End the War in Iraq Act of 2005

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) for doing this. It is a tremendous symbol of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats coming together, nothing to gain. Mr. Hall is gone. And yet the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) does this. I want to thank him. Also it is interesting that we have Members from both sides, Republican and Democrat, who have come together to agree on the impact that Congressman Hall has had not only on this institution, but also the poor and the hungry of the world.

Tony has said many times that when you give to the poor, and it is from Proverbs, you really lend to God. And no one that I know has taken their faith into the world and into the community, if you will, and had a greater impact on the lives of the poor and the hungry and the naked. His life was almost a kind of symbol of the Matthew 25 where Jesus talks about the poor, the hungry, the naked, and those in prison. Tony has taken that.

He has also had an impact on the lives of a lot of Members in this body. There is a statement by Francis of Assisi that, I would rather see a sermon than hear a sermon. And by watching Tony Hall, and not listening but watching it, we have seen the sermon whereby he has taken his life, as the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus) has said.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Tony and his wife, Janet, and their daughter Jill for the life here, but the life is just kind of beginning.

Tony has now left this institution and is in Rome and doing as much there, and we are going to hear a lot more about Tony Hall. This is not like we get some bills whereby somebody has come to the end and is moving back to their district, they are buying a retirement home down in wherever they are. This guy is just kind of moving out. He is a young man, just beginning, and we will see a lot from Tony.

Lastly, I want to personally thank Tony Hall. He asked me to go to Ethiopia in 1984 and took me to Romania in 1985, which literally changed the direction of my life in this institution. So on behalf of all the Members on both sides of the aisle, we thank Tony for the impact he has had on this institution and on our lives, and particularly for taking care of the poor and hungry around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 548, to designate the Federal Building and United States courthouse at West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio, as the ``Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse.''

Our former colleague Tony Hall, the representative of the 3rd District of Ohio for nearly 24 years, continues to serve as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies located in Rome, Italy, since his appointment by President Bush in 2002. As you may recall, Tony resigned his House seat to take up the ambassadorial post in Rome, where he is continuing his passionate work as a leading advocate for ending hunger and promoting food security around the world.

I want to thank Congressman David Hobson of Ohio for introducing H.R. 548 to honor Tony in his hometown of Dayton by attaching his name to the Federal building and courthouse there. It is an appropriate recognition

for the nearly 24 years of service in the House and the 10 years of service in the Ohio General Assembly that Tony Hall provided to the people of Dayton and surrounding areas.

I miss my dear friend Tony very much as our colleague in the House, but I know that he is absolutely the right person to be serving as the United States Representative to the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development, all agencies of the United Nations which assist international hunger-relief efforts.

Tony Hall's name is synonymous with the cause of alleviating hunger both domestically and worldwide. He believes that food is the most basic of human needs, the most basic of human rights.

He passionately worked to convince others that the cause of hunger, which often gets lost in the legislative shuffle and pushed aside by more visible issues, deserved a prominent share of attention and resources to assist people who are the most at risk and too often the least defended.

He also worked as a tireless advocate for the cause of human rights around the world and focused his attention on the illicit diamond trade in Sierra Leone. He convinced me to travel with him to Sierra Leone in late 1999 to see how the machete-wielding rebels there intimidated men, women and children by hacking off arms, legs, and ears. He led the effort in bringing to the attention of Congress the conflict diamond trade and authoring legislation to certify that the diamonds Americans buy are not tainted with the blood of the people of Sierra Leone and other African nations.

We also traveled together in January 2002 to Afghanistan with Congressman Joe Pitts as the first congressional delegation to that country after the launch of the war on terrorism. We visited hospitals, an orphanage, schools, and refugee camps. We met with U.S. diplomats and soldiers; with local leaders and officials with direct responsibility for humanitarian problems and refugees; with representatives of the United Nations and private relief organizations; and in Pakistan with refugees and members of religious minority groups.

Tony is never deterred in his effort to help make a positive difference in the lives of suffering people. In his years in Congress, he traveled to wherever the need arose and met with whomever he could to effect change, taking risks few would take, with his own comfort and safety never entering his mind.

