Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman.

The defense authorization bill is one of the most important measures we take before the Congress because it sets the policy for the Department of Defense.

The purpose of the amendment that I have offered and has graciously been included in this en bloc amendment is to recognize the service and sacrifice and make that part of our policy to again realize what took place with the victims of the Bataan Death March during World War II. This amendment also expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense should seek to provide compensation to the remaining survivors.

Those captured in the Bataan Death March spent an average of 3.5 years in captivity in Japanese prison camps and forced labor factories. Chairman Hunter described some of the torture and forced labor.

In order to compensate for the torture, malnutrition and forced labor they endured, the survivors should be provided at least what was then set forth, which is $4 a day for the time spent in captivity, and the bill provides for some compounded annual interest. Even private contractors who were captured and imprisoned received $60 per day. They were, indeed, victims of torture and injustice and unfairness.

This amendment is important for Congress to recognize the unbelievable sacrifices of our soldiers who defended our Nation and fought in the Philippines.

Very few survivors of the Bataan Death March are still alive today. In fact, one reason I got involved in this is because of a local veteran by the name of Sam Moody, and Sam passed away since I undertook his request. There are only about 900 survivors and widows. So it is not really the money. It is also the policy that we set here today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Eric Anthony Palmisano, who died in a tragic accident while serving our Nation in Al Asad, Iraq.

Prior to joining the Marine Corps, Eric spent much of his early childhood living in Chicago and eventually moved to Tampa, Florida with his family. Eric had lived in central Florida since 1996, and attended the University of Central Florida where he was active in sports and studied criminal justice.

Eric enlisted in the Marine Corps and attended Basic Training in Camp Pendleton, California last year. He stood out both in training and during his service and quickly became one of the best Marines in his unit. Proud of his achievements, Eric once wrote to his fiancee, ``This is an opportunity to prove--mostly to myself--that when I give something all my effort, I cannot fail.''

We should all remember Eric's courage and his ultimate sacrifice for our Nation. The freedom we enjoy and the liberty in the world for which he fought are part of the great legacy that Lance Corporal Eric Anthony Palmisano leaves behind.

To Eric's fiancee and his entire family, we extend our deepest sympathy.

Mr. Speaker, because of Lance Corporal Eric Anthony Palmisano's sacrifice for our country, I ask all Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in recognizing his service in our Nation's Armed Forces and remembering both his life and his dedication to the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation today that would extend the Federal Aviation Administration's war risk insurance program for U.S. commercial air carriers. Ever since 9/11, the commercial insurance market has been unwilling to provide the war-risk insurance that our nation's airlines need. That

continues today and there is no foreseeable end to this situation. If airlines don't have that insurance coverage, as a practical matter they won't be able to fly. Because of this situation, Congress must extend the program to provide U.S. airlines the war-risk insurance that they need. The accompanying legislation would do that for five years.

As many of us remember, immediately after 9/11 commercial insurers in lockstep cancelled the airlines' war-risk policies. That withdrawal of essential insurance coverage caused a crisis that Congress on September 21, 2001 resolved by granting the Federal Aviation Administration the authority to issue war-risk insurance policies to U.S. airlines. The FAA today provides war-risk insurance to some 70 U.S. airlines. The FAA program has been generating roughly $150 million annually in premium payments to the treasury and we can expect about the same amount of payments in 2006. That is 6 or 7 times what the U.S. airline industry paid for that coverage before 9/11.

Congress has repeatedly extended the FAA's program since 2002 because we have recognized that war-risk insurance for the airlines is indispensable. Airlines won't fly without that coverage because they cannot bear the financial risk of a catastrophic act of terrorism against them. Expressed another way, no one wants large aircraft operating in the United States that do not have adequate insurance coverage.

I wish that I could report that the commercial market for aviation war-risk insurance has returned to its pre-9/11 condition. Unfortunately, it has not; the marketplace is failing to cover the terrorism risks to which airlines are exposed. Indeed, the situation has worsened. Premium costs and coverage terms in the commercial market have not been and are not today reasonable.

Of immediate concern is how the marketplace is treating coverage of aviation losses attributable to weapons of mass destruction. The FAA's insurance policy quite properly covers this risk. But if U.S. airlines were required to rely on the commercial market for war-risk insurance, today they effectively could not get WMD coverage for their aircraft (in insurance terms, their ``hulls''.) More ominously, it appears that this year the commercial market will stop providing most third-party WMD coverage. This means that if a WMD incident were to occur on an aircraft in flight, commercial insurance would not cover the death and injury of persons on the ground, or damage to property on the ground.

