Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, Members of the House, I rise today to recognize the great efforts by House Chief Administrative Officer Dan Beard to make the Capitol a more environmentally sustainable workplace. Mr. Beard has spearheaded the ``Greening of the Capitol'' initiative, a mission to make the millions of square feet of Capitol infrastructure a model of sustainability.

From recyclable paper and energy-efficient light bulbs to cafeteria composting and sustainable seafood, Mr. Beard has re-imagined the Capitol complex as a new, greener place to work. I would like to convey my gratitude for his hard work and dedication and vow to continue as a partner toward this very worthwhile goal.

I would like to submit for the Record an article appearing in the Washington Post on January 16, 2008. The article, written by Jane Black, reviews many of the excellent improvements Mr. Beard has brought about in our cafeterias.

On Capitol Hill, a Vote for Edibility and the Environment

Congress is back in session this week, soon to tackle such

solemn matters as the destruction of CIA videotapes and the

credit crunch. But in the halls of the Longworth House Office

Building, much of the chatter is about another weighty

matter: the new cafeteria food.

As staffers briskly walk the long corridors, they stop to

poke into Goodies, the renamed and renovated Longworth

Convenience Store, which now features organic chocolate along

with the old Cup O' Noodles. Or they peep into the rehabbed

Creamery, formerly Scoops ice cream parlor. The whole place

has an aura of curious excitement, like a college during

orientation week. (Then again, that may be because many of

the staffers look as if they could still be in school

themselves.)

Since members departed for the winter recess, the House

cafeterias, which turn out 2.5 million meals a year, have

undergone extreme makeovers. Longworth Cafe, the largest in

the complex, was transformed first. Over the weekend of Dec.

15, the old salad bar was swapped for one made of sustainable

materials, ``green'' signs were installed and entrees such as

mystery meatloaf and mashed potatoes disappeared, replaced by

crispy chicken with goat cheese and spinach and a

``panzanella'' station, where staffers can build a salad of

marinated figs, prosciutto and feta cheese.

As of Monday, Restaurant Associates--the new contractor,

which also supplies food to the Kennedy Center and the

National Gallery--had also reopened the cafeterias in the

Rayburn and Cannon buildings and the Members' Dining Room.

If only more congressional work were done as swiftly. The

changes are part of the larger Green the Capitol project, an

initiative of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that aims

to make the House carbon neutral by the end of the session.

The dining service was a prime target, and not only because

of the 1950s-era food. Cafeteria waste accounted for half of

the estimated 250 metric tons of trash the House sends to

landfills annually. Now the plates, cutlery, cups--everything

except the soup and coffee lids--is compostable and turned to

pulp on-site. In addition, the cafeteria offers fair-trade

coffee, certified sustainable seafood and as much organic,

locally grown food as it can deliver.

``I don't know much about the greening, but the food is a

lot better,'' said Caitlin Lenihan, press secretary for Rep.

Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), standing in line at the panzanella

station. ``I'd stopped coming a while back, but I've already

had the pizza and the barbecue. It's all improved.''

Other staffers agreed, giving high marks to the quality and

variety of food. (And this reporter can vouch for their good

taste. The panzanella salad, while a far cry from the Italian

bread salad for which it is named, was fresh, and the Asian

shrimp wrap was nicely balanced by crunchy Napa cabbage and

carrot slaw in ginger dressing.)

But the embrace of change, so touted on the campaign trail,

clearly has not quite filtered down to the aides who keep the

Capitol wheels in motion. Along with the praise came the

inevitable griping--off the record, of course.

The No. 1 topic of complaint: that biodegradable cutlery.

``Funky,'' ``wacky'' and ``weird texture'' were common

descriptions. Put too much pressure on the fork, several

staffers noted, and it snaps in half. ``I even hear the

spoons melt in hot drinks because they're made of

cornstarch,'' said one staffer. (A test of that claim proved

it was untrue: the first cafeteria urban legend.)

Complaint No. 2: the prices. Under particular scrutiny by

caffeine-fueled aides were the bottles of Starbucks

Frappuccino. One staffer was so incensed that he e-mailed his

friends a chart illustrating how the new $3.30 price is 47

percent higher than the $2.25 the bottles sold for in the old

cafeteria and 4.8 percent higher than the approximately $3.15

they sell for in Starbucks stores. ``The wraps are more

expensive,'' said a Republican aide. ``The main entrees are a

little more. I'm not sure about the pizza, because I never

would have eaten the pizza before.''