I believe Tony's life destiny is to be a servant. During 1966 and 1967, he taught English in Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer.

He returned to Dayton to work as a realtor and small businessman for several years, but before long, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where he served from 1969 to 1972, and then to the Ohio Senate, serving from 1973 to 1978. On November 7, 1978, Tony was elected to the House of Representatives from the 3rd District of Ohio and served with distinction for over two decades.

Tony Hall is an inspiration to everyone fortunate enough to know him. He has a wonderful combination of compassion and passion filled with spiritual purpose--compassion to see the suffering in the less fortunate in the world and the passion to work to do something about it.

I urge a unanimous vote in support of H.R. 548, to recognize the dedicated public service of Tony Hall by naming the Federal building and courthouse in Dayton, OH, in his honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 548, to designate the Federal Building and United States courthouse at West 2nd Street in Dayton, Ohio, as the ``Tony Hall Federal Building and United States Courthouse.''

Our former colleague Tony Hall, the representative of the 3rd District of Ohio for nearly 24 years, continues to serve as the United States ambassador to the United Nations food and agriculture agencies located in Rome, Italy, since his appointment by President Bush in 2002. As you may recall, Tony resigned his House seat to take up the ambassadorial post in Rome, where he is continuing his passionate work as a leading advocate for ending hunger and promoting food security around the world.

I want to thank Congressman David Hobson of Ohio for introducing H.R. 548 to honor Tony in his hometown of Dayton by attaching his name to the Federal building and courthouse there. It is an appropriate recognition for the nearly 24 years of service in the House and the 10 years of service in the Ohio General Assembly that Tony Hall provided to the people of Dayton and surrounding areas.

I miss my dear friend Tony very much as our colleague in the House, but I know that he is absolutely the right person to be serving as the United States representative to the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development, all agencies of the United Nations which assist international hunger-relief efforts.

Tony Hall's name is synonymous with the cause of alleviating hunger both domestically and worldwide. He believes that food is the most basic of human needs, the most basic of human rights.

He passionately worked to convince others that the cause of hunger, which often gets lost in the legislative shuffle and pushed aside by more visible issues, deserved a prominent share of attention and resources to assist people who are the most at risk and too often the least defended.

He also worked as a tireless advocate for the cause of human rights around the world and focused his attention on the illicit diamond trade in Sierra Leone. He convinced me to travel with him to Sierra Leone in late 1999 to see how the machete-wielding rebels there intimidated men, women and children by hacking off arms, legs, and ears. He led the effort in bringing to the attention of Congress the conflict, diamond trade and authoring legislation to certify that the diamonds Americans buy are not tainted with the blood of the people of Sierra Leone and other African nations.

We also traveled together in January 2002 to Afghanistan with Congressman Joe Pitts as the first congressional delegation to that country after the launch of the war on terrorism. We visited hospitals, an orphanage, schools, and refugee camps. We met with U.S. diplomats and soldiers; with local leaders and officials with direct responsibility for humanitarian problems and refugees; with representatives of United Nations and private relief organizations; and in Pakistan with refugees and members of religious minority groups.

Tony is never deterred in his effort to help make a positive difference in the lives of suffering people. In his years in Congress, he traveled to wherever the need arose and met with whomever he could to effect change, taking risks few would take, with his own comfort and safety never entering his mind.

I believe Tony's life destiny is to be a servant. During 1966 and 1967, he taught English in Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer.

He returned to Dayton to work as a realtor and small businessman for several years, but before long, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where he served from 1969 to 1972, and then to the Ohio Senate, serving from 1973 to 1978. On November 7, 1978, Tony was elected to the House of Representatives from the 3rd District of Ohio and served with distinction for over two decades.

Tony Hall is an inspiration to everyone fortunate enough to know him. He has a wonderful combination of compassion and passion filled with spiritual purpose--compassion to see the suffering in the less fortunate in the world and the passion to work to do something about it.

