Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on October 10, the Republic of China (Taiwan), will celebrate its 100th anniversary as a nation.

One hundred years ago, on October 10, 1911, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen and his Revolutionary Alliance ended China's rule of Taiwan.

Since then, Taiwan has proven itself a beacon of democracy and freedom for the global community.

Taiwanese leaders have consistently and peacefully transferred power amongst each other, and its residents act in ways that embody democratic philosophies and principles.

I am proud to call Taiwan a friend and ally, and I hope that my colleagues will join me in recognizing the Taiwanese people and their century of accomplishments.

As a friend, I happily extend my congratulations to Taiwan on its upcoming 100th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today under the dome of our Nation's Capitol to applaud the final repeal of the discriminatory policy known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

The men and women who fight for our country as members of our Armed Forces fight for what's right, what's fair, and what's just. They fight without asking at what cost, without asking why and how long they must endure.

This September 11 marked 10 years since that fateful day when our country was attacked. As I returned home from Chicago, boarded my plane and landed safely in Washington, I marveled at the dome that still sat, untouched by those who would do us harm, because of those who had no fear, those who gave their last full measure of devotion.

And today, I'm emboldened further by the fact that these same soldiers who have continued to fight and die for our safety can now do so without having to hide who they are or who they love. Our soldiers fight for what's right, what's fair, and what's just. Finally, we have managed to provide the same to them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor today's guest chaplain, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois. I've known Bishop Paprocki for over 20 years, as he served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago before becoming Bishop of Springfield.

The good bishop is also known in other circles only as the ``Holy Goalie''--the man who saves souls and goals. Bishop Paprocki and I have played hockey together many times, and it's always a comfort to know I've got the bishop behind me manning the net.

But his heroics on the ice pale in comparison to his service to our community. In these years since joining the priesthood in 1978, he has shown a dedication to helping the poor and disadvantaged. With his DePaul law degree, he set forth to found the Chicago Legal Clinic to assist these struggling communities.

His work is an inspiration to us all. I am lucky to call the bishop a good friend.

Thank you, Bishop Paprocki, for joining us here today. See you on the ice.

Madam Speaker, on January 21, 1990, over 300,000 Ukrainians joined hands to create a 300-mile human chain from Kiev to Lviv in a show of unity and support for Ukrainian independence. One year later, on August 24, 1991, Ukraine rose from under its Soviet yoke and declared its independence.

I stand here today to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's independence and to commend them on their many democratic achievements over the last two decades. Yet as we celebrate Ukraine's severing of its Soviet chains, we must be aware of new restraints, for new shackles in the form of press crackdowns and opposition intimidation threaten to re-enchain Ukrainians and reverse their many hard-fought freedoms.

I have faith in the spirit of the Ukrainian people and hope they will join hands again, as they did 20 years ago, and continue to stand strong for freedom and democracy, knowing America will always be standing beside them.

As they say in Ukraine: Together we are many. We cannot be defeated.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Monica Foskett, a vital member of my staff for over the past two years.

Friday, August 12th was Monica's last day serving the people of the Illinois Fifth Congressional District. She has served with distinction since 2009, and has spent the past two years working for her hometown, Chicago, with aplomb and determination.

Monica began her career in public service as a staffer on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Quickly moving up in the campaign's field program, the long hours and experience helped her to develop a strong work ethic and a political acumen that carried over to her role as a Congressional staffer. As a volunteer assisting in my office transition, Monica helped lead the effort to gather and submit the appropriation requests an exceptionally difficult task when reduced to a couple of weeks. Many late nights were spent and caffeine products consumed ensuring the requests were submitted in time.

In addition to helping with appropriations, Monica took the lead in setting up scheduling procedures for the office, handling arts and culture issues, organizing the Hockey Caucus, and assisting with housing issues. She proved to be passionate about her work and making a difference in people's lives. I am confident she will continue to find success in public service.

Mr. Speaker, not only will we miss her hard work, but we will also miss her presence in the office. With her quick-to-laugh personality, I know my office will, sadly, be a quieter place. I wish Monica the best of luck not only on her future endeavors serving the public, but with her new life and fiance, Mike Guerra, in New York. I thank her for her service to the Illinois 5th Congressional District.

``I fear that in every assembly, members will obtain an influence by noise, not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By contracted hearts, not large souls.''

Mr. Speaker, John Adams wrote those words to his wife over 200 years ago, but the same fear lives today. Congress is back in town and all anyone wants to know is when, not if, we will tear each other apart. I think we are better than that.

