Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, as you know, I will be retiring from this House at the conclusion of this Congress, but today I rise to pay tribute to a member of my staff, Diana Hart, who will also be retiring from service in this House.

A native of New Orleans, Diana lived in Germany for many years but decided to make the Washington area her home in the 1980s. Diana holds an associates degree in paralegal studies and joined my staff in 1986. As our office manager, Diana is also usually the first person a visitor to my office meets or a caller speaks with. Over these nearly 22 years of serving constituents and assisting guests, Diana has provided a warm welcome and a helpful demeanor with a continued focus on our office motto of ``Constituents First.''

Over the years, we have come to know Diana as a cat lover who is extremely devoted to her two cats. However, recently a new passion has inched its way into Diana's heart. That passion is her new grandson and her soon-to-arrive granddaughter. In her retirement, Diana is looking forward to being able to spend more time with both her grandchildren

and her cats, and we all wish her well as she will have more time to pursue these passions. We are grateful to Diana for her service.

Madam Speaker, as you know, I will be retiring from this House at the

conclusion of this Congress, but today I rise to pay tribute to a member of my staff, Sylvia Snyder, who will also be retiring from service in this House.

Sylvia was born in Grenada, Mississippi but moved to Canton, Ohio, when she was 10. She attended school in Canton and graduated from Timken High School. After raising her family Sylvia went back to school and obtained an associate degree in applied business with an executive secretarial major from Stark State College of Technology, one of our outstanding institutions in Stark County.

It was on completion of her degree at Stark State that I interviewed Sylvia for the scheduler position in my office. I had contacted the school to let them know I was interested in interviewing their students for this position and told them I wanted the best they had. Sylvia became my scheduler in June 1980, and over these more than 28 years, she has indeed proven to be one of the best. I know that my colleagues will agree that one of the most challenging and stressful positions on Capitol Hill is that of scheduler, and with her terrific organizational skills and professional demeanor, Sylvia excelled at this position. During my tenure as chairman of two different Appropriations Subcommittees, the number of requests that Sylvia received for meetings with me would have nearly overwhelmed most people, but Sylvia methodically and efficiently organized and scheduled them in order for us to carry out our mission of constituent service every day.

On behalf of our entire staff, I would like to thank Sylvia for her service to Ohio's 16th Congressional District and to this House and wish her much health and happiness in her retirement. I know that she is very much looking forward to traveling and also taking in the wonderful cultural resources in our Nation's Capital. We wish her all the best.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding. It's certainly with pleasure that I rise today as the dean of the Ohio delegation to welcome our newest Member, the Honorable Marcia Fudge, of the 11th District. We will all sadly recall our delegation and this House unexpectedly lost our friend and colleague, the Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones, this past August. While we all miss Stephanie's warmth and friendship, today we welcome Congresswoman Fudge to this body.

As my colleague from Toledo has said, she has an outstanding record of achievements, and I know she will be a very strong contributing Member to this body. Of course, she has the great experience of serving as the Mayor of Warrensville Heights. Any of you that have experienced local government, particularly as a mayor or a council person, you know that you have to learn to accommodate, compromise, reach across the aisle, and do a lot of things that will make for success in this body.

Also, she is a product of Ohio's fine schools. She has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Ohio State University. Go Bucks. She has a law degree from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues on my side of the aisle, and colleagues generally, we are happy to welcome Ms. Fudge as one of our Members and wish her a long and successful career as a Member of this body. It's a great honor to serve in the United States Congress. I think all of us can attest to that.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

Madam Speaker, in accordance with the Republican rules on earmarks, I wish to place these eight declarations in the Congressional Record for earmarks secured in H.R. 2638--the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Defense-Wide.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Seaman Corporation.

Address of Requesting Entity: 1000 Venture Blvd, Wooster, OH 44691.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $1.6 million to develop and test improved collapsible urethane fuel storage tanks. Specifically, the money will be spent on 16 tanks of varying sizes, rental and site preparation of two test locations, site operations, disposal and clean-up costs, and the rental cost of JP-8 fuel with which to carry out the testing.

A wide range of critical military, national security, and natural disaster response activities depend on collapsible storage tanks for fuel and water distribution. In recent years, the Government has purchased fuel tanks that have not consistently performed well. The development and testing of better manufacturing processes will ensure extended life and performance dependability to meet the increasing fundamental infrastructure needs of all branches of our military service and national security agencies.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Army.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Will-Burt Company.

