Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a sad heart to honor a great man, a dedicated public servant and a good friend. In our own ways, each of us will miss something special about Bob Matsui. Let me share with my colleagues my own experience with him.

Bob Matsui gave me my first job on Capitol Hill. In July, 1979, I went to work for him as a part-time assistant, entering constituent information into a computer, and then helping to write legislative correspondence. Bob was a freshman Member then, but even at that time I realized he was to have a long and brilliant career in the Congress. Twenty-two years later we reunited on the floor. Just recently I showed him a photograph we took together on the steps of the Capitol. The color was faded and the paper brittle. But I kept it throughout the years to remind me of the first Member of Congress who gave me an opportunity in public service.

Bob Matsui embodied the best values of public service. He believed so strongly in opportunity here at home and through sensible trade policies abroad. It was an honor to have had the opportunity to learn from a man who put the good of his constituents and of Americans generally over partisanship and political one-upsmanship. It is a lesson I have strived to apply during my own tenure in this body.

Bob Matsui set an example for all of us with his integrity and dedication. He will be greatly missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the birth of Harper Natalie Bruckenthal. On Friday, November 19, 2004, this beautiful young girl was born to Patricia Bruckenthal, the widowed wife of Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan Bruckenthal, an American hero lost to us in the conflict in Iraq. The birth of Harper Natalie Bruckenthal ensures that everything that was good about Nathan Bruckenthal will live on for another generation and many more to come. In that infant baby's eyes can be seen the images of her heroic father. It is tragic that she will grow up not knowing her father, but I hope that she will be able to find some comfort in his legacy and allow his spirit to guide her.

Today, I honor once more the sacrifice of Nathan Bruckenthal; I honor his wonderful wife Patricia, mother of his infant child; and, most importantly, I welcome his new daughter, Harper Natalie Bruckenthal, the child of an American hero, to our world. It is a better world because people like Nathan Bruckenthal answered the call to duty, made great sacrifices and met the greatest challenge posed to every generation: leaving behind a better world for their children.

Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Marion Bergman, a pulmonologist and an attending physician at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, and recipient of the hospital's 2004 Dr. Jacob Dranitzke Award.

Dr. Bergman was born in South Africa while the oppressive doctrine of apartheid was still in place. During her childhood she witnessed countless acts of racism and discrimination, acts that had a profound impact on her. While still young, Dr. Bergman began what would become a lifelong commitment to service when she began working in the severely poor area of South Africa called Soweto. The training she received there has affected her life's work in numerous ways--including a passion for an equitable heath care system.

Dr. Bergman is now a highly esteemed pulmonologist and attending physician at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital where she has served with great distinction for over two decades. During her tenure, Dr. Bergman has served as Medical Director of Respiratory Care Services and, for a period, as president of the hospital. Dr. Bergman provides essential mentoring services to medical students, who she invariably instills with her dedication to excellence and giving. While carrying out this challenging career, Dr. Bergman has simultaneously worked towards a master's degree in public health from the Wagner School at New York University, raised two wonderful sons and contributed extensively to her community.

Specifically, Dr. Bergman serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Medical Education for the South African Blacks charity therefore maintaining a strong link to her past. This nonprofit group is a fundraising organization that provides South Africans with a chance at higher-level education. Furthermore, Dr. Bergman is an active member of the International Women's Health coalition and recently traveled to Nigeria as part of this coalition. Finally, Dr. Bergman serves on the Executive Committee of the Long Island Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

Dr. Bergman is being awarded the prestigious Dr. Jacob Dranitzke Award. Dr. Dranitzke was a child immigrant from Russia who went on to become a committed doctor on Long Island and served the Patchogue community with great distinction. Dr. Dranitzke was a founding member of the Brookhaven Memorial Hospital and served as the hospital's first chief of surgery.

Dr. Bergman has followed in the footsteps of Dr. Dranitzke with her unparalleled level of service to peers, to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, and to her community. I wholeheartedly congratulate her on her remarkable achievements among which she can now include the presentation of this award, an award that could not be given to a more deserving person. Dr. Bergman is a leader in our community and in every community she enters.

Mr. Speaker, this past September I was contacted by officials in the two counties that I represent urging me to do everything I could to extend the Qualifying Individual-1, QI-1, program. This important program gives Federal money to State Medicaid programs to pay for the Part B premium for low-income seniors. They stressed extending the program is particularly important this year as the Medicare Part B premiums are increasing over 17 percent from $66.60 to $78.20.

