Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this conference report.

I applaud Chairman Skelton for his leadership in guiding this conference report to the floor today. He and Ranking Member Hunter have done a tremendous Job, and they have been ably supported by the expert staff of our committee.

I'm particularly grateful to Chairman Skelton for working with me to include things important for Colorado, including: a provision to keep the cleanup of the Pueblo Chemical Depot on track and fully funded; a review of DOD's training requirements for helicopter operations in high-altitude conditions, a provision that will help the High-Altitude Army National Guard Training Site in my district to establish its need for additional training helicopters; language requiring the Army to make its case for expansion at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site; an agreement between the Air Force and the city of Pueblo about flight operations at the Pueblo airport; a report on opportunities for leveraging Defense Department funds with States' funds to prevent disruption in the event of electric grid or pipeline failures; and restrictions on the move of key NORAD functions from Cheyenne Mountain to Peterson Air Force Base until security implications and promised cost savings are analyzed.

I am also pleased that the final bill includes two amendments I offered in committee, including one to repeal a provision adopted last year that makes it easier for the president to federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement purposes during emergencies. By repealing this, my amendment restores the role of the Governors with regard to this subject. My other amendment extends for 5 years the Office of the Ombudsman that assists people claiming benefits under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, EEOICPA, which is so important for affected workers from the Rocky Flats site in my district.

Mr. Speaker, this bill rightly focuses on our military's readiness needs.

After 5 years at war, both the active duty and reserve forces are stretched to their limits. The bill will provide what's needed to respond, including a substantial Strategic Readiness Fund, adding funds for National Guard equipment and training, requiring a plan for rebuilding our prepositioned stocks, and establishing a Defense Readiness Production Board to mobilize the industrial base to address equipment shortfalls.

It also provides important funds for the Base Realignment and Closure process, including additional funds to assist communities expected to absorb large numbers of personnel as a result of the BRAC decision. This funding is especially important to Colorado, given that Fort Carson in Colorado Springs will add 10,000 soldiers and will be home to 25,000 troops by 2009.

The bill provides substantial resources to improve protection of our troops, including additional funds for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, body armor, lED jammers, and up-armored Humvees for our troops in the field. Consistent with the Tauscher-Udall Army expansion bill in the last Congress, the bill enlarges the Army and Marine Corps to help ease the strain on our troops and provides for an increase in National Guard personnel. And it will provide for a 3.5 percent across- the-board pay raise for servicemembers, boost funding for the Defense Health Program, and prohibit increasing TRICARE and pharmacy user fee increases.

The bill incorporates provisions from the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, which passed the House earlier this year and was driven by the revelations of mistreatment and mismanagement at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. These provisions establish new requirements to provide the people, training, and oversight needed to ensure high-quality care and efficient administrative processing at Walter Reed and throughout the active duty military services. The bill also establishes a Military Mental Health Initiative to coordinate all mental health research and development within the Defense Department, and establishes a Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative to allow emerging technologies and treatments to compete for funding.

Given the increased use of the National Guard and Reserves in recent years, the bill gives important new authorities to the National Guard to fulfill its expanded role, including authorizing a fourth star for the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, making the National Guard Bureau a joint activity of the Department of Defense, and requiring that at least

one deputy of Northern Command be a National Guard officer.

The final bill also addresses ongoing problems of contracting fraud by tightening controls on managing contracts and improving whistleblower protections, as well as improving accountability in contracting by requiring public justification of the use of procedures that prevent full and open competition.

I'm pleased that the conference report fully supports the goals of the Department of Energy nonproliferation programs and the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction program, consistent with the 9- 11 Commission recommendations. The bill also slows development of a Reliable Replacement Warhead and establishes a bipartisan commission to evaluate U.S. strategic posture for the future, including the role that nuclear weapons should play in our national security strategy.

Mr. Speaker, the conference report we are considering today does an excellent job of balancing the need to sustain our current warfighting abilities with the need to prepare for the next threat to our national security. It is critical that we are able to meet the operational demands of today even as we continue to prepare our men and women in uniform to be the best trained and equipped force in the world.

This is a good bill, a carefully drafted and bipartisan bill, and I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I will vote for this bill--as I did for a similar measure last month--because of the urgent need to protect middle-income families from a massive tax increase that will hit them if we do not act to adjust the Alternative Minimum Tax, or

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this urgently needed legislation.

Three months ago, the House passed an excellent energy bill that combined provisions developed by several different Committees designed to start putting our country on a path toward energy independence, increased national security and economic growth, and addressing global warming.

The Senate has also passed its version of energy legislation, and the measure now before the House would make revisions to that version, returning the bill to the Senate for further action.

By passing it, we can move toward greater energy independence--which means greater national security--in ways that will lower energy costs, help our economy, and reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

The measure includes a few things not part of the bill the House passed earlier, including the first revision in decades of the fuel- consumption standards for automobiles and trucks and provisions dealing with the Secure Rural Schools and Payments-in-Lieu-of-Taxes, PILT program.

I support those additions. Both are good for the nation, and the Secure Rural Schools and PILT provisions are of particular importance for Colorado because so many of our counties include large Federal land areas and therefore will benefit directly from that part of the bill. In 2006, Colorado counties received more than $6 million in Secure Rural Schools payments, while PILT payments to our counties totaled an additional $17.3 million.

