Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 60th Anniversary of Canaan Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Madison, Illinois.

In 1951, Mother Georgia Jones accepted her calling to help organize a new church in the Eagle Park area of Madison, Illinois. Word of Mother Jones' efforts reached Rev. C. D. McClinton, the former pastor of Southern Tabernacle Church in nearby Lovejoy. These two, along with a small group of dedicated pioneers, met for several weeks before forming a Mission which would become Canaan Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, with Rev. McClinton as the first Pastor.

Early meetings of the new church were held in the Jones' home. Soon, a lot was purchased and the first church structure was constructed through the labors of the church members. A fire destroyed the first church building on Good Friday, 1966, and temporary facilities were required, including a tent where services were held during the summer and fall of 1966. Work was ongoing for a permanent replacement which would be completed in stages as resources were available. The physical church structure continued to develop as the church congregation grew and a new edifice was recently dedicated.

Canaan Galilee Missionary Baptist Church has grown and expanded since its humble beginnings. A number of ministries have been instituted to serve not only the church congregation but also the Eagle Park community. The current and seventh pastor, Rev. Don Sanford, has been a driving force for expanding the church involvement in the community.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 60th Anniversary of Canaan Galilee Missionary Baptist Church and to wish them the best for many years to come.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3094, the so-called Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act of 2011.

Since coming to Congress, I have been a strong advocate for the right of every employee to form a union and collectively bargain for their rights. This bill represents the most recent attempt to put the interests of businesses over the rights of workers, another in a long line of Republican attempts to strip these fundamental rights from working Americans.

H.R. 3094 is designed to derail fair, legal union elections by mandating delays and encouraging frivolous, distracting lawsuits. At a time when we should be pursuing policies that will strengthen our workforce and support the middle class, this bill will only make it harder for working families to maintain their pay checks, secure health insurance, plan for retirement, and achieve the American Dream.

As our economy continues to recover, it is my hope that Congress can come together to pass legislation that puts Americans back to work and maintains the strongest and most competitive workforce in the world. H.R. 3094 will not achieve either of these goals, and I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 100th anniversary of Steamfitters Local 439 of Caseyville, Illinois, affiliated with the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada.

The history of the pipe trades goes back before the Civil War. During the mid-nineteenth century, plumbers, steamfitters and gas fitters would have been represented by individual trade locals. In 1889, a plumber from Boston sent a letter to a plumber in Washington, DC, expressing an interest in forming a ``United Brotherhood'' and soon thereafter, the new union was formed. The union name would later be adopted as the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada and be known as UA.

On August 12, 1911, UA General President Martin P. Durkin chartered Local 439 in East St. Louis, Illinois. The local hall would remain in East St. Louis for 76 years. In 1987, the current hall was erected in Caseyville, Illinois, and named the Donald J. Bailey Building in honor of Local 439's retired business manager. In further recognition of the contributions of Donald Bailey and the Steamfitters to the community, St. Clair County named the street where the union hall is located, Donald Bailey Drive.

The current business manager is Charles ``Totsie'' Bailey, who first joined Local 439 in 1978. Throughout his tenure as Local 439 business manager, Totsie has worked tirelessly to provide his members with the best representation possible and also to improve their skills through continuing education and training. Through his leadership, additional training facilities have been opened and educational programs have been developed.

Totsie is a fierce advocate for his members but he is also known for his generosity and his commitment to his community. Totsie leads by example and has personally donated his own resources to assist members, retirees and families of his local as well as many within his community.

Local 439 has always been very involved in volunteer and fundraising efforts and the list of organizations they have helped includes; the

Multiple Sclerosis Society, the United Way, the St. Vincent De Paul Society and the Backstoppers, a local organization that provides assistance to the families of fallen police officers and firefighters. Local 439 holds an annual fundraiser to benefit the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Burn Camp for Kids and has raised over $250,000 in eight years for this worthy cause.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the leadership and members of Steamfitters Local 439 as they celebrate their 100th Anniversary and to wish them continued success in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 100th anniversary of Elks Lodge #1243, in Carbondale, Illinois.