A reasonable complaint--if it were true. With the exception

of those Frappuccinos, the price hike is in their heads, says

Aidan Murphy, Restaurant Associates' vice president of

operations. All like items cost the same, he said; only new

dishes, such as those from the twice-weekly sushi station,

are more expensive than items on the old menus.

And predictably, there was a resistance to change itself.

``This is an improvement, but there are little quirks you

have to get used to,'' said one senior Democratic staffer who

visits the cafeteria every day. ``I used to get this yogurt

in the morning. They don't have it anymore. They have organic

yogurt, which I don't want.''

The green efforts are ``generally a good thing, and we

support it,'' the aide said. ``But

I'm still a little focused on what happened to my Dannon.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague and good friend Congressman Mike Honda in order to congratulate the members and coaches of the Mount Madonna girls volleyball team on their extraordinary run to become the 2007 California Interscholastic Federation, CIF, Division V Champions. In 3 years, the Mount Madonna Hawks went from being a team ranked non-competitive by their own athletic league to state champions.

In a school of only fifty students with only thirteen of those being junior and senior girls, eleven girls made the seemingly impossible a reality. On December 1, 2007 the Mount Madonna Hawks defeated an opponent from a school seven times their size to win the 2007 CIF Division V State Championship.

Along the way the Hawks also picked up the titles of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Co-Champions, the CIF Central Coast Section Division V Champions, and the CIF Northern California Division V Champions. They accomplished this while also earning the CIF Central Coast Section award for best collective grade point average for an all varsity team.

Team leaders Hannah Meade, Alexa Rosendale and Erin Mitchell were each recognized individually by local and State organizations for their inspired and passionate play. However, we all know that it is the entire team of Ashley England, Camille Schwartz, Joanna Koda, Rachel Sunberg, Shelby Bofula, Soma Sharen, Tessa Fischer and Zoe Bostick that made this possible. I am so proud of their accomplishment and urge them to cherish this moment and use it as inspiration to overcome adversity in the years ahead.

I have long admired the students and teachers at the Mount Madonna School and second year Coach Gabrielle Houston Neville, more affectionately known as Gabby, and Athletic Director Sidd McDonald. They are testaments to the dedicated and exceptional staff that nurtures these future leaders.

When people ask about the young women of the 2007 Mount Madonna girls volleyball team, let it be said that throughout the season they showed the character, determination, sportsmanship, and mental and physical resilience of true champions. To the team I say, congratulations on your title as 2007 Division V State Champions, young Hawks; may this mark the beginning of future successes.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Community Bridges of Santa Cruz County, which will gather to celebrate its 30th anniversary later this month. Community Bridges, a family of non-profit programs, provides otherwise unmet care to the citizens of Santa Cruz County and is a vital component of our community.

Since its inception on October 19, 1977, Community Bridges has worked to provide innovative human services to enhance our diverse community. Today the family of programs (Child and Adult Care Food Program; Child Development Programs; La Manzana Community Resources; Lift Line: Live Oak Family Resource Center. Meals on Wheels; and WIC Nutrition Program) serves nearly 30,000 Santa Cruz County community members each year.

Through its services, the group nurtures the entire life from beginning to end. Starting childhood, Community Bridges fosters a better life by providing childcare, after-school programs, and teen mentoring to ensure that children develop the skills they need to succeed in school and life. For those later in life Community Bridges helps residents maintain their dignity and independence by providing meal delivery, transportation, and literacy and language education.

With an eye on healthy living, Community Bridges combats childhood obesity and promotes community wellbeing by providing nutrition education programs, breastfeeding support for new mothers, and food reimbursements. Moreover, Community Bridges helps reduce the risk of child abuse and keeps families strong by providing parenting classes, fostering educational attainment, and connecting families to health insurance programs and other important resources.

They not only seek to address unmet human service needs in our county, but also focus on supporting existing efforts to serve the community by working with other local care providers. Community Bridges promotes civic engagement by actively seeking community input and providing leadership training opportunities for local residents. By building partnerships with local organizations they ensure the greatest efficiency and accessibility of services for Santa Cruz County residents. The broad reach and integrated structure of Community Bridges affords the agency the unique ability to swiftly identify and address community needs as they emerge.