As we move into September and tonight's address, let's remember how John ended that letter to Abigail: ``There must be decency and respect, and veneration introduced for persons of authority of every rank, or we are undone. In a popular government,'' wrote Adams, ``this is our only way.''

``Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history,'' said Lincoln in an address to Congress in 1862. ``We of this Congress and this administration, we will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another

of us. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility.''

Lincoln didn't say that on one side of the battle lay a Democratic victory, and on the other side a Republican defeat, or vice versa. Lincoln didn't say that this was a victory achieved without great compromise. Lincoln didn't say, if you do things my way, with my party, we'll win this one. He told the story of a Nation that faced terrible consequences and yet still had the extraordinary foresight and fortitude to charge ahead toward a victory that included compromise.

``We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.'' His warning stands today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Brendan Moore for his outstanding work on behalf of the people of the Fifth District of Illinois. For the past two years, Brendan has served as my Legislative Counsel, advising my staff and me on legal issues and doing Judiciary Committee work.

A true Chicagoan and graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Brendan represented my alma mater with aplomb in his work on various legislative initiatives, including bills to close the gun show loophole and to ensure honest services from our elected officials. Furthermore, his great attitude and hearty sense of humor made working with him a true pleasure.

Perhaps most importantly, as a Notre Dame graduate Brendan gave me someone with whom I could talk ND football--even if the news was usually bad.

Whether it was Honest Services, Judiciary Committee briefings, or football under the Golden Dome, Brendan's thoughtful and professional contributions have been a great boon to our office and we thank him.

As he leaves to pursue public service opportunities back in Chicago, I am confident that his expertise, integrity, and good humor will continue to serve the people of Illinois well. I thank Brendan again for his hard work and wish him the best of luck in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the long and distinguished career of Ed Pyrzynski. For over 40 years, he has served as a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS), and has tirelessly worked to represent and protect the interests of his fellow USPS employees.

The son of Ed and Mary Pyrzynski, Mr. Pyrzynski began his career as a letter carrier for the USPS in 1970. His work was driven by his strong belief that the great service offered by the USPS should be brought to every home and business. Mr. Pyrzynski was also dedicated in ensuring that the most important issues faced by USPS employees were well- represented and considered. In the early 1980s, he became involved with the National Association of Letter Carriers, and was elected as a union steward for the Kedzie Grace Station. Through his work, he helped to promote cooperation between local employees and management by forming committees, organizing station and community events, and identifying various issues for joint resolution.

In the 1990s, Mr. Pyrzynski attended Wright College and Northeastern Illinois University, and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in training and development. He also began his work with the Illinois Letter Carrier Association, and later became the legislative liaison for the Illinois 5th Congressional District. In this capacity, he worked closely with my district office and traveled to Washington, D.C. in presenting the most salient issues faced by USPS letter carriers and other working Americans.

Today, Mr. Pyrzynski continues his work for the National Association of Letter Carriers by reconciling employee grievances. He was previously involved in the NALC's Dispute Resolution, a joint effort by USPS employees and management to promote accord in reducing the number of cases that go through costly arbitration resolutions. As he retires from his long and illustrious career, I am certain that Ed looks forward to moving to Arizona with his wife Laura, and spending more time with his family including his sons Jason, Seth, Travis, and Jeremy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. Ed Pyrzynski and his commitment to the many businesses and residents in the Chicagoland area, and to the interests of its employees. His tireless service and dedication will be missed, and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

``Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history.

``We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility.

``We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.''

Lincoln, of course, was talking about the state of a Nation in peril on December 1 in his address to Congress in 1862.

But if this Nation had not the leadership of that magnitude, who knows where we would be today. They faced terrible consequences and yet still had the extraordinary foresight and fortitude to charge ahead.

Today, we too face consequences. We face consequences of international economic impact, environmental and ecological destruction.

We consider this week a debt limit crisis that has brought out the best and worst amongst men and women I respect both here on this House floor and on the other side of this Capitol building and on cable news stations across the country.

We are also considering here in this House an Interior and Environment appropriations bill that simply says to our children: You clean it up; we don't care to bear the burden. This bill does irreparable damage to programs that keep our air clean, our water drinkable, and that protect our national and natural heritage. These are not dollars spent without thought, nor are they investments of a trivial nature as some would have us believe.

Simply put, these are science-based, pragmatic investments in public health. These cuts, all told, will not save the country a penny. The policy riders included in this bill will cost tens of thousands of lives. The bill will expose our children, families, and communities to unnecessary illness and degrade our irreplaceable natural resources.

