Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, before I start my remarks, I want to pay respect and gratitude to the gentleman from Michigan who served with my father for a number of years, and also has been a friend to me.

Mr. Dingell, you are an example of what is good about the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, in my remaining time, I want to speak about a serious problem in my opinion, and that is the fact that chaplains in the American military, those who happen to be of the Christian faith, have been told they cannot use the name Jesus Christ when they pray outside of the church.

Mr. Speaker, I would be on this floor tonight if this were a Jewish rabbi or if it were a Muslim chaplain in the United States military.

Mr. Speaker, 72 Members of the House have sent a letter to the President. This is the first sentence. ``Mr. President, we are disappointed and gravely concerned to learn that the Christian military chaplains are under direct attack and that their right to pray according to their faith is in jeopardy.''

Mr. Speaker, I spoke to a Navy chaplain, and in the last 3 years, I have talked to hundreds of chaplains who have conveyed to me the fact that they are being told outside of their church they cannot pray their faith, and I think this is a tragedy, particularly in our military.

About 10 months ago I spoke to a Navy chaplain in Hawaii who told me he is a Methodist. He told me ``Congressman, let me tell you what happened. I was praying at a service to remember Marines who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. When I finished my prayer, I prayed in the name of Jesus Christ, our savior.''

Mr. Speaker, he told me, about an hour and 15 minutes later, he got a call from a Marine major who reminded him, in those kind of settings, you cannot pray in the name of Jesus Christ, and please in the future do not do so.

He was so upset, Mr. Speaker, he went to a friend of his who happens to

be a Jewish chaplain, and he said to his Jewish chaplain friend, ``Chaplain, do I offend you when I pray in the name of Jesus Christ?''

The Jewish chaplain said, ``No, you do not. This is your faith and your tradition and you should pray in the name of your savior.'' This came from a Jewish chaplain.

Mr. Speaker, to me this is a very tragic situation. We are asking the President, as Commander-in-Chief, to use his constitutional authority to call up the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and say, Mr. Secretary, I am Commander-in-Chief and I am asking that you protect the first amendment right of all of our chaplains, whether they be Muslim, Jewish or Christian.

As I begin to close, let me just read a letter that I received from an Army major who is a chaplain. This was last year.

``Dear Congressman Jones:

Thank you for your interest in ending the religious persecution that exists in our military today. I am a chaplain in the United States Army, and I can tell you in all honesty that religious persecution is taking place in the Army on a daily basis. The persecution centers on Christian chaplains praying in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.''

Mr. Speaker, I want to make it clear tonight that if we do not protect the right of our chaplains in the military; and I have spoken to many, almost 200 as I said just a few minutes ago, that are telling me that they are being encouraged not to pray outside of the church in the name of their religion and their faith; there is something wrong with that.

We are going to do a news conference tomorrow and ask the President to please protect the first amendment right of our Muslim, Jewish and our Christian chaplains, and I will tell you that the American Center for Law and Justice, ACLJ, they have over 158,000 signatures from people around this country asking the President to use his constitutional authority to protect the first amendment rights of all of our chaplains.

With that, I want to say to the gentleman from Michigan, congratulations, you are a great man and a great patriot. And I close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform, and God please bless and hold in his arms those who have given their life dying for this country, and I ask God to please bless America, and continue, God, to show us the light that we might save this great Nation and do what is right in your eyes.

Mr. Speaker, recently I had the honor to meet an amazing young man from North Carolina, his name is Acton Archie. I wanted the opportunity to not only congratulate Archie, but to tell you about his life.

Too often we hear about the bad choices young people make and the decisions that lead them down a path to nowhere. Fortunately, Acton Archie made the right decisions, despite unimaginable obstacles, which has led him down the right path.

Growing up in Charlotte, Acton moved from one public housing development to another, he moved 12 times in 12 years. His father was murdered when he was just a child and his mother struggled with drug addiction. By 9th grade, Acton rarely attended school; he was surrounded by crime and drugs. He was on the verge of dropping out of school altogether when he was introduced to Communities in School, a program that helps young people successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life. Acton credits his grandmother, his strong faith in God and Communities in Schools for literally saving his life.

