Bill Shuster

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to salute the service of COL Jerry Warnement, whose dedication to excellence has earned him three separate colonel commands and two lieutenant colonel commands over the course of a career that has spanned more than 30 years. Having studied extensively and earning two masters degrees, Colonel Warnement is an outstanding officer whose leadership and extraordinary command of logistics have made him a mainstay of combat service support for all of the Army. From 1988 to 1990, Colonel Warnement served as Commander of the 15th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Here, his logistical support during two NTC rotations, and his subsequent efforts to deploy his battalion to Desert Shield/Storm were especially praiseworthy and indicative of the colonel's dedication and self sacrifice. Colonel Warnement's service to his country extended to the classroom as well as the field. As a professor of military science for the University of Pennsylvania and five satellite universities, Colonel Warnement was responsible for recruiting, retaining, and commissioning a highly competent, freshman class which resulted in 95 percent of his students being commissioned on time and prepared for active duty. While Assistant Chief of Staff for the Material, 19th Theatre Army Area Command, the colonel consistently demonstrated his multifunctional leadership capabilities as he accomplished a diversity of missions on time, within budget, and always with the best interest of the soldiers at heart. From 1995 to 1997, as Commander of Anniston Army Depot, Colonel Warnement managed 2,900 personnel, a $266 million operating budget--spread out over 25 miles--and accomplished every mission within budget. His unparalleled ability to manage money, material, and personnel ensured positive results, while his performance indicators within his area of responsibility were among the best in the world. In his most recent and final assignment, Colonel Warnement exhibited brilliance in his ability to command one of the most unique and important colonel-level logistics organizations in the Army. His sound judgment and strong leadership guaranteed mission accomplishment. This coupled with his professional initiative to develop the Army's Logistics Integrated Database, while executing additional field training within budget, will have a long-term positive impact on the United States Army and the Nation as a whole. Throughout his career, Colonel Warnement has faithfully executed his duties at home and abroad. He is a soldier's soldier and a consummate professional. Colonel Warnement's performance reflects great honor and credit upon himself, the Army, the Army Materiel Command, and our Nation.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to salute the service of a distinguished group of American citizens. This dedicated group has worked for many years to enhance the military value of Letterkenny Army Depot and sustain the installation's work to increase support to our military. Each of these individuals has professionally served our Nation with great distinction. Mike Ross has aggressively led Team Letterkenny from the start. Mike has sacrificed countless days, night and weekends to ensure that Letterkenny projects move forward and Letterkenny is prepared to meet worldwide military priorities. Mike has led numerous team visits to Washington and Harrisburg to ensure that we understand the importance of Letterkenny and support their initiatives. Mike has also focused his Franklin County Area Development staff to work countless individual projects to modernize, expand and promote the depot. Mike Ross's professional leadership and hard work have significantly increased the military value of Letterkenny Army Depot and dramatically increased community understanding and support for Letterkenny. Dave Sciamanna and Commissioner Robert Thomas serve as co-chairs of the local component of Team Letterkenny. Dave is also President of the Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce and Bob is the President of the Franklin County Commissioners. These dedicated community leaders have many high priority community responsibilities, but they always find time to work on initiatives to support Letterkenny's military mission. Dave and Bob are instrumental in marketing Letterkenny's capability, and they aggressively partner with Letterkenny to show potential workers the highlights of working at Letterkenny and living in Franklin County. Despite their busy schedules, Dave and Bob are always ready to adjust their calendars and do whatever is needed to support Letterkenny and our military. John Gray chairs the depot component of Team Letterkenny. His brilliant leadership and professional focus have dramatically increased the community's understanding of Letterkenny's importance to our military services. He has consistently dedicated countless off-duty hours to expanding community support for the depot and raising awareness of military contributions to the economy of the State. John Gray consistently provides thought provoking ideas and focuses the organizational energy on the best way to turn ideas into reality. Stacy Gregson and Joe Spielbauer chair the State component of Team Letterkenny. They have worked tirelessly to obtain Pennsylvania resources to support Team Letterkenny initiatives and they can always be counted on to actively support all of the team initiatives. They have done an outstanding job educating Commonwealth leaders on the importance of Letterkenny to our military and our State. I am proud of the work of these fine Americans, and I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring this team for their long and honorable service to our great Nation.