H5926 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 13, 2012 

in the backdrop of a horrific tragedy 

that we are all reminded of in the loss 

of Americans in what continues to be 

an attack on our values. That’s why 

it’s important for us to shed all that 

partisanship leads to and the lack of 

bringing forth bills that would help all 

of America. 

So I am here this morning to remind 

us of work yet undone, that we just had 

61 bills that have been signed into law 

this year, the fewest in more than 60 

years. In all of 2011, only 90 bills were 

signed into law. And so we know in the 

last session, the 111th Congress, 258 

bills were signed into law. We have got 

to do better. And the most difficult 

thing that I rise and speak about is the 

lack of presenting on the floor of the 

House the President’s jobs bill, the 

American Jobs Act, that would invest 

in small business, that would create an 

opportunity for those who have lost 

their unemployment to be extended, to 

create summer jobs and part-time jobs, 

to be able to ensure that there is job 

training, and to make sure that we say 

to America: we are your partner in job 

creation. Why haven’t we been able to 

overcome those who would stand in the 

way on the other side of the aisle for 

putting forth the American Jobs Act? 

It is to help the American people. 

We have not been able to tackle, if 

you will, postal reform. Those are jobs. 

Those are people who work to make 

America’s commerce travel from place 

to place. I have spoken to small businesses, and they say the U.S. Postal 

Service is their lifeline for their small 

business. They can actually make a 

profit by using the U.S. Postal Service. 

Senior citizens who receive their Social Security checks, sometimes in the 

mail, many times we know online, but 

are connected to the post office. 

They’re connected to the letter carriers. They’re connected to the local 

post office in their neighborhood. How 

do I know? Because of the outpouring 

of concern for the closing of a post office on Mesa Road in the 18th Congressional District, my congressional district. 

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So I am interested in this Congress 

not being known by the do-nothing 

Congress, do-nothing Republican Congress. I want us to work together and 

be able to say that these items need to 

be put forward for the American people. What do we have to say, now looking toward sequestration? We realize 

that you cannot cut discretionary 

funding. We realize that 50 million 

Americans are suffering from food insecurity, and we have a $13 to $16 billion 

cut in the supplemental nutritional 

program. That simply cannot be. That 

cannot be the record of this Congress. 

No jobs, no postal reform, cutting food 

that people need, and, of course, staring down at our men and women in the 

United States military where resources 

that they need may be cut. 

So I am asking that we may be reminded that there are those who have 

written, Norm Ornstein and Thomas 

Mann, that in studying Washington 

politics in Congress for more than 4 

years, this is their quote, they have 

never seen such a dysfunctional place. 

We can do better. We must do better. 

Democrats are ready to work to pass 

the American jobs bill, to pass postal 

reform, to pass bills dealing with helping to improve the lives of Americans, 

to ensuring that no American goes to 

bed hungry, and that we welcome our 

troops home and provide for their families. That’s the Congress that we 

should be known for. That’s what 

America is all about. 

I ask that God blesses this Nation, 

but this Congress recognize that we 

have to be busy until He comes. Let’s 

get busy for the American people. 

Democrats are busy and want to work 

to succeed to do what is right for 

America. 

f 

VOICE OF TEXAS, JEFFREY FROM 

LEAGUE CITY, TEXAS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

Texas (Mr. POE) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Texans have been sharing with me their 

stories and lives about their businesses 

that they have built without the help 

of an out-of-control government. The 

responses were a testament to the tenacity of the American people. 

Jeffrey, from League City, Texas, 

wrote me this: 

I am the son of a single mother. I grew up 

watching my mom work two and sometimes 

three jobs to support us. She never took one 

penny of government assistance. 

When I was 8 years old, I lied about my age 

and took three paper routes that had morning/evening and Sunday delivery. 

At the age of 11, I took a job as a shortorder cook at a 24-hour diner working from 

11 p.m. to 7 a.m., went to school, played 

sports, went home, grabbed a quick dinner, 

slept for a few hours, and went back to work. 

I did my homework while standing over a 

grill in the kitchen. 

In the summer months, I would squeeze in 

a second job working in a service station. 

I went into the Marine Corps upon high 

school graduation at the age of 17. I spent 61⁄2

years in the military. 

Upon being honorably discharged, I entered 

the Houston Police Academy. I have been an 

officer in Houston, Texas, for the past 271⁄2

years. I worked 17 years undercover in the 

narcotics division, the rest has been in patrol. 

My wife is an educator. We have two sons, 

a 19-year-old Lance Corporal in the Marine 

Corps on his way to Afghanistan and a 7- 

year-old. We live day to day, paycheck to 

paycheck, and are on the verge of losing everything if our taxes go up along with the 

cost of living. 

