Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a lifetime of committed service to the United States of America and many of its critical federal agencies by a true public servant, Mr. Robert E. Doyle. This year, Mr. Doyle will retire following 36 years of dedicated civil service. Originally from Massachusetts, Doyle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross in 1971 and a Masters in Public Administration from Southern Methodist University in 1974. He also holds a certification in Financial Planning.

Mr. Doyle began his career in 1974 at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he worked his way up through the ranks within the management and administrative fields. After his successful tenure at HUD, Mr. Doyle changed agencies to work at the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM), under the Department of the Interior. There, he served as the Director for Finance and Administration for over 10 years. At the USBM, Robert aided in the protection of our nation's natural resources and worked to identify and develop new processes to improve the extraction of these national assets. After the USBM was restructured in 1995, Mr. Doyle is credited with making the transition to new positions within the government easier for his staff through his excellent guidance.

Mr. Doyle later moved on to the Bureau of Land Management, where he served as the Chief Financial Officer, and later, as the Assistant Director of Business and Fiscal Resources. As the Assistant Director, he led efforts to employ an integrated management system for improving the agency's performance and accountability. Under Mr. Doyle's leadership, the BLM was chosen as a finalist for the Presidents Fiscal Year 2002 Quality Award, recognizing budget and performance integration.

Robert's final stop on a distinguished trek through the civil service was with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where, for almost 5 years, he served as the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director. During his time at the USGS, Robert provided key leadership to reorganize the agency's regional hubs and realigned operations to improve the structure of the agency's new Bureau for Science Strategy. Mr. Doyle also introduced a plan to open the USGS's huge store of satellite photography for public and commercial use. Additionally, he facilitated systematic and fundamental changes that restored financial integrity to the Federal Housing Insurance Fund through his extensive knowledge of finance systems and the mortgage insurance underwriting process.

Today, we honor Mr. Doyle's long, distinguished career and congratulate him on his retirement. Robert is the epitome of a true public servant. His service to the government has contributed immensely to our country. He has been a true model to others who wish to succeed in federal service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with great concern that the Department of Defense is considering awarding a $1 billion contract to Blackwater, now known as Xe Services, to train the Afghan National Police. Blackwater-Xe is synonymous with abuse, unprovoked violence, and a ``shoot first'' attitude. Their personnel are directly responsible for killing dozens of innocent men, women, and children in Iraq. Clearly, they are not deserving of a U.S. contract to train the Afghan police.

Hiring Xe may irreparably damage our efforts to work cooperatively with the Afghan people and will serve as a propaganda tool for our enemies. They will be seen as representing the American people, which they do not. Given Xe-Blackwater's past performance, our government should not be doing business with Xe, and Secretary Gates should prevent this contract from going forward.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of Michael Richard Codel, longtime journalist, Democratic activist and former member of the Peace Corps, who passed away January 13, 2010. Mr. Codel was a resident of Arlington and neighbor and dear friend of my colleague, Representative Mike Pence. He was born in Baltimore on April 20, 1939. Prior to graduating from Oberlin with a degree in political science in 1960, he spent many hours at the campus radio station, WOBC Radio. Unbeknownst to him at the time, his hours spent at the WOBC would become a launching pad for the endeavors he would delve into for the duration of his life.

Mr. Codel lived a life that was nothing short of exciting. Following graduation, he worked as a copy boy at the Democratic National Presidential Convention, and shortly thereafter found a post at the Cincinnati Post for a year and a half as a desk reporter. In December of 1962 he traveled to Nigeria to teach English for his Peace Corps assignment. In June of 1963, he transferred to Radio Kaduna TV, where he produced educational TV programs, driving around on a moped with a cameraman and interviewing government officials. Mr. Codel returned to the States in 1964, and took a job as a desk assistant to Howard Cosell. Longing to return to Nigeria, he landed a job with the AP London office to return to Nigeria, where he was posted in the Congo, instead. For the next few years, Mr. Codel covered a number of coup d'etats in Africa up until 1967. In 1965, on a trip to Congo, Mr. Codel took a picture of a Congolese man rolling up his sleeves. Soon thereafter, this picture was used on all Congolese paper money. After he wrote an article that President Mobuto found displeasing, he was asked to leave the country. But, it was also in the Congo where he met his future wife Birte Nielsen, who was working for the Danish Red Cross at a teaching hospital. Mr. Codel returned to London to work for the AP until 1969. There, his son, Edward Kai Codel was born.

