Brian Baird

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, on December 11, 2007, I was visiting with displaced residents and touring flood damaged areas in my district. As a result, I was unable to be present for votes. I take my voting responsibility very seriously. Had I been present, I would have voted the following: rollcall vote 1134--H. Res. 846 (Will the House Now Consider the Resolution): ``yea''; rollcall vote 1135--H.R. 3505 (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass): ``yea''; rollcall vote 1136--H. Res. 846 (On Agreeing to the Previous Question): ``yea''; rollcall vote 1137--H. Res. 846 (On Agreeing to the Resolution): ``yea''; rollcall vote 1138--H.R. 4253 (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass): ``yea''; rollcall vote 1139--Quorum (Call of the House): ``present''; rollcall vote 140--H.R. 6 (On Agreeing to the Senate Amendments with Amendments): ``yea''; and rollcall vote 1141--H.R. 2085 (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass): ``yea.''

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. My colleagues, as someone who opposed the invasion of Iraq and believes it was one of the most egregious mistakes in the history of this country, I rise today to implore you to not make a mistake today by demanding that we begin an immediate withdrawal. The facts on the ground are that the situation is improving in Iraq. Courageous Americans have given their lives and time away from their families to make that happen. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died in a conflict that we created. We have a chance now to try to improve the situation. Progress is being made. Do not let anyone today say it is not. Violence is down. Political leaders are reaching out across the aisle. Shias are meeting with Sunnis. Sunnis are meeting with Shias. They need more time to succeed, and an insecure situation will undermine the progress, not further it. We need to have more time to debate this resolution today. We need to take the good parts of it, keep those in, but abandon this requirement for an immediate withdrawal. There is a big difference between 1 year, which this measure says we have to be out in, or a 10-year horizon. We should find the nuance now that we can agree on.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. I thank the gentlelady, the Chair, and the ranking member for their support of this. Point well taken. This does call for a study. I think there are a number of groups under criteria that establish this program, merit discussion and examination, and particularly those who have come to our aid overseas. I'm familiar with some really heart-wrenching stories of folks who have been extraordinarily helpful to our country and face great personal hardship in Iraq and in Afghanistan. If we can help them rebuild their lives over here if they're forced to flee their country, that would be a meritorious deed. But again, this is just calling for a study and, therefore, I urge its passage. I am grateful for the support. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. BAIRD. I thank the chairwoman for the time and applaud her for her leadership of the Small Business Committee. I also want to thank the ranking member for his leadership as well. I rise today with an amendment to improve and update the Small Business Administration's Small Disadvantaged Business Program. My amendment would direct the administrator of the Small Business Administration to examine the list of groups under the Disadvantaged Business Program and consider whether it should be updated to include additional groups. This amendment does not mandate that any group be added and would not affect those well-deserving groups already included. Let me explain why I believe this issue deserves our attention. The issue was brought to my attention by an Afghani American entrepreneur in my own district who is not eligible to receive SBA assistance under the Small Business Development Program. After researching the matter, I learned that the SBA does not include Afghani or Iraqi Americans in the Small Disadvantaged Business Program. I found this troubling, frankly. As we seek to spread democracy to other nations around the world, we ought to consider how we are helping or not helping individuals from those countries who have come to the United States. For example, at a time when we are promoting the American Dream in Afghanistan, I believe we should be doing more to promote this dream to those of Afghani descent who have come to the United States to seek a better way of life. The same applies to the refugees who've helped our Nation in its Iraq mission but have been forced to flee their own lands for having given us that very assistance. I hope we would all agree that as we work to spread democracy and freedom to other nations, we should consider how we're treating individuals from those countries who have come to the United States. Should my amendment be accepted, I hope that the administrator will pay special attention to those countries to which our Armed Forces have been deployed since September 11. Some may be surprised to learn that the SBA has not updated their list of groups since 1989. I believe it's a good time now to revisit this list and to ensure that this program is not excluding any group who deserve assistance. I would ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense amendment. I would ask for your support. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady, and I thank my colleague from New York as well. My colleague from New York did a very nice job of honoring our dear friend Charlie Norwood who perished of this disease. My interest comes from the fact that my father died of the disease, and I want to also talk about Mike Castle who has been a strong supporter of this legislation. Mike lost a sister and a brother to this disease. What I would share with people is imagine getting a diagnosis for a disease you may never have heard of, for which there is no known cause and no known treatment, but it will be fatal. That's IPF, and as the gentleman from New York pointed out, it is estimated that the deaths, at least by some sources, that the deaths caused by IPF on an annual basis exceed the number of breast cancer deaths in this country. But my understanding is NIH currently allocates about $14 million total to research on IPF. So we have a disease that is growing in prevalence, that is fatal, that we have no known cause and no known cure of, and it has claimed the life of one of our dear colleagues here and the family members of Members of the Congress. That's why we've introduced this resolution. I want to commend families and friends from the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis who were here a couple of weeks ago on Capitol Hill lobbying in support of this legislation. I'm pleased to see our leadership bring this up. We would hope that this is a first step. Our hope is that by increasing the awareness of our colleagues here in Congress and of the American public that we can not only increase awareness of the disease but begin to work towards actual dedicated funding for this. This is a cruel illness. Anyone who has seen a family member suffer from it has seen the actually rather desperate effort to try to simply breathe, and that's what happens when your lungs scar up and one goes from a stage of diagnosis where you have a little shortness of breath. Then you begin to need oxygen, to then you flat just cannot breathe and you die of this thing. There are a host of other complications that happen along the way that are not particularly pleasant, to say the least. So I want to urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I would urge them to look forward to ways that we can actually do more to actually identify the causes. There is believed to be some genetic component. I know of one woman who has had five family members die of the same illness. We don't know whether that is the cause of all cases. We don't know how it's passed on. But this is the kind of illness that is killing a number of our friends, now one of our colleagues and many family members of Members of Congress right here. So I urge my colleagues to support the resolution. I thank the gentleman from New York. I thank the gentlelady from Wisconsin, and I particularly want to commend Nathan Deal who was one of Charlie Norwood's closest friends. It's very personal for Nathan. Obviously, it's personal for myself and Mike Castle. I would urge passage, and I thank the gentlelady.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, it is indeed an honor for me to be here along with such distinguished colleagues giving just praise and recognition to a nation which is a leader in a very, very difficult environment. I want to thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen and the distinguished gentleman from American Samoa, and I particularly want to thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. Lantos, for supporting and introducing this resolution. We all know the Middle East is a region which is fraught with difficulties. If ever there is a region that needs and deserves models of courage, integrity and vision that is such a region, and if ever there were such models of integrity, vision and courage, Jordan and King Abdullah II are precisely those models. In the most recent municipal elections, we saw not only a commitment to democratic reforms, but a commitment to moving forward with women's rights, and as many of us who have had the privilege traveling to Jordan know, the kingdom has been a real leader in this region, not only in promoting democratic reforms, but seeing that women are promoted to high positions of office within the cabinet and within the Parliament. It is a lesson that not only nations within the Middle East but within the world at large could benefit from. In addition, the Kingdom of Jordan and King Abdullah II have led efforts to try to bring Islamic scholars from around the world to craft new visions for modern, pluralistic, tolerant and progressive visions of Islam, and the Oman declaration, which does not get nearly the attention it deserves, has been, I think, a visionary statement guiding and inspiring many people throughout the region. In addition, I think it is worth saying that the Kingdom of Jordan has stepped up to try to help in the region. As we deal with the conflict in Iraq, they have provided valuable training to the Iraqi police and others. One of the challenges Jordan faces right now is the influx of nearly 1 million refugees, as was mentioned. This is a country that faces challenges in terms of energy costs, water availability, et cetera, and still, with all the challenges they face, they have reached out to try to assist others. We have talked a lot in this body and elsewhere about the need for models in the Middle East in the hope that Iraq could one day become a model of democracy. I certainly share that hope. But I would say to my colleagues, we already have some very, very good models in that region, and it is deserved that we would commend them and recognize them today. Jordan is precisely such a model. King Abdullah is precisely such a leader. I am grateful that my colleagues today would take the time and the effort to recognize such achievements by such a courageous leader in such a wonderful country. I would urge my colleagues to visit Jordan, to meet with their King, with the members of their Parliament and their cabinet officials, and I am sure they will share my sense of deep admiration and respect for what has been happening there. So I urge passage of this legislation. I hope it marks a positive step, not only in recognition of Jordan, but a step in which this body finds ways to acknowledge the many positive achievements that are taking place in a region which we all know has many difficulties. But if we only focus on the difficulties or the bad news and we neglect the good news and the accomplishments, particularly when they are achieved by nations and individuals of such prestige and courage as Jordan, we would be missing a golden opportunity. Thankfully, today, this House of Representatives will not miss that opportunity. We will acknowledge and recognize the recent elections and reforms by the Kingdom of Jordan and extend a hand of friendship and admiration to all the people of Jordan and to King Abdullah II himself. With that, I thank all of those who cosponsored this legislation on both sides of the aisle. It truly has been a bipartisan effort. Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this fine resolution.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. 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.R. 694, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Opportunity Act of 2007. This bill creates a program to improve computer networks at minority- serving educational institutions. The program will award cost-shared grants to eligible campuses to buy networking equipment and train students and teachers in how to use it. The grants will be awarded by the Secretary of Commerce, and the program will be reviewed by the National Academy of Public Administration every 3 years. In today's digital world, computer networks are a key part of the educational experience. But many campuses, especially minority-serving institutions, do not have the resources to build those networks on their own. That hurts the students and makes them less prepared to find jobs when they graduate. H.R. 694 will help fix that problem and enable many students to get the skills they need to compete in the digital economy. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time, and I ask the gentleman if he has any other speakers.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to conclude by thanking my colleague from Texas. This has truly been a bipartisan bill. I want to sing the praises of Congressman Towns from New York for his steadfast leadership on this and Mr. Forbes' leadership prior to that. I urge a ``yes'' vote for passage of this fine piece of legislation.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 694) to establish a digital and wireless network technology program, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2850) to provide for the implementation of a Green Chemistry Research and Development Program, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2850, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate my commendation to the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey, and Mr. Hall for his leadership, and urge passage of this legislation.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2850, the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act. Chemical manufacturing produces great wonders for the world, but at the same time it can result in harm to health and the environment due to the use of hazardous materials and the generation of hazardous by- products. Green chemistry seeks to mitigate such harmful outcomes. In short, the goal of green chemistry is to minimize or to eliminate this harm by using safer materials and manufacturing processes. Besides protecting human health and the environment, green chemistry can offer economic advantages and improvements to worker safety, public safety, and our national security. The bill before us today, H.R. 2850, the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act, establishes an interagency program to enhance green chemistry R&D at NSF, EPA, DOE and NIST. This legislation will provide grants to individual researchers, spur university/industry partnerships, fund research at Federal laboratories, and train students in green chemistry science. H.R. 2850 is the third iteration of a bill that Congressman Gingrey has introduced addressing this issue in three separate Congresses. I want to applaud the gentleman from Georgia for his steadfast leadership on this, and I fully support the legislation. Under Chairman Boehlert's leadership in the 108th and 109th Congresses, Democratic amendments were agreed to, and these amendments now make up sections of H.R. 2850. This bill is the product of good, bipartisan cooperation and has the support of our chairman, Mr. Gordon, from Tennessee. H.R. 2850 is a good first step, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, as Chair of the Subcommittee on Research and Education, as a scientist, as an educator, and perhaps most importantly of all, as a parent, I commend this legislation. I'm very proud to support it fervently. I want to focus in particular on some of the sections of the bill that we authored along with my dear friend, Dr. Ehlers, on the Science Committee. I especially want to commend Ranking Member Hall and Mr. Gordon for his great leadership. Title VII of this bill reauthorizes the National Science Foundation and is based on legislation authored by Mr. Ehlers and myself. This title includes some very exciting provisions. It helps ensure the strength and vitality of basic research at U.S. colleges. It strengthens and expands K-12 science, technology and math education. It provides additional support for new investigators to help keep the best and brightest in the STEM pipeline. It strengthens STEM programs for 2- year institutions. It focuses attention on interdisciplinary research, and to stretch our Federal dollars, it encourages university and industry partnerships to make every dollar go further. It expands the range of state-of-the-art research tools supported by the foundations. It requires NSF grantees to train their students in responsible and ethical conduct. It specifically recognizes the importance of social science to our Nation's security and competitiveness. And it acknowledges the increasing importance of service science to our Nation's