Fred Upton

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus). (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield).

Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, to close our debate, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren).

Mr. UPTON. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the vice chair of the full committee, the gentlelady from North Carolina, Sue Myrick.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), whose State would be devastated with the Medicare Advantage cuts.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry).

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to my dear friend, State Senator Ron Jelinek of Berrien County on the occasion of his retirement. A lifelong Michigan resident, Ron has dedicated himself to serving the people of southwest Michigan and improving the quality of life for all Michiganders. After receiving his degrees from Michigan State University and Western Michigan University, Ron began his career as an educator in the River Valley School District, where he taught for three decades. In 1996, Ron was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives where he was popularly reelected to two additional terms. Ron was then elected to the Michigan State Senate in 2002. Throughout his 14 distinguished years in public office, Ron has been a leading champion of public education and Michigan agriculture. Beyond the duties of elected office, Ron has proven himself to be a natural community servant. He serves as a member of the Berrien County Farm Bureau, the Three Oaks Free Methodist Church, the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, and the River Valley Engine Club. He also was a co-founder, officer, and volunteer for the Three Oaks Ambulance Service, and involved in Future Farmers of America, 4-H, and Girl Scouts. Ron's leadership, knowledge, and compassion have made him an indispensible asset to the citizens of Berrien County and the State of Michigan. As Senator Ron Jelinek prepares for his retirement, he leaves both an example for future public servants and a legacy that will benefit southwest Michigan for years to come. I am truly honored to call Ron a colleague and friend.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Portage Northern High School Library Media Center and Media Center Specialist Jeanna Walker for being selected by the American Association of School Libraries as the most outstanding library program in the State of Michigan and one of the top 35 programs in the nation. The media center was remodeled last summer to fully envision the goal of delivering 21st century skills to both students and teachers. With a media classroom and three classroom areas all equipped with the technology-enhanced classroom model, the media center and learning commons are overflowing with teaching and learning on a daily basis. The media center is an active learning environment for the student population and is being used by approximately 4,000 students per week. The media center's cutting-edge technology gives students the opportunity to work with and learn from off campus groups and experiences. With the help of social studies teacher Stacie Phillips, Jeanna Walker teamed with Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business to bring online collaborative tools to Portage Northern American history classes. Also, access to live video conference capability gave students the ability to watch an autopsy through the Columbus Center for Science and Industry. In honor of this national recognition, the media center will be featured on the American Association of School Libraries Vision Tour, an initiative by the association's President, Dr. Nancy Everhart, to visit school media centers across the United States in order to provide the public with examples of what exceptional school media centers offer students and communities. On behalf of all residents of southwest Michigan, congratulations again to the Portage Northern High School Library Media Center, Media Specialist Jeanna Walker, and the entire Portage Community on this worthy achievement. Go Huskies!

