Honoring the four United States public servants who died in Libya and condemning the attacks on United States diplomatic facilities in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 786) honoring the four United States public servants who died in Libya and condemning the attacks on United States diplomatic facilities in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material into the Record on this measure.

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

I want to thank Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, Leader Pelosi, and Mr. Hoyer for spearheading this critical resolution about the recent terrorist attacks.

Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glenn Doherty, and all of those injured in the attack. Our condolences must also go out to the entire U.S. diplomatic corps.

On the 11th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, radical Islamists attacked the United States mission in Benghazi, and our Ambassador and three other State Department personnel were murdered. Concurrently, in Cairo, our Embassy was assaulted by a mob of extremists who breached its walls and desecrated our American flag.

Since that fateful day, Mr. Speaker, we have witnessed a dramatic escalation of anti-American protests and actions throughout the region, from assaulting the Embassy in Tunis to the attack on peacekeepers in the Sinai.

The premise that the violence and the protests are solely based on that obscure, hateful video is patently false. Rather, it is symptomatic of a broader effort by our enemies in the region to foment hatred of the U.S. Yet the hesitation on the part of this administration and the schizophrenia in response to this latest crisis is a cause for concern.

The U.S. has nothing for which to apologize, including the exercise of freedom of expression. Surrendering our principles before an unruly mob or violent extremists will only embolden the likes of al Qaeda and reinforce the notion that more attacks against the United States will change core American policies and American principles.

The perpetrators of the attacks must be held accountable by our allies in the region, and the administration must take the lead. There is no excuse whatsoever for attacking diplomatic missions and murdering diplomats. The administration must place the governments on notice that their conduct during this crisis will determine the nature of our relations moving forward.

The Libyan and Yemeni Governments have both apologized for and strongly condemned the attacks on U.S. diplomatic posts in their host countries. They have been fully cooperating with us. By contrast, the Egyptian Government took over a day to issue a weak statement discouraging violence against foreign embassies, but it was, alas, too little, too late.

This cannot happen again, and Congress will be closely monitoring the ongoing protests and reassessing our assistance packages and our approaches based on the responses of the governments to assaults on our embassies and our institutions.

The lack of a firm response will undermine our U.S. interests in the region. We must clearly articulate and implement a policy that rewards our allies, encourages moderate forces within the region, and punishes our enemies.

At this critical moment, Mr. Speaker, the United States must reaffirm support for our friends and allies and clearly differentiate them from our enemies.

The United States must continue to stand up for American values and stand with the voices of moderation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to yield 1 minute to our esteemed majority leader, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to reinforce a few points. First, our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of the American diplomats murdered in Libya as we stand with them in this difficult time.

Secondly, there is no excuse whatsoever for attacking diplomatic missions and murdering diplomats.

Third, the U.S. has nothing for which to apologize. Let us not apologize for the exercise of freedom of expression. The perpetrators of these attacks must be held accountable.

Finally, the United States Congress will be reassessing our assistance packages based on the responses of the various affected governments to assaults on our embassies and our institutions. Nothing can justify the terrorist attacks carried out against our fellow Americans, our diplomatic posts, and our U.S. interests around the world.

The Americans killed were committed to helping the Libyan people, committed to help them secure a better, more stable, more peaceful future. Yet, radicals, the radicals who seek to hijack such freedom, security, and prosperity from the people of the Middle East and in North Africa, those who deny their own people basic human rights and universal freedoms, answered our dedication and our commitment of these courageous Americans by burning our mission and killing our diplomats.

So let us be clear: no apologies are needed. Nothing justifies these violent actions.

And to the people throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and throughout the world who are oppressed, the United States and our personnel overseas stand with you. We stand for freedom, despite the threats from extremist elements.

With that, Mr. Speaker I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

I yield the gentlelady an additional minute.

I assume, Mr. Speaker, that the majority is prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I don't think there's anybody on this floor who has any objection to what we've tried to do here for the Carpenters.

I think that the question really is: Why do we not have regular order in the House of Representatives? This bill was so hastily drafted that it, the original version, did not even cover Carpenters, had to be amended so that it covered them. Now, that comes because you don't have hearings. That comes because you don't have witnesses come in and tell people how this works.

We witnessed a rather sad event in Libya just the other day. I was a Foreign Service officer, and I felt very strongly the feeling of sadness and grief when Foreign Service officers died.

Suppose one of them had an outstanding student loan signed for by their parents while they went to Georgetown school of whatever?

The fact is that this bill--is that line of duty? No. So now we're taking one little narrow class and we're drawing one narrow little bill, when, in fact, there are a lot of people who, in the line of duty, get killed and debt forgiveness makes sense, as it does for the Carpenters and for the families who cosigned the loan.

When your son or daughter goes off to college and you sign a loan with them, you don't expect them to die. But you certainly aren't going to withhold your signature if that's the only way your son or daughter gets an opportunity to pay for college.

But this bill says that only one line of duty service-connected--and it doesn't define ``service-connected''--and it's only if you're in the military. There are a lot of other people who serve in this country, in public service--police officers, firemen, Foreign Service officers.

