Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Trish Kelley, Mayor of the City of Mission Viejo, on her outstanding service to our community and to congratulate Mayor Kelley on her retirement.

Since taking office in 2002, Mayor Kelley has been a leading advocate in preserving and enhancing public safety, transportation, and quality of life of the Mission Viejo's residents.

Because of Mayor Kelley's leadership, Mission Viejo has received recognition as the safest city in California each year since she was first elected.

She has implemented and advanced transportation and infrastructure programs that have lowered traffic collisions and enabled safer travel for residents.

Furthermore, Mayor Kelley led efforts to establish the City as a Community of Character, developing a youth education program that won national recognition for promising practices by the Character Education Partnership.

Mayor Kelley's volunteerism, vision, and commitment to excellence has created a sense of pride for the City of Mission Viejo as a premier city of Orange County.

I wish Mayor Kelley the very best in her retirement and I thank her for the extraordinary legacy she is leaving behind; a true inspiration for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4809) to reauthorize the Defense Production Act, to improve the Defense Production Act Committee, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on H.R. 4809, as amended, the bill currently under consideration.

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

This bill today, H.R. 4809, is a bill to reauthorize the Defense Production Act. Simply put, the Defense Production Act is a bill that is intended to minimize distortions to the economy when it is necessary for the government to take action to aid speedy recovery from large natural or man-made disasters or to protect our servicemen and -women during combat situations. The underlying legislation was used in the recoveries from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and used to get new body armor in a hurry for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan when supplies ran dangerously low.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean war was when Congress first enacted the Defense Production Act, DPA, granting the President broad powers to access prompt, adequate, and uninterrupted supplies of industrial resources to satisfy national security needs. During that war, the DPA was used to establish a robust national defense infrastructure which later provided the U.S. strength in the ensuing cold war.

Since then, the DPA has been used only sparingly. In recent years, Congress expanded the Executive's use of the DPA to include the protection of critical infrastructure and needs arising from civil emergencies, such as

hurricanes, in addition to its defense purposes. When it was enacted, the DPA consisted of seven titles, including some controversial wage and price controls. As the Korean war wound down, four of those titles were allowed to expire. The remainder of the law, the remaining three titles, have operated effectively and without much controversy since.

There are three remaining titles. First, title I, which grants the President authority to meet urgent defense or disaster recovery requirements. This authority essentially allows the government to move to the head of a company's production and delivery schedule and indemnifies that company against breach of contract lawsuits by nongovernment entities.

Title III authorizes the President to use loans, purchase commitments, and grants to encourage contractors to establish or expand industrial capacity and produce items that are essential to the national defense that must be domestically produced but are otherwise not economically attractive enough to have a domestic producer. These programs are usually small, typically less than $15 million, and in the history of the DPA, going back to the Korean war, only three have exceeded $50 million, each of which was specifically authorized by Congress.

Title VII authorizes the President to provide antitrust exemptions for voluntary agreements and joint activities among private entities intended to address production and distribution problems that might impair defense preparedness.

While the first two titles and the rest of title VII expire at the end of September, title VII also contains the authorization of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which scrutinizes the foreign direct investments process, to ensure that they do not threaten national security. That authority does not sunset. It did not before, and it does not in this reauthorization.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us reauthorizes the DPA for 5 years and reinstates some modest reforms, the reforms that were in place prior, adds back the guidelines for the use of title III that clarified that title III must be the most cost-effective solution to the defense industrial base shortfall, and it has a requirement for a separate congressional authorization for projects greater than $50 million. As I just described, all previous projects greater than $50 million since the Korean war have all received congressional reauthorization, so this really is not changing what has been existing practice.

The reforms also stipulate that the use of title III may only be approved by the President and makes some changes to improve the effectiveness of an interagency coordinating committee on the uses of the DPA.

Mr. Speaker, this bill preserves the vital and important authorities of the DPA while preventing any abuse or perception of misuse. It passed the Financial Services Committee in June by voice vote. I would urge immediate passage of this bill and its commonsense reforms.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

First of all, let me thank the gentleman from Colorado and my friends on the other side of the aisle for their work on and support of this Defense Production Act, for which I will call the vote in just a moment.

But as to comments that my friend from Colorado made, first of all, I think he knows I agree with him on Export-Import Bank and on terrorism risk insurance, so you are not going to have any debate from me there.

Clearly later this week, the action to sue the President will come on the floor. There will be plenty of time to debate on that.

Just one comment I would like to make. You mentioned bipartisanship, and I agree with you, there is not enough around here and there needs to be. In the end, you can never move the country forward sustainably without getting something that has support on both sides. So I agree on that.

