Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 155 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 No. 64 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. There was no objection. Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Madam Speak- Rev. Grzegorz ‘‘Greg’’ Brozonowicz, Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, it er, I rise today in honor of National St. Mary’s, Mother of the Redeemer is a pleasure to introduce this morning Autism Awareness Month. Roman Catholic Church, Groton, Con- Father Grzegorz Brozonowicz, other- Each April, Americans have a special necticut, offered the following prayer: wise known as ‘‘Father Greg,’’ at St. opportunity to learn more about au- Gracious God, the men and women Mary’s, Mother of the Redeemer Par- tism. In south Florida, we have a vi- assembled here to serve the American ish, in Groton, Connecticut, who deliv- brant community of activists and fami- people ask You for a blessing. ered a beautiful prayer this morning, lies fighting every day to raise aware- We pray that, through Your grace, and he has a wonderful story in his life. ness and funds for scientific research they gain the vision to see clearly, the He was born in Poland, was educated on the causes of and cures for autism. courage to act rightly, the humility to in Poland, came to the U.S. in 1990, Two of the strongest voices in our com- consider all sides of issues, the love to went through the seminary in our munity belong to Suzanne and Bob accept disagreement, and the faith to country, was ordained as a parish Wright, the founders of Autism Speaks. persevere through discouragement and priest by the Archdiocese of Norwich in In just 4 years, this extraordinary or- adversity. 1996, and is now a leader at his church ganization has committed an unprece- May they have the wisdom to see in Groton, Connecticut. dented $128 million in new research America’s destiny as linked to Your He does appear to have a humble de- funding to uncover causes, treatments will. meanor, but I would just say, Madam and cures for autism. In addition to We thank You, Lord, for the oppor- Speaker, that he is a very dynamic supporting scientific research, Autism priest. He has a growing parish. He has tunity to serve and to grow in that Speaks builds community among fami- many programs reaching out to young service. lies with autism, and it raises aware- people, having them involved in the Amen. ness in south Florida, around the coun- community, helping the disadvantaged. try and around the world. f He is setting up a twinning parish pro- In recognition of Autism Awareness gram in Haiti to try and reach out, THE JOURNAL Month, I commend Susan and Bob again, to deal with the huge challenges The SPEAKER. The Chair has exam- Wright and Autism Speaks, as well as ined the Journal of the last day’s pro- that that impoverished country faces. He became an American citizen a few all of the families in our community ceedings and announces to the House days before Christmas, this past facing autism. her approval thereof. Christmas of 2008, and like many f Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Jour- Roman Catholic churches throughout nal stands approved. our country, there clearly is a pipeline HONORING THE WOMEN AIR FORCE f from Poland now that is populating our SERVICE PILOTS OF WWII parishes and keeping a vibrant church PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was alive and well in the U.S. The SPEAKER. Will the gentle- I want to thank him for his great given permission to address the House woman from Florida (Ms. ROS- service and for his great words this for 1 minute and to revise and extend LEHTINEN) come forward and lead the morning. her remarks.) House in the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speak- Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN led the Pledge f er, I rise in support of H.R. 2014, a bill of Allegiance as follows: ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER that Congresswoman SUSAN DAVIS and I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the The SPEAKER. The Chair will enter- I have introduced, which honors the United States of America, and to the Repub- tain up to 15 further 1-minutes on each Women Air Force Service Pilots of lic for which it stands, one nation under God, side of the aisle. World War II. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. f WASP, or Women Air Force Service f Pilots, were the first women in history NATIONAL AUTISM AWARENESS to fly America’s military aircraft. Be- WELCOMING REV. GRZEGORZ MONTH ‘‘GREG’’ BROZONOWICZ tween the years 1942–1944, these coura- (Mr. KLEIN of Florida asked and was geous women volunteered to fly non- The SPEAKER. Without objection, given permission to address the House combat missions so that every avail- the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. for 1 minute and to revise and extend able male pilot could be deployed in COURTNEY) is recognized for 1 minute. his remarks.) combat. 