Floor Statements

I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule. Last night, I offered an amendment before the Rules Committee that would have added $1.2 billion to this bill for VA health care and $100 million for reintegration services for National Guard members being released from active duty. Unfortunately, my amendment was not ruled in order.

America is currently asking more of its all-volunteer military force than it ever has before. Yet even as America prepares to continue its large and prolonged military campaign in Iraq, it has done very little to provide for the veterans of this war. Our obligation to support our troops does not end when they leave Iraq. But how are we supposed to provide adequate health care to these new veterans when we cannot even meet the needs of our current veterans?

Last year's budget was $1.3 billion short of the amount that VA Secretary Principi, as well as the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, stated is needed just to maintain the current level of veterans' health care services.

We also need to make sure that our returning soldiers have the readjustment assistance they need, particularly for members of the Guard and Reserve. Members of the National Guard returning home face immense challenges in transitioning out of active duty deployments and back to civilian life. They do not go home to a base. They go home. They are scattered throughout the State. While the State Guard offices are working to provide these returning soldiers with important information regarding their health care, employment assistance, and other transitional services, they do not have the resources needed to complete the education and counseling necessary for a smooth transition back to civilian life. Our returning soldiers deserve better.

I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can consider this important amendment and keep our promises to our Nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, as soldiers returned home after defeating the tyrannical and oppressive Axis Powers in World War II, the Oregon State Legislature responded to a citizen mandate in creating a new agency to oversee services to veterans, their dependents and survivors. This agency was charged with the sacred duty of caring for Oregon's sons and daughters, husbands and wives, who made the ultimate sacrifice in risking--and sometimes forfeiting--their lives for the cause of freedom.

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs creation. During that time, the ODVA has assisted Oregon's veterans and their loved ones in obtaining education, securing both service-connected and non-service related disability and survivor benefits, providing home loans with favorable interest rates, enabling appropriate medical care, and generally improving the quality of life for Oregon's veterans.

I rise today to thank the ODVA and its employees for the important service they provide to our state. I am heartened by the ODVA's sixty year record of accomplishment and I look forward to many more years of service to Oregon and its community of veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the City of Toledo's 100th birthday. For a century this Oregon town has stood on the shores of Yaquina Bay at the foot of Oregon's Coast Range.

From the beginning Toledo grew and prospered because of the area's abundant natural resources, and timber has long provided the economic base for the community. In its early days, many small sawmills processed the surrounding lumber while the closely located waterways provided easy transport. World War I brought the U.S. Army Signal Corps to Toledo to build a large sawmill and logging railroads into the woods, providing the small town the infrastructure to harvest the nearby stands of spruce and fir. Today, Georgia-Pacific's factory in Toledo remains one of the largest employers in Lincoln County, and Plum Creek Timber continues to manage timberlands in the Coast Range to ensure that timber will remain an abundant resource in Toledo's future.

Toledo has seen a lot in its 100 years. It has faced many changes, yet throughout it all, it is still thriving, ready to face another century. So, Mr. Speaker, I stand before you on this 17th day of February, 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Toledo and convey my warmest regards to its residents.

Mr. Speaker, today we honor the life, passion, and patriotism of Nainoa K. Hoe, First Lieutenant, United States Army, a fallen American hero.

Although I have shared the stories of selflessness and sacrifice of our fallen soldiers before, this time is different.

First Lieutenant Hoe never lived in the Congressional District I represent. Truth be told, he never lived in Oregon. But his wife Emily, her family, and their friends were hopeful about the day he might.

His widow is a senior at Western Oregon University; she is proud of him and his contribution. Her greatest concern has been for her husband's men, his family, and the friends in their life.

It seems that bravery, commitment to service, and honor were personality traits shared by husband and wife. The young Hoe family will not get the years they deserved, but they are an example of love that we should all strive to emulate.

Just days ago, First Lieutenant Hoe was killed while leading his platoon on a foot patrol in Mosul. With him, the dreams of a radiant young couple with so much to offer--so many things to live and do--were buried in the sand of a country in transition.

Sadly, First Lieutenant Hoe was almost home. His rotation nearly completed, he was scheduled to return to the Pacific Northwest on February 6, 2005.

