Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of an important anniversary--the birthday of the United States Army.

Just shy of 233 years ago the people of our nation came together as volunteers to meet the demands of the American Revolutionary War. On June 14, 1775, the United States Army was born. I believe that on that day, the defense of our freedom and the American spirit of democracy was born.

Since the birth of our Army, we've battled through 24 major engagements including the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, two World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more recently, Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.

The Army's senior leadership said it best in their birthday message to the force at large. They stated, ``Our sacrifices have preserved our way of life, built a better future for others, and led our nation to victory over our enemies. We are the best in the world at what we do, and because of our values, our ethos, and our people--especially our people. Our Army is hugely resilient, professional, and battle- hardened.'' The men and women I've met in my travels to our bases in Iraq and at home in Kansas reassure me that the United States Army is still made up of the finest people our country has to offer.

On the anniversary of the United States Army, I encourage everyone to take a moment to think about the bravery of our men and women that serve. These sons and daughters of America take an oath that could mean the ultimate sacrifice. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the priceless gift they give our nation, and each day I pray for everyone's safe return. Spirit, patriotism and courage shine through in the faces of today's members of the Army, in just the same way I imagine it did in 1775.

Happy Birthday--U.S. Army!

Madam Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 405, 406, 407, and 408, I was at Walter Reed visiting SPC Kody Wilson who was seriously wounded in Iraq in May. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of an important anniversary--the birthday of the United States Army.

Just shy of 233 years, maybe on a day like today, the people of our Nation came together as volunteers to meet the demands of the American Revolutionary War. It was on that day, June 14th, 1775 that the United States Army was born. I believe that on that same day the spirit of democracy was defended and the birth of our freedom was realized.

Since the birth of our Army, we've waged through 24 major engagements including the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Kosovo War and more recently Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.

Army's Senior Leadership said it best in their birthday message to the force at large. They stated, ``Our sacrifices have preserved our way of life, built a better future for others, and led our Nation to victory over our enemies. We are the best in the world at what we do, and because of our values, our ethos, and our people--especially our people. Our Army is hugely resilient, professional, and battle- hardened.'' I am reassured through the training that I've personally watched in my travels to Iraq and at home that the U.S. Army is without doubt prepared.

I think about the bravery of our men and women that serve. Not a day goes by when I haven't thought about the priceless human investment our Nation bears through America's Sons and Daughters. Though I continually pray for everyone's safe return, I know that each citizen takes an oath that could mean giving the ultimate sacrifice. I am consistently reminded from faces I see almost daily of the special qualities of spirit, patriotism and courage that exude from the men and women in uniform today, just as they did in 1775.

Happy Birthday--U.S. Army!

Madam Speaker, I hope the House will join with me today to pay tribute to an exceptional General Officer in the United States Army, Brigadier General Mark O'Neill, upon his retirement from active military service.

General O'Neill's distinguished career spans over 30 years of service to our great Nation, culminating as Deputy Commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1978 after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has served in command and staff positions with the 82d Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, 25th Infantry Division, and the 3rd Infantry Division. He has commanded tactical units at the platoon, company, battalion and brigade level, and served as the Chief of Staff of the 10th Mountain Division. He has also served as Assistant Army Attache in the Defense Attache Office, American Embassy, Beijing, China, and as a strategic analyst on the Army Staff at the Pentagon. In addition to service during Operation Iraqi Freedom, General O'Neill has served during Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

In addition to attendance at numerous U.S. Army and Joint Force tactical courses and schools, General O'Neill is a graduate of the U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer's Course, the Defense Language Institute, and the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in National Security Affairs. He completed advanced Chinese language and area studies while assigned to the U.S. Defense Liaison Office in Hong Kong where he studied at the Beijing University School of Foreign Languages and the British Ministry of Defense Chinese Language School. General O'Neill is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, four awards of the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Ranger Tab, and the Expert Infantryman's Badge.

As a Member of Congress, I am extremely fortunate to call Mark a friend. In fact, Mark and I were junior high and high school classmates and we've taken advantage of our existing friendship to foster a strong working relationship. I will miss his candor and his guidance. I ask my colleagues to join me today to thank General O'Neill, his wife Lori, and his entire family for the commitment, sacrifice and contribution that they have made throughout his honorable military career.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the city of Baxter Springs, Kansas for their sesquicentennial.

