Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, Mr. Boswell and I would like to submit the following statement from Dr. Norman E. Borlaug for the Congressional Record.

Norman E. Borlaug: Statement on the occasion of the Congressional Gold

Medal Ceremony, United States Capitol, July 17, 2007

It is a great honor to be awarded the Congressional Gold

Medal, in recognition of my work to feed a hungry world. I

thank members of Congress for giving me an opportunity to

comment on the challenges and complexities of feeding a world

of 10 billion people who I expect will be living on the

planet Earth sometime this century.

When I was born--in 1914--there were only 1.6 billion

people on Earth. Today, we are 6.5 billion and growing by 80

million per year. The task of feeding this growing population

has been made more complex, since agriculture is now being

asked not only to produce food, feed and fiber, but also raw

materials for bio-fuels. Thus, there is no room for

complacency for those of us working on the food front.

I am now in my 63rd year of continuous involvement in

agricultural research and production in low-income, food-

deficit developing countries. I have worked with many

scientists, political leaders, and farmers to transform food

production systems. Any achievements I have made have been

possible through my participation in this army of hunger

fighters. There are too many to name, but you know who you

are. I thank you for your dedication and assistance all of

these years. I also thank my family, and my late wife

Margaret, for the understanding and unselfish support you

have given me.

The Green Revolution was a great historic success. In 1960,

perhaps 60 percent of the world's people felt hunger during

some portion of the year. By the year 2000, the proportion of

hungry in the world had dropped to 14 percent of the total

population. Still, this figure translated to 850 million men,

women and children who lacked sufficient calories and protein

to grow strong and healthy bodies. Thus, despite the

successes of the Green Revolution, the battle to ensure food

security for hundreds of millions of miserably poor people is

far from won.

The Green Revolution

The breakthroughs in wheat and rice production in Asia in

the mid-1960s, which came to be known as the Green

Revolution, symbolized the beginning of a process of using

agricultural science to develop modem techniques for the

Third World. It began in Mexico with the ``quiet'' wheat

revolution in the late 1950s. During the 1960s and 1970s,

India, Pakistan, and the Philippines received world

attention for their agricultural progress. In the 1980s

and 1990s, China, home to one fifth of the world's people,

has been the greatest success story. China today is the

world's biggest food producer and its crop yields are

approaching those of the United States with every

successive year. However, it is almost certain, that China

and India--home to one third of the world's people--will

become the largest agricultural importers in the coming

decades, as their economies shift from being agrarian to

industrial.

Critics of modem agricultural technology invariably turn a

blind eye on what the world would have been like without the

technological advances that have occurred, largely during the

past 50 years. For those whose main concern is protecting the

``environment,'' let's look at the positive impact that the

application of science-based technology has had on land use.

If the global cereal yields of 1950 still prevailed in 2000

we would have needed nearly 1.2 billion ha of additional land

of the same quality--instead of the 660 million ha that was

used--to achieve the global harvest of that year. Obviously,

such a surplus of land was not available, and certainly not

in populous Asia, where the population had increased from 1.2

to 3.8 billion over this period. Moreover, if more

environmentally fragile land had been brought into

agricultural production, the impact on soil erosion, loss of

forests and grasslands, biodiversity and extinction of

wildlife species would have been enormous and disastrous.

At lest in the foreseeable future, plants--and especially

the cereals--will continue to supply much of our increased

food demand, both for direct human consumption and as

livestock feed to satisfy the rapidly growing demand for meat

in the newly industrializing countries. It is likely that an

additional 1 billion metric tons of grain will be needed

annually by 2025, just to feed the world, let alone fuel its

vehicles. Most of this increase must come from lands already

in production through yield improvements. Fortunately, such

productivity improvements in crop management can be made all

along the line--in plant breeding, crop management, tillage,

water use, fertilization, weed and pest control, and

harvesting.

Africa's Food Production Challenges

More than any other region of the world, African food

production is in crisis. High rates of population growth and

little application of improved production technology during

the last two decades resulted in declining per capita food

production, escalating food deficits, deteriorating

nutritional levels, especially among the rural poor, and

devastating environmental degradation. While there are more

signs since 2000 that smallholder food production is

beginning to turn around, this recovery is still very

fragile.

Sub-Saharan Africa's extreme poverty, poor soils, uncertain

rainfall, increasing population pressures, changing ownership

patterns for land and cattle, political and social turmoil,

shortages of trained agriculturalists, and weaknesses in

research and technology delivery systems all make the task of

agricultural development more difficult. But we should also

realize that to a considerable extent, the present food

crisis is the result of the long-time neglect of agriculture

by political leaders. Even though agriculture

provides livelihoods to 70-85 percent of the people in

most countries, agricultural and rural development has

been given low priority. Investments in food distribution

and marketing systems and in agricultural research and

education are woefully inadequate. Furthermore, many

governments pursued and continue to pursue a policy of

providing cheap food for the politically volatile urban

dwellers at the expense of production incentives for

farmers.

