Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 362, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 363, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 364, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 365, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 366, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 367, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 368, ``no'' on rollcall No. 369, and ``aye'' on rollcall No. 370.

Mr. Chair, on rollcall Nos. 371, 372, 373, 374 and 375 I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 371, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 372, ``aye'' on rollcall No. 373, ``no'' on rollcall No. 374, and ``aye'' on rollcall No. 375.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 376, 377 and 378 I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 376 ``aye'' on rollcall No. 377 and ``aye'' on rollcall No. 378.

Personal Explanation

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 359, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 360 and 361, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 360 and ``aye'' on rollcall No. 361.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the World Affairs Council of St. Louis, and to honor the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center as the 2012 recipient of the Council's International Humanitarian of the Year Award.

The World Affairs Council of St. Louis is dedicated to educating, inspiring, and engaging citizens and businesses in international affairs and the critical global issues of our times. It is the oldest such organization in St. Louis.

Each year, the World Affairs Council of St. Louis welcomes more than 300 visitors to the greater metropolitan area, including leading ambassadors and other foreign dignitaries, as well as students from around the world. The Council's mission is to promote understanding, engagement, relationships, and leadership in world affairs, and it connects the citizens of the St. Louis region with the world.

The Council's International Humanitarian of the Year Award, its highest honor, recognizes the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center this year for its mission to improve the human condition through crop research which centers on feeding the hungry, improving human health and preserving the environment. This award specifically recognizes the Center's Institute for International Crop Improvement, which aims to bring improved crops to small farmers in places such as Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. These crops yield more per acre, are richer in essential nutrients, and resistant to disease, insects and drought, and they can bring tremendous benefit to small farmers.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center serves as a seed of hope in the St. Louis region--applying research to better address malnutrition, preserve our environment, and explore novel, sustainable energy solutions. The World Affairs Council honors Danforth Center's leadership as an essential part of fostering this valuable, humanitarian-based research which can impact the lives of farmers and citizens in nations throughout the world.

On June 7, 2012, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center will receive the International Humanitarian of the Year Award. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognition of this honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Doctor William Uhland.

Dr. William Uhland grew up in the town of Arbuckle, California, which at the time had a population of 800. When he was fifteen, his father died, and he went to work to support his mother and younger brother. After graduating high school, he went on to earn a bachelors degree from Chico State University, a masters degree from San Jose State University, and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University.

Dr. Uhland is a nuclear chemist who is involved in the production and research of radiopharmaceuticals. For the past decade he has been with Covidien-Mallinckrodt, at their plant in Maryland Heights, Missouri. This plant has six cyclotrons, capable of accelerating protons up to 30 MeV kinetic energy. Several times a year he travels to the Covidien- Mallinckrodt plant in Petten, Holland, where they have two cyclotrons and a nuclear reactor.

At these facilities he is busy ensuring that the badly needed supply of radiopharmaceuticals is available to the hospitals and nuclear pharmacies. He is involved with the production of such essential drugs as thallium-201 for cardiac imaging, indium-111 for tumor detection, gallium-67 for tumor and infection detection, iodine-123 for thyroid imaging, iodine-131 for thyroid therapy, and molybdenum-99 to be used for technetium-99m generators (aka ``Moly Kows''). In addition to this, he is currently involved in the production of a new radiopharmaceutical, which is proprietary at this time. Dr. Uhland's contributions also include eight text-books on chemistry and physics (REA Press, Piscataway, New Jersey), and eight patents.

He and his wife, Dr. Elaine T. Jurkowski, are also active in their community. They are active in their parish, Incarnate Word, where they are lectors, Eucharistic ministers, and deliver Holy Communion to the ill and elderly. They are also members of the Wellness Ministry, Bereavement Ministry, and Disability Ministry. Dr. Uhland provides free tutoring in mathematics and science to students in high school and college. Some of these youngsters are first generation college attendees from single parent families.

Dr. Uhland is a shining example of the innovation, scholarship and leadership that we have in Missouri. I thank Dr. Uhland for his service to his community, the St. Louis region and the nation. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognition of his contributions.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013.

As chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee, there are many aspects of this bill that are commendable. First of all, from a Navy point of view, we are maintaining the cadence of building two fast-attack boats every year. That has significant implications relative to our industrial base. Likewise, we are going to be building two destroyers a year, so we have made some changes to the President's budget there. We're also requiring that the Navy keeps at least 12 ballistic missile submarines that are an important leg of our triad.

I would also call attention to a couple of amendments that I have offered. The first is that we have worked with information that we've gotten from overseas on the evacuation procedures that are being done and the speed with which our sons and daughters are being picked up on the battlefield. There is nothing wrong with the great people who are working the medevacs. We are concerned with DOD policy, however--that that policy may be resulting in unnecessary delays.

Secondly, this bill contains an amendment that I offered to protect First Amendment rights of people in the service and chaplains, in particular. Unfortunately, it seems that this is against what the White House, many Democrats, and The New York Times all seem to want. The heart of the amendment is to say that if you are a chaplain, you are not going to be forced to perform ceremonies that you think are wrong. It protects what we call ``free speech,'' the First Amendment, and also the right of religious freedom. It does the same thing for our servicemembers.

And it seems ironic that there is opposition to affording First Amendment rights to our sons and daughters who are fighting for our First Amendment rights. So this seems like it should be very noncontroversial, allowing people to follow the dictates of their own conscience. But it seems to be meeting stiff resistance, nonetheless.

Lastly, I wanted to make sure that in this bill, we make absolutely clear that there's nothing in this bill which gets in the way of our habeas corpus rights in America and that no American citizen can be unlawfully detained, and that the right of habeas corpus, as a constitutional right, is in no way abridged by this bill.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 181, I was unavoidably detained and would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Sergeant First Class Frederic Nicholas Moses. A combat decorated veteran who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to serve his country, to protect those who could not protect themselves.

SFC Moses was born on 06 May 1985 in St. Charles, Missouri. He graduated from Duchesne High School in St. Charles, Missouri in 2003 and enlisted in the United States Army on 01 June 2004 as an 18X. He attended Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon

completion of the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2006, he was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant. He deployed with the Battalion Signal Detachment to Taji, Iraq from October 2007 to May 2008 in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM V. He went on to join Special Forces Operational Detachment--Alpha 5326, and deployed with them to Baqubah, Iraq from January through July 2009 in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM VI, and conducted a Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) exercise to Jordan from January through March 2010. SFC Moses then deployed to Baqubah, Iraq from August 2010 through March 2011 in support of Operation NEW DAWN. Following a short training cycle, he returned to Jordan for a second JCET exercise from October through November 2011.

Most recently, SFC Moses deployed to Baghlan-e-Jadid, Afghanistan from January through February 2012 in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM XVIII. SFC Moses' military education included Airborne School, Special Forces Assessment and Selection, Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion Course, Special Forces Qualification Course, Ranger School, Jumpmaster School, Basic Military Mountaineering Course, and the Advanced Special Operations Techniques Course. SFC Moses' awards and decorations included the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and Army Achievement Medal. His decorations included the Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, and Parachutist Badge.

Today, we pay our respects and honor the life of Frederic Nicolas ``Nic'' Moses. His dedication to his job and fellow soldiers was unquestionable and unwavering. A hero to many, the community of St. Charles, and all who have served with him, will miss him.

To his family, we offer our prayers and gratitude for providing the world a great young man who made a positive impact on not only his community, but communities around the world.

I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring the life of Nicholas Moses.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 127, 128 and 129, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present I would have voted ``aye'' on all three.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 130, 131, 132 and 133, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present I would have voted ``aye'' on all four.

Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 134, 135, and 136, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on all three.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 137 and 138, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 137 and ``aye'' on rollcall No. 138.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 127 and 128, I would have voted ``yes.''

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 111 and 112, I was delayed and unable to vote. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on both.