Ken Buck

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Police Week. Taking place during the week of May 10 through 16, 2020, National Police Week highlights our brave men and women in uniform for all their hard work keeping their communities safe. In the Fourth District of Colorado we are lucky to have many exemplary law enforcement officers serving the public every day. These dedicated individuals risk their lives to protect others and are deserving of our deepest gratitude, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud to celebrate the many law enforcement officers in Colorado. I also rise to recognize the ultimate sacrifice made by several police officers while serving in Colorado's 4th district. Corporal Daniel H. Groves of the Colorado State Patrol was killed in a vehicle accident during a blizzard on March 13, 2019. He was assisting a motorist who had skidded off the road when another vehicle lost control and struck him. Master Trooper William James Moden, also of the Colorado State Patrol, was killed while assisting at the scene of a previous accident on June 14, 2019. He was also tragically struck by a passing vehicle. These brave men, both of whom had twelve years of dedicated service to the Colorado State Patrol, died serving their communities and it is an honor to recognize them for their sacrifice.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, America is facing a very serious public health crisis that also has the potential to affect the long-term health of our economy. The people on the front lines fighting the spread of COVID-19--our doctors, nurses, first responders, and other health professionals--need help. Congress should be stepping up to ensure America's health care system has access to needed personal protective equipment--like masks and face shields--and testing supplies to identify those infected and to help stop the spread of the virus. Businesses and employees affected by this virus also need help. Congress should be providing short-term financial assistance such as loans and in the form of a tax holiday. I recognize these needs and fully support action to provide resources to stem the damage being caused in the present crisis. There is no question that this crisis is a direct result of the Chinese government's cover up of the dangers posed by COVID-19. The Chinese government failed to heed the early warnings of medical professionals, going so far as to persecute individuals like Dr. Li Wenliang, who was among the first to raise concerns, forcing him to sign a confession that his concerns were false. China ordered destruction of early research samples of the virus. The Chinese government also denied World Health Organization (WHO) investigators access inside the country's borders and they withheld critical information. The Chinese Communist Party falsely denied the evidence of human-to-human transmission. Contrary to WHO guidelines, Chinese officials manipulated statistics by failing to report infected individuals who tested positive for the virus if they exhibited mild to no symptoms. China's authoritarian government also allowed up to 5,000,000 people, including potentially tens of thousands of infected individuals, to leave Wuhan and travel across the globe, spreading the virus. The reality is that China was more interested in saving face than stopping the problem before it became a global pandemic. China was more interested in waging an international public relations campaign than getting the necessary help from the world community. The United States and countries across the globe are now dealing with the fallout of China's deceit and misdeeds. We are wrestling with how to address a public health crisis, contain this deadly virus, and respond to unprecedented economic fallout. To address the current situation, Congress must act responsibly and thoughtfully but also with urgency. We must work together to support doctors, nurses and other health professionals. We need to also help suffering families, assist businesses and non-profits that have been ordered to close, and to set the stage for yet another American comeback. Nearly every American has been affected by this virus. All levels of government have asked our citizens to stay home. Government has asked businesses to shutter their doors, and for America's health care professionals to courageously work longer hours, sometimes without the necessary supplies to protect themselves. Americans are tired, fearful, and distancing themselves from friends and neighbors when what they truly desire is community. The American people have been told this was necessary and that if they made these sacrifices we could ``bend the curve'' and stop the spread of the virus. While President Trump and Republicans have been trying to lead, and the American people have been doing their part, Democrats have engaged in political games. The House Democratic Whip told his colleagues that this crisis was a ``tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.'' In the Senate, all but one Democrat voted to hold up debate on this bill for several days, simply to extract as many political concessions as possible. In response to the tremendous and patriotic sacrifices by the American people, Democrats have played politics. They saw a crisis that they did not want to let go to waste and chose to exploit the American peoples' fear and misery for political gain. That is unconscionable. Today, we finally reached the point where we could debate the merits of this bill in the House and fulfill our Constitutional responsibility. Every Member's duty was to read the bill, evaluate its merits, and then vote his or her conscience. I concluded that, if I were given the chance, I would vote against this bill. History and experience tell us that the provisions in this bill will do long-lasting damage to the economic well-being of millions of American families and small businesses, delaying a future economic recovery and harming the people most in need of help. This bill repeats the mistakes of the past. It contains the same kind of flawed provisions that the Democrat-controlled Congress enacted in 2008 to deal with the mortgage crisis. America cannot afford another slow growth decade like we had under President Obama. Yet that is exactly the kind of future this bill is poised to give us. I want to put a stop to the damage that COVID-19 is doing, including to our economy, but this bill will only prolong the economic recovery. Many provisions of this bill recognize that economic stability depends on employment stability. This bill, however, contains provisions unrelated to fighting the disease, and worse, incentives that will lead to more, not fewer, layoffs. The people most likely to be affected will be primarily middle-class families and lower wage earners. The bill incentivizes layoffs by providing for ``unemployment insurance (UI) on steroids,'' or regular unemployment benefits together