Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I, too, support passage of this legislation and would encourage its adoption, and I yield back the remainder of our time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

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

Madam Speaker, I commend the leadership the gentleman from Texas has shown on this important initiative, and we continue to mourn the loss of the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. It is our hope this evening that the study we authorize today will help guide efforts to appropriately memorialize the brave explorers who lost their lives in that great tragedy.

Again, I thank my friend from Texas for his leadership and initiative and encourage passage of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the remainder of our time.

Madam Speaker, I, too, support passage of this legislation and encourage its adoption this evening, and I yield back the remainder of our time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), one of the real champions and leaders in the reauthorization of this Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act, my good friend.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

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

Madam Speaker, I just want to take a moment to commend my good friend from Michigan, again, for the leadership that he has shown on this piece of legislation. We just recently had another hearing in the Resources Committee, of which he was an active participant.

This has been a bipartisan effort with great collaboration from the Federal, State and local level, and obviously for those of us in the upper Midwest area, this does touch and affect us a little bit closer than perhaps the rest of the Nation.

But the legislation does mirror the companion House bill that was introduced earlier, H.R. 4953, which was sponsored by our friend Mr. Kildee from Michigan, along with 31 other House Members that were sponsors of the legislation, including myself, as well as the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) and also the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) who has been also a champion on this issue.

S. 2430 would reauthorize and improve a valuable conservation program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mr. Kildee just mentioned some of the success stories that have been garnered from this original bill, but as we know all too well in this chamber that we could pass the best authorized bill in the world, but if it is not supported by adequate funding, they cannot do anything with it. Unfortunately, the history of this bill has been a lot of support in both the public and private sector but not enough funding in order to accomplish the goals and really achieve the success that I know we can make in the upper Great Lakes area.

The five Great Lakes are the crown jewels of our Nation's natural resources. They are the largest group of fresh water lakes in the entire world. This has an incredible ecosystem impact but also economic impact throughout the entire region.

That is why we feel it is important to move forward on reauthorization, hopefully to get the support for funding the reauthorized bill in future years as we try to implement its provisions. I certainly encourage its passage tonight.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the remainder of our time.

Madam Speaker, I yield at this time such time as he may consume to the chief sponsor of this important legislation, my good friend from the great State of Oklahoma (Mr. Boren).

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield at this time such time as he may consume to the chief sponsor of this legislation, my good friend from the State of New Mexico, Mr. Tom Udall.

(Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I just want to take a moment to again commend my colleague from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his determination in getting this legislation before us today. Some of the more difficult and contentious issues that we deal with in this place are often issues involving property lines, jurisdictions of towns, private landowners, and Indian tribes. Mr. Udall has never shied away from such matters, especially when they affect the Indian tribes in New Mexico, and I commend him for his leadership on this issue and encourage adoption of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I, too, want to commend my colleague from the First Congressional District of California, Mr. Thompson, for the hard work and leadership that he has shown on this important piece of legislation.

We, too, support it and encourage its adoption.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such the time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the majority's support for this legislation and commend my good friend from the upper peninsula of Michigan, Bart Stupak, for introducing this legislation, and I encourage its adoption.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield at this time such time as he may consume to the chief sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).

Madam Speaker, again I want to congratulate and commend my colleague for his leadership and encourage adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such myself such time as may consume.

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

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the majority for their support for this legislation this evening. This is legislation that I drafted and supported over the last couple of years with the support of many my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion. I want to commend the colleagues who have been active participants in the bipartisan Mississippi River Caucus.

This bill, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act, would develop a coordinated public-private approach to reducing nutrient and sediment flows in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

The Mississippi River, Madam Speaker, is one of the great national treasures that we have and one of the great diverse ecosystems that flows right through the heart of America. It is North America's largest migratory route, with 40 percent of the water fowl species using this corridor during their annual migration every year. It is also the bread basket of America, which provides a lot of fertile acres are for the agricultural lands that we enjoy in the Midwest. It is also the primary drinking source to close to 30 million Americans.

But its greatest risk and challenge today is the amount of nutrients and sediments that are flowing into the basin area. The problem is multiple. Soil erosion reduces the long-term sustainability and the income of the typical farmer in middle America. Collectively, farmers annually lose more than $300 million of applied nitrogen due to runoff which ultimately enters the basin area.

Sediment fills the main shipping channel of the Mississippi River, costing the taxpayers roughly $100 million each year in dredging costs just to maintain the safe shipping channels for the navigation industry that takes and delivers many of the products to market.

Sediment fills in these valuable wetlands along the Mississippi River Basin, reducing wildlife habitat, affecting and destroying numerous acres of wetlands every year.

The loss of side channel habitat threaten the River's $1.2 recreation and $6.6 billion tourism industry impact in the Upper Mississippi River region alone. And there is inadequate scientific data on the amounts and sources of sediments and nutrients flowing into the Upper Mississippi River Basin at scales useful to land manager.