However, the authorization for Secure Rural Schools has expired and Congress has rarely appropriated all funds authorized for PILT--which is why I have introduced legislation, H.R. 790 to make full funding for PILT automatic without a need for annual appropriations. So, this part of the legislation is good news for Colorado because it will mean our counties will know what they will receive to help pay for law enforcement and other vital services.

I am particularly pleased that the measure before us retains the provision of the House bill--added by adoption of an amendment I offered along with Representatives Tom Udall and Todd Platts--to establish a Renewable Electricity Standard, RES. This provision will require utilities acquire 15 percent of electricity production from renewable resources by 2020. The House's adoption of that amendment represented a great success by those of use working for positive change that will benefit rural communities, save consumers money, reduce air pollution, and increase reliability and energy security.

I am also pleased that the legislation includes a provision on carbon capture and storage based upon a bill that I authored. Coal and other fossil fuels have been and will continue to be an important energy source for our country, but coal-burning power plants are also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. The carbon capture and storage research, development, and demonstration program authorized in this bill will help us tackle this challenge while keeping our economy healthy and strong. It will authorize the Department of Energy to conduct demonstration projects for both carbon dioxide capture and carbon dioxide injection and storage. Not only will this research program help us develop this technology and make it more economical, it will also help us understand the implications of storing large amounts of carbon dioxide underground.

But some of the provisions we passed earlier are not part of this measure. I regret their omission, and if it had been up to me, they would not have been dropped.

Those omissions include the majority of provisions in the earlier bill that originated in the Natural Resources Committee, including ones that I proposed regarding oil shale development, the protection of surface owners in ``split estate'' situations, and the safeguarding of our water supplies from potential adverse effects of energy development. And the measure now before us also omits the important provision to require that drilling on the top of the Roan Plateau be done in a way that will reduce adverse effects on other resources and values of that area, which is so important to Western Slope communities and Colorado's hunters and anglers.

I am also disappointed that the measure does not include my provision to reorient and expand the U.S. Global Change Research Program, USGCRP, so that it will provide more user-driven research and information. The USGCRP coordinates all Federal climate change research and has contributed much to our understanding of climate change since its creation in 1990--but we now need to expand our knowledge and tailor the information to the needs of national, regional and local decision makers confronted with management and mitigation challenges. This bipartisan provision would have done that.

I strongly supported all those provisions, and I intend to continue working to win their enactment either on their own or as part of some other measure.

But while dropping those provisions means the measure now is weaker in some respects that the one the House passed earlier, it has been strengthened in an important respect by the addition of the fuel- economy provisions, which will result in increasing the efficiency of all vehicles to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. And other parts of the legislation will provide long-term incentives to boost production of electricity from renewable sources, including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, river currents, ocean tides, landfill gas, and trash combustion resources, as well as to expand production of homegrown fuels such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel.

The bill will encourage manufacturers to build more efficient appliances, help working families afford fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid vehicles, and help businesses create energy-efficient workplaces. It will encourage deployment of renewable energy by enabling electric cooperatives and public power providers to use new clean renewable energy bonds to help finance facilities to generate electricity from renewable resources. And it will help states leverage tax credit bonds to implement low-interest loan programs and grant programs to help working families purchase energy-efficient appliances, make energy- efficient home improvements, or install solar panels, small wind turbines, and geothermal heat pumps.

Further, the bill will create an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program to train Americans for good ``green'' jobs--such as in solar panel manufacturing and green building construction--that will be created by new renewable-energy and energy- efficiency initiatives. This will provide training opportunities to our veterans, to those displaced by national energy and environmental policy and economic globalization, to individuals seeking pathways out of poverty, to young people at risk and to workers already in the energy field who need to update their skills.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, this legislation is much needed and long overdue. While I regret the omission of several very important parts of the version the House passed earlier this year, what remains and what has been added combine to make a measure that deserves to pass here and in the Senate and that President Bush should sign into law. I urge its approval.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 251, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, in Colorado. The facility serves our Nation as the chief research laboratory for energy efficiency and renewable energy for the Department of Energy. As the co-chair of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, I am proud to celebrate this organization and its invaluable work to set our country on a course towards sustainable energy practices.

The range of research areas at NREL is remarkable; from hydrogen- storing carbon nanotubes for fuel cell-powered vehicles to architectural computer design tools for low-energy construction to ``smart windows'' which automatically tint in order to cut the cost of air conditioning, NREL has developed cutting-edge technology for 30 years. NREL's National Wind Technology Center, located in my district, has helped push forward development of more efficient and economic wind turbines, which are critical to making the wind industry an important player in our Nation's energy markets. NREL will continue to be a leader on important research and development in these critical areas.

NREL continues to be an important resource for the people of Colorado. NREL is a critical participant in the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory Agreement, which also includes the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State University. The Collaboratory will not only advance new energy research, but it will also encourage quicker transfer of new technology to energy businesses. For example, the new Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels, C2B2, partners NREL and the Collaboratory with Colorado businesses to help reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil while researching commercially viable biofuel technologies.

NREL and its employees continue a tradition of service to the community. Hundreds of NREL employees have completed over 43 community service projects in the past 5 years. NREL has focused community efforts for its 30th anniversary on helping the ``Family Tree'' organization, which provides assistance to the homeless and victims of domestic violence.

On a personal note, I have greatly enjoyed working with NREL scientists and staff, including NREL's former Director, Vice Admiral Richard Truly, and NREL's current Director, Dr. Dan Arvizu. I have great respect for both men and look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Arvizu for many years to come.

