Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Phillip Torres of Kansas City, Missouri. Phillip is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1707, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Phillip has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Phillip has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Phillip Torres for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Andrew O'Neil of Kansas City, Missouri. Andrew is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1374, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Andrew has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Andrew has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Andrew O'Neil for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Michael Krekeler of Blue Springs, Missouri. Michael is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1362, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Michael has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Michael has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Michael Krekeler for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Christopher Morrow of Blue Springs, Missouri. Christopher is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1138, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Christopher has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Christopher has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Christopher Morrow for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Jesse Anderson of Grain Valley, Missouri. Jesse is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1246, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Jesse has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Jesse has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Jesse Anderson for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Connor Bloss of Blue Springs, Missouri. Connor is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1332, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Connor has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Connor has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Connor Bloss for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Joseph Moore of Blue Springs, Missouri. Connor is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1332, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Joseph has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Joseph has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Joseph Moore for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Alexander Williams of Kansas City, Missouri. Alexander is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1314, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Alexander has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Alexander has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Alexander Williams for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Jacob Fuenfhausen of Liberty, Missouri. Jacob is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1320, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Jacob has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Jacob has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Jacob Fuenfhausen for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Madam Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Jonathan McCole of Kansas City, Missouri. Jonathan is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1419, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout.

Jonathan has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Jonathan has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Jonathan McCole for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 996. This bill is going to help alleviate the impact of airport noise in Los Angeles, California, by permitting passenger facility charges collected by the Los Angeles International Airport to be used for noise mitigation during the construction of a new school.

Furthermore, this bill defines the projects that are eligible to ensure that money intended for noise mitigation is used for exactly that and nothing else. This bill is yet another provision to be pulled from H.R. 2881, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2007, and moved as a standalone bill.

Unfortunately, our counterparts in the Senate have not been able to reach an agreement among themselves and pass a comprehensive 4-year bill, and time is running out to get just such a bill done this year.

Mr. Speaker, I would urge the Senate to settle their differences and allow the Congress to send much-needed relief to an agency in turmoil as well as the flying public.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have?

I was going to pretty much just talk about the specific merits of S. 996, but since my colleague pointed out that we should stay on topic, I think I would just expand just a little bit because this is an aviation bill, this is talking about--and it was mentioned-- the number of planes flying in and out of Los Angeles International Airport and just how important that part of the transportation system is to this country and how much we are going to lose in this country if pieces of legislation like the un-American energy bill that was passed last night are enacted into law.

It's unfortunate because so many things in this country travel. Every single product, every single person in this country travels one way or another, either by train or by plane or by ship or by barge or by pipeline or by truck. Everything in this country travels, and we are a country that is very, very dependent on foreign sources of oil, unfortunately, for those products that we need for gasoline, for diesel fuel.

We would like to see, and I would like to see, that dependence reduced. That dependence needs to be reduced, and we have the resources right here in the United States. Unfortunately, the bill that was passed last night locked away the biggest chunk of those resources permanently. That bill permanently put away any opportunity to go after those resources off the Outer Continental Shelf between zero and 50 miles where the biggest chunk of those resources are and where it would be the easiest to go after those resources.

It's unfortunate because there are no alternatives in certain areas of transportation, for instance, aviation, which we're talking about today. There are no alternatives but aviation fuel. It comes from petroleum. No alternatives are out there.

It will be nice one of these days in this country when we do have alternatives to address some of our issues when it comes to being a country so dependent on petroleum, on gasoline, and diesel fuel.

We already have a few great hybrids in this country, whether it's electricity or ethanol or biofuels. We have some great alternatives. But if you're talking about real power to pull a train or to drive a ship or to push a barge or to pull farm machinery or to pull a truck or to fly an airplane, we have to have fuel. And it's unfortunate that we continue to see pieces of legislation brought forth in this Chamber that do absolutely nothing to address our real need in this country. And we're talking about all of those things that are important to us for energy--nuclear power, clean-burning coal technology, coal to gas, more drilling in places like ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf, and all of those areas throughout the United States that have oil.

And we can do it in such an environmentally friendly way. And that's one of the most frustrating parts of this entire argument. We can do it in such an environmentally friendly way because of the technologies today that allow us to do so many different things underground when it comes to those wells and comes to those rigs. We don't have to hurt our environment to be dependent on the United States and to Americanize United States resources. We don't have to harm our environment in any way. We can work with our environment. And we continue to use those resources that are un-American.

So it's unfortunate, again, that we passed such an un-American bill in this Chamber last night. Many of us did not support that bill simply because it makes us more dependent on those foreign sources of oil and it locks away the biggest percentage of that oil that we have and those resources that we have right here in the United States. It didn't even address the refining issue that we have in the United States and the capacity problems that we have in the United States. And that's as much a part of this as anything else.

So all of these modes of transportation, we're going to be doing a few things here for a little while, talking about different areas of transportation. It's unfortunate because all of those modes of transportation carry those goods and those people from one place to another. And when the price of that energy goes up, it costs consumers money. It costs everyone out there more money when it comes to purchasing those products or just transporting themselves from one place to another.

