Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to congratulate my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Lowe, Sr. of Huntsville, Alabama, for receiving the 2008 Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Award. This award is given annually to the person or persons in the Huntsville community who displays exemplary community leadership. The Lowes are distinguished community advocates and civic volunteers who have given countless hours to numerous community and state-wide organizations and boards.

Peter and Betsy Lowe have led efforts to nurture the cultural development of our region. Together they serve as co-Chairs of the Huntsville Museum of Art's ``Masterpiece in the Making'' Capital Campaign which is currently raising $11 million for improvements to the museum's existing facilities and an endowment for the museum's long- term financial stability. In addition to her service to the Huntsville Museum of Art, Betsy has volunteered as a board member at the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, the University of Alabama Huntsville Foundation, the Alabama Heritage Foundation and many other distinguished organizations.

Peter Lowe serves as the president of GW Jones & Sons Consulting Engineers, Inc., a highly regarded Huntsville company that specializes in real estate development, sales and appraisals. The Lowes are members of the First United Methodist Church of Huntsville and have three children and five grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, the leadership and dedication of Peter and Betsy should serve as a model for others to follow. On behalf of the people of North Alabama, I congratulate them for being named the 2008 Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Award recipient.

I thank my friends from Tennessee, and I thank the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where I spent so many valuable years, the staff on both sides of the aisle. I have appreciated what you have meant to my congressional district and what you have meant to the Tennessee Valley Authority as well.

I rise today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority. I think it's only appropriate that we do this during what we hope will be the last hours of this, the 110th Congress.

In the 110th Congress, I had the honor of serving as the cochair of the congressional TVA Caucus, which has existed since I have been here, before I

was here. I have been here 18 years. I have cochaired this caucus along with Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee, so we have had a House- Senate partnership there.

There are 41 House and Senate Members that comprise this very proactive Tennessee Valley Authority Caucus. As I look around the room today, many of our House Members that have participated in that caucus are here today.

My friends have talked about when TVA was created. Mr. Duncan, we know that TVA is wonderfully headquartered up there in your congressional district in Knoxville. When TVA was first chartered back in 1933, it was headquartered in the Muscle Shoals area of north Alabama, so we still reluctantly accept that you have the headquarters there that we had back when TVA was first chartered back in 1933.

Let's remember back to 1933. It was the Great Depression. At that time the agriculture industry, which was the bread and butter of the Tennessee Valley, had collapsed. Trying to make ends meet, the people of the valley had overfarmed their land, leading to widespread erosion, soil depletion and low crop yields.

As part of this New Deal program, President Franklin Roosevelt envisioned TVA as a different kind of government agency that could be backed by the power of the United States Government but also have the ``flexibility and initiative of a private enterprise.''

TVA was born, TVA has prospered, and TVA has done remarkable things for our area. We are economically prosperous because of the presence of TVA. They've built the dams, they've developed new fertilizers, they've been the lifeblood of partnerships with local and State government over economic development opportunities.

You can't drive through the Tennessee Valley area without looking around and seeing a much different and much more prosperous area than we ever would have been if TVA had not been the entity that it had been.

Now the TVA of today is not the TVA of the thirties, forties and fifties. We have a different board construct today. TVA is very concerned about the environment. It's looking at its plants, making sure that they are cleaner, more efficient than they ever were before.

Reflect back, also. After the war, TVA built a 650-mile navigation channel along the Tennessee River, allowing it to become one of the longest transport systems in the country. When we make our pitches for economic development opportunities, it is that navigational channel that is our strength as we acquaint those prospective new industries with what we have to offer.

In the 1990s, TVA began several energy efficiency and conservation programs. These initiatives allowed TVA to cut their annual operating costs by more than $800 million while still meeting the electricity needs of the growing population of the Tennessee Valley.

In 1998, TVA started a new $5.8 billion clean air program that has reduced their emissions by 70 to 80 percent. Additionally, TVA recently began its Green Power Switch Program, designed to increase the availability of energy derived from renewable resources such as solar and wind for customers in the Tennessee Valley.

TVA is also leading the way to clean and safe nuclear power. In my district, TVA is making great strides to increase our Nation's use of nuclear energy. That is a reality we must confront.

So I believe the TVA today, under the leadership of Chairman Bill Sansom and CEO Tom Kilgore, is ready and able to meet the growing environmental and power demands while continuing to be a valuable economic partner to the men and women of the Tennessee Valley.

