Michael Burgess

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service and commitment of Linda Clark. Ms. Clark, Denton School District's ``Elementary Teacher of the Year,'' has dedicated 26 years to educating and enlightening elementary school students, helping them to be successful not only in the classroom but also in the community. Ms. Linda Clark was one of 22 teachers in the district nominated for ``Teacher of the Year.'' She helped establish the prestigious Writing Happens program, a curriculum which educates students in the basic structures of different writing structure and techniques. Additionally, Ms. Clark enrolled her students in a program that allows them to talk to the astronauts on the International Space Station. With such innovative programs, Ms. Clark has allowed her students to establish mentorship relationships with role models and has extended the classroom experience beyond its normal boundaries. Linda Clark's distinctive teaching style allows her students to experience a unique, hands-on approach in the classroom. It is with great honor that I stand here today to recognize a woman who has inspired and motivated so many of our youth. The contribution of Linda Clark and her unique teaching style should serve as inspiration to others in her field and those who wish to make a positive difference in the lives of young people.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service and commitment of Tony Swafford and Betty Tunnicliff to the education community. Mr. Swafford and Ms. Tunnicliff has dedicated 33 and 23 years of service, respectively, educating and mentoring our Nation's youth. Serving as both administrators and teachers, Mr. Swafford and Ms. Tunnicliff retire at the end of this school year. I would like to take this occasion to thank them for their years of promoting education and the youth of Denton. In taking time to direct the Denton Independent School District, both Tony and Betty established precedence in administrative standards that will not soon be forgotten. Their combined 56 years of work improved the quality of education in Denton; their excellence in academia influenced lives and molded bright futures. The loyalty in which both Tony Swafford and Betty Tunnicliff served their students and the Denton Independent School District is a testament to their genuine care for America's youth.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I too rise this morning, along with my fellow Texans, to recommend to the other body that they have an up-or- down vote on Justice Priscilla Owen. Justice Owen has been elected by the people of Texas to the State Supreme Court two times, the second time in the year 2000 with an overwhelming popular majority. During her last election, Justice Owen was endorsed by every major newspaper in the State of Texas.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, some good news today from down in my home State of Texas. Recognizing that a unique turnaround is under way in the State of Texas in the arena of medical liability reform, the American Medical Association today announced that it was removing Texas from its list of States in crisis from the medical liability crisis. The medical liability crisis in Texas was halted thanks to sweeping reforms that took place almost 2 years ago, in September, 2003, when voters in the State of Texas passed a constitutional amendment which placed an upper limit on noneconomic damages on pain and suffering. Since those reforms were passed, signs of improvement are widespread in Texas. Access to care is increasing and claims are down; physician recruitment, physician retention is up, especially in high-risk specialties. New insurers are entering the Texas medical liability market, creating more choices for doctors. Subsequently, competition is increasing; and all five of the largest insurers in the Texas medical liability market have announced rate cuts. Rates are down. Doctors are coming back to the State of Texas. This is good news for the patients of Texas as access and affordability have increased. This House should take up the bill that we passed 2 years ago and react similarly.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Metroport Meals on Wheels as they celebrate 25 years of service to numerous communities within the 26th District of Texas. The Metroport Meals on Wheels program grew out of the passion of one individual, Kelly Bradley, who saw the need to aid her neighbors. It was her dedication to others and the generosity of the First United Methodist Church of Roanoke which fostered this program and allowed it to grow into its current state; bringing dignity and respect to seniors in over 19 cities in the North Texas region. The invaluable support and outreach that Metroport Meals on Wheels provides to these Texas communities is an integral connection for those who wish to stay independent. Last year alone this grassroots organization served over 54,000 meals without the aid of State or Federal funding. Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer my utmost thanks and congratulations to Metroport Meals on Wheels for their 25 years of service to my fellow Texans and those most in need of their support and their humble respect. The generosity of Ms. Bradley and the other volunteers at Metroport is truly making a difference in the lives of those they serve.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the town of Trophy Club, TX, as they celebrate 20 years as a municipality. Trophy Club, a town of roughly 7,600 residents, was built on a foundation of individuals who sought to create a unique town with less population density. It is the passion of those like Jim Carter, Trophy Club's first Mayor, Town Manager Donna Welsh and numerous other individuals who dedicated their support, sweat and money to the incorporation of this small town which has allowed it to be so successful. Trophy Club became the first master planned community in Texas and that foresight has allowed citizens to take hold of their community and develop the amenities and enterprises, which are wanted by their peers. Originally designed to be a housing development circling a golf course designed by Ben Hogan, Trophy Club has come a long way from that vision, but relishes that it is the only town home to a golf course designed by that golfing legend. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand here today to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of a city founded on such sound principles of representation and democracy.