F. Sensenbrenner

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to our distinguished colleague from Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania, the Honorable William Goodling. Bill Goodling has served his constituents and the nation in this body for more than a quarter century. In that time, he has proven himself a dedicated public servant, one who recognizes the importance of, as he says, quality over quantity and results over process. That philosophy has been most apparent during his tenure as Chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee. Over the past six years, Bill Goodling has worked tirelessly for fair and comprehensive education and labor policy. He has advocated returning control over our children's education to parents, teachers, principals, and local school districts because Bill knows that no one is better qualified to meet their educational needs than the people who interact with them every day. In fact, very few among us are as well suited as Bill Goodling to championing the improvement of this nation's educational system. Prior to coming to Washington, he served his community as a teacher, principal, and coach. He even served as school superintendent, so he knows first-hand the educational needs of children. From his development of the Even Start Program to aid parents in supporting this children's learning process and his support of the Ed Flex bill, to his push to increase the percentage of American children receiving quality education from the current 50 percent to 100 percent, we know that Bill Goodling has recognized the need to work today to create a better tomorrow. I know I speak for many of our colleagues when I say that Bill Goodling's insight and experience will be missed. Thank you, Bill, for your many years of service, and good luck in your future endeavors.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a faithful and dedicated public servant, the distinguished senior Senator from New York, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Senator Moynihan has served the people of New York in the United States Senate for nearly a quarter century. However, his long list of achievements in public service began over 50 years ago. In those 50 plus years, Senator Moynihan has been both soldier and ambassador, author and teacher, and legislator and diplomat. Very few Americans serve their country and their fellow citizens with the range of knowledge and experience Senator Moynihan has demonstrated. We in Congress are privileged to call him our colleague. Among Senator Moynihan's most important roles has been that of advocate for peace in Northern Ireland. Drawing on his extensive foreign policy experience as both ambassador to India and United States Representative to the United Nations, Senator Moynihan called for a peaceful resolution of tensions in Northern Ireland and helped guide the negotiations that have today resulted in decreased bloodshed, decreased violence, and greater understanding there. Senator Moynihan has also earned the distinction of being the only American in history to serve in the Executive Branch in four successive administrations, both Republican and Democrat. He has dedicated his service not to partisanship, but to people; not to party, but to peace. The people of New York recognize him for fighting tirelessly for their rights, including better education and better healthcare. His colleagues recognize him for fighting for his principles. I join my colleagues in thanking Senator Moynihan for his valuable service. We will not soon forget the example he set.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. This resolution changes the title of section 205 from Space Station Management to Space Station Research Utilization and Commercialization Management in order to make the title more informative. It also replaces specific references to the Russian Service Module in section 201 with generic references to any Russian element in the International Space Station's critical path, and moves the due date for an educational study required in section 317 from October 1, 2000, to December 1, 2000. Finally, the resolution removes some commas to reduce the number used in a series to address stylistic preferences. These are minor changes that do not affect the substance of the bill adopted by the House on a vote of 399-17 on September 14. They have been discussed with the minority and with the other body and all parties have agreed to them.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 409) directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make corrections in the enrollment of the bill H.R. 1654.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

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

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized manufacturers contribute greatly to our Nation's economic growth, creating thousands of new jobs each year and providing all Americans with quality manufactured goods. The emergence of electronic commerce has the potential to assist small and medium-sized manufacturers develop new products and markets, interact more quickly and efficiently with suppliers and customers and improve productivity by increasing efficiency and reducing transaction costs and paperwork. Despite the benefits electronic commerce has to offer, small and medium-sized manufacturers face significant challenges in integrating electronic commerce into their operation because of the complexity of multiple technologies, expensive deployment costs and the lack of interoperability standards. H.R. 4429, the Electronic Commerce Enhancement Act of 2000, helps to assist small and medium-sized businesses to successfully integrate and utilize electronic commerce technologies and business practices. Specifically, the bill requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department of Commerce to assist small and medium- sized manufacturers by assessing critical enterprise integration standards in implementation activities for major manufacturing industries and to develop a plan for enterprise integration for each major manufacturing industry. This bill was unanimously approved by the Committee on Science on July 26 of this year. I wish to commend the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Technology, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), and the chairwoman of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), for their efforts, and urge my colleagues to support its passage today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4429.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4429) to require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to assist small and medium-sized manufacturers and other such businesses to successfully integrate and utilize electronic commerce technologies and business practices, as amended.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

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

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon).

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), who is the author of this bill.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) for sponsoring this bill, which he introduced on the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon last year. The enormous success of the Apollo program clearly stands as a watershed event in American history and one of man's greatest scientific achievements. The Apollo Exploration Award Act provides a fitting and tangible tribute to each of the astronauts who dedicated themselves and risked their lives for the Apollo program. It recognizes and commemorates their bravery, substantial scientific and technical achievements, and unique contributions to American and world history. I would like to note that these tremendous accomplishments were only possible due to the ingenuity, diligence, and determination of the men and women of NASA and the aerospace community who made the Apollo program a success. I only wish it were possible to recognize each and every one of these men and women for their contributions to the program as well. Since the time of the Apollo program, the astronauts have promoted space exploration and scientific excellence by sharing their experiences with the American people and the world, stimulating the imagination and the belief that any goal can be achieved. I believe these contributions need to be recognized. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. SENSENBRENNER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2572.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2572) to direct the Administrator of NASA to design and present an award to the Apollo astronauts.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of the time, just to say that this is a good bill, it is an excellent compromise, it is something that has been done for the first time in 8 years. I urge the membership to support it.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), the vice chairman of the Committee on Science.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 574, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 1654) to authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, and for other purposes.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon), a member of the conference.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg) for the purposes of a colloquy.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to a steadfast colleague and a truly dedicated public servant. This week, this House lost a treasured friend with the passing of Representative Herb Bateman of Virginia. One characteristic distinguished Herb throughout his 50-year career: commitment to public service. Whether as a teacher, Air Force Officer, attorney, or legislator, Herb aspired to and reached a high standard of service to his students, his country, his clients, and his constituents. I know this first-hand, since we served together for over 18 years. In his time in the Virginia Senate, Herb distinguished himself as a leader in diverse issue areas including agriculture, energy, education, and the budget. In this body, Herb, a member of the Armed Services Committee, earned a reputation as a fighter for a strong and prepared military. He understood the dynamic role of the United States in the post-cold war world. Toward this end, Herb was a strong advocate for military readiness, and a staunch supporter of his constituents in the shipbuilding industry and the local military community. Perhaps the greatest reasons for Herb's success as a legislator are his bipartisanship and his patriotism. He was always looking out for America's best interests, always willing to hear the other side, always capable of expressing his views in logical, rather than partisan, ways. Herb showed us the importance of duty, integrity, and responsibility in public life. We will miss him.