Steve Kagen

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to bring to everyone's attention something that is on everyone's mind: Jobs, jobs, jobs. America needs to get back to work, because without a job you can't pay off your mortgage, without a job you can't pay your health care bills. We need jobs in this country. How can we get that done? I think it is time that we treat small business on Main Street the same way the past administration treated their friends on Wall Street, and that is with the number ``zero.'' Zero percent interest. If the Federal funds rate of zero percent is good for their friends on Wall Street and between bank lending, maybe that is the number that small businesses ought to get on Main Street. When credit is available to small businesses, we can generate millions and millions of new higher wage jobs. Let's treat Main Street like the past administration treated Wall Street.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Madam Speaker, I deeply regret that I was not able to vote on H. Res. 34 recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza and reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. On Wednesday, January 7, 2009, I had surgery on my knee and was not able to be present for voting. Make no mistake about it, I fully support Israel's right to defend itself against all attacks. I would have wholeheartedly voted for H. Res. 34. Presently, Israel, like any other country, is exercising its right to self-defense. If any country were attacked like Israel has been they would do the same. How many attacks on an American city would we tolerate from our neighbors? Zero. In July 2008, I visited Sderot, an Israeli town just over the border from Gaza. I toured sites where Israeli homes were destroyed by rockets launched from Gaza. I met with the U.S. Security Coordinator and understand the daily threat Israelis live with every single day. The constant and deliberate attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians are unconscionable. The Israeli people must be allowed to go about their daily lives--and the only way to do that is by defending themselves. The United States has always been and must always be a steadfast ally of Israel. We will support Israel's right to defend itself and continue to push for a return to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. I, like so many throughout the world, hope for a peaceful resolution to the current fighting and look forward to a sustainable peace when Israelis and Palestinians alike can live free from terror.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Madam Speaker, I regret that I was unable to participate in four votes on the floor of the House of Representatives on January 9, 2009, as I was recovering from knee surgery. The first vote was rollcall vote No. 7, a motion to recommit H.R. 12, the Paycheck Fairness Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' The second vote was rollcall vote No. 8, on final passage of H.R. 12. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' The third vote was rollcall vote No. 9, on final passage of H.R. 11, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Had I been present I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Madam Speaker, this poem was written by Albert Carey Caswell, a member of the Capitol Guide Service in honor of SSG Michael Cain of Berlin, WI. Staff Sergeant Cain is a disabled veteran currently undergoing treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I met Staff Sergeant Cain at Walter Reed on November 18, 2008, while visiting another wounded soldier. I am proud and happy to submit this poem, written in his honor. Raising Cain A young man lies face down . . . Right between life and death, as found . . . Clinging to life, as now . . . with one leg lost . . . When, we hear a sound . . . For it's his heart, as we watch what is lost, as now is found . . . Which will not let him go, which will not let him down . . . As all inside of his fine soul, is so is now . . . As he raises his head up high, Raising Cain . . . As he brings such tears to eyes . . . as he astounds! What will we raise in these our days? To what heights and mountains, will we so climb? All in our lives and times . . . All in what we've so lost, and gained . . . All in that great heartache and pain, has made . . . To lie face down . . . upon battlefields of honor . . . As Michael you were bound . . . While, all in the midst of hell . . . as the dark evil lie all around . . . As your fine heart so chose, so chose to swell . . . swell somehow . . .. To cheat death, with what you have so left . . . All in uniform, so brilliant now . . . When right there, on that edge of death . . . As you so looked down . . . To see what you had so left . . . As your once strong leg was gone . . . As your life so hung in the balance now . . . As you were the one who so raised his head . . . Whose fine heart so began to pound! Raising Cain . . . His Daddy raised a Hero, his Momma did the same . . . All in their hearts of love, which now so remains! A Wisconsin Man . . . Who love's his Packers . . . County music, and his Momma understand! There's a lot