Mike Simpson

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, along with my colleagues, Senator Mike Crapo and Senator James E. Risch, I rise to call attention to retirement of Julie Thomas from the U.S. Forest Service. Like many Forest Service employees, Julie started her career in 1980 as a seasonal employee. She was hired as a Seasonal Recreation Technician/Fire Technician on the Twin Falls Ranger District in Sawtooth Forest. Julie worked in a seasonal capacity on the District until August 1990, when she was offered the Resource Assistant position on the Twin Falls District. In October of 1994, while still a Forest Service employee, Julie became the Mid-Snake Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Coordinator. She was one of only two Forest Service employees shared with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in the position of RC&D Coordinator. As coordinator, she worked and developed relationships with many local community leaders and initiated projects to help south central Idaho. During her tenure as coordinator, she accomplished many worthwhile projects, including spearheading a $2.5 million request for a congressional funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helped producers in Minidoka County address closing antiquated drain wells and partnering with the Shoshone District Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Power, South Central Idaho Tourism and Recreation Development Association, and the College of Southern Idaho to update the Mid-Snake Recreation Study. Julie worked as the RC&D Coordinator until November of 2009, when she accepted the position as Public Affairs Officer on the Sawtooth National Forest. In this role, she worked with Incident Management Teams throughout the country, grew and maintained the South-Central Idaho Resource Advisory Committee, built relationships between the Forest Service and the Idaho Congressional Delegation, was a leader in Forest Civil Rights, and was recognized in the Forest Service Intermountain Region as leader in employee deployment and engagement. Above all, Julie was a friend to all in the Forest Service. On December 31, 2021, Julie retired from the Forest Service after a 41-year career. We thank Julie for her loyal service to the Forest Service and south- central Idaho. We have enjoyed working with her. We hope she enjoys her well-deserved retirement.

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, along with my colleagues Senator Mike Crapo and Senator Jim Risch, I rise to call attention to the outstanding life of Stephen Anthony Hartgen, long-time editor and publisher of the Times-News in Twin Falls, Idaho, five-term Idaho State legislator, community businessman, and Magic Valley cultural historian. Steve, as he was called by his family and friends, passed away on December 31, 2021, at 77 years old. Steve was born on September 30, 1944 in Baltimore, Maryland, one of twin sons of Vincent and Frances Hartgen. He grew up in rural Orono, Maine, spending his young years in the state's forests, and along its trout streams and coastlines. He graduated from Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine, in 1962, and from Amherst College in 1966. He later earned an MA degree from Brandeis University in 1968, and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1976, both in American history. He began his newspaper career while in college as an intern reporter at the Bangor Daily News in Bangor, Maine. He went on to work as a reporter and editor at The Minneapolis Star, and later at the San Diego Union and the Casper Star-Tribune as managing editor. He also taught journalism, media history and public affairs reporting at the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University. Steve came to Twin Falls in 1982 as editor of the Times-News. working alongside then-publisher William E. Howard and general manager Richard High as Howard publications expanded across the country. By 1990, he was promoted to publisher of the Times-News. In his years at the Times-News, Steve's leadership raised the newspaper's visibility and impact, making it one of the state's leading conservative newspapers. His common-sense and fiscally responsible editorial perspectives earned him much respect among business leaders, public officials and the community. It was during his time at the Times-News when we had the opportunity to meet and talk with Steve during our many interviews with the editorial board. We greatly enjoyed our lively visits with Steve. Not one to be idle, Steve continued his involvement in the Magic Valley community after he left the newspaper in 2005. He became Executive Director of Business Plus, a Magic Valley economic development group, which brought hundreds of new jobs and more than $2 billion investment dollars to the valley. The growth was so spectacular that then Governor C. L. ``Butch'' Otter called it the ``Magic Valley Miracle.'' Steve was a stalwart member of the Twin Falls County Republican Central Committee where he served as state committeeman for more than a decade, from 2008 to 2019. He also served on the Idaho Capitol Commission from 1998 to 2016, a group which oversaw the renovation and remodel of Idaho's premier public building. In 2008, Steve was appointed to the Idaho House of Representatives by Gov. Otter where he served until 2019. While in the legislature, Steve chaired the Commerce & Human Resources Committee. He retired from the legislature for health reasons at the end of 2018 and was replaced by his wife Rep. Linda Wright Hartgen. Following his retirement, Steve wrote extensively on the cultural history and patterns of Life in the Magic Valley and southern Idaho, publishing ``Tradition & Progress: Southern Idaho's Growth Since 1990'' in 2019, and ``Spirit of Place: Southern Idaho Values Across Generations'' in 2020. Additionally, he wrote columns for several Idaho newspapers and blog sites on southern Idaho politics and cultural changes. His books and columns frequently reflected his love of the Magic Valley, which he often called the best region in the best state in the best nation on the planet. Beyond his media work and his public service, Steve maintained an interest in western history, particularly the settlement of southern Idaho. He was also an avid fly fisherman, an outdoor activity he learned as a young man in Maine. In his later years, Steve developed health problems, but he continued to serve in public roles and did not think of himself as disabled in any way. Steve is survived by his devoted wife Rep. Linda Wright Hartgen and his family. While we will miss Steve's common-sense approach to public issues, fiscal policy and statewide public affairs, we will miss his friendship the most. Rest in peace, good friend, and loyal servant.

