Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Congressional Forum luncheon group sponsored by the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce. Forty years ago in 1968, this group was founded to be a link between the elected congressional representative and the business community served by the Third District of Kansas. It has continued to the present day, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

At that time, Congressman Larry Winn represented the Third Congressional District of Kansas in the United States House of Representatives. Budgets for travel between Washington and Kansas were limited. Congressman Winn and his chief of staff, Dick Bond, wanted to find a way for Congressman Winn to return more often to his home district. The Congressional Forum luncheon group was founded to help cover those travel costs, and to give its members a monthly report from their Member of Congress.

Even after Larry Winn retired, the group and its traditions have continued. For 40 years, the scheduled speaker at Congressional Forum has been the Member of Congress for the Third Congressional District, unless he or she was unable to attend. If that was the case, then the Member of Congress made arrangements for a substitute speaker.

Although the representation of the Third District has changed over the years, the Member's commitment to this unique group has not. Every Member of Congress elected since 1968 has agreed to attend and speak to this group on a regular basis.

Those Members of Congress include:

Congressman Larry Winn, who served in Congress from 1967 to 1985;

Congresswoman Jan Meyers, from 1985 to 1997;

Congressman Vince Snowbarger, from 1997 to 1999;

And me, Congressman Dennis Moore, from 1999 to the present.

For some time, the group actually held their meetings across the state line at the Golden Ox Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, because a portion of the parking lot of that venerable restaurant was actually in Kansas City, Kansas. At the present time, the group meets once again in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Kansas, at the Reardon Convention Center.

It is a testament to this group that an organization founded by Republican business leaders has continued even when a Democratic congressman like me was elected. I have found that this group gives me a great sounding board on the thoughts of my home district. While not every member of Congressional Forum supports me at the ballot box, I know they will express their views to me with candor and courtesy.

For most of its history my good friend, Dr. Fred Bosilevac presided over the Congressional Forum luncheons as its President. For most of us, Dr. Fred remains the heart and soul of the Congressional Forum luncheons. Now age 92, Dr. Fred is still an active and interested member of Congressional Forum, although Bill Eppenheimer has taken over the gavel (or rather the cowbell) as President since Dr. Fred's retirement in 2006.

It is a distinct honor for me to express my affection and high regard for this unique group. A copy of my remarks will be presented at the Congressional Forum's December meeting, which hopefully will include many former Members of Congress from the Third District, as well as Dr. Fred; Bill Eppenheimer; Cindy Cash, the current President of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce; and many other important leaders to this group and our community.

Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to share the story of the Congressional Forum with our colleagues.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my good friend and constituent, the late Ellen Laner of Mission Hills, Kansas, who passed away on September 28th.

Ellen Laner led a long and productive life, which served to make Johnson County, Kansas, a much better place for her neighbors and friends. Ellen was a committed and passionate community volunteer who also was very politically engaged. She was named Citizen of the Year by the United Community Services; twice named Volunteer of the Year by the Johnson County Mental Health Association; received the Hannah B. Solomon Award from the National Council of Jewish Women; awarded the Stand Up, Speak Out Award from the Mainstream Coalition; helped in the establishment of Johnson County Community College and served as a member of its Board of Trustees; had many years of service in the Kansas League of Women Voters, eventually serving as President; was very active in the establishment and growth of the Mainstream Coalition and served as President; volunteered as a Board Member of the Johnson County Library Foundation; was an active volunteer for Planned Parenthood of Kansas City and Western Missouri, working as its Resource Development Director and for a short time was its Executive Director; and was a founder of the Johnson County Coalition for Prevention of Child Abuse, now known as Sunflower House.

Ellen Laner was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the daughter of Noland and Isabel Blass. She came to the Kansas City area in 1950 after her marriage to S. Harvey ``Bud'' Laner, who preceded her in death in 1980. She was a member of the New Reform Temple and Oakwood Country Club, and loved golf, bridge, dogs, and professional sports. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Joel and Marsha Laner, and their three children, Allison Laner, Blass Laner and Duncan Laner of Kansas City, Missouri. She also is survived by her brother and his wife, Gus and Patricia Blass of Little Rock, and their children, Gus Blass, III, and his wife, Becky; by her sister Constance Blass O'Neill and her husband, Chris; her sister-in-law, Barbara Phillips of Little Rock and her children, Beverly Wittenberg and Peter Phillips and her great-nieces and nephews.

