Floor Statements

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

I rise today in support of H. Res. 1494, and ask for support of the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6237, which is appropriate, seeing I am one of the 52 original cosponsors to the item, and I strongly urge support for the resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlelady from the District supporting the bill.

Let me just point out as an interesting procedural note, for Mr. Thompson to bring this before us he had to get 52 cosponsors. The House rules require that everyone in the State sign on. So where Delaware may only need one or Nevada may need only three Members, those of us in California have a very high threshold we have to fulfill to be able to take this, and Mr. Thompson took this action.

It is something that we should all consider in the future: Should this judge be required to have 52 Members of the House cosponsor a bill when someone from another State may need only two or three or four or five? So it is an interesting part of our process here. Some people may say that it is unfair, but it happens to be the House rules, and the Congressmen have to live within those rules.

I strongly support the passage of this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6387, and I think it is quite appropriate that we pass this bill.

Let me just say, Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of serving as a fellow mayor with Mayor Sam back in the late seventies. We actually served in the League of California Cities together. I just find it interesting that all these years later I stand here on the House floor voting on a post office named after a colleague of mine who, though he lived almost 1,000 miles away, was a fellow mayor in my State at one end, while I was at the southern end.

I would ask that we support H.R. 6387.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask again for support of H.R. 6387.

Seeing that this is our last bill for at least the foreseeable future, I would like to just point out I think there is one thing that all of us have seen, and today probably is a good example, especially those who have been watching.

This process that we have gone through today is one that we have gone back into over the last decade, and a lot of Members have raised the issue, is this the most prudent way of us handling these procedures? I know the gentlelady from the Federal district has raised issues about how to streamline it and expedite the process.

I think these issues of the resolutions and the way we are naming the post offices are ones that need to be reviewed, and hopefully both sides in the new Congress will be willing to look at this and say, look, historically this type of process has been used to buy time for leadership to be able to try to get individuals to vote their way, not necessarily the way the district constituency wanted them to vote.

I think that this is one place that we should be able to have a frank discussion in January. Hopefully we will see this type of process be put in, let's just say the trash heap of history, and we go to a much more expedited process that talks about substance.

I don't think any of us were very happy with what happened in the last few years while we were doing resolutions and naming post offices while there were major budgetary and financial crises going on. I think we can all agree, especially after what we just went through today, let's try to look in January at having a better process

that talks about more substantive issues.

Even though these are important to the individuals involved, the Nation is in a very critical time, and for us to be spending the majority of our time in the last few years actually doing things that the average citizen would say were not critical, I think that this is one time we can get together and say this process needs to be reformed, and hopefully in January we will not be going through a day like we just did.

I want to thank the gentlewoman from the Federal district for working with me today on these items.

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

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor the Mayor of Carlsbad, Claude A. ``Bud'' Lewis. Mr. Lewis has dedicated over 36 years of his life to public service in the Carlsbad community. After serving our great country during the Korean War as a United States Marine, he spent 34 years as an award-winning high school teacher at Carlsbad High School. After witnessing the apathy of his students and community to their local government, he decided to set an example and run for public office. In 1970, Mr. Lewis began his public service as a city council member serving for 16 years before becoming the Mayor of Carlsbad, a position he has held for 24 years. Mr. Lewis' dedication to ingenuity and focus on the future is honored by his numerous awards and accomplishments.

Mayor Lewis' ability to create and implement long-term goals has allowed for Carlsbad's economy to thrive and attract new high-tech and environmentally conscientious industries. In this vein, he was the first in his region to implement an award-winning and forward-thinking ``Growth Management Plan,'' which focuses on sustainability and growth far into the future. Mayor Lewis' determination to think of tomorrow has also enabled Carlsbad to be prepared for extreme drought in California. Moreover, he was the first Carlsbad Chairman of the San Diego County Water Board and merged the Carlsbad Municipal Water District with the City of Carlsbad to provide a more efficient use of the city's precious water resources. In doing so, Mayor Lewis has taken steps to protect the local ecosystem, especially the city's lagoons, so that it will thrive for future generations.

Mayor Lewis' forward thinking transformed his community into the ``Jewel of North County'' and his changes and ideas will continue to bring Carlsbad benefits in the future as it has today. His dedication to public service is an inspiration to all citizens and is both commendable and honorable. Madam Speaker, I'm proud to call Bud a friend and I wish him well during his much deserved retirement. North County San Diego will miss him.

