Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commend the Eden Prairie High School Football Team on winning the Minnesota State Championship.

The Eagles capped off an undefeated 13-0 season with a hard-fought victory over Totino-Grace in which they trailed at halftime by 14 points. Senior running back Will Rains led the way with 230 yards rushing and 3 Touchdowns, but the victory by Mike Grant's unit was a complete team effort.

With their backs against the wall, the Eagles dug deep to claw their way back and win their fourth consecutive big school title.

Football is a unique sport in that every play requires 11 teammates working in unison to be successful. It takes perfect execution combined with skill and of course, a large amount of toughness to make a deep play-off run and win a title.

Eden Prairie's commitment to excelling on the gridiron is even more noteworthy when combined with the requirements of a student-athlete. Maintaining commitments in the classroom, with their families, and fitting in a social life is not easy for a group of teenagers--but these young men were able rise to the occasion.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to once again congratulate the Eden Prairie Eagles for bringing home the state title!

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Smith for his hard work and bipartisan leadership, and for bringing a very, very important issue to the floor, and also for his longtime advocacy for lifting people up out of poverty.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard Members speak on the floor here today very bipartisanly in support of H.R. 5656, the Feed the Future Global Food Security Act. The Feed the Future Initiative embodies the very best of the United States' foreign aid. It is a new approach. It doesn't just provide handouts but, instead, provides a hand-up to some of the very poorest parts of the world.

Feed the Future is working to bring sustainable agricultural practices to targeted communities around the world to help lift people out of extreme poverty. In fact, in 2013, farmers working with the program applied these improved techniques to over 4 million hectares of land.

The program's work goes far beyond just increasing yields for farmers though, Mr. Speaker. It is introducing an entrepreneurial spirit into these communities, a business model, an empowerment model. It is increasing family incomes. It is expanding economic growth. And it is opening up new trade opportunities.

This work is also empowering communities to take control of their future by building sustainable local economies. As they become more reliant on themselves, they become less reliant on government assistance. This should always be the goal of our U.S. foreign aid programs.

This program is also leveraging support, as has been mentioned, from the private sector, the civil sector, and the research community. This targeted approach from all of these sides of the equation and the reliance on advanced data and research has allowed them now to achieve these cost-effective results. Those results are very impressive so far: 4.5 million farmers reached, over $98 million in private sector investment, $93 million in new local income, and 12.5 million children under the age of 5 receiving very important nutrition programs.

We need to continue to build upon the successes of the Feed the Future Initiative in our efforts to end global poverty. There is no doubt that programs like this are driving a new pathway in foreign aid and bringing along life-changing results.

I want to recognize the bipartisan work that is going on in Congress, along with the leadership also of Dr. Raj Shah at USAID, so that we can continue to help so many.

I ask all of my colleagues to support this very bipartisan legislation and the Feed the Future Initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Wayzata High School Girls Cross-Country team on their recent victories in the state and national championships.

Their 2A Minnesota State Championship, the third in a row for Wayzata, was the result of a strong performance at the state meet in Northfield.

In addition to their third consecutive state championship win, the Wayzata girls' team won the Nike Cross Nationals Meet in Portland, Oregon by beating out teams from New York, Utah, and Indiana.

The Trojans were led by the performance of Anna French who took 3rd place at state and 8th at the national meet.

The Wayzata Girls Cross Country team took on this latest challenge in the midst of difficult practice schedules, academic expectations, and various other commitments. Their success this season is a tribute to their excellent teamwork and tenacity, qualities they will no doubt maintain as they move forward.

I commend Coach Dave Emmans and the entire Trojans team for their passion and hardwork. Cross Country is athletics at its purest and requires mental toughness and physical endurance to excel. By pushing each other every day, Wayzata reached truly exceptional heights this season.

It is truly an honor to congratulate and represent these hard-working student-athletes and congratulate them on their success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Wayzata High School Boys Cross Country team on winning the Minnesota Cross Country 2A Championship Meet, held at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

The Trojans--led by Coach Bill Miles--dominated the field and finished with the lowest score in school history of 47 points. This is the eighth state championship in Coach Miles 40 years of coaching.

