Stephen Lynch

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 534) supporting the goals and ideals of ``National Children and Families Day.''

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3119) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 867 Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, as the ``Lim Poon Lee Post Office''.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I, as well, want to congratulate the Lakers and the gentlelady from California. I congratulate her on her resolution and for the victory that it represents. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 566) congratulating the 2008-2009 National Basketball Association Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, on an outstanding and historic season.

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, at this time it gives me great pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the lead sponsor of this resolution, Ms. Maxine Waters.

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I now yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, as chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia and on behalf of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I am pleased to join my colleagues, and principally Ms. Waters from the State of California, in the consideration of H. Res. 566, which provides for the recognition of the National Basketball Association Champion Los Angeles Lakers for capturing their 15th NBA championship. House Resolution 566 was introduced by Representative Maxine Waters of California on June 19, 2009, and currently has the support and cosponsorship of 50 Members of Congress, none of whom are from the city of Boston, courtesy of Chairman Towns. The measure has been considered and approved by the Oversight Committee and now comes to the House floor as a means of highlighting the Lakers' successful 2008-2009 NBA season and their final victory. Madam Speaker, the Los Angeles Lakers stand as one of sporting history's greatest franchises. The team was founded in 1946 in Detroit and moved to Minneapolis where it adopted its name, the Lakers, after Minnesota's State nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes. The Lakers relocated to Los Angeles in 1960. In the 1980s, the Lakers became one of the NBA's most electrifying and successful teams, winning five championships with Hall of Famers Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Coach Pat Riley. The Lakers' dominance extended into the 21st century as they won three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Thanks to this year's impressive NBA Finals victory over the Orlando Magic, the Lakers now boast the NBA franchise record for the most wins, the highest winning percentage, and the most NBA Finals appearances. Of course, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that my own beloved Boston Celtics still hold the record for the most NBA Finals championships. You would think they would have picked someone else to do this resolution, but I am happy to congratulate a job well done. Led by Head Coach Phil Jackson, one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, and Finals MVP Kobe Bryant, the Lakers' road to the NBA championship was lined with its fair share of challenges. While playing in the highly competitive Western Conference, the Lakers earned the conference's best regular season record and were dominant throughout the playoffs. For this accomplishment, Madam Speaker, we stand to commend the Los Angeles Lakers franchise, the players, coaches and, of course, the diehard Lakers fans on a job well done. I am sure that the Lakers' championship is an enormous source of pride for the residents of Los Angeles, the surrounding area, and the great State of California as well. In closing, I urge the adoption of House Resolution 566. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I now yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to present House Resolution 350 for consideration. This resolution honors the life and accomplishment of Harry Kalas. House Resolution 350 was introduced by my colleague, Representative Joe Sestak, on April 21, 2009, and was favorably reported out of the Oversight Committee by unanimous consent on June 18, 2009. Additionally, House Resolution 350 enjoys the support of over 50 Members of Congress. Born on March 26, 1936 in Naperville, Illinois, Harry Kalas graduated from Naperville High School in 1954 and from the University of Iowa in 1959, after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech, Radio and Television. Following his graduation, Mr. Kalas served in the United States Army for 2 years, after which he began his distinguished career in broadcasting by calling baseball games for the University of Hawaii, as well as the Hawaii Islanders of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In 1965, Mr. Kalas made his major league baseball debut as a sportscaster with the Houston Astros. Six years later he embarked on what would become a 39-year Hall of Fame career as a sports broadcaster with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was ultimately paired with his good friend and Phillies' Hall of Famer, center fielder Richie Ashburn. Nicknamed ``Harry the K'' by Phillies fans, Mr. Kalas originated his now-famous ``Outta Here'' home run call in the mid-1970s and, as the nearly 40-year voice of the Phillies, called a number of memorable Philadelphia and Major League Baseball moments. Among them were the first games played at the Houston Astrodome, Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park, also Mike Schmidt's 500th home run, and every one of Steve Carlton's starts from 1972 to 1986, and, of course, the Phillies' two World Series championships in 1980 and in 2008. In recognition of his distinguished career, Mr. Kalas received the Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 from the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which actually bestows the award to broadcasters who have made major contributions to the game of baseball. However, Mr. Kalas' career was not limited to baseball. In addition to his work with the Phillies, Mr. Kalas called a variety of notable sports events over the course of his nearly 50-year career and served as the longtime voice of NFL films, as featured on the HBO program ``Inside the NFL.'' Mr. Kalas also lent his voice to a number of well- known commercials and television specials. But most importantly, Mr. Kalas will be equally remembered as a devoted husband to his beloved wife, Eileen, and father to his three sons, Todd, Brad, and Kane. Regrettably, Harry Kalas passed away on April 13, 2009. In honor of their beloved friend and colleague, the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies can be seen wearing a black ``H.K.'' patch over the heart of their jerseys, and Mr. Kalas' famous home run call can currently be heard playing in Citizens Bank Park after every Phillies homer. Additionally, the Phillies have renamed their TV broadcast booth the Harry Kalas Broadcast Booth. Mr. Speaker, let us further honor this distinguished American through the passage of this commemorative resolution to honor his life and achievements. I urge my colleagues to do so and support House Resolution 350. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, having no further speakers, I do want to ask all of our colleagues to join with the lead sponsor of this resolution, Mr. Sestak, in supporting his resolution honoring Mr. Kalas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 350) honoring the life and accomplishments of Harry Kalas for his invaluable contributions to the national past-time of baseball, the community, and the Nation.