Madam Speaker, it is an honor to express appreciation for the critical role Community Bridges serves in providing a safety net for the most vulnerable members of our community and helping to improve the quality of life for the children, families, and seniors in Santa Cruz County.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Pinnacles National Monument. The extraordinary geology of the landscape has captured the imagination of Central California homesteaders, ranchers, naturalists, and philanthropists since the 1800s. A remnant volcano, the Pinnacles Volcanic Formation of rocky fingers of stone, talus caves, and lofty cliffs create a stark contrast to the smooth rolling hills of the surrounding Gabilan Range.

More than 14,000 acres of congressionally designated wilderness together with its multiple ecological niches provides the best remaining refuge for floral and faunal species representative of the Central California Coast. Located within the Pacific Flyway migratory route, Pinnacles has the highest concentration of nesting Prairie Falcons of any National Park site, and provides a safe haven for 20 species holding special Federal or State status.

Pinnacles is the only National Park site within the ancestral home range of the California condor that releases and maintains this Nation's largest bird species. There are nearly 400 species of bees at Pinnacles, the highest known bee diversity per unit area of any place on Earth. The monument sustains a showcase example of chaparral, a unique miniature forest ecosystem that elsewhere in coastal California is losing ground to ever-increasing urban expansion.

Life flourishes in the protective shadow of this remnant volcano whose location along the San Andreas fault zone has carried it nearly 195 miles northward from its place of origin and contains the Nation's largest talus caves. Research on Pinnacles' geology has helped revolutionize the theory of plate tectonics.

In this landscape Pinnacles National Monument preserves natural and cultural resources whose stories are woven into the fabric of this Nation's history and heritage. On January 16, 1908, under the authority of the newly created Antiquities Act, Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed 2,080 acres of the Pinnacles National Forest Reserve as Pinnacles National Monument. Today Pinnacles covers over 26,000 acres across both Monterey and San Benito Counties. Surrounding lands are still grazed by cattle, ridden by cowboys and vaqueros, and farmed by descendants of the first settlers who homesteaded the region.

Madam Speaker, I know the Members of this House will join me in noting this important milestone for Pinnacles National Monument: a haven for solitude; a recreational getaway for climbers, hikers and lovers of open space; a springboard for personal journeys of enrichment; and a continuing reminder of America's history preserved for future generations to study and enjoy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this legislation, the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Tax Relief Act of 2007.

This holiday season, Congress can provide tax relief to members of our military, our veterans, our volunteer firefighters, and to Peace Corps volunteers through the passage of this legislation. I am pleased that the committee included in the legislation a section of the bill that I authored which became section 106 earlier this year, and The Military Coalition who wrote in support of this language said: ``The consortium of uniformed services and veterans associations representing more than 5 million current and former military servicemembers and their families and survivors is writing in support of your planned legislation to rectify the longstanding problem encountered by many disabled veterans when filing for disability compensation with the Department of Veterans Affairs.''

This bill corrects that, and I am very pleased with it and ask my colleagues to support the bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my cousin Dan deGrassi on his retirement. Dan has worked for Santa Cruz County in environmental preservation for most of his adult life.

A third generation Berkley graduate, Dan deGrassi completed his education to enter his adult years in a world in turmoil over war, race relations and social mores. With deep feelings about the changes he observed in the societal fabric around him, he became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and as such, Dan sought alternative service. It was then that he started his environmental work in 1971 at the Ecology Center in Berkley, California.

Realizing a connection to environmental preservation, Dan moved down to Santa Cruz in 1973 and began work at the local recycling center. The following year, Dan returned to school, this time to study in environmental studies, a passion that would follow him throughout his life. In 1974 Dan married Laurel and the two welcomed their daughter Jessica 2 years later.

Starting 2 weeks after his daughter's birth, Dan began his work at the Santa Cruz County Advanced Planning Department, where he worked to preserve prime agricultural areas. Two years later, he and Laurel welcomed their second child, a boy, Aaron to the family. Later on Dan moved on to curbside recycling and helped pioneer the Materials Recovery Facility, which specializes in organization of recyclable materials.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to consider Dan both family and friend. His work in ensuring the preservation of the environment and his dedication to Santa Cruz County is inspiring and I would like to congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 853 honoring those who have volunteered to assist in the cleanup of the November 7, 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay.

