Pete Stark

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield the balance of my time to the Honorable Laura Richardson, Representative of California's 37th Congressional District.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Alameda Creek Alliance on its tenth anniversary. The Alameda Creek Alliance is a non-profit community watershed restoration group within California's 13th congressional district. It was formed in 1997, after steelhead trout in the Central California Coast were listed as a threatened species. The organization has spent the last decade working to restore runs of steelhead trout and salmon to the Alameda Creek watershed, the largest tributary to southern San Francisco Bay. The Alliance is working with a consortium of a dozen local, State and Federal water supply and land management agencies on projects to restore native fish habitat in Alameda Creek. The efforts of the Alliance have resulted in the removal of four obsolete dams from Alameda Creek and the construction of two fish ladders to allow fish to migrate to suitable habitat upstream. Another dam removal and construction of four additional fish ladders are in the planning stages. These projects will make up to 20 miles of Alameda Creek accessible to ocean-run fish for the first time in over half a century. The Alameda Creek Alliance, which has grown to an organization of 1,400 members, has organized over 70 local and regional conservation and fly-fishing groups in support of the Alameda Creek restoration. The Alliance educates the residents of Fremont, Union City, Newark, Sunol, Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore, California about watershed restoration and protection of endangered species and their habitats. The Alliance also trains volunteers for fish rescues, creek cleanups, creek monitoring, and assisting biologists in gathering scientific data essential to steelhead restoration. The Alameda Creek restoration efforts have been featured in over 200 newspaper articles over the past decade. I congratulate the Alameda Creek Alliance on their 10 years of exemplary service to our community and send best wishes for continued success.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of ending senseless tax breaks and subsidies for giant oil and gas companies and making needed investments in clean energy and efficiency. Although I support the energy package before us today, I urge my colleagues to realize that this is a small, first step. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to confront global warming and shift our nation away from our addiction to fossil fuels. Today we have an opportunity to greatly increase energy conservation by setting new efficiency standards for appliances and promoting carbon-neutral green buildings. These two steps will prevent as much as 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. In addition to these measures, I strongly support the Udall-Platts amendment to establish a Renewable Electricity Standard, which will ensure that 15 percent of our electricity is produced through renewable sources by 2020. In 2006 the top five oil companies raked in record-breaking profits of over $119 billion. As President Bush himself has admitted, there is no need to give oil companies taxpayer-funded subsidies when the price of oil is at or near all time highs. I support the tax portion of the package that ends $16 billion in tax breaks for companies like Exxon/ Mobil and closes the ridiculous loophole that has allowed business owners a $25,000 deduction for purchasing a gaz-guzzling Hummer. The savings generated are then invested in developing clean energy. My support for the energy package is tempered by the fact that it does not include any increase in our woefully out-of-date CAFE standards. I am also troubled that we are continuing to subsidize corn- based ethanol production. A simple shift from gasoline to ethanol will do nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it will eat up open space and continue to drive up food prices. Both bills make important progress and I urge my colleagues to support them. However, larger changes, such as a carbon tax, are needed if we are serious about stopping global warming.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Officer Allen Chan on his retirement from the Police Department in the City of Newark California, after serving 26 exemplary years as a member of the Force. Officer Chan began his career with the Newark Police Department as a police aide in August 1981 and served in this capacity until his promotion to the rank of police officer in July 1983. He has held many assignments during his tenure, including: patrol officer, explorer advisor, field training officer, traffic officer, homicide detective, acting patrol sergeant, and range master. He has also been an instructor, teaching several police related classes for over 15 years at Ohlone College and Evergreen Police Academy. He has also taught various subjects for the Newark Police Department's Citizen Police Academy. Officer Chan is recognized by the court as an expert in accident reconstruction and is a member of the Criminal Evidence Response Team and the High Tech Crime Investigation Association. He has served the Newark Police Association as the president and secretary and the Newark Police Activities League as the Program Director, helping provide a variety of after school educational and recreational activities for the Newark youth. Officer Chan was most recently assigned to his second term as the School Resource Officer at Newark Memorial High School, where his main responsibility was to ensure the safety of students and staff members. I join the Newark Police Department, along with Officer Chan's family and friends, in congratulating him for his years of service and devotion to the City of Newark and the community.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. I object.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted at this time to recognize the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for 1 minute, who understands well how private health insurance companies have overprofited from their overpayment.

Mr. STARK. I object, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. STARK. I will be glad to yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. STARK. I would like to do that if I may.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am pleased to yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Rangel. (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) for 1 minute. Pending that, I would note that, as a former insurance commissioner, he understands that the endorsement of the National Association of Insurance Commissions is necessary to prevent fraud in the Medicare Advantage program.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, as quickly as I can, I would like to recognize the distinguished gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis) for 1\1/ 2\ minutes.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu). (Mr. WU asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I'm delighted to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) who understands that the National Rural Health Association has endorsed the 2007 CHAMP Act as critical to rural children and seniors across the Nation.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I'm privileged to yield 1 minute to the Delegate from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am happy to yield 1 minute to the distinguished lady from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to yield 1 minute to the distinguished lady from Ohio (Ms. Tubbs Jones). And, pending that, I suggest that she understands that the American Nurses Association has expressed their undying support for the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act.

Mr. STARK

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the time allotted to the minority members of the Ways and Means Committee be forfeited.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record a letter from the Catholic Health Association of the United States, which in part states that: We believe the most important pro- life thing that Congress can do right now is to ensure that the State Children's Health Insurance Program is reauthorized.

Mr. STARK. I object.

Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I object.

Mr. STARK. I am happy to respond. You are a couple minutes ahead of us, and of course I am dying to hear what my colleagues on the Republican side of the Ways and Means have to say.