Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I want to offer my deepest condolences to the people of Jordan in the wake of the deadly suicide bombings which occurred on November 9. Jordan has been a leader of peace and stability in the Middle East, and a strong ally and friend to the United States. King Abdullah stood firmly with the United States following the terrorist acts of September 11, and today the United States stands with him and his country.

Jordan, formerly led by the late King Hussein and now King Abdullah, has worked tirelessly towards the goal of finding a peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israel conflict and promoting stability throughout the region. Jordan is a country of strength and tolerance. From the rubble of these attacks, I am confident Jordan will remain more committed than ever to the eradication of terrorism worldwide.

The heinous acts are the work of cowards. I am confident that Americans and Jordanians will come together in these tragic times to work together towards a safer and more peaceful world.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 1751 and in support of the dedicated public servants working in our criminal justice system. The very nature of their work brings them in contact with dangerous criminals on a daily basis. After conviction, some of these criminals seek revenge against the prosecutors and judges who put them in prison. As unfortunate as it is, we must do more to protect those in the justice system who work to protect all of us.

We all remember the brutal murders of Michael Lefkow and Donna Humphrey, the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow. The initial investigation focused on a likely suspect, white supremacist Matthew Hale, who had been convicted of soliciting Judge Lefkow's murder only a year before. As it turns out, Hale was not behind the murders, but another disgruntled individual with a history in front of Judge Lefkow was. Bart Ross, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case Judge Lefkow dismissed, wrote a letter to a Chicago television station admitting he killed Michael Lefkow and Donna Humphrey and that his target had been the Judge. Included in the note was a ``hit list'' of others he felt had wronged him, many of whom were involved in his medical malpractice case. One of the individuals on the ``hit list'' is a constituent of mine and while we are thankful he and his family are safe, it is a chilling reminder that the security of judicial officials cannot be taken for granted.

This tragic case is just one example of the danger prosecutors and judges can face simply for doing their jobs. Even though Matthew Hale and his white supremacist group were not responsible for the Letkow murders, they were vocal in their praise for the killings on the Internet. The fact remains that judges, prosecutors, and their families are often targeted and they can be in danger wherever they go, even in their own homes. Mr. Chairman, I support this legislation and I believe the Congress should do all it can to protect judges and their families and enhance courthouse security.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday November 7, 2005 I missed the following votes: rollcall No. 570: H. Con Res. 260, ``Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions''; rollcall No. 571: H.R. 1973, ``Water for the Poor Act of 2005''; and rollcall No. 572: H. Res. 444, ``Gynecological Resolution for Advancement of Ovarian Cancer Education.'' Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 570, rollcall No. 571, and rollcall No. 572.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for the time.

I want to recognize my two colleagues and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) from the relevant district and to say as a die-hard Cubs fan, Congratulations.

We all know that had we seen the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, and I can speak from the heart as a Northsider, it would have been a quasi-religious experience; but, nonetheless, to see a Chicago team, especially the White Sox, who had gone without a World Series victory since 1917, this was quite an event.

We all know where the sympathies of our mayor lie. No question that he is a White Sox fan primarily, and they definitely prevailed.

I will take a point of personal privilege to congratulate two of my constituents, Jerry Reinsdorf, manager of the White Sox organization; and Bob Mazer, the principal shareholder who after many years of patient management and attending to this team pulled off a great victory.

If you lived in the Chicagoland area for the last couple of weeks, you would have not been able to find any oxygen in the system. We were all White Sox all the time, as well as it could be, and we only look forward, as a die-hard Cubs fan, to say maybe next year we will have a series on the El, between the South side and the North side, with an eventual, someday Cubs victory.

Anyway to my colleagues, congratulations. The South side has prevailed, and we congratulate you.

Mr. Speaker, I praise Chairman Hyde and Ranking Member Lantos for bringing this resolution so quickly to the floor.

Adolf Hitler said when genocide was committed against the Armenians, No one will remember. But we remember. When ``Mein Kampf'' was written, the dictator said he planned genocide against the Jewish people, but the international community ignored his plan and 6 million died in the death camp ovens.

Now, the leader of Iran delivered his ``Mein Kampf'' speech committing Iran to a policy of genocide against Israel.

He told us that he seeks to kill another 6 million Jews in Israel, but if Iran builds nuclear weapons and missiles, he will not only commit a second Jewish Holocaust, he will also kill 1 million Arabs that live in Israel. He would kill them, too. The fallout from his attack would also deposit poison on Jordan, and he would kill them, too.

The President of Iran's speech was not religious. It was genocidal. The President of Iran's speech was not for the Muslim faithful. It is going to lead to the death of Muslims living in Israel and Jordan.

If the failure of the League of Nations against Hitler teaches us anything, it is that the international community must listen to the warnings of would-be leaders of genocide and stop them. The United Nations, formed out of the ashes of Germany, committed itself to stopping men of this kind who plan to commit genocide against other Nations.

