Randy Kuhl

Mr. KUHL of New York

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, once again I offer my appreciation to my colleague from New York (Mr. Crowley) for bringing this resolution. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor on H.R. 1696.

Mr. KUHL of New York

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 478) supporting the goals and ideals of ``Lights On Afterschool!'', a national celebration of after-school programs.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 478.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 478, offered by my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey). This resolution seeks to support the goals and the ideals of Lights on Afterschool!, a national celebration of after-school programs. This year's Lights on Afterschool! rally, which takes place on October 12, 2006, is expected to include more than 7,000 events in the United States and at military bases around the world. This event is aimed at bringing attention to the need for high-quality after-school programs that keep kids safe, help working families, and improve academic achievement. I support this resolution because after-school programs are an important part of many American's student lives. High-quality after- school programs provide safe, challenging and fun learning experiences that help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills. I am pleased that we are able to bring attention to the critical importance of after-school programs. I commend the communities across the Nation that engage in innovative after-school programs and activities and ensure that the doors stay open and the lights stay on for all children after school. This resolution is simple and straight forward. It supports the goals and ideals of Lights on Afterschool!, a nationwide celebration of after-school programs. I commend my colleague, Mrs. Lowey, for her leadership in authoring H. Con. Res. 478. I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time at this moment. Once again, I would like to commend my colleague Mrs. Lowey for bringing this important resolution to the floor, and I thank my colleague Mr. Davis for expounding upon the very need for it, and with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4981) to amend the National Dam Safety Program Act, as amended.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4981, as amended, reauthorizes the National Dam Safety Program for 5 years through fiscal year 2011. It makes minor improvements to the national inventory of dams. The existing program authorization expires in just 3 days at the end of September. The National Dam Safety Program is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, commonly known as FEMA, and was established to improve safety and security around dams. The program provides assistance grants to State dam safety agencies to assist them in improving their regulatory programs, training and research, and to create a national inventory of dams. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' National Inventory of Dams, there are nearly 2,000 dams in New York State, of which 133 are in my congressional district alone. Some of these high-hazard dams include the Almond Dam in Steuben County; the Canadice Lake Dam in Ontario County; the Cuba Lake Dam in Allegany County; and the Keuka Lake Outlet Dam in Yates County. Of those 133 dams, 30 of them are considered to be high hazard and 41 are significant hazard. That means if there is a failure, and I underline, there is a high risk of death and destruction, high risk of death and destruction, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Reauthorization of this program is necessary to continue the program and benefit the research, development of information technology, and the training of State dam safety officials who are considered the Nation's first line of defense from dam failures. I support this bill and encourage my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time. I would just like to thank my colleague from the other side of the aisle, Ms. Brown, for her support of this bill and certainly to my colleagues Mr. Matheson and Mr. Abercrombie for their cosponsorship of this bill; and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 874) recognizing and honoring America's seniors, as amended.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Resolution 874.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Resolution 874, a bipartisan resolution to honor older Americans. Today, supporting the needs of older Americans is more important than ever. More than 49 million people in the United States are over the age of 60, making it the fastest-growing group in the country. By the year 2050, just a short time away, that number will reach nearly 90 million people and comprise almost a quarter of our population. This resolution recognizes the countless contributions that older Americans have made to the strength of our Nation. They include members of the Greatest Generation, who fought in World War I and in World War II and the Korean War and other military conflicts. They have sacrificed at home and abroad to keep America free. Mr. Speaker, with an increasing number of Americans as they retire, our Nation can continue to benefit from the rich talent and experience of these citizens. In communities across the United States, older Americans work and volunteer through community-based and faith-based organizations to support education, health services for the poor and other vital community needs. In June the Education and Workforce Committee approved bipartisan legislation to strengthen and reform the Older Americans Act. The Senior Independence Act, as it is called, transforms and modernizes the law to meet the needs of today's seniors and the needs of the Nation as the population ages. Final enactment will help older Americans to identify home- and community-based long- term care options, including consumer-directed care models as well as other supportive services that can help prevent or delay the need for expensive institutional care. These reforms will help millions of Americans stay healthy and remain in their homes and communities and could yield significant savings. I say that again: and could yield significant savings to taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased this body is taking this time today to honor older Americans for their many contributions to the strength of our great Nation, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones).

