Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, we are pulling out of Afghanistan. We are chopping up billions and billions of dollars of equipment into little tiny pieces. At the same time, our government is purchasing military equipment for our allies.

This is a terrible waste of money. Our allies have expressed they want to come pick up the equipment. They are paying for it. We don't have to do anything. We don't have to chop it up. We can allow our allies to have it. This is a shameful waste of taxpayers' money. It is in the billions of dollars. I personally think this is a huge waste of money.

I would ask that the Congress would consider this as reasonable. At the same time we are cutting up billions of dollars to military equipment, we turn around in this appropriation and buy the same equipment for our allies.

I would ask that this would be considered and that the point of order that is being proposed, I ask also jurisdiction on why the point of order is in order.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Point of Order

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, currently, right now we have a situation in which some of the countries which we deal with militarily are restricting the rare earth metals--and particularly China. They are asking that we build our sensitive equipment in their country in order to acquire these rare earths.

I would object to that kind of thinking and that kind of ability for our non-friends, in terms of military assistance, to actually have it and develop our own rare earths here in the United States. It is a major mistake, I think, to pursue a policy in which we allow our non- friends to have control over our top secret and also over our rare earths.

I ask a ruling of the Chair for adjudication on that too, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Point of Order

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, with the ever-expanding territorial claims by China and our allies in the areas of Philippines, Japan, and South Korea, I think this amendment would not violate the rules. All it says is that we shouldn't spend money helping Chinese to expand a territorial claim. I think it is reasonable. I also think that it is something we should do. We need to express more concern.

The current leadership in the White House has not really done much in terms of foreign policy. This would be an example to the rest of the world that Congress can speak up and stand up for our allies in the region, particularly those countries surrounding Japan right now where they are having great difficulty with the ever-expanding and, I would suggest, imperialistic attitude of some in the country of mainland China.

This amendment I do not believe violates the rules. I ask the ruling of the Chair to also adjudicate why this is.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Point of Order

I have to tell you, when I first got elected, it was none other than Kent Hance who came down. I was a young guy, and he gave me a lot of advice, but I knew him before he knew me because Ronald Reagan was in trouble, and Kent Hance stepped forward against a lot of his party's wishes and took the bull by the horns and really changed the United States, which is amazing. But one of the things that, Kent, you have always done is you have reached out to me when you didn't have to.

But the most important thing is that you have your birthday on the proper day, November 14, which is also my birthday.

Everybody talked about you raising a billion dollars, but the thing that I liked the most is you ran and beat somebody, and that person you beat was none other than the next President of the United States, George Bush. And yet you reached across after you beat George Bush, you became his number one fan. I am just amazed, and I wish we could do this more often where we reach across the aisle and demonstrate love beyond partisanship. That, to me, is what speaks volumes about you.

And what also touches my heart is that you are Texas. I mean, when you think about your life story, I don't know if you are going to write a book, if you have written a book, you need to write a book. We have mutual friends, and I hear your story is phenomenal.

The one thing I do ask, and you have always been very gracious to me, but you have to teach me how to raise money, because you raised a billion dollars. That is phenomenal. And you did it for good causes.

I think I had a dream once that you are going to give me $250 million. A mutual friend of ours in Dallas told me that story. You called him up and you said you had a dream, and I thought that was the cleverest thing to do.

Again, I want to express my friendship to you and how much you have helped me throughout the years. You have been very gracious to me. I thank you.

Mr. Speaker, whereas, The late Coach John Willie (`Johnny') Peoples of Baytown's Carver High School won three PVIL state football championships; and

Whereas, Coach Peoples, as a student himself, earned a scholarship to attend Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, where he enjoyed a stellar career in three sports: football, basketball and track & field; and

Whereas, Johnny Peoples, in 1945, was a member of the Wiley College football team that defeated Florida A & M (32-6) to win the Negro National Championship; and

Whereas, Coach Peoples was perhaps one of the greatest athletes ever to attend Wiley College; and

Whereas, Coach People received his Bachelor of Science degree from Wiley College in 1948 and earned a Master's Degree from Texas Southern University; and

Whereas, Coach Peoples joined the faculty of George Washington Carver High School of Baytown, Texas in 1948 and remained there until 1967, playing a huge part in the Goose Creek CISD High School and Baytown's sport history,

Whereas, No other Baytown high school coach has ever won a single football state championship for Baytown, while Coach Peoples has won three; and be it therefore

Resolved: That I, Congressman Steve Stockman of the 36th District of Texas, do hereby proudly agree and resolve that the late Coach John Willie (`Johnny') Peoples be publicly and officially honored as one of the finest athletes ever to come out of Baytown, Texas, and one of the best coaches in the United States; and to recommend his induction into the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association (PVILCA) Hall of Honor.

