Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5872, the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. This bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 350,000 $1 silver coins in 2010 to commemorate the centennial of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. The $10 surcharge required for each coin will be paid to the National Boy Scouts of America Foundation.

Mr. Speaker, I have long been honored to be associated with the Boy Scouts of America. I am the proud father of an Eagle Scout and

I have been proud to support the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts in North Carolina through volunteer work and vital fundraising. I have been honored to receive the Silver Beaver, the Scouts' highest award for volunteering,

Scouting has contributed to the fabric of American life for nearly 100 years. The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916, The Boy Scouts of America's original mission was to provide an educational program for boys and young men to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating in citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.

You know, North Carolina and America and indeed the entire world have changed a great deal since 1910, yet the Boy Scouts endure. The Boy Scouts remain a mainstay of American life because the message of this organization is timeless: developing American citizens who are physically, mentally and emotionally fit.

The leadership and service skills learned as a Boy Scout have enabled men to become leaders in all walks of life: government, business, sports, science and the arts. These include such distinguished individuals as: President Gerald R. Ford, our first Eagle Scout to become President; Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates; and my friend, Richard Gephardt, the former Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Closer to my home, former North Carolina Governor and Senator Terry Sanford was an Eagle Scout.

The Boy Scouts of America is an institution that contributes so much to the strength of our social fabric. The activities of the Boy Scouts reinforce our moral core and help sustain our American values, generation after generation.

I support the issuance of this commemorative centennial coin, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation to provide emergency supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Years 2008. This legislation contains funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the summer of 2009, expands education benefits for veterans, and extends unemployment benefits for workers. While this final bill is not perfect, I will vote for it to provide necessary funds for our troops in the field as well as fund some of our most pressing domestic priorities.

As a veteran of the U.S. Army myself, I strongly support our troops, our veterans and their families. Our troops have done everything they have been asked to do and done it exceptionally well. I am tremendously proud of all the troops from North Carolina and across America who have done their duty so admirably. This legislation includes $162.5 billion for our troops to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It also includes provisions to make sure that our troops meet the Pentagon's definition of ``combat ready'' before they are deployed to Iraq and prevents them from being deployed longer than Pentagon guidelines recommend.

As the representative of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, I am a proud cosponsor of the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act and am pleased that it is included in the Supplemental Appropriations bill. The original Montgomery G.I. Bill was a hugely successful initiative that provided hundreds of thousands of soldiers with new opportunities in education and business following World War II. We owe those same opportunities to the men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and currently serving around the globe. This initiative would give returning service members who have served on active duty in the Armed Forces or reserves after September 11, 2001, to receive educational assistance for up to 4 years, and can be used at any time within 15 years of discharge or release from active duty. The new GI bill is also fiscally responsible as it is paid for with an income tax surcharge of one-half of one percent on individuals with incomes above $500,000 and couples with incomes above $1 million. Education is the key to the American dream, and our troops who have sacrificed for our country should be given every opportunity to access a higher education when they leave the service.

With our economy hurting, this bill extends unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted their benefits by up to 13 weeks in every state and an additional 13 weeks in states with high unemployment. With the number of Americans looking for work growing, and the number of American jobs decreasing, this bill will help those Americans suffering in this economy.

I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress as well as the President and the Administration, to provide a new direction in Iraq and to meet the critical needs of the people of North Carolina's Second Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, let me commend the chairman and ranking member for their hard work. And I stand in support of this conference report.

This truly is a bipartisan piece of legislation that the House Agriculture Committee has produced and one that affects every citizen in this country.

Agriculture is the number one industry in my home State of North Carolina. It is responsible for $66 billion in income and employs almost one-fifth of the State's workforce.

Mr. Speaker, it is critical that we have a stable farm policy in this country, not just for North Carolina, but for every child that participates in the nutrition program, for every food bank and for every school lunch program.

The bill increases the funding for the Nation's nutrition programs by over $10 billion, provides over $1.1 billion for renewable energy, and increases funding for conservation efforts by $6.6 billion.