Acton not only finished high school, he graduated with a 3.8 GPA. He then went on to attend North Carolina State University where he recently graduated with a degree in Business Management. He will soon begin a career as a business analyst with the world's largest privately held software company.

Ten years ago, if someone would have told Acton that he would achieve so much, I doubt he would have believed them, but the wonderful thing is that he has achieved so much. I am certain even greater things are yet to come for this young man.

I would like to congratulate Acton Archie for his achievements, but I also want to congratulate Acton for the tremendous courage he has shown in overcoming barriers in his life. This young man is truly an inspiration to me, and I know he is an even greater inspiration to young kids who feel trapped by their situation in life.

May God Bless Action Archie and all who continue to overcome roadblocks in their lives to achieve what might have been seen at one time as the ``Impossible Dream.''

Thank you, Acton Archie.

Mr. Speaker, as I am on the floor tonight, I think about the great history of this country and the fact that this Nation was founded by people of faith; and yet in this great Nation today, our chaplains in the military are being told if they should be of the Christian faith that they cannot outside of their church pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

Mr. Speaker, to me this is very alarming when we have a President, President Bush, who is a man of faith, who went to China and criticized the Chinese, or at least encouraged the Chinese, to allow the Chinese to have more religious freedom.

This never seemed to be a problem until about 1998. For whatever reason, those in the leadership of the chaplain corps of the military decided that they needed to encourage those of faith, particularly the Christian faith, not to pray in the name of Jesus Christ outside of the church.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say I would be on the floor tonight if this were happening to the Jewish chaplains, to the Muslims chaplains in the military. I would be on the floor defending their first amendment right because that is exactly why our men and women in uniform are in Iraq and Afghanistan, to defend freedom; and yet within this country we are having our chaplains being denied their freedom to pray in the name of their faith.

Mr. Speaker, 72 of us have written a letter to the President of the United States, three Senators have joined us, and we have asked the President to please use his executive authority as Commander in Chief to say that as long as I am Commander in Chief that I will guarantee that the chaplains in this great military will have their first amendment rights protected, whether they be Muslim, Jewish, or Christian. Mr. Speaker, I include this letter for the Record.

Congress of the United States,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, October 25, 2005.

President George W. Bush,

The White House,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. President: We are disappointed and gravely

concerned to learn that the Christian military chaplains are

under direct attack and that their right to pray according to

their faith is in jeopardy. As you may know, the Air Force

leadership recently released proposed guidelines that will

restrict

how Air Force chaplains can pray, and if approved, those

guidelines may well be implemented throughout the entire DoD.

We believe that the Air Force's suppression of religious

freedom is a pervasive problem throughout our nation's Armed

Forces, and it has come to our attention that in all branches

of the military it is becoming increasingly difficult for

Christian chaplains to use the name of Jesus when praying.

There are currently no laws or regulations that prohibit

chaplains from praying according to their respective

denominations or different faiths, and we are deeply

concerned that chaplains are now being instructed on what to

say when they pray.

Throughout our nation's history, chaplains not only have

remained an integral part of our military, but they also have

always prayed according to their faith tradition; and

Christian chaplains have always been able to pray using the

name of Jesus. We believe that if Christian chaplains are

chosen to pray before a professional setting, then they--as

with the chaplain of any other faith--have a constitutional

right to adhere to the religious expressions of their faith.

Praying in the name of Jesus is a fundamental part of

Christian belief and to suppress this form of expression

would be a violation of religious freedom.

The current demand in the guidelines for so-called ``no-

sectarian'' prayers is merely a euphemism declaring that

prayers will be acceptable only so long as they censor

Christian beliefs. Current surveys in the military indicate

that upwards of 80 percent of soldiers identify themselves as

Christians, and such censorship of Christian beliefs is a

disservice not only to Christian chaplains, but also to the

hundreds of thousands of Christian soldiers in the military

who look to their chaplains for comfort, inspiration, and

support, just as our military soldiers of other faiths look

to the chaplains of their faith.

While some military members may find certain prayers to be

offensive and wrongly claim that they are not non-

pluralistic, we believe these restrictions raise

constitutional issues involving the Establishment. Free

Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment

(There are numerous other offensive provisions throughout the

proposed guidelines. including the onerous provision that

chaplains can only speak of their faith with officers--the

``peer to peer'' provision). Officially inhibiting or

defining what chaplains can and cannot say in effect

establishes an official religion and burdens our military's

chaplains' right of free speech.

