Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Neal Ewald as he retires from a long and productive career with Green Diamond Resource Company (GDRC). Mr. Ewald's 45-year career in the Northern California timber industry has been marked by efforts to improve timber management, environmental protections, and business practices.

Starting as a forester and logging engineer with Arcata Redwood Co. in 1978, Mr. Ewald went on to become the company's Resource Manager. He was then hired by Simpson Timber Co. as Resource Manager, and was later promoted to General Manager. In these roles, Mr. Ewald played a critical role in the acquisition of Arcata Redwood Co., as well as the development of Simpson's Habitat Conservation Plan for the protection of northern spotted owls. He was part of the team that restructured Simpson Timber Co. into GDRC, and was appointed vice president of California Timberlands in 2003.

During his time as vice president and General Manager of GDRC, the company adopted the ambitious Aquatic Habitat Conservation Plan, which guided timber practices to conserve several protected aquatic species. From 2008 to 2018, Mr. Ewald worked diligently with Western Rivers Conservancy to transfer 48,000 acres of sacred land to the Yurok Tribe. Mr. Ewald oversaw the refurbishment of California Redwood Co.'s chip export dock, an investment in Twin Creeks Timber and purchase of 350,000 acres in five southern states, and GDRC's Marten Safe Harbor Agreement and Forest Habitat Conservation Plan.

Promoted to senior vice president in 2019, Mr. Ewald helped GDRC acquire 293,000 acres in Montana, and form the Montana Timberlands Division and its Native Fish Habitat Conservation Plan. With a 90,000- acre expansion of Twin Creeks in 2021, GDRC now owns and manages 2.2 million acres in 10 states.

A consummate traveler, scuba diver, pilot, and family man, Mr. Ewald has served as a volunteer for numerous timber and agriculture advocacy organizations, and as a board member of Hospice of Humboldt, Humboldt State University, the Humboldt Area Foundation, and the Eureka Chamber of Commerce.

Madam Speaker, Neal Ewald's many contributions to the North Coast community as a leader for Green Diamond Resource Co. will leave a lasting impression for generations. Please join me in congratulating him on a prosperous career and an exciting and meaningful retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Christine (Chris) Gallagher upon her retirement from the United States Army Corp of Engineers where she served the San Francisco District's Bay Model Visitor Center (Bay Model) in Sausalito, California for nearly four decades, and for a lifetime of extraordinary public service.

Originally from Maryland, Chris moved to Marin County to complete her B.A. in Environmental Education from Dominican University in 1983. Upon graduating, she joined the National Park Service, working for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the Marin Headlands, before transitioning to the Regional Office of the U.S. Forest Service-Pacific Southwest Region. Chris joined the Bay Model in 1986, serving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Education Coordinator and was soon promoted to Park Manager in 2001, a position she held for over twenty years.

During her tenure with the Bay Model, Chris was an integral member of the management team, leading critical improvement projects, including a $16.5 million renovation that featured the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's largest solar installation. Hosting 150,000 visitors a year, the Bay Model has long been a pinnacle of community education, and with Chris's exemplary ambassador skills, its significance grew. She fostered and developed partnerships across the local community, government entities, and educational groups. When COVID-19 presented an unprecedented challenge for education centers like the Bay Model, Chris sprang into action, converting the facility into a space for manufacturing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Between April and May of 2020, 10,000 face shields were shipped from the Bay Model, directly supporting the pandemic response during a pivotal time for the Nation.

In addition to her exemplary service to the Bay Model, Chris is a dedicated volunteer, sharing her skills and energy as a valued member of the Sausalito Rotary Club, Sausalito Chamber of Commerce, the Sausalito-Sakaide Sister City program, and several other city boards and committees. This service has been recognized with numerous accolades throughout her tenure, including the Commander's Award for Civilian Service and Achievement Medal for Civilian Service.

The breadth and depth of Chris's professional and volunteer career are inspiring, and her many positive contributions will continue to impact the community for years to come. Madam Speaker, I respectfully ask that you join me in expressing gratitude to Chris for her enduring service and extending heartfelt congratulations on her retirement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bay Model Visitor Center and best wishes on her next endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Dingell for the time and for her great work on this landmark bipartisan legislation, the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, or RAWA, as we call it.

This is a bright spot amidst so many problems facing our Nation. As our constituents are well aware, the climate crisis and other human impacts have dramatically harmed our Nation's wildlife, and, in fact, State agencies have identified 12,000 wildlife species that are in need of conservation assistance. In the United States alone, there are currently 1,300 species that are either threatened or endangered. If we fail to act, these profound and irreversible losses will continue to have devastating ecosystem impacts.

