Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, when we look at the issue today, it is very simple. It is so simple. Private industry is putting a lot of money out so that our soldiers and their families can have adequate housing.

But let me look at the other side. When the pilots that we train, when the helicopter pilots leave, when the tank drivers leave, do you know how much it costs to train them? Private industry, my friends, they do not put one penny into that. It comes strictly from the taxpayers.

We know that a lot of the more senior members of the military are coming out, because the terrorist environment is blooming and they are getting out of the military so that they can get better paying jobs, and we are forcing them to leave the military because their families do not have adequate housing.

I have talked to helicopter pilots, and they tell me that they get calls in

Iraq about the plumbing in their homes not working, about the electricity having been shut off because of the wiring.

Mr. Speaker, let us do something that we need to do now and support our soldiers. It will take millions and millions of dollars when those senior members of the military get out, because their families do not want them to stay in the military because they do not have adequate housing.

Mr. Speaker, I promised the soldiers that we were going to correct that. Now I feel kind of embarrassed that we could not deliver to them what they need. I feel like my colleague. I am ashamed that we were not able to help our soldiers, those who are being wounded, those in the different hospitals.

Mr. Speaker, due to business in my district last Friday, I was unable to vote during the following rollcall Votes. Had I been present I would have voted: No. 355, ``yes''; No. 356, ``yes''; No. 357, ``yes'', No. 358, ``yes.''

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of our small businesses and in favor of my colleague's amendment. If we are going to keep America strong--we must make sure that we keep our small businesses strong. Our current contracting practices will not keep our small businesses solvent.

As many of you know, small businesses employ almost 60 percent of our private, non-farm work force. They generate more than half of our Nation's private, gross domestic product, and create a major share of our new jobs every year. This is why our continued efforts to bundle more and more contracts for federal services concern me. Of course, it is easier to give more work to a smaller number of contractors. That means there are fewer contracts to work and less time spent in administration, but this is only half of the issue.

While we are making life easier for the contract administrators, we are limiting the number of companies competing for these larger contracts. Small businesses are unable to compete for most of these bundled contracts because the contract amount is too large or because the contract covers too large of a geographic area. In the end, there is a loss of competition and an environment where a few large businesses control the market.

The Federal government should not abandon the competitive and pioneering small business market for more convenient contract administration. This is not good for our small businesses or for our country.

I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this amendment and our small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Moody Trojans, winner of the 2004 Texas High School Class 5-A Baseball Championship. These young players came heartbreakingly close to the championship as runners-up in the 2000 tournament, but this year the prize was all Moody's.

Moody baseball is not only a community tradition in South Texas, but also a family tradition. The players are an extended family, reading each other's minds and anticipating each other's moves. This is a group that sincerely loves to compete.

The amazing skill of this team won the recognition of coaches, resulting in the Trojans finishing second in the nation in the Baseball America/National High School Baseball Coaches Association poll released Monday. This season for ``Moody Magic'' has been one for the record books.

This is an aggressive, confident team, whose amazing baserunning in the title game was a large part of their victory. Of course, with these young people, that attitude is pervasive not only on the baseball diamond, but in all that they do.

Moody's fans are as relentless as their team. They were over 75 percent of the crowd, cheering the players on, chanting, blowing horns, yelling, clapping and stomping feet. Like the Trojans of old, they didn't give

up until the battle was done. Over 1,000 fans met the team when their bus got back to Corpus Christi. The crowd rushed to the field as the players placed their trophy on the pitcher's mound.

The Moody Magic is part inspiration, part hard work, and part spirituality that draws this team close. They pray together, win together and lose together; but they keep their faith.

Four years ago, they prayed even while their opponent was awarded gold medals for the championship; they prayed that the experience would make them better people. It did, and 2004 was their year to win the gold medals.

These young people have learned the very best lessons sports can teach. They learned that winning is great, but winners on the field are made from teamwork and faith; and winners in life are those who master the fundamentals, never lose their faith, and put their whole effort into all they do.

I ask the House of Representatives to join me today in commending this outstanding group of young champions from ``Moody Magic'' who have learned--and lived--the most important lessons of competition, faith and dignity. Mr. Speaker, these young people have inspired us and made us exceptionally proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the community of Harlingen, Texas, where area children are recognized for doing good deeds in their homes, schools, and communities.

