Randy Neugebauer

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4045) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a feasibility study with respect to the Mokelumne River, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence). (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, can I inquire how much time I have left.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My amendment would prohibit the National Institute of Mental Health from further funding a grant studying the decorations of dorm rooms and college students' Web pages. It also would prohibit NIMH from further funding a grant studying what makes for a meaningful day. This would not cut out any funding for NIMH; it would simply focus research funding that is provided toward serious mental health issues and not interior decoration. I have personally read this grant application and found that each participant was allowed to receive $100 for decorating his dorm room and, additionally, three $1,000 prizes were given away in a lottery to the study participants. The second application states that ``for many students, attending college may be a source of meaning itself, as a stepping stone to future goals or as a means of occupying a meaningful social role.'' Now, I do not think we need to spend $1 million for college students to determine what is a meaningful day in their life. Each of us meet with constituents on a daily basis with serious mental health issues threatening not only themselves, but their families. Right now, when Americans are facing these unbearable losses, taxpayer dollars should be focused on serious mental health issues like bipolar disorders and Alzheimer's. Research areas under the NIMH include Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and suicide prevention. Grants to questionable studies like dorm room wall decorations cloud many of the good things that the National Institute of Mental Health does and can do. According to a recent study published by the Treatment Advocacy Center and Public Citizen, ``Individuals with serious mental illnesses account for 58 percent of our direct costs for all mental illness. However, only 5.8 percent of the NIMH budget funds `clinically relevant' studies.'' I have no doubt that those receiving those NIH funds will conclude that their research is valid, but when I talk to Americans with mental health issues and mental illnesses, I want to be able to tell them that we are committing NIH funds to studying serious mental health issues. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake).

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the remaining time. Well, first of all, I want to thank the distinguished chairman for his hard work in bringing this bill forward. It is a good bill. I believe that we do have to bring some common sense to this process, and we have to be good stewards of the American taxpayers' money, and there are some serious mental health issues that need to be addressed in this country. Our charge as Members of this Congress is to prioritize how we spend that money and make sure that we are putting it into areas where there are serious mental health issues at risk. Certainly, I think that this amendment is very positive and would encourage Members to vote in support of this amendment.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3313, the Marriage Protection Act of 2004, and in defense of the institution of marriage in America. In 2003, the Texas State Legislature defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Texas joins 37 other States that have enacted similar legislation defending traditional marriages. With the Defense of Marriage Act, Congress declared that no State can be forced to accept another State's definition of marriage. Unfortunately, these actions are not enough. We have seen time and time again the will of the people can be overturned by the actions of a few judges. Currently, Federal lawsuits attacking the institution of marriage are underway in several States across the country. If these lawsuits are successful, the voice of the people in Texas and the voice of the overwhelming majority of Americans will be ignored. Without the Marriage Protection Act, it is possible that Federal judges in California can determine the definition of a marriage in Texas or any other State which tries to protect marriage. This attack against marriage goes against every value that I and the vast majority of my constituents hold dear. For these reasons I strongly urge the passage of H.R. 3313.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 391 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of a good friend, T.J. Patterson, who this week ended 20 years of service on Lubbock's City Council. T.J. served on 10 city councils and under five different mayors. I had the pleasure of serving with councilman T.J. Patterson, and what I learned in my 6 years in serving with T.J. is what most folks in Lubbock know, that he is a strong community leader and a tireless fighter for the values of the people he serves. T.J. is a man of many firsts. After serving his country in Vietnam, T.J. became the first African American elected to the Lubbock City Council. He was also the first African American elected to be president of the Texas Municipal League. He founded the Texas Association of Black City Council Members and also the publication Southwest Digest. During his 20 years of service, T.J. Patterson fought so hard for the things that matter to the citizens of Lubbock and Lubbock families: educating our kids and protecting Lubbock's youth from gangs and drugs. The people in Lubbock and myself are grateful for T.J. Patterson's tireless service to his community.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3980) to establish a National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program, as amended.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just want to close by saying that this bill consolidates and coordinates windstorm research that has been going on throughout multiple agencies and brings oversight to that process, and I think that is very important. I think the American people expect us to oversee the moneys that we are appropriating and authorizing; but it also is a public and private partnership, and the whole goal of this bill is to make sure that we get the important research out of the laboratories and into practical solutions that are going to be saving lives and reducing property damage. So I encourage my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 3980, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act of 2004.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Science. (Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3980, as amended, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to just summarize a little bit about this bill and to also let folks know that this bill has a lot of endorsements from people that are very active in this type of engineering: the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Manufacturing Housing Institute, the National Association of Wind Engineering, Applied Technology Council, and the International Code Council. These are the organizations that are actively involved in this kind of research, and they wholeheartedly support and endorse this bill. One of the things that this bill does is it creates a national windstorm impact reduction program, and it improves our understanding of windstorm issues. And it also brings about a collaboration of the private sector and the public sector so that we can begin to commercialize a lot of the important research that is going on. It really does not do us any good to do a lot of good research in this country if we do not get it into the hands of the people that can actually use that, and those are the homeowners and the building owners around this country. It also brings some oversight to the process and creates a National Advisory Committee who will oversee the various research. They will be reported back to and given an opportunity to give progress reports to the Congress to make sure that we are providing adequate oversight for the important research dollars that we are providing for this type of research. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart).

