Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, it is with deep sadness that I inform the House of the death of Mrs. Marilyn McMullen of Mission Hills, Kansas, a lovely person and dear friend.

Marilyn, whom I affectionately called ``Lace,'' was a proud graduate of Webster High School, Webster Groves, Missouri. She attended Milliken College and the University of Missouri, Columbia, where she graduated in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Education and where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority. She established scholarships at the School of Education in honor of her mother.

Marilyn taught second grade at LaDue Elementary School in St. Louis. She was a member of the Grace Bibb Society in support of the MU School of Education and a member of the Friends of the MU Library and MU Kansas City Alumni Club. She was also a member and a past Director of the MU Jefferson Club.

At Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral Marilyn had served in the choir and vestry. She was a long-time member for over 40 years and Director of the Altar Guild at the Cathedral.

Marilyn was a Cub Scout Den Mother and President of the Boy Scout Mother's Club. She also served on the Board of Bishop Spencer Place to whom she was very grateful for the wonderful care provided to her mother.

Madam Speaker, I know the members of the House will join me in extending heartfelt condolences to her family: her husband, Larry McMullen; her two sons and daughters-in-laws, Michael, Andrew, Bonnie and Yvette; and her grandchildren, Matthew, Hannah, Sarah, Rachel, Abby and Sophie.

Madam Speaker, it is with deep sadness that I inform the House of the death of a true gentleman, General Robert H. Barrow, United States Marine Corps, Retired--the 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

General Barrow was born in 1922 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He graduated high school in 1939 and enrolled at Louisiana State University. In March 1942, he enlisted in the Platoon Leader's Class Program. He left school in the fall of 1942 and went to boot camp in San Diego, staying on after graduation as a drill instructor. Selected for Officer Candidate School, he left San Diego for Quantico in March 1943; and in May 1943, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marines.

After officer training, he was assigned to Marine Barracks, Naval Ammunition Depot, New Orleans. He was reassigned in February 1944 to the 51st Replacement Battalion in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. During the last seven months of World War II, he led an American team serving with Chinese guerrilla forces in Japanese occupied Central China. He was awarded the Bronze Star.

After World War II, he served as Aide de Camp to the Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. He completed Amphibious Warfare School, Junior Course in June 1949, and was transferred to the 2d Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. He was given command of Company A, 1st Battalion, 2d Marines.

At the beginning of the Korean War, his company was transferred to Camp Pendleton and redesignated Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He led Able Company ashore at Inchon in September 1950. For his leadership in the fighting on the outskirts of Seoul, he received the Silver Star. During the Chosin Reservoir Campaign, he was awarded the Navy Cross for the seizure and defense of Hill 1081 from 9- 10 December 1950.

After the Korean War, he was reassigned as Officer-in-Charge, Infantry Desk, Enlisted Assignments, Headquarters Marine Corps. From there he was detailed out and sent on a classified assignment to the Far East, north of Taiwan. He returned to Headquarters Marine Corps, this time to the G-3.

In February 1956, he returned to Camp Lejeune, where he served first as operations officer and then executive officer of 2d Battalion, 6th Marines. He joined the NROTC unit at Tulane University in 1957, and served as Marine Officer Instructor for three years. Returning to Quantico, he completed a tour with the Landing Force Development Center and attended the Officer's Senior Course in 1963. He left for another tour in the Pacific, where he served as G-3, III Marine Expeditionary Force, then G-3 Plans Officer at Fleet Marine Force Pacific in Hawaii.

Attendance at the National War College followed, and upon graduation in 1968, he arrived in South Vietnam to take command of 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. The regiment conducted a series of highly successful operations south of the western part of the Demilitarized Zone and in the Khe Sanh and Ba Long Valley areas. For his valor during Operation Dewey Canyon from 22 January to 18 March 1969, he received the Distinguished Service Cross.

He was promoted to brigadier general in August 1969 by General Leonard F. Chapman, 24th Commandant of the Marine Corps. General Barrow's first tour as a general officer was Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp Butler, Okinawa, where he served for three years. He then served as Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina for 32 months.

In July 1975, he was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Headquarters Marine Corps. The following year, he became Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. He was Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1978 until a year later when he assumed the office as Commandant. Befitting his reputation and stature, when General Barrow stepped down as 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps in June 1983, President Ronald Reagan presided over the ceremony at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. General Barrow returned to Louisiana, where he lived in retirement.