I urge a unanimous vote in support of H.R. 548, to recognize the dedicated public service of Tony Hall by naming the Federal building and courthouse in Dayton, Ohio, in his honor.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As we all know, the recovery process in the gulf area continues to be ongoing. Victims are still digging out from debris, and many are unable to even get back to their homes and businesses. Unfortunately, these problems have been compounded by the failure of the SBA to provide disaster assistance to these victims.

I offer this amendment today to ensure that the thousands of homes and business owners in the gulf area are not unfairly denied the opportunity to file for a disaster loan. This amendment will give the victims of the hurricanes in the gulf the time they need to assess their situation and make informed decisions about applying for disaster loans.

Without this change, the SBA, by imposing an arbitrary deadline, will create additional and unnecessary hardships on a group of people who have already suffered enough.

The SBA's failures are clearly documented. In response to the hurricanes in the gulf, the SBA issued 2.1 million applications to businesses, homeowners and individuals seeking financial assistance. As of just a few weeks ago, only 400,000 of these applications have been submitted to the SBA for processing. The balance of the applications, 1.7 million, or 80 percent, remain outstanding.

The reasons for these low return rates are plentiful. SBA has failed to supply the necessary assistance to fill out the massive application forms. Potential applicants are being incorrectly told that they are not eligible. On top of this, SBA has also failed to implement an outreach plan in communities to make eligible applicants aware of this program.

Rather than recognizing these problems, the SBA has set March 11 and April 10 application deadlines for physical injury loans, which are the main source of assistance for homes and businesses with physical damage. If these deadlines are maintained, it would have the effect of leaving many potential applicants without the ability to secure Federal financial assistance.

This amendment will make sure that SBA stays in the gulf until the job is done.

The failures of the SBA have already created unnecessary hardship and frustration in the gulf region. SBA has declined an unprecedented 65 percent of loans. The agency has a backlog of over 60,000 loans. SBA has a processing time of 80 days, nearly triple the normal time. All of these issues have created confusion and consternation among residents.

By voting for this amendment, we will make sure the victims of this disaster are not punished for the failures of our Federal Government. We cannot turn our back on these victims.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute.

Let me just say that SBA, before we start talking about deadlines, we need to get SBA to process the 60,000 applications that are in backlog. They need to do a better job in educating people so that we can get more than 19 percent of the applications back.

They need to fix the system where they have been declining 60 percent of all the loans that have been submitted to SBA. They need to do the job before they pull out, and that is an excuse for them not to do the job.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Well, let me just say this. Isn't it true that there are 60,000 applications in backlog? Isn't it true that 19 percent, only 19 percent have been processed? Isn't it true that there is 65 percent declined on loans approval?

This is not about partisanship, this is about victims who are suffering, who are losing their businesses, who are losing their jobs. This is what this amendment is all about.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, in a hearing yesterday on the disaster loan program, we heard two different stories on this equation in the gulf. We heard from the SBA administrator who said that everything is great. He told the committee that they are processing record numbers of loans and that there are virtually no problems. At the same time, we have a small business owner, Patricia Smith, who came in from New Orleans and told her story.

She told the committee how she could not find a Federal official to help her apply for a loan and how she spent hours working through paperwork. She told us that it took months to hear back on the status of her loan and that she was wrongly denied. The woman also shared that there are thousands out there with the same story.

The view from Washington, and what is actually going on in the gulf coast region is very different. By extending the deadline for disaster loans, we will give victims the ability to assess their situation and make an informed decision about getting an SBA loan.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, while the House will begin debating the budget resolution in the coming weeks, this amendment offers the first vote on one of the initiatives introduced in the President's 2007 budget. This amendments provides Members the opportunity to send a clear message that victims of disasters should not be subject to additional and unnecessary burdens by the Federal Government.

Buried in the President's budget submission was a proposal to raise the interest rates on SBA's disaster loans. This initiative will eliminate the current caps on interest rates and allow for the SBA to charge higher rates on disaster loans. This could mean that interest rates go up by as much as 50 percent.

