Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to recognize Mr. Burton Hoffman of Nevada, Missouri. Born on August 7, 1903, Mr. Hoffman celebrates his 103rd birthday this year.

Mr. Hoffman has lived a very full and productive life. He married his late wife in 1925 and remained devoted to her until her death in 1999. He was a long-time employee of Farm and Home Savings and Loan in Nevada, Missouri. Mr. Hoffman joined Osage Lodge 303 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in February 1934 and was raised to the level of Master Mason on April 20, 1934. He is also a member of the Elks lodge. In 2004, Mr. Hoffman was presented with a 70-year pin from the Missouri Grand Master, Stanley Thompson, and he was honored by the Elks in 2005.

Mr. Speaker, I am certain that my colleagues will join me in wishing Mr. Burton Hoffman all the best in the days to come.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the KJLU-FM public radio station of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. KJLU was named Black College Radios Station of the Year at the 28th Annual Black College Radio and Television Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

KJLU, founded in 1973, was presented with the Station of the Year award for excellence in broadcasting on April 1, 2006. The station had previously been honored as Station of the Year in 2003, with the Program Director of the Year award in 2004, and as Station with the Most Community Involvement in 2005. KJLU continues to help the community by aiding in local fund-raising and recording and distributing public service announcements. Mike Downey, one of KJLU's station producers, was recently named United Way's Missouri Volunteer of the Year.

Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the Members of the House will join me in congratulating the students and staff at KJLU for their accomplishments and in wishing them luck in all their future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this means to congratulate the National War College on 60 years of excellence in national security policy and strategic thinking education. On April 5, 2006, I had the privilege to address the Commandant's dinner in celebration of this anniversary and I am proud to share that speech with the Members of the House:

National War College 60th Anniversary The Next 60 Years

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you. I am honored that you

asked me to be your speaker. And thank you, General Peterson

for that generous introduction.

First, I have to say Congratulations. What you have built

here is truly a national treasure. You can be proud, as the

entire nation should be, of this school and your product--

because your product literally is the strength of this nation

as we anticipate and respond to world events. Among your

students and your faculty, you have educated some of the

finest strategists this country has ever produced.

I was going to give a short speech. But then I thought

about the critical time we live in and got excited all over

again about National War College. I don't want to take too

much time with serious thoughts, but it is important to

reflect on our past in order to respond to the challenges

ahead.

Sixty years ago, it was a novel idea--to create a college

that would focus on grand strategy and bring together a

diverse student body and faculty--senior officers from all

the services and senior officials from the state department

and, later, other agencies.

This was a place where students were presented with

strategic dilemmas, with a curriculum that ``focused on the

interrelationship of military and non-military means in the

promulgation of national policy.''

In 1946 Ambassador George Kennan, the first deputy for

foreign affairs here, explained that in those days of

``transition and uncertainty,'' there was little in the

policy world being done on the relation between war and

politics. Kennan noted, ``American thinking about foreign

policy had been primarily addressed to the problems of peace,

and had taken place largely within the frameworks of

international law and economics. Thinking about war, confined

for the most part to military staffs and institutions of

military training, had been directed . . . to technical

problems of military strategy and tactics--to the

achievement, in short, of victory in purely military terms.''

Kennan saw this school--its curriculum and its student/

faculty interaction--as a home for the development of new

strategic thinking at the beginning of the Cold War.

Through the years, National War College faculties have done

a magnificent job teaching national security policy and

strategy. This College's special place among the senior

schools of Professional Military Education has been based on

your attention to grand strategy. As Lieutenant General

Leonard T. Gerow--President of the Board which recommended

the War College's formation--said, ``The College is

concerned with grand strategy and the utilization of

national resources necessary to implement that strategy .

. . Its graduates will exercise influence on the

formulation of national and foreign policy in both peace

and war.'' It has also been based on your insistent

attention to academic rigor. And, your excellence has been

based on the inclusion, from the beginning, of interagency

and international students. These elements of excellence,

in the context of a residential program that builds

lasting ties between officers of different services,

different countries and different agencies, is unmatched

anywhere.

Congress has been supportive of your continuing advances in

all these areas. I guess I don't have to remind you of my

role in the Goldwater-Nichols reforms to increase

``jointness'' among the services and my investigations of the

Professional Military Education system.

But we can't rest here. Keeping your institution relevant

and on the sharp edge takes the constant attention of

Congress and the Chairman in support of each new Commandant,

and Dean, and the faculty.

