[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7959-7960]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             EDWARD T. SCHAFER AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTER

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2154) to rename the Red River Valley 
Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota, as the Edward T. 
Schafer Agricultural Research Center, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2154

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. RENAMING OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY AGRICULTURAL 
                   RESEARCH CENTER IN FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA AS THE 
                   EDWARD T. SCHAFER AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTER.

       (a) Renaming.--The Red River Valley Agricultural Research 
     Center in Fargo, North Dakota, shall hereafter be known and 
     designated as the ``Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research 
     Center''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to 
     be a reference to the Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research 
     Center.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Peterson) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 2154, to rename the Red River Valley 
Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota, as the Edward T. 
Schafer Agricultural Research Center. And this, Mr. Speaker, is in 
spite of the fact that it is located at North Dakota State University, 
which, in January of 2015, beat my Illinois State Red Birds for the FCS 
football championship and caused me to have to bring cupcakes from 
Normal, Illinois, to pay a bet with my colleague who is the author of 
this bill, Congressman Kevin Cramer. So I still support this bill in 
spite of those actions because it is a good bill, Mr. Speaker.
  Ed Schafer served as North Dakota's Governor from 1992 to 2000, and 
as our Nation's Secretary of Agriculture from 2008 to 2009. Renaming 
the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North 
Dakota, to honor Secretary Schafer is a fitting tribute to his 
distinguished career in public service.
  Located in Secretary Schafer's home State and at one of the Nation's 
premier land grant universities, this research center continues to 
advance its vital work on improving crops to strengthen our Nation's 
food security. I greatly appreciate the work--in spite of the 
cupcakes--that Congressman Kevin Cramer has put forth on this bill, his 
leadership, and I urge my colleagues to join me today in supporting 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 2154 recognizes former U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary 
and former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer by renaming the Red River 
Valley Agricultural Research Center in his honor.
  The research center serves the region, including my district in 
Minnesota, by coordinating five research units in two Fargo 
laboratories. The center does a wide range of work with a focus on 
animal metabolism-agricultural chemicals, cereal crops, insect genetics 
and biochemistry, sugar beet and potato, and sunflower and plant 
biology research.
  I worked closely with Ed Schafer when he was at USDA and also during 
the time he was North Dakota's Governor. We worked on many things 
together. Some of them were pleasant and some of them not so pleasant, 
such as floods and so forth.
  I think it is a fitting recognition for an outstanding career in 
government, and I am happy to be here to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) for supporting this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from North Dakota 
(Mr. Cramer), the author of this bill.
  Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Davis and my colleague, Mr. 
Peterson, from across the Red River in Minnesota for their support for 
this renaming of the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center. For 
all of the reasons that Representative Peterson talked about, it is a 
world-class facility in a world-class town, and I think it should be 
named after a world-class guy, and I think Ed Schafer is that.
  I had the opportunity to serve under Ed when he was Governor for 8 
years. I served in his cabinet. His intellect and his common sense are 
matched only by his boundless energy and his eternal optimism, 
qualities he brings to every job he does, including his work at the 
Department of Agriculture.
  When he was recognized by his former Governor colleague, President

[[Page 7960]]

George W. Bush, and asked to join the administration in that 
department, it was a remarkable thing not just for agriculture, not 
just for Ed, but for our State. North Dakota is number one in the 
production of many crops. Agriculture is the number one industry in our 
State. It is what makes North Dakota what North Dakota is: the ability 
to feed hungry people in a growing world. Ed brought that common sense 
to USDA and that work ethic that works the land so effectively.
  I feel like this is a fitting tribute to him. It is a celebration not 
only of his accomplishments, but a celebration of agriculture in North 
Dakota and the entire Red River Valley, including Congressman 
Peterson's district, and really for our world.
  I would note that our two Senators, while it is easy for me to get 
unanimity in the House for the North Dakota House caucus since I am the 
only one, North Dakota's two Senators have a companion bill in the 
Senate introduced by Senator Hoeven and cosponsored by Senator 
Heitkamp, and they support this effort as well.
  I appreciate the work of the committee and the work of Ed Schafer, 
and I look forward, hopefully, to a celebration of the renaming.
  Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this side. 
Again, I thank the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer) for 
bringing this forward. Mr. Schafer is a great member of our community. 
He spends some time in my hometown every year and I have gotten to know 
him very well. He very much deserves this honor. I am happy to support 
this bill, and I ask my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleagues 
from Minnesota and North Dakota. I urge all Members to support this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2154, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________