Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2417, the BULB Act. This bill does nothing to shed light on a bipartisan law that will save families money on their energy bills. In fact, this bill repeals that common-sense law.

A question has been circulating in the media regarding this bill lately--how many Members of the House does it take to change a light bulb?

The answer, at least in 2007, was 314--that's the number of House Members who voted for the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Of those 314 Members 95 were Republicans--so was the President who signed the bill into law.

Why? Because this was a good, common-sense idea: Let's make new light bulbs that use 25-30 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs by 2012, and 65 percent less by 2020.

For families, that means an average savings of $200 a year. In Hawaii, where we pay some of the highest energy prices in the country, families will save approximately $225. The Department of Energy estimates that these standards will save U.S. households nationally $6 billion in 2015 alone.

What's even better: Improving energy efficiency has also helped spur innovation on the part of U.S. manufacturers--creating an estimated 2,000 American jobs to date and giving Americans even More offerings to choose from when it comes to light bulbs.

That's right: Americans have even more choices when it comes to light bulbs. This bipartisan law did not outlaw any type of bulb.

Consumers can still choose to purchase the familiar looking bulbs that were initially invented by Thomas Edison--the only difference is that the new ones use up to 30 percent less electricity. So the idea that this bill is limiting consumer choice is simply false.

But there are many other benefits as well to improving the energy efficiency of our light bulbs: The National Resources Defense Council estimates that over the long-term these standards will save as much energy as produced by 30 large power plants each year. They will also help prevent 100 million tons of carbon dioxide from polluting our air annually.

So these standards will help to expand consumer choice, save families money, increase energy efficiency, lessen air pollution, and create jobs.

Given the state of the economy, it seems to me that instead of wasting time trying to repeal a law that has been such a success, we should be spending our time trying to pass more laws like it.

So I hope that we will short-circuit this ideologically driven legislation, and keep the lights on at the factories and in the homes of the people who are benefitting from these standards.

I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this legislation.

Madam Speaker, we can all agree that we need to bring down our deficit, but we disagree on how to do it.

Republicans in Congress say that the only way to do this is to gut the services that American families rely on. Their priority is to protect the wealthiest among us who continue to enjoy loopholes and tax breaks. They should be paying their fair share.

Social Security is a promise to every American worker for years of hard work and provides dignity in retirement and help to support surviving children. Today nearly 55 million Americans rely on Social Security, including 214,000 in Hawaii. The program is vital to women, particularly single women, who disproportionately face poverty in old age.

The American middle class and our seniors deserve a fair solution on the deficit that gets our economy back on track and creates jobs--but not, not on the backs of our families and seniors.

Mr. Speaker, engaging our armed forces is not a vote I take lightly. Like many, I was reluctant to enter our nation into another conflict. But the situation in Libya is different.

This is a nation where the people were giving their lives to fight for a legitimate voice in their government. For these actions, their murderous dictator vowed to hunt them down like ``rats and cockroaches.'' Chilling words as Muammar el-Qaddafi is no stranger to taking the lives of the innocent. He has more American blood on his hands than any terrorist other than Osama bin Laden.

The international community sought our help in Libya. The Arab League supports the NATO mission and this is historic, as it is the first time the organization has supported an international intervention in an Arab country. The United States' role can make a difference in Libya. To say otherwise is to question the very values our own nation was founded upon. I believe that our limited mission in Libya is needed and I stand with President Obama.

Let's remember two things. The movement to overthrow longtime Libyan dictator Colonel Qaddafi began with the Libyan people. The United States should stand with the people of Libya and their fight for freedom and human rights.

We must also remember that under Colonel Qaddafi, Libya was involved in aircraft hijackings, extraterritorial assassinations, bombings at European airports, and the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub popular with American Armed Forces. Libya had a central role in orchestrating and financing the in-air bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, which killed 270 people, including 190 Americans. Libya was also central in the bombing of French UTA flight 772 in 1989, which killed 177 people from 18 nations, 7 of whom were American citizens.

