Floor Statements

Ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, the time is now for us to ask the one fundamental question before us: What is in the best interests of the American people at this time? By ``American people,'' I mean every American, from the top of the economic ladder to the bottom, but especially those at the bottom.

This is basically a 24-month stimulus bill, by getting money to those who need it most, who will put it in the marketplace the quickest, which will help us create jobs. Seventy percent of this entire $853 billion package will go to the low income and the middle income. There is no other way to put it.

And when you talk about rates, we dare not go home here today having raised taxes on the American people. We have got to cut the taxes, keep them down.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have to realize that at the lowest economic ladder, the lowest tax rate is 10 percent. If we don't move, those people at the bottom that we care about, especially us on the Democratic side, their taxes will go up 50 percent.

We've got to move this bill in the best interests of the American people.

Madam Speaker, distinguished colleagues, I rise today to extend my heartiest congratulations to Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in College Park in the 13th district of Georgia. This exceptional school has been granted a 2010 National Title I Distinguished School Award by the State of Georgia. I am proud to represent the hard-working students, dedicated teachers and strong administrators that made this achievement possible.

Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School was founded in 2003 to provide quality instruction and challenging learning experiences for students. Among its core beliefs are a commitment to put children first and an understanding that children must accept responsibility for their learning in order to improve their future. The teaching curriculum is centered on its children; the teachers meticulously track student progress and collaborate to structure each student's lesson.

As we consider the challenges that our education system faces, we should consider Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary an example of excellent student achievement. In addition to providing a welcoming environment for students and ensuring school safety, students are exposed to immersive, technology-rich lessons that will prepare them for the future. Detailed reports indicate not only the students that need individualized attention, but also the students who are excelling. Perhaps the best practices from this school, including the attention to detail and dedication to learning, can be used to aid students around the country to exceed expectations.

Madam Speaker, I would like to personally congratulate the principal of this great institution, Dr. Machelle Matthews, who has led her school to new heights and helped her students to dream their own futures. Please join me in honoring the venerable Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School on their achievement.

Thank you, Mr. Clay, for your outstanding leadership on the committee and for your outstanding leadership in bringing forward this very, very appropriate and extraordinary resolution for a very extraordinary city that I have had the privilege of representing for many years that has now been redistricted over the years, and my colleague Hank Johnson now represents it. But once you represent Lilburn, you always represent the city of Lilburn.

It is a fantastic city, made up of tremendous people who are very courageous, who are very smart, and who make a very significant contribution to every aspect of the forward progress of our great State of Georgia. So I am proud as a cosponsor of this resolution, which recognizes the history, the prominence, and the resilience, especially the resilience. Because you measure greatness not by the easy times; you measure greatness by the tough times that you go through and that you overcome. Such is the story of this great city of Lilburn, Georgia.

As many of my colleagues know, and as I mentioned before, I had the privilege of representing Lilburn during my first term as a Member of Congress. I

had my district office out there, and grew to love the people of Lilburn, and still do. And I can proudly say that the men and women of Lilburn are still as uplifting and courageous today as they were when I had the honor of representing that extraordinary city.

It was first inhabited by Native Americans, Madam Speaker, the Native American tribes, in 1817. The city of Lilburn has since blossomed to a community now of over 11,000 people. This community now has eight elementary schools, three middle schools, three high schools, and five private schools. And I am proud to say that the education system within the city of Lilburn is creating the future leaders of my great State of Georgia, this Nation, and indeed, the world.

Madam Speaker, the city of Lilburn has truly been tested, as I mentioned before, and as my colleagues have mentioned. Of the tremendous challenges facing this city, on that devastating day of November 15, 1920, the city business section was completely destroyed by a fire. And while the pulse of the city was tested by this fire, the great people of Lilburn rose to the challenge to reclaim their sense of community and partnership, rolled their sleeves up, and went to work and rebuilt this great city.

