Harry Mitchell

Mr. MITCHELL

Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dennis Kavanaugh, recipient of 2008 Shelley Arts Advocacy Award from the Arizona Citizens Action of the Arts. As a member of the Mesa City Council and a leader within numerous boards and organizations, Dennis has been a tireless advocate for the arts in Arizona. Dennis recognizes the importance that the arts have on strengthening communities and enhancing our quality of life. Dennis currently serves as Chair of both the Mesa Arts Center Foundation board and the Development Committee of the National Association of State Arts Assemblies. Through his work on the National Association of the State Arts Assemblies, Dennis has been a champion for efforts to increase federal funding for the National Endowment of the Arts. Dennis was also instrumental in building the new Mesa Arts Center which has become a point of pride for the entire community. Dennis served for more than 6 years on the Center's Architect Selection and Design Committee. The center now serves as a place to showcase world- class performances and exhibits but also houses studio space for art education. I commend the Arizona Action of the Art's for selecting such a deserving arts advocate. Dennis truly understands the tremendous impact that the arts have in achieving educational excellence and a greater sense of community. Dennis was recently elected to the Mesa City Council where he has displayed his leadership skills previously and where I am sure he will continue to support public policy that will advance the arts in Arizona. Madam Speaker, please join me in recognizing Dennis Kavanaugh's continued work and advocacy for the arts in Arizona.

Mr. MITCHELL

Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you very much, Congressman Rhodes. Thanks to Congressman Hoyer and to all of our colleagues here. Let me say that I am grateful to you for the kind words, Congressman Rhodes, and grateful to all of the Members Association for the honor that you have bestowed upon me. I think it's fitting that this ceremony of former Members be held in the House Chamber. I recall very clearly when I was elected majority leader of the Senate and I attended the first official function with the Speaker. Prior to the function, we met and I said, well, we have to decide who goes first. He said, yes. We can discuss that, he said, but I'd just like to call to your attention that the position of Speaker is mentioned in the Constitution and in the laws of the United States, but nowhere in either the Constitution or any law is there any reference to a majority leader of the United States Senate. He said, but I'm perfectly prepared to discuss who should go first. I said, well, I think you've made it rather clear. Ever since then, I have deferred to every Speaker and, in fact, every Member of the House I ever met because it made such a powerful impression on me, about the primacy of the House of Representatives in our system of government. Service in the Congress or in comparable bodies around the world like the Dail in Ireland, where I know there are many here today, and from Canada and other countries is, of course, a high honor and a great privilege. My service in the United States Senate, including my 6 years as Senate majority leader, was one of the highest honors of my life. I was fortunate thereafter to engage in other public service activities, including 5 years in Northern Ireland where I served as chairman of the peace negotiations and of other activities in bringing to a close the conflict in Northern Ireland. But nothing will ever for me exceed the honor of having been a Member of the United States Congress. I know that every former Member here, indeed all former Members, has shared that view. It was not very long ago, of course, that I served. Then as now, there were challenges facing our Nation. Then as now, there were differences between the parties. But I hope that now as then the current Members will rise to the challenge and be able to meet the very important problems and address the issues facing our great country and the world. In conclusion, I thank everyone here very much. You know, for most human beings, life is in essence a never-ending search for respect. First and most important, self-respect and then the respect of others. There is no one certain route to gaining respect, but I have always felt that the best way was through service to others. And so I think that Members of Congress, despite the fact that in ours, as in every democratic society, there is a lot of criticism, a lot of complaint, nonetheless, I think every Member of Congress has earned and deserves the respect of the people for their dedication and their service to others. Thank you all very much for this great honor.

Mr. MITCHELL. I guarantee you my wall space will have room for this, a very prominent place on my wall. Thank you very much, Jay.

Mr. MITCHELL

Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the Annual Mayoral Salute to Veterans which has been presented for the past five years by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and the Phoenix Military Veterans Commission. The Salute this year on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, will focus on women veterans. This is appropriate given the rising numbers of women now serving in the armed forces and their wide-ranging and significant contributions to our nation's military efforts. Women have served honorably in every war and conflict in American history. Many paid the ultimate price in defense of our nation. We all know the story of Army PFC Lori Piestewa, an Arizona native who became the first servicewoman to be killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the first Native American servicewoman to ever die in battle. In 2005, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester of the Kentucky Army National Guard became the first woman to be awarded the Silver Star for close-quarters combat action for her role in turning back an ambush on her convoy in Iraq. Madam Speaker, I want to focus special attention on seven veterans from Arizona who are being recognized today as living reminders of the honorable service that women in the armed forces have provided in overseas war zones from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Please join me in recognizing: Bettie Lerdall, U.S. Marine Corps, World War II; Grace Kokesch, U.S. Army, World War II; Louise Glende, U.S. Navy, Korean War; Carol Culbertson, U.S. Navy, Vietnam War; Belinda Blase, U.S. Air Force, Operation Desert Storm; First Lieutenant Kara C. Larson, Arizona Army National Guard, Operation Iraqi Freedom; Sgt. Rachel L. Trotter, Arizona Army National Guard, Operation Iraqi Freedom. Please join me in recognizing the service of these distinguished veterans on this special day.

