Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the Delta Regional Authority, DRA, on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. Ten years ago, President Clinton signed into law legislation establishing the DRA. He did so with the widespread bipartisan support of Members of Congress who were eager to give this region a strong foothold up the ladder to success.

The DRA has proven to be effective in leveling the playing field for the Delta region. The DRA helps connect opportunity with the sheer grit, intelligence, and willpower that already exists in the people of the region. For ten years, DRA has made great strides in bridging the gaps that have kept the region isolated from progress.

The DRA is a federal-state partnership that serves 252 counties and parishes in parts of Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. These counties and parishes hold great promise for access and trade in bordering the world's greatest transportation arterial--the Mississippi River.

It has been a privilege for me to work alongside DRA and the people of the Delta region over the years. The educators, healthcare providers, farmers, local officials, small business owners and workers in this part of the country have all made meaningful contributions to overcome unique challenges and make the Delta region a wonderful place to live and work.

The people of the Delta region are fortunate to have a reliable federal partner in the DRA. In its first ten years of work, the DRA has made significant progress tackling the region's unique challenges. For example, the DRA operates a highly successful grant program in each of the eight states it serves, allowing cities and counties to leverage money from other federal agencies and private investors.

An independent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service found that per capita income grew more rapidly in counties where the DRA had the greatest investment. Anyone who knows what it is like to live and work in an area without the most basic infrastructure systems will understand how important the DRA work is to bring critical infrastructure such as new water and sewer services to more than 43,000 families.

I look forward to working with the DRA as it continues to expand its regional initiatives in the areas of health care, transportation, leadership training and information technology, small business development and entrepreneurship, and alternative energy jobs. I am proud to recognize the DRA's first ten years of achievements, and I look forward to working with the DRA to build an even stronger region for our future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Penzel Construction Company in Jackson, Missouri on their 100th anniversary.

Penzel Construction has earned a strong reputation as an honest, reliable and loyal company. Over the years, Penzel Construction has constructed homes, schools, churches, roads, bridges and factories. More recently, Penzel Construction has done more highway work and also taken on more prestigious building projects like the 13-story Hirsch Tower housing KFVS Television in Cape Girardeau. It has been impressive to watch as Penzel has worked to attract new industry enabling them to expand and create new opportunities.

The high standard set by earlier generations as they built Penzel Construction Company has been maintained and improved upon by today's generation. Penzel Construction has provided an example to all entrepreneurs on how a successful company should operate. They operate with the highest integrity when dealing with their customers and their own employees. Their success and commitment to community has had a profound effect on the entire Southeast Missouri region.

Madam Speaker, it is a great privilege to honor Penzel Construction on their 100th anniversary. I congratulate the entire Penzel family on this occasion and wish them many more years of success.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I didn't try to tell a little bit more of the story that our beloved friend and colleague Ike Skelton started. It kind of started all back about in 1980 for my family with Ike when my late husband, Bill, and he drove in to work every single day, and the stories that I learned both from Bill and Ike, because I used to then take Ike in after Bill, and every Thursday now that we come in with prayer breakfast has been, for me, a remarkable experience because of what I have learned from our colleague Ike Skelton, both from history and also an understanding of the great love that he has for our wonderful State of Missouri.

His commitment and his dedication have been extraordinary, and he has been, for me, not only a real hero but also someone whom I have tried very hard to learn from. You have set an example, Ike, that is impossible for anybody else to meet; but certainly you have been a role model for me and so many others before me, and I just want you to know how important you are not only to me, to how important you were to Bill, to Tori and Katharine and to Ron and Sam and the rest of the kids, Ike. But more importantly than that, you have been special for our country.

You are what every Member of Congress should want to be, and that is a man of great courage, a man of great fairness. You have shown me and others how important it is for us to be civil to one another, how we should talk to one another, and I hope that the example that you have set will continue on in this great body. You will be sorely missed, and we really love you.

Madam Speaker, I rise today and join the Epilepsy Foundation in calling for Americans to Get Seizure Smart! this November as part of National Epilepsy Awareness Month. More than three million American families are affected by epilepsy--over 60,000 Missourians have been diagnosed with epilepsy or reoccurring seizures.

Epilepsy Foundation staff and volunteers are distributing the Get Seizure Smart! Quiz across the country this month to raise awareness. By taking the online quiz at www.GetSeizureSmart.org, Americans can learn about the condition and how to treat it.

Epilepsy awareness is critically important for public servants. Because first responders are often called when someone is having a seizure, it's critical they have good information on which to act.

