Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, obviously, in support of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act.

I want to thank my friend and colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), our ranking Democrat on the committee, for working with me on this effort, but especially I want to thank Representative Brooks from Indiana for her tireless effort and the partnership of my friend, Representative Anna Eshoo of California. She and Mrs.

Brooks really did the heavy lift here for the committee on this effort. They were able to shepherd this critical reauthorization to the floor today with unanimous support both in the subcommittee and in the full committee.

So, for those out there who are watching our proceedings, know that actually we do work together and we do get some really important public policy done.

These programs, commonly known as PAHPA, enable critical partnerships between the Federal Government, State and local authorities, and the private sector to ensure our Nation is responsibly prepared for and able to respond to public health emergencies. It is time that we get it right; it is critical that we get it right; and we are.

It is not really a matter of if, but when, the next pandemic strikes. The projections simply are horrifying. A full-blown pandemic flu outbreak could literally kill millions of people within months--within months. We must have the tools, backed by stable and predictable funding, to respond to these threats and especially to the threat of pandemic flu.

With this vote, the House will take an important step toward keeping our families safe in the worst-case scenarios of dangerous disease outbreak or in the case of chemical or biological attack. We are moving this reauthorization on time and in a bipartisan fashion.

Like my colleague from Indiana, I remember when anthrax was sent to our offices and to the postal facility, and loss of life and illness and concern, and we all wondered what is next. That was part of what prompted us to get to this point and pass this legislation, not only today but back then.

This is really important work, Mr. Speaker, and I commend my colleagues and the staff, who really do the incredible work to help us get it right. This is legislation now that will head over to the Senate, where I hope they will give it the same due consideration that we are about to here today, and then get this down to President Trump's desk, where he will sign it into law.

Mr. Speaker, I want to again thank my colleagues and staff on both sides of the aisle.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their great work on the Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy Act, H.R. 1320. I especially thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), who is one of our real leaders on energy issues writ large on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

By any measure, atomic energy has brought tremendous benefits to the Nation. It has provided a baseload, emissions-free source of electricity that has powered homes and industry over the past half century. It has provided an infrastructure for our national and international security--from the technologies and fuels for our nuclear Navy, to the safety and security for civilian nuclear power the world over.

However, a confluence of factors--abundant natural gas, power market designs, economic and regulatory burdens--they have all inhibited the Nation's nuclear industry over the past 10 years.

So the challenge confronting Congress is how to preserve and enhance the beneficial use of atomic energy for future generations. To continue to harvest the economic and national security benefits associated with our domestic nuclear energy infrastructure, we must take steps to update the relevant policies. So these policies must be forward looking to enable innovation and the development and deployment of new, advanced nuclear technologies.

This bipartisan bill by Mr. Kinzinger and Mr. Doyle updates the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's fee structure for the first time in nearly 20 years, Madam Speaker. It reflects thoughtful work on both sides of the aisle to achieve really good public policy.

H.R. 1320 establishes reasonable and predictable timeframes for regulatory decisions so that companies like Oregon-based NuScale Power can develop business plans to commercialize new nuclear technologies while also protecting future consumers from high regulator costs.

I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their great work on yet another piece of legislation out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1320.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6511, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act. This bill is another product of the Energy and Commerce Committee's ongoing and bipartisan work to modernize the Department of Energy.

The Committee's DOE modernization efforts are focused on ensuring the Department can more ably address current and future domestic and international energy and security challenges. These challenges range from maintaining nuclear safety and security to protecting the reliable supply and delivery of energy, and they require a DOE that has the appropriate organization, management focus, and authorities to succeed.

H.R. 6511 was developed by Vice Chairman Barton and Ranking Member Rush to modernize the forty-year-old Strategic Petroleum Reserve, so it's prepared to protect our Nation from energy disruptions in the decades ahead.

H.R. 6511 authorizes DOE to lease underutilized storage capacity, which will become available in increasing amounts as DOE conducts mandated drawdowns over the next several years. Rather than have DOE maintain empty caverns at considerable taxpayer expense, H.R. 6511 will allow DOE to develop the spare capacity, attracting much needed capital investments for additional improvements. H.R. 6511 will preserve the SPR's existing capacity, generate revenue for upgrades and maintenance, and improve the operational readiness of the entire SPR complex. H.R. 6511 is truly a win-win, and a perfect example of our bipartisan DOE modernization effort.

