Peter Welch

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Peterson and Ranking Member Goodlatte for establishing in the bill the Federal Milk Marketing Order Commission. It's my hope that the commission will go a long way in fixing many of the problems inherent in the current system, and it will lead, hopefully, to a more stable price for milk. The milk marketing orders, like many of the agricultural pricing programs, almost dates back to the New Deal. The intent is to provide a lifeline, not a lifestyle, and a safety net, not really a subsidy. But one of the problems with the system is it does not take adequately into account the cost of production. In Vermont, in the last year, in the world of dairy, we had the perfect storm: high grain prices, high fuel costs, terribly bad weather, and very low milk prices. The purpose of this commission is to allow it, this amendment, to allow the commission to take into account the cost of production. We must be sure that if dairy farmers, like other members of the agriculture community, are going to be able to pay their bills, the cost of production must be reflected in the pricing program.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. I yield, yes.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of myself and my cosponsor, my friend, Mr. Arcuri from New York, we accept the gracious offer of the chairman. Mr. Chairman, at this time we would move to withdraw our amendment.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for his leadership on the Rules Committee and leadership on the Agriculture Committee in helping us work through this. I want to also thank the extraordinary generosity, personal and political, with his time, Mr. Peterson, who was extremely responsive to all the concerns of the Members, and Mr. Goodlatte for his excellent work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I support this rule. First of all, two things: One, this bill is a departure from the past farm bills, and I will just give a few straight-out facts. One, commodity programs have been cut 43 percent compared to what they were in the 2002 farm bill. Two, conservation spending has been increased 32 percent. Three, nutrition has been increased 46 percent. So there is a clear change in emphasis. Second, there is in this rule 33 amendments that have been allowed to be in order, including amendments that will allow this Congress to take further action, if it so chooses, on commodity reform. And that is done with the consent and the approval of the Chair of the Agriculture Committee. So, Mr. Speaker, this bill clearly reflects the necessity for reform and balance in the farm bill. And, number two, the rule clearly allows this body to have this as a first step and to consider more dramatic reform. Finally, I want to address the MILC program, or the milk program, that is of particular concern to dairy farmers in Vermont. Our farmers in Vermont are hanging on by their fingernails. A year ago when milk prices were at record lows, they also experienced horrible weather, high energy prices, high grain prices, and the folks who hung on did so against extraordinary odds. And how they did that I will never know. But I can tell you this, and I believe what is true for us in Vermont is true for every State across this Nation: Local agriculture not only is essential to our economy, but it is essential to our environment. It is essential to our definition of who we are. And what we must do in this bill that Mr. Peterson in the committee and Mr. Goodlatte in his work begin to do is put an emphasis on local agriculture. Is it a beginning? It is just the beginning because we have to do more in the commodity program, in all of the farm policies that recognize that it is our family farmers who should be the intended folks that we are trying to help. We, in this farm bill, by preserving the MILC program, are at least providing to the hardest-working family farmers a lifeline when, through forces that are completely beyond their control, they need some assistance to stay in business. And, Mr. Speaker, that is an important component of this bill, and I thank the Chair for including it.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New York, my colleague from Washington, and colleagues on the Rules Committee. Today, as you know, the House takes up the 10th of 12 appropriation measures, and this bill is all about continuing to make progress in America, in this Congress, in changing our domestic priorities. There are two points about this bill I want to address: first, law enforcement; second, science. Law enforcement in our communities is the front line of protecting our communities. It is best done locally. This legislation, bipartisan, by the way, reverses 5 years of cuts to local law enforcement grants at a time when we need it. Violent crime, unfortunately, is on the rise. This funds our local law enforcement communities to do the job of building and maintaining safe communities. It does soundly reject the administration's proposed cuts to undo funding formulas that have been particularly helpful with the small State minimum. The bill heavily invests in the safety and well-being of Americans, providing a total of $3.2 billion for State and local law enforcement efforts. $430 million will go to the Office on Violence Against Women. And, as you know, that strives to reduce the prevalence of violence committed against women. $100 million goes for the Cops on the Beat program, something that has been a major bipartisan success over the years. The second issue is science. I want specifically to applaud the subcommittee for its support of the sciences and the emerging multidisciplinary field of service science. That combines disciplines like computer science, operations research, industrial engineering, business