We are requesting that you, as Commander and Chief, protect

by Executive Order the constitutional right of military

chaplains to pray according to their faith.

With deep concern,

Walter B. Jones, Sam Johnson, Joseph Pitts, John

Hostettler, Trent Franks, Joel Hefley, Scott Garrett,

Robert Aderholt, Virginia Foxx, Dave Weldon, J. Gresham

Barrett,Randy Neugebauer, Jo Ann Davis, Michael

Bilirakis, Frank R. Wolf, John Culberson, Henry Brown,

Melissa Hart, Steve Chabot, Louie Gohmert.

Jeb Hensarling, Virgil H. Goode, Jr., Rob Bishop, Darrell

Issa, Spencer Bachus, Michael E. Sodrel, Ron Lewis,

Steve King, W. Todd Akin, Robin Hayes, Donald Manzullo,

Marilyn Musgrave, Mark Souder, Mike McIntyre, K.

Michael Conaway, Jim Ryun, Charles W. ``Chip''

Pickering, J. Randy Forbes, Todd Tiahrt, Ron Paul.

Katherine Harris, Tom Price, Sue Myrick, Bob Beauprez,

Roger Wicker, Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, Jeff Miller,

Gil Gutknecht, Rodney Alexander, John Sullivan, Joe

Wilson, John R. Carter, Mike Rogers, Bob Inglis, Luis

Fortuno, Bobby Jindal, Michael Turner, Michael McCaul,

Wally Herger, C. L. ``Butch'' Otter, Michael C.

Burgess, Dan Burton, Phil Gingrey.

Mr. Speaker, a couple of other points and then I will start closing.

For 4 years I have heard from chaplains around this Nation in letter, meeting with them in person, by telephone, and they have told me just how concerned and disappointed they are that they do not have the freedom. Let me at this time read a letter from a marine major written to me in May of this year, getting ready to go to Iraq. He is in Iraq tonight, and I hope and pray that all of our men and women in uniform are safe.

He said: ``Dear Congressman Jones, I am a member of the military, and there is something that I think you should know.

``Before my last change of command, my chaplain came to me and asked if I minded if he mentioned Jesus in his prayer given at the start of the ceremony. I was surprised by the question since the prayer was for me and my family and we are Christian and we specifically desired he do so. He alluded to the fact that he and other chaplains have been asked not to mention Jesus Christ. This startles and frightens me that one's faith is being infringed upon even within our own military. I strongly believe in religious freedom, and I hope you understand my grave concerns about forces that would try to limit it.

``I hope you can find support to stop this intolerance that is creeping into all walks of life. Sincerely.''

This, again, is a marine major who is in Iraq fighting for freedom for the Iraqis and for those in Afghanistan.

Mr. Speaker, the last letter I want to make reference to is from a chaplain in the United States Army, and he wrote: ``Thank you for your interest in ending the religious persecution that exists in our military today. I am a chaplain in the United States Army, and I can tell you in all honesty that religious persecution is taking place in the Army on a daily basis. The persecution centers on Christian chaplains praying in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Additionally, I have personally been subject to heavy-handed intimidation by a senior chaplain.''

Mr. Speaker, there is story after story after story that I could share with the Members on the floor tonight, but because of time, I can only give those two situations. But this is a grave situation that we in Congress, like the young man tonight from California that was sworn in, Mr. Campbell, hold up our hand to protect the constitutional rights of the people of this great Nation. Please, Mr. Speaker, as I close, I ask that we in this Congress defend the first amendment right of all of our chaplains.

And I close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform and God continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, today my heart has ached more than it has in 12 years in being in the United States Congress. It has ached not because of this debate, because we should be having this debate, but not at this time of day, it should happen after the recess, but because the gentleman from Pennsylvania who I think is a great American, and it has hurt my heart that he has been under attack unfairly.

Surely anyone who has ever worn the uniform for this Nation should be able to express themselves. And if you have not worn the uniform, you should be able to express yourself. Our Armed Forces are in Iraq and Afghanistan tonight fighting for freedom.

