| Congratulating Joe Ironside |
May 16, 2013 |
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Bruce Braley, D-IA
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my friend Joe Ironside on his retirement as Directing Business Agent for District 6 of the Machinists union, which includes Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. Joe has been an influential and important leader for the Iowa labor community."
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| A Tribute To Iowa’S Civil War Heroes |
May 16, 2013 |
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Tom Latham, R-IA
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize the invaluable contribution of Iowa's servicemembers during the United States Civil War as the Kinsman Monument in Council Bluffs, Iowa is rededicated on May 18, 2013. This event will mark the 150th anniversary of the passing of Colonel William H. Kinsman of Council Bluffs, for whom the monument is named. Born in Canada in 1832, William Kinsman studied in New York and Cleveland before setting off for Iowa in 1858. After travelling across the entire state by foot, Colonel Kinsman settled in Council Bluffs, where he was admitted to the bar, taught school and wrote for the local press. He volunteered at the outbreak of the war and was elected a lieutenant under famed Iowa war hero General Grenville Dodge in Iowa's 4th Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Kinsman was ultimately promoted to the colonelcy of the 23rd Iowa Infantry following a stretch of valiant service, and in 1863 he and his troops joined General Grant's campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi. On May 17 of that year, Colonel Kinsman fought and was mortally wounded in a pivotal battle at Big Black River Bridge that helped isolate the Confederates, leading to their eventual surrender in Vicksburg weeks later. Although Colonel Kinsman passed the following morning, he gave his life for our state, our country, and the cause of freedom. Kinsman was interred on the battlefield, but nearly 40 years later in 1904, General Dodge, by then a former U.S. Congressman, secured the necessary financial resources to bring his remains home to Council Bluffs to be permanently laid to rest. Today, the Kinsman Monument reminds us of the sacrifice of Iowa's veterans during the Civil War and the strength of our nation's resolve. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to represent the people of Iowa, the city of Council Bluffs, and the legacies of Colonel Kinsman and General Dodge in the United States Congress. Their stories represent just a fragment of Iowa's extensive contributions to this great country made by our selfless veterans and their family members. I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in thanking the Iowa Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War for this historic ceremony, and I humbly express my unending gratitude to all of our nation's veterans, servicemembers, and their families for their service and sacrifice."
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| Water Resources Development Act Of 2013 |
May 15, 2013 |
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Tom Harkin, D-IA
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"Madam President, our inland waterways are a large and crucial part of our Nation's transportation system and facilitate billions of dollars of economic activity each year. In Iowa, agricultural producers as well as other shippers depend upon transportation along the Mississippi River and Missouri River to gain access to markets throughout the country and the world. The channels, locks, and dams throughout our inland waterways system are the infrastructural elements that allow the system to safely and efficiently support this activity. Without sustained financing through the inland waterways trust fund, this infrastructure cannot be properly maintained."
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| Notices Of Hearings |
May 13, 2013 |
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Tom Harkin, D-IA
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"Mr. President, I wish to announce that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will meet in executive session on Thursday, May 16, 2013, at 9:15 a.m. in room 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to mark-up the nomination of Thomas E. Perez, to be Secretary of Labor."
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