Floor Statements

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

The Stop AIDS in Prison Act of 2009 requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons

to develop comprehensive policy to provide HIV testing, treatment, and prevention for inmates in Federal prisons. This legislation will combat and prevent the continued spread of HIV and AIDS among prison populations and the community at large.

Mr. Speaker, there are about 200,000 prisoners in the Federal prison system, but the incidence of HIV and AIDS in the prison system is difficult to measure because not all prisoners are routinely tested.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the prison population, like the population of America as a whole, includes prisoners who are HIV positive and do not know it. In 2006, a report by the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that over 1 percent of Federal inmates were known to be infected with HIV. The United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have historically defined an HIV epidemic as occurring when the overall percentage of disease among residents of a specific geographic area exceeds 1 percent. That means that the percentage of prisoners who carry the HIV/AIDS virus may have reached epidemic proportions.

The occurrence of HIV and AIDS cases in Federal prisons is at least three times higher among prison inmates than it is among the United States population as a whole.

H.R. 1429 requires routine testing of all Federal prison inmates upon entry and prior to release. For all existing inmates, testing will be required within 6 months of enactment. This reasonable requirement will enable prison officials to reduce HIV/AIDS among inmates and provide counseling, prevention, and health care services for inmates who are infected with the disease.

For those prisoners tested when they enter prison, testing will ensure that they receive adequate treatment, education, and prevention services while incarcerated. Similarly, it is important that prisoners are tested shortly before release into the community so adequate services can be coordinated for the prisoners after release. That in turn will protect the community that they then reside in.

I believe in thorough punishment for criminal offenders because the public deserves to be protected; but we have a duty to treat prisoners humanely and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, not just within the prison populations, but to the populations they return to.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee and particularly Congresswoman Waters for her work on this legislation. She has led the way, she has pushed hard, and she, with Ranking Member Lamar Smith, bring this bill today with broad bipartisan support. As was said earlier, this bill passed by suspension in the last Congress, and we would hope that it passes early and is signed into law at the earliest possible date. H.R. 1429 remains an important piece of legislation yet undone by this Congress from the previous Congress.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I think the gentlelady made such a good point that, in fact, we have an obligation to recognize that individuals will return to our community, and they need to return healthier than they came in. So the requirements in this bill, both for testing on the way in and testing on the way out of prison, are so important.

Mr. Speaker, under Governor Pete Wilson, I had the honor to serve on his prison board for the Prison Work Program. What I discovered in prison is exactly what the gentlelady from California is alluding to, that we often incarcerate without doing the other things that should be done--education programs, work programs, drug and alcohol detoxing programs, and, yes, recognizing that good physical and mental health are essential, that we have to make sure that people who are being prepared to leave prison are being prepared to not return to prison.

So I join with the gentlelady in support of this effort, like so many others that she has championed over the years.

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

Mr. Speaker, 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 strong support of this bill designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10355 Northeast Valley Road in Rollingbay, Washington, as the ``John ``Bud'' Hawk Post Office Building.''

Bud Hawk embodies, in every sense, the word ``hero.'' In June of 1945, President Truman placed a Congressional Medal of Honor around John ``Bud'' Hawk's neck on the Capitol steps in Olympia in his home State of Washington. With this bill, we are honoring John again, this time in the Nation's Capitol, and this time not only for his heroic efforts in World War II, but for his lifetime of service.

John first earned the Nation's gratitude and respect during World War II when his heroism was instrumental in destroying two enemy tanks and forcing the surrender of more than 500 enemy combatants in August of 1944.

Sergeant Hawk showed fearless initiative and heroic conduct, even while suffering from a painful wound. Under heavy enemy fire, John ran back and forth toward the enemy in order to give the American tanks correct targeting directions. John sacrificed his already wounded body to act as a human firing director for the American tanks. His action came at the end of the Battle of Normandy. In gratitude for his help in the liberation of their country, John was awarded France's Legion of Honor in 2007. John also received four Purple Hearts for four separate times he was wounded during his enlistment.

But John's heroics did not end when he returned home from World War II. A longtime teacher and principal in Bremerton, Washington, he has been a familiar face who has had tremendous impact on countless schoolchildren in his community. To this day, he remains a personal hero of his students for the humility and strength of character that he has instilled. That strength of character and humility is embodied in John Hawk and is, today, the reason that we recognize him as a hero and Medal of Honor recipient, and a lifetime hero to children in his home community.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill that demonstrates our gratitude for the life and contribution of John ``Bud'' Hawk, from his heroics in the battlefield to one might say his heroics in the classroom.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to say from the ``O'Issas'' to the ``Obamas,'' everyone is an Irishman here today. I'm sure there isn't anyone who isn't Irish here today. Perhaps a few with orange but most with green.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, often we bring a bill under suspension that's considered not to be overly important. This one is just the opposite. Transparency in government is an effort that has to be ongoing, and this is an important step. This solution has to be government-wide in order to be effective.

