Past summer presented a stark reminder of the unfinished challenge. As the toxic algal blooms shut off the fresh Drinking Water to half a Million People and businesses in ohio and michigan for three days across lake eries western basin, the largest watershed in the entire great lakes. The public, though shocked, was orderly and magnificent. We didnt have riots or civil disorder. During that threeday crisis, astoundingly we learned communities along the lake were not equipped locally to test the water so vital to their own survival. Two precious days were wasted, sending and rescinding vials and samples five hours away to e. P. A. Labs and then back and then back again. This simply is unacceptable. Proper testing, equipment on lake erie is fundamental, fundamental to a Response Time commensurate with the challenge that remains before us. The lake Erie Community needs its own Water Testing equipment and certified lab. Already local universities and Health Departments have been assembling key components of necessary equipment for a certified lab. It is incumbent upon the glri to help us find a way to provide the remaining 147,000 ollars, not million, 147,000. We have to deliver. To date, the lack of response from our federal agencies is astounding. Lake eries Water Quality is an emergency due to the toxic algal blooms. When we see federal agencies diverting hundreds of millions of dollars abroad to dams in afghanistan to deliver fresh water, yet somehow our own e. P. A. Cant identify funds to protect the American People may i ask for an additional 30 seconds . Mr. Bishop i yield the gentlelady 1 1 2 minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Ms. Kaptur yet, the e. P. A. Cant adentify the funds for those who live beyond lake erie and Lake Michigan and draw their life sources from it, i stand aghast. When our water crisis occurred, the u. S. E. P. A. Didnt even show up or have personnel on the ground. I asked, wheres Homeland Security funding to help during the crisis and after . No show. As far as im concerned, theyre asleep at the wheel. Wake up. As we prepare for a new spring thaw and increasing rains that will come, feeding the algal blooms, the glri presents the hope that i still have that a solution can be found to counter the agency dithering that our region has experienced throughout this harrowing environmental crisis. Surely america can do better, and i really thank the chairman, mr. Gibbs from the state of ohio, my dear colleague, mr. Joyce from the state of ohio. They live at the other end of the lake but they get the problem. God bless you, and i thank the Ranking Member, mr. Bishop from the east coast, who understands how important fresh water is to sustain life in this country. It shouldnt be this hard. Thank you so very much for this bill. I rise in strong support and i yield my remaining time back to the gentleman. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from ohio. Mr. Gibbs mr. Speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Kelly. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Kelly thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to thank the gentleman from ohio, but id also like to thank a lady and a member who i call our lady of the lakes, ms. Kaptur, thank you so much for speaking out like you do about the great lakes. Mr. Bishop, a great colleague and friend. We all understand what makes the great lakes great. Thats the whole important were talking about. This is a gift from god. Now, you heard mr. Joyce talk about some of the statistics, but when you think about it, if you close your eyes for one minute and visualize in your minds eye the continental United States, the land mass, the volume of fresh water contained in our great lakes would cover that land mass by 9 1 2 to 10 feet. It is an incredible amount of water, but more importantly, it is an incredible gift from god. We have to protect this area. Why would we not . The statistics that we talk about are overwhelming, and we thank a lot of people being involved in this. You know who i want to thank more than anybody else . The american taxpayers. By our constitution, we are granted the authority to tax them, but we are also given the responsibility to spend their money the right way. Why would we have a situation where we cant imagine that we would fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative . It just doesnt make sense. 1 5 of the worlds fresh water, not 1 5 of pennsylvanias, not 1 5 of north america but 1 5 of the worlds fresh water resides in our great lakes. And i would suggest people that talk about energy, you can go a lot longer without oil than you can without Drinking Water. We have an opportunity to do something that just makes sense to each and every one of us. We can get this done. If i may just for a minute to paraphrase, luke 12 48, to whom much is given, much is required. Mr. Speaker, i would suggest that this is not an option. This is a moral obligation on behalf of the people of this great country to look at one of the assets that we have, a gift from god, and make sure we preserve it for generations to come. I thank both gentlemens from ohio, the lady from ohio and especially want to do a shoutout to a young man who works on the midwest coalition, a guy by the name of sam breen, who lives and breaths the Lakes Initiatives. I want to thank him for his hard work and those involved of getting this taken care of. Thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Bishop thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield three minutes to the gentleman from minnesota, mr. Nolan, whos a member of the committee on transportation and infrastructure, and a cosponsor of the bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Nolan i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. R. Nolan mr. Speaker, members of the house, my district includes duluth, minnesota, the head waters of the great lakes and, of course, the magnificent north shore. I encourage you all and come visit the first chance you get. I, too, rise in strong support of this important bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and i, too, would be remiss if i didnt compliment our chairman, mr. Gibbs, and our Ranking Member, mr. Bishop, for bringing this legislation forward and, of course, our chief sponsor of the legislation, david joyce, our good republican friend and thank you for your leadership and convincing the office of the president and our budget operatives around here that in this particular case we need a little bit more than what they wanted or recommended. I would also remind my colleagues that this is not just about a preservation. This is about taking responsibility for some of the neglect out of the past as i i can tell you back in duluth there was a time when we had to hall Drinking Water in haul Drinking Water for the citizens of duluth because we couldnt the water out of the great lakes superior wasnt drinkable. And i remember a time when the great lakes were so polluted they were catching on fire in some places because of neglect. So in many respects, were stepping up and were assuming responsibility for neglect in the past. And i dont mind telling you how important it has been to us up in Lake Superior area, and weve had over 100 projects funded over the years, accomplishing so many things. Combating Invasive Species and mitigating pollution of the past, identifying toxins that represent a threat to the basin and our Public Health and our public safety, protecting wild protecting wild rice. Im an old wild rice picker. You cant have enough of wild rice. And protecting wildlife in general. What a difference these projects have been have made. And last but least, i would be remiss if i didnt thank our Appropriations Committee members, marcy kaptur and betty mccollum, in particular, for your stepping up and your leadership in this. But there is still so much more to be done, and thats why i stand here today and strongly urge my colleagues to give their full support to this important legislation. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from ohio. Mr. Gibbs mr. Speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentlelady from michigan, mrs. Miller. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from michigan is recognized for three minutes. Mrs. Miller mr. Speaker, certainly protecting and preserving the great lakes has always been a principal advocacy of mine through my entire tenure in office and before public office. I grew up on the great lakes. My family was in the marina business. So the lakes were more than a source of recreation for us. They put food on the table for my family. Like many in the region, they are part of our part of identity. We heard the passion we all have for these magnificent, magnificent great lakes. As has been said, they generate billions of dollars each and every year through fishing, through the shipping industry, Recreational Activities as well. Theyre 20 of the fresh water drinking supply on the entire planet, quite frankly. Unfortunately, mr. Speaker, we have not been the best stewards of these magnificent lakes, and we do owe it to future generations to help assure that they are protected, that preserved. And one great way to do this for the great lakes is to for this continued funding and support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that we are debating here on the floor today. Over the years, mr. Speaker, i have seen firsthand the impact of the glri is having on our lakes, from drudging to beach and shoreline restoration, to fighting against Invasive Species, these projects are critical to protecting and restoring the great lakes ecosystem. Actually in october i was in a place called harson island in my district that i sought an ffort under way to control fragmitings, which has been choking wetland throughout the basin. But funds is eradicating them and letting Mother Nature breathe again. The glri has funded the restoration of national habitat, improve stormwater drainage and improving Water Quality but there is so much more to do. For example, the clinton river, which flows through a major metropolitan area in northeast michigan is in need of similar restoration proscombrects. And we also need to look at projects. And we also need to look at better ways to reduce toxins in our waterways. Monitoring systems, some of which we have in my area, as it comes through lake huron, into lake st. Clair, down the detroit river, but it is not happening in lake erie and it has to be part of the notification protocol there as well. But we also are having some of those green blue algal blooms in our area. As mentioned this is a gift from god and god gave us these magnificent lakes that provided us with so much, but we do need to be better stewards of them. And quite frankly, we have a lot of making up to do to Mother Nature. So mr. Speaker, we can start that certainly today by strongly supporting h. R. 5764, the great lakes rest Lakes Initiative act. I certainly rise in strong support of this bill from the gentleman from ohio, mr. Joyce, and i urge all of my colleagues to support it as well. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Bishop i continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio. Mr. Gibbs i reserve the balance of my time. Mr. Bishop may i inquire if the gentleman has further speakers . Mr. Gibbs we are he done. Mr. Bishop we are as well. I urge passage of this legislation. I think its good solid Bipartisan Legislation. And its very much necessary and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from ohio. Mr. Gibbs i conclude and yield myself the balance of the time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Gibbs mr. Speaker, i would like to take a moment to recognize today we lose some Institutional Knowledge at the transportation committee, specifically the Water Resources environment subcommittee. Today is the last hurrah on the floor as we lose our long time staff director, John Anderson, to the outside world. John is originally from charlotte, north carolina. He joined the memphis district of u. S. Army corps of engineers as a biologist. He moved on to the savannah district and finally to the army corps of engineers ed quartered in washington, d. C. He joined the committee in 1999 on detail from the corps and he never left. In 2005, he he was promoted to staff director of the subcommittee on Water Resources and the environment. Johns more than 40 years of service to the nation, he has in some fashion either at the core level or here in congress been part of every single wrrda law since 1990. Hes widely respected in the world of transportation policy renowned expert in the nations watter resourcespolicy. We Water Resources policy. We wish him and his wife the best. They are the proud parents of three boys. They are also the proud grapped parents of three anderson grandchildren. Its been a privilege to work with john the last four years as chairman of the subcommittee. I wish him well. I thank him. And good luck. Also urge support of the mr. Bishop i ask you yield time. Mr. Gibbs i yield to my good friend. Mr. Beneficiaryon i, too, want to add mr. Bishop i, too, want to add a word of thanks and congratulations to John Anderson for his service in the congress over a great many years. I came to see firsthand his skill and his dedication when we were working so cooperatively together on passing the Water ResourcesDevelopment Act of 2013. His involvement was essential. And that bill stands as one of the few substantive pieces of Bipartisan Legislation that this congress has passed. And we were able to get it done in part because of johns efforts. John, i thank you and wish you a well earned retirement. Mr. Chairman, i yield back. Mr. Gibbs i would be remiss to not say a few words to my good friend mr. Bishop from long island, new york. Its a privilege to serve as Ranking Member on the subcommittee for four years. I wish you well in the endeavors of the future. Mr. Bishop thank you very much. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 5764. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition . Mr. Gibbs i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 2759. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk senate 2759, an act to release the city of st. Claire, missouri, from all restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encumbrance, conveyance, and closure of the st. Claire Regional Airport. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ohio, mr. Gibbs, and the gentleman from new york, mr. Bishop, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. Mr. Gibbs mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks and include extraneous material on s. 2759. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio is recognized. Mr. Gibbs i yield myself such time as i may consume. Mr. Speaker, s. 2759 releases the city of st. Clair, missouri, from all restrictions, limitations on the use, encouple brens, and closure of the st. Clair Regional Airport. It will require the city to pay fair market value, repay the unamortized value of federal grants to the Missouri Department of transportation and transfer any remaining revenue to the Missouri Department of transportation. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Bishop i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bishop thank you, mr. Speaker. I wish my republican colleagues were not rushing to consider this bill without more deliberation. The other body just passed this bill last week. We have had no hearings on the bill, no committee meetings, no markups. I understand that several general aviation groups have expressed concerns about the bill and i would have liked the opportunity to hear from them and study their specific reservations. Each of the nations federally assisted airports is part of a system, a National System, that is greater than the sum of its parts. The federal government invests 3. 35 billion a year in airport improvement because each airport in the system not only drives Economic Growth but also a safe harbor for a pilot in distress. For those reasons the general rule is that we invest in airports, we dont close them. Nevertheless i understand that the airport in st. Clair, missouri, which thi