David Wu

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. I thank the gentleman for his kind remarks. Sometimes the largest things start in small ways, and the longest journey starts with a small step, and perhaps we are taking that step today, Mr. Broun. Storms teach us all sorts of things, and personal effort and caring matter a lot. The snowstorms that paralyzed this city a couple of weeks ago in some respects are a metaphor for what has been going on with the political and policy mechanisms that also occupy this city. I believe that in my home State, within a few hours of the storm being over, we would be out there starting to clean up, and we would be doing a reasonable job fairly soon. What happened here was paralysis for days at a time, schools closing for the rest of the week, and people complaining about the city not cleaning the streets. But what I noticed was that in my neighborhood, folks did shovel their sidewalks, and it makes a big difference. Just take care of your own sidewalk, and maybe help your neighbor, if your neighbor is old or just not able to do these things for him or herself. In the second storm, I actually offered to pay my son a little bit of money to shovel the whole block. Shoveling the block was the second most important thing to do. I think the most important thing to do was to teach him civic virtue and what serving the broader good is all about. This bill does serve the broader national good. The example of Chile demonstrates the importance of preparation. It demonstrates the importance of American technology, because the Chileans borrowed their designs from the United States. It also helps us understand where we need to get better, because their highways had a lot of collapses, just as our highways during the quake in Los Angeles unfortunately collapsed, and perhaps we can improve our designs for that. Education is also a very, very important component of earthquake safety. In my State, it is estimated that we could have a 9.5 Richter scale quake, just like the world's largest quake ever recorded. That one was down in Peru and Chile, and it was 9.5 on the Richter scale. The scientists tell us that is what can happen in the Pacific Northwest, and it actually has happened in the past. Since the last ice age, these quakes have occurred every 200 to 1,000 years, and the average period was 300 years. We didn't know that this was going to go on. When I moved to Oregon, we didn't know anything about problems like this. But this is the problem of science. Through research on tree roots which were buried in mud and research on Japanese records, we found out that the last such earthquake occurred in January of 1701, 309 years ago. So if the average period is 300 years, we are in that zone, and we ought to be prepared. Education is key. Preparation is key. And it is not just the buildings, it is not just design, but it is also about educating people about what to do before the quake, what to do during the quake, what to do after the quake, and how do you prepare for a tsunami, how do you get out of the way. It takes courage, and it takes overcoming fear, and there are different kinds of courage, and there are different kinds of fear. I know that some folks are concerned about what happens when we move to an all-hazards approach to these natural phenomena, and I can tell you that this Congress, this committee, Mr. Broun and I, will stand united in providing the resources so that we can appropriately reduce risk across different phenomena, whether the risk is created by wind, by water, by earthquake, or by tsunami. That is the obligation of leadership, and we will provide the leadership to do that, because at the end of the day, the earthquakes, the wind and other hazards, they know no bounds, they know no geographic bounds, and they know no bounds with respect to age or income or any other hazard. Madam Speaker, I ask all Members to vote in favor of this legislation.

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

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1097), supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week, and for other purposes.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on House Resolution 1097, the resolution now under consideration.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1097, supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week. I would first like to thank my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, Mr. Lipinski, for introducing this resolution. As one of only a handful of engineers in Congress, Mr. Lipinski has and will continue to be a strong advocate for engineers and engineering on the Science and Technology Committee and in Congress. National Engineers Week, which was held from February 14 to February 20, has grown into a formal coalition of more than 100 engineering, education, and cultural societies, major corporations, and government agencies. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the significant positive contributions to society by engineers and encourage students to become engineers. This resolution supports the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week. It also pledges that the House of Representatives will work with the engineering community to make sure that the creativity and contribution of the engineering community can be expressed through research, development, standardization, education, and innovation. This is a vitally important cause for our country's future well- being. As China and India graduate record numbers of engineers, the number of engineering graduates in the United States is stagnant. This is a troubling sign for our ability to maintain our edge as the world's technologic leader. I might add that numbers alone do not tell the story. Quality, as well as quantity, counts, and traditionally we in this country have focused on quality and maintaining the best education system and the best professional and technical communities that we can, and we intend to maintain that lead in quality also. We also need to continue to highlight the importance engineers play in our society and encourage our young people to enter into these careers. Engineering is a challenging field, but one that can be truly rewarding for both the engineer and our society. I ask you to join me in supporting this effort, and urge passage of House Resolution 1097. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I now yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), the Chair of the Research Subcommittee of the Science and Technology Committee.

