Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I bring good news from West Texas. The 2011 2012 Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) 2A State basketball champions are the Abilene Christian High School Panthers.

In a close game that was covered by the national media, the Panthers beat Beren Academy 46 42 on March 3 in Waco, Texas to win the championship. Both schools are strong religiously based institutions. An Orthodox Jewish school from Houston, Beren Academy was a tough opponent made up of wonderful, religiously committed young men that kept the game close to the end.

The Panthers were led by 22 year-old Michael Bacon, a first-time head coach and college senior at Abilene Christian University. He coached the team along with Nick Smith and Colby Carr, all full-time college students and best friends. While some college students hold part-time jobs on the side, I suspect that most don't involve coaching a state championship-winning high school basketball team. Michael, Nick, and Colby are outstanding men and leaders that have a promising future ahead of them.

The championship caps a whirlwind season for the Panthers that ended with a 25 4 record. They played with discipline, determination, and tenacity the entire season. Michael Bacon said about the team: ``We played like we were the smallest dog in the fight all season, and ended up the biggest.'' In every practice and game, the team gave their all and, in the end, it paid off.

The members of the team are Michael Avila, Ben George, Avron Payne, Trey Hampton, Clint Bruton, Samai Massaquoi, Harrison Hancock, Daniel Austin, Trevor Tyson, Bryton Fernandez, and J.D. Dos Santos. These fine young men are model Christian athletes. Strong in both body and spirit, their success on the basketball court reflects the deep commitment to their faith.

The state champion Panthers deserve our congratulations. They have excelled as athletes, students, and Texans,

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, modern-day slavery is alive in America.

When Maria was 16, she was lured from Mexico to Houston by a man who promised her a better life. When she arrived in Texas, she learned this scoundrel was in the slavery business. The slave master immediately put Maria up for sale. Now she was a sex slave, a victim of child human trafficking.

Here's what she said she was forced to do:

Every day, 6 to 7 days a week, I'd have sex with seven to

10 men a night during the week, and on the weekends, 20 to 30

men a night.

Tortured and abused, the slave trader threatened her so she was too scared to run away, but she defied her captor and called for help. Law enforcement came to her aid and rescued her.

The trafficker was convicted and sent to prison where we house these deviant international slave traders. Now it's time to prosecute the customers as well.

Meanwhile, we have a duty to help and care for the victims of child sex slavery like Maria.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, like many Members of Congress, I receive thousands of emails from my neighbors each month about the issues that are important to them. Since I work for them and I'm their advocate, it is important that I bring their words directly to the House floor and let other Members hear what I call the pulse of Texans.

Bill Bagi, from Crosby, Texas, recently wrote me about the deteriorating condition of our southern border with Mexico. Here's what he has to say:

I own and operate a heavy, specialized trucking company and

transport specialized freight around the USA and Canada. One-

fourth of my freight ends up in the south Texas towns of

McAllen, Pharr, and Brownsville, and other towns.

Over the last 10 years, I have watched the border in south

Texas deteriorate with not only undocumented crossing, but

much worse--the cartels. I know from many of my business

customers along the U.S. border that this cartel issue is

becoming a very serious issue. Many speak of a blood bath to

come on the Rio Grande River.

I urge you to ask the Congress and our President to not

stop the deployment of people on the southern border, but to

increase them tenfold to protect our U.S. citizens living in

America.

This is much more serious than the media and the government

want to admit.

Does the U.S. government want a blood bath to take place

before they protect our U.S. southern home front? We must

stop the infusion of these cartels at the Rio Grande, or they

will infest the whole United States, as the Chicago cartel

did back in the mob days.

Families are not arming themselves for fun in south Texas.

They are preparing for the worst to come. Many believe the

U.S. government will not be there when the time comes and we

need them. If we don't stop them in south Texas, than Houston

and Dallas will be infested with cartel influence.

I have great concerns that they are already operating in

the Highlands/Baytown area of southeast Texas.

Thanks for your past support and future drive to protect

U.S. citizens.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bagi tells us that he's scared to even go to the south Texas border region. He is a businessman, and he sees firsthand, as the citizens who live on the border do, the problem with the drug cartels.

