Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a distinguished, dedicated and tireless civil servant, Susan Brita. Over 31 years, she has been a woman of unique and unmatched talent and expertise serving our government.

Ms. Brita is a 25 year resident of my congressional district, living in the City of Alexandria. She has held many high level positions over the years, as a chief of staff, Staff Director of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds, and most recently, Deputy Administrator at the General Services

Administration. An invaluable champion for good governance, she is widely admired and deeply respected by countless colleagues and friends in the federal agencies and the U.S. Congress. Susan is a problem solver, tenacious ally, tough advocate and I'm proud to call her a friend.

Susan's expert work and support for managing federal facilities around the country has made our country stronger. She has been the author of legislation to develop highly visible projects in our nation's capital, such as the Old Post Office, the Southeast Federal Center, and the International Cultural Trade Center. These buildings will have an enduring influence on the topography of Washington, DC for centuries to come. As a dedicated civil servant and true patriot, Ms. Brita's leadership has set the bar high for those to come after her, and she will be solely missed.

Mr. Speaker, congratulations is in order for a job well done!

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to demand action on comprehensive immigration reform.

For over a year, we have experienced nothing but broken promises from our Republican leadership. The Senate did its job in passing a bipartisan bill by a vote of 68-32, but Speaker Boehner and House Republicans have refused to consider this responsible proposal even though it has the votes to pass right now.

The reason for this is clear: Republicans would rather protect themselves from a primary challenge than address the challenges that face our Nation. That is why House Democrats have resorted to introducing a discharge petition this week to demand a vote on immigration reform.

This is supposed to be a democracy. Comprehensive reform is backed by a majority of the American public, including the business community, labor unions, and religious organizations. Comprehensive reform would grow our economy, strengthen families and open doors of opportunity for millions of Americans who want to embrace the American Dream.

America has always been a nation of immigrants, continuously revitalized by those who come to our shores to make better lives for themselves and their families. Now is the time to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

I thank my very good friend from New Jersey for yielding to me, and I thank my very good friend from Arizona.

Mr. Chairman, I do rise in opposition to this so-called Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America bill. I know that is what this bill's sponsors have tried to suggest, but the fact is that this promotes destructive mountaintop mining removal and it doesn't protect jobs.

The goal of this bill is to require all States to incorporate a now vacated 2008 rule that was issued in the very last days of the Bush administration and was then struck down by a U.S. Federal court. It was an eleventh-hour regulation that was designed to repeal Reagan-era protections for streams and waterways from the impacts of mountaintop mining by providing a buffer zone for waste disposal. Its vague and permissive language sets an alarmingly low bar when it comes to protecting communities and wildlife habitats near mountaintop mining operations.

The reality is that this midnight rulemaking of the Bush administration would only hasten further environmental destruction and increase the volume of toxic chemicals entering our water supply.

This bill before the House represents a transparent attempt to resurrect an already rejected rule by forcibly enacting it across this country, thereby putting communities nearby coal mining plants at risk while undoing necessary protections from pollutants.

But in addition to resurrecting this stream buffer zone rule, H.R. 2824 comes with a 5-year mandatory implementation period that conveniently prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing any new regulations to protect streams.

So the public should be deeply troubled by what is a blatant disregard for public health. Americans living near coal mining operations are going to be harmed by this. Our legal process is jeopardized, and certainly the integrity of already fragile ecosystems will be put at risk.

I very much thank my good friend.

An environmental impact statement found that between 1985 and 2002, nearly 2,000 miles of streams were buried or destroyed by mountaintop removal. Not surprisingly, peer-reviewed scientific studies continued to confirm the devastation on the surrounding environment and wildlife habitats of the numerous toxic chemicals, like arsenic and mercury, that enter into streams as mountaintops are blasted and bulldozed away.

We found in a 2011 study that cancer rates were twice as high in communities exposed to the effects of mountaintop mining. In the journal Science, we found, likewise, chronic pulmonary disorders in coal country. A 2011 study of births in Appalachia from 1996 to 2003 found that counties near mountaintop mining areas had substantially higher rates of multiple types of birth defects.

