Floor Statements

Offered By: Mr. Poe of Texas

Amendment No. 2: Page 3, line 23, after the dollar amount,

insert ``(reduced by $10,000,000)''.

Page 9, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $10,000,000)''.

Mr. Speaker, ``. . . I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.''

Thomas Jefferson's words reflect the basis for religious liberty in our country.

A freedom which is guaranteed in the first amendment.

The provisions in the first amendment are listed first because they are the most important.

Yet this essential freedom is being trampled on by the administration under the guise of providing essential health care.

The administration has demanded religious groups violate their religious convictions.

Last week the 43rd Catholic organization joined in lawsuits against the administration based on the Government's blatant disregard for religious freedom.

Organizations throughout the country have joined in these suits.

They are:

Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. Consortium of Catholic Academies Archbishop Carroll High School Catholic Charities of D.C. The Catholic University of America University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL Diocese of Joliet, IL Catholic Charities of Joliet, IL Diocese of Springfield, IL Catholic Charities of Springfield, IL The University of Notre Dame Diocese of Fort-Wayne-South Bend, IN Catholic Charities of Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN St. Anne Home, Indiana Franciscan Alliance Our Sunday Visitor Michigan Catholic Conference Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO Catholic Charities of St. Louis, MO Diocese of Jackson, MS Catholic Charities of Jackson, MS Vicksburg Catholic School St. Joseph's Catholic School Diocese of Biloxi, MS De I'Epee Deaf Center, Inc., Biloxi, MS Catholic Social and Community Services, Inc., Biloxi, MS Resurrection Catholic School, Pascagoula, MS St. Dominic Health Services, Jackson, MS Diocese of Rockville Centre Catholic Health Services of Long Island Catholic Charities of Rockville Centre Archdiocese of New York ArchCare Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH Diocese of Erie, PA St. Martin Center, Erie, PA Prince of Peace Center Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh, PA Catholic Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA Diocese of Dallas, TX Diocese of Fort Worth, TX

Religions should not and will not be bullied into violating their beliefs.

A government edict is not a substitute for religious doctrine.

It is a sad day in our country when groups have to sue the Government in order to protect a basic right guaranteed in our Constitution.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of Texas' native sons who served his country honorably in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I was deeply saddened to learn that Sergeant Wade Daniel Wilson of Leona, Texas was killed by enemy action in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan on May 11, 2012.

Wade Wilson was one man whose life made a difference at a very young age. He personified the core values of the United States Marine Corps: honor, courage, and commitment.

Wade grew up in Leona, a small city near Centerville, Texas. He was a graduate of Centerville High School, and he was known to have a heart of a champion; whether on the football field or in the classroom.

With his faith in God and country, at age 17, Wade enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. On his second tour of duty, Wade understood that the nation was at war, yet he chose to charge headlong into battle for a second time. There are not many of us who would be willing to volunteer to leap into the lion's den of Afghanistan where the cowardly enemy hides in caves. It says something special about the quality of this American fighting man that he would boldly face those who kill in the name of religion.

On Friday, May 11, 2012, Sergeant Wade Wilson was killed while conducting a combat operation in Afghanistan. He was just 22 years of age. As a soldier in Afghanistan fighting the forces of the Taliban, Wade defended freedom. He defended it for his mother, Cindy Lee; his stepfather, Ward; his father, Rusty; his stepmother Tammy, his three brothers, his sister, his three step-sisters; and all of their families. He defended freedom for all of us. Sergeant Wade Wilson was a true soldier. We all owe a debt that can never be repaid to Sergeant Wilson's sacrifice, and today and tomorrow, we will mourn with his family and friends for the tragic loss of their son, brother, friend, citizen, soldier and hero.

My friend, Mayor Steve Stephens of Dayton, Texas, has a farmhouse in Leona, Texas. His long time neighbors are Ward and Cindy Lee Easterling, Sergeant Wade Wilson's step-father and mother. As a teen, Wade worked for Mayor Stephens on his farm. Mayor Stephens said on May 18, 2012, hundreds of residents lined the streets of Leona and Centerville, paying tribute to the family of this patriot. Many of those on the streets carried flags and yellow ribbons. Others held banners saying, ``Greater love hath no man than one who gives his life for a friend'' John 15:13. Patriotism is alive and well in Texas. And, Sergeant Wilson's commitment to his country is one reason why.

