Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today, the national average for a gallon of gas has reached $4.07. With your average vehicle tank holding 18 gallons, that translates to $75 to fill your tank. This is on top of skyrocketing food costs and, now, increases in both our natural gas and electricity bills at home.

Many American families simply cannot afford these prices. Yet we stand on this floor without allowing debate on a comprehensive solution for the American people. This country is tired of partisan maneuvering and is tired of Congress just saying ``no.''

Madam Speaker, Americans are downright mad. Some may argue that high gas prices are an incentive to make Americans drive less or that high energy costs are an incentive for businesses and homeowners to utilize more green practices. High energy and gas prices also cause businesses and jobs to move offshore where natural gas is cheaper.

I firmly believe in investing in technology that will move us away from our Nation's dependence on petroleum, but during this transitional period, we must also increase our domestic supply and fuel our economy. No one can deny that energy is something that we all use and need. Americans expect this Congress to do everything within our power to address these high gas and energy prices.

Madam Speaker, we should not leave here for the Fourth of July recess without increasing our own natural resources. Bring relief to the American people. Keep our Nation competitive and open for business.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6109, which reauthorizes the successful Pre-Disaster Mitigation program for the next 3 years. The Pre-Disaster Mitigation program was originally authorized by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 as a pilot program to study the effectiveness of mitigation grants given to communities before disaster strikes. Prior to the creation of the Pre-Disaster Mitigation program, hazard mitigation primarily occurred after a disaster through FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Every disaster costs us in damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure, and potentially in the loss of lives.

The Pre-Disaster Mitigation program prevents damage and destruction by helping communities to act proactively through projects that reduce the cost and limit the adverse impacts of future disasters.

With FEMA's assistance, local governments identify cost-effective mitigation projects, which are awarded on a competitive basis. Since its inception, mitigation programs have helped local communities save lives and reduce property damage through a wide range of mitigation projects, such as home elevations, buyouts, improved shelters and warning systems.

In 2005, the National Institute of Building Sciences issued a study that conclusively demonstrated Federal mitigation programs saved the Federal Government money. Specifically, the study found that for every dollar spent on mitigation, the American taxpayer saves over $3 in Federal disaster payments.

Mitigation projects also are intended to save lives, and this year's record tornado season underscores the importance of lifesaving warning sirens. Given the tremendous destructive power of tornadoes, you can't mitigate against property damage, but you can mitigate the loss of life with a warning system. I particularly want to thank Chairwoman Norton for including report language clarifying that Congress intended tornado warning sirens to be funded in this program.

At this point I would like to read a paragraph from the committee report on this subject:

``The Committee notes the clear purpose of the Pre-Disaster Mitigation program to reduce injuries, loss of life, and damage to property from natural disasters and the program's broad statutory authority to provide Federal assistance for projects, such as tornado warning sirens, which serve this purpose. Given the sudden nature and extreme destructive power of tornadoes, the Committee believes warning sirens are a cost-effective measure for mitigating injuries and loss of life from tornadoes. The Committee believes that Section 203 of the Stafford Act clearly authorizes mitigation assistance for tornado warning sirens.''

I believe this language makes it perfectly clear that Congress intended tornado warning sirens to be an eligible project under the Pre-Disaster Mitigation program and Congress expects the Federal Emergency Management Agency to administer the program accordingly.

In conclusion, mitigation works. It saves lives, limits future damage, and reduces Federal disaster costs. The Pre-Disaster Mitigation program is a worthy program, and I look forward to working with Chairwoman Norton to reauthorize it this year.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5001, the Old Post Office Building Redevelopment Act of 2008. The bill would direct the General Services Administration to enter into an agreement to develop the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue in accordance with its plan approved by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in 2001. The bill would also authorize GSA to relocate the Federal agencies currently occupying the Old Post Office Building.

The management of Federal real property has been on the Government Accountability Office's high-risk list since 2003. One of the key issues the GAO has raised is the problem of unused and under-used Federal property.

Currently, the Old Post Office is under-used and has been for some time. Over the years, there have been many attempts to make better use of this historic building. The most recent attempt was made after Congress passed the Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act in 1976. This act, among other things, required GSA to encourage the public use of public buildings for ``cultural, educational and recreational activities'' and allowed Federal entities and commercial enterprises to share federally owned buildings.

