and -- in one of the most tu mull chougs periods in this nation's history. for those who did not live through the civil rights era, it is difficult to understand the combined climate of excitement or change that coexisted with one of fear and violence. simply for acting on their ideals of racial equality, innocent people, young and old, black, and white, were struck down. in some cases, unfortunately, state and local law enforcement co-lewded with the perpetrators of anti-civil rights violence and attempts at justice often provided -- or proved to be charade. ending with the jury nullification or tampering by racist citizens council.

the civil rights community has reported that for every infamous killing thatter to at the south in the 19's and 1960's, there were many more that were barely noted or investigated. we, i'm proud to say, passed the emmitt till unsolved civil rights crimes act in 2007 to help bring these cases to light and seek justice for victims and their families. even after nearly a decade of effort by advocates in the justice department, it remains clear that much work remains to heal the wounds of this period of history. to that end, the till re-authorization act will create a framework for public

engagement between the department of justice and cold case advocates to share information and review the status and closure of cases through 1980. the legislation further authorizes appropriations and tasks the department of community relations service with bringing together law enforcement agencies and communities to address the tensions raised by civil rights era crimes. the title of this bill serves as a reminder of one of the many lives that was cut much too short as a result of racially motivated hate and violence. emmitt till was a 14-year-old african-american young man from

chicago who allegedly whistled at a white woman. shortly thereafter, he was found murdered and tore tur -- and tortured. though his accused killers were tried, they were acquitted by an all-white jury. despite attempts at gaining a federal indictment in the case, his torture an murder remain unpunished. while his family still grieves, they have channeled their sorrow victims vism for those still seeking justice. i believe that it remains important that the perpetrators of civil rights era crimes be brought to justice even 50 years later. while justice has been delayed for the victims of these crimes, the fact that we are raising these cold cases breathes new

life into our justice system. i am thankful to our chairman of the judiciary committee, chairman goodlatte. out out -- ultimately that ommitment bodes well for our collective future and reconciliation within these communities. i accordingly urge my colleagues to join those of us who are leading in this movement and effort and support this ask tant legislation and i unanimous consent to include the statement of the gentleman from georgia, john lewis. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the request will be covered by general leave. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized.

mr. goodlatte: i have no further speakers and am prepared to close and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: thank you, madam speaker. i'm prepared to close but first i want to yield as much time as she may need to the gentlelady from texas, sheila jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank the dean of this institution. anyone who has had the privilege of working with john conyers and ohn lewis have nothing but admiration and understanding through their teachings of the life of which they lived. so this important legislation is a reflection of their commitment to these families and their personal knowledge of the pain that so many families still now experience through unsolved civil rights crimes.

emmitt till was one of the midwest note worthy and violent and many of us still are able to see in our vision a picture of the open casket of how brutalized and beaten young emmitt till, a 14-year-old boy -- emmett till a 14-year-old boy had to suffer. his mother had to go through what might be considered absolute humiliation, in terms of seeing her son's body open to the world, but because it was such a heinous crime she was willing for the world to see. this legislation is enormously important because it extends until 2027 the authority of the department of justice to investigate and prosecute unsolved criminal civil rights cases and expands by a decade the time period for which the department can reopen cases to nvestigate under current law he cutoff date was 1970.

emmett till's -- emmett till unsolved civil rights cases of 2007 remains necessary legislation intended to complete the nation's most important unfinished business. i will just say in concluding, legislation will have to be a document on which the -- which the members of congress will have to breathe life into. we will have to insist, regardless of the changing of the guard at the department of justice, that this section have the kind of funding that is necessary. the path of this congress is not finished by the authorization. it must be funded. many families have come to my office in deep pain, need more resources for that section, more lawyer, more energetic activity. so i say to those who may be assigned to this at the department of justice, take this as a special cause. it is not just unsolved cold

cases. it is a smear on the democracy of this nation. it is a stain. it is a taint that we should live above by insisting that every family have justice for the murder of their loved ones. particularly, though -- particularly those in the battle of civil rights when many in this country lived in the second class shadow of racism and discrimination. the civil rights battles were real. they were violent in some instances. but thank god there were leaders like john lewis, john conyers, many in this congress and certainly the late dr. martin luther king who always believed, as i d, that we can do this through peace and nonviolence. this is a tool of nonviolence. we must insist that they do their task and that we solve these unsolved murderous civil rights cases and do so to heal the nation and to continue to

promote our democracy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i yield the alance of my time -- i reserve if -- i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves this egentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i am finished with our presentation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i yield time to myself to say to the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, the gentleman from georgia, mr. lewis, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, that this is a quest for justice that needs to be ongoing and i'm pleased to support this legislation. i urge my colleagues to do so and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house

suspend the rules and pass senate 2854 as amended. 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 bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, on december 7, 2016, pursuant to section 3307 of title 40, united states code, the committee on transportation and infrastructure met in open session to consider six resolutions included in the general services administrations capital investment and leasing programs. the committee continues to work to reduce the cost of federal

