Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, many employers have reassured me that the pension stabilization language included in the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 will allow them to invest more to create jobs and will prohibit a reduction in their workforce. I hope this is the case and that these pension reforms will help businesses create jobs in a struggling economy.

However, H.R. 4348 does not make changes to the financial reporting requirements known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to allow companies to reflect the reforms on their balance sheets. The end result of this is that many company balance sheets will be required to show inflated pension liabilities that the reforms seek to address.

There is also no guidance provided to the overseeing entities of GAAP on how to conform these reforms and accounting requirements.

The pension stabilization language is meant to allow companies to calculate their pension funding status through a more stable, long-term method. There should be consistency between the law and how pension obligations are reported on companies' financial statements.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Bobby Moser upon his retirement from the position of vice president for Agricultural Administration and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.

Since its inception, the United States has always been known for its institutions of higher education. Our universities and colleges represent some of the most well-known and respected schools in the world. In my opinion, these heavily lauded institutions remain only as successful as the administrators and professors who make up its faculty. Every American who has attended a school of higher learning can fondly remember one or more faculty members whose impact resonates with him or her today. We must not forget the role of educators and administrators whose unwavering efforts sometimes go unnoticed. It is because of the intelligence and hard work of these men and women that our schools stand today as some of the world's finest places of learning and educational development.

For over 20 years Bobby Moser has represented one such educator and administrator. Since his introduction to The Ohio State University, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has gone on to become a well-recognized and respected department nationwide. In light of his efforts, the college has seen an increase in grant awards, issuance of patents and donations. As an alumnus and a former member of the marching band at OSU, I can appreciate the efforts and impact of quality individuals like Bobby. Much of his career has remained dedicated to the development of this college and the students who have devoted themselves to Ohio's oldest and most reputable industry. I am proud to recognize the career of such a supreme leader at OSU and look forward to hearing of his future successes and contributions to our community.

On behalf of the citizens of Ohio's 12th Congressional District, I would like to thank Bobby Moser for his steadfast commitment to The Ohio State University.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.

The Foundation was established in 1992 by Dave Thomas as a public charity with one primary goal: to help every child in foster care find a loving, permanent family. Throughout its history, the Foundation has set forth on a mission of dramatically increasing the number of adoptions of waiting children.

For 20 years, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has committed itself to finding permanent families for the more than 100,000 children waiting in the United States foster care system.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption awards grants to public and private adoption agencies all across the country. Last year these grants totaled more than $8 million and focused on supporting adoption professionals who implement proactive, child-focused recruitment programs targeted exclusively on moving the longest-waiting children from foster care into adoptive families. This signature program is Wendy's Wonderful Kids (WWK).

The results from an empirical five-year case study on WWK were released in October, 2011. The research showed that children in the program are up to three times more likely to be adopted.

The Foundation also supports employers through the Adoption-Friendly Workplace program, is a founding member of National Adoption Day, and is a proud partner of the annual television special, A Home for the Holidays.

The Foundation is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, Standards for Excellence certified, and has received the highest possible rating on Charity Navigator. The Foundation has helped more than 3,000 children find their forever families and provided information and support to tens of thousands of potential adoptive families.

For these reasons, I am proud to applaud the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and its dedicated staff for their extraordinary contributions to the people of Ohio's 12th Congressional District and throughout the United States.

Mr. Speaker, as we work to reevaluate our country's health care delivery and payment system, I rise in recognition of the great success my home state of Ohio has had in caring for our senior citizens. Ohio Governor John Kasich realized not only the cost savings but also the quality of care that could be achieved through caring for seniors in their own homes. He dramatically increased the availability of home health services for Ohio's senior populations, and according to the Ohio Department on Aging, the state will save an additional $300 million per year by 2020 because of that decision.

When seniors are paying their own room and board, sleeping in their own beds, and doing their own laundry and cooking, they end up having more personal investment in their own health care decisions--covering costs that taxpayers would otherwise pay in increased Medicare and Medicaid spending. Giving seniors, and all Americans, more control over their medical choices and health care dollars will help promote high- quality, cost-effective health care.

