Floor Statements

Offered By: Mr. Kind

Amendment No. 89: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following new section:

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to have my vote recorded on the House floor during the vote on H.R. 292 on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 because I was detained due to a flight delay caused by mechanical difficulties. Had I been present, I would have voted in favor of H.R. 292, Roll No. 12.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Madam Speaker, shortly after passage of the Affordable Care Act, a young mother in my congressional district, Beth Ferstl, wrote me a letter, and she wrote it on behalf of her 13-month-old son Henry. In it she wrote: ``My son had a stroke before he was even born. He wanted to personally thank you for passing this historic health care bill, but he's only 13 months old; and between juggling neurologists, OT, PT and speech therapy, he hasn't found the time. Let me be his voice. As a voter, as your constituent, as a mother, thank you.''

I contacted Beth to find out what her family's situation was in this particular case. She told me that because little Henry had a stroke before he was born, literally by the time he took his first breath in life, he was uninsurable because he had a preexisting condition.

Now, I've been to Iraq four times, I've been to Afghanistan twice, I've met with our troops in the field. I thought I met the bravest people in the whole world, our men and women in uniform who are laying their lives on the line every day for us to better secure and make safe our Nation. But if my Republican colleagues can move forward on this repeal today and look into the eyes of little Henry Ferstl and not only say to him, not only do we have the ability to do something to help you but chose not to, but today we choose to take it away from you, then you guys have got to be the bravest people in the world because I can't do that. No one should be able to do that to the 20 million children that have preexisting conditions throughout this country that this bill fixed.

A young man, 21 years old, in Black River Falls came up to me after the vote and thanked me. I asked him why, is there something in particular that he was most concerned about in this bill? He said, Yeah. A couple of years ago my younger brother needed a kidney so I donated him one of mine. Because I did, even though I am perfectly healthy today, every insurance company I've contacted is treating me as if I have a preexisting condition and they will not insure me.

We can do better than that. That is what the Affordable Care Act is all about, to address these injustices. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on repeal.

Madam Speaker, I am extremely saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred in Arizona. My thoughts and prayers go out to my close personal friend, Rep. Giffords, her family and all the victims of this terrible tragedy.

Rep. Giffords is a hard-working, compassionate Member of Congress. This past weekend's event is particularly tragic because she was doing what all Members should be out doing, showing her dedication to her constituents and out listening to folks back home.

During her time in Congress, I have worked with her on various initiatives through the efforts of the New Democrat Coalition. I have always been particularly impressed with her commitment to fiscal responsibility, deficit reduction, and advancing innovation and technology. She is a long-term thinker who has worked to promote initiatives that are important to both her district and the country.

I would like to send my deepest sympathies to the families of Gabe Zimmerman, a committed member of her team in addition to Judge John M. Roll, Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, Phyllis Schneck, and Dorwan Stoddard. These individuals were engaging in the political process in the best way possible, by speaking directly to their representative. The exchange of ideas is critical to our democracy and it's important that Members of Congress continue to provide forums in which to meet with and listen to constituents. I have and will continue to make town halls and listening sessions a priority in western Wisconsin. At this time, we should also take this moment to remember that we can fight hard for the principles in which we believe with civility and consideration without compromising our values or the values of others.

I also want to thank all the first responders, law enforcement and medical personnel whose quick actions helped prevent further loss of life. These individuals provide an invaluable service to all of our communities and I thank them for their dedicated work.

I wish Gabby and all others involved a speedy recovery.

Madam Speaker, as one of the co-chairs of the New Democratic Coalition, I rise in strong support of the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act and commend the chairman of the Science Committee, our good friend and colleague, Mr. Gordon, for his tenacious focus on making sure that America COMPETES gets reauthorized in this session of Congress and working with the Senate in the waning days of this session to get it done. And we're sorely going to miss his leadership on this subject, as well as the leadership of our colleague from the State of Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), who has given tremendous guidance on what it means for the United States to remain the most innovative and creative Nation in the world.

