Madeleine Bordallo

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I again urge Members to support this very important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6897, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act. H.R. 6897 would recognize the valor of the Filipino veterans of the Second World War by providing a one-time payment to the surviving 18,000 Filipino soldiers who are scattered today and living throughout the United States and also in my own district in the Territory of Guam. Madam Speaker, as a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the United States-Philippines Friendship Caucus, I strongly urge this House to pass H.R. 6897 and help restore due justice which is long overdue, over 60 years. Many attempts have been made by this Congress to correct this injustice, so it is time to close this chapter. These are heroes who served shoulder to shoulder with our Nation's Armed Forces. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt drafted these brave Filipino soldiers during the height of the conflict between the Allies and the Imperial Japanese forces; and their presence turned the tide in battles such as Bataan and Corregidor. Their bravery and loyalty to America was questioned by none. However, the Rescission Act of 1946 stripped these veterans of their veteran status. As a Congress, Madam Speaker, we must recognize the service of these brave Filipino soldiers and correct this injustice once and for all. While I hope this Congress will restore full equity to our Filipino veterans, the lump sum payment proposed by this bill to the remaining 18,000 Filipino veterans is a step forward. I recognize the legislative constraints surrounding the passage of H.R. 6897, and I support its advancement in the legislative process. I want to go on record this afternoon to commend Chairman Filner of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee for his leadership on this issue, and I also commend Congressman Mike Honda and our Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, for their dedicated work on this bill. It is the duty of this Congress to recognize the service of these Filipino veterans during World War II and to correct the injustice placed upon them so I urge us to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 6897 and to continue to work for full justice and equity for our Filipino veterans.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and service of the late Austin J. ``Sonny'' Shelton, who passed away on September 7, 2008, after a long illness. Sonny was 59 years of age. Sonny was a member of the 19th Guam Legislature, from 1987 to 1989, where he served as the chairman of the Committee on Rules, vice chairman of the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Consumer Protection, secretary general to the Asian Pacific Parliamentarian's Union and as a member of the Association of Pacific Island Legislators. In 1995, Sonny was appointed as the director of the Government of Guam's Department of Parks and Recreation and as the Guam Public Auditor from 1999 to 2000. In 2001 he served as the acting director of the Department of Administration. After graduating from Father Duenas Memorial High School in 1967, attending the University of Guam and Texas State Technical Institute, Sonny returned to Guam and joined Shelton Music Company, his family's business. He later established AJS Incorporated and expanded his business interests to include other vending machines, amusement devices and real estate. Sonny Shelton was a civic minded individual who devoted much time to community organizations including the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Guam Shrine Club, Aloha Temple. He was a volunteer for the University of Guam's 4-H Summer Youth Fishing Program. He served as president of the Father Duenas Memorial School's Football Booster Club. He was active in his church where he served as a brother of the 2nd Community of the Neo-Catechumenal Way of Nino Perdido Catholic Parish in Asan. Sonny was an avid fisherman who participated in many deep sea fishing events and his love of outdoor sports extended to off-road racing where he enjoyed success as a driver. Austin J. ``Sonny'' Shelton was the only child of the late Austin James Shelton, a successful Guam entrepreneur and Amanda Pangelinan Guzman Shelton, a professional nurse. He is survived by his widow, Graciella Shinohara Shelton, his children, and their spouses, Raymond and Melinda Shelton Slattery; Madeleine Shelton, Austin Shelton II, and Amanda Shelton; and his grandchildren Trinidad, Kaya, Mariana, Raymond and Gabryelle. He is dearly missed by his family and friends, and our community extends our sympathy to them.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the students, administrators, staff, and alumni of the Academy of Our Lady of Guam (AOLG) as they celebrate their sixtieth anniversary. Founded in September 8, 1948 by Bishop Apollinaris William Baumgartner, OFM Cap. and Sister Inez Underwood, RSM the AOLG is renowned for its college preparatory curriculum and continues as the sole Catholic high school for young women on Guam. The AOLG is named after the patron saint of Guam, Santa Marian Kamalan, also known as Our Lady of Camarin. The 300 year old statue of Our Lady of Camarin is an icon in Chamorro culture. The AOLG lives the name of Our Lady of Camarin through the school's Christian centered approach to education and through a curriculum focusing on the development of the overall well being of its students. The AOLG continues to excel in both academics and athletics. Over 90 percent of AOLG graduates pursue post-secondary education, and a growing number are accepted by the leading educational institutions. More so, the AOLG has produced distinguished alumni in the fields of law, medicine, government, and engineering, as well as leaders in the business community. I commend the Academy of Our Lady of Guam for its 60 years of continued service and excellence to the people of Guam. I congratulate Academy of Our Lady of Guam President, Sr. Francis Jerome Cruz, R.S.M. and Principal Mary Meeks for their stewardship in the education of Guam's exceptional women. God bless the Academy of Our Lady of Guam and may they enjoy many more years of service to the people of Guam.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Let me just note that the energy crisis must be addressed in a deliberative fashion, not by a bumper sticker's reading ``drill here; drill now'' approach that would have us drilling in the National Mall. We will have all of the bills but one that includes accountability and a bill that transitions us to a better future--we must wean ourselves from this addiction to oil. So we will have a vote. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his views and for his diplomatic approach to this important issue. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Salazar) who will speak on the previous bill.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, the Tule River Water Development Act, sponsored by our colleague from California, Congressman Devin Nunes, would authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to complete a feasibility study that would evaluate alternatives for a water supply for the Tule River Tribe of the Tule River Reservation. The Tule tribe views this as a very important first step in settling their water rights claims. This bill has received bipartisan support and I ask my colleagues to support its passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2535) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility and suitability of constructing a storage reservoir, outlet works, and a delivery system for the Tule River Indian Tribe of California to provide a water supply for domestic, municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes, and for other purposes.

