Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express concerns with H.R. 1424, the ``Paul Wellstone Mental Health Addiction and Equity Act of 2007.'' First, let me say I am a strong supporter of providing mental health parity and was pleased to support the alternative in the House Education and Labor Committee during mark-up. Senate bill 558 is a reasonable approach that will protect consumers and insurance providers alike and why it passed the Senate under unanimous consent. Unfortunately, the bill under consideration today in the House constitutes a costly employer mandate that has the potential to increase costs, leading to decreased coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates H.R. 1424 would impose mandates on private insurance companies totaling $3 billion annually by 2012. These costs will ultimately hit employers offering health insurance and employees seeking to obtain coverage.

Furthermore, I am concerned with using a substantial increase in the Medicaid prescription drug rebate as one of the offsets to pay for this legislation. This increase raises the basic rebate on innovator brand pharmaceutical companies by 33 percent. Increasing the discounts prescription drug manufacturers already provide the government under Medicaid could stifle innovation in the development of future treatments. My constituents yearn for the latest breakthrough therapies for cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and so many other diseases. We owe it to them to encourage that innovation and not hinder its development with federal legislation.

These are just two examples of why we should oppose H.R. 1424. I would urge my colleagues to support the reasonable alternative House Republicans will bring to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and good friend from Arizona for the opportunity to speak tonight. I just came back from Iraq and Afghanistan this past week, and on the way back from Kabul to the airport, I looked out of our window of the vehicle we were riding in and I saw two young children running alongside the vehicle, as children will do, having fun together. They were racing each other and racing our vehicle. I looked in their eyes, and I saw nothing but what I would see in normal little children's eyes having fun, except these two young children had smudged faces and tattered clothes that they were playing in, in a war zone. And I thought to myself, these two little children could be just like a number of children we have read about, through the barbarism of individuals for a particular philosophy would have ammunitions strapped to them, and then, in a barbaric, gruesome way, their lives taken.

On this day, the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we live in a civilized country, well educated, cleaned up, sanitized, and yet, because of a lie, there are innocent women, and indeed birth fathers, as well, who are caught in a lie and a trap that causes them to, in a sanitized way to some degree, yet the ultimate outcome is the same, to snuff out innocent lives for no reason that justifies that taking place. Today marks the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since that time, nearly 50 million abortions have been performed. That is a staggering number which intensifies when we recognize each abortion consists of one innocent life snuffed out and at least one other life that is wounded.

While I respect the fact that others may disagree, I believe that human life begins at conception. That means that almost 50 million lives have been extinguished since 1973. Because of Roe v. Wade, we have learned that a reckless majority on the Supreme Court can visit untold destruction and pain on us as a Nation if they search for results in individual cases that are outside the scope and text of the history of the Constitution.

We have learned that the activist justices can find ``penumbras, formed by emanations'' in the Bill of Rights as a basis for establishing new constitutional rights that are not found anywhere in the text or history of the Constitution, as Justice Douglas ridiculously claimed in the case of Griswold v. Connecticut, a precedent for Roe v. Wade.

Sadly, unelected activist judges with lifetime appointments continue to make law rather than to apply the law as it is written. As elected officials, it is our right to make law, and it certainly is not the right of judges and justices to do so. Rather, they must follow the law as we, the accountable decision makers, have written it.

We have engaged in a long struggle and must continue in that struggle to ensure that the Supreme Court and our lower Federal courts are stocked with people who abide by the text and the history of the Constitution instead of acting as super-legislators in making new law.

Mr. Speaker, today, on the 35th anniversary of that tragic ruling, my heart is grieved; yet, it is heartened. Though we mourn for lives that could have been, we see significant progress in the fight to defend human life. Just today, a bipartisan majority in the Michigan Senate voted to ban partial birth abortion. Abortions have declined by nearly 20 percent in the past 15 years, and every year Americans have become increasingly pro-life. I, along with millions of Americans, remain committed to saving the unborn and upholding the right to life our Nation was founded upon. Perhaps the tide is finally turning.