Address of Requesting Entity: 169 Main St., Orrville, OH 44667.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark for $2,400,000 to develop a rugged, telescoping, fast-erecting/retracting, and locking mast for use in elevating heavy payloads on ground vehicles. Often, mission requirements dictate a powered payload to be extended from a vehicle in either the horizontal or vertical direction. LOS radio communications, for example, are significantly enhanced by elevating optical sensors and antennae above ground level. The development of this mast technology will significantly enhance mission flexibility, enable on-the-move engagement of urban and field targets above ground level, and enhance manned and unmanned ground vehicle survivability by allowing ``ahead'' vision/sensing of IEDs and enemy combatants.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Army.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: American Engineering & Manufacturing.

Address of Requesting Entity: 4622 French Creek Road, Sheffield, OH 44054.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $2,400,000 for the Advanced Materials & Processes for Armament Structures, AMPAS. This is a public/private partnership that will leverage up to $50,000,000 private and $20,000,000 public investment with the goal of increasing the availability of low cost titanium for government and commercial manufacturing.

This program was initiated to provide significantly lighter components for military equipment resulting in ease of use and transport of equipment. This program implements research using native Ohio titanium production facilities for low-cost titanium products used in U.S. Army applications. The ability to successfully transfer commercial developed metal-forming technologies to Federal agencies is a key contributor to United States readiness and economic competitiveness. As the U.S. Army undertakes transformation implementation with lighter-weight equipment, the use of titanium in armament and ground vehicles is becoming more and more important.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Army.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Contained Energy, Inc.

Address of Requesting Entity: c/o Wright Fuel Cell Group, 1819 E. 101st St., Cleveland, OH 44106.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $800,000 to continue work on developing advanced applications of direct carbon fuel cells. The Army spends $1 billion annually on energy, of which $750 million is energy for facilities. Further development of fuel cell technologies could significantly reduce the cost of energy for facilities, while simultaneously reducing Army reliance on fossil fuels and increasing the use of renewable energy.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Defense-Wide.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The University of Akron.

Address of Requesting Entity: 302 Buchtel Mall, Akron, OH 44325.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $800,000 to establish the first undergraduate corrosion engineering program to offer corrosion-specific, accredited engineering degrees at the associate and baccalaureate

levels. Specifically, the money will be spent on curriculum development, student training, outreach and recruiting efforts, and establishing a corrosion testing and teaching laboratory.

The direct annual costs of corrosion for the Department of Defense are estimated to be more than $20 billion. Preventing or slowing the forces of corrosion could result in enormous cost savings for not only the Department of Defense, but the government as a whole. Additionally, the debilitating effects of corrosion have been documented to have a significant impact on readiness and in-theater operability. A key factor in combating corrosion is the availability of an educated workforce that can integrate corrosion considerations at the earliest stages of the acquisition process. This project will develop appropriate curriculum that will result in a pipeline of qualified corrosion engineers.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Army.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: The Defense Metals Technology Center.

Address of Requesting Entity: c/o Stark State College 6200 Frank Ave, NW North Canton, OH 44720.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark for $3,000,000 to fund an industry-based consortium to serve the needs of the Department of Defense by facilitating research and development of innovative technology and products for the defense materials and manufacturing industry. Specifically, the money will be used for staffing, strategic metals research and development, technology insertion, industrial base risk analysis, local academic research grants, and cooperative educational work programs.

The Center will serve the current industry needs, capture the individual successes of each service, manage the needs of each service, and look broadly to the expansion of the strategic metals industrial base to serve both the military and commercial markets.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Army.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Honeywell International.

Address of Requesting Entity: 101 Constitution Ave, NW Suite 500 West Washington, DC 20001.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $800,000 to fund complete research, development, testing and evaluation of a redesigned Accessory Gear Box (AGB) for the CH-47F Chinook helicopter. The redesigned AGB will give the operator and maintainer of the CH-47F Chinook fleet a 200 percent improvement in AGB reliability, which is critical to mission readiness. The redesigned AGB will increase reliability, durability, and safety. In addition to the Army's CH-47F, the redesigned AGB will also be compatible with Special Operations MH- 47s, the Air Force Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) aircraft, and our allies' CH-47 helicopter fleets.

Requesting Member: Rep. Ralph Regula (OH-16).

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation--Army.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Bosch RexRoth Corporation.

