Pete Olson

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Blake Huddleston is a senior at Pasadena Memorial High School in Harris County, Texas. His essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should government play in our lives? The American form of Democracy is built upon the principle that every man has the right to have his voice heard, yet today many Americans revoke this right. Neither Congress nor the President can adequately govern such a vast land and people as the United States without participation in government, which has been declining in recent years due to an increase in American apathy. Adequate governance does not require petitions, marches, or protest; simply voting for issues and candidates is enough to ensure that the American voice is heard in the white halls of the Capital. But in order to create a sense of honor in participating in our centuries old processes, both those who are in positions of power and those who seek office must offer their constituents something worth speaking for. In times of discord and partisanship the American people become disillusioned with what is perhaps the greatest Democracy to ever exist. By compromising, by understanding not only their own personal beliefs, but the beliefs of those opposed to them, congressmen and presidents inspire the people they represent to become involved in the American process because their electors believe that the system does work; that the system can solve serious problems without mindless bickering over irrelevant issues. There exist a social bond between electors and the elected in America: when the elected rise above politics and become statesmen, Americans will rise as well. When the elected fall, so too does the will of Americans to participate.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great Nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Rohail Dadwani is a senior at Clements High School in Fort Bend County, Texas. His essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should government play in our lives? Government is crucial in our lives. Without government, we would all be barbarically fighting for the limited amount of resources we have available. Government helps our society function the way it is, but just like anything else, too much of a good thing can be bad. Therefore, government intervention should be limited on our lives. Too much government control can lead to dictatorships or the government playing a ``Big Brother'' kind of role. This ``Big Brother'' type of rule would be bad in the long run because the people would lose faith in the government, so the citizens would try to find any way they can to overthrow the government. Government's role should be to help society but within its boundaries set by society. Crossing these boundaries can lead to too much government intervention in our society. I think the boundary that the government should never cross would be the boundary of the government tracking your every move and everything you do. The government's main role should be to lay down the expectations, make laws that people should follow, help society when needed, but don't interfere in society so much that it makes the people dependent on the government to run effectively. The government's role is important to how this society functions. Therefore, the government needs to let society work in a way so that it isn't making the society completely dependent on them. Every individual should be able to speak their mind, without control, to promote new ideas that better society. That can only happen with a limited government role, to make society work on its own. The government should do nothing except give a little push to society every now and then to keep it running. With this, the government isn't running our everyday lives but just helping us to be able to run it ourselves. We should all follow the government's laws but, at the same time, be able to have a mind of our own. To conclude, the government shouldn't play a huge role in our every day lives, rather a limited one, so we can be more effective on our own and be able to think for ourselves.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Baher Michel is a senior at Clements High School in Fort Bend County, Texas. His essay topic is: Select an important event that has occurred in the past 50 years and explain how that event has changed our country. Baher chose Marbury v. Madison. The United States Supreme Court is often a spring of controversy. With Marbury v. Madison the Court has ``judicial review'', power to deem any type of legislation as constitutional or unconstitutional, and thus, void. In other words, any government action or law can be challenged, brought in front of the Court, and whatever the Justices decide is final. The fact that it holds such enormous power in government but yet is comprised of a few unelected appointed Justices is perplexing. How can five, nine, or even ten individuals possibly reflect the American public opinion? To claim that the Supreme Court is insular if not isolated of the real world would not be so outlandish of a claim. The fact that Justices are appointed and not elected by the general public is one indicator of a direct deviation from the public's opinion. Another is the fact that Justices serve in the Supreme Court for life (unless they are convicted and impeached or they retire). Thus, while public society and opinion may and inevitably evolves, appointed Justices remain in power, succeeding to not reflect nor mirror the public's changing opinion. Contenders might claim that such ``insularity'' is actually beneficial because the Supreme Court is not designed to reflect public opinion, but rather to merely interpret the Constitution. But then again, how can only nine people decide on what the Document meant as it relates to today's cases? While the Supreme Court does seem sovereign of public opinion, it is not completely secluded from it. A Justice appointee cannot make it to the Court unless voted on by the United States Senate, comprised of directly elected senators. So in essence, Justices should reflect public opinion not only because the elected President chooses them, but also because the Senate confirms them. In conclusion, it may appear undemocratic and thus paradoxical that one of our most powerful branches in government is comprised of unelected officials. However, it must also be stated that such sovereignty actually shields Justices from faltering with the public's ceaseless waves of ever-changing beliefs, emotions, and culture.