And for new and growing sectors of agriculture like organic foods, we have included, for the first time, mandatory funding for specialty crop research and marketing.

And we are able to do all this while ensuring that the safety net for our farmers remains intact, ensuring that no matter what, our citizens will always have a stable food supply.

Mr. Speaker, this week gas prices have hit yet another new high. Today, gas prices are higher than they have ever been in the history of our country, and rural Americans are getting hit particularly hard.

Yet while most Americans are struggling to make ends meet, oil companies are making record profits. H.R. 6022, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act, will suspend the acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to provide relief to the American consumer.

Mr. Speaker, everyone from farmers, commuters, employers, and senior citizens have been hit hard by the rise in gas prices. This is affecting the rural economy of the people of the Second District of North Carolina, and indeed rural areas across the country where people must travel long distances to make sure they have the basic necessities of life, from school and jobs, to church and the grocery store.

This legislation will suspend the purchase of as much as 70,000 barrels of oil per day, and could have the effect of lowering our gas prices. While I believe that it is our duty to find alternatives to our reliance on foreign oil, right now we need to take this step to suspend deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

I urge my colleagues to vote for passage of H.R. 6022.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5872, the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. This bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 350,000 $1 silver coins in 2010 to commemorate the centennial of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. The $10 surcharge required for each coin will be paid to the National Boy Scouts of America Foundation.

Mr. Speaker, I have long been honored to be associated with the Boy Scouts of America. I am the proud father of an Eagle Scout and I have been proud to support the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts in North Carolina through volunteer work and vital fundraising. I have been honored to receive the Silver Beaver, the Scouts' highest award for volunteering, and I received a new award for my congressional support for Scouting.

Scouting has contributed to the fabric of American life for nearly 100 years. The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916. The Boy Scouts of America's original mission was to provide an educational program for boys and young men to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating in citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.

You know, North Carolina and America and indeed the entire world have changed a great deal since 1910. Yet the Boy Scouts endure. The Boy Scouts remain a mainstay of American life because the message of this organization is timeless: developing American citizens who are physically, mentally and emotionally fit.

The leadership and service skills learned as a Boy Scout have enabled men to become leaders in all walks of life: government, business, sports, science and the arts. These include such distinguished individuals as: President Gerald R. Ford, our first Eagle Scout to become President; Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates; and my friend, Richard Gephardt, the former majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Closer to my home, former North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford was an Eagle Scout.

The Boy Scouts of America is an institution that contributes so much to the strength of our social fabric. The activities of the Boy Scouts reinforce our moral core and help sustain our American values, generation after generation.

I support the issuance of this commemorative Centennial Coin, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3221, American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, and amendments to the bill. This bill is a critical step towards stabilizing our housing market, and providing assistance to thousands of Americans facing foreclosure.

There are grave problems facing our current housing market and economy. Decreasing home values and lack of available credit are damaging the market, and skyrocketing mortgages have led thousands of families to face the frightening prospect of foreclosure. In my state of North Carolina alone, PEW Charity Trusts and the Center for Responsible Lending estimate there will be 53,254 foreclosures in 2008 and 2009. Not only does foreclosure strike at the heart of these families' financial stability, but unfortunately the damage spreads across all of our communities. The same study shows that over 330,000 homes in North Carolina will be devalued by the spillover impact of the foreclosures, and North Carolina stands to lose over $860 million in property values.

However, H.R. 3221 is a comprehensive package that can provide relief to these families and our communities in a variety of ways. Provisions in this bill reform and modernize the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as well as government sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These programs allow for stability in the housing market and by strengthening their loan limits and regulations, they can serve as a safer alternative to the riskier subprime loans we have recently seen. The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 also includes a tax benefit for first-time homebuyers as well as an additional credit on property taxes for existing homeowners who claim the standard deduction. These measures will help revive the housing market and get our sluggish economy moving in the right direction.

