Floor Statements

Today we consider a bill that claims the government can control the weather by raising your taxes, taking your job and dictating your life. In my State of Michigan, with a 15 percent unemployment rate, we know we cannot afford this cap-and-tax bill. Others, however, disagree.

``Make no mistake,'' President Obama pronounced, ``this is a jobs bill.'' He is correct. This bill will destroy jobs. But then again, this comes from an administration that claimed its trillion-dollar stimulus bill would stop unemployment from going over 8 percent.

The argument for this bill is nuts on its face. Government cannot design our economy and prosperity. It can only engineer our decline in poverty. But such feelings explain why this job-killing cap-and-tax bill is a fundamental shift from a manufacturing economy to an old green economy called hunting and gathering.

Passing this abominable energy tax on working families in a recession shows this job-killing, budget-busting government doesn't understand how much real Americans are hurting for work. This is the hubris of Big Government, the delusion that our families' economic futures rest in the manicured hands of Congress rather than the hardworking hands of the American people.

I disagree, and I urge the rejection of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, from the hellish streets where Iranians demand freedom, voices arise to pray for deliverance and liberty; but, elsewhere, safely ensconced in freedom, others argue for appeasement and ``neutrality.'' We must choose wisely between these competing voices and visions, lest we betray our allegiance to liberty.

Some voices allege America's support of Iranian democracy demonstrators harms their cause, strengthens the regime, increases the repression, and, once the freedom seekers are slaughtered, precludes ``good'' relations with the murderous mullahs.

Their siren song is wrong. Despite pronouncements, America has not intervened, the mullahs publicly accuse us of it, their illegitimate puppet Ahmadinejad demands our prostration at the regime's feet, and all the while, the regime butchers innocents.

On June 24, CNN recorded a call from a terrified Iranian girl, who told of democracy demonstrators being hacked with axes, shot or thrown from bridges. She pleaded: ``You should stop this. You should help the people of Iran who demand freedom. You should help us. It's time to act.'' She was pleading to America. She was pleading to us.

Once, another generational chance for freedom was seized, as Soviet dissident and gulag prisoner Natan Sharansky attests, ``We developed our own tapping language to communicate with each other between the crawls of our cells. We had to develop new communication methods to pass on this great, impossible news.

``Reagan dared to call of the great Soviet Union an evil empire. That moment made it impossible for anyone in the West to continue closing their eyes to the real nature of the Soviet Union.

``It was one of the most important, freedom-affirming declarations, and we all instantly knew it. For us, that was the moment that really marked the end for them, and the beginning for us. The beginning of a new revolution, a freedom revolution. Reagan's revolution.''

As for voices clamoring for a ``grand bargain'' with Iran's inhumane regime if it clings to power, Sharansky warns: ``How a government treats its own people cannot be separated from how that government could be expected to treat other countries.'' How did the regime treat the family of Neda Agha-Soltan, the student it shot in the streets? Her state executioners refused to tender Neda's body to her family; buried her without a funeral; banned all signs of mourning; and forced her family to flee from their Tehran home.

To defeat such a regime, Sharansky offers Reagan's example: ``Ronald Reagan had the moral clarity to understand the truth, and the courage both to speak the truth and to do what needed to be done to support it.''

What concrete actions can we take today to aid the Iranian people's march to freedom?

We must increase funding for Radio Farda and other democracy building programs to provide the Iranian people with the free flow of information and communications in their struggle to be free.

The President must use his full authority under the Iranian Sanctions Act to deter companies from investing in Iran's energy sector.

We must place column 2 tariff rates on Iran's remaining exports to the United States. We must pass the Global Online Freedom Act to prevent American companies from assisting foreign governments, including Iran, from censoring and monitoring their people on the Internet. We must pass the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act and the Iran Threat Reduction Act to embargo the flow of refined fuel to and increase the pressure upon the regime.

The President must prohibit regime members from entering the United States of America.

We must seek a United Nations Security Council resolution denouncing the regime; demanding a new, internationally monitored election; and tightening the current U.N. sanctions against the regime until this election occurs and its outcome's integrity verified.