Unfortunately, the mixed use of Federal and commercial space was not successful in this case. Today, there are only a handful of Federal agencies in this historic building on Pennsylvania Avenue, considered America's Main Street. This area of the city has undergone revitalization to help benefit and attract people who live, work and visit the Nation's capital. Allowing for the redevelopment and reuse of this important building will help to further the progress made in this area of the city.

Authorizing GSA to proceed with the full redevelopment of this building has the potential of being a win-win situation for the Federal Government, the taxpayers, and the local community. I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2452, the Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act.

Our Nation has nearly 23,000 miles of ocean and gulf shoreline along the continental United States, 5,500 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and 3.6 million miles of rivers and streams. Public confidence and the quality of our Nation's waters is important to every citizen of this Nation, but it is also critical to industries that rely on safe and clean water.

To improve the public's confidence in the quality of our Nation's waters and protect public health and safety, Representatives Bishop and LoBiondo introduced H.R. 2452, the Sewage Overflow Community Right-to- Know Act. Sometimes, especially during wet weather, sewage systems can leak or overflow. This can be caused by inadequate design or capacity or by breaks in the system of pipes that are often old and in need of repair.

H.R. 2452 requires the publicly owned treatment works develop and implement a feasible monitoring program that is reasonably able to detect the occurrence of an overflow or leak in their sewer systems in a timely manner and to notify the public and health authorities whenever a release would threaten public health and safety.

The Environmental Protection Agency is to develop regulations to help local utilities implement these monitoring and notification requirements starting 180 days after these regulations have been issued. EPA or the States, as the case may be, are to incorporate these monitoring and notification requirements into local utilities' Clean Water Act permits on a rolling basis as their permits come up for renewal.

This should provide for the orderly implementation of this program and minimize the need to reopen utilities' permits. To minimize burdening local

utilities with duplicative notification requirements, States that have substantially equivalent release notification programs in place may seek EPA's approval to implement the State's notification program instead of the requirements under H.R. 2452. The bill authorizes the use of State revolving loan funds to help communities pay for this monitoring and notification program.

Under this program, EPA and local utilities must define the appropriate amount of monitoring to reduce risk and reasonably protect human health. However, they need to be careful not to unwisely use up funds that are meant to address the very infrastructure problems that are causing the release of sewage in the first place.

I congratulate Representatives Bishop and LoBiondo on sponsoring this bill. The public has a right to know when their waters are threatened by sewage release. So I encourage all Members to support this bill.

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

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

Madam Speaker, we have seen in the gulf region and now along the Mississippi River what can happen when hurricane and flood protection infrastructure is inadequate or fails to perform. Yet more Americans are moving to coastal areas where the risk of hurricanes and floods is great.

In the south Atlantic region, the coastal population grew 51 percent from 1980 to 2000, and this trend is expected to continue. Along the Gulf of Mexico, the population has increased 38 percent from 1980 to 2000, and this trend is also expected to continue.

We do not know where the next hurricane or flood will hit, but we do know that many of our major cities, including parts of Washington, D.C., have a greater probability of flooding than did New Orleans.

For example, the City of Sacramento, California, has almost twice as many people as New Orleans; yet it has less flood protection than any other major city in America. Cities like Houston, St. Louis, and Miami also are at risk. We cannot treat citizens of these cities differently unless we have a policy reason that we can explain and justify to our constituents.

As we have learned from recent levee failures, our infrastructure is aging. What we know about the existence and conditions of these other levees we often learn when one fails or it is overwhelmed by a flood event. For instance, the State of California in 2005 declared a state of emergency in the Central Valley in anticipation of the failure of 24 levees. According to the State of California, it would cost more than $5 billion to make critical delta levees, but not all delta levees, stronger in the face of flood and seismic events in the Central Valley.

In the past, Congress has taken steps to ensure that the Nation's flood damage reduction infrastructure is properly inventoried, inspected, and assessed. In 1986, the Congress authorized the National Dam Safety Program Act to conduct an inventory and assessments of all dams nationwide. The National Inventory of Dams shows that 45

percent of all Federal dams are at least 50 years old and that 80 percent of them are at least 30 years old.

We know less about the status and capabilities of our levees. There has never been a national inventory of levees. Little is known about the current condition of both Federal and non-Federal levees, including whether these levees were designed to meet current conditions or whether they have been properly maintained by the non-Federal interest.

Over the decades, levees have been built by different entities, at different times, and to different standards. They have been linked together to provide a protective system, but with such a mixture of conditions, the true level of protection may be in doubt.