of Brett in this man . . . And there's a lot more of Michael, in Brett which stands . . . As a winner . . . And a simple man . . . Who wears his heart on his sleeve, time and again . . . With a heart of courage full . . . This American Jewel . . . Beating proud, for that old red white and blue . . . And most of all, he's a family man . . . As we watch, and see . . . All that a heart can be . . . As he fight's the good fight . . . As Michael's Raising Cain . . . Building where not lies left . . . As our world he'll bless . . . To come back from the dead . . . Back from that dark abyss, abyss of death . . . To go off to war . . . As one fine fighting machine sure . . . As an Army man . . . Who to courage ran . . . All in what he gave up . . . All in what he must endure . . . And if I ever raise a son . . . I but hope and pray . . . That he could but be, like this fine one . . . The kind who will teach us, who will reach us . . . Who to hearts will all so beseech us . . . All in how life is won . . . As Michael Cain, was raised this one . . . In honor of Michael Cain on your 27th birthday . . . your friend Bert--Albert Carey Caswell 2008

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, in Wisconsin and throughout the Nation, manufacturing has been the backbone of our economy and of our communities, but during the past decade, we've seen many of our jobs being shipped overseas, not because we are not hardworking and not because we are not producing high-quality products but, rather, because of unfair and unbalanced trade deals. The free enterprise system depends upon working Americans having a competitive workforce and productive employees. These are vital to the success of every business be it large or small. Congress will soon vote on an economic stimulus package that contains $500 million for worker and job training assistance. Included in that legislation is a piece that I had the opportunity to write, entitled the ``Incumbent Worker Development Act.'' This legislation will guarantee that States and Federal Governments work together to train our workers. This is not a time for ideology. This is a time for action, and I encourage all of us to vote for this stimulus package.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Thank you, Madam Speaker. To solve our crippling crisis of impossible gas prices that are now over $4 per gallon in Wisconsin, we need a comprehensive national energy policy and strategy. And we need leaders who are on our side-- not Big Oil. But where is the administration's plan? You see it at the gas station at the corner every day. This crisis was totally predictable and, unfortunately, it is forcing every family, every business, and governments at every level to operate in a perpetual state of crisis planning. In fact, today's impossible gas prices are threatening the survival of major manufacturers and small businesses alike, even as ongoing speculation in oil futures remains unrestrained. The truth is there is no shortage of fuel. We just don't have the money in our pockets to pay for the energy we need. There is a better way of doing things in America. Although alternative energies will not be available to meet our needs for a number of years, we cannot just wait any longer to make plans for our energy independence. We need to start producing more of our own energy right here and right now. If we want to keep more of our money here at home, support the U.S. economy and provide American jobs, then we must produce more of our own oil and natural gas as well. It's time to say ``no'' to the campaign cash handed out by big oil corporations to lobbyists and other special interests here in Washington. The first priority is to stop pointing fingers and instead start joining hands across the aisle. Let's begin to work together and develop a comprehensive energy plan, a plan that is created not behind closed doors, but right here on the House floor, right here in the open. For months, I have been advocating a three-point policy plan. First, we do have to drill for new oil and natural gas here in America. Our Nation has substantial untapped oil reserves, both under Federal land already leased to oil companies and offshore in U.S. territories. With appropriate safeguards, like giving States the right to decide if they will allow drilling off their shores, these reserves should be drilled and the oil extracted from them, which is our own oil, should be sold to Americans first. Second, we must invest in every form of renewable energy available, whether it be solar, wind, geothermal, and even the new nuclear technologies. We have to invest our money here at home in renewable energy. Washington's role should include promoting millions of new jobs with the tax incentives for United States companies to invest in this new technology. Third, we must prevent price manipulation everywhere in the world. Stopping the unfair speculation in the oil market can immediately lower the price of gas at the pump and provide families and small businesses with immediate relief. Also, I have called on the President and his allies time and time again to sell a portion of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which