Floor Statements

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

At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation for the outstanding leadership of Congressman Kirk in introducing this timely resolution. It has my wholehearted support.

Mr. Choudhury is a Bangladeshi journalist and the editor of the Weekly Blitz, the largest tabloid English-language weekly in Bangladesh. He is currently facing a sedition trial for daring to reach out to Jewish and Israeli writers, as well as for speaking openly about the threat radical Islam poses in Bangladesh.

Mr. Choudhury was arrested in November 2003 when he tried to attend a conference in Israel and then was subjected to brutal treatment while in prison. Although he was released last year, in large part due to the efforts of Congressman Kirk and others, the Bangladesh government refuses to drop the charges against Mr. Choudhury, apparently trying to intimidate him into silence.

Last May, the American Jewish Committee presented Mr. Choudhury with the Moral Courage Award recognizing his efforts to promote dialogue between Muslims and Jews and his courage in speaking out against Islamic extremism.

Unfortunately, however, the authorities in Dhaka refused to permit him to visit the U.S. to receive the honor.

Mr. Speaker, Bangladesh and the U.S. have been good friends for over 35 years. Despite many handicaps, Bangladesh has made good progress in some key areas of development, including agricultural production, improved literacy rates, basic social services, and empowering women through employment and education.

As the fourth most populous Muslim country in the world, a moderate and stable Bangladesh can play an important role in regional and world affairs.

Today, however, Bangladesh is at a crossroads. National elections are being postponed amidst electoral chaos; meanwhile, the military appears

to be playing an increasingly large role within the Bangladeshi interim government.

The prospect of holding free and fair elections during the first half of 2007 appears to be much in doubt. More broadly, endemic political polarization, corruption and related governance concerns, as well as the rise of violent extremists remains substantial challenges for the Bangladeshi society.

Mr. Speaker, in this context I urge the authorities in Dhaka to send a strong signal about the importance Bangladesh attaches to tolerance and the rule of law by dropping these politically motivated charges against Mr. Choudhury. I support the resolution and urge its adoption.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).

Mr. Speaker, again in closing, I want to thank the chairman of the Middle East Subcommittee, Mr. Ackerman, for bringing this forward. Certainly we want to thank Mr. Kirk for his hard work and then Mrs. Lowey for making this a very bipartisan effort, and I would urge all of my colleagues to support this.

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

Madam Speaker, I felt the need today to rise and to briefly express my deeply felt dismay over the failure of leadership concerning the problems at Walter Reed.

We have witnessed a disservice to the men and women in uniform to whom we owe such a deep debt of gratitude. It is simply inexcusable. We can and must do a better job by our injured troops, especially after asking them to do so much for us.

I was glad to see actions to hold the Army and hospital leadership accountable, and the President's choice to create the Dole-Shalala Commission. Both Senator Dole and Secretary Shalala have the experience to craft solutions to improve the situation. I know they will be independent and offer a sound assessment of the problem with good solutions.

Ultimately, our troops deserve the best. This is a bipartisan issue, and I look forward to working diligently on it.

We must not rest until our troops are assured of the medical treatment that they so rightfully deserve.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 700, the Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007. I want to thank the chairwoman and the ranking member, Mr. Baker, for their hard work on this particular bill.

H.R. 700 extends the pilot program under the Clean Water Act for alternative water source projects.

Growth in population, increasing demands for water, and drought are resulting in water shortages in many areas around our Nation, both in the west and the east.

Many communities are finding that their water supply needs cannot be met by existing water supplies. As a result, many communities and their water resource development agencies are looking at alternative ways to alleviate their water shortages and enhance water supplies to meet their future water needs.

This is an important issue not only for my home State of Arkansas but for the many other parts of the country facing increasing demands for water.

Adequate water is needed to sustain our country's economic growth and viability. Some of the approaches they are looking at involve reclaiming, reusing or conserving water that has already been used.

H.R. 700 provides an authority to help communities meet some of their critical water supply needs through water reclamation, reuse, conservation and management.

H.R. 700 authorizes $125 billion for the EPA to make grants to water resource development agencies for these sorts of alternative water source projects. The program leverages non-Federal resources by requiring a non-Federal cash of 50 percent.

I urge all Members to support this important bill.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the committee chairman's comments, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, again, I rise to support this bill, very much so. I want to thank Chairman Oberstar, Chairman Johnson, Ranking Member Mica and Ranking Member Baker and their staffs for their hard work and the efforts that they put into this.

Again, I would urge my colleagues to support passage of this bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word, and I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to ask my colleagues to vote against House Concurrent Resolution 63. I ask this despite the fact that I am very much in favor of the first part of the resolution before us. The first part says: Congress will and should continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq. If the resolution stopped there, it would be great.

We would be sending a message that we unequivocally support our troops in Iraq, our troops who are preparing to go there, and General Petraeus is being confirmed to lead those troops.

But the resolution does not stop there. It goes on and by its words takes that support away. How do you support the troops without supporting the plans of those troops? General David Petraeus was confirmed just a scant 20 days ago with much praise and fanfare. He is probably one of the most respected men to ever wear the uniform.

Congress said to him, you are great, go get the job done. Now, less than a week after he took over in Baghdad, we are in the throes of the process which will essentially tell the general, sorry, we don't approve of the plan you created or are currently undertaking.

Most of those criticizing this plan offer no alternative, and I say most. Some have offered an alternative, but most of those criticizing this plan have offered no alternative.

Even the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission of statesmen who have been heralded and quoted by the many who support this resolution, have indeed said that they support the short-term surge. This was later confirmed by Mr. Hamilton, the Democratic co-chair of the group when he appeared in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee of which I am a member.

I visited Iraq five times, the last with my friend from Indiana (Mr. Buyer). I met with the troops from my State and from others across America, thanking them for their service in combating radical Islam and the insurgency and liberating a people from tyranny.

I have sat down with the President and the Prime Minister of Iraq. I have told them that the Americans and the coalition forces would soon be leaving Iraq in the not-too-distant future. Their response has always been, we want you to leave but we need your help now until we can train our forces to provide our own security.

America will one day hand over responsibilities to the Iraqis, but it must be on terms which are beneficial to the interests of America, Iraq and the region, while not sacrificing the progress we have made or the security that we have earned. We must do right by the Iraqi people. We must do right by our troops in Iraq tonight, and we must do right by the men and women in uniform and their families who have served and sacrificed so much.

Our allies, countries in the region, in fact most of the world, agrees that if we pull out before the Iraqis are ready, it will create tremendous instability in the region, leading to the possibility of war and nuclear proliferation in the Arab states.

I had the opportunity to successfully play sports at a fairly high level. Whether it was on a Boys Club team, a high school team or a major college football team, nothing emboldened our team more or made us work harder to defeat the other team than when we saw dissension on the other team. We have an opportunity this week to send a strong message to our allies, the insurgents and most importantly the men and women in uniform who ironically are in combat tonight attempting to execute the plan that is being railed against on the House floor as we speak.

The message that we should send should be our will to not jeopardize the safety of those in Iraq by emboldening our enemies. We can show this by our will tonight of defeating this resolution.

The other thing I would like to say is that reference was made to Washington. And I also am reading a book on John Adams that is related, certainly. And Washington did at times have to pull back. He was facing the greatest army of the time.

But he did pull back. And Washington also was under tremendous pressure from Congress, under tremendous criticism. And I am certainly glad that Washington did not listen to that criticism, that he fought on. If he had not, we would probably be under British rule today.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank Chairman Oberstar for bringing this legislation through committee and to the floor in a very expeditious way.

I rise today in support of the commonsense piece of legislation which I hope will serve as an example of working hard and smart toward energy independence in America.

I have long been a proponent of this kind of affordable alternative lighting method, and energy production method, and have voted before for increases in using solar panels which produce no air pollution or a single ounce of hazardous waste.

As the leader in securing our energy independence and promoting safe and effective energy alternatives, I fully support the Department of Energy's retrofitting of solar panels to reduce energy consumption and, in fact, retrofitting in other areas, Federal buildings with more such that we can get more efficient energy technology in place. I am confident that through the Department of Energy's leadership in utilizing this lighting technology, the United States, as a whole, can make significant progress towards greater energy efficiency and independence.

All of us in this room have said our Nation needs to be more energy independent.

There is no magic wand which will make it so. It takes many steps to get to the end of the path we are traveling, and it will take many people to make this goal a reality.

Today we have the opportunity to take another step down that path. I urge my colleagues to give us the means to take this step by passing

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

The resolution before us today is identical to H. Con. Res. 125, passed by the House in the 109th Congress on July 24, 2006. I want to thank Congressman Holt and Congressman Brown for bringing forward this very, very important resolution.

Vince Lombardi said: ``The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.'' Maybe that is why the men and women on the front lines today, who have sacrificed the most to achieve a success, remain dedicated to achieving victory in the face of adversity. And it is this determination and dedication that make our veterans such outstanding employees when they return to civilian life.

American veterans, especially those who serve the Nation during challenging times, understand the value of work. When these men and women return to civilian life, they only ask that the Nation, through her employers, recognize the value of their experience as members of our Armed Forces.

Today, our Nation is honored by the service of millions of volunteer service men and women, including hundreds of thousands who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. By putting these veterans to work in our factories, our offices, construction sites, and all types of industries, we give them the opportunity to continue contributing to the Nation they have so honorably defended in uniform.

Today, diversity is a common goal of employers. I would offer that one facet of diversity can only be provided by a veteran, that 1 percent of society that protects and defends the other 99 percent.

I also want to thank those businesses who are proactively working to hire veterans today. I am working with many Arkansas-based businesses. In fact, in my situation and Congresswoman Herseth's situation, we are working with businesses all over the country, both large and small, to encourage additional veterans outreach. I

urge my colleagues to take the initiative in reaching out to businesses in your communities as well.

To the Nation's employers, large and small, I say hire a veteran. You will get an employee who understands honor and commitment, who is skilled and drug free and loyal. You can't do any better than that.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), one of the gentlemen working with Mr. Holt that was able to bring this resolution forward.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Ms. Fallin).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to Mr. David Davis of Tennessee.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to Mr. Roskam of Illinois.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to Congressman Reichert of Washington.

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite), the ranking member of the Oversight Subcommittee of Veterans' Affairs.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Musgrave).

(Mrs. MUSGRAVE asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Madam Speaker, in closing, I just want to thank Mr. Holt for his efforts, and Mr. Brown, in bringing this forward. I can only echo what has being said in this Chamber about the value of hiring veterans and how important this is. We are a nation at war, and these men and women and their families sacrifice greatly.

And so, again, I know that certainly my efforts, I think Congress and their efforts through doing things like this, all of our efforts in trying to solve the problem of putting our veterans back to work.

Again, thank you very much, and a special thanks to the staff for their hard work in bringing this forward.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 24 to reauthorize the House Democracy Assistance Commission. This type of parliamentary development program was initially seen as a tool to help 12 emerging democracies rise from the grasp of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in the mid-1990s.

The Solomon-Frost Task Force assumed that successful democratic transitions in former Communist countries depended on direct involvement and at a modest cost were able to help these parliaments become effective legislatures and play a crucial part in a democratic system.

One of the most evident impacts of the program was the goodwill it generated towards the U.S. Congress and the American people among these East European countries under the Iron Curtain.

As the need has continued to grow and our world continues to evolve, former Speaker Hastert recognized the necessity of having this program once again. The House Democracy Assistance Commission has given the U.S. Congress the ability to guide fledgling democracies into strong, stable institutions of government by creating relationships between members of both bodies.

Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity to travel to Lebanon, Kenya and Liberia on a trip not too long ago. And we were greeted in Kenya by a big guy. I am a pretty big guy myself; I am not used to looking up to people. But this individual was probably 6-5, 6-6. He was the staffer that was in charge of taking us around the capital making sure that we got where we were supposed to be.

And then we had the opportunity to journey outside of the capital out into the countryside. We flew out, and this same individual greeted us in his Masai warrior outfit. And we had the opportunity to visit with the Masai, see how they ran things. But, Madam Speaker, that is how you change the world, with the relationships, helping others build the institutions that underpin democracy. That is how you change the world.

Again, I want to thank Congressmen Price and Dreier for their leadership, for the tremendous job that they have done, to Speaker Pelosi for going forward and agreeing to getting things along as far as they have on this, former Speaker Hastert for his vision, and then most importantly, to the staff that does such a tremendous job of helping out and making all of those things possible.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my thanks to the honorable Lane Evans and urge passage of this bill to name a U.S. post office in his hometown of Rock Island, Illinois, in his honor.

