Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my condolences to the victims of the deadly 70-car pile up on Interstate 4 in Polk County, Florida earlier this month. I would also like to express appreciation for the work of many local and state agencies that responded to the accident and provided assistance.

I specifically would like to commend Polk County Sheriff Deputy Carlton Turner III who was the first deputy on the scene in the early morning hours of January 9th, and who used his vehicle as a barrier and later a place of refuge for victims. I would also like to commend Deputy Paul Buoniconti, who was also on the scene very early and provided critical assistance to the victims.

In emergency situations it is rightly expected that government agencies respond and help citizens in need. The Polk County Sheriff's Office, under the leadership of Sheriff Grady Judd, provided critical incident command services and logistical support for many responding agencies--and they did an outstanding job.

During the course of this accident, agencies that came together to provide critical support included the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Lake County Fire Department, the Auburndale Police Department, the Haines City Police Department, the Lake Alfred Police Department, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Transportation, the State Fire Marshal's Office, the State of Florida State Emergency Response Team, the Polk County Emergency Medical Services, Polk County Fire Rescue and Osceola County Fire Rescue.

The State of Florida is often credited with having one of the best--if not the best--emergency response models in the nation, and the combined efforts of all responding agencies earlier this month exemplified this well. Their service likely prevented an even greater number of deaths or injuries, and I thank them for their work and service.