Tom Latham

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. I appreciate that. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. LATHAM. I thank the gentleman from Kentucky. Mr. Chairman, I would just maybe respond a little bit to what the gentleman from Massachusetts just said. The fact of the matter is there will not be a veteran, a homeless vet, that will not get a voucher. The fact of the matter is there are 30,000 vouchers available today. Only 19,000 of those have been used. There are 11,000 vouchers waiting; and the problem basically is with the Department, with HUD and VA, as far as trying to write the rules to actually get these people the vouchers they need. So any kind of characterization that we're putting vets out in the cold is absolutely untrue. You have your opinion, but the facts speak for themselves. Now also we are not reducing any such section 8 vouchers. They will remain. No one is going to be put out anywhere. We maintain those programs for those folks, and to characterize it in any way differently simply is not factual.

Mr. LATHAM. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LATHAM. There are 11,000 vouchers sitting there unused today. There are 19,000 that have been issued. The gentleman knows that we are not cutting those. There are 11,000 still available under this bill. And we are going to review this as we go through for the next fiscal year, 2012.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the achievement of Brandon Bates, a Boy Scout from Winterset, Iowa, who recently received the Eagle Scout Award. I commend Brandon on his perseverance and dedication to improving his community. Brandon, who is the son of Jerry and Roxanne Bates, first joined the Boy Scout organization as a Tiger Scout at age 7. He went on to become a Cub Scout and then a Boy Scout. Throughout his years in scouting, Brandon has worked hard to earn many merit badges and awards, all of which involve personal betterment and community service. As a Cub Scout, he earned the ``Arrow of Light,'' which is the highest award that a Cub Scout can earn. As a Boy Scout, Brandon has earned the World Conservation Award, the Leave No Trace patch, and now the Eagle Scout Award. The Eagle Scout Award is the highest award that a Boy Scout can receive. In order to be eligible for this award, a Boy Scout must earn a minimum of 21 merit badges. Brandon has currently earned 40. Only 2% of Boy Scouts nationwide receive this honorable reward, and it is looked upon with distinction in the military, in many colleges and in the business world. I know that my colleagues in the United States Congress will join me in commending Brandon Bates for his achievement. It is an honor to serve as his representative, and I wish him luck in the future.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding care provided by the emergency room staff at the Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Waukon, Iowa. For their dedication to providing quality care and compassionate service, the VMH was recently awarded the 2010 Summit Award by the Press Ganey Association, recognizing it as one of the best emergency rooms in the nation. The Summit Award is given every year to one hospital in the country that has consistently demonstrated a high level of patient satisfaction. Since 2007, Press Ganey has sent out thousands of surveys to patients who have received care in an emergency room. These surveys are then collected, and the information in each is used to rank the hospitals according to the level of satisfaction its patients reported. In each consecutive quarter for the last three years, VMH has scored in the top five percent of hospitals nationwide and patient visits have increased by 15 percent . I commend the staff of Veterans Memorial Hospital for their hard work in promoting superb care and a positive patient experience. It is this dedication to serving patients that we hope to see in hospitals around the country. I urge my colleagues in the United States Congress to join me in congratulating Veterans Memorial Hospital for their achievement. I wish them the best of luck in the future.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievement of Jordanne Blair of Lake City, Iowa. Jordanne, who was crowned Miss Rodeo Iowa 2010, recently represented Iowa in the Miss Rodeo America pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jordanne is the daughter of Lee and Joanne Blair and is a 2009 graduate of South Dakota State University. She has been passionate about competing in rodeos for many years, and has inspired that same passion in others as Miss Rodeo Iowa 2010. In that role, she was successful in establishing the annual Exceptional Rodeo in Lake City for handicapped individuals. On December 4, 2010, Jordanne attended the Miss Rodeo America pageant in Las Vegas as the candidate from Iowa. Competing in the pageant were 28 women from around the country, and Jordanne was selected to be one of the ten semi-finalists. Although it was her close friend Haley McKenzie of South Dakota who took the title of Miss Rodeo America 2011, Jordanne had an exciting experience at the competition. On January 1, 2011, Jordanne was succeeded by Heidi Gansen of Zwingle, Iowa, who is currently Miss Rodeo Iowa 2011. However, Jordanne has no plans to retire from the rodeo scene. She will advise Heidi in her new role, continue to promote the Exceptional Rodeo and the Lake City Rodeo, serve on the Miss Rodeo Iowa Board, and resume competitive barrel racing. Jordanne also plans to pursue a career in marketing or broadcast journalism. I commend Jordanne for her devotion to her passion, her community and her state. I know my colleagues in the United States Congress will join me in congratulating and thanking her for the work she has done as Miss Rodeo Iowa 2010. It is an honor to represent her in Congress, and I wish her the best of luck in the future.