Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, ``jingoism,'' ``yellow journalism,'' all words that I used to teach in U.S. history class. I have never been a vocal critic of the state of the national broadcast media, but ABC News has caused me to reconsider.

The two-source rule for accusation has been lost on many of the national media. Now, when Speaker Hastert is nearing a historic landmark, he is maligned.

On May 31, Speaker Hastert will become the longest serving Republican Speaker in the history of the House of Representatives. You get this by being fair, honest, open and hard-working.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to serve with you.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take the time of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak in opposition to the perceived exclusions of the countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from an amendment offered by the Senate in the immigration bill yesterday.

While I approve of this amendment to allow for a 2-year trial expansion of the Visa Waiver Program, I disagree with the requirements that are placed upon countries that would want to participate. This program enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

According to the language of Senate Amendment 4000, a country must provide ``material support,'' which means that current provision of the equivalent of but not less than of a battalion, which consists of between 300 to 1,000 military personnel, to Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom to provide training, logistical or tactical support or military presence.

I feel that it is ineffective to place a number requirement on these smaller countries in the region. All the Baltic countries have been steadfast in support of allies of the United States since they gained their independence following the fall of the Soviet Union and have continued to be supportive in the ongoing war on terror.

While these countries are short of this amendment's required troop number, it seems to me that the best way to evaluate a country's eligibility for the Visa Waiver Program is to determine whether the country is a good ally and friend of the United States, not put a number on their commitment.

All these former Soviet satellite countries are continuing to actively work to implement the highest of technology with their border security, including biometric passports far ahead of some of their western European neighbors.

Currently, several of the 27 countries already in the Visa Waiver Program have committed zero troops to either mission. Why should such a requirement be placed on those countries that have already made a sacrifice, when others are rewarded for their non-participation?

Furthermore, small countries like Lithuania, with a population of 3.5 million, Latvia, with 2.8 million, or Estonia, with 1.3 million, clearly do not have as large a military as a country like Poland, which has over 38 million citizens, 30 million more than all three Baltic States combined. I feel that this is irresponsible to belittle the commitment and sacrifice to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom by not allowing them into the Visa Waiver Program with the specifics of this amendment.

Maybe if you combine the total deployment of the Baltic countries and add them up, which is as of my count today, 287 troops deployed, that is very close to the 300 minimum number. But, remember that these three countries combined still are 30 million people less than a country like Poland.

Also each of the Baltic States have troops participating in out-of- area NATO missions. One of the provisional reconstruction teams in Afghanistan is led by Lithuanian troops. Do these soldiers operating within the North American Treaty Organization not count toward their troop commitment in the language of this amendment? These are important questions that need to be addressed.

As Cochairman of the House Baltic Caucus, I understand the concerns that the Baltic countries have with this amendment, and I urge the conferees of the immigration bill to keep their concerns in mind as we work through the differences between both the Senate and the House.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Reverend Ted Hartley, Senior Pastor of Farina, Illinois United Methodist Church as today's guest chaplain.

Rev. Hartley is a native of McLeansboro, Illinois and served as a pastor for 14 years. In addition to serving in towns such as East Peoria, Charleston, Virden and Abingdon, Illinois, Rev. Hartley has also preached the gospel in places such as Zimbabwe, Moscow, throughout Europe, Japan and China.

He has been an outspoken and integral advocate for fostering race relations and ecumenical work. Rev. Hartley is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and is a well-known Salukis fan. He attended seminary at Garrett Evangelical and Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

Accompanying him today is his son, Chris, an 18-year-old college student who is poised to become a future American Idol with his band Noxious, as well as Matthew Metcalf.

I am honored to have Rev. Hartley share his prayer with us today, and thank Father Coughlin for giving him and Farina, Illinois an opportunity of a lifetime.

Mr. Speaker, I am excited about the benefits of the Medicare D prescription drug plan. I have two stories I would like to relate to you and to my colleagues.

I have one lady who is saving $24,000 a year by now taking part in Medicare part D. For the first time in years, she now is back on the road driving because she couldn't afford to buy automobile insurance. So not only is she saving money, but she is now free again to take part in activities that she for so long put aside.

Another HIV-positive disabled individual is saving $15,000 a year accessing the Medicare D prescription drug plan.