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, it is May 12, and May 12 is a special day because that is the day that the lady with the lamp, Florence Nightingale, was born in 1820. Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, the woman who found that cleanliness and hygiene had an effect on wound healing, actually helped wound healing and transformed military medicine back in the 1800s. This day is also the last day of National Nurses Week, and nursing tells us over and over again what we all in this Congress need to know: it is time to value health. We cannot afford to simply pay for disease any longer. The American Nurses Association is working to chart a new course for a healthy Nation that relies on the increasing delivery of primary and preventive health care and a renewed emphasis on primary and preventive health care that will require better utilization of our Nation's resources. Professional nursing has been demonstrated to be an indispensable component for the safety and quality of care of hospitalized patients. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I recognize the Nation's 2.7 million registered nurses.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, being from Texas, I am frequently asked, are things truly bigger in Texas? And the answer, of course, is yes. As you work your way down that list of cattle farms and oil wells, put a big checkmark next to biomedical research. Mr. Speaker, in the State of Texas, the 15 members of the University of Texas system in the year 2004 contributed almost $13 billion to the economy of the State. They created over 111,000 jobs between them. Now, one of six medical research institutions in Texas is the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Back in World War II when Baylor College of Medicine left for Houston, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School was started in an abandoned Army barracks; and from those humble beginnings, they have become a powerhouse in medical education, patient care, and research. Mr. Speaker, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School boasts four Nobel Laureates. They have a new medical research tower which is being completed, and advances in medical imaging are going to be housed in that tower, as well as a new alliance for cellular signaling, to investigate how cells talk to each other will be housed in that building. With the acquisition of Zale Lipshy Hospital and St. Paul Hospital and the historic association with Parkland Memorial Hospital, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School has a total package. So biomedical research, not only bigger, but better in Texas.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, Dunbar High School, Fort Worth, Texas, for the last almost half century, their men's basketball program has been guided by Coach Hughes. That is why I rise this morning to recognize the service and commitment of Robert Hughes of Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Hughes, Coach Hughes, is our Nation's all-time winningest high school men's basketball coach and dedicated 47 years of service to coaching and educating students, helping them to succeed not only on the court, but also in life. As Coach Hughes retires this year, we will no longer be measuring his wins on the court but the wins, the lives, he has helped create off the court. In taking time to teach his students, Coach Hughes chose not only to teach them about health and basketball, but about values and self-esteem as well. The loyalty with which Coach Hughes has served his students and Dunbar High is a testament to his passion for seeing every child succeed in life. It is with great honor that I stand here today to recognize a man who has been a leader to so many throughout his lifetime. The legacy of Coach Hughes, on and off the court, shall serve as an inspiration to all those who wish to pursue their passion and make a difference in the lives of who they meet.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service and commitment of Robert Hughes. Mr. Hughes, our Nation's all-time ``winningest'' high school boys basketball coach, has dedicated 47 years of service to coaching and educating students; helping them to succeed not only on the court but also in life. As Mr. Hughes retires this year we will no longer be measuring his wins on the court, but rather the wins, the lives, he has helped to create off the court. In taking the time to teach his students Mr. Hughes chose not only to teach them about health and basketball, but about values and self esteem as well. The loyalty with which Mr. Hughes has served his students and Dunbar High School is a testament to his passion of seeing every child succeed in life. It is with great honor that I stand here today to recognize a man who has been a leader to so many. The legacy of Mr. Hughes, on and off the court, shall serve as an inspiration to all those who wish to pursue their passion and make a difference in the lives of others.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Flower Mound Elementary School as it celebrates 20 years in the 26th District of Texas. Flower Mound Elementary, a Blue Ribbon School, prides itself on offering students opportunities, which allow them to go farther than an average education. Flower Mound Elementary has been enriching the lives of students, teachers and our community for two decades now. The foundation that Flower Mound Elementary and primary schools across our country provide is essential to the development and success of our children in the long-term. Education is one of the most important gifts we can give our children and I commend Principal Gail Ownby and all the teachers and staff at Flower Mound Elementary for their continued commitment to our future, our children. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I stand here today to honor Flower Mound Elementary and all those who serve the greater good by making the choice to teach in today's education system.