[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5658-5659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATING BROCKWAY'S GRACE PRESTON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 
efforts of Grace Preston, a sixth grader from Pennsylvania's Fifth 
Congressional District.
  Grace visited Washington, DC, last week to accept the Prudential 
Spirit of Community Award, a ceremony at the Smithsonian Museum of 
Natural History. Grace was one of only two students in Pennsylvania to 
be honored with this award, which recognizes outstanding acts of 
volunteerism.
  Grace has raised more than $4,000 in the past 3 years to improve the 
lives of animals in her community through the sale of homemade dog 
treats, cat toys, and flee and tick repellent.

                              {time}  1030

  She became interested in helping animals after her family adopted a 
pet from a local shelter.
  Through her efforts, Grace has raised enough money to enable the 
local Humane Society to purchase a storage shed, as well as other 
supplies, such as rabies gloves. She has also provided animal oxygen 
mask kits to a local fire department for pets that have been caught in 
fires; has helped pay for a shelter dog's surgery; and has collected 
animal food for the pets of needy families.
  Grace's work is an example that students all across the Nation should 
look toward. I know she has made her school and her community proud.


                       Leadership for Clean Water

  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, last week was National 
Drinking Water Week. This designation is to highlight the importance of 
drinking water across our Nation and the need to reinvest in the 
infrastructure that brings tap water into our homes.
  Quality water has been credited with vastly extending the life 
expectancy here in the United States by eliminating the sickness from 
diseases that are spread through drinking water, such as typhoid fever. 
While we have made great progress in improving water across our Nation, 
there is always more work to be done.
  In Congress, since 1996, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund has 
helped to fund public water systems and infrastructure projects in 
order to meet public health goals and to comply with Federal 
regulations. Last year alone, Congress provided $2.3 billion to the EPA 
for local drinking water and sewer construction projects through the 
Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds.
  Good water is not only vital for good health, but it is also 
essential for our State's number one industry: agriculture. The 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continues to provide substantial food, 
fiber, and energy for residents across our Nation. With this in mind, 
promoting and sustaining healthy waters and soil is essential.
  As chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and 
Forestry, with jurisdiction over Federal conservation programs that are 
administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. 
Forest Service and forestry practices, we work to provide leadership 
and resources to promote the health of our watersheds, soils, and 
forests.
  To help meet those needs, I was proud to work on the 2014 farm bill, 
which provides many positive tools for farmers and landowners. From on-
farm operations to estuary management, the United States Department of 
Agriculture plays an important role in managing and in improving both 
water and soil quality. The farm bill is the guiding authorization for 
the Department. Programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, or 
the CRP, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or the EQIP, and 
the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, or the RCPP, are a few 
of the critical ones that directly impact soil and water quality in our 
country and certainly in Pennsylvania.
  As we have seen so many times in Pennsylvania and around the country, 
once a watershed or water source is harmed, it often takes generations 
to recover. History shows us just how important clean water is. It also 
demonstrates how hard it is to fix a water source once it has been 
contaminated.

[[Page 5659]]

  I remain committed in Washington and certainly in my home State of 
Pennsylvania to helping our professionals, volunteers, business 
community, nonprofits, such as Trout Unlimited and Watershed 
Associations, as well as academic and research institutions, such as 
Penn State, in their efforts to preserve our State's water and our 
country's water for future generations.

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