Last month was Older Americans Month, and this year's theme was Never Too Old To Play. Older Americans were encouraged ``to stay engaged, active and involved in their own lives and in their communities.'' What better way for seniors to do this than to receive needed care in the comfort of their own homes? I applaud the state of Ohio for the quality and cost-effective care we are offering our senior citizens and encourage the federal government to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate Michael Carroll, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus for 34 years of outstanding service.

For the past three and a half decades, the citizens of the Greater Columbus area have received assistance and comfort from their friends and neighbors through the work of this fine leader. Since 1995, Mr. Carroll has served as CEO of the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus covering Fayette, Franklin, Madison and Pickaway counties. In 2007, he was appointed Regional CEO for the Central-Southeast Ohio Region comprised of 16 Red Cross chapters covering 26 Ohio counties.

His talents are so well respected that he has often been called upon to aid other areas of the country as well. Since 1979, Mr. Carroll has served in field leadership roles on more than 20 major disaster operations in 12 states including Hurricane Hugo in 1989. In September 2004, he served as Deputy Director of the Hurricane Frances relief operation in Florida and, in September 2005, was Director of Hurricane Katrina relief for Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

The Red Cross is an internationally recognized symbol of humanitarianism and hope, and Michael Carroll has done much to burnish that reputation by easing the pain and sorrow of disaster victims across our community and around the nation. In short, Michael Carroll has made our community a safer and better place to live.

I offer my best wishes to him and his family for a wonderful retirement. His legacy will stand as an example for all, and he will be dearly missed

Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of Evan R. Corns upon him receiving the Herman ``Rusty'' Shipps leadership award. This prestigious award is named in honor of Rusty Shipps, Class of 1913. The Award, bestowed by the Ohio Wesleyan Alumni Board of Directors, recognizes exemplary leadership, stewardship, dedication, and commitment to the advancement of the university.

Mr. Corns' support of his alma mater is legendary at Ohio Wesleyan University, as is his commitment to private liberal arts education as reflected in his 2010 induction into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Hall of Excellence.

Throughout a tremendously successful business career, Evan R. Corns has made his mark both at Ohio Wesleyan and around the State of Ohio. An active member of the university's Board of Trustees for more than 20 years and a supporter of many Ohio Wesleyan initiatives, Mr. Corns has never ceased to find new ways to enhance the campus and mission of his beloved school. For example, in an effort to make college available to others he graciously provided financial support for a number of campus scholarship programs, including the Woltemade Center's Corns Business and Entrepreneurial Scholars program, all in an effort to support the students, faculty, and staff at Ohio Wesleyan University. Alumni like Evan R. Corns represent the finest aspects of Ohio Wesleyan University and symbolize the finest traditions of citizenship.

Mr. Speaker, along with my colleague from Massachusetts, Representative Neal, and Representatives Sam Johnson, Charles Rangel, Devin Nunes, Pete Stark, Dave Reichert, John Lewis, Peter Roskam, Earl Blumenauer, Jim Gerlach, Ron Kind, Aaron Schock, Joseph Crowley, Lynn Jenkins and Erik Paulsen, I rise today to introduce the Update and Streamline REIT Act (U.S. REIT Act). Congress created real estate investment trusts (REITs) in 1960, with the goal of providing Americans from all walks of life a transparent and liquid way to access the income and diversification benefits of investments in commercial real estate.

Periodically over the past fifty years, Congress has enhanced and improved the REIT rules as the real estate industry and marketplace has evolved, typically with non-controversial legislation that attracts significant bipartisan support. In that vein, the last REIT update was introduced in 2007.

A number of publicly traded REITs are headquartered in my home state of Ohio, and listed REITs as a whole have invested over $8 billion dollars to date in Ohio malls, office buildings, health care, hotel, self-storage and other properties. This investment by REITs creates jobs, improves local economies; and helps to support and beautify our communities.

The U.S. REIT Act has been developed over a lengthy period. It has considerable bipartisan support and is largely revenue neutral. If enacted, it would increase flexibility and remove certain redundant and unnecessary restrictions on REIT activities, in order to enable REITs to continue to achieve the goals on behalf of their shareholders set for them by Congress over fifty years ago.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to a golf legend, devoted philanthropist, husband, father and grandfather, Jack Nicklaus. Known as ``The Golden Bear,'' Jack Nicklaus has continually set an admirable example of excellence, not only emulated by generations of golf fans, but by those who value sharing their success by giving back to others. As someone who shares the experience of growing up in Central Ohio and attending The Ohio State

University, I can attest to the pride held by both communities.

