Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2638--The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

The name of the requesting Member: Heather Wilson.

The bill number: H.R. 2638.

The account: 18 DTRA 0602716Br WMD Defeat Technology.

The legal name and address of the requesting entity or in the case of military construction earmarks, the name and address of the military installation; The entity to receive funding for this project is the University of New Mexico, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001.

A description of the earmark including the amount and a spending plan: Requested amount $3.2 Million. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) University Strategic Partnerships (USP) Program began in 2003, and is in the current Department of Defense POM budget at $2 million per year. The program seeds projects at universities in cooperation with divisions throughout DTRA. The typical value of a task contract is $500,000 per year and it primarily funds exploratory projects, with up to several million dollars per year for operational research and development projects. Additional USP funding would allow for additional projects to be initiated and would assist in continuing projects past their initial year by sharing funding between operational divisions of DTRA. New areas of interest at DTRA include multiple projects in biotechnology, nanotechnology, materials science, information sciences, infectious diseases, surveillance, medical sciences, and the modeling and understanding of group behavior. In addition, current projects would move on to a phase two funding with DTRA internal divisions sharing costs. Current projects, as noted above, involve social and physical sciences, engineering, and medical and veterinary sciences.

The name of the requesting Member: Heather Wilson.

The bill number: H.R. 2638.

The account: 15 0603114N Power Projection Advanced Technology.

The legal name and address of the requesting entity or in the case of military construction earmarks, the name and address of the military installation; The entity to receive funding for this project is the NM Tech Institute of Mining, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801.

A description of the earmark including the amount and a spending plan: The requested amount is $7.0 Million. The U.S. Office of Naval Research and the Naval Research Laboratory have joined a consortium of research universities, including the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and Cambridge University, in a unique teaming arrangement to build a state of the art observatory in the Magdalena Mountains near Socorro, New Mexico. In support of this program, the strengths of these research organizations and the existing investment in the Magdalena Ridge Observatory (MRO) are being leveraged to develop and sustain smart, advanced instrumentation for imaging space objects. This is in support of the existing MRO mission and will advance the capabilities of the observatory, particularly in the area of Space Situational Awareness (SSA).

The name of the requesting Member: Heather Wilson.

The bill number: H.R. 2638.

The account: 121 OSD 0604940D8Z Central Test And Evaluation Investment Development (CTEIP).

The legal name and address of the requesting entity or in the case of military construction earmarks, the name and address of the military installation; The entity to receive funding for this project is New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30001, Las Cruces, NM 88003.

A description of the earmark including the amount and a spending plan: The amount requested is $5.0 Million. Critical needs to be addressed by UAV Systems Operations and Validation Program under this congressional request include the development of certification requirements for UAV operators in the National Aerospace Systems (both DoD and civilian), development of training programs for UAV operators and designers, and further development of unique surface materials to provide camouflage coatings for small- to mid-sized UAVs. Other key requirements include reliability, standards, interoperability, airspace integration, cost efficiencies, risk reduction, user demands, and aerodynamic and propulsion applications for micro UAVs. Lastly, a flight test center located in civil airspace will be available for federal and civil users.

The name of the requesting Member: Heather Wilson.

The bill number: H.R. 2638.

The account: 13 0602601F Space Technology.

The legal name and address of the requesting entity or in the case of military construction earmarks, the name and address of the military installation; The entity to receive funding for this project is the University of New Mexico, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001.

A description of the earmark including the amount and a spending plan: The requested amount is $800 thousand. The development of large autonomous and reconfigurable space-based systems is in the interest of national security. Coordination and control of multiple satellites and deployable sensor systems that can automatically plan their interaction toward a common objective is valuable in surveillance applications, coordination of military and relief operations, as well as communications. Successful development of this technology will allow the DoD to conduct space-based surveillance with greater resolution and wider coverage. This technology is also necessary for the generation of solar power in space and the projection of laser beams to enable the transformational communication needs of the DoD. The technology developed and associated educational programs will also support the commercial aerospace industry.

The name of the requesting Member: Heather Wilson.

The bill number: H.R. 2638.

The account: 13 0602601F Space Technology.

The legal name and address of the requesting entity or in the case of military construction earmarks, the name and address of the military installation; The entity to receive funding for this project is Goodrich Corporation, 6600 Gulton Ct NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.

