Floor Statements

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

I rise today to support House Resolution 209 recognizing the significant contributions of American citizens of Greek ancestry, philhellenes, and the Daughters of Penelope to the United States.

What began with roughly 300,000 Greek immigrants after World War I has grown to more than 3 million Greek Americans today. Throughout our Nation's history, the Greeks who came to America saw the promise and hope for their future. Once there, they have been instrumental in building a Nation from the ground up.

Greek Americans have risen to become leaders in business, government service, medicine and the arts. The State of Maryland was proud to have Paul S. Sarbanes, a Greek American, serve five terms in the United States Senate. Dr. George Papanicolaou saved millions of lives by inventing the Pap test for women, and performers such as Olympia Dukakis and Elia Kazan are but a few examples of how Greek Americans continue to fulfill the American Dream. And we as a country are all better for their many contributions.

Greek Americans have a long history of contributions through community service to the United States. In the early 1900s, they formed a number of organizations that were dedicated to the well-being of families in the communities where Greek Americans lived.

Among the groups that Greek Americans formed was the Daughters of Penelope, which was founded in 1929 in San Francisco and is an affiliate organization of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. Today, the Daughters of Penelope has grown to more than 350 chapters throughout the world. The mission of the Daughters of Penelope is to create awareness of the ideals of ancient Greece such as education, civic responsibility, philanthropy and patriotism through community service.

Greek Americans, along with all Americans, can be proud of the Daughters of Penelope's commitment to education. They have provided tens of thousands of dollars annually for scholarships, education seminars, and donating children's books to libraries, schools, shelters, and churches through the ``Open Books'' program.

Other Daughters of Penelope achievements include being the first ethnic organization to submit oral history tapes to the Library of Congress, which provide personal experiences of first-generation Greek Americans.

Now in its 80th year, the Daughters of Penelope continues to promote its ideals and promote awareness through a number of causes, including cancer research, Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy and others.

They also provide financial support for medical research to victims and communities affected by natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and forest fires.

I ask my fellow Members of Congress to join me in recognizing the 80th anniversary of the Daughters of Penelope and the contribution of Greek Americans to the history of the United States and the way in which their presence enriches and strengthens our country.

I support House Resolution 209 and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 791, congratulating the Aldine Independent School District in Harris County, Texas, on winning the 2009 Broad Prize for Urban Education.

Few goals could be more important to American public education today than closing the achievement gaps among students by race, income, language, and gender. The goal is particularly critical for the Nation's urban public schools. The achievement gap is the difference in performance between groups of students, especially groups defined by race/ethnicity and family income.

Although bringing about comprehensive change in our educational system may be difficult, the Aldine Independent School District teachers and staff have worked hard to create a supportive, safe, and effective learning environment which has enabled students to achieve academic success.

The Aldine Independent School District ranks among the highest performing school districts in the State of Texas. In addition, it is one of the top large school districts in the State for African American and Hispanic students. Between 2005 and 2008, the SAT and Advanced Placement participation rates for these groups increased significantly. In 2008, African American students achieved higher proficiency rates in math at all school levels, and in reading at the middle school and high school levels. And Hispanic students performed at the highest achievement level on reading and math assessments compared to other school districts in the State.

It is clear that the Aldine Independent School District is a shining example of what is right about urban education. As a result, the school district was awarded the $2 million Broad Prize for Urban Education this year.

Established in 2002 by the Broad Foundation, the Broad Prize is the largest education award in the country given to school districts. The prize is awarded each year to honor urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among low-income and minority students.

I would like to congratulate Superintendent Wanda Bamberg and all of the principals, teachers, staff and students for all of their hard work which made this award possible.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues for support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) as much time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 659, congratulating Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., on 98 years of serving local communities and of enriching the lives of collegiate men throughout the Nation.

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity was founded in 1911 at Indiana University, Bloomington. Today, the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity has over 150,000 members with 700 undergraduate and alumni chapters in every State of the Union and international chapters in the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, Japan, the Caribbean, St. Thomas, St. Croix, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Annually, more than 1,800 members are initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi. The fraternity's constitution has never contained any clause which has either excluded or suggested the exclusion of a man from membership because of color, creed or national origin. To be considered for membership, a candidate must have a 2.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Kappa Alpha Psi chapters are active in their communities and colleges and universities. The fraternity has sponsored programs such as Guide Right, Kappa League and the Student of the Year competition.

