Richard Nolan

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Well, everybody agreed, as you pointed out, we need a long-term plan so that you can plan accordingly, and then do it responsibly in the most efficient and economical way. Everyone came up and said that we need it for our economic growth and our business, and they understand that, as you were pointing out earlier, good infrastructure is the foundation, it is the foundation for every single successful economy in this world. I have said to people on occasion: If you don't want to pay any taxes, you can move to Zaire. I think they have about 2 miles of roads and no taxes, but you had better bring a little army with you to protect you. So the other thing, of course--it has become real apparent--is the congestion. You must see that. We are seeing it in Minnesota. People are spending endless hours sitting in their cars trying to get to and from work, time that they could have used to sleep in an extra hour, get home in time for dinner with their family.

Mr. NOLAN. Of course, you mentioned the collapse of the bridge. The other thing they want to see is some bipartisanship. I would like to remind our colleagues, as well as the folks back home, because you and I were there, and we were part of a couple of the few instances where, in the last session of Congress, the process was allowed to work. It was cumbersome, and it was contentious, but at the end of the day, we came together, and we passed a good, bipartisan farm bill. You and I were part of that.

Mr. NOLAN. Very much so. I also built an export trading company and did a little business all over the globe. People asked me what I sold. I like to tell them I sold, well, just about everything except guns and drugs, which is where all the real money was. It was really quite an eye-opening experience to see how the rest of the world does business, to get a better feel and understanding for the importance of agriculture and a better feel and understanding of agriculture as it relates to feeding a hungry world, but infrastructure and its importance to building the middle class here in the country, to laying the foundation for job growth and economic growth. And to come back here again after those years in business and in community service, I have got to be frank with you; I feel much better prepared today than I ever was to serve my district and to serve my Nation, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to be here. I want to particularly thank you for calling this to the attention of the American public, the importance of infrastructure, the importance of infrastructure to the middle class in this country, and the importance that it brings to the fulfillment of the American Dream. The American Dream is not everybody becoming a billionaire or a Pulitzer Prize winner. It is about contributing. It is about having a good job. It is about having a living wage. It is about having some money left over at the end of the week to take your family or your best friend and go out and have dinner or maybe wet a line and go fishing. And, quite frankly, that is what is getting away from us. I want to thank you for bringing to the attention of people how transportation and infrastructure and its degradation that is taking place is related to, quite frankly, the demise and the decline of the middle class in this country. The simple truth is the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, the middle class is getting crushed, and, simultaneously, our infrastructure is falling apart. The gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi), you, too, have a background in business and public service and community service that gives you a good grasp and an understanding for the importance of all this.

Mr. NOLAN. I am. My nearest neighbor is a couple of miles away.