Carbondale Elks Lodge #1243 started with 81 charter members in 1911. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks had begun just 43 years earlier in New York City. In these early years, those interested in starting a new lodge would petition an existing lodge for initiation. The list of names for the proposed Carbondale Lodge was sent to Murphysboro, Illinois Lodge #572 on May 10, 1911 and Carbondale Lodge #1243 was formed.

Through the years, Carbondale Elks Lodge #1243 has engaged in a number of programs to foster the Elks mission, ``To promote and practice the four cardinal virtues of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its members; to quicken the spirit of American Patriotism and cultivate good fellowship.'' Some current activities include organizing fund- raisers to benefit disabled and visually impaired children and holding an annual charity golf tournament.

Carbondale Elks Lodge #1243 has been a shining example of a fraternal organization

that strives not only to support its members but to provide resources and volunteer activities to benefit their greater community.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the officers and members of Carbondale, Illinois Elks Lodge #1243 on their 100th anniversary and to wish them all the best for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 75th anniversary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1308 in Alton, Illinois.

VFW Post 1308 was founded during the Great Depression, at a time when our nation's economic situation only served to aggravate the needs of veterans, many of whom had served with honor during the First World War. Veterans who sustained injuries while on active duty were at a greater disadvantage as medical bills continued and their ability to find work was compromised.

From its founding, 75 years ago, Post 1308 has continually grown until it now lists 1,263 members, making it the largest VFW post in the State of Illinois. In addition to serving and advocating for our area's veterans, Post 1308 has also shown concern for the needs of their community, especially for its young people. Their democracy and patriot pens programs are examples of the educational programs Post 1308 conducts to foster patriotic and civic awareness among area students. They have also shown tremendous support to area organizations, ranging from Special Olympics to the March of Dimes.

Through the years, Post 1308 has developed a number of programs to meet the many and diverse needs of veterans. They visit veterans in hospitals and nursing homes, conduct annual clothing drives to benefit homeless veterans, provide financial assistance to veterans in times of economic hardship and provide no-cost military funeral rites (over 100 per year) for honorably discharged veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the members of VFW Post 1308, both past and present, on 75 years of serving veterans and the people of the Alton, Illinois, area and to wish them many continued years of service in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the life of Mr. Richard ``Foz'' Ryan, teacher, coach and community servant, who passed away this week on Monday, October 10, 2011.

A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, Foz Ryan was a competitive athlete who blended his interests in education and sports as a highly successful coach. Foz coached an impressive array of sports over a 36 year career, including basketball, football, cross country, track and volleyball. The lessons learned by his athletes enabled them to achieve success, not only in their athletic pursuits, but in life as well.

Foz never faced a worthy cause he did not champion or an event he could not organize. He became involved with the Special Olympics over 30 years ago and was a dedicated supporter of that organization ever since. While Foz was honored for his years of service to Special Olympics he noted that his true reward came through his interaction with the Special Olympics athletes.

Through his work with the Knights of Columbus and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Foz organized and initiated a number of community events, including the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Belleville, Illinois, which was founded through Foz's initiative and which has grown in popularity every year.

Always proud of his Irish ancestry, Foz made several trips to Ireland and worked tirelessly to promote an appreciation for Irish heritage within his community. He was honored as the ``Hibernian of the Year'' and held every office of his local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Foz Ryan's lifetime of achievement was accomplished through his roles as a teacher, coach, mentor, volunteer, fund-raiser and community servant. He is now reunited with his wife, Shirley, to whom he was married for 44 years and who preceded him in death in 2000. Foz is survived by three children, Theresa, Timothy and Patrick, and eight grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the life of Mr. Richard ``Foz'' Ryan, offering our best wishes to his family and recognizing the indelible mark he left on his community and in the hearts of everyone who knew him.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to pay tribute to a leader and a warrior, General Duncan J. McNabb, commander of the United States Transportation Command. General McNabb is retiring after honorably serving this great Nation for over 37 years with a distinguished career.

