Mark Kirk

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand here today to introduce legislation with Congressman Christopher Carney (D-PA) which will provide healthier and more productive environments for students. As energy prices soar and state budgets shrink, schools around the country need more assistance than ever to keep afloat. Congress can provide a commonsense way to help schools achieve fiscal sustainability by helping them to reach energy sustainability through energy efficient and other green improvements. According to the independent U.S. Green Buildings Council which established a nationally recognized green school certification program, the LEED rating system, green schools on average save $100,000 per year. This is enough to hire two new teachers, buy 500 new computers or purchase 5,000 new textbooks. In fact, if all new school construction or school renovations went green, energy savings alone would total $20 billion over the next 10 years. Green schools also provide better environments for our children, improving student achievement and health. Students at LEED certified schools perform 20 percent better on reading tests and 24 percent better on math tests than the average student. There are nearly 40 percent fewer asthma occurrences at green schools, contributing to the decreased number of sick days students experience. Providing green school improvements are extremely cost effective. Construction costs on average less than $3 per square foot more to build, yet saves roughly $12 per square foot in energy and water savings. Some schools are already investing in green school technology to take advantage of all the benefits it provides. I am proud that a school in my Congressional District of northern Illinois, Thomas Middle School, installed a one-kilowatt solar array on its roof in November 2007 with a $10,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. The photovoltaic panel produced enough energy to date to offset more than 730 pounds of carbon dioxide. The output so far is equivalent to the energy needed to power 6 homes for one day, or operate one TV for 2,565 hours. Thomas Middle School teachers also use the solar array data to help teach students about the importance of renewable energy. Classes use the information from the solar panels in experiments about energy conservation and environmental protection. I applaud Thomas Middle School Principal Tom O'Rourke and science department chair Jay Bingaman for taking such an initiative to improve the school, environment and education of their students. We are introducing the Green Schools Act to encourage schools all around the country to follow the example of Thomas Middle School. This legislation provides up to $10,000 in matching grants for schools to undertake green construction and improvement projects. The bill would also reauthorize the Qualified Zone Academy bonds program, which is used to fund renovations and repairs at schools in low-income neighborhoods. The bill would require that any improvements or rehabilitations be energy efficient. Since its establishment in 1997, the QZAB program has provided nearly $1.7 billion for school improvements projects. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill to improve the health and education of our children and provide financial security to schools.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing a bill to ensure the federal government fulfills an important obligation to the families of service men and women in my district. In 1950, President Harry Truman established the Impact Aid program to assist school districts and communities that lose their property tax base because of the presence of the federal government. Without this federal money, the burden would fall to the remaining residents whose property taxes would continue to rise while impacting the quality of education which can be provided. The Impact Aid program helps to alleviate this problem by directly reimbursing public school districts for the loss of traditional revenue sources. For years Impact Aid was fully funded and offered some of the strongest direct assistance to military families across the Nation. Unfortunately, over the last decade we have fallen behind on this commitment, and it is time to reverse this trend. While I support fully funding the Impact Aid program, I believe the situation in my district warrants special attention. In order to ensure that our students most in need continue to receive necessary resources, I have introduced this bill to help North Chicago to continue to qualify for heavily impacted payments, and Glenview and Highland Park receive fair compensation. Due to a unique housing situation for the Great Lakes Naval Training Facility, Impact Aid funding should be higher in five of my school districts. This Naval base is located in North Chicago, one of the poorest school districts in my state. However, some service members and their families live in Navy housing obtained when Ft. Sheridan and Naval Air Station Glenview, located in other suburbs, were closed in the 1990's. These former bases are located within the boundaries of other school districts that now must bear the economic cost of educating children from a base, but receive none of the economic benefits a base provides. Thus, it is vitally important that we both ensure North Chicago continues to receive heavily impacted payments for the benefit of students living there, and that the surrounding communities are more fairly compensated for their loss of property taxes. By passing this bill, the federal government will be fulfilling its responsibility to these communities, and giving our military families the support they deserve.