With school resources so overtaxed, our community has partnered with the Concerned Businessmen's Association of America to sponsor the Harlingen area's Set A Good Example Contest, offered to all children from the surrounding communities.

The original school contest was launched in 1982 to recognize schools supporting student-oriented programs that positively influence other students by promoting moral values such as honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, competence, and fairness.

The Concerned Businessmen's Association of America is a non-profit educational organization incorporating successful business strategies to combat the social ills and problems that face young people.

We watch our children with new eyes every day, wondering what is going on inside their minds and what motivates them. The Harlingen community's parents, business people, educators, counselors--and most importantly, children themselves--are working together to ward off problems that are plaguing society today.

The best messenger for young people is other young people. There will never be one single answer to preparing our children to withstand the complex social issues they encounter each day. But future behavior, future understanding, will be based on the foundation our communities provide now.

I ask my colleagues to join me in commending the people of Harlingen, Former Mayor Connie De La Garza, and Mayor Rick Rodriguez for their efforts to be part of the solution to a problem that affects all of us in America. I thank them for leading the way to a better world for us all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a unique American patriot, Francisco Saldivar, a man who, after having spent over 40 years with the Brownsville Independent School District, has recently retired as principal of Yturria Elementary School.

Mr. Saldivar comes from an educator's background. His mother, a teacher from Mexico, helped make an early impression on his life-long desire to educate and give back to the community. To this end, Mr. Saldivar has served in a number of roles and duties within the school district, from teacher to administrator.

Mr. Saldivar spent over 12 years teaching fourth grade before becoming an assistant principal at Victoria Heights Elementary. Since then, he has also served as an assistant director of adult education as well as the principal of several elementary schools, most recently with Yturria.

With each new role he took on, Mr. Saldivar invariably displayed his selfless dedication to providing a well-rounded and worthwhile education. Indeed, as principal of Yturria Elementary, Mr. Saldivar still managed to take the time to help ease the transition of transfer students.

And after 6 years as principal of Yturria, Mr. Saldivar is finally retiring; and while he will certainly miss his old position, we will miss his commitment to our children's education even more.

There is no question that the education of our young people constitutes an important priority in our society. Education does more than simply impart knowledge; it prepares our children for the challenges they will meet in adulthood. Mr. Saldivar has worked with children for nearly half a century; he knows the problems they face, and has actively worked to alleviate them.

Our Nation is strengthened by dedication of educators like Mr. Saldivar in our school systems. The origins for our Nation's future will always lie within our youngest generations.

I ask my colleagues to join me in commending Principal Francisco Saldivar, for his indelible influence over the young minds in the Valley. His legacy is in the bright young minds he touched and shaped. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, my memories of Ronald Reagan are much like the memories of so many of those who met President Reagan and who were absolutely charmed by him.

Ronald Reagan wasn't just called the ``Great Communicator'' because he could give good speeches; he was a brilliant communicator on all levels. He understood how the everyday person on the street understood issues, and he framed things in such a way that people believed him. He presented his ideas simply and eloquently.

He was also excellent one-on-one. His Irish charm was all encompassing. That charm made him an agreeable opponent when we disagreed on issues. He welcomed opposition on a matter; he understood that democratic societies only flourish when both sides of an issue are clearly heard. He relished debate.

President Reagan's acting career was helpful to him in his political career, although his detractors often denigrated him for it. But he was a good actor; his performance in Kings Row was widely hailed. But World War II intervened and his advancing career was diverted to military service, making movies for the troops.

My personal memories of the President were times we saw each other in the White House or the Capitol. The first time we met, my 10-year-old daughter, Yvette, accompanied me to the White House party for new Members of Congress. After being rebuffed by a security guard when she asked if she could get Reagan's autograph, the President found out and obliged her with his autograph.

I remember another meeting with him that was rather high stakes on the international stage. I'd just returned from El Salvador in the mid 1980s with a CODEL of House Members where we'd sought to bring back good information about the rebel uprisings in Central America, particularly there in El Salvador.

Talking about--and debating at points during the conversation-- international policy with the President of the United States in the Oval Office was a heady moment. We marveled that a migrant worker from Robstown and a lifeguard from Illinois would wind up in this room, talking about such important things.

