Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor John M. ``Mitch'' Dorger, who is retiring from his post as Chief Executive Officer of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association this month after ten years of exemplary service.

Mitch graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1968 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. He earned his Master's degree in International Relations from Tufts University and an Executive Master's degree in Business Administration from Claremont Graduate University.

From 1987 to 1989, he served both in the Office of the Assistant to the Undersecretary of the Air Force and as the Deputy Assistant to the Undersecretary. In 1989, he participated in a year-long program of research and studies for military officers as a Research Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. From 1990 to 1992, Mitch was a Base Commander at the Keesler Technical Training Center and he served as Chief of Staff and then Vice Commander at the United States Air Force Academy from 1992 to 1994.

From 1994 to 2000, Mitch was the Chief Operating Officer at the Claremont University Center, where he oversaw the three hundred and fifty person, thirty million dollar organization which provided support services to the seven colleges in the Claremont consortium.

On February 1, 2000, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association appointed Mr. Dorger to the position of Chief Executive Officer. For ten years, Mitch has been an outstanding leader, effectively directing the Tournament of Roses' staff and supporting the nine hundred and thirty-five volunteer members who plan and stage the world-renowned Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game.

In addition to his duties with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, his volunteer activities include serving on the boards of the International Festival and Events Association, and the Football Bowl Association, as an Advisory Committee Member for the L.A. Sports and Entertainment Commission, on the Advisory Committee for the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, and as an Ex Officio Member of the L.A. Sports Council.

Mitch and his wife, Barbara, have two grown children and one grandson, and they reside in Pasadena, California.

I ask all Members join me in thanking John M. ``Mitch'' Dorger for over two decades of remarkable leadership and dedicated service to our community and our country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the centennial anniversary of Holy Family Church of South Pasadena, California.

In 1906, land was purchased for the construction of a Catholic church and Bishop Thomas J. Conaty assigned Reverend Richard J. Cotter, D.D. the task of establishing a new parish in South Pasadena located at El Centro Street and Fremont Avenue. On May 10, 1910, seventy-five families gathered with Father Cotter for worship in a small cottage at the El Centro/Fremont location and called themselves Holy Family Parish.

By the following August, a temporary ``bungalow church'' was built to house the growing congregation until funds could be raised for a more permanent building. On November 24, 1923, the property at Fremont Avenue and Rollin Street, where the church stands today, was acquired for construction of a new church. Designed by architect Emmett G. Martin, this beautiful house of worship, recognized as one of the finest examples of Spanish Renaissance Baroque architecture in Southern California, held its first Masses on Easter Sunday in 1928, with the formal dedication by Bishop Cantwell following two weeks later.

Over the decades, many additions and acquisitions were made. The parish elementary school opened in 1937, and properties were acquired for a parish office, parish hall and buildings for religious education. Two mahogany side altars, a magnificent mural and stained glass windows were added in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1977, the Oak St. House was acquired for the religious education program, and in 1984, the Ramona St. House was purchased, followed by the acquisition of two adjacent residential properties. By 1994, more space was needed, and the Vision Project to build a new ministerial campus was created. The challenge was to tear down, remodel or relocate everything but the church. The groundbreaking ceremonies took place in June 1997, and the completion of the Vision Project was in 2000.

Over the course of one hundred years, the leadership of Holy Family Church has included the Right Reverend Michael J. Galvin from 1922- 1923, Reverend James B. Morris from 1926-1954, the Right Reverend Leo Joseph Murphy from 1954-1971, Reverend Monsignor Thomas McGovern from 1968-1984 and Reverend Monsignor Clement J. Connolly from 1984 to the present.

Since its inception, Holy Family Church has provided spiritual guidance and tangible support to the greater South Pasadena community. Some of the church's many programs include the Giving Bank, which provides direct relief to people in the Los Angeles area facing hunger, Detention Ministry, which reaches out to incarcerated youth at Juvenile Hall, Infant Care Outreach Program, which serves low-income women and families in need, Pastoral Care: Ministry to the Elderly and Sick and sponsorship of Boy Scout Troop 333. Church parishioners are involved with Dolores Mission in East Los Angeles, serving on their school advisory board and tutoring in the after-school program.

I consider it a great privilege to recognize Holy Family Church upon its one-hundredth anniversary, and I ask all Members to join me in congratulating the congregation for their one hundred years of service to the community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the first graduating class of the Verdugo Power Academy--a partnership between Glendale Community College, The Verdugo Workforce Investment Board and Glendale Water and Power.

The organizations have joined together to establish a new training program for people interested in working in the power industry. The program will address the projected shortage of utility workers in the power utility industry and the challenges in recruiting and retention, and will create a local source to produce qualified job candidates.

This project is funded through a Verdugo Workforce Investment Board grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has been awarded to Glendale Community College--a prime example of last year's stimulus bill producing a better trained workforce and new jobs.

