Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act. I would like to thank my colleague and fellow co-chair of the bipartisan Alzheimer's Task Force, Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey, for continuing to partner with me on this important legislation.

An estimated 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and one in ten individuals has a family member with the disease. Unless science finds a way to prevent or cure it, nearly 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease by the year 2050. Additionally, in 2005, Medicare spent $91 billion for the care of individuals with Alzheimer's disease, and this amount is projected to increase to $160 billion in 2010.

While we have made great progress in the battle against Alzheimer's, more needs to be done to combat this devastating disease. This bill will increase the federal commitment to Alzheimer's research and prevention and offer assistance for caregivers.

Our bill contains urgently needed increases in National Institutes of Health funding for Alzheimer's disease research, prevention initiatives, clinical research support, public education programs and innovative approaches to Alzheimer's care. Assistance to caregivers is included in this legislation with the establishment of an Alzheimer's Call Center offering advice and care consultation. It also authorizes the director of the National Institute on Aging to make grants or conduct clinical, social and behavioral research related to interventions designed to help caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Madam Speaker, the best way to fight this disease and reduce the number of patients who suffer from Alzheimer's disease is to find ways to prevent it before it starts. Investments we make now in Alzheimer's disease and aging research could lead to longer, healthier lives for Americans and significantly lower costs to the federal government. Congress must act now to strengthen the federal commitment to preventing Alzheimer's disease and assisting those who give care to the victims of this disease.

I look forward to continue working with my colleagues on this important issue throughout the legislative process.

Madam Speaker, I rise to join in celebrating the career of Pope Barrow, who is stepping down as House Legislative Counsel.

I have served in this House since 1976, and I have known and worked closely with Pope Barrow throughout my 33 years in this body.

Pope is a true professional--for the last 40 years he has been the House's very own Pontiff of Paper, performing miracles in translating Members' ideas and concepts into well-crafted bills, amendments, and resolutions. He began his career in the Office of Legislative Counsel in 1968, and in 1997 he was appointed to serve as the Sixth House Legislative Counsel since that office was first created in 1918. Today, Pope Barrow leaves his post as head of the Office, and I and many other Members and staff who have worked with him over the years will miss him.

Over the years, Pope has assisted hundreds of Members and their staffs in the drafting of a wide range of legislation. He helped to draft the War Powers Act; he drafted education laws, tax laws, and pension laws. But, it is really in the field of Energy and Environmental law that Pope has made his mark.

Pope helped draft the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Superfund law, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, various amendments to the Federal Power Act. He has worked on each and every omnibus energy bill of the last three decades, including the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. In intervening years, he has worked on other smaller energy bills that are too numerous to mention.

Pope Barrow has also spent years drafting public lands, mining, parks and recreation laws. He was, for example, the principal draftsman of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, which passed under former Representatives Mo Udall and Phil Burton's leadership. He drafted the Alaskan Lands Act with Mo Udall and former Representative John Seiberling.

Just a few days ago, Pope stood on the floor of this House as we took up the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security bill. Like so many other energy and environmental bills before it, this was a bill drafted in part by Pope Barrow, and the other attorneys he has trained and mentored. But, Pope and his colleagues also drafted many of the amendments offered to the bill by the bill's opponents. For that is the duty of the lawyers that this House has chosen to serve as our legislative scriveners. They must serve all of the Members of this House, regardless of party and regardless of position. They must maintain the confidentiality of their contacts with various Member and Committee offices. They must remain neutral as to issues of legislative policy.

Pope and his colleagues in the Office of Legislative Counsel are truly a national treasure. They work very hard to make sure that the bills, resolutions and amendments that we offer are as clearly written, as understandable, and as reflective of legislative intent as is humanly possible. He and his colleagues work long hours, nights, and sometimes weekends, and for some very demanding clients. They truly are public servants. We simply could not do our job around here without their assistance.

When I think of a markup in the Energy and Commerce Committee, or in the Natural Resources Committee, I think of Pope Barrow sitting down at the Counsel's table, ready to assist the Members as we work our way through whatever legislation is before us. Pope, we will miss you down at your usual spot in the counsel's chair.

But we also know that Pope Barrow does have interests outside of the office. Over the years, Pope has been an active whitewater kayaker who has paddled rapids across the country and all around the world. While he still kayaks, Pope reports that it has been years since he has run the Class V waterfalls at Great Falls on the Potomac.

Pope is also an avid sailor, who has sailed up and down the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Key West, and who has sailed across the Atlantic and all around the Mediterranean. In fact, on one ill-fated sailing expedition back in the 1970s, Pope and his father capsized their boat off the coast of Florida in a bad storm and spent several hours in the ocean before floating ashore.

Pope, we salute your service to this House of Representatives. We thank you for all that you have done for the hundreds of Members and thousands of staffers you have done work for. We wish you all the best as you leave this People's House to enjoy your retirement. Please keep an eye on the weather reports for squalls, check those river gauges, and keep both your paddling gear ready for the river and your sailboat ready for sea. Best wishes to you and to your family as you embark on the next chapter of your life.

