Lynn Westmoreland

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2056) to instruct the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to study the impact of insured depository institution failures, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the bill before the House today is one that will provide much needed transparency to the FDIC process of examining and resolving banks. First, I would like to thank Chairman Bachus and Subcommittee Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Frank and Subcommittee Ranking Member Maloney for their support of H.R. 2056. I'd also like to thank my lead cosponsor, the gentleman from Georgia, my friend, Representative Scott, for his tireless support on this issue. As I have said many times before, there is no greater threat to our communities than bank failures, especially in my State of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a minute to highlight bank failures by the numbers in my State of Georgia: 319 is the total number of failures in the U.S. since 2008; 67 of those, that's the total number of Georgia bank failures since 2008; 16, this is the number of banks in Georgia that failed in 2011; 11 banks have failed in my congressional district. Mr. Speaker, I would like to get you to look at this chart, and you can see by this chart that these communities, these 10 States, have had the largest closing number. Their unemployment rate is some of the highest, the deficiency rates. And if you look at the percentages, if you look at Arizona, 30 percent of their banks have closed; Nevada, 41 percent of their banks have closed; and in my State of Georgia, 26 percent have closed. Sadly, there are some communities in my district that no longer are even served by a community bank. And I have often referenced these, the 10 over 10, and these are the 10 States that have had more than 10 bank failures since 2008. As you can see these unlucky States are Georgia, Florida, Illinois, California, Minnesota, Washington, Michigan, Nevada, Missouri, and Arizona. In fact, six of these 10 States have had more than 10 percent of their banks fail in the past 3 years. These States also share other commonalities. As I mentioned, each have a higher than average unemployment rate and serious delinquency rates as well as a high number of bank failures. While I hope no more States are added to this list, many States are not far off. Colorado has had nine failures, including one on Friday. Kansas and Oregon have had seven failures. Without a doubt, the FDIC is a wealth of information about the health of banks, if you have the time and resources to go through it. However, too much information without proper context can be detrimental. H.R. 2056 is designed to cut through all the information to analyze the underlying fundamentals that continue to cause bank failures across this country. The bill directs the FDIC Inspector General, in consultation with the Treasury and Federal Reserve IGs, to study FDIC policies and practices with regard to loss share agreements, the fair application of regulatory capital standards, appraisals, FDIC procedures for loan modifications, and the FDIC's handling of consent orders and cease and desist orders. Further, the GAO also has a study in the bill to pursue those questions the FDIC Inspector General is unable to fully explore, such as the causes of the high number of bank failures, procyclical impact of fair value accounting, analysis of the impact of failures on the community, and the overall effectiveness of loss share agreements for resolving banks. I have welcomed the input from the FDIC IG as well as witnesses from the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Independent Community Bankers Association, and the witnesses at the hearing 3 weeks ago. Overwhelmingly, these witnesses supported H.R. 2056. Likewise, the Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 2056 out of committee last week by voice vote. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Congress needs more information about the underlying causes of these bank failures. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, our hope is that this will shed some light on these bank failures. We hope it will also shed light on why so many business people have come to all of us in this body to find out why they cannot get loans to promote job growth, to help expand their businesses. We need those answers. We also need to make sure that this study will shed some light on what effects TARP and Loss-Share Agreements have had on our community banks. We also hope that it will shed light on why immediate write- downs are being demanded on our community banks when the loans are performing. People are paying their interest. They're meeting their renewal requirements, yet regulators are insisting that these loans be marked down. This has caused what I call a paper loss for a lot of these bankers that are then being made to ask to raise capital when they're under cease and desist orders. So all of this does not work together. And, in fact, a lot of things that we have done in this previous Congress has caused the snowball to roll faster downhill. I hope they'll look at the market to see what has happened and what is the effect of banks that have gotten TARP money and have come in and ``fire sold'' properties that have caused real property values to go down, not just for the banks, but for the people that have bought in there. We need to find out why Loss-Share Agreements promote not modifying loans, why they promote getting rid of some of these bad loans, why they promote a bank to be able to get rid of property when the government guarantees them 95 percent of their loss. What effect has that had on our community banks that didn't get the TARP, that have not been allowed to be in any of these Loss-Share Agreements? These are answers that we're looking for. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, as an elected Member of Congress, I have the honor to serve and represent the people of the Third District of Georgia through my voting record and through participation in the lawmaking process. Georgia's Spalding County sheriff, James ``Dee'' Stewart, represented his community through selfless service to his county, his deputies, and the thousands of citizens who elected him to four terms to be their protector. I come before the House today with a heavy heart to honor the nearly 40 years of law enforcement service that was brought to a premature end on July 3, when Sheriff Stewart was killed in an automobile accident while on his daily patrol. I hope that one day my staff and my friends will talk about me the same way Dee Stewart's coworkers and friends did at his funeral. He was the kind of man who always led from the front. Even though he was the head of the department, it would often be his voice that came across the radio responding to calls no matter what time of day or night. He would rather put his life on the line than let anyone else cover for him. A man who valued his duty more than his sleep, Sheriff Stewart readily gave his personal cell number to anyone and made sure that everyone knew that he was available to them 24/7. That set him apart and contributed to his reputation as a man who really cared about the people of Spalding County. Chief Deputy Major Teresa Bishop called Sheriff Stewart the ``greatest boss ever'' after 29 years of working together. He trusted his deputies to do their job and expected them to hold him accountable too. His humor made his employees look forward to each work day, but he took his responsibility very seriously, especially when it came to the safety of children and the elderly. Sheriff Stewart is remembered as having a huge heart, a heart as big as Spalding County. In a testament to the number of lives touched by Sheriff Stewart's service, his funeral procession took nearly 20 minutes to pass by. I stand here on behalf of his wife, Janice; his children, Jay, Hope, Joey and Darren; his 11 grandchildren; and everyone who knew James ``Dee'' Stewart as more than just a sheriff, but as a preacher, a marriage counselor, a friend, a father, and a husband. The Bible says: ``Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.'' Sheriff Stewart embodied that verse. Thank you for your service, Sheriff. The people of Spalding County lost a great man on July 3, but your memory will live on. Many others will be inspired by your example to live justly and with kindness. You will be missed. See you later, Dee.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I want to thank Pastor Dillard for coming today and leading us in prayer. I want everyone to know that he loves his country and he prays for each and every one of us every day, as well as the other leaders of this country. This is his fourth time to be here, only the first time as long as I have been in Congress; but his heart is to pray for each one of us and our leadership. If you ask in Peachtree City where Pastor Dillard is located, they will tell you the big church with the red roof. But it's a big church with a big heart. He leads three services a day, and you can't say that he doesn't have some type of service for you, because he has a traditional service, he has a more jazzed up service, and then he has a coffee house service where he sits around and talks to the members of his congregation about things that they face every day in life. So again I want to thank and recognize Pastor Dillard for coming and sharing with us today and for the heart that he has for his country and for each and every one of us.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I want to thank Chairwoman Biggert for her hard work on this bill and the ranking member, Mr. Gutierrez, and the gentlewoman from California, who is the overseer of this program. This amendment is a forward thinking amendment to put the flood insurance program on sound footing. Consider this amendment the national flood insurance emergency fund. Currently premiums come in, payments go out, but nothing is reserved for the events that no one can predict. Claims are paid with existing premiums and everyone crosses their fingers that nothing really bad happens. If incoming premiums are not enough, then the National Flood Insurance Program has no other option than to ask for a bailout. In fact, the NFIP program has carried debt in 18 of the past 30 years. Most interesting of all is that not all of these years saw catastrophic flooding. FEMA just didn't do a good job managing premiums and claims. It's clear that in good years and in bad the flood insurance program does not have a good grasp on how much they will pay out in claims. However, when catastrophic flooding does happen, the NFIP program is even less prepared for the claims. The year of 2005 was one of those years that nobody could predict. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma together cost $17 billion in losses for the National Flood Insurance Program. Six years later, including principal and interest, the NFIP debt is now $18 billion. Every year it seems like flooding impacts a wide swath of the United States, and 2011 has been no different. No one can predict the weather. What NFIP needs is the ability to save up to help smooth out those unpredictable years. If the program could stash money away in good times, it would have money to pay for the years when the estimates were incorrect. My amendment does just that. It establishes a reserve fund in NFIP. This is just common sense, so much so, NFIP is one of the few Federal funds that does not have a reserve fund. FHA has a 2 percent reserve requirement. The FDIC deposit insurance fund is required to have a 1.35 percent reserve ratio. Now I want to take a moment to address some of the possible concerns with the amendment. First, this amendment does not expand the NFIP to other catastrophic events, like earthquakes or tornados. This fund and the bill remains specific to flooding. Second, the administrator gets the funds from the existing premiums. The administrator and this amendment are bound to adhere to the parameters established in the underlying bill on premium rates and annual increases. Third, this amendment does not take away from debt repayment. Any premium collected would be spent to cover losses because the program is running up the deficit. This takes precedent. At some point in the future, the program might be able to collect enough to cover all costs and set aside a reserve. But given the magnitude of the current debt, this is not likely to occur in the short-term. Finally, this amendment does not stand in the way of reinsurance opportunity for the flood program. I support reinsurance for the flood program and firmly believe that both reinsurance and a reserve fund can coexist. In fact, many private insurers reserve for losses and purchase reinsurance. Private insurers will use reserve funds as a deductible for reinsurance coverage. However, I fundamentally believe that as long as taxpayers are involved, it's an ultimate backstop. This program needs a reserve. It is not responsible to tell taxpayers no more bailouts but offer no solution to the ongoing bailout of NFIP. If there is no reserve fund, there will be more bailouts. It is just a matter of when. Adopting this amendment would address a fundamental deficiency in the program that is ripe for bailouts. I urge adoption of the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Chairman, I respect the gentlewoman's opinion, and I know that she is very familiar with this program, but I don't think a reserve fund would cost anybody any additional money. It does not go up on premiums. The premium amount stays the same. This is a rainy day thing, excuse the pun, a fund that would be there. It would not even be started until this current $18 billion in debt is paid off. But we are fooling ourselves if we think that we can predict the weather, if we think we know when Katrina or Rita or Wilma is going to come. This fund would only be established after the debt is repaid, and so it's a very commonsense measure to have this reserve fund, as many other government agencies do. With that, I would ask for a ``yes'' vote. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this morning with sadness but with great pride to honor one of Georgia's proud sons who gave his life, the ultimate sacrifice, on March 29 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, in support of operation Enduring Freedom. Private Jeremy Faulkner was a man known for having a huge heart and always sticking up for the underdog. Jeremy grew up in Stockbridge, Georgia, and joined the Army after attending Griffin High School. This is a time in life when many young men struggle with their future, but Private Faulkner answered the call and chose a life of service in the United States Army to make a difference in the world and to keep our Nation safe. He gave up his red Dodge Ram for a new kind of vehicle with the U.S. Army 101st Airborne and learned a whole new meaning of the word ``mudding'' at basic training. Private Faulkner had already earned a combat ribbon, was an expert marksman, and had discussed with his mother, Judy, the possibility of making a career out of military service. Private Faulkner was in his 11th month of deployment and days away from promotion to Private First Class when his unit was ambushed. Just a few short weeks before his anticipated return home, he had expressed a desire to join the Wings in the Wind Christian ministry upon his return as a way to share his testament from the seat of a motorcycle. In perhaps a prophetic phone call to his stepfather, Private Faulkner mentioned to his stepfather, Tony Berry, his request that if anything should happen to him that the Wings in the Wind and Patriot Guard Riders would be present at his procession. No one expected just how soon that procession would be needed. Through three counties, crowds of strangers lined the streets escorting Private Faulkner home as a testament to the community's support of Jeremy and his family. As Jeremy requested, the Wings in the Wind and Patriot Guard Riders roared to accompany dozens of police and fire department vehicles in an inspiring procession fit for such a young hero. As former Rhodes scholar Elmer Davis put it so simply, ``The Nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.'' Our Nation owes Private Jeremy Faulkner a debt of gratitude for his bravery, and I am proud to stand here and thank him for sacrificing his life for strangers like me and my family as well as the rest of the United States of America. So to Jeremy's family and especially to Jeremy, thank you.