Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I want to take a moment to honor a fine officer who will shortly be leaving active duty. Colonel Stephen M. Christian will be retiring from the United States Army on October 21, 2009 after more than 30 years of active military service, culminating as Garrison Commander for the United States Army Garrison, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

Colonel Christian enlisted in the Army in 1978 and in 1984 attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery Officer. Throughout his career Colonel Christian has held numerous high level command and staff positions, including tours with the 7th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Ord, California; the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. He commanded at the Battalion level on two occasions and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, during which he was awarded two Bronze Star medals. Colonel Christian's civilian education includes a Master's of Science in Administration and a Master of Security Strategy from the National War College, National Defense University. Colonel Christian is married to Laura Christian and they have two adult children, Captain Nicholas Christian and Leslie Roop.

Madam Speaker, our active duty families make many sacrifices for the rest of us, and this is especially true of those who make the military their career. I thank COL Christian for his long and honorable service to our nation, and I wish him and his wife Laura the very best as they prepare to enter a new phase in their life journey together.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report on the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Programs funded under this legislation range from nuclear weapons and nonproliferation capabilities to basic research on current and next generation energy sources and distribution technologies. I am pleased that the conference agreement before us today reflects a strong commitment to our nation's needs in these areas.

I believe that nuclear proliferation is the single greatest threat to global peace and security. The United States should be leading efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons and secure loose or inadequately safeguarded nuclear material. That is why I am very pleased that the conference agreement increases our investment in nonproliferation programs to $2.1 billion, including a 43 percent increase in funding for International Nuclear Material Protection and Cooperation. These funds will improve our ability to stop illicit nuclear trafficking and prevent terrorists from gaining access to unsecured nuclear material around the world. Equally important is the fact this agreement exceeds the budget request for weapons dismantlement and disposition, reflecting a dedication to reduced U.S. nuclear weapon stockpiles.

The conference agreement also maintains significant investments in Department of Energy research and development programs that are critical to placing our nation on a path toward a sustainable energy future. The support for energy efficiency and renewable energy research in this legislation will help us develop new, less expensive ways to produce and use energy. Funding for electricity delivery and reliability will allow us to begin modernizing and securing our aging electrical grid against internal and external threats. The $4.9 billion in funding for the Office of Science will support the basic research that will be the foundation of tomorrow's transformative discoveries and innovations. I appreciate the $426 million investment for fusion energy sciences included

in the conference agreement, and I hope we will continue to strengthen this and other basic and applied energy programs in the coming years.

Finally, I applaud the conference agreement for upholding the funding goals of the America COMPETES Act--an important step toward restoring the rightful place of science in our nation. Yet we should not underestimate the size or scope of the challenges posed by climate change and energy security. As we consider future legislation, the twin goals of a clean energy future and a robust economy will require a firm dedication to providing our scientists and engineers the resources they need to initiate genuinely transformative changes in our energy sector.

Mr. Speaker, I feel strongly that all men and women must be treated equally, regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. That is why I am an original cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Hate crimes are real. They spread fear and intimidation among entire communities. This bill would strengthen local law enforcement's ability to prosecute hate crimes based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to the victim. It's long past time for Congress to pass this important legislation to help prosecute those who would commit these heinous acts.

Some have opposed this bill by saying it would legislate ``thought crimes.'' It is patently false to say that we're criminalizing thought. We are criminalizing the brutality that results when these thoughts lead to the death and serious injury of an innocent victim. This is no more about criminalizing thought than the antilynching laws were about criminalizing knot tying.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic and prosecutorial assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime of violence that is motivated by prejudice based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of the victim. It also authorizes the Department of Justice to award grants to state and local law enforcement to assist in hate crime prevention.

This bill is about hate crimes and giving law enforcement the tools they need to prosecute them. This bill has strong support from over 300 civil rights, religious, LGBT, law enforcement and civic organizations, and I'm particularly pleased to identify the support of the Garden State Equality, a group that has fought tirelessly to fight discrimination against all Americans, including discrimination based on gender identity.