A description of the earmark including the amount and a spending plan: The amount requested is $2.4 Million. This program will enable rapid integration of new technologies and payloads for the Air Force's Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) program. This will be accomplished by developing a common interface, simplified thermal design and fine grain programmability for avionics related spacecraft hardware. Goodrich SFS' approach significantly reduces recurring system engineering by speeding component integration, providing a common platform for software reuse and auto-code generation. It also allows for hardware design changes up through integration and test and result in a simplified test environment.

The name of the requesting Member: Heather Wilson.

The bill number: H.R. 2638.

The account: 118 OSD 0603757D8Z Training Transformation (T2).

The legal name and address of the requesting entity or in the case of military construction earmarks, the name and address of the military installation; The entity to receive funding for this project is NM Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801.

A description of the earmark including the amount and a spending plan: The amount requested is $4.8 Million. The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech) acquired the town of Playas, NM, in October 2004 and has converted the town into the Playas Training and Research Center (PTRC). The funding requested herein for FY08 will be used to establish the PTRC as a Joint National Training and Experimentation Site for National Guard Bureau (NGB) active and reserve personnel, as well as for Air National Guard and Army National Guard personnel. Playas is envisioned as becoming an integral portion of the Joint National Training Capability. This program and associated funding for it is under the sponsorship of the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) Joint National

Training Capability (JNTC), since JFCOM/JNTC has been designated as the principal Joint Forces integrator. The requested funding will be used to develop, explore and assess new joint concepts, organizational structures and emerging technologies. The capabilities of Playas will serve Joint Forces Command and National Guard mission area training requirements.

The name of the requesting Member: Heather Wilson.

The bill number: H.R. 2638.

The account: 3 0601153N Defense Research Sciences.

The legal name and address of the requesting entity or in the case of military construction earmarks, the name and address of the military installation; The entity to receive funding for this project is the University of New Mexico, located at 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131.

A description of the earmark including the amount and a spending plan: The amount requested is $2.8 Million. The Long Wavelength Array (LWA), which will be managed by the University of New Mexico, is a very large aperture (400 km) radio astronomy telescope that will be centered on the Plains of San Augustine and extending into southwestern New Mexico. This powerful new instrument will enable scientists to analyze a poorly explored region of the electromagnetic spectrum which will provide research in astrophysics, space physics, space weather, and ionospheric physics. The LWA will be an important research instrument to support critical national security efforts, particularly in the area of developing more accurate models of the ionosphere and its effects on radio and radar propagation.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 476, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

I thank my colleague from Nebraska.

I also wanted to thank my colleague from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, for joining me in this effort and being the lead cosponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 163. There are 105 Members of this body who are cosponsors of this resolution, and it's intended to increase awareness of a syndrome that, frankly, before someone came and talked to me about it, I had never heard of. My guess is most of our colleagues have never heard of Dandy-Walker syndrome because it affects a relatively small number of families, but it's a very serious syndrome that deserves attention and research and understanding.

The resolution encourages the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control to do more research on the causes and cures and prevalence of the disease and to encourage education of medical doctors so that it can be quickly and accurately diagnosed.

Even the estimates of the number of children who suffer from Dandy- Walker vary greatly. Somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000 children in America

suffer from this syndrome, and it is very serious and often very difficult to diagnose, a combination of developmental delays, enlarged head circumference, hydrocephalus and seizures, that together define a syndrome that was initially described by a neurosurgeon and professor at the University of New Mexico named Dr. Arthur Walker. He initially described nine cases of what is now known as Dandy-Walker in 1942.

Early detection and diagnosis, accurate diagnosis, is critical for these children, particularly because of the coincidence of hydrocephalus in children, a very serious condition that can result in neurological complications if it's not diagnosed very early in life.

Currently, there are only five researchers in the United States who are focused on Dandy-Walker and trying to understand it, develop treatments, and perhaps eventually develop ways to prevent the disease.

This resolution expresses the sense of the Congress that further research and activities are needed to increase public awareness, to increase professional education, and to make sure physicians and the medical community are aware of what this syndrome's characteristics are so that it can be accurately diagnosed.

It also commends the National Institutes of Health on their first- ever sponsorship of a research workshop focused on hydrocephalus and Dandy-Walker, and acknowledges the need for continued collaboration between different institutes and centers at NIH.

Some of my colleagues have commended me for my leadership on this issue, and I have to demur in that regard. Sometimes I think that the best thing about being a Representative is that you are often the wagon that harnesses the enthusiasm and the passion of others. I would like to recognize where that passion really comes from: Eric Cole and his wife Andrea, who are here in the gallery today. They are the proud parents of Ryan.

