Brian Baird

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 1069, the resolution now under consideration.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am very pleased today to be honoring the two Nobel Prize-winning physicists on their remarkable achievement. Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, of Bell Labs, were recipients of the 2009 Nobel Prize in physics, along with Dr. Charles K. Kao. Drs. Boyle and Smith won the prize for their invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit, the charge-coupled device, or CCD. If this sounds familiar, it may be because it is the device that makes digital cameras work. The digital camera is already ubiquitous in consumer usage, but people may not realize the device also has been instrumental to scientific endeavors as well. The field of astronomy was revolutionized by the integration of these devices into telescopes to capture details of the cosmos in even greater detail. CCDs have also greatly aided our ability to look inward at the tiniest particles with their adaptation into microscopes. Today, we also honor Bell Laboratories of Murray Hill, New Jersey. Bell Labs is a renowned research organization whose name is synonymous with innovation. In addition to CCDs, work at Bell Labs has led to the development of the transistor, photovoltaic cells, the laser, and the UNIX operating system. For all of these accomplishments, a total of seven Nobel Prizes for physics have been awarded for the work done at Bell Labs. I want to thank the sponsor of this resolution, Mr. Lance of New Jersey, for recognizing these great scientific achievements. It's vitally important as we work to try and maintain America's competitiveness in the global economy that we celebrate scientific achievement and encourage young people to pursue careers in technical fields. We are quick in this body to recognize sports accomplishments. It is only fitting that we also recognize intellectual accomplishments of this caliber, particularly when they have such a dramatic impact on all of our lives. If we want as a society to do better in these areas of endeavor, it only makes sense for Congress to recognize great intellectual achievement when it happens; and these gentlemen are certainly deserving of that recognition. So, once again, I want to thank my colleagues, and I urge passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. I want to, again, commend Mr. Lance from New Jersey and my colleague and friend, Dr. Rush Holt, for his leadership on this, an absolutely fitting acknowledgment. I again urge passage, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. I have no further speakers, requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 935) honoring John E. Warnock, Charles M. Geschke, Forrest M. Bird, Esther Sans Takeuchi, and IBM Corporation for receiving the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 935, the resolution now under consideration.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 935, honoring John E. Warnock, Charles M. Geschke, Forrest M. Bird, Esther Sans Takeuchi, and IBM Corporation for receiving the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The National Medal of Technology and Innovation is the highest honor for technological achievement given by the President to the country's leading innovators, and the five recipients honored by this resolution have all made great contributions to technology and innovation in the United States. These honorees have made contributions in areas including desktop publishing, medical and battery technologies, and supercomputing. Innovation and technological advancements in these areas and others are critical for many reasons, including furthering health care technology for our citizens and increasing the United States' ability to remain economically competitive with other nations. I want to congratulate the five honorees and thank Representative Lofgren from California for her leadership in introducing this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. Again, I want to commend the sponsor of this bill, Ms. Lofgren, and, most importantly of all, commend the recipients of this prestigious award and thank them for their contributions to the betterment of our entire society, our economy, and the well-being of our public. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3650) to establish a National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program, to develop and coordinate a comprehensive and integrated strategy to address harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, and to provide for the development and implementation of comprehensive regional action plans to reduce harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, as amended.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3650, as amended, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 3650, the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Act. This bill represents a timely and necessary step to address a large and growing problem. The Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Hypoxia Research and Control Act was first signed into law in 1998 and last reauthorized in 2004. And from the outset, I want to commend my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Ehlers, for his tireless work on this over many years. I stand in support of these programs because this affects virtually every coastal waterway in America as well as freshwater ecosystems. Let me share with you an example of how serious this problem is. In a small lake in my own district recently, a person was out with their dog, playing fetch in the water. They threw their favorite tennis ball in the water. The dog jumped into the water, retrieved the tennis ball, swam back up on the shore, and promptly died. Harmful algal blooms are