Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this resolution ``recognizing the 20th anniversary of the suppression of protesters and citizens in and around Tiananmen Square in Beijing, People's Republic of China, on June 3 and 4, 1989.'' The words ``Tiananmen'' mean ``Gate of Heavenly Peace.'' Sadly, however, the events of that dark night 20 years ago were anything but heavenly or peaceful.

It was during that dark night that the hopes of a generation for a new and democratic China were cruelly smashed along with the papier- mache and wire statue of the Goddess of Democracy, built with youthful idealism by art students in Tiananmen Square. It was during that dark night that a single, brave figure in the picture seen around the world stood in silent defiance of army tanks as they rolled toward the square.

It was during that dark night that the people of China watched in horror as their own so-called ``People's Army'' turned assault weapons and bayonets on their own people, who reportedly ranged in age from 9 years old to 61 years old, all of whom were participating in a peaceful demonstration.

It was during that dark night that the blood of student martyrs stained a square where a previous generation of students had petitioned the rulers of China for democracy during the May 4 movement in 1919.

It was during that dark night that the pain began for the Tiananmen Mothers who, through two decades of harassment and intimidation, have displayed the courage to keep their dead children's hopes alive and their dreams alive of liberty.

It would be easy to forget that night of the long knives. It would be easy to look at the glittering business towers rising above an increasingly prosperous China and say that is in the past and

that it is over. That would be the easy thing to do, Madam Speaker. But that would not be the right thing to do.

A rising China is increasingly taking its place on the international stage. But it is a rising China that has no moral compass. That compass was lost in that dark night in Tiananmen Square when they murdered their own people, mostly students.

Now, two decades later, a time for truth and a time for truth telling is overdue. That is why this resolution calls on the Chinese authorities to invite full and independent investigations into the Tiananmen Square crackdown, assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

A famous saying goes that ``Those who forget their past are destined to repeat it.'' Neither China nor the world could stand a repeat of that horrific tragedy of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

It is time to honor the dead, express profound sympathy to the surviving family members, and to seek a full and honest accounting of the shocking events that occurred two decades ago this week before that gate which is meant to symbolize heavenly peace.

I urge my colleagues to strongly support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. Wolf), the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, and also, he's the co- chair of the Tom Lantos Congressional Human Rights Commission.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, in 1992, I had the opportunity to go to Tiananmen Square. I was there by myself, but the square was packed. Once again, it was packed with a lot of people, with a lot of students. I was well- received by those students. They wanted to talk to me. They were very friendly, and they were friendly to me for the sole reason that I was an American. Otherwise, they did not know me at all.

While talking to some of the students who weren't afraid to talk to me because of the authorities that were nearby, one of them whispered to me in perfect English that we want what you have in America. Of course, he was speaking of that word ``liberty.'' Down in the soul of every person on Earth, I believe, is that spirit that the good Lord gives us for freedom. I think we are made that way. We are made that way in this country, but we are made that way throughout the world, and those students in China are made that way as well for they seek and hope to obtain the word ``liberty.''

The rulers in China need to release the Tiananmen Square students. China should show the world that they are no longer going to continue to murder their own people who peaceably disagree with the government.

In Beijing, not only is there Tiananmen Square, but also nearby is the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City got its name because it was a walled fortress where the emperors for thousands of years would live and rule the massive country of China, but they forbade the people to come into the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City still exists in a mentality way in China for the City of Beijing still forbids its own people the freedom to speak as they wish, the freedom to assemble, and it forbids the freedom of the people to disagree with their government in a peaceful way.

In the name of liberty and in the name of freedom in which we believe, we have an obligation here in the United States to speak out against the acts of terror that the Chinese Government imposes on their own people. We need to remember the dark nights of June 1989. We need to light a candle to bring openness and transparency to the acts that the Chinese Government committed on its own students.

And that's just the way it is.

I yield back.

Mr. Speaker, just south of Houston, there is a town called Alvin, Texas, where a Chrysler dealership called Rogers Dodge is making a lot of money selling Chryslers; but on June 9, they are going to close down because the auto task force gang has notified them that they have to close.

Rogers Dodge is on the list of 789 Chrysler dealerships around the country that are being closed down under questionable circumstances. There are five in the Houston area alone. The question remains: What are the criteria for closing down these dealerships?

The auto task force gang picks winners and losers, but they refuse to tell America how those decisions are made. Well, neither they nor the administration is talking. The blissful silence makes us wonder what's going on. Some of these Chrysler dealerships being ordered to close are profitable--others are not--but according to some news reports, there's one thing they all have in common except for one single exception found so far: they all have connections in some manner to making campaign contributions to Republicans.

Chrysler, an American institution, is no longer being run as a private-sector company. It has been taken over by the auto task force tyrants appointed personally by the administration. These individuals tell Chrysler what to do, and they have to do it because Chrysler took all that bailout money before they went into bankruptcy. Now the auto task force gang gets to run the company.

By the way, Mr. Speaker, we still don't know where that wasted bailout money went.

According to the Federal Election Commission Web site, there are reporters and bloggers around the country who have been digging through lists of donations. They have been comparing donor names on the lists with the names of owners of the Chrysler dealerships that have been forced to close. Some of these reports say that campaign contributions went to GOP candidates or to political action committees from the Chrysler dealerships that are being forcibly shut down.

