Floor Statements

I commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Maloney) for offering this motion to instruct and for his leadership on this most vital issue for the safety of the American people. I also want to commend the full committee chairman, Mr. Shuster, the ranking member of our subcommittee, Mr. Bishop, and the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Gibbs, for their tremendous work on the underlying bill and for getting this to the point at which we are today.

Madam Speaker, I am in strong support of the motion to instruct. This motion directs the conferees to recede to the Senate provision that includes the Dam Safety Act of 2013, which reauthorizes the Dam Safety program at reasonable levels.

The Dam Safety program is about protecting lives. It is a critical program that provides much-needed education, training, and assistance to State dam safety officials. Dams protect our people, our homes, and our businesses from flooding. They provide essential drinking water, power to homes and businesses, critical irrigation for our Nation's food supply, and recreational opportunities for our citizens. West Virginians understand the importance of dams, the role they play in our daily lives, and the critical need to keep them safe.

In 1972, a dam failure occurred at Buffalo Creek, West Virginia, claiming 125 lives and injuring 1,000 more, destroying over 500 homes and causing more than $400 million in property damage. While this incident occurred more than 40 years ago, West Virginians still remember the devastation caused by the dam failure and continue to mourn that loss of life. Out of this tragedy, Congress passed and created the National Inventory of Dams, which led to the National Dam Safety Program that this motion urges us to reauthorize today.

Today, West Virginia has more than 600 dams included in the Army Corps of Engineers' National Inventory of Dams. Two-thirds of these dams are considered high-hazard dams, meaning that dam failure would result in loss of life and do serious damage to homes, businesses, public utilities, or highways. Moreover, 110 of these high-hazard dams do not have an emergency action plan, putting the lives of West Virginia citizens at greater risk. This motion to instruct will ensure that the program and investment are in place to help States and other dam owners inspect their dams and develop the emergency action plans that are necessary to ensure the continued safety of our citizens.

Across the country, almost one-third of the Nation's 87,000 dams pose a high or a significant hazard to life and property if failure occurs, and these dams consistently receive failing grades from the American Society of Civil Engineers. This year is no different. The 2013 Engineers report card gives our dams a ``D.'' Let me repeat that--a ``D.'' Madam Speaker, it is critical that Congress reauthorize the National Dam Safety Program and ensure the safety of our citizens.

I, again, commend the gentleman from New York, Sean Patrick Maloney, and I urge my colleagues to join him in supporting the motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 3080.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to rise today in support of H.R. 1380, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. I commend Chairman Shuster, the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Gibbs, and our ranking member, Mr. Bishop, for the superb bipartisan way in which this legislation and the whole process has been handled.

This legislation does provide important direction to the Army Corps of Engineers to meet its mission objectives and reform their planning and construction processes while also investing in our water transportation infrastructure and creating jobs.

It has been 6 long years since we have passed Corps of Engineers water resources legislation. While Congress has had its back turned on our water infrastructure, Mother Nature has not been complacent. Since passage of the last WRRDA in 2007, the Nation has been challenged with floods, hurricanes, and droughts. Our aging locks, dams, and ports have too often been neglected. This bill before us today stops the ``finger in the dike'' solutions to our water infrastructure challenges and instead invests in these corridors of commerce.

It should be pointed out that H.R. 3080 is not your traditional type of WRRDA. It does not contain Member-directed projects, the traditional earmarks, but at least the bill does take a step forward in reclaiming our constitutional authority.

It is clear that in today's challenging fiscal times we have to find innovative

ways to get water projects funded and completed. The pending measure identifies the role of non-Federal sponsors in supporting and moving projects ahead. It provides a process to address the $60 billion construction backlog--that is with a ``B,'' billion--and addresses initial reform to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund program.

At its core, though, as the chairman has stated, this is a jobs bill. The investments contained in H.R. 3080 mean jobs in our maritime economy, as larger containerships will be able to call at our deepened ports to offload their cargo while filling their decks with American exports. It creates jobs moving commodities from farms, coal mines, and steel mills more efficiently down the inland waterways that crisscross our Nation. These investments also help protect our flood-prone complainants so that homes and businesses remain safe when the rivers unexpectedly rise.

I would like to thank, again, all members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on both sides of the aisle: Chairman Shuster, Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs, and especially our ranking member on our side of the aisle, Representative Tim Bishop, who has worked very hard on this legislation and knows its intricacies very well. Their hard work and dedication has developed a collaborative and bipartisan bill of which we all can be proud. I hope it is a model for future pieces of legislation. It certainly should be a model for this entire Congress.