The end result will force those who had their homes or businesses destroyed to pay for our budget problems here in Washington. I offer this amendment today to ensure that we stop this wrongheaded proposal in its tracks. It puts Congress on record making it clear that an attempt to create additional hardships on disaster victims will not be tolerated.

Given all the missteps by FEMA and SBA in the gulf, Congress should not be adding to the problems of those hit by a natural disaster. Findings by the General Accounting Office, various inspector generals and congressional panels have revealed the numerous ways the Federal Government has failed our citizens in the gulf. By supporting this amendment, Congress will be saying that we stand together in these difficult times.

I am a firm believer in balancing our spending priorities, but this proposal is beyond the pale. I find it hard to believe, particularly given all the wasteful spending in Washington, that the only place to find funding is on the backs of disaster victims. Whatever happened to compassionate conservatism?

The effect of the administration's proposal will mean increased costs by thousands of dollars for disaster victims. It is alarming that despite all the problems with the management of the disaster loan program the only change the President offered in his budget was to increase the cost on disaster victims.

We agree that changes need to be made to the disaster loan program, but this is not one of them. By voting for this amendment, Congress expresses its commitment to rejecting this bad idea. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute.

Let me just say that this is a cornerstone of the President's budget for SBA, and I think it is important that Congress go on record on this issue, particularly for us Democrats. And what we are saying today is, it is a bad idea, and we need to make it clear from the beginning, from the start, that we want to balance the budget but not at the expense of disaster victims.

And that is exactly what we are doing with this amendment today. We must prevent any of these funds from being used for higher interest loans in disaster loans for victims. We have to make sure that if money is carried over, that it will not be used for higher interest loans that will impact disaster victims.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

How much time do I have remaining, Mr. Chairman?

I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment would ensure that the disaster loan program remains an affordable source of capital for those affected by future disasters. When the program works, it has served to create the public-private partnership that balances the needs of fiscal constraint and compassion for our fellow Americans.

The administration's proposal to raise interest rates on disaster loans will simply leave the victims to fend for themselves.

In the end, it is in our best economic interest to get these communities back up and running and creating the jobs they have proven they can create. By voting ``yes,'' we are telling the administration that raising interest rates on disaster loans is a bad idea and Congress will not support it. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to do that; but I have to tell you, victims in the gulf region cannot wait until we have such a discussion, and that is why this amendment is important to be voted on today.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This amendment is very simple. This amendment would prevent FEMA from evicting from hotels and motels the thousands of families who were affected by the hurricanes on the gulf coast last summer.

Mr. Chairman, 6 months ago, the entire world watched the wealthiest, most powerful country on Earth turn its back on those who couldn't afford to evacuate their homes in advance and during the hurricanes. People were left to fend for themselves on rooftops, trying to save their lives and the lives of their families.

We cannot sweep under the rug the faces and the images of those who were disproportionately abandoned by their government. Unfortunately, today, 6 months after the storm, the majority of these people are still fending for themselves. The people of New Orleans and the gulf coast have experienced more tragedy and more suffering in the last 6 months than anyone should have to face in a lifetime. It is bad enough that they suffered through one of the worst natural disasters in the history of United States, it is bad enough that they lost their homes and their jobs and their livelihoods, it is bad enough that they are suffering mental breakdowns, high suicide rates and high rates of post-dramatic stress. And it is bad enough the insurance companies are trying to dodge their obligations to pay out claims to property owners.

But now to add insult to injury, yesterday their own government, our government, ended payments for hotel and motel rooms for thousands of displaced Katrina evacuees. Where will all of these people go? We already have a huge homeless population in this country. Why are we creating a new generation of Katrina homeless?

This lacks morality and is about as low as you can go. What benefit does the Federal Government have in kicking people when they are down?

Today, the newspapers are filled with accounts of people who were kicked out of their rooms and have no place to go. There are reports of families piling their possessions out of hotels and motels and into trucks, but with nowhere to go. This is just disgraceful. What kind of a message do we send with these evictions? What do we say to the rest of the world? What does it say about our values and our priorities and really what we believe in terms of putting people first?

