E1330 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks July 25, 2012 

exhilarating. Their expressions and comments 

said it all. Kiara Cherry remarked, ‘‘Oh my 

God! The First Lady is at the McAlpine—I am 

so excited!’’ She added that meeting the First 

Lady was on her list of things to do before she 

turned 15 and now she could check it off her 

list. Devonte Harris, 12, of Forestdale, agreed, 

saying, ‘‘I’m just really happy right now.’’ Lastly, Rakya Holmes, 8, whose godmother’s 

home was destroyed in the storms, noted 

‘‘She smelled good, and I love her.’’ These reactions by the children at Camp Noah expressed our sheer excitement and gratitude to 

the First Lady. The faces of the children were 

priceless. The First Lady’s visit was a lifechanging event for the kids and a morale 

boost for our community. 

It takes tremendous coordination, hard work 

and organization to make a visit by the First 

Lady of the United States a reality. The fact 

that our First Lady Michelle Obama would take 

the time to visit with us in a tornado affected 

community in Birmingham is a real testament 

to her dedication and commitment to helping 

us overcome this disaster. 

I want to commend the City of Birmingham, 

the extraordinary staff of McAlpine Recreation 

Center and Camp Noah, as well as UAB’s 

MHRC Healthy Happy Kids program for making the First Lady’s visit a huge success. As 

the Representative of the 7th Congressional 

District of Alabama, I was extremely proud of 

all of the efforts made by our community working together to leave a lasting impression on 

the First Lady. The excitement and joy on the 

children’s faces at Camp Noah made it all 

worthwhile. Thank you First Lady Michelle 

Obama! 

f 

CONGRESSIONAL REPLACEMENT 

OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ENERGY-RESTRICTING AND JOBLIMITING OFFSHORE DRILLING 

PLAN 

SPEECH OF

HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO OF HAWAII

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 

The House in Committee of the Whole 

House on the state of the Union had under 

consideration the bill (H.R. 6082) to officially 

replace, within the 60-day Congressional review period under the Outer Continental 

Shelf Lands Act, President Obama’s Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & 

Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct additional 

oil and natural gas lease sales to promote 

offshore energy development, job creation, 

and increased domestic energy production to 

ensure a more secure energy future in the 

United States, and for other purposes: 

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Chair, I oppose H.R. 

6082, the Congressional Replacement of 

President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and 

Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan. 

This is the current Majority’s 12th giveaway 

for Big Oil in the last 18 months. I’ve consistently opposed these prior 11 measures on the 

House floor. The Senate has failed to pass 

any of the prior bills, and President Obama 

has consistently stated his intention to veto 

those measures. 

The majority claims that this bill is about 

lowering energy prices and creating jobs. 

Let’s be clear—this is a bill against President Obama’s offshore drilling plan. 

Today, more than 75 percent of the offshore 

oil and gas resources are available for drilling 

under that plan. We have 50 percent more 

floating drilling rigs operating in the Gulf of 

Mexico than we did prior to the BP spill and 

have more total rigs operating in the United 

States than does the rest of the world combined. Domestic oil production is at an 18 year 

high and oil and gas companies continue to 

enjoy substantial profits—all on top of tax 

breaks totaling over $4 billion per year. In addition, this year the U.S. became a net exporter of oil for the first time since 1949. 

My home state of Hawaii relies on imported 

oil from both foreign and U.S. sources for 90 

percent of our primary energy. We use oil to 

generate our electricity and to fuel our vehicles. We also pay three times the average 

price that the mainland pays for that electricity 

and our gas prices are constantly the highest 

in the nation—despite all of the drilling that is 

currently happening. 

That’s why this attack on President 

Obama’s comprehensive approach to energy—producing more oil and boosting clean 

energy—is especially troubling. 

It’s also troubling that the majority seem to 

be consciously ignoring key safety recommendations and preventing proper environmental reviews. 