Mr. WU. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to agree with my good friend and colleague from Georgia that America does indeed, does indeed, have the best care system in the world, if you can pay for it. And the great struggle in which we find ourselves today is the challenge of coming together--of coming together to help all Americans be able to pay for their health care. And I want to thank my friend for his service as a physician and as a Member of this body. I also want to thank Dr. Ehlers, a Ph.D. and physicist, for his service in this body. We have worked on many issues together in a bipartisan fashion because these tend to be the issues which come before the Science and Technology Committee. For years, I was his ranking member and he was the chairman. For a few years, I was the chairman and he was my ranking member. It did not matter who was playing which role in our agreement or, quite frankly, in our disagreement. But we were always honest about it, and we were able to work together for the public good. Dr. Ehlers, Vern, thank you for your public service. Today, I hope that my parents are actually watching C-SPAN because they are both research engineers. At a certain level, I remain concerned that they still regret that I left science and technology, first for law, and now for what I'll call public service. When I was here on this floor being sworn in, I can remember seeing them right there. And what was going through my head was, You know, I wonder if my dad is still angry that I left science and technology. He cares about it, and my mom does also, because they realize that engineering is hard and that it's important. Recognition in this resolution today is appropriate because it recognizes that engineering is hard. All of us can remember that when we went through college, the engineers took these classes where they worked really, really hard, and they got three credits for it. We took some other things that weren't quite as hard, and we got five credits for it. So it is a difficult thing for a student, and it remains challenging as a young professional. I think that this body and this Nation should recognize and celebrate those things which are hard, at least in part just because they are hard. We should do some things because they are hard; we should do more of. That is the American way--to work your way through, to earn your way through, to step up to the challenge. Today, we take a small step with this resolution of recognition. I ask that all Members support H.R. 1097. I'm happy to yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. WU. I thank the gentleman. I am concerned about my dad. I think my mom realizes that I'm doing my best, and I'm just trying to keep science and technology and engineering well funded through this committee.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I ask all Members to support the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Marshall for recognizing me for this period of time. I want to recognize Mr. Hall for his leadership in bringing this resolution to the floor and for his service to the congressional district which includes West Point, and Mr. Jones on the Republican side, who has been a good friend and colleague. I have always taken pride in sending good young people to the service academies, including West Point. And now I can say that for those who are going to West Point that Forbes has selected your institution as the finest college in America in 2009. I do believe, though, that these young people who go to our service academies are there not only to get a great education, they are there for service, and the highest kind of public service, because it puts them at great personal risk. My first recollection of visiting West Point was at the age of 8. At that point I was an immigrant child. I am not sure that I knew English completely, but I could read well enough to read the stone, that not too large stone there that has a very large phrase on it: ``Duty, Honor, Country,'' the words that the United States military has lived by, under civilian leadership, for over 200 years. And I want to honor that long gray line that I saw in 1962. I just also wonder whether those academy graduates from the class of '63 or '64, whether there are any left in active service, and perhaps they would be a four-star today. There is a long line of service. Thank you very much, Mr. Marshall and Mr. Hall, for bringing this resolution to us.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4061, which will improve our Nation's cybersecurity by supporting research, create usable technical standards, and promote cybersecurity education. Cybersecurity is critically important, and I want to commend our chairman, Chairman Gordon, for bringing this legislation to the floor today and for his long term leadership on this issue. The recent cyber attack perpetrated by China against Google and numerous other American companies is a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities we face in an electronically interconnected world. More and more of our personal information is making its way online. Everything from traffic control systems and air traffic control to manufacturing and banking depends on Internet networked systems. Within the Science Committee, the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, which I chair, has been exploring ways that the National Institute of Standards and Technology's expertise in information technology can be used to advance the administration's goal of securing cyberspace. Twenty-two years ago the Science and Technology Committee paved the way for Federal cybersecurity efforts with the Computer Security Act of 1987, the first of 13 major laws related to cybersecurity. The 1987 bill charged