But when I first got here almost 10 years ago, George W. Bush was President, and I saw a number of your colleagues, the Democrats, had a button that said ``article I.'' I am like, what is that? They said: Well, this is to show that we, Congress, are article I in the Constitution, the executive branch is article II, and we believe that President George W. Bush is treading upon the rights enumerated in the Constitution that rightly belong to the first branch of government, Congress.

Now, we, Republicans, believe that the current President, President Obama, is doing the same thing.

Here is a place where I think maybe we can have some bipartisanship at some point. When George W. Bush was President you thought he went too far. Many of us probably did too, but didn't say so because of sort of party loyalty. Now we believe this President is going too far. I would wager to guess that some of your side believe that too but aren't saying so because of party loyalty.

At some point, Republicans and Democrats in this institution, in this body, need to protect its constitutional responsibilities.

How much time do I have remaining, Mr. Speaker?

I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Colorado.

I thank the gentleman from Colorado.

I understand the point. Some individual Members, I believe, did introduce--the House didn't per se--but did introduce some charges, if you will, against President Bush.

The point I am simply trying to make is, each side of the aisle has felt that the rights under the Constitution of this institution have been trodden upon by a President of the other side of the aisle. What the right response to that is and what the right remedy to that is we can debate. I am retiring at the end of this year, so I am leaving all of this for you all. But as we grow the executive branch, as we add more departments, and we add more things, we continue to concentrate power there and take it away from here.

This place, for all its faults and foibles, and it has plenty of them, it is accountable to the people. It is accountable to the people in a way that the executive branch can't ever be. That is why we on a bipartisan basis, if it is not with this President then with the next one, we need to start clawing some of those rights and responsibilities back to article I of the Constitution.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I thank again the cooperation and involvement of my friends on the other side of the aisle for the Defense Production Act, and I would ask for its passage.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1944, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2013. Unfortunately, I was delayed in returning to Washington and, regrettably, but want to take this opportunity to note its importance.

When we hear the words ``eminent domain,'' we often visualize the government taking a home, an office building, or a piece of land, often for a highway or some other public infrastructure. But my colleague Mr. Sensenbrenner articulated well in his remarks that the powers of eminent domain are sometimes used for very different purposes.

One abuse of eminent domain that I have long been publicly against is the use of eminent domain to seize mortgage notes from investors, using the courts to unilaterally restructure the terms of those loans before selling them to other investors. In this scheme, some private investors have their investments seized and incur losses while other private investors benefit. Many of the investors who will incur losses are the savers and retirees who own them through their 401(k), IRA, or pension accounts. But ultimately, this is a blatant abrogation of private property rights and undermines longstanding contract law. As a response, I have introduced H.R. 2733, which prohibits Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration from making, purchasing, or guaranteeing loans in areas where eminent domain is being used to seize mortgage notes. This legislation is also included in the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners (PATH) Act.

I believe that property rights, whether real property or the financial instruments that finance them, should be protected. Doing so will give certainty to the housing finance system, which is necessary to transition from a system dominated by government-guaranteed mortgages to one based on private capital.

The Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2013 is not the only legislation to address the issue of abusive eminent domain practices. Section 407 of the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2014, Pub. L. No. 113-76, prohibits the expenditure of federal funds to support activities that utilize eminent domain powers, unless it's exclusively for a public purpose. The schemes being considered call for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to guarantee the seized and restructured mortgage loans. Given that some private investors and their paid intermediaries stand to benefit, it is apparent that FHA is unable to participate in these restructuring programs, so long as eminent domain powers are used. With this provision signed into law just last month, Congress and the President have already begun to define the limits of acceptable usage of eminent domain.

I thank Mr. Sensenbrenner for his important work on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the University of California, Irvine's (UCI) men's volleyball team for winning the 2013 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Men's Volleyball National Championship. This is UCI's fourth Men's Volleyball Championship in the last seven years. They previously won in 2007, 2009 and 2012. UCI is the first school to win back-to-back NCAA Championships since UCLA in 1995 and 1996. This marks the 28th overall NCAA Division I Championship for UC Irvine overall.

UCI, which swept USC in the final a year ago, is the first school to sweep in the NCAA Championship match in back-to-back years since UCLA in 1982 and 1983. UCI joins UCLA, Pepperdine and USC as the only programs to have won four titles. UCI is now 4-0 in NCAA championship matches and 8-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

UCI' s Connor Hughes was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He joined Chris Austin, Michael Brinkley, Collin Mehring and Kevin Tillie on the All-Tournament Team. Hughes, Austin and Tillie were selected for the second consecutive year.

UCI was 25-7 overall, the second most wins in the country this season. They finished second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) with an 18-6 mark. The Anteaters' 25 wins this year are fifth most in a season, while the 18 league wins were third. They began the year ranked No. 1 and end the year ranked No. 1. They were also ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 for 13 of 17 weeks this season.

