Rush Holt

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, there is no denying that America is suffering from an energy crisis. My constituents are paying record prices at the pump, they are paying higher prices for food and commodities. This problem is only going to get worse this winter when they will be paying 15 percent more to heat their homes than last year. With family budgets already being stretched to the breaking point, Congress needs to act and to act quickly to address this problem. This will require both long term solutions that decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and imported fuels and short term solutions which will help bring down the price of energy now. I have heard from a number of my constituents that a proven way to address both our short term and long term energy costs is to renew the renewable energy tax credit and the production tax credit that are due to expire at the end of this year. We already know how effective these tax credits are. For example, wind energy is not only a significant component of the global warming solution, but also a powerful engine in our economy. Since January 2007, more than 40 wind industry manufacturing facilities have been announced, brought online, or expanded in the U.S., creating over 9,000 jobs and one billion in new manufacturing investment. When the production tax credit lapsed in 2000, 2002 and 2004, wind capacity installation dropped 93 percent, 73 percent and 77 percent, respectively, from the previous year. It is unwise to allow the wind production tax credit to expire and allow this bright spot in our economy to grind to a halt. The solar energy production tax credit and the solar residential tax credit have been instrumental in helping my home state of New Jersey become a leader in the production of solar energy technology. New Jersey is also one of the nation's fastest growing solar energy markets. The extension of the solar energy tax credit will spur job growth in communities and would help New Jersey reach its goal of having 20 percent of its electricity derived from renewable sources by the year 2020. I have heard from companies in my district that if we don't extend the production tax credit they will have to shut down new solar projects or charge more for energy. The tax credit for consumers has been equally effective in saving our constituents thousands of dollars on their energy bills. For example, I was recently contacted by Phyllis who lives in Marlboro, New Jersey. By utilizing the residential energy investment tax credit, Phyllis was able to install 55 solar panels on the roof of her home. Phyllis also used the investment tax credit to purchase a high efficiency heating and cooling system. Together these investments have decreased her energy costs to one fourth the cost she was paying the year before. Phyllis is also selling the excess energy her solar panels gather back into the grid and has made over $2,000 this summer. We need to encourage more Phyllises--that is how we will break our dependence on 19th century technology. The renewal of these tax credits will also help to increase our economy by creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. According to a recent study, if the renewable energy tax breaks expire at the end of this year, over 116,000 jobs in wind and solar industries would be lost in one year. Today, when the predicted economic growth forecast is an anemic pace of 1.6 to 2 percent and unemployment is likely to continue to climb, we in Congress should do everything we can to ensure job growth and preserve jobs. Renewable energy tax credits are instrumental to ensuring growth in the renewable energy sector, bolstering our national economy, providing us with home growth energy and have the potential to save our constituents thousands on their energy costs. It would be a disservice to our constituents if we do not act prior to Congress adjourning to extend and expand renewable energy tax incentives. Therefore, I have introduced legislation today that will extend the renewable energy tax credit, production tax credit, and the hybrid vehicle tax credit for ten years. This legislation would help to grow our economy and provide for a secure energy future.

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 6899, The Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act. Today's energy crisis is based on a generation of failed policies which have made us excessively dependent on foreign fuels. We must learn from the mistakes of the past and find a new direction that will decrease our reliance on gas and oil and move our energy policy forward. Today my constituents in New Jersey are paying more than $3.50 at the pump. The steep increase in gas prices is stretching family budgets to the breaking point, and I am deeply concerned about the impact that prices are having on American consumers. Congress needs to pass comprehensive legislation that will help families struggling with rising gas and fuel oil prices in the short-term, while developing a long-term strategy that decreases our dependence on foreign oil and reduces our greenhouse gas emissions. The legislation that we are considering today, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, has some good provisions, provisions that could help to move our country's energy policy in the right direction. I consistently have supported many of these provisions in the past. I have voted in favor of renewing the renewable energy tax credits three times this Congress. I have voted to repeal the billions of dollars in tax breaks that have been given to oil companies at the expense of the American taxpayer and to invest this money in clean, renewable energy. I have voted to provide relief to our public transit agencies which are struggling to meet the skyrocketing demand for public transportation. Twice I have voted to encourage oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres of the lands open for drilling both onshore and offshore that currently are leased by oil companies for production, yet remain unused. I have supported legislation which would help to increase supply for oil and decrease demand for oil including releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, instituting a national Renewable Portfolio Standard, and increasing the efficiency of buildings and appliances. I have consistently supported comprehensive reform of our nation's energy policy. Last year I supported H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act, a law that will make a real difference in moving our energy policy forward by raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standard. However, unlike H.R. 6, the legislation before us today is not the comprehensive policy that we need to move our country forward and I cannot support it. I believe that drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, such as our coastline, is unwise. Some in America claim that drilling--here, now, and everywhere--will bring instantaneous relief to families paying painful gas prices. The facts do not support this claim. ``Drill baby drill'' is not an energy policy, it is a slogan to hide behind to avoid corning up with a real policy which will help America move towards sustainable, affordable energy. There is no easy solution to this crisis, and the evidence shows that drilling in OCS would save pennies per gallon years from now. We can begin now, not years from now, to move to sustainable, affordable energy. Fortunately, the environmental and financial requirements for an oil or gas company to drill are strong enough that few if any wells will be drilled under this legislation, and I expect smarter, more comprehensive legislation will follow next year. We will never be able to drill our way to energy independence. The United States consumes 25 percent of the world's oil but only possesses 3 percent of the world's oil reserves. Even if we drilled on every single square inch of land where oil is assumed to exist we will never be able to meet our national demand. Moreover, drilling 50 or 100 miles off our shores, as H.R. 6899 proposes, could be detrimental to the preservation of our environment for future generations. In New Jersey, tourism along our shore brings $35 billion to the state's economy. A possible oil spill from drilling of the coast of New Jersey, Virginia, or Delaware would be devastating to my state's 120 miles of shoreline. I am unwilling to sacrifice our nation's environment for drilling which will do nothing to decrease prices at the pump. Since I was elected 10 years ago I have consistently opposed drilling in environmentally sensitive areas including the Outer Continental Shelf. I have a strong record for voting in favor of preserving our environment and developing new energy sources that are clean, safe, and sustainable. This is really the only way that we can lower our gas prices in the long term. I will not support legislation which will continue the failed policies of reliance on fossil fuels, and I oppose H.R. 6899. I will continue to push for real reform of our nation's energy policy. Therefore I will be introducing legislation today which extend for 10 years the tax credits for hybrid cars, energy efficient housing, and renewable energy sources including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydro power. Extending these tax credits will help our country stay on the right path towards a cleaner energy future.