For too long, Mr. Speaker, the Federal departments have insisted on treating information that develops within their agency in a restricted fashion. We need to have government-wide solutions that make the maximum amount of information possible available to the public, and even if it is not available to the public, it must be classified at the most appropriate and lowest level in order to ensure its sensitive treatment.

For that reason I support, with the chairman, this piece of legislation that will reduce or eliminate the proliferation of terms such as ``sensitive but unclassified'' or ``for official use only,'' designations which essentially mean nothing but clearly cause trepidation in the release of documents. Many organizations under the Freedom of Information Act have had to deal with redaction of these comparatively and usually meaningless terms.

So I join with the gentleman from Ohio, the chairman of the full committee, and the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Clay, in asking that this important piece of legislation be moved under suspension because, although important, it is not controversial and its time has come.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. I join with the gentleman in his comments and would only anecdotally tell you that this is the tip of the iceberg, and this committee is dedicated to drilling down deeply.

We want to know where our money has gone for TARP, we want to know where stimulus money is spent, both at the contractor and subcontractor level and beyond. We want to make sure that America's taxpayer dollars are well taken care of and transparent.

I will share with you something that perhaps you hadn't known, and that is that our government inflicts more wounds than you have yet seen, and you are going to see more in your time. Just last year I visited a location in Nevada, and since I was flying into Las Vegas people said, ``Oh, are you going to Area 51?'' I had been cautioned that I could not use that term, that that term was unacceptable. So I said, ``Well, I can't tell you. I am just going to Nevada.'' So then when I returned I

googled Area 51, and, of course, I saw detailed maps or detailed photos of everything, including the airfield that perhaps someone would land at, well into that Nevada test range which Google identifies as Area 51.

So I would say that if the gentleman and, of course, the Chair, would continue to work with us on all these matters, we will, on a bipartisan basis, drill down to try to prevent these prohibitions on that, which certainly flies in the face of common sense.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, 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 strong support of this bill designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1100 Town and Country Commons in Chesterfield, Missouri, as the Lance Corporate Matthew P. Pathenos Post Office Building.

Marine Lance Corporal Pathenos was a selfless patriot. He was a loving brother, son and friend. As one of his comrades in arms once reflected, ``The best thing about Matt was his ability to wake up every day with a smile and hold it all day long.'' Even through the hardships of war, Matt strove to bring joy to his friends.

A native of Ballwin, Missouri, Matt was an avid golfer and accomplished pilot, earning his flying license at age 14. After graduating from high school in 2003, Matt followed in the footsteps of his older brother and mentor, Marine Sergeant Christopher Pathenos, who had enlisted in the Armed Forces in the wake of September 11.

In the words of one relative, ``For Matty, the motivation was more about Christopher, seeing how the Corps treated him.''

As a member of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, Matthew was one of 80 Marine members of his unit that were attached to a sister unit, the lst Battalion, 24th Marines, for deployment to Iraq in September of 2006.

Tragically, on February 6, 2007, Lance Corporal Pathenos lost his life near Fallujah when his Humvee was struck by an improvised explosive device. His family will always remember him as a smiling young man who ``sang as though no one could hear him and danced as though no one was watching him.''

In a release shortly after the tragic loss, the family captured the sentiments of a grateful Nation. ``Like his brother, Christopher, Matthew was proud to be a Marine and volunteered to serve his country. Matthew paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and the future generations of this country. He loved his country and family, and we will miss him terribly.''

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join the chairman and myself in support of this courageous young man and the sacrifice he gave by naming the post office in his honor.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1216, a bill I introduced to honor the life of Matthew P. Pathenos by designating the post office in Chesterfield, Missouri, as the ``Lance Corporal Matthew P. Pathenos Post Office Building.'' A resident of Ballwin, Missouri, Lance Corporal Matthew Pathenos was part of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, of the Marine Forces Reserve. On February 7th, 2007, Lance Corporal Pathenos was killed during combat operations in the Anbar province of Iraq. Matthew was often described by family and friends as a friendly young man who always had a joke to tell and a smile on his face. Matthew decided to join the military in order to follow his older brother into his country's service with the hope of helping those who could not help themselves. Matthew's then girlfriend, Erin, calls Lance Corporal

Pathenos her hero, and wishes she might one day, ``posses a fraction of his bravery and discipline.''

