Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, this is a vital bill for the future of our country, and this bill provides a very balanced approach to research in the scientific areas and to energy development and, indeed, renewable energy as well as vital water projects and infrastructure for this country to keep us economically sound. I would particularly like to commend the chairman and the staff in working with both sides here on this bill. It could do more if the resources were available; but given that they are not, we are making the best, I think, of what we have.

I would like to single out the energy supply and conservation account which funds renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, nondefense environment, safety and health programs and energy conservation. These are funded at $1.7 billion. Over $360 million is provided for hydrogen and fuel cell research. This funding supports and expands the President's hydrogen initiative and promotes the Freedom CAR project. Hydrogen is the fuel source of the future and funding in this bill moves us closer to that goal.

Thirdly, the committee recommends $3.6 billion for the Office of Science, an increase of $203 million over the budget request. Additional funds are provided for priority work on advanced scientific computing, high energy physics and operation of user facilities.

Lastly, Office of Science funding provides for the basic building blocks of science and is the gateway to future scientific breakthroughs. We must keep America's scientific knowledge strong and on the cutting edge. Advanced scientific computing allows the U.S. to keep up with the rest of the world. We cannot allow other countries to surpass the U.S.'s knowledge.

I commend the chairman and I urge the passage of the bill.

Mr. Chairman, I apologize to my good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), but I have always supported the oil and gas exploration. Our economy demands it, and I believe this can be done safely. It is a jobs issue, it is about lowering the price of energy, and I strongly urge support for the Peterson amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, the provision in the fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill that is the subject of this amendment would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to sell public lands in the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake Wildlife Refuges, and use the profits from the land sales to buy water rights.

None of the delegation, which, I might add, is represented by four of us from the areas that represents this area, had approved this provision; and the Department of the Interior failed to communicate their desire to implement this program to the relevant Members of Congress.

As Members of Congress whose constituents would be affected by a provision such as this, we feel it is necessary to have time to review the proposal in order to ensure that the proposed program best suits the needs of the local communities in our districts. I might add that this event represents a trend of continuous poor communication by the Department of the Interior and therefore we must ask that our amendment be adopted.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Offered By: Mr. Doolittle

Amendment No. 20: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), add the following new section:

Sec. 4__. None of the funds made available in this Act for

the Department of the Interior may be used to implement the

first proviso under the heading ``United States Fish and

Wildlife Service--land acquisition''.

Mr. Chairman, I urge defeat of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, today we are about to further our independence on foreign sources of energy. I fully support that effort and urge my colleagues to do so as well. However, one item of particular concern to me is the contamination of groundwater by MTBE--a fuel additive that has been fully supported and promoted by this Congress and our Federal Government.

It is interesting to note that MTBE was first approved for use as a fuel additive by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in 1979. In 1988, the EPA approved the use of MTBE once again and significantly increased the amount of it that could be used in fuel.

In 1990, Congress passed amendments to the Clean Air Act which mandated a fuel oxygenate. In its regulations implementing those amendments, the EPA once again approved MTBE for use as an additive in gasoline. These three instances show direct promotion by the Congress and the Federal Government of the use of MTBE. It is important to point out that these actions, including the amendments to the Clean Air Act, were vigorously supported by both parties in Congress and many national environmental organizations which hailed MTBE as a great victory for clean air.

While it's true that MTBE is a great product for cleaner air, it unfortunately contaminates the water. In fact, my constituents in South Lake Tahoe have personal experience with this problem because in 1996 they discovered that their water supply had been contaminated by MTBE. Consequently, 18 out of 34 wells in South Lake Tahoe were shut down or suffered limited pumping to contain the contamination. As a result, my constituents lost 3.4 million gallons of water a day.

Because I believe strongly that the Federal Government is responsible for MTBE contamination, I fought for and succeeded in getting the Federal Government to participate in the cleanup of MTBE from South Lake Tahoe water by authorizing and appropriating $1 million in the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2000, P.L. 105-506. That appropriation was just a drop in the bucket, however, as the total estimated cleanup of MTBE in South Lake Tahoe is just over $69 million. These funds will be used for a combination of treating contaminated sources and drilling new wells to replace the bad ones.

The City of Santa Monica, CA, has also experienced the impacts of fowled water quality resulting from MTBE and recently settled its lawsuit for just over $325 million. Mr. Speaker, these are just two of many examples of the serious problems caused by the use of MTBE. In fact, to date, the legal fees, costs, and settlement for MTBE litigation in California is over $750 million alone. Furthermore, the water industry estimates that full cleanup of MTBE contamination across the country will be over $29 billion.

Mr. Chairman, MTBE contamination is a serious problem in California, and it is time for the Federal Government to admit that its overt promotion of MTBE is a major reason why we now find this additive in the water supplies of our communities.

For this reason, I am an ardent supporter of expanding the Leaking Underground Storage Tank, LUST, fund and am happy that Chairman Barton has agreed to increase the fund's expenditures to over $2 billion over 5 years. The expanded LUST fund will give local communities the necessary resources to identify cleanup needs and proceed with actual cleanup efforts.

But more must be done in order to further protect communities like South Lake Tahoe.

Representative Charlie Bass has offered a proposal that would create a task force to seek a resolution to the MTBE cleanup issues in both New Hampshire and California.

I think this proposal is an important first step, and I encourage the House leadership to take a serious look at Representative Bass's proposal and work towards a more comprehensive solution for MTBE contamination in our communities.

In the end, Mr. Chairman, the Federal Government helped cause this problem and the Federal Government needs to help resolve it. The solution is not more litigation and lawsuits, but recognition that the Federal Government pushed MTBE on our communities, and now our communities need our help.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 98-99 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on both.

Mr. Speaker, today I wish to remember and honor an outstanding citizen and dear friend, Mr. John Albert ``Al'' Wickland, Jr. from Carmichael, CA, who died on Thursday, January 20, 2005. He was 84 years old.

Al was raised in Orland, CA. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied electrical engineering. When World War II began, Al left the University and began his lifelong dedication to his country and the communities he called home. Al entered the U.S. Army Air Corps and served honorably as a B-26 instructor during the war. On February

4, 1942, while on leave from his duties serving our country, Al wed Mary Elizabeth Linton in Carson City, NV. They were happily married for 58 years until Mary's death in 2000.

After the war, Al returned with Mary to Orland where they raised four children. In 1954, Al started Wickland Oil Company and a life-long career in oil distribution and marketing. Wickland Oil quickly opened a chain of gasoline and convenience stores called Regal Stations, which operated throughout California, Oregon, and Nevada. By adopting innovative strategies such as offering low-cost self-serve gasoline, Al demonstrated a unique ability to understand and cater to the needs of his consumers. With Al's leadership and vision, Wickland Oil and Regal Stations quickly grew into a regional powerhouse.

By 1980, Wickland Oil's commodities trading and oil storage business was a major operator on the international stage. Again displaying great vision, Al directed Wickland Oil into the Chinese market, making it one of the very first American firms to open trade relations with China. Under Al's leadership, Wickland Oil impressively built storage and distribution facilities in California, China, Australia, Singapore, Russia, and the Caribbean. Al was especially grateful for the contributions his two sons, John and Roy, as well as his son-in-law, Dan Hall, made to Wickland Oil. He took great pleasure in working with them on a day-to-day basis.

In addition to building a world-renowned company, Al served his community. He was a charter member and co-founder of the Orland Rotary Club, a Trustee of the YMCA, a member of the advisory board of California State University at Chico, and the co-founder of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association. Upon moving to Sacramento in 1972, Al joined the Fremont Presbyterian Church, Sacramento Rotary, the Sutter Club, and Del Paso Country Club. In addition to participating in these activities, Al especially loved spending time with his family and friends piloting his boat, the Regal Lady, along the North American coastline and elsewhere.

While Al enjoyed great success in his business and community endeavors, his passion remained his family. Al is survived by his wife of 3 years Beatrice Rogers Wickland and his four children: John A. Wickland III, Valerie E. Wickland, Roy L. Wickland and his wife, Janet E. Wickland, Laurel Wickland Hall and her husband, Daniel E. Hall. Al also had a great affection for his 11 grandchildren: Joshua D. Wickland, John A. Wickland IV, Stacia C. Wickland, Scott Lusk, Tracy Frost Lusk Scollan, Jessica Wickland Oehmen, Allison C. Wickland, Matthew J. Wickland, John L. Hall, Danielle E. Hall, and Joseph D. Hall.

Mr. Speaker, today I join with Al Wickland's family, friends, and community to commemorate his life of hard work, service to country and community, and dedication to his family. May he rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues from California Mr. Berman, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Cox, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Farr, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Herger, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Issa, Mr. Lewis, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Lungren, Mr. McKeon, Mr. George Miller, Mr. Nunes, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thompson, and Ms. Woolsey to pay tribute to Presiding Justice Robert K. Puglia, judge, scholar, wordsmith, teacher, patriot, and family man.

Born in 1929, and raised in Westerville, Ohio, Robert K. Puglia came to California after high school to earn money for college. Returning to his Buckeye roots, he graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in political science, then fought in Korea and was a first sergeant in the Third Infantry Division. Following the war, he graduated from the University of California Boalt Hall School of Law in 1958.

He married Ingrid in 1959. They have four children--Peter, Susan, David, and Tom--and three grandchildren.

Justice Puglia began his legal career as a Deputy Attorney General in Sacramento, then moved to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office where he prosecuted the most serious cases. At age 34, he was named Chief Deputy District Attorney. In 1969, he became a partner in McDonough, Holland, Schwartz, Allen & Wahrhaftig. He was a Professor of Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and frequently taught at legal seminars. He also taught at California State University, Sacramento.

Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him Judge of the Superior Court, County of Sacramento, in August 1971; Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, in June 1974; and Presiding Justice in December 1974.

Justice Puglia distinguished himself, in California and in the Nation, both as a prosecutor and a jurist, during his more than 40 years in the law. Known for his keen intellect and clear reasoning, colleagues and litigants alike remember his sharp memory, gregarious personality, thorough consideration of issues, and effective leadership. His stewardship of the court was exemplary, marked by a respect for his colleagues and a concern for the independence of the judiciary. His administrative touch was light but firm and done with a sense of humor.

After becoming a judge, Justice Puglia served on the Judicial Council, the State courts' governing council. He served as president of the California Judges Association and the National Council of Chief Judges of Courts of Appeal. Admired and respected by appellate judges everywhere in America, he often served as a member of the faculty of the Appellate Courts Institute, conducted annually by the California Center for Judicial Education and Research, and the Appellate Judges Seminar, conducted annually by the Institute of Judicial Administration, New York University School of Law.

Justice Puglia's opinions are marked by scholarship, common sense, clarity and eloquence, reflecting his philosophy of judicial restraint and his understanding of the proper role of the courts in a democratic society. He authored more than 4,000 opinions, of which 446 were published, including one opinion he wrote as Chief Justice pro tem of the California Supreme Court. A dynamic, innovative, collegial and respected leader and mentor, he retired from the Court of Appeal in November 1998. The Court of Appeal's library was dedicated and named in his honor in April 1999.

Justice Puglia was chosen as the recipient of Boalt Hall's Judge D. Lowell Jensen Public Service Award in 2003. The Jensen Award is given each year to a prominent Boalt Hall graduate for his or her outstanding commitment to public service in the legal field. Judge Jensen personally presented the award at a special luncheon in Sacramento.

Justice Puglia has the uncanny ability to become a quick-study expert in anything that catches his interest. Of his many hobbies, two merit mention: music and sports.

Justice Puglia loves the big bands of World Ward II. He maintains a large collection of their music: Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and Harry James. He appreciates the vocal talents of Jo Stafford, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mercer (as much as a songwriter as a singer), Dick Haimes, and Nat ``King'' Cole. One of his favorite singers was a British singer from World War II named Vera Lynn. She sang to British troops and was their hero.

Justice Puglia loves sports, but especially baseball. He supports his alma mater, Ohio State. In an era of many great sports heroes, he was partial to Bob Feller in baseball, Otto Graham in football, and Jerry Lucas in basketball, for their admirable characteristics both on and off the field of play.

Justice Puglia is undeviating in his commitment to ethics and civility, to playing by the rules, in sports and in life. For several years, Justice Puglia's ethics and civility have provided a beacon for young baseball and softball players in Northern California. The Sacramento River Cats, who play in the AAA Pacific Coast League, annually select the most outstanding high school baseball (boys) and softball (girls) players for Justice Robert K. Puglia Good Sportsmanship Awards. These awards are given before capacity crowds at Raley Field every August, as the baseball season wanes. Both Art Savage, president/CEO of the Sacramento River Cats, and Branch Rickey, president of the Pacific Coast League, have declared Justice Puglia is the perfect civic exemplar for Sacramento's, California's, and America's young people.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for the time.

Mr. Speaker, while I, like our other colleagues, was really shocked to learn of this sad news, I think it was exactly a month ago today on the final day of the 108th Congress that Bob and I exchanged a warm greeting in the elevator, wished each other happy holidays and fully expected to see him back here with all the rest of us starting out today in the 109th Congress.

I had the privilege of representing the adjoining region to Bob Matsui, who represented the City of Sacramento and certain surrounding areas. He and I got to know each other pretty well. We had some real contentious issues, one specific contentious issue that the Chamber is aware of dealing with water supply and flood control in our region, and we battled over that for a long time.

Bob was a fearless advocate for his constituency, and it always impressed me as we went through this process of advocating our points of view and coming to the realization that we would be best served by trying to find some common ground and putting that into law. We got to know each other on a personal basis, and it was really a delightful experience. I think our constituents assumed we were bitter enemies, but that was not the case. The disagreements were never personal, and we actually became friends, and I always enjoyed seeing him.

I knew he was a good family man. He cared a great deal about that, and from time to time we would sit back there in the back rows and visit with each other a little bit about that. He was very proud of his son Brian, first love Doris a great deal, and proud of his daughter-in- law and of his new granddaughter, relatively new, 16 months old I believe.

Like the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark), I was opening that Christmas card myself, well, just last week in Rocklin. That was one of the ones I saw, big beautiful card and filled with pictures of his family, and he was a very committed man, a very effective representative.

Sacramento has a lot today because of work that he did, a lot of fine accomplishments from improving the airport to light rail taking off, getting started with him, and developing and extending the lines and so forth, the

massive amount of flood control work on the levies and so forth that is going on, a lot. He has left quite a legacy.

I shall miss him and I am truly sorry that this has happened. It is a shocking event, and my prayers are with Doris and Brian and Amy, his daughter-in-law, and Anna, the granddaughter. I thank my colleagues for this opportunity to offer my thoughts.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak about Project IntelliCare, a groundbreaking innovation in health care delivery that will revolutionize the way health care providers manage patient care, in addition to imparting tremendous improvements in the quality of care available to Americans.

As we all have undoubtedly read or witnessed in our districts, forecasts for the future of health care delivery are dire. Developments in medical technology have long been confined to procedural or pharmaceutical advances, while neglecting a most basic and essential component of medicine: patient information management.

The information systems that maintain patient files and transmit care history are antiquated in many of our hospitals and clinics. In fact, many systems are still paper based. The result: a patient's complete medical history is difficult to transmit when necessary and may not be available to new health caretakers, leaving the physician with a limited understanding of prior illnesses, treatment, and complications. This, in turn, leads to unnecessary and redundant testing and treatment and greater health risks due to preventable errors.

I would like to draw your attention to a May 3, 2004, New York Times op-ed by former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Congressman Patrick Kennedy. The writers correctly assert that information sharing may be one of the greatest issues facing health care provision today, expounding on escalating costs and medical mistakes attributed to an archaic information system. They urge for bipartisan support of ``moving American medicine into the 21st century'' by standardizing information systems with technology readily available today.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report that the innovation discussed as ``a matter of life and death'' has already arrived in the State of California. Project IntelliCare was first implemented by the Adventist Health System in 1999, over four years ago. The program is hailed by the Department of Health and Human Services as ahead of its time in Healthcare IT and is positioned to serve as a model for other systems throughout the country.

Project IntelliCare employs cutting edge technology to provide seamless integration of a patient's whole medical history. Through this initiative, medical records are maintained electronically and securely, available only to the patient's health care provider. Project IntelliCare ensures that when a patient goes to visit a physician, regardless of when, where, or why, the patient will receive treatment that is current and relevant. No longer will those in need of medical help suffer from incomplete or inaccurate care.

Project IntelliCare not only protects Americans from substandard health care, it promises more efficient and cost-effective delivery. Inflating health care costs and skyrocketing insurance premiums are highly salient issues today. Duplication or incorrect prescription of services places a large burden on insurance companies. Greater costs to insurance companies translate to higher premiums for employers that provide insurance, the selfemployed, and individuals who pay out of pocket for their health care. In addition, redundant or unnecessary care strains the capacity of health care providers. However, Project IntelliCare poses a mechanism to mitigate some of the factors that contribute to these higher costs.

Project IntelliCare promises to modernize the way American health care is administered with tremendous benefits in quality of care, efficient, and cost-savings anticipated to accrue.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to speak on this important and exciting topic and urge my colleagues to support further funding for Project IntelliCare. By supporting this program, we work to collectively improve American health care standards and delivery.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 135) authorizing the printing of a commemorative document in memory of the late President of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this resolution which authorizes the printing of a commemorative document in memory of the late President of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan. I will be offering an amendment that will require the document to be printed under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing, to be compiled by both bodies of Congress for the use of the full Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. Con. Res. 135.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 5122) to amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to permit members of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance to serve for 2 terms, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I offer this bill which would amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to permit members of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance to serve two terms instead of one. The committee believes that amending the act to allow for the reappointment of members of the Board of Directors to a second term will improve the efficient operation of the Office of Compliance.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of H.R. 5122.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to explain why I voted against S. 2634, the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, which authorizes $82 million over three years for federally funded suicide intervention, prevention and treatment programs in public schools.

I most certainly empathize with those who have lost a loved one as a result of suicide. Many of us have been affected by this particularly painful form of tragedy, whether directly or indirectly. We need to do whatever it takes to reduce the number of suicides occurring each year in our Nation, and help the suffering realize that taking their own life is never the right answer. However, ``whatever it takes'' does not mean we take the role of suicide prevention out of the hands of friends and family and local health care providers and into the hands of the poorly-suited federal bureaucracy. Those contemplating suicide do not need help from the government--they need help from those who know them by name.

Mr. Speaker, no one can argue that this bill came before the House with anything other than good intention. Unfortunately, good intention doesn't always translate into good legislation. This bill costs taxpayers $82 million over 3 years and creates two new Federal programs and a new technical assistance center, with virtually no mechanism to measure effectiveness or actual benefit of new services. Don't our loved ones deserve better, more direct care than that?

I think absolutely they do, and so do the experts:

In a December 2001 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) entitled ``Suicide in Teenagers'' researchers concluded that ``Suicide awareness programs in schools . . . have not been shown to be effective either in reducing suicidal behavior or in increasing help seeking behavior.'' Additionally, Dr. David Shaffer, an expert in the field of suicide prevention states: ``My research at Columbia University, supported by grants from the Centers for Disease Control, suggests that case finding that involves giving lessons or lectures about suicide, either to encourage suicidal students to identify themselves or to teach other students or teachers how to identify the suicidal teacher is not effective and in some instances may even undermine protective attitudes about suicide.''

Mr. Speaker, I voted against this well-intentioned but misguided bill out of compassion for those contemplating suicide who deserve love, support and treatment. Those who know them best and want the very best for them are the ones living with them, not inside the beltway.