Paul Tonko

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. And people have asked, they said, Well, what are these emissions? What are these particulates that may be harmful to us or our children? And when you start talking, Representative Inslee, about mercury poisoning, when you start talking about carbon emission, when there is the talk about arsenic and lead poisoning, people begin to see it as something very real, something they've heard of, that they know people have been impacted by. So of course people want to protect their children. They are our most sacred commodity. They are a precious commodity. And with so much track record here, 40 years of success, of strong public health standards, it's very difficult to imagine that someone wants to take that backward. I think of the innovation that I saw when I served as the leader of NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which was my last workstation before entering the House. I saw what R&D and basic research, research and development can mean in the new shelf opportunities that come our way that are science and tech associated. You know, people said when you went to the catalytic converter for automobiles, it was going to kill the auto industry, and we're going to have no jobs here. It didn't happen. People understood that this catalytic converter can now clean us of that pollution, that emission. You know, we were told of all sorts of things that would happen when we were addressing the emissions in some smokestacks. People came about and found ways to make it happen. The industries many times are painted--many out there that are part of this concern--have really come forward and said, This is a reasonable approach. Many have said that. They want predictability. They want some sort of plan, and they'll engage their operation into that plan and its outcome. There are many groups, like Entergy, Constellation Energy, NextEra Energy, National Grid, PSE&G, and one in my home base, the New York State Power Authority, all of whom have said that this is a reasonable approach, that they are willing to be those partners out there to make the world, the environment, the air that we breathe a better quality. So the proof is in the pudding here. There is an outstanding 40-year track record. There are children who breathe freely, and there are lives that have been saved. Just 160,000, if that matters, last year alone. But people need to look at the facts here and not be so connected to those deep pockets, special interests, friends from the oil industry that want to come here and partner with colleagues in the House and say, We're going to undo this, and we're going to kill jobs. Job-killing, life-threatening, health-threatening, toxic poisoning that can take place if we allow it to. And we will stop this, I'm convinced.

Mr. TONKO. Well, Representative Faleomavaega, thank you for joining us this evening. But during the course of this hour we have all talked about innovation that we see happening right in our very own districts. I have a global center on renewables that is conducted through the auspices of GE. We talked about their advanced battery manufacturing facility. I talked about the nanoscience that has been promoted in the 21st Congressional District of New York. We witness every day the semiconductor work that is done and work in the biotech and infotech and nanotech communities, all of which are critically important to providing the workforce of the future and the workplace of the future. This is what I think policy like this can initiate. And I'm certain within the realm of your own district or in the region that you represent or the State that you call home, within that whole context there are those stories of success and innovation. And that, I think, is the outcome here that we want to preserve, and not only preserve but enhance, so that we can continue to grow those jobs and provide a better quality of life for the people that we represent.

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. TONKO. This evening, Mr. Speaker, we will be joined by a number of colleagues in the House to discuss the Clean Air Act and its impact on jobs, on public health, and our national security. It is interesting to note that we've had an outstanding 40-year record on behalf of the improvements that have come via the Clean Air Act, and now there are forces amongst us that would like to repeal important pollution control standards that are part of that Clean Air Act and roll backward the very progress that we have enjoyed, the impact that it has made. And they're being joined now, these forces, by big polluters, people who would choose to have us go backward and undo the tremendous standards that have brought about and enhanced quality of life. Since 1970, the Clean Air Act has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and decreased air pollution by some 60 percent, at the same time having grown our economy by some 200 percent. So it is very important to note that there has been a high order of progress associated with the Clean Air Act, which came, by the way, through bipartisan vision that thought we could improve our situation here in America, and those visionaries were absolutely correct. We now are at risk of endangering our children's health simply by attacking the health standards that the Clean Air Act promotes. We're also at risk of promoting ideas that will denounce innovation-- innovation that has moved forward in breaking our gluttonous dependency on oil, oftentimes imported from unfriendly nations to the United States, and where also we will roll back the progress that has come with creating our own sense of innovation as we have responded to these cleanup measures here in the States. This is an important juncture. After a 40-year record, 40 years of success, we're now faced with the forces of big polluters hooking up with our colleagues in the majority in this House looking to roll back progress and denounce policies that have impacted us favorably. We're joined this evening by a number of colleagues. We're joined by Representative Quigley from the Fifth District of Illinois, who has thoughts that he wants to share with us. We'll be hearing from a number of colleagues from Virginia and Washington State as the hour continues to roll. Representative Quigley, thank you for joining us this evening on this very important topic and on this very important effort to hold back any efforts made to undo the law and weaken it and put our health standards at risk.

Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Representative Connolly. We will continue to banter here this evening about the merits of the Clean Air Act and the good that it has produced. But when we talk about some of this innovation, how we can drive our energy independence, our self- sufficiency, it goes well beyond the public health efforts that can be secured simply by that kind of work as we reduce the amount of emissions, but it also turns into an issue of national security, where we know sending these over $400 billion a year to foreign sources for our oil importation is actually feeding the treasuries of some very unfriendly nations to the U.S., and then perhaps having those dollars used to train the troops that are fighting our troops in our efforts for peace in the Mideast. It is a never ending cycle of madness that has to be prevented, and I think the Clean Air Act, accompanied by other efforts that we can do to spur jobs and create an innovation economy are very important aspects. They are outcomes of sound progressive legislation that then achieves wonderful results and allows us to address public health standards in a way that is magnanimous.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. We are charged up. We are fired up.

Mr. TONKO. I again thank the gentleman from California. Look, I am ecstatic about the President's choice of Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE, to be the chair of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. We can probably remove a lot of the struggle that occurs on this House floor by listening to the business minds out there, who will advise us about the strength we can provide to create jobs through invention and innovation. Here is a voice that's highly respected; he is tremendously strong in his beliefs in American manufacturing again. And so we must let those voices speak and resonate in this discussion, in this dialogue on where we go and how we build our economy. The President made it very clear: he spent his first couple of years stopping the bleeding of the recession. We were losing 750,000 to 800,000 jobs a month, 8.2 million jobs lost to this economy. Now our assignment is to plan strategically the growth of jobs, what is sustainable. What is sustainable? Manufacturing, because it incorporates from the trades people over to the Ph.Ds. Everyone has a shot at that economy. It's the muscle we need, it's the American know-how, it's the American intellect. And I thank you again for bringing us together this evening.

Mr. TONKO. We flew up from Washington on Air Force One and then returned with the President because we had our jobs conference in Maryland.