I urge my colleagues to support the pending measure.

Without maintaining our waterways and harbors the Nation's ability to meet the global challenges for trade and commerce will be severely restricted. The only way to protect our citizens and avoid falling behind global trade competition is to invest in our water resources and infrastructure by passing H.R. 3080 today.

As I mentioned, this is not the bill that I would have written. But I would add that this is not the exact bill that Chairman Shuster would have written either had he acted alone. He chose instead to bring before the House a bill that received unanimous support in our Committee. As a result, many of the provisions in H.R. 3080 are likely to eventually feel the weight of law instead of serving as just another exercise in rhetoric on the House floor.

Mr. Chairman, I am very proud and happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop), our superb, super- superb ranking member.

Mr. Chairman, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), the ranking member on our freight panel.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

(Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Napolitano).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), a valued member of our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel), who has worked very hard on this legislation and does a superb job of representing her ports in southern Florida.

I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) and thank her for her tremendous input and help on this legislation as we developed the bill.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Chaka Fattah, a very powerful member of the House Appropriations Committee.

(Mr. FATTAH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority whip.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

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

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

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

Mr. Chairman, may I have the time remaining on both sides, please.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I am very happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), a very valuable member of our Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who has had tremendous input on this legislation.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to another gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer). This particular gentleman is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and has been a leader on that committee in discussions about financing this Nation's infrastructure, whether it be water port infrastructure or highway infrastructure, and I commend him for that leadership.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Nevada (Ms. Titus), a very valued member of our committee.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to yield Chairman Shuster an additional 2 minutes of my time for him to control.

Mr. Chairman, as we conclude this debate, I want to once again commend Chairman Shuster, Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs, and our ranking member, Mr. Bishop of New York, for the tremendous effort that has been made to bring this legislation where it is today.

It started out with Chairman Shuster's leadership early on in this Congress at the Member level. It spread to the staff level, and it has continued every day. It has been a transparent process and a process in which we have been in communication with one another. And as I said in the very beginning, I hope this will be a signal of how this committee will bring future pieces of legislation to the floor, and I just hope that it will be a signal to the entire Congress how we should be working closer together in a bipartisan fashion.

This legislation has a wide array of supporters. I have a list here of some five pages of labor, industry, and business supporters that have written members of our committee in strong support of the pending legislation. They include: the American Coal Ash Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Friends from labor, including carpenters, transportation trades, AFL-CIO, Laborers' International, and many other labor organizations have come together in support of this legislation.

And as I summarize and conclude my comments, I want to quote the president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, Mr. Ed Wytkind. He wrote members of our committee:

Real investment in harbor maintenance is vital to the

health of an industry that supports 500,000 jobs, plays a

critical role in expanding U.S. exports, and is the gateway

to international trade and humanitarian aid. H.R. 3080 will

help improve our maritime infrastructure and keep pace with

our international competitors, and will also create thousands

of good-paying construction and maritime jobs during what

remains a slow economic recovery. I urge you to vote in favor

of this important legislation.

I will conclude by again thanking Chairman Shuster for his superb leadership and join with all my colleagues in urging passage of this vital piece of legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, although I am not opposed to the amendment, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Chairman, Shuster amendment No. 1 provides for the expediting and completion of ongoing feasibility studies and authorizes the Corps of Engineers to move to pre-construction planning, engineering, and design. It directs the Corps of Engineers to consider nonstructural alternatives in the rebuilding of areas impacted by floods and storms.

I am in support of the amendment, and I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop).

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

Mr. Chairman, this amendment reflects the good work of many Members from both sides of the aisle and, again, reflects a bipartisan process followed by Chairman Shuster in assembling this important legislation.

It includes thoughtful language related to control of aquatic invasive species at the bipartisan request of several Members from the Great Lakes area and the west coast, language relating to promoting government efficiency and communicating potential risk of flooding, as well as several important requests for additional information related to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and how Congress can continue to address the backlog of unconstructed Corps projects.

I support the amendment and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California, Mr. Mike Thompson.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Pierluisi).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee.

Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, throughout the process of developing this water resources bill, Chairman Shuster has done a remarkable job of maintaining a balance between addressing future water resource needs of the Nation and coming to terms with those legacy projects and studies of the Corps of Engineers that may have languished over the decades. Unfortunately, the pending amendment would upset that balance, and it seeks to deauthorize a massive amount of projects that I would suggest continue to have strong local, congressional, and potentially administrative support.

While addressing the unconstructed backlog is an important issue, I urge opposition to this amendment that seeks to wipe away much of the good work of this body over the decades simply to make a point on fiscal conservatism. We all want to address the debt. It is a worthy goal. I agree with the gentleman's comments about passing that debt on to our children and grandchildren, but I suggest this is not the proper manner in which we are fair to our entire country and to the future infrastructure of this Nation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining?

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to Chairman Shuster.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop).

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

I thank the chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I really, really--I mean, I really reluctantly oppose this amendment. Some concerns have been raised about how the changes proposed in this amendment would affect the current process by which the Corps calculates future costs and benefits of potential projects.

The committee may need some additional time to better understand how these changes would be implemented and what the impact to project development would be. So, therefore, I really, really reluctantly oppose this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, some of my colleagues would have us believe that our current Federal shutdown has no real consequences. I have heard some even suggest that this period of suspended government should be thought of merely as a slowdown or a slimdown. There is talk that the shutdown is causing no real pain. The most extreme anti-government politicians even express the hope that such a cutback in government programs and services should be made permanent, and too many others are content to hang back and let those with extreme views have their way for the time being.

But I stand here today to remind my colleagues and the public that cuts in government funding and government programs have consequences, sometimes deadly. It is a lesson we learned in 2006 when annual coal mining deaths soared to 45, a 10-year high, reversing an 80-year trend of steadily falling fatalities, a trend attributed in part to years of underfunding the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

It is a lesson we should heed now. This year, as of September 4, 14 coal miners had died on the job in our country; and this past weekend alone, three coal miners lost their lives at work over 3 consecutive days, including one miner in West Virginia. Think about that. In the first 9 months of the year, 14 coal miners perished on the job. In the first 9 days of the government shutdown, three coal miners have perished.

Mr. Speaker, even one death is one too many. Now, no one has linked these recent deaths directly to the government shutdown, but the inability of this Congress to pass a simple bill to fund all the operations of our government has resulted in cutbacks of routine inspections that are essential to the complex system of safety oversight of this complex industry.

Miners and operators know that MSHA's multi-layered inspection and enforcement system has been hampered. Assistant Secretary Joe Main has said:

Three miners killed on 3 consecutive days is extremely

troubling. The fact that this occurred over a weekend when

there may have been a greater expectation that an MSHA

inspector would not be present is a red flag.

I hope that everyone in the coal industry, from the CEOs to the office staff, to security guards, to the coal miners themselves, will redouble their vigilance and take every possible step to ensure health and safety; and I urge my colleagues in this body to abandon this ridiculous political showdown that is undercutting the safety in our mines, our industrial facilities, our food chain, and so much more.

This is not a slowdown. It is not a slimdown. This is a politically driven shutdown, and it has real and dangerous consequences for the people who put their faith in us to provide them with basic services to ensure their well-being, to protect their lives, and to simply do the job that we have been elected to do: to lead.

Mr. Speaker, nobody in this House has wanted the government to shut down, as it has today. Indeed, Speaker Boehner himself predicted no government shutdown several months ago and was holding by that--until he became hijacked by a certain element of his party.

In May of 2007, President George Bush was President, the Democrats controlled the House and the Senate, and 140 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to defund the Iraq war. In September of the same year, Congress voted to increase the debt limit.

Now imagine if Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats had threatened to breach the debt limit unless the Republicans agreed to defund the Iraq war. At that time, approval of the Iraq war was polled at 33 percent in favor and 64 percent against.

So today is a sad day, in view of the fact that our government has shut down. It's a sad day for workers across this country--especially government workers. Those on the extreme right are happy about it. We read their quotes every day in the press. Michele Bachmann said:

We're very excited. It's exactly what we want. We got it.

Another Member on the majority side from Texas said:

Let's roll. Let's go for it.

It's a sad day.

Mr. Chairman, while I strongly support efforts to enhance our domestic security by reducing our reliance on foreign sources of strategic and critical minerals, but aside from its short title, the pending legislation has nothing to do with that goal.

In fact, this legislation provides relief to any and all types of minerals on public lands--minerals such as gold, silver and copper produced under the Mining Law of 1872.

