Congressional Record—House H3279
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
April 29, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H3279 lending programs, it would be difficult for not be there when you need it. We lost State Senate, I supported charters as them to object on budgetary grounds. millions in sales because Congress one of the best hopes to genuinely re- For every dollar put into Ex-Im, Che- dithered. form our school system. ney said, ‘‘there’s been a $20 return to Ladies and gentlemen, at the end of In Congress, those of us who support the U.S. economy.’’ the day, this is the most straight- charter schools should express that And again, the same speech, Vice forward imaginable proposition. This is support by ensuring that Federal pol- President Cheney said: about shoring up, strengthening, sup- icy encourages States to adopt expan- Ex-Im Bank is remarkably effective at porting the manufacturing sector of sive charter laws. helping create jobs, opportunities for trade, the American economy and creating Further, we need to ensure that stable democracies, and vibrant economies good-paying jobs. Washington does not put up bureau- throughout the world. The Bank has made a With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back cratic roadblocks that would keep tremendous contribution as a rapid response, the balance of my time. State, city, and county governments service-oriented agency designed to meet the export financing needs of American busi- f from experimenting with new ideas and nesses. CURRENT EVENTS AFFECTING establishing effective charter school Indeed, the Bank has been reauthor- AMERICA programs. ized a number of times throughout its Mr. Speaker, I cannot say enough The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under about how impressed I was to spend history—almost always unanimously, the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- until of late—each time making it time with the educators of the North uary 3, 2013, the gentleman from Texas Carolina Leadership Academy, individ- more effective for the economic cli- (Mr. GOHMERT) is recognized for 60 min- mate of the time. uals who seek daily to impress upon utes as the designee of the majority the students the values encapsulated in So let’s have a conversation about leader. how to make it better. Let’s have a the school motto of ‘‘Scholarship, Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, at this Leadership, Citizenship.’’ conversation on how to get the word time I yield to my dear friend, Dr. VIR- out to businesses that they have yet to I expect many good things from the GINIA FOXX. remarkable young scholar leaders cur- tap into their potential global mar- Ms. FOXX. Thank you, Congressman kets. Let’s talk about how to get our rently being educated by this wonder- GOHMERT, my classmate and friend. I ful school. The community will reap economy running and get ahead of our appreciate very much you yielding global competitors. the benefits of having this school in its time. midst for years to come. Let’s remember, as Congressman Mr. Speaker, last week, I had the op- CA´ RDENAS alluded to, every single de- Mr. GOHMERT. I appreciate so much portunity to visit a remarkable public my colleague from North Carolina. veloped entity in the world has an Ex- school in Kernersville, North Carolina. Im Bank-like entity, and if we do not Having been a president of a univer- In addition to preparing students aca- sity, she knows all about education. reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, it is the demically for college, the North Caro- It is certainly one of the areas where equivalent of and tantamount to uni- lina Leadership Academy is publicly we are failing American youth these lateral disarmament in a global econ- committed to giving their 400 students days, and you would have thought that, omy—one in which global trade has in- ‘‘the opportunity to develop true lead- if the Federal Government were the an- creased fivefold just since 1980. ership qualities and become creative swer to everybody’s problems, then What is the Export-Import Bank thinkers and problem-solvers while re- when President Carter started the De- about? It is about jobs, jobs, jobs. Yes, taining a sense of responsibility for partment of Education, everything 200,000 last year, but over a million in their families, their community, and would have gotten instantly better; but the last 4 years. their country.’’ over 35 years later, it turns out the Every month we spend debating the NCLA has an ambitious mission, and Federal Government is not the answer merits of the Export-Import Bank in- they are executing it so well that last to better education. stead of encouraging companies to ex- year this charter school had over 700 I have talked with enough high plore the world market, the economy applicants for 95 openings. The wait school students who also say the Fed- loses billions of dollars in potential ex- list has over 600 names, and is growing. port opportunities. The jobs, especially eral Government is not the answer to in manufacturing, stagnate. People re- b 1630 their food problems. I have met with main unemployed when they want to It was a privilege to spend time with cafeteria workers and leaders who say work. the remarkable students and faculty of that kids are not eating the food. They As a member of the House Financial NCLA. I was truly impressed by their are required to choose from lists of Services Committee, I am encouraging, commitment to scholarship, by the foods to put on the plates that they I am urging, I am beseeching, I am leadership skills of the students, and had heretofore not heard of before that pleading with the chair to hold hear- by the remarkable academic progress students don’t want, don’t like. ings as soon as possible on reauthoriza- that was on display. The football players were saying last tion of the Export-Import Bank. We All NCLA students in grades 7–12 par- fall: How in the world can we go to have been waiting 15 months for some- ticipate in Civil Air Patrol, a program football practice and all we get is this thing to happen. And it is time to move established by Congress in 1946 that piddly little bit of meat and other stuff forward. uses military-style uniforms, customs, we can’t eat? Let us be clear-eyed and cold-blooded courtesies, ceremonies, and drill in So obviously, education, food has not about what the cost is of not doing order to improve student leadership been helped, certainly not according to anything. At a recent roundtable of skills, fitness, and character. This pro- my constituents in east Texas, the vast businesses who had been involved with gram is working. majority; and education itself does not the Export-Import Bank there was a NCLA places a strong emphasis on seem to have made all that great or re- gentleman present from a company in family involvement; and the level of markable progress since the Carter ad- California. I believe his name was commitment demonstrated by parents, ministration started the Department of Steve Wilburn and the company was families, and the Piedmont community Education and Congress began putting named FirmGreen. at large was impressive. strings on virtually everything they Literally, in the course of the con- Community engagement is a key to did in the way of educational support. versation he raise his hand and he said, success of any school, and the commu- The 10th Amendment had some real I just lost a multimillion-dollar order nity’s support for NCLA is a good re- meaning and was really visionary. It of sales, and I am told the reason I lost minder that decisions about the edu- was the last of those first 10 Bill of it is that our competitor manufacturer, cation of our youth should remain Rights and, in essence, said everything which was in another country, per- local. that is not specifically enumerated as a suaded the purchaser that the cloud I have been a strong supporter of power of the Federal Government is re- hanging over reauthorization of the charter schools for my entire legisla- served to the States and the people; Export-Import Bank may mean it will tive career. In the North Carolina that is because the genius of our VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:17 Apr 30, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K29AP7.057 H29APPT1 dlhill on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H3280 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 29, 2014 Founders collectively was the best an- They include a newly declassified that video, repeatedly making the swers are found locally, not by bureau- email showing then-White House Dep- point to add cover to their cover story crats in Washington, D.C. uty Strategic Communications adviser that it was not a failure of policy by I was shocked to go online years ago Ben Rhodes and other Obama adminis- the Obama administration that caused and see that one of my school districts tration public relation officials at- and failed to suppress the attack at was bragging that, gee, about half of tempting to orchestrate a campaign to Benghazi, but it was some video by their employees were actually teach- reinforce President Obama and to por- some lone person out in California who ers. I was shocked. I would have tray the Benghazi consulate terrorist must be stopped. thought that, if we really cared about attack as being ‘‘rooted in an Internet They spent tens of thousands of dol- education, the big bulk of employees video and not a failure of policy.’’ lars running this commercial in foreign would be teachers.