Ann Kuster

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, today we honor Ms. Linda Horan, of Alstead, New Hampshire, a ``tenacious labor leader'' and an ``advocate for the people.'' I was deeply saddened to hear the tragic news that Ms. Horan lost her battle to cancer. My thoughts and prayers, along with those of the entire Granite State, are with Ms. Horan's family and friends during this difficult time. Through her dedicated service as a social justice activist and advocate, she made her family, her state, and her nation proud. As her IBEW 2320 colleagues so eloquently summarized, ``Sister Horan will forever be in our hearts and her memory will live on in our spirit as we continue to fight for the rights of workers and people everywhere in our attempt to channel her eternal drive for equality.'' The greatest tribute we can provide for Linda Horan is to continue to remember her passion and drive, and to celebrate her life by combatting injustices. Her contributions will not be soon forgotten, as her beloved union's scholarship fund now carries her name. Hopefully, this will inspire future generations to follow in her footsteps and continue strengthening civic life in New Hampshire. We owe our deepest gratitude to Linda Horan for helping to make the Granite State a better place for us all to live. In responding to such tragedies, our community comes together and shows its capacity for resilience and strength.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I wish to clarify my position on two votes cast on January 12th, 2016 on amendments to H.R. 1644, the STEAM Act. On Roll Call Vote 38 on an amendment offered by Mr. Kildee of Michigan, I did not vote. My intention was to vote ``aye.'' On Roll Call Vote 39 on an amendment offered by Mr. Cartwright of Pennsylvania, I did not vote. My intention was to vote ``aye.''