Mr. TONKO. Right, and I think it was through neglect on manufacturing. They focused on the service sector, primarily the financial services. They ignored agriculture, they ignored manufacturing, and now we are paying the price. Even though we lost a third of the manufacturing jobs in this country, we are still perched as number one in the global race. However, if we are to allow that neglect to continue, we would eventually fall out of the number one position. So the 4.6 million jobs lost, manufacturing jobs lost due to that neglect, that trend has to be turned around, and I was so delighted to hear the President speak to a progressive agenda, a proactive quality, to the tone he was establishing at that center with his speech. He talked about the strength of America's manufacturing and how we can impose a strong uplift for the middle class of this country. You know, 66 percent of the wealth that was generated, of the recovery during 2001 and 2007, went to 1 percent, of the top 1 percent of wealth in this country. So they accumulated all that wealth, and it's middle class America that needs to get that clout now. We can do that because the investment in R&D, the investment in basic research that transforms into jobs that allows us to be more productive in our starter-up small businesses and in our big industries like GE. If we introduce a soundness of basic research in R&D that then equates into jobs that translates into an empowerment of the middle class. I think that's an important message that was shared by this President, and the Nation accepted that speech. It was shared across this country, and it was emanating from GE, from the floor, from the factory floor where innovation and invention were coming from the working class on the assembly line. It was their ideas, their creative genius that allowed us to have all the mills in that Erie Canal corridor that I so proudly represent become the epicenters of innovation and invention in their heyday. That is still within our DNA. That is our pioneer spirit that is uniquely American. The President wants to tap into that spirit, and he wants us to be that innovation economy. You know, the other day, many of us on this floor here shared in the fiftieth anniversary celebration of JFK, that remarkably strong and powerful and inspirational inaugural address. And so many people highlighted many of the challenges that President Kennedy issued in that address, amongst them, exploring the heavens, exploring the heavens. And what it did was empower us, just the tone he established, enabled us as a nation to embrace with a great degree of passion a resolve to win that race. And we entered that global race in space to win it. And we won it, and we unleashed untold, untold amounts of technology, science and technology that has strengthened every dynamic of life. Here, fast forward some 40 years later, some 40-plus years later, a rather youthful President is challenging a nation to enter a global race, this time on the clean energy economy, the innovation economy. We should have within us the fortitude to go forward and invest in a way that allows us to empower our working families, the middle class of this country, through investment, in soundness of manufacturing that enables us to build it in America, make it in America again and be proud of that. So, Representative Garamendi, thank you for bringing us together this evening to voice our support for the President's vision, for the vision that we share as a caucus in this House, I think it's the empowering vision that enables us to go forward with a Make It in America mantra that enables us to promote the correct policy and the resources associated with that policy to truly make a difference.

Mr. TONKO. Well, you know, it's great to represent Schenectady, which is dubbed The City that Lights and Hauls the World. It was the birthplace of an energy revolution over a century ago. And to have the President visit just the other day, on Friday, to tout the efforts at GE, where he speaks to the vibrancy of American manufacturing. You know, we lost a third of manufacturing jobs during the decade that preceded this administration. I think it was through neglect.

