Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight some of the negative effects the sequester has had on the residents in my district and across the country.

Just yesterday, I met with a young cancer survivor who would not be here today without the help of critical research conducted by our Federal science and health agencies. Arbitrary, mindless cuts to the operating budgets of these agencies jeopardize lives and unfairly target many vulnerable populations.

The sequester affects more than just research. It also affects domestic jobs and puts our public safety at risk. Right in my district's backyard there is a fire raging in Mount Diablo State Park. This fire has decimated thousands of acres of land and threatens local residents. Our resources are stretched too thin, with fire crews being split between several fires around the State, including the Rim fire in Yosemite National Park. It's critical that budgets do not limit the ability of our first responders to react to these disasters.

On this 12th anniversary of 9/11, I urge my colleagues to work together to develop a rational, meaningful budget that moves America forward.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of Monarcas Academy, a non-profit organization dedicated to adolescent soccer teams in Stockton, California. In July of 2013, a Monarcas Academy team won the U.S. National Cup XII in the under age 15 (U15) group. This team also won the 2013 California State Championship, 2013 San Diego Surf Cup, and the 2013 Santa Clara Sporting Invitational.

Year after year, Monarcas Academy athletes compete at high level soccer tournaments throughout California and the nation. The staff and players at the Academy helped create the Central Valley Soccer League, composed of 95 teams that provide youth development to local student athletes. In addition, Monarcas Academy works with Bfut Soccer Academy in Brazil on international soccer principles.

These efforts benefit our region's youth by promoting physical activity, team spirit, and community involvement. I am proud to represent the Monarcas Academy in Congress, and wish the Academy continued success.

I urge my colleagues to join me in commending Monarcas Academy, its U15 championship team, and its dedication to helping the youth in California.

Mr. Speaker, a report released last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration examined the relationship between climate change and the extreme weather events from last year. The report found compelling evidence that human-caused climate change contributed to many of the extreme weather events seen around the world last year, including some of the heat waves and droughts seen in the central United States, as well as elevated sea levels that contributed to the unprecedented level of flooding in New York City after Superstorm Sandy.

The report, based on the work of 78 scientists, concluded that climate change has an impact on extreme weather events. These storms and droughts are endangering lives and livelihoods, and costing taxpayers billions of dollars.

Unfortunately, we are failing to address these threats in the House of Representatives. The Republican majority of the House has refused to acknowledge the overwhelming scientific evidence that the planet's climate is changing, and that human activity is a major contributor to this change.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Army Staff Sergeant Ty Michael Carter, who will be awarded with the Congressional Medal of Honor in recognition of his heroic actions in Afghanistan in 2009.

As the father of a veteran, I am truly honored to represent Staff Sergeant Carter, a resident of Antioch, California. The Medal of Honor is our Nation's highest military award presented for selfless sacrifice and acts of courage above and beyond the call of duty at the risk of his or her life.

Staff Sergeant Carter was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1980 and graduated from North Central High School. After high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Japan. He had two additional deployments before being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in the year 2002.

During this time, Staff Sergeant Carter enrolled in the Los Medanos Community College in California and studied biology. Upon the birth of his first daughter, and after traveling throughout the United States, he enlisted to serve his country as a soldier in the United States Army in the year 2008.

It was on October 3, 2009, when Specialist Carter and the 54 Members of B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment came under heavy enemy fire in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan.

At great risk of his own life, Staff Sergeant Carter resupplied ammunition to help his fellow soldiers, provided first aid to a comrade, eliminated enemy troops, and risked his own life to help carry a fellow soldier from harm's way.

The actions that Mr. Carter took during this ambush were critical to the defense of the COP Keating, which was established in 2006 as a provincial reconstruction team camp located near the confluence of the Kushtowz and Landay Sin Rivers.

All of our Nation's servicemembers and their families make great sacrifices, and we can never fully repay them. It's important that we pay tribute to those who show their devotion to the United States through their service and that we ensure those who return home are provided with the services they deserve and have earned.

These brave men and women are committed to one another and to honoring the call of duty to protect our great Nation. We owe them the same respect.

I want to commend Staff Sergeant Carter and all of our Nation's veterans for their courage and dedication to this country. Our Nation has always been able to depend on the selfless actions of men and women in uniform for our very existence.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Staff Sergeant Ty Michael Carter, as well as our servicemen and women, their families and veterans, for their service to the United States.

