Floor Statements

I know there was a pause in the cap-and-tax debate last week, but don't worry, for my colleagues on the other side, we're going to continue to talk about the damaging effects of cap-and-tax. Why? Because jobs will be lost.

The 212-219 vote was a victory for us who were opposing the cap-and- tax bill. In fact, it was a bipartisan ``no'' vote. It was a bipartisan ``no'' vote against job loss.

This is a picture of miners who lost their jobs in the last Clean Air Act amendments; 1,200 in this one mine alone.

What's our solution? An all-of-the-above strategy that opens up the Outer Continental Shelf for revenues for renewable fuels, coal for electricity and fuel, wind and solar, nuclear power, renewable fuels.

Those are the job-creating engines that will help us get out of this economic recession. We can't do that by raising energy prices. We can only do that by lowering it. That's the all-of-the-above energy strategy that we have brought to the floor as Republicans. We have to vote against the cap-and-tax bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brooks Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, IL--widely regarded as ``The World's Largest Catsup Bottle.''

According to the landmark's official website, catsupbottle.com, The World's Largest Catsup Bottle' stands proudly next to Illinois Route 159, just south of downtown Collinsville. This unique 170-foot-tall water tower was built in 1949 by W.E. Caldwell Company for the G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant, bottlers of Brooks Old Original Rich & Tangy catsup.

In 1995, due to the efforts of the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group, this famous roadside attraction was saved from demolition and beautifully restored to its original appearance.

Recognized the world over as an excellent example of 20th century roadside Americana, the World's Largest Catsup Bottle garners national attention and attracts visitors and tourists every day.

In August of 2002, ``The World's Largest Catsup Bottle'' was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

I would like to commend those who maintain this historic landmark and wish them continued success.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the Centennial Celebration of the Bryan-Bennett Library in Salem, Illinois.

The Bryan-Bennett Library was established by Salem native William Jennings Bryan and his friend, Philo Bennett. In a letter to the mayor of Salem in 1905, Bryan stated that ``the library (was) established because of my attachment to the city of my birth and to the friends of my childhood.''

William Jennings Bryan was born in 1860 in Salem, Illinois. He had a distinguished career serving as a lawyer, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as Secretary of State during the Wilson Administration.

Through the tribulations and successes of his professional life, William Jennings Bryan gained an apprecation for education. His desire to share that passion with his community insprired Bryan to bring a new library to Salem. With assistance from Philo Bennett, he spearheaded the construction of the Bryan-Bennet library. On June 9, 1909, William Jennings Bryan gave his ``Price of a Soul'' speech to dedicate the opening of the library.

The original location of the library was on South Broadway Street, the site of Bryan's childhood home. It has since been moved with the generous contributions by Joe and Anna Hale of Salem and the support of the Illinois State Library's Live and Learn Grant.

On August 15, the Bryan-Bennett Library will formally celebrate its Centennial and dedicate its new site to Joe and Anna Hale.

I would like to congratulate the citizens of Salem, Illinois and the men and women who serve at the Bryan-Bennett Library to preserve the living legacy of William Jennings Bryan.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor one of the top high school baseball teams in Illinois.

The Metro-East Lutheran Knights of Edwardsville, Illinois, competed in the Illinois High School Association Class AA baseball state finals, and came away with a second place trophy. This year's appearance was the first visit to the state finals for the Knights in baseball, making our region proud. In the semifinals, the Knights beat a strong Morrison club, before falling in the championship to the defending state champions from Olympia.

As a former baseball coach for the Knights, I want to congratulate this year's head coach Scott Downing and assistant coaches Tom Hitt, Brian Brynildsen, Joel Rempfer and Brian Hipkiss on their great achievement. I especially want to congratulate the members of the 2009 Metro-East Lutheran Knights state runner-up squad: Brian Berry, Matt Brynildsen, TC Collins, Trevor Engelke, Nick Hoff, Chris Hoffman, Simon Hoffman, Conor Judge, Taylor Judge, Andrew Langendorf, Joe McCall, Alex Robinson, Josh Schelp, Andrew Scheumann, Isaac Schoeber, Dusty Shimkus and Jon Trampe.

These outstanding student-athletes have put together a season to be proud of, and I want to join with the other members of this House in congratulating them and wishing them well in all their endeavors, both on and off the field.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ralph F. Korte for his 2008 induction in the Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville Alumni Association Hall of Fame.

Ralph Korte is the founder and chairman emeritus of the board of Korte Company. The company was established by Mr. Korte in 1958 after he returned from Korea, serving in the U.S. Army. He was asked to build a milking parlor by his neighbor and a few weeks later he created an innovative, state-of-the-art business structure that is still used today.

In 1959 Korte decided to go to college and utilized the financial aid of the G.I. Bill. He took two night classes a week for 5 years until his G.I. benefits ran out. Korte realized his business courses were helping him manage his company, so he stayed in college. After 4 more years of schooling, he graduated from SIUE School of Business. Korte attributes his success in business to the quality of education he received at SIUE.

By 2005 the Korte Company was operating in 37 states and by 2008 it celebrated its 50th anniversary. The company is a nationally recognized industry leader with more than 1,800 jobs completed across the country. ``I'm proud to say that more than 80 percent of our business comes from returning customers,'' Korte

said. ``We work smart, and we know how to get things done.''

In addition to his work with the Korte Company, Ralph Korte has been involved with the creation and implementation of several initiatives on the SIUE campus. These initiatives include: the addition of the Construction Program in the fall of 1979; the construction of the Ralph Korte Stadium in 1993; the donation of the Ralph and Donna Korte Classroom, the creation of the Ralph and Donna Korte Fund for Leadership and Innovation in Business Education in 1999; and the launch of the SIUE Construction Leadership Institute in 2004.

I would like to congratulate Mr. Korte for his achievements in business and receiving this honor from Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the achievements of one of the top softball programs in Illinois.

Last month, the Piasa Birds of Southwestern High School took second place in the Illinois High School Association's state finals. It was the third time in four years that Southwestern reached the finals, and it tied for the best finish in school history. The Piasa Birds finished the year with 28 wins and four losses. They won an extra-inning thriller against West Carroll in the semifinals before falling to Olympia in the state championship.

I want to congratulate head coach Erin McAfee and assistant coach Michelle Woelfel on their achievement. Most of all, I want to congratulate the members of the 2009 Southwestern Piasa Birds state runner-up softball team: Amanda Hany, Niki Davis, Lizzy McAfee, Rebecca Wolff, Amanda Roberts, Samantha Boucher, Sydney Shelton, Ashley Jenkins, Ellie Thomas, Shauni Hernandez, Amanda Mitchell, Megan Smith, Samatha Davis, Katie Trombetta and Leslie Davis.

They have represented themselves, their school and the community very well, and I join with the other members of this House in wishing them continued success both on and off the field.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a group of talented student-athletes from Chatham, Illinois.

The Chatham Glenwood High School Titans defeated the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers in a 2-1 game to advance to the Illinois High School Association Class 3A state baseball championship. The Titans finished runners-up after a hard fought championship game.

My congratulations go to Head Coach Pat Moomey and assistant coaches John Hyde and Kyle Moomey for their work with this outstanding group of student-athletes. But most of all, I want to congratulate the members of the 2009 Chatham Glenwood High School Titans state champion runners- up baseball team: Nino Mattera, Derek Piper, Jake Ingold, Derek Crouch, Ryan Williams, Jacob Reese, Connor Bryant, Ben Parks, Tim Sullivan, Michael Fiaush, Max Xanders, Phillip Maton, Jake Fulks, Matt Green, Jared Turner, Tristan Molumby, Aaron Hearn, Bryce Sablotny, Jake Lance, Zack Joos, Patrick Woerner, Chris Sekardi and Dallas Henderson..

They have represented themselves, their school and the community in an exemplary fashion, and I want to join with the other members of this House in wishing them the best of luck in their future endeavors, both on and off the field.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor one of the top high school soccer programs in Illinois.

The Titans from Glenwood High School in Chatham, Illinois, took third place at the Illinois High School Association Class 2A state finals last month. It was the school's third trip to state in six years, and it capped off an 18-4-1 season.

This year's squad avenged last year's loss to Belleville Althoff in the super-sectional by winning the rematch and advancing to the state finals. Once there, they fell to Lemont 1-0, but bounced back to take a 2-1 victory over Sycamore in the third place game.

I want to congratulate head coach Jay Lipe and assistant coaches Greg Lipe, Pam Hogan and Bethany Rollet on their success with this group of student-athletes. I especially want to congratulate the members of the 2009 Glenwood Titans' state third place soccer team: Cara Moody, Erin Egolf, Sydney Alstott, Ashley Kulavic, Lindsey Koch, Dani Torry, Eryn Sullivan, Rylie Sullivan, Ali Traina, Bree Gardner, Annie Kwedar, Jenny Mosley, Emily Stockton, Elena Pappas, Abby Vorreyer, Colleen Quick, Rachel Kobayashi, Alise Wisniewski, Kaylee Walsh and Abby Juhlin.

These students have represented themselves, their school and the community very well, and I want to join with the other members of this House in congratulating them, and wishing them all the best in their future endeavors, both on and off the field.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a group of talented student-athletes from Chatham, Illinois.

The Chatham Glenwood High School Titans defeated the Glenbard South Raiders in a 4-2 victory to advance to the Illinois High School Association Class 3A state softball championship. The Titans finished runners-up after a hard fought championship game.

My congratulations go to Head Coach Vondel Edgar and assistant coaches Terry McDevitt, Brittany Koester and Paul Gray for their work with this outstanding group of student-athletes. But most of all, I want to congratulate the members of the 2009 Chatham Glenwood High School Titans state champion runners-up softball team: Sami Estill, Erin Fleischacker, Alyssa Esperum, Mariah Cole, Cassandra Harvill, Kaitlyn England, Kim Franke, Lauren Galloway, Abbie Xanders, Jessica Meyer, Kasey Oliver, Ashley Backus, Sarah Garrison, Liz Rupel, Shelbi Tudor, Brittany Osborn, Brittany Hembrough and Beka Ferguson.

They have represented themselves, their school and the community in an exemplary fashion, and I want to join with the other members of this House in wishing them the best of luck in their future endeavors, both on and off the field.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a state championship baseball team from Raymond, Illinois.

The Lincolnwood High School Lancers knocked off Marissa 3-1 to capture their first state championship in baseball. The championship game win at Silver Cross Stadium in Joliet capped off an amazing season in which the Lancers won their first 27 games and ended up with 34 wins against just two losses.

My congratulations go to Head Coach Chris Paproth and assistant coaches Josh Stone and Lance Glick for their work with this outstanding group of student-athletes. But most of all, I want to congratulate the members of the 2009 Lincolnwood High School Lancers state champion baseball team: Aaron Pope, Luke Leonard, Chase Jaeger, Trevor Riggs, Clayton Clarke, Tyler Walch, Josh Glick, Adam Lemon, Nick Arter, Sam Elmore, Shane Herschelman, Lucas Stieren, Ethan Eliason, Randall Brockmeyer, Michael Stephenson, Kendall Wagaoff, Kyle Snyder, Jake Leonard, Kendall Crawford, Landon Weitekamp and Shane Burbridge.

They have represented themselves, their school and the community in a first-rate fashion, and I want to join with the other members of this House in wishing them the best of luck in their future endeavors, both on and off the field.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 3082.

Requesting Member: John M. Shimkus

Bill number: H.R. 3082

The Account: Air NG

Requesting Entity: Lincoln Capital Airport, 1200 Capital Airport Drive, Springfield, IL 62707.

The funding for this project will go towards relocating the entrance road at the Air National Guard Base at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport. The relocation is necessary to meet the Homeland Security back requirements and will ensure that the base can remain one of the largest employers in Central Illinois.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2847.

Requesting Member: John M. Shimkus

Bill number: H.R. 2847

The Account: COPS Tech

Requesting Entity: Christian County Sheriff at 301 Franklin St. Taylorville, IL 62568.

Funding would go to be used for interoperable communication needs for emergency response in Christian County.

The Account: OJP--Byrne

Requesting Entity: Fairfield Police Department at 108 NW 7th St. Fairfield, IL 62837.

Funding will be used for an emergency generator and security and communications upgrades for Fairfield Police Department to allow them to utilize their facility and provide the equipment necessary for security compliance.

The Account: OJP--Byrne

Requesting Entity: Findlay Police Department at 221 E. S. Second St. Findlay, IL 62534.

Funding will be used for equipment to allow the FPD to properly equip their officers for the seasonal increases in traffic

The Account: OJP--Byrne

Requesting Entity: Village of Southern View located at 3412 S. Fifth St. Springfield, IL 62703.

Funding will be used for training and equipment for the Southern View Police Department.

The Account: OJP--Byrne

Requesting Entity: Wayne County Sheriff's office located at 305 E. Court St. Fairfield, IL 62837.

Funding will be used for equipment and supplies to upgrade underage drinking enforcement and other communications related equipment at Wayne County Sheriff's office.

The Account: OJP--JJ

Requesting Entity: i-SAFE, Inc. located at 5900 Pasteur Court, Suite 100 Carlsbad, CA 92008.

i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation that has been providing, since 2002, Internet Safety curriculum to over 7.2 million students nationwide. Parents, educators, law enforcement and industry rely on i- SAFE to educate citizens in all 50 states about how to remain safe from online predators, consumer fraud, bullying and many other online victimizations. The funding will go toward furthering these goals.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of HR 2997.

Requesting Member: John M. Shimkus

Bill number: HR 2997

The Account: Agriculture Salaries and Expenses

Requesting Entity: National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at 400 University Park Dr in Edwardsville, IL.

NCERC is the only pilot plant facility in the world that has the flexibility to process any grain based feedstock to fuel ethanol and associated products. Funding will go toward the research at NRERC which is needed to reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy.

Madam Speaker, here it is, 1,090 pages. If we pass this bill, we get this--unemployed miners. In fact, the last time, 35,000 miners lost their jobs. If we pass the Republican alternative we get jobs, offshore drilling, fuel from coal, wind and solar, renewable fuels.

I have an e-mail from eight rural electric co-ops in my district which I include for the Record. All say vote no.

I just got a voicemail from several Coops on one call. Jim

Riddle, with Egyptian Electric Coop, Larry Level with

Southern Illinois Electric Coop, Allen Waddle with Monroe

County Coop, Ralph Cool with Clinton County Coop in Breeze,

Scott Ramsey with Southern Illinois Power Coop in Marion, as

well as Tri-County Coop in Mt. Vernon, Southeastern Coop in

Eldorado, and Clay County Electric in Flora. They first

wanted to thank you for your position on Climate Change and

they all agree with you. Second they wanted to make sure you

knew they are opposed that NRECA has taken ``no position'' on

the bill and want to urge you to vote against the bill.

Do not believe the National Association.

Madam Speaker, this bill is a disaster, and let me just explain who is opposed. Rural America is opposed to this bill. The manufacturing sector is opposed to this bill. Utilities are opposed to this bill. The transportation sector is opposed to this bill. Why? Because they believe Democrats. They believe John Dingell when he says, Nobody in this country realizes that a cap-and-trade is a tax, and it is a very big one. They believe Barack Obama when he said, Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity costs would necessarily skyrocket. What's the result? They believe the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission that says, 66,000 Pennsylvanians will lose their jobs. Why am I so impassioned? These are miners who lost their jobs the last time we came to the well on climate legislation, when 1,200 miners lost their jobs, 35,000 miners lost their jobs in the State of Ohio.

What will this do to the average American? Here's one example. When the Democrats came into power, a gallon of gas was $2.33. Today it's $2.66. Add the cap-and-trade tax, 77 cents per gallon, and you're going to be paying $3.43. Now that's okay in the big city; but in rural America where you've got to drive long distances to get to school, to get to the grocery store, to get to health care, rural America is poor. Why do we have the rich areas of this country attack the rural poor of America? This is a shame. How dare you do that to my constituents.