Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

Mr. PALLONE. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, it's been 100 days of the Republicans' no jobs agenda and they've chosen to devote time and energy to bills and resolutions that would defund the Affordable Care Act, eliminate mandatory support for preventive care, and abolish any and all Federal support for Planned Parenthood. House Republicans know that these measures won't be approved by the Senate and would never be signed by the President. It's just another political gesture at a time when we should be working to create jobs and promote economic recovery. The bill on the floor this week, H.R. 1217, would abolish the affordable care law's Prevention and Public Health Fund. This is a fund that prevents disease, that detects it early, and that helps manage conditions before they become severe. All empirical data, all experience and plain old common sense informs us that prevention and early treatment not only save lives, they also save money. In fact, the Prevention and Public Health Fund addresses one of the major deficiencies in our approach to health in America, and that's preventing illness before people get sick. The Republican assertion that mandatory funding, which I've heard over and over again today and also in the Health Subcommittee, that this is somehow mandatory funding and it's unprecedented, that's completely not true. Medicaid and Medicare are funded with mandatory support, and there are a lot of other programs within our committee's jurisdiction and in Congress in general that are funded through mandatory funding. I don't know how many times I'm going to come to the floor and hear about repealing the health care reform. I understand tomorrow there's going to be an enrolled bill that goes along with the CR that's going to defund the whole Affordable Care Act. Here today we're going to defund one piece, the prevention fund. Tomorrow we've got another enrollment resolution that defunds the whole bill. Again, another resolution tomorrow to defund Planned Parenthood. How many times are we going to keep voting on the same thing over and over and over again? Meanwhile, I don't see a single piece of legislation coming to this floor that addresses jobs or the economy. When I go home, people want to know what we're doing about the economy. They know that their health care reform has passed, that they're benefiting from it, that it's gradually unfolding before them. They don't want us to continue to debate the same thing over and over again. Repeal, defund, and no suggestion about what you would do to replace it either, by the way. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chairwoman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Chair, we are simply never going to bend the cost curve on health care or improve America's quality of life until we focus much more on disease prevention, and that's what this prevention fund is for. I always thought that both Democrats and Republicans wanted to keep people out of the hospital, off of disability, leading productive lives, and trying to prevent diseases before they occur. I never thought this was a partisan issue. Because we need to have a system of well care, not sick care, if we're really going to have success in saving money and bending the cost curve. So I don't understand why my Republican colleagues so many times in the committee would talk about prevention, but all of a sudden now they want to abolish the prevention fund. It just doesn't make any sense. Before the Affordable Care Act, prevention activities were chronically underfunded, accounting for only 2 to 4 percent of the national health care expenditure by some estimates. Considering that chronic diseases eat up an estimated 75 percent of our $2 trillion in annual health care spending, to spend an additional $2 billion for wellness and prevention is a wise investment. Since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, every State has benefited from the prevention and wellness fund. This year, over $750 million in grants were dispersed--building on a $500 million investment last year--and repealing this program would mean putting the brakes on investments that are already beginning to make a difference. In my home State of New Jersey, many of my constituents have benefited from over $15 million in prevention and public health grants, funding for such things as HIV prevention, tobacco cessation, mental health care, critical public health infrastructure improvements, as well as support for primary care training and workforce development. I could do the same, I have a sheet here--I'm not going to read it, but I have a similar sheet for Mr. Pitts and Dr. Burgess and others on the Republican side who specified these are the types of grants that are being made available in their States. I simply don't understand. There are 600 national, State, and local organizations supporting the fund as a primary vehicle for making public health investments that would create jobs and help lower long- term health care costs. The Energy and Commerce Committee and the Health Subcommittee have heard me many times say that we can never calculate the huge savings that come from prevention. We had the CBO in the other day and I said to the CBO, why don't you calculate prevention, because we would save trillions of dollars? Well, they don't do it. But the bottom line is we all know that prevention saves money. If you concentrate just on chronic diseases, this law helps move the Nation from a focus on sickness and disease to one based on wellness and prevention. And if you take away this critical new investment in prevention, it's going to be harmful to the health of Americans now and also in the future. Madam Chairwoman--and I will address this directly to my Republican colleagues--in the last few weeks, when we had hearings in the Health Subcommittee on the various measures that the Republicans wanted to defund--and