Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Nelson Smotherman, who is retiring after 60 years as a sports statistician in middle Tennessee.

Nelson began keeping statistics for sports broadcasts in 1950. His first broadcast was for a Murfreesboro Central football game for WGNS radio. This March, Nelson worked his 4,000th game.

He has been called a legend and a walking encyclopedia, whose remarkable mind for sports statistics and 60 years of experience in the field have made him a pillar of our State's athletic programs.

Nelson's institutional memory has been an invaluable asset for the athletes of middle Tennessee. In his time in the booth, Nelson witnessed the integration of high school sports teams. He saw women's basketball shift from a 6-on-6 half-court game to 5-on-5 full-court play. He had a chance to work with some 50 different broadcasters. He maintains basketball records that go back to when the game was new, and has kept stats at State tournaments in four different sports. Nelson has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association and has a softball field named in his honor in Murfreesboro.

Nelson's impact on the lives of young people in our community reaches well beyond the broadcast booth. He has served as Sunday School Secretary at the First Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro for more than 50 years, and he continues to help coach the Oakland High School girls' softball team.

Nelson, your involvement in middle Tennessee sports will be missed, but I wish you all the best. I hope you enjoy a long and happy retirement.

I thank my friend from California.

I recognize that the health care discussion is personal and felt by a lot of folks that we're getting into an emotional point here and that there is a lot of passion. But we also need to stick with the facts.

I was a little shocked earlier to hear that there was an insinuation by a colleague of mine from Utah that I have worked together with on legislation to keep radioactive waste from other countries out of Utah. I just want to set the record straight. There was an insinuation that I had, he used the word, traded my vote for the directorship of NASA.

Let me make it very clear. We have an outstanding director of NASA right now in Charlie Bolden. If he were to leave, though, if it was offered to me, I would not accept. So please understand that. My wife has said 26 years of public service is enough.

I yield to my friend from Utah.

Then I would ask my friend from Utah, where would he get that type of misinformation?

I would yield back to my friend from Utah to explain why he said what he did and where he got that misinformation.

Once again, I yield to my friend to explain where he got that misinformation.

Let me say this to my friend from Utah. If I say to you person to person right here on this floor that that offer was never made and that I would not accept it, would you accept that as true?

I ask unanimous consent to allow the gentleman from Utah to have whatever time as he might to respond to that very fair question.

Thank you.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Subcommittee Chairman David Wu, Subcommittee Ranking Member Adrian Smith, and Ranking Member Ralph Hall for their hard work on this very important legislation that will do so much to help protect our communities from natural disasters. I also want to recognize the work of the Natural Resources Committee as well as the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in arriving at the text we are considering today. Both Chairman Rahall and Chairman Oberstar have been enormously helpful in getting this bill to the floor today. In addition, I want to recognize Jim Costa, who chairs the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at the Natural Resources Committee, and who has been a leader in working to protect our communities from earthquakes. At this time I would like to insert an exchange of letters between Chairman Rahall and myself into the Record, and once again thank both Chairmen for their support.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Natural Resources,

Washington, DC, February 24, 2010.

Hon. Bart Gordon,

Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology, Washington,

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Lauren Alfred, a dedicated member of my legislative staff who is moving to a new position on the Hill. She will soon be joining the staff of my friend and colleague Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and I am confident she will be a great addition there.

Lauren started her career on the Hill as an intern to Senator Evan Bayh of her native Indiana before joining my staff as an intern brought in to assist while our staff assistant was ill. She was given an extraordinary amount of responsibility early on, and she rose to every challenge before her, even assisting in appropriations work. Few staffers could have made such a seamless transition.

Lauren's hard work and willingness to help with virtually any task quickly earned her a spot as a legislative correspondent, and she has risen to the challenge of being a capable legislative assistant. Her thorough research was of great assistance to me and my staff during the debate on health care, and her passion for energy and environmental issues has been a benefit to our office. The fact that she has been able to juggle a full-time job while studying for a master's degree is a testament to her maturity and dedication to whatever task she undertakes.