Mr. Speaker, whereas, Coach Roy Hutchins was a proud veteran of World 'War II; and

Whereas, Coach Hutchins earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas Southern University in 1947, and a Master of Science Degree from the same University in 1952; and

Whereas, Coach Hutchins joined the faculty of George Washington Carver High School of Baytown, Texas in 1948 and remained there until 1967, as assistant football coach, Coach Hutchins played a major role in Baytown Carver High School winning seven district football championships and three state football championships; and

Whereas, As Head Track and Field Coach, Roy Carver saw his track teams win five state championships; and

Whereas, Coach Hutchins is known for molding numerous Carver athletes into PVILCA Hall of Fame or Hall of Honor members; and

Whereas, Coach Hutchins was also known and very much admired as a science teacher, motivator of youth, and father-like figure who knew how to mold honorable and successful men out of young boys; and

Whereas, Coach Hutchins also exhibited an exemplary family life, and provided a wonderful role model for his student athletes; Be therefore

Resolved: That I, Congressman Steve Stockman of the 36th District of Texas, proudly salute the life and career of this Carver High School hero and fellow Texan; and do strongly urge that he be inducted into the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association (PVILCA) Hall of Honor.

Mr. Speaker,

Whereas, Coach Robert L. Strayhan of Baytown's Carver High School touched the hearts of the many Carver and Lewisville High School athletes, students, fellow faculty members, staff members and family and friends who had the privilege of knowing him and who had the chance to be coached or mentored by him; and

Whereas, Coach Strayhan, as he was known to all of his students, joined the faculty of George Washington Carver High School of Baytown, Texas in 1952 and remained there until May of 1967. He served as assistant football coach and head basketball coach. Coach Strayhan had strict standards for his athletes and students, making them stay focused on assignments and grades; and

Whereas, Coach Strayhan instituted a `no pass, no play' rule long before the state of Texas mandated such a rule; and

Whereas, Coach Strayhan made sports fun and was a `hands-on' coach; and

Whereas, Robert L. Strayhan had strong moral values, encouraging the young people under his guidance to avoid teen pregnancies, drug abuse, gangs, underage drinking and teen smoking; and

Whereas, Coach Strayhan did not use his athletes only for winning games, but encouraged them to go to college and worked hard to help them obtain scholarships, regardless of race; and

Whereas, Coach Strayhan was very justly proud of his days at Carver High School; Be it therefore

Resolved: That I, Congressman Steve Stockman of the 36th District of Texas, am proud to join the many other friends and members of the Baytown community in honoring the life and work of Coach Robert L. Strayhan--a shining example to his many friends, athletes and students, to the City of Baytown and to his fellow Americans. May he long be remembered.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today in support of H.R. 185 in this 113th United States Congress, being brought before us by the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Hall, which will honor an esteemed gentleman from Sherman, Texas, the Honorable Paul Brown.

Judge Paul Brown was a great Texan and a Great American, having served his country with valor in the U.S. Navy in both World War II and in Korea.

Judge Brown was a civic leader, having served Texas and the United States as Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. He was nominated by President Eisenhower to serve as U.S. Attorney in Tyler, Texas, and he served his state well on his appointment by President Reagan as Eastern District Judge, where he finished his career after twenty one years of service as a Senior Judge.

His devotion to his community and his faith guided him, as he remained engaged with local, state, and legal initiatives throughout his life.

Judge Brown's life and record of distinguished service to our country and to Texas serves as a textbook example of what it means to have been a member of The Greatest Generation. His long and distinguished service in the courtroom serves as a template for all officers of the court, and his commitment to his family and his community provides a brilliant illustration for all Texans and Americans about what it means to serve one's fellow man.

This courthouse we are naming today will remind us of Judge Brown's loyalty to his country, his community, and to The Great State of Texas, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on their upcoming National Day on October 10th.

Through three decades marked by momentous social, economic and political transformation, Taiwan remains to be a strong and

trusted ally of the United States and shares with us the ideals of freedom and democracy. I still remember in 1996, when I first came to Congress, Taiwan held its first democratic presidential election in history. Today, Taiwan has emerged as a beacon of democracy and free enterprise in East Asia and our peoples have enjoyed a close friendship forged by our political, economic, cultural, and strategic ties.