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Milan Doshi is a junior at Elkins High School in Fort Bend County, Texas. His essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should government play in our lives? Abraham Lincoln once said that this is a ``government of the people, by the people, for the people.'' Government is an entity that plays just as much a role in our lives as we allow it to play. As the current election is just around the corner, many of the issues that have prevailed in the presidential debates include what role the government should play in our economy, foreign policy, and our daily lives. Many Americans believe that if the United States had learned from the past, they would have realized that the greater the country got involved in the economy, with countries around the world, and in our daily lives, the greater the magnitude of the problems in the status quo would become. Many Americans believe that our government has not learned from the past and continues to make the same mistakes that once made its population distraught. Even though our country's interaction with foreign policy and the economy may not directly impact us, the interaction somehow influences a majority of America's population in their daily lives. This impact on the status quo and on the population's mindset is indicative through stories in the news, through personal experiences, and through observations of our surroundings. Overall, our government should understand that the role that they play in our lives should be in balance. Foreign policy has made our country one of the most powerful countries around the world. We have a prestigious navy, a strong air force, and, most importantly, the most dominating army that money can buy; however, in this case, America's dedication towards the development of its army has preoccupied them to a point where it has reallocated funds from other areas that desperately need them. This reallocation would allow the government to play a more conservative role in our lives. If the funds that were dedicated towards foreign policy were reevaluated, I'm sure there are places where cuts can be made and the money saved be reallocated to other sectors. This begs the question of which sector requires the money the most, based on its influence on our daily lives. The education sector consists of the building blocks of this country and preoccupies most teenagers' daily lives. If more money was invested in this sector, we would be able to hire more experienced teachers, give teachers more freedom to construct their courses, create more effective ways of assessment, as well as pay our teachers more. What this would inevitably lead to is lesser involvement in education, for kids my age, most of our daily lives, and more freedom for teachers to foster growth and meet the needs of individual students, as well as give students the freedom to express themselves without being restricted to the methods of the government. This is important in demonstrating the balance that is necessary of government in our daily lives. If the government allowed students to embrace education, the United States would be able to be competitive with the education systems of other countries around the world. With smarter future generations, America would not make the same mistakes it made in the past that led to economic collapses such as the one that occurred during the Great Depression. Individuals in the American government would finally realize that they ought to play a smaller role in the economy by allowing it to be the one that causes its own downfall and also its own rebuilding. Over the past few years, it has become evident that the greater the role that government plays in the economy, the further it goes into shambles and the more jobs that are lost. This is important because even though I have been fortunate enough to have a family that has not had to go through the stresses of job loss, the effects of thousands of jobs going away are being felt by families all across the United States, affecting their daily lives, in how they live and how they interact with the people around them. If the government did not play as large a role as it is playing right now, we would probably see the economy collapse and then gradually begin to rebuild itself, creating more jobs, steadying the economy, and more importantly, bringing stability to families across the country. Thus, the role that government ought to play in our lives should be one in balance and it ought to be the government's responsibility to make sure their actions are properly affecting their population. However, in situations where the government loses sight of the problems that lay ahead due to their actions, it becomes the peoples' responsibility to speak and make sure their voice is heard. Because, after all, as Abraham Lincoln once said, this is a ``government of the people, by the people, for the people.''

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Saydi Wollney is a senior at Pearland High School in Brazoria County, Texas. Her essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should government play in our lives? Although the United States government provides services such as roadways, protection from harm--both foreign and domestic--and regulation of food and drugs, I believe the government has, at times, stepped over their boundaries and infringed upon the rights of the people. The recent SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and the Protect IP Act wanted to shut down websites which illegally provided services such as making music, videos, and movies available for free download. In doing this, the government also restricted and suppressed websites which were informational and helpful to the public. In this way, the government inadvertently infringed upon the rights of citizens of the United States. After the incident of SOPA closing down Wikipedia for a short while, I noticed it was a popular conversation being held around school. My peers were unhappy and disliked the fact that the government seemed to have overstepped their boundaries. I realize that the government was doing what they think was best for United States citizens at this point in time, but I believe their actions could have been delivered in a more friendly and informative way. The issues with Medicaid and Medicare have citizens of the United States disagreeing with one another. Some people believe that Medicaid is a system that simply takes the money that citizens pay in taxes and utilizes it to care for people with a lower level of income. On the other hand, the other people believe that Medicaid is a good cause and is beneficial to those who are in need. The recent health care reform laws have been viewed by many as the government slowly taking control of the health care system. However, other people believe that the health care reform is beneficial and helpful to the American people, including those who could not previously afford health care. Recently, there have been many debated issues over whether or not the government of the United States is overstepping its own boundaries and regulations of the country. I believe that most of the actions that I have discussed have been beneficial for the United States citizens, with exception of the SOPA and PIPA acts.