Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor four outstanding women in my district who are being honored for their commitment to their communities and for serving as role models to countless young women, empowering them to succeed. The Young Women's Christian Association of Charleston, WV named Helen Lodge, Dr. Jorea Marple, Sarah Stebbins, and Jennifer Bailey as the 2008 Women of Achievement Honorees.

Helen has spent her career as a dynamic leader and advocate for health and nutrition in West Virginia. Early in her career, she was integral in the West Virginia State Legislature passing legislation to require early detection testing for newborns for phenylketonuria, PKU, a simple test that can prevent mental deficiency in newborns. She has received numerous recognitions throughout her career and currently chairs the West Virginia Board of Licensed Dieticians. As active leader in her Charleston community, Helen assists with the fundraising efforts of the West Virginia Symphony League and Youth Symphony and the American Heart Association.

Dr. Jorea Marple represents one of the most noble professions, educating our young people. Her 30-year career includes stints as a teacher, reading specialist, graduate and undergraduate instructor, and a former superintendent of Kanawha County schools. Her most noteworthy achievement is authoring the book, An Insider's Guide to Making School Systems Work. Dr. Marple currently serves as Assistant State Superintendent of the West Virginia Department of Education overseeing curriculum and instruction.

Sarah Stebbins is a pioneer among women in the development of information technology in the aeronautics and astronautics industries. A graduate of WVU, she began her career in the development of early computers and later worked as an aerospace research analyst for the Air Force and as a project leader in the Naval Research Lab in the Space Systems Development Department. Her most notable achievement is helping with the software development of the Global Positioning System, a technology that has revolutionized the way we view and navigate our world and beyond. Sarah retired in her hometown of Charleston, WV with her husband and family.

Finally, I would like to honor Jennifer Bailey, the recipient of the YWCA Women of Achievement Empowerment Award. Jennifer stands as a success story among the mission of the YWCA and is an inspiration to women in all walks of life for her ability to persevere and overcome numerous obstacles. The YWCA was there for Jennifer every step of the way in helping her overcome numerous personal obstacles. Jennifer now enjoys spending time with her son, working in retail, and maintaining a 4.0 G.P.A. in her classes.

Again, I congratulate Helen Lodge, Dr. Jorea Marple, Sarah Stebbins, and Jennifer Bailey, who will be honored February 21, 2008. It is an honor to represent such distinguished and inspiring women in West Virginia's Second Congressional District.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Chief John Smoot who dedicated his life to serving and saving others. He died on January 20, 2008 after a long illness in Kanawha County, WV where he was a lifelong resident.

John served in the U.S. Army during World War II and continued his military service for 32 years in the Army Reserves and in the West Virginia National Guard. He also worked for DuPont Chemical and retired after 37 years of employment.

He is most remembered for his extraordinary service to the citizens of Kanawha County, through his 57 years of involvement with first responder services and 50 years as chief of the Cedar Grove Fire Department.

He was a champion of emergency services in Kanawha County and in the State of West Virginia. He created the Cedar Grove Ambulance Service and helped establish county wide ambulance services. He is also the original founder of the Kanawha County Fireman's Mutual Aid Association.

He is survived by his wife, Lois Robinson Smoot; his son, John R. Smoot; his grandsons, Jonathan and Cody, and his brother; George Smoot. Area fireman paid tribute to Chief Smoot by including trucks from all Kanawha County Fire Departments in the funeral procession.

Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in honoring the life of John R. Smoot, whose dedication and service is truly admirable. He will be sadly missed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Marshall Henthorne, Nick Null, Jeffery Showalter, and Mark Strickland for their heroic efforts in responding to a tractor-trailer accident.

On December 10, 2007 a tractor trailer flipped over the side of the Interstate 64 Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia and fell 80 feet into the Kanawha River. The two men in the tractor trailer were submerged in the cold waters of the Kanawha River and trapped in the cab for nearly 20 minutes.

Corporal Nick Null of the Charleston Police Department was the first on the scene to aid the rescue efforts. Lieutenant Mark Strickland of the Charleston Police Department and firefighters Jeffery Showalter and Marshall Henthorne of the Charleston Fire Department all worked to cut the top of the cab to get the two men, Huseen Awad, and Phillip Chaizoi, 57 of Columbus, Ohio to safety.

