Ralph Hall

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Mary Sue Alexander, a lifelong resident of Greenville, Texas, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 90. Born in Greenville, Texas to Ed. B. Williams Sr. and Susie Lee Joiner, Mrs. Alexander found meaning in her family, her community, and her faith. She married her husband of 38 years, Sam Reeves Alexander, on June 5, 1937, and they had two daughters. In her community, Mrs. Alexander was a member of the Junior Palace Club and the Dirtdobbers Garden Club. She enjoyed entertaining, cooking, and participated in two bridge clubs. Mrs. Alexander was a loyal member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Greenville for 79 years. She is survived by her two daughters, Patricia DeVeny and Sue Ann Harting, former mayor of Greenville; three grandchildren, Dianne DeVeny, David DeVeny, and Alexandra Alexander; one great-granddaughter, Shannon Nicole DeVeny; one sister, Rosabel Warren; and many nieces and nephews. Mrs. Alexander was beloved by her family and many friends, and I join them today in paying our last respects to this wonderful woman, Mrs. Mary Sue Alexander.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I stand here to speak on this bill. I have some misgivings about it. But I intend to vote for this bill. I can't vote against this bill because it benefits people that have served this country and that have suffered for this country. And I have never, in the 28 years I have been here, voted for a bill that affected adversely any veteran or any person that stood up for this country, and I admire and respect Mr. Skelton, the author of this bill. I disagree with the way he has funded it and want to point that out. I would also point out that I have a letter addressed to Mr. Skelton. He has not had the time to receive it because this bill was introduced yesterday, and it is on the floor today. That is a little hasty. But this is an important bill, and it is a bill that needs to be passed. But I'm torn today as I rise to speak on H.R. 2990. On the one hand, I support the revisions in the bill, retired pay benefits for Reserve members and compensation and benefits for servicemembers. But where I'm torn is how the chairman, my good friend, Mr. Skelton, chose to pay for the compensation and benefits provided under the bill. I will first point out that this is a bill for the veterans, and this is a bill for those that probably without this bill would not have the assistance that they need, that they deserve and that they are entitled to. I would also say that as a veteran of World War II, and probably one of about four or five on this floor still here, five or six over in the Senate, there are not very many of us left, but I take no backseat to anybody in supporting veterans. I have a veterans' hospital that my predecessor, Sam Rayburn, provided and benefited. And I have had the pleasure of walking in a mass of walkathons to preserve that hospital, from Bonham, Texas, where Mr. Rayburn lived, to Dallas, to protest cuts in it, as anybody here would. Anybody on this floor has to support the purpose of this bill, which is for those that are suffering. The major desire of those that have served in any war is that no other generation would have to fight such a war and that we remove the causes of war. And probably the greatest duty of a Member of Congress is to prevent a war. And how do you prevent a war? You prevent a war by removing the causes of it. And energy itself, or the lack of it, has been the cause of most wars that I know anything about. Japan didn't hate this country. Japan loved this country. But our country had cut off their access to oil. They had 13 months' national existence. We had to know that Japan would break out somewhere. That was a war over energy, not the hatred of the United States of America. Twelve or fourteen years ago, George Bush, Senior, sent 450,000 of our troops over to Kuwait. That was not a battle for the emir of Kuwait. We don't care anything at all about the emir of Kuwait. That was to keep a bad guy, Saddam Hussein, from getting his foot on half the known mineral reserves and energy of that area over there. That was a war for energy. So I have a bill that I passed. I passed it as a Democrat once, it failed, it didn't get through. I passed it as a Republican with Democratic and Republican support. It passed this body. The chairman, Ike Skelton, voted for it at the time. And that bill is now underway. And I want to say a few words about that bill because I think you're entitled to know, and I'm very hopeful that the other body will look closely at this. And I'm going to be working toward that. I haven't had the time or the opportunity to work toward it, and neither did I have the incentive to do anything to kill this bill. I urge everybody within the sound of my voice to vote for this bill and to commend Ike Skelton for his leadership and his devotion to the men and women that fight for this country and care for this country. I think unfortunately regarding this bill, he chose to redirect the funds which by law, Public Law 109-58, a law that passed the House 275- 156, a law that Chairman Skelton voted for, are