I commend the Epilepsy Foundation for their 40-year campaign to raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with this condition. I encourage my colleagues to learn more about epilepsy and to connect with the Epilepsy Foundation in their community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Charlie Kruse for his 18 years of service as President of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation.

Over the years, Charlie's uncommonly wise counsel has been a blessing, as it was for my late husband, Bill, before me. Whether it was changes in agriculture policy, EPA regulations, or even school funding, I know I can rely on Charlie and the folks at Missouri Farm Bureau to provide, honest, reliable assessments for rural Missouri. But more important than Charlie's advice, I appreciate Charlie's friendship; and I look forward to keeping it for years to come.

Missouri Farm Bureau has grown to be an even more effective organization under Charlie's strong leadership. When Charlie was elected President of the organization in 1992, membership stood at just over 75,000. Membership today stands at just under 112,000 members. This is a testament to Charlie's leadership and the dedicated staff and membership he has surrounded himself with. Moreover, public servants from both political parties agree that Missouri Farm Bureau continues to be one of the most respected organizations in our state.

No tribute to Charlie would be complete without mentioning Charlie's wife, Pam. I believe it is clear to all that Pam's dedication to her husband and her family enabled Charlie to work so hard for rural Missouri. Pam's unselfishness and generosity of time and energy are to be commended.

On behalf of the farmers and ranchers of Southern Missouri and the grateful constituents of the Eighth Congressional District, I congratulate Charlie and Pam on this occasion. Thank you, Charlie, for your 18 years of dedicated leadership with Missouri Farm Bureau. Best of wishes to you and your family as you pursue new challenges in the many bright years ahead of you.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize St. Vincent Catholic High School in Perryville, MO, which was recently named to the list of the best 50 Catholic secondary schools in America. The list is compiled by the Catholic High School Honor Roll, an independent project of the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Acton Institute, a research and education organization. Around one-half of all U.S. Catholic high schools go through the application process for the Honor Roll list, a group of approximately 1,300 schools. These schools are recognized based on their academic excellence, civic education and Catholic identity. Schools provide extensive data on standardized testing and other academic measures, and administrators answer surveys on academics, Catholic teaching and social studies.

St. Vincent High School is a part of the history of Perryville. The parish was first established in the 19th century. The Daughters of Charity began the school in 1907. Over more than a century the school has maintained its commitment to educating their students in a faith based way that helps them spiritually and to prepare for the future. The students, faculty, and families involved in St. Vincent High School provide a wonderful example to schools all across Southeast Missouri and the nation. This recognition encourages their hard work and continued excellence in Catholic education.

This is an outstanding achievement in which the St. Vincent High School and all of the surrounding community should take pride. One of the best Catholic schools in the nation is St. Vincent High School. Congratulations again to the St. Vincent High School community. We are all very proud of you!

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 150th Anniversary of the completion and opening of the Iron County Courthouse in Ironton, Missouri. The cornerstone of the Iron County Courthouse was originally laid on July 4, 1858. The construction of the building was completed and it was opened in October of 1860. This courthouse is a testament to justice in the rural community of Ironton. The legacy it represents is a point of pride to the members of this community.

The Iron County Courthouse represents a place where the laws of our country are protected and upheld. Just as justice must be served in urban areas so it must be protected and served in rural communities around the country. This courthouse represents the values of the people of Southeast Missouri and the deep traditions here. These values and this building have withstood the test of times. The Courthouse survived damage during the Civil War battle of Pilot Knob in September of 1864. The Iron County Courthouse is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places and has been featured in numerous publications.

We have good reasons to recognize the history of this institution in Southeastern Missouri. The Iron County Courthouse has served as the site for countless trials and hearings during its one hundred and fifty years of existence. Along with the Iron County Historical Society and the Iron County Commissions, I celebrate the anniversary of the Iron County Courthouse.

We look forward to challenging them again next year. However, I think that we have to make a rule that no interns get to play, because they were quite a bit younger than us, in spite of the fact we thought we would have a level playing field.

Nonetheless, the important thing is, number one, we worked together as a team. We proved that we could totally do something that was nonpolitical and that brought us all together. We bonded, and I think it makes for very important friendships in this place.

I will say that next year our practices will begin even earlier.

We want to also thank our coaches here in the House, Ed Perlmutter, Joe Donnelly, Joe Baca, Kevin Brady and Sandy Levin. Thank you all very much for helping. Most importantly, thank you to the Speaker and the Minority Leader and everyone else for being there for us.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the work of a distinguished group of veterans and volunteers who continue to serve the men and women of our military and their families. The Patriot Guard riders can be seen at nearly every event celebrating our long tradition of military service to the Nation in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District.