property an lease. of the six resolutions considered, the two construction projects include a federal courthouse consistent with existing funding and significant reductions of leased space. these resolutions represent $56 million in avoided lease costs and offsets. i've enclosed copies of the resolutions adopted by the committee on transportation and infrastructure on december 7, 2016. signed, sincerely, bill shuster, chairman. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on ppropriations. the chair lays before the house

the following personal requests. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. clyburn of south carolina for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2016 the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. smith: i yield such time as he may consume to my good friend and colleague, jody heist. -- jody hice. mr. hice: thank you, madam speaker. what an hon nor it is to join my colleagues this evening in taking a moment to honor my good riend and fellow alum from asbury college, pennsylvania congressman joe pitts my friend joe pitts has spent his life literally engaged in serving those around him. in fact, early in his career, joe and his wife worked as

teachers to educate the next generation until he joined the air force in 1963. he answered the call of duty in serving three tours in vietnam where he completed 116 combat missions and earned the air medal with five oak leaf clusters. just a few years after returning home from the war effort, joe continued his service in his state and our nation as a member of the pennsylvania house of representatives spending some 24 years assisting his fellow pennsylvanians. in 1997, joe brought his leadership skills and his servant's heart right here to the halls of congress where he's now served for 20 years. in this role and through his service as chairman of the values action team, joe has been a guiding force for bringing our judeo christian ethics and moral values to washington, d.c. and he's literally been a

champion for the cause of life. in mark chapter 10, the lord tells us that those who aspire to leadership must be great servants. and further, in matthew chapter 7, we find that we are recognized -- we will recognize our flutes. you can tell who someone is not merely by what they say but what they do. joe, i would say to you, sir, thank you. you've been tested and you have shown yourself approved and we are all going to sincerely and deeply, genuinely miss joe pitts and so i hope, joe, that as you continue in your next chapter that in your absence here that we may each have a portion of your servant's heart and how blessed this body will be if we do so.

so i just thank you so much for the opportunity to take a moment to say thank you to this giant of a leader here in congress and how we'll deeply miss him and i yield back the balance of my time. mr. smith: i thank you for your eloquent remarks. the gentleman from alabama. mr. aderholt: i thank you for organizing this evening so we can thank joe pitts for his years of service not only to this chamber and the public in general. joe is retiring after 20 years of service and he served as has been said 24 years in the pennsylvania legislature. the gentleman from pennsylvania,

joe pitts, is a hero for conservatives. he fights daily for families, unborn children and persecuted christians around the world. and i know about his work as far as persecuting christians because one of the first trips i had as a member of progress was to travel with joe pitts to the country of egypt toll advocate on behalf of persecuted christians. i had a chance to sit there with joe as we both talked about the plight of the coptic christians in the country of christians and sat across the table from president mubarak and let him know the concerns we had and the american people had for christians that were treated unfairly and for no other reason

because of their belief in their faith. joe pitts has been a friend and colleague since we were first elected. he and i were first elected here in 199 . he has worked tirelessly as chairman of the values action time when newt gingrich asked him to work on this issue of pro-life, pro-family issues. he has been a leading member of the pro-life caucus along with congressman smith since that time. i had the opportunity to work with joe on the organization for the security and cooperation of europe. and we meet in the parliamentary assembly once a year to try to work on issues and i can tell you the pro-life issue and trying to protect the unborn and

the family. i wanted to thank his staff over e years that i have worked hand-and-glove with congressman pitts who have been champions of will vative causes and we certainly miss working with them as they go onto the next chapter of their life. again, i want to wish joe pitts all the best as he moves onto the next phase of his life and will at he and his wife have maybe a slightly slower pace as they go back to pennsylvania. and i know joe and whatever next chapter of life that he is involved in, it will be involved in protecting families and he will be protecting the unborn, the most vulnerable and making sure what he feels is the best interest of this country. with that, madam speaker, i

yield back. again, we wish joe pitts and his family all the best in the many years to come. thank you very much. mr. smith: i next yield to the distinguished gentlelady from tennessee, representative black. mrs. black: i thank the gentleman for yielding, my good friend, who is also very involved in protecting life and families and i appreciate mr. smith's work in this area as well. madam speaker, today, i rise to honor my friend and colleague, congressman joe pitts on his upcoming retirement from the house of representatives. as the former teacher, congressman pitts spent years investing in the next generation of leaders and as an air force captain with three tours of duty in vietnam he was on the front line that we talk about in this chamber every day.