States, territories, and Tribes are doing great work to address threats to wildlife, but their conservation efforts have been chronically underfunded for decades. This stream of dedicated funding from RAWA is a lifeline for local wildlife agencies.

This bill also provides local governments the resources to address key elements impacting biodiversity loss such as wildfire and drought which are worsening as the climate crisis accelerates. RAWA lays the groundwork for wildfire threat mitigation on a number of fronts, including managing vegetation and creating wildlife-friendly fire management plans on the front end, performing emergency rescues during the fires, and restoring critical habitat after fires.

RAWA funding will also allow local communities to restore habitats that have been harmed by drought and protect vulnerable ecosystems from further damage because we know these drought conditions are going to continue.

We cannot lose sight of the cultural implications of this legislation. The funding in this bill for Tribal nations to recover fish and wildlife is critical to protecting the species that have been integral to their cultures since time immemorial. Biodiversity is declining at a rate not seen since the last mass extinction. Tackling this crisis simply cannot wait.

As chairman of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee, I am incredibly glad to see this bill on the floor today with strong bipartisan support--42 Republican cosponsors, and 152 Democrats.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mary Jane Burke upon her retirement from Marin County Office of Education as its intrepid Superintendent of Marin County Public Schools for nearly two decades and for a lifetime of extraordinary public service.

Raised in Stockton, California, as the eldest of eight siblings, Mary Jane moved to Marin at the age of 18 to attend Dominican University in San Rafael. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in education in 1973 and proceeded to also earn her master's degree in special education in 1976. Since then, she has served our community as a teacher, principal, special education director, assistant superintendent, and deputy superintendent. In 1995, following the death of her husband, she was elected to fill his seat as the next Marin County Superintendent, a position she has held for seven terms.

As Superintendent, Mary Jane fulfilled an essential role in shaping the trajectory of students' education at a critical age and ensuring our schools receive vital funding including overseeing 40,000 students and the distribution of $450 million. Marin County Office of Education (MCOE) is responsible for the fiscal oversight of Marin County's 18 school districts budgets, and provides a variety of services including technology and educational programming for both public and private K-12 schools; managing regionalized special education programs; and offering professional development for teachers, instructional assistants, administrators, and school board trustees; among many other services. Mary Jane managed these roles with a high degree of commitment, always applying the highest standards and a laser focus on what is best for children. She developed a well-deserved reputation for her collaborative leadership style, and ability to cultivate strong partnerships among school districts, community organizations, businesses, and local governments.

Among her numerous accomplishments is the establishment of the Marin County School to Career Partnership and SchoolsRule-Marin, a joint effort by the county's public-school foundations to raise funds for K- 12 students countywide to ensure access to critical educational opportunities is available for all public students, regardless of zip code. This program continues to combat the county's equality gap more than a decade later. Unafraid to take bold stances on deeply rooted and complicated issues, Mary Jane also played an essential role in prompting the state's 2019 historic desegregation order that resulted in the Sausalito Marin City Unified School District. She has been a fierce advocate for increasing access to early education and preschool. Beyond her work with MCOE, she shares her talent and time on the Board of Directors for the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), the Marin County Treasury Oversight Committee, and is the former President of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) representing all 58 California County Superintendents of Schools.

Superintendent Burke's work to improve public schools is regarded as a model for other counties throughout California. Her expertise has earned admiration and recognition from influential changemakers throughout Marin County and the State of California, as well as a plethora of awards and honors including California Assembly's 2021 ``State of California Woman of the Year'' for her

COVID-19 response. Throughout my tenure in the California State Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives, I have sought and valued her advice on education matters.

Madam Speaker, Mary Jane Burke leaves an indelible legacy as she retires and I respectfully ask that you join me in expressing immense gratitude to Mary Jane Burke for her extraordinary generosity of spirit, unwavering commitment, and innumerable contributions to improving the quality of life for communities in Marin County and California and extending to her best wishes on her next endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Thomas Peters, Ph.D. upon his retirement from Marin Community Foundation as its intrepid president and chief executive officer for nearly a quarter of a century and for a lifetime of extraordinary public service.

