Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today, in Sudan, tens of thousands of men, women, and children are huddled in caves in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan and at Blue Nile state, where they're hiding from aerial bombardment and rocket attacks unleashed by the Sudanese Government in Khartoum.

They have nothing to eat because they've not been able to plant crops this year. And although the world stands ready to provide lifesaving assistance, that same government in Khartoum refuses to allow them access to it. When the rainy season descends on Sudan in the coming weeks, it will be too late to get food in and these people will face starvation.

Madam Speaker, for decades, this Congress and successive U.S. administrations have expressed the will of the American people that we will not allow so many innocent people to die in a struggle for land and power.

I ask my colleagues to condemn the Sudanese Government's assault on innocent people and denounce President Omar al-Bashir's decision to use food as a weapon of war.

We have little economic or political interest in this situation, but we do have a profound moral obligation to speak out. Khartoum must withdraw its armed forces, stop attacking civilians, and allow humanitarian access immediately.

Madam Speaker, the time to accelerate our withdrawal from Afghanistan has arrived. Afghanistan has very little to do with the security of most Americans. Osama bin Laden is dead, and al Qaeda is decimated. In fact, there may be 50, at the most, al Qaeda between Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are more in other parts of the world. But the reality is that the Afghans don't want people from Saudi Arabia or Egypt or Yemen or wherever telling them what to do. But neither do they want Americans telling them how to live their lives.

But while our security is not threatened, we owe a responsibility to our brave young men and women in uniform because their security is threatened, largely through reasons that were wholly out of their control. They're waging a valiant fight to do what we have asked them to do, but we have a responsibility to make sure that no lives are lost in vain. It's time to accelerate our withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, we need a multiyear, adequately funded transportation authorization before it expires at the end of this month.

There is no question but gas prices are too high, but when the speculation subsides and when the world's oil price starts to decline, the price at the pump won't go down proportionately because it will be seized by the big oil companies as an opportunity to further pad their profits. That's when we need to implement a substantially but gradually funded Federal gas tax. That's what we need to fund our Nation's infrastructure that has deteriorated for the last 20 years while the gas tax has not been increased.

That's what we need to do, Mr. Speaker, because the fact is that the big oil companies have been taking us for a ride on a pothole-filled highway. It's time to get into an energy-efficient vehicle and on the road to economic prosperity and energy independence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about an issue of concern to all families, and everyone who has ever known a sick child.

The Children's Program of All-inclusive, Coordinated Care, ChiPACC, program serves the needs of Medicaid-eligible children who suffer from potentially terminal illnesses or conditions. The legislation I am introducing will make ChiPACC a state option under Medicaid.

Medicaid-eligible children--like all children who suffer from potentially terminal illnesses or conditions--need comprehensive, coordinated care. Currently, nearly 30 percent of the children in the United States who have life-threatening conditions qualify for Medicaid. These children are forced into a system that will only treat them on an emergency basis, sending them home to wait until their next health emergency.

Based on the highly effective, collaborative model of care developed by Children's Hospice International, CHI, the Children's Program of All-inclusive, Coordinated Care provides each enrolled child an individualized treatment plan that includes and manages services from providers across the health care spectrum. ChiPACC's services will improve upon the often inconsistent care that is currently available to seriously ill children under Medicaid, doing so at a savings to taxpayers.

With appropriate comprehensive and coordinated services under ChiPACC, many emergency episodes can be avoided or anticipated and managed, such that children receive appropriate care in their homes instead of in hospitals, and so that even when they require critical care they can enter the hospital through the front door instead of the emergency room, significantly reducing health care costs.

Under the former Medicaid model, individuals could receive only ``hospice'' services and only after their doctors give them a prognosis of six months to live. Children, however, are much more likely than adults to go in and out of terminal phases multiple times. No family should be forced to give up curative care for their child in order to receive services that are predicated on accepting that their child has no more than 6 months to live. I am very pleased that the Affordable Care Act amended this policy to allow curative care for Medicaid eligible children in hospice. But ChiPACC goes beyond curative care and combines medical and support services currently available in Medicaid with counseling, respite, and other care that have previously only been available as hospice services.