his service in congress now spanning 20 years will be marked by a quiet strength and a steady leadership that always sought solutions and ran towards answers instead running to the camera. congressman pitts was never aa loud person in the room but he may have been the wisest. as the founder as the values action team, he created a platform toll build stronger relationships between value-on the parted members of congress and grassroots organizations that share those same principles and through his appointment as e chairman of the health subcommittee he built solutions that empowered solutions not bureaucrats. but i will be most grateful to congressman pitts for his fearless unflinching defense of

our nation's unborn. from his own legislation, like protect life act, to his invaluable leadership in the fight to pass the pain-capable unborn child protection act to his work on the select investigation panel on infant life, congressman pitts has been the voice for the vulnerable at every turn. i thank congressman pitts for his service, for his friendship, for his guidance. and i wish him and his wife and his beautiful family all the best in the next chapter of their life. i yield back. mr. smith: thank you for those very, very eloquent remarks. i would like to yield to randy hultgren. mr. hultgren: i thank chris chris smith to do this and such a privilege to serve in this

amazing place. we have the opportunity and the pleasing to meet our heroes. some of us have the greater blessing of not only to get to meet them pu work with those heroes and those very special few become friends with our heroes. and that's the feeling i have with joe pitts. joe pitts is a mentor to me, a hero to me, someone who has served so well at every step of his lifetime. and i'm here to honor him tonight to thank him for his service and let him know we are forever grateful. joe pitts is known for many things. he is a man of faith. faith and his love for god and jesus christ and influences everything he does. i love his commitment and love for his family. joe and his wife had a long tradition of having grandkids'

camp and no parents allowed and have the grand kids come with them. they do special trip and special training and raising up grand kids to love god and this nation and share the values that were so important to joe and his family. i'm grateful for his service here in this congress. joe has been faithful. he was the leader of the value action team to recognize our values are so important and we need champions to make sure we are passing legislation that reflects our values, the values of our founders and the values of so many who led throughout our nation and making sure we are going in the right direction. joe has been a champion for life. a champion for the persecuted, especially religiously persecuted, fighting for them and stepping up for them and making sure their voices are heard and fighting for the unborn is something that is a

big part of joe's life as well. i am forever grateful to have the privilege not only to meet joe pitts and get to know joe pitts but to say joe is a friend of mine. joe, thank you. thank you for your service to america. thank you for your love, for your god and family and thank you for all you have done to make america a wonderful place and to leave a rich challenge and heritage to protect the wonderful values that we enjoy. god bless you, joe. and god bless america. mr. smith: i yield to representative lamalfa. mr. lamalfa: i thank you for your efforts over the many years for sticking up for the values that are so important. and it is a night to recognize

our leader of the value actions team mr. joe pitts and his dedication to these important causes for our values, the things that i like to say are going to be remembered long past when all the other stuff we do, the fiscal-related things, some of the things that nobody will remember. i would like to think they will remember we stood up for the things that are truly important to families and things that will endure over time. and i would like to recognize our friend from pennsylvania is a privilege to me. and it is a privilege to work with joe over the few short years i have been here in the house. gotten to know what he's about and respect greatly. a man of faith and courage and standing against the tide that would be pretty unpopular these days, a lot of times in this era

of what is political correctness. he stood in there for very difficult issues on life and basic liberties, on moral conscience and getting into issues from crazy california where i come from and help fight a battle there that would allow people to have religious freedom and freedom of conscience which is the cornerstone of this country that has been lost in recent re-interpretations of what i think true traditional values are. he has given that voice to the unborn. stood by by side with the little sisters of the poor in their direct fight for religious liberty. he defended the conscience of america that shouldn't go against the founding principles

that our nation was found, life with religious convictions. joe pitts, when it comes down to protecting conservative values in our government or outside of it, no issue too small, too insignificant or anything he would shy away from, indeed, he inspires us to be bold, to stand up for those that can't always speak for themselves or have been beaten down by political correctness to even speak for themselves. so we need these conservative values and need vision like joe pitts has always exhibited and to be able to work beside him and the years i have been in the house has been a privilege and i appreciate his work, his courage and being fearless against a that i can'tetimes understand. so at the end of all of this, i

think some of the most rewarding words in trying to express here tonight, well done, good and faithful servant. god bless joe pitts. we thank him for his service on the values action team and all he has stood for and proud to stand beside him and i yield back. mr. smith: i thank my good friend from california for his fine remarks. i would like to ask because there are a number of people who would like to submit. i ask unanimous consent that members have five legislative days to insert extraneous material on the topic of this special order. madam speaker, it is hard to examine a congress without the incomparable joe pitts, a remarkable and highly accomplished lawmaker, distinguished statesman, a man of principle and bedrock moral

conviction who sought to do god's will on earth no matter the sacrifice and the hardship. as i think some of my colleagues noted that joe was born in kentucky in a family of strong christian faith that was passed on to his own three children and that would be carol, karen and daniel. his father was an army chaplain during world war ii. the elder pitts returned to the phillipines with his wife and children to serve as a missionary in a war-ravaged country. he saw the after-febts of war and that so profoundly affected joe pitts. he developed a commitment to a strong national defense.