The bill has in the past been approved by the House and the Senate only to fail to reach the president's desk. Yet, today we will finally pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill.

Every year, this bill provides us with an opportunity to make sure we are doing right by the men and women who serve our Nation in uniform. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (H.R. 2647) would provide a 3.4-percent pay raise for our troops. It also would expand TRICARE health coverage for reserve component members and their families for 180 days prior to mobilization and prohibit fee increases on TRICARE inpatient care for one year. To help our wounded warriors with their recovery, the bill authorizes funding for travel and transportation for three designated persons, including non-family members, to visit hospitalized service members. It also authorizes funding to allow seriously injured service members to use a non-medical attendant for help with daily living or during travel for medical treatment.

H.R. 2647 also contains provisions designed to improve and rationalize our policy on detainees. I am especially pleased that the bill contains a provision I wrote that requires the videorecording of interrogations of detainees held at theater-level detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the first time, the Defense Department will have a uniform standard for collecting videorecorded intelligence from detainees through this mandatory program. Law enforcement organizations across our country use this technique routinely in interrogations, and it is past time the Defense Department adopted a common standard for videorecording interrogations to maximize intelligence collection and protect both the interrogators and the detainees.

I'm pleased that this bill contains strong hate crimes prevention provisions that I have supported for years. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which is included in this bill, would provide technical and financial support to local law enforcement and prosecutors so that they can more aggressively try violent crimes which are motivated by a victim's race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability and expands Federal jurisdiction to cover such crimes. Additionally, the bill would make it a Federal crime to attack U.S. servicemembers or their property on account of their service to country. The bill also includes stronger protections for freedom of speech and association, including religious speech and association, than the House passed version of this legislation. These changes will ensure that religious leaders will not have to change the expression of their beliefs or how they serve their congregations, as a result of the enactment of hate crimes legislation.

I am also pleased to see that the Conference Report includes most of Senator Schumer's Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, which had been attached to the Senate-passed bill. That bill would facilitate the ability of military and overseas voters to request voter registration and absentee ballot applications by mail and electronically, the ability of election officials to transmit blank absentee ballots to military and overseas voters, and the ability of military voters to return their completed paper ballots safely, securely and free of charge by express mail, with generous pick-up and delivery time-frames. The latter provisions are similar to my own legislation on that topic, the Military and Overseas Voting Enhancement Act, which was the very first election reform bill I introduced in the House this session.

I would also like to commend my colleague Ms. Maloney, who I was pleased to collaborate with on her Overseas Voting Practical Amendments Act, which included provisions to facilitate the use of electronic transmission for outgoing applications and ballots similar to those in the Schumer bill that were not covered by my bill. I agree with Senator Schumer that facilitating the ability of our service men and women to vote conveniently, expeditiously, securely, and--to say the least--for free--should be our top priority. They put their lives on the line for us every day, and the electoral process should recognize their sacrifice accordingly.

However, whatever we do to facilitate the ability of our military personnel to vote, we must never do it at the expense of the security or privacy of their votes. The strong language included in the conference report requires that the privacy of our military and overseas voters be protected. And in providing only for the express mail return of completed hard copy ballots, it also recognizes that return of completed ballots by electronic means presents security risks. However, the bill calls for the study of ``new election technology'' to facilitate the ability of our military and overseas voters to vote. We must remember that ``new'' does not necessarily mean better, and that too often technology has been adopted before being

properly evaluated for the potential unintended consequences it may cause.

Chlorofluorocarbons were hailed as an innovation in refrigeration; we've since discovered that they damaged the ozone layer, so they are now banned. Asbestos was hailed for its insulation properties; we've since discovered that it causes lung disease, so it is now banned. DDT was hailed as a disease-fighting pesticide and its inventor was awarded the Nobel Prize; we've since discovered it causes serious harm to living organisms, so it is now banned. Electronic voting machines were hailed as making voting easier and more accessible; we've since learned that in most cases their results cannot be reliably and consistently verified. Whatever we do to enhance the ability of our military and overseas voters to vote, we must never implement anything that could compromise the accuracy, integrity, and security of the vote count.