I also call, Mr. Speaker, for an all-out effort of compassion for the women and the birth fathers who have been caught in the lie of abortion and have had their lives altered. A loving God offers forgiveness and hope and healing, and we, His people, can offer no less.

I pledge to continue to work every day to bring back the sanctity of life to our Nation. And it is heartening to stand here with my colleagues tonight and with hundreds of thousands of individuals today on the Mall and speak for life.

Thank you, Congressman McCarthy.

Mr. Speaker, I guess I would express my desires to have Mr. McCarthy campaign for me next time with those type of words.

And you read them very well, just as I wrote them for you.

It is, indeed, a privilege to be with Members of Congress, in this case 13. We call ourselves the Lucky 13. But we are 13 with ideas, 13 Members who came to Congress, the only freshmen Republicans to come from across the Nation, and every one of us came with conservative principles that said we believe America can do it better. We believe that individual Americans, as we have discussed already, have ideas and abilities that if allowed to be generated and to be creative, they can succeed. We represent them, and what a privilege it is for me personally to represent the good people of the Seventh District of Michigan, a State that is going through very, very difficult times right now because of the lack of leadership, the lack of understanding that when you take more of the resources, more of the liberty away from individual citizens, you frustrate not only the economy which Michigan is suffering through right now, extremely, but you also take away the creative juices that expand the ability and opportunity to do the things that were defined in our Declaration of Independence, promoting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness or property.

That is something that I believe this freshman class of Republicans want to return to, the American solutions from American people committed to doing the best for themselves, their families, and the future of America's wealth.

I am interested, as you might expect, my friend from California, I am interested in a key issue to Michigan, known as the Motor Capital of the World for many, many years with the Big Three in the auto industry, with transportation on our mind and under our fingernails, hardworking people of Michigan who made the world run on four wheels and sometimes two, a great heritage that we have that pertains to energy and pertains to how we use it.

I appreciate the words of my good friend from Tennessee on the issue of the bill that we just passed today which could be considered the ``no energy'' energy bill. The latest shot, Mr. Speaker, in the Democrat's war on American jobs is this so-called energy bill that was on the floor today, this bill that we have been waiting for quite some time, yet it has no new net energy in it. And there is no way we can tax ourselves to energy independence. Congress can't tax our way to providing a greater supply of energy in America, and we can't just add more government regulations on industry and expect that we will have more energy in the pipeline. It doesn't work that way.

Mr. Speaker, I support American energy solutions, starting with expanding domestic supplies, and, two, lowering costs for U.S. consumers and for U.S. manufacturers, which use one-third of our Nation's energy.

Access to competitively priced energy helps U.S. communities and citizens compete in the global economy and preserves high-paying jobs here and at home.

If enacted, this bill that we passed, this bill will result in higher energy costs, few energy supplies, a weakened domestic energy industry and more job losses for U.S. factory workers, including my factory workers in Michigan. U.S. manufacturers already face a 31.7 percent cost disadvantage when compared to our major trading partners. By increasing the cost of energy, this bill will drive the cost even higher, putting quality American jobs at risk, and I resent that.

Mr. Speaker, I am strongly concerned about the absence of any meaningful provisions to expand domestic energy supplies. I remain committed to proposals that enhance U.S. energy security and production through increased production of all types of energy: improved conservation and efficiency, yes; more research on technology and alternative energy; increased access to domestic sources with continued environmental protections and improved distribution.

I support and have sponsored legislation to foster biodiesel technology. I have cosponsored legislation that would allow us to produce nuclear power. Other countries are doing very well right now with limited waste products that come off of it that can't be used.

I have also supported legislative initiatives that would increase our exploration in Alaska and the Outer Continental Shelf for clean power through natural gas, clean coal technology and other things. And yet today, in this piece of legislation where we had the opportunity, there was no energy.