Wade's funeral on Saturday, May 19, 2012, happened to fall on Armed Services Day. Held in Centerville High School's auditorium, hundreds of supporters from Leon County came out to mourn the loss of America's son, Wade Wilson, and all those who came before him. We know that freedom is not free, and we thank this fearless Marine for dedicating his life to America.

Our young people who go to the valley of the gun and the desert of the sun are relentless, remarkable characters. They go where others fear to tread and where the faint-hearted are not found. These warriors represent the best of our nation. They are the sons of liberty and the daughters of democracy. These few, these noble few, are American warriors who take care of the rest of us.

Sergeant Wade Wilson, your tour of duty has been honorably concluded.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate the life of a friend and someone who changed the lives of victims throughout the Nation.

Suzanne McDaniel appeared in my court years ago as one of the first prosecutor-based victim assistance directors in the State of Texas. She went on to start the Texas Crime Victims Clearinghouse, the first of its kind anywhere in the United States.

In recognition of her incredible work, she was tapped as the State's crime victim information officer, educating and influencing the community and the State legislature with her vast knowledge of victims' issues. This led to her role as a legislative liaison for the State coalition of victim organizations and her leadership on the board of the National Organization of Victim Assistance.

Suzanne's accomplishments are far reaching, touching lives in Texas and throughout our Nation. A crime victim wrote:

Suzanne feels everyone is important and needed in the fight

to improve assistance for crime victims. I have never heard

her say, It's not my job. In fact, she has never been shy

about poking her nose into things and offering assistance.

Her enthusiasm and dedication is boundless.

Mr. Speaker, her work will continue to touch crime victims for many years to come, and victims are safer in America because of Suzanne McDaniel and her life.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today because of a terrible tragedy that occurred in my Congressional district nearly 6 years ago.

In 2006, the City of Beaumont was still recovering from Hurricane Rita. The West Brook High School girl's soccer team and their successes were good news that brought joy to a city in need of something to cheer for.

The Bruins were coming off a 14 5 2 record, and they were traveling to Humble, Texas, to take on the Houston Lamar Redskins in the Class 5A playoffs.

The game had already been postponed once and it was raining again, but the game was set to take place at 5 p.m. in Humble.

Unfortunately, the team never made it to the game.

Around 2 p.m., about 28 miles from home in Devers, Texas, the chartered bus carrying the team, swerved to miss debris that had fallen off a truck in front of them.

The bus rolled onto its side into a muddy ditch.

Senior Alicia Bonura and sophomore Ashley Brown lost their lives in this tragedy.

Six other girls were hospitalized in serious condition. Goalie Devin Martindale lost her arm in this accident.

Stephen Forman and Brad Brown, parents of two of the victims of the accident are here today and I would like to thank them for their work on this issue.

Because of this accident, I became involved in the Motorcoach safe issue, and I was happy to work with my colleague Rep. John Lewis (GA) to push for some common-sense provisions in the Transportation bill to apply to the Motorcoach industry so that another West Brook tragedy can be avoided.

These provisions are:

1. Requiring safety belts to ensure that occupants stay in their seats in a crash.

2. Requiring anti-ejection glazing on windows to help prevent passengers from being easily thrown from the motorcoach.

3. Ensuring that strong, crush-resistant roofs can withstand rollovers.

4. Improving oversight and enforcement requirements for motorcoach companies.

I strongly believe that these long overdue safety improvements can go a long way in making our nations buses safer.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, when the world is in trouble, when peoples throughout history are in need of help because of oppression, and they need freedom and liberty, those nations always call 911.

And who answers on the other end of that call? Throughout the history of this great Nation, America answers. We always answer the call when somebody is in trouble and they need help. And such an occurrence occurred in 1950.

In 1950, World War II was over with. The United States had downsized its military. Basically, we were unprepared for another war. But war picks its own opportunities.