One key provision in the House version of the bill that is not in this conference report is a requirement that the Secretary of Defense conduct suicide prevention outreach to every Individual Ready Reserve member who has done at least one tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. I was astonished to learn that some in the Senate objected to this provision on the grounds of costs. How much would it cost the Defense Department to task the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to have his staff make phone calls to check up on IRR members who might be at risk of taking their own lives? If we can find tens of millions of dollars to buy extra engines for the F-35 fighter that the Pentagon doesn't want, there is no excuse for the Congress not to find the money to help prevent combat veterans from killing themselves.

Finally, this bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to ``submit to the congressional defense committees separate reports containing assessments of the extent to which the campaign plan for Iraq and the campaign plan for Afghanistan (including the supporting and implementing documents for each such plan) each adhere to military doctrine.'' Unfortunately, we need far more than a simple assessment as to whether our armed forces are fighting according to established doctrine. What we need is a critical examination of whether they should be fighting in Afghanistan at all. Some of us have asked for a plan of success or a plan of withdrawal before sending another wave of soldiers. We have received no such plan.

As I've stated previously, I will not support an endless military commitment in this region. If a year from now I do not see unambiguous indicators of success--fewer civilian casualties, Afghan and Pakistani security forces in the lead on the security mission, genuine progress in rebuilding Afghanistan's devastated infrastructure and civil institutions--I will not support further funding for operations and will support only measures that will bring our forces home, and quickly.

On balance, this is a good bill and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Madam Speaker, I want to take a moment to honor a fine officer who will shortly be leaving active duty. COL Stephen M. Christian will be retiring from the United States Army on October 12, 2009, after more than 30 years of active military service, culminating as Garrison Commander for the United States Army Garrison, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

Colonel Christian enlisted in the Army in 1978 and in 1984 attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery Officer. Throughout his career Colonel Christian has held numerous high level command and staff positions, including tours with the 7th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Ord, California; the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. He commanded at the battalion level on two occasions and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, during which he was awarded two Bronze Star Medals. Colonel Christian's civilian education includes a master of science in administration and a master of security strategy from the National War College, National Defense University. Colonel Christian is married to Laura Christian and they have two adult children, Captain Nicholas Christian and Leslie Roop.

Madam Speaker, our active duty families make many sacrifices for the rest of us, and this is especially true of those who make the military their career. I thank Colonel Christian for his long and honorable service to our Nation, and I wish him and his wife Laura the very best as they prepare to enter a new phase in their life journey together.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Guam.

I rise today in support of House Resolution 795. This legislation of the gentleman from Pennsylvania honors the people of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Flight 93 ambassadors for creating a temporary memorial for the passengers of United Flight 93 and urges the National Park Service to complete a national memorial.

The men and women onboard Flight 93 prevented a fourth attack on September 11, 2001, against American citizens. Arming themselves with whatever they could find, they prevented the hijackers from mounting a potentially disastrous attack on a target in Washington, D.C. Without their sacrifice, it's very possible that many of us and the building in which we stand would not be here today. It's almost certain that many other innocent civilians would have died.

Of those brave souls onboard Flight 93, 18 of them were from New Jersey, including two from the 12th Congressional District, which I have the privilege to represent. One of those heroes was Todd Beamer, a respected businessman from Cranbury, New Jersey. He was a man of deep religious faith, a loving father, a caring and devoted husband to his wife, Lisa. And it was his famous phrase, ``Let's roll,'' that helped inspire our Nation to meet his high standard of shared sacrifice and to remind Americans in those dark days following September 11 that America would not just survive but America would prevail against hate and extremism.

Lisa and Todd Beamer's children David, Drew and Morgan Kay will grow up knowing their father's act of valor saved the lives of others. He will always be remembered as a hero, along with his fellow passengers.