And that's what America COMPETES is all about. It's answering the question of whether or not we will remain the most innovative and on the cutting edge of scientific, medical, technological, and manufacturing discoveries and breakthroughs or whether we will continue our slide in second-rate status compared to other nations in the investments that we are seeing taking place overseas.

It builds on seminal studies by the National Academy of Sciences' ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm,'' and even before that, the John Glenn Commission, ``Before it's Too Late,'' warning us of the peril of losing our innovation and competitiveness if we continue to underinvest in those crucial STEM studies of science, technology, engineering, and math, or the investments we have to make in basic and applied research, which we accomplish in this bill through the National Science Foundation; National Institute of Science and Technology; the ARPA-E program at the Department of Energy; new programs now at NOAA and NASA; and now directing the Department of Commerce to come up after 1 year with an actionable plan of how all this comes together.

I thank my colleague for yielding me the time.

It really speaks to the question many Americans have on their minds as we continue our slow emergence of the worse economic recession since the Great Depression, and that is where are we going as a Nation economically and how are we going to get there. America COMPETES Act is a part of that equation of not only spurring the innovation that we need in this country, but helping to make sure that we make those products in this country, along with the good-paying jobs that come from it.

Will this be the end of the innovation agenda? I think not. But it's an important step forward--one that received huge bipartisan support in the previous Congress with 357 of our colleagues supporting the original authorization of America COMPETES.

I commend former President Bush and current President Obama for recognizing the need for this type of legislation and all of the members on the Science and Education Committee that had a tremendous say in the product that's before us today. It's worthy of our support; but, more importantly, it's worthy of a great Nation and a great economy that we can build upon.

I encourage my colleagues to support the America COMPETES reauthorization and the work that we have before us.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the underlying bill and in support of the Pomeroy amendment. But let's be clear what this legislation does tonight. It adds another $1 trillion to our national budget deficit over the next 2 years. One trillion dollars.

Given the weak recovery we have going on with our economy, I think everyone is in agreement that now is not the time to be increasing taxes on working families and small businesses. We did that. We had that vote just a couple of weeks ago, where we protected tax relief on the first $250,000 worth of income, no matter who you are, and on small businesses. That covered 98 percent of Americans.

But for those of you who are saying we need to continue tax breaks for the wealthiest 3 percent that is included in this bill, I say, find corresponding spending cuts in the budget to pay for it so we are not having to go to China to borrow another $300 billion and adding to the debt burden of our children and grandchildren.

These are two unstated facts that we have before us today that no one is talking about and that are not being reported in the media. First, our effective tax rate in this country today is at a 60-year low. A 60- year low. That predates the Medicare program and it certainly predates the 80 million baby boomers who are about to begin their massive retirement and join Medicare and Social Security.

But also, the effective tax rate for the wealthiest 3 percent is not the 36 or 39 percent marginal rate that some talk about. The effective tax rate for the wealthiest 3% is 17 percent, after they itemize and they deduct and back out their expenses with the numerous tax loopholes that exist in the current code. That is less than the average working family is paying with their effective tax rate. We cannot sustain that. It is irresponsible.

Now, about a week from now little boys and girls around the country are going to be waiting for Santa Claus' arrival. And I hope they are not watching this debate tonight, because the truth is there is no Santa Claus for the U.S. economy. But there are too many people in this Congress who think that their Kris Kringle is China that they can run to and borrow money from in order to sustain a fiscally and economically reckless policy. Rather than their children leaving out cookies and milk for Santa, they instead should leave out their piggy banks because of what we're doing to them in this bill.

We can do better, and I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. It's a well known fact that children in this country are not as healthy as they need to be. We have a responsibility to provide our children with the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle and this includes increasing their access to healthy foods. This bill makes historic strides toward providing nutritious lunches in schools and will ensure that we give children the opportunity to get a healthy start early in life.