Dubbed the ``Golfer of the Millennium,'' Jack Nicklaus is world renowned for his winning record of 118 professional golf tournaments and an unsurpassed 18 professional major-championship titles. However, it is his accomplishments off the course that I recognize today. In 2005, Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara formed the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, which provides support for activities that advance and enhance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of childhood diseases and disorders. To date, Jack and Barbara have raised over $15 million in support of pediatric health care programs through their foundation. In addition, as a trustee of The First Tee program, Jack provides positive life values and promotes healthy choices through the game of golf to young people who would normally not have access to the game.

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to attend the Legends Luncheon this week, which advances pediatric care through the Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation alliance. As a fellow Ohio State Buckeye, it is truly my honor to recognize such a great role model, Jack Nicklaus.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to recognize the efforts of the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), which is headquartered in my district in Westerville, Ohio. NGWA is sponsoring National Ground Water Awareness Week which began on March 12. Each year, this event puts the national spotlight on a critically important issue, the preservation and protection of groundwater for human and environmental purposes.

National Ground Water Awareness Week is the pinnacle of NGWA's year- round effort to educate the public about proper groundwater and water well stewardship. The United States uses 349 billion gallons of freshwater daily, 79.6 billion gallons of which is groundwater, serving 90 million Americans.

NGWA is a nonprofit organization composed of more than 12,000 U.S. and international groundwater professionals including contractors, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, scientists, and engineers. The organization is dedicated to advancing groundwater knowledge. NGWA's vision is to be the leading groundwater association that advocates the responsible development, management, and use of water.

Association members are using Ground Water Awareness Week to participate in a variety of activities and events. I want to thank them for their efforts to preserve, protect, and safely utilize this most valuable resource.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Chairman Camp and Chairman Mica for their fine work on the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, and to explain the bill's treatment of the fractional ownership industry.

Fractional aviation has grown rapidly to change how business travels, but Washington doesn't always keep up with the pace of change in business, and fractional aviation was no exception. The Federal Aviation Administration recognized that fractional is non-commercial in 2003, but the Internal Revenue Service is still trying to tax it the same as a commercial airline ticket, despite the fact that fractional owners own their planes. Today we are clarifying and reaffirming that fractional aviation is non-commercial aviation. This bill clearly states that instead of being subject to the commercial ticket tax, as the IRS has asserted, fractional flights will pay the fuel tax used in noncommercial aviation, plus a fractional surtax.

Ohio is the birthplace of aviation. This heritage of aeronautical innovation continues today with cutting edge fractional ownership aircraft programs. This bill will align fractional aviation's tax treatment with the longstanding FAA rules, and help the fractional aviation industry in Ohio and across the country grow even more. I want to thank Chairman Camp for making this clear.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 3622.

Mr. Speaker, this debate is in many ways surreal-- surreal. I learned in Civics 101 that the House is a coequal branch to the Senate. Members on the other side say, well, this is a compromise. It's a compromise in the Senate, not the House. The House has spoken. The Senate says, my way or the highway.

Now, I understand that that's how it's kind of become around here, and I know there are friends on the other side of the aisle who are upset with the Senate when they've done it on other bills when they were in the majority.

This is enough. The American people deserve better. We need to get back to regular order. We need to compromise between the House-passed bill and the Senate-passed bill. That's the way the Founding Fathers wanted it: compromise between the House and the Senate, not between the Senate and the Senate. Two months for the American people, that's outrageous. They deserve a year, a full year to have a payroll tax holiday, not 2 months.

Come on, ladies and gentlemen, let's send the Senate a message: come back to Washington and do your work. Give the American people a year, not 2 months.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize Bob Conners upon his retirement from 610-WTVN Columbus.

The often transient nature of a career in radio remains a hard truth for those who choose this field. The industry sometimes forces these men and women to relocate to different stations and towns across the country. These individuals come and go, sometimes without developing a strong connection with a community. Over the years, however, one voice has remained a mainstay in Columbus, representing the pinnacle of morning radio hosting. As a proud central Ohioan and occasional guest on his show, I am deeply honored to show my sincere appreciation for one of the greatest radio hosts in this city's history, Bob Conners.