So let me cut to the chase here and talk about the specifics of what this energyless energy legislation will do. In Michigan, it will kill jobs, as well as other places in the United States. It creates a confusing set of CAFE mandates. I don't call them standards. These are mandates based upon just human reasoning that says let's put at 35 miles per gallon fleetwide average. These mandates have the goal of dictating to our families, farmers, and small business owners what we can and can't drive, what we can use for commerce and industry. Some aspects are controlled by the National Highway Transportation Agency, specifically fuel efficiency mandates, but this could collide with EPA regulations, tail pipe emissions, which could create an unpredictable set of regulatory mandates.

It gives advantages to foreign car companies such as Volkswagen and Kia who don't make trucks, minivans or SUVs. We are not opposed to their cars, but we are not comparing apples to apples in these CAFE mandates.

We can do more to encourage energy conservation by allowing more clean diesel technology in cars and trucks, which the Federal Government has discouraged for decades. New diesel technology is clean and efficient and it is quiet. It has been effective in Europe for a long time, and we need to move it here.

These are issues that I am concerned with not simply because my State has been impacted very negatively by it. It will cost jobs and it will cost futures for my people, for my family, and it is a further intrusion into the freedoms and creativity that American citizens so deserve.

I appreciate the chance to espouse on some of these issues tonight. I know my colleagues have things to say about these issues. But more importantly, the American public needs to speak and we need to say we are interested in American solutions, not just political posturing that does nothing except serve political purposes that ultimately diminish the power and the control and the liberty of our American citizens.

So thanks for this time this evening, and I look forward to communicating further as time is available.

Absolutely. I appreciate you bringing it up, and I appreciate my good friend from Ohio for endorsing legislation that I've offered, and to have you as co-sponsors on it as well, that would make permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that have blessed this Nation and its taxpayers well and have allowed this economy to grow at a steady pace for the longest time in history.

Again, to say to the family farmer who is able to survive in this economy, by the sound effort, good work, creativity, doing what it takes to compete, and then to say that because they have succeeded, when they pass on that family farm, as it is a real business, and some of it's not a small business anymore, that they will be dinged for their responsibility, as opposed to applauded for what they've carried on for the family.

That again brings me back to a broken record on energy as well, because when you're talking to the family farmers who have to use energy to produce food, and the resources from petroleum and otherwise producing fertilizer and all of those costs going up, we've got further tax problems for the citizens of the United States. Bottom line, this energy-less energy bill will not lower gas prices for American families; it will not help American families or farmers dealing with heating costs and drying costs in their granaries this winter.

This no-energy bill doesn't include anything to increase domestic energy production. It does, however, and I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear that what was left in this was a $240 tax credit, and we all like tax credits, tax incentives. But this is a tax credit, $240 tax credit that we're going to provide every 15 minutes for people who regularly ride their bikes to work for the

purchase, repair, or storage of their bicycles.

Now, my wife and I enjoy mountain biking. We have two bikes. I have a Harley Davidson motorcycle, two wheels, that I enjoy riding. I have a fuel efficient 30 mile per gallon family car that I use for getting around my district. But I also have a three-quarter ton pickup that I use for hauling my trailer, or last Sunday, in fact, in Michigan, hauling three people out of snow-covered ditches. That couldn't have been done by a Prius, my motorcycle, my bicycle or even my 30-mile-per- gallon car.

I appreciate you adding that because that's practical advice and a good example. The American public has grown to associate with our lifestyle all sorts of conveniences that we shouldn't feel embarrassed about. You ought to use them appropriately. We have all sorts of opportunities that other people in other parts of the world would long for. But it's come as a result of ingenuity, creativity, hard work, effort, saving, risk all of that revolved around responsibility so that people can enjoy that Airstream trailer or can use that pickup truck to transport goods and supplies on the farm and to do good deeds of pulling people out of ditches and the snow-covered roads that we had this past weekend.