Madam Speaker, my staff and I have enjoyed having Lauren in the office over the past year. I have no doubt Lauren can be successful at whatever she chooses to do, and I wish her all the best in the future.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 4061.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to begin by thanking my colleagues, Dr. Lipinski, Dr. Ehlers, Mr. Wu, Mr. Smith and Mr. Hall for their contributions to the good bipartisan bill we are considering today. I would also like to take a moment to thank the various staffers who worked on this bill: Marcy Gallo, Travis Hite, Dahlia Sokolov and Mike Quear on the majority side; and Dan Byers and Mele Williams on the minority staff. We could not bring a good bill like this together without their help.

Last fall, the House passed a resolution recognizing National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The resolution stated that we will need to build strong partnerships between Federal agencies, business and nongovernmental organizations and educational institutions in order to enhance the state of cybersecurity in the United States.

H.R. 4061 implements this principle of public-private partnerships in three areas: coordinating and prioritizing the Federal cybersecurity R&D portfolio, improving the transfer of cybersecurity technologies to the marketplace, and training an IT workforce that can meet the growing needs of both public and private sectors.

H.R. 4061 strengthens research and innovation partnerships through the requirement for a strategic plan for cybersecurity R&D that is based on an assessment of risk to our Nation and its population. In developing this plan, the Federal Government must solicit input from all stakeholders, including industry and colleges and universities. The plan must also describe how the agencies will support the transfer of promising technologies from our national labs and universities to the private sector.

Finally, the Federal agencies must convene a university-industry task force to explore collaborative models of cybersecurity. We need to get the best ideas of our scientists and engineers out of the lab and into the marketplace where they can contribute to our collective security and general economic growth.

H.R. 4061 builds educational partnerships to create a well-trained workforce and an informed public. Specifically, H.R. 4061 taps into our colleges and universities by providing scholarships to students pursuing degrees in cybersecurity in exchange for their service in the Federal IT workforce. The legislation also requires NIST to disseminate the cybersecurity best practices to individuals and small businesses in a more user-friendly format.

But the Internet doesn't stop at our borders, which means that improving cybersecurity also requires international partnerships. H.R. 4061 addresses this by requiring NIST to develop a comprehensive international cybersecurity strategy that defines what cybersecurity technical standards we need, where they are being developed, and ensures that the United States is represented.

Many organizations support this legislation, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Telecommunication Association, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Business Software Alliance, the Association for Computing Machinery, the Computing Research Association, Sun Micro Systems, the University of Illinois at Urbana, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Software and Information Industry Association, Applied Visions, Inc., Verisign, CA, Inc., Symantec Corporation, McAfee, Inc., and TechAmerica, among others.

But we have also had the support of our colleagues from New York and the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Mr. Towns. And at this point, I would like to insert an exchange of letters into the Record between myself and Mr. Towns.

House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and

Government Reform,

Washington, DC, February 2, 2010.

Hon. Bart Gordon,

Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology, Rayburn House

Office Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Gordon: I write to you regarding H.R. 4061,

the ``Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009''.

H.R. 4061 contains provisions that fall within the

jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and Government

Reform, including provisions related to the federal

workforce. I recognize and appreciate your desire to bring

this legislation before the House in an expeditious manner

and, accordingly, I will not seek a sequential referral of

the bill.

However, agreeing to waive consideration of this bill

should not be construed as the Committee on Oversight and

Government Reform waiving its jurisdiction over H.R. 4061.

Further, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees

during any House-Senate conference convened on this

legislation on provisions of the bill that are within the

Committee's jurisdiction.

I look forward to working with you as we prepare to pass

this important legislation.

Sincerely,

Edolphus Towns,

Chairman.

Madam Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, the primary sponsor of this good bipartisan bill, Dr. Lipinski, who has just gotten back from home and a 78 percent victory in his primary last night. Congratulations.

First, I want to thank my friend from Texas for both his cosponsorship of this bill, but more importantly, his constructive, productive, bipartisan approach to bringing together this good bill.

I want to now yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon, primary sponsor of the bill, the chairman of our Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, Mr. Wu.

Madam Chairman, I want to thank my friend from Savannah for the history lesson there, and let him know that my 8- year-old daughter can be some help to him if he wants to download any of his music.

She can help me, too.

Madam Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ruppersberger), a member of the important Intelligence Committee.

I yield the gentleman 20 additional seconds.

Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the co- chair of the House Cybersecurity Caucus, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

(Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

In closing, let me just suggest to my friend from Texas that bipartisanship goes both ways, and I want to thank him for his great input in this bill, as well as Dr. Ehlers, Mr. Hall, Mr. Wu, and Dr. Lipinski. It was a good team effort. And certainly our staffs were integral to having this be a successful bill. I agree with you--hopefully this will pass overwhelmingly and will send a message to the bad guys that we're on alert.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, first of all, let me thank my friend from Florida for his very kind words. But more importantly, I want to thank him for introducing this important legislation. We can have the best technology in the world, but if we don't have the workforce to go with it, then the bad guys win. This will go a long way to improving and expanding our workforce, and I thank the gentleman for this amendment.

Madam Chair, as the designee of the gentleman from Colorado, I rise to offer his amendment.

Madam Chair, one of the best ways for cybersecurity professionals to improve their skills is through meaningful and diverse experiences. This amendment would allow scholarship recipients to seek out internship opportunities in the private sector and then bring those experiences to their service in the Federal Government.

I want to thank my friend Mr. Polis for this good amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I rise to claim time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairman, I want to thank my friend for introducing this amendment. It certainly is accepted by the majority; and I want to assure him, as Mr. McCaul can also, that this particular bill is clean as a whistle. There are no earmarks, NSF, NIST, or anywhere else. Again, I thank him for making sure that we get that clarified.

I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis).

(Mr. POLIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend from Maryland, and I want to thank her more importantly for introducing this commonsense constructive amendment that's going to provide additional tools for the States as they fight this issue, very well pointed out, this very difficult, day-to-day battle with cybersecurity.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I'm not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I concur with Mr. McCaul in saying that cyberthreats know no boundaries. This is, again, a good commonsense amendment, and I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen) for introducing it, and we support the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank my friend from Pennsylvania.

This is a very important amendment to our committee's work. The community colleges have so much potential to offer us, and I think by bringing this to the table we're going to bring a whole other sector to getting involved. And once again, this goes back to workforce issues. We can have the best technology in the world, but if we don't have the workforce to go with it, then we're not going to be successful.

So I thank the gentlelady for this excellent amendment.

First, let me thank my friend from California for an excellent amendment. It's an improvement to an already-good bill.

Mr. Chairman, I rise now to offer my condolences to the family of Judy Ruckel. Judy was the printer for the Committee on Science and Technology, and she unexpectedly passed away earlier this week. Because she worked from home, I did not know Judy as well as I do other members of the staff. She was a quiet, often unseen stalwart of the committee. Most staff members never questioned how the documents that are the record of our work get produced, and it's a testament to Judy that they never had to. Judy just took care of it.

When I first became chairman, I had no idea what a committee printer did. I kept asking who the printer was, what did she do, where was her office. Universally I was told that Judy was the nicest, most caring person that you could ever have on your staff and that she was good at whatever she did and that I needed to have no concerns on that front. Everyone was right.

Judy's quiet presence and good work will be missed by all on our committee.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Willie Brandon, an admired and respected citizen of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who lived and worked up until the age of 103. My hometown was saddened by Willie's passing on January 5, 2010.

He was known for his kind heart, his wealth of knowledge, and his optimistic outlook on life. People said he would brighten their day just by talking with him for a few minutes. He expressed his admiration of Murfreesboro by knowing its history backward and forward, and his wisdom was conveyed through his past experiences and stories. Willie was considered a role model and friend to many.

He began his life in Readyville, Tennessee, with his parents, Charles and Jimmie Brandon, and his sister, Lizzie. His parents were sharecroppers, but his father became a janitor when they moved to Illinois. At the age of 12, Willie dropped out of school to work and help support the family.

For the next 91 years, Willie never quit working. He worked as a cook at the James K. Polk Hotel, City Cafe, Sewart Air Force Base, Lamb's Grill, and Po Folks Restaurant. He also picked blackberries, cut timber, and mowed grass. Willie took pride in his work, and his dedication was an inspiration to his coworkers.

Over the last 30 years of his life, Willie was the keeper of the Rutherford County courthouse, a historical place many people pass through for business or sight-seeing. Willie could tell very personal stories about the courthouse and his family's history--150 years ago, his own grandfather, a slave, helped to build the courthouse and was later sold there.

Willie's legacy lives on through his daughter, stepson, three granddaughters, two great-granddaughters and one great-great granddaughter. Supporting them through his continued employment is a testament to how much he loved them.