would immediately drop the price at the pump. These three steps are fundamental to the success of an independent energy future for America, and they will create millions of new jobs. In the coming days, Congress will take up a comprehensive package that will provide relief for consumers, will end our dependence on foreign oil, and create millions of new jobs and grow our economy. We must promote energy efficiency and invest in renewable sources of energy. We must responsibly increase domestic supplies, and without taxpayer subsidies to oil companies. It is my hope that this will be a bipartisan energy bill that will address all of these concerns. I look forward to joining with my Democratic and Republican colleagues right here in Congress to try a different approach, something that will work. Let's try working together for a change, and find a legislative solution. It will require compromise. And in the legislative process, that is how business gets done. None of this will be easy, and some of it won't be quick. But the time is right to craft a national energy policy that allows working families in Wisconsin to spend less of their money padding the bank accounts of oil executives, and more of their money on their own families. By working together, we really will build a better future, and an energy independent future for all of us.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Madam Speaker, on this date, September 11, 2001, we were attacked. But that was not the end of the American story. The American story is still unfolding, as it has in my home area in Kimberly, Wisconsin, with the closing of the Kimberly Paper Mill. One of the workers there is Randy Gossens. With his wife, Vicky, he has worked at that mill for 32 years, and he says, ``With the closing of the Kimberly mill, we will not be able to help out with our daughter's education the way we did with our son. My wife and I are very proud of the fact that our son graduated from college and that we were able to help him financially with his chosen career. With the mill closing and our future income so unsure, we will not be able to do the same with our daughter.'' What kind of Nation are we when we turn our back on our own American workers, when we have trade deals that are unfair and unbalanced? On this very special day, we need to look back and think back, but at the same time we have to take a positive step forward and change the direction of this country and the direction of our trade deals as well.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to present some of the stories from northeast Wisconsin, a region in the country known as ``Paper Valley.'' We have, for over 150 years in Wisconsin, been the leaders in the paper industry, not just paper manufacturing, but paper research, designing new ways and new methods of manufacturing and using paper products all throughout the world. We have led the way because we've invested our educational system, our time and energy in developing the industry. And now, across the country, all the paper industry is imperilled because of unfair, unbalanced trade deals, and a trading partner that breaks the rules, and that is Communist China. Recently, in November, the International Trade Commission ruled that there was illegal paper coming into the United States, but there was no damage, no damages to the paper industry here in these United States. Well, shortly thereafter, New Page Corporation closed the Niagara Paper Mill in Niagara, Wisconsin, displacing hundreds of workers who had been there for generations. More recently, several days ago, in Kimberly, Wisconsin, the Kimberly Mill--and you've heard of Kimberly Clark, you've heard of Kleenex, you've heard of other paper products and Huggies and diapers--listen, Kimberly, the only mill that they've had, has been closed and shut down, shut down because of the illegal competition from Asian governments like both South Korea and China. The decision by the International Trade Commission was that there were no damages. Well, I beg to differ. In my office, I have a scroll signed by nearly 5,000 people from Kimberly and the surrounding villages who have been damaged. They are real people with real damages. One of the families, the Van Zeelands, are here with me in picture form. Bruce and his wife Nancy have three children, Alicia, Scott and Courtney. And here is his statement which I read on the floor this morning, ``It turned our life upside down. Working at one company for 28 years and having no other skills to compete in this horrible job market. My wife is struggling to find a full-time job now. We cannot help out our three kids with college. We worry about losing our home.'' And he's not alone. There are hundreds of other workers and other families with real damages that the International Trade Commission may not have considered. What about the family of Tom Sternhagen, who had worked for 29 years at the Kimberly mill? His wife Maureen, his son Ben and daughter Lexi, and here's what he has to say. ``Can't pay the mortgage. Can't pay the property taxes. Our son can't go to college. We have no more health insurance. Can't