Nonetheless, we, as legislators here in the U.S. Congress, have the privileged opportunity of allowing that to expand and thus bless the world, 25 percent of the world's population here, with over 85 percent of charitable resources that we give to the rest of the world. That is unique.

And for that reason, I think that true conservative effort that says we will avoid responsibility and we encourage people to be further responsible, and we don't let government step in the way with taxes or energy-less energy bills that says things that don't work is the way to go. So thank you again for giving me the opportunity.

Madam Speaker, growing up, my mother taught me that two wrongs don't make a right. For months, Congress has failed to meet its budget deadlines, and now House leadership is trying to make up for the inefficiency with a massive pork-filled spending bill to fund our Federal Government. This is inside-the-beltway political gamesmanship.

Americans want change, and I came to Washington to fight the status quo. House leadership is essentially blackmailing the American people by saying it will only support our troops and veterans if its budget- busting, deficit-spending initiatives are funded. With high gas prices, rising health care costs and economic insecurity, the last thing Michigan families need is more out-of-control government spending. People back home in Michigan know higher spending equals higher taxes, which is the last thing our hardworking families need.

Let's get to work, give our troops fighting the war on terror the resources they need, support our veterans, and show true fiscal restraint with taxpayer dollars by keeping spending in check.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Donald ``Digger'' O'Dell upon receiving the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award. It is with great admiration I congratulate Donald ``Digger'' O'Dell on behalf of all those who have benefited from his hard work and dedication.

Digger O'Dell is a lifelong resident of Chelsea, Michigan. He served his country in the Korean War from 1952 to 1955, and continues to serve his country and his community through his continuous acts of kindness. Whether it is helping to roof a home, cleaning the snow off a sidewalk, or taking someone to the airport or hospital, he never seeks acknowledgement in the things that he does, because in his own words, ``it's what human beings should do.''

Mr. O'Dell is retired from Chelsea Proving Grounds and has been a part-time employee of Staffan-Mitchell Funeral Home for the past 25 years. He is a member of the Washtenaw County Veterans Honor Guard and performs on average 100 military funerals per year. Digger has been a member of the American Legion Post 31 and the VFW Post 4076 for well over 50 years.

The most thoughtful act of kindness occurred this past year when Digger and his wife Margaret placed over 1,200 flags on graves of veterans in the Chelsea area. They have done this meaningful job for many years, but this year they had no assistance. As he continues to serve his country and his community, it is realized that Donald ``Digger'' O'Dell is one of the unsung heroes of Chelsea.

I personally thank Donald ``Digger'' O'Dell for his continued service to his country and the Chelsea community. May others know of my high regard for his selfless contributions and service to others, as well as my best wishes for him in the future.

Madam Speaker, it is my special privilege to recognize Ambassador Ronald Weiser upon his receiving of the 2007 Chelsea Citizen of the Year Award. It is with great admiration that I congratulate Ambassador Ronald Weiser on behalf of all who have benefited from his hard work and dedication.

Ambassador Weiser, founder of McKinley Properties, understands the importance of a vibrant downtown to the growing Chelsea community. Through McKinley Properties, the

Ambassador has contributed his time and financial resources to ensure a historic landmark was restored and brought into the 21st century.

What has been the symbol of Chelsea for over a century, has been beautifully restored, housing businesses, cafes, restaurants, and a community commons area. The revitalization of this once industrial sector has enabled the city to expand with the potential of endless opportunities.

Ambassador Weiser saw something in the citizens of Chelsea and the atmosphere of a city which made him envision a prosperous, vibrant community. He brought back to life the symbol lighting up the night, the symbol recognized by many, ``Chelsea's Clock Tower.''

Therefore, I rise today to honor Ambassador Ronald Weiser for his endless support of the Chelsea community. May others know of my high regard for his selfless contributions and service to others, as well as my best wishes for him in the future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Fredrick A. Mills upon his receiving of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award. It is with great admiration I congratulate Frederick Mills on behalf of all those who have benefited from his hard work and dedication.

