Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the Sixth District of North Carolina, we wish to extend our congratulations to the Eastern Randolph softball team for winning the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2-A state softball championship. There is no doubt that the level of athleticism and fortitude these young women possess is without reproach.

Eastern Randolph's journey to the state title was one of a remarkable comeback. After being placed in the loser's bracket early in the competition after their first encounter with Central Davidson the team was disappointed, but even more determined. Having successfully defeated South Lenior, the Eastern Wildcats faced Central once again in the championship game.

Led by pitcher and Most Valuable Player Jessica Gordan, the Wildcats defeated the Central Spartans 9-2. After pitching three games during the tournament, Gordan tossed a three-hitter with only two walks and three strikeouts. The entire team exhibited superior athletic ability and are well-deserving of their first state title in Eastern's school history.

Team members include: Rachel Burgess, Jana Cheek, Liza Elliott, Jessica Gordon, Dallas Heaton, Kailey Hill, Olivia Millikan, Codie Rhodes, Gina Ritter, Brittainy Rush, Kayla Saliga, Kaitlyn Scheuering. The team was led by Head Coach Randall Myers and his assistants Richard Thomas, Gary Heaton and Tony Hill. Also contributing were team managers Leslie Honeycutt and Chesley Honeycutt.

Again, on behalf of the Sixth District of North Carolina, we would like to congratulate the Eastern Randolph softball team, the faculty, staff, students, and fans for an outstanding season.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the Sixth District of North Carolina, we wish to extend our congratulations to the Wesleyan Christian Academy's baseball team for winning its second North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A state championship in three seasons.

Wesleyan Christian Academy defeated Forsyth Country Day School for the title. The team at Wesleyan Christian Academy fought hard to obtain its second state title. The team exhibited exorbitant amounts of determination and teamwork in order to claim the championship title for the second time. Trojan catcher, Chris Ferrante, hit a three-run homer against Forsyth Country Day, which proved to be just enough to defeat the Furies. Ferrante along with teammates, David Anderson and Bennett Hixon, displayed excellent fieldwork that further solidified Wesleyan Christian's lead. This championship game required tremendous skill and athleticism, not to mention, great advice and wisdom from Head Coach Scott Davis and his coaching staff.

The championship team members included Donnie Caldwell, Casey Corn, Cameron Hendrix, Bennett Hixson, Nick Blackwood, Kyle Washam, David Anderson, Nathan Midkiff, Chris Ferrante, Vincent Banks, Greg Key, Cameron George, and Ethan Brown. The coaching was led by Scott Davis, and his able assistant John Pavlack.

Again, on behalf of the Sixth District of North Carolina, we would like to congratulate the Wesleyan Christian Academy baseball team, the faculty, staff, students, and fans for an outstanding season.

I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for yielding.

``Hail fellow well met'' were words coined with Ike Andrews in mind. One could have met Ike for the first time, and he left thinking he'd known him for years. He was indeed ``hail fellow well met,'' and I am pleased to join my friend from North Carolina and my other colleagues in honoring the memory of Ike Andrews.

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday afternoon I attended the Robbins, North Carolina, First Wesleyan Church's Veterans Memorial Dedication. The program was generously laced with patriotic music and appropriate hymns. Veterans, living and deceased, were recognized.

It has been said, Mr. Speaker, that many Americans do not practice patriotism as they did in the past, in the World War II era in particular. Not true in Robbins, when last Sunday patriotism was alive and well. And I am appreciative to the Wesleyan Church in Robbins for the invitation that I received to attend that very special day in Robbins Saturday last.

I thank my friend from California.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on behalf of this bill.

Some would say, Well, it's just a symbolic gesture. Well, it may be symbolic, but it is symbolically significant. What better time to impose a freeze against ourselves than now during these harsh economic times of people being beneficiaries of pink slips, of being told their jobs are gone. Then

they see that Congress gets an automatic COLA. I think this is a good bill, and I urge its passage.

I thank the gentleman from California for having elevated me to the ``distinguished'' category as well.

Folks, we are on the right track here. This bill needs to be passed. We need to impose a freeze upon ourselves for the next fiscal year. I think it would send a message which would be well received by our constituencies across this land.

I thank my friend from Texas (Mr. Smith) for yielding.

Madam Speaker, intellectual property has been described as the cornerstone, or one of the cornerstones, of America's economic future; and I think that is an accurate description.

H. Res. 1208 supports the goals of World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on April 26 every year, which this year also happened to fall on the 40th anniversary of the World Intellectual Property Organization, commonly known as WIPO. WIPO has grown to 184 member states, and its new director general, Francis Gurry, issued a statement honoring World Intellectual Property Day, which pledged to ensure that the intellectual property system continues to serve its most fundamental purpose of encouraging innovation and creativity, and that the benefits of the system are accessible to all, helping to bring the world closer.