In 1969, he moved his family to Geneva to work for Business International as an associate editor for the Magazine Business Europe covering Africa and Scandinavia. While working for Business International he wrote Sweden: Toward a Post-Industrial Society and Prospects for Business in Developing Africa, and his daughter, Kirsten Roslyn Trego was born. Mr. Codel and his family returned to the United States in 1974, where he worked as a Public Relations specialist for the American Health Care Association. During his time at the AHCA, he wrote the Patients Bill of Rights for nursing home residents. In 1982, Mr. Codel suffered a brain tumor, which left him unable to perform his duties at AHCA, and he became a free-lance writer.

Along with his passion for family, travel, and work, he also had a great love for politics and the political process. He was involved with the Arlington Democratic Committee for many years, campaigning for several County Board members, several Governors of Virginia, and also volunteered under the Carter administration in the White House press section. Michael Codel led a good life and left behind a legacy which will keep him in our hearts forever. He will be greatly missed by many.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respond to Army Secretary McHugh and to share the substance of an email from an active duty soldier in Afghanistan. In response to an inquiry from his commanding officer related to the military's review of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, the soldier shared how he and his partner of 10 years have managed multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

He explained that they survived like any couple does, except, because of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, his partner would not be informed in the event of his death and could not make any emergency decisions that would normally fall to a spouse. This situation is typical, even within his unit.

He learned that a fellow soldier was also gay only after he was killed by an IED in Iraq. The partner of the deceased's soldier wrote the unit to say how much the victim had loved the military, how they were his family.

As Admiral Mullen said, this issue is a matter of integrity. This immutable human trait--sexual orientation--like the color of one's skin, does not affect one's integrity, their honor, or their commitment to their country. Soldiers serving their country in combat should not have their sacrifices compounded by having to struggle with an antiquated Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.

Let's do the right and honorable thing and repeal this policy.

I want to make note, Madam Speaker, of the fact that the Speaker of the House is here and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee has been here throughout the entire time of this tribute, out of respect. That's old school. Jack was old school. That's what would matter to him. You'd never see him with a BlackBerry. Can you imagine Jack Murtha with a BlackBerry? I am sure he's never used the Internet once in his life.

You know, when we learned of Jack's passing, Norm Dicks and I were on the phone and, between sobs, we, at the

same time, we blurted out the same thing: He was like a father to me. He kind of was. He sort of taught us in his own ways, really, by his conduct, the way we should conduct ourselves in this institution. That's why he is here. He's here. He's left his mark on each one of us individually and collectively. He's done so much to shape this institution.

Family comes first. He would call his daughter, Donna, who's a teacher in Fairfax County schools, every night. Regardless of all the issues he was dealing with with Iraq and Afghanistan and so on, he'd want to know how her kids were doing in class.

And, of course, he adored Joyce. Joyce was the queen. Of course, Joyce would sometimes acknowledge that I know I have to share him with you, Nancy, as Speaker, but he had that kind of reverence that was so important to this institution for leadership and for individuals.

And he was also--he knew how to be a friend. Everyone who walked up to that corner, he welcomed. He knew their name. He made them feel welcome. If they had a letter that they wanted him to read, a little note or something, he'd take the time and read it. He'd say, Come on, sit down beside me.

He also was strong enough that he could afford to be gentle. We know how he reached out to all of the soldiers, the men and women in uniform, really cared about them. He'd go over to Walter Reed. He would go and stand with them, hold their hand at times.

He also did other things that, you know, if I didn't mention it, I doubt that anyone would know, and some people will think they seem a little silly perhaps.

Charlie Horner knows, his long time aide. He heard that Army Navy Country Club had a problem with the cats, that they had proliferated. They were all over the place. And so they decided, we've got too many cats; we're going to kill them all. Jack found that out. It's true, isn't it? But Jack found that out. He called a General and he says, Don't you go killing any of those kitty cats at Army Navy Country Club. And he didn't. They didn't. They all survived.