One hundred fifty years ago, Baxter Springs was founded, and it was named in honor of its first settler, John Baxter. During this time there was a booming cattle trade in Kansas, with Baxter Springs being an important point of commerce for cattlemen from the south bringing their livestock to sell in Kansas City. In fact, Baxter Springs was one of the first ``Cowtowns'' founded in Kansas.

Should one have the chance to visit Baxter Springs, you would see the same scenic backgrounds of Kansas prairie and the Spring River that the first settlers of the city would have viewed. The river has played host to many of the town's events over the years, and also supported the town's first flour mill.

Many visitors have come through Baxter Springs while traveling on Route 66. The road is an important part of local, and national history with Americans traveling on Route 66 to destinations near and far, viewing some of the most beautiful sites that America has to offer.

There is a lot of history in the city of Baxter Springs, and it represents an important aspect of the State of Kansas. As the sesquicentennial slogan states, ``150 years and only the beginning.''

I offer my sincerest congratulations to Baxter Springs and I give my warmest wishes for the next 150 years.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the city of Baxter Springs, Kansas on their 150th anniversary. During the past century and a half, Baxter Springs and the state of Kansas have seen its share of ups and downs. Baxter Springs has lived through a handful of wars, including one that happened right on its own turf when the city was still just an infant. It has persisted through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, drought, floods, feast and famine. With all of these challenges, some Kansas towns throughout the decades have not survived a century, much less 150 years.

A sesquicentennial is not an easy day to reach for any town and its citizens should be proud for their part in building and preserving such a wonderful community. I have been to Baxter Springs and seen firsthand the wonderful culture and the pride that has blossomed just off of historic Route 66.

Baxter Springs can be looked at by other Kansas communities as a benchmark for morality, patriotism and the spirit of hard work. While I wish I could be there in person to celebrate with them, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the city of Baxter Springs on a great 150 years. Here's to another great 150 years!

Mr. Speaker, without the 1944 GI Bill, I would not be standing here today.

The GI Bill educated my dad after he came home from World War II. And today is his 86th birthday; so happy birthday, Dad.

The GI Bill paid for his tuition, his room, his books, some living expenses. It paid for his college degree. It helped him lift our family from the Depression into the middle class, and it offered my two brothers and me a brighter future.

Millions of Americans have stories that are just like mine. In all of the many ways that America shows gratitude to our veterans, the GI Bill has to be one of the greatest.

I was honored last week to vote to extend and to renew the GI Bill to the new generation of veterans that are coming home. The GI Bill was always meant to be a permanent promise, a contract with our soldiers, a bill of rights for our veterans. And I certainly urge the Senate and the President to pass this bill into law as soon as possible.

Happy birthday, Dad.

Mr. Speaker, this past fall, this House passed H.R. 3997, which included a provision to permanently extend the military eligibility for the earned income tax credit (EITC). However, we are back here again while our men and women in uniform still wait for a permanent solution. We provided a 1-year extension, but our military deserve a permanent fix.

Without action today, hundreds of thousands of troops could find their EITC eligibility slashed. It would be a tax borne solely by our soldiers and our military families. We call it a soldier tax.

Our military continues to serve our country with honor and distinction. The last thing we need is for our soldiers and their families to have to worry about paying higher taxes next year. That is why I authored the Tax Relief for Armed Combat Families Act for 2007. It will permanently end the soldier tax. Our military families should not have to worry from year to year what funds are going to be available to take care of their families.

I thank Chairman Rangel for working my language into today's legislation, and I call on my colleagues to pass this important legislation. Let's permanently end the soldier tax.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor all branches of the military this Armed Forces Day. I speak for Kansas and for the United States when I say that the men and women who make our country safe have earned our respect and our appreciation.

Many are called upon to protect our towns, our businesses and our homes in times of crisis. When Mother Nature strikes, the National Guard absorbs the blow and ensures that life will go on as usual. Each of our military personnel has been tasked with the defense of our Nation. When terrorism, tyranny and injustice strike, the National Guard, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard absorb the blow so that we can remain free. Free to enjoy our values, to pursue our hopes and dreams.

These service men and women have been asked to travel to Iraq or Afghanistan, to be away from their spouses, their children, their jobs--that's a lot to ask of anyone. Yet they go and they fulfill their responsibilities to their State and our country. Today we recognize these brave men and women. Every day we recognize those who serve. I want to thank them for their vital role in making this Nation the land of the brave and the home of the free.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the staff and administrators of the Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, past, present and future.

