Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 53 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Monday, September 22, 2008, at 10:30 a.m., for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, the crisis on Wall Street impacts Americans across the country. In the coming days, House Democrats will continue our efforts to revive the economy and end the free for all on Wall Street and restore confidence on Main Street.

Democrats have restored the kind of oversight that was missing under President Bush and the Republican Congress. The GOP decision to turn a blind eye to financial markets helped pave the way for the financial crisis that has brought down home values across the country and has significantly weakened our economy. Democrats have and will continue to do things differently.

This month, Democrats will work to enact a second economic recovery package that will help Americans who have lost their jobs or who are barely making ends meet, and they will create good-paying jobs. That's what we need in our flood-ravaged communities in Iowa.

Mr. Speaker, these Bush-McCain economic policies have put America in an economic hole. This month, Republicans will again have a clear choice. Stand with the Bush-McCain plan for more of the same or take action to aid families who are struggling.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to remember that, in a time of widespread national disasters, it is important to remember those disasters that have already occurred this year and not forget the impact that they have had on people back in the great State of Iowa, which I am proud to represent in this body.

For most of us, May 25th was the day before Memorial Day. It was the day of my son's high school open house from his graduation, and our biggest concern that day was how much rain we were going to get. But shortly after all of our guests left, I started following a news story that would have profound implications for me and the people I represent back in Iowa's First District.

This wall cloud that is visible on the easel to my right was a wall cloud that brought a devastating EF-5 tornado to the citizens of Parkersburg, New Hartford, Dunkerton and Hazleton, killing eight people, causing widespread destruction in those communities and serious flooding in other parts of my district. And that was what transformed the summer of 2008 for many Iowans.

This wall cloud contained this powerful tornado and went right by one of my constituents' farms, that was Senator Charles Grassley, who lives near New Hartford, Iowa. The effects of this powerful tornado can be seen in this photograph, this overhead shot of Parkersburg, Iowa, where nearly one-third of homes and businesses in the south side of Parkersburg were destroyed.

You can see here where the high school was destroyed. The folks in Parkersburg are very proud of the fact that four of the graduates of their high school, Aplington-Parkersburg, currently are starters in the National Football League, an extraordinary accomplishment for a town of less than 2,000 people. The widespread devastation as this EF-5 tornado went through Parkersburg will be felt for many years to come and illustrate the need for Federal emergency disaster assistance in times when people are at their most vulnerable.

To give you a better view of how individuals were impacted, this photograph shows the widespread destruction that leveled, literally, every home, office, business and building in the swath of the tornado pass through. You can see that the trees are completely denuded of any vegetation. Here you see people that are working hard to clean up an area where one of the homes was destroyed near where two people were killed.

I was very proud that when this disaster struck, my staff did a fantastic job of responding to the needs of every community wherever we could. This photograph shows me with my chain saw in front of one of the homes that was completely destroyed shortly after the tornado struck.

This is the basement of the home that I was working on and a family whose entire home contents were completely destroyed by the tornado. I kept holding up things that I found in their basement and asking them if they wanted to save it, and they said, well, that's not ours. This is common.

There were things that were found, that were taken out of Parkersburg during this tornado, in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, over 100 miles away.

On the front edge of the tornado, the town of Lamont had 8 inches of rain in a 24-hour period that flooded the community and caused widespread destruction to their infrastructure, including this bridge, all within the week of Memorial Day.

Then, as if that weren't enough, the week after Memorial Day, the town of New Hartford, which had been hit by this EF-5 tornado, was completely overwhelmed by flooding from Beaver Creek. The tragedy of these storms is that, as you can see in the background of downtown New Hartford, the hardware store has left town. The only convenience store, the Kwik Star, has left town and is no longer in business. The places where people went to get their basic necessities are being driven out by the implications of these storms.

The town of Elkader, Iowa, up in Clayton County, which is one of the most scenic parts of my district, had a flood predicted at 20 feet for a 12-foot flood stage. The river crested at 31 feet and overwhelmed the community, destroyed the grocery store, flooded businesses and caused widespread destruction to homes in Elkader.