The first class of students completed their challenging 16-week program and graduated on January 15, 2010. These new graduates now have the opportunity to pursue a well-paying career with a utility.

I offer my congratulations to the graduates and wish them well in their future endeavors. I also offer my thanks and congratulations to the faculty, staff and community leaders who developed the instructional curriculum and provided the facilities, materials, instructional support and technical expertise that made the program a tremendous success.

Madam Speaker, I join my colleague, the distinguished chairman of the Intelligence Committee, in honoring the seven American intelligence professionals who lost their lives at Forward Operating Base Chapman on December 30, and their six colleagues who were wounded in the attack.

It is the nature of service in the intelligence community that the American public will never know the names of some of the dead and wounded. These patriots served quietly, often undercover, and when they are lost, their families and colleagues must mourn them in private.

It is a blessing, I think, of service on the Intelligence Committee that we get the chance to visit intelligence officials here at home and around the world. We have the chance to get to know them, to see the courage that they exhibit. More than that, we have a chance to thank them. But we also get a chance to see the strain it puts on their lives and on the lives of their families, a sacrifice that is not rewarded with the kind of public attention and public thanks that their colleagues in uniform often receive. But we are here today to express our profound gratitude for their service and to share in the grief that has been suffered and visited upon their families.

In the coming months, seven stars will be etched into the CIA's memorial wall, joining 90 other employees who died in service to the United States. Even today, 35 of the 90 stars honor the sacrifice of officers whose identities still remain classified. I hope that all of our colleagues will join us in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of those who were lost, and friends, and to pay homage to these patriots, whose service and sacrifice has made each one of us more secure.

I yield the floor and thank, again, the chairman for his sponsorship of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, at the outset, I want to thank and congratulate the Homeland Security Committee and Chairman Thompson. The committee has taken an important step forward towards preventing nuclear terrorism by persevering with this legislation, and I appreciate all of the hard work that the chairman and staff have put into it.

I also want to thank other Members who have contributed greatly to the effort, one being the ranking member, Peter King.

Mr. King, once again, I thank you for your leadership in this area.

I want to thank the former chairman of the Emerging Threats Subcommittee, an early supporter, Jim Langevin; the current chairwoman of that subcommittee, Yvette Clarke; as well as the ranking member of the subcommittee, Dan Lungren; and in the last Congress, Michael McCaul.

The Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act will help us fight one of the most important national security threats we face, that of nuclear proliferation. Countries around the world now have access to technology that was once the realm of the few; and dangerous nuclear materials are, unfortunately, sprinkled around the world. This is not a new problem. Illicit nuclear material has been intercepted in transit out of the former Soviet Union many times since the end of the Cold War, and the material we catch is surely only a small fraction of the total amount trafficked.

Last year, Graham Allison wrote in Newsweek that the only thing that could keep nuclear bombs out of the hands of terrorists is a brand-new science of nuclear forensics. He continued that the key to a new deterrent is coming up with some way of tracing the nuclear material backward from an explosion in New York City to the reactor that forged the fissile material, even to the mines that yielded the original uranium ore.

The Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act is designed to do just that. It is aimed at the decision-makers in

North Korea, Pakistan, Iran or elsewhere who could sell nuclear material, as well as the smugglers and corrupt officials around the world who could steal it. Those parts of the nuclear network can be deterred by the knowledge that, if their material is later intercepted, the United States will find out and will hold them responsible.

This bill expands our ability to determine the source of nuclear material by authorizing the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center in the Department of Homeland Security. This center will coordinate the various agencies, and it will ensure an efficient combined response when nuclear material is intercepted or used, God forbid, in a weapon. It will also advance the science of nuclear forensics, bringing in new radiochemists and physicists to rejuvenate a rapidly aging workforce and funding research on new methods to identify materials. It also takes an important step toward building the nuclear forensic database we will need to effectively track nuclear material.

The bill asks the President to negotiate agreements with other nations to share forensic data on their nuclear materials, both civilian and military.

This effort is vital, and the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center must play a key role in negotiations to ensure that the data we obtain is the data we need for quick attribution and response.

Nuclear terrorism is an indistinct threat of devastating consequence and therefore difficult to guard against. But as communications and transportation revolutions bring us ever closer to our allies, they bring our enemies close as well. I believe this bill will help make sure that our ability to prevent a nuclear terror attack keeps up with our enemies' ability to attempt one.

Again, I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for their leadership and urge all Members to support the bill.

Madam Speaker, I join my colleague from California (Ms. Lee) in expressing my profound sorrow at the tragedy that has been visited upon the people of Haiti.

Even now, a week after the earthquake that shattered Port-au-Prince and much of the surrounding area, rescuers are still pulling survivors from the rubble, including a 15-day-old baby girl who was pulled from her home, destroyed, yesterday, after 7 days without food and water. Happily, the baby has been reunited with her mother, who told the Wall Street Journal that her daughter's survival was ``the mercy of God.'' Hours later, 69-year-old Anna Zizi was dragged singing from the rubble of the Roman Catholic cathedral of Port-au-Prince, while Hotteline Lozama, age 25, was pulled from the ruins of a shopping center.

