Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on April 6 of this year the President of the United States traveled halfway around the globe, and in the nation of Turkey essentially proclaimed that the United States was not a Judeo- Christian nation.

Now, I don't challenge his right to do that, nor do I dispute the fact that is what he believes. But I wished that he had asked and answered two questions when he did that. The first question was whether or not we ever considered ourselves a Judeo-Christian nation; and the second one is if we did, what was that moment in time where we ceased to be so?

If you ask the first question, you find that the very first act of the first Congress in the United States was to bring in a minister and have Congress led in prayer and afterwards read four chapters out of the Bible.

A few years later when we unanimously declared our independence, we made certain that the rights in there were given to us by our creator.

When the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 that ended the Revolutionary War and birthed this Nation, the signers of that document made clear that it began with this phrase: ``In the name of the Most Holy and undivided Trinity.''

When our Constitution was signed, the signers made sure that they punctuated the end of it by saying ``in the year of our Lord, 1787.''

And 100 years later in the Supreme Court case of Holy Trinity Church v. The United States, the Supreme Court indicated, after recounting the long history of faith in this country, that we were even a Christian nation.

President George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan all disagreed with the President's comments and indicated how the Bible and Judeo-Christian principles were so important in this Nation. And Franklin Roosevelt even led this Nation in a 6-minute prayer before the invasion of perhaps the greatest battle in history, the Invasion of Normandy and asked for God's protection. After that war when Congress came together and said where are we going to put our trust, it wasn't in our weapon systems, or our economy or our great decisions here, but it was ``In God We Trust'' which is emboldened directly behind you.

So if in fact we were a Nation that was birthed on those Judeo- Christian principles, what was that moment in time when we ceased to so be? It wasn't when a small group of people succeeded in taking prayer out of our schools, or when they tried to cover up the word referencing God on the Washington Monument, or they tried to stop our veterans from having flag-folding ceremonies at their funerals on a voluntary basis because they mentioned God, or even when they tried in the new visitor center to change that national motto and to refuse to put ``In God We Trust'' in there. No, it wasn't any of those times because they can rip that word off of all of our buildings, and still, those Judeo-Christian principles are so interwoven in a tapestry of freedom and liberty that to begin to unravel one is to unravel the other.

That's why we have filed the Spiritual Heritage resolution to help reaffirm that great history of faith that we have in this Nation and to say to those individuals who have yielded to the temptation of concluding that we are no longer a Judeo-Christian Nation to come back, to come back and look at those great principles that birthed this Nation and sustain us today because we believe if they do they will conclude, as President Eisenhower did and later Gerald Ford repeated, that without God, there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life.

Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic expression of Americanism. Thus, the Founding Fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help it will continue to be.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Sid Oman, who was 81 when he passed away on Monday, April 27, 2009.

America lost a political icon with the death of Sid Oman. Sid will certainly be remembered for both his successful business and political careers. Nationally, he was recognized by President Reagan for his role in the War on Drugs, and he was widely known for being elected to serve as mayor of two cities in different states, Chesapeake, Virginia and Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

From the beginning, Sid Oman planned to be a funeral director. He founded his own business--Oman Funeral Homes--and he set the standard for the way in which he ran his business. He served as President of both the Virginia Funeral Directors Association and the Tidewater Funeral Directors Association. His business reputation led to his role as the director of General Douglas MacArthur's funeral in 1964.

Sid was so much more than a funeral director. He was a Marine, a Sunday school teacher, a marriage commissioner, and he played a leadership role in numerous civil groups committed to the communities in which he lived and worked every day, including business, health care, education, and service organizations.

Sid was deeply engaged in connecting with citizens and friends in the community through technology and media. He hosted weekly TV and radio shows, including ``The Sounding Board,'' ``The Vantage Point,'' ``Call to City Hall,'' and ``Mayor's Report.''

In his later years, Sid's personal battle with cancer and his resilient commitment to ensuring access to cancer treatment for others resulted in Chesapeake General Hospital naming its Cancer Treatment Center in his honor.

At home, Sid was the proud husband of Lillian Callis Oman since 1947. He had two children--his daughter Susan, and his son, Robert, who followed his father's footsteps into the funeral business.

However, for Chesapeake residents he represents the personification of the office of Mayor, an office he officially held for six years, but for which he was known for the remainder of his life. Sid's love for people and his city will not soon be forgotten or easily replaced, and his contributions to our lives in Chesapeake will live on for generations.

Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to pound the podium or yell and scream about this legislation, but I'd just say to the Speaker that sometimes all the spin that we hear in here about a particular piece of legislation during debate, or sometimes our getting down into the specifics of the semantics of the legislation or arguing about what the courts say it will or will not do, causes us to do what the average citizen at home does not do, and that is to miss the common sense and the rightness of a piece of legislation.

The distinguished majority leader came to the floor a while ago and stated two principles: that all people ought to be treated equally, and if America stands for anything, it stands for equality under the law. And that's what this legislation does not do.