Medicare Part B is theoretically voluntary, but in reality is necessary for any senior who does not have some form supplemental insurance. Medicare Part B covers outpatient services, doctor visits, and other health care services not covered by the Hospital Insurance component of Medicare Part A.

Unfortunately, seniors must pay a premium for Medicare Part B. Low- income seniors live on very tight budgets. If Congress allowed this program to expire, there would be a number of low-income seniors who would have to decide if the monthly $78.20 would be better spent on food rather than on their health care premium.

I responded to local officials by introducing legislation that would extend this program for another year. My legislation is identical to the Senate bill that we are voting on today. It extends this vital program for another year, and I am proud to have sponsored it in the House.

I was not the only Member to respond to this call. Representative Jim Saxton and I both introduced this bill. Two Members of Congress in different parties introducing the same bill shows the universal support for this bill.

The QI-1 program has been to the brink of expiring before. It was enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997 and was originally scheduled to expire in December of 2002. Since the program has proved to be vital for low-income seniors, it has been extended a number of times through continuing resolutions, TANF reauthorization, and it was last extended in the Medicare Modernization Act. The last extension expired on September 30, 2004; however, it was extended through a continuing resolution through November 20, 2004.

I am very happy and relieved that QI-1 program will be extended for another year. It is my hope that next year, Congress will enact legislation that permanently extends this program. Our low-income seniors and their advocates should not be made to deal with the emotional roller coaster each year, while this program comes so close to ending.

I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation and I look forward to working with them to enact legislation that makes this program permanent.

Mr. Speaker, there are times in our lives when we fully realize the presence of heros among us. And there are times when we fully realize that we have lost one of those heros; that is the case with Marine 1st Lt. Matthew Lynch, a young man who gave his life for his country in Iraq. It is difficult to memorialize a man who stood as tall in life as Matthew did and harder yet to memorialize a man who stands even taller in death. I believe the words of his father, Bill Lynch, spoken at Matt's funeral speak best to this fallen hero and not only capture the magnitude of the great life Matt lived but the magnitude of the loss to our nation:

``To all Matt's friends, and you are many; I thank you for

coming. Saying farewell to our beloved Matthew is the hardest

thing I have ever done. At this time, my thoughts alternately

fly through my mind like sharp arrows; or slip through my

mental fingers like quicksilver; and I cannot hold them fast.

Because of this; and because I have only this one time to pay

tribute to Matt, and to tell you about his life, I must affix

my thoughts to paper, and read them; and for this, I beg your

indulgence.

But for now, I borrow from Shakespeare, and tell you that .

. . We gather today to praise Matt, not to bury him. And that

is because all the things Matt was; Love of family and

friends; gentleness, strength, humor, grace, dedication,

honor, loyalty, patriotism, humility, and yes, of course,

courage . . . can never be buried, because they are eternal,

as is now, our beloved Matt.

While we mourn Matt's loss it brings with it an opportunity

for us all, in private moments, to reflect on what he was,

and perhaps to develop in ourselves, those attributes he had,

which we lack; so that the warm light of remembrance which

fills this church today, may one day shine on us.

I will speak to you today of Matt's life, and of ironies

gentle, and tragic, which at present you know nothing of, and

I will tell you of a curious sign I've lately seen which

reassures me.

But for now, to understand Matt's life, you are in the

right place; because this is where all that he was, began, on

a Summer day in 1979, when my wife Angela and I brought our

little Matthew Devin Lynch to that very baptismal font, to be

baptized. The Gospel that day, I remember vividly, was the

Gospel according to Saint Matthew, and I thought that a very

propitious beginning. The name Matthew, we knew, came from

Hebrew, and meant ``Gift of God.''

And what a gift he was! Cherubic, loving, obedient, and oh

yes, very active. As he developed, it was evident that he had

extraordinary athletic skills. One day when he was about 3

years old, and bounding about with his brother Tim and their

friends, a visitor to our neighbor's patio said to me ``Is

that your son?'' ``Yes,'' I replied. ``Do you realize that he

is a natural athlete?'' the man said. ``How do you know,'' I

asked? ``I am a pediatrician,'' he said, ``I see thousands of

kids, and believe me, he is a natural athlete.'' It was a

prophecy, which would be fulfilled.

