Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to recognize the Ohio State University Medical Center. OSU Medical Center has been listed among U.S. News and World Report's list of ``Honor Roll'' hospitals.

Praised for their quality care and performance, OSU Medical Center is among only 21 hospitals in the country named to this elite list. This is the 17th consecutive year that OSU Medical Center has been considered one of ``America's Best Hospitals'' by U.S. News and World Report.

The Ohio State University Medical Center is one of the largest and most diverse academic medical centers in the country. OSUMC has been recognized for more than six specialties including the Ross Heart Hospital, which ranked 37 among 4,861 hospitals and the James Cancer Hospital, which ranked 18th for cancer treatment. In addition, the list also includes ear, nose and throat, diabetes and endocrinology, gynecology, kidney disease, orthopedics, respiratory disorders, rehabilitation and urology.

This success is a direct reflection of the staff and faculty at the Ohio State University Medical Center. All are credited for helping to make the OSU Medical Center a leader in medicine in creating a future that will improve people's lives. Their education, research, and dedication to personalized care for every patient is truly commendable.

I offer my congratulations to the entire OSU Medical Center community for the hospital's excellence in care and the honor of ranking as one of America's Best Hospitals in 2009 and 2010.

Mr. Speaker, a hundred of my colleagues have come and asked, Mr. Speaker, ``Where are the jobs?'' We passed a stimulus bill months ago, and in Ohio, we had 33,000 jobs lost just last month. The jobs I see created, Mr. Speaker, are here in Washington--czars, commissars--not real people back in Ohio.

Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs? We passed a bill on this floor creating a national energy tax which is going to cost Ohioans hundreds of thousands of jobs. We're debating a health care bill where small business owners are concerned that they're going to shed additional jobs at a time when we need small business owners to create more jobs.

Mr. Speaker, Ohioans, as this chart points out, are shredding jobs in this administration, are shredding jobs this year. We're creating a record amount of deficits, record debt, higher taxes. All Americans want, all Ohioans want, Mr. Speaker, are jobs.

Where are the jobs?

Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

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

Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Italian-American delegation it is my pleasure to offer my support of H. Res. 430-- Expressing condolences to the citizens of Italy and support for the Government of Italy in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the Abruzzo region of central Italy.

As the son of Italian immigrants from Abruzzo, I am pleased my colleagues agreed that we should stand behind Italians as they begin the process of rebuilding areas damaged by the earthquake. H. Res. 430 serves

to reaffirm the deep ties between the United States and Italy, and show the Italian people our nation's support in their time of need.

I hope the reconstruction efforts will be completed quickly so the region's cultural and artistic heritage will be restored, while homes, businesses, and schools can be rebuilt. Abruzzo is truly a beautiful region and I look forward to its revival.

Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to recognize Congregation Torat Emet. This synagogue is the product of the hard work and dedication of many individuals in Central Ohio and their commitment to the religious growth of their membership and the local Jewish community.

Central Ohio is blessed with many houses of faith that can claim long traditions of service to our community. The addition of Congregation Torat Emet to Central Ohio will continue to make it a vibrant and thriving spiritual center. The congregation will serve the community well and is an inspiration to all.

Throughout our community's history those seeking a place to learn more about their faith have found a home among our houses of worship. The faithful dedication exhibited helps to make Columbus and Central Ohio the kind of place where citizens of all religions and nationalities desire to live, work and raise their families.

This congregation, of more than 150 families, began only five years ago. The goal of securing and strengthening modern Orthodoxy in Central Ohio has been driven by Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein along with Rabbi Howard Zack. Rabbi Zack has been the Spiritual Leader of Congregation Torat Emet since its inception in September 2001. Today, as they open their second Synagogue in Columbus, Ohio may the local Jewish community celebrate the reality of this vision.

I offer my congratulations to the Congregation Torat Emet and the dedication of their new facility.

Well, I thank the gentleman and my friend from northeastern Ohio. Your explanation and your comments have been very, very enlightening. I'm pleased to be here to participate in the travel edition, as well as the original edition.

I'm a bit confused, though. You haven't explained why the pictures, the six pictures--I understand five of the six. But the top, as I'm looking at it or as I guess the viewers are looking at it, the top left, right there, why the former President's picture is on it when he's been out of town since mid-January of this year.