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

I would like to thank the author of the bill and the committee working on this. I think that we have been able to not only address the issue of where flags are made and what material goes into those flags but, because of the overwhelming bipartisan support for my amendment, we are also going to make sure that those flags are made by legal Americans. I think that is something that was overlooked. In fact, if I remember right, the vote in committee was unanimous except for one vote; let's say that. I think that bipartisan support for the fact that we want flags flying over our Capitol that are made in America, with American material and by Americans who are legally here, was a great message to send. I think that is the kind of bipartisan support and consensus that the American people have been asking about for a long time.

I think that one of the things that we clarify here is that, with the amendment that the majority accepted from me, we were able to point out that there may be a lot of disagreements about the immigration issue, a lot of differences about where jobs go, but if there is one place that we can kind of meet together, the one thing that seems to be working, a very moderate consensus builder, was the success of E-Verify. One place the Bush administration and the Obama administration agrees on: The expansion of E-Verify as being the minimum standard that we make sure employers take, including those who are making the flags for our country that are going to fly over this Capitol.

I think the only place that I can actually think about when it comes to immigration that Arizona and Massachusetts agree on is that employers should E-Verify, not just to make sure that those who are here legally are working, but also to make sure that we do not prejudge employees before. One of the great things is that E-Verify doesn't ask the employer to make a determination based on just sheer observation is somebody a U.S. citizen or a foreign national; it treats everybody equally. I think that is one of the big successes here.

So I would just like to say, again, I think one of the big successes of this bill is not just that the American people will know that the flags that fly over our Capitol are made in America, with American material and with legal Americans, but the fact is symbolic of the success of the majority supporting my amendment, and that this bill will actually show, too, that: America, we can agree on one thing on immigration, and that is that E-Verify seems to be a success that all of us can get around.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we can talk about successes and failures. Some people think that the stimulus package costing $200,000 per job, on average, is not something that is sustainable. But let's talk about something we can agree is a success, and that is we were able to meet on this bill. Sadly, it is one of those few things we have been able to reach across the aisle and work on--that the flags not only that are flown over this Capitol and around the country, but as somebody who had the privilege and the honor of having the flag that was on my father's casket fly and be hung in my office, this will mean that the men and women who served for the military and fought for the freedoms and for the free enterprise system that makes our freedoms possible will be able to be sure that they will not be covered with a flag made in China.

They will not have slave labor making the Stars and Stripes that are laid over their casket; that the sacred oath we make to them in so many different ways will include that the honor of a military funeral and having the Nation's colors draped over your casket, you will be assured that it will be said to be made in America.

So with that, I think we need to look at where is the success we can work on. This is one of those places we have been able to meet. And as we have been able to meet, talking about how the flags are made, and especially, finally, some agreement on who should be working in this country, I think it is one of those things that I hope that we can build on.

Mr. Speaker, if I can suggest that maybe Republicans and Democrats, rather than talking about an amnesty here or this proposal, we join on a bill that is so commonsensical that we don't even talk about it.

H.R. 3580 by Steve King, all that bill says is let's build on the success of E-Verify and tell employers that we as a government will no longer allow you to have a tax deduction for employing somebody unless you take the time to check that that person is legally in the country. There is a place that Democrats and Republicans can agree on. There is a place that we can reach a common ground and find answers, rather than pointing out each other's shortcomings.

Again, I would ask my colleagues on both side of the aisle, look at Steve King's New IDEA bill, H.R. 3580. It is the most moderate, it is the most commonsense proposal you can put forward. All it says is before an employer can deduct the expense of hiring somebody, they darn well ought to take the time to check that they are legally in the country. That, I think, is something that we can agree on.

I would love to see that before we adjourn, and maybe when we come back, that we meet at that middle ground and show the American people that we not only can stand up and make sure that flags are made legally in this country, but we can take this step to make sure that employers who are breaking the law by hiring people illegally are not given a tax deduction for it. I think that is one place that Republican and Democrats can join together and be Americans when it comes to these issues.

Mr. Speaker, we have no other speakers at this time; so I will just close by saying I think we have had a good discussion here. There are agreements and disagreements, but I think we found an agreement here. After all, if Americans cannot get together and agree that American flags should be made with American material in the United States by legal Americans, my God, what can we agree on?

