Don Sherwood

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman and the ranking member and the conference committee for their hard work in putting this good conference together. There has been much said that this bill does not help family farmers and it helps big corporate farmers. Well, the provision that is in this bill, that I have worked for for 3\1/2\ years and that I am so proud of, is the dairy provision, and that is for family farmers. That is for every dairy farmer in the country. And there is a limit to the size of production that can receive a countercyclical support payment. So that is very good for family farmers, and it is very good for conservation because it spreads the animals out across the country, and it is good for consumers because it assures us of a locally produced fresh supply of milk throughout this country. So I would ask all the Members from both sides of the aisle who are in the dairy coalition to support this bill.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to welcome as our guest chaplain Father Joe Sica of Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Father Joe for this wonderful invocation. I have known Father Joe for a long time. He is a good man, a great friend, and a wonderful priest. Father Joe Sica grew up in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and began his service to the church at a very young age. As a child, he donated much of his time to St. Rocco's Church, and it was there he began to realize his dream of becoming a priest. After high school he entered the University of Pennsylvania and Saint Pius X Seminary, where he earned his degree in philosophy and theology. He then took his scholarly talents and spiritual determination and continued his education at the Catholic University of America and the Theological College. There he wrote his book, ``God So Loved the World,'' which is one of the foremost works in Carl Rhaner's ``Theology of Revelation.'' He also published many articles in several journals, and Father Joe's monthly column, ``Miracle Growth: A Seed of Inspiration,'' that runs in Catholic newspapers across the country. In every assignment at every parish, Father Joe Sica has been involved with the work of his community. He has organized retreats for parishioners, helped parents and teachers associations; and while he was in my hometown, he was a member of the Rotary International, and a fine volunteer firefighter at the Triton Hose Company. However, one of his most impressive accomplishments that I have had the pleasure of witnessing was Father Joe's creation of the Helping Other People Program in Tunkhannock. This program coordinated the efforts of several local churches and their parishioners to provide transportation, meals, home repairs, house cleaning, and many other services to those in need. Father Joe was given the Sam Walton Award, and the Tunkhannock Chamber of Commerce gave him a certificate of excellence for his effort. In October of 2000, the Columbus Day Association of Lackawanna County named Father Joe their Man of the Year. They commended him for taking risks, for being able to dream, and to work and make those dreams come true. I can say without hesitation that Father Joe Sica is not just the Man of the Year, but a man of the people whose good deeds and inspiration never cease. Mr. Speaker, I again would like to thank Father Joe Sica for being here today. His presence and his blessing on this House mean so much to me and the people I represent.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, it is with a profound sense of loss that I inform the House that on Sunday, January 20, 2002, Margaret Goble Madigan of Luthers Mills, known across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as Peggy, passed away. Although Peggy Madigan is deserving of many superlatives, to say that she was known across Pennsylvania is no exaggeration. She was the wife of Senator Roger Madigan, and she was known and loved by the many individuals whose lives she touched. She was truly unforgettable. Peggy had an exceptional grace about her that can only come from a deep love of others. Her son, Nick Madigan, in his moving eulogy, described her rare ability to treat every individual with dignity and respect. She genuinely enjoyed people without regard to title or position. She always--remarkably, given her hectic schedule--made time for everyone. Peggy was a volunteer, active in many worthy causes including promoting literacy and serving as a director of the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. A distinguished leader of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania, Peggy Madigan was a role model for all of us. She was a woman who was not only a tireless advocate of family values--her love for her family seemed boundless. They include her husband of 49 years, Roger, her daughter, Vicki Lynne of Carlisle, Annette Madigan Carr, of Annapolis, Maryland, Nicholas Jay Madigan of Towanda, and Steven Gary Madigan of Emmaus. Of all of her many accomplishments, I know that her greatest joy came from the recent birth of her grandson, Matthew Roger Madigan to her son Steven and Carrie May Madigan. Peggy Madigan was truly family to people across our region and around the Commonwealth. I grieve her loss for her entire family.