Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I was unable to return to Washington in time for votes on June 17, 2008 due to a personal matter in my hometown of Houston, TX. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

``Yea'' on rollcall vote 414 on H.R. 2964, the Captive Primate Safety Act;

``Yea'' on rollcall vote 415 on H.R. 3702, the Montana Cemetery Act;

``Yea'' on rollcall vote 416 on H. Res. 1275, Honoring the life of Timothy John Russert, Jr., public servant, political analyst, and author.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to raise awareness of an increasing problem with H2B Visa abuse in my hometown of Houston and elsewhere.

Fraudulent recruiters are increasingly bringing in foreign workers for temporary, low skill positions by claming there is a labor shortage for this type of work.

These recruiters frequently advertise positions with wages below what they should be paid, and when there are no responses the employers claim there is a labor shortage and bring in foreign workers to do that work.

The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that the hiring of foreign workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers working in the occupation in the area of intended employment.

However, these regulations are not being strictly enforced.

The Department of Labor has proposed new procedures based on its contention that its workload, and the workload of State workforce agencies, has greatly increased in recent years due to the H2B visa program and that an adequate rise in funding to meet that increased workload has not occurred.

The proposed changes would cover many aspects of the H2B visa application process, including the moving of filing of State workforce agencies to the National Processing Centers. New requirements for employers to report on the status of their H2B employees should be enforced.

I am extremely concerned about these changes, because current regulations are not being strictly enforced at the national level, or at the State workforce agency level and moving filings to the national processing center along with these other changes will not improve enforcement.

This lack of enforcement is driving down wages, and preventing individuals from gaining experience necessary to move into higher paying jobs.

Congress needs to act and should require recruiters to be certified or licensed to prevent temporary workers and their U.S. employers from being misled about the nature of their visas being defrauded or victimized by outrageous fees.

This would allow oversight of the recruiting process which is a much- needed addition to the program.

Madam Speaker, I plan to work to see that this issue is addressed, that these rules are corrected, and I urge my colleague to join me in fixing this problem.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor the grand opening of GreenHunter Energy's Renewable Fuels Campus located in my congressional district in Houston, Texas.

GreenHunter Energy's renewable fuels campus--a converted waste oil refinery--is the largest and most versatile biodiesel refinery in the U.S. to date. The campus includes a 105 million gallon per year biodiesel refinery, a 700,000 barrel bulk liquid terminal operation, a

200 million pound-per-year glycerin distillation system, and a 45,000 barrel-per-month methanol distillation tower.

GreenHunter Energy's biodiesel refinery is ``feedstock agnostic'', meaning that it can use 100 percent animal fats, 100 percent vegetable oils, or any blend of the two interchangeably. By producing biodiesel from multiple feedstocks, including non-edible sources such as tallow and jatropha, GreenHunter offers practical solutions to the ongoing ``food versus fuels'' debate.

Located along Houston's Ship Channel, GreenHunter's campus has deepwater access and the ability to transport products via barge, rail, and truck. Biodiesel generators at the site will provide enough electricity for GreenHunter to power the campus and sell unneeded renewable power back to the area's power grid.

The addition of GreenHunter Energy's zero emission facility has created many new long-term jobs for Texans and will help move our nation closer to its goal of reducing dependence on foreign crude oil supplies.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. This is my first term on the Foreign Affairs Committee. But I am not here necessarily as a committee member. I am here as a Member of Congress from Texas concerning the relationship Texas has had with Mexico for generations, if not centuries, and the relationship that we need to continue.

There is literally a battle going on in Mexico, our closest neighbor, and there has been an effort to try and support them in their battle with narcotics and narco-terrorism, and that is what this bill is about.

Whatever Mexico has been doing in their country is actually protecting those of us in Texas and California and all over the United States, because if they slow that situation down or win that battle, it makes our citizens and our people a lot safer.

We should help our local police even more. We should do a lot of things. But that is a whole separate piece of legislation. What we are talking about here is stepping up to the plate and helping a neighbor who is our closest neighbor and one who is in the middle of a war and losing police chiefs, law enforcement officers, the military. Whatever they do in their own country to take

care of thisi problem will make us safer in our own.

