Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, obesity rates for children between the ages of 12 and 19 have more than tripled in the past fifteen years, with 17.6 percent of high school age children now classified as obese. This has a profound impact on the long-term health of our nation, as 80 percent of obese children become obese adults, putting them at a higher risk for diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and other chronic health conditions, and placing an increased long-term burden on our healthcare system. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that children be active for at least 60 minutes five times a week, but statistics show that activity levels drop rapidly as students head into their high school years. Increasing opportunities for adolescents to be physically active will help combat the rise in teenage obesity.

We should provide students with safe, active ways to get to and from school and encourage healthy, active lifestyles and daily exercise at a time when they are seeking independence and cementing lifelong habits that will make them safer and healthier.

This is why I am introducing the Safe Routes to High Schools Act, a bill to expand the popular Safe Routes to Schools program to include high schools. The Safe Routes to Schools program has been extraordinarily successful, with over 4,500 programs across the country, but it currently does not cover high schools. High school students represent a population most likely to suffer from high rates of obesity and also most in need of flexible, independent, and low-cost transportation choices, especially in times of economic crisis. This simple policy change will allow an already successful program to serve the students who need it the most.

I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation to ensure that children of all ages have safe ways to get to school burning calories instead of carbon.

Mr. Chair, I have been dismayed for many years now about the performance of some of our financial institutions in the way they treat our citizens. There are too many examples of recent banking history that reveal too many tales of abuse and greed.

Americans pay around $15 billion in penalty fees every year. Credit card contracts seem to be drafted not to inform, but to confuse. Mysterious fees appear on statements. Payment deadlines shift. Terms change and interest rates rise arbitrarily.

In May, the President signed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act into law, shielding credit cardholders from these widespread abusive practices. That law allowed the credit card companies a grace period to adjust their business practices to the new law. Rather than use this time to prepare for the new consumer protections and procedures, many credit card companies accelerated their aggressively targeted tactics to vulnerable consumers.

In a comprehensive survey of credit card practices, the Pew Charitable Trusts found that in the first half of 2009, credit card rate increases ranged from 13 to 23 percent; that 100 percent of credit cards used practices labeled ``unfair or deceptive'' by the Federal Reserve and none of these cards would meet the standards of the new laws; and that even while the Federal Reserve is promulgating new consumer-oriented standards for penalties, credit card companies are charging substantially higher penalties.

The Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act marks a step forward in bringing consumers badly needed relief by moving up the effective date for nearly all of the credit card reforms to December 1, 2009.

Too many Oregonians, like students and families across the country, are heavily burdened by credit card debt. I support this bill because it requires fair terms and it levels the playing field by increasing consumer protections. Not a moment too soon.

One of the most sad expressions that we heard in this Congress was by John Boehner, the Republican minority leader, March 15, 2009. ``As I told my colleagues, we don't have enough votes to legislate. We are not in the majority. They,'' referring to his Republican colleagues, ``ought to get the idea out of their minds that they are legislators. But what they can be is communicators.''

Madam Speaker, that is an unfortunate misreading of the role of Members of Congress. It is much too narrow and limited, tragically so.

I spent 11 years in the minority in this Congress, and at times I must confess extraordinary frustration on some of what I thought were decidedly wrongheaded policies like the tragic consequences we are seeing played out on Wall Street and in Iraq today. But in the course of those 11 years, I never stopped looking for ways to work cooperatively to find a majority of people on both sides of the aisle to make productive change for America.

Some of my proudest moments were as a member of the minority when we were able to take small, bipartisan steps that made a huge impact. For example, the passage of my Water for the Poor Act, that was bipartisan legislation in both the House and the Senate that now enshrines in Federal policy an active effort to provide safe drinking water and sanitation around the world to save lives, while it improves the role and image of Americans abroad.

There has been described by some commentators, including some of my friends on the other side of the aisle, a ``take no prisoners'' approach. It's disturbing, as one who authored the end-of-life provisions that were hijacked and blatantly lied about to deal with what they called death panels, to see that ``take no prisoner'' approach in action. Well, we exploded that myth and I'm pleased that we do have strong, voluntary end-of-life provisions in the bill to protect the wishes of American families about how their families would be dealt with.