strategy, and management sciences to meet the 21st century needs of the workforce. The National Science Foundation should review what is currently being done in the area of service science and explore what more can be done. The work of the NSF and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, is critical to fostering greater U.S. innovation and competitiveness in science, technology, engineering, and math. The investment in these agencies is an investment in that education and the development of the crucial multidisciplinary skills that are required to maintain our workforce and compete in the world economy. As much more of our economy is service-based, we must ensure that our science agencies are focused on both research and education that promote innovation in service sectors such as education, health care, energy, telecommunications, and finance. The growing service sector in my State of Vermont is probably typical. It provides some of our best- paying jobs, nearly 80 percent of our employment. Last year we exported more than a half billion dollars in services, and 8,000 Vermonters were employed because of foreign investment in that sector. This bill's investment in service-related research and STEM education through the NSF and NIST will foster innovation.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials into the Record.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, today, the House will take up the ninth of 12 appropriation measures where we will continue the effort to take America in a new direction, where we focus on priorities of concern to average Americans throughout this country. Through these bills, the new Congress is restoring our focus on a domestic agenda that helps all Americans, not just the wealthy few and not just the well-connected corporations. We will make sure, as we have, that our veterans have the care they need. We'll reverse neglect in environmental protection that's been abandoned, been neglected for the past several years, and we'll fund housing programs for low- and moderate-income Americans. We will provide resources to ensure that children arrive at school ready to learn and have the health care that they need, and we will make certain that our law enforcement officials have the tools that they need to protect our citizens. Madam Speaker, House Resolution 558 provides for consideration of H.R. 3074, the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act for 2008. This will be done under an open rule. This is a bipartisan bill that was presented before the Rules Committee by Chairman Olver and Ranking Member Knollenberg. It was a pleasure, frankly, to see the cooperation of these two gentlemen and the members of that committee coming together to present to the House for its consideration a very impressive plan to meet our infrastructure and housing needs in the future. As you know, demographic changes and growth patterns in the United States over the next decade will continue to have a major impact on transportation networks and the need for affordable housing. This bill seeks to ensure that our Nation's transportation system is safe and efficient and that our citizens have access to safe and affordable housing. The bill does so in a way that strengthens the economy and is environmentally and fiscally responsible. The bill safeguards the regional needs of our Nation by rejecting administration proposed cuts that provide air service to rural communities, and it invests in transit projects for our urban areas that will help our commuters save time and money getting to work. The bill also rejects administration cuts to Amtrak, protects national rail service, and fully funds the highway and transit guarantees set forth in the SAFETEA-LU authorization bill. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recognized the need to support rural airports, something very important to people like me from a rural State like Vermont. Investments in airports, like the Rutland State Airport in Vermont, are critical to rural States and an effective transportation system. The bill includes $110 million for essential air service to continue service to small and/or rural communities as well as $10 million for the Small Community Air Service Development Program that will continue the Department of Transportation grant program to help our small communities to attract commercial air services. Among other things, the committee also includes $75 million for the FTA's Clean Fuels Grant program, $26 million above 2007 for clean fuel bus technology. Public transportation companies like the Chittenden County Transportation Authority in Vermont are taking responsibility for their fleet's emissions by making investments in new, fuel- efficient, low-carbon-emitting buses; and this legislation supports those efforts. In housing, the bill rejects a $2 billion cut proposed by the administration to eliminate housing programs for the poorest citizens in this country and, instead, aims to make sure that all Americans have adequate shelter. The proposed cuts that this bill would reject include deep cuts to HUD, Community Development Block Grants and programs that provide housing for the elderly and disabled. Funding is included so that anyone with a voucher will not lose it. The President's proposed cuts come at a time when fully three-quarters of households that are actually eligible for HUD assistance are not receiving that assistance. And more than 1 million low-income households across New England, including elderly, disabled and families, live in federally assisted housing. Most of these households have annual incomes of less than $8,000, and they're obviously at serious risk of homelessness. Even larger numbers of households are struggling to survive in a private housing market and are paying more than 50 percent of