Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an accomplished business, legal and educational leader in my district. William ``Randy'' Bates, Jr., has been a successful businessman and attorney in Southeast Texas and has served as a member of the Lone Star College System for more than 20 years.

Randy was the first African American appointed, and then elected, to the Lone Star College System board. He served as Vice Chair of the board and was twice elected board Chair.

As a board member and as Chair during his tenure with the Lone Star College System, he has been instrumental in the system's growth, from fewer than 20,000 students and three colleges in 1991 to six colleges and a total enrollment of 90,000 students.

Prior to his service in the field of higher education, Randy earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and his Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, where he later served as an Adjunct Professor.

As a student at Texas Southern, Randy was elected Class President at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and was the first African American to be selected Law Student Director for the Texas Young Lawyers Association, representing all law students in the State of Texas.

Randy later founded the law firm of Bates & Coleman, PC, which specializes in Public Finance Law.

His many accomplishments include being named Outstanding Texan in the field of Education by the Legislative Black Caucus, the Mayor's Distinguished Award from the City of El Paso and the Excellence in Achievement Award from Texas Southern University for years of outstanding service to education and the community.

Randy is a lifelong member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and is married to the former Glenda Underwood. They are the proud parents of three sons, Lamont, William and Jonathan.

In recognition for his years of service to the Lone Star College System, the central building on the Lone Star College--Victory Center Campus will be named in his honor.

Randy--I congratulate you on your distinguished service to the Lone Star College System and I offer my sincere appreciation for your many contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an outstanding leader in higher education in my district. Chancellor Emeritus Dr. John E. Pickelman became the second chancellor of North Harris County College in 1991 and served until his retirement in 2007.

During his service as chancellor, enrollment increased from 14,000 to over 49,000 and grew from three colleges--LSC-North Harris, LSC- Kingwood and LSC-Tomball to five colleges, with the addition of LSC- Montgomery and LSC-CyFair, the first community college to open in the 21st century.

Under his strong commitment to provide access to quality education for all citizens, LSCS's boundaries expanded from five to eleven independent school districts and added six satellite centers.

Dr. Pickelman expanded the dual credit program and created early college high schools in partnership with local school districts which allowed qualified high school students to earn college credit while still in high school.

He established The University Center, an innovative, highly successful multi-university teaching facility in The Woodlands, providing students and the community the opportunity to earn a bachelors or master's degree from six public universities.

Dr. Pickelman was also credited with establishing a university-level sabbatical program for the benefit of Lone Star College System faculty and administrators to continue professional work in their respective fields.

He served as a tireless advocate and leader for higher education at the local, state and national level and championed the college's role in economic development, establishing the center for Business and Economic Development, the Chamber Alliance and Leadership North Houston.

Some of his leadership roles in numerous national, state and local organizations include chairman of the board of directors of the Southern Association Colleges and Schools, chairman of the board of the Texas Association of Community Colleges and president of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Pickelman earned a bachelor's degree in English from Albion College and a master's degree in education from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He received his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin, where he received a distinguished graduate award from the College of Education.

Dr. Pickelman and his wife, Barbara, are proud parents of two sons, Matthew and Jason; and four grandchildren. He is an excellent chef and he has personally raised over $100,000 for student scholarships auctioning off his culinary evenings.

In recognition for his years of accomplished service in higher education, the Lone Star College System will rename the student center at the Lone Star College-Kingwood campus the Dr. John E. Pickelman Student Center.

Dr. Pickelman, I congratulate you on this honor and I want to thank you for your years of service to higher education and for your generous commitment to serving others.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Tara Howard Knauff, who I had the privilege of knowing during her tenure at KTRH NewsRadio in Houston. Tara was a small town girl from rural upstate New York who dreamed of making a difference. We Texans were blessed that for many crucial years, she brought her talents and passion to make a difference in the Lone Star State.

