Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall nos. 676 and 677, I was inadvertantly detained because of flight delays. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 676 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 677.

Mr. Speaker, many things are going on in our country tonight and this week, and the Congress faces difficult decisions. But the death of a son or daughter, a family member, all these other things can pale in the tragedy that encounters many families across this country.

Tonight, I want to recognize the month of October as ``National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.'' Most years that I've been in Congress I have come to the floor in October to try to raise the awareness of the death and violence that occurs in our homes across America. I think significant progress has been made in calling the attention to domestic violence and helping victims and families recover from abuse; however, so much remains to be done because senseless acts of violence are still taking place in homes and communities across America.

Tragically, I was reminded of the need for greater efforts to combat domestic violence this past July when tragedy struck in my home State of Kansas. Tonight, I'd like to share with you the story of Jana Lynne Mackey.

On July 20, 1982, Jana was born in Harper, Kansas. Jana was raised primarily in my hometown of Hays, Kansas, where she was an active member of 4-H, an athlete, and a very talented musician; but most of all, she was a vibrant and caring young woman who fought for those whose voices would not otherwise be heard.

Following high school graduation, Jana completed a bachelor's degree where she discovered her passion, advocating for those who needed her help. She went on to pursue a law degree at the University of Kansas with the goal of using that education to further the cause of others.

Jana tirelessly fought for equality and social justice through her many local and national organizations that she belonged to and worked for. She was an active volunteer in the Lawrence Safe Center, a facility that aids victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. But on July 3, 2008, Jana's body was discovered in an ex-boyfriend's home. Her own promising life prematurely ended at the age of 25 by an act of domestic violence.

All too often, we think domestic violence doesn't occur in our own communities or to people that we know or families that we care about, but Jana's story is evidence that no State, no community, no family is immune to the far-reaching presence of domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a problem that does not discriminate on race, gender, age group, education, or social status. It wreaks havoc on our increasingly stressed health care network, our overflowing criminal justice system, and, of course, on our daily lives.

Domestic violence continues to impact communities in Kansas and across America. Each year nearly 4 million new incidents of domestic violence are reported in the United States. Of those 4 million cases, nearly 100,000 Kansas women fall victim to domestic violence each year. Each day in America, over 53,000 victims receive care through domestic violence programs, the programs that Jana volunteered and advocated for.

Despite the harsh realities, there is hope for tomorrow. It's my belief that with continued education, resources, and support, the victims of domestic violence can overcome their condition. In the 69 counties I represent, it's the same belief that maintains and encourages the nine domestic violence centers in that district. These agencies are vital to our communities as they raise awareness, advocate for victims, and provide support to those victims with resources and the care they so desperately need.

Jana made a greater impact in her 25 years than many individuals do in a lifetime. And while Jana's story is tragic, her example is a lesson and an inspiration for all of us to be more active in the fight against violence. This is why her family started the 1100 Torches campaign.

At Jana's funeral 1,100 people were in attendance, which indicates the magnitude of the impact of her live on others. In the aftermath of her death, her mother, Christie Brungardt, and her stepfather, Curt, along with family and friends launched the 1100 Torches campaign to serve as Jana's call to action; that despite our personal politics, we can make a difference in the world and in turn make it a better place to live. It is the campaign's hope that through Jana's story, 1,100 people will be inspired by her to serve others and to make a difference in their communities. I encourage my colleagues and all Americans to learn about Jana's story and the impact of domestic violence by visiting the 1100 Torches campaign Web site at www.1100torches.org and by learning more about this issue in your local community.

We're making progress and drawing attention to domestic violence this month in October; yet this problem continues to impact our communities and their families. We must not forget about those violent crimes that destroy homes and families and devastate lives. This October let us remember the victims of domestic violence and learn from their courage as we do our best to ensure that our communities are safe places to live, to work, and to raise our families.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for continued support and assistance of domestic violence prevention programs, and tonight I pay tribute to the young life of Jana Mackey.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the month of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. During my tenure in Congress, significant progress has been made in calling attention to domestic violence and helping victims and families recover from these abuses. However, much work still remains to be done because senseless acts of violence are still taking place in our homes and communities. Tragically we were reminded of the need for greater efforts to combat domestic violence this past July when tragedy struck in my home State of Kansas. Today, I'd like to share with you the Jana Lynne Mackey story.

