activity for thousands of families, mr. speaker. on our lakes and certainly on our great coasts. to fish, to diving, to snorkel or shimpley -- simply enjoy the natural resources. the boating isn't just a recreational activity. it is one of america's great industries. it includes about 1,400 active boat builders in the united states, including many in my district, using materials from all 50 states. these are american jobs creating a uniquely american product. additional jobs include electricians, carpenter, painters and engineers who work to repair or refit recreational vessels along with crew members and employees at our many harbors. when taken together, boating in america generates more than $33 million annually for our economy and provides 337,000 jobs totaling 10.4 billion -- $10.4 billion in wages every year. for these reasons i am urging my colleagues to support the resolution and reserve the

balance of my time. . mr. petri: i yield myself such time as i may consume and rise in support of house resolution 410, a resolution recognizing the recreational boating community and industries and now recognize our colleague from south carolina, mr. henry brown, for such time as he may consume. mr. brown: i appreciate my colleague from wisconsin for yielding. i rise today to to support house resolution 410, legislation i was proud to introduce with representative klein. 75% of south carolina's coast and many of my commercial bothers, i'm proud of this resolution that recognizes the

numerous contributions of the recreational and boating community. boating is big business in the state of south carolina with more than 826 million in sales a year and nearly 9,000 boating industry employees across the state. boats are owned by families of all income levels and across communities in the state. there are 145 boating businesses rangesing from small businesses to major boat manufacturers and employ hundreds of my constituents. nationally, the recreational boating community includes 59 million americans that make a significant impact to our community. they serve as stewards of the marine environment. it has a long history of education of future generations on resources. additionally through annual motor boat fuel tax, boating

contributes more than $100 million towards fish restoration and other environmental programs. boating is important to american families as it provides opportunities for them to spend quality time together. appeals to all age groups and has a beneficial effect on the physical fitness and scholastic performance on those who participate. at the request of my constituent, i worked to include language in this resolution making the important role that boating plays for american families. as he said, joining family and friends on the water is a great way to escape the chaos of our busy lives, creates memories together and appreciation of nature. boating just does -- does just that and i support this resolution. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. larsen: i yield four minutes

to the co-sponsor of this resolution, mr. klein of florida. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida for four minutes. mr. klein: i thank the gentleman from washington for yielding time and i want to commend him for his leadership on this important issue. i rise today in support of house resolution 410, resolution that i introduced with my friend from south carolina, along with the distinguished co-chairs of the congressional boating caucus, congressman gene taylor and congresswoman miller from michigan. this highlights the contribution of the recreational boating community to the quality of our life and continued economic prosperity and urge president obama to issue a proclamation calling upon the american people to observe july 1 as national boating day. boating is a famous symbol from south florida where i come from. millions of residents in our community and tourists take to

the waters of south florida to boat, fish, dive, snorkell and do scenic tours along our coastline and unique coastal waterway. palm beach and fort lauderdale has earned it the nickname of the venice of america. it is not only symbolic. the industry is a major economic engine in florida, responsible for $2.8 billion in direct sales and 30,000 jobs statewide. in my district alone, there are over 34,000 registered boats and the industry produces $193 million and employs over 2,000 of my constituents. as everyone here knows, the contributions of the boating community extend far beyond the sunshine state. the boating community includes 59 million people and 13.6

million registered boats throughout the united states. the recreational boating industry provides more than $37 billion in sales and services toe the u.s. economy and provides over 300,000 jobs throughout our country. one need only look at the geographic diversity to measure the contributions of the boating community. members come from 3 states, including tennessee, pennsylvania, kansas and west virginia. boating is not just a coastal past time but an american past time. boating brings us closer to our natural resources and treasures. i strongly believe the appreciation for environmental stewardship comes through interaction with nature. for example, it's hard to comprehend the beauty of our coral reefs until you see it from your own eyes. you understand the need to protect them for the continued