He loved this Nation and felt a great responsibility to it. When his tax cuts and economic policies produced mountains of massive deficit, he stepped up and reversed his policy, raising taxes higher than any president before him--or since--has ever done. His insistence that the Soviets tear down the Berlin Wall rang truer than anyone would have believed at the time.

He had a sweet soul. This was one of the central tenets of the man. He loved his wife deeply, and the entire Nation has come to love her even more after they left the White House. Nancy Reagan's monumental strength in the face of facing her dear husband's illness, without him entirely with her, might have broken lesser people.

One of the President's greatest contributions to humanity, and to this Nation, may have come after he left office to begin the long dark walk away from us, and his beloved family. That this strong, vigorous man was so removed, so empty, was chilling for all of us. The eyes that danced with Irish charm began to narrow with confusion.

The Nation was deeply moved watching this much-loved president face the indignities of Alzheimer's so bravely and with such conviction. We have been moved to seek new science and new treatments for the cruel disease that claims the last decades of many Americans, and drains their families.

For all we have said here today, Ronald Reagan will be remembered most profoundly as an eternal optimist, embodying the quintessential American spirit. At our core, we are all optimists, thinking about tomorrow. Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill once illustrated President Reagan's indomitable optimism with a story the President told him. President Reagan compared himself to the kid who walks into a room full of horse dung, and asks excitedly, ``Where's the pony?''

I join the House of Representatives today in honoring the life and service of Ronald Wilson Reagan and offer my condolences, those of my family, and those of my South Texas constituents, to Mrs. Reagan and the rest of their family.

May the Lord bless President Reagan's soul, and comfort Mrs. Reagan and their family in this time of loss.

Mr. Chairman, this is a time to step back and see what is being done, to look at, like we say, the whole ball of wax.

The base closure legislation was created back in 1989. We are now involved in two very serious wars. We are going to increase the troop level by 39,000 people. We have now begun to rely so much on the National Guard and Reserve. We have got 40,000 contractors all over the place.

Is it not time to step back and look at what is happening? When the service Secretaries appear before us, we ask them, Which base do you want to close? They have yet to name one base.

Savings? If there were so much savings, how come we have got a $419 billion budget?

Let us do the responsible thing and vote against this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I have the utmost respect for my two colleagues, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Ryun) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo), but we have a great stake in impartial diplomacy when it comes to Taiwan and China at every level.

I think that I am one of the Members who has been to Taiwan more than anybody else, at least 40 times because of the business we do with them, and I love the people of Taiwan. I have traveled extensively in the Far East on military trade missions and love the people of both China and Taiwan.

Taiwan is still working through a very divisive presidential election which has only further strained the relationship with China, and of course, we were able to see democracy in action by the people of Taiwan voting.

As one of the few Americans who has traveled to North Korea and talked to officials there, I remind Members, we have multiple dangerous strategic concerns in that area, and China has been kind enough to help us set those meetings with Japan, South Korea and the United States.

So I have to oppose this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate Memorial Day, 2004, we honor both the veterans who fought America's wars, and those who stand on the front lines of today's combat engagements.

Each day it seems, news from Iraq carries the awful news of combat deaths as we try to quell a nation and leave it in better hands than before. Most importantly, our troops are still pursuing al Queda and Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world to root out the entity that attacked us on 9-11. This generation's solemn mission is to undermine and eradicate the terrorist movement, which continues to grow and evolve, from the face of the Earth.

Today we honor all those who fought for this nation throughout our history. Americans all over the world are remembering friends, family members and countrymen who made the ultimate sacrifice for liberty and democracy. In South Texas, the list of young people lost in the global conflict with al Queda, and now in Iraq, is becoming longer than we can bear. We continue to welcome home other sons and daughters who were injured or captured. Please remember these brave young warriors and their families on this Memorial Day.

As a member of Congress who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, I know what we ask of people in uniform, and I know the difficulties of service. As a veteran, I know what is expected of soldiers and sailors in combat--or in the possibility of combat. The very least we must do for the men and women who serve this nation is provide adequately for their health care now and in their later years.