He is not alone. Mexico is quickly becoming, in my opinion, a failed state. Texas towns are in danger because the Federal Government just does not adequately defend the homeland. Bureaucrats in Washington should listen to the people who actually live and work on the southern border.

Unlike what our government wants us to believe, the drug cartels do not stop at the Mexican-Texas border. Even just last week, our border patrol came under gunfire on the border in Texas from the Mexican side of the border. Mr. Speaker, we send troops to foreign nations to protect their borders. Why don't we protect our own?

Local sheriffs and the border patrol do the best they can with what they have, but it's just not enough. It's really past time for the Federal Government to step up and make Mr. Bagi and all Americans feel safe again. After all, the Constitution actually requires the Federal Government to protect the homeland.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Congresswoman Janice Hahn (CA) and I hosted the inaugural event for the bipartisan congressional PORTS Caucus.

The PORTS Caucus currently includes a bipartisan group of 42 Members of Congress, representing 19 States and two territories.

I represent several ports in southeast Texas, and I am pleased that our Nation's ports now have a voice in Congress. Ms. Hahn represents ports on the west coast.

Ports are critical to our national security and our economic security. They are America's link to the rest of the world, whether it's the food we eat, the car we drive, the light bulb we use in our homes, or the clothes we wear. Every American household is impacted by some activity at our ports.

The PORTS Caucus will raise awareness and educate others about the major issues important to American ports.

I look forward to working with Congresswoman Hahn, and I want to thank her for thinking of this idea; I look forward to working with other Members of Congress to ensure economic growth in America.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, for nearly a decade the United States has invested money, sweat, blood and tears, all in the name of a free and democratic Iraq.

Before the war, Iraqis suffered from the oppressive dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, and recent events have led me to believe that perhaps the new government does not value freedom any more than the last one did.

As a Member of Congress, I've been fortunate to go to Iraq several times to visit with our troops. And during my last visit with a bipartisan congressional delegation, we also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. During the 2-hour-long discussion covering many things, I asked one question: ``Can we go see Camp Ashraf?''

Now, Madam Speaker, Camp Ashraf houses Iranian dissidents who are called the MEK, and I represent a good number of Iranian Americans who have family members in this camp. They are particularly worried at this point in time, since Iraqi forces had recently killed 36 residents at the camp just a few weeks before. Here are the pictures of those real people that were killed by the Iraqi forces that came into the camp.

Here is an example. You notice this is an American-made HUMVEE coming into the camp. And over here on this far picture, you see an Iranian dissident being run over by one of those HUMVEES driven by an Iraqi soldier.

So that is why the question was asked: can we go see the camp and see these Iranian dissidents? And of course, Maliki said, ``no way that's going to happen.'' It left me wondering why he would refuse to let us see and talk to these people and get the other side of this invasion by the Iraqi soldiers. So we didn't get to go. And later I learned that one reason we were actually told to leave the country is because we asked to go see this camp and what happened to these 36 Iranian dissidents.

And now we have Camp Liberty. Camp Liberty, Madam Speaker, is the result of the fact that in Camp Ashraf, the Iraqi government is moving these dissidents to another camp called Camp Liberty. These dissidents are commonly referred to as the MEK, and Camp Liberty, ironically, should be symbolic of a name of freedom, but it's anything but that.

Now the Iraqi government, having moved these dissidents from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty, is still oppressing these Iranian dissidents. The reality is Camp Liberty is worse than Camp Ashraf.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said it best: ``This isn't a jail, it's a concentration camp.''

Even in prisons, we allow lawyers to see their clients and their family to see their loved ones. But not in Camp Liberty. And remember, these people in Camp Liberty, these Iranian dissidents, have committed no crime. They have violated no law. You can't help but think that good old Maliki has something to hide again.

But word is leaking out that there's not enough drinking water in the camp, there are ruptures in the sewage system, and they're having to be fixed by hand by the residents.

