Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Global Entrepreneurship Week, a celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch new companies. These innovators bring forth new ideas, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. This year, I am pleased to announce that Global Entrepreneurship Week, supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in my district, will be celebrated in 123 different countries, directly engaging more than seven million participants.

During this week each November, Global Entrepreneurship Week inspires Americans from all walks of life through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self- starters and imaginative innovators. These activities, from large-scale competitions to intimate networking gatherings, connect participants to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors--introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities.

But G.E.W. is more than just an awareness campaign supported by world leaders and celebrity entrepreneurs. It is a rallying cry, calling us to unleash ideas and bring them to life--recognizing opportunities, taking risks, solving problems, being creative, building connections and learning from both failure and success. It is about challenging young people to think big and to make an impact on the world.

Entrepreneurs do three things--they advance innovation, build wealth for society, and create jobs. In fact, research from the Kauffman Foundation shows that almost all net new jobs in the United States over the past 25 years have come from firms less than five years old. It's not surprising that policymakers are looking to reinvigorate their economies by focusing on ways to stimulate new firm formation.

I invite my colleagues to take part in Global Entrepreneurship Week in your community. Support the innovators and engage the entrepreneurs that are a driving economic force in each of our districts. Together, we can encourage and empower aspiring and existing entrepreneurs to unleash their ideas and create the startups of the future that will change our country forever.

Let me first thank the gentlewoman from Alabama for her vision in speaking of one of America's great men.

Shortly after Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, I, just leaving college, became very active with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. At that time, Ralph Abernathy had taken over leadership of the organization, and Joe Lowery had become the chair of the board. And a short time after that, Walter Fauntroy, who served as the delegate for the District of Columbia, became the chair of the board. And prior to that he was the SCLC Washington Bureau Chief.

So I became actively involved. I considered Fred Shuttlesworth as a mentor. Fred Shuttlesworth had a remarkable life in that he was a great preacher. But as people who knew him will tell you, he was not afraid of anything, and sometimes that did not work to his benefit.

Fred Shuttlesworth was in his home when the Klan blew it up. Reverend Shuttlesworth ended up down in the basement, but if the Klan had believed that blowing up his home would get him to back away from a movement to bring dignity and civil rights to people in this country, they were wrong.

And Fred Shuttlesworth was so tough that it was often said that when God allowed Bull Connor to be born, that he also made Fred Shuttlesworth to serve as his even change. Fred Shuttlesworth was in many confrontations with the legendary and infamous Bull Connor.

One of the things that I think people need to remember is that, of the people involved in the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy, Fred Shuttlesworth, some people include C.K. Steele, is that Shuttlesworth was perhaps the roughest of the group. He went to college late. He was a man who's physical stature was almost amazing. Even when he went into his eighties, Fred Shuttlesworth could slide on a pair of

pants and a shirt and there would be no bulge. He had one of those amazing bodies where he always looked fit, even into his eighties.

But the thing that I want to say about Reverend Shuttlesworth is that there was never a challenge that caused Fred Shuttlesworth to back away. There was no threat strong enough that Fred Shuttlesworth would seek cover. He was always out front, willing to take whatever came his way in order to pursue the fight for justice.

When I was elected mayor of Kansas City, one of the highlights of my time in office was Fred Shuttlesworth visiting Kansas City and coming into my office and getting excited because on the wall in my office hung a photograph, an enlarged photograph which showed Fred Shuttlesworth and a large number of other civil rights leaders and giants who I was just pleased to be around hanging on the wall prior to a march we had done in Greene County, Alabama. And I was so thrilled that Fred Shuttlesworth could come to my office and see his photograph hanging and know how much I appreciated him.

Let me just say this--and I'll pass this on--Fred Shuttlesworth preached at the church I have been fortunate to pastor for over 30 years. And each time he would come in and he'd say, now, Cleaver, I want to show you how you can preach a long sermon. And his strategy was this: after about 30 minutes, he would say, and wink at me, I'm about to wrap up now. And he said, then people would listen to him waiting because they knew he was about to wrap up. And then 10 or 15 minutes later he'd say, I'm on my way out now. I'm closing out. So Fred Shuttlesworth could easily preach an hour and trick people two or three times. And that was what he called training me in how to preach a long sermon.

And he preached at our church many times. In fact, the last time he preached there, which was probably 2 years ago, he was a little frail for the first time that I had ever been around him. And he was still fiery, as our colleague, John Lewis, will tell you. There was never a time that he did not have fire. In fact, his autobiography is entitled, ``Fire Inside My Bones,'' which I have in my office.

And he, I think, was the epitome of the civil rights struggle. He did a lot of struggling. He never made a lot of money. He never got a lot of publicity. There are probably people in the country who hear the name Fred Shuttlesworth and not know who he is.

This morning I turned on MSNBC and saw his name being scrolled across the bottom of the television set, that the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, age 89, died in a Birmingham, Alabama, hospital. And I sat there thinking, you know, the great tragedy is that probably millions of people are looking at that and saying to themselves, I have no idea who Fred Shuttlesworth is.

And I'm here to tell you, had there not been a Fred Shuttlesworth, there never would have been a Birmingham moment. Had there not been a Birmingham movement, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference would never have existed, which meant that Martin Luther King would have gotten his PhD and pastored a church, perhaps in Atlanta, Georgia, and nobody would have heard of him.

So I take great pride in the opportunity to just talk about a friend and a mentor, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, a great civil rights leader, a great Baptist preacher, and a great human being.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of September as Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, thirty-two percent of children and adolescents in the U.S. are overweight. According to this study, sixteen percent of children and adolescents in the U.S. are obese, meaning they have a body mass index in the ninety-fifth percentile. In my home state of Missouri, almost thirty-four percent of children are obese and overweight. Sadly, the childhood obesity rate is growing, doubling over the last two decades, while the obesity rate for adolescents has nearly tripled over the last two decades.

These staggering increases in obesity are leading to a number of health problems among America's youth. Incidents of type two

diabetes and hypertension are on the rise, and more children today are at risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke. It has been estimated that one out of three males, and two out of five females born in the year 2000 will eventually suffer from type two diabetes.

The obesity epidemic hits some communities harder than others, greatly impacting our more vulnerable communities. Studies have shown that these children are more likely to suffer from obesity and the related health problems. Low income areas have far fewer parks and sidewalks than wealthier communities, and children from these neighborhoods have less opportunity to play ball, ride bikes, or run outside. Children who live in lower income neighborhoods also have less access to fresh produce and healthy foods. Children living in food deserts are not able to consume healthier foods as often as they should, relying more on processed and high calorie foods for their meals.