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to stand here today to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will help protect the Great Lakes from harmful pollution that poisons our water and closes our beaches. The Great Lakes are the world's largest freshwater system and serve as a source of drinking water, food, jobs and recreation for more than thirty million Americans. It is critical that we enhance our restoration efforts for this critical resource, not degrade the condition of the lakes even further. In 2007, British Petroleum (BP) threatened to begin a billion-dollar expansion of its refinery facility in Whiting, Indiana which would have included a large increase of pollution into the Great Lakes. The company sought to discharge an increase of 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan per day. This would have totaled a combined increase of more than 1,800 pounds per day of these pollutants which strangle aquatic life and contribute to the increasing number of beach closures each year. Based on a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, BP was eligible for a tax credit that would have allowed them to expense half of the capital costs in the first year of the expansion. Essentially, the government would have paid the company to pollute our lakes. While providing incentives to energy production and refinery expansion helps to lower gas prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we must not do so at the expense of one of America's most treasured natural resources. Fortunately, BP yielded to public pressure and chose not to move ahead with the expansion as planned. Due to the determination and cooperation of federal, state and local officials, environmental advocacy organizations and communities around the region, BP is now working with a coalition of scientists and small businesses to seek an environmentally friendly way to expand its refinery. While I applaud BP for making the right decision in the end, we must ensure that no refinery ever comes as close to drastically harming our precious lakes. That is why I am introducing the Bad Polluters Act, which will deny the capital expensing tax credit to any refiner whose facility's NPDES permit allows for an increase in any pollutant above its 2006 levels into the Great Lakes. This will prevent companies from seeking to increase pollution into our drinking water. In order to claim this important tax credit, companies will be forced to search a bit harder for a new solution to water treatment. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and join in the fight to protect our national treasure.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the Terrorist Rewards Enhancement Act. This bill will assist in our fight against terrorism around the globe. Currently, the terrorist rewards program run by the State Department assists in our hunt for terrorists by promising a cash reward or other type of reward for information leading to the arrest of some of the world's most deadly terrorists. This program has been very successful in the past in apprehending key people including Mir Amal Kansi, a terrorist who had murdered two CIA employees and injured three others in a 1993 shooting outside CIA headquarters in Virginia. Under current law, the U.S. may not pay a reward to an officer or employee of another government. I have traveled to Pakistan each of the last 4 years, where I met with a number of government officials. At the strong suggestion of Pakistan's ISI and IB intelligence and police bureaus, I believe the President should be able to pay such a reward to anyone having information leading us to the greatest terrorists. If there is anyone, anywhere, even if they work for a Pakistani government agency, who has information about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, we should be doing all we can to elicit that information. With the increasing number of cross-border incursions into Afghanistan coming from the Waziristan region of Pakistan, it is more important than ever to develop a complete picture of where al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists are hiding. We need to provide our State Department and intelligence officials with all the possible tools to aid in the capture of the world's number one terrorist. The Terrorist Rewards Enhancement Act will provide one more of these tools.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand here today to introduce legislation which provides for the exploration of methods to eradicate the dangerous Asian carp from the Great Lakes. Each year, invasive species in the Great Lakes cause more than $5 billion in economic damage and irreparable harm to an ecosystem that provides more than 40 million people with jobs. water, food. and recreation. A new invader, the Asian carp, threatens to further destroy the region's ecosystem and economy, and it is imperative that we act to prevent this catastrophe. A single barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, built as a temporary demonstration project 5 years ago, is the only thing preventing these invaders from entering Lake Michigan and drastically altering the entire region's ecosystem. While Congress recently provided full authorization and funding for this critical barrier, it may not be enough to prevent the Asian carp from infiltrating the Great Lakes and the devastating consequences that would follow. It is therefore critical that we also explore alternatives and supplements to the carp barrier. My legislation would direct the Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration and Great Lakes States to conduct a study on the feasibility of a variety of approaches to eradicating Asian carp from the Great Lakes. The legislation specifically directs the agencies to study the feasibility of temporarily harvesting Asian carp as a means to eradicate the invasive species in an environmentally responsible manner. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to explore all possibilities to effectively eliminate the threat that this dangerous species poses to our Nation's most precious natural resource.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I introduce a bill to reauthorize and expand Rob Portman's landmark legislation, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. This reauthorization will help developing countries reduce foreign debt and provide comprehensive environmental preservation programs to protect forests and endangered marine habitats around the world. Since enacted in 1998, Tropical Forest Conservation Act programs have generated more than $162 million over 10 to 25 years to help conserve 50 million acres of tropical forests in Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America. But the rate of deforestation continues to accelerate across the globe in all types of forests. Similarly alarming is the rapid rate of coral reef and coastal exploitation. The burden of foreign debt falls especially hard on the smallest of nations, such as island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific. With few natural resources, these nations often resort to harvesting or otherwise exploiting coral reefs and other marine habitats to earn hard currency to service foreign debt. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 60 percent of the world's coral reefs may be destroyed by the year 2050 if the present rate of destruction continues. The Forest and Coral Conservation Act will credit qualified developing nations for each dollar spent on a comprehensive reef preservation or management program designed to protect these unique ecosystems from degradation. This legislation will make available resources for environmental stewardship that would otherwise be of the lowest priority in a developing country. It will reduce debt by investing locally in programs that will strengthen indigenous economies by creating long-term management policies that will preserve the natural resources upon which local commerce is based. This legislation has enormous consequences for the existence of critical ecosystems, the health of our planet and the livelihoods of millions of people across the globe. I am proud to introduce the Forest and Coral Conservation Act with Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL), which will help preserve the world's most precious natural resources.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to join with Congressman Lipinski to introduce the Great Lakes Water Protection Act. This bipartisan legislation, supported by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, National Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Foundation, National Parks Conservation Association, Great Lakes Aquatic Network, Audubon Society and more, would set a date certain to end sewage dumping in America's largest supply of fresh water, the Great Lakes. More than thirty million Americans depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, food, jobs, and recreation. We need to put a stop to the poisoning of our water supply. Cities along the Great Lakes must become environmental stewards of our country's most precious freshwater ecosystem. The Great Lakes Water Protection Act gives cities until 2029 to build the full infrastructure needed to prevent sewage dumping into the Great Lakes. Those who violate EPA sewage dumping regulations after that federal deadline will be subject to fines up to $100,000 for every day they are in violation. These fines will be directed to a newly established Great Lakes Clean-Up Fund within the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Penalties collected would go into this fund and be reallocated to the states surrounding the Great Lakes. From there, the funds will be spent on wastewater treatment options, with a special focus on greener solutions such as habitat protection and wetland restoration. This legislation is sorely needed. Many major cities along the Great Lakes do not have the infrastructure needed to divert sewage overflows during times of heavy rainfall. More than twenty-four billion gallons of sewage are dumped into the Lakes each year; Detroit alone dumped over thirteen billion gallons of sewage into Lake Huron in 2005. These disastrous practices result in thousands of annual beach closing for the region's 815 freshwater beaches. Illinois faced 793 beach closures and health advisories in 2007, up more than thirty percent from 2006. Six beaches in my district alone exceeded health standards more than 25 percent of the time. This greatly affects the health of our children and families--EPA estimates suggest that nearly 300 people could expect to contract a respiratory illness after swimming in Lake Michigan in Chicago on one summer weekend. This trend is echoed throughout the Great Lakes region and is one we need to reverse. Protecting our Great Lakes is one of my top priorities in the Congress. As an original cosponsor of the Great Lakes Restoration Act, I favor a broad approach to addressing needs in the region. However, we must also move forward with tailored approaches to fix specific problems as we continue to push for more comprehensive reform. I am proud to introduce this important legislation that addresses a key problem facing our Great Lakes, and hope my colleagues will support me in ensuring that these important resources become free from the threat of sewage pollution.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, according to a 2005 GAO study, employers reported the use of 1.4 million Social Security numbers that did not exist. Nearly 1.7 million numbers had been used by multiple individuals, sometimes as many as 500 times for the same Social Security number. In my district, the Waukegan police find that at least 20 fake Social Security cards are found by law enforcement every week. Now, upgrading the Social Security card should be common sense. It's about seniors. It's about identity theft. It's about illegal immigration. And it's about keeping Americans safe. When we look at today's Social Security card, we find a 1930s design. It lacks a picture. It lacks a bar code. It lacks a magnetic strip. It poses almost no barrier to the thousands of counterfeiters that make false Social Security cards. Today, along with my colleague from Illinois Peter Roskam, I have introduced legislation to finally give Americans the choice between the old 1930s design Social Security card and the new secure Social Security card. This card offers enhanced protections across the board. It would replace that flimsy and easily counterfeitable Social Security card with a 21st century identity document that gives seniors real protection. Our legislation and this design is based on the Government's common access card. Already the U.S. Government has issued 10 million of these cards, and its protections, in our judgment, we believe, should be offered to people in the 21st century against Social Security card counterfeiters. We think this legislation is important to propose a significant barrier to those who would counterfeit Social Security cards, to help seniors in fighting identity theft, and to make sure that a person who has that number and this card is really who they say it is. We saw on September 11 that 18 of 19 hijackers had valid U.S. IDs during their crime of the century. I think it's time to make sure that at least the Social Security card has the 21st century protections that we can offer to make sure that we protect seniors, to make sure that we protect all Americans, and to protect the Social Security system. That's why we think that this legislation to create these secure Social Security cards is an idea whose time has come.