Obesity is a serious threat to the health of our nation's children. Nationally, more than 23 million children are obese or overweight. Over 24 percent of children ages 2 to 5 are already overweight or obese. With obesity beginning at such an early age, it is becoming ever more important to intervene early. Obese kids are increasingly likely to become obese adults and are more susceptible to the chronic diseases that are costing our health care system billions of dollars each year. Childhood obesity is also a national defense concern as more and more young adults are ineligible for military service.

Kids that learn healthy eating habits early in life are likely to carry them into adulthood. Healthy eating also increases concentration during the school day. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will address the issue of childhood by applying nutritional standards to all food sold in schools, strengthen school-wellness policies and improve the overall health of school environments for the first time. It also streamlines the process for enrollment in the free and reduced lunch program, making it easier for low- income families to enroll and participate in this program, ensuring that a healthy meal is provided to the children who need it most.

Not only does this bill increase access and improve the quality of foods in the school lunch program, it also reauthorizes the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and makes historic reforms to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The CACFP helps provide funding for meals and snacks served to children and adults receiving day care and youths participating in after-school care programs. The Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act includes provisions from my Healthy CHOICES Act that for the first time will increase healthy eating and wellness in child care through the establishment of higher nutrition standards for providers participating in CACFP.

The bill will also expand after-school dinner programs for at-risk children nationwide by reimbursing states for providing meals. In total, this will provide an additional 21 million meals to at-risk children annually. CACFP program administration will be streamlined, reducing paperwork and increasing efficiency for providers. There are currently 4,435 CACFP sites in Wisconsin that serve over 22 million meals and snacks to children and adults each year. The reforms in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will allow CACFP in Wisconsin to provide healthier meals to a greater number of individuals.

I urge all of my colleagues to come together to put our kids first by passing this bill today. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act contains the most significant improvements to child nutrition programs in more than 30 years and is fully paid for. We owe it to the health and well-being of our children to come together today and do what is right, pass this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from California for yielding me this time and for his support of H. Res. 1644.

Mr. Speaker, as the author of the Veterans History Project, I rise in strong support of this resolution before us this evening. The Veterans History Project, however, isn't new. It's been in existence for 10 years. We celebrated its 10-year anniversary just this year.

Simply put, it's the last task of a grateful Nation to our veterans to ask them to help us preserve an important part of American history-- what it was like for them to serve our Nation during times of conflict and times of peace. And since the creation of the Veterans History Project, we have close to 80,000 veterans' stories that have been recorded, collected, and are now being archived in probably the best place in the entire world where it can and should be archived--out of our own Library of Congress here in Washington, D.C.

The genesis of the Veterans History Project occurred over a Father's Day weekend back home in my city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. I was sitting around the picnic table with my father, who is a Korea generation veteran, Elroy, and his brother, my uncle, Don Kind, who was with a bomber crew in the Pacific during the Second World War, and they started sharing with me their experience in serving our Nation. And I told them to wait. Since my two little boys were toddlers at the time and couldn't understand or wouldn't understand what they were saying, I ran into the house, grabbed the family video camera, set it up on the picnic table, and then asked them to continue talking about their experience serving our Nation. And I got to thinking, given the advent of modern technology today, how accessible it is for most families, most people, we should be doing this nationwide, and that was the basis of the Veterans History Project.

Today, it is the largest oral history collection in the United States, and I believe it's the world's largest oral history collection. I want to commend the leadership of the Library of Congress, under Colonel Bob Patrick, who heads up the Veterans History Project and his 25-person staff there, but also especially our own Librarian of Congress, Dr. Jim Billington, for his leadership on this as well.

What I've discovered throughout the years in conducting many of the interviews myself and reading many of the transcripts of the Veterans History Project is a common theme that runs through most of the stories. First, most of the veterans don't feel they did anything special. They were only doing their duty. They were answering the call to service. And secondly, one of the great motivators in having them do that, especially at times of conflict, was not letting their colleagues down serving next to them. And yet these are ordinary Americans from all walks of life, from every corner of America who went on to do extraordinary things, and each of them had a role to play at times of conflict, at times of peace.

