Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome home Army Staff Sergeant Dustin Tuller and to thank him for patriotically answering his nation's call to duty.

America has put our power at the service of principle. We believe that liberty is the design of nature, the direction of history, and that human fulfillment and excellence come in the responsible exercise of liberty. Last, we believe that freedom--the freedom we prize--is not for us alone, it is the right and the capacity of all mankind.

By definition, the success of freedom rests upon the choices and the courage of free peoples, and upon their willingness to sacrifice. In the trenches of World War I, through a two-front war in the 1940s, the difficult battles of Korea and Vietnam, to battling the faceless enemy in the war on terror and in missions of rescue and liberation on nearly every continent, Americans have amply displayed our willingness to sacrifice for liberty and freedom.

Just two days before Christmas, Dustin had just positioned his squad outside a building in Iraq to provide security during the raid when the soldiers came under fire. Despite being shot four times in the legs and pelvis, he returned gunfire and started looking for a concealed position. Soon after, Dustin arrived at a hospital and learned that he would have to have both legs amputated. Having hopes of becoming a physical education teacher, the interruption in his life has not deterred his plans.

On a daily basis, we are reminded of the tremendous costs that freedom often requires. Throughout the history of the United States of America, men, woman and families have given their all to further our constitutional hopes and dreams.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress; we are humbled by and appreciative of men, women and families like Dustin Tuller's who are willing to answer their nation's call.

Thank you Dustin, Alisha, Dillyn, Zachery, Dammyn, and Lexi. We all owe you a heartfelt debt of gratitude. Welcome Home.

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me to rise today to recognize the retirement of Buddy and Pat Deas. For over 35 years, Buddy taught students of all ages, and his wife Pat was by his side in the classroom during much of that time.

I had the great privilege of learning from Mr. Deas in my high school agriculture class. As a teacher, Mr. Deas always believed in ``focusing on the student rather than the subject being taught,'' and that ``while the subject matter is important, it is often the media through which we can teach those larger lessons of life.'' Buddy Deas emphasized the civic duties each of us has to our nation, and why it is important to always think of ways to help others.

Buddy also influenced me in many areas other than agriculture. In fact, he taught me about public speaking and parliamentary procedure. Without that early influence and knowledge, it is difficult to imagine where I would be today. As a mentor, he taught me how to use these skills; as a friend he taught me why I should use these skills to work for other people. Buddy transcended many areas of education as he coached state champion public speakers and state champion agriculture mechanics teams. He also encouraged others to take up teaching, and even supervised student teachers as they came into their new profession. Furthermore, he taught me other life skills that I continue to use today. Outside of my own parents and God, Buddy Deas had the single largest influence on me as a young man.

Mrs. Deas has been recognized on more than one occasion as an exceptional school volunteer. She and her husband worked exceptionally well together, not just as husband and wife, but also as teachers in the same classroom. In 1993, Alachua County, Florida, recognized Mrs. Deas as its Outstanding School Volunteer of the year. The very same year, she was named the Outstanding School Volunteer for the 19-county Crown Region of the State of Florida. Mrs. Deas was one of 15 school volunteers from around the state recognized at the Commissioner of Education's Outstanding School Volunteer Awards Banquet.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I would like to congratulate and offer my sincere commendation to Buddy and Pat Deas for reaching out and touching the lives of thousands of our nation's young people.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday a Clinton-appointed Federal judge in California granted a permanent extension or injunction against the partial birth abortion ban that was passed by the Congress and signed by President Bush. This is not surprising, since Judge Phyllis Hamilton made it crystal clear that she was ideologically opposed to the ban on partial birth abortion. What is outrageous and defies sound reason is that she found the ban unconstitutional.

In acting to prevent this hideous practice, the elected branches of our government affirmed a basic standard of humanity, the duty of the strong to protect the weak. Partial birth abortion is cruel and inhumane. This is the widespread agreement amongst men and women on this issue, regardless of their political affiliations.

Life cannot be granted or denied by government, elected officials or judges abusive of their interpretive function. Judge Hamilton's ruling is yet another example of activist courts gone wild and is the next decision in the domino effect of legislating from the Federal bench.

I join with our President and will vigorously defend this law against judges who would construe it in contravention to our Constitution and the American public.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4317) to name the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic located in Lufkin, Texas, as the ``Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic''.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4317 would name the VA outpatient clinic in the city of Lufkin, Texas, for our former colleague, the honorable Charles Wilson of Texas. I did not have the opportunity to know Mr. Wilson during his time in Congress, but Members who worked with him remember Charlie Wilson for his steadfast support of our Nation's defense and intelligence operations.