The U.S. Congress has continuously played a unique and important role in supporting U.S.-Taiwan Relations. The Taiwan Relations Act passed by Congress in 1979, remains to be the cornerstone of our bilateral relations. It codifies America's commitment to support the people of Taiwan as they seek a safe and secure place in the world. Earlier this year, Congress passed a bill (H.R. 1151) in support of Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Subsequently, Taiwan has been invited as a guest to the ICAO assembly this year.

Looking forward, I believe that our government should further strengthen this important partnership by sending Cabinet level officials to Taiwan, as well as welcoming high-level officials from Taiwan to meet with their American counterparts, so that the Administration can witness first-hand the strategic and economic benefits this relationship has produced.

I am confident that our relations with Taiwan will continue to grow and flourish, and I heartily congratulate the people of Taiwan on their 102nd anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize the fact that we're talking here today about things that impact our Nation, and I want to talk about our Speaker who, as you know, or many of you know, I voted against and didn't want to be the Speaker. Today, our Speaker has been vilified after offering opportunity after opportunity to negotiate. The President, on the other hand, said he's not willing to negotiate with our Speaker.

The Speaker grew up in Ohio in a working-class community, and has negotiated many times with the President. It's most puzzling to me why now the stance of no negotiation. Every time we had a shutdown--I was here in the last shutdown--we negotiated. The President at that time, President Clinton, negotiated. In all the shutdowns, we always had negotiations. That's the way this body works is that we work on compromise.

The President wrote a letter to this individual who is the head of Iran. He's negotiating with the head of Iran, who wants to eliminate Israel. He's willing to negotiate with him for nuclear weapons.

The President also wants to negotiate with the head of Syria. This individual gassed his own people, tortured his own people, and killed his own people. I don't understand why he's willing to negotiate with him, but he is. Again, he's not willing to negotiate with our Speaker.

Next, the President is also willing to negotiate with the Taliban. The President ordered the release of several prisoners prior to even negotiations to get ``the negotiating to start.'' Again, let me remind the body that the Speaker is not to be negotiated with, but the Taliban is. Now the President says, I'm willing to negotiate if you give up your position. That's not negotiation.

I would like to show you, Mr. Speaker, some of the words that have been used against our Speaker and the Republican body. We've been called by this administration: terrorists, anarchists, suicide bombers, blackmailers, fringe, extortionists, ideologists, gangsters, extremists, bombs strapped to their chest, guns held to their heads.

We're not talking about the terrorists who the President is negotiating with, but we're talking about the working-class gentleman from Ohio.

I call on the President to tone down the rhetoric. I call on the President to respect this body and to negotiate in good faith. It's time to end the government shutdown, and let's do it in a positive manner.

I would like to point out, too, while these names were hurled in insult to the Speaker, never once has the Speaker ever used that kind of terminology against our President.

I would like to see this body turn down the rhetoric and get back to the business of negotiating and making compromise. It's the fair thing to do, it's the proper thing to do, and I just appeal to the Nation to stop using this kind of rhetoric against people in this body. We deserve better.

I praise the gentleman from Ennis, Texas, for allowing me this time to speak to unifying the body and negotiating in fairness. We ask the President just to sit down.

By the way, Mr. Speaker, we've appointed conferees to negotiate. To this date, they've never shown up on the other side. We can't negotiate unless there's someone else. Anybody in a family knows that it takes a husband, a wife, a spouse, or a partner to make a deal. It takes two people. You can't do it unilaterally.

Today, Mr. Speaker, a young man was sentenced because he listened to the propaganda of an organization that I consider a hate group. This group says: If you don't agree with us, if you don't follow the line, you deserve to be on our list. They listed the Family Research Council--godly people that have the sole purpose of reaching out to families.

Reading literature from the Southern Poverty Law Center, this young man took it upon himself to feel that the Family Research Council needed to be punished. He picked up a gun and went there to murder people whose greatest desire was to promote family values. As he unloaded his gun, someone stopped him.

Today, the man was sentenced. But to this day, we have not heard an apology from the Southern Poverty Law Center. We have not heard any words from them criticizing those actions. To this day, we don't hear any apologies or any cries for what that young man did.

The Southern Poverty Law Center continues to list an enemy list of anybody that disagrees with them politically. I'm waiting for their apology.