make car payments. This is nothing but corporate greed with no regard for human life.'' That is Tom Sternhagen. These are the views of normal, hardworking people in northeast Wisconsin who are suffering because of unfair trade deals and an administration that will not allow the rule of law to take place. The International Trade Commission got it wrong: There are real damages throughout Paper Valley and throughout northeast Wisconsin. Now, what's it going to take? What's it going to take to wake up America? We've been bleeding our jobs overseas when instead we should be shipping our values overseas, not our jobs. As Niagara, Wisconsin goes, so goes our Nation. And as Kimberly goes, so goes our Nation as well. It's time for us here in the House of Representatives to work together across party lines and make certain that we design balanced trade deals such that when a ship comes over from China with $50 million worth of goods and materials, they take back $50 million worth of goods and materials made by our hardworking Americans. Look, given a level playing field, we can out-compete and out-work anybody. We are the most productive people ever on Earth. We have had a successful middle class only because of our work ethic and the fact that we've had fair trade deals, free trade. The CAFTA and NAFTA style trade deals are nothing more than a free giveaway of American jobs. It's time for America to wake up. Yes, let's wake up together, let's roll up our sleeves, let's work together in this House and in this next election. Let's elect a President who can think things all the way through, someone who is on the side of the Van Zeeland family, someone who is on our side for a change.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because of a great change that is taking place in northeast Wisconsin, a change brought on by the failed economic policies of the current administration, an administration that doesn't care about people, rather, they care about corporate profits. What is taking place in Wisconsin is taking place across the middle part of this country. We are losing our jobs overseas. The paper industry in Wisconsin is being decimated, and recently a paper mill closed. One of the families that lost their position was Bruce Van Zeeland, who writes, ``It turned our life upside down, working at one company for 28 years and having no other skills in this horrible job market. My wife is struggling to find a full-time job now. We cannot help out our three kids in college. We worry about losing our home.'' This is the change that came about from this Republican dominated House for 12 years and the current administration. We do need a change in Washington, and the Van Zeelands need it now.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Thank you very much for yielding. I must say that Mr. Welch has explained it quite clearly. If I could put it in just different words that I understand. Back home in Wisconsin, we speak a little different that you all do in Vermont. We would say it this way. President Bush has done all by himself, all by himself, what the Germans and Japanese could not do in World War II. He has destroyed this country and everything, everything that he said he was, he is not. He is the opposite. He is not conservative, he wasn't compassionate. You cannot call it compassionate when the President and the Washington, DC, Republicans produce collateral damage like the family picture I show you here. Now this could be Kimberly, Wisconsin, it could be West Palm Beach, Florida, it could be Denver, Colorado, it could be anywhere in Ohio, where a family has been dispossessed of their job and their hopes and their dreams. This is a hardworking family. This is the Wendel family. Don and his wife Ann. He worked at a paper mill for 30 years. And because of our trade deals that remain unenforced, unbalanced, and unfair, the Chinese paper that came into our domestic marketplace cut off the business opportunity for the Kimberly mill. I am talking about Kimberly-Clark, where it came from, in Kimberly, Wisconsin. He lost his job. He lost his hope and his future. And he has to ask this essential question, as do every single voter this fall, every American right now has to ask themselves this question: Whose side are we on? We are on the side of the Wendel family, whose been dispossessed. This is a picture of the middle class. And this is what I would call collateral damage. We are in an economic battle, an economic war. We have to get our act together, not just here in the House, but in the Senate and in the White House. We have to work together and have judgment, good judgment lead the way. It was poor judgment, after all, that took us into war, based on lies and deceptions, and it was poor economic decisions by this administration that led to the policy of borrow and spend and borrow and spend. I don't have to remind any of my colleagues what the first two letters are of borrow and spend. We have got to this point in time. It may be dark. The lights aren't out yet. We have some ideas, we have got the energy, and we are on your side. We are here to help lead us to a brighter future. I yield back my time.