As the father of two Marines, one of whom has served in Iraq; it is a privilege to stand here today to honor one of our fallen soldiers. Matthew's commitment and dedication to his country is a shining example of how our military men and women are the finest our nation has to offer. His and his family's sacrifice should serve as a reminder to all that the freedom we enjoy as Americans is not free but the result of the tremendous bravery and selfless service of men and women willing put themselves in harms way for freedom's cause.

Our nation will be forever indebted to Lance Corporal Matthew Pathenos.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring Lance Corporal Matthew Pathenos.

Vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1216.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of designating the facility of the United States Postal Service at 601 8th Street in Freedom, Pennsylvania, the John Scott Challis, Jr., Post Office.

And I particularly agree with the gentleman from Massachusetts and share his belief that courage plus believe equals life. This simple but profound equation is more than an inspirational quote. It's a testament to the character and the life of its creator, John Challis. Born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, John's life was too short, but not without meaning.

Mr. Speaker, often we name post offices after individuals who have lived a long and significant life, sometimes former Members of Congress, Presidents and the like. Today we are naming after someone whose life was cut off altogether too soon. In fact, after only 18 years, it is unusual that we would name a post office after somebody, but John went that extra mile to inspire America, reaching national prominence because, in fact, he would not quit, defying the odds by standing on a baseball field when most would be too weak to get out of bed and making the decision that he was going to live his every dream as best he could.

John did that, and his life will be an inspiration for as long as that plaque shall be at the post office. Today we honor that.

Mr. Speaker, I have been up here for many, many postal namings, and once in a while I get comments from back home saying ``why do you spend so much time naming post offices?'' And I guess the short answer is, Mr. Speaker, because we can.

But also, the longer answer is because we have so many examples of people like John Challis who, in fact, exemplify all that is good in America. All that gives us hope for the future, all that, in fact, allows us every day to know that through these troubled times, these economic problems, the recession that's before America today, that there are people who get up every morning, no matter how hard it is, and they do the best they can with the time that God gives them and with the power that they have.

John was, in every sense, a survivor, and he is survived by his parents and a younger sister who live on in his memory and who, in fact, will, for the time that this post office is in their town, realize that inspirations are important to America, particularly in difficult times.

So I join with the majority today asking that this unusual naming of a post office be passed because John's life was so special to America, and because, at a time like this, inspiration is important to all.

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 strong support of designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 15455 Manchester Road in Ballwin, Missouri, as the Specialist Peter J. Navarro Post Office Building. As you may know, in the previous Congress, we had voted to name this post office and, unfortunately, the term ended before we were able to pass this.

But the failure of the Senate to act should not diminish what happened in the summer of 2005 when Specialist Peter J. Navarro returned home from duty in Iraq to join his family at their home in Wildwood, Missouri, not for a joyful reunion, but to bury his younger brother, who had died in a car accident.

After Daniel's funeral, Peter's mother, distraught over the loss of her middle son, begged him not to return to Iraq. This young man's response to his grieving mother is nothing short of heroic. He had to go back. He said,

``Mom, they would be a man short. Somebody's taking my place, and that's not fair.''

This selfless devotion to his comrades and his country exemplifies the character of this tremendous young man.

Forgoing his acceptance to Truman State University, Specialist Navarro enlisted in the Army right after his graduation from Lafayette High School in 2003.

This young man believed in the mission, men, and country he served. Tragically, on December 13, 2005, just 1 month before he was scheduled to end his deployment, Specialist Navarro lost his life while on patrol in Iraq.

Specialist Navarro has been awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star for his service. Specialist Navarro's father, a veteran of the Navy, remembers his strong-willed son with admiration: ``He died because he was trying to make a difference, and being a soldier was what was making a difference in this time of life.''

Like many young men and women in uniform today serving our country, Specialist Navarro in fact has made the decision to go into harm's way to help another people far away--people he never met, people he knows nothing about, and people who he only knows he's going because our country is there and because we are trying to make a difference.

I join with the majority today and with Congressman Akin, who could not be here, for passage of his bill, in saying this is the right name in this town for the right individual who gave so completely to the American people, and I urge support.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1284, to designate the facility of the United States postal service located at 103 West Main Street in McLain, Mississippi, as the ``Major Ed W. Freeman Post Office.''

Major Freeman perhaps balances the three initiatives here today--a young soldier; an inspirational young man who died far too young of cancer; and, thirdly, a man who lived a full and complete life but who gave and gave and gave.

