Greg Walden

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to pay special tribute Hood River County Sheriff's Deputy Don Dillenbeck. Deputy Dillenbeck is retiring from the Sheriff's Office on July 29, capping more than 37 years of duty, honor and service to the citizens and visitors of Hood River County, Oregon. Don Dillenbeck was born and raised in my home town of Hood River, Oregon where he graduated from Hood River Valley High School in 1972. Don began his career in public safety as a Dispatcher and Corrections Deputy with the Hood River County Sheriff's Office on January 23, 1975. Deputy Dillenbeck was promoted to Road Deputy in 1978, taking on more responsibility with his new position. Patrolling the county for the next 34 years and serving under three different Sheriffs, Deputy Dillenbeck logged over 1 million miles on six different patrol cars. His duties included not only the protection of the public, but also the training and mentoring of new Deputies. His extensive knowledge of procedure, law and tactics has been invaluable to the county over the course of his career. Mr. Speaker, Deputy Dillenbeck is also somewhat of a celebrity due to a dangerous highspeed pursuit that was featured on the television program ``World's Wildest Police Chases.'' In 1997, a fleeing suspect rammed his patrol car three times. Thankfully, the suspect was apprehended and did not seriously injure Deputy Dillenbeck. This incident is a prime example of the high level of commitment Deputy Dillenbeck holds for public service. When he is called upon to put his own life in danger--whether it's apprehending a fleeing felon or volunteering as a firefighter with Westside Fire Department--Deputy Dillenbeck can be counted on to answer. Although he will officially retire from his full-time position, Deputy Dillenbeck has requested to remain with the Sheriff's Office in a volunteer capacity as a Reserve Deputy so he can continue to serve and protect the public in Hood River County. Even in retirement, Deputy Don Dillenbeck will continue to answer the call to service. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my fellow colleagues join me in recognizing Don Dillenbeck. He has earned the thanks of a grateful nation not only for his dedication to service, but for his unwavering commitment to his community. Please join me in wishing Deputy Don Dillenbeck a very long and happy retirement.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. I now yield 3 minutes to a member of the Judiciary Committee who chairs the Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet Subcommittee and who has been one of our terrific leaders on the Republican side on the Internet with regard to keeping it free and open, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 127) expressing the sense of Congress regarding actions to preserve and advance the multistakeholder governance model under which the Internet has thrived.

Mr. WALDEN. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. WALDEN. I'm now honored to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono Mack), the sponsor of this legislation, the chairman of the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and a very active and effective member of the subcommittee I chair, the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, who has put a lot of time into making sure the Internet remains free and open. This is her resolution. We thank her for her work.

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Tonight, the U.S. House of Representatives will send a clear and distinct message not only to our negotiators but to the world that we stand for liberty and we stand for freedom. When it comes to the Internet, both of those are incredibly important. The Internet has brought us economic prosperity not here alone but all over the globe. The Internet has allowed for political discourse as never imagined by the great scholars of Greece and Rome. It's brought us intellectual capabilities. If you think about what you can do on the Internet today to research something, to evaluate something, there are an unlimited number of sources of data. It's improved our lives. It's improved our lives through our political systems. It's allowed people who thought they had no opportunity to effect change to have an overwhelming effect by communicating together. This really is a vote for liberty. It's a vote for freedom. It's a vote for free speech. It's a vote for the things that our Founders believed in when they gave us the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It's our version of that. We know that there are forces out there in the world that are opposed to all of those things, because they want command and control of their people, and that's not right. We have an opportunity tonight to send a clear and convincing message that we stand in America for freedom of the Internet, for no government anywhere in the globe taking charge of it and shutting it down and denying that great human spirit that we believe in so much here in America. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join us in a unanimous show of support. I thank my staff and the staff of Representative Eshoo and Ranking Member Waxman for their good work on this, and especially to my colleague from California, Mary Bono Mack, who raised this with us early on and worked closely to write a piece of legislation, that, as you can see in a sometimes otherwise controversial House, has brought us all together. That's a real tribute to Congresswoman Bono Mack's work. With that, Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. I want to thank my colleagues here on the floor today for their support of this legislation, S. 270, the La Pine Land Conveyance Act. This legislation was originally crafted over in the Senate by my friend and colleague, Senator Wyden. We've worked together on this project and thought that the most expeditious way to solve the problem for the people of La Pine was to just move his bill on through the Senate, and that's what we're doing today. The La Pine Land Conveyance Act is the result of efforts of local officials who recognized years ago that for Oregon's newest city, the city of La Pine, to be able to take care of its residents, it needed a helping hand from the Federal Government. Here's why: Seventy-eight percent of Deschutes County, the county in which the city of La Pine is located, is managed, owned, and controlled by the Federal Government. They're literally surrounded by Federal land. In fact, their own library sits on BLM land. So, as they became a city and