But, despite these miracles, the horror is overwhelming. Current estimates place the death toll at 200,000, and more than 1.5 million Haitians have been made homeless as a result of the earthquake. Major aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.1 tremor this morning, have hampered rescue efforts and kept survivors in a state of near panic.

The extent of the damage and totality of the need have overwhelmed the massive international aid effort that is racing to get food and water to more than 3 million people. Even as U.N. reinforcements and additional U.S. military and civilian assets scramble to the stricken island, an estimated 20,000 people a day are dying, most from lack of adequate medical care.

There is an unfortunate familiarity to the images that have been broadcast around the world in the aftermath of this tragedy: the pleading eyes, the fear, and the sorrow mixed with stoicism. We have seen them before in New Orleans after Katrina, in Southeast Asia after the tsunami, in Pakistan after the earthquake there, and the aftermath of countless other disasters.

But even though the scenes are familiar and unsettling, we cannot turn away and we must not shirk our obligation to aid our neighbor in her hour of need. I urge the President to continue to press for faster deployment of aid and reconstruction personnel.

I thank my colleague for her leadership and her support of the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority as it celebrates ten years of service and commitment to the community. Since the Construction Authority was established by the California State Legislature to design and construct the Pasadena Metro Gold Line, it has completed 13.7 miles of light rail, which averages 24,000 daily weekday boardings.

One decade ago, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, faced with serious budgetary problems, delayed the construction of the light-rail line to Pasadena. Senate Bill 1847 was introduced to create the Construction Authority and finish the work that had already been started on the new rail line. The newly created Construction Authority was not only able to complete the project on time but was also able to build it under budget.

Today, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority is continuing its work in connecting downtown Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Valley and beyond. Funding has been secured to extend the line to the city of Azusa and plans are in place to continue the Gold Line to Montclair and Ontario International Airport. The success of the Gold Line is a testament of the collaborate efforts between the staff of the Construction Authority and the elected officials, civic leaders, and residents of the surrounding communities.

The Gold Line not only provides a reliable and efficient source of transportation to residents of the greater Los Angeles region, it also alleviates traffic and is a part of our fight to reduce pollution. The congestion on the Gold Line corridor highways has continued to increase as the Inland Empire grows in population. As we work to find solutions to solve our traffic congestion dilemma, extending the Gold Line into our eastern cities is clearly part of the answer.

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority on its ten years of success. I am proud of the role I have played in helping the Gold Line become the pride of the San Gabriel Valley and I wish it continued success!

At the outset, let me extend my thanks to my friend and fellow Californian, the distinguished chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who has been such a forceful advocate on the issue of media freedom around the world.

By passing the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act today, the House brings much-needed attention to a critical human rights issue. It is especially auspicious that we do it today, December 15, which is Bill of Rights Day in honor of the first 10 amendments to our Constitution. The First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press, is considered by many historians and legal scholars to be the single most important of our constitutional liberties.

We all remember when Daniel Pearl, a highly respected reporter from The Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan just 4 months after 9/11. Although four of the kidnappers were convicted in July of 2002, seven other suspects, including those who allegedly helped murder Daniel, remain at large.

This past year has been particularly deadly for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a total of 89 journalists and media workers have been killed this year. More than a third of these victims, 30, were gunned down in one horrific incident in the Philippines when 29 journalists and at least one media support worker were ambushed and brutally slain on November 23 as they traveled with a convoy of people who intended to file gubernatorial candidacy papers for a provincial politician.

Unbelievable stories of physical harassment and acts of violence against journalists contribute to this grim picture. In Mexico, there has been a dramatic increase in attacks on media workers who try to cover corruption or gang activities. Very few of these attacks result in prosecution. As a result, journalists are driven towards censoring their own reporting out of fear for their personal safety and the lives of their families.

Legal mechanisms are also increasingly being used to restrict the media, both through overt censorship and through the use of repressive legislation. This past April, the Sudanese Parliament began consideration of a bill that grants unprecedented authority to impose strict disciplinary measures against journalists and allows the government to both confiscate printing equipment and determine journalists' suitability for their profession. Sudanese security officers visit newspapers nightly to determine what can be printed and what will be censored.

Freedom of expression cannot exist where journalists and the media are not independent and safe from repression, persecution, and physical attacks. And I believe freedom, accountability, and democracy cannot flourish without a free press. It is the essential check on the power of the state. Sadly, that power has tempted too many governments, drug cartels, arms smugglers, and others to target journalists in an effort to silence them. Sadder still is the indifference of governments worldwide who have failed to recognize that by failing to protect the media, we are endangering fragile, young democracies and buttressing autocratic regimes and criminal syndicates.