The fact is that Eric's dad called me. Eric's dad and I served in the Air Force together, and one time, Captain Don Cole tried to teach me something about politics at the United States Air Force Academy. There are people in this body who would probably disagree as to how well I learned those lessons. But Captain Cole's son is Eric Cole. His grandson is Ryan, and Ryan suffers from Dandy-Walker syndrome.

I want to commend Eric for his leadership, for making a decision to get involved, not only to help his son but to help others who suffer from the same disease. It is because individuals choose to get involved that things change over time.

I would like to place into the Record a letter of support from the March of Dimes in support of this resolution. It's dated June 22, 2007.

Again, I'd like to thank my colleague, Mr. Van Hollen of Maryland, for working with us on this resolution and for his staff member, Ray Thorn, who's been particularly helpful in this process. Also, I would like to recognize two of my colleagues, Mr. Aderholt of Alabama and Mr. Ryan of Ohio, for their support and their encouragement on this resolution.

I would urge my colleagues to support this resolution to move forward on the understanding and the research and the professional education associated with a syndrome that adversely affects close to 40,000 young Americans.

March of Dimes,

Washington, DC, June 22, 2007.

Hon. Heather Wilson,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Wilson: On behalf of more than 3

million volunteers and 1400 staff members of the March of

Dimes Foundation, I am writing to commend you for introducing

H. Con. Res. 163, expressing the sense of Congress in support

of further research and activities to increase public

awareness, professional education, diagnosis and treatment of

Dandy-Walker syndrome and hydrocephalus.

As you may know, in the United States, about 3% of all

babies are born with a major birth defect. Birth defects are

the leading cause of infant mortality accounting for more

than 20% of all infant deaths. Children with birth defects

who survive often experience lifelong physical and mental

disabilities, and are at increased risk for developing other

health problems. In fact, birth defects contribute

substantially to the nation's health care costs. According to

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the

lifetime economic cost of caring for infants born each year

with 1 of the 18 most common birth defects exceeds $8

billion.

Yet, the causes of nearly 70% of birth defects are unknown.

Therefore, March of Dimes is working with Members of Congress

from both sides of the aisle to increase funding for the

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental

Disabilities, with particular focus on the groundbreaking

research being done through the National Birth Defects

Prevention Study. This important CDC initiative is being

carried out by 9 regional Centers for Birth Defects Research

and Prevention. The Centers use medical histories, DNA

samples and data on environmental exposures, and lifestyle

obtained from parents to study gene-environment interactions.

The study has already yielded critical information on certain

birth defects and has been particularly useful in responding

to public health concerns regarding possible links between

medication exposures and birth defects. The study also holds

promise for increasing our understanding of the effects of

medication use during pregnancy.

Increased federal support for birth defects research and

prevention is sorely needed and H. Con. Res. 163 will

heighten awareness and encourage additional federal research

on Dandy-Walker syndrome and other serious birth defects.

Thank you for your leadership to help improve the health of

infants and know that all of us at the March of Dimes look

forward to working with you on this and other initiatives to

improve the health of each and every child.

Sincerely,

Marina L. Weiss,

Senior Vice President,

Public Policy & Government Affairs.

Madam Speaker, in December of 2005, I was walking to work and was at 1st and C Street when the front page of the New York Times revealed the existence of a program that had not been previously briefed to the entire Intelligence Committee and to the subcommittee that I, at that time, chaired that oversaw the activities of the National Security Agency. That launched a period of extensive oversight and draft legislation in 2006.

In January of 2007, because legislation didn't pass, the administration made an attempt to put this entire program under a FISA law that was not designed and was not updated. I described that at the time as trying to put a twin-size sheet on a king-size bed. It didn't work.

By late summer of 2007, we had lost close to two-thirds of our intelligence collection on terrorism. We were unable to respond fast enough when we had problems, particularly in war zones.

Just before Memorial Day in 2007, we had three soldiers who were kidnapped in Iraq. We needed an Army of lawyers in Washington D.C. to listen to the communications of the people that we thought had kidnapped them.

That delay is not good enough and led to the insistence that we pass the Protect America Act, which this Congress did, over the objections of the Democratic leadership, in August of 2007. The Protect America Act closed an important intelligence gap, but it expired in February of this year, and the gap is at risk of ever widening.

The bill that we pass today will protect the civil liberties of Americans and continue to require individualized warrants for anyone in the United States or American citizens anywhere in the world. It will also allow our intelligence agencies to very rapidly follow up on tips and listen to foreigners in foreign countries who are trying to kill Americans.