National Coaches Day

Mr. Speaker, I also want to recognize the efforts of Madeline Woznick, a 12-year-old student athlete who lives in Lodi, California. Madeline is a competitive swimmer and has worked to bring attention to the hard work and dedication of coaches across the country and is advocating for an annual National Coaches Day.

There are tens of millions of student athletes in the country. Coaches can have a fundamental impact on these students, and I'm grateful for their endeavors to train and mentor the next generation.

Today's students are tomorrow's leaders, and it is important that they have teachers and mentors who inspire and encourage them in their educational pursuits. As Madeline says, coaches motivate and inspire students to better themselves.

In 1972, President Nixon declared October 6 as National Coaches Day, and Madeline is working to ensure that every October 6 is National Coaches Day so their efforts are appreciated and recognized by communities across the country.

I urge my colleagues to join me in applauding Madeline Woznick and coaches across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my friends and colleagues to join me in recognizing the distinguished public servant Mr. Mike Taugher and his dedicated work in journalism and his dedication to protecting the environment. Mike passed away earlier this month at the age of 50.

For many years, Mike worked as the environmental reporter for the Contra Costa

Times. His deep knowledge and tireless pursuit of articles earned Mike the respect of readers, citizens, and other journalists in addition to numerous awards. Governor Jerry Brown recognized his expertise on environmental issues and appointed Mike as a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in May of 2012. His commitment to these issues was a benefit for all Californians.

With his outstanding public service both as a reporter and a spokesperson, the people of California will always be thankful to Mike. I myself enjoyed working with him during his years as a reporter. In his personal life, Mike was known to talk as much about his family as his work. In the words of his brother, David, ``Mike loved his family very dearly.''

I ask you all to join me in honoring the life and work of Mike Taugher.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment by my colleague from Florida (Ms. Castor), and I want to thank Ms. Castor for working on this amendment.

The housing crisis has hit countless districts across the country-- Florida, California, and other States--but especially including my own district.

I represent some of the hardest hit areas in the United States of America, including the San Joaquin Valley. Although the housing sector has improved in recent months, there is still much work to be done. We must ensure hardworking individuals and families have the best information possible when making important life decisions, and HUD field offices and officers play a critical role in this process.

Whether it's through foreclosure assistance or for first-time homebuyers, HUD help is needed. Unfortunately, HUD wants to close various offices throughout the country. We must focus on providing HUD with the appropriate resources to adequately assist areas like the San Joaquin Valley that have been disproportionately affected by the housing crisis. Reducing access to services is not the answer.

Mr. Chairman, we've held countless foreclosure summits and workshops in our district. I've seen individuals in front of me that are losing their homes--young men, young women--tears in their eyes. They're getting excellent information from the HUD service officers, and to take that resource away from these individuals is a travesty. This commonsense amendment by my colleague from Florida aims to address this issue by removing 25 percent from HUD's executive account and moving it toward the field offices and policy management account. I know that the people in my district need and deserve these services. Ensuring HUD has the funding to keep offices open is a step in the right direction.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 30th anniversary of National Night Out. ``America's Night Out Against Crime'' began those 30 years ago to encourage community-based crime prevention.

I've participated in many National Night Out events throughout my district over the years, meeting people who are committed to reducing crime in their neighborhoods and promoting community spirit by building relationships with their local civic leaders and law enforcement officials.

This year, I look forward to celebrating National Night Out in Stockton, California, a city in my district. National Night Out has made a difference in my district by bringing people together and making them more aware of how to keep their neighborhoods safe.

National Night Out has grown to over 37 million Americans participating in 15,000 communities across North America. National Night Out illustrates how partnerships between community members and local law enforcement can prevent crime. I encourage my colleagues to participate in National Night Out events in their own districts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring your attention to the development of an exciting new fabric that was recently created by biomedical engineers at the University of California at Davis--a fabric that drives moisture away.

Two graduate students, Siyuan Xing and Jia Jiang, at the Micro-Nano Innovations Laboratory, led by Professor Tingrui Pan, with the financial support of the National Science Foundation, developed a textile that stays dry by forming moisture into droplets that drain away by attaching a network of water-attracting threads to water- repellent fabric.

Now, discoveries like these have led to significant advances in a variety of applications. This project could be used to develop and improve active gear; but, more significantly, it is likely to be developed in the materials that will help our firefighters and our troops stay cool while in the field or that will help astronauts conserve precious liquids while in space.

I am proud to support Federal funding for scientific research, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I rise in support of the Schiff amendment, which makes sure that we continue investing in quality energy research programs that will benefit the United States.

