Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 6 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, May 31, 2012, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, two years ago I had the privilege to be on the House floor to bring tribute to a wonderful woman, Mrs. Juanita Worsley Williams, to acknowledge and celebrate her 98th birthday. I come again today to honor this lady on her 100th birthday on May 18, 2012.

Obviously, Mr. Speaker, there are many, many older Americans to celebrate, but this lady is special to me because she was with her husband, Dr. Williams, when he delivered me 69 years ago.

My father, the late Congressman Walter Jones, Sr., and my mother were very close with Mrs. Williams and her husband. My sister

and I were close friends with the Williams children as we grew up. In a small town like Farmville, NC, everyone knows each other and my unique relationship with the Williams family has always been very special to me.

On the 19th of May, Mrs. Williams' family and friends will attend her birthday celebration. It will be a celebration of the 100 years of a lady with a strong religious faith who loves her family and community.

What Juanita Williams has given to the Town of Farmville is hard to measure, but her deeds speak for themselves: church service, Girl Scouts, Daughters of the American Revolution, Children of the American Revolution, Meals on Wheels, and much more.

This is a lady who gives more than she receives. Thank God for Mrs. Juanita Williams and may He continue to bless her, her family and these United States.

I thank the gentleman from Connecticut.

I want to say to both parties, he is exactly right. I have Camp Lejeune Marine Base in my district. The last 4 years I've met two different times with Marine husbands and wives and their children with autism. It is a serious problem. And as Mr. Larson has said, this was fixed, but somewhere along the way the communication breaks down, like it does too often here in Washington.

As Mr. Larson said, let's try to fix this problem today. Let's get it in the base bill. Let's send it over to the Senate on behalf of all of our men and women in uniform and the families who have children with autism.

Please, God, let us fix this for those families.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts.

I want to start my comments with his close. As he closed with the quoting of President Eisenhower, I would like to begin my comments by quoting President Eisenhower. When he was leaving office, he said, ``Beware the industrial military complex.''

Madam Speaker, it doesn't make any sense when our kids are dying or losing their legs that we're going to have a 20-minute debate on Afghanistan. We ought to be having a full day of debate on Afghanistan, quite frankly. We've spent $1.3 trillion in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Over 6,400 Americans have died. That's why I rise with my friend Mr. McGovern.

I will tell you that I will vote against the rule today because it denies the American people a full debate on why our young men and women are dying for a corrupt leader named Karzai. Madam Speaker, we can't even audit the books in Afghanistan. I think about the fact of those marines I saw recently at Walter Reed over in Bethesda. Two had lost both legs. They're from my district, Camp Lejeune. One was a lance corporal who lost one leg.

He said to me, Congressman, why are we still in Afghanistan? I said, Sir, I don't know. With friends from both sides, I'm trying to get you out of Afghanistan.

But, no, we're going to stay there because we won't even take the time to debate Afghanistan on this bill. It doesn't make any sense.

I took the McGovern amendment, and I sent it to my adviser, who is a former commandant of the Marine Corps.

I said to him, Mr. Commandant, what do you think about this approach by Mr. McGovern and myself? He emailed me back and said, You're on track. Bring it up and debate it in the House.

And we can't even do that.

Let me quote a Special Operations officer in Afghanistan today-- today. He emailed this to me yesterday:

If you ask me if it's worth one American life to build

governance here in Afghanistan, I would say ``no.''

They're on the ground, Madam Speaker. They're on the ground and are fighting for this country. This week, we lost seven American lives in Afghanistan. We owe it to them to at least debate a realistic future course for the war. What we are doing today and tonight and tomorrow is not realistic because there are those in this House of Representatives, for whatever reason, who want to stay there 15 years and 20 years. That's why we today owe it to the men and women in uniform, to the families who have kids who have died and, really, more so, Madam Speaker, to the kids who came back with their legs gone.

I've seen five kids at Walter Reed that have no body parts below their waist, and they're living and they will live.

We owe it to the American people to debate the future course in Afghanistan, and I'm sorry that many on my own side will not allow this amendment to get to the floor so we can have an honest debate and we can say to the American people we care about your $10 billion, we care about your sons and daughters, and it's time to stop sending them to give their life for nothing in Afghanistan.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following letter to the editor of the NY Times that was published on 24 April 2012. The letter was written by noted constitutional lawyer, Mr. Bruce Fein, Esq. It talks about the unchecked power the office of the President of United States has acquired since WW II.

[From the New York Times, April 27, 2012]

A History of the Expansion of Presidential Power

(By Bruce Fein)

The unilateral actions of President Obama in the domestic

arena to circumvent Congress are more than matched by the

president's unilateralism in foreign affairs. Among other

things, President Obama has unilaterally commenced war,

authorized the assassination of American citizens abroad and

denied the writ of habeas corpus to detainees not accused of

a crime.

Executive branch power at the expense of Congress and the

Constitution's checks and balances has mushroomed since World

War II. Examples include President Truman's undeclared war

against North Korea; President Eisenhower's executive

agreements to defend Spain; President Johnson's Gulf of

Tonkin Resolution regarding Vietnam;

President Nixon's secret bombing of Cambodia and assertions

of executive privilege; President Clinton's undeclared war

against Bosnia; and President Bush's countless presidential

signing statements, Terrorist Surveillance Program,

waterboarding and Iraq war.

The Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war

because the president is inclined to aggrandize executive

power when faced with conflict or danger. As James Madison

wrote to Thomas Jefferson: ``The constitution supposes, what

the History of all Governments demonstrates, that the

Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and

most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care vested

the question of war in the Legislature.''

The steady escalation of unchecked presidential power has

transformed the Republic whose glory was liberty into an

empire whose glory is perpetual war and domination.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Congressman Dan Benishek be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 4103.

Offered By: Mr. Jones

Amendment No. 30: Page 101, after line 10, insert the

following new section:

Sec. 542. None of the funds made available by this Act may

be used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration for magicians or comedians.

Offered By: Mr. Jones

Amendment No. 31: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

I am coming to the floor again to clear the names of two marine pilots who crashed in Arizona April 8, 2000. Not only two pilots, but there were 17 marines in the back.

The V 22, which is the plane that goes from a helicopter mode to a plane mode, at that time was really an experimental plane. Major Gruber and Colonel Brow in the cockpit had no idea of what was happening when the plane went into what's called ``vortex ring state.''

I would like to go through this 10-year journey for the record, Mr. Speaker.

It so happened that in November 2002, Major Gruber's wife, who lives in my district in Jacksonville, North Carolina, wrote me a letter that I would like to read. Her husband, Brooks Gruber, was the copilot.

