Floor Statements

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

Madam Speaker, as one of the coauthors of this bill, I rise in support of Senate 1382, or at least the House version of this ALS Registry Act.

ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rapidly progressive and invariably fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. The disease belongs to a group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are characterized by the gradual degeneration and death of motor neurons.

As many as 20,000 Americans have ALS, and an estimated 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year. ALS is one of the most common neuromuscular diseases worldwide, and people of all races and ethnic backgrounds are affected. ALS most commonly strikes people between 40 and 60 years of age, but younger and older people also can develop the disease.

Constituents suffering from what used to be called Lou Gehrig's disease have been visiting Congress and asking for help for years. The disease is brutal, and I believe that establishing a registry will help researchers cure ALS. An ALS registry will serve as an excellent resource for scientists.

I thank Mr. Engel and others like Mr. Deal who helped shepherd this through our subcommittee and committee and in making sure that it got here today.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

As the coauthor of the House version of the Poison Center Support Enhancement and Awareness Act, I rise in support of Senate 2932.

I'd also like to commend Senator Murray and my fellow coauthor, Congressman Towns, for their work on this bill.

The Poison Center Support Enhancement and Awareness Act of 2008 reauthorizes the Poison Control Center program for an additional 5 years. Poison Control Centers are medical facilities that provide immediate, free and expert treatment advice and assistance in case of exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances.

As a parent of a young child, in fact, three young children, I recognize how important it is to be able to have the entity like Poison Control Centers to call in times of distress. I'm glad to see that this program can continue offering its much needed services in our local communities.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Having no further speakers, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3232, the Travel Promotion Act of 2008. This legislation would establish the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation. The core mission would be to promote tourism in the United States and provide travel information to people around the world.

I am a cosponsor of the bill and support promoting the country's tourism industry. Spending by international travelers while in this country is defined as a U.S. export, and many have said that it is strong U.S. export numbers that have kept the economy growing over the last few quarters, despite a slowdown in other parts of the economy and the huge problems that have presented themselves in the financial markets.

Streamlining travel and tourism promotion through a not-for-profit corporation that does not require taxpayer funds will go a long way to help these industries and our economy.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman who represents probably the biggest destination of domestic tourists and foreign tourists, the gentleman from Orlando, Florida (Mr. Keller).

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers, and I yield back my time.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 3042, the Calling Card Consumer Protection Act.

There is enormous fraud in the marketing and delivery of prepaid calling card services, reportedly up to as much as 30 percent to 40 percent of the industry's revenue. Prepaid card fraud is not a new problem, but has grown into a $1 billion industry that has attracted an increasing number of new providers, some better than others.

In many cases, the fraud is associated with the cards marketed to people from a specific region in the world with purported preferred rates to their country of origin. The States have responded to this problem with their own disclosure requirements and have increasingly brought enforcement actions against the bad actors, as has the Federal Trade Commission.

H.R. 3402 attempts to put the Federal Trade Commission in a strong position to go after the bad actors and to mandate proper disclosures to consumers. A national law is helpful, because it provides consistency for providers and consumers, consistency for enforcement, and it reduces confusion across this market.

In addition to preemption of State law for H.R. 3402 to be effective, it will have to apply to common carriers. We have crafted a very narrow enforcement authority for the FTC, solely for the purposes of this act, and I am glad we could do that on a bipartisan basis.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky.

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

We were right.

Thank you very much. And I do love that committee. I love what it has done. We are the leading users of space in the world. We have great assets not only for our military, but for our economy also. The global economy for space is some $220 billion, and growing about 18 percent a year.

I have problems though, and I know one of the things you have championed over the years is getting young people interested in engineering, math, science and things that we need in the space industry. I just point out that China last year graduated 500,000 new engineers. The United States graduated 70,000. So we certainly have to interest young people in this marvelous thing that we call space.

Thank you again for your kind words.