To highlight the work of journalists worldwide and to document the dangers they confront, my colleague from Indiana (Mr. Pence) and I introduced the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act to focus the world's attention on those countries in which journalists are killed, imprisoned, kidnapped, threatened, or censored. I couldn't have a better partner in this legislation than Mr. Pence, and I greatly appreciate his advocacy of the freedom of the press.

The legislation calls upon the Secretary of State to greatly expand its examination of the status of freedom of the press worldwide in the State Department's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The Daniel Pearl Act requires the State Department to identify countries in which there were violations of freedom of the press and whether the government authorities in those countries participate in, facilitate, or condone the violations. This report will spotlight those governments which seek to silence media opposition. It is my fervent hope that by spotlighting media repression in the human rights reports, American diplomats, Members of Congress, and journalists will press for greater protections and for the capture and punishment of those who abuse or kill reporters. We cannot and we must not remain silent in the face of these purposeful atrocities.

Again, I thank Chairman Berman for his leadership on human rights issues and his support for the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act. I also offer my gratitude again to my colleague from Indiana, who has been such a leader on this issue.

I urge all Members to support this legislation.

I thank the gentleman. I will be very brief.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to add to the comments that my colleagues have made in their segue to the bill that follows the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act, which is the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act.

I am a strong supporter of this legislation. I commend my colleagues, Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen, for their leadership on this issue.

One of the most serious threats facing our country is the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran. This is an oppressive regime, one that has threatened to wipe one of its neighbors off the map. The possession of a nuclear bomb by Iran is enormously dangerous in its own regard, but it is all the more destabilizing in its potential of starting a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The President has offered carrots and the international community has offered carrots to Iran to step back from its pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Congress today takes an important step to make sure that there are sticks which are offered as well if Iran refuses the very generous offer by the international community to reprocess uranium--to provide it for peaceful energy purposes, to have Iran send its uranium out of the country so that it can be put in a form where it cannot be used for nuclear weapons.

This legislation, which will potentially crack down on Iran's ability to refine its petroleum, will put the most severe pressure on the Iranian regime to back away from a program that time and again we have seen it pursue, as much as it has declared to the contrary. So this legislation, I think more so than any other, will put teeth in a regime of sanctions, will put pressure on Iran to back away from its nuclear bomb-making efforts, and in so doing, will inure to the safety of our own country, to the safety of Israel and to the entire region.

So I thank the chairman for his leadership on this. I urge my colleagues to support the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Mr. Berman's resolution, H. Con. Res. 218.

On November 23, 57 people were systematically massacred in the southern Maguindanao Province of the Philippines. The massacre is considered the deadliest election-related attack in the country's history.

Reports have alleged that the massacre was a planned ambush by the Ampatuan clan on a group of journalists and family members of supporters of a gubernatorial candidate, Ismael Mangudadatu. The group was traveling through the Ampatuan township in a caravan to the provincial capital to file candidacy documents on behalf of Mr. Mangudadatu. The 57 victims were covered in a mass grave only a day after they were killed.

Mr. Mangudadatu, the gubernatorial candidate, has stated that he believes it was clear the attack was planned because the huge hole that acted as the mass grave had been dug before the attack.

The Ampatuan clan is one of the most politically powerful in the region and has ruled the impoverished Maguindanao Province since 2001 with brute force and intimidation. The Ampatuans are notorious for running a large pro-government army, which include many militiamen who serve as an auxiliary force to the military and police when battling insurgents in the region.

Andal Ampatuan, Jr., a local mayor and son of the provincial governor, is believed to have ordered the killings and has been charged with 25 counts of murder. He turned himself in late November.

Philippine President Arroyo declared November 26 a national day of mourning and said, ``This is a supreme act of inhumanity that is a blight on our nation. The perpetrators will not escape justice. The law will hunt them until they are caught.''

I hope President Arroyo stays true to these words. However, the Ampatuan clan is strongly allied with President Arroyo, and human rights groups are concerned that this relationship could hinder an impartial investigation. Additionally, human rights groups and democracy advocates are concerned about a recent decision President Arroyo made to declare martial law in the region, arguing she lacks the constitutional authority.

Mr. Speaker, as the co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press, there is another element of this attack that is particularly distressing to me. Of the 57 killed in the massacre, 30 were journalists and media workers. According to Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, this is the deadliest known attack on journalists in history.

Information is power, which is precisely why journalists far too often become targets for groups like the Ampatuan clan. A free and independent media provides the nourishment for democracy to thrive and grow and expose corrupt factions like the Ampatuan clan. Citizens rely upon credible, accurate information from the media to make informed decisions and hold their leaders accountable. Reporters and editors who demand reform, accountability, and transparency increasingly find themselves at risk. The censorship, intimidation and murder of these

journalists are not crimes only against these individuals; they also impact those who are denied access to their ideas and information.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot let these crimes go unpunished. We need to shine a spotlight brightly on the Philippines until those who are responsible are brought to justice. President Arroyo needs to sever any ties she has with the Ampatuan clan and should request an independent investigation by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation. For far too long the Philippines have suffered from the plague of corruption, impunity, and violence, and it is time for the international community to demand reform.