Over time, development has taken place behind some of these levees so much more may be at risk in terms of lives and economic resources.

There is so much that we do not know about the levees in America that we cannot be sure how safe our cities and towns really are. We need more information.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 included language establishing a panel to develop recommendations for a National Levee Safety Program. However, the Committee on Levee Safety is unable to meet since a drafting error contained in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 inadvertently keeps the Army Corps of Engineers from carrying out important work.

H.R. 6040 strikes the incorrect language and replaces it with language stating the Committee on Levee Safety can develop its recommendations subject to the availability of appropriations.

This technical change will allow the Corps of Engineers to convene the Committee on Levee Safety as soon as this bill is enacted.

With the recommendations that will come from this Committee on Levee Safety, the Congress can develop a national policy for levee safety and a program to ensure that levees are functional and safe.

I urge all Members to support H.R. 6040.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the outstanding achievements of Sam Keltner of Virginia Beach, and to commend him on becoming a Congressional Award Gold Medalist. This recognition by the United States Congress is the highest honor bestowed upon America's youth. It serves as a testament to Sam's strength of character and commitment to our national values of dedication to public service and the cherished qualities of personal growth, initiative, and achievement, all of which are cornerstones of the Congressional Award.

Sam's volunteer efforts are tremendous, speaking very highly of him and his level of commitment to the community and to public service. In earning the rank of Eagle Scout, Sam worked on behalf of Real Life Christian Church to help others, providing moveable storage crates for the church and fellowship. In addition, he continues to be active within the Boy Scouts of America, BSA, Tidewater Council, serving as Junior Assistant Scoutmaster and Senior Patrol Leader, completing the Venturing Scout program, receiving the BSA Tidewater Council Venturing Leadership Award, and participating in the Physical Fitness QUEST program.

Sam has devoted time and energy to excellence in physical fitness, improving his speed in running and playing a diversity of sports. His incredible effort enabled him to reach a time of a little over 14 minutes for a 5k run. By maintaining his own physical fitness, Sam continues to push himself to achieve more, and engage in new opportunities for advanced leadership experience including the 2006 COPE Program, his membership with U.S. Track and Field, and his involvement with the First Colonial High School Varsity Cross Country Track Team.

Sam has become a role model not only for his peers, but for the large community around him. Upon receiving the Congressional Medal, he joins a most elite group of our Nation's youth who have set and achieved this very commendable goal. I am certain Sam's incredible accomplishments, dedication to service, and evident leadership talents will continue to speak highly of him, as they do now.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the outstanding achievements of Sean Warren of Virginia Beach, and to commend him on becoming a Congressional Award Gold Medalist. This recognition by the United States Congress is the highest honor bestowed upon America's youth. It serves as a testament to Sam's strength of character and commitment to our national values of dedication to public service and the cherished qualities of personal growth, initiative, and achievement, all of which are cornerstones of the Congressional Award.

Sean's volunteer efforts are tremendous, speaking very highly of him and his level of commitment to the community and to public service. In earning the rank of Eagle Scout, Sean worked with the Lynnhaven Baseball Fields Executive Board to provide a children's playground area onsite. In addition, he continues to be active within the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Tidewater Council, serving as Junior Assistant Scoutmaster and Senior Patrol Leader, completing the Venturing Scout program, receiving the BSA Tidewater Council Venturing Leadership Award, and participating in the Physical Fitness QUEST and Fitness for Life programs.

Sean has devoted time and energy to excellence in physical fitness, improving his running and weightlifting capacity for the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and football at Princess Anne High School. He has engaged in opportunities also for advanced leadership experience, including his position as Cadet Athletic Commander for his NJROTC unit and as a member of the 2006 COPE Program. Sean has balanced the challenges of public service with his own personal welfare and developed a well-rounded persona.

Sean has become a role model not only his peers and teammates, but for the large community around him. Upon receiving the Congressional Medal, he joins a most elite group of our Nation's youth who have set and

achieved this very commendable goal. I am certain Sean's incredible accomplishments, dedication to service, and evident leadership talents will continue to speak highly of him, as they do now.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the outstanding achievements of Ian Gibson of Virginia Beach, and to commend him on becoming a Congressional Award Gold Medalist. This recognition by the United States Congress is the highest honor bestowed upon America's youth. It serves as a testament to Ian's strength of character and commitment to our national values of dedication to public service and the cherished qualities of personal growth, initiative, and achievement, all of which are cornerstones of the Congressional Award.