I raised both our sons as athletes, and spent countless

hours drilling various skills into them. I always did it with

some zany game I had devised . . . Kids learn best when they

are having fun. In most of those games, I was the villain,

the opponent, the one to be conquered, but I always did it

with humor, and they came to love ``the games.''

When they were only 5 or 6 years old, we used to play a

game I had devised to build their swimming speed, I called it

``Shark and Minnows.'' In our community pool, I would emplace

Matt and Tim near a ladder at one end of the pool. Their

mission was to swim to a ladder directly opposite them, and

get out of the pool before the shark could catch them. I

stood waist deep in the water, at the far end . . . the

feared and fearsome Shark.

At first I was a very successful shark, but very shortly,

the minnows got much quicker, and the shark caught nothing

but air. Soon the Minnows ``can't catch me'' glee, told me

that my days as a big fish were over, and that Matt's were

just beginning. A few years later, as Matt swam by me, I

raised my head, to see if someone was pulling him on a rope.

At that time, Tim, had his eyes on two Jericho High School

swim records, and he decided to join the Long Island Aquatic

Club, to begin his assault on those records, which he did in

fact, later claim. But in the beginning Matt just tagged

along. After their first three hour LIAC workout, I asked

Matt ``How did it go?'' ``I . . . NEVER . . . want . . . to .

. . do that . . . again,'' said Matt. But like everything

Matt did, he went back, and excelled . . . a theme you will

come to recognize.

Soon, he became one of the elite LIAC swimmers. He also

swam right across his high school's record board, eclipsing

every individual record, even Tim's, leaving his own name in

his wake. He set the country record in the 200-yard

individual medley, finished third in New York State in that

event and the 100-yard freestyle. He was All County swimmer

three years in a row; a County champion in two events each

of his last two years.

Baseball was the same. All-County catcher his last two

years in high school, nominated for the ``Diamond Award,'' as

one of the best players in Nassau County; and as a senior, he

tied for the home run record, all of this easily fulfilling

the prophecy that stranger had made so many years ago.

He continued this at Duke University. He was the swim

team's ``Rookie of the Year,'' and became a mainstay of that

team. He was also a catcher on the Duke baseball team for two

years, but in his Senior year, carrying out the theme which

defines his life, he told his swim coach he wanted to return

to his swim team ``family,'' his buddies, and he did. As a

Senior, and in his very last race, when his team needed him

to step up, we saw him swim one of his best 100-yard

freestyle times, then sadly walk off, his career over.

Between high school and college, he loved his job as a Jones

Beach lifeguard; competed on their competition team, and

there too, he excelled, and developed many friends.

``What next?'' I asked him shortly after he graduated from

Duke. ``Dad, the Marine Corps, or course.'' ``Are you doing

this because Tim and I did it, or because YOU want to do

it?'' I asked. ``Dad, I want to do it,'' he replied.

The next few years were difficult for Angela and I. Our

Marine sons began to go in harm's way. First, Tim in

Afghanistan; then Tim and Matt in Iraq. But they always

returned. Last Easter, Matt phoned us to say he was ordered

to Iraq a 2nd time, as a replacement for some Lieutenants in

another unit who had been wounded. But after 3 months, he

again returned, and we were overjoyed. But shortly, he said,

``Mom, Dad, you will think I'm crazy, but my old unit, my

buddies are going back to Iraq, and I really want to join

them.'' Again, that theme of loyalty, family.

All during our son's deployments, I had been haunted by a

specter of Marines in Dress Blue uniforms, walking to our

door, bearing terrible news . . . and that specter was rooted

in my past.

You see, in 1966, I too was a lst Lieutenant, then serving

a short tour at The Marine Corps District Headquarters in

Garden City. One of my duties was casualty calls. That meant

when a Marine was wounded or killed, I had to personally

notify his next of kin. ``I'll only be here 3 months,'' I

thought, ``I should be O.K.''

The next week, my Colonel grimly dropped a Teletype on my

desk. ``KIA,'' it started. ``Lt., will you handle this?'' he

said. My stomach rolled. My duty that day was to break a

mother's heart. I gathered two NCOs, got a priest, and drove

to the Marine's home. His mother was getting out of her car .

. . she had just returned from the beach . . . she looked at

us . . . and dropped like a stone. We took her inside,

neighbors came, someone called her husband, ``Come home right

now, was all he was told.''