These four men demonstrated courage and selflessness and in diving into the cold, swift, current of the Kanawha River to save the lives of these two men. Both men were rushed to Charleston Area Medical Center and sent to the intensive care unit where Chaizoi was listed under evaluation and Awad later perished.

I am proud to honor Marshall Henthorne, Nick Null, Jeffery Showalter, and Mark Strickland as hometown heroes and I'm proud to call them fellow, West Virginians.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 2007 West Virginia Boys Soccer State Champions, the George Washington High School Patriots of Charleston, West Virginia.

The West Virginia State Tournament took place in Beckley on November 3, 2007. The Patriots played defending champions, Hurricane High School in the final game of the tournament.

Head Coach Tom Hopper, who was named 2007 WV Soccer Coach of the Year and assistant coaches; Dave Nelson, Kevin Cushing, Dan Thistlethwaite and Gordon Green led the young men to victory winning overall 18-4-3 season. The Patriots made George Washington High School history, as the first soccer team to win a state championship.

The players include captains; Connell Green, Sam McElwee, Yale Tiley, and Zack Claudio and Tyler Chiartas, Adam Boland, Jesse Dreyer, Christopher Power, Luca DiPiero, PJ Wolfe, Jake Stevens, Ian Thistlethwaite, Evan Loflin, Charlie McElwee, Andrew Robey, Kurt Suter, Thomas Edens, Blair Suter, Paul Stroebel, Shahir Amin, and Adeeb Derakhshan.

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pride to acknowledge the George Washington High School Patriots as the 2007 West Virginia Boys Soccer State Champions. Again, congratulations to these talented young men.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 2007 West Virginia Girls Soccer State Champions, the Jefferson County Lady Cougars, who hail from West Virginia's second congressional district.

The 2007 West Virginia State Tournament took place in Beckley on November 3, 2007. The Lady Cougars played defending champion, Parkersburg High School in the final game of the tournament.

Coach Harold ``Dunnie'' Bach led the ladies to victory winning overall 18-1-3 season. The Lady Cougars made Jefferson County history, as the first soccer team in the county to win a state championship.

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pride to acknowledge the Lady Cougars as the 2007 West Virginia Girls Soccer State Champions. Again, congratulations to these talented young women.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the financial economic stimulus package we have before us. As we know, our economy has begun to slow after a robust growth period of 52 months. It is imperative that we act swiftly in a bipartisan manner. I congratulate the Speaker, the minority leader, and the President for their ability to work together and come forth with this package.

We have learned about tax rebates for filers. I think this is good for family budgets. Furthermore, they are targeted to the low- and moderate-income Americans who are most in need. I am also pleased that this package includes important tax incentives for small business growth. In a State like West Virginia, business is small business, and they are the job creators. It is critical that we provide them with the assistance that they need to keep their businesses viable and growing.

This agreement includes much-needed incentives to encourage the investment that creates jobs and seeks to maintain our Nation's competitiveness.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the long-overdue step toward modernizing the Federal Housing Administration to provide support for Americans who are struggling in this current housing crunch. This bill will make it easier for many Americans to refinance their mortgages and receive the support to do so. Yet while I am encouraged by this step, we must continue to work towards more comprehensive FHA modernization to make sure that this program continues to be the resource for creditworthy borrowers that may not qualify for conventional market loans.

I look forward to continuing to work with the chairman and Ranking Member Bachus on this important issue, and our colleagues in the other body, to proceed with negotiations and produce a final product we can all support.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I would like to thank my colleague from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan) for offering this resolution and including me as one of the cosponsors.

We are very prideful Mountaineers. As we have heard, our West Virginia Mountaineers football team is something that everyone in the State takes great pride. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl win was not only an athletic win, but it was a morale-lifting win for everybody in the State of West Virginia. The Oklahoma Sooners are a powerful team, and I congratulate them for their effort. But when mind and body of a Mountaineer gets together, there's hardly any stopping us. I think that is what we found at the game. The team always tries to embody the spirit of the Mountain State, and it is a shining light for the people of West Virginia. The fans, the coaches, the university, the president, the athletic director, and I have to mention the pride of West Virginia, our Mountaineers marching band, are something that I know took our teammates into a very difficult athletic and emotional situation at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

I also want to congratulate the MVPs, Pat White and Reed Williams. Reed Williams is a native West Virginian. He's from Moorefield, West Virginia. He was valedictorian of his high school class. He is the true embodiment of a student athlete.