November 23, 2009, was a sad day in the history of Philippines and a dark day for press freedom. I was proud to support the resolution's passage, which puts the United States on record as condemning this atrocious act and sending our condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Honest Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) Initiative Act of 2009'' with my colleague Representative Ted Poe of Texas. This bipartisan legislation would build upon an innovative and promising approach to reduce drug use and crime.

Offenders convicted of many drug, low-level property, and public- order offenses are rarely given straight jail time; in most jurisdictions they are placed on probation. Rather than consistently sanctioning probation violations--illegal drug use, missing probation appointments, treatment and drug tests--too often these actions are ignored. When punishment for repeated violations is finally meted out, it tends to come in the form of lengthy and costly terms of incarceration.

In 2004, Judge Steven Alm of Hawaii launched a pilot program to reduce probation violations by offenders at high risk of recidivism. This intensified supervision program, called Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement, HOPE, uses the threat of short jail stays as an incentive for compliance. Defendants are clearly warned that if they violate the rules, they go to jail. Participants receive swift and immediate sanctions for each violation, such as testing dirty for drugs or missing appointments with a probation officer.

For example, under the Hawaii program, random drug testing occurs at least once a week for the first 2 months of supervision. If probationers test positive, they are arrested immediately. If they fail to appear for the test or violate other terms of probation, warrants for their arrest are issued immediately. Once arrested or apprehended, a probation modification hearing is held 2 days later, and violators typically receive a short jail term. Sanctions typically start at a few days of jail time, served on weekends for employed probationers, for the first violation and increased thereafter, eventually escalating to periods of months. Offenders who cannot comply are required to attend high-quality, out-patient or residential treatment. Those who can comply are rewarded with less frequent testing and monitoring.

Preliminary evaluations show that HOPE probationers have significantly improved outcomes compared with probationers assigned to probation-as-usual in terms of drug use, missed probation appointments, new arrests, and probation revocations. The HOPE program has been cited by figures across the political spectrum and has been featured in

scholarly articles as well as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, and other periodicals.

The ``Honest Opportunity Probation with Enforcement, HOPE, Initiative Act of 2009'' would create a competitive grant demonstration program to award grants to state and local courts to establish probation programs to reduce drug use, crime, and recidivism by requiring swift, predictable, and graduated sanctions for noncompliance with the conditions of probation; $25 million is authorized for up to 20 pilot sites. Stringent grantee requirements will ensure that the pilots are designed and evaluated in an appropriate manner. The key facets of each pilot program include the following:

Monitoring selected probationers for rules violations, particularly using regular and rapid-result drug tests.

Responding to violations of such rules with immediate arrest and swift and certain modification of the conditions of probation, including imposition of short jail stays, which may gradually become longer with each additional violation.

Partnering with an independent program advisor and evaluator and conduct a comparison of the outcomes between program participants and similarly-situated probationers not in the program, e.g. positive drug test rates, probation and substance abuse treatment appearance rates, probation term modifications, revocations, arrests, etc.

Calculating the amount of cost savings resulting from the reduced incarceration rates achieved through the program and determining how much can be reinvested for expansion of the program.

I urge my colleagues to support this innovative effort to address drug use and crime by cosponsoring this important legislation.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I want to thank my friend and colleague, the distinguished chairman from the Foreign Affairs Committee, for bringing this resolution to the floor. I am also grateful to the members of the committee and to others who have cosponsored it.

Today, we celebrate one of America's strongest alliances in one of the world's most unsettled regions. For decades, the United States and Jordan have been friends and allies. Today, that friendship finds renewed expression in this resolution which commemorates the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Jordan and the 10th anniversary of King Abdullah's accession to the throne.

The cornerstones of that friendship are a mutual desire for peace in the region and a belief that the Arab and Muslim world must resist extremism. Jordan has been a key player in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian people, a partner in the fight against al Qaeda, and an important part of the struggle for the soul of Islam. With its lengthy border with Israel and its majority Palestinian population, Jordan has long been a catalyst for peace in the region.

King Hussein, the current King's father, engaged in decades of quiet diplomacy with Israel--an effort that bore fruit in 1994 with the signing of the Jordan-Israel peace treaty. King Abdullah has continued his father's quest for peace and has been a tireless advocate for a better future for all the peoples of the region.

King Abdullah's 10 years on the throne have been shaped primarily by Jordan's response to the 9/11 attacks and the Iraq war, and the Jordanian-American partnership has been strengthened in the 8 years since the attacks on New York and Washington.

