Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I come today to the floor of the House to honor the achievements of one of my constituents in the First Congressional District of Texas, Judy McDonald. Judy has been a model citizen and someone who deserves to be honored because of the way she has honored East Texas. Her lifetime of work has made our country, East Texas, and Nacogdoches a better place to live.

As the first female mayor in Nacogdoches and one of the first female mayors in Texas, Judy worked tirelessly to increase economic opportunities and strengthen the local economy. She has been someone who has

never shied away from firsts. She was the first woman to serve on the advisory board of what is now known as Texas Utilities and was later the first woman from East Texas to be named to the Texas Utilities governing board.

The reason she deserves the honor itself does not lie in the fact that she is a woman, but in the beauty and generosity of her heart and soul. Through all of her many endeavors and accomplishments, she remains a wonderful wife to her husband, Archie, and a magnificent mother to their two sons, Tucker and Christopher.

I am proud to say she is not only a great friend of East Texas, but she is a friend of mine. Madam Speaker, with this one piece of advice to anyone encountering Judy, if she is pushing a project, you have two options: number one, get on board; or, number two, get run over.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that from my good friend from Georgia. And it is an honor to not only be on the floor here, but to serve with the kind right honorable gentleman from Georgia, a physician to the body before he got here and now a physician to the heart of America since he is here. So that is an honor.

But, you know, you were talking about, and to observe the House rules we do not call people by their first names here, so, Dr. Price, you were talking about truth. And one of the great disappointments over the last few decades has been the United Nations. It should be an integral part of our national security.

Yet it has failed miserably. It has taken the wrong side so often, and yet we had an administration and a President who wanted someone as an ambassador to the U.N. who would be truthful, call things like they were.

And as we saw in the Senate, when it came time to confirm Mr. Bolton, they threw on the brakes. Oh, my gosh, this guy can be rude. He will actually tell people what he thinks. We do not want someone going to the U.N. representing the United States that tells them what he thinks. Goodness, that might offend them. They need some offending.

We needed Mr. Bolton in there. Son of a gun, that is his history. He tells people what he thinks. He got to the U.N. and he has been doing that, but without any thanks to the Democrats in the Senate that blocked it at every turn.

But as we look today, a matter of national security is what is happening with Iran. Iran wants to have nuclear weapons. They have said that Israel has no right to exist. They want to nuke it out of existence. This is a dangerous country. And so what have we done? Well, we are sending that to the U.N. to let them see what they can do.

Well, we are better off with Mr. Bolton there helping us and representing our interests. But the trouble is, that is one person in a myriad of people who are just overwhelmed with self-interest. And I really rise in frustration to the toothless tiger that we call the United Nations. You know, it was born out of the best of intentions. It was born out of the greatest and noblest aspirations, that we would bring peace to a war-torn world and justice to the oppressed.

Yet what has happened is living proof that there is no such thing as institutional evolution. What has evolved has not been a higher, better entity in the United Nations. The U.N. has devolved into a mire of self-aggrandizement and self-absorption. They provided wealth to family members in the U.N., wealth to their own cronies, along with some of the most evil oppression in history.

The U.N. sometimes barks, but never has any bite. It reminds me of a school teacher I had once years ago who often defended the bullies in our class and would lash out at anybody that tried to defend themselves against the bully. She would not help the oppressed; she took up for the bullies. That is what has started happening with the U.N.

They do not want to help address the issue of bullies; they want to turn their heads, continue to help family members and cronies. But anyway, the U.N. has been a willing accomplice to some of the world's worst, most oppressive people; and sometimes it has been one of the biggest obstacles to people's liberty, freedom, and self-respect.

We all know, or we should know, that referring Iran to the U.N. is problematic because of the lies and the intentional distortions. Iran has said that they want to destroy another nation, and yet the U.N. has shown they have no stomach for doing what is required. They pass resolution after resolution. But when it comes to putting teeth in anything, they just do not do it. They will try to justify what they are doing.