Ellen Laner's civic accomplishments range far and wide, and our community owes her a great deal for her leadership in making Johnson County the strong and caring community that it is today. I was a part of the same generation of many young women, educated in colleges across the Nation in the 1960s, who ended up in Johnson County as the wives of the young men who worked in various professions and businesses in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Motivated by the political turbulence of the 1960s, we wanted to do more for

our community and Nation, in addition to raising our families. Ellen's leadership in the League of Women Voters inspired both men and women to use our education to volunteer, seek public office, and take leadership roles in improving our government, our libraries, and our public schools, and the lives of those who were not as fortunate as us. Many of the women who have served Johnson County so exceptionally well as mayors, city council members, school board members and legislators were motivated, supported and inspired by Ellen Laner.

Madam Speaker, we were fortunate to know Ellen Laner, and we are so very grateful for what she contributed to our lives. I am grateful to this House for giving me the opportunity to share this tribute with my fellow Members of Congress and with the American people.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support, with reservations, for the Senate amendments to H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Our Nation is facing a crisis that we've not seen since the early 1930s. If we do nothing, our small businesses will continue to suffer with limited access to credit, families will struggle to pay for college for their children and too many people will have to delay their retirement. Retirees with pension plans invested in the market will find they are not as secure as they hoped.

Just today, the Government announced that 159,000 jobs were lost in September, the sharpest drop in jobs in over 5 years. This is the ninth straight month of job losses. Two weeks ago, with the economy on the verge of disaster, and the choking off of access to credit, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders to act on this emergency economic rescue package by saying, ``If we don't do this, we may not have an economy on Monday.'' These are words no Member of Congress wants to hear, but it is a call to action, now.

I voted for the original bipartisan compromise the House considered Monday because it took necessary steps to protect American taxpayers, including a recoupment provision to ensure that every dime of taxpayer money is paid back in full. Republican and Democratic leaders supported the original compromise to get our economy back on track. The bill was far from perfect, but it also included provisions to ensure aggressive congressional and judicial oversight of the rescue programs, as well as no taxpayer-funded ``golden parachutes'' for careless Wall Street CEOs. The bill would have spread out the expenditures to make sure they are really needed, and mandated: 48-hour posting of all transactions on the Internet; warrants so taxpayers share profits; aggressive foreclosure mitigation activities, tax provisions helping community banks; and independent Inspector General oversight.

But when the House failed to pass the bill on Monday, the Dow dropped 777 points, the largest single-day point drop in history. It cost the American economy more than $1.2 trillion as Americans saw their 401Ks, college accounts, and pension plans lose value.

As a co-chair of the fiscally responsible Blue Dog Coalition, I have grave concerns about any legislation that passes off the costs to our children and grandchildren, adding to our $9.6 trillion debt. I would have strongly preferred that the Senate version of the bill had been written differently without all of their unrelated tax policy additions, but this is not about me. This is about preserving our way of life as a nation and restoring our economic strength. This is about making sure the economy doesn't crash to the extent that it might take decades for our children and grandchildren to put the pieces back together.

Make no mistake: this crisis should not be about political opportunism. This is a time for Republicans and Democrats who are willing to put country before party, and our economic security before ideology, to come together and do what is in the best interest of our people and our country.

I am just as upset as many of my constituents that our country is faced with this economic crisis. Government intervention should always be an option of last resort, but we are left with very few choices and even less time to preserve our economic stability. Inaction is simply not an option.

In this difficult time, Congress must act. The Senate has spoken in a strong, bipartisan

way, voting for this revised legislation by a vote of 74-25. The leadership of both parties and our two presidential candidates support this effort to rescue our faltering economy. In the short term, this relief package is an emergency line of credit, a lifeline for our drowning financial industry. In the long term, it's also an investment in bringing back a strong economy. If our economy does not recover, if we slide toward recession or worse, we will all suffer. I support this bill because I believe it's the right thing to do for our country.

But enacting this emergency legislation is only the beginning. While we had to act today to preserve our economy, I will continue fighting for fiscal responsibility, putting an end to runaway deficits and our mounting $9.6 trillion debt. I will work with my Republican and Democratic colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee to aggressively investigate what went wrong in the credit markets, and work in a bipartisan way to improve the regulatory structure so we can have a modern oversight structure that will make sure firms act in a responsible way. We must continue to do all we can to protect the future economic health of the country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of taking action to help community banks, which are an important part of our financial landscape, in Kansas and across the country.

One of the lessons learned from the current financial crisis is that financial institutions that rely on core deposits are in the best position to weather a financial storm. One thing banking regulators can do to help banks attract and retain more core deposits is to recognize that certain deposits that may technically be considered as ``brokered'' nevertheless function like core deposits.

This situation occurs, for instance, when insured depository institutions exchange funds, dollar-for-dollar, with members of a group of insured depository institutions, where each member of the group sets the interest rate to be paid on the entire amount of funds it places with other group members. Such an arrangement enables a member of the group to offer its customers a convenient means to obtain access to FDIC insurance on large deposits by working solely with the bank with whom the customer has a relationship. As a result, the bank is able to accept the large deposits without having to post collateral, which in turn makes more funds available to meet the credit needs of the bank's community.

