Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my strong support for this supplemental funding. Like some of the other speakers we have heard tonight, I returned from Iraq just 2 weeks ago. I was part of a congressional delegation, a bipartisan delegation, that came from all sorts of views. Some had strongly supported the resolution, some strongly spoke out against it, others were more cautious, and some questioned why now and how much. But I can say from that bipartisan congressional delegation, we came back and unanimously said, after seeing it, we truly understand, first of all, what is being done there and how well it is being done.

It is startling, startling, Mr. Chairman, the contrast in what we saw and what we hear here; what the American people hear and the people all over the world hear, because it is not at all what we saw.

First of all, it is startling because of Saddam Hussein's presence, his palaces, the gilding, the money that has been socked away, and then of course the mass graves that we have heard about today. The one we went to had 3,000 bodies that were discovered, the remains of men, women, and children as young as 2 years of age, shot in the back of the head and dumped in those mass graves. Some were not shot. Perhaps they ran out of ammunition, perhaps they got tired and they just threw them living into those graves.

Then, Mr. Chairman, we saw the citizens, citizens living in poverty and citizens who had lived in terror for years. And I object to the term rebuilding, because people think, when we say rebuilding, it is what we destroyed. That is not the situation at all. What we are doing is building, because we went to a country that was not without assets. In fact, the oil reserves were second only to Saudi Arabia. But we had a leader who would not put those assets back into his own country. Instead, he stole those assets and used them to buy guns, but he did not keep up the infrastructure of his country.

We visited, for instance, a power plant, unlike any I have ever seen, because it was held together by rope and hope and rust. The engines themselves, the plant itself was so badly in need of not repair, but in need of a new facility.

We went to a hospital, the largest in Baghdad. We went to a maternity ward, and I have never seen equipment like that in my lifetime, perhaps in old movies of World War I or World War II; but I saw terrible conditions, where the roof was leaking so much there was water on the floor. We went to a neonatal unit where a child died that day because we saw such terrible equipment. No backup. They had electricity

that was on 3 hours, off 3 hours. We saw a country where, with all those assets, they should have had a modern hospital; instead they had infant mortality as high as India. So I am absolutely in support of this.

We did have a stunning military victory, but we have not finished the job. We owe it to the men and women in that country, from our country and the Coalition forces that have lost their lives in Iraq, to keep our promise and to say we will let you finish the job.

The most telling comment was that of General Sanchez, when he said, ``We will not win this militarily. We will win it by winning the hearts and the minds of the Iraqi people.'' So we need to keep our promises and let them enjoy and understand some of what we have in this country: the freedom, the opportunity, the ability to pursue the happiness that they have not had. It is that possibility, the possibility of having that in that part of the world which will be a real victory, because they can understand what we enjoy and they can be a part of that.

So this supplemental has my very strong support. I went back to my district and told everyone, this is what you need to know, because it is not what you are hearing anyplace else.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding elementary school in my district. As a former school teacher, it is my distinct pleasure to honor Rufino Mendoza Elementary School in Fort Worth, TX. Recently, Mendoza was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a national ``Blue Ribbon school.''

Rufino Mendoza Elementary was recognized for outstanding academic improvement, and Mendoza has worked very hard to achieve this honor. Mendoza has overcome incredible odds to offer the very finest education possible. Ninety-seven percent of the students at Mendoza Elementary school are of a minority background, and 87 percent of those students come from low-income families. In fact, most of the students qualify for the free lunch program, and 56 percent speak Spanish as their primary language.

In the past 4 years, Mendoza has moved from being simply ``acceptable'' to being an example of excellence for all schools across the Nation. Mendoza recognized its educational challenges 4 years ago and designed a plan to directly meet those challenges. Mendoza Elementary called together school administrators, teachers, and school district officials in a cooperative agreement to study the needs of each student. The result is an education system that is based on the needs and potential of every student.

I am very proud of the students, parents, teachers, and administrators at Rufino Mendoza Elementary. Thanks to their hard work, Mendoza is a symbol of hope and achievement for students in our community and across this Nation.

Rufino Mendoza Elementary, congratulations on being named a Blue Ribbon school.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding.

The night is long; so I will be brief. But I was a part of a 17- member bipartisan delegation that left last Thursday after the last vote and then returned late last night. And as we left and as we arrived many hours later, we knew that there were people that were debating whether we should be in Iraq and how we got there. We spent the next days looking into the faces of men and women who fought there and assuring them that we were not going to cut and run, that we were going to make their sacrifices worth it and we were there to assure them that we would let them finish the job. As was mentioned earlier, General Rick Sanchez, he talked to us about what had occurred there and what needed to occur there, and he also told us the same thing, that winning this war would be winning over the hearts and the minds of the people of Iraq, and I certainly could not agree more.

What we saw in Iraq, first of all, were palaces, over a hundred of them, with beautiful crystal chandeliers and painted ceilings and gilded doors and a gilded thrown. Outside we saw statues and monuments built by Saddam Hussein and built there to glorify Saddam Hussein.