I mean, I guess asking the U.N. to protect us would be tantamount to saying let us send in Scott Ritter to protect us from an oncoming train. I mean, he will notice the train's existence, try to justify why it is about to run over him and everybody on the track, but he will do no good. The U.N., that is the kind of actions they take. They try to justify things' existence, lash out at those being bullied, but not do what needs to be done.

The U.N.'s word means nothing, and its corruption and deceit are an embarrassment, and it is no longer an advocate or a defender of truth and justice. In fact, they are often the impediment to those very things. It is high time we confronted them with that.

And I would submit, Dr. Price, that sending an item to the U.N. for action is a bit like sending raw food to a kitchen that is filled with corruption, confusion, and selfishness. You are lucky if they act in that kitchen before the food spoils. And even if they do act before the food spoils, odds are they are going to consume it, and you will never seen it again.

That is kind of what it is like when you send something to the U.N. They are either going to let it spoil, let it go rotten, or they are going to use it to their own self-fulfillment. What a sad nightmare this once great dream has become in the United Nations. I hope and pray that they will assist us with this international problem in Iran, because it involves our own national security. Some want to turn their heads and say, just like they did with Hitler, well, if we just let him have a little bit of what he wants, then he will leave us alone.

But that kind of ambition and that kind of desire for world conquest does not ever go away. It continues to proceed on, and in some cases unimpeded where you meet pacifists, Dr. Price, I saw back a couple of years ago a bunch of signs being held by protesters about the war in Iraq. And they actually said this: war never brought about peace. That is it. War never brought about peace.

I thought, my goodness, these people never studied history. War never brought peace? That is the only time there has been any kind of sustained peace where people had liberty during that peace is when there has been a war and the good guys won.

So it is unfortunate that we have uneducated people who do not know history, refuse to learn from history. But I appreciate so much your efforts at bringing truth. And as you and I have talked about, and you have said, sunlight is one of the best disinfectants there is.

So bringing truth out, I know at times we struggle as we listen to things that were not true. It is like there is a culture of deceit in this body, and the people need to know the truth.

But you prescribe that, do you not?

If the gentleman would yield for one more moment, you come from a background as a physician of healing people. I come from a background of being a judge and chief justice and wanting to see justice. And it is amazing how we can work together and America allows that kind of freedom. So thank you for your efforts at bringing about what they used to say, as Superman started, truth, justice and the American way.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma, who also grew up in an area where they knew about drilling for oil and gas. You know, it is important that this be part of the defense budget. It is a matter of national security. It would have been better to be part of the energy. It should have been, but by maneuvering that did not happen. But it is a matter of national security that we can provide oil and gas.

Go back through history. Why did the Germans fail in the Battle of the Bulge? Because they ran out of gasoline. And there in East Texas where I grew up, man, they were just pumping that oil and gas right out as fast they could to help the Nation survive.

Now, what kind of arrogance and hypocrisy says, you know, I want my car, I want my jet ride, I want my air conditioning, electricity, but I do not want to drill anywhere, well, except in like Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, places we do not care about. But not anywhere else we care about.

Folks, it is a matter of national security. We need every part of the solution in order to conquer our energy needs. All the alternative energy needs to be pursued.

The majority has passed this time and again out of our subcommittee, out of our committee, and to the floor. This is the thing to do.

And I just submit, in conclusion, for anyone whose transportation is a bicycle that you yourself made, without the use of any plastic or metal, you have a right to complain. Everybody else is a hypocrite.

Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing there are all these vicious tax cuts. There are no cuts in this bill. A vote for this bill means we are voting not to raise taxes.

And it has done my heart good to hear so many religious references to Jesus and to the Bible. I would point you in that direction. Jesus never said, go ye and use and abuse your taxing authority. Take from others to give. He said, you do it. And I would offer you the example of Zacharius when he met Jesus. What did he do? He went and cut taxes.

Mr. Speaker, I marveled at Mr. Lantos's good comment that this could have been, as I understood the quote, could have been a day for celebration. And I would submit it is a day for celebration. It should be. It is.