Neither airlines nor their employees, who have borne so much of the financial adversity that the U.S. airline industry has suffered since 9/11, can afford such an increase in premiums. Between 2001 and 2005, U.S. airlines had net losses of more than $40 billion. A staggering 135,000 jobs have been lost in the airline industry since 2001. The compensation of those who remain in the industry in many instances has been slashed. Current projections are that the airlines will lose another $2 billion in 2006. With stubbornly high oil prices, now $67 per barrel, that projection may turn out to be optimistic.

If Congress does not act, the already ailing U.S. airlines will be forced into a commercial market that provides war-risk insurance that is extraordinarily expensive; does not provide anywhere near the coverage that is necessary; and continues to write war-risk insurance policies with seven-day cancellation clauses, the same clauses that caused so much turmoil right after 9/11.

We must therefore renew the FAA's war-risk insurance program. And, realistically, we must do so for an extended period. We have had one- year renewals of the program since 2002. We would all be better served if the extension were lengthier, which is why the accompanying legislation would extend the program for 5 years. I am pleased to introduce this needed legislation today.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chair of this important subcommittee, Mr. Souder, for his leadership in bringing to the floor today probably one of the most important pieces of legislation that we will consider in this entire session of Congress. Not only do I thank him for his leadership and being a long-term soldier in this battle, but also the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the ranking member, whom I have had the privilege to work with, who is also dedicated to dealing with this scourge on our Nation.

I say ``scourge on our Nation,'' because we just heard the previous speaker, the gentleman from New Jersey, talk about what illegal narcotics and drug abuse, substance abuse, has done to our Nation.

We have statistics. There are more than 20,000 American drug casualties a year. If we look at just the 3 years we have had the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have lost some 2,000 of our troops in service. We have lost more than 20,000 per year in our streets and neighborhoods, and those are only the recorded statistics. It is not all of the victims of crime and the murders. These are people who have died just from drug overdose in our communities, and many of them are our young people, the future of our Nation lost.

The cost in jails, incarceration, I am told 60 percent of those behind bars are there because of substance abuse. The social costs on all of our social agencies across this Nation is high.

Again, there is probably no greater social challenge that we have than the ravages of substance and drug abuse, child abuse, spouse abuse, all types of acts that we see that are almost unspeakable because of the effects of illegal narcotics.

I will say that President Bush and John Walters have done an excellent job in a number of areas. They set out measurable and accountable goals, and some of them have been achieved. We have seen a dramatic reduction in youth drug abuse. But we have a constant change in the challenge.

I know working with Mr. Souder and Mr. Cummings, we have seen the crack epidemic. We saw the heroin epidemic that ravaged Baltimore and other cities, great cities across the Nation. We have seen designer drugs. Now we see the meth scourge. So we have to have a flexible and adaptable policy. Hopefully this plan and the 5-year reauthorization provides that.

It is not always how much we spend, it is how we spend it. I think this administration has also focused attention on High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area designations, HIDTA, which we have done over the years, and we have set some of those in stone, and we keep funding them year after year. We need to look at how we spend that, how much we spend and where we put the resources for high-intensity approaches to going after problems that do shift and change. I think that is an important debate. I am not crazy about moving it over to the Department of Justice, but I do think we need a more accountable HIDTA program.

In conclusion, though, we do have a changing threat. We have seen some successes, as I said, with our youth. Plan Colombia, which we fought for during the nineties, we finally got implemented. It is an incredible success. We have some challenges to look forward to, the disruption in South America with people like Morales in Bolivia, whose policies raise great questions about the progress we have made in controlling illegal narcotics.

But we do know from our experience that we have to have a plan, we have to spend our money wisely, and hopefully

this reauthorization does that. We do know that we must focus on good education programs, up-to-date prevention programs, interdiction, strong enforcement programs, and then treatment programs that we also have measurable results from.

So I am pleased to join my colleagues in speaking for this reauthorization, and I hope that the final product will do even more in addressing this serious problem our society faces.

Mr. Speaker, today the St. Petersburg Parkway/William C. Cramer Memorial Highway will be dedicated in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bill became a trusted friend to many

while serving in this House and today's celebration is a reflection of his service to the State of Florida.

The Honorable William C. Cramer served in the U.S. House of Representatives for sixteen years, from 1955 to 1971, representing the St. Petersburg/Tampa area. During his service in Congress, Bill Cramer became the ranking minority member of the House Public Works Committee and he co-authored the 1956 Interstate and Defense Highway Act. That Act was the catalyst for the nation's interstate highway system, setting the authorized mileage at 41,000 miles and establishing the highway trust fund to pay for construction of the system.

