Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to thank him for bringing this important resolution forward.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 5, the designation of Hire a Veteran Week. I encourage the President to issue a proclamation supporting this designation.

I would once again like to thank Mr. Holt for offering this resolution and thank the committee on Veterans' Affairs, Mr. Boozman, who has been a strong leader on veterans affairs issues. I am proud to be a member of that committee.

As a Member and as a veteran of the United States Army, I understand the important and sometimes difficult adjustments that face our soldiers when they return home from their tour of duty. Securing employment should not be one of those difficult tasks.

Many are not aware that the men and women of the United States military have amazing skills that translate perfectly into civilian occupations. Veterans also have the ability to learn new skills and concepts and can enter the workforce with those skills proven in real- world situations. Veterans know what it means to do ``an honest day's work.'' Employers know that they are gaining someone with a track record of integrity.

Madam Speaker, we must take care of veterans when they return home. We value the commitment that veterans have shown to this great country. We value what veterans have learned from their military experience. Together, we can use that experience to continue our country's prosperity and the individual prosperity of our service men and women. There is no better way to send this message than by hiring a veteran.

I would like to encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important resolution.

Madam Speaker, the administration has turned a projected 10-year, $5.6 billion surplus into a nearly $3 trillion deficit. Over the past 6 years, America's debt has climbed 50 percent to more than $28,000 per person. It is so bad that this administration has borrowed more money from foreign nations than all previous 42 U.S. Presidents combined. That is the fiscal mess that we inherit from the 109th Congress.

We believe it is time that we finally get our fiscal house in order. Today, we will restore the pay-as-you-go rules that were instrumental to the budget surpluses we experienced in the early 1990s. Pay-as-you- go budgeting with no new deficit spending is a key first step. This will reverse the budget deficits that are currently passing billions of dollars in debt to our children and our grandchildren.

It was wrong to eliminate pay-as-you-go in 2002. We need to begin to treat our Federal budget in the way that working families treat their budgets, and pay-as-you-go is a good first step.

Madam Speaker, I hope that this House can act in a bipartisan fashion to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers for allowing us to bring this important legislation forward. As you all know, Senator Conrad from the Senate side, both his staff and my staff worked in a bipartisan effort to bring this important act forward.

This act would actually place a criminal penalty on those who falsely claim to have risked their lives for their country, and restoring honor to those who have truly earned it.

Last year, in Pueblo, Colorado, I met with Pam Sterner of Pueblo, who was attending Colorado State University in Pueblo, and also with Medal of Honor recipient Peter Lemmon of Colorado Springs.

Pam had recently completed a working paper on the issue of military medals fraud for a political science class at Colorado State University, Pueblo. With her research and with some of her language, we drafted the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.

Current law basically allows Federal law enforcement to prosecute individuals who physically wear medals on their person. The problem has been occurring where individuals are claiming to have earned these medals and there is no way for authorities to be able to prosecute these individuals. These frauds and these phonies have diminished the meaning and the honor of the recognitions received by our military heroes.

In addition to diminishing the meaning, on several occasions phonies have used their stature as a decorated war hero to gain credibility that allows them to commit more serious frauds.

B.G. Burkett's award winning book, ``Stolen Valor,'' first exposed the problems of these medals fraud. The authors show that killers have fooled the most astute prosecutors and gotten away with murder. They show phony heroes who have become the object of national award-winning documentaries on national network television. They show liars and fabricators who have flooded major publishing houses with false tales of heroism which have become best-selling biographies.

Not only do the authors show the price of the myth has been enormous for society, but they spotlight how it has severely denigrated the service, patriotism, and gallantry of the best warriors America's ever produced.

The Stolen Valor Act, H.R. 3352, makes a language fix to the current Federal statute, to include making verbal and written claims to be the recipient of a military medal that they were not entitled to.

This bill expands penalties currently in effect for the Medal of Honor to apply to the so-called valor medals, including but not limited to the Distinguished Service Crosses of the respective military branches and the Purple Heart.

Our bill, H.R. 3352, a companion bill of Senate bill 1998, now has 110 cosponsorships with, as Ranking member Conyers stated, 73 Democrats and 37 Republicans.

H.R. 3352 has been endorsed by numerous veterans and law enforcement organizations, including the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the FBI Agents Association.

The Stolen Valor Act may well be the most sweeping legislation affecting military awards since the Medal of Honor review of 1917, during which this criteria for awarding our Nation's highest military award was strengthened. During the 1917 review, Congress began establishing a series of lesser awards which has evolved to become the Pyramid of Honor. This is a series of medals awarded to members of the military in increasing levels of importance and prestige.

