Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues offering their condolences and prayers to the people of Turkey in the wake of the worst mining disaster in that country's history. I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life, and share the pain of the victims' families and friends.

As a former Air Force pilot who continues to serve in the Air National Guard, I have experienced our close relationship with Turkey, and can attest to the sincerity, kindness, and generosity of the Turkish people.

The way forward will be long and painful, but the people of Turkey should know they are not alone, and are in my thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Lance Corporal Steven Hancock of Goose Lake, Illinois, who faithfully served our Nation in the United States Marine Corps. He was a member of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing and died while participating in a training exercise on an MV-22B Osprey aircraft on May 19, 2014.

Lance Corporal Hancock was one of three children and attended Coal City High School. He was known as a quiet leader and earned the distinguished rank of Eagle Scout as a member of Scout Troop 466. His family, friends, and colleagues will always remember his constant smile, cheerfulness, and strong faith in Jesus Christ.

Lance Corporal Hancock joined the Marine Corps on March 5, 2012, and was the crew chief of the Osprey aircraft on which he served. His sense of duty and willingness to voluntarily serve our country demonstrates what makes our Nation exceptional. He will be sorely missed, and I am extremely grateful for his service.

It is because of people like him who are willing to defend our country that we are allowed to stand here and deliberate on behalf of the American people.

God bless Lance Corporal Hancock, and God bless his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. Judy Cremer, Livingston County Circuit Clerk, and to recognize her many years of devoted service to the citizens of Livingston County and the State of Illinois.

Mrs. Cremer has worked in Livingston County government for 50 years. Judy started her service in the State Attorney's office in 1964 and later moved over to the Circuit Clerk's office where she has been a dutiful employee since 1980. She has been a constant presence in Livingston County and helped make countless improvements in the Circuit Clerk's office throughout her years of service.

I would like to thank Judy for all she has done for the residents of Livingston County. She has been a leader and an integral part of Livingston County government these past 50

years. I know that the people of Livingston County are thankful for her service and efforts to improve the lives of those in the area.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 16th District of Illinois, I wish to express our deepest thanks to Judy Cremer for her commendable service and dedication to the people of Livingston County and the State of Illinois for the past 50 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois, as it holds the 75th Theodor Lang May Day Medical Conference on May 1 and 2, 2014. One of the oldest medical conferences in the United States, May Day was started by Dr. Lang, a radiologist serving Saint Anthony Hospital. Dr. Lang's goal was to improve patient care by gathering physicians from the region for a day of education and fellowship under a large tent. The May Day conference has outgrown the tent on the front lawn, but OSF continues to strive to improve patient care by bringing fellowship and continuing medical education to health care providers.

Throughout the years, the May Day conference has attracted such renowned speakers as Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the surgeon from South Africa who performed the first human-to-human heart transplant, as well as Abigail Van Buren and Ralph Nader.

The physicians who have addressed the May Day conference through the years have come from some of the most prestigious institutions in the United States, including the University of Illinois Medical School, Washington University Medical School, Chicago Lying-In Hospital, University of Chicago, Penn State School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Children's Memorial Hospital, Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, Northwestern Medical School, Baylor University Medical Center, Sloane- Kettering, and the National Institutes of Health.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 16th District of Illinois, I wish to express our deepest thanks to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center for continuing to provide valuable continuing education to clinicians and students.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to rise today in celebration of the Rockford Rescue Mission, which is set to celebrate its 50th Anniversary this May.

Mr. Ray Stewart rented a building in 1964 in downtown Rockford in order to establish the Rockford Rescue Mission. There was a sign on the door that read, ``All are welcome here. The alcoholic, the addict, the stranger, the sojourner, the pilgrim, the poor. There is hope for all who enter here.'' This important work continues fifty years later and I am proud of the service they have provided to many constituents in Illinois' Sixteenth Congressional District.