The violence of Colonel Qaddafi is known to many nations around the world. In the early 1970s, Libya sent military troops and financed extremist Palestinian activities in Lebanon. Libya gave safe haven to Black September, the Palestinian terrorists that seized Israeli athletes as hostages at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Later in the decade, Libya sent armed forces into Chad and Uganda. Throughout the 1970s and well into the 1980s, Colonel Qaddafi either financed or materially supported revolutionary efforts in Chad, Corsica, Eritrea, Germany, Iran, Italy, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, Philippines, Sardinia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, and Tunisia. Ending the reign of Colonel Qaddafi and his destabilizing influence is in the interest of the world.

I've heard from many of my constituents concerned that our engagement in Libya will become our next Iraq or Afghanistan. I share those concerns and have expressed them to the White House and was assured that our operations in Libya would be limited.

I have voted against the use of ground troops in Libya and my vote today affirms that position. I do not believe that the United States can afford to be involved in further prolonged foreign entanglements and nation building. H.J. Res. 68 authorizes the limited support for the NATO mission to one year. Would I be more comfortable with a shorter timeframe? Yes, but so likely would Colonel Qaddafi. Nothing would give him more comfort than a short deadline for him to cling to so he can continue to slaughter his own people into submission.

The situation in Libya is unlike that in Iraq or Afghanistan. The mission in Libya has broad international support. I've mentioned the Arab League and NATO, but also the United Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Libyan Transitional National Council, and former Libyan Ambassador Ali Aujali support our mission. Traditional Libyan allies, such as China, Russia, and Turkey, have begun talks with the newly formed Libyan Transitional National Council. I strongly support the building of international goodwill and cooperation as integral to our nation's as well as global security.

My vote today is for the brave and courageous people of Libya. My vote today is for continued rebuilding of our international reputation.

Mahalo nui loa.

Madam Chair, I rise today in reluctant opposition to H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act.

In Hawaii, independent inventors and small businesses are at the forefront of the innovation that we need to strengthen our state's economic future. Year after year, small businesses have been responsible for the majority of net job growth nationwide. Congress must modernize and fully fund the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to address the massive application backlog that stifles innovation and job creation.

However, I have heard from independent inventors and small businesses in Hawaii who express grave concerns about H.R. 1249. This bill's shift to a ``first inventor to file'' system could create a ``race to file,'' allowing large corporations to use early and repeat filings to threaten independent inventors' and small businesses' rights.

Further, to speed up patent processing and job creation, the PTO must be able to use inventors' application fees for their intended use: processing patents. The PTO receives no taxpayer money, and is funded entirely by fees. I voted against the manager's amendment that diverts these user fees to the vagaries of the annual congressional budget process.

I also have concerns about Section 18 of the bill. This section establishes an administrative review process for financially related business method patents whose validity has been questioned. This review process is retroactive, and even previously awarded patents whose validity had been upheld by federal courts would be subject to challenge. This is unfair to inventors, who would have to defend themselves again for patents they have already been awarded and already defended in court.

Innovation and technology development is essential to growing Hawaii's economy of the future. For this reason, I support patent reform but cannot support the bill before us today.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 479, had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in support of my amendment to restore $3 million in funding for the Watershed and Flood Protection program. Funding for this program was eliminated in fiscal year 2011, and no funding is provided in this bill.

My amendment provides $3 million for this program, just 10 percent of the $30 million provided in fiscal year 2010. I am taking funding from the agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments to offset the cost of my amendment. Under my amendment, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, would make the determination on where to direct the funds.

The Watershed and Flood Control Program provides for cooperation between the Federal Government, States, and localities to prevent erosion, flood water, and sediment damage. This is also a vital program to further the development, utilization, and disposal of water. It also helps to further the conservation and utilization of land and authorized watersheds.

Watershed improvements under this program are cost-shared between the Federal Government and local governments. I think that's a good thing. The program is being zeroed out despite the fact that we have an unfunded Federal commitment of more than $1 billion for 297 cost-shared projects in 39 States, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These projects would help to reduce flood damage in 320 communities, improve agriculture water supply in 80 communities, and improve water quality in 132 streams.

