Tim’s Blog

Over the past few days Washington has been embroiled in as much turmoil as Wall Street.

Frantically attempting to come to agreement on a plan to “rescue” our financial markets, Republicans and Democrats have been meeting daily to negotiate the particulars of the legislation first presented by White House to Congress last weekend.

Over this week I have been in meetings with dozens of Members of Congress, as well as Treasury Secretary Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernancke, Vice President Cheney, and many financial experts, each asserting the need to act quickly to stave off any future bank failures.

Among the financial experts there are deep concerns that if the government does not quickly invest billions of taxpayer funds from the Treasury we could lose more financial institutions Americans depend on for banking and loans. The latest failure of Washington Mutual (the largest bank to ever fail in our history) shows just how precarious a situation we face.

Over this week I have also been speaking with many constituents back home in Pittsburgh. From retirees who are worried about their investments to the heads of local banks and financial firms, the concerns run just as deep back home as they do in Washington and on Wall Street.

Well over a thousand constituents have contacted my office, extremely worried over what the legislation may include and extremely dismayed that tax dollars would go to cover a mess that could have been prevented if Washington had acted sooner and enacted more transparency and accountability over the system.

All along, I have pushed for three core principles to guide congressional action. We should (1) protect families’ nest eggs, homes and retirement, (2) hold those accountable who broke the laws or took wild risks and got us into this mess expecting to walk away unscathed, and (3) work out system reforms to prevent this from happening again.

I am of the belief that using $700 billion in taxpayers’ money should be our last resort, not the first. I will keep pushing for alternatives that do not put taxpayers on the hook for the next ten years.

Throughout this whole mess, it is exceedingly frustrating that we haven’t been working on America’s energy independence, which would bring hundreds of billions of dollars into our economy, create jobs, and bring down the cost of goods and services. Congress should focus on a rescue plan for our energy crisis and work on legislation to open up areas for drilling off the outer continental shelf, the Colorado shale oil or the North slope of Alaska.

If we could even get House Leadership to allow a vote on exploring for American oil, I have no doubt it will pass. We could then invest that money in conservation, and new innovative fuels to move us toward energy independence. But no vote, no oil, no independence.

Moreover, if we could get the ban on drilling lifted, it would mean hundreds of thousands of jobs, and hundreds of billions of new money for our economy. That makes more sense to me than taxing what we have now, borrowing more money we don’t have and spending taxpayer dollars out of the general treasury funds. After all, the best economic stimulus is a job.

Stay tuned. I will keep you updated on changes.

A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute estimates that the waste in our healthcare system has grown to an astonishing $1.2 trillion each year. As we look for ways to reign in rising healthcare costs eliminating this waste will go a long way in ensuring quality healthcare for families and seniors.

According to the report, The Price of Excess, the U.S. spends $2.2 trillion on healthcare. If $1.2 trillion is wasted, that is more than half of our money. This is simply unacceptable.

The report lists out several areas in which waste is prominent:

• $210 billion from practicing defensive medicine;
• $25 billion for preventable hospital readmissions;
• $17 billion in medical errors;
• $14 billion for unnecessary emergency room visits; and
• $81-$88 billion from failure to implement and ineffective use of information technology.

While some have questioned if these numbers are a bit inflated, there is no doubt that a great deal of waste in our healthcare system. Unfortunately, the federal government has been slow to respond with real reforms based on patient safety, patient quality, and patient choice. Rather one side has pushed for government-run healthcare, paid for by all taxpayers, while the other has focused on health savings account. These two approaches will not eliminate the waste, but only shift who pays.

The federal government needs to have a leading role if we are to reduce the cost of healthcare. Congress can encourage the development of integrated health information technology, Medicare and Medicaid can stop paying for healthcare acquired infections and medical errors, and provide funding for more community health centers to help the uninsured and underinsured.

However, each of us also has their own personal responsibility. This includes regular health check-ups, maintaining a proper diet and exercise, knowing and understanding your personal medical history, and taking prescribed medications.

Eliminating the waste in our healthcare system is a huge task, but it is one that we can accomplish. By changing the way we approach healthcare, we can lead longer, healthier lives.

An article in today’s Washington Post, “One-Third of Seniors Have Mental Decline,” underscored the need to make sure our nation’s seniors have access to mental healthcare. According to the article, 5 million seniors are experiencing some level of mental decline. The first-of-its-kind study shows that 22 percent of people 71 years or older, or 5.4 million people, are showing symptoms such forgetfulness. The article states these numbers are on par with diabetes among this age group. In addition, another 3.4 million Americans suffer from full dementia meaning more than one-third of seniors have less than full mental capabilities.