Dr. Peters graduated from the University of Minnesota with a doctorate in medicine, psychology, and genetics. In 1974, he was hired by the San Francisco Public Health Department to manage a team of healthcare workers providing physical and mental care to both victims and perpetrators of crime. Within 7 years, he was promoted to Chief of Staff and tasked to navigate the unprecedented HIV/AIDS epidemic gripping San Francisco. In 1991, after a lengthy tenure as Chief of Staff for the San Francisco Public Health Department, Dr. Peters was selected to serve as the director of Marin County's Department of Health and Human Services before joining the Marin Community Foundation (MCF) in 1998.

Throughout his time with MCF, Dr. Peters demonstrated impeccable leadership, establishing MCF as one of the largest community foundations in the country with an exceptional reputation for its mission-driven value alignment. Under his leadership, the foundation increased its assets from approximately $900 million to more than $3 billion and distributed over $2 billion in grants to support early education through college, affordable housing, and environmental stewardship. Dr. Peters accomplished this by attracting an unprecedented number of new donors and starting a donor-advised funds program, while also reshaping the governance structure and refocusing the Foundation's priorities to address Marin County's profound income and educational inequities. While focusing on big issues, Dr. Peters also led in a manner that both promoted and supported local and innovative solutions from grassroots community groups and nonprofits. His unwavering commitment to social justice provided both voice and philanthropic giving to underserved and disenfranchised communities in Marin County, as well as models for philanthropic organizations to follow throughout the region, state, and Nation.

Always one to respond to a crisis, Dr. Peters rounded out his legacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, directing the Foundation to provide critical relief for Marin in the form of millions in nonprofit grant funding, PPE for local healthcare facilities, and rental assistance in partnership with Marin County.

Over the decades we developed a close bond, and my staff and I had the good fortune to experience Dr. Peters' maverick problem-solving talents firsthand, evoking the spirit of Congressman John Lewis to collaborate, or as we liked to say, get in ``good trouble'' to tackle issues like gun violence prevention and NIMBYism. Among many special memories is our work in 2012 to help save China Camp State Park from closure. With the support of the Foundation and my successful legislation to keep state parks open, the local nonprofit Friends of China Camp now operates China Camp State Park.

Dr. Peters has delivered on the mission of Marin Community Foundation to improve the human condition, embrace diversity, promote a humane and democratic society, and enhance the community's quality of life, now and for future generations. He has been the moral compass for the Foundation and Marin County for decades and retires with a legacy that will serve us for many years to come. Madam Speaker, I respectfully ask that you join me in expressing immense gratitude to Dr. Peters for his extraordinary generosity of spirit, unwavering integrity, and innumerable contributions to improving the human condition, and extending to him congratulations on his retirement and best wishes on his next endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, and I thank my colleagues for their kind remarks about our friend and my predecessor, former Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey.

Lynn was a one-of-a-kind, barrier-breaking trailblazer and a lifelong advocate for women and working families. In her 20 years of service in this body, she was a passionate voice for progressive values, unflinching in her convictions and ahead of her time in so many ways. Speaker Pelosi often called Lynn the conscience of the Congress.

People who speak truth to power are often met with opposition and misunderstanding. Clearly, there are some Members of this body who don't share Lynn Woolsey's progressive values, and they tried to block efforts to recognize her work a few weeks ago. Today, we have a chance to right that wrong.

When this bill was first on the floor, my colleagues and I thoroughly covered Congresswoman Woolsey's extensive public service career and her many personal obstacles that she overcame to get to Congress where she became one of the leading progressive voices in either Chamber. She was co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, wrote historic legislation to expand paid family leave, and fought tirelessly to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lynn's work in Congress was all about fighting for children and families, and nothing made her prouder than her own children and family. Anyone who knows Lynn knows that she considers them her greatest achievement of all: her son Joe Critchett and his wife Kim; her son Ed, his wife Lisa and their children Teddy and Julia; her daughter Amy Critchett, Amy's husband Mark Pauline and their son Jake Eddie; and her son Michael Woolsey, his wife Sarah Grossi and their children Carlo and Luka.

My bill had widespread bipartisan support, including every Republican

Member from California. Let's move past partisan pettiness tonight. I would ask my colleagues to please join me in honoring Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's unique and exemplary career in public service by voting ``yes'' on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the career achievements of Dick Morris, who is stepping down from the Trinity Public Utilities District Board of Directors after more than four decades of service.

Mr. Morris was elected to the district board on November 3, 1981 when the district was first created. He has repeatedly served as president, vice president, and clerk of the board that he helped form. Over those years, Mr. Morris helped bring improvements in electricity reliability and cost savings for Trinity County customers, who enjoy low-cost power through the federal Trinity River Division of the Central Valley hydropower project.