Mr. Speaker, just a short time ago there was a pageant in the United States, the Miss USA pageant. One of the contestants, Ms. California, went up there, and she was asked a question by one of the judges, who is an openly gay judge, about her beliefs in marriage. And she stated what her beliefs were. That judge lambasted her over and over again in blogs, calling her the most vile names, spewing out hostility and hate, and even made the statement that if she had won, he would have stormed on the stage and snatched the tiara off her head. And other bloggers who had his same orientation and, therefore, were driven to the same hatred of this young girl, had similar things in their blogs.

Had he done that, had he done what he said he would do and stormed that stage and pulled that tiara off her head and had bodily harmed when he did it, there would not have been 1 ounce of protection under this piece of legislation for that young girl.

But after he did it, if she had, in response, made a statement back about

the very sexual orientation that had led him to his hatred and dislike for her, and if she had responded by slapping him or any physical injury, she would have had the potential of a 10-year Federal piece of legislation coming against her.

If her father, sitting in the audience, had gone on that stage to stop this kind of hatred and orientation that drove him to have this feeling against that young girl and he had made a statement and he had responded with any kind of physical action, he could have had a 10-year Federal piece of legislation that would have come against him.

And, Mr. Speaker, I know you have the votes for this legislation. I know you have the resources to drive the message and you have the media to do it, but the weight of all that combined can't do one solitary thing, and that is make this piece of legislation right, and that's why I'll vote against it.

Madam Chair, today I will vote in favor of the Ryan amendment to H. Con. Res 85. I support this amendment because it recognizes the importance of maintaining a strong national defense and taking care of our veterans. I do not support everything in this budget alternative. However, given the choice between this amendment, which provides more robust funding for our Nation's defense, or the budget priorities of the underlying legislation, I will vote for the Ryan amendment so that the House will have the opportunity for an extended and vigorous debate on the importance of defense spending in our national priorities. At the same time, I have strong reservations about the proposals to reform Medicare as described in the Ryan amendment. Before embarking on any change to Medicare to ensure that this program exists for my children's generation and my grandchildren's generation, I expect the House to engage in a thorough, earnest debate that we have not yet had.

Mr. Speaker, today, the Department of Defense released its annual report to Congress on China's military power.

The report released is an important reminder of why the Congressional China Caucus, the Congress and the American people should continue to monitor not only the expansion of China's military power but the way they exercise judgment in the use of it and other elements of national influence.

China's continuing buildup of advanced cruise missiles that can target aircraft carriers and other ships, its 260-ship Navy as compared to our 283-ship Navy, and its continued arm shipments to unstable countries demonstrates a global focus rather than a regional one.

Regrettably, over the past year, several incidents have threatened the strength of U.S.-Sino relations. In the last year, the FBI has stated that China has the most aggressive espionage program facing our Nation. U.S.

authorities continue to investigate whether PRC officials copied the contents of a government computer during a trip to China by the Secretary of Commerce, and just this month, Senator Nelson's office reported three separate instances of cyber attacks from China, which follow multiple instances last year.

In addition, a routine Thanksgiving holiday port call by a U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk, to Hong Kong was inexplicably cancelled at the eleventh hour. Most recently, five Chinese vessels harassed an unarmed U.S. naval ship.

Mr. Speaker, this House has refused to respond to that attack as yet. I am troubled at the prospect for miscalculation or unnecessary escalation of one of these situations if China does not act in a transparent and responsible manner that is expected of a rising global power.

For that reason, I introduced H. Con. Res. 72 with Congressional China Caucus cochair Madeleine Bordallo, urging China to avoid necessary escalations that could harm U.S.-China relations and to condemn their attack on our unarmed U.S. naval ship, but so far, the leadership of the House has not found time to allow that resolution to come to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, it bothers me that today, when China had a proposal for a new global currency to replace the dollar, that Secretary of Treasury Geithner said that he was open to the proposal and that White House economic adviser Austin Goolsbee declined to rule it out.

Mr. Speaker, if we don't know our positions on these issues, we are inviting the Chinese to push us further and further. The future course in U.S.-China relations hinges on China's ability to provide the necessary transparency with regard to its military buildup and cyber warfare capabilities. Mr. Speaker, I hope that we will continue to push for that kind of transparency.

Mr. Speaker, I have watched in the last several minutes as one by one people have come up to these podiums and beaten them and talked about being outraged. But 10 days ago, one of our naval vessels that was unarmed, full of civilians, was harassed by a Chinese aircraft and five Chinese vessels, and this House has not had time to express the outrage for what has happened with that.

We had time to pass a bill that expressed our outrage of how they treated the people of Tibet, but not over unarmed American civilians. We had time yesterday to pass three pieces of enormous legislation naming post offices, but not time to express our outrage over the harassment of U.S. civilians who are unarmed in international waters. Today we will leave at 3 o'clock, but we won't have time to express our outrage over unarmed civilians.