We have restored FISA to its original intent and modernized it for 21st century communications and technology. This is an important step for our intelligence community and will put it on a sound footing for the next several decades.

Intelligence, good intelligence, is the first line of defense against terrorism, and today this body will take the next step in making sure we have the tools to be able to listen to our enemies and prevent other terrorist attacks.

I would urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Madam Speaker, the advancement of technology over the last 20 years has revolutionized daily life for Americans. Most of us use some form of technology every day. Cell phones, computers, iPods, webcasts, and televisions are everywhere.

User-friendly technology is also important for people with disabilities. Televisions, computers, and cellular devices are available to the public at-large, but, unlike the ``plain old telephone'' there are no requirements to ensure that every American is able to use them. Technology can enable the disabled with things like specialized hardware that simulates the human voice reading the computer screen. Assistive or adaptive technology has taken down many barriers to education and employment for disabled Americans. The technology is there, and now we need to encourage its national availability.

Alice Marshall is a mother of two from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She works for the Bureau of Land Management and when she was watching the news a few weeks ago, northern areas of New Mexico were receiving warnings of possible tornados in the area. She was not aware of this news because it was scrolling across the emergency ticker at the bottom of the screen and Alice is blind. The only audio descriptor technology available to her has to be ordered by mail and costs about $100.

Another constituent, Priscilla Stansbury, a grandmother caring for her 3 grandchildren, is not able to get information easily about snow days and school cancellation. She is blind and tells me that school cancellation and amber alert information generally runs along the bottom of her TV screen with no audio that she can hear.

The Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008 would require that IP-enabled communication equipment manufactured in the United States have a built-in speaker and a closed captioning decoder. The speaker and decoder would allow Americans with visual and hearing impairments to access the Internet, computers, and cellular devices. Furthermore, it would ensure that IP enabled equipment is manufactured to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Most Americans get emergency information over the radio, the television or the Internet. Warnings about tornados, such as the one we received on Capitol Hill the other week, should be accessible to all Americans. This bill would require audio and visual accessibility for those who are deaf and blind.

According to the Foundation for the Blind there are approximately 10 million blind people in the United States. The National Association of the Deaf report an estimated 22 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing, and there are a variety of other disabilities that affect the accessibility to audio-visual devices.

Today I joined Congressman Ed Markey in introducing this legislation to ensure that American citizens with disabilities have full access to the information that the rest of us take for granted.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in favor of passage of H.R. 5710, the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System Authorization Act, which will establish the Ute water pipeline. This bill authorizes construction of a pipeline from the Ute Reservoir that will carry water to several communities in Curry and Roosevelt counties.

Under the proposed bill, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is authorized to spend up to $327 million to assist the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority (ENMRWA) in the construction of the pipeline. The State of New Mexico and the ENMRWA, which represents communities in eastern New Mexico that will benefit from the pipeline, will contribute 25 percent of the cost of construction. ENMRWA will operate and maintain the pipeline.

Construction of this pipeline is essential as communities in eastern New Mexico try to meet future demand for water. It will provide a critical supply of water to growing communities and create certainty in these communities that safe, clean water will continue to be available long into the future.

The Ute Reservoir was built on the Canadian River in 1959 as a sustainable water supply for eastern New Mexico. It has been nearly 40 years since Congress authorized the study of a pipeline to transfer water to communities in eastern New Mexico, but only in the past few years have the affected New Mexico communities began planning for the pipeline.

Communities that will be served by the Ute pipeline include Grady, Clovis, Melrose, Texico, Portales and Elida, as well as Cannon Air Force Base.

I am a cosponsor of this important legislation and urge its swift passage.

Madam Speaker, the following graduating high school students from the First Congressional District of New Mexico have been awarded the Congressional Certificate of Merit. These students have excelled during their academic careers and proven themselves to be exceptional students and leaders with their scholastic achievements, community service, and participation in school and civic activities. It is my pleasure to be able to recognize these outstanding students for their accomplishments. Their parents, their teachers, their classmates, the people of New Mexico and I are proud of them.

Certificate of Merit Award Winners 2008

Chelsie Alderete, School for Integrated Academics and

Technologies; Marissa Andazola, St. Pius X High School; Clare

Callahan, Highland High School; Gladys Delgado, Valencia High

School; Aubrey Eckert, Sandia High School; Dawn Marie

Goodwin, Cesar Chavez Community School; Erika Hernandez,

Digital Arts and Technology Academy; Landon Hill, Cibola High

School; Tony Lucero, Albuquerque High School; Nancy Molinar,

Bernalillo High School; Carla Nieto, South Valley Academy.