Richard Guadagno was another amazing passenger on Flight 93. Raised in Trenton, Richard was the manager of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in California, a truly outstanding person. He was on his way back to Eureka, California, after visiting his family in New Jersey and attending his grandmother's 100th birthday party. He too made the ultimate sacrifice.

I have long supported and worked to get funding for a national monument honoring the passengers and crew of Flight 93. People will be able to find inspiration as they look at this memorial and reflect on the essence of America, that Americans are willing to sacrifice much to protect each other even in the face of mortal danger. It will remind us that this is not the last time America will need heroes, that the survival of American ideals depends on ordinary people stepping out of their roles to act in ways that are extraordinary and courageous.

I strongly support this resolution and urge the National Park Service to complete this memorial by the 10th anniversary of that terrible day.

Mr. Speaker, what a remarkable life Edward M. Kennedy lived. When I first met Senator Kennedy in 1963, I mistakenly believed he was in office because of his family connections. As I watched and interacted with him over the subsequent decades of his great legislative career--matched by few if any--he demonstrated a strong work ethic. No one worked harder. He had a deep commitment to freedom, fairness, and justice, and his persistent defense of the `little guy' was absolutely genuine. The result is a body of legislation that has brought equality, justice, and opportunity to millions. This towering figure was an inspiration to so many of his colleagues, and he showed each of us--from the most senior to the most junior--the highest level of consideration.

My thoughts go out to his family, including his wife Vicki and his son Patrick, who is a close friend of mine. Edward M. Kennedy will live on in the accomplishments he leaves. May all of those close to him know we are grateful for his service to the nation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010, which will also allow for continuation of government functions through October 31, 2009.

Through this spring and into the summer, the House has worked diligently to approve all 12 regular appropriation bills. Yet, our colleagues on the other side of the rotunda have not finished their work and so today we must approve continued funding for all government operations which are scheduled to expire on September 30, 2009. I hope that we will be able to reach agreement with our Senate colleagues and complete all regular appropriations bills and need no more continuing resolutions.

I regret that the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill does not include funding for the revival of the Office of Technology Assessment, OTA. When OTA operated it provided Congress with assistance in identifying and assessing the consequences of science and technology in a very useful manner and timeframe.

While I was unsuccessful this year reinstating funding for the OTA, I will continue to fight for the revival of OTA because it would strengthen Congress as an institution, elevate the discourse on matters affected by science and technology, and allow Members to more effectively carry out their duties as the people's representatives.

Another point troubles me greatly. This bill contains in Section 163 a provision to deny funding to ACORN or its allied organizations. I must note that a number of questions have been raised about the constitutionality of this section, and I share these concerns. Article I Section 9 of the Constitution of the United States is explicit that, ``No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.'' Thus, it is unconstitutional for Congress to pass legislation declaring an individual or a group guilty and sanctioning them without benefit of a trial. Without doubt, the revelations about ACORN presented on the internet and television recently are cause for concern and indicate possible illegality and misuse of funds. Reports on television, however, are not cause for Congress suddenly to become a part of the judicial branch of government and declare guilt and mete out punishment without any legal proceedings. The Congressional Research Service has been asked to look into this question, and concluded that a court would most likely ``find that it violates the prohibition against bills of attainder.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of an emergency extension of unemployment benefits for states with high rates of unemployment like my home state of New Jersey.

I hear all the time from Central New Jersey residents who are working hard each day to find a new job. Recently, a Mercer County resident wrote me to say his wife had been out of work for 11 months. He wrote to say, ``The jobs are just not available for her to go back to work.'' This bill answers his plea and the pleas of countless other out of work New Jersey residents to extend unemployment benefits while they continue to search for employment.

In tough economic times, Congress and the President have worked together to extend unemployment benefits when needed. The previous extensions of unemployment insurance during this current recession has helped many New Jersey residents keep a roof over their head and food on the table when times were tough. In this tight job market and with the economy just starting to show signs of recovery, there are still six unemployed workers for each job opening and more than five million people who have been unemployed for more than six months.