reserved for the Ultra- Deepwater and Unconventional Onshore Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Research and Development Program, also known as section 999. Now the hard, cold facts about it that brought that bill into being was that we can get energy up from the coastal waters. We can get it up to around 80 or 90, 900 feet. And this bill, without the technology, could not get it to the surface where we could benefit from it. But we knew that the energy was there. And we knew that technology was there. And the bill I introduced is not an energy bill nor a technology bill. It puts the two together. And it pays universities, and there are 26 universities in this country, and I'm going to mention some of those in a few minutes, that stepped forward, that are working within this bill and have put 3 years work into it. I just think that we need to remember section 999. It has achieved a lot since its enactment. It passed, and it passed the bill. It was in the bill that we passed, what, a year and a half ago, a consortium that administers the program has grown to achieve over 140 entities in 28 States, including 26 universities. Those 26 universities, I'm not going to recite all those universities, they are available and people know where they are and which they are, but I do want to point out just some of the universities: MIT--this is a list of them here--MIT; Florida International University; Louisiana State University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mississippi State University. It goes on down: Rice University; Texas A&M; Texas Tech; Universities of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Tulsa, Utah, Alaska-Fairbanks, Houston, Michigan, South Carolina, Southern California, West Virginia, and West Virginia State. Those are just some of the many institutions that are working within the confines of the bill that we passed. The consortium has awarded dozens of projects. These are underway. If you divert this money from this bill to support the bill that Mr. Skelton has, these are the things that you're knocking out, an effort to find energy for 100 years that this country needs, that would prevent us from having to pay foreign agents, Arab nations that we don't trust and don't trust us, those millions and trillions of dollars could stay here in this country. And the consortium has awarded dozens of projects, including 43 research projects currently underway, with a total project value of nearly $60 million. Also, Madam Speaker, the value of the projects over and above the amount of annual funding for the projects, $37,500,000 was achieved because industry believes in the value of the program and has invested substantially in it, a testament to the work that the program has achieved to date. These projects were selected on a competitive basis from over 180 proposals totaling nearly $415 million. This program is underway and the projects awarded by the consortium include components that benefit dozens of universities throughout the country. In fact, the research and development projects undertaken through the program have included the participation of nearly 1,500 energy researchers from coast to coast. These are not the majors. These are little people. These are for little people. These are for the American people. These are to prevent a war in the future by providing the energy of today. Nearly 80 percent of the awards made through the section 999 program have gone to universities, nonprofit organizations, national laboratories, and State institutions. Program awards have created high-tech and innovative domestic jobs. The National Energy Technology Laboratory has estimated that the awards would create 1,300 job years from research alone. All the while, Madam Speaker, the research projects are aiding the development of cleaner, safer, and more environmentally responsible domestic energy sources, and yes, hundreds of years of energy that is there, we can bring to the top now that we couldn't before. We get the technology. It doesn't cost the taxpayers anything. We pay for the energy we get by the technology that gives us the ability to bring it up, ability we didn't have--we couldn't get the energy. With that technology, we can get that energy, and that is the thing that really breaks my heart to see us kill a program that is underway and is working. It is hundreds of years of energy. I want to just point out one other thing. Section 999 does just the type of research that the Secretary of Energy, the Honorable Steven Chu, feels that the Federal Government should be supporting, as he stated in a hearing earlier this year as he testified before the House Science and Technology Committee. So this is a bill that is a wonderful bill. For the purpose of the bill, I support it. I'm going to vote for it. I urge everybody else to vote for it. But I urge you to work and look forward and find out for yourself the funds that are being utilized to take its place, already underway successfully and producing for us, not to throw it aside. There are surely other areas that we can find. And I will join Mr. Skelton in that, as this thing goes to conference, if it goes to conference, or as it works its way through the other body. I thank you, and I thank Chairman Skelton.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2647, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010: Requesting Member: Congressman Ralph M. Hall Bill Number: H.R. 2647, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 Account: RDAF Legal Name of Requesting Entity: L-3 Communications Integrated Systems Address of Requesting Entity: 10001 Jack Finney Boulevard, Greenville, TX 75403 Description of Request: I have secured $2,500,000 for the Rivet Joint Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems. Funding for this project will fully implement the RC-135 SOA, which will ensure full RIVET JOINT integration in the ISR Enterprise, thus meeting USAF/DoD/DNI requirements for making ISR data and information discoverable, accessible, and to enable information sharing. RIVET JOINT requires continuous, current access to other ISR nodes, databases, and special processing to accomplish current and projected missions. At the same time, the ISR Enterprise will benefit greatly from RC-135 provision of ISR services, both intra- and post- mission. This will be achieved by building on current ongoing RC-135 ground systems, extending the number and performance of ISR services available through these systems, and fully meeting USAF/DoD/DNI SOA tenets. I certify that neither I nor my spouse has any financial interest in this project.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2847, FY2010 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010: Requesting Member: Congressman Ralph M. Hall Bill Number: H.R. 2847, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. Account: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Texas Tech University Address of Requesting Entity: 19th and University Avenue, Mail Stop 2131, Lubbock, TX -79404 Description of Request: I have secured $1,000,000 for the Engineering Support For Extended Human and Robotic Space Flight Missions with Texas Tech University at Abilene. Funding for this project will contribute directly to NASA's initiative of returning to the moon and further exploring Mars. For human and robotic missions, the center for Space Sciences is addressing the need for a decrease reliance on mission control due to the communication delays that occur in long distance missions. For human missions the center is also addressing the need for greater autonomy in dealing with the physical needs of the astronauts, including long term water recycling, which currently limits the habitation period possible without re-supply, and the ergonomics and human factors aspect of human performance in zero and reduced gravity environments. The major research areas will include recyclable/ renewable water resources, autonomous/renewable control systems and ergonomics/human factors crew support. This project supports the space flight industry and related programs throughout Texas. I certify that neither I nor my spouse has any financial interest in this project.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute to Frank Eikenburg of Dallas, TX, devoted member of the Republican Party and my good friend, who passed away June 4th at the age of 64. Mr. Eikenburg was a respected member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1980 until he chose not to seek re-election in 1984. He was a respected leader in the Republican Party, and his contributions to the State were generous. He was known as a kind and honest man, unafraid to stand up for his beliefs. He was always able to find the humor in life. Along with his service to the State of Texas in the Texas House of Representatives, Mr. Eikenburg was appointed by Governor Bill Clements to serve on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles from 1989 until 1991. He spent the later years of his life as a political consultant, striving to uphold the conservative values he believed would make the country a better place. Born July 7, 1944 in Wellington, TX, the son of Frank and Margaret Eikenburg, Mr. Eikenburg was a true Texan born and bred. He grew up in Dallas where he graduated in 1962 from Woodrow Wilson High School and obtained his Bachelor's degree from what is now Texas Tech University in 1966. His passion to serve his country, along with his leadership ability, was shown in his early years through his service in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in 1967. He is survived by his daughter Constance Emily Eikenburg of Dallas, two sisters Madelyn Brooks of Dallas and Livonia Gay Glaves of Houston, sisters-in-law Elizabeth Eikenburg and Beth Eikenburg, and many nieces and nephews. He leaves behind a legacy of service and commitment to conservative principles, and I ask those here today to join me in remembering this outstanding American, Mr. Frank Eikenburg.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I am honored to introduce Dr. Bruce Hargrave, a pastor and friend from my hometown--Rockwall, TX--who offered the Opening Prayer today. Dr. Hargrave currently serves as Vice President of Development for the United Methodist Theological Seminary in Moscow, Russia. From 2003 to 2008, he was the Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Rockwall. During his time there and with his help, the church increased its mission initiatives, including developing in conjunction with the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry, the construction of the only United Methodist Seminary on the continent of Africa. His effective pastoral work over the past 38 years is evident in the success of the churches he has led, all showing growth in membership and attendance, as well as an increase in giving to missions. Along with his pastoral work, Dr. Hargrave worked for the Garland, TX, Community Hospital Psychiatric and Addiction Medicine Unit from 1993 to 1997. While there he served as Director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic for Tenet Health Corporation and Hunt County Family Services in Greenville, TX, as well as Provider Relations Director and Associate Clinical Supervisor. Dr. Hargrave received a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy from Dallas Baptist University. He earned his Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX, before completing his education at Luther-Rice University in Lithonia, Georgia with a Doctorate of Ministry in Administration. Dr. Hargrave's faith in God is reflected in his career, one which has been spent in service to the betterment of others. I am honored to welcome Dr. Bruce Hargrave today as our guest Chaplain in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, at this time of economic turmoil and of growing international technological competitiveness, it seems to me that America should be funding those things that advance our capabilities and that increase our standing in the world. As ranking member of the House Science and Technology Committee, I've always felt that NASA has done more to advance America's technological leadership than any other Federal agency, and this bill presently reduces NASA's funding in human spaceflight at a very critical time. The House Appropriations' reduction of $670 million in exploration systems represents a reduction of 17 percent from the President's FY 2010 budget request. With NASA on a path to retire the space shuttle after only eight more flights, America needs to rapidly develop the next generation of spacecraft. The $670 million reduction would have prevented NASA from completing the Constellation system before March 2015. In fact, because this reduction would occur in the peak design year when staffing is at its highest, NASA estimates that the work stoppages, inefficiencies and loss of key skills and capabilities would delay the Constellation program by as much as 2 years from that time. Moreover, the cut in exploration funding would increase costs by as much as $8 billion to the program, and it would reduce the Constellation workforce by more than 20 percent in 2010, or by approximately 4,000 contractors, mostly from the existing workforce. During this gap in human spaceflight capability, America must buy seats from the Russians to get to the International Space Station and fulfill our obligations to our international partners. I am really encouraged that Chairman Mollohan, though, and Ranking Member Frank Wolf are working to mitigate this loss. I am grateful to them, and I thank them both for the colloquy.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I, of course, rise today in support of H.R. 356, expressing support for the designation of February 8, 2010, as ``Boy Scouts of America Day'' to honor the Nation's largest Scouting organization's 100th anniversary. Congressman Chaffetz has done a very good job of pointing out the history of the Scouts in America. It dates way back to 1910, when it was first incorporated for the purpose of providing educational programs for boys and young adults to build their character, train them in the responsibilities of being a participating citizen, and developing personal fitness. By the end of 1912, Scouts were enrolled in every State of the Union, which helped the Scouts obtain their Federal charter from Congress in 1916. Boy Scouts of America endeavors to develop young men who are physically, mentally, and emotionally fit and who have a high degree of self-reliance. Boy Scouts provides instructions on America's social, economic, and governmental systems and inspires young men to take pride in their American heritage and to understand the Nation's role in the world. Boy Scouts respect the basic rights of all people and are encouraged to participate in and provide leadership for their communities. I want to recognize John Jarvis from Texarkana, Texas, who is a Scout leader with the Caddo Area Council and a member of Troop 16. John originally brought this resolution to my attention and has worked with me to bring this to the House floor today. I also recognize Tim Hetchs for his assistance on this bill. And I want to thank my colleagues for cosponsoring the resolution, many of whom were Boy Scouts. Several of our colleagues in Congress have participated in Scouting, including President Ford, as was pointed out by Congressman Lynch. I ask my colleagues in the House to join us in support of H. Res. 356, in recognition of the many contributions of the Boy Scouts of America to our Nation.

Mr. HALL of Texas

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

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by Representative Shadegg of Arizona. The amendment requires the interagency committee to identify areas of duplication, and I don't like that word ``duplication'' at all. And it recommends to the President ways to avoid such duplication. The amendment also calls on the President to ensure the Federal agencies do not pursue activities already being conducted by States, localities, and tribal units. And duplication spawns red tape, and the best example of red tape I can think of is Wilbur and Orville Wright's first airplane was a page- and-a-half handwritten contract, and the Osprey, the tilt wing that is one of the most modern airplanes today, just the paperwork on that weighs around 20,000 pounds. That's how bad red tape can actually get. I think it's a commonsense amendment here that carries out the underlying goal of the bill. One of the main purposes behind creating the interagency program was to reduce duplication across agencies thereby streamlining efforts and saving taxpayers dollars. It makes no sense in these economic times for fellow agencies to duplicate effort in Washington and makes even less sense for them to duplicate activities already taking place in our States and local communities. I commend the gentleman in offering the amendment, and I urge its passage.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition. Though I'm not totally opposed to it, I'd like to make a statement.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, it's my understanding that the purpose of the National Water Research and Development Initiative was to streamline, organize and coordinate Federal water research and development efforts. Although I support the underlying premise of the gentleman's amendment, I think it's duplicative of legislation we've already passed. A little more than 2 months ago, this body passed H.R. 631, the Water Use Efficiency and Conservation Act offered by Mr. Matheson of Utah under a suspension of the rules by a voice vote. Because this Matheson bill has not been passed by the Senate, I think we can work through this bill, and I withhold any opposition to this amendment with the understanding that I already know the gentleman, and have worked with him for a lot of years. I know we can work through any problems that we have with it. So, with that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I have some reservations about it, but they're reservations I think that we can work as it goes through and on through the conference committee. I appreciate this amendment, and I do not object to the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by Representative Moore of Wisconsin. This amendment requires the interagency committee to assess the role of Federal water research funding in helping to develop scientists and engineers at colleges and universities. One of the goals of the Water Research Initiative is to facilitate technology transfer, communication, and opportunities for exchange with nongovernmental organizations, such as institutions of higher education. Developing collaborative opportunities with colleges and universities will hopefully increase the quality of the research and development of water solutions, but also spur students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math careers, and we are very much in favor of that. It is vital for the future success and competitiveness of our Nation that we encourage more and more students to pursue these exciting fields. We know that more and more nations are graduating large numbers of scientists and engineers. If we are to remain the leader in innovation and entrepreneurial development, then we need to invest in the young men and women who will design and build tomorrow's solutions. Representative Moore's amendment simply requires that we examine how water research funding is helping to meet our science and engineering education needs. I support the gentlelady's intent and her amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment. Actually, this amendment seeks, as the gentleman has expressed, to return us to the original purpose of the bill by focusing on the duplication that exists among Federal agencies involved in water research efforts and attempting to streamline these efforts. I think we always have to be good stewards of the taxpayers' dollars as we work through legislation up here. I support the amendment because I believe it's a good amendment, and it's looking after the taxpayers, and I urge my colleagues to join me.

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

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise not in opposition, but to make a statement about the amendment.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I have some question about it, but I don't think I have a question I want to propound to you because we have discussed it. And your amendment would add to the growing list of research outcomes, the improvement of understanding of competing water supply uses and how different uses interact with each other and impact each other. And I know you understand that, and we've discussed it. I would ask whether or not it means using water for irrigation is competing with industrial uses or the ecosystem management, like releasing large volumes of water from dams competing with the use of water for electricity generation or recreational activities. And we've had some of that at Lake Texoma in my district. But as we go through and this goes on to the Senate and we have conference committees, and I know you've always been willing to explain your position, and we'll work together on that. So I'm satisfied with the bill, and I would hope that we pass the bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment. I think this amendment is very important to ensure that we assess water supply and water needs for communities and we keep in mind the industries and businesses that employ the folks in these communities. We don't believe the bill should be about pitting one water user against another, but rather it should help to ensure enough water for all users by focusing on new methods and technologies for conservation and efficiency. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the gentleman from Washington's amendment. Potential reservoirs and new hydropower should continue to play a major part in our water and energy supplies. As areas of the country struggle with water shortages or increasing demands on the water supply, we have to be willing to be creative in the ways we address water use and water storage problems. This is a thoughtful amendment and an improvement to the bill. I commend Mr. Hastings for his leadership on this effort.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I am not opposed to the amendment, I recommend its passage, and I yield back my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, though I do not oppose it.