Energy innovation, research and development are essential for our country, especially if we truly want to move forward with reducing our energy dependence on fossil fuels. One important component of this goal is the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E. Since 2009, ARPA-E has funded over 275 potentially transformational energy technology projects. Many of the research projects are occurring in my own State of California.

These companies, national labs, and educational institutions are working on items that will greatly benefit the energy security of our country. Some projects include Distributed Power Flow Control Using Smart Wires for Energy Routing; Low-Cost Biological Catalyst to Enable Efficient CO2 Capture; Large-Scale Energy Reductions Through Sensors, Feedback, and Information Technology; Highly Dispatchable and Distributed Demand Response for the Integration of Distributed Generation; and Carbon Nanotube Membranes for Energy-Efficient Carbon Sequestration.

Our Nation faces significant energy challenges in the years ahead, both from a production and reliability standpoint, but also from the effects of climate change. Climate change's effects include severe storms, sea level rise, and the extremely poor air quality that continually plagues California's Central Valley. We must become more energy efficient, reduce the release of CO2 and other harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and improve our electric grid and its ability to meet peak demands. ARPA-E projects aim to solve these problems and at the same time will help reduce blackouts, reduce energy costs, and improve both environmental and public health.

ARPA-E initiatives help facilitate future private investments by helping companies reach their potential in the early stages. In fact, the American Energy Innovation Council, which consists of some of America's largest companies, like Lockheed Martin and Microsoft, has called for ARPA-E to be funded at 10 times the proposed level. Unfortunately, the bill today provides only $50 million for ARPA-E, which is $215 million less than what was enacted the last fiscal year and $329 million less than the President's request.

ARPA-E project successes have attracted more than $450 million in private investments. It's this return on investment that must be continued, not cut back. The Schiff amendment aims to correct this error in the underlying bill.

The only reason I can think of to reduce ARPA-E funding is to help prop up fossil fuel industries, and that's going to get us more global warming and cause us more problems. We need to reduce global warming. Global warming is a threat to our national security. We need to fight it. ARPA-E is going to give us the tools to do that.

So I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring your attention to an exciting global initiative, the International Year of Statistics, or Statistics 2013, which is supported by nearly 2,000 groups in more than 120 countries.

Organized in the U.S. by the American Statistical Association, Statistics 2013's primary objectives are to increase public awareness of the impact of statistical sciences on our society and to nurture an interest in statistics among our youth. Participants of Statistics 2013 are educating the public in how statistical sciences improve our lives in a myriad of ways, such as finding better cancer treatments and informing public policy. Statistics is an incredibly powerful tool that can be used in understanding complex phenomena. It's been used since antiquity.

Congratulations, Statistics 2013. I encourage my colleagues to join me in recognizing the contributions and goals of Statistics 2013.

Mr. Speaker, the impacts of climate change can no longer be denied--superstorm hurricanes, massive tornados, record- breaking droughts and heat spells, accelerating melting of glaciers, and increasing ocean salinity. Due to the effects of climate change, many highly populated communities at low elevation face increasing pressure from storms and rising waters, potentially driving massive migrations to higher ground. If we continue on this path, extensive and severe droughts will hurt food production and fresh water supplies in the United States. Similar occurrences around the world will certainly be destabilizing and potentially draw the United States into dangerous conflicts.

Most climate change models predict increasing severity of these and other effects. However, the reality is that most computer models are being outpaced as the carbon buildup and energy trapped in the atmosphere accelerates.

Despite these developments, there is an increasing partisan divide on the issue of climate change. Many of my Republican colleagues are either in complete denial that global warming is happening, don't believe human activity is causing the problem, or think that it would be too expensive to take the necessary steps to mitigate and adapt to global warming. This gross partisan behavior in denial of science is becoming a clear and present threat to our national security and well- being.

Would we sit by if a foreign power built up a threatening military force on one of our borders? Of course not. And yet, climate change presents a threat that's just as dangerous.

So what will it take for this Nation to greatly reduce carbon we are adding to the atmosphere and begin the process of preparing for the changes that are coming? Will it take a global weather catastrophe? Will it take several more Hurricane Sandy's? How many years of drought will the Midwest be forced to endure?

With global warming, the signs of change are overwhelming. We cannot wait for a global catastrophe that will impose massive suffering enough to overcome our civil institutions. Our national security depends on us taking action now.

