Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of an amendment to the FLAME Act that I coauthored along with Congressman Lujan and Congressman Connolly.

Our amendment would provide for a management plan that would study the effects on wildfire risk. This amendment would also expand eligibility to allow grants to focus their fire prevention by eradicating invasive species. One such invasive species is tamarisk.

Since the 1960s, Westerners have worked to rid the region's rivers of tamarisk, hoping to salvage scarce water, protect wildlife, or fend off wildfire. Millions of dollars and countless back-breaking hours are spent each year on efforts to hack down and poison the plants.

Tamarisk has displaced native vegetation on approximately 1.6 million acres of land in the West and continues to spread. Studies have shown that mature tamarisk can uptake nearly 200 gallons of water a day. Due to this, the West is losing 2 million to 4.5 million acre-feet of water per year because of tamarisk. In Southeastern Colorado, this has made the land more arid, which has made it susceptible to wildfire. Our amendment will help suppress growth by eradicating the problem before it starts.

I want to thank my colleagues for working with me on this amendment, and I want to thank Chairman Rahall for his support of our amendment and for his leadership on this bill. I urge all Members to support our amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I'd like to thank Chairman Miller, Congresswoman McCarthy, and the entire committee for their diligent work on this important legislation.

I rise today to urge my colleagues to support my amendment to H.R. 1388. My amendment would increase the amount of funds that go to organizations to support national servicemembers. AmeriCorps is one such organization, and its members are making a difference in communities across the United States.

Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups, including nine in my home State of Colorado.

These projects have helped to coordinate such days as Martin Luther King Day of Service and Colorado Cares Day.

Within my congressional district, the Weld County Youth Conservation Corps contracts with the city of Greeley and does everything from working in museums to making buildings handicapped-accessible to eradicating weeds in our State parks. The Corps maintains the Poudre River Trail Corridor, works at the Wray Fish Hatchery, and supports the forest service. In my rural district, VISTA members address poverty needs and disaster relief.

Additionally, one of my constituents, Justin Horn, won ``Corps Member of the Year'' for the State of Colorado in 2008. Constituents in my district contribute to the great work being done around Colorado, along with 75,000 AmeriCorps programs across the country.

To help our men and women do this admirable work, Congress established the Education Award Program in 1998 in order to address concerns about costs organizations incurred from hosting national servicemembers.

Currently, organizations receive only $600 to support the individuals who are enrolled in full-time national service positions. This small amount helps to pay for operational and member support costs, including a living allowance. My amendment proposes an increase to that amount. In today's economy, these organizations are struggling.

My amendment is not only an investment that will boost these organizations and their noble work but, at the same time, improve these communities throughout the United States.

I urge all Members to support my amendment to H.R. 1388.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Yes, I yield.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support my amendment to require States to use at least 15 percent of each capital grant under the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Funds for municipalities of less than 10,000 people.

The State Water Pollution Control Revolving Funds have been a successful source of capital for wastewater treatment projects. The State Revolving Funds receive Federal money in the form of grants. Each State uses the fund to issue long-term, low-interest loans for publicly owned wastewater treatment construction. Loans are repaid to the fund, thereby ensuring a perpetual source of financing for capital projects.

According to the EPA, communities of less than 10,000 people often have a harder time building and maintaining wastewater treatment facilities due to financial limitations. This leaves small communities at a disadvantage for keeping up to date with water quality standards.

In my district, the town of Brush, Colorado, population 5,500, has a wastewater treatment facility that is 44 years old. While this facility is currently meeting water quality standards, it is in need of an overhaul to replace fatigued equipment and stay ahead of ever-changing water quality standards.

Replacement of the wastewater treatment plant is likely to cost Brush between $16 to $18 million. With a median household income of $31,000, the town of Brush simply cannot afford to finance the project with the rate increases alone. Brush is seeking funding through the State Water Revolving Fund program.

The needs of Brush are not unique to small communities around the country. The town of Wray, in Yuma County, Colorado, needs to expand their current wastewater treatment facility. This project is projected to cost up to $5 million. Wray has a population of 2,300 people, with a median household income of $29,000.

My provision would help small communities like Brush and Wray have reliable access to capital loans to sustain their long-term water quality goals. The 15 percent requirement would be in place only to the extent that there are sufficient projects in need of funding. In dry States like Colorado, where every drop of water is accounted for, it is important that rural wastewater treatment facilities are given the funding they need to ensure water supplies are safe.

I urge all Members to support my amendment to H.R. 1262.

Yes.

Yes, I will yield.

Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Kratovil).

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. John Stulp and former Commissioners Mr. Don Ament, Mr. Tom Kourlis, Mr. Steve Horn, Mr. Peter Decker, Mr. Tim Schultz, Mr. Evan Goulding, Mr. Morgan Smith, Mr. Roy Romer, the late Mr. Clinton Jeffers, the late Mr. John Orcutt, and the late Mr. Paul Swisher for their service and leadership.

The foundation of Colorado's history was built by the farmers and ranchers who dedicated their lives to settling the land. Today producers continue to be a fundamental pillar of our state's communities. Over 30 million acres in Colorado are dedicated to agriculture and our producers work endlessly to provide our nation with a safe and reliable food supply. Under the guidance of those who have served as Commissioner of Agriculture, Colorado's farmers and ranchers have been able to efficiently transfer food from their fields to our tables.

Over the years, Colorado agriculture has survived economic strain, destructive weather and severe drought. The unyielding leadership of all our Commissioners has ensured that our food supply would be secure even in the face of hardships. They have worked to develop the sustainable farming programs that serve our rural communities and strived to overcome the challenges that were presented to them. March 20, 2009 is National Agriculture Day, celebrating producers across the country. I would like to honor the Commissioners who have led Colorado's agriculture community towards a thriving future and thank them for their dedication.

