Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

It is estimated that almost 40,000 women in the United States will die of breast cancer this year. Those are mothers, sisters, grandmothers, wives, daughters. We will miss them, and it shouldn't be. Thousands of men will be diagnosed with breast cancer as well.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States. Globally, breast cancer accounts for one- quarter of all cancers suffered by women. Every family probably in this Chamber today and across America has been touched in its life by somebody who has had breast cancer, and I am certainly no exception. My mother-in-law, Ruth Eskew Capito, died tragically at age 51--diagnosed with breast cancer. I never knew her as a mother-in-law, and my children never got to enjoy the pleasures of having her as their grandmother. The emptiness and the hurt never go away.

With the efforts of many dedicated to fighting breast cancer, we are making some progress--but limited progress--in stopping premature deaths caused by this terrible disease. In 1991, an average of 119 women in the United States died of breast cancer each day. Today, more than 20 years later, an average of 108 women will die of the disease each day. So between the years of 2000 and 2009, the cancer mortality rate for women has declined by 1.9 percent annually.

We must accelerate the progress we are making in finding new lifesaving treatments for breast cancer. That is why I, along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors, introduced H.R. 1830, the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act. The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act sets a national goal of ending deaths from the disease by 2020. This bill would establish a commission that would direct Federal and private sector resources towards the promising treatments aimed at stopping metastasis, or the spread of breast cancer, to other parts of the body.

The legislation is not designed to spend more taxpayers' dollars. In fact, the bill does not authorize any new Federal spending. Instead, it is designed to direct our existing research dollars in the most efficient way possible. The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act will not duplicate the efforts of existing government agencies and programs. It will, instead, provide a vital check and balance and will help ensure our limited research dollars are funding the most promising science in the area of breast cancer research. In working in this way and in building on the decades of Federal investment and achievement in breast cancer research, we can move forward to end breast cancer and learn how to prevent the disease within the next decade.

So far, there are 172 House Members from both parties and all ideologies who have cosponsored this legislation. I invite my colleagues today, in this month of October--National Breast Cancer Awareness Month--who have not yet cosponsored, to join us in a cosponsorship. I look forward to working with Members on both sides of the aisle to spur the development of new lifesaving treatments for those with breast cancer. The hope to end breast cancer can become a reality. Let's join together to make that happen.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank our committee chair, Mr. Shuster, and the ranking member, Mr. Rahall, from my state of West Virginia. I rise in very strong support of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, or WRRDA.

West Virginia is in the Ohio River Basin, where coal makes up 59 percent of the shipped tonnage. Waterways and ports support 9,900 local jobs and directly contribute $1.6 billion to the West Virginia economy. Domestic power plants rely on our rivers to maintain a steady supply of coal, and our country's coal exports have nearly doubled in the last 4 years. Efficient and effective water transportation has never been more important to West Virginia's economy. Projects like the Marmet Lock and Dam in my district demonstrate the importance of these projects.

I am especially pleased that this WRRDA bill takes steps to preserve the Inland Waterways Trust Fund so we can reduce the $8 billion backlog of construction projects on our rivers. This will create jobs and spur growth.

WRRDA's passage today will be a significant victory for West Virginia jobs, for American jobs, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this bill.

I thank the gentleman from Ohio for having this Special Order to talk about coal, to talk about energy, to talk about jobs, to talk about quality of life in our States--North Dakota, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia. West Virginia is the second largest coal-producing State in the country, and it is part of who we are--and has been for many, many years.

Living in West Virginia and being home as we were in August, there's a lot of pessimism in the entire State. It's not just about coal--if you're a coal miner or directly involved--it's the whole community, it's the whole area, it's the whole region. There's a feeling that the President, through his policies, has really picked winners and losers in this country, and our region is going to lose.

The job issue, we're seeing hundreds of jobs--we just had a mine close last week, or a week before, 250 miners. But then that's the transportation, the truck driver, the Stop-and-Go owner, the oil and gas market, the electrician, the pipes, all the things, equipment manufacturers. Everything. It's not just about those 250 jobs, it's a multiplying effect in our region of West Virginia.

The abundance of coal in West Virginia nationwide gives us real potential. We get criticized: Oh, you're fighting an old fight; that fight is no longer part of the future. We've got to make it a part of the future because it makes good sense. Producing more domestic energy means reliable, it means an affordable supply of power and energy.

I think about a State like mine that has a lot of folks who are living on fixed incomes, a lot of older folks. When it comes to the end of the month and they see their electric bill, they're having trouble now meeting that challenge of paying for that, making choices of medicine or food,--food for their pets or whatever is important to them--because of the high cost now. That's just going to go up and up and up if we disenfranchise ourselves in this country, our most abundant resource, and that being coal.

Let's talk about the tax revenues that are lost to all the counties, the school systems in our State. If you don't have the tax revenues in our State that coal produces and energy produces, whether it's natural gas--we've all got a lot of natural gas in our States too, we're blessed with that. But if we don't have the tax revenues there, this just wounds county commissioners, wounds county boards of education.

That to me is not one of the unintended, but one of the consequences that never gets talked about that really will harm a way of life, a future for the children. So let's talk about the potential.

We have been exporting a lot of coal. By doing that, we create jobs because we're exporting our coal. I see nothing wrong with exporting coal to our allies because exporting energy means we're producing the resource.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported that Germany will start up more coal-fired power stations this year than at any time in the past 20 years. When we think about Germany, we think about somebody who's environmentally conscious. They have a very healthy Green Party over there. They're considered to be very cutting edge when it comes to conservation and clean energy, yet they're building more coal-fired power plants in their country than they have over the last 25 years.

During the first campaign, the President said that if you build a coal-fired power plant, we will bankrupt you. We've all seen the tape. On Friday, that's what his statement is going to be from the EPA. It will be impossible

to build a new coal-fired power plant or it will bankrupt you if you try to do it.

One of his major advisers has said that a war on coal is exactly what this country needs. How can you say a war on an industry that employs thousands of people in the heartland of our country and thousands more in ancillary businesses, and it's a way of life? It's domestic energy. The administration supports this attack on hardworking people in an industry that provides good jobs and affordable energy. It's affordable energy, not just for our folks on fixed incomes, but for our manufacturers, our small businesses. A cheaper, affordable energy is going to create jobs in other industries, as well, and it has.

You don't have to look too far to see the administration's attack on coal. We know about the EPA's unprecedented action of retroactively pulling a validly issued clean water permit. That was shocking on the face of it. They said, Oh, we've done that before. Well, when you look at it, maybe once, maybe a long time ago, but this was a 10-year process, millions of dollars to get this permit that was yanked out from under this company. Who's going to invest in an industry when you're in danger of losing a permit retroactively after you've jumped through all the hoops, met all the standards, worked with the Corps, done all the things you're supposed to do, and still this administration will come back and take your permit back?

The administration has attacked the use of coal. Recent figures say that 295 coal units across 33 States are closing. They're closing in our States, and we can already see it. It's a source of great concern.

In 2012, the EPA proposed a New Source Performance Standard. They kind of backed off from it, but they placed coal plants and large natural gas plants under the same standard for carbon dioxide emissions, 1,000 pounds per megawatt hour. What we heard from earlier reports is they're going to create two standards, but the standard for coal is going to be unmeetable because the carbon capture and sequestration technology is not there. This is where I think, if we look to the future, where the real future lies for our abundant resource, coal.

But earlier this year they scrapped the 2012 proposal, and the President instructed revised standards. Basically what we're going to see on Friday is the same thing. It's like Groundhog Day: same thing, same rhetoric, same standards, same results. Lost jobs, higher utility costs, seniors and others on fixed incomes worried about how they're going to heat their homes or cool them in the hot summers. All of these things are very daunting in my State of West Virginia.

The truth is that without new performance standards, carbon dioxide emission generation in the United States is falling.

Let's talk about the rest of the world. At the same time, global emissions have increased by 1.4 percent. So if the administration wants to impose carbon dioxide standards, regulations that will harm the American economy, then at a minimum, it should act as part of an agreement with other countries. The Senate unanimously took that position in 1997 when it passed a resolution sponsored by then-Senator Robert C. Byrd from West Virginia and current Obama Secretary Chuck Hagel which said that the United States should not ratify the Kyoto treaty unless specific standards were agreed upon to limit emissions by developing countries.