Mr. NOLAN. We have bear. We have duck. We have grouse. We have good hunting and darn good fishing, too. You mentioned the fact that I had served many years ago, quite frankly, back in the seventies. I like to tell people I was only 10 years old at the time. When I first got back here, I said to a number of people: Perhaps you knew my father when he had served here back in the seventies. And there were always a couple of old-timers in the back that would laugh. And everyone would say: Well, what is so funny about that? And they would say: Well, it wasn't his father; it was him. But I have got to tell you, it was quite different. It was quite different than it is today. I had my staff do a little survey. We found that in the terms I served before, there was an average of about 8,000 subcommittee, full committee, and conference committee meetings here in the Congress. What that meant was that we got together 5 days a week in our committees. And all the diverse elements that make up America were all represented in those meetings, and that is how we found common ground; that is how we came together; that is how we fixed things; that is how we got things done. And people have to be reminded, I think, that process is important to good government. Because now we are faced with this gridlock; we are faced with this terrible partisanship, the seeming inability to be productive and to get things done. I think experts that study governance here in America are saying now that this immediate last Congress was the most unproductive in the history of the country. Well, guess what. When we had 8,000 committee meetings in the past, yes, maybe around 1,000 of them were just formal hearings or, you know, you have got to give Jack Nicklaus a gold medal and do a reauthorization of Peanut Butter and Jelly Week. Well, guess what. This last session of Congress, we had about 1,000 of those meetings, and most of them were quite informal. As you recall, Mr. Garamendi, when we started the hearings about a year ago in the Transportation Committee because we knew that the transportation legislation needed to be reauthorized, we had everybody come in before that committee; and, boy, we were laying the foundation for a good reauthorization of a transportation and infrastructure bill. You were there every day. By the way, I want to commend you for the leadership that you have shown on that committee in so many areas, in so many ways. But we had everybody, as you recall, from the head of the national Chamber of Commerce to the heads of all the labor unions, the truckers, retail. Everybody came before that committee. I don't know if you recall. But I asked every one of them, I said: I have three questions. And I remember the committee groaning, saying: Gee, Nolan, you have only got 5 minutes. How are you going to do that? I said: Question number one, is there anyone here on this committee who disagrees with the notion that our infrastructure is badly in need of repair and is falling down and dilapidated? Nobody disagreed. Second question, is there anybody here--of all that group that was testifying--that disagrees with the notion that our ability to grow an economy and create good jobs is dependent upon a good, strong infrastructure? Nobody disagreed, as you would recall. And then lastly, I said: Is there anybody on this committee who doubts that we need to find some new revenue to rebuild our infrastructure? And nobody disagreed. And I said: Make a note of it, Mr. Chairman, because we have got to write a bill here. And that is what we were there for. You know as well as everybody else that the authorization for the Transportation Committee to write a bill was pulled away from the committee. Presumably, in the Speaker's office or someplace else, it was decided that we should do a temporary reauthorization for 8 months; and, as you recall, we borrowed money from people's private pension funds. We are getting near that 8-month deadline again.

Mr. NOLAN. Well, I am honored and thrilled and glad to be here.

Mr. NOLAN. May 15. So now working people's pension funds are short a little money potentially, and we still haven't fixed the transportation problem. So one of the things I want to do here tonight, and I know you do as well, is to call upon the Speaker to let the committee do its work. We have got a good committee. You know it as well as I do and everybody else. There is a lot of goodwill in this Chamber among Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, and liberals, and if we are allowed to sit down in that committee and advance our ideas and argue the merits of them, we will find that common ground. We will find a way to get this country back on track with rebuilding our infrastructure. That is what democracy is all about. Someone said to me the other day here, and it almost broke my heart, when I was explaining this and they said: Well, isn't it more efficient here by not using the committees? I said: Yeah, of course, it is. The Nazis and the Communists would love it. Democracy is a lot of hard work. There is so much goodwill in this Chamber, and there are so many good men and women. We get along fine. Mr. Speaker, let the process work. Let the committee do its job, and we will get a good transportation bill, and we will rebuild this middle class and rebuild our economy in a way that is fair to everyone.

Mr. NOLAN. I sure do, Mr. Garamendi. I think the fact that our bridges are falling down could not be more evidenced than in Minnesota, where we had the catastrophic collapse of the I-35 bridge, which killed a number of people and did obviously irreparable damage to their lives and many others.

Mr. NOLAN. Yes. Very tragic. I have got several thousand bridges in my district alone, and several hundred of them have been certified as obsolete and in disrepair, in need of repair, and, of course, there are thousands and thousands of those bridges across the country. I held three transportation hearings back in Minnesota here recently, and the unanimity of agreement on what needs to be done is really quite unique. I mean, generally, if you get 50 people in a room in Minnesota you will have at least 40, 45 opinions.

Mr. NOLAN. As well as our colleagues here on both sides of the aisle, and then we were allowed on the water resources bill, and we were able to put together a good bill. Not everybody got everything they wanted, but everybody was a part of it. They had a chance to advance their ideas. We had open rules. If you want to have an amendment or a good idea, you got a chance to advance it and get a vote on it. People want to see more of that as well. Then there is one thing that doesn't get mentioned very often, and I don't mind bringing it up, and a number of my folks back home brought it up. And that is--you mentioned the cost of not doing anything. Well, that would be devastating for America. It would be just devastating for our economy. I pray to God that would never happen. But our hope is, of course, it will be done in a responsible way that solves the problems and fixes these things. But there is a little factor. I have about a 5- mile dirt road to my farm, and I went through two front ends on my new pickup truck until it became part of a local effort to pave the roads. My road got paved. That was 10 years ago. I am still driving the same pickup truck, and I haven't lost any front ends. You know the old saying, you pay me now or you pay me later. Boy, I tell you, these potholes and these washboard roads and bridges falling down, there is a heavy price to be paid for not fixing, maintaining, and upkeeping our roads and our bridges.