Madam Speaker, I rise to join in celebrating the career of Pope Barrow, who is stepping down as House Legislative Counsel.

I have served in this House since 1976, and I have known and worked closely with Pope Barrow throughout my 33 years in this body.

Pope is a true professional--for the last 40 years he has been the House's very own Pontiff of Paper, performing miracles in translating Members' ideas and concepts into well-crafted bills, amendments, and resolutions. He began his career in the Office of Legislative Counsel in 1968, and in 1997 he was appointed to serve as the Sixth House Legislative Counsel since that office was first created in 1918. Today, Pope Barrow leaves his post as head of the Office, and I and many other Members and staff who have worked with him over the years will miss him.

Over the years, Pope has assisted hundreds of Members and their staffs in the drafting of a wide range of legislation. He helped to draft the War Powers Act; he drafted education laws, tax laws, and pension laws. But, it is really in the field of Energy and Environmental law that Pope has made his mark.

Pope helped draft the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Superfund law, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, various amendments to the Federal Power Act. He has worked on each and every omnibus energy bill of the last three decades, including the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. In intervening years, he has worked on other smaller energy bills that are too numerous to mention.

Pope Barrow has also spent years drafting public lands, mining, parks and recreation laws. He was, for example, the principal draftsman of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, which passed under former Representatives Mo Udall and Phil Burton's leadership. He drafted the Alaskan Lands Act with Mo Udall and former Representative John Seiberling.

Just a few days ago, Pope stood on the floor of this House as we took up the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security bill. Like so many other energy and environmental bills before it, this was a bill drafted in part by Pope Barrow, and the other attorneys he has trained and mentored. But, Pope and his colleagues also drafted many of the amendments offered to the bill by the bill's opponents. For that is the duty of the lawyers that this House has chosen to serve as our legislative scriveners. They must serve all of the Members of this House, regardless of party and regardless of position. They must maintain the confidentiality of their contacts with various Member and Committee offices. They must remain neutral as to issues of legislative policy.

Pope and his colleagues in the Office of Legislative Counsel are truly a national treasure. They work very hard to make sure that the bills, resolutions and amendments that we offer are as clearly written, as understandable, and as reflective of legislative intent as is humanly possible. He and his colleagues work long hours, nights, and sometimes weekends, and for some very demanding clients. They truly are public servants. We simply could not do our job around here without their assistance.

When I think of a markup in the Energy and Commerce Committee, or in the Natural Resources Committee, I think of Pope Barrow sitting down at the Counsel's table, ready to assist the Members as we work our way through whatever legislation is before us. Pope, we will miss you down at your usual spot in the counsel's chair.

But we also know that Pope Barrow does have interests outside of the office. Over the years, Pope has been an active whitewater kayaker who has paddled rapids across the country and all around the world. While he still kayaks, Pope reports that it has been years since he has run the Class V waterfalls at Great Falls on the Potomac.

Pope is also an avid sailor, who has sailed up and down the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Key West, and who has sailed across the Atlantic and all around the Mediterranean. In fact, on one ill-fated sailing expedition back in the 1970s, Pope and his father capsized their boat off the coast of Florida in a bad storm and spent several hours in the ocean before floating ashore.

Pope, we salute your service to this House of Representatives. We thank you for all that you have done for the hundreds of Members and thousands of staffers you have done work for. We wish you all the best as you leave this People's House to enjoy your retirement. Please keep an eye on the weather reports for squalls, check those river gauges, and keep both your paddling gear ready for the river and your sailboat ready for sea. Best wishes to you and to your family as you embark on the next chapter of your life.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Innovation and Research Act.

I must oppose this bill because I have serious concerns about changes made in the bill to the SBIR program that would allow SBIR awards to go to an unlimited number of businesses owned or controlled by Venture capital (VC) firms. The SBIR program, responsible for over 60,000 patents, has always focused on innovation from truly small businesses for whom commercial capital market funding is typically not an option. However, with the change made in this bill, the SBIR program would be wide open to applicants that already are well-capitalized due to VC participation, crowding out the small businesses that have been the focus of the highly successful SBIR program.

When the Rules Committee met yesterday, I offered an amendment to H.R. 2965 along with my colleagues Representative Tsongas, Representative Welch, and Representative Hodes which would have resolved two major problems with H.R 2965 that undermine the intent of the SBIR program.

The amendment we offered would have:

1. Allowed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to direct up to 15% of its SBIR budget to majority venture backed businesses and allow every other federal agency to direct up to 5 percent of its SBIR budget to majority venture backed businesses. In this way, our amendment provided a sensible balance between the prohibition on VC participation, which is the current law, and enabling, without limitation, the participation in the SBIR program of businesses that are owned or controlled by VC firms. The safeguards included in our amendment were based on the recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and Government Accountability Office (GAO).

2. Increased SBIR Phase I and Phase II awards to $150,000 and $1,000,000 respectively. This increase recognized the need to boost award size due to inflation, but did not increase the award size to such an extent that there will be fewer overall awards available.