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, this is National Uninsured Week. In my home State of Texas, there are a significant number of people who are uninsured. The number of uninsured has increased for the third year in a row and that is largely because of the drop of the employer based coverage. Mr. Speaker, there is a tool, there is a lever we can pull to help stop the drop off in employer based coverage. That lever is called association health plans. In fact, this House passed association health plans several times during the 108th Congress. The problem is it has never been taken up by the other body. What are association health plans? This is the ability for small businesses of a similar business model to band together and get the purchasing power of a large corporation in order to hold the cost down of providing insurance to their members. Now, nearly 63 percent of all uninsured workers are employed by small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. It is estimated that association health plans would enable some 8 million currently uninsured individuals to receive coverage. Mr. Speaker, I was so encouraged because the chairman of the relevant Senate committee said this year they were going to seriously take up association health plans. In fact, he has charged people on both sides of this question to come together and find solutions to finally allow association health plans to be available in this country.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Mayday Manufacturing Co., Inc., located in the 26th District of Texas, and its President Mike Nelson on being named Regional Subcontractor of the Year by the United States Small Business Association. This recognition is awarded to ten subcontractors around the country by the U.S. SBA to companies that meet or exceed their government contracts. Subcontractors are nominated by the government and prime contractors for outstanding performance in various areas. Mayday Manufacturing won the award for Region 6 which encompasses Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Okalahoma and Texas. Vought Aircraft Industries, also located in North Texas, nominated Mayday Manufacturing and President Nelson. Mayday Manufacturing Co., Inc. started in 1966 in a small Texas garage. It has grown over 39 years as a business which now serves hundreds of customers globally. The company specializes in aerospace parts to be used in commercial and military aircraft. I am proud of Mike Nelson and his company for winning SBA's Regional Subcontractor of the Year award. Their industriousness is a fine example of how small businesses make a profound impact. Mayday Manufacturing is a wonderful example on which other companies should model themselves in order to attain this high level of achievement.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. But again, the biggest problem is access. If we drive our good physicians out of practice, if we prevent our best and brightest from entering the practice of medicine, and there is evidence that that is happening, I fail to see how we are furthering the cause of patient safety by keeping the best and brightest out of medicine. I fail to see how we are furthering the cause of patient safety by preventing smaller towns from having access to perhaps an anesthesiologist or perhaps a cardiologist simply because they cannot afford the liability premiums to have them there. Now, the gentleman knows I have been around a while. I have had four children. When my first couple of children were born, a lot of the procedures that you OB-GYNs do on a regular basis. And I am glad to see we are joined by another one of our doctors here in Congress, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey). So we will just have this conversation be three-way. When my first two kids were born, I do not even know the terminology, but when they scanned the baby on your tummy, that was brand new. The piercing to check the fluid was brand new. They did not do that as a regular course. They did not run those tests as a regular course with my first two children. With my last two children they did, and it was a blessing for our family because we had a crisis pregnancy at one time. But my point now is that a doctor, because of the potential of the liability, is afraid not to do those procedures. Is there some truth to that? Does the gentleman agree that there is some truth to that?

Mr. BURGESS. Apparently so.

Mr. BURGESS. The gentleman is absolutely correct. If the gentleman will yield, the cost of continuing the lawsuit in both dollar terms and emotional terms is sometimes just simply too high, and the better part of valor is to settle. Fortunately, I lived in a county where juries were a little more favorable to physicians, but we all know of other counties within the State of Texas where that was not the case. There is no question that cases were settled simply because it was easier than continuing the pain and agony of continuing the lawsuit.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. I heard the gentleman speaking and I felt compelled to come down here and talk on this subject a little bit. I am so grateful that the gentleman has talked about one of the successes that we have had in this Congress, which is the Class Action Fairness bill, a bill that was signed into law by the President last month. There is no question we can talk about the injuries and the grievance situation, we can talk about it all day and all night, but that does not do the American people any good. The American people need to see results, and I believe with that bill, we have done a great deal towards reestablishing our country, the greatest work force in the world, as being competitive with other people in other countries. We heard a lot about outsourcing during the last election, how we are going to stop outsourcing. Well, one of the things we can do to stop it is to stop making a climate that is prohibitive for business in this country, and I believe our Class Action Fairness bill was a big step in the right direction to do that. We have also had some other successes as far as the fairness of the medical liability system in this country. My colleague already alluded to the Medical Compensation Reform Act of 1975 from California, but our own State, Texas, passed a very sweeping medical liability reform law in the last legislative session, 2 years ago. It required a constitutional amendment in the State of Texas to become law, which passed September 12 of 2003, and really what I would like to talk about is the success that we have seen in Texas since the passage of that constitutional amendment. Now, 10 years ago, when I was just a simple country doctor, if someone had asked me, gee, doctor, what do you think we should do about the medical liability problem, the medical liability crisis; and, mind you, the medical liability crisis, it goes back a number of years. When I was in medical school in 