Major Freeman was born on November 20, 1927, in Mississippi. Before graduating from high school, as many of his generation, often called America's finest generation, young Freeman enlisted in the Navy, and served 2 years before returning home to Mississippi, graduating from high school, and deciding to return to the military; this time, to the Army.

During the Korean War, Ed Freeman rose to the rank of master sergeant in an Army engineer unit, and did his battles in many places, including the battle immortalized as Pork Chop Hill, and was then awarded a Battlefield Commission.

As was earlier mentioned, Major Freeman was too tall to be initially allowed to be a pilot. At 6'4", he was certainly a big target for the infantry, I might say, too. But with his perseverance, he eventually attended flight school until the regulation changed in 1955. But he kept that nickname, ``Too Tall'' Freeman. He carried it through the rest of his military career.

After winning his wings, Major Freeman began to fly fixed-wing aircraft and later switched to helicopters. In 1965, he was sent to Vietnam and served in Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, of the famous 1st Calvary Division.

On November 14, 1965, Major Freeman's helicopters carried a battalion into battle in the Ia Drang Valley, which became the first major confrontation between large U.S. forces and North Vietnamese regulars. For that, he received a number of commendations for his willingness to fly into the face of this heavy combat while dealing with casualties, going in and out and running low on supplies and fuel.

Major Freeman volunteered to fly into the battle area, risking his own life, delivering critically needed ammunition, water, and medical supplies to a battalion on the ground.

In all, Major Freeman carried out 14 separate rescue missions. For these actions, Major Freeman was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on July 16, 2001, by President George W. Bush. A few months later, Major Freeman visited the White House again for the premier of We Were Soldiers, a 2002 feature film that depicted his role in the battle that day.

We will miss ``Too Tall.'' We will miss his generation.

Mr. Freeman died in Boise, Idaho, on August 20, 2008, from complications of Parkinson's disease, and is survived by his wife of 54 years, Barbara Freeman, and his sons, Mike and Doug.

Mr. Speaker, naming a post office after a man who gave and gave and gave to his country the way Major Freeman did is little enough to do. Today, recognizing his life and contribution, too, is little enough to do for one of the last of America's finest generations.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would urge the passage of H.R. 1284, recognizing a Medal of Honor winner, a great American, one who has lived a long life and contributed a great deal to our country. Again, I urge support for H.R. 1284.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, when I submitted my appropriation funding requests in March, 2008, the problems plaguing our Nation's banking and financial sectors were just starting to come to light. Few could foresee just how bad our economic situation would become. While I strongly opposed the action, the previous Congress spent over $700 billion in TARP funding to bailout the banking sector. This Congress just approved a nearly $800 billion stimulus bill that ultimately provides more money for social services than it does for job producing highway and infrastructure projects.

Overall, President Obama's spending priorities have more than tripled the federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2009 (FY09), ballooning it to $1.7 trillion. As a result, the state of our nation's finances is dire, and our federal spending plan does not in any way bear an appropriate relationship to the state of our nation's economy. The federal deficit has increased 385% over FY08 and 1089% over FY07 levels. Spending decisions are occurring within this body without regard to available revenue or the harm that such irresponsible fiscal policies do to the economy and to future generations that, ultimately, will get stuck with the bill.

I am highly disappointed that, faced with the enormity of the current federal deficit and the unprecedented amount of federal spending that has occurred, the House and Senate Leadership and Appropriators did not take the opportunity to start showing fiscal restraint by removing Congressional Earmarks from the fiscal year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act. When I made the below mentioned requests last year for projects in my Congressional district I believed they would provide necessary benefits to the local community and had a federal interest. I also believed that they were worthy of the limited federal funds that were available. That time, however, has passed. Member's need to think of the future of this Nation, rise above their own self-interests, and advocate for the removal of all earmarks from all present and future appropriations bills until we get the federal deficit under control.

Congressional Appropriation project requests I made in 2008 in the H.R. 1105, FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act included:

San Luis Rey River

The bill includes funding through the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee for the San Luis Rey River Flood Protection Project, which includes the clearing of vegetation from the San Luis Rey River to protect the levee, the city of Oceanside's bridges, utilities, and public from threatened flooding. It is an authorized project and has received funding in previous Congresses.

Murrieta Creek, CA

The bill includes funding through the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee for the project, which will be constructed in four distinct phases, will include a 250 acre detention basin to attenuate flows from the over-150 square mile watershed and, once completed, will reduce citizens' and businesses' exposure to flooding that requires many of them to carry flood insurance. The project will create seven miles of soft earthen channelization as well as the development of a continuous riparian habitat corridor throughout the length of the project. The riparian corridor can become a safe home for several listed endangered species that have already been found to exist nearby. The channel will not only facilitate species movement and connectivity to existing wildlife preserves, but will also create an extensive natural wetlands system that can efficiently remove contaminants from stream flows and help ensure improved water quality for local residents and soldiers stationed at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base.