While I support VC participation in the SBIR program--and our amendment specifically provided for it--enabling an unlimited amount of large VC majority-owned firms to qualify for SBIR funding calls into question whether this program, intended for genuinely small businesses, is, in fact, still focused on these firms.

Our amendment provided a needed compromise that recognized the importance of venture capital and recognized the need to hold central truly small business innovation.

Unfortunately, our amendment was not made in order by the Rules Committee. Without the protections in our amendment, we run the risk of taking the ``Small'' out of the Small Business Research Innovation Program.

At a time when our national unemployment rate is at 9.5 percent, we should do everything in our power to strengthen small businesses that generate 70 percent of new jobs in our country. H.R 2965 does not do enough to ensure that small businesses are the focus of the SBIR program, and therefore I cannot support the bill.

Madam Speaker, the resolution that I am introducing today with the gentlewoman from Massachusetts, Ms. Tsongas, honors the Minute Man National Historical Park in Massachusetts on its upcoming 50th anniversary. Since being established in September 1959, the Minute Man National Historical Park has played a vital role in protecting and preserving the historic sites in the towns of Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, where the American Revolution began. As the July 4th holiday approaches, it is fitting that we also have the opportunity to recognize Minute Man for its critical role in educating millions of Americans about the ideals of freedom and democracy that were embodied in the American Revolution and are the cornerstones of our Nation.

The Minute Man National Historical Park recognizes the people, places and events that have become enduring symbols of our shared American values. The park includes many important sites and landscapes along the historic 22-mile route from Boston to Concord, known as the ``Battle Road'' where British soldiers and American militia first clashed on April 19, 1775. The park includes the famed North Bridge in Concord, MA, where American militia were first ordered to return British fire. This heroic action was commemorated by the great American laureate Ralph Waldo Emerson in ``The Concord Hymn'' as ``the shot heard round the world.'' The park commemorates Paul Revere's ``midnight ride'' on the night of April 18, 1775, to raise the alarm for the residents of Concord, Massachusetts, that the British were marching to destroy military stockpiles.

The Minute Man National Historical Park continues to serve as a vital and enduring educational resource not only to the American people, but also to people all around the globe. The Minute Man National Historical Park plays a vital role in protecting these special places in Massachusetts where the fight for our democracy began and providing a true benefit to our Nation.

I thank the gentleman from California, and I thank him and his staff for the outstanding leadership and vision which he has provided on this legislation. This is the culmination of a career of work for the gentleman from California, and it is my honor to have been allowed to partner with him in order to construct this legislation that we bring to the floor here today.

I want to thank, as the gentleman from California has noted, the other Members who have worked on this legislation: Mr. Dingell, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Green, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Rush. So many Members, including Members off the committee like Henry Cuellar from the State of Texas who worked with us on natural gas-related issues. We would not be here unless we had the cooperation of so many Members across the full spectrum of the House.

During this process, we have received valuable input and expertise from other leaders in the House, like Chairman Rangel on trade issues, Chairman Peterson on agriculture issues, amongst, again, many others.

The legislation we have before us today is the most important energy and environment legislation to ever have been considered in the history of the United States. The consequences for our country are great unless we act to deal with these issues.

This legislation sets a new course for our country, creating millions of new, clean-energy jobs while reducing our dependence upon imported oil. And when it becomes law, and it will, for the first time in the history of the United States Congress, for the first time in the history of our country, we will put enforceable limits on global warming pollution.

At its core, however, this is a jobs bill. It will create millions of new, clean-energy jobs in whole new industries with incentives to drive competition in the energy marketplace. It sets ambitious and achievable standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass so that by 2020, 20 percent of America's energy will be clean.

It saves consumers money by updating efficiency standards for new buildings, appliances, and lighting systems. It invests $10 billion a year in energy efficiency programs in States across this country.

And it starts the much-needed process of making our electric grid a smart grid so we can plug in the hybrid and electric cars of the future into an advanced, efficient energy network that by the year 2030 we will be raising a generation of children who know not how to receive gasoline at a gasoline station but, rather, by plugging their cars into a plug so that the electricity that we are generating ensures that those vehicles are being run for the benefit of our people.

This is a revolution. This is a moment in history. This is what the American people were calling for in the election of 2008, a fundamental change that breaks our dependence upon imported oil, creates millions of new jobs, reduces the amount of pollution that we send up into the atmosphere, and points us in a new direction in our country that breaks with the pattern of cyclical dependence on imported oil coming from OPEC that holds our Nation hostage.

I urge an ``aye'' vote on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2454, the Waxman- Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act.

I want to start by thanking the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and my partner in this legislation, Henry Waxman. He and I and our staffs have worked tirelessly on this bill, and his leadership, patience and fortitude have been remarkable.

And I want to thank all of my Energy and Commerce colleagues, especially Rick Boucher, John Dingell, Mike Doyle, Jay Inslee, Gene Green, GK Butterfield, Bart Stupak and so many others. And special thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her outstanding leadership on these issues since she became Speaker.

And during this process we have received valuable input and expertise from other leaders in the House like Chairman Rangel on trade issues and Mr. Peterson on agriculture issues.