In 1986 I became involved in food crop technology transfer

projects in sub-Saharan Africa, sponsored by the Nippon

Foundation and its Chairman, the late Ryoichi Sasakawa, and

enthusiastically supported by former U.S. President Jimmy

Carter. Our joint program is known as Sasakawa-Global 2000,

and has operated in 14 sub-Saharan African countries the past

20 years. We have assisted several million small-scale

farmers to grow extension demonstration plots for basic food

crops: maize, rice, sorghum, millet, wheat, cassava, and

grain legumes.

The recommended production technologies come from national

and international agricultural research organizations, and

include: (1) the use of the best available commercial

varieties or hybrids (2) proper land preparation and seeding

to achieve good stand establishment, (3) proper application

of the appropriate fertilizers and, when needed, crop

protection chemicals, (4) timely weed control, and (5)

moisture conservation and/or better water use if under

irrigation. We also work with participating farm families to

improve on-farm storage of agricultural production, both to

reduce grain losses due to spoilage and infestation and to

allow farmers to hold stocks longer to exploit periods when

prices in the marketplace are more favorable. Virtually

without exception, farmers obtain grain yields that are two

to three times higher on their demonstration plots than has

been traditionally the case. Farmers' enthusiasm is high and

political leaders are taking much interest in the program.

Despite the formidable challenges in Africa, the elements

that worked in Latin America and Asia will also work there.

With more effective seed, fertilizer supply and marketing

systems, hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers in

Africa can make great strides in improving the nutritional

and economic well being of their populations. The biggest

bottleneck that must be overcome is lack of infrastructure,

especially roads and transport, but also potable water and

electricity. In particular, improved transport systems would

greatly accelerate agricultural production, break down tribal

animosities, and help establish rural schools and clinics in

areas where teachers and health practitioners are heretofore

unwilling to venture.

Crop Research Challenges

Crop productivity depends both on the yield potential of

the varieties and the crop management employed to enhance

input and output efficiency. Agricultural researchers and

farmers worldwide face the challenge during the next 25 years

of developing and applying technology that can increase the

global cereal yields by 50-75 percent, and to do so in ways

that are economically and environmentally sustainable. Much

of the yield

gains will come from applying technology ``already on the

shelf' but yet to be fully utilized. But there will also be

new research breakthroughs, especially in plant breeding to

improve yield stability and, hopefully, maximum genetic yield

potential.

While we must continue to push the frontiers of science

forward, we also must be mindful of the need to protect the

gains already made. Agriculture is a continuing struggle

against mutating pathogens and insects. A clear example is

the new race of stem rust that has emerged in East Africa,

which is capable of devastating most of the world's

commercial bread wheat varieties. Ironically, I began my

career in agricultural science combating stem rust some 60

years ago and I am now in the twilight of my life, once again

facing my old nemesis. There hasn't been a major stem rust

epidemic for more than 50 years, since the virulent race

called 15B devastated much of the North America wheat crop

during 1950-54. Out of that crisis came new forms of

international cooperation in plant breeding, which led to

accelerated development around the world of high-yielding,

disease-resistant, broadly adapted wheat varieties. However,

in the ensuing years, complacency, increasing barriers to

international exchange of plant breeding materials, declining

budgets, staff retirements and discontinuity in training

programs, has resulted in a much weakened system. This has

been evident in the slow international response to a very

serious new stem rust race, called Ug99, first spotted in

Uganda and Kenya in the late 1990s. Ug99 has now escaped from

Africa and begun its migration to North Africa and the Middle

East. It won't be long before it reaches South Asia and later

China, North America and the rest of the wheat-growing world.

Wheat scientists are now scrambling to control this disease

before it gains a foothold and causes catastrophic losses to

the livelihoods of several hundred million wheat farmers and

widespread global wheat shortages that will affect prices and

the welfare of several billion consumers. Since 2005,

excellent collaboration has been forthcoming from the USDA,

key land grant universities, and USAID. A far-reaching

research program is being considered by a major U.S.

foundation located in Seattle that if approved could solidify

and accelerate the progress to date. As part of this research

effort we also hope to identify why rice, alone among the

cereals, is immune to the rust fungi, and then use

biotechnology to transfer this genetic immunity from rice to

wheat and other cereals. If we are successful in this quest,

the scourge of rust, mentioned in the bible, could finally be

banished from the Earth.

What Can We Expect from Biotechnology?

During the 20th Century, conventional plant breeding has

produced--and continues to produce--modern crop varieties and

hybrids that have contributed immensely to grain yield

potential, disease and insect resistance, stability of

harvests and farm incomes, while sparing vast tracts of land

for other uses, such as wildlife habitats, forests, and

outdoor recreation.

The majority of agricultural scientists including myself

anticipate great benefits from biotechnology in the coming

decades to help meet our future needs for food, feed, fiber,

and bio-fuels. Promising work, now utilizing the powerful new

tools of biotechnology, is also under way to develop greater

tolerance of climatic extremes, such as drought, heat, and

cold. Such research is likely to become more important in the

future as the world experiences the effects of climate

change. We must also persist in scientific efforts to raise

maximum genetic yield potential to increase food production

on lands currently in use while protecting against serious

negative environmental impacts.