Congress should welcome regulations that are going to save and enhance American lives, not put them in jeopardy; and unfortunately, this bill gives a green light to remove mountain summits and dump their waste into nearby valleys and streams.

The fact is that coal has been the mainstay of Appalachia's economy for more than 100 years, but it has yet to make the region prosperous. We are talking about jobs. We need healthy people, and we need healthier environments. So I urge a rejection of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize one of my constituents John Love, and the marriage of over 50 years to his recently departed wife Nancy.

John is a retired Air Force officer who served his country proudly in Vietnam. He and Nancy met first met on January 6, 1962, at a restaurant in Marquette, Michigan. She was sitting with her mother when John approached the striking brunette to ask her to dance. The rest, as they say, is history.

They got engaged 6 weeks later and were married on May 5, 1962, simply following their hearts.

In May of 2012, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by watching their beloved Detroit Tigers after renewing their vows.

Sadly, Nancy's health deteriorated in the months that followed, passing away in her loving husband's arms in December of that same year. She is buried in Section 66 of Arlington National Cemetery, in a spot next to where John will one day be laid to rest.

The Love family had two sons and five grandchildren, shared and continue to share a close personal relationship, cherishing each other deeply.

While she has left this Earth in physical form, Nancy will always live in John's heart until they are reunited once more. John has written a love song to Nancy, entitled ``My Love Song Forever,'' produced with John White and D.B. Rielly of WhiteWater Sound Studios in New York.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize the kind of love we can all connect with, and appreciate for its intensity and durability over many years. May we all be so lucky to find that special someone.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to address the issue of separation of powers. I do think that the administration is entirely in the right when it implements, through the Environmental Protection Agency, the authority given to it by the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act.

I do have some concern, though, that the legislative branch continually seems to cede the power of the purse granted to it by the Constitution; in other words, the appropriations process to the executive branch, which obviously would like to fund its spending priorities, many of which I don't disagree with.

What I am most concerned with in regard to this separation of powers was cited in a New York Times editorial today, and that is the fact that two successive Presidents have now absolved the Central Intelligence Agency for its conduct with regard to illegal detention, rendition, torture, and fruitless harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects. I don't care about Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's pain, frankly, but that is not the point. The point is that we have a responsibility in the legislative branch to oversee the conduct of our Intelligence Committees.

When the chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence in the Senate says that the CIA improperly searched computers that were her committee staff members' computers, that is wrong. The entire legislative branch should stand behind her in upholding our responsibilities as the legislative branch, an equal branch under the Constitution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 506, and I wish to associate myself with the words of the gentlelady from Michigan, as well.

Vaclav Havel was an iconic defender of democracy, a protector of human rights, and an inspiration to people all over the world in their struggle to assert human rights as a universal freedom. His writings and his activism were essential in bringing democracy to a region long plagued by the authoritarianism of a Communist dictatorship.

In 1990, Mr. Havel was elected President of the former Czechoslovakia and later, in 1993, the Czech Republic. Under Mr. Havel's administration, the Czech Republic became and remains to this day a staunch ally of the United States. After his time in elected office, Mr. Havel continued to serve as a voice for the oppressed throughout the world and a champion of freedom until his death in 2011.

This bust of Vaclav Havel in the United States Capitol is a very fitting tribute because it is a tribute to an international leader and a man whose works helped to reshape the map of the world and the hope for freedom and human rights throughout the world.

I urge all the Members of this body to support H. Res. 506 unanimously, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we want to thank Mr. Royce, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for introducing this resolution and promoting the idea of having a bust of Vaclav Havel in the U.S. Capitol. We completely agree with his motivation and the words that he has shared with us today.

With that, I urge unanimous support for this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the honoring of the 30th anniversary of the Alexandria Transit Company's (ATC) and the initiation of the city's DASH bus system.