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is considering today S. 2617, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2008. If enacted, this bill would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide a COLA to veterans receiving disability compensation and other select VA beneficiaries that matches the cost- of-living increase rates of Social Security beneficiaries. The increase would take effect December 1, 2008. I am pleased that this Congress has kept its promises to America's veterans. Last year, we passed the largest single funding increase in the history of the VA, and I am hopeful that we will continue to increase funding for key VA programs over the coming year. In the meantime, it is necessary for us to meet some other basic challenges facing our veterans, and the bill before us addresses one of those challenges. Many veterans live on fixed incomes, and thus have been very hard hit by recent increases in prices for food, gasoline, and other essentials. By passing this COLA, we will give veterans across America the additional financial assistance they need to care for themselves and their families. The Senate passed this bill in July 2008. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I urge the President to sign it as soon as it reaches his desk.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, this is the day we pause and remember those who lost their lives on that terrible day 7 years ago. We also remember the heroism of the first responders, and of those who fought back against terrorists--people like the late Todd Beamer, a resident of central New Jersey. But even as we look back in sorrow and remembrance, we must also look to the future and remember our obligation to prevent other American families from enduring a similar horror in the future. We have made progress in making our country more secure since September 11, 2001. A critical piece of legislation was enacted in August 2007 to better protect Americans from terrorism and improve our security. The legislation (H.R. 1) completed the enactment of the recommendations of the bipartisan, independent 9/11 Commission into law. This law requires 100 percent screening of cargo on passenger aircraft within 3 years and 100 percent scanning of seaborne cargo before it gets to U.S. ports within 5 years, ensures that first responders can communicate with each other in an emergency, and improves rail and mass transit security. It is disgraceful that the administration has failed to implement the law, and I will certainly do my part to keep the pressure up until they fully comply. On the issue of meeting post-9/11 threats, I'm pleased that this Congress has taken steps to secure our rail and transit systems. As we saw with the attacks on rail and mass transit systems in Europe and India over the last few years, transit systems are prime targets. I was pleased to lead the effort last year that secured $400 million in funding for rail and transit security grant programs--$225 million more than President Bush requested in his budget. We still have a long way to go before our rail and transit systems are as safe as they should be, but we are finally moving in the right direction. Madam Speaker, I support this bill and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for it.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Conference Report for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Over the last year we have read distressing reports in the newspapers of tainted pet food, toothpaste, and other products from China. These are troubling revelations, made even more disconcerting by the reports of lead tainted toys; lead is a substance which can stunt the mental and physical development of children. Toys are meant to entertain, educate, and inspire the imagination. It is greatly unsettling that some toys are not safe. In fact, some toys can seriously injure children and cause sickness. Last year, products like Barbie accessories, Thomas the Tank Engines, toy magnets, and jewelry were recalled after it was found that some of these products contained up to 200 times the legal amount of lead. Over 45 million toys and children's products were recalled in 2007 due to their danger to the health of our Nation's children. Disturbingly, the number of recalled products continues to increase. In fact, this year the number of recalls of toys and children's products is up 29 percent over the first half of 2007. The events of the past year have demonstrated the danger that American consumers face when the government does not give regulatory agencies the tools they need in order to protect consumers from unsafe products. During this time of record product recalls, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Government agency responsible for monitoring and enforcing product safety, has been starved for resources. Since 2004, the CPSC has lost 15 percent of its workforce and now 420 people are responsible for overseeing over 15,000 types of consumer goods. This means that a single person is responsible for testing all toys at the CPSC. Leadership at the highest levels of the CPSC has been asleep at the switch and has shown little interest in addressing the serious threat that tainted toys pose to our Nation's children. This is a disservice to American children and their families, and I am pleased that we are finally taking up legislation that would help to give the CPSC the tools that it needs to keep our children and families safe. The conference report for H.R. 4040 would help empower the CPSC to become a more effective force for regulating the consumer marketplace by increasing its budget and regulatory authority. It would protect our children by requiring the pre-market testing in certified laboratories of children's products for lead and other harmful chemicals. H.R. 4040 would ban even trace amounts of lead in any product intended for children under the age of 12, and prohibit phthalates in children's products. Phthalates are known to cause reproductive and developmental harm. This legislation would also make it easier to recall tainted products by requiring manufacturers to place distinguishing marks on products and packages. It would provide whistleblower protections for private sector employees regarding alleged violations of any CPSC- enforced product safety requirements. Finally, this bill would establish better means of communicating to consumers and States when products are recalled. I am proud to support the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, and I urge my colleagues to support the Conference Report.