Michael Doyle

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. In closing, Mr. Speaker, this bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives when it was H.R. 1147. This bill has broad bipartisan support. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their work, and I would hope that we could have a unanimous vote today on the House floor when the bill is brought up.

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. I just want to share with my colleagues, we have been waiting. We were told this letter was en route, and it has arrived. Just for the record, this is the letter from the National Association of Broadcasters which was addressed to myself and Mr. Terry informing us both that they are now in support of this bill, that they appreciate the work that our staffs have done with them, along with the Senate cosponsor, and that they support the bill. Another piece of good news. CBO has scored this bill. It has no budgetary impact. The CBO score is zero. Another piece of good news for my colleagues who are concerned about cost. Last, I think it is only fair that we recognize that a lot of people have worked very, very hard on this bill. I would be remiss personally if I didn't thank Kenneth DeGraff, who staffs me on the Telecom Subcommittee, who has put his heart and soul into this legislation and is more responsible than anybody in my office for seeing this day come today. Also from the Prometheus Radio Project, Pete Tridish; Cheryl Leanza from the United Church of Christ; Michael Daum with Senator Cantwell's office; Lee Dunn with Senator McCain's office. There have been many, many people who have worked hard. I know that Lee Terry, his staff too has worked very hard on this issue, and that all of our staffs deserve credit. They are the unsung heroes behind the scenes that do all the work. Brad Schweer with Lee Terry's office has been just great on this too. So I want to thank my colleagues. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6533) to implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, and for other purposes.

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds. I want to thank my friend for his support of the bill. I know he is looking forward to being able to listen to his favorite hip hop music on his favorite low power FM station in Florida. This has been a long journey. We have tried earnestly to address all of the concerns that the broadcasters have, and there were many at times. But I think we finally reached a point where we all agree, broadcasters, commercial and noncommercial, that we now have a process in place that protects their interests and their concerns and allows local communities now to have this valuable resource. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. I yield myself 30 seconds. I want to thank my friend for this debate. I would say to my friend that this bill is identical to the bill that we had in the House. It is an identical bill. It is identical in portion. It is not the entire bill that we had in the House, but this portion of the bill is identical to the bill that we had in the House. I would hope my colleagues would join our colleagues in the Senate in supporting this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank Chairman Waxman, Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member Joe Barton and Representative Shimkus, and my good friend and colleague, Chris Smith, who for so many years has joined with me as we tried to work on behalf of families who are dealing with this every day of their lives. You know, as many of you know, autism has been the primary focus of my time here in Congress. Even though there is still much we don't know, in just the time that I've been here, we have seen light years' worth of improved understanding of the condition. One of the most important things we have learned is that early intervention works. That's why I have always appreciated that Chairman Waxman and Chairman Pallone have worked with me during health care reform in making sure that plans in the exchange have included needed behavioral health benefits. Among the many items that the House passed in our health reform bill that the Senate did not was a services training and research initiative for children and adults with autism, so we decided to introduce it as a standalone bill, H.R. 5756, the Training and Research for Autism Improvements Nationwide, or TRAIN Act. I am glad that it is on the House floor today. Individuals on the autism spectrum often need assistance in the areas of comprehensive early intervention, health, recreation, job training, employment, housing, transportation, and early, primary, secondary, and postsecondary education. With access to and assistance with these types of services and supports, individuals on the autism spectrum can live rich, full and productive lives. We know that services for youth who are on the autism spectrum and who are transitioning to adulthood are an especially pressing need. Thanks to the reports from the GAO, we also know that there is a critical shortage of appropriately trained personnel across numerous important disciplines who can provide the services and supports to children and adults with autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities and to their families. The bill, the TRAIN Act, will help this. This bill will help practicing professionals, as well as those in training, to become professionals, to get the most up- to-date practices, and to be informed by the most current research findings. There is an urgent need to translate current and future research results into effective practices that can be implemented to support children and adults with autism spectrum disorders and related disabilities, including early intervention in preschool programs, in child care, in community schools, to health providers, to employment sites, in community living, and to first responders. This bill will do that, too. I think it is important to note for my colleagues and I want them to know we are not re-creating the wheel. The bill is based on expanding and enhancing the network of University Centers of Excellence on developmental disabilities, known as Yoo-Seds. My colleagues should know that the bill helps minority-serving institutions gain the skillsets and resources to work with and to serve currently underserved populations. People like NFL star Rodney Peete's wife, Holly Robinson Peete, have helped others understand that autism doesn't know race and can affect any family. You should also know that this bill is supported by groups like Autism Speaks, the Autism Society of America, self-advocates from the Autism Self-Advocate Network, and many other organizations. For those reasons, I ask my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill. Before I forget, I would like to thank Anne Morris with Chairman Waxman, Emily Gibbons with Chairman Pallone, and Kenneth DeGraff on my staff for their hard work on this bill. Thank you again, Chairman Pallone. I hope you and I can continue to work on other items on the autism agenda, including a reauthorization of the CAA law.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House that I was unavoidably detained by a medical situation and, consequently, missed the vote to approve the final version of H.R. 4213, the Unemployment Compensation Act Extension of 2010, earlier this afternoon. I want to state for the Record that I would have voted in favor of the legislation today, as I did on previous occasions when it came before the House for a vote. I've been a consistent supporter of legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits to Americans who have lost their jobs, and I regret not being here for the vote.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and Development Act. The Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill has highlighted the pressing need for research on technology to make deepwater drilling for oil and natural gas safer and cleaner. While the investigations into the causes of the disaster are still ongoing, the disaster has already made Congress and the public aware of the significant shortcomings in much of the oil industry's current deepwater drilling technology--most notably its blowout preventers. This legislation refocuses the Department of Energy's deepwater drilling research to place higher priority on research on technology that will increase the safety and reliability of deepwater drilling technology in the years to come--and rightly so. The National Energy Technology Laboratories facility in southwestern Pennsylvania has been the Department of Energy's leader in research on ultra-deepwater drilling for oil and natural gas for many years. NETL has a talented staff with unparalleled expertise and a long and successful record of research projects to improve the safety and efficiency of fossil fuel production technologies like deepwater drilling. It only makes sense that this legislation preserves the National Energy Technology Laboratories' role in conducting research on a subject on which they have so much knowledge and experience. I am pleased that Chairman Gordon has confirmed that it is the Committee's intention that the National Energy Technology Laboratories will continue their important work on deepwater drilling research under the Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research program addressed in this legislation. I commend the Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of the Committee for drafting legislation to shift the focus of the Department of Energy's deepwater drilling research to prioritize safety and environmental protection. It's clear from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy that there's a pressing need to dedicate more resources to this important goal.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. I'll just say my friend is living in the past.

Mr. DOYLE. Thank you.

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, as you know, last night was the 49th annual Roll Call baseball game. I am happy to announce to the House today that that score has been settled this year, and the Democrats were victorious, 13-6. Of course, the biggest winners last night were our two charities--the Washington Literacy Council and the Boys and Girls Club of Washington, DC. The final numbers aren't in, as donations are still coming in, but we went over the $150,000 mark for our charities last night. I want to commend our Republican team for a hard-fought game. They gave us a tough game right up to the last inning, and we kept all the fans in their seats to the very end. We had a couple of outstanding plays on the Democratic side. All of us woke up with great chagrin this morning to watch ESPN's top 10 and see Anthony Weiner as No. 9 of the top 10. Also, there was some outstanding hitting from Steve Driehaus, but the MVPs on the Democratic side were killer bees Joe Baca, John Boccieri, and Brian Baird. They all had outstanding plays. So, Madam Speaker, once again, the coveted Roll Call trophy stays blue. I yield to my good friend, the Republican manager, Joe Barton.