Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw).

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Hillhouse was obviously a great American, one of our best. We urge the adoption of H.R. 3667.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) for the strength and inspiration that she provides to so many women who are having to deal with this. And thank you for sharing your story.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 727, supporting the goals and ideals of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecological cancers and is the fifth leading cause of death among women in the United States of America. Ovarian cancer will occur in one out of every 57 women. This year, approximately 20,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and more than 15,000 will unfortunately die from it.

Currently, there is no reliable early detection test for ovarian cancer. In June 2007, for the first time a national consensus statement on ovarian cancer symptoms was developed. It described the symptoms, thereby making it easier for women to learn and remember them. However, because of the lack of reliable screening tests, 75 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in an advanced stage, resulting in a survival rate of less than 45 percent. This has to change.

It is critical to the victims of ovarian cancer and their loved ones that a reliable screening test be developed to detect this dreaded cancer in its early stages. In the meantime, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance holds a number of events to increase public awareness of ovarian cancer and educates women about the importance of knowing its common signs and symptoms.

During these events, they stress the importance of routine doctor visits and robust scientific research. During this time and throughout the year, we need to renew our commitment to fighting this illness that devastates all who have been touched by this cancer and takes too many lives of women throughout the United States. I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution, H. Res. 727.

My own mother passed away from breast cancer. Cancer kills too many Americans, roughly 1,500 people a day in this country. I think it is a shame that we don't give more national importance to fighting the war against cancer.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of House Resolution 727. I thank the chief sponsor, Mr. Israel, and all those who have put their heart and soul behind this, and urge the adoption of this resolution.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join us in honoring the late Frank McCourt, best remembered for his Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, ``Angela's Ashes.''

Born in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. McCourt was actually a public school teacher for nearly 30 years who taught English. He was a veteran, drafted into the Army during the Korean War, and used the GI bill to enroll in New York University. He also earned a master's degree from Brooklyn College.

Throughout his nearly 30-year career teaching, Mr. McCourt taught at McKee High School in Staten Island, Stuyvesant High School in New York City, at New York City Technical College and at the City University of New York.

It was only in his mid sixties that Mr. McCourt finally sat down and chronicled his childhood memories. Despite Mr. McCourt's insistence that it was ``a modest book, modestly written,'' ``Angela's Ashes'' became an overnight, word-of-mouth success. It was made into a motion picture in 1999. Mr. McCourt received the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critic Circle Award for his work.

Mr. McCourt passed away this past July 19, and today, we honor the contributions he made not only to America's educational system but also to American culture and American literature.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we have no additional speakers, but I would urge the passage of House Resolution 743. It's an honor for me to participate in these proceedings, and I urge the adoption of this resolution.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, all across this country there are families that are waking up concerned about their future. They are concerned about their jobs. They are concerned about what the direction of this country is. We read a new statistic that showed that only 2,500 of the supposed 640,000 jobs that were created or saved by the stimulus were manufacturing jobs. Only 2,500. Manufacturing is good. We need that in this country.

At the same time, we hear this morning that the unemployment now has risen to 10.2 percent. At a time when our Nation is suffering, it is not the time, it is not the place to implement the proposed Nancy Pelosi health care bill.

We need health care reform, but this is the wrong bill at the wrong time. It raises taxes on businesses and individuals. It raises taxes on medical manufacturers. I urge my colleagues to strike this down and kill that bill.

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

I rise today in support of House Resolution 893, congratulating the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series champions, the New York Yankees.

For the 27th time in the history of the World Series, the Yankees have once again proven to be the champions by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series. Again they have distinguished themselves as the dominant team in baseball.

On a cold November evening, the game kept fans riveted to their seats until nearly midnight in the sixth game of the series with the Phillies until Mariano Rivera threw his 41st and final pitch of the game to end the game.

The Yankees, also affectionately known as the ``Bronx Bombers'' because of their stadium's location in the Bronx, achieved another exciting victory for the storied franchise. After finishing the regular season with baseball's best record of 103 wins, they showed their consummate professionalism by winning it all.

They finished the regular season by defeating the Minnesota Twins and then the Angels to capture the American League Championship. Moving on to the World Series, the Yankees defeated the National League's champion Phillies by winning four out of six games in the series even though the Phillies gave it their all to the very end.

It is of particular note that the Yankees' 27th World Series wins puts them in an unequaled place in baseball history. They have now won 17 more World Series than their closest competitor.

I also want to congratulate the rest of the Yankees organization, all of whom deserve credit for providing a terrific season for so many devoted fans. I would also like to congratulate the Philadelphia Phillies, their fans and their players for putting together an exciting season.