I contact you in hopes that leaders of integrity, free of

bias, would have both the intelligence and the courage it

takes to decide the facts for themselves. If you do that, you

will agree the ``human factor/pilot error'' findings should

not stand as it is in the marine military history. Again, I

respectfully ask for your support. Please do not simply pass

this matter along to General Jones without offering the

support my husband and his comrades deserve. Please remember,

these 19 marines can no longer speak for themselves. And I

certainly am not afraid to speak for them and I believe

someone has to. Even though it's easier to put to rest and

forgotten, please join me in doing the right thing by taking

the time to address this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, on March 9 of this year, The Hill magazine--and I would like to thank a new young man on the staff named Jeremy Herb, who did an article in the magazine about this 10-year journey that started with Connie Gruber's letter to me.

Mr. Speaker, over the 10-year journey, I have spoken to many, many experts. One that I would like to quote today for the Record is a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Phil Coyle, and he states: Major Gruber should not be blamed for an accident caused by loss of lift due to the aircraft entering ``vortex ring state,'' a phenomena which no one in the Marine Corps adequately understood in relation to the Osprey at the time of the accident.

Secretary Coyle further states: Not only did the Marine Corps not understand Osprey performance under VRS, the root cause of the accident, but neither did the contractor nor the Marine Corps had not tested the aircraft near VRS--vortex ring state--conditions, something which, following the accident, it later took the Marine Corps years to accomplish. Surely Major Gruber and Colonel Brow could not be blamed for something that the Marine Corps, itself, did not grasp until years after the accident and after the death of the 19 marines. Considering that it was ignorance on the part of the Marine Corps that caused the April 2000 accident, the Marine Corps should make it clear to the Gruber and Brow families, with no ifs, ands, or buts, that Gruber and Brow were not responsible for the accident.

He further stated: I don't suppose the Marine Corps ever apologizes, but considering that the accident was their fault and not Major Gruber's and Colonel Brow's fault, an apology to the family would be in order also.

Mr. Speaker, I read that because this 10-year journey--and I will continue to add names in the next few minutes of people trying to help me. These two marines were the very best of the pilots, Major Brooks Gruber and Colonel John Brow. They gave their life for this new plane known as the V 22 Osprey. And those young marines sitting in the back, 19, 21, 23, 24, and 25, were selected from other marines to sit in the back of that plane. Those in the Marine leadership that created the mission in Arizona should join me in clearing the names of these two pilots.

Mr. Speaker, I further read for the Record, a former adviser to the Secretary of Defense, Rex Rivolo, stated in a letter trying to clear these names, and I read:

The failure of the manufacturer, Bell-Boeing, and the Navy

to characterize the slow speed, high rate of descent handling

qualities of the V 22 through flight testing, to describe

them for the aircrew in the NATOPS, and to provide an

adequate warning system were the causes of the mishap--not

aircrew error.

With the passing of 10 years, and the future of the

aircraft now secure, I sincerely hope that the names of

Lieutenant Colonel Brow and Major Gruber can now be

exonerated and cleared for posterity. I strongly support any

and all measures to this end and request this letter be

included in any official record regarding the causes of the

MV 22 mishap at Marana, Arizona, on April 8, 2000, or any

resolution attempting to clear the names of Lieutenant

Colonel Brow and Major Gruber.

Mr. Speaker, what has been so ironic about this 10-year journey of everyone that was part of reviewing the accident, or maybe it was in the air like Lieutenant Colonel Jim Schaeffer who is joining this effort. Colonel Schaeffer was a friend of John Brow and Brooks Gruber, and Colonel Schaeffer was in a third airplane that night, a V 22, and he saw his friends and the 17 marines in the back flip, crash, and burn. And there is no reason that the Marine Corps will not give the wives what they're asking, and I'll explain that in just a moment, Mr. Speaker.

In this 10-year journey, Mr. Speaker, I've gotten to know the two attorneys, Jim Furman in Arizona, who defended the families of John Brow and Brooks Gruber before Bell-Boeing--it was a major suit--and then Brian Alexander in New York, who defended the 17 families of the marines sitting in the back of the plane. They have all joined in this effort to clear the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber.

Mr. Speaker, what is so ironic in their effort, Jim Furman and Brian Alexander, to see the names cleared, they have given letters to the commandant that clearly state there can be no future lawsuits. It has all been settled. There can be no more lawsuits.

I must say that along this journey, at one time I had the Marine Corps to take the findings of the experts and put it into the personnel jacket of Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber. But, Mr. Speaker, I knew at that time that was not enough because the press continues to put articles about the crash in Arizona, and they say pilot error, human factors.

The JAGMAN report, which was the official report that was written by and signed by Colonel Mike Morgan, Colonel Ron Radich and Major Phil Stackhouse--they were the three investigators sent from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to Arizona the day after the crash, and they were given the responsibility, Mr. Speaker, of determining what caused the crash. Mr. Speaker, in the JAGMAN report that I just made reference to, on Page 77, those three men that I just named wrote this:

During this investigation, we found nothing that we would

characterize as negligence or deliberate pilot error.

Mr. Speaker, all the two wives are asking the Marine Corps is a letter from the commandant on his stationery that clearly states one paragraph: Lieutenant Colonel John Brow, pilot, and copilot, Major Brooks Gruber, were not at fault for the accident that occurred on April 8 of the year 2000.

Mr. Speaker, the three investigators have joined in this effort, and I'd like to read from retired Lieutenant Colonel Ron Radich, one of the three investigators that I just named:

Despite the fact procedures were in the NATOPS for vortex

ring state, there was no discussion concerning the aircraft

flight characteristics during high rates of descent at slow

airspeeds. No mention was made of a possible asymmetric

condition that could lead to an uncontrolled and

unrecoverable situation. With no knowledge, training, or

warning concerning the possible consequences of VRS, the

pilots of Nighthawk 72 were essentially on their own in

unchartered territory.

These two pilots did not know what was happening, and it was the fault of Bell-Boeing and the Marine Corps. He further stated:

It was through their misfortune that the MV22 VRS hazard

was identified.

Because of the accident, they learned so that nothing like this would ever happen again to a pilot. Colonel Radich further stated:

The Marana mishap of April 8, 2000, represents a monumental

discovery that enhanced the overall safety and effectiveness

of this highly capable weapon system. May the marines of

Nighthawk 72 rest in peace knowing that the ultimate

sacrifice they made for their country also led to a critical

advancement in V22 safety and capability, and overall

readiness of the United States Marine Corps. My thoughts and

prayers go out to the families who continue to cope with the

loss of their loved one and search for some form of closure.

