Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2739, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. This measure, recently approved by the Senate, includes a number of measures that earlier had been approved by the House of Representatives, including H.R. 2094, a bill that I sponsored with Representatives Jerry Moran, Todd Tiahrt, Nancy Boyda, Leonard Boswell, and Mac Thornberry. As an Executive Committee member of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, I know that this legislation is important to our continuing efforts to establish a National, permanent memorial to President Eisenhower. H.R. 2094 would make important amendments to the statute establishing the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, so that it can more effectively discharge its duties.

Congress created the Eisenhower Memorial Commission in 1999 and charged the Commission with establishing a National memorial to Dwight David Eisenhower to honor his memory and commemorate his contributions to the nation. The Commission is completely bipartisan, consisting of four Senators, four Representatives, and four private citizens. The Commission keeps an office in Washington, DC, with four full-time staff, including an Executive Director and Executive Architect.

Since determining a preferred site in June 2005, the Commission has worked tirelessly to speed the progress of the memorialization. In September 2006, only fifteen months later, the Commission received final site approval from the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. The National Eisenhower Memorial will be located across the street from the National Air and Space Museum at the intersection of Maryland and Independence Avenues, SW. The site is surrounded by institutions Ike either created or profoundly influenced, including the Department of Education.

The Commission is now engaged in Pre-Design Programming, a concerted effort to determine what the memorial should be. Eisenhower family members, Eisenhower contemporaries, historians, Kansans, and many others have been interviewed on their vision for the memorial. A voluntary online questionnaire is available to the public. Although there are many diverse opinions on Ike's greatest achievement and the appropriate focus for his memorial, all agree that Eisenhower is, as Michael Korda presents in his new biography, ``an American hero.''

I am particularly proud to claim one of the greatest 20th-century Americans as a fellow Kansan. He ranks as one of the preeminent figures in the global history of the 20th century. Dwight Eisenhower spent his entire life in public service. His most well-known contributions include serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II and as 34th President of the United States, but Eisenhower also served as the first commander of NATO and as President of Columbia University. Dramatic changes occurred in America during his lifetime, many of which he participated in and influenced through his extraordinary leadership as President. Although Ike grew up before automobiles existed, he created the Interstate Highway System and took America into space. He created NASA, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Federal Aviation Administration. He added Hawaii and Alaska to the United States and ended the Korean War. President Eisenhower desegregated the District of Columbia and sent federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school integration. He defused international crises and inaugurated the national security policies that guided the nation for the next three decades, leading to the peaceful end of the Cold War. A career soldier, Eisenhower championed peace, freedom, justice and security, and as President he stressed the interdependence of those goals. He spent a lifetime fulfilling his duty to his country, always remembering to ask what's best for America.

The development of the Pre-Design Program will produce three books to serve as an information packet for potential designers and the eventual design team for the memorial. The reasons for building a memorial to Eisenhower are only one part of the challenge set out in the Pre-Design Program. Technical considerations and guidance from the National Park Service are also included. Issues from preserving the historic view to the U.S. Capitol to providing a National Park Service Ranger station at the site are presented. This stage is the last major step prior to procuring a design team.

While the Eisenhower Memorial Commission has so far been able to efficiently manage the memorialization process, the tasks involved in design and construction require revised administrative and operational authority. H.R. 2094 provides the needed revisions and will enable the Commission to work more efficiently and effectively during design and construction when quick turnaround times are vital and daily decisions must be made. The authority provided in this legislation is based on the authority given to temporary commissions in existence for up to three years. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission has similar needs, but exists for no set time period. The Commission will exist until the completion of the memorial.

For example, H.R. 2094 will enable the Commission to hire temporary federal employees instead of contract consultants, simplifying administration of staffing and covering the liability of its employees. H.R. 2094 will also provide for the Executive Architect to represent the Commission on the panels that will select the design team for the memorial. As currently written, the Commission's legislation prohibits its staff or members from participating in the determination of the design team.

H.R. 2094 will enable the Commission to continue working not only to ensure that the National Eisenhower Memorial is an inspiration to future generations, but also to ensure that the memorialization process is an example of responsible public work. I urge my colleagues to support passage of S. 2739 today, and with it, the language included in

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the service and sacrifice of my constituent, Mr. Torrel Huskey. Mr. Huskey is a 91- year-old World War II veteran living in Kansas City, Kansas. In 1943, Mr. Huskey was assigned to the 3496th Quartermaster Brigade as a truck driver on the ``Red Ball Express,'' ferrying men, supplies and equipment to the front lines of battle as part of Operation Overlord.

During these missions, Mr. Huskey often dodged obstacles such as barbed wire and land mines and repeatedly came under attack from enemy small arms fire, mortar fire, artillery barrages and strafing runs by the German Luftwaffe. It was during one of these attacks that Mr. Huskey was wounded from enemy mortar fire.

With shrapnel embedded in his legs, and at the insistence of his commanding officer, Mr. Huskey bandaged his own wounds and carried on with his duties. He continued driving, despite his wounds, risking death or permanent injury because that was his job--to keep the wheels of the battlefront moving forward as the Allies raced to the Rhine.