On a particular note, I have the honor of standing here and helping to honor Harry Kalas, who affected so many people throughout his career. We were sad to see his passing earlier this year; but he touched the lives, in a very positive way, of countless Americans, and we will miss him.

I reserve the balance of my time, Madam Speaker.

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

You know, baseball is such a great sport. It is often referred to as our national pastime because it's a great way to escape the realities of all the pressures that happen in life. It has done that for so many people and will continue for decades and centuries to come, I'm sure. But the reality, once the game is over and we go back home and people start to realize what is truly happening in their lives, there is a lot of concern out there. You have people all across this country, right in the pit of their stomach they're worried. They're worried about their future; they're worried about their kids; they're worried about their parents. And so we look at statistics that come out and we just gaze and wonder and think, gosh, my goodness, what can we do to help? Unfortunately, I believe that we are moving in the wrong direction in this country.

Earlier this week, we saw some new statistics that came out. Supposedly there were 640,000 jobs that were either created or saved through the stimulus. Now, I have serious reservations about the accuracy of those numbers.

They have been often overstated; I know they were overstated in our State of Utah. But let's go ahead and just assume that that is true. Part of this report showed that only 2,500 of 640,000 jobs were manufacturing jobs. But the stimulus bill and the economic policies instituted by this Congress and this administration have grown government; they haven't grown jobs. We have missed the mark. The very best hope for our future is to focus on small

business. It's going to be businesses and the American entrepreneur that are going to grow this country. It is not going to be government.

There is another statistic that was released today where the unemployment rate unfortunately has gone to 10.2 percent. In many States it has been in double digits for a long time.

The stimulus did not work. It is not doing what it is supposed to do because it was fundamentally flawed from the beginning; it was fundamentally flawed at the start. It did not give relief; it did not focus on the small business man and woman. It did not focus on Main Street. It was a bailout to government, it was a bailout to the States, and it's fundamentally wrong.

And so at this time, when we are having such concern about our country, we are now considering a health care bill I doubt most any person in the body has actually fully read let alone comprehended from start to finish. It's 1,990 pages. It is so complex; it is a total takeover of health care. It demonstrates in there that there is going to be a tax increase on medical device manufacturers, a so-called ``wheelchair tax.'' Whether you buy your wheelchair or crutches or need a defibrillator, whatever it might be, they're now going to have a tax increase. Weren't we promised that there wouldn't be one dime, not one dime of tax increase for anybody who is earning less than $250,000? This is a tax that is going to be implemented on every single American, every American.

There are tax increases on small businessmen and -women. Yet we know that 70 percent of the jobs that will be created in this country will come from small businesses. So, at the very time we need that economic engine to drive us forward, to propel us forward as a country, this administration and the bill we are considering would implement a tax increase at the wrong time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, again, we congratulate the New York Yankees, but we also recognize that the administration, the people who work there, the guy who sells the popcorn, and the fans who go there are also going to have to deal with the realities of what's happening and what will potentially happen with this health care bill that we are dealing with.

One of the deep concerns that we have about what these fans, the players, and particularly their wives, are going to have to deal with in our potentially passing this 1,990-page bill is that there are 118 new boards, bureaucracies, commissions, and programs that we believe are created within that bill. Let me just read the list. I'm going to go through this as fast as I possibly can. Bear with me here.

The retiree reserve trust fund; the grant program for wellness programs to small employers; the grant program for State health access programs; the program of administrative simplification found on page 76; the health benefits advisory committee; the health choices administration; the qualified health benefits plan ombudsman; the health insurance exchange; a program for technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying exchange coverage as found on page 191; a mechanism for insurance risk pooling to be established by health choices commissioner; the health insurance exchange trust fund; the State-based health insurance exchanges as found on page 197; the grant program for health insurance cooperatives; a public health insurance option as found on page 211; an ombudsman for public health insurance option.

No. 16, an account for receipts and disbursements for public health insurance option; the telehealth advisory committee; a demonstration program providing reimbursement for culturally and linguistically appropriate services as found on page 617; a demonstration program for shared decisionmaking using patient decision aids as articulated on page 648; an accountable care organization pilot program under Medicare; an independent patient-centered medical home pilot program under Medicare.

No. 22, a community-based medical home pilot program under Medicare; an independence at home demonstration program; the center for comparative effectiveness research as found on page 734; the comparative effectiveness research commission; the patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research; a quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities.

