Nick Lampson

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in strong support of a piece of legislation that I recently introduced, H.R. 6067. It's called the Invest in Energy Independence Act. Our Nation is at a crossroads, as we have been hearing tonight and on other of these Special Orders over the last several days and weeks. We know that we have a serious problem when it comes to our energy security. We rely too heavily, obviously, on foreign sources of energy, and we haven't done enough to promote the clean domestic energy sources that we have available right here in our backyards. It's going to take every effort for us to find a whole multitude of sources of energy in order to address this energy crisis that we're facing as a Nation. I am hoping that we will not be shortsighted and think that only one particular area is the only solution to our problem; it's not. The Invest in Energy Independence Act of 2008 takes a giant step forward in remedying this problem through responsible investment of over $1 billion in our energy future. This legislation before us today is vital in helping us become more secure in the world because it helps us develop our own energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The Invest in Energy Independence Act invests heavily in domestic renewable energy resources such as wind, solar and geothermal, and it also helps us use the energy that we have more efficiently through key energy efficiency and weatherization measures. Additionally, the Energy Security Fund established in the legislation will also fund carbon capture and storage technologies, which will help us significantly reduce future greenhouse gas emissions. This legislation funds these vital projects through two main sources. First, it directs into the Energy Security Fund revenue from the prior sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that is currently unused in a Department of Energy account. And secondly, it modernizes the strategic oil reserve by exchanging 70 million barrels, 10 percent, of more expensive light crude oil from the SPR, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, for 70 million barrels of cheaper, heavy crude oil in a step that will allow our stockpile of crude to more accurately reflect the capabilities of our domestic crude refineries. Because the crude oil exchange will raise funds that will be set aside, about $84 million or so, for acquiring additional oil in the future, this legislation will actually increase the total inventory level of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve without the need for additional appropriations, further strengthening our energy supply against potential disruptions. Now, this is a responsible and thoughtful manner in which to fund the most important energy projects throughout our country. By using funds from the past sale and future exchange of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to invest in clean, domestic energy projects, oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will do exactly what it is intended: increase domestic energy supplies for the United States and secure the country from potential supply disruptions. And so I hope I have many Members who will join me. There are already more than 30 who have agreed to cosponsor this legislation with me. I believe that it will strengthen our Nation's energy security by increasing domestic supplies and by modernizing our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. One of the things that I know that has happened over the last several years is that there has been a dramatic decline in the amount of resources specifically budgeted for research for the Department of Energy. Their budget has declined by 85 percent in the last 30 years. Well, here is the time when we are in greatest need to be looking for every opportunity we can to learn of new ways that we can expand our sources of energy; yet we seem to be pulling in those opportunities to create those resources. Those are the kinds of things that I think that it's critically important for our Science Committee, for all of us in Congress, to be looking at. It's what I have worked on as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment and I look forward to continuing to work on this legislation. Well, we have an honorable gentleman, John Hall, who is also one of the cosponsors of this legislation, and I welcome him in joining us tonight to come and talk about this legislation, and I would yield to Mr. Hall.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, this May, all Americans take time to commemorate Asian Pacific Heritage Month. As a proud member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I honor and celebrate the culture, achievements and valuable contributions of Asian Pacific Americans. This May marks thirty years since the first ten days of May were designated Asian Pacific Heritage Week. This was extended to a full month once it became quite clear that a week would not be nearly enough time to do justice to the abundant contributions Asian Pacific Americans have made to our Nation, without which we could never have reached the heights we have today. Asian Pacific Americans are one of the most diverse, talented and successful ethnic groups in America today. There are nearly 