Well, and just to kind of emphasize a point that you had made earlier about your mayor and the response that she got, that the President's quote of it will not disrupt the lives of the people who work at Chrysler or live in communities that depend on it, his quote, and then the reply back to her meaning, well, those communities outside those targeted for

closing. Well, that doesn't include, to the point of your chart right there, the thousands, the tens of thousands, the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are going to be lost by dealers throughout America and many communities, and those who are subcontractors within the industry or others in the supply chain, suppliers of different parts.

And we have in Ohio, as you know, one of the larger presence of auto suppliers throughout our State. And if you look at the dealers, as your chart demonstrates, 789 Chrysler dealers throughout many small communities and larger communities, 2,600 GM dealers, many of whom by the way made money last year. These are not dealers that were struggling or going to be put of business. They were making money. They were employing people. They were participating in their communities, in their Rotaries, sponsoring Little League baseball teams. This is a huge jolt to many communities throughout our State, throughout our country, let alone the plants that you had spoke about earlier.

But there is a missing link here as to who is calling these shots, how are they determining which dealers close, who is actually making the call, the decision, that Chrysler cut their budget in half, what kind of decisions are being made with respect to General Motors that we don't know about. I know I'm asking more questions rather than providing answers. Maybe one day we will get to some of these answers, but I see the gentleman has a new chart.

Being a lawyer and former prosecutor, can you explain the advantages of a bankruptcy in New York City rather than Detroit?

Would the gentleman yield?

They could essentially say to a dealer, If you don't sign this agreement which we could ultimately say you're going to rebuild your store, you're going to make it so many more square feet, you're going to move your location, if they don't sign that, if that business owner doesn't sign that, they're out. They have absolutely no leverage. All contract law has been violated.

Well, thank you for yielding.

The gentleman from Michigan brings up the stimulus bill, and I just had a thought cross my mind.

Not to add more questions rather than answers, but maybe the next edition of Clue is to figure out how--as the gentleman from the Cleveland area knows and as the gentleman from western Ohio knows, just today, we find out that 1,200 jobs in the Miami Valley at NCR were lost from Ohio to Georgia, in part because, at least according to the employer, in the stimulus bill, there were provisions to allow for a potential office building/manufacturing facility to be used to build and to lure jobs from Ohio to Georgia, which is absolutely outrageous. These aren't the types of jobs that we thought were going to be created. These are pitting States against States and localities against localities.

So I would ask the gentleman from Ohio if, maybe the next time we get together, we could add that to the auto industry and to the AIG bonuses. These are things that are done here, not on this House floor, not in the people's House, but in one of those rooms behind closed doors.

I yield back.

Mr. Chair, I am submitting the exchange of letters between Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, Representative John B. Larson and myself regarding the tax treatment of fractionally-owned aircraft.''

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, May 21, 2009.

Hon. Charles B. Rangel,

Chairman, Committee on Ways & Means, Longworth House Office

Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Rangel: We write to you regarding the tax

treatment of fractionally-owned aircraft and ask that you

carefully consider this issue as you continue work on H.R.

915, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009.

Under current law, fractional aviation is treated as

commercial aviation for taxation purposes. However, the

Federal Aviation Administration treats fractional aviation as

non-commercial, general aviation operations for regulatory

purposes. We believe that the current Federal tax law should

be modified so that, going forward, it properly reflects this

regulatory treatment. In addition, we recommend that an

appropriate adjustment

in the aviation fuel excise taxes be placed on the fractional

aviation community. It is important to note that both of

these recommendations are fully supported by the fractional

aviation community and are consistent with the agreement

reached on this issue last year by the Senate Finance and

Commerce Committees.

We had originally hoped to raise this issue during the

Committee's mark-up on the aviation tax provisions of the FAA

Reauthorization Act of 2009. In the absence of this

opportunity, we ask for your commitment to continue to work

with us on this issue as this legislation moves forward.

Sincerely,

Patrick J. Tiberi.

John B. Larson.

Mr. Chair, I rise today to express my support for the provisions in this bill that would establish a fair process for addressing contract disputes between the FAA and our country's air traffic controllers.

Air traffic controllers ensure the safety of air passengers every day. I thank the air traffic controllers in my Central Ohio district, across Ohio and across the country for their hard work and dedication to keeping our skies safe.

