Moment of Silence in Rememberence of Members of Armed Forces and Their Families

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I want to really just echo what the gentleman from Georgia just did here on the floor of the House. He actually brought some common sense to this debate. Everybody has their talking points and their little notes and they're reading them and they're trying to confuse the issue. Let's take a step back, if we might, Mr. Chairman. Let's just ask a very simple question, a very simple question. Can somebody name an area in this country or in this world that has had more innovation, that has blossomed more, that has opened up communications and connected people more in our country or anywhere in the world in the last decade than the Internet? Can anybody name it? Anything. No. It's impossible.

Think about what's happened. The Internet was even recently credited for helping bring down the government of
Egypt. It's allowed the people to see the atrocities in Iran. It's allowed things like Facebook and Twitter and iPhones to blossom. It's given access to millions of people, and it has created millions of jobs.

So what is the answer then for that incredible blossoming of something that has revolutionized the way we communicate, that the world communicates? What is now the answer of the Federal Government? We keep talking about letters. It's the Federal Government. What is the answer of the Federal Government to deal with that unprecedented blossoming, of innovation, imagination, of job creation? Oh, Mr. Chairman, the Federal Government now has to regulate. Why? Because it's too much innovation. The prices have dropped too much. It's too much imagination. It's too positive. And, therefore, the Federal Government must step in because the Federal Government can do it so much better. The Federal Government has all the answers.

Mr. Chairman, a little bit of common sense. I'm talking to my colleagues here but also to the American people. If you believe--and think about 10 years ago--if you believe that the Federal Government, if it's in charge, if it would have been in charge, would have done a better job in blossoming this innovation, this job creation, then you have to be with our friends on the other side of the aisle. You then should support Federal Government intervening, taking care of, regulating the Internet. But if you believe that that miracle of innovation took place because of individuals, people with imagination, and because the government got out of its way, you would support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Just very briefly, look. Come on. Let's get real.

Mr. Chairman, everybody supports protecting the environment. Every American supports protecting the environment. We also support protecting the jobs of the people who live within that environment. Yet some of us don't support arbitrary decisions that are made that are going to cost thousands of jobs and that are going to close plants.

So, again, while there is a consensus in this body on protecting the environment, there does not seem to be, Mr. Chairman, a consensus on protecting the jobs of the American people, of those who are desperate for jobs. But without this amendment, we are going to lose more jobs. Let's have some common sense. Let's protect the environment and protect American jobs.

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