Clearly, the national reach of this program is apparent from the numbers I just cited. In fact, I have a list of the 41 States and the Pacific islands that have been helped by this program, including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas--the list goes on.

States and the local governments have worked together with NRCS, and they put up their own funds to construct flood control and water development projects. I don't think it is fair to leave these local governments holding the bag while the Federal Government just walks away from these commitments. Even shutting down projects of course costs money, and we can't leave them just halfway done on these projects. How can we just walk away from these projects before realizing the economic and environmental benefits they were designed to deliver?

I urge my colleagues to support funding for this important program. It affects 40 States plus Pacific islands.

I will submit for the Record a list of unfunded Federal commitments to authorized watershed projects in so many of our States.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 2055, the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2012. This bipartisan bill passed the Appropriations Committee by unanimous voice vote, and I urge my colleagues to support it on the House floor today.

To support those who have put their lives on the line for our country, this bill provides disability payments, pensions, survivors' benefits, and education benefits under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.

The ward in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a major toll on our brave men and women in uniform. We must take care of our veterans' mental and physical health needs as they return home and transition to civilian life.

Today's bill provides $129.7 billion for the Veterans Affairs Department for Fiscal Year 2012. The Veterans Health Administration serves over 4 million patients. Continuing the practice the Democratic Congress started in 2009, the bill provides advance appropriations for VA medical accounts for both the next and the following fiscal years. Our veterans deserve the certainty of knowing there will be enough funds, in advance, for the care they have earned and deserve.

Of the more than 50,000 veterans in my district--rural Oahu and the Neighbor Islands--many live in rural areas. The veterans I have met with cite difficulty in getting to medical care in Honolulu from the Neighbor Islands, as well as not enough services on their own islands. Today's bill includes $250 million for innovations to improve health care assess for rural veterans. These include providing VA outpatient care through community-based outpatient clinics and completing a feasibility study on mobile health services, home-based care, and telemedicine.

Today's bill also provides $11.5 billion for military construction, a 4 percent increase over current levels. Hawaii has many military bases, and this bill will support the construction of housing and other facilities on our bases, sending a positive ripple effect throughout Hawaii's economy.

Today I am voting for the LaTourette amendment on Project Labor Agreements. This amendment would restore President Obama's executive order encouraging Federal agencies to consider requiring Project Labor Agreements for construction contracts. Project Labor Agreements are short-term agreements for the length of a project that can reduce projects' costs and duration. Project Labor Agreements strengthen project quality by helping the Federal Government specify the project requirements in advance. This is the third time this year that this Congress has tried to undermine Project Labor Agreements. Fortunately, amendments to preserve Project Labor Agreements passed the last two times; I hope the LaTourette amendment will also pass.

I am opposing the Amash amendment that would try yet again to eliminate Davis-Bacon prevailing wage protections. This is yet another attack on working families. The Davis-Bacon Act prevents contractors from driving down wages and benefits in an area. Amendments to eliminate Davis-Bacon protections have failed again and again this year, and I hope the Amash amendment will meet the same fate.

Overall, the underlying bill supports our veterans and military construction in Hawaii, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I rise in opposition to the underlying bill.

Ours is a compassionate country. We have leaders who can put themselves in the shoes of Americans who are struggling, doing their best. We have compassionate leaders on both sides of the aisle. This is why it is so inexplicable that the underlying bill, as well as bill after bill brought by the Republican majority to this floor, makes cuts after huge cuts to people's programs--not corporate programs, not programs that hit Wall Street, but people's programs. And again today, in this agriculture spending bill, we are targeting cuts that hit women, infants, children and seniors in Hawaii and nationwide.

In my district in Hawaii, 19.5 percent of our residents experienced food hardship in the last year. Let me repeat: nearly one in five people in my district did not have enough money to buy food that they and their family needed in 2010. Today's bill would cut crucial nutrition programs for thousands of Hawaii's most vulnerable and hundreds of thousands all across the country. And while the richest in our country continue to get billions in tax breaks and the oil companies continue to get their billions in tax breaks, why are we balancing the budget on the backs of women, infants, children and seniors?