Your graduates test your teaching every day in a very

complex environment. Senior decision makers have made some

mistakes that have increased the difficulty of their

missions. I know the current students review successes and

difficulties as case studies so they will be even better

prepared. But while today's wars demand our focus, we need to

be careful we don't become so myopic that we fail to see the

great challenges and opportunities ahead.

One challenge is that, with all our advanced technology,

when we still have failures. I believe this is because we are

ill-equipped intellectually and because we don't work

together well enough. Our successes are achieved because our

most astute military and civilian leaders understand people,

cultures, and root causes of problems or conflicts. And they

anticipate opportunities. In Iraq, Afghanistan, the global

war on terror, and even with Katrina and beyond, human

interactions have caused great uncertainty for our security

at home and abroad. Just these few examples show why any

success we have is not just a matter of doctrine and

technology.

We can all think about failures among leaders at

transitional periods such as Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg. He

failed to grasp the impact on war of the transition from an

agricultural to an industrial age. This lesson shows that

what might appear to be tactical mistakes are really

strategic! And I'm convinced, we are once more at a

transitional period in our history just as Kennan was

sixty years ago.

Today we not only face the continuing transition from the

industrial to the information age, but we are also

recognizing that adversaries can capitalize on technologies

in unanticipated ways. As new technologies have increased the

complexity of our world, we see two other phenomena. Our

adversaries use tactics we would be familiar with if we

studied history. And, with our focus on technology, we must

not neglect the critical dimension of human interaction.

This brings me to my real point. The challenges and

opportunities before us place as great an intellectual demand

on our national security professionals as at any time in our

history. And while their understanding of the art of war and

international relations might be pretty good today, it must

be even better tomorrow. And it must be broader. It must be

even better integrated across all the instruments of national

power. And it must be more expansive to include

nontraditional national security partner agencies and

departments, as well as more and different foreign partners.

Beyond the employment of joint forces, beyond the effort to

pursue the newest technologies of the science of warfare, you

know that National War College graduates must be prepared not

just to adopt technical transformation, but also must

understand the art of statecraft as well as war.

While I do not pretend to understand the Future Combat

System or the avionics of the F-22, I do know they will be

useless unless we have wise leaders who know the value of all

the instruments of national power and have the skills to use

them at the appropriate times and in the appropriate

combinations. I know it's easy to measure the increased

payloads and speeds brought by new technology. But while it's

difficult to quantify the value of a Kennan, a Powell, or a

Pace, it's more important than ever to recognize the value of

our best strategists.

As we used to say about jointness, ``this can't be a pick

up game.'' Now, it's our interagency planning and operations,

and our focus on a broader definition of national security

that must not be ad hoc or ``come as you are.''

What would help? I want to challenge the Services and other

agencies, to design systems that deliberately select the

right people for the right level of professional education

and the right school for strategic studies. They should be

able to articulate why they send one person to Air, Naval or

Army War College and another to this College or ICAF, or to a

Fellowship. At the same time, they need to place a real value

on how well their members take on what is taught. Your

graduates' future assignments should not only reflect that

they went to the premier interagency national security

strategy institution. Their selection for command, senior

leadership, and interagency positions should be based in

greater measure on how well they perform here. Did

National War College Distinguished Graduates and

outstanding faculty get treated any differently by their

Service detailers or their agency human resource directors

than those who did not do quite as well, or as those who

were not selected for this outstanding education? Perhaps

they went back to the very same job they were doing. This

is what I mean when I have spoken about the Services

taking intellectual performance at PME seriously. This is

what I mean when I critique them for not promoting

officers who have excelled teaching or studying world

affairs and the art of war and politics.

Is this impossible? Only if we're wedded to machine age

personnel systems. The Services and agencies need information

age human resource systems that can recruit, retain, train

and educate the innovative people we need in government and

the military.

And, we need a sufficient number of people in the Services

and agencies if we are going to build intellectual capital,

fight these wars and prepare for the next catastrophe or

conflict. We have to have enough people to be able to send

exceptional military and agency leaders to be students or

faculty in school assignments. The cost of preparing for the

challenges of tomorrow pale in comparison to the price we

will pay if we are caught without the cadre of wise leaders

we need for the future.

You know, whenever I haven written the Chairman, or NDU

President or you as Commandants a letter, I have been pretty

consistent in my questions. Do you select the right officers

and civilians to serve as faculty and in the right balance?