Did this group of auto task force individuals discriminate against Republican dealerships in Chrysler-style or in Chicago-style paybacks? We don't know. How in the world can we square that with the reports that only one dealership being ordered to close down so far contributed to the administration's campaign--and that was only for $200? Campaign contributions appear to be the common thread in all of these ordered closures. That's some coincidence.

Rogers Dodge in Alvin, Texas, is one of the more profitable dealerships. Newspaper reports say they have increased their new car sales by 50 percent in just the last 4 months. That's a big accomplishment in this economy. They paid cash for their brand-new $3.7 million building 3 years ago. Along with many other dealerships, they bought millions of dollars of inventory after being pressured by Chrysler to help the company's financial situation so that Chrysler wouldn't go bankrupt. Now all of these assets paid for by these dealerships will be worth mere pennies on the dollar. One report in the Houston Chronicle said this inventory of cars that the dealerships were pressured to buy now will have to be sold as used cars.

Some of these dealerships are fighting back against the Auto Task Force with a lawsuit of their own. According to the Houston Chronicle article, Nicholas Parks, the president of Rogers Dodge and a lawyer, says he's fighting the closure because he doesn't think the bankruptcy court should be used to close these vendors, especially those that are making money. How can you use the bankruptcy laws to shut down a vendor who is making a profit for Chrysler? This is very interesting. The American people are starting to ask a few questions on their own.

Are these Auto Task Force tyrants picking the winners and losers based on campaign contributions? Does the administration have a Nixon- style enemies list? All these questions because the Auto Task Force guys aren't talking and aren't telling us why they closed down certain dealerships and why they let others remain open.

We are now living in a time where the government controls both Chrysler and GM, which we should call Government Motors. And the government alone, not the free market, decides who wins, who loses, who stays in business and who must be forcibly closed down. Meanwhile, 100,000-plus Chrysler workers at auto dealerships who did nothing wrong will be out of work on June 9 thanks to government control. So much for the promise of new jobs.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, ``In the situation of this assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth . . . , how has it happened, sir, that we have not once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understanding?

``The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, how it is probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

``I therefore beg--that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberation, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business.''

Mr. Speaker, with this advice by Benjamin Franklin in 1787, our ancestors knelt in prayer each day before designing and drafting the powerful U.S. Constitution. We continue that wise tradition. Each morning we pray to the Almighty. Then we pledge to the Flag. Then we get on with the people's business.

We would do well to remember the words of the Old Book, ``Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.'' ``Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.''

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, it's been solemnly said that ``the story of America's quest for freedom is inscribed on her history in the blood of her patriots.'' Those comments were made by Randy Vader.

America was born of war and has always had to fight to keep liberty's light shining very bright.

Monday is Memorial Day. We honor those of the military family who went somewhere in the world, fighting for America's ideals and protecting the rest of us, but did not return home. Their blood has stained and sanctified the lands of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific Islands, the soil of America and places known only by God.

One of those warriors was Frank Luke. Madam Speaker, you may have never heard of him, but he is just one of the 4.4 million doughboys that went over there in World War I. He's an example of the young, tenacious American warrior.

This is a photograph of him taken shortly before his death in 1918. In World War I, in September of 1918, in just 9 days of combat flying, 10 missions, and only 30 hours of flight time, Second Lieutenant Frank Luke shot down 18 enemy aircraft. Let me repeat. Eighteen enemy aircraft.

On his last patrol, though pursued by eight German planes, without hesitation he attacked and shot down in flames three German aircraft, being himself under heavy fire from ground batteries and hostile planes. Severely wounded, he descended within 50 meters of the ground and, flying at this low altitude in France, opened fire on enemy troops, killing six and wounding many more. Forced to make a landing, and surrounded on all sides by the enemy, he drew his automatic pistol, defended himself gallantly until he fell dead with a wound in the chest.

Frank Luke was 20 years of age. He had been in Europe less than 30 days. He won the Congressional Medal of Honor, and he was the first aviator in United States history to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was one of the 116,000 doughboys who died in the War to End All Wars that did not return home.

Author Blaine Pardoe referred to him as the ``terror of the autumn skies.''

That was 90 years ago. It has always been the young that give their youth so we can have a future. And we should always remember every one of them, every one that died in all of America's wars.

Now we are engaged in a war in the valley of the sun and the deserts of the gun, in Iraq, and the rugged, cruel, rough mountains of Afghanistan.

My congressional district area of southeast Texas has lost 26 warriors since I have been in Congress. Here they are, Madam Speaker. You notice they represent a cross section of the United States. They are all races. They're of both sexes. They are of all ages, and they're from all branches of the service. They're from big cities like Houston, Texas, and small towns like Hull, Sabine Pass, Beach City, Humble, Groves; yet, they're all American warriors who gave their lives in combat for the United States.

I will place the names and backgrounds of these 26 from the Second Congressional District of Texas who have been killed in Iraq into the Congressional Record.

Rollcall of the Dead

Russell Slay, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps,

from Humble, TX. Russell played the guitar and he and his

buddies started a band while in Iraq called the Texas Trio.