Mayor Charles ``Chuck'' Beatley was the champion and father of DASH, and had a vision over 30 years ago of a bus system that would serve the local transit needs of the community and provide high quality transit service to the residents, workers, and visitors of the City of Alexandria. The ATC Chairman of 22 years, Mr. William `` Bill'' B. Hurd shared the Mayor's vision and helped to create the organization that became so successful under his leadership; and who fostered a back-to- basics approach of operating safe and reliable service with clean buses and friendly and courteous drivers.

The DASH transit plays a vital role in the city of Alexandria by providing clean, safe, affordable, and reliable transportation service every day to thousands of commuters, city residents, workers, and visitors. The total ridership over the past 30 years has increased by over 360%, with a total annual ridership of over four million, an average of 14,500 passengers riding DASH every weekday and 12,000 passengers riding on the weekends; and expanded service from 582,000 miles in the first full year of service to over 1.6 million miles today.

I am pleased to say that DASH contributes to the quality of life and preserving the livability of Alexandria by mitigating traffic impacts, improving circulation and mobility throughout the city, and providing easier access to local businesses, retail and employment centers, residential developments, and to the regional Metrorail and the Virginia Railway Express commuter rail systems. Over the past four years, DASH has been purchasing environmentally friendly and low-floor hybrid electric buses and trolleys, which have provided great benefits including: reduced air pollutant emissions, reduced fuel consumption, increased transmission and brake life, and reduced engine noise, while improving accessibility and dwell times, and providing a smoother ride overall.

Metro Magazine named DASH one of the ``10 Great Transit Systems to Work For,'' and the Alexandria Commission for Women recognized the DASH General Manager, Sandy Modell, with the Salute to Women Leadership in Business and Career Development Award.

On behalf of the residents of the 8th Congressional District of Virginia, I congratulate the entire DASH bus system, its employees, and the Board of Directors, for their efforts and significant contributions to the Alexandria community to improve mobility and accessibility throughout the city, and for their achievements that have been recognized both nationally and by the Commonwealth of Virginia, in providing the highest quality of transit service to Alexandria residents, workers, and visitors, and in helping to make Alexandria a truly Livable, Green, and Prospering City.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the President submitted a very modest but responsible budget request. It contains a host of very good ideas that should move this country forward and that this Congress ought to embrace. For example, on both sides of the aisle, we agree that we ought to eliminate the waste of resources. But the greatest waste of resources is the waste of human potential, and it starts in the earliest years.

So the President would extend access to prekindergarten education for all of our children, because he knows that that will enable us to have a far more prosperous economy and a more cohesive society, and he would pay for it with revenue from tobacco taxes--a great idea.

Similarly, he would take the $4 billion in subsidies we give the oil and gas industry and invest it in new and cleaner alternative energy. He would take $300 billion and invest it in surface infrastructure. I was just over in Uzbekistan this month. They have a faster, more modern rail system than we do, as does China.

Those are the kinds of good ideas that can move this country forward that this Congress should embrace.

Mr. Speaker, since the mid-1990's the authority to regulate the towing industry had been in limbo. Through a provision slipped into the Federal Aviation Administration Act of 1994 that defined the tow truck industry as an interstate carrier exempt from state and local regulation. One year later, passage of the Interstate Commerce Termination Act eliminated the federal regulatory body that oversaw the towing industry, leaving the industry without proper federal, state or local regulation.

With no federal regulator, confusing restrictions and conflicting court rulings on what states and localities are permitted to regulate, no level of government has been able to adequately regulate the towing industry. This lack of regulatory authority has led to more than two decades of major consumer abuses by some unscrupulous towing companies. These bad operators have continued to taint an otherwise much needed and respectable profession.

Complaints about exorbitant towing fees and abusive operators grew so bad that in 2005, Congress agreed, through an amendment to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act--a Legacy of Users (SAFETEA-LU), to allow some limited state regulation in the area of non-consensual towing. The amendment also directed the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study to identify additional means to protect the rights of individuals whose vehicles are towed.

That study offers some recommendations that track with conclusions I made several years ago, that consumers and tow truck operators would be better served by removing the last vestiges of federal preemption. It notes that consumers needing redress for overcharges today or other unfair treatment would: no longer be in the Catch-22 position of having their State case thrown out on preemption grounds only to find that they may have no real recourse at the Federal level either. Since business practies vary from place to place, it may also be more practical to have non-consensual towing regulated by the States rather than by the Federal Government.