But one of the myths is that this ``take no prisoners'' attitude is just directed towards the Democrats because the consequence of a ``take no prisoner'' attitude might be, if they're successful, destroying our efforts at health care reform, where we have come further than any time in our history. In that case, the prisoners will be the American public that will be sentenced to continuing a process where we have millions uninsured and others who are not protected by the insurance which they are paying for.

Sadly, ``take no prisoners'' has actually affected the minority itself, because this attitude of being dismissive of a constructive role of legislation, being dismissive of the truth, actually has resulted in holding them hostage to the lowest common denominator--the TEA Party, tin-foil-hat people who have a paranoid, limited view of what America is and can be.

In the end, Madam Speaker, America deserves better. I think it will get better. But I sincerely hope that Republicans choose to stop being communicators, especially misrepresenting what we have brought before the American people, roll up their sleeves, and work with us constructively to reform America's broken health care system with costs out of control and coverage too limited.

Madam Speaker, together, we can make progress. Together, we can legislate and work on things where there is a common vision and a common goal. Together, we can make our government work better and our communities more livable and our families safer, healthier, and more economically secure.

I thank Chairman Berman for his courtesy and for the prompt action of the committee. I deeply appreciate the bipartisan support and the quick turnaround that we've had from both sides of the aisle on the committee. It is important to move quickly, and I deeply appreciate putting this on the agenda.

The irreplaceable role of healthy forests as havens for biodiversity, carbon sinks, and renewable resources demands that we fight against and reverse a global legacy of environmental pillaging.

Illegal logging and resource extraction is not just about environmental decimation, with watershed pollution, loss of biodiversity, and increased carbon emissions. It's about human loss as well, the local communities left devastated without resources for survival and for their future and beyond to everyone on the planet. We all benefit

from the medicines, the carbon captures, and species diversity that these forests provide.

For years it's been a personal project of mine to work against the illegal logging trade, to make sure that the United States can lead by example and stop our own demand for illegally logged wood. I was pleased that our Legal Timber Protection Act was incorporated into legislation and signed into law by President Bush last year. The United States Government is now empowered to ask where imported wood and plants actually come from to promote legal harvest. Yet the illegal trade continues.

Last month, with Chairman Payne and Chairman Faleomavaega, I introduced this legislation to condemn the illegal logging and extraction of Madagascar's unique and invaluable natural resources.

As has been pointed out by my two colleagues, Madagascar hosts some of the planet's greatest diversity. It's an island larger than the State of California. It broke off from the African mainland 160 million years ago, thus spawning the biological laboratory that my colleagues referenced, the diversity of plants and animals found nowhere else, massive moths, towering trees. There are more than a hundred species alone of lemurs.

Sadly, the majority of Madagascar's people are trapped in a cycle of poverty, less than $2 a day. That's why the United States did step forward with the first Millennium Challenge program. And protection of these incredible and unique resources, only 10 percent of which remain, could be key to a sustainable and economically secure future.

As has been referenced on the floor, the political turmoil is putting the honest livelihoods of many, as well as our planet's greatest treasure, in extreme peril.

Political instability breeds corruption and mismanagement. Twenty years of partnership with the United States Government and NGOs that has resulted in more effective management and preservation is being undone in a matter of months. The de facto regime is using the endangered resources to boost its regime and has issued sweeping decrees allowing the harvest and export of woods from protected forests and World Heritage Sites.

The reports from Madagascar are dire and detail rampant illegal logging, mining, and resource degradation. Traffickers smuggle out record numbers of the world's rarest tortoises to Asian and European collectors. Poachers kill and roast scores of lemurs for restaurants. Armed loggers brazenly plunder protected forests, looting dwindling hardwood for furniture.

The media has detailed this ongoing destruction. Activities that not only deny access to basic resources to locals, they degrade the country's thriving ecotourism industry which brought in almost $400 million badly needed last year. The United States has condemned the current government, suspended all nonhumanitarian aid, and terminated assistance from the aforementioned Millennium Development Corporation compact.

