Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, recently scientists in a lab in Chicago took a female human embryo and injected into it cells from a male human embryo, creating what they called a mixed-sex embryo.

In the name of progress, some scientists are pushing the limits of medical ethics with their experimentation and toying with human life, and this is what happened in Chicago last week. But the fact that it happened opens the door to even further laboratory experiments in manufacturing human life.

The effect of unethical research is that it turns human life into a commodity to be bought and sold to the highest bidder or to the most advanced laboratory. The more scientists do this type of experimentation, the more likely we will face a situation described in science fiction books where humans are mass produced in laboratories. We should not go down that road.

What can Congress do about it? We can start by sending the President a cloning ban to sign into law. The other thing we can do is to fund good ethical research.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, recently I heard an amazing story. For 22 years, Jawad Amer Sayed was a dead man. Instead of fleeing into exile as a member of the Iraqi opposition group, he decided to stay; and for 22 years, he hid inside a false wall he built between two rooms in his home.

On April 10, the day after Saddam Hussein fell from power, Sayed emerged from his hideaway, to the amazement of relatives and friends. Only his mother, younger brother and two sisters knew what had happened to him. Everyone else thought he was dead.

Saddam Hussein murdered millions. Not only did he kill those opposed to him; he tortured them and their families, and his brutality forced millions into exile from fear. Sayed's story is a testament to that fear. Rather than torture and death, Sayed chose solitary confinement.

There are millions of Iraqis like Sayed who have come out of hiding into the light of day. Now they can talk about freedom. Now they can protest. Now they can worship freely. Now they can express opinions about their government, and now they can choose something other than death or confinement. They can choose liberty.

Mr. Speaker, a couple of months ago, a North Korean ship, the Pong Su, was captured while trying to transfer $80 million worth of heroin to a fishing boat off the coast of Australia. This incident confirms that the rogue regime of Kim Jong Il is selling drugs to tighten his grip on power and prolong his reign of terror.

The evidence tying this evil regime to the drug trade is overwhelming. One of the 26 people aboard the Pong Su was a member of the North Korean ruling party who served as a senior envoy in Pyongyang's embassy in Beijing.

At a recent hearing in the Senate, a former high-ranking North Korean official testified that Kim Jong Il has personally designated land in North Korea for the growth of opium. And U.S. State Department officials have concluded that the illegal drug program is sanctioned by the North Korean Government, who is using it to fund its weapons programs.

This incident is a reminder that North Korea will stop at nothing to expand its nuclear arsenal.

Mr. Speaker, should the United States allow its military and political leaders like General Tommy Franks, Colin Powell and Vice President Cheney to be tried for war crimes in Belgium? Some bureaucrats in Belgium would like to think so. Trying to be a player on the world stage, it adopted a universal jurisdiction law supposedly giving Belgian courts jurisdiction over war crimes committed anywhere in the world. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld did the right thing by saying we would not spend taxpayer money to support the new NATO headquarters in a country that could prosecute our soldiers and leaders. Maybe it is time that we even think of moving

the NATO headquarters to a more friendly country.

Belgium should not turn its legal system into a platform for divisive politicized lawsuits against her own NATO allies. No civilian or military leader could go to Brussels without fear of harassment from Belgium's courts enforcing spurious charges against them. The bureaucrats in Brussels and around the world who think they can wield unlimited global judicial power without being elected by anyone should be stopped.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of H. Res. 264 expressing sympathy for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Algeria on May 21, 2003.

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, can wreak havoc in a community or nation.

At times like these, it is vital to come to the support and aid of our friends.

I am pleased that our nation has assisted the Algerians in the emergency phase of their response to the earthquake and I encourage our government to support the Algerians as they seek to rebuild their homes and communities.

Algeria is an important partner and friend of the United States in many respects, not the least of which is in the war against terror--the Algerians have experienced the horrors of terrorism in their own land for many years.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, in the past week, in scenes reminiscent of Eastern Europe in the last days of the Soviet domination, students in Tehran took to the streets in protest against Iran's brutal, repressive government. They were a vivid reminder that a lot of Iranians want more freedom in how they live their lives.

But it was not just students demonstrating. On Sunday, several hundred intellectuals, including several clerics, issued a statement supporting the right of Iranians to criticize the government. These patriots do not want to be told what to think, what to wear, what to read, what to watch, how to behave; and they are frustrated at the slow pace of change.

The demonstrations are evidence enough that freedom-loving people in Iran are growing in numbers and boldness.

Instead of complaining about what we have not found in the Middle East countries, let us appreciate what we have found, people longing for the same freedoms that we enjoy.

Mr. Chairman, it is important that in determining the EAS eligibility for a small airport the Secretary define a consistent standard for identifying the commonly used route.

It is my hope that the Secretary would use the most reliable mapping capability to determine this route, such as the Rand McNally mapping system.

Further, to ensure that small airports receive a fair shake in the EAS eligibility process, my amendment requires that the Secretary consult with the Governor of the State or the Governor's designee.

In appointing a designee if the Governor so chooses, the Governor should consider designating a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) to submit a plan for the most commonly used route. An MPO knows the routes that people take from one point to another in a particular region.

My amendment was drafted to ensure that, while the Secretary of Transportation has discretion, the local community should not be shut out of the process.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to America's fathers.

Mr. Speaker, we often hear negative comments about fathers and fatherhood. We hear a lot about ``deadbeat dads'' and absent fathers.

It's easy to forget that there are millions of American fathers who love their wives and their children. They get up every morning and go to work to support their families. They go to baseball games and ballet performances and school plays. They help their kids with their homework, chaperone proms and mow the lawn. They treat their wives with respect and model healthy relationships. They make sacrifices and invest in the next generation.

Current research shows that these daily acts of responsibility and faithfulness have a major impact on child well-being. We also know that marriage is the foundation of responsible fatherhood, and that fathers who are married to the mothers of their children are more likely to be involved in their children's lives.

According to the National Fatherhood Initiative:

The best predictor of father presence is marital status. Compared to children born within marriage, children born to cohabiting parents are three times as likely to experience father absence, and children born to unmarried, non-cohabiting parents are four times as likely to live in a father-absent home.

In a longitudinal study of 2,500 children of divorce, twenty years after the divorce less than one-third of boys and one-quarter of girls reported having close relationships with their fathers. In contrast, seventy percent of youths from the comparison group of intact families reported feeling close to their fathers.

But, we don't need statistics to tell us that committed, involved father's are essential to the preservation of the family.

Yesterday, thousands of families in my district celebrated Father's Day. Amid all the distractions of our society, many stopped, for just a minute, to honor ``Dad.''

It seems that politics and social change and the faddish nature of our culture have not been able to erase the enduring value of fatherhood and the imprint that father's have in my district and across this great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned that the negotiations over the Western Sahara for the past decade have all been for nothing.

Former Moroccan Minister of Interior Driss Basri recently said, ``The Houston agreement did not come as a way to find a solution to the issue of Sahara. It came as a starting point of an American plan . . . and it will preserve the American interests,'' and as U.N. diplomat Marrack Goulding wrote, ``for enhanced autonomy for Western Sahara within the kingdom of Morocco.''

I find it deplorable and offensive that various officials of Morocco, the U.N., and the U.S. engaged in what amounted to a farce. They spent over $530 million and negotiated an agreement to hold a referendum for the people of Western Sahara without ever intending to hold that referendum.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a game. The people of Western Sahara agreed to a ceasefire on the basis that all parties would uphold the negotiated agreement of a free, fair, and transparent referendum for self-determination. The people of Western Sahara have no desire to suffer under the colonial rule of the kingdom of Morocco; and so the United States, the U.N., and Morocco should stop the game-playing and implement the referendum.

Mr. Speaker, Wal-Mart is our Nation's largest company and it is growing. The company plans to expands its workforce from 1.2 million to 3 million over the next 5 years, and it will build 48 million square feet of new retail space.

Fortune Magazine recently named Wal-Mart the Nation's most admired company. The retail chain offers its many products and selections in a family-friendly environment.

Recently, the retail chain has announced plans to cover four women's magazines it carries on its sales racks. The content on the covers of these magazines could offend customers and are inappropriate for children. It has

taken similar stands in the past to protect the families who shop at their stores.

Even during tough economic times, Wal-Mart has found ways to keep people coming through the door, and it has not sacrificed the principles Sam Walton has established.

Those family-friendly principles are part of Wal-Mart's success and have set the example for how retailers should act, regardless of the economic conditions or latest trends.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, the essential air service program is important for many small airports throughout the country. It helps smaller communities to connect with larger cities and their airports and facilitates travel, tourism, and economic development.

To be eligible to receive such assistance, the community where the airport is located must be greater than 70 miles from the nearest large or medium-hub airport according to the most commonly used highway route. However, the Department of Transportation does not always use a consistent standard in determining the most commonly used highway route, nor do they actually determine the most commonly used route. Sometimes they have use the most direct route, even if it means taking back roads.

In my congressional district, this has led to the Lancaster Airport to lose its eligibility for the EAS program. The Department, using the most direct route, determined Lancaster Airport to be 68.5 miles from the Philadelphia International Airport. However, the route they chose would take the average driver more than 3 to 4 hours to drive. It winds along the old Lincoln Highway through dozens of small towns. In fact, anybody from my district knows that this is probably the worst way to get to Philadelphia.

The most commonly used highway route, the one that locals know as the fastest, uses the Pennsylvania Turnpike or other highways; and this route may be 12 miles longer, but you can get to Philadelphia in half the time. Because the Department is using the wrong route, Lancaster Airport's only commercial air carrier ceased operations at the airport on March 23 of this year.

The air carrier maintained that current market condition, fewer passengers and high costs made it impossible to continue without investment from the EAS program. This issue affects other small airports throughout the country and could affect more if this issue is not addressed.

My amendment addresses this problem by requiring the Secretary of Transportation to define a consistent standard for determining the most commonly used route. It also requires the Secretary to consult with the Governor of the State in which the airport in question is located or the Governor's designee as to the most commonly used highway route between that airport and the nearest large or medium-hub airport. Essentially, my amendment seeks to inject predictability and common sense into the process for determining EAS eligibility. It is narrowly tailored to improve the EAS eligibility process without impeding on the Secretary's authority to determine eligibility. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach).

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Iowa, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), the ranking member and the chairman of the committee and the subcommittee for their support; and I yield the balance of the time to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).

Mr. Chairman, I yield back my time.

Mr. Speaker, last week the House was scheduled to consider the Family Time Flexibility Act. But some of our friends on the other side of the aisle opposed the idea of allowing workers to choose what their overtime is worth, so we did not get to vote on it.

When workers spend extra time at work, they should determine how much that time is worth, not employers and not politicians. This bill would allow them to do that. It gives employees the choice of how they are compensated for time they work over and above their normal work week.

In my district this is a big deal. There are a lot of hardworking people there who work a lot of overtime and a lot of close-knit families whose time is precious enough as it is. They should not be forced to take more money when what they need is some extra time at home.

But in order to appease special interests, our friends on the other side opposed this bill and prevented a vote on it. They opposed the right of workers to choose what is best for their families. They put the demands of big labor unions over the rights of parents to spend more time with their kids, and I think that is a crime.

Mr. Speaker, the offshore casino industry would like us to think that Internet gambling is a harmless activity that can be tamed by Federal regulation. The problem is, it cannot happen.

Proponents of regulation are selling it because it sounds reasonable. Their arguments for regulation are nothing but a smoke screen to cover up what is already illegal activity. They seem to be more interested in regulating around the law than taking legitimate action to stop illegal activity.

That is the bottom line. Internet gambling is illegal according to the Department of Justice and the FBI. However, there is no effective way to regulate it. The only way to stop it is to cut off the financial flow through the legal Internet casino industry, and that is what H.R. 2143 does.

H.R. 2143 does not define what is legal and what is illegal. It simply ensures that law enforcement has the means to stop illegal activity. It is time to pass the bill.

Mr. Speaker, partial-birth abortion is what some call getting away with murder on a technicality. By law, a baby who has taken a breath outside the womb is considered a human being, a person. No one would think of killing it. To kill him would be murder.

To get around this technicality, abortionists turn the baby around so they can partially deliver the baby feet first, like a breech birth. While the baby's head remains in the birth canal, then they stick him in the back of the neck with surgical scissors and suck out his brain. Because the baby's head is held inside the mother's birth canal, the law does not count it as murder. Therefore, it is called getting away with murder on a technicality.

This is one of the most disgusting ways of circumventing the law I can think of. How can we justify saying a baby who can live on its own is not allowed to survive simply because someone is holding its head inside its mother's body? We cannot, not if we believe in the dignity of human life.

But we can stop this terrible procedure and save thousands of lives of healthy babies who are dying every year. Vote for this bill and close this loophole that allows people to literally get away with murder and infanticide.