The Rockford Rescue Mission is open twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. They serve Rockford and the surrounding communities by providing prevention and recovery services for addiction, abuse, and destructive relations. They are also the primary provider for meals and shelter in northern Illinois and are able to provide these services with private donations from individuals, foundations, businesses, organizations, and churches. None of this would be possible without the tremendous help of the over 500 volunteers who contribute nearly 45,000 hours throughout the year.

During the Rockford Rescue Mission's 2013 fiscal year, they served over 160,000 meals, provided over 58,000 beds for lodging, distributed over 159,000 items, facilitated over 10,000 counseling sessions, and served over 2,500 clinic patients.

The City of Rockford and surrounding communities can take pride in the Rockford Rescue Mission which gives back to the community so willingly. I would like to congratulate all the volunteers who have helped this organization over the past fifty years and I encourage them to continue their important service.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Illinois' Sixteenth District of Illinois, I wish to express our appreciation for Rockford Rescue Mission's impressive service to the community and their diligent work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Paul Nicholson, Streator City Manager, and to recognize his many years of service to the citizens of the City of Streator, LaSalle County, and the State of Illinois.

Paul has served for more than 40 years in city management for the City of Streator and other municipalities. He has been a reliable steward of city resources in Streator and helped save the city time and funds due to his professionalism and expertise.

Paul will be retiring from the position of City Manager after a new manager is selected. I would like to thank him for all he has done for the residents of Streator and LaSalle County. He has been a leader and advocate for many important issues throughout his years of service, and has become a well-respected member of the community.

While he is leaving his post and heading into retirement, I know that Paul will always be there to lend a helping hand or offer advice to those in need. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 16th District of Illinois, I wish to express our deepest thanks to Paul Nicholson for his commendable years of service and dedication.

Mr. Speaker, we deal with a lot of very important issues in this body. In fact, everybody that is going to speak this morning is going to speak about some very important issues. But I would argue that there is no issue more important that we deal with in this body than the issue of American global leadership and the issue of national defense.

I just got back from a security summit in Munich, and I want to share some of my thoughts in talking to our allies and talking to strategic partners around the globe.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a decline of American leadership around the globe. There is a perception that America is on the retreat from the rest of the world and is an America tired of a decade of war, which I fully understand, and is an America that decides the fight is just not worth it anymore. The decline of American leadership around the world is not just something that we can't do because it is not good, but it is dangerous--not just to us, but to the rest of the globe.

Think about how we got in this position in the first place. It was the failure of American leadership through the nineties to pursue a terrorist jihadist by the name of Osama bin Laden. Instead, this Nation and the President treated him as a common criminal and not as a declared opponent and a war opponent of the United States of America. What we saw was an attack on the World Trade Center, an attack to the USS Cole, an attack on the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and then, finally, it culminated in an attack that took 3,000 American lives and woke America up to the reality of global jihadism and terrorism, and the fact that we have people that live solely for the purpose of killing and destroying people that don't see eye to eye with their specific religious ideology.

Failure to confront those terrorists in the 1990s led to that big problem we have today. And what we have seen lately is the same kind of retrenchment by the United States of America--undoubtedly, still the most powerful country in the world. Our enemies no longer fear us, and our allies no longer trust us.

Let me label a few of these areas that have concerned me.

In Iraq--I am a veteran of Iraq--the U.S. Marines actually fought to take the city of Fallujah and took the most casualties that they have taken probably since Khe Sanh in Vietnam. Today, the black flag of al Qaeda flies over Fallujah. The sacrifice of thousands of Americans is now being confronted by the black flag of al Qaeda because this President, eager to achieve a campaign promise, pulled all the troops out at the end of 2011 and didn't leave a residual force. As unpopular as it may be, if we had left a counterterrorism force in Iraq, we would not be facing this problem today.

I look at a terrible deal that was just struck with Iran, a deal that basically says Iran is allowed to be a threshold nuclear state. Sure, the Secretary and the President will say that we are going from 20 percent enrichment to 5. He doesn't mention that bringing 5 percent enrichment to weapons-grade enrichment actually doesn't take that long. And, oh, by the way, all the surrounding states to Iran think that they are totally entitled to say that they have a right to enrich uranium up to 5 percent, in essence, creating a whole host of Middle East threshold nuclear states. And yet we call this a victory?