I am happy to congratulate Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and I ask my colleagues to support this resolution for this great organization, this fraternity, that has meant so much to our country.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 730, honoring the 100th anniversary of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was founded as the La Crosse State Normal School in 1909. The school was established for the purpose of teacher preparation. In 1964, the college was designated a university as part of the Wisconsin State university system, and it was renamed Wisconsin State University-La Crosse. The university adopted its current name in 1971.

UW-La Crosse now offers 87 undergraduate programs in 44 disciplines and 26 graduate programs with an emphasis in 8 disciplines. The university is organized into 3 colleges: the College of Business Administration, the College of Science and Health, and the College of Liberal Studies, which houses the School of Arts and Communication and the School of Education. The university also offers Wisconsin's only nationally accredited degrees in recreation management and therapeutic recreation, the UW system's only nuclear medicine technology program, and it offers one of two Midwest undergraduate archeology majors.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse also has a thriving athletic program. The university maintains strong programs in indoor and outdoor track, cross-country, gymnastics, and football. UW-La Crosse has approximately 570 student athletes, participating on 19 teams, which have won 51 NCAA national titles in 9 different sports. UW-La Crosse has won 23 men's track and field titles in school history, the most in Division III history, and 6 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association championships.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has become an example of excellence in academics, athletics and as an American university. U.S. News and World Report ranked UW-La Crosse second among Midwestern public universities offering bachelor's and master's degrees in 2005, 2006, 2007, and third in 2008. The university was recognized as a ``best value'' by Kiplinger's ``Personal Finance,'' and the Princeton Review named UW-La Crosse one of America's ``best Midwestern colleges'' and an ``America's best value college'' in 2007.

It is a privilege to stand before the House today to congratulate the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on the occasion of their 100th anniversary. I extend my congratulations to the faculty and staff, to the students and alumni. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I encourage my associates and colleagues to vote for this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 768, expressing support for the designation of the month of October as National Work and Family Month.

Establishing a healthy balance between work and family obligations is something that most workers, women and men, struggle with at some point in their careers. Studies have shown that employees who are able to effectively balance family and work responsibilities are less likely to report making mistakes or feel resentment towards employers and coworkers.

Eighty-five percent of the United States' wage and salaried workers have immediate day-to-day family responsibilities outside of their jobs. Workplace flexibility often allows parents to be more involved in their children's lives. Parental involvement is associated with children's higher achievement in language and mathematics, improved behavior, greater academic persistence, and lower dropout rates.

Today, with this resolution, we support the designation of the month of October as National Work and Family Month. Through this designation, we recognize the importance of balancing work and family; and we urge public officials, employers, employees, and the general public to work together to achieve more balance between work and family.

I stand in support of this resolution, and I ask my colleagues' support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I encourage the adoption of this resolution in commemorating the work and balance that families have to have between work and family time. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 822, expressing support for students to learn about Christopher Columbus. Yesterday, we celebrated the 517th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the Americas. Columbus landed in the Americas in what is now the Commonwealth of the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. Christopher Columbus' voyage to America was an integral part in the history and founding of our Nation.

Today, tributes to Christopher Columbus can be found all around the country. Almost every State has a city that bears the name ``Columbus.'' There are memorials located from coast to coast. There is a fountain memorializing Columbus here in Washington, D.C., and a chapel relocated from the Columbus family castle in Spain to Pennsylvania, just to name a couple of examples.

The importance of Christopher Columbus in American history and heritage is obvious. However, if you asked students today, many cannot tell you why yesterday was a holiday and for most a day off from school. The importance of a knowledge of history has been argued for centuries. Yet, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2006, less than half of the country's high school seniors have a basic knowledge of American history. For this reason, it is important to support this resolution and encourage students to take advantage of educational opportunities, in and out of school, to learn about Christopher Columbus and his voyage to America and the history of the United States.

I would like to thank my colleague from Pennsylvania, Mr. Glenn Thompson, for introducing this resolution. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield back the balance of my time.

As cold and flu season is quickly approaching, media reports in my district and around the country are reporting on the exposure to the H1N1 virus.

