Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, America is facing a troubling physician shortage. It is estimated that the U.S. could be short 200,000 physicians by next year, while the number of patients is expected to increase by 24 percent. Furthermore, most medical school students incur more than $100,000 in student debt and primary care doctors are becoming scarce. New physicians are entering more lucrative specialties that better assist in their student debt payoff.

To join efforts that are underway across the country to address health care workforce shortages, today I will introduce the Primary Care Volunteer Incentive Act. This legislation will create a volunteer program for primary care physicians that will allow them to receive medical school loan repayment for their dedication to a community health center with high needs.

The Primary Care Volunteer Incentive Act will implement a program for doctors who specialize in family medicine, general pediatrics and general internal medicine. This program will request a five year volunteer commitment that will help doctors to develop a strong and longstanding relationship with their patients and communities. The program will build on the current National Health Service Corps program by allowing doctors to volunteer only part-time at a community health center in an area with a large primary care physician shortage.

This legislation is a vital step in closing the gaps that exist for medically disenfranchised Americans. Fifty-two percent of uninsured Americans do not have a primary care provider and at least two in five residents in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah have inadequate access to routine health services. We know that lack of access to a primary care provider means that patients are not receiving preventive care, which helps people to lead healthier lives and keeps them out of emergency rooms for preventable and manageable conditions.

Too many of our neighbors are without basic care. Ensuring access and affordable health care should be our top priority. I have seen first hand the positive impact that access to community health care has given my district in the Tampa Bay area, and today my bill will help to see that communities will not continue to suffer losses in primary care providers that cannot be afforded.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Sam Horton and to acknowledge his contributions to the Tampa Bay area.

Sam Horton, a native of rural Hillsborough County, is a direct descendent of a founding family of the historical township of Bealsville. Bealsville was founded by 12 freed slave families after the Civil War. The courageous group homesteaded by clearing their lands, built homes and began to farm the land. They were dedicated to building a life of hope and faith in God based on their newfound freedom.

Dr. Horton was educated in Florida starting with Glover Elementary and Marshall High School in Plant City. He received his Bachelor's degree at Florida A&M University in 1949 and his Doctorate at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.

Dr. Horton immersed himself into the Tampa community after finishing his education. He started teaching in the Hillsborough County School District in 1949, becoming a principal in 1965. Dr. Horton's passion for education and his community inspired him to establish a local chapter of the National Alliance of Black School Educators. Dr. Horton began to mentor and encourage black educators in hopes of broadening the pool of talented educators. He devoted free time to Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Beulah Baptist Church, the Guardsmen and the NAACP.

Dr. Horton's career included a major first. He became the first black General Director for Secondary Education in the Hillsborough County School District in 1978. As a district administrator, he travelled several times to the African continent consulting with educators to help them improve their educational systems. Dr. Horton retired from the school system in 1991. The district honored him by naming the Jefferson High School Stadium the Dr. Sam Horton Stadium.

Dr. Horton served as president of the Hillsborough NAACP. During his tenure, he consolidated the Tampa and Plant City branches. Working closely with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Dr. Horton publicly opposed education plans that would lead to more segregated schools in Hillsborough County. He also co-founded the Empowerment Center which helps black entrepreneurs and provides tutoring for children. Dr. Horton has encouraged many local youths to participate in national academic and arts driven competitions, NAACP's ACT-SO, exposing these youths to top universities, colleges, and scholarships.

Dr. Horton was married to his wife. Doris, for 55 years and is the father of Sheila Warren and Dawyan Horton. He is the proud grandfather of Exley Jr. and Michael Warren, Clifton, Jason and Erin Horton. Michael and Exley are following in their grandfather's footsteps by teaching in Florida public schools.

The Tampa community honors Dr. Sam Horton for his outstanding contributions to the Tampa Bay area. His career in education serves as an inspiration and will continue to influence the lives of students and educators he touched in our community and abroad.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2 as amended and this rule. We will finally pass the children's health care bill today, send it to President Obama for his signature, and provide affordable medical care to millions of children across America.

I was in the pediatrician's office last Friday with my daughters. There is nothing like the feeling of knowing that your children are healthy after a checkup or that they are on the road to recovery. I speak for millions of parents who can share that sense of relief because they can take their kids to the doctor's office and do so without breaking the family bank.

What good news for all Americans that one of the first bills President Obama will sign today will be one that improves access to quality affordable health care and reduces the cost of health care for families.

More affordable health care is central to our economic recovery and it is fundamental for families.

I am proud to say that the precursor to SCHIP originated in the 1990s as a novel health care initiative in my home State of Florida where the innovators enrolled kids in a health care plan at the start of the school year. They understood that healthy kids succeed in school at higher rates.

President Clinton and the Congress were so impressed by what Florida was doing in Florida Kidcare, they took the blueprint and fashioned the national SCHIP partnership.

Access to health care for working families in my community and all over America through this innovative partnership between Federal, State and local communities is a winning proposition.

The new law will make it easier for parents and kids to afford the doctor's office visits, and encourage States to cut costly bureaucratic red tape.

Our children's health care initiative ensures that newborn babies receive the medical checkups and immunizations they need, ensures that toddlers and children are taken care of as they grow, and ensures that we all save money through preventative care.

Suffering through President Bush's opposition over the past years has been very costly, and we have lost ground. In Florida alone, over 800,000 children lack health insurance and that's the third highest rate in the U.S. It's more than the population of some States and it is growing. The lack of affordable health care for these working families is making it more expensive for everyone.

We are on a different path now.