I look at Syria--11,000 opponents to Assad, tortured and murdered and labeled with numbers--11,000 people--which made Srebrenica, the thing that launched America to intervene in Bosnia, look small. Eleven thousand opponents to Assad tortured and killed. And you look at Assad, who is purposely targeting the Free Syrian Army and not al Qaeda opposition so that al Qaeda opposition grows to him and he can stand in front of the West and say, ``I am the protector.'' If we get to the point where we look to Assad, a brutal dictator in Syria, as the protector of freedom, God help us.

I look at instability in Lebanon, and I look at one of our greatest allies, Jordan, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees. I look at Israel, surrounded by instability in the Middle East, and I look at a resurgent China that challenges America all over the globe now, and I look at a Russia that continues to occupy one-third of its neighbor to the south, Georgia. I look at Ukraine's people standing up for freedom. I haven't heard much from this administration.

I am burdened by this lack of American global leadership. I don't care about the politics of it. I don't care about any of this. I care about the future of this country. And what I see is the decline of American leadership in what is still the greatest country around the globe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. John Dowling, Middleport Township Supervisor, and to recognize his many years of service to the citizens of the City of Watseka, Iroquois County and the State of Illinois.

Mr. Dowling has served for 35 years in education as a teacher, coach and administrator in the Watseka Unit 9 District. For the past twenty five years, John has also been a member of the Watseka Public Library Board and plans to serve in this role until his term expires. Additionally, he served on the Iroquois County Board for 26 years until November 2010 when he retired.

In recognition of his tremendous service to the community, he has been named the Watseka Citizen of the Year and awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Watseka Area Chamber of Commerce and the Iroquois County Times Republic.

Mr. Dowling will be retiring from the position of Middleport Township Supervisor at the end of March and I would like to thank him for all he has done for the residents of Middleport Township, the City of Watseka, and Iroquois County. He has been a leader and advocate for many important issues throughout his years of service, and has become a well-respected member of the community.

While he is leaving this post and heading into retirement, I know that Mr. Dowling will always be there to lend a helping hand or give advice to those in need. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 16th District of Illinois, I wish to express our deepest thanks to John Dowling for his exemplary service and dedication.

Mr. Speaker, it was a beautiful September day in 2001 as I was driving to work and I hear that a plane hits the World Trade Center. I was a newly minted private pilot at the time, and I remember thinking, How could a plane fly into a big building? And then I heard that another plane hit the other tower. Eventually, I heard one hit a field in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon not too far from here.

I realized that America was a country under attack. It was under attack by an ideology that believes that anybody that thinks differently than their brand of theology is not just wrong, but that they are worthy of death. In fact, it takes that belief and actually implements it by killing innocent men, women, and children, including folks of their own religious ideology.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of that, America became a generation that went to war to defeat this ideology. I am a veteran of the wars. I spent quite a bit of time in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I heard the other day that al Qaeda, America's number one enemy, raised the black flag over Fallujah, an area that the United States Marines, who fought harder than they have any battle since Vietnam, fought to achieve and take over and bring peace to.

Mr. Speaker, al Qaeda raised the black flag over Fallujah. This is an epic failure of American foreign policy and an epic resurgence of America's chief enemy.

In 2011, President Obama had an opportunity to make a decision about whether America would continue to show its support for a free Iraq, whether America would continue to be the intercessor between difficult back-and-forths and continue to bring people together in Iraq as we did during the surge, which the President opposed and now we are finding out may actually have been for political reasons. Shocker.

We are finding out, Mr. Speaker, that al Qaeda now has a town very close to Baghdad. This is a failure of American foreign policy.