And today I am proud to say that the city of Lilburn is largely associated with the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, which now boasts a sound residential area, a thriving business section where historic buildings are for antiques, crafts, clothing, restaurants, and all in an inviting atmosphere. The culture, the arts, the business, education, these are areas of great contribution of this great city.

Madam Speaker, today the city of Lilburn is represented by Mayor Diana Preston, Councilman Scott Batterton, Councilman John Crist, Councilman Tim Dunn, and Councilman Eddie Price, great people doing a great job. And together, these outstanding public leaders are continuing to advance the city of Lilburn in an economically and culturally vibrant and healthy way. The leaders of this great city have initiated projects such as Downtown Development Authority, the Lilburn Community Improvement District, the Lilburn Community Partner, and the Centennial Gateway Trail.

Madam Speaker, greatness is here, and it is in the possession of the great city of Lilburn. I encourage all of my colleagues to unanimously pass this resolution in honor of this great and historic city, Lilburn, Georgia.

Thank you, Mr. Clay, once again. And certainly I want to thank the outstanding leadership of my colleague, Mr. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, who's the chief sponsor of this bill, for it is, indeed, a very important bill.

I too want to thank the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) for her leadership on this, and Mr. Towns, chairman of our Oversight Committee, for assisting us with making sure this bill got on the suspension calendar.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1531, designating 2011 as World Veterinary Year, is a simple but an extraordinarily important gesture, offering recognition for an often overlooked yet increasingly very important profession, and that is the field of veterinary medicine.

We all know the role veterinarians play in keeping our pets healthy. As a pet owner myself, I've come to depend on the expertise and the skill of my vet to keep my precious dog, Jazz, very healthy.

But the work of veterinarians is so much more vital than just giving rabies shots and passing out medicine. As chairman of our Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, what I would like to highlight, Madam Speaker, is the crucial role that our veterinarians play in keeping our food supply safe--not just keeping our animals safe and healthy, but keeping our food supply safe and healthy.

They are the ones that we are growing more and more to depend upon for this important role. Whether in the movement with antibiotics or farm animal safety, who better to provide the leadership on these critical issues than the veterinarians, the physicians for the animals.

Veterinarians have an important responsibility to prevent contamination from bacteria and diseases. In a world of rapid trade, food animal veterinarians serve a crucial role in protecting our country from serious food-borne illnesses, from biological hazards, from pathogens. Veterinarians work to curb bacterial infections and diagnose conditions such as foot-and-mouth disease and avian flu before they really have a chance to become a threat to our food supply.

Having someone in the field to monitor these dangers is critical to our safety in a world of global trade, and particularly, constant trading in and out of different countries of food and animals over our wide, incredible differences.

But, Madam Speaker, what worries me the most and worries me greatly is that our Nation is now in dire need of many more veterinarians to provide us with this undeniably vital service. The American Veterinary Medical Association has found several vast regions of the country that currently lack sufficient food animal veterinarians. Throughout the center of this country, from Texas to North Dakota, numerous counties don't even have a single food animal veterinarian despite having more than 25,000 animals. Some areas have many more than 100,000 animals with no food animal veterinarian nearby.

Without a serious endeavor to train more large animal veterinarians, the country could be in a position where dangerous pathogens and disease go unchecked, leading to a major, major food safety hazard. We have come close in numerous threats, and we have to keep our food supply safe. At the forefront of that are our veterinarians.

Earlier this year, the House passed H.R. 3519, Veterinarian Services Investment Act. This bill creates grants to develop, deploy, and sustain veterinarian services and provides our Nation's current and future animal physicians with the resources they desperately need. While Senate prospects for this bill are uncertain, unfortunately, as the remaining legislative year dwindles, I am hopeful that the Senate will act soon. It is imperative that we address this dire shortage of veterinarians by supporting the training of new vets and by helping those already in the field by equipping them with the tools they need to maintain successful practices.

So I welcome this resolution, and I commend Mr. Schrader for offering it, and any chance we have to mention the crucial work of our veterinarians and highlight the need to train and employ more of them is a chance we must take to do just that.