I thank the many members who championed SCHIP as an initiative that works within a broader health care system that leaves many unable to afford health care in America, especially Speaker Pelosi, who never gave up and kept the promise that in the first days of a new Congress with a new President, the health of America's kids and the pocketbooks of hardworking families would be paramount.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Matsui- Castor amendment. Congresswoman Matsui has summarized the amendment very well, and I appreciate her leadership.

We all agree the housing crisis, foreclosures, and the related disintegration of value in our neighborhoods must be addressed. We know the statistics very well about the extent of the problem. And in Florida, we have the second highest rate of foreclosures.

I did not support the $350 billion first tranche of the TARP because I had no confidence in the Bush administration that they were going to help homeowners and prevent foreclosures. I hoped and prayed that I was wrong, but unfortunately, that has been borne out.

I'm now planning my fourth foreclosure workshop, and to the contrary, rather than discouraging homeowners, here is what I found. They cannot get the loss mitigation personnel on the phone. They want to work it out. They want a little bit of breathing room. Now where it's a vicious cycle because they've lost their job, they're looking for their second part-time job, they need a little breathing room that this amendment will provide.

They're not asking for a bailout. They're not asking for billions of dollars that have gone to the financial institutions. They want a little bit of a break.

I thank my good friend and colleague from Florida.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2 and this rule that will provide millions of children across America with affordable health care at a time when families have been particularly hard hit by the economy. What good news for all Americans that one of the first bills President Obama will sign will be one that improves access to quality, affordable health care and reduces the cost of health care for families.

More affordable health care is central to our economic recovery and it is fundamental for families. A healthy child is more likely to succeed in life. A healthy child is a healthy student. Healthy students become productive adults. A healthy child means more productive parents who do not miss work.

Here we ensure that newborn babies receive the medical checkups and immunizations they need, ensure that toddlers and children are taken care of as they grow, ensure that we all save money through preventive care, particularly diabetes and asthma. Yet, despite all that we understand about the importance of healthy kids, millions of children and their families cannot afford----

Families are working hard to make ends meet, but

they are coming up short when it comes to health care.

I would especially like to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who never gave up and kept her promise that in the first few days of a new Congress with a new President the health of America's kids and the pocketbooks of hardworking American families would be paramount.

Suffering through President Bush's opposition over the past years has been very costly and we have lost ground. In Florida alone, over 800,000 children lack health insurance, and that's the second highest rate in the U.S. It's more than the population of some States and it is growing. The lack of affordable health care for these working families is making it more expensive for everyone.

Families are working hard to make ends meet, but they are coming up short when it comes to health care. This bill makes it easier for parents by eliminating costly bureaucratic red tape. When more kids visit a doctor's office for medical care, we also reduce the strain on crowded local emergency rooms and cost of health care for everyone.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, the Chair of the Rules Committee, for yielding the time.

Mr. Speaker, this rules package also contains the first step in the march towards economic recovery in that it allows consideration by this Congress for the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Act. We are going to reverse a very anachronistic decision by the United States Supreme Court relating to job discrimination based on sex. You see, in this country, working women are still earning only 78 cents for every dollar that a man makes in the same position oftentimes; and despite the attempts by this Congress during the 110th Congress, we were unable to beat back the opposition of the White House.

Well, this is a new day and a new direction for America, because now we will have someone in the White House who will value equal opportunity in employment and education and housing and other fields. Indeed, the President-elect has stated that he intends to invite Ms. Ledbetter to the White House, and he understands that this bill is part of a broader effort to update the social contract, to value equal pay for equal work.

This is something that Congressman Rosa DeLauro, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter have fought for year after year after year, to realize the economic recovery in our households across America, many headed by single women. This is the important first step this Congress will take as part of the economic recovery and reinvestment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the death of Les Hirsch. Mr. Hirsch made an indelible mark on my community in Tampa Bay.

Over the 50 year period that Mr. Hirsch lived in Tampa, he took on a few different roles. In 1960 he became a stockbroker. Many of the brokers still practicing in my community got their start when Mr. Hirsch hired them. Former employees describe him as ``upbeat, with a very sharp mind'' and ``a mentor, inspiration and a role model.'' And through his love of politics, he inspired one of them to seek public office. Mr. Hirsch helped on his successful campaign for City Council in 1991.

In the late 1970s, Mr. Hirsch was appointed to the Tampa Port Authority and then to the Tampa Sports Authority. When Tampa hosted its first Super Bowl in 1984, Mr. Hirsch contributed to the effort to secure our city as the location. As we ready our city to welcome Super Bowl fans again this season, I regret that we won't have his expertise this time around.

Madam Speaker, Mr. Hirsch's death on October 31st marked a great loss to his wife Gail, his sons, Rabbi David Hirsch and his wife, Margot, and Andrew Hirsch and his wife, Tricia, his daughter, Beth Hirsch, and his six grandchildren, as well as the entire Tampa Bay area.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to praise the lifetime achievements of distinguished Tampa lawyer and Florida legislator Louis de la Parte. Mr. de la Parte was honored for his unselfish compassion and courage to voice his beliefs on causes, even against popular opposition. He was a noble public servant and lived to help his family, friends, and community.

Mr. de la Parte was born in Ybor City, Tampa, and grew up with his mother, a homemaker, and his father, who ran a men's clothing store, whom Louis helped out during the summer. His grandmother lived in public housing in Tampa, and his large family came from a modest background. He used his experience growing up around people less fortunate than he to help out his community and voice the opinions of those who could not be heard. He graduated from Jesuit High School in Tampa in 1946 and received his bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Emory University in 1950. His articulate leadership and natural ability for persuasion led him to earn his juris doctor from the University of Florida.

After law school he joined the Air Force and started a family. He worked as a prosecutor but soon discovered that many of the problems that he was prosecuting could be avoided through science and the more effective delivery of mental health services. This revelation led Mr. de la Parte to run for public office. He served as a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1962 through 1966 and the Senate from 1966 through 1974. He served his final year in the legislature as senate president.

During his time in office, he built the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to assist the poor, mentally disabled, elderly, and sick. He avidly promoted environmental legislation and educational programs in prisons.

A dedicated family man, Mr. de la Parte was deeply loved by his family. His wife and two children would follow him to work sometimes, carrying his briefcase for him. Mr. de la Parte loved to have big family dinners on Sundays, and to take his family on travels all around the world, particularly to those places he had been while serving in the Air Force. The de la Parte family is a Tampa treasure.

Mr. de la Parte worked in private practice with his son for 4 years. He retired in 1990, when he began to develop the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. To congratulate his dedication to progress in the area of mental health, in 1996 the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida was named after Mr. de la Parte.

Madam Speaker, Louis de la Parte was a man of the highest regard who dedicated his life to the public good. He will be greatly missed by the State of Florida. My thoughts are with his wife, Helen, his children, Peggy and L. David, and the entire de la Parte family.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor COL Linda Ebling for her 22-year career in the United States Air Force as a Medical Service Corps officer. Her direct support of medical planning efforts for the United States Air Force Medical Service has greatly enhanced medical capabilities needed for success in the war.

Colonel Ebling was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She obtained a Bachelors of Arts from Thiel College in Chemistry in 1975, and a Bachelors of Health Science from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital in 1977.

She earned a Masters of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh in 1985 and continued on as a distinguished graduate from military and health programs such as Health Services Administration, Squadron Officer School, Contingency Wartime Planning, and Joint Medical Planning. She also attended programs such as the Air Command and Staff College, Air War College, and Interagency Institute for Healthcare Executives at George Washington University.

Throughout her career, Colonel Ebling enhanced medical services in the U.S. military by working in numerous positions of medical services, support, management, operations, and planning. She is currently the Director of Medical Readiness for the Office of the Surgeon General, Headquarters United States Air Force at Bolling Air Force Base and the Pentagon, Washington, DC. Prior to serving with the Air Staff, she worked as Commander of the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from 2004 through 2006. During this assignment, she also served as Commander to 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron and Administrator to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group, deploying to the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq.

Prior to entering the Air Force, Colonel Ebling engaged in clinical practice as a Certified Physician Assistant from 1977-1986, working in Family Medicine Clinics in rural Pennsylvania, Industrial Medicine at the United States Steel Corporation, and Internal Medicine Services at the University of Pittsburgh. She also volunteered for medical mission work in rural areas of Haiti during 1984 and 1985. In 1986, Colonel Ebling received a direct commission to the Air Force as a Medical Service Corps Officer. She has served at Air Staff, MAJCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, and in various chief administrative and operational assignments, including AFSOC, AFMOA, 16th Operations Group, and joint special operations.

To recognize Colonel Ebling's extensive experience and powerful influence on medical support to the United States Air Force, she has received numerous awards. She is the recipient of the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal (6 OLC), the Air Force Achievement Medal (2 OLC), and the Air Force Commendation Medal. She is also the recipient of the Joint Service Achievement Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (OLC), Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Air & Space Campaign Medal, and Iraqi Campaign Medal. She is also a member of Delta Omega, Omicron Chapter, a national society of academic excellence and leadership in public health, and was inducted into Thiel College's Athletic Hall of Fame. Due to her profound commitment and hard work, the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) recognized her as the Medical Readiness Officer of the Year in 1988. She also earned the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) Commitment to Service Award in 1999, and the Air Combat Command (ACC) Commitment to Service Award in 2001.

Madam Speaker, COL Linda Ebling is a woman of the highest regard who has dedicated her life to the medical support and operations our brave men and women need out on the battlefield and when they return home. I am sure that I join many others in applauding her significant contribution to the Air Force Medical Services throughout her 22-year career.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1503 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for purposes of debate only.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will correct that. I will yield the customary 30 minutes to my colleague and good friend from California, the ranking member on the Rules Committee, Mr. Dreier.

General Leave

I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1503.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1503 waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII, which requires a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the same day it is reported from the Rules Committee. This waiver would apply to any rule reported on the legislative day of September 26, 2008 that provides for consideration or disposition of a measure making supplemental appropriations for job creation and preservation, infrastructure investment, and economic and energy assistance for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a humble first-term Representative who represents hundreds of thousands of hardworking families and seniors who are caught in the center of an economic storm. For them, the economic squeeze did not arise last week or last month, but it has been ongoing for well over a year.

I also rise as the daughter of parents who worked hard all of their lives and saved for retirement and, like millions of Americans, they are watching their savings dwindle and decline. And I rise as a parent, who, along with my husband, is saving for our children's college education.

For students and families across America, the cost of attending college has risen. And as we look out to future years, like other parents, our college savings accounts for our kids feel a little less tangible now, and I fear that college for students may be a little less attainable unless we act in a bipartisan way this week.

Many middle class American families are unable to even save now for retirement or their children's college fund because they've lost a job, or if they do have a job, the raise did not come, or the raise came, and it was not enough to meet the rising cost of living in America today.