The legislation we have before us today is the most important energy and environmental

legislation in the history of our country. It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy.

It will create millions of new clean energy jobs while reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

And when it becomes law, it will, for the first time in the history of the United States Congress, put enforceable limits on global warming pollution.

I also want to take time to commend my colleague John McHugh for his outstanding leadership on acid rain and air pollution control.

His state and my state both share a common problem of transported air pollution which falls in New York and New England as acid rain.

John McHugh has worked tirelessly to protect public health and the environment from the deleterious effects of air pollution, especially the problems of acid rain and toxic mercury pollution.

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases must be done immediately to stop global warming, but we must also continue to reduce emissions of NOX SOX and mercury.

The technologies that we will use to reduce global warming pollution will also reduce other pollutants that kill our citizens and damage our environment.

We need to get the programs, including the Clean Air Interstate Rule and facility-specific mercury regulations, back on track.

Representative McHugh has introduced H.R. 1841, legislation that would help protect public health and fight acid rain.

That legislation describes well the problems we face today in fighting acid rain, soot and smog and sets forth thoughtful solutions to those problems. I agree with the gentleman that:

(1) reductions of atmospheric sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from utility plants, in addition to the reductions required under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), are needed to reduce acid deposition and its serious adverse effects on public health, natural resources, building structures, sensitive ecosystems, and visibility; (2) sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide contribute to the development of fine particulates, suspected of causing human mortality and morbidity to a significant extent; (3) regional nitrogen oxide reductions of 75 percent in the Eastern United States, in addition to the reductions required under the Clean Air Act, may be necessary to protect sensitive watersheds from the effects of nitrogen deposition; (4) since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were enacted, some acidic lakes in the Adirondacks in the State of New York have started to slowly show chemical recovery from acid rain, demonstrating that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide regulations can be implemented in a cost-effective manner, but the recovery is progressing at a slower rate than originally intended; (5) nitrogen oxide is highly mobile and can lead to ozone formation hundreds of miles from the emitting source; (6) on March 10, 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) to require additional reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in 28 Eastern States and the District of Columbia; (7) these reductions represent approximately a 70 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide and a 60 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide in the affected States; (8) on July 11, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated CAIR and on December 23, 2008, the same court remanded the rule back to the EPA without vacature; (9) fossil fuel-fired electric generating units emit approximately 1/3 of the total mercury emissions in the United States; (10) mercury is considered a neurotoxin which can bioaccumulate as it moves its way up the food chain and is especially harmful to young children and developing fetuses; (11) according to the EPA, there were 3,080 fish advisories for mercury in 2006; there are over 90 fish advisories for mercury in New York alone, with blanket warning for the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains; (12) on March 15, 2005, EPA issued the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), which for the first time sought to regulate mercury emissions from power plants, but used a less restrictive cap-and-trade approach for this very harmful substance and would take a full decade to implement; (13) on February 8, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated CAMR; and (14) on February 23, 2009, the Supreme Court denied a request to reconsider the decision.

This bill includes a study on the effects of different carbon reduction strategies on reducing emissions of NOX, SOX and mercury. Such a study will ensure that as we move to control greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from coal fired power plants that emit mercury, NOX and SOX, we do not lose the opportunity to implement the most cost effective ways of controlling soot, smog and mercury.

This is exactly the type of very thoughtful work that John McHugh has done during his many years in Congress to protect public health and fight acid rain and I am proud to stand beside this champion of environmental protection as we move to pass this legislation.

At its core, this is a jobs bill. It will create millions of new, clean energy jobs in whole new industries with incentives to drive competition in the energy marketplace.

It sets ambitious and achievable standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal and biomass, so that by 2020, 20 percent of America's energy will be clean.

It saves consumers money by updating efficiency standards for our new buildings and the appliances and lighting systems we use. It invests $10 billion a year in energy efficiency programs in states across the country.

And it starts the much-needed process of making our electric grid a Smart Grid, so we can plug in the hybrid and electric cars of the future into an advanced, efficient, domestically-powered energy network that will give consumers more control of their power bill.

It makes nearly $200 billion in investments in clean energy technologies, including $20 billion in vital clean energy research and development.

And it does all this while nearly doubling the size of the economy by 2030, remaining budget neutral, and costing the average American family less than a postage stamp a day--a small price to pay as we transition off foreign oil once and for all.

By bringing competition and efficiency back to the energy marketplace, Waxman-Markey will deliver consumer savings. America's low-income families will actually benefit by $40 a year in 2020, and the energy efficiency policies alone will save American families more than $200 every year by 2030.

This bill address a technological imperative to lead on clean energy, the economic imperative to compete in a global clean energy race, and the moral imperative to protect our planet and the rights of all to live and prosper for generations to come.

This bill has the goals of the moon landing, the moral imperative of the Civil Rights Act, and the scope of the Clean Air Act, wrapped up in one.

I believe this is the most important vote we will take in our lives. The entire world is watching us. Our children and grandchildren are watching us. We have a choice to make and the fate of the planet hangs in the balance.