I recently met with the Kentucky Pork Producers, who raise concerns that the media and individuals referring to the H1N1 flu virus as the ``swine flu'' is having a negative effect on them.

Because it is referred to as the ``swine flu,'' individuals may think that the H1N1 virus can be caught from eating or handling pork. However, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have repeated on various occasions that this is not a food-borne illness, but a respiratory virus.

Secretary Vilsack said recently that the virus should not be called ``swine flu'' because there is no indication that any swine from the United States has been infected, nor is there any significant risk of transmission by eating pork.

Pork and pork products are safe, and H1N1 virus cannot be acquired from eating pork. There are a lot of hardworking families in my district and across the country whose livelihoods are harmed by this misconception.

Mr. Speaker, over the recent district work period I traveled to each county in my district, listening to constituents' ideas and concerns and answering questions. I heard overwhelmingly that a government-run public option was not a viable answer to the problems Americans are facing.

The President gave a well-delivered speech last week, but left many questions in the minds of the American people: How do we pay for such a bill? How can you cut funding for Medicare without impacting the millions of seniors who receive the benefits? How will individuals who are happy with their coverage get to keep the care they have?

Everyone agrees on the need for improvement. However, we must move toward changes that make health care more affordable, more accessible and of higher quality. We have an opportunity to work together to improve the lives of all Americans by crafting a bipartisan, commonsense solution that our country can afford.

Madam Chair, I rise to claim time in opposition though I do not oppose the amendment.

Madam Chair, this amendment is important, I think, because I have some military experience and I have a lot friends with military experience, and as we send our young men and women across the world to defend us, they do take advantage of college opportunities that so many people and so many institutions do offer our military. And when they come home, we should expect that their efforts should count towards their degrees.

I think this is a very good thing to do, and I appreciate the gentleman from Idaho for bringing this forward.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Again I just want to say I agree. When our military men and women travel, they're temporary. When they travel, they're away from their homes and they move around quite often. And the military has done an outstanding job of encouraging people to advance their degrees, advance in the ranks; noncommissioned officers as well as commissioned officers now require education and degrees. And I think it's very important that we do this, as they may be in Afghanistan for a year and then back in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for a year or two, and they're picking up different courses. Then when they get home and want to get on with their life and get back into the civilian sector, they ought to put all that together into a clear path towards a degree.

Again I appreciate the gentleman bringing this forward.

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

Madam Chair, I rise to claim time in opposition though I'm not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chair, as I understand it, the purpose of this amendment is to ensure States applying for this new pre-K funding understand any geographic disparity between early learning programs for low-income children and consider steps to reduce the disparity. This amendment's a positive step. It may even move us closer to ensuring more low-income children are served by this program, something that's really not clearly spelled out in the bill.

Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure dislocated workers are encouraged to compete through the grant process, and we think that's a worthwhile goal.

Also, since I have time, I want to complement what Chairman Miller just said on BRAC. I actually represent Fort Knox, which is a big winner in the BRAC. I know a lot of communities were distressed before, but Fort Knox is going to be expanding and putting a lot of strain on our local schools.

I look forward to seeing what comes out of conference and being an opportunity to be supportive of that. I really appreciate that very much.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I rise to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Madam Chairwoman, the purpose of this amendment is twofold: it gives priority for applicants for the Community College Grant Program serving students who are veterans, and it also will allow to expand in energy-related fields.

We do not oppose the amendment, and I yield back my time.

Madam Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

When we're talking about the $10 billion savings to the deficit and using CBO numbers, the number that we like to talk about, if you look at the overall cost of the budget, CBO numbers in the discretionary side, what this bill would do to the discretionary side, they're transferring money out of the mandatory into the discretionary side for administration.

And, also, as we expand Pell Grants, with this bill we will expand Pell Grants, on the mandatory side, which this bill scores, it doesn't score what will happen in the discretionary side. Part of Pell Grants are discretionary, so if you expand Pell Grant applicants in the mandatory side, it is also going to require additional appropriations. And we believe that the admin in the discretionary side plus the expansion of Pell Grants from CBO numbers is $13.5 billion cost to the system, which is more than the $10 billion that we're putting in the deficit reduction now. So we will have to increase more than we're putting in the deficit reduction.

The other thing is, these numbers were scored by CBO in March, and the most up-to-date numbers of people participating in the Pell Grants as of August--now that we're here in September--the August numbers believe that it will be $11.4 billion in added Pell Grant costs when using the most up-to-date numbers. And so I think those are real numbers that we can talk about. We are already up to--I guess it's $25 billion of costs that this will have when we're talking about $10 billion in savings.

The one thing that wasn't taken into account either--and these are numbers that could come to pass or not, but those first two numbers I think are real. The other is the $33 billion that CBO says hasn't been identified that are market risk to the program. Now, that's market risk: so you could have them, you could not have them, I'll cede that. But I do believe that the discretionary side of Pell and the most up- to-date numbers of Pell do show that it's about a $25 billion cost of the bill.

Madam Chairwoman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, if we disagree with the CBO numbers from the March score, instead of using the

most up-to-date ones, if you take $10 billion and save it from a mandatory program, I applaud that, and I applaud the amendment because we should save toward deficit reduction. Yet, if the bill allows you to take $10 billion and to save it for deficit reduction but on the discretionary side of the counter a tax dollar is a tax dollar and it requires you to spend $13.5 billion on transferring administrative costs from the program to discretionary, then the additional Pell Grants are going to have to be spent by the discretionary side through the appropriations process. So when you save $10 billion here but you spend $13.5 billion there, then you're raising the deficit $3.5 billion. I don't know any other way to look at it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I am pleased to join Ranking Member Kline in offering this amendment. Our amendment accomplishes key goals for student loan stabilization and reform without gutting a successful public-private partnership.

First, this amendment preserves the FFEL program--the Federal Family Education Loan Program. It ensures stability and continuity for both students and schools by extending the Ensuring Continued Access for Student Loans Act, or ECASLA, through 2014, which aligns it with the rest of the Higher Education Act, which Congress reauthorized last year.

As long as we're facing a global credit shortage, ECASLA provides a Federal backstop to ensure there is no interruption in funding for students and families. As the market recovers, ECASLA offers the flexibility for private capital to return. In fact, even in today's weakened economy, a substantial portion of loans originated in the FFEL program are made with private capital.

We know the ECASLA programs are working on campuses all around the country. We have heard from a group of financial aid administrators who have made it clear that ECASLA is working. You just don't have to talk to financial administrators. I would submit that 4,400 colleges and universities still participate in the FFEL program, and they voted with their feet. If they felt

that ECASLA had not been working, they would have joined the Direct Loan Program by now, but they haven't.

I've heard from colleges and universities across my district--from large public, State universities to small, independent, private colleges, and they've all shared with me how the FFEL program benefits their students by offering the services of flexibility and choice with additional services. Let's not forget about how this helps students.

Second, our amendment will drive down the deficit. ECASLA proves that you can save taxpayer money while preserving an effective program. In fact, we expect to generate $13 billion in savings over the next 5 years. Poll after poll shows that the American people are deeply concerned about the deficit. We should invest in future generations by putting the savings toward deficit reduction.

Third, we chart a path for the future by pursuing a comprehensive renewal of student lending. By extending ECASLA through 2014, consistent with other financial aid programs, we create a vital window of opportunity to pursue real student loan reform. Our amendment would create a commission to study the student lending system and would propose a new framework for stable, cost-effective financing.

We will remove politics from the discussion and focus on what matters: preserving choice and competition for borrowers; preventing waste, fraud and abuse; maintaining value-added benefits like financial literacy and counseling; ensuring stability even in a weak economy; and retaining private capital, avoiding a massive infliction of debt on future generations.

Finally, I would like to point out that our amendment does not create the same long-term entitlement expansions that have been called for in this bill. The issues addressed in the majority's bill are all important. Republicans care about the condition of our schools, about pre-K education, about community colleges, and about their role in developing our workforce, but this is the wrong place and the wrong way to address these challenges. We can invest in students without crippling them with runaway entitlement spending. This is a straightforward amendment based on extending a bipartisan solution. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline).

Mr. Chairman, the 2014 numbers, when the Higher Education Act is reauthorized--and we feel it would be appropriate to do it--when we have ECASLA in place, when the markets are turning around, when the markets do turn around, the heavy lifting--we were at a unique time last year. I wasn't in the Congress last year when the bipartisan group came together to do ECASLA to preserve, and worked, both Republicans and Democrats together, and should be commended for that.

All we are asking is that we continue that until the higher education is authorized, during that time have the commission study and see exactly with what program we should go. We did talk a lot about deficit reduction because, quite frankly, I think that's the most important thing in the country.

If we look at CBO numbers, when you say $10 billion in a mandatory spending program, but spend $13.5 billion in a discretionary spending program using CBO numbers, then you are not putting $10 billion to the deficit if you are spending $13.5 billion in discretionary spending, because as the Pell Grants expand on the mandatory side of the aisle, they also expand on the discretionary side. So when a taxpayer sends their dollar to Washington D.C., they don't mark it for discretionary or mandatory, it comes here and it's spent.

So the underlying bill, using CBO numbers, I am not going to bring in the market risk, because we can argue that. Some people have asked for $33 billion, we could argue that. But just in real hard numbers, spending, transferring administration in the Pell Grant, discretionary side, says that the underlying bill is a $3.5 billion addition to the deficit.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

I rise in opposition to H.R. 3221 because I believe there's a better way to protect students, colleges, and taxpayers. The authors of this legislation will argue that the purpose of H.R. 3221 is to simply stabilize student lending. They claim the Federal Family Education Loan program, or the FFEL, is on ``life support'' and must be replaced with the government-run Direct Loan Program.

The FFEL program has been a stable, reliable source of private capital for student loans for more than 40 years. It provides a choice of loan providers--from large, national lenders to small, local nonprofits--and an array of benefits and services.

Colleges and universities overwhelmingly prefer the FFEL, with 70 to 80 percent of schools consistently opting for the public-private option.

Dr. Gary Ransdell, president of Western Kentucky University, has told me that the end of the FFEL program would, ``mean the loss of financial literacy programs, college access programs, default aversion programs, borrowing benefits, and other support services.''

Further, Dr. William Huston, president of St. Catharine College, a small, independent private college in my district, has shared his concerns about the impact the policy shift will have on schools of his size. He said the shift, ``would mean investing staff time and money to change systems and processes at a time where budgets have been cut to the core.''

Clearly, the rush to the Direct Loan Program will have a major impact on schools and students.

Now, it is true that the FFEL program was hit by the global market collapse that rocked our economy last year--and when that happened, student loan capital dried up, along with the capital across all sectors. And when stability was needed, Congress stepped in.

Last year, Congress passed the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, or ECASLA, which provided a temporary Federal backstop to protect borrowers from loan disruption. This program has worked exceedingly well, and to my knowledge, not a single borrower has been left without a loan. The program is still in place today, and if our goal is simply to stabilize student lending, there is a simple solution: we should extend programs under ECASLA to retain the Federal backstop until the economy rebounds.

These programs are working today, which means there would be no confusion for schools and no uncertainty for borrowers if we were to simply extend this program while the market remains turbulent. In fact, Republicans had offered a plan that would exactly do that.

Later today I will join Ranking Member Kline to offer an alternative to H.R. 3221. Our plan extends ECASLA through 2014, aligning it with other programs under the Higher Education Act. In the meantime, we are calling for a commission to study student loan programs and propose alternatives that will protect borrowers and taxpayers alike. Simply put, our plan is a way to slow down and take a more thoughtful, reasonable approach to long-term student loan reform. Instead, we're going to vote on a plan that will reshape the way students pay for college in this country and radically expand the Federal Government in the process. Proponents of this bill claim it saves $87 billion for taxpayers.

In reality, that $87 billion is a combination of savings and government earnings that come because the Federal Government charges students a higher interest rate than it costs to borrow, turning student loans into a profit-making venture for the government. And what do we do with this $87 billion? We are taking student money and spending much of it on an array of new government programs.

Students and schools will lose the value of choice, competition and innovation. Meanwhile, taxpayers will be on the hook for massive new entitlement spending and a huge expansion in government borrowing to finance loans that now need to be made directly from the Federal Treasury.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``no.''

Madam Chairman, this amendment may do a number of positive things to improve the bill, but at its heart I still have significant concerns.

Specifically, I have concerns about the impact of this bill on the deficit and jobs all across the country. We have heard from the Congressional Budget Office since the introduction of this bill, since the bill was originally scored, that there are a number of hidden costs included. No matter how we look at it, this bill will not save $10 billion over 10 years. In fact, we believe that the cost of this bill is at least $15 billion, a $15 billion cost that will go towards the deficit, not towards deficit reduction.

Finally, I am very concerned about the implication on the unemployment rate in my State. We are federalizing one more private sector program and eliminating all the good work being done throughout the country by the private sector. This could mean as many as 30,000 jobs being lost nationwide, approximately 500 in my State, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, all because we decided to kill this program rather than figure out a viable solution.

The services being provided by guarantee agencies and lenders will not be continued at nearly the same level when these entities are required to enter into contracts with the Federal Government. We have already seen the impact of these contracts. Earlier this year, the Department of Education contracted out the servicing function of the Direct Loan Program for four servicers. The low contract price ensured that most of these servicers will only be able to provide bare-bones compliance with the law, not the robust services that were previously provided by the private sector.

In short, I am very concerned about the true impact of this bill. Unfortunately, we will not recognize the impact until this bill has been implemented, and then it may be too late.

I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.

Mr. Chair, I rise to claim the time in opposition even though I do not oppose the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, supporting our men and women in uniform is important, and so too is it important to support the communities where the military has left an imprint. I think this is a reasonable way of targeting funding, and I will not oppose the amendment.

As we try to do what's best for communities, including those impacted by a base closure, we should consider job losses that would come as a result of this underlying bill.

I reserve my time.

Mr. Chairman, I do think it is a good way to target this funding to assist communities that are affected by Federal decisions in the Base Realignment and Closure, be they positive or negative for those communities.

I yield back my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce for being recognized as Chamber of the Year. This acknowledgement was made during the American Chamber of Commerce Executives' annual conference.

Through the leadership of Chairman of the Board Todd Davis, President Jim Hizer, and the teamwork of the community, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce was recognized by their peers for their hard work and achievements.

Success in economic development efforts and community programs led to the Chamber being elevated as the top organization in its class. The region's business community has seen tremendous growth due to the leadership programs, educational initiatives, and other opportunities provided by the Chamber to its members.

The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce has shown a strong commitment to bringing success and prosperity to the community. I commend the Board of Directors, staff, membership, and volunteers of the Chamber on receiving this prestigious honor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Junior Achievement of Western Kentucky on their 50th anniversary. This important organization deserves recognition for achieving this milestone.

The Junior Achievement of Western Kentucky was established in July of 1959 and has served over 125,000 students in the last half-century. As a partnership between education and business, Junior Achievement helps students understand the economy and better prepare them for their future.

The Junior Achievement of Western Kentucky should be proud of their contribution to the community. I commend the organization, students, and volunteers on their 50th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3326, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010.

Requesting Member: Congressman Brett Guthrie

Bill Number: H.R. 3326

Account: RDT&E/DW

Recipient: EWA, Inc. 2413 Nashville Road, Suite 126, Bowling Green,

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3326, the Departments of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010.

Requesting Member: Congressman Brett Guthrie

Bill Number: H.R. 3326

Account: RDT&E/Army/Medical Technology

Recipient: Owensboro Medical Health System Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center, 811 E. Parrish Avenue, Owensboro, KY 42303

Description of Request: Provide $2,500,000 to continue the hospital's partnership in plant-based pharmaceutical research.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to talk about what I mentioned this last week.

Back in the 1982 recession, in my State of Kentucky, we had unemployment rates at the level of over 11 percent. My father lost his job. He was one of those who'd worked for Ford Motor Company, and they closed the plant. Because of what happened in this House back in 1982, that being cutting taxes, cutting spending and putting faith in the American people, my father went from one who had lost his job to one who was starting a business and was becoming a job creator.

What has this House done, this Democratic majority, in the last 6 months? They've made it easier to sue businesses; they've raised energy rates on businesses if it has passed the Senate; also, they've put mandates on businesses for health care coverage; and they've instituted an 8 percent payroll tax.

I believe we need to cut taxes, cut spending, put faith in the American people, create jobs, and get people working again.