Address of Requesting Entity: 1700 Old Mansfield Road Wooster, OH 44691.

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $800,000 to address the needs of the U.S. military's tactical wheeled fleets to significantly reduce fuel consumption and improve vehicle performance and mobility. Specifically, the money will be spent 60 perent on salaries and labor, 20 percent on materials, and 20 percent on hybrid system and vehicle testing.

This research and development will produce advanced Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicle technology that will improve fuel economy by up to 60 percent for the tactical wheeled fleet, reduce the required logistics support footprint, and reduce maintenance and replacement costs due to a reduction in brake wear. The benefits to the U.S. military are many, including supporting the American warfighter, conserving energy, improving cost-effectiveness, and reducing the Department of Defense's dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to congratulate the Members of this body on their support for the continuing resolution which we approved earlier this week, as it removed the provision that had prohibited oil and gas leasing in vast areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. This action is indeed historic. I know, because I am one of the few Members of this body who was here when the moratorium was first placed on the Interior appropriations bill. This history is instructive and one that needs to be recorded.

The story began in 1969 with a 3 million gallon oil spill off of Santa Barbara. Until recently, a lesser known consequence of this event was the congressional moratorium that forbid exploration of the OCS.

The late 1970s were a time of oil shortages, lines at the pump, and even gasoline rationing. In 1978, President Carter boldly declared our energy situation to be the moral equivalent of war. Congress rose to that challenge by passing the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, declaring it to be the policy of the United States that, and I quote: ``The OCS is a vital national resource held by the Federal Government for the public, which should be made available for expeditious and orderly development . . . ''

Had we done that, we would have oil today. The ink was barely dry on these words before Congress began derailing its own policy, and by 1981 with the long lines at the pumps gone, Congress placed the first moratorium, which applied to only 736,000 acres in one area. Since then, the amount of

oil and gas resources we placed off limits has exploded to almost 266 million acres--18 percent of the whole Outer Continental Shelf.

Next, in July 1985 Secretary of the Interior Donald Hodel and members of the California congressional delegation announced a preliminary agreement to both protect and develop the California Outer Continental Shelf. Under that agreement, just 150 of the 6,450 tracts under moratoria restrictions would be available for lease, with the remainder protected until the year 2000.

Even that minimal concession sparked an outcry, including the specter of oil soaked beaches, and headlines in the LA Times: ``Drilling Plan Sparks Coast Battle Cry''.

At that time I testified and still believe today that the issue of leasing on the OCS is principally one of aesthetics, the Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) syndrome, not an environmental one. Further, I said: ``Today we have no energy crisis, making it the ideal time to begin the safe and orderly development of the OCS. In the event of an energy crisis in the near future how many of us are going to want to tell our constituents that we were responsible for tying up this national resource?''

The Hodel deal crumbled, and a bipartisan Congressional negotiating team was named to try to craft a new proposal. This group met 16 times between January and July 1986, but no consensus could be reached. Rather the Secretary was directed to consider all of the proposals in preparing the next Five-Year Plan for OCS Leasing and Development.

This effort was followed in 1989 by the President's establishment of an Interagency OCS Task Force to examine adverse impacts of lease sales offshore California and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

In testimony before that body I noted that: ``The real effects of these moratoria have been to deprive the Nation of the opportunity to determine the size of its offshore resource base, to increase our dependence on unstable foreign sources, to increase our exposure to the risk of tanker spills and to increasingly force our domestic oil and gas industry to look to other nations for opportunities to locate oil and gas resources.''

Not surprisingly, in June 1990 President George H. W. Bush announced his decision to put 99 percent of the California coast and the coast of southwest Florida off limits to oil and gas leasing and development until after the year 2000. Despite even that assurance the ``one year'' annual legislative moratorium remained in effect. However, on July 15 of this year President George Bush lifted the Executive Ban on drilling, reigniting the age old debate. and this week, this House removed the last barrier to exploring in the OCS. The issue is not behind us though, and the next Congress must be vigilant in ensuring that these lands remain open to exploration.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this tonight. You'll have to admit that I have one gift, and that is that I recognize talent. That has turned out to be one of the better decisions I made when I got Steve LaTourette on Transportation.

Madam Speaker, the Ohio delegation and this body will be losing two outstanding Members at the end of this Congress--David Hobson and Deborah Pryce. Both Members have been tireless servants on behalf of the people in their districts in our State. I'd like to take this opportunity to share some of the legacies they leave behind.