I am pleased that we will join today with the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, all of whom have denounced this wholesale exploitation of these precious resources.

I am pleased, Mr. Speaker, that we are moving forward. I deeply thank the prompt action and bipartisan support for this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most bizarre assertions from some of our Republican friends from the other side of the aisle is that there is some massive health bill that's being cooked up in secret, that they are being denied knowledge, that they don't know what's going on.

Mr. Speaker, everybody on Capitol Hill who wants to know can find out

what is in the legislation. They can not just go online, but the news accounts, television shows, and trade publications. In fact, yesterday, in the Wall Street Journal it was outlined again.

There are some sticking points yet to be resolved, as those are being debated, they're public knowledge. People know about the public option, options.

Indeed, the notion that somehow we could keep a secret in our little Capitol Hill village of 5,000 compulsive leakers is laughable. Everybody knows that to be the case. If Republicans were still confused or couldn't figure it out themselves they could have just listened to some of their colleagues who were talking about how they disagreed with what was in the bill. They should talk to each other.

Madam Speaker, the challenge for all America, not just the new administration and Congress, but our communities, our businesses, especially American families, is how to revitalize our economy. There is a great deal of contention occasionally here in Washington, D.C. about the best approach, but this problem takes on a new urgency as the experts now tell us that while the economy appears to be recovering, the jobs aren't: A jobless recovery, posing special problems for Americans from coast to coast.

But beyond the problems with the economy, there are serious issues dealing with the state of repair of America; our electrical grid is inadequate and unreliable, too many roads and bridges are in serious disrepair, and there are problems with inadequate or nonexistent sewage collection and leaking water mains. And there is environmental damage in sites from coast to coast with Superfund, brownfields, even unexploded ordnance and military toxics on military defense locations.

The opportunity and the challenge is to combine the problems with the economy with what we need to do to rebuild and renew America. Luckily, this is a solution that is overwhelmingly supported by the vast majority of Americans--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. This is a solution that in times past has been able to bring together people in Congress to deal with the revitalization of our infrastructure.

We have opportunities right now. There is pending a reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act. If Congress acts, and the administration signs it, this could mean 6 million jobs revitalizing transportation from coast to coast, border to border.

I have legislation, House bill 3202, a water trust fund, that would enable communities to deal with serious problems like leaking water mains. We lose 6 billion gallons of water a day, enough to fill Olympic size swimming pools from here to Pittsburgh. Coincidentally this bill can help fix these problems while putting hundreds of thousands of more Americans to work dealing with those problems.

The administration has requested, and we have introduced, legislation to reintroduce the Superfund tax to deal with the problems of Superfunds again that are found in every State of the Union. Left unattended, the pollution actually gets worse and migrates, becoming more expensive to clean up over time. This is an opportunity to solve the environmental problem and return this land to productive use.

This is something that America supports. The time for the Obama administration and this Congress to unite on a vision to rebuild and renew America is now, to enact it into law and provide appropriate funding. This action will pay dividends to Americans for decades to come, making our communities more livable and our families safer, healthier, and more economically secure.

Mr. Speaker, one of the interesting debate points that we are listening to today is the assertion that somehow what we need to do is just allow people to sell insurance across State lines, and that's going to solve all our problems. Well, first of all, you can buy insurance today across State lines. What we don't do is allow somebody who incorporates in a State with very weak protections and minimal provisions to go in and undercut the laws of other States that seek to protect their citizens. You can buy insurance as you see fit. It's just that people who are going to play in a market have to play by the rules, and if somebody cheats, then there is an opportunity to use the local insurance commissioner to protect the consumer.

Under the legislation that we're proposing, the only thing that changes is that for the first time, some of the States that haven't protected their consumers will have higher standards. This is a good thing.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The United States is facing a challenge today in terms of fraying infrastructure from coast to coast. The need to rebuild and renew America has never been more critical; not only to strengthen our economy, to protect our health, to reduce global warming, it's important for our national and international competitiveness.