Mr. Speaker, I further would like to add some comments from Lieutenant Colonel Mike Morgan. Again, he was the lead investigator of this crash that happened in Arizona. And I read:

I applaud and fully support the extraordinary effort you

have undertaken in support of John Brow, Brooks Gruber, and

the families who lost loved ones in the tragic crash of

Nighthawk 72. One merely needs to look at what has transpired

in the years since this tragic accident. After a second MV22

crashed just 8 months later, a blue ribbon panel closely

examined the MV22 program. NAVAIR also aggressively pursued a

test program to understand VRS and develop safety measures to

educate and protect future MV22 pilots from the dangers. This

was such a monumental undertaking that the lead developmental

test pilot, Mr. Tom McDonald, was awarded the Society of

Experimental Test Pilots Kinchloe Award for outstanding

professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing.

Colonel Morgan further states:

John Brow and Brooks Gruber did their job and did it well.

I look forward to the day when DoD officials accurately

recognize the sacrifice made by them and all the marines of

Nighthawk 72.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to read the third letter from the third investigator, Major Phillip Stackhouse. It states:

I do not believe that it would be a surprise to anyone that

it is in my opinion the mishap was not a result of pilot

error, but was the result of a perfect storm of

circumstances. During the conduct of the investigation, we

collected some 20 binders of evidence--including, among other

things, maintenance records, training records, telemetry

records, operational and testing records, and dozens of

photographs.

I do not feel that our investigation reflects that the

mishap was a result of pilot error and if the investigation

was interpreted that way, it was misinterpreted. For any

record that reflects the mishap was the result of pilot

error, it should be corrected. For any publication that

reflects the mishap was a result of pilot error, it should be

corrected and recanted.

Mr. Speaker, the problem has always been that after the JAGMAN report, which I just made reference to, if the Marine Corps in 2001, 2002 had issued a press release stating that new evidence has shown and proven that Colonel John Brow, pilot, and copilot Brooks Gruber were not at fault, Mr. Speaker, I wouldn't be on the floor today. But the Marine Corps has never, in a press release, corrected the misinformation that happened shortly after the Osprey crash when the Marine Corps' original press release indicated possible pilot error.

Mr. Speaker, that's why all these names that I have read today have joined me in asking the United States Marine Corps--who I have great respect for; they're among the best--to give the families, Connie Gruber and her daughter Brooks, to give Trish Brow and her two sons, Matthew and Mark, one letter on the commandant's heading on his stationery, clearly state to the Brow family that your husband, John Brow, a true American hero, was not responsible for the crash on April 8, 2,000. The same for Connie Gruber and her daughter Brooks down in Jacksonville, North Carolina, one paragraph with the same language that I just mentioned for Colonel John Brow, the same language for Major Brooks Gruber.

Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that as long as I have the privilege to serve in the United States Congress, and with all these experts that I've quoted today that are willing to join me, that the right thing must be done for the family, and the right thing is that letter from the commandant.

Mr. Speaker, I would not be the kind of person that I am without the faith that I have in my God. My mom and dad taught me the Bible. They taught me right from wrong, and they taught me that truth does matter. I have, with the help of God and the many experts, we have the truth. The truth is that these two outstanding pilots were put into an impossible situation without any training to understand how to react to vortex ring state. So, therefore, Mr. Speaker, we will continue to speak out on the floor of the House.

I have told the families that when this clarification comes through and their husbands are cleared, I would like to go with the Brow family to Arlington Cemetery and stand there with Trish, Matthew, and Mark and salute the colonel and say, Colonel, rest in peace. You're not blamed for this accident any longer.

I want to do the same thing with Connie Gruber down in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where her husband is buried. I want to walk with Connie and Brooks, and I want to stand at the grave and say the same thing to Major Gruber: Rest in peace. You no longer will be blamed for the accident on April 8, 2000.

Mr. Speaker, before closing, there's a quote that someone sent me in this 10-year journey to clear these names by Voltaire that says:

To the living we owe respect. To the dead we owe the truth.

That's what this is all about, Mr. Speaker, is the Marine Corps could issue one paragraph to the two families so that never again will they have to read in the paper the accident in Marana, Arizona, on April 8, 2000, was due to pilot error. Because as the families have said to me, help us get this clarification, and we will make sure that any print about the pilot error on April 8, we will ask and demand that it be retracted because it is not the truth.

I ask 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. I ask God to hold in

His loving arms the families who've given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I ask God to please bless the Brow family and the Gruber family. Bring peace to these families, God, by helping us get this misinformation corrected.

And I'll ask God to please bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people.

I will ask God to bless the President that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people.

And I'll ask three times, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, like my colleagues in the House, I was home for the last 2 weeks on our Easter break. It continues to amaze me why we in Congress do not listen to the American people.

I represent the Third Congressional District of North Carolina--the home of Camp Lejeune Marine Base, Cherry Point Marine Air Station, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and over 60,000 retired veterans. Not one person has said to me that we need to stay in Afghanistan. I'm not exaggerating, Mr. Speaker. Everyone I saw and had a conversation with, when the issue of Afghanistan came up, said, Get out. Get out now.

That's why I wanted to be on the floor today, because the administration keeps saying, Well, in 2014, in 2014.

Yesterday, when driving back to D.C., I was listening to C SPAN, and I heard an interview with Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey. I have a lot of respect for both men, but it was kind of vague when Secretary Panetta said to the reporter who asked him our plans for 2014, Well, you know, we're hoping that we can train the Afghans to stabilize their own country.

Mr. Speaker, I say this respectfully: That's an iffy proposition at best.

In a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, only 30 percent of the American people say the war has been worth fighting. The citizens of this country are tired of sending their loved ones to die for a country we have not been able to change in a decade. I'll even go further and say this: It has never changed in the history of Afghanistan going back to Alexander the Great. So why are we still there? Again, people say, Well, we've got to stabilize the country.

We can't even stabilize America's economy.

Sometimes it gets a little bit ridiculous when I look at all the money being spent overseas, particularly in a country like Afghanistan, and we say to the people of eastern North Carolina and to the people in the 50 States, We don't have money to fix your infrastructure; but yet, Mr. Karzai, you corrupt leader, we are proud to keep sending you $10 billion a month.

Talking about Mr. Karzai brings me to an editorial written by Eugene Robinson, a syndicated columnist, and it's titled, ``Afghanistan and Indefensible Costs.'' I feel that Mr. Robinson, who wrote this in 2010, could be writing it right now in 2012, and it would have even more meaning. I quote from Mr. Karzai:

The time has come to reduce military operations. The time

has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in

Afghanistan . . . to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily

Afghan life.

This is what President Karzai said to the Washington Post. In his column in 2010 that he could be writing today, in April 2012, this is what Mr. Robinson said in response to Karzai:

All right then. Let's save American lives and a ton of

money. Let's oblige him.

Mr. Robinson, thank you.