Jordan has been an important ally in the fight against al Qaeda, but the steadfastness has carried a heavy price. Four years ago this month, al Qaeda terrorists struck three hotels in Amman. While the intention of the bombers was to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Jordan, they succeeded only in uniting our peoples in grief and in hardening the resolve of the Jordanian people to resist extremism even in the face of terror.

In Iraq, Jordan has provided vital assistance to American forces serving there, and it has also been the host to thousands of Iraqi police recruits who have trained at a state-of-the-art facility outside Amman. As that program has wound down, Jordan has converted it for the training of Palestinian Authority security personnel as part of the security assistance program run by American General Keith Dayton. These Palestinian forces have been instrumental in helping to stabilize the West Bank and in keeping alive the hopes for a future two-state solution.

Over the past few years, Jordan has been burdened by hundreds of thousands of refugees from Iraq. A small, water-poor nation of only 6 million, Jordan's infrastructure and economy have been tested by the Iraqi refugees, with estimates of the total number generally ranging between 500,000 and 700,000. The influx of refugees has put enormous strain on the kingdom's education and health systems, and it has also caused widespread distortions in housing and energy prices.

Despite the enormous burdens that these refugees have placed on Jordan, the government has allowed them to remain in the country even as the situation in Iraq has become more stable. In recent months, a few of the refugees have begun to return home, but the vast majority remains, and most observers expect them to stay in Jordan for some time to come.

Especially vital has been the King's effort to reassert, on behalf of Muslims around the world, the true meaning and teachings of Islam. In 2004, he issued the Amman Message--an important step in combating al Qaeda's attempt to hijack one of the world's great religions in the name of hate. While America can work to eliminate the conditions that give rise to extremism, we must also rely on Muslim leaders to press the case that al Qaeda is a perversion of Islam and not a pure form of the religion that values human life and peace.

In a region roiled by conflict, characterized by poor governance and stifling economic mismanagement, Jordan has remained an island of stability and an example to its neighbors of a Middle Eastern nation that is seeking to create a peaceful and more prosperous life for its citizens even though it lacks the oil and natural gas that many of the other Arab States in the neighborhood enjoy.

Much work remains to be done, but King Abdullah and other senior government leaders are determined to build a better society for the Jordanian people. For that commitment and for six decades of friendship, I am proud to co-Chair the Congressional Friends of Jordan Caucus with my colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) and with the assistance of our terrific vice-Chairs, Mr. Baird and Mr. Fortenberry.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution and in reaffirming the broad ties between the United States and Jordan and in congratulating King Abdullah on the progress that he has made in his 10 years on the throne.

Again, many thanks to Chairman Berman.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1289) to improve title 18 of the United States Code.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I introduced the Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act in July with my colleague Representative Dan Lungren from California.

The bill before us today, S. 1289, is an identical companion bill introduced by Senators Whitehouse, Sessions, and Leahy, and passed by the Senate on July 10, 2010. I would like to commend Senator Whitehouse for his leadership on this issue and thank him for the opportunity to work with him, given our shared experience as former Federal prosecutors, to address this matter.

Mr. Speaker, as we know, crime knows no borders. A fraud committed in France may involve banks and financial records located here in the United States. Modern technology links the countries of the world more and more, and the need for international cooperation in fighting crime increases.

The U.S. routinely assists foreign law enforcement agencies in the investigations in the same way that foreign law enforcement entities assist the United States with its investigations. When a foreign law enforcement agency makes a request for evidence in the United States, such as financial records or Internet records or other evidence, U.S. attorneys review the requests and, upon approval, seek warrants for the evidence. When the evidence is collected, it is then transmitted to foreign authorities.

The current process, though, is very cumbersome. Under existing law, international requests for evidence are processed under civil practice rules that require prosecutors to file in every district in which evidence or a witness may be found. For example, evidence sought for one criminal matter may involve financial records housed in banks in several different Federal judicial districts, in several different States, Internet records in more than one district, and other evidence spread over many districts and States. So, under current law, over a dozen different U.S. attorneys' offices could have to work on an evidence request for a single case. Several district courts would also have to be involved. This process is inefficient, it's burdensome, and makes little sense for Federal prosecutors across the country or for the interests of justice.

The Foreign Evidence Request Efficiency Act would rectify this situation by allowing foreign evidence requests to be handled centrally, ideally by one or two U.S. attorney offices. Specifically under the proposal, a legitimate request for assistance can be filed in the District of Columbia, in any of the districts in which any of the several records or witnesses are located, or in any district in which there is a related Federal criminal case already being conducted. Courts will continue to act as gatekeepers to make sure that requests for foreign evidence meet the same standards as those required in domestic cases.

But by streamlining the evidence collection process, the U.S. will be able to more quickly respond to foreign evidence requests. These efforts will assist us with our investigations as foreign authorities will be urged to respond in kind to our evidence requests in a speedy manner.