I especially want to thank Mr. Barton for his work on this bill. He has been at the forefront of so many defining moments relating to energy security. From his leadership as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee during passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to his tireless efforts to repeal the ban on crude oil exports, his work on this bill contributes to the great legacy he leaves behind at the Energy and Commerce Committee--and in the United States Congress. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 6511.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the two bills that will bring some much-needed transparency into the drug supply chain process, and they will help patients afford the medicines that they really need.

The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, sponsored by Senator Susan Collins, and the Know the Lowest Price Act of 2018, sponsored by Senator Debbie Stabenow, will, together, ban gag classes from Medicare and private insurance.

These clauses restrict a pharmacist's ability to inform a patient that their drug would be cheaper if they paid out of pocket than if they paid through their insurance. And while there is already a regulation banning this practice in Medicare part D, this legislation will end the practice across Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans, Medicare part D, and group and individual insurance plans.

These two bills mirror legislation authored by Representative Buddy Carter, who is carrying this legislation for the majority on the floor today. He is a very valuable member of our House Energy and Commerce Committee. And, by the way, he is the only pharmacist in the Congress, so he understands this from a very personal perspective from behind the counter.

He was joined in this effort by Representatives Welch and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Anna Eshoo, Morgan Griffith, Debbie Dingell, Gene Green, and our chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Dr. Michael Burgess.

I think all of us on the committee are very supportive of this effort. We, in fact, moved this bill, Madam Speaker, as you know, as an important part of our committee earlier this month, and it did pass unanimously. So I commend Mr. Carter for his good work on this issue.

I first heard about the gag clause issue from a pharmacist in Grants Pass, Oregon, named Michele. That is in my district. She is an independent pharmacist. We were talking about a lot of these issues, about how we get drug prices down for consumers, and she told me that as a pharmacist, she was prevented, precluded under certain insurance contracts, from telling a patient that their cash price would be cheaper than going through their insurance.

Can you imagine such a thing in America?

Michele told me that she once even received a cease and desist letter for trying to help a child with a terminal illness access his medication--simply unacceptable, period.

Madam Speaker, I am glad we are taking concrete action today to address this important issue. And as we have heard already, these bills are coming over from the Senate. We had them in the House, marked them up in committee, and did our work. At the end of the day, I decided the important thing was not who had which bill. It was, how do we help consumers the quickest.

Taking the Senate bills, getting them down to the President's desk with the support of our colleagues who worked so hard in the House seemed like the best path. It is about putting consumers first. That is what we have done on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I encourage our colleagues in the House to support this legislative effort.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the eight World War II veterans and seventeen Korean War veterans from Oregon who are visiting their memorials on the National Mall on Saturday, September 15th, 2018, through Honor Flight of Southern Oregon. Every time I have the chance to meet one of these heroes, I am reminded of the poignant words of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a message to Allied troops just before D-Day, he said, ``The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.''

He was right then, of course, Mr. Speaker. But over seventy years later, liberty-loving people everywhere continue to owe these heroes for their extraordinary service and their incredible stories of sacrifice and bravery on behalf of our country. That's why it is my privilege to include their names in the Congressional Record today.

The veterans on this Honor Flight from Oregon are as follows: Robert Ashmead, Navy; AI Axtell, Army Air Force; Joseph Bieber, Marine Corps; Dean Bosche, Air Force; Kenneth Brookhart, Navy; Joseph Browell, Navy; Al Carter, Army; Jack Cox, Navy and Army National Guard; Dale Dexter, Air Force and Marine Corps; Ron Duke, Army; William Evans Jr., Marine Corps; John Garbini, Army Air Force; Neil Haga, Army; Dale Heath, Navy; Charles Hewitt, Navy; Leonard Leach, Navy; Edwin McCurry, Army Air Force; Edward Parkes, Navy; Ruth Parks, Navy; Jack Rentz, Navy; William Staunton, Navy; Gerhard Tank, Navy; Dale Templeman, Navy; Fred Warren, Marine Corps; and Whitney Woodburn Jr., Navy.

These twenty-five heroes join over 200,000 veterans who have been honored through the Honor Flight Network of volunteers nationwide since 2005 .

