Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Howard R. Hodson, Sr., as the recipient of the 2008 Iowa Legionnaire of the Year Award by the American Legion for his servitude to this country and to the ideals of the American Legion. He was also awarded three other awards by the department commander and one award from the national commander.

The Legionnaire of the Year Award is presented every year to an outstanding member who has served the Legion and their community, state, and nation. Howard is a Vietnam veteran having served in the Army and is a member of the American Legion for forty-three years. In the American Legion, he has served as a post commander, post historian, post membership chairman, 3rd District senior vice commander, and as the membership chairman of the 3rd District.

I congratulate Howard R. Hodson, Sr. on his well-deserved award, and I'm certain that he will continue to serve this great nation and the American Legion. It is a great honor to represent Howard in the United States Congress, and I wish him the best.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the recent heroic actions of Dan Davis of Badger, Iowa.

On Saturday, June 14th at 4:00 a.m., Dan heard the sound of popping tires when he looked outside and saw flames shooting out of the neighbor's house. He knew that two teens were in that home while their parents were away. Dan ran into the home and woke Hannah and Max Edwards, who were sleeping through the smoke alarms. Although the house and possessions were nearly a total loss, Dan, Hannah and Max made it out unharmed.

Dan's decisive decision making in such a critical situation goes above and beyond what we are asked of as citizens of this country. His courage illustrates the compassion of Iowans; willing to do whatever it takes for a neighbor in need. I know my colleagues in the United States Congress join me in congratulating Dan Davis on a job well done. It is an honor to represent such a compassionate Iowan in Congress, and I wish Dan the best in his future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the recipient of the Iowa National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Federation's Community Service Award, Richard ``Dick'' Avise of Rockwell, Iowa for his longtime community service efforts.

For 48 years, Dick has volunteered his time to improving the Rockwell Community. Among many other accomplishments, Dick helped establish apartments for retirees, served as President and Secretary of the Rockwell Chamber of Commerce, grew and donated sweet corn for over a decade to the Rockwell Annual Chicken Barbecue, arranged the 1994 Ziedler Park Lion's Club Tree Project, and assisted the Cerro Gordo Extension Crop Clinics for 15 years. Dick's dedication to his community and his commitment to his organization should be commended.

A year after celebrating his 80th birthday, Dick continues his community service and remains active as the NARFE Chapter 170 Alzheimer Chair. I consider it an honor to represent Dick Avise in Congress, and I wish him the best in the future.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Dr. James B. Kliebenstein, professor of Agricultural Economics at Iowa State University, on receiving the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Agricultural Economics Association. I wish to express my appreciation for Dr. Kliebenstein's dedication and commitment to fostering the educational development and personal growth of Iowa students.

After obtaining a doctorate of Philosophy from University of Illinois-Urbana, Dr. Kliebenstein went on to work for Northwest Missouri State University, the Department of Agricultural Economics and the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and University of Missouri-Columbia. For the past 22 years, Professor Kliebenstein has contributed his time and talents to improving youths' lives through education and mentoring at Iowa State University.

At Iowa State University, Dr. Kliebenstein currently teaches agriculture business courses and advises undergraduate and graduate students. His excellence in teaching is affirmed by the highly positive feedback from his students. For his Farm Planning and Organization class, Dr. Kliebenstein received a 100% approval rating from all of his students. Professor Kliebenstein also conducts research on agricultural production technologies and the costs and benefits of livestock production.

Dr. Kliebenstein has truly made a lasting impact on students, family, and faculty throughout his illustrious career, and his passion for teaching at Iowa State University is admirable. I consider it an honor to represent Dr. James B. Kliebenstein in the United States Congress, and I wish him the best of luck in future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to a looming crisis. I have been involved in finding ways to address the growing nursing workforce shortage that threatens access to quality health care for retiring members of the baby boom generation. There is another workforce crisis with which we should also be concerned, which is that facing direct support professionals, often referred to as personal assistants or home health aides. These dedicated individuals provide the kind of daily assistance that allows people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the option to live in home or community-based settings rather than institutions when appropriate. This not only saves taxpayer dollars through the Medicaid program but dramatically improves quality of life for these Americans.

However, wages for direct support professionals have historically been low, particularly those in private non-profit settings. Vacancy rates for direct support professionals are rapidly increasing as other service and health care sector jobs become more competitive. In my home state of Iowa the annual turnover rate at non-profit service providers ranges from 20 percent to more than 40 percent.