Regulators could take several constructive steps within the current law governing brokered deposits. First, the FDIC could permit banks that become adequately capitalized (and therefore need a waiver from the FDIC to accept brokered deposits) to continue accepting funding through the arrangement described above while a waiver request is pending. Second, the FDIC could recognize that such finding is stable and should be permitted as a general matter when the FDIC reviews a waiver request. Third, it would be appropriate for the FDIC to exclude such funding from the category of ``brokered deposits'' if the FDIC elects to charge a bank a higher insurance premium due a heavy reliance on brokered deposits.

If the FDIC were to take these steps, banks--and, in particular, community banks--would be in a better position to attract and retain large deposits, thereby providing additional liquidity that the banks can use to make loans that are so vitally needed by our Nation's communities.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Barbara Knopke, who elected to the office of National President of the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic (LGAR) at their National Encampment in Peabody, MA, and installed on August 9, 2008. President Knopke has been instrumental in the Department of Kansas maintaining its vitality.

Barb Knopke joined the LGAR in 2001. Recently, she, along with her daughter, Jennifer Knopke, were the driving force in organizing the new Ercelle Speaks Circle in Johnson County, KS, to which she now belongs. She held various positions within the Emma Edmond Circle and Department of Kansas. Barb has a great love for genealogy and has done extensive research on both her husband's and her heritage. She has direct lines going back to colonial times and has had direct ancestors who participated in all wars and conflicts except WWI and the Korean Conflict. Her great-great grandfather, George Washington Dittemore, served during the Civil War as a private in Company A, 13th Kansas Infantry, from 1862-65. Another great-great grandfather, Frederick Samuel Moser, also served as a private in Company C, 13th Kansas Infantry, during the same period.

President Knopke was born and bred on Long Island, NY, but has called Kansas her home since 1981. She states that, ``I feel blessed with my wonderful husband, Jim, who is a member of the SUVCW, and our daughter, Jennifer, who is also a member of LGAR.'' She is also active in the Daughters of the American Revolution: ``I am in awe of my heritage and what my ancestors achieved. I feel it is my duty to keep their memory and that of all patriots of this great country alive.'' Barb is the wife of Department of Kansas Junior Vice Department Commander Jim Knopke, PDC.

The Ladies of the G.A.R. is the oldest Women's hereditary organization in the United States. We are one of the five groups in the allied orders; the others being the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, The Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, the Women's Relief Corp and the Auxiliary to the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. The Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic was charted by the Congress of the United States under Public Law 86-47 in 1959, and remains dedicated to their mission today and we remain a national nonprofit organization deeply rooted in history. The Kansas Department was formed in 1885 and today we have a circle that celebrated its 113th birthday this July. There are very few that are older today.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to pay tribute to Barb Knopke, and I know that all Members of this House join with me in commending her for her election to this prestigious position.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to salute the Masonic Lodge of my hometown, Lenexa, Kansas. Masonic Lodge #135 is celebrating the 135th anniversary of its founding this October.

In reading documents compiled by Lenexa Historical Society member and Masonic Lodge leader Angelo Mino, it becomes clear that the history of this lodge is intertwined with the history of Lenexa. The Masonic Lodge was the fIrst fraternal or civic organization of Lenexa, and city leaders were often leaders of the lodge as well. Lodge members included the fIrst mayor of Lenexa, the fIrst police judge, the fIrst postmaster and the fIrst physician in the city.

In 1873, the lodge received offIcial recognition from the Masonic organization, and the fIrst Eastern Star chapter was also established. In 1922, the fIrst DeMolay group in Johnson County, Kansas, received its charter, and in 1953, the Rainbow Girls Assembly #56 began.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the members of Lenexa Masonic Lodge #135 on this remarkable milestone, and thank them for 135 years of community leadership and service.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the service and sacrifice of an honorable and proud American, Mr. Raymond E. Day. Mr. Day is an 84-year-old World War II veteran living in Kansas City, Missouri. In February 1945 Mr. Day was assigned to the 155th Machine Gunner's Battalion, 5th Marine Division during the assault on the island of Iwo Jima, as part of Operation Detachment.

The mission of Operation Detachment was to secure two strategic airfields, located on the well-defended and heavily fortified island. On February 23, just 4 days after arriving on Iwo Jima, Mr. Day's machine gun position took nearly a direct hit, knocking his gunner's mate, Irra Arrington, unconscious, and rendering the gun inoperable.

