John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks).

Mr. MICA. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster).

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I will now read the name of the brave Marine from my district: Sergeant Ward Mark Johnson IV, Altamonte Springs, Florida, Florida's Seventh Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his fellow man. We, the Members who represent those brave Marines, ask you to join us in a moment of silence. And we also ask, as we approach this Memorial Day, that we remember in our thoughts and in our prayers all those brave Americans and their families who have paid the ultimate price in service to our Nation.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Marine Sergeant Ward Mark Johnson IV, a fallen hero who died while on a mission of mercy in Nepal on May 12, 2015. Sgt. Ward spent time growing up in Central Florida where today our community remembers his service to our nation. Sgt. Johnson enlisted in the Marine Corps on March 23, 2009 after earning two degrees from Seminole State College of Florida. Assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 69, Johnson served diligently in Afghanistan with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit prior to being deployed to Nepal as a crew chief in charge of maintaining the helicopter. As a testament to his outstanding performance, Johnson has been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Air Medal with Strike/Flight Numeral 5, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Sgt. Ward Mark Johnson IV will always be remembered for the honor and courage with which he fulfilled his duties, and for the love and joy he gave his family and friends. This was his third deployment around the world and he never wavered in his commitment to his family, the Corps and his country. As you know, Mr. Speaker, our military deployed on a humanitarian mission to earthquake-ravaged Nepal, and Sgt. Johnson answered that call. With him were five other Marines who perished. We mourn their loss and extend our sympathy to their families. Sgt. Johnson was a patriot in every sense of the word and is remembered by a loving family and countless friends. He is survived by his wife Haley; their two young children, Nathan and Noah; and his parents, Mark and Shirley Johnson who reside in Florida's 7th Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in remembering and honoring Marine Sergeant Ward Mark Johnson IV. We extend the condolences of this Congress and the American people, who he served gallantly, epitomizing the very best of our nation.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 246 my voting card did not record and if it had recorded, it would be a ``yes.'' I would have recorded my vote as ``yes.''

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. MICA. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Texas for yielding and also for entering into this colloquy. Mr. Chairman, I rise in concern to a potential Air Force determination under section 2667 of title 10, referencing an enhanced used lease agreement offered by the Canaveral Port Authority for use of Department of Defense lands directly adjacent to the Canaveral Harbor's deepwater port. As you know, the Canaveral Port Authority is, in fact, an independent governmental agency established by the Florida Legislature back in 1939. Therefore, the Canaveral Port Authority is a public organization. And under section 2667 of title 10, it could be determined by the Secretary of the Air Force that public interest would be served as a result of the enhanced use leave agreement that is being offered and that competitive procedures are not compatible with the public benefit served by this public interest. Thusly, it is in the public interest to deal with a public entity. The competitive procedures for selection of leases under this section should allow the Air Force to negotiate solely with the Canaveral Port Authority.

