Ralph Hall

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, it is a great privilege to rise today in honor of a friend and celebrated native of Paris, Texas-- legendary coach Gene ``Bebes'' Stallings who recently was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Coach Stallings embodies the best qualities of a coach, teaching his players not only how to play the game but always to give their best, win or lose. His journey began as a stand-out player at Paris High School and continued at Texas A&M University as a member of Paul ``Bear'' Bryant's famous Junction Boys. During his career at A&M, Gene was part of the team that finished 9-0-1, winning a Southwest Conference Championship in 1956. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor of science in 1957 and later earned an honorary degree from Harding University. After his playing days, Gene arrived at Alabama to be an assistant coach under Head Coach Paul ``Bear'' Bryant. He returned to Texas A&M University as head coach in 1965, coaching there until 1971. One of the most thrilling moments of his tenure as head coach at A&M was leading his alma mater to victory against his former coach at the 1968 Cotton Bowl. For the next 18 years, Gene was a successful coach in the National Football League. For 14 years he served as an assistant coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He was a part of Tom Landry's very successful staff which led the Cowboys to victory in Super Bowl XII. Gene then became the head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals for two years, followed by two more years as head coach for the Phoenix Cardinals. After a very successful tenure as a coach in the National Football League, Gene returned to college football and Alabama in 1990. His first year at Alabama started with a 0-3 record; however, because of his great leadership, his team improved, finishing the season with a 7- 5 record. In 1992, Alabama's dominance began as they finished the season with a 13-0 record, becoming Southeastern Conference champions and winning the national championship against Miami. In 1993, the Crimson Tide won their second straight Southeastern Conference western division title and finished with a record of 9-3-1. In 1994, his team had an 11-0 regular season record. The Crimson Tide lost in the Southeastern Conference title game but defeated Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl. Gene's last year at Alabama was 1996, and his team won 10 games and earned a berth in the Southeastern Conference championship game against Florida. In 1996, Gene announced his retirement from football and completed his career at Alabama with a 70-16-1 record. This astonishing record of achievement led to numerous awards and recognitions. Gene is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas A&M University Hall of Fame, the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame, and the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. He was named National Coach of the Year, American Football Coaches' Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year and received the Paul ``Bear'' Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, he won the Southeastern Conference Coach of the year twice. Gene not only deserves to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame but to be in another Hall of Fame--one that honors great fathers. His son, John Mark, was born with Down syndrome and a severe heart defect and lived to an age, 46, that many doctors felt was impossible. Gene and Ruth Ann, his wife, provided their child with the most love, care and attention ever given to a child. John Mark was born during an era where a child with such a disability was often institutionalized. The Stallings included John Mark in every decision-- family-wise or career-wise, and John Mark was a fixture at every game and practice of all his father's teams. One of Gene's greatest legacies will be the contributions that he and his family made to families with special needs' children. In recognition of his humanitarian efforts, Gene received the Dallas Father of the Year Award, the National Boys Club Alumni of the Year Award, Arthritis Humanitarian Award of Alabama, Humanitarian Award of the Lion's Club of Alabama, and the Paris Boys Club Wall of Honor. The Stallings family was honored by the Tuscaloosa Association of Retarded Citizens as the Family of the Year. Their efforts and generosity toward the Rise program, a program which aids developmentally disabled toddlers for entry into public school and interaction with non-disabled students, were again acknowledged with the naming of the Stallings Building on the Alabama campus. In addition, Gene wrote a book about his son, John Mark. Gene has also served as a valued and esteemed member of President George W. Bush's Commission on Intellectual Disability, the Board of Abilene Christian University, the Tandy Brand Corporation, People's National Bank of Paris, Paris Regional Medical Center, Disability Resources, the Texas Rangers Law Enforcement Association, the Great Southern Wood Corporation, and the Boys and Girls Club of Paris, Texas. In 2005, Governor Rick Perry appointed him to the Texas A&M Board of Regents, where he served as a member of the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Buildings and Physical Plant, and the Committee on Campus Art and Aesthetic. An additional responsibility as a member of the Board of Regents is his place as the special athletic liaison to the A&M Systems Members. As the 111th Congress adjourns this week, I am honored to recognize the contributions of this great football coach and great American--Gene Stallings.