What occurred in 1950 was that in the Korean Peninsula, North Korea, with the aid of the Chinese, invaded our ally South Korea. They went into the heartland of South Korea and, of course, South Korea called 911.

America answered. They called it a U.N. operation, but history shows that U.N. operations basically are American operations, where Americans go and fight those battles.

Our country also called it a conflict. Our own President, at that time, referred to it as a police action, but it was neither of those. It was a war. It was a war where Americans went and fought.

I want to tell you about one such action that occurred in the Korean War, Mr. Speaker. You may or may not have ever heard of Hill 303 in South Korea. The Americans, under the control and operation of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, had the high ground on Hill 303. Approaching them were a superior number of North Korean communists coming to take that hill. The Americans were pushed off that hill, except for a small group of Americans who refused to leave.

Company G, a mortar company, and Company H stayed on the hill. Approaching troops--at first the Americans thought that these approaching troops were South Koreans coming to help them. But it turned out, of course, they were North Koreans. But they held their ground anyway, and they were overrun by the North Koreans.

And here's what happened after the Americans retook the hill. As they retook the hill, they found out that those members of Mortar Company G and Company H, those that had been captured, had their hands tied behind their backs, that they were put in a gully there in South Korea, unknown to anybody, and they were machine-gunned down. Forty of the 45 were murdered. The other five were able to survive, and some escaped.

This weekend, this Nation honored our war dead for all wars. And I want to thank a school in my district, Creekwood Middle School in Kingwood, Texas, for honoring and remembering those 40 Americans that were murdered on Hill 303 in 1950 when the Americans held that ground and were overrun by the North Koreans.

Creekwood Middle School has a history of honoring American history, especially in our wars. They did a history project not too many years ago on World War I. But with this project that they had on Saturday of last weekend, they honored these men, as they should have, that were murdered on Hill 303. They have a memorial there at Creekwood Middle School for them, probably the only memorial in the United States that honors those men at Hill 303 in Korea. There is one in South Korea, however.

One of the people that was present then and also present Monday on Memorial Day at the Houston National Cemetery was Donald Foisie. Donald Foisie, of Atascocita, Texas, is 80 years old. He got the Purple Heart that day because he was able to survive that onslaught of the North Koreans.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, I want to mention the names of the 40 members of the Army that were captured and murdered that day by the North Korean communists.

Pvt Leroy Abott; Pvt Leo W. Jacques; Pfc Leroy Bone; Pfc

Richard Janhnke; Pvt Arthur W. Borst; Pfc Raymond J.

Karaiseky; Sgt. Ray A. Briley; Pvt Herbert R. McKenzie; Pfc

Benjamin Bristow; Pvt Milton J. Mlaskac.

Pvt Billie J. Causey; Pvt Houston Monfort; Pvt John W.

Collins; Pvt Melvin W. Morden; Pvt Johnny K. Dooley; 2Lt

Cecil Newman, Jr.; Pvt Cecil C. Edwards; Pvt Robert J.

O'Brien; Pfc Harlon Feltner; Pfc Brook T. Powell.

Pvt Richard T. Finnigan; Pvt Bruce A. Reams; Pvt Kenneth G.

Fletke; Cpl Ernest Regney, Jr.; Pvt Arthur S. Garcia; Pfc

Walter Schuman; Pvt Charles Hastings; Pvt George Semosky,

Jr.; Pfc Antonio Hernandez; Pfc John W. Simmons.

Pvt Joseph M. Herndon; Cpl Glen L. Tangman; Pvt John J.

Hilgerson, Jr.; Pfc Tony Tavares; Pvt Billy R. Hogan; Pvt

William D. Trammel; Pvt Glenn E. Huffman; Cpl William M.

Williams; Sgt Robert A. Humes; Cpl Siegfried S. Zimniuch.

Thirty-seven thousand Americans died in Korea. When the war was over, it just ended. There was no peace treaty. It just stopped. It's a cease-fire. We still have Americans at the 38th Parallel guarding that border.