General Barrow's medals and decorations include the Navy Cross, Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Department of the Army Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, three Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and the Combat Action Ribbon.

Madam Speaker, General Barrow was an outstanding Marine and an exceptional American leader. I know the members of the House

will join me in extending heartfelt condolences to his family, his friends, and to all Marines. He will be greatly missed.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Financial Services be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 5714) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition and celebration of the establishment of the United States Army in 1775, to honor the American soldier of both today and yesterday, in wartime and in peace, and to commemorate the traditions, history, and heritage of the United States Army and its role in American society, from the Colonial period to today, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

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

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a concurrent resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, article 1, section 8, of the Constitution grants Congress the responsibility of raising and maintaining the military of our country. Our Founding Fathers were wise to put this power in the hands of Congress, the branch of our national government most closely connected to the American people. As chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I take seriously Congress' role with respect to national security policy. In a series of recent committee hearings designed to study the need for a new comprehensive strategy for advancing American interests, it was evident that America must use all elements of national power--military, diplomatic, and economic--to remain the indispensable nation, acting as a consistent and ever- present global force.

If our economy were to falter, it would undercut America's global military and diplomatic strength. And it would be far more difficult for Congress, working with the President, to properly address our international challenges. It is through the lens of national security that I have examined the economic rescue bill before the Congress today.

The economic crisis is real. Cash flow in the market has slowed, and some of America's top financial firms have failed. If action is not taken immediately, experts warn that the average American, including those in rural Missouri, will find it difficult or impossible to obtain credit for a mortgage, a car loan, a farm loan, a college loan or a small business loan, bringing economic activity to a standstill.

At the request of the President of the United States, Congress has worked over the last week to build consensus around a bipartisan plan to stabilize the financial markets. Luckily, the bill being considered today bears little resemblance to the $700 billion blank check that the President initially requested back on September 20. That approach was totally unacceptable. So Congress improved it in a way that better protects the American taxpayers.

Like many of the Fourth District residents from whom I have heard in the last week, I am angry that we find ourselves considering an economic rescue bill. But as I have studied the specifics of the crisis, I am convinced the consequences of inaction would be dire for America's economic and national security and for our country's overall standing in the world community.

While I support this particular bill, I urge Congress to continue studying the economic turmoil we are facing and to consider additional legislative solutions to it. We must get to the bottom of what caused this crisis so that it does not happen again.

Madam Speaker, I intend to vote in favor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, today I was honored to deliver the keynote address at the keel laying ceremony for the new USS Missouri (SSN-780), a Virginia class attack submarine. The ceremony was held at the General Dynamics Electric Boat facility in Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

In Navy tradition, the keel laying ceremony is the first major milestone in the construction of a ship. I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my remarks be included in the record. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Remarks of Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO), USS ``Missouri'' (SSN-780) Keel Laying Ceremony, General Dynamics Electric Boat Facility--Quonset

Point, R.I., Saturday, September 27, 2008

I am absolutely honored and thrilled to witness the latest

chapter in the State of Missouri's historic association with

the U.S. Navy.

I want to thank Navy Secretary Donald Winter for his

decision to name the newest Virginia class submarine USS

Missouri. All Missourians can take pride that a namesake to

the ``Mighty Mo'' will soon be joining the Navy's fleet, this

time in the silent service.

A submarine, or any Navy ship, is really just steel and

equipment. Very highly engineered and crafted steel and

equipment, but in the end just metal. It is the crew which

gives a ship life, it is the crew who craft the legacy of the

vessel. One Virginia class submarine is indistinguishable

from the next--save the crew. The attitude of the crew, the

dedication of the crew, the bravery of the crew, that will

distinguish this ship. The first crew of this vessel will set

the tone for all the crews to follow, and the first crew will

take their lead from their sponsor.

So I especially want to congratulate and publicly thank

Mrs. Gates on accepting the role of sponsor of the new USS

Missouri. This is not the first connection the Gates Family

has had to our great state. I recall that Secretary Gates'

first duty station as an Air Force second lieutenant was

Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster, Missouri.

Being a sponsor is not a one or two ceremony job--this is

your ship, these are your sailors. A sponsor may stay as

involved as she wishes with her ship, and I hope that you do.