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, as our economy continues to struggle, an immediate and cost-effective way to offer relief to consumers is to provide incentives for mass transit use. According to a study published by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), public transportation use in the U.S. saves an annual 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline. Factoring in the current average gasoline price of $1.65 per gallon, public transit saves consumers more than $2 billion in gas costs per year. Greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles also pose a severe threat to our environment, as emissions from our transportation sector account for nearly a third of all U.S. emissions. Public transit, however, reduces CO2 emissions by 37 million metric tons annually. This is equivalent to the electricity used by nearly five million homes. If we want to get serious about emissions reductions, we must get serious about investing in public transit. Current law allows businesses, governments, non-profits and employees to purchase tax-free transit benefits. However. there is no tax incentive for employers to directly subsidize their workers' transportation costs. The bipartisan Creating Opportunities to Motivate Mass-transit Utilization To Encourage Ridership (COMMUTER) Act of 2008 offers employers a 50 percent tax credit for all transit benefits provided to employees, up to $115 per employee per month. Under the COMMUTER Act, employees could receive up to $1,380 in free mass transit funds each year, with the employer receiving $690 in tax credits per employee. As family budgets continue to tighten, an extra $1,400 to $2,800 could help ease the burdens of health care and education or help bolster retirement savings. A study recently conducted by BusinessWeek Research Services estimates that 53 percent of employees in Chicago, San Francisco and New York would take public transportation if their employer provided access to current transit benefits. Out of the respondents, 60 percent said their company does not provide tax-free commuter benefits. I believe we must work to provide long-term solutions to our energy crisis, such as passing long-term tax incentives for research and development of renewable and alternative energy, fuels and vehicles; eliminating the so-called boutique fuels and offering the nation one clean burning fuel; financing energy development projects in China, central Asia and the Gulf to meet Chinese energy needs apart from oil; and increasing fuel economy standards. But our economy, environment and national security cannot wait ten, twenty or thirty years for the entire restructuring of our energy policy--we need to take action now. I am proud to offer the COMMUTER Act with Representatives Dan Lipinski (D-IL) Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Peter Roskam (R-IL) and to help provide that immediate relief. I hope Congress will act swifly and in a bipartisan manner to pass this important legislation.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, a year ago, the subprime crisis surfaced. This month, we see the results of inordinate and mis-regulated financial risk-taking. The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac put these mortgage giants into conservatorship. The Treasury and Federal Reserve intervened to keep the largest U.S. insurer out of bankruptcy. Twice in 1 week, the U.S. stock market posted 1-day drops not seen since two airplanes were flown into the Wall Street's World Trade Center buildings. Congress is taking swift action to protect the capital markets that keep our economy going. We must not forget the small investor. Middle class families are seeing significant losses in their investments weaken investor confidence, consumer spending and the future growth of our Nation's economy. Stock investors have watched the values of their portfolios drop more than 20 percent this year, and homeowners fear that continuing mortgage market volatility will hamper recovery of the real estate markets--down 30 percent in some regions of the United States. Some middle class Americans nearing retirement may need to work additional years to earn back their stock losses. With continuing economic uncertainty, we must bring relief to middle class families while boosting investor confidence in an uncertain stock market. Today, I am introducing the Middle Class Investor Relief Act, increasing the maximum annual capital loss a taxpayer can take from $3,000 to $20,000. Current tax law is asymmetrical with regard to taxing capital gains and writing off capital losses. Long-term gains are taxed at 15 percent while capital loss write-offs are capped at $3,000 per year. An individual who lost more than $3,000 in the stock market could take years to rebuild his or her holdings. The Middle Class Investor Relief Act will correct the asymmetry of current tax law and help middle class Americans recover losses and rebuild their portfolios.