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I support this good resolution as the People's House acts to create Patriot Day, an official day of remembrance. In our history, there are defining moments that stand out. None is more defining than September 11, 2001. We have things that stand out in our mind that have made the character of America, and you could talk about the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address and the attack on Pearl Harbor and VE Day. This day, this infamous day, will rank right up with those events in defining our character, because it has been a wake-up call for America, a time when we have to realize that the world is not as we thought it was, and a time when we have to remember our heroes. We had heroes at Valley Forge and we had heroes at Guadalcanal and at various times in our history, but at no time have we had greater heroes than the New York City firemen, those brave young men that ran up 80 flights of stairs to save people from that building. Both shifts went in and they had to have mass promotions later, like on a field of battle, because it was a field of battle. Mr. Speaker, this remembrance day is important. We must never forget. And the way we must remember our fallen heroes is to take the necessary action to root out terrorism across the world wherever it is, cell by cell. That will be the official remembrance of our heroes that were lost in New York and Washington and in an abandoned mine field in Pennsylvania.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to Procter & Gamble and the 2,500 working men and women at the P&G paper products plant in Mehoopany, Pennsylvania, as they celebrate the plant's 35th anniversary on October 17 and 18. The Mehoopany plant, which is P&G's largest plant in the world, makes a major contribution to the local, state and national economy. The plant's dedicated employees produce Pampers and Luvs disposable diapers, Bounty paper towels, Bounty napkins and Charmin bathroom tissues. The plant's payroll is over $130 million annually. P&G contributes over $200 million a year to the Pennsylvania economy in purchases of materials, freight, supplies and services. Hundreds of additional people are employed to provide those purchases. Procter & Gamble is making an investment of $350 million to add two new paper-making machines and converting equipment. The Mehoopany site was chosen by P&G for expansion as the most attractive option in meeting their economic, distribution and infrastructure needs. I am pleased to say that the Mehoopany facility continues to be recognized not only as a business leader, but also for its environmental and safety records. The plant has won two Governor awards for environmental excellence and four safety awards from the American Forestry and Paper Association over the past five years. P&G's Mehoopany plant not only fills the needs of millions of American consumers, but goes beyond U.S. borders by exporting more than $150 million worth of tissues, towels, napkins and diapers to Canada, Europe and Latin America each year. I clearly remember when the Mehoopany Plant began operations in 1966. I was just leaving the military and returning to Wyoming County to start my career. Since that time, I have seen the creation of several thousand good paying and stable jobs in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District. The plant draws its work force from six northeastern Pennsylvania counties. The continued success of the Mehoopany plant is due to the dedication and commitment of the men and women who work there. Our nation's economic prosperity depends on companies like Procter & Gamble which are willing to invest in the future of our nation and in the men and women who have done such an outstanding job in producing the high quality products that consumers both domestically and internationally want and need. Congratulations to Procter & Gamble and to its employees on the 35th anniversary of the Mehoopany plant.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3061. Mr. Chairman, it has been a real pleasure for me to serve on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the Committee on Appropriations, which has produced this good bill that touches the lives of all Americans. The bill, which deserves our high praise and strong support, is the bipartisan product of the altruistic spirit and genuine compassion of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), the chairman of the subcommittee. As the chairman has often said, this clearly is the ``love thy neighbor'' bill. It is fitting that we come together today, 1 month after the dastardly attacks on our Nation, to provide America with the resources that we need to defend against the threat of bioterrorism and to aid working Americans who have lost their jobs. I am also glad that we have been able to fulfill the President's Reading First initiative. It is with education that we prepare for the future, and education begins with reading. I am particularly gratified that the bill provides a $1.4 billion increase in special education. My 20 years on the public school board in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, has shown me how much more difficult local spending decisions made by school boards were made by IDEA mandates without adequate Federal funding. So I am glad that we addressed that. Yesterday, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that America's life expectancy rose again last year. That report is a credit to the effort of Congress to support biomedical research and to improve treatments and cures for illnesses which afflict the American family. With this bill, we continue that effort. Although it is a very modest program, only $5.3 billion, the Rural Community Assistance Program and the Office of Community Services Rural Facilities is very vital. RCAP helps rural communities to apply for assistance and to improve their infrastructure to sustain safe, affordable water. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, the Sherwood-Etheridge-McHugh amendment to the farm bill would implement provisions of H.R. 1827, the Dairy Consumers and Producers Protection Act of 2001, a very bipartisan measure sponsored by 165 Members of the House representing 30 sites in the country. This amendment allows the expansion and the extension of the Northeast Dairy Compact, which expired on September 30, and the creation of a Southern Dairy Compact, a Pacific Northwest Dairy Compact, and an Intermountain Dairy Compact. Other Members offering this amendment are the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney), the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering), and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Shows). I have also sent out a Dear Colleague letter signed by 30 Members who want a debate and a vote on dairy compact extension and expansion legislation. The time has come for this debate. Dairy compacts are good for our farmers, they are good for our consumers and our Nation for several reasons: They operate at no cost to taxpayers; they are constitutional; they enjoy strong support in Congress; and in the 25 States in which they have been overwhelmingly passed, the vote was over 5,000 to 300 for. They keep dairy farmers producing high-quality milk our consumers demand at a stable and affordable price. Compacts also strengthen rural communities and help save farmland from urban sprawl. The reason they operate at no cost to taxpayers is the payments come from the milk market, and they are only made to farmers when the compact commission price is over the Federal marketing price. That only happens on certain occasions. Right now, the compact would not be effective. The Federal order price is sufficient for people to produce milk. But when it goes down, it is a great safety net for producers of fluid milk. The compacts are constitutional. Since passage of compact legislation in the 1996 farm bill, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed on January 20, 1998, that the compact is constitutional. Additional court rulings found that the compact commission's regulations were consistent with the commerce clause, the compact clause, and the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution. Concerning bioterrorism, it will be much better for the stability of our food supply if milk is produced across the country, instead of just in certain concentrated areas. Milk is also proven to be cheaper under the compact in Boston than it is in many other areas of the country. So in summary, Mr. Chairman, there are many reasons for compacts. They are good for farmers and rural communities, they are good for food security in a terrorist time, they are good for consumers because it assures a stable supply of fresh milk at a good price, they are good for taxpayers because the payments do not come out of the public Treasury, and they are proven in New England to work. Mr. Chairman, I grew up in a small town in Nicholson, Pennsylvania. As a young man, we had three creameries, four feed dealers, and two automobile and equipment dealers in that little town. Today, there are none of those. The consolidation of agriculture is very tough on rural communities. So I would ask that we support this measure and pass dairy compacts. They are good for the country.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Combest) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) for their consideration here today. I would like to thank my 20 colleagues that have spoken on behalf of dairy compacts. We have shown that they are good for jobs, they are good for the rural economy, they are good for the environment, because we know that when that milk production is spread out across the country, instead of in great cattle-feeding operations, it is spread out across the country, it is good for the environment. We know it is good for food safety, and it is a weapon against bioterrorism, because when the food supply is spread out close to the consuming public and not in one location or two locations across the country, we are much more flexible. This is an issue whose time has come. The New England dairy compact has been an experiment that worked and it has proven to us it worked. Believe me, I am not a theorist. I am a hard-nosed businessman that was in business for 30 years before I came to this Chamber, and I do not believe in theory, I believe in practice. The New England dairy compact has worked. We have shown that there are overwhelmingly 25 State legislatures that want this. We have cosponsors, 165 of them, from 30 States in the Nation. The time has come that we need to get around the procedural rules of this House that make ridiculous statements that milk and farm issues are not on the farm bill, they are on the judiciary bill. We need to revisit some of these things. We need to show the United States of America and our hardworking farmers that we are interested in what they do and we are interested in a strong, fresh, stable supply of drinking milk. It is time to bring this issue to a head. Amendment No. 10 Offered by Mr. Boehlert