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak in strong support of H.R. 5, the PATH Act, which will fix two of the worst problems with ObamaCare. It repeals the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a group of 15 bureaucrats who will ration health care for seniors on Medicare. H.R. 5 enacts medical liability reform. Each year, one-fourth of America's doctors are hit with lawsuits, and 90 percent of them are later found innocent. These frivolous lawsuits drive up costs and limit patients' time with their doctors. In 2003, my home State of Texas enacted liability reforms, bringing more than 14,000 new physicians to the Lone Star State. Many of these doctors moved to rural areas, filling a critical gap in care. Madam Speaker, these reforms have lowered costs and increased access to care in Texas and will do the same for America. I urge my colleagues to listen to the American people and support H.R. 5.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great Nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Maximillian McElligott is a junior at Clear Springs High School in Galveston County, Texas. His essay topic is: Select an important event that has occurred in the past 50 years and explain how that event has changed our country. Maximillian chose the Cold War. The Cold War had numerous effects on America that led to prosperity in not just the American political machine but also in the everyday society. One well-known effect is the putting together of National Aeronautical and Space Administration or NASA. During the 1950s, both the Soviets and Americans were in a so called ``Space Race''. The goal was simple: Be the first to space. The Soviets were the first to achieve this goal by successfully launching their rocket, Sputnik I, into space. In response to the possible threats of nuclear war and the new Soviet technology of long range missiles, the United States founded the National Aeronautical and Space Administration or NASA. The ``Sputnik Crisis'', as it was called sent a shockwave through the United States. For once, we weren't the first to accomplish something that hadn't been done yet. NASA's early goals consisted of getting to space, and then once John F. Kennedy was elected in the early 1960s, the goal changed to putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. The dream of putting a man on the moon was accomplished quickly by landing a man on the moon, July 20th, 1969. That single day in history where over 500 million people worldwide watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took mankind's first steps on the moon. The first manned moon landing opened the door for future space explorations such as missions to other planets, other planets moons, and possibly other galaxies which wouldn't have come as quick as they had without the so called ``Russian Initiative''. Another immediate effect in the public school system was the majority of the focus was situated onto math and science based criteria. The government had planned to get youths more excited and intrigued by the new policies. The country went through a technological boom to close out the century. New inventions such as the cell phone, World Wide Web, computer storage units, etc. Looking back over the Cold War, it was a stepping stone of greatness to where we are today with both our education and technological advances. Through the ups and downs the space race worked in our favor to give our country a head start on the essentials to become an even stronger, more diverse world superpower. If we as a country had not gone through the Cold War and had succumbed to letting communism make its way throughout the world, the United States would be far behind when it came to superiority.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Ravena Jacob is a junior at Clear Springs High School in Galveston County, Texas. Her essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should government play in our lives? George Washington once said, ``Government is a necessary evil.'' Even after several decades of debate on whether government should be involved heavily or lightly on people's life, his statement remains true. Since my life is inherently weaved into public and community life, apart from my personal choices, likes and dislikes, all my life is connected to public. Therefore, even when I say it is my opinion, it certainly is influenced by shared values of my family and others of the community. When I think of government I am surprised by the massive efforts by government to keep things going by implementing laws and regulation which influence my life. When I was about 8 years, my dad got a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign as he was hurrying to drop me to day care and trying to be at work on time. I was upset with the officer who issued the ticket. But later it become clearer that the officer may be avoiding a bigger problem. Roads were not paved when automobiles were first invented, and after they were paved, there were no stop signs or traffic lights, and no rules of the road. As vehicles became faster and caused more accidents we had to improve the safety of the vehicles. Changing the roads and the rules could only be done through government. Similarly in times of crisis and disaster, I can see the importance of public service government provide. Thus government's most important role is to protect its citizens. For a business or educational field, we need appropriate control by the government. At the same time the governmental control should not be too much. Its role in my life becomes more optimal when the fine line between big vs. small government is crossed Therefore, the role of government in my life can be analyzed in terms of big or small Government that is usually debated by political parties to describe a large public sector. The term Big Government is used by conservatives in relation to government policies that regulate private or personal matters. Conservatives argue that big government attempts to have federal control on traditionally private institution-based programs. Proponents of small government describe money paid to the government in taxes as money taken away from the private economy. This argument is not true as government spends what it receives. Small-government advocates