My district lies roughly 50 miles south of the area affected by the oil spill. Even though they were not directly affected by the spill, the institutions and people in my district offered their help and support to their northern neighbors. The Marine Wildlife Center at the Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz treated birds injured by this spill, the NOAA Weather Service in Monterey played a pivotal role in providing wind and sea forecasts necessary to predict the spill's trajectory and assist in containment, and local organizations such as the Santa Cruz Surfrider Chapter organized volunteers to assist cleanup efforts in the San Francisco Bay.

I am proud of all of the people who unselfishly volunteered to assist the cleanup. Their unselfish response to this environmental disaster highlights just how important marine resources are to our communities. But, despite our best intentions ``business as usual'' is killing our oceans. We can no longer rely on the generosity of the citizens of this country to clean up the mess created by big business and poor governance.

When my constituents invest their valuable time to take care of the environment, I take notice. Actions speak louder than words, and with their actions in November, the people of the Central Coast are asking us to do more to ensure that we protect the environment while we conduct our business. If there is one thing that this oil spill shows, it is that if we don't make protecting the environment a higher priority, it will come back to haunt us . . . look at climate change.

First of all, thank you for doing this Special Order. It's very important for the American public to know that their Capitol, this is a public building, the people of this country own it. But we, as caretakers of it, are changing it into a model place to work and to have as a seat of government.

And just a few things that Mr. Blumenauer talked about, we're eliminating plastics and Styrofoam from the food service has totally been eliminated. As he showed, they're using compostable food service items. We're running a commercial composting operation, reducing waste by 50 percent. We've installed 30,000 compact fluorescent lights and use one-quarter of the energy that will last 10 times longer than the regular light bulbs.

We've changed the settings on heating and ceiling fans to reduce the run-times by 14 percent. We've replaced 84 vending machines with energy efficient equivalents. People don't think about these vending machines. They're all plugged in and they have lights and everything on them.

Analyzing the electrical energy usage throughout the 6 million square feet of the House buildings, the offices that we occupy, we're doing that audit now to find savings. We've activated economizers on building air conditioners, which cut the annual cooling cost by 20 percent. And we've initiated a study to relight the Capitol dome. Those lights are on all night, and I think we're all proud of it, but that study will reduce the energy requirements and do very efficient lighting.

And as you said, what you see here is that I think this is a real response to what the voters asked for last November, which was a change in direction in America in their House of Representatives and their Senate. They elected new majorities. The new majorities elected new Speakers. And the new Speaker has led us in a new direction.

And in just a short period of time, a number of months, we've done some dramatic changes in this building, and it's just historic. And I would like to compliment both of my colleagues, we're all west coasters, Washington, Oregon and California. And I think what we're reflecting here in the Capitol is what we bring from your own States, that have been very conscious about the sound economics of energy efficiency.

And the last thing I would just like to say is that this blast that the Republican leadership put out about the greening of the Capitol is so un-business, it's so dumb, it's sort of that dinosaur politics that just says, you know, don't change. If you look at the businesses in America, the new investment is in all the stuff that we're doing. And this is the direction this country is going. It's the direction the planet is going. It makes good economic sense and it makes great environmental sense. And we ought to be applauding ourselves for stepping up to the plate and not criticizing those who have taken the lead.

We didn't recycle, and we put an effort into doing that. Where that has grown now is all of the paper that's sold to all the offices, and there are 70 million pieces of paper per year used in the U.S. Capitol, we are replacing all that virgin paper, which cut down about 30,000 grown trees, it is all now 100 percent post-consumer waste recycled paper. So just that alone. And in the store where we buy all our supplies, that store sells recycled printer cartridges. That store becomes the receptacle for all the batteries that are used, for cell phones, and for BlackBerrys. So that they will all be part of the recycling stream. So we have just changed the entire approach to how we do business just in our office supplies in this Capitol.

Can I just tell you our offices led this effort on recycling, and my staff really got involved with it. And I'm really surprised how much we are doing, and I am sure a lot of other offices are doing the same.

We use only recycled paper products. The paper that is printed on only one side, we go through and have our interns make sure that that becomes the fax paper so that the clean side is used again in the fax process. The white paper, mixed paper, and newspapers each have their own recycling bin. Cardboard is set aside to be recycled. As long as they have a clean side, mail campaign postcards are bundled and used as scratch paper.