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, we owe it to our people, we owe it to our history, we owe it to the folks that made us where we are. We owe it to those firefighters in New York. We owe it to our military personnel in the Pentagon. We owe it to those New Yorkers that have had their world brought down around their ears. This resolution is good. It sets out what we are about to do, and I am in strong support of it. We owe it to the world to show the world that democracy will stand and that an isolated terrorist cannot hurt America permanently. Mr. Speaker, we will send that message. We will send it with overwhelming force. God bless America.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, my eloquent colleagues have talked about this terrible act and what has been perpetrated on our soil and our people and the innocent casualties that are mounting every day. Our hearts go out to all those that have lost their families and been wounded, especially the emergency responders that were doing their job and had the building come down around them and kill them. We have talked about this. We had a prayer vigil tonight. We have prayed about it. Mr. Speaker, the time for talk and the time for prayer, however important, is behind us. Now is the time to act. We need to react to these terrorists with overwhelming force. We need them to understand that this can never happen again. God bless the Americans that we have lost, and God bless America.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to welcome as our guest chaplain Father Thomas Cappelloni of the Holy Name of Jesus Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank him for that wonderful invocation as well as to offer the Father my congratulations. This year marked 25 years since Father Cappelloni was ordained as a priest and gave his life to God and the community. Father was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he attended high school and continued his education at the University of Scranton. Then he continued his studies and his desire to become a priest led him to Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary where he earned a master's in systematic theology and in theology in counseling. When Father Cappelloni returned to northeastern Pennsylvania, he spent time on the faculties of several schools and took the time to guide and counsel young students. He received his first pastoral assignment to St. Martin of Tours in Jackson, Pennsylvania, where he restored the church into a beautiful house of worship and served there until recently when he was transferred to Holy Name of Jesus in Scranton. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to say that not only has Father Cappelloni earned the respect of his parishioners for his altruism and kindness but also his peers have recognized his intelligence and wisdom by naming him the Dean of Catholic Clergy for all of Susquehanna County. Mr. Speaker, the good Father is an accomplished chef, an excellent musician, a host without par and a humanitarian above all. I thank him for being here today. His presence and blessing on this House means so very much to me and the people I represent.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, our highly respected colleague, Bud Shuster, who served as both Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and a Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, has written a very well researched and thought-provoking piece titled ``The Coming Energy Wars,'' which appeared recently in several publications including the May 31 issue of the Chambersburg Gazzette. I commend it to my colleagues. From the sluicing of water to the splitting of the atom, civilization has turned natural sources of energy into power to do the world's work. Throughout history prosperity has been inextricably linked to society's access to sources of raw energy and the technological capacity to convert and distribute it in usable forms. The American economy has been built upon an energy base especially on a cheap and abundant supply of oil. But that is about to change. Some say the California energy crisis is a wake-up call: Others say it isn't even a crisis. But as a philosopher once observed: ``Facts are stubborn things. Wishing won't make them go away.'' The facts are that California's energy demand has increased in the past decade by more than twice the national average; it produces less energy per capita than any other state: has not built a new power plant in a dozen years; and has banned coal-generating plants, creating upward pressure on the price of natural gas. While deregulating wholesale prices of electricity, but keeping a cap on retail prices, it has plunged its power companies into insolvency. Brownouts aren't being imagined and blackouts are no longer unimaginable. But instead of being a wake-up call to produce more energy, California's experience just might be a harbinger of things to come. The U.S. population is projected to increase from 283 to 325 million by 2020, according to the U.S.Census Bureau. During the same period, U.S. petroleum consumption is slated to increase by 33 percent, domestic oil production to decline by 16 percent, and imports to increase by 33 percent, according to the Energy Department. All forms of energy consumption, converted