H6236 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 21, 2012 

children have proper school supplies as 

fall comes into full swing. Yet the 

House is set to leave Washington today 

with many items on its to-do list. 

While Congress finishes up the work 

to pass a budget to fund the Federal 

Government, catastrophic cuts loom on 

the horizon, set to hit in January of 

2013. Leaving these cuts unresolved is 

unconscionable. Not only is this the 

wrong message to send to the American people, it’s simply not the right 

thing to do. Our all-volunteer force is 

at war, and these cuts threaten our national security. Furthermore, they 

threaten over 200,000 jobs in Virginia. 

Nine days remain before the new fiscal year begins. Congress should do the 

right thing and stay in Washington instead of ignoring the reality and delaying tough decisions. It’s time to put 

governing over politics. Let’s stay in 

Washington and finish the job that we 

were elected and expected to do. 

f 

CONGRESS MUST STAND UP 

AGAINST UTILITY CUTS ACROSS 

THE MIDWEST 

(Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. KUCINICH. The Stop the War on 

Coal Act is up today. It is the coal industry which is waging war on our 

mountains by leveling them, war on 

our lungs by burning dirty fuel, war on 

healthy children by being the single 

largest source of mercury exposure, 

war on our rivers and streams by filling them with toxic waste, war on 

groundwater through poisonous ash 

fills, war on its workers through conditions which continue to kill, war on 

families by breaking unions and by relentlessly reducing jobs, war on our national debt by taking in billions of subsidies, and now war on ratepayers of 

municipal utilities across the Midwest. 

Time to stop this war. 

Peabody Coal’s Prairie State coal 

plant in southern Illinois has brokered 

a series of shady deals that puts 217 

local utilities here, across the Midwest, 

on the hook for billions of dollars for 

energy they may never even get while 

paying twice the market price—a corrupt boondoggle that will raise utility 

rates and saddle many publicly owned 

utilities with crushing debt obligations. 

Congress must stand up for the utility cuts in this areas. 

f 

HONORING OUTSTANDING 

ATHLETE STEVEN FOX 

(Mr. FLEISCHMANN asked and was 

given permission to address the House 

for 1 minute.) 

Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I 

rise today to honor an outstanding student athlete from the University of 

Tennessee at Chattanooga. Competing 

at the U.S. Amateur Championship in 

Colorado, UTC student Steven Fox 

came from behind to win the first 

USGA Championship for the University 

of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 

Down by two holes on the par 5 17th 

hole, Steven made a clutch birdie and 

managed to make a great par on the 

final hole, putting the match into sudden death after 36 grueling holes. At 

the first playoff hole, Steven sank a 

critical 18-foot putt to secure his victory. Steven’s victory is an inspiration 

to the entire UTC community and, indeed, to all Tennesseans. 

No mention of this victory is complete without mentioning the great 

UTC golf team, which has achieved national success under the leadership of 

Coach Mark Guhne. Thanks to his hard 

work and the support of former Athletic Director Steve Sloan and Chancellor Roger Brown, UTC qualified for 

this past year’s NCAA championship in 

Los Angeles. 

On behalf of all east Tennesseans, I 

extend my congratulations to Steven 

Fox. I look forward to watching him 

roam the fairways at Augusta National 

soon. I also look forward to many future successes at UTC. 

Go Mocs! 

f 

b 0910 

BIPARTISAN DEFICIT REDUCTION 

(Ms. SCHWARTZ asked and was 

given permission to address the House 

for 1 minute and to revise and extend 

her remarks.) 

Ms. SCHWARTZ. Our Nation is facing serious economic and fiscal challenges. We have seen economic recovery over the last 4 years, but we have 

work to do. 

The fiscal policies that expire at the 

end of the year, known as the ‘‘fiscal 

cliff,’’ present a rare opportunity to set 

aside politics and find common ground 

to reduce our Nation’s deficit in a balanced and fiscally responsible manner. 

Actions we take must be based on 

our priorities and our values. It means 

strengthening the middle class and 

building economic opportunity. It 

means spending cuts and new revenues. 

We will need to make tough choices, 

but there is a path forward if we are 

fair, if we are committed to our obligations to our seniors and our children, 

and if we recognize the importance of 

strategic investments to grow our 

economy now and into the future. 

I was proud to be one of just 38 Members to support a bipartisan proposal 

by Representatives COOPER and LATOURETTE that included tax reform and 

spending cuts to reduce the Nation’s 

deficit. 

Let’s move our country forward by 

taking responsible, meaningful, and 

timely action. 

f 

HOLD THE IRS’ FEET TO THE FIRE 

(Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked 

and was given permission to address 

the House for 1 minute and to revise 

and extend his remarks.) 

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. 

Speaker, it’s time for Americans to 

know the truth about the abuse of 

their hard-earned taxpayer dollars, especially at a time when the President 

is calling for tax increases. 

The issue I’m talking about is IRS 

action that puts billions of taxpayer 

dollars at risk. Currently, the IRS allows individuals without a Social Security number to get cash benefits—like 

the $1,000 refundable child tax credit 

which is costing American taxpayers 

billions of dollars—by obtaining an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN. 

A recent IG report revealed a shocking scandal within the IRS that encouraged employees to fast track ITIN 

approval without regard to preventing 

fraud. The ITIN has become a ticket to 

get cash from Uncle Sam, and this is 

wrong. 

I’m introducing the ITIN Reform Act 

to hold the IRS’ feet to the fire to better protect the American taxpayer, and 

I urge all my colleagues to support this 

bill. 

f 

HONORING DR. DENTON A. COOLEY 

(Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked 

and was given permission to address 

the House for 1 minute and to revise 

and extend her remarks.) 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. 

Speaker, on August 3, 1962, a life 

changing decision was made by Dr. 

Denton Cooley in the founding of the 

Texas Heart Institute. 

As I listened to the words said this 

morning, he chose wisdom over ignorance with respect to diagnosing cardiovascular disease, the most devastating killer of Americans, killing a 

life every 33 seconds, 2,600 lives each 

day, and nearly 1 million lives each 

year. 

Dr. Cooley was honored this past 

week with tributes from President 

George Bush and President William 

Jefferson Clinton, joined by his wife 

and extended family. Over the years, he 

has been able to help men and women 

and children. He has done a magnificent job with respect to the amount of 

surgeries that have been performed. He 

performed more than 118,000 open-heart 

operations, 258,000 cardiac catheterizations, and 1,270 heart transplants. 

The Texas Heart Institute, along 

with St. Luke’s Hospital, continues to 

serve the world and continues to do research to improve the lives of those 

who suffer from heart disease. Dr. 

James Willerson is the new CEO. His 

demeanor and temperament, his research abilities, and his leadership has 

taken this great institution to the 21st 

century. 

What a great honor to be with those 

who honor Dr. Denton Cooley for his 

wisdom and his ability to challenge 

medical profession science to be able to 

save lives. Today, children live, families are reunited, and we are stronger 

in our health because of the existence 

of the Texas Heart Institute. It is my 

privilege to congratulate them for 50 

years of saving lives. 


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