Mr. Speaker, nowhere is this more important than dealing with long- neglected water infrastructure, because as bad as things are on the surface with problems with our electrical grid, crumbling roads and bridges in poor repair, what is under the surface is an even worse condition. We have 72,000 miles of sewer pipe and water main that are over 80 years of age. Every year there are almost a quarter million water main breaks which cause everything from traffic jams to supply disruptions. Who can forget a few months ago when a main broke on River Road here in metropolitan Washington and they had to send in a helicopter to rescue a stranded motorist?

Water infrastructure problems result in 1.3 million cases of waterborne disease each year, while sewer overflows during rainstorms send raw sewage into our oceans, our bays and our rivers, resulting in an estimated 1.8 to 3.5 million illnesses. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there is a $534 billion gap between our current water investment and the projected needs over the next 20 years, just for water and wastewater.

To deal with that, Mr. Speaker, I have introduced the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act, H.R. 3202. At a time of economic problems for our country, this bill will create between 200,000 and 267,000 new jobs in engineering, construction and related industries. The bill is deficit neutral, attaching small fees to those activities and industries that benefit from clean water or who complicate our need to purify water. It will raise $10 billion in a deficit neutral way.

Because of the need and because of the focused solution of this legislation, H.R. 3202 is supported by a broad cross-section of stakeholders. There are already 19 bipartisan Members of Congress who have signed on, but we have the Associated General Contractors, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the National Utility Contractors Association as just some in the private sector. We have water utilities and government officials, from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the American Public Works Association, the Association of Floodplain Managers. And we have public interest groups, like American Rivers, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, the Clean Water Network and the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

Mr. Speaker, by providing this funding through existing State revolving funds, money will be equitably distributed to all States. We have special provisions to ensure that small rural communities and large urban areas get funding specific to their needs. We can't afford to leave anyone or any community out.

I strongly urge my colleagues to reflect on what we have here in our community in Washington, D.C., and back home in our own districts. Too many of these systems rely on brick and water sewers that date back decades; in some cases centuries. The economy cannot stand it, the health of our communities cannot put up with this neglect, and frankly the pressure on local taxpayers and ratepayers is such that they need and deserve our help.

I strongly urge that my colleagues who haven't yet examined this legislation do so, and that they join the bipartisan support for H.R. 3202, the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

The irreplaceable role of healthy forests as havens for biodiversity, carbon sinks and renewable resources demands that we reverse a global legacy of environmental pillaging. Illegal logging and resource extraction is not just about environmental decimation, with watershed pollution, biodiversity loss and increased carbon emissions, it's about the human loss as well: the local communities left with a culture of violence and corruption devastated without resources for survival, and beyond, to everybody on the planet.

We all benefit from the medicines, carbon capture and species diversity these forests provide. For years, I've worked to eliminate the illegal logging trade. To make sure the United States can lead by example and stop our own use of illegally logged lumber, I authored the Legal Timber Protection Act whose provisions were signed into law last year. The U.S. Government is now empowered to determine where imported wood and plants actually come from to promote legal harvest. Yet the illegal trade continues.

Last Thursday, with Chairmen Payne and Faleomavaega, I introduced a resolution to condemn the illegal logging and extraction of Madagascar's unique and invaluable natural resources. Madagascar hosts some of this planet's greatest diversity. Larger than the State of California, this island nation broke off from the African mainland about 160 million years ago, spawning a biological laboratory with over 150,000 plants and animals found nowhere else in the world: massive moths, towering trees, and a hundred different lemur species. The majority of Madagascar's people live on less than $2 a day, and protection of these incredible and unique resources, only 10 percent of which remain, could be key to a sustainable and economically secure future. Yet political turmoil is putting the honest livelihoods of many, as well as one of our planet's greatest treasures, in extreme peril.

In March, the democratically elected President was ousted by a political rival with the backing of the military, a move which has been condemned by the United States, the African Union and others as a military coup d'etat. That ushered in a collapse of security for these precious treasures as political instability bred further corruption and mismanagement. Twenty years of partnership with the United States and nongovernmental organizations that has resulted in more effective local management and preservation is being undone in a matter of months. The de facto government uses the nation's endangered resources to boost its regime and has issued sweeping decrees allowing the harvest and export of wood from protected forests and World Heritage Sites.

