Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Chairman and Ranking Member and their staffs on the Committee for assisting in moving this legislation forward.

H.R. 3606 is a straightforward, non-controversial bill that would allow the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society to implement the new Human Use/Natural Resource Management Plan for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Chippewa County, Michigan.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.

Since 1992, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society has operated the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum to educate the public about shipwrecks in the region.

The Museum provides exhibits on several shipwrecks in the area, including an in-depth exhibit on the Edmund Fitzgerald, which was lost with her entire crew of 29 men near Whitefish Point, Michigan on November 10, 1975. Among the items on display is the 200 pound bronze bell recovered from the wreckage in 1995, as a memorial to her lost crew.

In 2002, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the local chapter of the Audubon Society, and the local community, finalized a new management plan for the Museum to improve the experience at the Museum.

The new management plan developed by these groups will allow the Historical Society to enhance the visitor's experience by expanding the Museum's exhibits and improving parking and access to surrounding wildlife opportunities.

The new management plan represents a consensus of all associated parties, and will improve the enjoyment of the historical and ecological resources in Chippewa County, Michigan.

However, because the original land grant patent references the previous management plan, legislation to amend the patent is necessary before the new management plan can be implemented.

In response, I introduced H.R. 3606, which would amend the land grant patent to allow the new plan to be implemented. This legislation would simply change the land grant patent to include the new management plan, which has been agreed upon by all of the necessary stakeholders.

Congressman Camp has joined me in cosponsoring this legislation, recognizing the importance of increasing visitors to our state and its economy. I thank him for his support of this legislation.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society has continuously improved the experience at the Museum since it was established in 1992. With the approval of H.R. 3606, Congress will allow additional developments at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, improving this cultural and historical resource.

I encourage my colleagues to support this simple legislation, which will improve the opportunities available to visitors of Chippewa County, Michigan and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who exhibited leadership and dedication in serving the working men and women of the Upper Peninsula and our Nation. On September 23, 2006, Mr. Fred Kotler

will be inducted into the Upper Peninsula Labor Hall of Fame. The organized labor movement enjoys a rich history in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. From the mining strikes in the Copper Country of 1913-1914 to the present day, working men and women across the Upper Peninsula have exhibited a heritage of proud trade unionism. Mr. Kotler exemplifies that rich tradition by having served as an educator, a labor organizer and as a business agent.

Mr. Kotler served as Director of the Labor Education Program at Northern Michigan University from 1986 to 1994. During his tenure there, he coordinated and worked closely with the Labor Advisory Planning Committee. He is credited with building the university's Labor Education Program.

At Northern Michigan University, Mr. Kotler was responsible for developing and directing conferences, seminars and workshops that helped to educate the staff, officers, stewards and rank-and-file members of public and private sector local unions as well as the Michigan AFL-CIO and the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council. Much of Mr. Kotler's expertise focused on what he refers to as ``training the trainer,'' in other words educating key union leaders and personnel to build stronger, more effective unions. This technique focuses on empowering unions to grow their own membership and more effectively bargain on behalf of their members.

Mr. Kotler's participation and leadership in the labor movement predates his work in the Upper Peninsula. In 1977, Mr. Kotler worked with the Service Employees International Union on a citywide ballot initiative in San Francisco. In the early 1980s, Mr. Kotler helped to organize hospital workers in Sonoma, California. In 1983, he returned to San Francisco to serve as the Business Representative and Organizer for the local Service Employees Union there.

This extensive work in the field of labor organizing made him uniquely qualified to develop and implement the curriculum of Northern Michigan University's Labor Education Program. Many of my constituents benefited from his tutelage as well as from his work on the Marquette County Central Labor Council where he served as a delegate.

As one might expect, since leaving Northern Michigan University in 1994, Mr. Kotler has continued his commitment to organized labor as a scholar and an organizer. Today he serves as the Director of the Cornell/New York State AFL-CIO Union Leadership Institute and as Associate Director of the Construction Industry Program. Since joining the faculty of Cornell, he has developed a number of innovative programs that have been used to strengthen unions not only in New York, but nationwide. He designed and developed programs such as the Construction Organizing Membership Education Training (COMET) and the Multi-Trade Organizing Volunteer Education (MOVE) curriculums that streamlined labor's organizing techniques in the construction industry.

While not a native of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Mr. Kotler's contributions to the area have endeared him to many of my constituents who came to view him as one of our own. The feeling appears to be mutual. As he described his Upper Peninsula neighbors, ``The folks up there welcomed me with open arms. They taught me so much about the labor movement in the Upper Peninsula.''

Since 1993, outstanding labor leaders and individuals who have contributed to organizing, workplace fairness, worker dignity, and the advancement of the labor movement in northern Michigan, have been honored with induction into the Upper Peninsula Labor Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is housed in the Superior Dome on the campus of Northern Michigan University in Marquette. Mr. Kotler is a deserving addition to this august group. I wish him all the best and ask that the U.S. House of Representatives join me in saluting Fred Kotler for his contributions to the Upper Peninsula Labor movement and his ongoing dedication to all working men and women in our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a time honored tradition observed in my district and, specifically, in my hometown of Menominee, Michigan. Nearly every year, since 1894, Menominee High School's football team, known as the Maroons, has played their rivals just across the Wisconsin border, the Marinette High School Marines. The annual rivalry is known as the M&M (Marinette & Menominee) game. In many ways, it parallels the annual contest in the professional football between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, another longstanding rivalry.