Mr. Speaker, I hope this House leadership will change its position, bring the resolution to the floor and send a message that we are going to protect and defend our people when they are in international waters.

Mr. Speaker, I found it almost comical today, as I watched both on the floor and from my office, as one Member after the other has come to these podiums all across this Chamber, and they pounded on their desk, and they have screamed and they have all used the same word, ``outraged.''

They are outraged over the $165 million in bonuses that AIG has paid and the $90 million that AIG has paid to European banks and Wall Street investment firms. But I am outraged about something different. I am outraged that they are outraged, and the reason is because I am only one of 17 Members out of 435 Members who voted ``no'' on every single one of these so-called stimulus and bailout packages, for one reason: we didn't think it would work.

Mr. Speaker, as we were trying to raise our hands and just ask intelligent questions about them, we were finding that people were ignoring the rules and they were rushing them through, that there was a whole set of people out there screaming and yelling, if you just didn't pass this bill in this form, the sky was going to fall and the world was going to come to an end, and they pushed these bills through without legislative analysis. While we were trying to just tell people what was going on and simply ask the question nobody wanted to hear, they just wanted to pass the bills.

Mr. Speaker, I have a suggestion: just read the bills. If we had read those bills, we would know what most of the analysts are telling us now, and that is that it would take 100,000 to 250,000 government bureaucrats just to monitor where this money is going and how it's going to be spent.

And instead of coming to the podium and pounding it and saying how outraged they are, wouldn't it be novel if they came and just said ``we are wrong. We admit we are wrong. We are not going to make those mistakes again.''

But, Mr. Speaker, coming here and saying you are outraged is not some kind of get out of political hot water free card. In fact, it's like a sitcom. Imagine this situation: a husband goes out in this economic situation, buys an expensive new boat.

A few weeks later, the bill comes in the mail, and his wife opens it up. And she is steaming and seething and looking at how they are going to pay this payment.

And he walks in, and he looks at her, and she throws it across the table. And he picks up the bill, and he looks at it, realizes he can't make those payments, looks at her steaming and mad, and all of a sudden he pounds the table and he says, ``Honey, I am outraged over this bill that I am having to pay.'' And that's where Congress is finding itself today.

Mr. Speaker, we wouldn't run our businesses that way. Only the government and AIG run theirs that way. We have a lot of people calling our offices and saying ``What can I do?''

Well, here's what you can do. Go find out how people voted and then call them up and ask them why.

The second thing we can do is make sure we are going to stop this bailout madness and then simply do this. Before we take more options away from our children and grandchildren by mortgaging their future, let's simply ask these four questions: Where is the money actually going? How do we know it's going to get there? Will it work once it arrives? And how will we pay it back?

Mr. Speaker, I would submit that perhaps if we do that, next time there will be more than 17 of us justified and actually coming to the podium, beating on it, and saying we are outraged.

Mr. Speaker, 5 days ago, a U.S. naval vessel was traveling in international waters 70 miles off the coast of China when it was harassed by a Chinese frigate that went dangerously across its bow. Shortly thereafter, it was buzzed by a Chinese maritime aircraft and a demand was given for that vessel to leave international waters or suffer the consequences. When it tried to do so, there was an attempt made to stop it, and then five Chinese vessels harassed it.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we passed a resolution condemning Chinese actions for harassment for the people of Tibet. I filed a resolution that would condemn these actions and make sure that we understand the message the Chinese government was sending to us through these actions was very clear. So far, I question whether we have sent a response that has equal clarity.

I hope that the Members of this House will join in this resolution and let those individuals on that vessel know that we are standing behind them in condemning these actions that were taken by the Chinese government.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to a cost-of-living increase for Members of Congress. We are currently faced with difficult economic times and an expanding federal deficit. Our economy is in a recession, unemployment figures are on the rise, home values are falling, and our national debt exceeds $10 trillion. Congress must not insulate itself from the crises at hand and I believe it is past time for Congress to be responsible. The most immediate action we can take is to cancel the automatic pay increase system currently in place for Members of Congress.

To address this issue, I recently cosponsored H.R. 156 in this 111th Congress, legislation that would prevent Members from receiving an automatic cost of living adjustment in the future. The 27th Amendment to the Constitution restricts the current Congress from altering its pay for 2009. I am disappointed that H.R. 156 was not brought to the House floor for a vote to address this important issue. Rather, this issue was lumped into a controversial 1100-plus page omnibus bill for political purposes. By not allowing an independent yes-or-no vote on this provision, we simply reinforce the impression that many important legislative measures are structured to be political gamesmanship. If Congress is to vote itself a pay raise, it should be done in sunlight in the full view of the American public, not through a quiet procedural motion hidden in the shadows. The people of Virginia deserve accountability and transparency from their elected officials.

