Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in appreciation and support for the New London, Connecticut Rotary Club's Camp Rotary, a service program showcased at a July 23rd event that I had the opportunity to attend. The event joined together the Connecticut College AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers and students and teachers of New London Public Schools to celebrate the success of Camp Rotary.

The Rotary motto ``Service Above Self'' exemplifies their strong devotion to community service internationally, and the Rotary Club of New London demonstrates this commitment every day. The New London Rotary Club organizes many service projects annually, including a holiday book drive, a literacy initiative, and a community playground cleanup.

Rotarians have long understood that many young students lose academic momentum over summer vacation. Often, students also practice unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles over the summer because they lack access to healthy, affordable food and places to exercise.

Camp Rotary, now in its 18th year, provides a valuable opportunity for disadvantaged students of the New London Public School system to enrich their summers through physical activities, educational programs, and college preparation. The school system partners with New London teachers and Connecticut College student volunteers who graciously devote their summers to helping these youth progress.

Camp activities aim to provide an educational and entertaining experience for the 11-15 year olds, but the overarching goal of the program is to put the students on a college path. Many of these young people would be the first in their family to attend college, and Camp Rotary helps them plan for their future by offering tours of universities and goal planning workshops.

The importance of this effort was recently underscored by a report issued by the National College Board finding that the U.S. is now ranked 12th in the industrialized world in college graduation rates. As recently as 1986, the U.S. was ranked first. Camp Rotary aims to solve this problem by awakening interest and motivation in college achievement at the middle school level, which experts agree is the most successful strategy to increase college involvement and completion.

The New London Rotarians understood the need for the Camp Rotary program in the community and successfully and generously established a program to provide more productive summers for hundreds of disadvantaged students. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the valuable opportunity the New London Rotary Club and the Rotary Foundation continues to provide for the youth of New London, and the New London teachers and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers that help Camp Rotary to succeed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Matthew Lane for his heroic lifesaving efforts in reviving his coworker from cardiac arrest. Matthew is a 19-year-old employee at Wicker Park in Manchester, Connecticut, and a resident of nearby Colchester. On June 19, during cleanup for an event held earlier in the evening, Matthew found his coworker Stephanie Lee in cardiac arrest. During the weeks prior to her collapse, Stephanie had undergone several medical tests on her heart and had received a heart monitor to help diagnose her condition. As soon as he realized the severity of the situation, Matthew quickly called 911 and carefully followed the dispatcher's instructions to perform CPR. Matthew, who had received instruction on CPR several years earlier in preparation for a camp counselor position, was able to successfully revive Stephanie.

Stephanie, a 22-year-old resident of Vernon, was quickly taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors were able to diagnose her with a rare condition called catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). Doctors implanted an internal cardiac defibrillator to help prevent future collapses. Thanks to the quick actions of her co-worker, Stephanie will be able to return to the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston, where she will be a fourth year pharmacology student. Matthew will be returning to Central Connecticut State University as a sophomore this fall.

This lesson in heroics brings attention to the importance of CPR training and exposure to basic first aid education. In honor of Matthew's heroic actions, the city of Manchester's Board of Directors will present him with an official citation during their August 3rd meeting. I ask all members of the House to join me in honoring Matthew Lane for his undying sense of service and commitment to the people of eastern Connecticut.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mrs. Margarete Holm, the widow of U.S. Army Captain Arnie Holm, a Waterford, Connecticut, native who went missing in the jungles of Vietnam 38 years ago.

Last Thursday, Margarete and Captain Holm's sister, Meg Brewster, who have been heroic in their efforts to search for Captain Holm, traveled to Crystal City, Virginia, for a family update conference organized by the Department of Defense.

During the conference, which took place during votes in this House, members of the U.S. Army presented Mrs. Holm with a POW/MIA commemorative medal to honor the next of kin for those Americans who are missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. Although authorized by Congress in 1983, Mrs. Holm did not receive her Medal until last week.

For Margarete, who has tirelessly supported the cause of POW/MIAs locally in Connecticut and across the country, this medal is a long overdue recognition of her loss. Although I was unable to be with her during the presentation, I spoke to her last night to let her know how important she and all of those who are still waiting for their loved ones to return home are to me and my colleagues in this House.

To Margarete, Meg, and to all those still waiting for their loved ones to return home, please know that as the POW/MIA flag says, ``you are not forgotten''--not by the Members of this Congress, not by the men and women of our military, and certainly not by our fellow Americans.

I want to, first of all, thank Chairman Cummings and the ranking member for their help in moving this resolution forward.

