Supporting the goals and ideals of the Apple Crunch and the Nation's domestic apple industry.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the Apple Crunch and the Nation's domestic apple industry.

In an era that sees food serving sizes skyrocketing and in an America that is quickly forgetting the meaning of the phrase ``a la carte,'' it is important to continually encourage children to eat healthily. The goal of the Apple Crunch is just that, to promote healthier snacking by America's youth.

First established in Pennsylvania, the success of Apple Crunch has spread. Apple Crunch, the pinnacle of the celebration of Apple Month in October, is now in its 2nd year as a national practice, with schools and communities across the country joining in festivities.

During the 2006-2007 school year, more than 930 schools and 495,000 citizens in Pennsylvania alone came together to celebrate Apple Crunch. Schools, families, local communities, grocery stores, and the domestic apple industry all join together to encourage adding more fruits and vegetables to our everyday diets. Many schools have gone far past simply featuring apples on the dining menu, integrating apples into classroom lessons and even scheduling field trips to local farmers' markets.

The focus on promoting healthy eating in our schools is vital to the health

of our children and society. According to one of the organizers, ``By making fruits and vegetables fun for kids, our message of healthy snacking is going home and influencing the entire family.''

By joining in the Apple Crunch and bringing more attention to the goal of healthier snacking, we can move our country further towards the future of a healthier Nation.

I urge my colleagues to join in support of the Apple Crunch and embrace an easy and available step toward healthier living. After all, as true now as ever, ``an apple a day keeps the doctor away.''

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I need to respond to my colleague from Kansas, who made some comments earlier about working across the aisle to do something about drilling and providing additional supply.

It sounded, from her experience of going home this weekend, that the message is getting through to some of our Democratic colleagues, and I'm very glad to hear that.

She alluded to some legislation which we have dealt with in committee and on the floor in the past couple of weeks. She mentions the myth again of all these acres that the oil companies have that they have not drilled on and, therefore, we should take away their leases. Well, I think we have pretty well debunked that myth here on the floor and in committee, and I think the media has done a pretty good job of it too.

The oil companies have the greatest incentive to drill on land that they have leased now if there were oil under the ground there. They obviously are smart business people. They know the price of oil is as high as it's ever been. And if there were oil there, they'd be drilling. Obviously, again, our colleagues who are out of touch with how business works don't quite understand that or don't want to accept that.

On the issue of speculators, even in the Agriculture Committee when we had hearings, people who came in there who wanted to say that speculators were causing the high price of gasoline absolutely could provide no proof that that was happening.

What we have to do is increase the supply of oil to this country. Republicans have stood ready to work with the Democrats all year long on this issue, in fact, ever since the price of gas started going up, again, in direct relationship to the Democrats' being in charge of this Congress.

It's a sham what has been happening in this House in terms of our being able to vote on real bills that would increase the supply. These bills wouldn't have failed over and over and over again if that's what the bills were doing.

We are hearing increasing comments from Democrats, and we are glad to hear it. Again, we hope the American public continues to put the pressure on them so that they will bring pressure on their leadership. Certainly we want to work with them to increase supply.

It appears that they think the law of supply and demand can be repealed, but it can't. So I urge the leadership of the House to bring real bills, bills that would do something to increase the supply of oil and gas to this country, and we will vote with you. But we are not going to try to pass sham bills that do nothing to help the average American citizen.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the resolution we have just debated, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud cosponsor of H. Res. 1143, which expresses support for the goals and ideals of the Apple Crunch and National Apple Month, which will be celebrated in October. Additionally, this measure promotes the importance of making healthy food choices, which apples certainly are, particularly when choosing snacks. As my constituents know, there is no better snack on a beautiful fall day in Upstate New York than a McIntosh apple.

We have all heard the old adage of `an apple a day keeps the doctor away.' In fact, recent studies have reinforced the nutritional and health benefits of apples. These studies have indicated that eating apples may help to prevent Alzheimer's disease as well as certain types of cancer and heart disease. Additional studies have found that apple consumption may help to reduce coughing and perhaps even childhood asthma.

In addition to promoting good health, this resolution also recognizes the importance of our Nation's apple industry. The apple has long played an integral part in New York State's economy and history, particularly in Clinton County which I have the privilege of representing. Specifically, by 1850, over 500 varieties of apples had already originated in New York State, and of particular pride, the world famous McIntosh apple was first propagated and planted in the Champlain Valley in 1835. Additionally, in 1969 the Acey Mac apple variety, known for being sweet, tart, and juicy, evolved in Peru, New York, which is located in Clinton County.

Today, New York State is home to roughly 694 commercial apple growers and produces about 25 million bushels each year, which makes it our nation's second leading producer. Moreover, Clinton County is one of the State's most productive counties.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the importance of apples to our health and economy. Accordingly, I am proud to be a cosponsor of H. Res. 1143.

Madam Speaker, I rise to support House Resolution 1143. This resolution is intended to help increase awareness of our nation's domestic apple supply and promote healthy food choices for students and communities.

The United States is the second largest producer of apples in the world, after China. I am fortunate to have a very large apple industry in my District, with many growers and processors. Growers in the states of Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and California are the largest domestic producers.

To promote domestic apple production, the U.S. Apple Association recognizes October as National Apple Month, which focuses on educating consumers about the positive health outcomes associated with apple consumption. The Apple Crunch was created to encourage children to participate in National Apple Month activities.

The Apple Crunch was started in my home state of Pennsylvania and incentivizes schools to serve apples on their school lunch menus, as snacks in the classroom, and for use in classroom activities. Schools that create the most original activities integrating apples into the class day win monetary prizes to be put toward the school's food service operation.

Communities are also encouraged to participate in the Apple Crunch to support their local participating schools. Many local businesses voluntarily serve apples and apple products to their employees and to customers.

Madam Speaker, this October will mark the second year in which the Apple Crunch has been celebrated nationally. I think that we can all agree that supporting our nation's domestic agriculture production is not only important to our economy, but also the health of our citizens. I urge your support of this resolution, which promotes the goals and ideals of National Apple Week, and specifically the Apple Crunch.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1143) supporting the goals and ideals of the Apple Crunch and the Nation's domestic apple industry.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to stand in support of H. Res. 1143, which recognizes and supports the goals and ideals of the Apple Crunch and the Nation's domestic apple industry.

H. Res. 1143 was introduced by our colleague Representative Todd Platts of Pennsylvania on April 23, 2008, and was considered by and reported from the Oversight Committee on July 16, 2008. The measure has the support of 52 Members of Congress and gives us a chance to recognize and celebrate the contributions of the apple and apple growers of our country and their impact to our economy. Whether it's ``as American as apple pie'' or the fact that ``an apple a day keeps the doctor away,'' one thing we do know is that the apple is core to the American way.

Therefore, I would urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Nation's apple industry and the annual Apple Crunch event by agreeing to H. Res. 1143.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H. Res. 1143, and I yield back the balance of my time.