Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I originally had drafted an amendment which would have de-funded a position at the Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine, which funded a bureaucrat for which we have been embattled in trying to protect one of my constituents, a small business located in my district.

I will not be offering that amendment and instead will be engaging in a colloquy with the chairman of the subcommittee, and so I appreciate his yielding to me.

Let me provide the chairman some background, since I know this issue is

fairly new to him, and I want to state the facts for the record here. In my district, I am proud to represent a third generation small family-owned business that manufactures veterinary pharmaceuticals. These are pharmaceutical, drugs, for cows, chickens, and pigs. They found a niche market where there was a monopoly player. They went out to engage in competition with this particular pharmaceutical manufacturer in a certain type of antibiotic for pigs and chickens.

They also found there was a firm in the Kansas City area that held a license for this particular drug. And by the way, this particular antibiotic drug has been approved by the Center for Veterinary Medicine for over 40 years and, as I stated earlier, was already being distributed by a soon-to-be competitor.

Now, this company in Omaha, Nebraska, wrote to the Center for Veterinary Medicine inquiring about the status of that drug and that license and received approval from the FDA to purchase that license and engage in the manufacture and selling of that approved drug. At the appropriate time, Mr. Chairman, I will submit a copy of that letter for the Record, but I will paraphrase here.

Director of the CVM says in this letter regarding that license and that drug, ``You may rely on this letter to verify the approved status of the product.''

That was in about 2002, when they engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution of this antibiotic. In August of 2003, the FDA, with absolutely no warning, in the rules and regs published the suspension of that license, stating that there was ``confusion about the license,'' which was certainly news to my constituents.

Now, when they asked about the confusion, there was no answer, no clarity provided by the Center for Veterinary Medicine, which left them with one procedural option, which was a hearing. They have still not received that hearing.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, it came to a boiling point this last week when they at last sat down with my constituent. Mr. Sundlof and Mr. Beaulieu, his counsel, sat down, and I will tell you, as reported to me from my constituent and his counsel, it was probably one of the ugliest meetings I have ever heard of from a constituent meeting with a Federal agency and bureaucrats. And, really, it was unacceptable behavior. I will not even mention the phrases and wording that they used because it would violate the House rules.

I felt that probably the best way of dealing with that, since we cannot do anything with bureaucrats that act this way, other than de- fund their positions, was to ask the chairman for some help and some guidance on how to deal with this particular situation; A, the treatment that my constituent received at this meeting, and particularly the problem that he is faced with right now, in having a letter saying you are approved and then a mysterious reversal of that.

So if the chairman has some words of wisdom and guidance for me, I would appreciate it.

Department of Health

& Human Services,

Rockville, MD, December 17, 1998.

Dr. Donald A. Gable,

Manager, Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs, Boehringer

Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., Elwood, KS.

Dear Dr. Gable: This letter will confirm receipt of your

certification letter dated November 17, 1998, as an amendment

to your letter dated September 18, 1998, sent to CVM in

response to my letter of July 29, 1998. The letter related to

NOPTRACIN' MD-50, (bacitracin methylene

disalicylate) Type A medicated articles which is the subject

of the NADA 141-137.

In accordance with my letter, your certification will be

used along with information in our files as the

administrative record of an approval for NADA 141-137, which

provides for a Type A Medicated Article,

Noptracin' MD-50 (bacitracin methylene

disalicylate) for use for the indications and under the

conditions of use specified in the labeling attached to your

letter.

The agency will begin the work of codifying the approval

via publication in the Federal Register. This task most

likely will be accomplished as part of an action affecting a

number of products currently listed in 21 CFR 558.15. We will

make every effort to bring this process to a conclusion as

rapidly as possible given resource constraints and public

health priorities. In the meantime, you may rely on this

letter to verify the approved status of NADA 141-137.

If you have any questions concerning the agency's position

regarding this NADA and the subject products, please do not

hesitate to call me.