Since 1894, the M&M game has developed into one of the oldest interstate athletic competitions in the United States. In fact, until 2005, the National Federation of State High School Associations recognized the M&M game as the oldest interstate series in the United States. Last year, the National Federation of State High School Associations found that two other interstate athletic series were older. Nonetheless, the proud tradition of the M&M game remains the oldest interstate high school football competition in the Midwest and the third oldest in the nation.

To understand what this competition means to the people of Menominee and Marinette, one needs to know a little about the area. These two communities are separated only by the Menominee River, which serves as the state border. The communities are so closely tied together economically that in many ways the residents think of the two cities as one, disregarding the state border that separates the two states.

However, every fall, town pride boils up and the team colors come out as the two towns prepare for the annual game. Together, Marinette and Menominee are transformed into an exceptional Midwestern fall festival as area residents organize a celebration of this great tradition. Through events like parades, tug of war contests, battles of the drums, a community yell contest, a powder puff game, fireworks and a bonfire, the people of Menominee and Marinette celebrate their shared history through good natured competition.

Over the years, the Menominee-Marinette competition has produced a whole range of football stars, many of whom went on to play football for Big Ten schools like the University of Wisconsin, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. The two schools have also produced athletes who played in the National Football League. A particularly remarkable photo from 1958 shows three NFL players--Billy Wells, Dick Deschaine, and Earl ``Gug'' Girard. All three were on the field at the same time during a Pittsburgh Steelers-Cleveland Browns game and, interestingly, all three hail from the Menominee-Marinette area.

This year is particularly important for these two communities and for this tradition. While this rivalry originated in 1893, for a variety of reasons, the two schools did not play each other a few years, making 2006 the year that Menominee and Marinette will play their one- hundredth game. The Marinette-Menominee community will mark this centennial with a number of special events, including the first ever M&M Twin Cities Parade, the first parade that will originate in Menominee, proceed through town, cross the Menominee River and the Wisconsin border and then finish in Marinette, Wisconsin. Every year, the teams rotate where the game will be played and this year the game will take place at Higley field in Marinette, Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, high school football is a uniquely American institution and tradition that brings our communities together. Rivalries between neighboring schools serve to remind us of our roots and why our hometowns are special to each of us. The older and deeper the rivalry, the greater the passion it elicits from fans and alums. The Menominee- Marinette rivalry is unique in many ways. Holding the title of the third oldest interstate high school competition makes this game special.

Perhaps what is most unique about the annual M&M game is that such an intense rivalry draws two communities together into a spirit of shared kinship. These two cities, separated only by a river and a state line, rediscover their unique identities every fall by rooting for the Marinette Marines or the Menominee Maroons. At the same time that these two communities celebrate their rivalry, they also acknowledge their longstanding shared history.

As the Menominee Maroons and the Marinette Marines prepare to don their respective maroon and purple uniforms for their one-hundredth game, I ask that the U.S. House of Representatives join me in saluting the players of today and yesterday as well as these two communities for continuing this unique tradition.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Dingell and Mr. Gillmor and others from the Michigan delegation for bringing forth this bill. It has been a long time.

I rise in support of H.R. 2491, the International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act, or what is commonly referred to as the Canadian trash bill. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation which is needed to help control over 400 trucks a day that cross the border from Canada, bringing tons of trash mostly into Michigan, but also to other States.

The unregulated flow of trash into Michigan and other States creates significant environment and public health concerns. Even more alarming, a January 2006 audit conducted by the Department of Homeland Security has shown that these trucks are often found containing human blood, medical waste, illegal drugs, and illegal currency. The report raises significant border security and national safety concerns that must be addressed.

Currently, States and local governments are not allowed to control the trash coming in from out of their State. This Canadian trash bill will give residents of Michigan and other States the power to limit the trash from outside of the United States that they are forced to accept.

I have repeatedly requested that President Bush and the Republican leadership support this legislation. I am pleased that the Republican leadership is finally allowing its consideration more than a year after our Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved this bill in our committee.

I will continue to work to encourage the administration to finally support us in addressing Michigan's ongoing problem with imported waste from Canada.

Last week Senators Stabenow and Levin announced a landmark agreement that will go a long ways toward eliminating Canadian trash imports. By 2010, Ontario has agreed to stop the shipment of all municipal garbage to Michigan. This is a significant step forward in eliminating trash imports to the United States, and I commend Senators Stabenow and Levin for their fine work.

Along with this agreement, the Canadian trash bill we are currently considering will help limit the flow of trash from Canada. Given the environment, public health, border security and national safety concerns, it is especially important that we act immediately to limit the flow of municipal waste from Canada.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2491. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an institution in my district that serves those who have served the rest of us. The D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette, MI, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary Rededication next month. My district is home to more veterans than any other Congressional District in Michigan. As such, the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans has been indispensable to many of my constituents.

The D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans was rededicated in 1981 and was named after Dominic J. Jacobetti, the longstanding Chair of

the Michigan House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. Representative Jacobetti was widely acknowledged as an effective advocate for veterans and for all of northern Michigan.

Before this important facility was established in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.), the only places for a U.P. veteran to go for long- term care were Michigan's Lower Peninsula or Wisconsin. Only after veterans organizations in the Upper Peninsula advocated for and requested this facility did the state of Michigan, with help from the Federal Government, establish the Jacobetti Home for Veterans. With the establishment of the Jacobetti Home for Veterans, Michigan became one of the first states to have two full-service, long-term care facilities for veterans.