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I would like to commend Chairman Miller and Mr. McKeon for producing a strong piece of legislation. The Higher Education Opportunity Act does what the name suggests. It expands affordability and access to college education for the broadest range of Americans. It expands Pell Grants, the basis of financial aid, and I'm pleased to say it allows Pell Grants to be used year round and for certificate programs and part-time students, something I have been working on for a long time. This Act will help bring transparency and accountability to student loan programs by requiring institutions of higher education and lenders to adopt strict codes of conduct, and protects students from aggressive marketing practices by lenders. It will provide students with full information about their borrowing options when taking out loans, and help promote financial literacy for students and their parents. This legislation will help streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, FAFSA, and encourage the Department of Education to coordinate with the IRS to use information that the Government already has. It as well expands the access for low-income families to student aid with an easy to use two-page FAFSA-EZ form. Additionally, the bill strengthens the TRIO and GEAR UP college readiness programs for first-generation and low-income students. One of the complaints I hear most from students and their parents is about the ever-increasing cost of college textbooks. This bill will help make textbook costs more manageable by ensuring students know the price of textbooks in advance so they can plan for the expense. And it requires colleges and faculty members to have access to the textbook costs when making selections for their courses. The bill also builds on our work to restore the full benefits of the GI Bill to our Nation's veterans, by creating a new scholarship program for active duty military personnel and family members. It also establishes support centers to help veterans succeed in college and ensures fairness for veterans in student aid decisions. I am pleased that this bill will help colleges recruit, retain, and graduate students with disabilities. The legislation will also help colleges improve their facilities and educational materials for these students. Further, it will establish a national center to provide support services and best practices to colleges to best serve students with disabilities and their families. The legislation also responds to the tragedy at Virginia Tech by helping colleges to develop and implement state-of-the-art emergency systems and campus safety plans. Following a recommendation from college campus safety directors, the bill creates a National Center for Campus Safety to work in collaboration with the COPS program. The bill also contains provisions, which I wrote into the measure, to strengthen our workforce and our Nation's competitiveness. The bill would implement my initiative to provide loan forgiveness for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) employees who work in those fields. My initiative also establishes a loan forgiveness program for foreign language specialists who work as teachers or Government employees. The legislation creates a Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education in the Department of Education. Based on legislation that I wrote, the executive-level officer would provide leadership in directing efforts aimed at international and foreign language education. The measure establishes a program that I championed, the Science and Technology Advanced Foreign Language Grants program, to award funding to institutions of higher education to create programs that encourage students to develop foreign language proficiency as well as science and technological knowledge. Based on my work, the bill develops the Mathematics & Science Scholars Program to grants and loan forgiveness to math and science students who commit to 5 consecutive years of service in a math or science field after graduation. Included in the bill is my legislation to establish a National STEM Database to provide students with information on financial assistance for postsecondary and graduate programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This important database will help capable students who are interested in STEM careers find scholarships to support their studies. I am pleased that the measure includes the ``Preparing Teachers for Digital Age Learners'' program to help teacher candidates effectively integrate technology in the classroom. The program, which I advocated for, would work with teaching candidates on how they can bring modern digital tools in the classroom. Additionally, the bill incorporates my legislation, the Nursing School Capacity Act, which requires the Institute of Medicine to explore the constraints that the Nation's schools of nursing face and propose short and long term solutions to address the nursing crisis. Finally, based on my efforts the bill improves The ``Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools'' Program to empower small and community colleges to provide child care to working mothers so they can attend school. Each of these provisions and the many more contained in the final Act will have positive impacts on our Nation and I am pleased that they soon will be implemented into law.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I rise today as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act. Last week, I had the honor of participating in a portrait unveiling ceremony for former New Jersey Representative Mary Norton, who was the chair of the Labor Committee 70 years ago and a tireless advocate for equal pay. Under her leadership Congress passed 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act that established the 40-hour workweek, outlawed child labor and established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour. I think of her today when I say that while we have made significant progress since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the fight for equality in the workplace is far from over. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women still earn only 77 percent as much as men on average. These statistics are worse for women of color; African-American women earn only 71.7 cents and Latinas only 58.5 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. Unfortunately, this wage gap only increases over time and has lasting effects on the lives of our working women. While women 1 year out of college earn 80 percent of what their male peers make, by the time women are 10 years out of college they are making only 69 percent of what men do. Furthermore, after a lifetime of receiving lower wages, older women are less likely than older men to receive pension income, and when they do they receive only half of the benefits that men receive. It is then sad, but unsurprising, that women represent 70 percent of older adults living in poverty. Mary Norton understood that the wage gap is not just a women's issue--it is a family issue. When women earn less for equal work, families are forced to do more with less. Affording all of life's expenses is challenging enough--it shouldn't be made harder as a result of women being shortchanged on payday. I believe that there is more that can and should be done to level the playing field and provide fair opportunities for women in education and the workplace. I would like to commend my colleague from Connecticut, Representative Rosa DeLauro, for introducing H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act. This bill would strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close loopholes that allow employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay and prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who discuss salary information with their co-workers. It would also create a training program to strengthen women's negotiation skills and establish additional avenues for women to seek equal pay in the workplace. This legislation is long overdue and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Stanley C. Smoyer for his years of extraordinary leadership in the family planning movement in the United States, his devoted service to Planned Parenthood Association of the Mercer Area in New Jersey, and for his extraordinary generosity to his community. For over 50 years, Stan Smoyer has been a champion of women's reproductive rights. As former assistant general counsel for Johnson & Johnson, he was involved in reproductive rights litigation in the 1960s. Of particular note was his involvement in Griswold v Connecticut, the 1965 landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution protected a right to privacy and that access to contraception could not be prohibited. In 1995, he and his late wife, Barbara, were awarded Planned Parenthood's highest honor, the Sanger Circle Award, in recognition of their outstanding service and loyalty to Planned Parenthood and to the cause of reproductive rights. As a board member of Planned Parenthood I am particularly grateful to him for his years of participation. As