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I submit this obituary for George Macomber that appeared in the Boston Globe on December 20, 2015. George was a cofounder of Wildcat Mountain with my father and a lifelong friend. George Macomer, 88; Olympic Skier, Built Faneuil Hall Shops (By Bryan Marquard) Mr. Macomber was named to the US Ski Team for the 1948 and '52 Olympics. He was also president of the George B.H. Macomber Co. and a philanthropist. George Macomber was the third generation to run the construction company founded by his grandfather, but the initial appeal of his family's business had as much to do with how much time he could spend racing down ski slopes. In his 1997 memoir, ``Plunging In,'' he wrote that the Macomber contracting firm ``was the only company I could find that would let me take winters off! Otherwise I might never have been a builder--or a world-class skier.'' He was both. Competing in the upper echelons of both pursuits, often simultaneously, Mr. Macomber was named to the US Ski Team for the 1948 and '52 Olympics. And after succeeding his father as president at the age of 31, he led the company through major projects including Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston's Four Seasons Hotel, and Yale University buildings including the Center for British Art, and the hockey rink whose design inspired the Yale Whale nickname. ``My goal was to make a mark by building prestigious buildings,'' he wrote, adding that the company cemented a reputation as ``the architects' contractor'' through its can- do approach. ``The George B.H. Macomber Company didn't say, `Oh, you can't do that.' We said, `Let's try it.' '' Mr. Macomber, a US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame member whose philanthropy reached from the slopes to Judge Baker Children's Center and cardiovascular research at Massachusetts General Hospital, died in his sleep Monday in his Westwood home. He was 88. As a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, Mr. Macomber envisioned a career at companies such as Lockheed or Boeing, writing that his passion ``was for all things theoretical, things mechanical.'' Ultimately, that formed his intellectual path into George B.H. Macomber Co. ``Figuring out problems was what drew him to his life work,'' his son John of Cambridge said. ``For him, the construction business was about building things. He liked figuring out multidimensional problems.'' One of those dimensions was the boardroom, where proposals were conceived, bids prepared, deals sealed. ``He was one of those people who knew how to make a decision and knew how to make it stick,'' said Tom Cornu, a longtime friend and real estate development partner. ``He was a very bright businessman. I sat in development meetings with him where he had his slide rule--before we had calculators-- and he could evaluate a real estate transaction quicker than anyone else in the room. He was just brilliant at it.'' Cornu, who served with Mr. Macomber on the board of trustees at Judge Baker Children's Center, added that ``George was a man with a huge heart'' who applied his business acumen to philanthropic ventures. ``He was very careful and precise about where he chose to spend his business time and where he chose to spend his volunteer time, so not a minute was wasted. It all went in the right places for the right reasons.'' Through personal example, Mr. Macomber also was an inspirational figure on and off the ski slopes, said US Representative Ann McLane Kuster, a New Hampshire Democrat and longtime friend whose father and Mr. Macomber were among the four founders of the Wildcat ski area in Pinkham Notch, next to Mount Washington. ``It was just always a thrill to be with him on the mountain and to ski with him,'' she said. ``To be with him, you felt like a million dollars. You felt like you could do anything. I'm blessed to have known him. He was a mighty, mighty man.'' Mr. Macomber was born in 1927 on the day of the funeral of his grandfather George B.H. Macomber, who founded the family business in 1904. ``This coincidence left some members of the family touched by the thought of one spirit leaving and another arriving in its place,'' he wrote. He was the older of two children born to the former Jane Eaton and Charles Clark Macomber, who had been an All- American football player for Harvard College, playing offense and defense. Mr. Macomber wrote that he was ``a sickly child--asthmatic, and allergic to almost everything.'' Winters, free of pollen, provided a respite, and he learned to ski on the hill beside the family's Winchendon home. He refined his skiing skills while attending Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, for which he later was a lifetime trustee, and Newton High School. His ski racing career blossomed during and after his years at MIT, from which he graduated in 1948 and where he would later endow a professorship. Though named to successive US Olympic ski teams, he was unable to participate in either Olympiad because of injuries. Mr. Macomber won national titles, however, and the prestigious Silver Belt race at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in California. Decades later, he carried the Olympic Torch in 1984 on the leg through the Faneuil Hall Marketplace his company had built. In 1947, he met Ann Drummond Leonard, who attended Smith College with his sister, when Ann visited the Macomber family's vacation home in Wolfeboro, N.H. They married in May 1953. Three years earlier, in ``the summer of 1950 I got a closer look at what building was all about when I took part in the project that had a lot to do with reawakening the George B.H. Macomber Company from its wartime doldrums: Shoppers' World in Framingham.'' From that beginning, through the expansion Mr. Macomber led after taking over as president, the company was the contractor for some of the most recognizable projects in Boston and elsewhere, including the MIT biology center, the Harborside Hyatt at Logan Airport, the 775-unit Mission Park affordable housing development, and Robert Frost Library at Amherst College. Then in 1987, a week before he planned to step aside as president of the company, L'Ambiance Plaza in Bridgeport, Conn., collapsed during construction, killing 28 workers. The Macomber company was a joint venture partner in the project, and the resulting settlement cost the firm millions. Though the tragedy was heartbreaking, ``George was absolutely about personally leading the investigation into what happened and what caused this unusual structural failure--being there himself and looking at the engineering reports, standing up and saying, `My name's on the door. This is what you do,' his son John said. He added that from his father's life, ``the biggest lesson was: `Here's how one should be. Here's how one should conduct oneself.' '' In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Macomber leaves a daughter, Grace Macomber Bird of Boston; another son, George of Park City, Utah; a sister, Gail Deaver of Stuart, Fla.; and eight grandchildren. The family will announce a public service in the spring. ``The biggest thing my father and I ever built was a reputation for absolute integrity, from the top of the company to the bottom,'' Mr. Macomber wrote in his memoir, but he added that he ``measured success a bit differently.'' ``I decided early on that I was going to do my best to balance family, business, and community service--in that order of priority. I did not want to be the biggest contractor in the city, because I couldn't do that without losing sight of my priorities.''

