Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dr. Renu Khator as the new President and Chancellor of the University of Houston System.

Dr. Renu Khator has been a long-time advocate of higher education. She dedicated 22 years of her career to the University of South Florida and, at the helm of it, was awarded the position of provost and senior vice president. Her tenure at South Florida is highlighted by leading the expansion of its sponsored research and overseeing an annual $1.6 billion budget for the university.

Her accomplishments lend experience that will positively shape the future of the University of Houston System. She has already shown exceptional enthusiasm and dedication toward students enrolled in the System. Within the first 100 days of her appointment, she gained feedback from over 12,000 students on issues that most concern them. Based on this feedback, it has become one of her top priorities to build a reputation for the University of Houston as a nationally recognized research institution. I have complete confidence that Dr. Khator, the UH faculty, staff and students will achieve this goal and as an institution and community continue to serve as an example of excellence to public universities throughout our country.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to recognize and congratulate Dr. Renu Khator as the new president and chancellor of my alma mater, the University of Houston.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 562, had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Chairman, as cosponsor of this legislation for multiple Congresses, I rise in strong support and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act.

This legislation would take meaningful steps to empower women to negotiate for equal pay, to create strong incentives for employers to follow the law, and to strengthen federal outreach and lenforcement efforts.

According to the 2006 Census Bureau, women still earned only about 77 percent as much as men did. Women of color were worse off--African American women made 66 cents on the dollar compared to the highest earners, white men, while Hispanic women made only 55 cents. As a result, according to the Institute of Women's Policy Research, working women stand to lose anywhere between $400,000 and $2 million dollars over the course of their career because of unequal pay practices. While women's wages and educational attainment hve been rising, there is still a sizeable gender wage gap. Only a portion of the difference in pay can be explained by experience, education, or qualifications.

Using data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau between 2004-2006, my own state of Texas ranked 7th in the nation in gender based wage equity, with women earning on average 80.7 percent of what their male counterparts earned. Although this is slightly better than the national average, it is obvious that there is still work to be done. At the current rate of wage growth for men and women in Texas, the National Committee on Pay Equity estimates that it will take another 38 years before this wage gap is closed.

It is well past time for something be done to close the gender wage gap so that men and women have the same opportunity to a decent working wage. The original Equal Pay Act signed by President Kennedy 45 years ago called for ``equal pay for equal work''. Although it has come a long way, the fight for equal pay and treatment is still an ongoing struggle.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would help address these conditions by amending and strengthening the EPA, so that it will be a more effective tool in combating gender-based pay discrimination. H.R. 1338 will close numerous loopholes in the 45-year-old law that has enabled employers to evade liability. It will also create a new grant program to help strengthen the negotiation skills of girls and women.

Congress must pass this legislation to help ensure that this goal becomes a reality, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting

Madam Speaker, with today's high price of gasoline, I would like to insert into the Record an article reprinted in the Baytown Sun which highlights the need for offshore drilling in our country.

[From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jun. 24, 2008]

Offshore Drilling

The legendary Willie Sutton robbed banks because, as he

famously explained, that's where the money was.

The United States should take a cue from the late Sutton.

It needs to expand drilling for oil and natural gas in

offshore waters because that's where many of the nation's

biggest untapped petroleum deposits probably can be found. At

a time when gasoline prices have soared to the once-

unthinkable level of $4 per gallon, the country is more

vulnerable than ever in terms of its exceptionally heavy

reliance on foreign oil.

President Bush urged Wednesday that Congress remove a 27-

year-old moratorium on offshore drilling. The ban includes

waters off the East and West Coasts and in the eastern Gulf

of Mexico off southwest Florida. Bush also called for

drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and

areas of the western continental United States with large

oil-shale deposits.

Annual U.S. oil production is about 1.8 billion barrels.

The Interior Department estimates that up to 10 times that

amount--about 19 billion barrels--is potentially recoverable

in offshore areas that currently are off-limits to drillers,

according to a McClatchy Newspapers report on Bush's

proposal.

Democrats called the proposal a gimmick that will backfire

on the Republicans.

The Star-Telegram Editorial Board long has supported

significantly expanded offshore drilling. We also favor

drilling in a limited portion of the Arctic refuge that

constitutes only about 8 percent of that vast preserve, which

is roughly the size of South Carolina. We're also open to

considering expanded drilling in some areas of the Western

Madam Speaker, with today's high price of gasoline, I would like to insert into the Record an article from the Baytown Sun which highlights the need for additional domestic resources through offshore drilling.

[From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jun. 20, 2008]

Offshore Drilling

Led by President Bush and Sen. John McCain, a growing

number of politicians say they are willing to drop strict

environmental protections to allow more offshore drilling for

oil. Our response: ``what took y'all so long?''

It's pretty clear to most of us on the Sun editorial board

that when it comes to energy, what we really need is to

produce more, use less, and find new sources of power.

This nation cannot afford to put off serious energy reform

any longer. Let's start with more domestic drilling by

lifting the 27-year-old federal ban on offshore drilling. The

moratorium applies to all federal waters, which extend three

miles from the coastlines.

However, offshore drilling is no panacea. It certainly

doesn't provide a short-term answer to the high gasoline

prices that have angered Americans. It would take up to five

years to start pumping significant amounts of oil from new

wells.

But it's a step in the right direction. Working Americans

rightly believe their government has a duty to finally assure

the energy security of this country.

All across this state and nation, people are hurting. Small

farmers, truckers, and taxi drivers are unable to cover

costs. Small business owners are struggling to meet payroll.

The cost of living is rising, and the value of paychecks is

falling. All of this is in large part because the price of

oil is too high, and the supply of oil is too uncertain.

The American people have had enough of high gas prices and

our government's unwillingness to take care of us.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior and

Congressman Ted Poe, there are approximately 420 trillion

cubic feet of natural gas and more than 86 billion barrels of

oil yet to be discovered along the Outer Continental Shelf in

the lower 48 States. That is enough oil or natural gas to:

Maintain current oil production for 87 years and current

natural gas production for 68 years;

Produce gasoline for 116 million cars and heating oil for

47 million homes for 15 years;

Replace current imports from the Persian Gulf for 59 years;

Produce sufficient natural gas to heat 75 million homes for

60 years;

And supply current industrial and commercial needs for 29

years or supply electricity generating needs for 55 years.

We are the only country in the world that does not fully

cultivate their oil and natural gas resources. There is

absolutely no good reason why we cannot expand current

offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to the coasts of

Florida, California and the eastern seaboard.

Madam Speaker, I rise to explain my reason for missing votes on July 22 and July 23, 2008. My voting percentage is over 96% for the 110th and I rarely miss votes, but there are certain family events that cannot be missed, and for that reason, I was in Houston for the birth of our newest grandson. I am proud to report the newest grandson, as well as mother, father, and the rest of the family are doing fine.

Had I been present for votes, I would have voted as follows:

On rollcall vote No. 523, H. Res. 1344, On Agreeing to the Resolution, Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3999--The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 522, H. Res. 1344, On Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule for H.R. 3999--The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act (H.Res.1344) I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 521, H.R. 6535, Table Motion to Reconsider, National Energy Security Intelligence Act of 2008, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 520, H.R. 6535, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, National Energy Security Intelligence Act of 2008, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 519, H.R. 3221, Concur in Senate Amendment with House Amendment, Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 518, H.R. 6532, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore the Highway Trust Fund balance, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 517, H. Res. 1363, On Agreeing to the Resolution, Providing for consideration of the Senate amendment to the House amendments to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3221, to provide needed housing reform and for other purposes, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 516, H. Res. 1363, On Ordering the Previous Question, Providing for consideration of the Senate amendment to the House amendments to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3221, to provide needed housing reform and for other purposes, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 515, On Motion to Adjourn, I would have voted ``nay;''

On rollcall vote No. 514, H. Res. 1202, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, Supporting the goals and ideals of a National Guard Youth Challenge Day, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 513, H. Res. 1311, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, Expressing support for the designation of National GEAR UP Day, I would have voted ``aye;''

On rollcall vote No. 512, H.R. 6493, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of 2008, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank my Georgia colleague and member of our Energy and Commerce Committee for yielding to me.

And I stand here in strong support of H.R. 6578, the Consumer Energy Supply Act for 2008, introduced by my good friend from Texas and a leader in the House on energy issues, Nick Lampson, as well as my esteemed colleague on our committee, Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

Now, I have to admit, I agree--we need everything, Mr. Speaker. We need to drill more. And frankly, my Michigan colleague, maybe we ought to drill in the part of Lake Michigan that we are not allowed to drill in, since Canada drills there and probably exports that gas to us.

But this bill is so important because this is something we can do immediately. Today's rising petroleum gasoline prices are taking a toll on our hardworking families, even in our district that produce a lot of refined products.

And let's be clear. There are no quick fixes or easy answers to the high price of gas. Prices are set by complex factors like climbing world demand and geopolitical events.

But for the problems within our control, the proper management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or the SPR, we need to take steps necessary to protect the American consumers' interest.

I do not believe the current administration has properly managed the SPR. The SPR exists to protect us during the energy crisis, and is almost full to its 227 million barrel capacity.

But while the cost per barrel of oil skyrocketed, the administration continued to purchase high-priced oil off the market to put in the SPR, limiting the amount of oil available. Granted, it is a small amount, but it would still allow for that additional oil to be on the market.

But Congress fixed that when it sent legislation to the President. And I supported it and it was signed in law to suspend oil additions to the SPR until the end of the year, unless the price of oil falls below $75.

I also believe that when oil prices are very high, we should release SPR oil into the market to increase supply, as the Department of Energy did in response to Hurricane Katrina.

Consistent with the Government Accountability Office recommendation to add heavy crude to our national reserves, this bill would modernize SPR by requiring DOE----

By requiring the DOE to conduct the sale or exchange within 6 months the 70 million barrels of light crude for heavy crude. The GAO found that refineries who, if forced to rely solely on SPR oil during an emergency, would experience a 5 percent reduction in their production capacity. This bill will increase the ability of refineries to respond to supply disruption, and optimize our SPR's effectiveness.

This release would have an immediate impact on the market, reducing the prices at the pump, and easing the effects of energy market speculation.

This is a good first step. And I urge my colleagues, make this step, because we do have a lot of other steps we have to make.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support for H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008.

This important piece of legislation outlines the United States' efforts to combat the devastating effects of AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis on our global community.

I am extremely encouraged that this bill declares Tuberculosis control a major objective of U.S. foreign assistance programs-- particularly, that this bill will encourage the development of a TB vaccine.

TB is the leading killer of people with HIV/AIDS, and the explosion of drug-resistant TB in sub-Saharan Africa threatens to halt and roll back our progress in combating both diseases.

In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 1.7 milion people died of tuberculosis in 2006, with 200,000 dying from HIV- associated TB.

The TB germ is constantly changing and drug resistant strains have been found in 28 countries on 6 continents.

Our current TB Vaccine, BCG, is more than 85 years old and is not compatible against pulmonary TB, which accounts for most TB cases.

Even right here in the United States, it is estimated that 10 to 15 million people in the U.S. have latent TB.

Therefore, developing a vaccine has important implications both internationally and domestically.

Studies also show that the ten year economic benefits of a TB vaccine that was only 75 percent effective could result in an estimated savings of $25 billion; no one can deny that this is a significant amount.

This legislation is a good start in our critical battle against TB and we as a legislative body need to continue to work on TB efforts both internationally and right here at home.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased that Congress has come together in a bipartisan and bicameral way to address the devastating impact ofHIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act reaffirms our commitment to fighting the causes and the spread of these terrible and largely preventable diseases.

Treating HIV/AIDS is more than taking prescription drugs. I applaud my colleagues in the House and Senate, particularly Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen, for recognizing that fighting HIV/AIDS means treating the person and not just the disease. The latest breakthrough medicines are worthless without access to food, water, and security.

This legislation makes the connection and contains an important section to address barriers that limit the start of and adherence to treatment services. There is specific recognition of the direct linkages between efforts to treat HIV/AIDS and nutrition, income security, and drinking water and sanitation programs.

We cannot treat HIV/AIDS without clean water. There is terrible irony in providing patients with advanced antiretroviral agents, and asking them to wash the life-saving pills down with a glass of water that may infect them with a life-threatening, water-bourne illness. I am particularly proud that my simple amendment to add safe drinking water to the list of related activities vital to treatment is included here. This small addition shapes our approach to treatment in a realistic and profoundly positive way.

Much more must be done to deal with the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and the problem of lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitization, the world's leading preventable cause of death. The recognition of these important linkages is a critical step forward in our understanding and treatment of these diseases.

This bill is an important part of the tribute to our late colleagues, Chairman Lantos and Chairman Hyde.

Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress do not like to miss votes on the House floor, and I agree with that feeling. There is sometimes very good reason Members do miss votes, whether it is illness or important business in our district.

This last week, I missed both Tuesday and Wednesday due to an important reason: my wife and I became grandparents for the third time. Our grandson was born Tuesday, July 22, at 3:20 p.m. at Christus St. John's Hospital in Houston. Braden Alexander Hewlett weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and 19 inches long.

Our daughter, Dr. Angela Hewlett, and her husband, father Dr. Alex Hewlett, and now big sister, Lauren, who is all of 3 years old, and Braden are doing well, and I want to congratulate their growing family.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Onesephor Peter Broussard, a constituent and citizen of Pleasantville, Texas, and a tireless civil rights advocate, who passed away June 25, 2008, at the age of 81.

Born in Louisiana to sharecropper parents, Mr. Broussard served in a segregated Army unit during World War II, in the battalion known as the Black Panthers. After returning to the States, Mr. Broussard served as a union organizer at Armco Steel, where he worked for 35 years.

But what truly distinguished Mr. Broussard, was his endless fight for civil rights, specifically for the integration of the Houston Independent School District. In 1966, Mr. Broussard and his wife filed a lawsuit against HISD to stop a project that would encourage de facto segregation. The suit eventually went to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the judges unfortunately refused to halt the program. Despite this, Mr. Broussard's eldest son, Richard Broussard, became the first African-American freshman at McReynolds High School in the Fifth Ward of Houston, TX. It was only thanks to his father's tireless struggle that Richard, and his siblings, were able to gain the good education that their father had never had.

In addition to this civil rights work, Mr. Broussard served as an officer in the Pleasantville Civic League, and as director of the Gulf Coast Community Action Board and the Community Development Commission. He dedicated his life to helping others, and this made him a true leader in every way. O.P. was a civil rights pioneer and a good friend.

He will be greatly missed by the Pleasantville community and by all those who knew him, and I ask that you remember the Broussard family in your thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise not necessarily in opposition to H.R. 6251. It is difficult to support or oppose something that is already current law. We already have use-it-or-lose-it. We have 10-year leases in this bill. That is what the law is.

Americans need Congress to look at real solutions in addressing energy needs, especially when we have $4 a gallon gas. We need answers, and not just slogans. We cannot drill our way to energy independence, we can't conserve our way, and we surely can't use alternatives to have energy independence. We need to do it all.

The legislation before us today was introduced a week ago with no committee hearings, no markups. And they raise a valid question: Are people really sitting on oil leases and not producing?

Now, there may be reasons for it, like there are not permits allowed to get it from the Navy Petroleum Reserve. I know in the Outer Continental Shelf, which I am real familiar with because it is off of Texas, a lot of those leases can't produce because there are no resources on it, but they still have that lease for 10 years.

Let me tell you, with $140 a barrel oil, everybody wants to drill everywhere that you can. But we already have 10-year leases. In fact, I would like to include for the Record a copy of a current lease that is from Minerals Management on section 4, diligence and rate of development. We already have a diligence requirement in the 10 year leases that are there.

What we need to do is actually do everything we can. We need to drill the leases we have, but we do need to get additional leases available in some of the most productive areas of the Outer Continental Shelf and make it available, because we need to make sure that our country is going to be energy independent and not dependent on Venezuela or Saudi Arabia or any other country. And we can do it. We have Senators going to Saudi Arabia begging for them to increase their production, but we won't increase ours in some of the most potential productive areas.

That is why we need solutions instead of slogans. That is why I have a hesitation to support the bill or oppose it, because it is already current law.

I will be glad to yield.

I would be glad to read part of the lease for you, the fact that they can already take that lease back now under current law, if they want to.

Mr. Speaker, I include the lease section referred to earlier for the Record.

Sec. 4. Diligence, rate of development, unitization, and

drainage--Lessee must exercise reasonable diligence in

developing and producing, and must prevent unnecessary damage

to, loss of, or waste of leased resources. Lessor reserves

right to specify rates of development and production in the

public interest and to require lessee to subscribe to a

cooperative or unit plan, within 30 days of notice, if deemed

necessary for proper development and operation of area,

field, or pool embracing these leased lands. Lessee must

drill and produce wells necessary to protect leased lands

from drainage or compensatory royalty for drainage in amount

determined by lessor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 195, which would designate June 2008 as National Dysphagia Awareness Month.

Dysphagia is a condition that affects nearly 15 million Americans. According to the NIH, people with dysphagia have difficulty swallowing and may also experience pain while swallowing.

Some people may be completely unable to swallow or may have trouble swallowing liquids, foods, or saliva. Eating then becomes a challenge. Often, dysphagia makes it difficult to take in enough calories and fluids to nourish the body.

The CDC estimates that 1,000 people in the United States annually are diagnosed with dysphagia and 60,000 Americans die from complications from this condition every year.

However, many people have never heard of dysphagia and unfortunately most cases of dysphagia go unreported.

Designating June 2008 as National Dysphagia Awareness Month will help raise awareness and understanding of dysphagia.

I want to thank Mr. Wamp for sponsoring this legislation and urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of HR 6331. This important piece of legislation will delay the physician payment cut, which is scheduled to go into effect on July 1.

It has been over a decade since the physician fee schedule was put in place to help control increases in Medicare payments to physicians.

The Medicare program reimburses physicians who treat seniors using a complex formula that is based on a number of factors.

Unfortunately, payments for physician services matched the SGR and expenditure targets for only the first 5 years.

Since then, the actual expenditures have exceeded the target by so much that the system is no longer realistic.

As we have learned in recent years the formula reduces payments to physicians when the economy goes down--a time when doctors are least able to absorb the extra costs.

These payment reductions have caused many physicians to hold off on accepting new Medicare patients, withdraw from the program, or retire altogether.

In areas like mine that rely heavily on Medicare and Medicaid, we probably will not be in a situation where doctors stop taking Medicare.

Rather, we will see access problems created by attrition--where the gap created physician retirements is not filled by new crops of doctors willing to take Medicare patients.

If we reach that point, Medicare will have failed in its mission to provide equality in access to health care for our senior citizens.

Twice we have tried to pass legislation to address the physician payment cut and these bills were vetoed twice by the President.

H.R. 6331 will delay by 18 months the 10.6% physician pay-cut in Medicare reimbursement rates due to take effect July 1 and will give physicians a 1.1 % payment update for 2009.

This bill is not a long term solution to the physician payment and SGR problem, but it does give Congress time to revamp the program.

Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of the amendment to H.R. 6063 submitted by my good friend from Texas, Congressman Nick Lampson.

The Lampson amendment will enable NASA to meet its energy needs by clarifying language set forth in Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Section 526 prohibits Federal agencies from purchasing alternative or synthetic fuels for mobility-related use other than for research or testing, unless the purchase contract specifies that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions are less than that of conventional petroleum- based fuels.

The Lampson amendment will enable NASA to continue to contract for generally available fuels as long as the fuel is not predominately made from non-conventional sources. Without the certainty of this amendment, NASA may not have been able to procure fuels that may have been mixed with Canadian oil sands, no matter how small the mixture.

North American oil sands are vital to United States oil supplies. Oil sands represent approximately 5 percent of the total U.S. oil supply and are mixed in with fuel derived from other sources.

With the price of energy skyrocketing, our nation needs to diversify our fuel supplies, not restrict them. America should also encourage increased supplies of North American energy and decrease our dependence on oil from hostile countries.

I applaud Congressman Lampson's amendment and urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support it. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 31, which will congratulate the Honorable Andrew L. Jefferson, Jr. on his achievements and his selection as the First Endowed Chair of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Trial Advocacy Program. Judge Jefferson is a friend of mine and a fine American who earned this recognition.

Judge Jefferson has dedicated almost 50 years of service to the legal profession, serving in both public and private practice. He served with honor as a judge of the Court of Domestic Relations in Harris County, and later as the 208th District Court Judge for Harris County. Throughout his career, he has received numerous commendations and awards, including the Anti-Defamation League National Torch of Liberty Award and the League of United Latin American Citizens National Community Service Award, to name a few.

Judge Jefferson has also been an integral member of the Houston community. He has devoted much effort to public service in our area and has been involved with community organizations and services throughout his life. He stands as a lifetime member of the Houston Area Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

This endowment will be an invaluable resource to the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and the legal profession at large. Its creation ensures that Judge Jefferson's legacy continues.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.