Sincerely yours,

Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Director, Center for Veterinary Medicine.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman yielding me this additional time and the effort he and perhaps the appropriators may extend to see if we can change the dynamic here.

And I might note, Mr. Chairman, that the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham) is also apprised of this situation.

Offered By: Mr. Terry

Amendment No. 6: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time, and I do think it honors Doug by us doing this as a team approach. Certainly, though, you have taken much of the responsibility for tonight, and thank you for doing that.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) for as much time as he may consume.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his words of high praise.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), chairman of the Committee on Small Business.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), and I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), my very professorial friend, for his comments.

Madam Speaker, I yield at this time to my classmate and good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman coming down here to speak.

Frankly, this is my 6th year, and we have seen classmates come and go; but I do not know if I have seen a Member so balanced between Republicans and Democrats. Members have used words like collegial, diplomatic, intellectual, considerate, and friend when talking about the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter). And the fact is that we have already used up one full hour, and I too will miss the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter). What I will miss about Doug leaving this body is not only his friendship and his steady leadership and his counsel, but his quiet sense of humor, too.

I remember the only time in 6 years of serving with the gentleman I heard him, and it struck me as odd because he almost spoke ill of someone, there is a gentleman who has a particular reputation for harshness when he speaks, and Doug was speaking to me and then said, Wait, I want to listen to this person because he sometimes is a little too partisan when he speaks. I want to hear what he says.

That is as bad as he has ever said about anyone in this body, which is really rare.

Let me talk about the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) as just a person, because he was elected in 1978

at the age of 39. He and Louise had two elementary schoolchildren, boys, Kirk and Eric.

Madam Speaker, I will submit the rest of my statement in the Record.

Doug Bereuter has two sons, Kirk and Eric, one daughter-in-

law, and a grandson, Ethan.

Elected to Congress in November of 1978 at the age of 39,

Doug has served in the U.S. House of Representatives longer

than any citizen of the Cornhusker State.

He's won every election with at least 60 percent of the

vote. Last election he pulled in 85 percent of the vote.

During my first term here in the House of Representatives, I was lucky enough to have two of the most respected members of this body as my seniors in the Nebraska House Delegation. Bill Barrett, who has since retired, and the man we're here to honor today, Doug Bereuter.

I know everything that goes into moving a young family from Nebraska to Washington, DC. I did it myself after my first election. Granted, even though we made our move almost two decades later, it was still not easy. Eventually, my family and I left Virginia to go back to our home state of Nebraska, and I travel back and forth every week.

But this was not always an option. When Doug, Louise and his elementary school-aged boys got in the car and drove to Washington, the world was a different place. The options were limited to (a) move your entire family to D.C. or (b) go for weeks without seeing your loved ones.

One thing I've always liked about Doug and Louise is that, even though they chose option (a), they never left Nebraska behind. In 26 years, Doug has always been a true Nebraskan.

Those first years, there wasn't the direct flight from D.C. to Nebraska like there is now. Depending on the time of day, it's possible to be in our state in just a few hours. Doug, during his first years in Congress, spent many nights on the floor of O'Hare, thanks to the weather, to make the trip to Nebraska and back.

But he always did it, because that was what was required of him.

Sometimes, those sleepless nights in Chicago were trips back for one of his many, many town hall meetings. These are meetings that we all do. Doug would do between 30 and 45 town hall meetings a year. For over a quarter of a century. Just the thought of how many people he talked with, argued with, laughed with at these meetings is amazing.

Through the years, he was also able to get to know the towns and cities in his district very well. Not surprisingly, he always knows where to get good ice cream after a town hall meeting.

Speaking of snacks, I'm not sure if everyone knows that Congressman Bereuter loves popcorn, exactly as a good Cornhusker should. While my friend and colleague may never be known as a chef, he knows how to make popcorn.