After successfully reviving Irra, the pair continued the fight, destroying several nearby enemy positions. The pair often dodged obstacles such as barbed wire and land mines and repeatedly came under relentless attack from Japanese small arms fire, mortar fire, and artillery barrages. Again, just a few short hours later, both men were injured when an enemy artillery round destroyed their position. Mr. Day was wounded by shrapnel in the hip and left leg.

Both men were evacuated to a nearby merchant marine vessel, treated for their wounds and returned to duty on the island. Mr. Day continued to fight, despite his wounds, risking death or permanent injury because that was his job, to keep the battlefront moving forward as American forces moved to secure the island.

Earlier this year, I was contacted by my constituent, Norman Polsky, with a request for assistance to obtain the Purple Heart medal for his friend, Raymond Day. After researching medical records, reviewing morning reports, I have learned that Raymond Day's files were destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. There exists no record of Mr. Day's injuries or treatment for the wounds he sustained in action either in his medical records file or in existing morning reports.

It is a shame that Mr. Day is still without the Purple Heart Medal, despite the fact that the he bears the scars from the residuals of shrapnel embedded in his leg and hip, not to mention the painful memories that America's warriors guard so closely for a lifetime.

It is for these reasons that I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mr. Raymond E. Day. Without the service and sacrifice of Mr. Day, and the men and women of the ``greatest generation,'' our Nation would not be as resilient and flourishing as it is today. By continuing his mission, despite being wounded, Mr. Day lends great credit to himself, the 5th Marine Division, and the United States of America.

Madam Speaker, the week of September 17-23 has been officially designated as Constitution Week. This marks the 221st anniversary of the signing of our Constitution.

The guardian of our liberties, our Constitution established our republic as a self-governing Nation dedicated to rule by law. This document is the cornerstone of our freedom. It was written to protect every American from the abuse of power by government. Without that restraint, our founders believed the republic would perish.

The ideals upon which our Constitution is based are reinforced each day by the success of our political system to which it gave birth. The success of our way of government requires an enlightened citizenry.

Constitution week provides an opportunity for all Americans to recall the achievements of our founders, the nature of limited government, and the rights, privileges and responsibilities of citizenship. It provides us the opportunity to be better informed about our rights, freedoms and duties as citizens.

Madam Speaker, at this time I particularly want to take note of the outstanding work of the Prairie Rose Chapter of the Kansas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which is actively involved in the Third Congressional District in events this week commemorating Constitution Week. The Prairie Rose Chapter has been involved with this effort in our communities for a number of years and I commend them for doing so.

Our Constitution has served us well for over 200 years, but it will continue as a strong, vibrant, and vital foundation for freedom only so long as the American people remain dedicated to the basic principles on which it rests. Thus, as the United States continues into its third century of constitutional democracy, let us renew our commitment to, in the words of our Constitution's preamble: ``form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. . . .'' I know that the Prairie Rose Chapter of the Kansas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution joins with me in urging all Americans to renew their commitment to, and understanding of, our Constitution, particularly during our current time of crisis, when Americans are fighting overseas to defend our liberties here at home.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Katherine and Elizabeth Gant, residents of Kansas' Third Congressional District, who are retiring after 46 years as music educators in Leawood, Kansas.

In anticipation of a celebration honoring the Gant sisters that will take place on August 10, the Sun newspapers of Johnson County recently published an article detailing their accomplishments and plans for the future, which I am including with this Congressional Record statement. Having spent a lifetime composing children's music and teaching music to children, they will now focus on composing and promoting their own compositions.

Madam Speaker, I know that all House members join with us in paying tribute to Katherine and Elizabeth Gant, who are beloved by several generations of Johnson Countians for their dedicated and selfless work to bring music into the lives of our children.

Gant Sisters Stop Teaching To Focus on Recording

(By Kelli Bamforth)

After 46 years as music educators to countless children

across the metro area, Elizabeth and Katherine Gant are

hanging up their hats after the sale of their Leawood music

school, 3658 W. 95th St.

But do not expect the sisters to retire. In many ways,

their work is just beginning.

Elizabeth and Katherine will now focus on composing and

promoting their original children's music beyond Kansas City.

``Schools and churches use our music but we knew we had to

start aggressively marketing our music to get it out of

Kansas City,'' Elizabeth said. ``We want to get it all over

America, but knew we couldn't teach and market

simultaneously.''

The sisters sold their school two months ago to Cindy See,

a pianist with two daughters who are former students of the

Gants.

``With the See family, (the school) will continue to be a

family affair,'' Elizabeth said. ``They just finished their

summer session and will start back up in the fall.''

A celebration honoring the Gant sisters will be held from 2

to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, at Hallbrook Country Club, 11150

Overbrook Road.

Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn will present a proclamation

declaring ``Gant Sisters Day'' in the city and a children's

choir will perform with school alumni.