Those 41,000 miles, however, did not include an interstate link from Tampa around (I-75) and through St. Petersburg (I-275), down the west coast of Florida (I-75) to Alligator Alley and across to Miami. During his tenure in Congress, Cramer labored tirelessly to add this ``missing link'' to the interstate highway system, and he succeeded in that effort in his final term as a capstone to his congressional service. In the Howard-Cramer Amendment of 1968 and the 1968 Federal Aid Highway Act, Cramer was able to add the mileage needed to build Florida's missing interstate links, and he also secured final approval to construct those links from two successive administrations.

Former Congressman Cramer passed away in October of 2003. Late in April of 2004, the Florida Legislature enacted HB 9, and on May 13, 2004, the Governor signed that Act into law. HB 9 designated the portion of I-275 between the Howard Frankland Bridge and the Sunshine Skyway as the ``St. Petersburg/William C. Cramer Parkway,'' upon approval of the affected local governments. In 2005, the Florida Legislature enacted, and the Governor signed into law, HB 385 that changed the designation to the ``St. Petersburg Parkway/William C. Cramer Memorial Highway.'' This honor is an appropriate and well- deserved recognition of Bill Cramer's pivotal role as the ranking minority member of the House Public Works Committee in authorizing and securing the funding for not only I-275 through St. Petersburg, but also the other critical west coast sections of Florida's Interstate Highway system.

Bill Cramer came from humble beginnings, his family moving to St. Petersburg before he and his brother and sisters entered the public schools. He sold fruit on street corners and was an usher at the Florida Theatre as a youngster to raise money, and he graduated from St. Petersburg High School, serving as student council president. He went on to graduate from St. Petersburg Junior College, where he also served as class president. As did so many men and women, he left his hometown to serve his country as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Cramer then finished college, and after graduating from Harvard Law School he returned home to St. Petersburg to practice law. Almost immediately he jumped into public service, being appointed Pinellas County attorney before his election to the Florida Legislature and subsequently his election to the U.S. Congress. While in Congress, he dedicated his career to building the basic infrastructure of the county, the roads, harbors, airports and public buildings that are crucial to the growth of our nation's economy. In particular, he focused on bringing the economic benefits of the interstate highway system to the Tampa-St. Petersburg and southwest Florida areas.

After retiring from his active law practice, Cramer returned to St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida to teach courses in Government. He strove to instill in his young students his passion for service and his conviction that through hard work and perseverance everyone, no matter their circumstances, has a chance to help build a better and more promising future for their community, state and nation. Bill Cramer's was a life well lived, and there is no more fitting memorial for him that to have the highway he built for his hometown named in his honor.

What follows is a brief outline of how Bill Cramer led Congress and two administrations to authorize and fund Florida's interstate ``missing links''

From his position as the ranking minority member of the House Public Works Committee and its Roads Subcommittee, Cramer worked for years to try and add the west coast Florida ``missing links'' to the interstate system. In introducing a bill early in 1967 to designate this route as an interstate, Cramer stated on the House Floor on January 16, 1967, that ``this missing link is one of the most obvious inadequacies in the interstate system.'' He went on to note ``it is essential that a new interstate highway be constructed so that interstate traffic presently terminating in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area can be funneled down the lower west coast to the Ft. Lauderdale-Miami area.''

Although this specific designation bill was not enacted, Cramer persisted and he and Congressman James Howard (D-N.J.) introduced H.R. 13933 in November of 1967. This bill addressed the practical problem that almost no interstate mileage remained to be designated from the 41,000 miles originally authorized by the 1956 Interstate and Defense Highway Act. H.R. 13933, which became known as the Howard-Cramer Act, added 200 miles to the 41,000-mile interstate system, to be applied for by various states to fill in missing links and gaps. The law stipulated that priority consideration should be given to extension of routes that terminated in a municipality, a condition then existing in the Tampa- St. Petersburg area. The President signed the Howard-Cramer Act on January 2, 1968.

Cramer understood that the 200 new interstate miles in the Howard- Cramer Act would be aggressively pursued by states across the nation, and that additional mileage was needed to achieve his dream of completing Florida's missing links. The 1968 Federal Aid Highway bill provided the ideal opportunity to accomplish this goal.

