Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge Lieutenant Joe Ross of the Howard County Department of Fire & Rescue Services, who has recently received two distinct honors. Lieutenant Ross has been named Howard County's 2008 Employee of the Year as well as Career Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Provider of the Year by the American Legion--Department of Maryland. It is right to take time in the Congress to thank someone for a job well done. Today we pause to recognize a man who goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Lieutenant Ross has worked as a medical professional with Howard County Fire and Rescue for almost 10 years. Before that time he worked for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department and served in the United States Navy. Ross currently serves as an instructor of advanced cardiac life support and pediatric advanced life support at the James N. Robey Public Safety Training Center, training not only his peers, but also nurses and doctors from area hospitals. His fellow citizens have recognized the value of his work to Howard County and the quality, skill and dedication that he brings to his work every day. Madam Speaker, Lieutenant Ross's contributions to our community deserve our recognition and we in Maryland thank him for his service.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 3036.

Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to rise today to speak in support of the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008 which I was privileged to sponsor and which really, I think, sets a new foundation for focus on environmental education in this country as we move forward at a critical time in our Nation's history.

Before I speak to the merits, I want to make sure that I thank Chairman George Miller, chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, for his strong support of the No Child Left Inside Act and for being a champion throughout his career for environmental education. His involvement in this bill and his strong support signals that we are setting a foundation today to make sure that when it comes time to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act next year that environmental education will be a critical and important component of that reauthorization.

I also want to thank Chairman Dale Kildee, chairman of the subcommittee that had jurisdiction over the No Child Left Inside Act, as well as Chairwoman McCarthy whose committee has jurisdiction with respect to the National Environmental Education Act which this extends.

We persuaded Chairman Kildee to conduct a field hearing in Maryland at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, and we did it outdoors. I am not sure that he had done that before, but it went off beautifully. We got very, very powerful testimony from children and parents, teachers and environmentalists and other advocates for this legislation.

I want to salute the coalition, the No Child Left Inside Act Coalition, which consists at last count of more than 700 organizations across the country, national organizations, regional organizations, and local organizations who came together to support this important piece of legislation representing over 40 million members in these organizations. That coalition, and this gives you a sense of what this legislation means, that coalition included public health advocates, environmentalists, educators, sportsmen, zoos, parks and other outdoor education centers, faith-based organizations, as well as businesses.

I want to give some special recognition to my home State of Maryland and their role in leading and helping organize this coalition and to the Governor of Maryland, Governor O'Malley, and the Secretary of Education, Nancy Grasmick, for also stepping up and doing at the State level what we are trying to effect across the country.

Finally, I have to salute the children and parents who came to the rallies and to the hearings that we have conducted on No Child Left Inside Act over

the last year because it was in the eyes of those children, in their whole body language and the enthusiasm and excitement they had when they were outdoors participating in these environmental activities. That was reason enough for us to be steadfast in supporting this legislation and moving it forward.

And of course, the many parents who I think look at the fact that their children are spending so much time indoors on television, the Internet, video games, and remember a time when they used to play outside and want to get their kids back out and into nature.

Let me just briefly address the contents of No Child Left Inside, what it seeks to do. It is an extension of the National Environmental Education Act, and it has a number of key components.

The first is to enhance the teacher training programs and teacher development programs that have existed and been overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency. We've enhanced them in this bill so that there's more of a focus on training teachers on how to deliver environmental education at the school level. We've enhanced it by putting in new provisions to recruit teachers, particularly in underserved areas to enter the field of environmental education.

In addition, this bill establishes, or asks, rather, that States across the country develop environmental literacy plans, in other words, a framework on how that State is going to make sure that when children graduate from high school, they have a fundamental awareness of the environment and the need to preserve our environment.

Lastly, and I think in some ways most importantly, this creates a new grant program, a National Capacity Environmental Education grant program which will allow local and State education associations, institutions of higher education and nonprofits, to apply competitively for grants that would fund a variety of environmental education initiatives, including developing new policy approaches to environmental education, developing curriculum framework, academic content standards and achievement standards focused on environmental education, and replicating and distributing information about tested and model programs that get children into nature and really have them experiencing the environment.

I'm so very pleased because I think this legislation reflects the commitment in this body, in this House of Representatives, in the people's House, but it also reflects the commitment that exists across our Nation today to environmental education and to the importance of focusing on the environment and getting our children out and into nature.

There's many, many benefits of this legislation and the programs that it will fund. I will turn to those shortly, Mr. Chairman.