competitiveness. Finally, it includes needed improvements to planning and coordination for the major Federal interagency research program in information technology. I am grateful to all the committee members and to our staff: Chuck Atkins, Jim Wilson; Dahlia Sokolov; Alisa Ferguson; Lewis Finkel; Hilary Cain on my own staff; and soon to depart but with much gratitude, Marc Korman on my staff. Mr. Speaker, our Nation was founded by scientists. We don't talk about that often enough. But Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington were passionate about science. They would be proud of what we are doing today. In the Dome of this magnificent Capitol, if you look up and see the great picture of the Apotheosis of Washington, he is surrounded by images in many cases representing the science and engineering achievements of this great Nation. For the sake of our future, for the sake of our children, for the sake of our economy and our security, pass this good bill. I commend all those who participated in making it a success.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. BAIRD. I have great respect for the gentlelady's intent here. As a clinical psychologist before entering this body, I worked with victims of domestic violence and have been a strong advocate for the Violence Against Women Act and other things to support victims of domestic violence. The challenge I face here, and I think we all face, is that this is not a good offset. As Chair of the Research and Education Subcommittee of the Science Committee, I have met extensively with the National Science Foundation, and I will tell you that they are already substantially overstretched in their ability to manage the numbers of grant applications and oversee the grants that are already being administered. The President himself has asked for a substantial increase in funding for the National Science Foundation. That has broad bipartisan support within this body and within the other body. If we were to cut the management funds, as this proposes, we would dramatically impair the NSF's ability to manage that increase; indeed, to manage their current workload. I have met with the people managing the grant process at the NSF. I have met with the applicants, and we have spent extensive time on this in our subcommittee. While I support the intent of trying to provide more funding for violence against women, this is not the way to do it.

Mr. BAIRD. I yield to the gentlewoman from West Virginia.

Mr. BAIRD. I appreciate that. I understand you have done that, and I respect the diligence here. The challenge they face is they are literally bursting at the seams. They do not have office space, sufficient computer architecture, they do not have sufficient personnel. I can't vouch, and it would be foolish for any of us to try to line-item or justify each and every expense, but I can tell you what they have told me is they lack the space. If you are finding items for conference room rentals for meetings, that is perfectly understandable to me that when you have people coming back to have meetings, you may occasionally need additional space. My bottom line here is this is an agency that I think by and large gives a very strong return on investment for the government and for the taxpayers, and a $10 million cut to an administrative fund for an agency that already tells us they lack adequate resources I think is excessive. I am sorry, I am going to have to say we should defeat this amendment and try to find other ways. As the distinguished gentleman mentioned earlier, we have already seen substantial investments in this area over and above the President's request as far as the area of violence against women. I would just encourage the gentlelady to say well done to the Democratic majority for adding to this relative to what the President offered. But I would urge my colleagues, and I can tell you personally from having met with and visited with NSF administration, they do not feel, and my understanding, they can sustain a $10 million cut to any portion of their budget. But the administration portion is what enables them to manage the grants, to manage the research that this country's future and domestic security and economic competitiveness depends on. So I'd urge defeat of this well-intentioned amendment with unfortunately an undesirable offset. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Madam Speaker, between May 16, 2007, and May 22, 2007, I traveled to the Middle East to attend the World Economic Forum and to visit with troops from my district now serving in Iraq. As a result, I missed a number of votes. I take my voting responsibility very seriously; had I been present, I would have voted the following: No on the Andrews Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 364) No on the DeFazio Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 365) No on the Woolsey Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 366) Aye on the Tierney Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 367) No on the Franks Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 368) No on the King Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 369) Aye on the Moran Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 370) Aye on the Holt Amendment to H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 371) Aye on the Motion to Recommit H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 372) Aye on final passage of H.R. 1585, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Roll Call 373) Yea on H. Res. 404, providing for consideration of the H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 374) Yea on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 409, providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 21) setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government (Roll Call 375) Aye on H. Res. 409, providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 21) setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government (Roll Call 376) Yea on agreeing to the conference report S. Con. Res. 21 (Roll Call 377) No on Bachus Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 378) No on Hensarling Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 379) No on the McHenry Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 380) Aye on the Kanjorski Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 381) No on the Roskam Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 382) No on the Garrett Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 383) Yea on H.R. 698, the Industrial Bank Holding Company Act (Roll Call 384) Yea on H.R. 1425, designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4551 East 52nd Street in Odessa, Texas, as the ``Staff Sergeant Marvin `Rex' Young Post Office Building'' (Roll Call 385) No on the Feeney Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 386) No on the Price Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 387) No on the Sessions Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 388) No on the Brady Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 389) No on the Price Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 390) No on the Doolittle Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 391) No on the Hensarling Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 392) No on the Neugebauer Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 393) Aye on the Neugebauer Amendment to H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 394) No on the Motion to Recommit H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 395) Aye on final passage of H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (Roll Call 396) Yea on S. 214, the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act (Roll Call 397) Yea on H.R. 2264, to amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal (Roll Call 398) Yea on S. 1104, a bill to increase the number of Iraqi and Afghani translators and interpreters who may be admitted to the United States as special immigrants (Roll Call 399) Yea on H.R. 2399, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to combat the crime of alien smuggling and related activities (Roll Call 400) Yea on H.R. 1722, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 601 Banyan Trail in Boca Raton, Florida, as the ``Leonard W. Herman Post Office'' (Roll Call 401) Aye on Democratic Motion to Table Resolution Raising a Question of Privileges of the House (Roll Call 402)

Mr. BAIRD

Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 407, the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area Study Act. The Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area Study Act is an important piece of legislation to my district and the entire Pacific Northwest. I have been privileged to work with David Wu from Oregon in introducing this legislation. In the Senate, the companion legislation has been introduced by Senator Gordon Smith from Oregon and is supported by Washington Senators Murray and Cantwell, as well as Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. Hence, this legislation has both bipartisan and bicameral support. The mouth of the Columbia is a special place with a very rich history. Native American communities have flourished there for thousands of years. It is home to the first American settlement on the Pacific, Astoria. It served as a major trading post for European, American, Chinese, and other nations' ships, and earned its nickname the ``Graveyard of the Pacific'' from the hundreds of shipwrecks along its dangerous coast. Lewis and Clark ended their westward trek there in 1805. Today, the area is home to the fishing, seafood processing, and timber communities that embody the Pacific Northwest. Establishing a national heritage area at the mouth of the river is fitting in recognition of the region and its importance historically. As you know, the national heritage area unites parts of historically and culturally significant areas under a common purpose. In this case, it will help continue the cooperative efforts that the Lewis and Clark bicentennial helped to create. The bicentennial commemoration helped bring community interests together to plan and work in a collaborative fashion. A national heritage area will continue this momentum and ensure the region continues to attract families, outdoorsmen and women, history buffs, and others to enhance its sustainable tourism economy. Most impressive is that the effort to create a national heritage area at the mouth of the Columbia is really an idea driven by the local community. We have received letters of support from local governments, local businesses, trade associations, chambers of commerce, ports and others who have heard about this effort and wholeheartedly endorsed it. A brief sample of support includes the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Office of the Governor of Oregon, the city of Astoria, Shorebank Pacific Bank, Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Peninsula, and the Clatsop County Historical Society. During the prior Congress, the legislation was subject to an oversight hearing in the National Parks Subcommittee where the administration expressed their support for the bill. We were also joined by small business owners from the area, notably Bob Andrews, who expressed his particular support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the National Resource Committee chairman, Nick Rahall; the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands chairman, Mr. Grijalva; and their staffs, including David Watkins and Rick Healy, for their work in bringing this to the floor. I would also like to thank Marc Korman in my office for his work on this important legislation. And especially, my dear friend, David Wu. Again, I thank the Chair for bringing this to the floor and urge final passage.