South Perris Project--Perris II Desalter

The bill includes funding through the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee for the project, which will produce potable water from otherwise unusable groundwater through the construction of a five million gallons per day reverse osmosis desalter in the Perris South Groundwater Sub-basin. In addition to reducing future demand for imported water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Colorado River, project benefits include salinity management for expanded water recycling and protection of high-quality groundwater in basins adjacent to the Perris South Groundwater Sub-basin. The Perris II Desalter is a vital component of Eastern Municipal Water District's (EMWD) Desalination Program, which will ultimately generate up to 14,000 acre- feet per year of potable water and remove up to 50,000 tons of salt out of the basin every year. This project will help push this water district towards its goal of drought-proofing its region and providing reliability and flexibility to its water supply.

Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project

The bill includes funding through the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee for the project, which provides for enhanced recharge and recovery from the groundwater basin on Camp Pendleton and will provide a water supply for both Camp Pendleton and Fallbrook, resolving a long- standing water rights dispute between the United States and Fallbrook. In 1954, the Bureau of Reclamation was authorized to construct a dam on the Santa Margarita River for $22 million (approximately $333 million in 2008 dollars) with a yield of 14-16,000 acre-feet. This funding will complete a final design that is financially feasible, environmentally beneficial and result in the preservation of the entire Santa Margarita River from Temecula to the Pacific Ocean, while simultaneously providing 16,000 acre-feet per year of vitally needed local water to coastal Southern California.

Riverside County SAMP, CA

Recognizing the interdependence between the area's future transportation, habitat, open space and land-use/housing needs, Riverside County, working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has undertaken a Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) for the San Jacinto & Upper Santa Margarita watersheds to determine how best to balance these factors for the future benefit of the area. To that end, in 2003, the County adopted a new General Plan and Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) to address regional conservation

and development plans that protect entire communities of native plants and animals, while streamlining the process for compatible economic development in other areas. When the SAMP is completed, the Corps will establish an abbreviated or expedited regulatory permitting process under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to complement the Master Streambed Alteration Agreement the California Department of Fish and Game is currently preparing. Altogether, these new processes will allow for increased planning and smart development that will benefit the region well into the future.

Oceanside Community Safety Partnership Collaborative--Gang Prevention

Program City of Oceanside, CA

The bill includes funding for this program through the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee. The goal of the Oceanside Community Safety Partnership Collaborative (OCSPC) is to provide intense intervention to divert youths away from gang membership. The second component of the program is to have North County Lifeline, a local nonprofit organization that provides diversion services in the City, offer more intensive services to those participants in their Juvenile Diversion Program when areas of additional need are identified, i.e., alcohol and drug issues. Youth would further be referred to Community Interfaith, another local service provider, for vocational and educational services when needed.

Lake Elsinore Emergency Operations Center--City of Lake Elsinore,

California

The bill includes funding for this project through the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee. The funds will be used to equip a new Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Lake Elsinore. The City of Lake Elsinore provides a unique service to the entirety of southern California because of the lake and the City's central location. During the recent wildfires, for instance, the City and lake served as the base for Hawaii-Mars water tankers which were used to fight fires throughout the entire region. The proposed EOC, which is set to be housed in a secure location within the police headquarters, will be used to manage the lake as an emergency resource as well as to provide the City and surrounding community with a base of operations during any emergency.

Regional Communications System Upgrade--County of San Diego, Sheriff's

Department

The Sheriff's continued vision is to increase and improve data sharing, automate officer alerts and notifications, improve disaster preparedness, and deliver of more intelligence to officers and first- responders. The Sheriff's Department, with assistance from Federal and local agencies has, over several years, undertaken technology projects targeting this vision. These enhancements provide law enforcement with rapid access to critical information and knowledge with less human intervention producing quicker results with greater accuracy.

This phase of the SDLaw Infrastructure Program will expand the search and aggregation of intelligence from even more data repositories, add additional business logic, further automate data mapping and workflow, further improving visualization of the information resulting from this convergence of data from State, Local, and Federal systems and now with the inclusion of County justice case management systems.

West Vista Way

The bill includes funding for this project through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations subcommittee. This project will enhance the development and traffic flow along W. Vista Way and reduce congestion on State Route 78. The project consists of approximately 2 miles of road widening (including right-of-way acquisitions), utility undergrounding, drainage and sewer upgrades. The project also includes intersection signalization, bus stops and other transit facilities, including Park- And-Ride lots, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and a safety barrier between the adjacent freeway and the street. The project limits extend from Melrose Drive on the east to Thunder Drive on the west, at the boundary with the city of Oceanside.