Mr. KAGEN. Thank you, Mr. Perlmutter. I couldn't agree with you more. It really begs the question about not just whose side we're on, but what are the lessons that we've been learning. I have not been in politics. I was in student council in 1966, and now I'm in Congress. I was a physician. Still am. I had a nice medical practice, but I got involved in this line of work because we were headed in that wrong direction we've been describing. We have taken since 2007 in January a positive change. We've been making incremental, small, little changes. It is so frustrating having come from the world of business to the world of government where changes are so slow, but it's so necessary. One would think that the President took office to prove what government could not do, and it's really incumbent upon us to prove that good government could really make a positive difference in everybody's lives. The two lessons I've learned since getting into this world of politics is that people will believe a lie if it's presented with great skill on television. People will believe a lie if it's presented over and over with great skill. The other lie is that--well, it's not really a lie. It's a lesson. Politicians will determine who lives and who dies. It's politicians here in this Chamber. It's politicians in the White House who will determine who has access to health care and who does not, who will determine who gets a great education and who does not, who will determine whether or not we truly become an energy independent Nation or if we do not or who will determine if we ever go to war again based on lies and deceptions. That is why I emphasize the fact that we need in the White House today people with good judgment, people who can think things all the way through, someone who will sign a bill to guarantee access to 11 million children who are in need, someone who will sign that bill, not veto that bill. I'm referring to the change, to the positive change, that we really need. When you talk, Mr. Welch, about the war in Iraq, does anyone question that that war was a war of choice, not of necessity? Does anyone believe that it had not something to do with oil? Has the price of oil gone down since we've occupied and have invaded Iraq? Not at all. Quite the contrary. So what we have to do in this Chamber is to begin to find a way forward to become fiscally responsible and to stay true to our beliefs that we are also progressive-minded and that we really do care about the middle class. We need to resuscitate that middle class as soon as possible. In the next several days, that is why we are going to take up an energy independence bill, a comprehensive national strategy to become energy independent once again. That's what this Chamber has the responsibility of doing in a bipartisan way, and I look forward to doing that in the next several days. Thank you, Mr. Welch, for bringing up the subject of war. Again, as Mr. Perlmutter pointed out, it is our soldiers, the men and women who have volunteered to serve in our Armed Services, who are paying the price for our continued and seemingly endless occupation in Iraq. Those are the soldiers who have covered our backs in battle, and we owe it to them to cover their backs when they return. I yield to Mr. Klein from Florida.

Mr. KAGEN. Yes.

Mr. KAGEN. In 8 months.

Mr. KAGEN. Would the gentleman yield? Thank you for yielding. On that front, the single greatest fiscal economic challenge we are going to be facing is a health care crisis. It is the number one fiscal challenge for our budget in the Federal Government. It's also the major challenge of every business, be it small or large business. It also challenges city governments, whether it's a town or a county government and every family across America. And that is why I believe we have to begin to have a discussion about making a marriage between our Constitution and health care. Now, if you read the Constitution, as I have, it doesn't say anywhere in here that we have a constitutional right to health care. But we do have a right that protects us against discrimination. We have to apply that right that guarantees us protection from discrimination to health care, to the health care industry, so that all insurance companies will lose their opportunity to discriminate against you on the basis of a pre-existing condition. If we don't stand up for our rights, we're going to lose them, every single one of them, every single one of them. So I look forward in this session and the next, working with a President who understands that discrimination is taking place today in the health care industry. We must end discrimination and put it where it belongs, into our past. Mr. Perlmutter.

Mr. KAGEN. Together we will.