Have you kept your faculty to student ratio low with 10-12

students per seminar? Are you emphasizing history, political

science and foreign area studies? Does the faculty have these

credentials? Do you have the resources to ensure your

students are able to conduct field or regional studies? Do

your resources enable faculty to contribute to national

strategy and policy through research and sabbaticals? Do you

stay relevant by using real world and historical case

studies? Have you fully integrated your reserve component,

civilian and foreign students?

To me these are not academic questions, if you will pardon

the expression. These are about the character and the

continued relevance of this school.

Let me be clear. We know that the National War College has

no counterpart among civilian universities. Not Harvard, not

Princeton, not Stanford--none of them has a faculty, or

curriculum or student body remotely comparable. This College

must be protected and supported as the elite institution

it is. The nation's future security requires it. The

quality of the faculty, of the instruction, of the

curriculum, of the students must not be compromised. A

false choice must never be forced on us between spending

on current operations and new military technologies, and

investing in the education of our future premier national

strategists.

For sixty years the National War College has been the crown

jewel of Professional Military Education. Since the days when

President Harry Truman sat in student seminars to learn about

the Soviet Union, this College has been the place where

strategic thinking has been nurtured, taught and refined. At

a historic moment of great challenge and peril George Kennan,

worked in this building, to formulate the containment

strategy that ultimately won the Cold War without a nuclear

exchange. Today, at another moment of great challenge, the

need for strategic direction and thinking could not be

greater. The price of failure is far too high. We have to get

it right. We have to have wise people, with the right

education, in the right positions, to think through these

challenges and take action in concert.

When you think about all the political debates, the

expedient compromises, and the resource trade-offs that take

place in this town each day, it's a miracle that a college of

this quality has been able to survive and prosper within the

larger bureaucratic confines of the government. In a more

immediate sense, I have always been concerned that

bureaucracies can kill even the healthiest intellectual

organization. A college such as this can decline and die if

bureaucracies and administrative arms bloat while they

cut corners, dumb down, impose numbing uniformity, enshrine

group think, standardize mediocrity or gorge themselves on

the resources meant to be spent on the real stuff of

education--the interaction between small groups of faculty

and students wrestling with the profound issues of the day.

The National War College has always embodied something

unique. As I look at you leaders of this college during

different eras of war and peace, I sense a continuity of

intellectual engagement and energy in these historic halls.

It is called excellence.

Why is it here? Yes, you have an outstanding faculty, and

superior students, an ever adapting curricula and your

wonderful location here in Washington.

But the key, from the beginning--the genius of General

Eisenhower's vision--is that experienced professionals from

various backgrounds and come together, over an extended

period of time, to learn from each other, and to tackle

problems together in an environment that fosters

understanding. This is one institution that has had no agenda

other than to make wise and thoughtful leaders. In the

current atmosphere of partisan tensions, this College

remains a refuge from the bureaucratic skirmishes and

wars.

As the first War College Commandant, Admiral Harry T. Hill

explained, his intention was to ``make the students ponder'',

to give the students practical problems upon which to think

and arrive at individual conclusions.

This is a safe space for men and women to engage each other

in the search for a better understanding of each others'

agencies and departments. They can gain a true appreciation

of the character and conduct of war, the complexity of

strategy, and the utility of the diplomatic, political and

economic instruments of state. Your product is strategists.

They are still critical to our future.

I can see this in your graduates . . . General Pace, our

Chairman; General Martin Dempsey on the ground now in Iraq;

David Sedney, our first senior State Department officer in

Afghanistan after 9/11 and now deputy chief of mission in

China; Buzz Mosley, Chief of Staff of the Air Force . . .

generals, ambassadors, foreign military officers, and

interagency leaders. Even one of our newest Armed Services

Committee staffers, Lorry Fenner, is a former member of your

faculty and a National War College graduate. I could go on

and on . . .

This is a proud tradition and serves as the foundation for

the next 60 years ahead. I hope the War College will continue

to lead the way in inter-agency and inter-service strategic

education. As we broaden our definition of the national

security community to include homeland defense and increased

international cooperation, I hope that the War College model

and experience can be used to broaden government's approach

to our nation's challenges.

George Kennan, typing away in his office right next door to

this room, charted a strategy to meet a past threat . . . a

policy that endured and was adapted, through Administrations

of both parties. You all have been the watchful guardians of

this heritage.