Vice Chairman for Principal Gifts of Planned Parenthood's 1991 capital campaign, Stan Smoyer demonstrated his commitment to the issues by helping the agency raise millions of dollars. In 2006, Stan Smoyer was recruited once again to help Planned Parenthood, this time as Honorary Co-Chair of Stand with Us: The Campaign for Responsible Choices. Thanks to his generosity, the capital campaign is well on its way to reaching its goal. Stan Smoyer has also been a benefactor of both Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and Dartmouth University in New Hampshire. His most recent gift to Phillips Academy renovated and improved the soccer field, where his sons used to play. The field, now known as Smoyer Family Field, is named in honor of Mr. Smoyer's sons, David, class of '59 and William, class of '63, who was killed in Vietnam in 1968. A 1934 graduate of Dartmouth, Stan Smoyer has made a commitment to his alma mater for a new intercollegiate soccer facility. He has also been a donor to the school's History Department programs and to other scholarship and athletic endeavors. Stanley C. Smoyer's devotion to the causes and initiatives that he believes in makes him an outstanding friend, neighbor and community benefactor. He is worthy of our admiration and gratitude and continues to serve as a model for other philanthropists and volunteers who think of others and care about where our society is headed. It is with pride and pleasure I recognize Stanley C. Smoyer here today and ask my colleagues to join me in thanking him for his dedicated and generous service to Planned Parenthood, his community of Princeton, the schools he has chosen to support, and for teaching us all the lesson of giving and caring.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill. I'm pleased that for the second year in a row, the 110th Congress is providing the funding necessary to meet the housing requirements of our servicemembers and their families, as well as the money needed to care for our veterans. Let me begin by thanking Chairman Edwards for including report language directing the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to care for the veterans and military retirees in my district who would need health care services if Fort Monmouth's Patterson Army Health Clinic were to close in 2011. While I continue to oppose the decision to close Fort Monmouth and will continue to look for ways to reverse it, that decision is, for now, the law of the land. Accordingly, it is necessary to plan for meeting the medical needs of the many veterans and TRICARE beneficiaries in Central New Jersey in the event Fort Monmouth's medical facilities are closed. I'm pleased that the Committee is requiring that a report on how their needs will be met be delivered to Congress no later than January 30, 2009. Overall, this bill would provide $40.7 billion for VA health programs, which is $3.1 billion over the current level. In addition to continuing to focus on providing adequate funding to treat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury, TBI, this bill would provide $400 million that was not requested by the President to start enrolling 10 percent of Priority 8 veterans in the VA medical system. The Priority 8 category is reserved for veterans whose injuries currently are not rated as service related and whose incomes are more than $24,644 if single or $29,576 for a veteran with a dependent. An estimated one half of all uninsured veterans are Priority 8, and Priority 8 veterans have not been enrolled since 2003 as part of an Administration effort to cut costs. The bill also includes $200 million, which was not requested by the President, to improve access to care where Veterans Health Administration, VHA, services are not available. I am hopeful that this will assist both rural veterans seeking care and those living in urban or ex-urban communities that currently lack ready access to a VA community-based outpatient clinic. The bill would provide $1.6 billion, $250 million more than last year, to provide veterans with more technologically advanced prostheses. The VA has a long and generally commendable track record in this area. However, I am pleased the committee recognizes the need for the VA to apply a greater emphasis on harnessing the latest technological breakthroughs to help give our wounded veterans the maximum possible personal mobility. I am also grateful to the committee for providing $165 million for grants to States for the construction and renovation of extended care facilities. The President's proposed $80 million cut to this account was, frankly, unconscionable. The VA grant program that serves the State-run extended care facilities is critical. Many New Jersey veterans have visited with me over the past several years and described in detail the kinds of air conditioning, heating, and other upgrades that are vital to facilities such as the one in Paramus, New Jersey. I consistently have supported proper funding for this account, and I thank the committee for meeting this important need. Finally, for our active duty community, this bill would provide $336 million that President Bush failed to request to continue a quality of life initiative for troops and their families started in the Fiscal Year 2008 Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R. 2642. The bill includes nearly $200 million for the Army and Marine Corps to improve the barracks that soldiers and Marines live in when they train. It also includes $136 million for medical military construction and planning activities to upgrade substandard medical treatment facilities. We have all seen the pictures and heard the stories about substandard living conditions for troops. I am pleased that the committee remains focused on fixing this problem as quickly as possible. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill that will help our active duty families and our veterans. I will vote for it and I urge my colleagues to do likewise.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join the others in commending Chairman Miller and Mr. McKeon and allow me to point out some of the good provisions that are in this bill that I have worked on. It allows Pell Grants to be used year round and by part-time students. It empowers community colleges to provide childcare programs so that working mothers can attend school. It has grants and loan forgiveness for math, science, and foreign language students who pledge to work in those areas after graduation. As the chairman just said, it creates a deputy assistant secretary for international and foreign language education. It directs the Institute of Medicine to study the shortage of nursing faculty, which is one of the principal reasons for the shortage of nurses in America. It provides funding to institutions of higher education that encourage science and engineering students to develop foreign language proficiency. It creates a scholarship database of financial assistance for post-secondary and graduate programs in science, technology, and engineering. There are many other good features in this bill, and I, again, commend those who put it together. And I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The bill, which would reauthorize and expand the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, would provide $48 billion over five years for programs to combat these three lethal diseases around the world. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law. President Bush deserves credit for his work on this issue. I have long supported this bold initiative that has made the U.S. a leader in this critical health and moral issue of our time. By expanding its scope, we would reach far more people around the world and save them from these terrible diseases. While the first five years of the initiative operated on an emergency response policy, the bill's new provisions would allow for the transition to long-term sustainability programs that can be maintained by the host countries. It would increase HIV/AIDS programs focusing on women and girls, work to better integrate the tuberculosis and malaria programs with the HIV/AIDS programs, double the U.S. contributions to the Global Fund, and strengthen language on countering HIV/AIDS for victims of sex trafficking. Since its inception in 2003, the United States has invested more than $19 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria and helped provide anti-retroviral drug treatments to approximately 1.5 million people with AIDS. It has also supported care for 6.6 million people-- including 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children--and helped to prevent more than 157,000 infant infections. Upon passage, over the next five years, the bill would greatly expand funding for the initiative, authorizing $39 billion for HIV/AIDS programs, $5 billion for malaria programs, and $4 billion for tuberculosis programs. By 2013, U.S. support provided through PEPFAR could help prevent 12 million new HIV infections, provide medical and non medical care for 12 million people (including 5 million orphans), and train 140,000 new health care workers. I have heard from numerous Central New Jersey residents who are concerned about the growing AIDS epidemic. This legislation demonstrates the immense compassion Americans hold for the struggles we share as a global community. When 6,000 people become infected with HIV everyday, we must offer a full commitment to fighting the disease.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 294, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, legislation that would authorize $14.9 billion in funding for Amtrak over the next 5 years. Rail service has integrated small communities with large cities across the country providing opportunity for economic expansion, increased mobility, and environmentally sound transit. Since Amtrak was founded in 1971, our country has benefited from organized, reliable and safe service to individuals commuting to and from work and individuals using rail service for extended travel. Amtrak also serves as an essential component of easing traffic congestion, reducing wear and tear on roads, protecting our environment and preserving open space across the country. With the skyrocketing costs of airline flights and gas prices at over $4 a gallon, individuals are relying more and more on rail service. It is no exaggeration to say that rail service is the lifeline from which New Jersey's state economy draws nourishment. Our region's employers--small, medium, and large--depend upon an integrated rail operation to enable many of their employees to get to and from work. Clients, potential clients, and business partners use the train to come to New Jersey. Our local entrepreneurs use Amtrak to pitch their ideas and sell their products outside of our home state. It is thus of critical importance that we provide Amtrak with the funding it needs to support its growing ridership, both in New Jersey and throughout the country. For the last 12 years, Amtrak has been suffering from a lack of federal support and for the last 6 years it has been operating without Congressional authorization. In order to keep from going out of business, Amtrak was forced to delay crucial repairs and security improvements, freeze the salaries of its employees, renege on employee pensions and go billions of dollars into debt. The legislation before us today would authorize the funding necessary to improve Amtrak's operations throughout the country and bring our country's rail service into the 21st Century. S. 294 authorizes $14.9 billion for Amtrak over the next 5 years, $4.2 billion of which would be used for capital grants to help Amtrak afford to make necessary repairs and upgrades to the Northeast Corridor. It would also allow Amtrak to procure new rolling stock, rehabilitate existing bridges, as well as make additional capital improvements and maintenance over its entire network. As a regular Amtrak rider, I appreciate the professionalism and service that customers enjoy every day. Amtrak's hard working employees, including the over 1,300 employed in New Jersey, have continued to provide high quality service despite Amtrak's payroll freezes and pension problems. The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act would provide Amtrak with $3 billion in operating grants, which would help Amtrak make good on its promises to these employees. A portion of these funds would be used to pay employees salaries, health costs, and overtime pay. It would also help Amtrak pay for increasing fuel costs, facilities, maintenance and train operations. This legislation would also create a new Capital Grant program to provide grants for States for intercity passenger rail capital projects. In New Jersey the demand for public transportation has increased dramatically, with NJ Transit providing 900,000 trips per weekday on its trains, buses and light-rail vehicles. S. 294 would authorize over $2.5 billion in grants to states over the next 5 years to help organizations like NJ Transit pay for the capital costs of facilities and the equipment necessary to provide new or improved intercity passenger rail. I am pleased that S. 294 includes language I wrote with Representative Murphy that would require Amtrak to study the feasibility of increasing passenger rail service between Princeton Junction, NJ, and Philadelphia, PA. The Princeton Junction station has seen a 90 percent decrease in Amtrak ridership since 2004 due to reductions in Amtrak service at the Princeton Junction Station. While NJ Transit was able to step in to fill the service void to New York City, commuters to Philadelphia no longer have access to direct. The demand for public transportation will continue to increase, and it is essential that we ensure that we are using existing transportation resources efficiently to meet this demand. This study would require Amtrak to ensure that they are using this station effectively. The Passenger Rail Investment Reauthorization Act would also provide $1.7 billion over the next 5 years to help Amtrak pay off the debt it incurred when Congress drastically cut its funding in 2000 and 2001. Amtrak has aggressively targeted this debt, paying down $600 million from 2002 through 2007. This bill would help Amtrak take further steps to reduce its debt, and allow Amtrak to focus its resources on improving existing services and making additional capital and operational improvements. S. 294 would bring American passenger rail into the 21st century, authorizing $1.7 billion for the construction of eleven high-speed rail networks spanning the entire Nation, the first of which would be a high-speed rail corridor between Washington, D.C. and New York City. Countries like France, England and Japan have greatly improved the experience of commuters through the utilization of high speed corridors. This would lead to more efficient public transportation and help the more than 1.5 million New Jerseyans who use Amtrak spend less time commuting and more time at home with their families. Supporting public transportation especially passenger rail, should be a crucial element of our national effort to slow the rate of global climate change and reduce our dependence on foreign fuels. Passenger rail consumes 21 percent less energy per passenger mile than automobiles and 17 percent less than airplanes. It releases half the amount of greenhouse gases per passenger mile as either air or car travel. The continued operation of Amtrak is an essential component of easing traffic congestion, reducing wear and tear on roads, protecting our environment and preserving open space in New Jersey and across the country. Rail service is a fundamental component of our Nation's continually growing transportation system, and Amtrak has demonstrated the capacity of integrated rail service to expand economic opportunity, commuter options, and make vital contributions to the fabric of our communities. I urge my colleagues to support S. 294.