Much like the heart and other parts of the body, the brain can be kept healthier with exercise and staying active. Preventative healthcare is just important for one’s mental faculties as it is for the rest of the body.

For seniors who are suffering from a mental decline, it is import that proper mental health services are available to them. However, Medicare currently discriminates against mental health services for seniors by charging more in copayments than for any other outpatient healthcare treatment. (50 percent copayments for mental health treatments vs. 20 percent copayments for all other services.) This policy creates a barrier for seniors who would benefit from effective mental health treatments and increases Medicare costs.

To solve this problem, I introduced the Seniors Access to Mental health Act, H.R. 1571, to increase Medicare’s mental health coverage for seniors so it is equal to regular medical coverage. Seniors will be able to get the full healthcare services they need to live a happy, healthy, and productive lifestyle.

Right after the price of oil set a new record high, the leadership of the House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 5351, imposing a $17 billion tax increase on American produced oil and gas production. Not on will families now have to pay more money to drive to work, feed their families, and heat their homes, but to add insult to injury, the legislation gave a tax break to foreign energy.

Oil prices go up, gasoline prices go up, food prices go up, home heating costs go up and Congress responds by making domestic oil taxes go up while U.S. taxes on OPEC oil go down. This just does not make sense. The legislation gives a tax break to Citgo, a Venezuelan-owned and controlled company and a member of OPEC. Chavez has threatened to withhold oil from the US and claimed oil prices would then jump to $200 per barrel. A socialist, Chavez has expanded the power of his presidency in Venezuela, used the government to take control of industries, and built strong ties with Cuba. He has been a constant critic of the U.S. This legislation rewards him at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.

By putting more money in the hands of Venezuela and other OPEC nations through reduced taxes, we are continuing to put our nation at greater risk. OPEC is gaining greater control of the oil market as Congress continues to limit American energy exploration, and raise taxes on American energy. In the last year alone, Congress has limited American oil and natural gas exploration off the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and Pacific Coast, and in Alaska. Despite the fact that an estimated 2 trillion barrels of shale oil exists in Colorado, Congress cut also the funding needed to extract it. With decreased exploration of oil from the U.S., market prices are controlled more and more by OPEC.

If we are to become energy independent we must plot a new course; one that promotes the exploration of American energy, while increasing the use of renewable energy, and conservation.

We have all been feeling the cost of rising energy prices in our family budgets. An article in the New York Times this morning shows exactly how much families are spending on energy costs and the difficulties they are facing as a result. You may be surprised at how much it is eating into your family budget.

And unfortunately the news isn’t getting better. Yesterday oil closed at an all time high at $100.88 a barrel. Overall, the price of oil has quadrupled over the last six years, and fast approaching the record price of $103.76 when adjusting for inflation set in 1980 after the Iranian revolution.

Prices at the pump are now beginning to reflect the increase in oil prices, with the average price per gallon rising $.19 over the last two weeks. Experts are now predicting that American families could be paying as much as $4 per gallon at the pump by the time spring arrives.

According to the article, families spent over 6 percent of their spending money on home heating, gas, and other energy costs in December. This was the highest level since 1985. It is costing more to heat your home, drive to work, and pay for other everyday items. Over the course of the last year, the cost to feed your family has also increased with the price of meat and eggs increasing 15 percent, and a loaf of whole wheat bread up 24 percent.

Unfortunately, Congress is headed in the wrong direction. Today, the House of Representatives passed legislation that will raise the cost of energy by imposing a $17 billion tax on American produced energy. This will only increase the amount families are paying for energy.

While there were some good aspects of the legislation, such as is promoting the use of renewable energy including wind and solar, it did so at the expense of our core sources of today’s energy. While we must move more in the direction of renewables, we must also develop a plan that includes more American energy exploration, and clean coal and nuclear energy. Not only is this crucial to America’s energy independence, but also for the local economy and jobs in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

It has been 10 days since American intelligence agencies have been able to collect surveillance information on foreign terrorists. Each day that goes by we lose more and more intelligence, hurting our efforts in the war on terror.

At midnight on February 16, America’s intelligence agencies lost the critical resources to protect our national security because the Leadership in the House of Representatives failed to take action. The law that allowed U.S. intelligence agencies to listen to terrorists’ phone calls overseas expired, because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to allow a vote to make the law permanent.

This was despite the fact that a bipartisan effort the Senate agreed to a permanent bill, and there were the necessary votes, from both parties in the House of Representatives to pass it.

Known as the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA), the law allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect information on foreign terrorists located overseas without going through the time consuming process of getting a court order. By the time agencies get a court order, it could be too late to gather the information or catch the terrorist.

The law has no impact on U.S. citizens.