Nebraskans have watched Doug's family grow up in their annual Christmas card, which always included a recipe and a drawing or picture by a family member.

They are a part of Nebraska, just as much as they would be had they grown up in Lincoln, Utica, or Oakland, Nebraska. His sons looked for and found jobs in Nebraska. In this quarter of a century, Doug's office has always been a little bit of home-away-from-home here in D.C.

I would also like to take a moment to compliment his staff. They are proud of the fact that even when a non-Nebraskan takes a job in their office, within a week they have them saying ``You bet'' and referring to ``pop'' instead of soda. It's little things like that which keeps the office in touch with Nebraska.

And they are loyal. Carol Lawrence, his press secretary, who is a wonderful person and has helped my office out on numerous occasions, has been with Doug since 1974, the same year my press secretary was born!

Mr. Chairman, today the House is considering the spending levels for the U.S. Federal Court system contained in H.R. 4754. Unfortunately for the State of Nebraska, it is not the level of funding for the Judiciary that is at issue, it is the failure of this Congress to address the problem of the loss of a Federal judgeship in Nebraska.

Since 1999, the judges of the Nebraska Federal District Court have requested Congress to either convert a temporary judgeship to a permanent one or at least extend the temporary judgeship. However, on November 22, 2003, even that last option was lost when the authority for the temporary position expired.

My colleagues in the Nebraska delegation have introduced legislation in this House and in the Senate to restore

this single judgeship. The Senate Bill, S. 878, passed in the Senate in 2003, but this House has yet to take action.

This situation has created a major hardship for our Federal judiciary in Nebraska. The Nebraska district has the third highest per judge criminal caseload in the country. It exceeds the caseloads of the districts like Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Miami. According to Nebraska Chief Judge Richard Kopf, ``The criminal caseload has exploded over the last 5 years. From 1998 to 2003, it has risen 97 percent.''

The chief judge has indicated that criminal cases take priority over all civil cases because of the United States Constitution, which requires that defendants have a speedy trial. This need to deal with the criminal docket has a major impact on lawyers and their clients with civil matters before the Federal courts.

Nebraska State Bar President John Grant has noted, ``Without the four judgeships, very few noncriminal cases will be handled. Cases concerning Social Security benefits, health insurance coverage, civil rights and personal injury are not going to be heard on a timely basis.''

This is an important issue to the State of Nebraska.

Mr. Chairman, it is with regret that I come to the floor today in opposition to this legislation--H.R. 4614, the Fiscal 2005 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. Unfortunately, this bill Fails to adequately address America's future energy needs.

I realize H.R. 4614 is about more than just energy, and it does contain some good provisions. There is funding for important flood control projects, scientific research, nuclear non-proliferation programs, and environmental cleanup.

But this legislation falls well short in the realm of energy, especially in this time of tight energy supplies and volatile energy prices. The most glaring shortfall is that it provides only 14 percent of the amount requested for construction of the nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The administration has stated that the Yucca Mountain facility will need to have about $1.3 billion a year if it is to meet the 2010 deadline for opening. This bill appropriates only $131 million for fiscal 2005.

Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on which I sit, overwhelmingly approved legislation introduced by Chairman Joe Barton (H.R. 3981) that would dedicate the next 5 years of receipts in the Nuclear Waste Fund to the construction of the Yucca Mountain facility, keeping the project on schedule. The Barton bill would also ensure that the fund would be used only for Yucca Mountain and not diverted by appropriators for other purposes.

Chairman Barton's legislation should have been attached to H.R. 4614. That was not permitted, and now this energy and water bill risks delaying the Yucca Mountain project--22 years after Congress first called for the creation of a single, secure repository for the Nation's spent nuclear fuel. Furthermore, it casts doubt on the growth of nuclear power, the cleanest, most abundant form of energy America has today.