Since I am leaving Congress, I want to thank my colleagues for serving with me and making sure that our TVA area is the area that we know it to be today, an efficient government entity, and that is not something you can say very often.

Joe Bonner, thank you. On behalf of this Alabama delegation, I appreciate your team membership with us. Even when you worked in Sonny Callahan's office, you were part of our delegation there, because, of course, Sonny was our team leader for a while there as well.

As you and maybe the rest of the country doesn't know, there are only seven of us from the State of Alabama. When I came here in the year 1990, I was broken into, introduced to the Alabama team, and understood pretty quickly that regardless of party label, we were one for the State of Alabama, and hopefully for the country as well.

So it has been a pleasure to work with you, and I thank you for you taking the time tonight to allow folks to express these words of kindness for my service here, but particularly for my colleague Terry Everett.

Terry Everett, this gives me the opportunity to say to you that I can think of no one I have enjoyed serving with more than you here, and I have many friends on both sides of the aisle. You and I are bookends in our State, you from the southeastern part of the State, I am from the north-central part of the State.

But your service on the Armed Services Committee, and then eventually on the Intelligence Committee, I joined you there on the Intelligence Committee. The Congress may not know, but I am currently the chairman of a subcommittee on the Intelligence Committee called the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, a new subcommittee that was formed two Congresses ago. I was ranking member until this term of Congress, and now I am the chairman. You are the ranking member of that subcommittee. So it is interesting and ironic that Alabama has had kind of service on that committee, that we can't talk much more about, but it has been particularly important to the rest of the country as well.

I will miss you. I will miss Barbara as well--your wife, Barbara-- whom I came to know because I got to know you, and we're like family. That speaks well of the entire Alabama delegation.

When we presented our Intel authorization bill on the floor earlier in the year, I was able to get a little more specific as Chairman Duncan Hunter was able to do tonight about your commitment to defending space and to making sure that this country's investment in space is preserved. I hope, in your next life, whatever that might be, that you continue your expertise in that area because you still have a lot to offer to the space intel community and to the defense community as well from your service right here in this remarkable arena.

So I will miss you. I will miss this Alabama delegation. I will still be active with you, and will make sure that we, together, continue to look after the State of Alabama.

I will yield back my time, but thank you, Jo Bonner.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding individual from my district, Ms. Margaret Hoelzer.

Ms. Hoelzer, an accomplished swimmer, recently competed in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing where she earned a Silver Medal in the women's 200m backstroke and a Bronze Medal in the women's 100m backstroke. In addition, she and her teammates were awarded a Silver Medal in the women's 4xl00m medley relay. A two-time Olympian, Ms. Hoelzer also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, where she placed fifth in the 200m backstroke.

While her Olympic successes are certainly impressive, Ms. Hoelzer's swimming career includes numerous other medals and honors,

both in U.S. and international competition. She is the former world record holder and world champion in the 200m backstroke. She was the silver medalist in the 200m backstroke at both the 2003 and 2005 World Championships, and she won her first U.S. national title in the 200m backstroke at the 2005 World Championship Trials.

In addition to her many accomplishments in the sport of swimming, her activities outside the pool truly distinguish Margaret Hoelzer as a champion. When she's not swimming, Ms. Hoelzer is a mentor and role model to the young people who take part in her youth swim clinics. As a motivational speaker, she takes her ``if you put your mind to it, anything is possible'' message of perseverance to countless children in her community. In addition, Ms. Hoelzer volunteers at the National Children's Advocacy Center in Huntsville, where she works with abused children. Upon completion of her master's degree in sociology at Auburn University, she hopes to continue her work with abused children as a psychologist.

On Thursday, September 4, 2008, Ms. Hoelzer was honored with a reception in her hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. There Ms. Hoelzer's family, friends, and community celebrated her accomplishments and contributions to the sport of swimming. I rise to join them in their tribute and to thank Ms. Hoelzer for her service to our community.

Mr. Chairman, thank you for those kind words.

I, too, have enjoyed almost every minute of service on this Intelligence Committee. I say to Mr. Hoekstra, as well, the years that we put in together trying to steer through post 9/11, the struggles of holding the agencies' feet to the fire but at the same time forcing them to change, to do things differently to protect this country in a more unified way, it has been extremely rewarding to see both sides come together.