As ranking minority member of the Committee, Cramer crafted this bill that reauthorized the interstate highway program, provided for beautification of the nation's highways and established new rights and benefits for those displaced by highway construction, among many other important milestones. Of central importance to Cramer was a further expansion of the authorized mileage in the interstate system to accommodate construction of Florida's missing links. The House-Senate Conference Committee approved adding an additional 1,500 miles to the interstate system. His leadership ensured that both the House Public Works Committee Report (H. Rept. 1584) and the Conference Committee Report (Conf. Rept. 1799) specifically identified the Tampa/St. Petersburg to Miami missing link as the type of route that should be approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation from this new mileage. President Johnson signed the 1968 Federal Aid Highway Act into law late in the summer of that year.

Bill Cramer managed the floor debate on the 1968 Federal Aid Highway bill, which was the capstone of his service on the Public Works Committee. During the July 3, 1968 debate on the bill, one of his colleagues, Congressman Don Clausen, remarked:

``I believe, in all sincerity, that the gentleman from Florida (Cramer) is respected by members of the subcommittee as much or possibly more than any other Member on either side of the aisle. Certainly, no one has been a better student, become more knowledgeable, or demonstrated the ability to articulate our road and highway message to the Congress or the Nation, than the ranking Republican on the Public Works Committee--Bill Cramer. I am sure that future generations of Americans will come to appreciate the work he has done and the contributions he has made to our nation's road and highway system.''

In fact, during debate on the bill, Speaker of the House, John McCormack, came down from his rostrum to personally congratulate Cramer and the Speaker was quoted as saying: ``Bill, this has been one of the most statesmanlike presentations that I have observed since coming to the Congress.''

From his position in Congress, Cramer continued thereafter to pursue the matter aggressively with the Secretary of Transportation, Alan Boyd, until Boyd approved the 252-mile missing link on December 13, 1968. The approved route ran through Pinellas County (St. Petersburg), over the Sunshine Skyway, a toll bridge, and Alligator Alley, a toll road across the Everglades, and on to Miami. Florida clearly received the lion's share of the additional 1,500 miles authorized, far more that any other state, in what the St. Petersburg Times characterized in its December 14, 1968 edition as a ``legislative coup'' for Cramer.

This 252-mile route, however, did not include mileage that Cramer had requested bypassing Tampa to the east and connecting with the interstate now approved through St. Petersburg and crossing the Sunshine Skyway. When Secretary of Transportation John Volpe took over under President Nixon (after January 20, 1969), Cramer asked for an additional 32 miles for a Tampa Bypass for I-75. It was subsequently approved as part of the additional interstate mileage provided for in the Howard-Cramer Act passed in January of 1968.

Construction on the entire 284-mile (I-75 and I-275 St. Petersburg bypass) project was completed many years ago and now serves the fast growing area of southwest Florida, connecting it with Miami and the nation's interstate highway system. Prior to 1967, the State of Florida, under Governor Claude Kirk's leadership, was promoting constructing the missing link as a toll road. Cramer, however, from his influential congressional position championed an interstate route that would be free to travelers, and he prevailed.

Cramer's leadership and tenacity in getting the approval--by Congress and two administrations--of Florida's 284-mile missing link is fully documented. Designation of a portion of this missing link, I-275 through his hometown

of St. Petersburg, as the St. Petersburg Parkway/William C. Cramer Memorial Highway has appropriately and justly recognized Cramer's life- long dedication to St. Petersburg and his outstanding leadership in helping to build the Nation's interstate highway system. In enacting HB 9 and HB 385, the Florida Legislature has acknowledged the pivotal role that Bill Cramer played in securing authorization and funding for Florida's interstate highway missing links that have been so vital to the economic well being of St. Petersburg and all of southwest Florida.

Cramer's congressional district included Pinellas County from 1955 to 1971, and it also included Hillsborough County from 1955 to 1963, prior to redistricting. He was devoted to the goal of including that area and the lower west coast of Florida as the first major addition to the nation's initial 41,000 mile interstate system. The Howard-Cramer Act and the 1968 Federal Aid Highway Act made this a possibility, and Cramer's persistence made it a reality.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kuhl) and also the vice chair of the Aviation Subcommittee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 196, which I introduced to honor our commercial airline pilots, those individuals who volunteer for what is termed the Federal Flight Deck Officer program.

Before I speak to the resolution, I just want to take a few minutes to thank the chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, Mr. King, and also the ranking member of that committee, Mr. Thompson, also Mr. Lungren and others, for their support in facilitating the consideration of this resolution before the House today.

I also want to thank Mr. Pearce. He said in his opening remarks in support of the resolution that he also represents the area in New Mexico where they have put the facility to train our pilots, and I did have an opportunity to visit that facility with Mr. Pearce, and I will talk about that in just a minute.