argue that government can't do anything right. The recent fall of Solyndra, the company that was awarded millions for solar technology expansion, is a good example. Both government and private institutions make mistakes. However, government's mistakes are usually exposed to public and the mistakes of businesses and nonprofits are often unknown. Government's main weaknesses in deciding what to do are based on the special interests that support election or reelection. In some cases extreme governmental control sometimes question a person's freedom. A good example is governmental influence on dictating what we eat and drink. Yes, it is true that sodas and ice cream undoubtedly leads to obesity and other health issues. However, instead of controlling what we intake, government should create awareness of childhood obesity. In a recent discussion Glenn Beck, argued that the government shouldn't be regulating his Doritos intake or how many miles he can drive. President Obama's response was, ``We have also clearly seen the dangers of too little government. Like when a lack of accountability on Wall Street nearly leads to the collapse of our entire economy.'' When considering governmental role in my life I would conclude by saying that governmental duplication and control of existing social institutions should be avoided. Government should never forget its preliminary and preeminent role: establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Amanda Kerstman is a senior at Clear Springs High School in Galveston County, Texas. Her essay topic is: In your opinion, why is it important to be involved in the political process? As a citizen of the United States of America all citizens are given the right to participate in the political process whether it would be to run for office, or vote in a primary election. Having the power as a citizen to participate in the political process is a right given by the United States, but many people in the present time take this as a chore to participate rather than a privilege. The voter turnout in Houston, Texas has decreased every year because of people not willing to go vote in any election, whether it is for a district judge, or an election for the president. Our constitution was built from people who wanted to shape the new world into a country where people have the right to choose who they want to run their country. It is the citizens responsibility to keep our country a republic and vote for people to represent us. The key to make sure that people will stay politically active is to make sure the youth of the United States stays informed and up to date with what goes on in politics. Once they are informed they have the knowledge to form their own opinion and allow them to take action in supporting a candidate or coming up with their own ideas to run for office one day. Whether a person is inspired to run for local office or for president all helps the political process. Having the Congressional Youth Advisory Council is a great way to get the youth of America involved in political decision-making by letting them able to share their opinion to political leaders. It also allows the youth to be informed on what is going on in congress or in political decision making directly for a political official. Being a part of the political process is very important for American citizens be involved in because if we aren't, we will let down every man that fought for our political freedom.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate League City, Texas on its fiftieth anniversary. For fifty years, League City has been a growing and influential region in the Baytown area and throughout Texas. Congratulations to League City for a wonderful half- century of contributions to our great state. League City formally became an incorporated city on March 27, 1962. The city possesses a long history before that date, first settled in the late nineteenth century. It has made significant contributions to the Houston and Texas economies through its continued growth and success. Between the 2000 census and the 2010 census, League City almost doubled its population, and it also surpassed Galveston as the largest city in Galveston County in the early 2000s. Known for its talented and capable workforce, many engineers and scientists that work at NASA's Johnson Space Center reside in League City. The history and economic efforts of League City bring pride to our state. League City residents agree that it's a great place to live, work and raise a family. Congratulations to League City for fifty years of excellence and to a bright future ahead.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great Nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Bailey Arlinghaus is a senior at Clements High School in Fort Bend County, Texas. Her essay topic is: In your opinion, what role should government play in our lives? Government is crucial in our lives. Without government, we would all be barbarically fighting for the limited amount of resources we have available. Government helps our society function the way it is, but just like anything else, too much of a good thing can be bad. Therefore, government intervention should be limited on our lives. Too much government control can lead to dictatorships or the government playing a ``Big Brother'' kind of role. This ``Big Brother'' type of rule would be bad in the long run because the people would lose faith in the government, so the citizens would try to find any way they can to overthrow the government. Government's role should be to help society but within its boundaries set by society. Crossing these boundaries can lead to too much government intervention in our society. I think the boundary that the government should never cross would be the boundary of the government tracking your every move and everything you do. The government's main role should be to lay down the expectations, make laws that people should follow, help society when needed, but don't interfere in society so much that it makes the people dependent on the government to run effectively. The government's role is important to how this society functions. Therefore, the government needs to let society work in a way so that it isn't making the society completely dependent on them. Every individual should be able to speak their mind, without control, to promote new ideas that better society. That can only happen with a limited government role, to make society work on its own. The government should do nothing except give a little push to society every now and then to keep it running. With this, the government isn't running our everyday lives but just helping us to be able to run it ourselves. We should all follow the government's laws but, at the same time, be able to have a mind of our own. To conclude, the government shouldn't play a huge role in our every day lives, rather a limited one, so we can be more effective on our own and be able to think for ourselves.