I wanted to use my time today to say that I stand in strong support of H.R. 5959 because I think this edition of the intelligence authorization bill does the same thing, and that is it forces the agencies to be more efficient, it forces them to work together, and at the same time it is providing our men and women around this world the resources that they need to do an even better job of protecting us.

I am particularly concerned about our access to space. It is in the national interest of the United States to have domestic capability for assured access to space. So as this bill proceeds forward, I hope we will make sure that while we are performing oversight and we are forcing the agencies to become more efficient, to consolidate what they do, that we don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

I know my colleague from Alabama, Terry Everett, who is going to speak in a few minutes as well, has been particularly concerned about the access to space issue. My colleague, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Everett) is leaving the committee as well, so Alabama loses one on each side after this Congress.

Mr. Everett, I want to say that the people of Alabama and the people of this country are proud of your career here in the United States Congress. We are proud in north Alabama of our partnership with you. And as I have watched you through the committee process bring the access to space issues to the forefront, this country is a better place because of your service here.

I also want to thank my colleagues. We work hard in cramped, windowless rooms to make sure that the agencies answer the questions that we want our constituents to have answered. They come sometimes to the committee kicking and screaming, but I am proud of the work you do.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the outstanding career of Judge David Breland.

On April 12, Judge Breland was honored with the Newton B. Powell Loyalty Award by the Democratic Party of Morgan County, AL.

Judge Breland has served the people of the State of Alabama for over 25 years as a District Judge in Morgan County. Judge Breland is best known as a tireless advocate for the children of the Tennessee Valley. During his judicial career, Judge Breland established over 35 programs throughout the State of Alabama designed to assist at-risk youth.

Additionally, Judge Breland was the Chairman of Northwest Alabama Corrections for Youth, the Co-Chairman of the Morgan County Children's Policy Council, and a member of the President's Summit on Youth. His efforts have helped countless young people throughout Alabama become successful and responsible adults.

Judge Breland's civic involvement has inspired many in North Alabama. He has received commendations from organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, the NAACP, and the Rotary Club. In 2008, Judge Breland was named as the Citizen of the Year by the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.

I commend Judge David Breland's work on behalf of North Alabama and, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I congratulate him on a distinguished career.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the distinguished career of Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb.

On April 12th, Justice Cobb was honored with the Albert P. Brewer Award for outstanding public service to the State of Alabama.

Chief Justice Cobb has dedicated over 27 years of her life to serving the people of the State of Alabama. She began her service as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2007.

Throughout her career, Justice Cobb has made protecting our Nation's children one of her highest priorities. She has served as the President of the Alabama Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Chairwoman of the Children First Foundation. For her efforts, Justice Cobb has been recognized by the Child Welfare League of America and the National Juvenile Detention Association.

Additionally, Justice Cobb has been an advocate for the American Cancer Society. She has served as the Chairwoman of the Alabama Division of the American Cancer Society and has been named as the Volunteer of the Year by that organization. Additionally, she has been awarded the St. George Medal, the highest national award given by the American Cancer Society.

I applaud Justice Sue Bell Cobb on her outstanding judicial career and I thank her for her tireless efforts on behalf of the men and women of the State of Alabama.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding individual from my district, Mr. Verdery Roberson.

Mr. Roberson is a World War II Navy veteran and a graduate of Paine College. In 1988, he retired to Huntsville, Alabama, after thirty-eight years as a civilian Electronics Fire Control Specialist with the U.S. Army at the Augusta Arsenal in Augusta, Georgia, and the Anniston Army Depot.

Mr. Roberson is most well known for his life-long membership and continuing commitment to the Boy Scouts of America. In 1944, four years after joining the Boy Scouts, he became the first African-American in the Georgia-Carolina Council of Boy Scouts to receive a Scout's highest rank, Eagle Scout.

Mr. Roberson has passed on his extensive scouting knowledge and beliefs to countless young men as an adult leader, mentor, and member of the Eagle Board of Review. He is the founder and former Cub Master for the Cub Scout Pack 314 at the Center Grove United Methodist Church, as well as a founding member of the Urban Emphasis Scout Leaders Council. The Council is an urban and rural Scout outreach, or Scout Reach, organization for the Huntsville-Madison County community.

For his lifetime of inspirational service and outreach with the Boy Scouts, Mr. Roberson was one of the first recipients from North Alabama to receive the Whitney Young Service Award. This award is presented nationally to those nominated by their local councils who have provided Scouting opportunities for young men from rural and low-income urban backgrounds.