The attack on our nation on 9-11 served to remind us that firemen, law enforcement officers and doctors also stand on the front lines in the first war of the 21st Century. The world has entered this century through pillars of fire, and the United States is called to fight a global war again, this time against al Queda and the terrorism they sponsor and continue to inspire. Americans, as always, fight for this country, and South Texans always make an extraordinary contribution to our military force.

Today, let us pledge anew to face the challenges of our world with compassion, strength, and understanding as we stand on the watchtower of freedom. On this Memorial Day, let us remember the heroes of our history as we wish for peace as the poets and the dreamers do--but remain ever ready to fight the battles that are righteous, where the values of freedom and democracy are at stake.

Please take a moment of silence and remember the South Texas heroes who answered this nation's call to military service, especially those who gave this nation the ultimate measure of devotion. We remember them all and their families today and always. Our South Texas heroes:

Killed aboard the USS Cole: Petty Officer 3rd Class

Ronchester Santiago, 22, from Kingsville and Fireman Gary

Swenchonis Jr., 26 from Rockport, TX

Army Spc. Edward J. Anguiano, 24, from Los Fresnos, 3rd

Combat Support Battalion from Los Fresnos; he went missing on

March 23, 2003, when his convoy was ambushed in Iraq; his

remains were recovered on April 24

1st Sgt. Joe J. Garza, 43, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry

Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, from Robstown;

he was killed on April 28, 2003, when he was struck by a

civilian vehicle in Iraq

Pfc. Juan Guadalupe Garza Jr., 20, 1st Battalion, 4th

Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division from San Benito; he was

killed in action on April 8, 2003, in central Iraq

Staff Sgt. Hector R. Perez, 40, 1st Battalion, 327th

Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air

Assault) from Corpus Christi; he was killed when his military

convoy came under fire north of Hawd, Iraq on July 24, 2003

Spc. Jose A. Perez III, 22, 6th Battalion, 27th Field

Artillery Regiment, 18th Field Artillery Brigade, from San

Diego, Texas; he was killed in an ambush of a convoy on May

28, 2003, in Taji, Iraq

Sgt. Christopher Ramirez, 34, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry,

1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from McAllen; he died

from injuries sustained during combat operations in Al Anbar

Province, Iraq, on April 14, 2004

Sgt. John W. Russell, 26, 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation

Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), from

Portland; he was killed when two 101st Airborne Division UH-

60 Black Hawk helicopters collided in mid-air over Mosul,

Iraq, on November 15, 2003

Pfc. Dustin M. Sekula, 18, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine

Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary

Force, from Edinburg; he died due to injuries sustained from

enemy fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on April 1, 2004

Lance Cpl. Ruben Valdez Jr., 21, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine

Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary

Force, from San Diego; he died from combat injuries in Al

Anbar Province, Iraq, on April 17, 2004

May the Lord bless their souls, and make strong their families, who must live forever without them. And may this list grow no longer . . .

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from California and the gentleman from Missouri for the fine work that they have done in putting this bill together; and, of course, as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Readiness, I am pleased to join the gentleman from Colorado in commending H.R. 4200 to my colleagues' attention and urge them to vote for this great bill because we have worked together as a nonpartisan group. We have every reason to be proud of this bill as a whole and the readiness-related portions in particular. It reflects fair and thoughtful leadership and a lot of hard, bipartisan work on the part of the committee. Again I thank the gentleman from Colorado for that. Also I want to say thank you to our staff because it is not easy when you are working on a $400 billion bill to be able to put everything together and bring it to the floor. So to the staff, thank you for a great job.

I would first like to say how proud I am of our military forces and of the thousands of civilian workers who work night and day to support our military. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their service.

Mr. Chairman, we are a Nation at war. This bill that we have put together is a prudent way to approach the difficult balancing of competing demands to assure that our troops have what they need for success. To that end, we have authorized nearly $120 billion for their peacetime operating and maintenance requirements. But, of course, we are not in a peacetime environment. For example, the Army testified that coming into this fiscal year it had $1.2 billion of unfunded maintenance requirements as it began bringing its equipment back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Not only that, we are now depending a little too much on the Reserves and the National Guard. It has come to my attention that sometimes this equipment stays behind. They do not bring it back with them. The gentlemen who serve as National Guardsmen and Reserves are first responders in our communities. When they come back, they might not even have the equipment to train with because it is left behind. H.R. 4200 makes some progress on those concerns, but we know that we can expect a significant bill to come due when we begin to reset the force, repair the equipment as it returns from the war, and restock our prepositioned assets. That bill will be billions of dollars.