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. I cannot stress enough the importance of passing this FY 2011 Intelligence authorization bill. This legislation will not only ensure that our intelligence agencies are sufficiently funded to carry out their functions, but it will hold them fiscally accountable. It has been 6 years since Congress has passed a complete Intelligence authorization bill. In years past, we have simply continued to ``deem'' funding for our intelligence programs to be authorized through other appropriations bills. Well, our law expressly requires that we explicitly authorize intelligence funding, and that is what we need to do here. We need to start passing an authorization bill each year in order to maintain the success of our intelligence communities and spell out exactly what will be provided. I want to commend Ranking Member Ruppersberger and Chairman Rogers for their work in working together to make sure that this is made possible. The significance of our country's intelligence cannot be overstated. The killing of Osama bin Laden is a direct example of the meaningful work that these agencies perform in order to protect us. We must continue to provide these men and women with the resources and capabilities that they need and not just place obstacles in their way but give them the resources that will make their job easier and more efficient. This authorization bill provides a detailed blueprint of necessary budget needs for the 17 separate agencies that it covers. It funds both military and civilian members of our intelligence community and directly supports those involved in dangerous operations at home and abroad. They are the very operations that are countering global terrorism and monitoring foreign militaries. These are the operations that make sure America stays on the cutting edge of intelligence technology to be able to detect and thwart threats before they become imminent. These are the people we must ensure are adequately funded. I ask all my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House this morning with great sorrow but also with great honor to celebrate the life of Lance Corporal Raymon Johnson, who answered his Nation's call of duty in 2007 after graduating from Shaw High School in 2006. On October 13, 2010, he made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country and protecting his country and fellow servicemen abroad. He was killed while conducting combat operations in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Lance Corporal Johnson was deployed to Afghanistan as part of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He leaves behind his mother, Gwendolyn; his father, Gregory; a sister, LaQuita; and a brother, Ramon, who serves in the Georgia National Guard. He also leaves behind a nephew, Andre. Raymon desired to become a United States Marine from an early age. Family members recall Raymon spending hours playing military video games and watching the military channel when he was a teenager. Raymon began training to enter the service even before he graduated from high school, and he passed up recruitment offers from the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force to join the Marines. Many family members were apprehensive about Raymon joining the Marines, but he felt it was his duty to serve. He told his family: Don't try to worry about me much, I'm glad I'm doing what I always wanted to do. Friends and family members who recalled Raymon remember a young man who was not only driven to serve his country, but also someone who was caring, compassionate, and filled with integrity. At his funeral, a teary-eyed Ramon Johnson, his twin brother, remembered the good times he and his brother had baking cakes with their grandmother. His uncle, a reverend and former Marine, said Raymon wanted to fight for a cause. Like all men and women in the armed services, Lance Corporal Johnson wanted to serve his country bravely, and he did. He took satisfaction in his job every day because he knew his work touched so many millions of people. He was encouraged every day because he truly felt the Afghani people appreciated what the U.S. military is doing. He desired to build a school for the Afghani children once the Taliban had been driven out. No words can express the loss of Lance Corporal Johnson's family and how they feel. And I'm proud to salute such a fine young son, brother, uncle, and friend. The young men and women of our armed services continue to make great sacrifices every day for the Nation that they love and a Nation that will never forget to remember the debt that they have paid. Thank you, Raymon Johnson.