These are minerals that are mined for free, with no royalty charged in return for their removal from lands owned by all Americans.

Yet, the pending legislation would provide multi-national conglomerates with even more relief in their pursuit of mining free gold from federal lands.

It is not limited in scope to, for instance, rare earth minerals used in fuel cells and solar panels among other applications. Rare earths are certainly strategic and critical.

Instead, the bill provides relief to any ``mineral exploration or mine permit'' with plans of operations issued by the BLM under its 3809 regulation and the Forest Service under it counterpart regulations.

Read the bill. Look up those regulations.

The BLM 3809 regulations are clear, they apply to ``all operations authorized by the mining laws on public lands where the mineral interest is reserved to the United States.''

The Forest Service regulations referenced in the bill state they apply to ``the surface of National Forest System lands in connections with operations authorized by the United States mining laws . . .''

So I say to my colleagues, understand what you will be voting on. Understand that this bill provides additional relief to mostly foreign owned companies who are extracting gold, silver and other hardrock minerals from our lands, our public lands, without paying a royalty in return.

Mine coal on federal lands, you pay a royalty. Drill for oil and natural gas on public lands, you pay a royalty. But not gold, not silver, and not copper.

I oppose this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Hershel Woodrow Williams and his heroic efforts and continued selfless service to his fellow veterans.

Corporal Williams was with the 3rd Marine Division when he was awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in action on February 23, 1945, on the island of Iwo Jima. Flanked by only four riflemen, time and again, Corporal Williams advanced into the enemy defenses to set charges and wipe out enemy positions with a flamethrower. He brazenly charged pillboxes and enemy defenses to pave the way for his fellow soldiers. His ``unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism'' are legendary.

But Woody's devotion nor did he feel his duty ended there. Back home he served as a civilian counselor and as a volunteer in his church, community and with veterans' organizations. A lifetime dedicated to repay those who gave all so that he and countless others could come home; a lifelong commitment to assisting veterans, their spouses and children.

For all his valiant devotion to our Nation, I am proud to honor Chief Warrant Officer Four, Hershel Woodrow Williams.

Honoring sergeant einar h. ingman, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, due to a flight delay, I was unable to be in attendance for tonight's votes. Had I been present, I would

have voted in support of H.R. 3092, H.R. 2449, and S. 793.

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

Congress has previously grandfathered truck weights on roads that obtained interstate designation, including Interstate 99 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 39 in Wisconsin and Interstate 68 in Maryland. I point that out to note that what is being proposed in the pending legislation is not without precedent or justification.

While I support this legislation, consideration by the House of this bill should not be construed as an indicator of movement on the broader debate of whether to increase truck weights generally. This is a limited extension of current standards on one road in one State, and I am evaluating it as such. I support this bill, and I urge its adoption.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I appreciate the gentlewoman's kind words.

Mr. Speaker, when I go home to West Virginia each week and discuss the state of our Nation with my friends and neighbors, I hear about three things: jobs, jobs, jobs.

That's what this Congress should focus on.

We should stop the political charade of spending time on one bill after another which will not see the light of day in the other body and work together on something that Members of all political stripes should be able to agree upon: creating American jobs and ensuring that our Federal tax dollars are spent wisely.

We are here today in support of those twin goals by ensuring that the investments that we make in our Nation's transportation infrastructure truly help rebuild America--our infrastructure, our companies, and our workers.

Mr. Speaker, in just a few months' time, one of the largest publicly supported infrastructure projects in this country is scheduled to be completed with the opening of the $6.3 billion east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. But instead of steel cast in the Alleghenies or roadbed segments assembled in Alameda, cars and trucks using the bridge will be driving over 43,000 tons of steel imported from China, which supported 3,000 Chinese jobs and was financed by U.S. taxpayers.

Last year, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Democrats insisted on closing the loopholes in our ``Buy America'' laws to prevent the continuation of this outrageous and economically harmful practice of outsourcing our Federal highway and transit construction as part of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act, known as MAP- 21. Unfortunately, despite being passed out of committee and attracting 245 votes on the House floor as part of a motion to instruct, many provisions we pushed for that would have guaranteed strong Buy America requirements for all surface transportation infrastructure investments were left on the cutting-room floor during the conference process.

Today, we're here to finish the job and ensure that all taxpayer- funded infrastructure investments support American jobs.

If we defeat the previous question, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the ranking member of the Committee on Rules, will offer an amendment that will make in order H.R. 949, the Invest in American Jobs Act of 2013, under an open rule. The bill spurs job creation and fosters domestic manufacturing. It will ensure that investments in highways, bridges, public transit and passenger rail systems, airport projects and water infrastructure projects will be stamped Made in America and crafted with American workmanship.

By closing critical loopholes in our Buy America laws and changing domestic content requirements for public transit rolling stock and aviation facilities and equipment, our bill ensures that these investments, financed by

U.S. taxpayers, will be used to create and sustain good-paying jobs in our local communities, not outsourced overseas.

Right now we have a lot of Federal transportation and infrastructure dollars in the pipeline and coming down the pike: more than $50 billion of Federal funding is being invested this year in highway and transit infrastructure projects alone. In the coming months, Congress is also expected to consider legislation to provide significant Federal investment in rail and water infrastructure.

All too often we are giving these contracts--and these high-skill jobs--away to foreign manufacturers and workers. Giving our tax dollars away to support jobs overseas is inexcusable in any instance, but is downright unconscionable when millions of Americans are looking for work.

Let's close these loopholes in our Buy America laws and unleash the American entrepreneurial spirit.

Mr. Speaker, let the House of Representatives vote on H.R. 949, the ``Invest in American Jobs Act'', because when we make it in America, more Americans can make it.

I urge my colleagues to join me in defeating the previous question.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment that would eliminate funding for the vitally important Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

The ARC was established in 1965 to focus on the profound economic needs of the Appalachia Region. It was designed to provide the kinds of basic investment that would assist in strengthening rural communities long-overlooked by the government and ensure that hard-working, loyal citizens could successfully build their communities and their careers and contribute fully to the well-being of the Nation.

Since its establishment, the ARC has had measurable success in addressing the needs of Appalachian families and communities and its good works have improved the outlook for the entire region.

The ARC operates in partnership with State and local governments to help make the best, most strategically effective use of Federal investments, and, in the process, leverages private investments to help create well-paying jobs and lasting improvements to local economies. In Fiscal Year 2012 alone, ARC invested approximately $66 million in projects that leveraged over $267 million in private-sector investment, a 4 to 1 ratio, and helped to create or retain over 20,000 jobs.

In my State, Appalachian Regional Commission investment has meant that thousands of children could turn on the water faucet and drink safe water. It has spurred the creation of small businesses and provided needed funding that enabled rural towns to build basic infrastructure essential to attract new economic opportunities. It has enabled working men and women to receive training and find nearby jobs to rear their families, rather than having to rely on government assistance or leave their homes and the State they love simply to earn a living.

It is said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Cutting a program with proven success at cost-effectively creating jobs and improving the economy of an entire region at this time is senseless. I urge the House to recognize the immense value of fully funding the ARC as a key component to achieving renewed economic strength throughout our Nation and to vote against this amendment.

Madam Chair, the Energy and Water Subcommittee is to be commended for its efforts to present a more balanced and reasoned approach to America's energy needs, particularly with respect to numerous provisions that recognize coal's key role in our Nation's energy supply. I strongly support, for example, provisions in the bill that would block agency efforts to redefine fill and jurisdictional waters of the United States--both of which would have severe consequences for coal mining in my home state.

I am grateful to the Subcommittee for providing $450 million for Fossil Energy Research and Development at the Department of Energy--a figure that is $20 million above the President's request. That bump up represents the realization that coal is and will continue to be a vital part of America's energy portfolio throughout the foreseeable future. It is particularly significant given the overall budgetary constraints with which the Appropriations Committee is confronted and against the backdrop of anti-coal political fervor that seems to have taken hold in much of Washington these days.

As much as I welcome this additional funding, I feel it important to make the case for even more funding for coal research and development. Just this week, in testimony before the Committee on Natural Resources, a representative for the Institute for Energy Research noted that coal continues to be an abundant domestic energy resource; that it provides more than 40 percent of energy production worldwide; and that other nations--including China and Germany--are ramping up coal-fired electricity generation. In fact, according to the Energy Information Administration, coal use in China has grown by 40 percent over the last decade.

However much the legions of wishful thinkers believe they can merely fantasize coal away, coal is real, it is here, and its use is on the rise globally.

Given that truth--one thing that coal supporters and coal opponents ought to agree on is that we should continue pursuing every avenue to find more and better ways to burn coal more cleanly and efficiently. Through the fossil energy program, public-private partnerships have led to huge improvements in the efficiency of coal power as well as dramatic reductions in the environmental effects of burning coal.

I believe that effort ought to continue and that the United States ought to continue leading that effort, but to do that we need to fund research and development robustly and better position our Nation to shape worldwide energy advances.

Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues from the State of West Virginia in celebrating our State's 150th birthday tomorrow. We invite the rest of the Nation to join in our revelry and reflection.

Ours is a proud history of doing our part, and then some, in service to this great Nation of ours. West Virginia was born of war, and West Virginians understand full well the price of service and sacrifice to defend our shores. In times of war, the Mountain State's sons and daughters have answered their country's call faithfully, honorably, and nobly. And in times of peace, we have continued to serve our Nation from our mountains and our hollows.

Geologists tell us our ancient mountains' sharp peaks, in ages long past, were rounded and smoothed through the forces of nature over the eons of time. The result satisfies the soul.

Thanks to the U.S. Postal Service, the world can get a glimpse of our majestic mountains on a new stamp commemorating our 150 years. Based on a photograph taken in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, that stamp stands as a testament that our bragging about being ``Almost Heaven'' is every inch legitimate.

Those same mountains, Mr. Speaker, have honed and hewn a people for whom the phrase ``Mountaineers are always free'' is more than a State motto; it is a way of life.

West Virginians may be somewhat stubborn when it comes to asking for help for themselves, even if life itself depends on it; but they are the first in line to offer help and assistance to their neighbors. And in West Virginia, Mr. Speaker, we go a step further. I doubt we have ever known a stranger in any of our 55 counties. If you need help, West Virginians are there for you.

The charitable spirit of West Virginia is built on rock-solid principles. First and foremost, you will find an abundance of faith among those who dwell in our mountains, faith in the Almighty. Families form the core of our lives, with West Virginia parents and grandparents putting their children and grandchildren first. You figure in that a big dose of loyalty to our hills and hollows, our family traditions, our common heritage, and our many unique histories, and you begin to see why hard times cannot keep us down.

Like most of America, West Virginians are in the midst of a transitional economy, but a new dawn is breaking. We have harnessed positive change while holding on to much that makes West Virginia unique, enabling us to attract new and promising ventures.

Witness the 100-year commitment of the Boy Scouts of America's almost half-billion-dollar investment in a Fayette County scouting reserve adjacent to the largest federally protected system of rivers east of the Mississippi. Recently, Wayne Perry, the Boy Scouts' national president, when commenting on our rugged but inviting mountain venue, said, ``We think God made West Virginia for the Boy Scouts of America.''

Mr. Speaker, I have news for my colleagues and their constituents: we have more room at the inn. This may be our 150th birthday celebration, but West Virginia is still wild and even more wonderful than ever before. So I say to all, come and visit us soon.

To my fellow West Virginians, may I say a happy 150th. And be assured, as long as there is still one Mountaineer heart beating, there will always be a West Virginia.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding.

While I support efforts to make our foreign food aid programs as efficient and effective as possible, I cannot support the amendment by the gentlemen from California and New York, Mr. Royce and Mr. Engel. However well-intentioned the sponsors might be, the effect of this amendment would be to undermine the integrity of the U.S. merchant marine and U.S. flag fleet, which serve our Nation in times of war and peace.

The effect of this amendment would be to reduce the volume of U.S. Government-impelled cargoes shipped overseas under the Food for Peace program. No one disputes that fact. However, many of the militarily useful vessels that provide this needed sealift capacity for our military also participate in the food aid programs under cargo preference.

For example, all 19 vessels owned by Maersk Line, Limited and enrolled in the Maritime Security Program also carry foreign food aid. And for that matter, the U.S. mariners that serve on these vessels come from the same common pool that serves both needs. You cannot cut one without also harming the other. And once these jobs are gone, they're gone forever.

Plain and simple, this amendment will mean fewer voyages for U.S. carriers and fewer jobs for our U.S. merchant seafarers at a time when our military is reducing the sealift demand as it draws down from its deployment in Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 50th Anniversary of West Virginia's Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. Anyone who has ridden the eleven miles of rail in this unique concept for a park in my home State can attest to its instant attraction and appeal on so many fronts. Bundled in those few short miles are a multifaceted story of industrial might and hardworking souls that combined to make a significant contribution to the Nation's logging and lumber history. Rail enthusiasts will enjoy historical steam powered locomotives, a switchback track system to assist the trains in conquering steep elevations, and the remaining vestiges of past equipment used along the rail. Everyone will enjoy the scenic bliss and wonder of the natural beauty in which this relatively small short line, but prospering railroad is nestled in Pocahontas County.

What began with lots of hope, but little publicity, drew an extraordinary maiden seasonal crowd of 23,000 interested visitors fifty years ago to this majestic mountain and manmade wonder. Set in the midst of the State of West Virginia's Centennial year of celebration, skepticism surrounded future success.

However, since those early days, Cass has not only endured, it has prevailed as a magnet for the region's economy. Many heads, hands and hearts have been instrumental in the growth Cass has enjoyed over the last five decades.

First and foremost, there is a small contingent of dedicated and experienced Cass employees who deserve several trainloads of thanks for keeping the trains moving up and down the mountain. They are a talented bunch. Faced with broken or worn out train parts, parts not stocked nor even manufactured in decades, they set about the task at hand. Applying their honed skills and sheer ingenuity, without benefit of blueprints or plans, for 50 years day in and day out, they have kept history alive.

Perhaps no more enthusiastic group of individuals has devoted greater labors of love than the members of the Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association. From sizeable restoration projects to tender loving care of collective memories of life in yesteryear, these essential partners are key to Cass's lifeblood. Operating Railfan Weekend each spring, the crew draws from the deep roots that extend from its debut weekend in 1965, but with every new year, they offer visitors something new and unique to reward their trek. And, certainly, they play a more than significant role in keeping the ever evolving horizon of West Virginia's most unique state park on track.

Mr. Speaker, I offer hearty congratulations to all those who have and are taking part in a fifty year journey that continues to gather steam and glory to celebrate an important chapter in our country's past. May the lessons preserved from our past continue to help guide our next half century. And may the chorus of Cass's steam whistles always sound a welcoming note for the Nation to pay Cass Scenic Railroad a visit.

Mr. Speaker, for this West Virginian, the next stroke of midnight will be a bittersweet minute. The torch of longest Congressional service will be passed between two giants of the Congress, Robert C. Byrd and John Dingell. It will be a bittersweet moment for me because the breaking of even one of the many legislative records Senator Byrd set by serving West Virginians pulls at our State's heartstrings.

And I hesitate in even mentioning that, come tomorrow morning, Senator Byrd's record of the longest Senate tenure in history will still be intact, not because I fear my dearest friend would switch legislative bodies and pursue with gusto that momentous record. No, Mr. Speaker, I am hesitant because this body cannot afford to lose John Dingell to such an effort.

On the sweeter side of the moment, Mr. Speaker, I believe the history of our future will reveal there are few other than John Dingell, who could so ably and humbly bear such a significant mantle as the longest serving member in Congressional history.

Since I come from a State that understands tenure is no vice; let me clear up any misunderstandings about this milestone.

The real record we are celebrating today, the real measure of the man, is not about any length of service. Today is a celebration of John Dingell's depth of service. Here in the People's House, in the glare of the most strict term limits I have ever heard anyone propose, Members either deliver for their people every two years or the people deliver Members back to their homes.

That John Dingell will have served longer than any other Member is a true testament to his service to the people of Michigan, a badge of respect he has earned in this House, and a lesson for all who will listen today.

Looking at the two of us, the gentleman from Michigan and me, at first blush the casual observer might think Big John and I cannot see eye to eye on much at all. John Dingell always looks deeper, into the smallest of details. The fact is the two of us have enjoyed over three and a half decades of working together on a number of fronts.

As the youngest member of the 95th Congress, I was outranked by John Dingell in more ways than one when I came to Congress. But not once in all our years of serving in this body, has he shown me any less courtesy, less attention, or less respect than he would to those with far more seniority than I.

Call it statesmanship, shrewd politics, or simply sheer human decency; it is darn effective, when someone of John Dingell's stature listens to you.

Members of Congress cannot serve, produce, and deliver for their Districts and States without listening. That includes back home as well as here in the halls and cubby holes of the Congress. Listening is the first chapter in the book of Congressional comity.

In an institution designed to reach consensus through the art of compromise, the entire Congress can take a page from Representative John Dingell's playbook. The Congress and the entire country would most certainly be well-served.

Godspeed to John Dingell and his dear wife, Debbie.