Just want to share an experience. 9/11, we were debating whether to put money into missile defense or into counterterrorism because Richard Clarke has told us that's the real threat. So it is the morning of 9/11 we were debating it, and Jack had decided the real threat is counterterrorism. And then Norm had seen the TV and the planes going into the World Trade Center, and we could hear this herd of people running down the corridor outside. The Capitol vacated immediately. But there wasn't a sign of anxiety, let alone fear, on Jack's face. I walked out with him.

We stood there in the driveway and all the police were trying to clear everyone. Jack didn't feel any need to move, and he told me this story. He says, Jim, when I was in Vietnam, I was in a foxhole and we were taking fire. And a young private jumped in the foxhole. There was only room for one person, so I had to get out. And I ran into the line of fire looking for a foxhole and found one. A few minutes later, a grenade landed in that foxhole I had been in, blew the soldier up. Now, this is the soldier, of course, who forced him into the line of fire. And Jack said, I have always felt so bad for that young soldier. I wish I had stayed there and not seen him blown up.

Mr. Speaker, how soon we forget.

It's instructive to recall where we were 9 years ago. We had created 23

million new jobs; we were at peace throughout the world. In fact, we had a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion. By this time, we would have paid off our debt. Instead, after 8 years of Republican control of all three branches of government, 8 years later, we had $12 trillion of debt; we were engaged in two wars; health care costs were strangling our families and businesses. In fact, we were losing 700,000 jobs a month.

One year later, that job loss has been cut by 90 percent. We have a health care reform bill that will enable all American families to have affordable health care at less cost. The process of governance is difficult. To just say ``no'' is irresponsible.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in reluctant support of the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, IRPSA.

President Obama has extended a hand to the Iranian government, offering a mutually beneficial deal that would severely limit Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon. This confidence building measure is intended to give us the space and time to reach a more comprehensive agreement that would seek to integrate Iran back into the international community as a responsible actor and to impose strong, verifiable safeguards to ensure that Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon. After agreeing in principle to an initial agreement to send Iran's enriched uranium to Russia, Iran has since backed away from it and even refused to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency a formal response to the proposal.

Because of the seriousness of the challenges we face, I reluctantly support the IRSPA. It sends the clear message that Iran can either work cooperatively and beneficially with the international community or it can choose further international isolation.

However, for sanctions to succeed, they must impose a cost on Iran's ruling regime. I am concerned that it is the Iranian people--rather than the Iranian regime--that will suffer the most under IRPSA. If we are able to limit Iran's ability to import refined petroleum, the Iranian government will simply deflect this cost onto the Iranian people, by eliminating petroleum subsidies and blaming the United States for the hardship such actions will cause the general public.

A democratic uprising against the Iranian regime is currently under way. I believe we need to stand with the Iranian people as they fight for their freedoms. The Iranian government by contrast has brutally oppressed peaceful demonstrators. For that reason, Congress and the Obama administration should work to craft sanctions that affect the leaders of Iran and the IRGC. Only sanctions that hurt these decision makers will influence Iran's decision-making process.

While we must make the Iranian regime aware of our displeasure with their rejection of our positive advances, we must also provide a helping hand to Iranian citizens. That is why it is important for Congress, in addition to these punitive sanctions, to also provide assistance to the democracy movement in Iran by aiding their access to the internet, in order to provide the Iranian people unfettered access to information, free of government censorship. Congress should also take steps to increase the ability of non-governmental organizations in the U.S. to work with their counterparts in Iran, so that the Iranian people can benefit from better health services, educational opportunities, the promotion of equal rights, and the facilitation of people to people exchanges.

The Iranian people are among the most pro-American people in the Middle East. With passage of today's sanctions legislation, it is all the more important to reach out to, and around the Iranian government, to this pro-American society. This is the time to redouble our efforts to support the Iranian people and their courageous fight for democracy by increasing their access to information and communication both in country and internationally.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Iranian Digital Empowerment Act.

In the aftermath of Iran's disputed 2009 presidential elections, millions of Iranians flooded the streets to stand-up to their government and make their voices heard. Empowered by communication services like Twitter and Facebook, Iranians were able to organize and communicate freely outside of the watchful eye of their government in what has become the first popular democratic uprising of the social media age.