My late wife Susie had the honor to serve as sponsor of the

USS Jefferson City, a Los Angeles class submarine. I know how

much she treasured keeping up with the activities of ``her''

submarine and she enjoyed every opportunity she had to visit

and keep in touch with the crew and their families. I know

that you will enjoy the same close relationship with the

sailors who will bring this submarine to life. And may I

remind everyone, most of the sailors that finally haul down

the commissioning pennant of this vessel three decades from

now won't be born for another 5 to 10 years. Mrs. Gates, good

luck to you and thank you for your service to the nation.

The name Missouri has a distinguished naval history.

The first USS Missouri was a steam/sail vessel commissioned

in 1842, only 21 years after Missouri was admitted to

statehood. This frigate had an unfortunate fire which burned

her to the waterline in the Port of Gibraltar.

The second Missouri--which a retired Navy Captain on my

staff advises me not to count--was a Confederate side-wheel

steamer used to ferry supplies on the Mississippi during the

Civil War. This ship was turned over to the U.S. Navy at the

end of the Civil War, but then scrapped because she was built

from green timber and leaked excessively.

The third USS Missouri, a battleship commissioned in 1903,

was part of the famous ``Great White Fleet'' that sailed

around the world in the first decade of the 20th century. The

cruise of that fleet marked the beginning of the United

States as a world power. It proved the point that American

naval might could penetrate any waters and reach any foreign

soil. That ship was still in active service during World War

I, with my father serving on that ship as a coal-shoveling

fireman in 1918.

The last USS Missouri, and the most famous, was

commissioned in 1944 and earned the nickname ``Mighty Mo''

for essentially continuous combat action from arrival in the

Pacific theater to hosting the Japanese surrender ceremony in

Tokyo Bay that ended World War II. The ``Mighty Mo'' also saw

action during the Korean conflict. Decommissioned in 1955,

she returned to the active rolls following a major upgrade in

1986. The ``Mighty Mo'' fired some of the first strikes

during the first Persian Gulf War and the liberation of

Kuwait. This fine ship gave our country many years of service

until her final decommissioning in 1992. In fact, I

participated in the recommissioning and the second

decommissioning ceremonies for this, the most celebrated USS

Missouri. The historic vessel is now open to the public as a

floating museum in Pearl Harbor, near the final resting place

of the USS Arizona.

So, as the keel is laid for the latest USS Missouri,

shipbuilders and sailors alike should remember the legacy

represented by the ships that previously held this proud

name. This modern submarine will add to our nation's

seafaring capabilities and project U.S. power wherever

necessary to protect U.S. interests.

I commend the remarkable craftsmanship of the workers of

both the Electric Boat Company and Newport News Shipbuilding.

It is truly extraordinary how you start with steel plate,

pipe, and rolls of cable and deliver the most complicated

warships on the face of the earth in just a few short years.

Your service to the country sometimes goes unheralded, so I

wish to publicly thank you for your dedication and sacrifice

as you make these ships for our warfighters.

I know that when this new submarine is christened and

commissioned, many Missourians will attend the ceremonies to

pay tribute to the fifth American warship named after the

Show-Me State. I am confident that the sailors who will serve

on the submarine USS Missouri will make us proud as they

write a new chapter in naval history.

God bless.

Madam Speaker, it has come to my attention that Dr. Steven J. DeTeresa will soon complete his detail to the Committee on Armed Services of the United States House of Representatives.

Dr. DeTeresa was detailed from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to the Committee on June 1, 2005. He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Master of Science and Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts. Dr. DeTeresa worked as visiting scientist for the Institute Donegani in Novara and the University of Naples, Italy; as a research fellow for the University of Massachusetts; and in various research and project management positions at LLNL for the past 20 years.

Dr. DeTeresa has over thirty-five years experience in leadership positions and in conducting independent research and development projects for defense and commercial applications of materials. He is an expert in the mechanics of materials, structure-mechanical property relationships, fundamental aspects of aging and long-term behavior, process science, and failure analysis and modeling.

Dr. DeTeresa has made great contributions to the work of our committee, the Armed Forces of the United States, and the American people during the past three years. Dr. DeTeresa came to work for Congress voluntarily to help his country during a time of war. During his time here, he has been a scientific and technical advisor to the Chairman and to the Committee on Armed Services. He has conducted critically important work for the country on force protection issues such as vehicle and body armor, counter-IED or improvised explosive device technologies, and persistent surveillance technologies. He also has been an essential member of our Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Staff.