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man of great dedication and loyalty to the working men and women of America. Mr. Ron Gettelfinger recently retired from his position as President of the United Auto Workers and I want to take this opportunity to honor him for his longtime advocacy for the American worker. Mr. Gettelfinger began his union involvement in 1964 as a chassis line repairman at the Ford Motor Company's Louisville Assembly Plant in Louisville, Kentucky. Twenty years later, following his election as com- mitteeperson and, soon thereafter, bargaining chair, he was elected president of Local Union 862. He took on greater and greater responsibility in the UAW, serving as director, vice president, and starting in 2002, president of the union. He was reelected for second term in 2006. However, in 2009, he announced he would retire at the end of his second term as president. Mr. Gettelfinger's accomplishments include, but certainly are not limited to, his steadfast determination which aided him in his fight for both labor protection in fair trade agreements and affordable health care for all. Most notably, Mr. Gettelfinger proved himself a strong leader during the most serious economic downfall in decades, when he negotiated tirelessly with corporate leaders in order to protect his workers' rights. Mr. Gettelfinger has served the working men and women of the UAW with skill and dedication for decades, and I want to take this opportunity to commend him for all his efforts as a determined advocate for American workers. I want to congratulate Mr. Gettelfinger, and extend to him and his family best wishes for a well-deserved retirement.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the artistic ability of a young woman from my Congressional District, Stephanie Taylor of South Allegheny High School. Ms. Taylor is the winner of the 2010 14th Congressional District of Pennsylvania's High School Art Competition, ``An Artistic Discovery.'' Ms. Taylor's artwork, an acrylic painting entitled ``Leaves,'' was selected from a number of outstanding entries to this year's competition. In fact, sixty works from twelve different schools in Pennsylvania's 14th Congressional District were submitted to our panel of respected local artists. It's a real tribute to her skill and vision that her work was chosen as the winner of this year's competition. I am certain that Ms. Taylor's family is proud of her artistic talents and this impressive accomplishment. Ms. Taylor's artwork will represent the 14th Congressional District of Pennsylvania in the national exhibit of high school students' artwork that will be displayed in the United States Capitol over the coming year. I encourage my colleagues as well as any visitor to Capitol Hill to view Ms. Taylor's artwork, along with the winning entries from the high school art contests held in other Congressional Districts, which will be on display in the Capitol tunnel. It is amazing to walk through this corridor and see the interpretation of life through the eyes of these young artists from all across our country. I would like to recognize all of the participants in this year's 14th Congressional District High School Art Competition, ``An Artistic Discovery'' from Brashear High School, Nour Qutyan; from the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Zoe Capcara, Emily Daley, Kyle Gorcey, Amber Key, Noel Peterson, and Audrey Stygar; from East Allegheny High School, Cody Atkins, Nikki Croft, Chey A. Gojkovich, Randy Stegner, Jr., Brianna Stevens, and Jacob Williams; from Northgate High School, Carolyn Denes, Alison Gusew, Seth Huston, Collyn Kunkel, and Savannah Paladin; from Penn Hills High School, Jessica Clair, Nicolette Deighan, Krysty Kunkel, Dana Lyons, Chloe Regan, and Chloe Weiss; from Pittsburgh Allderdice High School, Dani Hicks, Jordan Keitel, David Newbury, April Post, Tsu Hung Tien, and Yan Yang; from Schenley High School, Maurice Campbell, Briana Jackson, Stephen Karas, Fatima Kizilkaya, and Monique Pressley; from South Allegheny High School, Alexis Carr, Kristen Kudla, Megan Stevens, and Stephanie Taylor; from Sto-Rox High School, Adam Wayne Baker, Travis Crump, Allison Funwela, Natalie Gamble, Orlando Russell, and Elizabeth Thornton; from Trinity Christian School, Rebekah Garard; from West Mifflin High School, Tori Cooper, Victoria Donahoe, and Natalie Kerrigan; and from Woodland Hills High School, Heather Evans, Elijah Johnson, Josh Rydzak, Stephan Spence, and Hoong Tosangchai. I would like to thank these impressive young artists for allowing us to share and celebrate their talents, imagination, and creativity. The efforts of these students in expressing themselves in a powerful and positive manner are no less than spectacular. I hope that all of these individuals continue to utilize their artistic talents, and I wish them all the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I hope that the House will unanimously approve House Resolution 1033, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Mrs. Dahlkemper).

Mr. DOYLE. I would just like to say that I deeply appreciate the efforts of the gentleman from New Jersey on behalf of all people with autism and on behalf of their families. He has been a true champion, and I appreciate his friendship, too. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns).

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1033) expressing support for designation of April 2010 as ``National Autism Awareness Month'' and supporting efforts to devote new resources to research into the causes and treatment of autism and to improve training and support for individuals with autism and those who care for individuals with autism, as amended.

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1033. This resolution expresses support for the designation of this month, the month of April, as National Autism Awareness Month. Autism spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disabilities that affect an estimated one in 100 children nationwide. ASDs, or autism, are typically diagnosed within the first 3 years of life. Autism occurs in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. However, we know that autism affects each person and certain groups differently. People with Asperger's syndrome, one form of autism, typically do not have difficulty with language or intellectual disability. Others with autism have more notable language delays and social challenges, among other symptoms. This form of autism is referred to as autistic disorder, or classic autism. Autism is at least four times more likely to be diagnosed in boys than in girls. We have made important progress in research on autism within the past few years, and I and dozens of Members of Congress who annually seek and obtain billions of dollars for autism funding know that there remains much to learn about the risk factors and causes of this group of conditions. We must also continue to raise awareness regarding the signs and symptoms of autism. Today's resolution gives us an opportunity to do just that. This awareness raising is particularly important since early intervention has shown to improve a child's development. This resolution recognizes and commends parents and relatives for their dedication in caring for children with autism. It supports the investment of resources into research that will help improve our understanding of autism and promote early intervention and treatment. It also recognizes the importance of appropriately trained educators to respond to students with special needs. Those are the reasons why my friend Chris Smith and I, as founders and cochairs of the Congressional Autism Caucus, introduced H.R. 2413, the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act. That bill will reinforce our country's work to identify the causes of autism by improving the coordination of our government's efforts. And it establishes a national network of autism research in order to strengthen linkages between research and service initiatives at the Federal, regional, State, and local levels, and facilitate the translation of research on autism into services and treatments that will improve the quality of life for individuals with autism and their families. A national data repository will be created to share emerging data, findings, and treatment models. This resolution on the floor today mentions the needs of adults with autism, and our bipartisan bill, H.R. 2413, actually creates an adult services demonstration project to provide an array of services to adults with autism spectrum disorders, including postsecondary education, vocational and self-advocacy skills, employment; residential services, supports and housing; nutrition, health and wellness, recreational and social activities; and transportation and personal safety. I am proud that our bill, H.R. 2413, will also create a national training initiative on autism and a technical assistance center to develop and expand interdisciplinary training and continuing education on autism spectrum disorders. We ask all the Members of the House, including this resolution's sponsors, to join us and cosponsor H.R. 2413, the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act, a meaningful bill that would achieve the goals of today's resolution. I want to commend Representative Reichert, the sponsor of this resolution, for his work on this resolution at a time when so much needs to be done for children and adults with autism. Madam Speaker, I would also like to note that the Committee on Education and Labor received a secondary referral for this resolution. The committee agreed to waive the opportunity to exercise its jurisdiction in the interests of advancing this resolution. I want to say thank you to Chairman Miller for allowing this resolution to be brought to the floor as quickly as possible. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a Pittsburgh resident and a constituent of mine, Father Edward Bryce. Father Bryce is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of his priestly ordination after 50 years of ministry to the Pittsburgh community. Born in Pittsburgh, Father Bryce attended North Catholic High School and St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia. He continued his studies at the North American College in Rome, eventually earning a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University there. Father Bryce was ordained a priest on March 25th, 1960 and began his ministry as a parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Washington, Pennsylvania. This first assignment was the beginning of a vocation that would carry him throughout the Pittsburgh area in service to the needs of the Catholic community. In his 50 years as a priest, Father Bryce always seemed to find a way to minister to the community through a variety of means, often simultaneously. While teaching theology students for 6 years at Duquesne University, he also served as a Chaplin at St. Joseph's Hospital and a priest-in-residence at Holy Rosary Parish. He then moved to the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Francis for 9 years. It was during this time that Father Bryce became more active in the larger efforts of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. In 1970, he became the founding director of the Office for Pro-Life Activities and 2 years later took the same position in the Office for Justice and Peace. This commitment to needs of the living Church community in an evermore complex society eventually propelled Father Bryce here to Washington, DC as the Pro- Life Activities Secretary for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a position which he held for 10 years. In 1988, he returned to his hometown to lead St. Bede Parish in Pittsburgh's Point Breeze neighborhood, where he has served as pastor for over 20 years. Beyond his dedicated ministry to the faith and educational life of the St. Bede parish, Father Bryce continued to play important roles in the larger Pittsburgh Catholic community as dean of the Central Deanery, consultor in the College of Consultors, and a member of the priest council. Continuing on as administrator of St. Bede past his retirement age, he provides the parish with continuity and an ever-present model for faithful ministry. Father Bryce credits the priests that he knew growing up in St. Bernard Parish as providing the inspiration for his vocation of priestly ministry. I have no doubt that he himself has provided similar inspiration to generations of St. Bede parishioners and members of the Catholic community in Pittsburgh. I want to congratulate Father Bryce for his 50 years of dedicated service to the Church and the Pittsburgh community and I wish him many more years at St. Bede.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, when I plugged in a Wi-Fi router in my home just outside of Pittsburgh, I noticed almost a dozen other Wi-Fi networks in the same neighborhood. My neighbors created their own personal hotspots over the same airwaves to enjoy fast wireless data connectivity for the technology in and around their home. The paradox of technology is that the more we experience new devices, new services, and new features, the more we depend on them to run our lives. Each of us who rely on our wireless devices get frustrated when the network is too congested to let us send an e-mail or browse a web page when we want to. The answer is more spectrum--the wireless airwaves that the people own and that Congress has tasked the Federal Communications Commission to manage. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has noted, the United States faces a ``looming spectrum crisis'' particularly in larger cities like Pittsburgh. That's not hyperbole; it's reality. The demand for spectrum for mobile Internet access is growing more rapidly--much more rapidly--than the supply of spectrum is. The ability to access the Internet at high- speed on the go creates amazing opportunities, but only if we proactively take the steps necessary to ensure that we have adequate spectrum available to meet consumers' and business' needs. New technologies are coming down the pike that can provide exponentially faster speeds to more consumers based on the amounts of spectrum that carriers can use. And that's exactly why the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act, which I am pleased to be a cosponsor of, is so timely. By taking a comprehensive look at the way spectrum bands are currently being utilized, we can make informed judgments about adjustments that need to be made to accommodate future demands. This is the right course. This is a good bill. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, my office got a call today from Mary Anne Ferguson, 91 years old from Point Breeze in Pittsburgh. She asked me to vote for health reform because she wants everyone to get the coverage she has. She remembers before Medicare when half of our seniors worried about getting sick because they had no health insurance. Today, millions of working Americans fear getting sick because they don't have health coverage. One of those was Bill Koehler from Garfield in Pittsburgh. His sister Kitty says that Bill was a loving and generous man to his friends, family, and those in need. When he lost his job, he lost his coverage. His new job as a pizza delivery driver earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, and private insurance wasn't going to cover his preexisting heart condition--the very reason why he needed health insurance. He died last year from a heart attack while driving home. So when I'm called to vote tonight, I will stand on the side of Mary Anne Ferguson and Bill Koehler and the tens of millions of Americans who need us to pass this bill. ``Yes'' to health reform. ``Yes'' to Bill Koehler.

Mr. DOYLE

Mr. DOYLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1055, legislation to support the designation of National Robotics Week as an annual event. I introduced this legislation because the increase in the number of emerging and potential applications for robotics is astounding, and I believe Americans should know more about the important role the field of robotics will play in our national security and economic health in the coming decades. Robotics has come a long way in the last 20 years, but most Americans still think of real-life robots as confined to the assembly line. Nothing could be further from the truth. Recently, we've seen advanced next-generation robotics playing an important role in our military for our national defense. Unmanned aerial vehicles today provide life-saving reconnaissance support for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the rocket-armed Predator UAV is reportedly the most effective tool we have for attacking the Al- Qaeda and Taliban leadership and infrastructure. In addition, our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have benefited greatly from the development and deployment of mobile robots that detect and disarm IEDs--the improvised explosive devices that have posed the greatest threat to our troops on the ground in those countries. Robotics is growing in economic importance as well. Robots are now being used to perform surgeries, fill prescriptions, and deliver supplies and materials, in addition to the role they've filled for many years working on the assembly line. The Robotics Industry Association estimates that nearly 200,000 robots are now used in the United States, and it's estimated that more than one million robots are being used worldwide. Even during the current economic downturn, orders for robotic technology in the pharmaceutical, biomedical, and food and consumer goods sectors rose significantly. The emerging market for robotics in various sectors, including health care, national defense, homeland security, energy, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, agriculture, education, and consumer goods, is expected to grow at an annual rate of nearly 20 percent over the next few years to become a $27 billion industry worldwide, and one new study predicts that the personal robotics market for products like the Aibo, the iSobot, the Looj, and the Roomba will be worth $15 billion by 2015. It's clear to me that robotics technology will drive much of the growth in the world economy in the coming decades, much as computer technology did over the last 30 years, and I want America to be the world leader in this exciting technology. I'm proud to note that the Congressional District I have the honor of representing is already a world leader in researching and developing robotics technology. In 1999, in fact, the Wall Street Journal nicknamed Pittsburgh ``Roboburgh.'' Carnegie Mellon University has been leading the world in integrating robotic technologies into everyday life for over 30 years. Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute has nearly 350 full and part-time employees conducting research in a number of robotics-related fields, including space robotics, medical robotics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence, to name a few. All told, the Robotics Institute has about 100 research projects and an annual research budget of $55 million. Current projects include a lunar prospector robot for NASA and two USDA programs applying robotic technologies to agricultural production. Pittsburgh is home to first generation companies like Bombardier Transportation and McKesson; and second generation companies such as RedZone, Seegrid, Aethon and RE Squared. Pittsburgh is also the long-time home of one of the giants of the robotics industry, Red Whitaker, distinguished professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University and the leader of the CMU team that won the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge, a cross-country long-distance race for robotic cars. At the state-level, Pennsylvania has a total of 45 robotics companies with over 2,000 employees. Nationwide, the figures are even larger and growing dramatically. That is why the Congressional Robotics Caucus was established--and why we're discussing National Robotics Week here today. National Robotics Week is the brainchild of a number of universities and companies working to promote the development and adoption of robotics technology. The consortium works closely with the House Robotics Caucus, which Representative Gingrey and I have the honor of co-chairing. The Robotics Caucus focuses on key issues facing the nation's traditional industrial robotics industry and, perhaps even more importantly, those issues critical to newly forming companies, markets, and industries based on advances in technology that enable robots to perform functions beyond traditional assembly line tasks and operate in environments beyond the factory floor. Our goals include: Increasing general awareness of robotics industry challenges and issues among Members of Congress and policy analysts in federal government; educating Members of Congress and congressional staff on current and future research, development, and utilization initiatives regarding robotics; serving as a forum where robotics-related policy issues can be exchanged, debated, and discussed; and ensuring that our nation remains globally competitive as the robotics industry rapidly expands and begins to exert a profound effect on the way our citizens live their lives. Representative Wamp and I established the Caucus in 2007. Today, the Caucus has over 30 members from across the country. About a year ago, the group of universities and businesses that serve on the advisory committee for the Robotics Caucus completed a national ``road map'' to promote robotics technology. One of the steps contained in the road map was to raise public awareness of the potential robotics holds for our nation's growth in the coming years and encourage young people to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math educations essential for maintaining U.S. leadership in this important field. The road map identified the establishment of an annual national robotics week as a good way to help achieve that goal. The week of April 10th to 18th this year will be the first of these annual events to raise national awareness of robotics technology and its potential impact on the future of the Nation. Over the course of that week, robotics companies, museums, schools, and universities will hold events to educate the public and get young people interested in pursuing careers in fields associated with robotics. In Pittsburgh, for example, Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Science Center will be holding open houses and other events for the public, and there will be a demonstration of an unmanned helicopter by SkEyes Unlimited, a local robotics company. I introduced H. Res. 1055 earlier this year to recognize the observation of National Robotics Week. It's my hope that this Congressional resolution will help give National Robotics Week--and the important goals it seeks to promote--a higher profile. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.