Suzanne Kosmas

Ms. KOSMAS

Ms. KOSMAS. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. KOSMAS. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.

Ms. KOSMAS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I thank Chairman Gordon for bringing this important bill to the floor to address our water research needs. Access to clean and reliable water supplies is an issue that affects every community across our country. In my district along the central Florida coastline, local communities also must deal with the other impacts of weather conditions such as hurricanes, which have the potential to affect our water supplies. However, this is not just a coastal issue, as recent floods in North Dakota and Florida, tornadoes in Tennessee and Alabama, and other weather events across the country, have exhibited to us and show us the need for this to be addressed at a national level. My amendment, which adds a provision to the Water Research Outcomes and Assessments section, mandates an assessment of the impacts of major weather events on our water supplies. Hurricanes, floods and tornadoes can lead to salt water intrusion, infrastructure damage, sewer overflows, storm water runoff and other conditions that can harm our water supplies and the surrounding environment. A better understanding of these impacts will aid local communities and States in addressing water supply issues before, during and after major storms. Combined with the provisions in this bill, including the requirement to develop innovative tools to enhance water treatment and water purification technologies, this amendment will help address the impacts of major weather events over the long run through the development and implementation of policies to prevent and mitigate such vulnerabilities to our water supplies. A nationally coordinated assessment of major weather events will ensure that our constituents have access to safe, reliable water supplies without interruption and that providers will be able to meet Federal standards and that we will use our resources in a more cost- effective and efficient manner. I would like to yield 2 minutes of my time to the Congressman from Ohio (Mr. Driehaus).

Ms. KOSMAS. Mr. Chairman, I yield back my time.

Ms. KOSMAS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. KOSMAS

Ms. KOSMAS. Madam Speaker, Whereas, since its founding in 1960, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, which is an all volunteer effort supported by the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Committee, the City of Winter Park and numerous volunteers, has grown to become one of the premier art festivals in the county; and Whereas, every year hundreds of Winter Park citizens contribute thousands of hours to ensure that the 350,000 visitors to the Festival enjoy the best in fine art and that the 225 exhibiting artists enjoy the best in outdoor art venues; and Whereas, exhibits by Orange County school students have been part of the Festival since its inception, and the more recent Children's Workshop Village has integrated local museums and art centers to provide exciting art experiences for children of all ages; and Whereas, the Festival Emerging Artist Program gives promising and talents artists who are determining their career paths the opportunity to exhibit in their first outdoor art festival, all expenses paid; and Whereas, The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Foundation provides scholarships to local colleges and universities for promising art students. Now, therefore, I, Suzanne M. Kosmas, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Congresswoman, 24th District, Florida, do hereby proclaim March 20, 21 and 22, 2009 ``The 50th Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival'' and encourage all residents to recognize and show their appreciation for the many memories and contributions the Festival has made to our community over the years. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal to be affixed this 16th day of March, 2009.

Ms. KOSMAS

Ms. KOSMAS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Speaker, I am pleased today to rise, my first time on the floor of the House, to speak in favor of the State Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. This bill, for me, is an opportunity for working families in my district to provide health care to their children. Let me say it again, it's an opportunity for parents to provide health care, working families to provide health care for their children. In these tough economic times, we have more and more families which are unemployed or underemployed, and this gives them an opportunity to give their children the health care that they need and deserve. With many of them providing health care to their children through emergency rooms, as opposed to having this access to quality care, we are losing both an efficiency factor and an economic factor. So I rise again, as I say, to speak in favor of this bill. Providing health care to children is not just the right thing to do, but this is an economic investment that we are making in the future of those who will carry us forward into the next generation.