Mr. KUHL of New York

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close on this bill. It seems as though there is a long distance between this side of the aisle and the other side of the aisle, because my friend Mr. Miller fails to recognize the statistics that the honorable gentleman from Kentucky mentioned. Regardless of the fact that there are school districts who are attempting to make changes in their disciplinary policies protecting students, the fact is that violence remains a very, very big issue in our schools. It needs to be resolved. People, like the teachers on the front lines combating this violence and protecting our students, are not necessarily afforded the opportunities to do that. That is what this bill does. I applaud Mr. Davis for bringing it forward. The bill simply asks, and while my friend Mr. Miller would try to distort what the bill actually does, the bill asks school districts, each and every one of them separately, to develop and implement a policy on school safety. Nowhere in this legislation is language requiring what the policy should look like or how strict or relaxed it should be. The legislation merely allows each and every individual school district to craft unique policies with guidance established by the Supreme Court decision. That Supreme Court decision, and I will quote again, simply says apart from education, the school, and I underline the school, has the obligation to protect pupils from mistreatments by other children and also to protect teachers themselves from violence by the few students whose conduct in recent years has promoted national concern. Now let's go to the actual language. I don't know whether Mr. Miller has had an opportunity to read the bill, but the bill itself specifically says each local educational agency shall have in effect throughout the jurisdiction of the agency policies that ensure that a search described in subsection (b) is deemed reasonable and permissible. No question about it. Some people might concern themselves with the fact that this might be an overextension of personal rights, but the Supreme Court has defined what is permissible. In no way does this bill give permission for school officials to perform mass or strip searches of students. No way. Also, Mr. Miller, let me assure you that while you can make castigations about this side of the aisle trying to balance the budget, nobody on this side of the aisle has suggested that funding for the implementation of this program is to be deleted. As a matter of fact, we openly support increased funding to implement this policy

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon). (Mr. McKEON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5295, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5295) to protect students and teachers, as amended.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 5295.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It gives me great pleasure to rise in support of H.R. 5295, the Student and Teacher Safety Act of 2006, of which I am a cosponsor. This bill is designed to help schools take actions to keep students and property safe from harm and destruction. We have an obligation to make the learning environment in which our children attend free from weapons and drugs. By allowing school officials the ability to use their experience and intuition, we are eliminating these threats of violence before they have an opportunity to occur. Specifically, this bill encourages local school agencies to establish policies that put parents and students on notice that weapons and drugs will not be tolerated within school bounds, and gives power to school officials and full-time teachers to enforce such policies. We all know that the threat of weapons and drugs in school can create an intimidating and threatening environment making teaching and learning difficult. The Supreme Court has ruled, and here today we should agree, that ``apart from education, the school has the obligation to protect pupils from mistreatment by other children, and also to protect teachers themselves from violence by the few students whose conduct in recent years has prompted national concern.'' Mr. Speaker, violence in our schools is simply not acceptable. Nothing is more important than the safety and the well-being of our children. Parents should feel secure that when children go to school, they will be completely safe. I say that again, completely safe. This bill provides some assurance that we are doing all that we can as parents, as educators and as leaders of this Nation to protect our children. If we do not take a stand to keep our schools safe, to keep our children safe, and to allow our teachers to feel that they are in an environment where they are protected, then how can we achieve this goal? Unless addressed by Congress, public school children will continue to be unnecessarily exposed to unacceptable levels of crime and school violence. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis), for introducing this important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 5295, the Student and Teacher Safety Act of 2006. A vote for this bill is a vote in support of school officials and teachers who fight to keep weapons and drugs out of our public schools every day and a vote to allow our children to have a safe learning environment. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis).

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes at this time to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk).

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, we have no additional speakers other than myself to close, so if the gentleman from California would like to close at this time.

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany).

Mr. KUHL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).