David Schweikert

Mr. SCHWEIKERT

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. But here's the classic problem in the design of that. If the Neighborhood Stabilization Act does what I think it does, it's either a municipality, a nonprofit, this and that, buying a property, sometimes rehabbing it, sometimes removing the boarded-up windows, sometimes just buying a property and competing with the private investors and the first-time home buyers in that neighborhood and then turning around and putting it back on the market. Well, if one of our problems out there is we have a glut of properties on the market, and that's one of the things holding down our values, and I'm going to continue to support a program that's going to drop another billion dollars buying properties and then putting them back on the market. We have a circular logic here where I can't imagine the mechanics within this, well meaning as they may be, actually have any basis in economics or particularly real estate economics.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chair, first, this is one of those few moments I get to stand behind the microphone; and I say, having met the good woman from California, she has actually been very gentle to me as a freshman, so far. But one of my concerns here is very, very simple: there is $6 billion out there. And I won't call it a slush fund. Back in my days as Maricopa County Treasurer, we would call it a revolving fund. There is $6 billion out there already that goes out, and if the property is sold, comes back; and that I believe operates for 5 years from the enactment of the bill. Well, a letter like this goes out and says, Oh, well, the last $1 billion isn't going to be there for you, but please keep using the $6 billion you already have to go do more good works in the neighborhood. My great fear is something like this doesn't really accomplish much good.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Chairman, I am pleased that we're actually accepting this amendment, because if we get an honest study from it, it could be some very interesting numbers. But I hope it's an honest study that also looks from top to bottom. Such as in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in the previous $6 billion that has been spent, what crowding out has it done? What first-time homebuyers, what investors, found themselves competing with government? It would be interesting to know. Also, we keep hearing the numbers of saying, well, with our government money we created this many jobs. How many jobs were being created if they were private investors or first-time homebuyers or other families that were acquiring the same sort of properties and fixing them up? If we're going to get like for like, it will be fascinating. Then we also have to deal with the reality of it as we saw in the previous amendment. In that amendment, it was claiming there were about 1,061,000, we'll call them vacant units in the country. Okay. If we start doing the math with the remaining billion dollars of additional money, how much impact does that have? And will the study also step up and say, with the $6 billion that's out there that's supposed to be acting like a revolving fund, 5 years from the beginning of this program, which was what, last summer? How is that money being used? How much velocity is it really getting? Or is it now sitting in houses that are competing with other neighbors who are trying to sell theirs.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt Dam, the cornerstone of water resource operations in Central Arizona. The reliable, sustainable water supply provided by the dam and its reservoir, Theodore Roosevelt Lake, has served as an economic catalyst that spurred decades of growth and helped create the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The Salt River Valley, home to metropolitan Phoenix, was little more than a few military outposts and prospecting camps until the first modern canal company was organized in 1867. The success of this venture encouraged more irrigation concerns. Most used the ancient canal networks created and maintained by an indigenous civilization that thrived in the area more than 1,000 years earlier. As a result of these canal companies, settlements cropped up across the Valley. Local leaders agreed a dam was needed to regulate the flow of the Salt River, which fed the canal networks, to ensure a reliable source of water and sustain development. A group including a surveyor, journalist, and canal company superintendent identified a possible dam site in 1889 about 80 miles east of Phoenix near the confluence of Tonto Creek and the Salt River. The site was nestled among the Superstition wilderness area, the Sierra Ancha Mountains, and the Salt River Canyon. Next, residents had to determine how to pay for such a massive undertaking. The Salt River Valley Water Users' Association was organized in 1903 when Valley landowners pledged their property as collateral for a government loan to build the proposed dam. It was a unique arrangement only made possible by an act of Congress the previous year, the National Reclamation Act of 1902. Dam construction began in 1905 under the supervision of the U.S. Reclamation Service, now the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. When completed in early 1911 and dedicated personally by the president whose name it bears, Roosevelt was the world's largest masonry dam. Hydroelectric generation from the dam provided early power to, and served as the basis of, power operations for the Salt River Project (SRP), a water and power entity that includes the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association. Roosevelt Dam has undergone various improvements through the ages, including three separate upgrades of its hydroelectric generating capacity. A major modification of the dam and reservoir was completed in 1996 when the height of the dam was raised by 77 feet and the dam envelope was strengthened. This modification was part of a comprehensive project to increase water storage, improve dam safety and enhance flood control throughout central Arizona. Through a partnership with SRP, the federal government, and state and local communities, central Arizona has grown into a vital metropolitan region in the Southwest. Mr. Speaker, as Theodore Roosevelt Dam embarks on its second century of service to the people of the Salt River Valley, it deserves special recognition for its historic and invaluable contributions to my state.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, the gentlelady from Ohio may actually have stumbled upon something, and if she's ready to actually help us, so a State like Arizona, we can actually own our land, great. But until that time, you've got to understand, only 18 percent of our State is privately owned. Tribal lands, Federal lands, BLM lands, other government lands. Are we ready to start paying the full property tax load? I was the county treasurer in Maricopa County and huge portions of our county, we can't even touch. If you want a sense of fairness, then we step up and we give the land back to the State. Until that time, this borders on silly.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, today is one of those special days, and for many of us, you think of it as Valentine's Day, but for Arizona, this is our 99th birthday. Today, we begin our 100th year, and the wonderful folks in Arizona, which is a stunningly beautiful State, for those of you who have not had a chance to visit us--from the Grand Canyon, down through the mountains, down even further to the desert plateaus, to the grasslands down south--come join us for our 100th anniversary celebration. All through this year, all up and down the State, there are going to be special activities, special dinners, special commemorations for the baby State, the valentine State that is Arizona, as it begins its 100th anniversary today.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I never met Judge Roll, but if you were judged by the comments, the love, the number of touches I've received just in the last 24 hours, we have a gentleman here with an amazing history, an amazing reputation. Just walking up the stairs, while coming here onto the floor of the House, I was on the floor with a local attorney, named Steve Twist, who could not stop sharing comments of the fairness and of the devotion to his faith. The fact of the matter is Judge Roll was tough, but you were always going to get your appropriate day in court. Therefore, I hope naming this courthouse in Yuma that he painstakingly spent time on helping design and get right is just the first step in a fitting tribute to a life well lived.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution. It is with a heavy heart that I come to the floor today to offer these thoughts on the tragic events of this past Saturday in Tucson that took the lives of Judge John M. Roll, Christina Taylor Green, Dorwin Stoddard, Dorothy Morris, Gabe Zimmerman, and Phyllis Schneck and gravely injured Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and many others. Just last week my wife Joyce and I had the opportunity to visit with Gabby in Statuary Hall before the ceremonial swearing-in. As in so many of my other interactions with her, Gabby was gracious, energetic, and willing to offer a lending hand as I got settled. We took a few photos and talked about ways we would work together in good spirits. Of course, Gabby and I also went back-and-forth about our favorite rivalry, ASU versus U of A. Gabby takes enormous pride in her job representing the communities and people of the 8th district. My wife Joyce and I send our thoughts and prayers to Mark during this difficult time. We are deeply appreciative of Mark's generosity in sharing Gabby with us in Washington and Arizona. It is also important to not forget that these individuals lost their lives or were injured while they were exercising their right to participate and have a say in our nation's republic. Indeed, they became victims while exercising a fundamental right that has served as the backbone of our nation since its founding--a right our nation's founders sacrificed so dearly for. Just as the victims of this past Saturday's tragedy did as well. We are stunned by the tragedy, but we remain resolute in our commitment assemble peacefully and engage civilly in the type of discourse that is fundamental to our republic. Although words may not be sufficient to capture the sorrow and grief we are experiencing, Joyce and I send our thoughts and prayers to Gabby, Mark, Roxanna and John Green, the parents of Christina Taylor Green and the loved ones of Judge Roll, Dorwin Stoddard, Dorothy Morris, Gabe Zimmerman, Phyllis Schneck, and the Tucson community. Our hearts and prayers are with you.