But this week we are not stopping at a debt ceiling quagmire and an Interior and Environmental appropriations abhorrence. We will continue to consider a measure that would deem congressional approval for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The Keystone would flow from Alberta down to the gulf coast, threading right through the vast Ogallala Aquifer, the main drinking water source for the Midwest.

You can ignore the dozen leaks the Keystone ``one'' system has had in the last year, stoking fears of a spill in the aquifer from the proposed expansion pipeline. You can ignore the 42,000 gallons that seeped from an ExxonMobil pipeline into the Yellowstone River in Montana earlier this month, under which Keystone XL would also run. You can ignore the science that says that the high energy process of production of tar sands increases greenhouse gas emissions, pollutes water sources, and harms the proposed region's boreal forests. And you can ignore the fact that testimony of TransCanada officials to Canadian regulators included the fact that the pipeline would drive gasoline prices in the Midwest higher, not lower.

But let's forget all that.

On procedure alone, this Congressional consideration of a bill that is currently under review by the Department of State is unnecessary and unprecedented, potentially negatively affecting our national security and safety.

This proposed pipeline needs no congressional approval. In fact, this proposed expansion need not be approved at all. It has drawn criticism from the Environmental Protection Agency, who suggested that the State Department should consider how construction would affect wetlands, migratory birds, and communities through which it passes.

So we stand here today to consider approving a project expansion that has been deemed mediocre at best. We stand here today to consider an environmental appropriations bill that has been deemed the worst we have ever seen. And we stand here today while everyone around us fights against a compromise that might keep our standing in the international economy

from dipping further than we have already seen it fall.

Indeed, ``We cannot escape history. We hold the power, and bear the responsibility. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.''

President Lincoln, truer words were never spoken.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment to

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the World War II veterans from my district who are traveling to Washington, DC, with Honor Flight Chicago, a program whose goal is to provide as many World War II veterans as possible the opportunity to see the World War II Memorial here in Washington, DC, a memorial that was built to honor their courage and service.

The American veteran is one of our greatest treasures. The Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen traveling here today answered our nation's call to service during one of its greatest times of need. From the European Campaign to the Pacific Asian Theatre to the African Theater, these brave Americans risked life and limb, gave service and sacrificed much, all while embodying what it is to be a hero. We owe them more gratitude than can ever be expressed.

I welcome these brave veterans to Washington and to their memorial. I am proud to submit the names of these men and women for all to see, hear, and recognize, and I call on my colleagues to rise and join me in expressing gratitude.

Eugene L. Andrews, Raymond Appler, Gus Banakis, Preston Beard, Wallace E. Beaver, Frank J. Bernd, Frederick J. Boland, Edward Brown, Alfred Burton, Konstantine Costa, Donald DeBraal, Theodore DeJong, Edwin H. Enyart Sr., Arthur J. Fiddelke, Bernard Fine, David J. Floyd, James E. Folliard, Virginia L. Gary, Stanley G. Golaszewski, Byron G. S. Gronlund, Elmer Hajek, Lester Hansen, Wesley Earl Hardin Jr., Leonard P. Hasse, Roy E. Hilgendorf, Charles Hirsh, Robert Iftner, Anna Incinelli, William Isaacson, John Isenberg, Joseph G. Kacey, Vernon G. Kanz, Chris Karabatsos, Adam Joseph Keker, James F. Kerr Jr., Edward Kerschbaum, Lauri V. Koski, Ernest Krause, Chester Kwilosz, Daniel H. LaBella, Jerome L. Landsman, Rodney Latimer, Raymond J. Lesniewski, Jerry C. Levin, Paul T. Lorenzo, Donald E. Maas, John J. Maisch, Allen Mann, Earl McGarry, F. Edward Meksto, William Mihalo, Stephen Mileusnich, Jerrald Miller, Roy J. Moceri, James Morgan, Tony D. Morgese, William J. Murtha Sr., Thomas John Nagel, Carmen C. Nespeca, George Novak, Cornelius J. O'Connor, Dwain Eldon Parker, Stanley Piorkowski, Peter G. Polmen, Stanley Porch, Harry Clayton Price, Lloyd Quamme, Samuel S. Radford, Curtis D. Ramlet, Ora J. Royal, Thomas B. Ryan, Lester Schuenemann, Roland C. Schwarz, Mary S. Senn, Milton H. Shatswell, Burton J. Shulhafer, Bernard Joseph Siegel, David Simpson, George P. Slivinski, John F. Smith, Demetri Michael Spiro, Donald Springer, Leonard J. Sytsma, Daniel J. Trahey, Robert J. Trauscht, Marven Treiber, Robert Turner, Henry Van Westrop, Harold Verdak, William A. Vicich, John B. Wallar, Barry R. Wallis, Mathew A. Wardynski, Bernard J. Wavra, Theodore B. Winters, Chester B. Wojcik.

