Vernon Ehlers

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. One of the stated purposes of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is to provide for appropriate ways for the Nation to commemorate the days of remembrance as an annual, national, civic commemoration of the Holocaust and encourage and sponsor appropriate observances of such days of remembrance throughout the United States. The first Days of Remembrance ceremony in the rotunda of the United States Capitol occurred in 1979, and the rotunda ceremony has since become the inspiration for similar Holocaust remembrance ceremonies that take place throughout the United States. H. Con. Res. 350 will allow for this year's national ceremony to be conducted in the rotunda on April 27, 2006. Mr. Speaker, it is necessary to go through this procedure, joint authorization by both Chambers, to use the very sacred center of the Capitol for this ceremony. The enormity of the crimes of the Holocaust, and the need to ensure they are never forgotten, make the rotunda a fitting place for this ceremony. The theme of this year's commemoration is ``Legacies of Justice'' in honor of the courage of, and the precedents set by, those who testified during the trials of Nazi war criminals. The theme also pays tribute to those who work tirelessly for the cause of justice, both then and now. This year, we mark the 60th anniversary of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Germany. The unprecedented Nuremberg trials established a judicial process to rule on the atrocities committed by the Germans during World War II and brought to the forefront the ideas of universal justice, human rights and responsibility for war crimes. Evil persists in the world, Mr. Speaker, but our prosecution of the perpetrators of the Holocaust taught us that evil can be defeated and justice can be done, but only if we have the courage to stand up to the perpetrators. That is a vital lesson, one we must never forget, and this ceremony will help us remember it. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), who is the sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes to close. Mr. Speaker, this is not a joyous event to celebrate. At the end of World War II, we realized that we had witnessed the greatest genocide in the history of this planet. I was a young lad at that time, but I thought: never again could this happen. Yet now that we know it can happen and how horrible it is, we must guard against it ever happening again. I am sorry to say that it has happened, not on that scale, but we saw that happening in Iraq, we are seeing it happen right now in Darfur and other parts of the Sudan. The ability of humans to commit great horror against their fellow human beings has not died out. That is why it is essential for us to engage in this ceremony and to participate and recognize that this is an ongoing battle to fight against those who would kill their fellow human beings indiscriminately at times, and at other times kill them simply because of their race or ethnic background. I am very pleased to be here presenting this resolution, because this event is something that we should all participate in every year to remind us of what can happen if we let our guard down, and if we assume that we have conquered evil. Evil will always be with us, and we must continually fight it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of her retirement in April 2006, I rise to thank Mrs. Juanita Conkling for over 40 years of outstanding service to the U.S. House of Representatives. Juanita began her career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). After a year of service with the FBI, Juanita joined the U.S. House of Representatives on May 1, 1965, and has worked for the House Sergeant at Arms and the Chief Administrative Officer as the Payroll/ Benefits Administrator in the Office of Members' Services. In this position, she has provided payroll and benefits guidance and counsel to countless Members of Congress and their families. Over the past 40 years, Juanita has assured that the Members of Congress were paid accurately and on time each month. Additionally, she has provided current and former Members of Congress with advice and counsel about their ongoing options relative to their compensation and benefits. Juanita has been instrumental in assisting both new and departing Members of Congress--orienting new Members about their pay and benefits issues as well as counseling departing Members about their options for continuation of benefit programs. During her 40 years working for the House, Juanita's career has given her the opportunity to have many long-lasting relationships with current and former Members of Congress, their families and congressional staffs. On behalf of the former and current Members and the House community, I extend congratulations to Juanita for her many years of dedication and outstanding contributions to the Members and the U.S. House of Representatives. We wish Juanita many wonderful years in fulfilling her retirement dreams.