Each work station in my office has three bins, one for white paper, one for mixed paper, and one for wet trash. The officer manager will spot check the bins to make sure that everyone is separating their trash correctly. And we also have a separate bin for plastics, glass, and cans. Now, that's just one office. And the point here is we can all do this. And there is money to be made by the government in these recycled products.

What you are talking about is the Department of Agriculture just down the street has about as many employees as the House of Representatives. They were making tens of thousands, I think about $80,000 a year profit on recycling in the Department of Agriculture. And as you pointed out, the United States Congress was making about $21 a year.

So that has all changed thanks to this new leadership. And I am very proud to be a part of this greening of America by starting here in the Capitol of the United States.

What is interesting in talking about the cafeteria, it hasn't been mentioned what Dan Beard did is we put out a contract. As you know we have cafeterias in buildings and take-out centers. We have a lot of food service here. They redid the contract for all the food services, and a firm won this contract. It is a big one. I think it is about $20 million. They are going to provide all fair trade coffee, which is the coffee that is paid the best price because you grow it for organic conditions, for taking care of the employees, paying good wages of doing it environmentally sensitive, and Starbucks and everybody else is participating in this. Also, the foods in our cafeterias are going to be organic. We are going to make sure that the eating habits of Congress become a lot healthier along with the way we are doing business in our offices.

Lastly, I am going to walk home with George Miller, so I will leave, but I want to tell you, that in our office and I think other offices, we don't throw out the magazines, as we send them to the VA and community health clinics and senior centers. We don't put any dead batteries into the trash. We deposit them in a single place so they can be recycled. This is interesting, all the CDs you get sent in the mail for promotional advocacy efforts, they are not thrown out. They are provided to local gardeners to use to scare off birds and squirrels in their vegetable garden.

They use them as reflectors.

I just want to say to my colleagues, especially to you, Earl, that you have been a champion every day reminding people of the art of the possible, whether it is the bike caucus or the livable cities caucus or all of these things that end up being essentially the best that

America can reach for. I am very proud to serve with you. Thank you for asking us all to participate in tonight's caucus.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Garfield Park Christian Church which celebrates its centennial anniversary in the City of Santa Cruz, California this November. Commonly known as the ``circle church'' the surrounding neighborhoods were designed as a series of concentric circles built around the original tabernacle, making the church and the neighborhood forever linked.

Nestled into the heart of the Westside of Santa Cruz, not only does the Church celebrate a hundred years in our community but the neighborhoods surrounding the building do as well. Today the church grounds are a common meeting place for children, families and pet lovers. The church provides not only a place of worship but a cultural and community center for the surrounding homes and neighborhoods. It is estimated that over five hundred people use the facilities for events, meetings and gatherings each week.

Built in 1890, the church was designed to be a religious center to the unique surrounding neighborhoods that were built in circles around the church and serve as its congregation. When their original tabernacle burnt down in 1935, the spirit of the church did not falter. The loss was turned into a gift when for more than twenty years the site of the original tabernacle was leased to the city to be a park and playground, the original ``Garfield Park.'' Today the Garfield Park Christian Church sanctuary and gym stand on the site of the old Tabernacle, tying the new buildings to their original beginnings.

Although Garfield Park Church does have a legacy of being a place of worship among its congregation, it is also devoted to keeping alive compassion and strength of community in its surrounding residents. Two other congregations meet in the building each week along with the building being home to the annual Hindu Navratri festival and other events. By opening its doors and hearts to so many groups, meetings and people, the Garfield Park Church displays its commitment to open compassion and unity.

With this anniversary the church will adopt a new name in celebration of their centennial celebration. Moving forward they are adopting ``A New Vision for a New Century'' and a new name ``The Circle Church, Disciples of Christ,'' as they look forward to the next hundred years.

Madam Speaker, it is an honor to recognize an organization that is so deeply rooted in community involvement and unity. I am excited for this year's celebration and look forward to many more years of gathering in the circle neighborhoods of Santa Cruz.

Mr. Speaker, leadership is about getting results. I want to thank our leadership for bringing a bill to the floor for the first time that gets results.

I've never voted for funds for this war, and I've been waiting a long time to vote for a bill that would bring our troops home.

On March 20, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. It was a mistake then, and every day we've failed to correct this mistake costs us in cash, in credibility, and in lives. Every day we are not working to get out of Iraq, we make our Nation weaker and less safe. Every day that we do not get our troops out of Iraq is another day of mistakes.

The road out of Iraq starts with the first step. This bill is the first beginning. To start a withdrawal, this bill jump-starts that withdrawal. It starts in 30 days.

Passing this bill tonight makes clear that the U.S. House of Representatives has acted to bring our troops home, to end this war, and to put our country back on the right track. This leadership deserves your support.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor, as many of us have today, the Veterans Day this weekend that's coming up.

Congress has spent a lot of time this week talking about veterans. We've talked about how this Congress provided the largest increase in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration. We've debated which side cares more about veterans and who's to blame for the delay.

I think the American people can see who really is holding up the latest VA appropriations bill, but I'm here to remind each and every Member of Congress that, as you go home this weekend and speak to veterans and their families in their district, to honor them, ask yourself what have you done to honor your pledge to our veterans and their loved ones?

I hope the President also takes a hard look in the mirror before he decides on how he intends to honor veterans on Veterans Day.

We have to remember that in honoring our country's veterans that you cannot honor a veteran without honoring their families. They don't come alone. They have parents. They have loved ones. They have children.

And the bill that takes care of that is the bill that we're voting on today, which is the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. In order to support veterans, you've got to support their family. Be family friendly, vote for the appropriations bill.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the leadership of the Ways and Means Committee and the members because I think this bill takes a commonsense approach of having, as you have heard, the stories told about people who have had problems that just don't make sense. This is sort of fix the dumb-dumb in the tax law, and that is what this bill does for military veterans, volunteer firefighters, and eligible Peace Corps volunteers and others.

I am pleased that the committee included my legislation I authorized to provide tax relief for thousands of military retirees whose VA disability claims have been delayed by dysfunctional VA claims backlog.

The issue was brought to my attention by a constituent, Michael St. Germain, whose VA claim took over 8 years to process. Imagine, 8 years to process one VA claim. I am proud in the MilCon-VA appropriations bill that we have appropriated $124 million to provide 1,800 new claims processors to work on the 400,000 backlog of claims. I thank the committee for extending for another 2 years the claims adjustment.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and in strong support of the underlying bills. I can't believe what I am hearing here tonight, that people are talking about this being a bloated bill, that it's a bill that games are being played. They talk about how much we love the veterans side of it, but we don't like the Health and Human Services side.

Ladies and gentlemen, you cannot have a veteran without having a family, without having a home.

This bill puts more money into the areas where the President cuts it. In an area where the oil is going to $100 a barrel, they oppose this bill because we give more money to LIHEAP for elderly people and people who have low incomes to heat their homes in this winter that is coming.

They cut the budget for special ed, the President cut. We put it back in. We put in money for autism. We put in money for people for research, for strokes, for cancer, for Parkinson's Disease. These things are related to veterans.

You can't stand a veteran alone. A veteran has a family. If that veteran's family needs some help, by God, it's the government's responsibility to provide for that good public education and that great institute of health. That's in this bill, education, health, labor, the essence of America, essential to having good veterans.

Vote for the rule and for the bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American, Monterey County Supervisor, Jerry Smith, on the occasion of his recognition as one of Monterey County's outstanding veterans of the year by the Monterey County Veterans Services Advisory Commission. I am honored to have this opportunity to recognize Supervisor Smith not only because of his long public service in the California Central Coast community that I represent, but also because I consider Jerry and Byrl, the love of his life and wife of forty years, as friends.

Jerry Smith was born in 1945 and raised in Monterey County, California. He is the descendant of a pioneer family that arrived on the Monterey Peninsula in 1889. His great grandfather, William Niblett, first settled in Pacific Grove. The Niblett family lived there until 1937 and later moved to what was then the unincorporated community of Seaside. In the 1950s, Jerry's family was active in the successful efforts to incorporate this area as the City of Seaside. My own family's connection to Jerry's family begins at that time through my father Fred Farr's Seaside based law practice and his own involvement in the Seaside incorporation efforts.

