Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012 No. 27 House of Representatives The House met at 9 a.m. and was The SPEAKER. Pursuant to clause 8, Over the past year, House Repub- called to order by the Speaker. rule XX, further proceedings on this licans have passed dozens of pieces of f question will be postponed. legislation that promote job creation The point of no quorum is considered and allow small business owners to PRAYER withdrawn. gain the confidence to begin hiring The Chaplain, the Reverend Patrick f again. I urge my colleagues in the lib- J. Conroy, offered the following prayer: eral-controlled Senate and the Presi- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Almighty God of the universe, we dent to support these initiatives and give You thanks for giving us another The SPEAKER. Will the gentleman help put American families back to day. from Pennsylvania (Mr. ALTMIRE) come work. We pray for the gift of wisdom to all forward and lead the House in the In conclusion, God bless our troops, with great responsibility in this House Pledge of Allegiance. and we will never forget September the for the leadership of our Nation. Mr. ALTMIRE led the Pledge of Alle- 11th in the global war on terrorism. May all the Members have the vision giance as follows: f of a world where respect and under- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the standing are the marks of civility and United States of America, and to the Repub- NO BUDGET, NO PAY where honor and integrity are the lic for which it stands, one nation under God, (Mr. ALTMIRE asked and was given indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. marks of one’s character. permission to address the House for 1 As Members take time in the coming f minute.) week for constituency visits, give them ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER Mr. ALTMIRE. Every year around the ability to hear the voices of all in The SPEAKER. The Chair will enter- this time, the President submits a their districts so that when they re- budget, the House and Senate debate turn, they are focused on the impor- tain up to five requests for 1-minute speeches from each side of the aisle. their own budgets and, well, nothing tant work to be done. happens. Congress has not adopted a Bless us this day and every day, and f budget in over 1,000 days, and it’s been may all that is done within these hal- THE PRESIDENT’S POLICIES ARE 15 years since Congress passed all of its lowed Halls be for Your greater honor FAILING SMALL BUSINESS OWN- appropriations bills on time. This is and glory. ERS Amen. simply unacceptable, and that’s why I (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina ask my colleagues to join me and the f asked and was given permission to ad- bipartisan cosponsors of the No Budg- THE JOURNAL dress the House for 1 minute and to re- et, No Pay Act. The SPEAKER. The Chair has exam- vise and extend his remarks.) This bill is simple. It says that if ined the Journal of the last day’s pro- Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Congress can’t complete its work, if ceedings and announces to the House Speaker, earlier this week, a Gallup the budget and appropriations bills are his approval thereof. poll was released which sadly stated not done on time, then congressional Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Jour- that 85 percent of small business own- pay would cease and Members of Con- nal stands approved. ers surveyed were not looking for new gress would not be paid until those Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, pursu- employees; 66 percent cite the eco- bills are enacted. Members could not ant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote nomic recession, 48 percent blame ris- receive their lost salaries retro- on agreeing to the Speaker’s approval ing health care costs due to the govern- actively. Once pay is withheld, it’s of the Journal. ment health care takeover bill, and 46 gone forever. The SPEAKER. The question is on percent are worried about new govern- Somehow, I think if this bill were the Speaker’s approval of the Journal. ment regulations. law, Members would find a new ur- The question was taken; and the These statistics show that the Presi- gency and finally find a way to get Speaker announced that the ayes ap- dent’s policies are failing America’s their work done on time. peared to have it. small business owners. The President f Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, I object continues to support policies that are to the vote on the ground that a destroying jobs. According to the Na- INFRINGING UPON RELIGIOUS quorum is not present and make the tional Federation of Independent Busi- RIGHTS point of order that a quorum is not ness, ObamaCare, alone, will destroy (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked present. 1.6 million jobs. and was given permission to address b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H905 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 23:38 Feb 17, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A17FE7.000 H17FEPT1 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H906 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE February 17, 2012 the House for 1 minute and to revise hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts would be an effective way to get this and extend his remarks.) to Medicare, it’s clear that President country back on track, not Social Se- Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. I rise Obama’s health care law is bad medi- curity tax cuts. today in support of freedom and lib- cine for America. But the recent ruling f erty, the basic principles our country by the Department of Health and HONORING LOCAL WORLD WAR II was founded upon. It’s a sad day for Human Services is the most egregious HERO JOHN TEMAN America when our President infringes example of Federal intrusion to date. upon our religious rights, a funda- Soon after the ruling was announced, (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given mental right protected by the First I began hearing from citizens across permission to address the House for 1 Amendment. Michigan’s First District. Letters and minute.) The President announced he will emails came in by the hundreds, with Mr. PAULSEN. Madam Speaker, for make a so-called accommodation on the vast majority in opposition to the most Americans, our busy lives make the ObamaCare rule requiring reli- administration’s position. It is evident it difficult to reflect as often as we giously affiliated organizations to offer from this correspondence that many should upon the incredible sacrifices by insurance plans that cover contracep- northern Michiganders are deservedly those heroes who have answered the tion. upset about the administration’s bla- call to service throughout our Nation’s Even though the President slightly tant attack on our religious freedom history. Today, I would like to take a mo- backtracked his attack on religious enshrined in the First Amendment. ment to honor the service of one such freedom, he did not go far enough. The The opposition to this law is not hero from my home State of Min- new rule still mandates that religious about access to contraception, as my nesota. Minnesota native and World friends on the other side of the aisle organizations with moral objections War II pilot Lieutenant John Teman would have you believe. Women and will be forced to act against their reli- flew missions in all the major battles men can already access contraception gious beliefs. in Europe. He flew through flak on the at very low cost. The debate is over the This is not about health care; it’s night before D-day in strategic spots fact that the administration’s new rule about our rights under the First over Europe behind enemy lines, and he strikes at the fundamental beliefs of Amendment. And this is yet another repeatedly flew missions dropping sup- our democracy. example of why we must repeal plies to the troops trapped at the Bat- The concept that the Federal Govern- ObamaCare in its entirety, adhere to tle of the Bulge. the basic tenets of our Constitution, ment can force people to pay for ac- In recognition of his incredible serv- and stop the administration’s severe tions that violate the teachings of ice, John has been awarded seven overreach. The sooner we repeal their faith goes against two centuries Bronze Stars, three Air Medals, the ObamaCare, the sooner we restore free- of American religious freedom. This ac- Croix de Guerre twice, and on Wednes- dom and liberty to all Americans. tion represents the very government day he received France’s highest rec- f overreach that the Framers of our Na- ognition and honor, the Legion of tion fought against and the reason the Honor. SAME SEX IMMIGRATION Bill of Rights was added to the Con- Madam Speaker, John epitomizes BENEFITS stitution. what it means to be a hero. I’d like to (Mr. WELCH asked and was given Madam Speaker, like most northern thank him for his service and con- permission to address the House for 1 Michigan citizens, I see the right to gratulate him on an honor that’s much minute and to revise and extend his re- practice one’s religion as a funda- deserved.