Though proud of his contribution to the long-term stability of Iraq and its people, he was an excited newlywed, looking forward to building a family, winning a position at the FBI, and enjoying the freedoms he had worked so hard to protect.

For Nainoa, courage was a family value. He believed that military service was an expected privilege; a duty that he proudly discharged. He reveled in his role as a commander of a combat platoon--a duty similar to the kind his father Allen Hoe completed during his time in Vietnam.

First Lieutenant Hoe believed there was nothing more important--no duty more sacred--than defending the ideals of this Nation, of fighting for a cause greater than him.

He believed these things knowing full well it meant risking his life, liberty, and his own happiness.

I believe we live in a smaller world these days. It grows smaller with each tragedy such as this. Every life matters--especially when it holds such promise.

Oregonians today are feeling the loss. Let us commit ourselves, here--in this chamber--to work even harder and do our part to make sound decisions about matters of peace and war; to be worthy of the trust Nainoa K. Hoe placed in our hands.

Let us pledge ourselves to being worthy of the sacrifice Nainoa freely offered; we owe him, and those that will follow, nothing less.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to introduce Pastor Stan Peterson this morning. Stan is a senior pastor at Monmouth Christian Church, as well as the lead chaplain for the Polk County Police and Fire Chaplaincy Team. His family has deep roots in Polk County, which is part of Oregon's Fifth Congressional District.

Stan Peterson has come to Washington, DC to visit our troops at Walter Reed, Bethesda, and the VA hospitals. I am hoping that later today and tomorrow he can deliver the letters, quilts, cookies, and holiday spirit to the young men and women who have given so much for this Nation.

On behalf of Polk County Emergency Services and the people of the community, Stan has come to Washington, DC, to share a message of good will and support. I am so delighted that he has made the trip and grateful that he has been able to give the invocation on this historic day, Pearl Harbor Day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Yuliya Kostromitina, a student from McKay High School in Salem, Oregon. Yuliya, the daughter of immigrants from Russia, was selected as a delegate to the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships 2004 Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, DC. As a result of the leadership demonstrated by Ms. Kostromitina, she was chosen as one of just four students nationwide, and one of forty internationally, to attend the 7th International Partnership Network Conference in London, England.

Yuliya's achievement is proof that the GEAR UP program, or Gaining Early Awareness and Preparedness for Undergraduate Programs, in which she participates at McKay High, can help build great students. GEAR UP provides five-year grants to states and partnerships to provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools. GEAR UP programs serve an entire group of students beginning in middle school and continuing through high school. Within each school GEAR UP funds are used to provide meaningful academic enrichment activities that result in systemic school improvement and increased student achievement that will prepare students to go to college. GEAR UP funds are also used to provide college scholarships to low-income students. With its emphasis on school improvement, GEAR UP dovetails well with the high standards set by No Child Left Behind and gives schools the resources needed to meet NCLB standards. This outstanding program helps at-risk students succeed in school and prepares them to attend college, an option many of them had previously considered out of reach. GEAR UP helps students from low-income backgrounds realize that they too can succeed in college and shows them the path to a better future.

As Congress considers reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, I hope my colleagues will recognize the value of the GEAR UP program and continue to provide resources that will help students like Yuliya reach their potential.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Roberto Franco, who is stepping down as director of the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, FHDC, after years of effective service to Oregon's farmworker community.

FHDC is a non-profit community-based organization that was founded in 1990 to help serve farm workers in Oregon's Mid-Willamette Valley by developing affordable housing for workers and their families. Despite many hurdles, under Mr. Franco's leadership at FHDC has been very successful in achieving its mission and now provides housing for over 100 families. The group's major complex, Nuevo Amenecer or ``New Dawn,'' gives 93 families who otherwise might not have acceptable living quarters an opportunity to live in clean, decent, and dignified housing.

But FHDC has done more than put a roof over the head of those it serves. Mr. Franco led a successful effort to create the Cipriano Ferrel Education Center, a multipurpose community facility that serves the needs of Nuevo Amenecer residents and others in the community. With the opening of the center last year, FHDC has begun offering opportunities for self-enhancement to those who wish to get ahead. Earlier this year I visited Cipriano Ferrel to address a group working to improve financial literacy and homeownership opportunities for Oregon's Latino community.