There are some concerns about human rights, and I want to address that, but I would hope we would address it with members of Congress from Mexico. When I met with those members from both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico, they were concerned about some of the human rights violations in our country. We have to share that information and work with each other. Again, we are not moving, Mexico is not moving, and we need to make sure we work as a partnership with Mexico in their efforts to control their own country.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, later this year the Department of Education will formally be renamed after a former teacher, who became president and made equal opportunity to education a national priority. President Lyndon Baines Johnson pioneered many issues such as civil rights, voting rights, but his education leadership stands out even among those accomplishments. President Johnson was a very human figure but his legacy is with us in many major ways today. Lyndon Johnson's first priority in life was education, and he was the first ``Education President.'' As we approach President Johnson's 100th birthday on August 27, I would like to submit the following article which appeared in the Austin-American Statesman highlighting the profound legacy President Johnson had on America's education system, and the renaming of the Department of Education Building.

[From the Austin American Statesman, October 28, 2007]

LBJ Finally Gets His Due in Washington

(By David H. Bennett)

Washington is a city of monuments; the Mall hosts

buildings, statues and walls commemorating big achievements

(saving the

union) and small ones (inventing the screw propeller). But

until now, Washington had no monument to a man who left an

enormous mark, not only on American government, but on the

lives of our people: Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Until this year, the only thing named for LBJ in the

capital area was a Memorial Grove, a clump of trees on the

Potomac in Virginia. But when the Department of Education

building is formally renamed for LBJ on September 18, it will

finally provide Washington recognition for the man who

fundamentally reshaped the role of government in the United

States.

On one level, ignoring LBJ in Washington simply replicates

what has happened in politics and academia. For Republicans

and those on the right, the Johnson years have always been

anathema. He promised to be the ``education president,'' the

``health president'' and the ``poor people's president.'' He

did all of that and more, earning the enduring hatred of

those who loathe government.

But more surprising is that the man who presided over that

spectacular legislative run of victories for activist

government that he called the ``Great Society'' has been the

forgotten man by the party he once led. At Democratic

conventions, FDR, Truman, and Kennedy are the iconic figures

to whom speakers pay homage; LBJ goes unmentioned.

Historians too seemed to look past LBJ--textbooks and

history classes often pay little heed to the achievements of

Johnson's domestic agenda. For many, it seems. the shadow of

Vietnam obscures everything else about LBJ's career and

accomplishments.

That is a serious misreading of history, as a brief review

of Johnson's legacy makes clear. It is his educational agenda

that will be deservedly memorialized in the naming ceremony.

The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act was landmark

legislation. It did not have a fancy title like ``No Child

Left Behind,'' but the ESEA marked the first time the federal

government committed to helping local school districts--and

with funding, not directives. The 1965 Higher Education Act

provided scholarships, grants, loans and work study

programs--hundreds of billions of dollars worth--that made

college possible for millions who could not afford it before.

In addition, LBJ, himself once a school teacher in a

desperately poor Texas district, was the president who first

recognized and funded bilingual and special education.

But education is only part of the story. Medicare

transformed the health delivery system for older Americans,

having helped almost 50 million citizens stay out of poverty

and live longer. Medicaid has served over 200 million needy

people since its creation. The Heath Professions Act helped

to double the number of doctors graduating from medical

school.

LBJ's ``War on Poverty'' would later become a whipping boy

for right-wing critics, but Head Start, Upward Bound, VISTA,

the Job Corps and other poverty programs made their mark

across the years, despite diminished resources and lack of

commitment in some subsequent administrations.

And it was the political genius of the man who ``knew the

deck on Capitol Hill'' that played a critical role in pushing

through the landmark Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts in

1964 and 1965.

There is much more. In a nation which no longer seems to

address infrastructure needs, Johnson's White House gave us

the Urban Mass Transit Act, bringing MARTA to Atlanta, BART

to the San Francisco Bay and, of course, Metro to Washington.

And Johnson was truly a pioneer of environmentalism,

spearheading the Clear Air, Water Quality, Clean Water

Restoration, Solid Waste Disposal and Motor Vehicle Air

Pollution Control Acts. Johnson also gave us regulatory

protections like product and child safety, truth in packaging

and truth a lending legislation, as well as the creation of

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1343) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide additional authorizations of appropriations for the health centers program under section 330 of such Act, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1343, the Health Centers Renewal Act of 2008.

The health centers program was first enacted 40 years ago. Today, health centers are located in 6,000 sites in all 50 States serving as the medical home and family physician to 17 million people nationally.

Over the years, the health centers program has gained tremendous support from Democrats, Republicans, the Congress and the President. We don't all agree on much, but there is no doubt that the health centers program has been a great success.

The overwhelming support for the health centers program may be attributed to the impact health centers have made on the health and well-being of our country's most vulnerable populations.

Federally qualified health centers are local, nonprofit or public entity, community-owned health care provider serving low-income and medically underserved areas as designated by the Federal Government.

Health centers provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care, with services available to all community residents where they are located, regardless of the patients' ability to pay.

Community health centers have helped fill the medical void for low- income communities and uninsured individuals.

The health centers program's focus on primary and preventive care has garnered savings for our health care system because the health centers provide the uninsured and underserved with access to care they would usually receive at hospital emergency rooms.

By providing access to affordable primary care, health centers have also reduced the need for in-patient and specialty care in hospitals, because medical problems in health center patients are treated earlier, before they require in-patient hospital care.

Studies suggest that health centers save Medicaid approximately 30 percent in annual spending for health centers due to reduced specialty care referrals, fewer hospital admissions, and emergency room visits.

Forty percent of health center patients are uninsured, and 35 percent depend on Medicaid, making health centers a critical feature of our country's safety net and, for many individuals, their only source for health care services.

Unfortunately, the number of uninsured in our country is 47 million and has been steadily rising, and in turn, the need for health centers are increasing.

Our district in Texas and many other communities nationwide are desperately in need of more health centers. Houston has approximately 1 million uninsured but only 10 federally qualified health centers.

As the fourth largest city in the United States, Houston lags far behind the number of health centers located in our area when compared to Chicago, with over 80 community health centers and the third largest city in the country.

Houston is not alone in this need for more health centers. Studies show that 56 million Americans lack access to primary care or a health care home.

The Health Centers Renewal Act will reauthorize the health centers program, which would address the growing need for community health centers in not only my area but throughout the United States.

This legislation would authorize the increased funding necessary for our community to build on the success of the health centers program and develop additional health centers to meet our tremendous need for affordable and quality health care.

This bill would allow health centers to serve approximately 23 million patients in the next 5 years.

I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Pickering, who is the original cosponsor, along with the Energy and Commerce Committee and my subcommittee for their full support of this legislation.

I believe the bill is truly an investment in the future of health centers for the medically underserved communities throughout our country.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, we will reserve the balance of our time.

Madam Speaker, we will continue to reserve. We have no other speakers.

Madam Speaker, as much as I would like to debate energy prices, hopefully we can deal with renewal of qualified health centers.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise to close. We have no other speakers.

First, to comment on my colleague from Georgia. Coming from Houston, Texas, I have some pipeline companies that would love to have that contract from Mars to Houston to bring oil if we discover it drilling through that ice there.

I appreciate, as a physician, your devotion to community-based health clinics, because that's what this bill is about, it's about reauthorizing. In fact, as we stand here today, Madam Speaker, we're actually expanding one in our district. Like I said earlier, we only have 10 in the Houston area, and our next largest city close to us has 80. So we have a job to do in Houston, in Texas--and my colleague from Fort Worth mentioned it--to expand community-based health centers. This bill will allow us to do that because it will go to the underserved community, areas in the country that really don't even have access to a community-based health center now and will have with this legislation, also with the additional authorization funds.

Of course we have to go back and ask the Appropriations Committee every year for additional funding that we authorize. But that's something that we do. This is very bipartisan support for community- based health centers. That's why I would hope that we would have almost unanimous support for this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5669) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the poison center national toll-free number, national media campaign, and grant program to provide assistance for poison prevention, sustain the funding of poison centers, and enhance the public health of people of the United States.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5669, the Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act, a bill that would provide assistance for poison prevention, sustain the funding of poison centers, and enhance the public health of people in the United States.

Unfortunately, poisoning is a significant problem, and according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks second only to motor vehicle crashes as a cause of unintentional injury or death. The economic cost of unintentional poisoning is considerable, as poisonings led to $26 billion in medical expenses.

The bill before us today would reauthorize a poison center national toll free number, a national media campaign to promote the use of poison centers, and a grant program to provide assistance for poison prevention to ensure that unintentional poisonings do not lead to unintentional injuries or death.

I acknowledge my colleague, Congressman Edolphus Towns, and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in support of this laudable legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to thank my colleague, who is also a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, not only on this bill but on other health care bills that we're dealing with on a bipartisan basis.

This reauthorization of the poison center national toll-free number and the media campaign has been a proven success. And since all politics is local, and since you mentioned the University of Nebraska, I have to mention the University of Texas Medical Branch that serves as our poison control publicity and facility, and it's very successful. We just need to expand it because we still are having deaths from poisoning, and we need to make sure that toll-free number is utilized and that information is out there for our community.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of H.R. 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008.

I have always believed that as a Nation we should wean ourselves from our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in the energy of the future.

After several attempts, the House of Representatives has finally found an appropriate balance to promote the technologies of tomorrow in a way that will benefit our long term energy security.

This legislation has much to be proud of.

It will extend the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable sources of energy which will enable Texas--the Nation's number one producer of wind energy--to continue adding clean energy and jobs to our economy.

It also extends the investment tax credits for solar energy, fuel cells, and energy-efficient appliances for the home, and it creates new tax credits for plug-in hybrid vehicles and renewable energy tax-credit bonds.

And after learning of the unintended consequences that corn-based ethanol has had on our environment and global food prices, this legislation rightly includes a six-cent reduction in the ethanol tax credit and creates a new credit for the production of cellulosic biofuels.

Aside from energy provisions, I am pleased this legislation includes several sections extending benefits for members of the military and veterans.

Extension of the rules allowing military personnel to treat their combat pay as earned income, extending specialized mortgage bond rules for veterans, as well as a provision allowing reservists to make penalty free withdrawals from the retirement accounts if called to active duty for 180 days or more will benefit those who have served our country, and provide added financial options for their families if necessary.

Finally, H.R. 6069 will extend the state and local sales tax deduction which assists taxpayers in Texas who do not pay a state income tax, and it provides almost $10 billion of additional tax relief for individuals through an expansion of the refundable child tax credit and a new standard deduction for property taxes.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend and colleague, Chairman Rangel, for producing a bill that enhances our energy and job security and that has support from both sides of the aisle.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of H.R. 6022, Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act, introduced by my good friend from Texas, Representative Nick Lampson, and Representative Peter Welch.

Today's rising petroleum and gasoline prices are set by a complex mix of factors, including global crude prices, increased world and U.S. demand, refinery capacity and maintenance schedules, gasoline imports, prescriptive fuel mandates, and geopolitical events. Most of these factors are out of our effective control. For those that aren't, like the proper management of fuel supplies in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, SPR, I believe Congress should do all we can to help reduce the cost of energy to American consumers.

H.R. 6022 requires the Interior and Energy Departments to discontinue the acquisition of oil and shipments to the SPR until the end of this year, and permits fill to resume if the average price of oil does not exceed $75 a barrel. The bill also allows petroleum shipments ordered under existing Interior Department contracts to be shipped to the reserve.

This legislation is strongly needed because the current administration has also not been properly managing the SPR for American consumers. The SPR exists to protect us during an energy crisis, and is almost full to its 727 million barrels of oil capacity. But while the cost per barrel of oil continues to skyrocket, the administration continues to purchase high-priced oil off the market to put into the SPR, limiting the amount of oil available.

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. While not expected to significantly reduce prices, some studies suggest suspending the purchase of oil for the reserve could reduce gas prices anywhere between 5 to 24 cents a gallon. Every cent helps.

While there is no quick fix for gasoline prices, I hope Congress will also address America's need to produce additional domestic energy, both conventional and renewable, to ensure the reliability and affordability of our Nation's critical energy supplies.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the issue of the uninsured in recognition of National Uninsured Week in our country.

In recent years the cost of health care has grown wildly. Those who can afford private or employer-based health insurance are fortunate. Unfortunately, 47 million Americans lack health insurance, including nine million children--and in Texas one out of every four individuals is without health insurance.

We need a national health care plan, but until we make it a national priority, Congress will continue to make incremental steps.

That's why Congress has worked so hard to include more children under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and I have introduced the Health Centers Renewal Act (H.R. 1343), the Community Mental Health Services Act (H.R. 5167) and the Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act (H.R. 154).

Ten years ago Congress created the SCHIP to help provide health insurance for children of low-income workers. These are hard-working families whose jobs don't offer employer-sponsored health insurance, or whose dependant coverage for children is unaffordable.

Nationwide there are approximately 9 million uninsured children. Alarmingly, more than 1.5 million of those children live in Texas. Our state had significant barriers against the enrollment of new children in SCHIP, and even has policies that have kicked kids out of the program.

As a result, Texas SCHIP enrollment has dropped from about half a million in 2003 to 350,000 in 2007. While children are unceremoniously removed from SCHIP, the number of uninsured continues to grow in our state.

There are about 1.5 million Texas children in households earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level and 750,000 to 850,000 of them are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP coverage. Three fourths are not enrolled in either program, meaning there are 200,000 to 300,000 kids in Texas who are eligible but not enrolled in SCHIP.

Tragically, the state doesn't even use the all the funds the federal government has provided for our children who are going without basic care. Eventually the money--more than $850 million in the last seven years--goes to other states or back to the Federal government.

Bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress have supported an expansion of SCHIP that would help solve some of Texas's problems twice over the last year. Sadly, President Bush vetoed our efforts both times, but we will not give up until our children have the health care they need.

In the meantime, we have opened other fronts in the battle to improve the quality of health care in our country. The Health Centers Renewal Act was introduced last year and approved by the Subcommittee on Health on April 23, and will go to the full committee soon.

Health centers represent our Nation's largest primary health care system and serve as

a medical home to more than 15 million Americans, most of whom are uninsured or have low incomes.

By providing people who are medically underserved with primary and preventive health care, the health centers reduce the need for expensive specialty care in hospitals and emergency rooms. The Health Centers Renewal Act will allow health centers to nearly double the number of individuals they can serve.

The Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act, which was introduced in January, will improve medical care for often-neglected mental health patients. Community mental health organizations serve more than six million adults and children across the country.

Many of these people are Medicaid beneficiaries, children in foster care, the destitute, homeless and uninsured. Unfortunately, community mental health centers have been chronically underfunded for many years and struggle to meet the basic health needs of the people they serve.

This bill will allow mental health care providers to recruit medical primary care doctors to care for patients with serious mental illness. Patients with mental illnesses die on average 25 years earlier than the average American, demonstrating the criticality of the need for better health care.

The Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act was introduced last year would close a loophole that allows more than a million people with disabilities to go without medical care for extended periods of time.

When Medicare expanded in 1972 to include individuals with significant disabilities, Congress stipulated that they had to first receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for two years before becoming eligible for Medicare, resulting in a three step process.

First, the Social Security Administration has to determine SSDI approval. Second, an individual has to wait five months before receiving SSDI benefits. Third, after receiving SSDI benefits an individual has to wait two more years before they can receive Medicare coverage.

More than 26 percent of individuals with significant disabilities have no health insurance during this two-year wait. Before becoming disabled, most of these people worked full time and paid into Medicare like everyone else.

Now, when they need help the most, they are required to wait without coverage. This bill would phase out the two-year wait over 10 years and completely eliminate the waiting period for people with life- threatening conditions.

Finally, I strongly support restoring funding for the Healthy Community Access Program, which in my community has helped enroll an additional 250,000 individuals in Medicaid and CHIP, while also directing the uninsured away from the ERs and toward an appropriate health care home.

To address this issue, I introduced the Community Coalitions for Access and Quality Improvement Act, H.R. 3561. This legislation would provide grants to community health access coalitions to implement best practices proven to reduce health care costs, achieve better health outcomes and improve access to health care for uninsured and low-income Americans.

Congress should enact legislation to provide all Americans with health insurance. Ideally, no child, no disabled worker, and no uninsured woman would suffer from a lack of adequate health care. As we work toward that goal, Congress should take every opportunity to put in place policies that provide as many people as possible with quality, affordable health insurance.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1086) recognizing National Nurses Week on May 6 through May 12, 2008.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1086 recognizing today, May 6, through May 12 as National Nurses Week. As a cosponsor of this resolution, I am proud to lend my voice in support of our Nation's nurses.