It is important to note that the Jacobetti Home prides itself on truly being a home, not just a long-term care facility. The fact that the Jacobetti Home refers to its residents as ``members'' reflects the philosophy that has guided the Jacobetti Home over the last 25 years. The staff of the Jacobetti Home does not refer to residents as ``patients'' or ``guests,'' but as ``members,'' a title that underscores that residents of the Jacobetti Home for Veterans truly belong to a larger U.P. community.

The Jacobetti Home provides a ceramic shop, chapel, puzzle room and a solarium. The staff and veteran volunteers of the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans provide members with outings and classes almost daily. With the help of volunteers, watercolor, woodworking, and sewing classes are offered as are shopping trips, picnics, and a host of other activities.

As of May of this year, the Jacobetti Home for Veterans had served 1,950 members. This impressive number is a glowing testament to the hard work and dedication of the Jacobetti staff who have been tireless in their efforts to serve Upper Peninsula veterans.

Dr. James Heron deserves enormous credit for leading the Jacobetti Home for nearly two decades in a dual capacity as both Director and Medical Administrator. Brad Slagle, the Director of the facility since August of 2005, deserves our support as he leads the organization into the future.

As the 25th anniversary of the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans draws near, I would also like to salute the great number of individuals who volunteer thousands of hours each year to keep the Jacobetti Home for Veterans running. Almost every year, I attend the Jacobetti Home for Veterans' annual volunteer appreciation banquet to recognize the countless hours volunteers at the Jacobetti Home give to this veterans facility. I am pleased to note the roster of volunteers grows every year. Only a few years ago, area citizens contributed 10,000 volunteer hours per year to the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans. Today, volunteer hours have increased to approximately 14,000 hours per year.

Volunteers help with the annual Jacobetti trip to the U.P. State Fair, as well as dinner nights and fishing trips. Volunteers put on Christmas parties, New Year's parties, Vegas nights and bingo. The Jacobetti woodshop is run by volunteers. Volunteers are also critical to the fundraisers that keep the Jacobetti Home operational. So, as all of the Upper Peninsula prepares to celebrate this 25th Anniversary, I tip my hat to the many volunteers who contribute so much personal time to make the Jacobetti Home such a special place for our veterans to live.

These values of volunteerism, community and a responsibility to those who have sacrificed for our country are just a few of the things that make the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans special. Mr. Speaker, as we honor our brave fighting men and women serving abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is important that we not forget them when they return home. In that spirit, for 25 years now, the Jacobetti facility has truly been a home for those who have served our country. Given the unique spirit of volunteerism and community service exhibited by the staff and volunteers of the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans, I know we can expect the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans to be serving today's soldiers, when they are tomorrow's veterans, 25 years from now.

Mr. Speaker, I close by asking that you and the U.S. House of Representatives join me in paying tribute to the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans, a facility that truly serves those who have served all of us. In this time of conflict, it is more vital than ever that we retain those values of volunteerism, community and responsibility--values that the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans truly exemplifies.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a northern Michigan treasure that has enjoyed a rich legacy of community service and outreach.

Next month, Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Marquette, Michigan will celebrate its 150th anniversary. For a century and a half, this local landmark has served as a place of worship for the residents of Marquette and the surrounding communities. The story of St. Paul's, in many ways, parallels the story of Marquette. As the Marquette community grew, so too did St. Paul's Episcopal Church, serving the community's spiritual needs and many of its material needs.

Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, or simply St. Paul's as locals call it, can be traced back, in one form or another, to 1851, when a small group of some of the first settlers in Marquette, Michigan began holding services at various sites throughout Marquette. Some of these earliest services were held aboard the steamships Planet and Napoleon as they were anchored in Marquette's harbor.

In 1856, St. Paul's hired its first rector. The sponsor of the first rector, Charles Trowbridge, stipulated that the rector would hold services each week at Collinsville, a community of 300 people 3 miles north of Marquette. One of Marquette's other early residents, Peter King, took on the challenge of ensuring that the rector arrived in Collinsville each week. This weekly trek occasionally required travel by dog sled.

In August of 1856, St. Paul's Episcopal Church was incorporated into the City of Marquette. Work began on a wooden frame edifice at the location of the present church on Marquette's Ridge Street. Establishing a church in the frontier community of Marquette was a challenge, but the church was assisted by gifts from Episcopal churches in downstate Michigan as well as by gifts from other parishes as far away as New York and Boston.

By 1874, St. Paul's and Marquette were thriving and the church had outgrown its original small frame church. The original St. Paul's structure was purchased by German Lutherans and moved two blocks away. Construction then began on the present-day church. On Christmas, 1875, the new church held its inaugural services. Since that day, St. Paul's has remained a prominent feature of the Marquette community.

In 1907, St. Paul's conceived, financed and built the Guild Hall, a structure that many say was the first community building erected in Marquette. Built under the leadership of the Reverend Bates Burt, the Guild Hall provided a meeting place for the people of Marquette. The Guild Hall housed a reading room, an assembly room, a stage and recreation facilities including a swimming pool, gymnasium, billiard tables and bowling alley. In the words of Reverend Burt, the Guild Hall was meant to ``provide facilities where people could meet and work in a social way, a clubhouse for the Parish where it could do efficient work not once in seven days, but every day.''

