Sam Graves

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 990) to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members shall have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me reiterate that small businesses can and will lead our economic recovery, and this is a very strong case for fully authorizing the SBIR and STTR programs. They have a proven track record of creating jobs, advancing innovative science in the marketplace, and solving Federal agency problems. These programs provide a bridge between product conception and marketability--a step of vital importance for innovative ideas to become a reality. The new technologies and discoveries that come out of these programs go a long way towards keeping our competitive edge in the world marketplace, and the SBIR and the STTR programs are the kind of public-private partnership that is essential to the continued growth of our economy. I look forward to working with Ranking Member Velazquez, our colleagues on the Small Business Committee, and our colleagues in the other body on a long-term reauthorization in the coming months. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise to recognize Mrs. Betty Lou Loch on the occasion of her 90th birthday celebration. Mrs. Loch was born on May 23, 1921 at the St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, Missouri. She is the daughter of the late William and Maude Butler. Mrs. Loch is an active member of her community but more importantly, she is a proud mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Mrs. Loch is celebrating this special day with her two children, Robert Edwin Loch, Jr. and James William Loch; two daughter in-laws, Mildred Loch and Jessica Loch; four grandchildren, Robert Edwin Loch, III, Courtney Susan Loch, Jaimie William Loch, and Brittney Jayne Loch, and; two great-grandchildren, Robert Colman Loch and James Quinton Loch. Mr. Speaker, this celebration will bring together close friends and four generations of the Loch family, which is truly remarkable. So I ask that you join me in wishing Mrs. Betty Lou Loch a happy 90th birthday.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote No. 325, the Hinchey amendment to H.R. 754, I voted ``aye'' when I intended to vote ``no.''

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Mitchell Ryan Kovac. Mitchell 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 374, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Mitchell has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Mitchell 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, Mitchell has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Mitchell Ryan Kovac 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 Sean Kincaid Daldrup. Sean 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 374, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Sean has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Sean 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, Sean has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Sean Kincaid Daldrup 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 Michael McKenna Hoppenrath. Michael 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 374, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Michael has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Michael 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, Michael has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Michael McKenna Hoppenrath 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 William F. Allen, Jr. William 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 388, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. William has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years William 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, William was the first in his troop to earn the Conservation Badge. William has also joined the Tribe of Mic-O-Say and joined the Order of the Arrow. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending William F. Allen, Jr. 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 the life of Thomas Samuel Stephens of Cameron, Missouri. Thomas' achievements and service, both to his country and his community, were great and we are indebted to him for his sacrifices. Mr. Speaker, Thomas Samuel Stephens was born on June 8, 1918, in Temple, Texas, to his parents, Lessie and Rufus Stephens. On January 14, 1944, Thomas had the fortune of marrying the love his life, Euclid Elizabeth Stockton, at their church in Temple, Texas. Together they raised one daughter, Patti Jane. Thomas passed away on December 2, 2010, in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Speaker, Thomas was a true patriot. He served in the 80th Infantry Division, 3rd Army, 319 Regiment C Company, 4th Platoon under General George Patton from August 26, 1943 to March 29, 1946. He received the Purple Heart, EAME Campaign Medal with one Bronze Service Star, an American Theatre Campaign Medal and a Victory Medal, as well as a Sharpshooter and Rifle pin. Mr. Speaker, after being honorably discharged, Thomas received his Masters Degree and taught at the University of Texas A&M in the Horticulture Department from 1948-1953. Thomas then spent the rest of his career working for the United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service, actively engaging in food and food storage research that is used in the food products we enjoy in every grocery store today. Mr. Speaker, in addition to Thomas' patriotism and contributions to agriculture in the United States, Thomas also had a passion of enjoying God's world by fishing, campaigning and planting trees. Thomas was active in his church and enjoyed singing, having been a part of the first group of Singing Cadets at Texas A&M. Thomas deeply loved his family. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in honoring the life of Thomas Samuel Stephens. I am truly grateful for his service to our country and his contributions to agriculture.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Wesley Henry Scherler McDowell. Wesley 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 175, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Wesley has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Wesley 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, Wesley has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Wesley scraped, painted and replaced the floor molding in the front entryway and men's bathroom for St. Rita's school at St. Munchin in Cameron, Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Wesley Henry Scherler McDowell 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 Adam M. Zimmerman. Adam 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 180, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Adam has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Adam 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, Adam has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Adam M. Zimmerman 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 Alexander M. Spoon. Alexander 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 180, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Alexander has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Alexander 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, Alexander has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Alexander M. Spoon 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 Sawyer A. Hanway. Sawyer 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 180, and earning the most prestigious award of Eagle Scout. Sawyer has been very active with his troop, participating in many scout activities. Over the many years Sawyer 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, Sawyer has contributed to his community through his Eagle Scout project. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Sawyer A. Hanway 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, on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, I missed rollcall vote No. 202. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

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

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

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. We did not contact the FBI. But we did contact Homeland Security. Homeland Security did not get a response back to us. However, and I've provided to the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee the response from the FAA--they took no position. And we still leave that authority to them. They can still, if they think it needs to be more restrictive, they can do that. So I didn't want to take that completely away. I think probably the biggest problem is I think that sports authorities didn't realize there are TFRs associated with an airshow which are actually even more restrictive and bigger. So the best thing you could do is have an airshow next to your game. You're going to have a better TFR, I guess the irony is.

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

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of an amendment which I call the Herrick amendment, named for the gentleman who brought the matter to my attention, a restorer of old aircraft. This amendment requires the FAA to preserve original aircraft engineering data in the agency's possession. You can kind of think of this as blueprints of our Nation's very earliest aircraft. It extends for the time from 1927 to 1939, 1927 being the very first typed certificate that was ever issued by the CEA at that time, the FAA now. Right now, the FAA is currently authorized to destroy that data. In my opinion, this destruction represents the disappearance of very detailed documentation surrounding the golden age of aviation. In some cases this data is converted to a CD or is converted digitally. What happens is the FAA policy then requires the agency to destroy the original documents. In the world of aviation, to those of us who are very close to aviation, this would be comparable to making a copy of the Declaration of Independence and then destroying the original. It is unclear how much of this original data exists, which is all the more reason why I think we need to preserve it, to find out how much is there. What my amendment does is it simply requires the FAA to preserve original aircraft engineering data in the agency's possession of aircraft from 1927 to 1939. It requires the FAA to revise the order which provides them authority to destroy this data. The revision would prohibit such destruction. And it makes the documentation to be preserved under this act available to the public upon a Freedom of Information Act request, subject to a prohibition on using the documents for commercial purposes. I would urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. I yield to the gentleman from West Virginia.

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

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, in response to that, I can guarantee you that this is my last amendment, for this particular bill at least.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. I would close with that, Mr. Chairman, yield back the balance of my time, and urge my colleagues to support the amendment.