I want to challenge you tonight continue to work with us in

Congress and at this College to think about how to improve

interagency planning and operations to defeat our adversaries

and to capitalize on opportunities. Lend your wisdom to the

significant questions we face today--should we be working on

a National Security Act for 2007 or 2009? How can we adapt a

Goldwater-Nichols type reform to the interagency process?

These are only two of the topics we wrestle with. You can see

how significant they are and imagine the sustained, long term

effort they will require.

So, we enjoy a celebration tonight, but tomorrow we must

start again to renew and reinvigorate this great project of

creating national security strategists. Given your history,

and the imperative for the future, I am confidant this

College's faculty and students are up to this challenge.

Thank you for including me in your celebration. I welcome

your continued engagement on these issues.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to recognize the long and distinguished career of Colonel Michael J. Conrad, Jr., who is retiring after serving our Nation's military with distinction for 27 years.

Colonel Conrad received a Bachelor of Science degree from West Point, a Masters of Engineering degree in construction management from the University of Florida, and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is a graduate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne School, Ranger School, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, the Army Command and General Staff College, the Joint and Combined Staff Officer School, and the U.S. Army War College.

Colonel Conrad has served in many critical positions as an Army Engineer. His Corps of Engineer assignments included serving as a research coordinator at the Corps' Information Technology Laboratory, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, and as Deputy Area Engineer and Deputy District Engineer with the New Orleans District. He then served as a joint staff officer with the United States Forces Japan at Yokata Air Base, Japan. He served 2 years at the U.S. Army Engineer School, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as the Director of Instruction and the Director of Training. Colonel Conrad deployed to Iraq in 2003 for 6 months and led a multi-functional Corps of Engineers team supporting the United States Agency for International Development. His outstanding service culminated as the Chief of the Programs Division, Office of the Chief, Legislative Liaison.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Members of the House will join me in paying tribute to Colonel Michael J. Conrad, Jr., for his service to the United States and will wish him and his family all the best in the days ahead.

Mr. Speaker, it is with deep sadness that I inform the House of Representatives of the passing of my friend, the Honorable John J. Pollard of Lexington, Missouri. He was 96.

Judge Pollard was born on November 14, 1909, in Lexington, Missouri. After he graduated from Lexington High School in 1928, Judge Pollard worked various odd jobs. Judge Pollard was offered a special commission as deputy constable in 1931 and began, like his father before him, a lifelong career in law enforcement. In 1934, he was appointed deputy sheriff, designated the court bailiff, and moonlighted as a city fireman.

Judge Pollard married Genevieve Bray on January 11, 1936. That same year, Judge Pollard first campaigned for public office and was elected Constable. Judge Pollard was elected Constable twice more; in 1938 and again in 1940. He also continued as deputy sheriff until 1940.

In the fall of 1940, a conversation with Senator Harry S. Truman from Independence, Missouri, led to a position as one of the very first members of a security force being established at the new Lake City Ordinance Plant. Shortly after Judge Pollard was hired as a dispatcher and firearms inspector, war was declared. During World War II, the ammunition plant would reach a high of 23,000 employees, 600 of whom were on the security force. After World War II officially ended on September 2, 1945, Judge Pollard received a special ``Certificate of Meritorious Conduct'' from the United States Army, recognizing his service to the war effort.

Judge Pollard was the only security man kept on staff after the Lake City Ordinance Plant closed a month after the war. When the plant reopened in 1949, Judge Pollard was made Chief of Security. When the Korean Conflict began in 1950, the plant once again aided in the war effort and Judge Pollard, as head of security, held the military rank equivalent of Colonel. Before retiring in 1974, Judge Pollard attended a 40-hour course in shooting at the FBI Academy; completed the MP School of the Army at Fort Gordon, Georgia; and graduated from the U.S. Army Intelligence School. He also took courses in industrial security management, effective speaking, human relations, communications, and job relations.

In 1978, Judge Pollard was elected to the office of Municipal Judge of Lexington. When the legal qualifications to hold the office changed a year later, he was in the first group of judges to take the Supreme Court's mandatory test for Municipal Judges. His background in law enforcement served him well and he easily passed the test. He was held in high esteem by the local lawyers and was invited to become an ex- officio member of the Lafayette County Bar, a high honor for a non- lawyer. Judge Pollard resigned from office on May 30, 1989, having served for eleven years and one month.

