something that has a value-added addition to the economy. Now, the challenge we have in our country, for a variety of reasons, to improve our environment, to improve the safety of our workers, to make sure we have pensions and health care, our costs have soared compared to our international competition because government has put additional pressures because we as a society felt they should be there. But that means as the companies in my district go to make a product, they start with costs that are higher than other countries start in their costs. We then watch China cheat on the currency, anywhere from 20 to 80 percent, and we expect our manufacturers who are already disadvantaged in price competition to compete with countries that don't even play fair in international currency that further artificially lower their prices. Now the challenge we have is that when we make a car or a pickup, we start with a huge disadvantage in price, and then compound that with currency changes, and then we wind up trying to sell more value-added units. In other words, just like a house gets most of the profits from adding a bigger kitchen, a bigger bedroom, we get value from making bigger cars, making bigger trucks, making SUVs and vans, in order to pay pensions and health care. Then, all of a sudden, the world shifts. We start to mandate that you're going to have to get higher mileage. And where are we to get R&D dollars to do that? How are we to reduce the cost to be able to compete; that as we look at the cap-and-tax bill in my area, the number one manufacturing area, we're 85 percent coal and 15 percent nuclear. We don't have a lot of wind and solar that's going to be able to employ many of these people who had a middle class lifestyle, the American Dream, because they worked at these different factories, they worked to upgrade them. They're doing every lean management technique they can possibly do in these companies. How are they supposed to keep their jobs if we raise the energy costs in the manufacturing area of the United States? It's not an accident that the four districts hardest hit are my district, Congressman Donnelly's in the South Bend area, Congressman Latta, just over to the other side of Ohio, and Congressman Jordan's, because of the energy use we have, combined with the heavy manufacturing. Then we look at additional health care costs on these companies. The question becomes how to survive. They have no dollars for the R&D to meet these new demands. A bill like this, then, becomes essential. We don't really have money right now to spend. In case anybody hasn't figured out, we have incredible deficits. I don't believe that this is really the role predominantly for the Federal Government to do. But I'm now left representing a district that, unless the Federal Government does this, and having piled on the mandates and having allowed China to cheat in international trade, unless we do this, I don't know how we survive. I don't know how the people in my district survive. This program authorizes $2.85 billion to conduct vehicle research and development. It has $1.75 billion to create a new demonstration program to find commercial applications to reduce or eliminate petroleum use and emissions in passenger and commercial vehicles. There's $1.1 billion to implement a similar program that applies to medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. I first want to thank my neighbor, friend, and colleague--it shows that you can do things in a bipartisan way--Congressman Joe Donnelly, along with Congressman DeFazio, for making sure that RVs were included in this. Between us, we have 58 percent--between Joe and I, and then Congressman DeFazio has another chunk--of the RV industry in America. This is a huge challenge. Guess what? Not only do you have these motor homes, of which 12 percent, I believe, of American people own either a towable or a mobile home, but you have to have a big vehicle to tow them. You can't tow them with a little, tiny car. We've got to figure out how we're going to deal with the mileage in that. I also have the largest pickup plant in the United States, a Silverado and Sierra pickup plant that's actually getting a plus-up that is heavily robotics. But they need the technology, even though they're some of the most efficient pickups sold by any company. If they're going to compete with the mileage standards and GM is going to survive, they need to find new breakthroughs. Navistar has just contracted to build electric delivery trucks in an abandoned RV plant in Elkhart County in Wakarusa, in my district. Alcoa, in Auburn, in my district, is working with aluminum to try to reduce the weight of the vehicles.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res 556 recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Federal Credit Union Act and to acknowledge the great work of credit unions throughout the Third Congressional District. Indiana has a long history with credit unions and in fact, was the first Midwestern state to pass a law permitting their founding. In October of 1923, the first credit union in the Midwest opened its doors in Indiana. Today there are 206 credit unions throughout my state that count over 2 million Indiana residents among its members. The Federal Credit Union Act of 1934 was originally passed, in part, to help make credit available to underserved communities. These financial cooperatives were organized by people primarily tied together by some common bond. Today, credit unions continue to provide unique services to both their members and communities. The Chiphone Federal Credit Union of Elkhart, IN has been providing service since 1947 and today has over 17,000 members. They have strong ties to the community and received honorable mention from the Indiana Credit Union League in both the Dora Maxwell Awards and Louise Herring Awards which recognize outstanding efforts in social responsibility and community service and the credit union that best puts the credit union philosophy in action respectively. In Auburn Indiana, DeKalb Financial Credit Union provides both superior financial service and to support local charities through service activities and donations. The Relay for Life, March of Dimes and WFGA Kite Fly have all benefitted from its community-oriented philosophy. DeKalb Financial serves as a drop off point for Food Bank donations and this past year provided five area students scholarships for college. In addition, DeKalb Financial continues to be a proud corporate sponsor for one of the area's National Historic Landmarks, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. The East Allen Credit Union provides quality financial services for over 2,400 members. Whether it is helping its members plan for the costs of college or assisting in the purchase of the new family car, East Allen has been an asset to the New Haven community for