You can see his piece on the atlantic. Com. And now, the house is in session, live coverage here on cspan. The chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip each, to five minutes but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11 50 a. M. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio, mr. Turner, for five minutes. Thank you, madam speaker. Yesterday in deyton, i hosted a Community Forum regarding the impacts of sequestration on Wrightpatterson Air Force base in the deyton community. We had a distinguished group of local leaders who participated in the event. The expert panel included colonel cassie b. Bar low, 88th base wing. Jeffly hogan, chris kershner, part of the chamber of commerce and another an advocate for the Defense Community in my community in deyton, ohio. Each of these local leaders talked how sequestration affected our community in 2013 and what would the effect would be if the sequester continues. For a Community Like deyton with such a strong relationship with ohios largest single site employer, the message was devastating. The budget control act of 2011, which i voted against, was signed into law on august 2, 2011. The budget control act establishes series of spending caps and forced reductions designed to indiscriminantly reduce government strength. These forced reductions, also known as sequestration, greatly impact our National Security by requiring the department of defense to reduce its budget by roughly 500 billion. Already in its second year, this poorly conceived and flawed process continues to compromise our defense capabilities and greatly impact military communities like deyton, ohio. Reducing federal spending is important. But the sequester, as proposed by president obama, applies 50 of the cuts to less than 18 of the spending. The department of defense represents less than 18 of overall spending. Due to the president s sequester, this year roughly 14,000 civilian men and women have been furloughed in the state of ohio as a direct result of the sequester. These forced furloughs have not only cost our state tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue but has negatively impacted nearly 30,000 men and women who work at wrightpatterson and live in our community. If allowed to continue, i believe that the sequester will potentially result in a loss of 13,000 jobs, the loss of jobs matched with reductions in spending could cost our community in dayton roughly 8. 6 billion. While its important to note the impacts to dayton, we must also take into consideration the impact of our National Security and the future of our country. The president promised sequester would not happen and yet the department of defense suffers under the effects of these drastic cuts. As many of the experts pointed out, sequestration will greatly compromise military readiness and modernization for years to come. Without a ready and able force, our military will no longer possess the capabilities to rapidly and effectively respond to conflicts around the globe. During a recent testimony before the House Armed Services committee, the chiefs outlined the devastating effects, note, the army has been forced to cancel for the combat brigade teams not slated to go to afghanistan or part of a Global Response force. That means two out of 42 Army Brigades are fully trained and ready to deploy at a crisis. The navy has canceled multiple ship deployments as a result of the devastating budget cuts, including the u. S. S. Truman Carrier Strike group that was scheduled to deploy earlier this year. Due to the cuts we had to reduce deterrent presence in order to surge our ships if needed in a crisis. Air force leaders have told congress that modernization forecasts are bleak. These modernization efforts are critical as many of our assets in our inventories are decades old. It is imperative that we find spending cuts to offset the sequestration on the department of defense. Our military leaders have come to congress on numerous occasions to explain the limitations the budget cuts are putting on our National Security. It is legislative malpractice for this congress to continue to put our nation at greater risk. The president needs to come to this congress with a proposal to offset his sequestration in a responsible manner so the department of defense can be restored, our National Security protected and the community of dayton, ohio, no longer suffering the effects of sequestration. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Holt, for five minutes. Madam thank you, speaker. I rise today as a member of the safe climate caucus to say that Climate Change is making extreme weather worse and costing us in lives and dollars. Last week the typhoon, the strongest storm to make landfall in recorded history, struck the philippines with sustained winds of almost 200 Miles Per Hour and thousands reported dead and missing. Sandy, irene, katrina, wildfires, floods, droughts. If you flip a coin 20 times, its possible that an honest coin will land on heads every time, but you should start to suspect that theres something wrong with that coin. Sure, the recent extreme weather events might be coincidence, but as superstorms continue again and again, you should suspect that something is wrong with our climate. We should begin fissioning our broken world, not pretending that all is well. His week markets the climate for numb warsaw where members from over 190 nations will be discussing Climate Change and how the world should be responding. For International Climate negotiations to succeed, the u. S. Should take the lead. And leading internationally will require us to start here at home. I yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. Cclintock, for