Seventy percent of global water withdrawals are used for

irrigating agricultural lands, which account for 17 percent

of total cultivated land yet contribute 40 percent of our

global food harvest. Expanding the area under irrigation is

critical to meeting future food demand. However, competing

urban demands for water will require much great efficiencies

in agricultural water use. Through biotechnology we will be

able to achieve ``more crop per drop'' by designing plants

with reduced water requirements and adoption of improved

crop/water management systems.

Developing country governments need to be prepared to work

with--and benefit from--the new breakthroughs in

biotechnology. Regulatory frameworks are needed to guide the

testing and use of genetically modified crops, which protect

public welfare and the environment against undue risk. They

must be cost effective to implement yet not be so restrictive

that science cannot advance.

Since the private sector patents its life science

inventions, agricultural policy makers must be vigilant in

guarding against too much concentration of ownership and also

be concerned about equity of access issues, especially for

poor farmers. These are legitimate matters for debate by

national, regional and global governmental organizations.

Even with private sector leadership in biotechnology

research I believe that governments should also fund

significant public research programs. This is not only

important as a complement and balance to private sector

proprietary research, but is also needed to ensure the proper

training of new generations of scientists, both for private

and public sector research institutions.

U.S. agriculture is being asked to produce more food, feed,

fiber and now biofuels, while protecting the environment and

not greatly increasing land use. Science is ready for the

task, but science will not succeed without wise and adequate

support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and

its congressional committees. Traditional programs of

research and education at USDA and in the land grant

universities must continue. Congress must also invest more

generously in fundamental research to learn more about the

cellular and molecular events that determine how plants and

animals reproduce, grow and fight off stresses such as

drought, cold and disease. Most of these major innovations

will start first with acquiring deeper fundamental

understanding.

Getting the most from fundamental research will require

changes in the culture of decision making in public

agricultural institutions. Leading scientists must be

involved in deciding which programs have scientific merit and

in setting realistic scientific priorities. There should be a

council, like those of the National Institutes of Health,

where scientists and stakeholders can pool their wisdom in

recommending research priorities. Building such changes into

the current farm bill is a high priority.

Educating Urbanites about Agriculture

The current backlash against agricultural science and

technology evident in some industrialized countries is hard

for me to comprehend. How quickly humankind becomes detached

from the soil and agricultural production! Less than 4

percent of the population in the industrialized countries

(less than 2 percent in the USA) is directly engaged in

agriculture. With low-cost food supplies and urban bias,

is it any wonder that consumers don't understand the

complexities of re-producing the world food supply each

year in its entirely, and expanding it further for the

nearly 80 million new mouths that are born into this world

annually? I believe we can help address this ``educational

gap'' by making it compulsory in secondary schools and

universities for students to take courses on agriculture,

biology, and science and technology policy.

One exciting high school program, in which I am personally

involved, is the World Food Prize Youth Institute program

originated by Des Moines philanthropist Juan Ruan and led by

the World Food Prize Foundation. Each year, more than a 100

high school students, mainly from Iowa but now expanding to

other states and countries, convene at the George Washington

Carver auditorium at Pioneer Hybrid Company headquarters in

Johnston, Iowa, with teachers and parents, to present their

well-researched essays on about how to increase the quantity,

quality, and availability of food around the world. They make

these presentations in front of past and present World Food

Prize laureates and other experts, and lively discussions

ensue. Each year, a select few graduating seniors win travel

fellowships to go to a developing country where they live and

work at an agricultural research institute, and learn first

hand about hunger and poverty, and the role that science and

technology can play to alleviate these calamities. It is

especially gratifying to see the growth and development of

these young, mostly female, summer interns. It literally is a

life-changing experience for them, and it shows in their

performance at university and in career selections. More

programs like this are needed, so that future generations of

Americans have a better sense about the complexities and

challenges of feeding a growing world.

Agriculture and the Environment

As the pace of technological change has accelerated the

past 50 years, the fear of science has grown. Certainly, the

breaking of the atom and the prospects of a nuclear holocaust

added to people's fear, and drove a bigger wedge between the

scientist and the layman. Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring,

published in 1962, which reported that poisons were

everywhere, also struck a very sensitive nerve. Of course,

this perception was not totally unfounded. By the mid 20th

century air and water quality had been seriously damaged

through wasteful industrial production systems that pushed

effluents often literally into ``our own backyards.''

We all owe a debt of gratitude to environmental movement in

the industrialized nations, which has led to legislation over

the past 40 years to improve air and water quality, protect

wildlife, control the disposal of toxic wastes, protect the

soils, and reduce the loss of biodiversity. However, these

positive environmental trends are not found in the developing

countries, where environmental degradation, especially in

Africa, threatens ecological stability if not reversed.