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and work of the Reverend George M. Docherty, whose influential sermon in 1954 led to the insertion of the phrase ``under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance. Reverend Docherty passed away on Thanksgiving Day in his home in Alexandria, PA at the age of 97. Reverend Docherty came to the United States from Glasgow, Scotland to become the pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, which was attended by President Lincoln in the 1860s and later became known as ``Lincoln's church.'' It is tradition for the President to attend a special service at the church on the Sunday closest to Lincoln's birthday. It was during this special service on February 7, 1954, that Reverend Docherty gave a sermon before President Dwight D. Eisenhower calling for the Pledge of Allegiance to be amended to acknowledge God. Reverend Docherty took the phrase ``under God'' from the Gettysburg Address, in which Lincoln said, ``this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.'' Reverend Docherty first heard the Pledge of Allegiance from his then 7-year-old son, Garth, and was surprised that it made no reference to God. He argued in his sermon to the President that ``To omit the words `under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance is to omit the definitive factor in the American way of life.'' Without any acknowledgement of God, Reverend Docherty said the pledge could apply to nearly any nation, including the communist Soviet Union. The sermon had an immediate effect on President Eisenhower, and several bills were introduced in Congress that week to amend the Pledge. The bill to add ``under God'' to the Pledge of Allegiance was signed into law by President Eisenhower just 4 months later on Flag Day 1954. The Pledge of Allegiance is a national symbol of unity and a reflection of our shared ideals upon which this country was founded, and it is with great honor and respect that we honor the life and service of Reverend George Docherty. Our great thanks go to this remarkable individual, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Peter Hart for his diligent and outstanding leadership as chairman of the Alleghenies Chapter of SCORE, a nationwide organization providing free counseling to small businesses around the country. As chairman of Alleghenies SCORE from 2006-2008, Peter led a team of 45 volunteers in assisting and counseling 400 small businesses around the region. SCORE was most fortunate to have had Peter as its chairman for the past two years. His background in the railroad and steel industries and as a college educator has served him well in the dual role of counselor and administrator. His accomplishments include providing formal training for new counselors; establishing a chapter Web site; renaming the chapter ``Alleghenies'' to better identify the wide region that is served; and establishing a system for providing clients with counselors who closely match their professional needs. Peter has zealously devoted many extra hours into publicizing SCORE's mission and service in the Allegheny region. He is an excellent recruiter for the chapter, and his son has followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a counselor in the Pittsburgh Chapter. Peter has demonstrated extraordinary devotion toward providing counseling for start-ups and continuing businesses located in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton and Somerset Counties. Peter Hart's chairmanship of the Alleghenies SCORE Chapter has inspired and enthused the volunteer members of the chapter and many others who have benefited from his selfless and tireless dedication and leadership. I and the volunteers of Alleghenies SCORE would like to thank Peter Hart for his devotion to assisting his community and for inspiring so many others to do the same.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, this is one of the most difficult and complex issues I have had to deal with in my 8 years in Congress. I am proud of my no vote on Monday against the original rescue plan. My no vote enabled me to push this legislation forward towards an improved and positive bill. This is a different bill. It is an improved bill. I have pushed as far as I can and we are at the point where the only two directions we can go from here are backwards or nothing. Neither is an option. I share the anger of my constituents that we have been forced into this economic crisis by Wall Street greed and irresponsible lending by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. But we cannot let our anger cloud our judgment. Over the past 5 days, I have been hearing from more and more of my constituents who are beginning to feel the pain of the economic crisis we are entering. I am convinced that my constituents will feel that pain grow if we do not act, and that pain will be felt in job losses. Therefore, I have decided to support this economic recovery effort. Make no mistake, this bill is a far better deal for American taxpayers than what was originally brought to the House floor. My colleagues and I fought hard to include additional taxpayer and market driven protections that will restore trust in our banks, including raising the FDIC insurance limit to protect my constituents' bank accounts. My vote is the right decision for my constituents and America, not for political popularity.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield).

Mr. SHUSTER. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam).

