committee on transportation and infrastructure will come to order on the style jik note for me would be my last time to bring the gavel down and my last participation in a meeting of the committee on transportation and infrastructure where i started my service fulfilling satisfying productive journey absentia and to say thank you for the partnership that we've had during these four years these two congresses glassing truly significant legislation including a veto override the issues at hand we work together to pass an amtrak authorization the ation authorization which is still hanging on by a thread in the other body and and  for i think in both cases we reached across the aisle more than fifty percent more like sixty percent on each side to achieve the greater good of the country you five members do that day in june when eisenhower signed the bill into law he said we went to the members dining room which is that very small room as you enter the current place on the left and further to if their very very very small room and we had coffee and it was very quiet finally  one john said i don't remember who it was we just passed the biggest public works investment in the history the country maybe the history of the world none of us will live long enough to use it but it will be there for our children if each of us can say that to ourselves that our body of work when we leave this place will be there for our children that it will be an enduring monument for this country then we will have achieved our goal of serving the public is to make it truly blessed to be able to serve the people and the people have been blessed to have your service for these years we are missing probably with your departure the incredible wealth of knowledge and experience that will never be replicated so we have indeed had a great working relationship i want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle to these are great folks this committee is i'll so operated in the fashion and which sometimes the people don't i'll be calling on you i've always found life that when one door closes the good lord has something better and brighter and store for us i'm sure it will be that way with you   i join everyone you know we are just so great well i've meant to read many tributes to you across the country not just members here but people that you've worked with over your long tenure and they're all heartfelt they're true and again we just were grateful to walk with you and the word you said about making the place better and you look over th administration capital investment and leasing program resolutions recognize ms norton for motion pursuant to rule one a one of the rules with me on transportation infrastructure a move included in each of the members packet as well as a copy of each of the resolutions under consideration these serve a resolution for grab the core with the necessary authorisation to investigate potential water projects throughout the nation fluting the project of flood damage reduction navigation and environmental restoration the committee on c n n plays a vital role in ensuring the deserving corps projects are adequately studied and are able to started here as clerk way over there in cannon building i showed up at the committee offices i was told to to evaluate the survey resolutions and also to compliment him on his success of the election and for his partnership with me as co chair of the french american parliamentary friendship caucus thank you mr chairman and we certainly appreciate you and appreciate  of your help through the years i can remember sitting back over there and being the last member on the committee just a few years ago well it's been a while it seems like a few years ago i also want to thank  next order of business is consideration of seventeen general services administration capital investment and leasing program resolutions ask unanimous consent to call the resolutions and block that they be considered as read and open to amendment any point without objection sor to say that we're not going to cry for you but we will cry for us because you walk out of the door with almost thirty five years of institutional memory and history of this committee forty five years if you a as as as a staff member where you shapes of the committee as well there will be other occasions for members to tell to tell you we truly think of you and how much we love you and i do want you to know that some of us have found considering that there are some major major construction that you've helped shape and i want to thank you for the markup as support fully the general services administration fiscal year two thousand and eleven package under consideration this today is that we're going to be authorizing the entire costs of the consolidation way before years before the construction is expected to begin a number of the elements i'm just concerned that doing so may impact our ability to effectively oversee this type of billion dollar project and i include sharing requirements is something that she's been again we work very closely together and she's been just a great leader on that so i hope we can have a strong oversight on these projects as english forward and i and i support approval of these resolutions thank you very much m been a privilege to work with you sir thank you very much likewise grateful for your service and for the partnership we've had and frank and productive discussions you've had on a wide range n has already been approved by the senate the appropriations have been made the purpose of this resolution is to limit the courtroom operations to require court room sharing by senior judges to ensure that the number of courtrooms will not be the number that the administrate of office of the u s courts has typically done they've come in and said we expect in the next twenty years to have a greater number of judges so we need x number more court rooms and then what happens or happened in the past was that great excess capacity no person in the united states of america knows more about transportation than jim oberstar and it's been a privilege to serve with you and i also want to acknowledge the many of my colleagues here for whom this is likely to be their last markup as well on both sides of the aisle and i want to express my appreciation and admiration and let them know what a privilege honor it's been to serve with them on this committee and in this great house of representatives thank you my friends mister thank you mr chairman let me very briefly associate myself completely with the remarks of mr baird and to thank you for your incomparable service to this committee to this congress and to this country you appear to mys public service as the highest  and as a role model none of us in this chamber could could ask for a better one so i thank you very much for your leadership and for your service to this country and for your friendship i yield back  to add thank you for your service to the beyond the borders to the world and in transportation and certainly also for your friendship and i know your days of contributions are far from over i just want to mention right now that given your all your accomplishments all that you have given to our country and i am right now working on legislation the name the u s the o t building james oberstar u s department  chairman i just want to say thank you is very little i can add to the accolades that have been said but they just want you to know that it has been an incredible honor to serve with you i have learned more from you in the four years and i think i have ever learned from any other individual that i've had the honor to work with so thank you it's been an incredible privilege and an incredible honor thank you sir i might just add next wednesday night i utsiders so little chance to get together and pay some tribute to our chairman by ourselves thank you very much thank you recognizing me mr chairman and i want to thank you again for your service these last few decades and i'll point out the reality is that now that you're not a member of congress almost you're probably to get a lot more done than we're going to get here in this next congress so i want to put this on the positive side that you've done a lot already in your career and i'm quite confident you're going to get a lot more done now because you're not you're still here so thank you for your service and thank you for your about to do  grateful for knowing all of you to the chairman i want to say two things that maybe haven't been said one but i've always admired your knowledge in the accountability that you've brought to the witnesses that have been before us because you've been here you've been able to point out maybe what they promised six months ago five years ago and without you being there we've been able to get a lot more done and finally what i want you to know is not only have you planted the seeds of the roads in the infrastructure but you've also planted in each one of us to be able to do a s least also well placed they were raised by mr mica as well mr mike and i had a conversation about why this amount is being authorized at the same time it comes out of experience with another very large g s a construction at white house where we piecemealed the authorisation it ended up costing taxpayers considerably more because work with i am prepared to move on to move the adoption the adoption of the seventeen general services administration capital investment and we think program resolutions on