into BTU's increase from 84 quadrillion in 1990 to 98 quads last year, and is projected to top 121 quads by 2020, up 44 percent in 30 years. During the same period, world population is slated to exceed 7.5 billion by 2020, a 41 percent increase in 30 years, with most of the growth occurring in the developing countries. The industrialized world's demand for energy will increase by 23 percent, but total global demand will soar by more than 50 percent, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Nevertheless, poor countries will remain poor, while developed nations will grow richer, further widening the gap. Most forecasters see no significant breakthroughs for new energy sources. The Persian Gulf will remain the largest supplier of oil, but would have to increase production by 80 percent to meet world demand, a highly unlikely, if not impossible scenario. The U.S. transportation sector will continue to be ``almost entirely dependent on petroleum as an energy source'' according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. U.S. production of nuclear and hydroelectric power also will decline due to government mandates. Coal, which is the nation's most abundant source of energy, but which produces only about 20 percent of the country's supply, is in danger of being further curtailed by environmental regulations; however well intended. Heavy demand for the expanded supplies of natural gas will further drive up prices, which already have doubled in the past decade. Although conservation can play a role it will not come close to curing the problem, short of inflicting painful lifestyle changes on the American people, or saddling the country with energy induced Depression. During this period, over three billion people in third- world countries will face serious water shortages, increasing the potential for famine according to the National Foreign Intelligence Board: ``Regions, countries and groups feeling left behind will face deepening economic stagnation, political instability and cultural alienation.'' It was no accident that Rarnzi Yousef chose the World Trade Center as his bombing target. While he succeeded in killing six and injuring over a thousand, his objective was to bring down the entire structure, killing tens of thousands. Terrorist cells from the Middle East to Afghanistan, funded by Osama Bin Laden and others have declared a Jihad, a holy war, on behalf of Islam against the West, and especially the United States and Israel. These threats are not going away. Terrorists are funded and supported by Iran, Iraq, Lybia, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan and Cuba. James Woolsey, former Director of the CIA stated: ``Today's terrorist don't want a seat at the table. They want to destroy the table and everyone sitting at it.'' It's time to face uncomfortable facts. Pour the world's increasing population and demand for energy into a pot boiling with poverty, stir with resentment and add fanaticism and easy access to weapons of mass destruction. Where will it lead? Japan's thirst for oil lead to Pearl Harbor. Saddam's desire to dominate the oil-rich Persian Gulf sparked the call for half a million American troops to drive him back to Baghdad. Given a set of stubborn facts that can't be wished away, future energy wars no longer may be a dim possibility, but rather, highly probable--and sooner than we think.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform my colleagues of the recent passing of Frank E. McCarthy, the President of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). Frank died on February 25 as a result of complications from his battle with kidney cancer. Before my election to Congress, I was a franchised new car dealer and a member of NADA, so I can personally attest to the role that Frank McCarthy played as an automotive industry leader for more than three decades. Dealers, automotive executives, and policymakers alike will miss his determination, reasoned voice, and knowledge of the industry. NADA is the Voice of the Dealers and for 33 years Frank McCarthy was the heart of NADA. Frank had been the chief executive of NADA since 1968, making him one of the deans of the trade association community in the nation's capital. To put his service in perspective, Frank assumed the helm of NADA when Lyndon Johnson was President and the 1968 Ford Galaxie was the best selling car in America. During his entire tenure, Frank enjoyed the utmost respect among Members of Congress, professional staff, and his colleagues in the private sector. On behalf of dealers, Frank built strong relationships with the automobile manufacturers. He had a unique abilty to convey the concerns of the franchised dealers directly and concisely without sacrificing civility or professionalism. Under his leadership, NADA has become one of the largest trade associations in the United States, providing a wide variety of services to dealers and their more than one million employees. In all of these efforts, Frank was the consumate team player, always seeking credit for others rather than himself. Despite Frank's extraordinary professional accomplishments, he never lost sight of what is truly important in life. During the eulogies delivered at his funeral earlier this month, his family and colleagues spoke eloquently about the balance in Frank's life. His deep faith was a guiding force in his approach to life, and his professional responsibilities never overshadowed his commitment to his wife, Pat, and their five children and 12 grandchildren. In that regard, Frank McCarthy was a role model to working men and women in all walks of life. At this time, we all feel a tremendous sense of loss, but also reflect with great affection and gratitude for his contributions to the industry and his community.