UCI was 21-0 on the year when producing more kills than its opponent and 25-0 when out-hitting its opponent. They had 17 blocks in the title match, the second most in a match this season. The Anteaters hit .500 against

Loyola in the semifinals, their second-best hitting percentage on the year.

Sophomore libero Michael Brinkley had 290 digs this season which was third on UCI's single-season digs list. Kevin Tillie and Michael Brinkley were named first team All-Americans, while Collin Mehring was a second team All-American selection. Tillie and Brinkley were also named to the All-MPSF first team, while Mehring and Scott Kevorken were named to the second team.

UCI started the season by winning the UCSB Invitational where Collin Mehring was named MVP. Jeremy Dejno was named AVCA National Player of the Week on Jan. 8, while Klye Russell garnered the award on April 9.

Congratulations to head coach, David Kniffin, who is just the second coach in the 44-year history of NCAA men's volleyball to coach a team to the NCAA Championship in his first season, and the men's volleyball team of UCI, for winning the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball National Championship. I am proud to recognize the achievements of the players, coaches, students, alumni, and staff who were instrumental in helping UCI win the national title.

It is an honor to represent University of California, Irvine, under the leadership of Chancellor Michael V. Drake, M.D., as it continues to establish itself as a world-class research university, and as one of the top universities in the Nation.

I thank the gentleman from South Carolina.

Sometimes, Mr. Chairman, you live in a neighborhood. You look down the street, and there's a neighbor there. They've got new cars, and they're remodeling the kitchen, and they take a lot of expensive vacations. You look down the street, and you wonder: How are they doing that? They live on the same street that we live on. How are they doing all that stuff? And you're tempted. You sit there and think, well, why don't we get some new cars, and why don't we redo the kitchen and take some longer, nicer, more expensive trips. Then, one day, the sticker goes up on the window of that house that says that they have to leave. The moving van comes up, and the house is foreclosed upon--the cars go away; they can't use the kitchen anymore; they're not taking any more trips. Then you realize you made the right decision.

It was a mirage. It looked like they could pay for all that, but they couldn't. This is an allegory for what's going on now.

The United States has neighbors in the world--Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Japan--and they have those stickers going up, those foreclosure things going up, because they can't pay for what they're doing. The Senate budget that's before us follows that same path--a mirage of having a lot of what seems to be great things, but you can't pay for them, and eventually that eviction and that foreclosure will come.

We cannot do that. We cannot foreclose on Medicare. We cannot foreclose on the things that we provide for people. We cannot foreclose on the job engine that is this country. And we don't foreclose on it by having a balanced approach, which means balancing the budget, which means bringing the budget into balance, into line, so that those stickers don't go up on this house we call the United States of America.

Mr. Chairman, I don't know if you've been to Spain or not, but I have, just once. It's a beautiful country--nice people, great food, and at one time a large, vibrant, and growing economy, but not today. Today in Spain, over half of the people under 25 years old can't find work. The unemployment amongst all ages in Spain is about what we had during the Great Depression--not the Great Recession, the Great Depression of the thirties. And people on government medical care there can't get it. They can't get it when they want it because they've had to close a lot of their medical clinics in order to save money.

They had to do that because they waited too long to fix their fiscal problems. They waited until they had a debt crisis, and then they had to do what my friend from Maryland said: they had to impose an austerity program. They raised taxes and cut spending very quickly in a matter of just a year or so because that's what they had to do to continue being able to sell their debt.

That, Mr. Chairman, is exactly what we don't want to do. This is not speculation. This is not something we have to think about. It's there for us to see, and not just in Spain and Greece and Cyprus--in Japan, in a different form. It's there in other parts of the world. When you borrow so much money that people won't lend you any more, then you put in this austerity which causes these problems.

Unfortunately, that is what my friends on the other side of the aisle, their budgets will lead us to. More debts, more deficits, kind of a sugar high. They'll say: Oh, yeah, we're going to spend all this money; we'll create all these government jobs. For awhile we'll feel good, until the debt crisis comes, and then all that goes away.

What the Republican budget does is balance in 10 years, and not so that CPAs like me can achieve some symmetry that makes us feel good. It's because when you balance the budget, you set this balance up. It frees up the economy. People know that we're on that track to balance in 10 years. We won't have a debt crisis. People will know we won't have a debt crisis. The economy is freed up from the burden of too much debt, of knowing that there's a problem with no solution. There will now be a problem with a solution.

The economy will be freed up, both on the government side and on the private sector, and there will be more jobs and more jobs. That's what the Republican budget promises: an economy that grows and sustainable job creation, not a 1- or 2-year sugar high followed by a collapse. We've seen what not to do. We know the path not to take.