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, in October of 1890, four women, linked by their common lineage to heroes in the American Revolution, joined 18 others to organize the Daughters of the American Revolution. These founders began a campaign to serve the country through the preservation of American history. Since its founding, the Daughters of the American Revolution has expanded to nearly 3,000 chapters and over 850,000 members around the world. In the middle of an era ripe with inequality for women, this organization flourished on a strong foundation of pride for the men and women who fought to gain American independence. Theirs is a rich history, filled with patriotism, self-sacrifice, and a dedication to education. For decades, the Daughters of the American Revolution has sponsored scholarships and supported schools for the underprivileged. Their support has aided construction and the preservation of dozens of now historic locations around the country. Their scholarships have provided thousands with the opportunity to attend institutes of higher education. Their outreach programs recognize and encourage service to their country and to their communities; and on March 15, the John Houstoun chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution will observe its 100th anniversary in the city of Thomaston, Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor today to celebrate, with the Houstoun chapter, 100 years of service to the great State of Georgia. For a group devoted to the promotion of American history, it is with great pleasure that I am able to honor the years of education, historic preservation, patriotism, and service that the Daughters of the American Revolution has selflessly given to this great country. They trace their heritage back to the very men and women who fought for American independence from British tyranny. Each member must prove blood relation to a Revolution Patriot, and throughout the years, a vast collection of family histories has been compiled and preserved for our children and our grandchildren to appreciate. With the motto ``God, home, and country,'' this nonprofit and nonpolitically aligned organization has positively impacted hundreds of thousands of lives. I am very proud to represent several National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution chapters in the Third Congressional District of Georgia. I know Thomaston, Georgia, is especially grateful for the Houstoun chapter's presence in their community, and so am I.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I want to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Michigan, for allowing me to speak on the extension of this critical bill to our national security. Mr. Speaker, the tragedy of September 11 cast a bright light on our woefully out-of-date intelligence laws. While many of our domestic crime-fighting laws have been made to adapt to social changes and new technology, our intelligence laws sit on the bookshelf gathering dust for decades. For that reason, I rise today in support of H.R. 514, which will extend three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act through December 8, 2011. I know I have heard some complaints about civil liberties, but the provisions in the short-term extension are the same tools that have been used by U.S. officials for investigating child molesters, murderers, drug dealers and other organized crime figures for decades. All this bill does is extend these same tools to intelligence agencies fighting terrorism. I strongly urge my colleagues to consider that this is a short-term extension to give the Intelligence Committee an opportunity to work on these so that we can get a broad agreement on it. It gives the gentleman from Michigan and the gentleman from Maryland an opportunity to work together, and for all of us to work in a way that will provide the security that all of us want for this Nation and still allow us to have all the personal freedoms that we enjoy. So I would invite and encourage all my friends to vote ``yes'' for this simple extension until December to give us time to do what this country desperately needs for us to do.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. ``And to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.''

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness that I come before the U.S. House of Representatives tonight to celebrate the life of Private First Class Austin G. Staggs. PFC Staggs answered his nation's call of duty in 2009 after graduating from North Hills Private School in Millsap, Texas near his hometown of Weatherford, Texas. On November 29, 2010 Austin made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country and fellow servicemen in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Private First Class Staggs was deployed to Afghanistan as part of 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He left behind his mother and father, two brothers, two sisters, his wife Sheena Staggs and his son Kallen Staggs. His father Byram Staggs of Senoia, Georgia recalls how adamant he had been about joining the U.S. Army. It had always been his dream he says. His family also recalled a loving young man who was adored by his siblings. His father said, ``He was the most big-hearted kid you've ever met.'' His stepmother Kelly smiles when she talks about his Skype video calls to their house from Afghanistan. She said he was adored by his nieces and