This is a great day. A great thing happened yesterday in the cradle of mankind. They elected permanent leaders. Now, there are those Americans who have said that it was quagmire in Iraq. We had to get out. It was a mistake to be there. Some made these statements out of personal heartache and tragedy, but some were made purely from partisan political motivation.

So when the question is asked, why should the leadership politicize the Iraqi situation, that is exactly the question I have been asking. Why? Why? Why, leading up to this election for the last 6 weeks, the yabbers got more shrill, more hysterical that we have to withdraw? And surely there are some people that are smart enough to know that that risk, the election that people who saw the fliers that said, ``you vote, you die,'' might actually take it more seriously if they thought we were going to withdraw quickly before the ink went off their fingers.

So I say to those who said the freedom, democracy and liberty we were fighting for and the evil that we fought against was not worth it, it is worth it. And the soldiers that have been there know it. That is why the retention among the soldiers that have been to Iraq is way up. I have talked to them.

I have not heard people ask, why are we still in Bosnia where President Clinton said we had to go? One of my best friends from college, we served in the Army in Fort Benning together, he just got sent to Bosnia. Why is not anybody saying, let us get out of there? Why are the same people not saying, we should have gotten out of Germany to President Truman? We should have gotten out of Japan? Because our leadership made good decisions, and we are safer of it.

Thank God for the heroes that have made America better by spreading liberty around the world.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Chairman King of New York and Chairman Sensenbrenner for their hard work on this important legislation. Some have said it seemed like it was spur of the moment, but those of us who have spent hundreds of hours on this issue this year know otherwise and took it up in committee and subcommittee. I would also like to thank Mr. Dreier for allowing me to bring this amendment up in the Rules Committee.

I will be brief, since my amendment is pretty straightforward. This amendment will help ensure that the Federal Government is doing business with ethical contractors. Section 109 of the bill requires the Inspector General to review contracts over $20 million. This review is to be sure that the contracts were properly competed.

My amendment adds a subsection that says that during this review if the Inspector General discovers any wrongdoing or misconduct, the Inspector General will refer this information to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the purpose of evaluating whether suspension or debarrment is warranted.

Some Members may be familiar with the Darlene Druyun case. She was a top Air Force acquisition official who awarded billions of dollars' worth of contract to one particular defense contractor and all the while she was negotiating with that same defense contractor for a job for herself and her daughter. The officials at the company that negotiated her employment and she, herself, were debarred.

Some are familiar with Representative Cunningham. He did wrong, and he will and should be punished accordingly; but the contractors who competed illegally and unethically should also suffer.

This amendment helps address issues such as this as it requires the Inspector General to go forward with information

to the Secretary to evaluate for possible debarrment or suspension. Suspension and debarrment are less costly to the government than criminal or civil remedies that involve the Department of Justice. In addition, companies learn from the process and as a result they create innovative compliance and ethics programs.

Contracting with ethical companies ultimately saves taxpayers' dollars and gives us more quality for the money. For that reason and to that end I humbly offer this amendment.

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

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

I appreciate my colleague from California's support on this amendment, and as I think she knows, this is an issue that knows no party boundaries, and so I am proud to stand with those who want to end this, and that would include Chairman King.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. King).

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of order.

Madam Speaker, it was truly great to have the 56th Brigade home this past weekend from Iraq. Commanded by Colonel James ``Red'' Brown of Lindale, Texas, they did a great thing this past year. It was the largest deployment of troops from the Texas reserve unit since World War II. This was not just a difficult year in their own and their families' lives, it was a historical year for the ages.

Many believe that the area Iraq occupies was where mankind had its beginning. There, in the cradle of mankind,

Iraq, had an historic election of representatives to write a constitution. It drafted and approved its constitution, and now today, because of the efforts of so many military members, including the 56th, that area elected its first true representatives to lead a democratic form of government.