16 million Asian Pacific Americans who call America home, representing more than 5 percent of the U.S. population. In my district, they are without question the fastest growing ethnic group. In Fort Bend and Harris counties, the growth of Asian Pacific Americans has been dramatic. In many cases the growth of Asian Pacific Americans has been more than three times the growth of the overall population. Fort Bend now has the largest percentage of Asian Americans of any county in Texas. In particular, in Sugar Land and my home, Stafford, Asian Pacific Americans make up more than 20 percent of the overall population. However, population growth is only part of the story. As the grandson of immigrants, I know true assimilation means preserving tradition while achieving success. I am in awe at how quickly the Asian Pacific- American community has mastered both. Asian Pacific Americans have quickly taken hold of many of the most prominent civic, industry, philanthropic and research-based positions in the Houston area. I would specifically like to honor the trailblazing Asian Pacific American elected officials in my district. Natalie Ong, M.J. Khan, Thomas Abraham, Daniel Wong, Neeta Sane, Ken Mathew, Sonal Bhuchar, and Natasha Kamrani have broken barriers and shattered stereotypes and opened the door for a future generation of Asian Pacific American leaders. With values of hard work, discipline, community and family, it's no wonder that Asian Pacific Americans are one of the fastest-growing, best-educated and highest-earning ethnic groups in the U.S. From the medical professionals who care for us, the educators who teach us and the titans of industry large and small, Asian Pacific-Americans are one of the most indispensable parts of our Nation's ever-growing national tapestry. Asian Pacific-Americans are authentic Americans, and proof that the American dream continues to thrive. I am very proud of my friendship with the Asian Pacific-American community. I remain committed to working with my friends to create and promote policies that help the community and its needs. I will continue to seize every opportunity to recognize the valuable contributions Asian Pacific-Americans make to our community and to the nation.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, on April 11, 2008, Crystle Stewart, 26, of Missouri City, Texas was awarded the coveted Miss USA crown. I am honored to recognize her on this tremendous accomplishment. Miss Stewart graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in consumer science and merchandising and now runs her own company ``Inside/Out.'' This remarkable company aids young women in building self-esteem and volunteers with many organizations in the community. Her ability to juggle academics, her company, and work at a modeling agency is a testament to her amazing discipline and strong desire to succeed. In the process of obtaining her crown, Miss Stewart made history; she is only the second African-American woman to win the title of Miss Texas and the first in more than a decade. I commend Miss Stewart for being a trailblazer, scholar, and success story to young women throughout the country, and I wish her luck as she competes for the title of Miss Universe in Vietnam this June. I know she will continue to bring pride to the state of Texas and the United States of America.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a true Texan, Randy Jeffers of Amarillo, Texas. Mr. Jeffers is the 2008 chairman of the 90,000 strong members of the Texas Association of Realtors, TAR. The tireless leader of TAR, Mr. Jeffers has worked day and night to ensure that the eternal American dream of homeownership will not be denied to any Texan, even in these challenging times for the real estate market. As a former realtor and real estate course instructor, I fully recognize the sub-prime mortgage crisis facing our Nation. The real estate market affects every city, town, county, and State in our country, and as we have all seen, the wellbeing of the housing market is key to the overall strength of the U.S. economy. This Congress and the Texas Association of Realtors have worked hard to address serious issues facing our housing market, and we are working together toward a balanced solution that turns the market around, stops falling prices, stops abuses, aids stable homeownership, and preserves our vibrant communities. Mr. Jeffers was not able to come to Washington for his legislative conference this year, but I wanted to set the record straight that Mr. Jeffers passionately believes that real estate is a major driving force behind a strong American economy and he is working hard to champion his industry at every opportunity.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. And I hope you will join me as a cosponsor of that legislation.

Mr. LAMPSON. I don't know if we have a specific study that can show it, but I can tell you the people that we have been working with over the last several months from places like MIT who have come and asked us to consider this legislation, they are saying that historically we have seen prices drop when actions like this have been taken. If we can try, at least we are doing something that may put it in the right direction. We have additional legislation that is going to be proposed.

