Betty Sutton

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, and I want to commend my friend, the chairman, George Miller, for his great work and leadership on this and so many issues. Investing in education is one of the most important things we can do to grow and strengthen our workforce and secure our well-being as a Nation. This bill makes historic investments in our economic future by improving early education opportunities and making college more affordable and all at no taxpayer expense. The economic downturn has made a growing college affordability crisis worse for America's students and families, but this bill will help our neediest students and their families by increasing the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship, and it targets $6.8 billion to community colleges, like Lorain County Community College in my district. And this bill transforms the way our student loan programs operate, guaranteeing our students access to low-cost loans irrespective of market fluctuations. By cutting out the middleman, this legislation will save taxpayers $87 billion over 10 years. It pays for itself with $77 billion and returns $10 billion to deficit reduction.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. I thank the chairman for yielding the time, and I thank him for his strong leadership on this issue and on so many initiatives that are leading our country forward. I would like to commend my friend Congressman Gary Peters for his great work on this bill, which I am delighted to rise in support of. The Advanced Vehicle Technology Act provides this Congress with a great opportunity to help create green automotive jobs for American workers. Currently, almost all of the major components for advanced technology vehicles sold in the United States are imported. That needs to change. We must ensure that our workers are assembling the vehicles of tomorrow and producing the components and next-generation technologies right here at home. The Advanced Vehicle Technology Act invests in a diverse and comprehensive range of technologies and programs that will improve fuel efficiency and reduce harmful emissions. In my district, a startup company has been working on a process to recover engine waste heat to convert into electricity to power the very same vehicle. Under this bill, they could partner with the Department of Energy and other industry partners to further develop and commercialize this energy- producing and saving technology. I'm also pleased that this bill has a provision for the research, development, demonstration and commercialization of lightweight materials. Mr. Chair, Akron, Ohio, is the polymer capital of the world. There is a strong interest for research and commercialization of polymers and plastics by companies across the country. In addition, our steelworkers in the domestic steel industry can produce advanced high-strength steel which makes vehicles considerably stronger while requiring less mass and increasing fuel economy. Recently, with the overwhelming success of the CARS program, Americans demonstrated their desire to trade in their less efficient clunker for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Thanks to the CARS program, nearly 700,000 clunkers were taken off the road and replaced with vehicles that had on average 58 percent increased fuel economy. The CARS program brought thousands of workers back to work, making autos and parts for more fuel-efficient vehicles. With this bill before us, we will take another step to help our environment and grow jobs. That's why this bill has earned the support of the UAW as well as Ford, GM, Chrysler and other industry and business groups. Mr. Chair, I'm also proud that we worked on an amendment that was added to this bill, working with Representative Chellie Pingree and Chairman Gordon, which is also supported by the UAW, requiring an annual report on the technologies developed from the Advanced Vehicle Technology Program. The report must disclose whether these technologies were successfully adopted for commercial applications; and if they were, whether these technologies are manufactured in the United States. With taxpayer dollars invested, we want them to be manufactured right here in the United States. I commend the gentlemen for their great work.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. -Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3165, the Wind Energy Research and Development Act and would like to commend Rep. Tonko for his work on this issue. Wind power is one of our nation's fastest growing sources of energy. By 2030, the Department of Energy estimates that this industry will support 500,000 jobs in the U.S. and produce at least 20 percent of our nation's electricity. And we must focus our investments, leveraging private dollars, to R & D areas that need to be improved. We must focus R & D to improve gearbox reliability and performance. We must focus R & D to make materials more reliable and more affordable. And we must focus R & D to utilize wind technology offshore. In Ohio, we are on the verge of the first fresh water wind energy project in the United States. Our project could serve as a prototype for harnessing wind energy on similar bodies of water across the nation. By utilizing the wind over Lake Erie, we will find another use for our great natural resource. We must pass the Wind Energy Research and Development Act today to harness wind energy's potential, both on shore and off, and move away from foreign sources of energy.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentleman for the time and for his leadership on this very important issue. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, in strong support of H. Res. 623, and I commend Representative Stupak for bringing this great resolution to the floor. National Night Out is an innovative and unique crime fighting tool, and the administration's support for this effort is critically important. This resolution sends a strong message to criminals, letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and are fighting back. It also sends a strong message to volunteers and neighbors and block leaders that their hard work is not going unnoticed by this Congress and this administration. When people volunteer in their community, they are telling the world that their neighborhood matters, that their neighborhood is important, and that it has value. And we hear them, Mr. Speaker. In these difficult times, volunteering is critical to supporting both our neighbors and our communities. While neighborhood watch groups work tirelessly every night throughout this country, a special night of the year is reserved to celebrate National Night Out. And on the first Tuesday of every August, nearly 37 million Americans gather together to participate in National Night Out, walking door to door, handing out important safety information, greeting old neighbors and meeting some new people on their block. It takes a community to keep a neighborhood safe, and on August 4 people across America helped keep their neighborhoods just that much safer. This August 4, I had the honor to participate in the 26th Annual National Night Out in Akron. It was a great experience, and I hope to participate again next year, along with millions of my fellow crime fighting Americans. I commend the gentleman again for bringing the resolution to the floor.