In 1963, Fred and his wife Venetia, moved to Chelsea when he took a math and coaching position with the Chelsea School District. After 3 years, Mr. Mills took the position of Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations with the Chelsea School District, which he held for 29 years, before retiring in 1995. Since then, Mr. Mills has worked for Chelsea Lumber Company in contractor sales.

For the last 49 years Fred Mills has given his life to the Chelsea community and education. Mr. Mills has been a member of the Chelsea Community Hospital board of trustees, Chelsea State Bank board of directors, Chelsea Village Economic Development Committee, Chelsea Industrial Development Committee, Chelsea Recreation Planning Committee and the Chelsea City Charter Commission. In addition, he has served on the Washtenaw/Livingston and Wayne County School Business Officials Board, Michigan School Business Officials Board, and the Association of Assistant Superintendents and Business Officials of Livingston, Monroe, and Washtenaw Counties. Mr. Mills is an active member at the First United Methodist Church, a charter member of the Chelsea Lions, and was a member of the Chelsea Jaycees. His presence is felt throughout the Chelsea community and across the State.

Fred Mills has seen Chelsea grow from a small rural community to a thriving city, helping along the way to make sure the qualities that make Chelsea a special place to live and raise a family are preserved. Mr. Mills is a true asset to the community as a whole and his contributions over the years will continue to be felt for years to come.

I thank Mr. Mills for his continued support of the Chelsea community. May others know of my high regard for his selfless contributions and service to others, as well as my best wishes for him in the future.

Bipartisanship. You hear this expression tossed around quite frequently in political circles, so much so that perhaps it has almost become a cliche.

Sadly, we don't see genuine examples of bipartisan cooperation in this Chamber enough, and this no doubt disappoints the American people. Over 140 days ago, Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass one of the largest necessary spending increases in the 77-year history of the Department of Veterans Affairs. To ensure the health and well- being of our veterans, this bill is a needed investment veterans care about and the care they need to receive.

Eight weeks ago, a similar version passed the Senate on a bipartisan basis. Instead of allowing the House and Senate to iron out minor differences yesterday, the House leadership insisted that veterans funding be held hostage for a wasteful, pork-barrel spending bill that would increase the deficit by $10 billion.

No doubt this shameful game further disappointed the already jaded public perception of Congress.

Let's get back to bipartisanship and swiftly pass this important legislation in its original form. Then together, on behalf of our veterans, we can all celebrate when it becomes law.

I thank the ranking member for the opportunity to stand today in strong opposition to the ENDA Act. I use that acronym because I believe it is mistitled, that this is not a nondiscrimination act but rather a discrimination act, a reverse discrimination in many ways. But it certainly doesn't achieve what I think ought to be part of this society because it is a radical transformation of workplace discrimination law that stomps on the rights of private employers, adds new unfunded mandates and opens the judicial gates to a herd of endless litigation.

Pitting a newly protected class of individuals based on sexual orientation against our longstanding foundation of religious liberty will force job makers to walk a legal tightrope over which law to follow and which law to violate.

A business with as few as 15 employees will be slammed as new unfunded Federal mandates will provide additional protections for some employees, protections that may conflict with the ability of other employees to freely express their personal and religious convictions, again, without attempt to discriminate or treat wrongly. In fact, this legislation is so poorly written and broad, it will immediately serve as another way for trial lawyers to make a quick buck at the expense of small business owners. More lawsuits against jobs creators in my home State of Michigan, especially with recently passed tax increases, are the last thing employers in south central Michigan need to grow, prosper and thrive in a competitive environment.

ENDA is a fundamental departure from the longstanding principles of religious liberty as well, principles our country was founded upon. In fact, this will directly discriminate against people of traditional values and long-held faith principles. Rather than reducing discrimination, this legislation will instead reduce religious freedom and increase litigation.

