Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby.

I want to thank Mr. Carson and Mr. Barletta for bringing this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, for the 23rd straight year, I am proud to sponsor this resolution that allows the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby Association to hold its 73rd annual race on the grounds of the United States Capitol on June 14, which, by the way, Mr. Speaker, happens to be my birthday. As Mr. Carson pointed out, and as Mr. Barletta has said, this is a longstanding tradition that brings young people from around the area to the Capitol for a fun and educational achievement.

In 1938, Mr. Speaker, Norman Rocca beat 223 other racers to win the inaugural Greater Washington Soap Box Derby, which was held on New Hampshire Avenue. Over the years, thousands of the region's young people have participated in this great race. Dozens of boys and girls, ranging in age from 8 to 17, are divided into three divisions: stock, super stock, and masters. The local winner of each division will qualify to compete with racers from around the world in the All- American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio.

America's soap box derbies have been called the ``greatest amateur racing event in the world.'' Every year, they bring young people together with their parents and teach sportsmanship, hard work, and pride of accomplishment, not to mention engineering and the awareness of how you make something that makes a difference. The spirit of competition that fuels these racers is the same spirit that has long energized our Nation's businesses and innovators, which all of these young people are and, hopefully, will continue to be. The young participants in these derbies are often sponsored by community groups, police departments, fire departments, and others who recognize in them great promise for the future.

I continue to be incredibly proud of those from Maryland's Fifth District who participate. We have celebrated a number of soap box derby champions from the Fifth District, including the winners from 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013. You can see that the soap box derby is very important and popular in my district. The winners in 2007 and 2008 went on to prevail in the national championship. All of last year's winners were from Maryland's Fifth District: Aspen Tomasello, who won the stock division; Brittany Sorli, who won the super stock division; and Jay Warnick, who won the masters division and who went on to become the third St. Mary's County resident--the county in which I live, the most southern county in our State--to win the All-American Soap Box Derby in 6 years. We are very proud of them all.

I want to thank those Members who have cosponsored this resolution: Representatives Gerry Connolly, John Delaney, Donna Edwards, Jim Moran, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chris Van Hollen, and my dear friend Frank Wolf.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and to come and see the soap box derby in action.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 88) authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 88.

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

H. Con. Res. 88 authorizes the use of the Capitol Grounds for the annual Greater Washington Soap Box Derby in June.

I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for introducing this resolution. He has been a longtime supporter of this event and of the children involved each year.

This event occurs annually on the Capitol Grounds. The Soap Box Derby encourages children to show off their dedication, work, and creativity as they compete for trophies. The winners of each division are qualified to compete in the National All-American Soap Box Derby held in Ohio.

I support the passage of this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

The gentleman from Maryland may be interested to know that, in our markup of this resolution, two of our committee members mentioned that they were proud soap box derby champions--Mr. Nolan of Minnesota and Mr. Williams of Texas. They also joked that, today, they now stand on a soap box here in Congress.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I have no other speakers.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, this has been a proud tradition across the Nation, including in Pennsylvania. In fact, in 1975, 11-year-old Karren Stead of Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania, became the first girl to win the All-American Soap Box Derby.

Again, I would like to thank the minority whip for giving us an opportunity each year to highlight this event and its importance.

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

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

I would like to commend my very close and dear friend, Congressman Hoyer, for his dedication to the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby and for introducing this resolution on behalf of the Washington regional delegation.

I support today's resolution, which authorizes the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby to use the Capitol Grounds. This event provides a terrific opportunity for children to learn the values of craftsmanship and competition as they build and race their vehicles.

The very first soap box derby race in Washington, D.C., was run in 1938, and for the last 20 years, the official race site has been on Capitol Hill. With race cars approaching speeds of 25 miles per hour on Constitution Avenue, this event provides a real thrill for kids and adults alike from across the region. Winners of this event go on to compete in the national competition in Akron, Ohio, where they compete against kids from all over the world.

On race day, every Greater Washington Soap Box Derby participant starts the race with the chance to become a world champion. I support this terrific opportunity for the children of Washington, D.C., and I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this great resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Speaker, may I ask my colleague, the honorable chairman, Mr. Barletta, if he has any other speakers.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to H. Con. Res. 88, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

I ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.