Ms. BORDALLO. 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 the bill under consideration.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I commend the other side for their views and agree that we should consider energy legislation, and we will. The difference is that when the Democratic majority brings up legislation this week, we will make very sure that the oil companies that are drilling for America's resources are held accountable. I would like to repeat that, accountable. The gentleman raised the issue of government regulations. What regulations? Last week we heard from the Inspector General and the GAO that the very office in charge of regulating the oil companies and the royalty- in-kind program were not doing their job, and here are some of the examples. The Lakewood Marketing Group, a group of government employees who were in charge of selling the public's oil and gas at the highest price possible were, instead, were concerned with partying, dining, attending golf and ski junkets and a lot more. There was a Mr. Gregory W. Smith, the head of the royalty-in-kind program, who was also doing illegal things. One of the top officials at the Minerals Management Service arranged for her assistant to be able to retire and then win a lucrative contract with the agency for his new consulting firm. Not only did the assistant help write the contract before leaving MMS, but another top MMS official in charge of overseeing that contract later retired and joined the consulting firm. On top of these serious ethical violations, we also learned from three Government Accountability Office, GAO, reports, that MMS is not carrying out its most fundamental mission, making sure the American taxpayer gets a fair return for the use of the public's oil and gas resources. There is an inadequate Federal royalty system. The GAO found that the United States, one of the safest and most lucrative areas to operate, receives one of the smallest shares of oil and gas revenues in the entire world. Not only that, the Interior Department does not even evaluate how the United States compares to other countries, to ensure we remain competitive while still keeping the taxpayers from being cheated. There is no diligent development, despite industry false claims that they are diligently developing the 68 million acres of Federal land they hold leases on. GAO found that over a 10-year period, only 6 percent of nearly 48,000 onshore Federal oil leases were actually drilled. While States and private landowners use a number of strategies such as shorter lease terms to encourage faster production and payments, the Federal Government lets the industry sit on valuable resources for years. There is sloppy royalty collection. The GAO found that the Department of Interior utterly fails in providing certainty that companies are paying the royalties that they owe the American people. Due to an inadequate computer system, a reliance on company self-reported data and an insufficient number of field inspections, these reports indicate that this administration has been absolutely derelict in its duty to the American people and that serious reforms are needed to the Federal oil and gas royalty program. This, then, should be a part and parcel of any energy legislation to ensure that American interests are represented in American resources, and that will be part of our energy bill on the floor this week. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the author of the bill.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5350 is noncontroversial legislation introduced by our colleague from Virginia, Congressman Bobby Scott, to authorize the Secretary of Commerce and the City of Norfolk, Virginia, to negotiate and complete a conveyance of Federal property located in the city that is under the control of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The purpose of this fair market value conveyance would be to enable the city to fulfill its plans for the economic redevelopment of the Fort Norfolk waterfront area. I commend my colleague from Virginia, Congressman Bobby Scott, for his tireless efforts to assist the City of Norfolk as it revitalizes its downtown waterfront core. This legislation also was approved by our colleagues on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The helpful revisions offered by Chairman Henry Waxman and his staff will protect the interests of NOAA and ensure that any future conveyance is consistent with standard terms of terms and conditions found in similar General Services administration contracts. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the passage of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5350) to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to sell or exchange certain National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration property located in Norfolk, Virginia, and for other purposes, as amended.

Ms. BORDALLO. 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 the bill under consideration.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, at this time I have no further requests for time. I am prepared to close after my colleague has yielded back his time. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3437) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out the Jackson Gulch rehabilitation project in the State of Colorado, as amended.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. BORDALLO

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, again I would like to go on record to thank my co-manager of the bill, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole). Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 390) honoring the 28th Infantry Division for serving and protecting the United States, as amended.