Wayzata truly made it a team effort as six different runners made the All-Lake team. The team was led by Connor Olson's championship effort, clocking in at 15 minutes, 17.1 seconds. Jaret Carpenter and Ian Eklin both had top ten finishes as well for the Trojans.

The dedication it takes to become a state championship athlete should be commended. It means skillfully juggling practice, academics, and other commitments to be prepared physically and mentally for each race. Their success this season is a tribute to their effort and focus and they should take pride in their victory.

Cross Country is athletics at its purest. It takes hard work day after day, pushing oneself to the limit in order to achieve your personal best. It takes a strong mental will to reach the point of exhaustion and then push past it. Wayzata's success this year is evidence of this effort.

It is truly an honor to congratulate and represent these hard-working student-athletes. Congratulations Trojans!

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their work on the NDAA. I also want to thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member DeFazio for their work on the Public Lands portion of the bill.

Included in this bipartisan, bicameral legislation is my bill to allow the Department of Treasury to authorize the minting of a series of commemorative coins to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016.

Our national parks are America's crown jewels and our greatest natural resources that deserve to be celebrated and preserved, so future generations can enjoy the beauty and history of our country.

Today, the National Park Service comprises 401 areas, covering more than 84 million acres in every state, DC, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Minnesota is home to 5 national parks that are visited by more than 650,000 people each year and they contribute $34 million to the economy.

I grew up in a family that often vacationed in our National Parks. And I've carried on this tradition with my four daughters and wife, where we enjoy camping, hiking, fishing and seeing America's beauty. Just this past August we camped in Glacier National Park--one of the girls' favorites.

Proceeds from this commemorative coin program would go to the National Park Foundation, which is responsible for preserving and protecting resources under the stewardship of the National Park Service and promoting public enjoyment and appreciation of those resources. These funds will be critical to prepare for the celebration of the centennial. I want to emphasize that this bill will not cost the taxpayers money.

This is an important step to help us honor our country's important heritage. I look forward to its passage and appreciate its inclusion in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, more than 37 million people in the United States have a disability, including more than 500,000 in Minnesota. For parents raising a child with a disability, it is both emotionally and financially draining.

While, individuals with disabilities are living longer and more productive lives than ever before, they still face barriers to finding and holding employment, living independently, and taking care of their daily needs. We can make it easier for these families to bear this financial burden.

The bipartisan ABLE Act, or Achieving a Better Life Experience, will give individuals with disabilities new opportunities for them to save and pay for the costs of their disabilities. Using an ABLE account, they and their families are able to put aside money tax free and then use it to cover qualified expenses such as health, education, housing, and transportation.

For eight years, this legislation has been proposed, talked about, and pending in Congress. I became an early advocate for the ABLE Act when I was first elected to the House. It is supported by more than 70 health care and disability organizations. Now's the time to get this across the finish line and pass the ABLE Act to help families and individuals most in need.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Bloomington, Minnesota, resident Jim Carroll, who was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honor Medal by the government of France. That is the highest honor given by the government of France to a foreign national.

Jim was honored for his actions as a U.S. Army paratrooper during World War II. His first combat jump with the 101st Airborne Division was at Normandy Beach, where he helped secure a critical bridge. Jim then went on to fight in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.

Jim Carroll's willingness to put his life in danger in service to our country and our allies is absolutely worthy of our respect and deserving of the special recognition.

After leaving the military, Jim married his wife, Effie, and moved to Bloomington, Minnesota, where he has lived now for 70 years.

Mr. Speaker, we are all thankful for Jim's service and congratulate him on receiving the French Knight of the Legion of Honor Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, tonight, I rise with several of my colleagues to honor the work and memory of Congressman Bill Frenzel, who passed away on Monday. Congressman Frenzel represented Minnesota's Third Congressional District for 20 years, first elected in 1970 and retiring in 1990.

Actually, Mr. Speaker, many of us tonight had already planned to speak today to express our love and appreciation to Bill from this floor, even before we learned of his death.

Now, it just feels too late, in a way, but one of the benefits of extolling the virtues of people greater than ourselves is that we become better still, so we are keeping with that plan tonight.