As the world demands sustainable energy solutions in a new era of energy awareness, I am confident that the talented scientists, engineers, and researchers at NREL will continue to lead our country and the world forward in expanding and improving our energy resources. I join my colleagues in recognizing NREL for its 30 years of service and look forward to many years to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the great work of the Snowsports Outreach Society (SOS Outreach), based in Vail, Colorado, which is dedicated to providing outdoor recreation and confidence-building opportunities to underprivileged youth.

The snow sports industry is an essential part of Colorado's lifestyle, economy and image. Colorado's mountainous terrain and world class resorts have set the standard for the ultimate experience in sliding on snow. As co-chair of the Congressional Ski and Snowboard Caucus and an avid skier myself, I understand the importance of this outdoor activity--in all its forms--for its physical health benefits and the recreation economy of Colorado and the country's ski resorts.

SOS Outreach complements the benefits of snow sports by providing dynamic programs to 2,500 youths in need nationwide. During the current season, 2,000 Colorado participants will be enrolled in a 7-year curriculum. I am proud to support the work that they do to grow the sport and promote positive self-esteem in their participants.

Now celebrating its 14th anniversary, SOS Outreach was founded in Vail, Colorado in 1993. SOS Outreach is a grassroots, 501(c)(3) organization. Through the work of its founder and executive director, Arn Menconi and former director of snowboarding for Vail Resorts, Ray Sforzo, a charity was developed that appealed to the mountain resort's desire to build the community by serving underprivileged youth.

SOS Outreach first introduced youth to the benefits of outdoor recreation during the 1995-1996 season when they taught 40 youths snowboarding. They were provided with one day of free lessons, equipment and lift tickets. Since their first season, SOS Outreach has partnered with mountain resorts, youth agencies, foundations, corporations and individual donors to expand their curriculum and serve over 7,500 youths. SOS Outreach is further leveraging their partnerships to expand their programs and include skiing. Over 7,000 program days will be provided at 29 resorts across the country, 13 in the State of Colorado.

SOS Outreach reaches out to its participants by providing a high quality, resilience-based program that positively impacts self-esteem and ability to participate positively within their communities; supports underserved youth through adult mentorship; and encourages personal character education through SOS Outeach's five core values of courage, discipline, integrity, wisdom and compassion. In using snowboarding and skiing as the carrot, SOS Outreach also sets personal, academic and athletic goals with kids and provides vocational skills training. Their curriculum is recognized nationally for its impact.

The dynamic programming they provide would not be successful without the substantial support of the following individuals and organizations. I would like to recognize and thank each of them for sustaining such a program in Colorado:

Bill Jensen and Kara Heide of Vail Resorts; Ken Gart and everyone at Specialty Sports Venture; Chris Ryman of Booth Creek Ski Holdings; Colorado Mountain Resorts for their donation of lift tickets, lessons and rental equipment; Harry Frampton and Ceil Folz of the Vail Valley Foundation; Robert Veitch of the Harold W. Shaw and Mary Louise Shaw Foundation; Linda Childers of the Daniels Fund; William Hybl of the El Pomar Foundation; Bill Cotton of Optic Nerve Sunglasses; Robert Marcovitch of K2 Inc.; Mike West of 686; Wendy and Mike Carey of Seirus; Chaos Hats; Ride Snowboards; Salomon Sports; Sutherland Foundation; Bob Hernreich; Kay and Craig Tuber; to the staff of SOS Outreach: Am & Anne Menconi, Michelle Hartel, Jon Garrou, Seth Ehrlich, Jody Link, Thersa Bisio; and, the hundreds of adults that give of themselves to be positive mentors to these young people.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking SOS Outreach for its great work and extending our wishes for continued success and instilling a love for the outdoors and snow sports--and personal achievement and self confidence--for many young people.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Scott Adamcheski for his exemplary courage. Scott Adamcheski is a fireman with Station No. 5 in Boulder, Colorado. On October 26, 2007 he was one of a group of firefighters who responded to a call at the Gold Run Apartment Complex.

Upon arrival Mr. Adamcheski searched one of the apartment buildings for anyone who may have been trapped by the ensuing flames. Mr. Jordan Brooks, a senior at the University of Colorado, cried for help as he lay choking on the 3rd floor. Mr. Adamcheski found the student, immediately called for backup and brought Mr. Brooks to safety through a window he had to break.

This is just one example of the risks firefighters take every day. Mr. Adamcheski's bravery was called to my attention and while I am sure he takes his actions in stride as the kind of thing he and his fellow firefighters contend with routinely, and as a part of their professional training, I think the rest of us marvel at the personal courage it takes to face fires and rescue people. In this spirit, I want to acknowledge the other firefighters at Station No. 5 in Boulder and all the firefighters in America who risk their lives us to keep our communities safe.

As a prime example of the courage and heroism that firefighters exhibit every day, and to recognize Scott Adamcheski for his service, I ask my colleagues to join with me in thanking him, and acknowledging the efforts of firefighters across America.

Madam Speaker, today I am introducing a bill that will help the Forest Service better manage an area near St. Mary's Glacier and Alice Township in Clear Creek County, Colorado and will also allow an appropriate new use of adjoining private lands.

The area dealt with in the bill is currently latticed with various mining claims interspersed with Forest Service land, which creates management difficulties. It is also an area proposed for a ski area terrain park, called Eclipse Snow Park. By facilitating a land exchange between the Forest Service and the developers of this terrain park, the bill would resolve issues for the Forest Service, the terrain park and the surrounding communities.