Mr. TONKO. Absolutely. Thank you, Representative Pallone. The importance I think of hosting an event like that which the President joined is that we can showcase that there are great things happening. I for one am not going to submit to this notion that manufacturing is dead in America. I cannot, with a pioneer spirit that I detect all the time, for one, for any moment submit to that logic or that thinking. As the President was hosted by GE, specifically by its CEO, Jeff Immelt, he and so many others believe in the workforce and in the creative genius, leaders, labor leaders like the late Joe Battaglino who was a union voice for GE workers, Helen Corinne in the past, all of whom fought for the dignity of the worker because that worker was providing the intellect to take us to the next plateau. And so what they talked about here was the fact that not only are American workers producing a high-quality turbine, but were also exporting to places like India. And as the President said in his speech, we have bought many a Chinese good in this country. It is time for China to buy our products. And I think he is setting a good tone so that there is this fairness that is associated with the trade out there and that we as a Nation not only need to make it in America, but we have to put an emphasis on exporting. And when those emphases are put into play, we will then prosper as a Nation. You talk about the turbine and the manufacturing going on at GE, but the President was also updated with right next door and the activity right next door which is an advanced battery manufacturing center. And it's not the traditional lithium ion of which many people speak as the cutting-edge battery. This one that GE is creating can deal with heavy fleets, specifically helping that niche of battery application. It can be used for energy generation. And then perhaps one of its greatest functions, it can be used to store intermittent power. So if we reach to the sun, the soil, and the wind to produce our energy needs, and it has an intermittent nature to it, we then put value added into that supply of energy because of the storage potential of this new battery. And then they also have, across the street from this plant, GE's global renewable energy center. And what they're doing there is doing this global strategy on renewables. And so the turbine blades that are manufactured there, all of this is that cutting-edge technology that enables us not only to create jobs, made in America, exporting around the world, but also growing our own energy independence and our energy self-sufficiency, which to me is a strategic bit of policy. So this should not be about Republicans fighting Democrats or Democrats competing with Republicans. This should be America moving forward with a progressive plan, with a laser-sharp focus joined with the message of the President to make certain that we compete not with each other but with other nations. Is it robust? Probably. Is it very hard-fought? Most likely. But we've got to be in it, and we have to have the passionate resolve to make a difference by investing in those key functions like education, higher education, basic research, R&D and modernization of our manufacturing centers. People will tell me when they hear this manufacturing thing, they said we can't compete. Other nations will do it cheaper. We don't have to do it cheapest. We need to do it smartest--smartest. And when we do it smartest, we win. We sharpen our competitiveness, and we can win on the global scale.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to repealing health care reform. The reason is simple: It does not create jobs, it does not protect the middle class, and it balloons the deficit. Since March of 2010, the economy has created a total of 1.1 million new private-sector jobs. Over 200,000 of these jobs were in the health care sector alone. Health care reform is helping to create jobs, not take them away. Health care reform helps the middle class. In my district alone, 439,000 individuals who currently have health insurance now have protections and benefits that they did not have before the reform. 113,000 of my senior constituents are able to access preventive care and screenings for free because of reform. Tax credits are available for up to 14,500 small businesses in the capital region of New York. These are real changes that benefit real people. Repeal would eliminate all of them, thoughtlessly and with great harm to the middle class of my district. Finally, repeal would increase the debt by trillions of dollars. In fact, 20 years from now, repeal would cost us more than $1.2 trillion, ballooning the deficit and severely threatening our Nation's debt.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Thank you, Representative Welch, for bringing to us the kind of focus that we need to have here on this floor. It is a pleasure to join with our colleagues from Virginia and Connecticut and Texas and Vermont, my neighbor to the immediate east. So thank you for your outstanding work in this capacity. There's nothing more powerful than the faces that put a real life meaning into the work that we've done here. Let me talk about a constituent, actually a family of constituents from Albany, New York. Ellena Young is a very young mom and has a 1- year-old son, Liev, and she's a three-time cancer survivor. There's a history of cancer in her family. And in the latter half of 2009, her husband, Bill, testified at our health care forum because his wife was having complications with her pregnancy and required bed rest. Well, as you can imagine with preexisting conditions, she was in and out of insurance coverage and very often was struggling to find ways that they could get the family covered. Her preexisting condition complicated that severely. The way she found health care coverage was as a Ph.D. student hooking herself and her family to the university plan. They were thrilled about the news of the pregnancy. She was in remission. They had all of this hope going for them. She then developed complications with her pregnancy--situations with malnutrition, severe iron deficiency, and, yes, even blood clots--all of which were life threatening. Well, you talk about the pharmaceutical needs. She was given prescriptions for 10 different medications, all of which were very important. Representative Welch, she had to choose five of the 10. She tried to pick the five most important, and even then it was an out-of- pocket