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, it was a few months ago that Congress passed and the President signed this health care bill; 2,700 pages that I don't think a lot of people read. But if you did read it, you might have gotten to this one section, section 9006, and I will just read it very quickly. ``Expansion of Information Reporting Requirements. In General-- Section 6041 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: ``(h) Application to Corporations.--Notwithstanding any regulation prescribed by the Secretary before the date of the enactment of this subsection, for purposes of this section the term `person' includes any corporation that is not an organization exempt from tax under section 501(a). ``(i) Regulations.--The Secretary may prescribe such regulations and other guidance as may be appropriate or necessary to carry out the purpose of this section, including rules to prevent duplicative reporting of transactions.''. (b) Payments for Property and Other Gross Proceeds.--Subsection (a) of section 6041 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended-- (1) by inserting ``amounts in consideration for property,'' after ``wages,'', (2) by inserting ``gross proceeds'' after ``emoluments, or other'', and (3) by inserting ``gross proceeds,'' after ``setting forth the amount of such''. (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to payments made after December 31, 2011.'' A lot of gobbledygook, right? Anybody here know what that means? No, they don't. Let me tell you what it means. That section that I just read, even if you read it before we voted on the House floor, is a requirement that every business in America, beginning January 1 of next year, 2011, will have to file a 1099-MISC for any transaction that exceeds $600 during the course of the year. So what does that mean? You've got a business that goes to Staples. They're going to have to keep track of every transaction that they made. If you buy, as a business, $50 a month from Staples, you are going to have to file a 1099. If you've got a sales force, maybe they go out to a bunch of hotels or restaurants during the course of the year, you are going to have to find every one of those for all of your employees. During this recent break that we were home, I met with one of my small business people in Michigan. Last year, they filed 10 1099s. They figure that next year--they have, I don't know, 30 people that work for them--they are going to have to file 350 1099s. Any business transaction that exceeds $600 over the course of the year, they are going to have to file a 1099. And what does that have to do with health care? How does that help the employees that are working there? Maybe they will have to hire some more people to fill out the 1099s, and they are going to be covered. Well, that's just crazy. This is a new regulation that's going to be put on businesses. It's going to cost a lot more money. If anything, it's going to take away from folks that have health care in America. Now, we have some good news. There is a bill. My colleague Dan Lungren from California introduced a bill, H.R. 5141, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act. Just on the title, you know what that means versus what I just read at the beginning of my remarks. It takes this away. What the heck are we going to be collecting that information for? Well, somewhere else--I don't know what page it's in here, but of course it calls for the hiring of 15,000 more IRS agents. Maybe that's why they have to hire them, so they can look at all these 1099s that every business is going to have to file. Now remember, when you do a 1099, it's more than just the amount. You're going to have to go get the Employer Identification Number for every business that you made that purchase. So, as I talked to my Kalamazoo homebuilders the last couple of times over the last couple of weeks, if they just happen to take their pickup and fill up at that Marathon or Speedway station every other week and it's going to be more than $600 over the course of the year, they are going to have to get that Employer Identification Number and keep track of all those gas records. Think about the utilities, Consumers Energy, American Electric Power, I&M. All of the utility companies will have to do a separate 1099 for every business that they serve if they sell more than, in essence, $50 worth of electricity a month to them. What a nightmare. Now, some might suggest that this is the first step to a VAT tax. That's right. The IRS now is going to assemble all this information and maybe--and remember, it says it's effective in 2012, but that means you have to start filing beginning January 1, only 5 or 6 months from now. It's the first step. It's the wrong step. We need to repeal it.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would just briefly like to say I echo the remarks by the dean of the House and the dean of the Michigan delegation. I knew Marv Esch as a staffer. He was a wonderful man, dedicated to this House and to making things work. We will all miss him. It is sometimes tough to be a Wolverine, and as you know, he was a great Wolverine.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of defeating the previous question, which is the next vote here on the House floor. I worked for Ronald Reagan. We have a $1.5 trillion deficit this year. The last thing that we should do is to raise taxes. The first thing that we should do is cut spending. As many folks here know, the Republican side has been offering five different proposals every week for the last month or so, letting folks across America vote on the proposal that they think merits the most sense. This week, it was my proposal that won. That is, we are going to tell the IRS that we're not going to hire another 15,000-some IRS agents in the next couple of years to monitor health care, and we will save the taxpayers $5 billion to $10 billion--billion, as in big. That's not a bad proposal. Save the taxpayers some money by not hiring 15,000 more bureaucrats. What are these folks going to do? They're going to make sure that every American verifies that they have health insurance. Maybe they will look at page 737 in the health care bill, which says that every business will have to file a new 1099 with the IRS for any $600 business-to-business transaction. So if you're a homebuilder and you just happen to show up at that same Chevron or Shell gas station every other week to fill up your car or your pickup and you spend more than $600 over the course of the year there, you're going to have to file a 1099. Let's fight the deficit--not by raising taxes but by cutting spending. This proposal does that. We were denied at the Rules Committee to allow this amendment to be offered, which is why we want to defeat the previous question, offer this amendment to cut spending, and help the taxpayers across the country. Madam Speaker, I would urge all my colleagues to support this.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to the city of Sturgis, Michigan and its trademark patriotic summer festival that is currently under way. While the name of the festival has changed throughout the years, this year's inaugural ``Sturgis Dam Days'' will surely foster lasting memories for the multitude of generations that look forward to the annual festival. The 6-day festival brings the entire community together to celebrate the city's rich history and pay special tribute to the Sturgis Dam, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2011. The hydroelectric dam transmits electricity 18 miles to the Sturgis Municipal Power Plant, giving Sturgis the moniker of the ``Electric City.'' While the dam generates power for the town, ask most folks about it and they will highlight the postcard-perfect views of the dam: the flowing St. Joseph River and the surrounding scenes at the adjacent Covered Bridge Park. This year's Sturgis Dam Days festival includes a variety of events throughout the week for all to enjoy. The Sturgis Chamber of Commerce kicked off the festival by welcoming the community for dinner and the St. Joseph Sheriff's Department transformed into the Pony Express in period clothing to give the official proclamation to commence the celebration. Events throughout the week include an art fair; the American Legion Hog Roast; ``Experience Sturgis,'' a history walk through the city; a family picnic in Franks Park; a vintage Sturgis Biscuits baseball game; the Relay for Life at Sturgis High School; a parade down US-I2; and the culminating event, the Sturgis Dam Rodeo. The festival has been a beacon of economic activity and growth through the years, and continues to draw countless families to the region each year. I congratulate the city of Sturgis and all of its residents for sharing such a wonderful community event. Through the years the annual festival has become woven into the fabric of the lives of so many folks throughout southwest Michigan. Sturgis has such a rich heritage and offers so much to the region's families. I look forward to the festival's continued success with many more Sturgis Dam Day celebrations for years to come.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), in support of the bill.