Mr. SHUSTER. May I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. SHUSTER. I would like to yield myself 30 seconds just to respond to what the gentleman mentioned about the automotive industry and the $25 billion loan they want and about the $700 billion. Well, the good news in this debate today about the railroad industry is that the railroad doesn't need it. The railroad industry is successful, and we need to make sure that they continue to be successful and that they don't require any kind of assistance from the Federal Government. They're the only freight rail system in the world that doesn't require the Federal Government's propping it up. So that's a good news story here today, and that's what we want to keep doing. I would also like to submit for the Record a letter from the Association of American Railroads and the short lines in this country that are directly affected by this legislation, and they are opposed to it. Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC, September 27, 2008. Dear Representative: The House may consider H.R. 6707 on the suspension calendar today. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) strongly oppose H.R. 6707-- Taking Responsible Action for Community Safety Act. Under current law, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) must evaluate the merits of a railroad merger transaction under a ``public interest'' standard if it involves two Class I railroads. The STB's evaluation takes into account and weighs all issues relevant to the public interest including efficiencies, productivity gains, capacity improvements, and environmental benefits that the transaction will realize. H.R. 6707 would distort that standard and STB evaluation process by requiring the STB to specifically weigh the adverse impacts on safety and local communities against the transportation benefits of a merger. The bill's mandate for the STB's evaluation to specificallly focus on the impact on local communities as a counterweight to the overall transportation benefits that a merger would otherwise realize can result in the disapproval of mergers with significant benefits to the public and to the nation solely because of ``nimby''ism. This would clearly be at odds with rail transportation policy at 49 USC 10101 which has as a goal the development sound transportation system to meet the needs of the public. The bill's requirement for a specific STB focus on local impacts creates an additional regulatory burden and imposes potentially conflicting regulatory requirements. The costs and uncertainties arising from the proposed regulatory process will further discourage parties from entering into transactions that could otherwise bring significant transportation and other public benefits, For all of the above reasons we strongly urge a no vote on

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

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am very, very disappointed to be here today speaking on this bill. The TRACS Act is much too controversial to be considered under suspension. I wrongly believed that we had an understanding with the majority that we would continue to work in a bipartisan manner to improve this bill before we brought it to the floor. That is very unlike, very uncharacteristic of the T&I Committee. We did have one hearing. We had no subcommittee hearings. As I said, that is not characteristic of the Transportation Committee and how it works. So it is disappointing to me to bring this bill here under those circumstances. I oppose H.R. 6707 because I am concerned that changing the Surface Transportation Board's merger and acquisition review process could have unintended consequences of hampering the growth of our Nation's railroad industry. I know that the folks who serve on the committee know how important it is that we expand the capacity of the railroad industry in this country. One of the ways to do that is through mergers and acquisitions. It is an important part of how the industry has to grow and needs to grow because it allows railroads to invest in underutilized trackage around the country. Some on the other side have complained that the class 1 railroads have given up track around the country. I believe they have, and they did it because they were not profitable. But here we have a situation where they are trying to use trackage that will be important to increasing capacity in this country. This bill is likely to have a chilling effect on rail transactions. We are living in an increasingly difficult economic climate, and the last think that we want to do is discourage investment that will improve capacity, and especially in Chicago. Anybody that ships across this country knows that Chicago is the most congested area in the country. It is a bottleneck and it is not only a bottleneck in the upper Midwest, it is a bottleneck to the entire system because so much of our freight goes through Chicago. The port of Seattle, 70 percent of what comes into the port of Seattle flows through to Chicago. So I think Americans need to realize how important Chicago is to the shipment of goods in this country. In the next 20 to 25 years, we expect rail demand to increase 90 percent over today's level, and the industry will need to invest $135 billion in infrastructure just to keep pace with this unprecedented growth. We cannot afford to discourage this investment, and I believe the TRACS Act will do just that. It is also very troubling that this legislation will be retroactive because we are creating a new standard of review for deals reached years ago. This type of retroactive congressional action can, and I believe will, undermine confidence in our regulatory system and deserves much more scrutiny than we have given it. This bill was introduced to kill a single merger, and this has generated significant controversy in the Chicago area, which as I said, is one of the most congested areas in the country. But it will also affect, I believe, all future rail mergers in this country. I am unconvinced that this bill will even accomplish the goals of the Chicago community, to stop CN purchasing the EJ&E line. I understand that CN will spend an astounding $25 million to review the environmental impacts of their acquisition of the EJ&E line. They are offering at least $40 million to offset negative impacts of an increase in train traffic in that area and on that line. But there is nothing in the bill that would prevent the current owner, EJ&E, from running additional trains over those tracks. If the CN deal falls through, the increase in traffic may very well happen. And the $40 million that CN is offering to mitigate the effects, will be off the table. If that turns out, that the $45 million is off the table, that CN is not going to put that the money into the deal, it would be very troubling for those communities. But the STB today has the authority to increase from $40 million to $45 million, to mitigate those problems that they believe will occur. But if it goes too high, it also likely will kill the deal. I am sympathetic to the needs of the communities that are affected by the deal. There are two sides, and I am sorry that we haven't heard much more from the communities that will be affected in a positive way. We hear from the suburbs, the wealthy and upper middle-class suburbs of Chicago that are fighting this, but we haven't heard from the inner city of Chicago where low-income folks will see train traffic decrease so they won't have to deal with the freight trains as much as they do today. I am not in a position to judge whether this transaction should go forward. That is not Congress's job. It is the STB's job. The STB was not brought into this process in drafting the bill. The chairman of the STB and his staff have warned of serious concerns about the affects of this. We need more involvement and input from the STB before we change the rules of the game. Again, I am very disappointed we are here today. I hope we can defeat this and go back to committee and produce a bill that has broad, bipartisan agreement. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHUSTER. I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo).

Mr. SHUSTER. We have none. I am prepared to close. I have how much time left?

