Supporting the goals and ideals of National Hurricane Preparedness Week.

Madam Speaker, on the evening of Wednesday, June 23, 2010, and on Thursday, June 24, 2010, I was absent from the House and missed rollcall votes 382 through 394.

Had I been present for rollcall 382, on a motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, H.R. 5481, To give subpoena power to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 383, on a motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended, H.R. 3993, the Calling Card Consumer Protection Act, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 384, on a motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 1388, Supporting the goals and ideals of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 385, on ordering the previous question for H. Res. 1468, Providing for consideration of H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 386, on agreeing to H. Res. 1468, Providing for consideration of H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 387, on a motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Con. Res. 285, Recognizing the important role that fathers play in the lives of their children and families and supporting the goals and ideals of designating 2010 as the Year of the Father, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 388, on agreeing to the amendment, King of Iowa Amendment No. 2 to H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, I would have voted ``no.''

Had I been present for rollcall 389, agreeing to the amendment, Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania Amendment No. 5 to H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 390, on a motion to recommit with instructions H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, I would have voted ``no.''

Had I been present for rollcall 391, on passage of H.R. 5175, the Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 392, on a motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 1464, Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the United States-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security and expressing appreciation to the Government of Japan and the Japanese people for enhancing peace, prosperity, and security in the Asia-Pacific region, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 393, on a motion to suspend the rules and concur with the Senate amendments to H.R. 3962, To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall 394, on a motion to suspend the rules and agree to the conference report to H.R. 2194, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1330, a resolution that supports the goals and ideals of National Hurricane Preparedness Week. I also want to thank my colleague, the honorable Mario Diaz-Balart, for introducing this important resolution.

My district is in the wake of many hurricanes that make their way into the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane season has a profound impact on our way of life in the Gulf. For example, our latest hurricane, Hurricane Ike, wreaked havoc on Texas, particularly in Galveston and Houston. As we moved forward with recovery efforts, it was clear that the impact of this storm has been widespread and many people are still in need of assistance. Lost in the discussion of Sunday's World Refugee Day was the group of internally displaced individuals from Ike, Rita, and especially Katrina.

Unfortunately, Texans are still in need of help, especially the neglected residents of North Galveston. Let us use this time to examine how FEMA and HUD are responding to citizens so that we can continue to provide the aid people desperately need to fully recover from this storm.

I continue working to ensure that Hurricane Ike victims still have access to recovery resources and call for expeditious action, urging a better response and expedited assistance from FEMA, HUD, and local officials. I also call on housing associations to re-open access to housing for Hurricane Ike victims.

Just as we saw in the 9th ward of New Orleans, Louisiana Post- Hurricane Katrina, people in North Galveston have not received the

proper access to government aid to rebuild and recover. In fact, there is still much more rebuilding and desperate need of housing that needs to be done to restore North Galveston and assist the residents who remain there.

We cannot allow the hurricane victims to be forgotten. Throughout the Post-Hurricane Ike recovery efforts, many individuals have had difficulties and challenges getting the government aid that they need to rebuild after the storm. Many have lost their jobs or are at risk of losing their employment due to damages incurred by the hurricane, including the more than 2,400 employees of the University of Texas Medical Branch, UTMB, who were recently terminated. We must protect our citizens and their means of living as we continue to recover from this storm.

There are men, women, and children who have lost so much due to flood waters and storm winds. I have been proud to stand up repeatedly in Congress to fight on their behalf by securing the necessary Federal funds. We must work together to ensure that our Nation does its part to help Hurricane Ike victims fully recover by ensuring the delivery of these funds that we worked so hard to appropriate. As a senior Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, which has oversight over the Federal Emergency Management Administration, FEMA, I am working to ensure that our communities respond expeditiously to natural disasters. The protection of our homeland and the security of our neighborhoods are at the forefront of my agenda.

For the foregoing reasons I stand in support of making this legislation.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and I rise today in support of the resolution, but I really wanted to support the previous resolution, but I was in a conference.

As the co-chair of the High-Performance Buildings Caucus, I am delighted to join my colleague and caucus co-chair, Congressman Russ Carnahan, to recognize June 13 through June 19 as High-Performance Building Week, House Resolution 1407.

Last week's celebration was marked by numerous events, including Hill briefings and offsite green infrastructure tours, and I would like to thank the National Institute for Building Sciences, the American Society for Landscape Architects, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology for organizing these tours throughout last week.