Mr. KAGEN. You're looking at the face of America, from the middle part of the country in Northeast Wisconsin, and they may have lost their job, but they will not give up their hope. We're all working hard here to bring about the changes, we need like knocking down the price for energy and gas and heating fuel, like bringing on the higher-wage jobs that we need just to put a roof over our head and guarantee that our children have an opportunity to get the great education that they require. And most importantly to me, as a physician and a legislator, we're going to provide access to affordable care for every citizen everywhere in these United States. The face of America, keep hope high. We're here to help you.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to share with you some of the stories of people that live in northeast Wisconsin. Northeast Wisconsin is a hardworking area where people work hard and play by the rules, and we expect to get compensated with a living wage, a wage that's necessary not just to educate ourselves but also our families. In recent times, because of unfair trade policies and unfair trade agreements, particularly by the Asian corporate governments--let's just call it Communist China--we've witnessed the disappearance of many thousands of jobs, particularly in the paper industry. Now, Wisconsin is an agricultural State, and one of the things that we do manufacture is paper. We grow trees; and after a generation, we harvest these trees and process them into paper. You've heard about Kleenex. You've heard about Puffs, Huggies and many other paper products that have made your life much more valuable, much more convenient. But what's happened recently is a corporation has closed a paper mill in Niagara, taking away the livelihoods of hundreds and hundreds of workers who for over 100 years have worked in the Niagara Paper Mill to produce a valuable product. More recently, in Kimberly, several days ago in Kimberly as in Kimberly-Clark, as in Kleenex, the Kimberly Paper Mill was closed, and when it shut down, it turned away hundreds and hundreds of people. In Kimberly, Little Chute, Combined Locks, Kaukauna, Appleton and the surrounding area of Darboy, these people who had been working hard no longer had their jobs. So I wish to share with you tonight some of those families' stories and what this closure, what the stealing of American jobs means and also comes with a warning, a warning that I've been repeating for the last 6 months. As Niagara goes, so goes this Nation. And as Kimberly goes, so goes our country. This is a photo I'm showing you of the Wendel family. This is Don Wendel who worked for 30 years in the Kimberly mill. His wife is Ann on the far left of the picture; his daughter, Kathleen; and the son is Anthony. And he said, ``Our daughter is a junior in high school and the thought of paying for college with this uncertain future is daunting. We also need to move to a larger home or add on to ours, and this now needs to be postponed indefinitely. We may have to sell our car we bought in March.'' To sum it up, ``It is shocking and disheartening that the owners, instead of researching options to make this mill profitable, made such a quick decision to shut it down. It is causing such great devastation to so many families, and the entire Kimberly community.'' He's not alone. There are hundreds of others, like Jerry Jansen who worked there for 41 years. His wife is Donna; children, Craig, Scott and Matt; and many grandchildren. What does he say about this impact of the closing of the mill? ``Just over 2 years left until I can collect Social Security. I don't know what I'm going to do until then. Nobody is going to hire someone my age.'' To sum it up, ``I feel like my life has been sucked out of me.'' For generations, his family has worked at that mill, not just his family but his in-laws as well. Another family, Tom Kilsdonk has been there for 24 years. His wife, Jodi; his children, Karley, Camie, and Hannah. And he said, ``I have a major changes coming in a short period of time. Financial, emotional, social. My wife now works two jobs with no health care. It will not be enough.'' To sum it up he said, ``I feel like someone blindfolded me, dropped me off in the middle of the forest and left me there. I am angry, frustrated and nervous.'' Well, to Tom Kilsdonk, to the Jansen family, to the Wendel family, there's somebody listening, and I have the honor of representing you and coming here to Congress to share with my colleagues your story. Your story must be told not just across Wisconsin, the Midwest, but across the country. Your story is not alone. These unfair and unbalanced trade deals and the failure of this administration to administer justice, to apply the law equally, and to allow the illegal dumping of Chinese paper and South Korean paper into our domestic marketplace has damaged not only your lives but your entire city and entire region. This is a matter of national security. It's called job security. It's something that we have to fight for each and every day here in Congress. And, yes, it's true, there are three components to the cost of doing business in the paper industry: energy, raw materials, and labor. We have to work hard here in Congress together and join hands across the aisle to solve these complex problems of energy and the economy.