Tara got her start in broadcast journalism at Utica College of Syracuse University and honed her talents at WGY, WHAM, and WSYR before packing up her horse and making the move to Texas.

While at KTRH, Tara was a newsroom leader who reported, anchored, edited, and rose to the position of assistant news director. When Tara returned to New York, she took her talents to a national stage at ABC NewsRadio. A leader in the ABC newsroom, friends and co-workers all seem to use the same words to describe Tara: ``mentor,'' ``hard worker,'' ``inspirational,'' and so much more.

Tara, who adopted so many young journalists, found her own happiness with a partner who waged a heroic battle against cancer with her day in and day out.

Just last May, Tara married retired Major General Robert ``Bob'' Knauff, a former commander of the New York Air National Guard and fighter pilot. When she told her friends about him, she wanted them all to ``Google'' him to see how amazing he is. After giving so much to his country, Bob gave Tara his undivided attention, support, and love during her long battle with cancer.

While Tara lost her battle this week, her spirit lives on in the hundreds of broadcast journalists around the Nation that she encouraged every day. Today, so many of her protegees are vowing to continue her legacy and make their Tara proud.

Tara leaves behind a beloved family, including her soul mate Bob Knauff, her sister Deborah, brother Merritt, and sister-in-law Lynne, and many nieces and nephews, Damaris, Devin Brianna, Laura, and Mick.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor my dear friend, Mr. Robert ``Bob'' Williams on the occasion of his 95th birthday. It may be hard to believe this, but neither I--nor my intrepid staff--can seem to find a good cause in The Woodlands that Bob has not been instrumental in or supported.

How many 95 year olds do you know that are using their birthday to raise funds and food for the needy? But, that's Bob. He is spending his birthday morning this Saturday at the Panther Creek Randalls store collecting non-perishable food and much needed money for InterFaith's Food Pantry. But, that's our Bob.

Almost as soon as he moved to The Woodlands, Bob was busy helping to establish our first YMCA. From being a charter member of the Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church and a Hometown Hero, Bob Williams knows a lot about service. An Eagle Scout, World War II veteran and lifelong Kiwanis Club member, Bob founded The Woodlands first Kiwanis Club. Nearly 60 years later, he is still a distinguished member and his hard work is evident in the Kiwanis Breakfast and Key Clubs in four Woodlands High Schools that teach our young students community service.

Bob walks the walk he talks every day. Whether it be in Kiwanis, the Special Olympics, his church, the YMCA or InterFaith, he leads by example with humor and caring.

An amazing tennis player also known for his beautiful singing voice and for--get this--driving himself all over the United States; it's not unusual to hear how he just road-tripped the Midwest or Florida. That's Bob.

Between his 90th and 95th birthday, he tried to go home again to Chicago, but it didn't take him long to realize Texas was home now. We are grateful for that epithany because we are better for his service.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to recognize my friend Bob Williams for his countless--and ongoing--contributions to The Woodlands. I urge you to join me in recognizing Bob Williams for his many years of service, which I know will continue long after the candles are blown out on his 95 birthday cake.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a champion for small business in my district--and a true friend. For the past decade, Andy Dill has served as the President of the Community Chamber of Commerce of East Montgomery County. His leadership has helped grow this important organization and the community it promotes threefold.

Prior to entering Chamber work, Andy served in the telecommunications industry and petrochemical and agricultural chemical industries. Frankly, I've learned there is very little Andy can't do and hasn't done.

A graduate of Nacogdoches High School and Stephen F. Austin State University, Andy's career has taken him across east and southeast Texas. We consider ourselves lucky he settled on the dynamic east Montgomery County.

Andy's community honors are many. From YMCA Volunteer of the Year, Rotary Club Service and Roll of Fame Awards, Andy has been a go-to person when a civic or community organization wants to get going. Andy also serves our communities on the TCC Board of Directors, the Board of the Kingwood Medical Center, Leadership Montgomery County and many others.