No. 28, the quality assurance and improvement program for nursing facilities; a special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities; special focus facility program for nursing facilities; the national independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities, as found on page 859; a demonstration program for approved teaching health centers with respect to Medicare GME; pilot program to develop anti-fraud compliance systems for Medicare providers.

We are up to No. 33. We have to get to 118. There is no possible way that this body understands the complexity and what all of these programs do--that's the point--let alone the American people. We need time to digest this. Somehow the President wants to take more than 60 days to study a program because it's of deep significance to what we will do or not do in Afghanistan; yet we have hours to digest what's going to affect 16-plus percent of our economy in all of these different programs.

No. 34, the special inspector general for the health insurance exchange; the medical home pilot program under Medicare, as found on page 1,058; accountable care organization pilot program under Medicaid; the nursing facility supplemental payment program; a demonstration program for Medicaid coverage to stabilize emergency medical conditions in institutions for mental diseases; comparative effectiveness research trust fund; ``identifiable office or program'' within CMS to ``provide for improved coordination between Medicare and Medicaid in the case of dual eligibles,'' as found on page 1,191; the center for medicare and medicaid innovation. Again, this is No. 41 on the list.

No. 42, public health investment fund; No. 43, scholarships for service in health professional needs areas; program for training medical residents in community-based settings; grant program for training in dentistry programs; public health workforce corps; the public health workforce scholarship program, as found on page 1,254; No. 48 on the list, public health workforce loan forgiveness program; No. 49, grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care; No. 50, advisory committee on health workforce evaluation and assessment.

Madam Speaker, I would like to inquire as to how much time we have remaining?

I reserve the balance of my time.

I have one speaker remaining.

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

I would like to concur with, actually, my friend from New York. He is a distinguished Member of this body. I agree that there is confusion in this room. While the Democrats want to talk baseball, we want to talk about health care.

The only thing that I am concerned about is, yes, we are going to go ahead and recognize the New York Yankees. I urge the adoption of this and spoke to that. But while the New York Yankees are winning the World Series, the American families are striking out. That's the point. That's the point.

We can pause for a moment and recognize the New York Yankees. We can pause, and we should, for an extended time of what happened at Fort Hood. We also have to remember the focus on the debate in this body ought to be about the serious issues of this day, and there are deep concerns about the 1,990-page health care bill that is going to come before this body because there are those of us who don't fully believe that we understand all of the implications, unintended consequences, and direct consequences of what is found in that bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the most troubling realities of the Nancy Pelosi health care bill is a new tax on medical devices. The so- called wheelchair tax imposes a new 2.5 percent tax increase at the very time American families don't need and don't want a tax increase.

Yes, the Pelosi bill includes a new 2.5 percent excise tax on the sale of medical devices in the United States. It will cover everything from bandages to prosthetics, from glucose monitors to crutches, from hearing aids to pacemakers, and even thermometers to syringes.

Weren't we told that there wouldn't be even one dime--not one dime-- of a tax increase for those earning less than $250,000 a year?

This bill adds a tax increase that will hit each and every American. It will affect jobs in this country, and it will affect your ability to buy the very things that you need for your children, for your parents, for your own families.

Think about all of the medical devices that you use within your family.

Mr. Speaker, across this country, we have millions of people who are concerned. Deep in their bellies, when they go to sleep at night, husbands and wives are concerned about putting food on their tables; they're concerned about their jobs, their futures, their kids, and their country.

We have an opportunity to help them.

You listen to the Democratic side of the aisle, and you hear them say, Oh, just trust us--$787 billion on the credit card. That will help the economy.

It hasn't.

Unemployment is getting worse. It's over 10 percent in many parts of this country. Cash for Clunkers: Oh, yeah, that will be a great program. We'll pull money out of everybody's wallets, and we'll hand it to a select few. It hasn't worked.

I, for one, do not trust the Federal Government, and the one-size- fits-all, slam-it-down-your-throat Federal solution to government health care is not the solution for the United States of America. We need Americans across this country to rise up and to say, No, we are not going to stand for it anymore. We're going to be in control of our government.

May God bless the United States of America. May God bless the men and women, our troops, who are serving across this country.

Madam Speaker, today, we have learned of the passing of two of America's finest soldiers when an improvised explosive device exploded in Afghanistan. Killed was Private First Class Kimble Han or Lehi, Utah, as well as Eric Lembke of Tampa Bay, Florida.

Madam Speaker, I hope we will all pause to give thanks to the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces and that we remember their families and friends.

May God bless these fine soldiers, and may God bless the United States of America.

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

I rise in support of the H.R. 3547, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 936 South 250 East Street in Provo, Utah, as the ``Rex E. Lee Post Office Building''.