This bill also creates a voluntary FHA initiative that provides mortgage refinancing assistance to allow families to stay in their homes while also strengthening the housing market. This voluntary plan would require lenders to write-down some of the existing mortgage in order to qualify for FHA backing, and would require borrowers to return portions of any future profits on the house to the government in order to prevent foreclosure. It is important to note that under H.R. 3221, only owner-occupied homes facing foreclosure can qualify for this mortgage assistance, and speculators, investors, and second-homeowners are not eligible. This provision represents a compromise by all participating parties and can keep people in their homes and improve surrounding communities.

I support the passage of H.R. 3221, American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, and I urge my colleagues to join me.

Mr. Speaker, as the only former state schools' chief serving in Congress, I rise today in appreciation of the lasting impact that teachers make on the lives of all Americans.

Each of us in the House have benefited from the care and guidance of a talented educator. Each of us knows, from personal experience and reports from our district, many of the amazing success stories in our schools today. These successes would not be possible without our dedicated teachers who lend their skills, experience, and passion to the task of educating our children.

I am profoundly thankful to all of my teachers, who pushed me to succeed and taught me valuable lessons. Ms. Flossie Barber, who taught me at the Cleveland School, was the personification of teaching. Stern and tough, but always caring with each and every student, her early lessons enabled me to achieve my goals and more. Coach Bruce Coats taught me what it meant to be a member of a team and how to contribute to the greater good. I hope that everyone has the privilege of great teachers like these, and remembers to give them thanks for their hard work and inspiration.

Too often, we do not give our teachers the respect and esteem that they deserve. This day, and really this whole week, is an opportunity to stop and remember the professional educators who work every day to build a bright future for our children and our Nation. Their efforts shape the world of tomorrow, and they deserve our support every day throughout the year.

Mr. Speaker, with your leadership, the New Direction Congress is ensuring that our teachers get the support they need to continue their work to educate our children. We have committed to fully funding No Child Left Behind and other federal mandates that have been shortchanged by the current administration. We also must pass new teacher training and staff development initiatives to help our educators hone and maintain the skills they need to teach our children well. We have made great strides in recent years to improve our schools, and, on this National Teacher Day should recommit to build on that record of success.

Improving education in this country is about creating a classroom environment where children can learn. My colleagues and I have crafted bipartisan legislation to provide critical investments in school construction and modernization across the country. The Rangel-Ramstad- Etheridge America's Better Classrooms Act will provide $25 billion in interest-free bonds for local schools. This bill will make a real difference for our communities, our children, and their teachers. I have also introduced legislation to ensure that students and teachers have a safe place to learn that is equipped to respond to any disaster. The Schools Empowered to Respond Act will support schools in their efforts to keep children safe and implement robust emergency management plans. On this National Teacher Day, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important legislation.

The work of our dedicated teachers inspires our students every day, and I have been inspired by so many educators who give much to our communities. I thank them for their work, and do so every day.

Mr. Speaker, on H.R. 5613 and House Concurrent Resolution 322, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the former superintendent of public instruction in North Carolina, I am pleased today to introduce the Schools Empowered to Respond Act. This bill will put the federal government to work in partnership with states and local education agencies to support school preparedness planning, training, and equipment needs.

Schools are a vital resource in our community, and our children spend the majority of their daylight hours in our educational institutions. But schools are often overlooked when considering emergency preparedness and first responder needs. Even as teachers, administrators, and students are working together to make schools a safe place for learning, they can use additional help and guidance to make their planning as effective as possible.

When I surveyed principals in my district's schools in 2006 about emergency response planning, I learned that schools were keeping our children safe but, despite the lessons of 9/11, the federal government was doing little to improve emergency planning and disaster mitigation at schools. I then asked the Government Accountability Office to survey schools across the nation. They spoke to school personnel in Washington State, Iowa, Massachusetts, Florida, Ohio, and my own state of North Carolina. Last June, they reported the same thing I found in the 2nd District: schools want to improve their security, but need support and guidance to make improvements.