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to rise in support of a resolution I authored, H. Res. 875, honoring and supporting the Hadley School for the Blind. Dr. William A. Hadley, an Illinois high school teacher, lost his vision at age 55. With the loss of his sight Dr. Hadley believed that he would also lose his greatest joy--teaching. Although he taught himself Braille so he could continue to read, he was frustrated with the lack of educational opportunities for blind individuals. Dr. Hadley wanted to help others like him gain the skills and knowledge that could lead to independence. In 1920, Dr. Hadley and ophthalmologist Dr. E.V.L. Brown created the Hadley School for the Blind. Today, the Hadley School is the largest single educator of blind persons in the world, reaching 10,000 students annually in all 50 states and in 100 different countries. The school began with teaching Braille with the innovative use of correspondence courses. While it is still known for its superior Braille curriculum, the school has expanded to offer a high school degree program and adult continuing education classes. In 2008, the School will expand again to include the Hadley School for Professional Studies for professionals who serve those who are blind and visually impaired. Students from the school have done extraordinary things. Former student Christine Gilson, a blind doctoral candidate and Fulbright scholar from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was the 2007 recipient of the Hadley School for the Blind's President's Service Award for exceptional work in raising awareness of the needs and abilities of blind and visually impaired people. She bridged cultural boundaries by teaching visually impaired Chinese students English language classes online. The Hadley School for the Blind recently formed a partnership with Bookshare.org, an online community that lets people with print disabilities, such as blindness or low vision, scan books and exchange them legally through its website. The strategic partnership will extend the reach of both organizations and provide a broad range of learning and reading materials to people who are blind and visually impaired. I am proud to be the author of this resolution that supports an institution that has, for almost 90 years, provided a valuable education for thousands of visually impaired individuals.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, in July we bailed out entities with well- paid executives including Daniel Mudd, President and Chief Financial Officer at Fannie Mae ($11.5 million), and Richard Syron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Freddie Mac ($18.3 million). Recent press reports show that a number of chairmen/CEOs were highly compensated before their companies began failing including Bear Stearns CEO, Alan Schwartz ($35 million), Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld ($40 million) and AIG's Martin Sullivan ($47 million). Federal regulators rightly blocked planned golden parachutes for the failed leaders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we should now set that precedent into law--if you get a taxpayer bailout, you lose your job and your parachute. Today, I am introducing legislation that will ensure that no taxpayer dollars can be used for executive compensation or a golden parachute for any senior officer of a company that received credit or direct assistance bailout. My bill also grants Treasury Secretary Paulson the authority to terminate senior officers of any entity seeking a bailout from the taxpayer. Given the dire economic warnings, Democrats and Republicans must pull together to save jobs and strengthen the economy for working Americans. But this must be a bailout with consequences, including a prohibition on any taxpayer dollars used for senior officer salaries or golden parachutes and the termination of senior officers of companies receiving aid.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Boozman, who helped bring this bill forward and has developed an expertise on Great Lakes harbors, and then our leaders on these issues, the chairman of the Transportation Committee, Mr. Oberstar. We all should tell many of our fellow colleagues who don't represent the Great Lakes that quite obviously our region is studded with industrial cities which helped build the United States. But as our economy changed, many of these communities were left with bankrupt hulks occupying much of the most valuable resources and real estate in America. In 2001, I joined with Chairman Ehlers to begin this new program, the Great Lakes Legacy Act. This program was designed to clean up these Midwestern harbors, like Waukegan, Illinois, that suffered from George Soros' Outboard Marine Corp that polluted our harbor before Soros then looted and bankrupt the company. The funding for this program also resulted from a unique story. Congressman Rahm Emanuel and I, as newer Members of Congress, were invited by the President of the United States on Air Force One. We decided jointly that in the corridor of that aircraft we would buttonhole the President, and me, somewhat more softly, and Rahm, somewhat more forcefully, urged the President to support the Great Lakes Legacy Act. Finally, the President relented and said, Okay, Mark, Rahm, I get it. Clean up Great Lakes harbors. So appropriations were found, even in the President's budget. This program now has cleaned up five areas of concern, with 31 to go. The success of cleaning up harbors no longer can be doubted, especially in my area, because we are all now seeing what is happening in Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin, recognized now as tremendous economic successes. When we clean up Waukegan Harbor, in all likelihood, probably using a more traditional Superfund authority, we expect to see an $800 million economic boom in eastern Lake County. Now Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Boozman have rightly backed this bill, which underscores a key point that environmental cleanup and economic development go hand in hand in the Great Lakes. We did run into a snag in the Senate, Senator Coburn, who set certain conditions on the passage of this bill. I wish they could have visited some of these communities. I wish he could have seen how much economic development has already been fostered. I wish he could have seen the new entrepreneurs and businesses created. But, for now, here in the House, we rightly join together as Republicans and Democrats to build a success upon a success to keep this program on track. I thank the authors of this legislation and commend their work and urge their quick adoption of this legislation.