with $600 per week above the traditional benefit level. One of the perverse incentives of this bill is that it would leave many employees financially better off if they were laid-off than if they continued working. On the one hand, Congress is incentivizing small businesses to borrow billions of dollars from the Small Business Administration to keep people employed while simultaneously creating counterincentives that will encourage unemployment. That makes no sense. I support policies that will encourage job stability. Our economic recovery will be hastened if people have a job ready and waiting for them once we get past the current health crisis; it will help people maintain their health insurance; it will give people hope; and a ready workforce will help avoid supply chain disruptions and shortages of critical supplies needed to fight this virus. This bill also contains provisions that will unnecessarily extend the recovery of America's capital markets. Currently, the markets are down about 30-percent from their all-time highs from just a few weeks ago. In this next economic recovery, we must focus on bringing stability to capital markets as we rebuild the job market. This bill, however, contains provisions that will deny this needed stability. Section 4003 prohibits businesses that utilize the lending and loan guarantee programs from engaging in stock buybacks and issuing dividends--not only during the term of the loan but even after the loan has been repaid. Allowing stock redemptions and dividends could help calm volatility in the capital markets. Congress should not discourage these kinds of actions. We need to help bring stability back to the stock market. Other provisions give a green light to union organizers while preventing a business from speaking out against union activities. Businesses that access government loans in the short term, including so that they can pay their employees, are being given a long-term ``stand- down'' order by Congress when it comes to this issue. Businesses that will be affected by this are currently in crisis and Congress' response is to put its thumb on the scale in favor of labor, a Democrat constituency that funnels millions into Democrat campaign coffers. These provisions also lose sight of the fact that many businesses that utilize these programs will do so not because of their own mismanagement or malfeasance but because government told these businesses to shut their doors. Or, in some cases, because patriotic business owners took out a loan to retool or ramp up production to manufacture critical medical supplies like ventilators, hospital masks and testing kits even when that is not their normal business. It makes no sense to punish these companies with these kinds of restrictions but especially after the loan has been repaid. If we tie the hands of business for years to come, we should not expect a full and robust economic recovery. These restrictions are unreasonable. They may discourage companies from taking out loans. This, in turn, will put people out of work, harming American families and small businesses. Dating back to Greek times, physicians swore the Hippocratic Corpus. It was an oath, a code of medical ethics, in which a physician pledged to ``help the sick and abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm. . . .'' That obligation is sometimes summarized as, ``First, do no harm.'' As Congress considers this legislation, we would do well to follow the Hippocratic Oath ourselves. We should not pass a law that includes extraneous spending or that would further impose economic harm on struggling American families and small businesses. Finally, I want to make this point. It is often said that ``crisis reveals character.'' The response of the American people to this crisis says a lot about their character. Over and over again, Americans have demonstrated that they are strong, independent, entrepreneurial, resilient, patriotic, and compassionate and that they are willing to sacrifice to get our nation through. I am encouraged by their spirit. What the present crisis reveals about Congress, however, is tragic. The simple truth is that Congress has failed to plan and budget for an emergency such as an economic recession, a natural disaster, a national security threat, or a public health crisis. Every member of Congress knows that, once every few years, we will be called on to respond to a disaster. Yet, Congress fails to plan properly. Our budget does not include any reserves to deal with these emergencies. Accordingly, when faced with a crisis, Congress rushes to pass an emergency spending bill--like this one--that adds billions and billions or trillions more to the deficit. Today's bill spends nearly $6 trillion when we factor in the anticipated response of the Federal Reserve. This spending is on top of the already projected annual deficit of $1.083 trillion and a national debt of $23.6 trillion. Congress cannot keep doing this. Congress needs to cut spending, balance the budget, and establish an emergency fund so that we can deal with these crises responsibly. I also want to note an additional way in which Congress has failed in its Constitutional responsibilities. The House of Representatives is a co-equal to the Senate. While the Senate was working this past week, the Democratic House leadership had members sitting at home. Speaker Pelosi should have convened the House on Monday. This would have made it possible for the House to engage in a full debate, to deliberate, and even propose better ideas. That did not happen. Instead, this bill, which is the single largest supplemental spending bill in U.S. history, will pass without a vote of the full House--with every member voting.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the CARES Act. I agree that we are facing an unprecedented emergency, one tied directly to China's nefarious actions. However, as President Trump said, we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. The President has shown strong leadership, seeking to help struggling families and small businesses. Congress must do the same. But we can't do so at the expense of our children and grandchildren's future. The truth is, this bill will spend $6 trillion, not $2 trillion. Even that cost fails to include the cost of borrowing this money. There is no attempt by Congress to reduce spending elsewhere in the budget to pay for this bill. The sad truth is that most of this money in this bill is unrelated to fighting the coronavirus. We believe that the fight against the virus will take 6 to 8 weeks, yet this spends money decades into the future. While it is clearly necessary to do something to help our country fight this disease, this bill is not the answer. Our country needs help, but this cure is worse than the problem.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk to correct the name of the bill to the ``Federal Initiative to Spy on Americans (FISA) Act.''