I know they want to repeal the whole bill and I know they want to defund everything, and that's what they're going to try to do again tomorrow. I understand all that. I totally disagree with it, but I understand that they're against the Affordable Care Act. They want to defund it, they want to do whatever they can to get rid of it. But it just seems to me that to pick the one fund that deals with prevention is really the worst thing you could have done today because what we're trying to do with the Affordable Care Act--and what I've sought to do in everything that we've done in the subcommittee since I've been on it--is to really stress prevention because we can avoid people going to hospitals, we can avoid people going to nursing homes. They can lead a better quality of life and we save money. So I just think it is really unfortunate today that after so many years of a bipartisan effort to deal with prevention, to fund prevention issues, that this is the one fund that's actually picked on today to come to the floor. I think it's really a horrible thing that that is the case. So I would urge my colleagues to vote against this resolution because if you really believe in prevention, if you really believe that we can make a difference in making people well and preventing them from getting sick, then you should vote against this bill. Madam Chairwoman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. I listened to what the gentlewoman on the other side said, and I was really amazed because she was harking back to when we had a Democratic President, Bill Clinton, and a Republican Congress and how we worked together to accomplish certain goals. Well, that is exactly what is missing now. If you listen to what my colleague from Massachusetts said, he said once again the President is calling the Speaker, the Republican Speaker, and the Democratic majority leader in the Senate back to the White House to try to work something out. That's what is happening here. But it is the House Republicans and their leadership that refuse any kind of negotiation. They keep saying: Oh, yeah, they're going to work it out. But they don't. And they keep insisting on this draconian H.R. 1, this continuing resolution that really hurts Americans and kills jobs.

Mr. PALLONE. No, I will not yield at this time. So I say to the gentlewoman, yes, let's go back to those times. Let's have the Republicans here in the House work together with the President and with Senator Reid on the other side. Now, you said before that this CR that is up now would prevent a government shutdown. Just the opposite is true. It is a step backward. It is going to lead directly toward a government shutdown because Republican leadership knows that this bill will not pass the Senate. It doesn't have any cuts in defense. It actually says we will keep the level of funding for defense until the end of the year. Well, aren't defense cuts on the table? And it continues with this ideological battle. There is actually abortion language in this CR, is my understanding. And the gentlewoman actually said: Well, that is an issue here that we need to resolve, that we should deal with. Well, no, that is not the case because if you continue on this path, no defense cuts, bring up abortion, this bill will certainly not pass the Senate, the President will not sign it, and so we are just simply wasting our time. What is happening here is the Republicans are ignoring the fact that there are Democrats in the majority in the Senate and there is a Democratic President. You can't have it my way or the highway, and that's what we have been hearing for the last 3 months: my way or the highway. Now, I just want to mention another thing. I was glad that the gentlewoman brought up the budget, which is to follow, because we know that this bad CR, or spending bill, that we are dealing with now, is a precursor to an even worse budget bill that the Republicans have proposed. And I want to tell you, you talked about a previous error. The problem with the Republican budget, there are so many, but the biggest problem is it is going to put an end to Medicare. I was here when Speaker Gingrich became Speaker, and he said he wanted Medicare to wither on the vine. And that is what the Republican budget will do. It will end Medicare as we know it because there will be no guarantee. Seniors will go back to the old days when they had to try to find their own private health insurance, and maybe the government will give them some help with it. But for the most part, they won't be able to find health insurance. So there won't be Medicare; they won't be able to get health insurance. And what are they going to do? They're going to be out on the street; they're going to end up in the emergency room again, which is what happened with the elderly before we passed Medicare. The gentlewoman went on to say that she's going to reform Medicaid. Well, she's reforming Medicaid by basically giving a block grant to the States. And what does that mean? The States won't have enough money to pay for seniors' nursing home care. So nursing homes will close or they won't provide quality services. We'll see seniors getting bedsores again, if they can even find a nursing home. So essentially we're also going to end Medicaid. Sixty-five percent of Medicaid goes towards seniors and the disabled. You look at this Republican budget, and this is just a precursor to what we're going to see next week: It will end Medicare as we know it by eliminating its guaranteed coverage. It slashes Medicaid for seniors in nursing homes, health care for children, and Americans with disabilities. It increases the cost of a college education for close to 10 million middle class students. It gives away billions in subsidies and tax breaks to Big Oil.