began to try to address the issues that brought about their desire to be a city, they realized they needed to be able to expand a little and take care of some of their problems. So, S. 270 will provide the city with 750 acres so it can build a new wastewater treatment facility, which will allow the community to move off of septic systems and onto municipal water and sewer systems. They have a real problem in La Pine with a fairly high water table and issues related to septic systems, so this will help solve that. In addition, this legislation also transfers 150 acres to the La Pine Park and Recreation District to establish a more permanent home for what's known as the ``Greatest Little Rodeo in Oregon,'' the La Pine Rodeo, and also to help them build out one of their other celebrations, one which all Americans take advantage of, and that's the Fourth of July. Now, why are these two things important? Well, among another reasons, it's a job creator. Expanding out the rodeo grounds really will help them grow jobs in this remote, rural community in Deschutes County. In addition, of course, transferring the other lands will let them have a library on their own city ground and be able to take care of the water needs for the community. So I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for support of S. 270. This is one of those commonsense bills that actually brings us together and we can get some work done here for the people back home.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who have brought this legislation forward as well. Again, this, like the prior bill, it's a partnership between Senator Wyden and myself, as we've worked together to resolve some of these land issues out in Oregon. This one's kind of interesting. In 1936, the City of Wallowa actually donated this parcel of land to the U.S. Forest Service, and what we're doing today is giving it back to the city. They had a Forest Service compound there for many years and then, at some point, probably 20, 30 years ago, quit using it for that purpose and, basically, the buildings are in horrible disrepair. I was out there a few weeks ago and toured the compound site with Gwen Trice and some of the county officials and took a look at the facility as it is today and, literally, they've had water damage inside. One place the ceiling had caved in. But they have this plan. They have this plan to turn this into this interpretive site to honor and teach the history about Maxville, which was a railroad logging town that existed about 15 miles north of Wallowa. Now, what's interesting about this, the emergence of the Maxville project really reflects the local community's deep appreciation for the preservation of this unique history, and they want to use this facility and restore it to display photographs and really tell the story and bring students in to let them learn about Maxville heritage and what went on there. Now, the interpretive center seeks to gather, catalog, preserve, and interpret this rich history of the multicultural logging community of Maxville. Maxville itself operated until the early 1930s and was unique in that it included 50-or-so African Americans and their families and was home to the only segregated school in Oregon. Previous historic records only made small mention of these African Americans. But in the last 3 years, the Maxville heritage project has fostered a reawakening of the interest in this rich chapter of history through public lectures and school visits and Elderhostel lectures and stories that have run across the Nation now. With the groundswell of historic artifacts and stories emerging from descendents and those with relationships to people from Maxville, a large number of video image audio programs are being put together. So what we're doing here today allows this local-grown idea, this vision that Gwen Trice and her supporters have to be able to rehabilitate this compound, restore these beautiful buildings--once beautiful--they're in pretty bad disrepair now. She's got a job ahead of her. But it will help this small town in northeast Oregon add to its many attractions, natural and other, and tell this unique history about this special logging community that existed just north of Wallowa. So I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for once again, in a spirit of bipartisanship, actually solving some problems around here that matter to people back home.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WALDEN. I would ask the gentleman from Florida if he would be willing to enter into a colloquy.

Mr. WALDEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. As chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, I have taken an interest in the use of our Nation's spectrum resources by both Federal and non-Federal users. Spectrum is becoming increasingly important as our Nation's needs for mobile communications grow. Unfortunately, however, demand is quickly outpacing the supply of spectrum. The U.S. Department of Defense is a large user of spectrum. Efficient use of spectrum would therefore not only greatly benefit our country in terms of technological and economic development, but also help our military in conducting its critical mission. Recent discussion of spectrum policy in government has turned to ways that governmental and nongovernmental users might share spectrum to the benefit of both. It has come to my attention that the work of the Department of Defense--through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Joint Program Executive Office Joint Tactical Radio System, and other programs--has been examining some of these sharing technologies, but with mixed results. It is my belief that Congress would benefit greatly from a report on this research. I would suggest that the Department of Defense draft such a report that details the status of its work on cognitive radio, dynamic spectrum access, software-defined radio, and any other spectrum-sharing techniques and technologies. I would like to ask for your support, Mr. Chairman, and assistance in working with the Department of Defense to get additional information on the types of technologies under development and production and how much has been spent to date for these efforts, as well. In addition, I believe that a clearer understanding of the efforts being pursued by the Department of Defense and the associated organizations for joint spectrum management technology developments, what has been deployed and what future investments will achieve is important and should be pursued and we should fully understand what they're doing.