Oscar Alderete, Century Alternative High School; Andrew

Bachica, Southwest Secondary Learning Center; Marshele

Danner, Sandia Preparatory School; Bethany Dorl, Early

College Academy; Chris Ela, Hope Christian School; Lauren

Harding, Albuquerque Academy; Anna Herrera, Temple Baptist

Academy; Andrew Krause, East Mountain High School; Sabrina

Mead, Los Puentes Charter School; Cassandra Montoya,

Mountainair High School; Anna Nowlin, Los Lunas High School.

Marisol Ochoa, Albuquerque Evening High School; Heather

Polyard, Manzano High School; Michael Romero, Creative

Education Preparatory Institute #1; Kelley Scheib, Sierra

Alternative High School; Patrick Turney, La Cueva High

School; Oran Wallace, Menaul High School; Hannah Perez, New

Futures High School; Sean Ritchel, Del Norte High School;

Felicia Salazar, Moriarty High School; Juan Soche, Valley

High School; Joshua Velasquez, West Mesa High School.

Madam Speaker, because I was unavoidably detained on Wednesday May 14, 2008, I missed rollcall votes 317, 318 and 319. Had I been present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote 317, no on rollcall vote 318 and YES on rollcall vote 319.

Madam Speaker, in honor of Women's History Month, I asked New Mexicans to send me nominations of women in New Mexico who have given special service to our community, but may have never received recognition for their good deeds.

On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, I had the honor and privilege of recognizing sixty-one worthy nominations describing sacrifices and contributions these women have made for our community. The people who nominated the women describe the dedication they have witnessed: volunteer hours for veteran's services, service on non-profit boards, homeless programs, mentors for young women, health care providers going above the call of duty, child advocates, volunteers at churches and synagogues, successful business women, wives, mothers and friends.

Allow me to share information about this year's nominees:

Cindy Aguilar--As an integral member of the Lovelace Rehabilitation Hospital, Cindy demonstrates excellence in all she does. She is willing to take on extra responsibilities and is known for going the extra mile.

Bobbye Allen--Bobbye, a member of Epsilom Sigma Alpha International, has always served to make a difference in the lives of people she's never met. She does this through philanthropic work for Boys and Girls Ranch, CYF, Easter Seals, UNM Children's Hospital and also as a member of 3 different Chamber of Commerce.

Linda Barbour--Linda has worked tirelessly as a founding member and President of the East Mountain Area Coalition. She was also a key mover in initiating a permanent memorial for Deputy James McGrane. Her ability to work so efficiently with many different people makes her a great advocate and representative for the East Mountain community.

Debra Benavidez--Debra is a role model for customer service at the Lovelace Rehabilitation Hospital. Under her leadership, her department's employee and patient satisfaction has improved significantly along with an increase in volume and revenue. She is also admired for her balance of career and family life.

Peg Bilson--Peg joined Eclipse Aviation in July of 2005, bringing experience in operations, finance, engineering, technology, customer service and product support. Her leadership at Eclipse is the final element that will establish Eclipse's position in history as the Very Light Jet innovator and leader. Peg contributions are felt throughout the company, especially in the area of high-volume production and stabilization of the supply chain. As a key leader in a successful New Mexico business with over 1,600 employees, Peg has a vision for the future.

Barbara Brennen--Barbara is the owner of Stride, Inc., a manufacturing company of office supplies, which employs people with disabilities. Barbara knows that working, mastering a task or gaining a skill, is the best builder of self-esteem in the world. Over 200 people have out-grown her factory and are now employed in the community.

Sonia Britton--Sonia has turned a personal tragedy, the loss of her only son Butch in a DWI crash, into the DWI Memorial of Perpetual Tears in Moriarty. A true advocate for change, Sonia volunteers with organizations, such as Mother's Against Drunk Driving, to make a difference. She helps our community understand the personal cost of

I thank my colleague from Texas for yielding the time. It was actually a year ago in May when I became absolutely determined to get this fixed, and it was a result of a series of cases in what I saw as a growing problem in intelligence collection.

But so that people understand, in 1978 the Congress passed a law that governed intelligence collection here in the United States, and it was in response to a bunch of abuses that happened in the 1950s and the 1960s. Someone gave me a copy of a declassified memorandum signed by Robert Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover authorizing the wiretapping of Martin Luther King. Intelligence agencies were involved in abuses and violating the civil liberties of Americans in the 1950s and 1960s, and this law in 1978 set up a special court called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. They meet in secret session. But in order to listen and to do a wiretap for the collection of foreign intelligence in the United States, you need to get a warrant from this court.

