Tom Petri

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of stories we could tell about the Jim Oberstar, and I think it is probably not fully appropriate to do that at this time but just to say that he was a self- made person, he had great intellectual abilities, and he used them well on behalf of his constituents, his State, and our country. He had an ability, I think, to work very well with people with whom he would disagree on some issues. He was a man of faith and believed that, at the end of the day, we are all sinners, we couldn't expect perfection. There is going to be a certain disagreement there, but, at the other hand, there are some redeeming qualities in us human beings too, and let's look for those and work with others. Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank my colleagues for bringing this legislation forward. I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4926) to designate the ``James L. Oberstar Memorial Highway'' and the ``James L. Oberstar National Scenic Byway'' in the State of Minnesota, as amended.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4926. This bill designates the segment of Interstate Route 35 between mile post 133 at Forest Lake, Minnesota, and mile post 259 at Duluth, Minnesota, as the James L. Oberstar Memorial Highway. This is a small but well-deserved and fitting tribute to a former colleague, a leader for many years, first on the staff of the Transportation Committee in the House of Representatives, where he was an aide, and then later succeeded his predecessor in the House of Representatives, the Honorable John Blatnik, who represented the Iron Range for many years, and I think who also has a bridge and some other important locations named after him, and then of course who served on the Transportation Committee as an active member, chairman of many of its subcommittees and, ultimately, chairman of the full committee for many, many years. I got to know Jim Oberstar personally, and we were competitors on a lot of issues, but we were also very much friends. He was a person with strong family values and a great sense of obligation to the working people of the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. His father had worked on the mines, one of many who came over from what is now Yugoslavia to work in northern Minnesota, creating enormous wealth for our country, helping to build the steel industry, and arm our Nation and also build the railroads, materials and all the rest, and who shared in that, but only modestly, compared with many, many others. He was a very interesting man with many, many sterling qualities, a natural linguist. I have been at meetings with Jim Oberstar where the French Ambassador would say, ``Now, where did you learn French? You must have lived in France.'' ``It was at the University of Minnesota,'' that is where he learned French. He also became a very good speaker of the dialect that people speak down in Haiti. He knew three or four other languages. He had a natural facility for languages. Jim also had a great interest in transportation policy and in history, and I think, as someone said at his memorial service, he felt everyone that he talked with shared the great love he had for all the details and history and facts of different situations, but he was wrong, but if you were interested, it was fascinating to spend time with Jim Oberstar. He loved the outdoors. He fought to make sure that the lakes and rivers of northern Minnesota and the Boundary Waters and so on were, to the extent possible, properly managed for the environment, but also available for the working people of that area for their recreation and all the rest, rather than just a few. He was an example for many of us who served in this House of dedication and putting country and his citizens before self, and he liked to have fun. I had many opportunities to share his love for the outdoors on bicycle trips and other occasions. He was kind enough to come to my district on a number of occasions to help encourage support for different facilities in our area. He was always a real gentleman, so far as I was concerned in dealing with him, and an example of people who serve in this House from varying backgrounds who have definite and strong feelings, but also who try to make sure that, at the end of the day, they work with people with whom they disagree in order to accomplish something good for our country, and so Jim is sorely missed. This is a small but fitting memorial for him, and I am sure that he and his wife, Jean, appreciate the fact that the Congress is taking this action today. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill before us, H.R. 4926.

Mr. PETRI

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

Mr. PETRI. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 579 designates the United States courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse. Mr. Brown was a civil rights lawyer who worked against racial discrimination and was credited in the 1950s with filing the first civil rights lawsuit in the State of Mississippi. A native of Oklahoma, Mr. Brown attended Illinois State University, Indiana University, and the Texas Southern University Law School. In the 1960s, he was one of only four African American lawyers in the State of Mississippi and one of three who took civil rights cases. In 1962, he worked on behalf of James Meredith, whose successful lawsuit allowed him to be the first African American student to enroll at Ole Miss. Later, Mr. Brown worked to fight against discrimination in transportation and other public accommodations. Given his dedication to the law and his work in civil rights, it is appropriate to name this courthouse after him. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 579.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 579) to designate the United States courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.''