``It all fell into place,'' Katherine said. ``I thought

(declaring Gant Sisters Day) was so sweet. Politicians and

big important people get things named after them all the

time, but for two sister educators. . .they keep telling us

there are other things planned, but it's a surprise.''

The sisters began what they call a ``lifelong love affair

with music'' when their mother inspired them as children.

``She taught us to sing with harmony,'' Elizabeth said.

``She was a working mother but we never felt neglected.''

Elizabeth and Katherine attended the Cincinnati

Conservatory of Music, where they majored in opera and

education. When Katherine graduated a year ahead of

Elizabeth, Archie Jones, dean of the Conservatory of Music at

the University of Missouri-Kansas City, asked Katherine to

create a new and different children's music education

program.

Elizabeth and Katherine began writing their own children's

music and lyrics when they could not find anything suitable

for children age 3 to 6 in their program.

``We started writing music to fit the needs of our

classes,'' Elizabeth said. ``We saw the need and we always

loved children. We like to think we have our finger on the

pulse of today's children, the dreams they dream. Our mom

always told us the most important people in the world are

children.

``We decided to write music for the child in all of us.''

The program eventually moved to the Avila University campus

for 10 years before being relocated to Leawood's Ranch Mart

shopping center.

The sisters have recorded CDs and cassette tapes of their

music, and eventually began writing children's books,

adaptations of classic fairy tales such as ``Pinocchio'' and

``Little Red Riding Hood.''

``We write our own original music for each character,''

Elizabeth said.

One recording that already has reached audiences across the

country is ``America, I Love You!'' Katherine and Elizabeth

re-recorded the children's national anthem after the Sept. 11

terrorist attacks.

``That Sunday after 9/11, Katherine and I were at home

watching television and Itzhak Perlman, a very talented

violinist, was performing in New York near the site,''

Elizabeth said. ``After he was done, he didn't know the

camera was still on him, and he just started weeping. And it

touched us. . .we knew we had to do something for the

children.''

Eleven years prior to Sept. 11, the sisters wrote and

released the patriotic song, but re-recorded the tune with

more than 400 children on the Pembroke Hill School campus.

All proceeds from the recording go to two charities in New

York for children whose parents lost their lives.

The video and CD have been distributed to all five branches

of the military and every public television station in

America.

But the music school remained their passion, the sisters

said.

Business mostly came from word of mouth, Elizabeth said,

and the sisters routinely taught children and grandchildren

of former students.

``We've had a beautiful response to our music from children

and parents alike,'' Elizabeth said. ``When you put music and

children together, beautiful things can happen. We've always

had the feeling in our hearts that children and music should

come together to bring about peace in the world.''

Elizabeth and Katherine, both widowers, live together.

Katherine said the past 46 years have been ``a dream world of

a perfect job.''

``It's our passion,'' Katherine said.

``This wasn't just a whim or a passing fancy,'' Elizabeth

said. ``Music is like food, an ongoing necessity the world

will always need. We're not trying to launch a rocket from a

canoe but from the flagship of everything we've built for 46

years.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Johnson County, Kansas, for being recognized by Forbes Magazine and CNN/Money as one of the best places to live and raise a family in the United States of America.

On June 30, 2008, Forbes ranked Johnson County as the third best place in the country to raise a family. Similarly, CNN/Money.com has called Overland Park, Kansas, a city of nearly 170,000 people located in Johnson County, the ninth best place to live in the U.S.

As a resident of Johnson County myself, I am particularly pleased that the county has earned such high praise. These media outlets have highlighted what my fellow Johnson County residents and I have known for years: great schools, affordable homes, and a growing economy have made Johnson County a great place to live.

Located in Northeast Kansas, in suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, Johnson County is home to more than 500,000 people spread across 21 different municipalities. Six school districts enroll nearly 80,000 K- 12 students each year. Major businesses, including Yellow Freight, Applebees Restaurants, and Sprint Nextel have been headquartered in the county. The strong schools and impressive job growth, along with affordable homes, short commutes, and the low cost of living led Forbes to rank Johnson County third out of more than 90 counties from across the U.S. that the magazine surveyed.

I'm proud to say that I have lived and worked in Johnson County for more than 30 years. I'm even more proud to have served the citizens of Johnson County, first as District Attorney for 12 years, on the Board of Trustees for Johnson County Community College for 7 years, and as their U.S. Representative for the past 9 years. I want to commend the many city and county officials, public service workers, business leaders, investors, and above all, the numerous parents and grandparents who have worked so hard to help make Johnson County the wonderful place that it is today.

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Community Service 2008 (CS08), an initiative being spearheaded by Financial Services Roundtable and its member companies to harness volunteerism in the financial services sector and improve the communities in which we all live and work.