Mr. Speaker, I am appalled. Our friend said Republicans are in the bedroom, but we have a President who is collecting our phone records, collecting our medical records, and now wants to collect our gun records. Where in the world and when do we say stop? Even our friends in the media, he collected their records. Now we have a treaty, so-called treaty, which stomps on our individual rights, undermines our Constitution, and strips us of any kind of protection.

They said don't worry about it, the Senate will never ratify it. But in a tradition of treaties, once a treaty is signed--once a treaty is signed--our Nation typically follows that treaty. We are seeing before us a President who is not listening to the people. Time and time again, these actions are taken when there is--like a magician, he is over here, focusing over here, and he did this today when a Texas Senator was speaking.

This is all designed for us to be asleep while our rights are being stripped. When are the American people going to wake up and realize that the book ``1984'' has come about? Your rights are being stripped, and I hear nothing. My friend, Bill Murray, who is an unwilling participant in a lawsuit to take prayer out of schools, said it best. His mother was an atheist who sued. He said the greatest fear that she had was that the American people would rise up, but what happened was nothing. Not a word was said.

Today, your rights were stripped, and we hear silence. It reminds me when Jesus was praying and he turned to his disciples and they fell asleep; there was silence. Go on and sleep, America, go on and sleep. Your rights are being stripped, and you're saying nothing.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This is an important amendment in that the Chinese have demonstrated time and time again that they're willing to take our tactics and our technology. Coming up in 2014, President Obama has invited the Chinese to participate in a RIMPAC exercise, the world's largest international maritime exercise. Right now, the Chinese plan to use these exercises to increase their knowledge about our tactics.

The participation in these military exercises is particularly concerning at this time when China is hacking our computers, stealing our weapons plans, and escalating the pressure in the South Sea of China. China's behavior does not appear to be even on the radar of the administration. I'm really concerned now that they're becoming belligerent in the Pacific area of the rim. They're declaring rights to land. And we're going to, by participating with the Chinese, make it look like we're siding with the Chinese in helping the Chinese allies and against the United States.

At this time, I yield to my friend, the cosponsor, the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to point out that the military works for Congress, not the other way around. So if we direct the military to do something, they do it. If they object, they're not going to object and say, We're not going to do it. We're the body that controls the military, and we're responsible for this Nation's future.

It's so obvious what we're doing is giving away our secrets. I can tell you right now that they've stolen the plans to the F-22. They're building more F-22s than we are.

They're not part of the negotiation for nuclear weapons right now. We only negotiate with Russia. We have no idea how many weapons they have. We have

no idea how many nuclear weapons they have. We are blindsided by what they're doing. They're shooting down satellites, and they could blind us.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

When I first started out in politics, a dear friend of mine, Howard Phillips, was a conservative leader and a great father and patriot. On April 20, Howard Phillips passed away.

He grew up in Boston, where he became an avid baseball fan. He knew all the teams, all the players, and remained a passionate fan throughout his life. He fought hard to get into the Boston Latin School. From there, he invaded the liberal bastion that is Harvard, where he upheld conservative principles and even served as the chairman of the student council.

Howard made national news during the Nixon administration, when he fought to abolish the Office of Economic Opportunity. A leader, a champion, and a great father, he founded in 1974 the TCC, or The Conservative Caucus. It rapidly became one of the major nationwide conservative organizations. He made headlines for opposing the Panama Canal treaty and supporting Ronald Reagan's efforts to rebuild our defense and to cut taxes and spending.

The conservative movement will not be the same without Howard. In fact, the conservative movement would not be what it is today without his leadership. In 1960, he helped found Young Americans for Freedom, which became the model for conservative political action groups. Howard, Paul Weyrich, Richard Viguerie, Jerry Falwell, and other key leaders became the founders of what we know as the modern conservative movement.

Over the years, Howard stood firm to conservative principles when it was often easier to compromise with the establishment and others. When Howard saw the GOP tilting too far to the left, he found the U.S. Taxpayers' Party--now the Constitution Party--which nominated him as their Presidential candidate in 1992, 1996, and 2000. It was a distinct pleasure for Howard to see the new generation of conservative leaders. As a precursor to the Tea Party, Howard was always there.

Howard's work lives on through his family and through his children, through The Conservative Caucus, and through the work of his large family, including his son, Brad, who found the Persecution Project, which is very active in saving embattled Christians in Sudan; and his son Douglas' Vision Forum, which is a major home-schooling ministry; and through the many Americans inspired by his leadership and vision.