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a very robust basic research and yield myself as much time as I may consume. This COMPETES Act is back again. It's been here before, and it's living proof that Billy Graham was right when he said you can hate the sin but love the sinner. I'm fond of Bart Gordon, have worked with him. We're going to miss him when he leaves here. But I've never really liked to have a great bill like COMPETES with so much piled on it, so many hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars piled on it that has never really been debated on either floor. I've stated on this floor a lot of times this year, I remain committed to the goals of the original America COMPETES. Unfortunately, the Senate omnibus language before us today includes a hodgepodge of so many extraneous measures that it is indeed most surprising that we are considering this 5 days before Christmas. Like the House-passed version, it continues to take us off track from what he set out to do, in a bipartisan fashion, more than 5 years ago. In 2007, Congress responded to the recommendations of many experts that the Federal Government must increase its investment in basic research and in science and math education by developing the America COMPETES Act. The principles behind the legislation were sound, bipartisan, and well-understood. When COMPETES first passed, our budget deficit was projected at $160 billion, and the national debt was $8 trillion. Sadly, today, just 3 years later, the deficit's projected not $160 billion but $1.5 trillion, and the national debt is over $13 trillion, a 60 percent increase in less than 3 years. This dramatic collapse in our fiscal condition demands that we get spending under control and work harder than ever to patronize taxpayer dollars. Before I delve into the depths of the bill, let me discuss the process that brought us to this point. The Senate negotiated amongst themselves and hotlined a bill, then passed it via unanimous consent, that is much different than the bill reported out of even the Senate conference committee back in July. The report on that bill was not filed until December 10, and we didn't see the actual text of the amendment before us until last Friday, this past Friday. We still don't have a complete CBO cost estimate. Now as we are under a closed rule, we are considering a measure that the Senate has spoken on; but the House as a body, both Democrats and Republicans alike, are having to either accept or reject the Senate's desire in whole, with no opportunity to offer amendments. This is not the way the American people want us to do their business. They told us in November that they want us to do things differently, and this lame duck Congress is going against those wishes and denying us opportunity to carefully review the items in this $46 billion amendment. Men who are much smarter than me and whom I greatly respect, like Norm Augustine and Peter O'Donnell, Jr., have encouraged me to support this bill. But, Mr. Speaker, it is hard for me to say that I just can't support this version of COMPETES. If this Senate COMPETES amendment is defeated today, I pledge as the incoming chairman of the Science and Technology Committee to reintroduce the good, fiscally responsible pieces of this comprehensive legislation agency by agency and issue by issue, giving each individual piece the opportunity to be reviewed and voted on by every Member. Science and technology are the fundamental movers of our economy, and if we want to remain globally competitive, this bill should be considered in smaller pieces and not on the last day of a lame duck congressional session. Yes, our friends in the Senate have made it a 3-year reauthorization bill, and, yes, they have nearly cut the cost in half; but this $46 billion bill still contains $7.4 billion in new spending. My good friend and chairman of the committee will tell you that the Senate stripped a number of provisions from the version previously passed and trimmed the bill considerably. I, too, think the Senate missed an opportunity to retain some of the House-passed language, particularly language to assist institutions serving our Nation's veterans and those with disabilities, and language to eliminate pay for Federal employees officially disciplined for viewing, downloading, or exchanging pornography on their work computers. Unfortunately, it also does not include two bipartisan interagency bills that passed the House as standalone legislation, bills that would reauthorize our Nation's nanotechnology program and our networking information technology R&D program, NITRD. On the other hand, I am heartened to see that the Senate removed a number of expensive and in many cases duplicative initiatives added by the House both in committee and on the floor: among them energy hubs, a clean energy consortium, never-before-funded STEM programs at the Department