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6493, the Aviation Safety Enhancement Act. Over the last few years we have heard a number of disturbing reports that the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, is failing in its mandate to ensure the safety of airline passengers. Last year we discovered that the FAA had allowed Southwest Airlines to fly 117 planes that had not received their mandatory inspections. We learned of two near midair collisions at Newark Airport in my home state of New Jersey. In meetings with Air Traffic Controllers I have been told that these near misses were caused by pilot confusion over last minute and unpublished route changes by the FAA. Rather than address serious concerns about the safety of our nation's air travelers, the FAA has attempted to hide these complaints and issues. In some of these cases, the FAA has retaliated against whistleblowers who disclosed these issues and the number of whistleblower protection claims filed by FAA employees has tripled over the last year. It is difficult to overstate how important whistleblowers are in the policy process. They are often the human face that confirms the existence of a tangible, even life-threatening problem in a federal agency. Bush Administration officials threatened Jack Spadaro, the former head of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, MSHA, with the loss of his job when he tried to investigate a mining accident that occurred in 2000. In 2005, the Forest Service fired Douglas Parker, a 40 year employee of the service, after he filed a whistleblower complaint about the improper use of pesticides across several forests in New Mexico and Arizona. Fredrick Whitehurst, a long-time FBI bomb residue expert, filed whistleblower complaints after he pointed out major problems in the FBI's crime lab. I could go on at length about these kinds of cases, but I think you get my point. Outside of the national security community, protecting whistleblowers is perhaps more important in the transportation sector than anywhere else. If the FAA is being too cozy with industry and pressuring maintenance personnel to reduce the number of violations they cite among the carriers, we need to know that so we can stop it. If the FAA is trying to implement a dangerous and inadequately tested national air traffic pattern change and air traffic controllers believe people will die as a result, we need to know that so we can stop it. This legislation would help us to do that. Among its provisions, H.R. 6493 would create an independent office of Aviation Safety Whistleblower Protection within the FAA. This office would be responsible for receiving complaints and information from FAA and airline employees about possible violations of safety regulations, federal laws, and standards. This office would allow FAA and airline employees to disclose anonymously their safety concerns without fear of retaliation.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the National Energy Security Intelligence Act of 2008, H.R. 6545. Our Nation is in the middle of an energy crisis. Oil and gas prices are continuing to climb past $4 a gallon, and it is unlikely that gas will ever be cheap again. We will never be able to meet our domestic demand even if we drill on every square inch of our public and private lands. The United States possesses only 2 percent of the world's oil reserves, yet consumes over 25 percent of the world's oil. In order to meet our demand we import 22 million barrels of oil a day from some of the most volatile regions of the world. There is no denying that our national security is weakened by our dependence on foreign fuels. While it is intuitive that our reliance on the international market for our oil and gas supply has an effect on the stability of our economy and our national security, we do not have up-to-date intelligence information on what this dependence means to our national and global security. The legislation before us today would require a National Intelligence Estimate, NEI, of the long-term and short-term outlook for oil and gas prices, supply, and demand as well as an assessment of how our dependence on foreign fuels affects both our short-term and long-term national security. I would like to commend my colleague from Louisiana, Representative Don Cazayoux, for introducing H.R. 6545. This legislation would provide us with the information that we need in order to make informed decisions about the relationship between crude oil and natural gas prices and our national security. The National Energy Security Intelligence Act would also study the national security implications of potential use of energy resources as leverage against the United States by Venezuela, Iran, or other potential adversaries as a result of increased energy prices. One of the most damaging ways Iran could leverage oil prices higher would be to disrupt or even cut off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. As chairman of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, I believe it is essential that this NIE address Iran's ability to attack shipping and oil production infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region. Twenty years ago, Iran's efforts to disrupt shipping in the gulf led directly to a military confrontation between our countries. Published reports indicate that Iran has greatly expanded its sea mine stocks, its ballistic missile force, and other assets that could be used to disrupt oil production and shipment through the gulf. The NIE must address these issues if we are to have a full picture of Iran's potential to drive oil prices higher through military action. I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do likewise.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 3999, the National Bridge Construction Act. When the National Highway System was created in 1955, President Eisenhower said ``Our unity as a nation is sustained by the free communication of thought and by the easy transportation of goods . . . [T]ogether the unifying forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear-United States.'' However, since the creation of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s, the Federal Government has failed to fulfill its commitment to maintain our Nation's infrastructure. Conditions on America's surface transportation systems--our roads, bridges and highways, our passenger and freight rail facilities, our public transit networks--are deteriorating. The physical infrastructure itself is showing the signs of age. In almost all cases, the operational efficiency of our key transportation assets is slipping. The catastrophic collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota last year was a reminder that a lack of funding for proper maintenance of our bridges and roadways is more than an inconvenience, it can be deadly. The legislation before us today would provide a short term solution to this problem by increasing funding for bridge construction over the next fiscal year by $1 billion. H.R. 3999 would also require the Department of Transportation to create a better system for inspecting our bridges so they can ensure their safety. It would also ensure that the bridges most in need of repairs are given the funding necessary for safety retrofits. In my home State of New Jersey there are over 6,000 bridges, nearly a third of which the Department of Transportation has determined either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, including 12 in my central New Jersey district. This legislation would provide the State of New Jersey with over $42 million in much needed grants for rebuilding these bridges, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Unfortunately, this funding is little more than a drop in the bucket when considering our long term transportation needs. Our transportation programs are drastically underfunded and require immediate attention in order to be corrected. Today the House of Representatives will consider emergency legislation that would authorize the transfer of $8 billion to the highway trust fund which is expected to experience a $14 billion shortfall in Fiscal Year 2009. However, this is still not enough. When we passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU) back in 2005, we authorized the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission to undertake a thorough review of the state of our national transportation system. This study found that we would need to invest $225 billion annually over the next 50 years in order to ensure that our transportation infrastructure is in a good state of repair. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address our pressing transportation needs.