Nick Rahall

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. I yield the gentleman 2 additional minutes.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise before you today to honor a great West Virginian, Sharon Walden who will be inducted into the West Virginia Affordable Housing Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 7th, 2009. Her lifelong commitment to affordable housing, coupled with her tremendous career of leadership, has forever changed the McDowell county community where she was raised and where she continues to make her home. Sharon's leadership has led to housing and safety for many domestic violence victims, homeless women and their children in West Virginia. Since 1990, she has served as the Executive Director of Stop Abusive Family Environments, Inc. (SAFE). Under her leadership, SAFE went from a small Domestic Violence program with two employees to the first transitional housing facility in my home state of West Virginia that serves victims of domestic violence. Sharon has truly battled Goliath as David did in 1 Samuel Chapter 17. She worked tirelessly to raise over two million dollars in grants and forgivable loans in order to renovate a former school building into SAFE's facility. Her perseverance to improve her community did not end there. Next, she established the SAFE permanent housing program which would help first-time, low-income homebuyers in her county. Since then, SAFE has completed 40 rental townhouses with a community center that has been noted as the best rental housing in all of McDowell county. Under Sharon's leadership, SAFE has formed a non-profit section called SAFE Housing and Economic Development (SHED) which focuses on permanent housing development. In these times of economic uncertainty, when becoming a homeowner can seem like an impossible dream, SHED has helped more than 35 community members reach that goal and become first time homeowners. Sharon's community work doesn't stop with helping those in need of housing. She helps further economic development as the Executive Director of Travel Beautiful Appalachia. Linking tourism from the rail system to local entrepreneurs, she helps spread local West Virginia treasures across the country. Sharon's lifetime commitment to helping her neighbors has made a permanent impression on West Virginia. I bring her extraordinary efforts to the attention of the U.S. Congress and urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Sharon Walden, a hero to her community and the countless families she has helped.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise before you today to honor a great West Virginian, Melvin Goins. Like Jimmy Stewart's character in ``It's a Wonderful Life,'' this Friday, surrounded by friends and family and the love and admiration of his community, Melvin Goins will be the richest man in Bramwell--a town noted for the millionaire coal barons who called it home at the turn of the 20th Century. A phenomenally talented bluegrass musician, Melvin Goins has spent a lifetime making music and gaining fame throughout all of bluegrass country. His photo once graced the cover of Smithsonian Magazine. He was named an ``Appalachian Treasure'' by Morehead State University in 2000, and he was inducted into the ``Bluegrass Hall of Fame.'' But I suspect that the recognition by his hometown of a local boy done well is, to him, the most sublime of all possible honors. As a youngster, Melvin, along with his brother Ray who passed away in 2007, worked and scraped to buy their first instrument--a banjo--a treasure they were afraid to reveal to their father, Glen. Fortunately for all of us, having received Glen Goins' approval of their fine purchase, the two sons soon embarked on a path that would take them to the heights of bluegrass renown. Over the decades of their careers, the pair brought the sounds of a finely tuned string band to countless men and women throughout the world, who found delight in such tunes as ``Mouse Tracks in the Bacon Grease.'' Likewise, gospel tunes as ``I'll Fly Away'' and ``The Wayfarer Stranger'' have touched many a heart and soul. They played as part of the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, before going on their own to play as the Goins Brothers. But eventually Ray hung up his banjo and Melvin carried on, establishing the Windy Mountain Boys. Over the years, Melvin's generosity, exemplified by the guidance and encouragement he gave so freely to younger musicians, earned him lifelong respect and gratitude. And despite his success, the once-dirt poor boy has never lost his sense of those basic values honed in the hills of his West Virginia home at the knee of his mother Pearl. If it means keeping our feet firmly planted on Good Mother Earth and our head out of the clouds like Melvin Goins, then growing up ``dirt poor'' is a luxury more Americans should enjoy. Melvin Goins life has spanned the days of the battery operated radio that provided the family's only entertainment to the age of the Internet, MP3 players, and IPods. Having spent the better part of his nearly 60 years on the road, performing live concerts at venues from the renowned to the unlikely, Melvin Goins now reaches his multitude of fans worldwide, in their own living rooms, through a virtual visit to YouTube. Even in his 70's, Melvin continues a successful and busy musical career, remaining much in demand by all who enjoy a little pickin', singin' and a good story to boot. That he has earned this continuous following throughout those decades of change is testament to the depth of Melvin's talent and the breadth of his musical appeal. This Friday, I will join the people of Bramwell, West Virginia in celebrating ``Melvin Goins Day.'' But today, I bring his extraordinary life and musical talent to the attention of the U.S. Congress and urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Melvin Goins, an American treasure.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RAHALL. I thank the gentleman for yielding. We accept the amendment on this side.