On July 20, 1982, Jana Lynne Mackey was born in Harper, Kansas. Jana was raised primarily in Hays, Kansas, where she was an active member of 4-H, an athlete, and a talented musician. But most of all she was a vibrant and caring young woman who fought for those whose voice could not be heard.

Following high school graduation, Jana completed a bachelor's degree where she discovered her passion--advocating for others. She went on to pursue a law degree at the University of Kansas with the goal of using education to further the cause of others. Jana tirelessly fought for equality and social justice through her work with countless local and national organizations. She was also an active volunteer at the Lawrence GaDuGi Safe Center, a facility that aids victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. But on July 3, 2008, Jana's body was found in an ex-boyfriend's home--her own promising life prematurely ended by an act of domestic violence.

All too often we think acts of domestic violence do not transpire in our communities or to people and families we know. But Jana's story is evidence that no State, community, or family is immune to its far- reaching hands. Domestic violence is a problem that does not discriminate by race, gender, age group, education, or social status and its plague wreaks havoc on our increasingly-stressed healthcare network, our over-flowing criminal justice system, and our day-to-day life within our communities.

Domestic violence continues to impact communities in Kansas and across America. Each year nearly 4 million new incidences of domestic violence are reported in the United States, with many more unaccounted for due to fear and intimidation. Of those 4 million reported cases, nearly 100,000 Kansas women fall victim to domestic violence each year. Each day in America over 53,000 victims receive care through domestic violence programs, the programs Jana Mackey volunteered and advocated for.

Despite the harsh realities of domestic violence that loom, there is hope for a better tomorrow. It is my belief that with continued education, resources, and support, victims of domestic violence can overcome their condition. In the 69 counties I represent, it is that same belief that maintains and encourages the 9 domestic violence centers in my district. These agencies are vital to our communities as they raise awareness of domestic violence, advocate for victims, and provide victims with the support, resources, and care they desperately need.

Jana made a greater impact in her 25 years than many individuals do in a lifetime. While Jana's story is tragic, her example is a lesson and an inspiration for us all to be more active in the fight against domestic violence. This is why her family started the 1100 Torches campaign.

At Jana's funeral, 1,100 people were in attendance, which indicates the magnitude of her impact in the lives of others. In the aftermath of her death, her mother, Christie Brungardt, and stepfather, Curt, along with her family and friends, launched the 1100 Torches campaign to serve as Jana's call to action, that despite our personal politics, we can make a difference in the world and in turn make it a better place to live. It is the campaign's hope that through Jana's story, 1,100 people will be inspired by her to serve others and make a difference in their communities. I encourage my colleagues and all Americans to learn more about Jana's story and the impact of domestic violence by visiting the 1100 Torches campaign Web site at www.1100torches.org and by learning more about this issue in your local community.

We are making progress in raising awareness and drawing attention to domestic violence, yet this is a problem that continues to impact our communities. We must not forget about these violent crimes that destroy homes and families, and devastate lives. This October, let us remember the victims of domestic violence and learn from their courage as we do our best to ensure that our communities are safe places to live, work, and raise our families.

Madam Speaker, I ask for continued support and assistance for domestic violence prevention programs.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize a program which, in the last year, has helped more than 43,000 Americans who are blind or who have severe disabilities gain skills and training that ultimately led to gainful employment; The AbilityOne Program.

The AbilityOne Program, formerly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program, harnesses the purchasing power of the Federal Government to buy products and services from participating community-based nonprofit agencies that are dedicated to training and employing individuals with disabilities. This program affords Americans with disabilities the opportunity to acquire job skills and training, receive good wages and benefits, and gain greater independence and quality of life. This comes in a segment of the population that has suffered from significant unemployment. But programs such as AbilityOne have come a long way in helping to bring people with disabilities into working society.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting with a community partner in the AbilityOne program. Cottonwood Industries, located in Lawrence, KS, employed 53 people last year, manufacturing products utilized by the Department of Defense in the continued protection of our country. Beyond AbilityOne, Cottonwood further employed another 185 individuals with disabilities in other community opportunities. Cottonwood offers a range of services beyond employment to Americans who are in need of assistance. Community agencies like Cottonwood are very important to those who directly utilize them, but also to society as a whole.

It is with great pleasure that I extend my support to the AbilityOne Program. I also want to commend the dedication and commitment of Sharon Spratt, Executive Director of Cottonwood Industries, and her staff, for helping individuals who are blind or have a disability find employment. Their work helps Kansans to live fuller lives and become more active members of society. I also commend each AbilityOne program employee who works every day to improve their lives and make our country a better place to live.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1287.