Congressman Carnahan and I first formed the High-Performance Buildings Caucus in 2008 to heighten awareness and inform policymakers about the major impact buildings have on our health, safety, and environment. Through monthly briefings, we explore the opportunities to design, construct, and operate high-performance buildings that reflect our concern for these impacts. In fact, since we first started this caucus, we've had almost 25 briefings on everything from lighting technology and building modeling to smart-grid facilities management and green job creation.

Understanding how every element of a building affects us--and our energy bill--is important. Buildings consume 40 percent of the energy used in the U.S. while emitting 39 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Perhaps a more surprising statistic is that Americans spend, on average, 90 percent of their time indoors. With this in mind, new building construction and sustainability of our current building inventory is more important now than ever.

Consider two statistics from the U.S. Green Building Council: Students with optimum daylight in the classroom performed 20 percent faster on math tests and 26 percent faster on reading tests in 1 year than those with less daylight. Improvements with indoor environments are estimated to save $17 billion to $48 billion in total health gains and $20 billion to $160 billion in worker performance.

Most importantly, a 2009 McKinsey study on energy efficiency demonstrates the potential for the residential building sector to reduce its energy consumption by 35 percent over the next 10 years, and 40 percent in the industrial sector. For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, it is important that we maintain our commitment to and awareness of high- performance buildings and the benefits they offer society.

We could not honor the goals and ideals of High-Performance Building Week without thanking those groups that have helped us over the last 2 years. Dozens of building and standard organizations make up the High- Performance Buildings Congressional Caucus Coalition. I know I speak for myself and my fellow caucus co-chair when I say thank you for your help educating, researching, and advancing the goal of high-performance buildings.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1388) supporting the goals and ideals of National Hurricane Preparedness Week.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 1388, the resolution now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, on June 1, hurricane season began in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane forecasters have predicted an above-average year for tropical storms and hurricanes for 2010. As we enter hurricane season, it is therefore very timely to consider this resolution recognizing the importance of hurricane preparedness.

Hurricanes are among the most powerful forces of nature we experience. As the tragedies from past storms have taught us, it is vitally important that Federal, State, and local governments work together to better prepare the coastal communities for these powerful storms to minimize the loss of life and costly physical damage. Part of this effort is educating the public about hurricanes and hurricane preparedness. The National Hurricane Center at NOAA is a critical resource in this effort. In addition to providing us with the hurricane forecasting information that coastal communities all rely on, the National Hurricane Center also focuses considerable effort in educating coastal communities about hurricane preparedness. This includes recommendations from what supplies to have handy if you live in a hurricane-prone region to encouraging people to craft personal evacuation plans in the event of a storm. These seemingly small steps can make an enormous difference in saving lives.

We don't have any hurricanes in my home State of Missouri, but these same lessons of preparedness for deadly weather can be seen in the Midwest. Living in ``Tornado Alley,'' we know all too well the consequences of not being prepared for action when the tornado warnings go off. Unfortunately, all too often the results from being unprepared is a loss of life.

It really is hard to understate the importance of adequate preparation and preparedness in these regions of our country that are susceptible to dangerous weather. I want to thank my friend from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart) for introducing this important resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to add again my thanks to the gentlelady from Illinois for her leadership on the High-Performance Buildings Caucus and for being here to speak on behalf of the prior resolution.

Mr. Speaker, 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 in support of House Resolution 1388, to support the goals and ideals of National Hurricane Preparedness Week. This important resolution urges the people of the United States to recognize this week as an opportunity to learn more about the work of the National Hurricane Center in forecasting hurricanes and educating citizens about the potential risks of the storms.

I would like to acknowledge Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer for their leadership in bringing this resolution to the floor. I would also like to thank my colleague Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who authored this timely resolution.

As Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response, emergency preparedness for all types of natural disasters, such as flash floods in natural parks or wildfires in southern California, is an important issue to me. I will soon be introducing legislation that emphasizes the importance and need for effective and reliable alert systems when these national disasters occur.

In an average 3-year period, roughly 5 hurricanes strike the coastlines of the United States. The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season included 9 named storms, including 3 hurricanes, 2 of which were category 3 or higher. Because damage from a hurricane can be substantial, the National Hurricane Center recommends that people in areas prone to hurricanes prepare a personal evacuation plan that identifies ahead of time several options of places to go in the event of evacuation, the telephone numbers of these places, and a local road map. When a hurricane threatens the United States, people in potential flood zones must evacuate if told to do so, keep abreast of road conditions through the news media, move to a safe area before access is cut off by flood water, and develop a flood emergency action plan.

H. Res. 1388 encourages the staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, especially the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center, to continue their outstanding work of educating people in the United States about hurricane preparedness. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation to promote increased safety measures during hurricane season.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1388.