Wesley J. Canning, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine

Corps, from Friendswood, TX. Wesley had a quick smile, a

captivating personality, and loved wearing his Marine Corps

T-shirt to class his senior year of high school.

Fred Lee Maciel, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps,

from Spring, TX. He is remembered as an athlete, a leader in

the school's Naval Junior ROTC, and a role model for other

students.

Wesley R. Riggs, a PFC in the U.S. Army, from Beach City,

TX. Wesley liked four-wheeling and camping. He was also a

member of the Houston Olympic weight lifting team.

William B. Meeuwsen, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, from

Kingwood, TX. Bill strongly believed that we all share a

responsibility to serve on behalf of God and country, to

protect freedoms we all cherish so deeply.

Robert A. Martinez, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine

Corps, from Cleveland, TX. Robert was a baseball pitcher at

Cleveland High and dreamed of getting his degree in education

and becoming a baseball coach.

Jerry Michael Durbin, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army,

from Spring, TX. He was a gifted artist with a special talent

for original cartoon characters and superheroes. He actually

designed his platoon's boot camp T-shirt when he entered the

Army.

Walter M. Moss Jr., a Tech. Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force,

from Houston, TX. After 16 years of military service, Walter

had a reputation for excellence. Even though he was in the

Air Force, the Navy and Marines honored him with the Navy and

Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and he was also awarded the

Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart.

Kristian Menchaca, a PFC in the U.S. Army, from Houston,

TX. Kristian joined the United States Army with the goal of

using his military experience to become a Border Patrol

agent.

Benjamin D. Williams, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Marine

Corps, from Orange, TX. Benjamin played football in high

school and as soon as he graduated, he joined the United

States Marine Corps.

Ryan A. Miller, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps,

from Pearland, TX. Ryan was so committed to a future

defending others, he graduated from high school early just so

he could enlist into the United States Marine Corps and

follow in the footsteps of Dad and Granddad.

Edward Reynolds, Jr., a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army,

from Groves, TX. Friends knew Edward as the man that kept

them out of trouble, pushing them to succeed in life.

West Point Graduate Michael Fraser, a Captain in the U.S.

Army, from Houston, TX. Twice, Michael led his high school

cross-country team to qualify for the Texas State cross-

country meet.

Luke Yepsen, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps,

from Kingwood, TX. He was a graduate of Kingwood High School,

and he was known for his big heart and ability to live life

to its fullest.

Dustin R. Donica, a Specialist in the U.S. Army, from

Spring, TX. Dustin loved to joke around with his family and

his friends, and he was known by many for his unique sense of

humor.

Ryan R. Berg, a Specialist in the U.S. Army, from Sabine

Pass, TX. Ryan knew his calling after high school was to join

the United States Army. He wanted to protect his country,

like he had protected those he knew and loved all his life.

Terrance D. Dunn, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, from

Houston, TX. Terrance was known as ``Dunnaman'' to his fellow

soldiers. If something needed to be done, Dunnaman did it,

and it was given to him to do because they could always count

on him to get the job done.

Anthony Aguirre, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps,

from Houston, TX. During Anthony's senior year in high

school, he achieved the rank of cadet captain. Even after

graduation, Anthony stopped by the high school often to

proudly talk with the Junior ROTC cadets about the Marines.

Brandon Bobb, a PFC in the U.S. Army, from Port Arthur, TX.

Brandon thought that being a military police officer in the

Army was the best job in the world.

Zachary Endsley, a PFC in the U.S. Army, from Spring, TX.

Zachery enjoyed drawing and playing his guitar. He was so

good at drawing he won several competitions while in high

school.

Kamisha Block, a Specialist in the U.S. Army, from Vidor,

TX. Friends say that Kamisha always knew where she was headed

in life, that she had a big heart and genuinely wanted to

help make other people's lives better.

Donald E. Valentine III, a Corporal in the U.S. Army, born

in Houston, TX. Valentine joined the United States Army

because of the 9/11 attack on this country proudly following

in the footsteps of his father.

Jeremy W. Burris, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine

Corps, from Liberty, TX. Jeremy survived the initial blast of

an IED explosive and heroically helped save the lives of two

other wounded Marines before a second bomb was detonated--

taking his life.

Eric Duckworth, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, from

Plano, TX. Eric's only two wishes growing up were that he

serve in the military and serve in law enforcement. He was

blessed to be able to fulfill both of his dreams.

Scott A. McIntosh, a Corporal in the U.S. Army, from

Humble, TX. Friends say that Scott always had a positive

outlook, his mission in life was to meet and make friends

with every person he came in contact with--and he did.

Shawn Tousha, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, from Hull, TX.

During Shawn's first tour of duty in Iraq he decided to re-

enlist in the Army and make the military his career. He ended

up serving three tours of duty in Iraq.

It has been said that ``wars may be fought by weapons, but they are won by warriors. It is the spirit of the men who follow and the man who leads that gains the victory.'' That was said by General George S. Patton, Jr. near the end of World War II.

These noble 26 are just some of the 4,962 that have been killed in the line of duty taking care of America in America's current wars in the Middle East.

Madam Speaker, this is a photograph of the cliffs of Normandy. This is in Normandy, France, where 9,347 Americans are buried, most of them young kids. They liberated and saved France and the rest of Europe in the great World War II. They never came home. The guns have long since been silent on Normandy's shores, but the sands are still stained with the blood of the fallen soldiers.