Iraqi guards have their will at the camp, and they wander around with no rules. They violate the privacy of these Iranian dissidents, many of whom are women.

What's more, no one, not even the U.N., is confident that once political refugee determination is made by other countries, those countries will accept these dissidents into their country. Why?

Because our State Department incredibly, has the MEK, these folks in this Camp Liberty, designated as a foreign terrorist organization. In fact, Maliki told Members of Congress, one reason he treated the residents in Camp Ashraf so poorly is because our own State Department designates them as a foreign terrorist organization.

This designation is an old, failed State Department foreign policy that designated these people as an FTO as a favor to the Iranian government. That hasn't worked out too well with our foreign relations with Iran, has it?

Since then, we've seen that the real terrorists in Iran are the extreme mullahs and the tiny tyrant of the desert, Ahmadinejad, not the opposition groups that want democracy in Iran.

Both the EU and the United Kingdom have removed the foreign terrorist designation from the group, the MEK, but not the State Department. As Iran defiantly marches toward nuclear weapons, the best hope for the world is the people of Iran pushing for a regime change of their own government. The longer we keep opposition groups who want to do just that on the foreign terrorist organization list, the less likely it is that the light of liberty will have a chance to shine in Iran.

The Federal courts have even ordered the State Department to review this FTO designation, but the State Department continues to delay, to delay, delay making a decision. The State Department must remove the MEK from the foreign terrorist organization list immediately, and then let liberty prevail in Camp Liberty and let these people leave Iraq in a peaceful manner.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, Iran continues to inch closer to making its nuclear ambitions a reality.

The administration wants Israel to give diplomacy more time, but Prime Minister Netanyahu said, ``pressure on Iran is growing, but time is growing short.''

For Israel, a nuclear armed Iran threatens its very existence. Ahmadinejad says he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, and this radical extremist means what he says.

Israel will do what it has to in order to be master of its own faith, with or without the United States. Unfortunately, the days of full trust between the U.S. and Israel seem to be on shaky ground.

Netanyahu said:

I will never let my people live in the shadow of

annihilation.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like

a duck, it's a duck. But this duck is a nuclear duck, and

it's time the world started calling a duck a duck.

Mr. Speaker, America must totally get behind our friend and let the Iranian duck know whose side we are on.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, last week, border protectors were patrolling near Roma, Texas, when they spotted drug smugglers trying to move narcotics into the United States. The agents found themselves under attack from the Mexican side when narcoterrorists unleashed gunfire from the other side of the Rio Grande River. The agents returned fire in self-defense. This sounds like a scene out of a western movie, but unfortunately this is real life on the Texas border.

The legal ports of entry may seem safe, but in the hinterlands it's the Wild West. Law enforcement is outmanned, outgunned, and outfinanced. We have troops protecting the borders of other countries; why don't they protect ours? But Texas is defending itself. It has to.

On Thursday, Texas DPS unveiled the second in its fleet of six gunboats that will now patrol the Rio Grande. Why does Texas have to send its own navy to defend the border of the United States? Because the Federal Government refuses to do its job, and someone has to protect the homeland.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, throughout history, people who have been abused by oppressive dictators have stood up and risked their lives in the name of freedom and independence.

Freedom fighters are the most powerful catalysts for change and their potential to alter history is unlimited.

This country knows the power of revolution better than any other. On July 4, 1776, after fighting for independence from Britain, the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence.

But there is another independence day that is not to be forgotten. For Texans, July 4th is not the only day to celebrate independence. This Friday, March 2, we will celebrate the 176th anniversary of Texas Independence.

Texas, a part of Mexico, had enjoyed the privileges of citizens under the Mexican Constitution of 1824.

Trouble started when Santa Anna became dictator of Mexico and abolished the Constitution and took away civil rights.

This led to the outbreak of revolution in October of 1835, both from Tejanos, Texans of Spanish and Mexican descent, and people from the United States.

Santa Anna with his three armies invaded Texas to put down rebellion. So on March 1, 54 Texians, including Lorenzo de Zavala, Thomas Rusk, Antonio Navarro and Sam Houston, gathered in the small village of Washington-on-the-Brazos.

