Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today is my favorite day in Texas history. March 2 marks Texas Independence Day. On this day, 170 years ago, Texas declared independence from Mexico and its evil dictator, Santa Anna, the 19th century Saddam Hussein, and Texas became a free nation.

In 1836, in a small farm village of Washington-on-the-Brazos, 54 ``Texians,'' as they called themselves in those days, gathered on a cold rainy day like today to do something bold and brazen: They gathered to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence and once and for all ``declare that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign, and independent republic.''

As these determined delegates met to declare independence, Santa Anna and 6,000 enemy troops were marching on an old, beat-up Spanish mission that we now call the Alamo. This is where Texas defenders stood defiant and determined. They were led by a 27-year-old lawyer by the name of William Barrett Travis. The Alamo and its 186 Texans were all that stood between the invaders and the people of Texas. And behind the dark, dank walls of that Alamo, William Barrett Travis, the commander, sent a fiery, urgent appeal requesting aid.

His defiant letter read in part: ``To all the people in Texas and America and the world, I am besieged by a thousand or more of the enemy under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment and cannon fire for the last 24 hours, but I have not lost a man.

``The enemy has demanded surrender at its discretion; otherwise, the fort will be put to the sword. I have answered that demand with a cannon shot, and the flag still waves proudly over the wall. I shall never surrender or retreat.

``I call upon you in the name of liberty and patriotism and everything that is dear to our character to come to my aid with all dispatch. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself for as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country.

``Victory or death,'' signed William Barrett Travis, commander of the Alamo.

Madam Speaker, after 13 days of glory at the Alamo, Commander Travis and his men sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom. The date was March 6, 1836.

Those lives would not be lost in vain. Their determination for the cause paid off, and because heroes like William Barrett Travis, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and others held out for so long, Santa Anna's forces took such great losses they became battered and demoralized and diminished. As Travis said in his last letter, ``Victory will cost the enemy more dearly than defeat.''

He was right.

General Sam Houston, in turn, had devised a strategy to rally other Texas volunteers to ultimately defeat Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. The war was over. The Lone Star flag was visible all across the bold, brazen, and broad plains of Texas. Texas remained an independent nation for over 9 years.

The Alamo defenders were from every State in the United States, 13 foreign countries. They were black, brown, and white, ages 16 through 67. They were mavericks, revolutionaries, farmers, shopkeepers, and freedom fighters. They came together to fight for something they believed in. Liberty. And, Madam Speaker, they were all volunteers.

In 1845, Texas was admitted to the United States by only one vote. Some have said they wished the vote had gone the other way. Be that as it may, every day, each school day, kids across the vastness of Texas pledge allegiance to not only the American flag but they also pledge to the Texas flag; and by treaty with the United States, the Texas flag flies next to the American flag but never below it.

We all know that freedom has a cost. It always has. It always will.

And we also pause to remember those who lost their lives so that Texas could be a free nation. And as we do so, we remember the brave Americans in our military that are fearlessly fighting in lands far, far away to preserve and uphold freedom from a new world threat of terrorism.

Texas Independence Day is a day of pride and reflection in the Lone Star State. Today we remember to pay tribute to heroes like William Barrett Travis, Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, Juan Seguin, Jim Bonham, and General Sam Houston and the rest of those volunteers who fought the evil tyrant and terrorist, Santa Anna.

Madam Speaker, I hope that Congress and the rest of the country will join me in celebrating Texas Independence Day. In Colonel Travis' final letter and appeal for aid, he signed off with three words that I leave you with now. ``God and Texas.'' ``God and Texas.'' ``God and Texas.''

And the rest, as they say, Madam Speaker is Texas history. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the fiasco of allowing a foreign-owned corporation, foreign-country-owned company to come into our port situation, have information about our manifests, about ports, the shipping information, has gone through three parts.

First of all, it was the part of the deal. It was a deal that nobody knew about here in this House of Representatives. Once we found out about the deal, it has now gone through the ordeal, where we are bringing transparency to this deal that was bad for America. And soon hopefully, Mr. Speaker, it will be no deal because it is not a deal that is good for the United States, and it is certainly not good for Homeland Security.

Allowing a foreign country to own a corporation that goes into our ports and has access to information is a bad deal, no deal for the United States.

Mr. Speaker, in the disturbing days following Hurricane Katrina there was much confusion and chaos and catastrophe. Isaac Carloss and his wife, Debbie Anderson, used this tragedy to take advantage of innocent victims of this hurricane. Their deceptive and lawless journey was only recently halted by the Department of Justice.