For 75 years, the Dole Veterans Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas has improved the health and overall well-being of all veterans who visited. The capable and trusted staff has provided care, comfort and answers to multitudes of difficult questions. When our brave service men and women return home to the State of Kansas, they know, and they have known for three quarters of a century, that their wounds, whether physical or psychological, will not go untreated. They have encountered care, compassion and wisdom from the staff here at Dole Veterans Medical Center. With our support, that level of care will only increase.

In my first 2 years in office, this House has voted to add almost $18 billion more in veterans funding. Many of those dollars are directed specifically to health care needs which had, in the past, been grossly underfunded.

I will continue to fight for increases in funding directed toward veterans' health care programs, in order to help preserve the legacy of quality health care and fuel improvements for the future.

The Dole Veterans Medical Center, with its 75 years of success and unparalleled performance, is an absolute godsend. The State of Kansas thanks everyone involved in making that true and I ask that my colleagues join me in thanking them for their service and the service of all our Nation's veterans.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Highland Community College on 150 years of educating the good people of the state of Kansas. Chartered in 1858, Highland Community College was the first college in Kansas, and it has overcome many adversities to remain prosperous and respected to this day. Highland Community College offers a wonderful and necessary service to students who are trying to make more out of their lives.

Community colleges play an important and distinctive role in the American education system--they provide a world class education that is affordable and provides flexibility. Highland Community College facilitates programs for many non-traditional students all over the state of Kansas through its outreach program. It offers many night and weekend classes to those students whose lives can not be built around the typical student's schedule. A degree from Highland Community College will take any student far in life, and for some, it will be the push they needed to pursue additional degrees.

In Kansas, we believe that college should open doors, not close them, and that education should create opportunities, not debt. Sadly, instead of graduating with hope for their future, many of today's college students graduate with loan payments as far as the eye can see. In an increasingly competitive society, higher education is a necessity. Paying for and completing a higher education degree must be a realistic possibility for everyone. The great community colleges in Kansas, in particular Highland Community College, make that a reality for many students.

Highland Community College has made a commitment to providing a low- cost, high-value education. With their leadership, we'll move closer to the day when every Kansas student who wants to attend college can afford to do so and can receive a high quality education that fits their needs as an individual.

Highland Community College has served the State of Kansas and served it well. These words are a mere token of gratitude and cannot begin to repay the debt that we as Kansans owe members of the Highland community. Today, I congratulate Highland Community College on 150 years of success.

Mr. Speaker, this week (May 4-May 10) we celebrate Teacher

Appreciation Week, and Tuesday, May 6, as National Teacher Day. These days have been set aside as a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives.

Last year, the National Education Association (NEA) conducted an online poll asking teachers what kind of gift would most make them feel appreciated. The answer? A simple ``thank you, `` according to nearly half (48 percents) of all respondents.

Such humility comes as no surprise. My mother was a public school teacher, so I know firsthand how many sacrifices teachers make both with their own money, their time and their heart. They work long hours and are often underappreciated. Yet, few other professionals touch as many people as teachers do. I bet many of us learned life lessons that we carry with us today because of a special teacher. I don't know that we can ever say ``thank-you'' enough times to teachers who have made a difference in our lives. This week, I hope we'll all take a minute to tell a special teacher ``thank you''--a simple thank you card, a quick phone call--it means a lot.

I recognize that these are small ways to honor teachers, and that we have to put our money where our mouth is. Teachers give so much to support Kansas students--it's high time that Congress repays the favor. Here are some of the ways I have made a commitment to helping teachers:

Providing tax relief for teachers. I co-sponsored H.R. 549, the Teacher Tax Relief Act to increase and make permanent a tax deduction of up to $400 for elementary and secondary school teachers. I am also a co-sponsor of H.R. 3605, introduced after H.R. 549, which will increase the deduction to $500. This deduction would help teachers recoup expenses when they use their own money to buy classroom supplies.

Funding Continuing Education for Teachers. I voted for the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science (COMPETES) Act, which became law in August, 2007. The act provides professional development for teachers, ensures more highly qualified classroom teachers in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology, and provides funding to improve laboratory equipment and facilities.

Student Loan Assistance. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which I voted for and was signed into law by the President in September, 2007, includes a tuition assistance program for public school teachers who commit to working in impoverished areas or in high- need subjects.

Public schools are at the heart of any community and I believe we all have to work together to make our schools the best that they can be. That means everyone in the community--parents, business owners, retirees, local government and students must pitch in.

