H. Griffith

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, this is a bipartisan amendment that incorporates an interagency agreement transmitted to Congress by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the United States Department of Justice. It clarifies several issues: when the Attorney General can temporarily and permanently schedule a drug or substance to the newly created schedule A, and it prevents the Attorney General from permanently scheduling a drug or substance if the Secretary of HHS determines that there is not sufficient potential for abuse. It also clarifies when research can be conducted with a schedule A substance while a registration application is pending. If an applicant is registered to conduct research with a schedule I or II substance, they can continue to do research they may be pursuing with a schedule A substance while their application is being processed. Likewise, if an applicant is registered to conduct research with a schedule III, IV, or V substance, they can continue to conduct research with a schedule A substance while their application is pending, so long as the component that gave rise to the schedule A determination is in the same or a less restricted schedule. This amendment is important to research. This amendment will help ensure that research is not impeded or stunted because of a change in the schedule of a substance. While we all want to get dangerous substances off the street, history has taught us that when a substance is scheduled, many research options are taken off the table or made prohibitively complicated. Sometimes derivatives of dangerous substances can provide cures and treatments for deadly diseases or chronic conditions, and we don't want to hamstring our researchers who are equipped to discover potential positive uses. Though it may still need to be a scheduled substance, an analogue, in theory, could be a less addictive term of an opioid pain relief, and if researchers are looking at it as a possible less addictive form, I believe we would all want to keep that research going and not impede that research as it moves forward. So I believe this is an important amendment, and I hope everybody will join me in supporting it. I thank Mr. Raskin and Ms. Jackson Lee for their assistance and support of this amendment as well. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and Ranking Member Pallone for his help on this bill. The CONNECTIONS Act, as the chairman has stated, deals with state-run prescription drug monitoring programs which are widely recognized as an important tool in fighting the opioid epidemic. These programs enable providers to better identify patients who may be at risk for abuse of opioid prescriptions. This is a critical first step in preventing abuse by those who may be vulnerable. The bill will improve Federal support for state-run prescription drug monitoring programs to empower those States to successfully implement improvements and build off of their existing programs. Now, the legislation facilitates more widespread use by the providers. So what we are trying to do is, right now we have 49 of 50 States that have PDMPs or prescription drug monitoring programs. They all are trying to talk to each other. And particularly, when you have a district like mine, which kind of forms a sort of a triangle in the southwest corner of Virginia, you can get to West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee all within a single day, without any problem. And if you are a physician in those areas, you need to know if your patient may have driven a few miles across the line in an attempt to get more prescription drugs than maybe they ought to be taking. So what the PDMPs are supposed to do is to let the physician know what is going on. But if our State prescription drug monitoring programs don't have the ability to talk to one another or interact efficiently, that creates a delay or a dilemma for the physician who is trying to do the right thing and monitor what is going on and see about those who may be vulnerable or about to step into an arena that they really don't want to get into, but they are suffering pain and they think this is the way to go. We want to stop that. We want to help the physicians. What this bill does is it allows the physicians and allows the PDMPs run by the States to have more interactivity between the two or between the three or four or five, as the case may be, as it would be in my district. So the PDMPs are especially valuable for districts like mine, as we have discussed; and the pharmacies and doctors in other States who are just a stone's throw away who can come back in and check to see what is going on. This legislation will give these States that ability. It is a good, bipartisan bill, and I do appreciate Ranking Member Pallone for working on this with me in a bipartisan fashion. I also appreciate greatly the leadership of our chairman, Chairman Walden, for making this a major issue and allowing us to put forward so many bills, both this week and next, that deal with this very serious concern; and this is one step in the right direction to making sure that we try to ensure that folks don't go down the path of abuse.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Charles William Steger, Jr., along with Rob Wittman, who is an alumnus of Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, Virginia Tech President Emeritus Charles William Steger, Jr., passed away last night at the age of 70. He was a Hokie through and through, and he guided the university to great achievements. He earned three degrees himself from Virginia Tech, and before becoming president, he taught and held numerous posts. As president of Virginia Tech from 2000 to 2014, Dr. Steger led the university to new heights. He presided over growth and enrollment. Forty major new buildings were constructed. Research expenditures grew from $192 million to $450 million. He established the school of biomedical engineering and helped bring together the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute. He also had the burden of leading Virginia Tech through the shooting on that horrific April day in 2007. In the aftermath, he led with remarkable dignity. He received many honors during his lifetime, and I, along with many in Virginia and across this Nation, held Dr. Charles William Steger, Jr., in the highest esteem. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Janet; his son, Christopher Steger, and wife, Elizabeth Schumann; and his son, David Steger, and fiance, Alison Nemeth. Mr. Speaker, if we could all pray a prayer tonight for the family of Charles Steger.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Virginia Tech President Emeritus Charles William Steger, Jr., who passed away on May 6, 2018 at the age of 70. He was a Hokie through-and-through, and he guided the university to great achievements, bringing new acclaim to this beacon of higher learning in Southwest Virginia. Dr. Steger devoted most of his adult life to Virginia Tech. He graduated from the university in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in architecture, followed by a master's degree in the same subject the following year and a Ph.D. in environmental sciences and engineering in 1978. Before becoming president in 2000, he taught and held numerous administrative posts, including dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, acting vice president for public services, and vice president for development and university relations. As president of Virginia Tech from 2000 to 2014, Dr. Steger led the university to new heights. He presided over growth in enrollment and the construction of 40 major new buildings, including the arts center, the Virginia Tech Research Center--Arlington, and the College of Engineering's Goodwin Hall. Research blossomed as the university's expenditures in this area grew from $192 million to over $450 million during his tenure. He was passionate about raising Virginia Tech's profile in fields which promise the jobs of tomorrow, establishing a school of biomedical engineering and helping to bring together the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute. Under the leadership of Dr. Steger, Virginia Tech grew in size, reputation, and academic excellence. It is hard to imagine a more terrible event to face a university president than the horrific shooting that took place at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. During that time of agony and grief, Dr. Steger led the university with remarkable dignity. Many honors and awards recognized Dr. Steger for his contributions to education, including the Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Chief Executive Leadership Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, District III, and the Compass Award from the New Century Technology Council. After retiring from Virginia Tech's presidency, Dr. Steger became executive director of the Global Forum on Urban and Regional Resilience. I, along with many in Virginia and across the nation, held Dr. Charles William Steger, Jr. in the highest esteem. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Janet, his son Christopher Steger and wife Elizabeth Schumann, and his son David Steger and fiancee Alison Nemeth. He will forever be remembered by the Virginia Tech community he loved and led.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the work that Chairman Burgess has done on this issue. It is important that he has highlighted it and made it one of the priorities of our committee--not only our subcommittee, but our full committee. Earlier this evening, we heard from Representatives from Kentucky and from West Virginia. When you look at the map, you will see that my congressional district, the Ninth District of Virginia, touches West Virginia, touches Kentucky, and touches North Carolina. What this means to all of us is this--and it touches Tennessee, of course. It means that, if you really worked at it, in my district, you could get to various doctors and various pharmacists in just a couple of days. In that small corner of Virginia, you can travel into other States. You can hit five States in a single day. This is why I have been working on some language for prescription drug monitoring, where the States will be encouraged to work together to try to make sure that we are sharing information. All of the States--or most of the States now-- have such a program, but they don't always have the language down the same way. What we have to do as one of a dozen, two dozen, or three dozen things that we are looking at in trying to help resolve this opioid crisis is that we need to make sure that we have people looking at it and making sure that those folks who are addicted and are trying to get prescriptions from different doctors and using different pharmacies are not able to do so, to make sure that our programs are working together. It is very important that we continue to work. While I say that it is important, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate so much that Chairman Burgess is holding a roundtable tomorrow as part of our Health Subcommittee that will be bipartisan, where we are bringing in families from around the country who have suffered a loss, who have a loved one who has died. And while we are not taking any votes on the floor tomorrow, the Health Subcommittee will be meeting because this is just too important to leave Washington without hearing from these important voices, from these people who can bring to us real-life stories. We have all heard them in our communities. We have all probably had family members who have been touched by it. But to hear from these families tomorrow, I think, is going to be very special and very poignant, and I appreciate it. I think that we all have something that we can learn. And then, Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about pill dumping, because we do have to take a look. We have a hearing coming up with some of the pharmacies that manufacture these opioids. But we know that in West Virginia, they were dropping millions of pills into communities there--into Williamson, into Kermit, and into Mount Gay-Shamrock. As a result of that, those drugs not only went into West Virginia, but some of those pharmacies that were shut down eventually by the DEA were just a few miles--32 miles, 34 miles--from my district and from districts in Kentucky. We need to find out: Why were they allowing this to happen? Why were they perhaps encouraging it to