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

Mental health deserves serious attention. We all share in this concern. The debate around mental health parity hinges on that principle, does government really know what is best? Isn't it better to allow consumers choice and not a one-size-fits-all government-dictated mandate? People should be able to decide if they want to pay more for health insurance.

We have been here before, and, from what I am told, this isn't the only time or possibility even this week that we will be considering a government-dictated mental health mandate.

Earlier this year, the House passed H.R. 1424, a bill that served as the House mental health parity bill for purposes of negotiation with the Senate. At the time, CBO estimated that H.R. 1424 would have increased premiums for group health insurance by an average of about four-tenths of 1 percent before accounting for the responses of health plans, employers and workers to the higher premiums. Those responses would include reductions in the number of employees enrolling in employer insurance, changes in the types of health plans that are offered, including eliminating coverage for mental health benefits and/ or substance benefits, and reductions in the scope or generosity of health benefits, such as increased deductibles or higher copayments.

I opposed H.R. 1424 for these and other reasons regarding the offsets presented at that time, as well as many of my colleagues on Energy and Commerce.

The bill before us today is not H.R. 1424. It may be confusing to see this stand-alone mental health parity bill here today, since I know we just passed one a few months ago. After a little digging, I soon realized that this bill is a cut-and-paste of the same agreed-upon text from the tax extenders bill originating in the Senate to be sent over to this body to consider possibly as early as today or tomorrow. So what the majority has done is take language negotiated directly with the Senate without any House Democrats in the room and dropped into another stand-alone bill.

One has to wonder why we are considering this bill today, when the exact same language is on its way over to us pursuant to an agreement between the majority and the Senate. Is this just another political gimmick by the Democrat leadership?

This is a prime example of what happens when Democrats stop leading on issues and start politicking. The Democrat do-nothing Congress is doing something today. Instead of addressing outstanding issues our country faces, such as a need for real energy reform, they are hard at work to put in front of us a bill that already passed the House this year and will be arriving momentarily from the Senate. Are we really supposed to pass the same bill three times this year? That is not progress. That is a waste of taxpayer time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, the Energy and Commerce Committee is not taking a position saying or encouraging other Members to vote for or against this bill. Our frustration is with the process on this bill.

At this time, I want to, seeing no other Energy and Commerce speakers here, yield the balance of my time to Mr. Ramstad of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, this is an extremely disappointing day for me, and I assume for America. Today is the day when we finally have an energy bill, except it doesn't have energy in it. And America wants us to work together, the Republicans and Democrats to work together, so that we have a comprehensive American energy plan that makes us independent of foreign oil where we can have price stability.

But unfortunately, as Republicans repeatedly reached out to the Democrat leadership to be involved in this process, we were totally shut out. The only negotiations occurred within the Speaker's office, and no Republican was allowed. We didn't even see the bill until late last night. This is not a true energy bill. If she would have included some of us, we could have made this hoax of a bill a lot better for the American public.

For example, they say that they open up 12 percent of the resources, but then put conditions on it that really can't be met. So even that 12 percent of the coastal waters are not going to be opened up while they pass a permanent moratorium on 88 percent.

This is a hoax, and America needs to see it for what it is.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues, Congresswoman Baldwin (WI-02) and Congressman Towns (NY-

10) on the introduction of the National Integrated Public Health Surveillance Systems and Reportable Conditions Act which addresses a critical aspect of our public health system in the United States: our science infrastructure at all levels of government.

That infrastructure, primarily applied epidemiology, laboratory science, and public health informatics, has greatly improved since the mid-1990s, but has not kept pace with the challenges we face today, such as increased foodborne disease outbreaks, emerging infections such as West Nile Virus, growing antimicrobial resistance, pandemic flu, and environmental health threats, particularly to clean air and water.

