Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a former member of this body, Representative Charles T. Canady on the occasion of his investiture as a Justice to the Supreme Court of the State of Florida.

During his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, Justice Canady served this nation and the people of the 12th Congressional District, which I now represent, with honor and distinction. His steadfast commitment toward upholding the laws and principles on which our nation was founded, will serve the people of the State of Florida well through his appointment as a Justice to the Florida Supreme Court.

Born in Lakeland, Florida, Justice Canady earned his B.A. from Haverford College in 1976 and Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Yale University in 1979. Thereafter, he practiced law in Lakeland at the firm of Holland and Knight and with the Lane, Trohn, Clarke, Bertrand and Williams law firm. In 1984, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives where he served through 1990.

In 1992, Justice Canady was elected to the 103rd Congress and served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from January 1993 to January 2001. Throughout his tenure in Congress, Justice Canady was an active member of the House Judiciary Committee. For three terms from January 1995 to January 2001, former Rep. Canady was the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. In this capacity, his efforts toward protecting and defending the laws of our nation made a lasting mark not only on this body, but on the American people for whom we are called serve.

While a member of the House of Representatives, Former Rep. Canady worked with steadfast dedication and fortitude on the issues found at the core of our country's belief system. Among his contributions include passage into law of the Religious Liberty Protection Act, which protects all citizens' right to exercise their religious freedoms. He also championed the Civil Rights Act of 1997, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the Private Property Rights Implementation Act, Equal Opportunity Act, as well as the Family Caregiver Enumeration Act.

Appointed as a House Manager to conduct the presidential impeachment proceedings, he worked to uphold the laws of our nation through his unwavering commitment to the principles of the Constitution of the United States and the governing rules of our country.

Justice Canady kept his term limits pledge, and did not seek reelection to a fifth term in 2000. After leaving Congress, Justice Canady returned to the practice of law, serving as counsel to Governor Jeb Bush. In 2002, Governor Bush appointed him to Florida's Second District Court of Appeal. On August 27, 2008, Governor Charlie Crist nominated Justice Canady to the Florida Supreme Court. His nomination was confirmed and Justice Canady took his seat as the 82nd Associate Justice to the Florida Supreme Court on September 8, 2008, and was sworn-in through a formal investiture on December 3, 2008.

Former Congressman Charles T. Canady resided until his appointment to the Florida Supreme Court in Lakeland, Florida, and is married to wife Jennifer and has two daughters, Julia and Anna. Charles T. Canady is the son of Charles and Delores Canady.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and public service of Stan Mayfield--a native Floridian, civic leader, and defender of the taxpayer. Florida lost a dear friend on September 30, 2008, when Stan Mayfield's hard fought battle with cancer came to an end.

As a businessman, school board member, and a state legislator, Stan's community leadership is a testament of his commitment to public service. However, his greatest role was that of husband and father. I extend my deepest and most heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Deborah, and their three sons--Evan, Samuel, and Coleman, at this difficult time.

Stan's community involvement was expansive, from his service on the Indian River County School Board to his tenure in the Florida State House of Representatives. Stan was known for his tenacity to hold government accountable for greater transparency, and his determination to cap spending and fight for lower taxes, but his passion for greater infrastructure, conservation, and Indian River County is what his friends and colleagues will remember.

Most recently, Stan was preparing for a new chapter in his life after winning his primary election for Indian River County Tax Collector. A model of strong perseverance, Stan refused to allow his illness to deter him from public service and doing what he loved--serving people. It was this motivation and resolve that Stan put toward every challenge that truly exemplifies his character.

My thoughts and prayers are with Stan's loved ones, his friends, and his many colleagues who served with him throughout his many years in public service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a colleague and friend, U.S. Representative Dave Weldon who has served this body and the people of Florida well over the last 14 years.

Congressman Weldon has made valuable contributions not only to the people of Florida's 15th Congressional District, but also to the U.S. House of Representatives and the American public at large, who will continue to realize his long-standing efforts and contributions into the future.

As most in this body know, Dr. Dave Weldon, M.D., F.A.C.P. of Melbourne, Florida, is a practicing physician and Army veteran. His background and expertise have been called upon on numerous occasions to strengthen this nation's space program, healthcare policy, energy resources, foreign affairs, and veterans' programs among others.