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, due to personal reasons, I was unable to vote on November 3, 2021. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on roll call No. 354, and YEA on roll call No. 355.

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, due to personal reasons, I was unable to vote on H.R. 5763. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 339.

Mr. SIMPSON

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time. Madam Speaker, I rise today in reluctant opposition to H.R. 4502, the seven-bill fiscal year 2022 appropriations package that includes the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. I had hoped to be able to support the appropriations bill this year. Unfortunately, the overall funding framework for these bills lacks bipartisan support. The House framework includes massive increases for non-defense programs and shortchanges our national security needs. Taken in isolation, there are many things in the Energy and Water bill that House Republicans could support. For example, strong support for the Corps of Engineers, including specific community project funding and additional programmatic funding, is a bipartisan priority. Of great importance to me, of course, is the Department of Energy's nuclear energy program. I appreciate Chairwoman Kaptur's efforts to address many of my priorities within this account. In particular, I am pleased to see increased funding to continue three demonstration projects under the Advanced Small Modular Reactor and Advanced Reactors Demonstration programs, as well as continued work on microreactors, including the MARVEL program. Also notable is the support for ensuring a supply of high-assay, low- enriched uranium, or HALEU, that will be the fuel that will be used by many of the next generation of reactors. The Department of Energy will serve as an essential, temporary source of HALEU until the commercial market can be established. While I support the focus on demonstrating new technologies, I am disappointed to see that the bill does not also continue support for the Versatile Test Reactor. The VTR will be a valuable domestic testing facility for many advanced technologies. Continuing work now, even if at a slower pace than was originally planned, will allow us to benefit from collaboration with one of the demonstration projects. I was pleased to join Congressman Weber in offering an amendment to highlight the importance of the VTR, and I urge the full House to adopt it. I look forward to working with my colleagues to support progress on the VTR as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the bill before us underfunds our national security needs. An increase of less than 1 percent for weapons activities does not even keep up with inflation. And while the budget request was itself insufficient, the bill before us does not even meet the budget request for certain stockpile sustainment and major modification programs. We must uphold our Nation's strong national deterrence posture, and to do that we must adequately fund the activities necessary to maintain a safe, reliable, and effective stockpile. In closing, I would like to thank Chairwoman Kaptur for putting together this year's Energy and Water bill in her typical cooperative style. It is clear that she and the majority staff worked hard to address individual Members' priorities from both sides of the aisle, and I thank her for that consideration. I would also like to thank Chairwoman DeLauro and Ranking Member Granger of the full committee for their leadership and support of the important programs in this bill. I look forward to working together as the bill moves through the legislative process to develop a final Energy and Water bill that reflects a balanced set of priorities that can be supported by Members on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney).

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I support this amendment and hope that Members will vote for it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I support this amendment, and I encourage my colleagues to support it also. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson).

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon).

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, we support the amendment and would encourage our colleagues to vote for it, and I yield back the balance of my time.