There are a lot of people who ought to have been considered when this bill was brought before us. It was not brought before the committee, just popped out here on the floor as a unanimous consent bill.

Now, this Congress has been the most do-nothing Congress in the history of the country--less hearings, less bills--but we have had 302 votes in this Congress to reduce regulations on the environment. We found time for every fifth vote in the last 2 years to have been to reduce regulations protecting the environment. We couldn't have hearings on something like this because we were busy doing things like that. We spent 33 times trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. We simply have not dealt with the problems that face this country.

There's another issue that ought to be before the committee. It's as important, perhaps, as this issue, perhaps affects more people. That's the debt forgiveness that comes by the money that banks reduce the principal on loans.

Now, if you have a loan for $300,000 and you have to refinance it, and you go and it's assessed, your house is now only worth 200,000, you're out of luck.

Your house is under water. Now, the bank can reduce the principal down to 200,000. They can grant you $100,000 forgiveness. But you know what happens to you when that happens? That 100,000 appears on your doorstep as income in the next taxing cycle.

That provision is in--we have an exemption for that presently, but it's expiring in January, and we simply have not even brought that issue up. There are thousands of people out there with foreclosures on their homes who are being socked or will be socked by debt forgiveness by banks. Those are the kinds of other issues that should have been dealt with.

Everyone's going to vote for this bill. I suspect that unless the Republicans want a vote on it for PR purposes, it'll go without a sound. None of us are going to ask for a vote, because it's obvious that this is one of those places where you want to make sure that a family who gives their son or their daughter does not get socked with a debt on top of it.

I urge my colleagues to vote for this, but urge the leadership on the other side to think about having hearings and reestablishing the regular order in the House so that we can answer some of the questions that are about this bill and think about many of the other issues that we have not dealt with.

We're within 2 days of the end of this Congress, and we've got thousands of issues. Everybody knows that November and December are going to be terrible because we're going to be right back here trying then to deal, on the back of a galloping horse, with a huge number of issues that have not been dealt with by the shortest Congress, the least hearings, the least bills passed.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentlelady for her leadership in bringing this resolution forward.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution to condemn the violence against our diplomatic missions in Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere.

We acknowledge and honor the personal sacrifice of the brave Americans who gave their lives in service to our Nation. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, and Security Officers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty tragically lost their lives far from home in Benghazi, Libya, where they were promoting American interests and helping the Libyan people secure the hard-fought gains of the revolution. These heroes died upholding the liberty, democracy, and moderation we value as a Nation.

In the wake of their deaths and the ongoing protests and violence, Americans want to know what our strategy is for protecting our diplomats, our interests, and our values in a region that is undergoing a profound--and unfortunately sometimes violent--political transformation.

Americans are rightly worried about the anti-Americanism and Islamic extremism that has reared its head. I share the concern that Americans have about the situation in the Middle East, and I believe the President should explain his strategy for navigating the uncertain waters before us.

But I know that one policy we must not pursue is to turn our back on this troubled region. Withdrawing from the region would embolden the extremists and justify Osama bin Laden's strategy, leaving the moderates who share our values and who desire democracy to combat the forces of violence alone.

We are not alone in this fight. From Morocco to Indonesia, there are brave Muslims who oppose violence, who desire good relations with the United States, who respect religious freedom, and who risk their lives by preaching tolerance and moderation. We should redouble our efforts to stand with these Muslims who seek to protect a great religion from being subverted by extremists.

We should not abandon Libya because terrorists seek to undermine a government that is making progress towards establishing a democracy and that is joining the fight against terrorism.

Egypt's democratic revolution is unfinished, and much work remains to ensure that its first election is not its last. We should work with Egypt's leaders to help them build a democracy that respects individual rights, women, and religious freedom while being clear that we will not tolerate policies that give any ground to terrorists or undermine our security or that of our ally Israel.

American assistance is not an entitlement, and Congress expects Egypt's new leaders to respect the parameters and conditions of our generous aid.

America must not abandon its partners, just as we should not apologize for our perceived sins. We must demonstrate leadership. We should lead a coalition against the radical mullahs in Iran who foment instability and support extremists throughout the region. America should combat Iran's support for terrorism and thwart its aspirations for nuclear weapons.

America should be leading an international effort to bring overwhelming pressure on the Assad regime in Syria to end, once and for all, its state sponsorship of terrorism and to bring about a new government in Syria before that society fractures beyond repair.

Mr. Speaker, America has long been a force for good and stability in the Middle East. When we have retreated in the past from playing this role, we have paid dearly. Withdrawing from Lebanon in the 1980s ceded that country to Syria and Hezbollah. Failing to respond to al Qaeda's attacks in the 1990s led Osama bin Laden to believe he could attack the American homeland.

The extremists in the region believe today, as bin Laden believed then, that we do not have the stomach to defend our friends and our interests, that we will abandon the Middle East. We must prove them wrong by responding to this challenge with purpose and strength. We must stand with our friends and hold our enemies to account.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin my remarks, I want to take a few moments to thank Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Ways and Means Chairman David Camp for their help in bringing this worthwhile piece of legislation to the House floor. In addition, I want to say a special thanks to Congressman Sam Johnson for his work and guidance through the process.

I also want to recognize and thank the family of Lance Corporal Andrew P. Carpenter for bringing this matter to my attention. I am truly humbled to have had the honor of introducing the Andrew P. Carpenter Tax Act.

We are all familiar with the verse in John that says: ``Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'' On February 19, 2011, due to wounds suffered while on a combat mission in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, Lance Corporal Andrew Carpenter did indeed lay down his life for his friends and country.

A graduate of Columbia Central High School in 2002, Andrew enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2007 and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was serving his second tour in Afghanistan.

Leaving behind a wife, Crissie, and soon to be born son, Landon, Andrew gave his life in defense of our Nation and the cause of freedom. In a fitting tribute to his and his family's sacrifice, the city of Columbia, Tennessee, held a memorial service that sent a clear message that his valor would not be forgotten. Unfortunately, the aftermath of this outpouring of support was soon tarnished by the grim hand of the Internal Revenue Service. As hard as it is to believe, Mr. Speaker, the pain and anguish of his parents and wife were compounded by a tax bill from the Internal Revenue Service for over $1,000 due to the fact that an educational loan from a private institution was forgiven. Imagine the dismay of having to bury a son, daughter, husband, or wife that had paid the ultimate sacrifice only to have the IRS say you haven't paid enough.

Three years prior, Andrew had taken out a private educational loan. After

learning that Andrew had been killed in action, the company administering the loan agreed to completely forgive the debt. However, the IRS did not. Upon forgiveness of the debt, the family, who had cosigned the loan, received a 1099C form informing them that the debt discharged would be factored into their gross taxable income for that year. Not knowing what the tax bill was for, the family paid the tax and then contacted my office and brought this matter to my attention. As a newly elected Congressman, this was a rude introduction to just how broken our Federal system was.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today attempts to shield American families from ever having the IRS add to their loss by callously presenting them with a tax bill. Simply, my bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt private student loan forgiveness from being categorized as gross taxable income for families of veterans who have lost their lives while serving in active duty in the United States Armed Forces. It is important to note that this bill would not make it mandatory for private lenders to forgive educational loans. Private loan companies would still have the option of whether or not to forgive a loan.

Having lost their son in Afghanistan, the Carpenter family is comforted by the knowledge that Andrew died a hero. His memory lives on in his son, Landon. It is for them and all those who may have or may face similar hardships that I urge that the House suspend the rules and pass H.R. 5044.

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

I certainly join with my colleagues in mourning the passing, under tragic circumstances, of Ambassador Stevens, as well as the deaths of Sean Smith and security officers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, as well as all those who were injured. I think that all of us can agree that what happened to Ambassador Stevens and the rest of the diplomatic staff should concern everyone, concern all Americans. These attacks were wrong, and it's appropriate that we honor Ambassador Stevens.

The resolution, as I read it, is not complete, though, because this discussion that we're having here on the floor is missing some elements; and I'd like to bring them forward right now.

We have to ask the question: Why was that consulate in Benghazi, Libya, so lightly defended to begin with? Did anyone know that Benghazi was still a flash point? I mean, we overthrew the government. Did anyone know that when the government fell, al Qaeda's flag was flying over Benghazi? Did anyone know about al Qaeda's presence in Libya that came after the war? That would have been a constant factor to be mindful of with respect to protecting those who serve. Why wasn't more care given to protect U.S. personnel?

The other thing is, there were warnings in diplomatic circles, specifically with respect to Libya, because of the ferment that has been going on in the broader Muslim world. These are concerns that should be discussed by the

Congress. It doesn't take away anything from the sacrifice that was given, but we have to ask some questions here.

We also have to be aware that U.S. policy in Libya is murky at best and a huge mistake at worst. We had debates on this floor about Libya, and we know that Congress was not consulted. The current issue of Vanity Fair is worth the attention of every Member of Congress because it made it abundantly clear on what is a prime constitutional responsibility of Congress. Article I, section 8, the power to declare war, was essentially usurped by the administration. This is not a small matter. Would we have been in Libya if Congress had had an upfront vote immediately?

Two days ago, we celebrated Constitution Day. Are we celebrating the Constitution every day or just one day? There are consequences for not following the Constitution; there are consequences for our citizens here at home and citizens abroad. This needs to be brought up in the context of this debate.

We cannot pretend that United States policy--which often lacks congressional involvement--with drones flying over Yemen and Somalia and Pakistan and Afghanistan and innocents killed, that there's not going to be blow-back or a backlash. It is wrong for any of our people to have their lives on the line where they lose their lives. It's awful.

I stand here today in support of this resolution only because I want to be on record as joining my colleagues on this matter of making sure that we pay tribute to those whose lives were put on the line for this country. But let me tell you, we cannot ignore the deeper questions here: Why wasn't that consulate well defended? We cannot ignore the question: Why wasn't Congress consulted on the decision to go to war against Libya? There are consequences for these things.

The whole country should mourn Ambassador Stevens' death and the deaths of all of those who proudly serve this country who were taken in this fit of outrage that swept across Libya, but we need to remember a few other things too about how we got there and why those people who put their lives on the line to serve, why their lives were put in jeopardy.