When the ``Red Ball Express'' ended in September 1944, Mr. Huskey was assigned the arduous task of locating hastily buried comrades and transporting them to the U.S. gravesites sprinkled throughout France, Belgium and elsewhere in Europe.

In June 2006, I was contacted by Mr. Huskey's oldest daughter, Lynda McClelland, with a request for assistance to obtain the Purple Heart medal for her father.

After nearly 2 years of researching medical records, reviewing morning reports and hearings before the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records, I learned that Mr. Huskey's files were destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. There exists no record of Mr. Huskey's injuries or treatment for the wounds he sustained in action either in his medical records file or in existing morning reports. Therefore, the recommendation for the award of the Purple Heart was denied.

It is a shame that Mr. Huskey is still without the Purple Heart Medal, despite the fact that the Department of Veterans Affairs has found Mr. Husky to be service-connected for both Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and scars from the residuals of shrapnel embedded in his legs and knees.

It is for these reasons that I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mr. Torrel Huskey. Without the service and sacrifice of Mr. Huskey, and all of the men and women of the ``greatest generation,'' our Nation would not be the resilient and flourishing country it is today. By continuing his mission, despite being wounded, Mr. Huskey lent great credit to himself, the Army Motor Transport Brigade and the United States of America.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to note an important event in the Third Congressional District of Kansas. On April 28, 2008, the Volunteer Center of Johnson County in Overland Park, KS, will honor outstanding youth volunteers. Eighty young people have been nominated by school personnel and nonprofit organizations for their dedication and service to the community. Youth volunteerism continues to grow and be a strong force in Johnson County. These 104 young people exemplify the true meaning of volunteerism and giving back to their community. It is my honor to recognize each student volunteer and their schools by listing them in the Congressional Record.

Ben Ackerman, Blue Valley North, Leawood; Molly Allison-

Gallimore, Home School, Spring Hill; Miriah Anderson,

Olathe Northwest, Olathe; Sydney Ayers, Barstow,

Leawood; Amir Bachelani, Olathe Northwest, Olathe;

Elizabeth Baldwin, Blue Valley High School, Stilwell;

Leah Barber, Westridge Middle School, Shawnee Mission;

Derek Bradshaw, Frontier Trail Jr. High, Olathe;

Kristina Buchanan, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee

Mission; Alexx Burnside, Prairie Trail Jr. High,

Olathe.

Julie Bywater, Pleasant Ridge Middle School, Olathe;

Sally Carmichael, Shawnee Mission West, Lenexa; Jasmine

Carr, Westridge Middle School, Lenexa; Kristy Carter,

Olathe North, Olathe; Abigail Cattron, Notre Dame de

Sion, Leawood; Carter Clause, Rockhurst, Leawood; Bryce

Cooke, Olathe South, Olathe; Bradley Cooper, Olathe

Northwest, Lenexa; Daniel Cooper, Olathe Northwest,

Lenexa; Daniel Cooper, Olathe Northwest, Lenexa.

Steven Cooper, Olathe Northwest, Lenexa; Jacob Doles,

Prairie Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Kathryn Duroe, Olathe

Northwest, Olathe; Allison Ens, Prairie Trail Jr. High,

Olathe; Rindy Fairchild, Midland Adventist Academy,

Shawnee; Amber Fedor, Olathe Northwest, Lenexa; Emily

Ann Ferbezar, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee

Mission; Stephen Fowler, Shawnee Mission East, Shawnee

Mission; Evan Gage, Blue Valley Northwest, Overland

Park; Christy Garren, Westridge Middle School, Overland

Park.

Jennifer Garren, Shawnee Mission West, Overland Park;

Kevin Garrett, Shawnee Mission West, Lenexa; Michael

Garrett, Shawnee Mission West, Lenexa; Finley Gates,

Shawnee Mission East, Fairway; Victoria Gaughan, Olathe

South, Olathe; Enaam Gettino, Shawnee Mission West,

Shawnee Mission; Caroline Godfrey, Blue Valley North,

Leawood; Jenna Gottschalk, Shawnee Mission West,

Shawnee Mission; Jonathan Gregory, Maranatha Academy,

Lenexa.

Lauren Gregory, Home School, Lenexa; Cameron Gunter,

Chisholm Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Eileen Hail, Blue

Valley West, Olathe; Stephanie Haynes, Olathe South,

Olathe; Vienesse Homan, Prairie Trail Jr. High, Olathe;

Lauren Hoobler, Olathe North, Olathe; Tyler Howard,

Prairie Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Lisa Imgrund, Shawnee

Mission Northwest, Shawnee Mission; Katie Kelter,

Prairie Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Chris Kennedy, Prairie

Trail Jr. High, Lenexa.

Jadhken Kerr, Olathe South, Olathe; Nicole Knapp, Shawnee

Mission West, Shawnee Mission; Rachel Knapp, Westridge

Middle School, Shawnee Mission; J. Paul Knightly,

Olathe Northwest, Olathe; Laura Knowles, Shawnee

Mission West, Overland Park; Allison Kohn, Blue Valley

High School, Overland Park; Connor Lambert, Prairie

Trail Jr. High, Lenexa; Angela Lee, Prairie Trail Jr.

High, Olathe; Garrett Leiker, Prairie Trail Jr. High,

Lenexa.

Terrell Mace, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee; Ciara

Malone, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee; Kathryn

Martin, Westridge Middle School, Shawnee Mission; Annie

McBee, Shawnee Mission East, Leawood; Caleb McKay,

Westridge Middle School, Shawnee Mission; Molly Miller,

Olathe South, Olathe; Ashley Murry, St. Thomas Aquinas,

Olathe; Paige Nawalany, Shawnee Mission Northwest,

Shawnee Mission; Jack Nelson, Prairie Trail Jr. High,

Olathe; Derek O'Grady, Shawnee Mission East, Prairie

Village; Addie Orpin, Bishop Miege, Roeland Park.

Nisha Patel, Prairie Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Kristine

Plankers, Olathe South, Olathe; Justin Pohl, Blue

Valley Northwest, Overland Park; Ryan Pohl, Oxford

Middle School, Overland Park; Lindsey Pollock, Prairie

Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Justin Prelogar, Blue Valley

High School, Overland Park; Jamie Purcell, Prairie

Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Rebecca Queen, Pembroke Hill,

Shawnee Mission.

Kristen Ramsdale, Prairie Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Kelly

Regan, Blue Valley West, Overland Park; Rebecca

Renteria, Santa Fe Trail Jr. High, Olathe; Bryce

Reynolds, Olathe Northwest, Olathe; Cassie Rhodes,

Spring Hill High School, Spring Hill; Rachael Riedel,

Westridge Middle School, Shawnee Mission; Peter Rogers,

Olathe North, Olathe; Laura Lynn Schneller, Bishop

Miege, Shawnee; Justin Scott, Shawnee Mission West,

Shawnee Mission; Hannah See, Home School, Merriam; Ryan

Shelton, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee.

Cassie Slocum, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee

Mission; Megan Smith, Westridge Middle School, Lenexa;

Jennifer Sommerfeld, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Shawnee

Mission; Joe Stack, Prairie Trail Jr. High, Lenexa;

Jessica Storm, Shawnee Mission West, Overland Park;

Rebeka Stowe, Olathe Northwest, Olathe; Maggie Stubbs,

Olathe North, Olathe; Anna Sturman, Olathe South,

Olathe.

Michelle Sudac, Mill Valley, Shawnee; Marissa Titus,

Shawnee Mission East, Prairie Village; Cody Tousey,

Olathe South, Olathe; Ashley Vaughan, Olathe Northwest,

Olathe; Monica Vezendan, Olathe South, Olathe; Sarah

Wacker, Home School, Merriam; Austin Walter, Bishop

Miege, Shawnee; Russell Walter, Bishop Miege, Shawnee;

Matt Wedel, Blue Valley West, Overland Park.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my cautious support for this House amendment to the Senate-approved version of H.R. 3773, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. I extend my gratitude for the hard work that Chairmen Conyers and Reyes have put into this legislation, as well as Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer for their efforts to negotiate with the Senate to work out the differences between the different approaches to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA] of 1978.

We will never forget the awful terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on our country. And we must keep in mind there are still those who wish to do us harm as we authorize essential surveillance authorities balanced by the civil liberty protections ensured by our Constitution. It is disappointing that the Bush Administration and our Republican colleagues have refused to participate in negotiations to date, but I am hopeful that with this new bill approved by the House, we can quickly work out our honest differences to provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools required to monitor potential agents with terrorist intentions against the United States.

This bill is a step in the right direction, but I have serious reservations with certain provisions that I urge Congress to promptly resolve in the coming weeks. I strongly believe in the merits of the Senate-approved FISA legislation drafted by Chairman Rockefeller and Ranking Member Bond, and I support a final bill that includes the following provisions: Require individualized warrants for surveillance of U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad; clarify no court order is required to conduct surveillance of foreign-to-foreign communications that are routed through the United States; provide enhanced oversight by Congress of surveillance laws and procedures; compel compliance by private sector partners; review by FISA Court of minimization procedures; and targeted immunity for carriers that allegedly participated in anti-terrorism surveillance programs.

As a District Attorney for 12 years, I understand the importance of cooperation with private-sector partners in law enforcement matters. Without their cooperation in times of emergency, the community I was sworn to protect would be less safe and secure. The National Sheriffs' Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Troopers Coalition have all expressed their support for the targeted immunity that the Rockefeller- Bond FISA bill would provide. Key members of the 9/11 Commission have also voiced their support for the Rockefeller-Bond FISA bill. 9/11 Commission Co-Chair and former Congressman Lee Hamilton wrote that: ``To the extent that companies helped the government, they were acting out of a sense of patriotic duty and in the belief that their actions were legal. Dragging them through litigation would set a bad precedent. It would deter companies and private citizens from helping in future emergencies. . . .'' 9/11 Commissioner and former Senator Bob Kerrey affirmed that sentiment when he stated: ``We wrote in the 9/11 Commission report that `unity of purpose and unity of effort are the way that we will defeat this enemy and make America safer for our children and our grandchildren.' We cannot hope to achieve such unity of effort if on the one hand we call upon private industry to aid us in this fight, and on the other allow them to be sued for their good-faith efforts to help.''

I agree with the 21 state attorneys general who wrote in a December 11, 2007, letter to Senate leadership: ``The provisions of [Rockefeller-Bond] are consistent with existing, long-standing law and policy. Congress has long

provided legal immunity for carriers when, in reliance on government assurances of legality or otherwise in good faith, they cooperate with law enforcement and intelligence agencies . . . provisions of S. 2248 would . . . establish a thoughtful, multi-step process involving independent review by the Attorney General and the courts that, only when completed, would lead to dismissal of the claims.''

Congress must continue the hard work of negotiating a suitable compromise that equips our intelligence agents with the tools they need to protect our country, while ensuring that our civil liberties--which make us the greatest nation in the world--remain protected.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Hannelore Brown, my constituent in the Third Congressional District of Kansas. Hannelore is an active school volunteer whose children attend Leawood Elementary School, Leawood Middle School, and Blue Valley North, in the Blue Valley School District.

About 5 years ago, Hannelore organized a campaign to urge Leawood's elementary schoolchildren to write Kansas servicemen and women stationed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. That campaign has since expanded into the middle school and the high school, and teachers have incorporated the letter writing into their lesson plans. Thousands and thousands of letters have been sent, thanks to her efforts. Artwork, posters, and Girl Scout cookies have also been mailed. Many, many soldiers have written back to the schoolchildren, and have emailed photos of themselves with the items sent by the schools. Other soldiers have visited the school when they returned home, to thank their new pen pals for the mail and caring sent to lonely troops on foreign soil.

Hannelore has also organized an annual patriotic school assembly to honor servicemen and women and veterans. Every year, she gathers uniforms, memorabilia, and other artifacts, to create museum-style exhibits. On Friday, March 28, 2008, the fourth such assembly is set for Leawood Elementary School, to be preceded by a breakfast honoring servicemen, -women, and their families, again organized by Hannelore Brown.

With Hannelore's help, Leawood Middle School has published a book of letters sent to and from the soldiers. It comes as no surprise to learn that Hannelore Brown has also assisted the school in its annual Veterans Day observance every fall.

On behalf of the thousands of lonely troops stationed overseas, I want to thank Hannelore for all she has done to help them. In turn, these personal connections have instilled a true sense of patriotism in all those involved, and have given students, parents, and staff a new appreciation for the service and dedication of these soldiers. One person can make a difference in the lives of many others, and Hannelore Brown is the perfect example.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my friend, Ron Deffenbaugh, of Shawnee, Kansas, the founder of Deffenbaugh Industries.

Recently, the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce presented its 2007 Citizen of the Year Award to Ron Deffenbaugh, who moved to the Kansas City area at age 9 and started a trash collection business with one truck at age 15 in 1957. Since that modest beginning, Deffenbaugh Industries became the largest privately owned refuse firm in the Midwest, including the Johnson County landfill, Deffenbaugh Disposal Service, Shawnee Rock and Johnny on the Spot. Deffenbaugh sponsors annual city events, including Old Shawnee Days, Fields for Freedom, Tidy Town, Shawnee Christmas Around Town,, and the Great Grillers barbecue competition. In 2007, Deffenbaugh sold his company to DLJ Merchant Banking Partners.

At the conclusion of the annual Chamber dinner, Deffenbaugh Industries President Mark Rosenau announced a $500,000 donation from Deffenbaugh to the Shawnee Town renovation project. As Rosenau said, ``Ron started Deffenbaugh Disposal Service 50 years ago, and he always had a special affection for Shawnee. He was always quietly generous when it came to requests for services, donations and support from Shawnee groups and individuals. When Ron was informed he had been selected for this most prestigious award, he said he wanted to give something back to his city. He knew the city planned to rebuild Shawnee Town and he decided he wanted to help with that effort.''

The City of Shawnee recently issued a press release commending Ron Deffenbaugh for his recent gift to the city and for his lifetime of service and support. Madam Speaker, I include that statement with my remarks and know that all members of the U.S. House of Representatives join with me in commending this outstanding community leader:

Deffenbaugh Donates to Shawnee Town

What a wonderful Night in Casablanca, shared by Shawnee

City Officials and business leaders at the Sheraton this past

Saturday! The Shawnee Chamber of Commerce hosted their Annual

Dinner, which is a gala event honoring civic and business

leaders in the community and celebrating a year of great

achievement. The theme of Casablanca was apparent through the

fashionable attendees and tropical atmosphere of the event.

Many leaders were honored at the event including past

Chairman and former Shawnee Mayor Jim Allen for his 2007

leadership of the Chamber, Councilmember Dawn Kuhn for the

2007 Ambassador of the year and Ron Deffenbaugh was named

2007 Citizen of the Year.

The citizen of the year honor was well deserved by Ron

Deffenbaugh for his countless contributions to the Shawnee

community. Deffenbaugh moved to the Kansas City area at the

age of nine and started his trash collection business with

one truck at the age of 15 in 1957. Since those modest

beginnings, Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc. has grown to become

the largest privately-owned refuse firm in the Midwest.