This legislation provides for the exchange of approximately 119 acres of National Forest System land with approximately 74 acres of private property (plus any necessary cash adjustment from private parties to the United States Treasury necessary to equalize the value of the parcels), contiguous to existing National Forest System land.

Currently, the boundary lines between the National Forest System land and the privately owned property are extremely irregular, making much of this mountainous land inaccessible and burdensome to the public. These jagged boundaries also make managing the National Forest System land difficult, if not impossible, for the agency.

This legislation simplifies the boundaries and consolidates National Forest System lands adjacent to Alice and the St. Mary's Glacier, in turn enhancing water quality protection opportunities for the St. Mary's Glacier watershed. In addition, this land exchange eliminates land-locked National Forest System lands and makes contiguous certain privately owned property, thus enabling efficient use of a decades old tradition of family-scaled commercial skiing in this basin.

In addition, the land exchange authorized by this bill would help provide access to the nearby James Peak Wilderness Area. Public access to this area from the Alice Township community is currently unavailable. Frequent trespassing, the lack of adequate parking and no public access to the St. Mary's glacier area are major concerns for surrounding residents, the community, and the Forest Service. With the valley's close proximity to Denver, the presence and uniqueness of the glacier has become an attraction for hikers, backcountry skiers, and sight-seers. The frequency of visitors, especially during the summer, creates a parking, access, and trailhead sanitation dilemma. This land exchange provides a solution to these problems by providing needed parking areas and creating a public access trailhead, at no expense to taxpayers.

Although efforts have been made with the Forest Service to seek an administrative solution, the Forest Service estimates this process would take a minimum of 5 years--a delay that withholds the above- described benefits to the public. Therefore, legislation is needed to accomplish this important land exchange.

Commercial skiing has taken place in the Anchor Gulch basin, in which the current proposed Eclipse Snow Park is located, since the 1930s. That ski area has gone through many different names and ownership groups including Silver Mountain Resort, St. Mary's Ski Area, and Silver Lake Resort. It most recently operated in 1986 with two ski lifts. The ski area pre-dates major zoning concerns in the county, and operated almost exclusively on a collection of mining claims as well as illegally on some National Forest System land.

In 2001, the Clear Creek County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the ski area at St. Mary's as a ``legal non- conforming use'' affirming the County's desire to see the property used for skiing again. In late 2006 and early 2007, through a process which included months of public hearings, the Clear Creek County Commissioners approved the rezoning of all the property in the Anchor Gulch basin proposed by Eclipse Snow Park to a ``Commercial Outdoor Recreation'' designation which allows for commercial skiing and limited associated recreation amenities.

Eclipse Snow Park aims to become a small family-owned and operated ski area which harkens back to the days when skiing began in Colorado. The Vision for Eclipse will provide a predominantly natural un-groomed more natural Alpine Skiing experience. With a specific focus on gladed skiing, as opposed to traditional cleared trails, Eclipse will provide a unique, environmentally sensitive and increasingly sought recreation experience. Additionally, the vision will create a small-scale, organic ski area which fulfills a ``back-to-the-basics'' response to why people love to ski, with fewer commercialized aspects that many large scale resorts implement. Eclipse Snow Park will welcome skiers and snowboarders alike who are interested in a unique skiing and riding experience, at a more affordable price, with a far shorter travel distance than most Front-Range skiers are currently experiencing.

Eclipse Snow Park representatives have been in numerous discussions with the Forest Service, who have expressed interest in this land exchange but citing resource constraints, have stated a preference for legislative action. The Forest Service on several occasions over the past two summer field seasons has sent interdisciplinary teams of biologists, botanists, and ecologists into the Anchor Gulch basin to inventory surrounding resources and evaluate the project proposal for potential environmental impacts and opportunities to apply state-of- the-art mitigating techniques.

Similarly, throughout the course of 2006 and 2007, Eclipse Snow Park has also been extensively reviewed by specialty contracting biologists, botanists, geotechnical engineers, wetlands scientists, hydrologists, and archeological investigators. Additionally, an in-depth assessment of ambient and projected vehicular traffic patterns has been completed by a professional traffic engineer. In summary, these studies conclude that the project will not create any significant impacts to surrounding resources and the community further demonstrating the public benefits of this exchange.

Under the bill, the Forest Service will determine the value of the lands to be exchanged, in accordance with the relevant normal appraisal standards, and will have authority to take appropriate steps to make sure the federal government--the taxpayers--will receive fully equal value for the lands to be transferred out of federal ownership. The private landowner--not the taxpayers--will bear the costs of the appraisals and all necessary surveys. And the legislation requires the private landowner to provide unimpeded access to St. Mary's Glacier, on the adjacent National Forest lands.

Madam Speaker, this is a modest but important bill and I think it deserves the support of all our colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I will vote for this legislation.

This bill is the opposite of a blank check for the President. The funds it will provide are those that will be needed to move toward an ``immediate and orderly'' redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The bill requires redeployment to begin within 30 days of its passage and sets a goal of bringing home most our soldiers from Iraq by December 15, 2008.

The bill also requires that our military's mission in Iraq shift from combat to force protection, support for Iraqi security forces, and targeted counterterrorism operations, and it prohibits the deployment of any U.S. troops to Iraq that are not already fully equipped and trained. And it extends to all U.S. Government agencies and personnel the limitations in the Army Field Manual on permissible interrogation techniques, to remove any doubt that loopholes remain for ``waterboarding'' or similar harsh techniques.