We must work with American labor organizations to establish a support fund for Iranian workers striking in protest of the regime.

Finally, we must link all of our relations with Iran, and with those nations abetting the regime's perpetuation in defiance of its people's freedom to human rights.

If we pale and fail to take these measures, we will be haunted by the cries of the oppressed Iranians abandoned to preserve our neutrality in this time of moral crisis.

But, when we act, we will expand freedom to the oppressed and enslaved; and ensure it for our children and ourselves. Only then will we have honorably performed our duty to liberty by guaranteeing generations of Americans and Iranians may proclaim, ``We are free.''

Her name was Neda. In Farsi, it means ``the voice.'' True to her name, she loved music, sought freedom, and she's dead, shot down in the streets by the Iranian regime's state-sanctioned murderers. She must not have died in vain.

Today, Iranians and Americans face a generational chance for freedom--one that ensures a rogue regime's implosion prevents a nuclear confrontation.

Regrettably, our President's ``post-American'' foreign policy presumes talk can thaw the murderous mullahs' hearts and attain a ``grand bargain'' for peace in our time; consequently, while Iranians demanded their freedom from a barbarous regime, the President vapidly opined: ``It is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's leaders will be. We respect Iranian sovereignty.''

Then, as the crisis escalated, the President optimistically noted, ``You've seen in Iran some initial reaction from the supreme leader that indicates he understands the Iranian people have deep concerns about the election. And my hope is that the Iranian people will make the right steps in order for them to be able to express their voices, to express their aspirations.''

Tragically, the supreme leader's deep concern drove him to step on the throats of pro-democracy protestors, like Neda.

Next, on June 20, the President stated, ``The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.'' It was painfully evident just how far behind them he stood. ``The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than make this an argument about the United States.''

With these contradictory statements of support and appeasement, the President returned to square one. ``The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian Government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.''

In truth, the Iranian people have already judged the regime and found it wanting. The supreme leader, his cleric cronies and their puppet government have never respected the dignity of the Iranian people or governed through consent. This is why the regime stole the election and shoots peaceful, pro-democracy demonstrators. Implying otherwise mocks the Iranians risking and losing their lives for liberty.

As for the claim that American ``meddling'' in support of the demonstrators plays into the mullahs' hands, the Iranian regime will claim this regardless, for as our President noted, ``That's what they do.''

Yet, what matters is not what the regime says about America, but what the demonstrators think about America. Presently, brave Iranians watch as our President still holds an open hand to the regime that opened fire on them, that opened fire on Neda.

This is the passive, disastrous policy of Jimmy Carter that led to the rise of this rogue regime, not the courageous policy of Ronald Reagan that led to the demise of an evil empire.

The surest, safest termination of Iran's nuclear weapons program and support of terrorism is to hasten this fanatical tyranny's collapse by supporting its people's liberty. Taking its rightful place amongst the community of free nations, a democratic Iran will necessarily realize and reverse the insanity of this terrorist regime's homicidal obsession with nuclear weapons. Thus, for their and our security, the United States and the world must do everything in our power to further the Iranian demonstrators' sacred claim to freedom. We know Neda did.

Further, in the grand strategy of our war for freedom over terrorism, how we aid pro-democracy Iranians will remind the world of who we are. We are Americans, the revolutionary children of freedom who have lived and died defending our liberty and extending it to the enslaved and oppressed. We will do no less today in support of our Iranian brothers and sisters.

Today Neda's voice calls to our consciences and warns that the fate of Iranians' liberty is entwined with the fate of America's security. We must not miss this generational chance for freedom; again, one that ensures a rogue regime's implosion, prevents a nuclear confrontation, and ensures that Neda and all of liberty's martyrs shall not have died in vain. As Americans, we must seize this moment and help Iranians seize their freedom. That's what we do.

We are going to soon be facing a question of health care for Americans. We've heard about how important it is for fellow Americans to have access to quality, affordable health care, and we hear that government is the answer. We hear that, if we spend $1 trillion, we may be able to insure one-third of our fellow citizens. Extrapolating from that, that means, to insure all of the uninsured, it will cost us $3 trillion. We hear this must be done by August.

Government haste makes taxpayer waste. We must do this properly. We must do this correctly. We cannot do it properly or correctly with an arbitrary deadline set by people who have, to date, passed bills they have not read and that have yet to work for the American people, whose number one concern right now is keeping a job or finding one.

I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the conference report precisely because it is about our troops. The bill that left this Chamber with broad bipartisan support was 100 percent about our troops, and it is precisely now why it is only 80 percent about our troops. We should not allow for that 20 percent reduction to delude us that somehow this is a better bill.

I had the opportunity today to read in the detroitfreepress.com that the Treasury Department had said that $10 billion in loan guaranties to auto manufacturing suppliers was a nonstarter. They didn't have it. I come here tonight. I hear that we have $108 billion for the IMF.

This is not only about our troops. It is about the hardworking men and women who put money into the Federal Government not only to defend our troops but to defend their own way of life and their own prosperity and to make sure that it's here when they get back.

Of the $108 billion going off to the IMF, I did not hear of anyone at the IMF losing their jobs in a painful restructuring. I did not hear of anyone at the IMF being asked to take reductions in their lifetimes of hard-earned health care benefits. I did not see anyone lose anything from the IMF for the $108 billion underwriting by the U.S. taxpayers; but for $85 billion, I did see back home in Detroit people losing their jobs under a painful restructuring. I saw retirees losing health care benefits. I saw dealerships closing. I was told this was necessary. I was told by this administration that we've got to be careful not to put money into a sinkhole. Well, this is also about equity.

When those troops come home, when they come home to the Midwest, when they come home to my Michigan, I will look them in the eye and say, ``As long as I have been here, I have defended and supported our troops, but I have also made sure that, when you came home, you came back to the American opportunities that you left behind to defend us.''

As for the future that the majority leader has talked about, I don't have to speculate. Let me read you a statement:

If people tell you that we cannot afford to invest in education or in health care or in fighting poverty, you just remind them that we are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq.

If we can spend that much money in Iraq, we can spend some of that money right here in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in big cities and in small towns in every corner of this country.

That was candidate Barack Obama.

I would never take money from funds appropriated for our troops and use it for domestic spending. I have said that before; but if you're going to add $108 billion to fund a conference report for our troops, then spend it here in the United States. Spend it on the men and women who support our troops every day. Spend it on their families so they stay employed. Do not send it to the IMF. I oppose this bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding through the Chair.

Just two quick inquiries of the distinguished gentleman from Ohio. First, I was wondering if you considered the response from Mr. Munchus to be indicative of the most transparent administration in history. And, secondly, I would like to commend you for putting the question mark signifying the poor staffer who will be blamed if we continue this, unless, of course, someone confesses or the media actually looks into the matter, because I remember growing up and I watched reruns of Star Trek. Whenever the captain and Bones or Spock would get on that transporter platform, there would always be somebody you didn't recognize, and you knew they weren't coming back. So when I see that question mark, I just think of the poor staffer that, at the direction of someone else, actually utilized the pen, because if this inquiry continues, as it will, you know that he may not be coming back.

I thank the gentleman for yielding through the Chair.

Let's also put out that we have, in fact, understood from the White House, in fairness to them, that the President has taken responsibility for the AIG bonus. He said so, which I think is only appropriate since he signed the bill that executed it into law. But what we are really looking for is that shadowy figure between the President of the United States, who may or may not have known the bonus was in the bill, and the poor staffer that may have been directed to do this. So we want to point out that we are trying to be fair. We have not determined whether the President even knew the AIG bonus was in the stimulus bill, which was rushed in a crisis atmosphere upon a deadline that he set, and the staffer who may potentially receive all the culpability unfairly.

I appreciate that recap of exactly what happened. And now subsequent to these events which have had such a devastating effect upon my community, Michigan, the entire Midwest and America's manufacturing base, we hear the administration and the task force saying that they did not determine which plants would be closed. They did not determine which dealerships would be closed. That is a factually true statement. But by omission they do not add that they determined how many plants would be closed and how many jobs would be lost and how many dealerships would be closed. Because when they rejected those viability reports, they said they did not go deeply enough quickly enough to provide viability to Chrysler or a path forward for General Motors.

Put in terms of the human cost, that means more people had to lose their jobs, more plants had to close, more dealers had to be culled from the franchise ranks.

So I would hope that in the future with the task force, again that the most transparent administration in United States history by its own profession would be honest with the American people as to where the decision for these lost jobs came from, not merely which ones faced the ax.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Again, it cannot be emphasized enough that while we talk about jobs and numbers, and we have talked about the jobs that the United Auto Workers will lose, I can attest to you that throughout this bankruptcy process the people of my community, the people of Michigan, the people at Chrysler and the people at GM thought that we had a chance to avoid a bankruptcy, that that was the hope we were given.

We were given it by the first Bush administration, which initially granted the bridge loan to the autos. Early on in the process, we were told that the auto industry would not be walked away from. Early on in the process we started to get signals, however, that the bankruptcy might become a more and more likely option.

Yet we were never told, as reports are starting to come out, that early on the administration's Auto Task Force had made the decision that bankruptcy would be the best option. And as we watched Chrysler and as we now watch GM, two of the big three domestic auto makers in bankruptcy, we see that clearly that best option was pursued and promoted.

But, again, as the gentleman from Ohio points out, these are figures. These are facts. Throughout this process there was a cruel uncertainty that affected the people of my district, that affected the people of Michigan and throughout the manufacturing sector. No one knew when the bell would toll for them.

So as the process continued, especially if you talk about the United Auto Workers who ratified the agreement, as you got closer to the point of Chrysler going into bankruptcy, when you signed that agreement without any indication that you were going to lose your job and that you might actually be a part of Fiat and Chrysler going forward, to learn in the blink of an eye that all that hope was gone, after you had done everything you could, after your union president and their team had done everything they could to save as many jobs as they possibly could, to lose it all at that point is exceedingly cruel.

I have talked to them. They feel this in my district. I have talked to auto dealers who, after a lifetime of work in the industry, of being pillars of their community, in the blink of an eye have lost everything that they have worked for, who have talked on the phone in tears or in person been on the verge of tears about what happened to them and why they cannot get an answer.

So through the Chair to the gentleman from Ohio, we see a pattern emerging. Again, I absolutely agree with the gentleman from Ohio. I believe that the President had no idea his administration had put the AIG bonuses in the stimulus bill. I truly believe the President of the United States had absolutely no idea about what would follow the consequences of the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies in terms of the human cost to the working people of America.

But what I cannot figure out is that if that is the case, if we are correct in our assessment, why the President of the United States, A, does not want to find out who in his administration put him in that position, and more importantly who put the people of the auto companies and the workers in that position, or the taxpayers of America in that position, and then as the most

transparent administration in American history does not want to tell the American people who those actors were. It would seem to me that would serve the country well and it would serve our President well.

I yield back.

Yes. Through the Speaker to the gentleman from Ohio, first I caution you that if you continue to quote Mr. Feldman, you may get a PG-13 rating for your Special Order.

But I would also like to point out that many of us in Detroit had grave concerns when the membership of the Auto Task Force was announced because of the absence of an understanding of the auto industry and manufacturing, and, to be quite honest with you, the absence of some of the Members owning cars.

I yield back.

Yes. I would just like to go back to the quotes from the emails, because it is very important that we catch one of the underlying sub-texts to this entire situation.

We were told that it was the investors that forced Chrysler into bankruptcy due to their obstinacy and greed. And yet from the emails we see here, this is precisely one of those investors who is seeking to come to an agreement with the Auto Task Force to preclude that bankruptcy.

I relate this back to what the gentleman showed us from the UAW, who had gone through a very grueling, excruciating process to find an agreement with the Auto Task Force. And yet when Chrysler went into bankruptcy, which was clearly the intent not to do everything possible to avoid, people started to pit the investors and the auto workers against each other.

I would submit to all that it was the process of the Auto Task Force, its arbitrary nature and its lack of accountability that pitted workers and investors against each other in a race to beat the inevitable bankruptcy which would occur.

I think that is one of the crucial things that needs to be pointed out, and I think it also bears repeating, why the individual, the distinguished gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Kucinich, as well as yourself and other Members of this body, sent a letter to the administration saying we wanted the Auto Task Force to revert back to an advisory capacity. Because many of us remember the 1970s when a congressionally led assistance of the Chrysler Motor Corporation brought the stakeholders together in an equitable process and resulted not only in the survival of the company, but Lee Iacocca presenting a check with interest for those loans to President Ronald Reagan.

May I inquire as to how much time is available?

Thank you for the 30 seconds.

I just want to point out that, while all of this has been lighthearted, this is very important. We have twice seen the President unaware of what his own administration has done. We hear calls for alacritous action. We hear people saying that we must rush to do health care, that we must rush to do climate change legislation. Let us never forget that government haste makes taxpayer waste. Due deliberateness and prudence are always the best course of action in legislative affairs. We should do a lot more of it here.

I yield back.

I thank the gentleman.

I grew up in Carl's district. We watched as he went from a Wayne County commissioner to a Michigan State Senator and then into this illustrious body. As a young person growing up getting interested in politics, Carl's example was an inspiration. It showed that a fine and decent gentleman could come from the small town of Plymouth, retain his Main Street truths, and do the people's business in this, the people's House.

The last several years have not been kind to Carl. He is in a far better place, and we are all diminished. Our best goes out to his family, and we would appreciate it if you keep him in your prayers.

I thank the gentleman from Ohio and I thank him for what he is doing today. As you mentioned, I come from the suburbs northwest of Detroit. Obviously, what we have seen with both Chrysler and with

GM is very painful because of the human cost involved: the workers at these plants who will lose their jobs, the manufacturing supply chain, those employees and owners that will lose their jobs, lose their small businesses, and the dealers who will lose their jobs and their small businesses.

But it will not simply be a Michigan problem. It will not simply be a Midwest problem. As we found out from the Chrysler dealerships that were closed, it went across the country, all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Many of our colleagues all of a sudden remember that if auto manufacturers have a problem, auto dealers have a problem. This was not news to many of us, but it portends what is going to happen over the course of this year and next year as these plants are closed.

The gentleman from Ohio, Mr. LaTourette, the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Kucinich, put forward a bipartisan letter, which I was very grateful to be able to sign, that talked about how Congress should reexercise its power in this area, how the task force should have become advisory and brought the stakeholders together in a process similar to what was done with Chrysler in the 1970s to allow all stakeholders to come together, as opposed to being pitted against each other, workers or investors, in the process that we saw, which in the end turned out to be nothing but a prepackaged bankruptcy that could not be avoided.

At this point in time, obviously all of us who have plants closed--I had my Livonia power train assembly plant notified it was going to close; 164 workers going to lose their jobs. And I know that next door to me we saw the Willow Run assembly plant closed that had produced the B-24 Liberator bombers that helped this Nation in World War II.

Our thoughts are with those workers and with all the workers who are going to be displaced. But to those who think again that this is simply an economic problem for Michigan, for the Midwest, I ask them a simple question. General Motors was a symbol to the world of the United States' prosperity and security. When this icon of the United States went into bankruptcy, in the nations that bode ill toward us, they were gleeful. Because with General Motors going into bankruptcy, it sends a clear signal to the world that the United States is in decline, and into that perceived vacuum these nations will inject themselves to advance their interests, with very detrimental results to the United States of America.

It is so often that we forget because we live in a land of prosperity and security what these corporations, especially General Motors, have meant throughout the world. It has not been lost on the rest of the world. And you ask yourself: If General Motors goes into bankruptcy, what do they think?