On Friday, February 22, 2008, Mr. Roberson's family and friends celebrated his life, his contributions to the Boy Scouts, and his selfless devotion to the positive development of numerous young men. I rise to join them in their tribute and to thank Mr. Roberson for his many years of service to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the victims of the February 6, 2008, tornados in Lawrence and Jackson Counties, Alabama.

Today, I stand with my colleagues from Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee to express our sympathy to the victims of one of the deadliest storms in the past 20 years. In total, over 50 individuals passed away in five states across the Southeast and more than a thousand homes, schools, and businesses were destroyed.

It is with a heavy heart that I remember those from my community who passed, members of the Coleman family of Aldridge Grove, including Gregory, Rebekah, and Gereck; Linda Tinker of Pisgah; and Faye Nell McCullough of Moulton. Thirty-five individuals in north Alabama were also injured, and hundreds of homes were either damaged or completely destroyed by the storm.

On the Thursday following the storm, I joined Alabama Governor Bob Riley to tour the affected areas, and Mr. Speaker, this region has a long road to recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I also rise to thank north Alabama's first responders and State and local emergency management officials for their work throughout the storm and its aftermath. Additionally, I would like to recognize the people of north Alabama, who are once again opening up their hearts and working hard to support the storm victims. I continue to be amazed by the outpouring of sympathy our community exhibits during times of tragedy. These were scenes that I know were similar in communities across the Southeast and I'm proud we recognize these men and women tonight.

As we know, damages caused by tornados are unpredictable. Some families' homes can be lost completely, while their neighbors' homes go relatively untouched. We owe it to those affected to do everything that we can to help them pick up the pieces. We must help them rebuild their homes, repair their community's infrastructure, and move on with their lives.

I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution and help these communities recover.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to recognize Dr. Richard Amos upon his departure as Deputy to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. Dr. Amos is stepping down at the end of this year to pursue opportunities outside of Federal service.

Madam Speaker, this is the second time that I have risen to honor Dr. Amos in the Congressional Record, a rare tribute in my 17 years in Congress. Dr. Amos, a native of Huntsville, has served as the Deputy to the Commanding General since 2004. In this position, he is the top civil servant at Redstone. He is responsible for managing over 11,000 military and civilian employees and tasked with providing our Nation's warfighters with the most up-to-date technology and tools.

Dr. Amos was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in 2000 and previously served as the Director of the System Simulation and Development Director at the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) also located at Redstone. Throughout his tenure, he has diligently worked to serve our soldiers and ensure the Army is able to meet the ever-changing needs of our country.

Madam Speaker, today his family, friends, and colleagues throughout the North Alabama defense community celebrated his Federal service and accomplishments. I rise to join them in their tribute and to thank Dr. Amos for his many years of Federal service. I wish him the very best for the future.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to congratulate my friend, Mrs. Bhavani Kakani of Huntsville, Alabama, for receiving the 2007 Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Award. This award is given annually to a person in the Huntsville community who has displayed exemplary community leadership.

Mrs. Kakani is a distinguished community advocate and civic volunteer who has given countless hours to numerous community and state-wide organizations and boards. In these roles, she has led efforts to raise funds and awareness for health programs across our State, including ending child abuse and neglect, and inspiring self-worth and confidence in young women. In addition, I have worked directly with Mrs. Kakani through her many years of service on the National Children's Advocacy Center's board of directors.

Mrs. Kakani is the cofounder and president of the AshaKiran, a non- profit organization dedicated to educating, empathizing, and empowering foreign born immigrants. Since its founding, AshaKiran has provided multilingual, multicultural, and crisis referral services to numerous individuals in North Alabama.

Madam Speaker, in addition to her remarkable advocacy across the community, she has worked with the Intergraph Corporation, as a registered cytologist technician, and office manager for her husband's medical practice. Mrs. Kakani and her husband, Dr. Rao Kakani, have also raised three children.

Madam Speaker, Bhavani Kakani's leadership and her strong dedication to the community should serve as a model for others to follow. On behalf of the people of North Alabama, I congratulate Mrs. Kakani for being named the 2007 Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Award Winner.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to recognize the proud service of the United States Naval Academy's class of 1957.

One of the noteworthy benefits of serving as a Member of Congress is the opportunity to meet with and nominate some of our Nation's best and brightest students for an appointment to one of our Nation's five service academies. Founded in 1845, the United States Naval Academy is not only a training ground for our Nation's naval leaders, but also one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country.

