Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today the House of Representatives is poised to pass House, Resolution 622 honoring and recognizing the service of Filipino World War II veterans in their defense of our society and the freedoms we enjoy today. I am proud to co-sponsor this resolution highlighting the efforts of a community that came together with the United States to triumph over Japanese Imperialism.

In 1946, on a hot July day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a military draft calling the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines into armed services under the command of United States Army officers lead by General Douglas MacArthur. Those brave soldiers stood side by side with American military service members courageously fighting to defend America.

These Filipino World War II veterans are part of what is often referred to as the ``greatest generation'' and with good reason. From Bataan to Corregidor, Filipino soldiers unselfishly fought to preserve and protect the democratic principles we champion, with the hope that those principles could liberate a people enveloped by tyranny. Today, we stand to recognize those heroes who fought so valiantly to help win the peace in the Pacific.

Madam Speaker, in San Diego we have a vibrant and robust Filipino community that includes many military families with a storied line of military service to our nation. Through the sacrifices of these brave veterans, serve as an example for all Americans. The Filipino community in San Diego has a distinct pride that defines them, and for that they enrich San Diego and make it a better place to live.

I thank my colleague from California, Mr. Issa, for introducing this legislation and I look forward to voting on its passage.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 394, 395 and 396, I was detained due to aircraft malfunction. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on all three rollcalls.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. This memorial is in my district. It is a very prominent memorial, not just in the landscape, but in the history of San Diego County.

I remember as a child my father driving me past this memorial and looking up and saying this is one of the few memorials in the country that recognize the heartbreak of what went on in Korea. As a Korean veteran, he was also very much impressed with the fact that San Diegans set aside a memorial for the Korean war.

Frankly, I am shocked in a time of war, a time when our men and women are out exchanging deadly fire with the enemy, that we are talking about destruction of a war memorial. It is a war memorial dedicated to 800-plus people that never came back from the Korean war, the missing in action.

Now, in San Diego County, we have many religious symbols on public lands. We have a cross to Father Serra on Presidio Hill. We have a cross to Cabrillo, who found San Diego Harbor. We have Point Lomo. We have a county synagogue in our county park, and we have a cross on Mount Helix that was set aside by a gentleman for his wife. We are not asking to tear those religious symbols down.

All I have to say, Mr. Speaker, is we have enough tolerance for a cross to Father Serra. If we can find the tolerance to save a major historical building such as the synagogue, Beth Israel Synagogue, if we can find the tolerance to have a cross for Cabrillo, my God, can't we find the tolerance to preserve a war memorial to 800,000 missing in action in Korea? This really is about common sense, common decency and tolerance.

Mr. Speaker, there are those who will find excuses to attack what they may not like, but this is not about religion; it is about the tolerance of our heritage and the memorials to those who have fought for our heritage across the board. I would just like to point out, if somebody wants to say that this is somehow a Christian conspiracy, that Phil Thalheimer, the chairman of Save the Cross, happens to be of the Jewish faith, his family survived the terrible Holocaust in Europe.

One of his biggest statements, that his family always talked about, the first thing that the Fascists wanted to do was to destroy religious symbols when his parents were trying to escape.

Now, Mr. Speaker, the State of California has many religious symbols, and we do too here. All I have to say is I don't think anybody in California or in this Chamber is asking for the cross in Father Serra's hands to be taken off that statue in Statuary Hall. The fact is that both of the statues for California happen to be someone who is affiliated with the Christian faith. But their affiliation with Christianity does not change the historical significance or the justification and the logic of us honoring him here in Washington.

Mr. Speaker, we are asking today to do a very easy thing. Understand that mistakes can be made by courts; but the voters have said very clearly they do not find offense in a memorial to veterans. They do not find offense to this symbol for these people, for the people that committed so much for America.

I would ask anyone who thinks that the cross is offensive, because it is a religious symbol, to go to the memorial and walk around the wall of it. You will see every religious symbol thinkable around that memorial that have been dedicated.

If we take this cross down because someone may take offense to a religious symbol, when will they next go for the Star of David, the star or crescent? They will go after the other symbols that somebody may take offense to.

Mr. Speaker, I think we need to honor our war dead, our missing in action from Korea. We should honor ourselves by showing that tolerance is not a politically correct catch term, but truly is the sign of an enlightened people, that as Moses looks down on us here, we will be proud to have him guide us on this vote.

I ask for a ``yes'' vote on this, and ask you, for the people of the 50th District of California, to support their will, support their veterans, and vote ``yes'' on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Royce for holding a hearing in Imperial Beach in San Diego County this week. And I think there was one very clear message, that amnesty is the greatest mistake that we could have, not only for immigration, but for common sense, and if not for common decency, that we should not reward those who have broken our immigration laws while people, millions, wait to immigrate legally.

But the one consensus we could make in that hearing was that Democrats and Republicans agree that the missing link in immigration reform is not spending more money, but having more enforcement against the source of the major cause of illegal immigration. That is illegal employment.

And so I would ask Democrats and Republicans to find these hearings as a consensus to talk about what are we doing to stop illegal employment. And I would ask both of you to take a look at Silvestre Reyes' and David Dreier's bill, H.R. 98, which says that we are going to crack down on illegal employers. But we are going to create a very simple way for employers to know who is legal and who is illegal, and that is to have a Social Security card that is as tamper resistant as our voting card.

So let's get together. If Silvestre Reyes and David Dreier can work together, can't the House, both Democrats and Republicans, work together to protect America?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to, first of all, in the traditional way, thank my family and my friends, who were willing to support me through this quite unusual campaign. I would like to thank the people of the 50th District for giving me their trust and huge responsibility to represent them.

For those who may not know, the 50th District is a classic California coastline district, very environmentally sensitive; and I am grateful today that they believe in recycling Congressmen.

I know there are those in this room that are not happy to see me return, and all I ask of those is give me a chance to work with you again. I think we had a good working relationship in the past, and I look forward to a great working relationship in the future.

I would like to thank those of you that stood up and helped me in every way. This was obviously a team effort, and it was one that was well thought, hard fought, and well won.

Ladies and gentlemen, I leave you with one message: there were 18 people running for this seat. The voters had one of the broadest choices of any congressional race. But there was one issue and only one issue that allowed me to be elected. It was not my experience. It was not my hard work, and God knows it was not my intellect. It was the fact that the people in the 50th District wanted something done, they wanted a job and a message sent to Washington, that now and here is the time to address illegal immigration.

We did not enjoy the situation or appreciate the problem that created the vacancy, but let me say quite clearly what is obvious in the last few months is that the greatest scandal in America is not that one man broke the law, but that 12 million illegal immigrants are in this country and Washington is not doing enough about it.

So I ask you, even if you disagree with me on this issue, let us join together and work to address this issue so that both sides, Democrat and Republican, and Independent, can go home proud that we did right by the American people and worked together for our future and our grandchildren's future.

Thank you very much.