Dennis Cardoza

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. I'd like to thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for engaging with me today and my colleague from California in the discussion that we've had on both the underlying bill and the question of the need to bring jobs to the United States of America. The minority would have you believe that we have totally clamped down on this process and would not allow them to bring up dissenting views on this bill. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Rules Committee granted the minority the opportunity to submit a substitute. They chose not to. We made in order both amendments that were submitted to the committee. So basically everything that was offered as a suggestion to improve the bill has been incorporated to this point. The gentlelady chose not to respond when I pointed out that 19 States have no restrictions whatsoever on using child restraints. And her own State allows for seclusion and restraint to maintain order, and does not require that there be imminent danger or even an emergency in order to duct tape children to seats, to lock them in closets, deny them food, deny them water, deny them access, without parental notification. That is the purpose of this underlying bill, to improve the situation that children are exposed to in our classrooms. Just a few years ago, 33,000 children in just the two States of Texas and California were exposed to this kind of situation, or at least allegedly so. I would say that we need these guidelines, that we need to intervene, and we need to provide the States with the opportunity to understand what is happening. And we need to compile the statistics, all of which is included in the bill. Madam Speaker, there is an urgent problem in many of the schools across the country that has gone unchecked for far too long and must be addressed. H.R. 4247 will go a long way towards ensuring the safety of our Nation's children. Again, I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense legislation. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and on the previous question.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1113 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. CARDOZA. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the resolution provides for further consideration of H.R. 2701, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The rule modifies amendment No. 1 printed in House Report 111-419 by striking the matter proposed to be inserted as section 506. Mr. Speaker, the Intelligence Authorization Act provides much-needed policy guidance for the 16 agencies that comprise the intelligence community. At the same time, this bill improves accountability and helps to prevent the often disastrous consequences that faulty intelligence and misinformation to Congress can have on national security. This bill is vitally important because it recognizes the fundamental reality that solid intelligence is our Nation's first line of defense against terrorists. This Congress has not reauthorized the intelligence bill in 4 years. The funding in this bill provides our intelligence agencies with tools, resources, and authorities they need to keep us safe. For example, it increases funding for human intelligence collection and counterintelligence activities; it makes significant investments in cybersecurity safety while also improving language capabilities in the intelligence community. Furthermore, it fully authorizes the President's budget request for the intelligence community programs and operations. The rule we are debating this morning is the second rule the House has considered. Yesterday we heard impassioned arguments from both sides of the aisle regarding an amendment from Mr. McDermott on actions of the intelligence officers in the field and their criminal liability. Today, we are moving ahead with the authorization bill without that language because it's important to keep this bill moving forward. The President has issued guidelines on this subject, and it deserves to be considered by this body. However, we are 4 years overdue on reauthorization, and our intelligence community cannot wait any longer. I urge my colleagues to support this rule so that we can continue the business of protecting America's families. No American should ever face harm because this body could not do its job, and this bill needs to move forward. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I would submit to my colleague from California that we must get this legislation done. I agreed with him. He agreed with me. This is very important legislation. It's critical to the country. Then he said, well, there is no real rush because you are doing a martial law rule. I submit to you that we need to get this done. It's very important for the country, and we have taken a long time. And I would also submit that the majority of the Congress people speaking to us all, Republicans and Democrats, as I said in my opening statement, felt that that amendment wasn't appropriately included in the manager's amendment. We agreed. That's why we are here today striking it out. I realize that the gentleman is saying, well, it should have never been in there to begin with, and that may be true, but the reality is we are fixing and correcting that error today. That is why we are here, and I appreciate the gentleman's statement.

Mr. CARDOZA. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. CARDOZA. The gentleman is correct, and there are other measures, like the jobs bill, which is critically important, critically important to our home State.

Mr. CARDOZA. Like my district, it has got 20 percent unemployment. So there are other pressing matters that we have to get to, and that's exactly the kind of point that I was making.

Mr. CARDOZA. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Mr. Reyes.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire as to the time remaining on each side?

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I now yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the committee, Mr. Reyes.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the chairman such time as he may consume.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to say that I am pleased we are removing the language today. I want to remind my colleagues that, in this bill, we are helping to prevent the disastrous consequences that faulty intelligence and misinformed Congresses can have on national security. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and on the previous question. I yield back my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Mehdi Morshed, who has been one of California's leading transportation policy experts and innovators for over 40 years. Mr. Morshed served as a member of the California High Speed Rail Commission from 1994 to 1996 and was the first person to be appointed to the board of the newly created California High Speed Rail Authority in 1997. He was appointed by the board to be the first Executive Director of the Authority in 1998 and has served in that position since. Mr. Morshed has been instrumental in guiding the development of the California High Speed Rail Project from its inception and has been an advocate nationwide. The project has evolved from a planning concept to a fully developed project with an 800-mile system that has won political, community, and finally voter support and is poised for implementation in the near future. Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Mr. Morshed served as the principal policy person on transportation issues for the California State Senate for more than 20 years. Prior to that, he worked for the California Department of Transportation in various capacities, including planning, design and construction of bridges. He was a member of the design engineering team for San Diego's Coronado Bridge. While with the California Senate, Mr. Morshed was responsible for the development and enactment of a wide range of transportation laws, policies and programs. He helped guide the creation of the State's principal transportation institutions including the High Speed Rail Authority, the California Transportation Commission and various local and regional commissions, transportation districts and other agencies. Educated at the University of Washington, Seattle, as a civil engineer, he received a master's degree in transportation engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Mr. Mehdi Morshed for his efforts and dedication to the transportation systems in California.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, it is with the greatest respect and admiration that I rise today to honor the late Judge J. Augustus ``Augie'' Accurso. Augie was not only an engaged member of our community in Stanislaus County, California, but he was a beloved father and grandfather. He was a very special and well respected man to many people, known for his gift of conversation, sense of humor and positive approach to life. At the age of 79, Augie Accurso passed away on Sunday, February 7, 2010. The Queens Village, N.Y., native had several other jobs before settling into law. He went to barber school and worked as a pharmacist, which his colleagues said ensured he would carefully scrutinize chemical evidence. Judge Accurso started out in the Stanislaus County district attorney's office in 1969, then after a little more than a year went into private practice. He was then selected by the county Board of Supervisors to become a Justice Court judge in Turlock. In 1977, the Board of Supervisors abolished the Justice Court, the board appointed him to the Municipal Court bench. Judge Accurso served on the bench for two decades, and during his 20- year career as a judge, he served at every judicial level in the state shy of the Supreme Court. He served on the Justice Court, the Municipal Court, the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal. During his tenure, he also served as dean of the Judges College, an ongoing curriculum to help judges keep abreast of judicial procedures and rules. Judge Accurso was also an active alumnus of the Theta Chi Fraternity. Judge Accurso pledged, and was initiated, Theta Chi while attending San Jose State. This was a relationship that he held proudly throughout his life as he encouraged and nurtured the chapter that formed at CSU Stanislaus in the late 70s. Judge Accurso was very influential in the lives of the members of the Eta Tau Chapter of Theta Chi at California State University Stanislaus, and was like a father to many of them. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor and privilege to join my community in honoring the memory of Augie Accurso. He will be greatly missed by all.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 908 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. CARDOZA. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 908.