I particularly want to say thank you to Mr. Cummings, who is clearly someone who doesn't come from Connecticut but someone who, because of the mission and the duties of his chairmanship, has taken an extraordinary interest in the Coast Guard Academy. He has been up to the academy and addressed the student body in an event that was widely covered by the media, and I know Superintendent Burhoe and others really appreciate the strong interest that he has in the academy, and I want to thank Mr. Duncan for his kind words as well.

We are very proud of the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. All you have to do is turn on the TV these days and you can see Admiral Thad Allen, the national incident commander at the Gulf of Mexico, showing extraordinary leadership skills, talent, both in terms of science and organization to get the best efforts to clean up the gulf.

The new commandant of the Coast Guard service, Admiral Papp, is a graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, as is Admiral Allen; and it is clear that the academy has done just an outstanding job in terms of giving the graduates there the skills that they need in terms of science, math, maritime sciences, but as well just the leadership skills to make sure that this critical military branch gets the finest folks carrying out its mission every single day, whether it's interceding drug runners coming into the U.S. or, again, leading the efforts down in the Gulf of Mexico to clean up the spill.

Chairman Cummings described very eloquently the history of the Coast Guard Academy, the merger which took place in the 1930s, and its present home in New London on the Thames River. I was driving by a couple of days ago and saw the first-year cadets out there sweating in 100-degree heat doing calisthenics. They are also out there on the Thames River learning sailing skills.

The Eagle, which is the tall ship our country is proud to display both at coastal cities up and down the east and west coast but also in other parts of the world, is a training facility for Coast Guard cadets. Again, every single graduate over the last several decades has had the experience of working on the Eagle which, again, is a proud symbol of our country and its great maritime mission and also it's great maritime future.

What I would just say is lastly, again, partly because of Chairman Cummings' interest, you have seen, I think, recently an effort by the Coast Guard Academy to get much more involved in the community of the city of New London. It is a distressed city and has many challenges, but we now have Coast Guard cadets who are out there helping in terms of the school system, out there helping in terms of cleanups and environmental efforts in the city, providing entertainment with the great Coast Guard band at different local events throughout the city. Again, we are very proud of the fact that they are a very involved neighbor in the city of New London in southeastern Connecticut.

Lastly, I would just say that the U.S. News and World Report, with its annual college survey, demonstrated the success of the Coast Guard Academy with its ranking of the Coast Guard Academy in the top 10 as far as small 4-year colleges. Any effort to widen the circle of young people--some may be listening here in the Chamber today, to learn about the Coast Guard Academy--it's free, but it's also the highest of quality in terms of the educational program that it provides. And, as I said earlier, it provides great leadership in terms of a great homeland security function that we need at so many different levels.

So I want to thank again Chairman Cummings and Mr. Duncan for their support for this academy. I think it's an academy that deserves a bit of a spotlight today in terms of the great work that it's doing.

I urge all Members to support this measure.

Mr. Speaker, during the first decade of this century, the Bush economy destroyed the middle class. Today, we are at a point where 72 percent of Social Security retirees have elected early retirement at age 62 because they had no other financial choice.

But despite the fact that they have voted with their feet in unprecedented numbers, what is Mr. Boehner's proposal for Social Security, which he told the Pittsburgh Gazette a couple of weeks ago? He wants to raise the retirement age to age 70. If there is a more out- of-touch statement about what the middle class of this country is going through and what an out-of-touch proposal, to basically totally knock the stuffing out of the retirement security, Mr. Boehner's proposal to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70, to means test benefits would decimate what's left of the American middle class.

We cannot let that happen. Democrats will protect this program, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this August, by maintaining the retirement age which exists today, a program which is solvent until 2037 and with moderate, balanced changes can protect its solvency for future years and generations.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary event and the many people and organizations that have helped make it happen. This year in Groton, Connecticut, Grossman's Seafood will host its second annual ``Operation Lobster Dinner'' on July 18, 2010, for military personnel and their families.

This event provides local military families with 600 lobster dinners free of charge. These families will enjoy not only the dinner, but entertainment and a variety of activities for the children in attendance. The event is also a fundraiser for Work Vessels for Veterans, an effective organization that seeks to help returning servicemen and women start or restart their careers after fulfilling their military duties by donating boats and other vehicles to be used for those purposes.

``Operation Lobster Dinner'' is a sterling example of the true sense of community in the Groton area for the military families who are based in our state. These brave Americans spend countless weeks and months away from their loved ones and put their lives on the line in defense of our freedom. We can never do enough to thank these true patriots, but ``Operation Lobster Dinner'' provides a unique opportunity for these folks to sit back and enjoy a delicious meal.

I also want to highlight the role of Captain Marc Denno and the Sub Base New London in contributing to this special dinner. I look forward to attending this event and joining with the sponsors and countless volunteers who help make it possible. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Grossman's Seafood for their generosity.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exceptional patient care and service exemplified by two eastern Connecticut hospitals, William W. Backus Hospital and Day Kimball Hospital.

