Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional district to honor the life and memory of Specialist Gerald Jenkins.

Gerald Jenkins, of Circleville, Ohio, joined the U.S. Army at age 17. He served as a combat engineer assigned to the 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Ky. Most recently, Gerald served with his division on deployment in Afghanistan.

On October 20th, 2010, Gerald Jenkins died in the line of duty while his unit was on foot patrol in Maquan, Zhari district.

Gerald Jenkins, 19, was a young man dedicated to his friends, family and country. His family remembers him as always putting others first and for the pride he took in serving this nation. He excelled in his job and aspired to make a career in service in the Armed Forces.

During his service, Gerald was the recipient of many awards including the Army Achievement Medal; Army Commendation Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon and Combat Action Badge.

Gerald Jenkins will be remembered for his selflessness, his bravery and for his life of service to this country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Virgil Brantley for his lifetime

commitment and service to the Xenia community and state of Ohio.

Mr. Brantley's contributions to his country and the community are invaluable. He was an active Board member and distinguished trustee emeritus of the Golden Age Senior Citizens, Inc. to which he worked countless hours to ensure the growth and success of the Xenia Adult Recreation and Services Center by assisting with construction of the tornado shelter for the Center, developing a home-delivered meals program and starting the tradition of providing desserts for the Center's monthly luncheons. Mr. Brantley was also a very well-respected Xenia Rotarian, friend and colleague. His civic, cultural, religious and educational endeavors over the many years never went unnoticed as the following list of awards indicate: the Xenia Area Chamber of Commerce Award, the Xenia Community Schools Hall of Honor, Greene County Citizen of the Year, the Nutter Award, induction into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, nomination for the American College of Health Care Administration and numerous others.

Along with his natural penchant for civic engagement, Mr. Brantley and his late wife, Helen, established Hospitality Homes in 1961. The skilled-nursing and rehabilitation facility has been a vital asset for seniors in the Xenia area and has carried on the many great traditions that Mr. and Mrs. Brantley built it upon.

Finally, as a husband, father of three, brother of four and grandfather to many, Mr. Brantley demonstrated the importance of balancing various obligations and activities with the needs of family. His belief that service to his family and community is imperative to a meaningful life has inspired many to follow his example.

Thus, with great pride, I recognize Mr. Virgil Brantley for his lifetime of remarkable achievements and his unparalleled contribution to our community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Major General Harry ``A.J.'' W. Feucht, Jr. for his outstanding service to our Nation, and the State of Ohio, on the occasion of his retirement.

It is an honor to join the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District in congratulating General Feucht upon his retirement as assistant adjutant general for Air, and as a commander for the Ohio Air National Guard.

He also served as the Air National Guard assistant to the commander, Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In this role he provided support necessary to maintain and sustain Air Force weapon systems readiness.

In 1968, General Feucht joined the Ohio Air National Guard and during his service obtained a bachelor of business administration from the University of Cincinnati. He has commanded the 180th Fighter Wing and the 121st Air Refueling Wing in the Ohio Air National Guard and in 2004 was promoted to major general.

General Feucht is an accomplished command pilot with over 4,700 total flying hours with more than 4,000 in the F-100, A-7, and F-16 and over 700 in the KC-135. For his distinguished service, he was presented the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services and achievements.

For his many years of dedication to our Nation, I again join the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District in extending our best wishes upon his retirement and wish him ongoing success in all future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional district and the citizens of Springfield, Ohio to honor the life and memory of Richard Kuss.

Dick was well known in our community as a generous philanthropist, family man and entrepreneur. Born in Springfield, Ohio on January 4, 1923 he lived a full and inspiring life, having graduated from Wittenberg University in 1945 and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He served his country in World War II under the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant JG in the Navy Supply Corps.

In 1946, he joined the Bonded Oil Company and became president in 1967, retiring in 1983. Under his leadership the Bonded Oil Company became one of the top independent oil companies in the industry. Later he served as the first president of Emro Marketing, now Speedway SuperAmerica LLC.

He and his wife, Barbara, Deer, Kuss, together raised three sons and a daughter and were deeply involved their community. Dick remained active with his alma mater where he served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and president of the alumni association for Wittenberg University. In 2003, the university dedicated the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center in memory of his wife.