NIST with developing technical standards to protect nonclassified information in Federal computer systems. H.R. 4061 improves on these ongoing efforts by implementing recommendations made in the Cyberspace Policy Review and in a hearing my subcommittee held last October. The Cyberspace Policy Review and witnesses at our hearing stressed the importance of increased coordination as the Federal Government works on international technical standards, an education awareness campaign for all Internet users, and improved identity management systems. NIST has a leadership role to play in all three of these critical areas. The U.S. Government must better coordinate its efforts to develop international cybersecurity technical standards. These responsibilities are currently divided among numerous agencies without any coordinated, consistent policy. A coordinated, consistent policy will ensure U.S. representatives operate with the overarching needs of our Nation in mind when they negotiate. Witnesses testified before the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee that NIST is suited for the role of policy coordinator because of extensive technical expertise, established relationships with international bodies, and the fact that it is a nonregulatory body. Experts also called for a cybersecurity awareness and education campaign. While NIST can be a valuable resource for Internet users by providing consumers with the same guidance it gives to Federal agencies, witnesses have noted that NIST guidance is often too technical for the average Internet user. The legislation before us today tasks NIST with developing a plan to make its standards and best practices usable by those with less technical expertise. In simple terms, 70, 80, 90 percent of needed cybersecurity improvement can be achieved by using available methods and technology. Take simple steps. Do back up your data. Don't back up data and take it home in an open, unlocked car. It is like clicking your seatbelt before you drive or washing hands before a surgeon operates on a patient. Commonsense steps, available methods and technology; simply put, good computer hygiene. We also know that cybersecurity cannot be improved without first improving identity management. Today's bill builds upon NIST's ongoing work on identity management systems, such as biometrics, by tasking NIST with improving the interoperability of these systems to encourage more widespread use. By focusing on the usability and privacy aspects of identity management, this bill will encourage greater confidence in the general public that their personal information will be secure. Madam Chair, securing cyberspace is a primary concern of each and every one of us. We cannot stand by and let the most powerful tool for connecting Americans with each other and the world remain a technologic wild west. It is time to fence the prairie to make it available to the technologic communities of the future. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4061 so that our communities and our constituents can be secure in the knowledge that they are safe when they go online.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Tongue Point Jobs Corps Center on its 45th birthday. The Tongue Point Jobs Corps Centers is located at the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon, which is in my district. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created the Job Corps Program. As the second Job Corps Center to open, Tongue Point Jobs Corps Center received its first students on February 2, 1965, exactly 45 years ago. In 1972, Tongue Point Jobs Corps Center was the pilot program for co-ed Jobs Corps centers, which is now the standard throughout the Corps. To date, more than 25,000 students have come through Tongue Point's doors. Tongue Point is the largest Job Corps Center in the Northwest. On average, Tongue Point contributes $11.2 million annually to the local community. Beyond obtaining job skills, Tongue Point students are also great citizens. During 2009, students performed 6,230 hours of community service in a variety of service areas. I am proud to have Tongue Point Jobs Corps Center in my district and I am constantly amazed by the tangible benefits they provide for the students and the local community. They are a wonderful example of how the Job Corps Program provides meaningful education and job training to youth in need. As our country strives to create jobs, train a new skilled workforce and recover our economy, the Job Corps Program will help us succeed in our efforts and accomplish our goals.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I rise in somewhat reluctant support of this legislation which temporarily, among other things, extends the Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. The truth is that we should have reauthorized these programs long ago, and we should not be dragging this process out. But that is not a problem that we have in this Chamber. It is very, very important because SBIR and STTR are innovation programs which invest in small businesses, the ones best positioned to drive economic growth and to create new jobs. Innovation is the key to resuscitating our ailing economy and to creating good, family-wage jobs for the American middle class. By investing in innovation, SBIR and STTR create more than good-paying jobs; they encourage the development of growth industries. And that, Madam Speaker, is what our Nation needs most. AMGEN, Apple, Microsoft, and Research In Motion all started out as cutting-edge small businesses. These creative, high-tech companies spurred new industries, new jobs, new technologies that now employ hundreds of thousands of Americans. By facilitating creative renewal, SBIR and STTR are not only helping