expenditure of a thousand dollars a month so that she could stay well and stay alive during this pregnancy. And what made it very difficult, as she was working through all of this, was that because of the complications of this pregnancy, her doctors told her that she would need to undergo a C-section. So now the family is faced with a decision: Do I quit at school where I was earning an income and keep my coverage, or what is my other choice? Because in order to have the surgery, which was going to save her pregnancy and her life, she had to take time off from school, so fell out of the ranks of the insured. Now, let me just quote from Ellena. As she and her husband debated applying for more student loans or a new credit card, she had this to say: I needed a procedure to save both my life and the life of my baby, and I was choosing between interest rates. Is that not a powerful statement? And this is what this reform is all about and why it is so aggravating to see the repeal voted on here in this Chamber today, because the hope that was brought by our bill applied to a case like that of the Young family is a very, very powerful statement. The Affordable Care Act bans both annual and lifetime expenditure caps. And that health coverage that is limited annually or lifetime is very disrupting and can deny, when you most need health care, it can deny the coverage. And so with all of this outcome, here's a real-life example where this family, with their 1-year-old child, had to struggle to find the insurance coverage. But why are we putting people through this sort of difficulty? And this is not unusual. It's a powerful story. But there are countless episodes, anecdotes that are brought to everyone's attention on this floor. And we're here to be leaders that provide hope and opportunity for the people that we represent. And then to repeal progress just as it begins to reach the very households that we have addressed across this land is a very sad statement. And we have to continue to work to make certain that the beneficiaries, the millions of people who prospered from this sort of activity, are not let down. I think this is a very important time in our Nation's history for us to use our resources wisely, to respond to the constituents with compassion, and to understand that these real-life stories are exactly that--real and profound and deep and meaningful. And they ought to help us decipher what the best policies are. And I really thank Ellena and Bill and Liev for the opportunity to share their story. It's a painful story, and they're very generous to allow us to share it here on this floor. And I thank you again for bringing us together. The preexisting conditions, the annual and lifetime caps, the filling the doughnut hole for our Nation's seniors so that they can, you know, move forward and live comfortably and maybe even save their lives with the appropriate medication and affordability and accessibility, these are all of the dynamics for which we have fought. And it's a shame that they're being taken away or attempted to be taken away at a time when they're just beginning to have their presence felt. I thank you for bringing us together tonight.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I am committed to working with my colleagues to create jobs. But here we are, debating repeal of health care reform instead of focusing on job creation. In fact, health care reform was a good start. Since enactment in March of 2010, private-sector job growth has grown by some 1.1 million jobs. Among those, over 200,000 jobs were created in the health care sector alone. That is why my top priority remains job creation and growing our economy--not obsessing on repealing a bill that is working. If my friends on the other side of the aisle are successful, then seniors, young people, and small businesses in the capital region of New York would be hurt. Take my constituent Tim from Albany, New York, for example. Tim is forced to dig into his pocket to pay for prescription drugs even though he is a retired pharmacist on Medicare. However, health care reform provides Tim extra assistance in paying for his prescriptions and ensures that the so-called doughnut hole payment will be no more in the very near future.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to repealing health care reform. I am committed to working with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to create jobs and improve our Nation's economy. We need to focus on jobs right now, not repealing health care reform. In fact, last year the private sector created some 1.1 million jobs. That is more private-sector job growth created in 2010 alone than during all of the Bush administration. Fully 200,000 of those jobs, or one out of every five, were in the health care industry. In the Capital Region alone, repeal would strip benefits from some 439,000 individuals with health insurance and 113,000 seniors on Medicare. My constituents would lose guaranteed coverage for their preexisting conditions, coverage for young adults, lower drug prices for seniors, and free preventive care for people with insurance coverage and Medicare. Madam Speaker, repealing health care reform to return to the old status quo, where insurance companies run amok and put profits over people, is irresponsible and reckless for our Nation and our economy.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, the injured, those who lost their lives and all of their families and loved ones--all of whom remain in our thoughts and prayers following this past Saturday's horrible and tragic event. Having the opportunity to serve with Gabby on the Science and Technology Committee in Congress has truly been a blessing as she embraces the human spirit in all her work. Gabby is not a weathervane politician--she takes courageous votes that are supported by her keen intellect and engaging personality. Her quick wittedness and joy in providing service through her work as a Representative stands as testimony to us all. She is one of our Nation's brightest young leaders--intelligent, dedicated, effective and fair. I wish her and all the other injured victims in this senseless tragedy a quick and speedy recovery.