Mr. MITCHELL

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. MITCHELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 4847, the U.S. Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008, a bill I introduced with the original cosponsor, my good friend from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey. Firefighters are often the first to arrive at an emergency scene and the last to leave. Whether it is putting out a house fire or a wild fire, or responding to a terrorist attack or car accident, we depend on firefighters every day. But firefighters also depend on us; they depend on the public and their elected officials to make sure that they have the resources, the equipment, and the training they need to do their job. Without those tools, we put them and all of us at risk. The U.S. Fire Administration is an invaluable resource for our Nation's firefighters and the communities they protect. Through training, data collection, fire education for the public, and support for fire-related research and development, the USFA provides critical tools and leadership to the Fire Service. Fire is one of nature's most destructive forces. In 1973, when USFA was created, over 6,000 Americans died each year in fires and another 100,000 were injured. Through the leadership of USFA and others, the number of people killed by fires each year is now between 3,000 and 3,500, with approximately 16,000 people who were injured. We can all be proud of the significant reduction. However, 3,000 Americans a year is still too many, especially when so many of these deaths and injuries are from our most vulnerable populations, children and the elderly. In addition, the Nation still suffers over $11 billion per year in direct losses due to fire, and the trend for this number is going up, not down. With statistics like these, it is clear that fire continues to be a major problem for the U.S. H.R. 4847 reauthorizes this important agency for 4 years at funding levels that will enable USFA to carry out fully its mission. At a hearing with the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee held last fall, we heard the priorities of the Nation's fire service communities for USFA. This bill directly reflects their priorities. This bill authorizes the USFA to focus on the pressing challenges of fighting fires in the wildland-urban interface, and fires involving hazardous materials, as well as advanced topics of emergency medical services. Back home in Arizona, one of the toughest challenges our firefighters face is wildfires in the wildland-urban interface. This is an important year for wildfires. We have had a pretty wet winter which means a great deal of shrubs and bushes have grown at lower elevations. When the summer months heat up and the vegetation dries out, those shrubs and bushes will turn into tinder that can start a fast-moving wildfire in urban areas. Those fires threaten homes and lives. Fighting wildfires in urban areas requires special training, and I am proud that this legislation enhances fire administration training for wildland-urban interface fires. Firefighters today are called upon to respond to an ever-broader range of emergencies. This authorization bill gives USFA the authority to make sure its training program keeps pace with the increasing challenges to the fire service. The bill also addresses an important priority of the fire service in USFA, and that is to update the National Fire Incident Reporting System, or NFIRS. This system provides important data on fire events to policymakers at all levels of government. The current system is slow to report the data to the National Fire Data Center, and does not capture data on every fire, thus limiting its value to users. H.R. 4847 would direct USFA to update NFIRS to a real-time reporting, web-based system. The bill also directs the U.S. Fire Administrator to continue USFA's leadership in firefighter health and safety. Every year over 100 firefighters die in the line of duty. H.R. 4847 directs USFA to educate local fire departments about national voluntary consensus standards for firefighter health and safety, and to encourage local departments to adopt these standards. This provision will help reduce the tragic loss of life the fire service suffers each year in line-of-duty deaths by promoting good practices in a variety of fire emergencies. I also understand there have been some concerns that this provision would affect the jurisdiction of NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. I would like to reassure my colleagues that it is not my intent for this bill to have any effect on NIOSH or any other agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. H.R. 4847 is the product of bipartisan collaboration, and is supported by major fire service organizations, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Firefighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, National Fire Protection Association, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute. The resources and leadership of the USFA are an essential part of the ability of the fire service to protect our cities, towns and communities. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon), the chairman of the Science and Technology Committee.

Mr. MITCHELL. Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. MITCHELL. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 3 minutes to Mr. Pascrell, the gentleman from New Jersey.

Mr. MITCHELL. I yield an additional minute to the gentleman.

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield as much time as she may consume to Ms. Richardson, the gentlelady from California.

