Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the emergency communications services provided by the American Red Cross are vital resources for military service members and their families.

Madam Speaker, due to illness that required hospitalization, I missed the following votes. I would have voted as follows:

Rollcall vote 567--S. 2403--A bill to designate the new Federal Courthouse, located in the 700 block of East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Federal Courthouse''--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 568--S. 2837--A bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Theodore Roosevelt United States Courthouse''--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 569--S. 2135--Child Soldiers Accountability Act-- ``yes.''

Rollcall vote 570--H. Con. Res. 344--Recognizing that we are facing a lobal food crisis--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 571--H. Res. 937--Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the emergency communications services provided by the American Red Cross are vital resources for military servicemembers and their families--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 572--H. Res. 1069--Condemning the use of television programming by Hamas to indoctrinate hatred, violence, and anti- Semitism toward Israel in young Palestinian children--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 573--H. Res. 1307--Commemorating the Kingdom of Bhutan's participation in the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and commending the people and the Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan for their commitment to holding elections and broadening political participation--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 574--H.R. 6168--Lance Corporal Drew W. Weaver Post Office Building--``yes,''

Rollcall vote 575--H.R. 6630--To prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from granting authority to a motor carrier domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border unless expressly authorized by Congress--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 576--H. Res. 1419--On Ordering the Previous Question Providing for consideration of H.R. 3667, Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2008--``yes.''.

Rollcall vote 577--H. Res. 1419--On Agreeing to the Resolution Providing for consideration of H.R. 3667, Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2008--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 578--H.R. 1527, The Rural Veterans Access to Care Act-- ``yes.''

Rollcall vote 579--S. 2617, The Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 580--H.R. 3667, On Motion that the Committee Rise-- ``yes.''

Rollcall vote 581--Grijalva of Arizona Amendment to H.R. 3667-- ``yes.''

Rollcall vote 582--H.R. 3667--Table Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 583--H.R. 3667--On passage of the Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2008--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 584--H.R. 4081, The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2007--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 589--H. Res. 1200, Honoring the dedication and outstanding work of military support groups across the country for their steadfast support of the members of our Armed Forces and their families--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 590--H. Con. Res. 390, Honoring the 28th Infantry Division for serving and protecting the United States--``yes.''

Rollcall vote 591--H.R. 6889, To extend the authority of the Secretary of Education to purchase guaranteed student loans for an additional year, and for other purposes--``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 937) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the emergency communications services provided by the American Red Cross are vital resources for military servicemembers and their families, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.

First let me commend my colleague from Texas, Dr. Michael Burgess, for introducing this important resolution and for his work in support of the American Red Cross. All of us have watched the American Red Cross reform itself, but we have also known that its brand name has represented the aid to help, the anchor in the time of storm.

In times of emergency and other important events, the American Red Cross has the important and at times difficult duty of notifying military servicemembers on behalf of their families about such events. The Red Cross provides critical information to commanding officers to help them decide whether to release a servicemember from duty in order to join with his or her family in time of crisis.

Regardless of whether it is a birth notice or a tragedy, such as the devastating floods in the Midwest, the Red Cross ensures the timely delivery of vitally important messages and ably provides the families of military servicemembers with the support and assistance they need until the servicemember returns home. This resolution recognizes the critical mission that the American Red Cross undertakes in providing information about these events to military servicemembers. We are all thankful to the Red Cross for carrying out this important work.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, let me say that the Red Cross has often been the comforting arm for the United States military families. I want to thank Dr. Burgess and his cosponsors for the great work he has done on this legislation. I would like to also thank the staff of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the chairman, Mr. Berman, and the ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

I would also like to add on H. Con. Res. 334, the global food crisis legislation, that I would also like to thank the staff of the Foreign Affairs Committee and my staff, Johannes Tsehai, for their hard work on that.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to ask for strong support on the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I appreciate the efforts of both of my colleagues from Texas on the Foreign Relations Committee for helping bring this resolution to the floor today so that it could be done in the time we have remaining in the United States Congress this year.

I do ask my colleagues to support House Resolution 937. This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the emergency communications services provided by the American Red Cross are vital resources for military and servicemembers and their families.

For more than a century, the American Red Cross has provided an emergency messaging system free of charge to all military servicemembers and to their families. Through 756 chapters in the United States and on 58 military installations around the world, the American Red Cross serves over 1.4 million active duty personnel and 1.2 million members of the National Guard and Reserves with emergency communication.

Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, American Red Cross volunteers transmit emergency messages between military servicemembers and their families. This resource provides not only a notification system for the servicemember, but it also offers third- party verification of the emergency. In an emergency, commanders in the field rely on this unbiased third-party verification when deciding whether to release a military servicemember from their duties.

In addition to keeping more than 1,000 military families connected each day, the Red Cross delivers emergency messages regarding serious illness of a loved one or the good news on the birth of a servicemember's child or grandchild. I know this because I had personal service during my career as an obstetrician back in Texas, and I cannot tell you the number of times where the Red Cross provided this vital function.

The Red Cross emergency communications services are also available to the families of civilian personnel working overseas under contract to the Department of Defense. This service to the Armed Forces assists an active duty servicemember or veteran every 3 minutes, receives a call from someone in need every 1\1/2\ minutes, and assists those in need with one phone call placed or received every minute of every day of every year.

Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the volunteers, the supporters, the military servicemembers and their families who rely on the American Red Cross to communicate messages in a family emergency. This vital service could not happen without the sincere support of the Red Cross and the dedication to our troops and families. I ask you to commend them by voting in support of House Resolution 937.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of House Resolution 937. This measure recognizes the vital communication services provided by the American Red Cross to U.S. servicemen and servicewomen serving overseas. Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the American Red Cross provides notification of family emergencies and other important events as to birth and death notices to our forces that are in the field in lands far away.

Whether it be in Iraq or Afghanistan or aboard a ship in the Indian Ocean, the Red Cross messaging system can communicate between members of military families where other civilian means of communication cannot. American Red Cross officials are able to verify emergencies and relay information that is critical to a commander's decision whether to release a servicemember to allow him or her to return home during a time of family hardship. In addition to providing notification, the Red Cross often provides families in crisis with support until a servicemember can return home.

I want to thank the author of this resolution, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), for giving us this opportunity to commend the American Red Cross for its outstanding service to our country's troops and their families. The people of the United States are grateful for the dependable support that the American Red Cross has provide us in times of crisis for the past 127 years.

I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 937.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 567: On motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 2403, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 568: On motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 2837. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 569: On motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 2135, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 570: On motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Con. Res. 344, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 571: On motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 937, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 572: On motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 1069, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 573: On motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 1307, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 574: On motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 6168. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.

I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 575: On motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 6630, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted yes.