Mr. NOLAN. No, no. It was not my personal road. No, no, no. It was a combination county and township. But it helped to have been on the township planning committee.

Mr. NOLAN. Well, indeed, it is. I represent Minnesota's Iron Range, the largest iron mines anywhere in the United States. We are dependent upon a good, strong market for U.S. steel and for Minnesota-made taconite and processed iron ore. I was so delighted to join you and others recently in petitioning the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to curtail the importation of cheap Korean steel. The market for steel in America is very, very good. The problem is that American steel is only providing about 70 to 75 percent of it. Close to over 30 percent of it is being foreign steel that is brought in. Foreign steel that, by the way, is subsidized by the foreign governments. Our steelworkers, iron mineworkers, can compete with anybody in the world, anybody in America, quite frankly, we can compete with anybody, but it has got to be fair trade. If they have government-subsidized, below market cheap steel coming in here, that is unfair trade. Guess what, there is about a dozen steel mills left here in America, and there is about 50,000 workers here. If we don't find a way to curtail the importation of this cheap, subsidized steel, we are going to put all 12 of those steel companies out of business, we are going to put 50,000 steelworkers out of business and countless thousands of mining processors and workers in this country. If we are talking about the middle class, we better start insisting on fair trade in this country, insisting--as you have so eloquently pointed out here--the significance and the importance of making it in America with U.S. steel when we are talking roads, bridges, railroads, pipelines, and all the rest.

Mr. NOLAN. Oh, it did, no doubt.

Mr. NOLAN. And do you know what, John, I found in international trade, when it comes to quality, American steel is considered to be the best quality. Now, what is the importance of that? Well, it might be the difference between a bridge falling down or standing; it might mean the difference between a pipeline breaking and polluting a wetland versus not doing that. There is an economic reason here, there is a reason for the middle class, there is a reason for our economy, there is a reason for safety, there is a reason for health, there is a reason for environment, there are so many good reasons to make it in America, John.

