Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Burpee Museum of Natural History of Winnebago County--Burpee, IL, in the district I am proud to represent. The Burpee Museum is a remarkable cultural institution that has received two prestigious American Association of Museum--AAM--Awards. Both of these awards are for the Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur exhibit at the museum, which opened to outstanding reviews in June 2005.

The museum submitted entries in two categories: Overall Exhibit Excellence and the MUSE Award for the use of media and technology in the Jane exhibit. Burpee received the Exhibit Excellence Award, which is considered the museum profession's highest honor. It also received an Honorable Mention MUSE award for Jane's interactive Meet the Researcher video.

Lew Crampton, Burpee president and CEO, accepted the awards at the AAM's 100th International Conference in Boston in the company of 7,000 other museum profession delegates from around the world. Judges who presented the awards to Mr. Crampton praised Burpee, stating the ``whole project was so solid . . . and you just did everything right . . . your work could and should serve as a model to other institutions (including much larger ones) as a way to create an excellent exhibit.''

Jane's exhibit is a reflection of the dedication and professional excellence that is demonstrated by the personnel at Burpee. Burpee's personnel overcame three daunting tasks in order to successfully create the exhibit. First, after transporting Jane from Montana to the museum lab, Jane's 66 million year old bones were carefully removed from the rocks in which they were embedded. Second, identifying Jane's place in the dinosaur family tree presented a unique challenge because many scientists consulted in the process disagreed on this matter. Finally, in the midst of the first two tasks, Burpee's personnel had to consider how to create an exhibit that would be able to bridge the gap between science education and family enjoyment.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend my recognition and support of the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, IL. Since its founding in May of 1942 as a part of the Works Progress Administration, the mission of Burpee has been to inspire all people to engage in a lifetime of learning about the natural world, and they have been very successful in doing so. To this day, Burpee reaches out to the public through its creative event programming and excellent educational offerings for educators, families, and other members of the local community. Burpee is a prime example for other cultural institutions across the country, and I am honored to recognize the museum and its personnel here today.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Lewis, and the Chairman of the Science, Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce Subcommittee, Mr. Wolf, for the expeditious consideration of this legislation. Without passage of this legislation today, the disaster loan program of the Small Business Administration would not be able to offer critical disaster loan assistance to anyone across the nation after February 21. This legislation is also budget neutral--it simply redirects $712 million previously appropriated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the SBA's disaster loan account. This bill does not create any new spending. However, HR 4745 will enable the SBA to support about $4.8 billion in disaster loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses through May 1 when the next Katrina-related supplemental is expected to be completed.

This legislation is needed because SBA is, in a sense, a victim of its own success. Despite all of the huge hurdles and unfair attacks the SBA has received in recent weeks, the SBA has approved over $4.3 billion in disaster loans to more than 60,000 residents and business owners in the Gulf States region in five and a half months--despite not being able to get into the region until after the first month after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast. In comparison, it took the SBA more than 12 months to approve a similar amount of disaster loans to the victims of the Northridge Earthquake in California in 1994.

The SBA disaster loan program offers low-interest loans up to $200,000 for homeowners and $1.5 million for small business owners in a disaster area for those items not covered by insurance for the purpose of long-term recovery. Most of the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did not have flood insurance because they weren't in a designated flood plain. Thus, the average size of a typical SBA disaster loan has doubled for this event.

Combine this with the fact that this is the largest unprecedented natural disaster ever to

hit the United States, I trust that my colleagues can see why it is very difficult to accurately predict exactly how much should be appropriated for the SBA disaster loan program for an entire year.

I commend the hard work of the SBA and their disaster loan officers, led by Administrator Hector Barreto and Associate Administrator Herb Mitchell, in providing this record-amount of assistance to Gulf States victims. I urge my colleagues to support HR 4745 so that these fine public servants can continue their good work not just in the Gulf States region but also for other parts of the United States that may unfortunately be hit by a natural disaster in the coming weeks and months.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the administration's efforts to maintain a robust trade agenda that seeks to boost intellectual property protection at the upcoming meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, forum in Busan, South Korea. No regional institution is more important to promoting U.S. interests on anti-counterfeiting and piracy in Asia than APEC.

The 21 member states of APEC will consider a range of pressing issues that include supporting the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Round, trade facilitation, and preventing the spread of avian influenza.

APEC partners account for two-thirds of all U.S. trade and are playing an important role in the war on terror. In 2004, APEC helped put the Doha Round of the WTO's negotiations back on track, and it continues to help control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and combat regional corruption.