1975, it was a crisis. And we thought we had solved the problem then, but, in reality we had only postponed it for a little while, and it reemerged in the 1980s. We thought we solved it for a little while then, but we did not, and it reemerged in the late 1990s to be the true crisis situation that occurred in the State of Texas in 2002. But if someone had asked me back in the years right out of medical school what I would prefer to see as something that would restore fairness to the medical justice system, I would have said a system of an alternative dispute resolution-type of program where you would have a medical panel that someone would have to go through before they could go to court. I would have a very idealized no-fault system. The reality is, we cannot get there. So do I love caps? No, not necessarily, but they work. And since they work and since the crisis is present in this country; and if you do not believe me, if you live in Maryland, ask your doctor the next time you go in to see him or her. If you live in Pennsylvania, ask your doctor the next time you go in to see him or her. If you live in New Jersey, good luck, because you probably will not be able to go in and see your doctor, because they have come to Texas, because we have done such a good job of fixing the liability problem in our State. The central piece of that was, of course, a cap of noneconomic damages, a $250,000 cap of noneconomic damages against the physician, and a $250,000 cap against the hospital, and then another $250,000 cap against a second hospital or a nursing home, if there is one involved, for a total cap of $750,000. Now, I did not know if that would work. That seemed almost a little too generous. The California law that was passed in 1975 worked, but they set a single cap of $250,000. What has happened in Texas since 2003 when that constitutional amendment was passed? Well, one of the unintended consequences was hospitals have really enjoyed a significant benefit from the passage of that law. Texas hospitals are reporting a 17 percent decrease in professional liability premiums for 2004-2005. This is from a Texas Hospital Association survey with responses from 172 acute care hospitals. In 2003, before the law passed, the premiums had risen more than 50 percent. This is one of the big things. This is one of the big wins of this law. New carriers are seeking entry into the Texas market. The Texas Department of Insurance report from August 5, 2004 and the largest carrier, Texas Medical Liability Trust, has reduced physician rates 12 percent. In the years prior to medical liability reform, 13 carriers left the State and 6,000 physicians had to scramble for coverage. Now, 6,000 physicians, that is a big number. You run across one doctor who has had that happen to them, and that is a significant blow to their livelihood and their career plans. When I was campaigning in 2002, I met a young woman who was a radiologist. She was probably in her early forties, and she came up to me at an event and said, boy, I hope you get something done with medical liability reform next year because my carrier left the State and I cannot buy insurance. And I thought, well, you must have had some trouble along the way. And she offered, before I even had the chance to speculate about it, I have never been sued, but my carrier left the State. She cannot get insurance. She is not going to practice as a radiologist without insurance and put all of her personal assets at risk. So, as a consequence, here this young woman, 42 years of age, at the peak of her power as a physician, if you will, trained at the University of Texas at San Antonio, so trained with a State-subsidized education, the people of Texas had paid for her training; the people of Texas are now denied her abilities, her capabilities as a professional because she cannot get insurance and, as a consequence, cannot practice radiology, because the profession of radiology is just too fraught with peril to practice without insurance. Well, another insurance writer, Texas Health Care Indemnity, reduced their rates by 20 percent in Texas. Again, these are hospital insurance rates that have been reduced because the doctors in Texas did something to try to get ahold of medical liability reform. The filings themselves, the actual lawsuits filed have decreased. Medical liability lawsuits in several counties considered high-risk for physicians have decreased since the new law took effect in 2003. For Harris County, 105 lawsuits were filed from September of 2003 to July of 2004, compared with 746 lawsuits filed in the 3 months prior to the passage of the constitutional amendment. In Bandera County, the county where San Antonio is, 81 lawsuits were filed between September 1, 2003 and April of 2004, compared with 304 lawsuits filed in the 3 months before the constitutional amendment was passed. Nueces County, 32 compared with 108. Cameron County, 17 compared with 28; Hidalgo County, 17 lawsuits in the year after reform, 96 lawsuits in the 3 months prior to reform. Well, Mr. Speaker, there is no question that caps have been the good- news story in Texas, and that is why I embrace the legislation that we will do in this House this year that will have as its central feature a cap on noneconomic damages. Does this keep someone out of the courthouse? Absolutely not. If someone is harmed by the system, they are able to recover all of the economic damages to which they are entitled. And the reality is in Texas, we are going to limit damages for pain and suffering to $750,000, which still is a significant amount of money when you consider it in the total amount of filed litigation. So with that, Mr. Speaker, and with the gentleman from Texas's permission, I will yield back, but I will remain around if the gentleman has any other questions that he would like to ask of me.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Lady Marauders of Marcus High School in Flower Mound, located in the 26th Congressional District of Texas, on their State Soccer Championship. The Lady Marauders were coached to victory over North Mesquite by Kevin Albury who described his successful team as being very close- knit, ``It's taken six years, but we finally did it. We said this was our time to do it, and our girls came ready to play.'' This May, 14 of the winning players will graduate. Twelve of the 14 will continue their soccer career at the collegiate level; a fact that demonstrates the high caliber of the team. The win marked the Lady Marauder's first state title and third trip to the 5A state finals. I am proud of these young ladies for their hard work and dedication to the sport of soccer. I am honored to represent these students, and their parents, teachers and especially their coach, in Washington. They are wonderful representatives of the great State of Texas, and I know that the Marcus Lady Marauders will continue to see many future successes.