We all remember April 20, 2010. That is the 

date that the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded. This accident killed 11 crew members 

and injured numerous others. Over 4 million 

barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, 

and the spill could not be contained for almost 

3 months. 

In response President Obama created the 

bipartisan National Commission on the BP 

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The commission concluded that if more 

effective oversight of safety and environmental 

protection had been conducted—by both the 

government and the industry itself—the disaster could have been avoided. The commission then made a series of recommendations 

to prevent another spill from occurring. 

Representative MARKEY introduced these 

recommendations as legislation in January of 

2011. I’m proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, 

H.R. 501. However, I’m disappointed that 

there has not even been a committee hearing 

on this important legislation. 

That’s not all. On July 24, 2012, the U.S. 

Chemical Safety Board released a report 

which found that at the time of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout, BP and other companies involved in that accident had failed to implement safety recommendations made by the 

Board in 2007. 

The 2007 recommendations stemmed from 

the investigation of a March 2005 explosion at 

BP’s Texas City Refinery. 

These are real disasters with real consequences for workers and communities. 

At the same time, the facts and record are 

clear: These disasters are preventable and 

Congress can and should do something to address them. 

The bill also undermines a series of laws intended to ensure that we are good stewards 

of our natural resources—including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered 

Species Act, National Historic Preservation 

Act, and Clean Water Act. Ensuring compliance with these laws protects public health, 

communities, and the environment. These environmental reviews are also necessary to 

avoid costly and time-consuming litigation for 

all parties. 

More than that, this is a matter of ensuring 

that the resources we have can be utilized responsibly to support jobs and economic 

growth in industries other than drilling, like 

tourism for example. 

The bill also opens huge areas on the East 

Coast, stretching from Maine to South Carolina, off of Southern California, in the Alaska 

Arctic and in the area around the important 

fishery of Bristol Bay off Alaska. Opening 

these areas ignores concerns raised by nearly 

every stakeholder other than oil and gas companies. 

These include significant issues raised by 

states and local communities, concerns about 

important fishing areas, and even concerns 

raised by our military will go unheeded if this 

bill were to become law. 

Finally, H.R. 6082 would require that the 

Department of Interior conduct a single multisale Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 

the Atlantic, Pacific and Bristol Bay. Combined 

EIS documents are usually done for lease 

sales in areas where the conditions are well 

known and similar. However, these are three 

wildly different environments that merit their 

own considerations. 

Just to be clear, those who stand to lose 

under this bill include: states, localities, fisherman, the military, average citizens and small 

businesses that currently rely on these areas 

for recreation, tourism, and other purposes. 

The winners under this bill: the oil and gas 

drilling industry. 

Hawaii is a case study for why we must end 

our reliance on fossil fuels and work harder to 

support the development of a broad range of 

clean, renewable, locally-produced fuels. Drilling more won’t decrease the global competition for oil, and it won’t do anything to reduce 

energy prices in the long-term. High energy 

prices act as a tax on all of us and an anchor 

on our economy, so if we are truly going to 

have the most competitive economy in the 

21st century we need to develop affordable alternatives. Developing these alternatives will 

give the U.S. the upper hand both in terms of 

costs to our economy, and in developing new 

industries that can create jobs for the next 

century. 

Instead, the bill before us keeps us on the 

same path of dependence we’ve been on. 

This bill is a failure for our economy in the 

long term, fails to address the safety reforms 

for offshore drilling that numerous experts 

have advocated for, and seeks to give oil 

companies another windfall without ensuring 

that they are paying their fair share to drill on 

public lands. 

I urge my colleagues to oppose this terribly 

shortsighted and ill-advised legislation. 

f 

SUPPORTING A MOMENT OF SILENCE DURING THE 2012 OLYMPIC OPENING DAY TO COMMEMORATE THOSE KILLED IN THE MUNICH MASSACRE 

HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support 

of Amb. Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with REMARKS
July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1331 

in New York, who will meet with New York 

City’s Jewish and other community leaders 

and elected officials on Friday morning to 

honor the 11 Israeli Olympians who were 

killed by a terrorist group during the 1972 Munich games. 