of Education, a laboratory science program, and a decades- old infrastructure construction program at the National Science Foundation. Alas, it is the items that they did not remove or have not removed on their own, without our input, that cause me the most heartburn. I still have great concern that we are authorizing ARPA-E to the tune of $900 million. This program was never voted on by the House or Senate outside of a conference report, nor has it ever received appropriate funding outside of the stimulus bill. Yet we are going to authorize $900 million to a program that focuses on late-stage technology development and commercialization activities often already supported by the private sector. The amendment before us also keeps and expands a loan guarantee program to build or renovate science parks and develop ``regional innovation clusters,'' alters the MEP program for NIST to make grants to construction and green energy companies, and puts NSF in the business of replicating university programming for future STEM teachers. Mr. Speaker, correct me if I'm wrong, but America COMPETES is about making this Nation more competitive and ensuring that our basic research agencies have the funding they need to pursue the unknown and scientific and engineering breakthroughs that propel us into the future. It is not about turning these agencies into infrastructure contractors and leaders or oracles, for that matter, who pick winners and losers. As much as I want to support COMPETES and see NSF, NIST, and the DOE Office of Science reauthorized, I simply can't support this version. Just like I stated when the House took up the measure on all three previous occasions, this measure continues to be far too expensive, particularly in light of the new and duplicative programs it creates. Further, we have not had the opportunity to give proper oversight to the programs we put in motion in the first COMPETES before authorizing new, additional programs. And, unfortunately, this bill still goes way beyond the goals and direction of the original America COMPETES, taking us from good, solid fundamental research and much too far into the world of commercialization, which many of us on this side of the aisle do not believe is the proper role of the Federal Government. I want to again thank Bart Gordon for the good services he's rendered and for the good service he'll render as a civilian over in the great State of Tennessee. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I say to my colleague who will be working side by side with me for the next 2 years, my neighbor from Dallas and Rockwall County, that I appreciate her, look forward to working with her. She was the very first person, when I switched parties, to call me and say it didn't matter one iota to her. I've always appreciated her for that, and I still do and I will. And thank you, Dr. Ehlers, a man who's always educated for us. That's his thrust, and he's done a good job. But for him, we'd have gone the wrong way a lot of times. I now yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun).

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield the lady 2 more minutes.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield the gentleman 2 minutes.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I reiterate that I remain committed to the underlying goals of the America COMPETES Act, and believe that we ought to continue to prioritize investments in basic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--STEM research and development. These long-term investments, coupled with policies that reduce tax burdens, streamline Federal regulations, and balance the Federal budget are necessary steps for our Nation to remain competitive in the global marketplace. I hope my colleagues will join with me in seeking to do just that when the 112th Congress convenes. In the meantime, I thank everybody involved; but for the reasons I have previously outlined, I must regretfully oppose this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American family, and a fallen hero and his brother. On July 5, 2010, Combat Medic SPC Jerod Heath Osborne of Royce, Texas of the 4/73 82nd Airborne, died during an IED explosion in Afghanistan. In his short life he was a combat medic, an Angel on the Battlefield, the ones who rush in while all around the face of hell is going on. The lives that he has saved in his brief but great life will be measured in the future, with children and heroes that he has saved. His brother, a SSG in the 22nd Infantry, on September 21 of that same year almost died in a mortar attack and is currently fighting to save his leg. This family, throughout the generations, has served our nation in the Armed Forces. The very bed of our Nation's freedom is built upon selfless families, our prayers and thoughts go out to them. SSG Grillett has said that his brother Jerod always wanted to be just like him, but now he wants to be like his brother. Brother . . . Brother . . . Brother . . . Brother . . . My . . . My Brother's Gift . . . So very precious, as was this . . . My Brother's Faith, shall forever so wave . . . My Brothers life, one of such so sure selfless sacrifice . . . All in his amazing grace . . . My Brothers life, so very short . . . yet shines so bright! Moments, are