What else did we see? We visited a hospital in Baghdad, and not in my lifetime have I seen a hospital like that except in old movies, World War I and World War II, because we do not have hospitals with equipment that is that old. We saw a predelivery room with women waiting to deliver their babies in a room with a roof that leaked and air conditioners that did not work and faucets with rusted handles. We went to a power plant that was supposed to supply the power to Iraq, and it was held together with hope and rope and rust and baling wire. We were escorted there by a wonderful Marine lieutenant colonel who said as he went through that country he wondered if he would ever see a child with shoes on because none of them had shoes.

Is this a country without natural resources and assets? Is this a country that had no other choices? No, it certainly is not that country. It is a country with oil reserves second only to Saudi Arabia, that had land that was fertile and good for agriculture, had intelligent, caring people who wanted something better than that. Remember, this is a country that helped start the World Bank and at one time had an economy equal to Australia. But what had happened in this country, or what we understood what happened in that country, is Saddam Hussein.

We also visited a mass grave, much as what the gentleman had described; and we stood there and heard the story about that mass grave of 3,000 people identified because they had to put their identification in a plastic bag that was hung around their neck. So when that was discovered along with they think are over 100 graves like that, some as large as what the gentleman said, 10,000 remains, and as they tried to identify those people and go to those families and say to the people that they thought all these years were alive and in prison were in this mass grave, shot in the back of the head and then dumped into a grave and then sometimes, either because they ran out of ammunition or just got tired, they were not shot. They were just dumped into graves. What we saw and what we understood there in Iraq were businesses that were not started and educations that were not finished and babies who did not live. This is a country that has an infant mortality that is equal to India, one of the highest in the world. We saw children whose fathers just disappeared and lives that were lived in utter terror. We saw justice that was not delivered and protection that was not given.

So we came back, I say, as a bipartisan congressional delegation. We came back united in our resolve, regardless of where we were on the resolution before, but united in finishing the job that had been started; and I have thought ever since I got back and all day today, which I cannot get out of my mind, and I know as well as those who have spoken tonight, we have an opportunity to prove who we are and what we stand for. Sure, there are challenges. There are challenges. We could talk about the cost. Is it enough? Is it too little? Where do we get it? But we have an opportunity to help the people experience what we take for granted often, and that is our freedom, our protection, our system of justice, having a future, having a future for our children and grandchildren and say they can be what I am or better, they have that opportunity.

We have the opportunity to help the people of Iraq have that and then, of course, leave them in charge and leave, and leave them with a future that is full of hope. I left with the wonderfully uplifting feeling of being able to do what is right, both what is right for the people of Iraq but also what is right for the people, our people who are serving in uniform there, and just what is right as men and women of principle in this House, the opportunity that we have been given by the people.

So I would say I wish every Member of this House could do what we have done, to be there and to see that and talk to the people of Iraq and talk to our men and women who serve. I am glad the American people have the opportunity for us to tell about this, because it was something that I will never forget as long as I serve in this House, or be able to walk away and say what I am proud of. I appreciate the time to be able to relate that.

Absolutely. The highlight of any trip like that is to sit and break bread with the people who serve; and we always sit with people who are in our districts, but in my particular case the people of Texas overall. But amongst the men and women the morale was high. They knew why they were there. They were proud of what they were doing, and they could not wait to tell us. The experience and the expertise, the determination of those men and women is always something that is just astounding to me. Yes, the morale is very high. They know why they are there. They are anxious to get home to their families and get back to their jobs but very proud of what they are doing.

As one of the officers related, he said he went to the hospital to visit someone who had been injured badly, and he said he experienced what he always experiences when he says, what can I do for you. They always say, take me back to where I was; I want to finish the job.

Mr. Chairman, one of our greatest strengths as a Nation has always been our ability to move people and products more safely and efficiently than anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately, as we saw on 9/11, this strength makes our transportation infrastructure a tempting target for terrorists.

Those hijackers that turned four planes into missiles were not just trying to kill thousands, they were also trying to restrict our freedom of movement, our way of life. As people travel more and more, and further and further for business and pleasure, the potential for a large-scale loss of life and an attack involving an airplane, boat, train or truck grows.

While protecting innocent lives is our top priority in homeland security, we all know that serious economic consequences can result after a terrorist attack when it disrupts the flow of goods and people in America's transportation network. These disruptions do not just cost money for big corporations with stranded products, they raise grocery prices for families, cut the earnings of farmers, and cause small businesses to close their doors.

In recognizing the importance and vulnerability of America's transportation infrastructure, Congress has moved quickly to strengthen transportation security. Since 9/11, we have provided more than $10 billion to safeguard and will add $5 million more in this legislation.

I thank the gentleman, Mr. Speaker. I imagine that most of us in this House particularly admire or respect someone for various reasons: their use of power, their talent in persuasion, their deep commitment to a cause or an issue. I admire Larry Combest because he has the right balance of things. He knows what is really important in politics and in life. He maintains his dignity, his honesty, and his commitment while giving us his best for nearly 20 years.

He served this Nation and the State of Texas in an extraordinary way in standing firm for the farmers of this country, for rural America, and for business interests. Larry's quiet and often serious demeanor fooled me for a while, but we often get to really know each other in this House either by working on a particular issue together or by traveling together. That is how I got to know Larry and his wonderful wife, Sharon. You don't really know Larry until you have experienced the love and closeness that Larry and Sharon share.

This Congressman from west Texas has much to be proud of; but Larry would probably say, I am just doing my job. I will miss Larry in this Congress, we all will, but we could not do better than to pattern our service after his.

Mr. Speaker, over two months ago, the Federal Communications Commission adopted an order that will change the way it regulates broadband infrastructure. Under the old FCC rules, broadband provided by cable and satellite is essentially unregulated, but broadband provided by telephone companies is regulated like voice telephone service.

The FCC saw that this created regulatory winners and losers and decided in February to change some of its broadband rules and move in the direction of parity for broadband. The FCC's action was the first step in the process of putting telephone company-provided DSL service on the same regulatory footing as cable provided high-speed Internet service. While, in the same proceeding, the FCC failed to remove its burdensome and economically devastating rules on the unbundled network element platform (UNE-P), at least they started to move broadband regulation in the right direction. This will be a much-needed change in broadband regulatory policy, and I applaud the FCC for this aspect of its ruling.

Today, cable has more than two-thirds of the residential broadband market. To the consumer, the two services are fungible, but cable still dominates. Regulatory parity between DSL and cable modem service will result in more head-to-head competition between the two, creating better prices and new, innovative services. It will be a win-win for the consumer. The FCC should end its internal bickering and issue the text of the rules it adopted in February so the FCC can continue on the path to regulatory parity. Only then will our citizens realize the benefits of a fully-competitive broadband Internet market.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the tenth anniversary year of the James L. West Alzheimer's Care Facility in Fort Worth, Texas and to recognize the many accomplishments of its founding executive director, Moira A. Reinhardt, R.N.

The West Center, founded in 1993, was established in part by a major gift from the James and Eunice West Foundation and it continues to receive the support of many other generous North Texas foundations, individuals, corporations and organizations. The center was the Southwest's first free-standing facility devoted exclusively to the care of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders and has been nationally recognized for its excellence of care and its commitment to helping its residents maintain a restraint-free life style.

Moira A. Reinhardt, nationally known as a pioneer in the establishment and management of centers for Alzheimer's care, was selected as the West Center's first executive director. A native of Scotland, Ms. Reinhardt was trained as a medical/surgical nurse in Britain. She first established a home care program for the elderly in Scotland and then, inspired by the example of Mother Theresa, served the poor in Guatemala as a nurse in the British Overseas Volunteer Program. Ms. Reinhardt became a U.S. citizen September 17, 1996.

Before coming to Fort Worth and the West Center, Ms. Reinhardt was the founding executive director of the Pikes Peak Hospice, Inc., and later became the founding administrator of Namaste Alzheimer's Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

She has lent her expertise to both state and national boards dealing with health care for the elderly and in 1989 served as chairperson for the National Hospice Organization. Recently the directors of the West Center honored her by establishing the Moira A. Reinhardt Continuing Education Scholarship Fund to further the education of the Center's nursing staff and the city of Fort Worth proclaimed April 2, 2003 Moira A. Reinhardt Day.

I ask that the House of Representatives join me in recognizing the important role the James L. West Alzheimer's Care Center plays in the care of the elderly of North Texas and honoring Moira A. Reinhardt for her lifelong commitment to compassionate health care.

Madam Speaker, since September 11, 2001, Americans have had great lessons in what it means to be a hero. We realize more than ever that we owe a debt of gratitude to those patriots and their families who fight to protect our freedoms.

Today, I am rising to particularly recognize a man whose life is a lesson in heroism.

I did not know Sam Johnson before I campaigned to join him here in the Congress, but I knew him from his reputation and his record.

After I came to Washington, I read the book he wrote of his experiences in Vietnam. Although it is not a long book, and I am a pretty fast reader, I could not read it all in one sitting as I often do, because I would have to put the book down to wipe my eyes, because I have never known anyone to go through what he went through in the name of America.

He is being recognized today on the 30th anniversary of his release from a North Vietnamese prison camp in Hanoi, where he spent 7 years as a prisoner of war, 7 long years, 3\1/2\ in solitary confinement and 2\1/2\ in leg irons. During that time, he was a hero to all he came in contact with.

How did he come in contact with his fellow prisoners? By tapping a code on the wall and by memorizing 374 names of other prisoners, because he never lost hope of getting out of that confinement and bringing those names home.

For his service, he was awarded two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, one Bronze Star with Valor, two Purple Hearts, four Air Medals, three Outstanding Unit Awards, and the admiration, respect, and the appreciation of millions of Americans and Vietnamese.

That makes Sam a tough son of a gun, but he is also a man of great depth and great faith. On the 47th day of his confinement, a typhoon blew the window open for the first time and he said, ``I saw the sunrise, the trees; it was God in all His glory.''

I think God's glory shines through Sam Johnson. He is a hero to all of us and he certainly has been that to me.