Mr. Speaker, an American President once wrote a letter to the Senate majority leader, urging him to raise the debt ceiling.

The President wrote: ``The full consequences of a default or even the serious prospect of default by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate.

``Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets.''

That President's name was Ronald Reagan, and the year was 1983.

He closes his letter to Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, saying: ``The risks, the costs, the disruptions, and the incalculable damage lead me to but one conclusion: The Senate must pass this legislation before the Congress adjourns.''

Watching the House floor 28 years later, you could be forgiven for being surprised Reagan would ever say such a thing. That's because the Reagan who gets referenced on the floor here is a myth while the Reagan who wrote to Howard Baker urging pragmatism was a man.

The real Ronald Reagan once said: ``All of us have grown up accepting, with little question, certain images as accurate portraits of public figures--some living, some dead. Seldom, if ever, do we ask if the images are true to the original.''

In the year of his 100th birthday, the Great Communicator might be amazed at how far his own image has shifted from the original.

He'd see his most dedicated followers using his name as justification for saying ``no'' to honoring our debts. He'd see his legacy used to play chicken with the world's greatest economic engine; but as Reagan often quoted John Adams, ``facts are stubborn things.''

The facts are these: President Reagan raised the debt ceiling 18 times. He recognized the danger of economic brinkmanship. President Reagan took responsibility when the deep tax cuts of 1981 didn't produce the promised revenue. He worked with both sides of the aisle to find a more sustainable balance. He worked with Tip O'Neill to shore up Social Security. He worked with my predecessor Dan Rostenkowski to reform the Tax Code and eliminate tax loopholes.

All of these actions would be condemned as tax increases by the purists who follow the image instead of the man. Image worship is a bipartisan disease, but we all do ourselves and our Nation a disservice by distorting past images to justify present policies.

As another American President, John F. Kennedy, once put it: ``The greatest enemy of the truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.''

To say I disagreed with President Reagan on a number of issues is an understatement, but the more I get to know the myth, the more I like the man. President Reagan was not a picture on the wall. He was President of the United States for two terms in office, and he did his best to fulfill his sworn obligations.

We in Congress would do well to follow his lead and focus on what we can do during our short time in office. Let's truly follow President Reagan's example and govern for the future, not a past that never existed. Instead of talking to portraits, let's talk to each other.

Mark Twain is credited with quipping: ``Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.'' If he were around today, he might add: It also passes for gun policy in the U.S. Congress.

The ATF is under fast and furious fire right now, and rightly so. Allowing hundreds of guns to ``walk'' in the hopes of catching big fish traffickers was terribly ill advised. But so too is Congress's excuse for gun policy. And sorry, folks, but the two are not entirely unrelated. If Congress wants to crack down on straw purchasing and stop the trafficking of firearms to Mexico, it is operating from the mother of all playbooks of how you would not accomplish it:

Chapter 1, ensure that the ATF remains devoid of leadership; Chapter 2,

pass only perfunctory straw purchasing laws; Chapter 3, attempt to block a simple commonsense proposal that border State dealers report multiple sales of AK-47s; Chapter 4, author legislation to immunize corrupt gun dealers and call it the ATF Modernization Act.

It's true: ``Denial River'' in Congress runs vast, wide, and deep.

Mr. Speaker, today the House will take up the so-called Clean Water Cooperative Federal Act, a bill that would more aptly be named the ``Dirty Water Act.''

Rarely does this body so blatantly attempt to deceive and misinform than in the case of a bill that in neither spirit nor practice seeks cleaner water.

This legislation would render the EPA toothless to enforce the Clean Water Act, giving polluters more leeway to break from clean water standards and make it more difficult for the Army Corps of Engineers to receive constructive advice from environmental experts during the permit process.

Additionally, the bill would make it impossible for the EPA to adjust clean water standards accordingly if new science emerges, an appropriately anti-science provision for those who have promoted a head-in-the-sand attitude toward addressing our environmental problems. We cannot stand by quietly during this attempt to lower water quality standards under the Orwellian mantle of ``clean water,'' and I hope this body does not fall for the ``Dirty Water Act.''