So what this legislation is attempting to do is put the science in place, allow the USGS to be the lead agency where they have developed competence in water quality and monitoring, set up a sub-basin monitoring system and develop computer models so we can do a better job of tracking the sediment and nutrient flows that enter the basin area, identify the hot spots, and better target the limited resources and voluntary and incentive-based land and water conservation programs to hopefully reduce that impact in the river basin.

What we are proposing is entirely consistent with the hypoxia study that took place in the Gulf of Mexico with the recommendations that they submitted to the Congress back in January of 2001. In fact, 40 percent of the nutrients that ultimately flow into the Gulf of Mexico creating this so-called dead zone or oxygen depletion zone, which is growing every year, has their origin in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

This has received wide bipartisan support, both in Congress and at home. The five Upper Mississippi State governors have endorsed this proposal, along with the legislatures, and there have been countless public and private entities that have endorsed this approach too of trying to get the science in place so we can start the long-term data collection and establish the baseline so we know how to react to this great challenge that is affecting the great treasure that we know as the Mississippi River.

I want to especially commend the staff on committee for their help with this legislation, and my own staff, who has devoted countless hours on this project. I want to thank the support of the administration that has supported the legislation, along with numerous private entities throughout the Upper Midwest that have supported it and offered recommendations on how we can make this work for private landowners and public entities alike.

I want to especially thank Barry Drazkowski, who teaches at St. Mary's University at Winona, Minnesota, for the work he has done on water quality issues and for many of the ideas we have incorporated in this legislation.

Hopefully the third time is a charm. Hopefully we will get cooperation in the Senate to move this vitally important piece of legislation, because, again, the greatest threat that the Mississippi River Basin is facing today are the amount of sediments and nutrients that are flowing in, and I think there is a lot that we can do by maximizing the investment that we can make based on the science we are trying to put in place with this legislation here tonight in order to maintain the preservation and the protection of this great natural resource.

Again, I want to thank my colleague and the support we received on the Resources Committee, and encourage my colleagues to adoption this legislation this evening.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the champion of this legislation, my good friend from the State of New Mexico (Mr. Udall).

Madam Speaker, we encourage adoption of this legislation, and yield back the remainder of our time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, we too encourage adoption of this legislation. I want to commend my good friend and colleague from the State of Colorado, Mr. Mark Udall, for his leadership on this important legislation. Mr. Udall has been a leader in the effort to protect and preserve open space in Colorado and this legislation will help advance this cause. We would encourage its adoption and thank the majority for their cooperation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, as a nation founded and built by immigrants, the United States has a proud history of reaching out to foreigners and offering refuge and opportunity to those who seek it. We must, however, find better ways of ensuring that people who wish to enter our country to study, to work, to reunite with family, or to seek refuge--do so legally and maintain their legal status so they can be integrated properly and fully into American society.

The current immigration system is broken and requires comprehensive reform that strengthens border security; bolsters enforcement of immigration laws; recognizes the importance of the immigrant workforce to the U.S. economy; and provides a realistic and practical solution for the twelve million undocumented immigrants residing within our borders. Thus it is not sufficient to focus entirely on border security.

The bill before us today, however, addresses only one aspect of the immigration problem. Studies have shown that a large portion of people living illegally in this country entered through legal, work-based immigration channels, but then failed to renew their status. This shows that a bill focusing primarily on border enforcement will not prevent the increase of immigrants living in this country illegally.

Therefore, while immediate measures need to be taken to address the status of immigrants residing both within and outside our borders, we must work to ensure a responsible measure is produced that secures our border and enforces current law, does not penalize American businesses, and addresses the undocumented workers already living and working in our country.

While I will vote for H.R. 6061 today as a step forward in securing our borders, I continue to hope that this Congress will enact a more thoughtful and long-lasting solution to this most pressing issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 994, ``expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks launched against the United States on September 11, 2001.''

The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, were monstrous and cowardly acts that will be forever etched in our national memory. In remembrance of that tragic day, I wish to express my condolences, and the condolences of a mournful nation, to all those who suffered losses. Today, America again honors the courage and bravery of those who willingly risked their lives to save others and recognizes those dedicated men and women in service now, defending worldwide peace and security.

In the 5 years since the appalling acts of September 11th, our country has been fighting a global war on terrorism to protect America and our friends and allies. On July 22, 2004, the independent and bipartisan 9/11 Commission provided a full and complete report to Congress and the American public regarding the failures of the government and included 41 recommendations to improve homeland security. I praise the Commission for its excellent work, leadership, patriotism, and service to our country. We owe it to the families of the victims of 9/11 and to the citizens of our country to use the report to make certain such attacks never happen again. That is why I fully supported the unanimous and bipartisan recommendations of the 9/ 11 Commission and supported passage of H.R. 10 in December of 2004 to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Almost 2 years have passed since passage of H.R. 10, and yet the President still has not fully implemented these recommendations.

In addition, despite the ongoing war in Iraq, I am very concerned that the main threat against the United States, al Qaeda, is still a global threat with global reach, and that the person who was directly responsible for 9/11, Osama bin Laden, is still at large. I believe the President has taken his eye off the ball in Afghanistan and is not doing everything in his power to bring those responsible for 9/11 to justice. It sends a terrible message to would-be terrorists who may be interested in striking us that all they have to do is go in hiding and lay low until our attention and resources are directed elsewhere.