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the significant contributions Nicholas A. Toumpas has made to the State of New Hampshire during his tenure as the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services is the states' largest department, and, as the agency responsible for many of the States' vulnerable citizens, one of its most important. During Nick's time as the commissioner, the Department faced many challenges, from shrinking budgets to growing demand for the Department's services. In true Granite State fashion, he saw these challenges as opportunities and tackled them straight on. Nick played a leading role in the implementation of Medicaid expansion, helping to increase access to health insurance for thousands of Granite Staters. New Hampshire is a healthier state because of Nick's time as commissioner. Commissioner Toumpas' commitment to the Granite State has made it a better place for all of its residents. As one of New Hampshire's representatives in Congress, I am honored to commend him for his distinguished service, and wish him the best of luck in the next chapter of his life.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, as chair of the Congressional Ski and Snowboard Caucus, I rise today to recognize the life of George Macomber, an accomplished New England business leader, a mentor, and a very dear friend who passed away in December. Throughout his career, George was stalwart in his business, his athletic prowess, and his philanthropy. He was an Olympic ski racer on the U.S. ski team in 1948 and 1952, an official for the Eastern Amateur Ski Association, and a leader in business and philanthropy as president of the George B.H. Macomber Corporation. He loved the challenge and thrill of downhill ski racing, and he was a founder in 1957 of Wildcat Mountain Ski Area in my district in Pinkham, New Hampshire. Yet, as George found such extraordinary success, he never forgot to give back to his community. Over the years, he was a fierce supporter and advocate for many important causes in Boston and throughout New England. He was the father of three extraordinary ski racers and the grandfather of several more. He and his wife Andy masterfully balanced their ski racing careers, their successful business career, and their generous philanthropy. George Macomber will be missed by many, but his legacy of generosity, entrepreneurship, and extraordinary athleticism will live on for years to come. He will be sadly missed.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Bustos).

Ms. KUSTER. For the record, this concept of bringing the faces of addiction to the floor of the House was the idea of the gentlewoman from Illinois. I thank her for that. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Ms. KUSTER. Thank you, Mr. Guinta. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal). (Mr. NEAL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, this evening I rise as the co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic to call upon my colleagues to refocus our efforts on bringing an end to the opioid epidemic that continues to threaten communities all across New Hampshire and across this country. The opioid epidemic has grown to historic proportions. Our medical providers are struggling to keep up with the flow of overdoses entering our clinics and to secure treatment for those who need it. Our law enforcement, as first responders, have taken on the burden of responding to more and more potentially dangerous situations when a call for help comes in, and these calls are becoming more and more frequent. Statistics now show that more Americans die from drug overdoses than do in car crashes in this country. In my home State of New Hampshire, the opioid epidemic continues to grow. In 2015 alone, the total number of drug deaths in the Granite State exceeded 400, more than one per day, far surpassing the current record of fatalities set just last year at 324. There is no doubt that these numbers are staggering. But behind each and every one of these numbers is a daughter or a son, a mother or a father, a community leader or a neighbor whose life was precious and whose death has inflicted terrible pain on loved ones. For every life lost, there are also many more individuals and families whose lives have been forever changed by opioid misuse. We must never forget or overlook what each number represents. As the epidemic has continued to infiltrate communities across New Hampshire and New England, experts and advocates have risen to challenge opioid abuse in a number of important ways and sometimes from unexpected places. My dear friend Kriss and I have known each other for years now, and she has taken it upon herself to be a champion of this issue. Through her unique position as a premier cosmetologist in the State and the make-up artist of choice for many of the Presidential candidates that pass through New Hampshire during primary season, Kriss has forced a conversation about the need to end the opioid epidemic onto the national stage. Kriss has emerged as a leader on the issue back home, and she and her husband, Mark, continue to display remarkable courage and strength as she shares the story of her stepdaughter, Amber, who is with me here today in this Chamber, who lost her life to a heroin overdose. Kriss' hope is that her experience might help and enact real change. So with Kriss' and Mark's blessing tonight, it is my honor to share Amber's story with you. As Kriss puts it, Amber was the girl who helped everyone else. But, tragically, she could not help herself once she took that first drug at the young age of 15. As Amber's stepmother, Kriss came into her life when she turned 17. At that point, Amber had already passed through the gateway drugs of over-the-counter Benadryl, marijuana, alcohol, and prescription opiates that were available on the streets. She suffered from untreated bipolar disorder, but she did not have access to the appropriate medication and, like so many others, was left uncomfortable in her own skin, self-prescribing medication to find relief. In Kriss' words, Amber was a girl hard to catch. She chose ``life on the run.'' When she found herself living on the streets, she would help others by giving them the coat off her back, panhandling to buy food, or helping others as they detoxed from heroin while homeless. By age 20, she took her first hit of heroin and became spellbound by it. It made choices for her. She had the opportunity to have a loving home, an education, and parents that could support her recovery, but her addiction led her to a life of homelessness on the streets of Manchester, New Hampshire. After four incarcerations in the last 2 years of her life for heroin possession and prostitution, she was a victim of trafficking on the streets of Manchester to maintain her high. When incarcerated and craving treatment, a bed finally became available for Amber at a wonderful treatment center in New Hampshire, but, meanwhile, the prison would not let her out. The prison itself offered no recovery. When she was released, the bed was no longer available. Amber even had to lie to the emergency room to get help by saying, ``I want to kill myself.'' She detoxed in that hospital, but no recovery aftercare was available. Kriss and her husband, Mark, brought Amber home, and on the third night, she fled home leaving them a note that said, ``I have to go back to my people.'' The last time that Kriss and Mark saw her was Easter Sunday. She was high, vacant, and the drug had consumed her soul. Three days later she was found in an alley dead of a heroin overdose. She was 22 years old. Her death would be easy to blame on institutional failure to ensure that those in need can access resources or on a general lack of empathy for individuals crippled by addiction. Kriss and Mark have made a conscious effort to use Amber's life, her death, and her ongoing vibrant spirit to wake up the hearts and minds of those who have the power to change fate. Tonight, I share Amber's heart-wrenching story in the hopes that we can all recognize opioid abuse is not a disease singular to a certain socioeconomic group or race or region. It can take hold of anyone. Amber's parents have been incredibly brave to share her story and to come to Washington to push for reform. We need to erase the stigma from substance abuse disorder, and we need to be far more honest and productive considering the effect on daughters or sons, mothers or fathers. That is why tonight we called our colleagues together for this Special Order so that we can speak from both sides of the aisle and share the lives of friends and loved ones. It is my intention that by honoring those we have lost and by acknowledging the complexities of opioid abuse and the human lives that are behind these fatalities, we can come together to convey the urgency behind bringing an end to the opioid epidemic. I yield to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Guinta).

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko).

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the remaining time?

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Ms. KUSTER. It is regrettable. This is such an important topic for the country.

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, do I have any time remaining, as I have two more speakers just for 1 minute each?

Ms. KUSTER. So as not to lose any of our precious time, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

Ms. KUSTER. Yes.

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent if I could have an extra 5 minutes. I have three more speakers on our side of the aisle and one more Member would like to include Mr. Davis as a speaker.

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee).

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. We have taken our 45 minutes, this is the 45th. We just have one 1-minute. This is a very important topic for the country.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I wish to clarify my position for a vote cast on December 11, 2015 on passage of H.R. 2250 and the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 664, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. On Roll Call Vote Number 693, I did not vote. It was my intention to vote ``No.'' While I believe H.R. 644 makes some meaningful steps toward combatting unfair trade practices, negative provisions in the bill related to climate protection, and a lack of strong currency provisions make me unable to support the legislation. The conference report strips language that was included in the Senate-passed version of H.R. 644 that would have allowed for the application of countervailing duties to address currency manipulation.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the life of a truly extraordinary Granite Stater, Professor John Rassias, who passed away last week in New Hampshire at the age of 90. Professor Rassias was a lifelong Granite Stater, a World War II veteran, and an internationally renowned language professor at my alma mater, Dartmouth College. He developed the Rassias method, a revolutionary way of teaching languages that includes rapid-fire drills and dramatic flair, allowing students to be immersed in the language and culture. He was an extraordinary mentor. His teaching style has been widely adopted at universities and institutions around the world, including in the Peace Corps, where Dr. Rassias was the first director of language programs in 1964. His legacy extends far beyond simply teaching language. Dr. Rassias' deep commitment to cultural dialogue and understanding shaped the perspective of countless students and inspired them to make the world a better place. He will be truly missed by the entire Granite State and members of the Dartmouth community throughout the world.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to correct the Record regarding my vote on H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act. On final passage, I voted ``yes'' and I actually intended to vote ``no.'' H.R. 8 contains a number of provisions that would negatively impact the environment and undermine our Nation's ability to move away from fossil fuel. This legislation would undermine previously enacted initiatives to modernize America's energy infrastructure and increase our energy efficiency and capacity and would provide unnecessary handouts to the fossil fuel industry at a time when we should be focusing on expanding our Nation's clean, renewable energy portfolio.

Ms. KUSTER

Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall Vote No. 672 on H.R. 8, I mistakenly recorded my vote as ``yes'' when I should have voted ``no.''