E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 160 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 No. 115 House of Representatives The House met at noon and was tured on postcards; it has been the sub- tion was in need, they stepped up. The called to order by the Speaker pro tem- ject of many photos sent home by tour- Hondo Army Airfield was constructed pore (Mr. HOLDING). ists; and it even made the cover of Na- with local funding in 89 days, and it f tional Geographic magazine. opened on July 4, 1942. The airfield I remember that sign even as a little would become the largest air naviga- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO kid, long before I–10 was built and tion school in the world and would TEMPORE when Highway 90, through Hondo, was eventually train over 15,000 navigators The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- still the main thoroughfare—the east- to serve in World War II. west highway—from L.A. to Florida. fore the House the following commu- That airfield still exists, and though Actually, the original sign just read: nication from the Speaker: it is no longer affiliated with the U.S. ‘‘This is God’s country. Don’t drive WASHINGTON, DC, military, today, it is a regional facility July 22, 2014. through it like hell,’’ but as you might imagine, it was a somewhat controver- and is one of the busiest small commer- I hereby appoint the Honorable GEORGE cial airports in Texas. Mayor James HOLDING to act as Speaker pro tempore on sial sign for the 1930s. So, finally, in this day. the 1940s, the word ‘‘please’’ was added Danner and city leadership have done a JOHN A. BOEHNER, to soften the tone and to placate those phenomenal job of developing the air- Speaker of the House of Representatives. in town who found the sign a bit too field into a center of transportation f harsh. Today, some 84 years after its and commerce. If your business needs a small airport near San Antonio and not MORNING-HOUR DEBATE installation, that sign still serves as a not-so-subtle reminder to slow down too far from Eagle Ford Shale country, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- and, perhaps, to take a breath from the check out the airport in Hondo. ant to the order of the House of Janu- everyday rush of life and enjoy the lit- In addition, that airfield is home to ary 7, 2014, the Chair will now recog- tle things, like family and friends and one of the largest and most fun and en- nize Members from lists submitted by God and country. tertaining air shows in Central Texas— the majority and minority leaders for Though settled in 1891, the Hondo and certainly the best air show in all of morning-hour debate. area, which is now located in Medina Congressional District 23. Each year, The Chair will alternate recognition County, was first explored by Cabeza de thousands of airplane enthusiasts de- between the parties, with each party Vaca in 1519, only some 27 years after scend on Hondo for the air show, which limited to 1 hour and each Member Columbus arrived in the New World. It last year featured more than 20 or so other than the majority and minority displaced Castroville as the county World War II-era airplanes. Another leaders and the minority whip limited seat, and Hondo shares a place in his- feature of the air show was an exhi- to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- tory with the many early Americans bition called, ‘‘Tora, Tora, Tora,’’ a bate continue beyond 1:50 p.m. who built this Nation through sheer smaller but incredibly well-done reen- f sweat and determination. actment of the Japanese attack on With the construction of the Gal- 23 IN 1—HONDO Pearl Harbor in 1941, a reenactment veston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio which was done using these vintage The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Railway, which was built through the airplanes. It is a great event to take Chair recognizes the gentleman from county from the east in 1881, Hondo your kids and your grandkids to. Texas (Mr. GALLEGO) for 5 minutes. quickly transformed from a small, 25- Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today, resident settlement into a trade and Hondo is a town of living history as as we continue our journey through the shipping center for agriculture and many of its residents are descendants 23rd District, I would like to travel to ranching. Hondo was the scene of two of the original 25 settlers. It is a town a small town some 40 miles west of San bank robberies in the early 1920s. The not lost in the rush of everyday life, Antonio. That would be Hondo, Texas. crooks were the famed Newton Gang, and like much of Texas’ 23rd District, It is about 9.6 square miles of iconic the most successful outlaws in Amer- its connection and commitment to the America, and as you pass the city ican history. Interestingly, both bank U.S. military run deep through its boundary, you are kindly reminded by heists occurred on the same night. veins. a sign: ‘‘This is God’s country. Please Hondo, itself, was incorporated as a I invite everyone to take a trip to don’t drive through it like hell.’’ That city in 1942, and at that time, Hondo Hondo and experience iconic America. sign, erected by the local Lions Club in applied for a U.S. Army air training fa- Remember, this is God’s country. 1930, deters speeders. It has been fea- cility to be built there. When our Na- Please don’t drive through it like hell. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H6583 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 01:13 Jul 23, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A22JY7.000 H22JYPT1 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H6584 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE July 22, 2014 AFGHANISTAN like this soldier in the poster. The [From the New York Times, July 21, 2014] The SPEAKER pro tempore. The young marine had lost both legs and an CONCERN AND SUPPORT FOR IRAQI CHRISTIANS Chair recognizes the gentleman from arm. I looked in the face of his father, FORCED BY MILITANTS TO FLEE MOSUL North Carolina (Mr. JONES) for 5 min- who probably was 50 or 51 years of age, BAGHDAD.—A day after Christians fled utes. and all I saw was pain and worry and Mosul, the northern city controlled by Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am on the trouble in the eyes of the father be- Islamist extremists, under the threat of floor again to talk about the waste of cause, like this young soldier who had death, Muslims and Christians gathered under the same roof—a church roof—here on American taxpayers’ money in Afghan- lost both legs and an arm, you can only Sunday afternoon. By the time the piano istan. hope the best for their futures. player had finished the Iraqi national an- Just last week, we in the House The second marine I saw from Camp them, and before the prayers, Manhal Younis Armed Services Committee heard testi- Lejeune had stepped on a 40-pound IED was crying. mony from Deputy Secretary of De- and had lost both legs. He has a wife— ‘‘I can’t feel my identity as an Iraqi Chris- fense Robert Work, along with other I did not meet her—and an 8-month-old tian,’’ she said, her three little daughters DOD officials, regarding the Depart- baby girl whom I did not meet, but he hanging at her side. ment’s request for an additional $58.6 was very proud of his wife and his A Muslim woman sitting next to her in the billion to be used overseas, primarily pew reached out and whispered, ‘‘You are the child. I wonder what his future is going true original people here, and we are sorry in Afghanistan. to be? I can only hope the best—that for what has been done to you in the name of While speaking to Mr. Work, I men- God will look after all of these men and Islam.’’ tioned the following three headlines, women who have given so much for our The warm scene here was an unusual coun- which, I believe, accurately describe country. terpoint to the wider story of Iraq’s unravel- the American situation in Afghanistan: It brings me back to this, Mr. Speak- ing, as Sunni militants with the Islamic the headline from CBS News, ‘‘Is the er: Congress needs to have debates and State in Iraq and Syria gain territory and Pentagon wasting taxpayer money in to stop wasting money in Afghanistan, persecute anyone who does not adhere to Afghanistan?’’; from the Center for their harsh version of Islamic law. On Satur- because it costs our soldiers and their day, to meet a deadline by the ISIS mili- Public Integrity, ‘‘The U.S. military families so much—the lives, the was no match for Afghanistan’s corrup- tants, most Christians in Mosul, a commu- limbs—and there is nothing we have to nity almost as old as Christianity itself, left tion’’; then from the World Affairs show for it but pain and a waste of with little more than the clothes they were Journal, ‘‘Money Pit: The Monstrous money.