Greg Walden

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. So the policy here in this context would be related to drugs, because in the underlying bill is drug reimportation language. There is not? Okay. So you are telling me in the Agriculture appropriations bill there is no language in there that deals with drug importation. That is news, if you read the bill.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. So you can't talk about anything else in the agriculture bill, just the $100,000 cut.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. I would be happy to yield. parliamentary inquiry

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I will try and confine my remarks more to the McHenry amendment, which, as we know, would cut $100,000 out of the Department of Agriculture. Now, that $100,000 may not seem like a lot to many on this floor, but it may seem like a lot to a senior if they are going to lose their Medicare Advantage plan. But I know that is not the issue before us at this moment. The issue really is, how do you control spending in the Federal government? I think one of the ways you control spending in the Federal government is through the McHenry amendment. Because the McHenry amendment reduces Federal spending by $100,000, which may not seem like a lot to some and they may not want us to talk about how it could be used in other programs that may come before this House at a different time in a different way. But certainly, if you were going to lose your Medicare, you would be concerned about you might save $100,000 here that could be used somewhere else so you did not have to raise taxes on, say, health insurance. Saving $100,000 here is a good thing. It may not seem like a lot, but it is still a good thing. It reduces spending, and this government has had trouble reducing spending. We have spent a lot of time on this floor debating amounts that are even less than $100,000. I would like to see us go farther than that, because I also know in other committees there is debate going on about having to raise revenues to fund other programs. point of order

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. That is what I am speaking to, Madam Chairman. I am speaking to the $100,000 cut in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. I continue to yield.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Chairman, I am speaking to the importance of cutting $100,000 rather than $50,000.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Well, it would seem to me that they have narrowed what we can say, trying to silence the minority, trying to silence Republicans from bringing to light certain issues we care about. We have been restricted now to simply talking about a dollar amount on one amendment.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. How am I not, Madam Chairman? How am I not confining my remarks? Could you delineate? Can you not talk about anything else, other than simply the words in the amendment?