Meanwhile, I see folks on government 

(giveaway programs) with Smart phones, flat 

screen TVs and newer cars than I can afford, 

cable TV, and Internet, and living in nicer 

apartments than I could afford while I was 

trying to save 17 years for my first house. 

Sir, my family and I have built this life. 

Don’t tell me that government built this life 

for me. That is a lie. 

Mr. Speaker, Jeffrey is not alone. 

Contrary to the misinformed views of 

some, the American people are the 

backbone of this Nation, not government. Government is not the solution. 

It’s the problem. Government encourages some Americans to live off the 

hard work of others. Government promotes a social philosophy that it will 

give away more free stuff to some 

while it takes and punishes people who 

work. 

People, not government, take business risks. People work and make sacrifices in an effort to pursue the American Dream, and people, not government, suffer the loss if the business is 

not a success. But Big Government 

wants to take credit for what American workers have done. 

Government doesn’t make America, 

Mr. Speaker. People make America. 

And that’s just the way it is. 

f 

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

Oregon (Mr. DEFAZIO) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. DEFAZIO. I thank the Speaker. 

About 27 miles away from here, secret negotiations are ongoing. A number of us have asked to be allowed to 

observe the negotiations because it will 

have a dramatic impact on the future 

of the United States of America and 

our economy, but no Member of Congress has been allowed into these negotiations. This is over something called 

the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It’s essentially NAFTA for the whole Pacific 

Rim. 

Now, imagine how well that’s going 

to work. NAFTA, of course, has cost 

the U.S. hundreds of thousands of jobs 

in many industries. 

Now, this is a new agreement, a new 

forum, the President has put his stamp 

on it, it is called a living agreement, 

meaning it’s being negotiated among a 

small number of relatively small countries, but the U.S. is running the show. 

But later on, other countries, like 

Japan and China, can plug in. 

We know very little about what’s 

being negotiated because, again, the 

documents are all kept secret from 

Members of Congress. They have been 

shared, however, with 600 corporations 

who, at the click of a mouse, can access them through a secure site online. But yet no Member of Congress is 

allowed to see these documents, no one 

representing the American people. 

Now, the problem is that we have had 

some leaks, and the analysis is if Japan 

is allowed to join, and the U.S. is trying to get Japan to join, we’ll lose 

90,000 automotive jobs immediately. 

This is yet another example of failed 

trade policy of the United States of 

America. 

It is also rumored—again remember, 

no elected representative of the American people is allowed to view these 

documents which 600 U.S. corporations 

are allowed to review and annotate and 

make suggestions on—that it would 

have intellectual property restrictions 

that would far exceed those that were 


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September 13, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H5927 

already rejected by the elected representatives of the American people, 

the House and the Senate, so-called 

SOPA and PIPA. 

These intellectual property restrictions in this agreement, it is rumored, 

will far exceed those already rejected, 

yet they would be binding on the 

United States of America, again going 

around our elected representatives. 

It is also rumored that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is seeking to roll 

back previous reforms that even 

George Bush negotiated in the U.S.- 

Peru FTA that enhanced access to affordable medicines. The pharmaceutical industry doesn’t like inexpensive, affordable, life-saving medicines. 

That would be rolled back. 

Further, it would allow drug companies to challenge the price formularies 

in Canada. Remember, U.S. citizens 

can buy drugs made by U.S. companies 

in the U.S. much more cheaply in Canada than here because the Canadian 

government negotiates on their behalf. 

It’s rumored that this agreement would 

force Canada to raise their drug prices. 

It is also rumored that it might actually prohibit the United States Government from negotiating or allowing 

under part D Medicare—pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies are involved but the insurance 

companies can negotiate under authority of law lower drug prices. It may 

also prohibit the drug formulary for 

Medicaid which saves hundreds of millions and billions of dollars a year, and 

the VA, which provides our veterans 

with low-cost pharmaceuticals. 

All of those things may be preempted 

by this Trans-Pacific Partnership. 

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Now, this is really an extraordinary 

thing that this is being done in secret 

and no Member of Congress is allowed 

to review it. 

It has one chapter we know about, 

which is so egregious that Australia 

has said they have to have a total exemption. And the U.S. has said, sure, 

okay. We understand you want to protect your people. We’ll let you do that, 

but we don’t want to protect ours. 

This is a little provision, similar to 

NAFTA, which gives corporations the 

power to challenge in foreign tribunals—not U.S. courts—our domestic 

laws that protect consumers and the 

environment. We would now give this 

authority to corporations, if China accesses to this, that are run by the Communist Government of China because 

they own many of the corporations in 

their country. The People’s Liberation 

Army owns those corporations. 

This is extraordinary. Six hundred 

corporations have access to this document, but no Member of Congress has 

access to this document, and yet this is 

the trade future. This is the 21st century trade agreement, we’re told by 

this administration. 