health of our oceans. boating gives us these cherished opportunities to come union with nature and it should be no surprise that bothers can be stewards of the environment, teaching future generations of bothers to have a healthy respect and appreciation for our natural resources. for these reasons, i urge my colleagues and i thank the gentleman from washington again for bringing h. res. 410 to the floor and urge its passage. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields his time. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. petri: i yield to our colleague from indiana, representative souder. mr. souder: i thank my friend from wisconsin for his leadership on transportation and for the time to speak on this bill. as a member of the boating caucus, since we first formed this, i'm really pleased to be supportive of this resolution. in indiana, in northeast indiana, basically, i represent a lot of water with plants and

farms in between. and in our county, we have 100 lakes and another county we have 100 ladies and gentlemen. along one ridge, one goes to lake michigan and another goes down into the mississippi valley. we have -- because of geologic potholes, connected together sometimes through small dams, sometimes in natural larger lakes, we have the bulk of the lakes in indiana when the glaciers pulled back that in this zone, i guess we have 40% to 60% of the natural lakes in the state of indiana. some have historically been big attractions, not as big a tourist attraction as florida or wisconsin. for that matter, washington state. but winona lake, but we have a number of state parks.

we bring in regional tourism and people enjoying and sometimes lined up to get open space on our lakes in indiana. as the number one manufacturing district in the united states, i can't remember the latest figures, but we are fifth in manufacturing of boats. many of those boats go down to florida and the coasts. the inboard and outboard engine were invented in my district working with volvo in sweden. many of the larger boat companies are based there, everything from float boats to fishing boats to high-powered speed boats. it is a critical part of our district. it has been a pleasure to work with the boating industry as we work to get retail financing for boats. we hear a lot right now about gm and chrysler. i represent a county where we have been working to make sure the r.v. industry -- 50% of the

industry is there. if you look at what they have done, you will see it says, cars, trucks, r.v.'s, motor cycles and boats, because the same challenge that we're facing in the auto industry is true for the boating industry. and that is how do we make sure there's adequate boats being purchased from manufacturers and the financing to keep them afloat and making sure the dealers, if they can only get 1/4 of their inventory there, it isn't going to work. this is a very unusual time, an important time for the boating i industry. not only are we entering the summer season in the great lakes region and other areas of the country where boating is at a peak, but it's a time for survival. the biggest challenge for the boat manufacturers since the luxury tax sunk them years ago. i stand honored to speak on behalf of this resolution because it's very important that we call attention to the

american people not only of the great pleasures of recreational boating, but the importance of having our boating industry survive. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. larsen: we have no further speakers. so at this point, we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: mr. speaker, i fully support house resolution 410. urge my colleagues to do the same and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. larsen: i urge my colleagues to support house resolution 410. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields his time. the question is, will the house suspend its rules and pass house resolution 410. 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. larsen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to resolution 484, expressing support for the designation of june 10 as national pipeline safety day. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 484, resolution expressing support for designation of june 10 as national pipeline safety day. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr.

larsen, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. larsen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on house resolution 484. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. larsen: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. speaker, today, i rise to ask house of representatives to support the designation of june 10, tomorrow, as national pipeline safety day. there are more than two million miles of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in our country. pipelines play a vital role in the lives of the american people by delivering the energy we need to heat our homes, drive our cars, cook our food and operate our businesses. in the past dweck aid, significant new pipelines have been built to move oil and gas

to refineries and markets. these pipelines are invisible to most people and are out of sight and mind and can lead to pipeline damage and lack of government oversight. on june 10, a pipeline leak caused a massive explosion in my district in bellingham, washington. the rupture released a quarter of a million gallons of gasoline into the creek. the gasoline ignited, sending a fire ball down the creek that killed two boys and a man. the two boys were playing in the creek near their homes on a summer day and the 18-year-old was fly fishing for trout. previous generations have asked themselves where were you when president kennedy was shot. in my district, people ask the question and know the answer to where were you when the pipeline exploded. it had that much of an impact in my district.

