Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to submit the words of John Marc Sianghio, Jr., a young man from Oswego, Illinois, to the Congressional Record. John was recently named a winner in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy scriptwriting contest for 2003.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars holds a Voice of Democracy competition each year in order to give high school students an opportunity to express their patriotism. This year, an overwhelming 80,000 students across the country participated in the contest. John's essay reflects upon the responsibilities inherent to life in a free nation--freedom's obligation.

I commend the Veterans of Foreign Wars for their continued commitment to fostering a sense of patriotism and responsibility in the youth of our great nation. And I congratulate John on his success and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

2002-2003 VFW Voice of Democracy Scholarship Contest

``Freedom's Obligation''

(Illinois Winner.--John Marc Sianghio, Jr.)

Lady Liberty stands vigil over a city, and a nation that

does not sleep. In her torch shines perpetual daylight,

fueled by the great virtue that is tireless action.

``Action'' she demands. Even her silence cries out to the

world, ``Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses

yearning to breathe free.''

Though the words say ``give me'' the sub-text shouts

``come!'' It is not an invitation, it is a command: not a

gift, a demand. The imprisoned lightning in her torch

thunders with a message understood in every language, that

the Republic over which she stands with its liberties and

justices, is not for all. It stands only for all those with

the boldness to take it, for all those willing to pay its

price. This precious freedom is open only to those who can

meet its obligation.

That obligation can only be action, for America is a

republic born of a hard and painful labor, a republic that

earned its freedom at the point of a gun, and that has held

its freedom with the same. America is a nation that did not

emerge as the random offspring of intercoursing tribes. It

emerged by the active will of its people. Nor was its

revolution won in the minds of inert philosophers, rather in

the hearts of the masses; hearts that not only had passive

sentiment, but that physically pumped charged blood into live

limbs, stirring them to action: Hearts that bled freely so

that the flag of independence might be striped in scarlet . .

. But that once vibrant crimson has faded through uncounted

years of stagnancy.

Stagnancy is the greatest treason. We justify it in this

age by referring to it by an alias. Like the devil it is, it

has many names. It is called caution, debate, delay,

filibuster, complaint, apathy, and inaction. If it is not

action . . . it is treason.

Treason was not a word in my vocabulary when I immigrated

to this country. I was two at the time. Freedom when I first

set foot on American soil meant that I would be out of the

coach class seat that held me for twenty two hours, that I

could stretch my legs on solid ground. Was that true freedom?

Of course not. I had to learn freedom. I had to earn freedom.

From the moment I was first old enough to realize the

opportunities and liberties gifted to me by American Freedom,

the enormity of Freedom's obligation was already creeping

onto my shoulders. As I have grown older and learned more and

more about my rights, the responsibilities wrapped inside

these rights also began to emerge.

As immigrants to this country, there was a long difficult

process which my family and I had to undertake to stay in

this country. This process required much sacrifice by each

individual involved. However, we wanted to work to earn the

freedoms we enjoyed. Had we not done it, we would have

debased our honor and lowered ourselves to the state of

common thieves. The sacrifices I have made earned me my

freedom. Your story, your struggles, your road to earning

freedom is probably much different. However, our obligations

to freedom are in essence the same.

So what is the spirit of our obligation? What is the common

labor that must be undertaken to be worthy of Lady Liberty's

embrace? It is simply love. Patriotic love.

I speak of a patriot's love, not as the lust of a fool who

thinks he serves his country by ignoring her laws and making

his own rules because he believes they are better. I speak of

true love, like that in marriage. Freedom's obligation is the

marriage of our minds and our souls. It is a dreamer's desire

for the ideal, guided by the rational hands of what is real.

Our obligation is to strive for that ideal. Realistically, we

know that true freedom can only come when every human being

is rid of their every chain, chains of poverty, chains of

addiction, and chains of hatred. Still we are obligated as

individuals to strive for the ideal of freedom. The ideal

that every person is created equal because every person

creates himself equal. It starts with one. It starts with me,

and it starts with you. If we do not meet our obligations,

this ideal can never be reached. If we do not meet our

obligations, we cheapen freedom, and we cheapen ourselves.

For it is freedom's obligation, the great price at which

freedom comes, that gives it its value. That is why we must

act, so freedom may retain its value, and that we as

individuals may maintain our integrity and human worth as

well. For the obligation of freedom is Lady Liberty's call to

the individual who longs to be free. Who, like a newborn

child that struggles for its first life sustaining breath,

expands his lungs against the weight of apathy so that he may

breathe free.

