Dave Hobson

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, that is correct. Section 130 limits the ability of the Army to prepare documents having to do with the transfer of land at Fort Ord that is planned for housing development.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to present the House recommendation for the military construction appropriations bill for fiscal year 2003. This legislation provides funds for many types of construction projects on military installations here in the United States and abroad. Projects range from barracks and housing to urban assault training ranges and runways. I want to particularly thank my ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), for his help in producing this bipartisan bill. I also want to thank the committee on both sides of the aisle and the staff on both sides of the aisle. We have worked together in unison to produce a bipartisan bill. In my opinion, the projects included in this bill are vital to the security of the United States, especially at this time. Equally important, the project contributes to the health and safety of the troops and their families and the quality of life and their training. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH27JN02.006 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH27JN02.007 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH27JN02.008 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH27JN02.009 Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, we hope we have completed within our time allotment to preserve our win of previous years, and that is only due to the cooperation of all the Members. So I am not going to talk anymore because I may overstay my time.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will yield, we are prepared to accept the amendment.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the bill through page 22, line 7, be considered as read, printed in the Record, and open to amendment at any point.

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

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to make these changes, especially for such a worthwhile project.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, clearly the Military Construction, Army National Guard account is a project that plans and designs an aviation support facility at the Fort Stewart/Hunter Army airfield in Georgia, which I might add I have landed at. The amount listed in the report is $1,158,000; however, the amount actually required for the project is $1,580,000. Unfortunately, an error was made in the report that we plan to rectify as this legislation moves forward. The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), the ranking member of the subcommittee, agrees this correction is necessary.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be able to assist the gentleman on this matter. Affordable housing is a critical issue, not just at Fort Ord but around the country. Where valuable assets are being given outright to communities as they are under base closure circumstances, those assets ought to be used in a manner that best benefits that community and are not simply sold to the highest bidder. These are never easy issues because it means discord between Federal and local governments, but I commend the gentleman for confronting this difficult matter. I too am confident that it will be resolved in such a way that more affordable homes will soon be made available at Fort Ord.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 5011 and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Dr. John L. Henderson, who, for the past 14 years, has served as the president of Wilberforce University, which is located in Greene County, Ohio in the 7th Congressional District. On June 30th, Dr. Henderson will be retiring after a distinguished career in which he served at Wilberforce and in leadership positions at Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati, Sinclair Community College and Cincinnati Technical College. He also has taught education, counseling and psychology courses since 1966. Dr. Henderson's tenure at Wilberforce has been marked by many accomplishments, not the least of which is the institution's physical growth. Some of the major facilities constructed during his tenure include: a health and wellness center, a gymnasium/student activities center, new dormitories, a communications center and a new administration building. As a former member of the Wilberforce Board of Trustees, I have always found Dr. Henderson to be a dedicated educator and administrator, and a true advocate for the students and faculty at Wilberforce. His professional demeanor and extensive experience in Ohio's outstanding system of higher education have always made it a pleasure to work with Dr. Henderson and I have been privileged to have been able to work on the school's behalf in the Ohio State Senate and in Congress. Dr. Henderson's comprehensive knowledge of higher education has been recognized with his selection to leadership positions in numerous educational organizations. He is a member of: the Board of Directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Council of Independent Colleges and Universities, the National Commission of Cooperative Education, the Council of Presidents of The College Fund/United Negro College Fund, Minorities in Mathematics, Science and Engineering and the Givat Haviva Educational Foundation that oversees the education of college students in Israel. Most recently, President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Henderson to serve on the President's Advisory Council on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Dr. Henderson received his bachelor's degree from the Hampton Institute in 1955, and his Master's degree in Education in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Henderson continued his studies at the University of Cincinnati and received his Doctorate of Education in Counselor Education. As Ohio's Seventh District Representative to the Congress of the United States, I take this opportunity to publicly recognize Dr. Henderson and his achievements on behalf of Wilberforce University. His many contributions to the educational growth of the nation's oldest privately funded historically black co-educational institution of higher learning are noteworthy and I thank him for his service.