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Thank you, my colleague. I mentioned, Mr. Speaker, that former Governor Corzine, who worked with John Adler for many years on judicial and law enforcement issues while Adler served in the State senate as chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Corzine, of course, was the Governor at the time, he asked that I read this statement on the passing of Congressman John Adler: ``Congressman John Adler was a dedicated public servant whose wit, intelligence, and drive enriched the public debate in both the New Jersey statehouse and in our Nation's capital. For nearly half his life, Congressman Adler committed himself to the truly noble idea that our government and our great country can be a force for good in the lives of so many citizens. ``Today, we owe a debt of gratitude to Shelley Adler for sharing John with countless New Jerseyans who, whether they know it or not, are better off because of her loving and generous husband. ``John's true legacy, however, as Shelley would certainly attest, is found in four wonderful boys who will undoubtedly enrich their communities with the same spirit of compassion and commitment to the greater good found in their father. ``While we mourn John's passing, may we also celebrate him by remembering that our own lives are defined by those moments when we decide to stop and help someone else.'' Those are the comments by former Governor Corzine. Mr. Speaker, I know that Congressman Holt before mentioned some of the statements that were made by friends and relatives at John Adler's funeral this afternoon in Cherry Hill. I did want to, if I could, just take a couple of excerpts here, as I know we only have a few minutes left, that I would like to enter into the Record, some parts of the narrative of the funeral that are mentioned in PolitickerNewJersey.com. It starts out by saying: They came Wednesday to honor the memory of John Adler, a New Jersey exemplar, a self-made man of Horatio Alger levels, a man of law, a family man, and a man of the people. Rabbi Jerome David said, ``John died--too soon, too young--after a 3- week battle in the hospital surrounded by his family, surrounded by a very dedicated circle of friends. But he died knowing he used his intelligence and skills to help people--to really make a difference.'' Another rabbi spoke of his humble leadership, reading a passage in Hebrew and translating to English: ``It is not the position that honors the man; rather it is the man who has honored the position. He saw himself as a public servant in the best sense.'' The rabbi recalled a particular moment that exemplified John's joie de vivre, when the Harvard-schooled pol would exit a stage--ignoring completely the half- stack of steps attached to the side--and he would bound off the front onto the people's floor. Two of his sons spoke at the funeral. The eldest, Andrew, emotionally recalled how much his father would get from doing the mundane family things, like attending soccer games, yelling some absurdity onto the field at tense moments. ``I will always miss him,'' his son said. ``But I know he was always proud of the ones he loved.'' Lastly, Mr. Speaker, the rabbi concluded the ceremony with a poem that ends: Perhaps my time seemed all too brief Don't lengthen it now with undue grief Lift up your hearts and share with me God wanted me now, he set me free. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Thank you, Mr. Speaker; and I want to continue making this tribute and joining my colleagues, Congressman Lance and Congressman Holt, in this tribute this evening to John Adler, a good friend and one of our colleagues. I don't want to repeat some of the things that my colleagues have already said, but I would like to talk a little bit about some instances of my own life that also involved John. I think Mr. Lance mentioned how difficult his political life was in the sense that he was always running in areas that were primarily or historically Republican. When he was elected to the State senate back in the early 1990s, he won in an upset against an incumbent. Of course, when he ran for the congressional seat which adjoins mine in the south in Ocean County, he was very much running against the odds. That seat had been held by Congressman Saxton, who was also a good friend for many years, and was Republican as far back as anyone can remember. And he still won. I think he won by 51 or 52 percent of the vote. He just always faced challenges like that. It was mentioned when he was growing up that his father died also of a heart condition at a young age, I think 47 years old; and I don't even know if John was in high school at that time. He would often talk on the campaign trail about growing up and having to depend on Social Security benefits, and he was able to relate to people because of his upbringing, those who were struggling and those who had a hard time because maybe they had lost a father or didn't have a parent or grew up in circumstances where they didn't have much money. I think that the energy and the willingness to always take on the fight very much characterized John. As was mentioned, he really was one of the smartest people that I have ever met. I remember on another occasion when we were at a campaign event and I was introducing him, and I mentioned he graduated undergraduate from Harvard University and then went on to Harvard law school and how impressed I was with that. After the event was over, he came up to me and said, Frank, don't mention I went to Harvard; I have to be humble. And that certainly doesn't indicate any kind of humility if you mention Harvard. Not that he wasn't proud of it, he certainly was, and he had reason to be. But he always wanted to relate to the average person, to the middle class person, to the little guy because that was his upbringing. That is what he was really all about. That is why he wanted to come to Congress. As Mr. Lance mentioned, anybody who graduates from Harvard undergraduate and law school could easily spend the rest of their life making money and doing well financially, but he decided he wanted to go into politics. He