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) and his staff for their leadership and support for allowing me to bring this important piece of legislation before the Committee on Science. I would also like to thank the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore), who introduced this bill with me, and all of the cosponsors of H.R. 3980 for their support. Windstorms in the United States, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, continue to cause high levels of injuries, deaths, business interruption, and property damage. Unfortunately, the level of losses due to the windstorms increase each year and will continue to escalate unless technology generation, education, and public policies are improved. On May 11, 1970, tragedy struck my hometown of Lubbock, Texas. An F5 tornado ripped through downtown Lubbock. Six people were killed, and 500 were injured. The tornado had winds estimated in excess of 200 miles an hour and damaged or destroyed a large portion of our city. In a few moments between 9:35 p.m. and the time the funnel lifted into the cloud, the tornado devastated a community along an 8\1/2\ mile-wide path. It wrought havoc along a track that was 1\1/2\ miles wide in downtown Lubbock to one-fourth mile wide as it passed over the National Weather Bureau's office located at the airport. The twister was responsible for $125 million in damage, and an estimated 15 square miles of the city was damaged or destroyed. The National Weather Service estimates that between 1995 and 2002, hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorm winds caused an average of $4.5 billion in damage every year. Texas alone averages 124 tornadoes every year, which is more than double the average of any other State. Over this past Memorial Day weekend, for example, 175 tornadoes were reported across the country, bringing the preliminary total for May to 544. The storms were responsible for 8 deaths and millions of dollars in damages in 12 States. June 1 was the official start of hurricane season, and forecasters are predicting an above-normal Atlantic season. Officials anticipate 12 to 15 tropical storms for the season, with six to eight systems becoming hurricanes, with two to four of those becoming major hurricanes. Last year, Hurricane Isabel, one of the storms to affect the United States, caused 17 deaths and more than $3 billion in damages. Technological advancements in the second half of the century have contributed to better, more accurate severe weather watches and warnings from the National Weather Service, ultimately saving countless lives. Advancements in computer technology also led to progress in numerical weather prediction, allowing meteorologists to apply physics in replicating motions of the atmosphere. But even as we build on our current weather prediction successes and create new resources to predict windstorms at a greater rate, the United States continues to sustain billions of dollars each year in property damage and economic losses due to wind storms, and the human costs are all too painful. Over the last 5 years, Texas Tech University Wind Engineering Research Center has received funding under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute For Standards and Technology to research the detrimental effects of windstorms on buildings and to reduce the loss of life from windstorm events. Their work has led to many accomplishments on the national scope. This year alone, they will receive $900,000 to carry on research to improve the economy of shelters and wind-resistant construction. A variety of cost-effective windstorm hazard mitigation measures exist, and many more are undergoing important research and development at universities like Texas Tech University across this Nation. However, these efforts are not being coordinated at the Federal level to improve the general public's understanding of windstorm impacts, and we are not doing a good job of encouraging implementation of cost-effective mitigation measures for our citizens. Improving the wind resistance of buildings can only be achieved when there is a demand for wind-resistant construction by homeowners. Hurricane Isabel, the tornado in Lubbock that was so destructive more than 30 years ago, and the 544 tornadoes in the month of May alone are serious reminders of how vulnerable we are and how serious we should be about severe weather safety and preparedness. Here is what we can do about it. The objective of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program is to achieve measurable reduction in loss of life and property from windstorms. In a coordinated effort between academia, the private sector and the Federal Government, this legislation will improve distribution of current research findings, develop cost-effective and affordable windstorm-resistant systems, and develop outreach techniques for the general public. The aim of this act is also to enable the marketplace to form incentives. Improving our understanding of how wind impacts buildings, enhancing the scope and detail of damage data collection, and measuring the degree to which varying mitigation techniques can lessen that impact will make it possible to quantify the value of mitigation. This information will give policymakers, private industry, and individual homeowners the tools to make decisions that take windstorm vulnerability into consideration. An investment in windstorm impact reduction will pay significant dividends and will save lives, decrease property damage, and reduce the cost of Federal disaster relief in the future. Therefore, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3980. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Budget Accounts amendment. I appreciate having the chance to work with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) on this amendment which enhances the budget legislation we are considering today. In this and other debates today, we have heard a lot of talk about a provision called PAYGO. Well, I think this amendment creates something that I call save-go. Budget Protection Accounts allow us to actually save money for the taxpayers as we go through the appropriations and other spending bills; money that is set aside for the taxpayers, either in the form of tax relief or debt reduction. When Members offer amendments on appropriations bills today that reduce spending, any money reduced automatically becomes available to be spent on another program or a project in that bill or in another bill. If the Budget Projection Accounts are created, Members would be able to direct savings resulting from their amendments to the debt reduction or tax relief. Members are not required to do so, but they are simply given that option. Imagine being able to go home back to your district and actually tell your constituents that you saved them some money. This is an important option to have if we are serious about doing something about reducing spending. Members have little incentive to offer amendments that reduce spending when they know that the money the amendment claims to save is automatically given to other projects. If Members have the option to direct savings to relief of deficit reduction or incentive to go after other waste and fraud, they will actually do so. Budget Protection Accounts allow Members to be for savings and fiscally responsible, rather than always against projects or programs. Let us give the House the opportunity to save the taxpayers some money when we are going through spending bills and the opportunity to use those savings for the benefit of the taxpayers. As many have said today, and I continue to say, Mr. Chairman, we do not have an income problem, we have a spending problem, and I believe that the Budget Protection Accounts help us with that problem.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to dedicated soldiers, marines and citizens from my district that paid the ultimate price while serving our country. Next weekend, our Nation will commemorate Memorial Day. All too often we forget the purposes of our special days we set aside to celebrate. Memorial Day is much more than a three-day weekend that marks the beginning of summer. This day, originally known as Decoration Day, has a long history dating back to the Civil War, commemorating the sacrifices of our armed forces. During this Memorial Day it is fitting that we make a special effort to honor and acknowledge those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defending our freedom and the freedom of others in Afghanistan and Iraq. I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to the family and friends who are mourning the loss of Private First Class Chad Bales, Private First Class Ricky Morris, Specialist Robert Arsiaga, Specialist Israel Garza, Corporal Daniel Amaya, and Private First Class Clayton Henson. These gentlemen served our country with courage and dignity. There is no greater valor than sacrifice in the name of freedom. I pray for the safe return of all of our servicemen and women and thank them for the sacrifice they make every day defending our country.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his efforts on behalf of my constituents in West Texas. My constituents will be most pleased and relieved by the decision to remove the Senate's farm payment limit proposal in the conference version of the budget resolution and the Chairman's continued affirmation that neither this budget, nor the House version, will reduce any Farm Bill program payments.

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, in the Senate Budget Committee, they adopted a provision which would have reduced the maximum payments farmers can receive under the 2002 farm bill, and I asked the gentleman to address that during the conference. Is that provision still in the budget? Earlier this year, the Senate Budget Committee adopted a provision in its budget resolution which assumes enactment of legislation reducing the maximum payments farmers can receive from commodity support programs. As the Chairman knows, the 2002 Farm Bill addressed this issue through a delicate compromise acceptable to rural members across different regions of the country. Any erosion of this compromise would penalize producers in my West Texas district who would be punished for the efficiencies they have achieved. To clarify for my constituents who strongly oppose the Senate provision, I would like to ask the distinguished Chairman of the Budget Committee if the Senate payment limit provision was dropped in conference?

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.