Once again, Madam Speaker, I offer my wholehearted approval for this resolution for the veterinarians it seeks to honor.

Thank you very much.

Ladies and gentlemen of the House, with nearly 23 million children and adults in the United States living with this disease, it is, indeed, time to reassess our own fitness and nutrition choices, to educate ourselves on the risk factors, and to then encourage everyone, especially our loved ones, to get tested.

In my home State of Georgia, approximately 700,000 children and adults, or 7.8 percent of Georgia's entire population, have been diagnosed with diabetes. Raising awareness about the devastating effects that diabetes can have on people and their families must not go overlooked.

Many people do not realize that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults between the ages of 20 and 74 years old. It also contributes to serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Nationwide, 23.6 million people, or 7.8 percent of the Nation's entire population, have diabetes. Further, 17.9 million people have been diagnosed, 5.7 million are undiagnosed, at least 57 million people are prediabetic in this country, and 220 million people have diabetes worldwide. These are startling statistics, and the numbers continue to rise. Sadly, thousands more are at an increased risk of getting diabetes because of advancing age, obesity, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy eating habits, and insufficient physical activity.

Diabetes not only affects the health of our Nation but our economic well-being as well. In my State of Georgia, the cost of diabetes due to medical care, lost productivity, and premature death is over $5.1 billion per year, with $356 million lost in my own congressional district alone.

Early testing is crucial to saving lives and even to preventing the onset of the disease in the first place. When diabetes is diagnosed in later stages, the treatments are more extreme, more difficult, and hospital visits are more frequent. Catching the disease in its early stages helps patients mitigate the harmful effects early.

As a Member of Congress, I will do everything in my power, along with all of my colleagues, to ensure that Americans are empowered to take control of their health and to get tested.

I also want to continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to address juvenile diabetes because it can be prevented at an early stage with just testing, care, and increased funding for additional research as the number of cases continues to steadily increase.

Again, I am honored to observe November as American Diabetes Month, and I am hopeful with an increased awareness of this devastating disease that we can save more people from being diagnosed with diabetes. We can lick this. There is a cure. All we have to do is put it as the priority it needs to be, and we will save lives, millions of lives.

I certainly appreciate and commend Mr. Pallone and the gentlelady from Colorado (Ms. DeGette) for authoring this important resolution.

Thank you very much, Chairman Berman.

This unwarranted attack by North Korea on South Korea demonstrates more than anything else the dangerous state that our world is in. It is extraordinarily important that we here in Congress condemn in the strongest possible way this act, unprovoked on the part of North Korea, and to let the people of South Korea and the people of the world know just where the United States stands. We stand strongly and firmly with our ally South Korea and condemn this unwarranted, gross, unjustified attack on South Korea. I commend Chairman Berman for bringing this important resolution to the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. Tanner. I certainly appreciate that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to recognize and commend the NATO School for its critical support of NATO's efforts to promote global peace, stability and security. As a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, I have seen firsthand and I have been a part of and supported the many great efforts of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to maintain security and favorable relations between not only the NATO member states but with those states that are outside of the region and our 28-nation Alliance.

Mr. Speaker, for over 60 years, NATO has been the foundation in maintaining trans-Atlantic security and defense. It has successfully defended the territories of its North American and European member states from numerous external threats while promoting democracy and its values throughout the Western World and Eurasia. Since NATO's beginning, the NATO School in Germany has served as a premier operational-level education and training facility and has supplemented the knowledge, skills and experience of over 185,000 officers, noncommissioned officers, and civilians from NATO-allied and partner nations.

Mr. Speaker, I have visited the NATO School personally during a recent trip to Germany, and I have seen firsthand the extraordinary and effective job that they are doing. As NATO continues to evolve and transform to address 21st century threats, the NATO School's importance is all the more emphasized. Its support role is critical to NATO's ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Kosovo and elsewhere, and the NATO School continues to provide much of the training for personnel serving in NATO stabilization mission in Afghanistan and conducts much of NATO's out-of-country training of Iraqi military officers. It is very important to note that the training and education the school provides beyond strictly military strategies, including civil-military cooperation, crisis management, and peace support operations and arms control and nonproliferation, issues that draw upon a range of military, development and governance tools.