When he arrived he told me that he had immediately punched

the wall at work, and would have punched me, had he been at

home. ``I just would not have wanted to hear what I knew you

were going to say,'' he said.

I told my Colonel we had a dangerous situation, and that

someone would eventually get hurt. We had no standing

operating procedure for these casualty calls . . . no S.O.P.

``Write one, Lieutenant,'' he said, and I did. I specified

NCOs for wounds . . . but always an NCO and an officer for a

death. I put my heart and soul into it, trying to devise

something, which would give aid and comfort to the bereaved,

and protection to our Marines. Years later, I encountered

marines from that same office. and we discussed casualty

calls by then quite numerous. ``It's no fun,'' they said,

``but at least we have a really good S.O.P.'' ``I know,'' I

said, ``I wrote it.''

On August 31, Matt returned with his buddies for a third

tour, and, on October 31, he was killed by a roadside bomb.

That same day, my wife Angela and I, still unaware, drove to

the beach, to walk the boardwalk. It was a gorgeous day, and

we spoke of how fortunate we were to have such fine sons, and

how proud we were of our two Marines. We passed the beach

where Matt worked, and again spoke of him, and then we

returned home. I parked the car, we entered our house . . .

just as that mother had done almost 40 years ago . . . the

day I broke her heart. The door was ajar, and as I heard

Angela exclaim, ``Oh No!'' . . . I turned to see two Marines

in dress blue uniforms, grimly walking towards us. One an

NCO, the other an officer. Each wore the same stony mask I

had worn years ago, and in an instant I knew our Matt was

gone . . . you see, I'd written that S.O.P.

How ironic that the pain I'd delivered so long ago to

someone else; was now visited on my doorstep; and stranger

still, that the procedure I'd then written to console others,

was now applied to us. The next day, Angela and I took our

shattered hearts to this church. It was All Souls Day, and

the Gospel that day . . . was according to St. Matthew.

``Wire to wire,'' I thought, ``Saint Matthew.''

Matt, our beloved gift of God died trying to free a people

from a vicious enemy, whose unspeakable acts of barbarism,

even against their own people, while done in the name of God,

reveal them to be Godless; and such evil must be opposed. We

revere Matt's service, and while we are saddened, we are not

angry. Not at our government, not at our President, and

certainly not at the United States Marine Corps, that fine

fighting force our Matt was so proud to serve.

The days ahead will be difficult for us. When the last of

you have gone, and our door has closed, our ordeal will

begin. A bright light has left our home, never to return, and

all the sand in Iraq cannot fill the hole in our hearts. But

recently, I've noted a sign, although in the strangest place,

which suggests reassurance. Now, you may think this forced,

contrived, or fabricated for this moment; perhaps the ranting

of one whose heart, buffeted too hard by this tragedy, is

trying too hard to see, but you are wrong, because I saw this

sign long before Matt's death.

Some months ago, I looked down upon a floor tile in our

home, and saw clearly what could easily be an artist's

rendition of the face of Christ. It stared directly at me.

Curious. For weeks, I looked at that visage every day. What

to make of it? Eventually, my eyes began to scan around the

visage, and recently, I also clearly saw, sheltered in the

corner, and under the right shoulder of that visage . . . the

perceptible head and face of a very small child. Each had

slowly been revealed to me, and until lately I have not known

what to make of this; but clearly, the events of this last

week suggest to me that Matt, and formerly our little Gift of

God, has, as was his custom, made one final return to family

and is now, the visage assures me, sheltered, and safely

home, and this gives me great comfort.

It is time to close, and I must do this in two ways:

To the heavens I say:

``Lord this is our son Matthew, in whom we are well

pleased. He was your precious gift to us, and we return him

to you now. Please grant Matt a place of favor, where he may

rest comfortably until those of us who have loved him so can

join him.''

And finally, to our son Matt, I say those words every

Marine longs to hear;

``Well done Marine . . . and Semper Fi!''