nephews so much that they would push each other out of the way to see him when he called. PFC Staggs' mother, Kaye missed his last call during the Thanksgiving holidays, but his grandmother said she saved his last voicemail so that she can listen to him say ``I love you'' any time she wants. Like any soldier PFC Staggs received great satisfaction from the job that he and all fellow U.S. servicemen were doing in Afghanistan. He served his country bravely and took pride in the fact that the work he was doing everyday was touching millions of lives both at home and abroad. It pains me that fine young men such as PFC Staggs have been killed protecting the freedom of this great country. I know that no words can lessen the sorrow that Austin's family feels, but I am proud to salute such a fine son, brother, husband and father.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I want to thank my friend from Texas and also my friend from Kentucky for introducing the REINS Act, and especially the gentleman from Texas for your work in this body late at night like this, talking about things that we need to do and what the public expects us to do as far as ethics and as far as reining in some of the government that we have. You know, I think what a lot of people don't understand is that this new TSA ruling, this is something that did not come out of Congress.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Now he's making sausage for the State of Texas.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. This came out of the Department of Homeland Security making their own rules. The ObamaCare bill that was passed out of here, I believe there are 111 agencies, boards and commissions that are to be formed by that bill. Each one of those will write their own rules and regs. For CBO or anybody else to try to tell us how much money this is going to cost, it is impossible because we don't know what type of rules and regs these agencies, boards and commissions are going to come up with. We had a hearing in the Small Business Committee, and we had somebody there from the GAO. We asked them: When these agencies get this legislation, do they ever go back and talk to the Member that offered the legislation or the committee that it came back through? No, not that we know of. It is not a rule. It is not a practice. So while this body might pass something with a certain legislative intent, by the time it gets to that agency, they write rules and regs that go way beyond where this body wanted it to go perhaps, or maybe not as far as they wanted it to go. As the gentleman from Kentucky mentioned with the water bill, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, it has gone way beyond what the intention of this body was with the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife and the other agencies that got hold of that bill. The REINS Act talks about the Portland cement, the new regulations that the EPA is trying to put on that. A lot of people don't know this, but if you live on a dirt road with the new dust requirements that the EPA may come out with, you are not going to be able to drive down that dirt road and create dust. Well, I live on a dirt road and I am going to tell you, I don't know how to keep it from having dust unless you have a rainstorm, and then you are going to get mud.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. That's right. And we have people come up to us all of the time and say, you know, why did you all pass this law that says, you know, that you can't have dust or you can't have spray that blows if you are spraying your pastures or your fields or your bushes. You go, you know, that wasn't in the law. That is not something that we had; that's something that the EPA did or that is something that the IRS did or that's something that Homeland Security did on their own. And so I just think this is a great piece of legislation. I appreciate you opening up the debate to it.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I wanted to go back to the cement.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Being an old builder that really spent my whole life in construction, there is a byproduct that comes from power plants that's called fly ash. Fly ash is a byproduct that comes out of the coal-burning plants and it is used in concrete. It keeps it from setting up so rapidly to allow the people to work with it, to get a good finish on it. It takes it longer to set up. In the winter, you can either put calcium in the concrete to make it dry harder--or to at least make it dry if it's cold outside--or you can leave the fly ash out of it and use a bag mix, which makes the concrete more expensive. The EPA came out with a rule--or they are looking at a rule that would make this fly ash a toxin. And so the cement industry, the concrete industry went to them and said, look, we are mixing this stuff with concrete. Once the concrete is poured, it's encased, it's part of the mix, it's concrete. So the EPA said, yeah, that makes sense, it's not there. But we are still having hearings--or at least from people that are trying to help with the rulemaking--about burying this because right now a lot of that fly ash or the stuff that has been taken out of the TVA where those power plants ran have been taken to Alabama and put in the ground and other sites, and they are trying