It's clear that we're seeing progress on the security front in Iraq-- likely the result of more U.S. boots on the ground combined with an insurgency that has largely succeeded in ``cleansing'' Iraq's neighborhoods, driving Iraq's Sunni and Shia populations out of areas where they once lived side by side.

But when he announced the ``surge'' of additional troops to Iraq, President Bush promised us more than progress on the security front in Iraq.

We sent more troops to Iraq to provide ``breathing space'' for the Iraqi Government to

move toward political reconciliation, and that hasn't even begun to happen.

In my view, there is no sustainable role for large numbers of U.S. troops to play in Iraq--whether refereeing a civil war or waiting for the Iraqi Government to decide to act within the ``breathing space'' our brave troops have provided and our taxpayers are paying for at $9 billion per month.

However, while this bill sends the right message--that our troops cannot remain in Iraq indefinitely--regrettably, it does not send it in the best way, because it will be supported almost exclusively by Democrats, and the President has already promised to veto it.

What we need is consensus here at home on a path forward in Iraq, and today's quick consideration of this bill doesn't bring us any closer to that goal.

I believe consensus can be found around the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which I introduced as legislation earlier this year, including supporting a course of escalating escalate economic development, empowerment of local government, the provision of basic services, a ``surge'' in regional and international diplomatic efforts, and lightening the American footprint in Iraq.

Only Democrats and Republicans working together can find the path out of Iraq. I will continue to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on further steps we can take to change our broader Iraq policy.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the ``Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007.'' Homeowners in Colorado and nationwide continue to face an impending crisis. Millions of borrowers have found themselves with unmanageable loans that not only threaten the financial security of their families and communities, but also undermine the Nation's economy as a whole. Passage of this bill will address irresponsible business practices in the mortgage industry that have played a part in creating this situation.

There are grave problems in the housing market. Foreclosure rates are rising, housing prices are stagnating and too many Americans are overwhelmed by the rise in their monthly payments. And housing is not the only sector of the economy that has been affected by the tremors whose epicenter is located within the financial institutions involved in mortgage funding.

This bill responds to problems that have come to light as those tremors have spread. Its main benefit may be to reduce the likelihood of similar shocks in the future, by reforming mortgage lending practices to soften the impact of rising defaults and foreclosures, especially in the subprime market.

The bill establishes a Federal duty of care for mortgage originators. It prohibits steering consumers to mortgages with predatory characteristics and other abusive practices in the subprime mortgage market, and establishes a licensing and registration system for loan originators. It also expands and enhances consumer protections for ``high-cost loans'' under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act; requires additional disclosures to consumers, and includes protections for renters of foreclosed properties.

I am particularly pleased that this legislation establishes an Office of Housing Counseling within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (RUD). This provision will provide financial and technical assistance to States, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to establish and operate consumer education programs. These programs will both enhance the consumer's financial literacy and also provide people with better information about mortgage and refinancing opportunities.

I do have some concerns about the bill, particularly regarding the extent to which its preemption provisions could interfere with implementation of State laws regarding loan liability. Fortunately, this risk has been reduced through adoption of an amendment to narrow the preemptive effect of the bill. It is my hope that these provisions can be further reformed in the Senate and conference committee before the bill is sent to the President.

I am also concerned about the possible effects of an amendment offered on the House floor that could have created a major new liability for mortgage originators, assignees, and securitizers by establishing a ``pattern and practice'' violation with penalties of not less than $25,000 per loan and $1 million for the violation itself. As I understand it, the amendment would characterize as a ``pattern or practice'' as few as two loans, which might mean that a lender who has acted in good faith in making a loan may be found to have violated this very subjective standard--with massive liability. I found persuasive the argument that

such a potential for increased liability could have a chilling effect in the secondary market, making liquidity less available. Fortunately, this amendment was not adopted.

Mr. Chairman, this bill is a good measure that deserves support. Further legislation may be required to address our Nation's mortgage crisis and assist families in Colorado and across the country in restructuring loans and recovering from this financial disaster, but this bill is a necessary part of the response to problem that might have terribly negative impacts on our economic future--and I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I have reservations about this bill, but I will vote for it today.

It is similar to one that I supported earlier this year but that failed to receive the two-thids vote necessary for passage under the procedure that applied to its consideration.

In my opinion, the RESTORE Act is far preferable to the legislation-- the so-called ``Protect America Act''--that I voted against but which the House, to my regret, approved and is now law.

Fortunately, that law will expire early next year, so we have the opportunity--and, I would say, the responsibility--to replace it with a better, more balanced measure.

By a more balanced measure, I mean one that fulfills two equally important requirements--first, that of enabling our intelligence community to do its job to protect us against terrorism and other threats, and second, respecting and safeguarding the rights and liberties of all Americans.

And while this bill is not perfect, I think it does meet those tests and deserves to be passed today.

It is based on the legislation I supported earlier this year but in several important ways it is even better than that bill.

For example, it is more carefully focused, applying not to all foreign intelligence but specifically to intelligence collection related to terrorism, espionage, sabotage and threats to national security. It also provides that the minimization rules--the steps agencies will take to limit their actions so as to avoid inadvertent or unnecessary surveillance--as well as the guidelines for intelligence collection regarding all targets must be approved by the FISA court, not merely by an administrative monitor.

It includes critical language that says that actions in compliance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and with that law's

procedural safeguards, will be the exclusive means to conduct surveillance for intelligence purposes. And the bill restates current law stipulating that surveillance targeting Americans requires an individualized FISA court order.