Subsequent to this review of 1917, little had been legislated in regard to these awards beyond authorization of new awards or slight changes in the awards process. Additionally, the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 restores a precedent established by General George Washington. This was when he first instituted our first individual military award in 1782.

In his General Orders issued from his headquarters in Newburg, New York, on August 7, 1782, General Washington established the Badge for Military Merit, which in 1932 was revised as the Purple Heart. General Washington noted the following point with regard to military awards: ``Should any who are not entitled to these honors have the insolence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished.''

The success of the Stolen Valor Act is notable because both Democrats and Republicans from both Houses have worked together in a unique display of teamwork on behalf of our brave men and women in uniform.

Mr. Speaker, it is time to protect and honor those who have earned the right to wear these prestigious medals.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on Senate bill 1998, the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a woman who made a difference to so many people in the community of Pueblo, CO.

Ersilia Cruz left her community a better place.

Ersilia Cruz, who was a driving force for Hyde Park and ``remodeling the West Side,'' as she put it, died of a stroke Friday. She was 75.

She helped bring the Cesar Chavez Academy and, most recently, the Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School to Hyde Park. She was director for many programs at the Hyde Park Community Center, was active at church and, her family said, had strong interests in the community and children.

Her son Steve said that Ersilia decided to stay alive long past when she was supposed to because ``she wanted to talk to everyone before she left. She wasn't going until everyone in the family talked to her, and the whole week was like that. She was all family. That's what she stood for, and it was a neat experience for our family.''

The recipient of several local, State and national awards, Cruz's most distinguished was probably the Dorothy Richardson Award in 2003, for which she was flown to Washington.

That same year she also had a street in Hyde Park named after her, called Cruz Court.

In the 1970s, Cruz operated G&E Grocery Store and later worked for Kwik Way and PDQ convenience stores, from which she retired while a manager.

Cruz is survived by her husband of 59 years, George. The two met and wed in Mora, NM.

Mrs. Cruz also is survived by 20 grandchildren, 22 great- grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter.

The entire community of Pueblo, CO, will miss Ersilia Cruz.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of retired Lieutenant Colonel James M. Greco of Canon City, Colorado--a beloved husband of 37 years, father of two, corrections official and veteran, who passed away on November 27th.

It was a privilege to know Jim and I offer my deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Jim was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Washington, PA. After graduation, Jim enlisted as a United States Marine and served in Vietnam in 1965.

Jim earned his B.A. from Northwestern Oklahoma State University, an M.A. from Oklahoma City University, and an M.A. from the Army Command and General Staff College. He received an Army Reserve Commission in 1974 and retired in 2004, after having served a decorated and distinguished military career.

Jim worked as a corrections official with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 25 years, holding various assignments throughout eight states.

Prior to his death, he worked as a defense contractor and was scheduled to deploy to Africa later this month in support of ongoing military operations worldwide.

But Jim will be remembered most as a kind and gentle soul, whose charisma and caring nature endeared him to his many friends and family members.

Although Jim left us at far too young an age, he made the most of every day that he spent on this earth. We can all learn from his example.

For his dedication, courage and service to our nation, he will be greatly missed. But he will live on in the memories of the many people whose lives he touched.

May he rest in peace.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota.

I have been a farmer and rancher all of my life, still live on the original family farmstead that my great great grandfather settled back in 1860. Horses have been a real part of the way we do business on the Salazar ranch. As a matter of fact, we still use horses to round up cattle and move them from pasture to pasture.

I know that H.R. 503 is a well-intended act, but if it becomes law, it will have very poor results.

The act will seriously, in my opinion, compromise horse welfare. Under this bill, care must be potentially provided for the additional 90,000 horses that are going to be out there annually.

It will eliminate a humane end-of-life option for horse owners and force them to send their horses out to already overcrowded rescue centers or sentence them to live out their final years in suffering.

Processing provides a cost-effective alternative to neglect and abandonment when horse owners are unable to find another buyer. It is not such a problem out in rural areas, but it is a major problem in urban areas.

In 2005 alone, it saved owners and rescue facilities an estimated $220 million in total costs of caring for unwanted horses.

The Animal Welfare council estimated that cumulative annual maintenance costs of otherwise processed horses since the year 2000 would have exceeded more than $513 million in 2005. It would cost $1,900 per year to house each unwanted and abandoned horse, not including veterinary or farrier services. It will cost $127 million in the first year to properly care for these animals if this legislation is enacted.