So it is a plan that is working. For those that did not sign up, I would encourage our seniors to continue to investigate it. At the most, it will be an additional $25 premium if they sign up in May. And if you are low income, there is never a penalty. Low-income seniors who take access even now will never pay a Medicare D prescription drug penalty, because the program was designed for the poorest of all seniors so they wouldn't have to make a choice between food and prescription drugs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of Chief Warrant Officer Two Christopher B. Donaldson who was recently killed in a helicopter crash during combat operations fighting for freedom in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.

Donaldson was a 28-year-old from Effingham, Illinois and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York. He was a 1995 graduate from Effingham High School in Effingham, IL. His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Air Assault Badge and the Army Aviator Badge.

Donaldson paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He is survived by his mother, Lynne Donaldson of Effingham; his father, William Donaldson of Beecher City and many other family, friends and loved ones. I am proud of the service this young man gave to his country and the service his fellow troops perform everyday. Not enough can be said about Chief Warrant Officer Two Donaldson. It is soldiers like him that are risking their lives day in and day out to ensure our freedom here at home and to others throughout the rest of the world. I salute him and my best wishes go out to his family and all the troops fighting to ensure freedom and democracy. God bless them and may God continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Edwardsville Public Library of Illinois as we celebrate its 100th anniversary. For the last 100 years, the library and staff have served the residents of Edwardsville and the surrounding area.

The first library in Edwardsville was established in 1819; just one year after Illinois was admitted into the Union. In 1823, the Edwardsville Library Association was chartered and it was again revived in 1879. In 1903, through the efforts of the Library Board President Charles Boeschenstein, Edwardsville was given a gift of $12,500 from Andre Carnegie. On June 26, 1906 the library building was dedicated.

The library has gone through several structural changes over the years, including growing from 8,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet. No matter the structural changes, the library patrons still have access to a wealth of information and resources.

It is my pleasure to congratulate the people that have made the Edwardsville Public Library a sanctuary of intellectuality for 100 years and I wish all the best for the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Breese, Illinois upon her sesquicentennial. The Village of Breese was formed in 1856 and will celebrate her sesquicentennial on June 2-4, 2006.

Breese was settled in 1822 by way of the Goshen Road. The first Post Office was established at Shoal Creek in 1855. Breese then continued to prosper by establishing roots into electrical generation in 1905 and water treatment in 1937.

Chief Justice Sidney Breese, for whom Breese is named, was an outstanding early National and State figure. He is recognized as a Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, and a United States Senator. A statue representing him now stands in Springfield, Illinois.

I am pleased to congratulate the citizens of Breese on 150 years of history in their community. I thank them for their contributions to our great Nation. May God bless Breese and may He continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, the problem we have is our reliance on imported crude oil. The way we try to address this solution is through renewable fuels, conservation, additional exploration and new technologies. I want to talk about one of those new technologies today, which is coal-to-liquid application, called Btu conversion.

Imagine this: a coal mine in the Midwest, on top of which sits a refinery, a liquid fuel refinery. Sound far fetched? Well, this technology has been around for 50 years. The Germans used it in World War II.

The refinery bill that we have on the floor of the House today will provide the same incentives to expansion of petroleum refineries to coal-to-liquid applications.

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. has 27 percent of the world coal supply, the largest of any country, but less than 2 percent of the world's oil and less than 3 percent of the world's natural gas. For a forceful response to the energy challenge, the U.S. must make much greater use of its unrivaled coal reserves.

Mr. Speaker, just a brief part of good news. I just heard from Champion Laboratories that makes fuel filters that they are closing their Mexico plant and adding 100 jobs back in my district and developing a line. So the economy is moving forward. And that is good news. And sometimes we don't hear that.

A lot of focus of this debate is on crude oil and gas. And the fact that we import refined product, the fact that we import gasoline and not just crude oil, should make us all concerned, and that is really the premise of this debate.

Two years ago, Chairman Alan Greenspan stated at the Economic Club in New York that we do not have any refineries, not just in the United States but we do not have any expanded refinery capacity in the world, especially as we are making fuel products. And I have the quote right here, but for time I will save that.