I believe we have to send a different message, and we can do that today. We

have to reject the actions of FEMA and this administration and prevent people from getting kicked out of their hotel and motel rooms.

By passing my amendment, we would block FEMA from using any money in this bill to evict people living in hotels and motels as a result of Hurricane Katrina. We should not allow FEMA to dump people on the streets. That is just plain wrong. That is all it is, it is wrong. That should not be done. This is unjust.

Let us help at least stabilize their lives and give them a safe place to sleep without worrying about being on the streets. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), who is a real leader and was down there helping people save their lives during this tragedy.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

This issue speaks to who we are as a country. We know there are people living on the streets, and we know there are people who have been really just played around with in terms of you have to evict, you do not. You have 5 more days; you have 10 more days. You have to call this number and get a voucher. Maybe we will extend it another week; maybe it will be 2 weeks. The deadline is tomorrow.

What in the world are these people supposed to do, Mr. Chairman? I think until we fix this where everybody has decent transitional housing, we should just say ``no'' to evictions. That is what this is about. ``No'' to evictions to people who have already been traumatized and hurt.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First, I would like to thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) for working with me on this amendment and for his leadership and for being here to speak on this today.

This amendment is not about the war, although I offered an alternative to keep us out of Iraq when this war began. This amendment is not about bringing our troops home, although I believe we should do that and do it right away.

This amendment is not about holding the President accountable for misleading us into an unjust and unnecessary war, although he should.

Mr. Chairman, the amendment I am offering is very simple. It would provide that no funds would be used under this bill to enter into military base agreements between the United States and Iraq. Stating this will clearly indicate that the United States has no intention of making military bases permanent.

Mr. Chairman, can't we all agree on that right here and now, that we should not be in Iraq permanently? Unfortunately, this administration's position is unclear.

The President shares our views and said as much, I thought. On April 13, 2004, President Bush said, ``As a proud and independent people, Iraqis do not support an indefinite occupation, and neither does America.''

But just yesterday, General Abizaid, the general in charge of U.S. troops in Iraq, told a Defense Appropriations Committee that the U.S. could end up having bases in Iraq. So I think we need to be clear. The aim of my amendment is to simply codify the sentiment that the President and many of our constituents and many of us strongly believe here.

As we stand here today, the United States has renewed a bombing campaign against the insurgents, the largest assault since the invasion; and this is taking us in exactly the wrong direction. Destroying villages in the hopes of routing out insurgents only creates more insurgents.

In adopting this amendment, we can take the target off our troops' backs by sending a strong and immediate signal to the Iraqi people, the insurgents, and the international community that the United States has no designs on Iraq.

This very simple point is supported by a poll conducted by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes earlier this year. They found that 76 percent of Iraqis believe that the United States

will maintain bases in Iraq permanently even if the newly elected government asks the United States to leave Iraq.

Mr. Chairman, we need to be on record that we must not have permanent military bases in Iraq. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers).

(Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman).

(Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson- Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

(Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Northern California (Ms. Woolsey).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey).

I believe Mr. Hinchey needs another minute and Mr. Moran needs 1\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I will just close by thanking you, Mr. Lewis, for giving us time and for allowing for those who have a real perspective, the passion, the understanding to speak on this issue tonight. It is so important that the country understand that whether we agreed or disagreed with the war, that many of us believe there should be no permanent presence in Iraq.

We support our troops. We want them out of harm's way. We know that any notion of a permanent occupation or permanent bases continues to put our young men and women in harm's way. It is about time now that these signals be clear to the rest of the world. As I

said, we get mixed signals from the administration.

I think it is now the time for this House to say that whatever we believed, when this war started, we do not want to be a permanent occupying force, and we do not want permanent military bases in Iraq.

Thank you for being so generous, Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) mentioned that Tony Hall was a friend to every Democrat and every Republican in this body. He and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) reached across the aisle united in a goal to alleviate hunger throughout the world, to be a friend to those who were sick and in need of hope. He is not only our friend but every sick child in every poor country of the world has a friend in Tony Hall. Anyone who goes to bed hungry in those countries tonight has an advocate in Tony Hall. And those that do not have a job in these poor countries that only wish to work and help bring up their children and educate them, they all have a tireless supporter in Tony Hall.

