Bart Gordon

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I don't think that would be the responsible thing to do for our country. And for that reason, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson) to clarify one of the earlier statements.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. If the gentleman would stay there, reclaiming my time, the Northwest Compact, did they volunteer to take this radioactive waste?

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Yes.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. And what was the Governor's position?

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. What action did the company then take?

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. They sued them? You mean they sued them to make them take this?

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I'm shocked. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I say to my friend from Florida, I am not sure how much water this cup will hold, but when it is full, it is full. Now I am not sure how much, and we can talk about how much radioactive material that the Utah site can hold, but when it is full, it is full, and there will be no more space left. We need to recognize that. In conclusion, let me just say this is very simple, very simple. There is only one Nation in the world that allows other countries to ship their radioactive waste to that country for permanent disposal, and that is the United States. Quite frankly, it was a loophole because it was never expected that that would happen. So what we are doing with this legislation is simply bringing it into compliance with the rest of the world, saying that our country will not accept radioactive waste, and there are 20,000 tons ready to come in, as well as other countries asking to bring that waste in. We are simply saying we are going to abide by what all the others countries do, and they say if you have radioactive waste, if you are going to be producing radioactive waste, you need to take care of it, just like every other country. I think that is fair. I think it is reasonable.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield to my friend from Florida.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Reclaiming my time, and I will yield right back to you, has that site been certified?

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe).

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Reclaiming my time, I understand that, and I am sympathetic to that. The difficulty is where that waste has been separated. I have talked to them personally, and they have said that they don't ship it all back, that they keep some of it here. And there are difficulties. Once you combine an A level with a B or C level, there are additional problems. Now I am sympathetic to your concerns. We want to continue with that dialogue. I hope that can be rectified. But so far, we do not have that. And that is not before us today. What we have before us today is a very simple proposition: Is the United States going to be the only country in the world that is going to use our limited storage space to permanently dispose of tons and tons of radioactive waste from other countries? That is the question before us today, and we have a bipartisan bill that tries to answer that.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I understand that Mr. Terry, a member of our committee, is on his way. He is going to have to get here pretty soon. As a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, I think he would want me to say on his behalf that it is not in the interest of Nebraska, his home State, to have no other place to send their radioactive waste, whether it is from a hospital, from a lab, or anywhere else, but to Utah. And I would say that he would be very concerned with what Nebraska is going to do with that waste if there is no other place to send it. I am sure that he could say it much more eloquently than me.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. At this time, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. Debbie Spero, recipient of the 2009 John Campanius Holm Award. Each year, the National Weather Service honors Cooperative Weather Observers with this prestigious award, named after John Holm. During the years 1644 and 1645, Holm recorded observations of the local weather twice a day, and he is the first known person to have kept these observations. Since September 1, 1985, Debbie Spero has been involved with the NWS Cooperative Observer Program in Bethpage, Tennessee, reporting daily weather and precipitation data to the Army Corps of Engineers. Her reports are used to document the climate of Middle Tennessee and are also used by local NWS officials to verify forecasts, warnings and precipitation patterns. Through her 24 year involvement, Debbie has been an incredibly reliable observer. Her observations are complete and in near real time. When she has been unable to make her observations because of illness or travel, she has enlisted help to ensure as few breaks in the record as possible. In her spare time, Debbie is an active community member. As a Girl Scout leader for more than 14 years, her troop has helped serve underprivileged girls in the Bethpage area by meeting with them weekly. Debbie also works as a Youth Leader at Grace Baptist Church and has served as President of the Bethpage Parent Teacher Organization. Each year, the John Campanius Holm award is given to only 25 Cooperative Observers from more than 11,000 in the program. The award is based on complete and accurate observations, outstanding enthusiasm for imparting observational knowledge, and civic involvement in the community. The award is only given to active observers of more than 20 years. Debbie, thank you for your hard work and dedication in serving your community. I wish you all the best in the years to come.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. 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 the bill, H.R. 3791.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009. This bill reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. Over the past 9 years, these programs have provided over $5 billion to purchase firefighting equipment and training, and for communities to hire additional firefighters. This Federal support for public safety is even more important in this tough economy as local officials struggle to provide services in the face of decreasing budgets. The provisions in this bill make several changes to the program to enable more fire departments to apply for grants, and to ensure that the programs can benefit all types of communities, from small towns to our largest cities. As part of this, the bill apportions the AFG funding between the career, volunteer, and combination fire departments according to a formula that authorizes a minimum of 25 percent of each year's total AFG dollars for each type of department. The bill also authorizes the director to waive matching funds, budget maintenance requirements and other requirements for fire departments facing exceptional economic hardships. It further lowers the matching requirement for AFG and modifies the matching structure of SAFER to make it easier for communities to plan for the commitment of a SAFER grant. The Science Committee heard testimony from fire service experts in July that, particularly in this economy, the current matching requirements dissuaded some departments from applying. These provisions enable those fire departments with the most need to apply. Finally, H.R. 3791 also increases the amount of money larger jurisdictions may apply for under the AFG program. These amounts better reflect the needs of larger metropolitan areas as well as fire departments that have been consolidated to provide unified coverage to a large area. H.R. 3791 is the product of much hard work by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute. It has been endorsed by all of these groups. This bill has bipartisan support and passed out of the Science and Technology Committee by voice vote. I would like to once again thank Mr. Mitchell for sponsoring this important legislation. I would also like to recognize the efforts of our subcommittee chairman, Mr. Wu, in getting the policy right in this bill and working to get a consensus piece of legislation. I also want to thank Mr. Pascrell of New Jersey for being the father of the origination of these bills, as well as Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for bringing all of the parties together and working together to get a good bill out. Finally, I would like to recognize the staff who have been integral in crafting this legislation: Meghan Housewright and Mike Quear on the majority staff, and Dan Byers on the minority staff. We have some amendments today. I look forward to working with my colleagues today to make a good bill better. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the author of the bill, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Mitchell).

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the majority leader, as I said earlier, the person who really was the sheriff in bringing everybody together for this bill, and we thank him for it.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from Texas, a former member of the Science and Technology Committee, Ms. Jackson-Lee.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. My friend from Texas raises a valid point and an excellent point. You can be well assured that we will continue to work with you through this, through the conference process to bring your legitimate points to light.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu), the chairman of the subcommittee.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Chairman Oberstar for working with me to get this important bill to the floor. I would like to insert an exchange of committee correspondence in the Record at this time. House of Representatives, Committee on Homeland Security, Washington, DC, November 7, 2009. Hon. Bart Gordon, Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology, House of Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing you regarding H.R. 3791, the ``Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009,'' introduced on October 13, 2009. This legislation was initially referred to the Committee on Science and Technology and sequentially referred to the Committee on Homeland Security on November 6, 2009. In the interest of permitting this important legislation to proceed expeditiously to floor consideration, I am willing to waive further consideration of H.R. 3791. I do so with the understanding that waiving further consideration of the bill should not be construed as the Committee on Homeland Security waiving, altering, or otherwise affecting its jurisdiction over subject matters contained in the bill which fall within its Rule X jurisdiction. Further, I request your support for the appointment of Homeland Security conferees during any House-Senate conference convened on this or similar legislation. I also ask that a copy of this letter and your response be placed in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of this bill. I look forward to working with you on this legislation and other matters of great importance to this nation. Sincerely, Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 2 minutes to the Chairman of the Transportation Committee, the gentleman from Minnesota, Chairman Oberstar, and I want to once again thank him for helping bring this bill to the floor.

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield the gentleman 30 additional seconds.