Floor Statements

In these dire economic times, Mr. Speaker, I try to remind my colleagues that, when Washington is talking, Michigan is listening because, again, we are living your nightmare now.

Last week, the House passed what I believe to be a $1 trillion fiscal obscenity at taxpayers' expense and at the expense of the unemployeds' hope, but you need not take my word for it because, again, Michigan was listening, and when I had the chance to talk to a gentleman named Greg from Milford, this is what he said about the supposed stimulus bill.

Greg said, ``I worked for a company that just lost 700 jobs nationwide, and the stimulus package just amazes me, that Congress is trying to push this thing through--the $600 million and everything going on, things that are not going to stimulate the economy. I have enough money to last a month.''

At this point, Greg's voice started to break.

``Try telling your kids at the dinner table that you just lost your job. It is devastating when you tell your daughter you cannot even buy her a school yearbook because you just do not have the money. You have got money that you were going to spend on something just to let your kids celebrate something that you did, and now that is going to go to the grocery store because you cannot do otherwise or you are going to try to pay your house bill,'' and again, Greg paused.

``When we are sending money overseas to pay for abortions for people who are not even in this country, we are not supporting our own people. They need to change it. I am just one person. They do not listen. If we can have everybody call them and just say, 'We have got to do something different. We cannot throw this money in the garbage. What can we do?'''

That was Greg's view of a bill that was intended to help him and his struggling family. When Greg was listening to what Washington was saying as it passed the, quote/unquote, stimulus bill, he heard about billions for national parks, about the hundreds of millions for artists, about the smoking secession programs, and about the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. When this bill was explained back down in Michigan, here is what Greg heard.

He heard that, if you are a hiker who is artistic, who is trying to quit smoking and who is trying to avoid STDs, the House Democrats' bill was for you. If you were in a manufacturing State and you had just lost your job and you were worried about your family, like Greg, you fared far more poorly.

I just want Greg to know that we are listening out here, that when the $1 trillion stimulus bill that will not help him came to the House floor, the entire House Republican minority and 11 Intrepid Democrats said no. They recognized that this would not help him, that it would not help his family and that it would not help any American family that is struggling in straits such as his.

That is why House Republicans responded to President Obama's proposal for bipartisanship early on and produced a package that would have created twice the jobs at half the cost, and this is why we will continue to work in as bipartisan a fashion as is allowed in this Chamber to do what is right for Greg and for his family and for all American families in these very dire times.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge the Kensington Valley Community Credit Union, a financial institution based in Highland, Michigan, upon the 50th anniversary of the Credit Union's establishment.

Founded on January 29, 1959 as the Huron Valley Schools Employees Credit Union, the Kensington Valley Community Credit Union has grown substantially since its first 200 members. Originally a small, member- run institution, the Credit Union expanded its membership opportunities in 1985 to school district retirees, parents of students in the school district, credit union employees, and immediate family members. In 1996 the Credit Union further expanded its services to add students in the school district, family members, and persons age 55 receiving retirement benefits. Importantly, as a service to its community, from 1995 to 1999 the Credit Union operated the first student run elementary savers club program at all eleven elementary schools within the Huron Valley School district.

The Kensington Valley Community Credit Union has become a landmark in the community it serves by providing important financial services to its members. On February 16, 2000, with 4,500 members, over $16 million in assets, and 12 employees, the Credit Union moved into an expanded facility on the same property it originally purchased 20 years ago.

Madam Speaker, the Kensington Valley Community Credit Union has had a long and distinguished history in the Detroit area community. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Kensington Valley Community Credit Union on its 50th anniversary and honoring the institution's devoted service to the community and our country.

We in Michigan in my community are listening to this debate very closely. We are listening very closely because one of the things that we are painfully aware of is how our Nation does not want to see double digit unemployment, does not want to see families lose their homes, their jobs and their nest eggs. We are listening very closely because in Michigan we are living your nightmare now: 10.6 percent unemployment, foreclosures skyrocketing, people's nest eggs eroding. And in Michigan, they were heartened by President Obama's request to work with the Republican minority. It was a request he did not have to make. Legislation can pass this Chamber without a single Republican vote. And yet in raising the tone, the tenor, the decorum in Washington, he reached out to House Republicans, and we responded by putting forward our solutions.

Do we expect the President or even the Democratic majority to accept all of them? No, that would be unfair on our part. But what would be equally unfair is for them not to be fairly considered at all by the Democratic majority.

