and john olver, i think of john as a gentleman of the house. he's thoughtful, so knowledge nl, -- so knowledgeable, so quiet, but so committed and i've been happy to inherit a certain part of his district, although i know that his constituents there will miss him forever and i think as an example of how generous a man he is, how hard he worked as we made our way into these new communities, how hard he worked for me and congressman mcgovern to make sure that we were introduced in a way that positioned us well to move on and become representatives of those communities. i'm happy to inherit them but again, i know i have such big shoes to fill. and i see it in particular in all his work, he has been the cardinal on the transportation side of the appropriations committee, the tremendous work he's done to bring resources to some communities that really will benefit from them but it is not just about the resources, the fitchburg rail line is not just about a rail line, it is about the future of a community connecting the central part of massachusetts

john oliver has been for us -- olver, has been for us an invaluable colleague. he taught so much to us. when he sat down with us talking about transportation, he explained our own districts to us as far as what was possible. on climate change, i talked to him for about 20 years. he was on this issue in the early 1990's and probably understood it probably even before that. he is that smart. he is that visionary in terms of the issues are essential not just to massachusetts, but to our planet. and it has been migrate honor to have served with you, john and to have called you my friend and colleague overall of these years and we thank you so much for what you have done for us and for the country and thank you. and with that -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from indiana, mr. burton, is recognized as the designee of the majority leader. mr. burton: rather than hang the parliamentarian, i yield five minutes to my colleague from massachusetts. mr. markey: now on barney f