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great Nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Allison Mock is a senior at Kempner High School in Fort Bend County, Texas. Her essay topic is: Why is it important to participate in the political process? George Bernard Shaw once said, ``Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve;'' this is especially true in our nation today. America has become apathetic. We no longer look for ways to actively participate in our own government. Voting in minor elections, writing letters to congressmen, and attending city council meetings to stay updated have become things of the past. In essence, we have forgotten how to be involved in the political process. This is a natural feature of our country's aging. The majority of the population does not remember that voting is a privilege, not a guarantee. We dismiss that there ever was a time when having your voice heard was almost impossible and advocating controversial opinions dangerous. The Founders of our nation and millions of soldiers died so we would never again see such a time, their sacrifices should never be taken lightly. Those heroes dreamed of a country where the people determined what the future would look like, and now we are here. However, the hard work is far from over. While the Constitution provides the foundation to build our government upon, the most important work is done by the people we elect. Our republic should be reinvented with each new generation. This makes it even more important for the majority to participate in the political process. Our system is currently lacking people to balance out the radical activists and conversely, push forward those who have stagnated in their policy. The recent retirement of leaders like Senator Stowe is compelling evidence that even leaders are frustrated by the polarization of the politically active members of society. We need everyone to participate to fully deserve a good government. An ideal spot to start these changes would be in high schools. Although Government classes lightly touch on the importance of voting, most kids have no idea how crucial it is. A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs in their political lives; society does not expect them to care until they are older, and as a result, they don't think they need to. However, if the curriculum included more of an emphasis on not only the importance of voting, but a detailed explanation of what each party stands for and how to discern for themselves how they would like to vote, students would respond. Lists of election dates could be distributed to students and posted online. By involving social media we could reach even more of this demographic. Twitter, Facebook, my space could all have reminders to vote, information about candidates and their issues, and ways to get involved in the community it would be difficult. A similar campaign was tried in the early 2000s, but was abandoned when it did not prove immediately effective. While we have more social media now, allowing the message to further penetrate, what we really need is perseverance from our leaders. We must continue to try and reach this crucial age group, because they too deserve a chance to reshape the republic and make this country even greater.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening to the high school students who are the future of this great Nation. They provide important insight into the concerns of our younger constituents and hopefully get a better sense of the importance of being an active participant in the political process. Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics and I am pleased to share these with my House colleagues. Leslie Lopez is a junior at Pasadena Memorial High School in Harris County, Texas. Her essay topic is: Select an important event that has occurred in the past 50 years and explain how that event has changed our country. Leslie chose September 11th, 2001. September eleventh is a day that will be remembered for ages to come by citizens in our nation. The long-lived memorable event marked not only the lives of the people, but our entire country as a whole. The attacks of that date affected the nation's economy, took our peace of mind, and caused us to enforce anti-terrorism policies that till this day have not changed. The attacks had a significant economic impact on the United States and world markets. The stock exchange remained closed for several days in the aftermath; the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell significantly; in only three months after the occurrence, nearly 430,000 jobs were lost as well as millions of dollars in wages. The small businesses in Lower Manhattan were affected as well. A staggering 18,000 of those were destroyed or replaced, resulting in a loss of jobs and wages. The events of September eleventh most definitely left its mark on the nation's economy. The tragedy also affected the country's peace of mind. People felt as if not even homes or schools were then longer safe. Recalling back to that date, I was only a child and could not understand why every adult parent and teacher seemed paranoid at what was happening in New York. What seemed like weeks after went by and the occurrence was still fresh on everyone's minds. Till this day, citizens have not completely reinstated that peace of mind they once had, and it will continue to be this way for years to come. With the 9 11 attacks came new anti-terrorism policies which did not exist prior to the date. The Department of Homeland Security, for example, was created a couple of years after the occurrence to protect the states against terrorism activity. The attacks also indirectly caused the War in Afghanistan as an effort to dismantle the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, which was also set into motion only a month after the attacks on the World Trade Center. The changes that the 9 11 attacks caused brought drastic changes to the United States and the grand scheme of things, the economy, our peace of mind, and the anti-terrorism policies that were adopted were only a small portion of all that the attacks affected.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, 176 years ago, the Alamo fell. Every Texan fighting for independence was either killed or executed. I would like to read a portion of the last letter sent from the Alamo by its commander: Fellow citizens and compatriots, I am besieged by 1,000 or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion. Otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword . . . I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat . . . Victory or death. Signed, William Barret Travis, Lieutenant Colonel Commander at the Alamo. Remember the Alamo. God bless Texas.