It takes individuals with special skills and compassionate motivation to be direct support professionals. For example, Pete Faust has been working at Opportunity Village, a home and community-based services provider in Clear Lake, Iowa, for over 31 years. Although Pete must work extra hours just to pay his bills, he continues to work at Opportunity Village because he understands that consistency and familiarity are what his clients need. Many direct support professionals like Pete would like to continue in this field but are faced with hard choices when there are opportunities to earn more money for their families in other occupations.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the demand for this workforce will increase 41 percent by 2014, and the number of people needing personal assistance services will double by 2050. The current crisis will soon grow exponentially. That is why I strongly support measures like H.R. 1279, the Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act, which creates federal-state Medicaid partnerships to find innovative ways to provide incentives such as increased wages for these workers on a sustainable basis.

I urge my colleagues to support this effort by cosponsoring this legislation and urging the leadership of the House of Representatives to move this and similar proposals forward.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Kossuth County Fair on its 150th year anniversary, from July 24 to August 3, 2008. The Kossuth County Fair is located in Algona, Iowa and serves the approximate 17,000 residents of the county in North Central Iowa.

Throughout many years the Kossuth County Fair has thrived and kept the county together with community fellowship, celebration and camaraderie. I congratulate the Kossuth County Fair on this historic anniversary. It is an honor to represent the past and current members of the county fair board in the United States Congress. I wish the Kossuth County Fair an equally storied future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sandy Huang, of Ames, Iowa, one of fifty outstanding U.S. high school students selected to attend the twenty-fifth annual Research Science Institute sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Education and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The mission of the Center for Excellence in Education is to nurture young scholars to careers of excellence and leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The Research Science Institute is a highly competitive six-week program which emphasizes advanced theory and research in mathematics, the sciences, and engineering. Sandy was selected for this program upon scoring in the upper one-percent of those in the U.S. who took the PSAT exam. From June to August 2008, Sandy will learn from distinguished professors and conduct a research project.

I commend Sandy Huang for his commitment to leadership in science and technology. He is a future leader of this country of whom Iowa is very proud. I am honored to represent Sandy in the United States Congress and I wish him the best in future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the retirement of Mr. Daniel Holste, a science teacher at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa, and to express my appreciation for his dedication and commitment to the youth of Iowa.

For the last 39 years, Mr. Holste has contributed his time to educating and enriching the lives of youths. After graduating from Wartburg College, Mr. Holste began teaching in Alta, Iowa, for 2 years and took a year off for graduate studies at Fisk University. He returned to teaching for 3 years in Eddyville, Iowa, until he took a teaching position at Humboldt High School, where he remained for 34 years until his recent retirement. In the classroom, Mr. Holste has taught numerous courses including Chemistry, Advanced/Organic Chemistry, Physics, Geology/Astronomy, Hydrology and several math courses. Mr. Holste has also sponsored the Junior Engineering Technical Society Tests of Engineering Aptitude in Math and Science (JETS-TEAM), Science Bowl, Knowledge Master Open and the Physics Olympics. In 1990, his team earned the Iowa Physics Olympics Team Grand Championship, and his JETS-TEAM has placed as high as second nationally.

Mr. Holste has also received a number of awards in recent years. In 2006, he was honored with the Outstanding Youth Leadership Award. In 2007 he received the Fort Dodge District Air Force Association Teacher of the Year Award. This year he also earned the ISEA UniServ Unit 10 ``Distinguished Service to the Association'' Award.

Mr. Holste's leadership will be missed, but he leaves a lasting impact on the Humboldt community and everyone he has been involved with. I consider it an honor to represent Mr. Daniel Holste in the United States Congress, and I wish him and his wife, Jean, a long, happy and healthy retirement as they both continue to serve the community through different projects.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the retirement of Mr. Walter Reemstma, a science teacher with Algona Community School District in Algona, Iowa, and to express my appreciation for his dedication and commitment to the youth of Iowa.

For the past 41 years, Mr. Reemstma has contributed his time and talents to educating

and enriching the lives of youths. Mr. Reemstma graduated from Sioux Falls College in 1967 and took his first job at Melcher-Dallas. In 1970 he took a science teaching position at O.B. Laing Middle School in Algona, where he remained until his retirement. He actually hated science classes while growing up but began to enjoy science during his senior year high school biology class. During his time as a teacher, he especially enjoyed taking Washington, DC, trips with students. In addition to teaching, Mr. Reemstma is the music director at First Presbyterian Church in Algona and the president of the Water's Edge Nature Center Foundation. In all, Mr. Reemstma has helped shape the lives of thousands of students.