Deffenbaugh Industries has expanded over the years to include

the Johnson County Landfill, Deffenbaugh Disposal Service,

Shawnee Rock and Johnny on the Spot. Deffenbaugh saw

significant success and this has been shared with the Shawnee

community through donations to the City and countless

organizations in the community.

Deffenbaugh annually sponsors many of the City events

including Old Shawnee Days, Fields for Freedom, Tidy Town,

Shawnee Christmas Around Town, St. Patrick's Parade, Sister

Cities Program, Great Grillers BBQ Competition and various

other events and programs. They have been a wonderful

community partner always generously contributing to Shawnee.

Deffenbaugh executives, Tom Coffman and Mark Rosenau accepted

the award on behalf of Ron on Saturday and announced that he

was pledging $500, 000 to the renovation of Shawnee Town.

Shawnee Town is an outdoor museum interpreting small town

rural life from the 1920s, which includes a museum grounds

featuring a home, barn, school, post office, chapel, fire

station, various businesses, and gardens. The strategic plan

for the renovation of the area was approved in 2007, and this

donation will be a tremendous help in getting the project

started The City is extremely grateful to Ron Deffenbaugh and

applauds his honor of being named 2007 Citizen of the Year!

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Kansas City Chorale, which was recently recognized with four Grammy nominations, including best classical album, best choral performance, best engineered classical album, and best surround-sound album. The producer was also nominated for a fifth Grammy, for classical producer of the year.

The Kansas City Chorale is a professional vocal ensemble that is been a strong part of Kansas City's vibrant arts community for 25 years. Despite the fact that many of them have other full-time jobs, the members of the Chorale work year-round on their craft and are dedicated to sharing their beautiful music with the entire community. Among its members is tenor Paul Davidson, who served on my staff as constituent services aide for veterans and military affairs for 5 years--from 1999, my first year in office, until 2004.

The Kansas City Chorale works under the direction of founder Charles Bruffy. The Kansas City Chorale and the Phoenix Back Choir perform together on the nominated albums, ``Eternal Rest'' and ``Grechaniov: Passion Week.''

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chorale on this well-deserved honor and thank you for sharing your music with us.

Thank you, Congressman Ross, for the time this evening to speak to the American people about what's happening in our country with our deficit, with our debt, and what we need to do to correct this problem for future generations in our country.

You've heard several speakers talk tonight about the debt that our Nation has accumulated, $9.1 trillion. That's gone up almost $3.4 trillion in the past 6 years since President Bush took office.

As policy co-Chair, I had an opportunity to go with about eight other Democrats to the White House to meet with the President a few months ago. We each had 2 minutes to speak. And when it was my turn, I said, Mr. President, I'm a year older than you are. I had 7\1/2\ grandchildren at the time, eight now, and I said, Mr. President, we have mortgaged their future. I said, We've got to start living like most American families living within a budget. This should not be about Democrats and Republicans. We have got to be responsible. It's our moral duty to our kids and grandkids.

And he looked at me and he said, You've got a point.

Well, I know I have a point, but we need to work on this together. That's what we are all saying here tonight is we have mortgaged the future of our children and grandchildren, and that's absolutely the wrong thing to do.

In the first days of this new Congress this year, Congress, at least the House, passed a pay-as-you-go rule and reinstated a rule that expired in 2002. And for several years without that rule, our deficit and our debt rose dramatically. That's why all of us, the 47 Blue Dog Democrats here, think it is so important that we reinstate that rule, and it has been reinstated now, but that we follow this rule and make sure that we don't spend more money as a Nation than we take in; that we live within our means like most American families do.

You've been told by other speakers here tonight that China, Japan, and other foreign nations own more than $1 trillion of United States debt. That is a disgrace. It's something that we have got to change. We can't afford to let other nations make important decisions about our future. It's our future. It belongs to future generations in this country. And we have got to make sure that we are in control and not other nations in this world.

And I will just stop by saying this: PAYGO sounds funny. All it is, is pay-as-you-go. If you have a new spending proposal, a new program proposal, or a tax cut, section 1 is here is my proposal and section 2 is here's how it's paid for so it's revenue neutral, doesn't add to our deficit or our debt.

Again, Madam Speaker, we need to start living like most American families do within a budget. It's the right thing to do for our country, and it's certainly the right thing to do for future generations in our country.

Thank you, Congressman Ross.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my constituent, Victor Berline, who died on October 29, at the age of 92.

A well-respected Kansas City photographer, Victor Berline was born in a poor neighborhood of Paris, France, to Simon and Luba Berline on April 8, 1915. He lost his parents and beloved sister, Rissa, during the Nazi occupation. Although his formal education ended with grammar school, he was well versed in English, French and German classical music, theater, and literature. His keen intelligence and quick thinking helped him survive five years as a World War II prisoner of war in Germany.

In 1946, Victor established himself in Kansas City, the home of his sister, Cecile Berline Bortnick, and her husband Joseph. Shortly thereafter, he married Miriam Gottlieb and they had two sons: Steven and Gary [the husband of Sharon Terdeman and stepfather of Jessica Terdeman]. Victor and Miriam would have celebrated their 61st anniversary on December 29.

Victor Berline's family, friends and neighbors will remember him for his amazing ability to connect with both young and old, as well as for his sense of humor, vibrant creativity, and joie de vivre. As a former Nazi POW who immigrated to the United States, he always said that he went from hell to paradise! Madam Speaker, I know that all members of the U.S. House of Representatives join me in paying tribute to the life of this remarkable man.

I thank Congressman Ross, and Mr. Speaker, for letting us speak this evening.

The Blue Dogs, as Congressman Ross said, have introduced H. Res. 97, Providing for Operation Iraqi Freedom Cost Accountability, to address the lack of oversight and accountability with regard to our Federal Government's funding of the war in Iraq.

H. Res. 97 currently has 63 cosponsors, myself included, and puts forward commonsense proposals that ensure future transparency and accountability in the funding of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This, I believe, is an important first step toward making sure that more resources get to our troops in the field and are not wasted on other things. We want to make sure that our brave men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have what they need to do their job.

H. Res. 97 focuses on four crucial points for demanding fiscal responsibility in Iraq: number 1, a call for transparency on how Iraq War funds are spent; number 2, the creation of a Truman Commission to investigate the awarding of contracts to make sure they are fairly awarded and get what they're intended to secure; number 3, a requirement to fund the Iraq war through the normal appropriations process and not through emergency supplementals as we have done throughout this whole war; and number 4, using American resources to improve Iraqi assumption of internal policing operations.

Recently, Mr. Speaker, members of the Blue Dog Coalition worked together with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri to include key provisions of H. Res. 97 in the fiscal year 2008 national defense authorization bill. In doing so, we took the first step toward ensuring complete fiscal transparency in the funding of the war in Iraq.

The American people deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent and that they're being spent wisely and that our troops have the resources they need to do their job and to protect themselves in the field.

The Blue Dogs, Mr. Speaker, are committed to passing legislation that accomplishes this goal, to give our troops what they need and make sure they have the resources they need to protect themselves as well.

Mr. Speaker, I've been a member of the Blue Dog group for more than 9 years now, and in that period of time I have learned, and I've said this to my folks back home over and over and over again, 80 percent, 85 percent of what we do up here in Congress should not be about Democrats and Republicans. We ought to be working for our people and for our country. And when I say that back home, I see people every time and in the audience sitting there shaking their heads yes. They're tired of the partisanship up here. They want us working together to do what's right for our people and our country.

I have now eight grandchildren, Mr. Speaker, and we have mortgaged their future. Mr. Ross had a chart up here just a few minutes ago that showed we have a national debt in excess of $9 trillion, and we're passing that debt, Mr. Speaker, on to our children and grandchildren. To me that is immoral.

We ought to change the way we're doing business here in Congress and do like most families. Most American families live within a budget, not all but most, and we should be doing the same thing. That's what our Blue Dog organization is all about, making sure that we, as a Nation, try to live and do live within the resources that we have and not pass this debt on to our children and grandchildren.

I thank Congressman Ross.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bill that I sponsored with Representatives Jerry Moran, Todd Tiahrt, Nancy Boyda, Leonard Boswell, and Mac Thornberry. As an Executive Committee member of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, I know that this legislation is important to our continuing efforts to establish a national, permanent memorial to President Eisenhower. H.R. 2094 would make important amendments to the statute establishing the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, so that it can more effectively discharge its duties.

Congress created the Eisenhower Memorial Commission in 1999 and charged the Commission with establishing a national memorial to Dwight David Eisenhower to honor his memory and commemorate his contributions to the Nation. The Commission is completely bipartisan, consisting of four Senators, four Representatives, and four private citizens. The Commission keeps an office in Washington, D.C., with four full-time staff, including an Executive Director and Executive Architect.

Since determining a preferred site in June 2005, the Commission has worked tirelessly to speed the progress of the memorialization. In September 2006, only fifteen months later, the Commission received final site approval from the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. The National Eisenhower Memorial will be located across the street from the National Air and Space Museum at the intersection of Maryland and Independence Avenues, SW. The site is surrounded by institutions Ike either created or

profoundly influenced, including the Department of Education.

The Commission is now engaged in Pre-Design Programming, a concerted effort to determine what the memorial should be. Eisenhower family members, Eisenhower contemporaries, historians, Kansans, and many others have been interviewed on their vision for the memorial. A voluntary online questionnaire is available to the public. Although there are many diverse opinions on Ike's greatest achievement and the appropriate focus for his memorial, all agree that Eisenhower is, as Michael Korda presents in his new biography, ``an American hero.''

I am particularly proud to claim one of the greatest 20th-century Americans as a fellow Kansan. He ranks as one of the preeminent figures in the global history of the 20th century. Dwight Eisenhower spent his entire life in public service. His most well-known contributions include serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II and as 34th President of the United States, but Eisenhower also served as the first commander of NATO and as President of Columbia University. Dramatic changes occurred in America during his lifetime, many of which he participated in and influenced through his extraordinary leadership as President. Although Ike grew up before automobiles existed, he created the Interstate Highway System and took America into space. He created NASA, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Federal Aviation Administration. He added Hawaii and Alaska to the United States and ended the Korean War. President Eisenhower desegregated the District of Columbia and sent federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school integration. He defused international crises and inaugurated the national security policies that guided the nation for the next three decades, leading to the peaceful end of the Cold War. A career soldier, Eisenhower championed peace, freedom, justice and security, and as President he stressed the interdependence of those goals. He spent a lifetime fulfilling his duty to his country, always remembering to ask what's best for America.

The development of the Pre-Design Program will produce three books to serve as an information packet for potential designers and the eventual design team for the memorial. The reasons for building a memorial to Eisenhower are only one part of the challenge set out in the Pre-Design Program. Technical considerations and guidance from the National Park Service are also included. Issues from preserving the historic view to the U.S. Capitol to providing a National Park Service Ranger station at the site are presented. This stage is the last major step prior to procuring a design team.

While the Eisenhower Memorial Commission has so far been able to efficiently manage the memorialization process, the tasks involved in design and construction require revised administrative and operational authority. H.R. 2094 provides the needed revisions and will enable the Commission to work more efficiently and effectively during design and construction when quick turnaround times are vital and daily decisions must be made. The authority provided in this legislation is based on the authority given to temporary commissions in existence for up to three years. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission has similar needs, but exists for no set time period. The Commission will exist until the completion of the memorial.

For example, H.R. 2094 will enable the Commission to hire temporary federal employees instead of contract consultants, simplifying administration of staffing and covering the liability of its employees. H.R. 2094 will also provide for the Executive Architect to represent the Commission on the panels that will select the design team for the memorial. As currently written, the Commission's legislation prohibits its staff or members from participating in the determination of the design team.

H.R. 2094 will enable the Commission to continue working not only to ensure that the National Eisenhower Memorial is an inspiration to future generations, but also to ensure that the memorialization process is an example of responsible public work. I urge my colleagues to support passage of this measure today and I thank the leadership of the House Natural Resources Committee and of the House, as a whole, for bringing this bill before us today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 814, the Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act.

While they say that good things come to those who wait, victims of a gasoline burn due to non-child-resistant gasoline container closures and their families would disagree. This is the fourth Congress in which I have introduced this measure. For the past two, I have been joined by my friend and colleague from Alabama, Representative Spencer Bachus. Our children have waited long enough for this common sense consumer protection.

The 1973 Poison Packaging Prevention Act requires items containing dangerous or poisonous materials, such as pill bottles, to be sold with child-resistant caps. Gasoline cans, however, are exempt from this requirement because they are sold empty, even though they are designed solely to contain one very hazardous, highly flammable liquid. H.R. 814 would simply amend section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), to include child-resistance standards for closures on all portable gasoline containers.

Allowing these cans to be sold with simple twist-off caps is dangerous and causes tragic accidents when children come into contact with them. Unfortunately, these accidents occur all too frequently. In 2003, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, released a report estimating that in a single year; more than 1,200 children under the age of five were treated in emergency rooms for injuries resulting from unsecured gas cans, either through fires or inhalation of fumes. Using a different data set, the CPSC confirmed 19 deaths over eleven years due to children interacting with gas cans.

H.R. 814 has been endorsed by the American Society of Testing and Materials' Task Group of Standards for Flammable Liquid Containers, the World Burn Foundation, the National Safety Council, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Fire Protection Association, Public Citizen, and the Office of the Kansas State Fire Marshal.

I In addition, H.R. 814 would not cost the taxpayers any money and is strongly bipartisan.

During the 109th Congress, the Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act garnered 119 cosponsors, 14 of whom were Republicans. This Congress, it is again a strongly bipartisan bill.

Thank you again, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to vote on this proposal in the full House. I hope that we can work together to enact this simple, common-sense measure that will protect young children, and help put their parents' minds at ease with regard to gasoline cans stored in garages, basements, and back porches. The Consumer Product Safety Commission must be allowed to adequately protect consumers and ensure public safety. This measure will help do that.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the city of Eudora, Kansas, located in the Third Congressional District, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary on October 5th and 6th of this year.

In 1856, three members of a German Immigrant Settlement Company [called Deutsche-Neusiedlungsverein] from Chicago sent out a location committee to choose a town site in the new Indian Territory, which had been opened up to settlement by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, enacted in 1854. Both pro- and anti-slavery groups flocked to this territory.

The three Germans sent to the present site were H. Heimann, F. Barteldes and C. Scheifer. Favoring the Eudora area, they drew up contracts with Shawnee Chief Paschal Fish for 774\1/2\ acres, from the Kansas River to the south for about a mile [over 200 blocks total], with two public squares and a park. In February 1857, Chief Fish entered into contracts with the Trustees of the Chicago Verein for purchase of land ``to secure a more perfect title'' for a price of $10,000. Chief Fish bought back on the same day the old numbered lots of at least three blocks between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. The Shawnee Reservation had been opened up for settlement; Chief Fish was a cousin of Chief Tecumseh, a businessman and a Methodist minister who had been educated at a Mission School.

A map of Douglas County drawn up in early 1857, before Eudora was a town, shows only four townships in the county with Eudora included in the Wakarusa Township. A group of 16 men, four women and some children had come in the spring of 1857 to begin settling at the site. Peter Hartig, age 34, was the leader of this Chicago group, and was accompanied by his wife. The Society paid expenses for the settlers. Eight more men, who paid their own way, came later. The formal title, signed by an Indian Agent named Newsom, was drawn up on February 4, 1860.

The town's name was derived from the name of Chief Paschal Fish's 13- year-old daughter; it is a name of Greek derivation meaning ``giving'' or ``generous.'' Chief Fish said that if they did this, a tornado would never touch down in Eudora. There has not been a tornado there to this day!

A circular saw and a corn cracker worth $2,200 were soon purchased for the new town. The first house built by the settlers was a one-story log cabin, 18' x 20', which was shared by all of the inhabitants during the first summer, of 1857. The first sawmill was set up in the same year, and by fall, the first post office was operating and converted into a money order office the next year. The first hotel was probably The America House on Main Street, or near the 5th and 6th Street area.

The first baby born in the new town was a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. Chris Epple, soon after their arrival; she was named Eudora. The first marriage occurred between Mrs. George Harboldt and Freid Deichmann in the spring of 1858. The first death was in the fall of 1857 when J. Loederlie died. The captain of the original Townsiters, Hartig, lived until 1902, when he was killed by a Santa Fe train; his wife had died the previous year.

The first public building was a frame town hall and school house built in 1860 and used as a polling place, dance hall and community room. It was sited at 6th and Main Streets and later moved to 7th and Main Streets. There was a jail under it in the mid-1860s; it was used as the city hall until 1955 and is now a private residence. In 1859, the town's first election selected Fred Faerber as mayor and councilmembers were also elected. In March of that year the council commissioned the Chicago Secretary of the Immigrant Company to furnish a city seal with a white man and an Indian shaking hands. In 1886, Eudora's first newspaper, The Eudora News, was published, and in 1894, Charles Pilla, who also served as mayor and postmaster, helped organize the Eudora State Bank.

Eudora's first picnic was recorded in 1901. In 1927, the Central Protective Association, also known as the Cattlemens Association, reorganized from its antihorsetheft roots to become the City Picnic Association. The city's annual picnic traditionally held on the third weekend of July, features carnival rides, games, parades, dancing and food.

This tradition of community celebration continues on October 5th of this year, when the city will have a genuine cake and ice cream birthday party. Eudora High School culinary arts students will be showing their talents in a cake decorating contest. Guests will have an opportunity to sample buffalo burgers. A recognition ceremony will feature community volunteer organizations. On the following day, Eudora Fest will feature arts, crafts, and food booths, along with a kid's homegrown carnival, contests, music and entertainment. The main event, however, will be the unveiling of the Eudora Statue--a historic statue of Chief Paschal Fish and his daughter, Eudora. The statue, sculpted by internationally known local sculptor Jim Brothers, will be placed in the city's historic downtown park with a historic kiosk.

Madam Speaker, I know that you and the entire U.S. House of Representatives join with me in honoring the city of Eudora on its 150th anniversary, as we commemorate its rich history and outstanding way of life for all Eudorans. I am proud to represent this community and its people within the Third Congressional District of Kansas.

Madam Speaker, Ohev Sholom is the oldest continuously operating Jewish House of Worship in the state of Kansas.

Congregation Ohev Sholom was founded in 1877 and is currently a Member of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The first building erected by Gomel Chesed Synagogue, at 925 State Line, was dedicated by Rabbi M. Gershonowitz on September 3, 1893. Congregation Ohev Sholom was the result of a merger between Gomel Chesed and Shearith Israel Synagogues. Congregation Ohev Sholom's first building was at 7th and Sandusky in Kansas City, Kansas and they moved into that building in 1925.

Ohev Sholom began the transition from 7th and Sandusky, Wyandotte County, Kansas, to 75th and Nall, Johnson County, Kansas, in the 1950s. The current location was completed in two stages. The school building was finished in 1961, while the remaining structure was finished about a decade later.

Congregation Ohev Sholom offers a schedule of programs that include Regular Daily Morning Services, Weekly Sabbath Services, an Active and Vibrant Sisterhood, a Robust Breakfast Club, Social Action Activities, and Programs for Adult Education, and Community Action including participation in building a Habitat for Humanity House. Congregation Ohev Sholom's Religious School is an exciting part of programming and spans kindergarten to tenth grade. Congregation Ohev Sholom also offers an Adult Education Program that includes Torah Study, lectures and minicourses, lunches, brunches, and speakers. Additionally, Congregation Ohev Sholom conceived and executed the metro Kansas City area's first KosherFest--A Celebration of Jewish Food--and will continue that tradition on June 1, 2008 and thereafter.

Congregation Ohev Sholom will celebrate its 130th Anniversary, October 27, 2007. Madam Speaker, I know that you and the entire U.S. House of Representatives join with me in taking note of this special and important occasion.

Madam Speaker, on March 28, 2007, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 204, concerning H. Res. 274. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On May 14, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 344, concerning H. Res. 385. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''

On August 3, I inadvertently failed to cast a recorded vote on rollcall vote 822, concerning H. Res. 612. Had I cast my vote, I would have voted ``aye.''