Let me share with Members what James Webb, Secretary of Navy under Ronald Reagan and Vietnam veteran, wrote me when I joined my colleagues on the other side and the Republican side in voting for the House Resolution 55, bipartisan, he wrote me this letter, and I will read three sentences. ``When American citizens are being asked to war, it is their most basic right that the strategic issues be explained in clearly understandable terms. And if the endpoint cannot be clearly explained, there is, in fact, no really strategy.''

That is what Mr. Murtha is asking for. That is what Senator Feingold is asking for. That is what Walter Jones and Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich and Neil Abercrombie are asking: Tell us what the strategy is.

I close with this. It is so ironic that we are having this debate tonight because on April 9, 1999, Governor Bush criticized President Clinton for not having a strategy. This is his quote in the Houston Chronicle: ``Victory means exit strategy, and it is important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is.'' That is all we are asking for.

My last quote is from the New York Times on June 6, 1999. ``I think it is also important for the President to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.'' That is Governor Bush asking President Clinton. Tonight we are asking President Bush the same thing he asked President Clinton.

God, please bless our men and women in uniform; and please, God, bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this motion to instruct.

The American people want us to protect them from the terrorists--but the American people also want us to protect their liberties and constitutional rights from an overreaching government.

Our system of government is made up of checks and balances and this motion to instruct only expands these checks and balances.

A review every 4 years is the right action to assure American citizens that their civil liberties are protected.

Let me close with a quote attributed to Patrick Henry:

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to

restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to

restrain the government--lest it come to dominate our lives

and interests.

I ask that we restore the Senate's Sunsets in the Conference Report.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I might speak at this time.

Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor last week and read part of an article that appeared on October 23 in the article by Knight Ridder reporters about the Pentagon program costing taxpayers millions in inflated prices. I came to the floor and I reported that there was some reports that we were paying anywhere from $20 for a plastic ice tray that should cost about 89 cents. In addition to that, we were paying $81 for coffee makers that you can buy at a retail store for $29. In addition, I said that we were paying for a 5- cubic-foot refrigerator $27,000 that should cost about $3,000 or $4,000, and these are the kinds of refrigerators that are put on aircraft.

I wanted to report to the House tonight that I am extremely pleased. I wrote a letter to the chairman and ranking member, Chairman Duncan Hunter and Ranking Member Ike Skelton, and today we held hearings on this issue of inflated prices. I want to say that the hearing was attended by a fair number of those on the Armed Services Committee.

The witnesses, the Admiral and the Under Secretary that were there present, we were able to ask about these inflated prices. They explained this program that is called the Prime Vendor program. We talked about how it used to be when there were competitive prices, and now we have gone to where there is a middleman that works with the prime vendors.

From that, Mr. Speaker, the reason I wanted to come to the floor tonight is because I was so encouraged by the response of the chairman and the ranking member that next week we are going to bring the prime vendors to the committee to talk about these inflated prices.

Mr. Speaker, as I said today on the Armed Services Committee, there is one thing that the American people, maybe they do not follow us when we talk about deficits and debt and some of these other issues that are very important to the future of this Nation; but there is one thing they know, that if you are paying $20 for a plastic ice cube tray that you can buy for 89 cents, they know that is not right. I also said to those on the panel today that when you are paying $24,000 or $25,000 for a 5-cubic-foot refrigerator, the taxpayers know that is not a wise investment as well.

So tonight I want to give credit to the chairman and the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. It was a very informative hearing today that will lead to additional hearings next week. And what I am hoping will come from this is that the taxpayers will know that we do care about abuses and we do care about inflated prices.

We are going to get to the bottom of this, thanks to the leadership of Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton and the committee members, both Republican and Democrat. We are going to get to the bottom of this and we are going to be able to say to the taxpayers and to the reporters for Knight Ridder that wrote this article that we are going to see that wrongs are made right and we are going to do exactly what is in the best interests of the taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, before I close, I know that my friend from Texas and my friend from Illinois talked about those who serve in this Nation and who have given their lives. As I close this way all over my district, I will close this way tonight.

I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless their families. I ask God to please hold in his loving arms the families who have given a child, dying for freedom.