Howard is survived by his wife, Peggy, six children, and 18 grandchildren.

On April 29 a funeral will be held at McLean Bible Church.

God bless you, Howie. We love you.

Mr. Speaker, the first high-profile school shooting in modern memory occurred in Stockton, California, where a gunman took the lives of five innocent children and injured 29 others.

Robert Young, just 7 years old at that time, was one of the injured. He came up here last week to talk about gun control. This is part of his testimony:

I remember what it sounded like, as the bullets flew past

my body. I remember the feeling of my feet literally being

swept out from under me as a round traveled through my right

foot. I remember the slap of the round that hit the pavement

an inch or so in front of me, prior to lodging itself in the

left side of my chest.

Today, Rob is a sworn law enforcement officer in the State of California. He came to Washington, not to urge Congress to pass more gun control, but to exhort this body to protect the Second Amendment.

In the 22 years prior to the 1990 enactment of federally dictated ``gun-free school zones,'' there were only two mass shootings on school or university campuses. In the 22 years since, there have been 10, a five-fold increase. Not only have so-called ``gun-free school zones'' proven not to be ``gun free,'' they appear to have placed our children in even greater danger.

The time has come to end this very deadly experiment of disarming peaceable, law-abiding citizens near schools. That's why I introduced H.R. 35, the Safe Schools Act, to repeal these deadly, so-called ``gun- free school zones.''

Law-abiding adults, including parents, teachers, and administrators who are allowed in their States to carry a firearm, should not be required to be disarmed. Our children are too precious to be turned into unprotected, soft targets for dangerous people. Passing the Safe Schools Act is the first step toward protecting our children.

Mr. Speaker, when I got here 18 years ago, when I first got here I was wet under the ears, and I started looking at different people's voting patterns. And I didn't know, you know, which way to go or whatever. All I know is Sam in private is the way he is publicly. And privately, Sam, you're a hardcore American patriot. And I started to learn a lot from you.

But reading your history and what you did, I just can't imagine being in that confinement for that period of time. It seems like it would be beyond what anybody could take. Yet, time and time again, you stood up, and there was only 11 of you that resisted the torture and resisted the torture of the Vietnamese, which broke every Geneva Convention protocol.

And Sam, in this area in which you've served our Nation, I understand--I think it was five rows across and five rows down. So A A would be tap, tap, B would be tap, tap, tap--in other words, they would do the alphabet five five that way, and they would tap out at night. And that's all the communication they had.

And serving with Sam, and watching Sam go through his service and his commitment to the American people, I don't know if we actually read all of his medals, but he has two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Bronze Star with Combat Valor, two Purple Hearts, four Air Medals, three Air Force Outstanding Units, and he was also awarded the Prisoner of War Medal.

That's just one individual having all those medals, and he's served our Nation and our country and continues to serve our Nation and our country.

I'm honored to serve with Sam. And at this time, when he's lost his son, you're in our prayers. God bless you.

And thank you for offering the opportunity to say a little bit on behalf of Sam.

Thank you for offering this opportunity to honor a gentleman and a Texan who has demonstrated beyond any belief that he is dedicated to his country. After he served, he could have gone, walked out and done other things. But instead, Chris took it upon himself to have compassion for his fellow soldiers. And in that process, he gave the ultimate sacrifice, his life. He's an American hero, and I offer my deepest sympathy to his wife and his two children. He served our Nation courageously, and served with multiple injuries during four tours of Iraq.

Chris retired in 2009 to spend more time with his family. On top of being a warrior, Chris was a Christian, a son, a husband, and a father. On behalf of myself and my wife, Patty, our hearts go out to Chris' wife and her family. Our Nation will never forget and forever be grateful to Chris' service and for Chris' undying belief in Christ and sharing his testimony. Chris was the kind of humble and kind man who always put the needs of others before himself. Chris continued his passion with his nonprofit, FITCO Cares, which provided in-home fitness equipment to physically and emotionally wounded veterans.

I'd like to say to Chris--which I know he's upstairs listening to us with God and with his Lord--that we are so honored and deeply touched that you gave your entire life for this Nation and that you have set an example for all of us in this House on how to behave. He's an individual, and we say nowadays that we don't have many heroes, but he's a true hero. He's not a pop star. He's not something that is glitter. He did his work and his dedication in silence so that not many people knew until his passing. We all should look to him as a leader and a hero. We're blessed that we had him on the Earth, and one day we'll all see him again.