When it comes to leadership, Andy is a triple threat. He is a 1988 graduate of Leadership Lufkin, a 1996 graduate of Leadership Montgomery County and a 2005 graduate of Leadership North Houston. It was no surprise to me that when Leadership East Montgomery County needed him, he answered the call.

Andy keeps learning each and every day. He has completed the three- year Community Development Institute program and a fourth-year continuing education year program through the Texas Community Development program.

Andy couldn't be the success he is without his wife Sylvia. For 44 years, she has been

his biggest cheerleader. She is also a community treasure in her own right having spent 20 years as a special education teacher.

Their daughter, Angela, son, Alan, daughter-in-law, Sarah and three wonderful grandchildren; Brady, Maddi and Lauren; inspired Andy's keen interest in both education and strengthening our communities through leadership.

Somehow, Andy finds time for his woodworking hobby and an occasional round of golf. As he leaves the Chamber in a strong position for the future, he won't be slowing down much. He plans to consult, work with boards and non-profits and spend time with his grandchildren.

Andy, I--and all of southeast Montgomery County--only have two humble words for you: Thank you! You have set an amazing example that we'll all strive to live up to. Best wishes, friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the heroic efforts of Lieutenant Michael Edwin Thornton of the United States Navy in Montgomery, Texas.

Lieutenant Thornton was a senior adviser to Vietnamese Navy SEAL patrols and was awarded his Medal of Honor for extreme bravery in action on March 6, 1976, in Vietnam.

Lieutenant Thornton and his team snuck behind enemy lines. At sunup, the team made contact with an enemy force and engaged in a furious firefight with the enemy, inflicting many casualties before withdrawing. When some of the men were cut off from the team, Lieutenant Thornton went back in, through enemy fire, to find the wounded men and carry them to safety. In killing several enemy combatants and hauling the wounded out, Lieutenant Thornton saved the life of his superior officer.

It is for his heroic spirit in service to our Nation that I am proud to honor and remember the actions of Lieutenant Michael Edwin Thornton.

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

I rise in strong support of the No Subsidies Without Verification Act because too many of our precious tax dollars are being lost to fraud. That's the simple goal of this bill by Representative Diane Black, stopping fraud and abuse in ObamaCare.

We wouldn't allow an individual to apply for a mortgage, a car loan or a credit card without verifying their income. You can't go into a restaurant, grocery store, or gasoline station and just pay on the honor system. Yet today--because the White House, frankly, has botched the last 3\1/2\ years, and ObamaCare is still not ready--somehow they believe that it's okay for billions of dollars in new taxpayer subsidies to go out the door without a bat of the eye on the honor system.

As hard as you work to earn every paycheck, how much more fraud in health care can we accept? Today we have the opportunity, and I think the responsibility, to hold the Federal Government's feet to the fire and insist it put in place strong protections that will end this pay first and chase later model that's been so ineffective at stopping fraud.

This bill simply insists that the independent inspector general of the Health and Human Services agency certifies there is a real, genuine program in place to stop fraud and abuse in ObamaCare by stopping taxpayer subsidies from going out the door to those who aren't eligible. Wow, that's radical in Washington--not paying those who aren't eligible.

This will give American taxpayers some assurance that we're protecting their hard-earned tax dollars. President Obama has admitted in ObamaCare it's not ready for businesses, and so he waived that. Everyone knows it's not ready for families and workers either. Is it asking too much to at least insist that it be ready to protect taxpayers against a mountain of more fraud?

Now, the White House and our Democratic friends tell us, trust us, we'll

verify everything before giving out taxpayer subsidies. Really? This is from the same White House that said exchanges may accept the applicant's attestation without further verification. This is from the same Health and Human Services agency that had to backtrack and explain maybe they would audit all of the applications, but not for State exchanges; they're on their own.

