Jerry F. Costello

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life of service of Richard ``RJ'' Krause as well as that of his brother, Russell Krause.

RJ Krause has been a well-known figure in the East St. Louis and surrounding community, particularly for his tremendous work for youth sports.

A product of East St. Louis parochial and public schools, RJ graduated from East St. Louis Senior High School (East Side) and went on to Southwestern Illinois College (then Belleville Area College) and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. RJ's early interest in serving area youth made a career in education a natural fit and he would go on to teach for 38 years before retiring in 2010.

RJ began his coaching career in 1964, the same year he started high school. He has coached most sports, including basketball, baseball, softball, football, tennis and cheerleading. On February 10, 2004, RJ coached in his 6,000th athletic event, a tremendous accomplishment that bears witness to his tireless dedication to youth sports.

In 1979 RJ founded the RJ Krause All-Stars sports club. Through this organization, a generation of mostly at-risk boys and girls has had the opportunity to develop their athletic talents through organized sports as well as going on educational field trips and many other wholesome activities.

While teaching and coaching, RJ has found time to make many other significant contributions to his community. He has served as precinct committeeman, county board member and township clerk.

RJ's list of awards is long, including the Kimmel Community Service Award, the St. Vincent de Paul Society Volunteer of the Year Award, the St. Louis Sports Commission Award and, most recently, the East St. Louis NAACP Stellar Life Achievement Award.

Through most all of RJ's lifetime of service, he has had a constant companion who has worked just as tirelessly for the youth of our area, his brother, Russell Krause. Russell has also received his share of local awards, including being nominated for the Dr. King Award, being named a Hardee's Hometown Hero and recognition from the St. Louis Sports Commission.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring two champions for youth sports and the St. Louis Metro East community, Richard ``RJ'' Krause and his brother, Russell Krause and in wishing both of them and their family the very best in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the esteemed career of my friend and colleague Ralph Hall.

Today, Ralph became the oldest known House Member to cast a recorded floor vote. Also the oldest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives and dean of the Texas delegation, Ralph has charmed friend and foe alike with his good humor and demeanor.

A man of incredible integrity and energy, Ralph has served his district with distinction in Congress for over three decades. A lawyer by trade, Ralph's career in public service began as a County Judge of Rockwall County, Texas, and he went onto serve in the Texas Senate.

I have served with Ralph on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and have appreciated his careful attention to the priorities of the Committee members and the science community. As an example, Ralph and I have worked closely to educate Committee members on the benefits of clean coal technologies. Like Illinois, Texas relies on coal for energy production, and our districts and the nation will benefit from technologies that can cleanly and efficiently utilize our most abundant source of energy. I am thankful to Ralph for his commitment to ensuring coal remains a part of a diverse energy portfolio.

Further, I was proud to work with Ralph on important Committee measures, such as reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act, which is critical to ensuring America remains a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

Finally, proving time and time again that age has no bounds, I believe Ralph's most daring feat was his 10,000 foot drop from an airplane last August, skydiving at the age of 89. I admire Ralph's courage for taking that leap and see regularly how his bravery and nerve benefit those he serves. He fights daily for the interests of his constituents and they have continued to affirm his contributions to their community for the last 16 terms of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in an expression of appreciation to Congressman Ralph Hall for his years of dedicated service to the U.S. House and Texas, and to wish him and his family the very best in the future.

I thank the ranking member for yielding, and I thank him for his kind words and his friendship, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1956, a bill that will protect U.S. airlines, their employees, and passengers from an overreaching law of the European Union that unfairly charges U.S. airlines for emissions in U.S. airspace on flights between the United States and Europe. The Obama administration has taken a strong stance against the EU's emission trading scheme on the grounds it is inconsistent with international aviation law and practice. Additionally, airlines and labor groups also oppose it because it will impose an unjustified cost on the industry and destroy American jobs.

I'm pleased to note that just yesterday, as you heard already, the European leaders said that they would suspend application of the ETS to international flights for a year, pending a global agreement on international emissions at the U.N. International

Civil Aviation Organization, but that announcement in no way weakens the case for passing this bill. We must send a strong message to the EU that, regardless of whether ICAO delivers on a deal on the EU's timetable, the U.S. Government opposes the EU's unilateral local solution to a global problem.

This bill is similar to the bill that passed the House last year, a bill that I was pleased to cosponsor, along with Chairman Mica, Ranking Member Rahall, Chairman Petri, and 32 other Democratic and Republican Members. Similar to the House bill, this bill calls upon the Department of Transportation to prohibit U.S. airlines from participating in the emissions trading scheme. This bill further protects our national interest by ensuring that both airlines and U.S. taxpayers are held harmless from the emissions trading scheme.

I congratulate my friends Senator Thune and Senator McCaskill for having championed this legislation in the other body. This bill sends a strong message from Congress that we do not support what the EU is doing for a variety of reasons.

As I noted last year in our Aviation Subcommittee hearing on the emissions trading scheme, and again on the House floor when the House passed its own bill, climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution. Working through ICAO, the United States is committed to finding a global solution to address aviation emissions based on consensus. I'm optimistic that the global agreement can, in fact, be reached.

More than 20 other international partners have joined the United States in producing strong declarations calling on the EU to come back to the table and to work on an international plan.

At the same time, we must recognize that our own government and airlines are doing the right thing to reduce harmful carbon emissions. The FAA and the airline industry are investing billions of dollars in the NextGen air traffic upgrades, and the FAA plans to reduce emissions by 2 percent through these improvements. Further, U.S. airlines improved fuel efficiency by approximately 110 percent since 1978. From 2000 to 2009, U.S. carriers reduced fuel burn and carbon emissions by 15 percent while carrying 7 percent more passengers. NextGen will help aircraft operators save money and, in fact, save more than 1.4 billion gallons of fuel, cutting the carbon emissions by nearly 14 million tons by 2018.

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to support this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it.