Mr. UPTON. In seeing that the Member is not here, I would ask again for a strong ``yea'' vote, and I would hope that our Senate colleagues are listening so that they will be able to move this legislation as quickly as possible. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bartlett), who is in support of the bill.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I know that we have one other Member who wishes to speak, but I do not see him on the floor; so I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I just want to say, this is an issue that we sat down together for the last, actually, couple of years examining the facts. Many of us that particularly live in areas--for me, the Midwest, coming from Michigan, we had a devastating tornado come through this weekend, and for many of us, myself included, our electricity went out for a number of hours. And then a number of times, particularly during the winter and even in the summer where these electric storms that come through, sometimes the electricity may be out for a couple of days. We look to our friends down in Haiti who, many of them still may not have electricity after the devastating earthquake that hit there a number of months ago. Can you imagine if that happened here in this country, where, because of our grid vulnerabilities, you could be perhaps out of electricity for a year or 2, trying to get gasoline to get out of there, trying to get refrigeration for your food, trying to have a job, take care of your family? Some of us read the book ``The Road.'' Lots of different scenarios that are out there. We need to be prepared. This bill moves us down that road. And I again want to compliment my friend, Mr. Markey, to make sure that this legislation did move through. We had a lot of bipartisan support, a lot of eyes opened and ears too, particularly as we sat through some of those classified briefings. Let's hope that the Senate moves quickly, the President signs it swiftly, and, in fact, we can see legislation move to make sure that those scenarios remain that way and don't become realities.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to compliment the members on our committee, both Republican and Democrat, not only in our subcommittee that Mr. Markey chairs and I'm the ranking member, but also Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Barton. This has been a multiyear effort; it really has. This bill is a product of that work. We've had a number of classified hearings and discussions and briefings over the last couple of years with Members attending for hours at a time. We've had some public hearings as well; and this bill is a product of that, which is exactly why the bill passed out of full committee 47-0 on a roll call vote. The security of our Nation's energy infrastructure from attack is one of the most important issues that this Congress might address this year, and it's not an issue that we can take lightly. Energy, as we know, electricity literally powers our economy in everything that we do. Even small price spikes and supply disruptions can wreak havoc on our economy for perhaps who knows how long, and it is imperative that the security of our Nation's energy infrastructure gets all of the attention that it deserves. This legislation is a step in the right direction to protect our critical energy and defense infrastructure. Let me tell you a couple of things that this bill does. As it relates to cyber- and electromagnetic weapons, it gives FERC the authority to establish standards to protect the bulk power system against vulnerabilities to malicious acts using electronic communications or electromagnetic weapons. Geomagnetic storms: The bill requires FERC to direct NERC to submit for approval a reliability standard under section 215 to protect the bulk power infrastructure. And for large transformers, the bill requires FERC again to direct NERC to submit for approval a reliability standard under section 215 to require adequate availability of large transformers to ensure the reliability of the bulk power infrastructure in the event of a physical or other attack with a geomagnetic storm. I would like to cite just a few words in a letter that was signed by some real national security experts--James Woolsey, Stephen Hadley, John Hamre, Rudy de Leon, James Schlesinger, William Perry, and Willy Schneider, Jr. It's an official-use only letter, so I cannot submit this letter for the Record or read more than just a few words. They say together: We strongly endorse the timely passage of this legislation in recognition that the electricity grid is a critical national security asset, the backbone of defense capability in modern civilization and also in recognition that the grid is vulnerable. The letter goes on: We don't want a vulnerable grid. We, as a society, cannot live with a vulnerable grid. This bill corrects many of the flaws in what could otherwise be standard operating procedure. Again, I applaud and thank Chairmen Waxman and Markey, Ranking Member Barton, and all of the members of our committee who have spent many hours to address this situation with this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to Mr. Jeffrey Siegel of Berrien Regional Educational Service Agency. After over three decades of service to the education community of southwest Michigan, Mr. Siegel will be retiring as the Superintendent of Berrien RESA. After receiving his bachelor's degree in psychology from Adelphi University in New York, Jeff made his way to Mount Pleasant, Michigan where he attended Central Michigan University and earned both his master and specialist degrees. Mr. Siegel has served as Berrien RESA's superintendent for over seven years and has accomplished many great milestones during his distinguished tenure. Jeff created a Medicaid billing site in southwest Michigan and has worked with local school districts to reduce the number of children referred to special education across the county by nearly 15 percent. He redefined his organization's service scope to include programs and services specifically related to supporting classroom technology, student data management, business office support, career training and school safety. In addition to his professional responsibilities at Berrien RESA, Mr. Siegel, serves his community as a leader of the Berrien Community Foundation, Berrien Springs/Eau Claire Rotary, Temple B'Nai Shalom, Consortium for Community Development, Community Partnership for Lifelong Learning, and the Great Start Collaborative Early Childhood Investment Corporation. He also serves as a member of a variety of state and local professional organizations and has been appointed by the Michigan Department of Education to provide leadership and oversight to committees related to Medicaid and intermediate school districts. For over three decades in the Berrien County education community, Jeffrey Siegel's leadership, skills, compassion, and commitment to education have made him an indispensible asset to the citizens of Berrien County. As Mr. Siegel prepares for his retirement, he leaves a legacy that will benefit the community for years to come.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I would yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from the great State of Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining on both sides.