Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor Tanner Merrifield, an 18-year-old senior at Southeast Polk High School from Runnells, Iowa, who has achieved national recognition for exemplary volunteer service in his community from the 2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is our country's largest youth recognition program based entirely on volunteer community service. The program was created in conjunction with Prudential and the National Association of Secondary School Principals to honor middle and high school students for outstanding service to benefit others at the local, state, and national level. Since 1995, more than 345,000 American youths have participated in this excellent program.

Tanner was selected as one of Iowa's four distinguished finalists for undertaking an extensive project to restore two campsites that had fallen into disrepair at a local park. To tackle this task, Mr. Merrifield devoted months of hard work pursuing township approvals, soliciting donations, organizing volunteers, purchasing materials, and ultimately rebuilding the campsites. Following his hard work, each campsite now includes new trails, fire rings and landscaping. There is no doubt Tanner's selfless efforts will provide a lasting benefit to his community for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I recognize and applaud Mr. Merrifield for his sincere dedication to positively impacting the lives of others in his community. Tanner's commitment to a cause greater than himself is a testament to the high-quality character and unwavering work ethic instilled in Iowans both young and old. Our future is bright with young people like Tanner, and it is an honor to represent him and his family in the United States Congress. I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating Tanner, thanking his supportive family, and thanking all of those involved in this wonderful project for their life-changing efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor Quinn Wilson, a 17-year-old senior of Ankeny High School in Ankeny, Iowa, who has achieved national recognition for exemplary volunteer service in his community from the 2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is our country's largest youth recognition program based entirely on volunteer community service. The program was created in conjunction with Prudential and the National Association of Secondary School Principals to honor middle and high school students for outstanding service to benefit others at the local, state, and national level. Since 1995, more than 345,000 American youths have participated in this excellent program.

Quinn was recently selected as one of Iowa's four distinguished finalists for creating and organizing a musical instrument collection program for young children who could not otherwise afford to pursue their musical passions. Quinn's program, ``An Instrument in Every Hand,'' has assisted more than 40 local children by donating used or refurbished musical instruments. Mr. Wilson was inspired to pursue the initiative through his own experience

as the recipient of a donated instrument. To ensure his program was a success, Quinn recruited a group of volunteers, arranged and advertised an instrument drive, and coordinated necessary repair assistance with a local music store. There is no doubt Quinn's selfless efforts brought immeasurable joy and lasting benefits to the young people who benefited from An Instrument in Every Hand.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I recognize and applaud Mr. Wilson for his sincere dedication to positively impacting the lives of others in his community. Quinn's commitment to a cause greater than himself is a testament to the high-quality character and unwavering work ethic instilled in Iowans both young and old. Our future is bright with young people like Quinn, and it is an honor to represent him and his family in the United States Congress. I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating Quinn, thanking his supportive family, and thanking all of those involved in this wonderful project for their life-changing efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the House on the passage of a new farm bill. I know that the Chairman, the Ranking Member and many other members of this body have worked diligently for a very long period of time to reach this point. I am glad that this body has finally passed legislation

that can bring some certainty to Iowa producers and allow them to plan for their economic futures. While I know that we would all agree that this process has taken far too long, I appreciate the endless hours of work to bring us to this significant accomplishment. I trust the legislation will soon make it to the President's desk.

However, no farm bill is perfect and I would be remiss if I did not point out that this bill does not address all of the serious issues of concern to the agricultural community. Congress must address the serious issues related to Country of Origin Labeling in the meat industry. Our livestock producers are quite appropriately concerned that they may face trade retaliation from some of our closest trading partners if these issues are not properly addressed. There are also legitimate concerns regarding USDA's ability to write regulations related to the buying and selling of livestock, which are not addressed in this farm bill. While I am very pleased with what has been accomplished here today, I urge my colleagues to join me in making sure that we complete the work on those issues which were not included in today's legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Kimberley Thomas of Des Moines, Iowa for receiving a coveted Fulbright award to study and conduct research abroad this academic year.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. This program is known as America's flagship international exchange program. First established by Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program has served the purpose of building mutual understanding between American citizens and the rest of the world. Appropriations from the United States Congress, participating foreign governments, and private sector contributions fund the Fulbright Program. The program has exchanged over a quarter of a million people in more than 155 countries, since its inception. Kimberley's host country for 2014 is Bangladesh.