Our recognition of the NATO School today, Mr. Speaker, falls just 2 days after confirmation that six NATO troops were killed during training operations in eastern Afghanistan. Their sacrifices underscore the continued importance and relevance of NATO and the NATO School as it evolves in the 21st century, making our Nation's commitment to the organization and its efforts to promote global peace and democracy all the more important.

So this resolution is very important, and I commend the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner), who is also the president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. And I commend him not only for this resolution, but I commend Mr. Tanner also for the extraordinary service that he has given over the years to NATO.

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month. This year marks the 27th anniversary of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, which has brought awareness to the 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer's and the over 200,00 living with Alzheimer's in my own state of Georgia. More than half of all Americans now know someone with Alzheimer's and approximately thirty percent of Americans have a family member with the disease.

It is of immense magnitude that all Americans become aware of what they can do to support those who live with the disease. This month should serve as a time to reflect on the struggles faced by those with the disease and to commemorate how far we have come and all we have accomplished in the fight for a cure.

I would also like to express immense gratitude to the Georgia Alzheimer's Association for their advocacy throughout the state of Georgia. Under their incredible leadership they have been able to help over 124,000 Georgians through their programs and services. It is important that we acknowledge this month as a time of support for all affected with the disease and reaffirm that as a nation it should be our mission to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research, and to provide and enhance care and support to those individuals affected with the disease, their families and caregivers.

I encourage everyone to join me in recognizing November as the National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.

Madam Speaker, it is with great pride and honor that I rise to share with you the inspiring story of one of my constituents. Sergeant Lee Gragg is a police officer in the Palmetto Police Department, and last September, he was injured in the line of duty.

On Sunday, September 12th 2009 at 10 o'clock at night, Sgt. Gragg and his team were conducting a routine road safety check. An uncooperative driver was discovered to have a suspended license and an arrest warrant. Recognizing that the suspect was reaching for something on the floor of the car, Sgt. Gragg feared for the safety of his team and grabbed the driver's arm.

When the driver attempted to escape, Sgt. Gragg was dragged alongside the vehicle. After the driver lost control of the car, he was thrown 20 feet into the air. He was flown to Grady Hospital, where he was treated in the intensive care unit for 5 weeks. Today, I join his wife Michele Gragg in thanking God for his survival.

I was astounded to hear that a mere four months after this incident, Sgt. Gragg returned to work. Despite losing vision in one eye, suffering severe nerve damage, and undergoing more than 10 surgeries, he maintains a positive attitude. He teaches children about safety and is dedicated to community outreach. He is ever eager and determined to return to active duty. Sergeant Lee Gragg is an honorable man--a hero to his fellow police officers and a role model to his community. Madam Speaker, distinguished colleagues, please join me in honoring this great public servant.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to congratulate Dr. George D. Crenshaw on the occasion of his 6th year anniversary as Pastor of the Shaw Temple A.M.E. Zion Church.

For over two decades, Dr. George D. Crenshaw has served as a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and was appointed pastor of Shaw Temple in October of 2004. Under his compelling leadership, the church and its congregation has become larger, more spiritual, and more financially secure. In his first four years, the church received over 800 new members, making Shaw Temple the fastest growing A.M.E. Zion church in the South. Pastor Crenshaw founded the Shaw Temple Biblical & Leadership Institute, of which he is a former president. He also developed the Five-Fold Ministry, which responds to the spiritual, social and physical needs of the congregation from conversion throughout their spiritual journey. As a venerated leader in the church, Pastor Crenshaw has formed forty other ministries at Shaw Temple.