It takes a great step toward greater accountability by requiring an audit of past surveillance activities by the National Security Agency and by mandating record-keeping on any interception of communications by American citizens and legal residents.

The bill eliminates ambiguous language in the ``Protect America Act'' that appeared to authorize warrantless searches inside the United States, including physical searches of homes, offices, and medical records. And it makes clear that the Administration cannot conduct surveillance against Americans without probable cause--even if they are outside the United States.

Furthermore, this bill, like the one hastily passed earlier this year, is not permanent but will expire at the end of 2009, at which time Congress will be able to reconsider it with the benefit of greater knowledge of how it has worked in practice and whether further refinements should be made.

Also important is what the bill doesn't do. It does not provide constitutional protections to foreign terrorists. The bill does not require the government to obtain a FISA order in order to intercept ``foreign to foreign'' communications of suspected terrorists, even if these communications pass through the United States. Nor does this bill permit the National Security Agency to collect the communications of Americans through a ``basket'' court order. Instead, the bill requires the Administration to certify that the targets are not Americans, and if it wants to conduct surveillance on Americans, the Administration must get a formal FISA order.

And, as now amended, it includes additional language to make clear that there are other things it will not do. Specifically, it will not prevent the lawful surveillance necessary to: prevent Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda, or any other terrorist organization from attacking our country, our people, any of our allies. It will not prevent surveillance needed to ensure the safety and security of our Armed Forces or other national security or intelligence personnel. It will not prevent surveillance needed to protect the United States, the American people, or any of our allies from the threat of weapons of mass destruction or any other threats to national security. And it will not prohibit surveillance of, or grant any rights to, undocumented aliens.

The bill does grant authority to the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General to apply to the FISA court for a single court order, or a ``basket'' order, authorizing surveillance of a suspected terrorist organization abroad for up to one year, as long as there are procedures in place to ensure that only foreigners are targeted and the rights of Americans are preserved.

In general, I am wary of the concept of broad scope ``basket warrants,'' which are not normal under our laws. But I am prepared to support this part of the bill on the understanding that it is limited in scope and not applicable within the United States and with the expectation that the question will be revisited if the audits indicate a need for reconsideration of this part of the legislation. In this context, I am glad to note that this legislation is not permanent and will expire at the end of 2009.

President Bush has criticized the bill, in part because it does not include a provision granting retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that assisted in the Administration's secret surveillance program without a warrant. I think it might be appropriate to consider such a provision, but not until the Bush Administration responds to bipartisan requests for information about the past activities of these companies under the program. I am not ready to grant immunity for the companies' past activities while we don't know what activities would be covered.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is not perfect, but I am not prepared to insist on perfection at this point. I believe we must do all we can to correct the shortcomings of the ``Protect America Act,'' even if it takes Congress a number of attempts to get it right. The RESTORE Act will give the Administration the authority it says it needs to conduct surveillance on terrorist targets--while restoring many of the protections that the ``Protect America Act'' has taken away. For that reason, I will vote for this bill today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this veto override.

The conference report includes funding for many important programs and I am disappointed that the President has vetoed it. I recognize that the conferees had a challenging task in shaping the report because of budget constraints, but Congress did a good job balancing critical health, education and labor needs with the tight budget.

This conference report provides much needed funding for health, education and labor programs for the nation and for Colorado. For example, included in the overall increase for the Department of Health and Human Services is an increase in funding for essential research at the National Institute of Health (NIH) to increasing health care access in rural areas, as well as additional funding for the Center for Disease Control (CDC). It also includes critical funding increases for several important education programs, including No Child Left Behind, Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and Pell Grants. I am also pleased the labor provisions of this report reflect a new direction and commitment to expanding job training and enhancing the safety of workers, by increasing funding for a number of employment, education, and protection programs for the American workforce.

I am encouraged that the report includes an increase in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is a critical program that helps many Colorado families, who are struggling to get by, avoid having to make choices between paying their heating bill and putting food on the table. The conference report will increase funding for this program by $250 million over the fiscal year 2007 budget.

There are also critical Colorado-specific funds in the report. The report contains funding for Children's Hospital of Denver to help build the North Campus Ambulatory Surgery Center, which will broaden access to pediatric care in the north Denver metro area. This new development will also add more convenient alternative to patients, families, pediatricians, and physicians while also decreasing the burden on other health centers in the Denver metro area.

It also contains funding for Avista Hospital, a leader in the Electronic Medical Record field, to help Avista continue to implement a cutting edge system.

The funding for programs included in this report is a cause for celebration, not a veto. The President's budget request underfunded many of these critical programs and I am pleased that Congress has crafted a much better appropriations plan. While I am disappointed in the President's veto of the conference report, I am encouraged that we are attempting to override that veto today. This report is good for Colorado, good for the country and I encourage my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a resolution congratulating the Colorado Rockies on their National League Championship and first-ever franchise appearance in the World Series. The Rockies defied the odds this year by making it to the World Series, capturing the best hopes of Coloradans and giving us all a reason to cheer for their success. Despite a tough loss to a great team in the Boston Red Sox, we remain proud of the Rockies' efforts and astonished at their meteoric rise to the top of the National League.

Toward the close of the season, the Rockies were the underdogs in the National League pennant race. The challenge of making the playoffs seemed as large and daunting as the mountain range for which the Rockies were named, but the team maintained an optimism and competitive spirit that kept them alive long after commentators had written them off. Winning 21 of their last 22 games prior to the World Series--an unprecedented feat in baseball history--the Rockies rolled over expectations and swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS.

