John Dingell

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, as a ranking member of the House conferees on this energy bill, I would observe that like most of the other House conferees on the Democratic side, I was a conferee in name only. We had a ceremonial meeting to start it out, created no change in the bill. It was followed by a ceremonial meeting last night in which, again, no significant changes were made in the bill, which was written in the dark by, for, and with the assistance of the different special interests. The conference on this bill does not reflect well on this body. Questions began early when the Senate decided to pass last year's energy bill and then to ignore its contents. Since the conference began, Democratic conferees were not invited to any substantive discussions. We have been forced to read the papers to find out what is in the bill. The Record must be clear. Democrats were only provided drafts of certain titles of the bill at the same time they are made available to the public. Democratic staff made comments, but significant recommendations were diligently ignored. I suspect the comments of lobbyists were met with vastly more success. With regard to the controversial provisions of the bill relating to electricity, ethanol, and taxes, Democrats were never allowed to see any drafts until Saturday. We had no input in these matters. The rule waives the 3-day layover rule for conference reports, yet one more attempt to prevent Members of this body from having adequate opportunity to review the bill. My Republican colleagues have decided to totally ignore any rules on scope. For example, there are amendments to the Clean Air Act that are neither bill. They have salted the report with dozens of special interest provisions, many of which were put in the tax title. Speaking of the tax title, it has grown like Topsey to $23 billion, nearly three times the amount requested by the administration. So much for Republican fiscal discipline. We held a conference meeting yesterday that helped shed some light on the bill, but little more. The Senate adopted seven amendments on a bipartisan basis. Within minutes, however, of the beginning of the debate on these recommendations on the House side, my Republican colleagues moved to reject all but two of the provisions they had previously worked out, and without debate the Senate then agreed. I note the conference report includes a 139-page statement of the managers, nearly all of which relate to the tax portions. These pages on taxes were not made available to the conferees before the report was made available. I am unable to support this bill for a number of substantive reasons, and I cannot recommend that the House should do so. I will discuss them during the debate on the conference report. The bill is an assault upon the Nation's environment. Rollbacks of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, attacks on the Nation's rivers and the conservation provisions that protect fish and wildlife, abusive new provisions conferring special benefits on electrical utilities. The bill harms consumers and investors by repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act and refuses to address the abuses of Enron and other companies that gouge consumers in California and other States west of the Rockies. Finally, the bill includes unattainable and massive subsidies to industry that are unlikely to affect the energy needs of the country. I have worked on a lot of comprehensive energy and environmental bills during my time in this Chamber. All of them were the result of extensive bipartisan cooperation. This is the first energy bill I have had to oppose, and I regret that we were not permitted to develop a bipartisan bill that will bring real benefits to all Americans. Instead, we have before us a mishmash of controversial special interest proposals that were drafted in the dark of the night with little participation by anybody, including the American public and the Members of this body, especially on this side of the aisle. This is an outrageous rule. Vote no on the rule. Vote no on the previous question. And when the Members get a chance, vote no on this outrageous legislation.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver). (Mr. OLVER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher). (Mr. BOUCHER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush).

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of this resolution, H. Con. Res. 313, urging President Bush to present the Presidential medal of Freedom to Pope John Paul II. Mr. Speaker, Pope John Paul II is a leader who has truly made this world a better place to live. His dedication and devotion to religious freedom for all people aided in bringing about a peaceful end to communism in Eastern Europe. His courage to defy the Nazis during World War II not only helped preserve Poland, but kept the flame of hope alive to all free people during those dark years. He stood up when the tyranny of Soviet Communism darkened Eastern Europe, and helped ignite the spark of revolution by his visit to Poland in June 1979. His insistence on the dignity of the human spirit, and the call for religious freedom as the first of human rights, aided all Poles in their crusade against their Communist oppressors. Mr. Speaker, he not only inspired millions suffering under communism, but he also inspired millions more when, just four days after an assassination attempt he said, ``Pray for the brother who shot me, whom I have sincerely forgiven.'' He is a rare individual. He is someone who has truly changed the world. His papacy has affected not only Catholics, but also Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and all others who value freedom over oppression. Citizens of the world owe a debt of gratitude to Pope John Paul II. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate him in celebration of his Silver Jubilee. I call upon my colleagues to vote for this resolution and call on the President to honor Pope John Paul II with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I would have liked to offer my support to this conference report. The conference report includes a much needed pay raise and much needed support for our military families. In typical fashion, however, my Republican colleagues have taken a good bill and bogged it down with extraneous and extreme measures. The conference report does not include the stronger House language on Buy America and allows research on low-yield nuclear weapons--a practice prohibited by Republicans and Democrats over the last 20 years because it violates the non-proliferation treaty and makes it easier for questionable regimes to obtain nuclear weapons. The conference report also exempts the military from complying with two of our most important environmental laws, the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. When this authorization process began, Secretary Rumsfeld came to Congress and told us that in order to maintain readiness, they needed exemptions from the Clean Air Act, the Resources Conservation Recovery Act, Superfund, the Endangered Species Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Fortunately, the Congress saw fit to exclude most of what the DOD asked for with regard to environmental exemptions. The conference report directs the Secretary of Interior to substitute the Department of Defense's land management plan, known as an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan, for critical habitat designation under the Endangered Species Act, if the plan provides a ``benefit'' for threatened species. Further, the conference report does not require that the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan benefit the species. This is a much lower standard than the current law, not to mention the DOD has enough trouble coming up with a management plan for things it is supposed to know about, let alone fish and wildlife. If the military is able to escape the critical habitat designation, private property owners will have to bear the burden of providing for the recovery of threatened and endangered species. This is simply not right. Just this week, the Committee on Resources passed a bipartisan reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. That legislation was the culmination of over 4 years worth of hearings and the testimony of dozens of witnesses. Contrary to what happened in the committee of jurisdiction, where they were able to successfully compromise to address the definition of harassment, the language in the conference report would overturn a recent court decision and construct a wall against any further litigation against the Navy. Over the last 5 years our troops have toppled a dictator in Iraq, stopped a genocide in Kosovo, and defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan. Our troops prepared for those missions without exemptions from our cornerstone environmental laws--laws that administration officials and the General Accounting Office do not believe are hampering our military readiness. Indeed, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, General Wesley Clark recently stated, ``Additional exemptions aren't needed. I spent a lot of time in the Army and, in all my years of service, complying with the environmental laws never compromised the military readiness of troops under my command.'' Mr. Speaker, we need to ask ourselves why we are passing language that neither the Resources Committee nor a four-star general deem necessary. In short, Mr. Speaker, I regret that I cannot support this conference report. I must draw a line in the sand. My Republican colleagues have got to stop looking for ways to put bad and extraneous language in good bills in an attempt to force the hands of those who disagree with them.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1829, the Federal Prison Industries Act. I am a proud cosponsor of this sensible legislation, and believe that private businesses from my State and others can now compete for government contracts that they were barred from in the past. The exemption of Federal Prison Industries (FPI), Inc. has allowed for higher prices, and fewer choices for Federal agencies. With enactment of this bill, Federal agencies will now be able to choose the products and services offered by FPI rather than the other way around. It is a good bill, a sensible bill that helps businesses and workers in my district. In these tough economic times, when well paying manufacturing jobs are leaving the great State of Michigan, this is an opportunity to help unemployed workers get back to work. H.R. 1829 opens to competition Federal contracting opportunities reserved for FPI. Private sector firms, and their non-inmate workers, will, for the first time, be able to bid on these Federal business opportunities. Mr. Chairman, this is a bipartisan bill that has the overwhelming support of business and many labor unions. I am proud to support this bill, and call on my fellow Members to do the same. Mr. PETRI. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to voice my opposition to H.R. 1829, the Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2003. In my home State of Wisconsin there are many small businesses that provide parts for FPI products. These are vital businesses that will be hurt if the contracting procedures of FPI are changed. Additional job losses would be devastating to an area that has already lost many manufacturing jobs. The supporters of this bill say that small businesses would be helped by its passage. That simply isn't true for the Sixth District of Wisconsin, and we will find that it won't be true in many other communities. There are currently over 145,000 federally incarcerated inmates. It is our responsibility to provide meaningful work and job-training opportunities for these inmates while balancing the needs of the business communities. I have visited the Oxford Prison in my district, one of the institutions where FPI contracts are filled. The inmates there put together a good product, learn a skill, and importantly, must take responsibility and initiative, all of which will serve them well upon their release. H.R. 1829 would tie the hands of the Bureau of Prisons, preventing them carrying out these goals. Supporters of this bill seem to think that this isn't true. Passage of this bill would be detrimental to businesses throughout the Nation, not to mention the thousands of inmates who benefit form the opportunities that FPI provides. I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 1829.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, consumers who dial 911 from their wireless phones expect emergency responders to be able to locate them, just as if they had dialed 911 from a wireless phone. All too often today, however, emergency responders have no such ability. The House is poised to take an important step to address this problem. To this end, I am pleased to support H.R. 2898, the ``E-911 Implementation Act of 2003,'' as amended. This bill will take three important steps to help ensure that first responders can rapidly locate persons dialing 911 from a wireless phone. First, it will set up a federal office to help coordinate E-911 build-out. Second, it will provide federal matching grants to assist cash-strapped states and local communities in deploying E-911 technologies. Third, it will provide strong incentives to ensure that states no longer raid their E- 911 funds for non-E-911 purposes. I commend Chairmen Tauzin and Upton for working closely with Representatives Eshoo and Shimkus, the authors of the underlying bill and co-chairpersons of the Congressional E-911 Caucus. I am pleased to support this important bill and look forward to working with the appropriators to ensure that this grant program is fully funded.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, Ranking Member Dicks, I would like to draw the managers' attention to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. In Fiscal year 2003, the Committee appropriated $3.5 million for land acquisition in the Detroit Rive Refuge. For this I was grateful. Mr. Speaker, the Trust for Public Land, recently acquired an ecologically significant tract of land known as Humbug Marsh and Island. This is a tract I have been working to acquire for many years. This funding in FY 03 made this acquisition possible. And this year I was seeking addition funds to complete this acquisition. The Humbug project is wired and ready to go. Unfortunately, the conference report includes language, inserted by the other body, indicating that further appropriations for the Refuge have been delayed because additional funds could not be obligated in 2004. It also states that there are outstanding issues related to contaminants. In point of fact, Mr. Speaker, neither of these statements has any basis in fact. I would ask, at this time, for unanimous consent to insert into the Record a letter from Mr. Eric Alvarez, Chief of the Reality Division of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Mr. Alverez writes to me, ``With adequate funding and no unforeseen problems...we anticipate a February or March 2004 closing date `for the Humbug property.'' I would also note to the Chairman and the committee that Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton was at the Detroit River Refuge for a centennial celbration event in September. I would like unanimous consent to insert into the Record a letter I have just received from Secretary Norton demonstrating her commitment to the conservation values of the Detroit River Rufuge. Mr. Speaker, I would hope that we can work together to address this issue as the process moves forward. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. Hon. John D. Dingell, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Dingell: The Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Realty has been working on the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge since December 2001. Since that time we have been evaluating a number of properties for inclusion into the refuge while developing our land protection plan. Recently, a key tract, known as the Humbug Marsh tract, was acquired by the Trust for Public Lands. Until this acquisition the Service did not have many viable tracts where the existing funds would have been obligated. Preliminary information indicates that the tract may be worth around $4.9 million. The Service is currently working on the contaminant survey and the appraisal that will indicate the actual purchase price. The contaminant survey has yet to be completed, therefore we do not want to speculate on the presence or absence of contaminants. conversations with TPL representatives indicate that they believe that there should not be significant contaminant issues. An appraisal will indicate the purchase price and the service has $3.4 million available for the acquisition. The difference between the remaining amount and the original appropriation ($3.5 million) has been used to pay for the contaminant survey and the appraisal. With adequate funding and no unforeseen problems, with title or contaminants issues, we would anticipate a February or March, 2004 closing date. Please feel free to contact me at 703-358-1713 if you or your staff require more information. Sincerely, Eric Alvarez, Chief, Division of Realty.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and to honor my dear friend, Michael Berry on the occasion of the dedication of the Michael Berry Amphitheater at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan. The son of Lebanese immigrants, Michael Berry came of age in Depression Era South Dearborn. Transcending life's circumstances, Mr. Berry graduated in Fordson Junior College's (now Henry Ford Community College) inaugural class of 1940. He went on to earn a Bachelor's degree and ultimately a Juris Doctorate, becoming the first Muslim attorney in the state of Michigan in 1949. With his law degree in hand, Mr. Berry embarked on a distinguished career in law, government and public service that continues to this day. Among his many significant accomplishments, Michael Berry served twenty years as the legal counsel to the United Auto Workers Local 600 (the UAW Local born out of the Hunger March and Battle of the Overpass, and which, at its zenith had more than 100,000 members and retirees). Mr. Berry was also a longtime member of the Wayne County Road Commission, serving as Chairman for a period of ten years. During his tenure as Chairman, Michael Berry oversaw the completion of numerous infrastructure projects, not the least of which were substantial improvements to Detroit-Wayne County's Metropolitan Airport. Mr. Berry's contributions in this regard positioned the airport to become the national and international hub that it is today and resulted in the dedication of the Michael Berry International Terminal in 1974. Given Mr. Berry's personal and professional accomplishments, you can understand why I consider myself extremely fortunate to have him as a close personal friend and to have benefited from his advice and insight over the years. I worked especially closely with Mr. Berry during the eight years he served as Chairman of the 16th District Democratic Party--a time that I recall fondly as being a particularly constructive and productive one. The privilege of knowing people who are as decent and accomplished as Michael Berry is an aspect of public service that I enjoy greatly. The ``Michael Berry Amphitheater'' will inspire students for generations to pursue their full potential and ambitions. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all of my colleagues join me in recognizing the lifetime achievements of Michael Berry, one of Dearborn's native sons.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Chairman, I commend my good friend and colleague. I urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment. Listen to what is at stake here. Halliburton buys gas over there at 71 cents a gallon. It sells it to the Federal Government at $1.62 to $1.70 a gallon. They make huge sums of money at the expense of the taxpayer. This was done on a very quiet, secret no-bid contract, without anything else other than a GAO audit triggered by my good friend, and which I am happy to have assisted with, which brought this whole sorry mess to light. In a nutshell, they are buying 190 million gallons of gasoline from Kuwait that is going to be moved into Iraq. Imagine that, the second biggest oil pool in the world is going to be getting gas and gasoline from the United States. It is going to cost something like $1.59 per gallon. It is going to also be marked up to $1.62. It goes for 71 cents a gallon in the market over there in the Middle East. That shows what a fat deal they have gotten. Support the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment to reduce the appropriation to pay Halliburton to supply gasoline to Iraq. From the moment Representative Waxman and I learned about secret no- bid contracts given to large companies like Halliburton and Bechtel for activities in Iraq we have tried to get the facts on the matter. As a result of our letter to GAO on April 8, the General Accounting Office is looking into the process of those bids. Among those contracts was a no-bid contract to Halliburton that provided for a variety of activities dealing with oil. At first, the Administration tried to portray the contract as dealing solely with putting out oil fires. We now know it is far more extensive. When the President sent up his supplemental request before us today, we spotted a request for an additional 2.1 billion dollars for Halliburton under its oil contract. On September 12, we wrote to OMB Director Joshua Bolten to explain the request. To date, we have not received the courtesy of a response. What we learned is that included in the request is $900 million to import petroleum products into Iraq. We subsequently learned some interesting facts: As of September 18, 2003, the United States has paid Halliburton $300 million to import 190 million gallons of gasoline. That is an average price of $1.59 per gallon. On top of that Halliburton receives an additional fee, increasing the cost to the taxpayers to $1.62 to $1.70 per gallon. This gasoline is being imported from Kuwait. According to the Congressional Research Service, the average price for gasoline in the Middle East was about 71 cents per gallon. In other words, Halliburton was collecting an additional 91 to 99 cents a gallon from the U.S. government for every gallon of gasoline. When our staffs contacted independent oil experts about such a markup, they said that if those were the prices being charged the government, it was a ``huge ripoff'' to the taxpayers. According to interviews conducted by the Minority staff of the Committee on Government Reform, the gasoline is then resold to Iraqis for just 4 to 15 cents a gallon. This oil contract is just one example of the potential ripoff of the American taxpayer through the granting of no-bid deals to companies like Halliburton. It is also an example of the attitude of this Administration that it owes absolutely no explanation of how these funds are being spent. And it is an example of the lax oversight being conducted by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in examining these deals. The amendment simply cuts $250 million from the oil purchase account, in order to provide for the reasonable cost of importing the oil while preventing Halliburton from price gouging the American people. Whether price gouging occurs here in the United States or in Iraq, we should not allow it. But it is particularly disturbing in this bill, where this gouging comes at the expense of the safety and well-being of our troops in Iraq. Perhaps in the future when Members of Congress have legitimate questions about the Administration's requests for money, we will receive answers. For now, we must send a signal that we will not pay outrageous and unjustified prices to a no-bid contractor like Halliburton, while failing to meet the needs of our troops. Vote ``yes'' on this amendment.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, like many of my colleagues, I am troubled about the supplemental which is to come before us today. Like all of us, I wish to support our troops. But I am troubled about the fact that there have been no legislative hearings on this matter and that the authorizing committees have not spoken. I am troubled about mixing defense and reconstruction. I am troubled about the way that this matter has been handled up to this particular time and about the way the administration has used the military to handle the reconstruction, which was not done in the time after World War II. I am troubled about the need for audits. I am troubled about the fact that we have here no protection against sole-source and contracts not subject to bidding. I am troubled about the buying of non-American goods by the agencies in charge of these things. I am troubled about the postal reform that we are going to be financing, or the building of the ZIP code for Iraq. Neither is an emergency need for Iraq. Why are we funding two prisons at $50,000 a bed. I would suspect that Iraqis might very well decide it would be useful either to shoot Americans or Iraqis just to get into a prison of that luxurious quality. I would note that pickup trucks at $33,000 a piece or trash trucks at $50,000 tend to be something that looks fine to the Iraqis, but I think not so well to the American taxpayers who are going to be footing the bill and giving up programs needed here at home for our people.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate my dear friend Gail Warden on his retirement as President of Henry Ford Health System. He has lead Henry Ford into the twenty-first century, leaving it in good stead. He has worked hard to ensure that residents in Southeast Michigan receive access to good quality hospital care. For that, I would like to say on behalf of the people of Michigan's 15th Congressional District, thank you. Gail Warden has dedicated his career to advancing the health safety net in Southeast Michigan. His commitment to quality health care has helped my constituents lead healthier lives. He has been a leader among the hospital presidents in Southeast Michigan. Above all I want to thank him for his friendship. Mr. Speaker, soon after Gail retired, a long-term problem came to a head in Southeast Michigan. That problem: the rising tide of uninsured hobbled one hospital and threatened other hospitals in the area. When Governor Granholm called on Gail to take on this task, he did not back down. Rather, he immersed himself in this problem and began tackling this tough issue head on. Since then, the development committee that he has led has come up with innovative new solutions for Southeastern Michigan's problems. I look forward toward helping in tackling these tough problems and working with Gail to ensure that Michigan's health safety net is strengthened. Mr. Speaker, Gail Warden is an honorable man who has done many great things for the citizens of Southeastern Michigan. I am honored to have him as friend. I ask that you and all of my colleagues join me in congratulating Mr. Gail Warden for his, inexhaustible support, generosity and leadership to his community and to give him our best wishes for the future.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend the greetings of the House of Representatives to my constituent and friend, the Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America of Dearborn, Michigan, as our guest chaplain. Imam Qazwini's life is a testament to the greatness of our Nation and its devotion to freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and universal liberty. His life story is remarkable and moving, and his dedication to his adoptive homeland should make us all proud. Imam Qazwini was born to a prominent religious family in Karbala, Iraq, and became a student at the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran. His family in Iraq were Shiites, and actively opposed the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. For their courage they were persecuted. Fourteen of his relatives were either executed or imprisoned by the Ba'athists. Imam Qazwini has become a leading voice for Muslims in America. He has spoken movingly of the need for reconciliation, for tolerance, and for the recognition of our shared humanity. He has worked with leaders in both the Christian and the Jewish communities to help bridge the differences between us and to dispel prejudice. His work has touched Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and his devotion to our State and our community of Dearborn has been recognized by the mayor, the governor, and by President Bush. Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, Imam Qazwini's life is a statement on the greatness of our Nation. In only a few years, he has become a leader in our Nation's religious life, and he has met twice with President Bush. I am proud that he is here today and was able to give this body a moving start to our day. Imam, you have been most welcome here today and we are honored that you are with us.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable businessman, a dedicated philanthropist, a civic activist, a committed conservationist, and a splendid humanitarian: Peter Stroh. He was one of the finest men I have known, and as we celebrate the centennial year of the National Wildlife Refuge system, I want to convey the thanks and gratitude of the people of Michigan to Mr. Stroh and his family. Peter Stroh was a lifelong Michigander. Born in Detroit in 1927, he returned to the city in 1951 after completing his education at Princeton. He had hoped to join the United States Foreign Service, but circumstances forced him to take over the family's brewery. While our diplomatic corps will never know its loss, the people of Detroit and Michigan will never forget his contributions. The Stroh's Brewery was founded in Detroit in 1850. Peter Stroh was able to turn his family's brewery into the third largest beer maker in the nation. But business success was not the focus of Peter's life. He understood that the true measure of a successful life was not the bottom line of a balance sheet, but rather the legacy of one's contribution to their community. Standing on the roof of the Detroit brew house in 1967, he mournfully watched as riots burned the city that he loved. At his retirement he recalled, ``I felt that we, as Detroit stakeholders, had to take some responsibility for what happened in Detroit, and our company would have to take some responsibility for helping to prevent it from happening again.'' He dedicated the final thirty-five years of his life to that proposition. He served on the board of almost every organization that was working to solve Detroit's problems and build a new future for the city. He was on the Board of the Urban League of Detroit, Detroit Renaissance, and chaired the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner. He helped create the Detroit Medical Center and later served as its chair. He spearheaded the development of River Place. That project has grown to 600,000 square feet of office space, 350 residential units and the OMNI/River Place Hotel. Mr. Speaker, it was Peter's love of the natural world that brought us to work closely and collaborate on the creation of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. He was an avid fisherman, he loved the water and would spend much of his free time either fishing the waters of Michigan or going to the best fishing spots around the world. He recognized that as Detroit and southeastern Michigan developed, it had the unintended effect of cutting people off from the natural beauty of the river and the surrounding lakes. The Detroit River Refuge will be at the center of the national celebration for the 100th birthday of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Secretary Norton will be there, as well as hundreds of dignitaries, community and business leaders, and many more people from the area who fish, hike, and boat along the Detroit River every day. The Wildlife Refuge is Peter's living legacy. Without his steadfast commitment this natural jewel might have been lost to development, pollution, and neglect. Mr. Speaker, Peter left us a year ago. His life was a testament to the positive influence that one person can make, not only in the lives of those who knew him, but to future generations who will enjoy his legacy. Years from now, people will find homes in the communities he built, jobs in the institutions he founded, and enjoy nature in an ecosystem he preserved. I ask my colleagues to join me in commemorating the life of a remarkable man, Peter Stroh.