Reports from Madagascar are dire, detailing rampant illegal logging, mining, and resource degradation as detailed in an excellent report in last Friday's Washington Post. Traffickers smuggle record numbers of one of the

world's rarest tortoises to Asian and European collectors; poachers kill and roast scores of lemurs for restaurants; and armed loggers brazenly plunder protected forests, looting dwindling hardwoods for furniture. These activities not only deny locals access to basic resources, they also degrade the country's thriving eco-tourism industry which brought in almost $400 million last year.

The United States has condemned this current government and suspended all nonhumanitarian aid and terminated assistance through a Millennium Development Corporation compact. The World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society have all denounced the subsequent wholesale exploitation of some of the world's most diverse forests and the decimation of the local people's resources and livelihood.

As the World Forestry Congress convenes this week, we have an excellent opportunity to raise awareness to stop rampant illegal logging and the harvesting of species. I am pleased that the United States Forest Service chief specifically referenced our resolution, H. Res. 839, during his address to the Forestry Congress as an example of United States commitment. The international community, all of us, must engage before it's too late for these protected species and do all we can to prevent the irreparable harm caused by illegal logging.

This resolution condemns the ongoing tragedy and calls for the restoration of the rule of law and shows that the Federal Government will fight to help the people of Madagascar protect these resources.

I hope my colleagues will join me in cosponsoring House Resolution 839 so that the House can do its part to stop this outrage.

Madam Speaker, today I am introducing a resolution to comdemn the illegal extraction of Madagascar's unique and invaluable natural resources. I am joined in this effort by Donald Payne, Chair of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, and Eni Faleomavaega, Chair of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment.

Madagascar hosts some of this planet's greatest diversity. Larger than California, this island nation hosts over 150,000 species found nowhere else. The people of Madagascar depend on these incredible and unique resources for survival. Yet, political turmoil is putting the honest livelihoods of many, as well as one of our planet's greatest treasures, in extreme peril.

Reports from Madagascar are dire and detail rampant illegal logging, mining, and resource degradation. This resolution condemns this ongoing tragedy and calls for the restoration of rule of law. It is my hope that calling attention to this issue will spur change.

I appreciate the gentlewoman's courtesy in permitting me to speak on the rule.

I was sitting here waiting to speak on the underlying legislation after the rule is passed because I think it is an important ingredient towards dealing with a serious problem in California that affects us all, but I am compelled to come to the floor to support briefly the rule that is brought before us.

My friend from the other side of the aisle from Texas recently asked, wonders at what point the majority stops blaming the Bush administration. I would hope that at some point the minority looks at a lost decade of Republican stranglehold on reasonable environmental policy, not just for California, but throughout the West, that actually set us back. We're playing catch-up now on things that we should have done for years in water infrastructure and water policy.

Second, the notion that somehow we are wasting water because it flows into the delta and on into the Pacific Ocean, I will tell you, my fishermen in the Pacific Northwest don't think that is a waste. They don't think the smelt--which is a proxy for a collapsing ecosystem that is posing problems throughout the Pacific Northwest on historic fisheries and speaking to other environmental problems--is not a waste.

I find it amusing to hear some people come to the floor and talk about a man-made, government-made drought. For heaven sakes, look at what's happening to the water levels; look at the areas there where they don't even monitor what is happening with groundwater to keep careful control. The California legislature just tied itself into knots unable to advance sensible water policies.

There is a governmental failure all right, a governmental failure that at the Federal Government, the State government, and the local government we haven't dealt meaningfully with these conflicts. Instead we have treated farmers, fishermen, the environment and local communities that rely on these sources, we have treated them shabbily. Well, now with the climate change and persistent drought and the fact that some people aren't going to sit back and take it anymore, it's coming home to roost.

I hope that there is a more spirited and robust discussion about the reality. I hope California gets its act together on a State level.

And I hope that the Federal Government makes up for that lost decade.