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the DRILL Act, H.R. 6515. We continue to hear from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that opening up more Federal lands to oil and gas drilling will be the magic bullet that will solve our energy crisis. They continue to try to mislead the American people into believing that drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf, OCS, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will bring instantaneous relief to American families desperately seeking help with painful gas prices. There is no easy solution to this crisis, and it is widely accepted that drilling in OCS would save only pennies per gallon, more than a decade down the road. It is unseemly that my colleagues would continue to take advantage of the suffering of Americans to promote their own political aims. Currently 81 percent of the oil and gas deposits known in our Nation's Federal lands is available to be leased for drilling. Sixty- eight million acres, approximately 75 percent, of the lands open for drilling both onshore and offshore currently are leased by oil companies who are not using them for production. It is estimated that these leased but unused lands could produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day, nearly doubling U.S. oil production and cutting oil imports by a third. This includes the 20 million acres with an estimated 10.6 billion barrels of oil in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, NPR-A, currently available for drilling but most of which is lying unused. The DRILL act would require oil companies to certify to the Department of the Interior that they actively are developing on the lands that they have already leased. If these oil companies are not producing on these lands, they either would have to relinquish these leases or start producing on them before they could apply to lease additional lands. It would encourage expedited oil production by requiring the Secretary of Interior to offer at least one lease sale annually in NPR-A. H.R. 6515 would require the Secretary of Transportation to extend the Alaskan oil and gas pipeline to NPR-A, and require the President to make improvements to the existing oil and gas pipeline so that we can export oil more expeditiously. Finally, the DRILL Act would prevent the export of Alaskan oil and gas so that this supply is available for American consumers. This is common sense legislation, and I urge my colleagues who keep shouting ``drill, drill, drill'' to support it. We do not need to open up more lands to oil and gas drilling when they are not utilizing the leases and resources they already have. This is only a short term solution to America's energy needs. Currently we produce 3 percent of the world's oil and consume 25 percent. Unless we find a way to dramatically reduce our consumption we will never be able to drill our way to energy independence. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to develop a long term solution to this crisis.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. I thank the Chair, and I rise in support of the bill. The work in the Intelligence Committee is some of the most difficult work that goes on here in the House, behind closed doors, necessarily with little public input, but we are blessed with a good staff and a good chairman. We never forget that our work is about people, about the safety of the American people and about the hardworking, brave people of the intelligence community. H.R. 5959 contains some useful provisions that are designed to strengthen congressional oversight. Among these is a fence of 75 percent of covert action funds, fenced until each member of the House and Senate intelligence committees has been fully briefed. I think it would be sufficient to say that this administration has taken a cavalier attitude toward its legal obligations to keep the committees fully and currently informed. This bill would require the CIA Inspector General to conduct audits of all covert action programs regularly. It would increase critical research and development activities and improve foreign language capabilities. It would prohibit the use of contractors for CIA detainee interrogations. It would clarify what ``fully and currently informed'' in the law means for briefing Congress so that all information necessary for Congress would be provided, and it explicitly requires that all committee members be notified in general, not just selected members. It requires guidelines for the implementation of a multilevel security clearance to increase linguistic and cultural expertise. It would require reports on the use of contractors, on workforce diversity, on foreign language proficiency, on the protection of intelligence officers' identities. There are a number of good features. This is a good bill that strengthens our oversight of the intelligence community. We do have a long way to go to provide the kind of oversight needed after many years when the intelligence community got almost every wish, billions of dollars with insufficient justification. I do support the bill and urge that my colleagues do as well.

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

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, I need not be long. This is a straightforward, simple amendment that I hope will be without controversy. My amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act would require the Director of National Intelligence to inform all recipients of the October 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program of any new intelligence on this subject that has emerged since the publication last fall. The October 2007 NIE was prepared with new and, I would say, improved procedures and provided us with insights into the status of the Iranian nuclear program. As you know, Mr. Chairman, the intelligence process is not static. This amendment is designed to ensure that Congress and others in the executive branch get the very latest information on Iran's nuclear program in a timely fashion and developed with good intelligence procedures. I believe I have no other speakers, but I will reserve my time.

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

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5803, a bill that would reimburse States and localities to make paper backup ballots available for this November 2008 election. I compliment Representative Lofgren for introducing this measure which would allow more Americans to vote than might otherwise be able if their only option was failed electronic voting. The bill would also allow more Americans to vote when facing long lines, something that has been documented widely. Passing comprehensive election reform to help ensure the accuracy, integrity, and security of our electronic voting systems and other voting systems has long been a priority for me. At the beginning of the 110th Congress, I introduced legislation to establish national standards of verifiable elections. That bill has not received a floor vote despite support from a bipartisan majority of Members. So in January of this year, many of us introduced simplified, optional legislation that would reimburse States that convert to paper ballot voting systems, offer backup paper ballots, and/or conduct random audits in this fall's election. Unfortunately, following opposition from the White House, the vote broke mostly on party lines and the bill was not passed. After our opt-in legislation was not passed, I urged Congress to reconsider this issue, and so I am pleased that the House Committee on Administration has incorporated part of our legislation into the bill on the floor today. This is a useful step. The ability to vote is the most important right as it is the right through which citizens secure all of our other rights. Yet public cynicism is rampant, and could cripple our democracy. Increasing the availability of paper ballots, however, is only one of the steps that we must take to address the documented problems faced by voters and election officials. I will continue to work with Ms. Lofgren and others to ensure that Congress does all it can to protect the integrity and accuracy of our elections, and to give voters confidence in their system. Each election each year in recent years, cynicism has grown among voters. I hope my colleagues will join in the continuing effort to provide verifiable, reliable, confident voting.