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my congratulations to a native son and community pillar of my hometown, Grand Rapids, MI, Mr. Richard M. DeVos, on the occasion of his 80th birthday on March 4. Rich has played a leading role in making Grand Rapids a wonderful and vibrant place to live. Rather than keeping the fortune that he and his business partner and lifelong friend, the late Jay VanAndel, built after creating and growing their business, Amway Corporation, Rich and Jay and their families found countless ways to reinvest the fruits of their success back into their community. Just a few of the notable examples are the development of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, which was the linchpin in the redevelopment of downtown Grand Rapids in the early 1980s, and a donation which led to the construction of DeVos Performance Hall, a world-class performing arts center which is the home of the Grand Rapids Symphony, Opera Grand Rapids and Broadway- class plays and musicals. The hall also is part of the larger DeVos Place Convention Center. That Rich DeVos is still with us today is nothing short of a miracle. In 1997, he survived a unique heart transplant surgery in which he received the heart of a lung transplant patient, who in turn received a combination heart-lung transplant from the victim of an auto accident. As a result of his experience, Rich now serves as chairman of the speakers' bureau for the United Network for Organ Sharing and has even testified before Congress urging support to make organ donation easier. He and his wife, Helen, also provided funding for the DeVos Children's Hospital, the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, the DeVos Communications Center at Calvin College, the DeVos Center of Grand Valley State University and the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse at Hope College in Holland, MI. Today, Rich DeVos is the same vibrant person who was a cheerleader at Grand Rapids Christian High School and who inspired thousands of people to open their own businesses with the help of Amway. Rich has continued his inspirational ways as an author, including ``Hope from My Heart: 10 Lessons for Life'' and ``Compassionate Capitalism.'' Rich is also the owner of the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic. DeVos and VanAndel's business, now known as Alticor, continues to be a major employer in West Michigan and throughout the world, with the reins of the business handed over to their children. Throughout his life and career, Rich DeVos has been guided by his faith in God. This has manifested itself not only in his dedication to his church, but also in the way that he does business, how he works with and cares for his employees, and his involvement in his community. Rich truly is a person who understands the Gospel admonition, ``From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.'' (Luke 12:48). It is my very special pleasure to wish Rich DeVos a very happy 80th birthday and I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of her retirement in February 2006, I rise to thank Ms. Rosa Chen for 16 years of outstanding service to the U.S. House of Representatives. Rosa began her career at the House working as a senior programmer/ analyst. In that capacity, Rosa has served this great institution for the last 16 years as a valuable employee at House Information Resources, HIR, within the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer. Rosa has made significant contributions in the development of the Office Systems Management, OSM, application. The OSM application has been used by the CAO to control equipment inventory. Most recently, Rosa has played a significant technical support role on the Fixed Assets and Inventory Management System, FAIMS, where she was responsible for Oracle Developer reports customer support, and assisted with barcode function implementation for FAIMS physical inventory. On behalf of the entire House community, I extend congratulations to Rosa for her many years of dedication and outstanding contributions to the U.S. House of Representatives. We wish Rosa many wonderful years in fulfilling her retirement dreams.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Charles C. Cook, Sr., for his 36 years of exemplary service at the U.S. Government Printing Office, GPO. Charlie came to the GPO in November 1969 and was assigned as a Compositor in the Monotype Section. In 1978, he was promoted to the position of Printing Specialist in the Composing Division, Office of Superintendent. In June 1979, Charlie was reassigned to the Customer Service Department, Congressional Information Division. It was here that Charlie truly honed his skills serving GPO's congressional customers. Over the years, Charlie worked closely with Senate and House committee staff, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Clerk of the House, Sergeant at Arms, and the Capitol Police on numerous projects. One of the most prestigious of these projects was the Presidential Inauguration. Charlie coordinated all the printing requirements for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies for the four inaugurations from 1989 to 2001. In 1993, Charlie was promoted to Superintendent, Congressional Printing Management Division, and in 2004, he was called on by the Public Printer of the United States to serve as Strategic Marketing Officer. He has served in that capacity until his retirement. On behalf of the entire Congressional community, I extend congratulations to Charlie for his many years of exemplary service to the GPO and the Congress. We wish him all the best in his retirement.