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to announce that John Jacob Rhodes, former Republican Leader of the House of Representatives, is one of the first recipients of the Congressional Distinguished Service Medal. Together with Leader Gephardt, I established this award to recognize former Members of the House who served the American people with extraordinary distinction and selfless dedication. Leader Gephardt chose to honor Louis Stokes as his first award recipient, and I can think of no better person than John Rhodes to share this first tribute.

John Rhodes was born in Council Grove, Kansas, attending public schools and eventually Kansas State University. After moving east and graduating from Harvard Law School in 1941, he practiced law in Mesa, Arizona. He started his service to our Nation early as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps and a staff judge advocate of the Arizona National Guard. These experiences served him well during his thirty year career in the United States Congress.

First elected as a Republican to the 83rd Congress, John Rhodes went on to serve in fourteen succeeding Congresses. After twenty years in Congress, he had earned the respect of his peers and was elected Minority Leader of the House for the 93rd through 96st Congresses. These years saw John Rhodes lead his party from the dark days of Watergate to the resurgent presidency of Ronald Reagan.

And through it all, John Rhodes was considered a man of exemplary values, a true leader, a great listener, and steadfast peacemaker. Those who know him best would say he has a quiet dignity, an implicit trustworthiness, and a tireless devotion to the people of America. Pulitzer prize-winning columnist George Will said it best:

One glance tells you. God had a Congressman in mind when he

made John Rhodes. And he is just what the Founding Fathers

had in mind when they designed the House of Representatives,

the body intended to be the closest to the common man.

I can think of few equals to John Rhodes whose life and legislative careers merit the Congressional Distinguished Service Medal. We cannot thank him enough for his service to this Chamber and to our great country. I am truly honored to be able to present him with this award.

Mr. Speaker, it has been an incredible debate. I sat and listened to the debate on both of the rules and then on the substance here, the substance of this budget debate tonight. I guess maybe the same IMF to whom we provide the funds that they can go and provide capital throughout the world may be critical of us, I do not know. And possibly, the gloom and doom that we heard here tonight, if we set that as our philosophy and what this Congress can achieve and what this country would achieve, we probably would not be able to achieve very much.

But I taught economics for a number of years, 16 years; and we taught about projections and how the economists put formulas together and how you can look out into the future. But not many of those projections can really look out into the future. I would say if you try to say what is going to happen in this country 10 years from now with the economy, it probably would go up and down and right to left three or four times before we ever get to that future.

What is important is now. And I have heard a lot of rhetoric tonight. But I know what this budget does. It lays down the blueprint for the future of this country this year. This Congress, who is charged with doing the things that our people, the people who elect us, our constituents want us to do, they want us to stimulate this economy. They want us to see this economy getting going again. We lost $250 billion in revenue last year, just in losses in capital gains. Now, we want to say the markets are not important, but the markets are important. We need to have stimulus. We need to have it going.

But I will tell my colleagues, in my district, we do not have a lot of markets, we have a lot of small business people. They provide 80 percent of the jobs in my district. That is fairly representative. Unless you are in the cities, that is fairly representative of around this country. Small business people say that they want to make an investment. They want to have some expensing. They want to have a job creation package that gets something done. And we can only do that, and we will have that debate on how that is put together, but we can only do that if we pass a budget to get the key in the door and open it up so that this Congress can do something.

I have great respect for the gentleman from Minnesota. He talked about a road program. But I say to my colleagues, we can only get a highway bill and work on an infrastructure if we pass this budget.

Tonight we debated an energy policy. This country needs an energy policy and how it gets put together, we will have that debate on it. But we will not have an energy policy unless we pass this budget.

There are 13 appropriations bills. We passed a budget last year. Our friends

in the Senate did not pass it, and we were talking about oranges and apples and we could not get the appropriation process done until February. We need to pass a budget; the Senate needs to pass a budget; we need to get the appropriation process done. We need to talk about education. We need to talk about health care. We cannot do it unless we pass this budget.

So I say to my colleagues, it is late. We have had a lot of debate. It is time to get to work. I will make a prediction. We will have a lot of people vote against it, and we will have a few more vote for it. Let us get to it.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this War Time Supplemental, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

The Congress has certain responsibilities in a time of war. We have the responsibility to authorize the use of force. We did this in the last Congress.

And we have the responsibility to pay for the war. This supplemental is our contribution to the war effort.

Any one who has any doubts about the justice of our cause should read the story of Jessica Lynch, and how a bunch of Saddam's henchmen mistreated her. They should read

the story of how the citizens of Najaf have welcomed our troops as liberators from the Hussein regime.

