Statements For the Record

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1185, a resolution congratulating Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin on his tenth year of service as Chaplain of the House of Representatives.

Reverend Coughlin was sworn in as the 59th Chaplain of the House of Representatives on March 23, 2000 - the first person of Roman Catholic faith to hold the office. In his decade of service, he has opened House proceedings with prayer, provided pastoral counseling and arranged memorial services for the House and its staff.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor the staff and owners of The Saint Paul Hotel on the occasion of its Centennial Anniversary, which will be celebrated this weekend on April 17th.

Since its grand opening on April 18th, 1910, The Saint Paul Hotel has served as a geographic and cultural landmark for Minnesota's capital city, as well as a gathering place for Saint Paul's many visitors and residents.

Mr. Secretary, your testimony states that every $1 invested in the World Bank results in $26 worth of development assistance delivered. For that very reason I support the U.S. role in advancing the important development work of the World Bank.

Unfortunately, this subcommittee has recently heard misinformation and flat out distortions that undermine the important role the U.S. plays with the World Bank.

Madam Speaker, beyond the walls of this Capitol there are millions of Americans who can't afford health insurance, and they live in fear of getting sick. Millions more are discriminated against by insurance companies because they have pre-existing medical conditions. In my own life, as a child and as an adult, I have lived without health insurance. A dear, dear niece of mine has a pre-existing condition that makes her uninsurable. Passing health insurance reform is not a political game - it is personal.

No one should be forced to lose their health insurance when they need it the most or be faced with bankruptcy trying to pay for health care. Unfortunately, we have a system today where insurance companies, not patients, are making those decisions.

Insurance companies have been using lifetime and annual limits since the 1970s to limit the total dollars in benefits that they will pay out over a year or the lifetime of a patient.

Rising health care costs and inadequate coverage burden many Americans. The current system lets insurance companies penalize a woman, just for being a woman.

It is unfair and it is wrong, plain and simple, that a woman can be charged a higher premium than a man or be denied coverage for a "pre-existing condition" such as pregnancy, having a c-section, or being a domestic violence victim.

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year, and 85% of domestic violence victims are women.

Let me give you one example.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.Con.Res. 248, a resolution that would require the President to precipitously withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by December 31, 2010. While I welcome today's robust debate on such a critical issue, there can be no doubt that abandoning Afghanistan and the region in this moment is against America's national interests.

Dr. Shah, good morning and welcome.

Your vision is to restore USAID as the world's premier development agency. As a Member of this Subcommittee, I am committed to making that vision a reality.

I want to elevate and strengthen USAID, and ensure your agency has the authority and resources it needs to focus on long-term development rather than crisis response and contract management. This is an exciting moment for USAID and for global development.