five minutes. Mr. Mcclintock madam speaker, this summer the biggest fire in the history of the Sierra Nevada mountains burned 400 square miles of forest land. The fire left behind a swath of environmental devastation that threatens the loss, not only the effected forest land for generations, but sets events in motion that could threaten the surrounding forests for many years to come. The fire also left behind as much as a billion board feet of dead timber on federal land that could be sold to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, money that could then be used to replant and restore the devastated forests. In addition, processing that timber would help to revive the economy of the stricken region. But time is already running out. Within a year, the value of the timber rapidly declines as the wood is devoured by insects and rot. And thats the problem. Cumbersome Environmental Reviews and the litigation that follows will run out the clock on this valuable asset until it becomes worthless. Indeed, it becomes worse than worthless. It becomes hazardous. Bark and woodboring beetles are already moving on to feast on the dying timber and a population of pest atlantas will continue. The beetles will confine themselves to the fire areas, posing a mortal threat to the surrounding forests in the years ahead. By the time the normal bureaucratic reviews and lawsuits have run their course, what was once forest land will have already begun converting to brush land. And by the following year, reforestation will become infin natalie more difficult and more ex more difficult and more expensive. The smaller trees will begin toppling on this tender. Its not possible to build a more perfect fire stack than that. Intense Second Generation fires will take advantage of this el, stair liesing the threatening the surrounding forests for many years to come. Without timely, salvage and reforestation, we know the fate of the sierras because weve seen the result of benign neglect after previous fires. The trees dont come back for many generations. Instead, thick brush takes over the land that was one shaded by towering forests. The brush quickly overwhelms any seedling that is trying to start. It hurts the ecosystems with scrub brush. For this reason, ive introduced h. R. 3188, which waives the timeconsuming Environmental Review process and ends the endless litigation that always follows. It authorizes federal Forest Managers following protocols for salvage to sell the dead timber and to supervise its careful removal while there is still time. The hundreds of millions of dollars raised can then be directed toward replanting the region before layers of brush choke off any advance of forest regrowth for chance of forest regrowth. Credited for the speedy recovery of the forest. This has spawned tales from the activist left of uncontrolled logging in the sierras. Nothing can be further from the truth. This legislation vests full control of the salvage plans with federal Forest Managers, not the logging companies. It leaves federal foresters in charge of enforcing salvage plans that fully protect the environment. The left wants a policy of benign neglect. Let a quarter million acres of destroyed timber rot in place, surrender the land to beetles and watch as the forest ecosystem is replaced by scrub land. Yes, without human intervention the forests will eventually return. But not in the lifetimes of ourselves, our children or our childrens children. If we want to stop the loss of this forest land and if we want to control the beetle infestation before it explodes out of control, the dead timber has to come out soon. If we take it out now, we can generate the funds necessary to suppress brush buildup, plant new seedlings and restore these forests for the use and enjoyment of our children. If we wait for the normal bureaucratic reviews and delays, we will have lost these forests to the next several generations. That is a choice. Congress must make that choice now or nature will make that choice for us. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from puerto rico, mr. Pierluisi, for five minutes. ,. Pierluisi madam speaker monday was veterans day when our nation pays tribute to those who have served honorably in the armed forces. Today, i rise to express my gratitude to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines from puerto rico. Both, those who arent leaving and those who have left us. Since world war 1, almost a century ago to afghanistan today, american citizens from puerto rico have built a rich record of military service. If you visit any u. S. Base, you will see warriors from puerto rico fighting to keep this nation safe, strong and free. They serve as officers and enlisted personnel, as special operators, in infantry, artillery, as pilots and aviation technicians, intelligence on ships and submarines, in combat support positions and in every military specialty. In his book, puerto ricos future, a time to decide, former u. S. Attorney general Dick Thornberg observed that puerto rico has ranked alongside the top five states in terms of per capita military service. In the forward to that book, former president george h. W. Bush noted, i quote, this Patriotic Service and sacrifice of americans from puerto rico touched me all the more deeply for the very fact they have served with such devotion, even while denied a vote for the president and members of congress who determine when, where and how they are asked to defend our freedoms, end quote. As i address this chamber, men and women from puerto rico are serving in harms way in afghanistan and other locations. Since the attacks of 9 11, island residents have deployed about 35,000 times in overseas contingency operations. Many have deployed on multiple occasions. Each time they go they leave behind spouses, children and parents. As veterans will tell you, military life requires enormous sacrifice from their loved ones, those quiet heroes who support our uniformed personnel who must live and work in their absence and who pray for their safe return. On veterans day we honor not overwhelm those who fought but their families as well. There is a frame in my office wall on my office wall containing photographs of Service Members from puerto rico that have fallen in the last 12 years. I often look at those photos, row after row of young face, usually posing in their dress uniforms against a backdrop of the american flag. Those images make me sad, but they also give me strength. They inspire me to keep working for my people. They remind me what courage is and what sacrifice means. Nd they help me remember why serving puerto rico in congress is the greatest honor i have ever known. I have met many veterans from puerto rico. I have found that they value deeds over words. They expect their elected leaders to produce vults or at least to work tirelessly towards that end. Im proud of the record we have compiled on behalf of the veterans from puerto rico. We obtained funding to renovate the v. A. Hospital in san juan, to improve existing clinics, and build new clinics throughout the island, and to provide vehicles he so that residents of our state Veterans Home can visit their families and travel to medical appointments. We also achieved puerto ricos inclusion in a federal initiative to encourage the hiring of unemployed veterans. And i am working to honor a military unit that perhaps best exemplifies the service that residents of puerto rico have rendered this nation. Congressman bill tosey of florida and i have introduced legislation to award the congressional gold medal to the 6 a 5th infantry resident, a unit composed mostly of soldiers from puerto rico that overcame discrimination and won admiration for their performance in the korean war. Our bill has nearly 160 bipartisan cosponsors, and there is a companion bill in the senate that has also garnered strong support. I hope all my colleagues will join me in honoring this special group of veterans. This veterans day i renewed my commitment to fight for the men and women who have fought so valiantly for us, and i thank them from the bottom of my heart for their service. I do so again today. Thank you, madam speaker. Steve the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Flores, for five minutes. Mr. Flores madam speaker, i rise today to honor the 75th anniversary of the city of College Station texas. College station has been and is the home to tens of thousands of texas families, students, businesses, and residents throughout the years. And im proud to offer my congratulations on this milestone. College station was an Unincorporated Community for over 60 years before officially being incorporated as a city on october 19, 1938. In 1869 the houston and Texas Central railway was built through the area and in 1871 College Station was chosen as the location for what would eventually become one of the largest public universities in the nation, texas a m university. The city got its name because the a m campus was the focal point of Community Development at the time. In 1877 the area was designated College Station, texas, by the postal service, deriving its name from the train station located to the west of the campus. Since incorporation in 1938, College Stations population has grown to over 97,000 today. Over the past 75 years College Station has served as a vibrant, supportive, and Safe Community for thousands of families. Texas a m university is still the citys main focal point and the largest employer in the city. The university is rich in tradition and history, and due to its supportive fan base, sporting events bring in hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. College station is also the home to the george bush president ial library and museum, one of the regions most popular tourist attractions. College station is a fast growing city with a thriving economy. It has recently been recognized as one of the nations best places for businesses, jobs, families, and retirees. College station prides itself on having the fifth lowest property tax rate among similar sized communities in the state of texas, and the city was recently ranked number five nationally on the forbes business of best places for businesses and careers. College station is among the safest and most Family Friendly places in texas, maintaining one of the best safety ratings in the state. College station has also been a community that comes together and shows support when needed. Whether it was the collapse of the aggie bonfire in 1999, or the loss of one ever our constabbles in august of last year, our Community Comes together in the midst of terrible adversities to support one another. The residents and leadership of College Station worked hard to make their city one of the best places in texas to work, live, and main tan an enjoin joible and fulfilling life. It is my enjoyable and fulfilling life. It is my honor to represent this city. Please join me in commemorating the city of College Station on their 75th anniversary. Before i close i ask that all americans continue to pray for our country during these difficult times and the military men and women and First Responders who protect her. God bless the American People and god bless College Station, texas. Thank you, i yield back. Steve the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. Foster, for five minutes. Mr. Foster i request unanimous consent to address the ho