Sometimes it's difficult asking our veterans to come forward and share their stories because they don't feel like they have much to contribute or anything significant, but each of them do in their own way.

And I also want to thank the tremendous support and contribution of so many organizations and entities around the country that have been helping to get the word out that this Veterans History Project, in fact, exists, from the VFW and American Legion halls through the Nation, AARP has been a major sponsor of this legislation, to countless social and community organizations in all of our towns and communities. And that has been one of the great challenges, because the clock is ticking and time is of the essence.

We are losing close to 1,700 veterans a day, mainly of the World War II and Korea generation who are passing away. And if we don't go and talk to them and record their stories, they take with them an important part of American history--their service to our Nation. And that's why the Library of Congress, again, has been working furiously to try to get the word out about the existence of this project, and they have done a commendable job in doing it.

That's why I think this resolution is necessary to have Congress consider designating a week for the Veterans History Project which would help us get information out to even more people. And it's as simple as a person just approaching their own family member, friend, neighbor, loved one in their life and asking them to share their story and then setting up that family video camera across the kitchen table and letting them go. It could be a 10-minute interview; it could be 2 hours, depending on how much the veteran wants to share. And that's what makes these stories so remarkable.

I had an at-risk high school back in La Crosse, Wisconsin, who has taken the lead for a number of years of those students that are actually going out making contact and interviewing these veterans. Many of these kids are at risk of dropping out. They're not the greatest performers in school, and yet this is a project that has caused the history to come alive in their own lives. They have to do a little bit of research, some background on the veterans and the time period in which they're going to conduct the interview, and then it gives them a chance to connect with the veterans in their own community. It's been a great bridge between the older and younger generation.

And I asked one of the students who got done interviewing a veteran, who participated in it, what he thought of it. And he said, you know, I've never been a great student. I don't like doing a lot of reading. History bores me to death. But by doing this project, I felt as if I was doing my own small contribution to preserving American history.

That's what this is about. It's about preserving these stories so future generations never forget. And if I had a nickel every time a family member or acquaintance or some stranger walked up to me said, Gee, I wish I had talked to my father or mother or grandfather or grandmother before they had passed away, I would probably be the richest person in the whole world right now. There is a lot of regret out there. But it doesn't have to be that way with the help and cooperation of so many people throughout the Nation.

I've been especially pleased with the strong bipartisan support that this and previous Congresses have shown toward the Veterans History Project, but there's still so much work that needs to be done, especially now with so many of our veterans returning home from conflicts overseas, whether it's Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever our troops are serving us throughout the globe.

So I would encourage my colleagues to support this resolution, to support the Veterans History Project overall, help get the word out. And for those who are looking for more information about what this is and how they can participate, they can go to the Library of Congress Web site, loc.gov, and read and download the information, or they can contact any one of our congressional or Senate offices or get in touch with a veterans service organization right in their own community who would have this information readily available.

In 10 years, there are close to 80,000 stories.

And one final note, I also want to thank and commend the National Court Reporters Association. My wife, who happens to be a court reporter, very early on in the creation of this project approached them to see if they could volunteer their time in transcribing a lot of these video interviews so there is a written record of it, too. Many of them throughout the Nation have stepped up and have donated countless volunteer hours in transcribing these videotapes, so there is a written record.

The library now is creating books and documentaries based on these interviews. Historians have a place to go and receive original historical research for books and articles that they are writing. It has really turned into a treasure trove of information, and again an important part of American history, what it was like for our veterans to serve our Nation during times of peace and also during times of war.

I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution. I want to thank Chairman Filner for his support of the resolution, and the gentleman from Tennessee, and encourage its passage.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to a man who spent a majority of his career fighting for the rights of Wisconsin workers, the current President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, David Newby. After years of service to workers in the State of Wisconsin, Dave is retiring this year. Although his leadership and dedication to the labor movement will be greatly missed, his contributions will not be forgotten.

