Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of my amendment, which would transfer $1 million to the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or EERE, from administrative funds.

I recently organized a letter, joined by almost 80 of my colleagues, calling for robust and sustained funding for this crucial program. EERE's research, development, and deployment programs focus on three major fields: renewable electricity generation; sustainable transportation; and energy-saving homes, buildings, and manufacturing.

This program plays a key role in advancing America's all-of-the-above energy strategy, and we must set priorities and make smart, strategic decisions about Federal funding. This is the only way to ensure that this country is prepared for whatever changes the markets may experience.

And I thank our ranking member for yielding me the time and allowing me to speak about the amendment, and I appreciate her comments about either you look backward or you look forward or you act forward when it comes to how we get our energy supply. She has talked on the floor today and articulated that our country right now faces a trade deficit, and she's right.

Every month, by about $40 billion, we are importing more goods and services than we are exporting. In many cases, that is because of the crude oil that we have to import month after month after month because we are not meeting our own energy needs. And the United States, at our peak production, optimal peak production, we only have about 3 percent of the world's crude oil. However, our country, our consumers, our people, we consume about 22 percent of the world's crude oil.

There's a supply problem in this country. We need to not drill our way out of this but invent our way out of this, innovate our way out of this, and the EERE program allows us to do that.

Unfortunately, this bill consolidates the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy within DOE and funds the combined programs at about $983 million. The result is a cut to these programs of $971 million below fiscal year 2013.

I am honored to serve as ranking member on the Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Energy because I believe that the Federal Government has a role to play in encouraging energy innovation in this country. This bill does just the opposite by gutting the EERE program. Instead of innovating our way out, rather than drilling our way out, we are doing the opposite. We gut crucial EERE funds.

As Washington bickers, our competitors are pulling out all of the stops to capitalize on the booming clean energy program. By cutting the EERE program so drastically now, we all but ensure that the United States will miss out on scientific discoveries that could change the world and transform our economy.

With scientific research, nothing is guaranteed, and so we need to be willing to take risks. Scientific progress, after all, has never been a straight line. I come from the bay area, which includes Silicon Valley, where risk-taking is critical to the region's economy. Taking risks means sometimes you will not succeed, but scientific progress requires us to continue to take risks and invest in the future. Only by taking risks and charging forward, as our ranking member continues to emphasize, can we ever hope to reach goals which today may seem out of reach.

The United States should be leading the world in the search for better, safer, more affordable energy. Instead, we have a bill before us that makes unacceptable, shortsighted cuts to EERE. While my amendment does not close the gap by any means, it is a signal to our scientists and engineers that we support renewable energy.

An overreliance on a limited range of fuel technologies and finite resources is shortsighted. Our strength lies in our ability to transition to a new, cleaner, more sustainable and more innovative source of energy. We must be competitive and not let ourselves get behind, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

This weekend in Castro Valley, in my district, we have a lot to celebrate. We will be celebrating Castro Valley Pride. I am pleased to recognize Castro Valley Pride and its organizer, Billy Bradford.

We will be celebrating the sweet sound of the wedding bells that will be ringing in our district now that our friends and loved ones in the LGBT community, after the Supreme Court ruling, will again be allowed to marry. I was thrilled to know, as many were across my State, that the Supreme Court recently allowed same-sex marriage to resume in California. Love is love, and this decision allows loving gay and lesbian couples to be treated the same as everyone else. These couples and married couples across the country will also benefit from the Supreme Court's decision to strike down DOMA. No longer will the Federal Government be able to treat all same-sex couples as second- class citizens.

But the fight is not over.

We must make sure that once you are legally married in a State, you don't lose your Federal benefits just because you move to a State that does not recognize same-sex marriage. We also have to make sure that people are not discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This includes protecting against housing and job discrimination, for example. More broadly, we want to make sure that everyone is embraced and valued for who one is. No one should suffer hate, bullying, or rejection for being gay or lesbian.

Our diversity is our strength, and we must never forget that. I look forward to celebrating it during Castro Valley Pride this weekend.

Canyon Middle School in Castro Valley, California, in my congressional district, was recently recognized as one of

the Schools to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform.