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of my colleagues the distinguished career of Marybeth Peters, the United States Register of Copyrights, and to congratulate her as she commemorates 40 years of service to our Government and to the American people. Marybeth Peters became the Register of Copyrights on August 7, 1994, the 50th person to hold that office since the appointment of the first Register of Copyrights, Thorvald Solberg, in 1897. The mission of the Copyright Office is to promote creativity by administering and sustaining an effective national copyright system. The Copyright Office administers the Copyright Act, Title 17 U.S.C.; provides policy and legal assistance to the Congress, the executive branch and courts; and provides copyright-related information and education to the public. As chairman of the House Administration Committee and a member of the Joint Committee on the Library, I want to extend my thanks for Ms. Peters' leadership at the Copyright Office, which is a vital component of the Library of Congress. The Library is the custodian of the mint record of American creativity largely due to copyright deposits of books, music, films, photographs, and other materials that reflect our creative society. The Americana collections of the Library--millions of which are available on the Library's Web site through its American Memory digital collections--have been assembled largely through our Nation's copyright system. Last year alone, the Copyright Office forwarded more than 1 million items to the Library for its collections. I want to extend deepest thanks on behalf of the Joint Committee on the Library to Ms. Peters for her stewardship of the Copyright Office as Register and her long years of service to Congress and the American people. Prior to her appointment as Register of Copyrights, Ms. Peters served as Policy Planning Advisor to the Register from 1983 to 1994. She has also served as Acting General Counsel of the Copyright Office and as chief of both the Examining and Information and Reference divisions. Ms. Peters is a frequent speaker on copyright issues. She is the author of the General Guide to the Copyright Act of 1976 and is recognized worldwide as a preeminent authority on intellectual property matters. Mr. Speaker, Marybeth Peters can certainly be proud of her long and distinguished career in Government service. We are proud of her leadership and her service to the Copyright Office and to the Nation.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay my respects to a man who can be rightly described as a Michigan institution--George Weeks, who recently announced his retirement from his post as key political columnist for the Detroit News. Since December 1983, George kept his readers well informed about federal, state and local political events in Michigan. Prior to that, George served the people of Michigan in his role as press secretary and, later, chief of staff to Governor William G. Milliken, beginning in 1969. During this time, he also worked as a consultant for the National Governors' Association. Before working for Governor Milliken, George had a successful 14-year career with United Press International, serving as a correspondent and bureau chief in Lansing, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Washington. A native of Traverse City and a journalism graduate of Michigan State University, George is a very deserving 1996 inductee of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. I have known George Weeks professionally for many years, dating back to when I served in the Michigan Legislature in the 1980s and early 1990s. George is the only reporter that I ever dealt with who had a higher opinion of my ability than I did, and I greatly appreciate his superb insight. Seriously though, I have always found George to be eminently careful and thoughtful in his reporting and writing, and he is one of the finest journalists I have known. I wish George all the best as he moves into this new phase of his career and life, but all of us who were his readers and the subjects of his writing will be the poorer for it.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of his retirement in February 2006, I rise to thank Mr. Dan Hornak for 20 years of outstanding service to the United States House of Representatives. Prior to his arrival in Washington, Dan graduated from Western Michigan University, taught elementary school, worked as a sheriffs deputy in Michigan, and was a television news cameraman. He joined the House Recording Studio staff in 1986 as a camera operator. Through the years he built a reputation as a team player dedicated to serving the Members of the House. He rose to the position of television director and enjoyed its challenges. Dan has used his creativity to improve the Members' awareness of the Recording Studio services. His resourcefulness for completing special studio projects has become legendary. He has said that the greatest perk of his job has been working in the Capitol, learning its history and sharing it with others. Dan has made a point of knowing as many people working in the Capitol and in the House office buildings as possible, and he considers each of them to be his friend. On behalf of the entire House community, I extend congratulations to Dan for his many years of dedication and outstanding contributions to the U.S. House of Representatives. We wish him many wonderful years in fulfilling his retirement dreams.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Rob von Gogh, Charlene Best, Ron Carrico, Chantel Greene, Matt Guilfoyle, and Tina Hanonu on their extraordinary achievements in the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, (CAO) supporting the United States House of Representatives and their receipt of the 2006 Achieving CAO Excellence (ACE) Awards. The 2006 CAO ACE Excellence Awards acknowledge the extraordinary efforts made by these members of the CAO team. These awards exemplify the goals, values, and mission of the organization. Considered to be among the highest honors awarded to CAO staff, at the heart of these awards are customer service, commitment to delivery solutions, and high standards of excellence. Recipients of the 2006 CAO ACE Excellence Awards represent many areas of the CAO and perform a variety of jobs. Whether working directly with customers, supporting CAO internal operations, or ensuring the technical infrastructure is operational, each serves as an exemplary role model for the entire CAO community. Collectively and individually they delivered solutions that fulfilled the CAO customer experience, ensuring full satisfaction for their