The APEC region is of great importance to the United States-- geopolitically, militarily, diplomatically, and economically. It accounts for some 40 percent of the world's population, over half of world trade, approximately 60 percent of world GDP, and a disproportionate share of global growth in recent years.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea are joining forces to promote the APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative to fight fraud and protect consumers. Under this initiative, APEC will develop guidelines for the inspection, seizure and destruction of goods used in trading counterfeit and pirated goods. The initiative also provides cross-border enforcement mechanisms for APEC members.

E-commerce is another area where the U.S. is demonstrating leadership in protecting intellectual property and data privacy. The U.S. continues to support APEC efforts to put in place effective legal regimes to ensure appropriate enforcement of e-commerce while protecting data collected during online transactions. By working in APEC, the U.S. can maximize its ability to engage countries lacking proper intellectual property rights protection.

Recognizing the increasing importance of the Asiatic region to our national interests, I strongly support the effort to keep APEC energized and at the center of American diplomacy in East Asia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Festival of China taking place at the Kennedy Center. This festival is the largest in the history of the Kennedy Center and the largest celebration of Chinese performing arts ever undertaken in the United States. Indeed, the Kennedy Center is coordinating the performances of more than 800 artists from China and the United States and is hosting more than 50 events associated with the month-long celebration.

Mr. Speaker, it is well known that significant differences exist between the United States and China in some areas of current policy and practices. This is why it remains important that our government fosters cooperative artistic interaction between our two countries. I am pleased to commend the Kennedy Center and the Chinese Ministry of Culture for collaborating in this vein.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to draw this body's attention to the important role that these cultural exchanges play in the overarching relationship between China and the United States. As Chairman of the US-China Interparliamentary Exchange, I know that it is important that the United States and China continue to work to understand each other on a variety of levels. Mutual cooperation, particularly through U.S.- China exchange programs and cultural events, brings about a deeper understanding and, in turn, can strengthen our bilateral relationship, so we can resolve our differences.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud this exposition as it works to deepen our appreciation for some of China's unique cultural treasures and enhance the friendship between our two countries.

Madam Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 250. I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Chairman Boehlert) for his leadership on the bill and commend the gentleman from Michigan (Chairman Ehlers) for introducing legislation that is so vital to the future of manufacturing in our country.

Recently, I met with a representative of Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies out of Kansas City. He discussed his research and development activities on micromechanical parts, such as gears and other smaller devices. This work is very similar to that performed at the EIGERlab which is also a Federal micro-manufacturing research and development facility that I recently helped establish in the district I represent.

EIGERlab has attracted a collection of scientists and researchers and has already proven to be a valuable center for advanced manufacturing R&D. H.R. 250 would help decentralize and streamline this type of manufacturing research so that efforts and duplication would be minimized, helping to ensure that American manufacturers can not only stay competitive, but thrive. The Kansas City facility uses a German process similar to an EDM wire. The EIGERlab uses a milling process, both making gears the size of Lincoln's nose on a Lincoln penny.

H.R. 250 also provides robust authorizations for numerous manufacturing initiatives, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which is quite active in the area that I represent.

Steve Yagle, the president of Reliable Machine Company in Rockford, Illinois said ``the training he received from IMEC has made Reliable more profitable, higher level of quality to our customers, increased our efficiency to be competitive,'' and, ``from this will be job creation, and a plan to handle company development as we grow.''

As we can see, funding programs like MEP are vital to helping our small manufacturers. I spend 75 to 80 percent of my time in Congress working on manufacturing issues, traveling the country and looking at new machines and new manufacturing processes. The American manufacturer needs as much help as he can get. H.R. 250 goes a long way, and I would urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3673, but as chairman of the Committee on Small Business I want to raise an issue of potential concern regarding one provision included in the bill that raises the micropurchase threshold from $2,500 to $250,000

for goods and services used in support of Hurricane Katrina rescue and relief.

We understand the need for giving relief and aid to the victims as quickly as possible. I also understand that was the reason the administration requested inclusion of this provision in the supplemental.

While the provision in the bill only deals with the immediate rescue and relief operations, I am concerned that, moving forward, we ensure that small businesses, particularly those in the impacted gulf areas, are able to play a significant role in the recovery.

I would ask the chairman if he would be willing to work with me and the administration to ensure that our small businesses are fully utilized and that we maintain appropriate controls over contracting.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has been blessed with the best system of medicine in the world. But we are having a crisis of access. This problem is not a case of whether a patient has health insurance. You may not be able to find a doctor to treat you.

The headlines are replete with stories of women having to drive several hours because they cannot find a doctor to deliver their baby. If you are in a car accident in southern Illinois and need a neurosurgeon, you will be airlifted to another State because there are no neurosurgeons left to treat you.

Litigation has escalated and awards have skyrocketed. Multi-million dollar court decisions and jury awards have left doctors with medical liability premiums increase 40 to 50 percent per year.

Doctors in certain fields of high-risk fields of medicine can expect to be sued at least once in their career.

As a result, doctors are retiring or leaving the practice of medicine. Emergency rooms and rural facilities have closed. Many other doctors are moving to States that have taken action to cap jury awards, which stabilizes malpractice costs.

I know of one OB-GYN in Illinois who left her practice to go back to being a pharmacist where she could earn more money and not worry about malpractice premiums. She explained that after paying malpractice insurance, she and another physician made $50,000. A third doctor made $60,000 and the fourth doctor made $70,000. Their office manager made more than all of them: $75,000.

Thirty years ago, California passed comprehensive medical liability reform. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, States that have limited noneconomic damages have seen premium increases by less than 20 percent. States without limits on noneconomic damages have seen premiums increase on average of 45 percent.

This is quantifiable evidence that medical liability reform works. I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 5.

Mr. Speaker, as the chairman of the Small Business Committee, our Nation's small business men and women tell me over and over that finding accessible and affordable quality health care is their number one priority for themselves and their employees.

I have heard from thousands of small employers in America who have been pleading for options to help them manage their surging health care costs.

Small business owners tell me regularly how they struggle to provide their workers health insurance, but each year they face double digit increases.

``Mom and Pop'' businesses tell me how they want to provide healthcare for their employees, but every single year it gets more difficult.

Many are giving up. Our Nation's entrepreneurs, whose ingenuity and hard work ethic have driven the American economy, have run out of options to battle this crisis. They need our help.

And today, we bring forward a great option--Association Health Plans--to help them control these outrageous costs and continue offering vital health insurance to their employees and their families.

In March of this year, I held a hearing on AHPs. The Coca Cola Bottlers Association testified they have long offered AHPs.

However, in 1990, they had to stop offering AHPs to members with under 100 employees because of the disparity of law from State to State. Those small employers have incurred increased premiums of between 20-25 percent per year.

For those bottlers employing over 100 workers and who still were able to maintain an AHP, they only had an average increase of 9 percent a year.

The proof is irrefutable. AHPs work. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 525. Give hope to America's entrepreneurs. Vote for H.R. 525.

Madam Speaker, I wish to express my strong support for H.R. 739, the Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act; H.R. 740, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act; H.R. 741, the Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act; and H.R. 742, the Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act. As Chairman of the Small Business Committee, I see daily the immense regulatory burden placed upon our small businesses. The Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates that the average small business is burdened with almost $7,000 per employee in regulatory compliance costs. I am pleased that the House has taken action to relieve small businesses of some of this burden.

H.R. 739 provides small businesses with additional flexibility by allowing certain exceptions to the arbitrary 15-day deadline for employers to file responses to citations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This commonsense measure allows an extension of the 15-day deadline in narrowly tailored circumstances, namely when a small business inadvertently misses this deadline by mistake. H.R. 739 helps ensure that disputes between OSHA and small businesses would be resolved based on the merits of the situation as opposed to legal technicalities. No small business should be foreclosed from a remedy simply because of an arbitrary deadline.

H.R. 740 helps ensure that OSHA reviews cases in a timely and more efficient manner by adding two additional commissioners to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). This change ensures that small businesses do not have long, drawn-out proceedings that monopolize their limited resources.

H.R. 741 is designed to restore the review process that was originally intended by Congress when it enacted the OSHA law. Congress's original intent was to form a separate, independent, and unbiased entity, OSHRC, that presided over OSHA hearings. However, the lines between OSHA and OSHRC have become blurred. This bill restores the original system contemplated by Congress and ensures that OSHRC, and not OSHA, would be the party who interprets the law and provides an independent review of OSHA citations.

Finally, H.R. 742 will assist small businesses by giving these businesses an opportunity to recover attorney fees if successful in challenging an OSHA citation.

In all, this common-sense legislation allows OSHA to continue protecting workers at their place of employment, while giving small businesses the ability to be competitive, create jobs, and to be protected from frivolous lawsuits.

Madam Chairman, last week, I rose in opposition to bringing up the East Asia Security Act of 2005 (H.R. 3100) on the suspension calendar because it contained some provisions that created unintended consequences for our exports to China as well as some of our largest export markets in Canada and Europe.