Several of my colleagues and I have had the honor in recent years of joining former Senator Bob Dole to greet groups of World War II veterans arriving at the World War II Memorial for the first time through a grassroots, nonprofit organization called Honor Flight.

I introduced House Resolution 1287 earlier this year to express our country's appreciation to the Honor Flight Network, its founders Earl Morse of Ohio and Jeff Miller of North Carolina, its volunteers and its donors across the country who make this moving experience possible for our Nation's World War II veterans. By introducing this resolution, I also seek to call attention to this worthy organization in the hope that more of my colleagues as well as those watching and reading at home will support Honor Flight in their communities.

Many World War II veterans are in their 80s and 90s and are unable, physically or financially, to visit our Nation's capital and see the World War II Memorial, which is a beautiful tribute to their service, sacrifice and victory over 60 years ago. We are losing these veterans at a rate of 900 each day. Working against time to say ``thank you,'' Honor Flight uses chartered or commercial flights to enable World War II veterans to see the Memorial created in their honor.

Today, we commend the Honor Flight Network, its volunteers and donors now operating in over 30 States who honor World War II veterans by making it possible for them to experience our Nation's gratitude for their service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Norma Daniels. My thoughts and prayers go out to her husband Bob and the rest of the Daniels family during this time of loss.

I admit that I have trouble knowing where to begin when it comes to honoring Norma. You could call her Madam Chairperson--she was the chair of the Kansas Rural Development Council. You could call her ``nurse,'' as that was her original occupation. Thousands of people called her ``Senator,'' and seven people call her ``Mom.''

Norma was born in Yates Center, a town of about 1800 people in Woodson County, KS. She was raised in Kansas City, MO and did her undergraduate work at St. Louis University. After becoming a registered nurse, she met a young medical student at a hospital in Kansas City named Bob Daniels. Bob went on to complete his internship at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, and while there, the two were married. Bob and Norma raised 6 daughters and 1 son.

Knowing of her extensive service to her community through various volunteer organizations, Bob raised the question of whether Norma should run for City Council. Norma reacted in shock, saying she didn't know anything or care about politics.

Sometime later, she was paying her city water bill and asked the city clerk what it would take to run for city council. The clerk replied, ``Who would like to know--certainly not you, Norma.'' She answered, ``Why not?'' The clerk said, ``City business is like big business, and women just don't understand it.'' That was all the motivation that she needed. Norma ran for and won a seat on the city council, and never looked back--winning every election she entered.

Norma knew she was a novice and became a student of government, reading through ordinance books and state laws and visiting the police and fire stations to learn the laws. Her work paid off, and her successful career on the city council and encouragement from her community led her to challenge a long time incumbent Kansas State Senator. She became the first female State Senator ever elected from Sedgwick County, winning by only 176 votes of the nearly 23,000 cast. The media called her victory a fluke, but they were wrong. She was re- elected to the Senate twice more, and in January of 1993 she retired.

I had the opportunity to serve with Norma in the Kansas State Senate. Norma was a tireless advocate for her constituents and always a professional. Her list of honors and activities is remarkable. She was one of the first to represent Kansas in Tokyo at the Japan American Grassroots Summit, a founder of the Valley Center Swim Club and a co- leader of the Girl Scouts. But she kept it all in perspective. Throughout her life she was a believer of rural America, saying that is where the real diamonds of family life are found. She found great happiness in serving others and in making life a little better for those who needed a hand, and that is why Madam Speaker, I rise to honor her today.

Pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding an earmark I received as part of H.R. 2638, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008.

Requesting Member: Congressman Jerry Moran.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Military Construction/VA, Department of Defense, Air National Guard.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas National Guard.

Address of Requesting Entity: 2800 Southwest Topeka Boulevard, Topeka, KS 66611.

Description of Request: Provide $7,000,000 to construct a Support Facility to house the air control office, the range control office, and other functions important to supporting the increasing missions at Smoky Hill Range.

Pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding an earmark I received as part of H.R. 2638, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008.

Requesting Member: Congressman Jerry Moran.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Defense, Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard, Operating Forces, Facilities Sustainment, Restoration & Modernization.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas National Guard.

Address of Requesting Entity: 2800 Southwest Topeka Boulevard, Topeka, KS 66611.