Mr. Speaker, U.S. Army Pfc. Jacob S. Fletcher died on November 13, 2003, from wounds he suffered when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by an improvised explosive device. Throughout our nation's history we have triumphed over adversity because of the bravery of people like Pfc. Fletcher. In recognition of his sacrifice, I would like to have his mother's touching account of his life read into the Congressional Record:

My son, Jacob Samuel Fletcher, was born in Mineola, New

York on November 25, 1974. He spent his childhood in Babylon,

where he grew up with me, his stepfather Ray, stepbrother

Scott and stepsister Tara. He graduated from Babylon High

School in 1992. He played lacrosse in his younger years and

varsity wrestling in his last year of high school. Jacob

always drew and sketched, which was his natural talent. He

was gifted with words and wrote eloquently. His passion for

music eventually led him to play drums. Jacob gave great love

to his family and was known as a loyal and caring friend. He

would be there for anyone in need to listen to or help in any

way he could. He loved children dearly and was moved by

animals of all kinds.

Jacob first tried to join the Army when he was 8 years old

by filling out applications in a magazine. He tried twice,

but I sent the officers away when they called for Private

Fletcher. He was about to be sworn into the Army when he was

23, but hurt his knee, keeping him out of the service. At 27

he finally joined the Army, with 9/11 being the catalyst to

once again fulfill his calling to serve his country. Jacob's

training in the Army was completed in Ft. Benning, GA. After

his basic training he trained for his paratrooper wings,

which he also received at Ft. Benning. He was originally

stationed in Vicenza, Italy, where he stayed for 3 months

before deploying to Iraq.

He parachuted into Iraq along with 999 other paratroopers

in the dark of night. On March 26, 2003, he and the others

seized an airfield in Northern Iraq and then went with the

Kurds to Kirkuk, Iraq, where he patrolled and went on many

missions. He was given 3 days of rest and relaxation in Qatar

on November 9. On November 13, on the way back from Qatar, on

Highway 1 in Samarra, a bomb hit the bus he was on. My

beloved son, along with Joe Manucci was airlifted to a

hospital where doctors tried to save him, but he soon died

from his injuries.

I know that Jacob had a deep feel for the Iraqi children.

He was saddened by the condition that the Iraqis were made to

live in. It broke his heart to see the injustice. He had a

strong sense of fairness and duty to serve his country. He

truly understood what freedom is about and the choices we

have to make as Americans.

Jacob is buried at Long Island National Cemetery. The words

courage and compassion, which grace his headstone, will tell

those who glance his way, that he was a passionate and brave

young hero. He takes with him the essence of the Purple

Heart, Bronze star, Combat Infantry Badge, Global War on

Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism

Service Medal, National Service Ribbon and Army Service

Ribbon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4200, the FY 2005 Department of Defense Authorization Conference Report. I commend our Chairman and Ranking Member and all of the conferees for their leadership and hard work.

This is an important bill for troubling times. As I have said often, thank God we live in a nation, which gives us the right to agree with a decision to go to war, the right to disagree with that decision, even the right to remain silent. But no one has any right at all to forget the courageous men and women who answered the call when summoned, who sacrificed by serving.

What is our obligation to them, Mr. Speaker? It is to make them a priority in our hearts as well as our budgets.

We also have an obligation to give them all the tools and resources they need. Not just hardware, but software. Not just situational awareness that tells them where an enemy is and what the enemy's firepower is, but the cultural awareness that tells our troops who the enemy is and what its will power is.

That is why I am especially proud that the conference report included two amendments that I offered.

While the brilliant speed with which our forces toppled the Taliban and the regime of Saddam Hussein demonstrates the unrivaled technological and professional superiority of our military, the current situation on the ground would seem to suggest that we haven't given enough attention to the ``full spectrum'' of operations that they will face.

My amendment will look at how U.S. military's education and training program is preparing soldiers to meet the challenges of an era when our enemy is just as likely to be a tribal warload as a trained infantryman and how we deal with the battlefield after the battle.

A second amendment, Mr. Speaker, formally recognizes the courageous actions of Army Specialist Joseph Darby, who was brave enough to notify his superiors about the abuses at Abu Grayb when no one else was. He is a true American hero.

These are truly dangerous times. We are involved in a struggle that we cannot lose. On behalf of our men and women in uniform and all they are doing to keep America safe, I strongly support passage of this conference report.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois for the time.

I want to thank our chairman of our subcommittee, chairman of our committee and our ranking member for their bipartisan cooperation, and I also want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards) for keeping this Congress focused on this vitally important issue.

I am particularly pleased with a provision of this bill that the gentleman from Kansas just discussed which he and I worked together on on a bipartisan basis requiring the DOD to maintain a list of all sales agents who have been barred from any base and to report such barring to the relevant State or Federal regulator. That database will ensure that agents barred from one base cannot simply move to another base to prey on personnel in different areas.