My state of Nebraska is home to two nuclear power plants that provide almost a third of the electricity produced in our state. To date, Nebraskans have paid more than $216 million into the Nuclear Waste Fund. Yet our public power utilities are being forced to build additional storage space for spent fuel because we are still without a national repository. In fairness to the ratepayers, we must keep the Yucca Mountain project on track for completion by 2010.

The Yucca project is also essential to our security concerns. Today, 50,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel are scattered across the country, at 131 sites in 39 stated--including Nebraska. Oftentimes, these storage sites are near major cities and waterways.

Billions of dollars from U.S. electric consumers have already been invested in Yucca Mountain. It is the most suitable location for this repository. And with today's tough environmental standards and surging demand for electric power, nuclear energy must continue to play a substantial role in the Nation's energy portfolio. The bill on the floor today fails to recognize this.

I want to make it clear that I have objections to this bill beyond the funding for Yucca Mountain.

Under H.R. 4614, renewable energy resources are shortchanged by $31.5 million, about 9 percent less than the President's request. I am especially disappointed that the bill provides less than half of what the President wanted for hydrogen technology research, about $31 million (48 percent) under the requested amount.

Funding for hydropower is $1 million (20 percent) under the administration's request. And the measure provides $15.5 million (20 percent) less than requested for the Office of Electricity Transmission and Distribution, the newest division of the Department of Energy, which is leading efforts nationwide to modernize and expand our electric delivery system.

It seems the appropriators chose to ignore the energy challenge facing our Nation. Or maybe they simply forgot that America today imports 60 percent of its oil supply; that gasoline prices are hovering around $2; that natural gas supplies are at an all time low; and that just 10 months ago, the worst blackout in our history left a quarter of the country in the dark.

Still, appropriators managed to spend $28 billion in this legislation--about $50 million more than the President's request. H.R. 4614 is yet another example of what happens when the appropriators ignore their colleagues who sit on the authorizing committees, hold hearings, conduct oversight, and produce thoughtful legislation. In failing to address the Yucca Mountain issue today, appropriators have essentially overlooked the hard work of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Congress must address the Nation's outdated energy infrastructure. As a father of three young children and as a Member of this chamber who has long pushed for a modernized energy policy, I cannot in god conscience vote for this legislation.

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, I commend the House for dedicating much of this week to energy, and I want to spend time today on the natural gas crisis. Clean-burning natural gas heats our homes, cooks our meals, and is used to produce almost everything we use, from food to fertilizer, to cars and clothes; but soaring natural gas prices have a devastating ripple effect on our economy. Families are paying hundreds of dollars more annually for their natural gas.

The U.S. chemical industry has cut at least 90,000 jobs in the past 4 years. Manufacturers have moved overseas where gas prices are much lower. Farmers have seen the cost of fertilizer double in 4 years as fertilizer imports have increased by 43 percent.

The Energy Policy Act, which the House passed again this week, would dramatically boost domestic natural gas supplies and lower prices. By adopting this balanced plan, we would save Americans approximately $1 trillion in natural gas costs over the next 20 years, $1 trillion saved along with hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 254 I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment Offered by Mr. Flake

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight on energy week in the House of Representatives. Frankly, it feels a little bit like the movie ``Groundhog Day.'' I think we have been through this at least once before. Each time we go through it we have an opportunity to improve it, and each time we also feel a little bit frustrated that others in this Capitol do not share the same passion for a comprehensive energy policy.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt) opened up with a discussion about the impact of higher gasoline prices on a timetable starting when President Bush was sworn in and gas was about $1.35 a gallon. I think it is $1.32 on the chart here. Because of the inaction of being unable to produce a comprehensive energy policy, what American citizens have seen is continuous rise and spikes in gasoline prices, and this has certainly captured the headlines and the lead-off stories on national news as we pay record prices across the Nation, seeing a little bit of relief.