I introduced this legislation, as I said, in a resolution to honor thousands of passenger and cargo airline pilots who on flights every day have volunteered their own time, expenses, and their welfare to complete what turned out to be a very rigorous Federal Flight Deck Officer program. In Congress, when we first thought about this, we thought about something more simple, just strapping an arm on, like they did during the 1960s when we had problems with hijacking of aircraft, and the guns were issued by the airlines. But this is a much more rigorous program. In fact, it is a week long and involves very intensive use of equipment, as Mr. Pearce described, and comprehensive training.

What was interesting, when we started this, I was not a big fan of this approach; but I had thousands of pilots and their families and others, pilots in particular, who saw the gaps in our aviation security system after September 11 who came to us and said we need to do something to be able to defend our aircraft. So they stepped forward. They initiated this legislation.

After the tragic attacks of September 11, Congress did authorize legislation. We started out, I remember, with Mr. Oberstar, Mr. DeFazio, and Mr. Young with a small demo project that was just going to include a few pilots. We brought it to the floor and the overwhelming sentiment was to open this to all pilots, which we did; and we later included even cargo pilots to be able to defend their aircraft and their passengers against acts of terrorism.

So I am pleased that we have a history of not only the pilots being heroes and participating in the program but also initiating the program. And these courageous pilots are providing a significant deterrent against potential acts of violence against our skies.

We saw the damage to our economy. The debate on the floor the week before the September 11 attacks was what we were going to do with the $120 billion Federal surplus, and we saw how terrorists can in fact affect our economy. But pilots stepped forward to help restore confidence in the security of our Nation's aviation system, and pilots are the people we are here to recognize with this resolution.

These volunteer pilots devote personal time and finances to maintain a high standard of proficiency. If you think it is easy for them to participate, well, government never makes anything easy. We envisioned a small program, but we ended up with them moving out to Artesia, New Mexico; and it was probably a wise decision because we had some infrastructure and facilities.

Now, a pilot goes at his or her own expense to Artesia. I went out there, and I took three flights. I remember flying, I think from Washington to Denver, from Denver to Albuquerque, and from Albuquerque to Roswell. Then Mr. Pearce got me in his car and drove me an hour to the south. I do not think you can put a Federal program any further or more remotely away. And God bless Mr. Pearce, who has one of these huge districts that transcends a great deal of New Mexico. But at the far end of that district is where we train these pilots.

I was absolutely stunned at the thousands of pilots, both men and women, who have taken time and expense to go through this comprehensive training. Do you know that this year we will have more pilots trained and armed to defend their cockpit and also the passengers than we have Federal air marshals. Now, all that is a classified number, but I am telling you it is in the thousands. So terrorists and others who want to do harm, we have a line of defense that is unparalleled.

This week, I saw the grades from the 9/11 Commission about aviation security. I want to tell you that the pilots who participate in this program deserve an A-plus, the pilots, men and women across this Nation, who have stepped up to this challenge.

So this is a very sophisticated and successful program, and we are here to recognize those volunteers, again, who at their own time and expense have made this one of the best lines of defense for aviation security and security for our Nation and the traveling public.

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I simply want to say thank you to each and every one of the pilots, men and women, who have stepped forward to take a stand to defend the United States and to ensure that our traveling public is safe and that further harm does not come to aviation.

One of the reasons we have changed the rules with TSA in screening passengers is because we have a system like this in place, and they have just announced that this week.

Mr. Speaker, I would say it is almost impossible to take over an aircraft the way the 9/11 terrorists did. We have armed pilots through this program. We have air marshals and secure cockpit doors. And then we have the traveling public who would never allow that to happen knowing what we know. So now we are changing the focus and these pilots through their efforts and this program have allowed us to look at additional risk such as explosive devices and other threats that we face. We know we are secure again through the efforts of the countless pilots we are honoring who have participated in our Federal Flight Deck Officer program.

So again, on behalf of Chairman Young, who chairs our full committee and Mr. Lungren, Mr. King and Mr. Costello, and my other colleagues, I am pleased to present this resolution to adequately recognize those who have come forward and have helped make this a more secure Nation through the aviation industry.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to speak in support of the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act, legislation which strengthens criminal penalties for crimes against United States judges, federal law enforcement officers and federally funded public safety officers.

Also included in this bill is an important provision from legislation I authored, H.R. 3833--the National Guard Emergency Protection Act, which increases federal protection to our National Guardsmen.