in response to this tragedy and several other pipeline explosions across the country, congress passed legislation to strengthen pipeline safety regulations. the 2002 pipeline safety improvement act, improved fines and testing timelines, provided whistleblower protection and allowed for state oversight. in 2006, congress authorized the 2002 law bypassing the pipeline inspection, protection and enforcement and safety act or the pipes act. since that day in june, we have made significant progress in ensuring the safety of our nation's pipelines. the frequency of so-called high consequence events has diminished almost 35% in the last 10 years. due to the management program required by the new law, pipeline operators have made extensive repairs to the pipelines that otherwise would have led to future accidents. the 811 call program now provides a number that people can call before they dig to make sure that they won't hit a

pipeline when they do dig. call 811, the one call program. and congress has significantly increased the number of pipeline inspectors in the field. however, we must remain vigilant. that's why i have introduced house resolution 484, a resolution to recognize tomorrow, june 10, 2009, the 10-year anniversary of the bellingham pipeline explosion as national pipeline safety day. my resolution encourages individuals, state and local governments and pipeline safety stakeholders to use this day to create greater public awareness of pipelines and pipeline safety. it has the support of the washington state governor, the county council, the pipeline safety trust, the pipeline association for public awareness, the american gas association and the american public gas association. in conclusion, mr. speaker, i encourage my colleagues to support house resolution 484. with that, i reserve the balance

of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i'd like to express my support for house resolution 484, designating june 10 as national pipeline safety day and yield such time as he may consume to my colleague, mario diaz-balart of florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for ouch -- how much time? mr. petri: as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: thank you, mr. speaker. let me also thank the gentleman for his generosity with the time. i rise in support of this resolution designating the national pipeline safety month. mr. speaker, pipe lines obviously play an important role in our society through the

operation of our homes, our businesses, by cliffer -- delivering the energy to drive our cars, to cook our food, to keep us warm and -- warm in the winter and cool in the summer. it's an undeniable reality that energy affects all aspects of our lives and all americans need to depend on energy. that's why it's unfortunate, mr. speaker, that some in the majority would like to and the administration, frankly, are proposing this cap and trade legislation that many are calling a cap and tax legislation that would dramatically increase the cost of energy for all americans. every single american. estimates say that this bill could increase a cost to a family of four close to $3,000 a year, $2,937 a year, to be exact. and raise electrical rates on families by 90% after adjustment for inflation, boost gasoline prices by 74% on american families, mr. speaker, and natural gas prices by 55%. and if that were not bad enough,

it would also put american businesses at a huge disadvantage, competitive disadvantage, with their competitors from other countries that don't pursue that kind of legislation, be it china or india. now let's take a look at what some key players in the administration have recently stated about this ladies and gentlemenslation. some facts. for example, as c.b.o. director, when he was the c.b.o. director and currently the o.m.b. director, mr. orszag, peter orszag, testifying to the ways and means committee on september 18, 2008, mr. speaker, he said, quote, decreasing emissions would also impose -- impose a cost on the economy, a cost on the economy. much of those costs will be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for energy and energy-intensive goods. mr. orszag's written testimony stated that the average annual household cost was $1,300.

that's for a 15% cut in co-2 emissions which by the way happens to be 80% less than the cuts sought by this administration. another fact, on march 17, 2009, energy secretary steven chu testifying before the science committee said, quote, the cap and trade bill will likely increase the cost of electricity. end of quote. another fact i'd like to bring up today, energy secretary steven ch usaid that advocating -- chu said that advocating effective trade duties as a weapon to protect u.s. manufacturing is otherwise again u.s. manufacturing would be put at a huge disadvantage. he said establishing a carbon tariff would help, quote, level the playing field if other countries have an imposed mandatory redestructions in carbon emissions. again, referring to the fact that it would put our industry at a huge disadvantage. mr. chu said, quote, if other

countries don't impose a cost on carbon, then we will be at a disadvantage. and he went on to say and we would look at considering duties to offset that cost, but the legislation doesn't have those in the bill. again, what we are looking at then is the united states to impose a self-inflicted wound, to put our industry and our country, our country at a huge disadvantage, increasing costs of energy to all consumers in this great country of ours at a time in particular when everybody is hurting. last month on may 21, c.b.o. director -- the current c.b.o. director testified before the house budget committee and said that the c.b.o. has been very clear that cap and trade system or carbon tax would raise the price of carbon emissions and the cost would ultimately be borne by households. again, it's not rocket science, mr. speaker. again, it's also widely understood that if we raise the price of carbon emissions in our