We believe that there is merit in our proposal as it provides twice the jobs at half the cost. It could be incorporated into a responsible bill within President Obama's framework that he laid out for a temporary stimulus package.

The three elements were a sane, humane strengthening of the social safety net, tax relief for working families and small businesses, and accelerated, responsible infrastructure that would have a permanent benefit to the economy as we worked on the deeper, underlying problems.

What we have before us today, unfortunately, is a missed opportunity. It is an opportunity I hope we will get to rectify should the legislation come back because at the present time this legislation is not an immediate economic growth stimulus. It is, in fact, a wasteful government spending bill. We can do better together. I trust we will because as the families in my community understand, Congress cannot continue governing like gamblers in the

hole spending other people's money. We will have to make difficult decisions, but we will have to do them together.

Madam Speaker, today, I rise in recognition of Hostelling International USA's 75 years of service to intercultural understanding and youth travel.

Founded in 1934, Hostelling International USA is a nonprofit organization promoting hostels and related programs in our nation, so our youth may experience the personal enrichment of foreign and domestic travel. Throughout the world, interest in hostel stays has increased to the point where, now, nearly 1 million travelers stay at hostels every year.

Established in 1943, the Michigan Council of Hostelling International USA endures as a resource providing exciting programs to Michigan's youth. These programs, known as ``Opening Doors, Opening Minds'', facilitate student's experiences of our nation and the world. The Michigan Council also conducts travel workshops in local libraries to encourage adults and youth alike to expand their knowledge and understanding through travel.

I congratulate Hostelling International USA for their 75 years of service and for their continued commitment to opening doors for our nation's youth.

When the House last met in December, in the dying days of the 110th Congress, thanks to the leadership of the Speaker and of the chairman of Financial Services and of the people of this body, we sent a rescue package for the auto industry over to the Senate. Unfortunately, the Senate did not allow it to come up for a vote. Fortunately, President Bush and the administration offered and extended a bridge loan to the auto industry to keep the hardworking men and women employed and to keep America's manufacturing sector vital. We did not rejoice.

We understand that restructuring is necessary and that it will be painful. It will intensify and it will continue, but we also vow to do what we need to do to ensure that America keeps its engine of prosperity and its arsenal of democracy. We will prove the doubters wrong.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge the remarkable life and legacy of Antonio Rugiero, Sr. upon his passing at the age of 70.

Antonio was born in San Giovanni Fiore, Calabria, Italy on June 18, 1938. He attended the Peitra Fitta Monasteri in Cosenza, Italy and later completed his college business degree. In 1960, he arrived in America and two years later borrowed $2,000 to begin his pursuit of the American dream. With his funds, a small pizzeria named Roman Village Restaurant was born. With his incredible commitment to make his business a success, Papa Rugiero created a thriving business. His sons carried on Antonio's tradition of excellent food and premier service by opening Antonio's Cucina Italiana, named after their father. Four restaurants later, it is clear that Antonio's family has created a legacy.

Antonio Rugiero, Sr. was a man deeply involved in the Detroit area community. He never hesitated to sponsor local events, such as kid's hockey teams, baseball and football teams. Along with supporting his wonderful family, Antonio was a community leader in contributing to charitable causes including Dearborn Heights Spirit Fest, the Feast of Saint Antonio, Dine Out Detroit, Breast Cancer Awareness, Diabetes Foundation and numerous others.

On October 19, 2008, Antonio passed away. A beloved husband, father, and grandfather, he is survived by his loving wife, Enrica, four sons Patrick Attilio, Mark Luigi, Robert Attilio, and Anthony Rugiero, Jr., and ten grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, Antonio Rugiero, Sr. was a man of great respect, a successful entrepreneur, and a loving husband and father. Today, as we bid him farewell, I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning his passing and honoring his lifetime of contribution to our community.

I thank the chairman. I rise in support of the same-day rule.

It has been an anxious holiday season in Michigan and the Midwest in the auto industry and the manufacturing sector. They have seen Congress perform its rightful oversight over their request for a bridge loan from the taxpayers of the United States. And today, after due deliberation, I think it is appropriate that we have a vote on this legislation, because behind all the statistics and all the talk of bankruptcies are hard-working people who deserve to know an answer to a fundamental question: Does the Congress of the United States care about them?

Mr. Speaker, just two quick points, one is the funding was already brought up by the ranking member of Financial Services. We will hear a lot from my side of the aisle about how much money we are saving the taxpayers.

I would remind those who voted to appropriate this into the low- interest energy loans to help cover the unfunded CAFE mandate that that appropriation is gone. It is either going to go to help the auto industry survive a liquidity crisis, or it will be expended elsewhere. There is no savings there.

