Floor Statements

It is a pleasure to stand before this auspicious body yet again and express my farewell and make notice of the kind words so many of my colleagues made about me and my service. It has been a privilege to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On this night, I would recognize the death of two friends of mine who provided significant service to the people of southeast Texas.

The electrical workers contracting industry lost a tremendous ambassador and friend when Charles M. ``Charlie'' LeBlanc died suddenly on Thursday, August 21. Charlie served admirably as the long-time governor of the southeast chapter of NECA. He formed relationships at the local, State, and national level that were very instrumental in benefiting not only NECA, but all of our associated industry partners and friends.

Charlie LeBlanc's career in the electrical industry began in 1970 when he became indentured as an apprentice in Beaumont, Texas. Charlie accepted employment around this time with Gold Crest Electric Company and formed a friendship with a co-worker, Wayne Brockett, that would transform into a highly successful business partnership.

The two hardworking, industrious men formed Crown Electric Company in 1980. Charlie's natural charm and technical acumen was vital in the continuing success of Crown Electric, Incorporated, and made him a favorite with customers, general contractors, engineers, and architects. Charlie's entrepreneurial spirit resulted in a company that has contributed to his community and the electrical contracting industry at large for over 20 years.

Crown Electric, Inc., became a NECA member in 1987, and Charlie LeBlanc's service to the southeast Texas chapter was immediate, continuous, and resounding. Charlie assumed a position in 1988 on the Chapter Codes and Standards Committee, where he applied his technical expertise for the next three years, and in 1990, Charlie was elected to the chapter board of directors, where he continued to serve until his passing. Charlie served with distinction as chapter treasurer from 1992 to 2000. And he served concurrently on the Chapter Manpower Development, Membership, and Finance Committees. Charlie sacrificed a great amount of his own personal time in his devotion to chapter affairs.

In addition to service on the board of directors and committees, Charlie served as division chairman of the Coastal Sabine Division for 4 years and has served on every negotiating committee from 1996 to present. Charlie served as trustee on the Greater Texas IBEW-NECA Annuity Fund from 1999 to 2004; trustee on the Southeast Texas Benefit Trust from 1998 to 2008; the Coastal Sabine Labor Management Cooperative Committee from 2001 to 2008; and Charlie served continuously on the Local Union 479 JATC from 1988 to 2008. Charlie's compassionate but firm leadership, especially on the Apprenticeship Committee, has had a profound and lasting effect on generations of apprentices and has left an indelibly positive mark on our industry's most important resource.

His service at the national level began with his appointment to the District V Apprenticeship Committee in 1997. Charlie understood the importance of political action and was selected to serve on the NECA National Governmental Affairs Committee from 2000 to 2001 and again in 2008. Most important to the chapter, Charlie assumed the role of Governor in 2001 and was an extremely effective and well-liked NECA ambassador at all levels of our industry. Charlie applied his boundless energy, infinite patience, and genuine caring and keen instincts to the service of our industry.

Charlie LeBlanc managed to devote himself to civic service in the City of Beaumont; service that is important not only to the beneficiaries themselves but to the positive perception of our customers, community leaders, and the IBEW. Charlie served with distinction in the past on the City of Beaumont Electrical Board and the City of Beaumont Board of Electrical Inspectors. Charlie served on the board of directors of the Southeast Texas AGC. He provided service to the Young Men's Business League and served on the board of directors of Boy's Haven, an outreach program designed to benefit disenfranchised youth.

Charlie LeBlanc will be terribly missed by all who were privileged to know him.

And Charles ``Chuck'' Wilson, who was the tax assessor/collector for 16 years of Galveston County, Texas, Chuck died the night before last. He was a very dear friend, one who had many friends across southeast Texas and in the profession of property tax assessors and collectors across the State of Texas, and he too will be missed. His family loved him and he was known and loved by many.

It has been a privilege to stand before the body of the United States House of Representatives for 10 years. I am wishing my friends and colleagues a farewell and Godspeed on the business of the United States of America. I wish them well.

Madam Speaker, it has been an honor to serve with you these past 2 years in the 110th Congress. It's been an honor to serve the 22d Congressional District of Texas.

I'm grateful for the assistance I received from my friends in the leadership: Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Mr. Clyburn, Chairman Van Hollen and the man who convinced me to run again in 2006, my friend, Rahm Emanuel.

I'm grateful for the work of my fellow Blue Dogs; those who helped me fight for NASA, rebuild after Hurricane Ike, protect our children, and restore civility and esteem to Congress.

Hopefully before I leave today I will be able to thank each of you individually but while I have the opportunity I'd like to express my gratitude for everything you all have done.

To my family who I love very much, thank you for standing by me, thank you for sacrificing, and thank you for supporting me; you gave me strength to serve and helped carry me through the good times and the bad. My daughters Stephanie Lampson Gertz and Hillary Lampson Shanning, and their husbands Ryan and Mark. My beautiful grandchildren who bring me so much pride and joy: Nicholas, Joseph, Olivia, Caroline, and Julianna, who will be born any day.

And especially my wife of 37 years, Susan, who has loved me and sacrificed for her country by allowing me to spend weeks and months away from home to serve. She is a talented teacher, a loving mother, a strong wife, and a tender grandmother. I am blessed to have her love and support.

Finally, I'd like to thank my staff who worked long days and long nights, weekdays and weekends, and literally did the impossible. Carl Beard, John Boerstler, Carrie Chess, Dan Easley, Erin Fyffe, Rick Guerrero, Kathy Guillory, Georgia Leigh Hearn, Jon Heins, Suzanne Jordan, Trevor Kincaid, Chris Matthiesen, Alastair Rami, Tony Samp, Abby Shannon, Mini Timmaraju, Brittani Williams, Nicholas Williams, and Adeel Zeb; your hard work, dedication, and talents never failed me and are the reason we succeeded beyond the most optimistic expectations. Thank you.