But as we focus on gasoline prices, probably the more devastating aspects to our family budget and our economy is frankly the increase in price of natural gas. Alan Greenspan has spoken several times that the increase in natural gas prices has become a drag on our economy. So let us work through that a little bit. H.R. 6 that we have passed in the House of Representatives four times provides incentives for additional exploration within the continental United States. There is a lot of discussion about drilling in Alaska, but ANWR is not part of H.R. 6, but we provide incentives for exploration in the continental United States, as well as a new pipeline to run from Alaska to the continental United States, and that is one of the issues being stalled here.

What we need to realize is natural gas provides America about 25 percent of its current energy needs and is used by almost two-thirds of American households. That is right. That is for cooking, appliances, that is for heating our homes. But what many do not realize, as this chart shows, not only for electrical generation and residential use, but industrial use, as the gentleman from Indiana mentioned. Natural gas is used in the production of food to fertilizers, from cars to clothes, from aluminum to electronics. Natural gas is so essential a raw material that it is a basic element in many common products such as paints, fertilizers, propane, film, medicines, and almost all power plants which have been built in the last 15 to 20 years use natural gas to generate electricity.

What is great about it is it is low emission. It is a clean fuel to use. Here in D.C. when we walk around downtown, there are bright buses which pass through which say ``Using Clean Natural Gas.'' Yes, we use it in transportation as well.

The issue with the price of natural gas is just basic high school economics: It is supply and demand. Over the last, and here is a chart, it talks about just a few years ago natural gas prices were pretty stable around $1.50 CFM.

This chart here actually is wrong, and I need to take a second to correct it because it shows that it tops off at about $5, but just 2 weeks ago it was trading at $6.70 and it is now trading above $6. In other words, Mr. Speaker, the price of natural gas is off the charts, and we are not doing a darn thing about it.

Now the soaring natural gas prices, let us talk about the ripple effects that it has through our economy. It is putting a pinch on our families. As I understand from our local gas utilities, it is costing the average family in my district several hundred dollars a year just in additional heating and utility costs. But let us talk about what it is doing to our economy and jobs.

The U.S. chemical industry has cut at least 90,000 jobs because of the high price of natural gas. Several plants have closed and moved their doors overseas. Yes, overseas. Now let us talk about why they are moving overseas. Why do our farmers now have to import fertilizer and pay twice as much as they did 3 years ago? Let us look at this. In the United States because of our demand and lack of supply, we are paying about $6.50 CFM. We can go down to Mexico and Central America and pay less than one-sixth. What is a business to do? When we criticize businesses for moving offshore or out of America, yes, it frustrates every one of us that those jobs are moving out, but let us look at some of the causes and deal with that. What is a manufacturer going to do when the basic input, as the gentleman from Indiana said, when it is about 90 percent of the input costs for fertilizer, what is that fertilizer plant going to do? They are going to go where it is a cheaper price and reduce their costs dramatically and sell it back.

I believe these natural gas prices really provide an unfair disadvantage to our American manufacturers, and we need to do something about it.

The Energy Policy Act which the House passed once again yesterday would boost natural gas production by removing barriers and creating sensible incentives. It would increase the depreciation period of natural gas pipelines from 20 to 15 years. It would increase energy conservation and efficiency by 50 percent over 5 years, and it would relieve pressure on natural gas markets, diversifying our energy portfolio by increasing power generation from clean coal, fuel cells, microturbines, emission-free nuclear power, and renewable energy sources. By adopting this balanced plan, we would increase natural gas supplies and save U.S. customers approximately $1 trillion in natural gas costs over the next 20 years. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I said $1 trillion.

Now, it is time that we stop holding Americans hostage, our economy hostage. Let us fight some of the root causes of our loss of manufacturing jobs and pass a comprehensive energy bill.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that as we approach the summer of 2004, more than 3 years since Congress started the current energy debate, that we are still without an energy bill. Although as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I think we have passed it on this side about three times.