Mr. LAMPSON. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. LAMPSON. In 2000, as we have already heard, the prices fell by one-third, and they stayed low. Suspending the SPR will put an additional 70,000 barrels of oil on the market each day. It could help reduce prices at a critical time for us in our economy. This action has widespread bipartisan support. It was supported by a near unanimous support by the Senate this morning. I got a letter a few minutes ago from the American Trucking Association saying that the additional $391 million that truckers are having to pay for diesel cannot be handled by them for long. So I'm pleased that we are taking at least the first step. And I am looking forward to introducing other legislation later this week that's going to provide additional relief to consumers to provide and invest in our energy independence through research and development.

Mr. LAMPSON. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the leadership of both Chairman Dingell and Ranking Member Barton on what is being done and has been done for a long time with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in making sure that it stays strong and effective for us at a time that we do need it and will need it. And I think that if we keep cool heads and look for simple ways that we can reach and try to find commonsense solutions to some of the problems that we face, then we're going to have a good solution to those problems. And we are taking one step today. That's all. One of hopefully many to try to curb the price of gasoline for the American consumer and invest in alternative energy research to provide for the long-term energy solutions that we're going to need. Many of these things are going to be required for us to get the price of gasoline down to the point where we're going to be comfortable again, and let's hope that we accomplish it. This bill directs the President to suspend shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the end of the year or until prices drop below $75 a barrel. High oil prices are straining family budgets at the pump, and we know that they're driving prices up on groceries and other household goods. And families are starting to rethink even summer vacations, and it's going to have a negative impact on so many of our communities that depend on tourism. This ripple effect, well, from the high price of gasoline and diesel, there's going to be a touch to every family, to every industry, to every person, to every business in the United States and even around the globe. Not realizing the urgency of this situation is naive. Consumers need lower prices now, not later. This bill provides a quick first step, maybe not much, but at least it's an action on the part of our Congress. When I first introduced similar legislation affecting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve back in January, gas was $3.11 a gallon. Now it's $3.73 a gallon. It has gone up 11 cents in the last week. And if the President turns a blind eye to the needs of the American people, we may see gasoline go to $5, $6, or $7 a gallon. Consider this: The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been tapped and suspended four times by the last three Presidents.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, on May 3-5, 2008, more than 1,200 students from across the country will visit Washington, D.C. to take part in the national finals of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, the most extensive educational program in the country developed to educate young people about the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Administered by the Center for Civic Education, the We the People program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education by act of Congress. I am proud to announce that a class from Elkins High School will represent the State of Texas at this prestigious national event. These outstanding students, through their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, won their statewide competition and earned the chance to come to our Nation's capital and compete at the national level. While in Washington, the students will participate in a three-day academic competition that simulates a congressional hearing in which they ``testify'' before a panel of judges. Students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles as they evaluate, take, and defend positions on relevant historical and contemporary issues. It is important to note that independent studies of the We the People program indicate that alumni of this nationally acclaimed program display a greater political tolerance and commitment to the principles and values of the Constitution and Bill of Rights than do students using traditional textbooks and approaches. I am pleased to support such an outstanding program that continues to produce an enlightened and responsible citizenry. Madam Speaker, the names of these outstanding students from Elkins High School are: Krystal Castillo, Andrea Cavazos, Deborah Choate, Andrew Cockroft, Lucy Eiler, Jimmy Guerrero, Josh Hanks, Lara Hogue, Nick Johnson, Tiffany Kell, Curtis Kelso, D.J. Kinneman, Matt Macko, Colton Mendez, Jonny Murthy, Sola Oyewuwo, Tej Pandya, Bryan Philpott, Justina Rodriguez, Deepa Sabu, Nick Shipman, Pia Siaotong, Ivette Soto, Achal Upadhyaya, Courtney Williams, Angela Wu, and Arif Yusuf. I also wish to commend the teacher of the class, Marilyn Ellington, who is responsible for preparing these young constitutional experts for the national finals. Assisting Mrs. Ellington is her colleague Jan Arrington and former students Emily Lee, Kelsey Smith, and Masha Sharf. Also worthy of special recognition is Jan Miller, the State coordinator, who is among those responsible for implementing the We the People program in my State. I congratulate these students on their exceptional achievement at the We the People national finals.