I would like to thank the gentleman from Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as an original cosponsor of House Resolution 146, which designates March 2, 2009, as ``Read Across America Day,'' and to urge my colleagues to vote in support of this legislation.

Yesterday was the 105th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Seuss Geisel--or ``Dr. Seuss,'' as he is better known to generations of children. Between 1937 and 1991, Dr. Seuss published more than 40 books. In fact, one in four American children receive Dr. Seuss as their first book.

It's hard to quantify the powerful investment in a child's future the simple act of reading can be. And as any parent will tell you, our most treasured memories of our children lie in the precious moments before bedtime, carefully making our way through books that we hope will capture our son or daughter's imagination and attention. In fact, reading together can serve as childhood's best mile marker as simple lessons of ``Green Eggs and Ham'' give way to the more complicated worlds of Nancy Drew and Harry Potter. It is as if a parent can see the very foundation of a child's mind take root and grow.

Dr. Seuss was one of the first to understand how a small spark of imagination early in life can lend itself in later years to great discovery and politics. ``The Cat in the Hat'' was originally commissioned in 1955 after it was found that children were being held back by boring books. Theodor Geisel introduced our kids to Marvin K. Mooney, to the Grinch, and to Cindy Lou Who, to Sam, who would not eat green eggs and ham, to the Yooks and the Zooks, who battled over which side of bread the butter is properly applied.

It is easy, in these times that we find ourselves in, to forget how important it is that simple lessons endure. Even in the midst of these times, parents must remember to read to their children. And we must remember that it is often the lessons found in children's literature that mean the most later in life. After all, C.S. Lewis told us in the Chronicles of Narnia, ``For this is what it means to be king: to be the first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat. And when there is hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer cloths and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.'' And Dumbledore told us: ``There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.''

Behind all those who struggle to achieve and endure lies a parent or a teacher who took the time to attend to a child's earliest education. Some of the happiest moments in my life were spent cuddled up with Katie, Erin and Al--my three kids, who seem to be racing towards adulthood with uncommon speed--reading our favorite books. They are moments I would not trade for anything in the world.

So please vote ``yes'' on House Resolution 146 and remember the words of Dr. Seuss: ``You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. And you can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. You know what you know. You're the guy who'll decide where you go.''

As working class families struggle to make ends meet in these tough economic times, we have the opportunity to ease their burden by providing health care for 11 million children. Currently, more than 1 out of 8 children in Colorado lacks health insurance because they can't afford it. As the mother of three, I understand the burden of caring for sick children and the relief of being able to take my children to the doctor without worrying about costs.

We need to expand access to children's health care, and make sure that every child has the ability to go to the doctor and receive treatment. This is not just the right thing to do; it makes fiscal sense to give children preventive health care.

As working class families struggle to make ends meet in these tough economic times, we have the opportunity to ease their burden by providing health care for 11 million children. In my state of Colorado, we had 84,649 children enrolled in SCHIP in 2007. This legislation would preserve coverage for them, and extend it to thousands more children in the state. (Currently, more than one out of every eight children in Colorado lacks health insurance.)

As a mother of three, I understand the burden of caring for sick children and the relief of being able to take my children to the doctor without worrying about costs.

We need to expand access to children's health care and make sure that every child has the ability to go to the doctor and receive treatment. Today's children are the next generation of leaders, and we need to insure our future. This is not only the right thing to do, it makes fiscal sense to give children preventive healthcare. I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pledge their support for our children and vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and missed rollcall vote 28 on H. Res. 56 titled, ``Expressing support for designation of the week of February 2 through February 6, 2009, as `National School Counseling Week.''

If I had been present, I would have voted in favor of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate the Windsor High School Marching Band for being selected to march in President Barack Obama's inauguration parade.

In May of 2008, a mile wide tornado cut a 35 mile path through northern Colorado. The tornado resulted in one death and displaced hundreds of residents in the Windsor community. It would be easy to focus on the tragedy of the Windsor tornado when acknowledging the successes of the Windsor High School Marching Band, but to do so would overlook the extraordinary achievements of the band under any circumstance. In 2008, the WHS Marching Band won division first place in three different regional competitions, as well as ``High Musical Performance,'' ``High General Effect,'' and the 2008 Colorado Bandmasters Association Class 3A ``State Marching Band Championship.''

For President Barack Obama's inaugural parade, the WHS Marching Band performed an original composition by Frank Sullivan entitled ``The Four Freedoms.'' This piece is a musical interpretation of President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address to the United States Congress. In the ``Four Freedoms'' address, FDR made the case for American assistance in World War II by enumerating the four universal freedoms worth fighting for: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Want, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom of Fear. The state of Colorado and I were privileged to be represented by the Windsor High School Marching Band at the historic inauguration of our 44th president, and I congratulate them on their much deserved success.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2, the reauthorization of SCHIP.

When our Nation faces tough economic times, we must look beyond the grim statistics to see the true cost of our struggles. Seven percent of this Nation is unemployed, which leaves too many families without health insurance. 170,000 children in Colorado alone have no health coverage. That's more than one in eight.

How we as a Nation approach health care for our children speaks not just to our economic priorities but to our moral priorities.

Colorado ranks seventh worst nationally in the rate of uninsured children. As the mother of three kids who knows the worry and heartache that comes with caring late into the night for a sick child, that is one statistic I hope I have a hand in changing.

I as all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pledge their support for our children and vote for this bill.