Mr. Speaker, Judge John J. Pollard was more than a civil servant, he was a true friend. He is survived by his son Jack Pollard; Jack's wife Beth; one brother, Dale Pollard; and two grandchildren. He will be missed and I know the members of the House will join me in extending heartfelt condolences to his loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to congratulate Central Missouri Eagles Youth Hockey Association of Jefferson City, Missouri. The Eagles have been named a winner of the 2006 ``Honoring the Game Award,'' by the Positive Coaching Alliance at Stanford University.

The ``Honoring the Game Award'' recognizes youth sports programs that ``strive to win, but also strive to help their players develop skills that will serve them throughout their lifetimes.'' The Positive Coaching Alliance, a leading national youth sports organization, chose the Eagles as one of three national winners from among seven finalists. The Eagles are the only program in the Midwest--and the only youth hockey program in the nation--to be honored.

The Eagles were honored for their positive coaching methods and for the community service projects completed by each of their four teams. This year, the Eagles' pee wee team (11-12 year-olds) collected 500 stuffed animals and 130 backpacks for the abused and neglected children in Jefferson City's Michael Prenger Family Center and the Cole Family County Court. The mite and squirt teams (5-10 year-olds) collected more than 300 canned goods for Jefferson City's food bank, the Samaritan Center. The high school varsity team collected more than 400 stuffed animals for the sick and injured children at the University of Missouri-Columbia Children's Hospital.

Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the Members of the House will join me in congratulating the Central Missouri Eagles Youth Hockey Association on their accomplishments and thanking them for their dedication to helping others.

Mr. Chairman, I need to share with the Members of this body the testimony we received at our Armed Services Committee hearing just yesterday. David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States, told us we face a large and growing structural deficit. He testified as follows: ``Continuing on this path will gradually erode, if not suddenly damage, our economy, our standards of living, and ultimately our national security.''

Mr. Chairman, we have been warned. That is why I rise today in support of the Democratic alternative budget.

The Spratt alternative begins to put us on a sane fiscal path which will protect our national security. Furthermore, it provides funding for our critical national security needs that were left out of the President's and the majority's budgets.

The Spratt alternative would fully fund the end strength, the number of people, in the National Guard. If one supports the National Guard, one should vote for the Spratt alternative.

It reverses the cut to the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. If one supports keeping weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists, one should vote for the Spratt alternative.

It rejects the TRICARE fee increases proposed by the President. If you oppose tripling the fees charged to military retirees, one should vote for the Spratt amendment.

It increases funding for family support centers. If one supports military families when mom or dad is deployed overseas, one should vote for the Spratt alternative.

It provides $400,000 of life insurance to servicemembers going into combat. If one supports taking care of our troops when they pay the ultimate price, one should vote for the Spratt alternative.

It increases funding for pay raises and reenlistment bonuses. If one supports rewarding our troops with higher pay, one should vote for the Spratt alternative.

Like the base bill, the Spratt alternative will extend the enhanced death gratuity to those families who were previously left out after September 11.

Mr. Chairman, in summary, I view voting for the Democratic alternative being offered by Mr. Spratt as crucial to supporting our national security, and I hope that each of our colleagues who supports defense will vote with me and for the Spratt Democratic alternative.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, let me take this means to recognize the 75th Anniversary of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. I am proud to pay tribute to the years of service and protection provided to the citizens of Missouri by the Highway Patrol.

On April 24, 1931, Governor Henry S. Caulfield signed Senate Bill 36, establishing the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The bill provided for a superintendent, 10 captains, and 115 patrolmen, but only 55 men were originally hired as troopers. The first superintendent, Lewis Ellis, was hired on July 21, 1931, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol became effective on September 14, 1931.

Throughout its 75 years, the Patrol has provided many invaluable services. In addition to enforcing traffic laws, it encourages traffic safety to the public through displays, speaking engagements, Community Alliance Programs, and the Safety Education Center. The Governor's Security Division, a branch of the Patrol, provides security to Missouri's governor, his family, and visiting dignitaries. Since the Patrol assumed the operation of Missouri's weigh stations in 1942, it has also proven vital to the removal of illegal drugs from the highways.

In the last 75 years, Missouri has called upon the Patrol for assistance in periods of civil unrest and natural disaster. In 1954, troopers were called upon to help quell a full-scale prison riot. The Patrol helped Missourians overcome the paralysis caused by the Great Flood of 1993. After Hurricane Katrina, 56 Patrol personnel responded to a call for assistance to Biloxi, Mississippi.