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation before us. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5146 designates the United States courthouse located at 700 Grant Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the Joseph F. Weis Jr. United States Courthouse. Joseph F. Weis, Jr., served as a Federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals on the Third Circuit from 1973 until assuming senior status in 1988, and he served in that capacity until his death earlier this year in 2014. Prior to his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Judge Weis was appointed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment to the Federal bench, he served as a judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County and was in the private practice of law. Judge Weis also served as a captain in the United States Army during the Second World War and is interred in Arlington National Cemetery. Given Judge Weis' service and dedication to the law, it is fitting to name this courthouse after him. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill before us, H.R. 5146.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5146) to designate the United States courthouse located as 700 Grant Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the ``Joseph F. Weis Jr. United States Courthouse''.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, today, along with Representative Sensenbrenner and Representative Duffy, I am introducing common sense legislation that would provide flexibility for train crews to remain on duty past their maximum hours of service, when feasible to the extent necessary, in order to clear a blockage of vehicular traffic at grade crossings. My district and the state of Wisconsin have seen a surge in traffic on our rail lines. This is great, but it has also caused a logjam of trains waiting on rail lines and blocking crossings, sometimes for hours on end. It was reported that last week near the small community of Byron in my district, a train blocked a state highway for five hours and could not move the fifty feet to clear the crossing because the crew had reached its maximum hours of service. A new crew was required before the train could be moved. I recognize that the rail system is very complex and there are many factors that go into trains being held and crossings being blocked. But I still struggle with the fact that motorists, including emergency services, were forced to wait five hours for a train to move fifty feet. Part of the benefit in moving goods by rail is to relieve congestion on the roads, not increase it. The goal of this legislation is to provide a common sense solution to scenarios such as the instance in Byron. While I realize these are the waning days of the 113th Congress, I hope that by at least introducing this legislation now, it will continue a discussion here in Congress and with the rail industry and rail labor on this common sense solution.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize the many contributions of Mr. Tom Howells, who retired last month after serving 35 years as the President of the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association (WMCA). All of us in the Wisconsin delegation know Tom well from events around our state and here in the nation's capital, including the annual Washington visit of WMCA members. We know Tom to be a man of great integrity and character. He has provided outstanding leadership over these past decades, with dedication, ingenuity and enthusiasm. Above all, Tom is simply a nice guy. Under Tom's leadership, the WMCA established the first state trucking association ``Road Team'' in order to recognize safe truck drivers and promote highway safety. Similarly, he was involved in the creation of the President's Safe Driver Club in 1996 to recognize professional drivers with exemplary safety records employed by WMCA member companies. Eighteen years later, the club currently has over 1,350 drivers. In 2004, Tom Howells was presented the Frank W. Babbitt Award for outstanding service to the local trucking industry, the association and the local community. Three years later in 2007, he was recognized by his peers and the American Trucking Associations when he was awarded the prestigious J. J. Keller President's Award. Tom was elected to serve as the National Chairman of the Trucking Association Executives Council from 1992-1993 and as the Chairman of the Wisconsin Highway Users Alliance from 2003-2013. Tom Howells has been an institution in Madison and in the State of Wisconsin. He has provided stable and steady leadership in so many areas, and particularly in the area of highway safety. I will miss seeing him in his role as President of the WMCA, but I wish Tom and Muriel well in retirement and congratulate him for a job well done.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 3896, a bill that would provide an important technical fix to the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to ensure that workers in the recreational repair industry have access to affordable workers' compensation insurance. In 2009, Congress expanded an exception for the recreational repair industry that allowed workers in that industry to purchase less expensive state workers compensation insurance. However, in issuing regulations for this expanded exception, the Department of Labor modified the definition of a recreational vessel in a way that actually narrowed the exception's scope. The complexity of this new definition has led insurance underwriters to stop issuing workers compensation policies for repair workers, leading many workers to go without coverage entirely. H.R. 3896 would enact a definition of recreational vessel that more accurately reflects the intent of Congress. The bill is supported by the recreational marine and marine insurance industries and has the support of both the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. I want to thank Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Chairman Kline, and Chairman Walberg for their support and work on this bill, as well as the committee staff who worked diligently to see it through the process. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, the debate we are having today is not really about the future of the highway trust fund. Unfortunately, today is about doing what Congress does too often--kicking the can down the road, avoiding one crisis while setting up another. I recognize that more time is often needed to craft a more robust bipartisan solution, the result of which is often well worth the delay, but, Mr. Speaker, we must come to our senses. We must realize that another short-term patch is not really what our State governments are calling for; this is not really what the American Trucking Association or the Chamber of Commerce is calling for; and this is not what the American people sent us here to accomplish. For close to 50 years, the highway trust fund was self-sustaining. Those who used the roads paid for the roads. But we have been stalled in the 20th century. The fuel tax, which traditionally paid for highway improvements, hasn't been changed since 1993, while construction costs have grown more expensive, cars have become more fuel efficient or run on alternative fuels, and infrastructure needs have continued to rise. In the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, we have had hearing after hearing where State transportation officials, mayors, Governors, truckers, transit operators, economists, and experts in transportation policy have testified with unwavering support for a long-term, fully funded surface transportation bill. That should be our goal. But at the end of the day, we can't let the quest for the perfect stand in the way of the good or the acceptable. In this case, we have an obligation to keep our highway projects going, our transportation moving, and our economy growing. Since this is the only option we have today, this is what we will do. We need to stop the patches and budget gimmicks and come up with a viable, real solution on how we fund the trust fund. History shows that it is hard to do before an election. Perhaps it will be easy to do after that. So I ask my colleagues to consider this question: Which is the more responsible path, more budget gimmicks or raising revenue to actually pay for needed spending?

