H1252 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- HOUSE February 12, 2009
or vote on in the next day or so should be about jobs, small business, and working families. However, small business, which I am on that committee, make up 99 percent of businesses in Florida and they create 70 percent of the jobs, but only 1 percent of this will actually go in terms of helping small business.
The Congressional Budget Office says it will do more harm than good long term; 300 leading economists say this bill will not help the economy. It explodes the debt. We are at $10 trillion now; this year we will be at $1.2 trillion plus the stimulus with interest, over $1 trillion. This is about our children and grandchildren. We are going to put them further behind. We will not leave it better for them, and that is why I cannot support this bill.
f HONORING LAWRENCE ``LARRY'' KING (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Mrs. CAPPS. Madam Speaker, I rise this morning to honor the life of my constituent, Larry King.
Larry was shot at his middle school by a fellow student. That was 1 year ago today. He died 2 days later. Larry was 15 years old. The police classified the murder as a hate crime. Almost 200 vigils in all 50 States were held to honor this young man's life.
Larry's death serves as a tragic reminder that we must work to end violence and harassment directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people.
Every child should be guaranteed an education free from bullying, harassment, discrimination, and violence.
Today, I honor Larry's full but tragically short life. I am introducing a resolution in his honor to bring attention to the violence he experienced in school and for all those who face harassment because of their sexual orientation and gender expression.
We must, and we will, end this discrimination.
f ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, Members were informed yesterday that a deal has been struck on the $1 trillion spending bill that Speaker PELOSI is calling an economic stimulus plan.
The American people have a right to know what is in this bill, but I have serious doubts that the majority party will allow the American people to view the bill for the 48 hours like they said they would; so let's look at a couple of the provisions of the bill.
Davis-Bacon, a policy that forces government contractors to pay union wages, will force the cost of all infrastructure and construction projects up
leagues have said we need a new approach in Washington that does not rely on tired ideas and politics of the past. So I am curious, what exactly is new and novel about a massive spending package, developed behind closed doors, and devoid of bipartisan input?
That is not change. It repeats mistakes of the past.
Instead of trying to borrow and spend our way to recovery, House Republicans have laid out a commonsense, timely, and targeted alternative. Our proposal would create jobs by providing immediate relief to American taxpayers, small businesses, and home buyers. These tax cuts have been tried before under President Kennedy and President Reagan. Each time, they created jobs and led to economic recovery.
The American people are hurting.
They care about keeping their jobs, paying their bills, and sending their children to school. They deserve much better than this massive spending bill, which will raise interest rates.
In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September the 11th.
f SUPPORT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PLAN (Ms. SPEIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, while Democrats in Congress are pushing for a recovery package to put Americans back to work, the recovery is delayed by the same Washington Republicans who helped craft the Bush-onomics that created this recession.
In 1993, Washington Republicans said that the Clinton budget would lead to a job-killing recession. Instead, the Clinton economy created 22 million jobs in just 8 years. Compare that to the 2.6 million jobs lost just last year, in the last year of President Bush's administration.
In 2001, Washington Republicans swore that their tax cuts would lead to the most robust economy we have ever seen. Instead, their theory went bust and drained the surplus that President Clinton had created and left us with a staggering deficit that we are now dealing with.
The American people demanded in November for a change, and for a reason: Republican economic theories don't work and certainly don't put American people back to work.
I urge Washington Republicans to join fellow Republicans like Governor Crist and Governor Schwarzenegger and help us enact President Obama's plan to turn this economy around.
f WE MUST DO BETTER (Mr. BUCHANAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Mr. BUCHANAN. Madam Speaker, this bill that we are going to consider
POW boldly boarded a C-141 transport plane with a tin can in his hand flying from Vietnam back home to America.
His name? Colonel SAM JOHNSON, now a Member of this United States House of Representatives, from Texas.
SAM JOHNSON was a fighter pilot, flew 62 missions in Korea, and on his 25th mission in Vietnam he was shot down.
He landed in a rice paddy, was captured by the North Vietnamese, and for 7 years was a prisoner of war. He was tortured, beaten, but never broken. He did have a broken arm, and his other arm was useless. April 16, 1966 is when he began his 7 years of confinement.
But today is his 36th anniversary from his 7 years in a POW camp. He served in a cell the size of a tomb with that tin cup and polluted rice, and sometimes a rat would come by.
Madam Speaker, we want all of America's sons to grow up to have the character of Colonel SAM JOHNSON. We thank SAM JOHNSON for his 7 years of service in a POW camp. We thank all the Americans that served in those POW camps-those that survived and came home, and those that did not.
And that's just the way it is.
f H.R. 852, THE REBUILD AMERICA BOND ACT OF 2009 (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of Cali fornia asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of Cali fornia. Madam Speaker, during these difficult economic times, President Obama has called on Americans to embrace a new era of responsibility. To that end, last week I introduced H.R.
852, the Rebuild America Bonds Act of 2009.
The proceeds from these bonds would be set aside in a Rebuild America trust fund, to be used only to build infrastructure projects, including rail, transit, water, highway, bridge, and road projects. Rebuild America savings bonds would provide every American with the opportunity not only to invest in their country but to also provide the financial support that we need for our infrastructure in America.
In addition, the new savings bonds will improve the morale of the American people. People want to know, what can I do now? They want to know, where can I put my money? Where will it be safe? How can I help America.
From bridge collapses, water main breaks, and other infrastructure accidents across this country, it is clear that America's infrastructure is aging.
So I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 852, the Rebuild America Bonds Act.
f A NEW APPROACH (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. WILSON of South Carolina.
Madam Speaker, our Democratic col
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