Mr. SHUSTER. Again, I just want to reiterate the reasons that I oppose this bill today. First and foremost, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is a committee that does its homework usually, that works hard to understand the issues and come forth with something that is good legislation, and it's also bipartisan. And I think that in this situation, we're not able to reach that standard that we typically do in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Not bringing in the STB to have them at the table, the experts, to really understand how the nuts and bolts of this legislation going forward is going to have a chilling effect, I believe, on our rail industry. We do have the most efficient, the safest railroad industry in the world. It's the gold standard. Countries around the world look at our rail industry and want to copy it, want to try to have that type of freight industry in their countries. But we in Congress sometimes do our best to try to make it extremely difficult for them to operate, to cause them to put mandates on them that I don't believe serve the best interests of not only communities, but of the rail industry and of our economy. As I said, we have the most efficient and safest rail industry of the world, and we should continue to want to see that so that we don't, down the road 10 years, 15 years, see the rail industry coming to Congress asking them to bail them out. As I said, I believe there are going to be unintended consequences of this bill. There are going to be negative effects on the growth of the railroad industry which we desperately need to see going forward as I talked earlier about the increase and demand for rail. The retroactive provision is going to undermine the confidence in our regulatory system, and it's going to, as I said, have a chilling effect on investments when rail companies in the future want to merge. The CN and EJ&E deal, if it's killed, the increase in traffic can still occur on those lines. The situation is going to be, though, that the EJ&E is not going to have to put $40 million of money into mitigating some of the problems and the increase in traffic. So I think that's going to be bad for those communities. And we can't forget the benefits that decreased congestion in Chicago is going to have on America. And also, most importantly, as I said earlier, we're not hearing from those low-income communities in Chicago that have hundreds of trains going through their neighborhood every week. They are going to see a decrease. That voice of those low-income neighborhoods is not being heard, is not being addressed because that is what is going to happen here. Those neighborhoods will benefit also with a decrease in traffic if we are able to spread out trains to decrease that bottleneck that's occurring in Chicago. So I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this piece of legislation, and I urge other members of the committee, let's go back to the committee, let's work together and produce something that we can see improvements to the STB that will be a positive for the communities as well as the economy of this country. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHUSTER. I would like to now yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of John R. Blackburn, Jr., Chairman of the UPMC Bedford Memorial Board of Directors. Mr. Blackburn will be retiring after 53 years of service to the UPMC Bedford Memorial Hospital. During his tenure John, or Jack, as he prefers to be known, has served in multiple leadership roles and has been active in a variety of committees including the Finance Committee and the Scholarship Committee. Jack helped form the Memorial Hospital of Bedford County Foundation, worked on the Spring House Estates project, and was a key player during the transition of the hospital to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Mr. Blackburn was born on December 19, 1922 and has been a life-long resident of Bedford County. After graduating from Bedford High School he enrolled and graduated from the prestigious Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Jack served in the Army Air Corps for 3 years and was 1st Lieutenant in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. He was also one of the select few who flew the B-32 bomber in the Philippines during that conflict. After his military service Mr. Blackburn returned home and became a partner of Blackburn Russell, a grocery distributor in Bedford. When Jack became a member of the Bedford Memorial Hospital Board of Directors in 1955 he was following a path paved by his father, John Blackburn, Sr., who has been one of the original Board members. Jack's service to the hospital was anything but in his father's shadow. He served on 12 different hospital committees administering everything from the Buildings and Grounds Committee to the Congestive Heart Failure Committee. He was elected Secretary of the Board in 1964 and served in that role until he was elected Vice-President in 1976. Ten years later Jack found himself elevated to the position of President of the Board of Directors. His position was retitled in 1994 making him Chairman of the Board. After 22 years of leading the Board, and 53 years of service overall, Jack made the decision to step down and enjoy retirement. Mr. Blackburn and his late wife, Elizabeth dedicated their lives to improving their community. Jack has been an active member and leader in the Bedford community for many years and is well respected. A life of servitude to one's community is something to be proud of. It is also not one that is easy to step away from, because in a man like Jack Blackburn, the desire to help others and the community is something that never truly disappears. I would like to wish Mr. Blackburn all the best in his future endeavors. It is my pleasure to honor Mr. Blackburn today for his many years of service to the Bedford Community, and I hold him up as a model example of good citizenship.