Ian's volunteer efforts are tremendous, speaking very highly of him and his level of commitment to the community and to public service. Ian completed over 600 hours of Voluntary Public Service and earned the rank of Eagle Scout, working with Strawbridge Elementary School to provide school supplies to orphans in Bolivia and Russia, and 25 local children. In addition, he continues to be active within the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Tidewater Council, serving as Junior Assistant BSA Tidewater Council Venturing Leadership Award, and participating in the 2007 National OA Leadership and Conservation Summit at Indiana University.

Ian has devoted time and energy to excellence in the sports of baseball and football, honing his speed and endurance, and earning a selection as First Colonial High School's ``Male Student Athlete of the Week.'' By maintaining his own physical well-being, he has balanced the challenges of public service with his own personal welfare and developed a well-rounded persona.

Ian has become a role model, not only for those young cub scouts he assists and tee-ball players he coaches, but also for the large community around him. Upon receiving the Congressional Medal, he joins a most elite group of our nation's youth who have set and achieved this very commendable goal. I am certain Ian's incredible accomplishments, dedication to service, and evident leadership talents will continue to speak highly of him, as they do now.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to the State of Israel and its proud 60 years of existence.

Last month we were celebrating Israel's 60th birthday, and I was proud to vote in favor of a resolution honoring this great achievement. This month, I look forward in wishing Israel another 60 years as a strong and free democracy.

I have always spoken about how my trip to Israel in 2005 was a life changing event. With a young statehood but an ancient history, Israelis are faced with daily and often costly reminders of the price of freedom. I do not believe a day has gone by since Israel's founding where it has not been subject to attack. Yet, through the sheer will of a people fighting for the right of a brighter future for their children, Israel still stands.

Israel's tumultuous existence has lent itself to a very unique identity--one which can only be understood by the citizens who live their everyday lives in range of the missiles and suicide attacks of terrorists. However, these unfortunate consequences of proximity have created a nation of resolve--strengthening its foundation and purpose as a shining beacon of democracy in the Middle East.

Israel is a story of survival and today I honor Israel's perseverance and wish our ally a hopeful future. Best summed up by the words of by Dr. Israel Zoberman, founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach:

``The Jewish state's perseverance and fortitude to turn adversity into advantage, never betraying the optimistic essence of its people, are ample testimony to the nobility of the human spirit it has so profoundly enriched and painstakingly guarded.''

The determined vigilance of Israel is a sobering reminder to us of what it sometimes takes to stand your ground in the face of adversity; and let us remind Israel that she does not stand alone in that fight.

Mr. Speaker, for 2 days now, this Congress has addressed a bill to provide increased unemployment benefits. The irony is what we are not talking about.

We must talk about why are businesses leaving America, why are we losing these jobs. The answer is overwhelmingly the cost of energy and our refusal as a Congress to capture our natural resources.

Dow Chemical stood beside us when Representative John Peterson announced the NEED Act, the bill that lifts the moratorium for natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf. They told us of a $30 billion expansion and 10,000 jobs that they wished were here in America, but they were going to China, Libya and Saudi Arabia. Why? The price of natural gas. You can't pay $8 to $10 in America for an energy source that's 85 cents in those countries. We all know we lost the fertilizer industry a long time ago.

Think of the jobs that could be created, the jobs that we could keep here just by this industry.

And just yesterday, the subcommittee voted on a 9-6 vote, with the Democrat majority all voting not to allow us to lift the moratorium on the Outer Continental Shelf. In the last 25 years, we've captured 7 billion barrels of oil in the Outer Continental Shelf. Do you realize the spillage has been one one-thousandth of 1 percent?

We also need to talk about those American families, those American workers who have purchased homes where they wanted them to be, not

worried about a commute to their job, but today, for several of those, their gas cost is the same as their mortgage. That impacts business in America.

Mr. Speaker, America is a great Nation because of her people. It's our responsibility to put the policies in place that allow them to have a quality of life and to create the jobs.

Mr. Speaker, my district is home to many beautiful American treasures and one of them is the Chesapeake Bay. ``Save the Bay'' is one message that reaches beyond all political boundaries.