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to give the American people an update on the Keystone XL pipeline. Monday, President Obama took the first step to get out of the way and bring tar sands oil from Canada to my home, southeast Texas. It's the yellow pipeline line here on this chart. The administration agreed to build the first segment from Cushing, Oklahoma, right here, to southeast Texas, the Port of Houston and the Port of Port Arthur. In announcing the administration's changed position, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: Moving oil from the Midwest to the world-class, state-of- the-art refineries on the gulf coast will modernize our infrastructure, create jobs, and encourage American production. Amen. 430 miles down, 1,223 to go. But there is no new oil with this pipeline being built. None. So, Houston, we still have a problem. And that problem is exploding prices for gasoline. Since the day President Obama took office--and he took office on January 20, 2009--since that time, gasoline prices have doubled, from $1.84 per gallon to over $3.70 per gallon. Doubled. This hits Texas families hard. If you have a pickup truck with a 24-gallon gas tank and fill it up every 2 weeks, that's a $90 increase in gas expenses per month. There goes the $1,000 every American got by the payroll tax cut extension, something we fought for 2 months here in Congress, just thrown away. In a speech in Miami, our President said there was ``no magic bullet'' to lower gas prices, and there's some truth to that statement. The President is limited in what he can do to lower gas prices, but there's a lot a President can do to increase gas prices. Unfortunately, President Obama's policies have put us on a path to the worst summer for gas prices in our country's history. We enter this summer with the highest gas prices in our country's history at this time of the year. They're only going to go up. And the President had a knee-jerk reaction to the Gulf of Mexico spill. He shut the gulf down for nearly a year. That's at least 10 American rigs that left the gulf for overseas, taking American energy with them, and American jobs. He chose Hollywood elitists and radical environmentalists over American unions and the American people by putting the Keystone pipeline in limbo. And while a small portion of the 20,000 jobs the full pipeline would have created are going to be kept by this new decision--4,000 of them--we still have no new oil. Eighty thousand barrels a day flowing through the Keystone XL pipeline is not going to happen. We're just basically building another lane on the freeway. The most alarming thing to me is that the Obama administration has spent 3 years watching Iran export terror and develop their own nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. Now that the House and Senate, followed by the European Union, have imposed sanctions on Iran over their nuclear ambitions, the Iranians are threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. This is a map of the Strait of Hormuz, and as a former naval aviator who deployed for 6 months to the region in 1994 and flew low-level missions through the strait, I can tell you that the Iranian threat to shut it down is real--very real. It's a narrow body of water, 30 miles wide at some points. It's worse because, as you can see, the sea lanes where the ships go through and commerce goes through are very close to Iran. This island over here, Abu Musa, that is an Iranian military base. There is an old saying that ``a picture is worth a thousand words.'' And this is our President as a candidate in 2008 at a gas station in Indianapolis. What's missing? Action to support low gas prices at that time. I urge the President to listen to the American people and to fully approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Do it now, and put America back in business.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Markey amendment. The gentleman from Massachusetts has displayed a clear lack of understanding of our great Nation's history with his amendment to restrict American exports of natural gas. Exports have made America a world power. Our country grew stronger economically by providing the products the world demands. No one would get upset if Ford or GM were making enough cars so that they could supply domestic markets and also ship cars overseas. Nobody is proposing to restrict the export of Massachusetts lobsters. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the Markey amendment.

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment introduced by my friend and colleague on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Louisiana. In April of 2011, the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 workers and starting the worst oil spill in U.S. history. While the whole Nation suffered, the five Gulf States were particularly hard hit. Each of our five States suffered differing damages. A moratorium was ordered that sent U.S. jobs overseas with the rigs that went overseas. Tourism on some of our most pristine beaches was lost; the shrimping and fishing industries were unable to bring their catches home. While the RESTORE Act will not replace the lives lost, it will ensure that the five States most impacted by the spill get their fair share of the compensation for our damages. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and come back to the gulf.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. I thank the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee for the courtesy of speaking in support of H.R. 3408. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3408, the PIONEERS Act, and by doing so, I'm standing up for American innovation, American jobs, and renewed American prosperity. Shale oil is a game-changer. You don't have to look any further than the Eagle Ford shale in my home State of Texas to see the economic benefits of this stable American energy resource. This past Sunday when I went to the Eagle Ford shale, there were 171 oil rigs and 93 natural gas rigs drilling thousands of wells. More rigs are coming, and major pipeline projects are under way to support production that will grow to 420,000 barrels per day. Let me say that again: 420,000 barrels of oil per day. One of my friends on the other side of the aisle said, Oil shale, no way. I've seen with my own eyes at Eagle Ford shale; and I say, Oil shale, yes way. Eagle Ford shale job creation is now in full swing with scores of new businesses opening up to support the boom. More than 10,000 jobs have already been created, and 58,000 more are on the way. The economic recession is a thing of the past in this part of our country and in my State. The world, as we've known it, is literally changing in front of our eyes. Our long-established dependence upon imported energy could be a thing of the past if we unleash America's energy resources. H.R. 3408 will get us one step closer.