wanted to help people. And even if it meant he had to run in a district and work hard and raise a lot of money to campaign in order to win, he was determined to do that because he really believed that that is what life is all about, giving back, giving to the public, giving back to his country. I want to just mention a couple of other things that I thought were kind of interesting. John would always talk about his family. I don't know how long it takes to go back and forth to where he lived in Cherry Hill exactly, probably a couple of hours, maybe a little more, but he was always determined to go back and forth as much as possible. Even when he was here, in order to make sure that he was able to help his family and not spend a lot of money, he would spend the night in his office because he wanted to make sure that he had enough money to pay for his family. He always talked about his kids; he talked about their education. He was so proud of the fact of where they were going to college and talked to me many times about them and their education and wanted to go back home so he could go to an athletic event with them or just be with them and his wife, Shelley. The one thing that everyone comments about is not only John's humility but also his sense of humor. I have to tell you that many times I would come to the floor and sometimes I always remember him over in that set of chairs or standing up in that part of the House floor. I would always come up to him and ask him if he wanted to do a 1-minute Special Order or if he wanted to do this or that. I was always nagging him to do different things. And sometimes he would do, and sometimes he wouldn't; but he would always tell a joke. He always would make me laugh. I have to be honest that oftentimes after a long day here in the House of Representatives, that's really what you need. You need someone to tell a joke or to make you laugh with his wit, with his sense of humor. It was a very special thing. I'm not sure that I can really describe it well. Also, on the campaign trail, Jon Runyan, his successor in Congress, was here speaking the other night. You couldn't help when you saw John Adler and Jon Runyan together, Jon is this huge guy, a football player, big, tall, and, of course, John Adler was so slight. He always exercised. I don't even know how much he weighed, but he was very slight. The contrast between them was sort of interesting. John would always poke fun at that as well, the fact that he was a slight guy and that Jon Runyan was such a big guy as a football player. I heard Mr. Lance talk about Ocean County and John representing Ocean County. I can't help but mention one aspect of that, and that is the fact that when he first was running in Ocean County, because I used to represent it at one time, he would remark to me about how beautiful it was, how wonderful the beaches were, and he was very concerned to preserve the quality of the beaches, the quality of the ocean, and also protect the industries that used them, particularly the fishing industry. There was an organization called the Recreational Fishing Alliance that was very supportive of John because he was very concerned about the fishing industry. It was historically part of Ocean County and part of New Jersey going back to even Colonial times, and that he felt he had a special role to play in trying to protect the industry. They appreciated it. Fishermen, maybe unlike some people, they can kind of see whether you're really on their side and whether you really are truly supportive of them and understand their concerns. They understood that John did, and they really appreciated all the help that he gave them. I know our time is running out. I did want to first recognize my colleague, Mr. Pascrell, and then after that, I wanted to read a statement from former Governor Jon Corzine into the record because he had asked that I do that this evening. At this point I would yield to my colleague from New Jersey.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I can't believe that John Adler's life was cut so short. I really want to reach out to Shelley, his children, and his friends. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Adler family. John was a friend, my wife was a friend with his wife, and my daughter was a friend of one of his sons. It is amazing to me that he was able to accomplish so much in the short time that he was here. He grew up in real adversity. He was really kind of a person--I wouldn't say rags to riches, but I would say someone who had a very hard life growing up and at a young age was very successful, went to Harvard undergraduate, Harvard Law School, became a successful attorney, and then became a member of the State Senate for many years and chairman of the State Senate Judiciary Committee before he was elected to Congress. But beyond that, he also had a great sense of humor. I think many of us know many times when we were on the floor and you would go up and ask him about something, and he would tell you a joke or make fun of something. That was another aspect of him that I could certainly never forget. He decided at a young age that he was going to make a life in government. He could have done so many things, made a lot of money, but instead decided to devote his life to politics. My heart goes out to him. I want to remember him as an admirable example for so many of us.