For the moment, I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I just want to point out that one of the things that is so exciting about this bill and the advancing of environmental education that it represents, and we heard this in some of the hearings we conducted, is you're going to get young people very interested in the environment from the standpoint of what business opportunities, economic opportunities exist. And some of these folks are going to go out and come up with cutting-edge ideas in terms of energy, new energy technologies and so forth.

In fact, we heard from one young man who testified that when his interest in environmental education developed, he took that and he channeled it into his own start-up business which is looking at biofuels. And so I expect to come from this sort of legislation which gets our kids focused more on environmental education all sorts of new economic opportunities and things that advance us when it comes to energy.

Before I yield, I just want to make one other point. This legislation, in my view, is really responding to initiative and creativity that is coming forth from the citizenry all across this country. Many communities and schools have, on their own, sort of stepped forward and started to pilot things in the environmental education arena. But they need some help. They need some resources to jump that up to the next level. I view as a very appropriate role of government to step forward and offer some leverage and help facilitate good ideas when they emerge from the public.

It's been 27 years since the U.S. Department of Education had a meaningful role with respect to environmental education. This bill will make sure that that happens, and that's one of the reasons we're so excited about it.

At this time I would like to yield, Mr. Chairman, 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), a member of the Education and Labor Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I do want to thank Ranking Member McKeon and Congressman Castle for their support here today for the bill, as well as in committee, and thank Representative Castle for his very helpful amendment during the markup.

Ms. Woolsey just a moment before mentioned just how this brings children alive, and I want to make one point before I yield to Representative Andrews. That is, we had testimony in our hearings for all those who are concerned about this, you know, whether introducing in a meaningful way back into our curriculum things like environmental education and other subjects are somehow going to detract from this important focus on math and reading proficiency, for example.

The testimony that we had from one teacher was that her fourth graders are writing grant applications to local foundations for funding that can help support local projects that they're involved in with their local watershed right there in their own backyard, backyard streams and so forth. And nothing is enhancing their reading and verbal proficiency more than engaging in that exercise. But it's all motivated by their love of the environment.

It is my pleasure now to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I want to share with the gentlewoman that I am and I know my party is pro-American energy. In fact, the more I listen to testimony on the other side, the more convinced I am that this legislation that we're debating right now is exactly what we need to make sure that the advances with respect to energy technology are there.

With respect to education stakeholders and their view of No Child Left

Inside, this is a list of over 700 organizations nationally representing 40 million members. Many of these organizations are education organizations who understand how important it is for our young people to get this sort of opportunity.

We can all agree, Democrats and Republicans, in this debate that we've been having over energy for the last few weeks and months that it's important for us to develop alternative sources of energy, renewable sources of energy. To do that, of course, we're going to need the scientists and the entrepreneurs who can make it happen, and they are not going to land on a spaceship from outer space. We are going to have to develop them right here, and the next generation is where we are going to find those scientists and those entrepreneurs that are going to make those sort of advances. But they are not going to be able to do it if we don't put the resources behind the kind of environmental education that this will provide.

And then just the last point I wanted to make is, yes, there are field trips that will be funded by this, but a lot of what this has to do is getting kids outside, and you don't have to take a bus from inside of the classroom to outside of a classroom. You can walk. And a lot of these young students are doing things right there in their own backyard, right there around their school, right there in a stream that's a quarter mile away, and they can use the walk. The idea is to get them outside and experiencing the environment.

It is my pleasure now to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), a member of the Education and Labor Committee and someone who brought a very important amendment regarding environmental justice to this bill in the committee.

May I inquire as to whether the other side has any more speakers?

Mr. Chairman, I will reserve my time to allow the gentleman to close.

Mr. Chairman, the desire to move forward with the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind is one that certainly we shared on this side of the aisle, and we are prepared to do that this year. The problem is that the administration, for the last 2 years, sent budgets which suggested there wasn't going to be the resources behind that effort that needed to be there, and so we're where we are. But that doesn't mean that we can't, as we're going to do with this bill, begin to set the table for what can be a very comprehensive and meaningful reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act next year. And what I'm so excited about is, if we put our stamp on this bill today, we're going to be sending a very powerful message that environmental education should be part and parcel of that reauthorization next year.

I would like to thank, again, the members of the No Child Left Inside Coalition, as I noted, over 700 organizations across the country representing upwards of 40 million people. These are folks who just want to see this happen. They understand how important it is to get our children outdoors and into nature. I want to thank them for all the work that they did to make this possible, to get this to the floor. It would not be here without the work that they have done.

I want to close by noting some of the benefits of this. I've talked about the contents of the bill, but I want to talk more generally about the benefits that it offers.

Many of the witnesses that we heard from, many of the advocates who are behind this bill are public health advocates. They're pointing to epidemic levels, for example, of childhood obesity that we see now across the country. Kids just aren't active. One of the benefits of getting children outdoors, getting them engaged in environmental activities is they start to become more active, and that is going to be good for their health and the health of our Nation.

We've talked about the economic development benefits; that environmental education spurs interests, it leads to children wanting to go into science, into technology, and so forth. And so we are going to be unleashing a tremendous economic potential if we put resources into the No Child Left Inside Act.

It is a great way for kids to learn. There is all the evidence that shows that when kids are outdoors, it activates all their senses, it fully engages them, and their performance increases across the board because of that experience. And of course it raises awareness in the next generation of the environment and the need to preserve our environment. The fact of the matter is that the only way we're going to save our environment, the only way we're going to preserve treasures like the Chesapeake Bay in the State of Maryland is if millions of people develop good habits in dealing with the environment. That's what we can impart to our young people, to the next generation.

Let me just finish with two articles, or anecdotes. The first is from the Rochester, Minnesota Post-Bulletin. It's an article titled, ``Program urges kids to ditch couches for canoes.'' It talks about a program that a woman named Sara Grover founded, Project Get Outdoors, where she brings kids outside. She talks about a fifth grader on his first camping trip. She said he was practically crying and he said, ``This is the best day of my entire life.'' There are a lot of good days ahead for a lot of great kids if we get this legislation in place.

Just to put a punctuation mark on this notion of kids going into science as a result of their experiences outdoors, I just got this e- mail on my BlackBerry notifying me that a young man from my district was named a finalist in the science competition for middle school students. His project was, ``The Effectiveness of Limestone Aggregates to Mitigate Acid-Mine Drainage.'' He came up with the idea for this project while rafting and kayaking on the Cheat River in West Virginia.

This is what I'm talking about. This is what's going to happen if we provide our children, our young people, the next generation with the environmental education that they deserve and integrate it fully into the instructional program in their schools.

That's why I'm supporting this bill. That's why I introduced it. That's why the coalition of advocates that supports it is so excited about it. I urge this House to pass H.R. 3036, the No Child Left Inside Act.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Yes, Madam Chairman.

Madam Chairman, this amendment would seek to strengthen and improve the legislation in a number of ways.

First, it clarifies that funds that are issued under the National Capacity Environmental Education Grant Program, which is the new program that's being created here under the U.S. Department of Education, that those funds can be used to address environmental justice issues that may arise in low-income communities.

We heard earlier from Representative Clarke of New York, who has made this issue a passion of hers and introduced the underlying amendment in the mark-up at the committee level. This is an important additional element for the bill.

Secondly, the amendment clarifies that funds used to develop and implement new policy approaches to environmental education will include a discussion of the benefits and the costs to the environment and to consumers with respect to increasing the supply of energy produced in the United States from a variety of sources.

This is, again, an important amendment. It signals, I think, that good quality environmental education--almost by definition--is going to focus the next generation on dealing with these very challenging issues and what the proper balance needs to be between developing our energy sources and conservation and other environmental issues, which is, frankly, at the heart of much of the debate that we're having these days. So this is also, I think, an important addition to the bill.

And thirdly, the amendment that we are proposing here provides that the policy approaches developed under this bill must also include a discussion of the best strategies for reducing energy consumption. Again, any meaningful environmental education should include looking at all of these various policy approaches.

With that, Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Does the gentleman have any additional speakers? I'm prepared to yield back, and I would reserve the right to close.

Madam Chairman, again, I would urge the passage of this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion.

Mr. Speaker, there are two ways to effectively kill a bill. One is to make a motion ``promptly,'' which would send it back to committee. That is not what has happened here. This is a ``forthwith'' motion which brings it right back with the instructions that have been put on it. But the other way to kill a bill is to put instructions on it that essentially gut it and completely undermine what it is supposed to do, and that is the nature of this particular motion to recommit.

I object to it on a number of grounds. First of all, the provision relating to priority with respect to LEAs, there are a number of eligible entities under this bill that can participate in the competitive grant process, local education agencies, State educational agencies, higher education institutions, nonprofits and so forth. They all should be part of the same competitive bidding process to get these dollars to try to fund environmental education.

Secondly, I object because this second provision that has to do with lobbying in fact will end up having the effect that some of the very organizations that are in the best position to provide good strong environmental education to the next generation will be prohibited from delivering. And as far as that goes, it means that A and B are internally inconsistent because A would give a priority to the very kind of organization that B seeks to prevent from getting these funds. So it doesn't make sense on its face.

So I would urge very strongly that my colleagues oppose the motion to recommit forthwith.

This is a good bill. It is an important bill. You don't have to take my word for it. There are 750 organizations across the country that are part of the No Child Left Inside Coalition. This is made up of public health advocates, sportsmen, environmentalists, educators, all recognizing the need to provide this critical education to the next generation.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Just to reiterate, Mr. Speaker, I oppose this motion vehemently. This bill will provide so many benefits to the next generation, public health benefits by getting our kids outside and into nature and active, economic development benefits because we're going to be educating the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs that are going to make the difference when it comes to pursuing alternative sources of fuel and renewable sources of fuel. It will engage kids in learning, activate all their senses.

And finally, finally, it's going to raise awareness about the environment. The only way we're going to save our environment, save treasures like the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland is if millions of people develop good habits when it comes to the environment. Our children are the ones that are going to do it, but they can only do it if we provide them with this educational support.

I urge my colleagues to vote against the motion to recommit.

I yield back.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a city that once represented all that is good about Democracy and free enterprise, of a city that was a vibrant cultural and economic center and of a city that has been rendered a ghost town by an unlawful military occupation.

The city of Famagusta is located in the outer rim of Europe on the island Republic of Cyprus. Before Turkey's 1974 illegal invasion and occupation of the Republic of Cyprus, Famagusta showcased the successes of the newly independent Republic.

Famagusta led the development of the nascent Republic's economy and was known to the world as a great entertainment and tourist destination. The city housed 50 percent of Cyprus's touristic accommodations and also served as Cyprus's principal port, handling over 80 percent of the country's general cargo, and nearly 50 percent of the total passenger traffic to and from the island.

In 1974, 60,000 Cypriots called Famagusta home, and another 15,000 made their living working in the city. During the summer months European holidaymakers swelled the population to more than 100,000.

The vitality and good fortune of Famagusta ended when the Turkish military subjected it to intense aerial bombardment. In the face of the Turkish air force and invading army, the Greek-speaking Cypriot population evacuated the city.

The Turkish military sealed off the Varosha section of the city and has forbidden the entry of human life there for 34 years. Varosha lays frozen in time with the shelves of its department stores stocked with the wares of the 1970s, the hotel's breakfast tables are set for the tourist who never arrived and the roads and buildings are overrun by brush and vermin.

The decline of this once proud and vibrant city has been catalogued by its inclusion on the World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.

The Turkish military's continued occupation of the city and exclusion of its lawful inhabitants has been condemned by United Nations Security Council Resolution 550/1984 that calls for the transfer of the occupied, but uninhabited city of Famagusta to the United Nations for the orderly resettlement of the city by its rightful inhabitants.

Following Turkey's illegal invasion and occupation of Cyprus, Congress enacted 22 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2373(a)(5), which sets forth the requirement that United States foreign policy support the United Nations Secretary General's efforts to resettle the occupied, but uninhabited city of Famagusta by its rightful inhabitants.

Once again this June 2, 2008, the Report of the Secretary General on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus holds the Government of Turkey responsible for the failure to hand over Famagusta for resettlement by its rightful inhabitants.

It is on this Remembrance Day of Famagusta that I tell my fellow members of the House that it is high time for Turkey to end its senseless and cruel occupation, and allow the people of this fine city to return to their homes so that they may rebuild and restore her faded glory for the benefit of all Cypriots.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 34th year since the invasion and occupation of the Republic of Cyprus. Since 1974, Turkish military forces have illegally occupied the northern part of the island republic. The Turkish occupation forcibly divides peaceful communities and deprives a sovereign nation the exercise of democratic independence in all of its territory.

The Turkish invasion divided Greek-speaking and Turkish-speaking Cypriots into two physically distinct communities for the first time in the island nation's history. The unlawful occupation of 37 percent of the territory of Cyprus continues unabated to this day. There are currently 43,000 Turkish troops garrisoned in the occupied areas, and Turkey has resettled over 100,000 mainland Turkish citizens into those areas.

The continued Turkish occupation of the island republic subverts the indigenous effort to establish a democratically free and culturally unique Cypriot nation. All that stands in the way of Cypriots celebrating their unique and diverse national heritage within the expanded borders of the European Union is the presence of the Turkish occupation forces.

Today, thousands of Cypriots continue to be refugees in their own land, blocked from the homes and the communities they inhabited for generations. Some have been marooned in tiny enclaves trapped by the occupation forces, cut off from the outside world and basic human rights. A new generation of Cypriots has inherited the terrible dislocation that military occupation brings.

In the face of all this, the Republic of Cypress has struggled and succeeded in building a strong society, one whose economic progress, development of democratic institutions and capable governance led to membership in the European Union in May 2004. Sadly, until there is an end to the occupation, the occupied areas of Cyprus will be denied the full benefits of EU membership.

For the United States, there is a clear imperative to resolve the situation in Cyprus as a matter of justice and the rule of law, principles we hold dear. But beyond that, achieving reunification of the island is critical to the strategic interests of the United States. The Cyprus problem pits American allies against one another. The strategic interest in facilitating a negotiated settlement is significant for the region, but also for the world. Cyprus can either fester as a potential flash point or become a starting point for reconciliation.

Reconciliation talks are now underway between the leadership of the two Cypriot communities. The opportunity for reconciliation is real. Since Cyprus' entry to the EU, many checkpoints along the infamous green-line have been opened. After nearly 30 years of complete separation, there have been more than 13 million bi-communal crossings without any serious incident.

Everyday Cypriots of the Turkish-speaking community cross into the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus to go to work. Indeed, nearly 3 percent of the Turkish-speaking Cypriot community is employed in the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus, and more than 35,000 have applied for and received passports from the Republic of Cyprus.

The Cypriot people want an end to the division of their island. Their efforts to negotiate reconciliation through the good offices of the United Nations must be free of Turkish interference. It is no secret that successive Turkish governments and, in particular, the Turkish military, use Cyprus as a shibboleth to rouse extremist and nationalist sentiment to enhance their own domestic standing.

We, in the House of Representatives, should heed the political storm engulfing Turkey. Today, in Turkey democratic expression is challenged at every turn. Today, in Turkey religious and ethnic minorities live in a state of credible fear and harm of persecution. Today and for more than 80 years, the Turkish military holds itself out as the primary political actor existing beyond the bounds of democratic accountability.

Mr. Speaker, the United States should not yield to violations of human rights and the rule of law by the government of Turkey or the Turkish military. The United States, and its allies, particularly the European Union, must stand in solidarity with all Cypriots and support their commendable efforts to reconcile their differences and establish a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation.

With the support of this body, it should be made clear to Turkey that perpetuating the status quo on Cyprus hurts its relations with the United States and the rest of the world. Worst of all, it forecloses Turkey's prospects for accession to the European Union.

I ask my colleagues to support the reconciliation efforts now underway, and demand from our Turkish ally that it refrain from interfering in the reconciliation efforts now underway. With a truly concerted effort by this body, next year we will commend the Cypriots on their courageous reconciliation, instead of observing the 35th year of Turkish military occupation.

Madam Speaker, in the wake of skyrocketing energy prices, I rise today to urge this Congress to fully fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, as part of the economic stimulus legislation that's being considered.

Americans are feeling the pinch. Sixty percent of families are cutting spending as they struggle to pay for rising electric bills and gas prices. Let me speak directly about the situation of one Maryland family.

Mr. Delatore works part time as a counselor and gets partial disability because of complications from cerebral

palsy. He's had a tough time making ends meet, especially in the last year. Mr. Delatore is a LIHEAP recipient. He has expressed severe anxiety that he can barely afford to buy what he needs. Without energy assistance, he will be pushed over the edge.

Madam Speaker, many families are living close to the economic edge, and they rely on this LIHEAP support, this critical support, to make ends meet. We have to fully fund this program.

I thank the chairman, and Madam Speaker, I wanted to respond to some of the points that have been raised regarding what is going on with the gas prices right now in the country.

I am talking to constituents, just as my colleague on the other side is talking to constituents, and there is no question that people are hurting with the gas prices that are out there right now. That's one of the reasons the Democrats here in Congress have tried to take some very constructive steps to bring down the cost of gas at the pump. Among those, we're pushing very hard on the President to cease putting oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He finally came around on that. So I think that made a difference.

Secondly, the push in recent legislation to try to curb the speculation in the oil and gas industry by interests, frankly, that don't know much about that industry but are in it to make a buck and have been driving the price up and up, and we want to crack down on that.

Finally, among the more immediate measures that we can take--you know, I'm privileged to serve, as is my colleague, on the Natural Resources Committee here in Congress. So we bring a very thoughtful analysis to what is happening with our Federal and public lands and making sure we're using our natural resources wisely.

One of the ways we do that is to have issued from the agencies that have responsibility for it, permits and leases so that the oil industry can explore right here in the United States. And I'm going to repeat the figure which has been repeated many times because it's an accurate one, and that is that there are 68 million acres right now for which the oil industry, oil and gas industries hold permits and leases where they are not producing, where they are not pursuing those leases.

So we hear a lot about we should be trying to buy American resources and buy American and buy American oil. Well, we have the opportunity to buy American oil only if we're producing American oil.

And the industry, for one reason or another--and it's kind of hard to figure out the industry--has not taken advantage of those permits that they have.