For 16 years, Dave has led the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, a federation of over 1,000 local unions, representing 250,000 Wisconsin workers. Dave was determined to achieve economic justice in the workplace and social justice in Wisconsin communities, and throughout the years he has had tremendous success accomplishing these goals. One issue at the forefront of Dave's agenda was to ensure quality health care for Wisconsin workers. In 2003, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO created the Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan, an innovative proposal that strengthened the debate in Wisconsin on how to solve the health care crisis. In 2007, this plan was combined with other health care proposals to become ``Healthy Wisconsin: Your Choice, Your Plan,'' a plan to provide health care for all.

Dave's passion for equality and helping others goes back to his involvement in the civil rights and anti-war movements during the 1960s and 1970s. After the movements, Dave taught history at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama before becoming a teaching and project assistant at the University of Wisconsin. His first labor leadership role came in 1982 when he was elected President of the Madison Labor Council. During this time Dave literally showcased how far he was willing to go to advocate for the labor movement during a strike against Greyhound. Dave stood in front of a fast-moving bus driven by a strikebreaker, forcing it to come to a screeching stop.

In 1986, Dave became the secretary-treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO where his hard work and enthusiasm to help other unions helped him win the election for AFL-CIO President in 1994. In addition to his commitment to improved health care, minimum wage increases, family and medical leave, improved health and safety on the job, and plant closing notifications, Dave also spent his years leading the AFL-CIO reshaping the labor movement. He recognized that in order to achieve success, it was essential to build relationships with local communities and involve the general public. This transformation brought increased success and visibility to Wisconsin labor.

The AFL-CIO and the Wisconsin workers it represents will surely miss the hard work, courageous advocacy, and genuine dedication of Dave Newby. Personally, I will greatly miss his leadership, advocacy and vast knowledge. I wish Dave the happiest retirement and thank him for the work he has done to support Wisconsin's working families and their communities.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1595, which recognizes the 50th anniversary of Real Estate Investment Trusts, commonly known as REITs. I am proud to cosponsor this resolution introduced by my colleague, Representative Sander Levin from Michigan and I thank him for introducing this resolution.

For 50 years, REITs have provided a way for average investors to invest in large-scale commercial properties in the same way they invest in other industries, through the purchase of equity. In addition, REITs offer investors distinct advantages such as portfolio diversification, reliable dividends, liquidity, and solid long-term performance.

Fifty years after Congress created REITs, average investors continue to benefit in the same ways as corporate stockowners, as REIT investors earn a pro-rata share of the economic benefits that are derived from the production of income through commercial real estate ownership.

It is important to recognize ways in which average investors of all ages and income levels can access the same benefits as large real estate investors. I stand with my colleague in commending the 50th anniversary of Real Estate Investment Trusts, and 50 years of providing a broad range of investors an opportunity to achieve the investment goals of diversification, strong and reliable dividends, liquidity, solid performance, and transparency.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying bill, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act.

You know, my good friend the gentleman from Illinois was exactly right. The district I represent in western Wisconsin, the small businesses and the family farmers really are the backbone of our regional economy.

What this legislation does is continue a lot of the tax relief that was contained in the American Recovery Act in an attempt to help these small businesses and family farmers to stay sufficiently capitalized during this very tough and difficult economy.

This bill will continue the 100 percent exclusion of small business capital gains. It has immediate expensing, accelerated depreciation, a net operating loss carryback. So if you're a business experiencing a loss this year, you can offset that immediately with the previous year profits to help them with their liquidity and keep them capitalized.

But it also deals with, I think, one of the detriments to further job growth for these small businesses, and that's the tight credit market. That's why the extension of the SBA 7(a) and 504 loan program is incredibly important to helping these small businesses get the lines of credit and the operating loans that they need to continue operating and to hire people.

