[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 129 (Wednesday, November 15, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8649-H8650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING NEW EFFECTIVE DATE FOR APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF 
                       LAW TO PUBLIC LAW 105-331

  Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 6325) to provide a new effective date for the applicability of 
certain provisions of law to Public Law 105-331.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 6325

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purposes 
     of Public Law 105-331, the end of the 2-year period specified 
     in subparagraph (B) of section 5134(f)(1) of title 31, United 
     States Code, shall be July 1, 2007.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Baker) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge today that the House do pass H.R. 6325, 
introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone). It is a 
relatively simple bill in purpose, to accommodate one single intention, 
and that is to correct an honest misinterpretation of the law governing 
the distribution of surcharges on the sales of a commemorative coin 
that honored America's great inventor, Thomas Edison.
  Legislation to authorize the coin was approved in 1998, and the coin 
issued subsequently in 2004. But owing to slightly contradictory 
information guiding recipients of the surcharges, the recipients did 
not understand requirements to raise matching funds from private 
sources, which meant that such funds must be entirely from 
nongovernmental sources. That misunderstanding now has been resolved, 
and I would like to introduce into the Record at this time a letter to 
that effect, and all agree that a short 6-month extension would then be 
sufficient to cure any pending problem.
  Mr. Speaker, it was a misunderstanding, clearly not at the fault of 
any one party, but I believe that this remedy being posed by Mr. 
Pallone in a bipartisan fashion will cure the defect that we currently 
face, and I would urge the House to consider the bill and immediately 
adopt the underlying text.

                                             Edison Memorial Tower


                                                  Corporation,

                                    Edison, NJ, November 14, 2006.
     Chairman Michael Oxley,
     Committee on Financial Services,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Oxley, The non-profit Edison Memorial Tower 
     Corporation is requesting a 6-month extension to our deadline 
     to raise $379,000 in private funds in order to secure a 
     $379,000 matching grant from the United States Mint. These 
     funds, available thanks to the sale of a Thomas Alva Edison 
     Commemorative Coin, will greatly assist us with our efforts 
     to restore Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory site where 
     many of his most important inventions were made.
       Our Board has made good progress in our fundraising efforts 
     and we are confident that the additional 6 months will allow 
     us the necessary time to raise the full required amount. We 
     understand that if this 6-month extension is approved, this 
     will be the only extension allowed for this grant. We 
     therefore commit that we will not ask you to consider a 
     further extension of time.
       Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Nancy L. Zerbe,
                                                      Chairperson.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  It is especially appropriate for us at a time when we are celebrating 
or trying to give due recognition to the importance of innovation in 
our economy that we take this action to make sure that we properly 
memorialize Thomas Edison in whose honor this whole project has been 
conceived.
  I appreciate very much the majority accommodating us in this, and I 
want to say especially that the staff on the majority side was 
particularly helpful. We had a little glitch in terms of how this was 
drafted and whether or not it was a private bill, and everybody worked 
very hard to make sure we could do this promptly, since, obviously, we 
don't expect or hope to be here a whole lot longer. So I am glad we are 
able to go forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield such time as he may consume to the author of 
the bill and the man who represents the area affected, our friend from 
New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle, but particularly the gentleman from Massachusetts for all 
his help in bringing this to the floor in such a timely fashion. 
Without his help, we certainly wouldn't be here today. And I also want 
to say that I look forward to when he is the chairman of the Financial 
Services Committee in the next congress. I introduced this bill with 
the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and my colleague from New 
Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) to allow the Edison Memorial Tower 
Corporation additional time to raise funds to match a Federal grant.
  The Edison Memorial Tower, in my district, is a 131-foot tower built 
in 1937 on the exact spot where Thomas Edison's original Menlo Park 
laboratory was located in New Jersey. And I think you know this was the 
place where the electric light bulb and so many inventions were made by 
Thomas Edison. The Tower was built to commemorate Edison's work and is 
connected to a museum displaying many of the inventor's creations.
  Unfortunately, the Tower has suffered more than $3 million worth of 
water damage. The Edison Memorial Tower Corporation, which oversees the 
Tower, was designated as the recipient of Federal funds under the 
Thomas Alva Edison Commemorative Coin Act, which passed in 1998. That 
funding became available at the beginning of last year, but required a 
non-Federal match. After reading a document published by the Mint, the 
Tower Corporation originally thought they could use State funds to pay 
for the match. Unfortunately, they were informed recently by the U.S. 
Mint that they could only use funds raised from private sources.
  Once they realized this, the Tower Corporation approached me for 
help,

[[Page H8650]]

since they were faced with the need to raise more than $300,000 by 
December 31 of this year, the statutory deadline. That is why I 
introduced this bill, which simply extends the deadline by 6 months to 
give them adequate time to raise private funds. The Board of the Tower 
Corporation has assured me, as well as Chairman Oxley and Ranking 
Member Frank, that they will be able to raise the necessary funds in 6 
months and they would not request another extension.
  Mr. Speaker, Thomas Edison's contributions to our society are too 
numerous to count, but by developing the modern light bulb, he is one 
of America's most recognized thinkers and inventors. The Memorial Tower 
helps celebrate his achievements and salutes the spirit of innovation 
that he fostered. This bill is critical to making sure that the 
Memorial Tower can be repaired and serve not only as memorial to a 
great man but also as a symbol of America's potential for technological 
innovation and achievement.
  I want to again express my thanks to Chairman Oxley and Ranking 
Member Frank for their willingness to move this bill, and for the 
leadership on both sides of the aisle for putting it on the suspension 
calendar.
  I also want to particularly thank Jamie Lizarraga, on the minority 
staff of the Financial Services Committee, for his diligence and very 
hard work to move this bill forward. Joe Pinder and Tom Duncan of 
Chairman Oxley's staff were also quite helpful, and of course, Eric 
Gordon of my own staff, here on the left. I want to thank them all.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill will go a long way towards ensuring that we 
can preserve an important landmark saluting a great American.

                              {time}  1045

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I just want to reiterate 
what he said, particularly about the staff members he named who really 
took care of this for us and made it very easy.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6325.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds of those voting having 
responded in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was 
passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________