Who will pay for this cost? You will pay for the cost in the end. These facilities do not receive public money at the moment; but I can assure you that if these horses become a nuisance, you, the taxpayer, will end up paying for their care.

H.R. 503 does not specify who will bear the costs of the ban if this ban is

implemented. What will happen to the management tools the Bureau of Land Management has to manage the wildlife of wild horse bans out in the western United States? If this bill is enacted, none of these horses who are unwanted, and although BLM does try to auction them off or to give them to pet owners, what will happen to those horses? What will happen when I am out riding, rounding up my cattle and my horse falls into a prairie dog hole and breaks his leg? Will I then not be able to send him to some rendering facility? What will happen or what is the next step? Will people take away our right to be able to go out and hunt elk? Is that the next step?

I know that H.R. 503 is a well-intended act, but it will have very serious consequences on our agricultural community. I would urge my colleagues to oppose the ban of horse slaughter and to vote ``no'' on

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I have been around horses all of my entire life. Do you consider the slaughtering of animals such as beef inhumane?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an upstanding member of my community. Frank Romero passed away on Monday, July 24, 2006. He was 77.

Frank was a good man whom I knew well. He was a man committed to his family, his community and the Lord.

Frank spent 20 years as the treasurer for Conejos County. In that time, he produced some of the best audit reports the county had ever seen.

Frank was a tireless advocate for agriculture in the San Luis Valley. A farmer and rancher himself, Frank was connected to the land and knew the value of a hard day's work.

In our community, Frank was a servant in the true sense of the word through his work in the Knights of Columbus and other organizations.

Frank will be remembered as a loving family man, a devoted public servant and a genuinely good man. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, dancing, welding, traveling, reading, working on his ranch, snowmobiling and all outdoor activities with his family.

My heart goes out to Frank's family including his wife Philomena and his many children and grandchildren. I would like to express my personal gratitude for Frank's friendship.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative Simmons for introducing House Concurrent Resolution 347. This resolution honors the National Association of Veterans Homes and the 119 State veterans homes across this great country.

State veterans homes are essential to the continuum of care for our aged and disabled veterans. In the upcoming years, State veterans homes will play an even greater role in providing elderly and disabled veterans with dignified and compassionate care because our veteran population is aging. Nationwide, the number of veterans most in need of long-term care, those 85 years and older, will jump to 1.3 million by the year 2012.

State homes represent more than a century-old State-Federal partnership that has greatly benefited our parents and their families. Colorado is home to six of these facilities. I have been fortunate enough to visit five of them, and I have seen the fantastic care that they provide firsthand. I am particularly proud of the Colorado State veterans center at Homelake and Monte Vista, Colorado. It has been caring for Colorado veterans and their families for over 110 years.

Madam Speaker, this resolution reinforces Congress's strong bipartisan support for the State homes, and it sends a signal to this and future administrations that we will continue the per diem support of the State homes. Madam Speaker, this is a good resolution, and I urge my colleagues to give it their support.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley). I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 125, a resolution supporting the goals of Hire a Veteran Week, and I thank Mr. Holt of New Jersey for sponsoring this great legislation.

Every day, the men and women of our Armed Forces sacrifice to protect and preserve our way of life whether by putting themselves in harm's way or by enduring time away from their loved ones at home.

Each year, 200,000 servicemembers separate from military service and hope to enjoy the privileges and opportunities they sacrificed to preserve, but many veterans face difficulties in entering the civilian workforce when they come home. This resolution expresses our support for our country's newest veterans, and it urges the President to call on all levels of government and the private sector to back up our support with action.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and to support its spirit, to do everything we can to help our veterans transition into civilian life and to ensure that they are given all the benefits they sacrificed to secure.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt)

Madam Speaker, I would like to, once again, commend Mr. Holt for his tireless effort on veterans issues. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3082, as amended, the Veterans Small Business Administration and Memorial Affairs Act of 2006. This bill incorporates a host of important measures aimed at improving employment and small business opportunities for servicemembers and veterans, as well as provisions to enhance the VA's capability to honorably memorialize our fallen soldiers and heroes and comfort their families.

I would like to thank Chairman Buyer and Ranking Member Lane Evans for their leadership in the full committee, as well as all of my colleagues on the full committee for their assistance in moving this bill to the floor today.