I think this is one thing that may be small, most people won't think it is a big deal, but hopefully this is a prototype and a blueprint for Democrats and Republicans getting together and agreeing to be Americans first and voting together and passing the kind of laws the American people have been waiting for for a long time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a

quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, this is one time that a Californian cannot best the Ohio gentleman. So I will just say I think he presented this item quite appropriately, and basically I will just say I agree totally with the majority on this item. The gentleman from Ohio has not only represented his district but his State and this gentleman quite appropriately in the post office proposal.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I will join in supporting this motion. Frankly, I think that we appreciate Mr. Stewart for much service in the military, but mostly most of us remember him as a great actor. The fact is many of us may remember him doing one of the extraordinary, almost a solo performance as Charles Lindbergh in scenes where he is talking to himself and getting across. I have just got to say that I think it is quite appropriate, as some people may not know, that Jimmy Stewart did not fly across the Atlantic and land in Paris alone. He was playing the role of Charles Lindbergh. But as San Diegans we're very sensitive to that scene that the plane might have been called the Spirit of St. Louis, but it was actually built in San Diego right at what is now Lindbergh field. But I think that this motion for the great actor, great American, great veteran, is quite appropriate.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

At this time I would like to yield to the gentlelady from North Carolina.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Marshall was not a perfect man. He made mistakes. Those of us who have studied history know the fact is anyone who does very much is going to make mistakes; but Marshall, obviously, was a very, very noted figure in history.

I think, if nothing else, when we talk about naming something after someone, we have got to remember we are not doing it for that person. We are not honoring that person as much as we are inspiring future generations to try to live up to an idea. So even though Mr. Marshall might have made mistakes and was flawed, overall he is still a role model to present for future generations.

I am not going to ask how old the Speaker was in 1959, Mr. Speaker, but the fact is Mr. Marshall passed away. It is sad that we have waited this long and that so many generations have grown up in this community who have not recognized that Marshall was a hometown boy. Maybe every time, in having gone to the post office, some grade school child might have been able to have been inspired to think big, to have tried harder--and, yes, even having failed sometimes.

As we go through all of these consent items, one of the things I would ask us to consider is, as I am sure the gentlewoman from North Carolina has said: What about the things that we aren't doing? We have got to recognize that. A lot of the frustration out there is that we are naming a lot of post offices. Yet I think this one is appropriate.

As my cousin says, who is actually a former Democratic Congressman from Las Vegas and a member of the commission that handles these post offices, if we don't get together in Washington and talk about how we are going to continue to provide the money and the resources to keep these post offices open, we will have the right to name them, but will they be around to inspire future generations? Will our actions actually have the staying power if we don't talk about those tough things like the budget, like the financial crisis, and like many other things that we have basically swept under the rug?

I think that this is an appropriate bill at this time, but there is the frustration that we are doing these bills again and again and again; and it seems we are not addressing or finding bipartisan support on a lot of other things that the American people would like to look at, which is why I brought up Mr. King's bill, because it is one of those little things that, too bad, sadly, leadership will not consider.

I mean, we just had a case last week. Rather than talking about eliminating the tax deduction for the employers of illegal immigrants, they had a comedian at a hearing, and I think a lot of people were very embarrassed--Democrats and Republicans. I guess, if there were a bipartisan response last week, it was: My God, have we allowed things to get to this point? I appreciate good comedy, obviously, while serving in Congress, but I think that there are mistakes we have made.

This bill should pass, but, sadly, we should be talking about a lot of other issues that are not even allowed to come to the floor, Mr. Speaker, which the American people want us to work on. I hope that we will be able to get leadership, especially the majority, to sit down with the minority and to ask, Okay, where are those substantive issues that we can agree on? and do that. There are little things that could make a lot of difference, like Mr. King's bill, which would eliminate the tax deduction for people who are exploiting illegal labor.

At this time, again, I would support the bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the leadership on this item. I appreciate the fact that this naming is more punctual than the last. Maybe we're seeing a positive train here, but I think that the gentleman from Ohio explained it quite appropriately and articulated perfectly exactly why we're willing to take this action.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Representative from San Diego, a community that knows a little bit about the military, one of the largest military complexes in the world, I am very honored to support this motion by the gentleman from Tennessee and want to thank him for that. Not only do I have the privilege of representing a community that is steeped in military history that goes, in fact, all the way back to our founding by Cabrillo, a military man in service of Spain, but also the fact of being raised--not only raised in a military family but born on a military base. So those of us from San Diego know exactly how deeply the roots of the military go as free Americans and as those who do not question the perception that service, as George Washington said, is always the highest honor and the greatest contribution.