On behalf of the House of Representatives and the Armed Services Committee, let me personally thank Dr. DeTeresa for his service to the Nation and to the men and women of our Armed Services. I wish the best for him, his wife Patti, and their children Catherine and Peter.

Madam Speaker, it has come to my attention that LTG John R. Wood is retiring from the U.S. Army.

Lieutenant General Wood graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1972. He has served in many posts, including as the platoon leader to the commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division of the 8th U.S. Army--Republic of South Korea, as a National Security Fellow to the White House, and as a commander at the U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Experimentation Directorate.

Lieutenant General Wood has overseen the Joint Forces Command's missions on training, experimentation and integration for the U.S. military. Lieutenant General Wood is a highly decorated commander, earning the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, and many others. The General also holds advanced degrees from the University of Chicago and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Madam Speaker, LTG John R. Wood is a valuable member of his community, but moreover, an honorable soldier. His dedication to the Armed Forces should certainly be noted. I know the Members of the House will join me in thanking Lieutenant General Wood for his service in the U.S. military, and in wishing him and his family nothing but the best in the many years to come.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this means to add my tribute to two fine Alabama Congressmen, Bud Cramer and Terry Everett. Through the years, I have had the pleasure of working with these outstanding lawmakers. They have been friends to me both personally and professionally. They have exhibited the best of this institution-- looking after the interests of the people they represent and ensuring our Nation has a strong economy, strong foreign policy, and strong national security.

They, like I, represent rural areas of our country. There are few of us serving in Congress who have the privilege of representing predominantly small town America, Typically, we rural Congressmen and women bond together on rural matters, working across party lines to ensure the interests of rural America are best represented in the laws we make in Washington. Both Bud and Terry have worked on behalf of rural people, not only in Alabama but across our country.

Bud and Terry have also worked for a strong national defense. I have worked with Terry on the Armed Services Committee, and I have always been honored by his commitment to our men and women in uniform. Bud, too, has been a stalwart supporter of our troops and of the NASA community in Northern Alabama.

While I am sad to see Bud and Terry leave the House, the institution has been strengthened by their service. I hope they enjoy the next chapter in their lives.

Madam Speaker, during our time in Congress we all have benefited from the efforts of our staffs. I certainly have been blessed with the services of wonderful people through my career. One of those individuals, Joy Seitz, has been with me throughout all of my congressional tenure and helped me in my time in the Missouri State Senate.

Joy came to work for me on the State senate staff in 1974. She has been the anchor of my office in Jackson County, Missouri since it was opened in 1977. She has handled countless constituent calls and letters and has been an able advocate for them as an ombudsman and caseworker. She has for several years been the principal bookkeeper for my office. She has been competent and professional always and has always demonstrated a warm personality reflecting her wonderful parents and small town values.

It has been my great joy to witness her transition in life. She married Jim Seitz, the son of my long time good friends Ed and MaryBelle Seitz. Jim and Joy have raised two wonderful children, Michael and Rebecca both of whom have served as interns in my Washington office and are outstanding young adults.

Joy has been the model for what a Congressional staff member should be. She has been a calm voice in responding to constituents who were often frustrated with some aspect of the government. Her work in solving constituent problems has won many accolades and has made the government work better.

Joy Seitz will be retiring from Congressional service as we begin the new Congress in January. With this statement I want to recognize her 32 years of service to our country and to wish her many, many happy years with Jim and their family. While she will not answer the phone in my Blue Springs office she will continue to be a cherished friend.

Madam Speaker, during our time in Congress we all have benefitted from the efforts of our staffs. I certainly have been blessed with the services of wonderful people through my career. The standard in my office was set early in my professional life, before I came to Congress. The daughter of a friend became my assistant in private law practice and has been with me continuously since 1968. Berna Dean Nierman has been a true and faithful friend as well as a very competent and valuable employee through the years.

The first person invited to join my Congressional staff was Berna Dean. She opened the office in Sedalia, MO, and has managed it continuously since 1977. She has handled thousands of constituent problems. She has been responsible for overseeing the process for selecting appointees to the various military academies and she has had responsibility for helping arrange tours for constituents who are visiting the Capitol from Missouri's 4th District. She has handled countless phone calls on legislative issues and problems in government and has always been professional in her response always.