Willie Brandon's life had a significant impact on everyone he met. He lifted their spirits, shared his wisdom, and gave them hope. He will always be remembered as an institution in Rutherford County and a luminary to all of his friends and family.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Kinsey Kiriakos,

who has served as my Communications Director and has helped me to be a better congressman as I represent the people of Tennessee's Sixth Congressional District.

While Kinsey grew up in southern California and far from the rolling hills of Tennessee, he quickly proved himself to be an ambitious and creative addition to the staff, with a clear passion for politics that rivals only his passion for the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of Kinsey's first tasks in the office was revamping my congressional Web site, and he put in long hours to get the job done well. His hard work and dedication on that project has made my Web site a more effective tool for communicating with my constituents.

Prior to joining my staff, Kinsey worked for Rep. Brad Sherman and Sen. Evan Bayh. Now, he is moving on to the next phase of his career. Kinsey departed my office on Friday for a new job as the Communications Director for the Joint Economic Committee, and I know he looks forward to being involved in efforts to get our nation's economy back on track. His experience with both the House and Senate, and his easy rapport with reporters will serve him well in this new position.

Madam Speaker, my staff and I have enjoyed having Kinsey with us over the last year, and we wish him all the best in his new position. He is young and talented, and I look forward to watching his professional skills continue to grow.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of a valued staff member of the House Committee on Science and Technology, David Laughter, on his retirement.

Dave has served as Financial Administrator for the Committee since 2001. He has been on the Hill since 1994, working for the House Committee on Ways and Means and Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana. Before coming to the Hill, he served as the Deputy Administrator for Management and Policy Support for the United States Department of Agriculture, USD; Rural Electrification Administration, REA; and as the Vice President/General Manager for an OEM manufacturer supplying large sheet metal stamping dies and special machinery to domestic and transplant auto assembly plants in North America.

Dave received his B.A. in Economics from Hillsdale College in Michigan. He is from Dayton, and, as a native Ohioan, he has a special place in his heart for the Bengals, the Reds, and Skyline Chili.

Madam Speaker, Dave is the first person new employees meet on their first day, and the last person they see when they are leaving on their last day. Dave handles all the Committee staff benefits and payroll, he maintains our budget to ensure we're on track, and he makes sure that all our bills get paid. Dave has provided a steady hand on the Committee's financial tiller for these past 8 years, and I want him to know how much I appreciate his hard work.

I know Dave has wrestled with this decision, and while I don't expect him to turn into a ``Nature Boy,'' I'm sure he's looking forward to having a little more time to pursue his other hobbies and interests.

I know that all of the Science and Technology Committee's members and staff wish him well. He'll have more time to spend with his lovely wife, Marsha, his children, Carrie, David, and Brittany, his grandchildren Peter and Meredith, and his other family and friends. We hope Dave enjoys a relaxing retirement filled with fishing, grilling, and listening to classic rock.

Dave, thank you again for your years of service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2009 Beech High School Buccaneers for winning the TSSAA Class 5A State Football Championship.

I commend Beech High School Head Coach Anthony Crabtree and Assistant Coaches Jim Campbell, Darrell Keen, Patrick Duffer, Keith Powell, Kerry Jackson, Ryan Harris, Cody Brummett, and Principal Frank Cardwell.

These young men completed their season by defeating the Columbia Lions in a 47-33 win in the Blue Cross Bowl on Friday, December 4. The hard work and dedication this season brought the Buccaneers to the school's first state championship. Max Zinchini, Junior, was the defensive MVP with five tackles and two interceptions.

I congratulate each player of the 2009 5A State Champion Buccaneer Team: Dwayne Fleming, Daniel Richardson, Lincoln Kenitzer, Max Zinchini, Deshaun Tarkington, Taylor Peoples, Jarod Neal, Justin Cherry, Brock