Many parts of the local-State-Federal disease surveillance system remain fragmented and paper-based, and have not fully benefited from new technologies that could improve the thoroughness and timeliness of reporting. Only two State public health laboratories have bidirectional data flow and can both send and receive laboratory messages, the gold standard for disease reporting. The potential for new pathogen discovery, rapid electronic exchange of public health information, national bacterial and viral databases for DNA ``fingerprinting'' of infectious disease organisms has not been fully realized.

Madam Speaker, we need a robust, universal, 21st century public health infrastructure that is strengthened at all levels of government to meet these challenges.

The bill we are introducing today will achieve that goal. It will require a very modest expansion of resources, renewed focus and mission, and new areas of special emphasis for several existing programs within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have never before been authorized. These programs will give public health institutions the capacity to identify and monitor the occurrence of infectious diseases and other conditions of public health importance. It will also improve the detection of new and emerging infectious disease threats, including laboratory capacity to detect antimicrobial resistant infections, identify and respond to disease outbreaks, and hire and train necessary professional staff.

The bill also focuses on improving electronic disease surveillance and reporting by requiring the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control to adopt, within 180 days of enactment, guidelines for public health entities to ensure that all State and local health departments and public health laboratories have access to receive, monitor, and report infectious diseases and other urgent conditions of public health importance. These guidelines will be coordinated with the office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the American Health Information Community .

Grant mechanisms for achieving complete, and updated electronic disease reporting by State and local health departments, and public health laboratories are also delineated and modestly enhanced to ensure the Nation has a seamless, rapid information flow of disease detection and reporting.

We are facing workforce shortages in many areas of our health and public health system. Three recent surveys conducted by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have established that the number and level of training of epidemiologists is perceived as seriously deficient in most States. The need to increase, well-trained, core public health science professionals is addressed in this bill. Fellowship training for key elements of the public health workforce, applied epidemiologists, laboratory scientists and public health informaticians, is authorized and modest funding targets provided.

The bill also authorizes, for the first time, a process for determining a list of nationally notifiable diseases and conditions. The provisions are modeled on the existing process of collaboration between the States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but provide clarity and structure that enables Congress to monitor and support improvements as events and technology require.

Madam Speaker, the ``National Integrated Public Health Surveillance Systems and Reportable Conditions Act'' will enhance the Nation's public health capacity by strengthening its core science infrastructure and ensuring a seamless, rapid flow of information. It will help us meet the serious public health challenges of today and tomorrow. I urge my colleagues to consider the benefits of this bill and join as a cosponsor and support its enactment.

I thank the gentleman, and I thank the committee leadership for bringing this resolution to the floor. I, of course, as the author, rise in support of H. Res. 1372, a resolution celebrating the 100th anniversary of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I do want to start off at the beginning to tell my friend from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) that this is not the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Huskers. This is the number-sixth-rated-in-the-Nation University of Nebraska at Omaha Division II football. That is a distinction that, once made, garnered a lot more supporters. So when it comes to voting, I want to make that distinction.

In October of 1908, 26 students gathered to form the first class at the University of Omaha, achieving the goal the city fathers decreed to create a nonsectarian university where local high school graduates could receive a college education. Over the tumultuous years ahead, the University of Omaha grew in size and reputation, outgrowing its original buildings and then relocating to its current home near Memorial Park in what was then the far west edge of the town and now known as ``Midtown.''

In time, the University of Omaha would be known as the Municipal University of Omaha and in 1968 would become part of the University of Nebraska system, developing doctoral programs in conjunction with the flagship campus in Lincoln, as well as a number of independent programs in the field of public administration and criminal justice. UNO, as it then would become to be known, would become known for its remarkable programs in engineering, IS&T, and technology fields that are housed in the Peter Kiewit Institute as well as the university's renowned aviation program.

Today the University of Nebraska at Omaha has a significant impact on eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, serving over 250 communities and contributing nearly $300 million in economic impact to that area. With a current enrollment of nearly 15,000 students, the University of Nebraska at Omaha has grown significantly and in measurable ways. It has bettered the lives of the citizens of Omaha and has taken its place among some of the finest public universities of its size in the region.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my fellow Members to vote in favor of this resolution in recognition of a truly unique and outstanding educational institution as it celebrates its 100th anniversary in October of this year. And go Mavericks!

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize all the good people at Mosaic, who have come to Washington, D.C. to take part in the American Network of Community Options and Resources, ANCOR, 2008 Governmental Activities Seminar.

Mosaic, a disability advocacy organization based in my Congressional district, has a long history of providing direct support and services to individuals with disabilities of all ages. It employs more than 5,000 employees nationally who provide a range of supports 7 days a week, 24-hours a day. In Omaha, Mosaic's highly skilled and committed workforce support more than 250 individuals, making Mosaic one of the largest providers in the metropolitan area.

Throughout this week, people from Mosaic, along with the attendees at ANCOR's events are meeting with their Congressional offices to raise awareness about the need for an adequately paid, trained and dedicated workforce. Most direct support professionals are women with families working 40-hour work weeks at an average of $9.47 an hour. That amounts to an annual salary of $18,182, a figure below the $21,200 poverty level for a family of four. Low wages have been a prime obstacle in maintaining a qualified workforce. Unlike other sectors of the private market, the formal long-term supports system is almost entirely dependent upon public financing--particularly Medicaid funding.

Demand for direct support professionals continues to grow and is estimated to increase by about 38 percent over the next 12 years. We must ensure that qualified and reliable people are recruited as caregivers so that they in turn can help individuals with disabilities participate and contribute to their communities.

Madam Speaker, there is no better way to recognize this workforce's contribution to the Nation than to ensure that these dedicated direct support professionals are fairly compensated. I urge my colleagues to join with me in cosponsoring the bipartisan Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act, H.R. 1279.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize all the good people at Mosaic who have come to Washington, D.C. to take part in the ANCOR 2008 Governmental Activities Seminar. Throughout this week, people from Mosaic, along with all of the attendees from ANCOR events, are meeting with their congressional offices to raise awareness about the need for an adequately paid, trained and dedicated workforce.

Low wages have been a prime obstacle in maintaining a qualified work force. Unlike the other sectors of the private market, the formal long- term support system is almost entirely dependent upon public financing, particularly Medicaid funding.

Madam Speaker, there is no better way to recognize this workforce's contribution to the Nation than to ensure that these folks who are dedicated direct support professionals are fairly compensated. I urge my colleagues to join with me and Lois Capps in cosponsoring the bipartisan Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act, H.R. 1279.

Yesterday, OPEC met. OPEC decided to cut production because they were frustrated that the price per barrel was nearing the $100 per barrel price. My goodness. What a tragedy for them. Isn't it a problem for this country that we rely so heavily on foreign oil? OPEC controls the majority of oil production. Our energy policy should not have to be begging OPEC for more production.

Yesterday, our electric company that serves my district announced they're raising the rates because the train company that hauls the coal to them had to raise their rates because the price of diesel fuel has gone up so much. So the electrical rates of every consumer, every household in Omaha, is going to have double digit inflation on their electric bill.

Please, Mr. Speaker, let the madness stop. Let's do a real energy bill.

Madam Speaker, one of the greatest threats to our national security is our country's dependence on foreign sources of oil. We must expand the use of our alternative sources of energy and I believe alternative fuels is an integral part of that.

I have introduced a resolution recognizing the importance of alternative and renewable fuels as well as the role of the flexible fuel vehicle club in promoting alternative and renewable fuels. Flex fuel cars can run on any blend of ethanol and gasoline from E10 to E85.

Fuel cell technology has many different applications from emergency backup generators at hospitals and police stations to a pollution free replacement for gasoline and diesel engines in cars, buses and trucks. Fuel cell technology promises to reduce the number of large new power plants and transmission lines we need to build by allowing the distributed generation of electricity across the country.