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 659, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. I rise today in support of the America COMPETES Act, a debate that has continued for many months, and negotiations have followed, and we are finally one step away from this bipartisan victory. This legislation will create prosperity through science and innovation, reassert our economic and technological leadership throughout the world, and give future generations greater opportunity to achieve the American dream for decades to come. I have seen firsthand the impact science and innovation can have on our communities. Recently, the Albany, New York, area in my district was named the third fastest high-tech job market in the country. This growth, coupled with today's legislation, is vital if the capital region of New York and the rest of our Nation are to continue on a path toward an innovation economy that, quote, ``Makes It In America.'' We must also educate the next generation of mathematicians and scientists. This bill does that by providing opportunities for STEM students to participate in hands-on scientific research. Finally, I would like to thank Chairman Gordon for his leadership on this issue. Without his tireless work and that of the committee staff, along with Ranking Member Hall, we would not be here today. Mr. Chair, you and your leadership will be sorely missed, and I wish you all the best.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today proud to represent the third fastest growing high-tech job market in the country, that being Albany and the capital district of New York. According to a new Tech America Foundation report, Albany grew its high-tech positions last year by 1.6 percent. While this is good news, there is also bad news. Nationwide, the number of high-tech jobs shrank by 3.2 percent. Albany's success is at least partially due to the resources available at the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. These jobs were not created by a government handout to millionaires or massive estates. They were created by investing in the local infrastructure and economy to create jobs. While Albany added 900 high-tech jobs over the past couple of years, with an average wage nearing $80,000, we must do more to lay the groundwork for our national economy and job market to grow the high- tech outcome. Those investments yield great returns and produce jobs.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. I thank the gentleman for yielding. This bill is a bad deal for the middle class. If you work hard and play by the rules, you should be rewarded; however, today's bill ignores this. It lines the pockets of the mega-rich at the expense of everyone else. Our top priority right now should be job creation. We tried the tax cuts proposed today for the last decade under the illusion that they would create jobs. And so I ask, Where are the jobs? Where are the jobs? This recession wasn't an act of nature; it was man-made. Shame on us if we do the same thing again and expect different results. I will continue to fight to strengthen the middle class, and I will continue to fight to extend unemployment benefits for the millions who are out of work through no fault of their own. I have voted in favor of both in recent weeks. However, we should not support a giveaway to millionaires and billionaires at the expense of future generations. Mr. Chairman, this bill needs more jobs and less debt.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. I rise today to share a passage from Proverbs 31:8-9: ``If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.'' Madam Speaker, let us heed that cry. I encourage my colleagues to open our ears today during this holiday season and hear the compassionate cry of the working poor and middle income families back home. In my congressional district alone, some 6,400 people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own will be without their earned unemployment lifeline by the end of this month, unless we act. At the same time, my colleagues in this Chamber are worried about people that own estates or make millions and billions of dollars each and every year. Let us show compassion for our neighbors and family members by standing up for the working poor and our middle income families. We should continue to provide tax cuts for the middle class community and extend unemployment insurance.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have said over and over again that cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires will create jobs. It simply has not. Albert Einstein once described insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That is why I rise today to ask, where are the jobs? Where are they? It is time we restore sanity to the discussion on tax cuts. Tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires do not create jobs. They are also not supported by the general public. In fact, according to a CBS poll from last week, only 26 percent of Americans support millionaire tax breaks and only 46 percent of Republicans support millionaire tax breaks. So I ask, who are my Republican friends listening to? Is it the average family or small business in their district, or is it Wall Street CEOs and an army of special interest lobbyists? The trickle-down effect has not worked. As any farmer will tell you, you fertilize a plant from bottom up, not top down, because if its roots are strong, the plant will be strong. Our country's roots are the middle class, and it's time we give them nutrients to thrive.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the retirement of a broadcasting legend in my district, Don Weeks of historic WGY radio in Albany and Schenectady. Don's career in radio started in 1959 and grew to include work as a Top 40 DJ, a TV weatherman, and work in an advertising agency. It was during the last 30 years, however, as host of WGY's top-rated morning news program that Don cemented his legacy as one of the most congenial and recognizable personalities in the Capital Region. He entertained listeners each morning with his laugh-out-loud sense of humor; his friendly, inquisitive interviews; and with his unrelenting communication to the community. For 30 years, Don was the voice and the face behind WGY's annual Christmas Wish fund drive, which raised millions for local charities. Don was awarded the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Medium Market Personality of the Year and named Best Personality by the New York State Broadcasters Association. To Don and his wife, Sue, I wish you a happy and healthy retirement. It certainly is well earned, my friends.

Mr. TONKO

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.