Mr. Speaker, it is essential that this Congress work to improve access to healthy food for all Americans. We need to teach our young healthy eating habits, promote physical activity, and increase access to fresh foods by encouraging supermarkets to open in the urban core, and embracing farmers markets and urban farming. Obesity is a costly epidemic. Not only does it drastically increase health care spending, totaling fourteen billion dollars a year, but it greatly reduces the health and prosperity of our children. I would also like to commend the hard work being done by Children's Mercy Hospital in bringing awareness to this issue. I urge my colleagues to stand with me in support of Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in recognition of the achievements of Mr. Ralph D. Reid, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for Sprint Nextel. In Ralph's role, he has responsibility for Community Affairs, Employee Engagement and Volunteerism, CSR strategy and operations, and Corporate Diversity and Inclusion. He also directs Sprint's philanthropic activities as President of the Sprint Foundation and works diligently for the residents of the Fifth District of Missouri, which I am honored to represent. This week, Mr. Reid is to be inducted into the Missouri Walk of Fame during a reception as part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference, an event held to honor the achievements of African-Americans who have made significant contributions to Missouri and the nation.

Ralph graduated from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama with a Bachelor of

Science in Business Administration and Accounting. He received his Law Degree from the University of Missouri--Kansas City. Ralph is currently President--Board of Directors of the Kansas City Downtown Minority Development Corporation, and the Vice President--Board of Directors of the Kansas City United Community Action Agency. He has served on multiple boards, including the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Greater Kansas City, the Salvation Army, the Greater Kansas City Urban League, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, the Kansas City Repertory Theater, Oakwood College, Park University, and the Shawnee Mission Medical Center. He serves with me as a Trustee of the National World War I Museum Board. Mr. Reid was recognized by Savoy Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans in Corporate America for 2010.

For those reasons and more, it is indeed an honor and privilege to recognize Mr. Reid's contributions to the State of Missouri and induct Mr. Ralph Reid into the Missouri Walk of Fame at its annual reception, hosted by myself and fellow Missourian, U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay of St. Louis.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our appreciation to Mr. Ralph D. Reid and commending him on his induction into the Missouri Walk of Fame. Further, the entire State of Missouri is better because of his endless commitment to serving the residents of the State of Missouri and the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area. He is a true role model, not just to the African-American community in Missouri, but to the entire nation. May his success serve as a stepping stone for Kansas Citians in general and African Americans in particular who are eager to become as successful in their chosen profession and community activism.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in recognition of the achievements of Mr. Ollie W. Gates, a businessman, humanitarian, community developer, and a resident of the Fifth District of Missouri, which I am honored to represent. Mr. Gates is President of Gates Bar-B- Q, and is recognized as one of the purveyors of the best barbecue in the Nation, if not the world. His sauces and seasonings are shipped around the world and his famous greeting, ``Hi, May I Help You?'' is also known world-wide. Some Presidents of the United States have either stopped at his local establishments or had his barbecue products shipped to the White House. This week, Mr. Gates is to be inducted into the Missouri Walk of Fame during a reception as part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference, an event held to honor the achievements of African-Americans who have made significant contributions to Missouri and the Nation.

After receiving a football scholarship from Maryland State College (now the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore) and excelling there for two years, Mr. Gates moved closer to home to help in the family business, graduating from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Upon completion of his studies, he joined the U. S. Army. He was a 1st Lieutenant at the conclusion of active duty service, and thereafter served in the Army Reserves in Kansas City, Missouri.

Mr. Gates' list of achievements read like a Who's Who in business, volunteerism, and philanthropy. He served on the Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation for 18 years, many of those as President. He was the spearhead of the Black Veterans Memorial in Kansas City to honor a group of soldiers never-before-memorialized in Kansas City and he is in the process of renovating a building to honor his friend Buck O'Neil, a manager with the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team in the Negro Leagues, and a coach with the Chicago Cubs in the Major Leagues. He has served on numerous civic boards including the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, Bruce R. Watkins Foundation Inc., US Bank Corporation, Negro Leagues Museum, Spirit of Freedom Foundation Inc., City of Fountains, and the Enshriners to name a few. Mr. Gates has also been recognized for many civic honors such as Restaurateur of the Year Award by the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association, Citizen of the Year Award by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, Outstanding Leadership Award by the NAACP, Executive of the Year Award by the Corporate Report of Kansas City, Missouri, and the Hall of Fame Award and Distinguished Alumni Award both from Lincoln University. Mr. Gates has received many more accolades too numerous to mention.

Ollie Gates has been recognized in the form of music by Professor Bobby Watson, director of the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory of Music in the jazz ensemble work, The Gates BBQ Suite. This is a seven-part rendition which has been put on CD. There is also a CD recorded by Kansas City rapper, Tech N9ne entitled The Gates Mixed Plate. Mr. Gates was this year's ``hero'' to elementary students at the Gladstone Elementary School in Kansas City. The kids sang a song to him entitled ``Hi, May I Help You!'' which was a spin-off of the saying that employees of Gates Bar-B-Q say to everyone who comes into their restaurants to order food.

For those reasons and more, it is indeed an honor and privilege to induct Mr. Ollie W. Gates into the Missouri Walk of Fame at its annual reception, hosted by myself and fellow Missourian, U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay of St. Louis.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our appreciation to Mr. Ollie W. Gates and applaud his endless commitment to serving the residents of the State of Missouri and the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area. He is a true role model, not just to the African- American community in Missouri, but to the entire community nationally. We are certain that his success as an entrepreneur and his use of his considerable gifts in rebuilding 12th Street, east of Troost, and the entire area around 47th Street from the Paseo to Troost Avenue will serve as a stepping stone or road map for many other African-Americans eager to become as successful in their own undertakings as Ollie W. Gates has exemplified.

I thank the vice chair of the CBC. And to follow Congressman G.K. Butterfield, who I think hit on all of the proper and necessary areas of concerns, it has been written that ours will be the last generation in this country to experience surpassing the previous generation, that our children will not achieve what we have achieved and the jobs are not there. And while the individuals who have written about this and presented research on it are certainly brilliant and wise, I will gently rebuke them and disagree with their prediction.

I am not in any way willing to accept the fact, the fatalism, that the United States will inevitably fall to number two in the world behind China. Yesterday there was a news story that said at best there will be two superpowers equal in terms of influence and their economies: China and the United States.

This Nation that placed men on the Moon, this Nation that creates a new technology almost hourly should never surrender its place in the world to any other nation. And, further, I don't think that it is in our best interest to even give a hint that we believe that we can't continue to create jobs for the next generation.

The jobs tour that we had during the month of August was eye-opening and Earth-shattering. When we walked from our cars inside the Cleveland State University place where we held the jobs fair, there were people who had been in line since 5 a.m. that morning. And so it always troubles me to hear people say, and say baselessly: Well, you know, some people don't want to work. So 5 a.m. in the morning, standing in line. And at best, of the 5,000 or 6,000 people who were there, we only had about 2,000 jobs. But people stood patiently in line.

One of the things that happened that I think some of you may already know about who are in the CBC, an Anglo gentleman, and there were people from every race in every city, but this particular gentleman caught my attention because he said: Look, I listen to black radio. He said, I just like R&B and I heard about the jobs fair and I thought I'd come over since I'm unemployed. And he said, Is it all right? And of course our position is, has been, and shall always be, one of including everybody, particularly in a time of crisis. But even if we're not, that is what we would want. And so he remained in line. I'm not sure what happened, whether he was one of the successful applicants or not.

The point I want to make is that the pain that is being experienced in this Nation is not just being experienced by African Americans. It is true that our numbers are higher, but our numbers are higher for a variety of reasons. Number one, African Americans historically have tried or sought employment in government. One of the reasons Washington, D.C. is predominantly black is because African Americans from the South came to Washington by the tens of thousands because it was believed that if you could get to the capital of the United States, you would experience far less bigotry and discrimination. And so by the thousands they came to Washington.

The same thing holds true with government. African Americans have sought employment with State, local, and the Federal Government. So every time people read in the paper or cheer that some State laid off 200 or 300 people, they need to understand that those are 200 or 300 real human beings, and chances are also great that they are disproportionately minority. So that is one of the reasons why our numbers are swelling like they are.

But also I think we have got to realize that there are some other factors through no fault of people who are unemployed. I served as mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, from 1991 until 1999, two terms, 8 years. One of the things we always had to fight was expanding. Urban sprawl is what it is called sociologically. Kansas City is a city that stretches 322 square miles. To show you how large that is, you can place the entire city of San Francisco inside the city limits of Kansas City 30 times, or the city of Washington, I think it is like 42 times. It is a huge city.

Now while many politicians brag about that, the truth of the matter is we stretched out our resources. One of the things I learned during the jobs fairs--we started out in Cleveland, went to Detroit; left Detroit and went to Atlanta; left Atlanta and went to Miami; left Miami and went to Los Angeles--and there is one thing that was present at all of those that this Congress needs to deal with and it is this: the jobs that were brought to our fairs were not new jobs. The truth of the matter is they were jobs that already existed except they were in the suburbs.

And so as the cities have expanded, the jobs have moved to the suburbs. And so we cannot speak of creating jobs without dealing with the issue of transportation. There's an inextricable connection between jobs and transportation: how do you get people in the highest unemployment areas to the areas where the jobs are.

For those who live on the eastern seaboard, you have a little better situation because you have, as we do in Washington, the Metro. But when you start moving toward the western part of the United States, or the Caribbean, there is no mass transportation that is as effective as it is on the east coast. Therefore, if jobs are in suburban Kansas City and people who live in the urban area are unemployed and do not have a car and do not have any way of getting to the jobs, there is no way they can get there. Remember, Kansas City is a city of 322 square miles, which means that people could need to go essentially 30, 40, 50 miles to get a job.

Now, let me also say that nothing has been discussed thus far dealing with transportation. The jobs bill is seeking to have what I think most of us would support, which would be some kind of transportation bank where it would end up that the government would put money in and hopefully the private sector would come in and we would be able to get these infrastructure jobs going. But the amount of money that is being discussed is woefully inadequate, and there's probably little chance that we're going to be able to create any new mass transit programs in the country. In fact, UMTA, the Urban Mass Transit Administration, is broke virtually broke. So there's very little in the way of help coming forth.

Now, there's some politics involved, and we're all in the political environment. And the people at home may not even understand what's going on.

Tragically, I have watched our country move to a state where people are constantly angry. They're being told to hate their government, and then both sides of the aisle use inappropriate language to discuss things with the other side of the aisle. It's continuing to ratchet up, and it's getting worse and worse. And the people around the country are not only participating in it, they are encouraging it.

This is the United States of America. My hope and my dream is that this Nation will be around for my children and my grandchildren. But I'm telling you that what our children are seeing is not a pleasant sight because they are looking at a Nation that is becoming more and more divided. You can't look at television or radio without this constant attack, attack, attack, and it's just sickening to see this.

As we're moving into an election cycle, we're going to see ``thermal nuclear'' campaigns. And the American public needs to come to grips with the fact that if people will run a nasty campaign where all they do is attack, chances are when they come to Congress they're going to do the same thing. And the more we bring people in here who come for the sole purpose of fighting against the other side, the less business we're going to take care of for the people of this country.

I said last week there are some people who'd like to defeat the President of the United States. Fine. Campaign against him. Get your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, your friends, and everybody. Vote against him. If you can vote twice, vote twice. Do everything you can to defeat the President. But right now, vote for the American public. Fight him later. Vote now for the American public.

And the American public is in trouble. We've got to create opportunities for jobs to grow and develop or we're going to find ourselves faced with a new normal, a new normal where unemployment is considered normal at 8 percent rather than 3.5 percent, which is what our predecessors decided that we're going to keep unemployment at, 3.5 percent. So we can't allow this to happen. I think we've got to fight against it. But, more than that, what we've got to do is quit fighting each other. Nothing is going to happen worth anything if we're fighting each other.

I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.

What is generally said is that you get, four to one, jobs to money spent if we do infrastructure projects, and those jobs are long lasting.

Now, most of the infrastructure in this country is in decrepit condition. Most of the storm water sewers, wastewater sewers in cities around the country are over a century old. Roads are collapsing. Our bridges are collapsing. We saw in Minnesota 2 years ago what happens when we neglect our own infrastructure.

And the worst thing about it, Congressman Butterfield, is that we're

building roads and bridges right now in Iraq, new roads and bridges and schools in Iraq right now. I'm just a dumb Methodist preacher, but something doesn't add up. We're doing all of this in Iraq and our roads are crumbling?

And we can with the infrastructure bank. But we've got to put enough money in the bank to attract the private sector dollars. And that's a part of the President's plan, and hopefully people will buy into it. But I don't think we have a lot of time to waste. Americans are sitting around now hoping, many of them even praying, that we will do something to help them out of the economic doldrums in which they find themselves.

So, I appreciate the opportunity to come and share tonight in this discussion because I think people around the country who are watching this need to know at least there are some people in Washington who are looking out for their best interests. And I think, based on what we're doing, we are part of it. I'm not going to suggest that other folks are not interested in helping folks. They are. I'm saying that sometimes, maybe even unintentionally, we allow political ideology to trump anything and everything else, and at some point we ought to be more Americans than we are Democrats or Republicans.

Mr. Chair, I appreciate the House's need to reduce the deficit and cut back on spending. Tightening our belts is something we need to do. However, these cuts should be targeted--with a doctor's scalpel instead of a machete--so that we do not collapse the economy that we are trying so hard to build up. Unfortunately, the Interior bill we are currently debating is the work of a machete. This bill cuts or eliminates funding for countless programs that exist to help communities--including the Environmental Protection Agency's Smart Growth Programs and the Office of Sustainable Communities.

The EPA Office of Sustainable Communities is part of an inter-agency partnership with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was established to provide a resource for communities who need technical assistance to plan for economic growth and development and account for a changing population.

The services offered by the EPA Sustainable Communities Office are in high demand--they have been able to assist only 9% of interested communities due to budget and time constraints. Since 2005, over 1,300 communities have requested assistance from the EPA; 122 have been assisted, all for a total of $4.5 million.

This is a program that helps local governments expand their economic development options and make their communities more attractive to business and local citizens. The EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities works with HUD and DOT to make government better at helping communities develop housing, transportation and energy efficiency plans. This partnership removes barriers and cuts bureaucratic red tape, which means more efficient investments.

My home state of Missouri is already benefiting from the work of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. Last fall, my district of Kansas City received a $4.5 million grant from the Partnership. The Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant brings together assistance from HUD, DOT, and EPA to study six development corridors that connect 30 communities to Kansas City's urban core and coordinate housing, transportation and environmental protection along these corridors. The Kansas City region also received a $50 million TIGER grant for investments in regional transit corridors, additional transit centers, bus stop improvements, as well as sidewalk, street, and transit improvements in the city's Green Impact Zone in the urban core.

Kansas City also received a grant that will support outreach and production of a handbook of tools and incentives designed to facilitate the redevelopment of older commercial brownfield sites in urban and suburban locations throughout the city. Commercial brownfields sites often include contamination and can be challenging to redevelopment in suburban communities.

The first phase of the project will inventory the tools, incentives, and techniques available locally to create smart growth designs and revitalize brownfields. Research will then be performed on relevant national models and best practices in these fields. A handbook will be compiled containing information on smart growth techniques for brownfield commercial sites that can cut development costs, offer unique amenities, and respond to environmental impacts. It will also highlight relevant brownfield incentives, tools, and strategies.

A design workshop will be conducted for two local, commercial brownfield sites, one urban and one suburban. The results of the workshop will be incorporated into the handbook, which will be presented at a series of roundtable events held for developers, landowners, and others involved in the redevelopment process. The project will actively seek input from the community on methods to make commercial site reuse attractive and to determine the needs of communities near commercial brownfield sites. The results may be used to suggest improvements to city codes and policies to encourage reuse and smart growth design of brownfield sites. This project will help balance regional growth in urban and suburban locations through marketing assistance for both areas, and encourage mixed-use redevelopment to better meet community service and housing needs.

Additionally, Missouri's capital, Jefferson City, has received EPA assistance to improve an area in the city core that serves as the gateway to the State Capitol and the larger Capital Complex.

Smart Growth projects similar to the projects I highlighted in Missouri are in 200 communities and almost all 50 states. Seven members of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee have at least one Sustainable Communities project in their district. These programs within EPA, HUD, and DOT provide

assistance to communities for the tools they need to create the community that people want to live in. This partnership removes barriers and cuts bureaucratic red tape, which means more efficient investments. If we are truly interested in cutting costs at the government level, we should be promoting efficient and cross-cutting government programs like this one, instead of de-funding them.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, in the committee report for this bill, the appropriations committee included some language expressing concerns in regard to the Environmental Protection Agency's Urban Waters Initiative and provides no funding in the bill for this program for fiscal year 2012.

I understand the committee's reluctance to extend funding for new broad, cross-cutting initiatives, given our economic situation. However, I feel this initiative has immense value to millions of people who live in urban centers and who rely on the government to ensure that they have clean water to drink and use in their daily lives. This amendment would restore partial funding for the Urban Waters Initiative for fiscal year 2012. This amendment does not increase the spending by one single penny.

Cities share one key characteristic: they're full of people, buildings, and businesses. Because everyone shares the same relative space, air and water environmental impacts are concentrated in smaller areas, including waterways. Urban waters take on large amounts of pollution from a variety of sources, including industrial discharges, mobile sources, such as cars and trucks, residential/commercial wastewater, trash and polluted stormwater runoff from urban landscapes. As urban populations often share centralized water sources, this pollution creates public and environmental health hazards like lowered drinking water quality and water bodies that aren't safe for human swimming.

The EPA launched the Urban Waters Program to address water quality challenges in the urban watersheds and build capacity of disadvantaged communities through projects that revitalize these watersheds. If maintained properly, urban waters can also yield positive impacts for populations in both urban and upstream communities. Revitalization of waterways can spur employment and the growth of local businesses and promote improvements in housing, safety, and quality of life in these areas.

Communities across the country are coming together, working with the EPA, State and local agencies, and taking steps to access, restore, and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding lands. My Missouri 5 District, a large section of which is Kansas City, is one such community. The EPA regional staff are working with Kansas City and local citizen groups to monitor water supply and plan and conduct improvements to the Blue River watershed and Brush Creek.

Covering 270 square miles, the Blue River compromises the largest watershed in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. Its drainage is divided between the States of Kansas and Missouri and flows through three counties, 12 cities, and 10 school districts. Brush Creek is the most visible tributary to the Blue River and runs completely through an area that we are trying to rebuild called the Green Impact Zone. The EPA is monitoring water quality along the watershed and assisting in local efforts to conduct large-scale watershed planning for Brush Creek and the Blue River.

Whether as a part of a cleanup leading to waterfront development or putting monitoring in place to ensure safe drinking water with the EPA's help, community groups across the country have taken the initiative, engaging volunteers, community organizations, and local and State government to make their waters safe for many uses.

This amendment provides $3 million for urban waters within the EPA's Environmental Programs and Management account, though it is by no means the maximum amount of funds that this program could utilize. It will ensure that this vital, community-driven initiative can continue, and I ask for the approval of this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a very sad time for me and, I hope, for others. Unemployment is at 9.2 percent. For African Americans, it's at 16.2. If you use the Labor Department's U6 standards, it's almost 30 percent. And all we want to do here is argue--argue.

These are real human beings who are out here struggling. I saw a lady the other day working at a hotel, cleaning up, with a college degree from Howard University. She can't get a job.

And so what are we going to do in Congress? While Congress likes to bash, the jobless need cash.

What do we need to do to get things going? Well, we need to stop being so mean. Mean, that's what we are down here.

A bumblebee cannot sting and make honey at the same time. And what we have decided to be in Congress is a big group of 435 stingers.

Madam Speaker, let me first of all express appreciation to Congresswoman Donna Christensen, Dr. Donna Christensen, for how she has put forth boundless energy making sure that we keep this issue of joblessness in front of us.

Let me first of all say that I did two interviews during the votes today, one with ABC News. And as I stood before the cameras they showed me two comments, one from a gentleman who said that he was so disgusted with Congress because nothing is being done and he believed that we needed to start trying to deal with the problems. He thought that we should not be raising the taxes on what he called ``ordinary'' people or low-income working people.

The other interview I did was on Fox and was an interview where I was interviewed about the joblessness among African Americans. I think both of those intersect. And the reason for this is, I said to people that as a Democrat I was embarrassed that during the last session of Congress we failed to listen to the American public. The public said they were interested in jobs.

I would go home to my district in Kansas City, Missouri, and people would simply talk about the need for jobs. I would come back to Washington, and the only thing we talked about was health care. And health care was important, I supported it--it was not the bill that I wanted, but I supported it anyway. And many of us supported it because of the way in which you, Dr. Christensen, as a physician, presented us with how valuable it would be. But the point is we never, ever dealt with jobs. We are now into our 194th day into this Congress, and I am sorry and I am embarrassed that we have not created one single job.

African American unemployment is at 16.2. If you use what the Labor Department uses to factor real unemployment--it's called U-6--the U-6 unemployment for African Americans is at 30 percent. This is higher than the Depression. The 1929 fall of Wall Street created unemployment that devastated not only this country, but the entire world.

I am saying here on the floor--in this sacred well--that African American unemployment is at a crisis level. Why would that be important to somebody who's not African American or who lives in a community where there are no African Americans? Well, in the first place, we ought to be concerned about all Americans, period. And the day that I am not concerned with all Americans, I want that to be my last day in this body. I would say at this point that the congressional district from which I come is only 18 percent African American, but the people of good will in my district understand that all Americans should have equal access to jobs.

There are a plethora of reasons for the African American unemployment being so high--I won't get into all of them--but I want to tell you that if we had unemployment among any group in America, whether they were news anchors, whether they were comedians, no matter what the group, I think that this country would be in a crisis mode. We would have commissions; we would have the top economists and labor experts becoming involved, trying to figure out how can we erase or reduce the level of unemployment among this particular group. Now unemployment is at 9.2 percent with all Americans. That is unacceptable in the most powerful, industrialized, technologically advanced Nation on this planet; 9.2 is unacceptable, 16.2 is sinful, it is sinful in this country. I believe that we have got to figure out ways in which we can get something done.

One of the gentlemen said during the pre-interview with me that he believed, to quote him exactly, that ``Congress is broke.'' It pains me, I've got to tell you, that I think he is right. I think it is a broken body, but the public has participated. The public is culpable as well, and that is this, we have people who run thermonuclear campaigns. And instead of public people saying anybody who would run a nasty campaign is going to be nasty when they get in office, so I'm not going to vote for him or her, but that's not what the public says. They cheer, they rah-rah this negativity on.

And the people who run the nasty campaigns on both sides end up in this body, and they just simply escalate it with more publicity. And until the United States citizenry comes to the conclusion that they are sick and tired of what's going on and begin to punish people for being nasty, it's going to get worse and worse and worse.

I would love to be able to some day close my eyes, fall asleep among the elders, and believe before I go that the United States of America will present to my children--and their children and even their progeny--a state that has opened up opportunities to everyone and a state where the government works. We cannot get anything done because anybody who raises their head and presents something, if they belong to the wrong party, they're not going to get recognized and nothing is going to get done. Republicans do it; Democrats do it. It's wrong no matter who does it.

What we are facing right now is a situation that is grave, and I don't even think the Republican nor Democratic Parties in this body understand that we can't simply go as we are going. We're talking about the debt ceiling. It has to be raised. It is absolutely ridiculous to say that we shouldn't raise it. I sit in my apartment across the street from the Capitol at night looking at television and listening to people who know better say that it's all right, it's no problem, we can let the debt ceiling remain under the $14.3 trillion and nothing cataclysmic will happen. And they know better. I would feel a lot better if people would say something and really meant it because they didn't know better. But they do know better, but many in the public don't, and so they think there's no big deal.

Look, if we don't raise the debt ceiling, we can pay 60 percent of our debts, but we've got to make some concrete choices on who gets that 60 percent. And no matter who gets it, it will create a cataclysm for the United States and perhaps the entire world. Italy, Spain, Greece and Ireland are already in trouble in Europe. And they don't have central banks like we have. We have the Federal Reserve, and so to some degree we can go out and have an auction of Treasury notes and bring in revenue; they don't. But if we end up having a very, very serious economic problem in this country, it's going to trigger a world-wide recession. Nobody wins. Nobody comes out on top if this happens. And the unemployment numbers, 9.2, they are going to rise.

I don't want people looking at this tonight or any of my colleagues believing that those are my numbers or that I am the only one who believes there is going to be trouble. Ben Bernanke, reappointed by George Bush, says that if we make deep cuts in the U.S. budget, it is going to create a problem because right know the only money that is going into the U.S. economy, into the GDP, into the economic activity is coming from the United States Federal Government.

And if you begin to cut back drastically, it cannot help but raise the unemployment numbers. And if we fool around and fail to raise the debt ceiling or just walk to the cliff, walk to the edge, walk to the precipice, the bond rating agencies, who have already warned us--and these are not Democratic bond rating agencies, these are not Congressional Black Caucus bond rating agencies, these are not Republican bond rating agencies, they are the bond rating agencies of the United States of America--and they tell us when we're in trouble and they tell us when we're in good stead. And they have said to us, if you walk to the precipice, we are going to end up getting in trouble because they're going to downgrade our bond rating. What does that mean?