We have a saying in West Virginia that we like to say whenever we have a great victory, and that is, as we say in West Virginia, ``It's a great day to be a Mountaineer.'' It certainly was on the day that West Virginia won the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 3873, the 515 Rural Housing Property Transfer Improvement Act of 2007, which would expedite the transfer of ownership of rural multifamily housing projects with loans made and ensured under section 515 of the Housing Act.

First, I would like to commend my colleague from New Hampshire (Mr. Hodes) for his dedication to rural housing issues and for the bipartisan way that this bill has come to the floor. I would also like to thank the chairman of the full committee. Since he's sitting there, I want to thank him.

The result of these bipartisan efforts is a bill that represents a sound approach to improving the administration of the Department of Agriculture's section 515 program.

Section 515 is a direct loan program administered by the USDA that provides low-interest loans to construct and renovate affordable multifamily housing. While this program has provided numerous benefits, as my colleague has enumerated, to low-income rural families, the process by which the USDA's State rural development offices considers requests to transfer ownership must be improved.

Section 515 owners may wish to transfer the project to other entities during the terms of their loan for a variety of reasons, including changes in owner circumstances or changes in local market conditions. Transfers of ownership in section 515 can be beneficial for all parties, as it presents an opportunity to recapitalize a project for better maintenance, rehabilitation and improved management.

Unfortunately, the transfer application process is time-consuming, and many of the rural development offices do not process these applications in a timely fashion simply because they are probably overwhelmed with the process. Certain RD offices have been slow in approving transfer requests, leading to a number of problems, including inaccurate appraisals and expiration of outside financing rate guarantees and bond and tax credit deadlines. This nonaction has been a major source of irritation for owners of 515s and groups representing section 515 tenants.

H.R. 3873 would fix these impediments by directing the USDA Secretary to streamline the application process, require applications to be processed within a timely deadline, and to transfer any applications not processed within that deadline to the Office of Rental Housing Preservation that would then have sole review authority.

Mr. Speaker, this bill was approved, as my colleague mentioned, by a voice vote in the Financial Services Committee and makes commonsense changes to section 515 that would improve the ownership transfer process.

I urge my colleagues to support this worthwhile measure.

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

I have no further speakers. I urge passage of this bill. We have the best of intentions here. We've worked out any kind of differences we may have had, and the end product is going to be better and more affordable and more accessible rural housing across America.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor a patriot and public servant, Charles E. Haas of Hurricane, WV for 39 outstanding years of service.

Charles retired this month from the Office of Personnel Management Federal Investigative Services Division. His span of 39 years includes working for the United States Air Force with the Office of Special Investigations, the Defense Investigative Services, and finally the Federal Investigative Services in Charleston, WV.

Charles is a true patriot who served with the West Virginia National Guard for 20 years, where he retired as Chief Master Sergeant in 2001. His commitment to serve our Nation and the personnel security mission as well as his high standards of character and professionalism are to be commended.

I wish Charles E. Haas congratulations on his retirement and thank him for his service to our country and all his contributions to our great State.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to the newly elected President of the American Medical Association, Dr. Nancy J. Nielsen, who hails from the Mountain State.

Dr. Nancy J. Nielsen is the first West Virginia native and second female to hold the prestigious post. She is originally a native of Elkins, WV, located in Randolph County and completed her undergraduate education in pre-medicine at West Virginia University.

She has a doctorate in microbiology from Catholic University of America and received her medical degree from University of Buffalo where she currently serves as senior associate dean for medical education for the school of medicine.

Dr. Nielsen is always proud to mention her West Virginia roots to her friends and colleagues. She maintains her ties to the State by serving on the Board of Advisers to the WVU School of Medicine.

She always makes time for family despite her busy teaching and travel schedule. Her mother, Anne Harshbarger, lives in Elkins and her children, Kristen Bartnik, Robin, David, Kevin Nielsen live in New York and her son. Mark Nielsen, lives in Washington, DC. She is the proud grandmother of 7 grandchildren.

It is an honor to recognize Dr. Nancy J. Nielsen as a trailblazer among women for her accomplished career and leadership roles in the medical profession. West Virginia is proud to call her one of our own.

Madam Speaker. I rise today to honor the accomplishments of Sandy Dunn, who was recently named the 2008 president of the National Association of Home Builders; making her the first West Virginian and the second female to serve as president of the association.

A native of Mason County, West Virginia, Sandy followed in her father's footsteps by pursuing an interest in public service and taking over their family business, B.J. Builders founded by her father in 1947. In 1974, she additionally opened her own small business, Homestead Realty that grew into the county's largest realty agency.

While remaining dedicated to her community, Sandy emerged in the homebuilding industry as an affective leader with a reputation as a consensus builder. She owes her success to open communication and listening to the concerns of the industry within her state and across the nation.

Her previous experience within the homebuilding industry led her to her current post as president of the National Association of Home Builders. She has been active with the organization for 30 years, where she began on the local level gaining leadership positions, later served as president of the West Virginia Association of Home Builders for 2 years, and also served twice as vice president of the national association. She has received numerous honors including the 1997 Henry E. King Award, the highest statewide honor and was named National Representative of the Year in 1998.

It is an honor to represent such an accomplished, female leader who serves the needs of the homebuilding industry on the national front, while always maintaining her dedication to her community of Mason County. I am proud to call Sandy Dunn, a friend and a fellow West Virginian.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a hometown hero and someone who embodies the true spirit of the Mountain State.

Reed Williams of Moorefield, West Virginia captured the attention of the nation on January 2, 2008 after he was named Defensive MVP for his outstanding performance in the West Virginia University Mountaineers' historic win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl this year.

Reed's talents are not only on the football field, but also in the classroom. He was named by ESPN as a member of the prestigious Academic All-American Football Team and maintains the highest G.P.A. on the Mountaineer football team. Prior to his college career he was the valedictorian of the Moorefield High School Class of 2005.

Reed is currently a junior majoring in finance and plans to pursue postgraduate studies. He is the son of Robert and Jacqueline Williams of Moorefield, West Virginia.

I look forward to hearing about Reed Williams' future accomplishments both on and off the football field and wish him and his teammates congratulations on their Fiesta Bowl victory. I'm proud to call Reed Williams a fellow West Virginian and a true Mountaineer.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself 5 minutes.

Today's HOPE VI program is the direct result of the 1992 report submitted to Congress by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing that said approximately 6 percent of the 1.4 million existing public housing apartments were severely distressed and recommended that they be removed from the housing stock.

Since Congress began appropriating funds for HOPE VI in 1992, the program has been revitalizing and replacing some of the most dangerous and dilapidated public housing units in the country with mixed-income communities. These grants play a vital role in a community's redevelopment and have changed the physical characteristics of public housing from high-rise tenements to attractive, marketable units that blend in with the surrounding neighborhood and help residents attain self-sufficiency.

While the goals of the program are to be commended, and HOPE VI projects remain popular with many Members of Congress, it is not without faults. The HOPE VI program has been criticized by the administration, which argues that grantees spend their money too slowly, and by tenant advocates, who claim the program displaces more families than it houses in new developments. Also, there are those who argue that HOPE VI is not an efficient method for meeting the current and future capital needs of public housing programs.

The bill we are considering today, H.R. 3524, makes several significant changes to the underlying program. I want to commend Chairman Frank, Chairwoman Waters, and Congressman Shays for their bipartisan work on this bill. I know that Congressman Shays has worked hard to address some of the concerns raised by HUD and by those on this side of the aisle regarding the bill. Certainly, the manager's amendment moves in the right direction. However, there are still several areas of disagreement on this legislation, such as the elimination of demolition-only grants, implementing one-for-one replacement requirements, and mandating HOPE VI developers comply with the Green Communities Green Building Rating System.

