Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise today with concern for our public education system. As a new school year begins on Long Island, many parents are eager to find out if their children's schools will be labeled failing or in need of improvement, assessments mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. I believe this is also an ideal time for the administration and Congress to assess federal efforts to support our nation's public schools.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind Act were landmark federal policies to ensure quality education for children with disabilities and improve learning results. Unfortunately, these well meaning efforts have been met with great controversy on the local level due to immense funding inadequacies.

The monumental No Child Left Behind Act passed Congress in 2001. It made a deal with America's public schools: in exchange for new standards of excellence, the legislation promised new federal funding. Unfortunately, the federal government has not held up its end of the bargain. The FY05 Labor, Health and Human Service and Education Appropriations Act alone shortchanges No Child Left Behind programs by whopping $9.5 billion, making it increasingly difficult for schools to meet new, higher standards.

In 1975, the federal government committed to pay 40 percent of the cost of educating children with disabilities. Not once have they come close to honoring this commitment. The FY05 Labor, Health and Human Service and Education Appropriations Act, which closely follows the President's funding request, provides $2.5 billion less than what was promised for special education just last year. This keeps the federal government's share at less than 20 percent. This is shameful because fully funding IDEA would benefit every child in every classroom by providing fiscal breathing room to school districts and local tax relief to families.

The administration's support of our public schools is failing and the legislation we are debating today is in clear need of improvement. The Fiscal Year 2005 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Act will likely pass this chamber today. It is my hope that a House/Senate conference committee will make substantial improvements in fulfilling our promise to local schools by increasing funding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, declaring the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, as genocide.

In Darfur, villages are being burned to the ground. Death squads herd African villagers into refugee camps until they are full to bursting, lacking food and basic medicines.

In a matter of months, government-backed militias have killed 30,000 people and forced more than one million from their homes.

People talk about ``indicators of genocide'' and lawyers argue whether the killing, which the administration has already characterized as ethnic cleansing, is genocide.

Whatever label one attaches to these killings, there is a moral obligation to do everything possible to stop them. To ignore slaughter on this scale is unforgivable.

To its credit, the administration is pushing a UN Security Council resolution. But as that process unfolds, the killing continues.

The time has come for action, for the international community to exercise its moral and political and arguably also legal obligations to intervene in Darfur.

Genocide has shown its ugly face too often this century: European Jews during World War II, Cambodians in the late 1970s, and Rwandans in 1994.

The lesson is clear. We must stop the genocide; prevent further atrocities; and bring those guilty of genocide or ethnic cleansing to justice.

Mr. Speaker, Americans have always counted on the Coast Guard to enforce maritime law, to secure our waterways and ports, to rescue those in distress, and to intercept illegal drugs. In this new century, however, we are going to need to count on them even more. In the Iraqi theater, the Coast Guard is protecting key ports and oil platforms and helping speed the delivery of relief supplies to those in need.

This year, Petty Officer Third Class Nathan Bruckenthal became the first member of the Coast Guard to die in battle since Vietnam. His bravery and sacrifice shines a light on the often overlooked sacrifices made by our Coast Guard. When I spoke to Nathan's father, he said simply, ``My son served his country.'' Mr. Speaker, he did serve, and sacrifice.

We have to keep Nathan and his family in our prayers, in our budgets, and keep the Coast Guard the very best in the world. The Coast Guard is always ready to defend our Nation and rescue those in trouble. Now it is our turn. I urge my colleagues to support this conference report and to give the Coast

Guard the funds that it needs to meet the national security challenges of the 21st century in honor of the Bruckenthal family which served and sacrificed.

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

And let me thank both the chairman and the ranking member for their extraordinary bipartisan leadership on this issue. It was an honor to work with both of them as an original cosponsor of this vital homeland security and national security measure. I am very proud to stand with them tonight in support of this legislation to protect America's flying public from the very real threat of shoulder-fired missiles.

Mr. Speaker, I have said in the past that the proliferation of shoulder-fired missiles is so great and the risk is so high that we have to go on offense and defense at the same time. And that is exactly what this measure does.

Intelligence officials have published estimates that there are roughly 500,000 portable shoulder-fired missiles available worldwide in the hands of 27 separate terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda. And as we have heard before, shoulder-fired missiles have already been used to shoot down commercial aircraft outside of the United States. Reports from the CIA, the State Department, and other government agencies indicate that shoulder-fired missiles have hit at least dozens of civilian aircraft since the 1970s and killed hundreds of people.

I have heard on other occasions that it is better to attack terrorists there than here. And if we agree with that argument on the global war on terror, then certainly it should apply to how we approach the tools of terror, shoulder-fired missiles. In fact, when it comes to shoulder-fired missiles, we have to reduce the threat in both places and reduce that threat expeditiously.

Here, it is essential that we accelerate our efforts to equip our planes with antimissile countermeasures, and that is why this bill includes provisions asking the FAA to accelerate the process for certifying defensive systems to protect against the terrorists of shoulder-fired missiles.

And elsewhere in the world, we have to aggressively pursue the implementation of international treaties to control the proliferation of shoulder-fired missiles. Ultimately, this is a supply-and-demand issue, and American travelers will not be safe until we control both the supply and the demand.

Just recently, the GAO reported that the United States needs to do more work within multilateral forums to establish mechanisms for assessing foreign governments' implementation of their commitments to reduce the proliferation of shoulder-fired missiles. According to that report, the State Department has led U.S. efforts to obtain commitments from member countries, the Group of Eight, the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, and others to strengthen export controls and security of MANPADS, but compliance with those commitments is entirely voluntary, and the forums lack mechanisms to verify that members implement those very commitments.

This legislation requires the President to report on efforts to comply with recommendations contained in the GAO report on nonproliferation. It also encourages the President to pursue strong international diplomatic and cooperative efforts, including multilateral and bilateral treaties, to limit the availability, transfer, and proliferation of shoulder-fired missiles, to seek the destruction of excess, obsolete, and illicit shoulder-fired missiles; and it also expedites that FAA certification process for our planes here at home.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to wait until the day after a catastrophe to begin to act, and that is why passage of this bill tonight is so welcomed and so important.

Once again, I want to applaud the efforts of the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Mica) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), the ranking member, for their leadership on this issue. I want to thank them for including me in this issue. I want to thank the House Committee on International Relations for their work, and I urge all of our colleagues to support this vitally important homeland security measure.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for his leadership of the House Committee on Armed Services, as ranking member, where he commands respect on both sides of the aisle and across our military.

Mr. Speaker, I have 3 unique privileges in this institution. One is to represent the people of Long Island's Second Congressional District. The second is to serve under the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton). And the third is to serve under the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) on the House Committee on Armed Services, a committee which has no more profound and fundamental mission than to protect our troops and keep them strong so that they can keep our Nation strong.

How do we do that, Mr. Speaker? How do we keep them strong in order to keep our Nation strong? We do it by having right priorities and by giving them the best resources. Having the right priorities means that we be focussed. We have to have focussed priorities and disciplined priorities. And having focus and said disciplined priorities enables us to provide the best resources to our troops so that they can combat the global war on terror.

Sadly, Washington has fallen woefully short on those priorities. Let me share some examples that come from some of the people that I represent. These are real people with real stories.

I have a policy, Mr. Speaker, that if you have been deployed into any dangerous place in the world, if you are a member of our military or related to a member of the military, my door is open at all times. You can come to my office on Long Island. You can come to my office in Washington and I will sit with you and listen to what you have to say.

I sat with the mother of a young soldier who said to me at a table in HopHog, New York. She said, I had to send my son money in Iraq so he could afford the best armored vest because he did not have the best armored vest. And then I had to send him money so he could afford night vision goggled because I believe that my boy deserves the best night vision goggles. And my boy had to spend 2 or $300 our of his own pocket every month to give the men in his command socks and underwear because they could not afford to do that. She said, Do you not think that should be your obligation and not my obligation?

I want to share with you the story of Raheen Tyson Heighter, a 19- year-old from Bay Shore, enlisted in the Army. He was asked what kind of life insurance he wants. That 19-year-old did not believe he needed life insurance. Most 19-year-olds do not believe they need life insurance. He said, Give me the cheapest that you have. Because all he could afford from his net monthly paycheck of about $1,200 was a $10,000 life insurance policy. And his pay check was docked about 80 cents a month for that policy. Well, he did not make it back. He was killed in Baghdad.

His casualty officer called his mother and said, We regret to inform you that your son was killed in action and his life insurance policy was $10,000, which does not go very far.

I believe if we are going to send young men into battle, we can handle their life insurance premiums, Mr. Speaker. It should not have been to come out of Raheen Tyson Heighter's pay check.

I want to close by sharing a story that I heard from a young woman whose husband is in the Reserves and has just been deployed. He has been accumulating hundreds of dollars of cell phone calls on his personal cell phone which he loans to the men in his command so that they can call home because they cannot afford it without any reimbursement.

These families do not complain. They do not come to my office to complain. They do come to my office because they are patriots, and they believe that we owe them something back. They are seeking fairness. They say, if you are going to honor us, honor us not simply with your words but in your budgets. Do not simply put lapel pins on your lapels, but put us in your budgets and do not balance those budgets on the backs of people who are fighting on our fronts.

Those are our sacred obligations to the men and women that are fighting for our freedoms in dangerous parts of the world. There should be no Democratic or Republican way to protect our troops. We ought to do it because it is the right thing to do. And we ought to quit talking about our troops as priorities and spending as if they were our priorities.

It is my privilege to serve under the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) so we can reach that vital goal. It is my privilege to continue to advocate for those in my words who advocate for us with their sacrifices.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and for his leadership on this vitally important amendment.

Mr. Chairman, after 9/11, the President of the United States came to this Chamber, stood behind where I am standing now, and said that there is a line in the sand. He said the line divides democracy and dictatorship, liberty and tyranny, education, indoctrination, schools that teach kids how to put things together and schools that teach kids how to blow things up, ballots versus bullets.

This amendment, very simply, enforces that line in the sand. It is absolutely unfathomable to me, Mr. Chairman, that we would even contemplate rewarding a regime with U.S. tax dollars that blame Zionists for the May 1 attacks on a Saudi oil facility that killed two Americans, that blame the West for the attacks on our country on 9/11 and that went so far as to blame the Barbie doll for undermining values around the world, calling the Barbie doll a Zionist conspiracy.

Mr. Chairman, now faced with a terrorist threat in Saudi Arabia, a terrorist threat that confronts all of us around the world, the Saudi regime's response to that threat is to boldly say we will offer a one- month pass, we will offer a one-month amnesty to those people who are plotting and planning our demise, a regime that continues to fund madrassahs around the world that teach the most virulent hatred without any sense of modernity.

Mr. Chairman, it was the President who drew that line in the sand. This amendment enforces that line in the sand. We should not be giving U.S. tax dollars to a regime that has not demonstrated consistently and credibly that they are with us in the global war on terror, and that is why I support and urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time to speak on this very important legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today with very great concern for the future of our beaches. Beach tourism contributes $260 billion to the United States economy every year. The administration's fiscal year 2005 budget, unfortunately, cuts shore protection projects and studies by nearly 50 percent. Now, this includes canceling the Fire Island to Montauk Point Reformulation Study, a project that provides storm protection and beach erosion control along an 83-mile portion of Long Island's south shore.

An estimated 11.3 million people visit Suffolk County's beaches every year. In Suffolk County alone, south shore beaches contribute $256 million to the regional economy and thousands of jobs.

The Fire Island to Montauk Point Study is over 4 decades old and $20 million in the making. Completing this nearly completed study is a top concern for thousands of homeowners and beachgoers in my congressional district.

This is like bringing the ball 99 yards downfield, putting it on the 1 yard line, and walking away.

The Army Corps of Engineers has recognized on Fire Island that it must work with different groups and associations, from homeowners' associations to environmental advocates. The Corps has utilized a process called project reformulation to build support among all agencies, governments and interest groups involved, and each of those groups recognizes that reaching an overall consensus is the best way to preserve this national treasure for future generations.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to work with the Senate Committee on Appropriations to ensure the continuation of the Reformulation Study.

I want to express my very deep appreciation to the ranking member for his commitment to support the Fire Island to Montauk Point study in conference. As this legislation moves forward, I encourage all of my colleagues to continue working to protect our beaches and support a $260 billion contributor to our Nation's economy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my sincere congratulations to the Ronkonkoma Fire Department in celebration of their 100th Anniversary.

In September of 1903, after a tragic fire at a resort complex took the life of one individual and injured fourteen others, twenty-four men from the Ronkonkoma area volunteered to join a fire-fighting group to replace the existing neighbor bucket brigade system. This group quickly developed, and on June 15, 1904, Ronkonkoma Hook and Ladder Company #1 was officially born.

Ronkonkoma Hook and Ladder Company #1's first truck was a horse-drawn vehicle carrying one hundred feet of hose. The alarm system consisted of a locomotive tire, which resembled a huge iron ring, and a hammer, which was chained to the tire so that it could not be carried away. There were no fire wells or hydrants.

While there have been many developments since 1904, including a name change in 1933 to the Ronkonkoma Fire Department, the mission still remains the same. The men and women of the Ronkonkoma Fire Department are proudly serving their community by saving lives and protecting property.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with my colleagues the following prayer written by Rabbi Reuven Mann from Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Plainview, New York.

Almighty G-d, we have gathered here today at a crucial

moment in our history to honor the memory of all those who

fought and made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our

Nation and its ideals of freedom, compassion and the highest

cultivation of the human spirit. We came not only to honor

but also to affirm the lesson of their sacrifice: Freedom is

not an entitlement; it does not come for free, it is

something which has to be fought for. With humbleness and

gratitude let us acknowledge a simple truth: We owe these

heroes everything. Without them, we would have lost our

freedom long ago.

Yet, many people do not feel this way and take what we have

here for granted believing that the American way of life is

somehow ``coming'' to them. 9/11 was a wake up call--which

happened, to a large extent because nobody believed it could

happen. Let us admit it: We were afflicted with the cancer of

complacency and blinded by the illusion of invincibility.

Suddenly our country was under attack by a merciless,

barbaric enemy who wanted us destroyed. 9/11 was a wake up

call, but all too many decided to push the snooze button and

go back to sleep.

The enemy does not sleep. He continues to remind us of his

barbarism and cruelty by beheading innocent Americans and

proudly recording his sadism on camera. 9/11 was a wake up

call and the message is: If we do not appreciate our freedom

and are not willing to fight for it, there is no guarantee

that we will always have it. Therefore, I call on all of you

to renew your appreciation for our country and its values for

we are at war and every war requires the full support of the

home front.

We have gathered here today to honor the heroes past and

present whose valiant dedication makes our freedom possible.

I would be remiss if I did not include among them the

civilian heroes of 9/11, the firefighters, police and first

responders, who charged into the line of fire to save

thousands on that dark day. They wrote a new chapter in the

history of bravery and self-sacrifice, and they will never be

forgotten.

Almighty G-d, Creator of the Universe, may their selfless

service inspire us to appreciate all the blessings that You

have bestowed on this Nation. Let their memory be for a

blessing--motivating us to become better people: more

productive, compassionate, and respectful of the dignity of

all men and women who were created in Your Image. And may

Your Guidance and Protection be with our men and women who

are right now in harms way, to give them the strength,

courage and dedication to complete the mission in which they

have performed so magnificently. May they speedily return in

good health to their country, their homes and loved ones. And

let us say: Amen.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with my colleagues a poem written by one of my constituents, Benedict Panzarella of Plainview, NY. Mr. Panzarella is an author, journalist and poet. He served as a U.S. Army Glider Crew member at the Invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. I was proud to present him recently with the Liberty Medal for his service and courage on that day. The events of D-Day inspired Mr. Panzarella's poem ``Normandy.''

Normandy

(By Benedict P. Panzarella)

Sleep tight tonight.

Pack your gear

Check it twice

The time is near

Tomorrow we go

On board the craft

to take us

We know not where.

THEY know the place

We are to land.

It's marked by them

on tables of sand.

With children's toys

They play their games

But this is war, WE

May go down in flames.

A ship of canvas

On tubes of steel

A motorless ship

Pulled by a rope.

A trailer load

Filled with life

(K Rations)

And death (Gas and ammo)

We pray the pilot

On this night

Will guide us true

On this fateful flight.

We fly in darkness

On this flimsy craft.

We reach our target

At last.

We know we're there.

We know for sure

Hitler's greetings

Are loud and clear.

The rope is cut!

The shaking stops.

We smoothly glide

Over tall tree tops.

We stop abruptly

As we hit some poles.

Planted by Rommell

To clip our wings.

We are here

For us

The battle

Has just begun.

I thank my friend from Texas for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in joining my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in mourning the loss of President Reagan. I did not agree with the President on every issue, but there were three values that he exuded which I do share deeply: first, a respect for the democratic process and the building of consensus to move us forward and to make us safer; secondly, a fundamental belief in a strong military and a strong defense; and, third, as we have heard before, a boundless optimism about America's capacity and our potential and our role in making the world safe for democracy.

I never had the privilege of personally meeting President Reagan, but I did work here in Congress during his administration for a former Member of Congress, and I have a sense that even tonight, President Reagan and former Speaker Tip O'Neill are looking down upon this House with rather wry and proud smiles wishing us the best as we join together, as they join together to move our country not to the left, not to the right but forward, and they guide us not from the left, not from the right, they guide us from above.

Several months ago, I had the privilege of participating in an issues forum in New York with Ronald Reagan, Jr. Tonight my thoughts and prayers are with him and the entire Reagan family as they mourn the loss of a father and a husband and as America mourns the loss of a President.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Stephen W. Strumph of Glen Cove, New York, a decorated veteran and a proud American.

Mr. Strumph began his military career in 1937, at the Reserve Officers Army Academy of Poland. At the onset of WWII he was commissioned Second Lieutenant Platoon Leader of the 6th Regiment, 22nd Mountain division in the Polish army.

On November 1, 1939 Mr. Strumph was transported to Lukenwalde and was held as a prisoner of war. He heroically escaped German custody three times, before finally being released in the spring of 1945 and heading for the United States zone.

Mr. Strumph was soon commissioned as a U.S. Army multi-lingual interpreter to interview German soldiers and Gestapo. He was then reunited with Polish troops under Colonel Brzeszczynski, and was placed in command of 125 soldiers and a U.S. Army ammunitions depot. After he was demobilized in 1947, Mr. Strumph worked for eight years at the U.S. embassy in Paris, before emigrating to the United States.

Since his arrival in New York on July 28, 1955, Mr. Strumph has been an outstanding public citizen, volunteering with veterans and fraternal organizations and was honored as ``Outstanding Senior Volunteer of the Year.'' He and his loving wife are the proud parents of three children and eight grandchildren.

I commend Stephen Strumph for his bravery and valor during World War II and thank him for his invaluable service to the Long Island community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the dedication of the National World War II Memorial on the National Mall on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

Dedicated almost 60 years after the end of World War II, this stunning memorial honors all military veterans of the war, citizens on the home front, the nation at large and the high moral purpose and idealism that motivated the nation's call to arms.

We must never forget the 16 million troops who served in the armed forces during World War II and the more than 400,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I know the importance of the troops' sacrifice to protect our freedom.

I am especially pleased to welcome over 200 Long Island veterans to Washington, DC for the dedication. Serving those who have served our country has been one of my greatest honors as a Member of Congress. I am proud to have secured over $1.16 million in retroactive benefits for veterans in my district.

On this historic occasion, we must remember to honor our troops and veterans not only with memorials and red poppy lapel pins, but also in our policies and budgets. Restoring cuts to veteran's services and making VA spending mandatory, not discretionary should be a top priority. We in Congress have a duty to make America a fit country for these heroes to live in.

This memorial is a long-overdue tribute to the ``Greatest Generation.'' They risked and gave their lives to protect our freedom, and we must ensure our debt to them is repaid.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, and we should wear poppies to honor the sacrifices of our troops, but we should express our support not only on our lapels, but in our budgets.

It is somewhat ironic to me that we would consider this bill, as important as it is, only a few moments after we had a rule on this floor on our defense budget, a rule that excluded an amendment that the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) and I advanced that would pay for our troops' life insurance.

I have lost four constituents from my district in Afghanistan and Iraq: Raheen Tyson Heighter, Michael Esposito, Jacob Fletcher, and Nate Bruckenthal.

Raheen Tyson Heighter was 19 years old when he joined the Army. And when he was told that he needed life insurance, this young man, being a fearless young man, chose the least expensive life insurance policy because the premium was all that he could afford, and the policy was all that he believed he needed because he believed he would be coming back home.

He did not come back home alive; he was killed on July 24, 2003. His casualty officer called his mother and said, Your son's life insurance policy was $10,000.

Mr. Speaker, $10,000 is not adequate. And what is even worse is while Mr. Heighter was taking bullets in Iraq, Uncle Sam was taking 80 cents a month from his gross monthly pay of $1,987, including hazard duty pay, for his life insurance.

Mr. Speaker, I know that we all agree, when we send troops into combat to protect our national security, they should not have to worry about their family's financial security in the event they do not return.

I know that all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agree that we have an obligation to honor those who have made the eternal sacrifice every single day, that we must display our commitment and our reverence to them, display it; but also pay for what we owe them as well, not simply display, but pay to help their families.

That would be the true mark of how we honor our heroes, the men and women who have made such heroic sacrifices, with poppies, but also with dollars.

I, of course, will support and proudly vote for this bill, but I hope that my

colleagues in this Congress and that the President of the United States will understand that it is more than just poppies and it is more than just words, it is budgets that count ultimately.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I rise in strong support of this authorization. And, of course, we have to give credit where credit is due, and that is to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), chairman, and to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), ranking member.

This bill includes funding for transformational weapons systems that will help our military meet the challenges of the 21st century, billions of dollars for new naval destroyers, Army combat systems, and fighter aircraft programs.

These programs may be worthwhile, but I remember back in January when I was on a C-130 traveling from Kuwait to Baghdad, a member of the 1st Armored Division looked at me and said, Congressman, you have got to do something about these improvised explosive devices, these roadside bombs. They are the biggest threat that we face.

There has been a lot of talk in Washington about countering these threats with hardware, with systems that are lighter and leaner and faster, more precise, more agile, more lethal; and I understand the need for that hardware transformation, but we also need a software transformation. Our committee had Major General Robert Scales before us, he is the former Commandant of the U.S. Army War College; and he talked about the fact that our troops have exquisite situational awareness, but we need to invest them with more cultural awareness.

They know where every tank is, their speed, their direction, their firepower, how they are arrayed. What we need to make sure of is that they know who is in the tank, what language they are speaking, not just their firepower but their willpower. And that is why I want to thank our chairman and ranking member for including in this authorization two amendments that I offered which will establish a Defense Language Office within the Department of Defense and require the Secretary of Defense to assess the military's foreign language and cultural awareness capabilities. Those skills are just essential to success in the future.

Mr. Chairman, it is indisputable to us that our current forces are doing an extraordinary job of adapting to challenges on the ground. They deserve defense budgets that anticipate 21st century changes, not Cold War challenges. They deserve defense budgets that value their minds as well as their arms. And I want to again thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), ranking member, for including the amendments that I proposed in this authorization; and I urge the other body to accept those amendments.