On the 40th anniversary of D-day, on June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan stood at this cemetery and said ``We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared so we may always be free.''

So, Madam Speaker, when the sun comes up Monday morning, we should fly the Flag, stand outside, look to the heavens and thank those who took care of America in the long, lamentable dark night of the hour of war.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, some taxacrats in D.C. are thinking about taxing health care benefits on people who try to take care of themselves. They want to figure out how to get benefits to people who don't have them. Their solution: Make people who have benefits pay income tax on the value of their health plan.

That tax money would come directly out of their pocket. But it will make health care insurance too expensive for a lot of folks, so they will cancel their insurance and then let the government take care of them on this new nationalized health care plan.

When you wish to solve a problem, it's probably a better idea to come up with something that doesn't make the problem worse. It reminds me of the statement, ``If you think the problems government creates are bad, just wait until you see government solutions.''

The notion to tax health care benefits punishes people who have planned their lives and their careers with the philosophy that they will be responsible for their own health care and not live off the government.

However, to fund the new French health care system, the administration is proposing to tax people who take care of themselves, so there is money for people who can't or won't take care of themselves. There's something wrong with this picture.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the talk around town is universal health care for all Americans. This is a noble ideal and a great goal, but the real question is: Do we want universal health care run by the government or universal health care run by the private sector? That is the question to be asked and answered.

Even though every Nation that has tried socialized public health care has proven it's unaffordable, doesn't work and provides inferior health care, those who want the United States Government to run every aspect of our lives still demand public health care. Let's look at a couple of examples of socialized, nationalized health care:

Katie Brickell is a young woman who lives in Great Britain where they have government-run health care. When Katie was 19, she tried to get a test for cervical cancer, which is a matter of routine here in the United States. Katie was told that she had to wait until she was 20. When she tried again at 20, she was told that the age was moved to 25 so the government could save some money. While waiting 5 more years because some bureaucrat told her that's what she had to do, Katie got sick and was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Now some bureaucrat is telling this young lady, who is just starting out in her adult life, that her disease is not treatable, all because some bureaucrat said it cost too much. Neither Katie nor her doctor made a medical decision, but this no-named bureaucrat made all of these decisions. This is the British example of government-run, universal public health care.

Charlie Wadge lives in Canada where they have long waiting lines and rationed health care because they have a government-run system. Limping badly, Charlie was diagnosed with arthritis in his hip. When he needed his replacement surgery, the bureaucrats told him he'd have to be on a waiting list for between 18 months and 2 years before he could have that surgery. Charlie paid what we call a private medical broker, who negotiated a price for him to have surgery in the United States, in Oklahoma City.

He had to pay for the whole thing out of his pocket--and it's a good thing he had the money. At least he can walk. Left up to Canada's system of universal-run, government-rationed health care, he would have probably been permanently crippled by now.

Now if we want an example of what health care run by the American bureaucrats looks like, we should examine Medicare, Medicaid, or even the VA. These government programs are now a disaster. They waste so much money, and they will probably completely go bankrupt if they're not overhauled.

The Medicare program trustees just a week ago said the program has ``unfunded liability'' of nearly $38 trillion. That's the amount of benefits promised to Americans but not paid by them through taxes. If we don't fix the waste and inefficiency in Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA, millions of people will not be treated properly. Taxes keep going up but these government-run health care services in the United States keep getting worse.

The kind of government-run health care that is being considered right now will have the same sort of underpayments to doctors and hospitals that we see in Medicare and Medicaid. Even with the massive taxes that would come up with this government health care program, if people think health care is expensive now, just wait until it's free.

The government underpaying for services will force the price of medical insurance so high to make up for the gap in what health care really costs that their employer will no longer be able to afford the health insurance.

Studies have shown the kind of government-run health care being worked on by Congress tonight, right now, will end up forcing 120 million Americans on the government plan for this very reason. 120 million Americans who get their health care from their jobs would have to go into the government system because their employer cannot afford to pay for the high cost of insurance. That's half of the Americans in this country today.

But the most frightening part of the government plans being considered is the rationing of health care for procedures based on cost, age, and survivability rate. Let me repeat: Health care will be rationed based on cost, age, and survivability rate.

Somebody needs to explain to me how it's an improvement in our health care system for somebody in Washington, D.C., to decide that someone can't have a cancer treatment because it's too expensive, like is happening in England right now. Or that people can't have a medical procedure because some bureaucrat thinks it's too expensive because they're too old. The patient and doctor will be completely cut out of the decisionmaking process. And that is wrong.

There's an alternative plan to put all Americans on universal coverage even without raising taxes. This idea would leave decisions about people's health care between their doctor and the patient, not the bureaucrats and the taxacrats in D.C. It's a plan to put everyone on private insurance plans. This deserves a close examination by this Congress.

We'd better take a long look at the choices we have, Mr. Speaker. If we go down the road of government-run health care in America, we will destroy the best health care structure in the world.

Mr. Speaker, the new government, nationalized, impersonal health care system will have the compassion of the IRS, the competence of FEMA, and the efficiency of the post office.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the State of California boasts the highest tax rates, the highest number of unemployed residents, the lowest credit rating and largest deficit in the United States of America.

Businesses are leaving the State in droves because the tax burden continues to hammer them. Spendacrats in California have been running their State for decades, just like the new left government in D.C. wants to run the entire country: tax and borrow and spend and spend.

Some spendacrats in D.C. want the American taxpayer to bail out California by cosigning a guarantee for their municipal bonds, placing the full faith and credit of the United States taxpayer on the hook.

Texas taxpayers and other States with responsible government shouldn't be forced to send their money to a State that mismanages its money, wastes its resources and spends money it doesn't have on programs that don't work. Why doesn't California cut its spending binge and addiction to government programs rather than expect the rest of us to bail them out?

Next we'll hear that taxpayers will make money off the California bailout investment, just like we were promised would happen with all the money we gave Wall Street. Yeah, right.

And that's just the way it is.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it's been said, ``From this day to the ending of the world, we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.'' Shakespeare penned these words in Henry V, describing the commitment of a soldier to his fellow soldiers.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 360 which calls on all Americans to honor our veterans by visiting memorials and national cemeteries on Memorial Day. I am proud to cosponsor this very important legislation.

Since 2004, 26 men and women from the Second Congressional District area of Texas have served honorably and given their lives for the cause of freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every time a brave member of America's military from my area dies for this country, I come down to this House floor, and I talk about their lives, their legacy, their family, and those others that they have left behind.

Every year, millions of Americans visit the national cemeteries and the memorials and the war markers all over the United States to remember the men and women who have so courageously fought to defend America's freedom.

Mr. Speaker, in a land far, far away, there are over 9,000 Americans buried in a place called Normandy in France, most of them young teenage boys that left America and went off to war to defend our country. They shed their blood in 1944 for not only us but for those folks in Europe. My father who served in the great World War II as an 18-year-old never talked about his service in Europe until he and Mom visited Normandy and its cemetery 50 years after that important event. He, like many other veterans, is proud to have

served but keeps saying that the heroes are still buried in places throughout the world.

Each Memorial Day all across America, parades are held, wreaths are laid, grave sites are decorated as a tribute to our fallen warriors. On Veterans Day, we remember those who fought and came home, but on Memorial Day, we remember those who fought and did not come home.

The Department of Veterans Affairs preserves 128 cemeteries all over the world that are the final resting place for over 3 million Americans. These national cemeteries and memorials remind us of the warriors who have fought and gave all to protect the rest of us. When called, they went.

I am pleased to support this legislation and urge all Members to approve this resolution.

As Toby Keith so eloquently put it in his tribute to the American soldiers, he said about the American soldier: ``I don't do it for money, there's bills that I can't pay. I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway. I'm an American soldier, an American beside my brothers and sisters, I will proudly take a stand. When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right. I'm out here on the front lines, so sleep in peace tonight. I'm an American soldier.''

These warriors, Mr. Speaker, are our sons of liberty and the daughters of democracy. They are our heroes, and they need to be honored and remembered by the rest of us for all time.

And that's just the way it is.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and friend on the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Weiner, for introducing H.R. 1676, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking or PACT Act. This bipartisan legislation will help Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials combat cigarette smuggling and trafficking in the United States.

Tobacco smuggling has become one of the most prevalent forms of smuggling in recent years in our country. Its effects are not felt only in the United States but other parts of the world as well.

The World Health Organization estimates that illegal cigarettes account for 10.7 percent, or approximately 600 billion cigarettes, of the more than 5.7 trillion cigarettes sold globally each year.

According to a study by the World Bank, cigarettes are appealing to smugglers because taxes typically account for a large portion of the price, making it highly profitable to traffic them for resale at a reduced price.

Tobacco smuggling traditionally involves the diversion of large quantities of cigarettes from wholesale distribution into the black market. This typically occurs during the transit of the cigarettes, thus allowing the traffickers to avoid most, if not all, taxes that will be imposed at retail on the cigarettes.

The profits from tobacco trafficking can be and likely are used to finance other illegal activities such as organized crime and drug trafficking syndicates. In addition to the sale of smuggled tobacco on the black market, it deprives States of significant amounts of tax revenue every year.

Over the last 15 years, cigarette taxes have increased more than 65 percent throughout the United States; yet, during this same time, States' tax revenues increased by only 35 percent.

California officials estimate that taxes are unpaid on about 15 percent of all tobacco sold in its markets at a cost of $276 million every year. In a recently released study, the State of New York put its losses at more than $576 million per year.

The State of Texas raised cigarette taxes recently, and this increase is supposed to generate an additional $800 million in revenue for the State.

This bill would help to ensure that States like California, New York, and Texas receive or recover tax revenue that is due them by people who buy cigarettes.

Two senior ranking members of the Judiciary Committee, Ranking Member Smith and Mr. Weiner, have teamed together to cosponsor the PACT Act for the second consecutive Congress.

In the 110th Congress, this House passed similar legislation on a suspension calendar; however, our colleagues in the Senate did not ever take up the bill.

H.R. 1676 varies slightly from the previous legislation passed by the 110th Congress. Provisions that were under the jurisdiction of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee have been removed.