States are the more logical place to regulate towing. They already have an established body of law in place to do so. This bill would bring those laws back into effect by removing federal preemption and allow state and local governments the ability to establish common- sense, pro-consumer trespass towing protections for their residents.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the organization Good360. Companies like Good360 support philanthropy in a variety of ways--cash grants, marketing consultations, and employee volunteerism, just to name a few.

More than ever before, companies are using their core resources to support community-based partners. Driven by the desire to maximize giving while minimizing waste, the majority of growth in the nonprofit sector has come from the donation of household items that directly impact the needs of American families.

For-profit America plays an important role in addressing poverty, literacy and education, homelessness and many other social issues facing our country. The millions of nonprofit organizations across America rely on the donations of critically needed goods to continue the programs that are essential to helping those with uncertain futures get back on their feet. These programs are integral to strengthening our communities.

Giving is not just restricted to consumer staples. Consumer discretionary companies and information technology companies also make sizable proportions of their contributions in the form of non-cash donations. Their corporate sustainability efforts maximize giving to American families and minimize the amount of unused or reusable goods going to landfills.

With more than one in six Americans living in poverty and nonprofits struggling to maintain programs following significant federal and state budget cuts, the American business community plays a critical role in supporting the nonprofit programs needed to ensure that people and families in need overcome the challenges they face and are better able to pursue the American Dream.

This month, let us look to a time when more businesses give back by donating goods to support people in need, to strengthen the communities in which they do business, and to reduce the amount of products that go into our landfills.

I call upon all American companies and nonprofit organizations--small and large--to participate in activities that provide donated goods that are essential to strengthening communities across our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize Good360's contributions to the betterment of our community and the American people, and I ask that my colleagues join me in thanking them for their continued service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the outstanding contributions of Dr. Richard Weston and to commemorate his retirement after more than 35 years of federal service.

As a constituent of Virginia's 8th district, Dr. Weston earned a Ph.D. in Health Policy and his dissertation was nominated for the Harold Lasswell Prize of the American Political Science Association. Early in his career, he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives under Rep. Ralph Metcalfe, of Chicago and Rep. Bennett Stewart, also of Chicago, and in the U.S. Senate under Sen. Charles Mathias, of Maryland and Sen. Paul Trible, of Virginia.

Dr. Weston worked for the Secretary's Panel for the Evaluation of Epidemiological Research Activities and under the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Energy. While at the General Accounting Office, Dr. Weston worked in the Program Evaluation and Methodology Division's Health Services Research Group. He has also worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Washington Office.

Dr. Weston counts among his career highlights an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine; and considers his work this year on the chemical release at the Freedom Industries storage tank site on the Elk River near Charleston, West Virginia among the most rewarding he has done.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize Dr. Richard Weston for his dedication to improving public health, and I ask that my colleagues join me in thanking him for his continued service.

Mr. Speaker, if you listen to the other side, you would think that the costs of the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to reduce global warming and to protect our environment are breaking the back of our economy, but that is hardly the case.

What is really beginning to break the back of our economy is the costs associated with extreme weather events. From Hurricane Sandy to the droughts in the Midwest and the West, it is costing tens of billions of dollars every year, and it is getting worse.

In fact, 10 years ago, the insurance industry estimated what the costs would be, and it was way less than it is today; and they acknowledge it is because of the effects of climate change. This applies to the Hartford Financial Services Group, AIG Prudential, and the Reinsurance Association of America. They all say that this is the footprint of climate change and that extreme weather conditions are going to get worse.

So you have to ask yourself: If the insurance industry is acknowledging the presence of climate change, why can't the Congress? Will the majority of this House stay in denial that the climate is changing, that human activities are contributing to this change? Are they going to continue to play an obstructionist role, or are they going to act responsibly for the benefit of future generations? I hope it is the latter.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the outstanding contributions made by Ms. Nancy Heimbaugh, who will retire from the Defense Logistics Agency in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on February 3, 2014.