There is often a deadlock between agriculturalists and

environmentalists over what constitutes ``sustainable

agriculture'' in the Third World. This debate has confused--

if not paralyzed--many in the international donor community

who, afraid of antagonizing powerful environmental

lobbying groups, have turned away from supporting

sciencebased agricultural modernization projects still

needed in much of smallholder Asia, subSaharan Africa, and

Latin America. This deadlock must be broken.

We cannot lose sight of the enormous job before us to feed

10 billion people, 90 percent of whom will begin life in a

developing country, and many in poverty. Only through dynamic

agricultural development will there be any hope to alleviate

poverty and improve human health and productivity, and

reducing political instability.

Closing Comments

Thirty seven years ago, in my acceptance speech for the

Nobel Peace Prize, I said that the Green Revolution had won a

temporary success in man's war against hunger, which if fully

implemented, could provide sufficient food for humankind

through the end of the 20th century. But I warned that unless

the frightening power of human reproduction was curbed, the

success of the Green Revolution would only be ephemeral.

It took some 10,000 years to expand food production to the

current level of about 5 billion tons per year. By 2050, we

will likely need to nearly double current production again.

This cannot be done unless farmers across the world have

access to high-yielding crop production methods as well as

new biotechnological breakthroughs that can increase the crop

yields, dependability, and nutritional quality. Indeed, it is

higher farm incomes that will permit small-scale farmers in

the Third World to make desperately needed investments to

protect their natural resources. As Kenyan archeologist

Richard Leakey likes to reminds us, ``you have to be well-fed

to be a conservationist.'' We have to bring common sense into

the debate on agricultural science and technology and the

sooner the better!

The United States is the greatest agricultural success

story of the 20th Century. Through science and technology and

farmer ingenuity, American agriculture has achieved levels of

productivity second to none. We also have a great tradition,

especially in earlier decades, of helping low-income; food-

deficit nations to get their own agricultural systems moving.

Our private agri-businesses have invested heavily in the

development of productivity-enhancing technology, not only to

the benefit of this country but also around the world.

American public institutions--the land-grant universities and

colleges, the USDA, and the U.S. Department of State--have

play key roles in the transformation of subsistence

agriculture, especially in Asia and Latin America. This has

been good for the American people and the world. Lest we

forget, world peace will not be built on empty stomachs or

human misery.

I would be remiss if I did not thank the Administration for

establishing the USDA Borlaug Fellows program in 2004, in my

honor, at the time of my 90th birthday. This is an

international program that actively engages universities like

my own Texas A&M University, my alma mater, the University of

Minnesota, and many other of our fine land grant universities

and colleges. The Borlaug fellows program also has links to

the international agricultural research centers located

abroad and to private agro-industry.

The aim is to provide relatively young scientists from

developing countries with opportunities to travel to the USA

to gain practical experience and upgrade their technical

skills at advanced agricultural laboratories. So far, USDA

has been able, with the assistance of USAID, to piece

together funding for about 150 Borlaug fellows to come to the

United States each year. With more permanent funding, along

the lines of the Fulbright program, USDA and the partner

universities could implement a more substantial range of

learning and personal development opportunities for young

scientists and agricultural leaders from developing

countries. This would be good for the individual recipients,

their sponsoring institutions and countries, and also, I

believe, for America. Texas A&M University and Ohio State

University have been working through the National Association

of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) to

prepare a more substantial proposal for consideration by

Congress.

My plea today to the members of Congress and to the

Administration is to re-commit the United States to more

dynamic and generous programs of official development

assistance in agriculture for Third World nations, as was

done in the 1960s and 1970s. Evershrinking foreign aid

budgets in support of smallholder agriculture, and especially

to multilateral research and development organizations such

as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

(CIMMYT) where I have worked for 40 years, as well as its

sister research institutes under the Consultative Group for

International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), are not in our

nation's best interest, nor do they represent our finest

traditions.

As you chart the course of this great nation for the future

benefit of our children, grandchildren, and great-

grandchildren, I ask you to think more boldly and humanely

about the Third World and develop a new version of the

Marshall plan, this time not to rescue a war-torn Europe, but

now to help the nearly one billion, mostly rural poor people

still trapped in hunger and misery. It is within America's

technical and financial power to help end this human tragedy

and injustice, if we set our hearts and minds to the task.

I thank the Speaker for the opportunity to speak this morning.

I want to congratulate my good friend, former colleague from Iowa, Jim Nussle, on the unveiling of his portrait today and I would encourage all of his former colleagues to attend that ceremony at 4 o'clock this afternoon in 210 in the Cannon House Office Building.

Jim Nussle was a tireless advocate for the future of this country, and through the Budget Committee that he chaired for 6 years, did an outstanding job of fighting for the next generation to understand that the entitlement programs that are going to really cause devastation in our budgets in the future should be addressed, and fought tirelessly for the next generation.

As we all know, Jim Nussle has been nominated to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. There is no one better qualified than Jim Nussle, that has the skill to do this job, that has the budget knowledge. Jim Nussle is the most knowledgeable person we could possibly have in that position. He'll be a tireless advocate for a balanced budget, someone that can work across the aisle, as he did on the Budget Committee. And the comments from the ranking member last year really indicate how well Jim Nussle will work for our country and to lead our Nation and to manage this enormous government that we have.

So let's commend Jim Nussle, show up for the unveiling and really be advocates for him to continue his service for the country.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the retirement of Mr. Dale Schumacher, a wood working, automotive, and metal working teacher at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa, and to express my appreciation for his dedication and commitment to the youth of Iowa.

For the last 42 years, Dale has contributed his time and his talents to the betterment of so many young adults and for this I offer him my utmost congratulations and thanks. Dale has had a large impact on shaping the lives of his students.

One of Dale's favorite things about teaching at Perry High School was serving as a sponsor to the TSA Skills program. In the 42 years since its inception, the Perry High School TSA team has never failed to qualify for nationals, thanks in large part to the guidance of Dale Schumacher. He especially enjoyed the program because it gave students a chance to show off the skills they learned in the classroom.

Dale has made a significant impact on students throughout his illustrious career and for that I express my most sincere gratitude, His leadership will be missed, but the footprint he leaves will inspire many to dream big, reach high, and achieve great things.

I consider it an honor to represent Dale Schumacher in Congress, and I wish him and his wife Alice a long, happy and healthy retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the city of Churdan, located in Greene County, in Iowa's 4th Congressional District, which will celebrate its 125th birthday with a celebration and parade from June 29th through July 1st. I also rise to recognize two of my constituents, Raymond Roper and Edith Smith, who were recently announced king and queen of the Churdan quasquicentennial.

Mr. Roper received a Purple Heart for his service to the Nation in World War II. He is also a lifelong farmer whose dedication and commitment to his community inspires all of Churdan. In 1981, Raymond started the Avenue of Flags, which fly in both the Highland Township and St. Patrick cemeteries on Memorial Day and has been the supervisor of that project ever since. In 2003, Raymond received the Iowa High School Athletic Association's service award for 45 years of public address announcing four sports at Paton-Churdan High School.

Ms. Smith has been active in community activities throughout her life and is a longtime member of the Twentieth Century Club. Edith dedicated 32 years of her life to the Churdan

Post Office where she helped countless people. After she retired, she managed a dress shop for many years. Most recently, Edith was runner-up in the 2007 Greene County bridge marathon at age 91.

Both Raymond Roper and Edith Smith have helped make Churdan and Greene County a better place through their selfless dedication to community service. Many people owe their success in life to the inspiration they both embody.

I consider it an honor to represent Raymond Roper and Edith Smith in Congress, and again I congratulate the city of Churdan on its 125th birthday celebration.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

First of all, I would like to thank the committee and the gentleman from Illinois, Chairman Davis, for moving this piece of legislation as quickly as they have through the committee and for the opportunity to bring this I think most appropriate legislation to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support legislation that I introduced to honor Major Scott E. Nisely of Marshalltown, Iowa, one of America's heroes who was killed in combat on September 30, 2006, while serving our country in Iraq.

Scott Nisely served 22 years in the Marines as an officer on active duty and as a Reservist, retiring with the rank of major. During his time in the Marines, he served as an infantry company commander in Operation Desert Storm. And following his active duty, Scott worked 12 years for the U.S. Postal Service in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Due to Scott's strong desire to serve his country, he accepted an enlisted rank in order to fill a vacancy in the Iowa Army National Guard in 2002.

According to letters I have received from soldiers in Scott's unit, he did not broadcast the fact that he was a former Marine major, but humbly served his fellow soldiers. One officer also said he was a ``natural born leader of soldiers.''

Scott served with the Iowa National Guard on the Multinational Forces Observer mission in the Sinai, and finally in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Scott's friends, family, coworkers, fellow soldiers and marines attest to the positive and lasting impact he had on their lives. Numerous letters from these individuals were sent to me, and I include them for the Record.

Scott's life was a shining example of dedication to service, a strong commitment certainly to his family, his faith, and his country. This legislation will name the post office located at 309 East Linn Street in Marshalltown, Iowa, the Major Scott Nisely Post Office.

I want to thank Scott's co-workers at the Marshalltown post office who initiated this proposal, and I am proud to help them make this timely and appropriate honor a reality. I also want to thank my colleagues from Iowa, Leonard Boswell, Steve King, Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack for their support in moving this legislation forward. I strongly urge all Members to pass H.R. 2563.

Department of the Army,

Headquarters, 1st Battalion 133D Infantry,

Al Asad Ab, Iraq, June 8, 2007.

Congressman Tom Latham,

Ames, Iowa.

Dear Mr. Latham: I am responding to an inquiry to determine

if my unit would support the consideration of naming the

United States Post Office in Marshalltown, Iowa after one of

my soldiers, Scott Nisely.

The bottom line on this is yes, I, and my entire unit fully

support this effort, and see this as a fitting tribute to

this fallen citizen soldier.

As a Battalion Commander, I have many soldiers that are

under my command. I have deployed in the service of our

country 3 times since September of 2000, I have been

entrusted with some of the finest young people that our State

and our Nation have to offer. Let me share with you a little

bit about Scott Nisely from my perspective.

Scott joined the Iowa National Guard after completing a

full military career in the Marine Corps, retiring from the

Marine Corps as a Field Grade Officer. He then joined the

National Guard as an enlisted soldier in the rank of a Buck

Sergeant, because this was what was offered to him. On my

second deployment, and my first with Scott Nisely, I asked

him what motivated him to do this; his reply was that he felt

he could make a difference in the lives of these young men,

and he still felt a strong desire to serve his country in

whatever capacity he could. He didn't care about the rank, he

didn't care about the job, as long as he was working with

young soldiers, and serving our country. To me this was

evident during our OEF deployment, and in our current mission

in Iraq.

Scott was a man that was respected by all those around him,

not because of the words he said, but because of the way that

he lived his life and by the example he set for others. We

all lost something the day we lost SFC Nisely and SGT

Sourivong. We cannot change the events that happened on that

day, but we can honor these men, and the sacrifice that they

have made. I believe by naming the Marshalltown Post Office

in honor of Scott Nisely, we will always have a visible

reminder of this sacrifice, and are honoring a great American

who lived his life in a manner that we should all strive to

pattern. He lived his life with honor and integrity, love for

his family, and love for his country.

Sincerely,

Benjamin J. Corell,

Lieutenant Colonel, Infantry,

Commanding.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for yielding me time, and I congratulate the committee and the chairman for bringing this piece of legislation forward.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2359, the Small Business Administration Entrepreneurial Development Programs Act.

I am especially pleased that the Small Business Committee included legislation that I introduced earlier this Congress, H.R. 731, the National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act, into this broad legislative package. This National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act utilizes one of SBA's most effective programs, the Small Business Development Center program. Generally the SBDCs support small businesses with financial, management, and marketing activities. My legislation, included in section 207 of H.R. 2359, creates a pilot program through the SBDCs that will provide free confidential counseling on regulatory compliance and help small businesses gain access to regulatory information and resources.

The research done by the Small Business Administration demonstrates that small businesses with less than 20 employees pay more than $7,600 per employee to comply with Federal regulations each year, while large firms pay 45 percent less per employee. Adjusted for inflation, the annual cost of Federal regulations faced by America's small businesses in 2004 was over $875 billion.

The fact of the matter is many small business owners have neither the time nor the expertise to sort through hundreds of pages of regulations in the Federal Register. Small business owners often learn of their failure to comply with Federal regulations or even that new Federal regulations have been imposed only after a penalty has been assessed. The current system denies small businesses access to regulatory compliance assistance and further weakens the opportunity for America's small businesses to compete with larger firms both domestically and internationally.

The Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act represents a win-win for America's small businesses. Not only will the SBDCs help small business owners understand what they must do to comply with Federal regulations but also how they may do so in a most cost-effective manner.

Again, I would like to thank the committee for including this legislation in the bill, and I urge my colleagues to support the overall bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Hamilton County, Webster City, and the Webster City Daily Freeman-Journal on their 150th year anniversary. Hamilton County is located in north central Iowa and is home to approximately 16,500 people. It was named in honor of William W. Hamilton, who served as President of the Iowa State Senate from 1856-1857. Hamilton County was home to MacKinlay Kantor who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956 for his novel Andersonville.

The county seat of Hamilton County is Webster City, which is located along the Boone River. The city was started by Wilson Brewer when he built a log cabin by the Boone River. Brewer and William Flakes platted the town of Newcastle, which was later sold for $22,000 to Walter Wilson and his brother Sumler. Wilson was eventually elected State representative; in that capacity he requested the help of William Hamilton to divide the rather large county of Webster into two counties, Webster and Hamilton. The act of January 1, 1857 officially changed the city name from Newcastle to Webster City.

Throughout its long tenure The Daily Freeman-Journal has provided excellent national, state, and local news coverage to the people of Webster City and Hamilton County. The Daily Freeman-Journal is Hamilton County's longest continuously operating business. Throughout its history, the paper has won numerous awards including the Governor's Volunteer Award, Outstanding Outreach/Community Service Newspaper, numerous advertising awards, and several best page awards.

Again, I congratulate Hamilton County, Webster City, and The Daily Freeman-Journal on this historic anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate a student from Lenihan Intermediate School in Marshalltown, IA.

Rebekah Frese has been selected to present her award winning history project at the Smithsonian National Museum of America. Rebekah's project was one of a handful selected by the National History Day program from hundreds of thousands nationwide.

Each project reflected on this year's National History Day theme, ``Triumph and Tragedy in History.'' Rebekah's project highlighted the underground railroad in the State of Iowa. Iowa had numerous locations on the underground railroad actively assisting runaway slaves to reach Canada and freedom. In taverns, houses, and cellers throughout the State, fleeing slaves were able to realize a few hours of security and rest thanks to the great Iowans who risked their own lives and property to befriend and protect the fleeing slaves.

Rebekah's teachers, Millie Frese and Karen Roessler, are also to be commended and congratulated for this accomplishment. They have instilled the importance and value of history in their students as an integral part of the education of Rebekah, her classmates, and future generations of Iowans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank very much Congressman King for the time.

It is very difficult for me to talk about someone that I admired so much as Wiley Mayne, the idea of him having passed this earth. Wiley was born back in 1917. He passed away on May 27 of this year. He was born in a little town of Sanborn up in O'Brien County, and what a great area up there, a lot of the good Dutch men, and grew up, went to school there.

And you think about someone coming from Sanborn, Iowa, then going off to Harvard to college, and he got his bachelor of science degree, continued studying law at Harvard, came back to Iowa and finished his law degree at the Iowa Law School.

In 1941, he joined the FBI and had his career there. And then, during the Second World War, from 1941 to 1943, he served in the United States Navy and escorted destroyers through the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific and served his Nation extraordinarily well at that time.

He came back to Sioux City, practiced law for a couple decades, then became the president of the Iowa Bar Association and obviously was so admired and respected by his peers to have an honor bestowed on him like that.

Like the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) said, Congressman Mayne was elected to this Congress in 1966 in the 90th Congress, served in that Congress and the three following Congresses and served his people extraordinarily well. He was someone who was dedicated to his constituents, someone that cared all the time about his constituents.

And you talk to people who were around him at that time, and that's the thing that you will hear over and over, was his concern, his great job of representing his constituents. In my mind, in this job, that is our highest calling is to try and represent to the best of our abilities the people that we are honored to serve in this great body.

Like Congressman King said, Congressman Mayne had the committee assignments, both Judiciary and obviously with the Watergate investigation and his service on that panel, then also served on the Ag Committee, very, very important to the Iowa interests, and served extremely well.

The thing I will always remember about Wiley, though, is his deep love and devotion to his wife, Betty. And they were a couple. You'd have the pleasure of meeting up with them at a lot of Republican events and around, but they rarely missed anything, were always so much part of the community.

And Wiley served on the Sioux City Orchestra Board for years and years, I think was president for 20 years, but so involved in the community.

But his love for Betty, who he unfortunately lost back in 2001, was devastating to Wiley, and was such a model of a couple who cared for each other, cared for their community, and certainly, most importantly to them were their children.

Martha Smith, who is their oldest daughter, lives in Colorado now. Wiley, Jr., also I believe lives in Colorado, and their youngest, John, who's a very good, personal friend of mine, who has been such a great help to me personally and to so many people throughout the Sioux City area, but their love for their family, for their grandchildren, for their community was something that was an example for everyone to see and their dedication to their grandchildren especially.

It is very, very difficult to think about Wiley not being around. I think back when I first ran for Congress back in 1994, and to go over to Sioux City, where I wasn't really familiar with all that many people at that time, but I had the real pleasure and honor to get acquainted with Wiley and John and Betty at that time and to seek their support and which they gave me. And I would not be successful here today if it were not for the advice, counsel and support that they gave me. Wiley was just a wonderful, wonderful person.

When you think about people who always are thinking beyond themselves, who act on behalf of other people, who are truly concerned about what this country stands for, what their community is about, how they can better the world that they live in for their children and for their grandchildren, Wiley Mayne was one of those people, and he will be dearly missed by so many people throughout Siouxland for so long.

And certainly, I want to extend my personal condolences to the entire Mayne family, all the children, the grandchildren, all the friends that mourn his loss, as certainly I do, and I know Congressman King does, also.

But he was an example to me. I went through the predicament, the situation with the impeachment process for President Clinton, and the first person that I called for counsel was Wiley Mayne because he had been through it. And I think people misrepresented what his real position was because he was betrayed by President Nixon, but to get his counsel, to get his insight, to get his thoughts, someone who was so smart and so normal, who could talk in real terms, who could relay not only the facts but the emotions, the feeling, the real sentiment about what this was all about and the long-term, historical part of what was happening.

I just want to tell Congressman King, I appreciate the chance to visit a little bit about Wiley, but I'm going to miss him personally. And again, I just extend my most sincere condolences to his entire family.

And the best thing we can do for Wiley is to celebrate him, celebrate his life, celebrate the positive things that he did and celebrate the legacy that he has left for the folks in Sioux City, for Siouxland and the State of Iowa and for this entire country.

And I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.

Madam Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to honor Scott Nisely of Marshalltown, Iowa, one of America's heroes who was killed in combat on September 30, 2006, while serving our country in Iraq.

Scott Nisley served 22 years in the Marines as an officer on active duty and as a reservist, retiring with the rank of major. He then worked 12 years for the U.S. Postal Service in Marshalltown, Iowa. Due to Scott's strong desire to serve his country, he accepted an enlisted rank in order to fill a vacancy in the Iowa Army National Guard. Scott had served a tour of duty during Operation Desert Storm as a marine in addition to Operation Iraqi Freedom as a guardsman.

Scott's friends, family, coworkers and fellow soldiers and marines attest to the positive and lasting impact he had on their lives. Scott's life was a shining example of dedication to service, and a strong commitment to his family, faith and country. The legislation I am introducing with the support of my colleagues from Iowa--Leonard Boswell, Steve King, Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack--would name the post office located at 309 East Linn Street in Marshalltown, Iowa, the ``Major Scott Nisely Post Office.'' The proposal was initiated by Scott's coworkers at the Marshalltown Post Office, and I am proud to help them make this timely and appropriate honor a reality. I strongly encourage my colleagues to swiftly consider and pass this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.J. Res. 40, which was added by the sponsor without my permission.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding.

I rise today in strong opposition to this rule, and there is one very good reason. Partisanship has reached an unconscionable level in this House.

Just for the simple fact that I am in the minority party, the Rules Committee did not allow an amendment which would have given a 9-year- old child from my district access to the death gratuity that her mother wanted her to have when she was killed in Iraq, just for partisan reasons.

Susan Jaenke, the mother of Jaimie Jaenke, who was killed in Iraq, along with her granddaughter, Kayla, came to Washington at great expense and trouble and testified before the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee. There was broad bipartisan support for an amendment that would simply allow access to the death gratuity of Jaimie Jaenke by her daughter.

This is outrageous, the fact that you would deny a 9-year-old child access. Her grandparents don't have the money to raise this child. She has no spouse. It would not cost a dime. It is the right thing to do. In the committee, on a bipartisan basis, people said they would do anything possible to help in this situation. I brought this before the Rules

Committee and explained what is going on, how this child is denied access to funding so that she can have a decent life; and it was denied simply for partisan reasons. I would think you would be ashamed.

And this is not just a single case. There are at least 143 cases exactly like this. And to deny a child access to this benefit is simply outrageous.

Vote against this outrageous rule.

I thank the Speaker for the time to rise in support of this resolution to honor our great friend, Jim Leach, by naming the courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, after him. It is a well-deserved honor.

I miss Jim Leach around here because of his great sense of humor, his insight, his thoughtfulness, someone who was a strong Iowa Hawkeye supporter, having the Hawks in his district, and I, myself, representing Iowa State, so we used to go back and forth an awful lot.

Jim Leach will be remembered here in this body for his 30 years of service, his great thoughtfulness, his intellect, someone who, whether it be in financial services, and the Financial Services Modernization Act bears his name, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill; whether it be trying to stop gambling predators over the Internet; someone who knew and understood international policy, foreign affairs like no one else; someone who had such a broad breadth of knowledge, who could bring that forth and convey it to other folks in a very kind and thoughtful way.

He does represent the very best of what's in this Congress, and that is a spirit of bipartisanship, of thought over politics, of actions rather than posturing; someone who I have the greatest personal respect for. And I'm so pleased that Mr. Loebsack has

brought this resolution to the floor of the House, and I would urge everyone to support this resolution in honor of James Leach. And I want to commend him, also his wife, Deva, and the family; just wonderful people, and an honor like this could not go to a nicer person or a more deserving individual.

Mr. Speaker, as a proud cosponsor of H.R. 1045, a bill to designate the federal building located at 210 Walnut street in downtown Des Moines, Iowa as the ``Neal Smith Federal Building,'' I strongly support its passage.

As a distinguished public servant to an Americans--a World War II bomber pilot and the State of Iowa's longest serving Member of the U.S. House of Representatives--Neal Smith deserves to be recognized by this body, where he served the people of Iowa with honor for 36 years.

To this day, Neal Smith is held in high regard by Iowans. His accomplishments as a member of the House Appropriations Committee helped strengthen Iowa's economy and improve the lives of its citizens. In addition to his committee work, Neal Smith championed many issues important to Iowa agriculture and the environment. Neal Smith is credited with creating the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a federal national wildlife refuge in Prairie City, Iowa that now bares his name.

But what is most impressive to me and most important to Iowa and this country is the dedication and sacrifice Neal Smith made during World War II. As a courageous United States Army Air Force bomber pilot Neal Smith, encountered enemy fire and his plane was shot down. His valor and perseverance earned him the Purple Heart, nine Battle Stars and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.

Neal Smith--Iowa is proud and thankful for your many years of service and I proudly support H.R. 1045.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the Speaker for this chance to say just a few words about my dear friend and classmate, Charlie Norwood.

To Gloria, to the family, we extend our most sincere, deepest condolences. Kathy and I will keep you in our prayers.

I just want to tell one short story about Charlie. When we came into Congress together back in 1994 and we had the Contract With America, the first 100 days, one of the very first votes that we had was H.R. 1. That was an amendment to the Constitution to balance the budget. I was standing right back here at the voting machine beside Charlie Norwood. I voted ``yes.'' Charlie put his card in, he voted ``yes,'' and he turned to me and says, You know what. That's what I ran on. I can go home now. I've done my job. I've kept my promise.

That's what Charlie Norwood was all about. I just want to say, Charlie, you're home now, the Augusta, the Georgia that you love, and our thoughts and prayers will always be with you and the great honor that you have given all of us here to serve with you in this great body.