Located in Norwich and Putnam, these two hospitals have been providing quality health care to the residents of New London and Windham Counties for over 100 years. Founded in 1893, Backus Hospital operates the only trauma center in eastern Connecticut, and has the only facility with a hangar for LIFE STAR to transfer patients by air. This capability is extremely beneficial for the critically injured, and expedites transfers to trauma centers across the state.

Serving northeast Connecticut, Day Kimball Hospital maintains a unique partnership with UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, MA, which allows it to stabilize and transport heart attack patients hours faster than the national average. This partnership in concert with the level of excellence in cardiac care at Day Kimball Hospital are extremely advantageous for Connecticut residents. With such resources and capabilities, these two hospitals make achieving outstanding patient satisfaction a top priority.

Recent data published by the Department of Health and Human Services illustrates the hospitals' strong commitment to patient care, with data showing that both hospitals are performing better than the national average in a number of areas. In these hospitals, patients with chest pains or potential heart attacks receive electrocardiograms over thirty minutes faster than the national average, and over 98 percent of cardiac patients are given aspirin within 24 hours of arrival.

Both William W. Backus Hospital and Day Kimball Hospital strive to further improve their already excellent level of patient care and satisfaction. I ask my colleagues to join me in acknowledging the benefit these two hospitals provide to the residents of Connecticut, and the example they set for other hospitals across the country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American for a lifetime of service to his country and community. Ernie Plantz of Gales Ferry is a World War II veteran with an incredible story and an enduring passion for public service. On several occasions, I have had the pleasure of seeing firsthand the hard work that Ernie puts in on behalf of Connecticut's veterans.

Ernie is a retired Lieutenant in the United States Navy. He survived the sinking of a submarine, the USS Perch, and was taken as a Prisoner of War by Japanese forces during World War II. He remained as a Prisoner of War for more than 3 years, living through unthinkable physical and emotion pain.

Today he is a proud member of the Groton Submarine Veterans and has spent much time teaching the children of eastern Connecticut about the history of World War II and sharing his story. It is not unusual to see Ernie at the forefront of any event helping or honoring Connecticut veterans. He is the recipient of a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He is also an active member of the Lions Club, and was named a Melvin Jones Fellow by Lions International. This is the highest award for humanitarian service bestowed by the organization.

While Ernie is a survivor in the purest sense, what truly prevails when you meet him is his love of helping others and giving back. For someone that has seen the darkest sides of war, I am inspired by the amount of time and energy that he puts in to help his fellow veterans and citizens on a daily basis. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Ernie and thank him for his service to our Nation.

Madam Speaker, this past Monday, southeastern Connecticut received blockbuster news when it was announced that Electric Boat will be acquiring 700,000 square feet of office space from Pfizer pharmaceutical company. This is space from which Pfizer was going to be departing as part of its global reorganization. EB's decision to come in and acquire this space is huge, and it is good news for the economy of southeastern Connecticut.

It is not happening in a vacuum. This space is needed because the workforce is growing. There are new jobs in southeastern Connecticut because this Congress recognized that our submarine fleet, which had been underfunded under the prior administration, was running into end dates for the Ohio class submarine program.

We have invested, over the last 3 years, in growing the workforce and in research, development, and engineering. These new jobs will ensure that we will have a submarine fleet well into the later stages of the 21st century. It will provide stability for the economy of southeastern Connecticut, and it will maintain that Groton, Connecticut, will become and will remain the submarine capital of the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ron Gettelfinger who recently retired as President of the United Auto Workers. Ron has been President of UAW since 2002, though his ardent support for the American worker extends back to his days as a rank and file UAW member and chassis line repairman at Ford's Louisville plant.

Ron led his members through one of the most devastating economic downturns since the Great Depression. He should be particularly lauded for his efforts to fight for those employees in the auto industry who have lost their jobs in recent years. He worked tirelessly to secure opportunities for and ensure the fair treatment of his members during this time and I thank him for those efforts.

Ron has also been a staunch advocate for expansive and affordable health care in this country. He should be proud of his role in supporting and passing the expansion of SCHIP in 2009 and the historic health care reform package passed earlier this year. When I led the effort in the House of Representatives to oppose the excise tax on health care plans, I was proud to have Ron and his members working side by side with me to protect the benefits of working families in our country.

In my state of Connecticut, I have worked closely with the men and women of the UAW. Whether they are the men and women who work at Foxwoods casino or those helping design the next generation of submarines at Electric Boat in Groton, UAW members are among the hardest working individuals in our country.