This week is an opportunity for all of us to get involved. That apple on the desk or a thank you card is an important first step. But, let's use this week to learn about and advocate for high standards for our public schools and appropriate compensation for teachers. A community's active support of the work that teachers do, combined with that ``thank-you,'' can make changes that will last for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise again with my colleague Mr. Moran to salute the 2008 national champion Kansas Jayhawks.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk. Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

My district includes some of the most loyal college basketball fans in the Nation. Every week they get up, go

out in the dark in the middle of the Kansas prairie winter, and they journey out into the cold and dark to sit on wooden benches in an old field house, and they cheer on our local team, the Kansas Jayhawks, just like their parents and grandparents did. They are also some of the luckiest college basketball fans in the Nation. Our field house is the legendary Allen Field House, and our local team is the Kansas Jayhawks, one of the most dominant college basketball teams in this Nation. This year the Kansas Jayhawks made their 13th, their 13th, Final Four and they won their fifth national championship.

Eat your heart out, MU.

In 109 years of basketball, the Jayhawks have had only eight head coaches. The position was first held by James Naismith, the very founder of this legendary game, but there have been none better than our current head coach, Bill Self. Self came to Kansas 5 years ago, and since then he's led the Kansas Jayhawks to four consecutive Big 12 Conference regular season championships and through three consecutive Big 12 tournament championships. And, Mr. Speaker, this is a tough, tough conference where even the lowly Missouri Tigers were able to hold Kansas close until the final minutes.

The Kansas Jayhawks won the first Final Four where all four number one seeds participated. This year all four of the number one seeds were in the last Final Four. And our Kansas Jayhawks won in dramatic fashion. Those of us who are from Kansas were hoping that the last three points that Mario Chalmers sunk into that basket might replace some of those annoying comments about Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz and then they're going to say, ``You're from Kansas. Aren't they the great basketball team that won in such a wonderful fashion?'' And I'm going to say yes, Mr. Speaker, they are. Our Kansas Jayhawks have made us all proud. And I congratulate them; I congratulate our chancellor, Bob Hemenway; and the entire KU and Bill Self for their wonderful victory and for making Kansans so proud.

Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the state of Kansas for passing the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children Kansas (Kansas House Bill 2714).

Military parents, like all parents, want a high-quality education for their children. Due to the nature of their jobs, which often require frequent moves, military families are too often faced with extra challenges. The enactment of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children is truly a hallmark for the state of Kansas. It will remove the educational barriers military children often face when parents must move to another state or are deployed.

The bill creates a pact with other states to streamline the school transfer process. It includes many creative solutions such as allowing students to use hand-carried records, rather than waiting on schools to transfer records, and requiring districts that do transfer records to do so within 10 days. it also gives extra excused absences to children with a parent who is deploying or returning and lets students enroll in advanced courses and special education programs previously enrolled in. Further, it provides schools with the choice to enroll students into extracurricular programs midseason and waive prerequisites

Provisions in the bill will apply to children of active members of the military, including those members severely injured and medically discharged and those retired for a period of up to one year after retirement.

The U.S. Department of Defense Office of Personnel and Readiness, in cooperation with the Council of State Governments and Advisory Group, have embraced the compact and look forward to working with other states as they develop similar programs.

This compact celebrates our nation's defenders and I ask my colleagues in Congress to congratulate the fine state of Kansas and to encourage their states to join the Compact.

Madam Speaker, I rise to commend Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas on its one-hundredth anniversary.

Mount Carmel is a fixture in the city of Topeka. It has thrived within the Capital City of Kansas throughout many adversities, both national and local. The past 100 years has offered our Midwestern State many challenges. The Great Depression, two World Wars and a Dustbowl to name a few. We have needed a place of refuge when things seemed their worst. Whatever the cause for prayer happened to be, Mount Carmel's doors have always been open to Kansans in need. They have been a provider of faith, hope and comfort . . . three products which come free and can never be overproduced.

I would be remiss to not mention the happiness born within this church as well. Babies have been baptized in recognition of life's beginnings. Countless weddings and social gatherings have taken place within its walls. Friends and loved ones have gathered around to say `goodbye.'

It has been a meeting point for good community members. It has been a rallying point for those who make up the backbone of our Kansas communities.

I offer my sincerest congratulations to Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church and I truly hope they are there to serve the good people of Kansas for another hundred years.