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5528) to authorize the construction of a Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 5528, the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act. In addition to legislation to provide a suitable facility to house the Sioux Nation Tribal Supreme Court, this omnibus bill contains some very important bills, including H.R. 2820, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Irrigation Works Bill; H.R. 4725, the Zuni Land Conservation Act Amendments; S. 3031, the Senate's Indian technical corrections bill; S. 614, the Indian Employment Training Act; S. 2665, the Navajo Nation Trust Land Leasing Act; H.R. 3080, the American Indian Education Foundation Act; S. 3019, the Shawnee Tribe Status Act of 2000; and S. 400, the Native American Homeownership Act. Many of these bills have already been passed by either this House or the other body. It is my understanding that the minority has cleared this bill and this package has even been cleared with the other body. I urge my colleagues to support this very important bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune).

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

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me. Mr. Speaker, I ran for Congress because it had been my observation that in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania, we exported our milk and our stone and our timber and our manufactured goods, but we had also for a couple generations been exporting our children. The reason we exported our children is they would grow up in these good families and get an education and go somewhere else to find a job, because we did not have enough good jobs at home. I have worked very hard to get more good jobs in northeastern Pennsylvania. We have been pretty successful at that. But the first rule if we want a good economy in our own districts is to protect the jobs we have. What do we historically do in the country? When I was a young man growing up in Nicholson, we had three feed mills, or excuse me, five feed mills, two car dealerships, three creameries. If we go through that town today, there are not any of those. Why did that happen? That happened because we lost our agricultural base. In the country, there are a few things we do for a living. We farm, we timber, we quarry stone. Those are all very important revenue producers and sources of employment and sources of good, stable family life in my district. I am concerned that we have policies in this country that are making those industries less and less viable. I am concerned that we are looking at an election coming up right away for president where one of the candidates does not believe in any of those industries, does not really seem to believe in a rural way of life. We talk about the environment and we talk about rural jobs and resource jobs as if they were exclusive. With a well-run country, they are not mutually exclusive. We can have a good economy and a pristine environment if we continue to manage it carefully. In Pennsylvania, we have the sustainable forestry initiative. We have the Chesapeake Bay initiative. Both are programs that have taught our forest industry people when they can timber, when they can't timber, when they have to be worried about degrading the water supply. They have taught our farmers nutrient management, and that everything we do runs downhill and eventually ends up in the Chesapeake. We have learned a lot in the last 20 years. We have learned a lot about how we are good stewards of our environment and the people that are downstream. Yet, we have an EPA now that wants to make all farming operations point source polluters, all forestry operations point source polluters, when these two issues have been very capably dealt with by our Pennsylvania DCNR. That would be an unprecedented power grab by the EPA that would federalize all these small business practices, all these landowners that are farming on their land or harvesting their timber. It would be an unnecessary escalation of the authority of the Federal government, and it would be very cumbersome, very hard to manage. So that is why I am concerned, as some of my colleagues are concerned, about the direction the country might take when we have our election in November. We need a rural economy that stays strong. We need to protect those jobs, protect those families, protect the small towns that live off the forest products industry, the mining industry, and agriculture. We need sustainable agriculture. We do not need it all concentrated in just a couple areas of the country. If one has small dairy farms dispersed around the country, that is a very environmentally friendly way to raise our milk and our food and our fiber. When one has huge concentrations of animals in one area, one gets problems like we saw in the Tar River and the floods of a year ago. So we want policies that will keep our farmers operating in the Northeast. To do that, we have to have a good energy policy. And we have to understand what we have to work with, that we need to work on our domestic supply, and that we have to understand the industry. I am not afraid of the internal combustion engine, and neither is rural America.