E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 160 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014 No. 53 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was ity of life for Americans, enacting busi- Both Chairman CAMP in his tax re- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- ness opportunities, and putting mil- form proposal and President Obama in pore (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania). lions of Americans to work. his infrastructure proposal identified f They were all public-private partner- ways to close this gap to be able to ships primarily paid for with public in- fully fund a 6-year transportation reau- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO vestment. Creating these infrastruc- thorization that would help meet TEMPORE ture marvels, which for most of our America’s funding needs for projects of The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- history were the envy of the world, put national significance that are, in many fore the House the following commu- millions of Americans to work. cases, multistate and are part of a na- nication from the Speaker: Sadly, that is no longer the case. The tional system. We all depend upon the WASHINGTON, DC, United States has fallen behind the pieces of the system to be in place in April 2, 2014. global leaders. Our infrastructure is good repair and working together. I hereby appoint the Honorable GLENN mediocre, according to expert reports. Sadly, the Republican budget sen- THOMPSON to act as Speaker pro tempore on The American Society of Civil Engi- this day. tences us to decline and then locks in neers has given our infrastructure a D- JOHN A. BOEHNER, a 30 percent reduction from these cur- plus rating and identified over $3.5 tril- Speaker of the House of Representatives. rent inadequate levels over the next 10 lion of investments that are going to f years. be necessary just to bring it up to MORNING-HOUR DEBATE standard by 2020. It pretends the Federal commitment The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- That is how far we have fallen—a D- can be downsized and outsourced. Al- ant to the order of the House of Janu- plus rating—and needing billions of though I would note, in a letter signed ary 7, 2014, the Chair will now recog- dollars just to prevent further deterio- by 31 executives of statewide chambers nize Members from lists submitted by ration and decline. of commerce, they point out: The failure to act carries significant the majority and minority leaders for Even with increased State revenues and in- morning-hour debate. costs in and of itself. There is more novative mechanisms such as public-private The Chair will alternate recognition wear and tear on vehicles. There is partnerships, there are projects of national between the parties, with each party more delays and congestion. There are significance that cannot be completed with- limited to 1 hour and each Member safety problems associated with infe- out Federal assistance. other than the majority and minority rior infrastructure and poor mainte- nance. I will be offering today a proposal in leaders and the minority whip limited the Budget Committee to at least allow to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- It is going to cost the average Amer- ican family over $1,000 per year in ac- the capacity to respond to these needs, bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. to meet the requests of 17 bipartisan f tual damage and increased operating costs to say nothing of the millions of governors, including Republicans from GOP BUDGET AND hours lost to congestion. It hits busi- North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Penn- INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING ness especially hard. A 5-minute delay sylvania and the 31 State chamber of The SPEAKER pro tempore. The costs UPS $50 million in additional commerce executives from Alabama, Chair recognizes the gentleman from costs each year. Arizona, and Arkansas, to Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. We need these Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- Ten years ago, there was a blue rib- utes. bon report to then-President Bush Federal partnerships. Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, about transportation and transpor- While this proposal won’t commit throughout American history, the path tation funding alternatives. It identi- anybody to a specific path forward, it to prosperity has been infrastructure. fied over $375 billion as necessary to does provide the capacity to get us It has been paving that path, building fund an appropriate 6-year program. unstuck and out of this sad state of de- that road, constructing the trans- That was 10 years ago. cline, in other words, a true path to continental railroad, improving water We are now spending at a rate, 10 prosperity, putting millions of people systems, extending electrification to years later, of about $275 billion a year to work, jump-starting the economy, rural America, dams, flood control, and at current levels, but the highway and strengthening communities from sewer systems. trust fund is only going to produce coast to coast, so that our families can Each and every one of these initia- about $200 billion during that same pe- be safe, healthy, and economically se- tives were key to improving the qual- riod of time. cure. 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. H2805 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 01:23 Apr 03, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A02AP7.000 H02APPT1 tjames on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H2806 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 2, 2014 IT IS TIME TO QUIT LEADING While Obama threatens consequences every economist. The Ryan budget cuts FROM BEHIND for Putin over his Crimea provo- $5 trillion without a single penny of The SPEAKER pro tempore. The cations—and fails to act on these new revenue, not even a hint of bal- Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from words—he hasn’t even mustered up the ance. Florida (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) for 5 min- fortitude to even feign strong con- Moreover, Chairman RYAN’s budget utes. demnations for Maduro and his thugs once again relies on the magic asterisk Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I in Venezuela, as they continue to bru- of hundreds of billions of dollars in rise today to address the crisis in tally oppress the opposition in Ven- spending cuts to important domestic Ukraine, Putin’s rising aggression and ezuela, the opposition that is calling programs. He doesn’t say what pro- intransigence in the face of increased for reforms and democracy. grams we are going to cut; he simply international opprobrium, and the fail- Mr. Speaker, I have here a poster of says we are going to get the money. ure of American leadership that has al- Maria Corina Machado, a valiant He said that last year, of course, and lowed these recent events to transpire. human rights leader in Venezuela, and it didn’t happen. He gives virtually no This is yet another example of Vladi- she is just one of the many victims of details about the policies through mir Putin looking at President Maduro’s thuggery. which he expects to achieve these sav- Obama’s foreign policy and making the There have been 30 people killed as a ings. To that extent, it is radically dif- calculation that he can do whatever he result of Maduro’s violent attempts to ferent from the chairman of the Ways wants without fear that the White oppress dissent, while opposition lead- and Means Committee’s tax reform House will react with anything other ers like Leopoldo Lopez have been un- plan, which made real choices, showed than empty threats. justly detained over a month now in real courage, and was a real document. We have seen this time and time military prison, and Maria Corina The Republican budget continues again, so much so that the President’s Machado has been stripped of her seat their obsession with repealing or un- lead from behind policy has not only in the national assembly, thus revok- dermining the Affordable Care Act, eroded our influence and credibility ing her immunity, her protection, sug- their 53rd attempt to do so. However, around the world, it has hurt our rela- gesting that Maduro and his goons will of course, they keep all the savings and tions with other countries, and it has soon be coming to take her away to a revenues that the Affordable Care Act shown tyrants like Putin, Assad, military prison. is scored as giving. Maduro, Kim Jung Un, Khamenei, and Yet again, President Obama chooses It would furthermore kick millions the Castros that the U.S. lacks the to lead from behind. The administra- off their health insurance and turn courage of its convictions. tion has repeatedly said that we need Medicaid into a capped block grant, Putin has annexed Crimea, and we to work with the Organization of decimating the program and making would be foolish to think that he will American States to hold Maduro ac- life more difficult for all those millions stop there as he seeks to reestablish countable, but that body is even more who rely on it. Russia as more than just a regional afraid to call out Maduro than this ad- Once more, they are seeking to end power, and the Obama administration ministration. the Medicare guarantee as we know it.