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the career and mark the retirement of Alan Loessy from the Letterkenny Army Depot in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Alan Loessy began his 33 year long career in public service as a field representative in Franklin County for Congressman Bud Shuster. His exemplary work for the people of the 9th Congressional District made him a perfect candidate to join the outstanding team at the Letterkenny Army Depot and in May 1989 he joined the Letterkenny staff as a personnel management specialist. In his capacity at Letterkenny, Mr. Loessy worked on behalf of the thousands of employees entering or departing civil service from Letterkenny and its many tenant activities. It was a job that required dedication, extreme patience, and a complete understanding of the Depot's position in the family of Department of Defense facilities as the installation down-sized. Alan's support to those many individuals during the transition will long be remembered. In July 1995 Alan was assigned as a public affairs specialist and became the Letterkenny Public Affairs Officer. He worked to convey the message of the contributions the men and women of Letterkenny made to the defense of the nation. He was the public face of the depot to the media and worked cooperatively with print and television reporters to leave a positive and lasting impression of the good work being done inside the depot fence line. In 2002 Mr. Loessy was one of the founding members of Opportunity 05, a local group that helped build the case for Letterkenny's continued growth under 2005 Base Realignment and Closing round. The success of that effort was celebrated by many but none more so than Alan who played a key role behind the scenes. Throughout his long career, Alan Loessy personified dedication, commitment and excellence to the people employed by Letterkenny and the corps of civilian employees in the Department of Defense. I know first hand how hard he worked with my own staff to promote the mission of the Letterkenny Army Depot. While Alan will be missed by everyone, his retirement brings new opportunities for him to follow. I along with the entire Shuster family wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors and congratulate Alan Loessy for a job well done.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for yielding to me. It's a great honor and privilege for me to be on the House floor tonight, coming to the well to talk about a very good friend, a dear friend, John Peterson. And I have to tell you about, we go back 12 years, and very little known to Members of this body, but John Peterson ran for Congress in a primary against my brother for Congress. And many would say, well, how can you say, ``your dear friend'' when a guy like John Peterson ran hard and defeated your brother in a primary? But John Peterson and I and my family quickly after that primary election became very close and got behind John and supported him to become the Congressman from the Fifth District. But John, when I first came to Congress, was one of the first people to come to me and offer me advice, and I took it readily because of his long career in the State Senate and his years here in the House, listening to John and, as I said, becoming very, very good friends. John is one of my very close and best and dearest friends here in Congress, and it's because John and I share the same principles. We share the same values. We share a similar background, coming from a small business. John ran a grocery store in the Fifth District of Pennsylvania. He worked extremely hard, and as he worked his political career through the House and the Senate of Pennsylvania, anybody you talk to, whether it's here in Washington or whether it's in Harrisburg, talk about John's hard work and his tenacity. He's one of those guys that my colleague from Lehigh Valley said, you know it's John when he sinks his teeth into something, he doesn't let go. He fights and he fights and he fights, and his career has been an example of that, for the 20 years he served in the State legislature and the 14 years he's served here in Congress. And he is one of the hardest working Members of the House of Representatives. I go back to, I remember John before I came to Congress on television going to Russia, fighting to get the release of one of his constituents who was arrested because the Russians at the time thought he was a spy. But it was John Peterson on national television, in Russia, pounding and fighting to make sure that his constituent was released. And you know, John Peterson, with that tenacity, that hard work, was able to do that, and that family is grateful to him. The people of his district are grateful for his hard work and his expertise. I think it's been mentioned here tonight by different colleagues about his expertise on a number of issues, and John really understood the issues of rural America. In his role as the chairman of the Rural Caucus for a number of years, he was out there always fighting for those issues. Whether it was health care, whether it was education, economic development, John Peterson understood it as well or better than any Member of Congress, those issues for rural America, and he was a tireless advocate for those issues. As well as here in the last several months on the House floor, it was John Peterson and his knowledge and expertise on energy. John Peterson knew energy. Being a representative from the district that the first well in America in 1859 was sunk in his district, John took that issue and made it his own issue, and he was able to talk about that issue with great authority. Many of us went to John to try to understand, try to get the knowledge from John when it came to energy issues. Whether it was OCS, whether it was biomass or renewables, John Peterson knew those issues. Also, a little known fact is that John's family owns a business that sells furnaces, that sells heating apparatuses that use alternative energy. Whether it's corn, whether it's wood, it's John Peterson who is up there in the weekends selling those products, talking to people about them because he understands them. John Peterson is a grassroots politician. He understands the issues from the grassroots up, and this Congress is better today because of people like John Peterson, because of John Peterson, because of his knowledge of the issues. He is going to be missed significantly here in Congress because of that aspect of his knowledge on his grassroots issues and rural America and energy. I want to make sure that I thank my colleague Mr. English for organizing this Special Order tonight to thank John Peterson and also to say thanks and congratulations to John and his wife Sandy who are celebrating a wedding anniversary. As I said, I'm going to miss John Peterson personally. I know my colleagues will miss him in the Pennsylvania delegation, and I believe that America will miss John Peterson because of his advocacy of issues that are so, so important to America and especially to rural America. So, with that, I thank the gentleman.