He was an active participant in many local and national organizations, including the local and state Freemasons, who awarded him with the Grand Lodge Rufus Putnam Award. As a 65-year member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church, Dick served as an Elder, Trustee and Deacon.

Dick Kuss, 87, was a business and community leader who took a personal interest in serving and improving the lives of those around him. His dedication to his family and the City of Springfield will not be forgotten.

I thank the gentleman from California for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4842, the Homeland Security Science and Technology Authorization Act of 2010. This bipartisan legislation is the first authorization bill for the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security since the Department was created in 2002.

The Science and Technology Directorate is a critical component within the Department of Homeland Security as it works in collaboration with national laboratories, universities and other public and private entities to develop the technologies needed to address our Nation's security needs.

The Homeland Security Committee included an important amendment to this bill. It would add ``medical readiness and community resiliency for health care critical infrastructure'' to the existing criteria for the university-based Homeland Security Centers of Excellence program. In bringing together leading experts and researchers in university- based settings, the Centers of Excellence program has been successful in facilitating the development of homeland security solutions.

While this program does a good job in strengthening the use of technology and the role of our first responders, such as law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMTs, when it comes to recovering from and responding to a man-made or natural disaster, it currently lacks a distinct focus on medical readiness and community resiliency for existing health care critical infrastructure.

First responders and medical care providers are critical to our Nation's ability to recover from a terrorist attack or from a natural disaster, and they deserve our support and the support of the Department of Homeland Security. In adding medical readiness to the criteria for the university-based Homeland Security Centers of Excellence program, this gap will be addressed, further advancing our country's homeland security initiatives.

Again, I strongly support this important and much needed piece of legislation.

I would like to thank Chairwoman Clarke and Ranking Member Lungren for their hard work as well as Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King.

I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming for yielding.

I rise in support of H.R. 4686, but also H.R. 4514, the Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act, the bill previously discussed.

Just to talk about the previous bill, if I may, the bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Colonel Charles Young Home located in Xenia, Ohio, to determine if the home could be designated as a unit of the National Park Service. The Colonel Charles Young Home, built in 1859, is a national historic landmark and has been designated as the future site of the National Museum of African American Military History.

Colonel Charles Young was a distinguished officer and Buffalo soldier and the third African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in the Army for 37 years, carrying out a variety of assignments throughout the U.S., Philippines, Haiti, Liberia, and Mexico. When forced into retirement--and this is very interesting--by the Army for medical reasons, Charles Young rode his horse 500 miles from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, DC, to prove he was fit for duty. And I can tell you I drove 8\1/2\ hours over the weekend--that same route. So that's a long way.

After petitioning the Secretary of War, Young was reinstated and promoted to full colonel, becoming the first African American to reach his rank by World War II. In addition to a distinguished military career, Colonel Young was also a professor of military science at Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, and the first African American named as superintendent of a national park. Because of his immeasurable contributions Colonel Young has made to not only military history, but our American history, it's necessary we recognize his achievements by passing this legislation to determine if his home can be designated as a unit of the National Park Service.

I would like to thank Representative Clay from Missouri for his help also on the bill. Again, I support both these bills. I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming for yielding, and I strongly support, again,

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Colonel Bradley D. Spacy, for his outstanding service to our nation and the United States Air Force.

It is an honor to join the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District in congratulating Colonel Spacy upon his relinquishment of command as the Commander, 88th Air Base Wing, Air Force Materiel Command and Installation Commander, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Colonel Spacy commands one of the largest air base wings in the United States Air Force, with more than 5,000 Air Force military, civilian, and contractor employees. The wing provides support and services to one of the largest, most diverse, and most organizationally complex bases in the Air Force including a major acquisition center, research and development laboratories, a major command headquarters, an airlift wing, and the world's largest military air museum. The base is home to more than 27,000 employees and is the largest single site employer in the state of Ohio.

Colonel Spacy developed the Operation Community Warfighter, an exercise deployment where community leaders could experience firsthand the intense ground operations our men and women in the Air Force face during real-world deployments. I can attest also to his solid reputation of hard work, dedication, loyalty, honor, courage, and pride.