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, unwanted telemarketing calls are less popular than a skunk at a church picnic, and they are more persistent and obnoxious than athlete's foot. Today we are going to bring them under control at the request of the American people. In 1994 this body passed the Telemarketing Act to protect consumer privacy and to curb abusive and abrasive telemarketing. Through that law, the Federal Trade Commission created a national do-not-call registry, and over 50 million American consumers have registered their numbers on that list. They do not want to be called. Earlier this year, I introduced the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act with my dear friend and colleague, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the chairman of the committee. That bill was passed by both Chambers by an overwhelming majority. It provided necessary funding so that the do-not-call list could go into effect on time. It also was said in the hearings by the Federal Trade Commission that no additional authority was needed by that body to issue this do-not-call list. Well, the telemarketers are back. Despite our previous efforts, an erroneous decision made in Oklahoma agreed with the Direct Marketing Association that we did not give the Federal Trade Commission authority to create the list. That decision was in remarkable error, and we are today going to overrule it. Last night I, once again, in concert with my distinguished friend and the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced legislation to settle this question for good and all. That legislation is now before us. It unequivocally states that the FTC is authorized to create and to enforce a national do-not-call registry, and it officially ratifies the existing list. I commend and congratulate my friend, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the chairman, for his splendid work on this matter. I urge my colleagues to vote for that legislation. The registry is scheduled to go into effect in less than one week. And we are here to make sure that it stays on schedule. I encourage my colleagues in both Chambers to pass this legislation swiftly. And I hope the President will heed the call of consumers and sign this legislation into law. Mr. Speaker, 50 million Americans cannot be wrong. They want this legislation, they deserve no less. I urge my colleagues to enact the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), and I ask unanimous consent that he may be permitted to yield time on behalf of this side of the aisle. He has had much experience with this and has been a great leader in the matter.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call upon the President and House Leadership to work with Chairman Young and Ranking Member Oberstar to craft a comprehensive transportation bill that addresses the needs of our nation. While I will vote for the short-term extension for our transportation program, I do so reluctantly. We have had months to prepare a good bill that does right for the nation. I believe my dear friends, Chairman Young and Ranking Member Oberstar are headed in the right direction, but, unfortunately, a select few have held up any attempt at crafting a good bill, bringing us to this impasse. Mr. Speaker, I also want to reiterate my support for Chairman Young's and Ranking Member Oberstar's $375 billion proposal. In my home state of Michigan, 1 in 5 roads have been rated as being in ``poor condition''. In Southeast Michigan, Metro Detroit ranks fifth for motorists who pay the most annually in additional vehicle maintenance because of poor road quality. The only way to help alleviate the problems in my state is to ensure that we grow the program so Michigan and all the other donor states receive their fair share of highway dollars. The longer we wait to pass a comprehensive bill the longer it will take to improve our nation's infrastructure. For some, they will say, Dingell, it is only six months. But I have been here long enough to know how the cow chews the cabbage, and a delay puts us into an election year. That delay could easily be extended and put our state department's of transportation planning process in serious jeopardy. We cannot continue to operate our government through continuing resolutions. To do so not only puts our infrastructure in jeopardy, but the well being of our nation. We must craft a comprehensive bill that helps our nation's infrastructure, puts people to work, and gets our economy moving again. Many people understand this, a few do not. It is time the few stop blocking the path to progress, and help kick start our economy with a bill that my Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman and Ranking Member support.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the site dedication of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, which is located in my district. This University has always been at the vanguard of education, research, and preparing the best minds in the nation to confront the problems of this world. In 1916 the Institute of Public Administration was founded as one of the first schools to prepare students for the challenges of the public sector. It was reorganized as the Institute of Public Policy in 1968, and the curriculum expanded to include economic analysis, political science and quantitative methods. In 1995, the Institute was reestablished as an independent school within the University of Michigan--the School of Public Policy, which was renamed for my dear friend President Gerald R. Ford in 1999. President Ford is the only U.S. President from Michigan and the only president to graduate from this University. He took office at a dark hour in our nation's history and restored its faith in the Presidency through his wisdom, his courage, and his integrity. The Ford School is guided by the expertise of Dean Rebecca M. Blank, a former advisor to President Clinton. She leads a small, close-knit community that fosters academic rigor, intellectual curiosity, and vigorous debate. Regular luncheon meetings and special presentations