Description of Request: Provide $1,600,000 for the following training capabilities and enhancements for Smoky Hill Range: convoy assembly area/UAV launch strip; a universal UAV control system; and a range water tower.

Pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding an earmark I received as part of H.R. 2638, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008.

Requesting Member: Congressman Jerry Moran.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Defense, Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard, Operating Forces, Facilities Sustainment, Restoration & Modernization.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Saline County, KS, Road and Bridge Department

Address of Requesting Entity: 3424 Airport Road, Salina, KS 67401.

Description of Request: Provide $1,600,000 for county road improvements to better allow the transportation of military personnel and equipment to Smoky Hill Range at Salina, KS.

Pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding an earmark I received as part of H.R. 2638, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008.

Requesting Member: Congressman Jerry Moran.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Defense, Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard, Operating Forces, Facilities Sustainment, Restoration & Modernization.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas State University.

Address of Requesting Entity: 110 Anderson Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506

Description of Request: Provide $400,000 to establish the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Mission Planning and Operation Center at Kansas State University at Salina, KS to train Guard personnel in UAS mission planning, aircraft operation, and development.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in support of H.R. 6849.

I certainly support the fundamental purpose of this bill. I do have some concerns about the offset, the pay-for, that is necessary. I am also concerned that the bill only provides temporary relief.

As has been indicated, decisions were made in the farm bill to eliminate 10 acres from being considered for program payments under the new farm bill, and the attempt was made to make it clear that farmers could aggregate their properties. That has not been the case as the farm bill has been implemented by the Department of Agriculture, and we now are here to correct that mistake.

Mr. Etheridge and I, the gentleman from North Carolina, introduced legislation to do that in September, and this is the base behind the bill that we have before us today, although our plan was to allow farmers to combine base acres through two processes: either reconstitution or aggregation.

And when it became a concern that that bill would not pass in sufficient time and the offset was not there, the bill we have before us became the compromise; and I'm pleased knowing that this legislation must pass to be supportive of this compromise bill. It does mean that this Congress, the House Agriculture Committee, will need to come back in future years to make certain that we get this corrected.

Also, by speaking today, I want to raise the concern that I have with the offset that we're using. For a long time I have worried that my farmers, when they go to see their USDA officers, particularly FSA, at their county office, they have had tremendous delays in access to computers. And the offset for this bill is computer/IT funding in the Risk Management Agency, RMA. In my opinion, we need to find a more appropriate offset because we authorized only $60 million in the farm bill, $15 million in each of the 4 fiscal years for the IT system at the Risk Management Agency, and those systems were only updated--the last time was 15 years ago.

This would remove nearly $20 million from the original $60 million authorized in the farm bill, removing about a third of the money allocated for computer upgrades.

And so we have an opportunity, I hope, when the Senate passes similar legislation to sit down and see if we can't agree upon a different way of paying for this needed correction.

Without sufficient funding, the Risk Management Agency will be forced to limit future product approvals, enhancements, and expansions, and I believe that will adversely affect farmers and ranchers. RMA must be able to interface with 17 insurance companies that deliver Federal crop insurance covering more than 1.1 million policies and $89 billion in liability.

Upgrades are not only needed to allow services to continue but are also necessary to implement current technology to improve program integrity and data security and the protection of personally identifiable information.

Again, I raise the concern and hope that as this bill works its way through the process, that we can find a more satisfactory offset than the information technology, the RMA IT account, at the Department of Agriculture.

I am here to support this legislation. I appreciate the fix that it provides. We need to figure out a permanent solution, and we need to figure out a different way of paying for it. I look forward to continuing to working in the process to see that those two things occur.

I thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding me the time, and I am very grateful for the efforts that he and our chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) have made on this entire legislation. But I'm here tonight to express my gratitude for the inclusion of provisions that for a long time have been a high priority for me as a Member of Congress from a very rural part of America. I have always thought that our veterans should not be discriminated against based upon where they live. And while we've made progress in regard to caring for all our veterans, we've made progress in regard to caring for our rural veterans, we still have a lot of effort that needs to be made. This bill tonight takes one additional step that I think is very important.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, through our encouragement, has increased the number of outpatient clinics in this country so that those who live long distances from a VA hospital can access routine health care closer to home. We also have significantly increased the mileage reimbursement rate for veterans who live long distances. That is a major undertaking on our part, particularly with the ever rising cost of gasoline. And so we are making some steps that I think benefit rural veterans.