Mr. CARDOZA. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 908 provides for consideration of H.R. 2781, a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the Molalla River in Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, under a closed rule. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill except for clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI. The rule provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute, recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources, now printed in the bill, shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. The rule waives all points of order against the bill, as amended. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today, H.R. 2781, would add two segments of the Molalla River totaling 21.3 miles in northwestern Oregon to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The two segments, 15.1 miles on the main stem of the Molalla River, and 6.2 of the Table Rock Fork, would be designated as a recreational river. The Molalla rises in the Cascade Range, east of Salem. From its headwaters above the Table Rock Wilderness Area, the river flows through cedar, hemlock and old-growth Douglas fir forests, and basalt rock canyons until it meets the Willamette River near Canby. The Molalla River is an essential wildlife area for the pileated woodpecker and both golden and bald eagles. It is also within an hour's drive of the Portland and Salem metropolitan areas and provides significant recreational opportunities for fishing, hunting, canoeing, kayaking, white-water rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking, camping, picnicking, swimming and diving, all wonderful, great traditional American recreational activities. These opportunities and a 20-mile hiking, mountain biking area and equestrian trail system draw over 65,000 visitors annually. I would add that the Molalla River also served as both a trail for indigenous Molalla Indians and as a vital trade route between pioneers in Oregon. The river is also where the cities of Molalla and Canby derive their drinking water. In earlier planning analyses, the Bureau of Land Management determined that most of the river and the Table Rock Fork should be considered for designation as wild and scenic rivers. In testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee, BLM stated, ``the designation called for in H.R. 2781 would be largely consistent with management currently in place, and would cause few changes to BLM's current administration.'' Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Schrader) for bringing this legislation to the floor today so we can ensure America's beauty and natural wonderment is preserved both now and for future generations. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. In response to the gentleman from Utah, I would say the following. Two of the amendments that the gentleman offered to the Rules Committee on H.R. 2781--one amendment was nothing more than political talking points with zero substance. The second, the other amendment, was both nongermane and a violation of PAYGO under the House rules. Further, I would add in response to the questions with regard to the Obama administration that, on November 13, the Obama administration reiterated in a letter to Chairman Grijalva, stating, ``There are no timber contracts within the Federal lands proposed for designation under H.R. 2781.'' I would like to insert into the Record a letter from the department indicating that to the chairman. Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC, November 13, 2009. Hon. Raul Grijalva, Chairman, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, House Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: Enclosed are responses prepared by the Bureau of Land Management to questions submitted following the Subcommittee's Thursday, October 1, 2009, hearing on, H.R. 2781, ``Molalla River: National Wild and Scenic River System.'' Thank you for the opportunity to provide this material to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and public Lands.'' Sincerely, Christopher P. Salotti, Legislative Counsel, Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs. Enclosure. Questions for Robert Abbey, Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. Questions from Representative Grijalva: 1. How does BLM usually manage private land within wild and scenic river corridors? Answer. Under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal government has no authority to manage private lands within wild and scenic river corridors. 2. Are there any timber contracts within the corridor of the proposed designation for the Molalla? Answer. The BLM in Oregon informs me that there are no timber contracts within the Federal lands proposed for designation under H.R. 2781, which designates segments of the Molalla River in Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic River System. Third, with regard to Mr. Schrader's comments, the gentleman said that we should have heeded Mr. Schrader's comments. Well, guess what. Representative Schrader, who represents this area, expressed a concern, as the gentleman indicated, about this issue at the Natural Resources Committee hearing in October. He also states in a letter to us, that I will have inserted in the Record, that since that time he has investigated this concern with the agencies on the ground and wrote the committee on November 10 to say that he was totally satisfied that the bill will not remove trees from the timber stock because there are no timber contracts planned in the area, and there are none now, and there are none planned. So I would like to submit for the Record Mr. Schrader's letter. House of Representatives, Washington, DC, November 10, 2009. Hon. Nick Rahall Chairman, House Committee on Natural Resources, Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I write to express my support for the committee's amendments to my bill, H.R. 2781, to designate segments of the Molalla River in Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. At the October 28th markup of H.R. 2781, mention was made of a statement in my testimony regarding 420 acres of timber management, or ``matrix,'' lands that will be within the river corridor when my bill is enacted. Since the October 1st hearing before the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee at which I testified, I have consulted both the Bureau of Land Management and committee staff about those matrix lands. I am satisfied that this designation will not remove trees from the timber stock: there are no timber contracts in that area, and no timber sales are planned. I reserve the right to offset logging acreage in future bills I might introduce, but I see no need to add such language to H.R. 2781 at this time. Thank you for your support of this legislation which has overwhelming support within my district and thank you for all your work you do as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee. Sincerely, Kurt Schrader, Member of Congress. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, as part of the course of debate, the gentlewoman from North Carolina indicated that they have been very supportive of the environment, and she has indicated that they are getting a bad rap, as it were, for not being supportive of the environment. I would like to ask the gentlelady how many wild and scenic bills have they supported on the floor this session of Congress. I know we have had a number, and I don't recall a one that they have supported. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).