Jo Ann Emerson

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Dr. Frank Nickell, professor of history at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. For four decades, he has served as an educator, a passionate chronicler of regional history, and an ambassador for the university in the surrounding community.

First hired by the university in 1969, Professor Nickell has won praise for his work in the classroom. After decades of inspiring students, he received statewide recognition in 1992, as one of 47 educators from Missouri higher education institutions awarded a Governor's Award for Excellence in teaching. In 2009, Southeast Missouri State honored him with the Provost's Research Instruction and Development for Excellence (PRIDE) Award. The latter award recognizes excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.

In these last two categories, scholarship and service, Nickell has gone above and beyond his responsibilities in the classroom. An avid promoter of regional history, he helped initiate the university's Historic Preservation program, through which undergraduate and graduate students work to preserve the area's historic sites, artifacts, and cultures. In 2007, he helped launch and became host of Southeast Public Radio's ``Almost Yesterday'' series, which takes listeners back in time to specific moments in regional history. After just one year on air, the program won the station its first-ever Missouri Broadcaster Association Award.

For his many achievements and his unwavering commitment to the people and history of Southeast Missouri, I thank Frank and wish him well as he enjoys his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Karen Thomas, a member of the professional staff of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, and to congratulate her on her retirement at the end of this year. Karen has made invaluable contributions to the function of the Subcommittee, and she will be greatly missed by the Members and her colleagues.

During her nearly 40-year tenure in federal government, Karen has served in all three branches: In the Executive Branch for the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Commerce, in the Judiciary for

the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and in the Legislative Branch as a detailee for the Appropriations Committee. Throughout her federal service, Karen has developed budgets, planned expenditures, facilitated transparency and fostered a team approach to solving some of the most difficult problems faced by agencies.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee's professional staff, Karen is a source of reliable information and trustworthy counsel. She approaches her job seriously, and she takes to heart the consequences of the decisions made in Congress for the public servants at dozens of federal agencies as well as the Americans who depend upon their good work.

Most of all, Karen's can-do attitude, her bright smile and warm welcomes, and her willingness to go the extra mile to get the answers not just right--but exactly right--have been instrumental to the proper functioning of the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations during my two years as Chair. She will be greatly missed, and her presence and many noteworthy contributions to the work product of the Subcommittee will not soon be forgotten.

I encourage my colleagues to join me in thanking her for her excellent work and in wishing her well in a satisfying, hard-earned retirement, one in which there are no budget cycles, appropriations deadlines, constantly-ringing phones or all-night weekend workdays. Thank you, Karen, and God bless.

Mr. Speaker, the drought which is devastating U.S. producers of agriculture throughout the Nation poses a serious, serious threat to every American family who plans on visiting the grocery store this year. American farmers and ranchers are on the ropes right now, and this legislation is desperately needed.

I can't tell you how important the leadership and cooperation of Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Peterson has been on this issue because, statistically speaking, this is the worst drought since the 1950s. The forage situation for livestock is the worst since 1933.

In southern Missouri, the drought is breaking the life's work of dairy farmers like Stacey McCallister, who wrote this to me:

I've been talking to some farmers, and the feed prices are

going to put us out of business. Milk isn't coming up at all

on price and feed costs are doubling in cases. The sorriest

hay that you could feed a heifer is at $200 a ton; I used to

buy it at $30 a ton. I feel like my heart is in my stomach

right now.

This picture of his farm tells the heartbreaking story. According to Stacey, even if you want to sell off part of your herd, you're out of luck. There's no more room for cows at the sale barn where they hold livestock auctions. There is about one penny of profit margin on the milk he's selling today. Our response to this disaster must begin with this effort to reinstate the emergency programs which were allowed to expire last October. We've paid for the reauthorization of these four programs in this legislation, and there's no reason not to renew them.

These programs are a safety net for our livestock producers in free fall. They need this assistance, and we need to give it to them or else risk losing the heart and soul of the agricultural backbone of this Nation, the families who literally put food on our tables.

I urge support for this legislation at a crucial hour of need for America's livestock producers.