The good news is that if we do take action now, the cost is affordable and the benefits are significant. Even if climate change were not a threat, reducing our consumption of fossil fuels will make the environment cleaner and energy costs less volatile. Increasing energy efficiency will greatly reduce family utility bills while making our homes more comfortable. Using renewable energy creates stable jobs. On the other hand, if we wait until a global or regional climate catastrophe forces desperate action, the consequences will be expensive and possibly deadly.

Those who reject science and deny human-caused climate change are fostering a dangerous threat to our Nation's future and to future generations of all Americans. I hope that those who deny the effects of climate change see the danger that they are subjecting our Nation to, or that the voters elect representatives who will take the responsible actions necessary to address the imminent threat of climate change.

Madam Speaker, I rise to announce a new advancement in mathematics: an algorithmic solution to the full Boltzmann equation that has taken 140 years to solve.

The full seven-dimensional Boltzmann equation provides a crucial link between the microscopic, or quantum, behavior of atomic particles on the one hand and the behavior of matter that we humans observe on the other hand. It does this by predicting how gaseous material responds to external influences, such as changes in temperature and pressure, quickly settling to a stable equilibrium.

The solution of this equation gives us an understanding of grazing collisions, when molecules glance off one another, which is the dominant type of collision. The algorithm uses a range of geometric fractional derivatives from kinetic theory.

I congratulate the authors, Philip Gressman and Robert Strain, from the University of Pennsylvania on this advancement; and I commend the National Science Foundation for supporting these scientists in their work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a recent University of California at Davis study on some effects that climate change will have in California. This report looks at habitat and temperature sensitivity for fish species within the State.

California has a diverse and robust ecosystem, as well as the largest estuary in the Western Hemisphere, namely the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The delta and its tributaries are home to an amazing variety of native species that must be protected. The study found that, of 121 native fish species in California, more than 80 percent will be critically endangered as a result of climate change. At the same time, nonnative or invasive species will survive at a much higher rate.

We must take action now to address climate change, which is starting to affect every aspect of our daily lives, including our water quality, flood risk, more severe weather--including hurricanes, tornadoes, and droughts--and the extinction of native species. The destruction posed by climate change to the natural resources we depend on for our daily sustenance is too great.

Global warming is here. It's dangerous, and we need to take action now. The longer we wait, the more difficult and costly the fixes will be, and the more our fellow human beings across the world will suffer.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about the veterans' disability backlog, but this time on a positive note.

First I want to thank Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Committee Chair John Culberson and Ranking Member Sanford Bishop for their work on the fiscal year 2014 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill and for including report language that my California colleague, Representative Paul Cook, and I recommended to address the backlog of claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Our veterans are heroes, and they deserve the benefits they've earned. The VA has set a goal of processing all disability claims within 125 days by the year 2015. This is an ambitious goal that deserves our attention as the agency works to meet its self-imposed deadline.

Unfortunately, too many VA regional offices across the country are underperforming by failing to process benefits claims for veterans in a timely manner. Recent data indicates that it takes 552 days, on average, for a claim to be processed at the VA's Oakland regional office, which serves the veterans in my district. This is unacceptable. While I'm pleased that the VA has made a concerted effort to improve accuracy and timeliness at the Oakland RO, more can be done for veterans across the Nation.

The VA has made a genuine effort to help veterans suffering from Agent Orange, posttraumatic stress, and to recognize the special needs of women veterans, among others. In addition, the VA recently announced it would mandate overtime at its regional offices and place a priority on claims pending for more than 1 year.

However, we must hold the VA accountable for its results. Additional oversight and accountability will not only benefit our Nation's veterans and their families, but it will allow Congress to ensure the VA has the resources it needs to properly support our heroes.

In addition to these efforts, I was joined by a bipartisan group of colleagues in requesting that the VA submit quarterly reports for each regional office where disability claims are pending for an average of 200 days or more.

These reports must outline any progress the RO has made as well as the steps it's taking to reduce the backlogs, such as hiring more claims processors or requiring additional training.

I am pleased that this language was included in the committee report accompanying H.R. 2216. This is a move in the right direction as Congress continues its oversight of the VA to improve the lives of our veterans.

I rise today to talk about the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. This is an exciting, unique public-private science project that is being developed in cooperation with the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and with a number of small companies.

The idea behind the LSST is very simple: take pictures of the entire southern sky and measure everything that moves or changes brightness, and after 10 years of operation, the LSST will allow us to catalog billions of stars, galaxies, and other interstellar objects. This database will address the most pressing questions in astronomy and physics, from potentially hazardous asteroids to the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. The development of the LSST will push the boundaries of big science and computing.

I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the importance of public-private partnerships and their role in studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Support for these projects is critical.