their income for rent. The Community Development Block Grant is a valuable resource for cities and States struggling to ensure opportunities for residents to live in safe and affordable communities. It's a tool that helps our local officials do, locally, something that builds up their communities. This program has funded projects that improve the quality of life across the country, including infrastructure improvement and economic development. In 2007, again using Vermont as an example, we received $8.4 million in CDBG funds. This bill provides $4 billion for CDBG grants across the country. That's $228 million above the 2007 appropriation. The need to recommit to housing and transportation priorities is necessary in every State in the country. It's a priority we must address head on in this body. This bill takes a big step in the right direction. I also commend the committee for including very strong language requiring HUD to incorporate strong green building and rehabilitation standards into its housing program, particularly focusing on improved energy efficiency, good for the environment, a pretty quick payoff and good for keeping costs down. While green building is relatively new, it's clearly vital to our Nation's homes and buildings, and to our country, that those homes and buildings become more environmentally friendly. Finally, this bill also reinforces the link between housing and transportation. It establishes a new interagency working group to coordinate transportation and housing policies on the Federal, State and local level. I again applaud Chairman Olver and Ranking Member Knollenberg for their hard and cooperative work in crafting this excellent bill, and thank them and their staffs for their attention to the needs of the people of Vermont and all States in this country. I will be urging all of my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, to respond to a couple of comments that my friend from Texas said, this bill complies with PAYGO. It absolutely meets the commitment that this Congress made to pay the bills that go along with the legislation we propose. It is a commitment to fiscal responsibility. The past Congresses, as is well known and is just factually beyond dispute, abandoned PAYGO, and it has resulted in the largest deficit of this country. That's number one. Number two, there really is a bipartisan desire to keep taxes as low as possible and spending as low as possible, but this bill also reflects a bipartisan commitment to build our infrastructure, to provide our citizens with the transportation that they need and the housing that we need. It was passed on a very strong voice vote, bipartisan work by this committee. Madam Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished Chair of the subcommittee, Mr. Olver from Massachusetts.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Arcuri).

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I'm the last speaker on this side. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I have a newfound respect for the Chair of this committee and the ranking member, Mr. Olver and Mr. Knollenberg. They have an incredibly difficult job, and that is to take the responsibility that this House of Representatives has, Democrats and Republicans, to put together a transportation infrastructure program and a housing program, and to do that when they have 435 Members of Congress tugging on their arms every day asking them to include projects in their districts because the Members from those districts sincerely believe that those are essential to the economic development and the transportation needs and the housing needs of the people who live there. And they managed to do it. They came in, treated every Member of this body with enormous courtesy and patience, listened to what our requests were, and then put together a bill that was bipartisan. It was quite extraordinary. And it was a pleasure to be a member of the Rules Committee and to see these two gentlemen come up and be mutually complimentary after a hard process of allocating $50 billion of taxpayer money for infrastructure and housing improvement in this country. They are to be commended for that. We then come down to the floor and we get into the back and forth about specific projects and try to pick and cherry pick examples of what is bad when it was the recommendation of the chairman of the committee that this be an open rule; so anybody who has got a problem with any particular project is going to have an opportunity to offer amendment to strike that project and make whatever arguments they want. This issue of how we restore the transportation infrastructure of our country is vital. The fact is we spend too little, not too much, and it is the funding issue that is a challenge in every Congress. But our infrastructure compared to many of the countries with which we compete economically is woefully behind what the economy of our country needs and the citizens of our country deserve. I applaud the work of this subcommittee, bipartisan work. And why it is that we have to beat up on the work of the committee by claiming it is partisan, Democrat and Republican, really escapes me. There is nothing partisan about meeting the infrastructure needs of our country. There may be fierce debates about the best way to do it, which projects should get funding, how much you allocate towards the air system versus rail; but the fact is we have got an obligation to improve a crumbling infrastructure in this country, and the bill that has been presented to this Congress on a bipartisan basis, under the leadership of Mr. Olver and Mr. Knollenberg, takes us a solid step forward. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule so that the House can consider H.R. 3074.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining?