If you look into Syria, Mr. Speaker, you see a brutal dictator that kills people and has no compunction about killing innocent women and children just to maintain power. In essence, he has become a strong partner to the United States in order to take chemical weapons out of his arsenal.

Yet as another part of Syria, you see not the moderate forces of opposition

to Mr. Assad, but you now see al Qaeda-related forces overpowering moderate opposition to Assad. You see that because of America's foreign policy, which said we supported the Free Syrian Army but, in reality, has not supported the Free Syrian Army.

If you look in Egypt, you see the Egyptian people stand up and say, We don't want to have one dictator replaced by another. We don't want the Muslim Brotherhood to run our country and change our constitution.

But we have no idea where the President is at on this. We have taken a very important ally in the Middle East and basically told them we are not interested in their future.

Look at the instability in Lebanon and the questions with the people of Afghanistan about what is going to happen post-2014, as America committed to defeating al Qaeda and defeating the Taliban. I could go on and on. Look at the deal we have with Iran, basically giving Iran the option of continuing to enrich uranium.

Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago, I could not have written a sadder story about where American foreign policy could be. What I see now in the United States is that our allies no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us.

Mr. Speaker, the United States needs to use limited air power in Iraq to push al Qaeda back out of Iraq. We need strong intelligence assets to work with the government of al-Maliki to ensure al Qaeda has no foothold in Iraq again.

It is not too late to reverse the tragic foreign policy consequences and what we have seen in the Middle East. But, Mr. Speaker, this has to be done today. This has to be done now.

Americans have sacrificed blood for a free Iraq and a free Afghanistan, and we cannot let that sacrifice be in vain.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Philip Nelson of the Illinois Farm Bureau (ILFB) and to recognize his years of service to the state and national agriculture community.

Mr. Nelson began his career in agriculture in his youth and was awarded the prestigious Illinois FFA Star Farmer of the Year award in

1977 as well as the American Farm Bureau Federation's National Outstanding Young Farmer Award in 1984. He has continued to operate his family's fourth generation farm near Seneca, Illinois where he and his wife grow corn, soybean, alfalfa, and have a cow-calf operation.

Philip has served five consecutive two-year terms as president of the ILFB which is the maximum he can serve under ILFB rules. Under his leadership, the ILFB has become an even more important voice in informing local, state, and national elected officials about the issues confronting the agriculture industry. His first-hand knowledge of farming has been instrumental to the organization in identifying and advocating on major challenges. In addition to his tenure as President of the ILFB, Mr. Nelson has served as President of the Illinois Soybean Association, President of the LaSalle County Farm Bureau, Vice President of the American Soybean Association, and Chairman of the American Farm Bureau Federation's Swine Advisory Committee.

While he is leaving his post at the ILFB, I am confident his expertise and leadership on agriculture issues will continue to be put to good use. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 16th District of Illinois, I wish to express our deepest thanks to Philip Nelson for his exemplary efforts to advocate for the Illinois agriculture community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Pontiac Chapter of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) for being named the 2013 Model of Excellence chapter during the Eighty-Sixth National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.

FFA Chapters across the country that receive national three-star ratings are eligible candidates for the National Model of Excellence Award. The National FFA Organization consists of 579,678 students in all fifty states that are a part of 7,570 local chapters, making the competition for this prestigious award extremely demanding. While the Pontiac Chapter excelled in community and school development, it was especially successful in the area

of chapter development as shown through their recruitment and retention of new members. The chapter made presentations to area middle schools that feed into their high school and were able to sign up 88 new members for the introduction to agriculture class. Additionally, the chapter worked with over 1,000 elementary students to increase their agricultural literacy and reading skills.