We tried to put through legislation last week. It was defeated in large part because of the opposition on the other side, a bill where we would basically force the oil industry to either use these permits or lose these permits, which we think is the right thing to do in order to take advantage of the natural resources that we have here right in our own country.

I'm trying to figure out why the oil industry doesn't want to drill, and then it occurred to me that, if you're an oil company, the current state of things isn't so bad. You know, people are paying $4, more than $4 a gallon for gas at the pump. The oil industry last year pulled down $100 billion worth of profits. So why would they think there's any problem? That's why we've got to push them, and the other side hasn't taken advantage of the opportunity here legislatively to try to push the oil industry to take advantage of these leases and permits that they already have.

Not only that, there are leases and permits out there with respect to the Outer Continental Shelf in terms of exploring our natural resources there, as well as the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

You know, we've heard a lot about this visit that a contingent of Republican lawmakers took to visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge last week. They went to the wrong place. I mean, why not go to the place where you can actually get some oil and get it quick, if we would take advantage of the fact that permits and leases can be issued? We've already done the analysis on the NPRA, on this National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and the evidence is that we could get more oil from that location, for which we already have the authority to issue permits and leases to drill, than we could from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

So I want to caution Americans not to be misled by some of this rhetoric that we're hearing from the other side.

We need to break our addiction to oil. The President of the United States himself has admitted that we're addicted to oil. If you're addicted to something, you don't solve your problem by just going and finding a new supply of the same thing that you're addicted to. You try to move to something else. You try to transition, and we need to move over the long term to smarter policies with respect to energy and finding alternative sources of energy and renewable sources of energy. We can do that. We have the ingenuity in this country; there's no question about that, if we're given the tools and the right kind of policies to pursue it. And we can break this addiction.

In the meantime, there's going to be a transition, absolutely, and it's not like tomorrow we're going to wake up and we're not going to need oil anymore. I understand that. Everybody in this body understands that. So you have got to have a plan to transition, and during that transition, we absolutely should be taking advantage of the resources in our own country. They can provide some of the energy.

And that's why, again, I come back to wondering out loud why it is that our Republican colleagues are so adamant in opposing these efforts to try to get the oil industry to drill on lands and in waters where they already have permits.

So, I'd just like to say that what the American people are looking for right now is not a lot of rhetoric, not a lot of double-talk. They want to know that we're trying to create smart policy here in Washington. The Democratic leadership has been doing that, both with respect to the steps we can take in the immediate near term to deal with the price of gas at the pump, but also to show that we've got an idea of where we're headed so that we can move away from this oil dependency and addiction.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that would correct a longstanding disparity between professional firefighters who are employed by States, counties, or municipalities and Federal firefighters.

In 1985, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act so that firefighters around the country could engage in a practice called ``trade time.'' Trade time allows two firefighters, solely at their option and with the approval of their supervisor, to switch shifts without affecting the pay rate of either firefighter. The Congress made this change because firefighters work uncommon schedules involving 24 hour shifts and 72 hour work weeks, followed by a period of time away from the firehouse. Trade time enables firefighters to meet personal obligations such as attending a child's birthday or assisting a sick family member without exhausting their annual leave. It also ensures that firehouses across the county can maintain staffing requirements and keep our communities safe.

Federal firefighters are not covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act and therefore have been ineligible for trade time. The legislation I am introducing today amends Federal employee labor law to fix this problem.

Federal firefighters work side-by-side with their non-federal colleagues, so this is fundamentally an issue of equity. It will also help Federal agencies recruit and retain firefighters. Just like other firefighters, Federal firefighters risk their lives on a daily basis. They also accept the irregular hours that their jobs require. This legislation merely gives them some modest flexibility to balance that irregularity and meet their family obligations.

I hope my colleagues will support this simple but overdue legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that would expand the Army Corps of Engineers' role in Chesapeake Bay cleanup--a mission they first took on in 1996. The legislation would provide the Corps with continuing authority to engage in this work; expand the Corps' work to all six States in the Bay watershed and the District of Columbia; and provide flexibility for the Corps to work with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and other not-for-profit groups engaged in Bay cleanup.

Next year, the Congress will move to enact a full reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act for the first time since 2000. This represents an opportunity to turn the tide in Bay cleanup efforts so future generations can continue to enjoy the cultural, historic, and recreational benefits of the Bay and so it can continue to be an economic driver for the Mid-Atlantic region. This year, we have laid the groundwork for great progress in achieving this goal by securing substantial resources in the Farm Bill for agricultural-based Bay restoration. This measure serves to provide the water-resources complement to that effort.

