Recognizing Mark Twain as one of America's most famous literary icons on the 175th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary of his death.

Madam Speaker, I missed the following votes from Friday, December 17 through Wednesday, December 22, 2010. I would have voted ``yes'' on the following votes:

Friday:

H.J. Res. 105--Making Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011 (Representative Obey--Appropriations) (Voice vote)

1. H. Res. 1377--Honoring the accomplishments of Norman Yoshio Mineta (Representative Honda--House Administration)

2. Senate Amendment to H.R. 1107--To enact certain laws relating to public contracts as title 41, United States Code, ``Public Contracts'' (Representative Conyers--Judiciary)

3. Senate Amendment to H.R. 628--To establish a pilot program in certain United States district courts to encourage enhancement of expertise in patent cases among district judges (Representative Issa-- Judiciary)

4. H. Res. 1733--Recognizing Mark Twain as one of America's most famous literary icons on the 175th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary of his death (Representative Snyder--Oversight and Government Reform)

5. H. Res. 1621--Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the historic founding of Catholic Charities USA (Representative Holt--Oversight and Government Reform)

6. H. Res. 1767--Commending the Wisconsin Badger football team for an outstanding season and 2011 Rose Bowl bid (Representative Baldwin-- Education and Labor)

7. H. Con. Res. 335--Honoring the exceptional achievements of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and recognizing the monumental contributions he has made to United States national security, humanitarian causes, and peaceful resolutions of international conflict (Representative Lowey--Foreign Affairs)

8. S. 3874--Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (Senator Boxer-- Energy and Commerce)

9. H.R. 6533--To implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service (Representative Doyle--Energy and Commerce)

10. H.R. 6523--Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (Representative Skelton--Armed Services)

11. H.R. 2142--Government Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Performance Improvement Act of 2009 (Representative Cuellar--Oversight and Government Reform)

12. H.R. 5510--Aiding Those Facing Foreclosure Act of 2010 (Representative Kaptur--Financial Services)

Tuesday:

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 5116--America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Representative Gordon--Science and Technology)(228-130)

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2142--Government Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Performance Improvement Act (Representative Cuellar--Oversight and Government Reform) (216-139)

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2751--FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (Representatives Waxman/Dingell--Energy and Commerce) (215-144)

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3082--Making Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011 (Representative Obey-- Appropriations) (193-165)

1. S. 3592--A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 Commerce Drive in Tyrone, Georgia, as the ``First Lieutenant Robert Wilson Collins Post Office Building'' (Senator Chambliss--Oversight and Government Reform)

2. Senate Amendment to H.R. 81--Shark Conservation Act (Representative Bordallo--Natural Resources)

3. Senate Amendment to H.R. 5809--Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010 (Representative Inslee--Energy and Commerce)

4. H.R. 6540--To require the Secretary of Defense, in awarding a contract for the KC-X Aerial Refueling Aircraft Program, to consider any unfair competitive advantage that an offeror may possess (Representative Inslee--Armed Services)

5. H.R. 6547--To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require criminal background checks for school employees (Representative George Miller--Education and Labor)

6. S. 118--Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act (Senator Kohl--Financial Services)

7. S. 1481--Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act (Senator Menendez--Financial Services)

8. S. 3243--Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 (Senator Pryor/ Representative Shuler--Homeland Security)

9. S. 2925--Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 (Senator Wyden--Judiciary)

10. Senate Amendment to H.R. 4748--Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 (Representative Owens--Judiciary)

11. Senate Amendment to H.R. 1746--Pre-Disaster Mitigation Act of 2009 (Representative Oberstar--Transportation and Infrastructure)

Wednesday:

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 847--James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (Representative Maloney--Energy and Commerce)(206-60)

Bills Adopted By Unanimous Consent (13):

1. Senate Amendment to H.R. 6523--Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (Representative Skelton--Armed Services)

2. S. 3481--Amending the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Federal responsibility for stormwater pollution (Senator Cardin--Transportation and Infrastructure)

3. House Amendment to S. 372--Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (Senator Akaka--Oversight and Government Reform)

4. H. Res. 1461--Supporting Olympic Day on June 23, 2010, and congratulating Team USA and World Fit participants (Representative Langevin--Oversight and Government Reform)

5. S. 4036--A bill to clarify the National Credit Union Administration authority to make stabilization fund expenditures without borrowing from the Treasury (Senator Dodd--Financial Services)

6. S. Con. Res. 67--A concurrent resolution celebrating 130 years of United States-Romanian diplomatic relations, congratulating the Romanian people on their achievements as a great nation, and reaffirming the deep bonds of trust and values between the United States and Romania, a trusted and most valued ally (Senator Voinovich-- Foreign Affairs)

7. Senate Amendment to H.R. 6560--Removal Clarification Act of 2010 (Representative Hank Johnson--Judiciary)

8. H. Res. 1779--Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders (Representative John Lewis (GA)--Judiciary)

9. Senate Amendment to H.R. 5901--Real Estate Jobs and Investment Act of 2010 (Representative Joe Crowley--Ways & Means)

10. H. Res. 1783--Technical Correction to H. Res. 1757 (Representative Brady (PA)--House Administration)

11. S. 4058--Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act of 2010 (Senator Kerry--Veterans' Affairs)

12. S. 3903--To authorize leases of up to 99 years for lands held in trust for Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (Senator Udall--Natural Resources)

13. Senate Amendment to H.R. 6517--To extend trade adjustment assistance and certain trade preference programs, to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to modify temporarily certain rates of duty, and for other purposes (Representative Levin-- Ways and Means)

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1733) recognizing

Mark Twain as one of America's most famous literary icons on the 175th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary of his death, as amended.