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I know it's April Fool's Day, but I still am amazed by the jokes or the myths that are being relayed by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. And I like my colleague from Georgia, but I just want to say three things. First of all, I heard the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) get up and say that the Republican policies with this CR were creating jobs. And he cited the fact that the unemployment numbers went down from 8.9 to 8.8 in March. If anyone thinks that by passing 2- or 3-week CRs that you're going to create jobs and somehow improve the economy and lower the unemployment rate, you know, I've got a bridge to sell you. The fact of the matter is that every economist is telling us that this Republican CR kills jobs. Economic Policy Institute shows that the Republican CR would destroy more than 800,000 jobs. And I could go through the list. So the myth that they are creating jobs and helping the economy with this is simply not true. The second thing is, the gentleman keeps talking about Congress not getting paid if there is a shutdown. Well, S. 388, to stop Member pay during a shutdown, passed the Senate unanimously over 1 month ago with Republican leader Mitch McConnell's support. It has been sitting right here at the House desk because the Republican leadership refuses to take it up. That bill could become law today if they wanted to bring it up. Simply bring it up. Don't mask what you are doing with the CR by talking about Members getting paid. You can bring that bill up at any time. Now, the third myth is this idea that the Republicans are not preventing a government shutdown. They are the ones that are preventing the government shutdown because they refuse to compromise. There are negotiations going on with the Senate, but it is the tea party and the right wing of the Republican Party that keeps insisting that ``it is my way or the highway.'' Pass H.R. 1, pass their CR, or do nothing. Yesterday was a rally on the Mall. What did the tea party cry out? They said cut it or shut it. Either go along with my bill, or shut the government down. So don't say you are trying to prevent a government shutdown. You are doing just the opposite. Let's not continue with all these myths today, April Fool's Day.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on what my friend from Massachusetts said when he was talking about the cuts in H.R. 1 to research and development. We find in New Jersey, which is the third- largest State in the country for health care research and development, that every time the Federal Government spends a dollar, it creates five or six or seven private sector jobs. See, that's the problem here. The Republicans are not focusing on the issue, which is job creation. The problem with their continuing resolution--the long-term one that they adopted and they say that we should just pass in the Senate and send to the President--is that it actually destroys jobs. If you listen to the things that are actually being cut, these are the things that deal with investments in the future. R&D, research and development, infrastructure that allows commerce and allows us to fix our roads and provide for mass transit and fix our ports. The gentleman from Massachusetts mentioned Peter King from New York, who actually criticized H.R. 1 because he said that it really hurts port security. Well, how are we going to trade? How are we going to export products if we don't deepen our ports, if we don't provide for safe ports? And the same thing is true with education. H.R. 1 basically cuts back on education, on Pell Grants for students to go to college. All the investments that make sense because they actually create jobs are going to be eliminated with H.R. 1, with this Republican resolution. I mean, it is extremely shortsighted. I feel like I was here 2 weeks ago with the same people, my colleague from Georgia on the Republican side. We just can't continue to go 2 weeks, 3 weeks at a time. You are actually going to go out of session and have a vacation or a break next week. Well, if you are really serious about this--because we know that the Senate basically couldn't get cloture on H.R. 1--why don't you, instead of going home next week, just spend the time here trying to work out something responsibly with the Senate so we can keep the government going? I mean, that's what we need to do. We need a consensus. You have one point of view on the Republican side. The Democrats have another point of view. We have a Democratic President. We are never going to get through this budget year unless we actually sit down and have some consensus and some compromise. What I hear my colleague from Georgia saying is, Take it or leave it. We voted on H.R. 1. That's our Republican bill. It has all of the cuts. The Democrats don't like it because we believe strongly it is going to kill jobs. But you say, Take it or leave it. It can't operate that way. I don't believe that our constituents in November expected us to just come down here and say, Take it or leave it. They want us to go to work. They don't want us to take next week off. They want us to create jobs. And right now, the uncertainty with these 2- or 3-week short-term spending bills is creating a lot of havoc. I think eventually it's going to create havoc on the financial markets. It is already creating havoc within the Federal agencies because they don't know whether they are going to be operating from one week to the next. It's not good for the country. It's not good for the economy. You may disagree, but we need to work together.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Edward Johnson for his outstanding service as Director of the Brookdale Community College Long Branch Higher Education Center and Mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey. I would like to congratulate him for receiving the Louis G. Libutti Community Service Award presented on behalf of the Long Branch Chamber of Commerce. Ed Johnson was first appointed to fill a vacancy on the Asbury Park City Council in January 2005. He was later elected to a four-year term in May 2005 and re-elected to serve a second term. Mr. Johnson held this position until 2009 when he was sworn in as Mayor of the City of Asbury Park. Mayor Johnson admirably serves on several key committees and subcommittees including the Springwood Avenue Advisory Committee, Transportation Center Subcommittee, Neighborhood Preservation Program, Urban Enterprise Zone, Tax Subcommittee, Asbury Works and the