we et virginia, ginny, as know her, my wife and i have traveled with them. they have three children and a number of grandchildren as well. he taught math and science and coached basketball he served 5 1/2 years in the united states air force, including three tours in vietnam. he was the e.w. officer, electronic warfare officer, on a b-52 and completed 116 combat missions and won the air medal with five oak leaf clusters. here in washington, he's worked hard on political prisoners, cluding people like said abadini, and jewish and other political prisoners and religious prisoners around the world rm he's been tenacious in

promoting prayer breakfasts around the world so that members of parliaments and congresses all around the world would know the blessings of fellowship and prayer and being in touch with god. he even traveled to mongolia for the first prayer breakfast in the late 1990's. e leads an ambassador's prayer breakfast and fellowship in northern virginia. i've had the privilege of joining him for those lunches on occasion. it's a time for ambassadors to get together from all over the world, from different regions, sometimes from many regions, to break bread, to talk about the scripture, with some emphasis on policy but mostly about how god does minister to us, how forgiving he is, and how all of russ in need of recon sill yankees. joe pitts is there leading that fellowship and has been doing it for decades. he's been a leader in the fight against ongoing human rights abuses in western sahara and

elsewhere. he's co-chair of the lantos human rights commission nand congress, of course, we know he's served in a number of key leadership positions, including his current position as chairman of the health committee for the energy and commerce committee and obviously so manufacture many of the important issues of diseases, disabilities, the health care system itself presents themselves before his committee. he's been a problem solver. he and his staff working -- working across the aisle to try to find solutions to these often vexing issues of health care. on the greatest human rights issue of our time, protecting unborn babies and their mothers from the violence of abortion, joe pitts has not only saved countless precious lives and fostered reconciliation and hope for post-abortive women, but he's also been an extraordinary

inspiration to all of us in congress. the way he comports himself. never gets angry. deals with the issue in a way that reaches out to people who may have a different view in the hopes that they will see the wisdom of protecting the innocent and most vulnerable. e has been a leader on every pro-life congressional policy, bills, amendments, administrative action; since he won a seat in congress in 1986. his powerful voice and vote on ending that hideous method called partial bith abortion, enacting multiple annual from banning bans, gender abortions, the ultimate violation of women's rights, saying you may be unworthy of being born because you're

female, has been remarkable. his leadership has been remarkable. d the house passed the pitts amendment, obamacare with all its egregious flaws would have at least been abortion-free. joe pitts has been the greatest friend and ally a person -- for persons with disabilities, including his robust defense of terri schiavo. his service in the pennsylvania general assembly from 1973 to 1997, including his chairmanship of the powerful appropriations committee, which he was elected by his peers, was filled with accomplishments, including his bold leadership in enacting the abortion control act. someday, future generations will look back on america's culture of death and wonder how and why a seemingly enlightened society, so blessed with civil rights

protections, wealth, educational opportunities, information, medical breakthroughs, a free press and a strong and diverse faith community could have allowed 60 million unborn children to be killed by abortion. when the day comes and legal protections for the weakest and most vulnerable are restored, i believe future generations of americans will remember and celebrate the tenacious hero, ehuman rights heroes of today, people like henry hyde, compassionate women like mother teresa, and joe pitts, who persevered, prayed, and worked tenaciously on behalf of the least of these. st. francis once famously said, always preach the gospel and when necessary use words. perpetualmple, by his

radiating of christ, just look in his eyes, there's kindness and compassion and empathy of eyes, he joe pitts' has inspired all of us to do his will on earth as it is in heaven and it is a distinct honor to be known as one of joe pitts' friends. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from california, ms. lofgren is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. ms. lofgren: thank you, madam speaker. i am honored to be here this evening to talk about the remarkable records of five individuals who are retiring from the congress. i have had the honor of chairing the california democratic delegation for many years and these five members, representatives sam -- representative sam farr,

representative lois capps, representative loretta sanchez, representative mike honda, and representative janis hahn, are going home to california. afterer is -- serving distinguished careers here in the house. you know, i'll start with my near neighbor who has served since 1993, came in in a special election, and that is congressman sam farr. he has honorably represented the central coast of california for more than 40 years and here in congress for the last 23. sam was born and raised in the monterey county area. before his service here in the house, he early on served in the peace corps in colombia. and his wonderful, fluent spanish is a product of his peace corps service in colombia.

to this day , he has a special soft spot for that country. as the ranking member on the house appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, rural development, and food and drug administration, he's championed safe and nutritious food for consumers, farmers, and producers and he's made sure that the need of getting fresh food into school lunches has never been far from our thoughts. he's had remarkable success there which has served the health of children across the country. after serving in the peace rps, sam represented his constituents on the monterey county board of supervisors for six years. he -- as a member of the board of supervisors , he continued to fight for environmental issues, for people who were disadvantaged, and of course

after that, he served in the alifornia legislature. he founded the bipartisan house oceans caucus and authored the oceans act which created the u.s. commission on ocean policy. he's the longest serving democrat on the subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs. while he served on that subcommittee, he did something simply remarkable. we all know that bases across the united states were closed under the brac system and one of ord military fort base, the biggest california base, and it left a hole in that county. what sam did was he worked with the local community to make sure that that base could be repurposed to good use and he led the effort to make the cal

state university at monterey a reality at fort ord. sam is a former chair of the congressional delegation and did such a great job when he chaired this group he stands for peace, for diplomacy, sam is always standing up for the little guy. and one of the things in addition to that is that he has been the photographer for house democrats. whenever we go anywhere, sam is there with his camera and we really don't know who is going to keep track of our activities when sam retires. we wish him well. we know he's going to have a great time in the serene beauty of the region where he grew up. he said it's time to go home and be a brand pa and we know that he's a wonderful grandpa. lois capps is also retiring.

