John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the accomplishments of Captain Carl Kuwitzky, President of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA). Captain Kuwitzky will retire as SWAPA President on December 31, 2010 after serving two terms leading the organization which represents Southwest Airlines' nearly 6,000 pilots. An Oklahoma native, Captain Kuwitzky has been a pilot at Southwest Airlines since July, 1983. Captain Kuwitzky's distinguished service with SWAPA also includes time as the association's vice president from 2006-2008, as a member of the Board of Directors representing the Phoenix and Houston Hobby Airports, and as Chairman of Southwest Airlines' Scheduling and Air Safety Committees. During his distinguished career at Southwest he also served as a member of the negotiating and merger committees during the airline's acquisition of Muse Air in 1986. Madam Speaker, Southwest Airlines has grown to become a leader of the U.S. and global airline industry and has provided significant benefit to my home state of Florida. Captain Carl Kuwitzky's played an integral role in this growth and the benefits it has provided to Southwest Airlines, the traveling public, the airline industry and the millions of Americans who take to the skies each year. My colleagues, please join me in recognizing the service of Captain Kuwitzky, for we are all better and safer today because of his outstanding leadership.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that we find ourselves considering the 17th FAA Extension bill. As of September 30th, it has been three years since the FAA was last authorized. This has been the longest period of time between FAA reauthorizations in decades, but still Congress has been unable to reach agreement on a final FAA bill. I know we are all disappointed that we have not been able to reach agreement on a full reauthorization package. Such a bill would: Ensure stable funding for airport projects across the country, providing for long-term construction jobs; Advance implementation of the Next Generation Air Traffic Control system; and Improve aviation safety standards. Both bodies have been negotiating to produce a final FAA bill that sets priorities and improves our airspace system. Unfortunately, Congress just cannot seem to get the job done. In the 112th Congress the FAA Reauthorization bill will be a top priority for the Committee. We will work closely with our colleagues across the aisle and in the other chamber to complete a bill as quickly as possible. So, while I am sorry we were unable to reach agreement on a bill in this Congress, I support this extension to keep FAA up and running until we complete the bill next year. I urge my colleagues to adopt the legislation.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the life and accomplishments of U.S. Army Specialist Marc Whisenant. On Friday, September 24, a Central Florida soldier lost his life in service to our Nation during a training exercise in Kuwait. At his funeral service at the Daytona Beach Baptist Church on Saturday, October 2, our community heard wonderful recollections of how this young man, Army SPC Marc Whisenant of Daytona Beach, while only 23 years old, lived and accomplished a great deal in his lifetime. As a member of the ROTC program and 2005 graduate of Spruce Creek High School, Marc joined the U.S. Army after graduation from High School. He knew that serving in the United States military would fulfill a life goal. In the Army, Marc found his calling as an M1A1 Armor Crewman and honorably served tours of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He received recognition for his work and accomplishments as an outstanding serviceman. Many of Marc's brothers in arms have commented on what a fine soldier he was and how he always held a positive attitude--even in the toughest of conditions. Marc was a soldier to his country, a friend to many, but most of all, he was dedicated to his family. Marc's memory will carry on in the hearts and souls of his proud parents, Jerry Whisenant and Elizabeth Cook, and his beloved sisters, Michelle and Monica. My colleagues, please join me in recognizing the life and service to our Nation of Marc Whisenant. We are forever grateful as a Nation for Marc's service and sacrifice, and my deepest condolences are extended to his parents, family and friends.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Oberstar, Chairman Costello and Ranking Member Petri for their bipartisan work on this important legislation. While there are several issues that we would like to continue working on in conference, I support H.R. 4714 as amended. U.S. commercial aviation is the safest in the world. U.S. aviation law and safety regulations are the international gold standard. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) can join the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in taking credit for the safety record. The NTSB has done an excellent job with the resources and authority they currently have. In fact, the number of commercial aviation accidents has steadily dropped over the last several decades. The three-year average commercial aviation accident rate is now .018 accidents per 100,000 departures. But there is always room for improvement--one accident is one too many, as was tragically demonstrated by the February 2009 Colgan accident. Even though it has no regulatory authority, the NTSB has a unique role in transportation safety. The NTSB investigates accidents and makes recommendations to improve transportation safety with over 82 percent of their recommendations being adopted by the Department of Transportation. NTSB certainly shares in the credit for the safety improvements achieved. H.R. 4714 as amended, would authorize the NTSB for four years--2011 through 2014. While we are very supportive of the NTSB and its mission, given the current state of the U.S. economy and the Federal budget, we remain concerned with the authorization levels included in both the introduced bill and the amended bill being considered today. It has been pointed out that during the 107th and 108th Congresses-- when Republicans were in the Majority--we supported NTSB funding for 479 full-time equivalent employees. It is important to note that these bills were considered well before the recession and the current Federal budget deficit in excess of $1.3 trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office, ``Relative to the size of the economy, this year's deficit is expected to be the second largest shortfall in the past 65 years: At 9.