Every generation is tested by dictators, and the Iranians are becoming our generation's test. Let us join with the United Nations and moderate Muslim Nations to say that we have read the lessons of history, and we will now act collectively to stop them. This is our generation's test, and we owe it to our grandparents who opposed the dictators to make this a collective action before the danger against millions grows.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 521 regarding the Journal, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, I would respectfully disagree with the minority leader that this bill is not Republicans versus Democrats. This is largely east versus west with western Democrats supporting the underlying bill and eastern Republicans opposing.

For me, I would quote from the House Republican majority Committee on the Budget that warned that the underlying legislation ``creates a new entitlement program.''

This spring, moderates of the Republican Tuesday Group and conservatives of the Republican Study Committee worked together to put forward budget reforms to end deficit spending. The heart of our reform was a prohibition against new entitlement spending. Entitlement spending already makes up two-thirds of all Federal spending. Our deficit, because of Hurricane Katrina and related costs, will top over $500 billion this year; and I do not believe that we can afford a new entitlement program.

I would urge our chairman to reform the provisions in the bill, to keep the spending within the budget, and make it subject to appropriations. The grant portion of this bill that compensates landowners is responsible. The mandated spending portion of the bill is not responsible.

CBO warns that in their score of this bill both costs and litigation will go up under the bill. Following CBO's fiscal advice, I would urge adoption of the more fiscally responsible substitute.

Madam Speaker, on September 11, 2001, the passengers and crew of this flight saved the Capitol from attack. The Members and staff who work in this building owe our very lives to these American heroes.

In September of 2004, I authored the American Heroes Act, co- sponsored by 16 Republicans and Democrats, which called on a commissioning of a statue here in the Capitol for the Flight 93 heroes. In my view, the statue should be located at the entrance of the new $500 million Capitol Visitor Center to be opened next year.

If placed there, it would be the first thing American school kids and other visitors would see when they enter this temple of democracy. They would see modern American heroes who saved this Capitol, who gave their lives and whose heroism is encompassed in the personal and recent memory of all living Americans.

As a former member of the legislative branch appropriations subcommittee, I worked on many aspects of the visitors center; and as a member now of the full committee where legislative branch issues are considered, I am working with the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) to make sure we find the funds for this statue for these heroes.

Working closely with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) of the Committee on House Administration, it is my hope by next September 11 we are on our way to make sure that the first thing visitors see is a reminder of the brave Americans who saved this Capitol 4 years ago.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. I also want to point out that the chairman and ranking minority member have quite wisely repeated a precedent that we set in previous large supplementals of enhancing the capabilities of the Inspector General's office with new resources and new investigators to make sure that the assistance reaches those who are in need.

This legislation that we are considering is three times larger than any previous domestic disaster assistance legislation that we have considered. We were advised last night by OMB that the Federal Government is spending at the rate of $2 billion a day, and that rate will likely continue for some time. In spending the taxpayers' resources that quickly, we want to make sure that we are still reaching those in need. We have seen in previous large supplementals, enhancing the Inspector General's Office creates a positive environment of making sure everybody knows that they are just in the office next door and if something uncareful is done, they could face consequences.

This legislation has that protection in it for the taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess).

Mr. Speaker, Thomas Payne wrote in 1776 that ``now is the time that try men's souls.'' This is also one of those times in the life of our country, as we witness the destruction of a major U.S. city and the pain of our fellow Americans on the Gulf Coast.

In our Constitution, the Federal Government is charged with the mission to provide for the common defense. That defense is not just against threats coming from other countries, but also from natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

I have heard recriminations against the mayor of New Orleans, against the governor of Louisiana, and against the President of the United States, but now is not the time to divide Americans in political fighting. The mayor, the governor and the President must pull together at this time for search and rescue, for humanitarian relief and for reconstruction of the Gulf Coast.

Catastrophes like this illustrate the kindness and generosity of the American spirit. With hundreds of thousands unable to return to their homes, communities have opened their doors and welcomed victims. In my district we have seen five major high schools and scores of other schools begin fund raising drives for hurricane relief.

Major Illinois employers have already donated $7.2 million in cash. Abbott Laboratories, Medline, Astella, and Cardinal Health all have donated major supplies, and thanks to their generosity, truckloads of baby formula and nutritional supplements and electrical generators are on their way from Illinois to the scene. To help police and emergency officials regain control of the situation, Motorola has sent 2,500 portable radios to New Orleans.

Today in Congress we approved a $10.5 billion supplemental emergency appropriation to ensure the continuation of the rescue and recovery effort. Today's bill, enacted by Congress in just 22 hours, is the third largest disaster supplemental in our history, and

no doubt there will be Katrina supplementals 2 and 3 to follow.

We should do this, but we should also do more by encouraging Americans and corporate citizens to open their hearts and their wallets, and with this outpouring of support we will speed the recovery.

Mr. Speaker, for the last 2 weeks I have been on active duty as a reservist in the United States Navy. Working as an intelligence officer in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I spent the first week on duty reporting on the usual topics: Developments in Afghanistan, the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, et cetera, but all of that changed when Katrina loomed off the coast of the United States. Deep in the operations center of the Joint Staff, we formed a Katrina response cell to coordinate what is now becoming the largest U.S. military-civilian relief effort in history. We focused all of the vast resources of the Department of Defense on the defense of New Orleans. Within hours of the response cell's creation, dozens of ships, hundreds of planes, thousands of troops and millions of meals were on the way.