General McNabb graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1974. As a command pilot, he has more than 5,600 flying hours in transport and rotary wing aircraft. In addition, General McNabb has held command and staff positions at squadron, group, wing, major command and Department of Defense levels and is considered the finest mobility and logistics expert in the Department of Defense.

I have had the pleasure of working with General McNabb from 2005 to 2007 when he assumed command of the Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base in the congressional district that I am privileged to represent and, again, when he returned to Scott Air Force Base to be the commander of USTRANSCOM in 2008.

USTRANSCOM is a critical part of our military operations. It provides the coordinated transportation, distribution and sustainment, which projects and maintains our national power. As a global combatant commander, General McNabb has made supporting the American warfighter his top priority.

Under General McNabb's leadership, USTRANSCOM has moved over 1.5 million passengers and over 4 million short tons of cargo in supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraq Freedom. To put this in perspective, this is the equivalent to moving the entire population of southwestern and southern Illinois and all of their household belongings halfway around the world. America truly has a military deployment and distribution system that is unmatched anywhere in the world.

Under General McNabb's command, USTRANSCOM has provided humanitarian relief to hurricane victims in the United States, earthquake victims in Haiti and Japan, and flood victims in Pakistan, just to name a few. The medicine, supplies, equipment, and personnel that USTRANSCOM has delivered in the wake of these and other natural disasters ultimately saved lives and eased human suffering.

In addition to conducting some of the largest military moves since World War II and providing unparalleled humanitarian relief, General McNabb has made it a priority to transform our Nation's deployment and distribution system, ensuring our ability to project national power where needed with the greatest speed and agility, the highest efficiency, and the most reliable level of trust and accuracy. As a USTRANSCOM commander, General McNabb actively took on the role of the distribution process owner for DOD, charged with improving efficiency and interoperability across the entire DOD supply chain. To meet the needs of the military and the Nation, General McNabb developed the Arctic overflight route and expanded multimodal logistics throughout the northern distribution network. He has improved combat readiness and capability while saving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. Troops and equipment are now arriving and leaving the battlefield faster and at less cost.

General McNabb will be the first to tell you he did not accomplish these feats alone. He led the way in seeking collaborative joint solutions to today's complex global distribution issues. Those who worked for him and with him, military and civilians from every branch of service, will miss his leadership and mentorship. They'll miss the stories and humor he used to get his message across. We in Congress will miss his straightforward approach and sound counsel. The Nation will miss his devotion to duty, ceaseless drive for improvement, and unwavering support to the men and women serving in our armed services.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize General McNabb for serving the Air Force with honor and distinction for 37 years. I also wish to recognize his wife, Linda, and wish her the very best in the future as well. The Air Force will lose not one but two exceptional people upon General McNabb's retirement.

General McNabb and Linda, we wish you well in your future endeavors and pray that those who follow in your footsteps may continue the legacy of unprecedented support for our great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose Palestine's bid for statehood at the United Nations (U.N.) and to encourage the

Palestinian leadership to pursue a peace agreement with Israel through direct negotiations, as they have demonstrated their willingness to do before.

Lasting peace is possible only if an agreement is accepted by the Israeli and Palestinian people--it must not be forced on either side. I have continually shared this message with my colleagues in Congress and the international community, most recently by urging members of the European Union to stand with the U.S. and Israel in opposing Palestine's unilateral action at the United Nations.

All citizen in the region deserve a peaceful and prosperous future and I am hopeful progress will be made. However, the U.S. will not ignore the serious security threat that faces Israel. The path to peace lies in working together, not exploiting differences. I will stand with Israel to support peace through direct negotiations and urge Palestine to embrace this approach.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 846, a bill that names the United States courthouse located at 80 Lafayette Street in Jefferson City, Missouri, as the ``Christopher S. Bond United States Courthouse.''