I happen to know Mr. Lee, as he served as the president of Brigham Young University. He was a great and amazing human being. All too often in our society we hope that our kids will emulate somebody of significance, and Rex Lee was certainly that kind of person.

He was a joy. He was full of life at every step and one of the smartest people you could ever meet. In fact, he had many dealings with the Supreme Court. In fact, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said this about the passing of Rex Lee: ``He inspired all of us with his courage in the face of a terminal illness. Knowing him was one of the greatest privileges of my life. Remembering him will be one of the easiest.''

Amazing words from an amazing person.

In 1960, Rex Lee graduated with a BA from Brigham Young University. He served as the student body president. In 1963, Rex graduated first in his class from the University of Chicago Law School, and from law school he went on to serve as a law clerk for Byron White, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

From Washington, D.C., he returned to his home in the State of Arizona as a partner in the Phoenix law firm of Jennings, Strouss & Salmon. While there, Rex argued his first case in the United States Supreme Court just 4 years after graduating from law school.

In 1972, Rex returned to Brigham Young University to become the founding dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School. From 1975 to 1976, he served as an assistant Attorney General in charge of the civil division in the United States Department of Justice; and from 1981 to 1985, Mr. Lee served as Solicitor General of the United States of America.

In 1986, Mr. Lee retired as Solicitor General and returned to Brigham Young University. He was diagnosed with cancer shortly thereafter. Mr. Lee practiced law with Sidley & Austin law firm and returned to teaching constitutional law at the George Sutherland Chair of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Mr. Lee was then named the 10th president of Brigham Young University on May 12, 1989, and served in this capacity until December of 1995, just 2\1/2\ months before he passed away.

All told, he argued 59 cases before the Supreme Court and won 23 of the 30 cases he argued as the Solicitor General. In fact, he was preparing for his 60th case just months before he passed away.

He's known throughout the community in Utah for his great humility, for his great contribution to the United States of America. In fact, five Supreme Court Justices attended a memorial service for Rex Lee: Byron White, Justices John Paul Stevens,

David H. Souter, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Clarence Thomas.

This is a great man. He's worthy of recognition of the United States Congress, and it's my honor to stand here and encourage the passage of this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I would simply thank Mr. Lynch for his kind words, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I just simply want to rise in support of H.R. 2174, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 18 Main Street in Howland, Maine, as the ``Clyde Hichborn Post Office''. He's a great American and a great public servant.

I rise in support of H.R. 2174, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 18 Main Street in Howland, Maine, as the `Clyde Hichborn Post Office'.

A life long resident of Medford, Maine, Clyde Hichborn served his state and country

throughout his life. Mr. Hichborn received a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Maine Farmington in 1933 and a master's degree in school administration.

In 1942, he joined the army as a private and served in World War II. He rose to the rank of Captain in the Adjutant General's Corps when he left the Army in 1946.

After returning from war, he taught for many years, was principal and ultimately went on to serve as Superintendent of Schools. In recognition of their service to the community, the Howland Middle School was named for Clyde and and his wife, Winona Hichborn in 1971.

In addition to serving more than 60 years as an educator, Mr. Hichborn continued to serve his community in a number of ways including as a town selectman, town manager and state legislator. He served a total of 18 years in the Maine state legislature, serving in both the House and Senate. When he retired at the age of 86, he was the oldest member of the house and one of its longest-serving veterans. Mr. Hichborn was also an avid hiker, climbing Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine, several times.

Most notable though was the seven-hour trek up the 5,267 foot mountain on his 80th birthday. ``I just wanted something to do,'' he said. ``I didn't want to sit in a rocking chair all summer.'' Mr. Hichborn's accomplishment even won him accolades from the director of Baxter State Park, where Mount Katahdin, is located, noting that ``there is no easy trail up Katahdin.''

Sadly, Mr. Hichborn's life ended on March 31, 2005 at the age of 94. He was best described after his death by the Governor of Maine, John Baldacci, ``Clyde was an extraordinarily caring and gentle man. He was a tireless advocate for the people and the region he served for so many years.''

In recognition of Mr. Hichborn's contributions to the country and the state of Maine, let us recognize his many years of public service by naming the post office in Howland, Maine as the ``Clyde Hichborn Post Office.''

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Clyde Hichborn was a great American and great public servant. I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of our time.

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

I simply want to say I am happy to support H.R. 2092 and the economic development efforts of the District of Columbia. I rise in support of this bill. I will insert the remainder of my comments into the Record.

The Kingman and Heritage Islands Act of 2009, passed out of Committee earlier in September, which amends the National Children's Island Act of 1995 to allow the District of Columbia to move forward with its economic development plans.