According to the DOJ, Carloss' wife, Debbie, met an evacuee at a rescue shelter following the hurricane. Since the evacuee was unable to return to his home, Debbie gave the individual permission to use her address and receive mail. The evacuee then applied for FEMA assistance, and an express mail package addressed to the evacuee was sent to Debbie's residence. Debbie signed for the package with a fictitious name, opened the mail, and started her illegal spending spree across Louisiana.

The package included two FEMA disaster assistance checks totaling over $4,000 intended for the evacuee. But Diane, Isaac and Debbie took these checks and went directly to the local car dealership where they used one of the checks to purchase a car. She then took the other check to a bank in Louisiana where she persuaded the teller to cash the check because they were victims, or she was a victim of the hurricane.

Just last week, in Louisiana, her husband, Isaac, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy, one count of theft of mail and two counts of theft of public money. He faces a sentence up to 5 years in prison. His wife, Debbie, has already pleaded guilty in January to a count of conspiracy. This is just one of the many examples of the vagrants that cheated the government and the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita.

Six months ago, when the ladies of the gulf, Katrina and Rita, pounded the gulf coast, thousands of people were left dismayed. They were distressed and in desperate need of aid. In the days following the hurricanes FEMA quickly began disbursing money to suffering victims. However, amidst all the confusion and chaos, fraud started. Now, 6 months later and millions of dollars wasted later, the winds have subsided, but the deception continues and the shady scams are getting more disturbing every day.

According to a recent Government Accounting study, Federal investigators have learned 1,000 people who applied for aid used Social Security numbers of dead people; 1,000 used bogus, nonexistent numbers, and tens of thousands have used names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of people that did not match.

The report also found that up to 900,000 of the 2.5 million applicants to receive aid under FEMA's emergency assistance program were based upon duplicate or invalid Social Security numbers or false addresses. Additionally, duplicate payments were made to some people who applied first with debit cards then again by electronic bank transfer.

The GAO reported another example where one person used 15 different Social Security numbers and received payments totaling $41,000, money he has stolen from the victims and from the taxpayers.

The corruption is chilling. With FEMA debit cards an individual in Jefferson, Louisiana, spent $1,300 on a pistol. An individual in Houston, Texas spent $1,200 at a gentleman's club with his FEMA debit card. And the list goes on: diamond engagement rings, gambling, bail bondsmen, tattoos, massages, alcohol and adult erotic products.

We also have learned that hotel rooms in New York City have cost the taxpayers $500 a night, beachfront apartments being rented in the same amounts were all paid for by FEMA, which really means paid for by other taxpayers. Reports have even surfaced about emergency meals being sold on eBay.

Legitimate, law-abiding citizens are suffering because of these disgraceful and despicable delinquents that have chosen to take advantage of this tragedy.

These criminals should be found and they should go to jail, and anyone in the Federal Government that has helped them should be in jail as well. These crimes took place at the detriment of real victims, and they have cheated the system and deserve to be punished. There must be a zero tolerance policy for these scam artists and it must be stopped.

Then, Mr. Speaker, we hear of the other abuses in the system where FEMA has spent millions of dollars for 10,000 brand-new, fully furnished trailers, but they are not being used for any victims of this disaster. They are being stored in Hope, Arkansas, because FEMA regulations prevent those trailers from being in flood plains. Of course, it is the flood plains that were affected by these hurricanes. And according to a Fox News report, the cost of these trailers is $367 million.

And now we learn that these 10,000 trailers sitting in Arkansas, because of the weather, are starting to sink in the mud. This is ridiculous, how FEMA has abused the system by not being prepared for this disaster.

Mr. Speaker, it has been over 6 months since Hurricane Katrina, 4 months since Hurricane Rita. There are still people that are suffering. We have got to take control of this situation. We have to remove the incompetence, and people who have committed crimes must be punished and sent to jail. There need to be no excuses because of inefficient red tape or lawlessness. These people need to be held accountable, both those in the Federal Government and others.

Mr. Speaker, that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the decision to let a United Arab Emirates- owned company take over operations at U.S. ports is dangerous and defies common sense. This is a matter of domestic security. The UAE, although our alleged friends now, recognized the Taliban, laundered money to 9/11 terrorists, and continues to participate in the Arab boycott against Israel.

These same foreign entities would have access to U.S. manifests showing what cargo is being shipped and where and when it is going. This decision affects military terminals in my district, like the port of Beaumont, where one-third of all military cargo deployed to and from Iraq comes through this port. Even the Coast Guard seems to be uneasy about this decision. There is an inherent problem and a national security risk in having state-owned foreign companies buying interest in American ports. This decision is unwise. We are putting a fox in our own hen house, and this decision ought not to be.