Senator Kit Bond is a sixth-generation Missourian with a long and distinguished career in public service spanning over 40 years, serving in many different capacities as an elected official at both the State and federal levels. Senator Bond served as a law clerk to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, as a Missouri Assistant State Attorney General, Missouri State auditor, Governor of Missouri, and finally in his longest-serving post, as United States Senator from 1987 to 2010 from the State of Missouri.

In the Senate, Senator Bond served on the Committees on Appropriations, Commerce, Science, Transportation and Intelligence. As ranking member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Bond played an important role as Congress crafted its anti-terror policies in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Senator Bond also worked well with Members across the aisle on many issues, including perhaps one of his proudest legislative accomplishments as a cosponsor of the Family Medical Leave Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993.

Finally, Senator Bond was a vigorous advocate for the State of Missouri, proudly championing and pursuing Federal investment in support of public housing, university research, defense, agriculture and infrastructure throughout the State. Senator Bond and I worked very closely on a number of projects for Missouri and Illinois and the St. Louis region, including the new Mississippi River Bridge, which is under construction now.

In January 2009, Senator Bond announced that he would not run for reelection in 2010, noting that in 1973, at 33 years old, he had become the youngest Governor ever to be elected in Missouri and that he had no desire to become Missouri's oldest Senator.

Naming the Federal courthouse in Jefferson City as the Senator Christopher ``Kit'' Bond Courthouse is a fitting tribute, and I support the passage of Senate bill 846, which honors his service to our country and to this great institution.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the dedicated community service of Madison, Illinois Mayor John Hamm III as he is recognized for his lifetime of community service by the Southwestern Illinois Chamber of Commerce of Madison County.

As the Executive Director of the Madison County Housing Authority, John has taken the Authority to a new level of activity, constructing hundreds of new residential units and communities in southwestern Madison County. He has overseen the redevelopment of numerous homes and properties and created new housing opportunities for the people of our area. He has helped break ground and redevelop new housing facilities for seniors and low to moderate income families, giving many families a place to call home.

Mayor Hamm has been a consistent, active participant in community service for Southwestern Illinois serving as a municipal representative on the Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and East West Gateway Council of Governments.

Both he and his wife, Carol, have been longstanding community supporters of Madison's schools and are active with sports groups, booster clubs and many service organizations within the community.

In his longstanding roles, first as a City Council Member in 1987 and then as Mayor of the City of Madison beginning in 1997, Mayor Hamm has been a champion for his local community. He has undertaken aggressive steps to rid the community of over 100 derelict properties and has worked tirelessly to bring in new businesses, such as Abengoa Bio Energy, Mattingly Lumber and Gateway International Raceway. He has been successful in securing both state and federal grants and funding for a new fire station, parks and walking trails and was instrumental in securing the Chain of Rocks Bridge as a tourist destination.

As a Commissioner of the Tri City Regional Port District since 1997, Mayor Hamm has been an active leader in developing the Port District, working with my office to help in the transfer of the former U.S. Army Charles Melvin Price Support Center to the Port in 2000. During the last several years, over $325 million in both public and private investment has been made at the Port with an annual economic impact of over $200 million to the regional economy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in an expression of appreciation to Mayor John Hamm in recognition of his years of service as a community leader and to wish him and his family the very best in the future.

I thank the ranking member for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation before us today. The legislation is a clean extension of the FAA bill and also takes the authorization through the extension through January 31 of 2012.

In February of this year, the Senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill by a vote of 87-8. By contrast, in April the House approved an extension that was very controversial, and it was a bill that was passed on a party-line vote. In fact, the House-passed bill passed by the narrowest vote margin for a House FAA authorization bill in almost 30 years.

I said at the time that the poison pill provision that was put in the bill by the majority would prevent the bill from passing both the House and the Senate and being signed into law by the President. And, in fact, the White House said that they would veto the legislation with the poison pill provision. So we knew at that point that the reauthorization bill was not going anywhere with that provision in the bill.

It's been 5 months since the other body invited the House leadership to appoint conferees and sit down at the table with Senate conferees to, in fact, try and work out an agreement between the House and the Senate. In July of this year, instead of passing a clean FAA extension, the Republican leadership put a poison pill provision in that extension that led to a shutdown of the FAA for almost 2 weeks, costing the FAA more than $400 million in lost revenue in that 2-week period. I'm pleased that the House leadership stepped in, brought a clean extension to the floor today.