CS08 companies will complete 1,000 community service projects between July 1 and September 30, in all 50 states with over 28,000 volunteers. In Overland Park, which I represent, a CS08 event was just completed with AXA Equitable in which employees teamed up with KVC Behavioral HealthCare to sponsor a historical tour to youth being treated there.

This expansive effort would not be possible without the strong leadership of CS08 co-chairs Richard K. Davis, Chairman, President, and CEO of U.S. Bancorp, and Don J. McGrath, Chairman and CEO of Banc West Corporation.

Now in its seventh year, the timely focus of CS08 is on financial education, and increasing visibility of financial education programs in communities. This is in addition to member companies' community service projects via blood drives, building homes, neighborhood cleanups, or even outreach to children, like in Overland Park. Roundtable member companies know that the possibilities for community improvement are vast.

I am also proud to recognize our CS08 Honorary Congressional Host Committee. 141 Members of Congress have volunteered to sponsor CS08 and I know I speak for all of the participants in thanking my colleagues in the

House and Senate for their leadership. Congratulations to all who are working to make CS08 a huge success.

My thanks to Chairwoman Lofgren for yielding me time. I would like to acknowledge the many hours and hard work my friend from California and her staff have put into the many hearings they have had on our country's history of immigration and the need for reforming our immigration laws.

I would like to thank my fellow Blue Dog, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, for drafting the bipartisan Employee Verification Amendment Act, and her leadership on addressing illegal immigration. I would also like to thank Social Security Subcommittee Chair Mike McNulty and Ranking Member Sam Johnson and their staffs for their work in ensuring we protect Social Security as we extend and improve E-Verify.

Due to their work, Social Security trust funds will not be raided, in contravention of current law, to fund the costs of the E-Verify program. Our seniors and persons with disabilities should not and will not be burdened with these costs under our bill.

This year, House committees have held hearings examining how E-Verify works and how it might be improved. I am pleased we have reached the bipartisan compromise the House is now considering. We must crack down on employers who knowingly hire and take advantage of undocumented workers, and this bill will help do that.

This bill will continue E-Verify without interruption for 5 more years, which is very important, and will protect Social Security. The bill also requires the evaluation of the E-Verify databases and the need to improve them, as well as the impact E-Verify may have on small businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities. We need to address these and other legitimate concerns, like identity theft, so we can implement a far more effective and efficient mandatory employment verification system in the near future with other immigration reforms.

I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.

Madam Speaker, on July 14, 2008, due to a delayed flight, I was unable to cast one recorded vote on Rollcall vote 486, concerning H. Res. 1067, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the crossing of the North Pole by the U.S.S. Nautilus. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye''. I was present and able to vote on the next two measures.

Madam Speaker, last month I was honored to participate in a ceremony honoring four local Kansas residents for their contributions to local communities and commitment to personal development. Honorees received the 2008 Congressional Award Gold Medal during a reception on Capitol Hill.

I was proud to help celebrate the achievements of these outstanding young men and women and honor them with this distinguished award. Their dedication to helping others and self-improvement is not only inspiring, but it reminds us that changing the world starts with each of us.

Sydney Ayers, one of today's recipients and a resident of Leawood, spoke during the June 19th ceremony, providing reflections on her achievement and the importance of community service.

Earning the Congressional Award Gold Medal requires a significant commitment, in both time and energy. Each participant must spend two years or more completing at least 400 hours of community service, 200 hours of both personal development and physical fitness activities and a 4-night Expedition or Exploration. The Congressional Award Gold Medal is the pinnacle of these achievements.

The 2008 Kansas 3rd District recipients are:

Sydney Ayers, Leawood, worked with children and the elderly, volunteering at several locations across the United States and Mexico. She performed in plays, worked as the backstage manager for several productions and took ballroom dance lessons, in addition to playing high school tennis, USTA tennis and managing the boys' high school team. She also planned and completed a 5-day adventure in the Alaskan wilderness.

Benjamin Connell, Lenexa, volunteered at Lakeview Village Nursing Home and the Boys and Girls Club, mentoring young children, facilitating anti-drug/alcohol lessons and tutoring. He also worked in the career development office at Kansas State University, learning how to teach and counsel students. Ben focused on exercising and participating in intramural sports and backpacked at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Christopher Connell, Lenexa, raised funds for charitable causes, mentored young children and helped the elderly with a variety of tasks in addition to working as a waiter at an assisted living facility. Cross Country running and lifting weights improved his 5K running time. Chris also spent six nights in the wilderness at Double H Ranch, which is associated with Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Nicholas Connell, Lenexa, shared his musical talent by preparing a repertoire of music, including Peter and the Wolf, on the oboe and holding public performances in several different venues. Nick's creative talents also include writing, for which he won a 1st place prize for a piece of short fiction. He pushed himself physically by running on a treadmill and consistently exercising on an elliptical machine, in addition to hiking over 60 miles at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

I am pleased to include in the Congressional Record two articles from the Kansas City Star highlighting this award and the outstanding young Kansans who received it.