Please join me in sponsoring this very important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, for 45 years the Arlington Chapter of the Links Incorporated has been serving women, children and youth in the Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia communities.

Collectively, the chapter has been able to:

Award over $100,000 in scholarships to high school and college students;

Reach hundreds of students and parents at multi-cultural events to honor/celebrate their rich heritage;

Support student-run TV broadcasting and offer mentoring and character building workshops;

Support educational, health and sustainable food sources to international developing countries; and

Conduct awareness training to hundreds of community residents on obesity, diabetes, and the number one killer of women . . . heart disease.

I would like to commend the Arlington Links for providing resources to deliver sustainable and impactful programs, and for promoting civic, educational and cultural activities that instill excellence and improve the quality of life to thousands in the Northern Virginia community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to an outstanding public servant, Wilmot N. Summerall III, for his more than 33 years of service within the civilian leadership of the Department of Defense. It is my great pleasure to recognize his achievements and to thank him and his family for their service to the Navy and our nation.

Mr. Summerall began his public service as a mining engineer with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and is concluding his career as Executive Director for the Combatants Office, Program Executive Office, Ships, where he oversees one of the most complex acquisition portfolios in the Navy--including more than $36 billion in new construction programs, encompassing $16 billion currently under contract and $20 billion in future programming. Highly respected throughout the DoD acquisition community for his unsurpassed knowledge, unwavering perseverance, and the courage of his convictions, he leaves a long and lasting legacy to our nation--both through his unparalleled contributions to the strength and flexibility of our Navy's surface forces and through the generation of professionals that he has mentored during his time in federal service.

Mr. Summerall has a long and distinguished career of innovative thinking and aggressive execution of shipbuilding programs across the entire spectrum of naval shipbuilding. Since joining the federal service in 1978, which includes becoming a member of the Senior Executive Service in 2004, he has held a variety of key leadership roles, including senior positions with the Naval Sea Systems Command and the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller. A visionary leader and revered expert in the field of defense acquisition, Mr. Summerall has led the Navy's surface combatant shipbuilding activities through some of the most challenging and dynamic times of our modern Navy--with vision, insight, and determination. Challenged to help build the Surface Fleet of the future in a profoundly austere fiscal environment, he has worked relentlessly to foster support and understanding for leading edge ship programs at the highest levels of the Navy, Defense, and Congress. He truly leads by example, consistently compelled to do the right thing on behalf of our nation's Sailors and Marines--America's sons and daughters--who serve on the products he has tirelessly supported. His efforts have helped result in a monumental leap forward in the strength and capability of the Navy's current and future Surface Fleet.

In 2004, Mr. Summerall joined the Program Executive Office, Ships, where he played a critical role in defining and fielding the Navy's future Surface Fleet. During his tenure and as a result of his sound stewardship, the Navy has commissioned 19 surface combatants into the Fleet, including the nation's first two Littoral Combat Ships; restarted production of the Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) Class guided missile destroyers; and begun design and construction of the Navy's next generation destroyer, the Zumwalt (DDG 1000) Class. In 2011 alone, he oversaw contract awards and options for an additional 26 ships, valued at $12 billion. He has consistently encouraged innovation while driving implementation of best practices across his programs, resulting in the introduction of hybrid electric drive, common class-wide acquisition management processes, bold changes to acquisition strategies, major increases in design maturity, more efficient work sequencing, increased competition and smart buying practices. At the heart of his efforts has been a relentless drive to improve the strength, capability, and flexibility of our operating forces at the best possible value to the American public.

Mr. Summerall's contributions to our nation extend far beyond his material achievements and programmatic accomplishments. His unique ability to recognize talent and to foster respect and camaraderie throughout the workforce has had an enormous influence on our nation's next generation acquisition professionals and will continue to steer the course of our Navy well into the future.