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Chairman, as a longtime cosponsor, I rise in support of H.R. 1286, the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Designation Act. Students of American history are intimately familiar with the Battle of Yorktown, in which French and American soldiers forced the surrender of British General Lord Cornwallis, effectively handing victory of the Revolutionary War to the American Colonies. However many Americans are less familiar with what preceded it--a harrowing nine state, six hundred mile journey of more than 6,000 allied soldiers from Newport, Rhode Island, through my home state of New Jersey to Yorktown, Virginia. Many historians identify this march led by George Washington, General of the Continental Army and French General Count Rochambeau along a network of roads, trails, and waterways as critical to the American victory at Yorktown and the eventual creation of the United States. In Philipsburg, New York on August 14, 1781, having learned that a large fleet of French naval vessels was heading from the Caribbean Sea to the Chesapeake Bay, Washington and Rochambeau discarded plans to siege New York City and march to Southeastern Virginia, where another celebrated Frenchman the Marquis de Lafayette and his 5,000 troops were outmaneuvering Cornwallis, forcing his British troops to bunker down in Yorktown. With little time to prepare, Washington and Rochambeau led more than 6,300 American and French troops on a southward march to Virginia. H.R. 1286 is an important piece of legislation that comes at a critical time. Despite strong grassroots support from organizations like the National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association, and efforts at the state and local level, many historical sites associated with the American Revolution will be lost to development and suburban sprawl. This bill would designate the route as a National Historic Trail, allowing the National Park Service to preserve and link together sites along the trail. Moreover, this designation would preserve this important piece of America's heritage using existing roads and rights of way--without the federal acquisition of private lands. Preservation of the Washington-Rochambeau route will allow American citizens and visitors alike to gain a greater appreciation of the magnitude and improbability of the American victory as well as the important and often forgotten role our French allies played in securing American independence. Americans need a sense of history and an understanding of history now more than ever. This trail tells an important story in American history, and I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6377, the Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008. This bill is an important first step in reaffirming the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate excessive speculation in the energy futures market. There are many reasons that the cost of a barrel of oil has risen so dramatically in the last few years, including increased demand from developing nations, instability in oil-producing nations, the weakening of the dollar, and price gouging on the part of the oil companies. The recent surge in gasoline prices should serve as an urgent reminder that we immediately need to change the way that we produce and use energy. Nonetheless, consumers should not suffer unnecessary increases in gasoline prices that don't reflect actual changes in supply and demand. I have heard from economists that excessive speculation has added anywhere between $20 and $60 to the price of a barrel of oil. The Bush administration has an appalling record on oversight, and they have allowed the CFTC to become powerless to regulate the commodities market. The CFTC has emergency powers at its disposal, and this bill mandates the use of this authority. In addition to curbing speculation, the CFTC must prohibit the outright fraud and abuse currently being perpetrated on the market. Closing the loopholes that have allowed dark energy markets to flourish is just one step toward addressing our current energy crisis. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6251, the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act. Over the last few months we have frequently heard claims from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that we need to open up more Federal lands to oil and gas drilling, the magic bullet that will solve our energy crisis. They have told the American people that Democrats and environmentalists are protecting our Nation's most sensitive and special environments at the expense of the American people. They have claimed that opening up land in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) would quickly help bring down the price of gas. Not only are these claims misleading American families desperately seeking help with skyrocketing gas prices, they are completely false. Currently 81 percent of our Nation's Federal lands are available to be leased for the purpose of oil and gas drilling. Sixty-eight million acres of the lands open for drilling both onshore and offshore currently are leased by oil companies who are not using them for production. It is estimated that these leased but unused lands could produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day, nearly doubling U.S. oil production and cutting oil imports by a third. Existing leases can also come online much faster than any newly leased lands, which would save only pennies per gallon, more than a decade down the road. I would like to commend my colleague from West Virginia, Representative Nick Rahall, for introducing H.R. 6251, the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act. This legislation would require oil companies to certify to the Department of the Interior that they are actively developing on the lands that they have already leased. If these oil companies are not producing on these lands, they either would have to relinquish these leases or start producing on them before they could apply to lease additional lands. Also my colleagues who say ``drill, drill, drill'' should support this legislation and they should stop talking about drilling on our environmentally sensitive coastlines and wildlife refuges until oil companies have gone as far as they can towards on these currently leased lands. This legislation is common sense and I urge my colleagues to support it. There is no logic to opening up more land to oil and gas drilling when we are not utilizing the leases we already have. Of course this legislation is not a long term solution to America's energy needs. Currently we produce 3 percent of the world's oil and consume 25 percent. Unless we find a way to dramatically reduce our consumption we will never be able to drill our way to energy independence. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to develop a long term solution to this crisis.

Mr. HOLT

Mr. HOLT. Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 6052, the Savings Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008, H.R. 6052. As gas prices continue to skyrocket to over $4 a gallon, commuters are increasingly abandoning their automobiles in favor of public transportation. New Jersey's public transit agency, NJ Transit, is breaking ridership records for the sixth consecutive year, with over 900,000 trips per weekday on its trains, buses, and light-rail vehicles. In the first 3 months of this year, public transit trips nationwide increased by 85 million over last year's numbers. Amtrak set record highs for its service with over 25 million users last year. This increase in use not only takes cars off our overburdened roadways, it conserves energy, decreases our greenhouse gas emissions, and helps our economy. However, mass transit agencies are also suffering from soaring gas prices, increased demand for their services, and decreased operating budgets. Transit agencies are paying 44 percent more for diesel fuel than they were at the beginning of this year, and almost half of bus operators and more than two-thirds of rail operators have increased their fares. The Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008 would help State and local mass transit authorities meet the increase in demand and allow them to provide a cost-effective alternative to driving. This legislation would authorize $1.7 billion in grants for mass transit agencies to upgrade and expand their transit services without having to further increase their fares. By taking public transportation the average American household could save $6,251 and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4,800 pounds per year. However, commuters need affordable, reliable access to public transportation if they are to utilize these benefits. This bill would help make public transit more available to commuters, and I urge my colleagues to support it.