It is difficult to miss the Patriot Guard riders, with their motorcycles emitting a low rumble en route to a Memorial Day ceremony, a welcome home celebration, a Veterans Day event or a military funeral. Their presence is always a respectful tribute to those who serve in uniform, and they are frequently a comfort to the families who have lost loved ones in the course of duty.

The members of the Patriot Guard do every day something that too few Americans take time for: they are always, always available to our troops, our veterans and our military families. They mark the service of Americans who have left their homes and risked their lives to defend our freedoms.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, I think it is important and fitting to single out such examples of service to our country. With honor and with dignity, the Patriot Guard riders are a source of constant support to our servicemembers, past, present and future. They are also a source of inspiration to young Americans considering a future in the service of our Nation, and I am very proud to thank them for all their efforts.

Thank you all for listening. I thought I would fill in a little more about the details of our softball game next week.

Our coaches are Ed Perlmutter, Joe Baca, Sandy Levin, and Joe Donnelly.

The team we are playing this year are the women members of the Congressional Press Corps, led by Dana Bash of CNN, Susan Milligan and Shailagh Murray of the Washington Post. Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC and Susan Mulligan of the Boston Globe will be the official announcers of the game. Michelle Fenty, the first lady of Washington, D.C., will throw out the honorary first pitch.

The Silver Slugger sponsor is the Congressional Federal Credit Union. It costs nothing to come watch us, and I want you all to know how much better we are this year than we were last year, with excellent coaching and lots more practice.

If you want to find out any more information about this very, very fun opportunity on June 16, go to www.facebook.com/ congressionalsoftball2010. We encourage all of you to come out and support us on both sides of the aisle. It helps energize us. We want you to know we're pretty good this year, and we're going to win.

Thank you, Ranking Member McKeon.

My colleague, Jim McGovern, made a couple of remarks with regard to the challenges the military is facing with regard to potential enlistees.

I could go down and continue talking about some of these, but one of the most interesting facts is that every year the military annually discharges over 1,200 first-term enlistees before their contracts are up because of weight problems. Then the military must recruit and train their replacements at a cost of $50,000 for each man or woman.

This begs the question, and which is why this amendment from my colleague is so very important, and that is because 16 million children or 22.5 percent of all children in the United States live in a home where access to food is an uncertainty. In these homes, child nutrition programs literally serve as a lifeline to proper nutrition and a better future.

We know that hungry children are sick more often. They suffer growth impairment and even developmental impairment. They do poorer in school, they are less prepared to join the workforce, and for purposes of this debate, they are less prepared to serve their country in the Armed Forces.

The facts of life for too many of our children are hard to hear but they are, in fact, true.

The first step in achieving greater success must be to ensure adequate funds are dedicated to this challenge.

I support the sense of Congress language in this amendment calling for a $1 billion increase in funding for the child nutrition programs, and I share its belief that we need to pay for it.

I would like to thank my colleagues, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Sanford Bishop of Georgia, for their leadership on this issue.

To support the goals of this important program, I would ask colleagues to support the sense of Congress language and continue working to make this message a reality.

The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act must be a tool for reducing the number of hungry and obese children in the United States. GAO recently analyzed domestic food assistance and found: (quote) ``participation in 7 of the programs we reviewed--including WIC, the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and SNAP-- is associated with positive health and nutrition outcomes consistent with programs' goals, such as raising the level of nutrition among low- income households, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of the nation's children, and strengthening the agricultural economy.'' These are goals I believe we can all support.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the 50th Anniversary of Silver Dollar City in Southern Missouri. On May 1, 1960, this attraction was established in Branson, Missouri, and a whole community has grown up around the many visitors who are drawn to Taney County every year. Not only is Silver Dollar City a mainstay of the local economy, the park is also an annual destination for families throughout the region.

Silver Dollar City owes its success and its continuation as a family business to the leadership of its co-owners and co-founders, Mr. Jack Herschend and Mr. Peter Herschend. Since the founding of their company 50 years ago, they have always stayed true to the principal values of our State and our Nation. By being diligent in their business, kind to their employees and loyal to the customers who return to them year after year in increasing numbers, Herschend Family Entertainment is a great example to aspiring entrepreneurs in every sector of our economy.

As this House of Representatives labors in the best interests of Americans like the Herschends and ideas like Silver Dollar City, we must keep in mind the policies that will enable others to achieve similar success through their good ideas and hard work. I'm honored to congratulate all of the employees and guests at Silver Dollar City, past and present, on their 50th Anniversary. Each of them is a

participant in a special enterprise with a long tradition. We have good reason to note and to celebrate all of their great efforts and achievements today.

Madam Speaker, I am honored today to congratulate West Plains Senior High School, which was recently named by a study done by U.S. News and World Report as one of America's Best High Schools. In a report on nearly 22,000 high schools in 48 states, West Plains Senior High repeatedly scored high marks in the three categories used to rank schools: test performance, college readiness, and the performance of low-advantage students. In all three areas, West Plains Senior High has consistently excelled.

Through this honor, the entire West Plains Senior High School community has provided an example not only to Missourians, but to all Americans. The hard work and dedication of the faculty, parents, and the students in preparing our next generation of scholars and leaders gives me great confidence in our nation's future.

Although this report confirms what we Missourians have already known, that West Plains Senior High is one of the best schools in the nation, it is an impressive achievement in which West Plains should take pride.

Congratulations again to the West Plains Senior High School community. Keep up the good work, and we are all very proud of you.

Go Zizzers!

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as co-Chair of the Center Aisle Caucus, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress dedicated to the principles of civility and decorum in the House. We believe the House of Representatives should be a respectful place, and we work on behalf of the long traditions set by our Founders and followed by two centuries of Representatives.

It is important for us to have open and honest debate in the people's House, and it is important for Americans to know the House of Representatives is a public place. But it is just as important that the debate, no matter how heated or how passionate, remains respectful and does not degenerate or denigrate others.

I didn't vote for the health care bill, but the threats being directed at Members of Congress who did are deplorable, and they are illegal. They are being perpetrated by Americans who forget that no matter what our differences are, we have to work constructively to solve our problems.

We have a great grassroots movement in my home State that is intense but also observe those important standards of decorous dialogue. I would hope that the very few people who are responsible for these acts against our colleagues will take note and follow the example of impassioned, patriotic Americans who can state their beliefs without threatening Members of Congress and their families.

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

All Members, all of us, have been hearing from our constituents that banks are not lending to small businesses. The Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee has heard testimony that this is the result of banks' unwillingness to take risks or reduce their capital reserves. In addition, bank regulators have increased scrutiny on lending practices. The funding and language included in this bill attempts to address this problem by increasing the SBA loan guarantee to 90 percent for certain small business loans and eliminating, as the chairman said, certain borrower fees associated with SBA's business loans. I greatly appreciate that my chairman, Jose Serrano, has not increased spending in this bill but is allowing SBA to use other available resources to continue funding these programs.

With unemployment at almost 10 percent, now is not the time to make it harder for small businesses to get credit, and these programs should and must be continued. However, I have to say that I am a bit troubled with the manner in which this bill is being considered. Just yesterday, the House passed the Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act that includes funding and language to continue these SBA programs through April. So my question is, which bill does the majority intend the Senate to act on? If yesterday's bill was not so controversial, perhaps today's bill would not be necessary.

Neither the disaster bill nor the SBA bill was marked up by the Appropriations Committee. The majority did not seek input from the minority in either of these bills. We've known since the enactment of the stimulus bill over a year ago that SBA did not have sufficient funding to continue these programs through fiscal year 2010. Yet instead of dealing with it in a more comprehensive manner either in the fiscal year 2010 omnibus or in a committee markup earlier this year, we're now only providing SBA with enough funding to continue these programs for one additional month. We could have marked up a bill in committee that provides SBA with sufficient funding for the rest of the fiscal year and come up with a spending offset that both sides of the aisle could agree to. Instead, we'll continue to create anxiety for small businesses, lenders, and the SBA that borrower fees will increase and guarantees will decrease at the end of April.

I have great, great respect for Chairman Serrano, and I'm sure he would also like to deal with this problem in a comprehensive manner as opposed to on a month-to-month basis. Mr. Speaker, I support Chairman Serrano's proposed legislation because of its importance in providing credit to small businesses. However, I am disappointed that we are only temporarily addressing this program. I am also disappointed that we didn't consider this legislation in regular order.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Will the chairman yield?

I am very proud of you, and I just wanted you to know that.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to, once again, thank Chairman Serrano. I know he feels very strongly, as I do, that we have to find a way to make this permanent rather than force people to be anxious on a month-to-month basis. Hopefully in the next few months we'll be able to create some kind of bill or be able to satisfy all of the people who are so desperate to take the risk and become entrepreneurs and really make a difference in putting people back to work. So with that, I thanks the chairman, I thank the Speaker.

I yield back the balance of my time.