E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 157 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 No. 26 House of Representatives The House met at 9 a.m. and was Mr. CARNAHAN led the Pledge of Al- sure that the perpetrators of this hor- called to order by the Speaker. legiance as follows: rible attack are brought to justice. f I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the I offer my deepest condolences to the United States of America, and to the Repub- family of Special Agent Zapata. He PRAYER lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Pastor Mark Williamson, Federal indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. died for a just cause, and will be re- membered as a man of courage and Intercessors, Houston, Texas, offered f the following prayer: honor. Father God, in a spirit of worship, I ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER pray, ask, and speak forth the fullness The SPEAKER. The Chair will enter- f of Your blessings for this House of Rep- tain up to five 1-minute speeches on resentatives, its staffers, and all family each side of the aisle. HONORING THE LIFE OF MAJOR members. That You bless them to do f LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER AND the work of God in our civil govern- MANAGER CHUCK TANNER ment, reminding them that ‘‘Right- HONORING TWO AMERICAN PATRI- eousness exalts a nation, but sin is a OTS, ICE SPECIAL AGENTS (Mr. ALTMIRE asked and was given disgrace to any people.’’ JAIME J. ZAPATA AND VICTOR permission to address the House for 1 Bless them with personal wisdom and AVILA minute.) the governmental order of God. Bless (Mr. FARENTHOLD asked and was Mr. ALTMIRE. Mr. Speaker, I rise them to realize the answers they all given permission to address the House today to recognize the life of Major seek are found only in the Bible, and for 1 minute and to revise and extend League Baseball player and manager obedience to it. his remarks.) Chuck Tanner, who died in his home- Bless this House to become a ‘‘House Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I town of New Castle, in my district, on of prayer,’’ to always seek Your in- rise this morning to express my deep- February 11 at the age of 82. structions. est sorrow about the tragic attack on Bless this House with the truth and American law enforcement that hap- After hitting a home run in his first mercy of God—that ‘‘drives out iniq- pened earlier this week in Mexico. Major League at-bat in 1955, Tanner uity’’ and deception. Tuesday afternoon, two agents from played eight seasons and later rose Bless this House with Your presence. the Immigration and Customs Enforce- through the ranks to manage four May the goodness of God protect, ment were attacked while driving be- Major League teams, including the unite, inspire, and make provision for tween Mexico City and Monterrey. Pittsburgh Pirates, who acquired him each Member. May Your will be done in Today, I honor the sacrifice of Special in a 1977 trade. It’s in Pittsburgh where this House, and these United States, as Agent Jaime J. Zapata, who lost his he reached the pinnacle of his baseball it is in Heaven. life in service to our country. career, in 1979, when he managed the In the Name of the Father, Jesus Special Agent Zapata, from Browns- Pirates to a World Series champion- Your Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. ville, Texas, joined ICE in 2006. His ship. f brother also serves with ICE. Following his retirement from base- THE JOURNAL A second agent, Victor Avila, was in- ball, Tanner returned to New Castle The SPEAKER. The Chair has exam- jured in the attack and remains in sta- with his late wife, Babs, of 56 years. ble condition. ined the Journal of the last day’s pro- Chuck became a fixture at the New My thoughts and prayers are with ceedings and announces to the House Castle restaurant that bears his name both agents and their families. his approval thereof. and where he ate nearly all his meals. These two brave men took dangerous Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Jour- Nearby, the Shenango High School assignments, and Agent Zapata made nal stands approved. baseball field is also named in his f the ultimate sacrifice. They were two of the hundreds of ICE personnel honor. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE throughout the world, fighting the war Chuck Tanner spent a lifetime in The SPEAKER. Will the gentleman on drugs—money laundering, smug- baseball, and made friends and fans the from Missouri (Mr. CARNAHAN) come gling, and human trafficking. world over; but it is in New Castle forward and lead the House in the I have been in contact with law en- where he will be most fondly remem- Pledge of Allegiance. forcement, and they are working to en- bered and most sorely missed. 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. H1073 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:48 Feb 18, 2011 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A17FE7.000 H17FEPT1 jbell on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with HOUSE H1074 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE February 17, 2011 HOMELAND SECURITY: ‘‘THE HONORING THE MEMORY OF to make tough choices before us and to BORDER IS SECURE’’ NOT SO FAST AGENT ZAPATA, U.S. IMMIGRA- finally be able to take up the jobs (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was TION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCE- agenda that our constituents need. given permission to address the House MENT SPECIAL AGENT f for 1 minute.) (Mrs. MILLER of Michigan asked and THE DE FACTO DRILLING MORA- Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, ac- was given permission to address the TORIUM IS DESTROYING OUR cording to the Secretary of Homeland House for 1 minute and to revise and ECONOMY Security, our southern border is se- extend her remarks.) (Mr. PALAZZO asked and was given cure. Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. permission to address the House for 1 Well, not so fast with that pro- Speaker, I rise to express our deepest minute.) nouncement. sorrow about a terrible attack against Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, last According to the General Accounting two agents from the U.S. Immigration week written across America’s news- Office—those are the people that we and Customs Enforcement while they papers were headlines of how Egyptians pay to actually give us the true facts were driving between Mexico City and stood up to what they viewed as a re- on such matters—half of the southern Monterrey, Mexico. strictive and arbitrary government. border is not under the operational Special Agent Jaime Zapata trag- Perhaps those protests should serve control of the Border Patrol. Forty- ically lost his life in his service to our as a wake-up call for us all, if for no four percent is secure; the rest is not. country. Special Agent Zapata joined other reason than for where they took So who operates the other 56 percent? ICE in 2006, and he was most recently place. You see, just east of Cairo is the And, further, a mere 15 percent of the detailed to ICE’s attach office in Mex- Suez Canal and SuMed pipeline, which border is considered airtight. ico City. combined carry nearly 5 million bar- Texas is the least secure border of all We also send our thoughts and pray- rels of oil a day to countries around the Southern States. Our Border Patrol ers to the second agent, Victor Avila, the world. Egypt’s future remains un- does a fine job but they need some who was injured in the attack and who certain, and because of the restrictive help. The border sheriffs are superior remains in stable condition. We pray and arbitrary anti-drilling policies im- lawmen, but they are overwhelmed for him to have a speedy recovery. posed by President Obama, so does the with cross-border crime. With 37 per- Honorable agents like these two men future for thousands of families in cent of the people in Texas border jails have our Nation at the forefront of south Mississippi. By refusing to issue being foreign nationals, those sheriffs, their minds each and every day. They new drilling permits this administra- like the Border Patrol, are out- work day in and day out on our bor- tion continues to impose a de facto manned, out-gunned, and out-financed. ders, protecting our Nation’s citizens, moratorium on U.S.-based companies, There is a border war going on, and and we take pride in the dedication which is having a devastating effect on it’s time to send the National Guard to that they have. gulf coast families. the southern border to protect the We are blessed to have brave men and Having worked on an offshore plat- homeland. women who work in the service of our form, I know firsthand the impact Homeland Security should deal in re- Nation every day. Their work can those jobs have on a local economy. ality, not myth and propaganda, and never be underestimated. Our deepest Without drilling in the gulf, many realize that over half of the border is condolences go out to the families of small businesses will suffer as more the wide open spaces and that it re- these brave men, of these great Amer- jobs are lost and the effect of those lost mains porous to the drug bandits.