Well, it means that the interest rates are going to rise. China is our number one creditor, external. Most people think that we owe more money to foreign governments than we owe anyplace else, which is not true. The majority of the debt is held by citizens of the United States. China is number one outside the country, and then Japan. Well, China has no other place to make investments, so that's to our advantage. Japan has nowhere else to make investments. That's to our advantage. But they are going to say to us, Look, you guys are not paying your bills, and if you're not going to pay your bills, it is a greater risk to us.

And what happens when there's a greater risk? We're going to raise your interest rates. So if the interest rates are raised on the United States, they're going to be raised in all of the banks and anyplace else where we seek credit. That is going to create a problem.

I don't understand how and why we have allowed all of this false information to go out about how this will not matter and nothing is going to happen. It has nothing to do with the facts. It has to do with the partisanship. It has to do with partisanship. And in this town, in this place, we allow ideology to trump everything. Everything falls second to ideology.

I don't understand how anybody could come to this place and say, I come here so that I won't have to compromise. You have to compromise. There's not a person in the world who has been married for any length of time who doesn't understand the word ``compromise.'' If they don't understand word ``compromise,'' then they understand the word ``divorce.''

And so what we've got to understand here is that we're going to divorce this Nation--one side red, one side blue, one side left, one side right--and we can't

get anything accomplished as a consolidated Nation.

Let me just say a couple of other things, and I'm through, Madam Speaker, and, that is, if I can go back to the jobs issue just for a moment. We know that only 18,000 jobs were created in the United States last month. We need probably 233,000 jobs each month to be created in the United States. Why? Because that's about the number of new employees or people seeking work who come into the work market, so we've got to constantly create jobs.

People who were laid off work 3 or 4 years and haven't found work, if the economy broke tomorrow and we were allowed to begin to see hiring in the major corporations, the 10 employees who were laid off 3 or 4 years ago would now be three or four employees called back to work. Why? Because technology is constantly growing and advancing, and where we needed 10 line workers 3 or 4 years ago, we only need two or three workers today, which means that we've got to educate the workforce.

What does that mean to the country? Well, if we don't educate the workforce in the United States, it means that the imbalance of trade with other countries is going to rise, because other nations are going to be able to provide what we can't provide and they're going to do it at a lower cost. We've got to have a workforce that can compete with China and India and Japan and Indonesia and Vietnam, because if we don't, American corporations are going to continue to try to do business abroad.

We cannot ignore the fact that a lot of those jobs, positions, were held by African Americans, and they need to be retrained. We need to retool the U.S. workforce. Let me tell you why we have some numbers that are disproportionate with African Americans, because I don't want people doing what has been done in this country for the last 400 years. Some people assume, well, you know, the African American numbers are high because African Americans don't want to work. We've heard all of that unfortunately over the years. The only reason we know what the numbers are is because those are the individuals who are out seeking work, who have gone to the unemployment agencies in their States, and that's how we know that the unemployment numbers are what they are.

But keep in mind, and nobody probably thinks about this. Every time you read about a State laying off workers, a municipality laying off firefighters or police officers, or if you find any government agency laying off, it means that the number of African Americans who are unemployed will rise, and the reason for that is that African Americans disproportionately seek work in the government. We've done it historically because it was always believed that if you could work for the government, the chances are less likely for you to be discriminated against, so we have a large number of African Americans who work for the government.

You see all of these State layoffs all over the country, and I want people to realize when you see those numbers, please understand that a disproportionate number of them are African American.

Now, while we are here fiddling instead of trying to deal with some real problems in this country, there are people with real problems. People who don't have a job, they have a problem. I'm willing to compromise. I've talked about others who won't. I will. I'm willing to compromise. I've already compromised.

My father turned 89 years old last Friday. Thank God. Glory. Hallelujah. I'm happy. He's in great condition, probably better physical condition than me--doctor, I'm going to do better--and my uncle, who is 87. I'm thrilled and fortunate and blessed that they have this kind of longevity in the Cleaver line. But I'm not ever, ever going to compromise on one aspect, and that is Social Security.

My father has worked since he was a kid. His brother has worked since he was a kid. For me to ever support reducing the benefits for somebody who paid into Social Security--this is not some kind of giveaway program. Everybody in this country who paid the payroll tax paid into Social Security, and in their sunset years, they deserve the opportunity to live as decently and in as healthy an environment as possible. And so I'm not going to compromise on Social Security, at least on the benefits.

I will compromise if we raise the age at which people can qualify, 10 years down the road. I will compromise on lifting the cap on $106,000. Right now if you earn above $106,000, you will pay Social Security taxes only on the amount under $106,000. So you can make 6 gajillion dollars and never pay Social Security taxes on but about $105,000, which I think is actually silly.

Those of us who have been blessed to earn more than $106,000 should understand how fortunate we are, and so we should pay above the cap. It's wrong. It's not right for people who earn a meager salary to have to struggle when there are people making $106,000 and not even paying Social Security tax.

I am representing Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, and I want to focus some attention before I close, Madam Speaker, on a tragedy occurring in Missouri and the entire Midwest region, for that matter. Currently, farmland and homes are underwater along the Missouri River, from Montana to my home State of Missouri. Record snowmelt runoff this spring along with unexpected record rainfall in the upper river basin filled up the reservoirs in eastern Montana and the Dakotas and word is the Army Corps of Engineers plans to release large amounts of water from the reservoirs to keep them from overflowing. That excess water has flowed downstream, creating a path of destruction in its wake.

Levees have been breached in Iowa, Nebraska and in my home State in northwest Missouri, causing flooding of farmland, road closures including Interstate 29, and evacuations. More than 500,000 acres of land have been flooded in the seven States along the river. The high waters have moved eastward and further downstream in Missouri, causing high water and flooding in Ray, Saline and Carroll Counties.

I have gone to those areas. I have seen the flooding. I have looked at the fields that farmers would normally have corn growing in underwater. If we are here in Washington twiddling our thumbs, and the farmers in Missouri and other States, for that matter, are struggling just to make it--and with rivers still running above flood stage and soil saturated, forecasters have predicted this summer flooding season could rival the worst in U.S. history. That means what was called the ``Great Flood of 1993'' during my term as mayor, cost about $25 billion in damage--this would exceed $25 billion.

The excessive high temperatures sweeping across the Nation this week cannot erase concerns about river flooding. These high river levels are not going away any time soon, and neither is the risk of flooding. There will be sustained high water along the Missouri River through August as the reservoirs continue releasing high volumes of water. Due to this high water and saturated soil, just a small amount of rain could trigger more flooding in areas that have already seen record flooding in 2011.