And it creates a new Small Business Lending Fund. If there was one criticism many of us had with the TARP intervention, it was that that intervention did not come back to Main Street to help small businesses. This legislation addresses that through a voluntary program with local lenders who chooses to participate, where they can reduce the interest rate that's charged to them depending on the number of small business loans that they get out the door. We need to support this bill and support small businesses. The Chamber of Commerce endorses this bill. I ask my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Logistics Health Incorporated for receiving the 2010 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Logistics Health, based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, joined 14 other employers across the country in being recognized for their outstanding support of employees who serve in the Guard and the Reserves.

For many years, our Guard and Reserve forces were seen as a ``force of last resort,'' but recent conflicts have demonstrated just how vital the Guard and Reserves are on a day-to-day basis. In fact, since 2001, more than 775,000 members of the Guard and the Reserves have been activated for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. These families have gone through enormous sacrifice to serve their country and too many have given the ultimate sacrifice. We as a nation will be forever grateful to them for their contributions.

As an employer, Logistics Health has gone above and beyond the call of duty in assuring our Guard and Reserve servicemembers that they don't have to worry about their jobs back home. Logistics Health ensures that Guard and Reserve servicemembers won't lose their seniority, salary, and benefits while they are serving their country.

Logistics Health also regularly sends care packages, letters, and emails to its servicemember employees, sponsors community events and fundraisers for care package drives for the military as a whole. Logistics Health has contributed $120,000 to military support organizations and fundraisers.

For its patriotic commitment to the Guard and the Reserves, earlier this year Logistics Health won Wisconsin's ``Above and Beyond'' award and received the state's ``Pro Patria'' award.

Employers across the nation should take a close look at the good work Logistics Health and others are doing in providing members of the Guard and the Reserves with the flexibility they need when they leave to serve their country and for when they come back ready to resume civilian life.

Mr. Chairman, our vote today is a very simple choice. It's a choice of whether we're going to stand with the workers of the oil and gas industry, with the families of the gulf region, with the taxpayers of this country, or whether we choose to stand with the powerful special interests known as Big Oil. I choose to stand with the American people. And here is why.

This legislation is going to increase safety standards to protect workers. It's going to increase the liability limits so that those responsible pay. It's going to reform the ethics standards to end the revolving door between industry and oversight functions. And it's also going to live up to the promise of funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund so that those companies extracting resources on our public lands help conserve and protect our natural resources.

In a little bit, I and others will offer an amendment under the Land and Water Conservation Fund so that a dedicated portion of that increases access for hunters, fishermen and outdoor recreationists to the 35 million acres that are currently cut off and isolated from our use.

This is a good bill. It's necessary in the shadow of the worst oil disaster in our Nation's history. I encourage my colleagues to support it and the amendment that I will be offering.

I have an amendment at the desk.

I yield myself 1 minute.

(Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

This is a very simple amendment. One of the strengths of the CLEAR Act is that it asks public companies that are extracting resources from our public lands to contribute to a fund, a fund called the Land and Water Conservation Fund that was established in the mid- 1960s to help preserve and conserve the vital natural resources that we have throughout the United States. But the problem is that so much of the public lands that are available are inaccessible. They're not accessible for the hunters, the fisherman, the outdoor recreationists, those who enjoy shooting sports to gain access to the lands.

In fact, a recent study showed that close to 35 million acres that currently exist in public lands are inaccessible to hunters and fishermen throughout the country. This amendment would direct just 1\1/ 2\ percent out of the Land and Water Conservation Fund that would be used in order to purchase easements or right-of-ways from willing, voluntary sellers so that the hunters and fishermen have access to these public lands.

The inaccessibility is one of the contributing causes of why so many people are not hunting or not involved in shooting sports. This amendment would go a long way to addressing that, and it's consistent with the underlying philosophy of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. I'd ask my colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would like to yield 1 minute to a very strong supporter of the hunting and fishing community, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Kratovil).

Mr. Chairman, at this time I would like to yield 1 minute to a real champion of recreational sportsmen and -women throughout the country, the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to a champion of outdoor recreationists throughout the country and in the State of Nevada, the gentlelady from Nevada (Ms. Titus).