I hope and pray that this Congress, when we debate the DOD bill in May--and we have amendments from both sides saying that we must have a more defined end to this involvement in Afghanistan--that we will pass some of these legislative amendments.

Mr. Speaker, I've got so many of these posters. I've brought with me today one of a tragic scene of a soldier, marine, airman, Navy, whatever it might be, in a coffin, going to his or her grave. That brings me to my last point: the ``Body of War,'' which is a production by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro. I'm going to be talking more about this, because this young man is paralyzed from his breast down, and about what he has to go through to live. This Congress needs to meet its constitutional responsibility. Any other involvement by our country needs to be a declaration of war.

Mr. Robinson, thank you again.

And I close. God, please, God, please continue to bless our men and women in uniform, the families of our men and women in uniform, the wounded and their families. And God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

I, again, come to the floor to talk about a 10-year journey that I have been on with two wives whose husbands were tragically killed on April 8, 2000. The pilot was John Brow, lieutenant colonel, and the copilot was Brooks Gruber. They were flying what's known as an Osprey. I will hold this up, Mr. Speaker. The Osprey has been one of the planes that the Marine Corps for so long has needed to replace the aged helicopters from the Vietnam era.

The sadness and the problem was that the MV 22 at the time that it was being flown by Colonel Brow and Major Gruber was not ready for the mission it had been assigned to. Sadly, that night there were 17 young marines in the back of that V 22 that crashed on April 8 in Arizona. So a total of 19 marines were killed when the V 22 flipped and crashed and burned.

December of 2002, the wife of Major Brooks Gruber, Connie Gruber, who lives in my district, Jacksonville, North Carolina, the home of Camp LeJeune Marine Base, she sent me an email. And I want to read one paragraph:

I contacted you in hopes that leaders of integrity, free of

bias, would have both the intelligence and the courage it

takes to decide the facts for him/herself. If you do that,

you will agree the ``human factor/pilot error'' findings

should not stand as it is in military history. Again, I

respectfully ask for your support. Please do not simply pass

this matter along to General Jones without offering the

support my husband and his comrades deserve. Please remember,

these 19 marines can no longer speak for themselves. I

certainly am not afraid to speak for them, and I believe

somebody has to. Even though it is easier put to rest and

forgotten, please join me in doing the right thing by taking

the time to address this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, along the way, there have been so many people joining me in asking the Marine Corps to correct the press release that came out in July of 2000. And I will read from the press release:

Marine Corps Officials Say Combination of Factors Caused

Osprey Accident: Confirms that a combination of ``human

factors'' caused the April 8 crash of an MV 22 Osprey tilt-

rotor aircraft that killed 19 marines.

It further stated, Mr. Speaker:

Although the report stops short of specifying pilot error

as a cause, it notes that the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft

significantly exceeded the rate of descent established by

regulations for safe flight.

Commandant General Jones, who is now retired, stated:

The tragedy is that these were all good marines joined in a

challenging mission. Unfortunately, the pilots' drive to

accomplish that mission appears to have been the fatal

factor.

Mr. Speaker, that is so erroneous, it is painful for me to even repeat it on the floor of the House.

I have spent 10 years trying to clear the names of Pilot Colonel John Brow and his copilot Major Brooks Gruber. If you look at the JAGMAN report, this is the report that was completed by three marine officers who were sent the day after the accident to Marana, Arizona, to investigate. And they published what was called a JAGMAN report. I would like to read the major section that I think says clearly that John Brow and Brooks Gruber were not at fault:

During this investigation, we found nothing that we would

characterize as negligence, deliberate pilot error, or

maintenance/material failure.

During this investigation, we found nothing that we would characterize as negligence, deliberate pilot error.

Mr. Speaker, I want to further read because this plane was not ready for the mission that it was assigned to by General Fred McCorkle, who was the general that oversaw aviation for the Marine Corps at the time. In fact, I will read from an expert, Philip Coyle, who understands the issue involved with this plane. He wrote me a page and a half in his support of clearing the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber. And I will read one paragraph:

Considering that it was ignorance on the part of the Marine

Corps that caused the April 2000 accident, the Marine Corps

should make it clear to Major Gruber's family--with no ifs,

ands, or buts--that Major Gruber was not responsible for the

accident. I don't suppose the Marine Corps ever apologizes,

but considering that the accident was their fault and not

Major Gruber's, an apology to the family would be in order

also.

Another one of those individuals who has joined us in this effort to clear the names is Rex Rivolo, well known in the aerospace industry as an expert:

The failure of the manufacturer, Bell-Boeing, and the Navy

to characterize slow speed, high rate of descent handling

qualities of the V 22 through flight testing, the failure to

describe them for the aircrew in the NATOPS, and the failure

to provide an adequate warning system in the aircraft were

the causes of the mishap, not aircrew error.

Mr. Speaker, I reached out to the two attorneys who prosecuted, who filed suit against Bell-Boeing on behalf of the families. Jim Furman, himself a Vietnam helicopter pilot, was the attorney for the wives of John Brow and Brooks Gruber. Brian Alexander in New York and his associate Francis Young, they represented the 17 families whose sons were burned to death.

I'm not an attorney, Mr. Speaker, but I must say, knowing that Bell- Boeing settled for no one knows how much money because it is closed, but they settled with the families of the 19 marines who were burned to death. And Jim Furman has joined me in saying these two pilots had not been trained, there was no warning system. And, Mr. Speaker, the NATOPS manual is what pilots have between them that explains if you get into this kind of situation, you can read and see how to react. The NATOPS manual they had was written by an Army helicopter pilot, and nothing in there about vortex ring state, which is a phenomenon that can cause the plane, particularly a V 22, to flip. And Major Gruber and Colonel Brow had no idea.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to read comments from the attorney, Jim Furman:

If there was no human error, it was error for the program

manager to certify the aircraft as airworthy when clearly it

was not. Brow and Gruber found themselves in a position of

having to do what they were not trained or qualified to do.

Jim Furman further stated:

It was not the mission of the operations evaluation crew to

discover the new boundaries and limitations associated with

the V 22. Engineering test pilots, under appropriate test

conditions, should have done this. It is simply wrong and

improper to place this burden upon Gruber and Brow. They did

the best job they could have done under the circumstances.

Mr. Speaker, the wives, Connie Gruber and Trish Brow, are asking that the United States Marine Corps, on the letterhead of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, write one paragraph that says Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber, pilot and copilot, were not responsible for the accident on April 8, 2000.

I am very disappointed in the Marine Corps, quite frankly. I have Camp Lejeune Marine Base, New River Air Station, and Cherry Point Marine Air Station in my district. I'm not disappointed in the Marines and their magnificent fighting force for this country, but I never thought that I would be fighting for one paragraph with the United States Marine Corps.