In addition, the current authority to respond to foreign evidence requests is found in a patchwork of treaties, the inherent power of the courts, and analogous domestic statutes. This legislation would provide clear statutory authority in one place.

The legislation before us is strongly supported by the Department of Justice. The Department believes the changes in this bill will facilitate the ability of the United States to assist in foreign investigations, prosecutions, and related proceedings involving organized crime, trafficking in child pornography, intellectual property violations, identity theft, and all other serious crimes.

Mr. Speaker, the important changes in this bill will greatly improve our crime-fighting abilities and that of our allies. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of my colleague from Texas how many speakers he has remaining.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to engage in a colloquy with my colleague if it would help Mr. Lungren. I appreciate his support on this legislation, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with Mr. Lungren on this. Of course, I want to particularly acknowledge my colleague in the Senate, Sheldon Whitehouse, for his leadership as well as Senators Sessions and Leahy. I'm hoping that this will take some of the burden off the U.S. Attorney's offices around this country and speed our ability to handle these foreign requests, and thereby I hope we will see reciprocity in our requests of these other countries that they act expeditiously.

I would be happy to yield to my colleague.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I know if Mr. Lungren were here, he would make some unnecessarily gracious remarks in my direction. They are reciprocated. Once again, I thank him for his work.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1727) to establish a national criminal arsonist and criminal bomber registry program and establish guidelines and incentives for States, territories and tribes to participate in such program, as amended.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Managing Arson Through Criminal History Act, the MATCH Act, and am very proud to join Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack in sponsoring this important legislation and who has led the charge on this for several years now. I want to congratulate you on your perseverance. This, I think, will be a very important and powerful tool in bringing arsonists to justice.

Our collaboration on this issue stems from a painful understanding of the devastation that arson can cause and has caused in both of our districts. In fact, as we debate this bill today, firefighters are still mopping up the last vestiges of the Station fire which has burned thousands and thousands of acres in the Angeles Forest in the past month and resulted in the tragic death of two firefighters. The fire was deliberately set, and the perpetrator is still at large. The bill before us today would create a nationwide registry of arsonists to help fire investigators find arsonists and prevent additional fires.

Because arsonists commit their crimes in secret, arson is among the most difficult of crimes to investigate. According to FBI statistics, only about 18 percent of arsons from 2008 have been ``cleared'' by an arrest. In the wake of a fire, investigators are faced with the daunting challenge of piecing together evidence from a scorched tract of land or a house. The Station fire, for example, is a 250-square-mile crime scene. Investigators have isolated where they believe the blaze originated, but there have been no arrests thus far, despite the offer of a $150,000 reward.

I know from firsthand experience the difficulty of an arson investigation. When I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I prosecuted an individual who started fires in the San Bernardino Forest. The arsonist followed a pattern. He used a distinct incendiary device made from a cigarette with matches taped around it. He would drive through the forest and throw the cigarette with the matches taped around it into the brush. The cigarette would burn down to the matches, ignite the matches, which would ignite the brush. The cigarette was basically like a slow fuse. By the time the brush caught on fire, he was far away from the point of origin of the fire.

Catching someone like that who doesn't have a traditional motive to set a fire or commit a crime is extremely challenging. Eventually, using video surveillance, law enforcement made an arrest.

We discovered in the course of the investigation that the suspect had a history of setting fires using the same distinct incendiary device made from a cigarette with matches taped around it. We didn't discover that information in an electronic database or even in the suspect's criminal record. The information was eventually found before the trial, stored in a box in his former parole officer's basement.

If we had a national arsonist registry at the time, we would have known of convicted arsonists who lived in the region. We would have known of their modus operandi. We might have been able to stop him before he set several of the later fires. Keeping records in your basement is not a sound investigative law enforcement strategy. The national arsonist registry created by the MATCH Act is.

The MATCH Act would create a national registry of arsonists that is similar but more extensive than what three States have right now. Currently, three States, including California, maintain such registries, but they are very limited. Arsonists can and do cross State lines to start fires. They don't necessarily contain updated information about the arsonist's current address, their place of employment, where they go to school and a myriad of other pieces of information that could be useful to investigators.

Under the MATCH Act, a convicted arsonist would be required to register

with the State in which they reside and provide updated biographical information, along with a photograph and information on the cars that they own. No information in this registry would be publicly available. The information would only be accessible to law enforcement and fire investigators.

Last year, the Congressional Budget Office scored the cost of implementing the act at $17 million over 5 years, that is, if we fully fund a small authorization to offset the costs to States in setting up the program. Given the millions and millions we spend fighting wildfires and the billions, literally billions, in property damage due to arson, this is a reasonable investment to save lives in the future.

The House passed this legislation overwhelmingly in 2007, but unfortunately it was never enacted. It didn't clear the Senate. As my constituents can attest, though, the problem of arson is not going away. And so we press on for this bill that will assist investigators and, we hope, prevent arson fires in the future.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill and reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how many more speakers my colleague from Texas has.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague Representative Bono Mack for all of her work on this issue. It's been a pleasure working together.