But I want to focus on another provision of this bill. If you do not like Big Oil, support this bill. If you do not like Big Oil, if you want a competitive to crude oil gasoline, support this bill. Why? Because the incentives to increase the refinery capacity will also apply to biofuels.

Twenty-nine new ethanol facilities are in Illinois. I drive an E85 flexible fuel vehicle, 10 to 15 cents less a gallon; and 2 years ago I did not have a single retail location in my district when I had a flexible fuel vehicle, Ford Taurus. Now I have over 20 locations. That is good; and if we want to incentivize new competitors to Big Oil, we need new biorefineries. That is in this bill. So all my ag friends need to look at this bill.

Secondly, and I have some here in this Chamber, my friends from the coal basin, another great way to defeat Big Oil is to get the rebirth of big coal. And Btu conversion, taking our coal fields, can you imagine this: a coal mine in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois; and on top of that coal mine, you put a refinery. Look at all the issues that we address. No longer dependent on foreign crude oil, no longer having refineries on the coast where they are subject to damage and destruction through hurricanes, diversified fuel refineries across this country. That is in this bill.

So for all my friends who want to beat up on Big Oil, this is your opportunity to do this. To incentivize renewable fuels, to incentivize coal to liquid, this is your opportunity. We will get a chance to count the votes later on.

I thank Mr. Bass for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of Lance Corporal Nicholas Kleiboeker who was killed in action fighting for freedom in Al Hillah, Iraq on May 13, 2003.

Lance Cpl Kleiboeker was a 19 year-old from Irvington, Illinois and was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was a 2001 graduate from Odin High School in Odin, IL.

Kleiboeker made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He is survived by Gary and Sheryl Kleiboeker of Iuka, Sam Clark of Sumner and many other family, friends and loved ones. I am proud of the service this young man gave to his country and the service his fellow troops perform everyday. It is soldiers like Kleiboeker that are risking their lives day in and day out to ensure our freedom here at home and to others throughout the rest of the world. I salute him and my best wishes go out to his family and all the troops fighting to ensure freedom and democracy. God bless them and may God continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the disturbing reports that I have been hearing out of Belarus over the past 24 hours.

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, and also the day of the first major demonstration against President Lukashenko since the fraudulent elections on March 19. Early on Wednesday, opposition candidate Aleksander Milinkevich was brought to police headquarters before the rally and warned by the KGB the consequences of holding the rally and asked to sign a document stating that he knew what would happen should the rally continue.

Mr. Milinkevich boldly refused. And then today around 12 p.m. in Minsk, Mr. Milinkevich was giving an interview to reporters when the police showed up and took him to the police station. He was charged with organizing an unsanctioned rally with regards to yesterday's rally in Minsk and received a 15-day sentence.

Also this morning, two other UDF leaders, Sergiy Kalyakin, the Chairman of the Communist Party, and Alexander Bukhostov, leader of the Belarusian Labor Party, were summoned to the City Executive Committee of the Minsk Interior Affairs regarding their application to hold another prodemocratic rally in Minsk on May 1. They were then taken by police to the police department and charged with organizing yesterday's unsanctioned rally in Minsk. Mr. Bukhostov received 15 days in jail, and Mr. Kalyakin received 14 days.

And perhaps the most terrible and intimidating incident I have heard of occurred yesterday prior to the rally in Minsk. Prior to a speech at the rally, opposition activist Anatoly Lebedko was kidnapped, beaten and interrogated for several hours by members of the KGB, which we can only assume was ordered by the office of President Lukashenko. Mr. Lebedko was given a message by these thugs when he was shoved out of the car outside of Minsk. All they had to say was, we hope you have drawn the appropriate conclusions from this.

However, the conclusions that I and the Belarusian people have drawn is that despite these continued threats from Lukashenko, the spirit of freedom has not died in Belarus. All these people wanted to do was hold a peaceful rally to honor those Belarusians who died in the Chernobyl accident, and to come together as a country.

President Lukashenko may have tried to stop the rally through these intimidation tactics, but even if only one person had shown up despite this ongoing threat of violence, it means that freedom lived within the hearts and minds of these people, and someday it will come to them again.

I am proud to say, Mr. Speaker, that yesterday in Minsk, thousands of Belarusians rallied in support of freedom.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the Special Order time of the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry).