nearly 45 years. Financial Members Federal Credit Union of Auburn, Indiana has been delivering quality service to the people of DeKalb County since 1972. During its years of operation, it has contributed to its valued members and surrounding community by providing low-cost financial products and service activity and donations. In Woodburn, IN, the Financial Partners Federal Credit Union has been providing sound financial services to residents and employees of East Allen County for over 40 years. Through its regular contributions to the area food bank and the ice cream socials it hosts for its members, Financial Partners illustrates the personal attention and community- oriented service that make credit unions such unique institutions. Founded over 75 years ago, The Fire Police City County Federal Credit Union of Fort Wayne, IN not only provides great service to its members, but has won awards from the Indiana Credit Union League for both community involvement and for demonstrating the credit union philosophy in its activities. Activities such as Making Strides Against Cancer, fundraising for the Turnstone Center for Disabled Children and Adults and volunteering for Fire Prevention Week are emblematic of credit unions commitment to the community. Indiana Lakes Federal Credit Union in Warsaw, Indiana has been delivering quality, low cost financial services to the people of Kosciusko County for over 30 years. During this time, it has proved to be a tremendous asset to its 3,600 members and has contributed to the community through various forms of service activities and donations. In Elkhart, IN, INVOA Federal Credit Union recently contributed $5000 to Project Healing Water to assist in its mission to aid the recovery of wounded, injured, or disabled veterans by introducing them to fishing and using these skills for lifelong recreation. Credit Union employees personally raised the funds and the contribution was used to help transport and host veterans at the 2009 event along the Albany River in Ontario, Canada. INOVA is also supporting the economic growth of its community and has partnered with the City of Elkhart to provide free internet service along the downtown Riverwalk and promote future downtown development. This commitment to service is exemplified by its President and CEO, Dallas Bergl, who recently received the Indiana Credit Union League's Professional Achievement award for his support and promotion of credit union ideals throughout Indiana. In Goshen, Indiana, the Interra Credit Union has been recognized by the Indiana Credit Union League in nine consecutive years for its service activities. These include a financial pledge of $10,000 to assist Goshen College fund the construction of a new music building, annual scholarships for high school seniors, along with regular involvement in events like the American Cancer Socity's Relay for Life and the Michiana Menenonite Relief Sale. Interra also works to improve youth financial literacy by providing lessons and educational resources on budgeting, credit, investment and savings. For over 70 years, ITT Employees Federal Credit Union has provided its members and community with first-rate service. Its efforts have led ITT to be recognized as the best credit union in Fort Wayne by an area newspaper survey. The nearly 4000 members of ITT are fortunate to have such a dedicated organization providing them financial services. In my District, the Three Rivers Credit Union of Fort Wayne, Indiana was honored for its efforts to help alleviate poverty and was awarded 2nd Place in the 2008 national Dora Maxwell Awards for social responsibility. As the primary sponsor of ``Canstruction,'' it brought together high school students and staff from various engineering and design firms to create giant structures entirely out of canned food. Over 80 members of the Three Rivers Credit Union volunteered for the event that resulted in a donation of 83,529 cans of food to the community food bank, the largest single donation in its history. In Fort Wayne, IN the newly founded Union Baptist Federal Credit Union personifies the personal attention and community-oriented service that makes credit unions such unique institutions. Believing in self- sufficiency through empowerment, the Union Baptist Credit Union provides its 309 members quality financial services and is a welcomed addition to the Fort Wayne community. United Credit Union in Warsaw, Indiana has been delivering quality service to the people of Kosciusko County since 1997. During the past 12 years, it has contributed to its valued members and surrounding community through service activity and donations. The Weatherhead Federal Credit Union of Columbia City, IN provides quality financial service to over 2,000 members. Whether it is through financial counseling or low cost home loans, Weatherhead has been a tremendous asset to the Columbia City community for nearly 45 years.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my support for Senate Joint Resolution 9, and recognize Dr. France A. Cordova on her appointment as a citizen regent of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents. The Smithsonian's governing board is comprised of 17 members. These members include the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Vice President of the United States, six Members of Congress, and nine citizens who are nominated by the board and approved jointly in a resolution of Congress. The nine citizen members serve for a term of 6 years each and are eligible for reappointment to one additional term. Having already established herself as an internationally recognized astrophysicist, and a national leader in postsecondary education, France A. Cordova is currently the 11th President of Purdue University. Known as the first woman and youngest person to hold the position of NASA chief scientist from 1993 to 1996, Dr. Cordova still follows her love of science. Currently, Dr. Cordova and two colleagues have a collaborative experiment flying on the European Space Agency's X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission. Prior to joining Purdue in 2007, she served in the University of California system for 11 years, first as the Professor of Physics and Vice Chancellor for Research at UC Santa Barbara and then as the Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Chancellor for UC Riverside. Cordova's scientific career contributions have been in the areas of observational and experimental astrophysics. She has published more than 150 scientific papers and continues to pursue scholarly research. Dr. Cordova was also the winner of NASA's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal. As an influential leader in science policy and education, she also serves on numerous state and national boards, most recently accepting an appointment to the Board of Trustees for the Mayo Clinic in May 2008 and a six-year presidential appointment to the National Science Board, effective November 2008. Dr. Cordova's honors and awards are almost as numerous as the stars in space that she studies. Her accomplishment in the field of astrophysics and her leadership as the head of a national research university provide her with tremendous experience that will benefit the Smithsonian's board and help improve its mission for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Her impact on education and science has been remarkable. I will conclude in saying that Dr. France A. Cordova would be an out of this world addition to the Smithsonian Institution's governing board. It will be an honor and pleasure to have her serve on that board, and I ask my colleagues to support Senate Joint Resolution 9.