ow, lois was sworn in on march 17, 1998, but i remember the day that her late husband, walter capps, passed away unexpectedly, she and walter were on their way to the capitol and walter passed away. we had an unplanned special order here, we were all so shocked that that had happened. lois was here with us. she later went on to run for the seat that her husband had represented really for a short time. santa barbara, san luis obispo and parts of ventura county. she's represented that area with tremendous distinction. she'll be the first to tell you, she never expected to be a member of congress. she's a former nurse, a public health advocate. she was a school nurse and still talks about the work she did as a school nurse with children.

and when she got elected to congress, she was committed to improving schools, to quality health care, and a cleaner environment. she built a legacy of common sense solutions that have helped make her district, her state, and our country cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable. and here's something not everyone knows but when they hear it, it makes so much sense. she's been voted the nicest member of congress over and over again. so she is. se serves on the powerful energy and commerce committee and sits on the health, energy, and power committee, along with the environment and economic -- and economy subcommittees. she's focused on medicare reform, the nursing shortage, mental health, the protection of our air and water she also serves on the house natural resources committee. lois is someone who not only serves with distinction but who

is a warm friend. we will miss her greatly next congress but we know that she deserves the retirement she has earned and she will be going home to her beautiful district. our colleague, loretta sanchez is a true trail blazer. beginning with her election in 1996, where in then-republican orange county she had an upset victory against a former representative, barb --, -- dornan. she defeated representative dornan by less than 1,000 votes. when she got here, she immediately tried to do what she could for the defense of this nation. she has served honorably as a senior member on the house armed services committee and the house homeland security committee and ranking member of the tactical air and land forces subcommittee. she's considered a leader on military and national security issues.

she's also the co-chair of the women in the military caucus where she advocated for female service members to serve in combat roles and she fought to end sexual assault in the armed forces. she served on the subcommittee on strategic forces where she made sure our nation is prepared for anything. any missile or nuclear attack. another thing another thing i know about loretta about how she cares about human rights and her advocacy for human rights in vietnam. she and i co-chaired the caucus on vietnam and has gone to vietnam and is a smart, dedicated advocate for human rights, religious freedom and labor rights for people in vietnam. obviously a member of the congressional hispanic caucus and served in the past as

co-chair of the immigration task force. i will miss her a great deal and i'm thinking about who do i go to talk about the nerdy but important things like the national admissions facility and big science projects. she served her country so well. mike honda will be going home. i had the honor of knowing mike honda for many decades. i first met mike when he was serving on the planning commission of the city of san jose apointed by the then-mayor orman ma neta and elected to the santa fe school board and then the superviseors. we served together on the santa clara board of superviseors. during world war ii, mike honda

and his family spent three years imprisoned in an internment camp for japanese-americans. that experience was the beginning of the fuel for his zeal and his fight for civil rights, for public service and against discrimination. we will miss him, because although we have a very istinguished member in representative matsui who was born in an internment camp. mike honda is the last of our members was old enough to remember being in that internment camp. nd we have discussions about locking up people, that people like mike honda can stand up and say america made a mistake, america, apologize for that mistake. let's never make that mistake

again. mike serves on the house appropriations committee and is serving now as the ranking member of the commerce, justice and science committee. he is in that position, he played a key role with me and congresswoman eshoo in locating the patent office in san jose and the department of justice has the resources to address the backlog in rape kits. he also serves on the energy and water development subcommittee. and he is chair of the congressional asia-pacific-america caucus and vigse chair of the congressional progressive caucus and the lgbt equality caucus and spent so many years fighting anti-muslim lgbt. and against the

and janice hahn who took office this week as a member of the los angeles board of county supervisors. she was elected in 2011 and immediately made strong contributions to her district in a short time. but the story doesn't begin with her election to congress but begins long before that. her father, supervisor kenny hahn served longer as a member of the board of supervisors than anyone in the history of the united states. and janice tells stories of her father and she said means getting down and providing direct services to them. he had a tremendous influence on her and she served on the los geles county city counsel --

the los angeles city council before she ran for congress successfully. here, she served on the transportation and infrastructure committee, where she did important things like helping to pass the national freight national act to increase port and fraggete infrastructure. as a result of her efforts. the trust fund provided over $1 billion in resources to remain globally competitive. the port of long beach which she represented in congress moves more than 180 billion of goods each year and second busiest seaport in the united states. she's always made sure that that port got the resource is necessary to be efficient, not only for the need for business in her district, but recognizing that the goods that come through

that port help support the economy throughout the united states. she severed on the small business committee, where she worked to improve access to loans for small businesses to improve job creation. and co-founded the bipartisan congressional ports opportunity renewal, trade and security caucus, the ports caucus and she also served with jim costa and me on the california high-speed rail caucus where she championed the high-rail project which will improve transportation in california and reduce traffic congestion. and janice hahn is someone who cared about her district in congress, but her district in congress was tiny compared to the district she represents on the l.a. county board of supervisors. we know she will do a terrific job there.