If anyone has done what we might say is the work of the Lord or of our God throughout this world it is Tony Hall.

The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) last year on the floor of this House described our colleague, former colleague, as the ``real deal,'' and he is the real deal. He was the same back in his district and here in Washington as when he goes to emerging third world countries. Back in his district, where he served for 24 years, the longest-serving Member from Dayton, Ohio, in the history of this Congress, he organized programs to take surplus and leftover food down to the shelters in his district, homeless shelters. And through those programs today on the streets of Dayton and other cities in Ohio, people will go to bed tonight with food in their stomachs because of his efforts in their own hometown.

When he was in Washington, he was a tireless advocate. You may recall in 1993 as chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger that that committee was abolished. Tony Hall went on a hunger strike not for one day, not for 5 days, not for 10 days, but for 22 days. He fasted and went without food. Now that is commitment. That is a ministry.

Now today he is doing the same thing as our ambassador to the U.N. agency in Rome. He is not riding a desk. He is not sitting back and have others report to him. He is going out. And his average day is not spent in Rome, but it is spent traveling throughout the world, seeing firsthand, witnessing these different programs, finding out those that work and improving them, finding out those that do not work and are failing. And even today, he is doing what he did here. Poor children, those that are sick, those that are without hope, Tony Hall today in his travels throughout the world is making a better life for them and for us.

Let me close by simply discussing two things. One is a 3-page resume, but it is really a witness to a life well served, a life of commitment and devotion, a ministry and a passion that Tony Hall has to the poor and the hungry and the hopeless of this world. UNICEF awards, Oxfam awards, Bread for the World Award, numbers of awards. But Tony Hall would say, Do not recognize me for that. Recognize me for the hope that I have brought to the world, to the poor and the sick and the hopeless.

I also would like to introduce this 3-page document, a life well lived, a life really which ought to be honored, and a courthouse is the least thing we should do for him, but also a tribute that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) gave to this great American, this great individual, Tony Hall. And to him and his wife, Janet, I give my sincere and utmost thanks for everything they have done to make this a better world for all of us.

Ambassador Tony P. Hall

Three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Ambassador

Tony P. Hall is a leading advocate for hunger relief programs

and improving human rights conditions in the world. In

February 2002, President George W. Bush asked him to serve as

the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies

for Food and Agriculture. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate

and was sworn in by Secretary of State Colin Powell in

September 2002.

Prior to entering the diplomatic corps the Dayton, Ohio

native represented the Third District of Ohio in the U.S.

House of Representatives for almost twenty-four years, their

longest serving representative in history. During his tenure,

he was chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger and

the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Hunger. He founded and

was one of two House members on the steering committee of the

Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors. He authored

legislation that supported food aid, child survival, basic

education, primary health care, micro-enterprise, and

development assistance in the world's poorest countries.

Ambassador Hall also founded and chaired the Congressional

Hunger Center, a non-governmental organization committed to

ending hunger through training and educational programs for

emerging leaders.

A founding member of the Select Committee on Hunger, Mr.

Hall served as its chairman from 1989 to 1993. During this

time, he initiated legislation enacted into law to fight

hunger-related diseases in developing nations. He sponsored a

successful 1990 emergency measure to assist state-run Women,

Infants and Children (WIC) programs. Mr. Hall helped to

establish a clearinghouse that provided food through

gleaning, a process of gathering grains and produce left on

the ground after harvesting. Mr. Hall has worked to promote

micro-enterprise to reduce joblessness. In response to the

abolishment of the Hunger Committee in April 1993, he fasted

for 22 days to draw attention to the needs of hungry people

in the United States and around the world.

In his efforts to witness the plight of the poor and hungry

first-hand, he has visited poverty-stricken and war-torn

regions in more than 100 countries. He was the first Member

of Congress to visit Ethiopia during the great famine of

1984-5. He has visited North Korea six times since 1995, and

was one of the first Western officials to see the famine

outside of the capital, Pyongyang. In 2000, he became the

first Member of Congress to visit Iraq to investigate the

humanitarian situation. During his second week as Ambassador,

he traveled to Zimbabwe and Malawi to see the food deficit

crisis in southern Africa.

Mr. Hall has worked actively to improve human rights

conditions around the world, especially in the Philippines,

East Timor, Paraguay, South Korea, Romania, and the former

Soviet Union. In 2000, he introduced legislation to end the

importation of conflict diamonds mined in regions of Sierra

Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1983

he founded the Congressional Friends of Human Rights

Monitors. In 1999, he was a leader in Congress calling for

the United States to pay its back dues to the United Nations.

In 1997 and 2000, Mr. Hall introduced legislation calling on

Congress to apologize for slavery. He also has worked at

promoting reconciliation among diverse peoples through a

number of private initiatives.

In 1964 Mr. Hall graduated from Denison University in

Granville, Ohio where he was a Little All-American football

player. During 1966 and 1967, Mr. Hall taught English in

Thailand as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He returned to Dayton to

work as a realtor and he was a small businessman for several

years. Mr. Hall and his wife Janet raised two children.

Mr. Hall served in the Ohio House of Representatives from

1969 to 1972, and in the Ohio Senate from 1973 to 1978. On

November 7, 1978, Mr. Hall was selected to the 96th Congress.

He served on the Foreign Affairs and Small Business

Committees before being appointed to the Rules Committee at

the beginning of the 97th Congress.

Ambassador Hall was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for

1998, 1999 and 2001 for his humanitarian and hunger-related

work. For his hunger legislation and for his proposal for a

Humanitarian Summit in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Hall and the

Hunger Committee received the 1992 Silver World Food Day

Medal from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Mr. Hall

is a recipient of the United States Committee for UNICEF 1995

Children's Legislative Advocate Award, U.S. AID Presidential

End Hunger Award, 1992 Oxfam America Partners Award, Bread

for the World Distinguished Service Against Hunger Award, and

NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. He received honorary Doctor of

Laws degrees from Asbury College, Antioch College and Eastern

College and a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Loyola

College in Baltimore. In 1994, President Clinton nominated

Mr. Hall for the position of UNICEF Executive Director.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Three years ago, Congress and the American people were told that the Iraq War would be quick and inexpensive. Senior administration officials told us that rebuilding Iraq would cost less than $2 billion. And we were told that Iraq would be able to finance its own reconstruction with its oil revenues.

Well, 3 years later, we know that these assurances were completely unfounded. The war has cost hundreds of billions of dollars. We squandered over $20 billion on reconstruction projects that have left basic services below prewar levels. And these massive costs have contributed to record budget deficits at home.

There are multiple causes for the enormous burden placed on the taxpayer. President Bush and his advisors grossly underestimate the insurgency. They failed to engage our allies in the rebuilding effort, and they vastly overestimated the amount of oil Iraq could sell to funds its reconstruction.

The amendment I am offering with Mr. Dingell addresses part of the problem, rampant waste, fraud and abuse in Federal contracting under the Bush administration. The largest contractor operating in Iraq is Halliburton. Government auditors have repeatedly caught Halliburton red-handed. They have found over a billion dollars in unreasonable and unsupported charges.

Let me repeat this. Federal auditors have found Halliburton's unreasonable and unsupported bills exceed $1 billion. Yet over and over again, this administration has ignored its own auditors. The Pentagon's auditors have found over $260 million in unreasonable and unsupported costs when they examine Halliburton's no-bid contract to restore Iraq's oil field.

Independent industry experts call Halliburton's charges ``highway robbery.'' But as this chart shows, the Bush administration ignored these findings and paid Halliburton for 97 percent of its overcharges and then gave Halliburton millions in additional bonuses. These same Pentagon auditors rejected $200 million in dining hall expenses because Halliburton charged for meals it never served to the troops. But the Bush administration ignored the auditors and paid 75 percent of the challenged costs and tripled Halliburton's profit on the contract.