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy), my well-respected colleague and the voice of northern Wisconsin.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of S. 2086, the Reliable Home Heating Act, which helps States better prepare and respond to regional supply disruptions or shortages of propane and other home heating fuels. The winter of 2013 and 2014 included extreme weather events that led to increased demand for propane, which is used for heating in approximately 12 million U.S. homes, and for other home heating fuels. The extreme weather conditions threatened the lives and livelihood of those with homes, farms, and businesses that depend on heat from propane and other home heating fuels. S. 2086 gives the Governor of a State the authority to extend regulatory exemptions during a state of emergency for two additional 30-day periods, for a total of 90 days, without action from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The bill requires the Energy Information Administration to provide early warnings to Governors if the inventory of residential heating fuel falls below the most recent 5-year average for more than 3 consecutive weeks. The bill also requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study on the safety impacts of extending the regulatory exemptions. On March 21, 2014, the President signed H.R. 4076, the HHEATT Act of 2014 introduced by Chairman Bill Shuster. It provided immediate relief to States impacted by the extreme weather from some Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations until May 31 of this year. S. 2086 provides States the tools needed to address shortages of propane and other home heating fuels during future extreme weather events. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Senator Thune and Senator Klobuchar and is supported by the National Propane Gas Association, the New England Fuel Institute, the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association, the Nebraska Petroleum Marketers Association, and the Petroleum Marketers Association of America. I urge all my colleagues to support S. 2086, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill before us.

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2086) to address current emergency shortages of propane and other home heating fuels and to provide greater flexibility and information for Governors to address such emergencies in the future.

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2014, due to delayed transportation to Washington, I was unable to vote on rollcall 313, final passage of H.R. 3375, to designate the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be constructed at 3141 Centennial Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado, as the ``PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic,'' and rollcall 314, final passage of H.R. 1671, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6937 Village Parkway in Dublin, California, as the ``James `Jim' Kohnen Post Office.'' Had I been present, I intended to vote ``yes.''

Mr. PETRI

Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress rely a great deal on our staff for policy advice, research, interacting with constituents, and all of the other tasks that allow us to serve our districts. Today, I would like to take a moment to recognize one member of my staff who has been the backbone of my office for over 35 years. Linda Towse started in my office on June 7, 1979, less than 2 months after I was elected. Last week marked her 35th anniversary in our office. Before that, Linda worked with Senator Edward Brooke from Massachusetts. All told, Linda has been a congressional staffer for 42 years. Always patient, always thoughtful, always thorough, Linda is what every Member wants in a staffer. She has helped countless Sixth District residents resolve issues with Federal agencies. Hundreds of young people will remember Linda for her work coordinating their internship in my office or working with them while overseeing my service academy commission. Birthdays are always remembered and celebrated thanks to her, and fellow staff rely on her years of wisdom and experience for learning the ropes and succeeding in their jobs. She is our office historian and somehow locates any specific piece of paper when needed from the stack of papers on her desk. We see staffers come and go, but it is rare to have one as dedicated as Linda and one who has served the Congress for over 40 years. Thank you, Linda, for your service to the Sixth District of Wisconsin over these many years.