The World Series proved to be a bigger challenge than the Rockies could surmount, and they lost in four games to a very talented Red Sox team. Despite the losses, the Rockies carried themselves with dignity and true sportsmanship, giving Coloradans something to be proud of. As the father of two young athletes I can say that the way the Rockies carried themselves is a tremendous example for our young people. We would have loved to have seen the Rockies bring home a victory this year, but, as the Red Sox' Manny Ramirez said during the ALCS, there's always next year. I know I am not alone in looking forward to watching some great Rockies baseball in the future.

I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating the Colorado Rockies on a great season and in thanking them for serving as great examples of professional athletes practicing sportsmanship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations for 2008.

The funding provided in the conference report helps enhance our national transportation system at a critical time. Our transportation system is extended beyond its capacity. Public

and private use of highways, transit, and aviation systems are growing far beyond the current level of investment.

I am particularly pleased the agreement provides funds for a number of important projects not just in my own district but throughout Colorado. Our State faces a number of transportation challenges as a result of rapid expansion in the northwest Denver sububs and mountain and resort communities. Without the passage of this conference report, critical transportation and infrastructure needs for Colorado and the Nation will continue to be shortchanged.

I am committed to continue working with the rest of the Colorado delegation, local communities, the Transportation Committee and the administration to secure essential Federal funding to get people and goods from one place to another with a focus on transit and other transportation alternatives, and improving current modes of Colorado's transportation network.

The report also includes a number of important provisions with national implications.

The United States and Colorado are facing a housing crisis that has caused dire impacts to millions of homeowners. Very often a home purchase represents the largest single investment that individuals and families will make in their lifetimes. Homeownership is a cornerstone of the American Dream, and Congress needs to treat it as a top priority. I am pleased the report provides additional funding for counseling assistance for at-risk homeowners. Funding in the bill will assist thousands of borrowers with mortgage changes and restructuring to help them keep their homes.

I am also pleased the report makes changes to inequities in the retirement age of U.S. pilots. Like the Senate bill, the report raises the mandatory retirement age for pilots to 65, with certain exceptions. I supported similar provisions that passed the House in the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. We must take urgent action to ensure that more competent pilots are not lost.

Mr. Speaker this legislation is far from perfect but by passing the conference report, Congress will maintain its commitment to a safe, efficient and competitive transportation system that will fuel job creation. I urge its passage today.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this legislation.

The Defense Appropriations conference report for fiscal year 2008 provides $459 billion in funding for our military operations, an increase of $39 billion over this year's enacted levels. This report begins to address this country's military readiness crisis, modernizes our forces to meet future threats throughout the world, and ensures that our troops get the benefits they have earned.

This bipartisan bill invests in equipment, training, and weaponry-- including body armor and armored vehicles to save the lives of our soldiers. It restores depleted equipment for our National Guard and Reserve, provides a 3.5 percent pay raise for all military personnel, and fully funds the $1.9 billion TRICARE shortfall without cost to our troops. The bill provides an increase in funding for wounded warrior assistance and funds programs to improve coordination between the Defense Department, DOD, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, improve DOD's health record-keeping, and enhance preventative medicine programs.

The bill strengthens the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which helps to secure loose nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union. It also provides accountability by increasing funding for additional Inspector General civilian personnel to oversee DOD's contract services, and establishes a clear set of rules-of-engagement for contracted security personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also includes language that I advocated for prohibiting funding for permanent U.S. bases in Iraq.

The bill includes much that benefits Colorado. Section 8119 mandates that work to destroy chemical weapons stockpiles at Pueblo Chemical Depot be completed, preferably by the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty deadline of 2012, and in any event by no later than 2017. The bill also includes funding to help meet this deadline--$142.4 million for chemical demilitarization activities. This funding will accelerate weapons destruction activities already underway and will supplement $35.1 million for the construction of on-site chemical destruction facilities already provided in the fiscal year 2008 Military Construction spending bill.

I strongly support these provisions because I think we need to continue to do all we can to safely and expeditiously remove the mustard agent remaining at the Pueblo depot. The sooner we clean up these weapons, the sooner the surrounding communities will be safe--and a clean-up by the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty deadline of 2012 will come at a lower cost to taxpayers.

I am also pleased that the conference report includes provisions I fought for to help Colorado's educational institutions--$3.2 million for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to help UCCS, working together with NORTHCOM, to offer the Nation's first federally funded Ph.D. program in homeland defense; $1.6 million for UCCS, working with the national Space Education Consortium, to advance science, technology, engineering, and math education; and $2 million for Colorado State University's DOD Center for Geosciences/Atmospheric Research to continue providing research on priority environmental problems to the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.

As a co-chair of the Bi-Cameral Caucus on Parkinson's Disease, I am also pleased that

the conference report includes $20 million for Parkinson's research in the Army's Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment Research Program, NETRP. This critical program was established over 10 years ago to investigate the causes, diagnosis, and treatments of Parkinson's disease to improve military readiness. American troops are routinely exposed to external stressors and toxins such as head injury, pesticides and herbicides, and scientists believe these exposures increase the risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions, particularly Parkinson's disease, that negatively impact the readiness of American military forces. Understanding how exposures occur and the incidence of disease afterwards will allow the Department of Defense to minimize the risk of future exposures, better protect military personnel, and improve military readiness.