she is very involved in the prayer breakfast movement here in congress. she made mp friends across the aisle as she did that and we will miss her. but we see all of these fine individuals when we go home as we do every week in california. now before calling on my colleague, mr. farr, i would also like to note that the timing of this was a little bit different than we had expected and a lot of members have statements. so i would like to ask unanimous consent that members have five legislative days to insert extraneous remarks into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lofgren: and i would like unanimous consent to place in he record the remarks of doris matsui. i would like to yield to sam arr, five minutes.

mr. farr: thank you very much, madam leader. madam chair, very much. this is probably the last time i rise on this floor to speak after 2 years of serving here. it may take me more than five minutes. and my daughter is on the way with my grand kids and maybe we can delay it. i wanted to thank you for your leadership in the california delegation. you are head of the democratic side of the aisle in our caucus from california, the largest caucus, just the democrats alone. and i would like to point out what the politics of the west has done since i first got elected in 197 . i arrived here with democrats and republicans representing california. there are 39 democrats and that's because the state has

really shifted in their registration and voting. o california, democratic delegation, that zoe is the hair of because it is the most diverse delegation in congress. majority of women, highest delegation of hispanics, women, asians and i would like to see th mike and peace corps' volunteers and it has been a change. i first arrived in 1993. i was the last guy in the door here because leon panetta had been elected and sworn in that january and then when the president clinton was sworn in for his first term, he furned around and apointed leon panetta

to be the head of management and budget and resigned and he declares a special election. a special election in california, it's an open election, so the highest go-getter would be the runoff and 27 people filed. i was in the state assembly and they said you file and clear the field. it didn't happen at all. it was quite the primary and ended up with a june election and on june 15, i was sworn here in this very spot to the united states congress. what was interesting, i was the last person. and today, my seniority ranks me around 50, 51-55. takes 23 years to move from the bottom slot to the top 50 in this house. it has been a very interesting

experience. this truly is and i have seen it throughout all the years, a representational democracy. there are all kind of dem in congress with all kinds of issues, financial issues, family issues, it is representational of the society we live in. one thing in common, they all want to serve the public. they want to serve this country. so that service, particularly in this house, because we are representatives, we serve districts. madam chair, who was a former county supervisor as i was and we all served districts and like 435 county supervisors and we are more concerned about our districts than the whole country. that's a strength for the constituents of the district to be able to have direct access to their elected members of

congress. and probably a drawback trying to draw the whole country and very difficult to get 218 to agree and that's the challenge here. i have had the privilege of serving on the agriculture committee, the defense committee, the resources committee and in the last 20 or so years on the appropriations committee. it has been a wonderful experience because you are able to really get involved in the appropriations committee with all the details of running government. and i'm ranking member, the chief democrat on the agriculture chief appropriations committee and our budget is about the entire budget as the state of california. that is an agency which was created by abraham linchingon and deal with the home ec. of westward expansion all of the

poverty programs are in the department of agriculture. you have every embassy in the united states and the world who have the commodities future exchange and wall street. and it's interesting and the iggest feeding program through food stamps. i have changed policy so we got fresh fruits and vegetables and trying to get them in every school lunch program in the united states. that is good for california agriculture and the kids of this nature. imthe only one in this house to create a national park during my service. it was the 58th national -- 59th national park created in the history of this country. we have a big expansion with the

monterey bay marine sanctuary. we created where the department of fish and wildlife and center in santa cruz and the largest fort losure, a closure at or dmp. a great university reaching out to the underserved populations. been able to raise the pay for federal works. called the locality pay. i have been able to save the defense languages institute from eing closed or re-organized or re-aligned to other states. the list goes on and on. and i think what i'm most proud of is the fact that i have such incredible staff and i would like to take a moment to tell you that rochelle my chief of

staff has been with me for 23 years. rosey and annand is my district staff, my district steve, eric, ca rena, peterson andistian elisea. christian got elected to the capitol city counsel. they are moving on as i leave tomorrow and i'm very excited they were part of my life. and if just in closing, i would like to say my daughter jessica s here in the cloakroom, i hope. nd she has -- my grandson zach

and granddaughter and i'm so pleased they could be here to hare this moment with you. congress is a great experience. check and balance, initiater of great ideas, the people's house. i just hope that as members face this next uncertainty of a new administration, there's always uncertainty, probably more so now with the controversial election we had in this country, but i really hope that this house will raise to the occasion, to not let the people down. not let the people down. we fight for all kinds of wonderful reasons and this house has got -- the people's house has really got to protect the people. so thank you very much for yielding time for me to make a few comments and i'm sure that i'll have a lot more that i'd love to say, maybe i'll enter them as extraneous comments. but i'd like to submit this