I strongly support the efforts to strengthen our arms embargoes and make them more multilateral, particularly against China. Strengthening the weakest link--Europe--in the arms embargo against China will serve the cause of peace and freedom in the Pacific Rim region. At the same time, we must act diligently in pursuing this noble goal so we do not weaken our overall global competitiveness and give more reasons to foreign customers to avoid American-made products.

I am pleased to report that many of my initial concerns have been addressed in a subsequent modification of H.R. 3100 that will now be offered as the Hyde/Lantos/Hunter/Manzullo amendment to the Foreign Relations Reauthorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007 (H.R. 2601). In addition, another similar section that was already incorporated into H.R. 2601--dealing with the comprehensive nature of U.S. arms embargoes (Section 733)--will also be amended as part of the manager's amendment to address certain unintended consequences of this section.

Some were concerned H.R. 3100 could have terminated U.S. defense cooperative projects with our allies whose policies permit arms transfers to China, regardless of whether such transfers actually occur. At a minimum, H.R. 3100 would have required an export license for every transaction and a notification to Congress regardless of dollar value, adding a costly new regulatory burden on U.S. companies specializing in the defense trade. It no doubt would have persuaded some of our closest allies to withdraw from cooperating with us. The bill as originally drafted threatened to disrupt numerous ongoing U.S. defense projects in Israel, Canada, Australia, and among member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. The compromise contained in this amendment permits the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense, to waive the export license requirement.

H.R. 3100 also would have imposed a new export licensing requirement for ``dual use'' products (primarily commercial goods that may have a military application that currently do not require an export license) if the item is intended for military end use by the PRC.

Some were concerned that because the language was not specific enough to just target military institutions inside China, such as the People's Liberation Army, PLA, and that there are still many state-owned enterprises in China, including all of their airline companies which can be taken over by their military in case of national emergency, this could have been an incentive for China to purchase non-U.S. products. The compromise contained in this amendment eliminates this new licensing regime and replaces it with a reporting requirement to the Commerce Department by the U.S. exporter 15 days after an item is exported. Commerce would then provide a report to Congress every quarter on the information provided by affected exporters.

In addition, H.R. 3100 originally contained a list of five possible foreign sanctions the President could apply to any foreign person, including foreign governments, who violated the terms of the bill. Included in this list was a prohibition on the approval of ``dual use'' export licenses. If imposed, the only way around this sanction was to obtain a written presidential waiver to Congress. In 2004, Commerce approved $547 million in ``dual use'' exports to China. The compromise strikes the language that would prohibit Commerce from continuing to approve ``dual use'' exports licenses.

Finally, I had several concerns about Section 733 of H.R. 2601, which aims to make U.S. arms embargoes more comprehensive. Again, this is a noble goal but must be achieved in a prudent manner. The section as originally written would have required U.S. exporters to obtain a ``dual use'' export license from the State and Defense Departments to sell to any entity or person even remotely connected with a foreign military that is subject to a U.S. arms embargo. Thus, for the first time, Section 733 would have transferred the licensing of these types of commercial ``dual use'' products from Commerce to the State and Defense Departments.

Also, Section 733 as originally drafted did not recognize the commercial ties the PLA has in enterprises throughout China. For example, the PLA is technically the prime contractor for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Even many U.S. multinational corporations have joint ventures with Chinese partners in which the PLA has some stake. Thus, the provision would have imposed a new huge licensing burden on U.S. exporters selling to China. The Hyde manager's amendment institutes this new licensing procedure only for products that a U.S. exporter knows will be used for military, not commercial, purposes by any entity or person associated with a foreign military subject to a U.S. arms embargo. I trust that as the Executive Branch implements this provision, they will look to Section 1237 of the National Defense Authorization Act of FY 1999 for a clear definition of a Chinese military end user.

The compromise also retains Commerce as the lead agency to decide on commercial ``dual use'' export licenses. This compromise will allow our federal export control agencies to focus on what is truly important and will also not impose an undue regulatory burden particularly upon our small business exporters.

Madam Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support the Hyde/Hunter/ Lantos/Manzullo amendment and also the Hyde manager's bloc amendment to

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Hyde- Lantos-Hunter-Manzullo amendment and associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) that sometimes we all are headed in the same direction, but it is extremely important to craft the legislation in order to achieve its intended purpose.

The issue came up last week. It did not pass on a suspension. Mostly because of my activity on the floor, it failed at that point. Our staffs subsequently got together and came up with an amendment that makes sure that the Chinese army does not receive sensitive information from our allies and, at the same time, it does not hinder the export of our valuable manufacturing.

So I want to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde), the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for coming up with an excellent resolution, all aimed towards making sure that we preserve our manufacturing base, and at the same time we do not give any technology to the People's Liberation

Army. I urge a yes vote on this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to recognize the outstanding dedication and leadership of Melanie Sabelhaus for her efforts and accomplishments in supporting small business nationwide. Melanie became the Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration in April of 2002, and has since helped to lead the agency to greater efficiency and effectiveness while drawing attention to women-owned businesses. She is leaving her position this month to pursue opportunities in the private sector.

After 15 years at IBM, Melanie Sabelhaus learned firsthand some of the challenges that face entrepreneurs when she started a property rental and management company in 1986. Melanie's entrepreneurial drive and business savvy grew her small business into a $10 million dollar a year enterprise. This woman is a success story.

When Melanie arrived at the SBA, she pledged to help create more opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs using her extensive business knowledge. She fulfilled her promise to an extent I could not have imagined. She, along with Administrator Hector Barreto and the rest of the agency, followed the President's Management agenda. SBA has made solid progress on most areas of the President's Management agenda.

Melanie was responsible for the successful implementation of the Execution Scorecard, which introduced ways to measure and rank district offices and SBA programs. The SBA also introduced the Business Matchmaking program while Melanie was in office, which has already resulted in 25,000 one-on-one meetings between small business owners and Federal agencies or large companies in the private sector.

As a woman entrepreneur herself, Melanie has given particular attention and support to women in small businesses. When she arrived at the agency in 2002, there were only 11,285 7(a) and 504 loans granted to women entrepreneurs for the entire year. In the past year, the number of loans to women has increased to over 18,000 for the two main loan programs at the agency. She is the leading advocate for women in business in this country, and has been a tremendous role model for women everywhere.

Melanie Sabelhaus has been the recipient of numerous philanthropy, business and government leadership awards, including 2002 Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year Award for Maryland, awarded by the Association of Fundraising Professionals; the Artemis Award from the European-American Women's Conference; the Distinguished Women's Award from the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland; the Superstar Award from the Alzheimer's Association of Central Maryland, Maryland's Top 100 Women from The Daily Record; and the Outstanding Business Achievement Award from Ohio University.

I am sure that wherever Melanie Sabelhaus goes after her departure this month, she will make a similarly lasting mark there as she has at the SBA. Although I am sorry to see her go, my wife, Freda, and I wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, last month, I had the honor and privilege of attending the annual Memorial Day Vietnam Wall observance, in which one of my constituents and friends, the late Army PFC John Harold Berg of Rockford, Illinois, was honored for his service to our country. John was gravely injured in Vietnam, but he passed up his 100 percent disability status when he returned because he wanted to help others. Despite a host of serious medical issues, John served as a veterans representative for 25 years at the Illinois Department of Employment Security before he died in 2003 from cancer caused by shrapnel lodged in his brain from his Vietnam injury. On Memorial Day, I sat with John's widow, Lynn, and several of John's friends as his name was one of just four this year officially added to the Vietnam Wall. It was a remarkable day for a remarkable man. I have attached a newspaper article written by Judy Emerson of the Rockford Register Star that describes John's contributions and his character perfectly:

Adding Soldiers to the Wall

One hundred years from now, someone will read the name

``John H. Berg'' cut into black granite on The Wall in

Washington, D.C., and they will assume he died in Vietnam in

the spring of 1968. Berg was fatally wounded April 7, 1968,

in combat near Khe Sahn, but it took him 37\1/2\ years to

die. When he did, on Oct. 10, 2003, it was in his rural

Rockford home surrounded by family. But the Vietnam War took

his life, just as surely as if he had died that spring day

long ago as he lay in the dirt with blood streaming from the

hole in his skull. Medics postponed his death that day.

Military doctors patched him up as well as they could and

sent him home to Rockford with a plate covering the hole in

his skull and shrapnel still embedded in his brain.

He dragged his left leg, and his left hand was useless. He

slurred his words. Back in Rockford, he couldn't find a job.

A talented musician, he was bitterly disappointed that he

couldn't play piano, organ, violin and guitar, as he once

did. But he went to college. He re-learned how to play his

instruments with only his right hand and arm. He sought the

company of other Vietnam veterans who understood the

struggle. He found a job that gave him purpose. For 25 years,

he was a veterans representative at the Illinois Department

of Employment Security. Over the years, he helped thousands

of veterans find jobs and get benefits to which they were

entitled. Many were disabled, as he was.

In 2002, doctors found the tumor growing under the plate in

Berg's head. His widow, Lynn Berg, said doctors found

shrapnel when they tried to carve away the tumor and buy her

husband a little more time. Even fighting the relentless

growth of a malignant tumor, Berg continued to work. He lived

longer than anybody expected.

When he died, his buddies at VietNow, which he'd helped to

start, began the process to have his name added to The Wall,

the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. The Department of Defense

concluded that Berg's fatal wound was incurred in Vietnam in

1968 and that he qualified to have his name listed on the

memorial. And so, Berg's name was carved on The Wall earlier

this month. A small diamond after the name signifies a

confirmed combat death. His name was placed as close as

possible to those of other soldiers who suffered their fatal

injuries on the same day. The thinking is that they should be

together. His father, 86-year-old Harold John Berg, said that

the memorial was waiting for his son, despite the 37\1/2\-

year reprieve from death. ``We saw the wall once,'' the

elder Berg said. ``And now we go the rest of the way. He's

on it.'' John H. Berg of Rockford was fatally wounded in

Vietnam April 7, 1968. He died Oct. 10, 2003. What he did

in between is the story.

Talented boy

Harold Berg was a machinist and inspector who retired from

Camcar years ago. His health is poor but his memory and

spirits are good. His wife, 80-year-old Vergene, has

Alzheimer's disease. They spend their days in side-by-side

hospital beds in the Cherry Valley home of their daughter

Hilary Belcher, who cares for them. Her husband, Nick, and 9-

year-old daughter, Chenoa, help.

Young John Berg wanted to be a musician. His mother was a

long-time organist for their church, and her firstborn son

also played the organ, as well as piano, violin and guitar. A

1965 graduate of East High School, John took some classes at

Rock Valley College until he was drafted in the summer of

1967. ``We tried to talk him into going into the Air Force,

but he thought he'd get this over with in two years,'' his

dad said. By January 1968, 20-year-old John was in Vietnam.

His early letters home to his parents, three younger sisters

and a brother revealed a diminishing innocence as reality and

the futility of the mission sank in. ``I only hope this year

goes fast and I come back in one piece,'' he wrote two weeks

before his injury.

His wife, Lynn, said John could remember what happened

during the firefight on April 7, 1968, up until he was

wounded. He was feeding an ammunition belt into a machine gun

being fired by another soldier when he turned to dive for

cover from incoming mortar. It's still unclear whether he was

shot in the head or hit by shrapnel or both. He was

unconscious or semiconscious for weeks. The Western Union

telegram arrived early one weekday morning as Harold Berg was

getting ready for work. ``Deep regret . . . very seriously

ill list . . . penetrating fragment wound to the head.''

Vergene couldn't stop crying. Hilary Belcher, who's 15 years

younger than John, doesn't remember too much about the time,

except that her parents were distraught.

The telegrams kept coming with updates on her brother's

condition, and after John was transferred to a hospital in

Denver, Colo., the family drove out there to see him. ``I

remember walking down a long hallway and doorway after

doorway, there were all these men with holes in their

heads, just like John,'' Belcher said. ``We took him out

for a while. You could hardly understand him when he

talked.'' Months later, when he came home, she said, ``I

ran out to him saying `John's home! John's home!' He

screamed. He thought I was going to knock him down. ``I

used to run to him and he'd throw me up in the air.''

There was plenty of trauma to go around.

``Those first eight years, he was very angry,'' Belcher

said. ``When you get a head injury, it changes your whole

personality.'' John was bitter that he couldn't play his

instruments. His disability was obvious, and nobody would

hire him. ``It took him years to find a job. He even applied

to a gas station to pump gas, but they told him, `You only

have one hand, ' '' Belcher said. He decided to go back to

Rock Valley College. There, he met Reuben Johnson, dean of

community services and the producer and founder of Starlight

Theatre. Johnson helped Berg learn to play the piano, organ,

guitar and violin with one hand.

It was a turning point, as was the job Berg landed in July

1977 as a veterans representative at the Illinois Department

of Employment Security. He was good at it, said Jack

Snyder, who also is a disabled Vietnam veteran. The two men

worked together at the department for close to 25 years.

``I've never seen a person give so much heart and caring to

his job as John did,'' Snyder said. ``We had guys coming in

who were basically homeless. He would take them home until

they got on their feet. ``I've seen him cry at his desk over

some of these situations, over the misuse and abuse the

military has given some of these people.''

Berg often referred clients to the Winnebago County

Veterans Assistance office in Memorial Hall. Herbert L.

Crenshaw, also a Vietnam veteran, works there. He and Berg

worked together to get help for thousands of vets over the

years, he said. ``He worked with this office to get veterans

back on their feet, to get jobs, get assistance,'' Crenshaw

said. ``He had walked in their shoes. He had the same

difficulties and disabilities they had.''

Berg, like many of his clients, had a full disability

designation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. ``He

could have sat home and drawn a disability,'' Crenshaw said.

``He chose to work.'' Berg had a network that he could use to

get practical assistance for veterans and offer them moral

support. He helped found VietNow, a support group for Vietnam

veterans that started in Rockford and then became a national

organization. It still thrives.

Nick Parnello, one of the original VietNow members and now

president of the Vietnam Veterans Honor Society, said John

was ``the only guy that always showed up'' at the early

meetings. ``Some of the guys felt that we should give up

because there were so few of us back then,'' Parnello said.

``But if John could show up in his disabled condition, it was

an inspiration to all of us. ``Everybody he came in contact

with was changed because of his commitment to them.''

Marriage and family

In November 1991, Berg met Lynn Walquist of Rockford. Her

daughter and son-in-law, who knew Berg through mutual

acquaintances in the veterans circle, fixed them up. ``I've

got four kids--two in college--and all these animals,''

recalled Lynn, who's always had a cat and at least one dog.

``What's wrong with him?''

The kids always had rock music blaring when Berg came to

pick her up for a date. ``He said, `Do you ever listen to

classical music?' '' she said, she didn't. He taught her to

love it as he did. Lynn's scrapbook holds tickets from

concerts they attended at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and

elsewhere. By then, Berg could make music on the piano and

other instruments with one hand. He sang with the Rock Valley

Chorale and with a Mendelssohn Club group. They fell in love

and were married April 25, 1992. ``It was the best day of our

lives,'' Lynn Berg said. ``He told me: `I'll never say no to

you,' and he kept his promise.''

Over the years they attended VietNow conventions and

events. She became active as an ``associate,'' which is what

veterans'' spouses are called in the group. ``He always said

that he felt very fortunate. He was only in Vietnam for three

months,'' Lynn Berg said. ``The others who had been there

longer were the ones who came back with so many problems.''

His friends became her friends. Her children and

grandchildren were his.

He's smiling in every picture his wife has in her numerous

photo albums. But it would be a mistake to say Berg's

transformation from an angry young man to a person with

purpose and a zest for living was easy, said his sister,

Hilary Belcher. ``He had to grow into a new personality and

lifestyle and everything,'' Belcher said. ``He was gung-ho

when he went into the service, and then he lost it and he got

angry. ``But he got through it, and his gung ho came back.''

Retired U.S. Army Col. Fremont Piercefield knew Berg well

from their mutual work in various organizations, including

the VFW, Disabled American Veterans and the Winnebago County

Veterans Association. ``He was the gentlest, kindest man,''

the colonel said. ``He was there when you expected him and

when you needed him.'' He was the same way on the home front,

his wife said. He took care of the house and the cars and the

lawn, but he also taught her how to do those things. She

needs to know them now that he's gone.

He would see a need and answer it before other people

noticed, she said. For instance, he was concerned that one of

her daughters was in danger walking from the library back to

her dorm at Northern Illinois University after using a

computer late at night. He bought her a computer for her

room.

There were health issues over the years. Berg took

medication to deal with headaches and seizures that came with

the head injury. He learned to compensate for the partial

paralysis of his left side and minimized the limp. He never

regained use of his left hand. It looked just as it did when

he was 20 years old, his wife and sister said, as if it had

been frozen in time the day he was injured.

The end of something

In May of 2002, Berg began having excruciating,

debilitating headaches and more frequent seizures, his wife

said. Brain scans showed bright spots of shrapnel but the

brain tumor was not detected for a couple of months. He had

surgery, but the tumor was malignant, and doctors indicated

it was just a matter of time. Lynn Berg remembers one doctor

predicting John had about nine months. He exceeded that by

about seven months. VietNow treasurer and good friend Darrell

Gilgan visited Berg as he was recuperating from the surgery

in a Beloit nursing home.

Berg's radio was missing one day and Gilgan asked him about

it. ``He gave it to the guy in the next bed, a B-17 pilot

during World War II,'' Gilgan said. ``He was like that.''

Berg continued to work as much as he could, but the tumor was

growing again and the pain was awful, his wife said. During

his last months, she cared for him at their home, with help

from the Northern Illinois Hospice Association. He died Oct.

10, 2003. A few months later, Gilgan began the paperwork

necessary to have Berg considered for addition to the Vietnam

Memorial. The key element in Berg's favor was that the

Department of Veterans Affairs had determined that his death

was a result of the combat injury in 1968.

Gilgan sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, who

sent it through the proper military channels. ``I had known

John for years,'' said Manzullo, who will sit with Berg's

family at a Memorial Day ceremony Monday at The Wall. ``Here

is a guy who could have given up, but he refused to accept

the fact that people told him he was 100 percent disabled.