Haley, Jay Huff, Conner Jett, Ponciano Cobb, Tony Newsom, Hunter Allison, Daniel Payne, Travis Haymer, Ethan Walker, Jason Brooks, Jonathan Sites, Dakota Deno, Hunter Stewart, Charles Metcalfe, Devonte Cobb, Clayton Ream, Malik Lewis, Jeffrey Hunter, Taylor Cash, Dante Paige, Alex Gomer, Dustin Bailey, Marquis Kingcade, Michael Santifer, Kyle Mortensen, Marquel Harold, Wesley Aiello, Camden Dalton, Jason Hunter, Brian Montgomery, Cody Winford, Justin Toro, Payton Schneider, Rob Hamilton, J.T. Barnes, Cole Nabors, Kyle Anderson, Zach Rumsey, Kevin Kline, John Stillman, Eric Buchanan, Jared Barfield, Christian Martinez, Ryan Turner, Jamey Howell, Jayden Maddox, Josh Knight, Alec Willett, Trey Barnfield, Trey Ralph, Drew Chaffee and Managers Austin Young, Chris Whited, and Lamont Sneed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2009 Trousdale County High School Yellow Jackets for winning the TSSAA Class 2A State Football Championship.

I congratulate these young men for their hard work and dedication. It takes teamwork and sacrifice from each individual for a team to succeed. The Yellow Jackets 12-1 season ended with them defeating the Buccaneers 13-7 in the Blue Cross Bowl on Saturday.

I commend Trousdale County High School Head Coach Kevin Creasy and Assistant Coaches Jackie Dillehay, Jason Dobbs, Brandon Eden, Hal Hailey, Ben Johnson, Adam Keeton, Steve McClain, and Ronnie White.

I congratulate each player of the 2009 Class 2A State Champion Yellow Jacket Football Team: T.J. Seay, Jordan Harper, Tacola Seay, Hunter Murphree, Craig Brown, Dre Crenshaw, Brent Ford, Dillon Young, Joe Sanders, Devon Turczyn, Seth Calhoun, Josh Payne, Mack Sanders, Tyler Edwards, Marcelly Smith, Joey Cox, Garrett Crafton, Dakota Stovall, Demarius Smith, Kale Satterfield, Victor Hardwick, Spencer Minor, Alex Gregory, Kyle Gregory, Austin Bode, Chase Roberson, Zach Scruggs, Joseph Phillips, Kyle Satterfield, Mitch Merryman, Cody Belcher, Baylor DeLeusomme, Marty Bottom, Shawn Melton, Hunter Kelley, Michael Harper, David Minor, Jordan Holder, Ned Dias, Koryay Smith, and Ben Stadter.

Madam Speaker, as we debate and move forward on this historic endeavor--passage of health care reform with a goal of improving access and coverage for the millions of uninsured and underinsured individuals--I would like to take a moment to discuss the role of emergency medicine and review the various provisions in this bill which strengthen access to emergency care. As we work to improve coverage and enhance preventive and chronic care, we must remember to balance the acute care needs of patients, especially those treated in emergency departments.

Emergency medicine is an essential part of our safety net and must be supported. Whether a patient ends up in the emergency room as the result of a suspected H1N1 influenza case, trauma, a natural or manmade disaster, or because they've lost their job and health insurance and a health condition escalates to the point of needing to seek emergency care, we all rely on quality emergency care to be there. In fact, the federal government demands it--unlike other doctors who can choose not to participate with various health insurance plans, Medicare or Medicaid, emergency physicians are required by federal law to treat every patient who walks through the door, regardless of their ability to pay. But, our emergency medical system is in crisis, and the severe problems facing emergency patients affect everyone.

Earlier this year, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released its annual report card on emergency care. The nation was graded a C minus overall, with 90 percent of states earning mediocre or near-failing grades. America earned a near-failing D minus grade in the ``Access to Emergency Care'' category. This is unacceptable and also terrifying news for the more than 300,000 people each day who need emergency care.

Although my own state of Tennessee outperformed most states in some areas, we have a long way to go. The report states that Tennessee has only 8.9 emergency physicians per 100,000 people and needs an additional 60.2 full-time equivalent mental health care providers to serve the state's population. Also, it points out that these issues may contribute to hospital crowding and patient transfers, problems that have been identified as priorities among emergency physicians in Tennessee. Further, Tennessee has serious public health and injury prevention challenges. We have among the highest rates of infant mortality in the nation (8.9 deaths per 1,000 births), as well as high percentages of obese adults (28.8 percent) and adults who smoke (22.6 percent). Tennessee has relatively high fatal injury rates: 22.7 homicides and suicides per 100,000 people and 2.2 deaths due to unintentional fire and burn-related injuries per 100,000.