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, we are in a full blown energy crisis. Due to the lack of a coherent national energy policy, we are facing a winter which many in the Northeast will be forced to choose between heating their homes and buying food. This is a terrible dilemma that we saw in the Northeast last winter, and we are about to do it once again. The United States' dependence on foreign oil has resulted in record- high crude oil prices, resulting in adverse economic impacts on our Nation's farmers, independent truck drivers, small business owners, and homeowners. I have a letter here from Bernie Lapara at Lapara Oil in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, detailing the hardships faced by his customers. Mr. Speaker, the solution is simple. We need more production and supply, but right now we could ease the impact by drawing down on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to get over this winter heating oil crisis in the Northeast. Mr. Speaker, I say to the President, please act now. Release the reserve for the sake of America's families and business people.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, I thank the leadership for the prompt movement of this bill, and I thank as well the chairman of the Committee on Rules, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) for providing us with a rule which I rise in strong support of. This bill, to provide a Lackawanna heritage area for four counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, has been a long time in the process. That area fueled the industrial revolution with its coal mines and its steel, and it had the seeds of the modern labor movements in the coal mines. This is a beautiful historical area which alternates between the ravages of two centuries of anthracite mining and the beautiful scenic Lackawanna River Valley. This is a historical and cultural area that deems preserving. The designation of the Lackawanna and Schuylkill River Valleys as national heritage areas will enable all Americans for years to come to witness and learn the story of anthracite mining, the labor movement, and the industrialization of our great Nation. I urge my colleagues to support this rule.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 583, I call up from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 940) to designate the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendments thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I urge my colleagues to support this motion so that we can send this bill, which is important to the people of Pennsylvania and the Nation, to the President. This bill, with the conforming amendments adopted by the Senate, establishes the two heritage areas in the State of Pennsylvania. The proposed Lackawanna Valley Heritage Area covers four counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, the counties of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne and Susquehanna. The Schuylkill River Valley Heritage Area will be made up of the Schuylkill River watershed within the counties of Schuylkill, Berks, Montgomery, Chester, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Lackawanna Valley was the first heritage area designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I am pleased to tell my colleagues that the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority has been providing outstanding oversight and support of the Valley's historical and cultural resources. The Authority's executive director, John Cosgrove, and his staff, Sandra Eggert, Margo Tomlinson, Alice Sokoloski, and Jack Carling, have worked hard and are proud that for every Federal dollar provided over the last decade, the Lackawanna Valley Heritage Authority has leveraged $10 in State, local and private sector funds to finance preservation activities. I commend them for their past successes and know that the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority will continue to foster these important relationships with all levels of government, the private sector, and local communities. The Lackawanna Valley played a critical role in our Nation's history. Our coal mines powered the industrial revolution, and workers from the Lackawanna Valley played a significant role in the formation and development of the organized labor movement in the early part of the century. My bill was reported to the Committee on Resources last year on August 3, 1999, with an amendment. It passed the House of Representatives on September 13, 1999 under suspension of the rules. The Senate passed the bill last Monday, September 18, with a further amendment which made some conforming and technical changes. We must concur in the Senate amendments as soon as possible so that the National Park Service, the Lackawanna Valley Heritage Authority, and the Schuylkill River Greenway Association can begin their important work. The designation of the Lackawanna and Schuylkill River Valleys as a national heritage area will enable all Americans, for years to come, to witness and learn the story of anthracite mining, the labor movement, and the industrialization of America. I urge my colleagues to support this motion. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson).