Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, as founder of the Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports, I rise to commemorate

the National Youth Sports Week we celebrate and to recognize 50 million children who participate in youth sports.

It is fitting this year that National Youth Sports Week falls on the eve of the Summer Olympic Games, because many Olympians, like Andy Roddick, Misty May-Treanor, Ryan Lochte, and Sanya Richards Ross, all began their careers as young athletes. Sports can make a difference in a child's life. Student athletes make better grades, they get in less trouble, and they are less likely to be obese. Sports can build character and teach values like sportsmanship, teamwork, civility, respect, and discipline.

We cannot recognize the players without thanking the coaches and volunteers who mentor these kids, folks like my chief of staff, Dean Mitchell; my pastor, who is here today, Matt Rich, with whom my son Stephen has coached; and all the many others who give their time and their efforts to help our young people.

Not all youth athletes grow up to be Olympians, but youth sports can shape the lives of all of us and make us better citizens, whatever our callings in life. May God grant that none of us are ever too busy to help a child.

And I leave you with a final thought: Go Team USA!

Madam Chairman, I rise to speak in favor of the amendment that Congressman Manzullo and I have introduced to improve H.R. 4078, the Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act.

Our amendment would make a sensible and needed adjustment to our Nation's regulatory policy by requiring that Federal agencies develop guidelines to maximize the quality and integrity of scientific information used in the regulatory process. This is a goal not only supported by many Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, but also by the administration.

In March of 2009, the President issued a memorandum directing the Office of Science and Technology to require Federal departments and agencies to develop procedures for restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making.

At the beginning of last year, the President issued Executive Order 13563, which stated that each agency ``shall ensure the objectivity of any scientific and technological information and process used to support the agency's regulatory actions.''

Our amendment, which is based on bipartisan legislation that Congressman Manzullo and I introduced earlier this year, builds on the President's action, has bipartisan support, and codifies the requirement that the Director of the Office of Science and Technology compel each Federal agency to develop guidelines regarding the scientific information used by Federal agencies.

Additionally, this amendment would clarify that scientific information be supported by peer review, when appropriate, ensure that scientific studies used in decision-making be disclosed to the public, and require an opportunity for stakeholder input. This is just common sense.

It requires Federal agencies to give the greatest weight to information based on reproducible data that is developed in accordance with the scientific method.

Finally, this would provide grounds for any agency's actions that violate these integrity guidelines, that they have to be deemed arbitrary and subject to challenge by the affected stakeholders. This commonsense amendment requires maximizing the quality and integrity of scientific information used in the regulatory process, and I encourage my colleagues to adopt this bipartisan amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize STUNT, a new competitive team sport which focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheerleading, including stunts, basket tosses, and tumbling.

With more than 800,000 cheerleaders in the United States, USA Cheer created this NCAA emerging sport to provide new opportunities for female athletes to compete at the high school and collegiate level, while still allowing traditional cheerleading to remain a vital and important part of the schools' spirit program.

There are 22 colleges that have already participated in the national championships, with this number poised to expand significantly by next year. As cochairman of the Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports, it is my distinct pleasure to highlight the success of STUNT and to commend the inaugural players of this sport. Your pioneering efforts will inspire and generate excitement amongst the next generation of potential STUNT athletes. May God bless you for your efforts to involve more young female athletes in healthy physical activities and sports.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise and ask you to join me in recognizing Captain Wilbur D. Jones, of Wilmington, North Carolina, who has earned the StarNews Lifetime Achievement Award. The StarNews Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2003 to honor individuals who have given substantially of themselves for the improvement of the communities of Southeastern North Carolina. Captain Jones is very worthy of this honor, and I salute him for his legacy of service to our state and nation.

Captain Jones stands out as a distinguished former member of the United States Navy, historian, preservationist and award-winning author and lecturer. Born in the middle of the Great Depression, Captain Jones was only seven years old at the outset of World War II, but this history-shaping era sparked an on-going passion for military history within him that continues to this day.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Captain Jones made the decision to enroll in Officer Candidate School. Beginning in 1956, he served as both a Regular Navy and Ready Reserve officer, finally retiring in 1984. During this time his tact for leadership earned him the rank of Naval Captain. He honorably commanded two Reserve units with the same dedication and strong, personal leadership that he is known for today. As Captain Jones said himself, ``Remembering how I began, I was born to be a military historian and career Armed Forces Officer in service to my country.''

