Floor Statements

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.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Dr. James Wilson Murray's service as the executive director of General Baptist Ministries. Dr. Murray is retiring after 65 years of ministry. His service to our country and his community is unparalleled. I am incredibly thankful for the work he has done and the example he has set in Southern Missouri.

Dr. Murray served more than 20 years in the United State Marine Corps. He saw combat in both Korea and Vietnam and was recognized with three Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star Medal for valor. After leaving military service, Dr. Murray was president of Oakland City College for 33 years. He transformed the university from an unaccredited, declining college to a fully accredited university with more than 2,000 students on multiple campuses.

In addition to these incredible experiences and years of service, Dr. Murray has dedicated his life to the ministry of the General Baptist denomination. While serving as the executive director of General Baptist Ministries in Poplar Bluff, he established financial stability, provided ministerial credibility and implemented Mission One, a five- year initiative to offer new resources and enhanced communications to the people and ministries of the General Baptist denomination.

From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate everything he has done from his service in the Marine Corps to his time as executive director of General Baptist Ministries. I am proud to have Dr. Murray serve as an example in Southern Missouri, and I thank him for his years of dedication.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Daniel Wayne Williams, a newly-naturalized American citizen and newly-adopted son of Brock and Ashley Williams. After three years of waiting, Brock and Ashley are bringing Daniel home with them from Russia. I am proud to offer them my deepest congratulations.

As a member of the House Adoption Caucus, these are the kinds of stories I love to share about the close-knit, loving American families who welcome adopted children into their homes in Southern Missouri from all over the nation and all over the world. I am reminded that it is our duty in this House of Representatives to promote their dreams of parenthood as well as the dreams of children to be adopted by parents who will make a warm and loving home for them.

Brock and Ashley have taken this journey together to find their son. Daniel has received a tremendous gift from them, and he is providing an even greater gift to them. Many have been able to follow their story through their blog, the Gorby Project--a step-by-step account of the adoption process which began in 2010. It serves as a reminder that adoption is rarely a short or easy process and that we have a duty to be supportive of these aspiring parents as well as the children who bring them such joy.

Thank you to the Williams family for sharing their experience with us, for promoting adoption, for persevering to bring their family together, and for demonstrating the great love that binds parents to their children--even when those children come to them from far away over the course of many years.

Mr. Speaker, three branches of the federal government now agree: the Affordable Care Act is a tax, and it falls to Congress to repeal this tax.

American families, employers, patients and providers have known this all along. CBO says the health care law will cost 800,000 American jobs. Taxpayers are footing more than a trillion dollar bill for the privilege of putting more Americans out of work. It is a tax on top of a tax.

How much more damage can this Administration inflict on the American economy? How much more uncertainty can our small businesses bear? What American senior citizen feels comfortable with handing over their health care decisions to an unelected board deep in a federal office or inflicting a $500 billion cut to Medicare?

This law represents the most chilling powers of government: to tax as a form of interference with our freedoms, to get between Americans and their earnings at the same time it gets between Americans and their liberties. The taxes included in the ACA punish Americans for not doing something the government has decided to require.

We are here today to start a long, important conversation in Congress and in the nation about ridding ourselves of this law's dire consequences, intended and unintended. We will not settle the matter today, but it is vital that the people know we are working to strike down a tax we do not want, cannot afford and will not pay as a price for our freedom.

Mr. Chairman, my softball co-captain, my colleague from Florida, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and I would like to remind all of you, all of our colleagues, that tomorrow night, once again the bicameral, bipartisan softball team plans to beat the Washington news media in a softball game; and we want to make sure that all of you know the details so you can join us in the very oppressive heat that we will be playing in.

I yield to my co-captain.

And I want to just thank Martha Roby for helping our average age go way, way, way down.

Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Markey

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

Mr. Chair, I have to rise in strong opposition to my friend's amendment.

Today, the EPA and the Corps of Engineers are writing guidance in order to dramatically expand the reach of the Clean Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The EPA and Corps' understanding of waters of the United States would grow to encompass--in my rural district and a lot of rural districts all over this country--dry ditches, culverts, and--who knows--swimming pools and snow, as well.