I would also like to recognize the twelve guardians traveling on this trip who have also served our country: Michael Boehme, Navy; Melissa Candy, Army National Guard; Mark Collier, Navy and Coast Guard; Robert Fleischman, Navy; David Haines, Navy and Air Force; Terry Haines, Navy; Charles Hanger, Army; Evan Hanson, Air Force; Ron Kohl, Army Air Force; Pete Pringle, Navy; Charles Sharpes, Army; and Tanya Wilson, Navy.

Mr. Speaker, at the height of the Civil War in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln wrote, ``Honor to the Soldier, and Sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause.'' Each of us in this chamber and in this nation should be humbled by the courage of these brave veterans who put themselves in harm's way for our country and way of life. As a nation, we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude owed to them for their honor, commitment, and sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we have today.

My colleagues, please join me in thanking these veterans and the volunteers of Honor Flight of Southern Oregon for their exemplary dedication and service to this great country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my good friend Steve McClure for his many years of service to Union County. Steve dedicated 28 years of his life to faithfully serving Union County, and he spent two years serving our great nation in the Vietnam War. I'd like to pay tribute to Steve's dedication to Union County and his leadership for eastern Oregon.

Steve was born in Elgin, Oregon, and graduated from Elgin High School in 1964. In 1968, Steve was drafted into the Army and served his country in Vietnam, where he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Following his time in Vietnam, Steve was in the service as both an active reserve and an inactive reserve until 1974. Throughout his life, Steve has always shown a willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of other people.

Steve moved to Florida, where he started his family. His daughter Jennifer was born in 1973, and has now decided to follow in her father's footsteps of public service by serving as the Mayor of Weston, Oregon. His son Michael was born in 1976 and is now a computer programmer. The family lived in Florida until 1978 when they moved back to Oregon, and Steve worked on the family farm.

In 1990, Steve was appointed to the Union County Board of Commissioners, and was first elected to the role in November of that same year. He has gone on to serve six four-year terms for a total of 28 years. During that time, Steve's commitment and loyalty to Union County and his friends across eastern Oregon has earned him the deep respect of his colleagues. Many people, including myself, have

relied upon Steve's thorough knowledge of forestry and natural resource issues. In fact, Senator Bill Hansell remembers deferring to Steve on forestry issues when Hansell was a Umatilla County Commissioner, saying ``if Steve was for it, that's all we needed to know.''

Steve has a knack for public policy and is famous for his ability to get things to move forward. Both skills have been assets towards helping him effectively serve Union County and the region for many years. Understanding the challenges that we face in rural Oregon and how hard it can be for us to compete with metropolitan parts of our state, Steve took action. He rallied his colleagues, and maybe even twisted a few arms, to form the Eastern Oregon Counties Association to pool the resources of rural counties on common issues like improving the management of our public lands.

Steve has shown tenacity, strength, and true leadership. Steve has always said that ``democracy means you always get your say, it doesn't mean you always get your way.'' Steve has always lived by those words, and has been willing to listen to anyone. Steve has always displayed dignity, integrity, and responsiveness. Union County and Eastern Oregon were lucky to have him as a public servant.

Steve now has eight grandchildren, and three great-grandkids. As he retires from public service, he plans to continue serving in the capacity of a father, grandfather, and great grandfather. I am confident that Steve will impart his wisdom and knowledge onto future generations of his family so they may carry it forward.

I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing and thanking Steve for his many years of I leadership in Union County. I wish him and his family all the best in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his help on this legislation. I, too, agree in terms of the harbor maintenance trust fund.

I rise in support of America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. This legislation includes really important language to assist irrigators in the Klamath Basin who are enduring another challenging drought year, and it helps ensure we are prepared if our farmers are hit again with severe drought conditions in the years ahead.

This bill provides the Bureau of Reclamation with the authority to use the funds we secured earlier this year, about $10 million, to implement measures such as groundwater pumping and other priorities for our irrigators, and ensures that they have the authority to survive difficult water years we may face over the next 4 years.

I also want to express, as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, our support for a couple other titles in this bill.

Title II of the legislation modernizes the Safe Drinking Water Act to address regulatory compliance and infrastructure challenges facing communities across our country. It brings greater investment to improve our aging drinking water systems and supports State-led efforts in large cities and rural communities alike.

For the first time in 22 years, Mr. Speaker, it authorizes capitalization grants for State drinking water revolving loan funds-- $4.4 billion over 3 years, to be exact.

This is a big infrastructure bill. These loans are a crucial tool to help communities address compliance issues and address drinking water threats. I urge EPA to help each State realize the promise of this new authorization.

As we brace for the horrible impacts of Hurricane Florence, I want to point out that title II also authorizes $100 million for areas affected by natural disasters that need help repairing their drinking water systems to deliver clean, safe drinking water.

Our prayers are with those in the storm's path, Mr. Speaker. While this legislation won't make them whole, it will help them recover.

Title III of the legislation will make substantial regulatory improvements to the hydropower licensing process, with the goal to deliver more clean, renewable, carbon-free, and affordable energy to consumers. This title incorporates several important bills that passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I am proud to support their inclusion in this legislation before us today.

With that, I urge strong bipartisan support of the America's Water Infrastructure Act. I thank the gentlemen on both sides of the aisle and everyone involved for their work in getting this to the House floor, and I urge its passage.

Under clause 2 of rule XII, bills and reports were delivered to the Clerk for printing, and bills referred as follows:

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues Mr. Gene Green and, certainly, Dr. Burgess for their great leadership on this issue.

I rise is support of H.R. 5385, the Dr. Benjy Frances Brooks Children's HOSPITAL GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2018, and I want to thank them for their good work on this.

As you have heard, this reauthorizes payments to children's hospitals that operate graduate medical education programs, and it does so for the next 5 years, giving these programs great certainty going forward. This legislation will continue to enable the Nation's freestanding children's hospitals to provide education to graduates of medical schools, enhance pediatric research capabilities, and care for these vulnerable and underserved children.

Representative Green and Chairman Burgess partnered to lead this bipartisan bill in our committee, and they brought about unanimous votes in both the Health Subcommittee and in our full committee. I appreciate their work on this and thank them and their staffs for the great work they all have done as we work together to reauthorize these very, very important programs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support us in this legislation from the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1676) to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of permanent faculty in palliative care at accredited allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, nursing schools, social work schools, and other programs, including physician assistant education programs, to promote education and research in palliative care and hospice, and to support the development of faculty careers in academic palliative medicine, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1676. As we have heard, this is the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, and it is sponsored by my colleague from New York, Representative Eliot Engel.

This bipartisan legislation will authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants or contracts for palliative care and hospice education centers, promote the career development of nurses and physicians in palliative care, and promote research and outreach in the delivery of care for patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses at the National Institutes of Health.

Now, I have heard about this bill's impact from palliative care specialists and disease advocates all across Oregon. Dawn Frazier in Bend, Oregon, told me about her daughter, Rhonda, who tragically passed away at the age of 34. She suffered from early onset Alzheimer's.

In an opinion piece that Dawn had published in the Bend Bulletin, she wrote: ``Palliative and hospice care are vital services for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. For people with advanced dementia, team-based care--which focuses on managing and easing symptoms, reducing pain and stress, and increasing comfort--improves quality of life, controls costs, and enhances patient and family satisfaction.''

She wrote: ``Here in Oregon, 19 percent of people in hospice have a primary diagnosis of dementia. Yet, the availability and quality of palliative and hospice care is a concern.''

Dawn went on to say that this bill will help make critical palliative care and hospice services available to millions of patients across the country.

I have long been a supporter of this bipartisan legislation and programs for palliative and hospice care. My own parents both received valuable care in this regard, especially hospice care, as their lives came to a close.

This is all part of why I am a cosponsor, along with 284 of my colleagues in the House, and why I have worked with Representative Engel and our subcommittee chair on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee for Health, Chairman Burgess, to move this legislation forward in the Energy and Commerce Committee, where, by the way, it received unanimous votes in both our Health Subcommittee and in our full committee.

So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important measure. Let's advance our public health.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed), who has been a real leader on this issue and several others related to healthcare, and especially on diabetes.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will close by again thanking my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Thanks to the gentleman from New York, the gentleman from Texas, my colleagues on this side of the aisle. I know Dr. Phil Roe, who chairs our Veterans' Affairs Committee, a very strong advocate and supporter of this, could not be here to speak on it because of a conflict.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say this is really important. It will change lives. It will improve lives. With that, I hope our colleagues will join us in supporting this very important measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 959, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2018. I'd like to thank Representative David Joyce for his work on this important bill. It is one of four bipartisan public health bills the House will vote on today, each of which passed through the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously at both the Health Subcommittee and our full committee.

H.R. 959 would reauthorize nursing workforce development programs, which support the recruitment, retention, and advanced education of skilled nursing professionals. The bill extends advanced education nursing grants to support clinical nurse specialists and clinical nurse leaders, defines nurse-managed health clinics, adds clinical nurse specialists to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education, and reauthorizes loan repayments, scholarships, and grants for education, practice, quality, and retention.

In rural areas of the country, like my district in Oregon, nurses play an especially critical role in our health care delivery system, and they've told me about the importance of this legislation. That's why it's critical we reauthorize these programs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill

Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the distinct honor and pleasure of welcoming Pastor Steve William Schenewerk as the guest chaplain in the United States House of Representatives this morning.

Pastor Schenewerk serves the congregation of Community Baptist Church in Winston, Oregon. He was raised in the Midwest but followed the call of God to the Pacific Northwest to become a pastor. His path led him to Community Baptist Church, where he has humbly offered spiritual guidance and encouragement to the community for over 25 years.

Pastor Schenewerk's devotion to his community does not stop there, though. He serves on the board of the Winston Area Community Partnership and is involved in several organizations that help the needy in Douglas County.

Ever committed to serving those who have served others, Pastor Schenewerk has most recently become the chaplain to the local police force in Winston.

Of all the joys in his life, nothing compares to that for his wife, Cindy; his daughter, Megan; and son, Josh.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Pastor Schenewerk for his words this morning. They are most inspirational.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman McClintock and my friend from Arizona for their work on this, especially Chairman Bishop as well. The Natural Resources Committee has been terrific to work with on this measure over a period of time.

The bill is really an important public safety measure. This is a life-and-death measure. There are more than 5,000 people who live in Crooked River Ranch. This is an unincorporated community in central Oregon. It is wedged between two river systems, river canyons.

You can see it here on this map. I want to point out the two rivers here. It is actually on a peninsula. It sits up. These are deep canyons. To the west over here is where the wilderness study area is that we are talking about. It is juniper. It is cheatgrass. It is sagebrush. These are the most volatile fuels you can have.

Unlike here on the East Coast, where in the summer you get thunderstorms and heavy rain with it, out in Oregon, we have humidity. We call it rain that stays in the ground. But in the summer, we don't get that. What we get is dry lightning and very little rain. When lightning strikes occur in that kind of vegetation, it explodes.

I have talked to the firefighters, and I will show you what happens when this happens. This the terrain. The overstocked juniper, you can see it over here. This is very volatile terrain. That is grasslands. As I say, there are all kinds of other volatile fuels in there.

This is at the highest risk category for exposure to catastrophic wildfire. The wildfire planning community protection plan calls it that in Jefferson County.

Fire season is already underway in central Oregon. In fact, wildfires have already burned 120,000 acres so far this year. It has just gotten started. By the way, that is the equivalent of burning about 2\1/2\ times the entire size of Washington, D.C.

So what does that look like? When fire gets into these junipers, they basically explode. It is very volatile. Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins took this picture out of his rig of the Graham fire. This fire nearby--not right at Crooked River Ranch, but in the same county-- burned a few weeks ago. It burned two homes. Altogether, it burned about 2,000 acres--2,000 acres--and a couple of homes before they could get in and get it out.

So what we are doing here with this legislation is removing 832 acres. That is it. Three-thousandths of 1 percent of all the WSAs in Oregon, three-thousandths of 1 percent of the acreage, 832 acres, we are saying that we are just going to take it back to the rim of the canyon, and, on that flat land, you can go in and thin out these junipers and get it back to where you can do fire management.

Now, when I have talked to the fire chiefs and crews there, they have told me: Look, in this community of 5,000, there is one road in and out.

If you have a fire that blows up like this out on the peninsula, out on the end, the fire chiefs basically said: If the conditions are wrong and there is wind, I am not going to put my firefighters' lives at risk, so we will probably not go in and fight that fire. We will just try and get people out.

Can you imagine, on a two-lane road, trying to evacuate more than 5,000 people with a monster fire breathing down your back? That is what we are trying to avoid here.

This WSA was determined in 1992 by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to not be suitable for inclusion as wilderness. They said: No, it doesn't meet the criteria. It should not be included.

But the way the Federal law works, once the agency decides to study one of these areas, all the restrictions come on the land. As you have heard from both sides of the aisle--well, at least our side of the aisle--that means that you can't go in and do mechanical thinning. You can't do the kind of work we need to do.

By the way, if there is a fire, it takes all kinds of permission to drop the retardant or to get in there with mechanical means.

All we are saying is, let's back that up 832 acres along the rim line, send people in, thin this back to where it is in balance and will not cause devastating wildfire to consume Crooked River Ranch. Let's look at what happens when that does occur.

You will remember this tragedy from my friend's home State in Santa Rosa, California. You don't think fires are monsters and killers and deadly? Look at what happened to this community, the homes and lives that were lost.

This is what we are trying to prevent from happening at Crooked River Ranch. With bipartisan support, the House is going to show its will today, and I think overwhelmingly, to say this is a measured, thoughtful piece of legislation with enormous support in the community and the county that will prevent a Santa Rosa from occurring at Crooked River Ranch.

Remember, there is one way in and one way out, and 5,500 people who live in this area.

I thank the gentleman from Alaska for his leadership on this. He and his staff have been terrific.

I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I know we have some differences about adding other things in. That can be dealt with, discussed at another time, but we have a serious and deadly threat staring us down every summer. We have fires already burning in the area.

If we want to save lives and prevent deadly fires, this is the bill to do it. This is the time to do it. Let's get it done.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my good friend Boyd Britton for his many years of dedicated public service in Grant County. Boyd has executed faithfully his duty as a Grant County Commissioner for 15 years, and I would like to pay tribute to his leadership for the people of Grant County and Eastern Oregon.

Boyd was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, but due to his father's service in the United States Air Force, spent much of his early childhood on the move. His father was a co-pilot of the famed World War II B-17 Bomber known as Old '666, which was the most decorated B-17 aircraft in the history of the United States Air Force. Eventually, his family settled in Mesquite, New Mexico. After he started college, he transferred from New Mexico State to Western New Mexico University, which is where he met his soon-to-be wife, Bonnie. Boyd and Bonnie were married in 1974.

Boyd worked 17 years for James Hamilton Construction Company, eventually becoming a superintendent of the company. At the time, it was one of the biggest construction companies in New Mexico. Meanwhile, his wife, Bonnie, worked for the United States Forest Service as a Financial Manager.

Bonnie's job with the United States Forest Service moved the family to Susanville, California, where Boyd started his welding business, and where their daughter, Brandi, graduated high school. In 1995, Boyd and Bonnie moved to John Day, Oregon, where Boyd planned to become an artist but quickly realized it was a lonely craft. Boyd again opened a welding business, but that trade also lacked the social interaction he craved.

In 2002, Boyd won his first Grant County Commissioner race and served for 15 years until June 30, 2018. Commissioner Britton had a unique talent for recognizing potential in people, skillfully bringing them together to accomplish nearly every challenge the county faced. Boyd's ability to bridge political divides led him to build the Blue Mountain Forest Partners collaborative group, which has helped improve log supply to the local timber industry. That same skillset helped Boyd negotiate a contract for Community Counseling Solutions to operate Grant County Health Department, which brought mental health services to Grant County for the first time in its history. Boyd had a reputation as the most polite commissioner the Association of Oregon Counties had ever known. That said, it was never a mystery where he stood on any issue.

Boyd has always taken pride in three notable things: his beautiful marriage to Bonnie, his highly successful daughter Brandi, and having the most famous mustache in Grant County. I know Boyd will take that same pride with him to his new home in Show Low, Arizona. Boyd has never stood on the sidelines and watched the world move. Rather, he has always tried to be a driving force behind the motion. I am confident he will continue to be a key player wherever his travels take him.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, Boyd Britton is a true friend of mine, and I would ask that you please join me in recognizing and thanking him for his many years of leadership in Grant County. I wish Boyd and Bonnie all the best in their new pursuits.