“The terrorist attack at Fort Hood demands an immediate investigation into how signals were missed and ways to prevent future tragedies,” said Representative Miller. “The Homeland Security Committee has a responsibility to ensure that information is properly shared between law enforcement and the intelligence agencies. It seems that did not occur when it came to Major Nidal Hasan and his activities appear to have been on the radar screen of elements of the military and law enforcement agencies but unfortunately somehow we did not connect the dots. There have been reports about his ties to radical Islam, communicating with known al Qaeda sympathizers and troubling comments to co-workers including justification for suicide bombers and yet, again, we did not connect the dots. This tragedy shows that our nation is still at risk and we must remain ever vigilant. An immediate review is required and if that review shows deficiencies in our system then we have a duty to correct the situation so this never happens again.”

On Thursday, November 5, 2009, Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army Major and a psychiatrist, attacked and murdered innocent Americans. After the September 11th attacks, the Department of Homeland Security was created and charged with the key mission to facilitate information sharing between federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies and state and local officials. The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security has provided bipartisan support for information sharing programs, such as the Department of Homeland Security’s Interagency Threat Assessment Group located at the National Counterterrorism Center, that incorporate state and local officials in the preparation and dissemination of intelligence products.

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“Given the Obama administration’s recent announcement of their intention to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other terrorist detainees being held at Guantanamo in New York City, it is vital that this legislation be considered immediately,” said Representative Miller. “This measure puts in place appropriate safeguards for the American people to mitigate any threat posed by bringing these dangerous terrorists to the United States. We all have a stake in our national security – these types of decisions should include input from relevant state and local officials and include a full review on how they will affect the surrounding communities.

“The Governor of New York has already indicated that he believes the transfer of these detainees to New York is a mistake and puts his state at risk. Before the administration takes any action to move these detainees into our nation, it is imperative that all security considerations have been well thought out and the leaders of the state’s that could be put in harms way approve of any actions. I urge all of my colleagues toTransferring Terror Suspects to the U.S. Undermines Security Efforts join me in supporting this vital legislation” Miller concluded.

An absolute majority of U.S. Representatives (218 members) is required for a discharge petition to be initiated and move to the House Floor for consideration.

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 Miller called this a rare opportunity and said she considers it a privilege to speak for the party on the national level. 

 “I am honored to have been asked to give the Republican address,” said Miller.  “I will talk about Michigan and the need for this Congress to focus on job creation.” 

House Republican Leader John Boehner said that Michigan is especially feeling the pinch of this economy, and that Rep. Miller can give a voice to those who are hurting. 

 “Michigan is ground zero for the economic challenges all Americans are grappling with, and Candice Miller has been a forceful and resolute advocate for struggling middle-class families,” said Boehner.  “Across the country, people are asking ‘where are the jobs’?  But Washington Democrats keeping pushing legislation, like the ‘cap and trade’ national energy tax and the government takeover of health care, that will actually destroy more jobs.  Rep. Miller’s address this week will contrast our vision of an America where job one in Washington is helping small businesses and families, not making matters worse.”

Miller’s speech will be distributed Friday, to be embargoed until 6:00 Saturday morning.  For more information call Phaedra Dugan at (202) 226-4709. 
 

 “I am so pleased that Washington Township Fire Department has won this substantial grant,” said Miller.  “The hard working men and women of this fire department put their lives on the line for our safety, and in this difficult economic climate they need all the help they can get to do their jobs.”

 Washington Township Supervisor Dan O’Leary welcomed the news of the grant, and said that the money will be used to build a new fire station.  The current station is outdated, unsafe, and too small, according to O’Leary.  When there is a fire, he said, firefighters have to change into gear inches away from moving fire trucks due to the lack of space.  The current fire station is also not accessible by main roads, because it was built so long ago, and the new station will be located closer to where it is most needed.  O’Leary said he feels fortunate that Washington Township was chosen in light of all of the applications received by DHS.   

 "We are pleased that the Department of Homeland Security recognized the merits of this project for Washington Township and are very thankful for their assistance.  We were one of only 104 towns to receive a station construction grant out of over 6,000 who applied,” said O’Leary.  “Our project had been strongly endorsed by our Congresswoman Candice Miller and her team.  We are grateful for their efforts in helping secure this grant.  We accomplished this because we had great teamwork between the local, County and Federal levels to ensure that the project received the attention it deserved.  We look forward to improving the safety and security of our community thanks to the efforts of Congresswoman Miller."

 “One hundred thousand Michiganians will see their unemployment benefits run out at the end of this year if we do not act,” said Miller.  “With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, we must do all we can to help those who are in the most need.  These are challenging times for job seekers, and it is vital that they have the resources necessary to stay above water while they continue to look for work.  The economy will improve and our talented workforce will find jobs, but in the meantime we need to extend the benefits for those who live in states that have been the hardest hit.”

 While some indicators show that the economy is slowly improving, figures show that one-third of the unemployed have been out of work for longer than six months.  There are six unemployed Americans for every job available.  Miller said that even though her state has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, she is hopeful that things will improve in the near future and voiced faith in her state’s workforce.

 “Michigan has the most talented pool of workers in the country, and they have worked hard for us,” said Miller.  “We cannot turn our backs on them in challenging times when they need our help the most.” 

Madame Speaker, the American healthcare system is clearly in need of reform.  Yet at the same time our system of healthcare continues to be the envy of the world in producing life saving innovations in the pharmaceutical industry, medical procedures and treatment.  Congress must act to help bring down costs and expand access to health insurance while preserving the quality of care patients receive in this great nation.

I have heard many of my Democrat colleagues and the President speak of the need to increase competition in the health insurance marketplace to help reduce cost.  I could not agree more.  But, where I part company with my Democrat colleagues is their prescription for the problem.  The way they want to increase competition is to create a new government insurance company, better known as the public option, to provide this competition.

They have demonized insurance companies in an effort to build support for this misguided plan even though recent public opinion surveys have shown that 80% of Americans are satisfied with their current plan.

My concerns with the public option, which are shared by wide swaths of the American people, are that it would have an unfair advantage that could crowd out private healthcare and it would put huge new costs on the American taxpayers.  For months the President has said “If you like what you have – you can keep it.”  Then last week the President changed that and instead said “there is nothing in the bill to force you or your employer to change what you have.”

It’s true that nothing will force you or your employer into the public option, but the bill before the House has perverse incentives to encourage your employer to do just that.
The bill mandates individuals to purchase insurance and it requires large employers to provide care for their employees.

Businesses that don’t provide healthcare insurance will be taxed at 8% of their payroll as a penalty.  Most employers will tell you that healthcare costs typically runs about 14 to 16% of their payroll.  So businesses that are struggling to make ends meet will now face a choice, either continue to pay about 15% of payroll to provide coverage of their employees or dump them onto the public plan and pay the 8% penalty.  That’s a pretty easy business decision that unfortunately has broad implications on their workforce.

Additionally, employers will now have an equally perverse incentive to keep wages down and to not add jobs because if your employer gives you a raise or adds new jobs they also raise their own taxes.  Mr. Speaker There is a better way to reduce the cost of insurance at virtually no cost to government.

And that is simply to allow individuals and businesses to purchase health insurance across state lines.  Lifting this restriction would bring hundreds if not thousands of new competitors into the private marketplace to compete for business.  That would absolutely reduce costs and is a simple change which we could enact immediately. 

The President made an analogy to private auto insurance.  I would remind the President that auto insurance can be purchased across state lines and there is no public option for auto insurance.  The market regulates itself to keep costs down.

Additionally, millions of Americans today have their healthcare covered by a health savings account. If H.R. 3200 is enacted health savings accounts will be gone and those who utilize them will be forced to change coverage.  That is actually less choice and less competition in the healthcare industry.  We can do better.

I was glad last week that the President said he would look at pilot programs with regard to medical liability reform.  For too long trial lawyers have looked at doctors as ATM machines and filed countless junk lawsuits.

This has driven up costs by forcing insurance companies to settle because these suits cost too much to fight regardless of their merit and the costs are passed along to doctors in the form of higher premiums and ultimately to healthcare consumers.  It also has made it more difficult for specialty doctors like OB-GYN’s to practice and limits access, particularly in rural areas.

Many states have enacted caps on non-economic damages.  In every place this has happened doctors have moved in, lawyers have moved out and costs have gone down.  So I was disappointed when the President said on 60 Minutes this weekend that he doesn’t believe caps work.

Respectfully Mr. President, actually, caps on non-economic damage is medical liability reform.  The American people are rightfully concerned about how any reform will impact out of control federal spending and our exploding deficit.

It just stretches credibility when people are told we can create a public option, expand access and availability of care and do so without dramatically increasing taxes or expanding the deficit.  You can’t get something for nothing, particularly when the government is involved.

And seniors find it difficult to believe that we can pay for some of this by reducing spending on Medicare by $600 billion and not impact their level of care.  The proponents say these cuts would just be waste, fraud and abuse.  Well if there is that much waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare we should be attacking it regardless of other health reforms and we should prove those numbers before we put the taxpayers on the hook for more government spending.

And many of the American people simply aren’t buying the idea that the plan outlined in H.R. 3200 is deficit neutral.  Just six months the administration told us that the 10 year budget deficit would be an astonishing $7 trillion.  Then late last month the administration revised those numbers and told us it would be $9 trillion.  A nearly 30% increase in long term deficits in the space of six months.

This out of control spending is literally burying our children and grandchildren under a mountain of debt and must be stopped.  Madame Speaker, I  agree that we need health care reform, but this radical plan is not the right approach. 

We can do better.

On September 11, 2001, America experienced the worst attack on civilians in the history of our country.  It was carried out by an insidious enemy that wants to destroy our country and our way of life.  Our CIA had the task of bringing the perpetrators of 9/11 to justice.  They were also tasked with stopping any future attacks which were planned. 

With the recent declassification of CIA documents, we now know that they were successful in not only bringing guilty terrorists to justice, but also in stopping future attacks that were in the works. 

One of the declassified CIA reports clearly states, “Detainee reporting has helped thwart a number of Al-Qaeda plots to attack targets in the West and elsewhere.” 

Those plots included flying planes into buildings on the West Coast and blowing up the Brooklyn Bridge, to name just two. 

Our CIA captured Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, after interrogating one of his al Qaeda associates.  Mohammed then revealed the identities of 70 people that al Qaeda was planning on using in future attacks against the West. 

While it is this administration’s right to change policies, I believe it is wrong to start criminal proceedings against the men and women in our CIA who have successfully thwarted more attacks on our country. 

We should work together to bring terrorists to justice, and stop any future attacks on American soil.  That is the job of Congress, and the administration. 

“The words in the speech the President gave tonight were a strong defense of his health care plan.  But more important than the words the President spoke are the words that are actually in the bill before Congress. 
 

“I find it disturbing that the President would discount the valid concerns voiced by countless Americans during the August recess as people trying to score short term political points.  The Americans that I talked to during August and who have called or emailed me over the last few months are concerned about what is actually in the legislation we are considering because they had read the bill.  Many are concerned that we are going to leave an incalculable debt to our children and grandchildren.  Others are concerned that they will be forced into a government plan that will lower the level of care for their families.  Seniors that rely on Medicare are concerned about the draconian cuts the program will take which would inevitably lower their level of care.  Doctors and health care providers are concerned that the legislation does not address medical liability reform which forces too many doctors to practice defensive medicine and drives up costs.  Job providers and small business owners are concerned about new taxes being proposed that will make it difficult for their business to thrive and create new jobs.  These questions are not being asked by people hoping to score cheap political points they are valid and vital concerns of American citizens that must be addressed.
 

“I agree with the President that is important that Congress act to reform health care, but we must do it right.  We must not increase the burden of debt on our children and grandchildren.  We must not lower the level of care for seniors on Medicare.  We must enact liability reform not once again kick this can down the road as the President suggested tonight.  We must ensure that no person is denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition or lose their coverage simply because they get sick.  And we must not enact job killing tax increases that will make it more difficult for our economy to recover.
 

“If the President and Congressional Democrats are willing to work honestly with us on these issues then I stand ready to get to work.  But I will stand against a government takeover of our health care system that will bury future generations under a mountain of debt and put people’s health coverage at risk.  It is my hope that the President and Congressional Democrats will actually back up their words of bi-partisan cooperation with real action.”