Today, St. Paul's Episcopal Church remains an important part of the fabric of the Marquette community. The church actively supports Habitat for Humanity and works to provide medical care for the uninsured through the Medical Care Access Coalition. The church operates the Camp New Day Upper Peninsula Program, which provides urban children of residents of the State's penal institutions with a recreational experience in Michigan's north woods. The church has reached out beyond its borders to provide support for at-risk children in places as far away as Honduras, Haiti and the Sudan and to provide an annual market for third world craftspeople.

Mr. Speaker, the spirit and philosophy of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is reflected in its motto: Gathered by Grace; Sent Forth to Serve. Since those early days aboard steamships in Marquette's harbor to its current location at Ridge Street, St. Paul's has lived by that motto, serving as a spiritual foundation and community anchor for the people of Marquette. As its members prepare to celebrate the 150th anniversary of St. Paul's Episcopal Church I would ask, Mr. Speaker, that you and the entire U.S. House of Representatives join me in celebrating the church's many contributions to the Marquette community and in paying tribute to the rich historical legacy of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, its members and many acts of faith.

Mr. Speaker, for the second straight day I come to the floor objecting strongly to the process by which bills are being brought to the floor on suspension without proper consideration.

Today, the House is considering two bills that were not properly considered by the Energy and Commerce Committee. Both the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act and the Deleting Online Predators Act were rewritten behind closed doors by the majority and were not marked up before going to the floor.

On the other hand, our committee marked up a bill today, and this is not a joke, but to protect consumers from misleading thread counts for wool suits. We mark up a bill to protect people from wool suits but not from online child predators.

Mr. Speaker, I take a back seat to no one when it comes to my dedication to tracking down, prosecuting and locking up child predators. I have helped lead the child predator investigation in the House, and I have participated in six hearings on this issue.

Unfortunately, child predators are not the target of today's bill. This bill will not delete online predators. Rather, it will delete legitimate Web content from schools and libraries. Schools and libraries that serve students are the target of this legislation.

The bill is an attempt to protect children in schools and libraries from online predators. It is important to note that during the six oversight hearings we had, hearing from 38 witnesses on the issue, there was not one mention of online child exploitation being a problem at schools or libraries. Perhaps this is because there is already a law on the books that requires schools and libraries who receive e-rate funding to monitor children's Internet use and to employ technology blocking children or preventing children from viewing obscene and harmful content.

Many schools and libraries already block Web sites such as MySpace. This legislation is largely redundant and raises many constitutional concerns.

The National School Boards Association opposes this bill saying, ``NSBA is concerned that the bill would not substantially improve safety of students, and would place an added and unnecessary burden on schools. Furthermore, the legislation does not address the real issue of educating children about the dangers of the Internet and how to use it responsibly and wisely.''

The American Library Association also opposes this bill, saying the bill ``denies access to constitutionally protected speech.''

This bill will not tackle the real threat to our children. Our committee learned from teens, experts and law enforcement that the real threat lies in children using these sites in their rooms without adult supervision.

This legislation will actually drive children to go to unsupervised places, unsupervised sites to go online, where they will become more vulnerable to child predators.

Finally, and importantly, legislation before us today does nothing to hold Internet service providers accountable. We learned from our hearings that ISPs vary widely in what they do to empower children and parents, how they report online predators to authorities, and actively seek and block illegal content from their networks.

The bottom line is that Members can vote for this bill, but we should not give parents the false hope that this bill will keep their children safe. This bill will increase the risk to children as we drive children away from supervised sites to unsupervised sites.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I am profoundly disappointed that this issue that should not be a partisan issue is becoming one.

I will enter into the Record at this point the letter of opposition from the American Library Association.

American Library Association,

Washington, DC, July 26, 2006.

To: United States House of Representatives.

Re opposition to H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act

(DOPA).

Dear Representative: On behalf of the American Library

Association (ALA), I write to indicate our continued

opposition to H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act

(DOPA). We understand this bill may come to the House floor

this afternoon and ask that you oppose this bill as it

presently reads.

No profession or community is more concerned about the

safety of children than our Nation's librarians. Librarians

in public libraries and school library media centers work

continuously to assure that children have appropriate and

safe access to the materials and information services they

need so that each young person can become literate and

educated with the skills and knowledge to succeed in the

digital and online world.

ALA had hoped following the July 11th hearing on H.R. 5319

before the Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on

Telecommunications and the Internet, that an amended version

would seek to resolve some of the problems we expressed in

ALA's testimony. Unfortunately, the revised language we

received only last night does not make the necessary changes

that we believe would better serve the public interest and

contribute to true online safety for young people. We urge

opposition to H.R. 5319 for several reasons:

1. The terminology used in DOPA is still overly broad and

unclear. As written, this legislation would block access to

many valuable websites that utilize this type of

communication, websites whose benefits outweigh their

detriments.

2. DOPA still ignores the value of Interactive Web

applications. New Internet-based applications for

collaboration, business and learning are becoming

increasingly important, and young people must be prepared to

thrive in a work atmosphere where meetings take place online,

where online networks are essential communication tools.

3. Education, not laws blocking access, is the key to safe

use of the Internet. Libraries and schools are where kids

learn essential information literacy skills that go far

beyond computer instruction and web searching. Indeed, DOPA

would block usage of these sites in the very environments

where librarians and teachers can instruct students about how

to use all kinds of applications safely and effectively and

where kids can learn how to report and avoid unsafe sites.