Dave was elected in 1991 to represent Ohio's Seventh Congressional District. He was appointed to the Ethics Committee as a freshman lawmaker, and it's obvious that the leader saw an element of fairness in the makeup of this gentleman and gave him what was, I think, a very tough assignment. I was pleased, again speaking of recognizing talent, to help Dave secure a position on the Appropriations Committee during his second term.

Speaker Gingrich made Hobson his personal appointee to the Budget Committee in the 104th and in the 105th Congress. In that role, Dave served as a member of the House leadership and as a conduit between the Speaker and Ohio Republican John Kasich. Knowing these two personalities, that was a challenge. John Kasich was chairman of the Budget Committee and, as he would say, the architect of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

As chairman of military construction within Appropriations, Dave led the efforts to provide troops and their families with safe, clean and modern facilities both here and overseas through housing privatization. When you have to depend on a volunteer Army, it becomes very important to have good housing because this affects the decision of members as to whether they will re-up in the military. Of course, their spouses, who are impacted by the housing, always have a great word in as to whether or not that happens. So Dave made a real contribution to a volunteer military force by taking care of the housing problems.

Dave became chairman of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee where he worked with the U.S. Corps of Engineers to develop a long-term approach--and we don't have enough long-term approaches in this body when it comes to management. He kept the corps from entering into costly, open-ended contracts, but made sure that it had the funding necessary to complete high-priority infrastructure projects.

Through his subcommittee, he also helped to bring a post-Cold War approach to the Department of Energy's management of the nuclear weapons complex. An example of this new focus was eliminating funding for the ``bunker buster,'' also known as the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, a fancy name for a bunker buster. Dave stopped it, and it would have been a waste of money.

Congressman Hobson used his experience as a small businessman to work with the communities in Ohio's Seventh District to promote economic growth and job creation. Part of his efforts included bringing leaders from both the public and private sectors to help attract new businesses. Dave has a very good skill in bringing people together, which is important when handling the military and which is also important when handling the leaders of his community.

With four military bases in his district--Wright-Pat, Defense Supply Center Columbus, Springfield Air National Guard, and Rickenbacker International Airport--he worked tirelessly with community leaders and base officials to support the missions of each of these bases. It included his work to protect Ohio's military bases from the impact of the BRAC round of base closures.

Continuing to work, he began as chairman of the Ohio Senate Health Committee. He worked in Congress to preserve the basic values of American health care, including access, security, affordability, choice, and fairness. I think as one that parents would especially appreciate, he supported legislation to ensure fair access to immunizations for low-income children and to help small business owners and farmers secure better prices on health insurance premiums. I think this illustrates that Dave was a Member with a heart, with a caring for people, and that's so important in this job. He worked to modernize the Medicare program by adding the prescription drug benefit.

In all of his efforts, both here and in the State, he has a reputation for working in a bipartisan way. I think this is reflected in the fact that he was very successful in all that he did. I can say a lot more about Dave, but again, I think one of the good decisions I made as a member of the steering committee was to get both Steve on Transportation and Dave on Appropriations. The public of this Nation is better served.

Next is Congresswoman Deborah Pryce. She was elected in 1993 to represent Ohio's 15th Congressional District. Throughout her distinguished career in the House, Deborah has worked tirelessly in support of improving access to health care, especially for children, and I know the parents across this Nation are in her debt for all that she has done in working on children's health issues.

She authored the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2008 and the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act--two very important legislative enactments to help with children and to help with health care generally. I know that she has been a strong supporter of Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, one of the leading children's hospitals in the Nation. In fact, I visited there once, and they were bringing in children from all over the country to benefit from Children's Hospital, and they didn't know that they were in the debt of Deborah Pryce for making that facility be there and be the strong leader it is in children's health issues.

She was also a strong supporter of GME, Graduate Medical Education programs for pediatricians. Again, it is so vitally important because pediatricians, I think, are a very essential component of the health care program because they deal with the early years of a child's life, and Deborah was a leader in that effort.

She was appointed by the Speaker to the House Rules Committee where she served from 1995 to 2004 and as chairman of its Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process. Then she was appointed to the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and to the Republican leadership health care working group on managed care reform. Deborah has always been a leader in health care, and I think that is such an important responsibility of the Congress.