Mr. BUCK of Colorado

Mr. BUCK of Colorado. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) for yielding. Today, Democrats lower the bar for impeachment. Under this standard, a President can be impeached in the absence of a crime, without due process, and for asserting a legally, constitutionally recognized privilege. History shows Democrat Presidents have abused power and undermined democracy to win elections, and yet they have not been impeached. President Franklin Roosevelt used the IRS to target his political opponents. His son later admitted FDR used ``the IRS as a weapon of political retribution.'' President John F. Kennedy used the FBI to wiretap and monitor political opponents, including congressional staff. He deported one of his mistresses to avoid scandal. President Lyndon Johnson spied on Goldwater's campaign, signing off on wiretapping his opponent and Goldwater's airplane, and using a CIA spy to obtain advance copies of Goldwater's strategies and speeches. President Barack Obama refused to provide documents to Congress related to Fast and Furious. His unconstitutional recess appointments were unanimously struck down by the Supreme Court. He used national security agencies to lie to the American people about Benghazi to win the 2012 election. He spied on reporters. Finally, it was the Obama administration that committed 17 serious violations before the FISA Court to spy on Trump campaign associates. Despite these clear abuses of power by FDR, JFK, LBJ, and Obama, Republicans did not impeach. Why? Because the Framers did not want a low bar for impeachment. They wanted Congress and the President to work out their differences. When I asked Professor Turley in a Judiciary Committee hearing if any President could avoid impeachment with those low standards, he said, ``No.''