We have already seen what the Russians think. We will soon find out what the Communist Chinese think. And ask yourself this question as well: What do you think is going to happen when cars are made in Communist China, imported into the United States for sale? What does that tell us about the future of the United States, both in terms of its ability to defend itself by manufacturing the armaments necessary to undergird a peace through strength policy or the ability to provide prosperity for its people.

It's been a very painful week for Michigan and for America. The manufacturing base will be far smaller. We will get through this. We will help our fellow citizens who are going through a very difficult time, and we will emerge stronger, if not larger.

I yield back to the gentleman from Ohio.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

In fairness, I must point out that one of the first things that this Democratic-controlled Congress did, in conjunction with the administration, was pass a $1 trillion stimulus bill, because I include the interest, and we're all going to have to pay it. The $1 trillion stimulus bill had one provision that would have particularly helped the auto industry that was virtually eliminated in the dead of night by a hidden hand that also did something interesting. The $1 trillion stimulus bill had protected the AIG bonuses, and yet it did nothing to prevent Chrysler and GM autoworkers from going into bankruptcy. At the time, I referred to it as a post-American manufacturing bill. I would just like to point out that, sadly, events have proven that assessment correct.

I yield back to the gentleman.

Will the gentleman yield for a question?

My question is: If these 1,200 jobs in Ohio were in Ohio and they have moved to Georgia, does the administration consider them created or saved or is it going to have to come up with a third category--or shifted?

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge Diane Policelli, upon her receipt of the Tribute to Women Award, presented by the Michigan Federation of Republican Women.

Diane Policelli has selflessly dedicated herself to serving her community and actively promoting the values and ideals of the Republican Party. Since retiring from her career with Ford Motor Company, she has become dynamically engaged in her neighborhood. A certified member of the Community Emergency Response Team, Diane frequently supports the city and Police and Fire departments during emergency situations. She is a Board member and chief fundraiser for the Livonia Public Schools Foundation, as well as the Vice President of the Civic Library Commission. In these roles, she dedicatedly volunteers her time to mentoring high school students.

As the Community Service Chair and Hostess Chair for the Suburban Republican Women's Club, she dedicates her time to organizing activities which allow the members to creatively engage with the community. Under her direction, the Suburban Republican Women have been participating in a program to collect coupons to assist the military families of the United States. Diane also worked with a local senior citizen center on a project to have the club serve food at a dinner for the seniors.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending sincere congratulations to this year's Tribute to Women Award honoree, Diane Policelli, for her devoted service to her community and country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the Unprecedented Campaign to End Tyranny, which took place on May 9, 2009.

The Unprecedented Campaign to End Tyranny is a Midwest tour across nine states to support the people who have peacefully quit the Chinese Communist Party. It celebrates the condemnation of communism and the evolution of attitudes that encourage freedom of speech, religion, and expression. Since 2004, nearly fifty-four million Chinese citizens have bravely and publicly disassociated themselves with the Chinese Communist Party. This number continues to grow by up to 40,000 each day. The defection movement is gaining in momentum.

Madam Speaker, it is the responsibility and duty of free Americans to stand with those who yearn to be free. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the bravery of those who have had the daring audacity to publicly step forward and denounce the stifling oppression of communism, and embrace the ideals of freedom and liberty.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and acknowledge Timothy J. DeWitt, upon his induction into the Recreational Vehicle and Manufactured Homes Hall of Fame.

As the Executive Director of the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association for over thirty years, Timothy has worked tirelessly to educate consumers, the government, and the media about the quality, affordability, and innovative design aspects of mobile homes. A significant leader in both the Housing and RV industries, he has received much acclaim for his direct involvement in their growth and expansion, including receipt of the Stiner Award for Executive of the Year and the MSAE Key Award.

Mr. DeWitt began his career in 1977 as the Housing Director for MMH as well as for the Recreational Vehicle Campground Association. His hard work, commitment to the industry, and dynamic leadership advanced him to the role of Executive Director in 1984. He is currently a key member of the Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes, the Michigan State Advisory Council, and the RV Committee on Excellence. The Recreational Vehicle and Manufactured Home Hall of Fame was founded in 1977, and honors Timothy this year for his outstanding contributions as an exceptional spokesperson for the industries.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Timothy DeWitt is an active volunteer and proud leader in his community. He is coaching Varsity Soccer at St. Michael School for the twelfth season, and is also responsible for establishing the Harvest Foundation, a non-profit organization geared at educating and providing scholarships for students who are interested in pursuing careers in the recreational vehicle and campground industries.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending sincere congratulations to this year's Recreational Vehicle and Manufactured Homes Hall of Fame Honoree, Timothy J. DeWitt, for his dedication to professional excellence and passionate loyalty to our community and country.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge Dorothy O'Leary upon the occasion of her 90th birthday.

Dorothy O'Leary has selflessly dedicated her life to serving her community. Following her career at J.L. Hudson, she has become very active in her neighborhood, frequently participating and working with local Red Cross Blood Drives. She also volunteers her time regularly as an usher at the Fox, Fischer and Masonic Temple in downtown Detroit. Dorothy's faithful commitment to the Redford community is exemplified by the success she has had running the Used Bookstore at the Redford Township Library. In this capacity, she raises approximately $20,000 per year to support the library, and is vital to its survival.

In addition to her devoted volunteer efforts, Ms. O'Leary enjoys spending time with the West Side Silver Ladies, a social group of Retired Detroit Police Officer widows. She also loves bowling with her friends, and treasures the time she is able to spend with her three great-grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, as Ms. O'Leary continues her legacy of passionate philanthropy and eager altruism, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending sincere congratulations to Dorothy O'Leary on her 90th birthday for her enthusiastic leadership and loyalty to her community and country.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge Michael and Marian Ilitch, entrepreneurs and pillars of the Michigan community, upon the 50th anniversary of the founding of Little Caesars.

On May 8, 1959, fifty years ago, Mike and Marian opened the first Little Caesars in Garden City, Michigan, under the name Little Caesars Pizza Treat. From this one store, Little Caesars would grow to include a pizza empire of many thousands of restaurants through franchising. The company eventually became widely known for its famous catchphrase, ``Pizza! Pizza!'' which was introduced in 1979. The phrase refers to two pizzas being offered for the comparable price of a single pizza from competitors. In 1998, Little Caesars filled what was then the current largest pizza order, filling an order of 13,386 pizzas from the VF Corporation of Greensboro, NC. Today, Little Caesars is the largest carry-out pizza chain in the world.

Mike was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1929. He is a first generation American of Macedonian descent. A graduate of Cooley High School, Mike also served his country in the United States Marine Corps for four years. After returning home from the Marine Corps, Mike was offered a contract by the Detroit Tigers baseball team and went on to play three years in the minor leagues before he was forced to prematurely end his promising career due to injury. In 1954 Mike met Marian on a blind date arranged by his father. Marian was born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan, a daughter of Macedonian immigrants. They were married a year later.

Over the course of their lives together Mike and Marian have expanded their business and personal partnership very successfully. Today, the family's entities remain privately held. In 1999, the Ilitches established Ilitch Holdings, Inc. to provide their various enterprises with professional and technical services. These enterprises include Little Caesars, the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Tigers, numerous property investments in and around Detroit, as well as the MotorCity Casino. They have been married for over 50 wonderful years and have seven children together: son Christopher Paul Ilitch (born June 1965) is CEO and President of Ilitch Holdings, Inc.; daughter Denise D. Ilitch (born November 1955) is an attorney and former co-President, with her brother, of Ilitch Holdings. Other children are Ronald ``Ron'' Tyrus Ilitch (born June 1957), Michael C. Ilitch, Jr., Lisa M. Ilitch Murray, Atanas Ilitch (born Thomas Ilitch) and Carole M. Ilitch Trepeck. Further, in Stanley Cup history, only 12 women have had their names engraved on the trophy including Marian and their three daughters.

The Ilitch family has also established a charitable foundation called Ilitch Charities for Children (ICC). Among other things, the ICC sponsors Little Caesars AAA Hockey Scholarship to encourage amateur sports. The ICC in 2009, so far, has given a total of $50,000 in grants to the Detroit Renaissance Foundation ($25,000) and the United Way of Southeastern Michigan ($25,000) for innovative community programs, demonstrating a broader scope for the charitable organization. Most recently, Ilitch Charities presented a total of $200,000 to benefit the Greening of Detroit's Conservation Leadership Corps and the Guidance Center's Project CEO.

Madam Speaker for 50 years Little Caesars has stood as a tribute to the hard work of Michael and Marian Ilitch and their family. As they celebrate this enormous milestone, they personify a legacy of excellence, ingenuity, and the irrepressible spirit of the American entrepreneur. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Ilitches and recognizing their years of loyal service to our community and country.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor and acknowledge Donald W. Kolhoff, veteran and patriot, upon receiving the lifetime achievement award from the Wayne 11th Congressional District Republicans.

Don was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1930, the second of three sons. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1948. After High School, Don served in the United States Air Force from 1950 to 1954, including two tours of duty during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. While doing his duty in the Air Force, Don found time to attend classes at Southwest Texas State University and the University of Toledo, majoring in Accounting.

After his service to our nation, Don began a successful career in the defense industry. Don got his start as a contract manager for the jeep division of Kaiser Industries. In 1970, Don moved his young family to Livonia, Michigan and went to work for AM General. From 1981 until he retired in 1994, Don served as a Senior Contract Administrator with Textron Corporation, supervising defense contracts with the United States Navy. Due to his exemplary

professional service, Don has served as a state or chapter executive committee officer with several defense industry professional associations including the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), the American Defense Preparedness Association (later the National Defense Industry Association), and the JROTC Awards Banquet Committee, among others.

In his personal life Don has always been a staunch, committed Conservative. His first official participation in the Republican Party came when he offered to volunteer in the re-election campaign of President Nixon in 1972. He went on to serve as a volunteer in both Reagan landslides of 1980 and 1984. His first foray into local Michigan Republican Party politics was as a volunteer in the Honorable Joe Knollenberg's successful campaign for the United States House of Representatives in 1992. Don was later elected as a precinct delegate and joined the Wayne 11th Congressional District Republicans. During his time in the Wayne 11th Congressional District Republicans, Don has led, organized, or assisted in almost every volunteer effort undertaken by the organization in order to promote principled Conservative values which make our GOP the grand party it is. Don's other greatest achievements are his two children, Beth and -Steve, and his four grandchildren. Beth and her husband Eric, have three children, Megan, Sean, and Kelly. Steve and his wife Andrea have one child, Christopher.

Madam Speaker, Donald W. Kolhoff has faithfully served Michigan and Wayne County. As he receives this award for his lifetime of achievements, he serves as a timeless example of selflessness and public service. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Donald W. Kolhoff upon his award and recognizing his years of loyal service to our community and country.

Madam Speaker, sadly, 2009 marks the tenth year of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of the Falun Gong. After a 10,000 person silent, peaceful protest in front of CCP offices in Beijing, then-General Secretary Jiang Zemin designated the Falun Gong an ``evil cult'' and in July 1999, began a brutal crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners. Since then, communist Chinese authorities have imprisoned roughly 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners and brutally killed more than 3,000. Following death, communist Chinese authorities have routinely harvested organs from executed Falun Gong prisoners.

Recently, on February 1, 2009, communist Chinese authorities arrested 61-year-old Zhu Lijin from Tianjin for distributing leaflets about the Falun Gong. On February 16, 2009, Ms. Lijin's family was notified she was sentenced to one year and three months imprisonment in Banqiao Women's ``Re-education Through Labor'' camp. While the imprisonment of a 61-year-old woman demonstrates the communist Chinese regime's paranoia, her arrest remains a grave injustice and Ms. Lijin must be immediately set free.