We cannot afford to be governed by fear and cling to the failed policies that have brought us to this crisis. As the President said yesterday: ``We cannot be afraid of the future, and we can't be prisoners of the past.''

Scientists say that global warming is a dangerous man-made problem.

Today we are saying clean energy will be the American-made solution.

This is an historic bill. This is a historic vote. This is a historic choice.

I urge my colleagues to support the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act. Vote ``aye.''

I yield further.

We would like to reserve at this time.

Parliamentary Inquiry

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) for 1 minute.

(Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I continue to reserve.

I would object, but ask the gentleman to yield to me if he would.

I reserve the right to object.

The manager's amendment, which I think is what is of concern to him, is on the Rules Committee Web site that can be accessed right now, and has been there and available for any Member or any citizen of the United States to be able to read. It is on the Web site.

In the Cloakroom there is access to it. We have these similar technological capacities in our cloak room, yes.

It is also available at the desk.

I continue to reserve my right to objection, there is a copy up there on the Speaker's podium at the desk.

It is not missing the 300 pages. They are all up there. Everything you are looking for is up there next to the Speaker, and it is available on the Rules Committee Web site for anyone and everyone to have access to. But it is sitting right up there. The 300 pages are right up there.

I would have to object at this time because the actual document is sitting there right now, and has been sitting there, as it has been on the Web site for the entirety of this debate.

I do object, yes.

Parliamentary Inquiry

I continue to reserve.

I continue to reserve.

Parliamentary Inquiry

I continue to reserve.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

With our bill, we will take back America's position as the technological leader, give back money to consumers by lowering energy bills, send back the millions of barrels of oil we import from foreign dictators every day, and we will export wind turbines and solar panels that say ``Made in America'' instead of continuing to import millions of barrels of oil a day that say ``Made by OPEC.''

This bill has the ambition of the Moon landing, the moral imperative of the Civil Rights Act, and the scope of the Clean Air Act all wrapped up in one. All we are hearing here this evening are the same discredited policies from the past that have gotten us into this economic national security and environmental situation that we live with today.

Vote ``no'' on this substitute and vote ``aye'' for the bill that we are considering. The gentleman from California has done an excellent job in bringing us to this point.

Vote ``no'' on this substitute.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I thank everyone who worked on this legislation, all of the Members on both sides of the aisle. But as Chairman Waxman just said, this took an enormous amount of work by a lot of staffers over a sustained, intense period of time. And I want to thank all of you for everything that you have done to make today possible.

I think you really do deserve a round of applause for the tremendous work that you have done. It is your victory as much as any Member, and we thank you for it.

I would like to thank Joel Beauvais, Michael Goo, Danielle Baussan, Ana Unruh-Cohen. I would also like to thank Michal Freedhoff, Morgan Gray, Jonathan Phillips, Eban Burnham- Snyder, Jackie Chenault, Jeff Sharp, Ali Brodsky, Camilla Bausch, and especially Gerry Waldron and Jeff Duncan, along with Shannon Kenny, who is still sitting over there as well.

All of you were fantastic, and it's just a historic achievement. We thank you all so much for everything that you do.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Perkins School for the Blind on being recognized by the Library of Congress as the 2008 Talking Book Library of the Year.

The Perkins School for the Blind, the first school for the blind in the United States, began with its founding over 175 years ago. Within a few short years, Perkins became known for its effective instructional techniques, including teaching Laura Bridgman, the first known deaf blind person to be educated. Perkins School is also responsible for nurturing the talents of Helen Keller, who came to Perkins on her way to breaking down barriers and perceptions about what people who are blind or deaf blind can accomplish.

Since first joining Congress, I've held the deep belief that there is no reason why anyone living in our country should not have equal opportunity to the literary genius of our nation and world. This belief, has led me to support efforts like that of the Perkins School, which always innovate with accessibility in mind.

The Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library, for over 174 years, has distinguished itself as a leader in providing innovative literary accessibility to those amongst us with visual and other disabilities.

In 2008, the Perkins School Braille and Talking Book Library circulated over 442,935 book and magazines, served 22,814 borrowers, and loaned over 5,000 play machines and accessories. The great staff of the Perkins School researched 13,164 title inquiries and found over 89 percent of those titles in an accessible format.

The Perkins School for the Blind should be commended for their tremendous effort to educate not only those with visual and other disabilities, but all of us. Because of the work of institutions like the Perkins School for the Blind, millions of individuals actively learned that with training and opportunity, those with visual and/or other disabilities can attain self-sufficiency and independently thrive throughout their lives.

Madam Speaker, I'm proud to congratulate the Perkins School for the Blind.

Madam Speaker, today I am introducing legislation with the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Van Hollen, and the gentleman from Vermont, Mr. Welch, in order to provide relief for American consumers at the pump in the short term and save taxpayer dollars. Last summer, gas prices soared to record highs above $4 per gallon. This year, American consumers are beginning to experience a bad case of deja vu. Incredibly, today marks the 50th straight day that gas prices have risen. As a result, prices at the pump have already increased by more than one dollar a gallon since the beginning of the year. For American families who are already struggling through a down economy, these rising prices are hitting especially hard.

The Enhanced Supply and Price Reduction Act of 2009, or Enhanced SPR Act, directs the Secretary of Energy to sell 70 million barrels of light sweet crude--less than 10 percent of the total oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)--and replace it with heavy crude oil over a period of five years. Swapping oil from the SPR has a proven record of lowering oil prices in the short term. In 1991, when President Bush's father deployed oil from the reserve, oil prices fell 33.4 percent in two days. In 2000, President Clinton conducted a time exchange of oil from the SPR and prices again immediately dropped by 18.7 percent. And in 2005, when President Bush himself released oil following Hurricane Katrina, prices fell 9.1 percent. That's an average drop in the price of oil of 19.2 percent.

In addition, this legislation would implement a number of recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to better use taxpayer funds. First, swapping a small percentage of light oil in the reserve for heavier crude has been recommended by the GAO to save taxpayers money. Replacing a small percentage of light oil currently in the reserve with heavy oil would also better match up with the needs of our nation's refineries and protect us against supply disruptions from unstable countries such as Venezuela.

The legislation would also implement GAO's recommendation to purchase a constant dollar value rather than constant volume of oil to fill the SPR in the future. In testimony before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming last year, GAO testified that if the Department of Energy had taken this approach between 2001 and 2005, it would have saved American taxpayers nearly $600 million or roughly 10 percent cost to fill the SPR during that period. Finally, the bill would authorize the Secretary to purchase and store refined petroleum product in the SPR in order to further enhance our national security.

The House has already voted in support of similar legislation in the last Congress in an

overwhelming, bipartisan fashion. The SPR is currently filled to roughly 99.5 percent of its capacity--its highest level ever. As we work to enact comprehensive energy and climate change legislation, Congress should take action to provide relief at the gas pump in the short term. The Enhanced SPR Act represents a common sense approach to reducing pressure on consumers while saving taxpayers dollars.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act. I would like to thank my colleague and fellow co-chair of the bipartisan Cystic Fibrosis Caucus, Mr. Cliff Stearns of Florida, for working with me on this important legislation.

Approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States have cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic lung disease for which there is no cure. In my home state of Massachusetts, nearly 800 families are affected by this horrible disease.

In the three years since we founded the bipartisan Congressional Cystic Fibrosis Caucus, I am proud to say that we have steadily increased the Caucus' membership and currently have 138 members, many of whom are joining us today as original cosponsors of this important bill.

Cystic fibrosis affects parents, who awaken in the middle of the night so they can pound on their child's chest to clear the abnormally thick, sticky mucus that makes breathing difficult. It affects their children, who cough and wheeze and are at constant risk for life- threatening lung infections. And it affects their loved ones, who want the child to have a healthy life but have to worry about the unpleasant alternative of a shortened life expectancy marked by frequent visits to the hospital.

But there is hope for these families. We are in a time of tremendous opportunity and hope in medical research. In the 1950s, children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis usually did not live long enough to enter kindergarten. Back then, there were no drugs for people with cystic fibrosis. Today, through advances in medical research, four respiratory drugs have been brought to market and the median age of survival is about 37 years.

These advances would not have been made without the important clinical research conducted by dedicated doctors and scientists from all around the world. In fact, there are more than 30 cystic fibrosis therapies currently in some stage of clinical trial research. Unfortunately, because cystic fibrosis affects a small population, many of these trials are having difficulties recruiting patients.

The Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act is designed to increase access to clinical trials for patients of rare diseases, like cystic fibrosis, by modifying Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility rules. In accordance with established ethical standards, many clinical trials offer compensation for patient participation. Current eligibility rules for SSI count such compensation as income, making some individuals suffering from rare diseases ineligible for SSI benefits because compensation for participation in the trial would put their income over the SSI eligibility threshold. This forces patients to choose between participating in important clinical trials and keeping their SSI benefits--a cruel choice no one should ever have to make.

Our bill will encourage patients suffering from rare diseases to participate in promising clinical research that may lead to cures, better treatments, and ultimately, saved lives, without having to worry that they could lose the SSI benefits they depend on.

You know, they say that the most powerful four-letter word in the English language is HOPE.

Hope . . . that we can raise awareness of the families struggling with cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases.

Hope . . . that, through research, we will find better treatments and ultimately a cure.

Hope . . . that our children will have to turn to the history books to learn what cystic fibrosis was.

This bill will give hope to more patients who suffer from CF that they can access innovative therapies that could some day cure them of this dreadful disease.

I urge my colleagues to cosponsor and support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great sadness to address the horrible attack which took place yesterday afternoon at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum here in Washington. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, who was killed yesterday in the line of duty while heroically performing the job to which he had dedicated himself-- protecting innocent people. The Museum is appropriately closed today in his honor, with flags flown at half mast in memory of this brave and selfless man.