The American people are tired of all the games. They're tired of all the one side blaming the other side. They want reasonable people to come together, in this body and in the Senate, to act reasonably and do the right thing.

The Senate has appointed their conferees. We should appoint--the Republican leadership in the House should appoint conferees in this body immediately so that we, in fact, can get a long-term authorization bill. Let's stop the games. Let's appoint conferees so that we can pass a comprehensive reauthorization bill now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2887, the ``Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011.'' This bill contains a ``clean'' extension of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) authority to spend from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and to carry out airport improvement projects at current funding levels through January 31, 2012.

In February, the Senate approved a bipartisan comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill by a wide 87-to-8-vote margin. By contrast, in April the House approved an extremely controversial FAA reauthorization bill by a party-line vote. The House bill, in fact, garnered the narrowest vote margin for a House FAA reauthorization bill in almost 30 years, and the White House has threatened to veto it.

Since the House FAA reauthorization bill was introduced, I, and several House Republicans, have warned that it contains a number of controversial ``poison pill'' provisions that seriously jeopardize the enactment of a long-term bill this year. It is now clear that we were absolutely right.

It has been five months since the Senate invited House Republicans to join them at the bargaining table, appoint conferees, and complete work on a long-term FAA reauthorization. Yet Republican gamesmanship and insistence on poison pill provisions have so far led to an FAA shutdown and a complete failure to enact long-term, job-creating legislation.

In July, the House Republicans attached an objectionable policy rider on rural air service cuts to the short-term FAA extension. The policy rider was included as a ``tool'' to pressure Senate Democrats into giving into Republicans'' assault on collective-bargaining rights in a long-term reauthorization bill.

My Republican colleagues' strategy backfired, however, and resulted in a shutdown of the FAA for two weeks. In those two weeks, the shutdown cost the Nation almost $400 million in lost revenue--more than 20 times the amount of money that, according to House Republicans, their policy rider would have saved over the course of an entire year. Tens of thousands of American jobs were jeopardized. The Nation cannot afford the cost and burden of a repeat performance, so I will support this clean four-month FAA extension.

However, I am very concerned about the events leading up to the introduction of this extension. Immediately following last month's disastrous FAA shutdown, House Republicans issued a defiant press release threatening to use new ``tools'' to coerce Senate Democrats. Yet, there have been no discussions or negotiations with the Senate since the shutdown, and House Republicans still refuse to appoint conferees to complete a long- term bill.

Late last week, Chairman Mica was quoted by reporters stating there would be a ``new

twist'' in the FAA extension. Then on Friday, the press reported that House Republicans would introduce another ``go it alone'' FAA extension bill with across-the-board-cuts to FAA programs. But on Friday night, House Republicans backed off their plan and made public a new clean highway and FAA extension.

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans just don't get it. The American public is sick and tired of grandstanding and games. Nobody wants to see any more new twists in reauthorizing the FAA. The House Republicans have failed to enact a long-term FAA reauthorization bill this year, they have refused to appoint conferees and move the process forward, and they have nobody to blame but themselves for their failure.

While I support this four-month extension, I now believe that Congress should consider a long-term one year extension of FAA programs. I have said before, and I will say again, that serial extensions are creating uncertainty in the construction industry and costing us jobs. And now Republican political gamesmanship is creating new instability that is hurting the economy.

For the meantime, with these reservations, I support this extension in the interest of keeping hard-working Americans at work and preventing another shutdown.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2887, the ``Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011.''

Mr. Speaker, we have reached a critical point in our months-long debate over the best approach to addressing our country's deficit and debt and raising the statutory debt limit. It is important to be clear, that the decision to raise the debt limit is about paying the bills we have already accumulated. The debt limit has been raised over 70 times since 1960 by Republicans and Democrats, in fact, more times under a Republican president. In 11 years, we have gone from a $5.6 trillion surplus to a $1.4 trillion deficit. We can argue about how we got here--and I would argue the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, all of which I voted against, are the primary reasons--but there is enough blame to go around, and the critical point now is to avoid the first default in the history of the United States of America.

The good news tonight is that we can see the outlines of a final agreement. Both the Boehner plan and the Reid plan seek to enact at least $2.4 trillion in budget cuts with a similar increase in our debt limit. Both would set up a lawmaker committee to decide which programs to cut with a vote on the package without amendment by both the House and Senate. The key differences are the time-frame for raising the debt limit and the requirement that a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the Constitution is passed in Congress and sent to the states. The Boehner plan calls for an immediate debt limit increase of $900 billion which lasts only through the end of this year. The Reid plan would raise the debt limit through the end of 2012. Moreover, while I have voted for a BBA in the past, it is very unlikely it will receive the two-thirds vote necessary in both Houses to be sent to the states, guaranteeing a future default. I believe the Reid plan is the better approach and will vote against the Boehner plan for this reason.

We have heard a great deal in recent weeks about the potential, dire consequences of a default, notably a lowering of our country's credit rating that would cause a rise in interest rates--raising costs for people at every income level--and a likely drop in the stock market, affecting pensions and crippling our economic recovery. One thing that should be clear is that we don't want to go through this again just a few months from now. Financial markets want certainty so businesses can invest and create jobs, and I believe we will be better served to raise the debt limit through the end of next year.

Mr. Speaker, this has been a very tough process. While I will not vote for the Boehner proposal today, I believe we are closer to reaching a final product that represents a workable compromise. And at the end of the day, that is what the American people expect us to do.

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

I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2553, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011. This is the 21st extension of the FAA authority to fund airport improvement projects at current levels, through September 16, 2011. Regrettably, unlike all of the prior 20 extensions of the FAA authority, this bill includes a policy rider eliminating Essential Air Service eligibility for 13 airports in small and rural communities.

The issue today is not whether we support the Essential Air Service program or not. We should not be legislating on this extension. We should have a clean extension so we can move it over to the Senate and make certain that the FAA is funded through September 16.

There have been no hearings on proposals to reduce EAS this Congress and no hearings on this bill either. Members with affected communities should be allowed to make their case to the House and offer amendments to the bill that would preserve service to their communities.

Instead, this extension is inviting opposition and creating major problems because the Senate has indicated they will not accept this extension. Policy riders should be left out of the extension and taken up by the House and Senate conferees, if, in fact, we ever have conferees appointed here in the House.

Earlier this year, the House and Senate both approved comprehensive FAA reauthorization bills. In February, the Senate passed the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 87-8. Passage of the Senate bill was widely applauded by both labor and industry stakeholders, and it was estimated the bill would create at least 10,000 jobs.

In contrast, in April of this year, the House passed an extremely controversial H.R. 658 by a vote of 223-196, the narrowest vote margin for House passage of an FAA reauthorization bill in nearly three decades. The bill has been harshly criticized by labor and industry stakeholders because it would undermine aviation safety, slash FAA funding, and destroy good-paying airport construction jobs.

Since Chairman Mica introduced the FAA reauthorization bill, we have been warned and we have warned, actually, that it contains a number of controversial poison pill provisions that seriously jeopardize the enactment of a long-term reauthorization act this year.

The failure to enact a long-term FAA reauthorization act is costing taxpayers millions of dollars and the Nation tens of thousands of good- paying jobs. Short-term stopgap funding authorizations have stymied airport construction, job creation, and the FAA's overall ability to efficiently administer its programs. Further, multiple FAA extension acts have created uncertainty among local airport officials regarding the total amount of Federal funding available this year for airport construction. As a result, State and local airport officials are advancing fewer projects, less new construction is moving forward, and fewer jobs are being created.

Last week the Airports Council International of North America sent a letter stating that if Congress did not extend the airport grant program through September 30, ``safety and security projects will go unfunded and the much needed jobs associated with these projects will not materialize.'' So I am puzzled why the majority would disregard this warning. It is time that we move forward and that we get a clean extension so we in fact can move to conference and get a bill that is agreed upon that we can bring to the floor that can be signed by the President.

For the majority of the House who claims to care about creating jobs, reducing bureaucracy, and listening to the business community, this extension bill goes out of its way to create unnecessary red tape and problems.

The FAA needs the certainty, stability, and direction that a long- term

reauthorization act provides. Further, the American people and the American public deserve a long-term FAA reauthorization act that will create jobs, improve safety, and modernize our infrastructure. We need to stop playing partisan games, quit posturing, and pass a clean extension through September 16, appoint conferees, and in fact reach agreement on a long-term FAA reauthorization bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).

I yield myself 10 seconds just to make a point to the chairman.

The 5-month period that he referred to, one, the Republicans in the Senate, as he knows, blocked our ability to appoint conferees. In particular, the Senators from Tennessee put a hold on it until the Colgan families made their point to let the hold move forward.

With that, Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the former chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, the distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Johnson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Madam Speaker, at this time I would yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, we heard from Chairman Mica, who we have worked with very closely. He has done, I think, his very best up to this point to try and get an FAA reauthorization bill both out of the House and to the point where we can get it to a conference committee.

So he said he is very frustrated with the process. We are very frustrated with the process. And today the extension that the majority is offering even frustrates us more because we know that this is an extension, not a clean extension, but it has a rider on it involving Essential Air Services.

The debate today and the discussion about this extension is not about Essential Air Service. Some members may support Essential Air Service, others may not support it. There's been a lot said on the floor today about subsidizing a $3,000 subsidy per ticket. Just for the record, we are not debating that. That is to be taken up by conferees if we ever get to conference. Members can, in fact, have their opportunity to make changes in the EAS program at that time. It should not be a part of this extension.

But for the record let me say that in reference to an airport that was mentioned in Montana, it is actually 607 miles from Denver, to the Denver airport. So if you live in that community, it's not just a short drive to get in a rental car and drive to the Denver Airport. Also, the Nevada airport that was

referenced from Salt Lake City, you are talking 234 miles. And the list goes on and on.

So that's an issue that we can debate at the appropriate time. Some changes may need to be made to the Essential Air Service program. But I think also we need to keep in mind, we're not just talking about passengers getting from point A to point B when there's hundreds and hundreds of miles to get to the nearest large hub airport to catch a flight, but we're also talking about moving medical supplies, donor organs, and a number of other things. So it's not just passengers.

And let me also say, my friend Mr. Mica mentioned as well that we've had an open process here. Well, in fact, we have not. The process has not been open on this extension. In fact, the majority dropped the bill on Friday without consulting the minority. They did not consult with us about what may be in the extension. In addition to that, they went to Rules Committee and asked for a closed rule so that no Member who might be affected by this legislation or might have an Essential Air Service airport in their district that may want to go to the Rules Committee and, in fact, get an open rule or come to the floor to debate the merits of keeping their airport on the EAS program, they did not have that opportunity because the majority asked for a closed rule.

Had the majority come to us in the minority and said, We want a clean extension; we want to move it forward, we wouldn't be here today. We, in fact, would probably have voice voted this extension. It would have gone to the Senate. It would have been voice voted there. And, in fact, we would have been a step closer to making certain that the FAA is able to operate after the deadline on Saturday.

Finally, let me say that we are frustrated because I've heard Chairman Mica say many times and, as the ranking member, Mr. Rahall, has said, We have worked closely together. We have done everything we can do in order to work together with Mr. Mica and Mr. Petri in order to get a bill. But I have read reports and I have just heard Mr. Mica say on the floor again today that, you know, we could wrap this conference up in 20 minutes. And he said today we could wrap it up within an hour, that there is only one issue that is remaining.

Just for the record, let me say, if that's the case, we have not been consulted on that one issue. There are several issues. And just for the record, I would say major issues that have not been resolved on our side, on the House side between the majority and minority, let alone with the other body are: one, funding levels; two, Essential Air Service; three is repeal of the National Mediation Board rule; four is the DCA perimeter rule, often referred to as ``slots.''

