Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Maro Dimmer

for her outstanding service and commitment to our community.

For over 27 years Maro and her husband Ed Dimmer have successfully grown Rheinlander bakery in Olde Town Arvada into the community jewel it is today. The bakery operates with the mission to give back to the community by donating 10 percent of its profits for charitable activities. Maro is instrumental in running the bakery's fundraising events, including the annual King Cakes for A Cause, a benefit for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. With the celebration of Rheinlander's 50th year in business, the bakery raised over ten thousand dollars in their Bake Out Hunger Campaign, benefiting the Arvada Community Food Bank. Maro is a huge advocate of small business development and actively mentors bakeries in the Metro Denver area in addition to her own employees, teaching about inventory, margins, marketing and longevity.

I.extend my deepest congratulations to Maro Dimmer for her well deserved honor by the West Chamber serving Jefferson County. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Loretta DiTirro for her outstanding service and commitment to our community.

Loretta is an extremely passionate and persuasive individual, especially when it comes to community. She was instrumental in changing the name of the Wheat Ridge Business Association, to help give more definition to the purpose and future of the group. Loretta ensures that the Wheat Ridge business members are well informed and well connected to the community at large, and she drove the membership from 30 to 200 members. She hosts events in her home to raise money for the Feed the Future Backpack Program, giving back to the children of her community. She opened up her garden for the Inaugural Wheat Ridge Garden Tour, and recruits volunteers for the historic Wheat Ridge Carnation Festival. As an influential leader and organizer, she is a valuable asset to the Wheat Ridge and Jefferson County communities.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Loretta DiTirro for her well deserved honor by the West Chamber serving Jefferson County. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Colleen Jorgensen for her outstanding service and commitment to our community.

Despite facing numerous public education funding cuts, Colleen found a way to launch a campaign to make Red Rocks Community College ``green,'' resulting in reduced paper consumption, in a recycling program, and a boiler system that reduced 30% of carbon emissions. She has translated the value of mentorship into Community Learning Centers, the Gateway program, and a shadowing program for potential Principal Investigators. Colleen stays active in her greater community by serving on numerous boards and area chambers. Colleen's creativity and innovation in education has left a lasting impact on thousands of college students, hundreds of colleagues and the business community.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Colleen Jorgensen for her well deserved honor by the West Chamber serving Jefferson County. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Barbara Scripps for her outstanding service to our community.

In addition to running her own accounting firm in Evergreen for over twenty years, Barbara never hesitates to take the role of the leader on multiple non-profit boards, creating a trajectory to get things done. With her participation, community boards have undergone positive, significant financial changes and growth. As current president of the Evergreen Rotary Club she is helping to implement a fundraising strategy transition. She is a long-serving board member of both Evergreen Country Day School and Mt. Evans Hospice, and she saw the Center for Arts Evergreen through its creation of a visual arts center, and continues to serve on that board. The Colorado CPA Society recognized Barbara with an award as a ``CPA Making A Difference'', based on her strong support for her community.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Barbara Scripps for her well deserved honor by the West Chamber serving Jefferson County. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Ann Demers for her outstanding service to our community.

As a Special Needs teacher in Jefferson County Ann always gave above and beyond. Eventually becoming a school psychologist, she led training for the Second Step Curriculum and was a member of the Crisis Response Team during the Columbine High School tragedy. Ann is involved in her neighborhood, church, and family, organizing community events and service activities. She created a church community service group known as the Red Tent Ladies, and once she started on the Ralston House Board they saw exponential growth. Her spirit and dedication are truly inspiring.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Ann Demers for her well deserved honor by the West Chamber serving Jefferson County. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Michelle Claymore for her outstanding service and commitment to our community.

Michelle Claymore's enthusiasm for Jefferson County's economic vitality is both evident and contagious. She helped set in motion the AddOne campaign, improving the economy one job at a time, and has attracted, expanded and retained employment through her role as the Vice President of the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation for the past 18 years. Michelle's innovative business incentive structure was instrumental in attracting the Coleman Company's corporate headquarters to relocate to Jefferson County in 2011. Understanding the importance of professional development, she started and runs the first nationally accredited economic development training program in Colorado. The program has trained over 200 students so far. Her passion for the county, its businesses and its citizens knows no bounds.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Michelle Claymore for her well deserved honor by the West Chamber serving Jefferson County. I have no doubt she will exhibit the same dedication and character in all her future accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to tell the story of the Montez Family, who live in my congressional district in Colorado.