This bill also contains an authorization for additional funding for anticigarette trafficking efforts for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This bipartisan legislation closes loopholes in current tobacco trafficking laws, provides law enforcement with new tools to combat innovative methods being used by the cigarette traffickers to distribute their products, and bolsters the States' ability to enforce State law.

I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill has nothing to do with whether cigarettes should be taxed or not, whether tobacco should be taxed or not. The issue is the black market sale of cigarettes and those individuals who fail to pay lawfully imposed taxes on them.

This legislation is supported by the tobacco industry and by law enforcement, the Attorney General, and I urge the adoption of this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney) for introducing H. Res. 426, which honors police officers and law enforcement professionals during National Police Week. I'm pleased to cosponsor this resolution that supports the brave men and women who wear the badge, as well as all the professionals who support them in their mission throughout the country, especially their families.

As they continue to protect and serve, we take a moment to salute them for everything that they do every day, much of which goes unnoticed. We're able to go about our daily routines because officers in small towns and big cities and in rural areas throughout this country stand ready to take those risks on our behalf.

Each year, 50,000--50,000--peace officers are assaulted in the United States. On May 17, 1792, New York City's Deputy Sheriff Isaac Smith became the first recorded police officer to be killed in the line of duty in the United States. Since that time, 19,705 peace officers have been killed while on duty protecting the rest of us.

In 2008, 140 officers died in the line of duty while upholding the values that make this country great--duty, honor, sacrifice. Those values and their sacrifice are a somber reminder that the freedoms that we share do not come without a cost. Of those 140, 10 percent, or 14, were from my home State of Texas.

Sadly, already in 2009, 48 peace officers have died in the line of duty. Once again, 10 percent from the State of Texas. This number includes two additional officers since I spoke on the House floor about peace officers 5 days ago. Those individuals, Sergeant Dulan Earl Murray, Jr. from the Nags Head Police Department in North Carolina, and Deputy Sheriff Tom Wilson from Warren County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi, died over the weekend while on duty.

In 1961, Congress created Peace Officers Memorial Day and designated it to be commemorated each year on May 15. Correspondingly, each year, the President issues a proclamation naming May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day.

I'm proud to sponsor this year's resolution to recognize Peace Officer Memorial Day, which passed the House unanimously in February of this year. Peace Officer Memorial Day takes place during National Police Week, which was held in Washington, D.C. last week.

Many of the families, friends, and colleagues of these fallen officers came to Washington last week to remember them as mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and friends of their communities, guarding all of us.

They came together to celebrate in many ways. They participated in candlelight vigils and torch runs, they broke bread and shared stories, but more importantly, they honored and remembered the fallen. Today, we do as well.

Those officers have no doubt returned to serve their communities while quietly making all of our lives a little better.

We commemorate the 186 officers that died in 2008 and 2009, and all law enforcement officers that have died in the line of duty while representing every State, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, as well as Federal law enforcement and the military police.

Today, we thank them the best way that we can in the House of Representatives. I urge people across the country to similarly thank them for their service with a simple smile or a handshake or a thank you.

I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia and the gentleman from California for proposing this legislation. Also, we need to constantly remember that we here in the United States Capitol are protected daily by the Capitol Police, two of whom just a few years ago gave their lives protecting Members of Congress.

I would also like to introduce into the Record the names of the 19 police officers from the State of Texas who have been killed in 2008 and 2009.

In 2008, 140 peace officers were killed. Of these fallen

officers, 14 were from Texas:

Deputy Constable David Joubert, Harris County Constable's

Office--Precinct 7, TX, EOW: Sunday, January 13, 2008.

Police Officer Matthew B. Thebeau, Corpus Christi Police

Department, TX, EOW: Sunday, January 20, 2008.

Corporal Harry Thielepape, Harris County Constable's

Office--Precinct 6, TX, EOW: Wednesday, February 20, 2008.

Senior Corporal Victor A. Lozada Sr., Dallas Police

Department, TX, EOW: Friday, February 22, 2008.

Trooper James Scott Burns, Texas Department of Public

Safety--Texas Highway Patrol, TX, EOW: Tuesday, April 29,

2008.

Police Officer Everett William Dennis, Carthage Police

Department, TX, EOW: Tuesday, June 3, 2008.

Sergeant Barbara Jean Shumate, Texas Department of Criminal

Justice, TX, EOW: Friday, June 13, 2008.

Police Officer Gary Gryder, Houston Police Department, TX,

EOW: Sunday, June 29, 2008.

Detective Tommy Keen, Harris County Sheriff's Department,

TX, EOW: Monday, September 15, 2008.

Game Warden George Harold Whatley Jr., Texas Parks and

Wildlife Department--Law Enforcement Division, TX, EOW:

Friday, October 10, 2008.

Sheriff Brent Lee, Trinity County Sheriff's Department, TX,

EOW: Thursday, November 27, 2008.

Police Officer Robert Davis, San Antonio Police Department,

TX, EOW: Monday, December 1, 2008.

Police Officer Timothy Abernethy, Houston Police

Department, TX, EOW: Sunday, December 7, 2008.

Police Officer Mark Simmons, Amarillo Police Department,

TX, EOW: Wednesday, December 17, 2008.

In 2009, 48 officers have died in the line of duty. 5 of

these officers were from Texas:

Senior Corporal Norman Smith, Dallas Police Department, TX,

EOW: Tuesday, January 6, 2009.