guide our economy out of a recession, they are building our Nation's capacity to thrive in a very competitive global economy. SBIR and STTR have a proven track record of over 25 years' success in creating good- paying jobs in high-growth industries, and we must continue our commitment to these programs and reauthorize them immediately. But we cannot continue to fuel the 21st century economy with 20th century programs. We must modernize SBIR and STTR so that they can meet their potential as innovation catalysts. Some of these improvements are simple, like making awards more reflective of today's technology development costs. Others, like ensuring that our most innovative companies are eligible for public investments regardless of their capital structure, require a more nuanced approach. The Science and Technology Committee and the Small Business Committee, led by my colleague Chairwoman Velazquez, have been working hard with our Senate colleagues to strike the right balance for these improvements. We're not there yet, but I am confident that we will get there. In the meantime, we must pass today's temporary extension. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this bill and its swift passage.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, to form a government requires positive steps, and it is much less about what one is against than about what one is for. Who can forget that sense of free-fall in our economy last fall when we weren't sure, those of us who had money in money market accounts, that we were going to get 100 pennies back on the dollar that we put into a bank. Who could forget the sense of free-fall in March or April when it wasn't clear where our economy was ever going to go? But this Congress and the administration stepped up to the plate. We passed a stimulus bill that cushioned the loss of jobs and is beginning to bring jobs back. More than half the Recovery Act money is still going to be spent into our economy. We passed a new unemployment extension benefit that will take effect and cushion the blow for working families. But American families that have lost their jobs know that we need to do more, and we are going to do more. In contrast, Republicans have offered nothing. They voted ``no'' on creating jobs. We are going to say ``yes,'' and we're going to pass another jobs bill and stimulate our economy.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation to designate about 21 miles of the Molalla River in Clackamas County, Oregon, as ``wild and scenic.'' It is a Federal designation that will help preserve the Oregon character of this beautiful river. The Molalla is a prime example of accessible, valued natural settings that Oregonians cherish as an essential component of our living standard. Beyond the essential function of supplying water to communities in Clackamas County, each year the river attracts thousands of boaters, hikers, and fishermen from up and down the Willamette Valley, from around Oregon, including eastern and central Oregon, and indeed, from around the country. I, myself, have floated this river, have fished this river, and appreciate its wild splendor, whether it's osprey fishing for trout themselves, or beaver and other animals swimming through the rivers. It's also true that in these very tough economic times the protection of special natural spaces like the Molalla supports Oregon's vibrant and crucial outdoor recreation industry, an industry which supplies 73,000 jobs and injects $5.8 billion into Oregon's economy each year. That is why this bill has the support of diverse community leaders and groups, not just environmental groups, not just recreation groups, but economic leaders and community leaders, elected and appointed. From cities to counties, neighborhood associations, to recreational groups, sportsmen groups to environmental organizations, we all appreciate the pragmatic protection of our rivers and natural areas in a comprehensive, inclusive and fair way. This bill will ensure that Oregonians will always be able to enjoy what the Molalla River has to offer. I want to commend my good friend and colleague from Oregon, Congressman Schrader, for bringing this important bill before this body. I thank him, and ask for everyone to support this legislation.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this legislation, which reauthorizes the AFG and SAFER grant programs. These important programs help keep firefighters and the public safe, and I want to commend Chairman Gordon's leadership in bringing this crucial legislation to the floor today, Mr. Mitchell's contributions to this legislation, Mr. Hoyer for his crucial role in bringing this legislation to the floor, and Mr. Pascrell for originating the legislation 9 years ago and carrying this bill for many years. Over the past 9 years, the AFG program has provided nearly $5 billion in competitive awards to help local fire departments purchase equipment, training and other crucial resources. This program has played a vital role in improving the readiness and capabilities of fire departments across the country. Despite the program's success so far, an alarming number of local fire departments remain without adequate training and equipment. The AFG program helps address crucial shortfalls, and this bill will further empower the Federal Government to assist local fire departments as they improve their capabilities. AFG also supports fire prevention and safety grants, which help provide smoke detectors, fire prevention education, and research to reduce the causes of fire and fire-related injury and death. Three thousand Americans die every year in fires. We have made progress, and I'm proud of the progress the Science and Technology Committee has made in advancing the