The HOPE VI program has been a program that has worked. Through public-private partnerships, we have changed the physical shape of public housing by establishing positive incentives for resident self- sufficiency and comprehensive services that empower residents. We must take care not to make this program so prescriptive that developers and nonprofits find the program too difficult in which to participate.

Several years ago, I spoke at the opening ceremonies at Orchard Manor in Charleston, West Virginia. Orchard Manor is now a beautiful complex of townhouses, duplexes and apartments that began its transformation from a rundown public housing project with the removal of 230 out of the existing 360 units under a HUD HOPE VI demolition-only grant. Following the initial demolition, additional units were constructed using replacement housing funds until the complex reached its present state. Orchard Manor is a shining example of the importance and significance of using demolition-only grants as part of HOPE VI. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) has an amendment that will reinstate HUD's ability to fund demolition-only grants, and I urge its adoption so future successful projects, such as Orchard Manor, can receive that funding.

Finally, I plan to offer an amendment that I believe is a commonsense approach to green building requirements outlined in this legislation. I am concerned that Congress is attempting to mandate this program. Building green is a good thing. Mandating how to do it by a private building standard, I believe there are other ways to do it, which is essentially the heart of my amendment.

Specifically, the green building requirements in the bill could lead to fewer affordable housing units being built. My amendment still requires minimum green building standards, but it directs the Secretary to select an appropriate green building rating system standard or code that addresses environmental soundness but leaves that flexibility for the Secretary to determine other criteria as appropriate.

We are currently experiencing rapid development in our definition of what constitutes a legitimate ``green building standard'' through the competition of differing ideas. This competition is a healthy one, and we should not cut short through a hasty endorsement of one of the competing proprietary standards as our definition.

In closing, the HOPE VI program is not a cure-all for the rehabilitation and capital improvement needs of public housing units. However, this House has the opportunity with this bill, through several amendments, to further develop a program that rehabilitates our public housing into affordable, mixed-income communities.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I would like to respond just a little bit to the gentleman's comments on the amendment I'm going to put forward. I don't want the misunderstanding of the Members to think that my amendment would remove green building from any of the HOPE VI projects. It's a different philosophy in how we're putting forth the idea to meet green standards. And he clarified that. His is a mandatory. Mine is a flexible, one among many. But I do believe in the philosophy of building more green and more efficient buildings, we've got new technology coming online. Why tie ourselves to a certain standard?

At this point I would like to recognize Mr. Gilchrest for 3 minutes, the gentleman from Maryland.

Madam Chairman, I would now like to yield 9 minutes to the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Bachus of Alabama.

Madam Chairman, I yield the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), who I mentioned in my opening statement had been very integral in reaching what I think is a very good bill, 3 minutes.

Madam Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling), a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Madam Chairman, I have no further speakers, and I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

I would like to recognize the ranking member, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), for 3 minutes.

May I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Madam Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I would like to thank all the speakers for discussing what I think is a good program, HOPE VI. On this side of the aisle, even though the chairmen of the full committee and subcommittee have made great strides in terms of the manager's amendment in terms of answering some of our concerns, but we still have some concerns. And you are going to hear this through the amendment process, whether it's one-on-one replacement, demolition only, and my amendment on the green communities.

So I appreciate HOPE VI's successes. I think we have heard from a lot of Members who have had individual successes in their own districts. I reiterate the success in my district was from a demolition-only grant, and I've seen how the community can benefit and the housing conditions can improve and the quality of life improve at the same time.

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

Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the manager's amendment.

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

I would like to thank the chairman and the chairwoman of the subcommittee, Ms. Waters, for reaching across the aisle and working on some of the very serious concerns that we had about the original bill.

I would like to speak specifically about one area, the one-for-one replacement. We have heard a lot of discussion about that on the floor in the beginning arguments. But in this manager's amendment, there is much more flexibility in the one-for-one replacement. It also allows the Secretary to have some flexibility, and I think that means we will have more meaningful housing, housing with more vision on how to improve family and home life.

Another thing is the development timeline. In the original bill, the development timeline was 12 months. I can't imagine myself trying to build large projects such as these and have everything in 12 months. So that deadline was extended to 54 months, which I think was a very good move.