Mr. Speaker, on October 23, the Knight- Rider newspaper had a headline that said, ``Pentagon Program Costing Taxpayers Millions in Inflated Prices.'' I want to give a few examples, because, as we talk about budget resolution, budget cuts, or tax increases or whatever, if we just look at what is happening, and I am going to relay this to the House in just one moment, we ought to start looking at the inflated prices and what is going on at the Department of Defense. I am going to give examples.

The Pentagon is paying $20 apiece for ice cube trays that cost 85 cents. In other words, you can go to a retail store and you get a plastic ice tray and pay 85 to 90 cents, yet the Department of Defense is paying $20.

In addition, the Pentagon is now paying $81 apiece for coffee makers that were bought for years at just $29 from the manufacturer. So $81 now, and they were paying $29 for coffee makers.

A commercial 7-foot refrigerator that the general public can buy for a little more than $17,000, the Pentagon is paying nearly $33,000 for the same refrigerator, for a markup of 89 percent.

Mr. Speaker, I think about the tough decisions we are going to have to make here over the next few weeks, yet we are not even doing the oversight that should be done with the Department of Defense. Why, instead of using competitive bid contracting or buying directly from the manufacturers, is the Pentagon using middlemen who set their own prices and take the American taxpayers for millions of dollars?

Again, this is an investigative new report. The high prices are a result of a Defense Department purchasing program called ``prime vendor,'' started by the Defense Logistics Agency, known as DLA. This program, which eliminates competition, is used to speed up deliveries.

Defenders of the prime vendor program highlight the program's speed. Deliveries are fast, they say. However, critics indicate the advantages offered by prime vendors are overstated. Since competition is reduced, these prime vendors charge enormous prices for their services. More so, there are other government agents who have been eliminated that claim their services were just as fast and cheaper.

There needs to be an investigation into the prime vendor program to ensure that taxpayers are not being taken advantage of. And I say that, Mr. Speaker, for this reason. I have written the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), and I also wrote the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) of the oversight committee. We need to look into this.

We need to do what is right for the taxpayers. I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, when we have so much in the way of a debt and deficit in this Nation, the easiest thing we can do is look at the Department of Defense, and if they are paying $20 for an 89 cent ice tray, if they are paying $81 for a coffee maker you can buy for $29, we have a real serious problem.

I think in a bipartisan way we, as a House of Representatives, need to get together and ask those committee chairmen and the Speaker of the House to please look into this on behalf of the taxpayers of America.

As I close, Mr. Speaker, always on the floor of this House I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless their families and hold in his loving arms the families who have given a child to die for freedom, and I ask God to please continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my Special Order at this time.

Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform serve this Nation with great honor and distinction. Many give their lives for this country. It is for this reason I have introduced H.R. 3478, a bill to permit military families who receive the death gratuity to invest the full amount into certain tax-favored accounts.

Mr. Speaker, as the Members may know, a death gratuity is a $100,000 payment paid to survivors of servicemembers whose death resulted from combat-related circumstances. Current tax law limits the amount that recipients of the death gratuity can place in tax-preferred accounts such as Roth, IRA, Health Savings Accounts, Archer Medical Savings or Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. This legislation would change that to allow recipients to contribute up to the full amount of the gratuity payment to any one of those accounts.

Mr. Speaker, as the families of our fallen heroes try to put their lives back together, they need all the help they can get. They should not have to worry about saving the death gratuity to pay for health care, college, or other expenses and then have the government come in and tax the interest on that savings. This bill would help to ensure that that does not happen.

The need for this legislation, Mr. Speaker, was brought to my attention by Captain Michael Ceres, a constituent stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River. Captain Ceres, who just returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom, contacted my office and suggested that Congress institute this change to ease the burden on grieving military families.

Mr. Speaker, I am able to report that the Joint Committee on Taxation has scored this legislation at no cost, meaning that the actual cost of this proposal is less than $500,000 over 9 years.

We owe it to our fallen military heroes to expand the options of families who receive the death gratuity, families who have paid the ultimate cost with the loss of their loved one.

H.R. 3478 has also received the endorsement of The Military Coalition, a consortium of prominent national military and veterans organizations that represent more than 5.5 million members plus their families.

Mr. Speaker, 36 organizations support H.R. 3478. Let me just name a few: the Air Force Association, AMVETS, Association of the United States Army, Marine Corps Reserve Association, National Guard Association of the United States, Naval Reserve Association, United Armed Forces Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and many others.

