recognized the 27th national missing children's day. the day marks the anniversary of the disappearance of 6-year-old eatan patz. for nearly three decades, the search for etan and many other children have been part of the persisted efforts of ncmec. madam speaker, once again, i express my support for the center and i thank representative poe for bringing this resolution to the floor. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. and i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. platts: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. platts: i rise in strong support of this resolution, which seeks to pay tribute and recognize the important work of the national center for missing and exploited children and i'm honored to yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of

this important resolution, the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: thank you, madam speaker. i'm proud to sponsor h. res. 454, which recognizes the 25th anniversary of the national center for missing and exploited children. as founder and co-chair of the victims' rights caucus along with mr. costa, i'm thankful for the work that the sentencer does to protect the nation's children. at the time the center was founded, 25 years ago, there were little or no resources available to assist law enforcement with the cases of missing children. in fact, there was no way for police to enter information about missing children into the f.b.i.'s national crime computer. today, thanks to the work of the national center for missing and exploited children, this is no longer the case. each year, approximately 800,000

american children are reported missing. when a child is missing, the national center for missing and exploited children work alongside families and law enforcement agencies in locating, finding and recovering the children and bringing them home to their parents. many people may be familiar with john walsh from his tv show "america's most wanted"," but they may not realize the tragic event that led to his advocating on behalf of children and his work with "america's most wanted"." in 1981, adam walsh was abducted from a toy department store in florida at a shopping mall. two weeks later, fisherman found adam's decap tated head. they never found his body. he was six years old. last year, after 27 years of not knowing who killed their son, police announced that adam's

murderer was a serial murderer who died a decade earlier. otis toole was the killer's name. although this did not take away the walsh's pain, we hope it gave them some peace of mind and a sense of justice. even during the years of unanswered questions, john walsh advocated on behalf of children. he helped fight for the passage of federal legislation such as the missing children's act of 1982 and the missing children's assistance act of 1984. the missing children's assistance act of 1984 established the national resource center and clearinghouse for missing and exploited children thus creating the national center for missing and exploited children. president reagan opened the center on june 13, 1984. 25 years later, we thank john walsh for his efforts and

recognize the center for their work on behalf of america's children. we sell today since the recovery rate of missing children has increased from 62% to 97%. many children owe their rescue to the center and many parents are grateful for the return of their kids thanks to the center children. this is -- children's caucus. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. tonchingtonching does the gentleman from pennsylvania have any further speakers?

mr. platts: yes, i do. i have at least two additional speakers. tonchingtonching i reserve my the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. platts: thank you, madam speaker. i yield five minutes to the distinguished the gentleman from california, mr. royce. mr. royce: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, i rise to support this resolution. in recognizing the national center for missing and exploited children on its 25th anniversary, it is time for us to reflect on just what a role it played in terms of increasing the recovery rate over time of missing children. if you think about the last 25 years and the fact that 138,000 missing children have been recovered, returned to their families, but then in the early years, that rate ran at 62%. and now that rate is up to 97%.

you begin to get an appreciation for just what the national center for missing and exploited children were able to do for humanity for these children, for these families. as mentioned, it was officially opened in june of 1984 by president ronald reagan and since its inception, it has become the leading organization worldwide dealing with the issue of missing and exploited kids. i have been pleased to support many of the initiatives that it has worked for including the crimes against children registration act which was in 1994 and it mandated that sex offender registries be established in every state. megan's law that every state provide community notification when dangerous sex offenders are released was pushed by the center. the protect act of 2003, which created a national amber alert

program and strengthened law enforcement's ability to punish violent criminals who prey upon children. and the adam walsh child protection and safety act of 2006, which created a national sex offender public data base. and it's because of that work over the years that that rate is up to 97% today. now despite all that has been accomplished, i'm sure there's much more that can be done, should be done. i congratulate the center for its 25th anniversary. i congratulate it for its work on behalf of so many child recoverries today. and let this resolution remind us there is nothing more important than the safety of our nation's children and that the national center for missing and exploited children has done such great work in this regard. madam chair, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york.

tonchingtonching i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. platts: i'm honored to yield to the distinguished the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, who played an important role in the foundation and formation of the national center for missing and exploited children in 1984, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lungren: the gentleman from california is recognized. it's hard to believe that 25 years ago that this congress worked to facilitate the establishment of the national center for missing and exploited children. i recall being on the subcommittee of judiciary committee when john walsh and his wife testified before us. it was at a time when they did not know who had murdered their child. it was at a time in this country

where we specifically prohibited the use of the f.b.i. in attempting to participate in any activities to try and find missing children. we had a statutory delay for any participation by the f.b.i. there was a lack of coordination that was not only in existence, but was promoted by law at that time. and i recall after john walsh and his wife testified before us , the slugging of shoulders by some who basically had to tell the walshes there was nothing we could do here on the federal level. john walsh and his wife did not