One other important aspect is tax credits. Research and development in the energy industry requires time and money. We must give the energy industry the assurance that tax benefits will be carried into the future, if we do not they will chose to develop elsewhere leaving us behind the eight ball.

In addition, fuel cell technology provides important emergency backup power generation capability for first responders and our military.

Over the years I have fought hard to diversify our energy supplies and I am not going to stop now. You can count on my strong and unwavering commitment to make our country energy independent once and for all.

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

Mr. Chairman, in 2002, over 6 years ago, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs completed an independent study recommending that the Omaha, Nebraska general area of Eastern Nebraska be selected as the site for a new national veterans' cemetery. That cemetery was to be built no later than 2005. As we stand here today, there has been no decision or authorization for a national veterans' cemetery in Eastern Nebraska.

The State of Nebraska, the Governor and the legislature has determined a site in Sarpy County right next to Offutt Air Force Base as the site for this national veterans' cemetery. One of the issues supposedly that is delaying this cemetery is that, pursuant to the last census, we are a few thousand short of the requisite 170,000 that reside in a 75-mile radius, although Nebraska statistics differ with that census agreement, showing that we more than amply exceed that 170,000 within a 75-mile radius.

What this amendment does is allows us to include some contiguous counties, because what you have is a mass

populace within a small area around Offutt Air Force Base. But then, as you spread out, the population becomes far less dense.

So in order here to comply, this amendment includes contiguous counties to get within the U.S. Census that the Veterans Administration is using to block the building of this national cemetery. So I am here tonight to make sure that the promise is kept to the veterans of the Eastern Nebraska, Western Iowa, Northwest Missouri area.

As we know, our veterans population is aging. They are passing away. And I hear from their families quite often that they would prefer to be buried in a veterans' cemetery without having to travel 6 hours to the nearest Nebraska State veterans' cemetery.

So that is the purpose of this amendment, is to keep a promise by the VA and, frankly, the entire delegation, that we are going to fight for a veterans' cemetery that has been promised them. This has been the way that has been recommended. I think it is probably the best way, recognizing the geography of Nebraska.

At this point, I will ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment. But I would like to work with the people, the appropriations and the veterans' committee to make sure that this promise is kept.

I want to first say thank you to the chairman and ranking member for allowing this to come to the House floor in such a rapid manner. It is my pleasure to have authored this resolution in working with Special Olympics on their 40th anniversary.

In those 40 years since Mrs. Eunice Shriver dreamed of helping those with intellectual disabilities by having them compete as a part of letting them know that they can achieve and as part of their therapies, in those 40 years since her vision came to be, we have seen many with intellectual disabilities win and let them be better in that competition. I am also pleased that my community is hosting the International Special Olympics competition in 2010 between Omaha and Lincoln.

As my colleagues have stated, Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the great cause of empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive, and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Participation in Special Olympics' year-round sports training and athletic competition is open to anyone with intellectual disabilities ages 8 and older.

Currently there are 700,000 volunteers and 500,000 coaches worldwide that serve over 2.5 million people with intellectual disabilities by helping them participate in over 200 programs in 180 countries. It is important to note that Special Olympics would not exist today and could not have been created without the time, energy, commitment, and enthusiasm of many of its volunteers. As a grassroots organization, Special Olympics relies on volunteers at all levels of the movement to ensure that every athlete is offered a quality sports training and competition experience.

The athletes have choices of just about any sport you can think of, from winter sports, aquatics, badminton, basketball, track and field, snowboarding, sailing, table tennis, handball, racquetball, volleyball. It goes on and on and on.

The Special Olympics oath is inspirational to all and was originally spoken by gladiators entering the arena in ancient Rome: ``Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.''

Madam Speaker, as a Member of Congress, I strive every day to live up to these words. Again, I am proud to be associated with this resolution and Special Olympics and urge its passage on the floor today. Again, I thank Mr. Berman and Mr. Chabot for making sure that this arrived on the floor in such a rapid manner.