what we know in the saltwater environment as red tides. In freshwater, it's often blue-green algae. They are deadly in both environments. Estimates suggest the cost may be $82 million a year, the annual economic impact of HABs, according to a 2006 study. This means billions of dollars over decades. I mentioned already the tragic loss of this animal, but on a human scale, red tides pose a serious neurotoxin that can actually affect your ability to remember things over the long run. So we have a serious problem. It is growing in the case of harmful algal blooms. We have a parallel and related problem that the bill also addresses, and these are so-called dead zones, or hypoxia, so known because they are areas of lack of oxygen. These are expanding. Perhaps the most well known is in the Gulf of Mexico, areas literally thousands of square miles wide that if virtually any marine organism swims into them, they die very shortly thereafter because they do not have sufficient oxygen to survive. This has impacted not only the Gulf of Mexico, but also my own coast and elsewhere in the country. Now, within the freshwater system, I want to underscore a particularly important point. From the Great Lakes to small creeks of West Virginia and throughout the country, this is a problem. My friend and colleague, Mr. Mollohan from West Virginia, has been particularly interested in this. We need to understand that these harmful algal blooms in freshwater are particularly toxic for the following reasons: Most of the mechanisms that we currently use to purify water do not work with harmful algal blooms. If you boil water to kill pathogens, that normally purifies it. If you boil water that has harmful algal blooms in it, you actually increase the toxin and increase its lethality. If you filter water to get out protozoa and other things, as many of us do when we are hiking or climbing, that can purify normal water. It is totally ineffective and may be actually counterproductive in harmful algal blooms because all you do is break up the bodies of the algae, but the toxin survives. Chlorination does not work to stop these things. So we have a problem that is deadly to organisms ranging from fish to shore birds and to human beings. And again, both harmful algal blooms and hypoxic events are spreading. I want to also mention that in my own district, which has a coastal area that is very economically benefited by the clamming season, all you need is one red tide to come in, shut down the clamming season, and you literally lose millions of dollars of business. And for many of our hotel owners and restaurateurs and others, that's the season. You lose that because of a harmful algal bloom, you have basically lost your economy for the year. So this bill would expand our ability to study and ultimately to control these harmful algal blooms and hypoxic events. I appreciate the support of many colleagues. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. My colleagues, I have enjoyed the comments by my friends from the other side of the aisle. I just would rise today to point out one thing. The largest expansion of an entitlement program in the history of the United States of America since our creation happened under the watch of the Republican majority. It happened on a piece of legislation that we had less than 30 hours to read, there were no amendments allowed, and it increased the debt per decade by more than $750 billion. The amount of Federal borrowing from foreign countries doubled under the watch of many of my colleagues here. Now I am pleased that they're concerned about fiscal responsibility. Speaker Pelosi has pledged that the bill will be available online, plus the manager's amendment, for 72 hours. We had less than 30 on the Medicare bill. We are at least trying to pay for this legislation. We will not, with this legislation, increase the debt $750 billion, as did the Medicare prescription drug bill, passed by the former majority party. Americans need health care reform. My friends on the other side of the aisle had 12 years to try to do something constructive, and they failed.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. I thank my colleague from Minnesota for his leadership. My friends who have described the Goldstone Report, as a colleague just did, I'm not sure if they have read it. I have read it. It is not at all silent on whether or not Israel had a reason to respond. It specifically talks about the unacceptability of Hamas rocketing Israeli citizens. Here's a picture of Israeli kids in Sderot, hiding, practicing how to deal with those rockets. It is absolutely unacceptable that any people have to undergo this kind of attack; and the Goldstone Report is, in fact, quite clear on that. And contrary to this resolution and contrary to what some of my colleagues said, it is explicit about suggesting that Hamas may have engaged in war crimes. But there is another side to this story. I have twin 4-year-old boys at home. When I kiss them goodnight, they look for all the world like these three little Palestinian children. I don't know that father, but I can imagine his grief. We must not say that this Congress will unequivocally oppose any consideration of a report by a jurist of this integrity and this reputation. Those children deserve someone to ask why they died, just as these children in Sderot deserve someone to say they must not be rocketed. And the Goldstone Report does both. It does both. Unlike most of my colleagues here, I have been to Gaza and I have read in its entirety the Goldstone Report. And I will tell you he says many things that, though unpleasant, are true and must not be obstructed. There used to be a school in Gaza called the American International School. The motto of that school: ``Peace, Understanding, and Leadership Through Education.''