The Byrd-Hagel principle was common sense in 1997, and it remains so today. For that reason, I will be introducing legislation that would delay the implementation of the new source rules for coal plants unless other countries, that account for 80 percent of the total non-USA carbon dioxide emission standards, enact those standards so that we are not disadvantaging our workers, our jobs, our economy, our seniors, our folks who have manufacturing jobs in small businesses.

The American people want us to work together. They really do. We hear that when we're out. It's Republicans, Democrats, Independents, nonparties, old, young, educated, less educated, blue collar, white collar. They want us to work together. They want commonsense policies. They want an energy policy that creates jobs, that includes everything, that is an all-of-the-above energy plan. That's what we want, and that's what we're fighting for. The President stood up here in January and said he was for all-of-the-above energy. On Friday, he's going to say all of the above except coal, which is abundant in the heartland of America.

I urge my colleagues on the floor tonight to think about coal as I know some States do not realize what their portfolio is in coal. So I looked up Florida. Twenty-two percent of the power generation in Florida is coal, yet you hear many of the Florida delegation right on board with the climate change philosophy of this President. Their renewable portfolio in the Sunshine State is slightly over 2 percent. The renewable portfolio in the State of West Virginia, who has some of the most abundant resources in the country, is at least twice that. It goes back to actually do what you say and say what you do.

So I think that we need to work with our colleagues and educate our colleagues about what a great role coal plays across this country. Even if you don't mine it in your region, you're using it, you're powering it. Your seniors in Florida are using it to cool themselves down on a hot summer day.

With that, I would say I look forward with dread on Friday to see what the new EPA Administrator has come forward with because I feel that it's going to pick winners and losers in this country and that our region, and really our own domestic energy supply and in some ways our domestic energy security, is going to be disadvantaged. That, to me, in a time of high unemployment, in a time of more part-time jobs being created than full-time, we're going to turn our back on an industry that looks to the future to do it better, to do it cleaner, to do it more efficiently, to do it with higher technology, to do it with better research, to do it with education, to employ the next generation in an industry that has been part of the backbone of this country and certainly of our region.

I thank the gentleman for having me.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of my colleague Mr. Murphy's amendment and in opposition to the EPA's arbitrary, backdoor approach to regulating carbon dioxide emissions. These regulations would and are having a catastrophic effect on jobs and economic activity across the country, especially in our coal-producing States such as West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The administration's new Social Cost of Carbon calculation is nothing more than a gimmick used to circumvent Congress so that job-killing regulations and an anti-domestic energy agenda can move forward.

Perhaps to no one's surprise, just as the administration is stepping up its efforts to issue regulations aimed at closing existing plants and stopping new ones, it decided, without public comment or transparency, to increase the cost of carbon by 44 percent. The fact is, U.S. carbon emissions from the energy sector have fallen in the last 4 of 5 years.

I am not willing to sacrifice West Virginia jobs to the administration's ideological efforts. I ask my colleagues to put jobs ahead of politics and pass the Murphy amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to offer this amendment with my colleagues, Mr. Kelly from Pennsylvania, Mr. McKinley of West Virginia, and Mr. Barletta of Pennsylvania. Our amendment puts $350 million back into the Community Development Block Grant program. The CDBG's budget has been reduced by $1.3 billion from last year, and these reductions we believe will deeply affect our local communities.

With our national debt approaching $17 trillion, it is critical that Congress tighten its belt and direct limited resources to the most important priorities. I believe that funding for CDBG is a high priority.

This amendment has been scored by the Congressional Budget Office, and it will not increase the budget authority proposed in this bill. In fact, it will actually reduce the outlays for fiscal year 2014 by $129 million.

The Community Development Block Grant program plays a critical role for the many communities who are trying to find funds to improve lower- income and under-utilized areas. It helps tremendously in the rural areas.

In my home State of West Virginia, unfortunately, there are still some West Virginians who have to drive to fill up a water tank because they don't have access to safe drinking water. The CDBG program has been critical in funding these safe drinking water and sewer projects to many areas in West Virginia. Through the small cities CDBG fund, West Virginia has invested $80 million over the last 5 years to improve access to clean water and to develop water and wastewater systems. These projects include a safe drinking water project in Buffalo, West Virginia, which provided clean drinking water to over 100 residents.

In my home town of Charleston, West Virginia, this program has provided much-needed help for our senior citizens, for road repairs, and our homeless shelters. The program has produced results, and our local governments need this funding to be reinstated so they can continue helping the communities because they need our support.

It was very difficult to find an offset for this. The HOME program has helped a lot of low-income individuals find affordable housing over the past 20 years. However, there have been grave concerns regarding oversight of the program, and HUD has been slow to adapt to many of the recommendations proposed by various auditors, including a GAO audit performed last February. I'm hopeful that HUD will view these cuts in their budget as proof that Congress is serious about oversight and will increase the oversight of the HOME program.

The CDBG program is a vital one, essential to States like mine and those of my colleagues who introduced this amendment. So I ask all my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and the two underlying energy bills that the House will consider today. I'm a proud cosponsor of both of these bills because they will protect West Virginia jobs and prevent increases in electricity costs for many of those millions of folks across this country that cannot afford it.

My colleague, Mr. McKinley, has worked tirelessly to see that H.R. 2218 has met the demands and answered the questions.

And to my colleague from Florida, when he stated that he's glad he doesn't live in these areas, guess what? We do. So it's exceedingly important to us that we do this the right way. And that's why I'm supporting the framework for state regulation that will ensure that coal ash will be used productively.

I visited the Sutton Dam in my district for its 50-year anniversary. And I can tell you, I was there when it was built, and I was there 50 years later. As they were describing the Sutton Dam and how successful it's been--and it's still a fortress of strength, holding the water back--they started talking about the construction materials used 50 years ago.

And guess what?

Coal ash was one of those construction materials that was used to strengthen this dam, and to also have it stand the test of time.

So, I think the regulatory uncertainty that's been around for years about what to do about coal ash has really cut the use of coal ash by millions of tons. But also, wouldn't we rather be recycling and reusing this in a productive measure, rather than increasing the impoundments and increasing any kind of risk to the environment?

This bill just makes perfect sense.

And the second bill addresses the growing number of billion-dollar EPA rules. In my view, billion-dollar EPA rules have two major costs: costs of jobs, and the cost to seniors and those on fixed incomes and the folks who are trying to heat their homes or cool their homes to be able to meet the high cost of electricity. So these make great sense to me.

I'm very proud of my colleague from West Virginia for bringing this to the floor for the fifth time, and it will pass again.

Mr. Speaker, this week the House will consider two pieces of legislation that are vitally important to protect the jobs of thousands of West Virginians.

I rise as a proud cosponsor of the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act and the Energy Consumers Relief Act.

The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act will stop the EPA from implementing new coal ash regulations by empowering the States to create a permit program that meets their individual needs, while still providing environmental safeguards.

EPA's proposed regulation on coal ash would cost thousands of jobs and would increase electric bills for families and small businesses. It would also hinder the reuse of coal residuals, guaranteeing that more coal ash would end up in landfills instead of reused as concrete or cement.

The House will also consider the Energy Consumers Relief Act. This legislation requires that anytime EPA proposes a regulation that would cost more than $1 billion, that it is to be reviewed by other agencies, including the Department of Energy.

If the Secretary of Energy determines that a rule would have adverse effects on the economy, such as unemployment, wages, consumer prices, business and manufacturing activity, then the results must be made available to the public.

Thousands of workers have been laid off. We've got to get back to creating jobs in this country, and these two bills will do that.

I move to strike the last word.

I rise today in opposition to the Moran amendment.

Basically, at a May Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing on water, I specifically asked the EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, Nancy Stoner, what specific problems with the current definition of fill material was prompting the agency and the Corps to examine changing their current definition. Administrator Stoner at that time did not identify any problem--this was just recently, in May--with the current definition and instead told me there were no active discussions with the Corps on revising the 2002 definition of fill material.

I do live in an area that this greatly affects. We've got a lot of water in West Virginia, by God's good grace. Given that the EPA official charged with overseeing water problems did not identify any problems with the current definition of fill material in response to a specific question from me, it is difficult for me to see why the EPA and the Corps would attempt to change an established definition.

The current definition of fill material has been in place for over a decade and provides a fair standard for protecting our water while allowing for economic activity. The 2002 definition was the result of a very lengthy rulemaking process that began under President Clinton's administration and was finalized under the Bush administration.

A balance between our economy and the environment is absolutely essential. A balance between protecting our environment and creating jobs is essential. The current definition does just that.

The Federal Government must provide regulatory certainty to job creators and not change definitions without adequate justification. If the administrator had responded differently to the question that I posed to her, I might not be standing here today with this type of opposition. But, in my view, I think that we need to oppose this amendment and keep the current definition of fill material. It's been well researched, well used. It is in effect in the State of West Virginia and is used quite a bit to continue our mining operations and to continue to keep good, solid West Virginians working.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Richard ``Dick'' Waybright on the occasion of his retirement as Executive Director of the West Virginia Forestry Association, after thirty-three years of service. Mr. Waybright's work with the Forestry Association has earned him the respect and admiration of colleagues, association members, and many others who have worked with him throughout his many years with the organization.

Mr. Waybright began his career in public service in 1968 as a teacher in the Mason County school system, later becoming a coach then Assistant Principal. He continued to serve the public by later joining West Virginia University's Extension Services as a 4-H Agent in Kanawha County, where he coordinated county 4-H programs, directed Camp Virgil Tate and the Kanawha County Fair. In 1980, Mr. Waybright joined the West Virginia Forestry Association as Executive Director and has been serving in that position since that time.

Throughout his tenure, Mr. Waybright has worked with seven governors and countless legislators on behalf of the association. These relationships allowed Mr. Waybright and the Forestry Association to achieve great legislative successes, including the Managed Timberland Tax, Logging Sediment Control Act, defeating the Excess Acreage Privilege Tax, resolved Tier 2.5 Water Pollution Control issue, among many other initiatives important to the forestry industry.

On July 31, 2013, Dick Waybright will retire from his position with the Forestry Association. Though his colleagues, association membership, and many others will miss working with him, Dick leaves the association in a strong position to continue his legacy.

Dick Waybright currently resides in Ripley, Jackson County with his wife, Linda. Together Dick and Linda have two daughters, three grandsons, and one granddaughter. In addition to his role with the Forestry Association, Dick serves his community as a member of the Jackson County Commission. He is also active in his church, serving as a Sunday school teacher and chair of Ripley Calvary United Methodist Church's Administrative Board.

Mr. Speaker, the State of West Virginia owes Richard ``Dick'' Waybright a tremendous debt of gratitude for his many years of past and current community service. It is my honor to thank Mr. Waybright for his devotion and congratulate him on his retirement. I am proud to call him friend and fellow Mountaineer.

Mr. Speaker, in May, I came to the floor to highlight the concerns that small businesses in my State have with the looming implementation of ObamaCare. I spoke about a daycare center that had 73 employees and that had been in business for 24 years. It had been struggling mightily with the uncertainty on how to meet the employer mandate.

Last week, the administration announced that they will postpone the job-killing employer mandate until 2015. They admitted that after 3 years of bureaucratic work that the fatally flawed employer mandate is unworkable.

While the President's announcement is welcome news for small businesses in the short term, it signals just how problematic ObamaCare will be to implement. The employer mandate was forcing businesses, like the daycare center in my district, to lay off workers, to cut employee hours, and to potentially close their doors depending on their financial statuses.

Businesses don't need a temporary reprieve to ObamaCare. They need a permanent one. A recent poll found that, as a result of ObamaCare, 41 percent of businesses have put off hiring and 19 percent have reduced the number of employees in their businesses.

Pushing off one of ObamaCare's worst provisions for a year will do nothing but prolong the pain and increase the uncertainty. Instead, we should repeal and have a workable bill with patient-centered reforms that will improve the affordability, access, and quality of medical care.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Nanya Friend, a resident of Charleston, West Virginia. Friend has greatly contributed to the tradition of journalism in the

Mountain State during her tenure as Editor of the Charleston Daily Mail.

The Charleston Daily Mail is a Pulitzer-winning publication, and under the direction of Friend it has served a vital role in updating and informing West Virginians. Under the direction of Friend, the Daily Mail has maintained high standards of journalism, while adapting to the challenges and technologies of the digital age.

Friend, a graduate of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, has served as editor of the publication since 1996, and its publisher since 2004. Friend's intellect, unwavering devotion to the truth, and high standards of journalistic integrity have made a mark in West Virginia. They have also earned her the West Virginia Press Association's Adam R. Kelly Premier Journalist Award in 2009, which is the association's highest honor.

Nanya Friend and her husband Rod have been married for 36 years, and together they have two children Kara and Keith. She is also a proud grandmother to Lydia and Meredith.

Mr. Speaker, I ask our colleagues to join me in recognizing Nanya Friend for her extraordinary service to the people of West Virginia and for the advances she has made in her field.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Johanna Maurice, a resident of Charleston, West Virginia. I wish to congratulate Maurice on her retirement, and the contributions she has made to editorial journalism during her outstanding career.

Johanna Maurice has served as Editorial Page Editor of the Charleston Daily Mail, a Pulitzer-winning newspaper, since 1986. During that time period, Maurice has contributed greatly to the political discussion throughout the state of West Virginia. We have all benefited from her ability to foster meaningful and respectful discussions. She has also served as a strong voice for fiscal conservancy and business economic growth.

A proud Mountaineer, Maurice graduated from the West Virginia University with a degree in journalism. Before joining the Daily Mail in 1978, she worked as a reporter with the Beckley Register-Herald. Her remarkable tenure as opinion editor underscores the value of having an informed and challenging discussion in the public forum.

Mr. Speaker, I ask our colleagues to join me in recognizing Johanna Maurice for her contributions and service to the people of the Mountain State.

To my colleagues, tonight is a very exciting night for the women of the House, the women's softball team of the House--and the men of the House, and really all families across America--for our fifth annual women's softball team. Our game is tonight at 7 o'clock at Watkins Field.

I am the cocaptain of the team with my esteemed colleague from Florida. And we have trouble agreeing on a lot of things, but I know everybody in this room today will want us to win because our opponents are the press.

So I want to just briefly say thank you to everybody who's been involved in this. We've had a lot of great coaches and we've had a lot of outside help. We've had a lot of fun getting to know each other again and even better.

I'd like to yield to my cocaptain who hatched this idea and have her talk a little bit about why we're doing this.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn President Obama's announcement that he is going to forge ahead with the war on coal. The President's own climate advisor shed some light on the administration's plan for coal when he said, ``A war on coal is exactly what's needed.''

Well, I'm here to tell you that is not what West Virginia or this Nation needs. Not only will these regulations put good, hardworking West Virginians out of a job, but they will drive up the cost of electricity for our consumers at a time when the economy is still so weak.

The President failed to get his environmental agenda through Congress for a reason. Congress recognized the effects it would have on our Nation's economy. Yet, despite our opposition and common sense, the President has decided unilaterally on this job-killing agenda.

By dictating these devastating regulations, the President will shut down existing coal plants and the development of clean coal technology facilities. Not only will his decision hamstring our Nation's ability to become energy independent, but it will prove devastating for American workers and, in particular, for our West Virginia families.

Mr. President, don't turn the lights out on our Nation's economy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the distinguished military career of United States Navy World War II Veteran Sergeant Abraham Lincoln DiBacco along with his two brothers Albert and Vincent DiBacco who are also WWII U.S. Army Veterans. Sergeant DiBacco's service was one of respect and dedication; to which the people of West Virginia and the United States of America owe a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Abraham DiBacco began serving his country in 1941 when he enlisted in the United States Navy. He honorably served on the USS George Clymer, the first United States Navy Attack Transport to participate in World War II, and embarked on his tour of service. He was stationed in the both the Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign. He proudly sailed alongside the USS Missouri when General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Tokyo Bay to sign the Formal Surrender of Japan in September 1945. Another instance of merit was his participation in preparations to land in Japan to backup the Enola Gay as it dropped its pay load on Hiroshima. From the ship they witnessed and felt the intense heat of the atomic bomb.

Sergeant DiBacco has received a host of awards and decorations throughout his to our nation, including the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Silver and Bronze Stars, a Navy Presidential Unit Citation * American Campaign Medal, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with Bronze Star, and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

Sergeant DiBacco lives in Martinsburg, WV with his wife, Ellen. Together they have been married for 65 years and have adopted two children. Today he continues to honor his fellow Veterans by creating floral baskets, with his fellow Veteran and friend Fran Erwin, and distributing them to Veterans across West Virginia, Ohio, and Virginia. Abraham DiBacco's life-long dedication to serving his country and his community is an example we should all follow.