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, this summer, the United States will be sending three siblings to compete in the Olympic Games. This outstanding feat has not occurred since 1904, and I am honored to recognize these individuals from the Houston area: Steven Lopez, Mark Anthony Lopez, and Diana Lopez. Each of the three is an exceptional athlete and will be representing the United States in the sport of taekwondo this summer. Steven Lopez spent the majority of his life in his hometown of Sugar Land, Texas, and is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and four-time world champion. Mark Lopez was born in Houston, Texas, and is a recipient of three World Championship Medals including a Gold Medal in 2005. Diana Lopez is the youngest of the three and was also born in Houston, Texas, and received a Gold Medal in 2005. These extraordinary individuals deserve America's utmost appreciation and support. I am proud to have such remarkable citizens in my district, and I wish them the best in the 2008 Summer Olympics and in the years ahead.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to stand before you today in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the City of Webster, Texas. Webster was incorporated on April 19th, 1958, almost 80 years after it was settled by James W. Webster. Since its settlement in 1879, Webster has enjoyed a rich and varied history. Its temperate climate and the dedicated work of its residents nursed the fledgling Texas rice industry, now a multimillion-dollar economic success. In more recent years, Webster has become home for much of the aerospace industry and serves as the gateway to Johnson Space Center. Its population has blossomed, from a handful of ranching settlers in 1879 to over 9000 residents. Webster has also served as a vital connector for the Bay Area. Its official emblem, an unbroken chain, reflects its role as a link in the Bay Area economy and between the cities of Houston and Galveston, as well as the Johnson Space Center. The emblem also symbolizes Webster's constant progress and growth, a connection between the past and the future. As Webster enters its next 50 years, I have no doubt that it will continue to achieve success. I am proud to celebrate with the residents of Webster their legacy and hopes for the years ahead. I wish the City of Webster a bright future and congratulate them on this golden anniversary.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, today we honor the 100th anniversary of the Valero Texas City Refinery. Over the past 100 years, Texas City, Texas, has established itself as a major center for our Nation's energy production. Texas City's history is a testament to hard work and the American Dream, in that such success has grown from the small refinery established by the Texas City Refining Company so long ago. In 1908, J.C. Black, joined by more than 100 craftsmen, constructed a refinery consisting of just 11 stills, storage tanks, and a boiler house. In the beginning, the refinery had the capacity to process only 1,500 barrels of oil per day. Enduring a depression, technological revolutions, and the hardships all businesses experience, the Valero Texas City refinery now produces 243,000 barrels per day of ultra low sulfur gasoline and diesel. Texas City matured with this refinery. When America entered World War I and then World War II, the refinery increased production to meet the Nation's petroleum demands, fueling America's victory. During this period the population of Texas City tripled as men and women answered the patriotic call to serve in the Nation's war efforts. Today, the proud, hard working spirit is alive and well as the Valero Texas City refinery continues to play an integral role in the economic well-being of southeast Texas and the United States. I am proud to honor the thousands of men and women who have been working on our behalf throughout the past 100 years. Texas City's first refinery is indeed deserving of recognition from the United States House of Representatives upon its 100th anniversary.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. I thank the chairman for allowing me to come in and weigh in on this important measure. I am proud today to vote for this comprehensive energy package which includes two bills that I introduced related to enhancing biofuels and also industrial efficiency research and development. Diversifying our energy supplies will help our Nation lead the way toward greater energy independence. However, we must commit to even more research and development in order to remain the world leader that we have been. We are competing with China and Japan and Russia and many other nations to find new resources and technologies. As we grow our technologies, we grow the availability of resources that we are trying to seek and use. And if we don't rededicate our Nation's know-how and might to the pursuit of science and technologies, I believe we will relegate ourselves to second-class status in the world. While this bill will not bring down energy prices overnight, it is an important step in the right direction. Estimates show that these provisions will save Americans more than $400 billion and reduce energy consumption by at least 7 percent by 2030. We can achieve that and more. Our Nation has reached a critical point, and the time is now for us to lead the way toward cleaner fuel, increased efficiency standards, and much-needed research and development. When we lead, we prosper. Passing this bill is a start. Making it better next year and the year after will ensure our leadership in the world. We can and we absolutely must achieve these significant goals by passing this bill. I encourage support for H.R. 6.