John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am a cosponsor of H.R. 3094, and I ask unanimous consent that my name be withdrawn as a cosponsor of H.R. 3094.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I am very disappointed that the other side of the aisle would not consider this a well-thought-out, reasonable amendment. The underlying bill does allow, again, 5 additional feet. It would accommodate another vehicle, but no accommodation for weight. That just does not make sense. We are talking about a very limited number of transporting vehicles. So even having offered on many occasions folks on the other side to present reasonable amendments and given that opportunity and not being allowed that tonight, Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, my colleagues, I know the chairman and the ranking member have done yeoman's work in bringing this bill forward, and the staff have also done great work. This is a special achievement. I have been there and tried to do this, done it, and it is very difficult. Sometimes you try not to interfere in the process, but from time to time an issue comes up that you try to negotiate and make sense out of. My amendment is pretty simple. In the committee bill, the bill before us, the committee has already allowed for a very limited number of automobile transporter vehicles to increase their length from 75 to 80 feet, some 5 feet, which will accommodate approximately one more vehicle. However, there is no consideration for the way to correspondingly provide for, again, the increase in the length. I have tried to negotiate between the industry. I do not support 91,000 pounds. I do not support 88,000 pounds. I do not support 86,000 pounds. What I said is: What would it take to transport one more vehicle? There are 12,000 of these vehicles across the country. About what weight would it take to add one more vehicle to the length that is already in this bill? And it is about 4,000 pounds. This amendment is simple. It says we would allow in this limited instance to go to 4,000 pounds because the committee draft and bill before us has, again, a provision to increase and allow, again, the additional 5-foot length. Forty percent of these carriers travel empty. We could actually force more vehicles on the road by not allowing this amendment. Actually, giving them the length, but not the capacity to carry, doesn't make sense. So that is my amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to pay tribute to Frederick Wayne Leonhardt of Orlando, Florida, who passed away October 10, 2015. During my years of service, I have recognized a number of friends, public servants and individuals in the Journal of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, with Fred Leonhardt's sudden passing, I have lost a close friend and Delta Chi Fraternity Brother whom I have known for nearly half a century. In Central Florida, we have lost one of our most active and successful community leaders. His family has lost a loved one whose smile, caring and beaming optimism are now fond memories. Fred touched thousands of lives with his untiring efforts on behalf of individuals and civic organizations and through his work with local, state and national leaders. Few individuals in Florida have achieved the level and record of success in volunteer leadership positions as this gentleman. Fred was born October 26, 1949 in Daytona Beach to Frederick Walter Leonhardt and Gaetane Wirtanen Leonhardt. Raised in Volusia County, Florida, he attended Seabreeze High School and went on to the University of Florida. That was when I first met Fred, during rush in his first few days on campus. During his college days, Fred was active in student affairs and he became Florida Delta Chi Fraternity President. He was honored with membership in Florida Blue Key and served in many student leadership positions. After graduating with a Bachelors and then a Law Degree, Fred served our nation as a JAG officer in the United States Army. After marrying Vicki Cook, daughter of Tom and Gloria, and beginning his practice in Daytona Beach; the Leonhardts settled in Orlando in 1988 with their two children, Whitaker and Ashley. He joined GrayRobinson law firm in 1992. Fred not only chaired the Daytona Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, but also the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce and State of Florida Chamber of Commerce. His list of civic, bar and community activities is almost unmatched by any citizen. Fred was an active member of the Central Florida Partnership, Floridians for Better Transportation, University of Central Florida Foundation, Tiger Bay Club of Central Florida, Leadership Florida, Volusia County United Way, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Celebration Health Foundation and served as a Trustee Emeritus for the University of Florida Law School. He is survived by Vicki Cook Leonhardt of Ponce Inlet; their children, Ashley Leonhardt Lee and her husband Kevin of Ormond Beach and Frederick Whitaker Leonhardt and his wife Amanda of Orlando; granddaughter Madison Grace Lee; and sister Germaine Leonhardt Moffett of Daytona Beach. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life, public service and legacy of my friend and a great American, Fredrick Wayne Leonhardt.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, today in Central Florida the life of Victor ``Woody'' Woodman will be celebrated as he is remembered and laid to rest. There are people in our lives who have made an important impact on each of us and Woody Woodman was a special mentor to me and a wonderful friend over the years. Some forty-three years ago he placed his faith and confidence in me to aid him as Executive Director, as he chaired the Orange County Local Government Study Commission. Woody Woodman helped set the stage for reorganization of Orange County Florida Government. Born to Joseph and Ella Woodman in New York City he was raised in Jacksonville, Florida where he graduated from Lee High School. He was a Florida State Champion sprinter and received a scholarship to the University of Alabama. At Alabama he was a student leader and president of his Sigma Chi Fraternity on three separate occasions. After earning his undergraduate Business Degree in 1951, he then received a Juris Doctorate at Alabama. Woody served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and in the Judge Advocate Division stationed in Scotland. In 1964 Woody moved to Winter Park and joined what was to become the Winderweedle, Haines, Ward and Woodman law firm. He and his late wife, Louise, raised a son and daughter, Doug and Melissa. In the legal community, Victor Woodman distinguished himself in both Orange County and Florida Bar Associations. He helped lead U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins' Federal Judicial Nominating Committee. For the past 26 years he has been a Trustee of the Elizabeth Morse Genius and Charles Hosmer Morse Foundations in Winter Park. Wood was a member of the Country Club of Orlando where he served as a Board Member and President. He was a long time member of Rotary and the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. Everyone who met or knew Woody Woodman was impressed with his demeanor, wit and wonderful personality. His wise counsel to me helped launch my successful professional, business and political career. Woody will truly be missed by all whose lives he touched. While a devoted Alabama fan, Woody's wife of 37 years, Susan, helped him better appreciate the Florida Gators. Thank you again Victor ``Woody'' Woodman for wonderful memories of a wonderful life. To Susan, Doug, Melissa and family, I extend my deepest sympathy. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me as I pay tribute to this special friend, community leader and great American.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay recognition to a great friend, dedicated public servant and outstanding community leader: Mr. Larry Dale of Sanford Florida. Larry is retiring as President and CEO of the Orlando Sanford International Airport this month after 14 years in this leadership position. His work and efforts over the years helped make that airport one of the economic engines in the 7th Congressional District. Since 2001, when Larry took the helm, the airport has significantly improved its operations and expanded services. Orlando Sanford International Airport now serves over 2.2 million passengers a year, with thousands employed. The airport is also consistently in the top 30 busiest airports in the world in terms of total flight operations, recently being awarded the U.S. ANNIES Award for Fastest Growing U.S. Airport in 2014 for facilities serving between 2 million and 5 million passengers. Mr. Dale has been a leader in the aviation industry during his tenure, advancing national and state issues and establishing Orlando Sanford International Airport as a top innovator in aviation operations and security. In 2010, he was awarded the Florida Department of Transportation Aviation Professional of the Year award. Larry Dale also served as Mayor of the City of Sanford from 1996 to 2001 after being active in community affairs for years. Larry served on the Sanford Port Authority Board of Directors, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Seminole Community College Board of Trustees, 18th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, Lake Mary Volunteer Fire Department and continues to serve the region on MetroPlan Orlando and the Seminole County Development Advisory Board. The recipient of the Boy Scouts of America Service Award and the Seminole County Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award, Larry has been actively involved in Seminole County affairs for three decades. He has been a successful real estate developer, broker and contractor, civic leader, elected official, airline transportation pilot and certified law enforcement officer. As Larry Dale retires this month, I know that I am joined by my colleagues from Central Florida in thanking him for his service and wishing him well in the future. Now, he will be able to spend time with his five children, nine grandchildren and his great-grandson hunting, fishing and, of course, flying airplanes. Mr. Speaker, once again I congratulate Larry Dale on his many accomplishments in his community, the State of Florida, and our nation.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, here we are. It is the last minute to avoid an infrastructure disaster across the country. How did we get here? Well, when we knew that we needed a substantial amount of money, the other side of the aisle found out that there was a little bit of money left. We had asked several months ago to consider going to the end of the year when we are doing tax reform, and we could find sufficient money to fund a 4- to 6-year bill. They said ``no.'' They had to spend the last dime in the cookie jar, take it out of the cookie jar, and that is what put us in this situation. What that has done is at least seven States have almost closed down their infrastructure projects. My State isn't affected, but some of the northern States are affected because they have a very short work period. So they are missing that work period. States don't operate like the Federal Government. They have to pay their bills. They can't be spending, producing, and printing paper money without backing. So we have let them down. So here we are, asking to go where we wanted to go to before December. So I urge the Members to pass this legislation. It is kind of interesting. Sometimes I think that there is a lot of amnesia around here. Mr. Speaker, I don't know if we could go down to the health clinic downstairs and get a supply of ginkgo, but it would be good to give some of the Members on the other side of the aisle some ginkgo to help their memory. Three years ago they controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House. They could have passed this legislation they are talking about, funded it, and we would have a bill that would be in place now. The President came in. I was there. Ray LaHood came in, cut the knees out of Mr. Oberstar when he was chairman and said they weren't going to move forward, they weren't going to raise taxes. Now they call for raising taxes. Well, 21 States have raised it. They have done the responsible thing, and they have to do it. It is better for them to do it because the overhead and the carrying charge is so great in Washington. So they have to do it. Going to the well instead of raising gas taxes, now, didn't we recommend that to the other side and they ignored it? I think we need a double dose of ginkgo. So I think now we step up to the plate and we help Mr. Shuster and Mr. Ryan. They will get us to December. The leadership of the House is committed to a long-term bill, and we will get that done, everybody working together. And maybe a few people having another little dose of ginkgo might help around here.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I thank the gentleman. And that is where the markets are, and that is a small area we should be supporting, where we are just minor players right now. We should actually be expanding. But I thank you for bringing this to the attention of the Congress and the American people. And you are going to hear about agriculture and how important that is in all of this, and jobs and opportunities for Americans.