The problem is that the law was written specific to the technology of the time. 1978 was the year that I graduated from high school. The telephone was connected to the wall in the kitchen. The Internet did not exist. Cell phones were Buck Rogers stuff. At that time, almost all international calls went over the air. They bounced off satellites. And the law does not require a warrant to collect any of that information. Almost all local calls were on a wire. And the focus was if you touched a wire, you needed a warrant because that was presumed to be a local call.

Now, technology has completely changed. There are over 220 million cell phones in the United States. And now, almost all international calls go over a wire or a fiberoptic cable, not bounced off of satellites. So all of the foreign intelligence collection, foreign intelligence information which we used to collect over the air, without requiring any warrants at all, has migrated to wires; even more than that, because of global telecommunications.

Telecommunications flow on the path of least resistance. So somebody making a phone call from the Horn of Africa into Pakistan, let's say, that call has a significant probability of actually being routed through the United States. Even a call from northern Spain to southern Spain may actually end up getting routed through the United States.

Early last year, there was a series of court decisions that found that even if we are intending to listen to a foreigner in a foreign country, if the point of access required touching a wire in the United States, then you needed a warrant. This threw a complete monkey wrench into intelligence collection. By the summer of last year, the Director of National Intelligence has testified in open session that we had lost two-thirds of our intelligence collection on terrorism.

The problem was becoming critical, and as a result, we passed something called the Protect America Act in the first week of August that said very clearly if you were in the United States, you needed to get a warrant. If your target was outside of the United States, then you did not need to get a warrant. It went back to the original intention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.

We worked through the backlog in the 6 months that that temporary act

was in place. Unfortunately, that act was allowed to expire on the 16th of February, and now we have gone back to the old system for all new tips and tips that are coming into the intelligence agencies. Anything that was already under a warrant, was covered for a year. But intelligence is a dynamic thing. There are new tips that come in every day. It's a little bit like law enforcement. You're going after the bad guys every day. There are things that happen and you get new tips and new leads, and all of those new leads have to be dealt with under an old and cumbersome system that does not allow America to keep pace with the terrorists we are trying to track.

The key here is to prevent another terrorism attack, and our strongest and most important tool in the war against terrorism is good intelligence. If we can figure out what they are doing, we can stop them. The key is to figure out what they are doing, and that means good and timely intelligence.

I yield back to my colleague.

That is correct. Under the law that we are trying to get passed, that passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote with 68 votes, it would not be required to get a warrant to listen to a foreigner in a foreign country. Unfortunately, the leadership here in the House will not allow that bill to come up for a vote.

Twenty-one Democrats, over 20 State Attorney Generals have asked the leadership of this House to allow that bill to be brought up for a vote.

I think it would pass with an overwhelming, bipartisan majority.

So we have the liberal Democratic leadership thwarting the majority of this House and compromising the safety and security of this country, and I believe they are doing it largely at the behest of trial lawyers who are eager to sue telephone companies, who can't defend themselves in civil court without compromising the way we collect intelligence.

I thank my colleague from Texas.

One of the things that I think is important for people to understand is the importance of intelligence in keeping this country safe. In any war, I think intelligence is underestimated; and the reason is that we see the old newspaper headlines of the victory of the Navy at Midway, but you don't learn until years after that it was the breaking of the Japanese code that allowed our ships to be in the right place in the first place. We see the tremendous success of the Battle of Normandy, but we never knew until years later when it was finally declassified that we had broken the German code.

So intelligence is often underrated. But in the war on terror, trying to prevent the next terrorist attack, intelligence is even more important than it ever was in the Cold War.

I served in the Air Force during the Cold War, and the great thing about the Soviets was that they were certainly easy to find. They were easy to find, or as the military would say, they would have been hard to fix, easy to find. They had the same exercises at the same time of year using the same barracks and the same rail lines and

the same radio frequencies. We knew where they were. They would have been extremely difficult to defeat had they ever attacked the West, but we knew where they were.

When we are fighting against terrorism, the problem is completely reversed. If we can find them, we can stop them. The difficult part is finding them. It is more like a Where's Waldo problem, you know, the cartoon books where you get all of these pictures and you are trying to find the little guy hidden in among all the rest of the clutter. Terrorists generally use commercial communications. They have no territory. They are hiding in the civil population, hiding in plain sight as it were. So, the intelligence problem is the most important and most difficult problem.