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation that's going to provide an additional $2 billion for the CARS Act, a bill that I sponsored, sometimes referred to as Cash for Clunkers. But by any name, this bill has been, thus far, a tremendous success. It has helped consumers purchase cars that they couldn't have purchased in this economic downturn perhaps but which they needed. It's going to give them cars and fuel savings for a long time to come. It's helping our auto companies, our auto dealers, all of the jobs associated with that very vital and important industry in this country, to maintain itself, to continue and give it the chance to grow and restore. The program also, of course, is good for our environment because it's taking out those less fuel-efficient cars and getting them off the road and replacing them with more fuel-efficient cars. This is an unprecedented success, and my colleague is right. We must make sure that it works throughout the entire process. But we are well on our way, and I appreciate the leadership of the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Secretary LaHood, the administration, who I've been working very closely with to make sure that we build on this success which is stimulating our economy, keeping people working, helping our environment, and helping our consumers when they really, really need it.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud cosponsor of the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, and I commend the distinguished Chair Emeritus, John Dingell, for his dedication to formulating and passing this bill, which is so sorely needed to protect the safety of our food supply. This year alone, we have experienced a series of outbreaks of food- borne illnesses. These outbreaks have taken a disproportionate toll on our State of Ohio. The peanut-related salmonella outbreak affected 92 individuals in Ohio, and, sadly, resulted in three tragic deaths. Nellie Napier, a constituent of mine, died from salmonella poisoning that she contracted in a nursing facility. This bill is an essential step toward lowering these tragic numbers and restoring consumer confidence in our food supply. It will increase inspections of food facilities, improve traceability, and provide needed funding to the FDA for food safety activities. And with the increased globalization of our food supply--close to 13 percent of the food we eat comes from abroad--and this bill will help protect consumers from unsafe imported foods.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the underlying legislation, H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act. This bill will ensure that small businesses have access to federal research and development money so they can continue to be the engines of economic growth and innovation that our economy so desperately needs. This bill also contains a number of important developments--including a focus on the commercialization of products developed with SBIR funding. A focus on commercialization is also a focus on jobs as technologies and innovations created by this funding enter the marketplace. I am also pleased that a number of provisions that I championed have been included in the manager's amendment and the underlying bill. One of these provisions requires agencies that administer SBIR programs to give special consideration to vital transportation and infrastructure research activities when reviewing grant applications. Investing in our nation's transportation and infrastructure through small business is essential to our long term success and growth. I also worked to include a preference for veterans who have so honorably served this country. This is the least we can do for the 26 million brave men and women who sacrificed years of their lives to protect our country--many who are small business owners. This bill will also increase outreach to service-disabled veterans and other underrepresented groups. As I have said before and I will say again, it is not enough to simply pay tribute to our veterans with our words; we must show our appreciation through our actions. I also strongly support the provision of this bill that I worked on with Representative Boswell to require that priority be given to grant applicants from areas of the country that have lost a major source of employment. Communities across this country, from Ohio to Iowa, are suffering as employers shut their doors. In Ohio, 83 of the 88 counties have experienced a mass layoff or plant closing since 2001. Focusing funds in areas that have suffered the most and have endured major job losses will ensure that this money is helping people in the communities that need it most. I urge a yes vote on the rule and the underlying bill.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, and I want to thank the chairman for his leadership and for working with me and other Members of this House to address our concerns about manufacturing and jobs in this bill. This bill isn't perfect. I have yet to see a bill that is. But the status quo is not the right choice. We must unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of this country and provide the economic opportunities that our constituents need. This bill is part of that mission. It is not the entire answer to all that ails us. But let there be no mistake. This is a jobs bill. This bill has support from groups that represent workers; the United Steel Workers, the UAW, the SEIU, CWA, Building and Construction Trades and the AFL-CIO are all urging a ``yes'' vote on this legislation. Madam Speaker, the people I represent are facing difficult times. They are looking for jobs, and sometimes they can't find them the way they used to. The inaction of the past has cost them dearly. There are those who complain that this bill is not perfect. They say it won't do this or it won't do that. But we have got to get started and keep acting until we get it right and provide them with the chance that they need for a change in direction.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1687 . . . to commemorate the career and service of our friend and colleague, Congressman Ralph Regula, by designating the Federal Building and U.S. courthouse in Canton, Ohio, as the ``Ralph Regula Federal Building and United States Courthouse.'' For 38 years, Congressman Ralph Regula was a dedicated public servant and champion for Ohio. While I served only one term with Congressman Regula, I worked with him long enough to recognize his strong and dedicated service to our country, as well as his great love for Ohio. Congressman Regula is the consummate public servant. His career of service began long before the 38 years that he dedicated to this House. After graduating from high school, he served in the Navy during World War II. Congressman Regula continued his public service as a member of the Ohio State Board of Education. He went on to serve in the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate. When he arrived in Congress in 1973, Congressman Regula's greatest years of serving our country were still ahead of him. His leadership was apparent immediately. As a freshman member, alongside Congressman John Seiberling, he fought hard to have President Ford establish the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. Congressman Regula continued his fight to help build and protect the Cuyahoga Valley over the next 34 years of his career. In 1974, Congressman Regula said ``. . . we could be the architects in preserving this heritage for future generations; it goes far beyond today in terms of the potential.'' Today, that potential has been fully recognized. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is one of the most heavily visited national parks in the country. It is one of the great treasures Congressman Regula has left us. And, I am privileged to be able to carry on his efforts to continue to preserve and expand the Park. I want to thank Senator Brown and Congressman Boccieri for leading the effort on this bill. No one is more deserving of this great honor than Congressman Regula. He left a great legacy for all of us to live up to. It is clear that the citizens of Canton and the 16th congressional district are eternally grateful for his endless contributions. I thank him for his service, and I am glad to be a part of this effort to recognize his importance by helping to pass this bill.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to stress the importance of reforming our health care system this year. Every day Americans with health concerns worry, not just about getting well, but whether they can afford to get well. Statistics show that the average American family already pays an extra $1,100 in premiums every year for a broken system that leaves 46 million uninsured Americans, and millions more who are insured without the care they need when they need it. Americans spend more than any other population on health care; yet we are no healthier for the investment. President Obama and this Congress want to change this dynamic. We must make quality health care more affordable and accessible to every American: man, woman and child. We must enact a health care system, promote a health care system, ensure a health care system that will work for our constituents and be worthy of this great Nation.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for his leadership on the Rules Committee and for the time. I rise today in support of the rule and the underlying bill. But as we prepare to send the war supplemental to President Obama, I would be remiss not to express the deep concerns I have about the bill not including an exit strategy for military operations in Afghanistan. And while I support the supplemental, I am also strongly supporting Representative McGovern's bill to require an exit strategy from Afghanistan. Fairness requires it. Our brave soldiers need to know that we have a plan and that we're looking out for them. And out of fairness to the 185,000 soldiers who have been subject to the stop-loss policy since September 11, 2001, the supplemental that we're about to pass today will provide $500 per month in monthly payments. And the use of stop-loss has prevented mothers and fathers from returning home to their children, from families and friends from gathering for the momentous occasions that mark their lives. They have gone above and beyond the expectations of their country. So I'm proud to have worked with my colleagues to create the Stop Loss Compensation program and to ensure its funding in this bill. And I am pleased that we are also funding the bipartisan CARS Act program which Representative Levin spoke of a moment ago. That bill was passed overwhelmingly by this House just last week. And while it's called the CARS Act, it's about far more than just cars. It's about the environment and it's about people. It's about consumers, and it's about the millions of families in this great Nation who depend on the strength of our auto and related industries for their livelihood, to put food on the table, to get health care for their children. It's about our friends and our neighbors, and it's about our communities that depend on auto jobs for their tax base, to support schools and police, firefighters and other city services. And I'm also proud to say that we have worked on language in the bill to allow that SAFER grants that are used to hire firefighters can be used now to rehire and retain much-needed firefighters. This bill provides stop-loss payments for those who protect us bravely overseas. It funds the consumer-environmental beneficial CARS Act to help shore up the 3 to 5 million jobs in our auto industry that Americans depend upon for a living, and it provides for more adequate staffing for firefighters who bravely protect us at home. Mr. Speaker, this is a bill that deserves support. And with that, I urge my colleagues to support it.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my good friend from New York, for the time and for his leadership. I also want to thank Chairman Obey for all of the hard work he has put into developing this bill that will fund some of our Nation's most critical needs, including the funding for prisons, for law enforcement and for initiatives related to the southwest border, along with promoting important scientific research and development. This bill provides $30.6 billion for investments in science, technology and innovation, including $6.9 billion for the National Science Foundation, whose grants in the past have allowed researchers in our colleges and universities to discover fundamental particles of matter, to develop carbon-14 dating of ancient artifacts and to decode the genetics of viruses, to name just a few. It provides $1 billion to science, technology and math education for our students, from graduate students all the way down through kindergarten. So we're going to educate our students for the future and will continue to be leaders in innovation in this global world. It also invests $781 million in the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is very important for the area that I represent. It provides for scientific and technical research services. Along with $125 million for the manufacturing extension partnerships, we will be investing $125 million to help small- and mid-sized manufacturers compete globally by providing them with technical advice and access to technology. As well, we will be leveraging private funds to save and create jobs. This program has been vital to the 13th District of Ohio, resulting in jobs that can be directly linked to it. We are also investing $70 million to fund high-risk, high-reward research into areas of critical national need done by U.S. businesses, colleges and universities, and labs. That is through the Technology Innovation Program. In addition, this bill provides much-needed funding for the Bureau of Prisons to protect American citizens. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in a 15-State study, over two-thirds of the released prisoners were re-arrested within 3 years. Now, with this in mind, the Bureau of Prisons is provided with $6.2 billion to address long-standing critical shortages in corrections staffing, education and drug treatment, as well as an investment for Second Chance Act offender reentry programs. The bill also provides the much-needed $298 million for the COPS hiring program, which, when combined with the $1 billion provided in the Recovery Act for the program, will put 7,000 new police officers on the streets of American communities, improving the safety for our constituents. The ongoing drug violence on our southwest border is also addressed in this bill by providing funds for the DEA to combat the flow of illegal drugs across the border, for the ATF to reduce violent crime and to enforce Federal firearm and explosive laws, and for the department-wide Southwest Border Initiative to secure our border against violence and drug trafficking. With all of that in mind, I rise in support of the rule and of the underlying bill.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, at this time it is my honor to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished chairman emeritus and a leader in this effort as well, the gentleman from Michigan, Congressman John Dingell. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to now yield 1 minute to the distinguished Speaker of the House to speak on this bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to yield 1 minute to the distinguished chairman from Massachusetts, Chairman Markey.