Parking Advisory Subcommittee. Prior to joining the City Council, Mayor Johnson served four consecutive terms as Chairman of the Asbury Park Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ). He is credited with the transformation of the Asbury Park UEZ into a productive organization ready to meet its program obligations and local commitment to strengthen and grow the Asbury Park business community. Mayor Johnson currently serves as the Director of the Brookdale Community College Long Branch Higher Education Center. He has been committed to promoting quality, affordable education and workforce development opportunities in Monmouth County. Mayor Johnson has also established a successful career as an educator. In addition to establishing a successful career as an educator, he has worked in the fields of Experiential Education, International Exchange, Scholarship and Academic Programs and Higher Education. Mayor Johnson continues to support and promote open access in education and building cross- cultural communication and diversity awareness through leadership development. He is highly commended for his continued service on behalf of the residents of Monmouth County. Mr. Speaker, once again I would like to extend my congratulations to Mayor Ed Johnson for his exceptional contributions to the residents of my district and congratulate him for the honor he received from the Greater Long Branch Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Nancy Mazza for her immeasurable contributions as a leader and corporate executive in the field of retail banking. Nancy has been valuable to my district and an asset to local communities. On March 11, 2011, Ms. Mazza will be recognized by the Greater Long Branch Chamber of Commerce during their 77th Annual Business Awards Dinner with the Lois G. Libutti Community Service Award. Today, I applaud Ms. Mazza, as her achievements should serve as an inspiration to us all. Nancy Mazza began her career at Shadow Lawn Savings Bank as a teller. As a result of her hard work and dedication, Ms. Mazza was promoted to Branch Manager in 1984. Her responsibilities included overseeing eight branches throughout Monmouth County. In 1994 Ms. Mazza acquired the responsibilities of Senior Vice President and Senior District Executive for Sovereign Bank. She was accountable for overall sales, operations, performance management, facilities and district performance in Monmouth County. She currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Retail Banking at Colonial American Bank. Nancy Mazza is a valued member of the community. Ms. Mazza honorably serves as past-chair of the Ronald McDonald House in Long Branch and New Brunswick. She continues to remain an active member of the board. Ms. Mazza is also a committee member for United Way, Monmouth Park Charities, the March of Dimes, Michael's Feat, Jason's Dream for Kids, Tinton Falls C.U.R.E. and Toys for Tots. Nancy is an alumna of Rutgers University and earned a degree in Journalism and Communications. She is a forty-year resident of Monmouth County and currently lives in Little Silver with her husband Dominick and their three children, DJ, Joseph and Kristyn. Mr. Speaker, once again I would like to thank Nancy Mazza for her outstanding contributions to the constituents of my district and congratulate her for the honors she has received from the Greater Long Branch Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. I now yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I again ask for support of the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. I urge support of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 570, the Dental Emergency Responder Act of 2011. This is a bill that we passed on the House floor last fall with strong bipartisan support. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to include dentists in the National Health Security Strategy, which is the strategy HHS develops to respond to a public health emergency. The bill also expands health and medical response training programs to include dental facilities. The bill will also amend the Homeland Security Act to include dental personnel in the definition of ``emergency response providers'' and will amend the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to require Federal response plans to include dental resources. This bill will help shore up the Nation's preparedness for disasters, including natural disasters like hurricanes and manmade disasters like a terrorist attack. I want to thank Representative Burgess and Representative Towns for their outstanding work on this issue and also acknowledge the advocacy of our former colleague Representative Stupak, who worked so hard on this bill in the last Congress. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. I would certainly urge support for this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, as I have no further requests for time, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 525, the Veterinary Public Health Amendments Act of 2011. This is an important, bipartisan bill that we passed on the floor in the last Congress. Veterinary medicine is an important component of our human public health system. From H1N1, to SARS, to food safety, public health veterinarians are critical to our protection of human health. This bill would ensure that veterinary public health professionals are eligible for two important public health workforce programs, but only to the extent that the work of these veterinarians has an impact on human health. I want to commend Representative Baldwin for her leadership on this legislation. She has been working on this for a long time, and I was pleased to work with her. I also want to thank Chairman Pitts, Chairman Upton, and Representative Shimkus for their support; and I urge my colleagues to support this important bill. I now yield 3 minutes to the sponsor of the legislation, the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin).