goals of the FIRE grant program. This bill also reauthorizes the SAFER program, which provides funding to help fire departments maintain adequate staffing levels. Through the SAFER program, the Federal Government has provided nearly $700 million to local fire departments in the past 4 years, funding that is especially crucial during the current economic downturn. And I have to note that the changes in matching requirements are especially helpful in these hard economic times. At a time when many local governments are facing major budget shortfalls and cuts in services, Federal support to fire departments is crucial to public safety. It is particularly important in Oregon, where the unemployment rate is at about 11\1/2\ percent. The bill is an important step forward in our efforts to protect communities across the country and the firefighters who serve them. I'm particularly proud of my subcommittee's work on this very important piece of legislation. For more than 6 months it has worked with multiple fire service organizations to identify opportunities to improve the AFG and SAFER grant programs, culminating in hearings held earlier this year. In that context, I want to especially thank Meghan Housewright for her hard work in this field. The bill addresses the needs and priorities identified by fire service experts, and I'm grateful for the cooperation of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council and the National Fire Protection Association and the Congressional Fire Services Institute. Your ability to come together on this legislation made our job much, much easier. This bill improves both the SAFER and the AFG programs by ensuring that fire departments with the greatest need will be able to apply for funding. The bill also provides for an equitable balance in the distribution of grant funding, ensuring that funding will benefit communities, both large and small. I would like to thank the ranking member of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, Mr. Smith, for working closely with me. I would also like to thank the fire service organizations for their hard work in crafting this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of health insurance reform. In 20, 40, 60 years, this legislation will stand beside Social Security, the GI bill, and Medicare as a pillar of American health care and humane values. The bill creates a new health insurance exchange or marketplace to expand access and provide people with a menu of quality health insurance options so they can choose the plan that best meets their own needs. The bill would create affordability credits to ensure that all Americans have more affordable health care coverage. The bill will set a yearly limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses because no one should go broke because you get sick. In short, what health insurance reform means for Americans is more security and stability. Americans should not have to wait any longer for these reforms. We have been waiting since Theodore Roosevelt. We have been waiting since Franklin Roosevelt. We have been waiting since Harry Truman. We have been waiting since Lyndon Johnson. We have been waiting since Jimmy Carter. We have been waiting since Bill Clinton. It is time to stop the waiting and it is time to act.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, it is a tragedy when any child is killed. It is an abomination when the act of asking questions about one's child's death leads to harassment or persecution by one's own government. We all remember when a major earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China, on May 12, 2008. It was the most devastating natural disaster to hit China in over three decades. That day, I was the first personally to present condolences to the Chinese people for their grievous loss. Particularly heartbreaking were the stories of the children who were killed as their school buildings collapsed around them and the images of parents overwhelmed with grief. In the aftermath of the earthquake, these parents started questioning why school buildings collapsed at a much higher rate than other types of buildings. They allege that poor construction and corruption among local officials and builders contributed to the school building collapses. These allegations have been stonewalled or, worse, resulted in the harassment of the complainants. Chinese courts have refused to hear lawsuits brought by the parents. Local officials have even kept some complaining parents in arbitrary detention. As a parent myself, I find it a tragic failure of justice to have these grievances go unaddressed, especially if a society chooses to enforce a one-child policy. Two human rights activists from Sichuan's capital city of Chengdu attempted to stand up for these grieving parents and give voice to their concerns. Soon after the earthquake truck, Mr. Huang Qi posted articles on his Web site, the Tianwang Human Rights Center, about the parents' demands for an investigation into the school building collapses. Separately, in February of this year Mr. Tan Zuoren issued a proposal on the Internet calling for volunteers to travel to Sichuan to compile lists of students killed in the quake, to document the parents' treatment, and to conduct an investigation of school building construction. Mr. Tan's report criticized officials for failing to follow through on their commitments to fully investigate the role that inferior construction played in the school building collapses and for failure to deal with the parents' demands. For these actions, the local Chengdu municipal government charged both Mr. Huang and Mr. Tan with endangering national security. Mr. Huang was charged with illegally possessing state secrets, and Mr. Tan was also charged