Floor Statements

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

I wish to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Visclosky, along with committee staff, for crafting this legislation.

The Florida Everglades is one of our Nation's greatest treasures. The Everglades' combination of abundant moisture, rich soils and subtropical temperatures support a vast array of species. However, flood control and reclamation efforts in the 1940s and 1950s manipulated the Everglades' hydrology, redirecting fresh water destined for the Everglades out to sea. The ecosystem has changed because it now receives less water during the dry season and more during the rainy season. It is also harmed by degraded water quality, pollutants from urban areas, and agricultural runoff, including pesticides and excess nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen which have harmed the plant and animal populations.

The program under the Corps of Engineers' South Florida Ecosystem Restoration will capture freshwater destined for the sea, the lifeblood of the Everglades, and direct it back to the ecosystem to revitalize it and protect plant and wildlife.

However, Everglades restoration is not only about the ecosystem restoration. It is also about boosting Florida's economy. According to a study by Atlanta-based Mather Economics, boosting strained water supplies associated with restoration efforts will save local water treatment facilities $13 billion in the long term. It will provide flood control for south Florida and improve local home values by an estimated $16 billion. Furthermore, a healthier water supply, which will contribute to better fishing grounds, will have a huge positive impact on tourism traffic, which is a key aspect of Florida's economy.

Everglades restoration is a huge priority for the Florida congressional delegation, and I respectfully ask the committee and chairman for their continued support in protecting and restoring this great natural resource and economic engine.

At this time, I would yield to the gentleman from New Jersey, the chairman of the subcommittee.

I yield to the gentleman from Washington, the ranking member on the committee.

Reclaiming my time, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your commitment. I look forward to working with you and the rest of my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to achieve the goal of restoring water flow in these areas.

I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

I rise today to inform my colleagues of yet another ruthless murder by the Castro dictatorship in Cuba. Last Sunday, Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia, a dissident leader on the island, was viciously beaten to death by Castro's state security thugs simply for participating in a peaceful protest.

Soto belonged to Foro Anti-Totalitario Unido, or the United Anti- Totalitarian Forum, a peaceful dissident organization. Witnesses have attested that two of Castro's henchmen cuffed his hands behind his back and then beat him mercilessly and repeatedly with batons until he was dead.

For 30 years, Soto peacefully worked for freedom and change on the island and served 12 years in Castro's political prisons for his pro- democracy advocacy. Last year, Soto stated, ``I hold Cuban state security, the government, and the repressive police here responsible for whatever happens to me in the future.''

This past weekend, he gave the ultimate sacrifice for Cuba's freedom and became yet another victim in the Castro brothers' 50-year reign of terror.

I thank the chairman.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of making it policy that the U.N. return the $179 million. The U.S. is the United Nation's largest financial supporter. We pay most of the costs of U.N. peacekeeping operations, we pay for most of its security costs, and now the Obama administration refuses to let the United Nations pay us back.

Just one example: in 2005, then-U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan acknowledged the core failings of the U.N. Human Rights Council by stating that the countries who sought membership on the Human Rights Council did so not to strengthen human rights, but to protect themselves against criticism. This is still the case today as some of the world's worst terrorist regimes and enemies of freedom and individual liberty, including Cuba and China, hold powerful seats on the Human Rights Commission.

The U.N. needs to reform. It is time to end their dependency on the U.S. They should be an organization for peace, human rights, and freedom across the world.

Madam Speaker, I rise today for the first time to address the House and express my strong support for passage of a free trade agreement with Colombia. Colombia is America's fourth-largest trading partner in Latin America, and the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that 9,000 American companies trade with Colombia, most of which are small businesses and many of which operate in my district in south Florida.

While 90 percent of Colombian goods enter the U.S. duty free, American

companies still pay tariffs for U.S. goods to enter Colombia. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement would eliminate obstacles and immediately boost U.S. exports to Colombia. By passing a free trade agreement with Colombia, U.S. GDP would increase by roughly $2.5 billion and exports by over $1 billion, creating thousands of jobs in the United States. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement is also a positive foreign policy gesture to one of our most reliable allies in the region and the oldest continuously functioning democracy in all of South America.

Madam Speaker, it's time to stand with one of our best allies in Latin America and create thousands of jobs here at home with passage of a Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 8 I was unavoidably delayed. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''