Dr. Weldon was the first medical doctor to have served in Congress from the State of Florida, and continues to treat patients at a Veterans' clinic in his congressional district on a volunteer basis. Rep. Weldon served on the House Appropriations Committee, and in that capacity was a member on various subcommittees, including the Science, State, Justice and Commerce Subcommittee, which has funding oversight of several key executive branch agencies including NASA. In the 110th Congress, he served on the Labor, Health, and Human Services, as well as the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittees.

I have had the privilege to work closely with Dr. Weldon regarding many issues affecting Florida, as his congressional district borders my own in central Florida. In areas such as the space program and NASA, he has become a leader and will be long-recognized. I also worked hand-in- hand with him during several tumultuous hurricanes, in which he gave so generously of his efforts to benefit and rebuild for the people of our state.

His leadership in the House included serving as Vice Chairman of the Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, for 8

years, where he represented the interests of his constituents at Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Station, and surrounding aerospace community. He is the co-founder and chairman of the Congressional Aerospace Caucus.

Rep. Weldon is also a member of the Autism Caucus, the Cancer Caucus, the Renewable Energy Caucus, the Tourism Caucus, and the Military Veterans Caucus. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 453A, known as the ``Rocket Post,'' in Rockledge, Florida.

Madam Speaker, I rise to again express my appreciation, as well as those of the people of the State of Florida and my colleagues in Congress, for the dedication of Dr. Dave Weldon in his service in the United States Congress. My best wishes go out to him and his family for his future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama for yielding.

There is an old Chinese proverb, ``may you live in interesting times,'' and these are interesting and remarkable times.

In the past 2 weeks, we have seen the five largest investment banks in the United States be reduced to two. Last week, the largest bank in the United States failed. Over 2,000 branches spread out across this country, retail outlets where ordinary Americans, downtown merchants, farmers, students, seniors, savers relied on that bank to meet their needs, it failed last week. This morning, another major bank on the brink of collapse was purchased for $1 a share.

Last week a money market fund announced that, for the first time, they had ``broken the buck,'' that they could not guarantee that every dollar you put into that money market account would be retrievable on your request, and a second major money market account announced that they were closing and not accepting any new deposits for fear of the same thing happening to them.

Now, when you get beyond credit swaps and derivatives and all these complicated things that obviously not even the Wall Street traders who are engaging in them understood and start talking about the bank on the corner failing and the money market funds where every small business holds their payroll, where every saver is trying to wring out an extra half a point of interest, you have reached Main Street. You are now standing at the brink of a financial collapse that is well beyond the financial capitals of the world.

I also failed to mention, since we are not just talking about an American problem, that this weekend alone, three of the largest banks in Europe either failed or were nationalized.

So we live in interesting times, and we are watching one domino after another fall that are the pillars of our financial system here in the United States.

Now, I tried to think of the right analogy, and it dawned on me that, being from Florida, we get a lot of hurricanes, and in 2004 we had three hurricanes come across Central Florida, my home, in nine weeks, bam, bam, bam. Then a year later we watched a storm come across Florida and build in the Gulf, and it got bigger and bigger and moved faster and faster and had a bull's eye on New Orleans, and I, like a lot of Americans, wondered why more people weren't leaving, why more people weren't heeding the warnings that were so obvious from the weather map of what was building into a monster in the Gulf of Mexico.

If you have ever wondered why people don't get out of the way of an oncoming storm, a hurricane that is barreling down on top of you, despite days of notice, despite satellite imagery, despite all of the best advancements in communications, then you have to apply that same analogy to what we are seeing now; one bank after another failing, rolling out of New York, rolling out of Brussels, out of London, out of these places that seem so foreign, into our Main Streets, into our merchants' associations, into our farmer cooperatives.

You are watching this happen. So how could you as a Member of Congress in seeing that roll across the countryside not do everything in your power to prevent it?

The previous speaker made an outstanding reference to the fact that Congress is known for producing fairly bad legislation in the aftermath of a crisis. What we have before us today is an attempt to avert that crisis and all of the rushed legislation that would follow a collapse, the likes of which we have not seen in this country since the 1930s.