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct privilege to rise today to congratulate and celebrate the congregation of Aguath Achim of Altoona, Pennsylvania, on their 125th anniversary. Agudath Achim which translates to ``a union of brothers and sisters'' began its long and rich history in 1883 when its members began meeting in the homes of their neighbors and fellow worshipers. It was through this humble beginning that the men and women of Agudath Achim were able to pool their resources, their faith and their effort into the construction of their first wooden synagogue in 1895. This wooden Shule sat on the site of the congregation's second synagogue which dates back to 1925 and has served as the congregation's home ever since. The contribution made by the Jewish people to Pennsylvania and our national heritage cannot be understated. In 1746 the first man to explore what is now Blair County and the home to Agudath Achim was a Jew named Colonel Conrad Weiser. He was followed in 1754 by Stephen Franks, founder of Frankstown, Pennsylvania. In 1778 General Daniel Roberdeau, a Jew from York, Pennsylvania and a member of the Continental Congress became aware of the presence of lead mines in central Pennsylvania. At his own expense, General Roberdeau traveled to our region and built a fort in what would one day become Altoona to begin mining and processing much-needed lead ammunition to General Washington's troops at Valley Forge. These early pioneers were part of a larger group of hardworking and devout Jews that helped lay the foundation for the Pennsylvania we know and love today. The men and women of Agudath Achim carry with them this heritage and they have given tirelessly and unflinchingly of their energy, time and finances to enrich and improve their community. The congregation of Agudath Achim is an extended family who shares in the celebrations, joys and sorrows life brings. The Agudath Achim membership is proud of their heritage and with God's help will grow in strength and continue to be an inspiring factor in the lives of its membership and to the larger community of Blair County and the city of Altoona. Over the past 125 years, the members of Agudath Achim and Jews throughout the world have born witness to immense transformations of their people. They have endured the horrors of intolerance and inhumanity brought on by the Holocaust. They have been uplifted by the formation of the State of Israel and they have seen their community flourish though Jewish immigration from post-war Europe. Through it all, the congregation of Agudath Achim endured and provided a stable foundation on which to grow. The fact that we are able to commemorate Agudath Achim's 125th anniversary is a testament to the character of its members and the congregation's success is a testament to all of the men, women, and children who have made the Agudath Achim Synagogue the paramount focus of their lives. I would like to congratulate Hazzan G. Michael Horwitz, Dr. Elliott Bilofsky, Joel H. Hollander and the synagogue's past presidents of both the Synagogue Boards and the Sisterhood and all of their past and present members who have guided Agudath Achim's destiny over the past 125 years. I have no doubt that the members of Agudath Achim will continue their path of excellence as they begin to write the next chapter of their history.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, consistent with the Republican Leadership's policy on earmarks, I am placing this statement in the Congressional Record. Requesting Member: Congressman Bill Shuster (PA-9). Bill Number: H.R. 2638--The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009. Military Construction Projects were previously disclosed in a statement on H.R. 6599--The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs FY09 Appropriations bill. Defense Appropriations Projects Project Name: Expeditionary Persistent Power. Account: Research, Development, Test, and Eval, Defensewide. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Mission Critical Solutions, LLC. Address of Requesting Entity: 271 Industrial Lane, Alum Bank, PA 15521. Description of Request/Justification of Federal Funding: $1.6 million for Expeditionary Persistent Power. It is my understanding that funding will be used for research, development, testing, and evaluation. This program builds on the recent success and advancements in ground based power and alternative propulsion systems for USSOCOM as well as advancements in the ultra thin film solar and small wind driven regeneration systems. The power/ propulsion system will use latest-generation, commercially available Li-ion polymer batteries storing power from wind, solar, and regeneration techniques. USSOCOM has a continuing requirement for Expeditionary Power and Clandestine Propulsion Systems for ground, marine, and UVs for all operations environments and tactical scenarios. It is also my understanding that approximately 55 percent of funding would be used for labor costs, approximately 40 percent of funding would be used for materials, and approximately 5 percent of funding would be used for travel and other costs. Project Name: Fire Support Technology Improvement Program. Account: Research, Development, Test, & Eval, Army. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Szanca Solutions, Inc. Address of Requesting Entity: 100 East Pitt Street, Suite 300, Bedford, PA 15522. Description of Request/Justification of Federal Funding: $800,000 for Fire Support Technology Improvement Program. It is my understanding that funding for this project would be used for research, development, testing, and evaluation to leverage and develop advanced artillery battle management technologies and to integrate these advanced technologies into the Army fire support modernization initiatives. This program will help in Battlefield Damage Assessment (BDA) for target re-fire, to include target of opportunity avoidance due to weighted benefits of a current intel information resource that is supplying crucial tactical intel information. This effort will also decrease the time from target identification to firing. The program will also provide Theater Commanders with the intelligence to determine if a fire mission may affect critical infrastructures or resources (water and oil pipelines, power lines or support facilities) that are critical to the civilian population. It is also my understanding that approximately 80 percent of funding would be used for staff, approximately 17 percent of funding would be used to design and implement a test facility, and approximately 3 percent of funding would be used for travel and other costs. Project Name: Maritime C4ISR System. Account: Research, Development, Test, & Eval, Army. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Mission Critical Solutions, LLC. Address of Requesting Entity: 271 Industrial Lane, Alum Bank, PA 15521 Description of Request/Justification of Federal Funding: $800,000 for Maritime C4ISR System. It is my understanding that funding would be used for research, development, testing, and evaluation. This project would be used to support C4ISR situations awareness for maritime protection activities. The Maritime C4ISR System is a comprehensive suite of sensor devices together with IP based network communications to support C4ISR situational awareness for maritime protection activities. The system was conceived for port and coastal security missions requiring enhanced situational awareness, integrating and fusing existing sensors via IP. The Maritime C4ISR system allows the user to manage several complex and diverse tasks simultaneously through remote access, automation, information management, and the development or enhancement of decision aids to simplify decision-making and support defensive action by joint forces. It is also my understanding that approximately 50 percent of funding would be used for labor, approximately 42 percent of funding would be used for material, and approximately 8 percent of funding would be used for travel and other costs. Project Name: Hospital Emergency Planning and Integration (HEPI). Account: Research, Development, Test, & Eval, Army. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: L. Robert Kimball & Associates. Address of Requesting Entity: 615 W. Highland Avenue, P.O. Box 1006, Ebensburg, PA 15931. The project will be located at the Letterkenny Army Depot and the Chambersburg Hospital in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Description of Request/Justification of Federal Funding: $800,000 for Hospital Emergency Planning and Integration. It is my understanding that funding for this project would be used for research, development, testing, and evaluation to establish a network of regional communication and collaboration centers, fielded by the Department of Defense (DOD) that will provide technology to emergency responders for day-to-day use and will provide a system for execution of the DOD Homeland Defense mission. The development of enterprise architecture will link existing state and local systems with the DOD and other federal agencies. It is also my understanding that approximately 85 percent of funding would be used for the expansion of the HEPI program throughout the South Central Counter- Terrorism Task Force Region and approximately 15 percent of funding would be used to enhance and refine HEPI program capabilities. Project Name: Rural Health (CERMUSA). Account: Research, Development, Test, & Eval, Army. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: St. Francis University. Address of Requesting Entity: 117 Evergreen Drive, P.O. Box 600, Loretto, PA 15940. Description of Request/Justification of Federal Funding: $2.4 million for Rural Health (CERMUSA). It is my understanding that funding for this project would be used for research, development, testing, and evaluation to continue the St. Francis University Center of Excellence for Remote & Medically Under- Served Areas (CERMUSA) national test bed for research in telehealth, distance learning, telerehabilitation, and associated technologies. It is also my understanding that approximately 60 percent of funding would be used for a test bed for informational technologies, approximately 25 percent for a test bed for telehealth, telerehabilitation, and healthcare education research, and approximately 15 percent for a distance learning test bed for rural and under-served areas.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the winners of the ``No Limits'' awards from the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Altoona. HealthSouth has presented these rehabilitation awards to members of their community who have remained steadfast in overcoming an illness or disability. This year I congratulate: Trudy White, winner of the ``No Limits'' Advocate Award and Dustin Dillon and Franklin Foster, winners of the ``No Limits'' Personal Achievement Awards. In March 2007, Trudy White was admitted to the Altoona Hospital for shortness of breath with both respiratory and congestive heart failure and was placed on a ventilator for several days. Trudy came to HealthSouth in May 2007 and was then transferred to Johnstown Select Specialty Hospital after being diagnosed with critical illness myopathy. Trudy was placed on a ventilator for several weeks while also battling diabetes. Trudy went through an extremely exhausting period but was able to overcome her illness. Trudy is currently in the Wellness Program and even volunteers her time with patient charts and at a lunchtime group. While Trudy's life was completely interrupted by her illness, she was able to overcome each challenge with an embracing smile, a warm heart, and a strong mind. While still working to fight against her illness, Trudy is an active mother and grandmother attending her grandson's baseball games and hosting pizza parties at ``Trudy's Place.'' Dustin Dillon is the recipient of the ``No Limits'' Personal Achievement Award. Dustin was nominated for this award by his father. Dustin was born 10 weeks premature and had a bleed on his brain requiring a shunt when he was only 2 months old. While going to school and attending classes, Dustin would suffer from headaches and stomach problems. As a result, Dustin was taken to the hospital for a CAT scan and then transferred to another hospital. Dustin suffered a stroke while awaiting diagnosis and went into a coma. The doctors told Dustin's parents that his chance for recovery was less than 5 percent. Dustin's father, Gary, would sit and talk with his son in the evenings and encourage him to respond. Dustin was able to move his hands and feet at his father's request. After an examination, Dustin