The School to Watch program was launched in 1999 to identify high- performing middle schools that serve as a model for other schools to watch across the Nation. These schools, like Canyon Middle School, demonstrate academic excellence, develop programs that respond to the sensitive needs of early adolescence, and provide students with high- quality teachers and resources to support students in their academic goals.

This week, at the Ninth Annual Schools to Watch Conference, Canyon Middle School will be presented with this prestigious award. Canyon Middle School will be represented by attendance clerk Adria Anderson- Kelly, Assistant Principal Juan Flores, Assistant Principal Annie Flores-Aikey, math and science teacher Gregory Matawaran, math and science teacher Liz Oettel, and special education teacher Cheryll Rosales.

I look forward to congratulating the group from Canyon Middle School this Thursday when they visit my office, and I look forward to hearing more details about how more schools can follow their example of excellence.

Congratulations again to the teachers, administrators, parents, and students that helped Canyon Middle School achieve this award. You make me and your congressional district very proud.

No American should live in fear of becoming a victim of a violent hate crime. In my role as the former lead hate crimes prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, I saw, firsthand, the devastating impact that hate crimes can have on our communities.

Sadly, since taking office I have heard from constituents and leaders from the Hindu, Sikh, and Arab American communities about the ongoing threats that they face. That is why in March I sent a letter to the FBI Advisory Policy Board requesting that the FBI add three additional hate crime categories to track anti-Hindu, anti-Sikh, and anti-Arab American hate crimes.

Gathering this information will encourage the affected community members to report hate crimes to law enforcement and will help strengthen relationships among communities, local and State law enforcement, and the FBI.

I'm happy to report that the policy board followed up on my letter and has

recommended that FBI Director Robert Mueller make these additions. Our progress towards addressing heinous hate crimes is possible because of groups like the Hindu American Foundation, who have been tireless advocates for the safety of their communities.

I urge Director Mueller to act swiftly on the policy board's recommendation. This important step would extend protection to millions of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. James ``Buck'' Koonce. Buck recently retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). There he served as the Director of Economic Development and assisted with the management of the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC).

LLNL and Sandia National Laboratories have partnered with the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish the LVOC in order to leverage resources and create a bridge between these national labs and the broader scientific community. Through public-private partnerships with industry, government, and academia, the LVOC involves scientists and engineers from around the world with its unique science facilities, major research and development efforts, industrial collaborations, educational programs, and technology incubators to solve national security challenges.

Buck's economic development efforts have leveraged LLNL functions such as intellectual property management, licensing, and sponsored research, to cultivate partnerships with businesses, industries, entrepreneurs, economic development organizations, community stakeholders, and institutions of higher education. This proactive engagement enables the LLNL management team to set priorities and leverage investments in pilot projects, collaborations, equipment, and facilities to ensure continued growth and improved effectiveness.

Prior to LLNL, Buck held several senior management positions throughout his 35 year career with the University of California. Buck has been an integral part of the management and governance of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory, and LLNL.

Buck began his career at the University of California at Berkeley's Molecular Biology and Virus Laboratory in 1974, and he then moved to LBNL where he held positions of increasing responsibility in the Offices of Energy and Environment, Computing, and Engineering Divisions, and finally the Director's Office where he lead the development of LBNL's first Long-Range Development Plan. Buck has been active in many DOE-wide initiatives and is well respected by DOE, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the national laboratory community.

On a more personal note, Mr. Speaker, Buck has played a vital role in assisting me in the development of my own thinking on economic policy strategies and the appropriate role of our national labs. I was honored when he agreed to serve on my Economic Development Advisory Committee, and I have learned a great deal from him. I want to thank Buck for his helping me and for his contributions to the East Bay, and I wish him the very best as he begins this new chapter of his life.

This week marks the 50th annual National Small Business Week, where we recognize the importance of the entrepreneurs and small business owners who work hard to fulfill the promise of the American Dream.

I saw this firsthand as a Dublin planning commissioner and, later, as a city council member, which is that, when small businesses get off the ground and succeed, the entire community around them benefits and our economy grows. In fact, more than one half of all Americans either own or work for a small business, and they account for about two out of every three new jobs created every year.