This measure was offered as a result of assaults against members of the National Guard while they were engaged in rescue and law enforcement operations in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, I found that our National Guardsmen are not protected by federal law if they are assaulted or killed in the line of duty while serving States during Presidentially declared disasters and emergencies. My bill, now included in the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act, extends the same penalties to those who attack both federal and non-federalized members of the Armed Services.

I would like to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner and his staff for working with me to ensure that our National Guardsmen have the further support of the Federal Government.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have 5 minutes in place of the gentleman from North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I did not plan to use these 5 minutes; but as we hear Bush-bashing and bashing of the Republicans as you walk through the Halls of our Chambers here, I think it is appropriate that we do take a minute to respond.

We just heard more Bush-bashing about accusations of torture in Iraq. I wonder where some of these same people were when Abu Ghraib prison had the torture of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians and other people in that society who had their limbs lopped off, who were taken to the precipice outside of the prison and lined up, to deal with prison-crowding. A former Iraqi prisoner told some of us Members of Congress they would line up the prisoners and then shoot them in front of a ditch and then bury them. One escaped who had been shot several times and he told us that story.

The Bush administration has wanted to stop the torture of people in that prison and the loss of life in that country. They do not want to talk about the 300,000 mass graves that we have uncovered in that country, the slaughter of his own people that Saddam Hussein conducted.

Then we heard the previous speaker talk about how bad things are in America under the Bush administration and Bush policy. They did not tell us that under the policy of President Bush we have actually, in just this last fiscal year that ended the end of September, we have $100 billion in additional revenue into the United States Treasury. That is a plan of failure? In one year we have reduced the deficit, the projected deficit a year ago by some 25 percent, a sizable feat; we had unemployment before Katrina go to 4.9 percent, one of the lowest percentages on record, and even in the last quarter, with the incredible natural disaster that we faced in the gulf coast and in Florida, we had a remarkable 3.8 percent economic growth. They do not want to talk about the jobs that have been created under this policy.

So we do have a plan. We have a plan this week or soon to reduce some spending. We have balanced the budget before; we can do it again. We can bring about the reforms, and some of those are tough reforms, but we have a plan. It involves reform, and it will result in savings and we will see continued growth, economic growth in this country, and fulfill the dreams of Americans who want better jobs, who want lower taxes, less government regulation, and less litigation. All of those things, higher taxes, more government regulation, and litigation, we know drive jobs and opportunity out of this great Nation.

So Republicans have a plan. We will make reforms. They will result in savings and better opportunities for all Americans as opposed to the rhetoric that we have had here on the floor this afternoon. So I am pleased to present those items to the House in response to the rhetoric we have heard.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to pay tribute to Major General Frederick E. Morris, a veteran of World War II and distinguished Air Force pilot. I would also like to extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends for their loss. General Morris passed away on August 22, 2005, and will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on October 21, 2005.

General Morris joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1942. During the war, he served as a combat pilot in both the European and Pacific Theaters. He flew 66 missions flying B-26, B-25 and A-26 aircraft supporting Allied Forces over North Africa, Europe, China and Japan.

Following World War II he transferred to the newly formed U.S. Air Force and soon became a jet pilot with certification to fly the F-111. Throughout the rest of his 30-year career, General Morris served in various overseas commands as well as at home with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He retired in a military service at the Pentagon in 1971.

Although he retired from service over three decades ago, his contributions to the defense of our Nation are still evident. In the 1960's, he worked on the Air Force's initial efforts at mass computer record keeping and data processing. Though primitive, those early programs fostered the technology revolution that has forever changed our Nation.

General Morris was the recipient of numerous decorations including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family and today I want to honor his contributions to our entire Nation.

Mr. Speaker, my good friend and an outstanding Central Florida businessman, Stephen Blair Sliger, passed away on October 4, 2005.

He is a native of Deland, Florida where was he born on November 21, 1952. Steve Sliger was preceded in death by his brother, Gus A. Sliger. Gus, also a close friend, lost his life 10 years ago in a tragic motorcycle accident. Steve headed Sliger and Associates of Port Orange, FL. founded by his late brother.

A wonderful father and husband, he was dedicated to his family, his community, and his business.

To Steve's wife, Sonia, his sons Adam and Noah, his father Gus A. Sliger, II and all of his family, we extend our deepest sympathy. They have lost a loved one. I have lost a good friend and our community has lost a great American.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to vote on rollcall 520. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on this measure.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1413) to redesignate the Crowne Plaza in Kingston, Jamaica as the Colin L. Powell Residential Plaza.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on S. 1413.