Waverly, Iowa, in Bremer County, also suffered widespread damage due to the flooding. The same types of destruction can be seen in their downtown streets, which has enormous implications for infrastructure. Cedar Falls' utilities, completely overwhelmed by the flooding, and a railroad bridge in downtown Waterloo, where I live, will need to be replaced and has an enormous impact on the commerce at John Deere's Waterloo works.

The disaster response that this Congress made was immediate and swift, $2.65 billion, but much more is needed to address the needs in the First District and the Second District and other parts of Iowa. It's time for Congress to act and pass a supplemental disaster assistance bill for all of the midwestern flooding and tornado victims and also addresses serious problems from Hurricane Ike and Gustav in our gulf coast.

The response initially to this disaster from our Federal disaster agencies was very encouraging, but there has been a backlog in getting the funds that Congress has appropriated through the Federal agencies to the people in need in Iowa. The time to break that backlog is now.

We need to start freeing up the Community Development Block Grant money so that it can have an impact in these communities that I have been showing you here tonight. We need to free up other small business loans and other funding that should be getting to the people in need in Iowa, including the people of Cedar Rapids, who were devastated with the highest flood that they have ever seen and has 400 square blocks of downtown Cedar Rapids where homes and businesses were destroyed and need to be rebuilt.

That's why the crisis is now. The time to act is now. We need to take advantage of the widespread attention on people in need in this country and address their concerns.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank and congratulate Colonel Craig Cotter and the dedicated working men and women at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center located at the Rock Island Arsenal federal campus.

Since 1862 the Rock Island Arsenal has been providing the supplies and equipment American soldiers need to protect this country. Today the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC)--under the command of the Army Materiel Command--continues that proud tradition of meeting the needs of our Armed Forces.

JMTC's technological and manufacturing expertise has been essential to protecting our nation in the 21st Century. At no time was this fact more evident than when insurgents in Iraq began using improvised explosive devices to attack Humvees and other military vehicles. The Army needed an immediate solution and JMTC was the only manufacturing center ready and able to provide it. JMTC used their rapid-response design and manufacturing capacity to produce dozens of ``up-armor kits'' before final engineering was even complete. In a matter of days the first armor kits were designed, produced, and on their way to Iraq. To date, JMTC has produced thousands of armor kits and is poised to expand their armaments development into new titanium and lightweight composite materials.

JMTC is truly a center of industrial and technological excellence. In 2006 and 2007 they earned the Shingo Prize Public Sector Gold Medallion for the Forward Repair System, making JMTC the Army's only two time winner of this prestigious award. JMTC has also met high work standards with the M119 Towed Howitzer, gunner protection armor kit, shop equipment contact maintenance vehicle, and small arms parts program.

Madam Speaker, the women and men at JMTC are indispensable to our long-term national security. This facility is poised to develop the materials and technologies we will need to protect the United States for decades to come.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Scott and the chairman of the committee, as well as Ranking Member Smith and my friend from California, for their support for this important bill.

I rise today because preventing torture of U.S. prisoners of war and citizens should be our highest priority as a Nation. This bill, H.R. 5167, is a bipartisan compromise that will finally, after 17 long years, provide justice for American POWs and civilian hostages who were tortured and terrorized by Saddam Hussein's regime.

And to put a human face on this, Mr. Speaker, these are some of the faces of tortured POWs that this bill is designed to address.

My friend Cliff Acree, a colonel in the United States Marine Corps, aviation, and Commander Jeffrey Zaun from the United States Navy were visible faces of the Gulf War invasion and what was happening to our troops in Iraq.

This photograph shows what happens when we put our young men and women in harm's way and subject them to brutal regimes like what we found when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and the country of Iraq was labeled as a State sponsor of terrorism which is a necessary predicate to this claim in first place.

Immediately after these captured POWs started showing up on television, this Congress, including the House of Representatives which was under Republican control at that time, passed multiple resolutions condemning the brutal treatment of our prisoners of war, demanding that Iraq abide by the Third Geneva Convention concerning POWs and stated Congress' intention to hold Iraq accountable for tortured POWs.