Mr. Speaker, the Missouri State Highway Patrol can be proud of all it has done for the State of Missouri. I know the Members of the House will join me in congratulating the Missouri State Highway Patrol for 75 years of excellent service.

Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that General Leon J. LaPorte, Commander of the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea/United States Combined Forces and Commander of the United States Forces Korea, will soon be retiring after a long and distinguished career.

General LaPorte was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated from the University of Rhode Island. He completed the Armor Officer Advanced Course in 1975 and he earned a Master's Degree in Administration from the University of California.

After General LaPorte was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Armor, he served as a Platoon Leader and Motor Officer in Alpha Company, 3d Battalion, 64th Armor. In 1971, he served as a Platoon Commander and Company Executive Officer in the 283rd Aerial Weapons Company in the Republic of Vietnam. He commanded the 3d Battalion, 64th Armor, 3d Infantry Division in Schweinfur, Germany, and following the Army War College, he served as the G3, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. In October 1990, he deployed with the division to Southwest Asia and was Chief of Staff during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. In 1997, he assumed the duties of Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operation and Plans, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC. Prior to assuming his current position, General LaPorte served as Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Forces Command.

General LaPorte has earned numerous decorations and badges for his outstanding service in the military. These decorations and badges include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (three oak leaf clusters), the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (two oak leaf clusters), an Air Medal (``V'' device), an Army Commendation Medal (``V'' device), a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (with Palm), a Kuwait Liberation Medal, an Army Aviator Badge, a Parachutist Badge, and a Ranger Tab.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Members of the House will join me in paying tribute to General Leon J. LaPorte for his exceptional service to the United States and will wish him all the best in the days ahead.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this means to congratulate and pay tribute to Paul Beykirch, who recently received the Sedalia Area Chamber of Commerce's Outstanding Citizen Award. He has distinguished himself with dedicated service to the community of Sedalia, MO.

The Chamber of Commerce honored Mr. Beykirch for his values, community service, and involvement. Mr. Beykirch has been a member ofthe Bothwell Regional Health Center's Board of Trustees for the past 16 years and currently serves as its president. He is a former Rotary Club president and is currently the president of County Distributing Company Incorporated. Mr. Beykirch enjoys working with children as an assistant golf coach and as a Cub Scout Leader. I had previously honored Mr. Beykirch by nominating him to serve on the National Security Forum at America's Air War College.

Mr. Speaker, I am certain that my colleagues will join me in congratulating Paul Beykirch and in wishing him luck in his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, it is with deep sadness that I inform the House of the death of Sheriff Sidney ``Sid'' Warren Shippy of Butler, Missouri. He died at the age of 57 of complications from a heart and kidney transplant.

Shippy was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the oldest of three children. After graduating from Raytown High School in 1967, he enlisted in the United States Army and served in Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star, Army Commendation and Air Medal during his service.

Shippy attended Longview Community College before beginning a 33-year career in law enforcement. Shippy served with the Missouri Highway Patrol as an undercover narcotics officer, road patrolman, zone commander, and worked in the department's gaming commission. He served as an instructor to other officers and attained the highest investigation qualification, an Accident Reconstructionist. After retiring from the Patrol in 2003, he entered politics and was elected Bates County Sheriff in 2004.

Mr. Speaker, I am certain that the Members of the House of Representatives will join me in paying tribute to the outstanding public service of Sheriff Sidney Warren Shippy. He will be missed by all who knew him and I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family: his wife of 30 years, Markita; daughter, Anissa Fischer; mother, Deva Shippy; brother, Russell Shippy; and sister, Barbara Shippy.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to recognize the many achievements of Dr. William Allen Baker (Pg.D, Ph.D, D.Litt, Th.D, Kt.OBE), from Odessa, Missouri, who is an accomplished actor, educator, author, and philanthropist.

Dr. Baker conducted his graduate studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and at the University College, Wales, United Kingdom. A Rotary Foundation International Graduate Fellow, he has earned a Doctorate in Theatre History (Ph.D), a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt), a Doctorate in Theology (Th.D), and an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity (HonDD).