Detention Officer Cesar Arreola, El Paso County Sheriff's

Office, TX, EOW: Sunday, January 18, 2009.

Lieutenant Stuart J. Alexander, Corpus Christi Police

Department, TX, EOW: Wednesday, March 11, 2009.

Sergeant Randy White, Bridgeport Police Department, TX,

EOW: Thursday, April 2, 2009.

Deputy Sheriff D. Robert Harvey, Lubbock County Sheriff's

Department, TX, EOW: Sunday, April 26, 2009.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we have talked a lot about the different entities that don't pay their bills, but the U.S. Federal Government is also a culprit that does not pay its bills. Let me explain.

The 9/11 Families for a Secure America Organization say that 32 percent of all people incarcerated in the United States for crimes other than immigration violations are in the United States illegally! With Texas being a border State, we get a lot more of these criminals in our jails than the rest of the country.

The administration wants to eliminate a program that helps Texas pay for keeping these criminals in jail. It's called the SCAAP program. We have porous borders because the Federal Government does not secure those borders. When a criminal alien sneaks into the United States, commits a crime, the State government must be financially responsible for the capture and trial of that individual, not the Federal Government, even though border security is a Federal responsibility. That forces Texas to foot the bill for their medical care and feeding them and housing them in jail. Sometimes Texas taxpayers are on the hook for paying for their lawyer and other related costs.

The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, the SCAAP Program, doesn't even come close to covering the cost of keeping these criminal aliens in Texas prisons, but it helps. However, the administration wants to take away what little the Federal Government does send to Texas and other border States, thus making the cost of border crime the responsibility of State governments rather than the Federal Government.

Texas Governor Rick Perry today sent a letter to the President asking him to reconsider cutting the SCAAP program. As a practical matter, I side with the notion the Federal budget should be cut. There's enough waste in the budget this year to keep the bureaucrats busy for years trying to weed it all out. But this is not an example of wasteful spending, far from it. This expense is because the Federal Government refuses to secure the borders and, thus, border States are stuck with the cost of crime created by foreign nationals and housing them after they are convicted.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reports it cost Texas taxpayers $143 million to keep over 13,000 criminal aliens in Texas prisons just last year. These are major crimes. These are felonies. The SCAAP program the bureaucrats want to eliminate only paid $18 million of these costs. These criminal aliens serving time in Texas are not there for an overnight stay. They are in prison for violent crimes like rape, murder, kidnapping, and child abuse. Instead of eliminating the Federal program that helps pay for these costs, it ought to be expanded, or the Federal Government should take these prisoners.

Here's an idea. How about we send these criminal aliens to the Federal facility in Gitmo? I hear there may be some room in that facility soon. It's a nice place as far as Federal prisons go. I've been there and have seen it for myself. They play soccer. They have hot meals that are fit for a Sunday dinner table. There's plenty of sunshine and fresh air, quite a step up from the overcrowded prisons in Texas and other border States.

Or we should charge foreign countries the costs of housing their citizens that are illegally in the United States that have committed felonies. If they won't pay up, we can cut off their visas until they do pay up. Or, in most cases, we should just deduct the cost of housing these criminal foreign nationals from the foreign aid we send that country.

State citizens have paid enough to a system that houses foreign nationals in our prisons that have committed crimes in the United States. Foreign countries should pay for the crime of their nationals, or our Federal Government should pay. And since we're strapped right now because of the Federal tax and borrow and spend and spend program, we should even consider deducting our cost of the annual dues to the United Nations to pay for incarceration of foreign nationals that have committed crimes in the United States. Now, there's a plan that might work.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, the administration closed 900 Chrysler dealerships overnight last week and put an estimated 100,000, mostly nonunion workers, on the street and out of work. Even though many of these dealerships were profitable, it didn't make any difference to the Auto Task Force, since these unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats have absolute power ever since the government nationalized Chrysler.

And I thought the administration promised more jobs, not fewer ones.

In Chicago-business style, the administration is strong-arming these businesses and workers with a process that leaves them without legal recourse and sticks the business owner with millions of dollars of unsold vehicles by forcing them to close.

It should hardly escape anyone's notice that this is just what Dictator Hugo Chavez did earlier this month when he nationalized two U.S. oil company production facilities in Venezuela. Echoing a scheme that handed a U.S. company's assets over to Chavez's cronies, the administration nationalized these auto businesses and rewarded their own special interest groups, and once again, is picking the winners and losers in Chicago-style politics.

And that's just the way it is.

I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding.

Madam Speaker, Aristotle once wrote that ``teachers are to be given the highest honor because they teach us how to live well,'' and of course, that's a correct statement.

Today, I am proud to rise in support of America's teachers and pleased to be a cosponsor of H. Res. 374. This measure recognizes the significant roles and contributions that America's teachers have made to building and enhancing our country.

The United States Census Bureau reports that today there are more than 6 million schoolteachers throughout the United States, not counting all the other types of teachers in this country.

I come from a long line of teachers. My mother was a schoolteacher. My wife's a schoolteacher. My three daughters are trained teachers. Two of them teach young kids at the elementary level, God bless them, and one of them is a professor at Baylor University. The most influential person that taught me in public school was my seventh grade Texas history teacher, Ms. Wilson.