Obviously, we cannot plan for every natural disaster. However, we have the responsibility to take preventive measures whenever possible. The original purpose of these upper Missouri basin dams was flood protection. Over the years other priorities may have slipped in. However, I believe now is the time to reevaluate the Corps of Engineers management plans and once again place the safety and livelihood of people who live and work along the river first.

Reservoir levels need to be lowered between October and April so fewer releases are needed during the spring rain season. A goal of targeted releases should be that they not exceed any given flood stage downstream. And, if releases above flood stage levels are required, then a maximum flow of no more than 5 feet over given flood stages for no longer than 15 consecutive days could be set, followed by 5 consecutive days below given flood states. This cycle could be repeated as necessary and would reduce downstream damages. This or other contingency planning is needed to prevent flooding events such as this year's from happening again.

Madam Speaker, we are here dealing with political--I think ``shenanigans''

is a word that would fit. People out in the country, the real people, are struggling. Whether it is from flooding or unemployment, they are struggling, and the Congress of the United States needs to act.

You know, one of the reasons we can't get anything done with jobs, as I mentioned earlier, or the flooding problem, is this bickering based on political affiliation. Here is one thing I learned. I am always watching Animal Channel and the Discovery Channel. My family always makes fun of me. But I learned something a few years ago watching the Discovery Channel. Bees cannot sting and make honey at the same time. They either have to become stingers or honey makers. What has happened here is we have become stingers, and, therefore, we are not making any honey or laws to help the American public.

Mr. Speaker, we are now on day 191 of the new Congress. Sadly, I must report to the people of my congressional district and to this Nation that we have done absolutely nothing with regard to creating jobs. Rather than spending time trying to blame George Bush and Barack Obama, I think we ought to utilize every moment we have to create opportunities to work.

We are in a crisis: 9.2 unemployment overall, 16.2 African American unemployment. If you add what the Labor Department does, which is something called U-6, African American unemployment is at 30 percent.

This Congress owes it to this Nation to move the partisanship aside and to create jobs for this Nation.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of striking language that would limit UASI funds to the top 10 cities at risk.

Since 2003, Missouri-05, my district, has received over $70 million in UASI funding. Recently, I was informed by DHS that due to the fiscal year 2011 budget cuts, which I did not support, half of the cities that received UASI funding, including Kansas City, Missouri, would lose their funding. This means that Kansas City will not be receiving the funding that we have relied on for the last 7 years.

Limiting FY12 UASI funding to the top 10 cities would, again, detrimentally harm my district. UASI funding in Kansas City has been used for equipment and vehicles to support six rescue teams in four area fire departments. Vehicles and equipment have also been used to support special tactical law enforcement teams, allowing for the response to events where chemicals or special hazards are present as well as a regional multi-band emergency radio that allows for interoperability.

Funding has been used for a regional patient tracking system that enables hospitals and EMS agencies to manage multiple victims from an emergency event. The funding also allows for special mobile units that allow local public health agencies to transport equipment and set up medicine dispensing sites.

Yesterday, The Kansas City Star ran an op-ed I wrote decrying the devastating impact the loss of UASI funds will have not only on Kansas City but the entire State of Missouri. Kansas City has relied on these funds to prevent, protect, and respond to both manmade and natural disasters. Eliminating these funds would greatly hinder the region's ability to continue to enhance these preparedness capabilities. Just 2 weeks ago, three UASI-funded search and rescue vehicles were sent from my community, Kansas City, Missouri, to Joplin, Missouri, to search for survivors after the devastating tornado. Sadly, to date, as of this morning, 134 Missourians have lost their lives to this devastating disaster. However, due to the hard work of Missouri first responders, 144 missing individuals were located. We put the safety and security of our constituents in the hands of first responders, and it would be unconscionable for us to take away the tools they need to continue to save lives.

As the Representative of the Missouri Fifth District, it is my job to work to protect the citizens of my district, and it is my goal to ensure that first responders in Kansas City are given the resources they need to keep our homes secure. As I have said many times, the U.S. budget is a moral document, a bold testimony to our national priorities. It is my priority to fight to provide UASI funding to the Kansas City area. This is why I stand in support of UASI funds and the amendment to restore this funding to more than the top 10 cities that has been offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins).

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Announcement by the Acting Chair

Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk in order under the rule.

Madam Chair, the Congressional Black Caucus has offered an alternative resolution to the budget proposals every year since 1981. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus, and we have over those years served as the conscience of this body.

I stand in front of you today to say that this is perhaps the most important of all of the alternative budgets offered by the Congressional Black Caucus. And the reason is, Madam Chairman, that we believe someone must stand up for the vulnerable population. The vulnerable population is

not what we generally like to think; it's not the stereotypical view of a person who doesn't work and is shiftless and is a parasite.

The vulnerable population today consists of firefighters, police officers, municipal workers, State workers, factory workers who have been laid off through no fault of their own because of this weak economy. Those men and women have been struggling trying to make it.

Somebody must stand up for them. They are black, white, brown, they are elderly. Some of them are at an age where it will be difficult for them to get another job. And so somebody must stand up for them, and we have decided that it will be us.

Now, let me just say that these are some weird times. We do have a budget deficit, and we would not at all suggest that we don't need to deal with the budget deficit. What we need to do, however, is deal with it in a way that will protect the vulnerable populations.

Madam Chair, I have a left knee that is artificial, it is a prosthetic, the result of football injuries. And once I recovered and left the hospital after the surgery, my brain automatically forced the rest of my body to pay attention to the sick side of my body. So I automatically, even though I tried not to, did everything I could do to protect my left knee. I even put most of my weight on my right knee.

What I am saying is that our bodies provide us with a message that when some part of our body is vulnerable, is weak, the other part, the strong part, needs to do everything it can to protect the weak part.

The Congressional Black Caucus is saying that our alternative budget does exactly that when you consider the fact that the gap in after-tax income between the richest 1 percent of Americans and the middle and poorest fifths of our country more than doubled between 1979 and 2009.

So we can see that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. And when I hear people say we must have shared sacrifice, I disagree.

The poorest people don't need to sacrifice. I am not sure that you can find a single poor person who is responsible for the economic collapse of the last 2 years. Mark Zandi, an economist with unimpeachable Republican credentials, said that 1.7 million people will lose their jobs in the first 2 years if this budget is enacted.

So, Madam Chair, we intend to present our budget now to demonstrate how this body can protect its weak side and still maintain the best of this Republic for the protection of its people.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself 10 seconds to just say, when progress is made, someone is always left behind. And my concern is that it's always the vulnerable.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Bobby Scott.