customers and colleagues. Employees nominated for an award must be in full-time status, have received at least one PACE evaluation, and have a current performance rating of excelling. Nominations for the awards are submitted by managers, supervisors, deputies and associate administrators. The nominees are then reviewed by a committee comprised of the head of each CAO business unit, the deputy CAO for operations, the deputy CAO for strategy, the administrative counsel, and other members of the CAO team. Rob von Gogh was selected for the ``CAO Excellence'' award. In his role directing the CAO client services team and serving on the CAO leadership group, he has been a role model CAO employee who lives the CAO mission, vision, values, and delivers the CAO customer experience to all his customers, colleagues and employees. Charlene Best is the 2006 recipient of the ``Knowledge'' award for being an employee who is dependable and gets things done across the organization by leveraging a wide range of CAO resources. Her ability to set-up and establish office space for the new House Historian in a seamless manner demonstrates her unique understanding of the House community. Ron Carrico was chosen for the ``Personalized Solutions'' award. He developed a product for the CAO that met current needs and incorporated the structure for future integrations with other enterprise system solutions that are being developed in the CAO for the House Community, specifically: MicroStrategy 8, Administrative Tools, Links and Solutions--Atlas, Lawson and the Customer Solution Delivery Model. This solution will provide the capability to report ``near real time'' performance measures. His consistently passionate customer service, effective communication, and problem solving enable customers to meet their professional and personal roles. Chantel Greene was selected for the ``Dedicated'' award for exhibiting commitment to achieving the mission of the CAO. Through adversity, Chantel was able to lead others, build consensus and live the CAO customer experience. Her positive attitude is an inspiration to others and it is the key to her success. Matt Guilfoyle is the recipient of the ``One Team'' award. He is relentless in his efforts and commitment to developing the CAO customer experience. The essence of his hard work and dedication to bring the CAO together was evidenced in the success of CAOne. He consistently and significantly contributes to the CAO team as a whole, bringing the CAO customer experience to life. Tina Hanonu was chosen for the ``Simplify the Day'' award. Her ability to improve CAO client services procedures during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita enabled the CAO to provide reassurance and sustain service for district offices affected by the hurricanes. Tina's energy, drive, and enthusiasm enabled the House Recovery Operations Center to support and achieve results during such demanding times. On behalf of the entire House community, I extend congratulations to Rob von Gogh, Charlene Best, Ron Carrico, Chantel Greene, Matt Guilfoyle, and Tina Hanonu for their tireless efforts and outstanding contributions to the U.S. House of Representatives. We wish them continued success in their job endeavors.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of her retirement in February 2006, I rise to thank Ms. Helga Brown for 23 years of outstanding service to the United States House of Representatives. A native of Bad Reichenhall, Germany, Helga has served this great institution in mail processing, sales clerk, and payment processing positions within the offices of the Doorkeeper, Clerk, and the Chief Administrative Officer. She began her career at the House on February 24, 1983 in the Folding Room, where she assisted House offices with the preparation and packaging of mail. In 1988, after 5 years of hard work in the Folding Room, she transferred to the Office Supply store, where she started as a sales clerk. Helga's knowledge, enthusiasm and friendliness endeared her to her customers and coworkers. She always went the extra mile to assist House staffers and Office Supply Store visitors with their purchases or questions. Helga moved from the Office Supply sales floor to the payment processing department, where she quickly learned the new MCBA and FFS payment processing software. She proved to be an excellent worker in this area too, doing everything necessary to provide swift and correct payments to supply vendors. In addition to making prompt and accurate payments, Helga also assisted with the reconciliation of cash sales. After 10 years in Office Supply, Helga briefly served as receptionist at Office Systems Management within House Support Services, again providing superior service to the House community. Her outstanding work prompted Office Supply to seek her out again, and she returned there to process payments. The Vendor Management department of House Support Services also recognized her abilities, and she finally transferred permanently there on August 1, 1999. Even years after her transition from the sales floor to the accounts payable section of Office Supply and Vendor Management, customers remembered how well she had helped them in the past, and would often seek her out for guidance, or just for a friendly chat. She has managed the processing of the majority of the countless payments for office supplies ordered by House Offices through Vendor Management. She painstakingly researched delivery documentation and invoices in order to ensure accuracy and swiftness of payments. Always a cheerful volunteer for special projects, Helga eagerly went above and beyond the call of duty. One of these special projects was a temporary detail back to her old position in Office Supply to assist with daily deposits and accounts. Her standard of excellence, dedication, professionalism, and pleasant disposition have earned her the admiration and respect of all of her customers and coworkers. Helga will be greatly missed by the many friends and acquaintances that she has made throughout the entire House community over the years. We thank her for a job well done, and we wish her many happy years of retirement.