This bill is a substantially different bill than what Secretary Paulson and the President sent up here a week ago. It is a better bill than what they sent up here, and it is a bipartisan bill.

We talked about how remarkable these times are. Last week, two candidates who have spent 2 years, two difficult, hard-fought years looking for a way to beat the other one to become the next President of the United States, both hit the pause button and released a joint statement of principles in agreement that Congress needs to act to avert a financial collapse.

This body has come together to produce a bill that is distasteful to most, that required both sides to give up many of the individual items that they thought would be helpful--pro-growth capital gains policies that Republicans thought would be helpful, affordable housing trust funds issues that the Democrats thought would be helpful, both gone from the draft of this bill--and instead focusing on the central goal, which is to avert the financial collapse that all of the experts and all of the evidence and all of the bank failures and all of the money market closings indicate is very possible if Congress doesn't act.

So, by virtue of Congress coming together and improving the Paulson plan, by virtue of the people's elected representatives having the opportunity to weigh in on this issue and to hash out these problems and to work around the clock on the weekends to make this a better bill, it will not cost $700 billion, as has been widely reported in the original draft, for a variety of reasons; the potential upside of the assets that the government is buying, the insurance program.

The most recent intervention that this Congress passed in the GSEs was estimated at $300 billion in costs. It was actually scored at $25 billion in costs.

So it is important that the taxpayers understand that because the Congress has moved forward on this issue, it will be a smaller tab for the taxpayer. But it will be an effective intervention to restore the confidence necessary to avoid the kind of panic that we haven't seen in generations in this country.

This is no longer the Paulson-President's plan. Because of the work that Chairman Frank and the Republican negotiators have done, this is a better bill; better for the taxpayer, no golden parachutes for CEO's who drive their companies into the ground and walk away with millions, none of the special interest projects that concerned so many people on our side.

But, most importantly, the evidence is overwhelming that we must act. It is always difficult to compile legislation this complex under such a short timeframe, and we are up against a short timeframe because of the markets, because of the holidays, because of the natural calendar in our political cycle. The only thing worse than that is the kind of legislation that will result in the aftermath of the debris that remains after a financial collapse.

So I stand here today willing to support this bipartisan compromise that has been hashed out over these last several days that is such an improvement over what we began with a week ago, but is so important to the financial architecture, not just of investment firms and speculators and people who got too cute by half with someone else's money, but someone who is willing to support this bill because it is so important to the seniors, the savers, the merchants and the farmers who need to understand that the confidence will be there in their banking system; that they don't have to withdraw their funds and stick them under the mattress; that our country's free market system is still the greatest in the world; and that this intervention will allow those credit markets to unlock and we will be able to unwind and deleverage this marketplace and move forward together.

So I compliment my chairman, I compliment our Republican negotiators, Mr. Blunt and Mr. Cantor, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Josee Duchesneau, who has admirably served this House and the 12th District of Florida for 25 years. She began her career working for Congressman Andy Ireland in 1983 in his Lakeland office. Josee then continued her service to the people of Florida when Congressman Charles Canady was elected to that seat in 1992.

Upon my election to Congress in 2000, Josee joined my staff bringing years of experience, wisdom and dedication to public service. Since then, she has tirelessly worked for thousands of constituents in central Florida as well as servicing as a mentor to her colleagues.

The many constituents in the 12th District of Florida owe the successful outcome of their complex casework to Josee Duchesneau. Josee's work on immigration cases, among others, has helped countless people experience the true American Dream. The unparalleled efforts on behalf of constituents and their loved ones have made life changing impacts throughout central Florida.

Josee has dedicated her entire career to serving those in the 12th Congressional District and embodies everything that the American taxpayer deserves in a civil servant. The House of Representatives, the State of Florida and our entire nation owe Josee a debt of gratitude for the service she has provided to so many. I know I speak for her colleagues in Washington, DC, and Bartow when I say we that she epitomizes what it truly means to give selflessly; we are proud of her many accomplishments and look forward to the many constituents she will assist in the years to come.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Josee Duchesneau for her 25 years of service to the House of Representatives. On behalf of the 12th Congressional District, I would like to thank Josee for her diligent efforts and continued success.

Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, I was not present for two recorded votes. Had I been present, I would have voted the following way: Roll No. 626--``yea'' Roll No. 627--``yea.''

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2638, Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

Requesting Member: Adam H. Putnam.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Army.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: University of South Florida.

Address of Requesting Entity: 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, Florida 33620.

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $2,500,000 to fund the Health Informatics Initiative. ``Health Informatics'' has been defined as a discipline that focuses on the use of information and information technology to support clinical care, health services administration, research and education. The University of South Florida (USF) has three graduate level schools that have been working together to develop a Health Informatics Initiative, including the College of Medicine, College of Nursing and College of Public Health. USF's inter- disciplinary efforts also include working with community organizations, including the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and Tampa General Hospital, to provide the most advanced educational opportunities for both its medical, graduate and students and postdoctoral trainees.

This initiative is an extension of the research, education and patient care missions of these colleges at USF and their clinical affiliates. Funds for this initiative will be used to enhance collaborative development of the program, stimulate employment of research faculty and staff, and expand common areas of research interest in Health Informatics. These funds will also be used for research programs in Medical Imaging development; Software applications and database administration; Analyses of professional and consumer evaluations of current health informatics models; and Development of advanced training programs in Health Informatics.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the faculty, staff, and students of Bartow Elementary Academy (BEA) for their designation as a 2008 No Child Left Behind--Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

Bartow Elementary Academy achieved this distinguished honor as a school performing in the top 10 percent within the State of Florida in the category of schools with less than 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds. One of 320 schools in the nation to receive this honor, the Blue Ribbon reflects the dedication and commitment shared among faculty and students alike at BEA.

Bartow Elementary Academy has long displayed excellence in education. Earning an `A'

all but one year since Florida first implemented school grades during the 1998-99 school year, BEA's teachers and students continue to distinguish themselves--helping students to continually achieve at high levels while making significant progress in closing the achievement gap.

Further, the school's willingness to explore creative new learning techniques and methodologies, such as ``brain-based'' learning, attributes to BEA's academic progress and ability to create varying curriculums when it comes to Sunshine State Standards.

I would like to extend my congratulations to Principal Carol Borders and her team of inspiring educators and extraordinary students. You're making a true difference in the lives of so many, and building communities that improve students' learning.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Program as they celebrate their 50th Anniversary this summer. Since its foundation, HOBY has instilled valuable leadership techniques in over 365,000 high school sophomores creating exceptional leaders for our future.

As a recipient of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Program my sophomore year in high school, and now a proud alumnus, HOBY afforded me the honor of representing my classmates, my neighbors, and my community. It's not often a teenager gets to be an ambassador--but HOBY has given that chance to hundreds of thousands of students.

HOBY has proved to be an outstanding influence on our younger generations. Each year, with over two million volunteer hours recorded by HOBY students and volunteers, HOBY participants are making a difference. HOBY's success is also evident in the many non-profit organizations that have been created by HOBY alumni, including Food for Thought and Our Education.

HOBY Ambassadors are now recognized in more than 20 countries at the World Leadership Congress. Their program has grown to include students from Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. By extending the HOBY experience internationally, it allows HOBY Ambassadors to take one step further and encourage innovative thinking.

May their mission continue to thrive as they ``provide lifelong leadership development opportunities that empower youth to achieve their highest potential''. Congratulations on 50 years of tremendous success.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Sergeant First Class Quinton Edward Courson, Jr.

At an awards ceremony held May 16, 2008 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Sergeant First Class Quinton Edward Courson, Jr., a 1990 graduate of Bartow High School, was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his actions during a recent fifteen month tour of duty with the United States Army in Tikrit, Iraq. The medal is added to those previously earned by SFC Courson, which include the Combat Action Badge, Parachute Qualifications Badge, four Army Commendation medals, six Army Achievement medals and numerous service medals awarded for service in Korea, the Sinai Peninsula and two deployments to Iraq while serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 82nd Airborne Division.