This Saturday, I went from storefront to storefront in downtown Hayward to speak to local small business owners in my congressional district. To help address the problems that I heard about--not having enough capital to start up or not having enough business-to-business transactions or foot traffic--I introduced the Main Street Revival Act. My bill will allow certain small businesses to elect to defer paying Federal payroll taxes in the first year of operation in order to help offset their costs.

Small businesses form the backbone of our communities--opening new storefronts, training American workers and selling goods in our neighborhoods. It's through supporting them that we expand economic opportunity and help make the American Dream a reality.

I thank the gentleman from Washington.

First, I also want to thank my friend, Congressman Pat Meehan, for cosponsoring my amendment.

Due to sequestration, the Department of Defense has not been allowing military bands to perform at community events, even when the sponsoring community organization pays for all associated expenses, because the Department of Defense is saying that the reimbursement is never credited to the proper account.

Well, this is hard to believe. First, because it's been going on before, where community events have reimbursed the Department of Defense and there have not been any problems that we've been aware of. But since sequestration, they're now saying it cannot be done. Well, this is a civilian force of over 700,000 people. I'm sure that we can find a way to make this work and support our community events.

My amendment is simple. It will allow military bands to perform at community events when the hosting organization fully funds the band's expenditures by ensuring that the money from the hosting organization is returned to the relevant department's accounts.

This issue came to my attention when a Marine Corps veteran from my district in Pleasanton, California, Brooks Wilson, informed me that at this year's 148th Scottish Gathering and Games in Pleasanton, the Marine Corps band wouldn't be able to perform, even though his organization would fully fund the band's expenditure just as they have always done previously.

Public performances by military bands like the Marine Corps band bring a sense of patriotism and community to our cities and towns. They also help enliven events like the Scottish Games, increasing attendance and helping boost and lift economic activity.

I ask my colleagues to join Congressman Meehan and I in supporting our military bands and our amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, moments ago, the TSA Administrator announced that he will reverse his earlier decision to allow knives back onto airplanes. Knives will now continue to be a part of the prohibited items list on our aircraft, making our passengers and our crew more safe. This is positive news.

However, the administration's desire to zero out this FFDO program-- allowing our trained pilots to be armed on the aircraft--puts us in a position that will put us more at risk, will put passengers and flight crew more at risk. The TSA not allowing knives on planes, that's just one step for passenger and crew safety when we need a comprehensive approach to keep our passengers and crew safe, which would include not allowing knives on planes, which would include risk-based screening, which would include, as my friends from the other side have talked about, increasing funding for intelligence operations to make sure we know who is getting on these airplanes. But it

would also mean keeping the Federal Flight Deck Officer program fully funded.

This is a program I know about because of a personal friend in Livermore, California, who is a Southwest pilot. I have seen firsthand over the last 7 years how serious he has trained to be ready for this program. As my friend and colleague from the other side just mentioned, they fly down to Texas routinely to train down there, and they are very diligent. They do this many times on their own dime. And a lot of skill and effort is put into their training to make sure that if something dangerous were to happen on that aircraft, they would be prepared. It is a task they take seriously, and it's a task we want them to continue to be supported by in the Federal Government.

So, to have comprehensive airline passenger security, we want to restore the Federal dollars for this, put it back at $25 million. And I appreciate that this amendment was offered.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, if we learned anything about the Boston Marathon bombings, it is that real threats exist against our homeland from outside actors motivated by outside forces with great access now from readily accessible materials that they can get on the Internet, and they can become radicalized also on the Internet and can target us here at home with IED devices.

I rise in support of my amendment, Mr. Chairman, which would require that at least $97.5 million of the $1.5 billion provided to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for State and local government Homeland Security grants would be used for mass transit security programs.

These programs are listed on (1)(E) on page 38 of the bill. The main FEMA and Department of Homeland Security mass transit security effort is their Transit Security Grant Program.

I want to start by thanking Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Price for the increase in funding for the account that funds local grant programs for security and terrorism readiness.

I organized a letter, signed by 39 other Members of Congress, asking for funding that is sufficiently robust for TSGP, the Transit Security Grant Program, to be able to meet our needs for mass transit security. Chairman Carter and Ranking Member Price listened to our request, and more money will be available for this critical security program.