Throughout his distinguished federal service career, Mr. Summerall has been honored with numerous awards for his service, including the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, the Department of Defense Value Engineering Award and the Department of the Navy Competition and Procurement Excellence Award.

Mr. Summerall's tireless leadership and lifelong commitment to the Navy's shipbuilding capability have earned him the deep respect of his peers and shipmates throughout the Navy acquisition and fleet support communities. It is, therefore, a pleasure to recognize him for his many contributions in a life devoted to our nation's security. I know my colleagues join me in wishing him and his wife Linda much happiness and fair winds and following seas as they begin a new chapter in their lives together.

I thank my good friend from Maryland.

I appreciate the work of the conferees, but I oppose this conference agreement, not out of concern for the welfare of the tens of thousands of Federal employees that I represent, but out of concern for the welfare of the great Nation we serve.

We are blessed with the least corrupt, most effective, least discriminatory, most responsive Federal workforce in the world. And yet how do we repay them? We are requiring them to increase their pension contributions by 400 percent, with no increase in benefits.

So we are sending them a signal: We don't really appreciate what you're doing. You're expendable. It's a signal that will not be lost on the recruits that we desperately need in the future, let alone the hundreds of thousands, really, of Federal employees who could easily be making much more in the private sector.

The whole country is going to pay a price for the signal that this bill sends, and that's why I think we should defeat it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor, Dr. Suleiman Alibhai, an outstanding leader committed to helping people in Northern Virginia improve and preserve their sight. Dr. Alibhai is the recipient of this year's Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington's (POB) Professional Service Award.

Dr. Alibhai has spent the past 20 years providing rehabilitative services and support to individuals with low vision in the greater Washington, DC area. He began his career as Director of Low Vision Services at the Retina Group of Washington and now shares his expertise with the National Institutes of Health's National Eye Institute, the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University and in his own private practice. Without his work, many individuals would not have access to the help they need to make the most of their sight.

Dr. Alibhai is also a well known author and lecturer who has given numerous presentations to eye care professionals on issues related to low vision. In addition to these endeavors, Dr. Alibhai is committed to sharing his knowledge with the public. He often speaks at educational events and makes presentations to community groups about low vision.

An active member of the community, Dr. Alibhai has served as a board member for several vision organizations, including POB, and was an examiner for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. Dr. Alibhai is also a member of the Fairfax Hosts Lions Club District 24 A and played an instrumental role in connecting the club with POB to develop POB's Low Vision Learning Center in Alexandria, VA. Since the center opened in 2010, Dr. Alibhai and his team have helped more than 750 individuals make the most of their sight.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Virginia's 8th Congressional District, I want to extend my congratulations to Dr. Alibhai, recognizing him for his leadership, passion and most importantly, his commitment to improving the quality of life for people with low vision. We wish him continued success in his work both with POB and throughout Northern Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I enter into the Record the passing of Paramedic Joshua Weissman. Paramedic Weissman was born in Ithaca, New York, lived in Bristow, Virginia with his wife Rebecca and worked for the City of Alexandria.

While responding to a car fire on I 395 last week, Paramedic Weissman had a tragic fall from the roadway, down an embankment, where he suffered a severe head injury.

City of Alexandria and Arlington County firefighters, paramedics, and police responded immediately, rushing to the scene. Despite their valiant efforts, and those by the medical team at the Washington Hospital Center, Paramedic Weissman's injuries proved fatal. It was a great loss for the Weissman family and the entire Alexandria community.

Mr. Weissman served as a paramedic for the City for nearly six years. In that time, he compiled a record of outstanding performance ratings as an enthusiastic, energetic and engaging instructor who took great pleasure providing innovation to the work of his department.