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the retirement of Clive Simpson of Boone County, Iowa. For the last 28 years, Clive has worked for the Boone News-Republican, delivering the ``Boone County Shopping News'' to rural Iowans. Clive was born May 12, 1915 in Sac County, and he retired after working for 30 years for the Federal Highway Administration in Ames, Iowa. However, that retirement did not last long. At his wife's urging in 1982, Clive began delivering the ``Boone County Shopping News'' once a month every month. In the 28 years since, Clive has delivered over 187,000 issues and covered over 60,000 miles, all in his own car. Now at the age of 95, Clive decided that it's finally time for him to officially retire. I thank Clive for his strong and diligent work ethic. It is an admirable character trait, and one that I hope to see many Americans embody. Clive is a good role model for many younger Americans in that respect. I know that my colleagues in the United States Congress will join me in commending Clive Simpson for his decades of service at the Boone News-Republican. It is an honor to serve as his representative, and I wish Clive and his wife Gertrude a happy and healthy retirement.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I ask that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 49) providing Capitol-flown flags for recipients of the Medal of Honor.

Mr. LATHAM. I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Loebsack from Iowa, for joining me in this resolution and his lead cosponsorship on this. The Medal of Honor, like the gentleman just referred to, has quite a history with Iowa in that back on December 9, 1861, Iowa Senator James W. Grimes first introduced the concept of a medal of honor to promote the efficiency of the Navy at that time. And later on, there was another bill to also recognize people in the Army for their outstanding service and heroic actions. I was very pleased back in 2002 to introduce a bill; I don't know how many people were aware at the time, but there was never a Medal of Honor flag. We had in Jefferson, Iowa, a memorial for Captain Darrell Lindsey, who was a Medal of Honor winner from World War II; and a man named Bill Kendall, an Army veteran from Jefferson, felt that it was inappropriate that we didn't have a flag there. So I introduced legislation. Bill Kendall from Jefferson, Iowa, actually designed what is the Medal of Honor flag today, and I am still so appreciative of what he did. And now at the ceremony down at the White House when the Medal of Honor was given to this next great Iowan to see that flag there, it made me feel very, very proud of the contributions that so many people, Iowans, people all across this country have made and sacrificed for a country for the kind of honor they deserve. So I'm just very proud of the history we have, and I think this is a very appropriate way of recognizing those contributions. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 49, providing Capitol-flown flags for recipients of the Medal of Honor. Madam Speaker, the resolution is simple, its language is succinct, but it is so much more significant than mere symbolism. This resolution provides a family member or the Medal of Honor recipient themselves a U.S. flag flown over this Capitol, along with a certificate which reads, ``This flag has been flown over the United States Capitol, in honor of the service and sacrifice of recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor awarded to members of the Armed Forces for valor in combat, with profound gratitude on behalf of the United States House of Representatives.'' Madam Speaker, the Medal of Honor is the highest honor awarded to members of the Armed Forces. And to these Medal of Honor recipients, we, as a country, as one Nation, and as this collective House are immeasurably thankful for their service, their sacrifice, and their bravery, which sometimes has meant giving that last full measure of devotion. I am especially proud of Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, a native of Clinton, Iowa, who is the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War and is here in the Capitol for the State of the Union Address this evening and a recognition ceremony tomorrow. Sergeant Giunta's service embodies a spirit of selflessness, humility, and determination that Iowans are known for, both in the military and civilian life. We pass this resolution as a heartfelt and profoundly sincere ``thank you'' to those receiving the highest of honors, the Medal of Honor. Madam Speaker, this resolution should garner overwhelming bipartisan support, and I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 49. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I would just like to say what an honor it is for me to be part of the ceremony tomorrow to honor Staff Sergeant Giunta. Really, he is a model for what people in the military today, the service that they give, the humility that he possesses in the statements that Mr. Loebsack made about the fact that in his acceptance he talked about this was not an award and Medal of Honor for him, but for all of his comrades in arms, and how it should be given to everyone who acted so bravely that day. But that certainly is part of what Staff Sergeant Giunta is all about. The fact that he is such a humble person, someone who believes in the mission, someone who willingly was there to sacrifice himself to save one of his comrades, I think it is so appropriate that we have this recognition today and that we honor all the people in the service today. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. I thank the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to understand and remember how we got here. When the Senate passed their bill on Christmas Eve of 2009, there was not a soul on either side of the aisle in the House of Representatives who thought that that turkey would work. The bill that they passed, everybody knew it was bad. So when it became procedurally impossible to change it, the Democrats decided to push for this bill that everyone understood would not work, and that is what we are dealing with today. I think it is very promising that now--Iowa just yesterday joined a lawsuit so there is a majority of the States in this country that now say let's repeal this, that the individual mandate is unconstitutional. So not only are we stuck with a horrible bill, an unconstitutional bill that everyone knows and understood back then would never work, now they want to preserve this. We have got to repeal this and replace it with commonsense reforms that will actually work for the American people.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. I thank the gentleman from California for yielding. I rise today to join my colleagues in offering my prayers and condolences to the victims of Saturday's senseless violence in Tucson. To the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives or were injured, know that every Member of Congress and their staff stand with you today. This legislative body was designed to be a forum for the will of the American people, and Congresswoman Giffords has always met her constituents in accordance with that spirit. She and her staff members who accompanied her on that Saturday possessed a deep understanding that a Representative of the people's House must listen and remain as accessible as possible to the people. The citizens who lost their lives Saturday morning were exercising their patriotic duty to participate in the democratic process: a widely respected Federal judge; a dedicated church servant; a great grandmother who deeply believed in her country; a former secretary and homemaker; and a 9-year-old girl, herself a leader, getting an early glimpse of how our democracy works. And it is with an especially heavy heart that we mourn the loss of Gabe Zimmerman, a dedicated member of Congresswoman Giffords' staff and a member of this congressional community who was also a tireless servant to the people of Arizona's Eighth District. That those voices and lives were cut short is a national tragedy of the highest order. This is a heartbreaking moment in the history of the House of Representatives and our Nation, but we cannot allow this tragedy to put us on the defensive. We cannot retreat from our responsibilities to be accessible and responsive to the will of the American people. I look forward to the day when Congresswoman Giffords rejoins us in this Chamber. Until then, we can strive towards the lofty standard she has set. We can find inspiration in her steadfast commitment to those she serves, and we can draw strength from her unwavering belief in democracy.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievement of Dave Huinker of Decorah, Iowa, who was recently presented the Heritage Award during the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) 120th annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The IAFE is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the development and improvement of fairs and expositions around the world. Their influence covers said events from the county level to the national and international level. Although it was first organized in 1885 to represent a half dozen fairs, it has expanded to represent over 1,300 fairs, shows, and expositions today. To be selected for Heritage Award by the IAFE, a person has to have over ten years of fair management experience, cannot receive more than $2,000 annually for their work in the position, must be nominated by their fair, and must be a current member of the IAFE. Dave has a long history of involvement in Iowa's fairs. As a member of the 4-H from a young age, Dave spent much of his time exhibiting livestock and community service projects at his local fair. Dave served on the Iowa State Fair Board for 30 years, serving two terms of that time as board president and helping to establish the Blue Ribbon Foundation. He has served as a judge at numerous county and state fairs across the country and as an agricultural director to Decorah State Bank. Dave has also spent time as an auxiliary member of the Winneshiek County Fair Board and served on the Winneshiek County Extension Council. The IAFE could not have chosen a better person to receive the Heritage Award. I commend Dave Huinker for his dedication to continuing and preserving our fairs and the rich culture that they represent. I know my colleagues in the United States Congress will join me in congratulating him in being selected to receive this award. I wish him the best of luck in the future.