While the FEMA State and local grant account funds a variety of homeland security initiatives, my amendment addresses the critical, if often overlooked, element of mass transit security. Mass transit, which mostly includes bus and rail, is used by millions of Americans every year. In fact, according to the American Public Transportation Association, there are over 10.5 billion passenger trips in 2012 alone. That amounts to over 28 million trips per day.

We're fortunate in the East Bay of California, which I am privileged to represent, to have an excellent bus system and the world-famous Bay Area Rapid Transit system, also known as BART. There were over 400,000 BART passenger trips just this past April.

Unfortunately, some of what makes mass transit so great, that it is easily accessible and carries so many people quickly through critical urban centers, makes it vulnerable to terrorist attacks. In June 2009, the Government Accountability Office, GAO, summarized the issues facing mass transit, writing the following:

According to the Transportation Security Administration

transit officials and transit experts, certain

characteristics of mass transit systems, such as multiple

access points and limited barriers to access, make them

inherently vulnerable to terrorist attack and therefore

difficult to secure. High ridership, expensive

infrastructure, economic importance, and location in large

metropolitan areas or tourist destinations also make them

attractive targets for terrorists because of the potential

for mass casualties and economic damage.

Just 2 months ago in April, a plot to target trains in Canada was thankfully disrupted before anybody was hurt. And, of course, everyone remembers the horrible London attacks from 2005, and the Madrid transit attacks in 2004.

No American, in any part of our country on any of our mass transit systems, should live in fear of a mass transit attack. And damaging mass transit in our key urban centers wouldn't only harm that particular area but could ripple through our Nation's economy. Transit security means economic security. Everyone has an interest in protecting our public transit systems, and that's where TSGP comes in.

Through TSGP, local mass transit systems receive grants to protect and minimize damage from terrorist events. Example of uses include surveillance training, public awareness campaigns, detection equipment, security cameras, and the hardening of infrastructure.

The continuing resolution for fiscal year 2013 provided a floor of $97.5 million for mass transit security, before sequestration, of which $10 million was reserved for Amtrak. My amendment would use that same number. And since the bill before us is based on sequestration levels already, that would amount to an increase in the floor for fiscal year 2014 over fiscal year 2013.

To provide such broad discretion for the Department of Homeland Security is important. However, I also understand the argument that the Homeland Security Secretary should be able to distribute money based on risk and potential harm. I know some Members may feel we shouldn't set minimum amounts to be spent out of this account.

To provide such discretion is important, but it ignores our constitutional responsibility to provide clear direction on how the money is spent. And, it risks certain priorities being ignored. Moreover, the Transit Security Grant Program is a competitive grant program, and so within that framework money would only be distributed based on risk and damage potential.

Last Congress, minimums were included for this account when a compromise was developed with the Senate, including for transit security. I hope the same thing will happen again. My amendment gives this House an opportunity to state now on the record that we value mass transit security.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chairman, as the gentleman from New York pointed out, over the last 11 years we have had zero attacks on our airlines where a knife was involved. Zero attacks. That number cannot get better. However, as we saw on September 11, that number-- tragically--can get much worse.

So I rise in support of the Grimm-Markey-Cook-Swalwell-Reed-Jackson Lee amendment, which would prevent the Transportation Security Administration from changing its prohibitive item list--also known as the PIL--and allowing small knives on airplanes. I want to thank the amendment's cosponsors for their hard work on this issue.

I also want to thank TSA Administrator John Pistole. Administrator Pistole announced today that the TSA will not allow knives on airplanes. I think this is a strong step forward. And after listening to the stakeholders, his position is now that these knives should not be on airplanes.

Like many Americans in our country, I was deeply concerned and confounded when the administrator announced that they would consider allowing knives on airplanes. We saw after September 11 that, as my friend from New York mentioned, zero attacks occurred in our country.

We do now have new threats. The threat from liquids or IEDs could seriously jeopardize the safety of airlines and the passengers who ride on them. However, just because we have new threats that are posed against our airline safety does not mean that we should no longer consider old threats. The TSA must learn how to walk and chew gum at the same time.

So I was proud to work with my friend from New York to organize a letter, along with Congressman Thompson, as our ranking member on Homeland Security, and objected to that policy--in particular, the failure of the TSA to consult with the key stakeholders who would be most affected by this change, such as flight attendants, passenger safety groups, and transportation screening officers as well. The letter had a total of 133 Members signing on to it. Congressmen Grimm and Markey also organized a subsequent letter with a similar number of Members who signed on to it.

Just like my friend from New York, I also worked in law enforcement prior to coming to Congress. I worked as a local deputy district attorney in the district attorney's office in Alameda County. I also served under this Capitol dome as an intern when September 11 happened. I know what terrorists can do if they have a mission to hurt passengers. I also know, as a prosecutor, what a knife can do in a close, confined area. It's not difficult then to understand why so many Members chose to sign on to our letter.

TSA's mission, I want to remind the people of this body, is not only to protect the airline passengers from a terrorist attack; it's also to protect passenger safety in general.

TSA justified its decision by saying that it would allow the TSOs to move more quickly. However, when you put a limit now on what length of knife would be allowed, what the TSOs effectively become are NFL referees measuring first downs. You can imagine the scene. You have a knife coming through. The TSO can't determine how big it is, so he's got to take out the measuring tape, holding up a long line, preventing him from looking at liquids or other explosives and whether they could bring down an airline. And then he's got to declare if it's allowed or not, all the while bags are still moving through to be screened. This would actually make it harder to detect liquids than make it easier, as the TSA had announced.

Had the TSA meaningfully consulted with the stakeholders before announcing its proposal, these issues would have been addressed. But I do appreciate Administrator Pistole and his decision to put the policy on hold to give more time for input. And I appreciate his decision today stating that he no longer will allow knives on board.

Our amendment reaffirms the current ban of knives on planes. It would prohibit the TSA from making the change it had proposed and now has backed away from.

Our amendment is supported by a number of groups, including the Coalition of Flight Attendants Union, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Coalition of Airline Pilots Association, and American Federation of Government Employees.

It's important that we pass this amendment today to show that the House stands with these groups and the flying public in rejecting knives on airplanes.

I again want to thank my colleagues who are cosponsors of this amendment--Mr. Grimm from New York, Mr. Markey, Mr. Cook, Ms. Jackson Lee and Mr. Reed. I appreciate their efforts.

I encourage all Members to support our amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I rise today to ask Speaker Boehner to recognize that the time is now for this House to take up comprehensive immigration reform.

I spent all of last week on an innovation road show. I went up and down Silicon Valley--and I have northern Silicon Valley in my district--and I listened to the job creators, I listened to the innovators. And one message is clear: we have unfilled jobs here in America that require immigration fixes, require increasing the H-1B visas so that we can create jobs behind high-skilled immigrants.

We know that Silicon Valley was built on a three-legged stool: access to capital, brain trusts, and a risk-taking culture. And we know that immigrants

build jobs behind them. They have that brain trust. They have that risk-taking culture. Forty percent of the largest companies in America were built by immigrants or the children of immigrants.

It's time to also put the 11.5 million Americans who are undocumented on a pathway to citizenship. I've been on the ground. I've talked to the innovators, and I hear their cry.

The time is now. So for the sake of our economy, and the sake of our communities, the right thing to do is to put these undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship and to make sure that we can take high-skilled workers from across the world, put them in our country, and create thousands of new jobs behind them.

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

Mr. Chairman, the sacrifices of the few, our military veterans, provide the freedom for the many.

We know that it is our military veterans, who only make up just 1 percent of our population, that provide 100 percent of our freedom. But far too many of our veterans seeking the disability assistance that they rightly earned are running into a severe backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Nationwide, there are close to 800,000 pending disability claims at the VA, and almost 550,000 of these claims have been pending for over 125 days. At the Oakland VA in Oakland, California, which serves the 15th Congressional District, which I represent, the constituents in my district have been waiting, on average, a staggering 552 days. Over 81 percent of the constituents have been waiting over 125 days. This is the longest average wait time across the United States. These numbers are a national disgrace, and I'm ashamed that the veterans who have served our country and have fought so hard have to wait so long.

Our military spends $1.8 billion a year recruiting young Americans to join our military. We spend it on NASCAR, Super Bowl ads, and we send our recruiters out to our schools to have our young men and women join in the honorable profession of defending our country, but we are neglecting the needs of the veterans. We're failing to keep the promises we make after they serve.

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a Salute to New Recruits who are going into the military. I looked at those young, bright faces of young men and women who are going to go off to serve their country, and I told them, You are doing something that is very brave and very noble, but I hope that your families and you stand up for the benefits that you are rightfully earning.

Right now what we're seeing at the VA is shameful, Mr. Chairman. It's shameful that we would treat our veterans like this and not give them the benefits that they've earned. We're failing to live up to that solemn pledge that we've made to our Nation's wounded warriors. That's why this bill is so important. It reaffirms our commitment to caring for the men and women who made sacrifices to serve in uniform.

It contains commonsense solutions to eliminate the disability claims backlog by mandating that the VA modernize the disability claims process, and it also ensures greater efficiency and accountability on the part of the VA.

It would fully fund the President's requested budget to allow for an increase of the staff levels at the Veterans Benefits Administration. These funds would support an additional 94 claims processors, all of whom will work solely on disability claims, helping to address the heart of the backlog.

Increasing staff levels, as we know, however, is not a silver bullet. Creating a more efficient and responsive VA is also necessary if the disability claims process is going to be fixed. Today, the VA spends, on average, 175 days waiting for the Department of Defense to send them a veteran's record, mostly because these records are still kept in the form of paper files. It's time we bring this process into the 21st century.

In addition to moving away from paper files, it's clear that it would be far better for servicemembers and veterans, as well as taxpayers, for the DOD and the VA to maintain one integrated system for electronic health records. This bill seeks to move the DOD away from paper and towards an integrated system that can be used both for DOD and the VA. It also fully funds the Veterans Claims Intake Program, which is working to convert all those paper records the VA receives into digital files.

Mr. Chairman, the constituents of the 15th Congressional District who served so honorably should not have to wait 552 days for their disability compensation cases to be processed.

Those parts of the bill that I outlined will help to improve veterans' access to the benefits that they have earned and enable us to better live up to President Lincoln's promise in his second inaugural address:

To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his

widow and his orphan.

President Lincoln's words happen to be at the core of the VA's mission statement. Words, however, are not enough. Congress must act swiftly to fix the VA backlog with practical solutions and fulfill our pledge to veterans. We must leave no veteran behind when they come back. We must make sure that when we say ``thank you for your service'' to a veteran, that we mean it and we follow up with a meaningful and responsive claims process. The funding in this bill helps move us in that direction.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Amendment Offered by Amodei

Mr. Speaker, today I recognize Jim Hansen, principal of Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. Jim will be retiring this year after serving the East Bay as both a principal and a teacher for over three decades. I benefitted personally from his thoughtful leadership when I was a student at Wells Middle School during his time as principal there.

Jim was born and raised in the East Bay, where he attended St. Joseph's College High School. After high school, Jim worked his way through college where he held positions as a gardener, maintenance man, and many interesting jobs. He went to school at University of California, Berkley, where he majored in history.

After earning his bachelor's degree, Jim took his first teaching job at St. Clement's School in Hayward, where he taught sixth grade science and physical education. While Jim was teaching at St. Clements, he also coached the Pleasanton Valley swim team. Jim then began teaching at St. Elizabeth's school.

Jim transferred to Village High School in the Amador Valley Joint Union School District, teaching English to freshman and sophomore students. While teaching, Jim attended San Francisco State University, where he received his Master's degree in Education Technology. He later received his Administrative Services Credential from California State University, Hayward.

In 1988, Jim became the principal of Valley Continuation High School in Dublin, while also serving as vice principal for Wells Middle School. Jim has also served as principal at Dublin High School, Wells Middle School, Harvest Park Middle School, and, most recently, at Amador Valley High School.

Today, Jim resides in San Ramon, where he has lived with his wife, Judy and children, Kelly, Kevin, and Brian since 1986. Jim's service to the East Bay as both a teacher and administrator will be remembered for his openness and accessibility to both students and parents. I wish Jim the best in his retirement.