They live in Arvada, Colorado, and because of the Affordable Care Act, they will now be able to afford health insurance. This is a success story of the Affordable Care Act and of its improving access to quality, affordable health care.

Both Joaquin and Rosalee Montez are employed, but neither of their employers provides coverage to their employees. They have a daughter in college, a 13-year-old son, and a 4-year-old daughter. With rates ranging from $450 to $600 per month, purchasing private insurance was too expensive for the Montez Family, especially with three kids, a house payment, and a car payment. Due to a constrained budget, the only time the kids were receiving health care was when they were ``really, really, really sick,'' and always at an urgent care center. One time after their daughter got E. coli, the Montez Family was stuck with a $17,000 hospital bill.

Thanks to the help of a navigator, they were able to get insurance through the Affordable Care Act, which is a success for this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, first I want to address H.R. 3309, the Innovation Act, which is generally a good bill. It is trying to deal with issues of nuisance litigation where somebody is sued and the costs of litigation are so extreme that they pay money just to stay away from litigation. That is really the underlying purpose of the bill.

Now, what we have got to make sure of as Members of this House and as Members of the legislature is that we don't advantage one party over another. And the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) made a good point, Mr. Speaker, last night at the Rules Committee that you don't want to disadvantage small inventors who have come up with a good idea or a great product, something very novel, and some major corporation takes that idea or that product away and doesn't pay for it. That is the purpose of patent litigation.

At the same time, you don't want to have some small company that buys a Wi-Fi service all of a sudden getting sued by some company they never heard of and they are saying wait a minute, we are not a patent infringer. I say all of this because the purpose is to have good litigation where there isn't extortion and there isn't theft as the result of some patent infringement.

What is done in this bill, I think, though, is micromanagement of the courtroom and its processes. Each of these cases stands and falls on it own merits, and the courts are best equipped to determine their own rules and their own procedures as to how these cases should move forward.

I am generally going to support this. I offered an amendment which was not adopted by the Rules Committee last night to delay until December of 2015 the effect of section 6 of the bill so that the courts could create their own rules and not have the legislature do it; 100 years ago we passed the Rules Enabling Act which allows the courts to set their own procedure which is then overseen by the legislature. That is sort of discarded in this bill, and we create some very specific rules, and I think that is a mistake, and I think we could have some real winners and losers. And I think the small guy, the small inventor, the small purchaser could be in trouble. So I would just suggest to the House and to the Rules Committee that we do look at delaying so that the courts can offer their own procedure.

I do want to address two other things. It has been over 150 days since we started this legislature. We should be dealing with immigration reform. We are not doing that. And I want to finish my story about the Montez family who are from Arvada, Colorado, who could never get affordable insurance and now are able to under the Affordable Care Act.

They have three children. They work two jobs. Neither employer of the mom or dad provides health insurance. Finally, after all these years, they have been able to get health insurance at about $150 using the credits that are available under the

Affordable Care Act and the children's health program that this Congress has passed. These people have health care for the first time in their marriage, which is a couple of decades, and they are very thankful. So this is a good Thanksgiving season for the Montez family of Arvada, Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Sustainable Energy and Environmental Coalition, I rise today to recognize the 1- year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy and remember those who tragically lost their lives as well as those continuing to rebuild from the destruction.

My constituents in Colorado understand the pain that comes with extreme weather events, having recently suffered from devastating and historic flooding and fires. The flooding killed nine people, damaged or destroyed almost 18,000 homes and businesses across the State, damage to our roads and bridges is estimated to be $450 million, and our cities and counties saw over $170 million in infrastructure damage.

Yet floods were not the only severe weather events in Colorado this year. Numerous wildfires and droughts damaged and destroyed property and crops and took lives.

I applaud the President for putting forth his climate action plan in an effort to implement meaningful policies that are slowing the effects of climate change. Congress should take further action to minimize the impacts of these natural disasters and to better understand our weather patterns.

We will and we must work together to rebuild stronger and smarter to better prepare for future natural disasters that are becoming all too common because of the real impacts of climate change.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Dan Thoemke for receiving the 2013 Golden Mayor's Award for Excellence.

This award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the Golden community and is presented to Dan Thoemke for building community and making Golden a better place for all. Dan's contributions in Golden can be seen in many venues including his leadership with the Together Church of Golden, a voluntary group of pastors from all denominations, his work with the Golden Backpack program, Neighborhood Rehab project, City Unite, and as Chaplain for the Golden Police department. Dan is a quiet but powerful leadership force and a role model of excellence in our community.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Dan Thoemke for this well deserved recognition by Mayor Marjorie Sloan and the City of Golden. Thank you for your dedication to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Irwin Joseph (Jim) Kramer on his 80th birthday. There are many ways to serve your fellow man, whether it by through service to one's country, advancing knowledge in a scientific field or by becoming a community leader, and I applaud Mr. Kramer for his great achievements in all of these areas.

Originally from Brooklyn, and a graduate of Brooklyn College, Mr. Kramer joined the United States Air Force and served in the Korean War. His military career eventually brought him to Newfoundland, Canada where he served as a meteorologist.

Mr. Kramer also demonstrated great dedication to the Aurora community after moving and settling down in Colorado. In addition to serving on the board of the Danbury Park Home owners Association, he served on the board of Aurora Mental Health Center and volunteered many hours of this time to the Aurora Mental Health Center. Improving the lives of his friends, family, and even strangers is the cornerstone to his legacy.

Mr. Kramer currently resides happily in Aurora, Colorado with his wife Barbara. He has 3 sons, 3 step sons, 5 daughters in law and 11 grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and applaud Frank Lay for his outstanding service over the years to our community.

Frank's career spans over 57 years in diverse business and political environments. Some of his accomplishments include teaching for seven years at Utah Technical College, 10 years as vice president of the Utah Building Trades and president of the Western Apprenticeship Coordinators Association. Frank's leadership and guidance during his tenure as president of the Utah AFL-CIO had an enormous positive impact on working families. Frank continues to bring the same diligence and compassion to the senior citizens of our community. Frank is a tireless advocate for the issues facing senior citizens and makes sure Colorado legislators, state and federal, are aware of the issues they face.

Though Frank Lay is resigning as president of the Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans, I know he will remain a champion for the community. I am honored to recognize him for his devotion to the middle class, protection of seniors and dedication to the public good. I am sure he will have the same unwavering commitment and enthusiasm to future endeavors. Thank you for your service, Frank.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Hugh King for receiving the 2013 Golden Mayor's Award for Excellence.

This award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the Golden community and is presented to Hugh King, M.D., PhD., for his fourteen- year humanitarian career as co-founder of Namlo International, an organization that enables education and a better quality of life to citizens of Nepal, Nicaragua, the USA, and Spain through five programs--school construction, school improvement, scholarships, sister schools, and sustainable development. Hugh, a full professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, and his co-founder and wife Magda, the first woman from Spain to reach the summit of an 8000 meter peak, founded Namlo with the belief that the key to success is a focus on helping communities take responsibility for their schools.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Hugh King for this well deserved recognition by Mayor Marjorie Sloan and the City of Golden. Thank you for your dedication to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Swiss Flower and Gift Cottage for receiving the 2013 Wheat Ridge Business of the Year Award.

This award recognizes a business that exemplifies the ``Best in Business'' that represents the values of our community.

Swiss Flower and Gift Cottage owner Heidi Haas-Sheard has been conducting business in her building since she was a small child, and in 2012 she decided to educate the community on the multitude of businesses on 44th Avenue from Ward Road to Harlan in Wheat Ridge. She wanted to encourage people to shop local for those things they need and want. It started with a simple idea of pointing out 44 reasons to shop 44th Avenue, including a list of established businesses and a map to reference their locations. She then designed a postcard listing all the businesses on 44th that she provided to each business, thus creating a shared advertising idea. With the assistance of the City of Wheat Ridge and local partners, the vision now includes a website, signage on the bus shelters along the corridor, and a raised awareness of the businesses along 44th Avenue in Wheat Ridge.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Swiss Flower and Gift Cottage for this well deserved recognition by the City of Wheat Ridge and the Wheat Ridge Business Association. Thank you for your dedication to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and applaud Colorado Plus and West 29th Restaurant and Bar for receiving the 2013 Wheat Ridge Reinvestment Award.

This award recognizes businesses that have made a significant investment in their property, improving the overall appearance of the site.

Both Colorado Plus owner Eugene Khang, and West 29th Restaurant and Bar owners Bud and Mary Starker, made huge contributions to the esthetic look of Wheat Ridge over the past few months through the renovation and construction on their two respective businesses.

I extend my deepest congratulations to Colorado Plus and West 29th Restaurant and Bar for this well deserved recognition by the City of Wheat Ridge and the Wheat Ridge Business Association. Thank you for your dedication to our community.