To receive a Fulbright award is truly a great honor. Recipients of this award must demonstrate significant leadership potential in their chosen field and are selected on the basis of their academic or professional achievement. The experiences provided by this program ensure that tomorrow's leaders are both knowledgeable about the world and well-rounded.

Mr. Speaker, it is a profound honor to represent future leaders like Kimberley from the great state of Iowa in the United States Congress. I know my colleagues in the House will join me in congratulating her for receiving this prestigious award and I wish her the best of luck in her studies and future career.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Alexandra Reynolds of Clive, Iowa for receiving a coveted Fulbright award to study and conduct research abroad this academic year.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. This program is known as America's flagship international exchange program. First established by Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program has served the purpose of building mutual understanding between American citizens and the rest of the world. Appropriations from the United States Congress, participating foreign governments, and private sector contributions fund the Fulbright Program. The program has exchanged over a quarter of a million people in more than 155 countries, since its inception. Alexandra's host country for the 2013-2014 academic year is Germany.

To receive a Fulbright award is truly a great honor. Recipients of this award must demonstrate significant leadership potential in their chosen field and are selected on the basis of their academic or professional achievement. The experiences provided by this program ensure that tomorrow's leaders are both knowledgeable about the world and well-rounded.

Mr. Speaker, it is a profound honor to represent future leaders like Alexandra from the great state of Iowa in the United States Congress. I know my colleagues in the House will join me in congratulating her for receiving this prestigious award and I wish her the best of luck in her studies and future career.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Dr. Ronald Bakari of West Des Moines, Iowa for receiving a coveted Fulbright award to promote a stronger global understanding abroad this academic year.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. This program is known as America's flagship international exchange program. First established by Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program has served the purpose of building mutual understanding between American citizens and the rest of the world. Appropriations from the United States Congress, participating foreign governments, and private sector contributions fund the Fulbright Program. The program has exchanged over a quarter of a million people in more than 155 countries, since its inception. Ronald's host country for the 2013-2014 academic year is the United Kingdom.

To receive a Fulbright award is truly a great honor. Recipients of this award must demonstrate significant leadership potential in their chosen field and are selected on the basis of their academic or professional achievement. The experiences provided by this program ensure that tomorrow's leaders are both knowledgeable about the world and well-rounded.

Mr. Speaker, it is a profound honor to represent leaders like Dr. Bakari from the great state of Iowa in the United States Congress. I know my colleagues in the House will join me in congratulating him for receiving this prestigious award and I wish him the best of luck as he continues his career excellence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Kelsie Miller of Urbandale, Iowa for receiving a coveted Fulbright award to study and conduct research abroad this academic year.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. This program is known as America's flagship international exchange program. First established by Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program has served the purpose of building mutual understanding between American citizens and the rest of the world. Appropriations from the United States Congress, participating foreign governments, and private sector contributions fund the Fulbright Program. The program has exchanged over a quarter of a million people in more than 155 countries, since its inception. Kelsie's host country for the 2013-2014 academic year is Indonesia.

To receive a Fulbright award is truly a great honor. Recipients of this award must demonstrate significant leadership potential in their chosen field and are selected on the basis of their academic or professional achievement. The experiences provided by this program ensure that tomorrow's leaders are both knowledgeable about the world and well-rounded.

Mr. Speaker, it is a profound honor to represent future leaders like Kelsie from the great State of Iowa in the United States Congress. I know my colleagues in the House will join me in congratulating her for receiving this prestigious award and I wish her the best of luck in her studies and future career.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Rebecca Taylor of Urbandale, Iowa for receiving a coveted Fulbright award to study and conduct research abroad this academic year.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. This program is known as America's flagship international exchange program. First established by Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program has served the purpose of building mutual understanding between American citizens and the rest of the world. Appropriations from the United States Congress, participating foreign governments, and private sector contributions fund the Fulbright Program. The program has exchanged over a quarter of a million people in more than 155 countries, since its inception. Rebecca's host country for the 2013-2014 academic year is Colombia.