The Schools Empowered to Respond Act gives schools this support and guidance. It takes simple but important steps to make sure that schools have the help they need to keep our kids safe. State governments and education officials know what is best for their communities and their students, and this bill supports their work to keep schools safe and secure places to learn.

It gives school officials a ``one-stop shop'' in the Department of Homeland Security they can look to for advice, best practices, and assistance for school security planning. This office will coordinate federal initiatives such as the Safe Schools Initiative, Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools, and Safe and Drug Free Schools to ensure that resources get to the schools that need them. The bill also ensures that schools are eligible for emergency planning grants from DHS to improve school security. Given the vital role that schools serve in our communities, it ensures that teachers and administrators, school resource officers, and school emergency planning officials have a prominent voice in our national homeland security response. In short, it empowers school personnel to continue their good work and to implement their plans for school security by giving them the guidance and resources they need to keep our children safe.

Given recent events at schools across the country, we as a nation simply must invest in important priorities like emergency planning to ensure our schools remain prepared for any emergency. I am proud to be taking steps to help schools with their emergency planning, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the Schools Empowered to Respond Act today.

Madam Speaker, due to the recent death of a family friend and my attendance at his funeral service, I was unable to vote on three measures on the House floor on March 31, 2008.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 3352, Hydrographic Services Improvement Act Amendments of 2007. I would have also voted ``yes'' on H.R. 2675, Help to Access Land for the Education of Scouts Act, and ``yes'' on H. Con. Res. 302, Supporting the Observance of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3773, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. This bill will help protect our Nation's security from terrorist threats while also protecting the civil rights and freedoms of our citizens.

On November 15, 2007, I voted in favor of the Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective (RESTORE) Act that passed the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 227 to 189. The FISA Amendments Act includes and enhances the provisions from the RESTORE Act that form a strong framework for how our intelligence agencies operate. This bill requires the FISA court to approve targeting and minimization procedures to ensure that Americans are not targeted and their communications are not disseminated. These procedures would have to be approved prior to any surveillance, with the exception of emergency cases that would allow the government to begin surveillance immediately, provided that they obtain approval from the FISA court within 30 days. Under the FISA Amendments Act, this requirement would extend to American citizens at home and as well as those traveling abroad. To further enhance accountability, this legislation would create a Congressional commission that would conduct hearings and investigation into the President's recent warrantless wiretapping program. This bill grants new authorities for conducting surveillance and collecting intelligence against terrorist organizations, while preserving the requirement that the government obtain a FISA court order, based on probable cause, when targeting Americans.

While the FISA Amendments Act does not include retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies, it does ensure the ability of these companies to fully defend themselves if they are sued in a court of law. This bill provides these telecommunications companies a way to present their defenses in secure proceedings and gives them access to any documents relating to their case that the government could otherwise withhold as ``state secrets.''

We owe our intelligence agencies clear rules and guidelines in order to perform their duties to the fullest, just as we owe it to every American to protect their rights and freedoms. I support the passage of H.R. 3773, The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, and I urge my colleagues to join me.

Mr. Chairman, on behalf of North Carolina's children and our working families, I rise in support of this budget resolution and I congratulate you, Chairman John Spratt for your visionary leadership in crafting this important document.

With this budget resolution, the Democratic majority will succeed where our Republican predecessors failed. To budget is to govern, and this resolution will produce a balanced budget with balanced priorities.

As the only former State schools chief serving in Congress, I am particularly pleased about this measure's provisions for education and innovation. Specifically, rather than continue the Republicans' record of passing a crushing debt burden on to future generations, the Spratt resolution contains tough budget discipline for a new direction for the Federal budget. The Spratt resolution rejects the President's proposed education cuts and instead provides greater investment in our Nation's schools, including the school construction bonds Chairman Rangel and I have been working on for nearly a decade and increased Impact Aid for federally impacted local public schools. It provides $50 billion for children's health insurance. And it protects millions of middle income families from the onslaught of the alternative minimum tax.