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the country's attention something devastating that is happening in northeast Wisconsin. Our paper industry, the very industry that grew the jobs and grew the future of northeast Wisconsin, is being devastated because of unbalanced and unfair trade with Communist China, who continues to export illegal paper. Just recently, a corporation called New Page closed the Kimberly Mill. You've heard of Kimberly-Clark and Kleenex. Well, Kimberly has had a mill since the 1890s. I am going to present every morning and every evening the stories of real people and their real damages. And one of the families is Don Wendel and his wife, Ann, with their two children, Kathleen and Anthony. He worked there for 30 years. ``Our daughter is a junior in high school, and the thought of paying for college with this uncertain future is daunting. We may have to sell our car we bought in March. It is shocking and disheartening that the owners, instead of researching options to make this mill profitable, made a quick decision to shut it down. It's causing such great devastation for everyone in Kimberly and throughout the Fox Valley in northeast Wisconsin.'' Mr. Speaker, it's time we had balanced trade deals, not free trade.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, it has been said that when a man becomes a fireman, his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work. Well, yesterday in my district in northeast Wisconsin, the Pulaski community began to mourn the tragic death of Fire Chief Frank Wichlacz, a volunteer firefighter who died in a freak accident on Wednesday. The 76 year-old Chief Wichlacz gave 50 years of service to the department, which serves parts of Brown, Oconto, and Shawano counties. The last 20 years he served as chief. In 2007, Chief Wichlacz was honored as an Everyday Hero by the Green Bay Press-Gazette newspaper for his long years of service to his community. You know Winston Churchill said, ``You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.'' Frank Wichlacz lived those words. His service, not only as a volunteer firefighter, but as a fire chief, made the Pulaski community a safer and better place to live. On behalf of the people of the Eighth District in northeast Wisconsin, allow me to express my deepest sympathy to his family and friends and to all in the Pulaski community. May God bless Chief Wichlacz.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and look forward to working with you on this important aspect of the bill.

Mr. KAGEN. It looks like it.

Mr. KAGEN. Madam Chairman, I rise to engage in a colloquy with Chairman Oberstar. Mr. Chairman, I wish to congratulate you on your ongoing efforts to improve the safety of our Nation's highway bridges. And I'm pleased that H.R. 3999, the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act, would provide an additional $1 billion in fiscal year 2009 for States to address their structurally-deficient national highway system bridges. I'm concerned, however, that this funding would be distributed through the current bridge program formula. Traditionally, Wisconsin does not fare well under the current bridge formula, which is based on the number and percentage of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges. While I recognize that the funding apportionment for the Highway Bridge Program is needs-based, I am concerned that the current program does not recognize the commitment States like Wisconsin make toward addressing their deficient bridges. Under the current formula, States such as Wisconsin are penalized because they commit significant resources towards addressing their bridge needs. This situation is exasperated by the fact that States are permitted to transfer bridge program funds to other Federal highway programs with little or no impact under future apportionment of Highway Bridge Program funds. Under this current formula, there is little or no incentive to invest in bridge maintenance. More importantly, States that achieve this objective are not rewarded. To address this problem and ensure that bridge program resources are invested in bridge maintenance, I believe that the funding formula should consider a State's level of efforts and performance in addressing its bridge needs. While I recognize that this legislation does not rewrite the Federal Highway Bridge Program formula, I would greatly appreciate it if the chairman would be willing to assure me as that, as the committee begins to develop the next surface transportation authorization, we will review the formula to accommodate and recognize that States have made these efforts. And I yield to the chairman.