Bill Posey

MELBOURNE, FL – Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) has announced that the location of next week’s Healthcare Town Hall Meeting has changed due to an overwhelming response by interested constituents. The new location will be at the King Center at Brevard Community College, approximately 3 miles from the original location. Staff will be present at the Holiday Inn (the old location) to direct constituents to the King Center in order to help citizens who did not receive notice of the venue change.

“We’ve gotten a tremendous response,” said Congressman Posey. “Three days after announcing the location of our event, we more than doubled the available capacity of the original location.  We want to be able to comfortably accommodate as many constituents as possible and the King Center at Brevard Community College can help us meet the growing demand.”

“I want to thank everyone at the Holiday Inn, Brevard Community College and the Brevard Community College King Center for offering their facilities in service to our community,” added Posey.

The event will include presentations by Congressman Posey and Mr. Dennis Smith, former Director of the Federal Center for Medicaid and State Operation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A panel of representatives from local health care providers, medical practitioners, and the business community will also be available to field questions from residents. Congressman Posey sent both President Obama and Vice-President Biden an invitation to attend the forum as well.

What: Healthcare Town Hall Meeting

When: Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Time: 6:30 – 8:30pm

Where: The King Center at Brevard Community College

3865 N. Wickham Road

Melbourne, FL 32935

Map of the Brevard Community College Campus:

http://www.brevard.cc.fl.us/pdf/maps/melbourne.pdf

Open to all Residents of Florida’s 15^th Congressional District

RSVP appreciated but not required.

RSVP online at www.posey.house.gov/RSVP/

RSVP by Phone: 321-632-1776

*If you have already RSVP’ed, you do not need to re-register for the event.

Last week Posey sent copies of the 1,017 page health care reform proposal to the main public libraries of both Osceola and Indian River Counties and has made a copy of the bill available to constituents who want to read it in his Melbourne office as well.

Over the last several months, Congressman Posey has been gathering input from constituents, local health care professionals, and policy experts on health care reform and how Congress should proceed. Last month, Posey held two telephone town hall meetings with constituents on the topic, has hosted several roundtable discussions with local health care experts, and toured community health centers in Indian River County.

Posey, who has received thousands of letters, emails and phone calls from constituents, said that it is important to hear from residents about what they like and don’t like about their current health care plans and reiterated his pledge that he “will not vote for legislation in its final form that he has not been afforded proper time to read and evaluate.”

Bill Posey

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Green fuels, solar power and electro-magnetic technology topped the list of energy issues discussed during U.S. Rep. Bill Posey’s tour of Indian River and Brevard counties Tuesday morning.

In Fellsmere, the Rocklegde Republican visited with representatives from PetroAlgae Inc. to learn about the company’s large-scale production of biofuels.

“We’re taking this opportunity to look at the positive things that are happening in the district in regard to energy,” Posey told Fred Tennant, chief marketing officer for PetroAlgae. “Today we will see firsthand the progress that is being made by local developers of clean energy technology.”

PetroAlgae is licensing a micro-crop technology that they hope will someday replace fossil fuels. At the small-scale outdoor production site west of Fellsmere, about 150 different micro-organisms are grown in modular trays and harvested several times a day. The crop is processed into two products: a carbohydrate-rich solid that’s used as substitute for petroleum in an oil refinery; and a second product that can be used as a protein source in animal feed.

“Everyone wants renewable energy because the sources for non-renewable energy are growing low,” said John Scott, chairman of PetroAlgae. He added that the PetroAlgae product could be used by an existing refinery as a replacement for petroleum and produce clean, viable fuel.

Tennant said company officials have been meeting with key legislators in Washington to muster support for clean fuels. It was Posey’s second visit to the farm since he was elected to Congress last year.

“I sat with the congressman in Washington, and he’s extremely receptive to what we’re doing here in Fellsmere,” he said. “When he was out here before, we weren’t as far along in development, and it’s important to us that he knows how well we’re doing.”

Posey, whose tour also took him to AML Energy in Palm Bay and the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, said America needs a comprehensive energy policy with incentives for developing clean, renewable energy.

“What PetroAlgae, Advance Magnet Lab and the Florida Energy Center offer us is a glimpse into the future of powering our country and a demonstration of what’s possible,” Posey said.

After touring the facility, Posey stopped to meet some of the plant’s 100 employees.

“We want to make sure that you get a fair shake in Washington,” Posey told PetroAlgae executives. “We want to make this site the center of the PetroAlgae world.”

Bill Posey

In May, the Obama administration authorized a committee of experts to review current and activities for human space flight as undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee’s findings, scheduled to come out in late August or early September, will play a significant role in shaping our nation’s human space flight programs for generations to come.

Though appointed by NASA at the request of the administration, this panel of experts ultimately owes its allegiance and diligence to the American people. In some ways our space program has become a victim of its own success. The abundance of NASA spinoffs — cell phones, laptops, GPS — has resulted in many Americans taking for granted, or failing to appreciate altogether, how space exploration has directly benefited their lives. The committee’s report could have a significant impact on our ability as a nation to continue in our technological and scientific advances.