Mr. WALDEN. I thank the chairman for his work on not only this issue and working with us on this, but also your terrific dedication to the country over the years, and especially in moving this legislation forward. I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment Offered by Ms. Lee of California

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the time. I stand here today in support of the bill of my friend and colleague, Mark Amodei. I think it's really important that we use America's resources responsibly to grow jobs in this country. We need American jobs using American resources and not relying on foreign imports and driving our jobs offshore. This is especially important when it comes to our mineral resources. We've heard all the rhetoric on the other side of the aisle, all that stuff. Let me just talk to you about the eastern Oregon miners. They are individual men and women. They are very blue collar. They are not part of the wealthy class you hear talked about here. They've just been trying to work with this Federal Government for over a decade to be able to use the mining claims that they have. Back in 2001 and 2004, the Forest Service grouped together 49 mining plans of operations for analysis and approval. Then in 2005, the Forest Service decision to approve the plans was then litigated, and it resulted in the requirement that the Agency reduce some of its analysis. Today, 11 years later, the Federal Government still can't get their work done. This is in an area that at one time in our history produced some of the most substantial gold, silver, and minerals that we need in the United States. When we pull out all our little electronic gadgets--you know what?-- if it weren't for the mining interests in America, you wouldn't have those gadgets, because that's what goes into what we use. We need to be able to use America's resources. This allows us to do it. The 42 mining operations in Baker County, if they were allowed to work--and these are just average Americans just trying to do what they're allowed to do under Federal law but held up because of the Federal agency's inability to get their work done or unwillingness to in the North Fork and the Burnt River and elsewhere. If they could just move forward, if they could just get an answer out of the Federal Government in something short of 10 or 11 years, they could be producing jobs. They could be producing mineral resources and wealth for this country, the United States of America. We can create jobs here using our mineral resources. Some of these people have died waiting. You shouldn't have to die waiting for your Federal Government to get its work done. That's why we need this bill.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Let's face it, the law that's on the books takes $500 billion out of Medicare and spends it on a new entitlement program. I don't think taking money away from seniors' health care to create a new government- run program is right--and neither do the American people. I was a small business owner since 1986. We provided health insurance for the people who worked for us. As a small business owner, what I wanted was the ability to group up and have more effect in negotiating lower insurance rates for the people that we covered. This law doesn't really help in any regard with that. In fact, this is a jobs vote we're having today, because if you're a small business and you're at 49 employees, if you go to 51, then all of a sudden the government comes in on top of you with all kinds of potential penalties and fees. And so a lot of small business owners in my district are saying: Why would I grow my business? Why would I take on this new risk? I think this stymies job growth. I can tell you that out at Eastern Oregon University I met with the university president. They used to have a student health plan that cost $66 a term. Because of this law and its implication, that plan went up to $2,000 a year. They've had to walk away from it. This law is hurting people today. It needs to be repealed and replaced.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker I rise today to recognize the tremendous, longtime, and diverse public service of a leader who lives and works in the heart of Oregon's Second District, Wheeler County Judge Jeanne Burch. Judge Burch has served as Wheeler County Judge since 1994 but began serving her County long before that. Mr. Speaker, I have enjoyed working with her and I will miss her service and so will Wheeler County. Judge Burch lives in the town of Fossil, the county seat of Wheeler County which has a total population of around 1,400 people. Wheeler County is one of Oregon's most geographically diverse counties--it's a rugged place home to Oregon's most unique John Day Fossil Beds, two national forests, and the iconic John Day River which runs right through the middle of it. Judge Burch has seen days when her county has thrived from the economic benefits generated by the adjacent forests. And she's been there when things haven't been so good as the forest sector was forced to a halt and those jobs and benefits disappeared. Regardless, good times or bad, Judge Burch has been there to lead her county when they needed her most. Judge Burch has called Oregon home since 1947. In the early 1950s her father got a job as a railroad conductor in the region and the family moved to Wheeler County. Jeanne was a freshman in high school then, but went on to study at UC-Berkley where she received a degree in accounting. That is where