Throughout his time on the district board, Mr. Morris advocated for annual payments of $800,000 to the district, additional regional infrastructure, and federal legislation vital to the economic health of Trinity County. He supported the passage of my Trinity County Land Exchange Act of 2013 which acquired land for the district for economic development. Mr. Morris was also key to saving Trinity County's only hospital, vital to the health and well-being of the community.

Madam Speaker, Dick Morris' long service on the Trinity Public Utilities District Board of Directors is an exemplary illustration of commitment to improving the life of Trinity County's rural community through good governance. Please join me in honoring Dick Morris on the occasion of his retirement from the board, and in wishing him good luck in his future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Dr. Mark Justin Apfel as he retires from Anderson Valley Health Center and an extraordinary 45-year career in health care in rural Mendocino County.

Born in New York in April 1949, Dr. Apfel earned an undergraduate degree at Syracuse University and graduated from medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical University Norton College of Medicine. He went on to become an emergency room physician with Kaiser, serving Oakland, Vallejo, and Redwood City, California, and then a physician for East Oakland Family Health Center. In 1976, he was selected to be an emergency room physician for Hillside Hospital in Ukiah, California. That same year, Dr. Apfel began serving as a volunteer physician with a newly formed health clinic in Boonville, California, soon to become the Anderson Valley Health Center. Dr. Apfel stepped into the role of the first full time doctor at Anderson Valley Health Center (AVHC) in rural Mendocino County, where he worked for the next 45 years.

While working at AVHC, Dr. Apfel took on additional roles as an emergency room physician and medical director of palliative care for Ukiah Valley Medical Center in Ukiah, California; and he served as a staff physician at the Mendocino Community Hospital in Fort Bragg, California. This work required Dr. Apfel to commute frequently throughout Mendocino County, travelling year-round over the windy country roads that connect these communities.

In addition to Dr. Apfel's professional service to Mendocino County, he was an active

volunteer for fundraising on behalf of AVHC, and he provided medical service training for members of the Anderson Valley Volunteer Fire Department and Anderson Valley Ambulance Services. Dr. Apfel also continued to pursue professional development, broadening his expertise in palliative care.

Dr. Apfel shared his skills and knowledge with the medical community in the extended region and state through his leadership in the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, and by helping establish the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Program. Furthermore, his efforts to ensure appropriate palliative medical care and end-of-life care resulted in improved access to critical information for patients and their loved ones.

Madam Speaker, the breadth and depth of Dr. Apfel's dedication and generosity of service to ensure access to affordable, high-quality, and compassionate health care in Mendocino County, the state, and Nation are unparalleled. He is appropriately regarded as a local healthcare hero, but his service and contributions extend far beyond his community. Please join me in recognizing Dr. Mark Apfel for his near half-century of good work and wishing him the best in his next endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today along with Congressman Mike Thompson, in celebration of David Ramey, who is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation for his exemplary contributions to the winemaking industry.

Mr. Ramey's 43-year career in Napa and Sonoma, including as the founder and owner of Ramey Wine Cellars, is most distinguished by his stewardship of artisan winemaking techniques.

Mr. Ramey graduated from the University of California at Davis in 1979 with a thesis on

volatile ester hydrolysis that is still used today to understand the evolution of aroma in wine. Upon graduation he joined the Moueix family at the renowned Chateau Petrus and spent 23 years helping establish a number of wineries including Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus Estate, and Rudd Estate. He and his wife Carla moved to Healdsburg and founded Ramey Wine Cellars in 1996 where they helped shepherd a new California benchmark winemaking style using indigenous yeasts, sur lies aging, and whole-cluster and malolactic barrel fermentation. Mr. Ramey is passionate about the wine industry and continues to provide his expertise to colleagues through consulting work and as Chair of Family Winemakers of California.

Madam Speaker, David Ramey's long-time contributions to the winemaking community have shaped the way that many wines in the United States are made today. Therefore, please join us in congratulating David Ramey for decades of inspiring work in the wine industry and this Lifetime Achievement Award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today, along with Congressman Mike Thompson, in celebration of Farhad Mansourian as he retires from Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART). Mr. Mansourian has dedicated

his 43-year career to public service, spending the last 11 years serving as SMART's intrepid general manager.