Why is that important? Because the United States, along with Iraq, are part of the signatory nations to the Third Geneva Convention, and one of the most important articles for the purpose of this bill was article 131, which says no country--and this would include Iraq--shall be allowed to absolve itself or any other country of any liability related to the prohibited treatment of prisoners of war.

It wasn't just our POWs, though. There were civilian hostages taken by the Saddam Hussein regime, including famous CBS news reporter Bob Simon and his cameraman Roberto Alvarez who were kidnapped while on assignment in the Gulf War and were being held and tortured along with the POWs.

There were also numerous civilians who were captured by Saddam Hussein in Kuwait, including children, and were kept and held as human shields and subject to abusive treatment and torture along with our U.S. military forces. That is one of the reasons why this bill came about in the first place.

When these tortured POWs came home--and just so that we can put this into context, these POWs were subjected to cruel physical and mental torture. They were beaten, they were starved, they were hooked to electronic devices and shocked, and subjected to other horrendous acts.

Cliff Acree, the person whose picture is on this chart, had his nose broken on multiple occasions and his skull fractured in addition to being subjected to multiple other forms of abuse.

When these POWs came home, their Secretary of Defense, who was at that time Dick Cheney, said your country is opening its arms to greet you.

And this body, Congress, acted promptly to address these crimes that were committed in violation of international law by passing amendments to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and, in 1996, provided that Americans tortured and terrorized in Iraq could seek compensation for their injuries from those terrorist countries, including Iraq.

Now, these Gulf War POWs have been through hell, and they waited a long

time for their opportunity to get justice. So in 2003, after the Government of Iraq repeatedly refused to negotiate these claims with them and refused to accept service, a judge awarded these 17 POWs a judgment for damages and stated in his ruling that deterring the torture of POWs should be of the highest priority of this government.

But shortly after that award was entered, this administration, which at that time was engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom, decided that, even though one group of human shield plaintiffs had been compensated by the Government of Iraq, that they were going to seize the assets that were held in U.S. banks that could have been used to satisfy the payment to these tortured American POWs and instead applied them to the reconstruction of Iraq. And Scott McClellan, who was a White House spokesman, on November 6 said, ``The United States condemns, in the strongest terms, the brutal torture to which these Americans were subjected. However, no amount of money can truly compensate these brave men and women for the suffering they went through at the hands of Saddam Hussein's brutal regime, so that's why we're going to extinguish their claims.''

There is a problem, and this problem was mentioned by my friend Mr. Scott, and also by Mr. Issa; that is, that this argument is hollow when you look at what our government has done to help Iraq resolve $20 billion of commercial debt that are outstanding to companies like Mitsubishi of Japan and Hyundai of Korea. And if you look at the fact that in this fiscal year the Government of Iraq will probably generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 billion in oil revenues, this small liability to these tortured American citizens clearly should be a higher priority than settling the commercial debts of Japanese and Korean corporations.

That's why the Justice for Victims of Torture and Terrorism Act requires the Government of Iraq to resolve the claims of American victims who are willing to give up all of their punitive damage award that they've already been awarded by the court and two-thirds of their compensatory damages to try to get this matter resolved and allow Iraq to move forward as a nation that belongs to the international community. And the waiver is only eliminated if Iraq does not pay the victims within the time period allotted. And this time period has been part of the Defense Authorization bill since the President's veto last December and since we came back with a new Defense Authorization bill that passed in early January.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, why does this matter? It matters because preventing the torture of current U.S. citizens and troops should be one of our highest priorities in this body.

Upholding our international treaty obligations not to absolve sponsors of terrorism and deterring other countries from engaging in the same type of state-sponsored terrorism that Iraq engaged in should be the message that this legislation sends.

This is a bipartisan agreement. We want to work with the administration to see that these deserving heroes finally get the justice they deserve after 17 years.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall 567; S. 2403, I was not present. If I had been there, I would have voted ``yea.''

On rollcall 568, S. 2837, I was not present. If I had been there, I would have voted ``yea.''

On rollcall 569, S. 2135, I was not present. If I had been there, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my friend Linda Nelson on her retirement as President of the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA). Linda was elected President of the ISEA by nearly all of the 500 delegates at their annual meeting in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006. During her 4 year tenure as President Linda proved to be a strong and effective leader for the 34,000 members of the ISEA.