Although the ``Affordable Health Care for America Act'' included provisions to improve coverage for preventive and chronic care, statistics like these for Tennessee demonstrate that access to quality emergency care will always be a priority and should not be taken for granted.

The health care reform bill passed by the House on November 7 included a number of provisions that would strengthen emergency care in the United States:

Required Coverage for Emergency Services. Specifically, it would require that emergency services are part of any essential benefits package for all eligible health insurance plans.

Emergency Care Coordination Center. Section 2552 would establish an Emergency Care Coordination Center. The Center will promote and fund research in emergency medicine and trauma health care, promote regional partnerships and more effective emergency medical systems in order to enhance appropriate triage, distribution, and care of routine community patients; and promote local, regional, and State emergency medical systems' preparedness for and response to public health events. It would also authorize a Council of Emergency Medicine.

Pilot Programs to Improve Emergency Medical Care. Section 2553 would establish demonstration programs that design, implement, and evaluate innovative models of regionalized, comprehensive, and accountable emergency care systems.

Demonstration Project for Stabilization of Emergency Medical Conditions by Institutions for Mental Diseases. Section 1787 would establish a demonstration project to reimburse psychiatric hospitals that provide required medical assistance to stabilize an emergency medical condition for individuals enrolled in Medicaid.

Hopefully the emergency medicine provisions will be further strengthened as they move through the legislative process to include provisions based on legislation I've introduced to address the issue of emergency department boarding, ambulance division standards, and medical malpractice liability coverage for emergency providers and on- call specialists. The ``Access to Emergency Medical Services Act,'' H.R. 1188, and the ``Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act,'' H.R. 1998, are two bills I've introduced to address these issues.

Overcrowded emergency departments are compromising patient safety and threatening everyone's access to lifesaving emergency care. The number of emergency departments has decreased by 5 percent in 10 years, but the demand for care is up by 32 percent--up to 119.2 million visits in 2006 (one in three Americans). Hundreds of emergency departments have closed.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), half of emergency services go uncompensated. To compensate for cutbacks in reimbursement, hospitals closed 198,000 staffed beds between 1993 and 2003. As a result, fewer beds are available to accommodate admissions from the emergency department.

Ambulances are diverted, on average, once a minute in the United States, away from the closest emergency department because they are so crowded they cannot handle any more patients. For patients with life- threatening illnesses or injuries, those minutes can make the difference between life and death.

Last year, the American College of Emergency Physicians released a report by its Task Force on Boarding titled, ``Emergency Department Crowding: High-Impact Solutions.'' ACEP established the task force to develop low-cost or no-cost solutions to boarding. The report is intended to help emergency physicians stop boarding in their own hospitals and ultimately improve patient care. The report identifies those strategies to reduce crowding that have a ``high impact,'' as well as those that have not proven effective. The report identifies the boarding of admitted patients as the main cause of emergency department crowding. The report outlines the impact of boarding on patient care stating that ``evidence-based research demonstrates that boarding results in the following: delays in care, ambulance diversion, increased hospital lengths of stay, medical errors, increased patient mortality, financial losses to hospital and physician, and medical negligence claims.''

Madam Speaker, to ensure our access to emergency care is protected, we must address this issue. I believe the provisions in my bill, H.R. 1188, ``Access to Emergency Medical Services Act'' will help by developing emergency department boarding and ambulance diversion standards and quality measures. I urge their consideration as the bill moves forward through the legislative process.

Emergency care is the most overlooked part of the health care system. But it is the number one service that everyone depends on in their hour of need. It needs our attention now.

In addition, we need to think forward to ensure that our system also accommodates future needs. To do so, we must address the shortage of board-certified emergency physicians. The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, in 2008, published an Assessment of Emergency Physician Workforce Needs in the United States. The authors reviewed 2005 data and found that the supply of emergency medicine residency- trained, board-certified emergency physicians will not meet future demand. Specifically, they found that only 55% of the demand for emergency medical board-certified physicians currently is met.

I agree with the need to enhance our prevention efforts and have introduced H.R. 3851, the ``Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Act'' to help educate Americans of all ages regarding the need for physical activity, taking responsibility for one's health and staying fit. However, experience shows that not everyone will adhere to recommended guidelines, and genetic predisposition, trauma and seasonal flu or other illnesses such as H1N1 will continue to bring people to our nation's emergency rooms. Therefore, we must be sure emergency departments are equipped to handle our needs.