Like the U.S. military's response to the tsunami, the current operation will save lives, repair infrastructure, and will speed the recovery. I want to particularly thank our new Chief of Naval Operations who took it on his own initiative to send ships towards the relief effort. Admiral Mullen's prompt action meant that the Navy relief helicopters arrived on the scene much sooner than planned.

Today in the wake of this natural disaster, we are witnessing selfless dedication by Americans in uniform. There are over 21,000 military personnel responding to the hurricane. The bulk of these forces are National Guard men and women called into service to assist in the rescue effort. They are truly citizen soldiers and their service is urgently needed and deeply appreciated.

As more National Guard troops arrive on the scene, law and in order will be restored and communications and power reestablished. Today there are more than 154 helicopters rescuing trapped civilians, delivering food and water, and dropping sand bags to plug the breaches in the levee system. The Army Corps of Engineers is working to plug gaps in the levees and to begin pumping the water out of New Orleans.

More help is on the way. The crew of the USS Bataan is on station off the coast with its helicopters delivering supplies and conducting search and rescue missions. USS Iwo Jima and the mighty aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman are also there to provide helicopter support. All told, there are over 10 Navy ships currently on station or on their way to provide support, and this includes the hospital ship USS Comfort with 2,000 hospital beds.

The DLA has made more than 750,000 Meals-Ready-to-Eat available, and has access to 3 million more if needed. The response from the Department of Defense has been impressive and is accelerating, and I want to thank Admiral Keating at Northern Command, Lieutenant General Honore of Joint Task Force Katrina, and Lieutenant General Blum at the National Guard Bureau for their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, there are countless acts of heroism taking place along the Gulf Coast. The military, Coast Guard and the FEMA are all spearheading this Federal response. Every day people are doing their part for the relief effort and we here in Congress should do that as well by directing additional resources to the effort.

Mr. Speaker, today is just a first step in what is going to be a long and costly recovery, and we should stand united by our commitment to help rebuild those hurt by Katrina.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 417 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, problems now loom in Latin America as they did in the 1980s. Venezuela's Mussolini, Hugo Chavez, ordered 40 Russian military helicopters to station on his border with Colombia. And he is also taking delivery of over 100,000 AK-103 assault rifles to fight a new war.

His war may be in Central America. His agents are already funneling oil money to groups hostile to the United States and to free trade.

We in the Congress have a choice to make. We can either send exports to Central America or troops. Next week let us enact a free trade agreement with Central America to lock in democratic growth and stability, and let us make sure that President Hugo Chavez's Venezuelan agents find no fertile ground in America's back yard.

Mr. Speaker, today I introduced H.R. 3141 to terminate general system preferences for imports from Brazil.

I take this action because of extreme action now threatened by the current government of Brazil. Last week, that government delivered a clear threat to seize patents held by the United States. That threat was extreme, unwarranted, and will meet with certain retaliation by the United States government. Given that our economy is far larger than Brazil's, action of this type will hurt Brazil far more than the U.S. and will cause unemployment and loss of income directly due to Brazil's reckless trade policy.

In specific, Brazil threatened Abbott Laboratories, Illinois' largest employer. The doctors and scientists at Abbott helped to invent the test for HIV and then invented the most powerful treatment for HIV. Scientists now are on their way to a cure for AIDS but all of this work will end if we let extreme policies seize the patents of scientists that represent the only hope for a cure.

In Brazil, anti-HIV drugs already sell for only half the price of the same drugs in the U.S. In my judgment, this proposed action to seize U.S. patents is only a subterfuge to not only produce the drug in Brazil but also to export it to other countries on the black market-- all in direct violation of Brazil's solemn obligations to the WTO.

The bill I introduced today will cancel $2 billion in Brazilian exports. If Brazil takes this action, further actions will follow to the detriment of Brazil.

Mr. Speaker, I have reviewed this matter with the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and Speaker Hastert. They share my concerns and would strongly urge Brazil to reconsider extreme threats that will--in the long run--hurt Brazil far more than the U.S.

Mr. Speaker, this weekend Venezuela's defense minister proudly announced the impending arrival of a large shipment of Russian arms. For what? Who is Venezuela planning to fight?

General Garcia announced his purchase of 40 MI-17, MI-26, and MI-35 military helicopters, including the MI-26, the world's largest helicopter which comes heavily armed and is intended, in General Garcia's words, ``to be deployed on Venezuela's border with Colombia.'' On top of this, Venezuela is expecting the arrival of over 100,000 new Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifles. To shoot whom?

Without an insurgency and no neighbor threatening her border, who are these weapons to be aimed at? Venezuela has millions of poor people; and they believe Venezuela's oil should be used to fight poverty, not Colombia. Our allies and the Organization of American States have the lead in diplomacy to keep peace in our hemisphere. It sounds like they should call an urgent meeting of the OAS to discuss whom Venezuela plans to shoot at.