As the new Olympians march in the opening 

ceremonies of the 2012 games, these community groups and elected leaders will gather together for their own minute of silence, hearing 

the firsthand account of 1972 Israeli Olympian 

Avi Melamed. The Munich Massacre, as it has 

come to be known, occurred during the 1972 

Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in 

southern West Germany, when members of 

the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage 

and eventually killed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Eleven Israeli 

athletes and coaches and a West German police officer were killed. 

On this 40th anniversary of the horrendous 

act of terror, we are not only reminded of the 

importance of our special relationship with 

Israel but also of the existence of evil in this 

world. 

Recently, we witnessed another terrorist attack on an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria that left 

at least 7 dead and more than 20 wounded. 

These kinds of attacks against innocent people are horrifying and reprehensible. Such violence targeting people for their ethnicity, nationality or religion has absolutely no place in 

our world. 

Whenever and wherever we witness the taking of innocent lives for whatever reason, the 

voices of the concerned people must be 

heard. While terrorist attacks on the people of 

Israel were once viewed as a regional problem, today we know that the entire world is no 

longer safe from the warped minds of those 

who have no regard for the lives of children 

and people who do no harm. We must fight 

against those who choose to recklessly use 

the fear of terrorism against innocent victims 

to achieve their own evil political objectives. 

We must remain vigilant and outspoken. 

So I join the New York community this Friday as we come together to condemn such 

acts of terrorism and to commemorate the 

40th anniversary of the massacre in Munich. 

Whether or not the International Olympic Committee agrees to pay tribute to the fallen, we 

will observe a moment of silence to pray for 

the victims and their loved ones. 

f 

38TH YEAR COMMEMORATION OF 

INVASION AND OCCUPATION OF 

CYPRUS 

HON. JOHN P. SARBANES OF MARYLAND

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today 

to mark the 38th year of Turkey’s invasion, occupation and colonization of the Republic of 

Cyprus. 

On July 1, Cyprus assumed the six-month 

presidency of the European Union. Turkey, an 

EU candidate country, refuses to recognize 

the Cypriot presidency and has acted to 

‘‘freeze’’ its communications with the EU. 

While Turkey refuses to recognize Cyprus, the 

international community has repeatedly called 

upon Turkey to withdraw from its occupation 

of the island republic. 

In 1974, Turkey invaded the island citing its 

purported authority to intervene under the 

Treaty of Guarantee, a treaty meant to guarantee the independence, sovereignty, constitution and territorial integrity of Cyprus. Turkey 

asserts that the Constitution of Cyprus is ‘‘null 

and void,’’ yet it justifies its invasion and decades’ long occupation of Cyprus upon the 

Treaty of Guarantee, a treaty which obligates 

Turkey as a guarantor power to uphold the 

Cypriot Constitution and preserve the country’s independence and territorial integrity. 

During Turkey’s 38 year occupation of the 

northern third of Cyprus, it has engaged in the 

systematic destruction of the island’s Hellenic, 

Christian and Turkish Cypriot heritage. Turkey 

is extinguishing the voice of the Turkish Cypriots, the community that co-existed with 

Greek-Cypriots for nearly 500 years until Turkey invaded and forcibly divided the two communities. Turkey’s treatment of the indigenous 

peoples of Cyprus betrays a broader impulse 

which is manifest in discrimination against 

Christian and other minorities in territories 

under its control. Turkey’s conduct is so egregious that this year the U.S. Commission on 

International Religious Freedom designated it 

as ‘‘a country of particular concern.’’ 

Turkey, a nation of nearly 80 million people, 

has with each passing day altered the cultural 

heritage and demographics of Cyprus, a country of 1 million people. In 1974, Greek Cypriots 

numbered 506,000 and Turkish Cypriots numbered 118,000. Since then, Turkey has engaged in a radical alteration of the island’s demographics. Turkey has resettled nearly 

200,000 mainland Turks and garrisoned 

45,000 Turkish soldiers in the occupied areas. 