Continuing in the illustrious tradition of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, nurses today continue to attend to our Armed Forces overseas. These brave men and women place themselves at risk in war zones, including the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, to tend to our injured soldiers. Besides tending to the wounded abroad, nurses are also on the front lines of our health care system here at home. Whether their primary function is to care for our aging population or to provide immediate aid to the sick and injured, our nurses provide quality patient care and support to keep our health care system running.

As the Nation continues to face a nursing shortage, with a projected 1 million new nurses needed by 2016, it is especially important that everyone is aware of the sacrifices nurses make on a daily basis for our country. We must continue to encourage more young people and those seeking a change in career to join the nursing profession.

The resolution before us encourages all Americans to observe this week as National Nurses Week by showing appropriate recognition to nurses and creating programs and activities during the week to demonstrate the importance of nurses.

I would like to thank my colleagues and former nurses, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, and Congresswoman Lois Capps, for their leadership on this measure. Again, I reiterate, they are former nurses, although I don't know if you are ever a former nurse. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in support of the resolution and its adoption.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my good friend and colleague from Texas, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, who literally I have served with since 1973 with just a little break in the service.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to a colleague on the Energy and Commerce Committee and a good friend, Congresswoman Lois Capps, and also a nurse.

I yield 3 minutes to our colleague from New York, Carolyn McCarthy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to our fellow Energy and Commerce member, Congressman Towns from New York.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I join my colleague from Nebraska in encouraging all of our Members to support this resolution in recognition of National Nurses Week.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 493, the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act. This bill is the product of 10 years of hard work by my colleague Ms. Slaughter and I applaud her for her efforts to pass this bill.

The sequencing of the human genome was an amazing scientific advancement, and has contributed to the rise of genetic testing to inform patients of their proclivity for disease.

Thanks to genetic testing, individuals with a risk of an illness can take precautionary steps ahead of time to ward off disease, which will contribute to lower health care costs over time.

However, it is critical that we protect individuals from any discrimination that could result from the information these tests reveal.

The results should not be used by health insurers to deny anyone coverage or increase their premiums because of a pre-disposition to a certain disease.

And the results should not be used by employers to discriminate against employees based on their predisposition to disease.

The passage of this bill will encourage individuals to seek genetic testing if they so desire without fear of losing their health insurance and give them the ability to seek early medical treatment.

One segment of the health care marketplace was excluded from the bill's protections--the long-term care insurance market. This bill was never intended to regulate the long-term care insurance market, and I understand that current statute treats long-term care insurance differently.

However, individuals that determine that they are at high-risk for developing Alzheimer's disease will undoubtedly begin planning for their long-term care and probably purchase long-term care insurance.

Despite all of the good intentions in this legislation, the bill would allow long-term care insurance underwriters to refuse to cover or charge individuals predisposed to such disease higher premiums for a disease they have yet to develop and may never develop.

As we move forward, Congress should ensure that future legislation extends the patient protections inherent in this bill to consumers who want to plan for their future and purchase long-term care.

With that, I am pleased to support this important legislation and send this bill to the President.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend Dr. Charles Grant for his community service and his friendship for over 20 years. Dr. Grant has been an educator for 35 years and for 25 years has served at San Jacinto College North. His positions have included: instructor of Management Development, director of Continuing Education, dean of Continuing Education, and vice president of Instruction and for the last 10 years, he has served as president of San Jacinto College North.

Dr. Grant is a graduate of the first class from North Shore High School, in Texas, and received his degree from San Jacinto College. Dr. Grant has been an active part of the North Channel Area chamber of Commerce for many years, where he was chairman of the board in 1997 and was selected board member of the year for 1995.

Dr. Grant is a member of North Shore Rotary Club since 1987, serving as president for the 2002-03 year, named a Paul Harris fellow, and was awarded rotarian of the year for 2004-05. Dr. Grant is a charter sponsor of San Jacinto College North Rotaract Club for 25 years; Rotary District 5890 Rotaract chair for seven years; serving on the Rotary International Rotaract Committee for three years and as the Rotary International Rotaract chair for 2005-06. Dr. Grant has served as the college coordinator for CDS International's German-American Youth Exchange Program for 24 years and has hosted, along with his wife, Gail, a German exchange student.

And so it is with great pleasure that I recognize Dr. Charles Grant, for his service to San Jacinto College North and I congratulate him on his continued commitment to community service.

Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of this bill to improve worker protections.

The Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules regulating combustible industrial dusts, like sugar dust, that can build up to hazardous levels and explode.

While OSHA already has the authority to issue such a rule without Congress passing new legislation, the agency has failed to act despite the fact that the dangers of combustible dust have been well known for years.

In 2006, following a series of fatal combustible dust explosions, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board conducted a major study of combustible dust hazards.

It identified 281 combustible dust incidents between 1980 and 2005 that killed 119 workers, injured 718 others, and extensively damaged industrial facilities.

Time and time again we have seen this administration fail to take necessary actions to protect workers, and without action by Congress, it appears OSHA has no plans to act on combustible dust regulation.

As recently as February of this year, we saw the tragedy that can be caused by combustible dust explosions. The combustible dust explosion at the Imperial Sugar Company in Port Wentworth, Georgia, was a senseless tragedy that, like similar incidents, could have been prevented with OSHA regulation and oversight.

The bill has three main components. First, it directs OSHA to issue interim rules on combustible dust within 90 days. Second, it directs OSHA to issue final rules within 18 months. The rules would be based on effective voluntary standards devised by the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit organization, and in addition to items required in the interim rules, would include requirements for building design and explosion protection. Lastly, it directs OSHA to revise the Hazard Communication Standard to include combustible dusts.

Madam Chairman, I urge my colleague to join me in supporting this resolution to make sure OSHA takes necessary actions to protect workers.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate one of the most important events in Texas history. Monday, April 21, Texans celebrated San Jacinto Day. In the past I have missed this event because I had to be in Washington for votes, but this year I was able to be at home in Texas, and actually be at the battleground where Sam Houston and Santa Anna fought over one hundred and seventy years ago.

On that day in 1836, approximately 900 Texan and Tejano volunteers overpowered a larger, professional Mexican army of conscript soldiers, after defeats at Goliad and the Alamo. These outnumbered volunteers succeeded because they were fighting against tyranny and they were fighting for their homeland. In the words of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the people's government had be ``forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated central military despotism.''

The Texas Revolution proved the bonds of freedom are stronger than ethnicity, as many Tejanos sacrificed their lives for Texas' freedom at the battles of Gonzalez, Bexar, Goliad, the Alamo, and San Jacinto. The war was not between Anglos and Hispanics, it was a struggle between all Texans and the military dictatorship in Mexico City. Texans and Tejanos knew then what we know now--freedom requires sacrifice. Our young people going to or coming back from fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq are very aware of this hard fact of life.

Texas culture places high honors on heroes willing to sacrifice their lives for a better life for their fellow man, and Texans are known around the world as an honorable people who respond to the call of duty. While our young people are answering today's calls of duty, we should not forget those who have bravely answered the call in the past.

In that spirit. I want to highlight the work by the San Jacinto Chapter of the Daughters of the Texas Republic, who made the preservation of the San Jacinto Battleground possible by petitioning the Legislature to purchase the acreage and by donating their treasury to complete the sale in 1900. The San Jacinto Chapter of Daughters and the Texans Veterans Association did tremendous work to ensure that the legacy lived on, and the importance of the park has only expanded since then.

The park not only has the San Jacinto Monument to recognize the brave men that defeated the military dictator General Santa Anna, it is also home to the Battleship Texas, which is a symbol of Texans' sacrifices in World War I and World War II. Thankfully, through federal appropriations and state and local funding, the restoration and preservation of Battleship Texas is moving forward as part of a multi- year effort to collect the necessary funding for the restoration of this great historical site. The funding will help with the Battleship Texas Foundation's plans to restore the Battleship Texas and convert it into a museum. This is an important project not only to honor those in our past, but to educate future Texans who may have to answer future calls to service about our tradition of defending freedom.

As part of our historical preservation efforts, we are also working on the Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area, which will stretch from Buffalo Bayou in East End Houston to San Jacinto Battleground, including the Ship Channel and the Baytown Nature Center. The Heritage Area will help the history of the establishment of the Texas republic. The restoration of the Battleship Texas and the establishment of a Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area will go a long way to ensure that new generations of Texans know their tradition of bravery.

With an understanding of where they came from, future Texans will continue to respond to calls to service, and Texans will continue to be respected and admired around the world.