The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Restoration and Protection Program, which was established in section 510 of WRDA 1996, authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to provide design and construction assistance to State and local authorities in the environmental restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. These projects range from shoreline buffers to oyster reef construction. As it is currently structured however, the program has been limited in its scope for several reasons. First, the Corps' restoration efforts have been limited to Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, which has precluded a comprehensive, watershed-wide plan that adequately prioritizes projects. Second, unlike all other major Federal agencies engaged in Bay restoration, the Corps has no small watershed grants program that engages State and local governments in small scale restoration projects. This is compounded by the Corps' intricate procurement processes. Finally, the matching fund requirements of the section 510 program do not allow for the use of in- kind services or contributions, which stifles collaboration. The Chesapeake Bay Commission, a multi-State legislative assembly dedicated to the restoration of the Bay, recognizing these deficiencies has recommended several improvements to the program that are the basis for this legislation. The bill would address the issues I have previously mentioned and strengthen the section 510 program so that the Army Corps of Engineers can continue to be a strong partner in Chesapeake Bay cleanup.

I hope my colleagues will support this legislation through the WRDA process.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give voice to one of my constituents, Shalonda Fredderick, whose recent correspondence with my office reflects the struggle that's facing many Americans across my district and throughout the country.

Shalonda writes, ``I'm sorry to disturb you. I don't know where else to turn. I'm 32 years old. I live with MS. I just started to receive SSDI of $1,251 a month. I have applied for housing assistance. As of August 8, my rent will be $860, plus we'll be paying $30 for water, $15 a month for BGE, plus I'm paying $185 for school loans. That's my entire check.

I've tried to find help, but all I hear is that I'm too young or not disabled enough. I don't think I deserve anything more than the average person, but I know unless I find help in six weeks when my lease ends, me and my dog will be homeless.''

Mr. Speaker, we've been working with Shalonda to try to help her address these immediate problems, but what she needs are pragmatic policies to ensure that people like her never reach such a perilous point.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1229) recognizing the achievements of America's high school valedictorians of the graduating class of 2008, promoting the importance of encouraging intellectual growth, and rewarding academic excellence of all American high school students, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 1229 into the Record.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1229, which recognizes the achievements of America's high school valedictorians of the graduating class of 2008. I am pleased to honor these outstanding individuals, as well as encourage the pursuit of high academic honors.

Today, as we recognize our valedictorians, we reaffirm our commitment to education and encourage our youth to discover the many learning opportunities they will encounter throughout their lives. I hope that by saluting these valedictorians we help make high achievement infectious and help every student appreciate the countless opportunities that await them beyond high school.

Valedictorians are not only the highest academically ranked students in their class; they are also peer role models who represent the ideals of their families and communities. They inspire fellow classmates to become involved in improving the community and motivate their peers to achieve academically.

Long after high school, the title of valedictorian is still upheld as a significant accomplishment. By recognizing the accomplishments of this year's high school valedictorians, I hope to support and promote inquiry and learning across our Nation. I know that this year's valedictorians, and all graduating seniors at our Nation's high schools, are our future leaders. We owe it to these students to give them the best education we can and celebrate high school graduation as an important step toward achieving their goals.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate this year's valedictorians and everyone in the graduating class of 2008. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, for too long our Nation has been captive of the interests that are preserving dependence on fossil fuels.

What's so exciting about what is happening with the younger generation, among them these valedictorians that we're saluting today, is they're really getting out on the cutting edge in terms of thinking about the green revolution, about new energy technologies. And they're the ones, I think, that are going to join with enlightened policy makers across the country to make sure that we liberate ourselves from that dependence on fossil fuels and we move forward and explore alternatives to that, which is really going to be the solution to our energy crisis over time.

So again, for all they're doing and for stepping up as they do every day and demonstrating incredible accomplishments, I want to salute the valedictorians of the class of 2008 and encourage my colleagues to support H. Res. 1229.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1242) honoring the life, musical accomplishments, and contributions of Louis Jordan on the 100th anniversary of his birth, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 1242 into the Record.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1242, which honors the life and recognizes the importance of Louis Jordan and his contributions to America as a musician, composer and entertainer.

July 8, 2008 will be Louis Jordan's 100th birthday, the celebration of his 100th birthday. And in celebration of this day, we should recognize Jordan's contributions to this country.

Louis Jordan, born in 1908, is a Brinkley, Arkansas native. Under the musical tutelage of his father, who was a local band leader, music found Jordan at an early age. He expanded and mastered formal components of music through his collegial experience at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock. Jordan majored there in music. He learned to play the saxophone, sing, and entertain audiences through his personal experiences and watching his father.