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the honorable Mr. Conyers from Michigan for yielding me the time and for the great work that you've done on the Judiciary Committee and particularly on this particular issue, and I thank you for letting me be a part of this. And for Mr. Chabot, the work that he has done on not just this, but other legislation having to do with child safety, child protection. I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 3791, the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007. This bill modernizes and expands the reporting requirements relating to child pornography and expands cooperation in combating child pornography. Stories of Internet predators preying on innocents making their way into our children's bedrooms with the simple click of a mouse, and they're seen and heard all too often in our media. The age of sweet 16 used to be about parties and learning to drive, but now it marks the threshold of Internet freedom. Popular social networking Web sites allow profiles to be public, providing predators with an encyclopedia of pictures, personal interests and even addresses, which they can be used, or they can use to cause harm. Well, this dangerous trend has become a feeding ground for pedophiles and convicted sex offenders. Parents, law enforcement and legislators must work together to bring social networking Web sites into the fight to protect America's children. And I've joined with one of my cochairs of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, I just mentioned Mr. Chabot, in introducing the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation- Online, the SAFE Act. The SAFE Act provides increased resources for law enforcement to capture and prosecute and incarcerate these criminals. By expanding the system for service providers to report child pornography found on the systems, we improve child safety and prevent future atrocities. Currently, Internet service providers are mandated to report child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Under the SAFE Act, all electronic service communications providers and remote computing service providers will have to report child pornography. For knowingly and willingly not filing a report after being made aware of a child pornography image, these providers will be subject to increased fines of $150,000 per image per day for the first offense and up to $300,000 per image per day for any image found thereafter. This bill will also increase the efficiency of the CyberTipline, making it a better investigative tool for law enforcement by mandating that all information submitted by providers is consistent. The process outlined in this bill keeps law enforcement officials in the loop by making information more readily accessible and requires providers to retain key data that law enforcement agencies can use to investigate and prosecute child predators. Over 10 years ago, I created the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children after a young girl in my district was kidnapped and murdered. And since then, I have continued to work extensively with organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on educating Members of Congress and others on legislation such as the SAFE Act that strengthen the National Center's ability to keep children safer online and on our streets. Many of us have watched Dateline's popular series ``To Catch a Predator,'' and organizations such as Perverted Justice that actively look for Internet child predators. We need to become partners in this fight by talking with our children about the dangers of strangers online and making Internet use a family activity. While parents should teach their children that the Internet may offer many different types of resources, from entertainment to educational, it also poses many risks. Parents are the first line of defense against online predators, and the SAFE Act will reinforce their efforts. Internet companies will need to do their part as well. When we begin to hold Web sites accountable for the images that they host, we've taken the first step toward supporting parents in their efforts to protect children. Our combined efforts will help make the Internet a safer place. I again want to thank and recognize some of the people who have worked so hard to make this legislation what it has become, those staffers who have worked diligently in bringing this legislation to fruition: Committee on Judiciary staffers Ted Kalo and Mark Dubester; Congressman Steve Chabot's staffer Kim Betz; and my staffers, Dan Easley and Abby Shannon, and a very special thank you to my distinguished Republican colleague, Steve Chabot, who has worked tirelessly on the issue of child safety, working with me as one of the cochairs of the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. I have great respect for the work that he has done here in Congress as well as for the work that he has done in his congressional district, and for championing this legislation on his side of the aisle and for helping to ensure that not only are Ohio's children protected but all of America's children are as well. Once again, I would like to thank John and Reve Walsh for all the time that they have spent in helping us make this legislation successful, and Ernie Allen, who has spent, along with the Walshes, a good part of this day making sure that others of our colleagues were aware of it, and to be willing to support it. I thank them for their magnificent contribution that they've made to protecting children across this world, not just in the United States of America. It's because of their persistent dedication to this cause that so many of our children sleep more safely at night. Again, I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 3791.