But still, despite that effort, many veterans, including many who live in my congressional district in the State of Kansas, drive up to 5 hours to access a VA outpatient clinic or a VA hospital. And so what a portion of this bill does tonight, the part I want to commend and bring forth for the Members of the House of Representatives to know and to understand, is this bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a 3-year pilot project that gives our highly rural veterans living in rural regions of this country the choice to receive health care at home. What this says is that the veteran can have the opportunity to see his or her hometown physician, be admitted to his or her hometown hospital, and that the Department of Veterans Affairs must enter into a contract to provide those services.

So while I am very appreciative of the outpatient clinics and I appreciate the service and care that our VA hospitals provide, we have the opportunity for our veterans, particularly those who are aging, and many of our rural veterans are older every day, many of them are World War II veterans in their eighties and nineties, and a trip that is miles away and hours from home requires a significant undertaking. This allows those who are that distance, and that distance being about 60 miles from a VA clinic, 120 miles from a VA hospital or 240 miles from a specialized care facility, to have those services provided at home.

It's also a good thing for the rural health care provider. I always describe it this way: Our hospitals, the infrastructure that surrounds the delivery of health care in rural America, is a lot like schools. We need every student we can get in a rural school to keep the school going, just as our hospitals and physicians need every patient that they can get in order to keep the hospital alive and well.

So I'm here to commend my colleagues for their support of this legislation. I am very grateful to Delores Dunn, the staff director of the subcommittee, who has shepherded this effort on my behalf but really on behalf of veterans across rural America, and I commend our chairman and ranking member for their strong efforts on behalf of rural American veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, in contrast to my colleagues on the committee and subcommittee, in opposition to H.R. 6604. It is an awkward position to be in because I spend more time and have a greater closer working relationship with the three members of the House of Representatives who are here today speaking from the Agriculture Committee in favor of this legislation than probably any group of Members of Congress since I came to Congress.

But I rise today in opposition to this legislation for the same reason that I did nearly a month and a half ago. This bill will do little, if anything, to bring down the price of energy. In fact, certain provisions of this bill could likely lead to less market transparency and increased market volatility. Unlike one and a half months ago, however, Congress has some data provided by the CFTC. The data shows that the commodity markets were not broken, and while crude oil went from $96 per barrel to $146 per barrel over the first 6 months of this year, the aggregate long position of index traders and swap dealers fell by 11 percent or 45,000 contracts.

As I stated back in July, I favor changes in the Commodities Exchange Act that will improve market transparency, oversight and enforcement activities. In fact, in working with the CFTC and others, I have introduced legislation, H.R. 6921, that I believe will enhance transparency in the futures markets without disrupting the markets. Based on consensus recommendations of the CFTC, the bill that I have introduced codifies the recommendations of the commission that they suggested would benefit from codification that were presented to our committee. That hearing has been referenced. It just occurred on September 11.

What my bill does not do and what this bill does, this bill on the House floor, is redefine a bona fide hedging transaction to prohibit the ability of legitimate market participants from utilizing the market, push domestic traders overseas where CFTC will have little oversight and contains cumbersome and contradictory requirements that will overburden the CFTC staff and lead to little useful information.

In July I said this bill was put together quickly, in fact I thought too quickly and went too far. The information provided by the CFTC at our hearing on September 11 in my opinion confirmed that fact. Given that this bill was defeated on suspension and it includes provisions that go beyond the scope of the commission's recommendations, one would think that we would now take that bill back to committee and craft a more precise product rather than bringing the same product to the House floor. We asked for more information, we got more information, and yet the crux of this legislation didn't change.

A well-crafted bill needs to provide additional transparency, oversight authority, and not exclude legitimate market participants or reduce market liquidity. One of the problems of this legislation, as I said, is it will reduce market transparency. This is because certain provisions, like the provision dealing with the foreign boards of trade that seek direct access to U.S. markets, will push traders to foreign markets. Rather than giving the CFTC a better picture of markets to prevent fraud and manipulation, it will actually restrict the ability of the CFTC to see that market.

In addition, the bill errantly attempts to define a ``bona fide hedging transaction.'' In its current form, section 8 will exclude legitimate commercial market participants from properly hedging risk. This will cause immediate disruption of the markets as the legitimate market participants are forced out of the market. It will reduce market liquidity and increase price volatility.

