Pat Tiberi

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Madam Speaker, I was unable to attend this evening's rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: rollcall No. 174: H.R. 373--``yea,'' rollcall No. 175: H.R. 1324-- ``yea.''

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the many achievements of the Rotary Club of Zanesville on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the club's founding. For a century, the citizens of Zanesville and Muskingum County have benefited from a group of men and women who are committed to promoting community service. A milestone such as this certainly deserves recognition. The Rotary Club of Zanesville's history spans two World Wars, the birth and demise of the Soviet Union, the spread of mass transportation and the advancement of high speed, global telecommunications. Throughout this, the Rotary Club of Zanesville's members have served their community and worked to improve the lives of their neighbors. Service to others and service to the community are timeless American traditions and hallmarks of what has made our nation so great. For 100 years, the members of The Rotary Club of Zanesville have fashioned a reputation that reflects their core values of service, fellowship, diversity, integrity, and leadership. Through projects like The Phoenix Award and the Rotary Club Christmas Party for Zanesville Special Needs Students, the club continues Rotary International founder Paul Harris' vision of a group of business professionals gathering in friendship and fellowship to create positive, lasting change in their community and around the world. On behalf of the citizens of Ohio's 12th Congressional District, I thank the Rotary Club of Zanesville for their service to the community. I wish them continued success in the next 100 years.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your support of H.R. 284, the Medicare Competitive Bidding Improvement Act which, as you said, I introduced with my friend and colleague from Connecticut, Mr. John Larson. The bill does fix a fundamental flaw in the Medicare durable medical equipment Competitive Bidding Program by simply requiring that bids be binding. It will promote fairer competition. More importantly, it protects our seniors and supports small businesses. DME includes items like home oxygen, blood sugar monitors, and walkers for seniors. The Competitive Bidding Program was intended to reduce out-of-pocket costs for these seniors. However, over the last several years, it has become very clear, Mr. Speaker, that the bidding process is extremely flawed, in large part because the bids are not binding. This encourages low-ball bidding--or suicide bidding--which artificially drives down prices and will eventually lead to market failure because there is no performance on many of these bids, meaning seniors don't get their equipment. I have heard from seniors, beneficiaries, and small business suppliers in my State of Ohio that the program is impeding access to needed items for seniors, like the ones I just described, ultimately harming their health and making costs more expensive for our seniors and the program itself. This is absolutely unacceptable. The goal of the bill is to reduce the number of bad actors who are now participating in the program by simply imposing a penalty if the supplier who wins the bid doesn't accept the contract to the bid they won. The bill will help ensure that these suppliers submit bids in good faith, creating more certainty for those suppliers, and, most importantly, making sure that seniors get the supplies and the equipment that they need and qualify for, increasing access to more quality products and services at the end of the process. If this bill is signed into law, seniors across the country will no longer have to worry about whether the company in their area will provide the information and, more importantly, the equipment to which they bid on and actually be able to provide that wheelchair, walker, or oxygen tank that that senior so desperately needs. As the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee mentioned, the bill has bipartisan support. It is a commonsense bill that actually passed the Ways and Means Committee unanimously. It was scored by the Congressional Budget Office to actually save taxpayer dollars over the next 10 years. I encourage my colleagues to support the bill, and I thank Mr. Larson for his partnership.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), who represents a number of newly created small businesses with the energy boom.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of a point of order.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the gentleman's motion.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the chairman for his leadership in the area of tax reform and entitlement reform. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not monkey business. This is serious business, kind of deja vu all over again. We have now been at trying to do comprehensive tax reform for 5 years, and we should continue to try to do it, but our constituents shouldn't be held hostage for the lack of the ability for us to get it across the finish line. This is bipartisan. Let me remind my friend from Michigan that the provisions in these bills that I am sponsoring today were part of a package that was being negotiated to be made permanent by a bicameral, bipartisan group of legislators in December, Democrat leadership and Republican leadership, before the President stepped in and said ``no.'' He said ``no'' to constituents of mine like Claggett & Sons, a general contractor. I will tell you what the controller of Claggett & Sons said about section 179. This is what he said: It is an important part of our decisionmaking process when evaluating equipment purchases. He went on to say that making the increased expensing levels permanent, as this bill does, will be beneficial for capital purchases planning for small businesses. Let me tell you, when you look at section 179 in particular, Mr. Speaker, we had section 179 at this level, supported by Democrats and Republicans alike, for 2014. On December 11, 2014, we gave our constituents 20 days to take advantage of this provision, as we have done now 12 times on a temporary basis since 2003. Claggett & Sons couldn't take advantage of it. My friends have heard about my constituents, farmers Tom and Judy Price, about buying a combine, waiting to see when we would make this permanent or reextend it. We gave them 20 days to make that decision--20 days. That is no way to run a railroad, none at all, Mr. Speaker. I understand the points that the other side has made. I want tax reform in a comprehensive way as bad as anybody. The two aren't mutually exclusive here in terms of, we can do this, give our small business owners and farmers the type of certainty they need that will help our economy grow, that will help their businesses grow, rather than do what we have done for 12 years now--over 12 years--making these temporary provisions, extending them for a year or two at the end of the year. That is just no way to do this. So, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of small business owners like Claggett & Sons and farmers like Tom and Judy Price, I urge us to move the ball forward. We can chew gum and walk at the same time. We can do this, and we can move on to try to find common ground on comprehensive tax reform. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Cincinnati, Ohio (Mr. Chabot), the chairman of the Committee on Small Business.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. TIBERI. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, as a Roman Catholic, I find it interesting that Mr. Camp is a saint now that he is gone. I would like to remind my colleagues that Mr. Camp worked for several years on comprehensive tax reform with little help from the other side. When I say ``the other side,'' I mean the White House. It was 4 years into his chairmanship that he released a draft. The new chairman has been in the job for about 42 days, so let's give him some time to work on a comprehensive draft which he said and has continued to say that he can do while we make some important provisions that have been bipartisan that is about putting money in people's pockets. Everybody knows we have had the worst job recovery in my lifetime-- the worst. This provision has been around for a long, long time. We know it works--liberal economists, conservative economists--expensing works. It works for small businesses. Small businesses hire people. By the way, many small business owners and many farmers pay their taxes quarterly. Most of us have our taxes taken out of our paycheck every time we have a paycheck. Imagine the debate that we would be having on the floor today if every American had to send in their taxes quarterly. These small business owners and farmers are at the heart of our economy in trying to improve our economy--improve our economy, grow our economy, and hire more people. We are all for that. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I would ask if the other side is ready for closing. We have no more speakers at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time to close.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Ladies and gentlemen, this isn't a game. This is reality. This is Groundhog's Day. We have been doing this for 12 years. You go ask somebody who is trying to run a business in America on Main Street-- they want certainty, they don't want retroactivity. Heck, we got 10 months left in the year. They would like longer than that. Their business cycle is longer than 10 months. Their business cycle is years. Go ask an accountant at a business in terms of how they have to plan. The rules are rigged against them. The rules--the chairman talked about the rules. I am going to underline and bold this. Imagine this: this provision is expired, and my colleagues in the minority are concerned about adding to the deficit because this provision that expired on December 31, we are trying to renew without raising taxes on other people. When spending expires, the chairman mentioned a few of those programs, and we renew them at the same level, it doesn't add to the deficit. Think about that. Go talk to some constituents at a diner on Main Street in any of our districts and see if they think those rules are fair. They are paying the bill. They are paying all of the bill. Ladies and gentlemen, we have got to get things done. We have to get things done. The American people are counting on us to get things done. This is as common ground as there is in our Tax Code when it comes to trying to help job creators create jobs. I don't know anybody who wants a minimum wage job. I know people who want jobs that pay more than the minimum wage. I had a minimum wage job once. I wanted to make more than that. That wasn't my goal. My goal was to make more money than minimum wage. Each and every one of us knows somebody who can't find a job who wants a job. I know people who want to create more jobs and have their businesses grow. This provision, ladies and gentlemen, we know this provision helps people get jobs. It doesn't have to be that hard. We can walk and chew gum. Mr. Speaker, we can lay the groundwork for comprehensive tax reform, but we need partners. We need partners in the Senate, and we need partners in the White House. The White House has said they are for C corp reform. Well, as everybody knows, this provision is going to help a lot more than just C corps. It is going to help small businesses that are passthrough entities, S corps, limited liability companies, and mom-and-pop small businesses on Main Street. We cannot wait. These people have waited long enough. Ladies and gentlemen, we need long-term certainty. This is an important step to comprehensive tax reform--a very important one--that we need to pass and get on our business to getting to comprehensive tax reform. So I would plead with my friends in the minority, let's put aside this rhetoric; let's move toward this; let's pass this bill. We had a debate last summer that is reminiscent of debate today, and we almost got there, ladies and gentlemen. Democrats in the Senate, the Democrat majority leader, our chairman at the time, Dave Camp, were negotiating the framework of what some now are being critical of that would create permanency for policy provisions that we are debating today. We know Democrats are for this, under the right circumstances, exactly how this is written. So let's put aside all those things, and let's do work today that is good for America and good for Americans. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TIBERI. I thank the gentleman from New England and oppose his motion. I don't want to deflate anybody's honor today. Let me just clarify what I said about Mr. Camp and his draft. What I said is--because the gentleman is right. He was fully engaged in a very comprehensive way, as were others on the committee with Chairman Camp and me and others. But Mr. Camp had one partner in the Senate that he was working with, a very important one; unfortunately, got sent to China, and at that point all opportunities with the other very important body kind of evaporated. And remember, 4 years-- actually, his start was when he was actually ranking member, he started putting together a comprehensive draft. I think that is important to note. I really appreciate the gentleman's attempt today because, remember, last year, last summer, the gentleman correctly observed that this was a waste of time because we are just going to do this retroactively at the end of the year. We could have broken that cycle last year. It took Chairman Camp and Majority Leader Reid in December to almost do it. They almost got there. They almost broke the cycle. We can still break that cycle. We can still stop this vicious cycle of 1 year here, 2 years there, retroactive here, and provide certainty and get to the business of comprehensive tax reform. We can do all that, but we have to pass this bill first and make it permanent. I oppose the motion. This is simple: permanency versus 1 year. Happy Valentine's Day. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, the Medicare Fee-for-Service program stands virtually alone among health care payers in the United States in not fully recognizing the clinical and cost benefits of providing infusion therapy to patients in their homes. Infusion therapy is fully covered by Medicare in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospital outpatient departments, and physician offices, but coverage in patients' homes is very limited. As a result, Medicare beneficiaries in need of infusion therapy usually receive their treatments in health care facilities rather than in their homes, which is the setting that is the most desirable, convenient, and by far the most cost-effective. This is unfortunate and unnecessary. In the private sector, the accepted standard of care and practice for over 30 years is to provide infusion therapy at home where medically indicated and when requested by the attending physician. Ironically, patients who have access to this benefit under their private plans lose this coverage when they enroll in Medicare. Medicare's lack of coverage for infusion therapy in the home setting can lead to substantial patient and family lifestyle disruptions and costs. Because Medicare only covers infusion services in institutional and limited outpatient settings, the beneficiary either has to travel to a health care facility to receive infusion treatments, sometimes multiple times a day, or remain in a facility for the duration of the therapy. Today, Representative Eliot Engel and I are introducing The Medicare Home Infusion Site of Care Act of 2015 so patients can receive the same infusion treatments that they currently receive in facility-based environments in their homes at a lower cost to Medicare. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support our bill to give patients better quality care at lower costs.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Manuel Tzagournis for his distinguished service and commitment to the State of Ohio and congratulate him on his retirement. Dr. Tzagournis held a long, devoted career in the healthcare field. He became particularly focused on diabetes mellitus which led him to practice endocrinology and hold numerous positions at The Ohio State University. He became a prominent representative of OSU's College of Medicine by acting as the National Institute of Health's principal investigator for the General Clinical Research Center and serving as the Dean during his tenure. He also worked for the National Regulatory Research Institute in support of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners for 16 years. Dr. Tzagournis served as the chief medical advisor for the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund since its inception. Dr. Tzagournis contributed significantly to the creation and continued development of the Disability Program at the OP&F, and has spent the end of his career devoted to the safety, health and welfare of Ohio's first responders, testifying on their behalf in the Ohio legislature on bills affecting specific occupational injuries. On behalf of Ohio's 12th Congressional District, I thank Dr. Manuel Tzagournis for his dedication and impeccable service to our community in the field of medicine and wish him happiness in his retirement.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and achievements of the Honorable William G. Batchelder, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, on the occasion of his retirement from the Ohio House of Representatives. Speaker Batchelder has served his community and state as an elected representative in excess of forty years, and has helped lead Ohio through tumultuous times into recovery and growth. In 1967 after graduating from The Ohio State University College of Law, he began serving the needs of his community as an attorney while also teaching law to future generations of litigators. He established a record of success in public service, earning the voters' confidence for more than thirty years as a member of the General Assembly and six years on the Ohio 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Ever sensitive to the call of public service, Speaker Batchelder returned to the state capital in 2007 and ultimately took on the role of leading the people's house of the great state of Ohio. I am extremely proud to play a small role in recognizing the life and accomplishments of such a uniquely dedicated public servant. I was honored to serve with Speaker Batchelder for six years in the Ohio House. He gives generously to his community through his time and diligent work. He has taken incredible leadership roles in advocating for seniors, farmers, public servants, conservation, and veterans. He continues to serve with organizations that meet the needs of folks ranging from children with dyslexia to adults with Alzheimer's. Throughout, Speaker Batchelder has utilized coalition building and bipartisanship to meet the needs of Ohioans in common sense ways. He has earned the public's trust, and deserves our recognition here today. On behalf of the citizens of Ohio's 12th Congressional District, I thank Speaker Batchelder for service to our state. I offer my most sincere congratulations on his accomplishments and wish him well as he embarks on his next great ventures.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I oppose the motion to recommit.