list that i have here of over 20 years of getting results to the 20th congressional district. >> thank you for yielding back. i think the comments you've made show what a difference a member of congress can make in the lives of his or her constituents. one of the things i'll say is, we - say as sam leaves is have joint swearing in sessions around the fourth of july. sam's born the fourth of july. some of the most memorable moments i have are in gilroy with hundreds of people wanting to become american citizens. ms. lofgren: and the remarkable thing about our country is that e have 200 people walk in from 150 countries and they walk out the citizens of just one country. sam has been a leader in immigration, in the

environment, so many things, and we honor you, we respect you, sam, and we thank you for your service to our country. mr. farr: thank you very much. i passed legislation called proud to be an american day. i was hoping we could do that on fourth of july in the morning, fourth of july. but because it's a federal holiday, the federal immigration people don't work that day. so we've been scheduling this arbleds the fourth of july -- around the fourth of july, days before, and it's been a huge turnout. the largest turnout for press because there's so many interesting people to interview. an i really appreciate all you -- and i really appreciate all of you coming as an immigrant family and talking about your family brounled. it's been a highlight to see the -- background. the been a highlight to see the smiles and he enthusiasm of a real day when we're really proud to be americans. ms. lofgren: thank you. i'd like to now recognize our colleague from san diego, distinguished member of the armed services committee, education and labor, susan davis. mrs. davis: thank you so much. mr. speaker, as the only member

from the 53rd district, only one district is 53 in the country, the highest number district ever. i'm so aware of the size and the scope of california and its congressional delegation. we have such a wide range of talents and perspectives and contributions that california members bring to this body. and as we see the 104 -- 114th congress now come to a close, we have more departing members than many delegations have in the first place. i'm here to talk about some of them. we are losing leaders. we are losing friends and mentors, members who we have looked to and served beside. we're losing members who have been so influential as they have shared their passion to make lives better each in their own way. as we bid them farewell, i want to take just this moment to pay

frbt -- tribute to five members that i'm going to dearly miss. first one is lois capps. lois has really been an example and role model for how to be the quinns at the malcongresswoman. she's generous, she's classy, hardworking, collaborative, she's never afraid to take a stand up for people who are in need. one of the things about lois that we all know, she has a lock on the nicest member of congress award and that's for a really good reason. she's been very helpful to me and my staff from the minute i came to congress. came a few years after she did. and always since then they have been helpful whenever we needed them. i certainly will miss her leadership, her perspective as a nurse and health care advocate, and our region's voice on the energy and commerce committee. she's always looked out for and she has delivered for women, for kids, consumers, and anyone

who's had problems with health care coverage. on that committee, she really has been a leader on the environment and a leader in promoting clean energy and green technology. everybody knows lois here on the floor. and we will always just -- all just look for her ashurenls and smile all the time -- assurance and smile all the time. sam farr just spoke a few minutes ago. he really is a member that you look to with resolve. i learned about sam when i was a member of the california legislature. and one year when the california members came to visit our mens of congress, sam was there to greet us. i remember having discussions with him, we were both chairing consumer affairs at one time in the state legislature. and so we came -- became kind of fast friends. sam was also one of my walking buddies. and there were a few years there where we walked often in the morning, meeting about 6:00. and we had a gang of us who

were wn to the park and just there talking always and having a good time and really sharing our experience here. one thing we all know about sam, he was a legendary photo taker. i can assure you, whenever you see sam wandering down here on the floor, he was often bringing pictures of people from one event or another that he had taken. they were great momentos. i know we all treasure them dearly. sam is known from monterey where he's represented to colombia. and everywhere he goes he speaks to people and often if you travel with sam, you know how hard it is to get him moving. because he really wants to stop and talk to everybody along the way. sam was really shaped by his service in the peace corps. and he dedicated himself to giving back and looking at

tough issues. looking at tough issues from a global perspective. he's been an earmark and appropriations leader. his staff made him a book of accomplishments and it was so thick, there were so many things that they had to share about sam and what he'd accomplished. just like my colleague has said, he really stands for how we can work hard and we can get things done, especially when we know how to work with people. and sam knows how to do that. that's why he has such a great thick binder and lots of wonderful pictures. he's been a leader in the fight against offshore drilling and a smart thinker when it comes to braque solutions -- brac solutions. i also want talk to about loretta sanchez. as my armed services committee colleague, she actually was my housemate and neighbor as well, loretta is someone i really got to see a lot of.