Madam Speaker, the class of 1957 consisted of 848 members, 21 who went on to achieve the rank of admiral or general. Of those graduates, 568 were commissioned in the Navy with 160 attending naval flight school; 203 served on Navy destroyers; 42 on auxiliary ships; and 94 on capital ships, including aircraft carriers. Another 104 graduates of the class served in naval submarines. The remaining graduates went on to serve in other branches of the military, including 64 who went on to join the Marine Corps and 206 who were commissioned into the Air Force.

Madam Speaker, of the 848 members of the class of 1957, 534 members served 20 years or more in their respective military branch. After their service was completed, 169 classmates went on to become executive officers of their respective businesses with 33 serving as CEO. Notable classmates include Huntsville, Alabama resident Fritz Steiner; Apollo astronaut Charlie Duke; Brad Parkinson, who developed the global positioning system (GPS); and Lee Hyatt, a Vietnam prisoner of war who survived 2,050 days of captivity in North Vietnam.

Madam Speaker, these men have proudly served their country and their community for over a half-century. On October 27, 2007, the surviving members from this class are meeting to celebrate their 50th anniversary. It is my privilege to rise today to congratulate these outstanding individuals for their devotion to duty, significant accomplishments, and unswerving dedication to the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of today's legislation, amending the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996.

I would like to applaud Chairman Rahall and his commitment to preserving our Nation's heritage. I would also like to thank Subcommittee Chairman Grijalva and members of the National Parks, Forest and Public Lands Subcommittee for their consideration of this important legislation.

Also, I would like to congratulate Mr. Regula for his leadership over many years and offering today's basic underlying bill.

There's been some harsh criticism of this process. My area, the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, is one of the six new heritage areas included in this bill. This process has worked the way I would assume a process like this should work.

It has taken us years to bring our counties together, six counties in the northwest corner of Alabama, the birthplace of Helen Keller, the birthplace of W.C. Handy. There's so much rich history there, but we have not had the opportunity to partner with the private sector to develop a management plan, a feasibility study to come up with a management entity that could further the issues that we want to help preserve for our area. This whole process has allowed us to do that, and I think that's the way this process should work.

Look, we will have the public sector much more involved with us. We have a Helen Keller Festival every year at her birthplace, Ivy Green. Her home has deteriorated. It is an embarrassment to the country. It's an embarrassment to our area how much it's deteriorated. But now the public and private sector are coming together to preserve that homeplace and to make sure that the festival that honors her heritage there is one that's carried on in surroundings that it should be carried on.

As I said earlier about the process, a woman there, Nancy Gonce, teamed with the University of Alabama and brought together resources from all over that section of Alabama to make sure that we had the chance to have this national heritage area determined there.

I congratulate this process and urge the passage of this bill.

Madam Speaker, 5 years ago I rose to thank the MITRE Corporation for nearly two decades of outstanding work in Huntsville, Alabama. Today, I proudly rise once again to congratulate its employees on their 25th anniversary in our community.

MITRE operates federally funded research and development centers that provide government agencies with systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support. MITRE first opened its office in Huntsville in 1982 with only one employee, but has steadily grown to 56 employees.

MITRE has provided objective expertise, analysis, and support to the Army's Aviation and Missile Defense Command, the Missile Defense Agency, NASA, and other programs at Redstone Arsenal and throughout North Alabama. MITRE's Huntsville site is the Corporation's primary center of expertise for the Department of Defense's Battle Management Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (BM/C3I) program.

On Monday, August 13, 2007, the employees of MITRE gathered to celebrate their 25th anniversary in North Alabama. I rise today to join in their celebration and wish them many more years of success.

First, I want to congratulate you for your work on this bill. Sincerely, you have balanced a number of issues. Particularly, I am concerned about the plight of my farmers in the Deep South and north Alabama as well. Robert Aderholt might be able to be on the floor here tonight. We share all of north Alabama.

Mr. Chairman, in the South we have experienced in many areas an unprecedented drought. On the drought monitor, our target area in the Deep South has been designated as a D4 drought area. That is not a situation we have seen in many, many decades.

Consequently, the farmers are exhausting all of their resources. They are sacrificing generations of resources that have been built up. They need help. It is not just a matter of low-interest loans; it is a matter of a plan.

We know we have certain areas to look to, but the safety net is not entirely there. So as we struggle to find relief, I would like to discuss with the gentlewoman her commitment to working with me and my colleague on this very important issue.