Sorry, but I'm not buying it, and nor are taxpayers in my State of Texas. Time and time again, Health and Human Services and the White House have ducked the real details about ObamaCare. They have no real plan in place. Meanwhile, taxpayer subsidies will fly out the door as individuals pinky swear that their income is accurate.

Only Members of Congress who refuse to stop fraud, who enjoy wasting taxpayer dollars, and who want to turn a blind eye to wasted money could oppose this bill. I strongly urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Black) who has really led the effort to stop fraud and abuse in ObamaCare and who understands health care herself.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford), the head of the Republican Policy Committee, and a leader in health care.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Griffin), a key member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, yielding myself 15 seconds, yesterday we learned the Federal Government is paying millions of dollars to prisoners for unemployment benefits, millions of dollars of your money to cons in prison. But don't worry, we'll stop the fraud in ObamaCare.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time in case the gentleman from Washington has additional speakers or would like to close on his side. We are prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, as I yield the balance of our time to the gentlelady from Tennessee, I make the case, this is simply choice. Those who want to stop fraud in ObamaCare support this bill. Those who want to turn a blind eye to that fraud oppose it.

I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black).

Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleague Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim McDermott (D-WA) to re- introduce the Strengthening Medicare Anti-Fraud Measures Act.

This bipartisan legislation is part of our commitment to efforts to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare.

This legislation was previously introduced by our former colleagues Wally Herger (R-CA) and Pete Stark (D-CA). This bill provides Medicare with important fraud-fighting tools and so we are continuing their mission to strengthen anti-fraud efforts in the Medicare program.

Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, Office of the Inspector General, OIG, lacks authority to exclude an individual or entity that is affiliated with an entity that has been sanctioned for fraud. This enables individuals and entities to continue to receive Medicare payments even if they contributed to the sanctioned behavior.

It is important that we change the law to provide the Inspector General with these additional, requested tools to better protect Medicare.

The legislation would provide OIG with two important authorities:

First, the OIG would have the authority to prevent individuals involved with fraudulent entities from receiving Medicare payments. This would essentially ban executives whose companies have been convicted of Medicare fraud from the program. These executives currently defraud Medicare, then circumvent exclusion by moving to another company. I believe we can all agree these individuals should not be allowed to use this loophole to steal from the program that serves seniors' medical needs.

The OIG would also have the authority to prevent entities involved with other fraudulent entities from receiving Medicare payments. This would ban the use of shell companies by corporations engaging in fraudulent activities. It is irrational to think that while these shell corporations are engaged in illegal activities their parent companies hold zero liability. Where individuals and entities are involved with fraudulent entities, they should not be permitted to continue to defraud the Medicare program.

This legislation passed the House of Representatives in 2010 by voice vote. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to act on it.

We encourage our colleagues to cosponsor this common sense legislation so we can add simple, anti-fraud tools to better protect Medicare beneficiaries and American taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, this is just about fairness. What families and workers in my district are asking is this: Isn't it unfair to grant businesses relief from this Big Government mandate but still force average workers to comply with it? If the President's health care law isn't ready for business, how is it ready for my family, for my children, for my loved one?

At its heart, both families and workers are worried and wondering: Why isn't the White House listening to us? This isn't fair.

The President has proclaimed the law is working the way it's supposed to, and the White House, Treasury Department, and every agency tells us things are right on track, but they're not. They miss deadline after deadline after deadline in this troubling implementation. The truth is it's not ready.

With the temporary relief from the business mandate, yes, it was welcome news, but it didn't solve the problems our local businesses are struggling with under ObamaCare. In fact, the President's health care law is causing more confusion and more uncertainty.

Workers are seeing fewer hours and smaller paychecks. That's not fair.

Businesses are struggling to find the money to pay for higher health care costs under ObamaCare. That's not fair.

And our neighbors are struggling to find full-time jobs; 20 million Americans can't find them. It's fewer jobs to apply for. That's not fair.

Why is it that, under this White House, Warren Buffett gets a break from ObamaCare but Joe Six-Pack, the single mom working at the local restaurant, they don't get any kind of break? Well, we just want fairness for workers, fairness for families. We're tired of the White House picking winners and losers. This is about fairness and equality.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), the chairman of the Budget Committee, a father of three children who understands how tough it is to make ends meet for health care.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana, a physician who practiced medicine for 30 years, chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee, Dr. Boustany.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Price, control the remainder of the time for us.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to honor a passionate voice for American values and her community.

My dear friend, Judy Smith is retiring as Precinct 72 chair, a position she has held since the Precinct's founding in 1998. For nearly three decades, Republicans in Harris and Montgomery County have counted on Judy and her dedication to our democratic process.

It has been my honor to call Judy and her husband, Bob, my friends for many years. We have all been in awe of the amazing growth of her precinct's Republican participation rate. It's over 5 times what she started with and has the highest percentage Republican turnout in the entire county. Because she never takes success for granted, she has held that turnout record for the entire 15 years she's been Precinct 72 chair.

Judy served two terms on the State Republican Executive Committee, as Chairman of both Senatorial District 7 in Harris County and District 3 in Montgomery County and as a delegate for the last three national conventions.

I remember well when Judy and Dorothy Woodall organized the North Shore Republican Women. Judy served as president in its first years, before serving as the Texas Federation of Republican Women Co-Chairman of Victory 2002, Chairman for TFRW State 2004 Voter Registration, 2006- 2007 Vice President of Membership, and 2008-2010 Vice President of Programs and currently as Co-Chairman of Patrons.

These are just some of the many accomplishments that led to her being honored as one of the TFRW's Ten Outstanding Republican women in Texas in 2005. As a member and a former Regent of the National Federation of Republican Women, she helped bring the Texas success story to the White House.

A member of the First United Methodist Church of Willis, Judy and Bob have been married for 55 years, raised 3 grown children and are currently enjoying being grandparents. Much soul searching led my friend, Judy, to step down as chairman of what she called 'a great experience'. I just would like her--and the entire country--to know how much we all appreciate what she has done for her country.

This weekend, the North Shore Republican Women's club are hosting a retirement picnic for Judy in Bentwater. But her presence will continue to be felt, because of the amazing example she has set for us all.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to honor my friend, Roy Harris of Cut and Shoot on his 80th birthday.

All across America, there are living legends every American should know about and Montgomery County, Texas has a special icon: Roy Harris.

To fully understand Roy's legendary status, we have to take a trip back in time. Roy's first brush with fame came during his early teenaged years when he and his brother captured a 14 foot alligator and brought it to a pond on their family's property. At the time, that was the largest alligator ever captured in Texas.

In his early 20's, Roy stepped into the boxing ring with determination. He won his first 23 fights, beating some of the top boxers of his generation, earning Ring Magazines' progress of the year for 1957. He was featured on the coveted cover of Sports Illustrated which played up his East Texas roots having him stand on a cabin porch with a 19th century rifle and loyal canine companion at his side.

Roy's legend grew even larger when he stepped into the ring to battle reigning world champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Floyd Patterson for the world's heavyweight boxing title.

The referee stopped the fight after 12 rounds, but not before Roy became a national hero. It was Roy's fame, and a boost from his hit record ``Cut'n Shoot, Texas USA'', that literally put his hometown on the map and garnered it an official U.S. Post Office.

But Roy is so much more than an alligator wrangler, a top flight boxer or radio hit maker, Roy was also a college honor student and a reserve officer in our military. He taught elementary school before becoming a lawyer, real estate mogul and popular public servant serving several terms as our county treasurer. I can tell you from personal experience, no one campaigns harder, longer, and more for the people than Roy Harris.

He and his wonderful wife, Jeannie, raised six impressive children. He told his story much better than I could in his book ``Roy Harris: Backwoods Battler.'' My only question was how is this autobiography not in multiple volumes?

With 30 wins in the ring and many, many more wins in life, it was fitting that our community came together last month for a public birthday bash for Roy's 80th.

Roy, thanks for being a great example for your children, my children, and millions of others. Your legend will only keep growing.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to honor the memory of a bright light for the arts that my community lost on Tuesday, July 2nd. But more importantly, Andy DuBois and their children, Madeline, 15, and Hunter, 11, lost a wonderful wife and a special mother.

From her birth in Austin she grew up in New Braunfels where she was class president and homecoming queen at Canyon High School. She graduated from the University of Texas where she met the love of her life, Andy. At every step in her life Cindy DuBois put her heart and soul into everything she did.

She started her career deep in the Rio Grande Valley at a PBS station in Harlingen and went on to manage public relations for South Padre Island before her family moved to The Woodlands and she found her calling in the arts. From helping grow major events like The Woodlands Children's Festival and the Waterway Arts Festival, Cindy DuBois will always be remembered for her smile and her determination to bring the arts to everyone.

It's fitting that her CEO called her a ``driving force'' for the arts, because under Cindy DuBois' leadership, attendance nearly tripled for art events at The Woodlands' famed Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. From the Houston Symphony to performances by the Houston Ballet and the Houston Grand Opera and many more artists, the growing enthusiasm for the arts in The Woodlands is a testament to Cindy DuBois. The outreach, savvy marketing/public relations efforts, and many smiles from this 2007 graduate of Leadership Montgomery County moved mountains.

That same spirit, determination and grace sustained her during a lengthy battle with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer. At her touching and emotional funeral service held July 5th at The Woodlands Pavilion, where her remarkable children, sisters, friends and family paid tribute to her, it's clear The Woodlands and all who know her have been touched forever by Cindy's positive attitude and infectious glasshalf-full philosophy.

As Andy, Madeline, and Hunter begin a much different phase as a family, they have wonderful memories of bowls of homemade salsa, scary movies and board games and her cheers at Rush soccer and ORWALL baseball. While the community is heartbroken, we are so grateful for all Cindy has given us to remember her by. In every concert, in every fine arts performance, I'm confident she will always be there.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, our Nation is in the middle of an exciting energy revolution, but we will never truly reach energy security as long as 85 percent of our offshore areas remain off limits to oil and gas manufacturers.

Chairman Hastings' Offshore Energy and Jobs Act on the floor today will open more offshore areas to energy development and bring our Nation closer toward the bipartisan goal of energy independence. This is a great thing.

In particular, Chairman Hastings' innovative bill allows State Governors to request that certain offshore areas be included in the 5- year leasing plan. This gives States more power to unlock offshore energy resources and the jobs and the affordable energy that go along with responsible offshore energy development.

I'm offering an amendment to strengthen that language based on my More Energy, More Jobs legislation recently introduced with my colleagues, Mr. Wittman of Virginia and Mr. Shimkus of Illinois. It will require the Interior Department to include all these areas requested by State Governors in the environmental review process for the leasing plan.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires all major Federal actions, including offshore leasing plans, to undergo an environmental review. For offshore leasing, this is an environmental impact statement. Typically, this is a 2-year process at least, and a first step for including any area in an offshore leasing plan. Without environmental impact statements, new areas can't be leased for offshore drilling.

My amendment will bring more areas into consideration for offshore energy development and move them further along in the leasing process, regardless of whether they are included in the final leasing plan.

More importantly, it will make it easier for future Congresses to pass leasing plans like the underlying bill because more offshore areas will have gone through the necessary environmental review process.

I'd like to thank Chairman Hastings for working with me both on this amendment and including some of our ideas in the underlying bill. With this struggling economy and our Nation in the midst of an energy revolution, now is the time to act to unleash more American-made energy and more American jobs.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I yield to the gentleman.

Thank you, Chairman Hastings.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 1 minute to the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings).

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

I am ready to close whenever the ranking member is.

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

This is a commonsense amendment that helps us responsibly develop our traditional energy sources for more jobs, more revenue to help balance this budget, and more affordable energy for America.

I urge my colleagues' support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Chairman Johnson, thank you for your leadership on this issue and, Mr. Doggett, for your eloquent support.

When American families are fortunate enough to have children, they often face an important decision: Can they afford to have one parent stay at home to care for the children or is it financially necessary that both parents continue to work outside the home? If they choose to have one parent stay home, it is often a great financial sacrifice that affects not only their day-to-day living but their retirement security as well.

I believe the government should support their decision by encouraging them to save for their retirement by using the Spousal IRA tax provision which became law in 1996. This provision brings a measure of equality to the Code and allows parents to contribute to IRA retirement accounts whether they work outside the home or not.

While the Spousal IRA provision was included in the Contract for America and the Contract with the American Family, it only exists today because of our dear friend and former Texas Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Years ago, she recognized the unfairness of the Tax Code to those moms and dads who chose to stay home with their children, even if it meant missing out on the usual tax incentives enjoyed by those with outside jobs who were putting money away in a traditional IRA as a nest egg. Well, stay-at-home parents didn't have that IRA option, so Senator Hutchison went to work to balance the scales a little for those parents.

I remember Senator Hutchison for years tirelessly crisscrossing the State of Texas and lobbying her colleagues in the House and the Senate for a spousal IRA because it was the right thing to do for our families and families across the country. She never stopped raising awareness of this inequity and never gave up. I think all of us would agree that ``never giving up'' is a Kay Bailey Hutchison hallmark.

She also turned her incredible energy to getting it passed in Congress. She

was finally and justifiably successful in 1996, working across the aisle with leaders like Dick Armey and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Bill Archer; but also signed by and supported by President Clinton.

Since that time, millions of American children have benefited from their stay-at-home parents, and their parents have benefited from Senator Hutchison's magnificent work to bring some retirement fairness to these wonderful families.

Therefore, I join with my colleagues to urge them to vote in support of renaming the Spousal IRA section of the Tax Code the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA. It is an honor much reserved for the one person most responsible for its existence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember a friend and a man beloved by his family, friends and community.

Russell ``Russ'' Martineau would be described by anyone as a humble and a genuinely decent man who took no acclaim for himself but who worked tirelessly in support of others. Russ dedicated his career as a licensed clinical social worker to serving aging veterans at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. During his career, he earned many accolades including recognition for Outstanding Social Work Team from the William Hearst Foundation for his work with colleagues in forming the AGIF Consortium promoting and developing Gerontology studies for graduate students. His dedication to our veterans followed his own service to our nation. Russ enlisted in the United States Air Force serving during the Vietnam War with the Pacific Air Forces.

Those that knew Russ would tell you that his most cherished role was that of family man. He met Julie, his wife of 33 years, and someone I am glad to count as a dear friend, while a student at California State University Long Beach. Julie has done so much in her own right for our region through her leadership of the Friendship Center and the Montgomery County United Way. Yet, none of her efforts would have been possible without Russ as her strongest supporter and confidant. Russ proudly played his part as the father of two wonderful daughters and two delightful grandchildren. To see his warm smile or the gleam in his eye when surrounded by those he loved was proof enough of the great pride he had for his family.

I will forever remember the quiet courageousness with which Russ valiantly faced his battle with Multiple Myeloma for the last six years. Russ Martineau was a devout man who gained peace from the grace of his Lord and fortitude from those he dearly loved. Today, the friends and loved ones who stood in faith and encouragement will celebrate his life at Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in The Woodlands, Texas.

To Julie, his daughters Adria and Brittany, grandchildren Brice and Delaney, his stepmother Elizabeth Hypes Martineau, sister Barbara Moore and his brothers Don, Bill and Jeff Martineau, I offer the words of Thomas Campbell, ``To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.''