Space exploration is the one thing for which the United States is undeniably, unequivocally and universally respected around the world. But our international competitors are eager to catch up. Russia, China, India, and others are challenging our position as the world leader in aerospace. We should not and cannot afford to surrender this leadership to others. Not for the sake of national pride but because it is an integral part of our future and will inspire future generations of Americans. We must press the envelope and lead the world. Additionally, we all realize the vital implications at stake in regards to our national security; whoever dominates space will control what security we have here on Earth.

President John F. Kennedy, like the Wright brothers, inspired a generation with his vision of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.” As a young man, I was inspired by that vision and joined thousands of other Americans to work on the Apollo program to see the vision fulfilled. Forty years ago, almost to the day, we succeeded. Soon thereafter, however, tens of thousands of us received our pink slips. As we approach the Space Shuttle’s retirement and our temporary dependence on the Russians for access to the space station, we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Our talented work force cannot simply be laid off and then rehired a few years later.

I have urged the committee to highlight in their report ways to minimize the U.S. gap with the Shuttle’s successor program to maintain our high-skilled space work force. Furthermore, I asked the committee to think outside the arbitrary budget numbers placed on NASA — $18.8 billion out of a total $3.6 trillion budget, less than half a percent of the federal budget.

If we are serious about maintaining our leadership in space and wish to continue as a beneficiary of space exploration, policy makers need to know what the best options are overall. Budgets are a reality, but proper leadership can and should match the budget to a worthy mission — not the mission to the budget. Finally, I reminded the committee of the importance of vision in inspiring the leaders of tomorrow.

Posey, R-Rockledge, represents the northern Treasure Coast in the U.S. House.

Bill Posey

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) was joined by 30 of his colleagues in introducing legislation to amend Rules of the House to  require a 72 hour period of availability before legislation can be brought up for consideration in the House of Representatives. The bill, H. Res. 689, also requires that a print comparing current law with the proposed law be made available to Members of Congress and the public for at least 72 hours before legislation can be considered.  This not only applies to the underlying bill to be considered but also to any manager’s amendment or other amendment that makes significant changes to the bill.

“The first rule of open government is transparency,” said Congressman Posey. “It’s disrespectful to the American people for Congress to ram through thousands of pages of legislation that no one has had the time to read or understand.  Members of Congress must be given the opportunity to read and digest the massive spending increases and complex statutory changes that are included in many of the bills we are asked to consider. This bill simply lets the sunshine in and encourages public debate and involvement in the issues before Congress.”

Specifically, Posey’s bill requires that legislation be made available to Members of Congress and the public for at least 72 hours before the House may begin debate on the legislation. It also requires that a comparative print showing specifically how the proposed legislation changes current law be made available at least 72 hours before consideration of the bill. The legislation is similar to rules put in place by the Florida legislature to ensure no last minute changes could be made to legislation before a vote.

Posey said that it is important that Members of Congress and the public be given sufficient time and information to understand more fully how the proposed legislation or amendments affect current law. “By requiring the comparative print, Members and the public are given a much better understanding of the overall impact of the bill.”

Suzanne Kosmas

Space Coast Area Transit in Brevard County will receive a $6.9 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla.

The grant will help replace aging buses and vans as well as fund a facelift for the 25-year-old Melbourne bus terminal.

The agency will purchase 16 buses to replace existing buses that are scheduled to reach the end of their useful life next year. It will also purchase 20 replacement vans for its vanpool fleet. The vanpool program allows groups to lease vans from the agency and then drivers and passengers decide on a flexible route and schedule.

Bill Posey

Florida Congressmen Mario Diaz-Balart, Bill Posey and Tom Rooney have been put on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s list of vulnerable incumbents.

Officially they were added to the NRCC’s Patriot Program, which is an attempt to hold the lawmakers accountable for meeting their own fundraising goals in return for party help. How things shake out is unknown, of course. Diaz-Balart was widely said to be in danger of losing last cycle but outlasted the Obama momentum.

On the Democratic side, the GOP views Reps. Suzanne Kosmas and Alan Grayson as the most vulnerable, with Grayson considered the easier target.

Bill Posey

Rep. Posey begins by discussing the definition of inflation and then elaborates more on an audit of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke continues his decidedly illogical argument that knowing what the Fed is doing is the same as directing the Fed on monetary policy.

Of note is that Posey uses Judge Napolitano’s quote repeated on Freedom Watch over the past few weeks: “We know more about what the CIA is doing than the Fed”.

Bill Posey

Tim Geithner took center stage on Capitol Hill today and once again he disappointed.

Geithner went before Congress to sing the praises of the Obama administration’s plan for regulating derivatives–something that’s much needed. But once again, Geithner failed to explain the criteria that will be used to distinguish standard derivatives from so-called customized derivatives.

And that’s pretty important since the crux of the Obama plan is for regulating standard derivatives.

Rep. Bill Posey asked Geithner the questions most Americans wanted answers to.  Below is the video