4. Local decision-making--not federal law--is the way to

solve the problems addressed by DOPA. Such decisions are

already being made locally, in part due to the requirements

of the Children's Online Protection Act (CIPA) for E-rate

recipients. This additional requirement is not necessary.

5. DOPA would restrict access to technology in the

communities that need public access most. H.R. 5319 still, as

presently drafted, would require libraries and schools

receiving E-rate discounts through the Universal Service

Program to block computer users from accessing Interactive

Web applications of all kinds, thereby limiting opportunities

for those who do not have Internet access at home. This

unfairly denies the students and library users in schools and

libraries in the poorest communities from accessing

appropriate content and from learning how best to safely

manage their own Internet access in consultation with

librarians and teachers.

It should also be noted that key witnesses at the July 11th

hearing testified that limiting access to social networking

sites in E-rate schools and libraries will have little impact

on the overall problem since young people access these

collaborative sites from many locations and over a period of

time.

If you have any questions, please call our office at 202-

628-8410. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Lynne E. Bradley,

Director, Office of Government Relations,

American Library Association--WO.

Mr. Speaker, gas prices are at a record high, at over $3 per gallon. Yet House Republicans plan to leave Washington at the end of this week for a 5-week recess without providing any relief at the gas pump.

My legislation, the PUMP Act, which would lower the cost of a barrel of oil by $20, has been stalled in committee.

Our constituents have been gouged at the pump for 4 months in a row now, and the only response we have heard from the other side of the aisle is the same old tired policies that will do nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and will do nothing to provide real relief to the American consumer.

There is no excuse for Republican inaction. It is time that they break their cozy ties with oil companies so we can finally help the American consumer.

House Democrats want to repeal more than $20 billion in tax breaks and subsidies that Congressional Republicans and the Bush White House continue to protect. With Big Oil's record profits of $16 billion during the first quarter of this year, oil companies don't need more tax breaks from Washington. Democrats would invest this money, more than $20 billion, into energy resources of tomorrow so that we can begin to wean ourselves off foreign oil.

It is time to go in a new direction, America.

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

While I do not oppose the substance of H.R. 5852, the 21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006, I

strongly oppose the process by which this bill has been brought to the floor today.

H.R. 5852 was introduced July 20, 5 days ago, and was referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee has held no hearings on this bill nor did the subcommittee or full committee ever mark up this bill. The last hearing the committee held on this issue was September 2005, and the focus was public safety communications after Hurricane Katrina. Now, a month before the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the majority party is bringing up a bill that is not nearly enough to help our first responders on the ground.

This is no way to bring public safety legislation to the floor, and this process does a disservice to all our public safety officers throughout America.

Since the bill was not subject to any hearings in the Energy and Commerce Committee, I will not spend a lot of time talking about the bill's substance. I will say that the Department of Homeland Security should have taken these steps months and years ago. This bill gives the Department of Homeland Security the ability to deny grants to States and localities that don't have interoperability plans completed and don't meet minimum standards.

Let me be clear. I support accountability for the money spent from the Department of Homeland Security grant programs. However, we have not heard from the States and localities, because they did not have a hearing on this bill. I suspect that some States and localities may consider these provisions to be unfunded mandates.

The bill calls for periodic baseline surveys on the level of interoperability across the country. I support efforts to measure our progress towards interoperable public safety communications; however, I have little faith that the Department of Homeland Security is going to complete these surveys. We heard in committee that while the first survey was supposed to be finished by 2005, the Department had only recently agreed on methodology and had no start time in mind.

A bill that holds DHS's feet to the fire is a good thing. The administration could certainly use some prodding. DHS testified in September that it is the administration's goal to achieve interoperability within the next 20 years, by 2023. We don't have 20 years to become interoperable as a Nation. Our first responders are on the front lines in the war against terror today. They need the help now. Without adequate funding, the benchmarks and planning in this bill will not be implemented in our communities. Last year, the Republican Congress cut the DHS grant programs that fund interoperable communications by almost $600 million and slashed the Department of Justice interoperability grant program by $82 million, effectively eliminating it.

My colleagues may not know that this bill is based very closely on a bill introduced by my colleague, Ms. Lowey, which has the support of Democrats. There is one glaring difference, Ms. Lowey's bill would have established an interoperability grant program at the Department of Homeland Security to help our communities. In the closed door negotiations, the Republican majority removed the grant program. No money, no program.

This has become a pattern of the majority: Take a good Democratic bill, copy it in theme only, rush it to the floor without any hearings, send out a press release, and then quietly never fund the program. We have seen this time and time again.

Mr. Speaker, we ask more of our first responders than ever before. They are on the front lines in the war against terror. They must be prepared to respond to chemical disasters, rail disasters, natural disasters. We saw during 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina that public safety communications are critical in any emergency, but without adequate funding, the bill's worthy goals may never be achieved.

Are new interoperable radios more important than replacing out-of- date fire trucks or creating a meth crime task force? These are the real choices that communities across this Nation must make every day, and they receive no help from Washington. Their choices are becoming harder and harder as the Bush administration and Republican budgets ask them to make more with less and less.

The real reason why I think the Republicans have brought the bill before us today is because they don't want to face any funding amendments that may come up. In committee last fall, I offered an amendment to create a $5.8 billion trust fund for first responder communications. My amendment failed on a tie vote. Homeland Security Committee Democrats have forced similar votes. Why is this bill on suspension today? Because the majority wants to avoid votes on amendments that would invest in public safety communication grants for our communities.