This guidance is called ``Identification of Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act,'' and it's clear that the draft guidance, which has already been published, says it is not a rule and it is not binding. But let me tell you what's happened in my congressional district. Number one, this guidance is actually causing already the Corps of Engineers to fine a couple of people in my congressional district who supposedly have dry ditches on their property, and they are about 10 different streams removed from the Mississippi River, perhaps. Only when it rains does it stay wet for a day. These people are being told that they're going to have to pay hefty fines unless they stop the development of this particular area on their land. This is absolutely the craziest thing I've ever heard. Nobody is talking about impacting your clean water. This is out in the country. This is in rural areas. This is where there hasn't been a stream running in 100 years. Why that would be called a navigable water is beyond me.

The language included in the underlying bill is just simply going to stop the Corps, along with the EPA, from expanding their regulatory reach. And as I said, it's going to drastically be expanded to include culverts, dry ditches, and the rain falling on our fields. God knows there's going to be a mud puddle there, and it's suddenly going to become a navigable water because you might be able to put somebody with an inner tube in there in the puddle in the yard to be able to swim until it dries up.

Come on. Let's use sound science. Let's use some common sense. Let's follow proper rulemaking. The last thing we need to do is to continue to increase the power of the Federal Government. And this amendment under consideration--and I love my colleagues who are offering it-- would further empower the regulatory agencies, and it would endanger more than anything else our private property rights.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support private property rights and join me in demanding transparency and accountability of our regulatory agencies. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' to defeat this amendment.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to express my support for the reauthorization of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under consideration today. The FDA provides essential safeguards for patients in America and around the world, while making possible new treatments and therapies for diseases and conditions which affect millions. This bill supports greater speed of generic medications to market and assures much needed drugs to treat cancer will get to the patients who need them.

However, one provision (Section 805) in this legislation causes me special concern. The section includes the new authority for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consult with the Department of Homeland Security to cause the destruction of any drug ``that has reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death . . . or that is valued at an amount that is $2,000 or less.'' This section poses a serious concern to hundreds of thousands of Americans who receive their drugs by mail from licensed and regulated pharmacies in Canada and other foreign countries. For these patients, these American consumers, there is often only one choice beyond a Canadian pharmacy, and that is to not purchase the medicines they need at all.

Patients expecting receipt of legitimate prescriptions, written by their doctor and filled by a licensed pharmacy in Canada, could have their shipment of medication destroyed without receiving any notification either before or after the Federal Government takes that action. A bus full of senior citizens which crosses the border into Canada to visit a pharmacy where they can fill their prescriptions for one-third the price of the same medications in the United States could have their pill bottles seized at the border, their meager budget for their monthly health care expenses already exhausted. This is not good policy, nor is it what Americans expect from a free market.

This language threatens a critical, cost-effective supply of medications and pharmaceuticals. These drugs are exactly the same as their counterparts sold in America. I urge further discussion of this critical issue in conference and a full examination of the consequences of passing this provision into law.

Madam Speaker, in every State and every congressional district--I dare say in every community in our Nation--there is domestic violence. It's a tragedy, and it's often a silent tragedy in a home or in a situation where victims feel trapped. They need to know that the resources to help them are there, and the people who commit these crimes need to understand that the penalties for their abuses are severe. We all need to send the message that this law is important and that this Congress has zero tolerance for violence against women.

I've been to many shelters for victims of domestic violence in Missouri. They can't publish their addresses publicly. Still today, there is a network of women who can get you to a safe place, but you might not know who they are in your community until they save your life.

Domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, and sexual assault are rarely discussed because they are such painful and shameful subjects, but they afflict women of all ages and from all walks of life. We can bring some small relief to all of the victims of these atrocities by speaking with one voice today and not trying to make this a political issue.

These crimes are not acceptable--ever. The criminals who commit them deserve every bit of the stringent punishments contained in this legislation, making any one of them think twice before raising a hand in anger. Giving one woman the courage to escape grave danger in her own home or sending one young person out into the world with an understanding of the seriousness of these crimes all make today in the House and this bill worthwhile. I urge the bipartisan passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 150th anniversary of the Department of Agriculture. It was 150 years ago to this day that President Abraham Lincoln established the USDA.

As Americans, we have been blessed with the most successful agricultural economy on earth. U.S. consumers spend, on average, less than 10 percent of their disposable income on food--the lowest of any developed nation in the world. In Europe, consumers spend double that percentage and, in developing countries, consumers often spend more than half of their income on food. As Americans, we can be proud of our producers and the role our agriculture department has played in making advancements in the agricultural sector. Successes in agriculture lift all aspects of our economy.

American agriculture's success has been fueled largely by the hard work of our farmers and ranchers. They withstand incredible challenges on a daily basis to provide our nation with a safe, abundant and affordable food supply. More and more, our producers will be depended upon to feed not only Americans here at home, but a growing world population. I am confident our producers, our research institutions and the private sector will be able to harness innovation to meet the daunting challenge of feeding a world population that is expected to grow from around 7 billion to over 9 billion by the year 2050.

Agriculture will continue to represent the foundation of the U.S. economy. I am proud of what agriculture has been able to accomplish over the last 150 years with the support of USDA. It is with great respect for the farmers and ranchers in Southern Missouri I represent, and those in industry and our research institutions, that I recognize agriculture's great success story over the last 150 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the millions who live with seizures and deserve to be able to live, work, learn and play safely in their own communities. On April 3, representatives from around the country will be here on Capitol Hill meeting with our staff about epilepsy and what it's like to live with this condition, which is the 3rd most prevalent neurological condition and yet has no cure. While I hope that research will one day result in a cure, we can do something very meaningful now--we can help school personnel know what to do when a child has a seizure in school. We can help employers know how to help an employee in the workforce when he or she has a seizure, and communities can learn to help keep both children and adults safe wherever they go by having trained first-responders. Many great programs have been developed and implemented over the years to help educate our communities and teach them how to be ``Seizure Smart.'' Together, with the help of a united public awareness campaign, we can help everyone to become seizure smart. We need to educate everyone about epilepsy and help everyone to know what to do when someone has a seizure. When individuals from the Epilepsy Foundation come by to see your office on April 3, tell them that you are getting Seizure Smart and offer your support to House Resolution 298.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mr. Homer George and National Poison Prevention Week, observed March 18 through 24, 2012. Mr. George was instrumental in the establishment of National Poison Prevention Week, and this year marks its 50th anniversary.

After treating many cases of accidental poisoning, Mr. George, a St. Louis College of Pharmacy graduate and Cape Girardeau pharmacist, realized that the most effective way to treat poisonings was by prevention. Mr. George brought this issue to the mayor of Cape Girardeau in hopes of establishing a poison prevention week. Cape Girardeau Mayor Walter Ford proclaimed October 12 through 18, 1958, as the first Poison Prevention Week. He cited the total number of poisonings as almost 1,000,000 annually, mostly due to careless handling and storage of common household items, including lye, pharmaceuticals, insect poisons, coal oil, and cosmetics.

Missouri Governor James T. Blair immediately expanded the declaration to a statewide Poison Prevention Week. Mr. George followed up on this success by enlisting Congressman Paul Jones to introduce legislation establishing a national Poison Prevention Week. A joint resolution was introduced in Congress on February 1, 1960, and President John F. Kennedy signed the bill into law on September 26, 1961. Congressman Jones presented the signing pen to Homer George in recognition of his public service in preventing childhood poisonings and the creation of National Poison Prevention Week.

Today, more than two million poisonings are reported each year to the 57 poison control centers across the country. More than 90 percent of these poisonings occur in the home.

Pharmacists and pharmacy organizations are active participants in efforts to prevent accidental poisonings thanks to the difference one pharmacist made. There is no better time to remind the citizens of our country about the selfless service of Homer George, and I am honored to represent him and all of Missouri's Eighth Congressional District in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Michael Greene's 21 years of service on Missouri's Eighth Congressional District Service Academy Review Board. Membership on this board is an important public service and one that I entrust only to those who have truly shown quality of character and judgment. An exceptional example is Michael Greene.

I want to thank Michael for his service to the Eighth Congressional District and to the five branches of military in our great nation. His leadership on the Service Academy Review Board has been influential in the lives of countless young men and women from southern Missouri who have worked hard to better themselves in the service of our country.

As an advocate for our nation's five service academies, I have relied on his sound judgment and good guidance. Michael has always taken seriously the important task of reviewing the applications of students who seek an appointment to the service academies, encouraging them in their decision-making process and furthering a long, proud tradition of military service. Because our congressional district is so well represented at the nation's service academies, we also have a reputation for producing motivated, honorable young people who are earnest in their desire to serve others, steadfast in their obligation to defend freedom, and pure in their patriotic love for America. Michael shares these virtues with the young Missourians he has helped to nominate and place in positions of leadership in all branches of the armed services.

From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate everything he has done for the Service Academy Review Board program to further its aims and to achieve its goals. I deeply appreciate his role in this important congressional responsibility. Like our Americans in uniform, Michael volunteered for this duty, and he has long served ably, honorably and well.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, and the Budget be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 3765) to extend the payroll tax holiday, unemployment compensation, Medicare physician payment, provide for the consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.