There are those who have said it is a quagmire in Iraq and it is a mistake for us to be there. Some made these statements because of personal heartache. Some, on the other hand, were made from partisan political motivation, and some from disdain for our president and a desire to see his efforts fail, even though it risked world stability and national security.

But our soldiers were there. They know they have done a great thing. They have seen the admiring faces of Iraqi children that were never present in Vietnam. They have heard gratitude from many there in Iraq, our soldiers have. We have not heard as much here.

They not only fought, protected and defended, the 56th, for example, built a school and other important infrastructure improvements. They also saw the frantic efforts of terrorists who were terrified that democracy and the people will begin to rule over them and their oppressive dictatorial ways. They kept many terrorists occupied there, rather than here in America.

Some say that the freedom, democracy and liberty they were fighting for and the evil they have fought against simply was not worth it. My friends, it is worth it, and they are our heroes. They and their families have sacrificed for us, and we are grateful.

My friend from Lindale, who is also a Texas Aggie and a citizen soldier, Colonel Brown, is an American patriot. He and his distinguished command Sergeant Major Chambless led a band of great American patriots, and they led them well.

The quote from the 1800s by philosopher John Stewart Mill certainly applies to our present situation. He said, ``War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.''

Those who have been serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and in harm's way on our behalf are some of the better people of whom Mills spoke.

Today was just an incredible day in Iraq. That for which we have been hoping and fighting happened. The Iraqis elected their first elected officials who will preside for the next years to come. There have been threats this year against any Iraqi who voted on. Those Iraqis who stuck their fingers into the ink knew they were readily identifiable for two to three weeks to any terrorist that wanted to kill them. What courage. We have voters here who will not even go out if it sprinkles or rains, and yet they were willing to risk the threat of death. They are not out of the woods. They can see the home lights though glowing from where they have gotten.

It was particularly distasteful though that so many had stepped up their screaming and their histrionics to ``pull out now.'' Have you wondered why the surrender call became so shrill just weeks and days before this historic election? Many of those knew if things went too well, the President's numbers might go up, the Republicans' numbers might go up. So, some had good motives, some did not. They risked the national security.

Now, because of the work of our heroes in Iraq, a great thing happened today, and we are grateful. May God comfort those who have paid with the sacrifice of a loved one in our Nation's defense. May God bless our defenders, our champions, our servicemembers. God bless their efforts and keep them safe. And through their valiant efforts may God continue to bless our America.

To those in Iraq, I say I look forward to seeing you in just a couple of days.

Mr. Speaker, there are two things I want to address tonight, both terribly disappointing to me as a freshman Member of Congress.

As a former judge who sent hundreds or thousands of people to prison for felony crimes, I have heard and seen all kinds of stories. But the one that played out last week makes me both heartsick and very angry. A valiant Vietnam veteran, a man of courage and daring, a Navy pilot, a defender of this country, an ace, a true military leader by example, pled guilty, basically, to accepting bribes to push defense contracts to contractors who may not have been entitled to them.

For those of us who have served in the military, we know what it is to requisition supplies, equipment or services and get quality in response. On the other hand, we also know what it is to receive supplies, equipment or services and wonder who in the world got their bank account padded or their

back scratched to allow such substandard material to be sent.

Now to hear that our fellow congressman, Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, was such a Member of Congress on the take makes me both very sad and very angry.

Mr. Cunningham has made true acts and comments of contrition and humility; but my goodness, how much damage has been done. Not only will he be sentenced to satisfy the requirements of justice, retribution and deterrence, his family and friends will suffer. That is what happens when crimes are committed.

Let us also not lose sight of the fact that the contractors who paid bribes should be barred from ever contracting with the government again. I do not know who it is, and it does not matter to me who they are or with whom they are friends, they should be barred.

But one other thing that has caused me great bewilderment in the last month to 6 weeks or so is the rhetoric against our efforts in Iraq and how it has reached a crescendo and fanatical pitch. In what may well have been the cradle of mankind, the people of Iraq are on the threshold of democratically electing their first permanent leaders under their new Constitution. As a democratic self-governing people, we should as a Nation be uniting in support and encouraging the people of Iraq in their own efforts at self-government.

