Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 294) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2700 Cullen Boulevard in Pearland, Texas, as the ``Endy Nddiobong Ekpanya Post Office Building''.

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

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 294, introduced by Congressman Pete Olson of Texas. The bill names the Pearland, Texas, Post Office, located at 2700 Cullen Boulevard, as the Endy Nddiobong Ekpanya Post Office Building in honor of the Pearland police officer who fell in the line of duty in 2015.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), the sponsor of the bill, so that he can explain the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill in recognition of Officer Ekpanya's sacrifice to our Nation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I met last week with a couple of small business owners in Butte, Montana, who have been the target of an out- of-control Federal bureaucrat in the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

One of the bureaucrat's targets is Riley's Meats. Over a period of 12 years, Dr. Jeffrey Legg with the FSIS ordered Bart Riley to comply with what he told Riley were Federal regulations.

Mr. Riley spent over $10,000 in compliance costs and suffered years of harassment, but these weren't real Federal regulations. They were costly measures dreamed up by this bureaucrat.

I saw the toll that dealing with this government harassment has taken on the Riley family over the last decade.

No one should have to endure such a nightmare. Stories like these are why the American people demand that Washington is cleaned up.

For the Riley family and other Montanans dealing with Federal overreach, I will continue to focus on this issue until it is resolved.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for bringing the attention of the House to this important matter.

This summer, we had catastrophic wildfires in Montana. We burned 1.2 million acres. That is the equivalent of the size of the State of Delaware. I have seen this destruction firsthand. I visited with incident commanders and firefighters on five separate wildfires this summer.

In Lincoln County, the air quality was so unhealthy that teachers provided masks to the kids in school so they could breathe.

In August, I had Secretary Zinke and Secretary Perdue come to Montana and tour the Lolo Peak fire, one of the most expensive fires that was fought this summer.

I have worked to bring relief to Montanans. In July, emergency relief for farmers and ranchers was provided by opening up the C.M. Russell recreation area to grazing. We had hungry cows left from pasture being consumed and grass available. It was a commonsense solution to put those two together.

Also in July, we successfully urged FEMA Director Brock Long to reconsider their denial of one of our fires and declare Montana eligible for emergency funds. For these two things, I am thankful.

So the negative impact has been severe. And while there has been some relief, including welcome rain and snow, we can't rely on that. Again, this summer, over a million acres burned in Montana alone; we lost two firefighters; livelihoods were threatened; wildlife habitats were destroyed; smoke hung in the air; and ash rained down on our homes and our cars.

Air quality reached dangerous levels in our communities. In fact, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana donated 150 air filters to our schools so our children could breathe.

I have also seen firsthand the positive results of managed forests. Just 2 weeks ago, I toured a BLM forest near Miles City, Montana, and showed the effect of treating and managing forests. A fire burned in 2015 through a forest through the crowns, and when it reached a forest that had been managed, the fire quickly dropped into the undergrowth, burned through the grass, but none of the trees were lost.

In the untreated forest, there is just dead trees that won't recover in our lifetime. In the treated area, all of the trees survived. In fact, when an overgrown forest is thinned, more surface water came back, there is better habitat for wildlife, and we just have a better result.

I saw that also on the Roaring Lion fire, which occurred in the Bitterroot Valley in 2016, where, there, private property owners had managed their private property. When the fire on public land reached there, it was quickly extinguished and hundreds of homes were saved.

So the benefits of properly managed forests are clear. We have healthier forests. There is more wildlife, more hunting, more recreational opportunities, more good-paying jobs, and wildfires are less severe.

One of the biggest problems we have is litigation. We need more collaborative projects, but litigation is one of the greatest problems. Parties come to the table in good faith, they work collaboratively only to be overturned by court action by radical environmental extremists.

The Stonewall Vegetation Project in Lincoln, Montana, is a good example. Here, the Forest Service worked together with local landowners over a 8-year period to develop a collaborative forest management project. Once it was approved a year ago, the lawyers swooped in, arguing the project would disrupt lynx habitat. The judge overturned the decision. Fires raged this summer. Now there is no more habitat for lynx, and all that carbon has been released into atmosphere.

Benefits of forest management are clear. As I have mentioned, healthier forests, more wildlife, more hunting, jobs, and less severe fires. It is time to act. We can't control the weather, but we can control how we manage our forests. It is time to reform our forest management by passing Bruce Westerman's Resilient Federal Forests Act, and we also must put commonsense guardrails on the Endangered Species Act to reduce frivolous lawsuits.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Gordon Klasna on his recent selection as the Montana Principal of the Year by the Montana Association of Secondary School Principals.