To receive a Fulbright award is truly a great honor. Recipients of this award must demonstrate significant leadership potential in their chosen field and are selected on the basis of their academic or professional achievement. The experiences provided by this program ensure that tomorrow's leaders are both knowledgeable about the world and well-rounded.

Mr. Speaker, it is a profound honor to represent future leaders like Rebecca from the great state of Iowa in the United States Congress. I know my colleagues in the House will join me in congratulating her for receiving this prestigious award and I wish her the best of luck in her studies and future career.

I thank the chairman for the time and congratulate him and Ranking Member Lowey for a great job on this. I also want to thank the gentleman from Arizona, Ed Pastor, my ranking member, and certainly the staff that did such a great job under very difficult circumstances to put this all together.

Madam Speaker, this represents a return to regular order and an example of fair negotiation between the House and the Senate. In the T- HUD division, we strive to maintain important transportation infrastructure investments and to maintain housing programs for low- income citizens and veterans. To this end, we have funded the T-HUD departments and agencies as follows:

The MAP-21 authorized levels for highways and transit. For the FAA, we provide funding to fully support the operations of air traffic controllers. We also include resources for the next round of investments in the so-called NextGen air traffic control system, a long-term initiative to ease air traffic congestion. We do not fund high-speed rail, as we have yet to see any plan that outlines how such a system would work and how it would be paid for. For rail, we added policy reforms and oversight mechanisms for Amtrak in order to ensure that resources provided to Amtrak are put to best use.

For housing, we provided assistance for 2.2 million families serviced by the Housing Choice Vouchers program. We also provide $75 million for 10,000 new veterans' housing vouchers. Finally, we provide a little over $3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program. This program has many flexible uses and helps strengthen communities across the country.

Again, I urge Members to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Emily Hein of Clive, Iowa for her commitment and enthusiasm as a foreign language student at the University of Rochester.

Emily has been selected for a United States Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Advanced Chinese in Qingdao, China. This State Department program is an important component of the federal government's coordinated effort to expand the number of Americans learning foreign languages and to increase cultural competency.

Mr. Speaker, I consider it a great honor to represent future leaders from Iowa like Emily Hein in the United States Congress. I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating her on earning this special scholarship. I wish Ms. Hein continued success in her studies, her travel and all her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Iowa's newest State Representative, Stan Gustafson, following his resounding electoral victory on January 7th. Representative Gustafson will represent Iowa House District 25, which includes Madison and Warren Counties, for the remainder of the 85th General Assembly.

Stan's election to the Iowa House of Representatives is a great benefit for our State and yet another example of his lifetime commitment to service. Originally from California, Mr. Gustafson attended the University of California at Berkeley and obtained a bachelor's degree in finance while participating in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Upon graduation, Stan received his Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant and began a 23-year military career. Stan's patriotic service to our nation placed him in the thick of the Vietnam War where he served as a Forward Artillery Observer. Once his overseas tour had concluded, Stan returned home to attend law school and continue his contribution to our nation as a military reservist for more than two decades. Stan would ultimately retire as a Lieutenant Colonel and remains a staunch advocate for our men and women in uniform. Today, Stan and his wife Betty, a Dallas County native, reside in Cumming and stay busy as active community participants and loving grandparents.

Mr. Speaker, the selflessness and leadership Mr. Gustafson has shown throughout his entire life and career is nothing short of remarkable. At home and abroad, Stan has consistently stepped up to serve his neighbors and his nation. I can attest that he has been, and will continue to be, a true asset to supporting a thriving democracy in our great State. It is a great honor to represent Stan, Betty, and all of Iowa House District 25 in the United States Congress and I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating Stan for his efforts. I wish Representative Gustafson nothing but the best as he continues his work to help our State and preserve our freedoms.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the 2013 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Football Champions, the Grand View University Vikings.