We sometimes have a tendency to slip into a false sense of security and denial when we hear about violence and internecine strife around the world. ``That won't happen here'', we assure ourselves, ``We have moved beyond that.'' But every so often we are painfully reminded that even in this country of freedom and opportunity there are those who would seek to do harm to their neighbors, deny the Holocaust and spew hateful and racist speech designed to divide us.

Of course, our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors were stunned by yesterday's shooting, as it took place in the very hallowed space that our country has dedicated in memoriam to one of the greatest crimes in history, the Holocaust. It is especially saddening that this sacred place, a monument devoted to peace and the prevention of bigotry and crimes against humanity, was defiled in such a tragic manner.

For many Jewish Americans, yesterday's attacks surely summoned up thoughts about other crimes against Jews throughout history, both here in the United States and elsewhere. Of course, we can never forget that Israel itself has faced intense and continuing security threats since its inception over 60 years ago. American Jews are an integral part of the fabric of American society, and irrational actions such as yesterday's attack should serve as an opportunity to bring the American family closer together.

The man who opened fire yesterday at the Holocaust Museum reportedly has been a longtime adherent to a twisted white supremacist ideology. The perverse logic that says the human race is divided and segmented between superior and inferior genetic groups not only runs contrary to our founding concept--''all men are created equal''--it is in fact a cancer upon our society. Ideologies that would place one group of us above others are an affront to the core values that our society was created to defend.

At this moment in our history, when we are confronted by incredible difficulties, we are also filled with hope. We recently witnessed the election to our highest office a man whom at the time of our nation's founding would not even have been permitted to cast a vote. We have seen increasing numbers of women and minorities serving at the highest levels of our government. These developments give us hope, even in the dark moments such as yesterday's murderous attack.

I also would like to note that students from my home state of Massachusetts were in the Holocaust Museum yesterday when the gunman opened fire. I commend the Museum staff and the school chaperones for quickly shepherding the students to safety, ensuring that none was injured in the attack. The fact that millions of schoolchildren visit the Museum and learn the truth about the Holocaust is a rebuke to those, like the deranged killer, who seek to deny that the Holocaust occurred.

As Reverend Martin Luther King taught us, ``the arc of the moral universe is long but it

bends toward justice.'' We will continue to work to move our nation inexorably in the direction of justice and equality, because those are the values which tie us together. Yesterday, an immoral and evil act took the life of a brave officer. As we express our sadness and respect for Officer Johns, we also remain undeterred in our efforts to achieve and put into practice our nation's highest ideals--that all men and women are created equal, with inalienable rights that no person can abridge.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the Larsen-Kirk amendment, which will ensure that the intellectual property rights of American firms working to defeat the scourge of climate change will be protected.

We are now engaged in what could become the most difficult international negotiation in history: the painful and difficult construction of a binding, universal international agreement to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in order to save the planet from a disastrous alteration of the climate. And here at home, we are racing to break our dependence on foreign oil and to create millions of new jobs all across the new energy economy. These two necessities, negotiating an international treaty to halt global warming and developing the new energy economy for the twenty-first century, are deeply interconnected.

The technological breakthroughs being created in American laboratories will not only lead our country into the renewable energy future, they will lead the whole world. And it is absolutely necessary that we do everything we can to encourage and enable our high-tech entrepreneurs to innovate. To do this, we must ensure that the intellectual property rights of these innovators are protected. The Larsen-Kirk amendment is a common-sense approach to this problem, and I commend both Members for their thoughtful amendment.

The Larsen-Kirk amendment will ensure that in the negotiation of an international climate change treaty, it will be the policy of the United States to prevent any weakening of, and ensure robust compliance with and enforcement of, existing legal protections of intellectual property rights as they relate to energy and environmental technologies. This amendment will help ensure that even as we work diligently to reduce global emissions, we are protecting the ability of American innovators to step up to the plate and deliver the technological breakthroughs which will lead this country in a new direction.

I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and to support the underlying bill, the State Department Authorization Act.

I thank the gentlelady, and I congratulate the gentlelady for her excellent work on this legislation.

To Mr. Dingell, to Mr. Inslee, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Israel, to Mr. Braley, to Mr. Waxman, this is truly the work of a lot of people coming together. And ultimately, the approach has produced a win-win-win situation: a win for our consumers who get a new, more efficient vehicle; a win for reducing our dependence on imported oil; and a win for an industry struggling to regain its footing. And I will add one more win because it is always a win when Members from the Rust Belt and the two coasts can join together and come up with a compromise that all sides can support.

The price of a gallon of gasoline is rising inexorably, back up to $4 a gallon. It has gone up $1 at the pump on a national average since December. The price of a barrel of oil has gone from $30 to $69 since December. This is the kind of bill we need to put in place. My congratulations to the gentlelady.

Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate World Environment Day, which is recognized every year on June 5th. World Environment Day was established by the United Nations in 1972 during the commencement of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. For the last 37 years, World Environment Day has been one of the ways that the United Nations has increased awareness in every country about our environment through its goals of giving a human face to environmental issues, empowering people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development, promoting an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues, and advocating partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

This year, the theme for World Environment Day appropriately focuses on taking action to combat global warming. This year's anniversary comes as people from nations all around the globe are calling for action to move towards a clean energy future that will not only drive economic growth but also protect our planet. As the world readies for the United Nations Climate Change Conference this December in Copenhagen, this anniversary also serves as an important reminder of the need for global action as the international community prepares to come together to discuss the path forward.