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

I now yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight Government Reform, I am pleased to present House Resolution 1733, a resolution recognizing Mark Twain as one of America's most famous literary icons on the 175th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary of his death. House Resolution 1733 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from Arkansas, Representative Vic Snyder, on November 18, 2010. This measure enjoys the support of over 60 Members of the House.

Mr. Speaker, Mark Twain was born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835. Famously, he was born 2 weeks after the closest approach to Earth of Halley's Comet, which made its next approach 1 day after his death in 1910.

At the age of 4, Twain moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a Mississippi River town that would inspire some of his most beloved works. At age 12, he became a printer's apprentice; and at age 16, he began working as a typesetter and contributor of articles and humorous sketches for the Hannibal Journal, a newspaper owned by his brother Orion. At age 18, he worked briefly as a printer in New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cincinnati, taking time to educate himself at public libraries in the evenings.

After returning to Missouri at age 22, he was inspired to be a steamboat pilot, earning significant income, learning intimate details of the river, and where he was inspired to give himself his pen name Mark Twain, which refers to the depth of two fathoms, or 12 feet, the right depth for safe passage of a riverboat.

He worked on riverboats until 1861, when the Civil War stopped traffic along the Mississippi River. He then traveled west, working as a miner and for newspapers in various towns. His first success as a writer came when his humorous short story, ``The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,'' was published in a New York weekly, The Saturday Press, on November 18, 1865. This launched his renown as a writer, bringing attention across the country.

After traveling to Europe and the Middle East on assignment from a local newspaper, he moved with his family to Buffalo, New York, and then to Hartford, Connecticut. It was in Hartford that Twain wrote his most famous works, ``The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,'' ``The Prince and the Pauper,'' ``Life on the Mississippi,'' ``Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,'' and ``A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.''

He gave lectures around the world, patented three inventions, and developed a lasting friendship with one of history's most famous scientists and inventors, Nikola Tesla.

Twain died at age 74 on April 21, 1910, a year after making his famous prediction: ``I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: `Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.' ''

William Faulkner called Mark Twain ``the father of American literature,'' and he is rightly remembered as such. We can also remember and honor him for his advocacy on behalf of emancipation and women's suffrage.

In closing, no study of American literature is complete without the works of Mark Twain. Mr. Speaker, let us, therefore, honor this giant of American literature on the 100th anniversary of his death through the passage of House Resolution 1733.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).

Mr. Speaker, again I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as a boy growing up in southern Oregon, Medford, Oregon, I was blessed with a wonderful public school system. Of course, that is about a half century ago now, but you only have a good school system if you have good teachers, and I did: Mr. Merriman and Elsie Butler and Devere Taylor and John Smock and Mrs. Leininger and Irv Myrick, and I do a disservice to all of them by naming just a few.

Chuck Nevi was one of those teachers, and he helped me explore America and humanity through the words of Mark Twain.

For a boy growing up in 1950s America, the world of riverboats, scalawags, runaway slaves, and sassy, independent, barefooted boys was magical. The world of Mark Twain taught readers universal truths about the human animal, and some of those truths are not flattering. Like all youngsters, I imagined myself to be Huckleberry Finn, and when Huck Finn chooses what he believes will be hell and eternal damnation so that his love, loyalty, and friendship with a runaway slave will be preserved, well, for me, being raised in a town with few minorities, I learned both about racism and about the power of even young boys to find the real truths and confront confusing human institutions that allowed racism to persist.

A few weeks ago, I saw the news report of Tina Fey winning the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and it reminded me that this year, 2010, should be acknowledged for the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's death and the 175th anniversary of his birth. And so even though it was late in the session, I filed this resolution on his birthday to honor Mark Twain.

Mr. Speaker, when parents are away from their babies, particularly during these holidays, we talk about our kids, and so I will. My 4- year-old, Penn, and my three 2-year-olds, Aubrey, Wyatt and Sullivan, are the four little boy Huck Finns in our Arkansas household geographically not far from Huck Finn's world, but such a different world now, one that 19th century contemporaries of a young Sam Clemens would not recognize, except, of course, for his insights into the strengths and weaknesses of human nature. And because of that genius, that genius expressed with humor, I hope my young boys, my young Huck Finns, learn to love the world and works of Mark Twain.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1733, recognizing Mark Twain as one of America's most famous literary icons on the 175th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary of his death.

Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835, Mark Twain left school at the age of 13 to go to work as a printer's apprentice. He went on to become an editorial assistant at a newspaper and river pilot, where he gained his famous pseudonym. Mark Twain began writing for a newspaper during the Civil War, and his short story ``The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County'' was published in 1865. Twain would, of course, go on to author ``The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' and ``The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,'' among 28 other books and numerous short stories.

Mr. Speaker, it is altogether fitting and proper that we recognize Mark

Twain and his rich contributions to our country's literary history. This wonderful occasion has also inspired me to rediscover the great works of Mark Twain with my granddaughter and connect this imaginary world with the reality of his boyhood home in Hannibal. It is critical for us to foster a love for reading among children and our grandchildren because it is part of what makes them kids.

I am also extremely honored and fortunate to represent Hannibal in Congress and would encourage folks to visit the area in northeast Missouri and discover the inspiration for some of the greatest literary works of American history. Mark Twain and the city of Hannibal are integral parts of Missouri's heritage, and I am proud to recognize him on this very special day.

To that end, a Mark Twain quote: ``Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore, dream, discover.''

I urge all Members to join me in strong support of this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield back the balance of my time.