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise to discuss the Farm Workforce Modernization Act this afternoon. As I said during last month's Committee on the Judiciary markup, this is an issue that is of great importance to me and to my district in eastern Colorado. Colorado is home to one of the largest agricultural economies in the country. I like to remind my colleagues, we have some of the best melons in the world in southeast Colorado, and no one bypasses a good Colorado steak, but to get this food to the table, our farmers and ranchers need help. I have heard countless times how our farmers struggle to find reliable workers to plant and harvest crops. As we said during our committee markup, my Republican colleagues and I are committed to crafting a solution that ensures our Nation's agricultural employers have a stable labor supply. I appreciate my friends' work to solve a clear problem, especially Chairperson Lofgren, Representative Newhouse, Representative Panetta, Representative LaMalfa, and many other Members. I appreciate their efforts to craft a solution that gives our agricultural employers the labor, supply, and resources they need to keep America the world's breadbasket. But this bill before us today is not the answer. My colleagues will tell you how they have taken our concerns to heart and have worked to make the bill better, but this bill is still the same fundamentally flawed bill that came before us in the Committee on the Judiciary a few weeks ago. What is worse is that House leadership put this bill on the floor under a closed rule without an amendment process. There are a number of problems with the bill that a rigorous debate and thoughtful amendments could address, but that will not be happening today. Most notably, we don't have the slightest idea of how many individuals this bill will put on a pathway to citizenship. And while I would like to think that all of our agricultural workers are trustworthy, good people, we don't have any way to verify that before granting certified agricultural work status. The chairperson will assert that aliens seeking status under the bill will need to have a clean record in order to be put on a pathway to citizenship, but this simply is not true. H.R. 5038 allows an illegal alien to receive certified agricultural worker status and get on a pathway to citizenship even if they have been convicted of two crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled substance violations, or if they were involved in prostitution or trafficking. The bill also permits an individual to receive status after being convicted of two misdemeanors with a third conviction pending. We saw the Democrats vote down an amendment from Representative Chabot that would have made an alien ineligible for amnesty if they are charged with two DUI's or one DUI with an injury. You can't tell me that you are serious about ensuring only people with clean records take advantage of this system if you reject amendments that bar criminals from taking advantage of our system. Additionally, H.R. 5038 allows individuals to apply for legal status and a work permit, which is not limited to agricultural industries, with little more than an affidavit claiming that the individual worked unlawfully in this country for 1,035 hours or 180 workdays over the past 2 years. This means applicants will have worked less than 6 hours per day for less than 4 months over a 2-year period. I appreciate that my colleagues heard my concerns and changed the overall standard for petitioning to a higher standard preponderance of evidence; however, the underlying provisions haven't changed. The bill still allows an individual petitioning for status to meet that preponderance burden by providing documents, including their own affidavit of work history as long as those documents meet a just and reasonable inference standard. Let me remind everyone here that existing case law finds that just and reasonable inference standard essentially requires adjudicators to accept a petition based on nothing more than an individual's word. This is the same evidentiary standard unsuccessfully used in the 1986 special agricultural worker legalization bill, which led to widespread fraud, and even amnesty, for one of the World Trade Center bombers. He wasn't an agricultural worker at all, but a taxi driver in New York City. Unfortunately, while I appreciate the chairperson's effort to work with me here, this change won't solve these problems. My friends on the other side of the aisle also rejected Representative Armstrong's amendment that would specify that certified agricultural workers would only be eligible to work in agriculture. While the individual may receive status as an agricultural worker, there is no guarantee that they won't immediately find a job in another industry as soon as possible. Additionally, the bill does nothing to stop potential Social Security fraud. Individuals who have been fraudulently using a valid Social Security number, sometimes for many years, to obtain a work status and benefits, will get off without even so much as a slap on the wrist. Furthermore, this bill fails our adjudicators at USCIS by preventing them from accessing the most comprehensive background check databases when determining whether an applicant for certified agricultural worker status poses a public safety risk. We need to ensure our investigators have all the information they need to ensure that we are not allowing felons and violent individuals to remain in the country. The bill also provides a handout to the trial attorneys and presents an increased risk of litigation for agricultural employers by giving H- 2A workers a Federal private right of action. This provision ignores the current H-2A program's existing administrative process to address employment claims and fails to provide employers the opportunity to cure violations before a suit may go forward. This is fundamentally unfair to the hardworking farmers, growers, and ranchers who care about their employees. I ask my colleagues: Would you prefer having the problem fixed or you just want to give trial attorneys another opportunity to sue? Finally, the bill fails to achieve the desired results on a number of provisions that have the potential to truly help our agricultural employers. The authors promised to streamline the application process, address wage problems, and provide year-round industries a lasting labor solution. The bill streamlines data entry for H-2A applications but does nothing to encourage concurrent agency review of H-2A applications. This essentially speeds up data entry but keeps the adjudication process exactly the same. I appreciate that my colleagues codified H-2A procedures and included a pool of 20,000 visas for year-round industries, including dairy farmers and sheep and goat herders, but this falls far short of industry's needs and fails to fix the problematic version of existing law. Once again, I am glad that my colleagues are trying to solve this problem. I truly want to support the farmers, growers, dairymen, and ranchers in my district and throughout the country. We need to find a solution that ensures our agricultural employers have a reliable labor pool. My colleagues and I want to strike an Ag labor agreement; unfortunately, this bill is fatally flawed, and I must oppose it in its current form. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), my friend.