My colleagues should vote for this bill because it will bring some accountability to the Department of Homeland Security and focus more attention on the urgent need of interoperable communications. But my colleagues should not be under any false illusion that this bill will make it easier for first responders to acquire modern equipment. This bill will not provide the necessary interoperable equipment this country needs.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to just respond to the gentleman from Washington.

I repeat, I know you have been in Congress for a limited amount of time, but there have been no hearings in the Energy and Commerce Committee on this bill, the committee with primary jurisdiction.

You talked about your law enforcement career. Well, back when you were

deputy in the early 1970s, I was a city police officer, went on to Michigan State Police, where I served until I was injured in the line of duty.

I am the founder of the Law Enforcement Caucus, and I hope you will join our caucus someday.

Law enforcement and first responders, what we are doing here today is giving them false hope and promises. The gentleman from Washington claims interoperability is a life and death issue. Then let us fund interoperability and not put law enforcement with a death penalty because they did not get the equipment they need.

I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the ranking member of the Energy Preparedness Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, can you tell us how much time we have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), a former first responder and a volunteer firefighter for 26 years.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), who really wrote this bill that the majority presents here today in theme only.

How much time do we have remaining, Mr. Speaker?

I yield 30 seconds to Mr. Pascrell.

Mr. Speaker, Democrats on this side, we will support the bill. It does create some accountability at the Department of Homeland Security. It will provide the cities and counties with guidance and standards 5 years after 9/11. But the real critical need is, we need funding.

Public safety interoperability should be an urgent priority for this country. As a former police officer, I understand clearly the importance of adequate funding for homeland security programs. The bill solves half the problem. We create the standards, but there is no funding. Let us provide funding and not continue to give false hope to our first responders that interoperability will finally arrive. It will never arrive until we provide adequate funding.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor someone who has dedicated 30 years of service to this great institution. Those of us on the Democratic side of the aisle know how much we have come to rely on Tim Friedman who has spent the last 3 decades working in the House Democratic Cloakroom.

One can imagine that after 30 years working on and around the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Tim has just about seen it all. Throughout it all, Tim has always been on hand to assist Members of Congress with all requests, large and small. By working with us and making it easier for Members of the House to fulfill their official duties, Mr. Friedman has served the U.S. House of Representatives, the United States Congress and his country admirably.

As he prepares to leave us, I wish him well and hope that his back improves for a better back swing so that he can enjoy many good days on the golf course. While all of us will miss seeing Tim day in and day out, we are truly happy for him and wish him all the best as he enjoys his well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, This debate on H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, is really one of the most fundamentally important debates that this body can undertake.

H.R. 810 addresses the most basic, essential ethical issues--life, when does it begin, and when should life, including human embryos, be open to experimentation and scientific research.

It is society's ethical obligation to draw boundaries around the possibilities of science. I believe we must draw a boundary that says ``no'' to embryonic stem cell research that requires the killing of embryos that if left to grow would become children. Children who would grow up to become police officers, factory workers, soldiers, government employees, lawyers, doctors, and scientists.

I believe that embryos, as life, should be treated with as much respect as you and I, and I reject the view that embryos are mere medical waste, as some have suggested.

Where do we draw the line as a Nation, and say, we will not cross that line? These proponents of H.R. 810 would not have us draw a line. This legislation leaves too many questions unanswered.

When do embryos become human life? After 40 hours? After 2 days? H.R. 810 is silent on when embryos become human life--it doesn't specify how long these embryos are allowed to grow before they are killed--2 days, 5 days, 14 days, or more!

Proponents of H.R. 810 will claim that their legislation will address the ``ethical manner'' in which this research will be conducted, yet their legislation is silent on the ethics, other than a subsection that directs the secretary to create guidelines in 60 days or less.

As elected leaders, we should set basic guidelines, not leave the guidelines to an unelected and unnamed administration official.

This legislation is unethical and unnecessary. Human embryonic stem cell research is completely legal today in the private sector and eligible for state funding in several states, including California and New Jersey. Since August 2001, over 128 stem cell lines have been created.

Furthermore, human embryonic stem cell research is funded by the federal government today. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent an estimated $38 million on Embryonic Stem Cell research in Fiscal Year 2006. 22 human embryonic stem cell lines are currently receiving federal funds. These lines are sufficient for basic research according to NIH director, Dr. Zerhouni.

Finally, embryonic stem cell research remains unproven. Not a single therapy has been developed from embryonic stem cell research. Instead of cures, embryonic stem cell research has led to tumors and deaths in animal studies.

While the promise of embryonic stem cells is questionable, adult stem cells are being used today to save lives. Recognizing this, the National Institutes of Health spent $568 million in Fiscal Year 2006 on adult stem cell research.

Adult stem cells are being used today in clinical trials and in clinical practice to treat 72 diseases including, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, juvenile diabetes, brain cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, heart damage, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, stroke, and sickle cell anemia.

Let me be clear, I am committed to funding ethical scientific research that will unlock the origins of diseases and develop cures that can help my constituents.

But we cannot let science leap-frog our ethics, our morals, and our legal system.

This is not a partisan issue, and it's bigger than a right to life issue.

I urge Members to vote against H.R. 810 and sustain the President's veto.

Mr. Speaker, for 5 years now Washington Republicans have refused to fund border security programs. But it is not only our effort at our borders, Republicans refuse to go after employers who break the law. Under their leadership, work site enforcement was cut back by 95 percent. As a result, the government prosecuted four employers in 2003 as opposed to 182 in 1999.