Additionally, Pastor Crenshaw continues to serve the global ecumenical community as an Executive Board Member of the World Methodist Council. In 2008 the Pastor and Mrs. Crenshaw led an Overseas Medical Mission and Evangelism team to Monrovia, Liberia to set up a medical clinic at Brown Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church. Upon learning that some people walked as long as three days to receive medical attention, the team felt the urgency to return in 2009. They also set up a clinic at Cartwright A.M.E. Zion in Brewerville, Liberia and Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Paynesville, Liberia. Overall, the team has provided free medical services and supplies to over 980 patients. Pastor Crenshaw and the Medical Mission and Evangelism Team will travel back to Monrovia in February of 2011 to continue their efforts. Pastor Crenshaw and the Shaw Temple A.M.E. Zion church were honored to host the 48th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

Madam Speaker, fellow Members of Congress, please join me in honoring Dr. Crenshaw for his many achievements as Pastor of the Shaw Temple A.M.E. Zion Church.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3656) to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to improve the reporting on sales of livestock and dairy products, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill, S. 3656.

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

The Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 will authorize for 5 years the mandatory price reporting programs run by the United States Department of Agriculture. This act requires sales information to be reported and published in a timely fashion, allowing livestock buyers and sellers to make more informed decisions.

The Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 adds mandatory reporting for wholesale pork cuts and pork exports. It also requires USDA to establish an electronic reporting system for dairy products so that price information is made available more quickly.

Madam Speaker, reauthorizing mandatory price reporting programs provides producers with the transparent, accurate and timely market information they need. I urge passage of the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass this very timely and needed bill to modernize our marketing system and to bring transparency to our buyers and purchasers within our livestock industry and within the animal agriculture industry. It is important for our Nation.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time.

It is amazing that we are even spending one second debating this bill. The American people all across this country, from the width and breadth of it, are hurting. And the number one reason they are hurting is because of a

lack of jobs. And here we have a bill that means 319,000 jobs for the American people.

We ought not waste one additional minute debating this bill, but to go ahead and to pass this bill. 319,000 jobs. And jobs in the critical areas of teachers, of firefighters, of police officers, the very jobs that are at the core of educating our young people.

Without this bill passing, 161,000 teachers will no longer exist. Without this bill passing, 90,000-some first responders will no longer exist.

Pass this bill, for the sake of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5414) to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of National Forest System land in the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 5414 provides for the conveyance of a small parcel of National Forest System land in the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina, and for other purposes.

H.R. 5414 authorizes the sale of land in the Francis Marion National Forest. The proceeds of the sale will be placed in the general account for the purchase of other suitable land within the Francis Marion National Forest when it becomes available. This legislation is sponsored by Representative Brown of South Carolina, and supported by the Forest Service.

Since 1946, the Bonneau Baptist Church has operated 3 acres of the Francis Marion National Forest under a special use permit. The church has requested to expand the permit area and to purchase the land at fair market value to accommodate the growing needs of the cemetery they maintain on this property.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2476) to amend the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to clarify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture regarding additional recreational uses of National Forest System land that are subject to ski area permits, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill, H.R. 2476.

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

H.R. 2476 amends the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to update the use of ski permits to include other snow sports in addition to Nordic and alpine skiing, and to provide guidelines and clarification to the Secretary regarding other year-round recreational activities on Forest Service lands. This bill is sponsored by Representative DeGette, and has 16 cosponsors, and the Forest Service supports this legislation.

The original statute was enacted in 1986, before new sports like snowboarding grew into popularity. Additionally, many ski areas operate year-round activities like summertime mountain biking on the slopes. This bill will not alter any forest management plan or the need for strict environmental compliance on Federal lands.

I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis).

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

I would just like to give an amen to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado for which he speaks. As one who has traveled out to Colorado myself and visited around Vail and around Golden, Colorado, what he speaks is so truthful. And the enjoyment, the recreation, and the significant amount of jobs that are created as a result of what's embodied in this legislation. I commend you for your very strong remarks on it.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1525 and include any extraneous materials.