to make a rule to make that a toxic material. Well, the concrete industry thought they had it all settled until the EPA came back and said, you know what? I wonder if you recycle that concrete--because right now everything is being recycled, I mean, we recycle asphalt, we recycle concrete, we even recycle dirt, we clean the dirt--and so they said if you recycle this concrete, then it's going to put the fly ash back in the air. So what are you going to do with it? I mean, are you going to just bury it all now and put it in the ground or are you going to use it in concrete? And if you recycle it, you are actually putting it to better use because you're putting it back in concrete. And so this is just another part of those stupid regulations. I come from the construction business, and I know that we, as the new majority that comes in in January, are going to do everything we can do to create jobs and we are going to work hard at it, but until we get the construction industry back on its feet, this economy is going to be very slow to turn around. We have got to put the building industry back on its feet. And doing things that the EPA is doing right now--and not only the EPA, but the Department of Labor with the new OSHA rules that are coming out, it is just all different types of things that are slowing down that building industry and slowing down our productivity that we have. Until that gets fixed, this economy is not going to recover like it can. So I just hope that we can get something done about this where these rules and these regs have to come back in front of us. Let us have hearings on them. At least let us give them an idea of what the legislative intent was and also allow us to look at what these are and to vote on them because if we're going to get blamed for it, like you said, we might as well at least have a vote on it. But when the EPA itself says that these regulations could cost the cement industry $340 million a year and decrease the production in this country by 10 percent, in 2007 I guess it was, or whenever we had Katrina, we had a shortage of concrete, we had a shortage of cement. We actually couldn't import, there was a large import fee on it. We reduced that and started importing cement from Mexico just to make up for the difference because we had a shortage. And now, if they continue with the regulations they're continuing with, in 5 years we wouldn't have any more domestic cement, it would all be coming from foreign countries. And what does that do? They produce it without the same environmental regulations that we have. So the EPA is just defeating its purpose of trying to clean the air up when we're having to import all of our cement. The gentleman from Texas knows, we put our steel mills out of business, it cost thousands and thousands of jobs and money. If we put ourselves out of business in the cement industry, we are going to be totally reliant on our steel and our cement, two of the biggest components that we use in the construction of all of our facilities today.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, Lance Corporal Christopher Blake Rodgers answered his nation's call of duty by joining the Marines in 2008 after graduating from Spalding County High School; on September 1, 2010 he made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country and fellow servicemen abroad. He was killed while conducting combat operations in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Lovingly known as Blake to his family and friends. Lance Corporal Rodgers was a man ready to serve his country since the tender age of eleven years old. Like many Americans, Blake watched in horror on September 11th as our nation faced one of the most tragic days in its history. It was on that day that he told his parents that he wanted to help those people who tragically lost their lives; that he wanted to serve his country, that that he wanted to become a Marine. Blake always impressed his superiors in all of his endeavors. In high school he was a member of the JROTC program, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. Under his leadership his company won the year's Best Marching Company award. His JROTC service in high school only furthered his resolve to join the Marines upon graduation. After Marine boot camp and advanced infantry training Blake was assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he was assigned as a rifleman and member of First Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. His unit was away from North Carolina for the bulk of late 2009 and early 2010, on training missions and pre-deployment work-ups designed to prepare them for the war they would soon be fighting. He deployed to Afghanistan in March 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His first and only combat tour ended September 1, 2010. Two weeks ago Lance Corporal Rodgers came home to Georgia for the final time. There he was met in the small community of Griffin, Georgia with a procession of people who had come to welcome their local hero home. He was laid to rest on September 11th, a somberly fitting tribute to a man for whom the date had overwhelming significance. Lance Corporal Rodgers was a true hero and I ask that you join me today in saluting one of America's bravest. I honor Lance Corporal Rodger's life and mourn deeply for his family's loss.