The scientific debate about whether humans are causing global warming is over. The reports issued in 2007 by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underscored the clear need for all countries to take action to reduce global warming pollution. In Copenhagen, the United States and the international community must now turn to how to take action to address it.

Last month, the United States took a major step forward when the House Energy and Commerce Committee reported out the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act. This comprehensive energy legislation will unleash a clean energy revolution here in America that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and stop global warming. This legislation will build upon the progress we have already made with the passage of the 2007 energy bill and the clean energy provisions included in the recovery package. With the leadership of President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, the United States is finally poised to head to Copenhagen as a leader rather than a laggard in taking action to transition to a clean energy future and reduce heat-trapping emissions.

This U.N. event is an important reminder of our global needs and I want to bring it to the attention of all the Members.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Independence at Home Act. I would like to thank my colleague and fellow co-chair of the bipartisan Alzheimer's Task Force, Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey, for working with me on this important legislation.

As health care reform efforts move forward, we have a golden opportunity to provide high-quality care for our most vulnerable seniors right in their own homes at dramatically lower costs. The bi- partisan Independence at Home legislation we are reintroducing today aims to better coordinate care for Medicare beneficiaries with multiple, debilitating chronic diseases, including Alzheimer's, congestive heart failure, diabetes and other chronic conditions.

In many cases, our frail elders prefer to remain in their own homes, in the comfort of familiar surroundings, rather than enter a nursing home or hospital. Our current health care system does a poor job caring for seriously ill Americans, who often are ``lost in transition'', struggling to manage multiple illnesses as they transition between emergency room, hospital, nursing facility and home. The Independence at Home Act holds great promise for reducing hospitalizations, preventing medication errors, and lifting the spirits of those who, after a lifetime of contributions to our society, deserve the dignity and peace of mind that comes with living independently.

This legislation builds on successful house calls programs operating around the country and at the Department of Veterans Affairs by establishing a 3-year pilot program in Medicare that would enable beneficiaries with chronic, complex conditions to receive the care they need in their own homes. These patients see roughly 14 physicians and fill about 50 prescriptions each year. Due to a lack of coordination between their many doctors, these patients often receive disjointed care, conflicting information, and multiple diagnoses for the same symptoms. At the same time, Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions account for a highly disproportionate share of Medicare spending.

The Independence at Home Act creates a three year pilot program that utilizes a patient-centered health delivery model to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions can remain independent, in their homes, for as long as possible. Our model is a better, more coordinated way of getting these patients the care they need by physicians who know them and are experienced in managing their unique needs.

The Independence at Home care teams tasked with coordinating the care of these patients will be comprised of qualified and experienced physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Participating organizations will be required to produce improved health outcomes, demonstrate patient and caregiver satisfaction, and show that their methods result in savings to Medicare. In order to realize these savings, our bill holds participating providers accountable for demonstrating a minimum savings of 5 percent to Medicare. As an incentive, providers are able to keep a portion of savings they achieve beyond the initial 5 percent. Whereas our current health care system runs up costs by reimbursing for the volume of care, the Independence at Home model incentivizes the value of care.

This proposal also encourages the adoption of electronic medical records and other technologies that will result in more efficient and cost-effective care. And, to help address the existing shortage of primary care physicians, this bill develops a new, promising career path for primary care physicians who can own and operate Independence at Home organizations and receive reimbursements for house calls.

The Independence at Home Act addresses the needs of patients with multiple chronic diseases and holds providers accountable for producing savings. As such, I believe this bill to be a critical part of our efforts to reform health care because it will produce better, coordinated care and reduce costs. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to turn our ``sick-care'' system into a true health care system, and I look forward to working on this bill with my colleagues as efforts proceed to pass comprehensive health care reform this year.

Madam Speaker, Memorial Day is the beginning of the season when many American families take their children to our amusement parks for a day of fun and sun. Most Americans, when they enter an amusement park, believe that the rides at these parks are subject to oversight by the nation's top consumer safety watchdog--the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC. However, this is, unbelievably, not the case. Since 1981, a ``Roller Coaster Loophole'' has been carved out of the Consumer Product Safety Act.

This loophole is a dangerous gap in child safety and injury prevention, and it is having serious consequences. Between 1987 and 2004, the CPSC reports that there were 3,400 amusement park ride- related accidents and deaths. This estimate is likely lower than the actual number of injuries, due to the CPSC's lack of authority over fixed-site rides.

It is time to act on the words of President Obama when he called for us to, ``do more to protect the American public--especially our nation's children--from being harmed by unsafe products.''

It is time to put the safety of our children first--it is time to close the Roller Coaster Loophole.

Today, I am re-introducing the National Amusement Park Safety Act, to restore safety oversight to a largely unregulated industry and protect our nation's children.