Mr. Speaker, allowing a foreign-owned business to infiltrate our ports

is just a risky business. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the USS Houston, a 9050-ton Northampton class light cruiser, was built in Newport News, Virginia. Named for the great city of Houston, she was commissioned in June 1930 and reclassified as a heavy cruiser a year later. She played a crucial role in World Was II and became a flagship of the U.S. Fleet.

For 10 years, she served around the world on various missions and even transported President Roosevelt on certain occasions. But, in November 1940, as WWII deepened she returned to the Philippines for her second deployment as Asiatic Fleet flagship. A year later, she was sent south to Australian and Netherlands East Indies waters. As the heaviest unit of the Allied naval force in that area, she was actively employed in the desperate struggle against the Japanese East Indies' offensive.

The USS Houston was ordered to leave the area on February 28, 1942. Along with the Australian light cruiser Perth, the USS Houston encountered a strong Japanese navy force supporting an amphibious landing on western Java. On March 1, 1942, in a courageous night battle against all odds, Houston and Perth were sunk by enemy gunfire and torpedoes.

Six hundred and ninety two U.S. Soldiers and Marines, \2/3\ of the crew, including the Captain, perished that evening. The remaining 368 surviving crewmen were captured by the Japanese Imperial Army. They became known as the ``Lost Battalion.''

Houston's fate was not known by the world for almost 9 months, and the full story of her brave plight was not fully told until after the war was over and her survivors were liberated from prison camps.

Next Saturday in my home state of Texas, survivors, their families, friends and representatives of the Naval Order of the U.S. and several foreign nations will converge at the USS

Houston Memorial in Sam Houston Park for a memorial service to honor the warship and her courageous crew.

The members of the Greatest Generation that were aboard the USS Houston were true American heroes. They represent the finest the Nation has ever produced. We honor the brave sailors, Marines and their crew who served on the USS Houston and we thank them for the sacrifices they made for freedom. We also pay tribute to the families of those who lost their lives in doing so. The heroic freedom fighters aboard the USS Houston will never be forgotten. They have made Texas proud. That's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, during the great World War II, the Japanese were searching for a way to demoralize the American forces that they faced. The Japanese psychological propaganda warfare experts came up with a message that they thought would work very well for them. They gave the script to their famous broadcaster, Tokyo Rose. Every day she would broadcast this same message packaged in various ways hoping to have an impact on American GI morale.

What was the message? It had three points: One, your President is lying to you. Two, the war is illegal. Three, you cannot win this war.

Madam Speaker, does that sound familiar? Maybe that is because some in the media and some individuals have picked up the same message and are broadcasting it to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and to our enemies. The only difference is these people claim to support our troops before they demoralize them.

Come to think of it, Tokyo Rose used to tell our troops she was on their side, too. But the Tokyo Rose propaganda machine was unsuccessful, just as the propaganda cynics of today will be unsuccessful in this war on terror. And that's just the way it is.

Thank you, Dr. Price. I appreciate this opportunity to share this time with you and discuss the things that are important to our country.

As you know, my background has always been one that enforced the law, law enforcement, down in Texas. I prosecuted, and then I tried cases as a judge for 22 years, and now I am here. So I probably see things from maybe a different background and perspective than many other people. And I always like to relate what is going on today to history. As our good friend, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Schmidt), just said about September 11, we are working on 3\1/2\ years since that event occurred, and it is still fresh in the minds of many Americans.

On that day I was driving my Jeep to the courthouse, and I am listening to the country western station here on the radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. And then a few minutes later, a second plane hits the World Trade Center. People on the highway that morning, some of them were pulling over to listen to the national broadcasting of what was occurring, that attack on America. Then the third plane crashes in Pennsylvania because some good people on that plane, some real American heroes, took control of that situation and saved some building, either this building or the White House, from being hit that morning. And then that fourth plane that hit the Pentagon.

And later that day, I, like many other people, was watching television, and I noticed that when those planes hit the World Trade Center that there were thousands of Americans, thousands of people from all over the world, when those planes hit the World Trade Center, they were running as hard as they could to get away from that terror, that terror in the skies. I am not faulting them for that, but that is what took place.

But there was another group of people, not very many, but a group of individuals who, when those planes hit the World Trade Center, they were running as hard as they could to get to that terror. They were volunteers; emergency medical technicians; firefighters; and cops, police officers. And while it is very important that we continue to remember the people who died that day, we also need to remember the people that lived because those first responders did the first duty of government, which is to protect the public; and we will never know how many lives they saved. Many of them gave their own lives that day, because it is the duty of our country to protect America, to protect us against criminals that live among us and to protect us against those criminals that live in other lands that want to do us harm. And we cannot say enough about those first responders that are still working throughout our country protecting us at home.

Because of those events, one thing led to another and we took the war on terror to the enemy. And now we have the greatest military ever assembled on Earth in Iraq and Afghanistan and other parts of the world fighting and winning the war on terror.

I was privileged, as many Members, to go to Iraq. I got to go there a year ago on election day, one of two Members that were there on election day, January 30, when Iraq had their first free elections in the history of their country. But I was also there to see our military, and I think it is very important that if Members of Congress are going to send our young men and women into combat, we ought to be there on the ground to see firsthand what the situation is like. That is why I went. That is why I am going back. And it is interesting to me, Dr. Price, how there are some who criticize what is taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan but yet refuse to go there to see what it is like. I have invited those people to go with me. Some of them are down the hallway. We call that the U.S. Senate. To go with me, I will plan the trip and all they have got to do is show up. But if we are going to send people into combat, we need to see what it is like so we can make better judgment calls on this end. But our troops, the morale is tremendous.

It is interesting how we see a lot in the media about the war on terror, but very seldom do we ever see an interview of some soldier, sailor, marine, somebody in the Air Force, a personal story about their reflections on what they are doing in the war on terror.

Some people ask, why are we fighting the war on terror over there? Well, there is more to it than that. We are also fighting the war by establishing a democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan because democracies are the enemy of terrorists. They do not want democracies. They want chaos. They want dictatorships. They want a safe haven where they can strike throughout the world. So that is why the war is there in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is because those two countries are going to be democracies, just like Japan and Germany were democracies at the end of World War II. And the cynics and the skeptics, oh, they lived back then too, said it is not going to happen, that the Japanese cannot have a democracy and certainly not the Germans. Now look at them. Democracies, world powers today.

So democracy, of course, takes time. It took us 7 years to free ourselves from the British. The British did not get the point. They came back in 1812, burned this building down, and we had

to fight them again. And the Iraqi people are doing a tremendous job of securing their own nation.

I had a general tell me when I was in Iraq, and he said this in a kind way but he was serious, about the Americans being there and the Iraqi security forces. He said, If the Americans stay much longer, we are going to start charging them rent for being here. And what he was saying was another version of what the plan is. The plan is relatively simple: secure the stability of the country, train the Iraqi security forces, and let them take care of their own country. And that is what is going on. And we see now on a daily basis the casualties of the Iraqi security forces. Those people are giving up their own lives for their own democracy, fighting the war on terror.

So we are winning that war. The national security, public safety, is an obligation of this country, at home, overseas, and to fight that war wherever it occurs.

Just one other thing I would like to mention. I do not want to take up too much of your time, Doc, but there is a third area where we have to have national security. It is not just locally with our first responders, our police officers, and our small towns and big cities. It is not just overseas where we have the war on terror going and our military doing a good job working with the CIA and the FBI. But then we have the national security issue of the dignity and sovereignty of this country, and I am talking about border security.

I live down in southeast Texas. The southern Texas border, some have said, is a war zone because it is an area of national concern for three reasons: we have the narcoterrorists coming across the border. Those are drug dealers that are armed better than our own sheriffs, bringing in that cancer to sell throughout the United States. That is a national concern. It is also a national security problem.

The second thing is we have those next terrorists that come into the United States. They are probably not going to fly over to Reagan National Airport, get off the airplane, look around and see what damage they can do. They are probably not going to do that. But they are probably going to come across our Texas border, our southern border, and do some harm to us. We know that that is the plan of many of those terrorists because our borders are open.

And, of course, we have the third problem of just purely folks coming here illegally. It is not that people are coming here that is the problem. It is the way they are coming here. If we are going to have the rule of law, the government has the responsibility to support and make sure the rule of law is enforced.

One example of how our national security maybe needs to be revved up a little more on our southern border, let me speak specifically about our narcoterrorists. I have been down to the southern Texas border with our sheriffs, and we had 16 of the Texas border sheriffs up here last week. I do not know if you saw them or not. It would be hard to miss 16 Texas sheriffs walking down Pennsylvania Avenue.

They were impressive fellows. And let me tell you something, Doc. They look like Texas sheriffs. You have that image. They all look like that. But they are concerned about border security as well, and it is more than just the terrorists that are coming over. It is the narcoterrorists that are coming in. But one of them not too long ago took this photograph.