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

Madam Speaker, S. 1413 was introduced by Senator Lugar of Indiana and also Senator Biden of Delaware, and it designates the Federal building in Kingston, Jamaica, formerly known as the Crowne Plaza, which is now a staff housing facility, and it renames that facility for the United States mission in Jamaica as the Colin L. Powell Residential Plaza.

Colin Powell was born in New York City in 1937 to his parents, Luther and Maud Powell, who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. He was educated in New York City public schools. He went on to graduate from the City College of New York with a degree in geology. He was also commissioned as an Army second lieutenant in 1958. He continued his education, gaining a master's of business administration from George Washington University.

Since that time, Colin Powell has served our great Nation as a professional soldier for some 35 years, during which time he was the recipient of numerous United States and foreign military awards and decorations and soon rose to the rank of a four-star general.

He went on to serve as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is the highest military position in the Department of Defense. In his time as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he oversaw some 28 crises, including Operation Desert Storm and the victorious 1991 Persian Gulf war. His distinguished career was topped off when he was sworn in as the 65th Secretary of State of the United States in January of 2001.

There are other things to note about this distinguished American leader. Colin Powell is also a man dedicated to his family and to the youth of America. He is married to the former Alma Vivian Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama, and has three children as well as two grandchildren. Prior to his confirmation as Secretary of State, Colin Powell served as the chairman of America's Promise, which is The Alliance for Youth, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to building the character and also the competence of our young people.

It is my honor to bring this bill to the floor for myself, for the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, for the subcommittee chair, Mr. Shuster. This bill honors a dedicated American who spent his entire career serving the people of this great Nation.

I support this legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Today it is my honor and privilege to bring this legislation, which will recognize the leadership of an outstanding American patriot, someone who serves as a role model for all Americans. I am very proud of Colin Powell and again of his service to our Nation. I urge the support of this bill.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 161) authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for an event to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Million Man March.

Madam 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 House Concurrent Resolution 161.

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

This concurrent resolution takes care of a little bit of a housekeeping chore for our committee and also for the House. House Concurrent Resolution 161 is sponsored by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and it authorizes the use of the Capitol grounds for the 10th anniversary commemoration event of the Million Man March. It is required under our rules that we pass such a resolution for use of the Capitol grounds.

The Million Man March, Inc., is the sponsor wishing to commemorate the march of 10 years ago and to highlight the Millions More Movement.

The current movement is intended to reenergize the efforts and missions of the Million Man March, which was first held in 1995. This event is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 15, 2005; and it will include leaders of the African American community. It is free of charge and also open to the public.

I also find it important to note that the sponsor assumes full responsibility for all expenses and liability incident to all activities associated with the event, and House Concurrent Resolution 161 does not authorize any expenditures.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Again, I want to commend the gentleman from Illinois for bringing this legislative initiative before the House. On behalf of Chairman Young of the full T&I committee and subcommittee chair Mr. Shuster, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, who chairs the Economic Development and Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee, I am pleased to present this legislation, and ask at this time for the House's consideration and adoption of the resolution.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1786) to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to make emergency airport improvement project grants-in-aid under title 49, United States Code, for repairs and costs related to damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Madam 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 S. 1786.

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of Senate bill S. 1786. This legislation authorizes emergency grants to airports to repair damage caused by both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Specifically, this legislation authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants under the existing Airport

Improvement Program, also referred to as AIP, funds in fiscal year 2006 for hurricane-related costs incurred by public-use airports in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

Under this bill, affected airports may receive grants for emergency capital costs. Some of those costs include repairs to terminal buildings, to hangars, runways, airfield signage, lighting, fencing, navigation aids and fuel systems.

In addition, emergency operating costs resulting from the hurricane will also be eligible for grants. This would cover items such as the cost of putting fences back up, renting generators and hiring extra security personnel. This bill would also waive the local cost-share requirement that traditionally applies to grants made under the AIP program, the Airport Improvement Program.

Many of these airports, particularly the small airports that have been shut down for an extended period of time, lack the ability to pay even the traditional 10 percent local match that would otherwise be required of them under the Airport Improvement Program.

Over 40 airports were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and are in very serious and desperate need in some instances of the provisions of this bill. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that these airports, in total, will have sustained damages of some $160 million or more.

Of this total, some $47 million has already been funded by using fiscal year, the current year that we are in, 2005, or just left, I should say, 2005 Airport Improvement Program funds. This was critical to getting some of the airports reopened quickly after the storms, and it also provided much-needed transportation links to the disaster areas.

However, at least $113 million in damages still remains to be funded in fiscal year 2006. These repairs are essential to restoring our system of airports to pre-hurricane conditions and also to the high standards that we require.