In June 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released three landmark reports on the ``Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System,'' detailing the challenges and concerns this nation faces in maintaining access to emergency medical services. The IOM reported that the nation's emergency medical system as a whole is overburdened, underfunded and highly fragmented.

Emergency care has long been overlooked and as a result it is stretched to a breaking point. As Congress focuses on health reform this year, I urge my colleagues to recognize the role emergency medicine plays in our safety net and support the provisions in the health reform bill that strengthen emergency care. Further, I urge my colleagues to work to adequately support our emergency medical system by further addressing boarding and diversion as the bill moves forward.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 515) to prohibit the importation of certain low- level radioactive waste into the United States, as amended.

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 in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act is a bipartisan bill that would ban the importation of low-level radioactive waste unless the President provides a waiver.

Low-level radioactive waste is generated by medical facilities, university research labs, and utility companies. This waste is generated all over the United States, but finding permanent disposal sites has proven difficult. Currently, 36 States and the District of Columbia have only one approved site to store all the waste generated by those industries. That site is located in Utah. The site stores 99 percent of the United States' low-level radioactive waste.

However, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently considering the importation of 20,000 tons of Italian low-level waste to be permanently disposed of at the Utah site. This would be the largest importation of foreign waste ever.

The United States stands alone as the only country in the world that imports other countries' radioactive waste for permanent disposal. Other countries are reading the signs that the U.S. is poised to become a nuclear dumping ground. Permit applications are also pending for the importation of Brazilian and Mexican waste.

Foreign waste threatens the capacity that we have set aside in this country for the waste generated by our domestic industries. It is critical that Congress protect that capacity by prohibiting these imports.

I support nuclear power as part of our energy mix. 104 commercial nuclear plants in the United States help to provide 20 percent of our Nation's energy needs. If we are going to support the continued growth of our domestic nuclear industry, we must ban the practice of disposing of other countries' radioactive waste. We must reserve that capacity for our domestic needs.

The bill is the product of a bipartisan cooperation and has received multiple hearings in the Energy and Commerce Committee. I urge my colleagues to stand firm against the importation of foreign radioactive waste and support this bipartisan bill.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, December 1, 2009.

Hon. Henry Waxman,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rayburn House

Office Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing regarding H.R. 515, the

``Radioactive Import Deterrence Act.'' As you know, the

Committee on Ways and Means has received a sequential

referral on this bill.

To expedite this legislation for floor consideration, the

Committee on Ways and Means will forgo action on this bill.

This is being done with the understanding that the Committee

on Energy and Commerce will confirm in the legislative

history of the bill that the President's discretion to waive

section 277(a) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 applies to

any important national or international policy goal, and is

not limited to the use of waste for research purposes.

The Committee on Ways and Means is forgoing action on the

bill with the understanding that it does not in any way

prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of

conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this bill or

similar legislation in the future.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 515, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during consideration of

this bill.

Once again, thank you for your work and cooperation on this

legislation.

Sincerely,

Charles B. Rangel,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my friend from Utah (Mr. Matheson), the coauthor of this bipartisan bill.

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

I have to say that my friend from Florida is making a valiant effort. I just want to talk to you about a couple of things.

First of all, Shakespeare also says ``don't rope a dope me.'' This is not B and C material. We're talking about A material.

We're both pro-nuclear. We would like to see additional nuclear power help us deal with our climate change, but he says this is not a serious problem. Well, it's a very serious problem if you are a lab, if you are a hospital, if you are a utility and you have no place to take your low-level radioactive waste.

For 37 States, there is no place else to go but Utah. And when that runs out, it is out. And so that is a very serious problem.

He says it is going to hurt business. It is not going to hurt business. There is a finite amount of space there. Either you put in American waste or foreign waste; it is the same amount. So there is no business going to be hurt there.

And finally, ``don't worry about it, it is a smoke detector.'' Well, if it is only smoke detectors, why are we putting up barbed wire fence, why do we have guards, and why does it have to stay there permanently? It is much more than that. There are serious problems here. This is a matter of American competitiveness. For that reason, I think that this bipartisan bill does need to pass.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I regret that my friend from Florida has no one here to defend him today, and I yield such time as he may consume to Mr. Chaffetz, another person who this will directly impact in Utah.