She served as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. The committee, of course, is in the hot seat right now. Deborah is not there, but I think it illustrates the importance of this committee and that she served it so well in both 1993 and 1994 to 2005. She served on the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology, and she is currently the ranking Republican member on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

She was the cofounder and cochair of the House Cancer Caucus where she has been an active leader in educating others on this terrible disease. Further, Deborah coordinated House Republican strategy and served as its chief House spokesperson on the landmark tobacco settlement among 40 States and tobacco companies. What a challenge. I think a bailout seems simple after that.

As Ohioans, we are extremely proud that Deborah became the highest ranking woman in the House Republican leadership when she chaired the House Republican Conference from 2002 to 2006. This required a lot of diplomacy, and she gave that program the type of leadership that made her very successful in that role. She was the fourth ranking elected leader in the House of Representatives. She has had other leadership positions, including as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as secretary of the House Republican Conference, and as deputy whip from 1996 to the present.

Madam Speaker, the Nation has received outstanding service from these two great Members from Ohio. We will miss them. We extend our appreciation for their work on behalf of the people of Ohio and on behalf of the country. We wish them and their families health and happiness in the future.

I just want to say on a personal note that it has been a real joy to serve with Dave Hobson and Deborah Pryce. They're the kind of individuals who make service in this Congress something that we can all point to with pride and with the joy of fellowship in working with them and in helping provide leadership under their guidance for the many programs that benefit the people of this great Nation. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my condolences to the family and friends of Congressman John Seiberling and to pay tribute to his work here in the Congress. Congressman Seiberling passed away on August 2, 2008, at the age of 89.

John represented Ohio's 14th Congressional District, the district just north of the one I represent, from 1971 through 1987. He was an active member of the House Resources Committee and worked on a number of natural resource and environmental issues through this assignment. He cared deeply about the preservation of our national heritage and protecting the natural environment. He carried out these priorities through his work on the committee, but one effort in particular stands out as a legacy for the people of northeast Ohio.

As an innovator when it came to protecting natural resources and open space, John introduced legislation that would create a 33,000-acre national recreation area between the two population centers of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. He asked me to serve as his partner as the Republican cosponsor of the legislation. We worked together to pass the bill, and on December 27, 1974, with President Gerald Ford's signature, the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area was established.

Today, this area, now the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, is one of the most frequently visited national parks within the entire national park system and serves as a respite to the residents of the densely populated cities of Cleveland and Akron and their surrounding suburbs, as well as many national park visitors from other States.

John's innovation and vision in understanding that people thirst for open spaces in their communities brought about the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Today it is a gift to the people of northeast Ohio and a true legacy of his work.

We are grateful for John's life and accomplishments and wish his family, especially his wife, Betty, who was his inspiring supporter, peace with his passing.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express deep sadness on the sudden passing of our colleague in this House and a member of the Ohio delegation, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

August was a busy month for us. We have participated in events in our districts and meetings in our offices. Many of us participated in our party's presidential conventions. Unfortunately, too many of these tasks and goals were cut short and cut short too early for our colleague. We grieve her loss here this evening.

Throughout our time together in this House, the members of the Ohio delegation have been a congenial group and not a partisan one. We regularly worked together to share common responsibilities and actions to improve and strengthen our State. Stephanie brought energy and enthusiasm to our delegation and to our work, and we will miss her terribly.

As you will hear throughout this evening's remarks by my colleagues, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones is a Member who held many firsts in our delegation. And I won't repeat those because many Members will touch on it.

To me, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was my friendly, outgoing, and upbeat colleague. We often traveled back and forth together in the same plane from Ohio to Washington for our congressional session. I will miss her wonderful personality and the energy she brought to our delegation and to this House.

This morning, when I was getting ready to leave for the airport, I said to my wife, ``You know, I'm going to really miss Stephanie because we would always be on the plane together most the time, the same flight, and she was always so upbeat and she had the common expression, `Well, how are you doing today? How are you doing today?' ''

Well, we did well together, but I will miss her energy and personality that she brought to the delegation and to this House. I worked with Stephanie--her district was not far from mine--and we had a common interest in furthering the medical facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, some of the best in the United States; and it was a pleasure always to work with her and to enjoy her boundless enthusiasm and good nature.

And certainly on behalf of my colleagues in the Ohio delegation, we express our sincere sympathy to her son, Mervyn Jones, and to her sister, Barbara Walker, as well as to her thousands of constituents and to her devoted staff.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson).

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Ohio (Ms. Pryce).

