Don Young

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 6685 reauthorizes a vital educational grant program to train members of federally recognized Indian tribes to become ironworkers. By the way, they are outstanding ironworkers, and they always have been. They built the City of New York and New Jersey, itself, and I have to recognize their capabilities. This apprentice program has trained thousands of Native Americans over the years, providing graduates with careers, earning above-average wages. Graduates of this program have been a significant source of economic support in their tribal communities. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I will recognize Mrs. Musgrave from Colorado for as much time as she may consume.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Congressman Jim Saxton, who has worked tirelessly on this legislation and to have it scheduled for floor debate today. He cannot be here because he is en route. He has had a long and distinguished career championing ocean and coastal causes in the House of Representatives. He will be missed as he retires at the end of this Congress. I thank him for his service and for his leadership on the Natural Resources Committee as well as for his being a former Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee member. I wish him good winds and fair seas in his next voyage in life. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this is an effort that's been adequately explained, and I support the legislation.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the resolution authored by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Doc Hastings, and the entire State of Washington delegation. The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest concrete structure ever built in the United States, with enough concrete to build a sidewalk around the Earth twice. The dam helped us win World War II by providing much needed electricity to build fighter planes and naval ships. The dam was also constructed to provide flood control, recreation and irrigation. Today, it serves over 600,000 acres of irrigated cropland which feeds consumers nationwide and around the world. As you know, we have major energy problems in this Nation. The Grand Coulee Dam is an example of what our country has done right. It's a shining beacon of clean, renewable, domestic energy. In 2006, the dam provided 22,000 gigawatts of emission-free hydroelectricity. This translates into the reduction of 18 million tons of carbon dioxide, into 55,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and into 44,000 tons of nitrogen oxide. Without this clean form of energy, 36.4 barrels of fuel oil, 10.7 million tons of coal or 223 billion cubic feet of natural gas will have to be used to keep the lights on. In fact, Grand Coulee is so environmentally friendly that the NBC Today Show focused solely on the dam as part of the Earth Day broadcast. Despite the consensus that hydropower is clean, renewable and emissions-free, the Democrat leadership continues to exclude long-term hydropower resources, such as the Grand Coulee Dam, as part of its proposed renewable portfolio standard. This is logic-free given the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that I just mentioned. We hope the Democrats come to their senses and see the reality that large hydropower sources should be counted as a renewable resource in future bills. Madam Speaker, this resolution couldn't be brought up at a better time. I strongly support the 75th anniversary of the Grand Coulee Dam. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 5853 has been adequately explained by the Democrat bill manager, and we have no objections to the legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, we have no other requests for speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I at this time, Madam Speaker, yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell).

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. The American Civil War captures the imagination of people like no other event in our history. In bookstores, most shelves in the history section are devoted to events of the 1860s. On weekends, battles are reenacted by serious hobbyists who strive for authenticity in costume, weaponry and skirmish details. Pictures of Lincoln are found in countless homes and classrooms, Confederate flags adorn pickup trucks, and the words of the Gettysburg Address are as familiar as the 23rd Psalm. As a nation, we clearly recognize the continuing importance of the War Between the States. So it is natural that we should try to find appropriate ways to keep safe the places where our great-grandfathers witnessed events so noble and so horrific. But since our country is about liberty rather than glorification of the state, we have to safeguard not just the hills and the mud on which they fought but also the freedoms for which they fought. Therefore, it would be tragic if we allow our well-meaning enthusiasm for protecting historic sites to result in programs that diminish the property rights of our fellow citizens. This bill has two important safeguards: First, a ``willing seller'' provision--and we need to make sure the seller's willingness is uncoerced. Second, a sunset provision on the program's funding authorization. The bill's sponsors are to be commended for including these safeguards. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I have no other requests for speakers. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of this legislation. The Palo Alto battlefield in Brownsville, Texas is the site of the second battle of the U.S. War with Mexico. During the battle, American forces drove Mexican troops back across the Rio Grande River. This bill adds 34 acres to the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site and provides for a cooperative agreement under which the Brownsville Community Foundation and the National Park Service would co-manage this land that is owned by the foundation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I believe the bill has been explained very well, and I do support the bill.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I have no other speakers, and I yield back my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. During hearings on this bill, the committee heard testimony from historian David Hackett Fischer, whose writings on the Revolutionary War point out George Washington's support for property rights and strong actions that he took to ensure that his soldiers respect the property of civilians, even when the property belonged to a Tory sympathizer. Washington personally gave strict orders to forbid looting, even though plunder was the norm at the time, and even though many of his men were hungry, dressed in rags and marched barefoot in the snow. It is remarkable that in so desperate a situation with so noble a cause, he imposed on the Patriot side such a high standard on private property. Washington's honorable policy stood in stark contrast to the routine seizure of booty by the British and Hessian troops. It is no accident over the course of the early years of the war, 1776 and 1777, in the battleground of New Jersey, a population that was once evenly divided in its loyal threw its support to the American cause. There are lessons we can learn from Washington's example. In earlier battlefield protection efforts, the National Park Service uses its eminent domain powers to seize land from unwilling sellers. The justified resentment of this caused hurt and subsequent efforts. Our enthusiasm for battlefield protection notwithstanding, I hope as we set out to preserve historic sites that we copy George Washington, not George III. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This legislation, H.R. 5335, has been explained by the good manager of the bill, and we support the legislation. I would like to, at this time, acknowledge the bill's author, Congressman Zach Wamp, and of course Congressman Shuler. Both of them have asked me and asked the leadership of the Resources Committee to move this legislation. I support the legislation because it does recognize the angst of those that marched on this trail. I strongly compliment both of those gentlemen for their hard work.