Secondly, I would like to remind everyone in the room that your love for the taxpayers should also extend to the hardworking men and women, be they white collar or blue collar that work in the auto industry in the United States, that work in the manufacturing sector in the United States, and whose social costs, through a cavalier and calloused approach to bankruptcy, will be borne by the very taxpayers of the United States, except there will be one difference, they will be out of work and will no longer be taxpayers.

I come from Michigan. I was born in Detroit. Wherever you go in the world, people know two things about Detroit. They know we make cars and they know we make music, Motown. And so when we find ourselves in difficult situations, it is not unusual for us to refer to music to help keep our lucidity and our balance to come through the tough times.

As I listen to the debate on the auto industry, in many ways I'm reminded of Bob Seger's song where he says: To the IRS I'm another file. I'm just a statistic on a sheet. I feel like a number. I'm not a number. I'm a man.

We've heard a lot of talk about the policy undergirding this bill. There are good arguments on both sides, but I live with the people who will be affected by it. There have been those who have said bankruptcy is an option. Many people have said bankruptcy is a preferred option. I suppose bankruptcy is an option for those who it is not an option for. Why? Because those who like bankruptcy should first impose bankruptcy upon themselves and to see how their family feels when their future has been foreclosed, when they have no job, when they have no hope, when they believe that they have been forgotten because they are a number.

We can talk about the small businesses. We have small businesses in Michigan, and they rely on manufacturing jobs in the auto industry to stay in business, because the ripple effect is not a ripple effect. It is a tsunami effect. For one manufacturing job, you will lose 7 to 10 others, and we in Michigan have felt this pain. Oh, we have felt this pain, and we have seen the cost of the restructuring that so many here seem oblivious to.

But again, we're numbers, I guess, in Michigan. We're statistics. We're involved in systems. We've been devoid of souls evidently at least by the opinion-makers and looters that have now watched the restructuring that so many of us on both sides of the aisle have watched for years.

But we're from Michigan. We did not complain. We kept our nose to the grindstone. We gritted our teeth. We suffered and endured. We endured as businesses closed, as white collar and blue collar jobs were lost. We endured as retirees worried about what would happen to their hard- earned lifetime of benefits, those legacy costs so many are so willing to shave, our senior citizens' lifetimes of hard work. They played by the rules, which bankruptcy would change.

We've heard a lot about the quality gap. We have heard a lot about the cost. I guess we should make less to be like everybody else. It's not a very attractive option for real people, but if you're a number, if you're a statistic on a sheet, this makes perfect sense. It's very logical. It's very logical unless you start to worry about the person behind the statistic, the person who will get to look amongst their Christmas cards for a layoff notice, the ones who have already had an anxious Thanksgiving as we performed our due diligence upon the executives and President Gettelfinger of the UAW and had them come in and testify.

We asked them how they got here. We asked them why they were in a restructuring now, again, as if the last several years had never happened. And I think they were productive meetings in the end. It brought us here to a bill that we believe can protect taxpayers and can help an industry that has been restructuring continue to survive.

And if a bridge loan is passed, will we be happy in Detroit? Will we be happy in manufacturing throughout America? No. And it's not because it's not the money we wanted. It's because we know a painful restructuring will continue if this bridge loan is approved.

You see, to me, this is not abstract. My son Neal, my oldest son, turned 14, he looked at me and said, hey, Dad, I know what I want to be when I grow up. I said, well, as long as it is not a Congressman, I'm okay with that, whatever it is. And he looked at me, and he said I want to be an automotive engineer. And because of the restructuring in the auto industry, because of the pain that we've had and because of the reality that our children leave us for better climates economically and otherwise, I didn't have the heart to tell my son that the likelihood of him achieving his dream of being an automotive engineer would be foreclosed to him.

And there are so many other children that grow up loving cars, who want to have that experience, and it's not just the children. It is the parents, the parents who work in the industry, white collar, blue collar, and my Republican friends, it is not just the white collar we must worry about.

I have a very interesting experience when I talk to people on my side of the aisle about UAW and their concessions. Give credit where credit is due. They've been a partner with the big three in making painful concessions. I hope one thing yet will suffice.

I once spent a freezing winter morning in front of the glass house at the Ford Company corporate headquarters in Dearborn. All those employees, those UAW members that people say don't want to work, come to work and don't want to perform, don't care about their quality of performance, I will tell you what. They stood out in 0-degree temperatures to keep the Wixom plant in my district open. That's how badly they wanted to work. That's how much they cared about the production of those cars. That's how much they loved their families.