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Ohio state flag, which is officially and affectionately known as the Ohio burgee because of its unique swallowtail design. The Buckeye State is the only state in the union to have a flag that isn't rectangular, which is fitting, since Ohio is unlike any other state. Cuyahoga County resident John Eisenmann designed the burgee and then transferred his rights and interests in the flag to the State of Ohio. He received a U.S. patent for his design in 1901 and the Ohio Legislature officially adopted it on May 9, 1902. Mr. Eisenmann, an accomplished architect, may have been inspired by the shapes of the guidons carried by the U.S. cavalry. The flag was intended to be first flown from the Ohio building at the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, a circumstance which also may also have contributed to its unusual shape. Mr. Eisenmann also designed the Cleveland Arcade; was instrumental in the effort to construct the Perry Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-In-Bay, and authored Cleveland's first comprehensive building code. The flag's large blue triangle represents Ohio's hills and valleys, and the stripes represent roads and waterways. The 13 stars grouped about the circle represent the original states of the union; the 4 stars added to the peak of the triangle symbolize that Ohio was the 17th state admitted to the union. The white circle with its red center not only represents the ``O'' in Ohio, but also suggests Ohio's famous nickname of ``The Buckeye State.'' For 100 years, the Ohio burgee has been one of the most instantly recognizable symbols of the State of Ohio. It has flown beside Old Glory on thousands of flagpoles and been carried in parades celebrating our independence, noteworthy events in state history, even at the head of columns of Ohio troops returning from conflicts overseas. As we look forward to the upcoming Centennial of Flight celebration in Dayton and the state Bicentennial in 2003, I encourage all Ohioans to proudly display their Ohio burgee on its 100th anniversary.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor General Thomas A. Schwartz, the outgoing Commander of United States Forces in Korea, and to share my hearty congratulations on his well-deserved retirement after 35 years of distinguished service to our country in the United States Army. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, General Schwartz graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1967 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry. He holds master's degrees in Education, Personal Management, and National Security and Strategic Studies from Duke University, Salve Regina and the Naval War College. His military schooling includes the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Ranger School, Armor Officer Advanced Course, Armed Forces Staff College and the Naval War College. General Schwartz is a distinguished combat veteran of the Vietnam War, where he served as a platoon leader and a company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division earning the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. He subsequently commanded the 4th Infantry Division and completed several peacetime tours in Korea including posts as assistant chief of staff of the combined field army and as assistant division commander of the 2nd Infantry Division. I always appreciated General Schwartz's positive attitude, his willingness to fight hard for his troops and his ability to get things done efficiently and effectively. His invitation to me and other Members of Congress to come and see the poor living and working conditions at our installations in Korea, was instrumental in helping many in Congress see the severity of the situation and the immediate need for additional resources. Of all the military personnel with whom I has been my privilege to work on military construction issues, General Schwartz has been the most dedicated when it came to providing a better quality of life for the personnel under his command. Whenever I have encountered Army personnel who have served with General Schwartz, I have never heard anything but admiration from fellow general officers and appreciation from his junior officers for being a true role model. General Schwartz has proved to be a dynamic partner in working to secure hardship duty pay, e-mail service and eliminating the cost of movies for our personnel serving in the Republic of Korea. There is still much more that needs to be done, but he got the ball rolling and deserves a great deal of credit. When General Schwartz took command of the U.S. forces in Korea, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Henry H. Shelton praised him as, ``battle-tested warrior and a proven leader at every level with prior experience in Korea that will serve both our nations well.'' General Shelton's faith in General Schwartz was well placed, as his command history has demonstrated. No truly effective leader can ever make it to a position of prominence without assistance. General Schwartz has been aided every step of the way by his wife Sandy. Together, the Schwartz' have made a formidable team in their efforts to quality of military life in Korea. On behalf of all of the soldiers who have served under his command and the United States Congress, I thank General Schwartz for all he has done. We are going to miss the expertise, the tenacity, the optimism the leadership and the dedication he brought to the service of his country.