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time the gentleman from Michigan controls.

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, at this time, it is my honor to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan, Chairman Bart Stupak.

Ms. SUTTON. I would just inquire of the gentleman, we have an abundance of speakers and not quite enough time, would you like to yield some time?

Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentleman very much. At this time, Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 30 seconds to my colleague from Ohio, Congressman Tim Ryan.

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, at this time, it is my privilege to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan, Representative Peters.

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, at this time it is my privilege to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, at this point, it is my privilege to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Washington, Representative Jay Inslee. (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SUTTON. Madam Speaker, we have heard overwhelming support for the CARS Act on the floor today and from across the country throughout this process. I want to thank, first of all, the gentleman from Michigan for what a fantastic job he has done in moving this bill on the floor this afternoon and for all of the work that he put into making it a success. I also want to thank all of those, many of whom we have heard from today here on the floor, for all of their help and their support in getting this innovative measure to the floor and on the way to the beneficial effects for the American people. I also want to thank all of the staff who worked on this bill and bringing it together: my staff, Nicole Francis Reynolds and Christine Corcoran, as well as the staff on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and others, Representative Dingell's staff. It has been a truly collaborative process, and we have a good result. We have heard about how this bill will improve our environment, serve as an economic stimulus, and shore up the 3 to 5 million jobs in the auto and related industries. Close to home in my district, the Akron Area Auto Dealers Association put it this way: ``Providing an incentive to stimulate sales is a critical step in the recovery of the automobile industry, and congressional passage of the CARS Act represents an opportunity to benefit both the economy and the environment.'' Local 2000 of the United Auto Workers, which assembles the Ford E- Series line of vehicles in my district in Avon Lake, has stated: ``Passage of this important legislation will not only help the consumer and public by putting cars on the road that run cleaner and maintain better fuel efficiency, but it will provide assistance by boosting car sales to the struggling auto industry in America.'' And the United Steelworkers, who represent hundreds of thousands of workers in jobs supplying the auto industry, summed it up like this: ``From the glass, to the tires, to the plastic, to the hundreds of pounds of metal that comprise every vehicle, steelworkers manufacture these products in locations all across the country. Even the paper, the catalogues, and brochures that the automakers use to market their vehicles are often the product of the work of steelworkers. But countless other citizens, union and nonunion, such as auto dealers, accountants, restaurant and shop owners, have their jobs tied to the auto industry.'' Governors from 12 States, including Governor Strickland from Ohio, the Governors of Michigan, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin all support this effort today. It's time to act, Madam Speaker. It's time to pass the CARS Act, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on the bill.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2751) to accelerate motor fuel savings nationwide and provide incentives to registered owners of high polluting automobiles to replace such automobiles with new fuel efficient and less polluting automobiles.