These two pilots deserve better than having this blemish against their names.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many people that have joined in this. The three investigators, Colonel Mike Morgan, Colonel Ron Radich, and Major Phil Stackhouse, have given me letters independent of the JAGMAN report that have clearly stated that nothing in their investigation should indicate that this was pilot error. I have given this to the attorneys for the Commandant.

In addition, Jim Schafer, at the time a lieutenant colonel, was in the air in the third V 22. John Brow and Brooks Gruber were his friends. He's joined in this effort to clear their names.

It does not make any sense, Mr. Speaker, that the Marine Corps cannot do what has been asked by the wives. The wives have just asked for one paragraph that clearly states--and Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, the Marine Corps owes this to the families because they came out with this press release that I just read a moment ago, in 2000, and indicated that this was pilot error. They have seen all the information that I have accumulated in 10 years.

All the families are asking for their children. Connie Gruber has a little girl named Brooke. Trish has two boys, named Michael and Matthew. All they're asking is an official letter from

the United States Marine Corps that the children can have for years to come, and whenever it comes up that the crash on April 8, 2000, in Arizona, was pilot error, Mr. Speaker, they can say, No, that's not true. I have a letter from the United States Marine Corps Commandant that clearly states that my father was not at fault.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank The Hill magazine today. I'm sorry that I had to be featured in it, because the most important thing about the article--and I want to thank Jeremy Herb, who spent so much time on this article. He interviewed the Commandant; interviewed General McCorkle, who was the aviation chief at the time of this crash; and he interviewed the wives. Again, they clearly understand that if you want to bring rest to two outstanding marines who have been blamed for this crash, Mr. Commandant, all you have got to do is write a letter with one paragraph in it. The wives have given you what they request.

I'm calling on the United States Marine Corps today, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, to please do what is right. You have the evidence. The attorneys that sued Bell-Boeing over this accident know more than anyone, including the Commandant, about what happened and who was at fault.

Again, Jim Furman and Brian Alexander have joined in this effort. I hope that the Marine Corps will give the wives what they're asking for.

Mr. Speaker, if we can ever bring this journey to an end, I intend to go to the cemetery in Jacksonville, North Carolina, with Connie Gruber and her daughter Brooke, and I want to walk to the grave of the husband and the father and say, Major Brooks Gruber, Rest in peace. The blame game is over. You're not to blame for the accident.

And then, Mr. Speaker, I would like to go with Trish Brow and her sons, Matthew and Michael, to Arlington and say the same thing to Colonel Brow. Colonel, you have earned the rest. You did nothing wrong to cause that accident.

Mr. Speaker, it makes no sense that these wives and their children have had to carry this burden because, Mr. Speaker, too many times articles are written, books are written, that say one accident in the history of the Osprey was caused by pilot error. And they're talking about John Brow and Brooks Gruber, and they're talking about the accident in Arizona.

I give you one quick example, Mr. Speaker. A book called ``Leathernecks'' was published about 4 years ago. The father of Colonel Brooks Gruber is living. His name is Bill Gruber. He lives in Naples, Florida. He fought for this country as a marine in the Korean War. He's carried the pain of this blemish on his son's name.

He called me a couple of years ago. He knew what I was trying to do for the families. He called me here in Washington, D.C., about 2 years ago, and said, Congressman, they've done it again. I said, What's that, Mr. Gruber?

On page 113 of the new edition of ``Leathernecks'' they've got a section on the Osprey. They say one accident was due to pilot error.

Mr. Speaker, I'm a strong man of faith, and I prayed every night that God would touch the hearts of those who could make the decision to clear the names of Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber. And as long as I serve in the Congress, as long as I have the energy to fight for these two men, I will continue to fight until the Marine Corps does what is right. And what is right is to give Connie Gruber and Trish Brow an official letter with one paragraph on it. And we will ask that the Marine Corps issue a national press release that the commandant has done this so that the press in years to come will always be able to look at that press release by the Marine Corps and see that Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber, young men who died too early in their life, through no fault of their own, they were 17 young marines, the oldest being 23, in the back of the V 22 that crashed, that they are not at fault for this accident.

Mr. Speaker, as I do before I close, I ask God to please bless our young men and women in uniform and their families. I ask God to bless the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to please bless the families of John Brow and Brooks Gruber, and I ask God to touch the heart of the Marine Corps and the commandant to bring these two men's image to respect and not an image that is blemished by the accident. I ask God to bless my good friend sitting here and his family.

I ask God to bless everyone in America. I ask God to bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. And I ask God to please bless the President, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. And three times I will ask, God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Last week, in the Armed Services Committee, we had General Allen, who oversees our military effort in Afghanistan. I have the utmost respect for General Allen. In fact, General Allen's former boss in the Marine Corps had some very kind words to say about General Allen, which I read before I got into my questions.

I would today like to quote the former boss of General Allen, who's been my adviser on Afghanistan for 3 years, and I actually read these comments to General Allen before I got to my question:

Attempting to find a true military and political answer to

the problems in Afghanistan would take decades, not years,

and drain our Nation of precious resources, with the most

precious being our sons and daughters. Simply put, the United

States cannot solve the Afghan problem, no matter how brave

and determined our troops are.

Mr. Speaker, I keep hearing the term, well, we're going to probably be out sometime around 2014. Well, it's kind of like what many of us, including myself, are guilty of, and that is putting it down the road, putting it down the road, we'll deal with it in some time. But the problem is our young men and women are dying, getting killed and severely wounded by IEDs. I hope that Congress, when we get into May of this year and we start debating the Department of Defense bill, will bring up some amendments dealing with Afghanistan.

History has proven time and time again that no one, no nation will ever change Afghanistan. And it was kind of ironic that last week I just happened to be on the floor Thursday when Mr. Hoyer was asking Mr. Cantor, on our side, what is going to be the schedule this week, meaning today. And then Mr. Hoyer said to Mr. Cantor, well, why don't we bring up the Senate transportation bill? And I was just taken aback by Mr. Cantor's response. He said, ``We're just out of money.'' We're just out of money? And we're spending $10 billion a month in Afghanistan?

I don't understand the mathematics around here. We can't bring up a transportation bill, a 2-year bill, because we're just out of money. But, yet, Mr. Karzai, you can get your $10 billion a month and you can negotiate with the Taliban and take the $10 billion that we're borrowing from the Chinese to give to Karzai so they can buy weapons to kill the American soldiers and marines. It just does not make any sense.