Some, like our colleague and war hero, Mr. Murtha, have been expressing concerns of this type about the war for over 2 years. Others have now jumped on the bandwagon, and still others have raised their pitch dramatically. This historic election is 9 days off. It is true that if the election goes well, it not only is a great victory for freedom, democracy and against terrorism, but it will probably help President Bush. It is also clear, and many realize, if the election goes badly, it will probably exacerbate and lower President Bush's popularity still further. But could Members not wait 9 days, wait until after December 15, to make your points about withdrawal or how we are losing and we cannot win.

Obviously, if the people of Iraq think we are about to withdraw before that permanent ink wears off their finger when they vote, they may hesitate to vote or not vote. Heightened rhetoric against our historic assistance in Iraq serves to undermine the election and may assist in its failure. I implore Members, regarding Iraq, please let us put partisan politics aside for the next 9 days until after the election.

Sure, it would make you happy to see President Bush's numbers fall lower; but at the cost of democracy and stability in the Middle East and of our own safety, the price is too high. You can go back to your Bush bashing in 9 days, but how about being statesmen and stateswomen until after the Iraqi election. Show that there is one noble thing you can put above partisan politics for the next 9 days.

We are doing a great good over there. I have seen. Senator Lieberman has seen it. Mr. Shays has seen it. We have witnessed it. At this time of year, we can note tragedy as I have tonight, but let us also rejoice in this great thing that may well come to pass next week if you will stop trying to poison it before it happens.

John Adams wrote to Abigail back in the summer of 1776, ``The thing that philosophers up to now have only dreamed about is within our grasp, the concept of self-government.''

And, folks, in the cradle of mankind there in Iraq, there is within their grasp because of what we have done in the name of liberty and destroying terrorism, it is so close. This is not about one Member of Congress who was a hero in Vietnam. This is about a message that is being sent to the world. Right after the minority leader's district that she represents and leads told the world, The military is beneath us. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to defend this Nation and the liberty. San Francisco said no recruiters in our city, a terrible message. Followed by, let's get our troops out and not support them.

Join with us as you did in singing a prayer, God Bless America. Let the terrorists know. We don't want to divide you. We want to unite you with us.

Madam Speaker, I have great respect for my friend across the aisle, the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman), as we have served on Judiciary together. But when the question was asked or put to us in terms of us wanting the courts to create a new right for parents, I would submit to my colleagues, never before was it necessary, because nobody had the audacity to try to say that parents would not have a right to a say in how their children were governed.

I was in an exchange program in the Soviet Union back in 1973 and visited a day care center, and I was appalled that the parents were not allowed any say whatsoever in how the children were raised, what they were taught. That was exclusively the right of the State. I thanked God that day that that was not the way it was in the United States.

Now, 32 years later, we find ourselves at a point that some think it is evolving for the State to take away the parents' right to have a say in how their children are taught and what they are taught and what goes on in the school. It is not a time that I can thank God that we evolved to this point.

I support the resolution. I think it is a great resolution; and coming from the gentleman that is proposing it, it is even more important and appropriate. I support the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 562) to authorize the Government of Ukraine to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the manmade famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 562 introduced by Congressman Sander Levin authorizes the Government of Ukraine to establish a memorial on Federal land in Washington, DC, to honor victims of the 1932-1933 Ukrainian famine. Known by historians as the Harvest of Sorrow, the Ukrainian famine of 1932-1933 was the result of a naturally caused low harvest and harsh Soviet policies, including forced collectivization and grain seizures in order to neutralize the Ukrainian population.

Over 7 million people died of starvation as Russians stopped Ukrainians from entering Russia to obtain food. Attempts by the United States to intercede were stalled by Stalin's regime.

Proponents of H.R. 562 hope that building a memorial in the District of Columbia will bring awareness to the event and honor its victims.

Finally, no Federal funds will be used for the establishment or maintenance of the memorial. I urge adoption of the bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1492) to provide for the preservation of the historic confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1492, introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), would establish a grant program within the Department of the Interior to protect, preserve, and interpret historic confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.

While there are two units in the National Park System that recognize the internment period, Manzanar National Historic Site and Minidoka Internment National Monument, there are many who believe other internment sites should also be preserved short of becoming a unit of the National Park System.

This bill would further that purpose by providing Federal funds with a partial private match. I urge adoption of the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion of the debate on this bill, I appreciate my colleagues across the aisle and the wonderful heartfelt comments that have been made. It is deeply moving to hear some of the personal testimonies, and when the gentleman from Samoa spoke saying he wished he were not referred to as a Pacific American, I was reminded of the events immediately after 9/11. Such a horrible evil thing when evil people filled with hate wanting to destroy innocent Americans came and crashed into our buildings, leaving so many devastated and destroyed and killed.

But I recall the day after 9/11, and like that flower that grows after a terrible event, so many all over America held hands and sang songs. I remember the day after that event there were no hyphenated Americans in the United States anywhere. We were all Americans. And that was one of the few things that we came away from. What a wonderful thing. Race did not matter. Background, socioeconomic conditions did not matter. We were Americans, and we were proud to be Americans.

The other comment that has been made that should be highlighted is that it is important to learn from our mistakes, and that is one of the great things about America. It is one of the very few nations in this world that will stand up and say, you know what, we made a mistake and we are going to fix it. We are going to notice it.

Some say Satchel Paige made the quote that often is used: ``Don't look back. They may be gaining on you.'' But I read that he also had a quote later in life: ``It's okay to look back. Just don't stare.'' This bill will allow us to look back, see that we made a mistake, and make sure that it is corrected.

With regard to our troops that come home from Iraq and Afghanistan who are doing the service of this country, it is important also that we learn from our mistakes, and without regard to race, creed, sex, gender, socioeconomic conditions, we welcome them home; we thank them for their bravery.

In the meantime, this is a good bill. We urge the passage of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues from California for pushing this forward.

The abuses of intellectual property are not only harmful economically, but they can be harmful to our physical well-being and safety, and not just here but also in the Russian Federation.

When Russian companies steal products that are patented, copyrighted or trademarked, but they do not adhere to the proper safety standard such as electrical wiring, car parts and hair driers, consumers can be physically harmed. So there are really two prongs why we must urge Russia to shape up their intellectual property enforcement.

First, because of the harm to our creators and artists; and, second, to the threats to safety since oftentimes the goods that infringe are substandard.

Copyright piracy abroad hurts our economy here and the high-tech industry, since it is such a strong driving force behind our economy, piracy stifles its growth and productivity. Copyright holders should be protected to ensure that we continue to innovate and advance technology both at home and abroad.

Local industries have been crippled when high-quality pirated versions of their products are sold abroad. This can also result in lost tax revenues and lost jobs here at home. The Russian Federation must also work to protect and enforce intellectual property rights for its own good as well.

For example, if the intellectual property rights that encourage innovation and invention are not protected, incentives will be lost, the innovations and inventions will cease; therefore, the Russian Federation as well as the rest of the world will lose out on these life-enhancing innovations.

Nonenforcement of intellectual property rights because of either neglect or greed will figuratively as well as literally kill the goose that is laying the life-enhancing golden eggs.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman very much. I do appreciate the time. I appreciate all the assistance in this bill. The chairman has been wonderful in helping with this and making this a reality.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1751, the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act of 2005. This bill prevents, protects, and punishes. It prevents future attacks, it protects the entire courthouse family, and it punishes those who threaten the safety and security of our Nation's courthouses. The time has come to restore some sanity and security, and it is the responsibility of the government to assure our citizens have a safe courtroom.