Mr. Wilson's personal history is as spirited as the Lone Star State where he was born. Growing up in Lufkin in east Texas, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1956 and thereafter served honorably in the United States Navy. After serving in the Texas House of Representatives and the senate, Mr. Wilson was elected to Congress in 1972. Mr. Wilson represented the second congressional district of Texas for 12 terms. He retired in 1996 and has maintained a successful consulting business here in Washington and in his native Texas.

Over 20 years ago, as a Member of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Mr. Wilson focused his energy on the plight of the Afghan people, then under invasion by the old Soviet Union. Mr. Wilson's singular effort to sustain covert U.S. aid for the rebels in Afghanistan was a crucial resource for the Afghan people to drive the Soviets out of their country. Influenced by Mr. Wilson's work in Afghanistan, the U.S. Cold War operation contributed to the eventual collapse of the USSR. These events are vividly depicted in the recent book, ``Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History.''

I believe using any definition of the term, Charlie Wilson is an extraordinary man in foreign affairs and in intelligence matters. Closer to home, as an advocate for our veterans and our Armed Forces, who were his constituents in Texas, Mr. Wilson played a key role in convincing the VA to open an outpatient clinic in his hometown of Lufkin.

The clinic can was dedicated in 1991, and it remains an important provider of health care to veterans in East Texas. I believe that our colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner), the sponsor of this bill, will speak in greater detail about our former Member Charles Wilson.

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a bipartisan bill. I urge all Members of this body to support H.R. 4317 to name the Lufkin, Texas, VA clinic the Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4317.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my chairman of the full committee for the time; and, Mr. Chairman, I proudly rise today in support of H.R. 4200, our National Defense Authorization Act of 2005.

As the chairman said, this legislation fully restores the survivor benefit plan annuity to what was promised to America's surviving spouses, and I applaud my Committee on Armed Services colleagues for bringing a quarter of a million military widows and widowers one step closer to seeing increases in their monthly checks next year. This is a Defense authorization measure which this entire body can be proud of.

Since coming to Congress, I have been working on this issue of particular interest, restoration of the minimum survivor benefit plan basic annuity to 55 percent for those survivors aged 62 years of age and older. Under present law, surviving spouses are subject to a reduction to 35 percent as part of the initial SBP law that was enacted in 1972, but this critical piece of information did not find its way into military retirement briefings and to the SBP election forms until many years later.

Here is a 1982 election form. Nowhere will my colleagues find in this form the offset mentioned. Survivors have felt betrayed by this bait- and-switch; and at 35 percent, SBP provides only a poverty-level or lower annuity to most survivors, even those of relatively senior officers.

For nearly 3 years, we have worked with members of the committee, my colleagues on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and numerous VSOs, to introduce SBP bills that will bring the needed equity. Both bills that I have introduced in Congress have received strong bipartisan support with over 300 Members sponsoring one or both measures, and I am proud that this committee has produced SBP reform that exceeds even my greatest expectation.

H.R. 4200 will fully eliminate the so-called ``widow's tax'' by April 1, 2008, in under 5 years. I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) and the first rate Committee on Armed Services staff who literally worked round the clock to make this happen.

Once again, our Nation is calling upon the members of the U.S. Armed Forces to defend democracy and freedom. We have no doubt that these brave men and women will rise to the challenge. However, for those who have selected to make their career the U.S. military, they face an unknown risk.

This giant leap forward sends a clear message to the men and women who have provided our national defense. Today, we are a grateful Nation, and this Congress is making good on our promises to our Armed Forces. This battle has been hard fought, and its victory is shared by so many whose efforts have been tireless and unrelenting.

I thank my colleagues who have stood by me to realize this victory.

Mr. Chairman, I proudly rise today in wholehearted support of H.R. 4200, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2005. This legislation fully restores the Survivor Benefit Plan annuity to what was promised America's surviving spouses. I applaud my Armed Services Committee colleagues for bringing a quarter of a million military widows and widowers one step closer to seeing increases in their monthly checks next year. This is a Defense Authorization measure of which this body can be proud.

Since coming to Congress, I have been working this issue of particular interest--restoration of the minimum Survivor Benefit Plan basic annuity to fifty-five percent (55%) for survivors age sixty-two (62) and older.

Under present law, surviving spouses are subject to a reduction to thirty-five percent (35%) as part of the initial SBP law enacted in 1972. But this critical piece of information didn't find its way into military retirement briefings and SBP election forms until many years later.

Here's a 1982 election form. Nowhere will you find the offset mentioned. Survivors feel betrayed by this bait and switch. And at 35 percent, SBP provides only a poverty-level-or lower-annuity for most survivors, even those of relatively senior officers.

