Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, our Nation is at war. Thousands of the fighting men and women of our Armed Forces are serving on the battlefields of Iraq, defending freedom, liberating the Iraqi people, and making our world a safer place to live. Today I rise to recognize and commend all of these courageous service personnel, but wish to pay particular tribute to the brave soldiers serving in the 319th Transportation Company. The 319th, part of the larger 375th Transportation Group out of Mobile, Alabama, is an Army Reserve unit based in my hometown of Augusta, Georgia.

The 319th has a proud history. During the Vietnam War, the 319th Transportation Company logged over a million miles, delivered over 92,000 tons to the battlefield, and was ambushed by the enemy on seven separate occasions.

Today, for the Reservists serving in the 319th, the voyage from Wrightsboro Road Reserve Center in Augusta to the war zone of Iraq began this past January with a short trip to nearby Ft. Stewart for specialized training. Then in mid-February, the 319th Transportation Company, along with the unit commander, Captain Mohandas Martin, deployed to northern Kuwait where they received their assignment, to support the more than 50,000 Marines in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

When Saddam Hussein thumbed his nose for the last time and the war began in Iraq roughly 3 weeks ago now, the 319th began the next phase of their voyage, going into the deserts of Iraq, delivering by truck the critically important fuel to the Marines advancing to Baghdad and Saddam Hussein's final day of reckoning.

Their mission is an unheralded one; but as we have all realized on the round-the-clock cable news broadcasts, it is the success of the supply units traveling the roads of Iraq, like the 319th, that have been vital in the early success of our coalition forces and will ensure our ultimate victory.

As I said, Mr. Speaker, theirs is an unheralded mission, but also one that puts the members of the 319th at great risk and peril. In their first week operating in Iraq, the 319th headed out from their base of Camp Viper in Iraq for a multiday mission to deliver fuel near the front lines. According to the reports, while on their journey, vehicles of the company came under heavy enemy fire more than once in their ambush attempts. Thanks in large part to the efforts of the Marines, the 319th continues to supply, the attacks were thwarted, and all members of the 319th Transportation Company returned safely to regroup and prepare for the next mission and the next journey to the front lines of war.

Mr. Speaker, to the people of the Ninth Congressional District of Georgia, my constituents, the soldiers of the 319th Transportation Company represent different things: a good neighbor who lives down the street, a close relative or spouse that is sorely missed at home, or even a mother or father to a child that misses a parent and needs them back. It is true the soldiers of the 319th Transportation Company are all different, but they are all the same in one simple and very important way, they are all heroes.

Because of them, these same Marines moved closer to finally ending Saddam Hussein's horrific reign of terror and ability to aid and assist terrorists around the globe. Because of them and others serving in the war today, loyalty, duty, honor, and personal courage are not words relegated to the history books, but instead living and shining examples for all of us on the battlefields of Iraq.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, it is because of them that the battle cry in our Nation's war against terrorism is particularly meaningful today in the deserts of Iraq. So finally I say to the 319th, keep up the good work and ``Let's roll.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with the support of several of my colleagues on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee to introduce legislation designed to correct matters of fundamental unfairness in the area of workplace safety and health. Our goal is to address situations where employers, and especially small employers, are being denied fundamental fairness and/or equitable results in their efforts to defend themselves against citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, for alleged violations with which, in good faith, they take genuine issue.

This matter of fundamental fairness is achieved through several key amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. This proposal targets only those situations when an employer must defend against heavy-handed or arbitrary enforcement of health and safety laws. This measure is especially targeted to help small employers who do not have the means to defend themselves against the substantial resources and formidable power of the Federal Government.

With this in mind, Mr. Speaker, the amendments we propose are designed to level the playing field so that these employers are: (1) Not deprived of their day in court due to legal technicalities; (2) not forced into settlement when they believe OSHA is wrong, just because it is the most cost-effective option available; (3) aware of the legal standards under which they will be judged; and (4) extended legal consideration for their unique situations and good-faith efforts to comply with the law.

Each reform in this proposed legislation is designed to make what I believe is a narrow, precise, and sensible adjustment for an omission regrettably not caught by Congress at the time of original passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. In my mind, Mr. Speaker, all of the provisions in this legislation lend themselves to bipartisan support, and I ask each of my colleagues to support this proposal.

Mr. Speaker, Elsie P. Brown has had a remarkable career in public health and primary health care that spans over thirty years. Few Georgians have worked as diligently for so long to address the need for providing quality health care access to Georgia's underserved populations.

Elsie is soon retiring from her current role as the Director of Government Affairs and Membership Services, for the Georgia Association For Primary Health Care, Inc. During Elsie's tenure, she has provided critical leadership and unwavering commitment in bringing to the forefront at the state and national levels the need to improve access to primary care. While Elsie can give you the facts, it has been her ability to work with everyone, from patients to Governors, from physicians to Congressmen that has made her a unique force in this movement. It is largely through her single-minded effort that the state of Georgia has made its very first state appropriation for Federally Qualified Health Centers in Georgia from its portion of the tobacco settlement.

There is no one who has served in Congress from Georgia over the last thirty years who has not had Elsie and her ``troops'' make the case increased emphasis on access to care for everyone with vigor and persistence. Yet, Elsie has always seemed like a friend rather than an advocate. She understands the workings of government as well as she understands the delivery of primary care. Her work has contributed directly to the creation of Community Health Centers in 37 Georgia counties. This has resulted in access for over 100,000 quality primary care visits for the poor and underserved.

Elsie's retirement will leave a void in the Health center community, but the legacy she leaves as a result of her thirty year commitment to making Georgia a better and healthier state will stand as an example to all who follow her.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday over the northern Iraq city of Bashur, in the deepest, darkest time of the night, the unmistakable and ominous rumblings of C-17 transport planes could be heard overhead. They came in low, delivering roughly 1,000 paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, known affectionately as Sky Soldiers.

They were there to support the U.S.-led coalition of nations to liberate the Iraqi people and end Saddam Hussein's reign of terror.

Their immediate mission was to secure a snow-covered airfield near Bashur that could be used to bring in additional support and supplies. Within hours of their successful landing in the still of the night, by the way, one of the largest of its kind since World War II, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the Sky Soldiers, under the command of Colonel William Mayfield, had accomplished their mission.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of all of our men and women fighting for freedom around the clock today in Iraq, but there is no question I do feel a special kinship and bond with the Sky Soldiers and a keen sense of pride in their contributions during this ongoing military campaign. I feel this way, Mr. Speaker, because I too served with the 173rd Brigade during the Vietnam War.

Since it was originally constituted in 1917 as an infantry brigade and an element of the 87th Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade has compiled a proud history of wartime accomplishment and distinction. During World War II, the Headquarters Company of the 173rd Infantry Brigade fought in three European campaigns as the 87th Reconnaissance Troop. The troop reverted to Reserve status after war, but in 1963 it was allotted to the Army and activated on Okinawa as the 173rd Airborne Brigade under the command of Brigadier General Ellis Williamson. While training extensively to make mass parachute jumps, the brigade earned the nickname of Sky Soldiers. The brigade was deployed to Vietnam in 1965 and became the first major ground combat unit of the U.S. Army to serve there. At its height in Vietnam, the 173rd had roughly 3,000 soldiers assigned.

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, the 173rd has a proud and distinguished wartime record. During its more than 6 years of continuous combat in Vietnam, the brigade earned 14 campaign streamers and four unit citations. At the same time, individual Sky Soldiers received 13 Medals of Honor, 32 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1,736 Silver Stars and over 6,000 Purple Hearts. Here in Washington on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, there are over 1,790 Sky Soldier names listed, a lasting reminder of the contribution made to our Nation by the 173rd during the Vietnam War. Today, the 173rd Airborne Brigade is based in Italy where it serves as the European Command's only conventional airborne strategic response force for the European theater.

Mr. Speaker, the 173rd was heard from last night and, make no mistake about it, they will be heard from again. With the U.S. Army's Sky Soldiers on the ground and on the job in northern Iraq, our military campaign to end Saddam Hussein's torturous regime is one step closer to victory. Finally, Mr. Speaker, until that victory is securely in hand and this campaign has ended, let us keep the Sky Soldiers and all of our brave military men and women defending freedom in our thoughts and prayers. All the way to the Herd and God bless.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.