Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me on this important part that other colleagues and I have traveled to Ireland to work on this issue. And I am pleased today to speak in support of the power-sharing agreement reached in Northern Ireland.

Since my own youth, I have followed the conflicts in Northern Ireland and, like many Americans, hoped and prayed for the day when there would be peace throughout all the island of Ireland. As of a few weeks ago, with the power-sharing agreement, it would seem that peace has finally come. Now DUP, Sinn Fein, the UUP and the SDLP all share in the governance of Northern Ireland. Now men and women who once gave fiery speeches in opposition to one another sit at the same table working with one another.

When I visited Northern Ireland a few months ago with other Members of Congress, we were witnessing history, perhaps the end to centuries of conflict, the beginning of a new dawn. It was not too long ago, beginning in the 1960s, that marches for civil rights in Northern Ireland were followed by decades of riots, assassinations, bombings and warfare carried out by paramilitary groups. Thousands of British troops occupied the north to stop the violence. Ceasefires temporarily stopped the attacks, but the ``Troubles,'' as they came to be known, continued. In the end, over 3,200 or more were killed and thousands more were wounded.

Phil Coulter from Northern Ireland wrote in the song a few years ago, ``The Town I Loved So Well,'' about his return to the area, where he wrote in the final verse:

``Now the music's gone, but they carry on for their spirit's been bruised, never broken. They will not forget, but their hearts are set on tomorrow and peace once again. For what's done is done, and what's won is won, and what's lost is lost and gone forever. I can only pray for a bright, brand new day in the town I loved so well.''

Perhaps those prayers have been answered. The troops are gone. The bombings have stopped. And there is hope for all of the towns that are loved by the citizens of Northern Ireland.

Eight years ago, the Northern Ireland political parties signed the Good Friday Agreement, which established a blueprint for self-rule. But reconciliation faced continued difficulties. New deadlines to start self-government were set. The ceasefires continued to hold, and another election occurred in March of this year. Then, for the first time, men who were enemies, the likes of Ian Paisley, Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams, sat at the same tables to establish self-government. It was nothing short of remarkable that left all on the island with a palpable sense of awe and hope.

How did they do it?

First, there was hope for prosperity. The south of Ireland is in the midst of the greatest economic boom in the European Union. Families in Northern Ireland want to be part of that prosperity rather than the poverty and dependence on government jobs and the dole. They are putting tremendous pressure on their leaders to settle the differences and create jobs.

Number two, international diplomacy. The prime ministers of the United Kingdom, such as Tony Blair, and Ireland's Bertie Ahern, Presidents Clinton and Bush, and Members of Congress from the United States, in particular Mr. Walsh and King of New York and Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, have all maintained pressure for resolution. At the same time, programs supported by the International Fund for Ireland brought Catholics and Protestants together to build positive relations.

Third, the disarmament of paramilitary groups. The IRA says it has given up its weapons, and outside observers agree. And even though other paramilitary groups say they are not yet ready to disarm, there is still a discernible belief that the days of terrorism are a thing of the past.

Each day without violence builds trust.

Number four: integration of the police force. To overcome the fears that the police will be used as weapons by or against either side, they have been working towards a goal of 50 percent Catholic and 50 percent Protestant. Respect for law enforcement is growing on both sides; and after 30 years of occupation, the last British troops quietly left only a few weeks ago.

In the midst of this hope, there are many challenges that lie ahead. Ninety-five percent of schools are still segregated. Thirty-foot high ``peace'' walls still divide Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. Huge murals still cover the sides of buildings declaring loyalty to the Crown or to Ireland, or showing one or other masked paramilitary members looking down the barrel of a gun declaring who controls the neighborhood, or depicting an atrocity blamed on either the Catholics or the Protestants. Some neighborhoods fly the Union Jack of the United Kingdom, and others the green, white and orange flag of Ireland.

Perhaps these challenges and choices facing the people of Northern Ireland are best characterized by one of the murals we saw in a Belfast neighborhood. It depicts a large black and white photograph of a youth lying wounded on a street while a riot looms behind in the neighborhood. Another youth stands in the foreground throwing a bomb. But encircling this picture are the words, ``Can It Change?'' And at the bottom is the word ``Believe.''

While the original meaning of the mural was meant to show that this Protestant neighborhood believed it could rise up and defend itself against what it considered to be ethnic cleansing, perhaps this mural can take on a new meaning today. Perhaps it can be a beacon of hope to believe in an end to violence and a lasting peace. Indeed, keeping the peace will demand that many believe. And if they do, perhaps this time, in our time, there will be an end to several centuries of warfare. Perhaps this time the elected government shared by the parties will not just be one more temporary fix, but the dawn of a bright brand new day in the towns that we all love so well.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition.

I thank the chairman.

One of the benefits of reviewing these publicly is to help get some facts on the table with regard to what these projects are. This project of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation program is one of 37 heritage sites around the Nation. It includes such other projects as the Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Area, Mississippi Gulf Coast Area, the National Aviation Area and, of course, the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area in Arizona.

This one in Pennsylvania involves nine counties in four congressional districts. It was something that started in 1988 at that time, signed into law by President Reagan. The purpose of this was to help promote some of the heritage of the industries of iron, steel, coal and transportation that were an important part of Pennsylvania's history and our Nation's history. Thus, designation as one of these national historic areas.

It has had an impact that goes far beyond the money that has been invested in it, and, that is, a construction boom has come out of this. Also, it has spawned other projects such as dealing with acid mine drainage remediation projects, river conservation projects, county heritage plans, the creation of growth of trail development groups. More than 65 local preservation, conservation, and community organizations have significantly expanded their missions in recognition of their role in developing a heritage resource for the region. All in all it has helped leverage some $90 million of grants from other sources to help promote these programs with this.

We recognize that as we look at these projects around the Nation, those of us who are in Pennsylvania may understand best those projects in Pennsylvania as those in some of these other areas. Mississippi, I may not know as much about those or the ones in Virginia or Arizona or Georgia, wherever these other projects are. But this is important to Pennsylvanians and it's important to our Nation, to a large extent because Pennsylvania and the region was the area that built the world literally with steel, with our coal. We are a State that has lost manufacturing jobs. In fact, tourism and agriculture are our two highest sources of income in Pennsylvania, and it is important that we understand that tourism is a source of jobs in Pennsylvania like many other States. It draws visitors in not only from our Nation but from around the world and it is worthy of working on ways to continue these jobs with some growth.

The vast majority of funding for these programs has come from other sources. But what it has done, also, is help preserve some of that heritage. Understanding the history of our Nation is important to understanding the future of our Nation. Thus, we need to learn the lessons from history to fund these things to understand how it is important and how to promote this.

This is not just something for my district, but it is important to several districts; and it is important to our Nation and the start-up tourism-related businesses that are otherwise unable to secure loans from other programs.

I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Reclaiming my time, I would like to add a couple of other things that relate to some Federal overlap with this particular project. This whole area of the heritage preservation group for southwestern Pennsylvania also overlaps with 218 nationally registered properties, 16 national historic landmarks, two national park units and one other national landmark all recognized by the Federal Government as a way of linking these things together. It is a way of helping to promote these things for jobs and for understanding the heritage of our Nation.

Someone once said that those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Indeed, where we stand now with an importance of understanding what our economic heritage was, our industrial and manufacturing heritage, are important to the people of southwestern Pennsylvania and are important to the people of the Nation.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this so that we can preserve that heritage.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman.

I rise in opposition to this amendment, although I believe it is of value in making sure we question how we spend our money.

I'm concerned that coal provides over 50 percent of our energy source in America. In this bill, there's $108 million for FutureGen which is creating energy from coal without emissions; $73 million for the other clean coal power initiative; and some $376 million has been recommended for the core research and development program, much of that done at the National Energy Technology Research labs, some of which are in my district, and others in West Virginia and Oregon and around the country.

We have a 250-year supply of coal under our Nation's soil. Conversely, other parts of the world that have oil will run out long before we are out of coal.

We have to crack the code in understanding how to create electrical energy out of coal without emissions. It is a monumental and perhaps one of the greatest scientific challenges of our time.

If we're able to do this, we'll be able to create the electrical energy and the power we need to power our factories, to light our homes and run our office buildings. Without this, we will continue to be subject to the whims of countries involved with OPEC who manipulate the price of our energy every day.

A report done this year through MIT called the Future of Coal stated that we need perhaps billions to deal with this issue of finding out how to create energy out of clean coal. It is an important investment and one that we cannot lag on, one that we have to continue to work on.

I certainly encourage all of us to look at ways we can watch for any waste involved with how this money is spent on every level in appropriations; however, I ask that this be one area, where America has abundant supplies of coal, we make sure that we continue to mine our coal because it's one of the few ways that we can do so and create energy without having to worry about the whims of terrorists and OPEC states.

Mr. Chairman, I am here to talk about a sad but true problem in our health care institutions in this country, and that is this. The Centers for Disease Control tells us in any given year some 2 million people will catch an infection while either in their hospital or health care center. Some 90,000 people will die, and some $50 billion is spent on this each year in our hospitals.

Now this chart here depicts what we have as of this evening, 853,747 cases so far, over 38,000 deaths and over $21 billion already spent as of today. These are bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that cause these common hospital infections. Most common are influenza, flu or colds. The thing about this is so many can be prevented, but a huge problem among the bacteria types, some 70 percent of the bacteria are resistant to at least one medication. There is a huge problem in American hospitals, which is causing so many deaths and a big part of our health care costs.

Now these microorganisms can be present when a patient comes in, and that's why it's so important to understand how the staff, the hospital staff, the doctors, the visitors, the patients themselves need to adhere to some special procedures in order to prevent this problem from occurring and killing so many and costing us so much on our health care dollars.

For example, diseases are passed on by poor hygiene from poor hand washing; clothes that are not necessarily clean on even the doctors, nurses and visitors; unclean equipment, catheters that are left in too long that lead to urinary tract infection; respiratory infections from those with colds or flu who are around patients; bed sores. The list goes on and on.

This is not rocket science how we prevent this, and some estimates are as high as 25 or 30 percent or more of things such as methicillin or resistant Staphylococcus Aureus can be prevented by hand washing before and after contact with any patient.

Many of these diseases can be prevented by sterilizing all equipment used with patients, including making sure that hospital staffs have clean stethoscopes, otoscopes, thermometers, et cetera, making sure they clean up after every procedure, the proper use of antibiotics, pretesting patients on admission to evaluate the presence of an infection, wearing masks if someone is suspected of having some illness, using infection control boards at hospitals to monitor and manage patients, empowering staff to stop or intervene on any procedure when clean rules are violated, and using aggressive educational campaigns for staff and visitors in the hospital.

The point is it can be done. Yes, indeed, it can be done. As a matter of fact, Allegheny Hospital in Pennsylvania reduced the rate of central line-acquired infections from 19 to almost zero within 90 days through staff training and control.

A major teaching hospital in Saint Louis found that they saved costs up to $1.5 million. Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma performed 400 surgeries without any infections. The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare system has reduced MRSA infections by 85 percent in an inpatient surgical unit because they paid attention to these things.

Now here is one of the sad truths in America. Hospitals don't have to report when they have infections. Although 13 States are considering legislation, only 6 States require reporting of health care associated infections: Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Pennsylvania is the only State that makes its information available to the public.

It is time we change this. I have introduced H.R. 1174, the Healthy Hospital Act, to encourage others to reduce and eliminate these deadly infections and to take some of the savings from this and set aside 10 percent to allow the Secretary of Health to use this for grants back to hospitals that reduce their infection rates to zero.

We have got to transform our health care system into what it needs to be: an affordable, accessible, quality health care system that focuses on patient safety, patient qualify and patient choice. But in order to do that,

we need to have this information available.

Now, another sad truth. While I have been speaking, the number of cases has gone up. While I have been speaking, another person has died in the hospital. While I have been speaking, the costs have gone up $100,000.

Something is terribly wrong with this system. We know hospitals can clean this up. We also need to know that we need to stop wasting our health care dollars on preventable infections. Let's join together as a Nation and pass H.R. 1174.

I thank the gentleman.

One of the things that's important to keep in mind is why are gasoline prices what they are, and it is not the retailer. When we look at what has happened to prices over all, let's keep in mind that we have become more and more dependent upon other nations. When we look at what's contributed to costs, look at this: Crude oil costs are 56 percent of the price; taxes are 18 percent of the price; refining nearly 17 percent of the price; distribution and marketing, nearly 9 percent of the price.

What has happened with regard to crude oil prices, they have doubled since 2004, they have tripled since 2001, and they have gone up over 600 percent since the 1980s.

But what has happened, as the cost of a barrel of oil has gone from $11 a barrel to over $70 a barrel, is Congress has continually stood in the way of trying to come up with more sources. We have abundant supplies. We have the Atlantic coast, the gulf coast, the Pacific coast, the western States and Alaska. Whenever those come up for a vote, Congress shuts it down. Over 90 percent

of Federal lands are off-limits to exploring for the vast supplies of oil we have there.

We have shut off some of our other sources, and some are still trying to do that with regard to using coal as another energy source. We have not funded fully the things we need to do for hydrogen fuel cell. We have not gone far enough with conservation, with our automobiles, with reducing homeowner uses.

So between these issues of exploration, conservation, diversification, we have not taken the steps we need to do to truly reduce energy costs. It concerns me greatly that we are moving forward to blaming the retailer when we ought to be looking to blame ourselves. After all, if we have supplies of oil in the gulf coast, which we set off-limits to ourselves, and, yet, we let Cuba explore for them, something is terribly wrong.

I hope that what this Congress does is work more towards energy independence and recognize that it's changing the way we explore for oil and making sure that we do much more for diversification of our sources and conserving our huge energy waste in this country. That is what is going to lower the prices of gasoline.

Until we make this commitment as a Nation, and until we make this commitment as a Congress, we will not see these prices go down.

Madam Speaker, as I stated in the Congressional Record: ``On Rollcall vote 340, I was recorded as a `yes' vote when I intended to cast a `no' vote.'' I wish to clarify on the Record my miscast vote and my strong support for the National Drug Intelligence Center located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, right outside of the 18th Congressional District. I was pleased to support funding for the NDIC in the Intelligence authorization bills in both the 108th and 109th Congress.

I look forward to continuing my work in support of the critical intelligence work of this agency.

I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to ask for your help in this colloquy to identify an alternative that will allow the commissary and exchange stores to remain open at the Army's Charles E. Kelly support facility in Oakdale, Pennsylvania.

Although this installation will close as a result of the base realignment and closure process, there will remain a strong demand for these stores that are so critical to the vitality and welfare of any military community.

In the case of the Kelly support facility, the population of activity duty, reservists and retirees in western Pennsylvania, and the adjacent areas of Ohio and West Virginia, is estimated to be nearly 70,000, with another 100,000 family members. I would hope that a way can be found to project this critical benefit for these great Americans who have faithfully served our Nation.

Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman for a response.

Mr. Chairman, I also want to thank the gentleman for including report language including the development of a new model for a combined commissary and exchange store. I believe a new strategy for combining these stores can be a valuable tool in protecting these benefits.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your support. I would also like to thank Chairman Murtha for his help and commitment and my Pittsburgh colleague and friend, Mike Doyle, and also Mr. Altmire for help on this project. I am pleased to be working with all of my colleagues on this important issue and look forward to continuing our work together.

Madam Speaker, in times of crisis, all too often those who risk their own safety and go beyond the call of duty remain unknown and unrecognized. Today I want to recognize those who have helped in a moment of need. On May 3, 2007, tragedy befell Elizabeth Forward High School and in their moment of need, their guardian angels responded in the form of emergency rescue workers from the police and five different hospitals.

On what was supposed to be an exciting and memorable trip, 29 students, seven parents and four staff members from the school were traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike about 30 miles outside Philadelphia on their way to a band competition in Wildwood, NJ. At around 4:30 on a peaceful morning, as most of the students slept in their seats, a slow moving tractor trailer moved into the way of the bus.

The bus could not stop nor move out of the way in time and the two collided. The accident awoke the students to the sight and sound of a nightmare as the truck and bus stuck together and skidded out of control for over 400 feet before finally coming to a stop.

Emergency rescue workers raced to the scene to find the two vehicles had become stuck together in one giant jigsaw puzzle of twisted steel, a site that closed the turnpike until the situation could be fully assessed. By the grace of God, none of the students were critically injured; however, all needed thorough examination to treat wounds and help those needing medical treatment. The students, parents, and staff members were sent to 5 hospitals in the area.

An unexpected tragedy occurring in an unfamiliar area far away from home is a nightmare, and for Elizabeth Forward High School, this nightmare became reality. But their guardian angels went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure their safety, treat the injured, and communicate to the families the situation each of their children faced while assuring their safety.

I would like to extend my most heartfelt thanks and praise to all of those involved in the protection of our students. I would like the Congressional Record to reflect that the emergency workers in these organizations are truly heroes deserving of our most sincere appreciation: The Pennsylvania State Police, Brandywine Hospital, Chester County Hospital, Paoli Hospital, Reading Hospital and Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center, TA Nelson Bus Line.

Madam Speaker, on Thursday, May 10, 2007, my vote on the Motion to Recommit with Instructions to H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (rollcall vote 340) was recorded as a ``yes'' vote when I intended to cast a ``no'' vote. I wish to clarify on the record my miscast vote and my strong support for the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC).

As the Nation's principal center for strategic domestic counterdrug intelligence, the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) in Johnstown, PA, provides critical information on national drug trafficking and abuse trends in the United States. I was pleased to support funding for the NDIC in the Intelligence Authorization bills in both the 108th and 109th Congress.

Not only does the NDIC serve a vital role in our nationwide effort to combat drug trafficking, this center is critically important to the southwestern Pennsylvania region. Having these resources readily available in close proximity to the district I represent in Congress is a tremendous benefit to my constituents. NDIC field representatives on average have more than 30 years' experience in Federal, State, or local drug law enforcement and stand ready to assist my local law enforcement agencies and provide necessary intelligence and training. We are fortunate to have the Center in our backyard and look forward to benefiting from its work in the future.

The NDIC's comprehensive annual report on national drug trafficking and abuse trends within the United States is one of the key tools for the Federal Government to respond to the threat posed by drugs to our families, schools and communities. Formulated in partnership with Federal, State, and local agencies with information from more than 3,400 State and local law enforcement agencies as well as thousands of personal interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, this report is one of the most comprehensive and detailed reports that our Federal Government receives on both domestic and foreign drug threats to our country.

I look forward to continuing my support of the critical intelligence work of the NDIC to protect our families and the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a few short weeks since the tragedies of Virginia Tech, which we cannot forget. Nor should we forget the fact that there are three suicides each day on college campuses and each year hundreds of thousands of acts of violence, many committed by those who have serious mental illness.

But under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, passed into law in 1974, school personnel, administrators, and teachers who have little or no training in mental health are burdened with the task of defining and determining if a student is at risk. These educational personnel are also reluctant to release information for fear of legal action.

That is why I have introduced H.R. 2220, the Mental Health Security for America's Families in Education Act, to break down these barriers to allow our schools to communicate with parents after consultation with a licensed mental health professional.

I ask my colleagues to join the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges to help support this bill.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 246, on H.R. 1434, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 896 Pittsburgh Street in Springdale, Pennsylvania, as the ``Rachel Carson Post Office Building,'' I was attending a memorial service for the students and parents of the 18th Congressional District of Pennsylvania affected by the Virginia Tech shootings. I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 1434.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 247, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 320 South Lecanto Highway in Lecanto, Florida as the ``Sergeant Dennis O. Flannigan Lecanto Post Office Building,'' I was attending a memorial service for the students and faculty of the 18th Congressional District of Pennsylvania affected by the Virginia Tech shootings.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 245, on H. Res. 179, Expressing Support for a National Foster Parents Day, I was attending a memorial service for students and faculty of the 18th Congressional District of Pennsylvania affected by the Virginia Tech shootings. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

The recent tragedy at Virginia Tech leads us to ask what else could have been done to protect students at our colleges and universities.

The Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is intended to protect the confidentiality of student records and define under what instances parents can have access to student information and grades. Unfortunately, under the definitions in the act, there are many examples where information was not released to parents or guardians regarding a student's mental health, which led to withholding of vital information that could have prevented suicides, assaults and other crimes.

Schools are hesitant to release information for fear of legal action. In my 25 years of practice as a psychologist, I have known many instances where these problems arose.

I am introducing legislation to clarify the act to help define circumstances where universities can release vital information to parents, including risks for suicide, homicide and physical assaults. Further, it will hold harmless colleges and universities who, after consultation with a mental health specialist, act in the best interest of the student, where they can release information to help save lives. We can no longer let this 30-year act be a barrier between parents, students and schools.

I urge my colleagues to sign in support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, eighty percent of health care dollars are spent treating chronic illnesses. These are complex cases where patients have multiple doctors, treatments, medications and tests. Errors can result from confusion and miscommunication, but case management can be effective in reducing these errors.

However, Medicare and Medicaid do not reimburse for patient care management. Unnecessary hospitalizations increased from about 1 percent for a patient with just one condition to 27 percent for a person with eight chronic conditions.

The Federal Government will pay billions to treat chronic illness that could have been prevented. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found that care management can reduce re-hospitalizations of diabetics by 75 percent. Another study reduced hospitalizations of patients with heart disease by 50 percent. We cannot continue to finance a broken health care system and expect different results.

We need to transform our health care system to make sure that we focus on patient safety, patient quality and patient choice. I urge my colleagues to learn more about patient management care programs by visiting my Web site at murphy.house.gov.