For nearly three years, I have worked with members of this Committee, my colleagues on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and numerous service organizations to introduce SBP bills that will bring the needed equity. Both bills I have introduced in this Congress have received strong bipartisan support with over three hundred (300) Members sponsoring one or both. I am proud that this Committee has produced SBP reform that exceeds even my greatest expectations. H.R. 4200 will fully eliminate the so-called ``Widow's Tax'' by April 1, 2008--in under five years.

Again, what we're doing today exceeds all expectations. It's what we set our sights upon when I introduced H.R. 548. I thank Chairman Duncan Hunter and the first-rate Armed Services Committee staff, who literally worked around the clock to make this work.

Mr. Chairman, I urge this entire body to support these provisions we have worked tirelessly hard fought, and its victory is shared by so many whose efforts have been tireless and unrelenting. I thank my colleagues who have stood by me to realize this victory.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Oakland Ard, who is being awarded the ``Here's looking at you award.''

Mr. Ard was born in Sampson, Alabama on September 17, 1925. Mr. Ard left Alabama for Florida on his twenty-fifth birthday.

He was employed by the Port St. Joe Paper Company from 1950 to 1952 and went on to work for Saint Regis Paper Company in Jacksonville, Florida between 1953 and 1957.

In 1957, Mr. Ard moved to Jay, Florida and began working at the Container Corporation in Brewton, Alabama.

Mr. Ard has been a great provider for his community by serving on the Jay Hospital Board of Trustees for four years, the ARC Board of Directors in Santa Rosa County for six years, SRC Chamber of Commerce for nine years. He is currently serving on the Committee's of Government and Military Affairs and the Board of Directors for SHIP.

Mr. Ard has generously volunteered his time with the Jay First Baptist Church in any needed capacity that involves helping his church or people in need. He has been a member of the Jay First Baptist Church for forty years.

Mr. Ard's unselfish deeds of giving his time to help others have made him a well-known and well-loved man throughout his community.

Mr. Ard and his lovely wife Marian have two sons, Freddy and Ronnie, four grandsons and one great grand daughter.

On behalf of the United States Congress, I would like to recognize this special person for the example he has set in his community. I offer my sincere thanks for all that he has done for Northwest Florida and this great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Doctor C. David Smith for receiving the honor as Florida's 2004 Family Physician of the Year.

Dr. Smith has an extraordinary beginning to his career. He graduated second in his class from the University of Florida medical school in 1979. With a promising career in medicine, he began his residency at the University of South Alabama. However, in 1980 with not even a year of residency under his belt, he received word that his hometown hospital in Jay, Florida would close due to the lack of physician manpower and financial resources. Dr. David Smith followed his love of medicine and people and relocated back to his hometown, insuring that the hospital would continue to serve his neighbors in the rural community of less than 600.

During his 23-year tenure, Dr. Smith serves patients from his community and the surrounding area in his private practice, the emergency room, acute care center, hospital and nursing home. He is also the team physician for the local high school football team and even has time to make house calls.

Among his supporters, his patients offer the most passionate tributes. A community citizen whose family was comforted by Dr. Smith noted, ``The community is blessed to have this man among us. If we could have a statue in Jay of a hero, it would be Dr. David Smith, physician extraordinaire, humanitarian by gift of God, and our beloved rural doctor.''

Thanks to his leadership, intellect, and altruistic character, he revived the medical community and put rural hospital care in the medical spotlight. Jay Hospital and Northwest Florida communities are very fortunate to have such a distinguished family physician who has a genuine concern for people.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I would like to congratulate and offer my sincere appreciation to Dr. C. David Smith for his service in the communities of Northwest Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge that Congress make immigration reform a top priority.

Our immigration system is critically flawed. In fact, it's the Achilles' Heel of America's national security. We learned that hard reality on September 11th and we're still paying for it today, as foreign visitors and illegal immigrants alike move effortlessly across our borders.

Since 2001, Congress and the Bush Administration have made changes that have addressed some of the many systemic flaws in the immigration process. But, a great deal remains untackled on the road to ensuring America's safety.

We still have twelve to fifteen million immigrants living and working--illegally--on American soil. Fortunately, most are not security threats and simply seek to improve their own economic status by working for U.S. wages. But, as we witnessed on 9/11, some are here to do us harm either as terrorists, or, more likely, by engaging in criminal activities. We must continue to identify and expel those who pose public safety threats.