SFC Courson has served seventeen years in the U.S. Army, four years of which have been outside the United States. Quinn and his two daughters, Whitney and Kortney currently live in Springhill, North Carolina until July 2008, when he is reassigned as an instructor at the Advanced Individual Training School at Fort Lee, Virginia.

The ceremony was attended by his Mother, Debbie Parrish of Alturas, Florida and other family members.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring not only the contributions and accomplishments of SFC Courson, but all the men and women serving in the Armed Forces. America is truly a great place because of those who proudly serve this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 522, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, I was not present for recorded votes due to a funeral in Florida that I attended. Had I been present, I would have voted the following way: rollcall No. 449--``no''; rollcall No. 450--``no''; rollcall No. 451--``no''; rollcall No. 452--``no''; rollcall No. 453--``no''; rollcall No. 454-- ``aye''; rollcall No. 455--``no''; rollcall No. 456--``aye''; rollcall No. 457--``no''; rollcall No. 458--``no''; rollcall No. 459--``no''; rollcall No. 460--``aye''; rollcall No. 461--``aye.''

I thank the gentleman for the time, and I appreciate the opportunity to debate this issue.

Madam Speaker, it is an unfortunate situation that we have to debate unemployment compensation because of the underlying economic weaknesses, particularly those that have been caused by high energy prices.

We have seen reports of plant closures because of high energy prices. High natural gas prices have put American manufacturers, American fertilizer makers, American petrochemical industries at a competitive disadvantage because it is not a global commodity, and we have failed as a Congress to put forward an energy policy that actually creates energy, which actually creates American jobs.

In addition to that, this particular rule waives PAYGO, one of the most prominently heralded reforms brought into the 110th Congress, the idea that you would pay-as-you-go. It is now a matter of sometimes paying as you go, every now and then paying when you go, when it's convenient paying as you go.

But be that as it may, it is important that we address not only the necessary relief for those who have lost their jobs, but to prevent people from losing their jobs in the first place. And the best way that this Congress can move forward on that is to put onto the floor of the House a comprehensive energy policy that actually produces energy, that puts American workers back to work, taking advantage of the tremendous potential in conservation and green jobs, but also in domestic production, exploring the resources that we have here and putting them to work for the American people, constructing nuclear power plants. There is a lot of talk from both sides of the aisle about the need to move into more innovative uses of mobile fuels, to move into the plug- in hybrid. Well, what are you going to plug it into?

I thank the gentleman.

So we have to invest not only in the next generation of mobile fuels to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil and gas, but also to construct the type of electrical infrastructure necessary to create a thriving economy, to put people to work so they don't have to rely on unemployment compensation and the whim of the Congress and the whim of the State legislatures about whether it is 13 weeks or 26 weeks. We ought to be focused on putting them back to work. That is what these American workers want, and we have an opportunity to do that.

We have put forward that proposal with the No More Excuses Energy Act, a comprehensive approach that puts people to work and eliminates our dependence on foreign energy from people who don't like us and creates a generational leap forward for energy security for North America.

I urge Members to defeat this rule. Let's start over and do it the right way.

Mr. Speaker, a society cannot function properly without a means to enforce its laws and protect itself. However, we know all too well that safety and security does not come without a price. National Peace Officers Memorial Day was established to honor the men and women who have paid that price and I rise today to pay tribute to the one hundred and eighty-one federal, state and local law enforcement officers who gave their lives in 2007.

Sadly, Florida lost sixteen officers last year, two of which were from central Florida. On April 13th, Lieutenant Delmar Teagan of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission died in an automobile accident in Polk County. Then, on August 15th, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Sergeant Ronald Harrison was killed by a gunman in Brandon, Florida.

These officers provided communities with safety and security and we are indebted to their service. Like so many of our nation's law enforcement officers willing to work in harm's way, Lieutenant Teagan and Sergeant Harrison are true heroes.

Since 1962, National Peace Officers Memorial Day has been observed on May 15th. This is a time when thousands of law enforcement officers descend upon our Nation's capital to remember and honor their fallen colleagues. Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with these men and women as they gather to recognize the officers who died in the line of duty while serving the people of this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the House Republican Conference, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.