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the Coordinated Approach to Child Health initiative, CATCH, an innovative program being implemented in Houston and across Texas to combat rising rates of childhood obesity. It's no secret that childhood obesity is a growing problem in our country. Statistics show that 18 percent of elementary schoolchildren are overweight, and the number is growing every year. The University of Texas School of Public Health created CATCH to help elementary schools, children, and their families adopt healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. CATCH is a huge success. It's been adopted by more than 2,500 elementary schools in Texas, impacting 800,000 schoolchildren--that's 50 percent of Texas elementary schools. CATCH has received national recognition for being one of the most comprehensive and cost-effective approaches in fighting childhood obesity. Madam Speaker, I commend all schools in Texas that have adopted this program. They recognize that every child needs to be taught, and every child needs to be taught how to grow up healthy.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, February is Heart Month. I rise today to recognize Save a Life Community Heart Training Day. This is an effort by the American Red Cross, the Texas Arrhythmia Institute, and the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Houston, Texas, to raise awareness about the importance of adult CPR and AED use. Sudden cardiac arrest, also known as SCA, is the leading cause of death in the United States, with roughly 300,000 Americans dying from SCAs every year. Both of my grandfathers died of SCA before I was born. I always dreamed of what it would be like to go fishing with Grandpa. The best chance for survival is defibrillation--delivery of an electric pulse shock to the heart. An SCA victim has a 50-75 percent chance of survival if a shock is administered to the heart within 5 minutes of collapse. Awareness and training are critical to saving and enhancing lives. Mr. Speaker, as sponsor of legislation designed to encourage Good Samaritans to use AEDs to save lives, I'm proud to recognize Save a Life Day. Get trained, so a young boy can go fishing with Grandpa.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. I thank my good friend from Colorado and my brother in arms on the Energy and Commerce Committee fighting for U.S. domestic production of energy. I'm going to start my comments tonight by focusing on gas prices. We all know that gas prices have risen dramatically under the current administration. This chart here shows exactly what's happens in America. Our President took office right here about February of 2009 and gas prices were just over about $1.90 a gallon. You can see it spiked up to almost $2.70 a gallon, and last summer almost $4 a gallon. It's come back down. So it's over doubled in price since President Obama took office. These gas prices are a hardship on American families and American small businesses, families that have to take the kids to school, families that have to drive the kids to practice, families who have to go to the grocery store, families that have to go to church. No one is immune to these price increases. I'm privileged to represent part of the energy capital of the world, a suburb of Houston, Texas, and we're not immune to these price increases. These are articles from a local online paper over the past month. I'll read them to you, just selected portions of them. On January 10, 2012, Fort Bend gas prices jumped more than 11 cents. On January 17, 2012, one week later, gas prices in Fort Bend have risen another 2.2 cents in the past week. One week later--there is a theme here--in Fort Bend County, Fort Bend's gas prices have risen another 8.3 cents in the past week. That's 3 weeks with a 25-cent per gallon increase in prices in my home county of Fort Bend County. Again, families and small businesses are struggling to survive with these incredibly high gas prices. Why is this happening? Uncertainty. Uncertainty in one particular region of the world. The uncertainty is coming from one country, Iran, and its threats to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. I've had a unique opportunity here in Congress. I served in the United States Navy for 10 years. I was a naval aviator, not necessarily a naval pilot, but I've actually flown missions right through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is threatening to shut down the straits because the United States and the European Union have put sanctions against Iran because of its threat to build a nuclear weapon, which is a direct threat to our security. Most importantly, it's a direct threat to the security of our best ally and friend in the world, the great country of Israel. We have to take Iran's threats very seriously. Let me tell you a little bit about the Strait of Hormuz. As you can see, it's a very narrow body of water, about 30 miles wide. If you've been to southeast Texas, do you know where the Johnson Space Center is? Drive 30 miles south, and you'll be on Galveston Beach. It's a very, very narrow body of water. It's shallow--200 feet, two-thirds the length of a football field. As you can see, the transit lanes for the ships are close to Iran. There are all sorts of little islands out here that they cannot maneuver through. They've got to go close to Iran, again posing a greater threat to them. Right here is Abu Musa. That is an Iranian base, a military base, so all the tanker traffic flowing through there--all our military ships--have to pass right through Iran, right through Abu Musa. Let me tell you what Iran has there as a threat to the Strait of Hormuz. This is the Persian Gulf here. All along here, in Abu Musa, there are missiles--surface-to-ship missiles aimed at our ships and aimed at our tankers--going through every single day. I know this because when I flew my plane through there, we were tracked by Iranian fire control radar. That's just the way the business works there in that part of the world. They've also got mines, mines that can lay anywhere here throughout the straits--again, a very narrow body of water where ships have little room to maneuver. These mines, you don't have to