Speeches

H.R. 979, a bill to honor Marine SSgt Sky Mote, who was killed in Afghanistan on August 10, 2012, was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives today. The legislation, introduced by Congressman McClintock, designates a mountain peak in the John Muir Wilderness, under which the Mote family gathered to camp every year, as "Sky Point." Every member of the California congressional delegation is a co-sponsor of the bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands held an oversight hearing on the impact of litigation on forest management, the U.S. Forest Service’s response to the growing challenge of litigation and related impacts upon forest health.

Supervisor Randy Hanvelt of Tuolumne County provided testimony at the hearing. Supervisor Hanvelt’s district includes large sections of the Stanislaus National Forest, an area severely impacted by the 2013 Rim Fire.

Mr. Speaker:

With great sadness I rise to mourn the passing of Jim McNeal, a California business and civic leader, who for decades guided one of the largest and oldest independent ambulance services in California, Shaefer Ambulance.

His work ethic was legendary. At the age of 83, he was still running this family business. For all those years, he struggled with the challenges of competing against his own tax dollars, in a highly regulated environment, facing – and fighting -- governmental double-standards at every turn.