Additionally, the big winners are countries with nuclear ambitions, like Iran and North Korea. Our message to the world during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been, if you have nuclear weapons we will not attack you, but if you do we will stay away. This sends the message to would-be terrorists that if they do not arm themselves, there is a potential for the United States to attack.

The President should have, with the support of the American people and international community which we enjoyed at the time, made it our mission to never rest, never sleep until those responsible for 9/11 were brought to justice. Instead, he diverted precious resources and personnel from Afghanistan and redirected them into Iraq. As a consequence, Osama bin Laden is still at large, the Taliban are reconstituting themselves, and al Qaeda remains a global threat.

Furthermore, last week NATO's top operational commander in Afghanistan, U.S. General James Jones, appealed for 2,500 more troops, saying the force was about 15 percent short of full strength. Once again, the President has failed to respond to a call from military commanders for reinforcements to try to quell the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan, by denying the request for more troops. If as the President said on September 11, 2006, when speaking about bin Laden and other terrorists is true, ``Our message to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, America will find you, and we will bring you to justice.'' Then we should be sending in these additional troops to Afghanistan, not ignoring another plea from our military commanders.

On this solemn day, I again stand up to recognize our brave men and women that tragically lost their lives on that fateful day in September of 2001. I wish to show my deepest appreciation to our military men and women fighting terrorism around the world. I feel the best tribute we as a Nation can give them and their families is to redirect our focus to bringing those responsible for the attacks against us on September 11th to justice. The opportunity has not yet passed to make serious and thoughtful change and to ensure that another tragedy does not befall our Nation.

May God bless our men and women in uniform and their families during this difficult time. May God provide his special blessings and care for those who fell in the line of duty. And may God continue to bless these United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Resources Subcommittee of National Parks, I have had the privilege to visit many of our Nation's National Parks. From my own personal experiences, I have come to love the beauty of these parks and am grateful for the recreational opportunities they have to offer. Over 100 years ago, our predecessors displayed historic vision and took a bold step forward in a quest for protecting our Nation's natural wonders.

On March 1, 1872, Congress established the Yellowstone National Park, our Nation's first and still one of our most beautiful and pristine national parks. President Theodore Roosevelt strengthened our Nation's conservation system through the Antiquities Act of 1906, creating 18 national monuments by the end of his presidency, including the beautiful cliffs of Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado, Arizona's Petrified Forest, and our own natural wonder, the Grand Canyon. These monuments laid the groundwork for our current park system, a vision completed in 1916 as President Woodrow Wilson established the National Park Service.

There are thousands of individuals in the National Park Service as well as volunteers like Friends of our Parks, who dedicate their talent and lives to our National Parks. Without all of their hard work and dedication, our National Parks could not retain their immaculate beauty, nor could they continue to provide critical habitat for our nation's world-renowned wildlife. It is because of the work of these individuals that I, as well as my children and my grandchildren, will be able to enjoy the Park System. Today, there are 390 National Parks throughout America, with at least one in nearly

every state and U.S. territory. These parks attract over 280 million visitors every year, for their beauty and their recreational opportunities. These figures far exceed any expectations that Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson may have had. Our National Park System is truly a triumph of American vision and commitment to responsible stewardship of our unparalleled natural heritage.

I rise today to not only emphasize the importance of our National Parks, but also to honor those who work to protect these invaluable resources. I would like to especially commend Frank Walker, who I recently met while on my family vacation to Yellowstone National Park in early August. Frank has dedicated over 39 years of his life to protecting our Nation's historical National Parks.

An avid outdoorsman and wildlife lover, Frank studied biology at the New Mexico State University. He then embarked on his career and years of service as a seasonal ranger at Yellowstone National Park in 1967, and he received his first permanent position in 1970, serving as a park technician at the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. His success and dedication continually earned him challenging and rewarding positions all over the country. Frank has worked at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in Missouri, the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi, the Fort Clatsop National Memorial in Oregon, the Nez Perce National Historical Park in Idaho, and the Saguaro National Park in Arizona. After working for over two decades outside the prestigious Yellowstone National Park, Frank returned to Yellowstone in June 2001 as the Acting Superintendent, and he was promoted to his current position of Deputy Superintendent in February of 2002.

Frank has rightfully received numerous awards for his hard work and dedication to protecting our Nation's resources. These awards include the Interior Meritorious Service Award, the General Council Award from the Nez Perce Tribe, the Vail Partnership Award, the Western Region- Superintendent's Award for Cultural Resources Stewardship, and in 1985 the Southwest Region's Freeman Tilden Award.

Just as these awards have done, I want to honor Frank here today. I wish to congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his life's dedication to our Nation's parks. It is because of his work, and the work of his colleagues, that America's resources will be enjoyed by future generations. I wish Frank and his wife, Judy, his two sons, Mark and Phillip, and his daughter, Kathy, all the luck and well-being in the future, and it is my hope that his work will inspire others to continue to protect our National Parks and other natural resources.