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Thank you. I want to thank the chairwoman for her courtesy, and to the gentleman from Illinois for his bipartisanship on this and all of our critical efforts in Afghanistan.

Mr. LYNCH. Thank you. Is it also the chairwoman's view that the State Department should ensure that these funds are used to support the range of programs, such as export control and border security, antiterrorism assistance, terrorist interdiction activities, counterterrorism financing, humanitarian demining, and destruction of small arms and other weapons?

Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. As the co-Chair of the House Task Force on Terrorist Financing and Nonproliferation, I rise to engage in a colloquy with my distinguished colleague, Chairwoman Lowey. I would like to confirm that the $57 million requested by President Obama for nonproliferation, antiterrorism, demining, and related programs in Afghanistan, will be fully funded. Is it the chairwoman's intent that those critical security and humanitarian-related activities will be funded at the President's requested level?

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 142) supporting National Men's Health Week.

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I present House Concurrent Resolution 142 for consideration. This resolution expresses our support for the goals and ideals of the annual National Men's Health Week, the observance of which is designed to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men. Introduced by my colleague, Mr. Cummings of Maryland, on June 3, 2009, and reported out of the Oversight Committee by unanimous consent on June 18, 2009, H. Con. Resolution 142 enjoys strong bipartisan support. Mr. Speaker, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nine of 10 of the leading causes of death in America among men, including heart disease and cancer, affect men at a significantly higher percentage than women. In addition, the CDC has reported that women are 100 percent more likely than men to seek annual medical examinations and preventative health care. Moreover, health statistics also indicate that, despite advances in medical care, men continue to live an average of approximately 6 fewer years than women--with African American men having the lowest life expectancy. Nonetheless, many male-related health problems, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and colon cancer, are treatable upon early detection. Specifically, the use of prostate cancer-specific antigen exams, blood pressure screenings, and other exams, when coupled with clinical examination and self-testing for testicular cancer, can lead to early detection and increase survival rates to nearly 100 percent. Accordingly, we must do more to encourage healthy behavior and disease prevention within America's male population. A more concentrated focus on male-related health conditions such as prostate, colon, and testicular cancer, along with a genuine commitment to addressing heart health, will go a long way toward ensuring that men have access to critical health information and treatment. In addition, it's important to remember that prevention and treatment of men's health conditions are critical not only to men, but also to the health and well-being of the American family; and having just recently celebrated Father's Day, I believe that it is important for this legislative body to recognize men's health from a family perspective. Furthermore, while an effort to encourage prevention and wellness among the male population can help meet our primary goal of improving health outcomes, in aggregate, utilization of these preventive services can lower health costs that currently are spiraling out of control. Mr. Speaker, since 1994, National Men's Health Week has served as a catalyst for increased attention towards men's health issues. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 142, recognizing the tremendous importance of these efforts. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, at this time I don't believe we have any further speakers on this issue, so I will continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for his kind words and his support.

Mr. LYNCH. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentlelady from Guam for yielding me this time. I also would like to thank our chairman, Nick Rahall, and Ranking Member Doc Hastings of the Natural Resources Committee for their cooperation in allowing this bill to move forward. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1129, legislation to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide annual grants for the development of regional ironworker training programs for Native Americans. Notably, an identical version of this legislation passed the House of Representatives under suspension of the rules by the 110th Congress by a vote of 302-72. Currently, only one ironworker training program that is specifically geared towards Native Americans exists in the United States, and that is the highly successful National Ironworkers Training Program for American Indians based in Broadview, Illinois. The Broadview program has stemmed from a strong and enduring partnership between the Federal Government's Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Ironworkers International Union, one that has lasted over 35 years. Working in conjunction with the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, the Broadview center provides highly specialized training in ironworking skills and related fabricating and welding shop classes and on-the-job education to Native American Indians from across the United States. Upon completion of the program, each student possesses essential knowledge in union structure and history, OSHA safety regulations and a variety of ironworking skills, including blueprint reading and related math, arc welding and the erection of structural steel. Broadview graduates are subsequently placed as apprentices at local ironworker unions nationwide and, as a result, are afforded the opportunity to pursue productive and high-quality construction careers. H.R. 1129 will build upon the success of the Broadview, Illinois, program by facilitating the establishment of regional ironworker training centers for Native Americans across the United States through the authorization of annual Interior Department grants. Mr. Speaker, the impetus behind the legislation is to provide occupational training to Native Americans residing in economically depressed communities, to accord them the opportunity to secure good jobs in the ironworking trade and ensure a solid future for themselves and their families. H.R. 1129 also stems from and expands upon the ironworkers longstanding relationship with the Native American community. As a structural ironworker for 20 years, I have been a member of Iron Workers Local 7 for 30 years, and I am actually past president of that union. I am well aware of a longstanding contribution made by Native Americans to the ironworking industry. As noted by the Ironworkers International Union and its president, Joe Hunt, Native Americans have been a part of ironworker history since 1886, when the St. Lawrence River was bridged on tribal land in Quebec and ironworkers' foremen first hired Native Americans as ironworkers. In my own role here, as an ironworker apprentice, I worked under a number of Native American foremen and general foremen. It was a number of Native American journeymen ironworkers who taught me how to weld and gave me a chance at that trade. As an ironworker foreman and a general foreman myself, I had an opportunity to have a lot of young Native American Indians working in my crews, not only in the Boston area, but out in Indiana and Illinois, as well as New Mexico and Arizona. And I have had a long relationship with members from the Navajo Tribe. I actually lived for a while on the Navajo Reservation, and I count those men and women as some of my closest friends, and I am greatly indebted to them. I also worked with members of the Apache Tribe and Mohawk Tribe in the New England area. This will really, I think, give a wonderful opportunity to Native Americans who have sort of adopted the ironworking industry as a family business. And it was not uncommon for me to be, as a Caucasian, a minority on a lot of the construction sites that I worked on in New Mexico and in other parts of the country where American Indians really provided the majority of the working members on those jobs. Again, I would like to thank Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Hastings for their wonderful support on this legislation, also, Member Dale Kildee, who has also put his shoulder to the wheel on this bill. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1129.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 127) Recognizing the significance of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month.

Mr. LYNCH. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. LYNCH. On behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I present House Concurrent Resolution 127 for consideration. This resolution expresses our support for the goals and ideals of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. Introduced by my colleague, Representative Barbara Lee of California, on May 14, 2009, and reported out of the Oversight Committee by unanimous consent on June 18, 2009, House Concurrent Resolution 127 enjoys the support of over 50 Members of Congress. Since June of 2005, Congress has taken time each year to recognize Americans of Caribbean descent for their significant contributions to American culture and history during National Caribbean Heritage Month. Beginning as early as the year 1619, generations of Caribbean immigrants have come to America and significantly contributed their rich traditions and culture, ethnic, and religious diversity to our social fabric. Regrettably, we must acknowledge that many Caribbean-Americans arrived against their own volition--as slaves and indentured servants, whose struggles for freedom continue to reverberate. Many others came to this country in search of a better life for themselves and their children; and today, over 5 million Americans proudly share Caribbean heritage. Caribbean-Americans have offered lasting contributions to every sector of our society, from public service, science, and athletics to business, education, and entertainment. Prominent Caribbean-Americans include such historical and cultural figures as Alexander Hamilton--who was born in the Caribbean region-- former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Eric Holder, our current Attorney General; and Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Congresswoman and first African American candidate for President. Other influential Caribbean-Americans include Harlem renaissance poet, Claude McKay; actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte; and Sidney Poitier, the first African American actor to receive an Academy Award for best performance in a leading role. Mr. Speaker, these and countless other Caribbean-Americans have made invaluable contributions to our Nation, and it is fitting that we on honor them today. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 127. I reserve the balance of my time.