The legislation will work to prevent future attacks in our Nation's courthouses such as what happened at my former courthouse in east Texas. That tragic day in February, we lost a brave man, Mark Wilson, who stepped up to attempt to save the lives of innocent citizens at the courthouse and was killed the same day. Also, Deputy Sherman Dollison was badly injured while he attempted to protect those at the courthouse. With passage of the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act, we are taking an important step toward prevention of similar events happening again.

This bill has garnered a lot of support across the country since its introduction in April, and I want to take a moment to thank some of those who have supported H.R. 1751.

First of all, I thank Judge Cynthia Kent, who hails from the Rose City of Tyler, Texas. Judge Kent is a talented judge and a good friend. She testified before the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee about the tragic events that took place right outside the courtroom she presides over. She, too, knows personally about threats against her and her family. Her input and support have been extremely helpful in developing this legislation.

Judge Jane Roth, former chairwoman of the Judicial Conference Committee on Security and Facilities, also testified and was very helpful; Honorable Paul McNulty, who was then the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and also Honorable John Clark, who at that time was a U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia.

I would also like to thank Judge Joan Lefkow for her testimony before

the Senate supporting the court security legislation. I have spoken with her personally and again just in the last hour, and she is most gracious and also grateful for the overall bill. She had also mentioned previously when I talked with her a concern about provisions regarding writs of habeas corpus procedure. That has been pulled from the bill itself. It is not part of the overall bill today. We also know that her elderly mother and husband were tragically murdered by a disgruntled gentleman who was upset by a ruling she had made in a case.

This bill requires consultation and coordination of U.S. courts between U.S. Marshals and the courts themselves. It will open the lines of communication between the marshals and the courts and, therefore, help with the prevention, protection, and penalties in this bill.

Those of us who have had threats against us as judges, but particularly against our families, understand all too well the importance of this bill.

I would also like to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for shepherding this legislation as he has through his committee, through the rules and here to the floor. It is an honor to serve with him on the Judiciary Committee that he chairs, and I thank the chairman for that continued support.

This legislation will protect immediate family members of federally funded public safety officers and judges at all levels. It also provides enhanced penalties where the victims are U.S. judges, Federal law enforcement officers, federally funded public safety officers, and includes now a provision to protect National Guard troops when they are acting as public safety officers.

It increases the maximum punishment for crimes against victims, witnesses, jurors and informants.

This bill adds a new Federal crime prohibiting recording a fictitious lien by covering officers and employees of the United States, including the Federal judiciary and its employees. It provides a 30-year mandatory minimum to life in prison, or the death penalty for killing a federally funded public safety officer. Of course, for the defendant to get the death penalty, a death must have resulted from their actions. The bill includes killing members of the National Guard, as I mentioned, and gives them added protection.

There has been some mention by the gentlewoman from Texas regarding mandatory minimums, and it should be noted that we removed a number of mandatory minimums in this bill for things like simple assault and threats. So the court has that consideration. But when it comes to seriously threatening, killing, kidnapping, conspiring to do these things, there should be a mandatory minimum and there is. The folks that we attempt to protect are on the front lines. They need protection.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the Rules Committee chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). His bill was added to this, the David March provision, making a new Federal criminal offense for flight to avoid prosecution for killing a peace officer. It imposes 10 years in prison in addition to whatever the defendant receives. So it stacks it.

This is not intended to usurp State authority but to assist the States where they need it and where they are unable. This valuable piece of legislation is seeking to ensure the safety and security of America's last bastion of civility, our Nation's courthouses. I urge all Members to vote yes.

Mr. Speaker, there are some people that just cannot seem to get beyond these allegations about the President of the United States lying to us. Over and over we are told the President of the United States lied to us. But I am not sure that that is actually the case. There is evidence. Even Joe Wilson's initial oral report to his superiors indicated some support for that idea that Saddam was trying to get weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps, maybe the President lied to us. Maybe his wife, who reportedly said the same thing, maybe they did lie to us.

Maybe it is because of my Christian background that teaches forgiveness, but I say: In order for this country to move on, it is time to forgive President Bill Clinton if it was a lie and move on.