take that as an answer. they spoke to many of us here the chamber, but actually those of us on the subcommittee and committee at that time and challenged us to try and find a way to make it possible that we could have a seamless web between the federal government, the state government and local government when the question was a missing child. and the strength and persistence of that couple, combined with others who joined them around the country was extraordinary at that time. it seems so commonplace now for us to talk about the 25 anniversary of the center. it seems so commonplace of hundreds of thousands of children being reported missing yearly and the fact that there

was almost a collective shrug of the shoulders at that time saying it is a terrible tragedy, but there's nothing we can do about it. it seems so commonplace now that when a child is missing, with all of the various laws that have followed after the creation of the national center for missing and exploited children that almost instantly, you have law enforcement across the board communicating with one another and creating a mechanism by which there can be the exchange of information and the encouragement of the exchange of information so we can find these children. one thing we knew 25 years ago that remains the same today, the sooner you know that a child is missing, the better the chances are of being able to find that child. the sooner you have law enforcement involved along with

the communities, the better the chances are that you will have a successful recovery of that child and a successful reuniting of that family. so i hope people understand while we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the center for missing and exploited children and that it has been the result of thousands upon thousands of people working for this effort, had it not been for a single couple, the walshes, who had a tragedy, decided to make something positive. had it not been for them coming here to the congress and insisting that we look at this issue and insisting that there was something that can be done and insisting that just because we used to do the old way was no reason or no excuse for not

trying to do something different. had it not been for them, we would not be celebrating the 25th anniversary nor celebrating the thousands upon thousands of successful reunitings that have taken place around this country. so this is a wonderful recognition of the center, but i hope it will also be a tremendous recognition of the contributions made by two wonderful americans, the wall shes. and i thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. tonchingtonching i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. platts: madam speaker, i urge a yes vote in support of this important resolution and commend mr. poe for his sponsorship and mr. lungren for his work in the foundation of the national center for missing and exploited children and i yield back the balance of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york. tonchingtonching the resolution before the house, 454, in recognizing the 25th anniversary of the national center for missing and exploited children is one that brings with it many happy endings for at least 138,000 families. and while not all of the stories are those happy endings, the center has provided itself as a resource and network that i has devoted itself to the reconnection of our youth to their families. and so, with that outstanding record and with the concerns for missing children still alive and haunting us as a society, i strongly encourage a yes vote on the resolution. and i yield back my remaining time, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. the question is, will the house

suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 454. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. platts: on that question, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking a vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8, rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. .

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, house resolution 472, congratulating and saluting the 70th anniversary of the aircraft owners and pilot association and their dedication to general aviation safety and important contribution to general aviation provides to the united states. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 472, resolution congratulating and saluting the 70th anniversary of the aircraft

owners and pilots association, aopa, and their dedication to general aviation, safety and the important contribution general aviation provides to the united states. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ohio, mr. boccieri, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. mr. boccieri: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on house resolution 472. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. boccieri: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. boccieri: madam speaker, i rise in support of house resolution 472, kgget congratulating and saluting the 70th anniversary of the aircraft owners and pilots

association commonly known a aopa. he was incorporated as a nonprofit organization dedicated to general aviation. aopa represents 417,000 members which is about 70% of all united states pilots. in 1950, aopa created the air safety foundation which provides general aviation pilots with training, education and research on information and safety that are important to all pilots. aopa was a leading advocate in the general aviation revitalization act of the 1994 which led to the recovery of the u.s. general aviation and light aircraft, manufacturing industry. in recent years aopa has been active on many general aviation issues, such as global positionings system navigation, f.a.a. re-authorization and the next generation air transportation system known as

nexgen. house resolution 472 congratulates and salutes the 70th anniversary of aopa and its dedication to general aviation safety and the important contribution made by all aviators to the united states. in addition, the resolution commends aopa for creating the air safety foundation, leading the recovery of general aviation of light aircraft in the manufacturing industry and setting the stage for development of nexgen. for these reasons and others i urge my colleagues to support house resolution 472, and i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: madam speaker, i rise in support of house resolution 472 and a co-sponsor of the resolution introduced by my colleague, mr. dent of pennsylvania, congratulating the aircraft owners and pilots association on the organization's 70th anniversary, and i yield such time as he may consume to the

author of the resolution, representative dent. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dent: thank you for your support of this legislation. on may 15, 2009, the aircraft owners and pilots association, or aopa, celebrated its 70th anniversary. since its inception on the eve of the second world war, aopa has been the strongest voice for general aviation in the united states. throughout its rich history, aopa has developed and maintained close working relationships for federal government agencies, including the department of transportation, department of homeland security, the federal aviation administration and the transportation security administration. i have been closing with these agencies, aopa has created the most sufficient aviation system in the world. over the last 70 years, aopa has also fostered a dynamic relationship with congress and specifically the members of the committee on transportation and infrastructure on which i serve. the association's first