all we have! To grab hearts, To Make A Difference . . . to Heaven rise! As an Angel on The Battlefield . . . As into the face of death Jerod, you so ran . . . and not to yield. . . . To but so save sacred life, as was your mission . . . as was his most divine light! From dusk to dawn, as a battlefield combat medic your courage worn! As all around you Jerod, the face of death so swarmed! And what child may be born? All from your love Jerod, upon battlefields of honor adorned! That might so save the world, who now lives on . . . And all those lives you saved, just moments from the grave . . . And what children, all on this morning will awake? With but the greatest gift of all, in their hearts to take! With a Mother or Father, a Sister or Brother whose fine lives you saved . . . Brother . . . Brother, oh how it's for you I cry! A promise I've made, as I wipe these tears from my eyes! That I will live for you, each and every new day, every sunrise! To the fullest! All in your fine name! And if ever I have a new son, your name will be his . . . this one! Brother . . . Brother . . . I am so very proud of you! All in what you have done . . . oh yes it's true! Only the good die young, as now you shine all up in Heaven's sun! As an Angel In The Army of our Lord, with your new battle begun! To watch over us, as Thy Will Be Done! Brother . . . Brother . . . All across Texas this night . . . As we lay our heads down to rest, as comes a gentle rain . . . As upon us, are but our Lord's tears to wash over us . . . And so bless us, to so ease our pain! As he cries for your most sacred sacrifice, this rain . . . Brother . . . Brother . . . I can not wait until up in Heaven we meet again. . . . And we won't have to cry anymore, all in this pain . . . Brother, Brother, once you so wanted to be just like me . . . Now, I'm the one who so wants . . . to be like you! Brother . . . Brother . . . Amen. . . .

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American family, and a fallen hero and his brother. On July 5, 2010, Combat Medic SPC Jerod Heath Osborne of Royce, Texas, of the 4/73 82nd Airborne, died during an IED explosion in Afghanistan. In his short life he was a combat medic, an Angel on the Battlefield, the ones who rush in while all around the face of hell is going on. The lives that he has saved in his brief but great life will be measured in the future, with children and heroes that he has saved. His brother SSG Wautash Grillett of the 10th Mountain Div. 1st Combat Team 2nd Batt. 22nd Infantry, on September 21 of that same year almost died in a mortar attack and is currently fighting to save his leg. This family, throughout the generations, has served our nation in the Armed Forces. As recently as the Vietnam war, their uncle James Carter gave his life in the name of freedom. The very bed of our Nation's freedom is built upon selfless families, our prayers and thoughts go out to them. SGG Grillett has said that his brother Jerod always wanted to be just like him, but now he wants to be like his brother. Brother . . . Brother . . . Brother . . . Brother . . . My . . . My Brother's Gift . . . So very precious, as was this . . . My Brother's Faith, shall forever so wave . . . My Brother's life, one of such so sure selfless sacrifice . . . All in his amazing grace . . . My Brother's life, so very short . . . yet shines so bright! Moments, are all we have! To grab hearts, To Make A Difference . . . to Heaven rise! As an Angel on The Battlefield . . . As into the face of death Jerod, you so ran . . . and not to yield . . . To but so save sacred life, as was your mission . . . as was his most divine light! From dusk to dawn, as a battlefield combat medic your courage worn! As all around you Jerod, the face of death so swarmed! And what child may be born? All from your love Jerod, upon battlefields of honor adorned! That might so save the world, who now lives on . . . And all those lives you saved, just moments from the grave . . . And what children, all on this morning will awake? With but the greatest gift of all, in their hearts to take! With a Mother or Father, a Sister or Brother whose fine lives you saved . . . Brother . . . Brother, oh how it's for you I cry! A promise I've made, as I wipe these tears from my eyes! That I will live for you, each and every new day, every sunrise! To the fullest! All in your fine name! And if ever I have a new son, your name will be his . . . this one! Brother . . . Brother . . . I am so very proud of you! All in what you have done . . . oh yes it's true! Only the good die young, as now you shine all up in Heaven's sun! As an Angel In The Army of our Lord, with your new battle begun! To watch over us, as Thy Will Be Done! Brother . . . Brother . . . All across Texas this night . . . As we lay our heads down to rest, as comes a gentle rain . . . As upon us, are but our Lord's tears to wash over us . . . And so bless us, to so ease our pain! As he cries for your most sacred sacrifice, this rain . . . Brother . . . Brother . . . I cannot wait until up in Heaven we meet again . . . And we won't have to cry anymore, all in this pain . . . Brother, Brother, once you so wanted to be just like me . . . Now, I'm the one who so wants . . . to be like you! Brother . . . Brother . . . Amen . . .