Other outstanding issues are occupational safety and health protection for flight attendants, the 3-hour rule for tarmac delays, the lithium battery issue, and the aircraft activity disclosure to the public, the BARR program. And I have a list of other things to our knowledge that have not been resolved.

So when the chairman or others say that we could wrap this up in 20 minutes or in 1 hour, I don't believe that is the case. In fact, I know it's not the case. We have not been consulted or negotiated to the extent that we could reach an agreement among ourselves on the House side, let alone with our colleagues over in the other body. So let me just say that it's a disappointment to me.

We have worked closely together to move the FAA extension on a permanent basis. We are here on Wednesday. The FAA extension, in fact, will expire--the FAA will have to lay off employees this Saturday if, in fact, this extension is not approved by both bodies and sent to the President. And the Senate has already told us that they are not going to accept this extension with this rider, in fact, in the extension. They will approve the clean extension. And it's my understanding the other body is going to pass a clean extension and send it over here sometime today or by the end of the week.

It would be my hope that the majority would, in fact, accept a clean extension so that the FAA can continue to serve the flying public and do all of the things that are essential to keeping the safest aviation system in the world as safe as possible so that we can begin to try and get a permanent bill and a long-term bill as well.

Finally, I would conclude by saying that we need to appoint conferees. The Senate has passed their bill in February of this year. We have passed our bill in April. And we are here now in the latter part of July, and Chairman Mica is saying that all of these issues have been resolved but one, and we do not even have conferees appointed. So I would just encourage the leadership--Ranking Member Rahall. And I have sent a letter to the Speaker and to the leadership and to the majority saying, Look, let's appoint conferees. The Senate has appointed conferees.

The only opportunity we had to appoint conferees in the last Congress was, in fact, stifled and held up by the Senate and, frankly, by two Senators from the State of Tennessee over one issue.

Let's get the nonsense behind us. There are things in the Essential Air program that I would like to see changed. There are things in the bill that I would like to see us reach an agreement on. The only way to do that is to get an extension passed so the FAA can get past Saturday and operate until September 16. It will give us an opportunity to appoint conferees so that we can meet with the conferees who have already been appointed in the other body to reach a permanent agreement.

The American people deserve better than what they're getting today on the floor of this House, and the American people deserve to know that we, in fact, are doing everything that we can to move forward to keep the safest aviation system in the world exactly that--the leader in safety around the world.

So with that, I ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this extension in the hopes that we could pass a clean extension.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in 1995, I was one of only 72 Democrats to vote for the balanced budget amendment, BBA, considered by the House, and I would vote for a straightforward BBA today. However, the bill before us, H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, does not meet this standard.

H.R. 2560 would ensure massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid by

holding government spending to 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product-- which has not happened since 1966. In addition, the defense budget is exempted from any cuts under this plan. The only way to achieve a balanced budget would be to dismantle programs that help seniors and the disabled, while tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and corporations that ship jobs overseas are preserved. It is simply unacceptable to make seniors and the disabled bear such a large share of this burden, and this is why AARP and many other groups oppose H.R. 2560.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is a Republican gimmick, not a serious attempt to find common ground and a reasonable approach to getting our deficit and debt under control, and I will oppose it.

Let me thank my friend Mr. Capuano for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to first thank the chair of the subcommittee, the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), and also the ranking member, Maxine Waters, as well as Chairman Bachus and Ranking Member Frank of the full committee, and also my friend Mr. Schock and Mr. Shimkus from Illinois. We all worked on this amendment together. It's a good amendment.

As I think Mr. Schock just explained, the Bachus amendment gives the administrator the authority to allow for a possible fourth and fifth suspension of the mandatory purchase for certain communities that are making adequate progress in construction of the flood protection system.

It's a commonsense amendment. It's a bipartisan agreement. I urge its adoption, and I not only support the amendment but the underlying bill as well.