she met her husband, Howard, who worked for oil companies as a drilling supervisor. Howard's job took them around the world--to such places as Nigeria, Iran, Greece, and the Canary Islands. After living and seeing the world, Jeanne moved back to Wheeler County to raise her daughters Belinda and Jennifer. In 1985, Jeanne began working as the Fossil City Recorder and Finance Director. From there, she was appointed Wheeler County Judge in early 1994. Since then, Judge Burch has been described as a ``one woman county,'' and it's not hard to see why. She serves as a probate and juvenile court judge, the county administrator, and chair of the County Court. In her years of service she has overseen the complete rehabilitation of the county's courthouse, boosted local tourism, and opened the door for businesses to create jobs in Wheeler County. As the Chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I am grateful for Judge Burch's remarkable work on telecommunications issues. As a founding board member of Frontier TeleNet over ten years ago, she has helped implement communication services and rural broadband to communities in Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler counties. It began as a need for broadband access and distance learning opportunities to the rural schools in the three counties. Under Judge Burch's leadership as Chair, Frontier TeleNet has expanded service coverage from roughly 4,000 square miles across three counties to 21,000 square miles across nine counties, bringing with it new ways for medical clinics to help their patients and a backbone for public safety communications in these rural counties. Judge Burch understands the important role that modern communications play in rural isolated communities. Not only a driving force behind Frontier TeleNet's expansion, she spearheaded efforts to bring cell phone coverage to Fossil and the northern portion of Wheeler county, and continues these efforts in Mitchell and the southern end. Accomplishing these feats has not been an easy task and Judge Burch continued to push through. She has brought the knowledge gained from her experiences to other parts of Oregon as Chair of the Telecommunications Committee for Association of Oregon Counties. Mr. Speaker, one of my fondest memories of Judge Burch is and will remain her long fight to bring modern telecommunications into the county. Years after most rural communities around Oregon had some access to cellular service, Wheeler County and the county seat of Fossil remained a completely isolated island without cell phone service. Judge Burch would often tell me about the number of recreational accidents and ``potential drownings'' that float down the John Day River through the county every week in the summer, and the need for cell phone service for emergencies and other uses. With this need and Jeanne's stories on my ``to-do'' list, I took the opportunity to point out to U.S. Cellular that this unserved area was in their coverage territory. Well, the company took Jeanne's and my message to heart and within weeks U.S. Cellular began analyzing how to cover this county. In July 2008, Jeanne's coordinated and unrelenting efforts culminated with the community celebration of the county's first cell tower. I can recall that months after the cell service was established, Judge Burch closed a town meeting I held in Wheeler County by giving me a note from a woman whose husband most likely would have died from the heart attack he suffered, expect for the fact that she was able to use her cell phone to call for emergency assistance. Mr. Speaker, I know you would appreciate Judge Burch's get'r done attitude. It's makes all the travel and work worthwhile to know that someone like Judge Burch was there to help find solutions to real problems. Although the sun is setting on Jeanne Burch's career leading Wheeler County, I can tell you the sun will never set on the impact she has on this county and region and the people who call it home. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Judge Jeanne Burch and her husband Howard the best as she retires. Judge, thank you for your exemplary service to Wheeler County and to Oregon.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House about an issue of particular importance to seniors and health care patients in Oregon's 70,000 square-mile Second District: access to home health care. Some counties in my largely rural district are without a single hospital or physician, meaning finding care can be difficult. Fortunately, however, each of the 20 counties in the district does have skilled, dedicated home health providers willing to care for those in need. Ninety-six percent of all Medicare spending goes toward patients with more than one chronic disease, and sixty-six percent of the program's funds are used for those with five or more chronic conditions. With ten thousand new Medicare beneficiaries added every day, we must work to ensure the program's long-term sustainability. Fortunately for Medicare, home health care providers go above and beyond to deliver high-quality, clinically effective, efficient care, and many medical treatments that were once offered in hospital or nursing home settings are now being safely and more cost-efficiently provided in patients' homes. Further, the home health and hospice industry helps fuel the economy with nearly 1.5 million jobs nation- wide. I have seen first-hand the compassionate and highly skilled care home health nurses provide to patients. My wife Mylene and I have seen it on a personal level with our own families, and talked to numerous Oregonians who are grateful for the opportunity to recover in their own home with their spouse and loved ones by their side. In addition to being good for patients, home health is also good for federal taxpayers. When seniors choose home health, they stay in their own beds, pay their own utilities, do their own laundry, and provide for their own meals. This is also often supplemented by family members who help keep them safe and well in the place they most want to be-- their home. When Medicare covers the costs of room and board and 24 hour care in more expensive institutional settings, taxpayers spend thousands of dollars they would otherwise save in home health settings. Unfortunately, however, for the majority of compassionate, skilled home health providers truly dedicated to the patients they serve, a narrow sliver of operators are tarnishing their good work. MedPAC has found that a small number of bad actors in just 25 counties nation wide are disproportionately taking advantage of Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers. According to MedPAC's figures, the total number of home health providers in these top 25 highest spending counties rose from 290 in 2005 to 775 in 2009, an increase of over 167 percent. During this time, Medicare payments to these providers went from $592 million to $1.6 billion, a 163 percent increase in taxpayer spending. In Oregon during that same time period, the total number of providers, as well as overall Medicare reimbursement, actually decreased. These figures confirm what many of us in Oregon have been saying for years: when it comes to waste, fraud, and abuse in the health care system, Oregon providers as a whole are not the problem. So while no State is 100 percent without fault, and while every provider should make it their goal to act only in the best interest of their patients, these figures have shown us the main source of abuse. Therefore, any future home health proposal should target these higher spending counties rather than indiscriminately harming the good players in the industry. Isolating and rooting out fraud simply makes sense for providers, patients, and taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, while we can always do more to ensure access to health care services in rural areas like Oregon's Second District, I take comfort in knowing that there are many home health providers willing to serve seniors in Oregon and elsewhere. Because of these dedicated providers, patients receive the care they need in the comfort of their homes, with their families and loved ones at their side.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to pay special tribute to Kyle McCullough. Kyle, a 28-year-old Wasco County resident, is a former Army Special Forces soldier who served this country with honor and distinction. In Ramadi in 2006, he fought in one of the toughest engagements our forces encountered during Operation Iraqi Freedom. And now Kyle is currently in the process of reenlisting in the Army. While at home, his mind is not far from his comrades in harm's way overseas. In recent conversation with his little brother, USMC 1st Lt. Kristoffer ``Turf'' McCullough, currently serving in Afghanistan, he was asked: ``Do people even remember that we're over here?'' Kyle, as ever his nature, jumped into action. In May, Kyle walked a distance of 198 miles over eight days from his home in Dufur to the Oregon coast in Seaside to raise awareness for the troops. That's an average of 24.5 miles every day, or two miles longer than the driving distance between Hood River and The Dalles. During the trek, Kyle not only raised a few blisters on the bottom of his feet, but he also raised money for the Hood River-based Gorge Heroes Club, which provides care packages to deployed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the money Kyle raised, the Gorge Heroes Club will be able to provide 1,250 soldiers overseas with morale-boosting care packages from home. Media throughout the northwest covered Kyle's walk--and it was not lost on deployed servicemen and women overseas, either. Oregon National Guard Major Jack Gillentine, stationed in Kabul, said in a recent letter to the Gorge Heroes Club, ``Thank you very much for the packages you sent us. Some of the non-perishable food goes on our trucks for missions when we cannot get to a chow hall. I especially wanted to say thank you to Kyle McCullough. I read the article and I appreciate his huge effort. Thank you for all you do.'' The Gorge Heroes Club supported more than 5,000 troops last year alone. As a direct result of Kyle's dedication and willingness to persevere through pain and exhaustion, troops deployed around the globe will continue to receive these much needed morale boosting care packages. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my fellow colleagues join me in recognizing Kyle McCullough. He has earned the thanks of a grateful Nation not only for his courage on the battlefield, but for his homefront support of his fellow servicemen and women who every day put their lives on the line for our way of life.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 54 World War II veterans from Oregon who will be visiting their memorial this Friday in Washington, D.C. through Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon and Honor Flight of Portland, Oregon. On behalf of a grateful State and country, we welcome these heroes to our Nation's Capital. The veterans on this flight from Oregon are: Theodore Baumeister, U.S. Army; William Burgess, U.S. Army; Warren F. Ebersole, U.S. Army; Walter J. Forsea, U.S. Army; Teresa Fortino, U.S. Army; Jay L. Garrison, U.S. Army; Zoella Hickmon, U.S. Army; James E. Monroe, U.S. Army; Walter S. Saunders, U.S. Army; Joseph W. Sharpe, U.S. Army; Frank K. Walsh, U.S. Army; Earl C. Williams, U.S. Army; Glenn A. Wrede, U.S. Army; Arthur J. Blumberg, U.S. Army Air Forces; John Bogen, U.S. Army Air Forces; Merrit S. Kelsay, U.S. Army Air Forces; Daniel F. McAllaster, U.S. Army Air Forces; Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army Air Forces; Arthur Perkins, U.S. Army Air Forces; Gene Woodward, U.S. Army Air Forces; Jerry Benson, U.S. Coast Guard; Charles L. Burgess, U.S. Marine Corps; Golda F. Fabian, U.S. Marine Corps; William Gordon, U.S. Marine Corps; Charles R. Holmes, U.S. Marine Corps; Keith C. Tucker, U.S. Marine Corps; Dwain E. Whitney, U.S. Marine Corps; Levi D. Chamberlin, U.S. Merchant Marine; John Alford, U.S. Navy; Robert Barber, U.S. Navy; Eldon Bartlett, U.S. Navy; Sylvine Elie Bourque, U.S. Navy; John E. Curran, U.S. Navy; Bruce L. Dickman, U.S. Navy; Richard M. Finch, U.S. Navy; Louis Fortino, U.S. Navy; Ted S. Georgioff, U.S. Navy; Dale D. Halm, U.S. Navy; Merrily Kurtz Hewett, U.S. Navy; Jack Hilbourne, U.S. Navy; Leslie H. Horn, U.S. Navy; Robert J. Huesby, U.S. Navy; Charles H. Kies, U.S. Navy; Robert L. Lee, U.S. Navy; Leo Moore, U.S. Navy; Thomas Mummy, U.S. Navy; Walker D. Nicholson, U.S. Navy; Raymond Quimby, U.S. Navy; Richard G. Ray, U.S. Navy; George Reiner, U.S. Navy; Louis Stone, U.S. Navy; Robert B. Stuart, U.S. Navy; Helmer C. Wallan, U.S. Navy; Aurthur L. Welch, U.S. Navy. These 54 heroes join more than 81,000 veterans from across the country who, since 2005, have journeyed from their home states to Washington, D.C. to reflect at the memorials built in honor of our Nation's veterans. Mr. Speaker, each of us is humbled by the courage of these brave Americans who put themselves in harm's way for our country and way of life. As a nation, we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude owed to them for their honor, commitment, and sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we have today. My colleagues, please join me in thanking these veterans and the volunteers of Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon and Portland, Oregon for their exemplary dedication and service to this great country. I especially want to recognize U.S. Army veteran Dick Tobiason and the Bend Heroes Foundation, whose tireless work will result in over 100 World War II veterans from Oregon visiting the memorials and U.S. Capitol.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Thank you, Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Grijalva, for your support for the commonsense Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act. This bill we have before us today will create jobs in central Oregon, remove government red tape. It will protect family farmers and improve both water flows and quality of water for fish and for wildlife, all without costing taxpayers one cent. We made it completely cost-neutral. Now the city of Prineville is the county seat of Crook County. It's located in the heart of Oregon's central Oregon, and it's along the Crooked River. Crook County was among the hardest hit in the economic downturn that we have all suffered, where unemployment even today--even today--is at over 14 percent, one of the highest rates, if not the highest, in the State of Oregon. Nonetheless, jobs and economic growth are on the rise in Crook County. Facebook recently built their first custom data center in Prineville and is currently expanding that project. Apple recently announced that it is going to build a data center there and has actually already begun construction. Chairman Hastings knows well how important the technology sector can be to rural communities. Prineville is on the verge of becoming another Quincy, Washington, which is home to Yahoo, Microsoft, Dell, and others. To pursue new economic development, however, Prineville needs more water. Roughly 20 miles upriver from Prineville sits Bowman Dam and Prineville Reservoir, a Bureau of Reclamation project, which holds 80,000 acre feet of uncontracted water, 80,000 acre feet that is just sitting there uncontracted. This bill would allow Prineville to access roughly 6 percent of that water, or 5,100 acre feet, and the city would pay a fair market value for the water. That extra water would allow the city to tell prospective companies, hey, you can bring your business and jobs to Prineville. We now have the water that you need. That's certainty in the job market. It would also allow the city to provide water to an additional 500 homes within the city limits, which currently the city of Prineville can't do because it has maxed out its mitigation credits. You're talking about 500 homes inside the city limits that don't have access to city water that this bill now will allow them to have access to. Because the city would access the water through the ground and not from directly behind the dam, that extra allocation of water would increase the minimum release of water from Bowman Dam by up to 7 cubic feet per second. Now, that's a lot. In dry years, particularly in the winter, this higher release requirement could benefit fish and wildlife, including the blue-ribbon trout fishery below Bowman Dam. This legislation also fixes a BLM error regarding the exact location of the Crooked River wild and scenic boundary line. Currently, the wildlife and scenic line runs directly over the crest of Bowman Dam. Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Grijalva, let me assure there's nothing wild or scenic about the top of a dam unless you're falling over the edge of it. This is a picture of where that is. If you follow the center line of this road, that's where the current law says the wild and scenic boundary starts. We move it downriver, where it really belongs. As a result, we create another economic opportunity for the region-- development of small-scale renewable hydropower that would create roughly 50 construction jobs over the course of 2 years. This dam doesn't have hydro on it today. Adding the hydro actually improves the release of the water, making it better for the fish, and it creates new hydroenergy and construction jobs. My legislation also protects the Ochoco Irrigation District farmers and assures they will continue to operate their family-run farms for generations to come. Finally, this bill expedites the McKay Creek project, which will result in increased water flows for redband trout and summer steelhead. This project has long been supported by the Warm Springs Tribe and the Deschutes River Conservancy. So I want to thank and commend the Warm Springs tribal leaders and tribal members for their hard work and working in partnership with me on this legislation. Their collaborative approach has really made a difference in issues in the Deschutes Basin, and we appreciate the partnership and leadership that the tribal leaders have shown. This is a good, commonsense, job-creating bill. It's a culmination of years of collaboration between the City of Prineville, Crook County, farmers, the Warm Springs Tribes, and the Deschutes River Conservancy. I want to thank Mayor Roppe and County Judge McCabe for their leadership in working through this process. Mayor Roppe has testified before the House Natural Resources Committee and has done an excellent job advocating for the City of Prineville. Judge McCabe has worked tirelessly on these issues to attract tech companies like Facebook and Apple to Crook County. Hopefully, with positive steps like the passage of this legislation, more companies will soon bring their jobs to Prineville and central Oregon. So I appreciate the assistance of Ranking Member Ed Markey, along with Ranking Member Grace Napolitano and, of course, Mr. Grijalva, as well as Chairman Hastings. Thank you again for your help in moving forward on the Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act. I look forward to this legislation finally becoming law.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Scalise for his leadership on this issue, and I want to thank Ms. Matsui for hers as well, and for the work that we are all doing on the subcommittee to improve the processes and procedures at the FCC, bring about efficiencies and accountability, and look for Federal spectrum that might be freed up to help grow jobs and spur innovation in America. This particular piece of law, as we move it forward, H.R. 3310, gets about trying to reduce some waste. It really starts with Congress because this is all stuff that is in statute that we have to change. Believe it or not, the Communications Act still requires the Federal Communications Commission to assess the state of telegraph--telegraph-- competition. This is not just unhelpful; it's a waste of taxpayer funds. The American public expects and deserves an efficient Federal Government that keeps pace with changes in the market, and this bill helps get us there. Rationalizing the industry reports the FCC issues not only reduces some of the FCC'S administrative burdens but also helps make sure that the agency, the public, and stakeholders have a realistic picture of the marketplace upon which to make their policy judgments. The communications and technology sector is very competitive. It's very innovative. It's creating jobs, and it's one of the most open sectors of our economy. From fiber optics to 4G wireless service, from the smartphone to the tablet to the connected TV, this sector has been creating new services, new devices, and the high-quality jobs that come with high-tech innovation and investment. Despite even a lackluster economy, wireline, wireless, and cable providers invested $66 billion of private capital in broadband infrastructure in 2011. The U.S. is leading in cutting-edge wireless technologies. Industry convergence has led to a boom in competition; voice, video, audio, and data providers are competing across different platforms. And the market is simply moving faster than the law. Despite the convergence of the industry, the FCC is still required by law to evaluate stove-piped industry segments each year. For example, they have to write two reports each year on the satellite industry and two reports on the cable industry, and yet it is one market and there should just be one report covering both. The FCC Consolidated Reporting Act consolidates eight separate congressionally mandated reports on the communications industry into a single comprehensive report with a focus on competition among technology platforms, deploying communications to unserved communities, eliminating regulatory barriers, and empowering small businesses. The marketplace report is synched to the congressional calendar. That'll improve our oversight abilities, and it'll help reduce costs. The bill also eliminates 12 additional outdated reports from the Communications Act, including reports repealed more than a decade ago. The bill is bipartisan, and it's supported by CTIA, NAB, NCTA, USTelecom, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and I urge my colleagues to join in this bipartisan piece of work out of your Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and pass it into law.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 28 World War II veterans from Oregon who will be visiting their memorial this Saturday in Washington, DC through Honor Flight of Oregon. On behalf of a grateful state and country, we welcome these heroes to the nation's capital. The veterans on this flight from Oregon are: Melvin Dagsland, U.S. Army; Kenneth Graves, U.S. Army; Frank Hernandez, U.S. Army; Jesse Pollard, U.S. Army; Harold Hayes, U.S. Army; Milton Anderson, U.S. Army Air Forces; James Holbrook, U.S. Army Air Forces; Clarence Mahan, U.S. Army Air Forces; Paul Nielsen, U.S. Army Air Forces; Carl Orndoff, U.S. Army Air Forces; Jack Owens, U.S. Army Air Forces; Donicio Padilla, U.S. Army Air Forces; James Stone, U.S. Army Air Forces; James Hanley, U.S. Army Air Forces; Melvin Pearigen, U.S. Coast Guard; Floyd Burt, U.S. Marine Corps; Delbert Littrell, U.S. Marine Corps; Edward Montagne, U.S. Marine Corps; Eldon Branson, U.S. Navy; Calvin Gorte, U.S. Navy; GL Hamblin, U.S. Navy; Lester Herring, U.S. Navy; Richard Laubert, U.S. Navy; Donald Lister, U.S. Navy; Vincent Monzel, U.S. Navy; Otis Pierce, U.S. Navy; Forest Scott, U.S. Navy; Raymond Woods, U.S. Navy. These 28 heroes join more than 81,000 veterans from across the country who, since 2005, have journeyed from their home states to Washington, DC to reflect at the memorials built in honor of our nation's veterans. Mr. Speaker, each of us is humbled by the courage of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who put themselves in harm's way for our country and way of life. As a nation, we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude owed to them for their honor, commitment, and sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we have today. My colleagues, please join me in thanking these veterans and the volunteers of Honor Flight of Oregon for their exemplary dedication and service to this great country. I especially want to recognize and thank Gail Yakopatz for her tireless work as president of Honor Flight of Oregon.

Mr. WALDEN

Mr. WALDEN. The bottom line is, we're going to protect America from the greatest threat to America and to Americans with this legislation. We need to make sure that our private sector is nimble and flexible and innovative; and tying its hands with prescriptive regulation--we heard over and over again in our subcommittee hearings--would do the opposite of that and would result in the bad guys getting an edge on the good guys. I support this bipartisan legislation. I urge its passage.

Mr. WALDEN. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their bipartisan and thoughtful approach to this incredibly important issue facing our country. I support your legislation. I commend you both for identifying a glaring hole in our cyberdefenses: better information- sharing between the private sector and the government. Such sharing is a force multiplier. It combines the technological strength of our network providers with the ongoing efforts of our agencies to combat growing cyberthreats. From the get-go, the bill has protected privacy and civil liberties and ensured that any information- sharing is voluntary. I understand Chairman Rogers has also gone the extra mile to reach out to the privacy community and will be offering and supporting amendments to address any lingering concerns that may remain from misunderstandings over the language. Breaking down the barriers to information-sharing is a linchpin to better cybersecurity, and this legislation will be a tremendous step forward in securing cyberspace for our citizens. But don't take my word for it. That's what cybersecurity firms and researchers, Internet service providers, and government officials told the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which I chair, in the three separate hearings that we held. That's what a bipartisan working group I convened concluded when it interviewed a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the cybersecurity debate. By contrast, no matter how well-intentioned, cybersecurity regulations would likely just expand government, reduce flexibility, impose costs, misallocate capital, create more red tape and not more security. According to one government witness, regulating cybersecurity practices would ``stifle innovation and harm the industry's ability to protect consumers from cyberthreats.'' Indeed, voluntary efforts, not government regulation, are already improving cybersecurity for communications networks that cover 80 percent of Americans. When Congress is looking at a complex issue like cybersecurity, we need to heed the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm. So I want to thank my colleagues for making this process especially open and transparent. Representative Rogers has graciously reached out to members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to understand our concerns about protecting privacy and civil liberties and preventing regulatory overreach, and Representative Thornberry's work in organizing the House Republican Cybersecurity Task Force, which included Representatives Terry and Latta, members of my subcommittee.