in this kind of funny button-town town that we have, loretta is really a breath of fresh air. we know she's never afraid to be herself. not like anyone else who has ever served. she surprised people when she came to congress after a very long shot campaign that really wasn't decided for months after she came here. and of course she's never been afraid to take on a tough-odds -- tough-odds fight. she was one of the first younger women, before we had a lot of women coming here to congress, women who had young children, women who were really in their earlier years, a lot of us waited until we were later in our careers. but not loretta. she came when she was really a young woman. and she's famous, of course, for her holiday cards. a lot of things that, well, i just can't repeat right now. but for being one of the smartest and thoughtful and funniest members that we have

here in congress. i know that when san diego groups come to town and want an interesting speaker, i always recommend loretta. and i never know what she's going to say. but that's why people listen. she's someone i will dearly mills. but at least she's leaving her little sister here with us and in leadership no less. we're glad to have linda in that position. i also want to talk about my friend, mike honda. mike and i have been on the same path. we served in the the -- in the legislature together, we campaigned in the year of george w. and came to congress in the same small democratic class in 2000. our staffs have worked very closely together. and he's ruled the seventh floor of longworth from the same office that he's held the whole time he's been here in congress. like sam farr, mike was shaped by his service in the peace

corps. his service in el salvador. he's been a warrior for justice, whether it's educational justice or civil rights, he's taken a.p.i. issues to a new level and really made people aware of the struggles of a.i.g. asian marine merns, from internment -- asian americans from internment camps to p.o.w. issues to sex trafficking. mike is something of a bridge as well between the generations. he's represented silicon valley, with pride, and been an advocate for and example of new technology. his office always crushes all of us in the gelleden mouse website competition -- golden mouse website competition. i think he was the first member to drive a pri us. he still -- prius. he still has that same mint green prius with the same stuffed animal we see parked all over campus. and mike's famous karaoke night. i hear nobody does sinatra better. and giannis juan. giannis actually turned out to

hahn. of my -- janie janice actually turn the outside to be one of my nearest colleagues from l.a. she joins some of our former colleague -- a former colleague here, a former colleague of mine of the state legislature, and, you know, go girl. i mean, she is going to do tremendous work and the group of them who are in charge now at l.a. county, i know will make tremendous strides for the region. and for all of their constituents. it's very clear that janice is an expert on transportation and infrastructure and she's helped a lot of us to understand port issues and stands up for the working people who make the goods move. it's always a great privilege to travel with janice and i had that opportunity on a few occasions. i'm certainly glad she'll be serving in elective office because she still has such a great contribution to make.

in closing, i just want to say that we certainly are going to miss these members. for different reasons. but those of us still here will carry on their legacies and never forget the marks they've each made. i've learned from aum of you and i'll -- all of you and i'll try to carry on your legacies by making my new year's resolution to be as genuine as is, as edgy as loretta, as engaging as sam, as good at singing as mike, and as spiritual as janice. and yield back. ms. lofgren: i'm so pleased that we are joined by congress man huffman who represents north of san francisco and the north coast and i would yield to mr. huffman. mr. huffman: i thank the gentlelady, our chair of the california delegation, and one

of the things i love about serving in congress is i'm always presented with new and interesting experiences each year -- experiences. each year brings more of these experiences. i've already in four years found that there's one experience i've had quite enough of. and that's saying goodbye to incredible, irreplaceable colleagues, who are just remarkable public servants. i wish them well. i'm happy for them in retiring. but i'm going to really miss them. last year we had the tough duty of saying goodbye to henry waxman and george miller and this year we've got another class of terrific people who are moving on. i'm going to miss all of my california colleagues, including our southern california friendses, janice hahn and loretta sanchez but i want to focus the time i have on our northern california neighbors, starting with our grend friend, sam farr. a lot will be said now and long into the future about sam's

incredible public service career. people will talk about his time in colombia and the peace corps, the six years that he spent on the monterey county board of supervisors, his 12 years in the state assembly, his nearly 23 years in congress . sam has been such a dedicated and passionate public servant, but it's not just the duration and the breadth of those offices, it's really the quality and the character of sam's service. sam was the founder of the house ocean's caucus and advocate for our coasts and oceans and how important they are to our economy. he laid the groundwork for a national policy that recognizes there are are tens of millions of jobs across this country that depend on healthy oceans. sam has helped all sorts of

special places throughout his career especially in the central coast and never rested on his laurels and although there are too many to list here, he created the opinion ack calls national park which was signed into law in 201 and lobbied to have the nationalmon you metropolitan which was designated in 2012 and sam has told me many times in recent days that the most satisfying part of his work in congress is the enduring part of his legacy, those hard work has been able to make happen. beyond all of this, all of these achievements and offices that zibes his career, he is a heck of a human being, i will miss sam and it has been said by

susan and others he has a warm smile. he greets you on the airplane. he is a pressure pleasure to travel with and give you a picture that he took a year and half hour earlier and he is a wonderful friend and human being and i'm honored to have served with him. let's talk about another great being, lowe is capps. lois is that ut she is a nurse to the core and a health advocate. as a member of congress and as a health advocate walks the walk all the time, constantly advocating for affordable and accessible health care and being a champion with her care under the affordable care act.