I yield to the gentlelady from Ohio (Mrs. Schmidt).

Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time.

Yes, I yield.

Yes, we'd be happy to yield whatever time we have left to your side.

Well, I would just comment that to know Stephanie was to love her. She just had that ebullient personality that you couldn't resist.

I also want to comment on one other thing, and that is that thousands of people in East Cleveland, in her district, have better health care today than they would have without Stephanie. She focused on the health care assets of East Cleveland, some of the best in the Nation, and as a result, the people that she represented have a better chance to take advantage of the health care facilities. And that's a legacy of Stephanie that most people aren't aware of and yet touches the lives of literally thousands of people.

And I congratulate the gentlewoman from Ohio for having this Special Order tonight because Stephanie was special.

Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, I rise in opposition to

Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Chairman Rahall and my colleagues in the Senate for all of their hard work on this bill. It is my pleasure today to speak on behalf of S. 2739.

I rise to highlight Title IV of this comprehensive natural resources bill, which reauthorizes the National Heritage Area program. Heritage Areas allow communities to preserve and maintain places of cultural and historical importance so that future generations can enjoy them. These areas also provide important recreational opportunities for local families and visitors who come from all over the country. They relieve the Federal Government of the burden of permanently maintaining these spaces as national parks at a time when the National Park System is overburdened.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is a tremendous benefit to the American people. National Heritage Areas provide opportunities for the health, education, and recreation of the American people in their communities. In my State of Ohio, the Ohio and Erie Canalway is one of the many great examples of the success of this program. The Ohio and Erie Canal was originally created nearly two centuries ago in an attempt to bring Ohio out of economic stagnation by making the State a vital link in the waterways that connect the Eastern States with the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, Ohio excelled to become one of the most prosperous States within 20 years of the canal's creation. Today, that heritage is shared with the people as they enjoy the many of the benefits Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath. With over 3 million users a year, this one of several National Heritage Areas clearly highlights the success of this program.

I also want to emphasize the fiscal responsibility of the heritage area provisions. This bill will not provide money to managing entities unless they provide matching funds from other sources. For example, within the Ohio and Erie Canalway, for the $8 million in Federal funding that has been secured for this area, over $270 million in State, local, and private contributions have been leveraged.

Mr. Speaker, the National Heritage Area program has been a successful program for nearly 10 years. I believe it will continue to be a successful program as it has been an efficient use of the taxpayers' money while preserving historic and cultural landmarks for communities across this country. I ask my colleagues to support S. 2739.

Mr. Speaker, with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, NCLB, our nation made a commitment to closing the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers and to changing the culture of America's schools so that all students receive the support and high-quality instruction they need to meet higher expectations.

The critical part of this challenge, at the high school level, is reducing the number of young

people who disengage and drop out of school and, conversely, increasing the number of students who graduate from high school and go on to higher education or get a job in the workforce.

Because of the importance of improving high school performance, NCLB requires secondary schools to meet reading and math targets for all of its students that are established by the State--just like all public schools. However, secondary schools must also meet State-established graduation rate targets in order to meet the requirements of the law. The law also authorizes the School Dropout Prevention Program whose purpose is to provide grants to States and school districts to assist in the dropout prevention and school re-entry activities.

As several national studies have found, a staggering number of youth fail to graduate on time. For example:

About one-third of our students--approximately 1.23 million each year--leave high school without a diploma.

Black and Hispanic youth are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to drop out of high school. In 2005, 6 percent of non-Hispanic whites ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in school and had not completed high school, compared with 11 percent of blacks and 23 percent of Hispanics.

A student's decision to drop out of school has long-term consequences that not only affect the individuals themselves, but the society at large:

Dropouts from the class of 2006 cost the nation more than $309 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes.

If the nation's likely dropouts from the class of 2006 graduated, we could save more than $17 billion in Medicaid and expenditures for uninsured care over the course of those young people's lifetimes.

If high schools and colleges raise the graduation rates of Hispanic, African-American and Native American students to the levels of white students by 2020, the potential increase in personal income would add more than $320 billion to the U.S. economy.

Increasing the graduation rate and college matriculation of male students in the U.S. by just 5 percent could lead to combined savings and revenue of almost $8 billion each year by reducing crime-related costs.

A high school diploma and further postsecondary education or training is critical in today's global economy. Dropouts are unlikely to have the minimum skills necessary to function in today's increasingly complex and technological workforce.

Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator that our nation's public schools are doing what they are intended to do: Enroll, engage and educate youth to be productive members of society.

However, there have been some concerns raised over the availability and quality of data on graduation and dropout rates and how they differ from State to State. This is based largely on whether the individual State has developed strong standards for its high schools. For example, even though NCLB has improved the reporting of data, a few States continue to have wide gaps in their data and can not accurately calculate graduation or dropout rates from 1993 to 2002.

To deal with this problem, yesterday, Secretary Spellings issued proposed federal regulations to establish a uniform formula to calculate graduation rates. In particular, States would be required to adopt the formula, largely based on a rate agreed to by the National Governors Association, NGA, by 2012.

I agree with the Secretary that this must be done. Only by knowing how well or how poorly States, schools, and school districts are educating students can we ensure that every student receives an excellent education.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5036.

CBO estimates that this bill will cost the taxpayers $685 million to reimburse jurisdictions for the cost of converting to voting systems that produce paper ballots, manual audits and hand recounts. We have already provided the States with $3.2 billion in grants to implement the Help America Vote Act, including $115 million appropriated in fiscal year 2008.

The administration of elections is a State and local responsibility. Many jurisdictions have already decided to change their election systems to require paper ballots using their own resources. This bill would encourage other jurisdictions to rush the implementation of new paper ballot systems for the November election.

In written testimony before the Appropriations Subcommittee, the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission stated: ``Experience has taught election officials that a minimum of 6 to 8 months, and preferably longer, is needed to effectively implement a new voting system and to educate the voting public about how to use the system. Consistency in procedures and process is key in creating a secure, accurate and effective election. As we have seen in Ohio and in several other jurisdictions, the hasty attaching of a printer to some machines has led to paper jams, long lines, and confusion. While jurisdictions may find a voter verified paper audit trail to be suitable for their needs, hastily requiring such a thing for this year's election has the potential to lead to more problems than it can possibly solve. At this point in the election cycle, election officials are better served by sharpening their already existing policies than trying to apply patchwork fixes that could lead to greater problems.''

That was from the Election Assistance Commission which is a bipartisan group.

I would add, this bill will not only put the country further in debt, but would encourage jurisdictions to implement new voting systems between the primaries and general election, leading to additional election problems.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this legislative proposal.

Mr. Speaker, the Everglades National Park plays a major role in preserving an important ecosystem in the State of Florida. The Everglades act as a natural filter that helps provide fresh water to major cities in Florida. In a time when water is becoming an increasingly valuable resource, protecting this area for its natural filtering benefits is vital. While I was chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the programs that will restore the Everglades, I made sure that this task received the support that it needed. I again stand today in support of the Everglades and the Everglades National Park, an area that plays a vital role that is key to restoration of this ecosystem.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I congratulate the sponsors.

In the Labor, Health and Human Resources and Education bill, we started funding this program. It was a huge success. We had testimony in our subcommittee from students who had been involved in this, and they were so impressed that they could participate. And I'm sure, out of this program, we've developed not only teachers, but administrators. A classic example is Michelle Rhee, who is the new superintendent of the City of Washington school system. She was a person who was part of the Teach for America. And not only do you get teachers who are, of course, extremely important to education, but you get people who will probably be on school boards, community leaders who will be in positions to further the cause of education. And I don't think there's anything we can do as a Nation more important than beefing up and supporting our education system. It's the future of this country to have educated people, and to do that you need good teachers. And we need to get people from all walks of life involved in teaching.

I think it's a great program. We certainly were impressed with the testimony we heard in the Labor, Health and Human Services Education Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee about the value of this to the society and to the individuals involved.

I congratulate the authors for this support, and I think by making this a part of the education program on a fixed basis we are saying, in effect, this is more than temporary; this is of permanent value to the future of this Nation and to the future of education.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

I simply want to compliment Chairman Serrano in providing great leadership in the financial services area. This is one of the few bills that was substantially under the President's request, and in fact, it's more than $1 billion under the President's request, which was kind of unusual.

But more importantly, I won't begin to get into all the features of the bill, but because of the news in a recent editorial in The Post, we note that Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Ray are trying to improve the school system of the City of Washington. That's a huge challenge; and in this bill, we've tried to give them as much support as possible in their effort to improve the opportunities for the young people in the Washington, D.C., community. This city should be a leader in education.