Also on the green building requirements, I have an amendment coming forward to ask for flexibility again in the green building requirements. But in the manager's amendment, some revisions were made, and I think it's moving us a step in the right direction.

I myself support the manager's amendment. I think that a lot of the changes that were made were made in response to what we were hearing in our various offices from not only individuals but various groups their concern for the best way to put forward affordable housing, HOPE VI, and make sure that what we build stands up to the challenges of the future.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield my remaining time to the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Bachus of Alabama.

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

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I offer this amendment to the HOPE VI bill, and I would like to talk about first of all what this amendment does not do because my fear is the argument on the other side is going to distort what I really think the core of the discussion between my amendment and those opposed should be.

This amendment in no way is an advocate for destroying or throwing out the window environmental or green building standards. That is not my goal or my intention with this amendment. It retains requirements for green building standards, but it looks at how we build green in a different way.

In the bill presently, there is a mandatory building standard that has been a criteria that has been developed by a proprietary preference for one organization. My amendment would simply move this out of a mandated into the green communities specifically mandated criteria, and move it into a more flexible situation where the Secretary would then choose an appropriate green building standard, green building rating system and code that would address environmental considerations, and leaves flexibility for the Secretary, this Secretary and secretaries to follow, to be able to determine that criteria.

We are going to be building these HOPE VI projects all across this Nation, and I think it is important to note that there should be some geographic considerations for green building standards across the country.

We are also trying to find the best way to use our Federal dollars, to maximize the number of Federal housing units, while still adhering to good environmental standards.

I have listened a lot over the last 60 years to housing projects that have been made, destroyed and rebuilt and why some of them haven't lasted as long as they should. I think by putting this amendment forward, I think I am taking into consideration that what we know today to be a good green building standard and to be in the best interest of an environment or a community or a quality of life in 3 years may be outdated. The technology may not be in front of us now that says if you look at your water this way or your air this way or your environmental considerations for the landscaping, that there is going to be a better way in 3 years.

In this bill, I think we are locking down a certain proprietarily developed standard for green building. I think in selecting appropriate green building criteria, this gives HUD the ability to choose a green building system, a standard or code, in an open, consensus-based way. That is why I put forward this amendment to give HUD the flexibility not only for today but for the future.

Again, I want to reiterate what this amendment does not do. It does not have a goal in mind of undercutting green building in an environmentally stable way to create new HOPE VI projects. Also in this amendment, it also requires the Secretary to conduct a review once every 5 years to determine if the chosen system and standard or code is still relevant, and I think that is appropriate in terms of innovation.

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

Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the gentleman if I left the apartment environmentally stable? I think I did.

I yield 1 minute to my colleague from the Committee on Financial Services, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).

Mr. Chairman, I would encourage a ``yes'' vote for my amendment to give the flexibility, to give the innovation and technology that we see every day in green and environmental building standards to move forward so we don't lock down in this bill.

And when the gentleman just briefly says that the LEED standards were removed from the commercial building, yes, they were removed. Why? Because the union of carpenters that we heard about earlier were raising Cain because they were going to have to get their wood from imported wood to be able to meet these standards. That goes right to my point. We need to be reasonable, but we also need to make sure that we protect our environment and move forward with the best communities we can.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 760.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Robert Crawford, for his retirement and years of dedicated service to the citizens of Berkeley County.

``Bob,'' as he is better known to his friends and colleagues, has served as the executive director of the Berkeley County Development Authority since March 1990.

During his tenure, he has experienced the many changes Berkeley County has undergone in the past 18 years as it transformed from a small rural county to a bustling bedroom community of the Washington, DC metro area. Bob has worked tirelessly to assure that all the needs of the county were sufficiently met despite surging growth and infrastructure challenges.

As executive director of the Berkeley County Development Authority, Bob has been involved with the development of the two major industrial parks; Cumbo Yard Industrial Park and Tabler Station Business Park. He also played a major role in recruiting industries to the area that serve as the county's major employers.

It is an honor to congratulate such a distinguished public servant for his years of service and contributions to Berkeley County and the State of West Virginia. I'm proud to call Bob a friend and fellow West Virginian. I wish him all the best in the years to come.