We have shared professional and personal triumphs and hardships. It has been a joy to watch her celebrate her marriage to Wayne Nierman and then to see the family grow as Christopher and Christine came along and developed into outstanding young adults in their own right. She was a friend and confidant to my late wife Susie. Her advice and counsel were always welcomed by her and I continue to benefit from her wise counsel.

Berna Dean was my first employee and set a very high standard for those who followed. Her character and work ethic, along with an engaging and warm personality, reflect the small town values instilled in her by her wonderful parents.

After 32 years of Congressional service and 40 years working with me, Berna Dean Nierman is retiring. She will be missed, but I know I am not losing a friend, but just changing the location where I can contact her. She and Wayne have my best wishes for many, many happy years together.

I ask the Congress to join me in thanking her for her outstanding service to the people of the Fourth Congressional District of Missouri and our country.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 3001) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2009 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to bring the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 to the floor today for approval by the House.

This bill represents a final agreement reached with the Senate, and I believe it can pass the Senate, which is critical, of course. The troops and their families need these authorities by September 30.

It's important to note this agreement was reached in a very short period of time. While the House finished its work back in May, the Senate approved its version of the bill just one week ago today.

The two Armed Services Committees have been working overtime ever since, and as a result we have not been able to provide all of the notice and time for examination of the bill that we normally would. I regret that fact. But I can assure the House that we observed all of the long-standing traditions of fairness and bipartisanship this committee is known for.

My good friend, Duncan Hunter, and his team of members and his staff have been involved in every step of this process, and we have also worked hard to consult with the outside committees on the issues that are within their jurisdiction. We also placed the completed bill and report language on our Web site as soon as it was done last evening.

This is a good bill. It authorizes $531.4 billion for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. It also authorizes $68.6 billion to support ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during fiscal year

2009, a similar amount to that which passed the House in May.

To restore readiness, this agreement provides $8.6 billion for the Army and $1.8 billion for the Marine Corps to repair and replace equipment. This agreement also provides $800 million for National Guard and Reserve equipment. To help manage demands placed on our servicemembers by our military obligations, the agreement increases the size of the military by 7,000 soldiers, 5,000 marines, over 1,000 sailors and 450 airmen.

To improve the quality of life for our forces and their families, the agreement provides a 3.9 percent pay raise for the troops, which is .5 percent more than the President's budget request. The agreement also preserves important health care benefits by prohibiting fee increases in TRICARE and the TRICARE pharmacy program and creating new preventive health care initiatives to improve the readiness of our force.

Finally, I would like to say a word about the person for whom this bill is named, as well as for others who helped us get the bill done under an extraordinary time frame. Duncan Hunter has been a tireless advocate for the troops and a great partner, as well as a personal friend to me. The Armed Services Committee will miss him. I think it's deeply appropriate that we name this bill for him.

I also want to thank all the members of the Armed Services Committee, particularly the subcommittee chairmen and the ranking members. Finally, I wish to thank the bipartisan staff, fantastic staff, they couldn't be better. Our committee has been blessed with such a staff, and they have worked tirelessly to help get this bill negotiated and completed. It is an excellent bill. It's urgently needed by our military, and I urge my colleagues in the House, as well as in the Senate, to vote for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, which is named for and in honor of Duncan Hunter, the ranking member, former chairman of this committee.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz).

I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Mississippi, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Sea Power, Mr. Taylor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats, and Capabilities, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith).

(Mr. SMITH of Washington asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis).

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 90 seconds to the gentlelady from New Hampshire for the purpose of a colloquy.

I thank the gentlelady for raising this important issue. I also commend her for her long-standing support and advocacy for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

At her request to the committee to support critical facility improvement projects in this year's bill, I am delighted to inform her that we have included over $30 million in capital improvement projects, including a critical Waterfront Support Facility and a Consolidated Component Improvement Facility.

I would also like to make it clear for the record that due to a clerical error, Ms. Shea-Porter's name was not included in the transparency table that accompanied the bill showing that she had requested the Waterfront Support Facility. This was an oversight and will be corrected in an addendum to show that she had requested and supported the addition of these facilities in the bill.

I commend her for her strong support of the shipyard and would support her continued advocacy for this critical national asset.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

I yield the gentlelady an additional 15 seconds.