It is important to note that this bill does not increase Federal spending. Rather, it would temporarily broaden the eligible uses of existing Airport Improvement Program funds, AIP funds, so that the full spectrum of hurricane repair costs can be met.

After the hurricanes that damaged several Florida airports last year, I am particularly aware of the devastation that can be caused by these storms and the need to repair critical aviation facilities and infrastructure as quickly as possible. I, therefore, am pleased to join wholeheartedly with the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), ranking member of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), Aviation Subcommittee ranking member, in urging the immediate passage of this much-needed legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and also Chair of the Railroads Subcommittee of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

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

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

Again, I urge my colleagues to pass S. 1786. This is a needed piece of legislation and an immediately needed bill. It will provide some relief to some of the Gulf States that were hit by two of our most recent and very tragic hurricanes.

Airports do provide a link between communities and a gateway to the Nation and the world. It is one of our most important economic generators in this country, and it is a Federal responsibility to move forward in the repair and the replacement of the infrastructure and facilities at these transportation hubs.

I might repeat that this does not require any additional funding, but it does allow flexibility. It does allow additional payments to these areas for their traditional Federal requirement share and local requirement share.

Also, in closing, we hear a lot of criticism about Federal agencies, but I am pleased to stand here and commend those of the FAA for their quick response to all of the States that were hit by the hurricane disasters we have seen this year.

I also want to thank them for last year. My area in Central Florida was hit by three very serious hurricanes, and as the Members know, we had a fourth, a tremendous storm that hit the gulf coast.

In each instance, the Federal Aviation Administration, starting with Marion Blakey, the administrator, and also with Woodie Woodward, who is our national airports administrator, they were ready in advance. They assisted us then and they are assisting now in an admirable fashion. So I am pleased to also commend their work.

Madam Speaker, I ask for passage of S. 1786, which will provide our airports much-needed relief in these hard-hit areas.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

First, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner), also the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the subcommittee chairman, and others who have worked on this legislation. There is probably no piece of legislation in this Congress that is more important to the future of this country and our children and our students than this piece of legislation.

I have educated as an educator and have worked over the years to try to get improvement in the quality of Head Start, and I commend all of those involved and also the President of the United States for emphasizing improving the quality of Head Start.

We spend $7,222 per student for some 900,000 students involved in Head Start and improving the quality. These young people can learn, and they should have an academic component, and we should have the best personnel in these Head Start programs, and we have gone a long way in that regard.

Unfortunately, over the course of the last years, we have had incidents of waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, even financial abuse of taxpayer dollars in the Head Start programs, and again, we have limited taxpayer dollars to expend, and we want them expended in the most efficient and proper manner.

While a large majority of Head Start programs have very responsible management and organization in place, I think Congress has an obligation to improve known problems before they get worse and also insist on correction.

Weak or failing Head Start programs are unfair to taxpayers, but mostly, and most importantly, they are unfair to the children who need assistance in these programs, not to mention they are unfair to the taxpayers.

So this amendment directs the Secretary of HHS to undertake a management reform initiative, and I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) for crafting this amendment, and he has my strong support, and I am pleased to offer it because we want this to be the best program possible.

In conclusion, I just want to give a couple of examples. I have one Head Start program I looked at that has 135 students, 17 teachers, and none of the teachers are certified in the program. That should be corrected by this legislation. But the cost for the program is $900,000, and we are spending $72,000 per student on this one Head Start program.

I have other Head Start programs, one in my district, where we have 526 students, and we reviewed what other preschool programs were paying. Right now, it is costing us about $8,439 per student. The most expensive private prep school in the district costs $8,400 a year. The private Catholic school costs $2,160 a year, and the private Christian academy costs $4,400 a year.

We need to look at what the management, what the waste and inefficiencies are in the programs that we have with Head Start, make certain that we are expending this money properly, that we eliminate bureaucracy, wasteful mismanagement and, unfortunately, in some instances, fraud and abuse.

This amendment will go a long way towards achieving that goal and making certain that every one of these taxpayer dollars are spent in the best way to benefit these children and give them truly a head start.

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

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

In conclusion, I know we all saw the pictures that were quite shocking in New Orleans, and many people were stunned by the level of poverty that we saw when the dikes and the levees broke. Much more was broken in that community and our communities, and that is, the education of our poorest children. No piece of legislation will do more, I think, in advancing the interests and the educational opportunities for our children than this legislation.

So I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner), the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), and others involved in moving this important piece of legislation forward, improving the quality and also improving the management, making certain with this amendment

that every dollar goes towards the betterment of those disadvantaged in our society.

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