Turkey’s forced colonization of the occupied 

areas is eradicating the native Turkish Cypriot 

community and supplanting it with a Turkish 

community whose culture and national consciousness is foreign to the indigenous and 

unique Greco-Turkish culture of Cyprus. 

The presence of Turkish troops is justified 

by the pretext that Turkey is protecting Turkish 

Cypriots. Yet 58,000 Turkish Cypriots voluntarily carry Republic of Cyprus passports, 

Turkish Cypriots utilize health care facilities 

and other services in the Republic of Cyprus, 

and more than 18 million crossings over the 

green line have occurred without incident. The 

reality is that each Jay Turkish Cypriots are 

forced by the presence of 45,000 Turkish 

troops to idly watch as their culture and identity is overtaken by mainland Turkish colonialists. 

Recent discoveries of natural gas off the 

coasts of Cyprus and Israel have seen these 

two democracies engage in a cooperative and 

productive manner for the development of the 

only Western, democratically controlled energy 

source in the region. Where Israel and Cyprus 

have conducted themselves as peaceful democracies, Turkey is using its presence in occupied Cyprus to challenge Israeli interests in 

the region. It was not so long ago that Turkey 

held itself out as an ally of Israel. 

Cyprus is the canvas that reveals the true 

face of Turkey—occupier, colonizer and foe of 

Western democratic values. It is time for this 

Chamber and the United States to stand with 

the people of Cyprus and demand that Turkey 

withdraw its troops and ‘‘cease and desist’’ 

from its unlawful colonization of this small and 

peaceful country. 

CONGRESSIONAL REPLACEMENT 

OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ENERGY-RESTRICTING AND JOBLIMITING OFFSHORE DRILLING 

PLAN 

SPEECH OF

HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 

The House in Committee of the Whole 

House on the state of the Union had under 

consideration the bill (H.R. 6082) to officially 

replace, within the 60-day Congressional review period under the Outer Continental 

Shelf Lands Act, President Obama’s Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & 

Gas Leasing Program (2012–2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct additional 

oil and natural gas lease sales to promote 

offshore energy development, job creation, 

and increased domestic energy production to 

ensure a more secure energy future in the 

United States, and for other purposes: 

Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Chair, while the American people are asking Congress to help create jobs and stabilize the economy, the House 

Majority would rather spend valuable time on 

handouts to big oil and gas. For the 11th time 

this Congress, Members are being asked to 

support giveaways to big producers and polluters. It is ironic that this bill is being debated 

at the same time the U.S. Chemical Safety 

Board released its report that the Deepwater 

Horizon disaster was caused by a lack of adherence to safety guidelines. Instead of 

thoughtful efforts to ensure health and safety 

of workers and the public, as well as the protection of the environment, H.R. 6082 ignores 

any lessons from that tragedy while opening 

huge portions of our coasts to drilling. In addition, as someone who has fought to make 

sure the American taxpayer is properly compensated for energy resources extracted from 

federally leased lands, I am disturbed that this 

bill would not ensure oil companies pay their 

fair share for drilling on public lands. This bill 

does nothing to help our country build a strong 

energy future or get Americans back to work. 

I urge my colleagues to vote ‘‘no.’’ 

f 

HONORING THE LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE ON ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY 

HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO. OF HAWAII

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, today I commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Leadership Alliance. The Leadership Alliance, established in 1992, is a national academic consortium of leading research universities and minority serving institutions with the mission to 

develop underrepresented students into outstanding leaders and role models in academia, 

business, and the public sector. 

Through an organized program of research, 

networking and mentorship at various critical 

transitions alont the entire academic training 

pathway, the Leadership Alliance prepares 

young scientists and scholars from underrepresented and underserved populations for 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with REMARKS