Secondly, and there's language in here and I don't know how many of you noted in The Post a couple of weeks ago a story indicating that D.C. has the highest HIV/AIDS rate of any major capital in the world. That's shameful and should not be, and we've provided language in this bill to not only provide help to other countries but to provide help to this city to address that problem and a lot of other features which, regarding the interests of time, I won't get into.

As ranking member of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, I would like to thank Chairman Serrano for creating such a fair and open environment in composing the Financial Services and General Government portion of this bill. Chairman Serrano has provided great leadership, knowledge, and an inclusive spirit while shepherding this bill through. Additionally, my colleagues on the subcommittee have provided valuable insight to the final product before us today. Lastly, but equally as important, I would like to recognize the hard work, dedication and expertise of the subcommittee staff on both sides of the aisle without which none of this would be possible.

The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill allocates $20.6 billion in discretionary budget authority. By taking into consideration the priorities of the President and the Members of the House and Senate, we have produced a bill that meets the needs of Americans, and the operations of our government while staying $1.1 billion below the President's budget request and approximately $800 million below the House request. I appreciate the efforts of our counterparts in the Senate in helping us put forth this compromise.

Although the subcommittee's allocation is below the President's request, it is still a significant increase from fiscal year 2007 and contains more than adequate funds for the 32 agencies in this bill to fulfill their missions. The bill provides funding for a diverse number of agencies that affect the lives of all Americans. The agencies funded in this bill regulate the financial and telecommunications industries, collect taxes and provide taxpayer assistance, protect consumers from harmful products, lend a helping hand to small businesses and disadvantaged communities by providing them with capital, support the operations of the White House and Federal Judiciary, provide Federal payments to the District of Columbia, operate and maintain Federal buildings, manage our Federal workforce, which is expected to experience tremendous attrition rates over the next 10 years, assists in the administration of Federal elections and protects consumers and investors from fraudulent practices.

At this time I would like to highlight several items of importance to me.

I am particularly pleased at the $97 million for Small Business Development Centers, an increase of nearly $10 million. The Small Business Development Centers account is the Small Business Administration's primary method of providing management assistance to small businesses. In my State of Ohio we have over 889,000 small businesses, and every dollar invested in the OHIO SBDC network leverages at least $2. This program is vital to the life of small business.

I am also encouraged to see $1.1 million for Treasury's Office of Financial Education, an increase of approximately $400,000 over the President's request. The increase is targeted toward improving the National Strategy for Financial Literacy and expanding efforts at financial literacy in elementary schools and high schools. Financial literacy is a very important life skill, and I look forward to working with the chairman to further develop this initiative to ensure maximum programmatic impact.

Additionally, the bill increases essential funding for the Internal Revenue Service to close the nearly $300 billion tax gap. Closing the tax gap is critical as most Americans do not mind paying their fair share of taxes as long as they know others are doing the same. Furthermore, $3.6 billion is set aside for taxpayer support services activities aimed at tax return preparation, the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate and IRS outreach and education efforts to serve taxpayers by helping them understand their tax obligations before they file. These activities have been steadily reduced in recent years and are in need of a boost.

Last, but not least, I am supportive of the funding appropriated in the bill to improve education in the District of Columbia. We are in a unique position to help the new Chancellor and Mayor provide a better future for the children of Washington. The children in Washington, DC, have been at a disadvantage for many years, and I look forward to working with the Mayor to enhance the school system to give the children of DC a chance to succeed.

Also, the bill contains language regarding HIV/AIDS in DC. One in every 20 city residents in Washington, DC, is thought to have HIV, and one in every 50 has AIDS; these rates are higher than those in many poorer countries. I find this astonishing and disheartening. I look forward to working with my colleagues, the Mayor, and the administration to address this serious problem.

Chairman Serrano has done a fair job in allocating funds to the various agencies within the bill. However, I do have a couple of spending concerns, which I would like to outline.

Primarily, I am concerned about $125 million added to this bill in unrequested funding for election assistance grants. This program has not been authorized to receive funding in 2008, and there still remains a large carryover balance, which leads me to believe this money cannot be used effectively before the 2008 elections.

I am also concerned about the elimination of funding for the Department of Homeland Security to begin planning their new headquarters building. This funding is critical to begin relocating DHS employees who are currently spread out all across Washington, DC, under one roof.

Lastly, I am pleased to note that all of the contentious policy riders have been eliminated from the bill. Therefore, I strongly support the Financial Services and General Government section of this bill.