[From the Kansas City Star, June 28, 2008]

Lenexa Brothers Win Congressional Award Gold Medal

(By Alexia Lang)

Hard work and dedication earned three Lenexa brothers the

2008 Congressional Award Gold Medal.

Benjamin, Christopher and Nicholas Connell traveled to

Capitol Hill for the award ceremony recently; they were

representing three out of four Kansas residents to receive

the award. Sydney Ayers, 17, of Leawood, was the fourth

recipient.

Congressman Dennis Moore participated in the ceremony,

citing their achievements as inspiring.

``Their dedication to helping others and to self-

improvement is not only inspiring, but it reminds us that

changing the world starts with each of us,'' Moore said.

In order to qualify for the medal, applicants must spend

two or more years completing at least 400 hours of community

service, 200 hours of personal development, 200 hours of

physical fitness activities and a four-night expedition or

exploration.

Nicholas Connell, 22, said his mother found out about the

award and he decided to pursue it in 1999.

``It so happened that a lot of the requirements for the

Congressional Award coincided with things I was already doing

for Scouting, or with school activities, etc.,'' he said.

Nicholas prepared and performed music on the oboe for

several public performances, including charity concerts at

local schools and assisted living centers.

He also was able to gather and send school supplies to

children in need in Mexico.

To satisfy his four-night expedition or exploration

requirement, Nicholas hiked over 60 miles at Philmont Scout

Ranch in New Mexico.

Benjamin Connell, 24, also began the program in 1999. He

said he was attracted to the structure and direction for

setting goals the program would bring to his life.

``It also provided accountability in attaining my goals

because my advisors tracked my progress,'' he added.

Benjamin spent most of his community service time at

Lakeview Village Retirement

Center in Lenexa and the Boy's and Girl's Club in Manhattan,

Kan.

At Lakeview Village, he assisted the elderly in daily

activities and ran bingo games in Lakeview's Health Center.

The Boy's and Girl's Club provided opportunities for

Benjamin to tutor elementary-age students, facilitate anti-

drug and anti-alcohol programs and provide structured after-

school activities.

Benjamin said he would encourage others to work for this

award because it challenges participants to get out into the

community outside of their comfort zone.

``I think this award helps youth build a strong, goal

driven foundation that is focused on service,'' he said.

The youngest brother to receive the award, Christopher

Connell, 19, said he has enjoyed serving others since

beginning the program in 2002.

His service hours include volunteering at Lakeview Village

Retirement Community, fundraising for charity causes at

Shawnee Mission West High School and planting and mulching

trees at Shawnee Mission Park.

For his expedition, Christopher spent six nights in the

wilderness at Double H Ranch, associated with Philmont Scout

Ranch.

Christopher said this honor is awarded based on a person's

willingness to improve.

``Anyone can earn this award because it isn't a competition

except with yourself,'' he said.

Nicholas said he encourages others to pursue the award

because many are already doing what is needed to receive it.

``You have to do the necessary paper work and enroll in the

program to make sure you get the award,'' he said. ``The

Congressional Award won't seek you out--you have to let them

know you are working on it and provide the proper

documentation.''

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4461) to promote and enhance the operation of local building code enforcement administration across the country by establishing a competitive Federal matching grant program, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material.

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

Today I ask for the House support in passing H.R. 4461, the Community Building Codes and Administration Grant Act.

This legislation, which was approved by voice vote in the Financial Services Committee and enjoys bipartisan support in the House, will provide Federal assistance to the development of local building codes.

Responsible building is essential to reduce vulnerability to future hazards. According to a study conducted in 2005 by the National Institute of Building Sciences, for every dollar spent on mitigation at the Federal level, the American taxpayer saves approximately $4 in disaster assistance.

State and local building codes assure that new homes comply with safety standards. Acquiring the skills and knowledge to become a code inspector is a time-consuming process, though. And paying for personnel to conduct inspections and enforce codes that are on the books consumes scarce financial resources at the local level. While there are no dedicated Federal funds for building code administration, Community Development Block Grant funds have been used for this purpose in the past along with administrative allowances from FEMA's three mitigation programs: Hazard Mitigation, Pre-Disaster Mitigation, and Flood Mitigation. But competition for these funds is intense, and infrastructure projects typically receive preference over building code enforcement.

For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, States must fund these activities without Federal assistance, relying often on building permit fees and sometimes general funding to operate offices that are overworked and understaffed. This means that codes on the books cannot be enforced, leaving communities more vulnerable and driving up insurance premiums in those areas.