Securing our borders doesn't happen magically. It takes funding and it takes agents at the border, two things seriously lacking right now. Under pressure to act earlier this year, President Bush vowed to have 2,500 National Guard troops on our border by June 30, but all he could muster was 248. The administration claims the rest of the Guardsmen are now going through training. So much for keeping promises.

Now the House Republicans are seriously jeopardizing any real attempts to sign a border security bill into law this year. House Republicans simply refuse to negotiate a final bill, choosing instead to hold hearings on a bill they already passed.

The time for talking is over. It is time for House Republicans to join us to secure our borders.

Mr. Speaker, as Congress prepares to leave for the August recess, American families are being forced to make significant sacrifices just to be able to afford to drive to work, let alone try to take their family vacation this summer. I find it appalling that this body has not properly addressed high gas prices.

Over the Fourth of July, the national average price for a gallon of gas was approximately $3.00. Gas prices in my northern Michigan district exceeded $3.00, with many areas seeing a 20 to 25 percent increase in gas prices in 24 hours from July 2 to July 3, just in time for the July 4th holiday.

For almost a year now, we Democrats have been calling on the Republican leadership to allow a real price gouging bill to be passed into law.

One hundred thirty-five Members of this body have signed a discharge petition requesting that my legislation, the Federal Response to Energy Emergencies Act, the FREE Act, be brought to the floor for a vote.

After continuing lobbying from Democrats, Republicans finally introduced their own legislation, which was called price gouging, and it was a price gouging bill in theme only. That bill was passed by this body in May, and it has been stalled in the other body, controlled by the Republicans.

Unlike the Republican price gouging legislation, my bill, the FREE Act, would specifically set guidelines for the Federal Trade Commission to use to define price gouging, including provisions that would make it illegal to have unconscionable pricing, providing false price information, and market manipulation.

The FREE Act also contains a provision that would promote price transparency, helping consumers to understand whether or not oil and gas prices are fair and reasonable.

The FREE Act would also apply to natural gas and propane. Neither natural gas nor propane is addressed by the Republican bill.

Despite efforts to sugar coat the Federal Trade Commission's report recently released, called Invasion of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gas Price Increases, the Federal Trade Commission did find price gouging. Twenty-three percent of the refineries, 9 percent of the wholesalers and 25 percent of the retailers charged significantly higher prices. In other

words, they gouged the American people. And these prices were not attributable to either increased costs or national or international market trends.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are fed up. They know price gouging when they see it and they are being gouged. The Federal Government has responsibility to protect consumers from price gouging.

Price gouging legislation is long overdue. Congress needs to pass legislation to allow the Federal Trade Commission to prosecute price gouging.

Just as we must continue to work to protect consumers from gouging and predatory pricing at the pump, we must also investigate the effect that energy futures trading can have on gas prices.

Traditionally, trading of energy commodities such as crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel and natural gas has taken place on the New York Mercantile Exchange, NYMEX, with oversight by the Commodities Future Trading Commission. However, an increasing amount of trading does not occur on NYMEX but in off-market deals known as over-the-counter trading.

According to the bipartisan Senate Homeland Security Committee report on oil and gas market speculation released on July 27, it says: ``As an increasing number of U.S. energy trades occurs on unregulated over-the- counter electronic exchanges or through foreign exchanges, the trading reporting system becomes less and less accurate, the trading data becomes less and less useful, and its market oversight program becomes less comprehensive.''

It is estimated that up to 75 percent of all energy trades are now over-the-counter, where speculation occurs without any regulation or oversight by the Federal Government.

Without effective oversight, there is no way to know whether energy speculators are basing their trades on market realities or instead taking advantage of the system to make money at the expense of hardworking Americans. Unregulated trades based on speculation, fueled by fear, result in greed, as we can see from the record profits of the oil companies.

In fact, a recent Justice Department investigation had led to charges against traders for the energy conglomerate, British Petroleum. It is alleged that several traders attempted to corner the market on propane in a pipeline network that serves the Midwest and the Northeast in order to drive up the price for propane in these areas. Court documents show that they were at least temporary successful in driving up artificially the price of propane.

Investigations into additional civil and criminal violations are ongoing.

When speculators, motivated by greed, take advantage of markets to drive up energy prices, the Federal Government must intervene to prevent this manipulation from being passed on to the American consumer.

Due to these concerns, I have introduce the Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices (PUMP) Act, H.R. 5248 to bring Over the Counter trading under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The PUMP Act would require off-market speculators to play by the same rules as on-market traders. This increased oversight will improve confidence in the market and help eliminate the unreasonable inflation of crude oil prices. The legislation would also increase penalties for speculators found to be unfairly manipulating the oil futures market.

Some economists estimate that oversight over all futures trades would lower the price of a barrel of crude oil by as much as $20.

Unfortunately, rather than proposing real solutions to bring down energy prices, Republicans have instead continued to propose bills to eliminate environmental standards, provide more tax breaks for bill oil, and promote the Republicans' favorite solution: drill, drill, drill.

I find it appalling that anyone could suggest that big oil needs more breaks, given their exorbitant profits. And we can not drill our way towards solving our addiction to oil.

Only by ensuring fair markets for American consumers and the promotion of alternative fuels can we truly reduce energy prices.