I especially want to express my appreciation to the chairman and ranking member of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, Congressman John Boozman of Arkansas and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth of South Dakota, for all their hard work and bipartisan leadership on the subcommittee this session.

I look forward to the committee beginning discussions with the Senate to ensure passage of a bipartisan, bicameral veterans' benefits package for this year. I know that the veterans of my State of Colorado and all the veterans of this great country will appreciate the important benefits and memorial improvements that we have included in this legislative measure.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 3082, as amended, incorporates important provisions from a number of Members interested in improving the quality of life of our veterans. Specifically, this legislation would provide greater incentives for the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue to improve its performance with respect to contracting with veteran- owned small businesses.

It would enhance employment counseling, job training and credentialing services for servicemembers transitioning out of the military and seeking to enter the civilian workforce. The legislation also seeks to improve the veterans' education claims processing system.

Additionally, in the area of memorial affairs, the bill would authorize the VA to provide State cemetery grants to tribal governments seeking to establish, expand or improve State veterans' cemeteries. And finally, it would make permanent the VA's authority to provide headstones and markers for veterans interred in private cemeteries.

Madam Speaker, the VA National Cemetery Administration consistently ranks as one of the best agencies in government. We, in Congress, must continue to do all we can to assist NCA to remain at the top.

Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 3082, as amended, and appreciate the work of the committee and the staff in developing these measures in a bipartisan and professional manner. The servicemembers, veterans and military families of this Nation have earned and deserve our best efforts here in Congress. Indeed, they deserve even more.

I urge all the Members to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to a valued member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, the distinguished gentleman from New Mexico (Tom Udall).

Madam Speaker, I would also like to thank my colleague from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) for his tireless efforts in addressing the veterans issues of this great country

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

I thank the gentlewoman and thank you for your commitment to our veterans in this great country.

Mr. Speaker, this country owes no greater debt of gratitude than it does to its veterans and military service personnel. Throughout the history of this great Nation, men and women have heard the call to service and have done so to defend freedom and democracy. I would like to take this time to personally express my gratitude to our veterans and our military men and women serving right now in places near and far around the globe.

When these brave men and women sign up for service in the military, our government makes certain promises to them, promises that are all too often forgotten or neglected later on. They are promised lifelong health care within the VA system, they are promised educational benefits, and they are promised that their spouses will be taken care of if they are killed in action or die from a service-connected cause. Mr. Speaker, I do not think that we are holding up our end of the bargain.

Let me just address a few of the failures that we have seen this year. Let me talk shortly about the budget shortfall.

This Congress, over the past year and a half, has been witness to monumental failures at the VA. First, we watched the VA come up short in its 2005 budget. We were told that the administration had not anticipated the number of claims from returning soldiers. A $1.5 billion budget shortfall is simply unacceptable.

I was happy when we passed emergency supplemental funding for our veterans which was not impaired. We cannot forget that part of the continuing cost of the war on terrorism is providing for our veterans. With that in mind, I offered an amendment to the Iraq war supplemental we passed earlier this year. In this bill, setting out billions of dollars for the ongoing cost of the war on terrorism, I asked for a mere $630 million to ensure that the VA did not fall short on its budget again this year. This amendment was ruled out of order during debate on the bill.

What is out of order, Mr. Speaker, is the short-sighted nature of the decision made by the majority and the administration. That $630 million seems like a small price to pay for mental health services, prosthetic research, and administrative support for those men and women who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially when the VA is still seeing more returning servicemembers than they anticipated.

Let me talk briefly about the second failure, that of theft. On May 3, a lap-top containing the personal information of 26.5 million veterans and 2.2 million active duty service personnel was stolen from the home of a VA employee. This sheds light on a severe problem within the VA. It took 19 days from the date of the theft for VA to notify Congress and the public.

I introduced H.R. 5588. This would allow for fraud alerts, credit freezes, credit monitoring, new notification requirements for VA, and it would require the VA to establish a new IT security protocol. The House Veterans' Affairs Committee marked up, just this last week, H.R. 5835, the Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act of 2006. It helps protect veterans by offering an assortment of credit protection tools, credit freezes, fraud alerts, monitoring, and it centralizes the VA IT security with a new Under Secretary position and new notification requirements.

Mr. Speaker, I would yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania to talk a little bit about the budget shortfalls within the VA system.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman.

If the gentlewoman will continue to yield, today I would also like to address the issue of backlogs, and I would like to mention another troubling fact that we are facing with the VA backlogs. We have patients that are seeking medical attention and they are on waiting lists, and these waiting lists can take as long as 180 days to get through. Can't we do better than 180 days?

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you a story about a friend of mine, classmate of mine in high school, who served in the military at the same time as I did. He called me when I was a State representative Colorado and mentioned that he couldn't get in to see a VA doctor and that he was having massive chest pains. And it was shortly after that that we were finally able to get him into the VA hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And we were lucky because what the doctors told him was that if he had not gotten the immediate medical attention, he would have died within 5 days. They performed heart bypass surgery, five bypasses, the next day.

So it scares me that nearly 25 percent of the cases that are waiting have been pending over 180 days. I think this means that almost 100,000 veterans in this country have been waiting to find out how they can access the system. And I do not think that that even begins to account for the hundreds of thousands of vets waiting just to get in to see a doctor. Mr. Speaker, I think this is wrong, wrong, wrong.

I thank the gentlewoman, and that is correct. In my district alone, I have 75,000 veterans that we service.

When the VA actually made the original budget, they had figured that they would treat one out of every five veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan for mental disabilities. It now turns out that they are treating one out of every three.

So with that I would like the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania to talk a little bit about the mental health and the posttraumatic stress disorder that veterans have when they come back from such terrible wars.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to talk a little bit about our GI Bill of Rights for the 21st century.

The promise that was made to our servicemen and women with respect to education, I think, should be kept. As it stands now, Reserve and National Guard soldiers are not eligible for the same educational benefits as active-duty personnel. This disparity of access is simply unacceptable. Currently, close to 50 percent of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are National Guardsmen and Reservists.

House Democrats are introducing the new GI Bill of Rights for the 20th Century to honor the bravery of our troops and the tremendous sacrifices that their families have made. The National Guard and Reserves have made extraordinary contributions, making up about 50 percent of the troops in Iraq.

The new GI Bill of Rights honors that contribution with provisions that protect their income, to help more than 40 percent of those call up who have suffered pay cuts to serve our country. We

have had stories of families that are struggling because they are not making the same amount of money since the spouse left and he is off fighting a war and taking a pay cut. Stories of soldiers losing their homes and families out on the street. I think this is totally unacceptable.

It also expands military health care to provide full access to TRICARE, the military health care program, to all members of the Guard and Reserve and their families for a low fee.

Finally, the package improves recruitment and retention incentives and bonuses for the reserves so that they are more equitable relative to those of the active-duty components.

Not only is this just and fair, I think it is necessary, given the recruiting and retention problems facing the Reserve and National Guard these days.

While I am proud to say that House Democrats have taken the lead on this issue, we will not be able to realize this reform without the support of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I look forward to working with all Members of this House, as well as our Nation's military and service organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to just tell you a little story of someone who was my hero, and that was my father. He was a World War II staff sergeant who served during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

When he was 82 years old, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. As the disease progressed, he slowly started to forget things. But about the age of 84, one morning we were sitting around my mother's kitchen table there and we heard my father fumbling back in his bedroom, and he came out shortly after that and in his hand he had his World War II staff sergeant uniform. He told us, ``I want to be buried in this uniform.''

We are taught not to argue with Alzheimer's patients, so we said, ``Sure dad, no problem.'' But as the disease progressed even more and more, he started forgetting more things. But every now and then he would bring up the fact, ``Please, I want to be buried in my uniform.''

Anyway, at the age of 86 he suffered a massive heart attack. My mother called me and I rushed over to the house, and I remember that when I picked him up from the floor to put him on the gurney to take him to the hospital, with the very last ounce of strength that he had in his body he reached up around my neck and he told me that he loved me, and the very last word that my father ever said to me was ``uniform.''

We buried my father in his uniform. But to many veterans, the only thing that they have to hold on to is this great country, because they served with such pride and passion. So it is our duty as Members of Congress now to keep our promise to those veterans.

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I commend my colleagues for their work and dedication to preserving the benefits of our Nation's veterans. We must never forget the sacrifice that they have made in the defense of freedom.

On a personal note, I would like to express my most heartfelt gratitude to Congressman Lane Evans, our distinguished ranking member on the Veterans Committee. Lane is a Marine who fought hard for veterans, and he has been a true inspiration and mentor to me in my first term here in Congress. I know that I will miss him, as many of us will, and I wish him the best of luck in retirement.

In the transportation committee, we have asked for an $18 million supplemental to construct an above-ground tunnel for the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado. These are the folks that actually do the first responder training in many instances. You have seen the bombings of the subways in Europe, and you look at how vulnerable we are here in this country. And being able to construct that tunnel, we can train our first responders in such a way that we don't have to interrupt our subway services.

But I would like to talk a little bit also about something that is very near and dear to my heart when it comes to national security. I think that one of the most critical issues in national security is to make sure that this country never becomes dependent on another country to produce our food, as we have become dependent on other countries to produce our oil. So it really bothers me when, for example, in the ag committee we who are there to represent agriculture begin cutting programs that actually keep farmers and ranchers on the land, and farmers and ranchers who produce the greatest food supply in the world. And so I think that is critical. We must make sure that farmers and ranchers stay on the land and we have an adequate food supply.

You saw what happened when, during the first Gulf War when Saddam Hussein's troops had to give up because they didn't have enough food to eat. Let that never happen to our troops.

Can I ask a question here. This identity card that you are talking about, is this a biometric type of ID system, and will every American have to carry that?

Mr. Speaker, I have generally supported offshore oil and gas development in the past, but I cannot support this bill in its current form.

This bill goes beyond offshore exploration and reaches back into the energy bill to change a carefully written compromise on oil shale development. The district I represent is the largest reserve of oil shale in the Nation, and I have serious concerns that the provisions in this bill will speed along and encourage irresponsible development. Western Colorado has already experienced one boom and bust due to oil shale speculation. It ruined the lives of many families in the West, and I cannot support a policy which will lead to another.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill or to eliminate the oil shale provision.

Mr. Speaker, the leak of the sensitive personal information of millions of veterans and active duty military personnel by the Department of Veterans Affairs is a disgrace.

The information, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth and disability was taken from the VA to an employee's home via his laptop. When the laptop was stolen from his residence, the private, sensitive information of more than 26 million veterans and active duty troops were stolen with it, making them all potential targets for identity theft.

No employee of the Federal Government should have the ability to walk out of their office with that amount of personnel data on their computer. The administration needs to make sure that something like this never happens again.

The VA must also work with Congress to provide assistance to the millions of victims of this leak without affecting veterans' benefits. Veterans should have the resources made available to them free of charge to monitor their credit reports for suspicious action.

If any of our veterans or troops become victims of identity theft because of the security breach, they should not be held responsible. After all, it was by no act of their own that their personal information was compromised.

Last night, I introduced H.R. 5588, a bill that would ensure the veterans are protected in case of their stolen identity.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, last week the VA revealed that private information for over 26 million veterans was stolen from an employee's home weeks ago, putting their identities and credit at risk.

Mr. Speaker, my father used to have a saying that the more that you poke at a cow pie, the more that it stinks. Well, for nearly 2 weeks the administration insisted that the stolen data only contained the veterans' names, birth dates and Social Security numbers.

On Tuesday, though, the administration revised their story again. So what is the real story? We know that the stolen data contained personal information of more than 2.2 million active duty personnel. Yesterday over 145 Members joined me in a letter to President Bush urging him to take action and help those affected to recover from this security breach.

We have introduced legislation, H.R. 5455, that would be the first step in giving veterans access to 1 year of free credit monitoring. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill.

Mr. Speaker, this last month has been an embarrassing display of the VA consistently failing to provide timely information about the severity and scope of the data. The delays and misinformation have hurt veterans and military personnel. It has hurt them at a time when we should be taking aggressive steps to protect their identities and financial standing.

Our veterans and our troops deserve answers and action right now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate the Pueblo Government Agencies Federal Credit Union on the occasion of its 70th anniversary. This credit union has served the residents of Pueblo well. PGAFCU's mission is to promote thrift among its members by giving them an opportunity to save money, thus accumulating and investing the savings of the members and to make loans to its members which promise to be of benefit to the borrower.

The Pueblo Government Agencies Federal Credit Union was founded on June 9, 1936 by ten Pueblo postal employees who brought together a group of federal agency employees to form a credit union for the purpose of improving the financial lives of its members. Today, the Credit Union has more than 4,200 members serving current and retired federal agency employees, their family members and other special groups in Pueblo and Southeastern Colorado.

The friendly, hometown service combined with a wide variety of personalized, high-quality financial services has truly enriched the lives of many residents in my Congressional District. I am proud to represent an organization that so aptly embodies the values of a small town financial institution while offering much-needed financial services to the Pueblo community.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Pueblo Government Agencies Federal Credit Union on the occasion of their 70th anniversary and I commend them for the service they provide to the many federal government employees and their families in Southeastern Colorado.