Robust and effective laws combined with effective enforcement are absolutely necessary to meet General Gurry's global ambitions. According to the Department of Commerce, intellectual property- intensive industries employ nearly 18 million workers, account for more than 50 percent of all U.S. exports, and represent 40 percent of the country's growth in the United States. USA for Innovation estimates that U.S. intellectual property is worth between $5 trillion and $5.5 trillion. The credit for this success belongs to our great innovators and for our robust intellectual property laws which have enabled innovation to flourish in America.

Expanding similar intellectual property protections throughout the world is, in my opinion, Madam Speaker, in everyone's best interest. In this regard, WIPO plays a very important role, and it is my hope that General Gurry will make every effort to help others realize the significance of intellectual property rights and work to help implement and enforce robust laws which ensure that intellectual property will flourish everywhere.

I urge support of H. Res. 1208.

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

Madam Speaker, House Resolution 1062, as indicated by the distinguished chairman, recognizes the longstanding service of Coast Guard Group Astoria to the people of the Pacific Northwest. Group Astoria members, along with their partners at the co-located air station, carry out search and rescue, maritime homeland security, fisheries enforcement, and aids to navigation missions throughout their area of responsibility.

Group Astoria is one of the last of its kind as the Coast Guard has consolidated its personnel and mission capabilities through the establishment of sectors. Members and assets currently assigned to Group Astoria will be combined with other Coast Guard units to stand up the new Sector Columbia River in Astoria later this year, and it is fitting that we celebrate Group Astoria's long history as it embarks on this transformation.

Madam Speaker, House Resolution 1062 gives this House the opportunity to express thanks to members of Coast Guard Astoria and their colleagues stationed at other Coast Guard sectors and groups for their selfless service to protect those in need.

Madam Speaker, if I may assume a personal role, some years ago, as an active-duty Coast Guardsman, I was assigned to the Port Security Unit at Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. So this resolution is taking me down a nostalgic trail, a pleasant nostalgic trail. The past is coming alive, reviving old memories.

So with that in mind, I join with the resolution's sponsor and cosponsors in honoring their service and the service of all Coast Guard members and officers.

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

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the Sixth District of North Carolina, we wish to extend our congratulations to the Alamance Christian School's boys basketball team for winning its second State championship in 3 years. This team not only won the North Carolina Christian School Association 3A State championship, but they also broke a school record for wins in a season with 25.

Alamance Christian defeated Gospel Light 61-55 in overtime last month. The championship game featured resilience and a determination to win. With the game in overtime, Blake Marley made a clutch 3-point shot, while his teammates Will Shepherd and Brandyn Burns also came through for the team by excelling at the free throw line. The championship game win, as well as their phenomenal record, required great skill and athleticism, but Head Coach Jerry Bailey pointed to the boys love and care for each other as the secret to their success.

The championship team members are: Brandyn Burns, Jonathan Racke, Bud Hursey, Will Shepherd, Benton Tuck, Tyler VanNostrand, Anthony Winston, Thomas Klarr, Blake Marley, Kevin Avery, Philip Barker, Alan Barker, Cole Johnson, and Ethan Massey. The coaching staff was led by Coach Bailey and his able assistants Josh Howard and Brad Prentice.

Again on behalf of the Sixth District of North Carolina, we would like to congratulate the Alamance Christian School boys basketball team, the faculty, staff, students, and fans for an outstanding championship season. This team will be remembered in the history books for its record-breaking year and resilient win in the NCCSA championship game.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

When Fred Heineman--and you've pretty well touched on it, David, most of it--when Fred Heineman came to this people's House as a result of the 1994 election, I went to him one day and I said, what are your committees of choice? He said, well, I'm not sure. I said, why don't you select House Judiciary? He said, well, my legal background is not that formidable. I said, your law enforcement background is formidable indeed. He said, well, I'm

not sure I could be assigned to Judiciary.

I then went to leadership and told them about Fred Heineman. They perhaps knew him but didn't know the great details that David has just shared with us, and I said I think he would like to be on the Judiciary Committee. He was, in fact, assigned to the Judiciary Committee. Then my chairman of the Judiciary Committee asked me if I would introduce Fred to the Judiciary Committee during his first meeting as a member.

I went to Fred, and I said, Fred, I would like to introduce you as the former chief of police of the Raleigh, North Carolina, police department, but I would also like to introduce you as a cop. I said, would you be offended by that? He looked into my face, and he said very proudly, ``That's who I am. I am a New York cop.'' And with those words, he told me that he valued his time on the Raleigh police force as chief very significantly, but he valued equally significantly his time as a New York cop.