political activity was to urge the u.s. senate to pass legislation establishing the civilian pilot training program which allowed thousands of american pilots to gain their certification through federal government support. decades later, aopa remains a key thing in our nation's policy having played the vital role in crafting and passage of this year's f.a.a. re-authorization act. today aopa's membership exceeds 400,000, including seven out of every 10 pilots in this nation. i'm confident every member of congress currently has a valuable relationship with the general aviation pilots flying in their districts. on a personal note, those in my area serve on an advisory board prove to be some of the most informed and influential participants. their expertise has truly been a great resource for me as i serve on the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee and the aviation subcommittee. madam speaker, i believe the passage of this resolution

congratulating aopa on its 70 years of service to our nation is a fitting way to salute the many pilots who help make our aviation system the safest and most efficient in the world. and at this time i'd like to encourage everybody to support this legislation, encurning its adoption. at this time i yield my time back to congressman petri. mr. petri: at this time, madam speaker, i yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from michigan, vern ehlers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. ehlers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. as a student pilot and as a co-chairman of the house general aviation caucus, as well as a proud member of the aircraft owners and pilots association i rise in strong support of h.res. 472, honoring the aircraft owners and pilots association on their 70th association. since 1939, the aopa has

effectively represented the general aviation community at the local, state and federal levels. with the membership of more than 415,000 or 2/3 of all the pilots in the united states aopa is the largest and one of the most influential aviation associations in the world. i have been a member for a number of years. general aviation is a catch-all category that includes all nonscheduled, nonmilitary aviation. ere are more than 230,000 general aviation aircraft in the united states which use nearly 19,000 small and regional airports. these airports help connect people and industries that do not always have easy access to our commercial airports. recently general aviation has come under attack by the media and those that view general aviation as a corporate indulgence or an expensive toy used exclusively by the wealthy.

that is simply not true. actually, the fact is that companies that utilize general aviation are more productive and thus more competitive. i can give two examples from my hometown, grand rapids, michigan. recently i was talking to a businessman there. he's a contractor, built a number of buildings. they have decided to expand into the upper peninsula of michigan and into canada. now, as you know michigan is surrounded by the great lakes and so it's very hard to get from point a to point b quickly. however, they bought an airplane and they were able to zip easily from the grand rapids headquarters to all the work sites in canada and in the upper peninsula of michigan. more than not -- often than not, these airplanes pay for themselves. i have another businessman in grand rapids who told me that his airplane saved him a considerable amount of money because when his executives went to visit his plants

scattered around the u.s. most of them in forest because he's in the lumbering business, and he has some 30-some businesses around the country, it takes at least one person one day to get to any of these sites using commercial aviation because they have to go to a major commercial airport, rent a car and drive some 30, 40 miles into the forest to their site. but with their own private airplane they can usually land within a few miles. they can complete three business visits in one day instead of one. so as i say, these airplanes pay for themselves. in addition, most of the private pilots i know are not rich but middle-class working people that love to fly. in the wake of these disparaging stories that have appeared in the media, the aopa and its supporters in congress have worked hard to educate the public and spread the word about the importance of general

aviation to our economy and our transportation system. every private pilot is passionate about flying, and the aopa is the organization they rely on to stay abreast of current political events and aviation events and to advocate on their behalf. i congratulate the aopa on their historic anniversary. i wish them continued success, and i look forward to celebrating future anniversaries with them as well. and i hope by then i will be able to fly more often than i am while i am in the congress. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio. mr. boccieri: thank you. madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. boccieri: i'd like to commend the gentleman from pennsylvania for his efforts to promote general aviation. it's very clear having myself serve classifications as a multiengine commercial single

engineer land that general aviation needs to do all it can to promote and respond to the needs of those pilots. in particular, the training of the pilots, and it is very important that we recognize the significance of this organizes -- organization and what it means to the general aviation. i concur with the ranking member and also concur with the gentleman in his remarks with respect to the importance of this bill. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: i have no further requests for time. i urge passage of the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. boccieri: and, madam speaker, with swift passage -- swift passage of this bill is very important. i yield back my time as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 472. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair,

2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? mr. boccieri: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1687 as amendmented to designate the federal building and united states courthouse located at mckinley avenue and third street as the ralph regula federal building and united states courthouse. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: house calendar number 64, h.r. 1687, a bill to designate the federal building and united states courthouse located at mckinley avenue and third street, southwest, canton, ohio, as the ralph regula federal building and united states courthouse. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ohio, mr. boccieri, and the gentleman from florida, mr. diaz-balart, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. mr. boccieri: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on house resolution 1687. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. boccieri: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. boccieri: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of the bill i introduced, house resolution 1687, as amended, and urge its quick passage. this bill designates the building located at mckinley and thirdee