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Senator DeWine and myself, I rise today to recognize this morning's honored guest chaplain, Dr. Paul Dixon, who serves as the president of Cedarville University, which is located in Greene County, Ohio, in my district, and in Cedarville, which is also the home of Senator DeWine. Dr. Dixon has served in this capacity for 24 years, which is about twice as long as I have been a Member of Congress. Prior to assuming the role as president, Dr. Dixon ministered as an evangelist. He continues his ministry today, traveling to hundreds of churches, youth camps, and adult fellowships throughout the year. Dr. Dixon is also a popular speaker for professional sports chapel programs, including those of the Cincinnati Reds, the Bengals, the former Houston Oilers, and many National League ball teams. Dr. Dixon's tenure at Cedarville has been marked by many accomplishments, not the least of which is the institution's physical growth. Under Dr. Dixon's exceptional leadership, enrollment has increased 140 percent, and Cedarville has enjoyed record enrollments for 23 of the 24 years he has been president. In addition, the campus has grown from less than 100 acres to more than 400 acres. He has built probably $100 million worth of new buildings on this wonderful campus. He is a graduate of Tennessee Temple University, and holds a doctorate in education from the University of Cincinnati. In May of 2000, he will be transitioning to the role of chancellor for Cedarville University. As Ohio's Seventh District Representative to the Congress of the United States, I take this opportunity to publicly recognize Dr. Dixon for his achievements on behalf of Cedarville University, and his many contributions to the spiritual growth of Ohio are noteworthy. I thank him for his service to all those he serves.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, and recognize the accomplishments and life of Dave Thomas. Throughout his life, Dave Thomas continually displayed the qualities and work ethic that exemplified the American dream. Whether with his family, friends, or his work, Dave Thomas always sought to improve the way of life for those around him. Having been adopted at a young age, Dave Thomas devoted much of his life to raising awareness and creating better opportunities for adopted children everywhere. As a fellow restaurateur and small businessman, I can certainly appreciate the devotion and hard work necessary to turn the first Wendy's Old Fashion Hamburgers in downtown Columbus, OH, into something people worldwide know and love. Behind his business expertise and a promotional campaign driven by his warm smile, Wendy's has become a standard to which all other restaurants must be compared. As I travel around Ohio, the birthplace and home of the Wendy's tradition, I will be constantly reminded of just how many lives Dave Thomas has actually touched. Whether I am visiting one of the several Wendy's locations within Ohio's Seventh Congressional District, or affixing an Adoption Awareness stamp on an envelope, Dave Thomas will be in my thoughts and will be missed dearly.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, we have before us today a reasonable and balanced bill that provides the final push for an idea that my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Sawyer), and myself have been working on for 7 years: The simplification of paperwork associated with paying health care costs. In 1993, my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, began to develop legislation that would create a standard framework for electronic filing of health care claims. Today, we all recognize electronic health care filing represents significant advantages over paper filings for every level of health care, from providers to insurance. However, the patchwork of different computer systems needed to electronically file claims with different health care payers made the process a complicated, expensive, and unwieldy situation. In 1996, our work culminated in the administrative simplification provisions included in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which required a common format for electronic health care claims. This would have the effect of simplifying the administrative burden associated with health care transactions, and would, according to the Health Care Financing Administration at the time, produce $9.9 billion in savings for the health care community. By reducing administrative overhead, we also help improve the quality of health care by freeing up resources now devoted to paperwork and administration. However, for a variety of reasons, the regulations implementing the administrative simplification provisions enacted in 1996 were delayed. Now, 5 years later, two final rules are set to take effect shortly. The first, regarding medical privacy, is left untouched by the legislation before this body today, and will take effect as scheduled in April of 2003. The second, establishing code sets in transactions, is set to take effect October 16, 2002. However, the current state of readiness in the health care community is inconsistent, and significant sectors have argued for additional time to undertake systems changes necessary to reach compliance. At the same time, some entities clearly will be ready for the first set of standards. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Sawyer) and I recognize the need for additional time for some entities to come into compliance. At the same time, we must ensure that this time is fully utilized by all the parties and that those entities that want to move forward can do so without penalty. Our legislation provides a solution to the current status by establishing two tracks for entities covered by the original statute. For those plans and providers who will be ready to go by October, 2002, they can proceed under the original timetable. These entities can be sending and receiving electronic transactions under the new standardized format in October of next year. However, our legislation also recognizes some entities may have underestimated what was needed to be operationally compliant with the standards of 2002. That is why our bill includes a provision which allows these plans and providers to file a plan with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services explaining the steps they will take to reach compliance. One other important fact. This bill also ensures that the additional time provided is fully utilized, from the government's perspective. Our bill includes an authorization for $44.2 million for the Department of Health and Human Services which will allow the Department to adequately prepare for the transition. This authorization will support activities at the Department associated with finishing the remaining work on the original standards providing technical assistance and educational outreach and enforcement activities. Finally, our bill requires the filing of electronic claims with Medicare by extending the deadline to October 16, 2003, with the exception for small providers and those physically unable to file electronically. This will help prevent backsliding to paper transactions and will help focus all entities on reaching the cost- saving goals of the original statute. In conclusion, this statute represents a balanced package of measures that does not simply delay the administrative simplification provisions, but rather, provides a clear plan and one-time extension to reach compliance in the marketplace. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation; and I would like to thank the staffs of both committees, my staff, Michael Beer, the staff of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Sawyer), and the staff of the Committee on Commerce. I would like to thank the leadership and the staff of the Committee on Ways and Means, and particularly the leadership of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) and the Speaker, who encouraged us to bring this bill forward. We think we have done something good here.

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) as well as the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Sawyer) again, and all the people who worked on this. I want to explain to people this is a very complicated situation. This is not easy to do. It is not easy to understand what we are doing. This is a massive change in how we do things. But when we get done it will be more cost effective. We will have less fraud. We will have less abuse because we will have standardized coding. And we will have electronic transfer. And the frustrations that people have in doctors' offices about the huge stacks of bills that they are trying to collect should go away. That is a real step forward. We hope to save more than the $29.9 billion that we are talking about in this bill with this type of activity. The most important thing I want people to understand is sometimes we get all wrapped up in fights amongst ourselves. We did not in this legislation. The committees came together, the Members came together, and we worked out a situation that I think in the long run is maybe a better bill than we wrote, is a better bill than other people wrote. The finest solution to this is one that is good for this country, gives people time but moves the system forward to the final completion that we all want. I want to particularly thank everybody, all the staffs, all the Members who worked so hard to make this work.

Mr. HOBSON. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. HOBSON

Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding public servant--the outgoing NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. In his nine years with the agency, Mr. Goldin has been instrumental in shaping all aspects of NASA's mission for the challenges of the 21st Century. He brought a welcome new management style and instituted reforms for NASA to operate ``Faster, Better, and Cheaper.'' Through these aggressive and innovative management changes, NASA achieved a necessary balance between the aeronautics and space programs. At the same time, Administrator Goldin made the safety of the Space Shuttle and Space Station crews the top priority for our space missions. Mr. Goldin led the Shuttle Operations transition from an inefficient government bureaucracy to a private contractor, which significantly reduced the cost of human space flight. The cost savings realized in human space flight operations allowed NASA to dedicate additional resources for science research and aerospace technologies. This is a particular interest of mine since Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, has developed preeminent capabilities in aeropropulsion systems, aerospace power and electric propulsion, aerospace communications, and combustion and fluids physics. As anyone who knows Dan Goldin will tell you, he is not afraid to lead and direct his employees and his agency to higher levels of achievement. He has done so at NASA, and our aeronautics and space programs reflect his drive for innovation. As a Member of the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I have enjoyed working with Administrator Goldin over the past nine years, and wish him the best in his future endeavors.