Mr. MICA. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, today in my home town of Winter Park, Florida, we will lay to rest a Central Florida community leader and American Patriot, Jeanne D'Agostino Rodriguez. It has been my privilege to know Jeanne and her family for more than four decades, and it has been my honor to call her my friend. She was a Republican stalwart, and a successful businesswoman with an untiring record of community service. We shared mutual passions for good government, family and faith and an appreciation of our Italian heritage. The Rodriguez and D'Agostino families have been leading restaurateurs in Central Florida, beginning with their restaurant, La Cantina, which they sold and created the renowned Villa Nova restaurant which, over the years, received numerous culinary awards and was a Winter Park landmark. Jeanne, who was preceded in death by her beloved husband John, and two brothers, was a respected business woman and community activist. In Central Florida politics, Jeanne was the Grand Dame of the Republican Party. She worked tirelessly to build the GOP in its lean beginning years in Florida and served in county and state Republican leadership positions. She was an early champion behind successful campaigns of Republican leaders including United States Senator Paula Hawkins and President Ronald Reagan. Some of Jeanne's many charitable endeavors were highlighted by her support for the Morning Star School and Bishop Grady Villas. Jeanne is survived by her family who she loved so dearly, including her children: Mark Rodriguez and wife Kim; John Rodriguez and wife Vicki; her sisters, Florence Ross and Anna Belitz Powers; her grandchildren: Jordan, Jared, Jenna, Jillian, Rebecca and Elizabeth and by her great granddaughter Aylin. Most of all, my friend Jeanne Rodriguez was an American Patriot. She loved our country and her family and was devoted in her Catholic faith. Mr. Speaker, we have lost a great Central Floridian and American. I ask you and our colleagues to join me in recognizing Jeanne's memory as she is laid to rest today in Palm Cemetery in Winter Park, Florida.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, in closing, in 2010, when we were in the minority, we had a little more time on our hands. I published this report in the Transportation Committee, ``The Federal Government Must Stop Sitting on its Assets,'' and listed in here is the Northeast corridor. It is one of the greatest assets we have, from here to Boston, and we need to utilize that asset. We can put in better service, and I think we can do this through this particular amendment. We have got to stop sitting on a valuable asset. It is the only corridor that we own. The other 22,000 miles of rail service is all on freight private rail. We can and we must adopt this amendment to get us on our way. Thank you, and I hope everybody is on board. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 4 minutes. Mr. Chairman and my colleagues, first of all, I want to thank both sides of the aisle, particularly the leadership of Chairman Shuster, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Denham and others for all working together in a bipartisan effort. The last rail reauthorization I did with Mr. Oberstar was the first one we had done in about 10 years. That was the precedent to this bill, and we need to do that. We need to act responsibly. We need to improve passenger rail service in the United States. We need to take Amtrak and this country from a Third World passenger rail service with a Soviet-style operation into the 21st century. I think we can begin to do that with the amendment that I have offered here today and that we have a bipartisan agreement on. It is not everything I would like. I am going to try to strengthen it as it moves through the process. This amendment would potentially open the Northeast corridor to express service from Washington, D.C., to New York City and to Boston, and it is great to have Mr. Capuano here. Right now, the service from Boston to New York City runs 68 miles an hour on average. That is Third World kind of operations. I believe that we could have express service for less than 2\1/2\ hours in that corridor, closer to 2 hours with this amendment. Right now, it goes 83 miles an hour. That is our high-speed service in the United States. Now, we are about to put a significant amount of money into the Northeast corridor, and I have no problem with that. This bill authorizes that money, some with direct appropriations, about a half billion dollars a year for each of the next 4 years. Then it also allows the revenue coming into the Northeast corridor to stay in the Northeast corridor. I have no problem with that. Again, what do the rest of us get in the country by putting this money in? I think we have subsidized Amtrak fairly well. Right now, every ticket is underwritten--last year, $44.98. This will also provide a subsidy. I have no problem. But what do we get back? Seventy percent of all the air traffic delays in the country are out of the Northeast corridor, the chronically delayed flights. We will see that, too, today and tomorrow. We can do a much better job improving service. Imagine getting from here to Penn Station in less than 2 hours and from Boston down to Penn Station in record time. Finally, others have done this. Virgin Trains in England, one of the leaders in innovation, has increased traffic from 14 million in the corridor from London up to the north of England, from 14 million to 28 million passengers in less than half a dozen years, an incredible record that we could replicate here. We only had 31 million passengers on all of Amtrak last year, a little less than that; and we could double the number of people employed, the number of people working. I have always supported labor in this. We are not trying to do this at any substandard wages. We want to make certain that all of those commitments to our brothers and sisters in labor are honored. This is the beginning of a proposal to open this up, the Northeast corridor, and the commission actually will report back to Congress with those proposals. It won't be buried. It is going to come back to us, and then we can move it forward. It is time to take us into the next era of passenger rail service in this country. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, the gentlelady from New York is a good friend, and I respect her so much. She asks some important questions that the House has to answer. She has been here a good while. I have been here a good while. Why would we be proceeding in this fashion? First of all, the House, we are trying to get to regular order. The Congress has not passed a budget, hasn't passed most appropriations. We live from CR to CR. There has been such instability in this institution. Here, for the first time, we have the opportunity, and I believe it is within the hour that the other body may act--or have they acted? They have had this question before them for a long time; but, here, we have the possibility of going to a conference. This is an important issue. This is an issue in which the President himself has said, I think, 22 times, that he doesn't have the authority to do what he did. The courts have upheld the position that we have or at least put a stay on the President's action. This is a very important issue because it affects the entire Nation. If we could get to regular order, we want to keep the government open. We want national security and homeland security to move forward. We are offering that and also the opportunity for a little bit of time to go to regular order to make the process work. Why shouldn't the House of Representatives have the opportunity to sit down with the Senate and work out the differences and honor the law that we passed and the President is abusing? Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I think we need to do this in regular order, and there is good reason to act in the fashion that Republicans are advocating.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Thank you, Mr. Smith, for yielding, and thank you also for calling this Special Order, particularly as Congress, tomorrow, will take up an important issue relating to the unborn. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, of all the responsibilities given to Congress under our Constitution, none is more important than to protect and preserve life. Throughout the history of governments, through the entire course of the world as we know it, governments have had the power to decide who dies and who lives. Our Founding Fathers established the United States to ensure the protection of first life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all of our citizens. As the people's Congress, we pass laws that define life. We pass laws that define life for all Americans, including the unborn. No matter that comes before this Congress or our society is more important than the matter of protecting the lives of our citizens; and, my colleagues, no citizen is more vulnerable or helpless than the unborn. Our Nation, in respect for life and the unborn, must not waver. Protecting human life at every opportunity must be our only option and certainly our moral responsibility. As thousands of pro-life Americans express their support for the unborn at our Nation's Capital this week, I welcome them, and I also hope and pray that their voice is heard.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great American, the former City of Apopka, Florida Mayor and a wonderful friend, John H. Land. John passed away Saturday, November 20, 2014. I have had the honor to work with Mayor Land for over four decades during his public service as Mayor. As Mayor of Apopka for 61 years, John was one of the longest-tenured public officials in the nation. He proudly served his community and was committed over the decades to make a positive difference in the lives of all those he was elected to serve. Mayor Land was born in Plant City, Florida. He attended the University of Florida until World War II, when he signed up for the Army, serving under Gen. George S. Patton in Europe. Following his return, John worked in his family's mill, Consumers Lumber and Veneer Company, and later won election in 1949 as Mayor of Apopka, a small Florida city that boasted a mostly rural population of 2,254. Over the next six decades as mayor, Apopka grew to a population of over 45,000 with a diversified tax base. Over his many years in Public Service, faith was always deeply important in the life of Mayor Land. He loved his family, community and country. He was a spiritual leader and deacon at the First Presbyterian Church. I, and many others, sought his council. American history was another passion that Mayor Land and I shared. As a fitting tribute to Mayor Land, the Tri-County League of Cities renamed its Lifetime Achievement Award, on the evening before his passing on November 21, 2014, as the Mayor John H. Land Award, of which he was the first recipient. For his tireless work on behalf of thousands of Central Floridians, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and legacy of Apopka Mayor John H. Land. What a great privilege it has been to work with him. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Betty; their children, Suzanne Larkin, Cathy Waters and John Land, Jr.; and John's many grandchildren. Mayor John H. Land's final resting place is Greenwood Cemetery in his beloved city. He will always be remembered as one of the key architects who helped lay the foundation for Apopka's growth and success. I asked my colleagues today to join me in paying tribute to John H. Land.