Further, the chief negotiator for the 

United States has said it’s his greater 

desire that China become part of this 

because then China would be bound by 

these rules. Oh, yeah, I heard that before. We used to vote annually on China’s trade performance and we had a 

stick called ‘‘most-favored-nation status.’’ When we gave up that stick—I 

voted against it—we gave them permanent most-favored-nation status, then 

they could join the World Trade Organization. But they said, don’t worry, 

now they’ll have to follow the rules. 

Guess what? They don’t. And if they 

get in this agreement, they won’t follow the rules either. 

Kiss our economy good-bye if this secret agreement goes through. 

f 

FARM BILL 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 

South Dakota (Mrs. NOEM) for 5 minutes. 

Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, as we approach the end of this week, we come 

even closer to the date on which our 

farm bill will expire, which is on September 30, in just a short period of 

time. 

Yesterday, we had a rally here on the 

Capitol grounds that hundreds of farmers from across the Nation came together and talked about the importance of doing a farm bill now. That 

was the driving theme because we recognize the responsibility that farmers 

across this Nation have to feed our 

families and to make sure that they 

have food that they can put on the tables across this world. 

Recently, I received a letter from 

some producers in South Dakota. 

Myron and Mary are real people, and 

they live near Wall, South Dakota. I 

wanted to read this letter for you 

today. They have a farming and ranching operation that they have had since 

1969 near the Badlands of South Dakota. They farm around 750 acres of 

corn and wheat in South Dakota, and 

like many producers, they’re struggling through this drought that has afflicted our country. I want to read a 

portion of that letter to you: 

Our area was designated extreme drought 

early July. The corn usually yields 60 bushels per acre; wheat, 50 bushels per acre; safflower, 1,200 pounds per acre; alfalfa, 1 ton 

per acre. This year, the corn was cut for hay 

and silage, the safflower yielded half, and the 

alfalfa was next to nothing. We usually raise 

enough hay to meet our needs. To date, we 

have spent $120,000 to buy hay, and we still 

need more. 

The farm bill is important to our operation 

in two areas in particular: Number one, crop 

insurance that is all inclusive (hail, fire, 

drought); and, number two, disaster assistance as provided in the last farm bill but expired last year. Disaster assistance is desperately needed now due to the drought. 

It is the time of year to plant wheat and to 

wean calves, which we will do. We don’t 

know if it will rain, but if we knew that a 

farm bill was in place, we could make the decisions whether to maintain our cowherd 

numbers and if we plant crop. Please pass a 

farm bill before the end of the year. 

I want you to take a look at this picture that’s next to me that is a cornfield in South Dakota. It was taken a 

while ago. If you would look at this 

field, traditionally, when this picture 

was taken, that corn should be lush 

and green; it would be setting ears, it 

would be building test weight, and it 

would be ready for harvest. Instead, 

these stalks are falling over due to the 

drought. They weren’t able to provide 

much in growth and are struggling. 

This corn, more than likely, will be cut 

for silage—for feed for cattle—instead 

of returning on the investment for the 

producers that planted it hoping to get 

a crop. 

We need to give Myron and Mary and 

producers such as those that own this 

corn and their families that depend on 

the food grown in this country the certainty of a farm bill. We cannot wait 

for the next disaster. We need to do our 

job. We need to continue to provide for 

our families across this country that 

need affordable food policies and depend upon this country and the security that a strong food program can 

bring them through doing a farm bill 

now. 

f 

POVERTY 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 

California (Ms. LEE) for 5 minutes. 

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, 

as cofounder of the Congressional Out 

of Poverty Caucus, I rise today to call 

for an immediate response to the ongoing crisis of poverty in our Nation. 

The census numbers released yesterday underscore the urgent need to act 

boldly and to create jobs in this country, to protect our safety net, and to 

target resources where they are needed—basically, to communities of color, 

low-income communities, those communities, rural areas, who were hit 

hardest by the economic downturn. 

It’s really beyond shameful that over 

45 million Americans, including over 16 

million children, are living in poverty 

in the wealthiest nation in the world. 

The data also shows a wide racial disparity, with the poverty rates for 

whites standing at 9.8 percent, while 

the rates for African Americans and 

Hispanics remain unacceptably high at 

27.6 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively. 

In 2005, I founded the Congressional 

Out of Poverty Caucus because of the 

rising tide of poverty. Some of us saw 

this unfortunate day coming. That was 

beginning under the failed policies of 

the previous administration. 

Of course, we also know the terrible 

economic impact of the massive financial crisis that they left us on their 

way out of office. With the swift efforts 

of President Obama and congressional 

Democrats, we are finally beginning to 

dig ourselves out of the hole that was 

left by the Bush administration and 

slowly moving the poverty rate in the 

right direction. 

Mr. Speaker, we must do more and 

we can do more. 

One of the most critical responsibilities we have as a government is to 


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