The Founders of this great democratic Republic would invariably run afoul of this legislation if they were alive today. If you want to make a stand in favor of increasing lawsuits and penalizing small business owners at the benefit of trial lawyers, then by all means support this bill. If you want to chill the exercise of personal religious freedom, support this bill.

Madam Chairman, I, for one, am choosing to stand for the basic principle of religious freedom and nondiscrimination. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer a few thoughts as regarding the importance of National Bible Week as well. It has been thrilling to hear my colleagues from both sides of the aisle refer to the importance of Scripture, and especially encouraging to hear the distinguished Representative from Illinois (Mr. Rush), who represents the district I was born in. I appreciate the sincerity of your message this evening.

As a pastor in a previous life myself, I can unequivocally say that the Bible has deeply influenced my life every day in every way. Sadly, I haven't followed it every day in every way. But when it has been followed, it has influenced to the good.

The Bible is the best selling book of all time. It is a book that has touched countless numbers of lives. Along with being the main influence, many decisions have been made of by the billion, most importantly and most personally, my life and my faith in my Savior.

In 1940, a group of business and professional leaders got together and founded the nonprofit, independent, educational National Bible Association. Their goal was to encourage Americans to read the Bible in every sector of society, regardless of religious or political distinction. Every year since 1941, the National Bible Association has sponsored National Bible Week as a time to remind us of the importance of the Bible in our daily life.

Our Nation's traditions lie in the principles set out in the Bible. In 1951, an amazing book was published by the National Education Association and it was entitled, ``The American Citizens Handbook.'' The book's author and publisher said that ``This volume should be in every home library and on every teacher's desk. It may well be used as a text or reference book in the schools,'' and it was.

In fact, in that book, it had a grade-by-grade chart that included the following:

Second graders were to memorize the Lord's prayer: ``Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.''

Third graders were to memorize Psalm 23: ``The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.''

Seventh graders were to memorize the Beatitudes: ``Blessed are the poor in spirit, the merciful, the hungry in spirit.''

Ninth graders were to memorize Psalm 1, that beautiful Psalm that says, ``Happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law he meditates day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in his season. His fruit shall not wither.''

Those are principles that were put forth in this book. High school seniors were to memorize the entire chapter of Romans 12, which begins by saying, ``I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.''

Those were patterned after the Founders of our country. Fifty-two of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence were deeply committed Christians, and the other three believed in a God who personally intervened in the lives of mankind. The same Continental Congress formed the American Bible Society, of all things, and purchased 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people of the Nation.

Patrick Henry's famous ``give me liberty or give me death'' speech actually

came at the end of this statement, where he said, ``An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God.'' Patrick Henry understood the power and the content of Scripture.

Jonathan Whitherspoon, who was a minister and signed the Declaration of Independence, said ``A republic, once equally poised, must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty.'' Jonathan Whitherspoon knew that that virtue came from the Holy Scriptures, the Bible.

This Chamber and all the institutions of this great Republic are surrounded by images and phrases from Scripture. In this very Chamber is a portrait of Moses, the first lawgiver. The Supreme Court also holds several images of Moses. The south frieze prominently displays Moses holding Ten Commandments. In the Library of Congress stands a large statue of Moses alongside a statue of the Apostle Paul. The Great Reading Room of the Library is filled with Scriptures.

So today, to be able to stand here in the Halls of Congress and to call attention to the impact of Biblical authority, what a great opportunity that is. I thank the God of Scripture for that opportunity, and I thank my colleagues for bringing this to the floor tonight.

Madam Speaker, in my home State of Michigan, we have hit some hard times, and recently things have become worse as Michigan's Governor and tax-hiking State legislators inflicted a massive tax increase on the people of Michigan.

While in Congress, I am going to do all I can to aid Michigan's comeback, providing incentives for manufacturers and their employees to innovate, grow and expand. For example, American auto manufacturers spend $20 billion a year on research and development, and such investment and innovation among American automakers should be encouraged.

One positive step Congress can immediately take to continue similar innovation is to make permanent the research and development tax credit. This legislation would keep high-tech, high-paying jobs in America by maintaining important incentives and enable American companies to grow, become more competitive globally, and ultimately result in additional high-paying American jobs.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2138, the research and development tax credit, and encourage further investment and growth in our great Nation.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of naming the Marshall, Michigan Post Office, a prominent post office in my district, the Seventh District of Michigan, the Michael W. Schragg Post Office.

Michael's life story has been recounted to some degree by my colleagues thus far, but he is one that is beloved in his community, family, and the American postal service. Michael served as Marshall's postmaster for 23 years and was the force behind the creation of the Marshall Postal Museum, the second largest postal museum in the United States, behind only the Smithsonian, as has been represented thus far.

Michael was born in Calhoun County and raised on the family farm in Ceresco, Michigan. He attended a one-room country school, the Francisco School in Ceresco, through the seventh grade, and he then went on to graduate from Marshall High School. Michael met his wife, Loretta, while working at the Robinson's department store as he attended Kellogg Community College.

Michael enlisted in the U.S. Army Post Office in June 1967 and served in Germany for 3 years. Michael and Loretta went on to have three children, two of whom embarked on postal careers of their own.

Michael started his postal career in Marshall, Michigan, as a substitute clerk carrier and quickly earned a promotion to supervisor. The following year he became the postmaster for Olivet, Michigan, only to return to Marshall, serving as the town's postmaster for 23 years. During his tenure in Marshall, the U.S. Postal Service named the Marshall Post Office an All-American Post Office.

Michael Schragg has been active in the Marshall community throughout his lifetime. He is a past president of the Marshall Rotary Club and continues to serve on the Marshall Historical Society. Michael's most noteworthy accomplishment is the creation of the Marshall Postal Museum. It is second only to the Smithsonian Postal Museum in size and is housed in the basement of the historic Marshall Post Office.

The Marshall Post Office building, a Greek revival architectural style with copper roof, was constructed in 1932 out of Marshall sandstone. The idea for the downstairs museum occurred during Marshall's 1987 Historic Home Tour. At that time Postmaster Schragg displayed a number of old postal artifacts throughout the building, which was on the historic tour that year. Many people thought the entire post office was a museum rather than an official working U.S. Post Office. After the tour Michael began organizing the collection of postal antiques in seven rooms in the basement and in an annex building behind the post office.

The Marshall Postal Museum has since become one of the cornerstones of the annual Marshall Historic Home Tour. It was part of a New York Times article about places in America worth visiting, and Michael and the museum have also been featured in Michigan Magazine.

Michael has taken some of the museum's displays on the road and, as has been mentioned, toured numerous States. Michael drove a vintage 1931 Model A mail delivery truck in President George W. Bush's first inaugural parade in Washington, DC.

Because of Michael's countless hours of work on the Marshall Postal Museum, his years of service to the United States Postal Service in Michigan, and his dedication to the Marshall community, naming the Marshall Post Office in his honor is a fitting tribute, and I urge the House to join me in support of H.R. 3446.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in order to offer an explanation of having missed rollcall vote number 995 earlier today. I missed this vote because I was visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I enjoy the opportunity to visit with soldiers from my district, today visiting soldiers from Adrian and Jackson. I believe it is our duty as elected representatives to see to it our soldiers are receiving the proper care and resources needed for their recovery.

Madam Speaker, whereas I missed this vote today, I wish for my constituents to know I did not miss this vote in haste. Rather, I was seeing to the needs of these brave soldiers who represent the best America has to offer. As an avid outdoorsman and conservation I supported the Motion to Recommit H.R. 1483 and, had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I missed the vote on rollcall No. 995 because I was visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed. As an avid outdoorsman, and conservationist I supported the Motion to Recommit to

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 999, I was unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Stated against: