Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply saddened at the loss of a great American. Charlie Norwood was an honored member of this House of Representatives and will be deeply missed. His work for patient and individual rights showed his intense compassion for the American people.

Congressman Norwood was someone who lived the American dream. He went to college, became a dentist, fought for his country in Vietnam, and was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He served his district, state and country with distinction in the United States Congress.

Charlie worked to leave the world a better place than it was given to him, and I can say that, because of his service to our country and work for health care issues, he did just that.

Congressman Charlie Norwood was taken from this earth too soon. My wife Diana and I extend our deepest sympathy to Gloria and the entire Norwood family in this difficult time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Paul Anthony Wieser of Culpeper, Virginia, who passed away on Tuesday, December 12, 2006. Mr. Wieser dedicated his life to military and public service and should be honored today.

Mr. Wieser was a proud World War II veteran who served in the United States Navy aboard the USS North Carolina as a Boatswain Mate First Class from 1941 to 1946. After the war, he returned home to Linden, New Jersey and became a firefighter for the Linden Fire Department. He was called from the United States Naval Reserve in 1951 and served in Korea aboard the USS Kula Gulf. After retiring from the Linden, New Jersey Fire Department in 1980, Mr. Wieser moved to Wilmington, North Carolina to be closer to the battleship he loved, the USS North Carolina. He was a volunteer tour guide on the USS North Carolina for over 10 years. Mr. Wieser remained in touch with many of his shipmates and attended all of the USS North Carolina's annual reunions. As the guest of honor at Constitution Day on September 17, 2006, he had the opportunity to ring the USS North Carolina's bell. He was also featured on the cover of the October 2006 issue of Virginia Living Magazine in an issue that honored World War II heroes.

I hope that you will join me in honoring the life and service of Mr. Wieser and offering our sincerest condolences to his wife, Millie Wieser, and his family and friends.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, today's debate on H.R. 547 ultimately is about finding ways for our Nation to reduce its dependence on petro fuels. I offer this amendment, Mr. Chairman, one in response to an issue that has caught the attention of the American people and is being wildly reported in the press. The subject of this report in the amendment is the request by the office of the Speaker for the use of a luxury jetliner.

Today, the New York Post cleverly questioned the ``Airogance,'' that is A-I-R, of a request to use a $22,000-an-hour taxpayer-funded luxury jetliner to fly the Speaker from coast to coast.

While citing security concerns, a request was made by the Office of the Speaker for a plane that, according to the Air Force, has a game room, a stateroom, entertainment center, bedroom, shower, and seats 42 to 50 people.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I hardly think these amenities help with security, and I personally would describe them at the very least as inappropriate and an unnecessary extravagance.

Again, H.R. 547 is about finding ways to shift our Nation's patterns of fuel consumption. We hear a lot of talk about doing everything we can to achieve energy independence. And there is a lot of talk as well about stopping global warming. In this context, Mr. Chairman, these reports and the underlying request by the Office of the Speaker is an extravagance of power. It is something that, frankly, the taxpayers won't swallow. And I urge the passage of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman.

Mr. Chairman, there has been a lot said on this floor today in this debate. Frankly, questions have been raised about the expectations of the American people and what it is that they seek for their Members of Congress to do.

There was one Member on the other side of the aisle who said we ought to get on with the serious business of the day. Well, Mr. Chairman, the ability to fly on a jumbo jetliner is a privilege never before granted to a Member of Congress. And I know one thing, Mr. Chairman; the American taxpayers do expect us to take seriously the decisions surrounding the expenditure of those dollars. They expect us to respect that those tax dollars do not belong to the Speaker, do not belong to any of us. They are just that, the taxpayers' dollars.

They also expect us to lead by example, and I would want to pose to every speaker that spoke today and ask them, do they really in their heart of hearts support our Speaker having the access to a 42-seat jumbo jetliner?

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman.

Madam Speaker, first of all I would like to congratulate the gentlelady from California on her election as Speaker and look forward to serving with her.

I just ran into a reporter on the outside of the Chamber who asked me about the tone of debate and what I thought the tone would be going forward. I agree with Leader Boehner when he spoke in this Chamber just a little bit earlier about the fact that we can debate, we can differ in a nice way, and I think that is what the American people expect.