Intelligence experts are telling Congress that the failure to pass this legislation has had a negative impact on our ability to gather intelligence. For instance, in a letter last week to Representative Silvestre Reyes, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell wrote, “Our experience in the past few days since the expiration of the Act demonstrates that these concerns are neither speculative nor theoretical: allowing the Act to expire without passing the bipartisan Senate bill has had real and negative consequences for our national security. Indeed, this has led directly to a degraded intelligence capability.”

Earlier today Congress had another chance to do the right thing and protect America by passing FISA when it was brought up through a procedural vote. Unfortunately, many members of Congress were strong-armed into voting against it and narrowly failed by 14 votes.

Let’s not be fooled. Al Qaeda and other terrorists are watching what Congress is doing. They know American intelligence agencies are not allowed to conduct surveillance. And they are fully ready to take advantage of it.

Before it is too late, before we lose out on any more intelligence, before we let terrorists slip through the cracks, the House of Representatives must bring FISA up so we can have an open debate and vote.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman came to Capitol Hill today to advance the energy plan included in the President’s budget released this week. While the Secretary was testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I put several questions before him on where we as a nation our going with our energy policies. Are we any closer to energy independence? What are the consequences of our inaction? And how do we move forward to develop clean energy sources?

Like most, I am extremely concerned of our continued dependence on foreign oil and its effect on our economy. Recent reports show the truth about energy problems; our trade deficit has increased because of the high cost of oil. I raised this point with Secretary Bodman who stated that America’s unwillingness to explore for its oil – having it be forbidden in Alaska, and off our coasts – has helped drive up the cost of oil. If the U.S. produced more of its own oil, the world cost of oil would decrease and we would have more money to spend in other areas.

I also urged Secretary Bodman to keep the Administration focused on the need for clean coal technology. Hundreds of thousands of jobs rely on coal, which produces half of our electricity. While the President’s proposed budget calls for $648 million in research and development into coal, the largest amount in 25 years, we still have a long way to go if we are going to get serious about clean coal technology. This is one of the biggest environmental and economical challenges of our time. We need the federal government working with all stakeholders to make this a reality.

An article appearing this week in USA Today, showed the serious need for qualified workers in manufacturing. The article, Small Manufacturers Desperately Seek Skilled Staff, was based out of Trafford, Pennsylvania, and indicated that twenty percent of small to midsize manufacturers indicated their number one concern was the need to retain and train skilled workers. Another study showed that 90 percent of manufacturers are lacking skilled workers.

Congressman Tim Murphy has actively worked with local schools and businesses to increase cooperation and the number of skilled workers in the region.

“Cooperation between local industry and schools helps meet the needs of both,” Congressman Murphy stated. “Schools gain a better understanding of the tools their graduates will need when they enter the workforce and be able to apply their research to the real world. Local manufacturers meanwhile get a ready-made workforce with an understanding of their needs and the ability to develop the research taking place in universities. Working together, we can create more jobs and promote Pittsburgh as a global leader in manufacturing.”

Believe it or not, the state of California is expected to approve a proposal that would give state regulators the power to control the thermostats in people’s private homes. This story is not out of a science fiction movie. It is from today’s New York Times.

New buildings would be required to use a special thermostat that would allow state regulators to control the temperature through a radio-controlled device. When energy use soared, the state would have the ability to turn down people’s thermostats. People could override the state’s adjustments but if it is an emergency the state could overrule people’s choice.

As we look for new ways to conserve energy, this type of over-bearing, big-government intervention is the last thing that is needed. It is Big Brother watching over your thermostat!! There is no need to regulate our home heating when we have enough resources in this country to last hundreds of years. Congress just needs to stop block access to American energy.

This story ties into something else that happened closer to home today. A special-interest political group sent automated phone calls to people living in Pittsburgh falsely claiming that I voted to give tax breaks to oil companies. Fact is that no legislation came before Congress to give tax breaks to oil companies! I did vote in support of legislation this session to increase vehicle efficiency, set new energy efficient standards for buildings, and lower greenhouse gas emissions, but nothing on oil company tax breaks.

The longer issue is this: If we are to achieve energy independence, we must develop policies that encourage environmentally responsible exploration of American energy, conservation, and diversification. We have the resources but not the resolve to use them to our benefit.

For more information on how American can achieve energy independence, please read my Declaration of Energy Independence.

It is often difficult to realize how much money the government is spending when dollar amounts reach the billion and trillion levels. Under the current Majority’s plan, the federal government will spend $2.9 trillion. To put this in perspective, if you went on a shopping spree of $1,000 every day until you reached $1 billion, you would have to shop every day for the next 2,740 years! And that is just for $1 billion, no where even close to the $2.9 trillion the Majority is looking to spend just next year!