Mr. Speaker, I have put together a resolution that I have asked the speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Thom Tillis, who is a great gentleman, to introduce in the May session of the North Carolina House asking the Congress to bring our troops home out of Afghanistan before the 2014 deadline. And I'm pleased to say that the Tea Party in my district, who doesn't agree with me on everything, does agree with me on Afghanistan. They have passed this resolution at their meeting a month ago. We need to start bringing our troops home now, not later.

Mr. Speaker, I've got beside me today--and I'm going to close in just a minute--a reminder of the cost of war--all the families who have cried with pain and all the children who have cried because their moms or their daddies are not coming home. So I have about 14 of these posters when I do these little 5-minute speeches I bring to the floor. This is the latest one. I saw it in the newspaper. It's very profound. It is time for the American people to say to the United States Congress, if you have no money and you can't fix the roads, then you have no money to send to Afghanistan to waste on a corrupt leader.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to close the way I normally do:

God, please bless our men and women in uniform; please bless the families of our men and women in uniform; please, God, bless the House and Senate that we will do what's right in the eyes of God for His people. I ask God to please bless the President of the United States, that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for His people. And I'll close three times by asking, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. Speaker, about 3 years ago I initiated a House resolution, and I was joined by many of my colleagues on the Democratic side as well as my friends on the Republican side. The resolution called on the Speaker of the House one time a month, at that time, Ms. Pelosi, that she would stand at the Speaker's stand and ask the Members of Congress to remember our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. I want to give her credit and thanks that she did it for the whole time that she was Speaker of the House.

After my party, the Republican Party became the majority, I wrote Speaker Boehner and asked him if he would continue that moment of remembrance of all of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, their families, and those who gave their life and those who were wounded.

I regret that I must say the last time we did this was December 16 of 2011. I intend to prepare a letter to Mr. Boehner and ask him, himself, not one time do I remember, maybe one time that he was in the Speaker's chair and he said the words of I thank you, those who have served and those who have given so much.

I don't know if it is just because the war is not on the front page, but last week two Army captains from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, who were trying to train the Afghans, were shot point-blank in their forehead and killed. We have lost 40 Americans who have been in Afghanistan trying to train Afghans to be police and soldiers; 40 have been killed by the trainees. And when you factor in the coalition troops trying to train the Afghans, 70 have been killed, including the 40 Americans.

We need to continue this process of remembering those who have given so much to our country because too many times we get so wrapped up with major issues like the debt, the deficit and jobs, and so many important things, but there is nothing more important than those young men and women over there in Afghanistan who are giving their limbs and their life.

I went to Walter Reed about 3 weeks ago and saw three Marines from my district, Camp Lejeune Marine Base. All three have lost both legs.

So I hope when we get back from the next break next week, again I intend to hand deliver a letter to the Speaker of the House, as I did a year ago, and I want the Speaker, himself, to stand at the Speaker's stand and read the words thanking our men and women in uniform for their service to our Nation and remembering the families who have given a child dying for freedom. I intend to follow through on this, and I hope friends on both sides of the aisle will join me in asking the Speaker to continue this recognition of those who have given so much.

With that, I will ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform; God, in His loving arms, hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for His people here in the United States of America. I will ask God to please bless the President of the United States that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people here in the United States. And three times I will ask, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Last week, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and I asked for a classified briefing on Afghanistan. Really, the only thing I can say about the briefing, because it was classified, is that I will continue to come to the floor and to say let's bring our troops home from Afghanistan.

Also last week, we had two Army officers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, who were in Afghanistan to train, and they were shot by the Afghan trainee at point blank range. This brings the

count to 42 Americans who have been killed in Afghanistan while working with the Afghans to train them to be police and soldiers. When you factor in how many coalition troops have been killed, along with the Americans, it's about 70. It is a totally impossible situation, as well as the fact that we continue to spend $10 billion a month there.

I have beside me, Madam Speaker, a poster from the Greensboro News- Record in Greensboro, North Carolina. The headline is ``Get Out,'' and there is an honor guard bringing a transfer case off the plane. The sad thing is that the day is on a Sunday in February 2011, and we're now in March of 2012. We continue to spend money that we cannot even account for. We send auditors to Afghanistan to try to account for the $10 billion a month that is being given to Mr. Karzai so he can lead Afghanistan--buy some new roads and camps, I guess--while our troops are losing their legs, their arms, and their lives in a war that should be ended now, not later. We will, during the debate on the DOD bill in May, continue to try to bring amendments to the floor to bring some sanity to this involvement in Afghanistan.

As I mentioned many times, a former marine commandant has been my adviser on Afghanistan, and he continues to talk about the fact that we are wearing out our military, the equipment, our manpower. Yet, there is a threat growing in the Pacific that we seem not to pay any attention to.

Recently, Jim McGovern and I and John Garamendi and some others met with Lieutenant Colonel Danny Davis. He is an active duty reservist who has been to Afghanistan. He returned just a couple of months ago, and had been over there for almost 10 months. He has written articles saying that the Congress in these hearings with the military leadership is not getting the straight talk that we need to hear. Too many times they use the words: Well, the training of the Afghans is going pretty well, but it's fragile, it's real fragile.

Well, I'd like to say it's real fragile. No, it's even worse than that. You cannot predict what is going to happen in the country of Afghanistan. We had two marines from my district, Camp Lejeune, the Marine base in the Third District that I represent, that were over there.

About 3 months ago, Sergeant Baldus and Colonel Palmer--Colonel Palmer being from Cherry Point Marine Air Station and Sergeant Baldus from Camp Lejeune, also, like these two Army officers--were training in Afghanistan. They were having dinner with the Afghan trainees, and that night one of the trainees stood up and shot and killed both of them.

This is not fair to the American soldier, marine, sailor, airman, Navy, whatever, to continue to be in Afghanistan 11 years after it started. The money that we're going to cut here in America of the senior citizens and the children who need programs to have a better quality of life, we are going to cut their programs, but we are going to keep spending $10 billion a month in Afghanistan. It makes no sense.

Madam Speaker, before I close, I would like to encourage every Member of Congress--who has the authority, should they want to implement that authority--to read the National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan that was published in 2011. It is classified, but every Member of Congress can take 1 hour--it's about 55 pages, I've read it--and read it. You need to read it, and then maybe you can help us make better decisions here on the floor about what in the world are we doing in Afghanistan spending Uncle Sam's money that he doesn't even have. He has to borrow his money from the Chinese to pay Karzai.

Where does that make any sense? The American people do not think it makes any sense.

We did a teletown hall about a month ago, and 66 percent of thousands of people that were on that call said bring our troops home now. Now, I realize that's the Third District of North Carolina, the home of Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point Marine Air Station and New River.

Madam Speaker, I do want to close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform and ask God to continue to bless America.

Madam Speaker, thank you very much.