So at this time, as our country's leaders join together to develop a rescue plan--which has been dramatically altered from the beginning of the week when it was proposed in a two-and-a-half page proposal to spend $700 billion--we must join together, Mr. Speaker, in a bipartisan way to provide a lifeline to families as well.

Mr. Speaker, we must stand up for everyday Americans. While stabilizing financial markets on the day of the largest bank failure in history is vitally important, correspondingly, stabilizing families and taxpayers is just as important. American families need a little breathing room, and they need a job if they're out of work. So it is our moral imperative, at this moment in history, to examine this modest stimulus proposal, create jobs back home through an infusion of cash for infrastructure projects, for unemployment benefits, and for health care dollars for Americans who have no other place to turn.

This stimulus package will jump-start America's economy. And here's our action plan:

First; jobs, jobs, jobs through infrastructure investments. We're talking about highways, transit capital grants, Amtrak, airport improvements. Do you know how many thousands of construction jobs have been let go and we have lost across America? This will put Americans back to work.

We're also going to provide resources to our local communities to help them with clean water projects, sewer projects, the Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River and tributaries, and also vital--and I speak as a parent of two young daughters--school construction dollars.

We also provide, as part of our action plan, energy development dollars for energy efficiency and renewable energy, electricity delivery, and reliability programs. That is the major portion of our economic stimulus proposal for American families.

We will also provide unemployment compensation and job training dollars, which seems oh so modest because it totals merely $6 billion. It's modest in the face of a proposal this week to spend $700 billion, unfettered, at the beginning of the week.

We will also respond to the least among us, Medicaid dollars. Now, that's a term that gets thrown around a lot, but I want the American people to understand that when we talk Medicaid--and you will hear the discussion here today will be FMAP, Federal Medical Assistance Percentage in Medicaid. What Medicaid is is largely health care dollars for children from poor families. Now, many middle class families are now slipping into that lower socioeconomic level today. Their parents don't have health insurance. If they're working, they're working maybe at a small business or part-time, and there is no other place to turn during this dire economic downturn.

The least we can do, when we're discussing a bailout for Wall Street and for banks and financial markets, is to also consider, at the same time, a very modest proposal of $60 billion for America's families, for jobs, for health care for kids, seniors who have no other place to turn, and unemployment compensation.

First, on jobs. You know, today's wages are stagnant; they're at the most stagnant point that they have been since World War II. Medium household income was .6 percent lower in 2007 than it was at the end of the 1990s. And even more troubling are the rising inequities of incomes among families in different communities. Data released from the Joint Economic Committee reports that over the past decade, median incomes for the richest households have risen while middle and low-income families have seen their income fall.

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.4 million Americans--a 6.1 percent increase--in August, the highest it has been since 2003. This continues the unfortunate job loss for the

eighth consecutive month, with over 600,000 American jobs lost this year.

Unemployment benefits under our action plan will be extended for merely another 7 weeks, a very modest proposal. It extended in every State an additional 13 weeks, and an additional 13 weeks in States with unemployment rates higher than 6 percent, like my home State of Florida.

Florida families have been especially hard hit by the economic downturn. In the past year, Florida has lost over 100,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate continues to rise. The housing crisis has dragged down job opportunities in construction and other related fields, and we keep seeing continued joblessness and layoffs. At the same time, in Florida we have seen a 21 percent increase in families receiving food stamps over the past year, which is one of the highest increases in the Nation.

But fortunately, under this stimulus plan, we're going to immediately take action to fund new jobs through infrastructure projects. See, investing in infrastructure can rapidly move people from unemployment rolls to payrolls. Just this week, we heard our Republican Governor, Charlie Christ, sent his DOT secretary to the Hill to meet with the bipartisan Florida delegation. She advised that there are projects ready to go, have been permitted, are ready to go. So this action plan will take those projects off the shelf and put people to work building roads, building bridges, sewer projects all across America.

For hundreds of thousands of Floridians who are unemployed, and other Americans, they're still looking for work, and this package will help them find a job. It's that simple.

On health care, on the Medicaid portion which remember largely goes to health care services for children so they can get to the doctors' office, seniors in nursing homes and pregnant women, this stimulus package will improve and bolster that health care safety net at this critical time in our Nation's history. Unlike the hope of trickle-down, this action plan and economic stimulus project is a rapid and effective way to support those hardworking families.

During the last economic downturn, the Congress approved $10 billion to temporarily enhance the health care safety net of Medicaid. This similar increase today will again provide vital, basic health services to families that need it most as quickly as possible. And at the same time, an increase in health care funding will help families who are not served by Medicaid but are taking up the slack in this economy, that are paying higher premiums and co-pays because the charity care in the emergency room, someone has to pay for that. And that usually is tacked on to the cost of the typical family's employer-provided health care cost. Higher co-pays and higher premiums are a direct result of many families in this country not having anyplace else to turn for health care.

In fact, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Studying Health System Change released a report yesterday that says that employees are paying more medical expenses out of their own pockets. They're having a harder time coming up with money to pay their bills. The study displayed the mounting additional strain that medical care is placing on working Americans. It is estimated that 57 million Americans live in families struggling with medical bills, and 43 million of those have health insurance coverage.

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret across America that with stagnant wages and a higher cost of living, be it health care, be it higher gas prices, be it home heating oil, be it, in Florida, property insurance, that we have got to take action for them. And it cannot simply be a trickle-down rescue package. It also needs to be a very modest, but at the same time meaningful, support for families.

