Sam Graves

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause on Pearl Harbor Day to recognize John Kimpel, a native of the Kansas City area and a veteran of World War II. Mr. Kimpel served in the 44th Armored Infantry Division in the European theater, where he received the Purple Heart after being wounded by a German shell on March 3, 1945. Mr. Kimpel received shrapnel wounds in his arm and both legs, which required almost two years' worth of therapy and rehabilitation to recover from. After receiving his discharge, Mr. Kimpel worked for a short time at the General Motors plant in Fairfax, Kansas, followed by a long career maintaining buses and equipment for the Shawnee Mission School District and the Kenneth Smith Golf Company. When many would have sought out a quiet retirement, Mr. Kimpel continued to volunteer at the Johnson County Christmas Bureau for 25 years, crafting many pieces for their Christmas displays. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me, his friends, and his family in recognizing John Kimpel for his accomplishments and his service to his country and his community.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Kristopher Evans. Kristopher is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1376, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Kristopher has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Kristopher has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Kristopher has become an Ordeal Member of the Order of the Arrow and earned the rank of Warrior in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. Kristopher has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Kristopher built six large bat houses for Immacolata Manor in Liberty, Missouri, to control mosquitoes and other pests. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Kristopher Evans for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize David Garcia. David is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1376, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. David has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years David has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, David has become an Ordeal Member of the Order of the Arrow and earned the rank of Warrior in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. David has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. David coordinated with the Liberty Parks and Recreation department and planted 83 native Missouri plants at the Rush Creek Parkway roundabout near Liberty Hospital in Liberty, Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending David Garcia for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Morgan Atkinson. Morgan is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 412, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Morgan has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Morgan has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Morgan contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Morgan Atkinson for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Thomas Beale. Thomas is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 714, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Thomas has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Thomas has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Thomas earned the rank of Warrior of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. Thomas has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Thomas built a patio and fire pit for an outdoor worship and recreation area at Dearborn Christian Church in Dearborn, Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Thomas Beale for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to congratulate Gina Elizabeth Lawson, DO, for being named the 2016 Catholic Doctor of the Year by the Mission Doctors Association. The Mission Doctors Association chose Dr. Lawson out of more than 1,000 nominations in recognition of her efforts in responding to Christ's call to ``Heal the Sick.'' Dr. Lawson serves as the Medical Director of the St. Luke's Transfer Team and the Medical Director of the Women's Center of St. Luke's Northland Hospital, where she serves as a Eucharistic Minister and brings Communion to the hospital. Dr. Lawson also participated in a short-term mission to the mountain villages in Jamaica to care for the poor and overlooked. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in congratulating Gina Elizabeth Lawson, DO, for her accomplishments and her service to her community.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Zane Green. Zane is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 412, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Zane has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Zane has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Zane contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Zane Green for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Nathan Jacob. Nathan is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1376, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Nathan has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Nathan has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Nathan has earned the rank of Warrior in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say and become an Ordeal Member of the Order of the Arrow. Nathan has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Nathan erected and installed two poles with directional signage for the Fountain Bluff Sports Complex in Liberty, Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Nathan Jacob for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Kindall Henning. Kindall is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 43, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Kindall has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Kindall has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Kindall has led his troop as the Senior Patrol Leader. Kindall has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Kindall constructed a Veterans Memorial at the Faucett Community Center in Faucett, Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Kindall Henning for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6007.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I will conclude by saying that I urge all Members to support H.R. 6007. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6007) to amend title 49, United States Code, to include consideration of certain impacts on commercial space launch and reentry activities in a navigable airspace analysis, and for other purposes.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Bridenstine).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6007. The bill will improve aviation safety by requiring the Federal Aviation Administration to take commercial space transportation activity into consideration when conducting aeronautical studies at spaceports licensed by the FAA. This is an important safety issue that has to be addressed as commercial space transportation is integrated into the National Airspace System. The Aviation Subcommittee recently held a hearing on the FAA's oversight of the commercial space transportation industry. The hearing examined important issues facing the industry, including the development of commercial spaceports that have yet to be fully addressed by Congress. The committee looks forward to working with all individuals, obviously, on this. I know that the majority leader, Mr. McCarthy--and I do want to thank him for his strong leadership on this issue--worked very hard on it, and we are also going to be looking forward to working with him on this. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6007. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to help me and support this legislation. It is a very important piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the author of the FAST Act, the chairman of the Transportation Committee.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Congress authorizes funding for the Federal transportation programs, which, in turn, obviously provide the funding and credit assistance for transportation projects across the country. However, the authorizing committees don't consistently get advance notice from the Department of Transportation prior to its announcement of grant awards and credit assistance for projects. What this bill does is real simple. It requires the Department to give the authorizing committees at least 3 days advanced notice prior to announcing grant awards and credit assistance for projects. It is going to improve transparency and enhance oversight of the Department by ensuring that Congress is properly notified of these announcements. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 5977. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 5977.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5977) to direct the Secretary of Transportation to provide to the appropriate committees of Congress advance notice of certain announcements, and for other purposes.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Kayl Auch. Kayl is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1376, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Kayl has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Kayl has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Kayl has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Kayl built a tennis backboard located at Bennett Park in Liberty, Missouri, to allow people to practice tennis by themselves, along with providing the Liberty North High School tennis team the use of this facility during their practice times and during the off-season. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Kayl Auch for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Daniel Foster. Daniel is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an active part in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 378, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Daniel has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Daniel has been involved with scouting, he has not only earned numerous merit badges, but also the respect of his family, peers, and community. Most notably, Daniel has led his troop as the patrol leader on two separate occasions. Daniel has also contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Daniel collected stuffed animals and blankets for a shelter in the Kansas City area for children who have been removed from abusive situations. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Daniel Foster for his accomplishments with the Boy Scouts of America and for his efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction of Eagle Scout.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. I yield to the gentleman from Utah.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.