Mr. Klasna has been principal of Lockwood's Eileen Johnson Middle School since 2011. Founded in 1954, it provides an education to over 1,250 students. Mr. Klasna is passionate about educating Montana's students and is a positive influence on his students. He is renowned as a hard worker who dedicates much of his time to his vocation. Mr. Klasna is a strong advocate for his school, serving on the School District 2 High School Trustee Board representing Lockwood.

Teachers and students at Eileen Johnson Middle School describe Mr. Klasna as a gracious, polite public servant who demonstrates his passion to help students every day. During his tenure as principal, Mr. Klasna has encouraged the growth of special elective courses to include robotics and journalism.

I wish Mr. Klasna the very best as he works to continue the pattern of excellence at Eileen Johnson Middle School. He is a great example of an educator going the extra mile to help our children succeed. I ask that my colleagues join me today in congratulating Gordon Klasna on his outstanding achievement.

Mr. Speaker, imagine if the entire State of Delaware burned. That is the scope of what has burned in Montana this year--1.25 million acres of our beautiful State.

I have been on the ground at five fires this summer and I have seen firsthand the result of failing to manage our forests--over 1 million acres have burned, livelihoods threatened, wildlife habitats destroyed, and dangerous air quality in our communities.

I have also seen effective forest management. Last week, I went into the field with BLM officials to see a forest they manage. When BLM treated a forest, an approaching fire dropped into the underbrush and was quickly extinguished. All trees in the treated forest lived, but trees in the untreated forest died and it won't recover in our lifetime.

We need to be proactive and start managing our forests again. Well- managed forests are healthier forests with more wildlife, more hunting, more good-paying jobs for Montanans, and, importantly, our wildfires are less severe.

On the heels of the catastrophic fires this summer, now is the time to enact real reform and start managing our forests again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the wildfires devastating Montana. My heart goes out to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. The disaster has shown the very best of our country, neighbor helping neighbor.

That spirit is alive and well in Montana, too, as we face a massive disaster. Drought conditions are severe. Over 40 wildfires continue to rage, and more than 900,000 acres have burned so far.

As we speak, ash rains down on our homes and our schools, poor air quality threatens the health of Montanans, particularly our children and our elderly, and our livelihoods are at risk.

This photo was taken just a few weeks ago from the south summit of Mount Sentinel as fires raged towards the town of Lolo, Montana.

Sadly, this image is not unique. I met with leaders and firefighters at five wildfires this summer and witnessed the destruction firsthand.

Mr. Speaker, I hope this image and others from back home will make my colleagues more aware of the fires, the devastation they have caused, and the need for relief in the Treasure State.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate James (Jim) Kenyon on his recent selection to the Board of Directors at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, NAFCU.

Mr. Kenyon has been President and CEO of Whitefish Credit Union in Montana since 2009 and has over 25 years of credit union experience. Whitefish Credit Union is the largest credit union in Montana. Chartered in 1934, it has over $1.4 billion in assets and 58,000 members. It is also a state-chartered credit union, which is significant, because Mr. Kenyon becomes the first state-chartered credit union executive to serve on the NAFCU Board, as the association just opened full membership to state-chartered credit unions last year.

Mr. Kenyon has lived in Montana most of his life and is a graduate of the University of Montana with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. Being a Montanan, he is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys fishing, hiking and mountain biking.

Mr. Kenyon is also a strong advocate for community service, having served on the board of the Whitefish Community Foundation and as Co- Chairman for the North Valley Food Bank Fundraising Committee.

I wish Mr. Kenyon the best of luck in his new role on the NAFCU Board and look forward to working with him in this capacity. I ask that my colleagues join me today in congratulating Jim Kenyon on this achievement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you and Majority Leader McCarthy.

I am humbled and honored to have been elected by the people of Montana to represent them here in this House.

I am joined today by my wife, Susan, who is in the gallery. We have been married 29 years. We have four grown children. Two of them are with us today, along with our daughter-in-law. We raised them hunting, fishing, and hiking on the great public lands in Montana.

I am a business guy and an electrical engineer. I am trained to solve hard problems, not to argue about them, just to get things done.

Susan and I did start a computer software company in our home over 20 years ago in Bozeman, Montana, and it grew to over 500 employees there and became one of the State's largest employers.

I am Montana's lone voice here in this House, sent by the people to do the work of the people. The MT comes before the R or the D after my name. I promised the people of Montana that I

would come back and drain the swamp. That is why today three of my first actions are bills: no balanced budget, no pay; term limits; and a ban on lobbying by Members of Congress after being out of office.

We need to bring accountability to Washington, D.C.

I feel a deep sense of obligation to serve, and I look forward to being a strong voice for all of Montana.