Today I ask my colleagues to support this bill. It is a good bill. It is a bipartisan bill. This is exactly what our troops need.

Mr. Chairman, with all my respect to my good friend from Virginia, I understand about our borders; but there is a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.

To begin with, I think that my ranking member just stated that we are moving 3,600 troops from Korea to Iraq because we do not have enough troops. Can you imagine what kind of signal this is sending to our friends in South Korea, what kind of signal it is sending to our friends in the Pacific Ring, that we are removing those troops because we do not have enough now?

I have been on both sides. I have been a law enforcement official, and I have been in the military. The Border Patrol has an extensive training school to deal with human beings. As a military guy, when I was in the military, they trained me how to kill people, especially the enemy.

So I do not think this is the way to do it, with all due respect. If we think we need to protect our borders more, the answer is hire more Border Patrol personnel or immigration.

Mr. Speaker, I share the revulsion of my colleagues, the House of Representatives, our friends and allies around the world-- indeed of the entire human race--over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers . . . or in the presence of American soldiers.

We are obliged to investigate this event; it has given our great Nation a black eye around the world, particularly in the Middle East where our efforts have been to help them find democracy.

We are a humanitarian nation and a signatory to the Geneva Conventions. We depend on the protections the conventions offer to our own POWs . . . and we may have broken that assurance now. We shouldn't need to train our soldiers in basic humanity; the other 99.9 percent of our soldiers know this is inhuman behavior. If not for an American soldier burdened by conscience we might not know this today.

This is not a reflection of our professional military--it's an aberration. The action of the soldiers who have candidly come forward-- even at the expense of their own careers--are the example of our professional military, and of the high standards democracy demands from those who serve in uniform. The actions of a few have sullied the reputation of our all-volunteer fighting force, our mission in the larger Middle East, and the standing of the United States as a democratic, humanitarian Nation.

There is simply no excuse for this inhuman behavior. We are a superpower; we should be setting the example, not acting like barbarians. I hope desperately when the investigation is completed that it will expose the guilty parties, each and every one, who must be punished so the world will know that this Nation finds this behavior aberrant.

I thank Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton for bringing this issue before the House of Representatives today. This is very much an American issue, not a partisan issue. We must demand and expect that the people--all the people--with any responsibility for this are punished to show the world that this is not American. And we must never, ever, put this irrational, inhuman behavior on the young men and women serving honorably in the uniformed service of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who selflessly dedicated his

life to aid those who need it most. Wayne Potter of Harlingen was a man who went to great lengths to improve the community.

He took the time to volunteer. Even when his health was failing, he still found the time and energy to keep up with what was so important to him: his mission of volunteering. His life was an example we should all aspire to emulate.

Mr. Potter aided those patients who are mentally ill. He also served as volunteer board member of the Family Crisis Center, the Public Library, the Retired Teachers Association and the Rio Grande Valley Museum.

As a public official he was Harlingen City Commissioner and served a term as Mayor Pro Tem. His presence and his energy in the community have been sorely missed since we lost him last year.

Wayne Potter was a philanthropist for his country, his fellow teachers, neighbors and friends. As a math and science teacher, Mr. Potter ensured children's concerns were not overlooked; he served as a mentor and counselor to them in their time of need. During War World II when his country was in need, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, attaining the rank of Lt. Colonel.

Mr. Potter's service and volunteer efforts are greatly missed in The Rio Grande State Center. Since the center opened its doors, Mr. Potter volunteered his time and served as an officer of the organization. By the time of his passing, he had given 20,000 hours of his personal time to others. Mr. Potter leaves a legacy we all admired; as the Good Book says: ``It is better to give than to receive.'' That's how Wayne Potter lived his life.

Mr. Speaker, the volunteering community of South Texas will honor Mr. Potter's memory and lifetime of service by naming the 55-bed mental health unit at the Rio Grande State Center the ``Wayne Potter Memorial Building.'' His volunteering efforts will now live on through his name on the Center, which was so important to him, and his spirit of generosity.