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), it is exceeded only by last year's deficit of 9.9 percent of GDP.'' At a time of high Federal deficits, budget constraints, and belt tightening by American tax payers, we are concerned with the overall 27% increase in NTSB funding over 4 years and the 10% increase in NTSB authorization levels from 2010 to 2011. The President's budget request for the NTSB in FY2011 was $100.4 million, a level the NTSB itself supports. We believe that this level is the proper starting point. The NTSB has been very successful in carrying out its mission with staffing levels at the 380 FTE level. We look forward to continuing to work with our colleagues to reach agreement on the appropriate authorization levels as consideration of the bill moves forward. H.R. 4714 expands the workload of the Board and would duplicate reviews of other agencies with respect to transportation ``incidents''. The FAA and other DOT modal agencies conduct accident investigations and have numerous programs in place to collect information and address safety concerns. The NTSB and these agencies need to better coordinate to avoid duplicative investigations and to ensure the best and most efficient use of scarce resources. The inclusion of ``incidents'' in NTSB's investigative authority will require close Congressional oversight to ensure that the regulatory authority of the Department of Transportation is not negatively impacted. So, we do have some remaining concerns and we will work with our colleague to address these concerns as we move forward. But given the importance of the NTSB's mission, I support this bill and urge Members to vote for its passage.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, the ranking member, Mr. LoBiondo, for his yielding, and also for the excellent job. There is no one more dedicated to the United States Coast Guard than the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo). He loves, works, breathes, just exists to assist the United States Coast Guard. I am very proud of that dedication he exhibits. And also I have to compliment Mr. Oberstar, my partner. We have probably one of the greatest challenges of any of the teams that serve in Congress. We have the largest committee in Congress, great deal of jurisdictional areas and none that we enjoy working on more than the United States Coast Guard. These are some fantastic Americans, one of the major service organizations of the United States, and sometimes I think the least recognized. And we have been blessed with great leaders, Thad Allen. He came just at the right time, inherited so many problems, I can't even begin to spend tonight enumerating the problems. I think he came on duty about the same time I became the ranking Republican, and I would get his calls. And he always handles every situation so professionally. We have been blessed as a Nation to have leadership in the Coast Guard like that, Thad Allen, now Admiral Papp. And poor Thad Allen, just when he thought he was about to retire, just at the end of his watch and service, we, of course, had the incredible disaster in the gulf. And folks have to remember, the first responder to our shores is the United States Coast Guard, the protectors of our, not just maritime safety, but national security. And they have done that through their long, rich, and productive history. So tonight, this is long overdue too, this authorization. I believe that is some 4 years in coming. I have been the ranking member for 3. And I am pleased that tonight, as the Congress probably will go into recess, that we are able to set with this bill the major policy decisions to operate the United States Coast Guard. This is the whole framework of Federal policy. You have to authorize these projects by the Constitution. Under the Constitution and laws, we must pass a law that gives them the authority to operate. So it is the framework, the policy. It really sets the funding parameters. And I think also I am pleased to rise on behalf of my side of the aisle. Right now, people--I just got back from my district and traveled in August across the United States--they are tired of huge expenditures, 200 percent increases in programs and a skyrocketing deficit that this Congress has brought on. This is a moderate increase. It represents a 3 percent increase, and I think it deserves and is worthy of our support. The other thing about the Coast Guard is, they aren't like some agencies, lobbying for huge amounts of money, or this team of lobbyists or special interests or whoever coming here, whining, complaining, trying to get more of the taxpayer money, expanding the range and control of their programs. They just get their job done. And, again, I am pleased that we are finally getting our job done and authorizing this Coast Guard legislation. Let me also say that this is a much better bill than was introduced several years ago. And it may have taken more time, but I want to say, from my side of the aisle, I am pleased with what we have accomplished. Again, leadership by Mr. LoBiondo and others who have worked on this, we blocked, I think, some--first of all, we blocked some devastating operational and structural policy changes that the Coast Guard did not want. The