All of us remember where we were the morning of 9/11. We remember who we were with, what we were wearing, who we called first, what we had for breakfast. But very few Americans remember where they were the day the British Government arrested 16 people who were within 48 hours of walking onto airliners at Heathrow and blowing them up over the Atlantic. If they had succeeded, more people would have died that day than died the morning of 9/11; but you don't remember it because it didn't happen, and it didn't happen because British, American, and Pakistani intelligence were able to uncover the plot and arrest those who were going to carry it out before they had an opportunity to.

Good intelligence allows us to prevent another terrorist attack, and electronic surveillance is one of our strongest intelligence tools. The Protect America Act just allowed Americans to listen to foreigners in foreign countries without a warrant. If we don't have that authority, it is sometimes impossible to get to the standard required to get a warrant. It is almost a waste of time. It is an incredible frustration for our people who are working in intelligence.

I mean, you think about this. If you are going to get a warrant on somebody who is a narcotics trafficker in Chicago, you can send the FBI out to talk to their neighbors; you can go to their place that they are working; you can talk to their landlady. You can develop probable cause for a warrant. But if you think you have got somebody on the Horn of Africa who is affiliated with al Qaeda, you can't send the FBI to talk to their neighbors. Sometimes you can't reach that standard of probable cause. So, intelligence doesn't get collected against people who are foreigners in foreign countries who have no rights at all under the Constitution of the United States, and the people who are hurt by that are the American citizens we are failing to protect.

The majority of this House wants to pass a bipartisan bill that has already cleared the Senate that would make the provisions of the Protect America Act permanent, and the Democratic leadership of this House is blocking consideration of that bill, to the detriment of the people of this country.

I yield back to the gentleman from Texas.

I think my colleague from Pennsylvania raises a good point. What are the protections for America's civil liberties, and there has been a lot of misinformation out there about the protections in the Protect America Act for American civil liberties. In fact, in the Senate bill that we would like to have a vote on here in the House, the civil liberties protections for Americans are more than exist under current law, under the current FISA law.

What are those protections? First, you have to have a warrant to target anyone in the United States, American or foreigner. So you must have a warrant if someone is reasonably believed to be in the United States.

It is a felony to do what some have called reverse targeting. In other words, you think somebody may be affiliated with a terrorist group. They are in the United States and they have a brother in Lebanon. So gee, let's wiretap their brother in Lebanon and maybe we can pick up some of their conversations back to the guy in the United States. That is a felony. You can't do that. You have to have a warrant if your target is reasonably believed to be in the United States, and you cannot do reverse targeting.

It also extends the protection of the Constitution to Americans traveling overseas. This is something that doesn't exist in current law. If I am an American stationed overseas, which I was in a past life, and I in some way bump into American intelligence collection overseas, their procedures in regulations is to ``minimize'' or ``screen out'' that information, to destroy information that is of no intelligence value. But the act that has now passed the Senate actually goes further than that. If you are an American overseas, the American government would also have to get a warrant in order to target your communications.

These provisions apply irrespective of the communications technology used. So to collect foreign intelligence over the air on a wire, it doesn't matter. All that matters is whether somebody is reasonably believed to be in the United States or is an American citizen. If they are, you have to go to court and get a warrant. If you do not, if they are a foreigner in a foreign country, we do not extend the protections of the Constitution to them.

Would the gentleman yield?

Is it true that we depend on telephone companies not only for their cooperation for foreign intelligence, but also in the case of crimes like kidnappings here in the United States? Do we depend on their cooperation there?

If the gentleman would yield, you are an attorney and have dealt with these things and I haven't. Is it true that a district attorney can go in an emergency situation and say to the telephone company, this is an emergency, we have a kidnapped child, we think we know who did it, will you cooperate with us and we will followup with the paperwork later? Can that happen?

Is it reasonable to expect that if these telephone companies get sued for voluntary cooperation, that they will just stop doing voluntary cooperation no matter what the issue is?

Madam Speaker, Sandoval County, New Mexico celebrated its 105th anniversary yesterday, March 10, 2008. Please join me in recognizing the historical importance and many achievements and contributions the residents of this county have provided the State of New Mexico.

Sandoval County was a thriving area centuries before Don Francisco de Coronado explored the area and first made camp near present-day Bernalillo in 1540 A.D. Prehistoric artifacts in many areas of the county date back thousands of years, with archaeological finds suggesting that Sandia Man lived and hunted in the area thousands of years ago.