To address this issue, H.R. 4461 establishes a competitive national program that provides awards to local governments for building code administration and enforcement. The Community Building Code Administration Grant Program will not infringe upon local and State authority to enact and enforce building codes. It simply provides sorely-needed funding for them to do so.

Specifically, the bill includes a 5-year sunset on the program, authorizes $100 million over that period to execute it, caps awards at $1 million per recipient, requires recipients to match a portion of funds received, and outlines eligible uses of funds and selection criteria with preference offered to governments in financial distress.

Additionally, each grant proposal must contain a plan for local governmental actions to be taken to establish and sustain local building code enforcement administration functions, without continuing Federal support, at a level at least equivalent to that proposed in the grant application.

This legislation will help ensure the safety of buildings across the country and ultimately will reduce the cost to the American taxpayers after a disaster. I look forward to passage of this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time and I want to thank also my colleague from West Virginia.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah, thank you for presiding here. I want to talk for just a few moments about this energy crisis that our country faces.

Madam Speaker, I am the policy cochair for a group called the Blue Dog Coalition, which is using some of the time tonight, and I appreciate my colleagues being here to discuss the energy situation in our country.

Shortly after the last election when in fact there was a change in the majority in the House and the Democrats took control, the cochairs of the Blue Dog group and a group called the New Democratic Coalition, which I also belong to; I am not in the leadership there, but I have belonged to that since I have been in Congress for my tenth year now, we were invited over to speak to the President about policy. And this was the first time that we had been invited over to speak about policy. We had been invited for several other ceremonial things, but not about policy. So I really appreciated the opportunity to talk with the President.

In fact, the four leaders of the Blue Dog group met up in my office to talk about some ground rules since we only had a 45-minute meeting with the President. So we talked about how long we would take each if we had a chance to talk at all, and we decided we would each take about 2 minutes. And we talked and went through our items there.

But when we were leaving after this 45-minute meeting, the President was walking beside me. We were walking out the front door of the White House, and I said, ``Mr. President, you have an opportunity to be a hero to people in this country and maybe a few people around the world.'' And he said, ``Well, how is that?''

I said, ``Mr. President, do you remember, a little more than 30 years ago there was a man on television one night talking to the American people about the long lines at the gas pumps. He had a cardigan sweater on sitting in front of the fireplace. His name was Jimmy Carter.'' And the President said, ``I remember that.'' I said, ``Mr. President, President Carter said what we need is a comprehensive energy policy.''

And, you know, President Carter was right then, and I have faulted every Democratic and Republican President since President Carter for not doing what he said we needed to do back then, because that was the right thing. And what happened was President Carter made a few recommendations to Congress, and Congress passed a couple little things like the solar panels tax credit and a few other things. But a few months after President Carter talked to the American people, the long lines at the gas pumps went down, and I have said that every American adult in this country got attention deficit disorder and forgot about what he said.

And I wish we had done that back then, and I wish we had done that and had concentrated on that every year since then because we'd be in a whole different position as a Nation on the energy issue right now in this world.

I said, Mr. President, if you would do what President Carter said and appoint, I suggested to him, a commission, a bipartisan group of House Members, a bipartisan group of Senators and some experts on energy production and challenge them, Mr. President, to submit to you within 6 to 8 months a written recommendation of a comprehensive policy for developing energy to make us maybe not totally energy independent but to reduce by 60 percent, say, within 8 to 10 years our dependence on foreign oil, Mr. President, that would improve our national security. Right now, we are so dependent on nations in the Middle East to provide our security, our energy interests to us, that that is a security issue.

I said, Mr. President, I think drilling is an important part of this, but we cannot drill our way out of this problem. We have got to come at this from 40 different directions. I said, Mr. President, Kansas is in the top five States in the Nation in terms of potential for wind energy. We're not going to solve our energy problem by wind energy alone, but it can be a small part of a big solution to this problem. If we come at this from 40 different directions, including conservation, including just all kinds of different productions of energy, we could address this for the American people, and you would be a hero to people in this country.

He said that's a good idea. I'll think about that.

Well, unfortunately, he has got about 4, 5, 6 months left in his administration. I doubt seriously that anything is going to happen there now. He and the Vice President have been good friends, frankly, to oil companies, so I doubt anything is going to happen there now, but after this next Presidential election, whoever is elected, whether it's Obama or McCain, we need to ask him to do what President Carter talked about 34, 35 years ago. That is to appoint a commission. Come back with a national plan for reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

We can drill, but that's not going to solve the problem in itself. If we do what I'm talking about here, what President Carter talked about, I think that would be the right thing for our Nation and the right thing for our world.