I must admit, Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, that as I stand here in this Chamber, where Bill did some of his best work, my heart is more full of emotions than my head is full of ideas, and there are many facts that I could recite about the service of Bill Frenzel; instead, I am going to try to capture the man that I knew, the man that we all knew, and the man that we all truly loved and respected.

When I received the news that Bill passed away on Monday, there was a scrap of paper hanging on my wall in my Washington office and also a scrap of paper hanging on my Minnesota wall that became my prized possessions. They are two vintage Frenzel doodles.

There are hundreds of them out there--whimsical, fantastically detailed little drawings that Bill Frenzel did while he was on the phone, while he was in committee meetings, listening to testimony, or during debates. Such was the hyperactivity of this brilliant mind, that when he was required to sit still, his drawing hand had to be moving.

I say that to convey the idea that Bill Frenzel was just more alive than most people that you meet. He was always thinking. He was always creating. He was always pushing positive ideas, and in the interactions that I had with him, it was like he was always leaning forward at you at an angle, like a person walking boldly into a stiff wind.

Bill Frenzel was a serious legislator, often pouring over line by line of the Federal budget. In fact, that practice continued after he left Congress. Every year, he would make a phone call to my office, requesting his copy of the annual Federal budget.

It is amazing to me that anyone would even want this massive document sitting on their bookshelf, but what is truly amazing is that Bill would actually go through this budget line by line for decades after he left this institution.

Bill believed in and dedicated his life to doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people, and for Bill, the way that he did the greatest good for the greatest number of people was by promoting and advancing international trade.

I suppose it began by looking at the great good being done around the world

by many outstanding companies that operate out of the district that we represent in Minnesota, companies that feed and restore health to millions and billions all across the borders of the world.

Bill believed--and he was absolutely right--that there is no force in the modern world that has done more to raise people out of poverty, to foster the spread of human rights, or to expand democracy than international trade.

Within Bill's own lifetime, the United States and Germany and Japan were mortal enemies, doing terrible violence to each other's lands and peoples, but through the experience of being trading partners, they have become our best friends and our best allies.

For three decades, there was no stronger advocate for international trade that was more persuasive than Congressman Bill Frenzel. He was the indispensable man, in many ways, in the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has benefited all of the people of our continent immeasurably and has been the model of our agreements now for all over the world.

Just last month, in October, Bill received the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle--that is the highest honor of the nation of Mexico that can be given to a noncitizen--in appreciation of his work on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In 2000, he also received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, from the Emperor of Japan for his efforts to advance trade and the U.S. relationship with Japan.

He deserves America's highest honors as well. He worked across the aisle as a consensus seeker because he understood that relationships matter, that relationships make a difference, especially on the big issues like Social Security reform, budget reform, tax reform, welfare reform, and, of course, trade agreements.

After retiring from Congress in 1991, he became a guest scholar in economic studies at The Brookings Institution, and he remained very active in public policy, being appointed to governmental panels by Presidents on both sides of the aisle.

Just 2 months ago--in fact, in September, President Obama reappointed him to the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. That is a position that he was first appointed to by President George W. Bush in the year 2002.

He also cochaired the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan organization dedicated to educating the public about the impact of fiscal policies.

I will just tell you, personally, Mr. Speaker and Members, that I will miss my conversations with Bill Frenzel. I got together with him every 3 or 4 months over coffee, where he would share his years of wisdom, his experiences, and his insights that he gained during that tenure in public service.

There is no doubt that he was a good friend and a mentor in many respects; however, there is no temptation for any of us to try to do a Bill Frenzel imitation because there will never be another like him.

For me, Bill absolutely inspires me to be the best that I can be and search for ways that I can do the greatest good to help the greatest numbers of people.

I offer my condolences tonight, Mr. Speaker, to the Frenzel family; to his wife, Ruthy, who was always by his side; and to his three daughters, Debbie, Pam, and Mitty.

I also want to give thanks to Minnesota's Third Congressional District voters for electing him in the first place and for giving me an amazing set of shoulders to try to stand upon, as well as my thanks to God for the life and service and the example of Congressman Bill Frenzel.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the Congressman from the Eighth Congressional District of Minnesota, Mr. Rick Nolan. Congressman Nolan has a very unique perspective on his friendship with Bill Frenzel, serving with him both in Congress, as well as in the State legislature in Minnesota.

I will just say that, as two public servants of Minnesota for a number of years, both in and out of office, their paths crossed many times, and their friendship exemplifies, I think, Bill's friendly nature and willingness to work with people on both sides of the aisle to get things done for the country and our State.

Well, I thank the gentleman for sharing his perspective, his stories, and some fond memories. I appreciate that very much, and I know the family does as well.

Next I will yield to the gentleman from Maryland, Steny Hoyer, the minority whip who served for a decade, Mr. Speaker, with Bill Frenzel until Bill retired in 1991. And that relationship continued after Bill's retirement as both had a passion for working on the Federal budget and bridging the gap between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to our country's spending and tax policies.

Mr. Speaker, Congressman Hoyer I think often pointed out Bill's willingness to put all things on the table when it comes to the budget to find common ground with his counterparts on the other side of the aisle. I am happy to yield to the gentleman.

I thank the gentleman for offering his perspective, as well, in those unique stories and reflections from a bipartisan basis on a truly great American, as Mr. Hoyer had mentioned.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will yield to the gentleman from Texas, Kevin Brady, my colleague and a good friend who is a very distinguished member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He is also the former chairman and a member of the Subcommittee on Trade. Congressman Brady is another Member of Congress that benefited greatly from the wealth of wisdom that Bill Frenzel imparted on important

issues like trade and the Federal budget. I know I can speak for many members of the Ways and Means Committee when I say that the work that Bill did at The Brookings Institution, as well as the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, has been beneficial to all of us.

I yield to the gentleman.

I thank the gentleman. As he mentioned, the members of the Ways and Means Committee absolutely do look at Bill Frenzel as an important role model and inspiration as we look to tackle continued problems and opportunities down the road.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will yield to my colleague from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison), another Member, like Bill, who is committed to serving the people of Minnesota in the Fifth Congressional District, his constituents.

Bill Frenzel, as was mentioned, was always someone that was willing to work across the aisle to get things done and accomplished here in Washington. I think all of us in the Minnesota delegation are thankful for the example set by Bill for working together, and we see that example still today. I know I have worked with Congressman Ellison on similar issues for our constituents back home, and I think that we can thank Bill Frenzel for setting that spirit of cooperation that preceded us both.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.

I thank the gentleman because those words he mentioned about being hardworking and thoughtful certainly reflect Bill Frenzel's spirit which we need to continue to embody on this House floor.

Mr. Speaker, next I will yield to the Congresswoman from Minnesota, Michele Bachmann, my colleague and good friend. She is the Representative from Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District and somebody who, like me, has served after Bill Frenzel's congressional career came to a conclusion but has benefited also, I think, from Bill's service. As we know, she will also be leaving our delegation and retiring from Congress, and we are thankful for her service to Minnesota. I know that she will look to the example that was also set by Bill Frenzel and stay very active and involved in public policy issues that face our country even after her House tenure comes to an end soon.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman.

I thank my colleague. As you mentioned, he was a veteran, a public servant, a thinker, opening himself to new ideas and certainly offering ideas himself.

There is sadness, but, as you mentioned, great joy as we reflect on the opportunities to be a role model to help others. So I thank the gentlelady for her comments tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to note that several Members were unable to attend and be with us on the floor tonight, but they will be submitting statements for the Record. These Members include Congressman Paul Ryan from Wisconsin. He is the next chairman to the Committee on Ways and Means. Although their time in Congress did not overlap, I know that Congressman Ryan valued his friendship with Bill Frenzel and often sought his counsel on trade and other matters while he was still learning his ropes on the Committee on Ways and Means. In fact, when we had our coffees together, he would often reflect and ask questions about Congressman Ryan and his future.

Congressman Dave Camp, the current chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, as well may offer some comments. We had a conversation earlier today and also reflected on the contributions that our former colleague Bill Frenzel had made to the institution at the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, we lost a true leader, a true role model who represented the absolute and very best in public service. Bill Frenzel was a statesman who continues to be an inspiration in many ways to the folks in this body and on this House floor and all of those who continue to be focused on issues like tax reform, welfare reform, budget reform, and advancing a trade agenda and economic freedom throughout the world.

And so tonight, as we close, we close noting that we are honoring an American that contributed greatly to giving the greatest good to the greatest number of people. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you with the members of the Minnesota House delegation after the sad news reached us that former Congressman Bill Frenzel passed away yesterday. For two decades, Bill Frenzel represented Minnesota's Third Congressional District, epitomizing the very best in public service.

Bill was a visionary and a leader on budget, tax, and trade issues, advocating for new trade agreements to open new markets for American products and services. Just last month, he was given the Order of the Aztec Eagle award from the Mexican Government for his work on the North American Free Trade Agreement. That is the highest award that can be bestowed on a noncitizen.

Bill will be especially remembered, though, for his temperament and kindness that led him to build constructive relationships on both sides of the aisle, a model that we should all continue to work on and reflect in this House. Personally, I will remember him as a great mentor and a friend and for his valuable advice.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that we rise for a moment of silence in the memory of Congressman Bill Frenzel.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, Americans have been pleading for Congress to take action to spur economic growth and create jobs. And the House has repeatedly acted to pass bipartisan legislation to get people back to work, and we are doing so once again today.

Today in this jobs bill is a provision that I authored to repeal the destructive medical device tax. It is destructive because it is a tax not on profit but on sales.

The medical device industry directly employs more than 400,000 people across the country, including 35,000 jobs in my home State of Minnesota. These companies create the lifesaving and life-improving technologies for our patients.

But, because of the President's new health care law, the device industry is now facing one of the highest effective tax rates in the world. This device tax has already resulted in the loss of 33,000 American jobs. That is the equivalent of the entire Minnesota medical device industry being wiped off the map. Another 132,000 jobs are expected to disappear or now go overseas. And these are good-paying jobs, Mr. Speaker--$60,000 to $80,000 per job. Eighty

percent of these companies are small businesses, employing 50 people or less.

I asked one company that I recently visited, with 60 employees: What does the device tax mean to you? It means I have six projects now instead of 10 projects; I will have two fewer engineers and two fewer technicians.

Another Minnesota company that I recently talked to with 20 employees that is not yet profitable told me that now they are borrowing--they are borrowing--$100,000 a month just to pay the tax. That is crazy.

So companies are cutting back on their research and development. Venture capital is disappearing. And we are seeing less innovation.

The bottom line is, this device tax is so poorly conceived, it kills jobs, it is stifling lifesaving and life-enhancing innovation, and both Democrats and Republicans in the House agree on this.

My legislation to repeal this harmful tax has 275 coauthors in this body, 46 of whom are Democrats. There is overwhelming bipartisan support to repeal this job-killing tax. But we need the Senate to take action. We need the Senate to stop blocking this bill from moving forward. That way, we can get this done.

It is time, Mr. Speaker, to come together to protect American jobs by repealing the device tax.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate and recognize Susan Neis and the 29 years of service to our community she has provided as executive director for Cornerstone Advocacy Service.

Susan's hard work began in 1985, when Cornerstone was just a few staff members and volunteers working together in one room out of a church in Bloomington. Under her leadership and her vision for preventing domestic abuse, Cornerstone has now grown to 80 employees who provide around-the-clock crisis counseling, emergency shelter services, and transitional housing to ten cities across Hennepin County.

I have spent time at Cornerstone myself, and I have seen firsthand the services they provide in our community for adults and children who have been traumatized by domestic violence, by sexual violence, and human trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, the impact of Cornerstone's success is a reflection of Susan's hard work, her dedication, and her passion.

I would like to thank Susan for helping save lives, for serving our community, and I congratulate her on her successful tenure at Cornerstone, and I wish her the best in her retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of the Mendota Heights police officer Scott Patrick, who tragically lost his life in the line of duty recently. Officer Patrick was a 19-year veteran of the Mendota Heights police force. He loved his community, and he served it with honor.

Whether he was checking in with accident victims at the hospital or stopping by local businesses for a chat, Officer Patrick will be remembered as somebody who was friendly, who was helpful, and always looking to serve others.

A dedicated family man with two teenage daughters, Officer Patrick would constantly remind his fellow officers to enjoy their days off and make sure that they spent time with their loved ones.

Madam Speaker, Officer Patrick's tragic death reminds us of all the dangers that members of the Thin Blue Line face each and every day in order to help keep our communities safe. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Michelle, his daughters, and the Mendota Heights police officers.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker and Members, while there are many issues that divide Washington, this is absolutely an area where there is agreement and bipartisan and bicameral work being done. We already passed five separate antitrafficking bills just a few months ago, in May, and I am very pleased we are taking additional action on these pieces of legislation tonight.

More than 100,000 children are at risk of being trafficked for commercial sex in the United States. Those most at risk of victimization are the vulnerable, including children from our foster care system. Many of these children face barriers to a real childhood, and they are unable to participate in school activities, to play after- school sports, or to even spend time with friends. Youths that have been involved in the foster care system are much more likely to become runaways or homeless at an early age. The preventative measures in this legislation will make a difference.

On any given night, 2,500 youths in Minnesota--my home State--will experience homelessness, and a majority of those homeless youths is solicited for sex within 48 hours of becoming homeless. In fact, law enforcement will say--and tells me--that the overwhelming majority of trafficking victims is part of that homeless population and that 60 percent of those victims were in foster care or group homes when they ran away.

We know, Mr. Speaker, that trafficking is a very complex problem that requires many different solutions. It is going after the demand by punishing the johns. It is shutting off access to trafficking victims through Web sites like backpage.com. It is increasing international cooperation and passing safe harbor laws that ensure children are treated as victims of these heinous crimes and not as criminals.

Most importantly, as we have in this legislation, we need to prevent children from becoming potential victims in the first place. This bill takes important steps to improve the sharing of information as to what is happening, where and to whom. By identifying trends and filling in the gaps, we can help these children in foster care before they become victims in the first place.

I really want to thank not only Chairman Camp, Ranking Member Levin and Ranking Member Doggett, but I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Reichert for his passion, his advocacy, and his hard work on this legislation. We brought this together in a bipartisan manner.

I also want to thank them in particular for including provisions from the legislation, which I authored with Congresswoman Slaughter, that address the lack of reliable data and reporting to law enforcement as it relates to runaway youth from the child welfare system. I look forward to its passage and to the passage of all of these bipartisan bills this evening because, together, we can end trafficking.

Madam Speaker, I just want to congratulate the Mayo Clinic on being named the best hospital in the country by U.S. News & World Report, beating out nearly 5,000 medical centers nationwide.

U.S. News & World Report takes into account several factors, such as survival rates, technology, patient safety, and physician surveys. This was the first time the Mayo Clinic has been awarded the top prize, beating out other outstanding facilities like Massachusetts General and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The Mayo Clinic is the largest integrated nonprofit group practice in the world, attracting people from all 50 States and 150 different countries. In addition to providing patients with unparalleled care, the Mayo Clinic engages in cutting-edge research, community outreach, and the education of the next generation of medical professionals.

Madam Speaker, I just want to commend the Mayo Clinic's commitment to providing high-quality care for its patients, and I congratulate them on this well-deserved distinction and recognition.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to highlight legislation that the House passed this week protecting the future of our digital economy.

The rise of the Internet has been a great American success story. One of the biggest reasons for its success is the fact that the government hasn't needlessly gotten in the way of innovators who have grown the information superhighway to what it is today.

This week, the House passed, with bipartisan overwhelming support, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act to continue to allow the Internet to

flourish and protect the opportunities that arise with it.

Without this legislation, we will see taxes increased on hardworking Americans and decreased access to the Internet. It is estimated that low-income households would actually bear 10 times the financial load as high-income households just to go online.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation that was voted on this week is as common sense as it comes. I ask and urge the Senate to take action as well so we can protect Internet access from taxation.