Inspired by the American Revolution and the United States Declaration of Independence, the delegates drafted a Declaration of Independence overnight.

The declaration was signed on March 2 and the Republic of Texas was officially established.

As these determined delegates declared independence, Mexican dictator Santa Anna and several thousands of enemy troops closed in on an old beat-up Spanish mission that we now call the Alamo.

But Texas defenders stood defiant, stood determined. They were led by my hero, a lawyer by the name of William Barrett Travis who was just 27 years old.

The Alamo and its 186 Texans were all that stood between the massive army of invaders and the people of Texas.

The Alamo defenders who entered the Alamo on February 23, were a rag- tag group of relentless patriots, made up from nearly every state in the Union and 13 foreign countries, including Mexico.

Their ages were 16 through 67, at least 9 were Tejanos, and they were all volunteers. They were mavericks, revolutionaries, farmers, shopkeepers, and freedom fighters; and they came together to fight for something they believed in: freedom.

These freedom fighters held off an entire army of several thousand for 13 days. They would not relent.

During the bloody siege, Travis penned what would become the most famous letter in Texas history.

He said: ``I am determined to sustain myself for as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due his honor and that of his country.

``Victory or death.''

Unfortunately, Travis' call for help was not answered in time.

After thirteen days of glory at the Alamo, Commander Travis and his men sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom and the Alamo fell on March 6, 1836.

Because heroes like Travis, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie held out for so long, Santa Anna's forces took such great losses they became battered, demoralized and diminished.

Captain Juan Seguin and his company of Tejanos joined General Sam Houston who had the time he needed to devise a strategy to rally other Texas volunteers and defeat the invaders.

In the middle of the afternoon on April 21, 1836, General Sam and his boys routed a larger Mexican army yelling, ``Remember the Alamo!'' The rest is Texas history.

The war was over, and the Lone Star flag was visible all across the broad, bold, brazen plains of Texas.

Texas remained a nation for 9 years--some Texans wish Texas was still its own nation. Texas claimed land that now includes part of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, even up to the Canadian border.

In 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union by only one vote when a Louisiana Senator changed his mind. By its admission into the United States, Texas may divide into five States, and the Texas flag is to fly even with the U.S. flag and not below it.

Texas Independence Day is a day of pride and reflection in the Lone Star State. This week we remember that Texas was a glorious nation once and won freedom and independence because some fierce volunteers fought to the death for liberty over tyranny.

Freedom has a cost. It always does. It always will.

And as we pause to remember those who gave their lives so that Texas could be a free Nation, we must continue to remember those Americans that are currently fighting in lands across the seas for our Nation.

There are freedom fighters all over the world today who are fighting the same fight against tyrants. It is history like ours that gives them hope for success.

Celebrate Texas independence today and pay tribute to all our Texas heroes like William Barrett Travis.

His legacy embodies the spirit of Texans that is so admired and envied all around the world today.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, two American soldiers were killed today in Afghanistan.

While our amazing troops are still in the rugged field of battle fighting people who kill in the name of religion, a new field is getting ready for its grand opening at Guantanamo Bay.

Finishing touches are being put on a swanky high-dollar soccer field for criminal terrorist detainees at Gitmo. And, of course, Americans are picking up the $750,000 tab for the recreational facilities for these criminals.

Isn't that lovely?

The U.S. Government is giving these radical extremists access to the soccer field for 20 hours a day. What follows, a terrorist soccer league? These radicals should be doing hard time, not soccer time.

Our government has no business building this tropical Caribbean recreational facility for terrorists. It is disrespectful and insulting to all who are victims of these killers.

What is next at this terrorist playground, a tiki hut and bar at the beach?

This ought not to be, but that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the country cannot afford the great ruler, his administration, and especially his policies.

He costs too much.

He spends too much.

He blames others too much.

He violates the Constitution too much.

He blames George Bush too much.

He infringes on religious liberty too much.

He ignores our border security too much.

He divides the people too much.

He refuses to assume responsibility too much.

He misleads the poor too much.