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my support for H. Res. 447 and recognize the American Council of Engineering Companies for its 100 years of service to the engineering industry and the Nation. In Indiana, the American Council of Engineers has been active for 50 years and currently represents over 100 firms throughout the state. The engineering industry has been responsible for tremendous developments in the transportation, environmental and energy infrastructure that contribute to our economic success. Indiana has long been known as the ``Crossroads of America'' and our transportation infrastructure is fundamental to our economic health. Engineers design and create critical infrastructure to help ensure the goods we produce in our area are able to move to market. My Congressional District is the manufacturing center of the country and has the highest percentage manufacturing jobs in the United States. However, in recent years, these positions are increasingly becoming more hi-tech and require higher levels of skills and training. The American Council of Engineering Companies of Indiana is helping to meet this need through college scholarship programs that awarded $17,500 in 2009 to Indiana residents who are pursuing a Bachelors or Masters in engineering at an Indiana school. With programs like Project ``Lead the Way,'' the American Council of Engineering Companies partners with Middle Schools and High Schools to promote engineering, and make science and math relevant to young students by demonstrating how these technical skills can be applied in every day life. Through these educational outreach programs, the American College of Engineering Companies is working to address the need for a skilled workforce and helping to generate interest in the math and science skills necessary for the next generation to succeed in our competitive global economy. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the American Council of Engineering Companies on its 100th year anniversary.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. With the embarrassing demise of Mr. Jones, the czars debate has escalated even beyond where it was when we left for the July break. Depending on how you count, there are some 30 czars. It's been said, in many different places actually, that there are more czars in this administration than the Romanovs who ruled Russia for three centuries had czars. There's an energy czar, an urban czar, an infotech czar, a faith-based czar, a TARP czar, a stimulus accountability czar, a non-proliferation czar, a terrorism czar, a regulatory czar, a Guantanamo closure czar, a climate czar, a cyberspace czar, many more. They even had for a while a de facto car czar, Steve Ratner, who wasn't a czar but ultimately he became the car czar even though initially they said there wasn't going to be a car czar. Now, the challenge here is that this appears to be an extra- constitutional approach. Now, the Constitution says government officers with significant authority, principal officers of the government, are to be appointed by the President subject to approval by the Senate. Now, this has been interpreted, with the expansion of government, even to go five layers down; that they're expected to have delineated duties, deputy secretaries, assistant deputy secretaries, directors of different offices, come up to congressional committees, come up to the Hill, if not actually to get approved by the Senate, but at least to be accountable for what they do. We have it in the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, we call in many of these different people who have all sorts of delineated duties. Now, a clear way to avoid the checks and balances of this system is to put them under the White House rather than having a delineated position. This gives them potentially a consulting position as though they were a policy person at the White House, even though they're moving through the bureaucracy. The motive behind this obviously is that many things are not just in one department. For example, almost any of these different categories; obviously faith-based czar, there are departments in each part of the administration. TARP crossed multiple things. Terrorism crosses many of the departments. So the question is, when you have a traditional line structure, what do you do when you have things kind of stove-piped, and how do you interrelate with this? Well, it's one thing to have advisers in the White House. Quite frankly, the Bush administration was pushing the edges of this in their faith-based office that went from an office inside the White House to then appointing a faith-based office in each department that then the faith-based policy person had some influence over, although it wasn't as direct. By calling somebody a czar presumably means they have the power of the President to go behind and use their staff authority as though they were line, which is exactly what the founding fathers were debating about. There's a great new book, Plain Honest Men--The Making of the American Constitution, by Richard Beeman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. It's the first update probably in about 30 years of actual minutes, letters and things during the constitutional debates. And one thing through that book you constantly see is they couldn't agree on what powers the President was supposed to have. They went back and forth. Alexander Hamilton got so mad because he wanted it to be a permanent position that went basically for life, like a Supreme Court Justice, and he stormed out of the convention for nearly 30 days, only came back to sign it. So clearly there was a debate, and Hamilton lost, for accountability and a checks and balances of the system. And the czar approach is avoiding those checks and balances. Now, my friend and colleague, Congressman Kingston has introduced a bill, the Czar Accountability and Reform Act, the CZAR Act, that has three simple points to it. The person has to have advice and consent of the Senate. He is to not be exempted from the competitive service by reason of confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or public- advocating character, which is kind of the debates we've had on the task forces around health care. With the former President Clinton it came up in multiple debates in the last White House where they say that Congress can't get e-mail oversight, we can't call certain people up because it's a policy-making decision, advice to the President. This bill would say it doesn't apply to a czar. And also if they perform or delegate functions which but for the establishment of such task force, council, or similar office would be performed or delegated by an individual in a position to which the President appoints an individual by and with advice and consent of the Senate, which basically means a czar can't take authorities from people who would have been approved by the Senate. Now, we actually have a model for this. It's the Office of the National Drug Control Policy. The so-called drug czar was the first czar. But we actually have legislation that guides his budget, that even gives the duties and delineation of his duties and the deputy director's duties and other people underneath it. It says which things he has line authority for. As chairman of the committee that did the last five-year reauthorization of this, we had all sorts of how high- intensity drug trafficking areas are supposed to be used; the national youth anti-drug media campaign; the counter drug technology assessment center. We had appropriations for his staff and how much he would have for his staff and how much for his appropriations. We had specifics on how he was going to relate to the Department of Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Attorney General, homeland security, defense. We had guidelines of what reports come to Congress and of the different relevant committees. Because while Government Reform had primary jurisdiction over the drug czar, it also went to Judiciary, to Energy and Commerce and other committees, so there were different reporting strategies. In fact, czar was a slang term up until this administration. For example, in high intensity drug trafficking area it says, ``Designation--The director, upon consultation with the Attorney General, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Homeland Security, heads of the National Drug Control Program agencies and the Governor of each applicable State may designate any specified area of the United States as a high-intensity drug trafficking area.'' That's explicit. That's not somebody wandering around with undefined authority. He's got a specific budget and so on. Here's the great irony. We had one czar who was in the cabinet, approved with the advice and consent of the Senate with a specific budget. And our current director of the Office of National Drug Control, Gil Kerlokowski, is a good man and would have been clearly cleared. But this administration chose to take the one czar that was approved with advice and consent of the Senate and take him out of the Cabinet, and now he's not certified either. So now even the one czar who has descriptions, who was following the pattern under this administration, has been changed. And the danger here is we do not know how the interrelationships between the people cleared by the United States Senate are working with noncleared people. We run into background check problems like Mr. Jones. But we run into other huge questions, and that is so much power centered in one place that's not accountable to Congress, that it's not even clear how we do oversight of that function. I criticized the last administration when they did too much of this and we had some back and forth about why they wouldn't appear in front of the different committees, even on policy advisers. We need to have direct, aggressive oversight in this House and in the Senate to find out how this is working, how decisions are being made, who's commanding what, and are the people now running the agencies' hands tied. The people who we delineated their duties, who were cleared with advice and consent of the Senate, are their hands now tied by a bunch of people who haven't gone through this process, who haven't been vetted, who do not have clear line authority, but are using the staff power coming out of the President of the United States to usurp the constitutional power of those who are designated principal officers and commanded by the Constitution to report to the House and Senate.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, this 1,017-page bill passed in Labor. It passed in Ways and Means. It's only waiting on one committee at this point. What is clear is that it uses our tax money to kill innocent, little babies through abortion. It's clear that it uses our tax money to allow people to kill themselves. What's unclear is anything in between. Part of the reason this chart is being censored, I've concluded, is that it actually oversimplifies this bill. As for this position here, that of the health administrator, I asked in our markup, What defines a full-time employee? Is it 40 hours, 35 or 30 hours? Well, that will be up to the health care administrator. What about seasonal employees? Are they counted? Well, that will be up to the health care administrator. What about if you're above the small business amount and then you drop below it because you've laid off people? Well, that will be up to the health care administrator. This was all night long. We were in session all night long, marking up this bill. The committee kept saying, Well, we don't want the businesses to game this bill, so we're not going to put it in the bill that defines ``full time.'' They had small, smaller, smallest. We're not going to define it because we're going to let the health care administrator do it. This 1,017 pages is just a start.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: H.R. 3326 Account: Army, RDTE Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Raytheon Company. Address of Requesting Entity: 1010 Production Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46808 Description of Request: The Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) requires an additional $7.2M in FY10 to develop an updated Joint Ground-Air Component Interface to enhance the responsiveness, accuracy and safety of air support to ground troops. The Joint Fires Interface updates will provide the ground commander with an improved capability to see near real time friendly air picture and capabilities. It will enable ground components to fully integrate and coordinate both surface and air delivered (from USAF, USMC and USN aircraft) conventional and precision munitions options used in support of combat operations. This capability will provide a reliable, complete digital connection between the Army and USMC fires system (AFATDS) and the Air Force Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS).