Working alongside my longtime colleague and friend Jo Anne Davis in the 109th Congress, we passed legislation to create the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail--which is part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network we are reauthorizing today. As many of you know, this initiative falls under the larger Chesapeake Bay Program, which was created in 1983 to restore and protect the bay.

I am proud to lend my vote in favor of this bill today, however, I would like to call attention to one of the greater matters that this Congress should also be voting on: legislation to help the American people pay for the astounding cost of energy. One example is a comprehensive bill by Representative Peterson that creates a partnership between energy development and the environment. This bill opens up the OCS for natural gas exploration and uses an estimated $86 billion dollars in royalties for environmental restoration efforts. The Chesapeake Bay Commission estimated that the total cost to restore the Chesapeake Bay is $19 billion. The NEED Act fully funds the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort at $20 billion. This energy bill is another way we can help Save the Bay, and the budgets of American families.

I am an original cosponsor of the NEED Act and I believe it is an example of bipartisan energy legislation. We must all come together in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that will increase our domestic energy supply and help alleviate soaring prices. I cannot speak for your districts, but families in Virginia's Second District need an energy solution now and it is our job to give them one.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to start by thanking the gentlelady from Colorado for hosting us this evening and sharing the stories from her own district and the people that she stopped and talked with.

We've just come off our district work period for Memorial Day, and I know all of us at home over these last few days have heard over and over again from our constituents about the extremely high price of gas and how they just can't make that work in their lives and with their incomes. And I was thinking about tonight and coming down here to join you, and I realized this is my fourth year of serving the Congress. That means this has been 4 years that I have been saying the same thing over and over and over again.

In my first 2 years here, I served on the Natural Resource Committee so I had the opportunity to listen. And one thing I learned right away in 2005 that really upset me, because I didn't know this even though I've lived in Virginia now for 41 years; I grew up in northern Ohio and I grew up on Lake Erie, and I found out in 2005 that Canada has been taking natural gas from under Lake Erie since 1913.

I want you to know I never saw a derrick. I never saw any type of a rig. I never had any indication that that was taking place. And I thought, I really felt that I had been misled and that here we are in America blocking getting our own resources and here all along our neighbors are doing it.

And we know today that the one thing that would change the price of gasoline for our citizens, for our constituents, for America, for our businesses is to increase our own domestic supply. The number one issue that would make a difference.

In the 109th Congress, my first 2 years here, we did vote in this House. We voted to open up ANWR. I was surprised in those years when I learned that the National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska--just for a visual for people across America, when I learned that if you visualized that wildlife refuge as RFK stadium, ANWR, where the actual drilling would take place, would be the size of a postage stamp; and that really upset me because that wasn't the mental picture that I had. And I also learned that we have not built a refinery in this country since 1976. Those were all things that I learned in my first year serving here in Congress.

Serving on the Resource Committee, I listened to our neighbors in Canada who came to the Resource Committee to tell us how they were successfully taking oil products from oil shales and oil sand, and they came to volunteer to help us be able to do the same thing. And we still haven't done anything to increase our own domestic resources using yet a third way to do that.

I was fascinated when I would listen to the hearings about using the technology of liquefied coal, that that's old technology, that we can do jet fuel, diesel, gasoline, that would run in all of our engines today by using coal.

America is the Saudi Arabia of coal. Again I question, why are we doing this and why are we making America less competitive? Why are we putting this burden on our citizens?

I met Alaskan citizens who came to talk to me, to beg us to drill in ANWR, and they are the people that live right there.

I think it's time that we had a strategic energy plan. Now, in 2007 and 2008, the discussions that have taken place on this floor about increasing domestic supply have come not because we've brought any sort of strategic plan to the floor. It's come in other pieces of legislation like you saw tonight, in a bill when Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers stood and did a motion to recommit to try to get at the problem that we're all facing in America.

I know that we can protect our environment. I know that we can encourage conservation, that we can incentivize alternative energies as well.

In the Second District of Virginia, we're very proud of one of our universities, Old Dominion University, that is creating biodiesel out of algae. How exciting and interesting is that. They are also doing significant research in what's called coastal energy: wind, wave, solar. But there again, how do we increase our domestic production in our country?

But I also go back to what about families across America. Just before we went on our Memorial Day break, when I got home, when I was sitting there talking to my husband about what was his week like, what was my week like here in D.C., and he said to me, I know you don't know this, but do you know our water bill was $88 for last month? $88 just for water.

We both know that in the last 7 years our real estate taxes have tripled, and we're seeing today what we're paying for gasoline, what we're paying for food, and you've explained very, very well about the higher cost of transportation and that we have to move these products.

And that's us sitting there talking. We've lived in our house for 20 years. Our children are grown. How do families do it today? How do families do it that have to commute any distance because of the price of housing in our country? And more and more people have had to live further out.

If we want America to be competitive, if we want to grow our economy, if we want our families to be able to feel like that they're getting ahead and succeeding, we have got to join together in this Congress. We have to have a bipartisan solution, and we have to increase our domestic supply.

I'm sure that you were as distressed as I was when I read the newspaper article that our President had gone to Saudi Arabia and asked them to increase the gas production. My first thought was, why didn't he come here to Congress and tell us that we must change the law and allow for this domestic production, to allow for the siting of refineries, and to tell the American people that it is the policies right here in Washington that are stopping that from taking place? That's what I would hope that he would do.

I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I know you have other speakers. I think you and I could probably talk half the night to America about this issue, about how important it is, but every single person listening to us tonight knows how critically important it is that we increase our domestic supply and that we're able to drop this price and for American families to be able to feel that they can do something, that they can enjoy life and not have to worry and worry how they're going to pay for all the things that are in their lives today. This is something that I feel we, as Members of Congress, could make a difference and could make those changes.

Well, first, I'd like to thank the gentleman for that very thorough explanation to America as to what is really going on. I was very proud to stand beside you several months ago when you did your press conference on your bill. There were several of our colleagues there--original cosponsors on your bill--standing with you.

I'll never forget standing with you as well were representatives from Dow Chemical because they made an announcement, too. They told us that they were doing a $30 billion expansion in China, Saudi Arabia and Libya, 10,000 jobs that they wished were right here in America. The reason they did it was because you couldn't pay $10 to $12 for a unit of gas here that you could pay 85 cents for in Saudi Arabia. I've never forgotten that. I thought it was very, very painful.

Your bill as well does something that is very important. It has a 37\1/2\ percent royalty back to the State. Now, the Commonwealth of Virginia desperately needs that kind of funding for our number one issue of transportation. Your bill also fully funds the Chesapeake Bay Commission's request for the bay cleanup. So there are ways that we can be environmentally protective and that we can be environmentally sound.

You brought up various environmental groups, and I wanted to say to you that I was going to speak to the Natural Resources Committee one day about why I support deep sea drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. I represent the entire Atlantic coast in Virginia. Well, there was someone there from one of our environmental groups whom I knew. I went up to him, and I said, ``I know if you're speaking you're going to say the exact opposite of me, but what I really want to ask you is: Do you understand the impact that you have on our economy or is that your point?'' He actually acted like I'd hit him. I said, ``No, no, no. Wait. I'm really serious. I'm trying to understand what the issue is, but I truly believe you either don't know or you intend to do it.'' Do you know what? He turned and he walked away and he wouldn't answer me, but we cannot as leaders in our country stand back and allow this to take place.

I just wanted to finish up with a couple of facts that I found very interesting. One is, if we were to increase that nuclear that you have on there, we could keep 200 billion tons of carbon out of our atmosphere annually if we simply had the nuclear capability of France.

The second thing is that we're 13 times more likely to have a spill if we transport oil product by tanker. I think that's important for America to know.

There is another that you've said, that it has been over 30 years, almost 40, since there has been any significant spill from any sort of deep sea drilling. We all saw what happened with Katrina and Rita. There were no problems there. We know Canada has an oil rig in the north Atlantic, off the coast of Newfoundland, called Hibernia. There have been no problems there. As you have said, the technology is so much better.

The other important thing is the horizon is only 12 miles out. You're talking 50 miles from Virginia Beach. That's half the way to Richmond. So there is no way you would ever see a rig.

I want to thank you because you have done just a tremendous job of bringing this issue to the forefront and of explaining it to America, and I truly believe that when Americans have the facts and Americans understand this issue that Americans will be demanding of us as Members of the House and as Members of the Senate that we deal with this issue. I really hope that they call their Representatives all across America, that they phone and tell their Representatives and demand that we deal with this issue and not make America less competitive.

I keep talking about families. What about single parents? How do you deal with this incredible cost? You have brought it up. It is something that we have been extremely concerned about, the price of natural gas for home heating, and we have been very fortunate in our area to have milder than normal winters. That has not been the case across the country. So thank you.

I would like to thank the gentlewoman and yield back to her as well.

Madam Speaker, In accordance with the earmark standards of the House of Representatives, I am submitting the following financial statements for each of my requested projects funded in H.R. 5658, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009.

Project Name: LPD-17.

Requesting Member: Representative Thelma Drake.

Bill Number: H.R. 5658.

Account: Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Department of the Navy.

Address of Requesting Entity: Multiple Locations.

Description of Request: To increase the President's Budget for the LPD by $1,800,000,000. In 2007 Congressional testimony, USMC leaders testified that a force structure less than 10 LPD class ships would put the USMC at significant risk in meeting commitments for global presence and to the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The $1.8 billion in FY 2009 funding is for LPD 26 as requested on the Navy's and Marine Corps' FY 2009 Unfunded Priority Lists.

Project Name: Deployed ASW Sustainment Training: P-3 Air Crew Tactical Team Trainer (PACT3).

Requesting Member: Representative Thelma Drake.

Bill Number: H.R. 5658.

Account: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Navy.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Alion Science & Technology--BMH Operations.

Address of Requesting Entity: 5365 Robin Hood Road, Norfolk, VA, USA.

Description of Request: Provide funding of $4,000,000 over the President's FY09 budget request to develop a PC-based simulation environment for the P-3 aircrew. The funding will increase forward deployed P-3 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities in direct response to warfighter requirements resulting in enhanced readiness for current and future contingencies.

Project Name: Analytics for Shipboard Monitoring Systems (ASMS).

Requesting Member: Representative Thelma Drake.

Bill Number: H.R. 5658.

Account: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, Navy.

Legal Name of Requesting Entities: Oceana Sensor Technologies and

Madam Speaker, Poet and Capitol Tour Guide Albert C. Caswell, who has been the author of many heartfelt tributes to our military servicemen and women, recently penned a poem in honor of Tech. Sergeant William Jefferson Jr. who died from injuries caused by an improvised explosive device on March 22, 2008. As an instructor at the Combat Control School, he trained more than 400 combat controllers in 4 years. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Air Force Combat Action Medal. Sergeant Jefferson epitomizes the dedication and courage of our brave men and women on the frontline, who sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice to defend their country and its values. I am proud to submit the following into the Record.

I Will!

I Will fight,

and I Will bleed!

All so my Country,

may live in peace!

And, I Will lead!

All for God,

and Country Tis of Thee!

And, I Will give up . . .

My wonderful wife, and watch her grieve!

And never again,

My sweet little child Tyler, so see!

As all of this world, I so leave!

And not ask why, so indeed!

But for The Greater Good . . .

All of this, I so would!

I may die, and I may bleed!

All so we can be free!

As I so look up to The Heavens above . . .

And ask The Lord all in his love, to watch over my family!

For I Will!

Dedicate my entire life to thee . . .

As I Will!

In the darkest nights of war, so be . . .

Strong, and full of courage . . . Me!

All for my Country Tis of Thee . . .

All for my brothers and Sisters in arms . . .

I Will forever fight on continually!

As I Will, carry that charge . . .

All with, what's inside of me!

As I Will!

Gaze, into That Face of Death!

And give up, all that I have so left . . .

All so to insure!

That my children . . .

Shall not ever have to go off to war!

As I Will, so stand for peace . . .

As I Will, hear Our Lord's Call Sign . . . calling me!

As an Angel in The Army of Our Lord. I Will Be!

Until, up in Heaven, Kristy, Tyler, Mom, Dad, and Family!

One day, we Will all so meet!

And Give up all, that I so love and need!

All for what I believe!

I Will!

In memory of A Real American Hero . . . Tech Sgt. William Jefferson Jr. May our Lord bless you and your wife Kristy and your daughter . . . and he will!

This motion is an expansion of the GI Bill to improve educational benefits for active duty, Guard and Reserve and veterans.

This motion, if enacted, increases monthly educational benefits in October of 2008, then gradual increases tied to length of service. It includes funding for books and supplies, and increases benefits for Guard and Reserve members. It allows members to transfer benefits to their spouse or children, and allows more servicemembers to access these benefits. It also offers student loan repayment help.

I believe it is time to update and improve educational benefits offered to our brave men and women. I believe there is overwhelming consensus in this body to do so.

By adding this provision to the NDAA, it allows these benefits to actually become law.