When we are able to provide additional moneys to States for health care and for infrastructure and jobs, what this does is it takes the pressure off all other programs that are funded by our State and local governments, including education. In my State of Florida, they have had to cut billions and billions of dollars out of our State budget. Unbelievably, for the first time in many decades, this year the State of Florida ratcheted back the amount of money provided per student in our public school system. The State university chancellor of the State of Florida announced yesterday that there is a freeze on new students being allowed into the Florida college system because they simply do not have the resources during this economic downturn to provide a seat for new freshmen in our colleges and universities.

Mr. Speaker, economists agree that any stimulus package must put money in the hands of those who will spend it right away in order to stimulate the economy. This package will do just that by focusing funding where it is needed most, creating jobs, jobs, jobs through infrastructure, enhancing the health care safety net for our children and our seniors and providing a lifeline to American families who are struggling during this economic downturn.

At this point, I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important at this critical time in our Nation's economic history, in the history of what is going on in people's lives today, that we really try to rise above partisanship. That is what is going on right now. The White House and leaders here in the Congress are meeting on a very important economic package. This is a separate piece of that. We do intend to address it. We will stay here for as long as it takes.

I would be happy to yield for a moment.

I thank the gentleman, and reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, we did consider the amendment in the Rules Committee on a couple of occasions. It was not accepted.

What is important right now is our leaders meet to focus on the economic condition of this country and that we do not get bogged down in the process. The American people cannot wait for these costly, time- consuming debates. They are out of work, they need to get their kids to the doctor's office, and we will stay and work here for as long as it takes to provide that additional relief to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. Speaker, similar to the administration's $700 billion emergency economic rescue package, this emergency stimulus package, to provide jobs to the American people, to enhance the health care safety net, this is an emergency situation.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire, please, how much time is left on both sides.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlelady an additional 10 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hall).

Mr. Speaker, we are done with speakers on our side.

I would like to submit for the Record a copy of a letter from the Republican Governor from the State of Florida, Charlie Crist, who writes: ``I am writing to you in the last days of the 110th Congress to reiterate my support for congressional action regarding the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage,'' the Medicaid portion of this bill.

Office of the Governor,

Tallahassee, FL, September 25, 2008.

Hon. Alcee Hastings,

House of Representatives, 2353 Rayburn House Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Lincoln Diaz-Balart,

House of Representatives, 2244 Rayburn House Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congressmen Hastings and Diaz-Balart: I am writing to

you in the last days of the 110th Congress to reiterate my

support for Congressional action regarding the Federal

Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP).

As you will recall, the impact of seven hurricanes in 2004

and 2005 and subsequent reconstruction has disproportionately

affected Florida's FMAP allotment, resulting in $213.5

million in additional state expenditures in federal fiscal

year 2009. Furthermore, continued decline is expected in

2010. For every percentage point reduction in federal support

for Florida, our state loses approximately $150 million and

makes it increasingly more difficult to serve residents who

need care. This reduction in the federal share of Medicaid

funding has placed additional pressure on the state during

these economic times.

Our goal is to continue to provide quality services to

those currently receiving benefits, and those who just now

find themselves in need of assistance. Florida continues to

seek a temporary increase in its FMAP and hopes to work with

you on a longer term solution to address natural disaster

implications to the FMAP allotment. As Congress considers

providing relief for states, I ask for your support in

ensuring FMAP relief in a manner that will best enable

Florida to serve the most residents in need.

I appreciate your willingness to work on this issue as well

as other matters impacting our great state.

Sincerely,

Charlie Crist.

Mr. Speaker, I will reserve until my colleague from the Rules Committee has made his closing statement.

Mr. Speaker, the economic crisis for many American families did not begin this week. The economic squeeze has been ongoing for a long time. For example, just this summer in my district in the Tampa Bay area that I have the privilege to represent, we held foreclosure workshops for families facing foreclosure, maybe they had just gotten their first notice. I was shocked, hundreds of families showed up at the workshop where we sat them down with a lender, one on one, to try to begin that workout period. It was great. They could get a little grace period, they could get a little breathing room. I heard numerous stories about a lost job in a family, something that was completely unanticipated.

Mr. Speaker, at this time when our Nation's leaders are meeting in a bipartisan way with the White House, the leaders here in the Congress, the folks at Treasury, listening to experts from all around the country and listening to everyday, average Americans weigh in on this emergency situation, I think it is very important that all of our colleagues hear the American people.

If you vote for this rule and the underlying bill, I think everyone here can prove that they are listening and hear the American people and understand their struggles today, understand that they have lost jobs. And that's what this package will provide--jobs, jobs, jobs. We are going to expedite infrastructure projects across the country, bridge building, road building, put a lot of these folks that have been put out of work in the construction sector back to work.

Health care, health care services for our children and for our seniors that do not have any place else to turn. Hear the American people, hear their voices. It is not just health care for those children and the seniors that have nowhere else to turn, but it takes the burden off all the rest who are paying higher copays and higher premiums. They won't have to pick up that tab that is being put upon them unfairly because everyone is going to the emergency room for primary care. Hear the American people.

I think that most of the Nation's leaders are taking this very seriously. They are meeting right now to address the emergency. But part of the emergency response must be carving a modest sliver directly for people at home.

At the beginning of the week, the administration came with a 2\1/2\ page proposal for $700 billion. People got to work. Everyone understood that was unreasonable. You can't give a blank check. So they went back to the drawing board and ratcheted it back, and they keep working on it. But think about it, $700 billion that a lot of experts thought was okay for Wall Street, largely; and what we are asking for here is $60 billion for families, for jobs, for health care for kids and our seniors, to give breathing room for unemployment compensation for a few more weeks to, hopefully, get them through this emergency.