Grand View University is one of eighty-five football programs across the country that compete in the NAIA. Each year, the best teams in the association qualify for the post-season playoffs to determine a national champion. Only six years after establishing a football program, the Grand View University Vikings have expertly developed a top-tier football team. On December 21, 2013, Grand View obtained its first-ever national football championship by defeating the top-ranked University of the Cumberlands by a score of 35-23. The Vikings finished the 2013 season with a perfect 14-0 record and the top NAIA ranking.

Grand View University's recent success on the football field is emblematic of its long-held mission for both academics and athletics. Since its founding in 1896, Grand View has instilled its students with an uncompromising focus on the traditional Danish perspective of the ``whole person.'' Through this perspective, each of Grand View's 2,300 students is uniquely enabled to reach their potential through high expectations, smaller class sizes, and greater individual attention from professors and coaches. It is through this winning formula that Grand View University has positioned itself among our state's premier universities.

Mr. Speaker, the pride and excitement that this team has brought to their campus and to the state of Iowa cannot be understated. The unrelenting commitment of these coaches and players speaks volumes about the Iowa work ethic and the rewards of working together. It is truly an honor to represent the players, coaches and families of this team in the United States Congress and I invite my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in congratulating our 2013 NAIA National Champions. I wish President Henning, Coach Woodley, and all the students of Grand View University continued success, both on and off the field, for many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Allen Lazard of Urbandale, Iowa for his participation in the 14th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Since 2001, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl has recruited the nation's top high school football players to participate in a nationally-televised, all-star football game. From millions of high school football players across our nation, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee evaluates thousands of top prospects throughout the year. After evaluation, the Selection Committee formally nominates 400 seniors to be considered for the annual game. Ultimately, only 90 players nationwide will be invited to participate in this prestigious event.

Allen's selection to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl galvanizes a remarkable 2013 season for the Urbandale High School senior. As a wide receiver for the Urbandale J-Hawks, Allen hauled in 49 passes for 1,065 yards and 16 touchdowns. At 6' 5", Allen has continued to be a top- receiving threat among our state's premier football players and has been named to Iowa's All-State team for three consecutive years. In December, Lazard was Iowa's only player to be named to the 2013 American Family Insurance ALL-USA High School Football Team. I am pleased to report that Mr. Lazard currently plans to take his talents to Jack Trice Stadium as an Iowa State Cyclone in the coming school year.

Mr. Speaker, Allen's accomplishments, both on and off the field, are a testament to the world-class work ethic for which our great state is renowned. It is an honor to represent Mr. Lazard and his family in the United States Congress. I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating Allen on his outstanding achievements and I wish him continued success in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Ray Gaesser of Corning, Iowa for being named the next President of the American Soybean Association.

Founded in 1920, the American Soybean Association represents America's soybean farmers on issues vital to the soybean industry across the country and across the globe. The national, grassroots membership that comprise this great organization creates, promotes, and implements policies to improve the thriving soybean industry.

Ray Gaesser has farmed since his father's passing when he was just 15 years old. In 1979, two years after marrying his wife Elaine, the couple moved to the Corning area to begin a modest farming partnership. Today, the Gaessers farm nearly 6,000 acres of corn and soybeans and are an essential component of the Iowa farming community. As a member of the Iowa Soybean Association for nearly 30 years, Ray has won numerous awards while serving in several leadership roles. Mr. Gaesser served as President of the Iowa Soybean Association in 2007, was a member of Iowa's Products Advisory Committee from 2006 to 2011, and was awarded the Iowa Master Farmer Award in 2012.

Mr. Speaker, Ray's selection as the next American Soybean Association President is the culmination of a lifelong commitment to farming and a testament to the world-class agriculture industry of our great state. It is an honor to represent Mr. Gaesser, his family, and all of the hardworking farmers of Iowa in the United States Congress and I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in thanking our nation's farmers, congratulating Ray on his outstanding efforts, and wishing him continued success on the job ahead. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to National Blood Donor Month and to recognize the great work being done by the volunteers and professionals who comprise the LifeServe Blood Center.