Bob Goodlatte

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to thank all the Members who have spoken so eloquently in favor of this resolution and who have helped to remind us of this tragedy of 40 years ago. This devastating event for this church and these families helped bring us together; a wrong put us on the path to doing things right. This is a very worthwhile resolution. I thank everybody who has helped to bring it forward. I thank the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary; I thank the gentlewoman from Texas and others. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2119 sponsored by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield). H.R. 2119, as amended, would allow the Forest Service to transfer a currently disused facility in North Carolina to the State of North Carolina. The facility has not been used in several years, and in fact, the land on which it sits was donated by the State of North Carolina to the Federal Government for the purpose of establishing a research station. The administration supports the proposed transfer, and the State intends to use the facility to do research on invasive species, a very worthwhile project. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture, Washington, DC, October 5, 2004. Hon. Tom Davis, Chairman, House Committee on Government Reform, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a copy of H.R. 2119 as passed by the Committee on Agriculture. As you know, the Committee on Government Reform has received an additional referral of this legislation and I am respectfully requesting that this legislation be discharged from your committee. This legislation, sponsored by Representative Balance would provide for the use by the State of North Carolina of Federal lands, improvements, equipment, and resource materials at the Oxford Research Station in Granville County, North Carolina. As the committee of primary jurisdiction, on September 23, 2004, the Committee on Agriculture favorably reported this legislation by an affirmative voice vote. As this bill prepares to move to the floor I am asking for your discharge to move this legislation forward. This discharge in no way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the bill and it will not serve as precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee on Government Reform represented on the conference committee. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter and look forward to working with your committee in the future. Sincerely, Bob Goodlatte, Chairman.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman from North Carolina on bringing forward a fine piece of legislation. I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm), the ranking member, for his work on this and other bills that we brought before the House tonight. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. 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. 2119.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2984.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is a very worthy resolution and it reflects on the great work done by food banks and those who volunteer their efforts in the various food pantries and soup kitchens and restaurants that depend upon those food banks, including food banks in my congressional district, the Southwest Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank and the Blue Ridge Second Harvest Food Bank. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, which recognizes the efforts of communities and faith-based groups such as Second Harvest to recover surplus food from restaurants and other facilities and donate it to local soup kitchens. These efforts play an important role in combating hunger, which afflicts far too many Americans, particularly children. The resolution is sponsored by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and has 43 cosponsors. As we approach the holiday season, it is important to acknowledge these voluntary efforts. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5042, introduced by the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Acevedo-Vila). Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5042 amends the Department's Organic Act to allow the Secretary of Agriculture to cover tuition and transportation costs for dependents of Forest Service employees in Puerto Rico. When the U.S. Naval Base at Roosevelt Roads closed its school, several Forest Service employees lost the only nearby English language school available to their children. H.R. 5042 would allow the Department of Agriculture to reimburse tuition and transportation costs for these employees' dependents. Currently, several other Federal agencies, including the FAA, Department of Justice, and the Coast Guard, have made use of this authority for their employees assigned to Puerto Rico. The bill should have minimal fiscal impact, as USDA was reimbursing the Department of Defense for the use of their school at the same rate authorized in this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5042) to amend the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to ensure that the dependents of employees of the Forest Service stationed in Puerto Rico receive a high-quality elementary and secondary education.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 33) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange all or part of certain administrative sites and other land in the Ozark-St. Francis and Ouachita National Forests and to use funds derived from the sale or exchange to acquire, construct, or improve administrative sites.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 33 which allows the Forest Service to sell or exchange a total of 23 administrative sites on national forest lands in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The funds generated will be used to relocate and renovate offices as well as purchase and replace administrative sites. Overall, the lands covered by the bill total just over 308 acres. The total value of the sites to be sold is $3.375 million. The total acreage involved requires an act of Congress to allow the agency to sell these lands. The sales will encourage efficient management of the National Forest Service lands in Arkansas and Oklahoma. And I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I welcome back the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) who I hear has been at the Committee on Rules. Mr. Speaker, I have no further request for time and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 5042.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), the chief sponsor of the legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 481, as introduced by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey). This resolution recognizes and encourages Hunters for the Hungry programs. These are voluntary, cooperative efforts among hunters, sportsmen's associations, meat processors, State meat inspectors, and hunger relief organizations to help feed those in need. These programs are in place in almost every State. They have brought hundreds of thousands of pounds of venison to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and food banks, feeding thousands of needy people. Hunters for the Hungry programs are great examples of community service. This resolution is intended to bring attention to these programs and to promote additional constructive ideas for addressing the problem of hunger. Hunting season is right around the corner in much of the country, and I urge my colleagues to do everything they can to support these important programs. Not only does hunting contribute to our rural economy, it helps our communities fight hunger. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I congratulate the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) for his efforts to move this resolution forward. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 481) recognizing the establishment of Hunters for the Hungry programs across the United States and the contributions of those programs to efforts to decrease hunger and help feed those in need.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate again the gentleman from Georgia and thank him for bringing forward this fine resolution. I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss H.R. 2929, the ``Safeguard Against Privacy Invasions Act.'' I believe that there is a need to impose appropriate civil penalties against those who use software to commit egregious acts against computer users. In that respect, the provisions in H.R. 2929 that impose civil penalties on the truly bad actors, including those who use spyware to take over a user's computer to send spam, or those who engage in keystroke logging to steal personal information, are a step in the right direction. However, I also have concerns that portions of the bill cast too wide a net and that they would have unintended consequences that could penalize the legitimize software companies that are actually trying to play by the rules. Many provisions of this bill would not only encompass spyware, but also legitimate interactive software services. I oppose the provisions of this bill that stretch beyond punishing the truly bad actors and instead create a static regulatory regime in an industry that is always innovating and changing to respond to consumer demand. Also, imposing a notice and consent requirement for most software that is loaded onto computers could create unintended consequences. Specifically, when consumers are faced with the multiple notices that would be required under this bill, they will likely become desensitized and stop reading the disclosure altogether. The result could be a heavy-handed regulation that does not even achieve the desired goals of informing consumers and protecting them from spyware, especially since the truly bad actors are likely to simply ignore these regulations. I have introduced legislation, H.R. 4661, the Internet Spyware I-SPY Prevention Act, which impose tough criminal penalties on the most egregious purveyors of spyware without imposing a broad regulatory regime on legitimate software providers. I believe that this more targeted approach is the best way to combat spyware. While I have serious reservations about many portions of H.R. 2929, I also believe that it contains many civil prohibitions that would help in the fight against spyware. I support this bill, not in its entirety, but as an acknowledgement that some civil penalties are appropriate in the fight against spyware when properly targeted. However, I remain concerned about the broad regulatory aspects of this legislation, and hope to continue working to ensure that the final legislation is appropriately targeted at the truly bad actors, and that it does not cast a broad regulatory burden on those who continue to innovate and create new and exciting services in the interactive software industry.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 481, the resolution just considered.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution just considered.