As a Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I am pleased that after 7 years of this Administration failing to address fully some of our most pressing security needs, the Chairman's mark provides the necessary resources to meet critical threats to the Nation. Specifically, the Chairman's mark places high priority on rejecting the President's cuts to first responder support. This includes the State Homeland Security Grant Program through which States may direct grants to local law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical services, and other preparedness officials to address a wide array of public safety needs. The Administration proposed cutting this proven security initiative by $705 million, and the Spratt budget rejects that misguided cut. The Chairman's mark also rejects these other mistaken budget cuts: $463 million from firefighter assistance grants that give local firefighters the tools they need to do their dangerous jobs protecting the public; $173 million from Byrne Justice Assistance Grants flexible funding for local criminal justice efforts; $599 million from the Community Congress Oriented Policing Services COPS funds that help local communities hire, train and retain police officers and to improve law enforcement technology. I strongly believe the homeland security starts with hometown security, and I strongly support the Chairman's mark as it provides essential services for local first responders. Unbelievably, for the sixth year in a row, the President's budget proposes to eliminate the State Criminal Alien Assistance fund of $417 million which helps States cope with the costs of incarcerating undocumented aliens who commit crimes. I am pleased the Chairman's mark rejects this misguided budget cut.

I was disappointed to see the President's proposed budget contains the failed Social Security privatization plan, and the leading Republican Presidential candidate just this week embraced this risky plan. When the President first proposed privatizing Social Security, I toured the country to oppose this risky gamble with Social Security. The American people have spoken loud and clear that they want their Social Security benefits to be an ironclad guarantee instead of a risky gamble like the Republicans continue to propose. The Bush/McCain plan is a bad idea. I am pleased the Chairman's mark rejects this risky Social Security privatization scheme.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I have become increasingly concerned about the legacy of debt this Administration is passing on to future generations. The $5.6 trillion projected surplus that the Administration inherited when it took office has been transformed into a $3.2 trillion deficit. More than 80 cents of every dollar of new debt since 2001 is owed to foreign investors, including foreign governments. The high level of indebtedness to foreign investors heightens the American economy's exposure to potential instability or even from financial threat from unfriendly foreign governments, and places additional burdens on our children and grandchildren. It is a massively irresponsibly tax on posterity.

There are many reasons to support this resolution, but in my brief allotment of time, I want to say that I support this resolution on behalf of my grandchildren and all the children of this country and their families who deserve a budget that puts their needs first. That's the definition of a budget that's truly balanced.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to note that this budget resolution rejects the many proposed cuts in public education

by the President. The President proposes in his budget to eliminate a total of 47 programs. They are vocational education programs. They are programs for people who repair our plumbing in our homes, who build our houses, who build our roads, who supply the electrical work that gets done, programs like the Perkins Loan cancellations, Even Start, mentoring efforts, and the Reading is Fundamental initiative.

The Spratt budget would also restore initiatives designed to improve teacher quality like Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow, Advanced Credentialing, and the Teacher Quality Enhancement initiative. If we are going to teach our children, let's have qualified people in the classroom. And it doesn't just automatically happen. It takes money. Industry will tell you that for every person they have, they spend a lot of money in investing in those people. And as the only former State school chief serving in this body, I am particularly pleased about the provision for education initiatives and innovations that have been included in the Spratt resolution.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

This resolution provides greater investment in our Nation's schools, including school construction bonds. I have been working on this with Congressman Rangel for almost 10 years. We need quality places for our children to go to school. And there's important investments in things like Head Start, special education for those who really have needs, and to provide more money to fully fund secondary education.

The chairman's mark also provides for funding for America COMPETES Act. What is this? It expands math and science education at the secondary level. That is in high school. We can't get them in the universities if we can't them get them through high school. And Lord knows that in this economy, we need them. Education is the single most important investment that we can make in our future.

I support this budget resolution. I urge my colleagues to vote for it and support it.