Railroad Canyon/Interstate 15 Interchange

The bill includes funding for this project through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations subcommittee. The funding would be used for right-of-way acquisition for an improved interchange on Interstate 15 at Railroad Canyon Road. Railroad Canyon Road serves as a connector route between I-15 and I-215 in Southwest Riverside County. The current interchange with I-15 serves approximately 50,000 vehicles per day and in its current condition, during peak hours of travel, vehicles are backing onto the freeway mainline in both the north and southbound directions. The level of service at the intersections adjacent to this interchange is rated Service-F.

French Valley Airport

The bill includes funding through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations subcommittee for a feasibility study for the French Valley Airport to determine the necessary improvements and viability of an expansion of the airport to ensure safety of the neighboring communities. The project will review and analyze the feasibility of expanding the airport to accommodate large, private jets. This will greatly enhance the region's economic development and tourism opportunities.

MiraCosta College Foundation

The bill includes funding through the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee for the MiraCosta College Foundation located in the 49th Congressional District in Vista, California. MiraCosta College is developing a national model project to meet the educational needs of both active-duty and exiting Navy corpsmen and army medics. The project creates military-specific assessment and instructional tools that will acknowledge that service members' military training while preparing them to meet state licensing requirements to enter the civilian nursing field. This unique project helps fill a national nursing shortage need and helps transitioning military personnel to find high-paying, skilled civilian employment.

Vista Community Clinic

The bill includes funding through the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee for the Vista Community Clinic located in the 49th Congressional District in Vista, California. Due to increased demand, Vista Community Clinic is constructing a new 12,000 square foot community health center facility providing obstetrics, pediatrics, family and internal medicine, pharmacy, health education to low-income, uninsured residents of North San Diego County. This new site will serve 16,000 patients in 50,000 medical visits annually. Ninety-five percent of Vista Community Clinic patients have an income qualifying them as low to moderate income by federal standards, making no more than $42,000 annually for a family of four. Nearly 50% of Vista Community Clinic patients are children who do not have any form of health insurance. Given that one in every 19 people living in the United States now relies on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration funded clinic for primary care, this funding for construction and equipment purchases is critical to providing increasing access and expanding health services.

Mr. Speaker within the gigantic omnibus lands bill that is on the floor today are two authorizations for water projects that will greatly benefit my Congressional District and much of Southern California. I did not ask that the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project and the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Wildomar Service Area Recycled Water Distribution Facilities and Alberhill Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Facility Projects be rolled into this 1,200, plus-page bill. Each of these projects had enough merit to pass the House on their own and could have just as easily passed the Senate. They are worthy projects that will help to address the water shortage that Southern California continues to experience.

The first authorization, for the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project, directs the Bureau of Reclamation to construct a project for the benefit of the Fallbrook Public Utilities District and the United States Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton consisting of enhanced recharge in the groundwater basins using natural and enhanced river flows. All of the project rights-of-way are already held. A feasibility study and joint EIS/EIR is under preparation by the Bureau of Reclamation.

The project sets aside and preserves valuable riparian and upland habitats of the last free flowing river in California, using a portion of the 1,300 acres originally purchased for a dam and reservoir. It would improve and partially privatize the water supply to USMC Base Camp Pendleton, which will receive better quality water in quantities sufficient to meet water needs up to its ultimate planned utilization.

This legislation also provides a final resolution to litigation that began over forty years ago. In 1966, the U.S. District Court directed the Department of the Interior to provide a ``physical solution'' to the division of water of the Santa Margarita River as set forth in a stipulated judgment. Previous legislative efforts to authorize a two dam project on the river were not successful. The conjunctive use project utilizes advances in water treatment technology, making it possible to comply with the court's directive at less than half the cost of the two dam project and without environmental degradation.

Finally, this project provides a safe, drought and earthquake proof water supply of as much as 18,000 acre feet of water per year, enough for 35,000 families, for Camp Pendleton and Fallbrook. The project yield will be split with 60% for Camp Pendleton and 40% for Fallbrook.

This is a good project and deserves to be authorized.

The second authorization, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Wildomar Service Area Recycled Water Distribution Facilities and Alberhill Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Facility Projects, Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, California, to participate in the design, planning, and construction of permanent facilities needed to establish recycled water distribution and wastewater treatment and reclamation facilities that will be used to treat wastewater and provide recycled water in the water district.