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievement of Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa for the success of its agriculture program. This program was designed by assistant professor of agriculture Kevin Butt, and it was selected on December 1, 2010 at the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada to receive the National Association of Agricultural Educators Outstanding Postsecondary/Adult Agricultural Education Program Award. Kevin designed the agriculture program at Ellsworth Community College shortly after he began working there in 2004. The goal of this program is to not only provide students with theoretical and scientific knowledge about agriculture, but also to provide those students with hands-on opportunities and situations where they can apply that knowledge. Through the implementation of this program, Kevin has succeeded in helping these students to develop their communication, leadership, and citizenship skills, all of which will be beneficial to their careers in agriculture and to their futures as civic-minded citizens. The NAAE, which began in 1948, is a nationally-renowned organization that promotes agricultural education and the professional growth of agricultural teachers. Every year it selects six different programs, one in each of its six regions, to receive this award. Kevin's program at Ellsworth Community College was selected from the third region, which includes the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. I commend Kevin Butt and Ellsworth Community College for their unwavering commitment to providing quality education to their students in the field of agriculture. I know my colleagues in the United States Congress will join me in congratulating them for their selection to receive this award. I wish them the best of luck in the future.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the achievement of Alexa Lingren, a 4-H member from Pilot Mound, Iowa, who recently received a leadership project award from the Mary Jo and Glen Mente Endowment and the 4-H Foundation. This award is given only to those who demonstrate leadership in 4-H and in their local communities. I would like to express my congratulations to Alexa for receiving this award and my appreciation to her for her leadership. For the last eight years, Alexa has been an active leader in 4-H. She served on the 4-H council in Boone County, served as club president, and received many state awards in citizenship. She also participated in the safety, swine, sheep, and self-determined 4-H project areas, and she was named the runner-up fair queen at the Boone County Fair. 4-H has enabled Alexa to be an active leader within her community. Alexa co-chaired six community improvement grants that benefitted both the local youth shelter and area farmers. She believes that 4-H has given her the talent and the skills to help others, which she finds to be enriching. I commend Alexa Lingren for her service to 4-H and her community, and I know my colleagues in Congress will join me in congratulating Alexa for her achievement. It is an honor to represent Alexa in Congress, and I wish her the best of luck in the future.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the retirement of Verle Burgason, co-owner and board chairman of the Ames Tribune in Ames, Iowa. His dedication and commitment to the citizens of the community is appreciated and unequaled. Verle has spent the last 57 years devoted to journalism, reporting the stories that impacted the community, the state, and the Nation. Known for his honesty and straightforwardness, Verle was a champion of accurate and unbiased writing. During his career, he earned the Iowa Newspaper Association's Master Editor and Publisher award, and deservedly so. Verle's devotion to the community didn't only find expression through journalism. He was active in United Way, served as president of the Ames Chamber of Commerce, and served on the board of directors at a local bank. He was also extensively involved in church leadership, demonstrating his deep belief in morals, ethics, and a higher power. Verle correctly asserted that community service is a duty that everyone is obligated to fill--an assertion that I whole-heartedly agree with and support. I know that my colleagues in the United States Congress will join me in commending Verle Burgason for his decades of service at the Ames Tribune and to the Ames community. It is an honor to serve as his representative, and I wish Verle and his wife Jo a happy and healthy retirement.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the retirement of Carla Warrick, library technician at the Ericson Public Library in Boone, Iowa after 37 years of service. I would like to express my appreciation for her devotion to literature and spreading the joy of reading to members of her community. Although she was first hired at the library as a secretary, her job gradually changed to administrative assistant and then to library technician. Her duties expanded over the years, and she saw many changes both in the technology that the library utilized and in the building itself. While she enjoyed being surrounded by the books that she loved, it was meeting and interacting with the people--both her co- workers and the patrons--that Carla loved the most. Her experience and knowledge will certainly be missed. I commend Carla Warrick for her commitment to literature, her career, and members of her community. It is an honor to represent her in Congress, and I wish her only joy and happiness in her retirement.