I am also concerned with provisions in this bill that require routine reporting and potential use of position limits in over-the-counter transactions that are ``fungible.'' ``Fungible'' is not defined and suggests that a significant amount of CFTC transactions would be implicated by this section.

I am especially concerned about the authority of section 14 which gives the CFTC the opportunity to impose position limits on over-the- counter trades. This is a problem because the OTC trades are nonstandardized contracts. Unlike standardized contracts traded on designated contract markets, OTC trades are often tailored to manage a specific company's risk in a market. And unlike a contract traded on a designated contract market, an OTC trade is made with a single counterparty. On a designated contract market, unlike many OTC trades, a clearinghouse is the counterparty to every contract and can facilitate liquidation of a position. In an OTC trade, if one party is in violation of a position limit and the other is not, liquidation of a position will adversely affect the party that is in compliance, again causing greater market volatility and increased cash prices of a commodity because of a disruption in commercial market participant's risk management strategy.

I think this bill has some technical problems that will harm price discovery and risk management strategies. It should be returned to committee where we address, again, the root cause of high energy prices.

The goal must be to do no harm, but this goal is not met in this legislation.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

In its current form, yes, sir.

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my earlier comments here on the House floor concerning this legislation, I think our goal has been to make certain that we do no harm, and I have concerns that we will do harm with the legislation that's before us. And by harm, I don't mean harm to the industry, not speculators, not swap dealers, but harm to the consumers, harm to the American people, harm to the United States economy.

One of those concerns we have is concern with those who have invested their retirement in pension funds. And so this motion to recommit simply is a requirement that CFTC, before they impose those position limitations, would make certain, would certify that the imposition of those payment limitations would not reduce the value of a person's pension fund.

The effort here is to make certain that no harm is caused, a goal I'm sure we all share, and in particular, make certain that we know what we are doing does not damage the value of the American people's retirement accounts.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, again, I would ask the House of Representatives to approve our motion to recommit.

Again, as the gentleman from Virginia says, we believe there's a better policy that hasn't even been debated upon the House floor in dealing with energy prices than the bill that's before us today. That's the American Energy Act. We wish that motion could be made in order today so that we could have a clear debate and vote upon the issue that is compelling to the American people and damaging to the United States economy.

In lieu of that, we would ask that we take this additional step to make certain no unintended consequences occur and we protect the retirement accounts, the pension accounts of Americans.

I yield back my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, today we mark an event so important to our Nation that it can be identified, simply, by two numbers. The phrase ``9/11'' bears all of the emotions of that fateful day in 2001. Feelings of shock, helplessness and sorrow are still present 7 years later as our Nation engages its enemies abroad. As Americans, we stand to honor those who lost their lives that day, as well as the brave men and women of the armed services who sacrifice so much to protect us from further attack.

On September 11, 2001, we learned that heroes still exist. Just as those who serve our country are willing to forego life for the benefit of others, the firefighters, police and emergency personnel and those passengers who fought back provided the reassurance that Americans still will give their lives for others and preserve the future of our Nation. The heroes of 9/11 reaffirm that those who served in past battles did not serve in vain. Their examples allowed us a new generation of role models.

As we honor those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we must take this opportunity to recognize them as genuine heroes. The significance of their sacrifice is an incredible reminder of the great responsibility we have as Americans. There is not a U.S. citizen who is not affected by the events of that day. To honor their memory is to honor the sacrifice made by everyone who has laid down their life in defense of freedom.

9/11 marked a coming of age for the world. International terrorism had shown up at our front door and surprised a sleeping world. Though the events of that day will be remembered for the physical devastation that ensued, hope and renewed sense of patriotism will be September 11th's legacy. Our innocence shattered, we made renewed efforts to

keep our homeland safe and our world more secure.

Shortly after the attacks of September 11, I joined a half a dozen members of Congress in visiting New York City and the remains of the World Trade Center. I wanted to express on behalf of all Kansans our support and concern for the victims and their families and to express our condolences.

Just a few feet away from Ground Zero, New Yorkers created a makeshift memorial to those who died in the rubble of the Twin Towers. There, thousands of ordinary people brought cards and flowers as a tribute to those who died. While there, I happened to pick up a white piece of notebook paper, blue lines, jagged edge, torn from a spiral notebook. On that piece of paper was the writing of a child: ``Dear Daddy, How much I miss you. How I hope heaven is a wonderful place and I hope I can live a life good enough to join you there someday. Signed, Amanda, Age 12''.