Mr. MICA. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Washington organizing this special order in support of Ex-Im. I will tell you one of the worst mistakes that Congress could make is not acting to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. Unfortunately, few people in Congress have been involved in international trade. For some 7 years, I was very active in international trade, got into it by accident in other businesses, but I have led delegations and represented some very big corporations, some of the biggest in Florida and the United States and some of the smallest companies trying to compete. I have been in every country in South America except the Guianas. I have been throughout the entire Caribbean, trying to sell U.S. products. I was in Egypt, the Middle East. I took the first trade delegations into the Eastern bloc countries--Lithuania, I went into Poland and Slovakia. I have seen international trade up close. I am telling you, folks, it is not a level playing field. It is very rough in the global market. Some of our competitors, the Chinese and the Europeans, were doing trade across borders, well, when the Americas were still in loincloths. These are experienced people. They throw their mother-in-law in to close the deal. It is a very tough market out there. To cut the legs out from our folks has consequences when it comes to financing. In business and international trade, if you can finance the deal, you can do the deal. Why would we do this? You just heard the other gentleman say that this is one of the least risks of guaranteeing or providing a loan, less than 1 percent. Banks are 10 times that. There is no cost to the taxpayer; we actually make money from this, but what we have out there is competition that is unfair, unlevel. It is possible that we can make some reforms. In fact, we should make reforms to get us into some areas where we don't have export-import. I was the only Member from the House, at least from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to go to the biggest airshow--I hadn't been for about 12 years--in Europe recently. Our competitors were applauding at the time that America was going to let Ex-Im go down the tubes because they, again, are experts in being able to finance things. In aviation, aviation is one of our biggest areas of exports, huge opportunities; and these people are now being asked to fight and struggle. We should be expanding. For example, I heard from some of our military folks at the airshow that other countries have ex-im for military foreign sales and that we are losing part of that market while others are getting into it. If you want to send jobs overseas, if you want to kill American manufacturing, if you want to tie the hands of American companies overseas, and if you want to close down some jobs in my district--I have a large power generation headquarters, which also manufactures in North Carolina. Here is a statement from their company. They will lose a $300 million contract, lots of jobs in my district in North Carolina, to Japanese competitors. There is just one. Here is Caterpillar, not in my district. They are going to lose a $650 million opportunity in a competition to an Asian competitor. How many jobs would that be in Illinois? They are not my district. It is for a project in Australia. We are not financing any foreign operations. We are financing American products and supporting American jobs. We absolutely must reauthorize this important program.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, as I rise today, it is my pleasure to announce the birth of Charlotte Beth Stone on June 3, 2015 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA. Charlotte is the daughter of Kevan Stone, my Special Projects Director, and Alexis Rice. Friends since High School in West Palm Beach, Florida, Alexis and Kevan married years later in Washington, D.C. at the historic Willard Hotel in May of 2014. On this happy occasion, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our warmest congratulations and wishes to the Stone and Rice families for continued health and happiness.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Some people are under the misconception of Williamsburg.