Mr. Mansourian was a terrorist officer in the Iranian Imperial Army before he escaped to the United States after the fall of the Shah. After obtaining degrees in civil engineering and political science from Sacramento State University, he settled in Marin County where he began his civil engineering and public service work in 1979. After serving for 32 years, including 9 years as Marin County's Public Works Director, Mr. Mansourian retired leaving behind an impressive legacy of accomplishments for the county. His retirement, however, proved brief, as he was quicky recruited to become SMART's General Manager, a position he accepted in 2011.

As SMART General Manager, Mr. Mansourian was tasked with turning 45 miles of repurposed rail track into a thriving rail line in the aftermath of the 2007 to 2008 financial crisis and the significant budget challenges it created. Applying his vast experience, skills and talents, he worked creatively to solve many engineering, construction, and funding challenges, coordinating with partner transportation agencies, elected officials, government agencies, community groups, and the public to meet project expectations.

Mr. Mansourian's ability to manage difficult circumstances and collaborate with independent and often times competing jurisdictions on a shoestring budget is masterful and a key reason regional passenger rail is a reality for SMART riders today. Under his leadership, SMART successfully operates this regional rail line with 12 stops spanning Northern Sonoma County to San Francisco Bay and serving a peak of 700,000 riders. This success of SMART has also contributed to cleaner air for local residents as its riders have prevented 8.1 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from being released into the environment.

Madam Speaker, Farhad Mansourian exemplifies what it means to be a public servant. His dedication to regional transportation solutions and improving accessibility and sustainability for Marin and Sonoma Counties will benefit generations to come. Therefore, please join us in congratulating him on his decades of inspiring work and in wishing him a fulfilling and relaxing retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a dangerous ideology threatening our democracy: White Christian nationalism.

Most Members of Congress don't even know what it means, but experts from the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty have studied it for years, and their new report shows this movement was at the heart of the January 6 insurrection.

White Christian nationalism fuses Christianity with a rigid view of civic life, a view that true Americans are White, native-born, and conservative. On January 6, it was the connective tissue that tied disparate groups together and propelled them to action.

It is infecting our government, from Members of Congress and top officials in the previous administration to the wife of a Supreme Court Justice, whose messages to the President's Chief of Staff leading up to the insurrection smacked of White Christian nationalism.

Thankfully, good Americans, people of faith and nonbelievers, are standing up to this violent ideology.

Mr. Speaker, I call on Members of Congress to educate themselves about White Christian nationalism and reaffirm the separation of church and State.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, there is so much I would like to say about my friend, Don Young. And some of you are probably wondering how could Don Young, the crusty, old conservative from Alaska be friends with a liberal Democrat from California like Jared Huffman, an environmental radical.

Well, it wasn't because we agreed on Arctic drilling. It wasn't because we agreed on the Endangered Species Act or so many other things. We fought about those things.

In fact, I will always remember our colleague, Mike Levin's, first Natural Resource Committee hearing. Don Young was shaking his fist at me, saying that he wanted to go out in the hall to settle our differences, and Mike couldn't believe it. And I told him that was nothing. That was tame by Don Young standards. You should have seen him last year.

Don didn't actually wink when he did these things, but he didn't need to because we both knew that the next time I saw him, we would be laughing about it, having a glass of Chardonnay.

Believe it or not, we did find some things to work on. We had a mutual love of fishing and salmon. We found lots of legislation to do together on those subjects.

We both represent a lot of Indian country. We found common cause there. We worked together on national and international wildlife conservation. Now, he wanted to conserve wildlife so he could kill it. I wanted to conserve it so I could admire it generally, but we found common cause, and we did a lot of good work together.

I will always remember that when I met with Don in his office, I would be sure to bring a bottle of Chardonnay from my district because it was Anne's favorite and because in the odd years, when Don was actually drinking, he liked it too.

I am so glad that in addition to getting to serve for almost 10 years with this legend of the House, I got to have a lot of fun with him. I got to play paddle ball in the gym. I got to travel with him and Anne to Europe. I got to go fishing.

In fact, I went to his fishing tournament in Alaska last year. I was the only Democrat there. My reward was Don put me on his boat with Karl Rove, and I spent about 9 hours on the water with Don Young and Karl Rove. That is an experience I will never forget. And it too was an awful lot of fun, just like everything with Don Young.

So with Don Young gone, I have no doubt there are going to be plenty of other people around here that I will find things to fight about with. It is the other part that I will miss, and I think the institution will miss.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the significant career and accomplishments of Ms. Carmel Angelo on the occasion of her retirement from the County of Mendocino as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Ms. Angelo was hired to be the director of Health and Human Services and Assistant CEO for Mendocino County in 2007. Just three years later, she was appointed to serve as County CEO by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors in 2010, becoming the first woman to hold the County's top executive position.

Throughout her 15-year tenure, Ms. Angelo was a strong advocate for Mendocino County, and she was well-respected for her ability to address the unique challenges facing rural counties. As CEO, she led the County through a fiscal crisis and provided effective leadership during multiple fire and flood disasters. Drawing on her experience in health and human services, she navigated the public health response to the global pandemic of COVID-19 with skill.

Ms. Angelo's advocacy for rural counties extended beyond Mendocino County through her leadership work with multiple statewide associations. She served on the California Association of County Executives (CACE) as a member and president, earning the 2021 President's CACE Award. In addition, her efforts with the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) resulted in the 2018 RCRC President's Award, and her work with California State Association of Counties (CSAC) was honored with its 2019 CSAC Circle of Service Award.

Madam Speaker, Carmel Angelo's career is a sterling example of service and dedication to improving the effectiveness of local government and meeting the needs of rural communities. Please join me in honoring Carmel Angelo on the occasion of her retirement, and in wishing her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, particularly the natural resource provisions, much maligned by the minority Member just now. However, the health of our ecosystems and the industries that depend on healthy ecosystems are part of our natural infrastructure. That is part of our competitiveness, too.

Case in point, seafood supply chains. We know foreign fisheries do not have the same environmental and labor standards we have here in the U.S. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, or IUU fishing, is a scourge. In the United States we intend to do something about it. I am proud to lead a bipartisan bill with my colleague from Louisiana, Garret Graves. That bill has been largely incorporated into the America COMPETES Act. It will help level the playing field for American fishing industries, and it is part of what will make us more competitive in the long run.

Mr. Speaker, I want to urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida and my other colleagues for their kind words about our friend, my predecessor and our former colleague, Lynn Woolsey.

Lynn is a one-of-a-kind, barrier-breaking trailblazer and a lifelong advocate for women and working families. In her 20 years of service in this body, she was a passionate voice for progressive values, unflinching in her convictions and ahead of her time in so many ways. Speaker Pelosi often called her the conscience of the Congress.

She was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, but she put her roots down as a young woman in Sonoma County, raising a family, becoming a civic leader, and eventually launching a political career. She chaired the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women and then served on the Petaluma City Council before being elected to the House in the ``Year of the Woman.''

Congresswoman Woolsey understood firsthand the challenges and struggles confronting single mothers because she lived them. She never forgot the hardships she faced when she was forced to go on public assistance to keep her family afloat. It was because of this journey as a former welfare mother--the first to ever serve in Congress--that she fought so hard for children and families.

She dedicated her career to improving education and empowering American workers through her service on the Education and Labor Committee and as ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. She was a champion for healthier school meals and sponsored the first-ever expansion of FMLA to ensure that military families have access to leave to prepare for a deployment or to care for a wounded warrior.

Lynn also served as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, using that platform to push for workers' rights, environmental justice, and equity for all as well as a people's budget that would invest in working people instead of corporate tax cuts and military campaigns.

Her passion for conservation and protecting our national heritage can be seen throughout my district. From the rebuilding of Hamilton Wetlands and Bel Marin Keys, to the cleanup of Skaggs Island, to the dredging of critical waterways, her work will ensure future generations can enjoy the breathtaking beauty of California's north bay.

One of her greatest, hardest-fought achievements was the expansion of the Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries. Because of her work, one of the most productive marine areas off the West Coast is now permanently protected.

Since she was a young child, Lynn wished for a more peaceful and just world. Mr. Speaker, you have just heard some words about her advocacy for peace and the way she spoke against the Iraq war. Together with Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters--they called themselves the Triad--she formed the Out of Afghanistan and Out of Iraq Caucuses to promote a safe, responsible way to bring our troops home and to put an end to those conflicts.

As some of the floor staff may remember, Lynn gave nearly 500 Special Order hour speeches advocating for what she called smart security, a progressive approach to global engagement and foreign policy, one that emphasized diplomacy and humanitarian assistance rather than military force.

Her work in Congress was all about fighting for children and families, and nothing made her prouder than her own children and family. Anyone who knows Lynn understands that she considers them her greatest legacy of all.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues, I am so honored today to ask for you to vote ``yes'' and join me in honoring Congresswoman Woolsey's unique and exemplary career and service by passing this legislation.