But they also expect rigorous debate here on the floor of the House. I am asking my colleagues to reject the previous question. Because if we look at the message from this election, the American people spoke out: They want change. They want us to change the way that Washington does business. And in fact, a little less than 2 years ago, then Minority Leader Pelosi saw fit to send a letter to the former Speaker Hastert spelling out the way that she thought this House should run, how we should change, a prescription to correct the so-called ills that my friend from Massachusetts mentioned earlier of the 109th Congress. So if we defeat the previous question, we in the House will be allowed to bring up what has been called the minority bill of rights, and this again was the recipe for change that then minority Leader Pelosi saw fit that was the

right prescription for the ills that affected this institution or allegedly affected this institution.

So it just doesn't make sense for us to be here today and somehow in spirit of bipartisanship, transparency, civility, to be going back on that pledge to honor the rights of all Americans so that we can have an open debate in this House. It doesn't make sense to follow the adage, ``Do as I say, not as I do.''

So I would urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question, allow there to be light, allow there to be transparency, not just after we pass the first 100 hours of this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Private First Class Edwin Anthony (E.J) Andino II of Culpeper, Virginia.

On Sunday, September 3, 2006, PFC Andino, a member of the United States Army 1st Battalion 77th Armored Division, died while responding to a mortar attack against a U.S. Army camp in Baghdad. He had been awarded the Army Achievement Medal and was recently promoted to the rank of Private First Class. PFC Andino volunteered for 18 months of combat service and had only been in Iraq for a month before he was killed. Posthumously, he was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for valor.

PFC Andino is remembered as an American hero who joined the Army to serve his country and to make his family proud. We are grateful for his service to our Nation and for his ultimate sacrifice in defending our freedom. I ask that you join me in offering our sincere condolences to the family and friends of PFC Andino at this most difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the important contributions and deep sacrifices that our men and women in the military make. I would like to share the experience of one of my constituents, Major Jeff Farmer, who recently returned from Iraq and sent me this message:

I'll leave you with a little story. After going on R&R

three months earlier (to date I'd been away from my home for

more than twelve months), I flew into Atlanta National

Airport from Kuwait for a layover waiting for the next flight

to Charlottesville, VA. I had on my same uniform that I had

been wearing for 36 straight hours. I was trying to get home

to my family. I was hungry so I went into an Appleby's in the

airport terminal. I did not feel very patriotic so I found a

corner booth and dropped my pack next to the floor by my

table. I was tired so I put my head down as if to meditate

and trying not to attract any attention. I was not quite sure

if I wanted to eat or sleep however both were weighing

heavily on my mind. The waiter came to my table and reminded

me that I could not drink alcohol in the airport in uniform

because of General Order #1. I told the waiter that was OK. I

was not drinking anyway. My eyes were a little hazy and I was

appreciating the look of free people walking around and

enjoying each other's conversation. It was refreshing and

distracted my attention while I was trying to look at the

menu and order. It was nice to hear a baby cry, people laugh,

and just enjoy what they were doing without consequences or

repercussions. The environment was very warm which made me

feel a little envious of my experience and if they really

knew how good life really is. My meal finally came and I ate

slowly trying to taste, smell, and enjoy every bite. French

fries never tasted so good.

After an enjoyable meal I slowly got up and walked over to

the counter to ask for my waiter so I could pay and leave.

The cashier said, ``Don't worry. The meal is covered.'' I

thanked him and he said don't thank me. Four different people

offered to pay your meal and when I told the other three the

meal was paid in full they said, ``Keep the money for the

next soldier coming in.'' As I turned from the counter with

my pack on my back people began to stand, thank me, pat my

back, and applaud. Tears filled my eyes. I was humbled. Just

the thought and gesture made me feel proud of what I was

doing and my service to my country. At that moment I knew I

was home.

We owe Major Jeff Farmer and his fellow servicemen and women a debt of gratitude for helping preserve freedom and democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I recognize her leadership and her staff as well as that of the gentleman from California in bringing this resolution forward, and congratulate them on that.

Very briefly in response to my good friend from Texas and his view and addressing so many different issues, I would just like to say this clearly is not a conflict, I think, that Israel finds itself in by its own making or its asking.

As the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) indicated, Israel was once again attacked. It was forced by its enemies, who wished to see it wiped off the map, to respond. The actions taken by Hezbollah and Hamas are tantamount to nothing less than an act of war against a sovereign country. Israel has the right to use every military tool in its arsenal to protect its citizens from this invasion and to incapacitate its enemy to prevent future attacks.

This latest conflict of the waging war against the terrorists in the Middle East is evidence again that we cannot hope to win that war against the Islamic fascists if we ignore their state sponsors. Make no mistake about it, Syria and Iran are to blame for the outbreak of war in the region, and they must be held accountable. They support Hezbollah and Hamas both financially and militarily. The line of terror and violence occurring in Israel today and in Lebanon today runs straight back to Damascus and Tehran. These state sponsors of terror must know that their actions are unacceptable and that the free world will no longer ignore or tolerate their actions.

Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution and stand beside our ally Israel as it fights the terrorists. This is a battle the free world cannot afford to lose.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I rise in opposition to the amendment and in support of the amended Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act.

In America we continue to gamble our economic future through dependence on foreign sources of energy. The time to stop this is now. The most effective and sure way to secure our energy future is to utilize the fossil fuel resources we have here at home. The underlying bill will allow Virginia to choose exploration off its coast.

Virginia's deep ocean production will help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and provide a revenue source to fund the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. Energy security depends first on a reliable supply through exploration of domestic oil and gas reserves while we encourage the development of alternative sources of energy.

This bill, Mr. Chairman, and I recognize the leadership and the gentleman of California in bringing this bill forward, is a necessary part of ensuring American energy security, and I am proud to support it.

Mr. Speaker, today we are considering a bill that would move us a step closer to full repeal of the death tax, a goal which I fully support.

The death tax is one of the most egregious taxes in our system today and should be fully repealed. This tax is a punishment for people who have worked hard all their lives, who have built successful small businesses and who have succeeded in living the American dream.

It does not stand to reason that the United States, the most successful economy in the world, should punish its citizens with such a regressive tax. The United States has the second highest estate tax in the world at 46 percent, second only to Japan at 70 percent.

This tax penalizes farmers, ranchers and small business owners. These are people who work hard day in and day out to keep their businesses running and meet payroll deadlines. These are the businesses that produce jobs and provide healthcare for many Americans. When we cripple small businesses with inheritance taxes that force them to close, we not only punish the owner for being successful, we punish their employees as well.

Some of my colleagues on the other side of aisle don't want to pass this tax relief on to the American people. They would rather fund their special interest give aways than let Americans keep their own money. This is not the Government's money. Washington has already taxed these earnings once, twice even three times. Do we really need to go back for more when you die? Isn't death punishment enough?

Mr. Speaker, this tax is shameful, it is greedy and it is offensive and I support the efforts we are making here today to move towards a full repeal of the death tax.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Legislative Line Item Veto Act. This bill will give Congress and the President a powerful tool to restore fiscal sanity to Washington. This bill is an important step toward reforming the Budget Act of 1974, which stripped the President of impoundment authority--effectively hobbling a vital check on the system to limit wasteful spending. Presidents Jefferson through Nixon used impoundment authority to withhold funding for wasteful spending.

In 1821 Thomas Jefferson said: ``The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife.'' The legislative line item veto is the pruning knife that Jefferson envisioned.

The legislative Line Item Veto will further hold Congress accountable to the taxpayers and ensures that we continue to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Speaker, the members of this House have had a lengthy and passionate debate today. When these hours of debate are over, I think the American people need a clear understanding of what the Democrats propose to do.

Lets look at the Democrats' blueprint, the Murtha Plan.

The Murtha Plan proposes to have our forces ``redeployed at the earliest practicable date'' with no details about what that means. Meanwhile, the Iraqi leadership only days ago requested for our forces to continue their side-by-side work with Iraqi forces. The Democrats' plan advocates redeployment before the job is done, which is nothing short of retreat.

The Murtha Plan calls for the creation of a ``quick-reaction force'' and an ``over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines'' with, again, no details about what exactly that means. The Democrats continue to advocate retreat, while

our President has stated time and time again that our commanders on the ground will determine the tactical plans, not politicians in Washington.

The Murtha Plan calls for America to ``pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.'' Are Democrats suggesting that we can negotiate with terrorists? This is a war unlike any other. If we leave this front now, the terrorists will come after us somewhere else. This is not about territory or conquest. This is a fight for the future of the free world.

The Murtha Plan supported by the Democrats is nothing more than an enormous step backwards in the fight against the Islamic fascists. It is a rehash of the same old policies of appeasement and retreat that contributed greatly to our lack of preparedness for the 9/11 attacks. The policy of appeasement and non-engagement has only emboldened terrorists in the past.

Thankfully, our President has charted a new course to take the fight to the terrorists so we do not have to fight them here at home. We must aggressively keep our resolve in this decades-old war with the terrorists.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment and insist, again, that in order to deny economic resources to the Castro regime, it is imperative that we maintain the sanction and travel restrictions that are in place, and encourage the ordinary citizens of Cuba, and enable them the benefit of our sanctions that are aimed at trying to free the people of Cuba and end their oppression, end the oppression that they suffer under.

Again, I quote from the administration, ``Lifting the sanctions now or limiting our ability to enforce them, would provide assistance to a repressive regime at the expense of the ordinary Cuban people.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia, and Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman for his meticulous research in recounting the numerous incidents of terrorist acts against American citizens over the last several decades, and I think that the gentleman makes a point that will really be the focal point, the central point of the debate of the floor of this House on Thursday, and that is, that the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan and all of the other incidents that the gentleman speaks of is part of a greater war against terrorists.

I want to respond to a statement that was made earlier from a colleague from the other side of the aisle. He ended his remarks by mentioning the war in Iraq and portraying it as a vicious war we should never have been in anyway.

I think, Mr. Speaker, that the gentleman from Georgia has just laid out the facts as they are. We did not ask for this war. The terrorists started this war. We must respond in order to secure our citizenry, in order to secure America.

I would, however, like to pick up from where the gentleman left off and the fact that we have experienced some victories over the last week, one in which we saw the killing of Zarqawi who was a leader in a terrorist activity in Iraq against American citizens and others, and it demonstrated, Mr. Speaker, that we are making progress, that we are able to penetrate and begin to dismantle this terrorist infrastructure that frankly has identified Iraq as the front in their war against America.

I would also like to call the House's attention, Mr. Speaker, to another victory that we experienced last week.

On June 8, which was Thursday, Mr. Speaker, the guided missile destroyer USS Cole joined two Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group on their way to the Middle East. This marked the USS Cole's first return to Middle Eastern waters since the October 12, 2000, surprise terrorist attack on the ship while it refueled in Aden Harbor, Yemen.

On a somber note, this viscous, unprovoked terrorist attack by al Qaeda terrorists on this U.S. warship claimed the lives of 17 U.S. sailors. Among these brave sailors was Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter who was a constituent of mine.

His loss will forever be felt and his service never forgotten by any of us, by the citizens of his home county, Hanover County, Virginia, and in fact, the entire Nation.

It is a fitting tribute that the ship on which Kenneth served and gave his life returns to those same waters, reborn, resilient and again ready to bring the fight to the enemy, the Islamic fascist terrorists who seek only death and oppression.

Mr. Speaker, I believe this statement by the USS Cole's newest commanding officer, Commander Bradley Roberson, says it best, and Commander Roberson said: ``We draw strength from this being a very stout and resolute hull. The crew reflects that and the fighting spirit of the navy. I think the ship symbolizes America, its determination, its fortitude and the resolve that we will be around no matter what.''

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take a moment to commend and honor the thousands of Virginian National Guard and Reserve soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who have served in our struggle to rid the world of Islamic-fascist terror.

As we speak, more than 1,000 brave men and women in dozens of Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Marine Corps Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air National Guard units from central Virginia continue in this struggle.

So, Mr. Speaker, I would again like to thank the gentleman from Georgia for his leadership, not only on the Official Truth Squad, but on this very, very important topic of the war against the terrorists, a war against an enemy that frankly harbors a view of the world very different from those of us in this country and one in which we will not stand down.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of increasing government efficiency in considering new refinery applications in the Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act.

Gas prices have risen as supplies have been stretched thin and U.S. refineries have struggled to refine all of the oil we need. This bill streamlines the cumbersome government processes that delay and discourage new development and production, paving the way for construction of new oil or biofuel refineries.

Domestic energy security depends on reliable supply through exploration of oil and gas reserves on the outer continental shelf, bolstering our refining capacity, and investigating alternative sources of energy.

This bill is an important piece of ensuring American energy security and I am proud to support it.