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 2116, the Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Act of 2007.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the construction of the Bureau of Reclamation's Owyhee Project in Malheur County, Oregon, located in the district I represent. This momentous occasion will be celebrated at a major community event at the dam this weekend. At the time of its construction, the Owyhee Dam was the highest in the world. The dam rises 417 feet above the river with nearly another 100 feet below the river surface. The arch section of the dam spans the distance of 2 football fields. The dam created the Owyhee Reservoir, which is 52 miles long and holds enough water to cover 13,900 acres with 1 foot of water. You may be wondering how it came to be that one of the largest concrete structures in the world was built in a true American frontier. In the early 19th century, scouts, trappers, and traders began to explore all parts of the Northwest; the high-desert region of what would become the Oregon Territory was no exception. This area was and currently is home to bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, golden eagles, coyotes, and mule deer. The settlers in the area also discovered that the ground, provided with adequate water, could grow just about any crop including barley, oats, sorghum, wheat, alfalfa, beans, peppermint, spearmint, sugar beets, sweet corn, and more. At the turn of the 20th century the need for more water became apparent and the Reclamation Service (now the Bureau of Reclamation) investigated several dam sites and irrigation plans. It finally issued a proposal in 1925 to construct the dam. The following year, Interior Secretary Hubert Work and President Calvin Coolidge approved the plans and in 1928 contracts were awarded and construction began. However, as with any significant construction project, challenges arose. John Terry, a retired copy editor for The Oregonian and a member of the Oregon Geographic Names Board, recently highlighted a few of those challenges. ``The Bureau of Reclamation built a construction camp with housing, administrative buildings, water and sewer facilities,'' Terry wrote. ``Crews labored around the clock, although the winter of 1930-31 produced subfreezing temperatures and a 53-day work stoppage.'' In 1935, the first water was delivered to ranchers, farmers and communities in Oregon and Idaho. And while the dam continues to provide irrigation water, it also provides numerous other benefits, including flood control, recreational fishing, and excellent habitat for bighorn sheep, mule deer, pelicans, and cormorants. At the dedication ceremony, President Herbert Hoover sent along his congratulation in a written statement ``commemorating the completion of the highest dam in the world.'' ``The sympathy of the administration and the Congress and the wholehearted and fine spirit of the people of this community have cooperated to make the completion of this dam possible,'' President Hoover said. We should emulate the cooperative work of those who raised this dam when demanding it meet the needs of today's farmers, ranchers, communities, and wildlife. I congratulate Owyhee Irrigation District Manger Jay Chamberlin and his staff on commemorating the completion of the dam. And I thank the local elected officials and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Robert Johnson for their efforts to steward the water resources provided by the Owyhee Dam. May the next 75 years for the Owyhee Project be as successful and prosperous as the first 75.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding American and Oregonian, Mr. Ralph Goodwin, and to draw my colleagues' attention to the tremendous contributions Ralph has made to his industry and community. Madam Speaker, this weekend I will have the honor of attending in picturesque John Day, Oregon the community celebration to commemorate Ralph Goodwin's retirement and the good he has done for his state and community. On July 13, 2007, after 28 years of highly successful credit union leadership, Ralph will formally relinquish the reigns as CEO and president of the Old West Federal Credit Union. When Ralph assumed the top post in 1979 with what was then called the Grant County Federal Credit Union, membership numbered 800 and assets were $2.5 million. As Ralph enters retirement, he leaves the Old West Federal Credit Union in excellent shape with over 7,500 members in four branch offices serving eight counties in eastern Oregon and assets of over $80 million. The positive growth under Ralph's leadership is remarkable, and a testament to how Ralph has always conducted business. A true believer and advocate in the credit union movement, Ralph Goodwin's contribution to the communities of eastern Oregon and credit union philosophy is second to none. Through the World Council of Credit Unions, Ralph has participated in and been an indispensable part of efforts to bring credit unions and credit union philosophy to underdeveloped countries in the world, traveling to the Philippines and Uzbekistan to further this goal. Ralph's many years of civic leadership and steadfast commitment to the rural communities he has served has made a rewarding impact on many credit union members and employees that have benefited from his financial guidance and leadership example. Throughout the credit union movement in Oregon and nationally, Ralph Goodwin is recognized as a leader and visionary whose passion and commitment to the credit union motto of people helping people is a core attitude of how credit union business is conducted. The high regard Ralph's colleagues have for him is exemplified by the service he has delivered and acknowledgment he has received on the state and national level, including being chosen as the Advocate of the Year by the Credit Union Association of Oregon as well as receiving the association's Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual. Ralph is also well known and respected by many members on both sides of the political aisle in the Oregon Legislature and United States Congress as they can always rely on solid and straightforward information from him regarding credit union policy. I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Ralph Goodwin, and delivering our thanks for the tremendous good he has fostered in the credit union movement and throughout Oregon. Ralph can now finally take a break with his lovely wife, Toni, and their seven children and 15 grandchildren. Thank you for all that you've done, Ralph. I'm very proud to count you and Toni as my good friends, and wish you both the best over many happy years to come.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Chairman, it seems rather cruel that a radio broadcaster would not have his microphone turned on. And so I stand here today in support of this amendment because it really is about the first amendment. And it is about the freedom of speech on the air waves. And if you don't think so, go back to what the U.S. Supreme Court said in Red Lion Broadcasting vs. FCC 38 years ago when they cautioned that while the doctrine may be constitutional, if it's ever used to restrain speech its constitutionality should be reconsidered. 1974, in Miami Herald Publishing Company vs. Torino, the Court concluded that the doctrine inescapably dampens the vigor and limits the variety of public debate. Twenty-three years ago, in FCC vs. League of Women Voters, the court concluded the scarcity rationale underlying the doctrine was flawed, and the doctrine was limiting the breadth of public debate. The U.S. Supreme Court made that series of rulings and, as a result, the FCC overturned it. And as a result of overturning that, all of a sudden, the air waves blossomed with both conservative speech and liberal speech. It's not my fault that Air America didn't find a huge audience out there and went bankrupt. There are others out there who have done very successfully. It has encouraged speech. If the fairness doctrine is put back in place, as it was pre-1987, you will silence, not expand, public debate. I've been a broadcaster. I know what it was like when it was in place, and I know what it will be like again. And while I don't always agree with those who are on the air waves, I will always defend their right to speak their piece because it actually energizes people to get involved. So yes, I have a talk radio station and yes, it does have Rush Limbaugh on it, and it does have Sean Hannity on it and Michael Reagan and others. And this is what American broadcasting is about, in part. But what we're really about here is protecting the fundamental constitutional rights of first amendment speech that we stood on this floor and raised our hand to protect and uphold, and the courts have made it clear that reinstituting the fairness doctrine, if used to restrict speech, would be unconstitutional.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. I am still a broadcaster, actually. My family has been in radio broadcasting for more than 20 years.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Chairman, I'd just like to express my deep disappointment that we're not able to move forward on the gentleman's amendment from California, and the peril that it may put the next amendment in. If you want to talk about cuts in crisis, you come out to rural Oregon, rural Washington, rural Northern California, the areas that my friend and colleague from Washington knows all too well. The largest county in my district had 15 or 16 libraries, all of which are now shuttered and closed because this Congress and the last failed to reauthorize the Secure County Roads and Schools legislation that the Congress before, in 2000, put into law. The effect of all that, and the effect of this not going forward is those counties have a 1-year stay of execution because in the emergency supplemental there was legislation that funded them for one more year. But as the good gentleman from Washington State knows, with the decline in the timber industry, the decline in harvest on Federal lands, these rural counties have been devastated. They have no tax base in some cases, or very little; 70, 80 percent of land mass is Federal lands. There's been a commitment for 100 years by this Congress to share revenues, and then those revenues went away. Law enforcement is going away. Basic services. You all would throw a fit if they went away in Washington, D.C. or any other urban area.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. I'm sorry you've had to put up with me there. The point is, I've done everything I can to try and get the committee that I served on for 8 years to even hold a hearing to reauthorize this bill. When I was on that committee in 2005 and chaired the Forestry Subcommittee, we marked up a reauthorization in 2005 by March, and we passed it out of the committee by June.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. I thank the chairman, and I've commended him before for his work in our behalf in this very difficult problem we face in the rural areas. And you've been terrific to work with. You've been most generous, not only with your time, but with your assistance. And I supported you and that bill when it came before, in opposition to my own President, and would continue to do so, because I know who sent me here, and I know what they want. And you may have missed my earlier comments.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleague Mr. DeFazio for his work on this amendment with me. I would like to point out that on page 182 of the committee report there is listed 30 different laws that have not been reauthorized and are being funded. Some of these laws were last reauthorized 28 years ago. So the fact that we have something before you that has just gone out of operation here in less than a year, and we are trying to do a technical correction here to reauthorize it, I don't think is deserving of a point of order.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Reclaiming my time, I understand, and I appreciate what the gentleman has done to assist us in the past. My frustration is the one I have to share, because when I go home, people don't understand why we can keep funding all these other things and can't take care of sort of an organic funding issue that affects them deeply. The first bill I cosponsored in this Congress with my colleague from Oregon, Mr. DeFazio, and many others was to reauthorize this program. I believe the first letter I sent was to the new chairman of the Resources Committee begging for a hearing to reauthorize this program. The folks at home don't understand this process, and sometimes neither do I. But if we have to bring down the House to try and get help to people who deserve it, then that's what we'll have to do. It's really unfortunate that we would abrogate this commitment to these people in rural areas and not allow us at least to move forward, and certainly with the next amendment, which merely fixes a technical correction, allows the Resource advisory committees to go forward, but spends no money.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Well, I'm not sure everyone is, so if I may continue. There are over 4,500 projects that these resource advisory committees have worked on. They have leveraged $292 million to improve watersheds and wildlife habitats, and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire. No resource advisory committee has been disbanded or melted down. There are 70 of them in 13 States. No RAC-approved project has been appealed or litigated. No other active land management initiative in either the Departments of Agriculture or Interior can equal such a track record. This has brought disparate individuals together to do good things for the land, habitat and watersheds in a comprehensive way that leverages local funds and support. Today, as we debate this issue on the floor of this House, fires are raging at Lake Tahoe, destroying homes and habitats and watershed. Those sorts of efforts, where they tried to get in and thin in this watershed and protect it and reduce the threat of fire, might have been allowed to occur had there been a resource advisory committee like these, and I don't know what they have got there, but certainly they were not able to get the job done before the fire hit. We are trying to do good things for our national forests, and I know others are trying to as well. I just hope we can approve this.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a constituent of mine, Father Todd Unger, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary as a Catholic priest later this month. I join the parishioners of St. Peter Church in The Dalles, Oregon in congratulating Father Todd. Father Todd has served the people of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon with dedication and humility. He was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Baker, on June 29, 1982 in Redmond, Oregon--the town where he was born. His first assignment was as Associate Pastor in Pendleton, Oregon at St. Mary Catholic Church from 1982-1986. He rose to Pastor in 1986 when he was transferred to St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in John Day, Oregon. He served there from 1986-1990. He served the next 8 years as Pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Madras, Oregon. He undertook his present assignment, as Pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church in The Dalles, in 1998. In addition to his duties as Pastor at St. Peter Church, Father Todd administers St. Mary's Academy in The Dalles, a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school. St. Mary's Academy has been in continuous operation for 142 years providing an educational faith community for students in Wasco County, Oregon. During his 9 years at The Dalles, Father Todd has twice been called upon to assume the additional duties of principal at the school, once for a few months and once for the entire school year. In addition to all of his church-related tasks, Father Todd has also been an active citizen in every community that he has served. In Pendleton, he was a member of Kiwanis and a Red Cross Swimming Instructor. In John Day, Father Todd again taught swimming for the Red Cross and began what has been a career-long interest in serving as a volunteer firefighter for the community. In Madras, he again joined the Volunteer Fire Department, and in 1994 he was named Firefighter of the Year. He also served as a member of the Central Oregon Council on Aging, was an active member of Kiwanis, and this time he taught first aid for the Red Cross. In The Dalles, Father Todd became a Rotarian, and again joined the Volunteer Fire Department. He was named Firefighter of the Year in 2000. Everywhere that Father Todd has gone, he has tirelessly ministered to the spiritual and physical needs of the community. He has added greatly to the quality of life in the communities he has served. Father Todd is a sterling example of what it means to be of service. I hope these words in the Congressional Record will serve as a small indicator of thanks from the citizens of the Second Congressional District of Oregon and our congratulations on his Silver Jubilee as a Catholic priest.

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?