Mr. Reemstma's leadership will be missed, but he leaves a lasting impact on the Algona community and everyone he has been involved with. I consider it an honor to represent Mr. Walter Reemstma in the United States Congress, and I wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Bob Owens of Jefferson, Iowa, on earning the Meritorious Achievement Award of 2008.

Bob Owens is a consul and charter member for the Greene County chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association. He is one of the original 43 members who met in 1992 in Ogden, Iowa, to recognize the National Lincoln Highway Association for the first time since 1915. Today, the national organization has over 1,900 members due in no small part to the dedication and commitment Bob has given to the organization.

I know that my colleagues in the United States Congress join me in commending Bob Owens for his leadership and dedication to representing Iowa in the Lincoln Highway Association. I consider it an honor to reprent Bob and his family in Congress, and I wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a great achievement by the Boone High School Girls' tennis team in Boone, Iowa. BHS won the 2008 Iowa Class 2-A State High School team championship.

The Toreadors completed a perfect season with a record of 15-0. In addition, senior MaryPat McMullan is the class 2-A Girls State Singles champion, and the Toreador doubles team of Maggi Schutte and Traci Moklestad is the Class 2-A third place doubles finisher. The example set by these young ladies and their coach, Shawn Latimer, demonstrates the rewards of hard work, dedication and determination. They scored victories on the court and have positively represented their community and school off it as well. Their triumph is an honor that we all can admire and be proud of.

I am honored to represent the members of the BHS varsity girls' tennis team: MaryPat McMullan, Maggi Schutte, Traci Moklestad, Lindsay Greiner, Hannah Worall, Julia Stockhausen, Corinne Frei, Jorden Foster, Leah Redeker, Rachel Hinds, Emily Boehm, Audrey Reinken and their coach, Shawn Latimer in the United States Congress. I know that all of my colleagues in Congress join me in congratulating the Toreadors on their State championship and wishing all these young ladies continued success in their future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Erick Johnson of Jefferson Iowa, on his retirement from the board of directors of the Hemophilia Federation of America.

The Hemophilia Federation of America is a national nonprofit organization that assists and advocates for the bleeding disorders community and advocates for the removal of all barriers to both choice of treatment and quality of life. Erick and his wife Jill became involved with Hemophilia of Iowa in 1997 after their son Skylar was diagnosed with hemophilia. Erick became an independent member of the HFA board in 2000. He worked with the organization to start new programs and increase communication with the FDA, CDC and MASAC in order to bring HFA's concerns to the forefront.

I know that my colleagues in the United States Congress will join me in commending Erick Johnson for his leadership and dedication to representing the Hemophilia Federation of America. I consider it an honor to represent Erick, his wife Jill, and his son Skylar in the United States Congress, and I wish them the best in their future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Nelson Electric of Ames, Iowa, on celebrating its 100th anniversary and to express my appreciation for their commitment to providing an important service to Iowans in the Central Iowa area.

In 1908, Ben Nelson left his job at the Ames Municipal Power Plant and began his own business offering electrical contracting services. He contracted his first jobs by going up and down Main Street in Ames and building a reputation of good service at a fair price. His son Chuck joined the crew, and they worked together for 40 years, including persevering through the Great Depression. Chuck's sons, Paul and Jerry began working at the company in the 1960's and still manage the company today. Jerry's sons, Chris and Matt are now the fourth generation of the family to work at Nelson. Nelson Electric began working on wagons and carts but have kept up on the ever changing electric codes and work in the commercial/industrial design build sector of today, taking on residential and small business projects as well.

I commend Nelson Electric of Ames for providing quality and dedicated service to Iowans for over 100 years. It is an honor to represent the Nelson family and all the members of the Nelson Electric crew in the United States Congress, and I wish them continued success in serving their community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Humboldt County Fair on its 150th year anniversary this year, recognized from July 23 to July 27, 2008. The Humboldt County Fair is located in Dakota City, Iowa and serves the approximate 10,000 residents of the county in North Central Iowa.

In 1858, the 300 people living in Humboldt County wanted to get together for a social event offering opportunities to display prize produce and compete at the skills of farming. The first Humboldt County Fair was held in Dakota City on October 5, 1858. The best livestock and agricultural products of the county were on display, showcasing the pride and competitive spirit of America as well as prospects for future agricultural prosperity.

The town of Springvale, larger than Dakota City, attempted to relocate the fair in 1866. But Charles Bergk, a prominent citizen, offered to donate 15 acres of land, furnish enough lumber to fence the entire tract, and dig a well if the fair was held in Dakota City. And so the fair remained in Dakota City.

The fair of 1912 was not a success, and there were fears that the end of the county fair was near. A group of Humboldt's leading citizens organized the Humboldt Get-Together Club and met at MacNamara's Drug Store to discuss the situation. They developed a plan to not only continue the fair but make it bigger and better.

Throughout the many years, the Humboldt County Fair has thrived and kept the county together with community fellowship, celebration and camaraderie. I congratulate the Humboldt County Fair on this historic anniversary. It is an honor to represent the past and current members of the county fair board in the United States Congress. I wish the Humboldt County Fair and Humboldt community an equally storied future.

I thank Mr. Wamp for the time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to voice my support for this important measure, and I want to commend Chairman Edwards and Ranking Member Wamp for their good work on this most important bill. I urge the Members to support the bill. It is so important to all of our veterans of this country.

I only talk about this to express real frustration that I have. I want to note that in my hand I have an amendment which I had hoped to offer today, but

because of the nature of the rule, I can't. And I wanted to offer this amendment in the interest of people from Iowa and throughout the Midwest who are struggling to put their lives together in the wake of the 500-year Midwest floods.

This amendment would have provided emergency money for economic development assistance for restoration of infrastructure, Army Corps of Engineers money to repair levies, SBA disaster loan assistance, Community Planning and Development funds for infrastructure, and additional FEMA disaster relief moneys. Unfortunately, we can't, and I don't want to delay this process. But this bill should be passed before we leave for break.

Mr. Chairman, last week I wrote a letter to the Speaker of the House and asked that we finally address, after 7 weeks, the flood disaster throughout the Midwest. I have not heard a response; so obviously we're being ignored.

I asked some folks at home to tell me some of their stories, and they have e-mailed me and sent me their messages, and I would like to read a couple of those.

The first one actually is a copy I received of an e-mail to Speaker Pelosi, and it reads:

``I cannot believe that you will not bring flood relief legislation to a vote. Now you are going on vacation. Twenty-five thousand homes were lost in the June floods in Iowa alone, and Congress votes to recognize the National Day of the Cowboy instead of passing legislation to help Iowans.

``After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Congress passed emergency supplemental bills nearly immediately, and here we are 7 weeks after the Iowa floods and no additional help! It is no wonder Congress's approval rating is at an all-time low.

``While you're on vacation, please remember the thousands of Iowans who have no homes.''

An e-mail received from a resident of Cedar Rapids. She said:

``My husband volunteers on the weekends and 1 day a week (bless his employer for letting him work 4 10-hour days so he can do flood relief) as a flood site coordinator, which means he moves around from team to team and are sent by our church to help the residents `muck' out their basements, and tear out the walls, insulation, trim, carpet, and get rid of the furnaces and water heaters (and, unfortunately, throw out their life with every personal item that goes on the curbs) . . .

``What are the elected officials in Washington going to do to help? I must be the most naive U.S. citizen who can hardly believe that it takes an act of Congress to have a National Cowboy Day but can go on a recess with clear consciences before coming up with some plan of action for this area and the people . . .

``The Red Cross has moved on and the Salvation Army has come off the streets. FEMA sent trailers, people settled into them, and then they were displaced again when mold was found in the trailers . . .

``These people are not asking for more than what they had, just help putting their lives, families, and homes back together. They need help and support from those they have put their trust in.''

And another e-mail from a lady in Mason City. It says:

``Please continue your fight to have Congress address the disaster needs of the Midwest! The rest of the world seems to have forgotten about our disaster. However, for those of us still fighting it, it's as painful today as it was the day our houses were filled with water.

``My family is just one of many here in Mason City who are homeless . . .

``Our house is significantly damaged; so we can't move back into it. We thought we could, and then 2 weeks ago we discovered the amount of damage was too much.

``We have to elevate it, move it, or destroy it. Our house is a trilevel house where the floors are not on top of each other. The cost of elevating or moving would be more than the value of our home. The only option is to destroy it.

``The house we are currently renting is a house for sale. On any given day, we are 30 to 45 days away from being homeless again. The house has been shown to prospective buyers at least six times since the flood. We are trying to find a house we can rent for a year. It's almost impossible to find something we can afford that's in a safe area and somewhat decent.''

I would hope that the House tomorrow, since we are going to be in session, will finally pass disaster relief for people who are really hurting.

Would the gentleman yield?

I appreciate the chairman's work. I sincerely do. We all know that it would not be germane in this bill. That is not the issue.

I would ask, would the gentleman entertain a unanimous consent to have this amendment considered today?

Would the gentleman yield?