For his strong dedication of service to our community, I join the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District in extending our best wishes upon his new assignment in Washington, DC, as the Senate liaison for the Air Force and wish him ongoing success in all future endeavors and in this new capacity. Ooorah!

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District, I am honored to recognize Dr. Lynn Wolaver, who was inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame on May 24, 2010.

Dr. Wolaver's contributions to his country and the community are invaluable. A former member of the U.S. Army Air Corp and a World War II veteran, he flew in C-47 aircraft in the European Theater of Operations with the IX Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder Group. Following his military service, Lynn devoted himself to public service, holding positions as a member of the Fairborn City Planning Board, City Council, Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Fairborn. He has been an active member of the Fairborn Chamber of Commerce, Fairborn Rotary Club and the American Legion. He currently serves on numerous local boards and committees, applying his knowledge and expertise for the betterment of the region.

Along with his service to his country and civic engagement, Dr. Wolaver has an extensive academic background. He studied at the University of Illinois, The Ohio State University Extension at Wright Field and at the University of Michigan, where he received his doctoral degree. Dr. Wolaver spent nearly 40 years as an employee at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio, holding various positions, including Dean for Research Emeritus at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. During his time at Wright-Patterson, Dr. Wolaver conducted research in the areas of navigation, astrodynamics, bioengineering and systems analysis, and he has authored over 60 technical papers on these topics. His academic achievements have earned him induction into prestigious honorary societies, and various honors and awards, including the Fairborn Chamber of Commerce's Ed Duncan Distinguished Citizen Award, Fairborn Chamber of Commerce President's Award and University of Illinois Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Finally, as a husband, father of two and grandfather, Dr. Wolaver has demonstrated the importance of balancing various obligations and activities with the needs of family.

Thus, with great pride, I congratulate Dr. Lynn Wolaver for his lifetime of remarkable achievements and his unparalleled contribution to our community.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District, I am honored to recognize Ohio Christian University's graduating class of 2010.

Over the past years, these students have earned academic excellence and grown both spiritually and resourcefully. It was a privilege to attend the University's ceremony and witness such an achievement, as our future leaders are sent out into the community.

Thus, with great pride, I congratulate Ohio Christian University's graduating class of 2010 for its exemplary success and wish each graduate the best in their future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District, I am honored to recognize the Jacob Miller Tavern on the occasion of its historical marker dedication.

In 1806, this tavern, a two story hewn log structure was built by Jacob Miller. This building was recently purchased with the purpose of restoring this building to its original condition.

Somerset is famous for their local native General Philip Sheridan. The Jacob Miller Tavern will be another landmark that Somerset will be known for.

The Historical Society of Perry County and the Perry County Historical Museum are to be commended for their many years of support for Somerset and the Somerset National Register Historic District. Thus, it is with great pride that I congratulate them on this great occasion and extend best wishes for the future.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District, I am honored to recognize Dr. Lynn Wolaver, who was inducted into the Ohio Senior Hall of Fame on May 24, 2010.

Dr. Wolaver's contributions to his country and the community are invaluable. A former member of U.S. Army and World War II veteran, he flew in C-47 aircraft in the European Theater of Operations. Following his military service, Lynn devoted himself to public service, holding positions as a member of the Fairborn City Planning Board, City Council, Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Fairborn. He has been an active member of the Fairborn Chamber of Commerce, Fairborn Rotary Club and the American Region. He currently serves on numerous local boards and committees, applying his knowledge and expertise for the betterment of the region.

Along with his natural penchant for service to his country and civic engagement, Dr. Wolaver has an extensive academic background. He studied at the University of Illinois, The Ohio State Extension at Wright Field and at the University of Michigan, where he received his doctoral degree. Dr. Wolaver spent nearly 40 years as an employee at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Springfield, OH, holding various positions, including Dean for Research Emeritus at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. During his time at Wright-Patt, Dr. Wolaver taught and conducted research in the areas of navigation, astrodynamics, bioengineering and systems analysis, and he has authored over 60 technical papers on these topics. His academic achievements have earned him induction into prestigious honorary societies, and various honors and awards, including the Fairborn Chamber of Commerce's Ed Duncan Distinguished Citizen Award, Fairborn Chamber of Commerce President's Award and University of Illinois Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Finally, as a husband, father of two and grandfather, Dr. Wolaver has demonstrated the importance of balancing various obligations and activities with the needs of family.