His deputies took this photograph. This is a photograph in the Rio Grande River taken from the Texas side looking over to the Mexican side. In this, you have a raft. You see there are six or seven individuals who are all dressed in black camo outfits, armed with AK- 47s. You will see one of them right here, an AK-47. On their backs they have backpacks which were later determined to be cocaine, bringing it to the United States.

And who are these people? It turns out that probably these individuals are Guatemalan mercenaries hired by the drug cartels to bring drugs into the United States. It is an epidemic, it is a border war, and it is a violent war.

So I would just hope that we in Congress can make sure that we enforce the rule of law, enforce the first obligation of government, which is to protect the public. Public safety is our number one concern.

Let me just conclude by saying that we should make sure that people throughout the world know that this country believes in freedom and liberty because of all of the benefits of it, whether you are here in the United States or some other country, like Iraq or Afghanistan.

President Kennedy said it probably better than anybody when he made the comment that let every nation know that, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we will pay any price, we will bear any burden, we will meet any hardship, we will support any friend, and we will oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. He couldn't have said it better.

Mr. Speaker, that great Iron Lady from across the ocean, Margaret Thatcher, made the comment

that you may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

Let me give you a little historical background. I have spent all my life in the criminal justice system, first as a prosecutor in Texas and 22 years as a criminal court judge, heard about 20, 25,000 criminal cases, everything from stealing to killing. I saw a lot of people come to the courthouse.

But another group of people also worked their way to the courthouse, and they did not want to be there either, and that was the victims of crime. They were young, they were old, they were men, they were women, they were children. They were the silent group of people who were prey because of criminals.

Victims do not really have a lobby because most of them have to take care of themselves after they become victims of crime, until recently. In 1984, a novel program was started under the Reagan administration called VOCA, Victims of Crime Act; and the idea was pretty simple: Criminals in the Federal courts that are convicted pay into a court cost fund. That money then is used for victims and helps pay for their injuries, for their medical expenses, sometimes the funeral expenses. A great idea: Make criminals pay for the system they have created. Make them pay the rent on the courthouse. And that has been going along fairly well, so well that approximately $1.2 billion is now in that fund. And it is not taxpayer money. It is not the Federal Government's money. It is money that belongs to victims, money that has been obtained from criminals. And it is a crucial resource for different organizations throughout the United States.

Most victims groups, programs, agencies operate under a shoestring. Many of them are just trying to keep lights on, and they receive this VOCA funding. We are talking about domestic violence shelters. We are talking about rape crisis centers. Victim compensation funds, funeral services, and medical expenses all receive benefit from VOCA funding. One example is in Houston, the Children's Assessment Center, a program like 400 others throughout the United States, where sexually abused children go so that they can be treated not only for their medical injuries but their emotional pain and get themselves prepared for trial.

We have approximately 4,400 agencies in this country that depend on that VOCA victim fund. We are talking about 3.6 million victims a year. VOCA is the only Federal program that supports services to victims of all types of crimes: homicide, drunk driving, elder financial exploitation, identity theft, robbery, and rape.

So what is the problem, Mr. Speaker? Well, the bandit budget bureaucrats are up to their old tricks. They are stealing this money from the victims fund, and they want it to go into the abyss of the Federal treasury.

This may all sound familiar. It is familiar. A year ago those same individuals wanted to do the same thing, and because of different victims groups in the United States, that was stopped. That VOCA fund stayed with victims. It did not go into the abyss of the Federal treasury. But now those bureaucrats are up to these old tricks again, and they want that money to be taken from victims and put into the abyss of the Federal budget.

Mr. Speaker, that money does not belong to the Federal Government. It is not taxpayer money. It is money that belongs to victims.

Victims continue to get victimized in the criminal justice system, and now this is another way of victimizing victims once again.

Mr. Speaker, when I came to the House of Representatives, I, along with Jim Costa from California from the other side of the aisle and Katherine Harris from Florida, started the Victims Rights Caucus to bring the awareness of the plight of victims to this House. Because you see, Mr. Speaker, it is the first duty, the first responsibility, of government to protect the people. Government does a pretty good job of that. We are fighting the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq and other places in the world. We are doing a good job.

But we have got a war on terror going on here, and those are the terrorists that live among us, those street terrorists, criminals. And when they are captured and when they are prosecuted and they are put in jail, make them pay. Make them pay financially to support victims, their medical injuries and their needs after they have come to the criminal justice system.

So this money cannot be taken from the victims fund. We will fight this battle again, as Margaret Thatcher said. The victims posse, as I call them, those victims organizations throughout the United States, they are a posse because most of them are volunteers, and they will do what they can to make sure that this money stays left alone, that it stays in the VOCA fund, that it remains moneys for victims and to be used for victims as well.

This is a user fee for criminals. They need to pay. In fact, they need to pay more. The robber barons are taking this money; and, Mr. Speaker, this ought not to be.

Mr. Speaker, there is a Texas-sized force to be reckoned with in Italy. Chad Hedrick, the 28-year-old former inline skating icon from Spring, Texas, is speed skating his way to victory.

In the first day of Olympic competition, he has already garnered gold, the first for him and the United States in these Olympics. Chad's love for skating started at age 2 in roller skates at his parents' roller skating rink in Spring, Texas.

He grew up and became one of the world's most famous inline skaters, but he switched to speed stating only 4 years ago. Chad Hedrick is a contender for four more medals in the games in Italy, and he is off to a spectacular start.

Although the rink and the type of skates have changed, this hometown hero's passion and talents have only gotten stronger throughout the years, and his passion was shown when he became teary eyed when the Star Spangled Banner played as he was awarded the gold medal.

The entire State of Texas and the Nation congratulate Chad on this astounding accomplishment, and we will be cheering for him for the remainder of the games. As we say in Texas, get 'er done, Chad. And that's the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I have talked much on this House floor about our veterans, both those of today and those of the past. Tonight I mention another one of them.

Doris Miller was born in Waco, Texas, on October 12, 1919. He was the youngest of three sons born to Henrietta and Connery Miller. He was a good kid. He enjoyed playing with his brothers and was always helping around the house, especially in the kitchen. In school, Miller was a good student. He was also a fullback on the football team at A.J. Moore High School in Waco, Texas. They called him the raging bull because of his size. He was 5 foot 9, but he weighed over 200 pounds.

Growing up, Miller worked on his father's farm until he enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 20 as a Mess Attendant, Third Class. He quickly advanced to Mess Attendant, Second Class and First Class, and subsequently he was promoted to Ship's Cook.

After training at the Naval station at Norfolk, Virginia, he was assigned to the ammunition ship USS Pyro; and on January 2, 1940, Dorie, as his shipmates nicknamed him, was transferred to the battleship USS West Virginia. When he was not cooking he was boxing with his buddies, and he became the ship's heavyweight boxing champion. He was serving on the battleship West Virginia that December morning in 1941 when the Japanese surprise attack took place.

As the bright rising and violent sun came up on the morning of December 7, 1941, Dorie was already awake and collecting laundry when the battle stations alarm sounded throughout the ship. Pearl Harbor and Hawaii were under attack.

He ran on deck to help his fellow wounded soldiers. In the midst of the chaos, an officer ordered him to aid the critically wounded captain of the ship. While struggling back to the bridge and then amid horrendous and heavy fire and bombs, Dorie came upon a machine gun whose gunner had already been killed. Dorie, rescuing his captain, made sure that he was protected and immediately began firing this machine gun at Japanese airplanes.

He continued firing until the crew was ordered to abandon the ship. Miller had never been trained to operate a machine gun, but he was credited with shooting down at least two Japanese planes, probably more than that. Later he said, ``I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine.''

In the spring of 1943, Dorie Miller was assigned to the USS Liscome Bay, an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, and he was on board November 24, 1943, when the aircraft carrier was sunk by a submarine; 646 sailors were lost at sea, and Dorie was one of them.

Before he died, Miller was honored for his brave acts at Pearl Harbor on December 7. He was awarded the second highest medal in the Navy, the Navy Cross, for his extraordinary courage during that battle. It happened that Admiral Chester Nimitz, another Texan, presented the award to Miller personally. And he said of Miller, ``This marks the first time in this conflict in this war that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific fleet to a member of this race, and I am sure that the future will see others of this race similarly honored for these brave acts.''

Admiral Nimitz mentioned Miller's race because he was black. The Navy had been integrated, but segregated responsibilities. So Miller, since he was black, he was assigned to being a cook on the ship. He was not required to be topside manning that .50-caliber machine gun on December 7, but he was there. He voluntarily helped protect his ship and protect his captain. By the way, Mr. Speaker, in the movie ``Pearl Harbor,'' Cuba Gooding, Jr., portrayed Doris Miller in his actions on December 7.

Mr. Speaker, every February our Nation celebrates Black History Month to recognize the contribution that African Americans have made to our country. This Black History Month, as we note accomplishments of African Americans, we take time to salute their military accomplishments as well. We honor the loyal duty of heroes like Doris Miller. He was an extraordinary American and a sailor. He received many awards for his bravery during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and he acted above and beyond the call of duty. He could have certainly qualified for the medal of honor for his courage. He was a man of valor, and Doris Miller is entitled to respect and gratitude of our country.

There were many of the World War II Greatest Generation that gave their youth and their lives for our Nation. Mr. Speaker, over 400,000 Americans, young men and young women, died in World War II protecting our Nation and the concept of freedom. Dorie Miller was one of those Americans. And that's just the way it is.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

We have spent much time in these halls discussing many purposes of government. Tonight we have heard much about the budget, how to spend taxpayer money, how the money should be spent, how it should not be spent, discussed projects big and small.

And many Americans consistently ask themselves the question, what is the purpose of government? Why do we have government at all? That is certainly a valid question to be asked, especially of our Federal Government.

And you said it well when you mentioned the preamble of our U.S. Constitution, that one purpose of government is to provide for the common defense. It is the first duty of government to protect us, to protect its citizens. Building roads and bridges, having commissions, maybe that is important. Well, maybe it is not. But the first duty of government is to protect the people that live within our borders, the U.S. citizens. Government does a pretty good job of that, especially locally, from our local police to our Federal officers, capturing outlaws, sending them to jail where they need to be. And we do a pretty good job on the international basis. We are fighting the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan and other parts of the world. Our military is the best military that has ever existed. And so the government does a fairly good job of that duty of protecting us.

I spent all my life basically in the criminal justice system. I started out as a prosecutor in Houston, and then I spent over 20 years on the bench trying criminal cases, just as Judge Carter, who is here tonight. He has tried his share of outlaws.

And the rule of law is something that we all believe in in this country, that the law is the standard of conduct. And the law in this country is you do not come into the United States of America illegally, regardless of your purpose. And we know people are doing that anyway. We know, of course, that those narcoterrorists come across the southern border, especially the southern border of Texas, bringing in that cancer to sell. They make a lot of money doing that.

We know that people come here illegally, over 5,000 a day across the Texas border, illegally coming into the United States for various purposes. And we suspect that probably the next terrorist attack that occurs in the United States is not going to be because somebody flies into Reagan National down the street here, gets off the airplane, looks around and decides, I wonder what damage I can do to the American population. That is probably not going to happen.

That next terrorist is going to come across the open porous border, South Texas and Mexico, because those borders are open. And every country in the world knows that we have an open border, and that is why so many people are coming in.

Give you one example: 2005, in Maverick County, Texas, they had about 8,000 people illegally come in from Mexico that were captured. They had over 20,000 people illegally come in from Mexico from other countries other than Mexico, almost four times as many coming into the United States from other countries other than Mexico. They were from Korea. They were from China. They were from Brazil. They were from countries all over the world coming here. Every country knows we do not protect our borders to keep people illegally, that wish to come here illegally from coming into the country.

So the duty of government is to protect us, protect the sovereignty and the dignity of this country. Everybody wants to live in the United States. I do not blame them. I mean, this is the greatest place on earth to live. But everybody cannot live here, so we have got to have some rules, and those rules have to be followed, and it is the duty of our government to enforce the rule of law and make sure that people respect the dignity of this country. So we have a lot of concerns about that.

And maybe we should refocus the purpose of government. Maybe we should ask the question profoundly, what is the duty of government? And then we should expect the answer to be, to protect us, to protect our borders, to protect our national security, because that is the duty of government. And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week was established in 1978. It takes place every year during the week of February 14 and it is an opportunity to salute America's veterans and ensure to them that their sacrifices for their country are not forgotten. Next week, members of my district staff will visit the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.

They will pay tribute and honor to the brave soldiers there who were wounded in their valiant service to our country. They have made an enormous sacrifice to ensure that we all are able to live in freedom and we are indebted to them. This is the American people's chance to say thank you for that sacrifice. It is vitally important that we do not forget these defenders of freedom and do all that we can to help them along in their recovery.

I am proud to say that my staff will be bringing get well cards, and other tokens of appreciation, from the students of Deerwood Elementary School in Kingwood, Texas. It is a fitting tribute, from the young children to the soldiers, who have fought to guarantee the America they inherit is as free as it is today.

The entire 2nd Congressional District of Texas says thank you to these brave men and women for their service and their sacrifice. We wish them all a full and speedy recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Mr. Thomas G. Barton, Jr. on his recent offer of appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Thomas sought a nomination to West Point through my office, competing with a group of highly qualified applicants. He passed the evaluation process, and I am proud to have given him a Congressional nomination.

Thomas is currently enrolled in the West Point Civil Preparatory Program in Roswell, New Mexico, which speaks volumes about his passion to get into West Point. He has the military in his blood. Thomas's father and brother are both graduates of West Point's distinguished program.

A review of Thomas's life and qualities demonstrate that he should make an excellent cadet at West Point and hopefully an excellent officer. Thomas has a sense of duty to serve, as shown by the fact that he has achieved the elite rank of Eagle Scout. He has shown dedication as a member of the Kingwood High School Lacrosse Team, where he was voted captain by the rest of the team. He has held leadership positions also in the Kingwood High marching band and the Boy Scouts. He won the coveted K Award--for best in class--for Outstanding Musical Contribution.

Mr. Speaker, Thomas is a fine young man who will serve his country with distinction. He understands the challenges and the commitment that lies ahead of him because his family is steeped in military tradation. We wish him good fortune in this new chapter of his life.

Thomas Barton will make us proud. America will be better because of Thomas Barton's choice to serve our country.

Mr. Speaker, the Iranian president is up to his old tricks again, recently claiming that God has put him on a divine mission to have nuclear weapons. This bizarre banter comes from the same sinister man who called for the destruction and devastation of Israel. This is more than disturbing. Iran's commander in chief is obviously a saber- rattling zealot who puts world security in turmoil.

Mr. Speaker, the President of Iran is defiant and determined to lead his country in a dangerous direction. He supports organizations that kill Americans, like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and encourages the use of violence against Israel. Hopefully, the people of Iran see the destructive behavior of their president and want to bring about a free and stable Iran that wants to be a part of the community of nations.

A nuclear-armed Iran is a dangerous and deadly threat to the Middle East and all of the Free World. We must keep America as well as the rest of the world safe from this radical reactionary outlaw with his ridiculous ambitions. This is a matter of world security.

That's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, he was buried yesterday in the National Cemetery in Houston, Texas. Monday I met with his parents, Jerry and Teresa, in their home in Humble, Texas, and I am talking about Army Staff Sergeant Michael Durbin. He was born on July 6, 1979, in Houston, Texas. He grew up in Spring, Texas, and attended Nimitz High School where he earned the nickname ``Iceman.'' He excelled in sports and was the quarterback on the football team. He also ran track and played on the baseball team. He was the oldest of five kids, and his father said, ``When he entered a room, he drew everyone's attention.''

He attended Kingwood College before deciding to enlist in the Army in 2001 at the age of 21. His goal in life was to someday work for the CIA, and he enlisted in the hopes that the military would be a quick route toward that goal.

He met his wife Janelle while working together at a Houston computer store. They were married in 2001 and had a son Austin and a daughter Alyssa together. By the age of 26, Michael had already become staff sergeant in an air assault unit, and had bold aspirations of becoming a member of the elite and daring Delta Force.

Staff Sergeant Durbin had already served two tours of duty in the Middle East and was deployed for his third tour of duty in September 2005. Family members said he lived to serve his country, and 2 weeks ago during combat operations in Baghdad, Michael became the 194th Texan killed since the start of the war. He was killed when a homemade bomb exploded while he was on patrol. Michael was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. By the way, Mr. Speaker, 1 out of every 10 Americans wearing the uniform tonight is from the State of Texas.

I have a photograph of Staff Sergeant Michael Durbin taken shortly before he received another stripe on his left sleeve. Several days before he was killed in Iraq, he sent his wife Janelle a bouquet of flowers, and she talked with him the morning he died. He called her to tell her that he was leaving for a mission, and he loved her and would be back in a few days. He loved playing with his kids and being in love with his wife. They would have celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary next month.

Michael will be remembered by his family and friends for his passion for computers. 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.

With his entire life before him, and his aspirations to serve Americans, Michael risked everything to fight for the values and freedoms we as Americans enjoy this day and every day. He was fighting so the Iraqis can enjoy these freedoms as well.

With the death of Michael Durbin, this Nation lost a freedom fighter, a loving father, and, as his dad said, a perfect son.

I would like to extend my prayers and condolences to his parents, Jerry and Teresa; to his family, relatives and friends in Spring, Texas, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky; his wife Janelle; and his children Alyssa, Austin and Hayley. Michael touched the lives of many people in his 26 years, and our hearts are filled with gratitude for brave soldiers like Staff Sergeant Michael Durbin.

In the words of country singer Randy Travis in his song ``America Will Always Stand,'' he sings the following lyrics about the American soldier: ``Walking through the fires of danger, there are those who gave their lives. They're the world's greatest heroes, and we won't forget their sacrifice. So raise the banner called Old Glory. Let us join our fellow man. History will tell this story, America will always stand.''

Mr. Speaker, history will tell the story of all the brave soldiers like Staff Sergeant Michael Durbin who walked through the fires of danger for freedom for Americans.

That's just the way it is.