Our troops need our help. They need our support. They need the bullets, the MRE's, the cruise missiles, the jet fuel, which we provide in this supplemental.

There are a lot of arm-chair quarterbacks out there, people who think they know better how to conduct this war. In my view, our President and his team have been doing a very good job. We are exceeding any realistic expectations. And we can be proud of our soldiers, sailors, and Marines. They are performing as well as any group of warriors has ever performed.

Mr. Chairman, our cause is just. Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator who has based his regime on torture and terror. He has supported terrorists and he has tried to produce weapons of mass destruction. His days are numbered, and for that, the world should be grateful.

This supplemental also contains important resources to secure the Homeland.

Our cities and states need help in this battle against terrorists.

We want to make certain that what happened on September 11, 2001 never happens again. We want to prevent terrorists before they strike. And we want to be prepared if they do succeed in launching an attack.

We don't know where they will target. This is a big country, and the possible targets are as vast as the deranged imagination of an Al Qaeda terrorist.

This bill achieves a critical balance. We don't want to federalize every police and civil service function. But we do want to help these localities prepare. And that is what this bill does.

Finally, let me say a word about the airline provisions of this bill.

Some say we have done too much for the airlines industry. Some say we have done way too little. I think we have the right balance to help airlines deal with the increased security costs brought on by war and terrorism.

This is a simple proposal. It will help the airlines immediately, it will help them fairly, and it will help them effectively.

Let me conclude by saying that I urge my colleagues to support this important war supplemental. The American people want us to support our troops and defend the Homeland in this time of war.

Mr. Chairman, for the information of all Members, I want to report that there will be two classified Members-only briefings regarding Iraq tonight and tomorrow. First, tonight, at 7:40 p.m., Secretary Rumsfeld will brief all Members in the Armed Services Committee hearing room located in 2118 of the Rayburn Office Building.

In addition, tomorrow, Friday, at 10:45 a.m., officials from the Department of Defense, the Department of State and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will provide this briefing also. This briefing will take place at the 2118 Rayburn location as well.

I encourage all Members to attend both these important briefings, tonight and tomorrow, so that they have the latest information prior to returning to their districts.

Members will be alerted to any further details via the e-mail whip notice system.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to read into the Record a letter that I received today.

``Dear Mr. Speaker: I have been called to active duty in the United States Army. Pending further orders, I request immediate indefinite leave of the United States House of Representatives to accommodate my military duties.

``Respectfully, Steve Buyer, Member of Congress''

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, the resolution we are considering affects one of our own today and may affect others in the near future. Our hopes and prayers are with Steve and his family as he prepares to depart for Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, we will be considering a very important resolution before us this evening. I rise in strong support of that resolution, and I expect that all of my colleagues would vote for it.

Our men and women in uniform are now engaged in an important conflict

in the country of Iraq. We are engaged with 30-some other nations, and it involves certainly a tyrant who has defined himself over the last 20 years.

Like my colleagues, I remember the day of September 11, 2001. I remember standing in the front of my office waiting to get a call from the Vice President and looking and watching an unfamiliar phenomenon, a roll of black smoke going across the mall that I can look down from my window and see. And I asked one of my staff, I said, find out; that black smoke is not supposed to be there. A minute and a half later they came in and said, well, the third plane had gone into the Pentagon.

Little beknownst to me and the rest of us at that time, there was a fourth plane involved, and 9 or 10 or 11 brave young men and women brought that plane down into an empty field in southern Pennsylvania. We know now that if it had not been for the actions of those people, that plane would have been in the west front of the Capitol.

That being said, many of us visited right after the World Trade Center. We had walked the halls of the Pentagon and visited those folks who helped pull their comrades out, some to safety, some beyond help. We talked to the families who lost their folks in the Pentagon, the World Trade Towers; we passed some extraordinary legislation.

But this country suffered a huge loss that day. I think I speak for all of us when I say that that is something that we do not want to see visited upon this Nation again. We know that in Iraq Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. We know that he has a nexus to al Qaeda, and we know that that training has been going on over an extended period of time. I believe that it is our duty, this Nation's duty, to protect our Nation and to make sure that that is not visited upon this Nation ever again.

The men and women whom we are about to salute and wish well tonight and send our best thoughts and prayers to are doing a job that nobody wants to do. Nobody wishes this to have to happen. But in the tradition of this Nation, in the tradition of keeping this country free, and in the tradition of trying to stabilize the Middle East, we are doing this job. We are doing it with 30 other nations who have decided this is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, as we go through this very sober debate tonight, I would ask for your positive consideration and positive vote.