Simultaneously, the reporting requirement will enable the regulator immediately to begin taking investigative action and appropriate disciplinary action. These measures will protect our troops from those who are looking to exploit them wherever, whenever they can.

This is an important step, but we still have a long way to go. We still have a long way to go in protecting the protectors and meeting the financial needs of those who are fighting for our security.

In that vein, Mr. Speaker, I want to share with my colleagues the story of one of the families that I represent, a constituent that I used to represent, Raheen Tyson Heighter, 19-years-old, grew up in Bay Shore, New York, enlisted in the Army. When he enlisted, he was told he had to have life insurance. He said I cannot afford life insurance; they do not pay me enough to pay my premiums. They said, you have got to have life insurance. He said, well, I am 19 years old. He thought, like most 19-year-olds, I am invincible. He said, give me the cheapest policy you can.

He was killed in action in Iraq. His mother received a call from a casualty officer saying we regret to inform you of the death of your son, and all he had was a $10,000 life insurance policy because that is all Raheen Tyson Heighter could afford to pay.

No family in America who receives the horrible news of the death of their son or daughter in war should also have to suffer the indignity of being financially abused.

We have a bipartisan bill in this Congress, sponsored by the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) and myself, called the Raheen Tyson Heighter Life Insurance for America's Troops Act. If we really want to protect the protectors, we ought to be providing them with the base amount of $250,000, and we ought to pick up the tab for their premium. If they can afford to give up their lives for us, we ought to be able to afford to pay their life insurance.

This is a good bill. This is an important bill. It is a good step, but we still have a ways to go in protecting our protectors.

I thank the committee for their bipartisan cooperation in moving this forward, but we still need to go a little further.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Nathan B. Bruckenthal, a life that he gave for his country. P03 Bruckenthal, U.S. Coast Guard, was killed in action at the Khawr Al Amay Oil Terminal off the coast of Iraq on 24 April 2004 in a terrorist-suicide bombing. DC3 Bruckenthal became the first Coast Guardsman to lose his life in combat since Vietnam.

P03 Bruckenthal was born on July 17, 1979. Growing up in Stony Brook, Long Island, he had a strong sense of service from his earliest years. A member of the Junior ROTC while in high school and later a volunteer firefighter in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Bruckenthal later returned home to Long Island where he joined the Coast Guard.

Bruckenthal went on to serve at Coast Guard stations in Montauk, New York; Yorktown, Pennsylvania; and Neah Bay, Washington. Having volunteered to become a damage control officer, Bruckenthal made an even greater commitment to continued service by reenlisting, a decision he made with his new wife Pattie whom he had met while serving in Washington. Bruckenthal was subsequently selected for the elite Coast Guard tactical law enforcement program and assigned to TACLET South, housed at the Coast Guard's Miami Air Station.

Lauded for his leadership by his commanding officers and continually decorated for his achievements, P03 Bruckenthal was selected for deployment to Iraq where he would work not only with the Coast Guard but with the Navy and numerous foreign services. His dedication to service was needed in what would soon be a war zone; his leadership was needed to make working with so many disparate services a success. P03 Bruckenthal went on to work in and around the critical Iraqi port of Um Qasar before being redeployed to the United States. But one tour of duty was not enough for a man who always sought greater service. He volunteered to go back to Iraq.

While serving on his second tour, Bruckenthal learned his wife was carrying his unborn child. Still he soldiered on. While patrolling in the Persian Gulf and training two Navy seamen on intercept operations, P03 Bruckenthal noticed a suspicious vessel. When the vessel would not heed his commands, Bruckenthal moved with his crew to intercept the vessel. The vessel exploded and P03 Bruckenthal and his two crewmates were killed. Their selfless action saved the U.S.S. Firebolt and its sailors as well as the off shore oil platform and terminal at Khawr Al Amaya. P03 Nathan Bruckenthal had now made the ultimate sacrifice for his country: he gave his life.

P03 Bruckenthal had been well decorated during his career, earning the USCG Marksmanship Ribbon, the Unit Commendation Award, the Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, the Coast Guard Merit Team Commendation and the Combat Action Medal. He will not know of his final two decorations but they speak directly to his characteristics of selflessness, leadership and sacrifice. For his heroic intercept of the suicide vessel, P03 Bruckenthal was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart.