Mr. RAHALL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment made in order under the rule.

Mr. RAHALL. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Goodlatte amendment. The amendment would provide expansive new contracting authority to State foresters to perform so called ``good neighbor projects'' on national forest system lands. My concern here is not with these types of projects in and of themselves, but rather the way the amendment would allow these type of projects to proceed. In effect, the amendment represents an unwarranted authority which could undermine current protections in the law that protect taxpayer interests, forest worker rights and which ensure adequate environmental review for activities occurring on forest lands. Some supporters of this proposal are seeking to use the pending legislation to make wholesale changes in Federal forest management. Specifically, the amendment would eliminate existing requirements on public notification and advertising of timber sales. It would eliminate requirements separating the planning of projects from those with a financial interest in the project. The transfer of contracting authority from the Federal Government to the States also has impacts on Federal worker-protection laws. Under existing law, the Forest Service must ensure that contracts adhere to Federal labor standards. These contract labor laws provide fair wage rates and compensation for overtime. These Federal labor standards do not apply to contracts issued by individual States. As such, wage standards and overtime requirements that are required for any Federal contract would not apply under this amendment, since a State would be the contracting agent. The Obama administration has highlighted the risk to the taxpayer of the reliance of Federal agencies on sole-source contracting, for which this amendment provides. A March 4 memorandum on government contracting states clearly that it is the policy of the Federal Government that executive agencies shall not engage in noncompetitive contracts, except where appropriate safeguards have been put in place to protect the taxpayer. We have seen what happens when the government turns over contracting to a sole-source entity. The underlying measure before the House today is about ensuring firefighters have the resources they need to combat wildfires. We have had our fire drills on forest management battles in the past. This is not the time or place to have another. I would note that this amendment is opposed by the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades. It's opposed by the Carpenters' Union as well. I have those communications in front of me. And I would note that, while the gentleman from Virginia, as well- intentioned as he is in his efforts, and has noted that the Forest Service does not oppose the amendment, of course they don't. They cannot. And they are not for the amendment either. Of course they cannot be. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. RAHALL. I yield back.

Mr. RAHALL. We accept the amendment on this side.

Mr. RAHALL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. RAHALL. I thank the gentlewoman from Arizona and commend her on her excellent amendment and rise in support of it.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I am the last speaker. I am ready to close on my side.

Mr. RAHALL. This is a simple amendment, Mr. Chairman. It would allow the National Guard to participate in the fighting of wildfires.

Mr. RAHALL. On behalf of Mr. Matheson of Utah, Mr. Chairman, I offer his amendment No. 10.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I want to quote from the building and construction trades letter to me in opposition to the pending amendment. They state their opposition to the Goodlatte amendment to H.R. 1404, the FLAME Act, because it will deprive employees of private contractors of Federal labor standards protection otherwise applicable to them while working on Federal land. The protective labor standards in the McNamara-O'Hare Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act, which would otherwise apply if these contracts are awarded by the U.S. Forest Service or the BLM, will not be applied to this work, even though it will be performed on national forest system land for the benefit of the Federal Government. For this reason, we urge the House to reject the Goodlatte amendment. A similar telecommunication this morning to our office from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America states that they are absolutely opposed to the Goodlatte amendment. Turning this work over to State governments deprives the workers on these projects of Federal labor law protections, and this is something we would never support. That, again, is from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. So, for these reasons and the reasons I stated in my previous statement, Mr. Chairman, I would urge our colleagues to reject this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAHALL. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. RAHALL. I appreciate the gentleman's amendment, and thank him for it. We would be glad to accept it on this side.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I want to thank him for his amendment, and we accept it.

Mr. RAHALL. I appreciate the gentleman from Colorado yielding. I'm happy to accept his amendment and appreciate his work on this legislation.

Mr. RAHALL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RAHALL. I appreciate the gentleman's amendment, thank him for his work, and we accept the amendment.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1404, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, section numbering and cross-referencing, and the insertion of appropriate headings.