mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. rahall: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, as with the bill we just considered, the pending legislation would amend the long-term leasing act to allow several tribes in this case located in washington state to issue leases for trust lands for terms not to exceed 99 years. as business opportunities and economic considerations change over time, leases longer than what is allowed in current law are often necessary to facilitate economic development on trust lands. in closing, this legislation would advance tribal sovereignty, promote job growth and speed up business deals. i want to commend our colleague, representative adam smith, who has pressed for passage of s. 2906. 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 utah. mr. chaffetz: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore:

mr. rahall. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rahall: miners have powered the fuel that powers this nation. they labor in the most toughest and dangerous work environments. for that reason our nation has long recognized its duty to ensure their health and safety on the job. god bless our nation's coal miners. this year has been a tragic one in our coal fields. we have to date lost 48 miners and we witnessed the worst coal mine disaster in 40 years already referenced on the floor losing 29 young lives and one blast in my home county. we have much work to do in our mine safety system. though i ask my colleagues not to paint the coal industry with too broad a brush. there are many coal companies with admirable safety records with time and money devoted to keeping their miners safe and several of them have worked diligently with myself, with chairman miller and the education and labor committee to make improvements to thi

mr. rahall to suspend the rules and pass s. 1405 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 1405, an act to redesignate the longfellow national historic site, massachusetts, as the longfellow house washington's headquarters national historic site. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. will members please take their conversations off the floor. the house will be in order. members, please take your conversations off the floor. the chair is prepared toll entertain one-minute requests. members, please clear the well. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. thompson: permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. will the gentleman suspend? will members please take their conversations off the floor. the house

mr. rahall, who is a chairman and a great leader in the congress that the united states. alan mollohan, who is a chairman as well. shelley moore capito. i am pleased to be with them, as well as our delegation and the house of representatives, led by our leader steny hoyer in the house. [applause] i bring, as speaker of the house, i sadly have the privilege of bringing the condolences of the house of representatives to marjorie and to mona and the entire out byrd family. as a friend of senator byrd, i do so with great sadness. but happily, thanks to the byrd family, some of us had the opportunity to sing senator byrd's praises in his presence in december, when he became the longest serving member of congress in american history. [cheers and applause] i noticed it then that senator byrd's congressional service began in the house of representatives. in those six years in the house, he demonstrated what would become the hallmarks of his commitment -- his love of the people of west virginia, his passion for history and public service, and his remarkable oratorical skills. and