I thank you, David, for taking time to honor the memory of Fred Heineman and, as you said, we wish our best to Mrs. Heineman and the family.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this flawed health care bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the proposed government takeover of our health care system.

I have not come at this decision lightly. Although a small portion of my constituents support this proposal, the vast majority want nothing to do with it. Clearly there are areas of our health care system that need to be improved. That being said, this bill is a complete overhaul of the system.

Make no mistake about it. This bill will put the government in control of our health care. It is a train wreck waiting to occur and considering our current economic morass, we need no train wrecks.

It is with the best interests of all of my constituents, their children and future generations that I will oppose this legislation.

Madam Speaker, this past weekend I visited with four of my six counties in North Carolina--Moore, Guilford, Davidson, and Rowan counties--hundreds of people, and without exception, no one spoke in favor of this bill. Increased taxes, they said to me, increased costs. The heavy-handed way in which it's been administered, as if to say, By golly, this is the bill you're going to get whether you like it or not.

Madam Speaker, this proposal is a train wreck waiting to occur. We need no train wrecks.

I will admit that some attention needs to be directed to the delivery of health care in this Nation, but this is not the appropriate vehicle to deliver it. We need to scrap this bill and start anew with a sound proposal.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the distinguished gentleman from Texas, for yielding.

It has been said time and again today, Mr. Speaker, and I reiterate it, it is, indeed, a sad day today. Hopefully, none of us takes great glee in another's misfortune, but it appears, regarding the case at hand, we have little or no choice.

The issue of ethics has become a prominent issue, and the American citizenry justifiably insists as well as demands that high officeholders practice high ethical values. In this case, it appears clear that the judge did, indeed, violate the oath of his office. He violated the trust that the public extended to him. I know of no greater office than that of a United States Federal judge. People clamor for it. They fight for it, to get on that bench. And once on the bench, I think we are justified in insisting that they comply ethically, accordingly.

The House Judiciary Committee, as you know, is the committee of jurisdiction on impeachment matters. Nothing's happy about it. Nothing's gleeful about it, but we discharge our duties.

I thank everyone on the floor for having spoken on this resolution, and I urge its passage.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 4786. The distinguished gentleman from Minnesota has pretty well covered this bill in detail. I will speak briefly to it.

Beginning at midnight on February 28 through March 2, all of the programs and the operations of the agencies funded under the Highway Trust Fund came to a halt because the extension of these programs was not passed by Congress, as the chairman has already pointed out. As a result, nearly 2,000 Department of Transportation employees were furloughed. This bill will ensure that those employees furloughed, at no fault of their own, will receive their normal compensation for that period of time.

Between February 28 and March 2, certain surface transportation activities were classified as ``essential,'' such as the Federal safety inspection of trucks and buses. This bill approves these activities as essential actions taken to save lives and to protect property, allowing the DOT employees who worked on those activities during the furlough to be paid.

I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 4786. I support the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2968, and recognize myself for such time as I may consume.

This legislation, Mr. Speaker, makes technical but important revisions to the Madrid Protocol Implementation Act, which Congress passed in 2002. The Act is one of the most significant legislative accomplishments in the trademark realm in the past 15 years.

By way of background, the United States is a signatory to the Madrid Protocol, an international treaty that allows a trademark owner to seek registration in any of the countries that joined the Protocol. This means an American trademark owner pays the Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, a nominal fee to expedite the necessary paperwork overseas. This process makes it easier and less expensive for U.S. trademark owners to acquire protection for their intellectual property in other countries.

The 2002 Act that implements the Protocol has functioned well through the years, but must be updated. The main purpose of the bill is to bring provisions for maintaining extensions of protection under Madrid in conformity with provisions for maintaining registrations. Maintenance filings with the PTO by the trademark owner are necessary to perpetuate protection on the trademark. This bill also authorizes the PTO Director to permit applicants to correct good-faith and harmless errors.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the legislation includes a study provision that was inserted at the behest of the other body. It directs the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator and the Department of Commerce to evaluate and report on treatment of smaller businesses involved in trademark litigation. Along with Chairman Conyers and the chairman of the subcommittee, the distinguished gentleman from Georgia, I believe the study text could be clarified further. I'm happy to report that Senator Leahy has agreed to work with us on making the necessary minor revisions to improve the language. We intend to move this language at a later date on a different vehicle. We just don't want to delay further consideration of S. 2968 by requiring the other body to pass the bill for a second time.

In closing, I urge the Members to support S. 2968.

I yield back the balance of my time.