Floor Statements

I thank the ranking member for his graciousness. And I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the management of this bill. I appreciate the bipartisan leadership the committee has provided on these issues. Let me also thank you for working with the House Foreign Affairs Committee and myself on this amendment, which requires the Secretary of Defense to establish monitoring and evaluation metrics for its activities in the Horn of Africa, specifically the Combined Joint Task Force.

Among other things, this task force partners with the Navy and CENTCOM forces to conduct maritime security operations to protect shipping routes in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. The task force currently does not use any form of metric to evaluate the effectiveness of its activities. According to a GAO report, the task force is not currently evaluating whether its activities are, in fact, achieving the desired results. This amendment would make that requirement.

I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support of the amendment and urge its adoption.

Announcement by the Acting Chair

Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Skelton for the opportunity to offer this amendment to improve Federal internship programs, and his staff for their collaboration on the text before us.

The Federal Government faces a daunting challenge in recruiting and retaining the workforce of the future. We actually have a desultory record in terms of student internship programs and their retention rate when compared to the private sector. I believe this amendment will systematize that program, will set some standards that all Federal agencies have to meet, and a reporting requirement that will give the Congress the information it needs in moving forth.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Assistant Chief of Operations David Rohr, who is retiring from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and will take over as Fire Chief for The City of Fairfax Fire Department.

Native to Vienna, Va., Chief Rohr developed an interest in fire fighting at an early age. He became involved with his local volunteer fire department at the age of 16. It did not take long for Chief Rohr to realize this was to become his life's pursuit. Upon graduating from high school, he began working for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department's Annandale Station. After four years, Chief Rohr was promoted to driver and later Sergeant. Over the next 18 years he continued to move up the ranks to the position of Assistant Chief of Operations.

Chief Rohr is an accomplished firefighter and leader in one of the finest and most respected fire departments in the country. Besides its superb service in Fairfax, the department has a world-class urban search and rescue team that has provided critical assistance during the aftermaths of major catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, the Indonesian tsunami, and earthquakes. The team most recently spent several weeks in Haiti searching for victims of that devastating quake.

Chief Rohr's skills as a firefighter are grounded in rigorous education as well as a lifetime of experience. Chief Rohr earned a Bachelor of Science degree in technology and management/fire science from the University of Maryland. He is a graduate from the National Fire Academy's executive fire officer program and has also completed the University of Virginia Darien Business School Senior Executive Institute and Leadership Development Institute.

Although Chief Rohr is leaving the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, he will continue to serve residents in the 11th Congressional District as the new fire chief for Fairfax City. His reputation as an effective leader made him the ideal candidate for the position and he was appointed by a unanimous vote of the Fairfax City Council.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking David Rohr for his years of service to the citizens of Fairfax County and to congratulate him on his new position as Fire Chief for the City of Fairfax. He, along with first responders in every community, are deserving of our deepest respect and gratitude.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and to extend my congratulations on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. This month also marks the Centennial Camporee for the National Capital Area Council, ``Scouting in Action, A Century of Values.'' Thousands of attendees will participate in the 2010 Camporee which will be held in Goshen, Virginia.

The Boy Scouts were founded in the United States on February 8, 1910, by William D. Boyce when he incorporated the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of America instills in young Americans the values and traits of being a good citizen. After 100 years of scouting, these founding principles have guided over 100 million Boy Scouts to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

The National Capital Area Council has a distinguished history within the Boy Scouts. Its predecessor, the District of Columbia Council was the first area Council for the Boy Scouts of America. In 1913, the DC Council was recognized by President Woodrow Wilson for its service during his Presidential inauguration, which began a tradition of Boy Scout involvement in presidential inaugurations. With the addition of Arlington, the District of Columbia Council was reorganized and renamed the National Capital Area Council.

The link between citizenship and scouting, combined with strong leadership and proximity to the Federal Government, has enabled the National Capital Area Council to be a leader within the Boy Scouts of America organization. This Council is now one of the largest in the country and is comprised of troops from 10 counties in Northern Virginia, six counties in Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

The influence and importance of scouting cannot be overstated. Scouting instills and reinforces strong character traits such as commitment to the community, value of working to achieve a goal, discipline and honesty. Scouting alumni include world leaders in virtually every field: Politics, medicine, entertainment, sports, and science.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the Boy Scouts of America on the occasion of their 100th anniversary as well as in extending our best wishes for a successful and fun filled Camporee. I

also would like express my deep appreciation to the troop leaders and parents for their commitment to teaching our youth the skills and values that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize ``A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out'' Benefit Concert for Africa. This Benefit Concert will raise money for sustainable investments in Africa through the Development in Gardening charity organization.

Development in Gardening seeks to improve the health and well being for HIV-positive and other at-risk individuals in developing nations. This is accomplished by teaching the skills and providing the infrastructure to create sustainable community gardens, thereby empowering people to improve both their nutrition and earning potential. The program reaches out to orphanages, hospitals and outpatient facilities to install micro gardens that provide not only a steady source of healthy, fresh vegetables but a sense of community and purpose. It focuses on improved nutrition, food security, micro- enterprise development, home garden extension, personal empowerment, and social change.

This benefit concert is anticipated to raise $5,000 to fund the program's ongoing efforts. I would like to commend Lani Furbank and Kevin Hargrove for their commitment to helping those in need. Lani and Kevin have organized this event, which will result in the betterment of countless lives in Africa. Residents of Northern Virginia have a strong record of community involvement and charitable giving. I am honored to represent a district that is always willing to help those in need, both at home and around the world.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the contributions of Development in Gardening and, particularly, the efforts of Lani Furbank and Kevin Hargrove. By supporting sustainable micro-economic development projects, we invest in the continued well being of others. We provide the tools and education for people to be self-sufficient and live in dignity.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we heard some business economic history that might make even Pinocchio blush.

Our friends on the other side of the aisle sometimes want the public to forget we inherited an economy in free fall last January. GDP had plummeted 5.4 percent and 741,000 Americans lost their jobs that month. This Congress took decisive action to halt that downward spiral known as the Great Recession.

Those efforts are yielding results today, fostering 290,000 jobs last month, 600,000 jobs so far this year, on a track to create more jobs this year than in the previous 8 years under their rule. In my Virginia district alone we created 4,000 jobs last month and saw the unemployment rate drop.

The national economy has posted positive growth in each of the last three-quarters, jumping 5.6 percent alone in the first quarter. Mr. Speaker, our Republican colleagues continue to advocate for the bankrupt policies that previously drove our Nation into the economic ditch. We have chosen a new path, and it's those actions and investments that are putting Americans back to work today.

Mr. Speaker, I was going to talk about energy, but listening to my friend from Florida, I am compelled to respond.

First of all, the Democratic Party is called the Democratic Party, not the Democrat Party. We are democratic, and we give the same respect to our Republican fellows. I would hope that we would show more respect on the floor in properly referring to the Democratic Party by its proper name.

But maybe much more important, let's get our facts straight. When President Clinton left office in 2000, he left this country with a surplus, with three back-to-back budget surpluses, and surpluses as far as the eye could see, under Democratic economic management, a booming economy that created more jobs than any other administration in history, and economic and budget surpluses that actually had created some concern on Wall Street that we were going to fully pay down the national debt over the next 10 or 12 years and put in jeopardy the treasury market and the bond market. There were actually stories wringing their hands about that.

In 8 brief years, the Bush administration and their allies in this Congress took care of that. They took record surpluses and turned them into record deficits. Three things alone added $6 trillion to the national debt: unpaid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; an unpaid new entitlement program, the Medicare part D drug prescription benefit; and, of course, the unpaid Bush tax cuts that we were told by Republican friends on that side of the aisle would lead to unprecedented prosperity, enormous economic activity. It would unleash innovation, creativity and job creation in America.

You know what? It led to the most anemic job growth, barely positive, in any Presidency. As a matter of fact, this year alone, the economic policies of this Democratic President will create more jobs than were created in the entirety of the 8 years of the Bush administration and their allies here in the Congress.

They led to unprecedented debt accumulation in the United States. They took a record surplus and turned it into a record deficit. That's their record.

The idea that they have clean hands, and they can come back to us, the American public, and tell us how we ought to manage our fiscal house, when they're the ones that put the fiscal house in disorder, they're the ones who ran this economy into a ditch, the worst economic meltdown in 80 years, the worst economic meltdown on Wall Street, the worst job performance in generations, an economy that was absolutely in a tailspin and close to the precipice of depression. That's their record. And to come to the floor and lecture us on how we ought to manage the fiscal house is a bit much.

The idea that somehow it's unprecedented that we haven't adopted a budget resolution--really? Because in the 12 years the Republicans were in charge of this Congress, for 4 of them they failed to pass a budget resolution, and somehow the Republic did not come to an end.

So lecturing us about whether or not we're going to have a budget resolution this year, let's get at what's really important: Are we going to get our arms around this economy?

Well, on our record, in 15 brief months, this economy is now growing again. Jobs are being created again. I've sat and listened to my friends on the other side frequently say, Where are the jobs? Well, we've actually created a lot of jobs now in the private sector, and we're going to create a lot more, it's estimated, in the balance of the year, a lot more than they did in the 8 years in which they were in charge.

We inherited a mess, a fiscal mess and an economic mess, and we've had the untidy task of having to clean it up. But we're doing it, and we're showing results. And what we don't need is lectures on the floor about how to do it the way they did it in the 8 years in which they were in charge.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Congregation Olam Tikvah on the occasion of the Dedication Ceremony for their recent expansion.

Congregation Olam Tikvah was formed in 1964 by six Fairfax County families who recognized the need for a synagogue that would serve the Kings Park, Springfield, Fairfax and Annandale areas. The congregation was initially led by Reb Jack Frankel who, although not an ordained rabbi, provided religious leadership and guidance in those early days.

From these modest beginnings, Olam Tikvah has grown into a vibrant community and is the spiritual and religious home to over 620 Jewish families in the Northern Virginia area. Along with this growth in membership has come an expansion of programs which now include a preschool, child and adult education classes, ritual support, a Men's Club, a Sisterhood and a senior social group.

In addition to religious education and development, Congregation Olam Tikvah supports involvement by its members in a number of organizations and projects dedicated to the betterment of the secular community. These efforts include aid to victims of domestic violence, providing support to our military families, blood, food and clothing drives, elementary school mentoring programs and Sukkot in April which performs needed home repairs to our elderly, disabled and low-income neighbors.

On May 23, 2010, Olam Tikvah will celebrate the Dedication Ceremony for their most recent expansion. This expansion will provide a new library/learning center, a new social hall and new kitchen and support areas for the social hall. I am confident that these new facilities will provide the resources that will allow Congregation Olam Tikvah to continue its growth.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Congregation Olam Tikvah on the occasion of this Dedication Ceremony as well as in thanking Rabbi Kalender, Rabbi Shalva and the entire congregation for their commitment to Judaism, their synagogue and the residents of Northern Virginia.

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize The Bode Technology Group, Inc., of Lorton, Virginia. The Bode Technology Group received the President's ``E'' Award today in recognition of its achievements in supporting export growth in the U.S. business community. The ``E'' Award is the highest honor the Federal Government can give to a U.S. company or organization for exporting or facilitating export activity.

The recognition of Bode for this honor highlights the importance of the President's National Export Initiative (NEI), which aims to double exports over the next five years to support two million American jobs. Given the region's innovative technology base and strong international business community, Northern Virginia especially stands to benefit from the NEI.

Bode, which is located in Virginia's 11th Congressional District, specializes in DNA collection and analysis. It provides services to law enforcement agencies in all 50 states and more than 30 countries worldwide. It also provides critical assistance in identifying victims of mass disasters and missing persons. In addition, Bode has been a partner in helping to reduce human trafficking. Last year, the company was awarded the Virginia Governor's Award for Excellence in International Trade by Governor Tim Kaine.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Bode Technology Group on this honor and for its leadership on export activities.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the honorees of the 63rd Annual Annandale Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet.

The Annandale Chamber of Commerce is a thriving volunteer organization with more than 200 active members. The members represent businesses, industries and professionals who work together to maintain a favorable business climate while improving the quality of life for all residents.

Each year, the Annandale Chamber of Commerce honors a few select individuals who have distinguished themselves as exemplars of the community. It is my honor to recognize these fine recipients and the contributions that they have made to the community:

Student Achievement Award for Falls Church High School: Dennis Nolasco. Dennis is a marketing student who was instrumental in the development and promotion of the School's Jaguar Joe Coffee Project. Dennis has an outstanding work ethic and serves as an effective role model to his peers. After graduation from Falls Church High School, Dennis plans to major in finance or business administration at George Mason University.

Student Achievement Award for Annandale High School: Emma Dorothy Whitmyre. Emma is an International Baccalaureate Diploma candidate and has served as president of both the National Honor Society and the Jewish Culture Club. Emma has a strong commitment to social action. She volunteers at a homeless shelter, tutors, and runs a winter coat drive for those who are less fortunate. This fall, Emma will be attending New York University where she plans on majoring in anthropology or psychology.

Student Achievement Award for Northern Virginia Community College: Jacquelyn Shanahan. Jackie, as she is known by her friends and family, has nobly served our nation in the United States Marine Corps. She recently received the Liberal Arts Division academic award and has completed the Honors

Curriculum at NOVA with a GPA of 4.0. Jackie has served as president of the Honors Community Annandale Honors Club and as a chair for the Relay for Life. Jackie has been accepted into the Marymount University Honors Program and plans to major in English.

Citizen of the Year Award: Irv Denton. Irv has dedicated his time and efforts to the residents of Annandale for many years, having served on the boards of the Annandale Central Business Planning Committee and the Annandale Chamber of Commerce. After his distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force, he focused his energies in the field of education and taught classes at the Northern Virginia Community College. His commitment to our country, our community and our future is an inspiration to us all.

Firefighter of the Year Award: Apparatus Technician John Lockhart. John has given more than 25 years of service to the residents of Fairfax County, including 14 at the Annandale Station. John also serves as a tremendous community resource, instructing the younger firefighters in the safe usage of the equipment, and helping to ensure that Annandale residents will continue to receive the highest quality rescue care into the future.

Police Officer of the Year Award: Detective Horace Lawalt. Horace has served the residents of Fairfax County for more than 11 years, including 5 years at the Mason District Station. As a detective in the Criminal Investigation Section, he has helped keep the community safe from burglaries, robberies and grand larcenies. Despite having one of the lowest per capita police forces, Fairfax County enjoys one of the lowest crime rates of any jurisdiction its size due to the exceptional work and dedication of Horace and his fellow officers.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing Dennis, Emma, Jacquelyn, Irv, John and Horace, the honorees of the 2010 Annandale Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet, and thanking them for their service to our community. Each honoree is a role model for his or her peers and an invaluable member of our community.

Madam Chair, I thank my friend Mr. Kratovil from Maryland for his leadership, and I thank the chairman and the ranking

member of the committee for their leadership on this important topic of STEM education.

My 14 years in local government, helping to manage the 12th-largest school district in the United States and home to the number one high school in the United States 3 years in a row, a STEM high school, Thomas Jefferson, has taught me how important mathematics, science, engineering, and technology are for the future of our country, for competitiveness, American competitiveness. In a recent international assessment of 15-year-old students, the United States ranked 28th in math literacy and 24th in science literacy. We can and must do better, and this amendment, I think, will move us a long way toward that goal so that every community in America will have this opportunity, and our children will have a bright future in the sciences, in math, in technology, and in engineering.

Madam Chair, I want to thank the distinguished chairman of the committee. This body is going to miss the distinguished chairman of the committee. He has always operated in a bipartisan fashion and has provided thoughtful

and compelling leadership on issues of science and technology so badly needed in our country.

This bill really is a very thoughtful bill that comes at a critical point. The United States has been seeing erosion in its preeminence in the field of innovation in science and technology. This bill is designed to sort of address that in a very creative way itself. It provides for more funding of basic research in the United States. We know that basic research leads to inventions, patents, improvements in manufacturing processes that can really make a difference in the quality of our lives. The technology we live with and take for granted today didn't exist 30 years ago, and it has transformed America and it has transformed the world, thanks in many, many ways to the basic research investments the United States Federal Government made some time ago.

This bill allows us to tap into the research already underway in the NIST labs, for example, and that is a real challenge. I can tell you as somebody who spent 20 years in the private sector in the technology field, often people doing research aren't the ones who necessarily can always see the myriad application of that research in the marketplace. So the need to be able to recognize the application of research and to help in the commercialization of that research to improve lives and to improve America's competitiveness is really something we need more of. This bill helps do that.

I had two amendments with my colleagues, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Kratovil), which address the underlying education piece of this bill which is so important. We are not producing sufficient numbers of engineers and scientists and technologists for the future in the United States. We need to tap into the talent that is there.

I have spent a lot of time in my district helping to support robotics competition teams in high schools. The excitement of those young students in being able to get hands-on experience in research and development and in the application of that research and development in the form of a competition with robotics technology was a marvel to behold.