Linda has been active in the ISEA throughout her teaching career. At the local association level, Linda took on many leadership roles including president, executive board member, Governmental Affairs Committee chair, and building representative. Linda's passion for teaching and politics lead her to become involved in ISEA's Political Action Committee were she served in several different positions. In 1992, Linda was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives where she spent four years fighting for teachers all across Iowa. Most importantly, Linda has dedicated her life to being an educator and has been a good friend and mentor to her fellow ISEA members, teaching colleagues and her students.

I'm happy to report that this fall Linda will be returning to her teaching duties at Carter Lake Elementary School in Council Bluffs. Linda taught 4th grade at Carter Lake for 31 years before being elected ISEA President. I congratulate her on all of her success and wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, last Friday, July 25, marked the 13th anniversary of the 1995 fall of Zepa, a United Nations-declared ``safe haven'' in eastern Bosnia, to the Army of Republika Srpska. I rise to commemorate the fall of Zepa today on behalf of the thousands of Bosnian Americans who live in my District, the First District of Iowa. -

Zepa was a village in eastern Bosnia declared a ``safe haven'' in a May 1993 U.N. Security Council Resolution. This declaration was supposed to guarantee the safety of its population, but the siege of Zepa began in the summer of 1992 and lasted until the fall of the enclave in July 1995. Throughout this period, the population suffered from continuous shelling and starvation, and many Zepa residents and refugees from surrounding areas perished

during the siege. After the fall of Zepa, an unknown number of Bosniak males were taken away never to be seen again, including the commander of the defense of Zepa, Avdo Palic. Thousands of others were victims of ``ethnic cleansing.''

This 13th anniversary took place during the same week as the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, indicted on charges of genocide and other crimes by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. I believe that at this time it's very important to remember the tragedy that befell Zepa, and the lives that were lost there. It's also important that we support the efforts of the families of the missing to learn the fate of their loved ones, and the families of those missing and killed in their search for justice. It is only with truth, justice, reconciliation, and democratic governance that a stable and prosperous Bosnia can be built.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank and congratulate my friend and mentor, Iowa State Senator Mike Connolly. Mike has represented the City of Dubuque and Dubuque County in the Iowa General Assembly for the past 30 years. He has also served for 30 years in the Dubuque community schools as a teacher and as an administrator.

When Mike was getting started in the General Assembly, Iowa was facing tough economic times. The farm crisis was challenging the entire State, especially Dubuque, but Mike believed we could rebuild. He is an integral part of the leadership team that has guided the economic and cultural rebirth of Dubuque and Iowa. He has worked tirelessly to make Iowa schools among the best in the Nation, to make health care affordable and accessible, and create sustainable and good-paying jobs.

Madam Speaker, integrity and humility are two trades we could use a lot more of in American politics. Mike Connolly has always served with integrity and humility. He has sacrificed to make his community a better place

and kept his actions consistent with his principles.

Senator Connolly, on behalf of all Iowans, I congratulate you on your legacy of service and wish you well in the future.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 526, I did not record my vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

personal explanation

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mike McRoberts on his retirement after 36 years of working for John Deere and 8 years serving as Shop Chairman. Mike McRoberts served as a Union Steward from 1979 until 1990 when he became a Committee Man. After ten years in that position he became Shop Chairman and has been serving in that position up to the present day.

Mike has been a strong advocate for the 3,000 members of Local 838, the largest local within John Deere. Mike has been at the table for all bargaining meetings between John Deere and UAW since 1991, and has overseen all contracts since that time. Mike was also very instrumental in the UAW/John Deere apprenticeship programs and skilled tradesman programs. Most importantly, Mike was a great friend and mentor to all of the workers at John Deere and taught young people how to be good officers for the local and good committeemen. I know that Mike will be greatly missed by his colleagues at John Deere and the union. I wish him the best in his retirement and future endeavors, and thank him for his many years of service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my friend, Jerry Northey, on his retirement after 12 years as president of UAW Local 838, and after 36 years of working at John Deere in Waterloo. Jerry has served four terms as president of the local 838 in my hometown, making him the longest-serving president in the local's history. In fact, he served as president more than twice as long as any of his predecessors.

As president of Local 838, with over 3,000 members, the largest union local in Iowa, Jerry has been a strong and effective advocate for workers. Under his leadership, the local has seen a net gain of more than 500 jobs over the life of the current contract. Thanks to Jerry's leadership, the union and John Deere have successfully settled every collective bargaining agreement since 1987.

Jerry has also led corporate ventures between John Deere and the UAW, including recently coming together to raise an impressive $1 million for the Cedar Valley United Way campaign.

I know that Jerry will be greatly missed at the local hall and at John Deere, and I would like to thank him for his tremendous service, congratulate him on his many accomplishments, and wish him the best of luck in his retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my friend, Tom Powers, on his retirement as lieutenant with the Waterloo Fire Department. Tom will be retiring after 28 years of service to the city of Waterloo.

Tom became a Waterloo fire rescue firefighter on November 5, 1979, after serving honorably in the United States Navy, specializing in hydraulic systems on fighter aircraft. Tom was promoted to lieutenant with the Waterloo Fire Department on April 3, 1989. He was a certified EMT and hazmat team member, and received the Mayor's Volunteer Award. He was also selected as the department's Firefighter of the Year in 1986.

Our firefighters represent the very best of our communities, and Tom is no exception. He has worked tirelessly for the safety of our residents, and we honor his bravery here today. Due to his unwavering dedication, he has served, he has helped, he has saved, and he has protected.

I am proud to represent Tom and the city of Waterloo in Congress, and I wish him the best in all of his future endeavors, and ask you to join me today in honoring one of our hometown heroes.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6381, the Medical Device Safety Act of 2008. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation, which will address the Supreme Court's flawed decision in Riegel v. Medtronic that completely ignored Congressional intent regarding the ability of injured patients to hold medical device manufacturers accountable for their injuries. This bill will restore Congress's original intent to allow injured patients to seek recourse for their injuries suffered at the hands of negligent device manufacturers.

American patients need the Medical Device Safety Act of 2008 to ensure that they have the ability to hold negligent device manufacturers accountable for injuries caused by unsafe products. It also would prevent these manufacturers from receiving total immunity from any claims simply by virtue of receiving a Food and Drug Administration device approval.

It is important for Congress to quickly make its intent clear, as the Supreme Court will likely take up a parallel issue this fall regarding accountability for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Earlier this year, I was proud to participate in a hearing in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform which looked deeper into this issue. Witness testimony made it clear that when we allow the FDA to have the final say on device safety, patient safety is compromised. Strong State laws are critical to maintaining accountability for device manufacturers, and allowing the FDA to pre-empt these State laws is a surefire way to lead to negligence and the production of unsafe products.

The civil justice system and the Federal regulatory system were always meant to complement each other. Both are necessary to adequately protect Americans. The FDA simply cannot do it alone. The agency is understaffed and underfunded, and I support additional funding to help this critical agency. However, allowing the buck to stop solely with the FDA on issues of life and death is simply contradictory to our system of checks and balances. This is just one more reason that it is

vital that Congress pass the Medical Device Safety Act of 2008 to restore the balance between the civil justice system and the Federal regulatory system that Congress intended when it passed the Medical Device Amendments of 1976.

Mr. Speaker, the two men most responsible for our record prices at the pump today are President Bush and Vice President Cheney. They came to the White House from the executive suites of Big Oil, and their energy policies continue to mirror Big Oil's agenda.

President Bush has, once again, called for drilling in ANWR even though his own Energy Department has said that opening up the Arctic would only save pennies per gallon 10 years from now. Now the President has suggested opening up the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling even though 80 percent of the oil available there is already open to leasing.

Why would we give Big Oil access to more of our land and waters if they refuse to drill on the 68 million acres they have now? If President Bush believes that drilling is the answer, why isn't he demanding that Big Oil use the land they already have?

Mr. Speaker, Republicans have repeated the same domestic drilling rhetoric for years. Tomorrow they have the chance to act on that rhetoric and to tell Big Oil to either use it or lose it by joining us in passing the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008.