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse).

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).

Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson).

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart).

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs), my friend, who was a leader in Arizona in the legislature on these issues and others and is known throughout our caucus for his common sense and leadership, and I anxiously await his remarks.

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I have no further witnesses and am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record Ranking Member Collins' statement. Once again, I appreciate my colleagues' desire to fix this problem and provide our farmers and ranchers with a long-term solution to the labor supply problems in this country; however, this bill only masks the existing problems and creates a whole host of new issues that we will have to revisit in a few years, and it polarizes Americans further. My colleagues and I can agree that we need to fix this problem. Potentially allowing criminals a pathway to citizenship isn't the way. Allowing possible Social Security fraud isn't the way. Preventing our employers from curing problems and giving trial attorneys a handout isn't the way. Madam Speaker, I truly want to help all of our farmers and ranchers, but this bill is wrong, and I cannot support it. I urge my colleagues to vote against the bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Delaney Deskin of Longmont, Colorado. Delaney was one of only 550 undergraduate or graduate students in the United States to be awarded the Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship for 2019. As part of this prestigious honor she traveled to Jaipur, India during the summer of 2019 to study Hindi. The intensive study of foreign languages is one of the most important ways to prepare our young people for the globalized 21st century economy. The scholarship program increases America's engagement with the world and increases national competitiveness while sharing American values and culture abroad. Many program alumni go on to distinguished careers in public service using the skills they gained through the scholarship program. I commend Delaney for her commitment to serving as an exemplary citizen ambassador for the United States. Her selection for this incredible honor is a testament to years of hard work and determination. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Delaney Deskin for her many accomplishments, including being awarded the Critical Language Scholarship.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Colorado State Representative Kimmi Lewis of Las Animas, Colorado. Kimmi was proud to serve her community in the Colorado House of Representatives, having represented the 64th district from 2016 until her passing on December 6, 2019. In this role, Kimmi was a champion for Colorado's farmers and ranchers, advocating for their needs and priorities as a member of the Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources Committee. She will be remembered as a treasured member of the community who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of Coloradans. Beyond her service in the state legislature, Kimmi served as the President of the Trinidad/Las Animas County Republican Women's Club for the past thirty years. In 2007, she received the La Junta Chamber of Commerce Agricultural Award for her efforts to prevent the expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, and in 2009, she received the Southern Colorado Livestock Association Cattlewoman of the Year award in honor of her ``dedication and lifetime commitment to our industry, community and our country.'' Madam Speaker, I would like to honor Rep. Kimmi Lewis for all her contributions in service of Eastern Colorado and recognize the profound legacy that she leaves behind. It is an honor to celebrate her impact on our community and state.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Elijah Marler of Boy Scouts of America Troop 46 from Fort Morgan, Colorado. On August 28, 2019, Elijah was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout for his outstanding accomplishments. Since 1920, the Boy Scouts of America has helped mold young men in a disciplined environment with only a fraction achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Over the years, the Eagle Scout rank has become an American icon symbolizing the core principles of honor, duty, resourcefulness, and courage. Throughout his time as a scout, Elijah has grown as a leader among his peers and is dedicated to serving others. For his Eagle Scout service project, Elijah helped organize a creative mural project at the Converge Daytime Treatment Center in Brush, Colorado. This specialized treatment center provides a therapeutic treatment program and targeted academic instruction in a structured, small group setting for students with emotional disabilities or autism spectrum disorders in the northeastern Colorado region. Artwork is a critical component of many therapy programs, and I commend Elijah for his commitment to serving his community in this capacity. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Elijah Marler for his many accomplishments, including earning the rank of Eagle Scout