I was elected in 1995. Shortly after being sworn in, I was appointed to the Armed Services Committee. In my district of eastern North Carolina, we have Camp Lejeune Marine Base, Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, New River Marine Corps Air Station, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

At the time, I was familiar with the Marine Corps' desire and need to have the MV 22 Osprey. The Osprey is the plane that can go from a helicopter mode to a plane mode. I realized it was at that time very controversial. In fact, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney was opposed to the plane's ever becoming a reality, and as a Member of Congress I was very supportive. I was a new Member, obviously, and I was very much supportive.

Madam Speaker, I am just going to hold up for a moment what the Osprey looks like, which is the plane I was just describing. It is an unusual-looking bird, but the Marine Corps believes it's what it definitely needs to complete its mission of serving this great Nation.

On April 8 of the year 2000, a tragedy happened in Marana, Arizona. Colonel John Brow, who is to my left on this poster, was the pilot; and the copilot was Major Brooks Gruber. That night, 19 marines on a mission at Marana, Arizona, on Night Hawk 72, which was being piloted by Brow and copilot Gruber, flipped and crashed and burned, and 19 marines were killed. It was a very tragic, tragic happening, a very tragic night.

The wife of Major Brooks Gruber contacted me and asked me if I would please look into the fact that the Marine Corps had issued a press release, and I'm going to just touch on this very briefly.

The Marine Corps officials say that a combination of factors caused the Osprey accident. A report released by Marine Corps officials today confirmed that a combination of human factors--and that's a problem, Madam Speaker, those words ``human factors''--caused the April 8 accident. General Jones replied: ``Unfortunately, the pilots' drive to accomplish that mission appears to have been the fatal factor.''

Madam Speaker, again, from Marine headquarters, they sent out this press release nationally and internationally. Therefore, people started believing that the pilots were somewhat responsible for the accident.

About a year later is when Connie Gruber contacted me, and I would like to read part of her email to me, December 10, 2002:

I contacted you in hopes that leaders of integrity, free of

bias, would have both the intelligence and the courage it

takes to decide the facts for him or herself. If you do that,

you will agree the ``human factor/pilot error'' findings

should not stand as it is in military history. Again, I

respectfully ask for your support. Please do not simply pass

this matter along to General Jones without offering the

support my husband and his comrades deserve. Please remember,

these 19 marines can no longer speak for themselves.

Madam Speaker, that email from Connie Gruber started a 10-year journey. From that journey I continued to reach out to experts, which I am no expert, Madam Speaker, at all. But I had to believe the wife of Brooks Gruber that she and Trish Brow, the wife of the pilot, Major John Brow, that they told me that their husbands have the right to rest in peace.

So, Madam Speaker, from that I would like to read some comments. Rex Rivolo wrote me this in the effort of trying to clear the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber:

I write in an attempt to help correct a great injustice

perpetrated on Lieutenant Colonel John Brow, United States

Marine Corps, and Major Brooks Gruber, United States Marine

Corps, in attributing the cause of the MV 22 mishap in

Marana, Arizona, on April 8, 2000, to aircrew error. At the

time of the mishap, I was the principal

analyst for the V 22 as a research staff member at the

Institute For Defense Analyses, a nonprofit organization

supporting the Department of Defense Office of Director of

Operational Test and Evaluation.

Madam Speaker, another individual who's an expert that joined us in this effort to clear the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber is Phil Coyle, and I want to quote what he put in an email to me on November 8, 2000:

Major Gruber should not be blamed for flying his aircraft

on a flight path that he was not trained to fly and expected

to fly. The Marine Corps knows today that flight path was

lethal, but they did not know it then, and neither did Major

Gruber. Considering it was ignorance on the part of the

Marine Corps that caused the April 8, 2000 accident, the

Marine Corps should make it clear to Major Gruber's family--

with no ifs, ands, or buts--that Major Gruber was not

responsible for the accident.

Madam Speaker, I continue to go on, because this has been a 10-year effort for the families of John Brow and Brooks Gruber.

Madam Speaker, the Marine Corps, shortly after the accident, assigned three marines the day after the accident on April 8 to fly to Arizona and to do their own investigation for the United States Marine Corps. At the time, Colonel Mike Morgan was the lead investigator, assisted by Colonel Ron Radich and also Major Phil Stackhouse.

In the JAGMAN report that was the official report for the Marine Corps of the accident, on page 77 they stated:

During this investigation we found nothing that we would

characterize as negligence, deliberate pilot error, or

maintenance/material failure.

Madam Speaker, in this 10-year journey to clear the names of these two Marine pilots, I reached out to the attorneys. John Brow and Brooks Gruber, their families employed Jim Furman, an attorney in Texas, who himself, was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He is an outstanding attorney, and he defended the two pilots when they went and filed suit against Bell Boeing.

In a letter on April 28, 2010, from Jim Furman to me in this effort to clear the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber, he wrote:

It was not the mission of the operation evaluation crew to

discover the new boundaries and limitations associated with

the V 22. Engineering test pilots, under appropriate test

conditions, should have done this. It is simply wrong and

improper to place this burden upon Gruber and Brow. They did

the best job they could have done under the circumstances.

Prior to the March 2000 crash, the Navy already had reports

of strange asymmetric response in the aircraft. These events

should have been completely investigated before any more

operational testing continued.

Madam Speaker, I have over seven or eight emails that are two or three pages from Jim Furman in his effort to help us clear the names of Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber.

From the attorney for the 17 marines' families who were in the V 22 that crashed--and these young men were killed in that crash--Brian Alexander defended the 17 families, and he said:

Please thank Congressman Jones for contacting me and assure

him that I stand by ready to assist him in any way that I

can. As a former Army aviator and lawyer who had the

privilege of representing the marines who gave their lives in

the Marana crash, I applaud the Congressman's efforts to

clear the names of pilots Gruber and Brow from any and all

blame for this senseless tragedy. Due to these undisputed

reasons, the pilots are not to blame and should be fully

exonerated.

Again, the two attorneys, Jim Furman in Texas and Brian Alexander in New York, they defended the families in the lawsuit that was settled out of court by Bell Boeing. Madam Speaker, I also would like to share for the Record--you might say, well, if the lawsuits are over, then why won't the Marine Corps give the families what they are looking for as a clear exoneration of John Brow and Brooks Gruber?

Madam Speaker, I can't answer that but recently, about 4 months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with General Rutter, who was representing the Commandant, and he was asking what would help the wives bring this to an end, so to speak. There is no way you can replace the husbands and the 17 marines who were burned to death. So the wives gave me a paragraph that they would like for the Marine Corps to issue to them on Marine Corps stationery and also a press release, Madam Speaker, and it states:

The United States Marine Corps concurs that pilots

Lieutenant Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber were not

at fault for the April 8, 2000, Osprey accident. The original

accident report will officially include this statement of

fact. A copy of the official statement will be formally

presented to the Gruber and Brow families as written evidence

to this fact. A press release and formal statement will also

be publicly issued by military officials.