Our constituents are looking to us, to Congress, for relief. It is our duty to approve legislation that would provide real solutions, to protect Americans from the increased financial hardship that price gouging and high gas prices artificially created during the summer tourism months.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize an outstanding individual who has dedicated the last nine years of her life to spurring economic growth and development in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Ms. Linda Hirvonen retired at the end of June as Director of the Delta County Economic Development Alliance. During her time there, she worked tirelessly on economic and community development in northern Michigan.

Ms. Hirnoven was critical to business and job growth in Delta County. As of April 2006, there were 2,400 more people in the workforce than when she began in 1997. Ms. Hirvonen assisted 575 individuals and companies looking to start a business or relocate in Delta County. Those statistics are impressive and speak to Ms. Hirvonen's record of success and accomplishment. However, they only tell part of the story. What she will perhaps be remembered for most is the leadership and vision in economic development that she brought to the job and to Delta County.

Ms. Hirvonen is credited by many as coining the term ``coopetition,'' the concept that private businesses should cooperate with each other and with nonprofits to develop the community infrastructure that will facilitate economic growth and lay the foundation for a stable business environment. This concept of ``coopetition'' has guided Delta County's Economic Development Alliance and the many programs that Ms. Hirvonen developed during her tenure.

Ms. Hirvonen was instrumental in the creation of the Upper Peninsula Economic Development Alliance and served as the Alliance's first president. She saw to the creation of the Bay Area Economic Club and served as the Club's permanent board secretary. She pioneered the creation of Delta Force, the community leadership development program.

A newcomer herself to the area in 1997, Ms. Hirvonen established a program through the Alliance that provides a network of support for newcomers to Delta County. She recognized that for the community to grow, newcomers to the area need to feel welcome. The newcomers unit provided a valuable network for those individuals and businesses that are new to Delta County.

Ms. Hirvonen also led the Alliance's efforts to better assess the needs of existing businesses in the Upper Peninsula. Thanks to her leadership, the Economic Development Alliance implemented the Upper Peninsula Business Barometer, a UP-wide survey of existing businesses to better understand business' needs and strengths.

The overarching goal of the Economic Development Alliance has been to support and assist business creation, growth and expansion in Delta County. Ms. Hirvonen has been tremendously successful in advancing that goal, attracting several businesses to Delta County. She is particularly proud of one new business, Issues and Answers Network. This business came to Delta County in 2001 and, with the Alliance's help, opened two more locations throughout the Upper Peninsula. The company employs 150 people in Escanaba and, thanks to this expansion, Issues and Answers should employ more than 300 people throughout the Upper Peninsula by the end of this year.

Mr. Speaker, Ms. Linda Hirvonen has made it her business to see to business expansion and growth in Delta County and in the Upper Peninsula. Bringing business and economic growth to smaller, rural communities is often challenging. It can only happen when people like Ms. Hirvonen dedicate themselves to the effort. Today, after nine years of distinguished service to her community, I congratulate Ms. Hirvonen on a job well done.

Her husband, Dr. Michael Allkins, recently retired himself. The two of them will now have more time for their mutual pastimes of golf, long walks on sandy beaches and martinis at sunset. To both of them, I say: enjoy, you have earned it.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and the House of Representatives join me in congratulating my friend, my constituent, Ms. Linda Hirvonen and thanking her for her hard work and nine years of service to Delta County and Michigan's entire Upper Peninsula.

Mr. Speaker, as Congress gets ready for the Fourth of July recess, I am reminded again that we do not have a Federal price gouging law on the books. And just in time for the Fourth of July.

In Marquette, Michigan, last night, gas prices were $2.89. When my constituents woke up this morning, it is now $3.09. Just in time for the Fourth of July.

For almost a year now, we Democrats have been calling on the Republican leadership to allow a real gas price-gouging bill to be passed in the law. One hundred and thirty-five Members of this body have signed a discharge petition requesting that my legislation, the Federal Response to Energy Emergencies, the FREE Act, be brought to the floor for a vote. After continued lobbying from Democrats, Republicans finally introduced their own legislation, which was called ``price gouging,'' and it is price gouging in theme only, and that bill was passed by this body in May.

Unlike the Republican price-gouging legislation, my legislation, the FREE Act, would specifically set guidelines for the Federal Trade Commission to use to define price gouging, including provisions that would make illegal unconscionable pricing, providing false information, and market manipulation.

The FREE Act also contains a provision that would promote price transparency, helping the consumer to understand the information to know what gas and oil prices should be that would be fair and reasonable.

The FREE Act would also apply to natural gas and propane. Neither natural gas nor propane is addressed in the Republican bill.

Despite efforts to sugar-coat the Federal Trade Commission's recently released Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Increases, the FTA, the Federal Trade Commission, did find that, after Hurricane Katrina refiners, wholesalers, retailers charged significantly higher gas prices that were not attributable to either increased costs or international market trends.

Mr. Speaker, the American people are fed up. They know price gouging when they see it, and they are being gouged like my constituents in Marquette, Michigan, just today. The Federal Government has a responsibility

to protect consumers from price gouging. Price-gouging legislation is long overdue.

Congress needs to pass legislation to allow the FTC to prosecute price gouging. Our constituents are looking to us, to Congress, for relief. It is our duty to approve legislation that would provide that relief, to protect Americans from increased financial hardship that price gouging and high gas prices create, especially during the summer tourism months.

Whether you support the Pombo bill or not, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question so that we can consider the FREE Act, a real price-gouging bill that can provide relief for gas customers today.