I rise today to recognize Mark Croghan, the longest serving school administrator from Castro Valley Unified School District, which is in my district, who will be retiring this year after 27 years of service in the East Bay.

Mark was raised and educated in Hayward, California. After a swimming career at Hayward High School, he earned a swimming scholarship to attend the University of California at Berkley, where he received his college degree.

Mark began a long teaching career after college. He taught kids both in and out of the classroom, coaching a variety of sports, including swimming, basketball, softball, and he even served as the advisor for the ski team.

After receiving his master's degree in 1993, Mark began his administrative career as an assistant principal of Canyon Middle School in Castro Valley. Since then, Mark has served as a principal at both Marshall Elementary and Canyon Middle School.

Over his career as an administrator, Mark has created a positive learning environment and has prioritized the needs of students and their families. His leadership surely will be missed.

But if Mark's past service is any evidence of what to expect of him in the future, surely we have a lot in store for what his public service will bring to our community.

I wish Mark the best in his retirement. It is well earned.

I rise in opposition, Mr. Speaker, to the Making College More Expensive Act.

How short are some of the memories of my friends on the other aside, for it was market-based principles, unregulated market-based principles, that led to the housing crisis that we are just now getting out of.

Doubling the student loan rate is an attack on students. The increased debt that they will take on will build a great wall around our middle class. There's no better way to have a healthy, growing middle class than access to education.

Today, our middle class is shrinking. If you're in the middle class, you're making about $5,000 less than you were 10 years ago. If you're in the middle class, you owe about $25,000 more in debt than you did 10 years ago. Doubling the rates will increase the debt that our middle class has.

I know a thing or two about student loans. I have thousands of dollars of them myself. This is not just dollars on interest rates. We are talking thousands of dollars that individual borrowers like myself and the people that grew up with me in a middle class town called Dublin will take on.

Let's tear down this great wall that the GOP and the House leadership are trying to build around our middle class. Let's not double the rates.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 1344, the Helping Heroes Fly Act.

I am a proud sponsor of this bipartisan legislation introduced by my friend Congresswoman Gabbard. Congresswoman Gabbard is a person who knows a thing or two about what it's like to be a combat veteran who comes back from the battlefield and who has to use our airports. Fortunately, she is back in one piece, but we know all too well that many of our veterans are not, and this bill eases their ability to move through our airports.

It would extend benefits through TSA screenings at airports, benefits similar to the expedited PreCheck program, to severely injured or disabled veterans and to members of the armed services who fly. As it stands now, many of our Nation's wounded warriors report that screening protocols aren't properly standardized at airports around the Nation. Consistent treatment by screeners would help create certainty for the newly injured and give greater attention to addressing their privacy concerns. Despite TSA guidance to the contrary, some veterans report having been required to take off prosthetics in public view during screenings. This is a difficult process that our injured and veterans should not have to endure.

In January, I met with Staff Sergeant Jason Ross from Livermore, California, in my district. Sergeant Ross was severely injured by an IED while honorably serving in Afghanistan and lost both of his legs. This bill would help ease the transition back home for wounded warriors and heroes like Sergeant Ross.

The continued sacrifice and selfless service of our Nation's heroes, a group Sergeant Ross exemplifies with distinction, is immeasurable. That's why we as a Nation must live up to our responsibilities to properly support the men and women of our Armed Forces when they return home. We must leave no soldier behind, and we owe our troops more than just ``thank you for your service.''

Today, it is too easy to spend money, and we've spent over a billion dollars a year recruiting people into our armed services while we're not doing enough to take care of them and keep the promises we make, whether it's providing GI funding or making sure that disability claims are taken care of. Currently, the average wait time for a disability claim ranges between 316 and 327 days. This is far too long.

The Oakland VA, which serves the veterans of my district, has one of the worst backlogs in the Nation. At a time when our wounded warriors are left waiting so long to receive the care that they have rightly earned, helping to ensure our Nation's heroes are able to travel seamlessly and without hindrance when they return home is a step we must take.

I want to thank again my colleague, Congresswoman Gabbard from Hawaii, for sponsoring this bill. I'll always support legislation that helps our returning servicemembers and their families receive the care and thanks they were promised and have earned.

I urge my colleagues to vote for the Helping Heroes Fly Act.