I ask my colleagues to join me today in commending the life and service of Mr. Wayne Potter, and in paying tribute to this great example of a man whose efforts and dedication made a difference in his community, with his students, and in the lives of those less fortunate than most of us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Brownsville, Texas, Lopez High School Lobos for their victory last weekend at the Class 4A State soccer championship, winning the game 2-1 and finishing their season at 25-4-1.

No team is greater than the student body and parents who support them, and that was Lopez' not-so-secret weapon. Over two-thirds of the crowd was there to support the Lobos, and their chants of ``Si se puede'' (we can do it) inspired this victory.

Lopez High School brought home to Brownsville the first championship title in UIL soccer. To find Brownsville teams that won State titles, you have to go back to 1985 and 1967 (both were cross country championships).

Lopez won seven playoff games for the right to compete for the State championship. Awful weather even played a part in the tournament. The title match was originally scheduled for the week before, but heavy rain and lightning postponed the championship game to another site and another time.

As any athlete can tell you, the rhythm of your game is a large part of the overall effort, and being mentally prepared for a game on a certain date--then having to postpone the game--can play havoc on your rhythm. But not for these young athletes; for them it did not matter that their shot at the title was postponed for a week. They redoubled their efforts

and practice . . . and played with purpose, endurance and confidence.

Lopez High School Principal Maggie Gutierrez summed up the lessons for the team to learn in this sweet victory. ``This team has a spirit of never giving up no matter what,'' she said. ``Lopez Lobos are born to succeed, and no one else will tell them any different.'' These athletes learned an important lesson in this championship: They are absolutely capable of doing great things; my prayer is that their imaginations will be their only limits in this world.

I offer my proud congratulations to each member of the team, to the coaches and their assistants, to the parents who must endure the practices and the injuries, and to the principal and teachers who set the example of combining education and athletics. Mostly, I want these young people to understand that they won far more than the respect that comes with a championship . . . they now know that dreams can come true.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in offering our best wishes to the Lopez High School Lobos for their hard-fought and well- deserved victory at the Texas Class 4A State soccer championship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an American patriot, cultural icon, and leader in our South Texas community: Freddy Fender, an accomplished artist whose appeal is ageless. Freddy proved his everlasting influence in 2002 when he won the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album and again this year, as the Texas Folklife Resources celebrated 50 years of Freddy's music with a concert as part of its Folk Masters series on Saturday, April 10, 2004, at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas.

A San Benito, Texas, native and legendary performer, Freddy was born Baldemar Huerta. He began his career as teenager recording popular English language songs in Spanish that found an audience in Mexico and Latin America in the 1950s. In the 1960's his career took off in the United States with the hit, ``Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.''

Those wild, early days eventually put him on more disciplined path. He went back to school and worked as a mechanic, but he continued singing.

His number one hit, ``Before the Next Teardrop Falls,'' was his re- entry into popular culture. That album went multi-platinum, and Fender won best male artist of 1976. In the latter part of the century, he spread his wings, expanded upon his talent and worked with Robert Redford in the movie The Milagro Beanfield War and other non- traditional projects.

He found his stride, working in different parts of the entertainment industry. But he never strayed far from the bounds of music, working with The Texas Tornados.

Freddy and his family have been tested in the fires of a near-death experience. After a protracted illness, Freddy received a kidney from his daughter, cheating death, and still singing and writing his songs.

Freddy's Grammy Award-winning album in 2002 captured the yearning for a simple, romantic return to youth. The cover has a 4-year-old Baldemar Huerta dressed as a cowboy astride a painted pony. ``La Musica de Baldemar Huerta'' is 10 boleros with little accompaniment. Boleros are poignant ballads generally featuring sophisticated guitar picking and sensual rhythms.

The biggest thing for which Freddy is known in South Texas is his generosity of spirit in establishing a scholarship fund for average students. An average student himself, and an avowed troublemaker in his youth, he has a unique understanding of the challenges before a young person who has either made a mistake, made only average grades, or both.

I ask the House of Representatives to join me--and the Texas Folklife Resources--in honoring Freddy Fender a great American treasure, a South Texan, a friend, and lifelong cultural icon in North American music.