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SOUDER. I have tracked this issue for a long time. You can make allegations of studies, but studies are in fact very mixed on both sides, as I read from the office of National Drug Control Policy person who studied all the studies, worked with the people at night in the studies and, quite frankly and honestly, they're mixed. There's a new recent study in Vancouver by somebody who advocated the program, who also advocates the legalization of marijuana, and he concluded that the study, at least in the downtown area of Vancouver, showed some progress on AIDS but no progress on heroin. Now I mentioned Vancouver. Vancouver and Switzerland have been addressing this question long before the United States got into this. When you go over to Switzerland and study their program, they evolved first from a needle exchange to then having a place where they could inject, separate, then to the government of Switzerland providing the heroin and managing. To some degree, they have reduced certain elements of problems. They did not reduce heroin abuse. In fact, you could argue they increased heroin abuse. They basically turned a bunch of people into zombies instead of addressing the social problem of heroin addiction. Now in Vancouver, where I've been three times--and I encourage people to go to the Cop Squad site, policemen who have been dedicated to trying to counter what some of the government has been spreading about the drug problem in Vancouver. Vancouver is a very interesting case because they were first. They were the first city in North America that in effect had a drug-free zone and dealt with the needles question. And it has been debated. There are certain studies now that claim this is a brand new experiment. It's been going on for at least 10 years. The first time I was there, they had a needle exchange. They just had people in the street, with a stand, trying to do needles. By the next time I went up there, they had an injection site, and they were out trying to reach and they had spread into the suburbs, because they didn't want people have to go just to downtown, they wanted it in the suburbs. And most of the studies were only studying the downtown area. The third time I was there, they've got these guys out in the street peddling, trying to keep the police away. Now let me read from an article about downtown Vancouver, where the Winter Olympics are going to be held, where we have a zero standard of narcotics on our athletes, yet they're going to be going to a city where, ``the junkies come here almost around the clock, seven days a week. Some just grab a fistful of clean syringes from one of the buckets by the door and head out again. But about 600 times a day, others walk in with pocketfuls of heroin, cocaine or speed that they've scored out on the street; sign in; go to a clean, well-lit room lined with stainless-steel booths; and, under the protective watch of two nurses, shoot their drugs into their veins.'' Welcome to North America's only officially sanctioned supervised injection site. The facility sits in the heart of Vancouver, 10 blocks that compose one of the poorest neighborhoods in all of Canada. The area is home to an estimated 4,700 intravenous drug users and thousands of crack addicts. For years it's been a world-class health disaster, not to mention a public relations nightmare for a town that is famous for its beautiful mountains and beaches and is gearing up to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Nearly a third of the downtown East Side inhabitants are estimated to be HIV-positive, according to the U.N. Population Fund, a rate on par with Botswana. Twice that number have hepatitis C. Dozens die of drug overdoses every year. This has been a problem that has been building and building, now spreading to the suburbs of British Columbia. They have the first gun violence there, drug pushers moving there. It is an example of the failure of this program. We are in the process of eliminating moral hazard in America. If you fail in your bank, we bail you out; if you fail in your business and go bankrupt, we bail you out. Now the question is, are we going to eliminate moral hazard in narcotics? At what point do we send a message not just this year but 5 years from now and 10 years from now that there's no accountability for your behavior, that everything is okay, we're just going to put you over the zone? One of the problems with these zones is they're often where the homeless shelters are; they are often where the people that we have deinstitutionalized are. And they have seen a soaring of their addiction rates because we put these needles in places--although away from a school--they are just by the poorest people. But the people who are most vulnerable to seeing drug addiction for the first time, having free needles right there. And every society that has done this has also started to provide the free heroin. They are even now into providing free cocaine and free narcotics because they say, Well, the people won't go in. The lines are too long. That's the answer in Vancouver: ``The lines are too long, so we're doing it out on the street anyway.'' As you get more and more packed in in the different areas, you have to put in additional sites or, in fact, unless you provide the narcotics in the safe area and then the government--in fact, the taxpayers--are funding a habit. We need to use this on drug treatment. We don't have enough dollars in drug treatment. We are, in fact, cutting back what prevention programs we do have. There is no longer a Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program. It is proposed to be zeroed out and changed to Safe Schools. The drug czar has been taken down from a cabinet post to just another consultant. I don't even know if he's really a czar anymore. We've been cutting drug funds in this Congress. The question is, Is there going to be a moral hazard in America? Or are we just going to create a bunch of people who we just write off and don't pay attention? Walker Percy wrote a great book called The Thanatos Syndrome where he talks about a drug-addicted society that no longer has free will. Are we going to have accountability in America or not? And are we going to fund this type of project?

Mr. SOUDER. How much time do I have remaining?

Mr. SOUDER. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas.

Mr. SOUDER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SOUDER. I yield myself 3 additional minutes. I want to go through a number of statements regarding the needle exchange programs. This is a series of questions with Dr. David Murray, who was the ONDC policy analyst and expert in needle exchange, to resolve some of these. In a nutshell, why doesn't the Federal Government fund needle exchange programs? The existing evidence cannot support the claim that distribution of needles to enable continued drug addiction behavior can meet these criteria. Another question was: What is the current state of research regarding needle exchange programs? The most recent comprehensive analysis of the evidence by the U.S. Institute of Medicine is much retrenched from earlier claims that there were these overwhelming results. For example, the report notes that the evidence that needle exchanges reduce HIV incidence is limited and inconclusive, that the evidence is even worse for Hepatitis C transmission, and that their impact on high- risk behaviors like sex-related risk is inconclusive. What's the risk in States experimenting with implementing their own needle exchange programs? Are there potential unintended consequences? Indeed, the healer's motto is: First do no harm. Evidence concerning the impact of needle exchange programs on both drug use and reduction, and disease transmission is by no means comforting. While the evidence is not clear and convincing that needle exchange make things actively worse, there are still grounds for concern. There are reports of increased disease incidence, increased crime, and loss of drug deterrence in association with needle programs. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SOUDER. I yield myself 2 minutes. Contrary to what was just said on the House floor, in fact, Dr. David Murray has pointed out in research that it's very mixed. In fact, in most cases, the HIV virus does not come through needles. The overwhelming majority comes through sexual activity, not through the needles. The District of Columbia, which seeks money from the Federal Government, unlike any other city, is then subject to restrictions. The District of Columbia had the strictest gun laws in the United States, yet led the country in the murder rate. The rest of the country can't be blamed for whatever problems they may have that are behavioral related in the District of Columbia. The fundamental question is why Congress has repeatedly, over and over, banned needle exchange programs, when, given the opportunity, is: One, they may undermine community drug-prevention messages and programs. Two, providing needles acts as a way for drug users to sustain and support their intravenous drug use and does not address the primary illness of the drug addiction itself. And, three, needle exchange programs direct critical resources away from treatment and intervention programs which have not proven to significantly affect HIV infection rates and drug use. Arguably, there is some, but it has not been substantial. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SOUDER. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3288--FY 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Federal Highway Administration Surface Transportation Priorities Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Columbia City Address of Requesting Entity: 112 South Chauncey, Columbia City, IN 46725 Description of Request: In 2011, Parkview Community Hospital System will open a brand new, state of the art, hospital facility at the corner of State Road 205 and US 30. In order to accommodate increased traffic flow on State Road 205, around the hospital entrance, and provide safe passage for entering and exiting vehicles, widening the existing State Road is necessary. The proposed project includes improved drainage, align existing drives, relocate utilities, provide deceleration and turning lanes, pedestrian cross walk, pedestrian sidewalks that will link to the existing Blue River Trail at the Morsches Park entrance, a landscaped median, and lighting. This project will benefit not only residents of Columbia City and Whitley County, but also visitors to the City and the new hospital campus. Turning and deceleration lanes, along with the alignment of existing drives will ensure proper traffic flow and safe passage for vehicle traffic. The landscaped median, cross walk, lighting and sidewalks will beautify the local area, as well as, allow for safe foot traffic in and out of the hospital campus area. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Nappanee, IN Address of Requesting Entity: 300 W. Lincoln St., Nappanee, IN 46550- 0029 Description of Request: The City of Nappanee will run new water and sewer service to the new Industrial Park site to provide services for new factory building sites with a new elevated water storage tank. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: H.R. 3288 Account: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Town of Syracuse Address of Requesting Entity: 310 N. Huntington, Syracuse, IN 46567 Description of Request: The purpose of this project will be to attract industry and encourage business expansion to diversify the local economy and generate long-term jobs. This project will add new jobs and encourage expansion.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of the 2010 Labor, Health and Education Appropriations Bill. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: 2010 Labor, Health and Education Appropriations Bill Account: Department of Education Elementary & Secondary Education (includes FIE) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Indiana University--Purdue University Fort Wayne Address of Requesting Entity: 169 Kettler Hall, 2101 East Coliseum Boulevard, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805-1499 Description of Request: The creation of a Strategic Languages Institute would provide basic through advanced training in Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. IPFW runs a very successful dual-credit program for regional high school students through its Division of Continuing Studies (DCS). The strategic languages would be offered to high school juniors and seniors for dual high school-IPFW credit, as well as IPFW students on campus. The study of foreign languages has long been proven to be imperative for its educational, cultural, economic and strategic benefits. Studies have shown that by learning a new language, students not only gain insight into new horizons but also build a stronger identity. Additionally, learning a foreign language has been shown to greatly benefit reading and writing in one's own language by contributing significantly to the development of individual intelligence. In a globalized world characterized by international links and intercultural connections, linguistic skills are crucial for employment and career. The knowledge of foreign languages increases job opportunities in many careers and can raise the students global competitive advantage significantly. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: 2010 Labor, Health and Education Appropriations Bill Account: Department of Education Higher Education (includes FIPSE) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Grace College and Theological Seminary Address of Requesting Entity: 200 Seminary Drive, Winona Lake, IN 46590 Description of Request: It is a major academic goal for Grace College to advance the community's standing as the center of medical device research. Working with other companies and with the Lilly Foundation, Grace College has helped make northern Indiana ground zero for the medical device industry. To maintain this standing, especially in light of Memphis, Tenn.'s full press to supplant this standing among orthopedic and medical device companies, Grace College wants to continue to offer these companies a stable of well-educated college graduates--ones who have received specialized training in the field as part of their college education, as well as adult certificate graduates who can also contribute to the industry. The orthopedic industry has grown more complex in recent years through the advancement of technology and market demands. In order for the industry to remain centrally located in north central Indiana, they must establish a workforce pipeline that can continually advance their educational background to accommodate emerging market needs. Grace College seeks to expand the adult and continuing education program to offer unique educational advancement opportunities through curriculum development, technology upgrades, and additional course offerings. Grace endeavors to provide more non-traditional education opportunities for students such as evening and weekend classes and distance learning courses through technology upgrades and additions. Finally, Grace College wishes to fully utilize the fiber rings offered by the State which connect Indiana colleges and universities electronically. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: 2010 Labor, Health and Education Appropriations Bill Account: Department of Education Higher Education (includes FIPSE) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Trine University Address of Requesting Entity: One University Avenue, Angola, IN, 46703 Description of Request: Trine University will develop and deliver synchronous distance education Master's Degree programs in civil/ mechanical engineering utilizing emerging technology. Providing a model for institutions wishing to empower graduate-level engineers who can think critically, solve problems. Students will be served from throughout Indiana and our campuses are in Merrillville, Angola, South Bend. Facility location is in Angola. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: 2010 Labor, Health and Education Appropriations Bill Account: Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA)--Training & Employment Services (TES) Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Easter Seals Arc of NE Indiana Address of Requesting Entity: 4919 Coldwater Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46825 Description of Request: Easter Seals Arc of Northeast Indiana, Inc. will expand ES Arc's Production & Work Training Services (PWTS) to: secure longer term contracts for Work Services to provide additional jobs for adults who have disabilities; provide customized Supported Employment services for people with ASD; provide for needed facility, transportation and equipment upgrades related to workforce development; and facilitate a full inclusion workforce to provide new jobs for adults who are not disabled.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Where are the jobs? Last week, the health care bill was passed through the Education and Labor Committee, jammed through in an all-night session; and, supposedly, it offered a public-private option. Just a few minutes ago, we finished an Education and Labor markup. Where we once had a public-private option in direct lending, 80 percent chose the nonpublic option. So what did we just do? We eliminated the private option, and the Federal Government is going to be a giant bank, one of the biggest banks in the world, taking over all student lending. When we talk about the needs in health care, we need to address the problems that we're facing, the gaps in the health care system, how to make it more efficient. What we don't need is a government takeover of health care with no private options. We don't need higher taxes on the small businesses and the people in my district who are struggling with a mean of 15 percent unemployment in my eight counties. We don't need additional job losses. And this bill unbelievably had a clause added that will add more jobs for ACORN. When people in my district said they wanted more jobs, they didn't mean more jobs for ACORN.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3183, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: Department of Energy, Science Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Trine University Address of Requesting Entity: Trine University, One University Avenue, Angola, IN, 46703 Description of Request: Trine University will play a key role in educating future biomechanical engineers creating and delivering a unique Masters of Biomedical Engineering applied research program that will be incubated over time to provide the foundation for a Biomechanics and Movement Sciences Center at Trine University. For the MBE program to become reality, Trine must renovate the existing Aero Building on the Trine University campus. The renovations will include a laboratory area that will enable students to engage in applied research in materials strengths, mechanical efficacy, and structures utilizing industry-standard full and desktop-scale universal testing equipment. An additional laboratory area will provide opportunities for students to investigate motion systems through the utilization of biomechanical simulation, EMG, MX and force plate technology.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3183, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. Requesting Member: Congressman Mark Souder Bill Number: H.R. 3183 Account: Department of Energy, EERE Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Southwest Allen County Schools Address of Requesting Entity: 4810 Homestead Road, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46814 Description of Request: The ``green'' roof will bring the following environmental benefits: (1) reduced energy consumption and related energy cost savings for Summit Middle School; (2) cleaner air as the vegetation converts carbon dioxide to oxygen; and (3) reduced flooding as the vegetation absorbs excess rainwater. Fort Wayne area students will receive hands-on learning experiences relating to green building techniques. Students relate well to environmental education, and many teachers are beginning to include environmental messages with their traditional subjects. The proposed vegetative roof would provide teachers a creative asset to be leveraged to educate Fort Wayne area students. The power generated by this project will reduce the overall power consumption of Summit Middle School and reduce the utility bill of the Southwest Allen County Schools. The School District's taxpayers will benefit not only from a more efficient school system with a leaner budget, but the demonstration nature of this project will enable other school districts to see the value and learn the methods for such a project.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. I thank my friend from Florida. I rise in opposition to the rule. I think at a time when so many controversial decisions are being made in foreign policy, we should have free and open debate. I continue my concerns about the lack of free and open debate. At the same time, I am going to support the underlying bill, but not without deep concerns. I have concerns about the spending in the bill. I have concerns about the administration's policy in about every country except Canada, and I have some reservations even in their policy with Canada. But at the end of the day, and as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) said, for those of us who spent our entire lives working on the pro-life movement, to be forced into choices with this Mexico City policy combined with family planning is terrible. But at the end of the day, I stand with Israel and the funding for Israel. We will have votes on other issues, but this is really our only vote of importance to supporting our friends in Israel. Without this military funding to help provide superiority and technology in developing their military capability to keep their military superiority over neighbors who would wipe them from the face of the Earth the second they don't have that superiority, they very possibly might not survive. I have concerns about this administration's policy on Israel. It seems to me we are doing a lot of bullying of a government elected there. They elect different parties, they have different positions, and ultimately they have to make their decisions on what is best for them to survive. They are the best example of democracy in the region. They elect governments that make the different decisions, and we stand with them because we believe it is in our best interest and our obligation to stand with Israel, even if we may disagree with certain policies. So I even have concerns about the administration's policies regarding Israel; but at the same time, fundamentally, this is our Israel vote. Because I recognize the fundamental reason for the creation of Israel, because I understand their forced diaspora and their persecution around the world, and I understand why Israel was recreated and reestablished in 1948. And I understand the anti-Semitism and rising anti-Semitism around the world, and I understand the anger and commitment to the destruction of their very nation. I think it is important with all of the other difficult issues that we show bipartisan support in this way to our friends in Israel who are in tough straits right now. So it is reluctantly that I will vote for the bill, but I will vote for the bill and oppose the rule.