draw people together for discussion of pressing policy problems. A wide range of student activities--from soccer teams to lecture series-- creates a lively and energetic environment. Students serve on all decision-making committees and play an important role in Ford School governance. Public policy is a multidisciplinary field and the Ford School is home to several multidisciplinary research centers. The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy Research (CLOSUP) and the National Poverty Research Center are housed at the Ford School. Their work gives policy makers, from Lansing to Washington, DC, accurate analysis and innovative ideas on society's most pressing problems. Most importantly, this school prepares our nation's leaders. It takes the best minds from across the country and helps to focus their energies to making this world a better place. This school seeks solutions to our most intractable problems, and ennobles those who have the calling of patriotism, selflessness, and leadership. It is a testament to our great state, our great university, and our great former president, Gerald Ford. Mr. Speaker, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy is a tremendous asset both to the University and the state of Michigan. I ask that you and all of my colleagues rise to congratulate the school on this important event.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in honor of its 75th Anniversary. The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, which is located in my district, was founded in 1928 by Phillip Potts and continues to be the largest employer in the arts within Washtenaw County. The orchestra employs over 150 professional musicians. Throughout the year, the symphony performs music from Bach to Broadway in nine mainstage concerts for over 8,000 people, as well as four youth concerts and five senior citizen concerts. During the history of the Ann Arbor symphony, numerous honors have been bestowed upon it. It was the only arts organization to be named ``Crain's Business Best Managed Nonprofit in 2002.'' The orchestra was also given the Nonprofit Enterprise at Work's Excellence Award for Management in 1997 and 2003. Further, it was the only Michigan orchestra to receive a Millennium Project award from the National Endowment for the Arts for a premiere of a new work for orchestra and gamelan. Over the past 75 years, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra has provided southeastern Michigan with wonderful entertainment and great role models for young people. The Orchestra has given nearly 18,500 area students the opportunity to perform through its Ensemble in Your School program. The orchestra has had numerous world renowned guest performers such as Jaime Laredo, Catherine Cho, Ilya Kaler, and Augustin Hadelich just to name a few. The Ann Arbor symphony orchestra continues to make much needed contributions to the art community. The orchestra is actively involved in giving young people the opportunity to become involved with the arts. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all of my colleagues join me in commending the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra on providing 75 years of exemplary service in the arts to the Michigan community and in wishing them many more years of success.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in observance of the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We must never forget the character of these attacks. Nor can we forget the many innocent victims on the ground and in the air, or the heroic efforts of the many firefighters, police officers and emergency personnel who sacrificed their lives while attempting to save others. Our American ideals and values have survived and sustained us through this difficult time. Ultimately, with this tragedy behind us we are a stronger nation. Throughout history we have always grown stronger after facing great national challenges. This is a time of national unity. We survived the onslaught of September 11 and demonstrated once again the greatness of our nation. The sacrifice of Americans continues. As we memorialize the victims of that awful day, we are reminded that thousands of young Americans are overseas--away from their country, their homes, and their loved ones--fighting the real War on Terror in the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan. Our nightly news brings daily reports of American sacrifice in Iraq, and we need to ensure that our soldiers have our unwavering support during this difficult time. In large measure, the strength of our nation lies in its diversity and its commitment to democracy. As we remember these events and our fallen friends and family, we must honor their memory by upholding the values that have made our country great and ensure that those who perpetrated these attacks did not succeed in defeating our fundamental values. In particular, we must not assault the civil liberties of any group of Americans. Our past efforts to restrict the liberties of German-Americans, Italian-Americans, African-Americans, and Japanese- Americans are scars on our history. We must not let history repeat itself. Indeed, depriving any group of Americans of their liberty undermines the liberty of all Americans and hands a victory to those who attacked us. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and all of my colleagues join me in remembering the victims and heroes of September 11 and in wishing their loved ones a safe and prosperous future.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.