I think when we had the bill come up in committee last session and the Burbank fire chief, Tracy Pancini, testified, he pointed out really how this bill will be of great service to investigators by pointing to the case of someone who was a serial arsonist in New York, who set fire to many carports, for whatever reason, for whatever perverse thrill, as my colleague from Texas pointed out some of these arsonists seem to get by setting fires. He was well-known to authorities in New York and he moved to California where he was unknown, and when there were a series of carport fires in California, California authorities didn't necessarily connect it to what happened in New York.

With a national registry, we can connect these events and we can connect the dots, and not only, I hope, put away some of these arsonists, but maybe more importantly deter arsonists who, if they know that they are being tracked and are being followed by this registry, will think twice before they set additional fires.

So, with that, I want to once again thank my colleague and urge the House to support this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 757) supporting the goals and ideals of a National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of a National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims.

On Friday, September 25, 2009, the third annual observance of the National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims was held in Washington, D.C., and across the country. This year's observance was organized by the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center.

Every year, families lose loved ones to senseless acts of violence. Along with their loved ones, these families lose hopes and dreams for the future. Not only are mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers affected by the sudden loss of a family member, the lives of friends, coworkers, and neighbors can also be changed forever.

In 2008 alone, over 14,000 individuals lost their lives as a result of violent homicide. Over half of these murder victims were killed by acquaintances, such as a neighbor, friend, or boyfriend.

After the initial shock, as friends and neighbors resume their daily lives, family members are left to deal with their grief and loss and become overwhelmed with picking up the pieces of their lives.

The National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims acknowledges the long-term trauma families and friends experience after a loved one is murdered and focuses on the importance of providing support, guidance, and counseling to survivors of homicide.

While families deal with their grief, they're also confronted with trying to find some sense of justice through the criminal justice system. The complexities and delays in resolving a criminal case frequently add to their feelings of anger and resentment.

The National Day of Remembrance sends a powerful message to these families and friends alike that we as a Nation remember their loss, honor their courage, and are committed to helping them move on with their lives.

The National Day of Remembrance reminds us that murder impacts each and every one of us and every community across the country. This day also reminds us to rededicate ourselves to working to prevent the violence that destroys lives and devastates families.

I'd like to thank the lead cosponsors of this resolution, Donna Edwards of Maryland and Ted Poe of Texas, for their leadership in making sure that last week's National Day of Remembrance is honored by Congress.

I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

At this time, I'm happy to yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Maryland, Donna Edwards, the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how many speakers my colleague from Texas has remaining.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I had the experience recently of being called up for jury duty in Los Angeles and called up for a criminal case and sat through really the entire voir dire process, which I hadn't done in many years. It was a murder case, and what was striking to me--I was not called into the box so I never became a juror--but

what was striking to me is, during the voir dire process, they asked each and every juror whether they thought they could sit fairly on the case before them.

This particular case involved two victims, two people who were murdered, one who was a 16-year-old girl. And it was striking to me, both how many prospective jurors had a family member or close friend who'd been the victim of violence, who had been murdered or raped, how many also who could so relate to the circumstances that they felt they couldn't be fair and impartial. But it was extraordinary. There wasn't a single person really in the jury box that hadn't been touched in some way by violent crime.

And I want to thank the gentlewoman from Maryland for her leadership on this issue and getting us all to take some time to reflect on how violence has touched all of our communities, all of our lives and how we can rededicate ourselves to trying to attack this incredible waste of life. So I thank you.

I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1333) to amend chapter 40 of title 18, United States Code, to exempt the transportation, shipment, receipt, or importation of explosive materials for delivery to a federally recognized Indian tribe or an agency of such a tribe from various Federal criminal prohibitions relating to explosives, as amended.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 1333 addresses the gap in the law governing the transportation of explosive materials by giving federally recognized Indian tribes the same status already given Federal, State and local governments. In 2002, Congress passed the Safe Explosives Act, which prohibits the transportation, shipment, receipt and importation of explosive materials without specific Federal permits or licenses.

The act exempts Federal, State and local governments from this requirement, but due to an oversight, the exemption does not cover federally recognized Indian tribes and their agencies. This bill corrects that oversight. Fireworks can play an integral role in the religious and cultural ceremonies of many Indian tribes. This bill will facilitate those religious and cultural practices without compromising safety. This act does not exempt Indian tribes from complying with safe storage requirements. Like State agencies, tribes still will be required to comply with Federal explosives storage regulations.

H.R. 1333 enjoys bipartisan support. I thank the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Raul Grijalva, for bringing this oversight to the attention of the House and for his hard work on this bill.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Arizona, Mr. Grijalva, for his leadership on this issue and urge passage of the bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.