Most immigrants are good people. However, numbers matter, and simply put, we're letting too many people in, and we aren't properly assimilating the roughly 1.5 million new immigrants who come here annually. Many of them are uneducated, unskilled, and speak no English. This has real, adverse, impacts on American life. Jobs are lost to cheap foreign labor influx, schools are overcrowded, public health care is strained by millions who lack coverage, and urban sprawl and congestion impacts the environment.

Mr. Speaker, Congress can no longer ignore the immigration issue. We must reform current policies to radically curtail illegal inflows. Our colleague from South Carolina, Representative Gresham Barrett, has introduced comprehensive, much needed immigration reform in H.R. 3522. I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this important measure.

Mr. Speaker, today we will be voting on important legislation; legislation that will help roughly 21 million young Americans financially. I am speaking about marriage penalty relief. Thanks to the peculiarities of the tax code, when married couples earn roughly the same salaries, they tend to pay more in taxes than they would if both were single filers. Our previous action to extend this tax relief benefit has encouraged marriage and saved the average married couple $1,400 a year, allowing them to spend on items that support their families.

This discrepancy financially penalizes couples for doing nothing more than choosing to get married, which creates a strong disincentive for people to build families. With a breakdown of the family and high divorce rates, we need to strengthen marriage not weaken it. As every study shows, children fare best and have the most promising life prospects when they are raised in intact families. Promoting marriage has the potential to significantly decrease poverty and dependence, increase child well-being and adult happiness, and to provide the safest environment for women and children.

Mr. Speaker, letting the tax penalty relief expire would cost families 1,400 a year. The federal government should not be picking pockets of people just because they are married. If we do not extend the marriage penalty tax today, Uncle Sam will not only once again be taking a gift at the wedding reception instead of giving one, but will also be contributing to the breakdown of our basic social institution: marriage.

Mr. Speaker, today we will be voting on important legislation; legislation that will help roughly 21 million young Americans financially. I am speaking about marriage penalty relief. Thanks to the peculiarities of the tax code, when married couples earn roughly the same salaries, they tend to pay more in taxes than they would if both were single filers. Our previous action to extend this tax relief benefit has encouraged marriage and saved the average married couple $1,400 a year, allowing them to spend on items that support their families.

This discrepancy financially penalizes couples for doing nothing more than choosing to get married, which creates a strong disincentive for people to build families. With a breakdown of the family and high divorce rates, we need to strengthen marriage--not weaken it. As every study shows, children fare best and have the most promising life prospects when they are raised in intact families. Promoting marriage has the potential to significantly decrease poverty and dependence, increase child well-being and adult happiness, and to provide the safest environment for women and children.

Mr. Speaker, letting the tax penalty relief expire would cost families $1,400 a year. The federal government should not be picking pockets of people just because they are married. If we do not extend the marriage penalty tax relief today, Uncle Sam will not only once again be taking a gift at the wedding reception instead of giving one, but will also be contributing to the breakdown of our basic social institution, marriage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Edward J. Keppel.

Mr. Keppel entered active duty as a second lieutenant on Sept. 1969 with an assignment to Det 10, 6 WW, Eglin AFB, FL. He separated from active duty in Dec. 1973 to pursue graduate studies in meteorology at Penn State University.

In Dec. 1974, Mr. Keppel returned to Eglin to continue the work he enjoyed supporting weapons testing--this time as a civilian staff meteorologist for Det 10 (later renamed 46th Weather Squadron).

Throughout the next 30 years Mr. Keppel has directly influenced many changes and great technical advancements. He has seen guided missile programs such as the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) develop from concept to operational capability.

Mr. Keppel was a pioneer in developing weather support for armament testing. He utilized DMSP equipment and ``metvans'' to instrument test ranges for real-time and post-test mission analysis.

His efforts contributed greatly to the fielding of the first portable upper air sounding system--initially meant exclusively for testing, but is now used for many operational weather support applications around the world.

Mr. Keppel was a driving force behind instrumenting the Eglin test range with Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS)--which are used today to provide critical data for missions ranging from armament flight test to Army Ranger Training Battalion swamp movement training.

More recently, Mr. Keppel was recognized for his expertise with sound propagation models used in support of the first two test detonations of the Massive Ordinance Air Burst (MOAB), the largest conventional bomb in the U.S. inventory. This weapon was developed and tested for use in

Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor the life and memory of Cooper L. Yates, who died unexpectedly April 17, 2004.

Cooper was from Cedartown, Ga., raised in Fort Walton Beach, attended Pensacola Junior College and earned a degree in fine art from the University of West Florida as a member of its charter class. Included among his early jobs in Pensacola were stints with JC Penny Co., WEAR- TV and Gulf Power Company. After experience as creative director of AD/ Com Advertising Agency, he opened Creative Workshop, which grew into Hemmer & Yates Inc., where he was a principal and creative director. H&Y was a collection of artists, writers and other talented individuals who formed, during the 1980s, what many considered to be Pensacola's foremost advertising agency. Cooper's work was not limited to the local area; for a time he spread his publicist talents in Texas, California and Australia. For the past few years, he was president of Great Southern Advertising.

He served as president of the Panhandle Tiger Bay Club and the Arts Council of Northwest Florida, was a board member of the Arts Council of Florida, vice-chairman of the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board, a member of the Architectural Review Board, the Committee of 100 and the Medical Education Research Foundation. He was creator and a Charter Master of the Irish Politicians Club, a member of the Pensacola Bicentennial Constitution Commission and an Adjunct Professor at both Pensacola Junior College and the University of West Florida.

Mr. Speaker, Cooper Yates had many talents. He was a brilliant, creative innovator in public relations and advertising and could sit down at a moment's notice and spin a yarn that would make Mark Twain envious. His sense of humor was renowned throughout Northwest Florida. In fact on his most recent business card, he lists Hand Bills, Sandwich Boards, Church Fans and Sky Writing as a few of his many advertising services.

Cooper was a true Renaissance man born 500 years too late. He was a pressman, a philosopher, a politician, a publicist, a pundit, a planner, a performer, a professor, and a poet. He was extremely well read, remarkably resourceful, and was infamous for his insatiable intellect and imaginative insight into intangible incomprehension.

Cooper was captivated by politics--a self-proclaimed Yellow Dog Democrat--and for years community leaders in Pensacola, including politicians-both Democrats and Republicans, sought his counsel and advice. His keen sense of fashion, impeccable taste and eye for what was right aesthetically led to a style all his own. He would often be seen climbing out of his classic Corvette or bright red Land Rover Defender wearing a tropical, button-down shirt and his signature hat, ready to tell an anecdote about a local politician or quote a clever phrase from Hunter S. Thompson.

He was loved and will be missed by his mother, Bessie L. Yates, with whom he regularly attended services at the First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach; his daughter, Robin Michelle (Shelley) Yates Boudreau (Josh); his sister, Betty (Bett) L. Yates Adams (Dixon); brothers Lawden H. Yates Jr. (Judy) and Donald N. Yates (Teresa); beloved grandsons, Elliott Aejenour and Samuel Cooper; nephews and nieces Christopher, Amanda, Christian, Paul, Alice, Melissa, Cooper and Nathan; chiliheads Jerry, Mike, Greg, Jim, Caleb, Bob and 6:10 (always late) Don; partner Melanie Brown, and many others far and wide.

Mr. Speaker, Cooper Yates may have left us, but his memory and his spirit will live on throughout Northwest Florida. And I'm sure if they need a Sky Writer in heaven, Cooper's already got the job.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to recognize and congratulate one of the finest acute care hospitals in the Nation, Baptist Hospital, located in Pensacola, Florida.

It is the third hospital in the Nation to receive the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. The Baldrige award, created in 1997 to honor the memory of the former Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige, is the Nation's highest honor for quality achievement by companies, agencies and organizations.

Every day the 2,252 employees at Baptist Hospital bring their unique skills to work with them to serve their patients. When walking into any Baptist Healthcare facility, you will be greeted with a smile and a ``how may I help you?'' The company should pride itself on its highly efficient and effective working environment, but, more importantly, it should take pleasure in knowing their employees have worked together to give the company a family-like atmosphere.

Mr. Speaker, Baptist Hospital is a world-class hospital striving for excellence every day and achieving extraordinary results in all areas of service. On behalf of the United States Congress, I would like to congratulate Baptist Hospital on their prestigious award and exemplary service to northwest Florida communities.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to recognize the American Lung Association and congratulate them on their 100th anniversary.

As one of the Nation's oldest voluntary health organizations, the American Lung Association was founded in 1904 by a network of community-based physicians, nurses, and volunteers. United together by one resounding goal, the members strove each day to eliminate tuberculosis.

Today, after closely achieving their 1904 goal of eradicating tuberculosis, the association has turned its focus to a world free of lung disease. With close to 344,000 Americans dying each year of lung disease, the association expanded its research, education and advocacy programs to combat the growing problems of chronic lung disease. As the disease climbs to be America's number three killer, the volunteers at the Lung Association are focusing their energies on tobacco control, environmental health, and asthma. Knowing that the association is committed to excellence in all their endeavors, Americans can breath easier.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the U.S. Congress, I would like to thank the American Lung Association for their 100 years of dedicated public health service to the American people.