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Ms. Kathy Teal of Greeley, Colorado. Kathy Teal was an accomplished woman who always kept the needs of women and children at heart and fought hard for life. Ms. Teal dedicated her career to serving teenage and unwed pregnant mothers, working as a certified midwife. In the 1980s, Kathy was part of a group that founded Birthright of Greeley where she served as a counselor and later as the organization's director. She also played an instrumental role in drafting and advocating for the law legalizing lay midwifery in the state of Colorado. From 2002 until her passing on March 21, 2019, she helped found and was actively involved in the Genesis Project of Northern Colorado, a faith-based, nonprofit organization serving single mothers and their children. She later served on the Executive Board and the Advisory Board, continually guiding this organization with her passion to protect life. Madam Speaker, I would like to honor Ms. Kathy Teal for all her contributions to Eastern Colorado and recognize the profound legacy that she leaves behind. It is an honor to celebrate her impact on our community and state.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, in honor of America's heroic veterans, the Honor Flight Network conducts annual trips to Washington, D.C. This is the first ever High Plains Honor Flight, following the conclusion of the Northern Colorado Honor Flight which had taken more than 3,000 of our nation's heroes to visit and reflect at their war memorials over the past decade. On September 15, 2019, High Plains Honor Flight Northern held an Honor Flight that gave many of our courageous veterans this extraordinary opportunity. I am pleased to recognize the September I5, 2019 Honor Flight honoring World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans of Colorado. Madam Speaker, those who participated in this flight are as follows: World War II: Charles Assmus, Clarence Carlson, John Dutton, Gordon Norton, Willis Sibley. Korean War: Michael Abramovich, George Edinger, James Forrest, Alan Gates, Charles Hall, Jason Laguna, Richard Lindemann, Richard McCown, James McWilliams, Gerald Mitchell, Erlis Morse, John Oliver, Bernard Pisciola, Donald Price, Earle Ridgeway, Richard Stoltzfus, Wayne Tobey, Johnny West, Benjamin Zimmerman. Korean War & Vietnam War: Robert Davison, Gerald McDuffee, Jed Pancoast. Vietnam War: Ronald Adams, Ronald Albers, Leon Bartholomay, Richard Belt, Hal Bennett, Kenneth Blum, Clyde Bullard, Jr., Kenneth Butcher, Jan Carlson, Allan Cazer, Terry Chandler, Spencer Chapin, Daniel Crego, James Crowell, James Davies, Robert Delva, William Dowling, Gerald Ecker, Carl England, Thomas Evans, Ricky Farrier, Markton Gadbury, Roy George, Don Gooding, Jack Hall, Calvin Hamilton, Robert Jacobson, Charles Jett, Larry Johnson, Daniel Katze, James Keeler, Gene Keys, Daniel King, Raymond Kirchner, Jr., Damian Kisner, Richard Knight, Terrence Kullbom, Dale Langholf, Noel LaRose II, Harvey Lawson, Richard Lawson, Robert Loner, Jerald Lucas, Antonio Luna, Thomas Mason, Tony Mathias, Bobby Matthews, Charles McConnell, Timothy McGinnis, Allen Meyer, Blythe Miley, Richard Miller, Thomas Mitchell, Robert Montgomery, James Morgan, Richard Morris, Paul Niebel, Larry Odegard, Carol Jean Padilla, Theron Parlin, David Patterson, Mark Patterson, Robert Pennington, Randall Peonio, Arturo Perez, Floyd Peterson, Christopher Petroff, Linda Pickett, Gary Pitt, Donald Posselt, Richard Ranabargar, John Rasmussen, Robert Righi, Gary Schuler, Curtis Shaffer, John Shaffner, Lee Sherbenou, Donald Simmons, Jerry Skelton, Richard Smith, Richard Smith Jr., Jimmy Spence, Donald Spotanski, Roger Stocker, Thomas Tedesco, Virgil Treadway, Ted Turner, Thomas Wartella, Arthur Weidner, Mark Williamson, Garry Wilson, William Woolman, Darell Zimbelman. It is my distinct pleasure as the U.S. Representative of the 4th District of Colorado to recognize the honor, courage, and sacrifice of these heroes, along with all members of America's Armed Forces. I thank them for their dedication and service to this nation.