Previously an Associate Professor and Department Chairman at Avila University, Dr. Baker has published several books. His stage and film credits include performances in England, France, and Wales. Dr. Baker is a member of the Royal Star and Garter, the Royal British Legion, the British Society of Ethical Theory, the British Theological Institute, the American Biographical Institute, the International Society of Philosophers, Franciscans International, the Council for Parliament of the World's Religions, the Screen Actors Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Dr. Baker has been bestowed several awards and honors including the International Peace Prize, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Magistracy Medal of Honor, and the International Professor of the Year 2005. He has been nominated for the American Medal of Honor for contributions to literature, the International Medal of Freedom, and International Writer of the Year. Dr. Baker has also been named to the BBC Hall of Fame, Top 100 Writers 2005, and Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend my congratulations to Dr. Baker for his many achievements and wish him luck in all his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to recognize the long and distinguished career of General Lance W. Lord. General Lord is retiring after serving in our nation's Air Force with distinction for over 37 years.

General Lord received a Bachelor of Science in education from Otterbein College in Ohio, where he entered the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program. He earned a Master's degree in industrial management from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. He also attended the Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base.

After entering the Air Force in 1969, General Lord served four years of Minuteman II ICBM alert duty. He was the Director of the Ground- Launched Cruise Missile Program Management Office in West Germany and he was the Commander of two ICBM wings in Wyoming and North Dakota. At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California he commanded a space wing responsible for satellite launch and ballistic missile test launch operations. He led Air Force Education as the Commander of Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base and was the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff for the Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Since 2002, General Lord has been the Commander of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, where he has been responsible for the development, acquisition, and operation of the Air Force's space and missile systems.

General Lord has earned numerous decorations and badges for his outstanding efforts in the military. These decorations and badges include a Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, a Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, an Air Force Commendation Medal, an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with oak leaf cluster, an Air Force Organizational Excellence with two oak leaf clusters, a Combat Readiness Medal, and a National Defense Service Medal with two bronze stars. He also has received many honors, including the Secretary of the Air Force Leadership Award from Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, the General Jimmy Doolittle Fellow Award from the Air Force Association, and the Space Champion Award from the National Defense Industrial Association.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Members of the House will join me in paying tribute to General

Lance W. Lord for his exceptional service to the United States and will wish him and his family all the best in the days ahead.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for allowing me to make comments on this, and I compliment the gentlewoman from Florida for her leadership in this regard as well.

I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 341. This condemns Iran for violating its nonproliferation agreements and expresses support for efforts to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council.

Thank you, Mr. Lantos, for the opportunity to briefly address House Concurrent Resolution 341 on the Iranian nuclear situation. I think it is deadly serious.

Madam Speaker, the situation in Iran is a critical matter that demands serious attention and serious action from this administration as well as from Congress. It threatens the security of our Nation, the future of the nonproliferation regime and stability in the Middle East.

International support for referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council is very encouraging, but it is not enough to address the complexity of the nuclear situation or broader longer-term problems posed by Iran, including its involvement in Iraq, which evidently is quite substantial.

Direct American leadership is long overdue. There must be a comprehensive interagency effort to develop and implement the necessary plan, and Congress must do its part. This must be a top bipartisan priority. And yet while the U.S. must act expeditiously, it must also act effectively. We must sufficiently consider all tools at our disposal, and we must take care not to inadvertently make matters worse by our rhetoric or by our actions.

For example, we should consider ``smart sanctions'' that would target Iran's leadership, avoid harming the Iranian population and have strong international support.

There are no easy answers or simple solutions; but as I have emphasized numerous times now, there are many tools at our disposal, many more than this administration has used to date. I am committed to doing whatever I can to effectively address the problems posed by Iran, and I ask my colleagues to join me in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that a long and exceptionally distinguished career has come to an end. Mrs. Alice Hoeppner, of Lexington, MO, retired on December 31, 2005, from her position as deputy county clerk for Lafayette County.

Mrs. Hoeppner first entered public service while she was attending Lexington High School, Lexington, MO. On July 12, 1948, she began working for the probate court in the Lafayette County Courthouse. Later she joined the County Clerk's office on a part-time basis.

In 1950, Alice married Bennie Hoeppner, and in 1951, she resigned her job to raise her children, Patricia, Steve and Tony.

In September 1974, then-Lafayette County Clerk Edgar Oetting asked her to work for him full-time as the deputy county clerk. She remained full-time, also serving under County Clerk Linda Nolting and under the current County Clerk, Linda Niendick.

Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Alice Hoeppner has dedicated herself to serving Lafayette County. I know the Members of the House will join me in wishing her all the best as she moves on to the next step in her life.