Amanda, who I will not meet nor ever know, must never be forgotten. Her note to her Dad is a reminder that each generation is called on to preserve our way of life and that the cause is noble. That I, as a member of Congress and we, as American citizens, have a responsibility--there must be no more Amandas.

Thank you for the opportunity to express my gratitude for the heroes we are honoring today. Most importantly, I want to express my gratitude to the people who have made our freedoms a reality. Thank you, and may God bless you.

I thank the gentleman from Texas. And I rise today in support of H.R. 6532.

I come from a State in which transportation matters. Long distances between communities, agricultural and commodity goods to be hauled to market. And in the absence of this restoration of $8 billion to the highway trust fund, our State would lose nearly $118.5 million dollars, creating a critical shortfall and the inability to complete projects underway.

So I'm pleased today to be back here in support of legislation that this body passed several weeks ago; pleased to see the Senate follow suit last night, and pleased to know that the President will sign this legislation upon its passage today.

I commend my colleagues in Ways and Means, and appreciate my colleagues from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who have arisen to the occasion to make certain that transportation is supported and the jobs and industry that it pertains to, by this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in obvious support of H.R. 1527, as amended, the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act. This is a piece of legislation that I have worked on for a number of years, and I am pleased that under the leadership of Mr. Filner and Mr. Buyer this bill is now on the House floor, and I am excited about the opportunities that it presents to better care for veterans who live in rural America.

About 39 percent of our veterans enrolled in VA health care live in those rural areas. Many face challenges of accessing VA care because of the distances between where they live and where the facilities are located.

We are making some progress in regard to rural veterans. In the last several years, we have approved an amendment that I have offered for a number of years increasing the veterans' mileage reimbursement rate from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile. The fiscal year 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill that we passed earlier this year, back in July, would increase that from 28.5 cents to 40 cents per mile. So that's one step we have taken to help our rural veterans better access health care.

Recently the VA established an Office of Rural Health and a Rural Health Advisory Committee to develop solutions to the challenges of providing health care to veterans living in rural America, and the VA continues to expand community-based outpatient clinics and will activate an additional 44 new clinics in the next 15 months, bringing the number of those clinics to more than 1,000. The VA has also increased the number of readjustment counseling service centers, the Vet Centers, nationwide with plans to open an additional 39 Vet Centers by the fall of 2009. In my home State of Kansas, we have opened an outpatient clinic this year in Hutchinson and opened a Vet Center in Manhattan, Kansas; so progress is being made.

However, despite all those efforts, the reality is that many veterans live in remote areas of the country beyond the VA's ability to construct medical facilities to care for them. The congressional district that I represent in Kansas is an example of an instance where veterans experience great difficulty in traveling to VA facilities. My congressional district is more than the size of the State of Illinois. It has more hospitals than any other congressional district in the country but not one VA hospital. Some Kansas veterans are forced to travel up to 5 hours to a VA hospital for the care they need; and, unfortunately, more often than it should be, they simply forego that care altogether.

H.R. 1527, as amended, would require the VA to conduct a 3-year demonstration project to allow highly rural veterans living in four VISNs, Veterans Integrated Service Networks, to receive the covered services through non-VA providers.

This pilot will ask the VA to explore in several regions a practical approach when the VA care is not otherwise available close by. It would give those who live the farthest from VA facilities the choice to receive their care closer to home at the local hospital or the local physician's office.

There are criteria by which a veteran must qualify to receive this kind of assistance. A veteran must live at least 60 miles from a VA clinic, 120 miles from a VA hospital, or 240 miles from a VA specialized care facility when they're seeking that kind of health care. To ensure the continuity of care, the legislation requires the VA to develop the functional capabilities to exchange veterans' medical information between the VA and non-VA providers in this pilot, and the VA will be required to report to Congress annually on the cost, upon the quality of care, and upon patient satisfaction.

Forty-four percent of our military recruits are from rural areas, as are many Guards and Reserves that our Nation has increasingly called into service. This means that rural veterans are more likely to increase in number. Allowing the most underserved of these veterans to take advantage of the existing rural health care infrastructure is a commonsense approach. This is good for the veteran. It's good for the community. It's good for the health care provider. In many of the hospitals and clinics that I represent, in the communities that I represent, an additional patient is a very important thing. Hospitals in many instances are like schools. One more student matters to the viability of our school system just as one more patient matters to the viability of the private health care providers. We have approved this concept in our appropriation bill earlier this year. In July the VA military construction spending bill approved an additional $200 million to increase access to fee-based care for veterans in areas where the VA does not offer services. And with the high price of gasoline and its impact upon our rural veterans, it's even more important that this legislation pass.