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, as a co-chairman of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force I am pleased to rise in support of S.J. Res. 45, the Great Lakes--St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. This bipartisan legislation, supported by the Council of Great Lakes Governors, the Great Lakes Commission, Alliance for the Great Lakes and more, would implement a host of water conservation and transparency measures that will limit water diversions and encourage responsible, sustainable water use. A state-by-state approach will not solve the problem--S.J. Res. 45 is a comprehensive, regional solution to prevent the selling off of our most important natural resource. The Great Lakes are among the Nation's most precious natural resources. As the world's largest freshwater system, the lakes provide food, recreation, drinking water, and jobs for nearly 40 million people. Yet the Great Lakes face a number of threats, ranging from sewage and industrial pollution to invasive species and decreasing water levels. These hazards threaten not only the ecosystem and water supply, but also the long-term economic stability of the entire Midwest. Studies document that lake levels have been on the decline since the 1970s. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Great Lakes are now a combined 3.5 feet below their long-term average. Many factors are believed to contribute to the declining levels, including increasing air and water temperatures which reduce the ice cover of the lakes and result in faster evaporation during winter. In fact, the National Wildlife Federation estimates that the lakes could drop up to 8 feet this century if action is not taken. While Congress can take steps to help mitigate the effects of global warming, Great Lakes states must regulate water use. We run the risk that without water diversion safeguards, the drop in lake levels could continue--we must set standards to responsibly manage water use. In 1998, the Canadian Nova Group tried to ship Lake Superior water in bulk to Asia. Last October, then-Presidential candidate Bill Richardson suggested that western states use Great Lakes water to meet their growing water demand. Clearly, the desire to seize Great Lakes water exists, and we must prevent the large-scale depletion of our resource. Perhaps the most shocking example of water mismanagement is the Aral Sea at the borders of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In 50 years, what once was the world's fourth largest inland sea lost 75 percent of its water due to irresponsible irrigation and regional growth. This demonstrates how seemingly limitless supplies of water can vanish quickly. To protect the Great Lakes, Congress needs to pass the Great Lakes-- St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. As a proud original cosponsor to H.R. 6577, the House companion version, we must do everything we can to protect this national treasure for future generations to enjoy. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this sorely needed legistiaon.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I am proud to introduce this important resolution calling for a comprehensive strategy to address the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, and condemning the ongoing assaults and obstruction by the Khartoum regime. I am joined in this effort by my distinguished colleagues Mr. Jackson of Illinois and Mr. Wolf of Virginia. The tragedy of Darfur seems to know no end. After years of violence and death, the genocide in Darfur continues this month with renewed fighting between the Khartoum regime and rebel forces. Once again, entire villages have been decimated, civilians have been slaughtered and thousands have been left homeless. We cannot turn away from the violence before us. We must continue to raise the issues of Darfur that confront our Nation and the international community. While the violence is perpetrated by those who carry the guns and drop the bombs, we have a responsibility as well. I am proud of the young people in my own district who have worked to raise awareness of the crisis in Darfur. Zack Harris, now a sophomore at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, learned about the conflict in Darfur 2 years ago and became determined to help. As the eighth grade student president at Central School in Glencoe, he organized ``Dance for Darfur,'' a fundraiser for the Luol Deng Foundation. Named after the Chicago Bulls player from Sudan, the foundation works with the World Food Program in Darfur to assist with food distribution. The ``Dance for Darfur'' was the first charity dance ever held at the school, and helped raise awareness at the school and in the community. In total, Zack raised more than $5,000. In March of this year, I organized a Model Congress with high school students from all across the 10th District. They held hearings and markups on the Darfur Peace and Security Act to bring an end to the genocide. Together, they amended and passed this comprehensive bill to provide humanitarian aid and adopt strict sanctions, along with other measures, to stop the violence in the region. Other organizations such as the Chicago Coalition to Save Darfur, the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Congregation Beth Or in Deerfield, IL, and Chicago Tikkun are all working to bring awareness to the crisis. Like these students and activists, Congress and the administration must remain committed to ending the tragedy that is unfolding before our eyes. We must build upon the basic achievements that we have won to ensure the full deployment of the UNAMID mission, full access to humanitarian aid, full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and full accountability of the Khartoum government for all its actions. The U.S. must collaborate with the international community condemn the actions of the Khartoum regime, which have demonstrated the worst that humanity has to offer, and implement a comprehensive strategy to address the crisis in Darfur. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to bring attention to the plight of the Darfurians and work to find a lasting comprehensive strategy to address this crisis.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, let me strike a more bipartisan tone. Given the dire economic warnings that we see, Republicans and Democrats in this House must pull together to save the jobs and the economy for working Americans. But if there is to be a bailout, it must be a bailout with consequences. We should include a prohibition on taxpayer dollars being used for senior officer salaries or golden parachutes and require the termination for senior officers who are receiving aid. Federal regulators rightly blocked the golden parachutes for the failed leaders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We should now set that precedent into law. If you get a taxpayer bailout, you lose your job and your parachute. In the Navy, we know how to deal with this. If a skipper runs his ship aground, he is immediately relieved of command.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, the Outboard Marine Corporation dumped tons of PCBs directly into Waukegan Harbor, polluting it. OMC's owner, George Soros, then looted the company and left. I joined with Congressman Ehlers and Congressman Emanuel to address that issue. To date we have been successful in cleaning five of 31 areas of concerns. One more is underway, and seven additional harbors are under evaluation. Under this very program, more than a million pounds of polluted sediment have been removed. This bill before the House increases environmental remediation funds, and it speeds up the cleanup. It will help us to protect the Great Lakes, the source of drinking water for over 30 million Americans. I am particularly looking forward to Waukegan's cleanup. Shortly, we will announce the full Superfund cleanup of that harbor. Under Federal law, the Federal Government will take the lead to do its duty to remove this threat to human health. Some locals don't want the cleanup of our harbor, but they will not be able to prevent this needed environmental remediation. And when complete, it will increase Lake County property values by over $800 million. We still have a few more days left to fund this program under the Great Lakes Legacy Act. I hope we do because then the cleanup will be even faster.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I am proud to introduce this bill to award Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner the Congressional Gold Medal for his outstanding work in the medical field of gastroenterology. The son of Russian immigrants, Kirsner overcame adversity as a young man and graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine at the top of his class. He went on to earn his medical degree at the University of Chicago. While training in Chicago, he became an expert in gastroenterology and helped to make the University of Chicago the premier center for research and therapy of inflammatory bowel disease. His leadership and research led to unprecedented medical advances in the field of gastroenterology, enhancing the lives of people across the world. Despite his devotion to his research, Kirsner was compelled to join the Armed Forces in World War II, earning a third battle star in the battle of the Philippines before serving under General Douglas MacArthur in Japan. Following the war, Kirsner became a full professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. During his time as a professor, he published over 700 papers and 15 books, and gave over 25 named lectureships. He has served as a leader on a number of boards and foundations, such as the National Institutes of Health, the American Gastroenterological Association and the Chicago Medical Society. Despite all of his world-renowned successes, he continues to provide personal care to patients from across the country. Dr. Kirsner, a World War II veteran and devoted civil servant to the field of medicine, has lived his life in service to others, deserving of national recognition for his honorable contribution to our country.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, our country rises to its potential when we support NATO, especially when an ally asks for help. In August, the missile threat to our allies grew. Russia invaded Georgia and fired over a dozen ballistic missiles at her people. And Iran also tested its first space-launched rocket. In response, our Polish allies signed an agreement calling for a U.S. missile defense base. It will not only defend Europe, but also us. Poland is a good ally, having sent 18,000 troops to Iraq, covering five provinces, and now surging support for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. But in July, the House gutted funding for the base in Poland. Without a Polish agreement, the House cut $400 million. But now that agreement has been signed. Poland's foreign minister has asked for U.S. support, especially after Russia's President Putin threatened both Poland and Ukraine. Tomorrow I will offer a defense appropriations amendment to refund the cuts made against Poland. If the lessons of the last century are clear, we know that America has fewer problems later if we support a friend like Poland now.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, please let the record show that Representative Dave Reichert was an original cosponsor of the Apollo Energy Independence Act, H.R. 6385, and was integral to the introduction of this legislation. Congressman Reichert was left off of the original cosponsor list due to administrative error.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, we all know there is a growing Iranian threat, focused mostly on the people of Israel. Earlier this year, Jane Harman joined my bipartisan letter with 70 Members of Congress calling for the U.S. to extend our full ballistic missile defenses to protect Israel. Last night, the United States announced that we would make this key commitment. Secretary Gates told Defense Minister Barak that the first step will happen soon. America's most powerful radar, the X-Band, will soon defend Israel. This is a historic step that sends a powerful message to Iran: A future attack on Israel will likely fail. Our two democracies are sticking together to ensure the safety of free peoples, even in the Middle East. Yesterday's decision by America's defenders makes deterrence, diplomacy, and peace a much more likely future for the people of Israel.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I co-authored this resolution with Rob Andrews as a call to action for the safety of the Baha'i faithful. Never have followers of a more peaceful or gentle creed faced a more cruel and unjust tormenter. Founded in the mid-19th century in Persia, the Baha'i faith now extends to every country, including our own, but its faithful are most numerous in the place of its origin, now the modern day Iran. The European Parliament has spoken out on this issue, and so we now add our voice as supporters of international human rights and the home of many Baha'i faithful here in America. We have looked at a terrible situation unfolding in Iran. While Iranian Baha'is have suffered for many decades, their repression has grown significantly in the past few years. In 2006, Iran's Armed Forces Command headquarters ordered their Ministry of Information and the Revolutionary Guard and the police to identify all members of the Baha'i faith in Iran and to begin to monitor their activities. In that same year, we saw the largest round-up of Baha'is. The Iranian Interior Ministry ordered provincial officials to cautiously and carefully monitor and then begin to manage all Baha'i activities. The Central Security Office of Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology ordered 81 Iranian universities to expel any student discovered of being a Baha'i. In 2007, the situation worsened. More than two-thirds of Baha'is enrolled in universities were expelled once they were identified. Police entered Baha'i homes and businesses to collect details on family members. Twenty-five industries were ordered to deny licenses to Baha'is, employers were pressured to fire Baha'i employees, and banks were told to refuse loans to Baha'i-owned businesses. As we heard before, Baha'i cemeteries were also destroyed. In November of 2007, three Baha'i youths, Ms. Raha Sabet, Mr. Sasan Taqva and Ms. Haleh Roohi, were all detained for educating underprivileged children. They were later sentenced to 4 years in prison for this offense. The following month, the Iranian Parliament published a draft Islamic penal code requiring the death penalty for all apostates, a term that strictly applies to Baha'is and anyone who converts away from rigid Islam. On May 14, 2008, seven members of the National Baha'i Coordinating Group were arrested. This is reminiscent of a mass disappearance and assumed murder of all members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is in Iran back in August of 1980. The seven arrested in May are still being held without any charge or access to attorneys. And in just the last 2 weeks, a number of Baha'i families were targeted with acts of arson. This is government-sponsored persecution. And we in the Congress should not be silent as Iran sets up the mechanism to ethnically cleanse its Baha'i minority, totaling over 250,000 human beings. This bipartisan resolution, which I introduced with Congressman Andrews, condemns the Government of Iran for its persistent repression of Baha'is and lack of due process afforded to this minority. Our resolution calls upon Iran to immediately release three Baha'i youths and to reject the draft Islamic penal code requiring the death penalty for all apostates. Mr. Speaker, my district is also home to the headquarters of the North American Assembly of Baha'is. The son of the faith's founder laid the cornerstone on the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette, Illinois--now basically a de facto symbol of the North Shore and our commitment to diversity and tolerance. Would that this view be shared by the Iranian Government. For the life of me, I do not understand why they attack Baha'is. The Baha'i faith teaches that Moses and Jesus and Mohammed are all respected teachers who added to the faith of our times. The Baha'is embody acceptance and tolerance and accommodation. They have a faith which renders them incapable of being a threat to a government, so it is up to us to speak for them. It's up to us to hold up a mirror to the Iranian Government to show it as a vicious and cruel state. We have seen this movie before, but they have worn other uniforms in other countries. It is my hope that we can make this call to action to join with the European Parliament. We can help change the ending of this flick so that hundreds of thousands of Baha'is may one day be able to sleep well in future days knowing that the great democracies from across the seas in Europe and America watch over them. I urge the adoption of this Kirk-Andrews resolution and mightily thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. Berman, Ranking Member Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Chabot, for helping to bring this before America's Parliament and calling real attention to help avert what could be a new crime of the century.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, this legislation takes us in the right direction by freeing up restrictions because we knew even back in 1985 that to save the most lives this program should be run by doctors and not politicians. Now, 23 years ago John Porter, Bob Mrazek, and I had no idea how large and successful this program would be. My only wish is the head of the Harvard Public School of Health, our first director of this early program, Dr. Jonathan Mann, could be with us. Dr. Mann was killed in a tragic airline accident, but I wish he could see us now.

Mr. KIRK. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, 23 years as a staff member, I heard from WHO that AIDS was not an epidemic based in New York, San Francisco, or Haiti, as we thought back in 1985, but instead was an epidemic that raged in Zaire for years. I got my then boss, John Porter, and Democratic Congressman Bob Mrazek to begin the foreign AIDS program. We were told by the leaders of the Appropriations Committee that we could not do this, but we did. We started with just a $25 million funding level, and as recently as 1999, I had a tough time even getting members to show up for a hearing on this subject. I feel a bit like a country music singer who worked in every honky-tonk for years before hitting the big time. But this bill is the big time. It's the largest investment in health of another country from just one country, the United States of America. The original legislation put too many congressional restrictions on this program. This frees up those restrictions.