In 2006, I cosponsored legislation that would have required the contract dispute between the FAA and the Air Traffic Controllers Association to be submitted to binding arbitration if the two parties did not reach an agreement. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

The provisions in H.R. 915 are a good start and I rise in support of them today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the dedication and achievements of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Ohio State Association of Letter Carriers. May 9th, 2009 marks the 17th annual NALC National Food Drive to ``Stamp Out Hunger.'' On that day, letter carriers will collect non-perishable donations from homes as they deliver mail along postal routes.

Letter carriers from over 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam collected a record setting 73.1 million pounds in last year's drive. The drive is held annually on the second Saturday in May. Donations will be collected by more than 1,400 local branches of the 300,000-member postal union and delivered to food banks, pantries and shelters in the communities where they are collected.

I am honored to have the opportunity to recognize the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Ohio State Association of Letter Carriers for their dedication and hard work in the communities to help provide food for the growing number of American families facing hunger in these difficult economic times.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to congratulate Paola Grullon for receiving the Charles J. Ping Award. This outstanding accomplishment is a result of Paola's hard work and dedication to serving her community.

This honor is awarded to undergraduate students who exemplify leadership in their communities and boast a record of outstanding achievements in service. This is the fifth consecutive year that a student from Ohio Wesleyan University has received the Ping Award. This is proof of the University's commitment to conveying the importance of service-learning to their students.

Paola Grullon is a member of Ohio Wesleyan University's Class of 2010. Paola recently completed an internship with Delaware's Woodward Family Resource Center, and organization that provides outreach opportunities for the city's Hispanic community members. As a pre-med major from the Dominican Republic, Ms. Grullon has created a strong support network for Delaware's Hispanic community by helping people with translations for numerous medical and utility services, government benefit services and child care assistance.

In addition to her work with the Woodward Family Resource Center, Ms. Grullon volunteers with Grace Free Clinic and St. Mary's Church. Paola has led fellow students from Ohio Wesleyan on spring break volunteer experiences, inspiring other students to follow her example of leadership and service.

I am pleased to commend Paola Grullon on this wonderful achievement as well as Ohio Wesleyan University for encouraging service-minded students to give back to Central Ohio communities.

Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to recognize the grand opening of the Metropolitan Emergency Communication Center (MECC). This new center represents the commitment the participants of six fire departments in Central Ohio have had to serving their communities. This innovative center serves Mifflin, Plain, Jefferson, Truro, and Violet Townships as well as the City of White Hall.

The state-of-the-art communications center opened on April 16, 2009 in Gahanna, Ohio. This multi-jurisdictional emergency dispatch center for Fire, Rescue and EMS serves six fire departments and assists over 120,000 Central Ohioans. In 2008, the MECC handled over 27,000 calls for fire and EMS service. The opening of this new facility for the MECC offers room for training, meetings, additional consoles, upgraded technology, and on-site IT support.

This partnership improves efficiency, enhances capabilities, and shares technology to better serve our community. Emergency responders have access to the resources they need to best do their jobs because of the innovative approach to dispatching the Metropolitan Emergency Communication Center has taken. The MECC allows all six participating fire departments to stay on the cutting edge of technological developments to better execute emergency runs and to serve our Central Ohio community.

I offer my congratulations to the six communities that comprise the Metropolitan Emergency Communication Center and I applaud their hard work and dedication to preserving the safety of Central Ohioans.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus. Praised for its dedication to saving and restoring lives, the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus serves over 1.3 million residents in Central Ohio.

Having recently celebrated ``Red Cross Month'' during March, I am pleased to highlight the successes of the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus. As one of the most trusted charities in Central Ohio, this chapter is at the forefront of helping individuals and families prevent, prepare for, and respond to large and small scale disasters.

Led by Mary Navarro, Michael Carroll and a committed Board of Directors, this group of over 700 volunteers and 55 full-time employees responded to 356 local disasters in 2008. Their service and assistance directly impacted the lives of over 470 families in Central Ohio.

Educating more than 73,000 individuals about how to prepare for emergencies and training more than 46,000 residents in First Aid, CPR, Water Safety, and other life-saving courses the Greater Columbus Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing much more than relief to victims. The benefit of programs like these provides support to the public beyond times of need.

It is my pleasure to recognize the American Red Cross of Central Ohio for their unrelenting and inspiring record of service to the families of Central Ohio. All have produced a safer place for the residents of Central Ohio to call home.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to recognize Dr. C. Brent DeVore for his service and tenure at Otterbein College.

Dr. C. Brent DeVore has been a tireless advocate for higher education. Known to his peers as, ``the Dean of Higher Education,'' Dr. DeVore has brought a great deal of leadership to Otterbein College throughout his 24 years of service. His service on the boards of 23 national and local non profit organizations earned him the honor of the President's Call to Service Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Otterbein has grown to 3,107 students under Dr. DeVore's guidance. He has improved retention rates and increased the endowment from $6 million to $100 million. Not only have student facilities been renovated, but land acquisition has nearly doubled the size of campus under Dr. DeVore's direction.

In addition to his work at Otterbein College, Dr. DeVore has made a lasting impression on the community. He has made service a priority of the college and student life. Last year alone, Otterbein students donated over 32,000 hours of community service to Central Ohio. Nearly 70 percent of the student body has participated in service projects throughout the community. Otterbein's generous service to the community earned Otterbein College the President's Award for General Community Service in February 2008 from the White House.

For his years of service at Otterbein College and consistent hard work toward the betterment of our higher education system, I commend Dr. C. Brent DeVore upon his retirement.

Madam Speaker, as many of my colleagues know, today is Earth Day.

Earth Day is dedicated to raising awareness of how we can all be good stewards of our environment and leave our world better than we inherited it for future generations.

An important task to achieve this laudable objective is a comprehensive federal energy policy, one which puts all options on the table for debate and discussion. In other words, an ``all of the above'' approach.

Included in this energy policy will be exciting new technologies which incorporate more efficient, cleaner and safer ways to harness energy from the sun and our natural resources. There will also be an expansion of common-sense practices to conserve our resources.

One such method is recycling. We're familiar with recyclables, as more and more Americans chose to participate in local recycling programs nationwide. Recycling results in a net reduction in ten major categories of air pollutants and eight major categories of water pollutants. To put this in perspective, a national recycling rate of 30 percent reduces greenhouse gas emissions as much as removing nearly 25 million cars from the road.

One vital contributor is the scrap recycling industry. In these challenging economic times, the scrap recycling industry employs more than 85,000 workers while providing high-quality products at lower costs, thus strengthening our economy.

Each year the scrap recycling industry keeps over 160 million tons of material out of landfills. Recycled aluminum saves our country 95 percent of the energy that would have been required to make new aluminum from ore. It also invests significant capital in high-tech, environmentally-designed manufacturing machinery that is used to sort, pack, transform, process, manufacture and ship materials to become new products.

As a member of the House Recycling Caucus, I believe Congress must continue to build our partnership with the scrap recycling industry. Last year's Recycling Investment Saves Energy tax credit has been well received, and I think we all agree that more can be done.

On this Earth Day I would like to thank the scrap recycling industry for the dedication to strengthening our economy in earth friendly way.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to Northland High School in Columbus, Ohio. Northland High School is in my congressional district, and as a Northland graduate, I am proud to recognize a school that not only excels in academics but also distinguishes itself on the basketball court. The Northland High School basketball team recently won the 2009 Ohio Division I Boys Basketball Championship. In the championship game, Northland defeated Cincinnati Princeton 60 to 58.

The basketball team is an outstanding example of hard work, determination and perseverance. They had 27 wins and only one loss in the 2008-2009 season, and have earned the first boys basketball title in school history.

They are led by their top scorer, Jared Sullinger, who was recently named the Associated Press ``Mr. Basketball'' for Ohio, Junior James ``JD'' Weatherspoon, Seniors Sam Belisle, Dimonde Hale, Ricky Bennett and Javon Cornley, along with teammates Charles Edgerton, Quentin Henderson, Trey Burke, Lavante Justice, Ke'Chaun Lewis, Jordan Potts, Devon Scott, Jakyl Cornley, and Roberto Pierre.

The team is led by Head Coach J. Satch Sullinger; Assistants Frank Smith, Michael Clouse, Leigh Horston and Jerome White.

It is an honor to represent such a fine group of young people who have a strong dedication to team work and academics. I know each one of them will treasure the memories of their championship season and I commend them, and the Northland community, for this truly great achievement.