Lane's service to America and its veterans began with his enlistment in the Marine Corps in the Vietnam War. Lane began his congressional career by winning election for the 17th District in Illinois in 1982 and promptly became a staunch advocate for veterans. He kept this commitment through the 109th Congress.

This bill will provide a small but important recognition of Lane's service and commitment. He championed issues such as agent orange, women's health care, spina bifida benefits and many others.

We hear a lot about bipartisanship in this body, and truly I had the opportunity to win a special election, came up, and one of the first people that I met as a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee was Lane Evans.

As soon as he realized that I was certainly willing and wanted to help veterans, then nobody could have been any nicer. Nobody could have extended any more help than Lane Evans.

It is sad, sad and not sad, I have mixed emotions, certainly, about Democrats taking control of the House, but it is sad that with his retirement his picture will not be on the wall. Because of his hard work, he certainly very much deserves that sort of honor.

On the other hand, like I say, nobody, nobody has worked any harder and done a better job for our Nation's veterans. I certainly urge passage of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a great Arkansan, a giant of American business who passed away yesterday morning, J.B. Hunt of Springdale, Arkansas.

He built a billion-dollar trucking business from humble beginnings, and in the span of a lifetime went from a sharecropper's son to the employer of over 16,000 people and a major force in shaping the economy of the Third District of Arkansas.

He donated to charities, he was very, very active in his church, and was known to carry $100 bills in case he ran across somebody who needed help immediately. When asked why, he explained, I was hungry once, a lesson we can all learn from.

I knew him when I was a young man, when he had absolutely no idea who I was; and I knew him when I was a young professional in my community, and later on as his Congressman. He was the kind of man that treated me the same in regard to all of those stations in life.

He was a wonderful man, and certainly our prayers are with him, his wife Johnelle, his family, and his company which lives the American Dream every day

Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to congratulate Mr. Buyer and thank him and thank the staff on both sides, the chairman, Ranking Member Evans, Acting Ranking Member Filner, and again all of the staff for your hard work in getting this bill together. It is a very, very good bill.

The bill before the House makes improvements in nearly every major area of veterans programs. I am especially proud of the provisions that originally passed the House in H.R. 3082. That bill, and now S. 3421, contains significant changes to how the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service meet the small business and employment needs of America's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government has fallen woefully short in meeting the disabled veteran-owned small business contracting goals set forth in Public Law 106-50 and Presidential Executive Order 13360. Since the law and directive took effect, only one major Federal agency has met the 3 percent goal for disabled veteran-owned small businesses. This is certainly a very, very poor record. This bill provides the Department of Veterans Affairs with the tools and requisite authorities to not only meet the goal but to exceed the goal.

The bill also makes several important improvements in the delivery of employment services to veterans. As a result, State workforce agency employees funded by the Veterans Employment and Training Service will be better trained in their duties. The Secretary of Labor will have additional authority to hold States accountable for job placement results. The bill also makes it easier for servicemembers transitioning to civilian life by authorizing a pilot program to break down barriers to qualifying for State licenses based on military training, education, and experience.

Mr. Speaker, again, this is an excellent bill. I want to again thank you for all of the hard work on both sides for the effort that was done and very much support the passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Dennis Douglass, who will retire on January 3, 2007, after 30 years of service to our Nation's veterans.

Over the last 7 years Mr. Douglass has served with distinction as the Deputy Director for the Education Service at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He was a consummate professional with unquestioned integrity, who consistently exhibited management and leadership qualities that put him among VA's top performers.

I first had the privilege of meeting Mr. Douglass when I became chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity at the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and began working on legislation to improve education benefits for servicemembers and veterans. Mr. Douglass has always made himself available to Congress when needed and served on behalf of the Secretary with honesty and sincerity. He has been the VA's institutional memory on education benefits and his contributions will truly be missed.

Mr. Douglass began his Federal career in 1976 as a Veterans Claims Examiner at the VA regional office in Detroit, Michigan. In 1982 he transferred to VA Headquarters in Washington, DC, to work in Education Service. Since his arrival, he has written procedural guidance for education claims processing, assisted in systems design, performed quality assurance reviews, conducted regional office appraisal visits, and served as Budget Analyst and Staff Assistant to the Director of Education Service. In 1999 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs appointed him Deputy Director in Education Service.

When asked, staff at VA describe him as an avid golfer with a penchant for corny jokes. Many remarked on his priceless collection of bad ties from the 70's and 80's. Overall, Mr. Douglass is known as one of the nicest persons that any of them have had the privilege to work with at VA. His colleagues state that his understanding of veteran's needs and his dedication to the job will be sorely missed by all, including the veterans he dedicated his career to serve.

Mr. Douglass was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and served honorably in the U.S. Army from 1969 through 1971. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1974 and did graduate work at Wayne State University. He resides in Springfield, Virginia, with his wife JoAnn, son Daryl, and daughter Alison.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the NATO--Parliamentary Assembly, I traveled to Quebec, Canada, from Sunday, November 12 to November 15, 2006 to participate in the assembly meetings. Due to the timing of the meetings and return travel, I was unable to participate in votes on Monday and Tuesday, November 13-14. I am requesting my absence for this date. I would also like you to note that, should I have been present, I would have voted in the following manner:

``Aye.'' H.R. 3085--Amending the National Trails System Act (Roll no. 517).

``Aye.'' S. 819--Reallocation of funds for the Pactola Dam (Roll no. 518).

``Aye.'' H.R. 5602--Authorizing the Extension of Nondiscriminatory Treatment to the Products of Vietnam (Roll no. 519).

``Aye.'' H.R. 6314--Extending provisions within the Survivors' and Dependents' Education Assistance Program (Roll no. 520).

``Aye.'' H.R. 864--Sober Truth in Preventing Underage Drinking Act (Roll no. 521).

``Aye.'' H.R. 5585--Financial Netting Improvements Act (Roll no. 522).

``Aye.'' H. Res. 1078--Congratulations to 2006 World Series Champions (Roll no. 523).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my sincerest appreciation and thanks to Vivian Moeglein whose tenure as my legislative director comes to an end this Friday. Vivian will be leaving my office at the end of this week after serving the Third District of Arkansas for 10 years.

Her passion for the legislative process, devotion to the people of Arkansas, and her cheerful personality have made her a pleasure to work with, and I am fortunate to have had her on my staff.

Vivian began her service here on Capitol Hill as an intern for Congressman Asa Hutchinson while completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland. Since that time, she has worked her way through the ranks as a staff assistant, office manager, legislative correspondent, legislative assistant, and finally as legislative director.

I was fortunate enough to keep her on the staff when I entered Congress in 2001 in a special election when she carefully steered me through the learning process each new Member of Congress must master.

Mr. Speaker, my staff and I will miss Vivian greatly, as will the Third Congressional District of Arkansas. We are extremely grateful for her tireless efforts on behalf of Arkansas and wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.

Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate you for your leadership and really appreciate all the hard work. This has been a difficult thing to get to the floor. Also I want to thank Mr. Filner and Ms. Herseth and again the staffs on both sides that have worked so very, very hard to, like I say, get this thing done.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5835, and I would like to highlight section 7 of the bill. This section would create a scholarship and debt reduction program at VA to encourage recruitment of new personnel with Ph.D.s in information security, computer engineering or electrical engineering from an accredited institution of higher learning. This is so we can attract and secure the best talent possible at the VA's IT department.

This section would allow the Secretary to award scholarships or repayment of education debts to future VA employees. The scholarships would not exceed $200,000, or $50,000 per year, per person. Debt reduction payments would not exceed $82,500 over a total of 5 years of participation, or $16,500 per year in the program. The recipients would also be required to agree to a period of obligated service at the Department of not less than 2 years for every 1 year of tuition paid.

This is a great way to attract talented people at the VA. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5835.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the sacrifice made by PFC Derek Plowman of Everton, Arkansas. On July 20 he died from a gunshot wound while serving with the Arkansas Army National Guard's 142nd Fires Brigade in Iraq.

Friends and family say that Derek was passionate about everything that he did. He was known to be a selfless man that was always more worried about other people than himself.

Last year he had just returned from basic training when he learned that his unit was being mobilized, but he commented that ``he had a job to do,'' and willingly deployed to Iraq with his fellow Arkansans.

Derek comes from a large family with nine brothers and sisters. He had dreams of becoming a psychiatrist, and joined the National Guard during his senior year at Valley Springs High School to earn money for college.

Mr. Speaker, at the young age of 20, Derek made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He is a true American hero. I ask my colleagues to keep Derek's family in their thoughts and prayers as they mourn the loss of this outstanding young man.