Coast Guard is, again, one of our service organizations, and it doesn't need to be hamstrung by Congress. Safety is important, and we need the component of safety as one of their priorities. And I think we have properly placed that, fixed some of the original provisions that I don't think that they felt they could properly operate or live with. So I think, first of all, we have got that provision which is much better and will operate on a sounder basis. The second thing is, there were provisions in here, and there are folks that had their own little interests, and some of those interests would have blocked our energy supplies. And as far as liquefied natural gas and bringing gas into some of our ports, I think we would have created higher costs for the consumers. I think the Northeast region in particular would have been hard hit by some of the original constraints and provisions that were in here. Yes, we want safety for the delivery of those kinds of fuels, but we also want reasonableness in the process. So we don't want to make, again, a problem where there isn't a problem. And we do need to have clean energy available at affordable price for the consumer. I think we have been able to do that. We have also, I think, put provisions in here that protect America's ports. There was a provision originally introduced that would have prohibited States from conducting additional background checks on port workers to ensure that drug smugglers and other convicted felons' access to secure areas of our ports was actually allowed under this bill, and States were prohibited from, again, putting these provisions forward for safety and security. We have seen what happened with the Federal Government in Arizona, and Arizona wants to enforce Federal immigration laws. Well, States should be able to ensure that their ports too are safe; and if they have the need of a background check, it should be done. And we shouldn't have felons and others with bad records in some of the secure areas of our ports. So I think we have also improved the quality of that particular provision. Then I think we have put some commonsense acquisition reform. When originally introduced, this bill would have, I think, created a disastrous recipe for failure for the United States Coast Guard to become a systems integrator. Now, I know we have had problems. We had problems with the national security class Coast Guard cutter that we tried to produce for the first time. We had problems with changing out 110-foot Coast Guard cutters to a longer model--I believe it was a 123- foot version. Yes, we had problems with some of these projects. But the answer isn't for government to step in and create a huge operation. When you get into some of the acquisition questions and systems design and systems integration, even the United States Navy, which has one of the largest maritime fleets in the world, has trouble doing some of this by itself. The Navy is a much larger entity than the United States Coast Guard, which is the smaller entity, and casting legislation that would require them to do things that really they don't have the capability of doing was, I think, not a good proposal, and I think we have made it a better proposal. The other thing we have to remember too, the Coast Guard pays a lot less than the private sector. And God bless those men and women who serve. Many of those professionals end up going into the private sector, or the private sector attracts folks to do these highly technical systems integration programs, and they have the resources to do this. Also, the other thing, too, we found with the Coast Guard is we do have a turnover in Coast Guard personnel. Many people serve their whole career there, but there is also a turnover in some of these highly professional, highly technical positions. So given all of that, I think the provisions that were put in this legislation will allow us to not repeat some of the mistakes of past acquisitions and not get the government into creating a huge bureaucracy of acquisition or to take on something that the Federal Government should not do and cannot do, and we can do it much more cost effectively, I think, in the manner that we prescribed in this legislation. So I am pleased with the bill. It took some tough negotiations. It took some time. I am honored to join my colleagues--Mr. Oberstar, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Cummings, some of the other members here tonight, anyone who was involved in this on both sides of the aisle--and particularly the staff who worked so hard to secure what I think is not only a sound piece of legislation but an excellent bipartisan product that the American people can be proud of.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I wanted to join others in extending my congratulations to Miami Dade College on its 50th anniversary. For half a century, Miami Dade has been providing outstanding opportunities in education to the students of the State of Florida. As a 1965 graduate of Miami Dade College, I am proud to recognize the service and accomplishments of this great institution of higher learning. Since opening its doors in 1960, Miami Dade College has helped make affordable quality education to the residents of Florida. We salute the past successful 50 years and the faculty and staff that make this a great educational institution. At the Federal, State and local levels, we must remain committed in our support of higher education, especially at our colleges and universities in Florida. Miami Dade College has made dreams come true for its graduates, many whom are the first in their families to attend college. Miami Dade has helped thousands achieve success in all walks of life. Having the largest enrollment of any college or university in the United States, the college has granted more associate degrees than any other college in the United States. Miami Dade College is also the premier college in providing education underserved minorities and low income families. As a proud alumnus, I look forward to a bright future for my alma mater, Miami Dade College. I know it will be a leader in education for many future generations.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I am pleased to yield at this time 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), another one of our leaders in the T&I Committee.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), another one of our distinguished members from T&I.

Mr. MICA. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I was hoping we could have come here in a bipartisan effort to pass legislation that would have made certain that the tragic spill, the loss of life, be prevented, that we never see that happen off America's shores again. We do need domestic oil production. We don't want to be beholden to foreign fossil fuels. Unfortunately, this bill misses the mark. Unfortunately, this bill is the typical Democrat solution. It imposes huge taxes--$22 billion in taxes. It overregulates. Yes, we want proper regulation. We saw where the mark was missed. We saw where the law did not keep up with technology. Though let me say we missed the mark, too, in holding people responsible. We must hold people responsible, and that is whether it is BP or anyone who had anything to do with this or whether it is the administration officials who stamped the permit allowing the drilling to proceed in deep water, as they did, without the proper protections of the environment. Only 27 deepwater wells off the coast--only 27--have exploration, have production. This administration missed the mark. We want these people held responsible, and we also want it in law. You know, the guy who issued that permit, that one-page permit with a flawed backup cleanup for oil spills, is still on the job. He is in charge of the moratorium, which is another overreach that put people out of work, instead of being in charge of going down and making certain that the production and that those exploration wells were doing well. They missed the mark. That is a shame for the American people, and it is a shame for the future of containing the tragedy we have seen here. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cao).

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to another gentleman from Texas affected by this, the distinguished gentleman, Mr. Gohmert.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time to close for the T&I Committee.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton). (Mr. BARTON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to a leader and member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which had part of this bill, one of the leaders of crafting our particular portion, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan). (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I inquire as to how much time is remaining on each side of the aisle.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. First, Mr. Petri, I want to personally thank you as our ranking member; Mr. Costello, the chair of the Aviation Subcommittee; Mr. Oberstar, my partner on the full committee. The hour is late, both for passage of this extension of our Federal Aviation Administration authorization, and the hour is late for passage of a Federal aviation airline safety bill, commuter safety legislation that we should have passed months and months ago. First I have to address the airline safety provisions that have been rolled into this extension. I must apologize to those families who have waited so long, those families who experienced personal tragedy beyond what any of us could imagine, the loss of loved ones, the loss of life, and from that tragedy, they went forward and tried to change our Federal laws and our airline safety. The United States of America is fortunate because we have probably the safest aviation system in the world. Large commercial aircraft, since November of 2001, we have not lost a single aircraft; every day it's a miracle, given all the human elements and possibilities of an accident. However, in our service on the committee, we can't just be concerned about safety with large aircraft. Millions of Americans who fly every day and every week cross the land on commuter aircraft. The fatalities in commuter aircraft travel, as we have seen, have been too many, and we have not acted. When we had the crash in February of 2009, again, from that tragedy families came forward and Members of Congress began the work of trying to craft legislation that would ensure a level of safety for those traveling on commuter airlines, an equal level of safety that everyone else enjoys in other classes of aircraft. I am sad that, again, it took so long, and now we're doing it on the extension, but it should have been done and now it will be done. Without their help, we wouldn't be here even tonight. I also came tonight to stay a few minutes to thank one of our newer representatives. Imagine being elected to Congress and just a few weeks later, a few neighborhoods away, having a horrible aviation tragedy in your congressional district. That is what Representative Chris Lee experienced just a week after taking office. He also turned a tragedy into a personal commitment to pass the legislation which will pass tonight. So I am grateful for his action, and for the men and women and loved ones who, again, turned a tragedy into something that will hopefully prevent tragedies and the heartbreak that they have had to suffer. I am disappointed that we are not passing an FAA bill. I had the honor to chair the Aviation Subcommittee back in 2001 through some very difficult times. Our previous authorization bill expired. On May 15, we introduced legislation, in 2003. We had it on the President's desk, signed, by December 12, 2003, the same year. That bill that I wrote then was only a 4-year authorization, it expired September of 2007. And here we are, the end of July, and we have not passed a reauthorization for 3 years. All of Federal policy dealing with all the aviation issues has not passed. All the projects we must authorize have not passed. All of the eligibility for Federal assistance to our aviation system has not passed. And we have picked out of this legislation tonight that airline commuter safety bill. It is sort of a sad state of affairs. But again, I pledge to work with folks. We need to pass the rest of the legislation to ensure safety, to ensure that the United States maintains its position in the world not only for airline safety, but technology, and maintains leadership in that important role, provides a pathway for the future, jobs for the future, and safety for the future. So again, I thank those that have made part of what we wanted possible tonight. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Petri and Mr. Costello do a great job in leading the Aviation Subcommittee. They have both had the opportunity to serve in leadership positions. As a former chair of that Aviation Subcommittee, I do thank them for their work day in and day out to make certain that the United States continues to have the safest skies and continues to fly the safest flights of anywhere in the world. Mr. Speaker, still, about two-thirds of all of the passenger flights in the world occur in the United States of America. Some 94 million commercial flights were handled last year by our air traffic controllers. Again, the safety record is just unprecedented. When you stop and think of all of the potential for human error, for something to go wrong, and of the record we have achieved, it is remarkable. I am sad that we don't have an FAA reauthorization bill here. I am pleased that my legislation, which I crafted back in 2003 or 2004 and which expired in 2007, I believe--some 3 years ago--may be on its 15th extension this week. I knew I wrote a good bill. I didn't know, though, it was that good to last this long, but I look forward to passing that legislation which is so important that it sets forth the policy, the projects, and the funding for keeping our aviation system safe and sound. This resolution does honor the men and women who serve as air traffic controllers. As you know, there are 50,600 air traffic controllers-- those are Federal air traffic controllers--who operate in the towers, in the TRAYCONS, and in other facilities that we have. In addition, we have 1,250 civilian contract air traffic controllers. Now, that doesn't sound like many--it's a little less than 10 percent--but we also honor those private contract tower air traffic controllers. They serve at 250 airports. The contract towers represent 45 percent of all control towers in the United States because they are smaller facilities, but they are scattered in 250 locations across the country, and they handle about 25 percent of all of the traffic. So, on 9/11, when our air traffic controllers were doing such a great job, the Federal air traffic controllers, we also had contract air traffic controllers. Unfortunately, they earn less pay, but all of the reports we have are that their safety record is equal to, if not superior to, in performance, and there have been several studies that have confirmed that. They don't get as much compensation, but they do a great job, and we recognize them too. The final thing that I want to do in recognition today of air traffic controllers, the unsung heroes of our military, men and women. We have more than 9,000 military air traffic controllers. Now, an FAA air traffic controller, the average pay is $109,000, the base pay, I think about $160,000 with benefits. The average military air traffic controller, their base pay is $36,964. Here are dedicated men and women who serve, and there's 9,000 of them, who also have an incredible safety record. It's not just at a commercial airport. These folks are all around the world. You saw them in Baghdad. You see them at foreign assignments, where they've had to land and attend to aircraft in hostile conditions and at very low wages. Each day, day in and day out, they do a great job in representing the United States of America and serving our military airlift needs. So we commend all of our air traffic controllers today. We're going to need more of them, folks. They're retiring in record numbers. I'm told there may be 60 percent of the air traffic controllers, you know, many came on with Ronald Reagan when he replaced all of them, and they're aging now. They have a mandatory retirement age, and we need to replace them. So we salute them for their work; we welcome the new hires on board. We've got to redouble our efforts to get the best trained, the most qualified on the job as soon as possible, because you just don't come on and take over New York airspace air traffic control or any of the other congested corridors and do it overnight. It takes years of experience. And those are the people we want to replace, these people that have dedicated their life to safety and service. So we salute them. And I join Members in asking for passage of this resolution in their honor.