was transferred to HealthSouth Altoona. After spending a month there, Dustin was able to talk, sit up, eat regular foods, and wash and dress himself. Dustin has returned to school and continues his therapy as an outpatient. Thanks to Dustin's hard work and the help of his therapist at HealthSouth, Dustin was able to return to school at West Branch Senior High School. Franklin Foster is also a recipient of the ``No Limits'' Personal Achievement Award. Frank has suffered four strokes since 2004 and has been a patient of HealthSouth ever since. The strokes have severely impaired Frank's speech and limited his ability to swallow. Though it is difficult to understand Frank's speech, he continues to use his speech clarity strategies he has learned in therapy. Frank has incredible patience and never appears to be frustrated. Frank loves to tell jokes, and he works hard so others can appreciate and comprehend his humor. Frank's cheerfulness has inspired many on staff at HealthSouth, and he continues to work to overcome his disability. Congratulations to Trudy, Dustin and Franklin. Their accomplishments are a testament that with hard work, persistence, and a big heart, we can overcome any hardship. I congratulate each of them on their perseverance, and I wish them the best as they continue to overcome their illnesses and disabilities while setting an example for the rest of the community.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 616, rollcall No. 617, and rollcall No. 618, I was not present. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall No. 616, ``yes'' on rollcall No. 617, and ``yes'' on rollcall No. 618.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Finally, I do want to say thank you to my colleagues: to Chairman Oberstar for his leadership and hard work, to Chairwoman Brown for her hard work and cooperation and for allowing us to participate in a significant manner in the writing of this bill and for putting in some important provisions that we needed to have in here to be able to support this bill, and also to the leader on the Republican side, Mr. Mica, for his leadership and hard work. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to be the ranking member on this subcommittee. Thank you. Again, I urge passage.

Mr. SHUSTER. I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding. Madam Speaker, today is an important day for our Nation's railroad industry. We are authorizing, as everybody has been talking about, Amtrak, which has not been done in 10 years. We are also considering a comprehensive rail safety legislation which will make our Nation's railways safer for both passengers and freight trains. I'm heartened that we are considering this bill now, and I hope it's offering some small degree of comfort to the families who are suffering after the recent Metrolink disaster in California. America's railroads are becoming an increasingly important part of our transportation backbone. The gridlock on our highways and in the air and the need to conserve energy makes the case for passenger rail even more compelling. I believe that expanded passenger rail service can do a great deal to ease the congestion and, as I said, to conserve the energy that we so desperately need to conserve. But it's important that the private sector be given a chance to participate. I believe this bill is an important step towards this goal because it allows the private sector to bid on lines where Amtrak currently operates, and I believe the private sector, if given an opportunity, can greatly improve the efficiencies in our passenger rail system. I would encourage and would ask those on my side of the aisle who for years have wanted to eliminate, to break up and to kill Amtrak to consider this bill. We have important private-sector initiatives in this bill. Instead of talking about theory, we can see it go in motion, and then we'll have the evidence that I believe will come about by having the private sector's being involved. As I said, we will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the private sector can operate, once again, a passenger rail service in this country in an effective and efficient manner. I also support this bill because it has given an important opportunity to the private sector to submit proposals for the construction of high-speed rail lines, starting with the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor, followed by other corridors designated for high-speed rail service. High-speed rail has been in long use overseas--in Japan with the Bullet train for over 40 years and with the French with their TGV trains that have been in revenue service. I'm excited about the possibility of bringing this technology or similar technology to the United States so that we can open up the Northeast Corridor and can get some cars off the highways and can get people off of planes and into rail service. I just have to look to Pennsylvania, to the Keystone Corridor from Harrisburg to Philadelphia, which has been a partnership between Amtrak and the States. They have upgraded the lines. They now have service that runs 110 miles an hour between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. In its first year of service, it's up almost 20 percent in ridership. I think that's proof that high-speed rail or that higher speed rail with dependable service is something that Americans will use in significant numbers. The rail safety component of this bill is equally important, and it will result in a number of things: one being the installation of Positive Train Control by the end of 2015 on all routes that carry passengers and on all mainline routes that carry toxic materials like chlorine. PTC will use state-of-the-art technology to prevent trains from colliding into each other. What happened with the Metrolink disaster possibly could have been avoided or probably would have been avoided if we had had PTC. We are also providing grants to help defray some of these costs because we are mandating it. I think it's the appropriate thing, when we mandate something, to contribute to that cost. So, as I said, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill. Those who have come to the floor and who have argued in the past against Amtrak, please consider this. As I said, with the private-sector initiatives that are in this bill, it gives us a chance to put those theories forward for practical purposes. So I do urge the passage of this.