I thank the gentlelady for this opportunity to speak.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. As a cosponsor of this important legislation, I applaud your leadership in bringing this bill to the floor and addressing the issue of mental health panty.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), approximately 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older--about one in four adults--suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Unfortunately, the U.S. Surgeon General reports that only one in three of these people receive treatment for their disabilities. A significant reason that people fail to seek medical help for debilitating mental health issues is the lack of insurance.

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act would help address this problem. By requiring health plans to consider mental health issues on an equal basis with other health problems, this bill ensures that those in need can get the treatment that is medically necessary. We must expand access to mental health to ensure a strong and productive America that provides for its most vulnerable citizens.

Untreated and mistreated mental illness costs the United States $105 billion in lost productivity, a figure that has been increasing every year. According to a study funded by NIMH, treating mental health in the workplace significantly improves employee health and productivity, likely leading to overall lower costs for the employer. Mental health also has a high cost to society--for example, 20 percent of youths in juvenile justice facilities have a serious emotional disturbance and most have a diagnosable mental disorder. This bill will improve our economy and ensure those in need get the help they need before their illness turns into something worse.

My home state of North Carolina was one of the first states to adopt a mental health parity law back in 1991, and last year the State Legislature expanded and strengthened its mental health parity provisions. I support the efforts of North Carolina's mental health professionals in bringing this issue to the forefront of our State's agenda.

Mr. Speaker, while I strongly support this bill, I disagree with part of the bill's funding mechanism. We must be fiscally responsible, but we should not allow cost offsets to undermine the basic goals of this bill. I am concerned that the large increase in the Medicaid prescription drug rebate will reduce the ability of patients, including those with mental health conditions, to get the prescription medicines they need.

H.R. 1424 calls for a 33 percent increase in the rebate that brand pharmaceutical companies pay to the Medicaid program. Innovator drug companies already provide deep discounts to Federal and State Governments for

the prescription drugs covered by the Medicaid program. I am concerned that a huge increase in costs will have a chilling effect on pharmaceutical research and development for the next generation of treatments, including those that aid the very patients with mental health conditions that we are attempting to help today. Mr. Speaker, I hope that you and the House conferees will work to address this issue in conference negotiations with the Senate.

After careful consideration, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 1424.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this fine legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to pass it. This is a good bill, and I commend the bipartisan work of the Education and Labor Committee under the leadership of Chairman George Miller and Ranking Member Buck McKeon.

H.R. 4137 will renew and reauthorize the Higher Education Act for the first time in 10 years. This legislation will expand college access for low-income and minority students by allowing students to receive year- round Pell Grant scholarships and strengthening college readiness initiatives as well as increasing the authorized Pell Grant maximum to $9,000. The bill will streamline the federal student financial aid application.

In addition, H.R. 4137 will create Community Colleges as Partners in Teacher Education grants which will provide needed support to establish teacher education efforts that are aligned with four-year institutions, so students can transition seamlessly from community college to four- year schools. The bill will provide further assistance to community colleges in critical areas such as remedial education, rural development, and nursing education. And H.R. 4137 will make textbook costs more manageable for students by helping them to plan for textbook expenses in advance of each semester.

I also support several useful floor amendments to the bill that will further strengthen this legislation, including the Managers amendment containing the Davis amendment to create a new masters assistance program for HBCUs, including Fayetteville State University in my Congressional District. I also support the Doggett amendment to enable data-matching between the IRS and the Department of Education for the purposes of calculating the Expected Family Contribution when processing financial aid. I support the Edwards/Boyda amendment to provide for in-state tuition for soldiers' dependents like so many families of soldiers at North Carolina's Fort Bragg. And I support the Shuler amendment to authorize a competitive grant program through the Department of Education that would allow institutions of higher education to create longitudinal data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate and use individual student data.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, as the first member of my family to graduate from college, I know firsthand that affordable access to higher education is the key to the American Dream for working families. I am pleased to support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to pass it.