The area, consisting of modern-day Sandoval County, was included in one of two partidos, or districts, created in the New Mexico territory. It became part of Santa Ana County. One of seven political subdivisions created in 1852, Sandoval County was first established as a separate entity on March 10, 1903, nine years before New Mexico's statehood. The area that forms Los Alamos County was separated from Sandoval County in 1949.

Sandoval County boasts historical sites such as Coronado State Park, Bandalier National Monument, the Ceremonial Caves Trail, Jemez Springs, Casa San Ysidro, the historic Delavy House, the Vintage Auto Museum, and the Intel Museum.

Sandoval County is one of the most geographically and culturally diverse areas in the Nation. Congratulations on your 105th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, my colleague from Kentucky has just raised an important point, which is that we need to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But I think he's a little misinformed.

He says that there are bipartisan negotiations going on. The Speaker hasn't even appointed conferees. You can't even have negotiations with the Senate. The negotiations are going on between the Democrat leadership and the conservative Democrats that want to pass a bipartisan Senate bill and have written a letter to your leadership about it.

We are now on day 25 when we have had the Protect America Act expire. All we need to do is to be able to listen to foreigners in foreign countries without a warrant. The Senate bill has unprecedented protections for Americans' civil liberties, more than are in the 1978 law that all of us in this House support. But, instead, the liberal Democratic leadership is blocking the will of the majority of this House.

It is time for Democrats to stand up to your own leadership and demand that the protection of this country is more important than special interest groups that have a hold on the Democratic leadership.

Security must come first.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 108, 109, and 110 I was unavoidably delayed. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking for a recorded vote on the previous question today, and the reason is that the House majority leader, Mr. Hoyer, has just announced that the House will not take up the electronic surveillance bill this week, further delaying any decisions in the closing of an important intelligence gap. We have now gone 18 days since the expiration of the Protect America Act. If the previous question is defeated, we will immediately bring up the Senate legislation to close that gap.

I also rise today to oppose this rule. I commend Mr. Ramstad and Mr. Kennedy for their work on mental health parity. In the past, I have been a cosponsor of their legislation. But I offered a substitute amendment in the Rules Committee last night which was not ruled in order. The alternative is supported by 285 organizations that support the Senate version of the mental health parity bill which passed the United States Senate unanimously in September. The differences are on policy, and my amendment was not made in order. Instead, we have the 50th closed rule of this Congress. No amendments. This floor can't stomach debate on policy issues, and I think that is a sad commentary on the way this House is being run.

This is a major bill, one of the most important, I think, we will consider this year. I believe very strongly that mental illness and a disease of the brain is a medical condition that should be treated as seriously as a disease of the heart or the liver or the lungs.

The amendment that I offered, the substitute, is a bipartisan compromise that was worked out in negotiations lasting over 2 years. It is supported by mental health providers, the mental health community, business and the insurance industry.

Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record a list of 285 organizations supporting the alternative I offered.

285 Organizations Supporting the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, S.

558, or the Domenici/Kennedy/Enzi Manager's Amendment

Abilities in Motion.

ACCESS--DSPA Alliance.

Addictions Care Center of Albany (NY).

Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleagues to remember only three things about this motion to recommit:

First, it happens immediately. This is ``forthwith'' so we can do this tonight. Don't send it back to committee. We can do it right now.

Second, it substitutes the Senate bill that is supported by 245 different organizations, including the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the American Psychological Association and numerous others. It's a bipartisan bill that passed unanimously in the United States Senate. It has the parity provisions very similar to the ones that Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Ramstad have brought forward, but an important policy difference. The Ramstad-Kennedy bill does not require employers to cover mental health care. It says, if they do offer it, it must include every diagnosis in the DSM-IV manual, everything. No other, including the Federal employees health plan, goes that far. I think that the likely result of that will be what we all don't want to see, which is employers drop mental health coverage completely. That's why organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness support the Senate bill and not the House bill. They want to see an expansion of coverage for the mentally ill, not a loss of coverage for 18 million seriously ill Americans.

The third thing that I want you to remember is this: There's been a lot of discussion about the pay-for in the bill we're asked to vote on here on the floor tonight. This motion to recommit would defeat the provision that will close physician-owned hospitals, including a lot of them in rural areas of America as a different pay-for that extends a successful pilot project for electronic verification of assets for Medicaid eligibility.

So three things. We can do it tonight, it doesn't go back to committee. It is better policy which will extend greater coverage for those who are mentally ill. And the pay-for doesn't hurt our rural, physician-owned hospitals.