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. H4917 . VerDate Nov 24 2008 00:01 Apr 30, 2009 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A29AP7.000 H29APPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with HOUSE H4918 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 29, 2009 By the time the war ended, 38 women Four former CIA Directors, as well as For 2009, Debt Day fell on April 26, this pilots had lost their lives while flying the current Director, advised against past Sunday. This is an astonishingly for our country. releasing these memos. early day in the year to run out of These valiant women have never re- As ex-CIA Director Michael Hayden money. Last year, it was August 5. So ceived the full recognition that they recently said, ‘‘If you look at these in 4 months, this Congress and this ad- deserve for their wartime military documents that have been made public, ministration has shattered all previous service to America. Their example it says ‘Top Secret’ at the top. The def- records for debt levels, moving Debt paved the way for women who today fly inition of ‘Top Secret’ is information Day up in the calendar over 3 months every type of aircraft. which, if revealed, would cause grave from last year. President Obama and My daughter-in-law, Lindsay, flies F/ harm to the United States’ security.’’ this Congress make the Bush deficit A–18 fighter jets for the Marine Corps Furthermore, General Hayden said look trivial. thanks to these courageous women. Of that the use of these interrogation Friends, this is the most valuable the 1,102 WASPs trained during World techniques against these terrorists and expensive credit card in history, a War II, only 300 of these women pio- made us safe. Member of Congress voting card. This neers are still alive today. The release of the top secret memos Congress has taken out their credit Madam Speaker, the time is now for were motivated by politics, pure and cards and saddled our children and us to honor these women with this simple. They were designed to embar- grandchildren with debt, mortgaging body’s highest honor, the Congres- rass, not to protect. So much for Presi- their future. Since the first of the year we’ve sional Gold Medal. As such, I urge my dent Obama’s promise to look forward, spent $350 billion in TARP, billions in colleagues to cosponsor this bill, and I not backward. These memos never auto bailouts, $787 billion in stimulus, urge its prompt consideration. should have been released. $410 billion in omnibus, $3.5 trillion in f As another former CIA Director, Por- the budget—mostly borrowed money— ter Goss, recently wrote, ‘‘We can’t HONORING FORMER STATE all of this debt dumped on future gen- have a secret intelligence service if we SENATOR CONSTANCE WILLIAMS erations. keep giving away all the secrets.’’ (Mr. SESTAK asked and was given f f permission to address the House for 1 COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION minute.) HONORING THE MEN AND WOMEN REFORM Mr. SESTAK. Madam Speaker, I rise OF TROOP B, 1–98TH CAVALRY (Mr. BACA asked and was given per- to acknowledge the fortitude, forbear- REGIMENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI mission to address the House for 1 ance and intelligence of former State NATIONAL GUARD minute.) Senator Constance Williams, who bril- (Mr. CHILDERS asked and was given Mr. BACA. Madam Speaker, Presi- liantly represented the 149th Legisla- permission to address the House for 1 dent Obama reaffirmed his commit- tive District of Pennsylvania from 1997 minute.) ment for comprehensive immigration until 2001. She then was victorious in a Mr. CHILDERS. Madam Speaker, I reform in an interview on Univision. special election and was elevated to rise today to honor the brave men and The President believes ‘‘that it is in Pennsylvania senator, serving with dis- women of the Troop B, 1–98th Cavalry the interest of everybody, and in the tinction the 17th Senatorial District of Regiment of the Mississippi National interest of the U.S. economy over time, Pennsylvania from 2001–2008. Guard. for us to resolve this issue in a com- Connie, a leader who chose to devote These soldiers of Company B, based prehensive way.’’ her energies to political life in support in Booneville, Mississippi, were de- The immigration crisis is not a prob- of her district’s citizens, served in that ployed in January of 2005 as part of Op- lem to be left to solve tomorrow or post until she retired at the peak of her eration Iraqi Freedom.