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, the motion to recommit does not solve the problem that the gentleman talked about. There is one thing that will solve the problem that the gentleman talked about, and it is about lowering corporate rates and going to a territorial system, which all other countries in the world who have been successful in stopping this problem have done. America has not led. America has fallen behind. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) has led. He has a draft that seeks to solve this problem. There hasn't been any leadership from the House Democrats. There hasn't been any leadership on the issue from Senate Democrats, and there certainly hasn't been any leadership from the White House. Everything in this bill before us today, Mr. Speaker, is bipartisan, meaning Democrats and Republicans have supported it. Everything in this bill, Mr. Speaker, will help Americans create American jobs. There is no reason not to support this bill, except what is happening in November. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the motion to recommit and vote ``yes'' on this American job-creating bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, the Medicare fee-for-service program stands virtually alone among health care payers in the United States in not fully recognizing the clinical and cost benefits of providing infusion drug therapy to patients in their homes. Infusion therapy is fully covered by Medicare in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospital outpatient departments, and physician offices, but not in patients' homes. As a result, Medicare beneficiaries in need of infusion therapy often must receive their treatments in health care facilities rather than in their homes, which is the setting that is the most desirable, convenient, and by far the most cost effective. This is unfortunate and unnecessary. In the private sector, the accepted standard of care and practice for over 30 years is to provide infusion therapy at home where medically indicated and when requested by the attending physician. Ironically, patients who have access to this benefit under their private plans lose this coverage when they enroll in Medicare. Medicare's lack of coverage of infusion therapy in the home setting can lead to substantial beneficiary lifestyle disruptions and costs. Because Medicare covers infusion services in institutional settings, the beneficiary either has to travel to a health care facility to receive infusion treatments, sometimes multiple times a day, or remain in a facility for the duration of the treatment episode. Today, Representative Eliot Engel and I are introducing The Medicare Home Infusion Site of Care Act so patients can receive the same infusion treatments in the comfort and convenience of their homes at a lower cost to Medicare. I look forward to working with Representative Engel and my other colleagues in Congress to see this commonsense bill move forward, and I urge all of my colleagues to support our bill to give patients better quality and better care at lower costs.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan as well as the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Chairman Issa, for their ability to pass this through committee and bring it to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 4919, to designate the United States Postal Service facility located at 715 Shawan Falls Drive in Dublin, Ohio, as the Lance Corporal Wesley G. Davids and Captain Nicholas J. Rozanski Memorial Post Office. Marine Lance Corporal Wesley Davids was 16 years old and still attending Dublin Scioto High School when he was inspired to serve our Nation following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He was killed the day after his 20th birthday in May of 2005 while fighting in Iraq. He was a member of the Columbus- based Lima Company. Twenty-three total servicemembers from Lima Company died in Iraq. Marine Lance Corporal Davids died during a 96-hour period, Mr. Speaker, in which six members died and 15 were wounded. Marine Lance Corporal Davids was always willing to lend a hand. His family and friends say he was full of energy, especially when it came to driving or working on cars. He was also a standout rower in high school and well-loved by his community. Crowds lined the street following his memorial service. He is survived by his parents, Jody and Michael, and brother, Steven, in Dublin, Ohio. Captain Nicholas Rozanski attended Dublin High School and was a lifelong resident of Dublin, which he called ``God's country.'' He proudly served on multiple deployments to Kosovo and Iraq as a member of the Ohio National Guard before he was killed on April 4, 2012, while fighting in Afghanistan. He was described as a model leader who genuinely cared about the men under his command. Captain Rozanski also was a very proud graduate of Ohio State University, and made a difference in his community by coaching youth soccer for nearly 15 years. He was an accomplished runner, having completed three marathons, and was described by his loved ones as mischievous and witty, with a sparkle in his eye, who loved nothing more than doting on his young daughters. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer; daughters, Emma Kathryn and Anna Elizabeth; his father, Jan Rozanski, and mother, Pamela Mitchell; along with many other family and friends in Dublin, Ohio. These two heroes, Mr. Speaker, put their country before themselves, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Today, we honor their sacrifice, and that of their families. By naming this postal facility in Dublin, Ohio, after them, their bravery and honor will never be forgotten. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate Viola Del Greco upon her 100th birthday. Yesterday she joined a growing segment of America: the Centenarians. According to the 2010 Census, over 53,000 Americans are 100 years old or older. Their combined contributions to our nation have coincided with the rise of what has been called ``The American Century.'' Mrs. Del Greco has lived by any measure what can be described as a successful life. Married to her late husband for 72 years, matriarch, business owner and faithful church goer, she has modeled for her family and community how to appropriately balance the demands of life. Faith, family, friends, and neighborhood all require time, energy and attention. Those that give each the proper care can look back and see the handiwork of a lifetime and rejoice in the result. Viola Del Greco must rejoice at what she sees. As a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she understands the importance of family. The family unit serves as the most fundamental human institution and a basic foundation for our society. The family acts as an incubator in which all the virtues and principles we hold dear are passed on to our children. Her faithful membership at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church speaks to her core values and strength of character. Her role as business partner with her husband at Del Cleaners bonded them as a team and as part of the community. Her children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren have watched her example and honor her life. Mark Twain was right when he observed, ``Only he who has seen better days and lives to see better days again knows their full value.'' Mrs. Del Greco understands the value of each day.

Mr. TIBERI

Mr. TIBERI. Thank you, Chairman Camp, for your leadership on this important issue and your leadership on the tax-writing committee. If we would have had similar leadership in the Senate and at the White House, we would have a different discussion today, and that would be one on comprehensive tax reform. Unfortunately, we are not having that discussion because there hasn't been leadership. In fact, there has been zero leadership from this White House. And after 5\1/2\ years of this President being in the White House, he still doesn't want to take responsibility for this economy. Taxes are higher. We have more regulations. We have an economy that is sputtering along. In fact, the facts are that the first quarter of this year, our economy retracted. This bill is a jobs bill. It is that simple. It is a jobs bill. We have had bonus depreciation since 2002. This isn't new. It has been in the Tax Code under temporary law since 2002, and extended many times--many times, retroactively. It expired, ladies and gentlemen, in December. I was talking to a CFO of a large American manufacturer this week, and he said to me, You understand that when you retroactively do this, it doesn't help our economy. When you only do it, in essence, for 1 year, which is the narrative that my friends on the other side of the aisle are acquiescing to, in that this is a fruitless waste of time because we should just accept the Senate bill that passed out of the Senate Finance Committee at the end of the year, which will retroactively extend bonus depreciation back to January of this year for another year--next year, 2015--that doesn't do a whole lot to grow our economy. It is better than a sharp stick in the eye, 1 year; yet, if you talk to a CFO, like I did this week and as I have over and over and over again, a business plan is for several years. When a business owner who is a manufacturer buys a piece of machinery to make a widget, it costs a lot of money. This expense is 50 percent of that, Mr. Speaker. Guess what? You can make more widgets, and you can hire a new employee. The new employee makes money, pays taxes to the city of Columbus, pays taxes to the State of Ohio, pays taxes to the Federal Government--more tax revenue, a job, more jobs. That is why hundreds of businesses and organizations are for this piece of legislation, which has been around--unpaid for--for 10 years. I mean, think of the logic here, ladies and gentlemen. If we extend spending, we tell the American people that it doesn't cost them any more money. If we extend a current tax cut--so stopping a tax hike--it costs them more money. That is Washington, D.C., math. It makes no sense. That is the inconsistency. The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is this is about jobs; this is about our economy. This is bipartisan. It doesn't need to be partisan. I have said before that I don't want to give up my voting card to the U.S. Senate. Let the House speak. Let's have a good, old-fashioned conference committee. I don't expect I will get my way. I know Chairman Camp doesn't expect he will get his way. We will have a good, old-fashioned compromise. I know that is a dirty word sometimes around here. As my sixth grade daughter says: Isn't it supposed to work where the House passes a bill, and the Senate passes a bill, then you kind of work out the differences, and it goes to the President? Yes, Angelina, that is the way it is supposed to work. I wish the folks on the other side of the aisle would allow us to change this narrative of the Senate won't accept this, so let's just take the Senate bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.