Mr. NOLAN. Well, I am going to depart, but I really want to thank you for this session here and bringing it to the attention of our colleagues and people all across this country that care about America, care about good-paying middle class jobs, and want to see us do what we have got to do here to come together, fix this thing, and continue the great progress that America has enjoyed. A big part of being an American is paying it forward, and now, it is time for us to step up and do what we have to do for the next generation.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize four people from the Cromwell/McGregor area of Minnesota who just celebrated turning 100- years-old or more. In some parts of the country, this would be in passing--but for Cromwell (population 231) and McGregor (population 376) it is big news that this many legacy members of their communities have reached this significant milestone. It must be our good Minnesota water. When you stop to think about it, to be born 100 years ago, there were no tractors to plow the fields and automobiles were just starting to be built. Before that, people walked to town or took a horse-and- buggy. Most schoolrooms were in one-room buildings with an outhouse ``out back.'' Radio communication was just beginning and television had not yet been invented. Penicillin had not been discovered. There were not vaccinations for polio or other deadly childhood diseases. The idea of an airplane was but a dream and the thought of man landing on the moon was unfathomable. How exciting it must have been for them witnessing that first countdown as John Glenn was the first American about to orbit the earth. These citizens lived through two World Wars, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They were just coming of age when the Depression hit this country and struggled like countless others to have part of the American dream. They persevered. Each of them--Mary Dahlberg, Hjalmer Hutar, Ailie Costello and Viola Johnson took different paths in their lives. I congratulate each of them for the contributions they brought to their families and communities. They have been lives well lived.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize LaVonne Feichtinger Ostergaard of Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. She was one of the thousands of women throughout America who served as a ``Rosie the Riveter'' during World War II when she went to work for 50 cents an hour at the Char- Gale plant in St. Cloud. She operated as a riveter building planes. Her job was riveting the fuselage and wings on the outside of the aircraft for planes designed to carry cargo, personnel, patients and mechanized equipment and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. It was by no means a clean or quiet working environment. Mrs. Ostergaard never won any medals for her service, but I call upon all Members to remember how so many women--from small towns and big cities alike--stepped forward when they heard the call for workers to serve as riveters, buckers, sanders, welders, crane operators, bus drivers, uniform makers, bullet makers, parachute folders, clerical workers, shipyard workers, assembly line workers, Red Cross workers and more. These women probably never imagined they would answer the call to do this kind of work, but it was a time in our nation's history when everyone needed to pull together with their motto of ``We pull better if we pull together.'' Those who served on the home front are often unrecognized, as after the war, they quietly returned to the routine of raising children, helping on the home farm or the family business. According to the American Rosie the Riveter Association, of which Mrs. Ostergaard is a member, they came together for one purpose--to help win the war. They built 80,000 landing craft, 100,000 tanks, 300,000 aircraft, 15,000 guns and 41,000,000,000 rounds of ammunition. It was a massive accomplishment and our nation owes these outstanding women our deepest gratitude.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, since the Congress has reconvened, none of the important legislation that we have considered here has gone through the regular committee process. Yet, with each election, we send people to the Congress of the United States with a wide range of perspectives, with lots of goodwill, with lots of good intentions--Democrats and Republicans alike. The simple truth, however, is that the House leadership has prevented these voices from being heard in the regular committee process. In fact, Congress has, sadly, become one of the most undemocratic institutions in America. Mr. Speaker, stop denying the Members of Congress the opportunity and the public the opportunity to find common ground. The failure of the process is at the heart of gridlock. It is at the heart of congressional failure. Allow bills once again to come up through the regular committee process, where amendments are heard, considered, and voted upon. Mr. Speaker, give Congress the opportunity to work together once again in the spirit of bipartisanship that the American people are so desperately hungry for.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 6th, 2015, I was unavoidably detained due to ongoing issues surrounding the health of my youngest daughter in Minnesota. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #2, I would have expressed my support for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California to be Speaker of the House. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #3, I would have voted Nay. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #4, I would have voted Nay. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #5, I would have voted Yay. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #6 (On Agreeing to the Resolution), I would have voted Nay. I have strong objections to the Rules adopted by the House for the 114th Congress. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #7, I would have voted Yay. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #8, I would have voted Yay. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #9, I would have voted Yay. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call #10, I would have voted Yay.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5656, the Global Food Security Act of 2014, which is a recognition here by the House of Representatives of the important lead role that the United States of America can and must play in fighting poverty and hunger throughout the world. The simple truth is that a hunger epidemic of crisis proportion is spreading across the developing world leading to mass unrest, armed conflict, needless suffering, and death. Every day, more than 21,000 people die of hunger or hunger-related causes. The United Nations reports that in developing countries, 842 million people are chronically hungry, one out of every three children who die before the age of 5 die of hunger, and one out of four children suffer mental or physical impairments due to malnutrition. Mr. Speaker, this Congress has been more than willing to spend trillions on warfare. Today, I call upon the Congress of the United States to declare war on hunger and give people in need a good reason to be grateful to America.