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. I thank Chairwoman McCarthy for the good work that she has done and for allowing me the time to participate in this legislation and to bring it to the floor of the House of Representatives. It is critically important. My colleagues, I rise today to ask you all to join me in voting for H.R. 2517, the Protecting Our Children Comes First Act of 2007. This bill amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to reauthorize the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice's missing and exploited children's program from 2008 to 2013. Each year, thousands of children are abducted or removed from the control of a parent having legal custody without that parent's consent, under circumstances which immediately place the child in grave danger. Recent video surfaced in Nevada, for example, of a young girl being molested time and time again. Our attention has also been captured by the mystery surrounding Baby Grace, another child who was murdered and put in a plastic box and dumped in Galveston, Texas, near my district. These gruesome acts remind us that we must do everything in our power to catch these creeps and protect our children. Many missing children are at great risk of both physical harm and sexual exploitation, and in many cases parents and local law enforcement officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to mount expanded search efforts. Abducted children are frequently moved from one locality to another, requiring the cooperation and coordination of local, State, and Federal law enforcement efforts. Growing numbers of children are the victims of child sexual exploitation increasingly involving new technology to access the Internet. Sex offenders pose a threat to children that increases as more offenders are released into the Nation's communities each year. On May 24, I, along with my cochairs of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, introduced H.R. 2517. Since its establishment in 1984, the National Center has assisted law enforcement with more than 137,600 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 120,300 children. The National Center's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 540,000 phone calls and leads. We are fortunate that this Nation has a national resource center and clearinghouse such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which works in partnership with the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Secret Service, and many other agencies in the effort to find missing children and prevent child victimization. The National Center operates a national and increasingly worldwide network and serves as a model for many other nations which are creating similar nonprofits. The National Center provides activities and services concerning missing children, including those abducted to or from the United States; exploited children; training and technical assistance; families of missing children; and partnerships with State clearinghouses, the private sector, as well as children's organizations. It is a primary component of the Department of Justice's missing and exploited children's program and employs over 300 people at its Alexandria, Virginia headquarters and its regional offices in California, Florida, Kansas, New York, and South Carolina. These regional offices provide case management and technical support in their geographic areas. And the Austin, Texas office is scheduled to open in the very near future. I would at this time like to recognize those staffers who have worked so diligently in bringing this legislation to fruition: Committee on Education and Labor staffers Denise Forte, Deborah Koolbeck, and Ruth Friedman; Congresswoman Judy Biggert's staffperson Brian Colgan; and my staffers, Dan Easley and Abby Shannon. I would also like to extend a thank you to my very strong Republican colleague and fellow caucus cochair, Judy Biggert, for championing this legislation and so much other similar legislation on her side of the aisle and for being such a tremendous benefit to America's children. I want to especially thank Chairwoman McCarthy. She herself is the victim of family violence. She lost her husband in a violent crime. And Chairman Miller for moving this legislation out of committee, and for their commitment and leadership to provide safety and security to America's children on playgrounds and on the Internet. And Mr. Ernie Allen, the president and CEO of the National Center; and Robbie Callaway, the president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs. And John and Reve Walsh, who have been with me all day today working on this legislation. They cofounded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and they have been fighting the good fight since the tragic abduction and murder of their son Adam in July of 1981. Their courage and their strength, which has done so much to help millions of children throughout the world, is extraordinary. Speaking on behalf of other parents and grandparents, we owe them our gratitude, and we thank you. Again, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this much-needed legislation. It is time that we all step up to protect our children by authorizing resources for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children so children are safer on and off the Internet, where they are free to learn and grow. Thank you all. I look forward to the support for this legislation.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Chairman, I certainly appreciate the kind words of the ranking member on the Small Business Committee. Certainly, he too is a leader in the area of child exploitation. As one of the cochairs of the Congressional Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, you do great work. We appreciate all the attention. And I particularly appreciate the gentlewoman from New York for allowing me to introduce this amendment and for the support that she has given to us on it. I urge support of the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Chairman, I certainly appreciate the work that the chairwoman of the Small Business Committee and the sponsor of the Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act and the rest of the committee are doing on behalf of small businesses, the lifeblood of America. As we consider the Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act, we must be mindful of how wasteful government spending impacts hardworking American families. Citizens expect Congress to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars; and when we allow irresponsible fiscal practices to continue in our government, then we set a bad example for our Nation and create a reckless blueprint for future spending. So that's why I have introduced this amendment today. My amendment will clarify guidelines for premium travel by Small Business Administration employees when carrying out provisions of this act. A recent report by the GAO demonstrates that agencies are failing to follow Federal guidelines. This amendment will codify these regulations in order to curb wasteful spending by Federal agencies. Ending reckless spending is essential to regaining the trust of American citizens and restoring fiscal responsibility. This amendment also offers a direct method of guidance by referencing the sections of the Code of Federal Regulations related to premium travel for Federal employees. A similar amendment applying to the Department of Commerce employees passed earlier this year as a part of the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill. So as we continue to tackle large instances of government waste and abuse, let's not overlook smaller steps that we can take. I encourage support for this simple way to save taxpayer dollars and to reinstate fiscal responsibility and good government practices. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 1010, 1011, and 1012 on 10/29/07, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on all.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Madam Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 1013, 1014, and 1015, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on all.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me and for allowing me to take a minute or two to talk of a person who has done something significant for our country. Mr. Speaker, it is a distinct honor and a privilege to be a Member of this House and to be from the great State of Texas and to have in my district the home of American manned spaceflight, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, or JSC as it's called. The largest industry contractor at JSC is a company called United Space Alliance, or USA, and it operates the space shuttle for NASA and helps train our astronauts, who also call JSC home. For more than a decade, the head of USA has been a gentleman whose name is Michael J. McCulley. The company's president and CEO, Mike has led his company through some of the most difficult, and some of the most exciting, days in the history of the space shuttle. In just a few short weeks, he will step down from USA to begin a well-deserved retirement. He probably won't go far away. I rise today to salute this good man and his leadership. Mike came to his duties at USA from the front lines of space exploration. As a shuttle pilot, he has flown Atlantis into Earth's orbit and seen firsthand the majesty of this planet from space. But even before that, Mike was a naval aviator and test pilot, having operated more than 50 different types of aircraft, flown from the U.S.S. Nimitz and the U.S.S. Saratoga, and at the beginning of his naval career even served aboard atomic submarines in the depths of the oceans. That, my friends, is a true explorer of both inner and outer space. People like Mike McCulley show that in some of our most challenging times, there will be those ready and willing to serve the American people, placing their lives at risk for exploration, discovery, and achievement. Only through that kind of courage, that kind of selfless service, will our Nation's scientific advancement in space be assured and be continued. On behalf of this Congress of the United States of America, I hope that Mike and his wife, Jane, and their family will accept our thanks and our best wishes on his well-deserved next phase of an exciting, all-American life. Congratulations, Mike. Mr. Speaker, if I may continue while our colleague who has control of the time has gone to make a critical vote in the Ways and Means Committee, in speaking about Michael McCulley, there are two other things I would like very much to raise as an issue. I started speaking about space because Mr. McCulley is one of the great Americans who has played a significant role in moving us forward technologically in this world, and I am concerned right now that we are not moving ourselves, as a Nation, forward in science and technology, engineering and math studies for our youth. We are not challenged, it seems, to have the same kind of commitment for research and development, for exploration as we once had. And, unfortunately, other nations are stepping up to the plate to take our place. So it is my hope that we will find a new and