happen? We don't know the answers yet, but we are going to have a hearing on that. The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is looking into that matter, as well, and has already got lots of information. We are looking at what was going on in the DEA and why they didn't use their power of an immediate suspension order. When they had the authority to do so, Mr. Speaker, it was shocking to discover that they chose, instead, to come up with a trial standard. As opposed to a standard to stop something bad from happening immediately, they chose to have a trial standard, to have all the proof already wrapped up with a nice bow on it. As a part of that, we ended up with a lot of drug stores that continue to use a cash business for operating. Even though the DEA knew there were problems, they wanted to have expert witnesses come in in advance. This is not acceptable. We are working with the DEA to stop that procedure and to make sure that, if there are any changes in the law that are necessary to give them more tools, they can shut down somebody quickly when they see a pattern of abuse. Mr. Speaker, the Energy and Commerce Committee is working hard on all of these issues, and, particularly, we are working to make sure that we give the various agencies and the States the authority to help shut down this horrible, treacherous, and dangerous opioid crisis in these United States.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor William B. ``Bill'' Zimmerman, Jr., of Covington. Bill passed away on November 6, 2017 at the age of 74. He was a fixture in the community who gave generously of himself to his fellow residents of the Alleghany Highlands. Bill cared deeply about the place where he grew up and spent his life. He graduated from Covington High School in 1960, and later in life he advised the school's Jayteens. He worked as a Director of the Alleghany Highlands Office on Youth Program and as a diversion specialist for Alleghany County and the City of Covington. Residents of Covington knew him as a longtime councilman who fulfilled his duties with integrity and dedication. From 1976 to 1980 and again from 1998 until his passing, Bill served as District 1's representative on the Covington City Council, and for a time also served as Vice Mayor. Bill also contributed to various boards and organizations with his time and his talents. Among his contributions to the Alleghany Historical Society was a grand piano. Even as his health declined, he continued to sing in the Granbery Memorial United Methodist Church choir. It is hard to think of Covington without remembering Bill Zimmerman. During parades in Covington, I grew accustomed to seeing him on the same street corner greeting people. I offer my condolences to his family, his friends (of which I was one), and the City of Covington on this great loss.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I honor the life of Lloyd Clinton ``Sonny'' Martin of Pennington Gap. Sonny passed away on March 8, 2018 at the age of 82. He was a man who devoted himself to helping people in Lee County, whether his customers or his community at large. Sonny made his living as a community banker, spending over 60 years in the business, most notably at Powell Valley National Bank (PVNB). He began as a loan officer, subsequently rose to president and chief executive officer, and remained active on the board until the end of his life. In addition, he served two terms as a member of the Virginia Bankers Association Board of Directors. Devoted to helping people, and talented at it, Sonny made customer service a hallmark of his career. According to PVNB Executive Vice President Leton Harding as quoted in the Kingsport Times-News, Sonny's philosophy was, ``We are a true community bank serving everyone in the community.'' Sonny improved Southwest Virginia through his career, but he found other ways to do so as well. As a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, first as a representative of the Bristol District and then as an at-large member for rural areas, he advocated for Southwest Virginia's interests. After Lee County's hospital closed in 2013, he led the search for ways to reopen it. He also served on the Pennington Gap Town Council. Sonny was a veteran of the United States Army and a member of the First Baptist Church in Pennington Gap. In 2004, he cast a vote for president as an elector in the Elector College. In recognition of his contributions to the Commonwealth of Virginia, he received the Patrick Henry Award. Survivors include Sonny's wife of 59 years, Joyce, daughters Mary Virginia ``Jennie'' and husband Scott Joy and Karen and husband Tony LaScola, and granddaughters Lauren and Carolyn Joy. I offer my condolences to his family, as well as my gratitude for all his services on behalf of Southwest Virginia.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I have heard people say that they don't want to support a bill that makes things worse. We have people who are terminal, whose life expectancy is measured in months, not in decades, and how do you make things worse? I said last week, and I repeat it today, that if I--if, and I am not, thank God--but if I were faced with one of these heart-rendering situations, I would take any risk, including injecting monkey urine, if that meant I could spend a few more days, months, or years with my children. I think many people are in that same boat, and the American people deserve a right to try. When we were doing our hearings on this, we had an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing where Lieutenant Commander Matthew Bellina, who graduated from Virginia Tech in my district and served in the United States Navy, testified before us. He said, in the conclusion of his comments: ``I know that it is probably too late for me, and I have made my peace with that. I need to know before I die that, if my children find themselves in this unenviable position, this Nation that I proudly served will respect their liberties and their right to make their own decisions about their medical treatments.'' He suffered from ALS, as I said. I have had three friends during my lifetime die of that: Ray Robrecht, my predecessor a couple terms back in the Virginia House of Delegates; Julie Mullins, whose family I have known for decades; and Mike Ahern, who was connected with the United States Senate through his sister. All of these folks were people who lived in Salem County or Roanoke County, and they all died from ALS. They were all brave people. They should have had the right to try to see if they could make an improvement for others. Even more poignant are my family friends who lost both a grandparent and their mother to Huntington's chorea. I was their family lawyer. I did their will. I would like to believe, and I know they would have liked the option, that their mother would have chosen the right to try, knowing that, even if it failed, it might help another generation because, as you know, Huntington's chorea is a genetically transmitted disease. So I do not understand why people are afraid of letting people try who have no other hope, whose life is going to be cut short, without taking that Hail Mary pass. And so I hope that everyone will support this reasonable, measured effort to let people have a choice and a right to try.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Walden for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I have heard people say that this bill gives folks a false hope. There is no false hope. They know it is a Hail Mary pass. They know it is unlikely to succeed, but they are willing to make the decision and the choice to take that chance. I have heard that patients will be at risk, that they lose their safeguards. They have received a terminal diagnosis. They know they are at risk. They don't care about safeguards. They want to fight for life. They know they have that terminal disease or diagnosis and they may lose a few weeks, as we heard from my colleague, but they may gain years, and they are willing to take that risk. Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you, if I had a terminal diagnosis, I would even consider injecting monkey urine if I thought it would give me a few more months or a few more years with my children, who are currently 18, 12, and 10. Others may choose not to try something. They may not want the right to try. They may not want to try the Hail Mary pass, but they should have the choice. They should have the right to try.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise, on behalf of Congressman Bobby Scott and myself, to recognize the achievements of Ron Carson who has made the plight of tens of thousands of disabled coal miners a central part of his life's work. Through his decades of work directing three black lung clinics in Southwest Virginia, and tireless advocacy efforts across the coal fields of this country, he offered help and hope to miners whose lungs were irreversibly scarred with the scourge of black lung disease. Ron was born in Pennington Gap, Virginia during segregation. He attended a one-room primary school on land that his great-great- grandmother, Rachael Scott, had donated in 1939 for education of black children in Lee County. Ron and his wife Jill, a Member of the Town Council in Pennington Gap, founded the Appalachian African American Cultural Center in that same brick school house, which now preserves the life stories, history, heritage, culture and events of African Americans in Southwest Virginia. Although segregated in housing and schools, African Americans found a measure of inclusion in Central Appalachia, where they were able to work free from the harsh conditions in the Deep South, ad many received equal pay for their work mining coal. Ron worked for Westmoreland Coal Co. in Appalachia, Virginia as did his stepfather. His grandfather and great-grandfather both worked for many years for Blue Diamond Coal in Bonny Blue, Virginia. Ron later attended the Massachusetts School of Pharmacy, and in 1990 returned as an outreach worker in the black lung clinic operating out of the St. Charles Community Health Clinic. For the past 20 years he has served as the director of three black lung clinics which are now part of Stone Mountain Health Services. In addition to helping miners secure diagnostic tests, treatment and benefits counseling, Ron led an effort to develop what is now the largest program for non-lawyers to successfully advocate for black lung benefits before the U.S. Department of Labor. There are very few attorneys who represent miners filing claims for black lung benefits. And, coal miners proceedings pro se are no match for the expert legal and medical resources that coal companies and insurers dedicate to each case. Ron and his team have worked to fill this void by providing training for clinics, doctors, lawyers and lay representatives in all 15 coal producing states. The lay advocates working for the Stone Mountain clinics have helped miners win over 2,000 black lung claims in the past 17 years. In recent years, Ron documented how miners with progressive massive fibrosis (PMF), the most advanced form of black lung disease, have flooded the clinics in southwestern Virginia. Working with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), he recently co- authored an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association which verified an epidemic of this lethal form of the disease in Central Appalachia and helped to elevate national awareness. ``Mining disasters get monuments, meanwhile black lung deaths get tombstones. And I've seen many a tombstone in the last 28 years from black lung,'' he noted. At a roundtable Ron organized in Wise, Virginia, disabled miners, physicians and lawyers explained how the current black lung adjudication process keeps justice out of teach for fat too many deserving miners and survivors. Ron Carson has been accessible to Members of Congress and provided wise counsel, as well as compassionate and enduring service to his community. He has been recognized by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and his peers in the black lung community. On behalf of out colleagues in the House of Representatives, Congressman Scott and I extend out appreciation for Ron's service to those in need.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. He certainly did. It was remarkable and memorable. I will certainly always remember that great attitude and just all his other great attributes that we heard about tonight.

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for giving me this opportunity. Unlike Mr. Walden, who met him back in 1988, I did not have the opportunity to fall within Ray's orbit until he became the staff director at the Energy and Commerce Committee about 13 months ago that I got to know him. I didn't serve on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, so I never had any opportunity to work with him. I found him absolutely delightful to work with, extremely intelligent, always caring about the issues, passionate about his work, his honesty, and his forthrightness. You could always go and talk with him. Then I was particularly struck when it became clear that he was well aware of the severity of his illness and how he handled that, Mr. Speaker, with courage and grace. But knowing that the Energy and Commerce Committee would be handling and involved with the great issues of the day, he and I had several conversations about how he wanted to continue working and spending time, helping Chairman Walden on these issues, helping the committee, and helping our great country. So to his wife, Kristine, and their children, I thank them for sharing their great American husband, father, and citizen servant. We will all miss Ray Baum.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Walden and Chairman Upton for their cooperation and input. The teams on both sides of the aisle, the chairman of the full committee, and the chairman of the subcommittee have worked really hard to advance this important bill, and I thank them. Hydropower is an essential component of an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We have a tremendous opportunity to expand renewable hydropower production. However, without some much-needed licensing improvements, we risk losing investment opportunities in new hydropower infrastructure. In particular, closed-loop pumped storage hydro projects offer the opportunity to store energy for use when it is needed. In essence, it is a giant natural battery. H.R. 2880, the Promoting Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower Act, establishes an expedited licensing process for these projects. This bill cuts unnecessary red tape that currently accompanies approval of these projects, hindering energy security and job creation. I am excited about the possibility that some are exploring to build these facilities in abandoned mines and/or the coal fields of central Appalachia. As a part of this, H.R. 2880 also requires FERC to hold a workshop to explore the potential opportunities for development of closed-loop projects in abandoned mine sites. I am hopeful this will be a real benefit to our coal field regions in the form of jobs, economic development, and energy security; and I am proud of what we are doing here in an effort to make this happen. If we can repurpose some of these mines or bring jobs in to central Appalachia that don't currently exist, it is an energy region and it is a region that understands the energy issues, and as people want to get rid of coal--I support keeping coal--but all of the above requires we also do hydropower. I urge my colleagues to help us create new jobs in these regions by supporting this bipartisan, commonsense legislation promoting closed- loop hydropower development.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I was absent for today's vote series due to family considerations. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 655 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 656.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to the life of Wesley Lee Fox of Blacksburg, Virginia. Colonel Fox died on November 24, 2017 at the age of 86. He devoted his life to his country and the United States Marine Corps. The many decorations he earned throughout his storied career included the highest military award our country can give, the Medal of Honor. Colonel Fox always sought action throughout his career. Growing up as a farm boy in Virginia, he was inspired to enlist by his cousin's service during World War II. After completing basic training at Parris Island, he fought in Korea and was wounded. The war ended, but he remained in the Marines. When the Vietnam War intensified, Colonel Fox knew he wanted to be on the front lines. He received a temporary commission as second lieutenant and served for a time advising South Vietnamese forces. Eventually he achieved his goal of taking the fight to the enemy by assuming command of a Marine rifle company. On February 22, 1969, Colonel Fox's company came under heavy fire from a larger, hidden enemy force in the A Shau Valley. His company at that time had less than 90 men active out of 240. According to his Medal of Honor citation, he steered the unit into a better position to prepare a plan of attack. Colonel Fox and many of the company's leaders were wounded when it went into action, but he coolly continued to lead his men in the fight. After his company fought off the enemy, Colonel Fox refused medical attention while other wounded Marines were evacuated. In the words of the citation, ``His indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger inspired his marines to such aggressive action that they overcame all enemy resistance and destroyed a large bunker complex.'' After Colonel Fox retired from the Marines in 1993, he served for eight years as Deputy Commandant of Cadets at Virginia Tech. He also wrote three books and spoke regularly with high school classes about his experiences. I had the honor of meeting Colonel Fox at a ceremony recognizing him with the unveiling of a Medal of Honor postage stamp at the Blacksburg Post Office in 2015. Colonel Fox leaves his wife of 56 years, Dotti, his three daughters, and nine grandchildren, as he goes now to rest with the heroes at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the life of James Henry Ford of Martinsville, Virginia. Jim passed away on October 28, 2017. He was a fine man who always had the interests of his community at heart. Jim grew up in Martinsville and made his career practicing law there for 58 years after he studied at Roanoke College and the University of Virginia Law School. As an active member of the Martinsville and Virginia State Bar, he served two terms on the Virginia State Bar Council. I came to know Jim when we served together on the Blue Ridge Boy Scout Council, which covers 21 counties and nine cities in Virginia, in the 1980s and 90s. I greatly respected his contributions as well as his commitment; whenever the council met, he would drive over an hour from Martinsville to Roanoke. This level of dedication was typical of Jim, who found every venue he could to serve the community around him. Along with the Boy Scout Council, he served as president of the Martinsville Jaycees, the YMCA, and the Kiwanis. He helped found and later led the Piedmont Arts Association. As a lifetime member of Martinsville's First Presbyterian Church, he served variously as Deacon, Elder, and Clerk of Session. For many years he served as Chairman of the Martinsville Planning Commission and as Secretary of the United Fund of Martinsville and Henry County. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Patrick Henry Scholarship Fund. Jim garnered honors for his work with these organizations, including the Scout's Silver Beaver Award, the highest award a volunteer can receive at the council level, and the Jaycees' Distinguished Service Award. His service was a gift to the people of Martinsville and its surrounding communities. Our society counts on people like Jim, the men and women who dedicate their time, their resources, and their passion to the places they call home. They do so not in search of monetary gain or the acquisition of power, but out of a sense of duty to their community and joy in improving the lives of their fellow citizens. Jim is survived by his wife Sandra, his daughter Margaret, his son Martin, and his grandchildren Wesley, Sandra, Jimmy, and Charlotte. My thoughts are with them in this difficult time. The Martinsville/Henry County area is diminished by his passing, as we all are.

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, hydropower is an essential component of an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We have a tremendous opportunity to expand renewable hydropower production. However, without some much-needed licensing improvements, we risk losing investment opportunities in new hydropower infrastructure. In particular, closed-loop pumped storage hydro projects offer the opportunity to store energy for use when it is needed. I have introduced separate legislation, H.R. 2880, with the goal of making the review process of these projects as efficient as possible. Both H.R. 3043 and H.R. 2880 will allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to impose licensing conditions only as necessary to protect public safety, or that are reasonable, economically feasible, and essential to protect fish and wildlife resources. I am excited about the possibility some are exploring to build these facilities in abandoned mine lands. This renewable energy solution for power could be a real benefit to our coal field regions in central Appalachia in the form of jobs, economic development, and energy security. I am proud of what we are doing here in an effort to make this happen. Industry and labor groups alike support H.R. 3043 because a modern regulatory framework for hydro is good for jobs and good for consumers. The following groups have written in support of the bill: The American Council on Renewable Energy, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, and many others. Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record the letter containing the names of supporters. November 6, 2017. The undersigned groups are writing to express strong support for H.R. 3043, the Hydropower Policy Modernization Act of 2017, and to request your vote as it is considered on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week. Hydropower is America's single largest provider of renewable electricity, making up almost one-half of all generation from renewable resources. Given that hydropower is an important source of domestic, emissions-free, flexible power needed to ensure consistent and reliable electric service, we must look to preserve and protect our existing hydropower system and promote new expansion opportunities. H.R. 3043 provides a framework that adds accountability and transparency, eliminates inefficiencies and redundancies, and unlocks innovation and advancements in technology and operations, while protecting environmental values, public participation, and all existing authorities of federal and state decision-makers in the licensing process The current regulatory environment is placing hydropower at risk. The licensing process can result in both new and existing projects taking up to ten years or longer to receive their approvals. This not only creates uncertainty for project owners and developers alike, but burdens electricity customers with additional unnecessary costs and only delays important environmental measures that the industry, resource agencies, and the environmental community agreed upon during the licensing process and want to see deployed. Additionally, the fleet of almost 2,200 hydropower projects across the country supports approximately 118,000 ongoing full-time equivalent jobs in operations and maintenance and 25,000 jobs in construction and upgrades. By maintaining our existing fleet and supporting growth in the sector, the hydropower industry could support close to 200,000 jobs. Further local economic development in other industries is also spurred due to access to affordable electricity from hydropower projects. However, we will not realize the full measure of these jobs and economic opportunities without improvements to the licensing process. We believe H.R. 3043 is a moderate proposal developed with bipartisan input and, as such, deserves strong support by both Republicans and Democrats. Please contact any of our organizations for additional information or assistance on this bill. Sincerely, The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), American Public Power Association (APPA), Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), Edison Electric Institute (EEI), International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (Boilermakers), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), Large Public Power Council (LPPC), Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA), National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), National Hydropower Association (NHA), National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), North America Building Trades Council (NABTU), United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (Carpenters).

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues to help us transition the economy in central Appalachian support to the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be modified in the form I have placed at the desk.

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the consideration of what was two amendments that we just merged into one because they went hand- in-glove. My amendment restores critical funding to three additional Appalachian States, the same number of States currently funded by the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, for the reclamation of abandoned mine lands in conjunction with economic and community development and reuse goals. Now, let me explain the program quickly. This was the brainchild of Chairman Rogers a couple of years back, and what the idea was, originally, when they did the Abandoned Mine Land program, you could just restore the land. They came up with the concept in the hard-hit devastated areas of central Appalachia that we should not only allow it to be a restoration of the land, but that that land could be used and looked at as an economic purpose, a reuse the community could use for community development or economic development, and that was important. Funding for these reclamation grants was first established in fiscal year 2016, but it was originally provided only to the three Appalachian States with the greatest amount of unfunded reclamation needs. Unfortunately, that didn't, of course, reach all the States, and so last year, an additional three States were added, those States being Virginia, Ohio, Alabama, the original three being Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. This year, as things were working through, Virginia, Ohio, and Alabama were not currently included. My amendment basically makes sure they are included. We have worked with the team on the Appropriations Committee to word it correctly. We think we have got it worded correctly so that we now have the ability to add in all three States. I think this is important. Folks often say to us: Those of you in coal country, in central Appalachia, need to transition your economy. Well, we can't transition our economy if we have huge blocks of land which we can't use because they are unusable due to prior acts that left them in a condition where we know they need to be reclaimed, but you can't reclaim them looking at economic development. So this is a way to retool. Chairman Rogers came up with it. We would like to extend it to the other States that would be greatly helped by this, the three that I mentioned previously, Ohio, Alabama, and Virginia, and that is what my amendments do. I would ask all to support this amendment to help those areas that are economically devastated in central Appalachia and expand on a program which is already showing signs of success. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. GRIFFITH

Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the life of Mozelle Reynolds Dobyns, who passed away on June 29, 2017 at the age of 102. Mozelle and her late husband Garner were always wonderful people, and they were always giving people. Mozelle loved Republican politics, but she loved her God more. Mozelle was born in a Roanoke County farmhouse in 1915, in a farmhouse without electricity or running water. In an early sign of her tenacity, Mozelle proved wrong the doctors that had told her parents she would not live more than a few days. She attended Andrew Lewis High School in Salem and contributed to the war effort in World War II as a worker at Radford Arsenal. She then worked at Burlington Hosiery Mill until it closed in 1963. Mozelle put her faith first. It guided how she lived and how she cared for others. She attended Ft. Lewis Christian Church in her early years, spent 65 years at Melrose Christian Church, and in 2014 returned to Ft. Lewis. While at Melrose, she served as the first female Elder, as Elder Emeritus, and as Chairman of the Board. She taught Sunday School for decades and worked along with Garner as a counselor for Christian Endeavor, a nondenominational youth group. Generations of young people benefited from her guidance. Mozelle was not expected to live long at birth, but she kept going until near the end of her life. Even at 95 years of age, she still bought groceries for a neighbor. She drove until she was 96, and mowed her own lawn until she was 98. Mozelle lived her life well, and many are better for it. I will miss this good woman, but as her many ``children'' from her Sunday school classes and youth groups will tell you, she always knew her Lord, Jesus Christ.