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

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, every year, nearly 1.5 million visitors come to the Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas National Monuments in America's oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida. Way back some 11 years ago, in December of 2004, I passed legislation authorizing a visitors center for Castillo de San Marcos, which was signed into law. The Castillo fortress is the largest intact Spanish fortress in the continental United States, with construction that was completed in 1695. After the authorization was signed into law, significant, thorough, costly, and time-consuming studies and reports were completed after many reviews, hearings, and public forums. Then in 2007, 3 years later, the National Park Service came up with a final general management plan. This plan developed four alternatives. One was to do nothing; that was A. Two others, C and D, were to possibly build on land that will no longer be available that was going to be made available by the State and the city. That leaves one alternative. Now, this is a very simple, clarifying amendment. Alternative B is the one that we would like funds spent on. Here, we are saying no funds shall be spent to do nothing; no funds will be spent or wasted to go towards a project that isn't going to happen. This is a simple, clarifying, limiting amendment. It would specifically limit funds from being expended on any alternative, except for B, which is in the plan, been in the plan. It doesn't say that we have to do another plan; why spend more taxpayer moneys to do another plan? That is all it says. It is a simple thing to get us moving to proceed with the final design without further cost and further delaying the process. A visitors center at Castillo is long overdue, and it is overdue on St. Augustine's 450th founding anniversary, so I urge its passage.

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

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I just want to conclude. I want to thank Mr. Connolly. I want to thank Mrs. Comstock, and the chairman particularly, for working on this. I think we have gotten the attention of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. We have an agreement to bring the parties together as a result of this pending amendment. That is set. If it does not go through, I can assure you we will find a way to put this waiver in. At this time, though, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment. I will bring the parties together and hopefully common sense and good faith will prevail.

Mr. MICA. Will the gentleman from North Carolina yield?

Mr. MICA. Again, Mr. Chairman, I am willing to work with everyone. Again, I have had to conduct oversight over a tragedy that could have and should have been prevented. Here is the latest headline: ``Can You Hear Me Now? In Metro Tunnels, Answer Is `Not Yet.''' Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Mr. MICA. My colleagues, at this late hour, this is a simple amendment. It strikes a waiver that was granted to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and it is a waiver that has been in place for several years. It waives the requirements for them to complete installation of cellular service in the tunnels of the Metro system in Washington, D.C. That waiver allows them to continue to receive Federal funds but not have made the installation. It is funny because congressional staffers said: Well, Mr. Mica, why are you doing this? I am doing this because, as the chairman of a subcommittee on transportation oversight, I had to conduct a hearing after the January 12 deadly incident in the Washington area Metro. You may recall at L'Enfant Plaza, on the Yellow Line, there was an incident in which smoke filled the tunnel. A passenger train was left outside of the station. I might say that, back in 2008, we set up a requirement that we have at the stations, within 1 year, Metro cellular service, and then by 4 years later, the entire system. So they were given from 2008 to 2012 to complete the system. They never completed the system. One individual died, others were injured, and we disrupted service. It was a day from hell in Washington, D.C. Mr. Chairman, they never completed the job. They said they were going to complete the job right after 2012. They did not complete the job. They said it would be done in 2015. The last time I checked, it is 2015. It won't be done in 2015. They will not even sit down with the carriers who will install this equipment, and it is really at no cost to Metro. I have talked to Mr. Connolly, the gentleman from Virginia; I have talked to Mrs. Comstock, the gentlewoman from Virginia; I have talked to Mr. Hoyer, the gentleman from Maryland; and others. We have all had it with Metro not complying with us. This waiver was put in to give them the opportunity to comply, and they haven't complied. Now it is in here again, and I am offering, in this amendment, to take it out. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), the chairman, for comment.

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

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. MICA. I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to six United States Marines who lost their lives on May 12, 2015. They died not in combat but in a mission of mercy, aiding the people of Nepal, who, as we have read, have been devastated by a horrific and deadly earthquake. I would like to at this time yield to their Members of Congress to recognize each of the Marines who sacrificed their lives. First, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Pompeo).