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 558 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. For the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the ordering of the yeas and nays be vacated with respect to the motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 535 to the end that the Chair put the question de novo.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Chairman, I speak to paragraph 1 of the amendment. This is another proposed CMS rule. Bottom line is this: Our American hospitals and health care delivery system has to provide health care to our citizens. CMS plays a major role in helping us to do that and to contain costs. But CMS, the government representative, has to be a partner of our deliverers, the hospitals, not an adversary. And that requires that they give more than 2 months notice, they give a heads up to the hospitals when they're going to change a rule that has the direct and immediate impact of changing revenue streams for our hospitals. This amendment, paragraph 1, like paragraph 2, simply delays the implementation so that there will be a heads up, a time to respond, a time to study it and a time to implement it.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. I thank the gentlewoman from California. Mr. Speaker, this Congress faces the challenge of acting on the direction of the American people, as expressed in the vote of November 2006, and that is to change the direction of this country and to restore a domestic agenda that serves all Americans. We began, and again on a bipartisan basis, with 100 hours, raising the minimum wage, reversing wasteful subsidies to the big oil companies, and instead funding renewable energy, requiring price negotiations so our taxpayers didn't get ripped off in prescription drug prices, making college more affordable. These measures are a down payment, but just a beginning. Today, the House takes up the eighth of 12 appropriation bills. This bill, under the leadership of Mr. Obey, more than anything else, is going to put a stamp on a new direction that this Congress is moving in. It's a direction that says all Americans have to be included, not just the wealthy, not just those who can afford corporate lobbyists. All Americans have a right to affordable education, to quality health care, to safe working conditions and to a financially secure retirement. Getting from here to there is a challenge, but this is the road that this bill takes us on. Let me mention just four different areas. First, the legislation restores $7.6 billion in funding to vital programs that have been cut by the administration. At the same time, it saves $1.1 billion from lower priority programs. There is a commitment here to fiscal responsibility. We must invest in America's future generations, and the bill does that. Second, again, I will just mention a few things that are important to us in Vermont. We have had unfunded mandates. Special Ed, No Child Left Behind are the poster childs of that. This bill increases funding for No Child Left Behind by $8.6 billion over fiscal year 2007. This bill invests in vital rural health care programs, something that we in Vermont are very familiar with, by increasing funding by $307 million. That provides real services to real people with real health care problems. This bill increases funding for the vital Low Income Heating Assistance Program. That was cut in the administration proposal by $379 million, or 17.5 percent, below last year's level. That's simply not sustainable. That's going to inflict real harm on people who have no ability to control the price of home heating oil. This bill is taking us further on the road of having a Congress who is committed to the needs of all Americans.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I support the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act providing our first responders with a right that they deserve which has long been withheld, the right of collective bargaining. Many Americans have this right, and our first responders should not be left out. In professions where working together can mean and does mean the difference between life and death for workers and citizens in our communities, cooperation in a healthy working environment is critical. In my home State of Vermont, first responders have the right of collective bargaining. We are very proud of them. That right should be extended to their colleagues across the Nation. Last fall I had an opportunity to participate in firefighting training at the Vermont Fire Academy in Pittsford, Vermont. I suited up in jackets, pants, and oxygen mask. And you know what I learned, the work they do is hard. The work they do is dangerous. We must make certain that they feel fully entitled to represent themselves at the bargaining table for safe and decent conditions. Representative Kildee and Representative Duncan, thank you for your leadership in this overdue legislation.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman).

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. Mr. Speaker, I vigorously opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and now, well into its fifth year, the need for a new policy has never been clearer. The toll of this war has been devastating: more than 3,600 of our most courageous men and women killed, tens of thousands seriously wounded; the toll on civilians much higher still. And while we struggle to fund domestic priorities in Vermont, in all our States across this Nation, health care, a crumbling infrastructure, transportation, the cost of education, we now spend $12 billion every single month on this war. From last November's elections, to public opinion polls, to the comments I hear from Vermonters every single day, the voice of the American people is loud and it is clear: we must end this war. And since the President refuses, absolutely refuses, to act, Congress must. Since the President refuses, Congress must make it clear that the United States will not maintain permanent military bases in Iraq. Since the President refuses, Congress must denounce the use of torture. It must finally close Guantanamo Bay. And since the President refuses, Congress must bring our troops home and ensure they receive the care they deserve when they return. Mr. Speaker, 7 months ago, under the leadership of the previous Congress, a bill like this never would have been allowed to come to the floor. Now, 7 months later, today, there is an emerging bipartisan consensus that the President must be forced to change his course. By passing this bill today, Congress will demonstrate with the force of law what the American people well know: it is time to end the war in Iraq. I cosponsored and voted in favor of legislation offered by my colleague Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts that called for redeployment of our troops from Iraq within 6 months. I voted against additional funds for the war without a timeline. And I cosponsored legislation that would close Guantanamo Bay, outlaw torture, defend the right of habeas corpus, and prohibit the establishment of permanent military bases. At the end of the day, Americans know that no action in the House of Representatives is not enough until all of our troops are returned home. This bill provides a starting point for progress towards realizing that goal. Until our troops are home, I will not stop, and Congress must not stop in its efforts to compel the President to end this war.

Mr. WELCH of Vermont

Mr. WELCH of Vermont. I thank the gentleman from Florida and for his ringing endorsement of public spending for public projects. Two things: first, Democrats readopted in this Congress the principle of pay-as-you-go, acknowledging that we have to pay our bills, and that good intentions are not enough to balance the budget. We will do that as we did before. But in this bill we are proposing to spend 7.5 percent more than the President asked for. And the reason? That spending is necessary and required if we're going to protect the rivers, the waterways, the air and the land of this great country. Second, the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt is alive and well in this bipartisan bill by Mr. Dicks and by Mr. Tiahrt. We are getting back into protecting the America that we are responsible to hand down to the future. This bill, a bipartisan bill, appropriates $266 million for climate change research across all Federal agencies. This bill creates a commission on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation that will review scientific questions that need to be addressed to adapt to global warming and to recommend action. This investment in furthering our understanding of the impacts of climate change is a down payment on our future. If there has been a debate about whether global warming exists, this bill puts an exclamation point that the bipartisan conclusion of Congress is that global warming is real, is urgent, and requires immediate attention. The spirit of Teddy Roosevelt is also alive and well in this bill in the Forest Legacy Program. And thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Ranking Member. The Forest Legacy Program brings communities together, protecting their forests. In my own State, two very small towns of Fairlee and West Fairlee have been working hard contributing their own money to protect their Brushwood Forest. The increase in the Forest Legacy Program, something that's been overdue, is going to give them a fighting chance to be able to do that. The spirit of Teddy Roosevelt is alive and well in the bill's commitment to water quality. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund provides all of our States resources for local sewage treatment projects, one of the most important investments in the country towards public health. The spirit of Teddy Roosevelt is alive and well in the self-help efforts in this bill in the small amount of money, $16 million, that provides for rural water technical assistance. This helps small communities across the State of Vermont and across the country get the technical assistance that they need in order to do locally what is required for the benefit of their own citizens. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlemen on both sides of the aisle for their leadership in this overdue legislation.