He sues States too much.

He refuses to compromise too much.

He blames the rich too much.

He subsidizes failed green energy projects too much.

He encourages people to depend on the government too much.

He vilifies capitalism too much.

He preaches government intervention too much.

He regulates too much.

He campaigns too much.

He blames businesses too much.

He blames George Bush too much.

He taxes too much.

He punishes people who pay taxes too much.

He promises ``free stuff'' to non-taxpayers too much.

He likes the word ``debt'' too much.

He regulates our lives too much.

He likes big government too much.

He blames oil companies too much.

His budget hurts veterans too much.

He likes high gasoline prices too much.

He blocks offshore drilling too much.

He stonewalls domestic energy too much.

He gambles taxpayer money on unproven energy projects too much.

He sends money to countries who hate us too much.

He despises the Keystone XL pipeline too much.

He apologizes for America too much.

He blames George Bush too much.

He cuts benefits to our veterans too much.

He blames the Tea Party too much.

He blames Congress too much.

He preaches America's best days are behind us too much.

He blames conservatives too much.

He likes the word ``czar'' too much.

He turns his back on Israel too much.

He treats our enemies better than our friends too much.

He blames our problems on Greece too much.

He blames our problems on the Europeans too much.

He ignores individual freedom too much.

He is anti-free market too much.

He cuts defense spending too much.

He infringes on personal liberty too much.

He has to have it his way too much.

He tramples on states' rights too much.

He blames Congress too much.

He blames George Bush too much.

And he really, really, really despises Texas too much.

Mr. Speaker, we no longer can afford the great ruler, his administration, and especially his policies.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the administration is bullying religions. Yes, the government has required some religious organizations to violate their tenets and provide certain health care coverage for their employees--or else.

After an immediate backlash by the American public, the administration promised that it would make some changes; but the same day that it made this promise, it finalized the original mandate as-is with no changes. The original edict is now in effect. The big announcement about a change resulted in nothing, only more words.

The administration said it had the power to issue this order because it was implementing ObamaCare. If the administration has the power to infringe upon a constitutionally protected right, what will follow? What individual freedom will be trampled next, all in the name of ``we're the government, we know what's best''?

The Constitution is being insulted and violated. We should fear this type of unyielding power and religious persecution. After all, the Constitution was written to protect us from this type of government.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, when the President took office, gasoline cost $1.96. Now it's almost $4 a gallon. Spring breakers in Disney World can

expect to pay nearly $6 a gallon to fill up their individual cars.

Americans have no choice but to pay the higher price because the government is stonewalling a domestic energy policy. Deana from Huffman, Texas, put it best:

I go to work to make money to pay for the gas just to get

to work.

The President's energy policy is ``nothing from below''--nothing from below the ground, nothing from below the sea.

We're the only Nation in the world that places most of our offshore territory off limits to oil and gas exploration. Meanwhile, the government continues to subsidize failed green energy projects.

We should be saying yes to all types of American energy: Yes to more offshore drilling; yes to ANWR; yes to faster approval of permits; and yes to the Keystone XL pipeline.

Let's make gasoline affordable for Deana and all Americans.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, for years the Federal Government keeps sneaking taxes into airline tickets. The airlines cannot put on the ticket all those hidden taxes because the law won't let them do so. For example, when you buy a product, normally you know how much the product is and then you know how much the taxes are, but not so with airlines.

Here's a typical ticket, Mr. Speaker. It starts out with $200 that's going to the airline, but the Federal Government sneaks in at least 11 taxes, raising the price to $374.95. Almost another half of the ticket is Federal taxes. That doesn't even count four more taxes they add on to the airlines.

The airline, when they make the ticket, all you see is the $374.95 because the law won't let the airlines tell the truth about the taxation of our government. When more taxes are added, the ticket price continues to go up. Congressman Graves from Georgia has introduced legislation to stop this nonsense.

Let's have transparency. Let's see how much those taxes are on an airline ticket. It's time we stop the hide-and-seek with taxpayer taxes.

And that's just the way it is.

The Actual Airline Ticket

Original Price of Ticket is $200.00

Plus Government Taxes:

Mr. Speaker, religious liberty is under attack by the administration.

The right of religious liberty is guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution because it is a foundation for other rights. Yet the administration is forcing religious organizations to violate their conscience by indirectly providing their employees with services that trample on those religious beliefs.

The administration's so-called ``promise of accommodation'' changes nothing. It is just political word games.

The issue is not about contraception. This is an issue about religious liberty. It affects not just Catholics, but many religions and individuals of faith.

Regardless of where Americans stand on the issue of contraception, sterilization or the morning-after pill, it should be alarming to all who believe the government should not persecute religion or substitute a government secular doctrine and impose it on citizens.

The Constitution does not accommodate for religious liberty, it demands it, whether this administration likes it or not.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, the date was April 16, 1966. The pilot was Sam Johnson, United States Air Force. He was a colonel, and he was doing his second tour of duty in Vietnam. He was flying with the fighter squadron called Satan's Angels. He was a career pilot who had already flown 62 combat missions during the Korean war, flying an F 86 Sabre jet. Colonel Johnson also flew with the famed Air Force Thunderbirds.

But on that day, April 16, 1966, Colonel Johnson in his F 4 was shot down by ground fire by the North Vietnamese. He was captured, and he was put in a prisoner of war camp. Madam Speaker, he was in that POW camp for 7 years.

Because of the way that he would not give in to the torture and to the interrogation, the enemy moved him to the famous Hanoi Hilton, a place they called ``Alcatraz.'' It was as bad a POW camp that ever existed in history. Alcatraz was where 11 POWs were put because they were the most obstinate men, and they were leaders of other POWs. They were hard-nosed, and they had to be segregated. They called themselves the ``Alcatraz gang.'' They were defiant, and the North Vietnamese called this man right here, Colonel Sam Johnson, ``Die Hard.''

They tortured him, but they got no information from him. During that time, that 7 years he was beaten and tortured, Sam Johnson never broke down. He was so obstinate that they finally decided to put him in solitary confinement where he remained for 4 years in a cell that was 3-feet-wide by 9-feet. During that 4 years, all that was in that cell was a light bulb above his head that the enemy kept on for 24 hours a day. During the nighttime, they put Sam Johnson in leg irons, and during that 4 years, he never saw or talked to another American.

While in the POW camp, he and other POWs communicated with each other with a code by tapping on the wall, and during that time, he memorized the names of the other 374 POWs in captivity. He kept that memory going so that, when he got away or was released or escaped, he would be able to tell their loved ones who they were and where they were. It was brutal, it was harsh, it was cruel, it was mean.

The enemy laughed and made fun of Colonel Sam, and all he ever said was, Is that the best you can do? For food, he ate weeds and pig fat and rice, and

he went from 200 pounds to 120 pounds. After 7 years of confinement, on February 12, 1973, 39 years ago this week, Colonel Sam Johnson was finally released.

After his release, Colonel Johnson continued to serve in the United States Air Force for a total of 29 years. While he was in that POW camp, back home in Texas, his wife, Shirley, knew he'd been shot down, but she didn't know what had happened to him for 2 years--whether he was alive, dead, or missing in action.

After he left the United States Air Force, he served in the State house in Texas. He had his own business, and then in 1991, he came to the House of Representatives, where he continues to serve with distinction and to represent the folks from Texas.

Sam Johnson returned to America with honor. He is a special breed. He is the American breed. He is that special warrior, even during the time he was a captive warrior, who never forsook his duty and never forsook his honor.

Colonel Sam and other Vietnam veterans were not only treated badly in Vietnam, but many who returned were treated poorly by America. These vets had no welcome home parades. They were cursed and they were spit upon. America did not really appreciate those old warhorses from Vietnam.

So, to Colonel Sam and all who served in Vietnam, welcome home, welcome home, welcome home.

Some served and returned. Some served and did not return. Some served with the wounds of war.

So, to Colonel Sam Johnson, we appreciate your service because the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten.

And that's just the way it is.