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3729, the NASA Authorization Act, and I yield myself such time as I may require. Let me begin by commending the Science Committee chairman, Bart Gordon; Space Subcommittee chairwoman, Gabrielle Giffords; and subcommittee ranking member, Pete Olson, for their tireless efforts conducting oversight on NASA's programs and performance. During the 111th Congress, they held 13 hearings before either the subcommittee or full committee that thoroughly examined NASA in all its aspects. During the second session especially, they helped our committee better understand the full impact of the administration's proposal to revamp our Nation's human spaceflight program. The bill we're about to vote on is a 3-year NASA authorization that was reported by the Senate in early August. In many respects, this bill shares features similar to H.R. 5781, introduced by Chairman Gordon and cosponsored by the committee's leadership. Both bills are fairly similar in their treatment of NASA's aeronautics research and space science programs, and they authorize at the same agency top-line number. They do, however, diverge with regard to the future of NASA's human spaceflight program. The House bill passed out of the Science and Technology Committee with almost unanimous bipartisan support. This was a good bill that keeps NASA on course to develop a new crew exploration vehicle, with safety a top priority. Unfortunately, this bill never made it to the floor for a vote. So, in the past few weeks, Chairman Gordon sought to reach an agreement with the Senate on a compromise bill that would bridge the differences. It is now clear that time has run out and that we have very few days remaining to advance a NASA authorization bill through this Congress. I see no realistic choice but to take the Senate bill because doing so will be preferable to taking no action at all. As many of you know, this administration has taken unprecedented steps regarding NASA that has resulted in massive layoffs and created a great deal of uncertainty within the agency and in many of our communities. Without congressional approval or authorization, they have reversed the direction given by the two preceding Congresses and proposed throwing away over $10 billion and 5 years of design investment on the successor vehicle to the shuttle. The administration offered instead no substantive plans to provide a U.S.-built launch system that would be capable of taking astronauts to the international space station and put off even planning to go beyond the international space station until the year 2015. In short, the administration's proposal would have added several years of development and unknown cost before the U.S. would be able to fly astronauts on a new NASA launch system. We find this unacceptable. The bill before us today seeks to remedy many of the problems created by this administration. It authorizes the immediate development on a heavy lift launch vehicle capable of going beyond the ISS. It advances further development of commercial cargo capabilities to service the ISS, a development that Congress has supported since the year 2005, and provides $1.3 billion to begin the development of commercial crew systems. And through the development of a heavy lift launcher, it provides a backup system to the ISS in case the commercial providers or our international partners do not meet stated goals. One thing the House bill called for was a crew escape launch abort system, and we will need to exercise extensive oversight of NASA next year to ensure that such vitally important safety aspects are not overlooked or neglected by NASA. It is also important to note that the annual authorizations in this bill are below the amount authorized for FY 2009 in our last NASA bill. Given that our Nation is in a tough economic climate, it is important that we are mindful of our spending. During hearings this spring before the House Science Committee, three former Apollo astronauts, three giants--Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, and Tom Stafford--implored Congress to retain American leadership in space by maintaining continuity and certainty in NASA's role as manager of our space exploration programs. All three opposed the administration's efforts, and they are supportive of passing a bill that advances our Nation forward. While the bill before us today is far from perfect, it offers clear direction to an agency that is floundering and sets us on the path toward maintaining America's leadership in space. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, Congressman Olson, who is the ranking member on the Space Subcommittee.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California, the Honorable Mr. Rohrabacher, a very valuable member of the Science Committee.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. HALL of Texas

Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I inadvertently voted ``nay'' on H.R. 3940, rollcall vote 565. I intended to vote ``yea.''