When those troops came home 60 years ago, they were ignored. Unlike Vietnam--those veterans were abused. Those troops that came home from Korea were just basically ignored. America was more interested in Marilyn Monroe marrying the great baseball player, Joe DiMaggio, and this new rock star, Elvis Presley, than it was in honoring our Korean veterans and our war dead.

It's important that America always honor those that served and did not return, and those that served and returned, those that served and returned with the wounds of war. For, Mr. Speaker, the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, my congressional district in southeast Texas is right in Hurricane Alley. When Katrina, Rita, Humberto, Gustav, and Ike struck with all their fury, people were left in the dark with no Internet or cell service, but local TV and radio reporters were still on the air telling folks what they needed to know.

Hurricane Rita was the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense hurricane ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm was devastating to our communities, but many folks were able to stay safe because they were tuned in to the news. Our broadcasters provide communities with vital lifesaving information before and after storms. They are the most reliable resource we have when disaster strikes.

Today, on the first day of hurricane season, we should thank all of our local first responders, police, and firefighters. But we should also thank all the broadcasters who do their part to keep us safe in southeast Texas when the storms come crashing ashore.

And that's just the way it is.

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

Mr. Chairman, during the hot days of last summer, the Veterans of Foreign Wars went to battle with the Veterans Administration in Houston, Texas. The VFW claimed the Veterans Administration was censoring free speech and preventing the free exercise of religion at the National Cemetery in Houston.

I appreciate the chairman, Mr. Culberson's, work on this project after the Veterans of Foreign Wars notified not only me, but notified him as well. The result is this:

This cemetery, Mr. Chairman, is the second largest in the Nation; it's a place where four Medal of Honor recipients are buried. The VA said that the chapel at the cemetery would be closed, and it was closed. The Bible, the cross, and the Star of David were removed by the Veterans Administration and the chapel became a storage shed. The VFW members also said that the director of the cemetery censored the prayers and prohibited the religious ceremony during the burial of America's veterans.

The VFW had to sue the Veterans Administration, and the Veterans Administration naturally denied the whole thing. But, recently, a Federal judge in Texas approved and agreed to an order requiring the chapel to be reopened, the Bible, the cross and the Star of David to be returned to their proper places, and said that the Veterans Administration must not interfere with free speech or the free exercise of religion at burials of America's war veterans.

Mr. Chairman, it's ironic that Americans have gone to war all over the world, fought for the principles of the U.S. Constitution, then when they come home, they face government hostility and the denial of First Amendment rights to the citizens when these veterans are buried in VA cemeteries.

Now the veterans have won a battle against a government that wanted to deny them the American freedoms they fought for in lands far, far away.

Mr. Chairman, a fundamental problem in the Houston case was the director of the cemetery was not a veteran. She did not understand the needs of veterans because she was not a veteran herself. And according to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, she disrespected the veterans and their most fundamental rights. She censored prayers and speeches.

The amendment is simple. It says that any new hires of cemetery directors must be veterans. Eighty percent of current cemetery directors are veterans--on the application, when they apply to be a director, they must state whether they're a veteran or not--so clearly the Veterans Administration agrees that cemetery directors should be veterans themselves. This amendment would not force the remaining 20 percent that are not veterans to be fired. It would say that if the Veterans Administration is going to hire new directors, they will be veterans.

Our veterans need to know the directors of cemeteries understand what veterans and their families go through. They are the ones who best understand the needs of veterans in their time of grief, so they need to be veterans.

And that's just the way it is.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Point of Order

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I just want to clarify one comment the ranking member made. This amendment would not require the firing of anybody. It's future hires of the veterans cemetery directors. So I just wanted to make that clear. That wouldn't put anybody out of work.

This specific problem at the Houston cemetery was all centered around the director's insensitivity to veterans. And one of the problems that came out during all of the litigation was she had no relationship to veterans, didn't understand veterans, she wasn't a veteran, and therefore, that's why this legislation is important. But it would not require the firing of anybody. It's about future directors.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to amend the amendment to insert the word ``new'' before the word ``director.''

I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

The gentleman is correct.

Will the gentleman yield?

It would require that the person be a veteran for all new hires of the director of a cemetery. You are correct.

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

Once again I thank Chairman Culberson for his work on this situation that occurred at the veterans cemetery in Houston last year. That has been resolved in one specific case.

This amendment does something very simple. It ensures that the First Amendment rights of veterans and their families will not be violated by anyone at burial services at our national cemeteries. It's a free speech issue, and it would not allow what has occurred in the past, the speech police of the Veterans Administration to control the words of those that attend burials of our veterans. It would not allow censorship of religion.

So I urge support of this amendment, which will ensure the constitutional rights that are in the First Amendment to those that will be buried in the future at all of our national cemeteries.

I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, recently I met with some people in Texas in the trucking industry. We discussed the administration's domestic energy policy--how the administration is against using more American coal; how the administration is against drilling in ANWR; how the administration is stonewalling the drilling on Federal lands; how the administration has delayed offshore-drilling permits; and how the administration uses the EPA to block domestic energy production.

Since the administration is against so much, what is it in favor of? Then Dalton handed me this--yes, a tire gauge--and reminded me that the President touted his energy plan when he said this: We could save all the oil they are talking about getting off drilling if everybody would just inflate their tires and get tune-ups.

Really? That's it, more air in our tires? Now, you know, Mr. Speaker, more hot air will save us all. Now there's an energy plan we can all be proud of.

And that's just the way it is.

Thank you for yielding the time, and I appreciate Mrs. Miller for offering this legislation.

Having been a resident in Texas, a border State with Mexico, I see firsthand the situation on the border. We hear everything politically from ``the border is safe'' to ``it's a war zone,'' or somewhere in the middle. We actually do have a border security problem. Here are just a couple of statistics to show you how the border is so porous:

In our Federal penitentiaries, there is a group of people called ``criminal aliens.'' These are people who are illegally in the country and commit a felony in the United States. Twenty-five percent of the people in our Federal penitentiaries are criminal illegal aliens-- illegally in the country, convicted and sent to our Federal penitentiaries. I regularly go and visit with our border sheriffs, and I ask them periodically, How many people in your jails are foreign nationals? The latest statistic that 17 border sheriffs in Texas gave me was: 34.5 percent of the people in our jails are foreign nationals.

So, yes, that crime comes into the United States is just one aspect of the lack of border security. But there is more.

I recently met with some ranchers down on the Southwest border. The owner of this ranch on the border comes out to meet me, and he is wearing a bulletproof vest. Yes, he has to wear a bulletproof vest on his own land because the drug cartels come through his land, and it's dangerous, which is just one more example of the porous border that we have.

And most recently, to show that the border is porous and that what happens in Mexico doesn't stay in Mexico, a couple of weeks ago, there was a family in our church back in Texas who had this problem: Their cousins in Mexico had been kidnapped by the Zeta drug

cartels and held for ransom. The family here in the United States, in Texas, paid the ransom to get the two cousins back. The drug cartels, the Zetas, they murdered them anyway.

So we have the problem of kidnappings taking place; we have the problem of extortion; and we have the problem of cross-border crime-- but it is all because of the fact that the border needs to be more secure than it is. A plan is a good idea. A plan to actually address all of these issues of a porous border is something that's long overdue, but I'm glad to see that we're moving in that direction--to have a plan so that we know exactly what will take place and how we will protect our borders.

After all, the job of the Federal Government is to protect the national security.

Offered By: Mr. Poe of Texas

Amendment No. 4: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Poe of Texas

Amendment No. 5: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, you need a photo ID to rent a car, open a bank account, get admitted to a hospital, get out of the country, get into the country, buy a gun, check into a hotel, rent a U- Haul, use a credit card, buy a lottery ticket, serve on a jury, get a fishing license, pick up a package at the post office, rent an apartment, visit a public school, and sell scrap metal at a junkyard or hear the Attorney General speak. You even need a photo ID to vote--in Mexico, but not the U.S.

Yesterday, it was reported that 53,000 dead people and thousands of noncitizens may be illegally registered to vote in Florida. Sixty-four percent of U.S. voters think that voter fraud is a problem.

Even though the Supreme Court has ruled voter ID laws are constitutional, the Attorney General is fighting against those legal laws. Why? It seems the people who would be disenfranchised by voter ID laws would be unlawful voters.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, one muggy summer night in July 2011 in Beaumont, Texas, John Wesley Nero got into an argument with his mother and his grandmother. Being the worthless man that he was, he beat them both up and then fled in the darkness of the night. Local police officers confronted the outlaw, but he fled away in his truck and led the officers on a high-speed chase down a dark country road. Meanwhile, down that road, Officer Bryan Hebert intentionally positioned his vehicle ahead of the chase and was attempting to retrieve road spikes out of the trunk to stop Nero and his vehicle. But when Nero saw Hebert's patrol car, he purposely crashed into the vehicle, barreling over Officer Hebert and killing him. Officer Bryan Hebert was 36 years of age and was a 10-year veteran of the Beaumont, Texas, Police Department.

On an early Sunday morning last May, one of Houston's finest, Officer Kevin Will, was investigating a hit-and-run accident in Houston. Suddenly, a different vehicle was speeding by and blazed past the police barriers at the accident where Officer Will was investigating. Immediately, before being struck, Officer Will yelled at a witness to jump out of the way, thus saving that citizen's life just before the officer's life was stolen from him. Officer Will was 38 years of age and had been with the Houston Police Department for only 2 years. He left behind a pregnant wife and two stepchildren.

The driver of that speeding vehicle ignored all the safety lights of police cruisers at that accident scene. He was drunk, charged with intoxication, manslaughter of a police officer, evading arrest, and possession of cocaine. The accused killer also had been in the United States illegally, having been deported once, but came back to commit crime.

Police officers dedicate their lives to protecting the rest of us from the anarchy of the lawless. Some of them, like Officer Hebert and Officer Will, never get to go back home to their families.

This week, during Police Week, we honor those law enforcement officers who have given their lives. We also honor their families. Thousands of peace officers and their families have traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to respect and remember the fallen. No matter if they're from New York City or Beaumont, Texas, they're all here for the same reason: to respect the memory of those amazing souls who have died in the line of duty somewhere across America's plains.

On May 17, 1792, New York City's Deputy Sheriff Isaac Smith became the first recorded peace officer to be killed in the line of duty. Since his death, nearly 21,000 peace officers have been killed somewhere in America. Although crime is on the decline in the United States, crimes against police officers are on the rise. There's been an alarming 75 percent increase in police officer deaths since 2008.

During my 20 years as a judge in Texas, I had the privilege of working alongside some of America's finest--the peace officers. Unfortunately, some of those peace officers that I had known were killed in the line of duty.

Peace officers often become victims of the crimes they seek to prevent. When a peace officer puts on a uniform in the morning, they represent everything that is good and right about our country. They're the last strand of wire in the fence between the law and the lawless. They protect us from those who lurk in the shadows of crime and create havoc in our society. Peace officers willingly fight the forces of anarchy and bring order to the rule of law. They do this, in some cases, with little or no appreciation from the citizens that they protect.

This yearly tribute here in Washington, D.C., provides each of us with an opportunity to honor fallen peace officers like Officer Bryan Hebert of the Beaumont, TX Police Department and Officer Kevin Will of the Houston Police Department and all the others who have given their lives in the name of keeping peace in America.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the military spends a lot of money studying, presumably, the effectiveness of military programs. In fact, there are numerous military studies of military programs. So many, the Department of Defense has commissioned a study of those numerous studies to see how much those studies cost.

Stay with me, Mr. Speaker. Now, the Government Accountability Office has done their own study of the military study that is studying the cost of numerous military studies that are studying the cost and effectiveness of military programs.

The GAO has concluded its study that the military study of the studies is incomplete, inconclusive, and inconsistent. So we really don't know how effective or costly those military studies are. Meanwhile, the cost of the GAO study has not been studied yet.

Mr. Speaker, I hope this short study of the government's studies programs let's us all know how effective and efficient government bureaucracy actually operates.

And that's just the way it is.