Mr. Speaker, I was fortunate to be part of a foreign observer team to observe the failed Presidential elections in Belarus on March 19. Why was it a failure? One, because about 400 political activists were arrested prior to the election. There was prevoting that no one could account for and credit as being valid. I attended with a colleague of mine from Portugal, a member of Parliament, Suarez, and at the end of the evening after visiting 19 precincts, we were not allowed to see the ballots, nor were we allowed to observe the counting of the ballots. There was also no ability for the opposition candidates to campaign and get time on the state-sponsored TV station.

Why is this important, and why do I bring this up today? Well, after the election there was a rally in Oktyabrskaya Square, and this is a photo from one, a protester with a banned flag. There were over 10,000 folks that rallied at this square, many of them staying in the evening through the next day over a period of weeks until the regime finally got fed up, which resulted in a crackdown of the protesters and imprisonment of, and I think there were about 685 on this list, 700 political activists who were jailed for protesting a failed election and rallying for the cause of freedom and democracy and the rule of law. In the square slogans that stated ``Long Live Belarus''; ``Freedom''; the announcement of one of the Presidential candidate's names, Milinkevich, those were the cries of people who want freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

This was the regime's response. One of those jailed who is still in jail is opposition leader Alexander Kozulin. Kozulin was also a Presidential candidate. He remains in jail today and imprisoned unlawfully and will undoubtedly remain for the immediate future. On March 30 Dr. Kozulin was formally charged with two counts of hooliganism under part 2, article 339 of the Criminal Code. Now, hooliganism is taking part in a democratic rally and publicly speaking his concerns on freedom and democracy and the rule of law. Actions which disturbed the public peace, so the regime says, and active participation in them under article 342 is against the regime's laws. These crimes carry a maximum sentence of 6 years. Dr. Kozulin has yet to be assigned a trial date and will remain in prison until the regime succumbs to international pressure and assigns him a trial date to prove his innocence.

Tomorrow, April 26, as was stated by another of my colleagues tonight, is the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Now, Chernobyl is in the Ukraine, but much of the fallout area is in the country of Belarus, and the prodemocratic organizations and movements and the political activists will be rallying again for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

The President/dictator of Belarus is an individual named Lukashenko, and since the election is now over and many of the international media has left the country, he may feel that it is within his power to continue to be ruthless and destroy and suppress the freedom movement in Belarus. My time tonight is to just talk to him, the folks in the country of Belarus and the people who yearn for freedom and democracy that the world will be watching the events of tomorrow's rally.

I hope that my colleagues here on the floor will stand with me in support of freedom of Belarus during this time and will work with the Belarusian people to bring free and fair elections to their country. Countries that are democratic historically have peaceful relationships with their neighbors who are also democratic. It is incumbent upon this House that is the bastion of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law to be of aid to those people who yearn to be free. That is what this Special Order is about tonight.

Madam Speaker, I have time to speak about the death and passing of President Meri from Estonia who died Tuesday in his sleep. Deported to Siberia at the age of 12, he worked as a lumberman, a potato farmer. He got back to Estonia, graduated as a professor of history cum laude, was not allowed by the Soviets to practice that profession, became a playwright, was involved in the ``Singing Revolution'' and became the second president of the country of Estonia.

This is in contrast to the dictator Lukashenko, who as of today, has blocked European election monitors, has thrown out eight Scandinavians for doing polling, and has again arrested Alexander Milinkevich for campaign activities.

President Meri will be able to rest and sleep in a free, sovereign, democratic Estonia, while dictator Alexander Lukashenko will just have sleepless nights by depriving his country of freedom and democracy.

Mr. Speaker, if my colleague Chris Smith will allow me to speak from this side, because I have great respect for Tom Lantos, and you know it is always in fashion to fight for democracy and freedom, it is an issue that easily, many times, most times, crosses across the center aisle, and I am proud of what you do and I am proud of what we do to fight for democracy and freedom.

We have got another opportunity to do that today with addressing the upcoming elections in Belarus and the last dictatorship in Europe.

I have with me the, it is being called the ``Denim Revolution,'' and it has got the dictator concerned. How do you

have free and fair elections when you do not let the opponents campaign, or you let them campaign, but solely door to door, no mail, no advertising, no public billboards? There is no freedom for the opposition to get their word out.

In fact, today as I was coming down to the floor, I just received an e-mail, a great thing with the new technologies today, the ability to find out what is going on, and I want to read this to my colleagues: ``According to the press release distributed by the office of the single candidate from the unified Belarusian opposition, Alexander Milinkevych, this morning, after a meeting of Milinkevych with voters in the `Byarestse' cinema theater, five representatives of his team, including,'' a friend of mine who I have met a couple times, ``Vintsuk Viachorka were held by the police and driven away. The opposition activists might have been beaten. For the moment, it is not clear where they are. Their mobile phones are switched off.''

Now, what is really problematic about this is that usually the Belarusians, through the use of the KGB and the uniformed police, are very proud when they grab people who want to run for elected office, and they proudly display the fact that they are held in police custody. Well, we do not know where these gentlemen are. And we have no idea, there has been no claims of who has them. So, really, the basic plea right now is where are they.

That is just a symbol of people would not believe that in Europe that we would still have this subversion of freedom and democracy.

So I want to thank the International Relations Committee, of course my good friend and colleague from Illinois, Henry Hyde, and the ranking member, of course, Chris Smith, who has done such a great job, and Chairman Gallegly, who was very helpful to me in moving this legislation because we talk about the issues of freedom a lot on this floor. I think our Founding Fathers would be very proud that we still take up that torch of freedom for all people, and, yeah, we may be accused of being biased to some extent at some time, but we are a human institution, and we need friends on both sides who will call us to account that freedom is good enough for all the countries in Europe and even in the last dictatorship. It is good enough for other areas around the world, and I am one that is not ashamed of standing up for freedom and democracy.

This is a great resolution. It is very timely. As we know, the election is coming, and we have got our fellow freedom fighters being jailed for activities that we take for granted here in the United States. This is right that we send a signal, and I am proud to join you, and I want to thank the ranking member, and I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Smith, for the opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the country of Belarus and their ongoing struggle for free and fair elections. The last dictator in Europe, Aleksander Lukashenko, rules this country through a combination of intimidation and fear, suppressing the voices and rights of the Belarusian people as they watch their neighbors in Georgia and in the Ukraine rise up and take back their countries to emerge as thriving democracies.

I am proud to be the sponsor of H. Res. 673, along with my colleague Mr. Gallegly. This legislation, among many other things, pledges the support of the United States House of Representatives to the Belarusian people, and calls for a free and open election. Unfortunately, as we have seen in many events covered in the past week this will most likely not happen for the Belarusian people on March 19th. Instead the ongoing cycle of violence and intimidation will steal another election for Mr. Lukashenko.

I encourage my colleagues to stand with me in the support of the Belarusian people and keep them in your thoughts and prayers in this difficult time. As President Bush said, ``The fate of Belarus will rest not with a dictator, but with the students, trade unionists, civic and religious leaders, journalists, and all citizens of Belarus claiming freedom for their nation.'' I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to take this opportunity to honor the First Baptist Church of Elizabethtown, Illinois, as it celebrates its bicentennial anniversary on July 9, 2006. Since its founding in 1806, the Elizabethtown Baptist Church has been preaching the gospel in the community, and has served as a symbol of faith and endurance.

The church was founded by Stephen Stilley, William Jones, and others as God led them to begin a Baptist work in the Illinoisan territory. The first meeting of the church took place--as many of the New Testament churches did--in a small home. It was built in a safe place for the worshippers near Griffith Cave. This proved to be of the utmost importance when the building was burned by the Indians, at first. In 1877, the church purchased land from the Drumms family and built the current church from bricks made at the local kiln. Today the congregation has made extensive repairs in an effort to preserve the old church for future generations.

The challenge of the church is to keep the sacred word of God and faithfulness of the people. For 200 years, God has protected and preserved his people's church through the threat of fire, flood, and other natural and man-made disasters as living testimony of His Divine Grace. As the celebrations go on, all visitors are always welcome. My family and I have been graciously invited to attend the celebration of their bicentennial anniversary.

My prayer is that God will continue to bless this historic and remarkable congregation and they would remain a positive influence for the future of the Elizabethtown community of Illinois.