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Carolyn E. Dallinger of Huxley, Iowa, as the recipient of the 2010 Iowa Professor of the Year award. She was honored at a reception in Washington, D.C., on November 18. The U.S. Professors of the Year program, which is sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is the only national program to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring. Carolyn is currently an Assistant Professor of Social Work and Criminal Justice at Simpson College. She enjoys incorporating service learning components within her classroom teaching whenever possible. An example of this includes having her social policy students serve meals to hungry or homeless people. Besides being involved in sporting events and extracurricular activities at Simpson College, Carolyn also serves as a junior/senior high school youth group leader for her church. The youth group has taken several mission trips across the country to serve less fortunate people. She is also a member of the church choir and participates as a church accompanist. Carolyn Dallinger is an incredible teacher, and her dedication to her profession and to her students should make every Iowan proud. It's an honor to represent her in the United States Congress, and I know that my colleagues in the House join me in congratulating Carolyn on this well-deserved award and thanking her for her dedicated service to her community and America's young adults.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Ken Barkwill, a World War II Air Force veteran from Boone, Iowa, and to express my appreciation for his dedication and commitment to his country. The Boone News Republican is currently running a series of articles that honors one Boone County veteran every Tuesday from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. Ken Barkwill was recognized on Tuesday, November 2. Below is the article in its entirety: [From the Boone News Republican, Nov. 2, 2010] Boone County Veterans: Ken Barkwill (By Greg Eckstrom) Ken Barkwill found himself in World War II as a result of his love of model planes and trains. Not in a literal sense, mind you. It's likely that Barkwill would have been drafted into a branch of the military during WWII and called to serve his country, but this love of building models--a seemingly insignificant interest--set in motion a series of events that guided him through an intriguing life thus far, and one that was guided by these interests. Originally from Marion, this love of building models led a young Barkwill to a job at the local airport as a youth. As part of his pay, he received instruction at the airport and did some flying. He was hooked. ``That's why I wound up in the Air Force,'' he said. ``Back in '43, there was a draft and I was going to be drafted. I'd been in the civil air patrol in high school. If you wanted to, you could go sign up ahead of time, and I wanted to go into the Air Force, so I went in April and signed up to go into the Air Force and finally got called up in September.'' Barkwill took his training at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. The training was, in a word, ``sandy.'' ``All I could think of was sand all over the place,'' Barkwill said. ``Hot and sandy.'' After getting through basic training, Barkwill went to college for five months at the University of Alabama before going to Texas where he worked on the line with guys waiting to get into school at Randolph Field in San Antonio. From there, Barkwill was sent to armament school in Denver, where after learning from others for his entire military career was given a strange offer from one of his instructors. ``Barkwill,'' he recalled the teacher asking. ``How would you like to stay in Denver?'' He was offered a job as an instructor, after being identified as a ``high achiever'' along with two other individuals. Having a girlfriend in Denver at the time, the decision was not difficult . . . especially for someone with a love of airplanes. ``That was an interesting stint,'' he said. ``We got B-17s in there. We didn't have a plane with a chin turret on it. One day they come in and belly-landed a B-17 and we wound up with that one to teach the chin turret on, because it didn't wipe it clear out. And then, B-29s were just out when I was there. We got some through there, too, and got to teach armament on them.'' Barkwill worked as an instructor from December of 1944 to July of 1945, when he was sent to a replacement depot in the Philippines. Upon arrival, Barkwill recalled a great deal of uncertainty. The depot was a jumping off point, and all he could do was wait for his orders, which came one day in the form of a simple phrase: ``Get your gear together, you're shipping out.'' He got on a truck and was transported down the road a few miles. Barkwill unloaded in a new camp with some others before being given his orders. ``There were several of us pulled out of the depot and moved down the road a ways to an outfit called recovered personnel,'' he said. ``And we were supposed to go in behind the first wave of troops in to Japan and evacuate POWs.'' Fortunately, the cover of the first wave of troops was not needed, as the two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, effectively ending the war. The war was over, but Barkwill's duties on the recovered personnel outfit were still needed, and he was sent to POW camps in Japan to look for soldiers, check out graves for information and report back. ``It was interesting work,'' he said. From there, Barkwill was sent to a different unit--this one in Cebu City in the Phillipines--for some more interesting work. He was to investigate claims that the Filipinos made in regards to G.I.s' stealing items. ``It was interesting,'' he said. ``They come in to our office. We set up an office down in Cebu City, and they come in and file applications with their claims. We had a bunch of Filipinos working for us, and they'd fill out their forms for them, and then we'd have to go out and investigate. Try to figure out whether they were legitimate or not. That was fun.'' Everything from stolen chickens, cows and bicycles was investigated, as best he could, by Barkwill and his men. He was there for only about a month before finally coming home in February of 1946. For Barkwill, his military experience, while not always pleasant, was beneficial. ``I . . . can't say I enjoyed it, but it was something I'll never forget,'' he said. ``It was . . . an education. Quite an education. To this day, I don't think it hurts anyone to spend some time in the military. I feel it's quite an enlightening education.'' That experience is also one that is not easy to share with a stranger. Barkwill said that it's a difficult topic for many veterans to share, with even their own families. ``I've enjoyed talking to a lot of old guys like myself around,'' he said. ``We've talked about things that happened. You get to talking about what happened here and there, and you talk about things you haven't thought about for years and things you never told your kids. My daughter from Colorado, it was just a couple of years ago, found out a little bit about my military history. She was asking me questions and so I sat down and told her a little bit about what had happened. It was interesting overseas to see what the Japanese had done, what they were doing and how they had dug in. They were there forever. They found some of them in recent years still living in the hills still thinking the war is on.'' It's also interesting, he said, how your memories work. Barkwill's wife, Mary, joked that he could remember his time in the military with such clarity, yet he doesn't remember what he did yesterday. ``Yeah, some of it comes back, Mary,'' he laughed. ``It's amazing how your memory works.'' Many of the memories came to Barkwill without any trouble as he recalled specific incidents. Being caught in a typhoon in Japan, finding a place for a haircut and a shave over there, and most of all arriving back in the United States after serving. ``Anybody that goes into the military, you get what you can out of it,'' he said. ``You go and serve your time and hope that you get home. I tell you, that's a thrill. When you get on a ship and come back under the Golden Gate Bridge and see that bridge up there and see that harbor and that ship pulls up to the dock and you know you're back on terra firma in the United States. That was very, very exciting for me.'' For Barkwill, it all started with a young man building models . . . and after the hobby managed to lead him into the military, it also brought him to the Boone & Scenic Valley Rail Road in 1983, where he joined the Boone Railroad Historical Society and designed and oversaw the construction of the depot for the new railroad. His reason for doing so? Model trains. It's amazing where a love for a simple hobby can take you, and the stories that follow as a result. I commend Ken Barkwill for his many years of loyalty and service to our great nation. It is an immense honor to represent him in the United States Congress, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the excellence in education in the Fourth Congressional District of Iowa, and to specifically congratulate Kee High School in Lansing, Iowa, for making the list of the 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. Kee High School scored in the top ten percent in Iowa with at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds improving their performance on state assessments or nationally-normed tests. I consider it a great honor to represent Kee High School Principal Patrick Heiderscheit, the teachers, students, school board members and administrators of Eastern Allamakee Community Schools in the United States Congress. I wish Kee High School continued academic excellence as they provide a positive impact on future generations to come.

Mr. LATHAM

Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Leo Thomsen of Jefferson, Iowa, on the celebration of his 100th birthday on October 4, 2010. Leo was born on October 4, 1910, in Greene County, Iowa. He grew up in Paton, Iowa where he later became a farmer and worked at a grain elevator. In 1940, Leo married Bernice Anderson and they were together until her death in 1988. They have two daughters, Mary and Judy; and have five grandchildren, Cesar, Tony, Marisa, Matt and Brad. Leo is currently residing at the Regency Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Jefferson, Iowa. There have been many changes that have occurred during the past one hundred years. Since Leo's birth we have revolutionized air travel and walked on the moon. We have invented the television and the Internet. We have fought in wars overseas, seen the rise and fall of Soviet communism and the birth of new democracies. Leo has lived through 18 United States presidents and 22 governors of Iowa. In his lifetime, the population of the United States has more than tripled. I know that my colleagues in the United States Congress join me in sending warm wishes to Leo on the milestone of his 100th birthday. I am extremely honored to represent him in Congress, and I wish him happiness and health for many more years to come.