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I thank our distinguished ranking member, Mr. Duncan, the gentleman from Tennessee, for yielding. I am pleased to join with the chairman of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, whom I have had the opportunity to work with in a number of capacities. In support of this resolution, I am pleased to be a cosponsor. The Coast Guard Academy, not a lot of folks know a lot about it. Everyone has heard of West Point, the Air Force Academy out in Colorado Springs. Everyone has heard of Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy close by here. I highly recommend to Members who have not had the opportunity to visit, to visit the Coast Guard Academy, one of our finest military service academies, unsung heroes. It has over 50,000 men and women in service and many of the leaders come from the Coast Guard Academy. One of the neat things I have to do as a ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Oberstar, the chairman, and myself get to serve on the Board of Visitors, as do some other Members from Congress; and you get to see firsthand the operations of the United States Coast Guard Academy. I have been there and had the opportunity to meet with their leaders. They are very fortunate to have Admiral Scott Burhoe, who is doing an outstanding job of providing leadership and direction and commitment that the Coast Guard has always had to the young men and women who attend and graduate there. The motto of the Coast Guard is Semper Paratus, and that's ``Always Ready,'' and that's the mission of the Coast Guard Academy, to make those young leaders always ready. They are our first line of defense nationally, the United States Coast Guard. We call on them, whether it's for safety or national security. These are some of the most fantastic graduates, young men and women of this academy, and everyone who wears the label of being part of the Coast Guard. They don't whine. They don't whimper. They never come here asking for more compensation, more rights, more employee benefits. They get their mission assigned and they do their job. They are incredible. They are underpaid and overworked, but they are always ready when the Nation needs them. I am pleased again to join others in recognizing the leadership of Thad Allen. We saw, when we had the spill in the gulf, who was responsible as the first responder from the Federal level--the United States Coast Guard. I was dismayed when the Obama administration proposed its budget earlier this year before this spill and recommended cutting 1,100 Coast Guard positions, cutting back ships, helicopters, airplanes, and other assets that are so essential for the Coast Guard to carry out its mission. We give our men and women in the military, whether it's Coast Guard or any other service, the resources to do the job, and then we commit them to complete that job and they get it done. So I am also pleased that both sides of the aisle stepped up when those cuts were proposed and they did not accept that recommendation, and those cuts are not going to take place because of bipartisan support on both sides of the aisle. So, again, we are here to recognize the accomplishments not only of Thad Allen, but our new Admiral, the head of the Coast Guard, Bob Papp, an incredible gentleman. How blessed we've been to have people like Thad Allen who, I think way back when I became a ranking member, was dealt probably every difficult situation, starting off with unrest in Cuba and problems with Guantanamo, preparing for any possible mass migration, through the Deepwater controversy, things he had nothing to do with but inherited those challenges and stepped up to the plate every single time. And then as he's about to retire, as he's about to exit his command and Bob Papp take over, he was dealt the cards of the oil spill and stepped right into that, and he has provided leadership. We haven't provided all the direction, resources, or assets that we should to deal with that, nor the administration, but Thad Allen and others have been there. And Scott Burhoe continues to lead a great academy we can all be proud of. So I join my colleagues in recognizing 100 years of service to our Nation, the United States Coast Guard Academy.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, it has been almost three years since the last reauthorization expired in September 2007. As Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee in 2003, I guided that bill to completion in just seven months. This had been the longest period of time between reauthorizations in the history of the FAA. This is the fourteenth in a series of FAA extensions and the sixteenth time we have come to the Floor to keep the FAA in business. Both bodies have been actively negotiating to produce a final bill that sets priorities and improves our airspace system. We cannot allow needless, controversial provisions to hijack important initiatives to improve aviation safety and allow the industry to grow. The situation has delayed bipartisan safety legislation that passed the House last fall and now sits idle. This is simply unacceptable. I support this fourteenth extension and hope that we can quickly resolve our issues and produce a much-needed FAA Reauthorization bill.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I yield myself the balance of my time. Again, I am pleased that Ms. Norton would be here today and honor the memory of my friend. I had the opportunity, as I say, to have worked with Senator Hawkins, both as she built the Florida Republican Party from precinct to the State level, as she built her reputation and service to not only the community of Maitland, of Winter Park, central Florida, Florida, the State, and the Nation, but it is fitting that we do take this step today to name this structure in her honor, a small token of our appreciation for her dedication, her service, her patriotism. In closing, let me just say that the gentlelady from the District of Columbia probably knows some about my traits. But I have to tell her, in closing, that the one thing I learned from Senator Paula Hawkins is persistence. It beats power. It beats position. It beats wealth. It beats all the cards that may be dealt to you in a positive or negative fashion. But persistence, and I think the gentlelady knows what I mean, that I am a persistent person, and now she knows the rest of the story as to where that persistence came. And it was from the lady we honor here today, Senator Paula Hawkins. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that Ms. Norton, the gentlelady from the District of Columbia, is here today. She chairs one of the important subcommittees of Oversight and Government Reform. It's been my honor to serve on that committee for some 18 years. I think most of that time she has been here and has done a great job in representing the citizens of the District of Columbia. Paula Hawkins would be very proud that Ms. Norton is here today; and I have served with the two of those individuals, both Paula Hawkins and Eleanor Norton. There are many similarities. They are very determined women, very accomplished women, and women who love the people they represent and do a great service for them. I had the distinction of being the chief of staff for Senator Hawkins from 1980 to 1985. Before that, I knew her in Florida in the community of Maitland. I lived in Maitland Shores. She lived down the street in the city of Maitland. Paula Hawkins was a wonderful lady, a great human being, a patriot, and she really broke a number of the glass ceilings and barriers for women. I might say, among her accomplishments, she was the first woman elected statewide in the history of the State of Florida, and she did that on her own. She started, actually, in her community, working on some local issues, and she took those local issues to her fellow citizens at city hall. She had their voices heard. And she wasn't elected to any position, just an active community leader. From that, she ran unsuccessfully for the State legislature. But when people saw her talent, they knew that this individual was a fighter for the people. In fact, she gained the reputation when she got elected statewide to the first office as the ``fighting housewife,'' ``the Maitland housewife.'' She was known affectionately as ``the Fighting Maitland housewife'' during her entire lifetime, even when she was a Member of the United States Senate because she fought for the people in her community, and she didn't take any hostages. She represented them well. She had her principles, and she had her philosophy. She never wavered. I think her personal morality--she is a member of the Church of Latter- day Saints, a Mormon, strong in her beliefs, strong in her philosophy, and I think that was also a guiding light for Paula Hawkins. Along her side during that entire journey was a wonderful individual, Gene Hawkins. Gene survived her. She passed away, as Ms. Norton said, December 3 of last year, but her memory and her achievements do live on. Not only, as you heard Ms. Norton describe, was she elected statewide in the State of Florida, but also was the first United States female Senator in her own right--no family member preceded her--and that was quite an accomplishment. We think that now, some 30 years ago; but it was an accomplishment even in 1980 when she achieved it. When she came to Congress, she set her path, and she had her priorities, and one of those priorities were our children and youth. In fact, they committed to her care a committee that was called, I believe, Family, Youth and Drugs because she was interested in family, she was interested in youth, and she was very dedicated to doing away with the scourge of illegal narcotics. Now, some people who get involved in committee work make their mark. Paula Hawkins set the mark. She passed, as everyone knows in the country, the national missing children's legislation. She knew that missing and exploited children were a national problem, but not a national priority. I remember when she said, It's amazing that an automobile, a refrigerator can be quickly identified by our law enforcement folks but missing children could not. So she set up the mechanism that long survives her in a national missing children's center that President Reagan opened on June 13, 1984. There are many accomplishments too, and I'm anxious for this legislation to be heard in the other body. Simple things like there wasn't a Senate daycare center, and that daycare center is still operating today. So not just Members of the Senate--and many of them are far beyond the age of having children eligible for daycare--but there are many hundreds of employees and staff who do have young children, and Paula Hawkins saw that their needs were taken care of. Just a small thing. There's dramatic legislation. Most people would never know today, almost all of the labor legislation--she was on the Labor Committee in the Senate. But it was interesting to watch her because, being a male and, you know, sometimes men think a little bit differently than women. You don't think of all the problems that women have. And at that point in life, she became their champion. So the labor laws in this country even today reflect her influence, simple things like trying to make certain that a single woman had some way to get to work, some simple way to care for the child, some consideration for the special concerns and needs of women who want to be productive in our society. And even the laws today have the mark of a great United States Senator. So, today I know many people are focused on the death and loss of Senator Byrd, and many of us who got to know him mourn his loss and his many contributions. Paula Hawkins wasn't here as many terms as Senator Byrd. He was here for nearly half a century. Paula Hawkins was here for only one term, but her deeds and her good works prevail even to this day. So to her husband, Gene, to her daughters, Genean and to Kelly and to Kevin, her son, we're excited about having in their community, in Paula's community, the Maitland Post Office just down the street from where she lived for many years, a small remembrance. And it is fitting that when we do remember folks like Senator Hawkins, that the public can enjoy their memory. So on the Maitland Post Office will be a plaque dedicating that building and that postal facility to the memory of a great American leader, former United States Senator Paula Hawkins. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Will the gentleman yield?