For those who think we've not been restructuring, the Wixom plant was closed as part of a Ford Motor Company restructuring. How many more people that want to work will be precluded because we did not give them the opportunity?

We hear that the auto industry has brought it on itself. Well, that's what Washington does. Washington makes bad decisions and blames the victim. And we're not going through the painful litany of how Washington has not been as helpful as it could be, but let us suffice to say that throughout the entire restructuring process that we have endured and know will continue, we did not come here with our hand out, did we?

We did not ask the Federal Government to take over all the health care of the employees. We did not ask the Federal Government to keep the Wixom plant open. We did not ask the Federal Government to do anything but leave us alone while we continued our painful restructuring and gritted our teeth and kept our nose to the grindstone.

And now, circumstances outside of our control have led us to the point where we have to be here or there will be no domestic auto industry in the United States, and there will be no manufacturing base in the United States, and this at a time when it has been pointed out the taxpayers that work in the auto industry are watching the people at AIG talk about $4 million per person bonuses after they have been bailed out to the tune of roughly $40 billion in this last round of their dollars. But then again, when you're a statistic, when you're a number, those things don't really matter for the people who have to make the decisions.

We come here to make decisions as best we can in public policy, but the overriding goal is to serve the people that those policies affect, and in my mind, the failure of sound policies here at least gives us the chance to give these people to survive, to keep a manufacturing sector in place in the United States, and to let these working families continue to endure and grit their teeth and keep their nose to the grindstone and work and hope for the best. Because if we do not, we will be confirming that they are statistics, they are numbers, that they are worthy of bankruptcy because that's what makes economic sense, if not moral and societal sense.

And to close, I remember very well coming home after the Thanksgiving break after we had the auto industry in, and I was driving past the Jefferson plant.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge The Honorable Marilyn Massengill, Plymouth Township Clerk, upon her retirement from the government of Plymouth Township after thirty-nine years of dedicated service.

Throughout her life, Marilyn has striven to better our community. Mrs. Massengill graduated from Plymouth High School in 1952 and went on to work in several township departments. She began her dedicated career in June, 1969 when she was hired to work in the Building Department before advancing to the Planning Department and then the Clerk's Office. Marilyn was first elected Plymouth Township Clerk in 1992, re- elected in 1996 and again in 2000. She received official recognition as a Certified Municiple Clerk in 1995 by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks following completion of specialized training.

Marilyn has participated in multiple associations during her committed service to Plymouth Township, including; The First United Methodist Church, Plymouth Business and Professional Women's Club, BPW, Wayne County Clerk's Association, International Institute of Municipal Clerks, Plymouth Study Club, and as a Charter Member of the Plymouth Canton Kiwanis Breakfast Club. Despite her numerous accomplishments and community activities, Marilyn remains most proud of her four children, all of whom attended and graduated from the Plymouth Canton Community School District, and her eight grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, after over 30 tireless years, Clerk Massengill will be retiring from her position of Plymouth Township Clerk. As she enters the next phase of her life, she leaves behind a legacy of leadership, integrity,

and devotion to the citizens of Michigan. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Honorable Marilyn Massengill, upon her retirement and recognizing her years of loyal service to our community and our country.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge the heroes of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion upon their 32nd reunion.

Activated on December 15, 1941 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion; often called the ``Fightingest,'' distinguished itself in battle during World War II. On July 24, 1944, the Battalion landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France and was attached to the 28th Infantry Division XIX Corps.

The men of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion fought valiantly in the European Theater during the war. From December 15, 1944 and December 31, 1944 the Battalion participated in actions against enemy forces in some of the most difficult operations known to warfare. The Battalion bravely liberated France, Luxembourg, and Belgium and provided critical support to allied victory in the Battle of the Bulge; proving the resistance and stamina of the American soldier was unbreakable. The heroism of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion was undoubtedly critical in bringing victory and peace to Europe. Tragically, many of these heroes never returned home, however their memory will live on forever in the hearts and minds of those they left behind. Beginning in 1963, and annually since 1992, the veterans and their families have reunited thus growing into an extended family of friends.

Madam Speaker, the soldiers of the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion are heroes and champions of American freedom. As we recognize the outstanding contribution these veterans and those lost in battle have made for the cause of freedom, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring their many years of selfless service to their community and our country.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to place into the Record a letter from Ambassador Audrius Bruzga of Lithuania regarding House Concurrent Resolution 255.

Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States

of America,

Washington, DC, September 29, 2008.

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congressman: I am aware that on September 25, 2008 the

United States House of Representatives passed the House

Concurrent Resolution 255: Expressing the sense of Congress

regarding the United States commitment to preservation of

religious and cultural sites and condemning instances where

sites are desecrated.

I write to express my astonishment and utter surprise that

such a Resolution was submited for vote at the time when the

process of finding a solution to the issue of the former

Snipiskes Jewish cemetery is at its final stages and all the

interested parties are in agreement of the necessary steps

and actions.

You may well be aware that on June 25 through July 5

geophysical investigation was carried out by a contractor

company from Israel Geotec on 14 chosen areas. Alongside with

the geophysical investigation, archeological investigation

was carried out by the Lithuanian Cultural Heritage

Department.

On September 22nd, based on the results of the said

investigations the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Petras Vaitiekunas, Head of the Government working group for

the preservation of the former Jewish cemetery in Snipiskes,

presented recommendations to the Government of Lithuania on

further steps regarding the preservation of the former

Snipiskes cemetery. One of the recommendations of the working

group is for the competent Lithuanian institutions--Vilnius

City Municipality, Governor Administration of Vilnius County,

the Ministry of Culture--with the participation of the

representatives from the Jewish community and the owners of

the territory of former cemetery--to organize an open

international competition for the monumentalization of the

former Snipiskes Jewish cemetery site.

Furthermore, the former Jewish cemetery in Snipiskes has

gained legal protection in compliance with the decision of

the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of

Culture. The Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of

Lithuania guaranties the permanent preservation of the former

cemetery site.

During the whole process, the Lithuanian Government has

demonstrated commitment to resolving the controversy over

former Jewish cemetery in Snipiskes by involving Lithuanian

and international experts, historians, geophysical survey

experts, cartographers and archeologists, and International

Jewish communities, as well as allocating appropriate

resources for research and analyses. The Government of

Lithuania has worked closely and will continue to work with

the representatives of the Committee for the Preservation of

Jewish Cemeteries in Europe and with other Jewish

organizations, in search of a mutually acceptable solution.

Mr. Congressman, Jewish culture, history, sacred sites and

traditions are part of Lithuania's national heritage. Sadly,

during the period of Nazi and Soviet occupations (1940-1991)

much of this has been lost or decimated. It takes time and

painstaking efforts to undo the damage. Allow me to assure

you that the Government is committed to the preservation of

all of the cultural heritage in Lithuania and is doing so in

a manner which is consistent with rule of law and justice. It

is disappointing when this is not appreciated by the

colleagues in the U.S.

Lithuania and the United States are close allies. We share

the freedom agenda and we stand together in defence of our

shared values. I am certain that we will continue to cherish

our strong bonds of partnership.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you the

assurances of my highest consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Audrius Bruzga,

Ambassador.

Mr. Speaker, we have confronted the first financial panic of the ``New Global Economy''--an economy spawned by the fall of the Berlin Wall--and the precedent we set will affect our prosperity, liberty, and posterity for generations.

Unconscionably, we have rushed to misjudgment and approved a $700 billion Wall Street bailout the American people know is intrinsically unfair to them. This truth is self-evident in how, initially, an exiting President and his

Treasury Secretary incited a panic amongst our people and the world, all to compel a compliant Congress to deliver upon this demand: ``Main Street must bail out Wall Street, or how the people will suffer.''

Justly, the people's House voiced the will of the sovereign people and refused. Recalcitrant, the administration zealously intensified its attempt to shift $700 billion worth of consequences from Wall Street onto Main Street and pronounced a new ransom dictum: ``No bailout for Wall Street, no tax relief for Main Street, and how the people will suffer.''

To this demand, the Congress capitulated. The saddest part of this immorality play is how the people will suffer regardless, and they know it. Working Americans, whose well-deserved tax relief must never be predicated upon rewarding others' misdeeds, understand this self- described, short-term stabilization bill cannot claim with certainty to attain its professed intent, let alone solve the new global economy's latest structural dysfunctions.

Worse, as a multitude of economists and entrepreneurs prove, this bailout bill will reinflate the bubble by $700 billion and thereby only delay our day of economic reckoning. It cannot be otherwise because the bailout bill's central economic construct is patently and grossly unfair to Americans.

Succinctly: Congress will buy ``toxic assets'' with your money that private investors won't buy with their own money. What a deal for you. Therefore, belying the ludicrous claims, this bailout is designed to save Wall Street, not Main Street. It is small wonder Americans rejected this odious proposal, and equally unfathomable how Congress ultimately approved it.