First, today's bill makes a $650 million cut to the women, infants and children, WIC, nutrition program for fiscal year 2012. This would cut as many as 350,000 eligible low-income women and young children from the program. WIC provides nutritious food, counseling on healthy eating, and health referrals to pregnant, postpartum and breast-feeding women and their children under age five. This program has had well- documented success in improving the nutrition and health of families in poverty. WIC has reduced low-weight births, anemia and hunger. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of 350,000 women and their children who depend on this program.

Second, the Emergency Food Assistance Program supports food banks on all of our islands and across the Nation to support the hungry. I have visited many of the food banks in my State, in my district; and we know that there is a growing need. There are many, many more families now relying on food banks; and yet this bill cuts $12 million from food banks at a time of great, great need. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of the hundreds of thousands of families all across our country who are relying on food stamps.

Third, today's bill cuts 20 percent from the Commodities Supplemental Food Program, which provides food packages to over 600,000 people nationwide, and 96 percent of these recipients are low-income seniors. You've heard others say ending tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires for just 1 week alone would save $866 million. That is enough to support poor women, infants and children for the entire year. And when we say this bill brought to us by the Republicans literally takes food from babies to give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, we are not engaging in hyperbole. This is what is happening in this bill.

Let's get our priorities in order. Balancing the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable is totally indefensible when we are giving tax breaks to those people, the richest people in our country, corporations that are making billions of dollars. It's indefensible. And where do we live? Do we live on Wall Street? People who want this bill, I think they live on Wall Street. Well, those of us who are opposing this bill,

we live on Main Street. That's where the majority of our people live; they live on Main Street. They expect us to support those people-- working people, families, women and children all living on Main Street.

I urge my colleagues to oppose these anti-people, wrong-headed, downright cruel cuts to low-income women, infants, children and seniors all across our country.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the irresponsible cuts this bill makes to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission budget and in support of the DeLauro amendment which allows us to debate this issue.

These cuts to CFTC indicate that the majority believes that CFTC can carry out its duties with even less funding this year than they had last year, or that their duties aren't of great importance to the American people to begin with.

For those of us who may have forgotten, the financial crisis was the result of some very bad bets, bets made by Wall Street firms in the unregulated $300 trillion derivatives market. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the collapse of the mortgage market, and the bailout of AIG and other firms are all a result of these bad bets. The 14 million unemployed, the still weak job market, and the tremendous loss of hard- earned home equity and retirement savings are also a result of these bad bets. That is why we worked so hard this last Congress to pass the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This act gives CFTC tremendous responsibility for making sure that the public never again has to bail out the Wall Street firms that rolled the dice with taxpayers ending up holding the bag.

CFTC's new responsibilities are important, and so is the job that CFTC already does. The current role of the CFTC is to regulate the commodity futures and options markets in the United States. What began as a market for buying and selling agricultural products has become a complex, wide-ranging market for financial contracts. These contracts are based on commodities like oil, wheat, livestock, metal, and cotton, the types of products that we all use every single day. We have to prevent unnecessary increases in the cost of these necessities, increases brought about by speculation.

Preventing speculative price increases for basic necessities is vital to consumers in Hawaii. As the only island State in the Nation, we must import 85 percent of our food and 90 percent of the oil we use for energy. We know what $6 a gallon gasoline is like in some parts of my district, and we constantly face higher prices than the mainland for food.

So I am strongly opposed to underfunding CFTC, the cop on the beat that watches out for price manipulation. Without a strong CFTC, prices will increase for our basic necessities while speculators pocket millions of dollars. Make no mistake about that. We know this is true because the oil executives, themselves, have told us this is so. At a recent congressional hearing, the Exxon CEO testified that oil should ``only'' cost--``only,'' that should be in quotations--$60 to $70 a barrel. Instead, the price has hovered around $100. Why? Because of speculation.

Clearly, to protect the public from fraud, manipulation, abusive practices, and systemic risks, we need to fully fund the President's request for CFTC. This bill not only cuts $30 million from the current CFTC budget, it seeks to deny the agency the vital resources that it needs to meet its new responsibilities under Dodd-Frank. This bill is a de facto repeal of Dodd-Frank. What the Republican majority can't do up front, which is repealing Dodd-Frank, they are seeking to do by the back door by making sure CFTC can't do its job as the cop on the beat.

To keep things in perspective, the Republicans are taking a meat ax to people's programs to address the $14 trillion debt, and yet they are perfectly happy to give Wall Street traders a $300 trillion unregulated playground. Talk about going backwards. Cutting the funding for an agency with such important responsibilities is a roll of the dice, and, again, the people of America will be the ones who lose.

Once again I ask: Where do we live--on Wall Street, which is where cutting CFTC is, or on Main Street, where the rest of us live?

I urge my colleagues to vote against the underlying legislation and the defunding of CFTC.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a bill that will significantly improve traffic safety and mobility in our national parks and other public recreational lands through increased funding and expanded authorities. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, the Transportation Infrastructure Improvements on Federal Lands Act of 2011.

Our national parks contain some of the most important and valuable historic, cultural, and natural treasures in our country. Millions of visitors flock to these parks every year. Yet safe access to and movement around these sites are compromised by severe and chronic underfunding and irrational provisions in current law.

The state of park transportation systems is deplorable. A recent assessment by the National Park Service (NPS) found that 90 percent of the park roads are in poor or fair condition. This compares with 14 percent for major rural roads in the overall federal-aid highways system. One person is killed or injured on a park road every 4.5 hours. If the National Park System were a state, it would rank 13th highest for road fatalities and injuries among all the states.

The NPS received $240 million in FY2010 through the Park Roads and Parkways program to build, repair, and rehabilitate roads and bridges, less than a third of what the NPS estimates it needs to provide safe and efficient access for visitors. My legislation would double the annual funding to accelerate the retirement of the growing road repair backlog now estimated at $4.9 billion.

The poor state of park roads is not caused by insufficient funding alone. Under current

law, Federal highway funds can be used for reconstruction and rehabilitation, but not for regular maintenance that would help extend the life of roadways and preserve taxpayers' investments. Consequently, maintenance of roads and bridges is deferred until they have deteriorated to the point where they qualify for major rehabilitation or reconstruction, at far greater expense. Visitors are put at risk when they try to drive around potholes that are too common on our park roads. My legislation would make regular maintenance of park roads eligible for federal highway funding.

As our national parks become increasingly crowded, alternative transportation systems are being relied upon to a much greater extent to help move visitors around. Unfortunately, that program is also severely underfunded. A third major focus of my bill would raise the annual funding level for the federal public lands transit program from the current $24 million to $100 million, with 60 percent of it being targeted for qualified projects in national parks.

Visitors from throughout our country and around the world are discovering the natural, cultural, and historic wonders that are embodied in our national parks. Their experience should not be diminished, and their safety certainly should not be placed at risk, while they visit our national parks. I urge you to join me in sponsoring this legislation to improve visitor safety and enjoyment of our parks through improved maintenance and management of its transportation systems.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce two versions of the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, both of which will provide for the expedited reunification of the families of our Filipino World War II veterans.

The first version I am introducing is a companion to S. 1141, a bill recently introduced by Senator Daniel K. Akaka. I am introducing this bill in acknowledgement of his leadership on this issue.

The second version I am introducing is identical to earlier versions of the bill that I have introduced in the 110th and 111th Congresses. S. 1141 differs from these earlier versions of the bill in that it provides that the petitions filed by the sponsoring Filipino veteran shall remain valid regardless of whether the petitioning parent is living or dead.

As you know, Filipino veterans are those that honorably answered the call of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served alongside our armed forces during World War II. They fought shoulder to shoulder with American servicemen; they sacrificed for the same just cause. We made a promise to provide full veterans' benefits to those who served with our troops. And while we have recently made appreciable progress toward fulfilling that long-ignored promise, we have not yet achieved the full equity that the Filipino veterans deserve.

In 1990, the Congress recognized the courage and commitment of the Filipino World War II veterans by providing them with a waiver from certain naturalization requirements. Many veterans thereafter became proud United States citizens and residents of our country. However, allowances were not made for their children and many have been waiting decades for petition approval.

The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act would allow for the further recognition of the service of the veterans by granting their children a special immigration status that would allow them to immigrate to the United States and be reunified with their aging parents. It is important to note that the Filipino soldiers who fought under the command of General Douglas McArthur at this critical time in our nation's history represent a unique category. These soldiers were members of the United States Armed Forces of the Far East. They were led to believe that at the end of the conflict they would be treated the same as American soldiers. It took more than sixty years to begin to make good on our commitment. The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act recognizes the special circumstances of this group of soldiers.

I look forward to working with my colleagues by providing for the reunification of our Filipino World War II veterans with their families.

Mr. Speaker, many of us come to the floor to talk about how important small businesses are to job creation. It's true. In Hawaii, 98 percent of our businesses are considered small businesses; these small businesses provide two out of every three new jobs. The men and women who take the risk of starting a business create jobs for our neighbors while providing the goods and services vital to our quality of life Today, I want to take a minute to recognize an important anniversary for one of the many unsung heroes of Hawaii's business community.

This month, Wally Miura celebrates 50 years in business. In 1961, he opened a flooring business, Wally's Flooring, in Kalihi. After 37 successful years, Wally decided it was time to retire so he sold his building on Hau Street. He took a one year lease on a warehouse in Mapunapuna to store his inventory. That was in 1998.

Retirement never really took hold. Wally turned his storage space into an office and showroom and is still in business today. He says he's going to retire this year--we'll see. As a former customer, I know he will be missed by the many Hawaii businesses and families that have relied on his excellent service over the years.

Wally is modest, kind, and a very good businessman. In Hawaii, it's not just about who provides the lowest price. You want to work with someone who is proud of his company and stands behind his product and his work. That's Wally. I don't know how many jobs Wally has created over the past 50 years, how many young employees he mentored, or families he helped support with his business, but I am sure that he has had a positive effect on many, many lives.

In addition to being an exemplary businessman, Wally has been a leader in the building industry. He has been involved in many building associations and has served as president of the Honolulu Neighborhood Housing Service. Wally has also served on the advisory board to Ho`opono, Services for the Blind Branch, Hawaii Vocational Rehabilitation Division.

Mahalo nui loa, Wally. You are a great example of the small business owners whose vision, willingness to take a risk, and hard work are so essential to our economy and way of life.

Mr. Speaker, on June 7th, 2011, former Technical Sergeant Shinyei Rocky Matayoshi will go the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism during World War II as a member of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army. This marks the 29th Distinguished Service Cross awarded to the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Rocky was born in 1924 in the sugar plantation town of Koloa on the island of Kauai. He was a senior at Kauai High School when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Shortly after the attack, Rocky's father was arrested and sent to a detention center for Japanese Americans in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Rocky left school to work for the sugar plantation to help with the war effort and support his family.

When the call for volunteers for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was announced in February 1942, Rocky was one of three in his community to volunteer. He hoped that by volunteering and demonstrating his loyalty, his father would be allowed to come home to care for his five other children. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Rocky was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion of the 442nd. He began as a private and through diligence and hard work was promoted to Technical Sergeant of the 3rd Platoon. Following his training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, Rocky went with his unit to Italy in June 1944. He participated in every campaign in Italy and France and reported for roll call every day except for two days when he was confined to the field hospital for illness.

Rocky's combat philosophy was to serve as his own scout--and to take the highest risk assignments for himself. He led by example, displaying courage and leadership, which his men accepted and respected.

I quote from the citation awarding the Distinguished Service Cross to Technical Sergeant Shinyei ``Rocky'' Matayoshi:

For extraordinary heroism in action:

Technical Sergeant Shinyei Matayoshi distinguished himself

by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the

call of duty while serving as a Platoon Sergeant in Company

G, 2d Battalion, 442d Regimental Combat Team during combat

operations against an armed enemy on Mount Belvedere, Italy.

On 7 April 1945, Technical Sergeant Matayoshi ordered his

Platoon to advance up the steep slopes of Mount Belvedere to

seize the heavily fortified forest areas that were under

enemy control. As the Platoon approached the elevated ridge

line, Technical Sergeant Matayoshi's Platoon was attacked by

intense machine gun fire from at least five enemy machine gun

nests from frontal, left and right flanks. Technical Sergeant

Matayoshi did not waiver despite enduring an overabundance of

devastating automatic and small arms fire while attacking the

first machine gun nest. While suppressing the enemy with his

Thompson machine gun and throwing hand grenades, he killed

four enemy soldiers and took one prisoner. Despite the

intensive barrage of enemy firepower, directed against him,

Technical Sergeant Matayoshi moved forward leading the direct

assault destroying three other machine gun nests, killing or

wounding approximately fifteen enemy soldiers, some at as

close as a five meter range. Technical Sergeant Matayoshi

secured the key terrain, which paved the way for the

Battalion's pursuit of the retreating enemy soldiers.

Technical Sergeant Matayoshi's selfless leadership,

courageous actions, and extraordinary devotion to duty are in

keeping with the finest traditions of military service and

reflect great credit upon himself, Company G, 2d Battalion,

442d Regimental Combat Team, and the Army of the United

States.

When I read this, I am struck by the courage and willingness to sacrifice shown by Sgt. Matayoshi and all the other young Japanese American men under his command. At age 21, with his father held in a detention camp for the crime of being of Japanese ancestry, Rocky willingly offered his life in defense of liberty and, most important, of the United States. These young men were patriots in the true sense of the word.

In addition to the Distinguished Service Cross and the Congressional Gold Medal recently bestowed on all members of the 442nd and 100th Battalion, Rocky received the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service, the Purple Heart Medal, a Presidential Unit Citation, a Meritorious Unit Citation, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic- Pacific Campaign Medal with one Bronze Service Star, the European- African Campaign Medal with 4 Bronze Service Stars and one Arrowhead, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.

Rocky married Elsie Goya of Honolulu, and they have four children. After attending Wilson Community College and the Illinois Institute of Technology, Rocky worked in an auto body shop and part-time at a gas station. His children all earned full scholarships to fund their undergraduate degrees. Two of his children earned doctorates--one in physiology and the other in biophysics--and another earned a masters degree in biology, all on fellowships.

Congratulations, Rocky, on receiving this overdue recognition. You and your brothers in arms taught America a vital lesson that is still valid today. Being an American is not a matter of one's ethnic heritage or race--it is defined by patriotism and a willingness to sacrifice for one's country. Anyone who questions the patriotism of Americans of different ethnic backgrounds must confront the example of the Japanese American heroes of World War II.

Thank you for your selfless service to our nation.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of increased funding for important state and local grant programs which have been irresponsibly slashed in this bill.

This bill consolidates nine distinct grant programs into one and cuts the overall funding level by 55 percent from FY 2011 levels.

This bill cuts programs that our communities rely on to detect and prevent terrorism, train emergency responders, secure transit and ports, and address other critical needs.

Have the threats our communities face diminished by 55 percent in the past year?

No.

In fact, in the past few months we have dealt with numerous natural disasters--tsunamis, tornadoes, and floods.

Early today, 40 Honolulu Firefighters were called to extinguish a fire that damaged three businesses in Hawaii--which they did successfully.

And even with the death of Osama Bin Laden, we all know that we must remain vigilant against the likelihood of possible terrorist attacks.

If anything, we should be increasing funding for detecting, preventing, and responding to these types of threats.

Instead, the majority's cut and consolidate proposal will undermine Hawaii's preparedness. This bill will prevent Hawaii from receiving Urban Area Security Initiative funds, which have been crucial to our ability to detect and guard against terrorist attacks, and prepare for natural and man-made disasters.

Additionally, port and transit security funds received a combined $500 million in FY 2011. Under this ``cut and consolidate'' proposal, these programs now must compete with seven other programs for a total allocation of $1 billion.

This bill as written fails to adequately address a key objective of the Department of Homeland Security--ensuring that our nation is prepared for unforeseen emergencies.

The National Association of Counties also opposes this ``cut and consolidate'' approach. I request that a letter I received from the Association outlining its concerns be included in the Record.

I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting amendments like this one and providing adequate resources to keep our communities safe.

National Association of Counties,

May 25, 2011.

Hon. John A. Boehner,

Speaker, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Eric Cantor,

Majority Leader, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Nancy Pelosi,

Minority Leader, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Steny Hoyer,

Minority Whip, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Members: On behalf of National Association of Counties

(NACo) and the elected and appointed officials we represent

from our nation's 3068 counties, we write to urge you to

protect essential public safety funding for our communities

as you debate the FY2012 Depaituient of Homeland Security

(DHS) appropriations bill on the House floor soon.

Specifically, we strongly urge you to fund DHS State and

Local Programs, Fire Grants, SAFER Grants at FY 2010 or even

2011 levels. Additionally, we ask that you oppose efforts to

consolidate DHS State and local programs into a single line

item and allow future grant awards to be distributed at the

discretion of the DHS Secretary.

Currently, these programs assist States, local governments

and public safety agencies in securing our borders, enforcing

our immigration laws, improving our nation's preparedness,

prevention, response, and recovery from all hazard threats.

Furthermore, these programs have assisted in expanding

regional collaboration at all levels of government and public

safety disciplines, strengthening information sharing,

enhancing interoperable communications capabilities,

supporting medical surge and mass prophylaxis capabilities

and increasing citizen preparedness.

Since September 11, all communities--of all sizes have had

to enhance their level of preparedness to deal with all

hazards threats, including potential nuclear, chemical, and/

or biological attacks. This effort has continued and requires

a great deal of state and local planning, coordination and

investment by all stakeholders. Recent and past natural

catastrophic disasters affecting our states and local

communities and intelligence that showcases foreign

terrorists' willingness to target both large and small

communities further strengthens our resolve that now is not

the time to reduce or consolidate these critical programs.

While we understand the severity of the federal budget

challenges that must be addressed, we strongly believe it is

imperative that we remain vigilant about meeting our public

safety commitments to our nation's citizens. States and local

governments can only achieve the highest level of

preparedness, response and recovery if the federal government

properly continues to fund these critical programs.

Preserving these funds will continue to aid state and local

governments in our efforts to implement statewide and

regional strategies, provide necessary resources to our first

responders, and enhance basic levels of prevention and

preparedness across the nation. Thank you for your

consideration, and we again urge you to protect essential

public safety funding for our communities as you begin

deliberations.

Sincerely,

B. Glen Whitley,

President, National Association of Counties.

Larry E. Naake,

Executive Director, National Association of Counties.

Mr. Speaker, aloha. I rise today in support of S. Con. Res. 16, which authorizes the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor's Center for the 42nd Annual Kamehameha Day Lei Draping.

I would like to thank Speaker Boehner, Chairman Lungren, and Ranking Member Brady for their support of this bill. The location of the Kamehameha statue in Emancipation Hall requires that a concurrent resolution be passed to authorize the use of the space for this event.

The Kamehameha Day Lei Draping has been hosted by the Hawaii Congressional Delegation and the Hawaii State Society of Washington D.C. since 1969. The event has been held on or about June 11th to coincide with the celebration of Kamehameha Day, a state holiday in Hawaii. This year, the event will be held on Sunday, June 5.

Born in 1758, Kamehameha was the first monarch to unify the Hawaiian Islands and is fondly remembered as a leader who was daring, strong, and courageous.

As King of all Hawaii, Kamehameha appointed governors for each island, made laws for the protection of all his people, planted taro, built houses and irrigation ditches, restored important cultural sites, encouraged industries like farming and fishing, managed the island's natural resources, and entered into trading agreements with other nations. The flag design he ordered for his kingdom later became the Seal of the State of Hawaii. He would rule the islands until his death in 1819.

I would like to close by thanking the staff of the Committee on House Administration, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, and the Office of the Sergeant At Arms who each year help make this event possible. I urge my colleagues support of S. Con. Res. 16.

Mahalo nui loa (thank you).

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 378, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''