Madam Chair, how much time remains, please?

I now yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Wisconsin, Ms. Gwendolynne Moore.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas, Al Green.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke).

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), a certified physician.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

I thank the gentleman from Utah, and I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Madam Chair, in closing, I am not accusing anybody of being mean-spirited and wanting to hurt people. I am absolutely convinced that those who support the Republican budget are good and decent Americans. They want the best things for this country. I will never stand on this floor and do that.

But what I am saying is I believe and our caucus believes that their program, their budget, is one that does damage to the vulnerable population of this country. We believe that somebody must stand up and speak for those who are hurting and cannot speak for themselves.

A budget is a moral document. It is a photograph of what we believe. It is a look into the somebodiness of the United States of America. And when we look at this budget that this Congress will ultimately approve, some budget, it is who we are. It is a biography of who we are. And I am absolutely convinced that the wrong budget--and I think that the budget that is before us is the wrong budget--could create a gash on the soul of America and leave a scar for a long, long time.

Madam Chair, this is a time that we must be careful because if we are not, great damage will be done to the people who can afford the damage the least. I'm talking about children. I'm talking about the elderly. And I'm talking about Americans who live next door to us, people who sit on the pew with us in church. These are people who are going to be hurt by this budget. And I think that the American public, when they come to understand this budget, will come to the conclusion that we're right.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in recognizing the outstanding achievements and cultural legacy nurtured at the Kansas City Art Institute by retiring President, Kathleen Collins. She took over the duties as President in 1996 and through the years has built strong community partnerships that resulted in creative and innovative projects. Her efforts enhanced and modernized the quality and function of the Kansas City Art Institute into providing an education in creativity, professionalism and business practices.

The Kansas City Art Institute dates back to 1885 to a group of artists who referred to themselves as the Sketch Club. Walt Disney, Thomas Hart Benton, Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Morris have all been associated with the Institute. Two of Kansas City's most well known businessmen, J.C. Nichols and William T. Kemper, Jr., served on the Board of Trustees. Today, the Kansas City Art Institute is an integral part of the cultural growth of Kansas City and continues to sustain the support of the community.

Under Kathleen Collins' leadership, enrollment escalated and the Institute expanded, with over $25 million in renovations and improvements on campus. The H&R Block Artspace, the Jannes Library and Learning Center, the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Painting Building, the Cafe Nerman, and the

J.C. Nichols Patio Garden are all new additions cultivated through Kathleen Collins' vision. Additionally, she has secured the Institute's financial future with a $40 million endowment.

As President, Kathleen Collins reorganized the Institute into four schools: Foundation, Fine Arts, Design, and Liberal Arts. The curriculum emphasizes liberal arts while expanding the curriculum to the School of Design and Electronic Arts. The Institute maintains its foundation of art while educating artists in the fundamentals of business through its required Professional Practice program.

Kathleen launched a Community Arts and Service Learning certificate program that provides an opportunity for students to work in partnerships for the betterment of the community. The Brush Creek Community Rain Garden project is one example of this successful program. Students partnered with city and state officials and private sector companies to design an environmental solution based on regional ecological principals. By using native plants in a garden setting, they addressed the ecological impact from stormwater runoff. The partnerships created a beautiful solution that serves as an artistically green example for the community.

The presence of the Art Institute can be seen throughout our community. The latest addition of community partnership will be unveiled when the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts opens. Patrons will have the wonderful experience of viewing extraordinary murals created by KCAI students in partnership with architect Moshe Safdie.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor and privilege for me to recognize Kathleen Collins. She began her career as President of the Kansas City Art Institute 15 years ago and during her tenure worked tirelessly to solve financial and creative challenges. As she retires, she can look with pride on her accomplishments that propelled the Kansas City Art Institute into the recognizable and renowned institution that it is today. We wish her well as she returns to photography and travel and enjoys the good life with her husband, Jeff Love. On behalf of the people of Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, I wish this academic leader a well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in recognition of the 125th Anniversary of Tension Envelope Corporation, a prestigious family-owned business in Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which I am honored to represent. In 1886, the forerunner of Tension Envelope opened in Kansas City, Missouri, as Berkowitz and Company. Named after its founder, William Berkowitz, the company specialized in popular advertising novelties and business stationery. In 1894, the company put into operation the first envelope machine west of the Mississippi River.

By 1901, the company began to fully concentrate on envelopes, which were in great demand by businesses and organizations. William Berkowitz's two sons joined the firm in 1907, and the company's first envelope patent was issued in 1909. Sons Walter and E.B. Berkowitz assumed management of the company as the 1920s approached. Walter soon discovered new high-speed envelope folding machinery that had been developed in Germany. The company purchased the North American patent and distribution rights and brought the equipment into the United States, revolutionizing the American envelope industry.

In 1937, the company acquired another pioneer in the U.S. envelope industry, the Tension Envelope Company of Brooklyn, New York. In 1944, all of the Berkowitz Envelope manufacturing and sales operations were consolidated under the widely recognized name of Tension Envelope Corporation. In 1962, Bert Berkley, grandson of the company's founder, became President and CEO of Tension. In 1988, Bill Berkley, great grandson of the founder, became President and CEO.

Today, Tension Envelope Corporation is one of the nation's leading manufacturers of envelope products, selling directly to companies and organizations across the United States. Tension manufactures many of the envelopes you see and handle every day. With its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, the heart of Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, Tension produces over eleven billion envelopes a year with plants, distribution, and service offices stretching from coast to coast.

Not only have Tension's leaders revolutionized an industry with their ingenuity, they are also dedicated philanthropists. Bert Berkley, Chairman of Tension, has a long history of participation in local, regional, and national civic and advisory councils. He even co-authored a book, Giving Back, on the subject of volunteering, sharing with the community, and involvement with charitable endeavors. My good friend, Richard Berkley, served as Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, for three terms prior to my election to that post in 1991. He currently serves as Tension's Secretary and Treasurer as well as several area civic advisory boards. Current President and CEO, Bill Berkley, has served on the boards of several area nonprofits, businesses, and education organizations.

Considering the tremendous contributions of Tension Envelope Corporation to Missouri's Fifth Congressional District and surrounding areas, it is an honor and a privilege to recognize the leaders and employees for their one hundred and twenty-five years of excellent service to the Kansas City area and beyond. Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating the Berkley Family and expressing our gratitude to Tension Envelope Corporation for their incredible dedication to both their industry and community.