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, as I rise today, it is my pleasure to announce the birth of Enslie Cole Deck on November 19, 2014 at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. Enslie is the daughter of Wiley Deck, my Chief of Staff, and Elizabeth Deck. The former Elizabeth Buckles and Wiley Deck met as staff members in our Washington office. Both of them moved to our Florida District Office in St. Augustine in 2003. They married and had their first child, Emilia Hayward Deck. The Decks returned to Washington, DC in 2011 and now have expanded their family with the arrival of Enslie. To the Deck and Buckles families, we extend our warmest congratulations and wish them years for continued health and happiness.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5448) to amend the John F. Kennedy Center Act to authorize appropriations for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 5448.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I bring up a bill which is a simple reauthorization bill, and I am very pleased to be here actually on behalf of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Barletta), and we wish him well. He has had some medical issues. He chairs the Subcommittee on Transportation. He actually has a cosponsorship with the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson), who you will be hearing from in a minute, but this is a bill to reauthorize the capital repair and maintenance programs at the Kennedy Center. In 2012, I helped introduce and Congress passed the last reauthorization for the Kennedy Center, and I want to thank again the current leader of the Transportation Committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), for his leadership on this issue and for also moving this legislation forward, and as I said, Mr. Barletta and Mr. Carson from Indiana have also taken the lead on this measure. The building, of course, is a national monument. It is our national cultural center. In fact, it is owned and maintained by the Federal Government, and it is a memorial to the late John F. Kennedy. Now, I want to cite in the Record, to let folks know this because most people don't know this, that the idea that came forth for the Kennedy Center was not so much by President Kennedy, but it was the foresight and vision of President Eisenhower. President Eisenhower actually proposed a national cultural center when he was President. When they renovated the Eisenhower Theater several years ago, some of the Eisenhower family was there, and they actually showed clips of President Eisenhower proposing a national cultural center, so it was his idea and his vision. It was named for our slain and great President Kennedy, but the vision for the national cultural center again came from Dwight David Eisenhower, our President. I actually saw an old film of him describing his vision for what we have. The other thing I wanted to say is, since we built the Kennedy Center--and this is a reauthorization. Some several years ago, I had the opportunity to introduce legislation for the first real expansion, which I understand is now underway, the plans and some of the preliminary design. When they built the Kennedy Center, it was a performing arts center, but it never had an educational component. It never had the space that they need. So of all the legislation I have participated in, I couldn't be more proud than helping to author the first expansion since we constructed that building. This measure, however, is a reauthorization for some of their operations and their capital repairs which is part of our responsibility as the Federal Government, so capital programs are critical. I might say that in the expansion there is no Federal public money, that it is all money that is raised privately. It is also important that we pass this legislation because it provides effective and efficient building operations for the next 5 years. The amounts authorized in the legislation will help address building inefficiencies that we currently have. It will assure that the building can continue to operate cost-effectively and will also reduce costs for the taxpayers, so those are some of the points that I would like to make. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I ask for my colleagues to join us in the approval of a bipartisan piece of legislation that again authorizes the capital repair costs and maintenance for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I submitted this into the Congressional Record in 2001 and resubmit it today, July 16, 2014 on the 42nd anniversary of the passing of Pfc. John Mica. Mr. Speaker, The West Palm Beach Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Florida was inspired by the life, military service and death of Pfc. John Mica. Army Corpsman Mica was born on April 3, 1915 in Binghamton, NY, served as a private in the U.S. Army from 1943- 44, and died July 16, 1972 in a crowded veterans hospital in Miami, Florida. Because of the circumstances of John Mica's death in that veterans facility, which was strained to capacity, his son Daniel A. Mica made construction of a new South Florida veterans hospital one of his goals when elected to the U.S. Congress. From 1978 to 1988, Congressman Daniel Mica, a member of the House Veterans Committee, cited the need for additional veterans medical facilities in Florida at every meeting of that Congressional panel over the decade of his service. Congressman Daniel Mica, on February 8th, 1983 during the 98th Congress, introduced H.R. 1348, ``A bill to construct a new Veterans Administration hospital in the State of Florida.'' Construction of the Palm Beach County Veterans' hospital was completed in 1994. This history has been submitted by Congressman John L. Mica in memory of his father, Pfc. John Mica, and also in recognition of his brother Daniel's contribution to the veterans of the State of Florida.