We are in a situation now where water is the precious resource for going forward, and what we're seeing here is a blip on the radar screen that is going to be affecting each and every State across the country. We better stop pretending that this drought is somehow government caused. We need to get our act together, get policies in place, protect the environment, be rational and be fair.

Mr. Speaker, I listened to my friend from California say that if we would just allow some of these proposals to come to the floor, they would just be approved without any controversy.

I beg to differ. Suspending the Endangered Species Acts, overturning biops, dealing with issues that have been in the works for years to try and balance the equities would be noticed. It's one of the reasons why the Republicans, when they controlled everything for 6 years, didn't move anything remotely like that.

The American public, Native Americans, hunters and fishermen, the fisheries industry, they rely on some semblance of reality when we are dealing with water policy. I commend the gentleman for bringing forward something that is a constructive solution that can pass and isn't going to be tied up in court for years. That's not going to put people out of work. That's, in fact, going to create jobs. It's going to create water. It's going to reduce the pressure.

Instead, we are hearing our friends from the other side of the aisle ignore

the very real problems that we are facing today. This is not a man-made government-enforced drought. The water isn't there. To overturn minimal protections for the environment, for the fisheries in the Pacific Northwest, for people at the end of these rivers is not a solution that's going to restore water that isn't there.

It's not going to help California that's tied in knots. Its legislature can't even deal with meaningful management of its own groundwater. We have a crisis in this country that is man-made and government created, and that is that we haven't been serious about the management of water resources.

This is going to get worse because of climate change, global warming, and extreme weather events. We are going to be facing things like this in the Pacific Northwest with the disappearing snow pack, more strain on reservoirs, more conflict between cities and towns in rural areas, between wildlife and Native Americans.

We have got to get serious. We have to get serious with legislation like this and being realistic about working together to create a framework for dealing with water policy. Let's roll up our sleeves and do that together. In the meantime, let's not demagog important legislation that will make a difference for water in California now, putting people to work and maybe, just maybe, starting an honest conversation about how we are going to deal with a nationwide water crisis.

Mr. Speaker, providing for the common defense is one of the federal government's most important duties. I take my duty to rigorously review the Defense budget very seriously, supporting defense spending that is smart and sustainable and speaking out against funding that is wasteful or misdirected. As such, I support the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

My first priority remains the protection of our forces already on the ground, including the Oregon National Guard's 41st Combat Brigade, and equipping our military to face current threats. I have been pleased with the Obama administration's willingness to begin a tough review of the U.S. military, requesting additional equipment and healthcare support for our service-men and -women--especially our Guard and Reserve, while requesting cutbacks on outdated programs. Although difficult in the short-term, cutting unnecessary programs to orient our military to face today's threats is the right thing to do and keeps us safer in the long run.

Part of this also involves empowering the military to clean up its widespread environmental legacy. In every state, communities must deal with former training grounds contaminated with live bombs, leftover shells, and leaking chemicals. I'm frankly disappointed that in the past there has been a distinct lack of political will needed to clean up our backyards within our lifetime, and I will continue to support increased Environmental Restoration funding. However, I'm pleased that two bipartisan amendments I offered with my colleague Ginny Brown-Waite remain in this bill. These provisions will increase the transparency of programs responsible for clean-up and require the Department to start thinking strategically about ways to lessen the longer-term health and environmental consequences of war and training. I thank the Chairman and the Committee staff for working with me on these points.

In addition, I am proud to support the inclusion of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention provision in this bill. This bipartisan, long-awaited legislation will help prevent violence and ensure that justice is served for perpetrators of these hateful acts, chipping away at violent intolerance and protecting all our citizens.

I am continually mindful of the fact that today's threats--extremism, economic upheaval, pandemics, and environmental devastation--cannot be addressed by military force alone. In addition to supporting this legislation, I will continue to advocate for national security strategies that also address issues of poverty, intolerance, and mismanagement.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3590) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the record.