I oppose the automatic cost-of-living increase for Members of Congress. Each of us should be on the record with our constituents as to whether we believe an increase to our own salaries is justified. In this time of increased economic hardship, I am going on the record in firm opposition to this pay increase. Since I was not allowed to vote yes or no, this forum has become my only recourse. Until the procedural barriers are removed, we will not have the transparent process that Americans deserve from their government. I will continue to fight for fiscal responsibility at all levels of government spending.

Thank you, Congressman Smith. And I also want to thank Congressman Fortenberry for his comments and to begin by saying that many of us come to this debate for different reasons. Some because of philosophical reasons, some for political reasons. I come to it for a rather personal reason.

My father, about 5 years ago, died from Parkinson's disease. My brother currently has Parkinson's disease. So it's near and dear to my heart. But what's most important is I don't need political debates or political rhetoric. What I need is some cures or I need someone who can provide some way of treating those illnesses.

If you just step back and take a moment, as Congressman Smith has pointed out, we find that all of the major breakthroughs have been with adult stem cells, not with embryonic cells. In fact, I have here a scorecard, and I know no one can see this in the body tonight, but if you showed the victories for peer-reviewed studies from adult stem cells, you would have 73 different illnesses that have been treated successfully with adult stem cells. And then if you look on the embryonic side, you would find 0 over there.

And one of the exciting things for us as we go through this debate is, as I travel around, I find, Congressman, as I know you do, that a lot of people really do not understand the difference between the two because the debate gets muddled many times; but as Congressman Fortenberry pointed out so correctly to us, we really have now three major types of cells that we're talking about.

We are talking about the adult stem cells, which have absolutely no ethical problems and have shown all of the benefits for really dealing with illnesses. We then have the embryonic

stem cells, which have a number of ethical concerns and have shown absolutely no benefits in treating illnesses. And now we have the induced pluripotent stem cells, or the IPS cells, which are ethical, because they, Congressman, as I think you mentioned, really come back from the adult cells as we work back and reprogram those and they have all the capacity of the embryonic cells without any of the ethical problems.

So really what we have is a situation where the science in this whole discussion has outpaced the debate, and the science has now proven that we really don't need the research for the embryonic stem cells. But in a day and age where every day we give up and see so much negative news, there is some exciting, good news, as Congressman Smith has pointed out, and I would like tonight just to talk about some of those great advances that we have seen.

First of all, in 2007, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study on the first stem cell treatment for diabetes patients. Researchers from Northwestern University and Brazil performed a clinical trial with 15 diabetic patients, and 13 of the 15 patients with type 1 diabetes were insulin-free after receiving an adult stem cell transplant using blood stem cells.

In 2002, doctors treated a patient for Parkinson's disease with his own neural stem cells. This is the world's first clinical trial using stem cells for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Doctors actually isolated the patient's stem cells, induced them to differentiate into the desired nervous system cells and implanted them back into the patients' brain.

Just a few weeks ago, a study on this treatment was published in the Bentham Open Stem Cell Journal and the study outlines the long-term results of this trial. For the 5 years following the procedure, the patient's motor skills improved by over 80 percent for at least 36 months.

Now, a word of caution must be added that since this is a single case study, a larger clinical trial is needed to replicate these findings and assess their long-term sustainability. But notwithstanding, this is an incredible scientific breakthrough.

In 2006, the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine reported a treatment for spinal cord injury using adult stem cells. A doctor in Portugal transplanted nasal stem cells into seven patients with spinal cord injury. Following the procedure, these patients regained some motor function and sensation, and two patients showed bladder control improvement.

I understand that the FDA recently approved a clinical safety trial using human embryonic stem cells for newly injured spinal cord patients. However, it is important to note that this is not a treatment, but only approval to begin experiments with humans to test for safety. On the contrary, this 2006 study demonstrates actual patient treatment using adult stem cells.

All of these studies show that stem cells can be derived from human cells and used to successfully treat patients, all while maintaining ethical standards. Advancing scientific development and protecting life do not have to be opposing forces.

In just a brief summary, I would like to respond to another question that Congressman Smith had or suggested he had, and that is that we talk about the Patients First Act, which is a bipartisan bill that was introduced previously. It is now H.R. 877, the Patients First Act, which has been introduced in the 111th Congress. It was originally introduced by Congressman Lipinski from Illinois and myself as H.R. 2807.

As we step back, for those of us with loved ones who suffer from these illnesses as I did with my father and I currently do with my brother, it just makes common sense that we would like to do a couple of things.

First of all, we would like to get as much research as we can to the problem, and not just floating out for some hypothetical research. The second thing is we don't want all the theories around, we don't want all the political posturing. What we want is cures in today's time so that we can get them to these patients and they can impact their lives.

