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“PERSONAL EXPLANATION” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E339 on March 10, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
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HON. PAUL A. GOSAR
of arizona
in the house of representatives
Monday, March 10, 2014
Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize passage of several pieces of legislation as well as to voice strong opposition to another bill for recorded votes during the week of March 3, 2014. Unfortunately, I was not able to vote for final passage of these bills because I was out on medical leave recovering from much needed hip replacement surgery.
H.R. 3370, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, is poorly crafted legislation that will make an already insolvent program worse. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is currently $24 billion in debt. This legislation will continue the federal governments failed involvement in administering flood insurance. H.R. 3370 undoes important reforms that were just passed in 2012 and were our only hope in making this terrible program sustainable. When it became clear the House did not have the votes to pass this legislation last week, the bill almost tripled in size over the weekend and came back a worse bill than even the Senate version in order to get enough Democrats to support these piece of junk. I strongly oppose this wasteful and inefficient bill.
H.R. 938, the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014, recognizes the importance of Israel as our closest ally and allows for new partnerships in relation to cyber-security, economic prosperity and defense. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important legislation.
H.R. 4118, the Suspending the Individual Mandate Penalty Law Equals Fairness Act, is legislation that seeks to delay Obamacare's individual mandate by one year. This bill would bring parity for the American people as President Obama has twice suspended the employer mandate for businesses. Obamacare is a train wreck. The President should not selectively choose by executive order what parts of this terrible law to enforce. If the President thinks this law is good enough for the American people then it should be good enough for his cronies and everyone else. I will continue to fight to repeal and replace Obamacare.
H.R. 2126, the Energy Efficiency Improvements Act, is a bill that will assist with increasing energy efficiency throughout commercial buildings.
H.R. 3826, the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, seeks to reinstate economic sanity to EPA proposed regulations and give Congress a role in the process. This legislation allows the EPA to propose regulations for existing American power plants, but requires Congressional approval before they can take effect. More importantly, it will prohibit the mandate for CSS technology for new power plants until it is viable and has been tested at a few select power plants around the country. This Administration has waged a war on coal and I'm proud to be a cosponsor of this critical bill that pushes back against this overreach by the EPA.
H.R. 2641, the Responsibly and Professionally invigorating Development Act, is important legislation that streamlines the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to allow for a more timely completion of construction projects. This bill will create jobs and allow for projects that are critical to our economy to move forward.
H.R. 4152, to provide for the costs of loan guarantees for Ukraine, would add Ukraine to the list of countries eligible for loan guarantees from the state department. This legislation seeks to undermine Mr. Putin's atrocious behavior and support the Ukraine interim government. This bill does not require any new appropriations, but merely adds Ukraine to a list of nations eligible for State Department monies. I personally condemn the actions of Russia, and I am hopeful this crisis is resolved soon for the Ukrainian people.
Had I been present for these votes, I would have voted in support of these important bills with a yea vote on roll call numbers 95, 97, 98, 106, 113 and 114.
Additionally, I would have opposed the dangerous flood insurance reform bill with a nay vote on roll call number 91.
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