The auditors got so frustrated with Halliburton that they warned Pentagon officials not to enter into any more contracts with the company. But 3 days later, the Bush administration gave Halliburton a new $1.2 billion contract in Iraq. And these are not the only problems.

More than 50 cases of contract fraud in Iraq are currently under investigation. And administration officials cannot account for over $8 billion in Iraqi oil proceeds. This kind of incompetent and egregious mismanagement is hard to believe. No matter how many times they bilk the taxpayer, politically favored companies keep getting more and more Federal contracts.

The administration has a duty to safeguard taxpayer dollars, but it is shirking that responsibility. We need to pass this amendment to end this costly cycle.

This is an amendment that is very simple. It will prohibit the administration from using the funds in this bill to award new contracts to any company that has overcharged the government by $100 million or more in Iraq.

This is just common sense. No company that squanders over $100 million of taxpayers money should be rewarded with new contracts. If the administration will not protect the taxpayer against waste, fraud and abuse, the Congress must act. For the sake of the taxpayers and the troops, I urge support for this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I want to assure you we were very careful in drafting this amendment. It is prospective. It would not affect the funding of existing contracts for troop support. They will continue untouched. The amendment simply says we will not reward companies with new contracts after they overcharge the taxpayers by $100 million. I hope that will allay the gentleman's concerns.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

We have been working on this investigation about Halliburton for years, and we have written letters asking for hearings over and over again. The committee has not held a hearing on these overcharges. I do not know why the Armed Services Committee has not held a hearing on it, but it sounds to me a bit disingenuous when they say we have not had a chance to look at this matter.

I support hardworking people on the ground that are working for Halliburton and other private contractors, but I do not think they would support the idea of their own corporate CEOs and shareholders getting rich unfairly for charges that are not reasonable. That is what this amendment is all about.

So it seems to me that it rings a bit false when we hear these kind of arguments against the amendment. Oh, we have not looked at it. Why haven't they looked at it? Oh, it might affect people serving the troops now. Well, that is just absolutely untrue.

So I continue to urge support for the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from California, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, says that reasonableness is something that could be subjective. Some people think that certain weapons systems may not be reasonable. Well, reasonableness is not some vague standard we picked out of the air. It comes directly from section 31.201-3(a) of the Defense Contract Audit Agency's ``Contract Audit Manual.'' That provision reads: ``A cost is reasonable if, in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of competitive business.''

Every government auditor knows this standard. It is a standard that the Pentagon's own auditors apply to Halliburton. It is the standard that was flouted by the Bush administration, and it is the standard that my amendment would reaffirm.

Now, this last argument, Halliburton's got an expertise and, therefore, they should get future contracts

because we may not be able to find someone else with the expertise, and, therefore, we should ignore overcharges, unreasonable charges in excess of $100 million dollar in the past, that is an incredible argument. No matter how many times we may be the victims, or our taxpayers may be the victims, of waste, fraud and abuse, we should continue to pay? That is absurd.

Now, I just submit that we are following the very clear standard in the law, and our amendment does not plow any new ground, and I would urge support for the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, $40 for a case of soda, $100 for a bag of laundry, torching an $80,000 truck instead of replacing flat tires, charging 40 times more to transport fuel than reasonable, these are some of the things that Halliburton has been called to task for, not by Democrats, but by the auditors, the professional auditors at the Department of Defense; and they should have been penalized for doing that.

Now, what was, was; but let's don't in the future give them contracts to abuse us again.

Mr. Chairman, the system has failed because the Bush administration paid 97 percent of the charges that the Pentagon auditors found to be unreasonable. So our amendment is structured to apply in the future.

We will have a chance to continue to look at this. I feel comfortable that this is not going to jeopardize anything that is going on in Iraq today and certainly not the existing contracts such as the ongoing logistical contract which Halliburton still has; but for the future, if any company has overcharged by $100 million, we should not be rushing out there and giving them a new contract.

Existing contracts are existing contracts. They should not be rewarded for that overcharging.

Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will yield, I respect that. I agree with you. That is why we were very careful in the way we drafted this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.