Many of you were with me about this time 2 years when we sent a message that partisan politics and corruption were a thing of the past. That was a great day. In a similar speech on this House floor not too long ago, another outgoing Member called for more partisanship and less compromise. I have been here to emphatically support the opposite message. I stand before you as proof that bipartisanship and working together can and has worked and will work again, if you let it.

Since then, we have made terrific progress to restore ethics, compromise, civility, and hope to Congress and government. There is a tsunami of change and hope that has swept across this country and it all started when a modest, dedicated Texas Congressman brought down ``The Hammer.''

My journey will end today but the movement we started will continue.

Our movement to change the culture in Washington has made great progress but the road is long and many challenges lie ahead.

There are many Republicans and Democrats who have taken up the charge and will see it through to the end. It is a movement that will allow America to move beyond the corruption and political divide that has plagued us for too long. We are now in a time of challenge, but a period of hope.

The arc of change is slow, but it bends toward justice.

That was the observation of Dr. Martin Luther King many decades ago when this country was being tried by a different type of division. Together, we overcame and today we are closer to changing the culture of this Congress than we were yesterday and I have full faith that tomorrow we will be closer than we are today.

We remember the past.

We live in the present.

And we plan for the future.

It has been an honor to serve these past 2 years. However, it is time to start looking to tomorrow.

Scripture tells us, ``Joy cometh in the morning.''

Tomorrow will be a better day in America and the day after that and the day after that.

America's course has been charted on a timeline of achievement. We are a nation that when presented with obstacles says, ``yes we can.''

We are a country built on a foundation of equality, justice, and liberty.

We are a nation that when in the darkest days of depression stood and went to work.

We are a people that when confronted with sickness affecting millions, didn't give up; we found the cure.

We are a society that was presented with an impossible challenge, and less than a decade later watched as an American flag was planted on the Moon.

We will face more challenges, we will come to walls seemingly too high to scale, and people will say, ``you can't.'' But, together we will say ``yes we can'' and we will.

We will again walk on the Moon; only to go further.

We will find the cures to the illnesses of our generation.

We will roll up our sleeves and solve the energy puzzle.

We will fight poverty with compassion.

And we will combat despair with hope.

America's best days are still to come.

I thank you for the privilege to serve you and I thank you for everything you have done for my family and for me.

God bless you and may God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 440, 110th Congress, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 3 o'clock and 2 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until Saturday, January 3, 2009, at 11 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 105) directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to correct the enrollment of H.R. 6063, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I am privileged to recognize American Legion Post 490 and the Ladies Auxiliary Unit 490 of Houston, Texas for their outstanding service to the Houston area in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

American Legion Post 490 is located near Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Southeast Houston and enjoys 1,448 active members--one of the largest posts in the Department of Texas. Their hard work following Hurricane Ike as a non-profit veteran service organization is a true testament to their ongoing efforts to serve local communities.

Despite damage by the storm on the Post's main hall, Adjutant Bob Burrows of American Legion Post 490 and President Lisa Reeves of Ladies Auxiliary Unit opened their doors to the thousands of people still without power to utilize the facility as a registration site for FEMA assistance. They also took the initiative to ensure food, water and ice was available to affected individuals.

The American Legion Post 490 and Ladies Auxiliary Unit 490 dedicated themselves to the recovery efforts of the Houston area, Southeast Texas is grateful for the generosity of the Post's officers, members and auxiliary unit, and I am proud of their noble service to the victims of Hurricane Ike.

Madam Speaker, in the midst of the most devastating storm to hit our shores in 50 years, the true colors of Texas were evident in each and every volunteer.

Before, during and especially after Hurricane Ike hit, Texans helped each other through this disaster. Neighbors helped neighbors with everything from boarding up windows to providing shelter to helping pick up the pieces. Many, Southeast Texans opened their homes to their evacuated neighbors, some cooking hot meals, others offering a helping hand and a kind smile.

Countless volunteers showed up at the congressional mobile office I helped set up. Many volunteers had no power or homes themselves, but remained dedicated to helping those worse off get back on their feet. Others flew in from out of town, arriving without knowing where they would stay that night, but knowing that they needed to help.

Volunteers at the congressional mobile office helped sign in individuals, assisted in helping those that spoke a number of different languages, aided people in the FEMA application process, answered questions, helped with traffic control, and assisted in the distribution of ice, water, and MRE's to those in need.

I am extremely grateful for the hundreds of individuals who have assisted and continue to assist in the recovery efforts of Hurricane lke. The following individuals joined our efforts:

Grisehda Abehiz, Carl Aldridge, Mathew Aleman, Robert

Andris, Storilynn Applegate, Peter Archambault, Derek

Arkadie, Jennifer Arndorfer, Addie Arnold, Patricia Arp,

Shaneck Backler, Jesse Baldez, Silvestre Banda, Kara Bartow,

Donna Batchler, Dona Bautista, Veronica Bautista, Joan

Baxter, Savannah Beberril, Tawayne Bell, Khristian Benjamin,

Raveena Bhalara, Barbara Bigge, Elizabeth Briones, Bermuda

Brittingham, Diana Brown, Quinten Burkes, Kimberly Burkes,

Karla Cabrera, Stephen Caldwell,

Sheryl Caldwell, Chauanchom Campbell, Antonio Capistran,

Charlie Caplan, Nona Caradine, Cesar Carmona, Cristina

Carmona, Maryanne Carrasco, Kim Chambles, Radia Chandani,

Donna Chandler, Danielle Chandler, Matt Cherches, Gisela

Cherches, Kay Cherry, Eugene Chevis, Joyce Cisneros, Leonard

Coapiron, Charlene Cockelt, Reddie Collins, Laura Cortez,

Roger Creery, John Cross, Raul Cruz, Martha Cruz, Angela

Daney, Rebecca Daniel, Ascencion Dantes, Daphne Davis,

Michael Dawson, Diane De Leon, Yvette De Los Santos, Teal De

la Garza, Diana Brown Deleon, Tiffani Dennis,

Amber Dennis, Annie Dennis, Jennifer Diaz, Darlene Dobes,

C.F. Douglas, Joan Douglas, Becky Eastep, Lette Edward, Ryan

Eisenman, Bonnie Engh, Anthony Epison, James Esqueda,

Carletta Everett, Raslyne Faison, Robert Farias, Mike Finn,

Stephen Firestone, Rigoberto Flores, Iranda Flowers, Sara

Foster, Karen Fountain, Martha Fraga, Tiffany Franer, Cherie

Frazier, Denny Friday, Yre Friday, Michelle Fryberger,

Gregoria Fuentes, Wanoa Gage, Eva Gallegos, Victor Garcia,

Marcos Garcia,

Mercedes Garcia, Jordan Gartner, Alma Garza Gawlik, Lisa

Gillock, Amanda Gomet, Janie Gomez, Elizabeth Gonzales,

Arushary Goodwill, LaVern Gordon, Tessa Gourash, Cat Graham,

Gus Guerrero, Kimberlee Guerrero, Danielle Guerrero,

Guadalupe Gutierrez, Lee Hall, Fred Hamilton, June Hanke,

Susan Harting, Brian Hartwig, Meagan Harvey, Thelma Hawkins,

Jael Hayood, Morgan Heeke, Andres Hernandez, Sarah

Higganbotham, Norris Hill, Beatrice Hill, Austen Holley, Juan

Homez,

David Howard, Victoria Huynh, David Huynh, Phung Huynh,

Dunct Huynh, Arareli Ibarra, Lillian Jenkins, Eontine Jett,

Hope Johnson, Ann Johnson, Maggie Johnson, Eligh Johnson, Dre

Johnson, Larrilyan Jones, Janice Jones, Latasha Jordan,

Willie Kelly, Mohammad Khan, J.J. Kim, Doug Kimble, Amanda

Kinnebrew, Ernest Kinnebrew, Patrick Kolb, Melody Lacy, Helen

Lacy-Pope, Gloria Lafnette, David Lanagan, Michelle Landin,

Britney Laws, Andrew Laws, Ben Lebrun, Michael Leopold,

Johnny Letman,

Joyce Lewis, Elsie Little, Roberto Llorente, Merlina

Llorente, Melissa Lopez, Ruth Lopez, Miriam Lopez, Jenny

Luna, Gary Magness, Denise Maldett, Denise Mallett,

Concepcion Mares, Ruben Mariduena, John Marinos, Marilyn

Marinos, Jacqueline Marion, Deanna Martin, Kenyarda Martin,

Sylvia Masters, J.R. Max, Yulanda Mcguire, Molly McKee,

Sylvia Medina, John Medina, Nicole Medina, Jamie Medina, Andy

B. Medina, Don Meyers, Patricia Midan, Lakeitia Miller,

Edward Miller, Sarina Miller,

Jamarr Miller, Albert Moreno, Esmeralda Moreno, Bronson

Morill, Sheryl Muller, Misty Munley, Francisco Munoz, Don

Myers, Mujteba Naqui, Lan Thi Nguyen, Carl Nix, Elaina Nix,

David Noe, Gwendolyn Norris, Victor Ocanas, Tiffany Orandi,

Phyllis Padron, Jane Paredez, Brenda Parker, Maggie Parks,

Elfrin Patten, Wesley Paulson, Chase Payne, Anna

Pennacchi, Madelon Perez, Alesia Perez, Guadalupe Perez,

Fay Perkins, Tracy Perry, Cecilia Pham, Shelly Piomb,

Arthur Pisana, Luke Pittman,

Cyndy Posey, Rick Pounter, Juawanna Powell, Margaret

Prejean, Courtney Pryor, Debbie Pryor, Gloria Pulido, Tressa

Pulliam, David Purvis, Jose Quezada, Marvelia Quezada, Alonso

Quintanille, Yolanda Quintanille, Rupen Radia, Chandano

Radva, Mike Ramirez, Briselda Ramirez, Mike Reves, Lettia

Ride, Jessica Rienhart, Julia Riman, Mackenzie Rita, Caroly

Rittenhour, Matthew Robbins, Desiree Roberts, Doug Rosbrough,

Arthur Rosbrough, Kathleen Rose, Sylvia Royster, Tyson

Ruhman, James Russell,

Maria Saldiver, Rosemarie Sanchez, Steven Sartor, Janet

Schell, Chris Schillinger, Donna Scholes, Jeanne Schultz,

Reid Scofield, Carver Shivers, Leonard Siple, Harold W.

Sjogren, Carol Smith, Tracy Smith, Robert Smith, Paula Smith,

Edwin Smith, Phillip Smith, Estelle Sowell, Josephine Sowell,

Shannon Sowell, Velma Sumra, Putu Sutjita, Mika Tabata, Lynn

Taylor, Ginger Terry, Kim Kind Tezino, D.D. Tezino, Darren

Thompson, Christine Thompson, Vicki Underwood, Elisa Valdez,

Raph Valverde, Cynthia Van Ostenbridge, Ruben Vargas,

Angeline Varlet, Jeri Veile, Marisela Vela, Chezhiam Vela,

Kenyon Vonters, Jason Voth, Helen Wait, Jonathan Waller,

Zachary Walter, Barbara Walton, Kelly Waterman, Amanda Jo

Webb, Micheal Weida, Scott Welch, Jackie Willard, Yolanda

Williams, D'Ani Williams, Amber Williams, Nevin Williams,

Herman Wilson, Geraldine Wise, Scott Wise, Cynthia Wood,

Jaymie Woods, Javon Woods, Annie Xiang, Albert Zertuche

Madam Speaker, I am privileged to recognize the Clear Lake Patrol Division of the Houston Police Department for its outstanding service to the Houston community in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

In the days following the storm, the Clear Lake Patrol Division was dispatched to provide security at the congressional mobile office at the American Legion Post 490 near Ellington Field. By providing security, traffic and crowd control, the officers were able to ensure a successful operation and allow thousands of individuals to register for hurricane assistance.