So we wrote a bill that did something that is really novel. It used some common sense. It just said what would happen if for a change, instead of worrying about what all of the interest groups wanted, we put the patients first. If you put the patients first, you ask one simple question of the NIH. You simply ask them to do this: Tell us which research, either on the adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells, is going to get the most near-term clinical benefits for the patients, and that is where we want to laser in our money. That is where we want to focus in our money, because that gives us the greatest opportunity for a cure and certainly for treatment.

I am convinced if you do that, right now the scorecard would be 73 for the adult stem cells and zero for the embryonic stem cells. But as Congressman Smith has so accurately stated, even if you say there is research potential with the embryonic stem cells, there is actually no reason why we couldn't use the IPS cells to do all of that without one bit of ethical problem.

So, Congressman, I just want to tell you tonight in this world of bad news, there is some exciting news out there of what we are seeing. I think patients have reason today to hope if we just do our job and we say let's get off of the divisive debate that has marred this whole area for so long. Let's concentrate on where we can put our research to help patients. In so doing, I think we will end up doing the research with the adult stem cells, and the promise there I think is really limitless now for what our patients will see.

So thank you so much.

If the gentleman will just yield briefly and then I will yield right back, one of the things that is so exciting for us as we look in this debate is many of the people that began, the scientists that began doing research on embryonic research have now folded their tent and realize they don't have to do that. They are going back and now saying we don't need to do that. We will use IPS cells or do the adult stems cells.

Madam Speaker, consistent with Republican earmark standards, the following are detailed finance plans for each of my requested projects in H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009:

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Commerce-Justice-Science, OJP Byrne JAG discretionary grants

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Suffolk, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 441 Market Street, Suffolk, Virginia 23434

Description of Request: Provides $200,000 for the Suffolk Initiative on Youth (SIY) Crime Prevention Plan, which is a comprehensive effort to address youth crime and gang involvement in the City of Suffolk, Virginia. Over the last five years, the City of Suffolk has witnessed a significant rise in youth crime and violence, including assaults, burglary, property crimes, and homicide. In 2006, the Suffolk City Council appointed a task force of over 30 representatives of city agencies, local law enforcement, youth service providers, business leaders, faith-based organizations, teachers, parents, and youth to develop recommendations for developing positive alternatives to crime for Suffolk's youth. Among the recommendations is the creation of an Office on Youth, youth workforce development initiatives, new afterschool programs, and gang prevention awareness.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Commerce-Justice-Science, COPS law enforcement technology

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chesterfield County, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 9901 Lori Road, Chesterfield, Virginia 23832

Description of Request: Provides $300,000 to purchase a variety of technology related projects to upgrade outdated systems and improve operations. These projects include installing cameras, portable interoperability radio bridge system, watch tower, driving simulator and other law enforcement projects.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Commerce-Justice-Science, OJP Byrne JAG discretionary grants

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $100,000 for a Gang Coordinator within the Police Department and community prosecutor program to develop a comprehensive prevention, suppression and intervention strategies related to gangs and gang-related crimes. The City's law enforcement efforts need to be supplemented with front and back-end deterrence efforts. The Chesapeake Police Department estimates in 2006 that there were 26 identified gangs in Chesapeake, with an estimated 2,000 members. This number represents a significant increase from 15 identified gangs with 1,300 estimated members in 2005. In recent years, there has been an observed increase in the presence of all-female and Hispanic gangs, with four of each now identified. The Police Department's Intelligence Unit has identified numerous major gangs and their affiliates operating throughout all five precincts within the City. In response to the identification of major gang activity, in May 2006 the Mayor and City Council appointed the Mayor's Task Force for the Prevention of Gangs. The Task Force is comprised of community leaders representing major stakeholder organizations.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Energy and Water, Operations and Maintenance

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Supports $1,692,000 in the President's budget request for the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal (ACC), on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, which is a naturally protected navigation route between the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and the VA-NC state line in the North Landing River, a distance of 27 miles. The ACC is of critical importance to transportation, especially to the U.S. Navy which transported over 55 million gallons of jet fuel yearly from the Craney Island to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. Failure to fund the ACC will result in the Navy being unable to meet the fuel demand of the Oceana Naval Station. The Navy has stated that trucking this much fuel would not be feasible on a long-term basis. In addition, commercial and recreation vessels travel the ACC in lieu of the Atlantic Ocean to prevent entry into the dangerous waters off Cape Hatteras. An average of over 1,000,000 tons of commerce passed though the Great Bridge Lock yearly. Funds will be used to continue to operate the navigation lock, swing bridge, and canal.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Energy and Water, Operations and Maintenance

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Petersburg, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: Petersburg, Virginia

Description of Request Provides $527,000 for the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Appomattox River to restore the River's navigability. The dredging of the Navigation Channel will be of benefit to the region in that it will: (1) restore the Appomattox River to the free-flowing, fully navigable river that it was until the late 1970's; (2) reconnect the City's harbor to the navigable portions of the Appomattox River; (3) serve as a catalyst for the commercial and residential revitalization of historic downtown Petersburg; (4) enhance local and regional tourism and recreational opportunities; and (5) improve the environmental condition of the Appomattox River.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Energy and Water, Investigations

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $59,000 for the Dismal Swamp and Dismal Swamp Canal. The remnants of Hurricane Floyd (13 September 1999) caused significant flooding in the city of Chesapeake and the surrounding region. The Dismal Swamp is maintained as a swamp by fixed weirs across the drainage ditches to restrict the flow of water out of the swamp and inward to Lake Drummond in the middle of the Dismal Swamp. The water exiting Lake Drummond through a feeder ditch is used to maintain the level of water in the Dismal Swamp Canal, a portion of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. When Lake Drummond spilled from its banks due to heavy rains, it inundated areas of the City. The public perceives that the Corps may have prevented or minimized the flooding by diverting the floodwaters from Lake Drummond through the navigation locks at Deep Creek, Virginia, and at South Mills, North Carolina. The feasibility study will address these concerns as well as opportunities to provide for environmental restoration.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Energy and Water, Investigations

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $478,000 for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Bridge at Deep Creek, Virginia. The bridge, constructed in 1934, is a federally owned and operated facility and assists in navigation. The bridge passes over the Dismal Swamp Canal where U.S. Route 17 crosses in the city of Chesapeake. The city of Chesapeake requested the need to modify or replace the bridge. In October 1996, the approved Initial Appraisal concluded that the bridge is functionally obsolete because of its narrow roadway and poor alignment with the connecting roads, compounded by increasing traffic volumes. Nine pieces of fire apparatus are currently allowed to cross the bridge only during emergency situations. The preliminary plan is to replace the bridge with a five lane, split leaf pit bascule bridge. The City of Chesapeake (local sponsor) will assume ownership and OMRR&R responsibilities of the new bridge.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Energy and Water, Investigations

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Franklin, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: City of Franklin, Virginia

Description of Request: Provides $96,000 for the Chowan River Basin. There are no federal flood control projects in the Chowan River Basin. In many locations within the basin, six of the top 10 historical high water marks have occurred from 1998 forward, including the flood of record (Hurricane Floyd in 1999), October 2006 cold core upper level low (second highest), and Hurricane Isabel in 2003 (5th highest). Damages from these storm events have ranged from $10M to over $100M (February 2008 dollars). The reconnaissance study will evaluate the Federal interest in ways to protect the water resources of this highly productive basin with particular emphasis on restoring wetlands and forested buffers lost from erosion and flooding, reducing flood damages throughout the basin, and improving navigation and to determine the Federal interest in conducting a more detailed feasibility study.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Energy and Water, Operations and Maintenance

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $898,000 to support the President's budget request for the Dismal Swamp Canal. The Dismal Swamp Canal on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway is a naturally protected navigation route that parallels the Atlantic coast. The canal is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the United States. The DSC was placed on the National Register of Historical Places and registered as an ASCE Landmark in 1988 and in 2004 it was included in the National Park Service's Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. The authorized depth of the canal is 10 foot; however, the project is currently maintained at 6-7 feet. The DSC provides navigation needs for vessels to travel the protected waterways of the AIWW in lieu of traveling through the Currituck Sound. The project also consists of one highway drawbridge and navigation lock, one highway drawbridge and navigation lock, and three water control structures. Funds will be used to continue to operate the low level water control structures, navigation locks, bridges, and canal and perform some critical backlog maintenance.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Energy and Water, Investigations

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $93,000 to support the President's budget request for the Elizabeth River. The study area encompasses the entire Elizabeth River Basin. Urban, rural, industrial, and residential areas blend together along the Elizabeth River and its branches. More than 13,000 vessels use the Elizabeth River annually, many while navigating the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Three hundred years of industry and commerce have made the river one of the nation's most contaminated waterways. Only limited wetlands in the 20-mile reach remain to support wildlife and filter pollution. This sub-estuary of the Chesapeake Bay provides spawning grounds for fish, habitat for rare terns, peregrine falcons and great egrets, and mud flats for shellfish. In 1993 the Chesapeake Bay Program identified the Elizabeth River as a ``Region of Concern''--targeting it as one of three sites in the Bay watershed where contaminants pose the greatest threat to natural resources. Phase I consists of the sediment remediation for the Scuffletown Creek site.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Interior & Environment, National Park Service, Save America's Treasures

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Petersburg, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 135 N. Union Street, Room 202, Petersburg, Virginia 23803

Description of Request: Provides $150,000 for the rehabilitation, stabilization and preservation of the former home of Colonel John Banister, member of the Continental Congress and framer of the Articles of the Confederation, for future use as a museum and historical tour site. Constructed in 1768 as the suburban villa of Col. Banister, Battersea has been recognized as nationally significant by the Department of the Interior, National Register of Historic Places. The City of Petersburg purchased the house with nearly 40 acres surrounding it in 1985 in order to preserve the structure because of nationally important architectural significance, and will use funds to perform conservation analysis and immediate conservation treatment for water penetration in the foundation of the building.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Labor, HHS, Education, Department of Health & Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)--Mental Health

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chesterfield County, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 9901 Lori Road, Chesterfield, Virginia 23832

Description of Request: Provides $143,000 for a Dual Treatment Track (DTT), a pretrial diversion program for non-violent defendants that suffer from both a mental illness and substance abuse addiction. Funding would assist in expanding the population served and conducting a comprehensive analysis of the program in order to establish a research based practice that can be replicated across the nation. The program uses ``best practices'' models to divert individuals from the local jail who are of minimal threat to the community, yet in serious need of both substance abuse and mental health services. The DTT program provides benefits for everyone involved in the criminal justice and mental health systems. It reduces the burden of specialized care that the jail is forced to provide. It gives the court a new tool in dealing with a population that is traditionally difficult to effectively sentence. This program enhances the quality of life in Chesterfield County by creating more accountability and effective service delivery for the specific population of dually diagnosed individuals who criminally offend. Most importantly, it creates change in the lives of the offenders and their families, as they lead more productive, healthy and responsible lives.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Transportation, HUD, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), TCSP--Transportation & Community & System Preservation

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: U.S. Army

Address of Requesting Entity: Fort Lee, Virginia

Description of Request: Provides $1,425,000 for an Entry Access Control project to construct standard design permanent access control facilities at Lee Avenue Gate and Sisisky Boulevard Gate, two primary entrance points into the cantonment area. The existing Access Control Points do not meet Army standards. Due to the increased incidents of terrorist activities it has become imperative that this installation have the ability to close the post to unauthorized traffic. Fort Lee has six Access Control Points. Installations' Access Control Points must be upgraded with facilities and equipment necessary to achieve appropriate levels of security enhancements and risk reductions.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Transportation, HUD, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), TCSP--Transportation & Community & System Preservation

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $237,500 for the Gilmerton Bridge, which serves as the crossing of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River for U.S. Route 13/Military Highway. The Gilmerton Bridge is a narrow, four-lane bridge designed to accommodate 15,000 vehicles per day. The Gilmerton Bridge currently handles approximately 30,000 vehicles per day--twice its design capacity. The existing bridge has exceeded the expected design life and is now functionally obsolete. Due to structural deterioration, weight restrictions for heavy truck and commercial traffic have been imposed. With the anticipated growth in this area, it is projected that the traffic volume will increase to approximately 41,000 vehicles per day by the year 2021. Funding would be used to construct a new four-lane bridge with 12' shoulders that can be converted to additional travel lanes in the future.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Transportation

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chesterfield County, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 9901 Lori Road, Chesterfield, Virginia 23832

Description of Request: Provides $475,000 for a project involving construction of an interchange on I-295 at the intersection of Meadowville Road. The area surrounding Rt. 10/I-295 is growing into a large industrial hub for the region, and the interchange will provide necessary access to accommodate freight access into and out of the area. The project is included in the Richmond Region MPO's Long Range Transportation Plan.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105 Account Transportation

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $237,500 for Dominion Boulevard, which connects Interstates 64 and 464 with U.S. Route 17 South. This project would replace the existing two-lane drawbridge over the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway with a high rise, fixed span bridge, and would also widen the existing road section to four lanes. The roadway is also part of the National Highway System and is included in Virginia Department of Transportation Six-Year plan.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Bill Number: H.R. 1105

Account: Transportation, HUD, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Economic Development Initiatives (EDI)

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Chesapeake, Virginia

Address of Requesting Entity: 306 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Virginia 23322

Description of Request: Provides $142,500 for a visitor center to preserve the historical site of the Battle of Great Bridge, a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War. The visitor center will be located along the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal in Chesapeake, Virginia. The center will draw tourists and visitors to the region who will find permanent and changing exhibits and programs at the center. The economic and cultural contributions of the center will benefit the Hampton Roads area. The center will receive both marine and vehicular traffic, provide resources for historical research, meeting spaces and a 100 seat theater. The park will contain interpretive signage, reconstructions of the historic causeway and will be ideal for events and re-enactments.

Thank you, Congressman Akin, for having this special order and for allowing me a few moments to talk about this very important topic. We hear a lot of times people on the other side of the aisle saying, well, you voted for this package, why aren't you voting for this package? As I stand here tonight with you, I'm one of 16 Members of this body who voted against all of them.

You do.

Congressman, one of the things that I would say tonight as I come here, I don't have any charts and I don't have any graphs with me, but just a couple of weeks ago I was home and my nephew's house burned down. I walked in there with him as we went through that house and his children were looking through just ashes. They had nothing left of even their memories. And when I go around back to my district, I've got some friends and some constituents who feel that way right now in this economy. The graphs aren't important to them. What they know is that they're suffering pain and they're looking and worried about losing everything they have in their lives. But it's because of them and it's because they understand that we can't wastefully spend money, we've got to make sure that the help we give them is directed and it's going to work, that we need to ask the tough questions. And there is one enormously tough, fundamental question that we have to ask America tonight and it's simply this. Last year, Americans lost $14 trillion of net value, net worth. The question we have, the question facing America today, is whether or not we are simply going to redistribute what's left or whether we're going to rebuild what we lost.

Our friends on the other side of the aisle want to redistribute what's left. We have a program that will rebuild what was lost.

I'm not prepared to throw in the towel and say, let's just redistribute what's left. I think we can have a bold program that will rebuild what we lost and go beyond that. The other thing that's very interesting is this. If you look at the bailouts that were spent last year, as we all know, those bailouts total almost the entire amount of discretionary spending Congress had in 2007. We're getting ready to double that. Once we do that, I think most Americans don't realize that we will not pay for that, we will give that to my granddaughter who turns 2 years old on February 14. But here's the cost we will pay until she reaches our age and one day pays it off. The interest carry on that alone equals the entire budgets for NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Transportation, the entire cost of the White House, the entire cost of the Department of Justice, the entire cost of the FBI, the entire cost of the Department of Homeland Security, every Army Corps of Engineers project in the country, the Small Business Administration, and every expense of Congress combined. That's the interest we have thrown away for the next 20 or 30 years. And, Congressman, I would say this. When you come in and lay that on the budget table for this Congress, they have got to ask this: How do we pay for those lost budgets? They will do it either with massive, massive tax increases which our economy cannot withstand, or they will do it by having to find massive cuts somewhere else. And I would suggest one of the places is defense that they're going to go to.

Let me just close with this. The other questions when I go in the McDonald's and I go in the Sunday school classes and I just go to ordinary citizens who don't have the charts and they don't have the graphs and look them in the eye, and just ask them this: Have you received your check from the bailout yet? Because I guarantee you the CEOs on Wall Street have received theirs. And everyone looks at me and says no. And then you ask them, are you able to borrow more easily today than you could before all these bailouts started? They look you back in the eye and say no. And then I ask them, are you less worried about the future today than you were before the bailouts began? And they all say no. And then I ask them this simple question: If government would come to you today, would you feel better if we gave you a $6,700 check and said, here, you go pay down your credit cards, do whatever you want, or trust government to do it? What do you think their answer is: Give me the money.

So, Congressman, I would just say today, it's important we get this right. This stimulus package doesn't get it right. I believe we can rebuild instead of redistributing. I hope that's what Americans will ultimately hold out for.

Thank you.

Madam Speaker, consistent with Republican earmark standards, the following are detailed finance plans for each of my requested projects in H.R. 2638, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations Act.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Homeland Security.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chesterfield County, VA.

Address of Requesting Entity: 9901 Lori Road, Chesterfield, VA, 23832, USA.

Description of Request: Provide $250,000 to enhance perimeter security at the Chesterfield, VA Emergency Operations Center to assure the safety of personnel during response efforts, as well as the protection of our emergency response critical infrastructure. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a highly sensitive public safety agency. The function of the EOC is to provide information to public safety providers and citizens on a range of items to include criminal activity, terrorist activity or natural disasters. In the event of a terrorist or an individual(s) who may want to hinder or interrupt the public safety system in the County, the logical place to strike is the EOC. In order to mitigate the risk of sabotage or criminal activity, providing physical security to our facility is necessary.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638.

Account: Military Construction, Navy.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

Address of Requesting Entity: Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA,

Mr. Speaker, every day on the floor and across America today, we are hearing people talk about being bipartisan. They come to the floor when they have drafted a bill improperly or they have ethics charges against them, and they plead with us with tears almost that we need to be bipartisan.

But when it comes to one of the most significant issues facing America today, energy, they don't want to be bipartisan.

Mr. Speaker, it is one thing to cut the microphone and the lights off against Republicans; but what this bill does is cut it off against scientists and engineers and analysts who will never have an opportunity to analyze this bill and tell America what it does because it was filed last night and we will vote on it today.

When they do, this is what they are going to tell Virginians. They are going to tell Virginians that it pulled away the revenues that they could have gotten from oil drilling. They will tell Virginians that it has increased their electricity bills enormously, and it puts $18 billion more taxes across America.

But that is okay because off the camera they are going to put their arm around us and say don't worry about it because this bill will never become law because it is just designed to give us cover in the election.

Mr. Speaker, America deserves better.

Madam Speaker, consistent with Republican earmark standards, the following are detailed finance plans for each of my requested projects in the H.R. 6599, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for FY 2009.

Requesting Member: Congressman J. Randy Forbes.

Bill Number: H.R. 6599.

Account: Military Construction, Navy.

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

Address of Requesting Entity: Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA,