Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Out of courtesy, let me say I think that the gentleman and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) are correct. We are going to need to spend more money on homeland security, protecting our ports. We are going to need to do that soon. But I think this is a great step in the right direction and this is sufficient.

I want to say one thing to the whole House as a member of the homeland security subcommittee; be careful, because of what happened at TSA, not to overpromise to the first responders, local government, communities, that everything called homeland security is going to be funded by the Federal Government, because there is no possible way we can afford to fund everything that comes under the umbrella of homeland security.

We need to be careful as a Congress. The statute for TSA said they could not be more than 45,000 people. We created the Transportation Security Agency. Today it is 64,000 people. We have got to be careful the government does not go too far. We have got to be careful we do not grow these agencies beyond our ability to manage them and to exert our oversight. We have got to be careful. We have got to do this quick, but we have got to do it right.

Mr. Speaker, today marks UT-Battelle's third anniversary as manager of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the Department of Energy. Over the past three years the staff of ORNL has continued its dedication to scientific discovery through research and development in cutting edge areas of science including: neutron science, energy, high performance computing, complex biological systems, advanced materials and national security.

UT-Battelle has been an involved member of the Oak Ridge community. The team provides more than $1.25 million annually for math and science education, economic development and, other projects in the greater Oak Ridge region. Through unique federal, state and private sector partnerships, UT-Battelle is the leader in efforts to update the laboratory facilities and rebuild ORNL's research campus to continue to support the research work with world class facilities.

For example, ORNL will be the home of the foremost center for neutron science research with the completion of the Spallation Neutron Source and the Center for Nanophase Materials Science. Due for completion this year is the Laboratory for Comparative and Functional Genomics where lab scientists will continue the leading role ORNL has in gene function and disease research. The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences, now under construction, will lead the U.S. into new scientific frontiers in high performance computing research.

The dedication, hard work, and significant investments by the staff at ORNL has been formally recognized by the Department of Energy. This year, for the first time, the lab was awarded the highest rating possible under the lab management evaluation procedure. The ``Outstanding'' rating for lab management captures the history of scientific research and development excellence at ORNL.

The recent successes rest upon the decades of accomplishments that preceded UT-Battelle's involvement at ORNL. The long ORNL history of serving the nation with the highest standards of scientific achievement bode well for a future that is even brighter than our past. UT-Battelle is proud of its involvement with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and looks forward to serving the nation and its citizens with more exciting scientific developments brought to you by ORNL under the management of UT-Battelle.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say a word to the courageous men and women in uniform and a word to the courageous men and women of the United States Congress. First, I think we should remember September 11 because the greatest generation on whose shoulders we stand today were incredibly encouraged by the bravery and the sacrifice following September 11 when we were struck in our homeland. They were encouraged because they realized that their children and grandchildren had what it takes, that we were actually willing to answer our call to courage in our generation, and that we were willing to sacrifice.

Today's men and women in uniform around the world are standing in the gap between a threat and our civilian population, and we all thank them for that.

When I was growing up, it was almost all Active Duty career men and women in the military. Today it is the Guard and the Reserves, and they are all deployed, and they leave their jobs and they go and they serve, and they did not know this moment was going to come, but they are ready and willing.

I sent off the 181st earlier this week from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and wives and parents were all there. They have got guts, and we appreciate them so very much.

But let me say something quickly to this body. I have been around long enough to know, I do not know what the next election is going to bring except probably a real close election, and I do not know who is going to be President. I was raised in the Cold War, but I am raising my children in a hot war. This is not the only time that we are going to be on the floor addressing problems like this. We are going to be back. I do not know who is going to be President, but I hope that the tradition of us meeting at the water's edge when it comes to our national security is carried on, because this institution and that tradition is bigger than either party or any Member, and we must continue to stand together for freedom in the United States Congress.