In addition, I, along with Ways and Means Ranking

Member Camp, have asked the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation to make available to the public a technical explanation of the bill. The technical explanation expresses the committee's understanding and legislative intent behind this important legislation. It is available on the Joint Committee Web site at www.jct.gov, and is listed under the document number JCX-3909.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 3590, the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act, is about basic fairness for those who serve our country. In June of this year, a constituent contacted me regarding an issue of great concern to his family because they had purchased a home in my district, with the first-time homeowner tax credit. Yet, because of a temporary USAID Foreign Service assignment overseas, they must repay the credit.

This constituent eloquently expressed his frustration and asked my office to help him and the thousands of Foreign Service families like him. The next month I introduced the Call to Service Homebuyer tax credit to protect families in the Foreign Service, intelligence community and military who serve our country away from home. I would note that my friend and colleague, Congressman Kind from Wisconsin, has been working on similar legislation focused on the military, and I deeply appreciate his partnership and coordination in working together to move this expeditiously, and of course that of the Ways and Means leadership, Chairman Rangel, Ranking Member Camp and the Ways and Means staff.

Currently, the credit provides up to $8,000 towards the purchase of a home through November 30 of this year, provided that the home is the primary residence for 36 months afterward. The program has been so successful that the National Association of Realtors estimates that almost 2 million families will file for the credit, and that approximately 350,000 wouldn't have been able to purchase a home without it. But for all its popularity, the credit is inaccessible to many Americans, who, like my constituents and Congressman Kind's, are serving in the military, Foreign Service or intelligence sector. These occupations obviously often require time served abroad, rendering a 36- month commitment to a domestic residence difficult and, in some cases, impossible.

Even now there are hundreds of thousands of men and women who are overseas serving our country on bases and embassies and other posts away from family, friends and community, often in very hazardous circumstances. Those serving our government should not have to choose between their job and their home. This bill protects those called to service, now or in the future, by waiving the recapture time for duty away from home. It also gives a second chance for those who served away from home in 2009 by extending the credit for 1 year. I strongly urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to recognize the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner), the distinguished Chair of the Social Security Subcommittee of Ways and Means, for 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to recognize the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), a tireless champion of veterans with whom I've been pleased to work with on this legislation, for 3 minutes.

It is my privilege to yield 2 minutes to a tireless member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

It is my pleasure to recognize for 2 minutes a gentleman who often shares his insights about military families, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge).

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to recognize for 2 minutes a gentleman who's been long active on this issue, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kagen).

At this time I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to a tireless champion of Las Vegas, the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

I would express my appreciation to Mr. Camp and his team for helping move this legislation through in a bipartisan and expeditious fashion.

I would conclude, Mr. Speaker, by saying you have heard today strong testimony from people on both sides of the aisle why this legislation is important. Over the course of the last 6 months I've had an opportunity to make it personal in terms of Oregonians: people in the Peace Corps, in the Foreign Service in Swaziland, in China, in Mozambique, who are posted overseas but for whom their roots are still here. We want to make sure that it makes a difference for them.

Likewise, in Oregon we have significant deployment of our 41st Brigade of the Oregon National Guard who will be serving in Iraq and scheduled to not return until the spring of 2010. It's personal for all of these people.

It's a pleasure to see the rapid response to respond to the needs of these Americans serving abroad.

I note that this legislation is endorsed by The American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Realtors, the National Military Family Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

I strongly urge my colleagues to add their support to this bill and give the men and women who serve our country the same opportunity as other Americans to own a home.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy. I reflect on what the distinguished majority leader just said. I agree with much of what he advanced. But my concern, I guess, is that what we have done is symbolic of how we have sort of jerry-rigged a system.

We have the entire burden fall upon 27 percent of the population, some of whom perhaps can afford it, others who may not; and we are at a time when there is great stress on a number of these 27 percent. They will bear the entire burden.

I would hope that this would be the last time that we are dealing with a fix of this nature that is surgical, trying to deal with the inherent complexity that we have.

One of the reasons I am supporting comprehensive health care reform and Medicare modernization is so that we can tease out these anomalies; that we can provide an underpinning for all--not just our seniors citizens--but for all our citizens.

I agree this is suboptimal, but from my vantage point, this is the best that we can do in an unpleasant situation.