This Republican budget is the path we should take. I hope everyone will support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Carl Everett Drake, Sr. who died peacefully of natural causes at his home in Sacramento on December 27, 2012. He was 99.

Carl Drake was born on August 21, 1913 in Neptune New Jersey, the second son of James and Lucy Bingham Drake. Carl was educated in the public schools where he was an outstanding student, and even better multisport athlete. His state high school long jump mark of 21'10'' stood for over 25 years. His talents brought him to the attention of coaches from Morgan State College in Baltimore, MD the top ranked college football program available to African American players in the 1930s. His combination of size, speed and ferocity won him a starting spot on the championship football team. At 6'1'' and 205 lbs., huge at the time, he was a bruising, standout guard, playing both offense and defense. The

team went undefeated for his entire career. He was team captain, had the honor of wearing jersey number one, and held the team ball in the national championship photos.

At Morgan he was active in several student organizations, including the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which he joined in 1933. He began dating an attractive and studious coed who worked as the Dean's secretary, even joining the glee club to demonstrate to her his ``softer'' side. Carl and Beatrice Hayes were married in September 1937. They settled in Baltimore, she began work as a social worker, and he, having left school after football a few credits short of graduation, took a job in the post office. Professional football was not available, but his training made him valuable at handling mail sacks. Two children Carl Jr. (1939) and Beatrice (1940) followed, along with a chronic back injury that led to a job shift that relied more on his college schooling than his strength. Ruled out of active military service due to his back injury, he re-enrolled in school to complete his college degree, and in 1944, at the urging of Bea, applied to medical school. He could not attend the segregated University of Maryland, but under the ``separate but equal'' concept of Jim Crow laws, the state of Maryland instead paid his tuition to attend Meharry Medical College, in Nashville Tennessee, one of the two medical schools in the county to educate more than the occasional person of color.

He moved to Nashville to begin study, working an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. graveyard shift as a hospital orderly to save enough money to send for his wife and family, which he was able to do by 1946. He finished Meharry in 1949, and moved to New York City to begin internship at Harlem Hospital. He had wanted to return to Baltimore, but the city hospital there paid interns $15 per month with free room. Harlem paid $50 per month, enough to rent a one bedroom apartment for the family. After internship, and a new baby (Michael 1950), The family moved across the George Washington Bridge to Englewood, New Jersey. Carl began his life as a working physician with a grueling schedule that consisted of steady employment in the ER at Harlem hospital, graveyard shift, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., followed by a junior partnership in a local New York physician's office from 9 to noon, then home to Jersey to sleep, dinner at 6, and then a few private patients seen in a room converted to a makeshift medical office in the house until 9, before returning to work for the 11 p.m. shift in Harlem. When asked later about this level of commitment he replied that he was mainly ``grateful for a chance to actually work''.

This schedule was of course unsustainable, and a fascination with the newly emerging field of psychiatry led him to, at 40, begin training in psychiatry at Graystone State Hospital. During residency he continued his home office practice after dinner to help support a family that had grown to four children with the addition of Barry in 1952. In 1957, after completing residency he looked nationally, and made the bold decision to move to Sacramento to join a newly burgeoning state mental health system. Prior to this no one in the family had ever been west of Tennessee. Arriving in Sacramento in July 1958, he worked for the state during the day, and as had always been the case set up a small private practice in rented space in the evenings. Financial obligations included supporting a son in college and stiff mortgage payment on a modern house in an upscale, and for the first time integrated, neighborhood.

In Sacramento Carl and Bea joined a small circle of middle class African Americans, who had also moved west to make a new life. A handful of doctors, lawyers, a defense contractor, and a funeral home owner formed a social group anchored by the ``Couples Club'', which met on Saturdays once a month for a rotating house party. There were also civic activities like the Lions Club, competitive chess, and the NAACP, as well as the local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. The names of these pioneers: Colley, Jones, Morris, Morrissey, Nance, Rutland, Stewart, Trent, West, and a few others, are now a part of Sacramento history. In 1967 a reduction in state supported mental health services affected clinics, including the Sacramento branch where Carl was Chief of Psychiatry. The new Medicare and Medicaid programs made private practice more viable for physicians caring for low income patients. He converted to full time private practice, and the late 1960s and 1970s became a time of relative prosperity. A pool was added to the backyard, and Carl learned, for the first time, to swim. He remained health conscious, and he and Bea were in the pool everyday from May to October until they were both in their 90s.

With the children finally grown and on their own Carl and Bea travelled--Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii and Scandinavia were highlights-- entertained friends, and watched their ever expanding cadre of grandchildren and great grandchildren grow. Bea retired in 1975, but Carl kept his active practice going, seeing patients five days a week until he was 90. Bea suffered from mild macular degeneration and progressive Alzheimer's disease, ultimately requiring full time supervision. Carl closed his practice--regretfully--to come home to care for her. He moved from many patients to just one. They continued to play backgammon as long as she could, exercised in the pool, and when that was no longer safe took walks around the courtyard, until Bea passed away in March 2008. They had been married for just over 70 years.