This project is needed to provide additional water resources for agricultural and residential areas in Riverside County. In the wake of additional water limitations from the Colorado River and the Sacramento Delta this authorization creates an additional local water resource that gives the district better options.

I thank the gentleman. In the same vein, I yield such time as he may consume to the author of the bill, the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly).

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans often talk of Ronald Reagan with a special reverence, but I believe that honoring his life in this centennial year of 2011 is much more about honoring the difference that Presidents can make, whether it was James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt--even Eleanor Roosevelt--or Harry Truman.

We have repeatedly honored Presidents after their term, after their life, because it reminds Americans that in fact we are a country that is both a democracy and a led-by-an-executive form of government. We don't have a parliamentary form of government. We have a strong, perhaps the strongest, Presidential form of government.

We hope today that President Obama will some day have a commission that, in fact, the impact of his life at this very troubled time will be every bit as great as the impact was for Ronald Reagan, who came to office in what could have been the continued era of the Cold War and, instead, he helped end it.

The commission that is being formed, if we pass this here today and the Senate confirms, will be composed of Members of Congress and individuals who have knowledge and expertise concerning the life of President Reagan, including childhood friends, career individuals in Hollywood who knew him well and, of course, some Members of Congress.

2011 will be a fitting time. We will be halfway through this President's time. We will be well into a recovery that we all trust and hope for today. And we will be talking about the hope for the future. This will help America focus on the fact that hope for the future, and hard work, whether it was in the Reagan administration or the Obama administration, is part of what each President brings when they address America, lead America, and in fact influence the direction of this Congress.

So, with that, I urge strong support for this bipartisan bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim previous time yielded.

With that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Cubic Corporation, a San Diego-based company celebrating 50 years as a publicly traded entity. In fact, on March 5, 2009, executives from Cubic were invited to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell to mark the occasion.

Since its founding in 1951 and subsequent status as a publicly traded company in 1959,

Walter J. Zable, Chairman and CEO, has been at the helm. I've known Walt for many years and this celebration not only marks a 50-year milestone for Cubic, but serves as a remarkable testament to the wisdom and good business sense of Mr. Zable.

While Cubic has experienced its share of business challenges, Mr. Zable has kept adhering to commonsense business tenets that steady the ship and allow Cubic steady, sustainable growth.

Cubic has followed a strong and responsible business philosophy, allowing it to achieve solid growth over many years along with the ability to weather several economic downturns--including the one the country currently faces.

While there are other companies that have had more spectacular growth than Cubic, many have suffered equally spectacular downturns as well. Cubic, under the leadership of Mr. Zable, has maintained a considered commonsense approach to its businesses thus returning stable, sustainable growth.

From its humble beginnings almost 60 years ago, Cubic is now an enterprise with $881 million in 2008 sales and an employer of more than 7,000 people worldwide. The markets that it works in--Defense and Transportation--are much needed in this tumultuous world and Cubic holds a strong position in these markets. Today the company now operates in more than 45 countries with the largest foreign customer being the United Kingdom.

Indeed, in these difficult economic times, Cubic stands as a true American success story.

Madam Speaker, I have been in the House for 8 years, and I have been a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, although on leave of absence, for 6. But before I came here, for two decades I was in the electronics industry, was part of the annual consideration of over a million dollars of private funding to help move digital television. We did so not just to sell televisions or to improve people's pictures, but in fact because of the efficiency of spectrum and what it would do. I have been a supporter of digital transition.

Today, I am here as the ranking member of Government Reform, sounding an alarm that I hope will be heard by my colleagues. President Obama did only one thing before he became President. Only once did he violate his ``one President at a time'' statement, and that was in fact on asking for a delay in the digital transition. I believe he did so because in fact he was misled.

It is clear that there is doubt as to whether a gentleman named Gerard Salemme, who is in fact a highly compensated $300,000-plus a year individual with a company which is behind today--behind in their technology rollout for using this new spectrum--was on his transition team, although he is still the executive vice president of a company called Clearwire.

To me, it appears as though the process behind closed doors in the transition team that led to the decision to delay digital television was clearly tainted by someone who, as an opportunist, may have been trying to gain those extra 4 months to make their technology competitive with those that are already rolled out. That, to me, is the first of many tragedies. You have heard many others.

Additionally, having been in the consumer electronics industry for over 20 years, I'm well aware that the cost of these digital boxes are about $40. So even if you claim that you have 6 million people who haven't received them, you do $40 times 6 million and pretty soon you figure out that it's $200 million-some that we would have to authorize with this delay in order to fully fund getting people their boxes.