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Capps amendment. During our committee hearing on February 16, 2005, we had a lively and substantial debate on the MTBE limited defective product liability waiver contained in the energy bill. And during our markup last week, the committee considered a number of amendments on the MTBE provisions, including several offered by Mrs. Capps. During our hearing on the 16th, we heard testimony from many different people, including Mr. Erik Olson on behalf of the National Resources Defense Council. During his testimony, Mr. Olson alleged that MTBE causes cancer. Later in the hearing, I asked Mr. Olson if there is any conclusive evidence that proves that MTBE causes cancer in humans. Mr. Olson was unable to answer. That is because there is no evidence that MTBE does cause cancer in humans. In fact, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 2002 Report to Congress, HHS found that there is not sufficient evidence to list MTBE as a carcinogen. Even the World Health Organization and the European Union have both concluded that there are ``negative results'' or inadequate evidence that would merit classification of MTBE as a carcinogen. Regardless, we do not want MTBE in our drinking water. But nor do we want benzene nor any other gasoline component that may be seeping into our groundwater. That is why the energy bill bans its use in gasoline. That is why there are provisions in the bill that will send more Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust fund money to help cleanup orphaned and abandoned sites. In conclusion, I oppose the Capps amendment.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chairman, I rise this morning in opposition to the Udall amendment. The Udall amendment will strike Section 631, which provides R&D funding for environmentally sensitive uranium mining and reclamation. Nuclear power is an important part of our domestic fuel mix. It is an emission-free source of electricity that powers our homes and businesses. Today, nuclear power provides 20 percent of power in the United States. As our economy continues to grow, we will consume more electricity. I think we can all agree that a healthy, robust economy is a desirable thing. Clean air is also desirable. Nuclear power will help provide the electricity that our growing economy needs without increasing emissions. This is truly an environmentally responsible source of energy. Section 631 will encourage improvements to uranium mining practices to make them more environmentally friendly. It encourages new environmental clean-up technologies as well. Nuclear power is here to stay, and we need to support a strong domestic uranium industry. We are at a point in our Nation's history where we cannot afford to turn our back on any reasonable power source to meet our Nation's energy needs. I urge my colleagues to vote against the Udall amendment.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, today to honor a constituent who lived in my district and has overcome incredible obstacles to grasp the opportunities America holds, Rose Bargas Myers. She came to the U.S. as an infant accompanied by her mother. Her biological father had died and her mother later abandoned her to be raised by her grandparents. This individual was nurtured in the loving home of Alberto and Pauline Bargas who understood all too well the cost of America's freedom. A deep love of country ran deep with her grandparents who were immigrants themselves. In addition, her grandfather served in the Army during WWII, the Korean War and in Vietnam. He was a Prisoner of War survivor having lived through what is called the ``Death March of Bataan.'' This Death March has been described as one of the most tragic and irresponsible episodes in the entire war, for which her grandfather simply commented, ``Thank God, I survive.'' Life was spent growing up in Killeen, Texas and believing that her grandparents were her birth parents until she was legally adopted in 1973. She also believed that she was a United States Citizen because the adoption judge had declared her a citizen. It was only last year that she discovered the judge did not have authority to grant her citizenship. Today, I want to recognize Rose Bargas Myers and present to her an American Flag that has waved in her honor over the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. and to be among the first to congratulate and welcome her into the family of Americans.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I was elected to Congress just a little over 2 years ago, and our economy was in tough shape when I got in Congress. I did not really realize how tough a shape it was in. But under the leadership of this House, the leadership of the Speaker, the majority leader, we have worked on the problems of high unemployment, the low stock market. We made the tough choices and invested in our economy in 2003, and the result was a significant job growth. Now in this Congress we have taken on additional good work. We have passed a highway bill, class action reform, bankruptcy reform. And this week, Mr. Speaker, we are going to work on our energy bill. This is important and timely legislation. Every member on our committee was heard on their concerns. Every amendment was made in order and voted on, most on a roll call vote; and the bill passed out of committee with bipartisan support. We had an energy bill 2 years ago, and that energy bill unfortunately was derailed by a procedural motion in the other body, and it was largely derailed by trial lawyers who felt that they were not getting their just desserts from the energy bill. Mr. Speaker, that is why it was outrageous to read in ``Roll Call'' yesterday that the senior vice president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America said that they were upset with the asbestos bill over in the other body and it may have an impact on fund-raising from this particular bar. Mr. Speaker, this is outrageous. Where are the calls for investigation? Where are the calls for ethics from the other body?