Kingman Brewster, the late president of Yale University, once said: Without excitement, there is no learning. There was lots of excitement on the part of these high school students in the robotics research, and as a result there was a lot of learning, and a lot of future engineers and technologists and scientists as a result. This bill will help us tap into that talent.

Madam Speaker, I rise on behalf of myself and Congressman Dan Boren of Oklahoma to pay tribute to Dr. James Boren, a man who made a profound impact on our country through his public service and political activism. Dr. Boren's celebrated life came to an end on April 24 when he passed away at his home in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at the age of 84.

As my colleagues may know, Dr. Boren was the second cousin of our colleague, Congressman Boren, and first cousin to his father, former U.S. Sen. David Boren of Oklahoma.

Dr. Boren served our country valiantly in World War II as a sailor in the Pacific, where his ship was struck by multiple Japanese kamikaze planes in the Battle of Okinawa. Following his distinguished Naval service, he embarked on a career in government.

He served as Chief of Staff to Senator Ralph Yarborough until 1960 when he joined John Kennedy's presidential campaign. Following Kennedy's victory, Dr. Boren received an appointment from the State Department for an assignment in Latin America. During his tenure in Latin America, he established the volunteer organization Partners of the Americas.

Despite his remarkable career in public service, Dr. Boren's greatest impact was felt through his political activism. He dedicated much of his attention to government inefficiency and corruption. No one in Washington was safe from one of his satirical assaults. In 1972, he famously raced the United States Postal Service on horseback from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., in order to highlight inefficiencies.

Dr. Boren believed in the power of humor and satire to inspire political activism among the people. He never was without a witty remark pertaining to politics or government. During his Presidential campaign in 1992, the Apathy Party candidate notably stated, ``I have what it takes to take what you've got.''

Personally, I will always remember his memorable line, ``if you are going to be a phony, at least be sincere about it.'' That's just one of the gems from his two books, When in Doubt Mumble and How to be a Sincere Phoney, a Handbook for Politicians and Bureaucrats.

In addition to his political work and writing, Dr. Boren spent three decades as a scholar-in-residence at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, teaching younger generations about the importance of activism.

Dr. Boren is survived by his beautiful wife Norma, his two sons, two stepsons and his three grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join us in honoring the remarkable life of Dr. James Boren. His friends and family will miss his wit and humor, and everyone in this chamber can thank him for this famous quotation, ``When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.''

I thank my friend from Texas.

Mr. Chair, let me start by thanking my colleagues for their leadership on this important legislation, both the chairman and the ranking member.

As the co-chair of the Diversity and Innovation Caucus, my colleague from Texas has been a true champion for STEM education, particularly in our underrepresented communities. Chairman Gordon and the members of the Science and Technology Committee have certainly shown leadership on this issue as well.

Our amendment builds upon that work by requiring the new STEM coordinating committee created in this legislation to work with each agency under its jurisdiction to promote more public awareness of career opportunities in the STEM fields, particularly within the Federal workforce. We have a hard time filling positions in the science, technology, and engineering and math fields, and I believe part of the trouble is that, one, people don't know that they are out there and, two, they don't realize that careers like this are available in public service. So clearly we can do better.

Our amendment also calls for new outreach strategies to women, Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, and other students from underrepresented communities in the Federal workforce. Even in minority majority school systems like Prince William County, and Fairfax County in my district, we are working especially hard to make sure enrollment in STEM programs reflects the diversity of our student body.

Another key component of our amendment would require the STEM coordinating committee to create and maintain an online, searchable database of all federally funded STEM education programs that benefit students, teachers, and the general public.

We are providing tremendous opportunity in the STEM fields, but more people need to know about them and be excited about them for it to be successful.

Mr. Chairman, my experience in local government showed me that investments in education of our children attract families and jobs. The school and business communities in my district have made significant investments in our local STEM programs, whether it is Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax, whose tie I am wearing today, or the new Governor's School at Innovation Park in Prince William County.

Those efforts are just one reason why at least nine Fortune 500 companies

have brought their headquarters to Northern Virginia and why the Commonwealth of Virginia has the highest concentration of technology- related jobs in the United States, half of them in northern Virginia.

This bill will further support those local efforts and better position our region and our Nation to be a leader in the global economy.

I join my colleague from Texas in urging our colleagues to support this important amendment.