Words do not easily capture the greatness of a young man like Nathan Bruckenthal nor can they do justice to his sacrifice or to the deep loss of his family. However, it is our duty to ensure that the legacy of this great American, like that of many who have fallen with him, is known and honored. Tom Brokaw wrote not so long ago about what he termed ``The Greatest Generation.'' He illustrated that they were people who knew there was a need for service and then quietly answered that call. They were people who sacrificed so much but complained very little. They were people who labored far away while penning letters to loved ones at home speaking only of happiness, their love and their future. Nathan Bruckenthal may not have served with the men and women who are part of that WWII generation, but I can tell you he would be right at home with them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jim Morgo, who has exceptionally served the people of Long Island, as an affordable housing advocate. I also wish to congratulate him on his appointment as the Commissioner of Economic Development for Suffolk County. Jim has served as the President of the Long Island Housing Partnership for over 17 years. During this time, he has become Long Island's leading voice in support of both the preservation and production of housing for our region's working families.

The Long Island Housing Partnership LIHP is a private, not-for-profit organization created by Long Island's business, religious, educational and professional leaders to address the region's growing housing crisis. This partnership is dedicated to providing housing opportunities for those who could not otherwise afford decent and safe housing. The LIHP realizes its purpose through mortgage counseling, housing development, and promotion of affordable ownership and rental units for low and moderate income Long Islanders. Created in 1988, Jim Morgo was it's first President and he played a critical role in placing the LIHP at the forefront of all of the area's debates affecting affordable housing and community development.

It is impossible to measure the number of families Jim Morgo has helped and lives he has touched as he worked to develop affordable homes, and create new and innovative ways to enable working families to achieve the dream of homeownership.

I am sure that in his new role, Commissioner Morgo will continue to find creative means to help low-income families achieve the dream of homeownership, help our young families purchase their first home in the neighborhood where they grew up, and expand community development opportunities for the entire Suffolk County Community. I congratulate him on his appointment, thank him for his service, and look forward to working with him in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, as some of my colleagues have said, this is about protecting our children.

Do my colleagues know what I want my children to be protected from? From Osama bin Laden. We still do not know whether he is dead or alive. From the anthrax mailer, whom we still have not found. From the 6 million containers that come into our country every year, of which only 5 percent are inspected. From missiles that are being developed in Iran. From missiles that are being developed in North Korea. I want to protect children of parents who today are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of whom still do not have the protective gear that they need.

Mr. Speaker, I will go home tonight and say to my two children, thank God, we have kept you safe from same-sex marriages; but we have not kept you safe from other threats in the world.

Mr. Speaker, some of us want to make the world safe for democracy; others want to make this world safe for hypocrisy. This resolution is not an act of Congress. It is an act of hypocrisy. It is divisive and should be defeated.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time, and I also thank the chairman of my subcommittee of the Committee on Financial Services for his leadership.

I rise in strong support of this resolution. I have been working with several of my colleagues to organize a Civil War Caucus here in the House of Representatives. Outside this building, just on the West Front, is a statue of General Grant at the very footsteps of the Capitol. A few blocks away from that is a statue of General Meade. Beyond that is the Lincoln Memorial, and beyond that in the hills of Arlington is the Custis-Lee Mansion.

Why do we remember? Why do we erect statues? Why is this bill important? It is important because the Civil War is really not about the past; it is about our present, it is about our future. It is important because what happened in the Civil War will instruct us in how we meet challenges today.

I serve on the Committee on Armed Services and we are dealing with profoundly difficult challenges around the world, in Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, the global war on terror. Sometimes those challenges seem almost insurmountable. What the Civil War teaches all of us is that no challenge is insurmountable.

When I think about the military difficulties that we have in the world today, I also think about the 20th of May on Little Round Top in Gettysburg. It was on that hill that just a small group of men were told to remain in place, to hold that hill at all hazards. They were confronted with enemy in front of them, overwhelming numbers, overwhelming numbers of enemy to their left and above them, and still they held that hill. They repulsed attack after attack after attack, and when they ran out of ammunition and hope, their leader, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, ordered the men to fix bayonets and charge. That is surmounting challenge.

What we were taught from that battle on many battlefields, on many boats, in north and south, is that we are a unique and special country. That fight was for us. That fight was for our future. That fight was to teach a lesson that higher principles guide us, that there are things worth fighting for that are even more important than ourselves.