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Mr. Speaker, today's impossible prices for oil have finally forced America to ask the essential question: ``Where's the plan?'' We're in a situation where every business, every homeowner, every retiree, every local and State government and every United States citizen is being forced to live under crisis management which is a recipe for failure. To become an energy-independent nation, the first step we must take together is to develop a plan, but not behind closed doors, but to do it right here in the open. So let's stop pointing fingers and start holding hands. Let's join hands. Let's begin to think together because we're really all in this together. And let's agree. Let's begin by agreeing that a successful energy plan must begin to include three essential elements. First, drill for new oil right here in America with any such oil obtained from within our territorial waters or national boundaries being sold to American citizens first. And the Oil for America Act will do just that. Secondly, we must invest in every form of renewable energy available and provide the tax incentives for wind, for solar, geothermal, biomass, cellulosic and every form of clean, home-grown energy. We have to provide those incentives so private industry will take charge and take the lead. And third, we must act to prevent any price manipulation anywhere in the world in our oil marketplace. Now we have already passed legislation. We passed H.R. 6377. This was to direct the CFTC to do immediate oversight to prevent manipulation. We passed a farm bill that moves us towards energy independence, towards home-grown ethanol and energy. But we can't grow our way out of this problem. We also closed the Enron loophole, guaranteeing that the marketplace will work more effectively. Drill for new oil in America, invest in renewable forms of energy and prevent energy price manipulation. But our economy is still dependent on fossil fuels today and foreign sources of energy, unfortunately. But oil is still one of our most precious assets. So let's make certain that the more than 140 billion barrels of oil that are underneath America go to Americans first. Now you have a choice here. We have to work together. Under your approach, we will have a solution 10 years from now. Under our approach, we will have a solution in 10 days, because the SPR, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, was opened up several times in the past. In 1991 there was a 33 percent decline in the price of oil almost immediately. In 2000, it went down nearly 19 percent. The oil price went down 9 percent in 2005. We can bring about rapid short-term relief even as we plan for the future. But we cannot solve this problem by drilling alone. We cannot solve it by growing corn alone. We have to work together. We have to drill for new oil, invest in renewable sources of energy and prevent any marketplace speculation.

Mr. KAGEN

Mr. KAGEN. Thank you, Mr. Welch. Thank you for the hard work that you're doing. Mr. Speaker, it's a very good thing that the American people can see today that we're working together, not just working together but we're beginning to join hands to begin to solve this energy crisis that we're all facing. I think we can all agree that we have to drill for new oil right here in America and guarantee that the oil that comes from our hands stays within our boundaries and is sold to American citizens first. We can all agree that we have to invest in every single form of renewable energy--biomass, wind, solar--and indeed we have to look into the newer and modern techniques and nuclear energy in finding a way towards becoming an energy-independent nation. Thirdly, we have to prevent any price manipulation in the market price not just here in the United States but also throughout the world. We have to guarantee that there really is a free marketplace in oil where places like OPEC don't control the supply and determine the price. We need a competitive and open marketplace, and we've done that here in this Congress moving the ball forward. But it's not just about drilling. It's not just about investing. It's not just about preventing things. The people I represent, that I have the honor of representing in northeast Wisconsin, they need help now. I mean, their fingernails are not long enough to hang on to what is coming. They need help now. So in the long term, drilling brings oil 10 years from now, investing 5, 10, 15 years from now, but preventing price manipulation in the marketplace, that can have an immediate effect. So I would urge the CFTC to do its job and provide the oversight to guarantee that we don't have to pay more than the price ought to be. Finally, the President did accommodate us. We sent letters to him asking him to stop purchasing oil and putting it into our SPR, our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And he accommodated. And that was put in effect July 1. Now he should listen to us again. He should begin to release 5 to 6 days' worth of our Strategic Petroleum Oil Reserve. Why? Because it will immediately drop the price of oil.

Mr. KAGEN. Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve has about 703 million barrels of oil. If we release 5 to 6 days' worth, it would immediately drop the price at the pump by putting immediate supplies onto the marketplace. These are things that the President can do right here and right now. Our constituents need help today as we begin to invest and plan for the future. But first and foremost, let's understand that this crisis we're in was absolutely and totally predictable since 1973. And our government on both sides of the aisle has failed in the past. Let's not fail again. Let's work together.