Bob came to Columbus from Pittsburgh over 40 years ago and since then has brought acclaim to and instilled pride in the central Ohio community. His morning show, Bob Conners in the Morning became one of the most popular shows in the area, attracting listeners from miles around. Known as the ``Morning Monarch'' for his longstanding service to the station, Bob eloquently presented national and local news, along with sports, weather and traffic reports.

For years he delivered the news to millions of citizens. His on-air disposition and the consistency of his presence made waking up to his voice a pleasurable morning routine for an entire generation. I fondly remember listening to his show when I was growing up and how honored I was each time I was asked to speak with him on-air.

While he has retired from hosting the show, Bob's legacy and uplifting presence will resonate throughout our community for years to come. I am proud to wish him the best of luck as he moves on to the next exciting phase in his life. He not only remains one of the city's most recognizable voices, he also is one of Columbus's favorite sons.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize Natala K. (Tally) Hart upon her retirement from The Ohio State University.

Expressing how much Tally Hart has meant to The Ohio State University and the many students who have felt the impact of her unwavering commitment to higher education remains no easy task. As a graduate of Ohio State and an admirer of this remarkable person, it gives me great pleasure to add my personal appreciation.

For over three decades, Tally has dedicated herself to helping students achieve their dreams of attending college. After serving at various institutions around the country, in 1996 she was hired as Ohio State's Director of Financial Aid. In this position she gained national recognition for not only her unrivaled ability to obtain funding for students, but also the strength of her character and the sincerity of her efforts. In 2006 Tally was named Senior Advisor for Economic Access. In this role she was given the opportunity to lead a new program that allowed her to create programs that benefit thousands of disadvantaged students and make Ohio State a leader in college access and success initiatives.

Upon her retirement, Tally will leave behind a legacy that will permeate throughout central Ohio for years to come. Like fellow Buckeyes before her, she has become a beloved figure at our school. Through her selfless pursuits and deep passion for Ohio State, Tally has added greatly to the school's storied history and rich tradition.

While she is moving on to the next phase in her life, Tally will surely never stop doing what she loves: helping others. On behalf of the citizens of Ohio's 12th Congressional District, I would like to wish Tally the best of luck and thank her for her devotion to Ohio State.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to and honor the memory of Sister Catherine (Mary Isaac) Colby, O.P., Ed.D., of the Dominican Sisters of Peace in Columbus, Ohio, who passed away suddenly on December 2, 2011.

Sister Catherine Colby was a native New Yorker, and a graduate of St. Helena's Elementary School in the Bronx and Dominican Academy in Manhattan. She entered the Novitiate of the former Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs in 1960 and made her Profession of Vows in 1963. Sister Catherine earned a Doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University of Florida; an M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Xavier University of Cincinnati; an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from St. Joseph's College of Connecticut; and a bachelor's degree in Education from the former College of St. Mary of the Springs, now Ohio Dominican University, in Columbus.

A lifelong educator, Sister Catherine was an outstanding administrator and a compassionate and perceptive preacher--the principle charism of the Dominican Order--as well as a division chair, faculty member, school principal and teacher in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. Additionally, she had been Vocation Director and Director of Candidates for her Dominican Congregation.

Sister Catherine was an Associate Professor of Education at Ohio Dominican for twenty-three years, and for seven of those she served as Chair of the Division of Education. The founder of the Center for Dominican Studies at ODU, Sister Catherine was also the University's first Vice President for Mission and Identity. In that capacity, she coordinated and facilitated the university-wide process of sustaining, enhancing, and promoting its distinct mission as a Catholic and Dominican university.

Her passing is a great loss not only for the Colby family, but for the Dominican Sisters of Peace, the entire campus community, the twelfth Congressional District of Ohio, and for Catholic education across this country.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Sister Catherine's family, including her godson, John Colby, who serves with us here as a United States Capitol Police Officer, as well as to her Congregation, Ohio Dominican University, the Dominican Order, and her friends and colleagues during this most difficult time. Her legacy will stand as an exemplar for all Catholic educators and women religious, and she will be dearly missed.