And, Mr. Speaker, let me also say that we have bipartisan support for this legislation already, and I will insert into the Record those groups that do support this legislation.

The Military Coalition,

Alexandria, VA, October 26, 2005.

Hon. Walter Jones, Jr.,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Jones: The Military Coalition (TMC), a

consortium of nationally prominent military and veterans

organizations, representing more than 5.5 million members

plus their families and survivors, is writing to express our

strongest support for H.R. 3478. This bill would allow

military survivors additional savings options for the

increased death gratuity amounts first authorized in the

FY2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act and expected

to be permanently authorized in the FY2006 National Defense

Authorization Act.

The new $100,000 death gratuity provides greatly improved

compensation for the military survivors and their families.

H.R. 3478's provision to allow survivors to invest death

gratuity lump sums in Roth IRAs and certain other savings

accounts is a logical extension of efforts to increase

protections and benefits for military widows and their

families.

The Military Coalition thanks you for introducing this

legislation and for your leadership on issues affecting all

servicemembers and their families. We pledge our strong

support in seeking enactment of this important legislation.

Sincerely,

The Military Coalition:

Air Force Association.

Air Force Sergeants Association.

Air Force Women Officers Associated.

American Logistics Association.

Mr. Speaker, in this letter from the Coalition, they wrote: ``The new $100,000 death gratuity provides greatly improved compensation for the military survivors and their families. H.R. 3478's provision to allow survivors to invest death gratuity lump sums in Roth IRAs and certain other savings accounts is a logical extension of efforts to increase protection and benefits for military widows and their families.

``We pledge our strong support in seeking enactment of this important legislation.''

Mr. Speaker, today, I call upon my colleagues to support H.R. 3478 to expand the options of our military families whose loved ones have given their lives in the name of freedom and in the defense of our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform who have lost ones, and I ask God to please bless America.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, October 28, 2005, I had an engagement in North Carolina and missed two rollcall votes. I ask that my absence be excused, and that the Congressional Record show that had I been present:

For rollcall No. 555, I would have voted ``no''; and for rollcall No. 556, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, last month, 10,500 North Carolinians lost their jobs. Many of those jobs were in the manufacturing sector. Why? Misguided trade policies like ``Most Favored Nation'' trade status for China, Trade Promotion Authority, and an explosion of free trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA.

It appears this administration wants to eliminate more U.S. manufacturing jobs by signing another free trade agreement, this one with the low-wage countries such as Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. This agreement is called AFTA, Andean Free Trade Agreement. It is being negotiated as we speak.

In addition to eliminating U.S. jobs, AFTA is likely to increase the amount of cocaine coming into this country. U.S. negotiators are pushing the Colombians to agree to provisions that will force many of their poor farmers into cocaine production. That cocaine will undoubtedly come flooding into American neighborhoods. I urge my colleagues to look into this issue, because if there is one thing this country does not need, it is a new trade agreement that exports U.S. jobs and increases imports of deadly drugs.

Mr. Speaker, I think too many times we in the Congress try to do what we think is right, but when it comes to sending jobs down to Central America or to China or other countries, it is not good for the American workers.

Mr. Speaker, with that, tonight I am going to close by asking the American people to please remember our men and women in uniform who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, to please remember the families who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 2290.

Mr. Speaker, on vote No. 450 regarding adoption of the Conference Report on H.R. 2361--the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006--my vote was recorded in a manner inconsistent with my intent. Let the Record show that my vote should have been recorded as ``yea'' not ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding me this time, and I am pleased and honored to be here to say it is time to defeat CAFTA.

This is not what we need for American workers nor what we need for those in Central America. I come from North Carolina, and I want to be on the floor tonight to speak on behalf of those 200,000 North Carolinians that lost their jobs because of NAFTA. I want to be on the floor to speak on behalf of the 2.5 million American workers that lost their jobs because of NAFTA.

NAFTA has been a failure for the American worker. Proponents of NAFTA promised that agreement would reduce illegal immigration in this country. Since then, 1993, Mr. Speaker, illegal immigration is up 350 percent. It does not work. CAFTA is NAFTA's ugly cousin. In fact, 85 percent of what is in the CAFTA bill is in the NAFTA bill. It is a cousin that is not very attractive at all.