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

Mr. Speaker, my time is coming to an end, but I could share some of my time with my friend from Florida if he would like to volunteer the State of Florida as a repository for some of this low-level radioactive waste.

I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Once you get it sited, then this bill may not be necessary.

I don't think that would be the responsible thing to do for our country.

And for that reason, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson) to clarify one of the earlier statements.

If the gentleman would stay there, reclaiming my time, the Northwest Compact, did they volunteer to take this radioactive waste?

Yes.

And what was the Governor's position?

What action did the company then take?

They sued them? You mean they sued them to make them take this?

I'm shocked. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I say to my friend from Florida, I am not sure how much water this cup will hold, but when it is full, it is full. Now I am not sure how much, and we can talk about how much radioactive material that the Utah site can hold, but when it is full, it is full, and there will be no more space left. We need to recognize that.

In conclusion, let me just say this is very simple, very simple. There is only one Nation in the world that allows other countries to ship their radioactive waste to that country for permanent disposal, and that is the United States. Quite frankly, it was a loophole because it was never expected that that would happen. So what we are doing with this legislation is simply bringing it into compliance with the rest of the world, saying that our country will not accept radioactive waste, and there are 20,000 tons ready to come in, as well as other countries asking to bring that waste in.

We are simply saying we are going to abide by what all the others countries do, and they say if you have radioactive waste, if you are going to be producing radioactive waste, you need to take care of it, just like every other country. I think that is fair. I think it is reasonable.

I yield to my friend from Florida.

Reclaiming my time, and I will yield right back to you, has that site been certified?

I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe).

Reclaiming my time, I understand that, and I am sympathetic to that. The difficulty is where that waste has been separated. I have talked to them personally, and they have said that they don't ship it all back, that they keep some of it here. And there are difficulties. Once you combine an A level with a B or C level, there are additional problems.

Now I am sympathetic to your concerns. We want to continue with that dialogue. I hope that can be rectified. But so far, we do not have that. And that is not before us today. What we have before us today is a very simple proposition: Is the United States going to be the only country in the world that is going to use our limited storage space to permanently dispose of tons and tons of radioactive waste from other countries? That is the question before us today, and we have a bipartisan bill that tries to answer that.

I understand that Mr. Terry, a member of our committee, is on his way. He is going to have to get here pretty soon. As a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, I think he would want me to say on his behalf that it is not in the interest of Nebraska, his home State, to have no other place to send their radioactive waste, whether it is from a hospital, from a lab, or anywhere else, but to Utah. And I would say that he would be very concerned with what Nebraska is going to do with that waste if there is no other place to send it. I am sure that he could say it much more eloquently than me.

At this time, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. Debbie Spero, recipient of the 2009 John Campanius Holm Award.

Each year, the National Weather Service honors Cooperative Weather Observers with this prestigious award, named after John Holm. During the years 1644 and 1645, Holm recorded observations of the local weather twice a day, and he is the first known person to have kept these observations.

Since September 1, 1985, Debbie Spero has been involved with the NWS Cooperative Observer Program in Bethpage, Tennessee, reporting daily weather and precipitation data to the Army Corps of Engineers. Her reports are used to document the climate of Middle Tennessee and are also used by local NWS officials to verify forecasts, warnings and precipitation patterns.

Through her 24 year involvement, Debbie has been an incredibly reliable observer. Her observations are complete and in near real time. When she has been unable to make her observations because of illness or travel, she has enlisted help to ensure as few breaks in the record as possible.

In her spare time, Debbie is an active community member. As a Girl Scout leader for more than 14 years, her troop has helped serve underprivileged girls in the Bethpage area by meeting with them weekly. Debbie also works as a Youth Leader at Grace Baptist Church and has served as President of the Bethpage Parent Teacher Organization.

Each year, the John Campanius Holm award is given to only 25 Cooperative Observers from more than 11,000 in the program. The award is based on complete and accurate observations, outstanding enthusiasm for imparting observational knowledge, and civic involvement in the community. The award is only given to active observers of more than 20 years.

Debbie, thank you for your hard work and dedication in serving your community. I wish you all the best in the years to come.