Farmers across the United States are responsible for providing food to families around the world and Illinois is at the forefront of this driver to our economy. There are over 76,000 farms in Illinois and the state is ranked second in the United States for agricultural commodity exports with nearly $4 billion worth exported to other countries annually. The FFA helps keep this critical industry going by inspiring our youth to consider careers in agriculture and developing their leadership abilities for all facets of life.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 16th District of Illinois, I am pleased to honor the Pontiac FFA Chapter for their impressive accomplishments and for receiving this distinguished award. I wish these students the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Tyler Loschen from Cullom, Illinois for being named the 2013 American Star Farmer at the Eighty-Sixth National Future Farmers of America (FFA) Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tyler embodies the spirit of the American Farmer. After joining FFA as a freshman at Tri-Point High School, he bought 40 acres of farmland, a combine, tractor, planter, and other harvesting equipment. His story highlights the importance of the FFA program. This enterprising individual applied what he learned in the classroom to the field, started a business, and made financial decisions with his first-hand knowledge. I applaud his determination and I hope his experience will be an inspiration for others.

The American Star Farmer award is one of the highest honors that a FFA member can receive from the national organization. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to honor Tyler Loschen for all of his hard work and I wish him continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an inspiring effort to support homeless students in Rockford, Illinois. Under the leadership of Jeremy Hissong, friends and neighbors of the Rockford School District banded together to collect clothes and school supplies to benefit the District's homeless student program.

After learning of the over 1,200 homeless children in the Rockford Public School District, Mr. Hissong utilized social media and the internet to organize ``Kids Need Us'' to gather support for a supply drive. His employer, Mondelez International, provided space in its parking lot for volunteers to collect needed supplies from the community such as socks, pants, coats, hats, pens, and paper to be donated to the homeless student program.

I applaud Mr. Hissong, and the community, for their success in bringing people together, gathering needed items, and educating the public about the awful reality of youth homelessness in our communities. This story of action is an important reminder of the victims of a slow economy and the importance of taking action in order to help those most in need.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 16th District of Illinois, I wish to express our deep appreciation for Jeremy Hissong's work and the rest of the community for their support of this important cause.

Mr. Speaker, I was stunned to see Russian President Vladimir Putin disparage American exceptionalism a few weeks ago. Simply put, Mr. Putin's human rights record leaves much to be desired, including his treatment of Ahiska Turks. A distinct minority, they are severely persecuted by top Russian authorities in Putin's government solely for their ethnicity and religion.

During Mr. Putin's first term, the State Department designated Ahiska Turks as a group of special humanitarian concern. Since then, 12,000 Turks have resettled in America, including many in Illinois and in my district. However, 80,000 Ahiska Turks remain in Russia, and they routinely face discrimination and persecution in areas of their lives that we often take for granted. In an ethnic cleansing campaign, Stalin uprooted and resettled Ahiska Turks to central Asia from their ancestral lands in Georgia in 1944. Unable to return, they have since been perennial refugees in Central Asia and Russia.

This is the reality of Putin's Russia: in Russia, people are routinely and severely discriminated against, tortured, even killed, and are economically and financially repressed.

When given the freedom to chase the American Dream, these same Ahiska Turks have fulfilled their potential in less than a decade. I will let my colleagues make their own determinations about which nation is exceptional.

Mr. Speaker, October 10th marked the 102nd Anniversary of the Wuchang uprising, which led to the establishment of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on January 1, 1912. National Day of the Republic of China marks a significant day for the Taiwanese people as they celebrate each year with parades, fireworks and military regalia. The United States and Taiwan have been fortunate to share such a dynamic friendship that I believe will only continue to grow.

As the U.S. seeks to rebalance our comprehensive foreign policy strategy, and we look to pivot to the Asian Pacific region, I feel that National Day deserves an appropriate commemoration from Congress. I believe it is vitally important for the U.S. to continue to bolster Taiwan's efforts as they are one of the most promising democracies in the region. Such stable regional partners should be valued and held in the highest regard.

This significant anniversary also provides an opportunity for this Congress to reflect on the current state of our bilateral relationship with Taiwan and to take proactive steps to enhance it.

As the 10th largest trading partner with the United States, Taiwan's economic importance is continuing to rapidly increase in a growing 21st century global economy. As longstanding friends and allies, I am pleased to add my voice to congratulate Taiwan on this momentous occasion.