So again, a very un-American energy bill was passed out of this Chamber last night. And we hope that we will be able to have an American energy bill, one that is dependent on American sources, sometime soon before this Congress breaks in October. This Congress continues to break time and time again without addressing this issue, without coming up with a bill that will solve those problems and will go to the President's desk. And it's unfortunate, Mr. Speaker.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 996. I do think it's a good bill. I think it makes sense, obviously. And in light of time, I will urge support.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution recognizing North Platte, Nebraska, as ``Rail Town USA.''

North Platte is home to Bailey Yard, recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest railroad classification yard.

At Bailey Yard, as was pointed out by the gentlelady, an astounding 10,000 rail cars a day are sorted and put together in trains that move freight all across this country. These trains are loaded with commodities that keep our economy going, ranging everywhere from groceries to building supplies, from coal to new automobiles. The yard is home to over 2,600 hardworking railroad employees. And Bailey Yard covers 2,850,000 acres containing 315 miles of track.

The Union Pacific Railroad, Madam Speaker, has invested heavily in Bailey Yard, over $100 million in the modern area. This kind of investment in rail infrastructure is exactly what this country needs to keep our economy strong.

Railroads are a very important component of our Nation's transportation infrastructure and we should continue to support the rail industry.

In that spirit, I urge passage of H. Con. Res. 408, honoring North Platte's contribution to our country's economic vitality.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Mr. Adrian Smith who is the original cosponsor, the primary sponsor of this legislation. I yield him as much time as he may consume.

Madam Speaker, I would yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter).

Madam Speaker, before I close, I want to thank the gentlelady from Florida for pointing out that passing Amtrak or Amtrak rail service is very important. It is extremely important to be able to move people around in a much more efficient way. And I might remind the gentlelady that Amtrak depends on one thing, and that is diesel fuel. And you can't have diesel fuel if you don't have drilling. As long as we are dependent on nations such as Saudi Arabia and such as Venezuela, we're going to be continually at their mercy when it comes to getting those resources. But we have to have drilling to have diesel fuels to have trains on the track. It is all interconnected, and it's all very important.

The gentlelady is exactly right. Rail service in this country can do a whole lot toward taking vehicles off the road. And bringing our rail service back in this country I think is a very worthy goal for the United States. Moving as much goods and people by rail, I think, just makes it more efficient.

I mentioned before that every single thing in this country moves. It's either by train or by plane or by ship or by barge or by pipeline or by truck or by car. But every single thing in this country moves. And every person in this country moves. And when we get more efficient and put them on a train, we need diesel fuel. And the only way we are going to get diesel fuel is to have more oil production in the United States and be able to refine it.

I appreciate what the gentlelady has done today, particularly with North Platte. North Platte is one big rail facility, a big rail facility out in Nebraska. Obviously Adrian is doing a fantastic job for his area. I want to thank the gentlelady. She has a lot of heart, and she is one of my favorite people in Congress.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 3986, the John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act, will authorize much-needed funds for the continued operation of the John F. Kennedy Center, which was established to celebrate the arts and honor of the memory of President John F. Kennedy.

H.R. 3986, as amended by the Senate, authorizes the Kennedy Center for a 5-year period consistent with the center's facilities management plan. The 5-year authorization will allow the Kennedy Center to manage the center in a responsible manner.

The House passed the version of this legislation in December of last year that included a 3-year authorization for the Kennedy Center. The Senate amendment provides a 5-year authorization to allow for a longer- term plan

for the management of that center. With this longer authorization, the Kennedy Center can upgrade and maintain the facility, using a renovation schedule that is both realistic and responsible.

While the center has had financial management problems in the past, the management of projects shows great success in facilities management policy. The master plan for the facility provides an aggressive plan for care and repair of the facilities. I believe that the long-term master plan presented by the board of directors lays out a responsible vision for the center.

Many of the projects in the center's budget will repair and renovate capital assets and keep the center in good condition. Planned upgrades will make the facility safer and more welcoming to those who visit. Other projects will help maintain the Kennedy Center's unique structure.

The legislation also authorizes the Kennedy Center Board of Directors to study the usefulness of a solar panel system for the main roof of the memorial. Before the center can begin construction of a system, the board would be required to report to Congress information about the system.

I am very encouraged by the steps that the board of directors has taken to make the Kennedy Center more fiscally responsible. This authorization will give the center the resources necessary to carry out a well thought-out plan for the arts center that honors and remembers President Kennedy.

I support the legislation, and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), the ranking member of the overall Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has oversight over the Kennedy Center.

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

As was pointed out, they are embarking down at the Kennedy Center on a renovation plan, and one of the things they are looking at and one of the things we talked about in committee on various occasions is the photovoltaic plan that is going to be implemented on a lot of buildings around Washington, D.C., government buildings. It is fascinating technology. In fact, it has come light-years from where it was just a couple of decades ago, and I am very confident we are going to see some very interesting things come out of this as we move forward. Obviously, that is a big part of it.

Alternative energy sources is a very big part of what needs to be done in this country, whether it is wind power, photovoltaic, hydropower, obviously very, very important, as well as everything else out there that we need to do, which is clean burning coal technology, which is more drilling in the United States to utilize those resources we have right here in the United States, instead of doing what happened last night, which is locking away the vast majority of those resources in this country, at least when it comes to drilling off the Outer Continental Shelf, and not being allowed to drill between 50 and 0 miles of the coast.

That is unfortunate, because it is going to take all of the above. It is going to take solar power and wind power. It is going to take turning coal into fuel. It is going to take burning coal in a very clean way. It is going to take drilling for oil in the United States. It is going to take conservation, which is obviously a very big part of this. It is going to take all of those things.

What we need in this country is a real energy plan that does just that and that uses all of the above; not just a little bit of the above, but all of the above.

So I applaud the Kennedy Center and their plan, and I am looking forward to seeing how photovoltaic moves forward in this. I am very tickled to support this bill, H.R. 3986, and urge my colleagues to do the same.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of Senate Joint Resolution 35 that would amend Public Law 108-331 to provide for the Smithsonian Institution's construction of certain facilities in support of the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, or VERITAS.

The VERITAS project is a collaboration with the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy as the lead agencies. Universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland are participants in this work.

The goal of the VERITAS project is to increase our ability to view gamma-ray radiation in space.

Studying gamma ray radiation from objects like exploding stars and black holes will help increase our scientific understanding of the universe. In 1968, the first telescope was created to observe this gamma ray radiation. VERITAS significantly enhances this technology.

In 2004, Congress authorized the Smithsonian to construct a control building to support the VERITAS project. The control building would include space for computers, technical equipment, and other facilities for researchers to carry out their work with the new telescopes.

The original legislation authorized the control building to be built in Kitt Peak, Arizona, where the VERITAS project was expected to be located. Site and construction preparation began in Kitt Peak in 2004 on land leased to the U.S. Government by a local Indian tribe. Unfortunately, in 2005, the

project was halted when a lawsuit was brought and the National Science Foundation issued a stop work order.

As a result, the NSF and the DOE began to undertake new environmental assessments of the Kitt Peak site and, in 2005, started initial work on the VERITAS telescopes 35 miles away at the Fred Lawrence Base Camp in Mount Hopkins, Arizona. The plan was to move the telescopes to Kitt Peak following completion of the necessary assessments.

However, the assessment process continued into 2007 and there were concerns about missing windows of opportunities for joint work planned with NASA's gamma ray telescope satellite.

In light of this, the VERITAS team sought and received approval from the United States Forest Service to test the telescopes at the Whipple Base Camp. The testing revealed that the Whipple location produced results comparable with those they expected at Kitt Peak. As a result, the collaborative partners agreed that the VERITAS project should remain at the Whipple Base Camp.

The legislation enacted in 2004 authorized the construction of a control building by the Smithsonian for the project; however, it specified Kitt Peak, Arizona, as the project location.

The Senate resolution today would amend that law to authorize the construction of the control building at the Whipple Base Camp in Mount Hopkins, Arizona, where the VERITAS project is now located.

This resolution does not authorize any additional funds for the project. The resolution simply authorizes the change in the location of the project at no additional cost.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

If the gentlelady does not have any further speakers, Madam Speaker, I would go ahead then and yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 6627 authorizes construction of permanent structures to serve as Smithsonian research facilities in Edgewater, Maryland, and Gamboa, Panama. The new buildings will replace aging leased and temporary structure, and provide needed research space for the Smithsonian's research mission.

As part of a comprehensive facilities management plan, the Smithsonian has identified these two research centers as facilities in need of permanent, modern research buildings. The construction of the laboratories authorized by this bill will enable the Smithsonian to reduce its leased space inventory and consolidate its research operations. This will also allow the Smithsonian to close 80-year-old buildings that are costly to operate and not suitable for renovation.

Construction of new facilities in Gamboa will allow the Smithsonian to move out of general office space reconfigured for research and consolidate operations into a government-owned structure more appropriate and less costly for a modern research facility.

The Edgewater, Maryland, research facility will finally have permanent structures after working for many years out of temporary trailers. These trailers are expensive to maintain, and have a short, useful life.

Because the new buildings will be government-owned and cost less to operate and maintain, this legislation is expected to save money in the long term. The new facilities will be designed to meet the specific needs of the research centers.

Government ownership of the structures will save taxpayer dollars by investing in assets that will continue to serve the Smithsonian Institution over time. The dilapidated buildings and trailers currently used consume building maintenance resources and are a liability to the government rather than an asset. Replacement of the old buildings will allow us to shift dollars from maintaining aging structures to creating modern, useful facilities.

I am encouraged by the Smithsonian's responsible property management decisions in these two cases, and I ask my colleagues to please join me in supporting H.R. 6627.

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