I really do appreciate the White House's response to this because yesterday after their meeting, they did not rule out this stimulus package. They don't like what the Senate is doing. It is a little different there, but this is serious business. Do you hear the American people?

It is our moral imperative at this time of emergency to hear the American people. Now, most of us weren't around during the Great Depression, but I know there are many people who are students of history and love to read about FDR and how he handled that crisis. Hopefully we are not there yet. Hopefully these times are not as dire as the times that I heard about from my parents and grandparents.

But let's act now to ensure that we do not face such hard times.

Mr. Speaker, do you hear the American people? Do you hear what they are saying about their retirement accounts? Do you hear what they are saying about their saving for college for their kids?

I hope all of our colleagues hear the American people, support this rule, support this job creation and infrastructure investment package. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1441 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. I yield myself such time as I might consume. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1441.

Madam Speaker, House Resolution 1441 provides for consideration of H.R. 3036, the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008, under a structured rule.

The rule provides 1 hour of general debate controlled by the Committee on Education and Labor. The rule makes in order five amendments printed in the Rules Committee report. The rule also provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Madam Speaker, it is important that elementary and secondary schools across America continue to offer curriculum that is aligned with the needs of our children and the interests of our great country. That is why the Congress will move today to extend the National Environmental Education Act under an initiative offered by the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. John Sarbanes, entitled the No Child Left Inside Act.

This national environmental education bill was reported by the Committee on Education and Labor by a strong bipartisan vote. Under the leadership of the Education and Labor Committee chairman, George Miller, our Nation's students have been well served by this Congress with numerous landmark reforms and investments.

I thought we would take the time just to name a few. This Congress has passed the College Cost Reduction Act that was signed into law last year. It provides the single largest increase in college aid since the GI Bill, roughly $20 billion over the next 5 years. But it does so at no new cost to taxpayers.

Under the law, 6.8 million students who take out need-based Federal student loans each year will see the interest rates on their loans halved over the next 5 years, saving the typical borrower over $4,000 during the life of the loan once that is implemented.

That College Cost Reduction Act also boosts the maximum Pell Grant scholarship to $5,400 over the next 5 years. That's up from about $4,000 in 2006.

In a part of that bill that has not received a lot of attention, that new law provides loan forgiveness for public service members like nurses, police officers, firefighters and first responders and makes those loan repayments more manageable and gives up-front tuition to students who commit to teaching in the high-need public schools.

This Congress has also passed, and it has been signed into law, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans for American Families. There is nothing more important during this credit crunch than that affordable student loans and access to college remains available for our young students that would like to attend college.

That Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans for American Families Act provides new protections, in addition to those already in current law, to ensure that families continue to have timely, uninterrupted access to Federal college loans in the event that distress in the credit markets leads to a significant number of lenders in the federally guaranteed student loan programs to substantially reduce their lending activity.

The Congress has also passed, and it was signed into law just last month, the expanding college access for students and families law. It passed the House here by a vote of 380-49. The legislation addresses the rising price of college by encouraging colleges to rein in price increases, clean up corrupt practices in student loan programs and streamline the Federal financial aid application process. The bill also addresses textbook costs and increases college aid and support programs for veterans and military families.

Madam Speaker, this is another bill before us today that continues the new direction, Congress' commitment to higher education, and to improving elementary and secondary education for students across America.

Today we will focus on improvement to environmental education for America's schools, the best kind, where Washington doesn't dictate the parameters or curriculum to local schools, but gives schools the tools they need to decide themselves how to modernize curriculum. Today, it is our challenge, and the challenge of our children, to build a more sustainable energy efficient world, and sometimes you have to get outside the classroom and learn by doing and exploring your environment.

Many children, including my 9-year-old daughter, learn more effectively this way. I know many of you love to visit classrooms and talk with students, like I do.

Students today are particularly interested in energy conservation, climate change, clean air and clean water. Students, teachers and schools are clamoring for more knowledge and understanding of our natural environment.

Unfortunately, many schools and school districts simply do not have the resources to teach beyond the basics these days. Since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, we have seen a narrowing of school curriculum with schools being forced to spend more and more learning time preparing for high-stakes testing.

Well, like other science courses, this grant program, under the national environmental education program, the environmental education instructs students in critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, obtaining and analyzing data, communication and learning by doing. These skills are critical for success in the 21st century, and environmental education helps students by learning how to conserve, how to conserve energy, how to ensure safe products are on the shelves, which eventually strengthens our Nation's economy and makes it a much safer world.

Our environmental actions here at home have an impact on the global economy and on our energy security, and energy security is national security. Having a solid understanding of natural environment and our global interdependency is critical to keeping this Nation safe.

The modest but important resources we will send to local schools under this National Environmental Education Act is particularly helpful now. Helping our kids to learn about the natural environment in an active learning setting will motivate students and propel them

towards success. It will pull kids away from the TV sets and the video games and the video screens and bring them outdoors.

The bill supports local efforts to expand and enhance environmental education and also provides teachers with important professional development opportunities. Under this legislation, our Nation's teachers will become better equipped to teach students about the environment and encourage students to be knowledgeable about environmental issues and how they affect all of us.

When environmental education is integrated into the classrooms, students and teachers are better able to use current, local environmental issues to increase their understanding of math, science, history and other academic subjects.

Environmental education is a powerful tool to help motivate students to help take care of the environment and help improve their academic achievement.

This bill also strengthens environmental literacy plans. According to the Campaign for Environmental Literacy, Americans still widely lack the environmental knowledge that will enable them to safeguard the public health, protect natural resources, support energy conservation efforts and engage in the movement towards a more sustainable future.