The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009, H.R. 3548, would extend an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to individuals who have exhausted their current benefits in states with unemployment rates above 8.5 percent. With New Jersey's unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, by the end of September it is estimated that 22,000 New Jerseyans will have exhausted their unemployment benefits and have nowhere else to turn. This bill will provide them with direct relief during a difficult time.

Our government must help those in need as they seek new work. Morally, it is the right thing to do and the economists tell us that unemployment benefits are one of the most cost-efficient and fast- acting forms of economic stimulus.

The bill does not add to the deficit, by off-setting its cost with a one year extension of an employment tax that has been in place for 30 years.

Once this bill is signed into law it is estimated that by December, this 13-week extension of unemployment would benefit 1 million Americans--including 42,000 New Jersey residents--who will be looking for work and have exhausted their existing unemployment benefits.

Madam Speaker, I thank the respected gentleman from Colorado.

I rise in full support of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which would make college more affordable and accessible with a landmark investment in college aid. This will not cost taxpayers a dime by improving the

way that our student loan programs operate. In fact, we can expect a $10 billion savings for taxpayers. Our experience with the direct loan program has lasted two decades now, and it is a great success. Students like it, colleges like it, taxpayers like it. Let's expand it.

This legislation makes available $40 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant scholarship from its current $5,500--a long way from the $4,000 where it was mired for a number of years--now to $6,900 by later in the decade. It would, in effect, double the number of students who receive Pell Grants in my home State of New Jersey. Further, by converting all new Federal loans to the stable and cost-efficient Direct Loan Program, the bill would help keep interest rates low on need-based Federal student loans.

I'm especially pleased that the bill provides billions to modernize and make our Nation's elementary and secondary schools more energy efficient, including a number of provisions that I'm pleased to have written. Finally, I strongly support the Early Learning Challenge Fund, the community college reforms, and the simplifications to the FAFSA forms that are also included in this bill. I want to thank Chairman Miller for working with me to protect the Graduate Stafford Loan Program in this bill.

This is a good bill. Millions of students and parents support the goals of the bill. Let's answer their pleas for help and make colleges more affordable. No one can argue reasonably that now is not the time to improve accessibility and affordability of college. I urge support of this rule and the underlying bill.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my respected friend from Georgia and also the chairman for their support of my legislation, this amendment that is really quite simple, and I appreciate their support of it.

There is nothing in the bill that would prohibit the use of funds for advanced agriculture vehicles. My

amendment, as adopted, simply underscores the importance of research and development in this arena.

Rising food costs have been one of the greatest burdens of America's struggling families, and the cost of fuel in transporting agricultural products has been a major factor in these costs increases.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prices for what the department calls ``food at home,'' which includes grocery stores, convenience stores and food at farmers markets, will rise 2 to 3 percent this year following an increase of 6.4 percent last year, they say the highest jump in nearly two decades. Increasing food prices are expected to outpace increases in the Consumer Price Index.

Granted, the cost of fuel is only one factor in these increases. But everything we can do to ease the burden of high fuel costs of agricultural products certainly will help. Coming from the Garden State, which has a long agricultural tradition, I feel that this is as important an issue for my constituents as for those in the other 49 States.

I will continue to work to find ways to make agricultural production less costly, more sustainable.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act (H.R. 3246 which was offered by Mr. Gordon of Tennessee), to ensure that funding for the pilot program will be applied towards the development of more fuel efficient agricultural vehicles.

There is nothing in the bill that would have prohibited the use of funds for advanced agriculture vehicles; my amendment simply underscores the importance of research and development in this arena.

Rising food costs have been one of the greatest burdens on our struggling families, and the cost of fuel in producing and transporting agricultural products has been a major factor in these cost increases. According to experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prices for what the Department calls ``food at home,'' which includes purchases at grocery stores, convenience stores and farmers' markets, will rise 2 to 3 percent this year, following an increase of 6.4 percent last year, ``the highest jump in nearly two decades.'' Increasing food prices are expected to outpace increases in the Consumer Price Index.

Granted, the cost of fuel is not the only factor behind the increasing price of food. But everything we can do to ease the burden of high fuel costs on agricultural production will help. Coming from the Garden State which has a long agricultural tradition, this is an important issue to my constituents.

I will continue to work to find ways to make agricultural production less costly and more sustainable, because I believe it is critical to our food security. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, the urgency of health care reform comes from the fact that overall, Americans are living sicker, dying younger, and paying more. Not just the poor, not just those without insurance, not just the unemployed. Overall, Americans are living sicker, dying younger, and paying more than they should or more than residents of other countries do. Just minutes ago I came from a meeting with

the heads of the American Medical Association, the American Nursing Association, and the American Hospital Association. Doctors, hospital administrators, nurses--not politicians. The clear consensus is that the health care legislation, as it is taking shape here in Congress, can be expected to result in better patient care while holding costs in check. Let me repeat, the legislation, as it is taking shape in Congress, can result in better care at no more cost for all Americans.

Madam Speaker, this week we pause to remember the nearly 3,000 Americans who lost their lives in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. There are no words that I or any of us can say that will take away the pain and grief of those who lost family members and friends during the attacks. Thousands from my district were among those who lost those dear to them at the World Trade Center. The memory of that terrible day remains fresh in the minds of those who live or work in New York City and Washington.

This year also marked the tragic passing of Beverly Eckert, who lost her husband Sean on 9/11 and who subsequently co-founded the Voices of September 11th advocacy organization, which played a critical role in pushing for the creation of the 9/11 Commission. Beverly was one of the passengers on Continental Airlines flight 3407, which crashed near Buffalo on February 12, 2009.

Today, we still owe Beverly Eckert and everyone else touched by the 9/11 attacks what we promised them: that we would reform our governmental institutions to help prevent future attacks and that the perpetrators of 9/11 would be brought to justice. Some progress has been made in making our country less vulnerable to future terrorist attacks, but much work remains to be done.

Our rail system is still needlessly vulnerable to the kinds of attacks that rocked London, Madrid, and Mumbai over the last several years. We have yet to screen 100 percent of the cargo entering our ports of entry and our ``no fly lists'' continue to contain the names of innocent Americans who are routinely detained for no legitimate reason while our porous borders remain a potential pathway for terrorists to enter our country. I will continue my work to eliminate these holes in our defenses and to press for changes in our foreign and defense policy that will help us to remove Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda as a threat to our people.

As we remember those who have died and seek to honor our commitments to them and their survivors, people all across America now can take part in a new way to honor the memory of those who perished on 9/11.

Earlier this year, the Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (Public Law 111-13). In addition to tripling national service volunteerism opportunities to 250,000 for everyone from students to retirees, this bipartisan law designated September 11 every year as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. I encourage all Americans to use September 11 to honor the victims and heroes of the 9/11 tragedy by serving their neighbors and communities.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Food Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 2749), and to commend the Committees on Agriculture and Energy and Commerce for their hard work in crafting the bill.

According to a 2005 study by the Centers for Disease Control, each year 76 million people (25 percent of the population) become sick, 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die from foodborne illnesses in the United States. In recent years, the United States has experienced many incidents of food contamination, caused by biological and man-made toxins. For example, in 2000, various brands of taco shells were found to be contaminated with genetically modified corn meant only for animal feed. In the fall of 2006, spinach contaminated with E. coli bacteria resulted in more than 200 confirmed illnesses and at least three deaths. In 2007, various products imported from China were found to contain wheat gluten contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which killed more than a dozen house pets. And recently, people across the country were infected with Salmonella bacteria from eating peanut products from a processing plant in Georgia. Even contaminated cookie dough has ended up in the food supply.

Therefore I commend my colleagues Chairman Emeritus Dingell, Chairman Waxman, Mr. Pallone and Mr. Stupak for their firm and comprehensive response to this torrent of food contamination incidents, and for crafting the bill before us today. In addition, I want to acknowledge my colleague Ms. DeLauro for her own substantial efforts to improve food safety, and her contributions to this bill. It would make many important improvements to our food safety regulations, including creating an up-to-date registry of all food facilities serving American consumers, requiring foreign and domestic food facilities to have safety plans in place to identify and mitigate hazards, and require high-risk food facilities to be inspected every 12 months, and low-risk facilities to be inspected every 18 months. It also requires the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, to develop a system which would expedite import processing for importers who agree to adhere to enhanced safety and security guidelines, and expands FDA trace-back capabilities in the event of a foodborne illness.

In particular, I want to thank the Committees for responding to many of the concerns raised by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and constituents from my district that the bill would negatively impact small, family-owned, and organic farms. For example, the bill before us today provides an exemption from traceability and registration for direct farmer-to-consumer marketing, an exemption for food, facilities and farms that are already regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and an exemption for grain and hay farmers from full-scale electronic traceability

requirements. In all these cases the regulations would be unnecessary and wasteful.

However, a number of the concerns they raised have not been addressed, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in both Chambers to ensure that those matters are addressed as the bill moves through the process. Most importantly, it will be critical to assure that none of the new safety standards weaken the standards under the National Organic Program. In addition, it will be important that we facilitate and enhance the role of conservation and sustainability practices to address food safety issues. And we must ensure that the fee structure in the bill does not disproportionately impact small agricultural producers.

I thank my colleagues again for their leadership and prompt action on this matter, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and to work to fine-tune it as it moves through the legislative process.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend from Massachusetts.

Almost no one believes that the Kinetic Energy Interceptor program is necessary or that it will be completed successfully. The Director of the Missile Defense Agency, the Secretary of Defense, and the President have all called for the termination of the program. House and Senate Armed Services Committees have supported that position.

I understand the desire of the chairman of the subcommittee (Mr. Murtha) to get something of value from all the money that has been already spent, but stringing this program along is not the answer. Even after the removal of this money there will be plenty of funding to learn from the mistakes of the program.

Mr. Chairman, even if the KEI were successful, it will never work well enough to change our strategy. Missile defense systems must be perfect to achieve their professed goals, and we can never get that perfection.

The fact that we don't need them against our friends and that they will only encourage our enemies to build more offensive systems to get around, this so-called shield are the arguments against this missile defense. The best this flawed system could ever provide is a provocative, yet permeable defense. I urge my colleagues to adopt the amendment.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from California, and I rise in support of the Absentee Ballot TRAC Act. I commend her and Mr. McCarthy for crafting this commonsense measure, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

For the sake of good democracy, we must do all we can to have accessible, reliable, auditable voting. And we must do all we can to remove every reason for voters to believe that the voting system is not working well, to remove any doubt that they might have that votes are not counted as they intended.

Every year, some number of absentee ballots are requested by voters but not received, or delivered to voters but not returned to the election officials. The Election Assistance Commission's 2004 election administration voting survey reported that on average, only 89 percent of absentee ballots requested were returned. The 2006 Election Administration and Voting Survey reported that on average, a quarter of domestic civilian absentee ballots were rejected due to untimely receipt. And according to a survey of military and overseas voting in 2008 conducted by the nonpartisan Overseas Vote Foundation, more than 1 in 5 American voters living overseas, including military personnel, did not receive their ballots on time for them to be counted in the 2008 election.

Every such instance of nonreceipt or nondelivery must be treated as a probable instance of wrongful disenfranchisement because we can assume voters would not have requested the ballots if they did not intend to vote. And that's why I support this commonsense measure. It would reimburse States for establishing programs to track and confirm the receipt of absentee ballots and make available to the individual who cast the ballot information on the receipt of the ballot, and information about whether or not the ballot was counted. This would be done by means of on-line access using an Internet site of the official's office.

I commend this bill to my colleagues, and I thank the gentleman and the gentlelady for proposing it.