Mr. Speaker, let me share with you and those on the floor tonight that I received a letter written to every Member of Congress from seven legislators, seven legislators from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. Seven of these representatives, elected like we are by the people of those countries to speak out, have said that the CAFTA market has fewer than 9.2 million people who can buy U.S. goods. They say that this should be defeated.

Just a couple more points, Mr. Speaker. I want to quote from this letter: ``Our countries want trade, but trade agreements like CAFTA that limit the possibilities for our countries to enact policies that will truly develop our economies and improve the lives of our people.'' This CAFTA bill will not help the people in Central America and will not help them in this great Nation of America.

I want to take one more moment, and then I will close. I think how sad it is that we have lost so many manufacturing jobs in this country. How can a Nation remain strong without a strong manufacturing base? I want to close by putting this out on the floor. How sad would it be if 15 years from now we have to order our tanks and planes from China, and then drape the coffins of our heroes who have died from this country with flags that say ``Made in China,'' or ``Made in Honduras.''

Let us defeat this evil bill called CAFTA.

Mr. Speaker, I am back on the floor tonight to speak in opposition to CAFTA.

First I want to talk about my State of North Carolina. Of course I was not here in the Congress when the Congress passed NAFTA about 1992, and it was in effect in 1993. But let me tell you briefly what happened to North Carolina. First of all, we lost approximately 200,000 jobs in about a 10- to 12-year period of time. We also as a Nation lost about 2.5 million jobs.

CAFTA is the ugly cousin of NAFTA. That is all you can say about it. NAFTA and CAFTA are cousins, and actually CAFTA is about 85 percent of what NAFTA is. So therefore, I hate to say it, but CAFTA is the ugly cousin.

Let me also say that during that period of time, that prior to NAFTA, we had a surplus with Mexico, and now we have a deficit with Mexico. So now let me also share with you, Mr. Speaker, that prior to NAFTA, and then since NAFTA, we have had a 350 percent increase of illegal aliens coming to America since NAFTA became the law of the land. It did nothing to keep the Mexican workers down in Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to take just a few minutes of my time, I know it is very limited, to tell you that last night on the floor of the House, I submitted completely for the Record, from the countries of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, elected officials of those countries asked me last week at the interfaith conference of Protestants, Catholics, and a Jewish rabbi who are opposed to CAFTA to submit this, and I was glad to do it, so I submitted this for the Record in its entirety, but tonight for the last 2 or 3 minutes of my time, I want to read just certain points of what those people in the Central American countries are saying.

We know what it is doing to American workers, which is not good for the American workers, but let me share this with you very quickly. First of all, these are some points they made in this letter. These are elected officials from these Central Americans countries that said no to CAFTA.

First of all, let me read this: CAFTA will only lead to more social instability in the region as more medium and small farmers will lose their livelihoods and become part of the poor population numbers. CAFTA will only lead to more migration to the United States as more people are unable to make a living working in the rural areas and the job perspectives in the cities do not improve.

The 20 million people who are currently poor and those that will be further displaced will turn to immigration to the United States as the only solution to their economic problems.

Again, this is from the elected leaders of these countries that have asked me to submit this, and they have written every Member of Congress; not just me, but everyone else.

Two or three other points very quickly. These seven elected officials as legislative representatives of the region, who represent a diverse perspective of political views, we respectfully ask you to vote no on CAFTA. In addition, they say that the opposition keeps growing all throughout the region, because this treaty threatens to weaken the already vulnerable democratic institutions that were created during the long conflicts of the 1980s.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, and then I will close, CAFTA is a bad trade deal because it puts the interests of international corporations ahead of the welfare of the working poor and the poor in Central America. If CAFTA is approved, this social instability that CAFTA supporters like to use as a reason for approving this agreement will come not from the outside forces, but from the pressures created by the millions of displaced workers who will fall further into poverty.

Mr. Speaker, I must say tonight in closing that we in this Congress should do what is right for the American people, and that is to defeat CAFTA and go back to the negotiating table and do what is right for the American workers and do what is right for the people in Central America, and then we will do what the Bible says, and that is to help each and every one that needs to be helped.

God bless America. Thank you.