Cipriano Ferrel includes a Head Start program, child care, and a computer lab that provides opportunities for both young and old alike to learn technology skills that will help them get ahead. In addition, Cipriano Ferrel provides adult educational programs, including literacy and language classes, homeownership education, preparation for becoming a U.S. citizen, and a microenterprise program that helps people start their own businesses. A recently announced grant by Microsoft to upgrade the computer lab will provide software and help fund an instructor, thus offering even more opportunities for Nuevo Amenecer residents and members of the community.

I want to thank Roberto Franco and the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation for their work in offering low-income farm workers additional opportunities. Thanks to you, hundreds of families truly have experienced a New Dawn.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize and remember the life of a local hero: Tom Kistler.

Although it has been over a year, it is still hard for those affected by this humble, quiet man to believe he's gone. The residents of Polk County, Oregon, know their neighbors--and they look up to the firefighters who serve them.

Killed on his way to drill on March 29, 2003, Tom Kistler died in the same way he lived--in the service of others.

Captain Kistler was a volunteer firefighter for twenty-five years. He was proud of his time with the Independence (Oregon) Fire Department and Polk County Fire District #1.

It was Tom that led the effort in fielding a water rescue/recovery team; it was Tom that brought his peers together to raise funds for the annual Firefighter's Christmas program for the local children; and it was Tom that was always ``there'' keeping his community safe.

As if his service in the fire department wasn't enough--and it would have been--Tom was also a thirty-year veteran of the Oregon National Guard.

For Tom Kistler, being a citizen meant action. It meant doing things. Citizenship was a verb.

This week, brothers and sisters in service will remember his life and his sacrifice during a special ceremony at the National Fire Academy.

Today, let us take a moment and reflect upon Tom Kistler and many like him that serve our communities and our Nation, the folks that make the personal sacrifices every day, not because they have to but because they choose to. They are the volunteers that make our Nation strong, the people that make our communities special.

America is still the land of the free and the home of the brave--Tom Kistler helped make it so.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege today to honor an outstanding educator from my district who was recently selected as Oregon's State Teacher of the Year by Phi Delta Kappa International.

Meg Greiner is a physical education teacher at Independence Elementary School in Independence, Oregon. Ms. Greiner has been a pioneer in innovative physical education programs that get students interested in physical activity by making them fun. Every morning, all students and staff members at Independence Elementary go to the gym to participate in Together Everyone Achieves More Time, or TEAM. Greiner leads a variety of movement exercises and dances that feature team- building activities and music. Through these daily sessions that involve exciting and novel activities, students have learned more than 50 dances and five sign language songs.

Greiner's innovative approach during TEAM Time as well as during regular PE classes creates an inviting environment in which students feel safe enough to participate and take risks, which fosters interest in a lifetime of physical activity. But these classes do much more than teaching children about being physically active. In addition to learning new physical skills and activities, students learn positive behavior and character traits such as teamwork, responsibility, respect, and problem-solving.

Ms. Greiner's excellent work and the support she has received from school officials and the community has shown that physical education can be a vital part of the educational curriculum that helps students in their physical as well as their social, mental, and academic development. Schools across the country could benefit by modeling the approach Independence Elementary has implemented with Ms. Greiner's leadership. As a former teacher, I am excited to see Ms. Greiner receive the recognition she deserves.

Mr. Speaker, scripture tells us that for everything there is a season; there will be times of planting, times of harvest, times of peace, and even times of war. And yet, my heart is heavy when we bury our children. Staff Sergeant David Weisenberg and Specialist Benjamin Isenberg were killed in an ambush in Taji, Iraq yesterday. These two proud soldiers were patrolling the frontier of hope--ready, willing, and able to stand up for the freedoms of people they never really knew. These two men were Oregon's future. They were brave, idealistic, and passionate men--united in the belief that their individual sacrifice might hasten the day that all people could enjoy the sweet blessings of freedom and liberty.

In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln explained that there was nothing he could say that would matter as much as what the fallen had done-- that his words were spoken on hallowed ground, ground made sacred by the purity of self-sacrifice. Friends, colleagues, fellow Americans-- his truth endures today. Both men were dedicated professionals that came from families accustomed to public service, individual sacrifice. I am blessed by their example; I am proud, touched--forever changed by their humble act of courage.

Taji is not Sheridan, it is not Portland--the Iraqi civilians they gave their lifeblood for were not their neighbors, friends, or family. That didn't matter to them. It never does for heroes. The citizens of Taji were people in need, and that was good enough for David and Benjamin. These men did their duty because they believed in the spirit of America; they wore the uniform and accepted the risks because they knew that long journeys result from small steps. David and Benjamin were more than Oregon Patriots--though patriots they were. David and Benjamin were the face of the very essence of what it means to be American.

So today, I ask that we recommit ourselves to the ideals of our democracy; that we renew our personal investment in the America that David and Benjamin were willing to fight and ultimately die for. It is to them and those that follow that we owe our time, talent, and treasure. It is to them that we owe a solution that brings honor to their sacrifice.

Let us do these things and bring about the kind of society that David and Benjamin wouldn't just be willing to die for, but a community of liberty they would celebrate.

Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to the life of an Oregon Soldier, beloved patriot, and proud son. Private First Class Ken W. Leisten was recently

killed in Taji, Iraq--far away from friends, family, and the Willamette Valley that he loved so much.

Ken was the last of the Leisten men--the pride and joy of his grandma and a large extended family that lives from California to the Midwest. Private Leisten made his community stronger because of the choices he made, the way he lived his life.

Unlike many of his comrades, Private Leisten was a full-time guardsman. He was permanently assigned to the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry HQ, but he volunteered to serve in Iraq with the 2nd Battalion--so someone else wouldn't have to. Typical. This decision was the rule instead of the exception for this exceptional young man.

The lasting tragedy of his noble sacrifice is that Private Leisten was exactly the kind of American that we need more of, the type of soldier--the kind of citizen--that makes us all better people.

Sacrifice--the willful regard for others at his own expense--was Ken Leisten's life philosophy; it is his legacy. In actions large and small, Private Leisten took the time to care.

A soldier in a hostile land, Ken Leisten set about making a difference by reaching out. He shared his limited water with Iraqi children in the village where he served to establish and then keep peace.

Think about it; safe drinking water in a hot, unforgiving desert. Not many people would share their canteen, but Ken did. He consciously made the effort to share what little he had with those around him--because he knew their need was greater.

Part teacher, mentor, cheerleader, and coach--Ken spent his brief life assisting his fellow soldiers learn the art of war while helping them maintain balance: responsibilities as soldiers with their needs as parents, spouses, and workers.

One thousand Americans have perished since this administration committed our time, talent, and treasure to the liberation and reconstruction of Iraq. And unfortunately it is all too easy for the incredible life and terrible death of one citizen-soldier to get lost in the numbers.

I say this because despite the noise surrounding the war, a silent truth endures: there is no more sacred or loving gift than laying down your life for the protection of another. Private Ken Leisten gave us this gift.

Let us commit ourselves to ensuring Ken Leisten's example is our example; that his sacrifice--celebrated, applied--and never, ever forgotten.

Private Ken Leisten made a difference in the lives of Iraqi children he knew he would never see again--he laid down his life so that the People of Iraq might have a chance at self governance and peace.

We, in this Chamber and beyond these marble walls, are all accountable to the spirit of Ken Leisten. We must redouble our efforts, rekindle the flame of liberty, and renew our America to earn the freedom that Private Leisten gave his life for.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege today to recognize the Mt. Pleasant Community Church near Stayton, OR, a historic church that has served as a place of worship since its construction in 1854. As the oldest building west of the Rocky Mountains that has been continuously used as a church, Mt. Pleasant Community Church will celebrate its 150 years of history on Saturday.

The permanence of this church is remarkable considering the massive changes that have occurred in the surrounding world since it was built. When Mt. Pleasant Community Church was founded, Oregon was a sparsely populated territory that had not yet become a state; Abraham Lincoln was a former Member of Congress who had retired from politics to return to law; and the union had not yet been torn apart by the Civil War. Over the church's 150-year history, our country has seen amazing technological change, from the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the car and the airplane to the rise of information technology and the birth of the Internet. And the position the United States occupies in the world has changed as well: During this century and a half that Mt. Pleasant has stood in the Willamette Valley, empires have risen and fallen, and the United States has risen to a position of unparalleled power in the world.

Yet despite all these changes, Mt. Pleasant has remained, one small church serving the spiritual and social needs of the community. Even as members have come and gone, the church remains, both as a building and an institution, as a place of worship and fellowship, a vital part of the spiritual life of the community.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for accepting the amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. Chairman, just very briefly, this is so our Guard and Reserves can go back to the job they left when they went overseas. The men and women of our Armed Forces fought for their country. They should not have to fight for their jobs when they return home, and I thank them for accepting the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me this time.

I rise in support of the legislation before us today. I would like to give special thanks to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo) for working on this important legislation.

The legislation before us today is in response to FASB's proposed rules that would require the expensing of all stock options. First, let me quickly touch on the specific issue of accounting accuracy, which proponents of the FASB rule argue is a primary motivation. They claim that expensing options is right because in the accounting world, it is the accurate way to do things. Well, this is wrong in two ways.

First, it is impossible to accurately value the expense of stock options. That fact is indisputable.

Second, options are already reflected in the earnings per share calculation with before-and-after dilution. Requiring expensing options would be double-charging their issuance, once as an expense and the second time as a dilution.

In a broader sense and somewhat separate from the accounting issue is the larger problem with FASB's proposal, and that is why, by all appearances, they have given no consideration toward the economic consequences. Their proposal would seriously jeopardize the health of the American economy. The issuance of stock options has allowed small start-up companies to present the motivation, an essential tool for new recruits. These new employees are literally given a piece of the company, and consequently, they have a vested interest in the success of that company.

The stock options have helped new businesses. They have helped start- up companies. In fact, that is one of the ways that really makes those companies go.

People have accused supporters of this legislation as being in the pocket

of huge technology companies. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that when I talk to companies at home about stock options, it is the small companies, it is the start-up companies, it is the innovators that say we would be lost without this.

And it makes sense. Large companies already have the capital to recruit the best and the brightest, and they do not really need to offer stock options as an incentive, but the small companies, the new start-ups who are struggling to meet the day-to-day costs, they are the ones to rely on the prospect of future successes of the company. That is the heart of this debate.

Preserving stock options is preserving an optimism in the growth of our economy and our Nation. Stock options we know have increased productivity. We know they have increased innovativeness, and they were a large part of the emergence of the new economy in the 1990s. When we are striving to have an economic recovery, the last thing we need is a proposal to stifle the growth, productivity and the innovativeness that stock options have provided. This bill is a vehicle to protect the safety of the American economy, and it is vital that we support it today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Salem Art Association for its many years of success in promoting the arts in Oregon's mid-Willamette Valley.

This weekend, over 100,000 people from all over Oregon and around the country will congregate in Salem's historic Bush Pasture Park for the three days of art, food, and music that make up the Salem Art Fair.

For 85 years, the Salem Art Association has pursued its goal of strengthening and promoting art education, art enjoyment, and historic preservation in Oregon's capital city of Salem and surrounding communities. With a dedicated staff, hard-working volunteers, and a strong board providing leadership and support, the Salem Art Association has grown into one of the largest community arts organizations in the state, and the services they provide to the community are both impressive and important.

In addition to running an art gallery and museum, the organization operates the Visual ARTS Center, which offers arts education opportunities for all ages, including classes in ceramics, painting, drawing, mixed media, crafts and more. The Salem Art Association also provides an Arts in Education Program, giving hands-on art opportunities for children by bringing the arts to more than 10,000 students in local schools.

I have seen the fruits of arts education through my work with the Congressional Arts Competition, which I co-chaired last year. Just this week I had the pleasure of hosting Ashley Fanning of Dallas, Oregon at the Congressional Arts Competition at our nation's Capitol. Ashley, who benefitted from her high school's strong arts program, won the competition I held in my district earlier this year. Ashley's success reminds me that arts education is an integral part of celebrating the creative spirit of young adults and helping our children become productive citizens.

The Salem Art Association, its staff, volunteers, and board provides the public with an outstanding service. The collective talent, dedication, and hard work of this association has played a vital role in fostering vibrant, livable communities that celebrate art and creativity.