The military is not the only recipient of NETRP's benefits. Any research breakthroughs in prevention, detection, and treatment of neurodegenerative conditions are immediately applicable to civilians-- particularly the more than 1 million Americans with Parkinson's disease, including nearly 79,000 veterans and 60,000 newly diagnosed Americans each year.

The Defense Appropriations conference report also includes a continuing resolution to fund the Federal Government for another month at fiscal year 2007 spending levels, and adds additional funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, grants a temporary extension of the children's health, S-CHIP, program, and provides $500 million to bolster funding for federal firefighting programs following the California wildfires.

I remain concerned about rising costs of weapons systems that have yet to be fully funded, and by budget projections that tell us that we'll need to increase defense budgets annually simply to sustain the current force structure and weapons programs. Because operations and maintenance and personnel costs--as well as training and recruiting costs--are also rising, we will need to do a better job balancing spending on current and future military priorities, and consider whether to fully fund all these weapons systems.

Mr. Chairman, this is not a perfect bill. It does not solve or attempt to solve some of these looming budget problems. But overall, the bill deserves to pass and I urge its approval.

Mr. Speaker, I will vote for this bill because of the urgent need to protect middle-income families from a massive tax increase that will hit them if we do not act to adjust the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT.

In technical terms, the bill would extend for one year AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increase the AMT exemption amount to $66,250 for joint filers and $44,350 for individuals.

In real-world terms, that means it will prevent a tax increase for more than 302,600 Colorado households that otherwise would be required to pay more in Federal income tax when returns are due next year.

In addition, it will let taxpayers who do not itemize deductions take advantage of an additional standard deduction of up to $700 (for couples who file jointly) for State and local real property taxes-- something that will greatly help many thousands of Coloradans affected by those property taxes. And it also will increase the eligibility for the refundable child tax credit.

Further, the bill will extend many important tax-law provisions scheduled to expire this year.

These include an extension of the deductibility of certain tuition and related expenses, which helps many to gain an education, and an extension of the ability of teachers to deduct the money they spend from their own pockets for supplies used in their classrooms.

The bill will help our men and women in uniform and our veterans in several ways, including extension of the ability of those receiving combat pay to count it for purposes of the earned income credit; extension of the special

rules that help veterans qualify for State-operated, tax-exempt mortgage revenue bond programs for access to low-interest mortgages; and the extension of rules that allow reservists called to active duty to make penalty-free withdrawals from their retirement plans if they need to do so.

Other important provisions will allow people to continue to make charitable contributions from their individual retirement accounts, IRAs, without incurring tax penalties and will allow Colorado ranchers and other landowners to benefit from favorable tax treatment of their actions to protect open space through conservation easements.

The bill also will delay implementation of a requirement, passed when our friends on the other side of the aisle were in the majority, that requires local governments (and others) to assume the burden of withholding part of the money going to those under contract to provide goods and services. This requirement is strongly opposed by county commissioners and other local officials across Colorado as well as by many companies that build roads or do other work under contracts with our State and local governments.

In addition, the bill includes provisions to directly address the problems facing many people affected by the problems besetting the housing market. One of these is a permanent repeal of the current law's requirement that people pay income tax on the phantom ``income'' they supposedly receive when they are no longer required to pay on a mortgage because they have lost their homes to foreclosure or they are able to work out arrangements to avoid that result. Another will extend through 2014 the current ability of people to deduct the part of their mortgage payment that pays for mortgage insurance.

The bill also extends provisions that encourage research and development activities that are crucial to our country's economic future. It will allow restaurants and other small businesses to continue to take advantage of a realistic write-off period for improvements to their facilities. And it will retain the current law that encourages restaurants and other companies to donate unused food from their inventories to help feed people who need that assistance.

Mr. Speaker, all these are good provisions, and the bill overall is properly focused on tax relief for middle class families--a goal I strongly support.

But I do have some reservations about how the bill seeks to provide that relief without making our Federal deficit worse.

The bill's authors propose to pay for these provisions with a change in the current law that gives a substantial tax break to some investment fund managers by letting them treat part of their overall compensation as if were a capital gain on an investment. Another is a change to delay further a provision currently scheduled to take in effect next year regarding the rules for allocating certain expenses of companies that operate overseas. And a third is a change in the rules about taxation of deferred compensation.

Since this bill was introduced, there has been considerable debate about these provisions. I am not convinced that these provisions are the best or only way to offset the revenue costs of providing a temporary fix to the AMT--but the bill's opponents have suggested no alternative except to cut unspecified amounts of spending in unspecified parts of the budget or to further add to the ``debt tax'' that has already been imposed on our children (and their children) by the irresponsible policies of the last seven years.

The Senate will have to consider the legislation further, and if it makes changes a conference will have to resolve differences between their version and the bill now before us. So, it is possible that these provisions will be revised.

Mr. Speaker, I must note that I do not believe that it is wise to include in this bill, designed to address the AMT problem and to extend expiring tax-law provisions, such an unrelated matter as a restriction on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits of individuals living in the Virgin Islands. I think that if that issue is to be addressed, it should be done separately, perhaps in connection with a review of how IRS audits are conducted in Colorado and other locations as well. I will not oppose the legislation before us on that ground alone, but I think we do a disservice to the public debate on AMT reform by attempting to attach such a provision, and in any event I am not convinced it is wise to interfere with the IRS auditing process.

But, finally, the bottom line is that today we have the opportunity to provide tax relief to hundreds of thousands of middle-class families in Colorado. I think that is something I think the House can and should do without delay, and that is why I am voting for this bill.