``He went to work to serve as a witness and an example to

people who are severely disabled.''

Some friends and family have traveled from the Rockford

area to join Lynn Berg at the ceremony, which will include a

special remembrance for her husband and three other veterans

whose names have been added on The Wall. John Berg's parents

are not well enough to go. His dad wishes he could, though.

``It's an end to something, I guess,'' Harold Berg said. ``He

just got an extension on his death.'' That sad morning when

the telegram came so many years ago and the day his son died

all those years later occupy the same place of grief in his

heart. ``We hoped the day would never come,'' his dad said,

``but then we found out he wasn't going to make it, after

all.''

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, this Velazquez amendment is an effort to kill the Small Business Comp Demonstration program. The issue is more appropriately settled in the authorizing committee and not on an appropriations bill.

First of all, the Comp Demonstration program does not cost the taxpayers one dime. There is no money appropriated for it. The Small Business Competitive Demonstration program began in 1988 with three purposes: first, to help emerging small businesses; second, to expand the participation of small businesses and industries that were traditionally dominated by large businesses; and, third, to test the competitiveness of small businesses in industries in which small businesses are well represented. The Comp Demo program was renewed in 1992, made permanent in 1997, and slightly expanded in 2004 as a part of larger bills that passed by wide margins or unanimous consent.

Prior to the adoption of the Comp Demonstration program, small businesses were relegated to industries dominated by small businesses. Federal agencies could say they met their overall small business goals while not doing much to provide more contracts to small businesses in more higher-end, higher-paying industries. The Comp Demo program ended this practice all while showing that small businesses are still competitive in the industries where they have been historically well represented. These industries include construction, garbage collection, architectural engineering, surveying and mapping, non nuclear shipbuilding and ship repair, landscaping, and pest control. The Comp Demo program requires that small businesses receive a ``fair proportion'' of government contracts in each industry rather than just a few.

The principles upon which the program were established are still valid. Emerging small businesses still need help. Small businesses need to participate in industries in which they have traditionally not had a chance to obtain a Federal contract.

I would urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the Velazquez amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I would note that as to the gentleman from Ohio's (Mr. LaTourette) district, in all of 2004, he had 185 7(a) loans totaling about $30,400,000. For 2005, year

to date, it is 319 loans totaling nearly $29 million in loans. So it just amazes me that the gentleman from Ohio would say that we need to spend $79 million worth of taxpayers' money.

Last year, I led the fight to add in $79 million for the 7(a) program. I was under the assumption that it was absolutely necessary to have the Federal Government subsidize small business people who wanted to get a loan. And I took a look at this, and I said what kind of a message does this send? There is no legal or constitutional right to have loans subsidized by the taxpayers of this country for people to get involved in businesses. And, in fact, that sends the wrong messages. People getting involved in business should realize that it is a free enterprise system that works.

And what we did last year was something epochal; 7(a) loan program last year for the first time did not depend upon a government handout. Small business people do not need government handouts to start businesses.

My dad was in the grocery store business. He was in the restaurant business. He would have never thought about applying for a loan that was subsidized by taxpayers.

And so what happened last year, the subsidy was taken away. Taxpayers saved $80 million that was spent in areas, other areas, as important as it is. And the problem that I have is whenever you have the government subsidy, then the program is subject to shut down. That is what happened 2 years ago when the SBA 7(a) program in December ran out of money. The 7(a) program shut down. Small business people could not plan. The lenders had no idea what was going on and chaos broke loose in the 7(a) industry. We do not need the 7(a) subsidy.

As the chairman of the Small Business Committee, I have spoken to people all over the country thanking me saying, you know, we are paying a little bit more for our loan, but we realize that by the small business people paying a little bit more for their loan and the amount up front gets rolled over to the eventual length of the term of the loan, that makes not only more money available, but it makes the program predictable.

So I would encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the Velazquez amendment. Vote ``no'' to spending $80 million in taxpayers' funds.

Mr. Chairman, in looking at the figures for the gentlewoman from Illinois' (Ms. Bean) district, my colleague, for fiscal year 2004, there were 193 loans, that is 7(a) loans, totaling $31 million. So far, to date, in fiscal year 2005, 7 months, there are 177 loans at $26 million. That is almost there.

At this rate, the number of loans in 2005 will greatly exceed the number of loans in 2004, showing that when the subsidy was cut and the taxpayers saved $79 million, more loans were given in the gentlewoman from Illinois' (Ms. Bean) district than when the subsidy was in effect.