Concurrently with his service to our nation, Captain Jones spent 41 years in the U.S. Department of Defense, while maintaining a role as a civilian professor and Associate Dean of Information at the Defense Acquisition University. His service included more than seven years in the Pentagon as a Captain on active duty and as a civilian assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition. His career took him and his family around the globe, but Captain Jones returned to his home of Wilmington, North Carolina in 1997, where he remains today.

These unique experiences would later serve him well in his role as a historian, author, lecturer and preservationist. He has produced an impressive and important collection of works on World War II. To date, he has authored 17 books on military history and national defense, along with collecting and publishing innumerable research papers, encyclopedia entries, interviews and photographic documentaries.

With his natural energy and intelligence, Captain Jones is not just North Carolina's treasure, but also a treasure to our country. The StarNews Lifetime Achievement Award Captain Jones receives today is a major honor, and is also just one of the many awards that Captain Jones has earned in his lifetime, from the National Defense Medal, North Carolina Historian of the Year, Senior Service Award, and countless others recognizing the quality of his writing, research and dedication to leadership.

Captain Wilbur D. Jones serves as an example across generations by acting as a man of courage, a man of duty, and a man who is devoted to serving his homeland. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank you for allowing me to honor one of North Carolina's most distinguished Naval Officers and historians, and I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing a man whom North Carolina and the United States is proud to call their own.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a truly outstanding North Carolinian, Finley Read, of Lumberton, North Carolina. Coach Read has dedicated over twenty years coaching and administrative work Lumberton High School, which is my alma mater. Coach Read deserves to be honored here today for his tireless contribution to the community of Lumberton. I ask that you join me in recognizing his long and remarkable career.

Coach Read enrolled and graduated from NC State University, where he was active in the football program. His impressive record during this time was interrupted only to serve our country in the U.S. Army. After returning to Lumberton, Coach Read became a high school teacher and multi-sport coach for the Lumberton Pirates, where he remained for two decades. In addition to his role as an administrator, Coach Read has bettered his community in countless ways. Through his leadership in football, baseball, and basketball, Coach Read has touched the lives of many Lumberton High students. He has been quite influential in our community, where he is known for his integrity and kindness.

Recently, the loss of long-time colleague and close friend, Coach Alton ``Turmey'' Brooks, left a hole in the lives of Lumberton High School students. His passing galvanized the community to honor Coach Brooks, which in turn has reminded us of the quiet, humble integrity of Coach Finley Read. His award today from the community of Lumberton comes in the form of a pirate ship, in recognition of his winning leadership for the Lumberton Pirates. His friends, former colleagues, and students from all walks of life have come together to praise him for role as a successful mentor, devout Christian, loving husband, and dedicated father.

I have known Coach Read all of my life, and I have personally witnessed and experienced Coach Read's powerful and positive influence in many different settings--from teaching me and other youngsters how to swim at Woodside Pool when I was in the third grade, to his giving me the opportunity to serve as Manager of the Pirates baseball team while I was in high school, to my work with him as a fellow Elder in our home church, First Presbyterian, in Lumberton. Coach Read, his wife Ruth, and all of his children, Kathy, Carey, and Allison, are dear friends that my family and I have long-known and respected.

Mr. Speaker, Coach Finley Read has mentored students in Robeson County for decades. As Co-founder and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports, I especially appreciate the work Coach Finley Read has done to make our community a better and healthier place. I wish Coach Read and his family God's richest blessings, and I ask that you join me today in recognition of his impressive career.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with sorrow today following the passing of Ralph Potter of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Mr. Potter was a proprietor of almost fifty restaurants in the Carolinas, beloved member of the community, devoted family man, dear friend, and effective public servant. Mr. Potter passed away on June 2, 2012 at the age of 75, and he will be dearly missed.

Ralph Potter grew up in Wilmington, attended New Hanover High School, and then enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was the first in his family to graduate from college. He went on to earn his juris doctor from UNC School of Law, which he would later use to serve his community as the president of the state restaurant association. His strong work ethic and intelligence helped earn him the Methodist University's Entrepreneur and Businessman of the Year award, and his restaurants can now be found throughout North and South Carolina. Outside of business, Mr. Potter was devoted to his family, to his church and his community, and he will long remain a well-known and influential figure in Fayetteville.

Mr. Potter was very active in the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association as a reflection of his proud Greek heritage, and supported education efforts through his such as the Ira Douglas Potter Memorial and Ralph M. Potter Scholarship Funds at UNC, as well as a scholarship fund at Salem College. He pushed for the creation of the first Cumberland County Public library, along with his roles at the board of trustees of Fayetteville Academy and ARC of Cumberland County. He always worked hard to address community challenges in Fayetteville, and always did so with humor and kindness.

Mr. Potter was also recognized for his deep faith in Christ, and was active at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. There he taught Bible study, established the Paris and Potter Endowment Fund for the church, and became a godfather for the church at its consecration. We know today that he is resting at home in peace and joy with his Savior.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Potter was a personal friend of mine and I have the utmost respect for his integrity, business acumen and his strong commitment to church and community. May we never forget the goodness, humility, service, and character that defined his life. He is survived by his wife, Dena Fasul Potter, son Nicholas D. Potter, daughter Rebecca Cooke and numerous grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews. May God continue to bless all of his loved ones, the work he did, and the greatness that he inspired within all who knew him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a tremendous public servant, Deputy Sheriff Dewayne Charles Hester, who served the people of Bladen County as a law enforcement officer for more than a decade. The Bladenboro community recently and unexpectedly lost this dear friend and beloved lawman, but his influence and compassion for the people he served will live on. I rise today to honor him and pay tribute to his memory.

Deputy Hester's career in law enforcement began in the City of Elizabethtown Police Department, and his hard work earned him the title of Sheriff's Deputy with the Bladen County Sheriff's Department. Deputy Hester was well-respected for his dedication to keeping the citizens of Bladen County safe.

Deputy Hester made a lasting mark on his community, our state and our nation. We all owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude, and we can best honor his memory by honoring his commitment to public service.

A man of faith, Hester was a member of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Bladenboro. We know today that he is resting at home in peace and joy with his Savior.

As a Member of the Law Enforcement Caucus, I have been personally aware of Deputy Hester's commitment and service. Following the tragedy befalling our friend and colleague, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, I benefitted from the professionalism, courtesies, and respect he showed as he provided protection for me during one of my ``Conversations with the Congressman'' meetings at the Town Hall in Elizabethtown. This was but one example of his answering the call of duty wherever and wherever he was needed.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a dedicated community leader, a friend to many throughout North Carolina and a wonderful husband, loving father, and dutiful son. Deputy Dewayne Hester will be dearly missed by his family--his wife, Tammie Hester; his daughters, Haley and Hannah Hester; his two brothers, Jamie and Kenneth; and his mother, Elfriede Hester.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time, and we will continue to remember him as an honorable man who gave his life in the line of duty.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to rise today to ask you to join me in recognizing the Whiteville High School baseball team of Whiteville, North Carolina, on being named North Carolina 2 A State Champions.

The Whiteville Wolfpack finished their season strong with a 16-game winning streak for a record of 26 5, including the championship game win over the 2011 returning State Champions. The Whiteville team also received the honors for All-Cape Fear region baseball coach of the year, Brett Harwood, and player of the year, Nathan Hood.

As founder of the Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports, a long-time little league coach and one who grew up playing baseball, I appreciate the dedication, determination, and teamwork that earned these players the esteemed title of State Champions. I am also impressed by Coach Brett Harwood who led this team to victory, as well as the parents of each player and the Whiteville community as a whole for supporting these young baseball players as they worked to achieve their dream.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the Whiteville High School baseball team, and wishing them the very best in all of their future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the work of the National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute. I am pleased to serve as an honorary member of the institute's leadership board.

In the United States, 50 million children participate in sports. Sports programs teach our children leadership and sportsmanship, help improve academics, and promote fitness and wellness for a lifetime, but more needs to be done to ensure the health and safety of our youth athletes.

They are increasingly susceptible to injuries, which is why the institute's work to advance and disseminate the latest research in keeping kids safe on the field is so critical. On June 1, the National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute met to launch a new call to action to all youth sports' stakeholders in America.

As founder and cochairman of the Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports, I applaud this effort. As inactivity remains alarmingly widespread, we must continue to expand sports and recreational opportunities that promote physical activity and wellness in the health of our children, but also always remember that their safety must remain paramount.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present for votes on June 5, 2012. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following ways: ``no'' on rollcall vote No. 315, ``no'' on rollcall vote No. 316, ``no'' on rollcall vote No. 317, and ``yes'' on rollcall vote No. 318.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on May 15, 2012. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall Nos. 250, 251, and 252.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say happy birthday to the United States Department of Agriculture, which celebrated its 150th birthday on May 15.

In my home State of North Carolina, we have contributed to our Nation's agricultural success, and the Seventh Congressional district is the most productive agricultural district in the State, with over $2.5 billion worth of agricultural products sold each year.

Because our farms and our farmers and our agribusinesses are so critical to our State's economy, it is vital that the USDA partner with us, as it does with States throughout our country, helping farmers manage risk; providing a safety net for producers who experience disasters from weather, pests, or price collapse; giving rural communities the tools they need to be able to make infrastructure improvements; investing in cutting-edge agricultural research at our country's premiere research institutions and land grant universities. These all allow for breakthroughs in crop science and animal agriculture.

Indeed, we say happy birthday to our USDA. We know that the State of North Carolina, and all of our States that benefit from its services, allow our farmers and our rural communities in rural America to enjoy the strong positive relationship to share our future together. Let's keep our farmers and our rural communities strong.

Mr. Chairman, as the ranking member of the Seapower

and Projection Forces Subcommittee, I want to thank Chairman Akin for his hard work in helping our subcommittee put together our portion of the FY 13 National Defense Authorization Act. Throughout the process, there was a strong bipartisan effort to deliver what is truly needed by our men and women in uniform.

There are a number of provisions with which I'm particularly pleased: The multiyear procurement authority for up to 10 Virginia Class attack submarines. This provision also gives incremental funding authority and restores advance procurement in FY 13 that will allow the Navy to procure a second Virginia class submarine in FY 13.

Also, the multiyear procurement authority for up to 10 DDG 51 Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers and the extension of the Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier incremental funding from 5 years to 6 years.

The bill also contains several Littoral Combat Ship provisions. However, I want to be clear that these provisions do not indicate that the subcommittee no longer supports the LCS program. These provisions simply ask the Navy to update the subcommittee on the program's status, and ask the GAO to analyze the program and ensure that any issues that previously have occurred will have been addressed and corrected. This will provide the Navy the opportunity to address any and all concerns that may still exist.

I want to thank our committee for its hard work, Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their excellent work and leadership. I also want to thank the HASC staff, Tom MacKenzie, Heath Bope, Phil MacNaughton and Emily Waterlander, and the personal staff, Justin Johnson, Blair Milligan and Kaitlin Helms, for their efforts and expertise throughout this authorization process.

This is a bill we could and ought to support, and stand up for our men and women in uniform. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

Thank you so much.

Mr. Speaker, I share with these dear friends today marking the passing into glory of Mr. Charles Chuck Colson. We new Chuck as a dear friend and Christian brother, author, radio commentator, and also one who challenged us all to think more about our world view.

With his passing, our Nation has lost an uncommon leader, a true example of

the transformative power of Jesus Christ, and a reminder of the beauty of second chances in life. While some will forever remember Mr. Colson for his role in the Watergate scandal, I will remember and honor him for the grace and perseverance with which he advocated for the least of these in our society: those that were marginalized, those who were seen as helpless.

With his work through Prison Fellowship, the world's largest organization for outreach to prisoners and former prisoners and prisoners' families, and through his inspirational books and commentaries, Chuck Colson touched thousands of lives and advocated tirelessly for programs that would not only address the physical needs of those in our Nation's prisons, but also their spiritual needs, as well.

In addition, Mr. Colson's daily radio show ``BreakPoint,'' during which he would share a commentary on the life of Christ and also on the Christian world view on the issues of the day, was such a challenge and an inspiration to me that as a young lawyer in southeastern North Carolina, in my hometown of Lumberton, I actually put copies of his ``BreakPoint'' commentaries out on the coffee table so that those clients and prospective clients who came to our law office would take time to hear from this lawyer, Chuck Colson, whose life had been so transformed by the experiences he had gone through.

When I think about his insights, it's because they were so challenging and so clear in their wisdom that they were so touching. His books challenge you to think deeply about your own calling in life: What was God calling you to do, and how could you take even the worst of experiences? I remember him describing looking out on the south lawn of the White House thinking he was just one door down from the President and the neatly manicured lawn. I remember Chuck two or three times in different testimonies describing that experience and thinking, You know, I've made it.

But then Chuck Colson went from the White House to the very depths of understanding what it meant to be in prison. But instead of letting that ruin his life after the Watergate scandal, he came out of that with his life being changed. His great book, ``Born Again,'' was a bestseller back in the 1970s when I was in college. And I still remember when my own father, who passed into glory last year, read that book. Along with other experiences that happened to my own father, that book, ``Born Again,'' told a story that my dad could identify with and that helped to change his life.

Having heard Chuck Colson speak at Montreat, where my own dad made his own Christian commitment, and hearing Chuck Colson speak at other events with the late Dr. D. James Kennedy down at Coral Ridge Ministries down in Florida, and being with Chuck so many times here on Capitol Hill, being part of the lecture series that my good friend mentioned just a moment ago--that I still remember he organized here on Capitol Hill and would invite Members of Congress to come and to think more deeply and challenge us to go beyond the politics of the issue.

Then in his monthly newsletter called ``Jubilee,'' he would have an editorial at the back that I regularly read and made sure that often I ripped that out and put it in a file because his thoughts were so provocative and challenging in terms of our own world view.

I also had the opportunity to get to know Chuck Colson and count him as a brother in Christ and as a friend, participating not only in the lecture classes here on Capitol Hill, but when he rewrote the book that he had written in 1982, ``Kingdoms in Conflict,'' which greatly touched my life as I thought about the possibility of one day maybe coming to this place. He rewrote that book on ``God and Politics,'' and challenged us to think about where we are in our faith as we deal with the tough times in the political world, so much so that my wife, Dee, asked me if for our 25th wedding anniversary that instead of a gift or going on a trip, could we be in the Centurion Program that Chuck Colson had where he had 100 citizens from around this Nation participate and spend an entire year studying the Christian world view on issues ranging from health care to business, from medicine to education, from law and government to issues within religion itself, and challenging us to study the biblical perspective and the Christian world view, and to think how we deal with those issues as Christians in the everyday world.

So with those 100 citizens from across the country, my wife and I spent a year studying under Chuck Colson's guidance and went to three different seminars that he hosted not too far from here in Washington. What an inspiration this man was because he didn't just teach and he didn't just talk, but he walked the walk and he changed lives by God's power in the process.

I know some of you here with us today--so often, we shared the night before the National Prayer Breakfast. Before we came and led the spiritual heritage tours here at the Capitol that so many hundreds of people have now done over the years, that we made it a regular habit to go to Chuck Colson's annual Prison Fellowship dinner that he had on the Wednesday night before the Thursday National Prayer Breakfast in February. And we looked forward as much to that as being central to the celebration of what the National Prayer Breakfast was all about because we knew the night before, Chuck Colson was having his annual dinner, usually honoring some great religious leader or reformer in society before we had our spiritual heritage tour back here at the Capitol.

He often also talked about his experience as a United States Marine at Camp LeJeune, just on the edge of my congressional district. And he also talked about the practical ways that faith can change your life. That's the great legacy I know Chuck Colson would be pleased with today. We're talking about a man not only who was a great author and speaker but a man whose life changed lives and made a difference.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Youth Sports Safety Month and the work of the National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute, NYSHSI. NYSHSI was formed in the fall of 2011 through a partnership between the American College of Sports Medicine and Sanford Health. I am pleased to serve as an honorary member of the Institute's Leadership Board. NYSHSI is dedicated to leading and advocating for the advancement and dissemination of the latest research and evidence-based education, recommendations and policy to enhance the experience, development, health and safety of our youth in sports. The need for this commitment is underscored by a recent poll that shows 91 percent of Americans feel sports participation is important for children and adolescents, and 94 percent feel more needs to be done to ensure the health and safety of youth athletes. These concerns have been fueled by reports of widespread escalating prevalence of exertional heat illness, concussion, and overuse, as well as other consequences and hazards of sports unnecessarily harming the health of our youth. I look forward to all the great work that is planned over the next year and beyond, beginning with NYSHSI's initial focus on these four key areas of emphasis: Sports Trauma, Environment, Overload/Overuse, Chronic Disease & Disabilities.

As Founder and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports, I believe the work of NYSHSI is extremely important to the youth of America participating in sport and as a complement to the mission and goals of the Caucus. During Youth Sports Safety Month and throughout the rest of the year, our young athletes urgently need leadership from NYSHSI, their peer organizations, and Members of Congress, so that youth sports in America can be fun, healthy and safe.