run into them. They're modern mines. They can detect some sort of a change in pressure or some sort of sounds from an engine of a ship coming through and then blow up when the ship gets close. That's a big threat. There is another big threat, too. This is the most lethal threat the Iranians have in the Strait of Hormuz and the biggest reason for the uncertainty. This is the Iranian Kilo class submarine. It was sold to the Iranians by the Russians in the early 1990s. I actually flew over the second one. We caught it up on the surface just like that when I was deployed in the region in 1994. The reason this submarine is so lethal is that it's a diesel-powered boat, meaning, right now, it's on the surface and it's running on diesel engines, but when it submerges, because it can't get atmosphere necessary to run internal combustion engines, it runs on batteries, quiet, quiet batteries. It is the quietest submarine in the world, but it can't stay submerged forever. It has to recharge its batteries at specific intervals. Look at all this traffic in the Persian Gulf, and that's just an example. There are all sorts of fishing boats all over there that have diesel engines. This little thing here is called a snorkel. This guy could come up, and he can push that up just above the surface of the water and get the air he needs to run his diesel engines to recharge his battery. While he does that in the mix of all of these boats with their diesel engines, it is very, very difficult to find him. In fact, the only way you can find him is with your eyeballs. It's very much a challenge, and, actually, he can go down and sit on the bottom if he wants to while waiting for the proper traffic--whoever he wants to target--to come through. This is a very real threat. This creates uncertainty in the markets. This is why gasoline prices are spiking. What's the solution? And House Republicans have one: it's the Keystone XL pipeline. Very briefly, the orange line there is the Keystone pipeline, the singular Keystone pipeline. This pipeline is already up and running. As you can see, it's coming from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, all the way down to the Midwest United States--Steele City, going to Cushing, Oklahoma, and going across Patoka, Illinois, to St. Louis. Oil is already flowing through that pipeline. The Keystone XL pipeline starts at the same place and comes down a little bit west of the Keystone line. It intersects at Steele City. Then it goes down to Cushing. As you can see, it goes right down to the energy capital of the world, where my district is, in the greater Houston area in Port Arthur, Texas. As we know, the administration and our President have delayed or canceled the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline because radical environmentalists and Hollywood elites disapprove of the pipeline. What has that done to our economy? There are 20,000 shovel-ready jobs that are in jeopardy. Over 800,000 barrels a day flowing from that pipeline to southeast Texas to these most up-to-date, technologically advanced refineries in the entire world, that's not happening. Energy security. National security. We don't have to worry about what's happening in the Persian Gulf. We don't have to worry about Hugo Chavez. Just this single pipeline with 800,000 barrels a day replaces what we're getting in from Venezuela right now. What are the solutions? The Trans Alaska pipeline. The American people may get confused. They hear about the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and the Trans Alaska pipeline. Here is just an example of what it is just to show you. ANWR, the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, is the light green area right here in the northeast corner of Alaska. As the listeners know, this is the great State of Alaska, and it's about half of the mainland of the United States. Basically all of Wyoming, almost to the Mississippi River, that's the size of Alaska. Do you see this little, little, tiny point up here? That is where the drilling to support the Trans Alaska pipeline is being done. It's one little spot. Do you see the point? We have some problems. Just to let you know, let's talk a little bit about the Trans Alaska pipeline. It was designed to be built in 1973 right after the OPEC embargo on our country. OPEC shut the valves off for all of their oil--again, all that oil flowing through the Persian Gulf, through the Strait of Hormuz. Why? Because we sided with our good friend and ally, Israel, in the Yom Kippur War. Because of that, we realized that we needed to develop American sources of energy and that we should not be dependent upon the Middle East for our oil, and we built the Trans Alaska pipeline, with all the hoopla and all the conflicts with the environmental groups. It finally came online in the mid-seventies. At the time before that, Alaska had the highest State income tax in the country--14.5 percent. Because of the Trans Alaska pipeline, Alaska now is the most tax-free State in America. With one pipeline, taxes go away. Here are the numbers: 2.1 million barrels a day were flowing through the pipeline in 1988. Today, 671,000 barrels a day are flowing through the pipeline. That's 17 percent of our U.S. domestic crude production. As you can see, though, there has been almost a 75 percent decrease in the oil that's flowing through the pipeline, and that is a huge problem because if the pipeline doesn't have a minimum amount of oil flowing through it in that extreme environment, in the extreme cold, it is going to crack and break. It will not be able to be used again. But there is a solution for that, too, and it's happening in the Energy and Commerce Committee with the leadership of my good friend from Colorado. I yield to him to talk about Shell Oil and the Chukchi Sea up there and all the reserves that we have available in that part of the country, offshore Alaska.

Mr. OLSON. So the Marcellus plate runs from Pennsylvania all of way down through West Virginia.

Mr. OLSON. If my friend could confirm this, but for almost 4 years now, Shell has spent almost $3.5 billion trying to get that permit to drill offshore, shallow water. As my colleague knows, they have a very limited opportunity to drill. It is a very tough environment, very cold. So they've waited. They've put in almost $4 billion just to get these permits done because they want to give American sources of energy to our country.

Mr. OLSON. Well, I thank my colleague for his leadership on this issue. The people of Colorado should be very proud. Leaders lead. My colleague from Colorado is a leader.

Mr. OLSON. I thank my colleague from New York for those comments. As you know, shale formations do not know State boundaries.