The Iranian people are among the most pro-Western people in the Middle East, and despite suffering under a totalitarian regime, their struggle to create a freer and democratic Iran continues to this day. This weekend marked the 6-month anniversary of fraudulent presidential elections. Once again, the Iranian people took to the streets in non- violent protest. The government of Iran has sought to counter the peaceful efforts of the Iranian people, launching unprecedented efforts to block access to Internet technology, infiltrate electronic social networks, and restrict Iranians from communicating freely. Unfortunately, due to outdated language in provisions regarding information services, U.S. sanctions have had the unintended consequence of denying the Iranian people the tools necessary to communicate freely and circumvent government monitors online.

In an effort to assist the Iranian people fighting for a change in leadership, I am introducing the Iranian Digital Empowerment Act. This legislation will clarify that U.S. laws are not intended to prohibit the export of software that would enable the Iranian people to communicate freely by circumventing their government's censorship efforts. U.S. sanctions intended to change the behavior of the Iranian government must not have the effect of stamping out the voice of the Iranian people.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. Edna Frady for her decades of service to the City of Falls Church, Virginia and its people. Moving to Falls Church at an early age, Edna has spent virtually her entire life in the community she has known and loved for over six decades. Through her charitable work and civic involvement, Edna, or ``Boss'' as she is known by many, has left an indelible mark on the City.

A tireless community activist, leader, friend, and role model, Edna Frady has made a life-long commitment to improving the lives of others. The list of organizations she has served

over the years is extensive. The Citizens for a Better City, Village Preservation and Improvement Society, League of Women Voters, Women's Club of Falls Church, Falls Church Lions Club, Falls Church Education Foundation, Falls Church Arts Council, and Falls Church Cable Access, have all benefitted from her membership and constant support. Ms. Frady was also an active member of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, where she served as a member of the Executive Committee, and in 2000, was awarded the Chamber's ``Pillar of the Community'' award. In recognition of her lifetime of achievement, the Mayor and City Council of Falls Church are planning to proclaim December 14, 2009, ``Edna Frady Day.''

As heavily involved as Ms. Frady was with non-profit community service organizations, she matched that effort as a stalwart force in the Democratic Party. For two decades, she helped lead the Falls Church Democratic Committee, serving on both the 8th Congressional District Committee, and the Democratic State Central Committee. In honor of her commitment, Ms. Frady received the Democratic State Central Committee's ``Grass Roots Award.'' In 2006, she was awarded the Falls Church Democratic Committee's ``Marian Driver Award for Outstanding Service.''

It's a true honor to recognize someone who so selflessly worked for the betterment of her community and fellow citizens. I know that even in retirement, Edna will continue to find ever more fulfilling challenges to assist those around her.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my gratitude to a long-time employee of the House of Representatives, Jeanne M. Mershon, who, on November 30th, retired after more than 27 years of dedicated service to this body. Ms. Mershon is a constituent of Virginia's 8th Congressional District, born and raised in Springfield, Virginia and currently resides in Arlington. Jeanne is a proud graduate of the Northern Virginia public school system and her alma mater, the College of William and Mary.

Ms. Mershon began working for the House of Representatives in 1982 in the Office of the Clerk after a stint at the Federal Election Commission. She started in the Office of the Director of Non- Legislative and Financial Services and later joined the Chief Administrative Office in the Office of Facilities Management. After over a decade of making sure the operations of the House ran smoothly, in December of 1995, she joined the Parking Security Office for the House Sergeant at Arms, where she has since served as Assistant Director.

Ms. Mershon is known by her peers as thorough and detail oriented, as well as someone they are able to turn to at any time, even with the most difficult questions. This past September, Ms. Mershon was the recipient of the Office of the Inspector General's ``Employee Excellence Award,'' a fitting tribute to her tireless efforts. We are fortunate to have had Ms. Mershon's service for so many years. She will be sorely missed by all her friends and colleagues. I wish her the best in all of her future endeavors and a lifetime ahead of even greater reward.

Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the ``Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009,'' legislation that will not only established a much-needed comprehensive research program to identify chemicals that interfere with human reproduction and development, but that also will require regulatory agencies to provide an appropriate public response as to how they will respond to the scientific findings and what actions they will take to protect humans from exposure to such chemicals.

Recent studies have convincingly demonstrated that a disturbing increase in the number of disorders of the human endocrine system is seriously undermining the health of our Nation. These disorders include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, juvenile and adult diabetes, juvenile cancer, autoimmune diseases, obesity, osteoporosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's dementia. These disorders began to increase noticeably in the early 1970s when the first generation exposed in the womb to post-World War II synthetic chemicals reached maturity. Today, 1 in 3 children and 1 in 2 minority children will develop diabetes; 1 in 6 children is born with neurological damage; 1 in 100 children has an autism spectrum disorder--among boys the occurrence is 1 in 58; and in 2007, an age- independent decline in testosterone levels over the past 20 years was discovered in American men. Evidence from human epidemiological and laboratory animal studies have linked these disorders to prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), yet the hands of federal agencies remain tied under existing law.

In 1996, Congress recognized the need to study endocrine disruptions when it directed the EPA to develop an endocrine disruption screening program as part of the Food Quality Protection Act. Unfortunately, for various reasons, many being political, the program has been plagued by delays. Here we are, 13 years later, and it wasn't until October of this year that EPA announced the availability of initial assays and testing guidelines for a limited number of chemicals. Moreover, many question whether any testing conducted under EPA's program will even be as relevant or effective as it could be, as scientists' knowledge and understanding of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and how to best detect them, has increased rather profoundly since that time, and will continue to do so. Using a modernized 21st century testing paradigm that recognizes the known unique, subtle, and complex properties and effects of EDCs is necessary, as only then will be have accurate, practical data to inform appropriate and expeditious regulation of them.

In the legislation I am introducing, the science, not politics, will set the stage for action to be taken by regulatory agencies. First, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) will undertake a comprehensive research and testing program, using the best available science, to identify chemicals with endocrine disrupting potential. In addition, an independent expert panel, guided by the scientific research, will develop a list of the chemicals and evaluate the potential threat they pose. If the expert panel expresses even a minimal level of concern over the potential threat a chemical poses, regulatory agencies will be required to explain how they plan to respond to the scientific findings. Hopefully, this process will lead to a greater public awareness of potentially dangerous chemicals, as well as a swift appropriate response by our regulatory agencies that will limit or prevent exposure to them.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and I ask that the full text of the legislation be printed in the Record at the conclusion of these remarks.

Mr. Speaker, we are a great Nation, a prosperous and compassionate one, but our health care system doesn't measure up to that greatness. In fact, we pay twice what every other industrialized nation pays, and yet 71 nations have enabled their people to live longer and healthier lives. The difference is that they have decided that the health of their people is a higher priority than the profit of their insurance companies.

Mr. Speaker, we, today, will have the opportunity to bring our health care system up to a standard deserving of the greatness of this Nation by controlling our costs, by covering all of our people, and by improving the quality of the care that they receive.

This bill is deserving of the greatness of our Nation. It must pass today.

Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the ``Healthy Kids Act,'' legislation that will focus the resources of the federal government on ending the epidemic of obesity that threatens a generation of America's children.

Over the past three decades, the rate of childhood obesity has risen to crisis proportions. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that rates of obesity have more than doubled for children aged 2 to 11 years and more than tripled for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. According to the CDC, 32 percent of children are overweight, 16 percent are obese, and 11 percent are extremely obese. In some racial and ethnic groups, in low-income populations, and among recent immigrants, the rates of obesity among children and youth are alarmingly high.

The health consequences for these children are very serious. They are at much greater risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, and other diseases than their non-obese peers. Many children are subjected to ridicule and bullying that damage their emotional well-being. Beyond the tragic consequences for the children themselves are the effects on the American economy. Obese children are at risk of growing into obese adults who do not participate fully in the workforce because of employment discrimination, lost productivity due to illness and disability, and premature death. If the childhood obesity epidemic continues at its current rate, conditions related to type 2 diabetes, such as blindness, coronary artery disease, stroke, and kidney failure may become common conditions of middle age. Health care costs for this population are likely to rise to an extent we are only now beginning to appreciate.

Many factors contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic. Many children's diets are too high in fats and carbohydrates and do not include enough fruits and vegetables. At the same time, our children are less active than they were a generation ago. More time front of the television means that kids are exposed to over 20,000 commercials a year, very few of which are encouraging them to exercise and eat right. Residential communities often do not have safe sidewalks or recreation areas to draw children off the couch and outside to run and play. Underfunded schools have cut back on physical education programs and are resorting to revenues from vending machines full of junk food to supplement public funding.

The Healthy Kids Act will provide critical Federal leadership to address this crisis by establishing an Office of Childhood Overweight and Obesity Prevention and treatment within the Department of Health and Human Services. The Director of this office will be the Federal Government's champion on this issue. The Director is charged with evaluating the effectiveness of existing Federal policies, programs, and research efforts and identifying future needs; implementing Federal support measures for State, tribal, and territorial programs; and carrying out a comprehensive, long-term, national campaign to prevent weight gain and obesity among our children and youth. The Director will also have an important role in promoting and supporting school wellness policies that monitor students' body mass index, provide parents with information on health and nutrition, and implement age-appropriate physical activity programs.

In carrying out these responsibilities, the Director will consider the unique needs of racially and ethnically diverse groups and high- risk populations, including low-income populations and communities. The Director will also take advantage of the expertise of the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Defense, Interior, Housing and Urban

Development, and Transportation, as well as the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

To make sure that our young people receive a consistent message that encourages them to adopt healthful eating patterns and helps them understand their nutritional needs, the Director will work with the Secretary of Agriculture to identify three categories of foods and beverages--Tier 1 foods and beverages, which are healthful for children and adolescents and the consumption of which is encouraged; Tier 2 foods and beverages, which do not exceed levels of total, saturated, and trans fat, sugars, and sodium that are acceptable in a healthful diet for children and adolescents; and Tier 3 foods and beverages, which do not contribute to a healthful diet for children and adolescents and the consumption of which is discouraged. These categories will form the basis for regulations to be issued by the Secretary of Agriculture updating the current standards for foods and beverages available to schoolchildren outside the federally supported school meal programs. This approach to the problem of competitive foods would allow schools to retain the revenue stream from sales of competitive foods by offering healthful options, and would send the message that certain foods should be enjoyed as treats, not as part of the daily diet.

The same three categories of foods and beverages would form the basis for guidelines issued by the Director in consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to control the marketing, advertising, or promoting of foods and beverages to children and children and adolescents. Children's preferences for foods that lack sweet and salty tastes are learned and require repeated positive experiences, especially to accept fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient-rich foods later in life. There is evidence that parental ability to guide children's consumption of food and beverages has been compromised by an environment that exposes children to an array of advertising and marketing messages for junk food, many directed at children too young to understand the selling purpose of advertising. Most children ages 8 years and under do not effectively comprehend the persuasive intent of marketing messages, and most children ages 4 years and under cannot consistently discriminate between television advertising and programming. In short, a child is not possessed of the full capacity for individual choice that is the presupposition of First Amendment guarantees. The knowledge that parental control or guidance cannot always be provided and society's transcendent interest in protecting the welfare of children justify reasonable regulation of the sale of material to them. A provision in current federal law prohibiting the Chairman from issuing such regulations is repealed.

The bill also makes clear that counseling and treatment services for overweight and obese children are eligible for reimbursement under the Medicaid and SCHIP programs.

Madam Speaker, we can, and we simply must, make addressing childhood obesity a national priority. Not only must we help the children who are already affected, we must not fail to protect another generation. Health is more than the absence of physical or mental illness--it is also the extent to which children and youth have the capacity to reach their full potential. Childhood obesity is a public health crisis that will not be solved without the full support of the Federal Government. I urge my colleagues to support the Healthy Kids Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to explain why I will vote ``no'' on House Resolution 867, which calls on President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to ``oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration'' of what has become known as the ``Goldstone Report.''