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to Mr. Wu, the gentleman from Oregon. He is the chairman of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee. And I want to thank Chairman Wu for moving this bill so quickly through the subcommittee.

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to Mr. Matheson, the gentleman from Utah.

Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you. We have some additional speakers that are on their way.

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I also want to say thank you to Mr. Gingrey for his support of this amendment, which we know will make this a much stronger bill and a better bill. So I thank you very much for the amendment and all the support that it's receiving.

Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, we do have a couple more speakers. They are on their way. Mr. Chairman, if I may, I appreciate the good words that people have come and said before this body. We've made significant strides in reducing fire-related deaths and injuries since Congress first created this agency in the 1970s. But again, as we've noted, and all the speakers have noted, there are still more than 3,000 Americans that die every year from fires, and many more injured. And despite the decreases in the number of fires, the cost, as we said, is continually rising. And, in fact, it's roughly the same cost, the damage of fires is roughly the same cost as caused by hurricanes. We know that the Fire Service provides critical assistance in protecting our communities from emergency events. From house fires to terrorist events to natural disasters, firefighters, as we've noted, are not only the first on the scene, but many times the last to leave. As the wildfires in California last fall demonstrated, the Fire Service plays a vital role in protecting our communities, and that's why we introduced H.R. 4847, to reauthorize the U.S. Fire Administration and provide additional resources for our Nation's firefighters. The U.S. Fire Administration is an invaluable resource for over 1.3 million firefighters and emergency personnel around the country. Through training, educational materials, data collection and other services, the USFA provides tools and leadership to firefighters and communities that they serve. H.R. 4847 will reauthorize the USFA, funding its critical work until the Fiscal Year 2012. This bill will ensure that our firefighters are trained to handle modern-day challenges facing today's first responders, including, as we have mentioned before, firefighting in the wildland-urban interface and responding to hazardous material incidents. The bill is supported by, and we've listed a whole list of these before, all of these national associations that deal with firefighting. This bill is the product of bipartisan collaboration and had considerable input from the Fire Service community. We encourage you to help support firefighters in your district by ensuring that everyone has the resources they need by supporting this important legislation. I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, I would, again, like to yield as much time as he may consume to Mr. Wu, the gentleman from Oregon, who is the chairman of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee. I, again, want to thank him for all the efforts he's put into this bill.

Mr. MITCHELL. I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Miller).

Mr. MITCHELL. I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Chairman, we have no further speakers.

Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And first, I would like to thank Mr. Gingrey and all of his staff for the support they've given this important piece of legislation. And it's the least we can do, here in Congress, to provide the resources necessary for our first responders to react, the education that's involved, the training, particularly in areas that are very important, like in Arizona and California where there is a wildfire/urban interface. As I said earlier, we have had a very wet winter in Arizona. It's good and bad. It brings out the wild flowers; it brings out a lot of green. But at the same time, in the lower elevations it brings out a lot of dry tender which just really is very dangerous this time of year. So I would like to thank everyone, the staffs on both sides, the committee chairman, the subcommittee chairman, everyone who dealt with this particular issue. And I, again, want to thank all of the firefighters, the professional people who are involved, who gave us what they felt is necessary to move this bill forward and to give them the tools that they need. This piece of legislation will last until 2012. At that time, of course, we will have more input. Hopefully, we won't have as many disasters or types of disasters, but there will be new things that we need to learn and train for. So I appreciate, again, everyone's efforts in this, and I know that the people around this country who are protected by these first responders also appreciate what we are doing for them today. Thank you.

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

Mr. MITCHELL

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 4847, as amended.

Mr. MITCHELL

Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the STAND Club from Corona del Sol High School in my hometown, Tempe, Arizona, for its dedication to addressing the genocide in Darfur. The school club has worked tirelessly to raise over $7,000 for the Backpack Project and the Solar Cooker Project, which provide direct aid to the people in Darfur. STAND, a group of about 30 high school students that was started just a year and a half ago, has spent countless hours doing fundraisers and projects to support and raise awareness of the Darfur cause. Specifically, the students have organized Thankful Thoughts at Thanksgiving and a Guitar Hero competition at Corona's Bonfire, as well as numerous candy, cookie, and candle sales. I would like to congratulate the students on their efforts to raise an additional $3,000 through its silent auction fundraiser, One Night STAND. Including guest speakers from the Lost Boys of Sudan, the upcoming event seeks to both raise money to directly assist those affected by the genocide as well as raise awareness about the ongoing tragedy. The students should be proud of their accomplishments. I congratulate them on a job well done and ask them to keep up the good work.