But teaching isn't just a tradition in my family. Teaching has been a tradition in this country since its very inception. At our Nation's founding, of course, most of the teaching happened at home under the instruction of parents. Today, parents have many options when it comes to the education of their children. Some are taught in private schools, others in public schools. Some are charter schools, and others continue to be educated at home.

Regardless of where the education takes place, teachers play a primary role in equipping our youth to be good citizens, to take pride in the democratic heritage of our Nation, and to be competitive in the marketplace of ideas.

An American author and historian Henry Adams once said, ``A teacher affects eternity. The teacher can never tell where that influence stops.''

Mr. Adams was right. Let's be sure to let the teachers who have touched our lives and the lives of our children know how thankful we, as a Nation, are.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 improves current criminal and civil fraud statutes to help the Federal Government bring predatory lenders and unscrupulous financial institutions to justice.

Judiciary Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Smith sponsored the companion legislation in the House, H.R. 1748, the Fight Fraud Act of 2009. S. 386, as amended, merges these two important pieces of legislation together to provide comprehensive and effective solutions to combating mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and other financial crimes.

The House passed this legislation in early May with overwhelming bipartisan support.

The Senate has returned the bill to us with one important change. Section

5 of the bill creates a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission within the legislative branch. This commission is charged with examining the causes, both domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States and reporting its findings to Congress.

The bill grants the commission the authority to issue subpoenas, as necessary, to conduct its investigation and meet its obligation to Congress. A subpoena may be issued only by the agreement of the chairperson and vice chairperson or by approval from a majority of the commission's members.

The Senate amendment clarifies that a majority vote must include the vote of at least one Member appointed by either the minority leader of the House or the minority leader of the Senate.

This provides additional assurance that the examination undertaken by the commission, and in its exercise of subpoena authority, will not be politicized. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess.)

I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the administration plans to close the state-of-the-art Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January. The problem is, they have no plan for what to do with the terrorist detainees. These are the people who have tried to kill Americans, and they want to keep up their sinful ways by trying to kill more Americans. These are people picked up off the battlefield, sometimes hiding between children and women's skirts in villages. They were not wearing uniforms. They were not state sponsored, but they were there for a reason, and that was to kill innocent people.

For example, they use women and children for two purposes: one, to hide behind as cover, and the other reason is to murder in the name of religion. That's why they're called terrorists. They try to inflict terror and fear in all peoples.

Some of these people have been waterboarded. They gave us vital information that saved American lives. Apparently, two plots were uncovered by waterboarding. One crime was to crash a plane into a Los Angeles skyscraper and another to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge.

I wonder if the would-be victims appreciated the waterboarding?

What are we supposed to do to get this information?

But some are now to be more concerned about the treatment of Gitmo detainees than they are about potential American victims. Maybe we don't have our priorities straight. And by the way, Mr. Speaker, I have been to Gitmo, and its facilities are better than many American jails where we keep Americans.

Let's look a little bit at history. General George Washington had a very different way of dealing with folks that were captured who weren't wearing uniforms. A British spy named Major John Andre, who was a buddy of Benedict Arnold, fell into these circumstances. After surveying West Point, Benedict Arnold met with Andre and gave him a sheaf of papers outlining the state of the garrison and the arrangements that had been made for its defense at West Point. Andre removed his uniform as a senior British officer, put on a plain coat, stuffed Arnold's secret instructions into his silk stockings, and set off for New York and his headquarters. Militiamen caught up with him on the road, however, found the papers from Arnold in his boots, and turned him over to George Washington, who had him hanged. Is that better than being waterboarded?

So what do we do with these terrorists if we close Gitmo? If we take hundreds of hard-core terrorists from an isolated island like Gitmo and put them in American prisons, we expose the nearby communities, inmates, law enforcement, prison guards, officials and their families to the possibility of payback, attacks aimed at breaking them out or retaliation against the community for holding them.

If they go to an American prison, they, in all likelihood, would eventually be released into the United States. That's not good news.

We don't want them brought to Texas, by the way, Mr. Speaker. We have enough problems from the Federal Government neglecting our southern border.

Last week, in the Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General Holder couldn't name one State that wants these outlaws sent to them. So what are we going to do?

Are we going to reopen Alcatraz and put them there? Who knows?

Do we bring them here and try them in our Federal courts?

Mr. Speaker, if we stop and take a look at why we have separate legal systems for our citizens and for military purposes, maybe the reasons will be crystal clear even to administration lawyers: The American domestic legal system wasn't built to deal with enemies in a war. Military courts have always handled combatants captured on the battlefield.

Nonuniformed enemies in a time of war do not have the same rights under the U.S. Constitution as American citizens, at least that's what we have always thought.

So what's next? Are our soldiers going to have to warn terrorists of their Miranda Rights?

Are the Army Rangers going to need a search warrant from a Federal judge to go into an al Qaeda hideout in Afghanistan?

Will the troops need to consult a Federal lawyer and get permission to shoot back when being shot at? Now, wouldn't that be helpful.

So what is the administration going to do with these terrorists?

They have set the date of January 22, 2010, to close down Gitmo. Let's hope the administration reevaluates its decisions regarding letting these terrorists go and keep them locked up.

And that's just the way it is.