Joshua was very active in a variety of career-related organizations that interacted with the community and honed his abilities. He was a regular participant in, and member of, the EMS Training Committee, the EMS Quality Management Committee--where he was in charge of the Call of the Quarter Submissions--and the EMS 1/5/10/20 Committee. Josh was also instrumental in the establishment of the Field Training Program for EMS Interns, receiving the Alexandria Jaycees Award in 2011 for his contributions to that effort.

Josh's reputation as a top paramedic was well known. Numerous letters to his department commending his work from members of the Alexandria community are testament to that fact. In one instance, Josh responded to a home incident in which a grandmother, carrying her young grandson, tripped and fell. The boy's mother, upon arriving home after the incident, was concerned with the medical status of her son. Josh went out of his way to revisit the home to reassure the little boy's mother that he had been thoroughly checked out during the initial response, thus alleviating the mother's concerns and an unnecessary and likely expensive trip to the hospital. The mother was so impressed by Josh's concern that she wrote a letter to the Fire Chief expressing her appreciation. That's the way Josh lived day in, day out, going the extra mile to serve those in need.

Mr. Speaker, Joshua Weissman made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. His untimely death is a loss to the entire community. Not only was he an outstanding paramedic, Joshua was also a dedicated family member, coworker, and friend. Paramedic Weissman's service will not be forgotten. He has left us a legacy of honor, kindness, and bravery.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of my constituents, Jim Bergdahl, on his retirement from the federal government after 52 years of service.

Jim Bergdahl was born and raised in Chicago, was educated at Northwestern, and served in the Air National Guard while attending college.

In 1959, during his senior year at Northwestern, Jim began his federal civil service career as an appraiser with the Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago. Six years later, he joined the General Services Administration in the San Francisco regional office as an appraiser in the Real Property Division.

Jim's work quickly caught the attention of his supervisors. He was soon nominated for and received a ``Career Education Award'', sponsored by the National Institute of Public Affairs and the Civil Service Commission. The prize for receiving this prestigious award was one year of free graduate study at the University of Virginia.

Following graduation, Jim relocated to the Office of Real Property in Washington, D.C. where he was in charge of reviewing the fast growing Federal property holdings, which had literally doubled between 1954 and 1969. The government was on pace to own the whole country by the year 2000. Jim was asked to determine the cause of this tremendous expansion.

As he quickly discovered, while U.S. federal land holdings had doubled, the phenomenon was directly related to the increase in the number of States in the U.S. between 1954 and 1969. Jim determined that the newest state, Alaska, had the distinction of having more government-owned land within its borders than all of the other 49 States combined. Case closed.

In 1974, Jim transferred to the Federal Buildings Fund Management Division to help get the new division up and running. Here he again was tapped for a special project, working to develop critical information to persuade the Department of Defense to correct congressional testimony as to the total amount they were spending on rent. In short order, the record was corrected.

Following that daunting yet successful challenge, Jim returned to the Office of Real Property as Program Policy Advisor to the Assistant Commissioner in 1976. He played a major role in the establishment of the Federal Property Resources Service, where he became Director of Special Projects. One project involved the sale to the public of a large number of Carson City Silver Dollars minted in the 1800s that were found in a vault. The sale began just as the Hunt brothers were trying to corner the silver market and the price of silver skyrocketed. Suddenly, the coins were worth more for the silver they contained than their value to coin collectors. To avoid delaying or postponing sales of the coins, toll free phone lines were set up for buyers to obtain the price of the coins based on the price of silver each day. This fast action by Jim and his office was fortuitous. Shortly after the sales were completed, the Hunt brothers failed in their attempt to corner the market and silver prices collapsed.