Mr. BAIRD. This is a picture of what happened to that school. This is a picture of what happened to that school. Do not pass this resolution. Support this fine jurist. Give justice, true justice, a chance to be heard.

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. BAIRD. Is it not the conditions under which this is considered that Members would have an opportunity to introduce extraneous material without having to ask unanimous consent at the moment of request? We already have that, I believe. In other words, the gentlelady's objection is irrelevant.

Mr. BAIRD. Meaning what, if I may ask. My belief is we had unanimous consent at the outset.

Mr. BAIRD. I have a further parliamentary inquiry. With respect to the Parliamentarian, ``general leave may be obtained'' is cryptic, and I would like a straight answer. My belief is that the conditions of this, at the outset of this debate, Members were given the authority to introduce extraneous material, and without having to request unanimous consent. In other words, the gentlelady's objection is irrelevant.

Mr. BAIRD. Parliamentary inquiry, Madam Speaker.

Mr. BAIRD. Is it my understanding that the gentleman from Minnesota lost time because of the parliamentary inquiry?

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for the time, and want to commend the chairman for his work on this bill, as well as the ranking member. I rise in strong support of the Coast Guard Authorization Act. This bill makes important strides in strengthening the modern day mission of our Coast Guard. It is such a privilege to represent the fine young men and women who serve our country at Cape Disappointment in my own district. Also included in this bill is language clarifying the rule related to the taxation of interstate waterway workers. In an effort to address an unfair tax situation of waterway workers, whose jobs require them to work in multiple States, I authored legislation in the 106th Congress called the Transportation Employment Fair Taxation Act. This legislation barred States from taxing a nonresident waterway worker who performs regularly assigned duties while engaged as a master, officer or crewman on a vessel operating on the navigable waters of more than one State. As the House report for this legislation stated, the purpose of this legislation was to prohibit any State from taxing the income of a nonresident interstate waterway worker. The Senate version of this legislation was signed into law on November 9, 2000. Unfortunately, a 2006 decision by one State's tax court is wholly inconsistent with the intent of the 2000 law. Due to the use of the word ``of'' instead of ``in,'' the court believes it only applies to the waterways that are owned jointly by more than one State. This was clearly not the intent of the 2000 law. The legislative history and Congressional Record make clear it was not the intent of the law, and I happen to know a little about that intent because I authored the legislation. This legislation today makes a slight wording change to clarify that the law is intended to apply to all interstate waterway workers on all waterways. It is my sincere hope that this minor change will make clear that States are prohibited from taxing the income of a nonresident interstate waterway worker, period. I want to make clear that this was the intent of the law I authored in 2000, and this legislation before us today will reinforce that congressional intent. Again, I thank the gentlelady for the time, and recommend passage.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and, most importantly, in strong support of the men and women of the 81st Brigade and of our entire National Guard, not only in Washington State but across the Nation. These brave men and women have served our country multiple times, as my colleagues have said, not just in times of war but in times of peace. We have had catastrophic flooding in my district a number of times, and the National Guard has always been there to respond to that call. It has been my great privilege to join our National Guard during their training in Yakima, during deployment ceremonies here Stateside, at Camp McCoy, then again in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and back home. I will tell you, as we all know, they make us proud every single day. They are truly the finest that America has to offer, and it is their example of courage, professionalism, integrity, and compassion more than anything else, in addition to their combat and civilian skills, which help them successfully complete their mission at home. I want to particularly congratulate General Timothy Lowenberg, who has been an outstanding leader of the Guard, again during both war and peacetime; Colonel Sabatini, whom I met with this last week on a homecoming visit with the troops; and Daniel Kern, who served in Afghanistan while many of the other Guardsmen were in Iraq. Particularly, I want to thank the families. As Congressman Smith mentioned, the families serve as well. While their loved ones are overseas and are in harm's way, it is the families back home--the moms and dads, the brothers and sisters, and the children--who keep the home fires burning, and we must not forget them. In knowing the fact that our unit is back home, we must keep in our hearts all those who are still deployed and who have been deployed. I also want to mention the employers. Employer support of the Guard and Reserves is an incredibly important organization. They make sure that, when our men and women are deployed overseas, they have a chance to come home and resume their employment. Also, there are the educators who are helping people. There are our community colleges and universities and our vocational and technical education schools, which are helping retrain our soldiers when they come home. Most importantly, I think it's essential that we acknowledge that Iraq is a better place because of the service of these men and women. Afghanistan is a better place. Our country is a better place, and we are grateful, and we cannot express in words our profound respect and gratitude. I thank the gentleman for introducing the resolution.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. I thank the gentlelady. I rise in strong support of H.R. 1080, and I also would like to speak in support of the prior bill on coral reefs. In the marine sciences, there is a phenomenon known as the shifting baseline, which is where you look today and say, What's the status of this ecosystem? You tend to look 10 years back, on the assumption that that's a good window of time. The fact, however, is that the 10-years-back window may be substantially degraded from 10 years prior, which was degraded from 10 years prior, et cetera. So as we try to restore these ecosystems, we need to understand that many of them have been profoundly degraded over time, this shifting baseline is going in a negative direction, and it's very hard to know where we're at. This legislation, H.R. 1080, and the prior legislation regarding coral reefs, is a shift in a positive direction. We are actually improving the protection of our marine resources, which are so critical. I would say to my colleagues that if they learn and remember nothing else about our marine ecosystems, it would be the following number: 50 percent. As we speak today, 50 percent of the oxygen we are breathing comes from the oceans--every other breath. Yet the oceans are subject to assault, ranging from ocean acidification to temperature increase, to overfishing, which this legislation deals with, to runoff, to harmful algal blooms, to hypoxia, et cetera. I commend the gentlelady and gentleman for their leadership on this. I urge passage. We must make preservation of our oceans a much higher priority, not only for this body but for this country. I urge passage of both this and the prior bill.