Let me compliment the gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky) on her interest and her work on this issue, and I think in the days ahead the efforts will be understood and be fruitful as we move ahead with the defense of our Nation. I thank her for that.

We're coming to the end of a long, arduous process here in the House. Our wonderful staff has worked more than diligently, not just through the year but the last several days. In the last

five days actually, Mr. Speaker, they've done 6 weeks of work, phenomenal, miraculous, and I compliment them for that. Erin Conaton, the director, and Bob Simmons, the minority chief, have been superb to work with, and every member of the staff has been a professional in the finest sense of the word. I cannot brag on them more. And we're very grateful for their efforts, and their efforts will pay off for those young men and women, those families who wear the uniform of our country check as they do their professional work.

This effort is really for the security of our country and is done particularly for the young people who wear the uniform. They are, Mr. Speaker, our national treasures, and those of us on the committee understand that. We work toward that end, and as we vote for this bill and it passes, hopefully with a large, large majority, and goes to the Senate, and hopefully passes to the White House and to be signed by the President, those young gentlemen and young women who really make their life and their profession the national security of our country should know that we in Congress support them, back them up, and that we're immensely proud of the work that they do.

So, with that in mind, and thanks to all the Members of our committee, superb committee, subcommittee chairmen, subcommittee ranking, and every Member, our staff and those who give advice and recommendations to us have made this bill possible in a very, very short period of time.

So with that and a great deal of gratitude especially for my friend from California, Duncan Hunter, who we unanimously named this bill for, we will miss him terribly, but we thank him for his service to our Nation, to our Congress, to our committee as chairman and ranking member, and we appreciate him, and we'll long remember him.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to H. Res. 1476, which the house adopted yesterday, I submit an addendum to the Joint Explanatory Statement which I entered into the Record yesterday.

Due to administrative error, a number of Member requests were not included in the transparency table in yesterday's submission.

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH24SE08.285

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, let me take this opportunity to honor Dan Cambridge. Mr. Cambridge, a former advertising executive for Young and Rubicom in Des Moines, Iowa, has been named the new tourism director of Lexington, Missouri.

Mr. Cambridge graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in journalism. It was soon after his completion of college that he began working for the Des Moines Register. He then spent over 20 years with a Young and Rubicom affiliate. Mr. Cambridge is excited to begin his new post in Lexington, and claims he envisions the tourism commission focusing on public relations angles with the city. Dan has experience with the Iowa Department of Economic Development and Tourism, and I know he will be a valuable asset to my hometown. Cambridge's son attended Wentworth Military Academy. His family now resides in the Kansas City metro area.

Madam Speaker, I trust that my colleagues will join me in congratulating Mr. Dan Cambridge on his new position in Lexington, Missouri, and in wishing him the very best.

Madam Speaker, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the Lafayette County C-1 School District on receiving a $37,000 grant and to commend the Citizens Telephone Company for their most generous contribution.

To celebrate the company's 100th anniversary of their first dial tone in Higginsville, MO., the Citizens Telephone Company awarded the Lafayette County C-1 School District a $37,000 check. This grant enables the school district to start offering new classes to Higginsville students that were not available before. Also, the grant establishes a ``Distance Learning'' Program. This allows students to communicate with teachers remotely, from different locations. Citizens Telephone Company has graciously provided monitors, cameras, and other devices to make this technology come to fruition. Now, students and teachers in the district can actually see and interact with each other from different locations.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members of the House to join me in congratulating the school district and in commending the Citizens Telephone Company on its generosity.

Madam Speaker, let me take this opportunity to honor and acknowledge the fine members of the 1139th Military Police Company of the Missouri National Guard. Their brave efforts in Opelousas, Louisiana, are a true testament to their character and integrity with regard to helping fellow Americans in a time of need.

The Missouri National Guard arrived in Opelousas, an area hit very hard by Hurricane Gustav. Ninety percent of the town of 20,000 was without power, hundreds of trees and power lines were destroyed, and many citizens were without food or supplies. The Guard distributed food and ice to hundreds of hungry residents and patrolled possible looting targets throughout the evenings.

Madam Speaker, the Missouri National Guard Military Police Company 1139 deserves our respect and honor for their admirable efforts on the Gulf Coast. I ask my colleagues at this time to join me in acknowledging these fine individuals on a job well done.