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate Dr. Michael Cherington for his 85th birthday. Dr. Michael Cherington of Castle Rock, Colorado was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1934. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and later attended the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine. As such, he was destined to continue his career on the East Coast until a mentor directed him to take a year for residency. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Colorado Springs with his first wife, and that same year, he was drafted into the United States Army. While in Colorado, Dr. Cherington opened his own private practice in neurology and he taught at the University of Colorado Medical School. He served his community very well in both capacities while helping thousands of patients across the state. He most notably cared for patients with varying degrees of neurological damage from lighting strikes. As a matter of fact, towards the end of his practice, he wrote an article about lightning strikes and the injuries they can cause, and it was published in ``SportsMedicine.'' Later, he became known as ``The Lightning Doctor'' after publishing many articles about lightning injuries and how to avoid such injuries. This eventually led to the creation of the Lightning Data Center in Denver, which brought together many lightning experts across several different areas of expertise and discipline. As ``The Lighting Doctor,'' he was featured on many local television stations, as well as, ABC's 20/20, National Geographic, and Unsolved Mysteries. To this day, Dr. Cherington still lives happily in Colorado, almost sixty years later. In his spare time, he greatly enjoys spending time with his wife Nancy, his children, and nine grandchildren. I would like to thank Dr. Cherington for all his contributions and wish him a very Happy Birthday.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and memory of Kathy Teal. Kathy was born in Newark, NJ and grew up in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL. A certified midwife, she devoted herself to serving unwed mothers and children. Kathy was a founding member of both Birthright of Greeley and the Genesis Project of Northern Colorado, organizations dedicated to helping single mothers and their children. She spent her life advocating for policies that protected expectant mothers in Colorado and continually supported organizations that protect the sanctity of life, including the Weld County Right to Life. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Kathy Teal for always fighting to protect those unable to protect themselves. On behalf of the Fourth Congressional District of Colorado, I extend my condolences to the Teal family and my gratitude to Kathy for her life of service.

Mr. BUCK

Mr. BUCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 130th anniversary of Temple Aaron located in Trinidad, Colorado. Temple Aaron was constructed in 1889 and is one of less than two dozen synagogues still standing that were constructed in the 19th Century. The temple is the oldest continuously operating Jewish synagogue west of the Mississippi River and has been recognized by major historical preservation organizations as being of tremendous importance to the state. Additionally, I would like to extend posthumous recognition to Kathryn and Leon Rubin, and their two sons, Randy and Ron, for their 30 years of dedicated service and care to Temple Aaron. In 1985, the Rubin family took the primary leadership role in supporting the temple, managing its congregation, and maintaining the building's infrastructure--which included preserving the temple's historic stained glass windows. The Rubins also organized fundraising events and submitted grant applications in an effort to keep Temple Aaron's doors open. Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Fourth Congressional District of Colorado, I extend my congratulations and best wishes to the Temple Aaron community. I applaud their efforts to preserve Temple Aaron as a monument to the Jewish history of the Rocky Mountain region.