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mayor James Phillips and Mrs. Janet Phillips for their immeasurable contributions to their community and the subsequent honor they have received from the Community YMCA. The Phillips are valuable members of my district and assets to their communities. I would like to congratulate them on being one of the impressive honorees at the Community YMCA Gala. Mayor James Phillips has admirably served as the Mayor of Old Bridge for the past 8 years. He also serves as Middlesex County Treasurer. Prior to his tenure as Mayor, Mr. Phillips previously served as New Jersey State Senator, Commissioner on the Old Bridge Board of Fire Commissioners, Old Bridge Municipal Authority, Middlesex County Economic Development Commission, and the Old Bridge Township Housing and Development Agency. Mayor Phillips has fervently worked with Middlesex County and Old Bridge Township to create the Middlesex County Old Bridge Waterfront Park and the John A. Phillips Open Space Preserve. James is also the founder of ``Yes for Open Space,'' a non- profit organization that successfully aided the passage of the Middlesex County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Referendum. Janet Phillips is a valued and dedicated member of the community. Mrs. Phillips is a Registered Nurse and serves as the Nurse Auditor for Managed Recourses, Inc. She touts many impressive years of clinical, auditing, performance improvement and managed care experience. Mrs. Phillips currently serves as secretary of the Kiwanis Club of Old Bridge and also serves as a member of the Raritan Bay Medical Center. Mrs. Phillips' community activities also include her participation as Chairwoman of the Old Bridge Township Recreation Committee and a Eucharistic Minister for the Most Holy Redeemer Church. Mrs. Phillips is highly commended for her service with the Old Bridge YMCA Steering and Fundraising Committee. Mayor Phillips and Mrs. Phillips are strong believers in teamwork. Together, their mission is to unite their neighborhood by providing community service to strengthen families, develop leadership within the community's youth and to build international understanding. These actions have been demonstrated in part through their continued work with the Community YMCA. The Phillips family continues to demonstrate their strong support of youth, family values and community growth through their extra-curricular endeavors. They are admirable leaders in the community and are determined to make a difference. The Phillips family's unending generosity and charitable activities have undoubtedly touched many lives and have helped countless people throughout Central New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would once more like to thank Mayor and Mrs. Phillips for their immeasurable contributions to my district and their communities and to again congratulate them for the honors they have received from the Community YMCA at this year's Gala.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the amendment offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Markey. This amendment would strike a strange provision in law that allows for royalty-free production for certain offshore drilling leases. I have introduced legislation, the No New Drilling Act of 2011, which would stop the Interior Department from pursuing any new exploration, development or production of oil, gas or any other mineral anywhere off America's coasts. The fact remains that opening up new drilling for fossil fuel development is unnecessary, poses a serious threat to our shores, and is the wrong approach. If oil companies are going to drill in our waters, at the very least they should be required to pay royalties to the federal government on the profits they make at the expense of our environment. We have seen the environmental catastrophe that can occur, most notably with the BP oil spill last year. I don't support issuing any new leases for offshore drilling in areas not currently leased. I support this amendment so that we can hold these companies financially accountable for the benefits they are reaping from our coastal environment. I urge all of my colleagues to vote aye.