Madam Speaker, I don't know why the Marine Corps has not been willing to give the families this closure that they have asked for.

I just touched on a few of the letters of many people who were so familiar with the program and the V 22 in the early stages that have joined in this effort, so it is hard to understand why the Marine Corps will not give the families this one paragraph. Madam Speaker, I will continue to work and to speak out because that's the least that the Marine Corps can do for these families.

Let me also share that I reached out to the investigators, Major Morgan, Major Radich, and Major Stackhouse. Madam Speaker, they in July and August of this year sent me 2-page letters from each one of them stating clearly that if there is anything in the JAGMAN report that has been misunderstood, that they found it was pilot error, to please have it recanted because that's not what they wrote in the JAGMAN.

Madam Speaker, I have a copy of the JAGMAN. I have read from one page what they said about the pilots on page 77 that nothing was done by the pilots in a deliberate way to cause the accident.

Madam Speaker, I'd like to read now just a couple of sentences from Lieutenant Colonel Mike Morgan's letter back to me. He again was the lead investigator that wrote the JAGMAN report. He said:

John Brow and Brooks Gruber performed as model wingmen on

this mission. They were doing exactly what was expected of a

wingman on a tactical flight.

Lieutenant Colonel Morgan further stated:

John Brow and Brooks Gruber did their job, and did it well.

I look forward to the day when DOD officials accurately

recognize the sacrifice made by them and all the marines of

Nighthawk 72.

From Lieutenant Colonel Ron Radich, he was the assistant JAGMAN investigator:

It would be morally wrong to place the blame on the pilots

of Nighthawk 72. Prior to the mishap, control measures to

mitigate the risk of vortex ring state were deficient. With

no knowledge, training, or warning concerning the possible

consequences of vortex ring state, the pilots of Nighthawk 72

were essentially on their own in uncharted territory.

Madam Speaker, what Colonel Radich is saying is that they were put into the cockpit flying this plane with 19 marines, counting the two pilots on this plane, and they had no idea of how to react to the condition known as vortex ring state, VRS. They had not been trained. The plane was not even prepared to warn them of such a happening.

And the third investigator, Madam Speaker, was Captain Phil Stackhouse and he said:

I do not feel that our investigation reflects that the

mishap was a result of pilot error and if this investigation

was interpreted that way, it was misinterpreted. For any

record that reflects the mishap was a result of pilot error,

it should be corrected. For any publication that reflects the

mishap was a result of pilot error, it should be corrected

and recanted.

Madam Speaker, there cannot be stronger support for this change to make sure that the Marine Corps would issue a statement to the families and also issue to the families a paragraph that would clearly state that their husbands were not at fault.

Madam Speaker, some people might just say, Congressman, why have you spent 10 years trying to clear the names of two pilots that you never knew?

Well, Connie Gruber, the wife of Major Brooks Gruber, she does live in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and she and her a little girl, Brook, deserve to have this paragraph for the future of their family, to clearly state that the pilots were not at fault.

Trish Brow lives over in California, Maryland. John Brow was her husband,

and I have been with one of her sons, Michael, who was in my office a year ago in March when we talked about our strategy to clear the names of these two marine pilots. I never will forget that Michael leaned up after we talked, about five adults, including his mom in there, and he leaned up and he said, May I say something? And we all said, Certainly, whatever you'd like to say. And he said, Will you please let me clear my father's name.

Madam Speaker, the ball is in the Marine Corps' court. All of the evidence and all of the experts have joined in this effort to clear the names of the two pilots. On these charts, you can see the faces of the two marine pilots. Right immediately close to me is Colonel John Brow, the pilot; and beside him is Major Brooks Gruber, who was the copilot. I think about what I have said to the wives and to their sons and daughters: It's time that the Marine Corps salute Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber and say, Colonel and Major, you may rest in peace. Don't ever worry about your name again. We have done everything we can as the United States Marine Corps to make sure that the public knows that you two, pilot and copilot, were not at fault for that tragedy on April 8 of 2000.

Madam Speaker, just a couple more minutes and I will bring my comments to a close.

I had someone send to me a quote by Voltaire that says, ``To the living, we owe respect; to the dead, we owe the truth.'' And that's why I wanted to be on the floor tonight to share just a few comments by the experts, not by me. I am no expert. I'm just one man who believes what the wife said, Connie Gruber:

My husband and John Brow cannot speak for themselves.

Someone has to speak for these two men to clear their names.

The lawsuits are over. They were settled out of court. It was a closed settlement. Nobody knows the figures except the families. I've never heard a figure, so I have no idea. But I know one thing. When a firm as large as Bell-Boeing, which manufactured the V 22, when they settle out of court, they must feel some responsibility for the accident.

I hope and pray that soon the Marine Corps will close the chapter on the tragedy in the life of Trish Brow and Connie Gruber. The reason they want the letter, Madam Speaker, is so their children, 10, 15, 20 years from now, whenever there's another article written about the V 22 crash in Arizona in the year 2000 and they misstate that this was pilot error, that the families will have an official letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps that will clearly state that John Brow and Brooks Gruber were not at fault.

Madam Speaker, I'm going to close in about 2 minutes.

I want to call on the United States Marine Corps to come forward and give the families what they are asking. The three investigators, as I said earlier, have joined in this. Jim Shaffer, Madam Speaker, who was in the air at the same time as this crash, he was flying a V 22 when the other two were flying and before Nighthawk 72 crashed. He was a friend of John Brow and Brooks Gruber. He has joined in this effort. He believes that the right thing to do, based on the circumstances of the time, that the right thing to do is to say that the two pilots were not at fault.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for staying a little bit later tonight to give me this time. I'm not going to take the full 30 minutes. There is a lot more I could say, but I think that I've done the first step of what is going to be many steps in coming to the floor and talking about these two pilots and their families until we get the letter from the Commandant that is just one paragraph that clearly states that Lieutenant Colonel John Brow, Major Brooks Gruber, pilot and copilot, were not at fault for the crash that happened on April 8, 2000, in Arizona.

So with that, Madam Speaker, I will ask God to please bless the families of these two pilots and the families of the 17 marines who were in the back of the V 22 that crashed and 19 died, to bless those families as well. I will ask God to please touch the heart of the United States Marine Corps so that these two marines can rest in peace.

Madam Speaker, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 6 o'clock and 48 minutes p.m.), under its previous order and pursuant to House Resolution 571, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at 10 a.m., for morning-hour debate, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Honorable Donald M. Payne.