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, my district includes Duluth, Minnesota, the headwaters of the Great Lakes, and, of course, the magnificent North Shore. I encourage you all to come and visit the first chance you get. I, too, rise in strong support of this important bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and I, too, would be remiss if I didn't compliment our chairman, Mr. Gibbs, and our ranking member, Mr. Bishop, for bringing this legislation forward, and, of course, our chief sponsor of the legislation, David Joyce, our good Republican friend. Thank you for your leadership in convincing the Office of the President and our budget operatives around here that in this particular case we need a little bit more than what they wanted or recommended. I would also remind my colleagues that this is not just about preservation; this is about taking responsibility for some of the neglect out of past. As I can tell you, back in Duluth, there was a time when we had to haul drinking water in for the citizens of Duluth because the water out of Lake Superior wasn't drinkable. I remember a time when the Great Lakes were so polluted they were catching on fire in some places because of neglect. So in many respects we are stepping up and we are assuming responsibility for neglect in the past. I don't mind telling you how important it has been to us up in the Lake Superior area. We have had over 100 projects funded over the years accomplishing so many things: combating invasive species, mitigating pollution of the past, identifying toxins that represent a threat to the basin and our public health and our public safety, protecting wild rice--I am an old wild rice picker; you can't have enough good native wild rice--and protecting wildlife in general. What a difference these projects have made. Last, but not least, I would be remiss if I didn't thank our Appropriations Committee members--Marcy Kaptur and Betty McCollum, in particular--for your stepping up in your leadership in this. But there is still so much more to be done. That is why I stand here today and strongly urge my colleagues to give their full support to this important legislation.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, I want to join my colleagues in paying tribute to a great Member of Congress serving with us today but who is planning to retire, the Honorable John Dingell. I would like to do so by telling a little story. Some 40 years ago, I was elected to the Congress of the United States for the first time. Before I had even been sworn in, I faced my first big challenge. The Congressman that I preceded had passed some legislation called the Big Stone Wildlife Management Area. The editor of our biggest newspaper had applauded him for that. I supported it in my campaign. I said: ``I'll do everything I can do see that it's fully implemented and fully funded.'' Well, I had just been elected, and the President of the United States announced that the project was not going to go forward, it was not going to be implemented, and it was not going to be funded. Here I am, I have just been elected, at least it appears as though I am already doing harm and damage to the district, and I haven't even been sworn in yet. We came out here for a little orientation session, and I decided I would check with the chairman of the Interior Subcommittee that is responsible for this kind of legislation, to see if he had any advice for me on how I could effectively deal with this. He said: ``Come see me tomorrow.'' So I went to see him the next day and he said: ``Put out a press release. The project is going to be fully staffed, it's going to be fully funded, it's going to be fully implemented.'' I said to him, questioningly: ``Gee, Mr. Chairman, the President of the United States of America says it's not going to be fully funded, it's not going to be fully implemented.'' He put his arm around me and he said: ``Son, let me tell you something. Presidents come and go around this town with quite regularity. Old dogs like me have been here forever, and I'm going to be here forever. The bureaucracy will listen to an old dog like me before they'll listen to some darn fool President of the United States.'' Well, needless to say, apprehensively, I put out the press release saying the project was going to be fully funded, fully implemented, and indeed, it was. In the process, I learned an incredibly valuable lesson from Mr. Dingell, and that is there are many ways to effect public policy beyond the legislative actions--which of course are perhaps most important--that we make here in this Chamber. By getting a hold of these bureaucracies and talking to them and telling them what you would like to see happen and, when appropriate, being supportive of their mission and their goals, they are inclined to be supportive of you as well. That little story happened 40 years ago. Well, then I went on a 32- year hiatus. I spent the next 32 years of my life in the private sector, in business, community service, and raising my family. I came back here 40 years later and who is still here proving his point but John Dingell. As I said, 11 Presidents have come and gone, but he is still here. I believe he has served longer than any other Member of the Congress in the history of the country; perhaps, most importantly, he is maybe the greatest Member to ever serve in the Congress. There are so many good things that have happened in this country over the better part of a half a century that we can attribute to the good work of the honorable Representative, the great Representative John Dingell. John, we are all so grateful for your incredible service. I am thrilled and honored to be able to be here to join my many other colleagues in saluting you for your great service to the people that you have represented so ably from your own district, but your larger vision as well of what has been so important for the progress of the people here in America. Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for sharing that with so many of us who benefited from having sought your wisdom. Thank you for your effectiveness and all the great things you have done for this country. We salute you, Mr. Dingell. We love you, and we will miss you, but we will be forever grateful. This country will always be a better place for you having served in this Chamber.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by yielding such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the gentleman from Wisconsin for his kind words on behalf of not just the Oberstar family, but all the citizens of Minnesota--very kind, very appropriate, and greatly appreciated. Mr. Speaker, I yield, to begin with, to the gentleman from Minnesota, Representative Collin Peterson, a senior member of the Minnesota congressional delegation and our distinguished colleague.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Doyle).