In those 4 years, the price of oil has increased 75 percent from around $23 a barrel in 2001 to $40 a barrel as we stand here today. Natural gas has increased 80 percent, from between $3 and $4 a few years ago to more than $6 today. Since 2001, the price of gasoline has increased 52 percent. A blackout last summer showed vulnerabilities in our electrical transmission, which this bill addresses.

Our $11 trillion economy depends on a foundation of affordable energy, and we need a modern energy plan today.

This bill contains incentives to increase production of all energy sources, provisions to expedite construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska; renewable fuel standards, including 5 billion gallons of ethanol; tax credits for the purchase of fuel-efficient hybrid automobiles; electrical reliability language; a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency and conservation funding over the next 5 years; and new funding for futuristic alternative technologies, such as the hydrogen fuel cell, which are really within our grasp but we need to just remain to make usable and feasible. That is what is in this bill. There is so much good that can be accomplished while we just stand here and engage in this endless debate over years and years. We need this House energy bill to pass today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the House's attention to the Long-term Care (LTC) Act. This act, which was introduced today by myself and nine bi-partisan cosponsors, would allow individuals to use their IRAs, 401(k), and 403(b) plans to purchase long-term care insurance with pretax dollars at any age and without early withdrawal penalty. Under the LTC Act, the consumer has the option to purchase LTC insurance at the most appropriate amounts for their needs for themselves and their spouses.

Preparing for future costs of health care is something that every American should be doing. Long-term care insurance is one way for Americans to plan for periods of extended disability without burdening their families, going bankrupt, or relying on government assistance.

Nineteen percent of seniors over 65 years old and 55 percent of those 85 years and older require long-term care--the personal assistance that enables impaired people to perform daily routines such as eating, bathing, and dressing. This care is expensive:

For nursing home care, the nationwide average cost of care is $181.24 a day; for assisted living, the nationwide average cost of care is $78.21 a day; and for home care, the nationwide average cost of care is $18.12 a day.

Further, Medicare covers only 14 percent of long-term care expenditures while traditional health insurance programs typically do not cover daily living assistance costs for long periods of time. Poverty is required to qualify for Medicaid. This Catch 22 causes many Americans who become chronically ill to spend their entire life savings at a time when they need it most.

Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed into law legislation creating Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) which allows the public to set up reserves to use for medical purposes, like the purchase of LTC insurance. This was a great step toward consumer- directed health care; however, as Baby Boomers retire, the number of individuals age 65 and older will double and most will not have the advantage of building an HSA to provide for the purchase of LTC.

The LTC Act is a low-cost, common sense approach to providing long- term care to more Americans. It is not a solution for all retirees. But it is one more tool to provide all Americans with adequate health insurance coverage, the freedom to use their own resources how they determine, and to reduce costs to the government under Medicaid.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4200, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005.

This legislation supports our troops with $422 billion for national defense and an additional $25 billion for operations in Iraq. Funding for national missile defense and combat capability would increase. Special emphasis on protective equipment such as body armor and heavily-armored Humvees would also help our soldiers return safely to their families.

We must care for our soldiers' families here at home. I am proud to support the well-earned 3.5 percent pay raise and boost in hardship pay from $300 to $750. As a co-chair of the House Impact Aid Coalition, I also commend Chairman Hunter for including $50 million for the education of military children. This would send an additional $20 million to school districts across the country that serve military families. I thank the Chairman for his hard work and strong support of this critical funding.

While I appreciate the emphasis the Air Force has placed on quality of life improvements, I am deeply concerned that mission readiness be funded at adequate levels to support our troops. For example, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska has a mission critical runway repair requiring urgent attention. The

safety of airmen flying in and out of Offutt depends upon the condition of this runway, which the Air Force has labeled a critical safety hazard.

Although the repair is the top priority of the Air Combat Command that oversees 38 major installations, the Pentagon has given funding priority to dormitories and fitness centers. I thank Chairman Hunter for at least funding design of the needed runway, and urge him to reexamine the Air Force's priorities in conference. We must ensure mission critical repairs are completed for the safety of our airmen. Military bases that consistently and efficiently perform should also be rewarded for their success.