This bill is not about statues, it is not about commemoration, it is not about the past. It is about the country we are today and the country we will be tomorrow.

For that reason, I strongly support this bill and urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Kansas, my fellow Blue Dog, a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, which may very well be the last group of Members of this House left that works every single day for balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility and against indebtedness.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this motion to instruct conferees because this Congress needs to start taking our children's future into account. What this motion says is, extend middle class tax relief but do not expect future generations of Americans to pay for that middle class tax relief.

Mr. Speaker, I have supported many of the President's tax cuts. I understand and I appreciate that most middle-class families, people, that their tax burdens are overwhelming. However, I believe that it is incumbent upon us to ensure that we relieve those burdens in a responsible manner and not literally pass the buck to our children and our grandchildren.

There is not a single Member of this House on either side of the aisle who would walk into a luxury car dealership and say to a sales person, I will take the most expensive car you have on the floor with the most elaborate fancy options, load it up as much as you can, and send my children the bill for that car. Not a single Member would do that. If we do not pay for these tax cuts, that is exactly what we are doing to our children. We are placing the burdens of our tax cuts on our children's shoulders.

The national debt is over $7 trillion. This year's projected budget deficit is $422 billion. The Treasury Department has estimated that the national debt will exceed the statutory authority in the next 60 days. We need to start making better decisions on a bipartisan basis now on how to manage our money.

Now, conferees have options on how to implement tax extensions at little or no cost. Conferees have options on how to proceed in a fiscally responsible manner. Conferees can help pay for these cuts by closing tax loopholes, and this motion instructs them to do so.

Mr. Speaker, everyone who pays a credit card knows that the least productive part of that credit card bill is interest payments. We are paying $1 billion a day on interest on our national indebtedness, interest on the decisions that we have made. We need to bring fiscal responsibility back to this House. America's middle-class families are spending an average of $4,400 a year on our debt. That is a death tax, and it is one that we will not be able to repeal.

Mr. Speaker, I want to close by reminding my colleagues and the American people that the middle class is being squeezed. They do not need that reminder. They know it every day. They know it because they are paying higher interest rates. They are paying more to gas up their cars. They are paying more for college tuition. They are paying more for their children's health care, more for their parents' health care. They are paying more everywhere they turn. They deserve relief now, and our children do not deserve to have the buck passed to them later.

That is why I so strongly urge my colleagues to heed the words of the gentleman from Kansas. Let us put politics aside. Let us not harp on the past but start thinking about our children's future.

Mr. Speaker, on November 7, 2003, I came to the House floor to honor and recognize servicewomen who served as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during the Second World War.

It is not an exaggeration that we owe a big part of the freedom we enjoy today to these women pilots. Their love of country and love of flying is something for which we will always be grateful.

Unfortunately, when I gave thanks to the thirty-eight WASPs who gave their lives in service to their country, I unintentionally failed to include the name of Dorothy Scott. Like the others, her courage is an inspiration for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Gayle Rudofsky, a Half Hollow Hills High School East student who has been named a 2003-04 High School All American in Diving.

Ms. Rudofsky has a long history of diving accolades, including being named one of the Top 40 High School Divers in the United States, winning the 2003 New York State Public High School Women's Diving Championship and winning the Lester J. Schloen Jr. Memorial Award for Most Promising First Year Diver. She recently broke her own Suffolk County 11-dive meet record and also set a new Suffolk County 6-dive meet scoring record. In addition to these record-breaking performances, the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association ranked Ms. Rudofsky the third best high school diver in 11-dive competitions and the fourth best diver in 6-dive meets. She is also a member of Long Island Divers, a U.S. Diving Team, and is qualified to represent the Long Island region in the 2004 Empire State Games.

Not only has Ms. Rudofsky accomplished much on the diving board, she is also gifted in the classroom. She has managed to balance an outstanding athletic career with equally impressive academics. Ms. Rudofsky has been

named an Academic All American, New York State Public High School Athletic Association Women's Swim-Dive Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Half Hollow Hills High School East Female Scholar-Athlete of the Class of 2004. She has also received the Citibank/News 12 Scholar-Athlete Award and the 2004 Scholar-Athlete Milk Moustache of the Year Award.

This fall, Ms. Rudofsky will attend Princeton University, where she will be a member of the diving team. I congratulate her on her many achievements and am confident that she will have continued success in the future.