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man, like so many others in our Nation, who are truly American: Dr. Harold Schlegal. Harold and Glenna Schlegal were married on December 9, 1944 after a chance meeting in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Schlegal had been serving his country by flying fighter planes over China and had recently returned from his tour of duty. Within a few years, the Schlegals moved to Lewisville where Dr. Schlegal opened his family practice. Dr. Schlegal has become something of an icon in Lewisville due to his caring heart, matter-of-fact manner, and involvement in the community. He has delivered countless babies over the years and almost every citizen can speak of a time when he has come to their rescue. As a fellow doctor in Denton County, Harold Schlegal was always to be admired and imitate. The Schlegals have three children and seven grandchildren. Success is a family tradition with three of the grandchildren receiving full scholarships to college. All members of the family play musical instruments; one of them even studied with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Schlegal is retired now, choosing to spend his time traveling and with family. The memories of his service to the community will undoubtedly last through the ages. Today, I honor this man for his dedication to his profession and to the people whose lives he touched.

Mr. BURGESS

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to the Markey amendment. Of course, energy independence should be the goal of this Congress. Worldwide demand for petroleum has increased in the last decade. Our production has been relatively flat. The inevitable result is higher prices at the gasoline pump. The reality is, it takes a long time to go from the oil field to the gasoline station, and we have lost considerable time in this regard. Ten years ago, 1995, 104th Congress, H.R. 2491 would have allowed oil exploration in the ANWR. The Department of Energy has estimated, and the chairman quoted today, between 1 and 2 million barrels of oil a day could be derived from this source. Unfortunately, this legislation, passed by the House and the Senate, was vetoed by President Clinton. That was nearly 10 years ago. Given a time line of 7 to 14 years for building a pipeline structure, it is time that we could scarcely afford. Just like the other gentleman from California, I have been to ANWR. The vast coastal plain is unsuitable for habitation during the summer months because of the marshy consistency. Any caribou unlucky enough to calve in this region would likely die from exsanguination at the hands of the mosquitoes there. The people in ANWR are counting on this Congress to do the right thing and allow them, the rightful owners of these mineral rights, to begin developing the sources that were granted to them upon statehood in 1959.

Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Chairman, I stand today in opposition for raising the CAFE standards. This is an irrelevant piece of legislation that is not only unnecessary, it is an outdated solution in search of a 21st century problem. Changing technology and innovation have rendered this amendment unnecessary. The increasing use of hybrid vehicles shows that a market- based approach to increasing fuel efficiency is a better way to reduce American oil consumption than by placing arbitrary standards on automobiles that harm our domestic manufacturers. And, in fact, the only thing we get with CAFE standards down in my district are car dealers with acres and acres of tiny cars they cannot sell. With today's high gas prices, hybrid vehicles will help reduce the amount of money that our constituents pay at the gas pump. Mr. Chairman, in the interest of full disclosure, I drive a hybrid vehicle. I did not buy it because of the tax break. I did not buy it because of any legislation that we passed in this Congress. I bought it largely because of air quality concerns back in my district. But now I look positively brilliant that gasoline prices are so high. But the best thing about a hybrid vehicle, Mr. Chairman, is it allows you that feeling of moral superiority as you drive your car.