Mr. Speaker, and for the information of all Members, I am in receipt of a report from the President pursuant to the Use of Force Resolution approved by the Congress last year.

This report summarizes diplomatic and other peaceful means pursued by the United States, cooperating with foreign countries and international organizations to obtain Iraqi compliance with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.

Pursuant to House Rule XII, I will refer this report to the Committee on

International Relations. In addition, for the information of the Members, I will submit the document in its entirety for printing into the Congressional Record.

Let me remind Members that this document is pursuant to legislation and the statute that we passed last year. This is not a declaration that we are in any specific type of activity at this time. It only is the pursuit of the statute that was passed last year.

Any further announcement will be shared with the Congress.

The White House,

Washington, March 18, 2003.

Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,

Speaker of the House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Speaker: Consistent with section 3(b) of the

Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq

Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on

information available to me, including that in the enclosed

document, I determine that:

(1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and

other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately

protect the national security of the United States against

the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to

enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council

resolutions regarding Iraq; and

(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-

243 is consistent with the United States and other countries

continuing to take the necessary actions against

international terrorists and terrorist organizations,

including those nations, organizations, or persons who

planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist

attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

Sincerely,

George W. Bush.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a very close friend of mine who is one of the unsung heroes of America. Tom Jarman is a teacher, a coach, a man of great wisdom, a noted author, and the kind of friend you would want if you ever got in a jam. He was recently inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Coaches Hall of Fame, but that is just one of 6 Hall of Fames that he has been inducted into. He is also a member of the Taylor University Hall of Fame, Wheaton College Hall of Fame, the Oswego High School Hall of Fame, the Indiana Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Illinois Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame.

Tom was the co-author of Beginning Wrestling, one of the all-time best selling books for young wrestlers in history. Apart from teaching young kids how to wrestle, he has also coached successfully at Manchester College, Northwestern University, and Taylor University. He has coached nineteen All-Americans, along with nineteen Academic All- Americans. He has an outstanding overall record of 394-126.

Throughout his career, Tom has emphasized to his wrestlers the importance of character, the value of hard work, the best virtues of competition, and the glory of fair play. He has done so with dogged determination and with the humility and humor of a first-class teacher. I don't know what all of Tom's former students are doing now, but I guarantee you that they are better citizens because of the time they spent with him.

I first met Tom Jarman when I was in junior high, and I wrestled with him at that level, in high school and at Wheaton College. Even back then, I knew that he had the makings of a great coach and teacher. In fact, at Wheaton College, Tom was the 1963 NCAA Collegiate Division National Champion at 158 pounds, and he was twice named an NCAA All- American. While 158 pounds is a long time ago, I still remember vividly Tom's will to succeed.

All to often, in this day and age, many universities are dropping their wrestling programs for legal or financial reasons. I think that is a big mistake, because when I look at the career of someone like Tom Jarman, who has been in the trenches for so many years, molding the characters of so many young men, teaching them to succeed at wrestling and succeed at life--I think how much better off this country is because of his efforts.

So, to my good friend, Tom Jarman, I salute you on your latest honor, and I salute you for being one of America's unsung heroes. Thank you for your great contributions to American society.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the important contributions of Donated Dental Services to the dental health of elderly, disabled and medically compromised individuals across the nation.

The freedom and individual rights at the core of our society come from a shared responsibility for the health and well-being of our communities and for each other. Many members of the dental profession embrace this responsibility by offering their professional services to vulnerable individuals.

Since 1986, some 10,000 volunteer dentists across 32 states have provided an estimated $50 million in comprehensive dental care to 44,000 needy individuals. The large volume of participation in Donated Dental Services clearly signifies a socially responsible and commendable commitment to expanding access to dental services for the underserved.

Through a coordinated effort, Donated Dental Services will soon endeavor to double its humanitarian service potential by adding 10,000 more volunteer dentists from across the country. This effort holds the promise of ensuring thousands more underserved Americans will receive access to dental care, thereby improving their quality of life and general well-being.

I commend the thousands of dentists who volunteer their time with Donated Dental Services, and I congratulate the program for their commitment to increase charitable care for our nation's underserved.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a distinguished constituent; a person who was one of the most active, hard-working and dedicated educators in the State of Illinois--Mr. Daryl Thompson. Sadly, Mr. Thompson passed away on January 14, 2003.

Mr. Thompson began a 37-year career at Oswego High School in 1961. In his early years at Oswego High School, Mr. Thompson taught bookkeeping, business law, general business and typing, in addition to serving as the freshman basketball coach, faculty advisor to the school newspaper, and sponsor of the National Honor Society. And, after earning his certificate in education administration, Mr. Thompson was hired as Oswego High School's Vice Principal, and in 1974 was appointed Principal.

Throughout his years as an educator and administrator in Oswego, Mr. Thompson was the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. To name a few, Mr. Thompson was awarded the Illinois State Board of Education's ``Educator for Excellence in Education,'' Coca- Cola's Educator of the Month, and was selected by the Oswego Ledger-Sentinel as one of the top 50 people of the 20th Century to make a positive impact on Oswegoland. Furthermore, in 1997, a portion of Illinois Route 71, which passes by Oswego High School property, was named the honorary ``Daryl Thompson Highway.''

Moreover, Mr. Thompson served as a member of the Illinois High School Association's Legislative Commission for 12 years, served as Director of the Illinois Principals Association and was involved with the Oswego Foundation for Excellence in Education.

Nonetheless, we should also remember Mr. Thompson as a dedicated friend and mentor. He will be remembered for his keen sense of humor, thoughtful guidance and his genuine interest in the well-being of the entire community.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Daryl Thompson for his contributions to the Oswego school system and the many students, parents, teachers and fellow administrators whom he touched. His accomplishments deserve our praise and appreciation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the following into the Congressional Record:

The Executive Committee of Correspondents conveys its

gratitude on behalf of the more than 250 publications and

1,800 reporters who benefited from your 28 years as director

of the House Periodical Press Gallery.

Over the decades, you have helped the gallery grow and

expand, ranging from the number of reporters served to the

amount of information available. You have kept the gallery

and its staff up to date with the latest technology and

pushed for even greater technological advances.

Reporters have always found you a valuable resource. Your

vast knowledge of Congressional rules and procedures will be

sorely missed, as will your keen political insights and

ability to steer reporters in the right direction.

You have always looked out for the best interests of

reporters and fought for increased access to lawmakers and

events. You deserve our thanks and gratitude for getting to

know the right people throughout the years so that we could

do our jobs with minimum of interference.

We also acknowledge your role in defending our interests in

court when the need arose and for always being fair and

impartial when it came to credentialing new organizations for

admittance into the gallery.

For all these and so many more reasons, the Executive

Committee thanks you for your many years of service and

wishes you and Shauna a happy, long and well-deserved

retirement.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Bolen

Heidi Glenn

Richard Cohen

Tim Curran

Douglas Waller

Terence Samuel

Lorraine Woellert

Madam Speaker, there just aren't enough words to describe a man who has led such an adventurous, challenging, and courageous life as Sam Johnson. He is a decorated war hero, a distinguished public servant, and a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather.

There have been many great public servants who have passed through these great Halls of Congress, and Sam is certainly one of them. These are men and women who have worked tirelessly for their constituents, who have faced difficult challenges, and who rarely, if ever succumbed to the challenges that have come before them, even when it seemed impossible. Sam Johnson has brought honor, dignity and respect to this great institution.

During his 29 years as a U.S. Air Force pilot, Sam flew combat missions in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and was a prisoner of war in Hanoi for almost seven years. His service in the military earned him many medals that serve as reminders to us all of his courage and personal sacrifice for our country. In total, he was bestowed with fifteen medals and awards, all of which were given to him for the heroism he displayed during both wars. In fact, today is the 30-year anniversary of his arrival back to America after his long torturous imprisonment in Vietnam. It was this day thirty years ago that Sam left that distant land and returned home to his loved ones.

I will always remember Sam to be a man of great accomplishments, a gentleman that I have had the honor to serve with for over ten years. He will be remembered not only for his public service to those in Texas, but also for his selfless sacrifice for all Americans. Thank you Sam.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the March of Dimes on the launch of a national campaign to address the rising rate of premature births.

Today in America, more than 1,300 babies will be born too soon. Premature birthrates have risen to the highest level ever reported in the United States. In fact, a staggering one in eight babies are born preterm. And in my home State of Illinois, some 20,000 babies were born premature last year alone.

On January 30th, the March of Dimes will launch a 5-year, national research, education and awareness campaign that seeks to prevent premature birth. This campaign holds the promise of considerably reducing the rate of prematurity throughout our nation. And the reasons for doing so are clear--babies born prematurely bear an elevated risk of serious long-term health problems. Moreover, premature birth represents the leading cause of infant death in the first month of life.

I commend the March of Dimes for their efforts on behalf of the health and wellbeing of our nation's unborn children and their families. I am hopeful that this campaign will successfully and dramatically reduce the rate of preterm births in America.