renewed interest in funding space exploration and making sure that NASA has the moneys necessary to perform the tasks that it is required to do as a science organization for our Nation. I find it fascinating that in the early 1960s, when we were having difficulties as a Nation, when our Nation happened to be at war and we were having civil strife and were having financial problems in the 1960s; yet John Kennedy, a new, young, enthusiastic President, stepped up to the plate and challenged us to go to the Moon, doing something that not many people thought was possible. And at the same time many of the naysayers and doubters were saying, how can we possibly do that financially? But we made the commitment. We put the money where it was necessary. And our young people learned how to do it and made an unbelievable success for us and changed the world, created new industries. The information technology industry has grown from our need to be able to communicate with people in space. We have seen medical advances to the extent that lives are now being extended. People are living a higher quality of life because of what we have learned, what the technological advancements have been because of our involvement in space. All of these things changed America and, to a large extent, changed the world. But in the last several years, we seem to have had a continuous slackening of the support and the commitment that we made or we saw in earlier years in space. For example, during those Apollo years in the 1960s, when we were going back and forth to the Moon, and in the early 1970s, 6 percent of the Nation's budget was committed to NASA. Today, that number is around six-tenths of 1 percent, 10 times less. So we have expected a major science agency of this government to do more but to do it with significantly less, and we can't continue to do that. Now we are starting to see the impact of other programs that we have learned along the way. We have critical satellite systems that fly overhead in space that give us information about weather and about Earth science, about the environment of the Earth. Those satellites in many instances are getting old. As they get old and cease to operate, we must have something to take their place, and that something must be in place before these existing satellites die or else there will be a gap in knowledge and information. And a gap in information, for example, on the gulf coast, where I live and where Mr. Meek lives, would put people in harm's way. They will not have the advance warning of an approaching storm and be able to prepare their property or prepare their families to get out of harm's way. Those critical areas are important for us to acknowledge, to commit to, to believe in, and to fund. A gap in that knowledge means that our families will not be as safe as they were with the knowledge. As we weaken our commitment to science and to NASA and we lose some of the hope that these systems will continue to operate, and just think if our information technology satellites went out of service, what would we do without our PDAs? What would we do without our Blackberrys and our cell phones? If they stop working, then we stop communicating, and we communicate with the world. So it is my hope that we will find a renewed commitment and fund NASA to a greater extent than what we have been doing so. It is my hope that the billion dollars that the Senate has found to put into the Commerce, Justice, and State portion of our budget, which we will be taking to conference very soon, will find the same kind of support in the House of Representatives that it has found in the Senate and that we will support this commitment so that, instead of having to choose between doing the work for space exploration or science, we can do both because it is the commitment that the people want us to make to give them the hope for a better tomorrow, to keep us growing with our quality of life, to keep us having hope that our children will go and get the education necessary to do the things that will give us the kind of lives that we have strived for for such a long period of time. Mr. Meek, I appreciate your yielding to me. I got to talk about Michael McCulley, who is a friend of mine, who has led a major space effort for this country for a long period of time and also to just sort of put forth some of my passion, which is to make sure that we get NASA funded properly out here on the table so that we can continue that dialogue. I don't know what your topic was, but thank you for letting me butt in, and I would be happy to answer any questions, if you have them.

Mr. LAMPSON. The Children's Health Insurance Program is critically important. It's critically important to giving children the opportunity to grow up healthy enough to want to do well enough in their early years in school so that they will have an opportunity to go off and study math and science and engineering later on. It's a big deal for all of us.

Mr. LAMPSON. Well, I thank you for your commitment. I thank you for all the work that you have done to further the Children's Health Insurance Program. This body has come very close to making it law, and it's my hope that we will succeed very quickly to make sure that the 10 million children in this country who do not have access to this health care are covered. So thank you for your good work, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to make it a success.

Mr. LAMPSON

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3775) to support research and development of new industrial processes and technologies that optimize energy efficiency and environmental performance, utilize diverse sources of energy, and increase economic competitiveness, as amended.