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and the distinguished ranking member. Thank you for your hard work in trying right now to put a Band- Aid on our bleeding transportation funding. Thank you for trying to get the transportation cart out of the ditch. Mr. Speaker, we have reached the eleventh hour, and soon projects will be closing down across the country. It is unfortunate that we are at this juncture on the road to funding transportation responsibly. We had a chance for a 5-year bill, and we did not have the leadership, I believe, from the White House. In fact, President Obama was AWOL during that entire process. Now, today, we see the President has been at a bridge, and he is going to be at another site. He is out at a research thing, talking about transportation funding. Where was the President when Mr. Oberstar--the distinguished gentleman who recently passed away and who was chair of the committee-- offered a bill, and he came and cut his legs out from underneath the Democrat chairman? We would have had a longer term, fully funded bill. If it is to secure our borders, where has he been? He says he doesn't do photo ops, but he is doing them now, and he will do them on transportation. He doesn't need to be at the bridge. He needs to be here, working with these distinguished Members of Congress for a long- term solution. He was absent at the border, and he is absent as we need to secure our Nation's infrastructure. This is not acceptable. I support this measure because it is an extension of what we did. It doesn't have deficit spending. It is responsible for paying for it, and it doesn't have earmarks. The last bill had 6,300 earmarks--not this bill. I support the measure.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Greyhound Lines on the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1914. Greyhound is the nation's largest bus transportation system, serving communities nationwide with modem and environmentally friendly bus facilities at affordable prices. From Greyhound's founder, Eric Wickman, to the current CEO, Dave Leach, the company has grown from a humble three man operation, based out of a seven person van, transporting coal miners to a transcontinental business employing 7,500 staff to one of the most recognizable and well-respected bus carriers. An immigrant from Sweden, founder Eric Wickman began a bussing transportation system in the rural town of Hibbing, Minnesota after losing his mining and drilling job that same year. Operating as Mesaba Transportation Company and various other names until the official incorporation of the Greyhound name in 1930, Wickman built his company from the ground up, expanding services and locations and acquiring smaller lines until cementing the company's status as the largest intercity bus and transportation system in 1987. Based out of Phoenix, Arizona, Greyhound Lines' fleet of 1,735 buses, travelling to more than 3,800 destinations and serving 17.6 million passengers annually, is now operated by FirstGroup. With the classification as the safest mode of transportation by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Greyhound buses contribute to a safer driving environment for others, taking an average of 19 cars off the road each trip. Most people are unaware, but our domestic private bus companies transport more passengers each day than airlines and Amtrak combined. In Florida, Greyhound serves many of our communities and provides employment for hundreds of workers. Greyhound is a publicly traded corporation that pays significant local, state and federal taxes. The private transportation carrier actually makes a profit and does not rely on federal subsidies. As the former Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it has been my honor to work with many Greyhound officials and employees and it is my pleasure to congratulate each of them and the Greyhound Lines Family on this occasion. I know my colleagues join me in saluting a great American transportation carrier and all the fine people at Greyhound on this significant milestone.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. First of all, I want to commend you, Mr. Chairman, also the ranking member and the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee staff, for your efforts in bringing this important measure to the floor for our military. Mr. Chairman, in working with you and your staff, I know, firsthand, of your dedication to our armed services and the importance you place on ensuring the readiness of our troops. As you well know, modeling and simulation tools are cost-effective and highly successful components in ensuring that our troops have the absolute best training available. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his support, and also for the inclusion of specific language in the FY 2015 Appropriations Defense Subcommittee report specifically emphasizing the benefits of modeling and simulation. Also, as the House considers this vital appropriations bill, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you, the committee, and my colleagues, a concern of mine affecting the modeling and simulation and training community. As you know, part of the continuation of the Warfighter FOCUS program was expected to be the TEACH program. It is my understanding that the TEACH program has been put on hold. It is also my understanding that the Army will continue this program under a different name and format. It is my hope that the funds allocated are used to fulfill the requirements needed for this portion of the Warfighter program. Mr. Chairman, again, I appreciate your support for this vital tool-- simulation saves taxpayers dollars and assists in training our defense personnel--and also its inclusion in the Defense Appropriations bill.