Highly touted musicians, such as B.B. King, Ray Charles, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Sonny Rollins, all pointed to Jordan as an influence on their own careers. His prolific musical success consists of 54 hit singles and 18 number one songs on Billboard's R&B charts. Two short musical films were centered around his songs.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, Jordan's contribution to his art is immeasurable. Rolling Stone Magazine named him one of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

Though Jordan passed away in 1975, his legacy flourishes through the work of other artists. He helped shape rock and roll. On this day, I would like to commemorate Jordan's work. Let us recognize his contribution by honoring his 100th birthday.

I urge support of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege now to yield such time

as he may consume to the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Arkansas for that wonderful history on Louis Jordan, and I want to urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1242.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1050) recognizing Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as being home to the earliest known reference to the word ``baseball'' in the United States as well as being the birthplace of college baseball, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 1050 into the Record.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1050, which recognizes Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as the birthplace of our Nation's great sport: baseball. This great sport is interlaced into American culture, history, and tradition. Baseball is our Nation's national pastime, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, helped create the American sporting culture. Legendary players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken, and other Hall of Fame players raised the level of play and integrity of the game.

The first recorded mention of baseball in known history occurred when a Pittsfield bylaw passed on September 5, 1791, banned the playing with bats and balls near the town's newly constructed meetinghouse. This ordinance is the first known reference to the game in U.S. history.

Other notable historic moments took place in Pittsfield. The very first collegiate baseball game in the United States took place there on July 1, 1859, between Amherst College and Williams College. Ulysses F. Grant, the most prominent 19th century African American player, was born in Pittsfield. Wahconah Park, a famous ballpark and grandstand built in 1892, is located there. The Boston Red Sox won their first game in that park. Lou Gehrig made his professional debut with the Hartford Senators there where he hit a home run into the Housatonic River. With every great baseball moment, Pittsfield is a part of the significance.

The first home plate project will erect a bat, ball, and glove statues in Pittsfield. These monuments symbolize great virtues, innocence, purity, and parallels to American culture. Let Congress at this time recognize and honor the contribution Pittsfield plays in our Nation's history.

I would like to recognize Pittsfield, Massachusetts' role in our Nation's history, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, at this time I yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

The discussion of energy and oil, on the one hand, and baseball on the other, got me thinking about something I read last week, which is a lot of the folks coming into baseball games around the country and sporting events are using public transportation wherever they get the chance, as opposed to driving their cars, and I am so glad that the Democratic Congress has put such an investment into proving our public transportation infrastructure in this country.

Obviously, we have got to do more of that going forward so that we can conserve. That can help drive down some of the gas prices that have been alluded to.

In any event, to get back to the main topic here with respect to recognizing the tremendous role of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the establishment of the culture of our national pastime, I want to urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1050.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 372) supporting the goals and ideals of Black Music Month and to honor the outstanding contributions that African American singers and musicians have made to the United States.

I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 372 into the Record.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 372, which supports the goals of Black Music Month. This is an appropriate time to honor the outstanding contributions African American singers and musicians have made to the United States. The Nation benefits culturally and economically from the experience of black musicians. Today, I stand to honor the influence of African American musical artists.

African American music has strong ties to African heritage. The complex rhythm, melodic harmony, and active call-and-response nature of African American music are products of deep African traditions. Many Negro spirituals performed and written by African Americans not only commemorated the African Diaspora but helped to create social change.

In April of 1960, in Monteagle, Tennessee, a 16-year-old girl named Jamila Jones stood in a crowd of nonviolent segregation protestors and began singing, ``We Shall Overcome'' to a group of armed and hostile deputies. That night, the deputies withdrew and let the students sing. ``We Shall Overcome'' is a Negro spiritual taken from Reverend Charles Tindley's, ``I'll Overcome Some Day.'' Other songs, such as, ``Swing Low Sweet Chariot,'' ``There is a Balm in Gilead,'' and ``Lift Every Voice and Sing,'' are all prominent African American ballads that were instrumental in the Civil Rights movement.

Other genres of music are rooted in the black experience as well. The origins of gospel, jazz, rhythm and blues, and rap are all closely linked to African American culture. These genres have enormous impact on our Nation at large.

President Carter acknowledged the influence and contribution of black music when he first declared June as, ``Black Music Month,'' in 1979. Black musicians inspire people across generations and around the world with their creativity, vision, and ability to speak to the human experience. The long history of African American music has helped shape our Nation and musical heritage.

There are millions of African American music fans of different races and ages all across our Nation. I support this bill and I honor the goals and ideals of Black Music Month, along with the many contributions of black musicians to the American people.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 372, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.