After college, Jerry served a tour of duty in Vietnam with the Army's 4th Infantry Division. Following his return to Seaside in 1968, Jerry worked in a variety of fields including hotel management, banking, and auto sales. That is where I first met him, when in 1978 he sold me a Volkswagen Rabbit. Later that year following a service visit, I pulled into traffic while leaving Jerry's Wester Volkswagen dealership and into the path of a fast moving cement truck. I have joked with Jerry over the years that had this accident actually been fatal, rather than simple near fatal, he would have been the last person on Earth that I had any contact with.

In 1982, Jerry launched a public service career in law enforcement. He served over twenty years as a peace officer at the California State Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, where he rose to the position of Community Resources Manager. In 1998, Jerry won his first of three terms as Mayor of his home town. Under his leadership, the City of Seaside started its rebirth following the 1993 closure of the adjacent Fort Ord Army base. In 2004, Jerry became the first African American elected to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to represent the Fourth District. In his capacity as County Supervisor, Jerry serves on numerous Committees and Boards, including the Monterey County Voting Rights Committee, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, the Transportation Agency of Monterey County, the Natividad Medical Center Board of Trustees, and many others. In all of this work, Jerry has kept the interest of veterans at the forefront both in his official capacity and as an active member of American Legion Post 591 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Jerry has also been an active member of his community beyond his official duties as Mayor and Supervisor. He attends St. Francis Xavier Church and is a member of numerous charitable organizations throughout Monterey County, such as St. Francis Xavier Knights of Columbus, Monterey County NAACP, United Way, and the Monterey County Crime Prevention Association, to name a few.

Madam Speaker, in addition to his record of public service in general, and for veterans in particular, Jerry is also a shining role model for comity and decorum in public discourse. He is unfailingly gracious. Even in heated disagreement, of which we have had our share over the years, Jerry is always at pains to treat the other participants in the discourse with dignity. I know that I speak for the whole House in offering Jerry and Byrl our congratulations and best wishes for the future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 60th anniversary of the Moss Landing Harbor District. Moss Landing is a picturesque coastal hamlet tucked into the dunes of the Monterey Bay halfway between its better known neighbors of Monterey and Santa Cruz. It is home to some fantastic restaurants and cafes and an eclectic group of antique shops and some of the best sea otter viewing opportunities anywhere. The many boats that fill its harbor offer a photographers dream of masts and gleaming boat hulls berthed alongside well-worked fishing vessels. It is a truly wonderful place to visit like so

many other small harbor communities around the coasts of the United States.

A little deeper look reveals a community that is much more than a quaint tourist stop. Moss Landing is a true economic powerhouse of the California Coast. For starters, it is home to the Monterey Bay region's largest commercial fishing fleet. It is also home to two of the top marine science research institutions in the world--the Moss Landing Marine Lab and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Because of those labs, several world class ocean research vessels call the port home. Moss Landing is also a major draw for ocean recreationists of all stripes, from sailors, recreational fishers, kayakers, and surfers. It is also home to Mighty Mo, the largest natural gas fired power plant on the west coast.

Moss Landing has a long history of commercial vitality, dating back to the mid nineteenth century and the grain loading wharf operated by the community's namesake Captain Charlie Moss. But the real growth dates back to the 1947 creation of the Moss Landing Harbor District and the dredging and stabilization of the harbor channel by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Over the past 60 years, the district has shepherded Moss Landing's development into economic powerhouse that supports recreation, commercial fishing, science, and tourism.

Under the leadership of the current Harbor Commission President Russ Jeffries, Commission members, Margaret ``Peggy'' Shirrel, Ph.D., Yohn Gideon, Vince Ferrante and Frank Gomes, Jr., and Harbormaster Linda G. McIntyre, Esq., the Harbor District has just this year completed a major $4 million renovation of its north harbor area. The new amenities include a new 4-lane launch ramp, paving of the 5-acre site for parking, storm drains and a boat wash, a 900-foot public access wharf at the water's edge, and a 110-foot visitor serving dock alongside the wharf. A pedestrian/bicycle trail, funded by a Federal grant, and designed to run along the perimeter of North Harbor along scenic Highway 1, will complete the project. This last component of the project is the central part of a comprehensive bike and pedestrian trail under development that will link Monterey to Santa Cruz and place Moss Landing at the heart of what will be one of the most spectacular coastal trail experiences on the Pacific coast.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to have the opportunity to recognize the Moss Landing Harbor District for 60 years of achievement. I know that I speak for the whole House in offering congratulations to the leadership, employees, and users of this Pacific Coast gem.