So this is a win-win proposition for our local schools, for teachers and for the future of our great country. This legislation will modernize environmental education for the 21st century by emphasizing environmental literacy.

I urge passage of the rule and this underlying bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance my time.

Madam Speaker, we do not have any additional speakers, so I will reserve the balance of my time until the gentleman from Florida has made his closing statement.

Madam Speaker, over the past year and a half, this new direction Congress has been solely focused on growing and strengthening America's middle class. Despite the protestations from my friend from the other side of the aisle, it was just this

week that we passed the most comprehensive, balanced energy legislation that has been considered in the past decade. That Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act proved that there are real differences between the two sides of the aisle here because our energy bill was focused on lowering prices for consumers and protecting taxpayers.

Yes, it expanded domestic drilling offshore and on land, but it also added a huge expansion of renewable sources of energy. It increases our security by freeing America from the grip of foreign oil. And it finally requires Big Oil to pay what it owes the American taxpayers.

Is it fair that Big Oil continues to receive taxpayer subsidies at a time when they are making huge record profits? No, it doesn't, so we end the subsidies to the big oil companies. And a lot of this new emphasis on clean, green, renewable energy will have the extra added benefit of creating good-paying jobs here in America.

Besides energy, we have also been focused on landmark education reform. Indeed, as I highlighted at the beginning of consideration of this bill, we've passed truly landmark historic investments in education for America's students. First was the single largest increase in college aid since the GI bill, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. Under that law, 6.8 million students who take out need- based Federal loans each year will see the interest rates on their loans cut in half.

We increased Pell Grants by over $1,000. We have also passed and it was signed into law by President Bush the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans For American Families Act. That is so vital during this turmoil in the financial markets. It is absolutely vital that American families can still get those low-cost student loans. That new law provides new protections to ensure that families have timely, uninterrupted access to Federal college loans in the event that distress in the credit markets leads to a significant number of lenders not being liquid and being able to lend to families.

We also expanded college access for students and families, we cleaned up the corrupt practices going on on some campuses in student loan programs, addressed student textbook costs and increased college aid and support programs for veterans and military families.

And one that I didn't mention but I think we can all celebrate, the hugely bipartisan and popular new GI bill for the 21st century that will provide 4-year scholarships to the brave men and women who have served in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. We truly have been on the side of American families and the middle class.

This modest bill today also renews our commitment to the No Child Left Inside Act. Doesn't that really bring all of this together as we focus on energy policy and improving our public education and higher education in this country, a modest but important commitment to students at home who are interested in environmental sustainability and energy conservation. We will provide additional resources to our schools and our students so they can get outside the classroom, get away from the TV set and the video games and learn by doing, learn in an active setting, learn out in the natural environment how to conserve energy and to address global climate change.

Studies shows that environmental education boosts student achievement, it builds students' critical thinking and social skills, it improves student behavior, and it can enhance teaching. So we are going to help schools and States expand and enhance environmental education. We are going to focus on qualified expert teachers in the Nation's classrooms, and strengthen and develop environmental literacy plans.

For a long time there was another group in charge here in Washington, and it oftentimes seems like over the past decades it has been the Democrats who have had to come in and clean up the mess of past administrations. Well, I think we are proving again that we are on track to do that again. We are all in this together and we need to pass this bill. I urge a unanimous ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

The material previously referred to by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida is as follows:

Amendment to H. Res. 1441 Offered by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida

At the end of the resolution add the following new section:

Sec. 3. It shall not be in order in the House to consider a

concurrent resolution providing for an adjournment of either

House of Congress until comprehensive energy legislation has

been enacted into law that includes provisions designed to--

(A) allow states to expand the exploration and extraction

of natural resources along the Outer Continental Shelf;

(B) open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and oil shale

reserves to environmentally prudent exploration and

extraction;

(C) extend expiring renewable energy incentives;

(D) encourage the streamlined approval of new refining

capacity and nuclear power facilities;

(E) encourage advanced research and development of clean

coal, coal-to-liquid, and carbon sequestration technologies;

and

(F) minimize drawn out legal challenges that unreasonably

delay or prevent actual domestic energy production.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of a great Floridian and American, James Byron ``Jim'' Krog. The State of Florida suffered a great loss on September 4, 2008, when he passed away.

Mr. Krog devoted a large part of his professional career to public service. Krog served as chief of staff for the Honorable Lawton Chiles, Governor of Florida, with a landmark new commitment to children's healthcare. He also worked as a top aide to Governor Reubin Askew. He started in government relations in Tallahassee, which he returned to after working for Governor Chiles. As a founding member of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists, he recognized the importance of improving the public image of his profession. Known for being a congenial man with a great sense of humor, Mr. Krog would battle against a political rival in the Capitol and then meet him or her afterwards to laugh it off.

A Tampa native and graduate of the University of South Florida, Mr. Krog made time each semester to return to his alma mater to offer advice and encouragement to students interested in beginning a career in government or politics. After students graduated and came to Tallahassee to start jobs, he would mentor them. Now hundreds of USF students are working in government and public policy. They are a living legacy of his dedication to public service.

Madam Speaker, Jim Krog will be greatly missed by the State of Florida. My thoughts are with his wife, Louella, and his son, Christopher.

I thank the distinguished chairwoman from the Rules Committee.