The curtain rose on Jim's final act as a civil servant when the new Public Building Service was rolled out in 1995. Jim was part of the Courthouse Management Group, formed to provide oversight, program management and budgeting for the largest federal courthouse construction program in the nation's history. As a senior member of the Group, Jim provided extensive knowledge and expertise in many aspects of the federal courthouse program, working with Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the federal Judiciary, as well as regional GSA offices to see that the ambitious program succeeded. When he retired this year, he was the last charter member still remaining with the agency.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mr. Bergdahl on his retirement from the federal service. During Jim's successful 52 year career, he was a model employee, consistently recognized by his peers and his congressional colleagues as providing the highest level of professionalism, superior subject knowledge, and willingness to take on and solve even the toughest problems. I wish him only the very best as he continues tackling new endeavors and conquering even greater challenges in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to Corporal Paul Gibert for his valiant service as a Marine in the Vietnam War, upon his homecoming from a recent revisit to Vietnam. Mr. Gibert served his country loyally and with great devotion, putting his life at risk on numerous occasions to save wounded fellow Marines.

Corporal Gibert enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1966, at age 19. After completing basic training, escape and evasion courses, and advanced language Vietnamese courses, he was assigned as a recon scout with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. His storied unit was known as the ``The Walking Dead'' because of its record setting casualty rate.

As a recon scout fluent in Vietnamese, he was routinely assigned to go ahead of his unit and participate in extremely dangerous recon work in villages that had not yet been secured. It was not uncommon for him to be given inaccurate information from locals who were actually working for the North Vietnamese, making his job one of the most dangerous jobs in the Marine Corps.

In April 1967, during Operation Buffalo, the 9th Marines suffered a severe setback. Corporal Gibert was called up from a rear area to support a unit that had been so severely attacked they were actually piling the dead and wounded onto tanks to evacuate them. Virtually all of the Marines in the attacked unit were either killed or wounded. Reaching down to help a wounded Marine, Gibert was hit by shrapnel from an exploding artillery shell, piercing his shoulder. He was evacuated and recuperated for six weeks in an Air Force hospital in Cam Rahn Bay, after which he was sent back to his unit.

In September, only a few months later, he was back in the hospital for jungle rot in his leg, which had swollen up to the size of a barrel. With the exception of his recovery time in the hospital, virtually all of his time in Vietnam was spent near the Demilitarized Zone. Corporal Gibert was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds, and his unit received two Presidential Unit Citations for exceptional valor.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to ask my colleagues to join me in commending Corporal Paul Gibert for his bravery and commitment to his country. I sincerely thank him for his service, and wish him well as he returns from his recent trip back to Vietnam for what I know had to be a deeply emotional experience.

Madam Speaker, the House leadership is still scrambling to find the votes to pass what everyone is coming to recognize as the worst transportation authorization bill in this Nation's history. But with gasoline prices approaching $4 a gallon, House Republicans are falling back on their wrongheaded 2008 campaign slogan of ``Drill, Baby, Drill.''

It's a cynical ploy, and assumes Americans think that the pain of high

gasoline prices is justifiable grounds to open restricted areas for drilling and weaken protections that would ensure offshore drilling is done in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

The cold reality, however, is that this bill will not bring relief to Americans suffering at the gasoline pump, and prosperous fishing and tourism industries--real job creators--based in Bristol Bay, southern California, the west coast of Florida, and Virginia will needlessly be placed at risk.

And for what? Approximately $1.8 billion in new Federal revenue over 10 years. Not nearly enough to fund public transit or any other meaningful part of a transportation infrastructure bill.

And the revenue generated by drilling off Virginia's coast: $40 million over 10 years. Our Governor says that's what's going to pay for his transportation plan. It pays for nothing. Billions in economic activity and tens of thousands of jobs would be put at risk for very little in benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize the administration, teachers, coaches, and athletic training staff of Langley High School in McLean, Virginia for the care and compassion they showed in helping one of their students detect, cope, and ultimately recover with vigor and honor from an aggressive form of cancer.

In a world that charts success in reaching goals and milestones, Langley High School more than `measures up.' Although this AAA school is consistently ranked among the best in the country, their care and attention exemplified by their role in Maureen Marsh's life tells a deeper story, holding lessons for everyone to learn from and follow.