Mr. Speaker, I just have to say that I'm sorry that some are not here to see Congress finally take up this item, and I think the gentleman from Tennessee should be commended, and I think the majority should be thanked for allowing the gentleman from Tennessee to bring this bill up for consideration, something I hope to see more of.

I wish that my parents were alive today, parents that not only was he at Pearl Harbor on his birthday, at Leyte Gulf, and at Inchon, but also, more importantly, something we don't think about the military, and that's from my mother's side, of the people around the world like my mother, that in the 1940s in Australia was watching the Japanese empire threaten to conquer her hometown of Brisbane, and the Yanks showed up in time to be able to save them from the tyranny of fascism.

I think that too often when we talk about things like the service in the military, we think only of service to those of us who are Americans; but recognizing that the American military is not only not a threat to the rest of the world, it's an essential component of the world peace and the world freedom and the world prosperity that not only Americans but the entire world, sadly, I think takes for granted.

I think that this is quite appropriate that the gentleman from Tennessee brings this up, that we not only recognize but we celebrate how unique our American military is. We go around the world to set people free. We go around the world to give them a better life. We do not go to conquer and to oppress; and that is something the Americans have done from the get-go and it's something that we should recognize, be it at Barbary Coast to put down the pirates that were raiding innocent ships or to go and depose dictators that have been oppressing their own and killing their own people.

I think this bill is quite appropriate, and hopefully we will see the kind of celebration of the heritage of military service that we have in this country as we have seen on others.

So I again congratulate the gentleman from Tennessee, and I thank the majority for allowing the bill to go forward.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, the minority will support this bill. And, as pointed out by the gentlelady, this is probably--in fact, I would kind of challenge my own history background--the only general sport that has its origin from the New World. Lacrosse was actually a training device by American Indians to be able to train their young, sadly, for war. But it is a sport now that obviously may look a lot like a violent confrontation but is actually a very, very competitive sport, especially out here in the East.

I appreciate the fact that we are recognizing the Washington Stealth. They must live up to their name. A lot of us have not heard of them before. But I, representing the minority, will accept the motion and will support it, Mr. Speaker.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, at this time it's my privilege to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the majority for allowing the Congressman to bring his item onto the floor for a vote. It is a tough thing to do sometimes, especially from the minority, and I appreciate the fact that the majority was willing to allow him to do that.

I ask for an affirmative vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minority will support this bill. Ms. Height actually had bipartisan support in her life. She got an award from one of the greatest, Ronald Reagan, and one of the more recent, Bill Clinton. And I think that in that spirit we should try, in a bipartisan effort, to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for an affirmative vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think that as we were talking about many different items today, I think that as a culture, and especially as a Congress, we always talk about the men and women who serve and those who pay the ultimate sacrifice.

But I think anyone who is a parent, especially those who are mothers, recognize that the only thing worse than running into harm's way is to watch your child run into harm's way. And the greatest loss is not the loss of one's life, but a loss of a child's life. And I think this is quite appropriate that we finally start focusing on the fact that the great sacrifice made on the battlefield is not by the men and women who are fighting, but the mothers who are left behind and must live with whatever results occur on that battlefield, something that they will live with for the rest of their lives. And I think it is quite appropriate that we do this today.

I am sad that we haven't done it before, to really recognize that those greatest heroes in America are the mothers who have raised the children that do the fighting that protect the freedoms and the prosperity, and those mothers who pay the ultimate sacrifice should be recognized, not just here, but much more often.

And so I thank the majority for allowing this to be brought forward. And, hopefully, as a nation, as a culture, we will recognize the contribution mothers make in this great effort.

The military couldn't be the military if it wasn't for the mothers who were willing to raise the children that we put in harm's way. And they are willing and, sadly, forced many times as the Gold Star Mothers are, to live with the repercussions for the rest of their lives of the great loss that they witness and this Nation has ignored for too long. I ask for passage of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, we support the bill, and I will support the gentlelady from California's motion to approve it. I appreciate the fact that we are able to consider the item at this time.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.