with inciting subversion of state power. After months of being held in prison, Mr. Huang for over a year, both of these men were put on trial in August of this year. There are allegations that both trials were fraught with numerous substantive and procedural violations. In the case of Mr. Tan, the parents of the earthquake victims said they were detained to prevent them from attending the trial. The court reportedly rejected requests from Mr. Tan's lawyers to call three witnesses, including the noted architectural designer, Ai Weiwei, who helped design the Beijing Olympics' Bird's Nest Stadium and who also was investigating student deaths in the Sichuan earthquake. According to Mr. Ai, police came to his hotel and used force to prevent him and 10 others from leaving the premises until after the trial ended. Mr. Huang's trial was allegedly fraught with similar violations, including the detention of a volunteer from the Tianwang Human Rights Center to prevent him from testifying on Mr. Huang's behalf. To date, judgments have not issued in either Mr. Huang's or Mr. Tan's trial. The trials have been suspended or held open. Both men continue to be held in prison. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to pass House Resolution 877 to express their support for Mr. Huang's and Mr. Tan's peaceful request for answers and justice on behalf of the parents whose children were killed in the Sichuan earthquake. This bipartisan resolution, with 176 cosponsors, calls on the Chinese government to adhere to its own constitutional guarantees, its own criminal procedure laws, and its own recently passed national human rights action plan to ensure that Mr. Huang and Mr. Tan and all Chinese citizens are accorded the right to free speech and the right to criticize and make suggestions to their government as guaranteed by their own Constitution. Mr. Speaker, no one who suffers the loss of a child deserves abandonment by or punishment from his or her own government. Support this resolution.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, reforming health care insurance is the focus of this Congress this fall. And what does health insurance reform mean for middle-income Americans? It means an insurance company can no longer decide to deny you coverage or jack up your rates because of a preexisting condition. It means it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick. It means that insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you have in a given year or in a lifetime. It means there will be a yearly limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses because no one should go broke if they get sick. What this means for middle-income Americans is they will no longer be ground between the roulette wheel of health or sickness and the machinations of the insurance industry. What health insurance means is that millions of Americans who are insured today will have more security and stability.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act. I.also want to thank my colleague from Oregon, Congressman Kurt Schrader, for bringing this important bill to the floor. H.R. 3854 will create incentives for small business lending, reduce bureaucracy, and increase the size of SBA loans in order to help loosen credit and get capital flowing again to small businesses. Furthermore, H.R. 3854 addresses an important issue tied to health care reform, the cost of health information technology for small practice providers. These provisions were part of Congresswoman Dahlkemper's Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act. This bill will streamline loan processing for health information technology by reducing paperwork for both the lender and applicant, and require a 72-hour response time by SBA on decisions to guaranty loans. Under the bill, health information technology loans will be guaranteed 90 percent by the SBA, a factor that will encourage robust lender participation in the program. Health IT has the potential to reduce costs and medical errors, while encouraging greater efficiency. It will be an essential component of our efforts to reform health care. However, to use health IT most effectively, we must first address three barriers to its widespread adoption: technical standards and interoperability, workforce training, and the realignment of financial incentives. This bill can help to address a part of the third, which involves the cost of implementation. I.have long believed that we should continue to look at ways that we can create more incentives for small practice doctors to adopt health information technology. It's important to note that 80 percent of all outpatient visits take place in practices with 10 or fewer doctors. It is essential that these practices receive the assistance they need in order to be able to implement health IT. The larger barrier to health IT adoption is that its associated costs and benefits are not realized equally between health care providers and payors. The financial benefit of health IT accrues to the payor--the insurer--while providers are the parties most likely to bear the cost. The challenges of implementing health IT vary greatly from large health systems to smaller medical practices. Small medical practices, which may have to incur initial costs of up to $200,000--around $40,000 per physician--for a system, may see little, if any, financial benefit from its applications. It's no wonder health IT has a deployment rate of less than 20 percent in these offices. I.have been working with the Education and Labor Committee and leadership to address this issue in health care reform moving forward. H.R. 3854 will provide financial assistance to these small practices, and I wholeheartedly support this legislation.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, this Congress is doing health insurance reform this fall. What does that mean for middle income Americans? It means an insurance company can no longer decide to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition, or jack up your rates because of preexisting conditions. It means it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you become sick. It means insurance companies will no longer be able to place an arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage that you receive. It means there will be a yearly limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses because no one should go bankrupt because they get sick. It means 35 to 40 million additional Americans will be covered with health insurance. That is virtually every legal resident of America. This set of health insurance reforms means that America will finally get the health care coverage that it deserves.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. I thank the gentlelady. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1929, as amended by the House. We have been working diligently on reauthorizing key programs of the SBA, including the Small Business Innovative Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer programs. While progress has been made, a temporary extension of SBA programs is necessary to provide more time for us to continue working and provide stability to the SBA. S. 1929, as passed by the Senate, would extend SBA programs through April 30, 2010. While I believe it is important to provide stability for SBA, 6 months is simply too long of a time to extend the programs because we need to keep our focus on a comprehensive reauthorization of SBIR and STTR. By extending the program for 6 months, we would delay this process. We would be putting off important work that needs to be done, such as permitting technology and venture capital participation in SBIR to a larger extent, changing grant sizes and other important things to turn the program into an innovation program as well as a small business program. S. 1929, as amended by the House, will provide a 3-month extension that will provide stability to the SBA but also ensure that we continue to work expeditiously to pass reauthorization bills for SBIR and STTR. I commend the chairwoman for her leadership on the Small Business Committee and working to keep small businesses in their important role as we work toward an economic recovery. Small business is the heart of our innovation economy, and we have to have the tools to keep them active and thriving in a 21st century economy.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Road-Map Act. I want to commend Chairman Gordon for his efforts to bring this bill to the floor, and Ms. Giffords for her continued leadership on solar technology. H.R. 3585 provides funding for solar technology research, development and demonstration activities. It also creates a committee to develop a road map that will assess the near-, mid- and long-term needs for solar research. This assessment will become the basis for future investments in solar energy by the Department of Energy. My district is a great example of the potential for solar energy. Not because of the amount of sun it receives, but because of the number of jobs it has created. Solar World, a solar panel manufacturer, has its U.S. headquarters located in Hillsboro, Oregon and employs 1,000 people building solar panels and produces enough PV panels to supply the entire North and South American markets. With our state's unemployment rate hovering above 11 percent, this company's investment in our state during these difficult times is welcome news. It is my hope that a continued investment in solar energy will result in thousands of more jobs in the coming years. We have been working to diversify our energy portfolio to create and develop renewable energy sources and reduce our dependence on foreign fossil fuels. This bill will create further research opportunities for solar technology and will create a plan that will guide our future investments in solar energy. This bill will help build upon the success of previous investments. It is about economic competitiveness and job creation as much as it is about clean renewable energy and less dependence on imported fuels. Again I thank Chairman Gordon and Ms. Giffords for their leadership.

Mr. WU

Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3614 and specifically those provisions which extend the SBIR and STTR programs. Small businesses grow our economy and they innovate. The SBIR and STTR programs help small companies develop cutting-edge technologies for the marketplace. However, these programs will expire at the end of this month, and H.R. 3614 temporarily extends the authorization of these programs while we work to finalize reauthorization efforts. Both the House and the Senate passed legislation earlier this year to reauthorize SBIR and STTR. We have been working to find those areas of common ground on areas where we disagree, and while we have yet to reach a final agreement, we all have the same goal: to reauthorize important programs which drive our economy and drive job creation. SBIR is a program for small business, and it is also an innovation program. It can and should serve both policy purposes. It should not be a stalking horse for Big Business nor should it become the preserve of only some small businesses while shutting out other small businesses who are frequently very good innovators in and of themselves. We need to find the common ground that serves these policy objectives and serve them well for the good of our Nation, our economy, and job creation. With that, I want to recognize the very good work of Chairwoman Velazquez in this arena.