In the months following Bea's death Carl, now 94, began a series of home refurbishing projects including a new roof and painting inside and out. His oldest grandson John, a professional house painter, came north to help, and ultimately moved in to help manage the house and yard. In August 2008 Carl renewed his medical license and his driver's license as he put it ``just in case''. He became active in his fraternity once again. He did a few legal consultations in 2009, and then with John to type reports on the new computer, began seeing patients again, on a regular basis, working for the State of California as he had when he moved to Sacramento in 1958, this time doing disability evaluations. He pulled the office shingle bearing the name ``Carl E. Drake, Sr. MD'' from the garage (the same shingle used at the house in New Jersey 60 years ago) and mounted it near the back door. The kitchen table became his consultation office. He scheduled a light but steady stream of patients, three or four a week. He saw his last patient on December 12, 2012, before taking a break for the holidays. New visits were on the books for January 2013.

On December 26th all four of his children, along with five grandchildren and two daughters-in-law visited without fanfare for a traditional post-Christmas gathering. He was in great spirits, holding court, albeit with less energy than usual. On the 27th after a light dinner he walked into the living room to sit in his favorite easy chair and watch a few bowl games. He dosed off, never to wake again.

Dr. Carl Drake left this life as he lived it, with great dignity and grace. He came through the depression, was an All-American athlete, educated himself, raised a family, and was an active working psychiatrist until the very last days of a life that spanned the 20th century and more. He was calm, open, and cheerful, always. His physical stature was imposing, but his gentle steadfastness and serenity were the traits that made him a joy to be with. He never raised his voice; he never needed to. He was universally admired, respected, and loved. He is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, 16 great-great grandchildren, and thousands of patients. He lived to see his 100th Christmas; he leaves the world a better place.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the University of California, Irvine's (UCI's) men's volleyball team for winning the 2012 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Men's Volleyball National Championship. This is UC Irvine's third national championship in six years, which makes them one of only five programs to have won more than two men's volleyball titles.

UC Irvine won the 2012 championship with a 3 0 (25 22, 34 32, 26 24) victory over USC. Senior Carson Clark was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) after recording a match-high 22 kills, hitting .465, and added eight digs and three service aces. Clark joined Ryan Ammerman (2009) and Matt Webber (2007) as the only Anteater players to have earned MOP distinction. Kevin Tillie, Chris Austin, and Connor Hughes were named to the All-Tournament team along with Clark.

The Anteaters concluded the year ranked No. 1 in the country in the final AVCA Coaches Poll. The Anteaters were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 all but two weeks this season. UCI was ranked No. 1 for five weeks this season which was the most weeks at the top of the poll by any school in the country this year. The Anteaters have been ranked No. 1 in five different

years (2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012) under head coach John Speraw. Additionally, the Anteaters have been ranked in the nation's top 10 for 118 consecutive weeks, including No. 1 for 26 of those weeks.

UCI ended the year 26 5 overall, which ties Lewis (26 11) for the most wins in the country this season. The Anteaters finished in a tie for second in the MPSF with a 17 5 record. The 26 wins is the fourth most in school history, while the 17 MPSF wins were tied for third most in school history. UCI was 9 4 at home, 12 1 on the road and 5 0 on neutral courts. They also ranked fourth in the country in attendance with 1,224 fans per match.

Furthermore, UCI captured the 2012 MPSF title with back-to-back 3 2 victories over No. 1 USC and second-seed Stanford. UCI topped fifth- seed UCLA, 3 1 in the quarterfinals. Senior Carson Clark was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Kevin Tillie and Dan McDonnell were selected to the all-tournament team. It was the second time in program history (2007) that UCI won the MPSF Championship title.

Carson Clark and Kevin Tillie were named first team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America. It is only the second time in program history that UCI has had two players on the first team in the same season. UCI ranked first in the country in hitting percentage (.354), assists (13.32) and win/loss percentage (.839). The Anteaters ranked second in kills (14.0) and aces (1.67). Carson Clark was third in the nation with a 0.55 ace average. Jeremy Dejno was ranked 11th nationally with a 0.38 mark. Kevin Tillie ranked third in the country in hitting percentage (.387), while Dejno is sixth (.347) and Clark was 13th (.324). Tillie was also 11th in kills per set (3.80) and Clark is 12th (3.73).

Additionally, Carson Clark became the first player in MPSF history to be named to the league's first-team all four years. He also made UCI history becoming the first Anteater to earn AVCA All-American all four years. Clark was named first team All-American as a senior and sophomore, while garnering second team as a freshman and junior. Kevin Tillie and Jeremy Dejno joined Clark on the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first-team, while Dan McDonnell was a second team All-MPSF honoree. It is the first time in the program's history that three Anteaters have been selected to the MPSF first team in the same year. UC Irvine joins UCLA as the only two teams to have three first-team MPSF honorees. This is the first MPSF honor for Tillie, Dejno and McDonnell.

Senior Carson Clark left his mark in the UCI record books. This season he became UCI career leader in kills (1,861), attack attempts (4,042) and aces (183). He recorded 61 service aces this season, bettering his previous school mark of 50 set in 2010.

Kevin Tillie was the last Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week (Apr. 24) honoree after his 20-kill performance against UCLA in the MPSF quarterfinals. It is Tillie's second national award this year, taking the honor on Jan. 31 as well. Carson Clark was named Sports Imports/AVCA Men's Division I II National Player of the Week on Mar. 19. UCI players have been named a Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week 20 times overall with Clark also garnering the award on Apr. 4, 2011 and Apr. 12, 2010. This year, Clark was named MPSF Molten Player of the Week on Mar. 12, while Tillie earned it on Mar. 5 and Jeremy Dejno was recognized on Jan. 9.

Congratulations to head coach, John Speraw, and the men's volleyball team of the University of California, Irvine, for winning the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball National Championship. I am proud to recognize the achievements of the players, coaches, students, alumni, and staff who were instrumental in helping the University of California, Irvine win the national title.

It is an honor to represent UC Irvine, under the leadership of Chancellor Michael V. Drake, M.D., as it continues to establish itself as a world-class research university, and as one of the top universities in the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of Bill Sanderson, a constituent of California's 48th Congressional District and a noble servant to our country. Mr. Sanderson will retire this month from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County's Board of Directors, where he's dedicated nearly two decades of service to underprivileged youth in local communities. Mr. Sanderson has built a distinguished career in business, most recently serving as Chief Financial Officer at Golden State Foods, President of the Supply Chain Services Group at Golden State Foods, and Director of Financial Planning & Analysis at W.R. Grace Restaurant Group. In addition, he continues to be an influential and respected member of the Business Growth Alliance.

While his commitment to growing businesses and creating jobs in our community is worthy of praise, I am most proud of Mr. Sanderson's selflessness and eagerness to help others in need. As a board member at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, Mr. Sanderson led by example as he devoted

his time to mentor at risk youth. His actions encouraged countless others to volunteer and make a difference in the lives of thousands of young men and women. His leadership and limitless energy provided a new way forward for these young lives and offered an alternative to joining gangs, dropping out of school, and making avoidable mistakes that would adversely affect their future and the State of California.

Mr. Sanderson's commitment to education and his community blossomed as a student at San Diego State University and at the University of Southern California. He is a model citizen, dedicated husband to his wife, Diana, and committed father to his twin sons and young daughter. I salute Mr. Sanderson's work and believe it is worthy of high praise and national recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. William (Bill) Sanderson's Biography

William (Bill) D. Sanderson is Senior Vice President and

Chief Financial Officer for Golden State Foods, a world-wide

food processor and distributor to the quick service

restaurant industry.

Mr. Sanderson began his career as a financial analyst with

W.R. Grace and Company after earning his Masters in Business

Administration from the University of Southern California.

Mr. Sanderson later became the Director of Finance for Far

West Services Restaurants, a wholly owned subsidiary of W. R.

Grace where he was responsible for all financial planning,

budgeting and acquisition analysis. Mr. Sanderson was

instrumental in negotiating a license agreement with Kasumi

Stores of Japan and was directly involved in the opening of

the first 3 Coco's restaurants in Japan.

In 1982, Mr. Sanderson left Far West Services to start his

own chain of retail popcorn and confectionary stores. Mr.

Sanderson grew the company from a single store in 1982 to a

chain of 20 stores in Southern California. He transformed his

small business into a mail order gift company and licensed

his concept in Japan and Korea.

In 1989 as chief executive officer of Cal Corn, Inc., Mr.

Sanderson acquired the mall based Bob's Big Boy Restaurants

from the Marriott Corporation. Mr. Sanderson and Bob's

founder, Bob Wyan, worked together to develop a new

restaurant concept called the Big Boy Diner.

In 1994, Mr. Sanderson negotiated a joint venture agreement

with ConAgra to open retail popcorn stores throughout the

United States. Mr. Sanderson served as managing director of

Orville Redenbacher Retail Stores where he developed a retail

concept and mail order gift division under the Orville

Redenbacher brand.

From 1998 to 2000 Mr. Sanderson served as president of a

middle market designer and manufacturer of arts and crafts

products where he was brought in to turn around a struggling

entrepreneurial company. During his tenure, he acquired a

complimentary crafts products company, established a

children's toy division which included licensed product such

as ``Pokemon'', and focused the company on key account sales.

The company regained profitability and grew its revenues by

95% in two years.

In 2002, Mr. Sanderson joined Golden State Foods where he

was appointed president of Golden State Service Industries, a

wholly owned subsidiary of Golden State Foods. Golden State

Foods is a full line manufacturer and distributor of food

products for the quick service restaurant industry serving

McDonald's and other quick service restaurant chains

worldwide. Mr. Sanderson was named senior vice president of

finance and administration in 2009 and chief financial

officer in 2011.

Mr. Sanderson is active in the Young Presidents'

Organization, where he has held many leadership roles over

the past 17 years. Mr. Sanderson has been involved in giving

back through volunteer and fundraising efforts supporting

Boys and Girls Club of Irvine, Muscular Dystrophy, the March

of Dimes, and the All American Boys' Chorus. Mr. Sanderson

also chairs the Golden State Foods Foundation committee in

Irvine. In that role, Mr. Sanderson founded and has been

instrumental in spearheading the ``Good News for Kids''

fundraising event which holds an annual fundraising event at

the Grove in Anaheim. The proceeds raised from this event

have benefited a variety of children's charities throughout

Southern California. Mr. Sanderson has been a member of the

board of directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Orange

County for more than 15 years and served as chairman of the

board from 1997 through 2000.

Mr. Sanderson and his wife, Diana, live in Irvine with

their twin 17 year old sons and their 10 year old daughter.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 10 o'clock and 7 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until tomorrow, Friday, June 1, 2012, at 9 a.m.

I thank my good friend for yielding, Mr. Speaker.

It seems that, oftentimes around here, there are some people who believe that all government programs are good and are not to be expanded and are to be kept, and there are some who believe that all government programs are bad and that they all ought to be terminated. But you know what? Neither one of those extremes are right. You should look at a program and determine: Is it constitutional? Is it cost- effective? And does it work? The Ex-Im Bank is all three, and I would like to make five points on that.

First of all, it is clearly a Federal responsibility to facilitate exports, something clearly enumerated in the Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton.

Second of all, in the perfect world, perhaps we wouldn't have to do this. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to have airport security; but we do, for obvious reasons. And we have to have this because lots of other countries do, and we will not be competing on a level playing field and we will lose exports if we don't have this facility available for American companies exporting goods.

Third, it hasn't cost the taxpayer any money. It's actually made $3.7 billion for the taxpayer. We're always talking about programs here that cost the taxpayer money. This hasn't, it doesn't, and it won't. And that is something that should be clear.

Fourth, there's nothing wrong with big businesses. In America, we normally reward success. We celebrate success. And a big business is successful. But the fact is that 87 percent of the transactions from Ex-Im Bank are to small businesses. If you were to see the roughly dozen businesses in my district that have accessed Ex-Im Bank loans for exports, none of you would have heard of any of them--and I haven't heard of most of them--because they are very small businesses, and those people are benefiting from this.

And fifth, Ex-Im Bank loans support roughly 300,000 U.S. jobs that produce those goods that are exported under these loans. On this day, when we are looking for jobs in this country, these are 300,000 jobs supported by a bank that doesn't cost the taxpayer any money, that returns money to the taxpayer, and it is clearly part of the original intent.

We should vote for this bill.

I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the facts of the bill have been presented by both of the gentlemen speaking before me.

This bill actually passed the floor of this House by a vote of 397-4 in the last Congress. They simply ran out of time in the Senate; otherwise, I think it would be law today. So I appreciate everyone's indulgence with passing this bill off this floor again today, I hope.

It has been mentioned that this was from 1935. Of these rocks and small islands, they originally thought, oh, we might put lighthouses there. Then they thought they might use them to help defend the California coast against Japanese submarines during World War II. Neither of those purposes is of much value anymore. So that's why, if we put this in the California Coastal National Monument, we will be able to preserve these rocks and islands and the sea life around them, and they will become a part of our environmental heritage going forward.

With that, I thank everyone for their assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2112, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, but want to express serious concern over a provision that would only extend some loan limits, and not others, that are guaranteed, in one form or another, by the United States government.

For several months, I have been advocating for a temporary extension, and now a restoration and temporary extension, of the Government Sponsored Enterprise, GSE, conforming and Federal Housing Administration, FHA, loan limits. GSE conforming and FHA loan limits were increased in 2008 to stabilize the housing market during the economic crisis, and fill a gaping void left by retreating private financial institutions. Unfortunately, the housing market remains troubled and the painful cycle of defaults, distressed sales, foreclosures, and price declines has caused a severe delay in our economic recovery. Even now, private lenders remain incredibly risk- averse, hesitating to provide long-term, fixed-rate mortgages to the vast majority of the market. Until Congress decides how to move forward with broad reform to fix our broken housing finance system, we should not dismantle the few remaining support systems that are preventing the housing industry from collapsing further.

For these very reasons, I introduced H.R. 2508, a bill that would have extended both sets of loan limits for two fiscal years after their expiration on October 1, 2011. Doing so would have given certainty to housing and financial market participants and allowed enough time for Congress to thoughtfully consider broad reform legislation. Unfortunately, Congress chose not to act on my legislation, nor implement any other legislation that would have extended the loan limits out.

Since then, I and many of my colleagues in Congress have received countless calls from frustrated constituents in our districts who are now unable to transact in the housing markets due to the inability to find a private lender willing to finance them. Just yesterday, new data was released on housing market activity in October showing that home sales are down an average of 20 percent in some markets from a year earlier in the segment of the market that was relying on these higher loan limits. In my home district, sales of homes in this market segment fell by 71 percent since September.

As amended by the Senate, H.R. 2112 would have extended both sets of loan limits and mitigated costs to the taxpayer by increasing the guarantee fees assessed on larger loans. However, the compromise made by the Conference Committee to only restore the loan limits for mortgages guaranteed by FHA is a half-measure and one that ignores the tremendous need for restoration of the conforming loan limits. While this is better than no extension of either loan limit, it is not the compromise we should have made. The nature of FHA's guarantee is inherently different than that of the GSEs, the former being more expensive to the taxpayer. Historically, FHA-guaranteed loans have been a narrowly targeted subsidy, a state to which I would like to see FHA eventually return. However, by extending only the FHA loan limits now, we are essentially granting FHA a complete monopoly in this market segment at a time when the FHA is under considerable stress. Independent actuaries have estimated a 50 percent chance that the agency will need a federal bailout of its own in the coming year as it continues to draw down its reserves in a deflating housing market.

It's with this in mind that I will cast my vote in favor of H.R. 2112, but do so with significant reservations.

Mr. Speaker, on July 8, 2011, I missed rollcall votes 525-533. I was in my home state of California attending, in my role as Co-Chairman of the Congressional United Kingdom Caucus, a working reception in honor of Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Had I been here, I would have voted:

``Yes'' on rollcall vote 525: To reduce Defense Wide Operation and Maintenance by $250 million in order to prohibit the Secretary of Defense from transferring $250 million to the Department of Education to repair public schools on military bases operated by local education agencies.

``Yes'' on rollcall vote 526: To reduce the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund by $3.6 billion.

``Yes'' on rollcall vote 527: To reduce funding for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation by 1 percent saving $730 million.

``No'' on rollcall vote 528: None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement the curriculum of the Chaplain Corps Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal training regarding the performance of same sex marriage ceremonies.

``Yes'' on rollcall vote 529: None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to maintain an end strength level of members of the Armed Forces of the United States assigned to permanent duty in Europe in excess of 30,000 members. Reduces funding for military personnel by $813 million.

``Yes'' on rollcall vote 530: None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for military operations in or against Libya except under a Congressional declaration of war.

``No'' on rollcall vote 531: Motion to recommit H.R. 2219 with instructions to transfer $200 million from the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund to the Yellow Ribbon Re-Integration program.

``No'' on rollcall vote 532: On passage of H.R. 2219, Making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and for other purposes.

``Yes'' on rollcall vote 533: On passage of H. Res. 340, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 1309, the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, this amendment really ought to be a no- brainer. It cuts $11 million from the USDA Wildlife Services' livestock protection program. Let me give you four reasons why this should be a no-brainer.

First of all, it saves $11 million. Not the end of the world, but it's a start. We all know we have to save a lot of money. We all know we have to spend less money, and this is a start for doing it. Now why does it do that? Why do we cut $11 million from this? This program is taxpayer money used to kill potential predators that supposedly are threatening livestock. But this killing of predators is very indiscriminate. We're killing all kinds of wildlife out there, both predators and nonpredators, both threatening and nonthreatening. Third, less than 1 percent of livestock in America is killed by predators every year. So we're spending this money for a tiny, tiny portion of the livestock that is out there. And fourth--and this is almost the biggest reason--why are taxpayers paying this? Why is this a taxpayer responsibility? If ranchers want to protect their livestock, why don't they do it? Why don't they pay for it?

Madam Chair, there are so many ways to protect these livestock--with pens and with fencing, with lighting, with all kinds of things--without indiscriminately killing wildlife and without using taxpayer money to do it. Madam Chair, this is $11 million we can save, should save, and will save if this amendment is approved.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.