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 602, the rule for consideration of the Pension Protection Act, H.R. 2830. Both the rule and the bill are excellent. I would especially like to commend Chairman Boehner and Chairman Thomas for their work on this very important pension bill. In recent years low-interest rates, the stock market decline, and the increasing number of retirees have left many defined-benefit pension plans underfunded. As a result, companies from many industries claim that they will soon be unable to contribute the amount they are required to contribute under law. In particular, the aviation and manufacturing industries have been hard hit by these and other financial difficulties, and the penalties under the current pension law are creating tremendous financial burdens for already struggling employers, and in fact encouraging them to go into bankruptcy so they can get out from under the burdens of the current pension law. The Pension Protection Act provides the long-term solution that is sorely needed to shore up pension benefits for millions of Americans. It makes the most comprehensive reforms to our Nation's traditional pension system in more than a generation. The bill ensures that employers fund their pension promises to workers. It also keeps employers and unions from making pension promises that cannot be kept. I would note that the manager's amendment includes compromise language that will ensure that UAW retirees' pensions are protected, something very important in my district and, indeed, in all of Michigan. I was surprised at the comments of the previous speaker, who has attacked the bill on that point. And certainly if the UAW believes it is a good bill, it cannot be as bad as the speaker claimed it is. In fact, I believe it is a very good bill, and it is designed to address the problems that he outlined. The bill does not, however, ensure that airline workers' pensions receive needed additional protection. The Senate bill, the Pension Securities and Transparency Act of 2005, contains airline pension provisions. The Senate bill allows the airlines to pay their pension obligations over an extended period of time, ensuring that airlines can fund their pension obligation and helping to prevent the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from becoming insolvent as a result of taking on the burden of the airline pensions. I understand that Chairman Boehner intends to support airline pension provisions in the conference committee, and I strongly support him in his efforts to include airline pension provisions in the final version of the conference report. I urge my colleagues to support this excellent rule and also encourage them later in the day to support the Pension Protection Act when it is considered.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Sgt. Jeremy Kamphuis for being named the 2005 U.S. Army Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. Sgt. Kamphuis is a member of the 127th Military Police Company, stationed in Hanau, Germany. His hometown is Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the Third Congressional District of Michigan, which I represent, and where his parents, Don and Mary Kamphuis, also reside. Sgt. Kamphuis, 23, enlisted with the U.S. Army Reserves in August 2000 shortly after graduating from Covenant Christian High School and signed up for active duty in October 2003. In April 2004, Sgt. Kamphuis was deployed with his fellow members of the 127th Military Police Company from their base in Hanau, Germany, to Baghdad, where they were involved in the very important work of training Iraqi police. Earlier this year, three weeks after returning from his Iraq deployment, Sgt. Kamphuis's commanding officer suggested that he participate in the Noncommissioned Officer competition. After winning four lower levels, beginning at battalion level and through his brigade and the Fifth Army Corps, Sgt. Kamphuis found himself at Fort Lee, Virginia, this September with nine other finalists, competing for 5 days and enduring stringent physical and mental challenges. The final challenge was a six-mile run in which Sgt. Kamphuis and his competitors each had to wear a full uniform, 40 pounds of body armor, a 40-pound pack and combat boots. Sgt. Kamphuis completed the course in one hour, 10 minutes. As the Army's Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Sgt. Kamphuis will represent the Army on key occasions, as well as continuing to do his job as a member of and trainer for the 127th Military Police Company. On the occasion of Veterans Day, I want to commend Sgt. Jeremy Kamphuis and all his comrades for the jobs they do in protecting our country and our world each and every day. Thank you and congratulations to Sgt. Kamphuis on being named the U.S. Army's Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I commend him for his work on this report as well as on the original House bill. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference report of the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006. I want to recognize and pay tribute to the tremendous effort of Chairman Wolf and his staff, as well as the ranking member on the minority side and his staff, that they have exerted to meet the challenge of fairly balancing this bill. Madam Speaker, their hard work is commendable, and I want to thank them for their tireless work. I would like to speak in particular about one part of the bill, the National Science Foundation, better known as NSF. New to the subcommittee this year, NSF is the only Federal agency dedicated solely to supporting fundamental scientific research. While it represents a relatively small part of the overall budget, it is an extremely important part. NSF funding accounts for one-fifth of all Federal support for basic research and 40 percent of physical science research at academic institutions. I am delighted that Chairman Wolf shares an appreciation for the critical role innovation has played in our economy and national security, as well as its unique tie to education and the work supported by the NSF. In May of this year, 167 Members of Congress joined with me in signing a letter to support an increase for the budget of the National Science Foundation. Since the NSF was funded below the President's request last year, I am very grateful that the conferees saw fit to reverse this declining trend and return to sustaining the level of funding for NSF. The negotiated funding level for NSF in fiscal year 2006 of $5.65 billion reflects a strong commitment to NSF's job of developing our future skilled workforce and laying the foundation for innovative technologies in the fields of telecommunications, medicine and defense. Furthermore, I want to acknowledge the committee's work to restore cuts endured by several programs within the Education Directorate at NSF. The Math and Science Partnership Program budget has been greatly diminished since 2002, when it was funded at $160 million. I am grateful that the conferees have signaled their recognition of the importance of this program by funding this program at $64 million, $4 million above the requested level. We know that other countries are investing and outperforming the United States in the area of math and science education. We will not be able to compete successfully with the rest of the world if our workforce is not on the cutting edge of these fields, and we need to maintain these important programs that support math and science education. Also within this bill, I want to briefly mention my appreciation that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, MEP, at the National Institute for Standards and Technology has been funded at $106 million. These funds will allow MEP centers across the country to continue their vital services for small- and medium-sized manufacturers that are not replicated by any other private or public organization. Balancing many pressing national priorities within this tight budget climate is certainly a challenge. We must increase our funding of research and development because it is the foundation for increased innovation, economic vitality and national security. I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Wolf and my colleagues to improve our support for NSF fundamental research and education programs in future years. I certainly encourage the administration and the President to increase their funding request for the National Science Foundation in the next budget that we will process next year.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 61) authorizing the remains of Rosa Parks to lie in honor in the rotunda of the Capitol, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 61, a resolution authorizing the remains of Rosa Parks to lie in honor in the rotunda of the Capitol. Mr. Speaker, the Nation suffered a great loss on Monday with the passing of the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Mrs. Rosa Parks. She had no idea that on December 1, 1955, when she was jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, that she would inspire Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., to lead a 381-day boycott of that city's bus system, touching off the civil rights movement. Due to the national publicity of the boycott and her active involvement in the NAACP, she had difficulty finding employment in Alabama. Therefore, she and her husband, Raymond Parks, moved north to Detroit in 1957. In 1965 my colleague, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), hired Mrs. Parks as a legislative aid. She worked for him until her retirement from congressional work in 1988 to focus all of her attention on the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute For Self Development. This nonprofit organization is committed to working with Detroit's youth to build leadership skills and inspire them to continue her work on civil and human rights. I am especially pleased as a Representative from the State of Michigan to claim the honor of having her as a resident in our State, and also I am very pleased that we have a park in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is named for Rosa Parks and to signify her importance in our Nation. She was a remarkable person. Her courage and her tenacity sparked the civil rights movements which led to the reversal of some very repressive laws in this country and brought this Nation to its feet in favor of civil rights for all individuals no matter what race, gender, or color. I am very proud to be here to speak as a native of Michigan on her behalf. In 1999, the United States Congress honored Mrs. Parks in the rotunda of the Capitol by awarding her with the Congressional Gold Medal, our Nation's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. Mr. Speaker, I think it is only fitting that we allow the Nation to pay its final respects to this great American by allowing her to lie in honor in the rotunda of the Capitol. Mr. Speaker, I ask for support of this resolution.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I wish to thank the gentleman from Texas for his very fine statement and his encouragement on this issue. As we know, Texas is the center of a very important component of the aerospace industry, our space effort, and they have done very well in that. I also appreciate the statement of the gentleman from Illinois who represents the leading aviation and aerospace company in the United States. That reflects very accurately what we are dealing with in the future if we simply do not produce the workforce that is required to maintain our lead in aerospace issues. I have no further speakers at this time, but I do want to mention that several Members from California wish to speak on this bill. Unfortunately, they are currently en route here inside products of the aerospace industry, and I am sure they will submit statements for the Record later on. I wish to thank the minority side for their support of this bill and thank my colleagues for their support. I urge everyone to continue their support, and I hope this bill will pass unanimously.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that today we are considering a bill that addresses the needs of the United States aerospace workforce. The Aerospace Revitalization Act establishes a task force designed to develop a national strategy for aerospace workforce recruitment, training, and cultivation. It implements a key recommendation from the 2002 Bipartisan Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry Report to the President to counter what it termed ``the Nation's apathy toward developing a scientifically and technologically trained workforce.'' This bill creates an interagency task force to examine ways to partner within and beyond the Federal Government to strengthen our aerospace workforce. Led by the Department of Labor, membership on the task force spans nine agencies that participate in the development and deployment of the present and future aerospace workforce. The goal is to develop a comprehensive strategy to increase the number of students and workers who choose science, engineering and other aerospace-related careers. To that end, the task force will also establish partnerships with industry, organized labor, academia and State governments to coordinate aerospace career education and training programs. Each of the aerospace industry's three core segments, national defense, civil aviation and space systems, makes a unique contribution to sustaining the Nation's global political and technological leadership. The aerospace industry generates nearly 15 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States, supports approximately 11 million jobs in the United States, and leads the United States economy in net exports. Furthermore, aerospace contributes directly to the economic and national security of our country through military, space, air transport, and information technology applications. If that is true, why do we need this bill? For a very simple reason. A large number of employees in the aerospace industry started shortly after the Apollo project of the 1960s. Many of them are now reaching retirement age, and that creates a huge problem because we do not have a workforce available to fill the vacuum created when these individuals leave. In 2004, total employment in the aerospace industry fell to its lowest point in 50 years, and almost 30 percent of the aerospace manufacturing workforce will become eligible for retirement by 2008. Employers within the aerospace industry are concerned that U.S. students, who currently perform near the bottom of the leading industrialized countries of the world in math and science tests, lack the necessary training and skills to fulfill the anticipated workforce needs of the industry. Clearly, our country needs a national strategy for aerospace workforce recruitment, training and cultivation so that we will have a sufficient workforce, a trained workforce, to carry this program forward and sustain this important part of our economy in the years ahead. At a time when we are expanding the boundaries of scientific discovery through space exploration and depend on a strong national defense to keep our citizens safe, the calculated coordination and training of our aerospace workforce is a critical need. I am grateful to all my colleagues for considering this bill, and I encourage them to support its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 758) to establish an interagency aerospace revitalization task force to develop a national strategy for aerospace workforce recruitment, training, and cultivation.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance my time.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 758.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased that we are considering this resolution recognizing the importance of chemistry in our everyday lives. This resolution supports the goals and ideals of National Chemistry Week. It recognizes the important contributions of chemical scientists and engineers to technological progress and the health of many industries. In addition, it encourages the people of the United States to observe National Chemistry Week, which, this year, is October 16-22. Two weeks ago, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three organic chemists--one of them a former Michigan State University professor--for their work to reduce hazardous waste in forming new chemicals. Their method of organic synthesis, called ``metathesis'', allows carbon bonds to be broken and reformed to create new compounds. Their pioneering work has resulted in more efficient, safe and cleaner methods of synthesizing new materials and is appropriately classified as ``Green Chemistry.'' One of these three Nobel Prize winners, Richard Schrock of MIT, noted he became interested in chemistry when he was given a chemistry set as an 8-year-old, and at first liked to ``blow things up.'' His experience parallels the 2005 theme of National Chemistry Week, ``The Joy of Toys,'' which was chosen to highlight the valuable role curiosity plays in developing critical thinking. I believe there are three main motivations for doing science: (1) The practical need to control, (2) the intellectual urge to understand, and (3) the aesthetic need to enjoy. I believe that the third of these motivations is the strongest, the one that drives the curiosity of young people and future chemists. That enjoyment is often stimulated by the process of playing: the simple action of enjoying a toy that does something fun or unexpected. When a child plays with a toy, unexplainable behavior leads to questions about the underlying nature of a machine and drives a child to perhaps, like the Nobel Prize winner, deconstruct a toy in an effort to understand it. Getting to the bottom of how something works is, at its very nature, a scientific enterprise. Natural curiosity drives innovative thinking, improvements, and discovery. At a time when our workforce is in great need of increased scientific and mathematic literacy, it is important to stimulate children's interest in the chemical sciences so that they will consider careers in these fields and potentially discover the innovations of the future. What better way to stimulate interest than something fun? Toys not only make us laugh, they give our minds a chance to view the world in a different way. Chemists provide the substance of toys through materials chemistry and ensure their safety for contact with our skin and in our children's mouths through analytical testing. I commend the American Chemical Society for establishing National Chemistry Week in 1987. During this year's National Chemistry Week, volunteers from across the United States will engage children in understanding how toys work. Chemistry is used by the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural and plastics industries to produce drugs, advanced plastics, herbicides, fuel additives and other substances. Chemistry supports our economic infrastructure and improves our lives-- and it is fun! I urge my colleagues to support this resolution recognizing the goals and ideals of National Chemistry Week.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. I thank the gentleman for yielding and I thank him for organizing this session. I want to go very quickly through one item, and as we said we will continue later. I am a physicist. As a physicist, energy is tangible to me but to most people energy is intangible. You cannot touch it, see it, feel it, smell it or taste it. In other words, with our senses we cannot detect it. The only tangible aspect of energy for most people is the price at the gas pump and the utility bill at the end of the month. But I have a wish and I wish it were true but my wish would be that energy would be purple. If energy would be purple it would be tangible. We could see it. And if you drive up to your house in the middle of the winter and saw the purple oozing through the walls and coming out in rivulets around the doors and windows where they are not sealed properly, you would say, oh, that is horrible. I am wasting all that energy. It is costing me money. So we would make sure that we would get the house sealed up. Or if we were driving down the road and a Toyota Prius such as is owned by the gentleman from Maryland (Dr. Bartlett) or Honda Insight or some other hybrid vehicle went past us, there would be just a little bit of purple around the outside of it because it is very energy efficient. But if an SUV roared by there would be a huge cloud of purple. You could hardly see it. If people saw that they would say, why, that is foolish. Why would I want an SUV that is using all that energy? We are wasting energy. We are wasting money. Why do I not get a hybrid vehicle? My point is simply because energy is intangible, it is very difficult for people to understand the problem and to deal with it. But if we can believe the experts who tell us about energy, it would be just as good if we saw it because energy is purple. I am wearing a purple tie for a reason. First of all, I like it. But, secondly, its keeps reminding me if energy were purple, we would certainly change our energy use habits and we would do a much better job of conserving, as the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) observed earlier about conservation. That is very important. And I have to tell everyone in this Chamber and all of my colleagues, there is no faster, cheaper way to increase our oil supply than to conserve what we use. Because we can get the use of more energy at lower cost by doing that than by any oil exploration scheme and refinery-building scheme or anything else you wish to do. It costs less to conserve energy than it does to produce more. That is a very important principle to remember. So I hope that everyone in this Nation and certainly everyone in this Congress recognizes the importance of energy efficiency. Conservation is just one part of energy efficiency, but we can certainly use our energy more efficiently than we have in the past. We can get more bang for the buck because we have the technological capability to do that today. And it is absolutely essential to do that because, as you heard, we are being held hostage by other countries. Our energy costs are being used against us in various ways, and we simply have to start conserving energy, using it more efficiently, imagining that it is purple and keep trying to reduce the amount of purple that we produce by our use of energy. Then we have a chance of balancing our import-export balance, reducing the deficit of payments, and having a better economy at home because our money will be staying here rather than going abroad.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.