The United States' connection to the State of Israel is both strong and deep; we are connected through decades of history, culture, business and geo-political interests. We care about the people of Israel who strive for what we have struggled for in the United States-- the ability to live in security, peace and prosperity. The well-being of our friends in Israel was, is and will remain an American priority. As Israel's closest ally, we have an obligation

to see to it that Israel and its neighbors reach a peaceful end to ongoing conflict.

The situation in Gaza is a tragedy, both for Israelis who for too long suffered from indiscriminant rocket attacks and for the hundreds of innocent Palestinians in Gaza who lost their lives, their loved ones, their homes, and their faith in the international community during Israel's military offensive last December.

And so now the world is grappling with the report on the Gaza war, submitted by the highly respected Judge Richard Goldstone--a self described Zionist, a trustee of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a man widely known for his integrity, fairness, and conscientiousness, who investigated war crimes in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Kosovo and who uncovered Nazi war criminals in Argentina.

But, rather than deal seriously with the contents and recommendations of the report, rather than ask Judge Goldstone to testify before Congress, so we can debate specifically what sections may be valid or flawed, we are seeking with this resolution to foreclose all discussion and action on the report by our President and our Secretary of State, in every multinational forum.

One of the arguments supporters of this resolution make is that the report is one-sided, representing only the Palestinian point-of-view. That argument would have some validity if not for the fact that (a) the report strongly accuses Hamas of indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli citizens, referring to their actions as a ``war crime'' and (b) the Israeli Government chose not to participate, going so far as to block Judge Goldstone and his team from entering Israel to conduct their investigation. This forced Israeli citizens who were invited to testify in front of Judge Goldstone, including Noam Shalit, the father of imprisoned IDF soldier Gil'ad Shalit, to travel to Switzerland and Jordan to provide their perspectives on the Gaza operation.

This resolution is a deliberate diversion, taking Congress' attention away from what should be our main focus. The bottom line is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a tragedy that begs for real engagement and real solutions. The resolution before us today offers neither. Instead, it seeks to deflect our attention from what we should be considering: how to reinvigorate the stalled peace process and help Israelis and Palestinians navigate a path towards a two-state solution. I challenge Congress and the committees of jurisdiction to invest their time and resources into more constructive efforts that further the cause of peace.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of Mr. William ``Bill'' Casamo, community activist, human rights leader, and U.S Veteran. Bill lived the kind of full, robust life we all hope to live, leaving us at the distinguished age of 92 on October 21, 2009, at his beloved home in Alexandria, Virginia.

Mr. Casamo was a proud veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and a one-man force throughout the modern American labor movement. His deeply held values and experiences truly reflect the best of what the ``Greatest Generation'' had to offer our nation.

Bill was the second child of immigrant parents, Hilda Johanson from Norway and Anthony Casamo from Sicily. In 1921, in an effort to provide a better life for their family outside bustling New York City, they moved to Patterson, NY. Early in his childhood, Mr. Casamo demonstrated the strong work ethic that would carry him throughout his life. During his summers in Patterson he worked at local restaurants, slaughterhouses and meat packing plants to help support his family. In 1943, he enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps, leaving behind his wife and first child to fight in World War II. Mr. Casamo served honorably in the Pacific Theater until his discharge in February 1946.

After the war ended, Mr. Casamo began what would be a lifelong dedication to the American labor movement. The map of his career truly traces the rise of labor throughout our country. His first union job came at the early age of 20 when he was elected a union representative at a meat packing plant in New York. Over the next half-century he dedicated himself to numerous union organizations, including the United Furniture Workers Union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFSCME, the International Industrial Engineers, and the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Papermill Workers, which later became the International Brotherhood of Papermill Workers, IBPW. He retired in 1985 as the Director of the Retiree Affairs Department for IBPW. Mr. Casamo has always been proud of his work, often penning a Labor Day message to express his gratefulness for the courage, fortitude and vision of American workers. The same can be said of a nation's gratefulness for Mr. Casamo.

Bill Casamo will be deeply missed. He set the standard as an exemplary individual who spent his life fighting to make a better life for his family and for his brothers and sisters in the labor movement. He is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Eileen Casamo, 4 children, 16 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Bill will be missed, but his warmth, kindness and strength of character will be remembered always.