The War on Terror has been costly in both blood and treasure. More than 750 American soldiers have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. Our troops who patrol the streets of Iraq, scour the towns and mountains of Afghanistan, and root out terrorist cells worldwide, know the price of freedom. Their service to protect our nation honors their fallen comrades and dignifies the United States, and should not be demeaned by the cowardly actions of soldiers in the Abu Ghraib prison.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4200 to aid our valiant troops.

Mr. President, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 605 to support National Autism Awareness Month; commend the parents and caregivers of autistic children; support aggressive research into autism; and recognize the importance of early intervention.

If you were to see nine-year-old Jacob Nolan Hirschfeld on the baseball diamond today you might be impressed with his skills in playing our national pastime. Since his middle name was inspired by the great pitcher Nolan Ryan, you might also think that his success on the field was destined. But Jacob's ability to play baseball, and to do everyday things such as attending school and playing with friends, were never guaranteed.

Jacob Hirschfeld has been diagnosed with autism.

Jake struggles with most of the issues common among the autistic. At four years of age he could only speak in one syllable words. He was scared of loud noises and bright lights. He had many of the compulsions that are common with these children, and was fearful of most people outside of his immediate family. Jacob's father, Mark Hirschfeld, has said ``our family was literally a prisoner to autism.''

Jake's diagnosis was devastating to his parents. But even more difficult was the fact that physicians, educators and other professionals had little understanding of this complex disorder and what could be done to help children like Jacob. Stereotypes abounded.

One physician told the Hirschfeld's that Jake had no better than a one in ten chance of living outside of institutional care. Jake's mother, Nancy, recalls that ``one preschool initially turned away our son because of their fear of autism, but once they began to see Jake as a person who had unique gifts as well as challenges they accepted him.''

Thankfully, the Hirschfeld family persevered and sought services to help their son. Their search led them to engage an intensive early intervention therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA. This therapy has been available for over twenty years, and was recently featured on NBC Nightly News and ABC's Primetime Live. It is one of the treatments that can significantly reduce the symptoms of autism. Because the cause or causes of autism have yet to be identified, early intervention is the best course available for parents today.

Unfortunately, these services are not universally supported by public or private insurance, so families like the Hirschfeld's pay up to $60,000 per year to help their children. In the State of Nebraska, there are now organizations who offer these services, including the Families for Effective Autism Treatment, or FEAT. Although FEAT now serves over 20 families in Eastern Nebraska, countless other families nationwide cannot access this treatment because of its prohibitive cost.

But the tremendous investment can pay great dividends. Jacob Hirschfeld could once barely speak, but he was recently one of the stars in an Easter musical at his school. He was once scared of most people, but is now regularly seen riding his bike around the neighborhood, greeting neighbors and playing with friends. And yes, he plays a pretty decent game of baseball. Jake has come a long way, but he will continue to need services to help him along his journey, just as many autistic children in America need support and care.

Early intervention has also made a difference in the lives of Patrick and Jean McDermott, and their son, Grant, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 22 months old.

Grant's mother Jean said ``it was devastating to hear the words `diagnosis of autism' as parents of this beautiful child. My husband and I wondered what his future would hold. After the initial shock, we started researching what we could do to give him a brighter future.''

The McDermott's also chose the ADA early intervention therapy. Therapists worked with Grant about 35 hours a week, teaching him basic and then more advanced skills. Grant is now in regular school with no aides, and will be going to kindergarten this Fall. His future is looking bright and the McDermott's believe he will live a full life, but it will always be a challenge having an autistic son until a cure can be found.

Autism now affects 1 out of every 166 children in the United States. Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls. This developmental disorder robs individuals of their ability to communicate and interact with others. Some autistic children seem barely able to distinguish their parents from strangers.

The costs of caring for autistic individuals is high financially as well as emotionally. Nationwide, an estimated $90 billion is spent every year. Specialized treatment in developmental centers costs about $80,000 per child, and special education programs cost about $30,000 per autistic child. Services are needed to help reduce these burdens on families and society.

Mr. Speaker, there is a great need for increased public awareness about autism, and more aggressive research into this disorder to help American families like the Hirschfeld's and the McDermott's. I am proud to be a cosponsor of H. Res. 605, and urge my colleagues to join me in wholeheartedly voting for its passage today.

Mr. Speaker, like all of us in here, I am sickened by the images of our military abusing Iraqi prisoners. These actions are deplorable in and of themselves, and it is even more so when we as an American society stand for justice and the protection of human rights. The abuse tears the very fabric of the values which make America great.

This abuse not only degrades the prisoners and the Muslim culture, but ours as well. If these abuses sicken me and most Americans, think of the legitimate reaction of those in Iraq and the Middle East and the world.

It should also trouble Americans that this terrible episode is being exploited by partisans who wish to make it an election-year issue. Republicans and Democrats should stand arm in arm condemning what occurred, apologizing for these abuses, and demonstrate the decent values for which America and we all stand.

I appreciate the President going on Arab television yesterday to directly address the Arab people. It is a good first step. But more must be done to rehabilitate our benevolent reputation.

We need to thoroughly investigate and make sure that those holes that allowed this to happen are plugged. America should stand for nothing less.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 605. Frankly, I think there are probably many of us here who have personal testimonials. Everyone in Congress probably has friends who have a child who is autistic.

If one were to see Jacob Nolan Hirschfeld on the baseball diamond today, you might be impressed with his skills in playing our national pastime. Since his middle name was inspired by the great pitcher Nolan Ryan, you might also think his success on the field was destined. But Jacob's ability to play baseball and do everyday such things, such as attending school and playing with friends, was never guaranteed. Jacob Hirschfeld has been diagnosed with autism. He struggles with many of the issues common among the autistic. At 4 years of age, he could only speak in one syllable words. He was scared of loud noises and bright lights. He had many of the compulsions that are common with these children and was fearful of most people outside of his immediate family.

Jacob's father, Mark Hirschfeld, a friend of mine, has said ``our family was literally a prisoner to autism.'' Jacob's diagnosis was devastating to his parents, but even more difficult was the fact that physicians, educators, and other professionals had little understanding of this complex disorder and what could be done to help children like Jacob. Stereotypes abounded. One physician told the Hirschfeld's that Jacob had no better chance than 1 in 10 of living outside of an institution. Jacob's mother, Nancy, recalls that one preschool initially turned away her son because of their fears of autism, but once they began to see Jacob as a person who had unique gifts as well as challenges, they accepted him.

Thankfully, the Hirschfeld family persevered and sought services to help their son. Their search led them to engage in intensive, early intervention therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, which has helped them dramatically. Early intervention has also made a difference in the lives of Patrick and Jean McDermott, with their son, Grant, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 22 months old.

Grant's mother Jean said, ``It was devastating to hear the words `diagnosis of autism' as parents of this beautiful child. My husband and I wondered what his future would hold. After the initial shock, we started researching what we could do to give him a brighter future.'' The McDermott's also chose the ADA early intervention therapy. Therapists worked with Grant about 35 hours a week teaching him basic and then more advanced skills. He is now a regular in school with no aides, and will be going to kindergarten this fall. His future is looking bright and the McDermott's believe he will have a full life, but it will always be a challenge having an autistic son until a cure can be found.

Autism now affects 1 out of every 166 children in the United States. Boys are 4 times more likely to have autism than girls. This developmental disorder robs individuals of their ability to communicate and interact with others. These are just some of the reasons why it is so necessary we get the word out about autism and support this resolution.