In the aftermath, a deeper truth emerges from the ruins. In setting a new economic precedent during this pregnant moment fraught with consequence, we also face a transcendent choice between two competing visions for our Nation's future: Global materialism versus American traditionalism; ``creative destruction'' versus ``innovative restoration''; Wall Street versus Main Street.

In the tumultuous transition from our humane American traditions into an insane global age, we viscerally glean the evolving forces dwarfing our mortal power to protect the cherished realms of faith, family, community and country, while in each heart beats the murmur of Yeats: ``Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned. The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand.''

From this Congress, Americans sought reassurance their representative institutions remained vibrant and sufficient to shelter and steer our Nation through the amoral global flood tide's enveloping chaos. We have answered them today. In voting ``yea,'' you have not solely chosen Wall Street over Main Street, you have chosen the big over the beautiful, the giant over the gentle, the great over the good.

And this decision now shapes our destiny. This being the case, we bailout opponents must grudgingly admit a tinge of envy for its supporters. Tonight, you will go to sleep praying you are right; we will go to sleep praying we are wrong, while in each breast the murmur returns.

Now the future beckons from its ominous shadows, and through the impending gloaming we can but glimpse how the people will suffer. As breaks that nightmarish day, let us arise and combine to transcend the insanity of our age, forge a humane global economy, and restore our American home to a God blessed land of hope, devotion and dreams.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge Ethan Joseph Winslow Monaghan, a hero, upon earning the Boy Scouts of America National Heroism Medal for Lifesaving.

Ethan Monaghan, of Plymouth, Michigan, a nine-year-old and first year Webelos Cub Scout saved his younger brother's life on August 23, 2007. Five-year-old Steven D. Monaghan II had flipped off an inflatable pool tube into five feet of water. Too short to touch the bottom and unable to swim, Steven started to scream for help before going under the water. Ethan heard the cries of help and bravely dove into the pool, wrapped his arms around Steven's waist, and pulled his head above the water. Ethan, also unable to touch the bottom of the pool, was able to swim his brother over to adults. Thankfully, Steven did not require mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or other medical attention because of Ethan's rapid response and instinct.

Although Ethan has never received any formal lifesaving training, the skills he learned as a Cub Scout helped to avert a tragedy. Subsequent to a thorough review of his actions by the Detroit Area Council of Boy Scouts, Ethan was presented the Boy Scouts of America National Heroism Medal for Lifesaving, which, on average, fewer than three hundred boys receive a year. To his brother, Steven, and parents Dr. and Mrs. Steven and Audrey Monaghan, Ethan will be a triumphant hero for years to come.

Madam Speaker, Ethan Joseph Winslow Monaghan should be recognized for his courage, determination, and selfless action. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Ethan Monaghan for obtaining the Boy Scouts of America National Heroism Medal for Lifesaving and honoring Ethan's devotion to his community and our country.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Ed Vollenweider, a community leader, and World War II hero, and mourn him upon his passing at age 87.

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1921, the son of Swiss immigrants, Ed Vollenweider grew up on a small dairy farm in New Glarus, Wisconsin. Ed joined the U.S. Air Force and became a successful B-26 bomber pilot garnering 72 missions in the European theater of World War II. One of the many B-26 planes he flew, Flak Bait, now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. After his tour of duty ended, he briefly attended the University of Minnesota where he met and married Gloria Boehmke. Ed and Gloria owned and operated Larsen's Teal Lake Resort in Hayward, Wisconsin from 1947 to 1950. Sadly, in 1986 after 39 years of marriage, Ed's wife, Gloria passed away. In 1965, along with two partners, Ed opened the Detroiter Truckstop in Woodhaven, Michigan, where he served as President and CEO. For 43 years, the Detroiter Truckstop became an institution and landmark of southeast Michigan. Ed was also an active board member of the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, Michigan Trucking Association, Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club, and the National Rifle Association.

Tragically, Ed passed away on September 28, 2008 and will be cherished as a devoted husband and father. To his wife, Faith, to his sons Edward and Billy, sisters Ruth Esser and Hulda Wesner; and to everyone who knew and loved him, Ed was a dedicated member of his community who will be truly missed.

Madam Speaker, during his lifetime, Ed Vollenweider enriched the lives of everyone around him by exhibiting courage, leadership, and spirit. As we bid farewell to this outstanding individual, I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning his passing and honoring his many years of loyal service to his community and our country.