We must fully consider this practical reform for highly rural veterans living outside the VA's ability to care for them, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1527.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the gentleman from Colorado and acknowledge his tremendous efforts on behalf of veterans across the country, but especially those who live in rural America, and extend to him today my appreciation for his comments and his friendship.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rehberg).

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

I ask the gentleman from California if he has other speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close and then yield the balance of my time, if the gentleman from California has no other speakers

Is the gentleman from California prepared to close?

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green) for his comments, his ecumenical attitude, and his understanding for the needs for all American veterans, and I am hopeful that that is demonstrated today by all Members of the House as we approve this legislation.

Let me also take this moment to thank all of the employees, the staff, the medical providers within the VA system in Kansas and across the country who work hard on a daily basis to make certain that our veterans are cared for and also for all those who have volunteered their time, their automobiles, their days, and their driving skills, as we have had many veterans who have helped other veterans get to a medical facility, often miles and distance away.

These kinds of volunteer activities have been important and it is a way that some veterans have been able to access health care. But this legislation takes us in a very positive step, one that we have worked on for a long time to achieve, and I am very pleased by the efforts that we see, the culmination of those efforts that we see today.

Finally, let me thank the staff of the Veterans' Committee, both the minority and majority. I appreciate the approach and attitude, the diligence with which we have addressed this legislation. It has had its false starts as recently as a month ago. I am very grateful for the efforts that all made to make certain that this legislation is before us today, and in particular I thank the gentleman from California, Mr. Filner, who gave me his word back in early August that this legislation would be on the House floor this week, and I very much appreciate Mr. Filner's efforts.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and appreciate the consequences that arise from its passage.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am a supporter of S. 2617, the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008. On May 21 of this year, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5826, the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Act of 2008, introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Rodriguez.

The legislation before us today is the Senate companion to that bill. It would increase, effective December 1, 2008, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.

I would like to thank the gentleman from California, the chairman, Mr. Filner, and the ranking member, the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Buyer, for bringing this bill to the floor in a timely manner, and acknowledge the efforts by our colleagues, the Chairman of the Subcommittee, Mr. Hall, and the ranking member, Mr. Lamborn, for their work and leadership on improving benefits for our veterans.

The legislation before us is an important annual authorization which provides our Nation's veterans with a timely increase in their compensation later this year. It was requested by the Bush administration, and the House passage today will send this bill to the President to be signed into law.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 6832, the Department of Veterans Affairs Construction and Extensions Act of 2008. I again thank Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for bringing this bill forward today. And I also want to thank the leaders of the Subcommittee on Health, the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) for their bipartisan efforts in crafting this important legislation.

The construction authorization provisions in title I of this bill are identical to previously passed legislation here in the House, the construction authorization bill H.R. 5856, and they would authorize major VA medical facility projects and leases for the fiscal year 2009. This legislation is similar to what we have done in the past on an annual basis. The Veterans' Affairs Committee report for that bill H.R. 5856 with further explanation of the legislation background and intent of these construction authorizations.

Collectively, the provisions authorize approximately $2.2 billion over the next 5 years to improve access to health care for our Nation's veterans. The extension portion of this bill, the extension authorities in title III include a number of important authorizations. Ranking Member Buyer introduced a bill to extend the expiring authorities, H.R. 6802, on August 1 of this year, and this bill incorporates those extensions and others.

Among those that are significant and important are: Repeal of sunset on inclusion of non-institutional extended care services; permanent authority for provision of hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to veterans who participated in certain chemical and biological testing; extension of nursing home care; and, extension of certain home loan guaranty programs.

The bill, in title III, would also increase the number of veterans participating in the independent living program and enhance refinancing of home loans by veterans.

Mr. Speaker, with House action on this construction authorization and the extension of authorities, as well as the veterans' COLA we just passed a few moments ago in the form of Senate bill 2617, the House will have taken what many consider the must-pass bills for the 2008 session for the 110th Congress. Our hope is that our Senate colleagues will take up H.R. 6832 promptly, so that we may complete the actions on these legislative items that are of great importance to veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6832.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.