Mr. SOUDER

Mr. SOUDER. You have been making a number of parliamentary points today during the debate and on the floor. You are an experienced judge as well as a Congressman. Is he allowed to use factual science on the floor? I don't know if we're allowed to really debate this stuff. This is mostly an ideological bill, not a factual bill. As Mr. Conaway correctly said, did they come to a conclusion and then make the facts fit the conclusion? It is really disturbing. Much of what's behind us is, in fact, that there's a group of people who feel guilty about us being such a successful Nation and about Western nations being so successful and that we use a disproportionate amount of the energy of the world and that somehow we should not do that. Some of the other western countries, like Australia and New Zealand, as you pointed out, are like, Hey, what's going on here? Do we have to buy into this? What does it exactly mean that we need to sacrifice and go down in our lifestyle? What will we gain? Is the science really there? Then the developing countries that want to be like the United States, they look at us like a model, and they are going, like Poland, Hey, what is this stuff here? Is this something that you guys came up with at some university or a couple guys smoking some marijuana cigarettes? Or is this real fundamental stuff? And maybe we ought to prove this before we give up our cars, before we give up our SUVs and our station wagons. I mean, we've had this debate about the Volt and whether GM should go to an electric car that costs $40,000. We talk about gas and oil and how you power these big trucks that I make in my district and how you power the RVs. How exactly are you going to tow a towable with a Smart Car? That the challenge is, how are you going to move around? And one of the questions is, I think they think that electric cars, when you plug them in, that the electricity is in the wall. What is going to make the power to power electric cars? And how many, kind of, regular people are going to be able to afford a $40,000 electric car? Which gets to the core of this bill. We've had Members on the floor today say, Oh, well, we're going to fix this because low-income people are going to get exemptions, and there's going to be this class that gets an exemption. About 80 to 90 percent of that bill are government preferences to try to fix the problem they are creating. In fact, one of our colleagues, the Democrat from Oregon, Mr. DeFazio, in his 1-minute this morning made two terrific points. One was, the alternative jobs and alternative energy are being created faster now than they will be under this bill because we're moving in that direction already with the incentives in the market. And with some supplemental funding out of Congress, some tax incentives out of Congress, we're going to get major breakthroughs. I have a car company in my district that may be able to get 60 miles a gallon out of E85. The test case shows they got 100 in the first test, and it's a new motor. But if we mandate electric cars, it will never come to market. Government doesn't make efficient decisions, that if they protect this class, protect this company, protect the TVA power system but not this power system, you get all these special categories. But what we know is, as all of you have pointed out, the upper classes will figure that out. They're not going to get damaged much by this; and to some degree, they're going to try to cover and patch up in a mishmash of expensive government regulatory programs. And who gets lost in this? The very people that the other party promised to protect when they ran, the middle class, the forgotten man and woman and young person who is somewhere in the middle, working hard and not, as Mr. DeFazio pointed out in his other point, making money on credit swaps. We're going through one of the greatest financial messes in the world, and we have just set up a cap-and-trade. What does trade mean? We call it cap-and-tax. Cap and send the jobs to China. A number of different things. Mr. Gohmert a while ago just coined another version of the bill. But the bottom line is, the trade is trading credits and swapping and then securitizing those in markets and encouraging other countries around the world to do this. This will be a boondoggle. How many trees did you plant in Brazil to offset your ethanol plant? How many whatever did you do in damming up a river, which historically the environmentalists were opposed to damming. Now they talk about hydropower. Which is it? You did a hydroplant in Thailand. Therefore, you get to have a credit swap worth $50,000. You put that $50,000 out. A number of people bid on it. That gets leveraged 30 times. We're creating a bigger mess than we have now, based on trying to do all sorts of equalization. This is a disaster, and it cannot happen without basically destroying our country. We pointed out tonight different angles of this, and this is not--as Mr. Poe goes through his list on July 4 and our Founding Fathers and what they sacrificed for. They sacrificed for freedom, not for government setting up credit swaps, protecting one group of people against another group of people, one region against another group of people. Then when you complain, they make deals on the floor during the debate today. Oh, I didn't realize that. There's such a lack of understanding that it takes that many pages. By the time we get done with the regulations, there will be that stack across that whole top of the table, and they'll still be inventing it as people sue and go to court to judges, like my friend Mr. Gohmert said.

Mr. SOUDER. Will the judge yield for a minute?