Thus, with great pride, I congratulate Dr. Lynn Wolaver for his lifetime of remarkable achievements and his unparalleled contribution to our community.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of Ohio's Seventh Congressional District, we are honored to recognize the contributions of the 178th Fighter Wing for their 60-plus years of service to our nation during their Hail and Farewell Ceremony on June 5, 2010.

The heritage of the 178th Fighter Wing and 162nd Fighter Squadron traces its roots back to the world famous 357th Fighter Group, the ``Yoxford Boys'' and the 362nd Fighter Squadron in England.

During World War II, the Wing's combat victories totaled over 695, a mark no other fighter unit anywhere has matched. Ever since, the 178th Fighter Wing has played an active role in air combat and support, training, security forces, engineering, medical, communications, aircraft maintenance, human resources and transportation in support of contingency operations around the world.

As the military's needs evolve with the emergence of new threats and advancing technology, the Base and Wing will be transitioning to new missions that will enable our military to meet the unique challenges of the 21st Century. It would have been impossible to imagine, during World War II, that planes conducting missions over nations half a world away would be piloted by the 178th Fighter Wing in Springfield, Ohio. It would be equally difficult to imagine then the quality and speed of the intelligence gathering process that will also take place in Springfield, through NASIC. We are confident the men and women of the 178th stand ready to meet future challenges and missions successfully, as they begin a new chapter in a proud legacy.

Thus, with great pride, we congratulate the men and women of the 178th Fighter Wing and their families for their exemplary service to this community and our country and extend best wishes to them for the future.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation is making history for all the wrong reasons as our national debt reaches $13 trillion. Today, we still have no budget, no plan to rein in this out-of-control spending. For the first time in recent history, the House will fail to even propose a budget at a time when the American people are demanding fiscal responsibility.

Our national debt has now hit astronomical proportions, and without a budget, this spending will almost certainly continue to grow.

A recent Rasmussen poll found that only 21 percent think that today's children will be better off than their parents. Only 21 percent. And one of the main reasons that our children are going to be in a tough spot is that they are going to be footing the bill tomorrow for our irresponsible spending today.

Mr. Speaker, now is the time for Congress to address the issues facing our Nation in a fiscally responsible manner. We need to show constraint, set spending guidelines, make tough decisions, and eliminate wasteful spending programs.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of James Lewis Baker.

Jim Baker of Springfield, Ohio, was born June 18, 1945, and his life was dedicated to his family and neighbors. His acts of charity and goodwill made him well-known and loved in his local community and his energetic presence will be missed.

A 1963 graduate of Northeastern High School, Jim served in the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman, conducting a tour in Vietnam and achieving the rank of sergeant. He received the Bronze Star for bravery as he was the first to respond in an emergency, saving the life of a fellow officer.

After his service, Jim established his family in Springfield, Ohio, with his wife, Jean (Woolweaver) Baker, and two sons. He was a local area businessman and served as the traffic control officer for the Springfield Police Department until his retirement. Jim was an active and respected member of the community, known best for his hard work and willingness to help others. He received the Springfield Citizenship Award for heroically assisting police officers in capturing a suspect.

Jim Baker, 64, had an enthusiasm for life that left an impression on each person he was encountered. He was a corner stone of the community and his life is an outstanding example of good citizenship. It is a privilege to honor his life today.

Madam Speaker, this week marks a defining moment for this Congress and our Nation. With our national debt over $12 trillion and continuing to grow while government encroaches into every aspect of our lives, the American people have spoken out loudly against any government takeover of their health care. All we have to do is listen to our constituents. Yet this administration and this Democrat leadership continues to force a $1 trillion health care bill of Congress into law.

This bill will increase the health care costs for millions of Americans who are satisfied with their current health care coverage. It will cut Medicare and reduces benefits for seniors, such as Medicare Advantage. It will raise taxes on families and small businesses.

We all agree that our health care system can and should be improved. Unfortunately, Members of Congress are not listening to the American people, and that is that more government is not the answer.

It is time to work together on a commonsense, step-by-step approach that will lower costs and make health care more affordable and accessible while keeping your doctor-patient relationship and choices.