The bill will make Kingman and Heritage Islands a center for environmental education and recreation, and will provide for restoration of the Anacostia River ecosystem. The renovated islands will include a particularly appropriate memorial tree grove dedicated to the three District of Columbia school children who were victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Kingman and Heritage Islands were created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1920s as part of the Anacostia Tidal Flats Reclamation project and were managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and National Park Service through 1996.

At the request of District officials, Congress originally dedicated the two islands to be developed as a child-oriented theme park. The Act transferred title of certain Park Service property in Anacostia Park, including Heritage Island and a portion of Kingman Island, to the District of Columbia. However, the law included a reversionary provision if a theme park was not built, necessitating this bill.

The District has developed the ``Anacostia Waterfront Framework Plan'' to redevelop and revitalize the Anacostia waterfront, and this legislation will help them accomplish this goal.

I am happy to support this bill and the economic development efforts of the District of Columbia, and I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 2092.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill with a lot of good work behind it. I appreciate the work my colleagues have done on this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I wish to make the following disclosure in accordance with the Republican Earmark Transparency Standards requiring Members to place a statement in the Congressional Record prior to floor vote on a bill that includes earmarks they have requested.

Specifically, H.R. 2265, the Magna Water District Water Reuse and Groundwater Recharge Act of 2009, which I introduced on May 6, 2009, contains an earmark as defined under House Rule XXI, clause 9. The earmark in H.R. 2265 authorizes appropriations for projects under Title XVI of Public Law 102-575, the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act.

The project authorized in H.R. 2265 is an advanced water treatment facility and reuse water system in the township of Magna, Utah, located in the northwest quadrant of Salt Lake County. Magna relies on drinking water from two well fields, one of which has been impacted by the contaminant perchlorate, a byproduct of decades of manufacturing of rocket motors and explosives by the defense and aerospace industries. Additionally, the EPA changed the standard for arsenic in drinking water, an unfunded mandate for which water suppliers across the Nation must comply. Because of this contamination and the unfunded federal mandate, the Magna Water District is attempting to restore the Barton Well Field, a valuable water resource. Therefore, reclamation of this drinking water source necessitates federal assistance.

This legislation would authorize $12 million to allow for the planning, design, and construction of the Magna Water District (District) water reuse and groundwater recharge project. The District constructed an electrodialysis reversal (EDR) drinking water treatment plant to remove harmful arsenic and perchlorate from the Barton Well Field. To address the water shortage issues facing the citizens of northwest Salt Lake County, the District developed a state-of-the-art, first of its type in the world water reuse and recharge facility, known as BIOBROx, that treats the waste stream from the EDR plant to produce high quality effluent that can be used for outdoor irrigation. In doing so, the District will be saving over 580 million gallons/year of drinkable water that was formerly being used for irrigation purposes.

The project also includes additional pumping facilities, distribution system upgrades, and storage facilities required to deliver reuse water to the District's customers.

The Magna Water District has invested $36 million in the project and is seeking the $12 million federal appropriation to complete construction of the project.

I certify that this project does not have any foreseeable effect on any of my financial interests, nor the interests of any member of my family. Consistent with the Republican Conference's policy on earmarks, I hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge, this request (1) is not directed to an entity or program that will be named after a sitting Member of Congress; (2) is not intended to be used by an entity to secure funds for other entities unless the use of funding is consistent with the specified purpose of the earmark; and (3) meets or exceeds all statutory requirements for matching funds where applicable.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 860 reauthorizes the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. That act provided grants for locally based actions to address locally identified threats to coral reefs. While H.R. 860, as introduced, was not a bill that Ranking Member Hastings could support, I appreciate the efforts by subcommittee Chair Ms. Bordallo to address the concerns on our side of the aisle and to make this a much better piece of legislation than it was before. This legislation has a long way to go and faces hurdles in the Senate. I hope that we will be able to continue to work cooperatively across the aisle to make sure this legislation does not create new regulatory burdens on those activities that only indirectly affect coral reefs and does not create a new industry for litigation based on coral reef conservation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, having no other speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

H.R. 1080 will give the United States more tools to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported (or IUU) fishing. This pirate fishing has had a negative impact on important fisheries and has hurt those fishermen and fishing nations that play by the rules. The only concern I have with this legislation is that we need to make sure our government, in setting the example to the world for transparency, does not sacrifice proprietary information from our domestic industries that would erode our competitiveness in the world's seafood market. This legislation walks that fine line, but we need to keep an eye on those who will implement this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.