I rise in support of the landmark Comprehensive Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act and this rule. This represents the culmination of years of debate over energy policy. And it does contain numerous measures that have already been adopted by this body in a bipartisan fashion, but most importantly, this compromise energy bill represents fundamental change in the country's energy future and a significant break with White House policies that give little priority to ending the Nation's dependence on foreign oil.

Instead, this is the kind of comprehensive and balanced energy initiative that the American people have been calling for because it diversifies our Nation's energy portfolio and invests in new technologies and innovation. For example, we are going to make historic new investments in renewable energy through incentives for solar power and wind power that will have an additional benefit of producing thousands of new jobs across America.

We have the technology to save energy and to save consumers significant money. And this bill strengthens energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings and promotes conservation as well. And American families could use a little cost savings right now. This energy bill also dramatically expands domestic supply and oil drilling because we realize that excessive entanglements in the Middle East do not serve our national security interests.

The contrast between the policies of the past and our forward-looking bill could not be more clear. There are real differences. Remember just 7 years ago the administration's Energy Task Force met behind closed doors. It consisted of oil company executives. And the administration fought tooth and nail to keep those meetings secret. Renewable sources of energy were not a priority, and a balanced comprehensive approach was not a priority.

So here is the question: Do the American people continue to subsidize big oil companies while they are making record profits, or do we shift our investment to cleaner, renewable fuels?

I know it has been difficult for some to stand up to the White House and the big oil companies. But the American people are demanding it. We must make this transition and set new innovative priorities for this country when it comes to energy. Our ground-breaking effort, our reform and our new policy set this country on a path toward energy independence, particularly from the Middle East. So today we will cast aside the policies of the past and start down a path based upon the right energy priorities for America.

I congratulate Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her leadership in crafting this compromise future-oriented bill, and I thank my colleagues and the American people for their commitment to a new energy future for America.

I urge adoption of this landmark energy bill and this rule.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 60th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9981, in which President Truman ordered the racial integration of the Armed Forces, declaring that, ``there be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the Armed Services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.''

While it is fitting that we celebrate the official 60-year anniversary, we should also recognize that African Americans have been fighting on behalf of our Nation from the American Revolutionary War to the current Global War on Terror. The sacrifices made and service given by African American soldiers to our country, even when our country failed to live up to its own promise of equality and justice for all, is a testament to their belief that hard work and faith would eventually allow them to become full partners in every facet of society, including our Armed Forces.

The celebration of this anniversary also gives me an opportunity to recognize a trailblazing African American woman from my hometown who was among the first five African American women in Tampa to join the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps back in 1942, six years prior to the signing of the Executive Order. Mrs. Willie Mae Williams, who celebrated her 95th birthday this past November, proudly served her nation paving the way for others from her community, and women in particular, to follow in her steps.

In her recent interview with the Women Veterans Historical Project for the Library of Congress, Mrs. Williams gave a very candid and informative look at the experience she had in the military as a woman of color. At that time, women were not allowed to face combat, instead serving as cooks and laundry workers, who often had to go together in groups to take showers to ensure their safety, and who endured taunts from officers who opposed their participation, either on the basis of their gender or color, and in some instances both. While Mrs. Williams acknowledged that life in the service for women of color was ``rough'', she certainly views herself and others as role models for the women who came after. She observed, ``We were good pioneers.''

Indeed, the service of Mrs. Williams and other women like her has led to the growth in service of African American women and men throughout the years. Currently, 20 percent of the more than 1,754,900 service members who have fought in support of the ongoing Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are minorities, evidence that the United States could not maintain an all-volunteer force without the service of and critical role played by minorities, including women.

Our Armed Forces have been served by some of the most brilliant African American leaders from Benjamin O. Davis Senior and Junior to Colin Powell as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Today, minorities serve in senior leadership positions throughout the Armed Forces, as commissioned, warrant and non-commissioned officers. The advancement of these men and women is evidence that the integration of the Armed Forces not only enhanced the combat effectiveness of the military 60 years ago, but continues still to ensure that America has a diverse array of its best and brightest working to defend it.

I am pleased to commemorate this historic event, and salute all our brave men and women who have served us so well through the years.

I thank the chairwoman for yielding time and thank her for her career of championing nondiscrimination and equal rights for women in the workplace.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in strong support of the Paycheck Fairness Act and this rule and take another important step towards equality for all Americans. During the 230 plus-year history of our great Nation, the march towards equality under the law for all of our citizens has sometimes been slow, but it has been steady.

Over time, the Congress has outlawed discrimination in the workplace based upon a person's race, gender, age, national origin, religion, and disability, because when it comes to employment and hiring and firing and promotion and compensation, decisions are rightly based upon a person's qualifications and job performance.

These are the values we share as Americans; that if someone works hard and plays by the rules, and if they share the same job, duties and responsibilities, no matter that they are a man or a woman, they will receive equal pay for equal work. Unfortunately, that does not always happen, and sometimes women are paid less just because they are women and the boss can get away with it. The wage disparity over time can cost women over $400,000 to $2 million in lost wages.

This Paycheck Fairness Act addresses that disparity by providing more effective remedies for gender-based wage discrimination and ensuring that if a case goes all the way to a jury, that the arbitrary and outdated caps on damages will be addressed.

Thank you to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. She introduced this legislation 11 years ago, but she never gave up. Congresswoman DeLauro, we are not going to give up just because the President has threatened to veto the measure. I'd also like to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman George Miller, and Chairwoman Louise Slaughter for their leadership and commitment to equality under the law for all Americans.

Passing this historic Paycheck Fairness Act will bring our Nation closer to our promise of equality for all Americans. It is a hopeful day for working women and families, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on their behalf.