-- and our trading partners do not, that creates an additional challenge for our carbon emitting industries. those are his words. i add the part about the rocket science, to be fair. but those are his words. so it's fitting that we are now here talking about pipelines and energy. i just hope that we don't forget the big picture as well and that we don't impose this huge cost on our consumers, on those who use gasoline, that turn on lights like everybody does, that manufacturers using energy like every industry does and we don't put them at a huge disadvantage. with that i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. larsen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure the parents of the three young men who died in the explosion would be very interesting to hear the thoughts of the gentleman from florida on energy and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: mr. speaker, i believe this resolution highlights the need to properly maintain pipelines and encourages the development of pipeline security programs. i support the passage of this resolution, urge my colleagues to do the same and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. larsen: mr. chairman, thank you very much. i want to thank mr. petri and mr. mica, as well as mr. young and mr. oberstar and ms. brown, for all their help in putting this resolution together, getting it to the floor today and urge my colleagues to support house resolution 484 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 484. those 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 and the resolution is agreed to. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? ms. waters: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 502. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 502, resolution recognizing national home ownership month and the importance of home ownership in the united states. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, and the gentleman from california, mr. gary miller, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation. and to insert extraneous material throne. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered -- there on. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. waters: thank you, mr. speaker, i am proud to be a co-sponsor of this legislation which recognizes june as national home ownership month. as chair of the subcommittee on housing and community opportunity, i am indeed committed to good public policy that will assist citizens to realize the american dream of home ownership. i would like to thank representative gary miller for his continued leadership on ensuring that this resolution comes to the floor every year. this is the seventh time that he

has introduced this resolution and i appreciate his commitment to america's homeowners. preserving home ownership is more important today than ever before with foreclosures reaching record levels and millions more americans struggling to stay in their homes. home ownership has historically been the single most important wealth-building tool available to families in this country. however, home ownership as we know it is at risk. the foreclosure crisis has all but erased the gains we have made in increasing home ownership rates, especially for minorities. and the gains those families thought they had achieved through increases in home equity have also diminished as now 20% of homeowners owe more on their homes than they are worth. the combination of unemployment, unsustainable and predatory

mortgagers, and uncooperative market servicers has created a perfect storm of record rates, of loan defaults and foreclosures. according to the mortgage bankers association, a record 12% of mortgages are either in default or in foreclosure. according to the center for responsible lending, 6,500 mortgages occur each day in the united states. by the end of 2009 there will be 2.4 million families in foreclosure. we must keep families in their homes and this congress and the administration have developed programs to do just that. for example, the making home affordable program announced by president obama in march builds off legislation i introduced at the beginning of this congress to end this unending avalanche of foreclosures. despite the commitment from the

administration and congress to reduce foreclosures, mortgage servicers have been reluctant to modify trouble loans. in fact, neighbor works recently found in its survey of housing counseling agencies that servicers are generally uncooperative. they take up to 60 days to respond to requests and frequently lose important documents. in order to be true to the spirit of national home ownership month, i call on all mortgage servicers to fully participate in making home affordable program and to work with families to maintain their ownership. vulnerable homeowners are also threatened by scam artists who offer to rescue or help struggling homeowners stay in their homes for an exorbitant fee that must be paid up front.

they often deliver either nothing or a higher payment than the homeowner was paying before contacting these companies. the federal trade commission has begun to crack down on these scammers and i support these efforts. prospective homeowners are also caught up in this economic crisis because they have no other home to sell -- crisis. because they have no other home to sell, first time home buyers have the ability to stabilize home bryces and -- prices and neighborhoods. now is the time to buy. but many first time home buyers are finding themselves locked out of the housing market. many families who would otherwise be buying homes now lack the required down payment. fortunately the recently enacted $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers is now being monetized so that these homeowners can use it to