As a 14 year-old freshman volleyball player, Maureen continued her intense daily regimen even as her knee pain grew more severe. Despite the doctors' diagnoses as growing pains, the Langley training staff noticed a small bump that the doctors had missed. The bump was osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer. Maureen endured months of intensive chemotherapy and limb-salvage surgery that resulted in her needing to re-learn how to walk. This tall, quiet young woman had clear goals: to stay on track with her schoolwork and to once again play volleyball, something the doctors said would never happen. Most of all, she wanted to be a `normal' kid, not easy when you are literally fighting for your life.

The team at Langley understood Maureen's wishes and gave her everything she needed during a battle that this young warrior conquered, defying the odds and her doctors' prognostications. Now a junior, she is an honor student and has returned to the volleyball court.

At a time when we could all use some good news, I am proud to recognize all of the staff at Langley for their outstanding work, going far beyond what can be measured quantitatively, to lift up and support those in their tutelage. To Principal Matt Ragone, Vice Principal Fred Amico, Volleyball coaches Sue Shifflett and Amy Dean, the Langley training staff, administration, and the wonderful teaching staff, I am pleased to take this opportunity to honor your service to our children, as they are our future.

Madam Speaker, this is a wealthy country. Corporate profits are at record highs. By the end of last year, the private sector was expanding at a healthy 4.5 percent annualized pace. But why, then, wasn't economic growth in the most recent quarter even better than the 2.8 percent that the Commerce Department reported last week? As David Leonhardt of The New York Times explains, the answer is because the economy is the combination of the private and public sectors. The public sector has been shrinking for the last 1\1/2\ years because of cuts in State and local governments and some Federal cuts, especially to the military.

In the fourth-quarter government shrank at an annual rate of 4.5 percent. Over the last 2 years, the private sector grew at an average annual rate of 3.2 percent while the government shrank at an annual rate of 1.4, and the combined result was that economic growth was 2.3%. That's a lot of numbers. But the fact is economic growth and employment growth would have been significantly stronger over the last 2 years without those government cuts.

And that's why we shouldn't be continuing to discourage Federal employment by continuing to freeze their pay, as the majority wants to do today. And it's why we shouldn't be letting unemployment benefits expire for 6 million people. It's why we should let the Bush tax cuts expire. It's a far better alternative than cutting trillions of dollars more in public spending.

Madam Speaker, I thank my very good friend, the distinguished ranking member of the committee, for yielding me this time to rise in strong opposition to an extension of the current pay freeze for Federal employees.

This legislation is a cynical attempt to tap into misguided resentment fostered by the far right against the Federal Government and the 2 million men and women who serve our Nation as civil servants.

Of those 2 million, let me point out to my colleagues that nearly two out of three civil servants work for the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Justice. In other words, two out of three Federal employees work in jobs related to our national security at home and abroad or caring for our veterans. Every one of those employees now seems to be the target of this body's misguided anger, and that's just wrong.

Most of our Federal employees work for the Defense Department to enhance our security. Employees at the Department of Homeland Security work to ensure that nuclear materials aren't smuggled into our country by those who want to do us catastrophic harm. The Federal Bureau of Investigation works to investigate and prosecute cybercriminals that steal billions of dollars of intellectual property from our defense and civilian industrial base every year. This body claims to care about preventing nuclear terrorism and halting cyber crime, yet we want to punish those charged with carrying out that mission.

Last year, a constituent of mine was awarded a ``Sammie'' from the Partnership for Public Service for his work at the VA helping to address veterans struggling with the human toll of warfare. My constituent has devoted 30 years of his career building a national network of small, community-based centers where veterans traumatized by combat obtain counseling, job assistance, medical referrals, and other services. The Partnership rewarded him last year, but today the House wants to forfeit his pay raise for a third consecutive year.

This bill is the product of an ideologically extreme group of people who got elected by insisting that our government is broken. And now that they're elected, they want to try to prove that is the case. It's not the case. We ought to be proud of our government and reject this bill.