I commend Ron for his service to improve the quality of life for so many American working families and I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Ron for his work and wishing him a happy retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a man whose generosity and service to his community made this past Memorial Day an unforgettable one. Gary Raffia of Enfield designed and built a spectacular float for the town's Memorial Day Parade--one which served as a powerful tribute to our state's fallen heroes during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gary's star-shaped float was draped in a banner displaying the name and picture of every Connecticut soldier who paid the ultimate price for their nation since 2001. The perimeter of the float was decorated with American flags.

Along with everyone present at Enfield's Memorial Day Parade, I was truly moved by Gary's tremendous act of citizenship. Not only did he design and build this float, but he paid for the entire project. Gary is a local farmer by trade and the son of a World War II veteran. It was his friend Teddy, also a veteran, and many others in the community that compelled Gary to build this float. His tribute to Connecticut's fallen soldiers was a selfless act that embodies the support and gratitude our troops deserve on Memorial Day and throughout the year. By creating this float and including it in the parade, Gary honored equally those soldiers who were fortunate enough to come home and those who were not.

Gary is a man with a history of making his visions become a reality-- much to the benefit

of those around him. Once before, he built a shed with an opening where people in the community could come to drop off cans and bottles. All the money redeemed from the cans and bottles was donated to a local medical facility for children with cancer. Gary is quick to acknowledge his loyal friends who helped him with these projects and I too want to thank them for their hard work.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Gary and his friends as well as congratulating them for their service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, author Michael Kinsley once observed that ``a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth.''

The Republican leader, Mr. Boehner, proved this point the other day when he was asked point blank whether he agrees with the Chamber of Commerce that the government should pitch in to

pay for BP's oil spill. He replied, ``I think BP and the Federal Government should take full responsibility for what's happening here.'' His words clearly misstated the law. BP is solely responsible, and his staff went into damage control overdrive afterwards to clean up his mess.

But this gaffe really confirms what every American knows in their heart of hearts, that Washington Republicans for the last 40 years have been lockstep allies of the oil companies' push to shift the risk of oil production onto the taxpayer and keep the benefit to themselves. Americans listening today should know that no matter what the Republican leader says, the Democratic majority understands that BP is solely responsible for the cleanup; that the taxpayer will be repaid for its costs; and that BP will compensate small businesses and working families for the damage done to their lives.

No more free rides courtesy of the American taxpayer.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 328, I was not able to cast my vote. If I were recorded, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Chairman, first of all I want to congratulate Chairman Skelton for the outstanding work that he has performed bringing this bill onto the floor and, in particular, salute the fact that this bill will actually, for the first time since the beginning of the Virginia-class submarine program, bring the production level up to two submarines a year. That was a target that we were supposed to reach as a Nation in 2002. It had been delayed year in and year out. And through his leadership, we are finally going to reach that level, which will be important for our submarine force and our Navy.

I also rise in support of the en bloc amendment in particular to talk about the Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act that Congresswoman Matsui referred to earlier. Again, she described her efforts to try and expand the scope of this program to the Title I school district.

In addition to that, this is an amendment which will move the program into the Department of Defense from the Department of Education, a place

where it has been almost de facto over the last few years in any case. And even more importantly, it will shorten the service requirements from 6 years to 4 years for our military personnel, which will allow many more Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans to participate in this program, which, as she indicated, is a program that has provided a pathway for some of the finest Americans to participate and be in the classroom with all of the qualities of team work, discipline, particularly their strengths in the STEM area, which the Troops to Teachers Program in its present program's limited scope has demonstrated and recruited, again, outstanding teachers into the classrooms.

In addition to that as also introduced, male teachers and minority teachers--something which, again, I think is going to benefit our public education system greatly. It is an amendment that's been endorsed by veterans services organizations across the board from the American Legion to the VFW. In addition to that, education groups such as NEA and AFT have endorsed this measure.

And I thank the chairman for including this amendment in the en bloc amendment and urge support and passage of the entire en bloc amendment in the bill as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, on May 7 United Technologies Corporation, the largest private employer in the State of Connecticut, announced that they were going to take advantage of the health care reform law and extend age 26 coverage to all their employees' families. A few days later, Mohegan Sun Casino, which employs 10,000 in the State of Connecticut, made the same decision.

Prior to health care reform, during graduation time, graduating students get a diploma in one hand and a notice from their parents' insurer that they are being kicked off their parents' insurance coverage. Because of health care reform, 1.2 million up to age 26 Americans will now be able to use their parents' health insurance.

For the voices who call for repeal, I challenge them to tell those families that we should repeal that provision and kick their kids off health insurance.

In a few days, we are going to pass a Defense authorization bill which will extend age 26 coverage for TRICARE so that military families will also be able to insure their kids up to age 26. That's why health care reform was needed in this country. We are going to provide 14 million young adults with health insurance coverage by 2014. It is because we took that step that we are going to provide access to that population.