Mr. SCHWEIKERT

Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I come to the floor today to offer these thoughts on this tragic event this past Saturday outside Tucson that took the lives of John M. Roll, Christina Taylor Green, Dorwan Stoddard, Dorothy Morris, Gabe Zimmerman, and Phyllis Schneck, and gravely injured our colleague, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. It was just last week that my wife and I had the opportunity to visit with Gabby in Statuary Hall before the ceremonial swearing in. And as so many of you know, our interactions with her were gracious, energetic, and she was willing to help us as we were setting up our freshman office. We took a few photos. We talked about ways we could work together, and of course we engaged in the banter and teasing of Arizona's favorite rivalry, ASU versus U of A. Gabby takes enormous pride in the job in representing the communities of southern Arizona. And my wife and I send our thoughts and prayers to Mark during this difficult time. We deeply appreciate the gift Mark generously shares with all of us here in Washington and back in Arizona. It is also important not to forget the individuals who lost their lives or who were injured while they were exercising their right to participate and have a say in this Republic. Indeed, they became victims while exercising a fundamental right that has served as a backbone of this country since its founding, a right our Nation's Founders sacrificed so dearly for, just as the victims this last Saturday have tragically also sacrificed for. We are stunned by the tragedy, but we remain resolute in our commitment to assemble peacefully, engage civilly in the types of discourse that are fundamental to maintaining this Republic. Although words may not sufficiently capture the sorrow and grief we are experiencing, particularly in Arizona, Joyce and I send our thoughts, our prayers to Gabby; Mark; Roxanna and John Green, the parents of little Christina Taylor Green; and the loved ones of Judge Roll, Dorwan Stoddard, Dorothy Morris, Gabe Zimmerman, Phyllis Schneck, the community of Tucson and southern Arizona, all Arizona, this Nation. Our hearts are heavy, but our prayers are with all of you.