Founded in 1841, the Houston Police Department continues to provide invaluable service and has grown to become the largest municipal police departments in the State of Texas. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Eldon Harris, the Clear Lake Patrol Division acts as a preserver of peace and a source of safety for the Clear Lake area of Houston.

It is my distinct honor to recognize the Houston Police Department's Clear Lake Patrol Division for their remarkable efforts following Hurricane Ike. Without their service, the

5,943 individuals that applied for assistance at the congressional mobile office would not have been possible.

The following police officers helped ensure the accessibility and effectiveness of the congressional mobile office:

Randall L. Derr--Senior Police Officer

Ricky W. Dalme--Sergeant of Police

Marvin Dutton--Sergeant of Police

Eldon Harris--Lieutenant of Police

Gregory Gillespie--Sergeant of Police

David L. Knatt--Police Officer

Gary L. Schaefer--Police Officer

Madam Speaker, I am privileged to recognize the men and women of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Reconnaissance Wing of Houston, Texas for their outstanding service to the community in helping 5,943 constituents in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

Forty-two members of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Reconnaissance Wing were tasked with providing support for the congressional mobile office in a variety of ways; including traffic control, translation assistance, security, technical support, parking and bus operations. Commander Col. McNeely and Vice Commander Col. Horn provided excellent leadership in the recovery efforts along with Lt. Col. Cooper, Lt. Col. Allinson, and Lt. Col. Garner.

In addition to supporting the operation and function of the congressional mobile office, these service members immediately transitioned into supporting units for the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at Ellington Field where they have continued to serve thousands of individuals.

It is my distinct honor to recognize the remarkable efforts of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Reconnaissance Wing for their outstanding service to their community and country. Southeast Texas is grateful for the efforts and leadership provided by the commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and guard members, and I am proud of their noble service to the victims of Hurricane Ike.

The following members of the 147th Reconnaissance Wing joined in the recovery efforts: SMSgt Glenn Boutte, SMSgt Richard Williamson, MSgt Mali Cornitius, MSgt Howard Williams, MSgt Rodolfo Robles, MSgt Patrick Hurley, TSgt Andres Cabrera, TSgt Leanne Bates, TSgt Terry Matheson, TSgt Joel Agtang, TSgt Burdette Deyo, TSgt Lex Paxton, TSgt Hugo Torres, TSgt Nathan Kelley, TSgt Sonya Bond, SSgt Klaus Riel, SSgt Nakeia Mitchell, SSgt Stacie Sandoval, SSgt Kevin White, SSgt Lindsey- Lumpkin, SSgt Erin Calhoun, SSgt Kevin Dupree, SSgt Marshall Nettles, SSgt Vanessa Chase, SSgt Carlton Newkirk, SSgt Efren Almario, SrA Carlos Suazo, SrA Jana Phillips, SrA Tameka McCray, SrA James Kyaw, SrA Juan Rosales, SrA Winnett Knox, SrA Clifton Smith, SrA Jessica Mosley, SrA Justin Gaskill, SrA Francisco Mendez, A1C David Hartmann, A1C Isaac Saldivar, A1C Bronson Woods, A1C Shuan Guthrie and A1C Michael Tran.

Thank you, Chairman Gordon, for giving me the time and also for the good work that you have done, not just in this bill, but in guiding this committee, this Science Committee, for a long period of time and the great successes, also, to Chairman Udall in working with you on this committee; Ranking Members Hall and Feeney for the work that you all have done and staff, obviously, in putting together, not just a good bill here, but making it a pleasure to work on the Science Committee for the last 2 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this NASA Authorization Act. The $20 billion authorization demonstrates Congress' real commitment to a NASA that can fully address exploration and scientific discovery.

I just read an article about the Chinese cheering as astronauts made their first space walk last night. It reminded me of what we have done over the last many decades, five decades, to be fairly precise, and how we seem to have lost some of the commitment, because we have seen the budget of NASA decline in the last many years from about 6 percent of our Nation's budget to about six-tenths of a percent of our Nation's budget.

When you recognize that NASA inspires children to study math, science, and engineering and see that we have slipped in relation to other places in the world, some say because of that, maybe we really need another crisis. We need another Sputnik to inspire us to recommit ourselves to what we can learn in space and what we can do in exploration and science in space.

Well, I maintain that we have those beeps that some of us heard from Sputnik in 1957, that every time something occurs like China's having its own space walker now, or another nation launching some special craft or accomplishing some other task, each one of those events is, indeed, a beep of that Sputnik that we heard in 1957. We need to make NASA a priority again in this country, because it has such an impact on our standing in the world, our knowledge and inspiration for children and certainly our own standard of living.

I would mention two other programs that are included in this bill. One is called the Space Technical Alliance Outreach Program authorized in this bill. It helps small businesses grow, it creates jobs, contributes to our economy, as do many other things in the bill; as well as a little bitty program like allowing children in their own schools here on Earth to be able to take pictures from space that ultimately inspire them to want to study, and do study, more on those areas of math and science and engineering.

I encourage each of my colleagues to vote positively on this bill and send a strong signal that we are committed to space and exploration.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to speak and also for the good work that has been done on this bill and everything that you and your committee has done.

Mr. Speaker, I do rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in voting for S. 1738. This bill would authorize funds for Federal grants and additional FBI agents to address the problem of online exploitation of children as well as to establish a new anti-child-exploitation

office at the Department of Justice as well. And this has been combined with the Securing Adolescents From Online-Exploitation Act of 2007.

The Lampson-Chabot bill, which passed this body last December, modernizes and expands the reporting requirements relating to child pornography and expands cooperation in combating child pornography. Last year I joined one of my cochairs on the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, Congressman Steve Chabot, in introducing the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online, the SAFE Act of 2007.

The SAFE Act provides increased resources for law enforcement to capture, prosecute and incarcerate these criminals. By expanding the system to service providers to report child pornography found on their systems, we improve child safety and prevent future atrocities.

Currently Internet service providers are mandated to report child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Under the SAFE Act, all electronic service communications providers and remote computing service providers will have to report child pornography. For knowingly and willingly not filing a report after being made aware of a child pornography image, these providers will be subject to increased fines of $150,000 per image per day for the first offense and up to $300,000 per day for any image found thereafter.

This bill will also increase the efficiency of the CyberTipline, making it a better investigative tool for law enforcement by mandating that all information submitted by providers is consistent. The process outlined in this bill keeps law enforcement officials in the loop by making information more readily accessible and requires providers to retain key data that law enforcement agencies can use to investigate and prosecute child predators.

Many of us have watched Dateline's popular series ``To Catch a Predator'' and know of organizations that actively look for Internet child predators. We need to become partners in this fight by talking to our kids about the dangers of strangers online and making Internet use a family activity. While parents should teach their children that the Internet offers many different types of resources, from entertainment to educational, it also poses many risks. Parents are the first line of defense against online predators, and the SAFE Act will reinforce their efforts.

Internet companies will need to do their part too. When we begin to hold Web sites accountable for the images that they host, we've taken the first step towards supporting parents in their efforts to protect children. Our combined efforts will help make the Internet a safer place.

I would like to extend a ``thank you'' to my colleague, Deborah Wasserman Schultz, for introducing the House-passed version of Senate bill 1738. I would also like to wish her a happy birthday. She has been a tireless advocate for additional funding for Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces. I would also like to recognize my fellow caucus cochair, Steve Chabot, for championing this legislation on his side of the aisle and for helping to ensure that not only are Ohio's children protected, but all of America's children are. It is because of their persistent dedication to this cause that so many children and their parents will sleep more safely at night.

Again I call on my colleagues to support Senate bill 1738.

Madam Speaker, on August 23, 2008, Zach Smothers celebrated his 12th birthday in Galveston, Texas and possibly gave more than he will ever receive. Early in the party, Zach's 3-year-old- cousin, Gianna, fell into a swimming pool and sank straight to the bottom. Fortunately for her, someone close by was watching and took immediate action.

Twelve-year old Zach sprung up, saved the little girl from the pool, and proceeded to do what he had seen on television--CPR. Although the young man did not know it was CPR he was performing, he did know the practice could save a person's life. As Zach pumped hastily on his young cousin's chest, a dark liquid came from her blue lips and she began to breathe. He yelled for help and grabbed the attention of the adults, who rushed young Gianna to the hospital where she was given a clean bill of health.

It is a sincere pleasure to recognize Zach Smothers today. This young boy knew his younger cousin was in danger and came to the ultimate rescue. People like Zach make America proud and remind us that people do extraordinary things every day. Surely Zach Smothers knew on his birthday that it is truly better to give than it is to receive.

Thank you, Mr. Kind, for allowing me to have a little bit of time to talk.

I come to the floor in strong support of H.R. 7006, the Disaster Relief Act of 2008.

Last Saturday, September 13, Hurricane Ike barreled through southeast Texas and in its wake left some of the worst destruction in U.S. history.

I had the pleasure of working closely with my friend, Congressman Brady, and other colleagues in the Houston area, in trying to put our pieces back together again for so many people.

Hurricane Ike inflicted massive wind and flood damage, leaving many residents without a home, others in homes without power. Texans endured the largest power outage in our State's history, leaving millions without electricity and with limited access to water, food and fuel. People like my own daughter, who, thank goodness, had evacuated to some 300 miles away from her home, and when they returned, found that a tree had crashed through their house, left a 3-foot by 5-foot hole which flooded their home. Thank goodness, that tree, unfortunately, had fallen into the bed where

my 2-year-old granddaughter sleeps. But even in the face of devastation, we can find mighty blessings for which we can be most thankful.

Last week I spent every waking moment helping my constituents recover and rebound from this storm. I worked with House Chief Administrative Officer Dan Beard to establish a mobile congressional office with some 225 laptop computers and telephones. The mobile office allowed displaced residents with nowhere to turn to have an opportunity to quickly get information and to get in touch. Texans used that office for everything from registering for FEMA assistance, finding a hotel, to finding a loved one, or just getting in touch with someone to talk to.

After witnessing the expansive destruction and devastation left by Hurricane Ike, I am determined to make certain that essential Federal tax relief flows quickly to our communities. It is absolutely critical that the Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008 pass this Chamber and be signed into law without delay.

By removing income limitations on personal loss deductions, this bill helps hardworking Texans affected by the storm get back on their feet more quickly. This bill also helps Texans rebuild by waiving mortgage revenue bond requirements to allow bond proceeds to be used for rebuilding purposes.

The storm left thousands of businesses shuttered and closed, unable to operate without power or with significant property destruction and flood damage.

This bill helps businesses recover by allowing them to write off disaster clean-up expenses. The act's 5-year carry-back provision will help businesses that sustained disaster-related losses, and the new disaster private activity bonds will greatly aid business reconstruction.

Every Texan lent a helping hand during this crisis. I was amazed at how many neighbors welcomed neighbors into their homes, how many churches and hospitals and businesses and military facilities opened their doors to evacuees, how many volunteers showed up on our doorstep from around the State and around the country. Now it is important that the Federal Government lend a helping hand to Texas.

Thank you, Mr. Kind, for the time. I encourage my colleagues to pass H.R. 7006 with dispatch.

Thank you, Mr. Ross. I appreciate the gentleman from Arkansas sharing some of his time and all of the good work that you're doing, and particularly promoting the work of the Blue Dog Democrats, the coalition of the fiscal conservatives in the House of Representatives. It's a real pleasure to be a part of an organization like this that will concentrate on in part of the issues and look for common ground.

I think what we too often, unfortunately, we in the House have been best at producing is division, and it's time for that division to come to an end. It's time for us to start working for America. That's what I think this Blue Dog Coalition has stood for and so do many others.

It was out of a sense of, I guess, frustration of several weeks back when--Mr. Costa was talking about it a few minutes ago--when Members were watching what was happening on the floor of this body when there was an awful lot of finger pointing about who was to blame for the energy situation that we were in. But out of that frustration came a plan for many of us to go into a room and see what we could do to come up with a real solution.

And that real solution became H.R. 6709, about which Mr. Costa was speaking a little while ago. It's unfortunate that too often good things come out of a crisis. And we're in crisis. But what we've got to do is learn to work together in solving it.

What the public hears too often, Mr. Speaker and Members, is how divided we are. And we don't hear so much about how much effort is being made to pull us together, where there are good, reasonable commonsense solutions to the problems.

We know that only drilling is not a solution to our problem, and we know that only alternative energy is not a solution to our problem, but it's going to take a combination of them all. And that's what this bill 6709 sets out to accomplish.

And Mr. Costa talked about the first two sections. He talked about the offshore and onshore leasing and other energy provisions. He also talked about the title II, which was cleaner energy production and energy conservation incentives.

And what he left off at the title number III was the Strategic Petroleum Reserve modification and dedication of revenues to existing conservation and energy research programs.

The whole effort that we made in this bill was to find ways that we could get the resources necessary to pay for the research, development, and implementation of alternative energy. There is no question but that we have to grow our supply of energy if we're going to meet the continuing growing demand of this world for energy.

And you can't do that, typically right now, with what we have traditionally known. And certainly we don't want to continue to be dependent on other places in the world and ship our wealth off to other countries.

So what we knew that we could do is to develop something that would give us some short-term benefit to consumers by decreasing the price of gasoline at the pump, decreasing the cost of oil, and in the long term, give us continued independence and a long-term energy policy that would allow us to do the research to grow wind, and water, and solar, and other forms of energy so that we would have not only a growing supply of energy but one that would be cleaner made available to us in a different way. We can grow it rather than always pulling it out of the ground.

Well, our section number 3 of this bill had the plan of modernizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Right now we have about 700 million barrels of oil, like sweet crude oil, in storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and we wanted to propose that 10 percent of

that be taken and turn it into or replace it with a heavy crude which was of a lesser price. And the difference there would generate a profit, if you will, for the people of the United States.

And that money would be dedicated to the research, development, and implementation of a number of different areas of energy sources including advanced research projects, wind energy research, solar energy research, low-income weatherization, low-income home energy assistance program, marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy, advanced research vehicles development, industrial energy efficiency research and development, building/lighting energy efficiency research and development, geothermal energy development, smart grid technology development, nonconventional natural gas production and environmental research, hydrogen research and development, energy storage for transportation and electric power.

And those are the things that we know are some of what we have to do in order to expand our sources of energy.

We have great knowledge. We are a long way on our way toward having the knowledge to be able to implement so many of these different sources of energy and grow our ability to take care of ourselves, be dependent on us, us as America and the United States of America instead of other places in the world.

So it's wonderful when we have the opportunity to come together as colleagues and when we respectfully have discussions, as the one that we're having tonight, to be able to put the ideas that we can discuss, maybe compromise on because there's not everything in this bill that I like. I know there's not everything in this bill that other of my colleagues like.

But I believe it was our Founding Fathers who wanted us not to have polarization and partisanship but to have compromise through debate. That's why this Congress has been the strong body that it has been for so very long.

And to hear such finger pointing that we are not able to get the solutions that we need and want to make America great again, that's what has to end. That's what this coalition is about. That's what this bill is largely about.

I'm proud to be a part of the National Conservation Environment and Energy Independence Act, H.R. 6709. I hope many people will look at it and encourage Members of Congress from all over the country to sign on as cosponsors.

So I thank you, Mr. Ross, for the work that you're doing with our Blue Dog Coalition, for promoting these energy matters that are so critically important to the people of the United States. And I'm proud to be able to join my colleagues tonight.

I yield back my time.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to stand here today to praise the distinguished service of Mr. William Anthony Cargile. Through his service as a Volunteer Firefighter in the Santa Fe Fire and Rescue, he has distinguished himself from his colleagues in a variety of ways. At the age of 14, Anthony (as he is known to his friends and colleagues) started his volunteer firefighting career as a junior fireman. Thirty years later he continues to serve his community not only as a volunteer firefighter but in a number of other roles as well.

Anthony's firefighting credentials are impressive. He holds an Advanced Firefighter Certification as well as a Level II Instructor's Certification from the State Fireman's and Fire Marshal's Association of Texas. Along with serving as President of the Gulf Coast Firemen's Association from 1999 to 2000, he has served as the Training Commissioner for the Galveston Firefighter's Association from 2001-2003 and Coordinator of the Galveston County Field Day in 2003.

A fitting example of Anthony's character was his effort to establish an Honor Guard for the Santa Fe Fire and Rescue. Anthony did all the necessary research, received approval from his superiors and even designed and assembled the uniforms. Because of his tireless endeavor, he was able to successfully assemble the Honor Guard in 2004, which has performed admirably in a number of ceremonies. As another sign of Anthony's service to the firefighting community, he has received Fireman of the Year from the Santa Fe Fire and Rescue twice, in both 2000 and 2007, and was chosen as the Firefighter of the Year in 2008 by the State Firemen's and Fire Marshal's Association of Texas.

Consequently, it is not surprising that he was nominated for National Firefighter of the Year, an award given by the National Volunteer Fire Council.

Anthony is a model citizen and a true public servant. His actions have distinguished him in his community and the 22nd District of Texas is proud of its son.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia.

I will just make a couple of points in response to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Barton). One, I look forward to working with the gentleman in modernizing and working to overhaul the SPR. It is certainly in need of improved management. And I might also mention that a version of this bill was introduced back in May. And we also have been working on it to make it as bipartisan a bill as we could possibly make it since November. So there has been a great deal of effort to try to make sure that we've heard everyone's concerns and to try to address them.

And one of the points that the gentleman made about imports and where our heavy oil would come from to replace this, we purchase 14 percent, or 70,000 barrels, from Canada per month. Also the Gulf of Mexico has a significant amount of heavy crude that we also would be purchasing to put into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And I might make the point that the refineries have made significant and actually great advances in technology. And they refine heavy crude just as easily as they refine light crude today.

So, Mr. Speaker, today we consider this legislation that I believe is an important step for our Nation's future energy security. It will make the Strategic Petroleum Reserve more compatible with modern U.S. refineries and thus more effective. Improving the SPR's flexibility will maximize its utility. Shoring up our Nation's energy reserves is just one piece of this energy supply puzzle which also includes increased domestic drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf as well as research and development for alternatives.

I would like to address national security concerns that have been mentioned. The day that we went to war with Iraq, the SPR contained only 624 million barrels of oil. Today we have more oil in the SPR than we have ever had. And this bill ensures levels will not fall below 90 percent of the current level. In 2006, President Bush declared the SPR is sufficiently large to guard against any major supply disruption with only 688 million barrels. Today it's more than 700 million barrels. Most

importantly, this change will strengthen the SPR and enable refiners to operate at full capacity during any potential supply disruption.

When Congress created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1975 following the Arab oil embargo to protect the Nation from any future oil supply disruptions, refiners largely processed only light and medium crude. Advances in technology over the years have led to the ability to efficiently process heavy oil as it has become a larger part of the market. In fact, 40 percent of the oil accepted last year by refiners was heavier than the oil contained in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. With refiners planning to expand by 800,000 barrels worth of mostly heavy oil capacity in just the next few years, I believe it is incumbent upon us to ensure that the Nation's oil reserves match refining capacity.

The GAO stated if forced to rely on SPR oil, about half of the refiners subject to potential supply disruptions would experience an additional 5 percent or 735,000 barrels a day reduction in production, further exacerbating any supply issues. This exchange will ensure that the SPR will provide maximum protection for the Nation's energy supplies.

This will further strengthen our energy supply against potential disruptions because the exchange will raise funds that will be deposited in the SPR account that will allow the SPR to increase the total inventory level without the need for additional appropriations, further strengthening our energy supply against potential disruptions.

Thank you, Mr. Barrow, for yielding me the time.

You know, advances in technology over the years have led to the ability to efficiently process heavy oil as it has become a larger part of the market. In fact, 40 percent of oil accepted last year by refineries was heavier than the oil contained in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That's a critical point in my opinion.

Earlier we put into the Record the GAO report, and I would like to submit for the Record the report that was mentioned within the GAO report that came from the Department of Energy and read just one paragraph from it:

``To address the compatibility issues of the 11 heavy crude refiners and provide full protection for the Nation for all disruption scenarios, the SPR would need for approximately 10 percent of its inventory to be heavy oil. With consideration being given to a larger Reserve and additional storage sites, it may be desirable, and physically viable to store lower gravity crude than what is currently stored in the 700 million barrel Reserve.''

The GAO stated that the Department of Energy may have underestimated this amount in recent testimony. All the more reason why we should be looking at how we can find a solution to this problem, use an opportunity that is available to us.

That's exactly what I started out to do in November. When I approached many of my colleagues at this House, this is something that we should not be down here using partisan rhetoric over, pointing the finger at one side not doing something the other side should be doing. We understand this is a small part of the problem that we're going to be facing. It is only one thing that needs to be addressed. But it is one part, and it can make a difference.

And who cares if it's 1 percent or 3 percent or 5 percent or 10 percent? If the American people see the people from this House trying to do something that will make a difference in their lives, help with the pain at the pump, isn't it worth the effort? That's what we set out to do. That's all we set out to do. And there is no reason in the world why this legislation should not be made law of the land.

Executive Summary

Over the past two decades, many refiners in the United

States (U.S.) have expanded and ramped their refineries to

process higher sulfur, lower gravity crudes to increase their

refining economics and profitability. As a result, overall

U.S. crude oil imports have been consistently moving from the

higher quality crudes toward the lower quality crudes.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) inventory consists of

high quality oils that have been previously determined to be

the best crudes to address oil supply disruptions. However,

the industry's trend toward the use of lower quality crudes

has raised the question about how well the current SPR crude

inventory can meet refiner needs.

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the

compatibility of the crudes stored in the SPR with respect to

U.S. refining capabilities and likely disruption demands.

Specifically, the study addresses SPR crude compatibility

from two aspects (1) the compatibility and physical

limitations of U.S. refiners to substitute and refine SPR

crude in place of their usual foreign crude supplies, and (2)

the capability of the SPR to meet the Nation's refinery needs

in the event of potential supply disruptions.

a. spr inventory

As of December 31, 2004, the SPR had a total inventory of

681 million barrels (MMBbls) in storage at its four

underground storage sites along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf

Coast.

The SPR storage sites maintain only two crude type

segregations. One is a sweet crude having a sulfur content of

less than 0.5 percent and an API gravity ranging between

35 deg. and 37 deg., and the other is a sour crude having a

sulfur content of approximately 1.4 percent and an API

gravity ranging between 30 deg. and 34 deg.. The SPR's mix of

sweet and sour crudes is roughly 45 percent sweet and 55

percent sour.

compatibility with u.s. refiner processing capabilities

In 2004, the U.S. had 149 operating refineries which

processed an average of 15.3 million barrels of crude oil per

day (MMBbl/D). Of this total, 7.0 MMBbl/D came from U.S.

domestic oilfields or Canada, and are considered secure crude

supplies. The remainder, 8.3 MMBbl/D, was foreign imports

(exclusive of Canadian), for which SPR crude would be

considered a replacement in the event of an import

disruption.

A two step approach was used to evaluate the compatibility

of each of the 149 refineries with respect to SPR crudes. A

screening analysis was then used to classify refiners as (a)

not SPR connected, (b) domestic/Canadian only, (c) fully SPR

compatible, (d) high SPR compatibility, or (e) low SPR

compatibility. An engineering analysis was then used to

determine the maximum volume of SPR crude the refinery can

process and the extent the refinery will be forced to reduce

refinery runs.

In 2005, of the Nation's 149 refineries, 44 refineries were

identified as having compatibility issues with using SPR

crudes. Thirty three of these refineries were classed as

``high compatibility'', where the use of SPR crude would not

substantially impact their refining operations. Eleven of

the refineries were classed as ``low compatibility,''

where the capability to substitute SPR crude for heavy oil

imports was limited. These 11 refineries are all located

in PADD III on the Gulf Coast and predominantly import

crude from Mexico and Venezuela. If all of this oil were

disrupted, these 11 refineries would need to reduce U.S.

refining runs by approxImately 508 MBbl/D (3.3 percent of

U.S. refining). Gasoline production would not be affected,

but the production of distillate fuels (jet and diesel)

would be reduced.

c. compatibility with u.s. needs in a disruption

From a world oil market perspective, the study evaluates

the compatibility of SPR crudes with respect to U.S. crude

shortages resulting from five major supply disruptions which

have the potential of occurring within the next 10 years. The

disruption scenarios were: a Persian Gulf oil disruption, a

Saudi Arabia oil disruption, a Nigerian oil disruption, a

Venezuela oil disruption, and a hurricane disruption of the

domestic Gulf of Mexico oil production.

The results show that the SPR crudes are fully capable of

satisfying U.S. refiner demands under four of the five

disruption scenarios. The only disruption case where the SPR

was not fully capable of mitigating the crude loss due to

incompatibility issues was the Venezuela oil disruption. Even

in this case, the SPR sour crude is effective as a blending

stock and will reduce the potential shortfall of U.S. heavy

oil runs from 2,200 MBbl/D to 450 MBbl/D.

The reduced refiner run of 450 MBbl/D will not impact the

production of motor gasoline in the United States, but it

will reduce the production of jet fuel, diesel fuel,

kerosene, residual fuels, and other heavier refined products.

d. conclusions

In general, the crudes currently stored in the SPR are

compatible and desirable for the majority of the U.S.

refineries and are well suited to mitigate most supply

disruptions. There are, however, eleven PADD III refineries

which have been specifically configured for processing heavy

crude largely from Latin America that would be impacted in

the event of a disruption of foreign crude supplies. However,

they would still be able to process a limited quantity of SPR

crude and maintain their full production of gasoline.

To address the compatibility issues of the eleven heavy

crude refiners and provide full protection for the Nation for

all disruption scenarios, the SPR would need for

approximately 10 percent of its inventory to be heavy oil.

With consideration being given to a larger Reserve and

additional storage sites, it may be desirable, and physically

viable to store lower gravity crude than what is currently

stored in the 700 million barrel Reserve.

GAO stated DOE may have underestimated this amount in

recent testimony.

I. Introduction

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the largest

government owned stockpile of crude oil in the world. Since

the SPR was authorized in 1975, the reserve has grown to 681

million barrels (MMBbls) by the end of 2004.

The crude is stored in salt caverns at four storage sites

along the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast. The sites are known

as West Hackberry, Bryan Mound, Big Hill, and Bayou Choctaw.

The SPR is connected to U.S. refineries by pipeline and by

waterway. Refineries along the Gulf of Mexico are connected

to the SPR by local pipelines. Refineries in Chicago and

other mid-continent areas are connected to the SPR by

interstate pipelines. Refineries along the Atlantic Coast and

West Coast can be supplied with SPR oil using tankers that

load oil through Gulf of Mexico marine terminals. The SPR

distribution system has been carefully developed to serve the

needs of the Nation in the event of a foreign crude oil

supply disruption.

Crude has been acquired from 25 countries over the past 30

years. The quality of the stored oil is classified as light.

This crude quality has been and it remains adequate to

support most foreseeable supply disruptions. In recent years,

however, refineries in the

U.S. have imported increasing quantities of heavy crude

largely from Venezuela and Mexico. The trend toward heavier

oil imports raises a question about how well the current

light oil in storage will mitigate future heavy oil supply

disruptions.

This study was undertaken to assess the compatibility of

SPR crude with respect to the current and future crude

requirements of U.S. refineries. The objective of the study

is two-fold:

Assess the capabilities and physical limitations of U.S.

refineries to substitute and refine SPR crude in place of

foreign crude supplies, and

Assess the capability of the SPR to meet U.S. refinery

needs in the event of a supply disruption.

To accomplish these objectives, a methodology was developed

to identify U.S. refineries with crude compatibility issues.

Refinery data were systematically evaluated to determine the

refineries that could not fully use SPR crude because of

crude quality differences. These refineries would need to

reduce crude input into the refinery and this would reduce

the amount of jet fuel and diesel fuel that would be

available during the disruption.

The compatibility assessment results were incorporated

mathematically into models that simulate the world petroleum

market. Five disruption scenarios were identified as having a

high probability of occurring at least once over the next

decade. The scenarios were selected to evaluate the

SPR response capabilities in both volume and in the

capability to provide compatible crude.

Chapter II summarizes key information about the volume and

quality of oil currently stored by the SPR and how that oil

compares with the oil currently imported by U.S. refiners.

Limits on the capability to substitute SPR crude in an

emergency are addressed.

Chapter III is a comprehensive assessment of the

compatibility of SPR crude with U.S. refineries. The

assessment addresses the physical limitations of the

refineries, the maximum volume of SPR crude that could be

utilized, and the extent the refineries would need to reduce

runs due to compatibility issues.

Chapter IV summarizes the results of five disruption

scenarios. The capability of the SPR to meet refinery demands

under emergency conditions is presented and discussed.

Chapter V addresses the issue of future storage of heavy

oil and the need and rationale to provide a heavy oil

component to meet a future heavy oil disruption.

Chapter VI presents the overall conclusions and

recommendations from the study.

Appendix A contains the analysis results for each of the

149 refineries in the U.S. that processed oil in 2004. The

compatibility of each refinery is presented and the

individual results summarized by region.

Appendix B discusses the two models used in the disruption

analysis. One model establishes the optimal drawdown from the

SPR in response to a supply disruption. The second simulates

the world petroleum market and estimates the impact of the

disruption on the flow of petroleum around the world.

Appendix C is a world map that displays the impact of each

supply disruption on the worldwide flow of petroleum. Data

that support the analysis are also presented.