At this time, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia, a champion for hunting and fishermen in Virginia and throughout the country, Mr. Perriello.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 15 seconds to the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Mr. Rahall.

I yield myself the remainder of the time.

Mr. Chairman, I also want to thank, who wrote a letter in support of this amendment, the American Wildlife Conservation Partners. It's a group of 45 outdoor recreational organizations from hunting to fishing to shooting sports to conservation groups throughout the country. They see the value of increased access to our public lands.

But, Mr. Chairman, this is also an amendment about jobs because outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing, shooting sports, they contribute over $730 billion to the national economy every year. They support 6.5 million jobs. Almost one of every 20 jobs is associated with some outdoor recreational activity. And they stimulate close to 8 to 9 percent of all consumer spending in this country. So increasing access so more people have the opportunity to get to the public lands to do this is going to create jobs and strengthen our economy.

I encourage my colleagues to support the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4899, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010. As long as our troops are in harm's way, it's important that they have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. In the meantime, we need to be sure that we continue to have the right policy.

I am pleased that President Obama has been asking the right questions about what our exit strategy will be. While I supported the War Supplemental, I have a number of concerns with how this effort is proceeding. We know that our success depends on having a credible, responsible Afghan government. Unfortunately, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has not demonstrated that he is willing or able to seriously tackle corruption in his government.

Furthermore, nearly nine years after combat in Afghanistan first began we continue to see only limited progress in training Afghan security forces and developing the capability for Afghans to take full responsibility for the safety and security of their people.

Of course, even if we have our policy right, we still need full cooperation from Pakistan, particularly in preventing Afghanistan's western provinces from becoming a safe haven for al Qaeda and allowing the Taliban to operate with impunity.

We must, however, carefully consider the consequences of simply cutting and running, which would likely result in the Taliban taking over the country and providing a sanctuary to al Qaeda, which continues to threaten terrorist attacks on America and other countries.

I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to hold both the Afghanistan and Pakistan governments' feet to the fire and closely review the effectiveness of our efforts to stand up competent and capable Afghan security forces. I support the War Supplemental because we have to give our troops the resources they need to carry out their mission and because abandoning the Afghan people now would only strengthen those who seek to do us harm. It also endangers the many Afghans who have worked with coalition forces to help stabilize their country.

Throughout this difficult war, our troops have performed bravely and I am deeply honored by the sacrifices they and their families make. Wisconsin families have provided more than their fair share of troops to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Recently, the 32nd ``Red Arrow'' Brigade returned to Wisconsin after being deployed for one year in Iraq. I was privileged to take part in a ceremony to welcome them back and thank them for their exemplary service. Their experience shows that with appropriate training, our troops can adapt to any situation in order to achieve their mission. We must work to ensure that we can bring our troops back home in a responsible way that protects America's security.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise in recognition of the Village of Cochrane in Western Wisconsin. Cochrane is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding on Saturday, July 3rd.

Located just east of the mighty Mississippi river, Cochrane is surrounded by natural beauty. Located in Buffalo County, it is one of the few areas in the Midwest untouched by the glaciers in the last ice age. Numerous hills and bluffs rise majestically above its many lakes and streams. This beauty is enjoyed by sportsmen from across Wisconsin, many of whom come to fish for trout in the nearby rivers and streams.

While Cochrane citizens once played a role in Wisconsin's timber industry in the mills of the nearby City of Buffalo, it has always been and always will be an agricultural center. Farming is the number one source of income in Buffalo County, and Cochrane is no exception. Cochrane's Lacrosse Milling Company plays a vital role in processing the natural grains produced across the Midwest. I am very proud of the citizens of Cochrane, who help to continue Wisconsin's agricultural tradition.

The Village of Cochrane exemplifies the enduring work ethic present in Western Wisconsin. Though not great in size, together communities such as Cochran make up an important piece of the social fabric of our society. I hope you will join me in applauding the citizens of Cochrane for all that they have contributed to their State and our Country over the past 100 years. I also hope that they will continue to grow and prosper in the months and years ahead.