Ms. Heimbaugh's distinguished government career spans 37 years, and her record of achievement during this period reflects greatly upon herself and upon the organizations at which she has served, including her most recent role as DLA's Senior Procurement Executive/Component Acquisition Executive (SPE/CAE). Her contributions to the national defense were significant and she will be missed as she moves on to new and exciting opportunities.

Ms. Heimbaugh, originally from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, entered the Federal service working for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, in 1976. There, she held a series of positions in purchasing and supply. In 1984 she became a contracting officer for the Naval Supply Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Ms. Heimbaugh attended Strayer University, and the National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Services, and is the recipient of special achievement and performance awards, including the Exceptional Civilian Service Award in 2012, Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 2007 and Vice President Gore's National Performance Review's Heroes of Reinvention Hammer Award for Electronic Commerce in 1996. In 1999, she was selected into the Defense Leadership and Management Program, a program designed to provide a Department of Defense framework for developing future civilian leaders.

In 1991, Ms. Heimbaugh joined the Naval Supply Systems Command Headquarters as a senior procurement analyst providing contracting expertise and guidance to field contracting activities. Ms. Heimbaugh joined the Defense Logistics Agency in 2001 as a senior procurement analyst.

Ms. Heimbaugh reached a career benchmark in 2007 with her selection into the Senior Executive Service as Director of Contracting and Acquisition Management at Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia; the first PLFA-level Acquisition Executive appointed in the Agency. She was responsible for managing an acquisition workforce generating $14 billion in awards across four supply chains. Ms. Heimbaugh then served as the Director of Contracting and Acquisition Management in 2009. Her leadership was epitomized by the Defense Logistics Agency's performance during Hurricane Sandy, when she personally cut through the red tape in the contracting process to ensure needed supplies and services were delivered to our fellow citizens in New York and New Jersey in record time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize Nancy Heimbaugh's contributions to the Defense Logistics Agency and the American people, and I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating her on her retirement from civil service. She epitomizes the dedication and professionalism that make our Federal civil service a model all over the world.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 31, had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Stated against:

I thank my good friend, the committee ranking member, for her leadership.

Madam Speaker, this is a bill that should have been supported from the beginning. In fact--no offense to the Budget Committee--but if the Appropriations Committee had been given these numbers from the beginning, there wouldn't have been any sequester or shutdown or furloughs. We could have gotten this done because this is a package of chosen priorities and funding compromises. That is what we do in the Appropriations Committee. So that is why we ought to support it. In fact, we ought to have such a strong vote that we send a signal to all those ankle-biters and naysayers who say we can't get anything done. We are going to get this done. We are going to fund the agencies.

On the Interior Subcommittee, we met all of our obligations. We repaid the fire costs that had been incurred last year. We provided sequester relief for every agency funded in this bill. Now there won't be any agency furloughs in 2014. Every agency is going to be able to carry out their important functions without the sword of sequestration hanging over them.

It provides $5.8 billion more than that initial House allocation, which Chairman Rogers, himself, pointed out was inadequate. These numbers, while they are not as much as I wish they were, they are reasonable. It is a compromise. We are able to provide additional resources to a host of important programs, ranging from clean air and water, natural resources, Native Americans, and the arts.

Just as important as what is included in this agreement is what is not included. Gone are a whole host of some of the worst environmental legislative riders that shouldn't be in the Appropriations Committee, that are more appropriate for the authorizers if they want to have that kind of a debate. Those aren't in this bill, and they didn't belong in this bill in the first place.

I want to commend the gentleman from California, Ken Calvert, our new subcommittee chair. He is carrying on the very high standards set by the gentleman from Idaho, Mike Simpson.

We like to work together when we are given a reasonable allocation. That is the way this Congress, as a whole, ought to work. I want to thank Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Lowey, and all of my colleagues on the committee.

I particularly want to thank the Appropriations staff. They worked every day through the holidays. One member of the staff had a gallbladder operation, and she didn't miss any work. They were in every weekend. They deserve the round of applause, so let's give it to them.