mr. boozman: mr. chairman, i rise to ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition. the chair: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. chairman. this amendment will pull money out of the national estuary program and -- to address the needs of the great lakes. the national estuary program is to assist the important areas in our country where the freshwater of rivers meets and mixes with sea water. by any scientific definition, there are no estuaries in the great lakes. over the years congress has created and funded a number of programs to address the needs of the great lakes. we have established an entire office in the e.p.a. to work on the great lakes issue. while there are many worthy projects that could be done in the great lakes, i believe we should use existing great lakes programs to address those needs and not dilute the national estuaries program. if the gentleman believes that more money should be done for the great lakes, then we should have the deb

mr. boozman: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor mitch mc cork le who is retiring after 50 years of serving. mitch has demonstrated his ability to innovate time and time again by building fire trucks that are uniquely suited to the landscape of northwest arkansas. the longest serving fire chief, mitch was a visionary in terms of what can be done with a volunteer department. mitch's pride in doing his job and serving his community is an example to be followed and has made west fork a better place. west fork will be losing a fire chief and i commend mitch his service as the fire chief for west fork, his passion for protecting our citizens and continued commitment to our safety. i wish him continued success in his endeavors and i ask my colleagues to join me in honoring mitch, a fire chief whose continued devotion to the 3rd district of arkansas will never be forgotten. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gen