No money is attached to this bill. As a result, this will simply cause a delay, giving certain companies an opportunity perhaps to catch up in technology, advancing one company over another, something we said we wouldn't do when we set a hard deadline. More importantly, we are not solving the basic problem here. It only takes $240 million or less dollars to fix this problem where $18 billion worth of spectrum is being held ransom.

This is bad business. It's bad for American technologies that are emerging, it's bad for all the services that will be granted. I came from high tech. I know what we are doing is forcing us to stay in horse and buggy for months longer.

R. Gerard Salemme's Interests in Clearwire and ICO

Clearwire

(Data current through most recent Definitive Proxy, Oct. 9,

2008)

Executive Vice President of Strategy, Policy and External

Affairs

Annual Compensation: $336,812

Stock Options: 1.15 million

Total Value of Options: $6.468 million

I thank the gentleman. Hearing what I have just heard, I would like to thank the chairman of the full committee. It is clear that we will for months, years to come, be looking at the failures of TARP; the failures to properly consider the allocation of these funds before they were delivered and to lock down appropriately the ways in which it could be spent. Notwithstanding failures in our hurried legislation, it is also very clear that the effectiveness, or lack thereof; the honesty, or lack thereof, of the expenditure of these funds, is critical if we are going to regain confidence by the American people that in a future emergency situation we will be able to quickly allocate resources to a problem and then have those resources used properly.

So I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. I thank the chairman for his willingness to accept this amendment that will allow the IG to report to the committees of jurisdiction so that we can in fact look for the waste, fraud, and abuse in this legislation and its carrying out. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, almost every day the Government Accountability Office and Inspector Generals issue a report identifying waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. The Federal Government is large, and we can use all the help we can get. Unfortunately, these important reports often go unread. They fall, without testimony, on deaf ears, and Congress does little or nothing about it.

I welcome the fact, Mr. Speaker, today that we are setting a baseline, a starting point for oversight by the authorization committees. I'm pleased to serve on the committee that has broad jurisdiction, and by agreement with the Rules Committee, and with the leadership of Chairman Towns, we have secured the fact that nothing in this rules change would limit the unlimited jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and Reform to, in fact, look at these same reports and to hold hearings on any one or any 13,000 of these various remaining claims as the Bush administration leaves.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak particularly to Mr. Tanner's statement which, I think, was appropriate, and should be dealt with. During the Bush administration, 98,000 such findings came out of the GAO and the IGs. 13,000 were not dealt with during that administration, roughly a 14 percent leftover.

I look forward to the fact that the Government Oversight and Reform Committee will have the help of all the authorization committees to look into those, and I look forward to working on a bipartisan basis, both within the committee of primary oversight and with each the committees of jurisdiction, because I think it's important that as we allow a new administration to set goals, we deal with all of the leftovers, the 13,000 that perhaps would have been taken care of in the ordinary course, but now need to be quickly looked at so the new administration can get on to its agendas. And of course, as time goes on, I suspect that we will be looking at failures that occur on the new President's watch.

I look forward to working with the gentleman from California on a bipartisan basis, to deal with the remaining roughly 14 percent of those that occurred on President Bush's watch.

I look forward to this legislation. I once again commend Chairman Towns for his work to make sure that the committee of primary oversight is not limited by this resolution. We've been assured that it isn't.

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

The new chairman and I both are assuming these positions after a long period of time of serving in lesser positions on Government Reform, and we come to it, I think, equally with the same vigor, with a vigor to make this committee a bipartisan committee, a committee that works openly between the majority and minority for the purpose of making sure that government works openly for the people who we serve.

I want to thank the chairman today because as we bring three votes from our committee, each of these was shared with the other in consultation, each of them was agreed were necessary and could be moved in a timely fashion today. Each of them will be presented to our conferences as noncontroversial, and in fact, ones that should pass unanimously or near unanimously. This is a great start.

I'm particularly pleased with the chairman and myself to be able to offer the first pieces of legislation of the 111th Congress because I expect that this committee will be the most productive committee of the Congress. It is the committee that has the greatest responsibility, as President-elect Obama has said, to make government accountable. We are that committee.

I look forward to it. As the chairman said, this piece of legislation does restore a balance. It is not a balance that's without controversy, but it is a balance that I believe is appropriate.

Additionally, to what is in the language of the bill, which the chairman did a good job of explaining, there is, in fact, a final holdback which is any President asserting some Presidential secret or particular current damage to the government would be able to overcome this legislation, but it will be the burden of the current President, and as the chairman said, the burden of the previous President to make a case for why records should not be made public rather than the other way around.

I look forward to a floor vote on this on a bipartisan basis and urge passage of this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.