H11766 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 26, 2009 City after its request for TARP funding was eran elite Airborne Special Forces border. Immediate action is necessary, denied. PNC didn’t comment. Group. The Zetas also include former and the United States should conduct ‘‘We are in fact lending to creditworthy members from the Guatemalan training on the southern border with customers,’’ said Wells spokeswoman Julia Kaibiles Special Forces organization. our military. This will help deter in- Tunis Bernard. She said Wells extended $471 billion in new loan commitments between We trained them here in America, at cursions. Plus the Governors from October 2008 and the end of the second quar- the School of the Americas, in the lat- Texas and New Mexico have asked for ter—some 19 times the bank’s TARP take. est and best tactics and weaponry. the National Guard to be sent to the Even Citi, which sat out last fall’s frenzied When they got back home, they de- border. So more National Guard troops game of banking musical chairs, still posted serted from the military, and they should be sent to protect the dignity double-digit deposit growth as Americans went to work for the drug cartels. In and the sovereignty of our Nation, be- fled other investments for the safety of fed- essence, they declared war on the Mexi- cause the first duty of government is erally insured banks. Citi didn’t reply to a can Government, and they became part to protect the people, to protect us request for comment. The top five firms—dubbed too-big-to-fail, of what they were trained to fight. from the invasion of the crime cartels. or TBTF, for their implicit government sup- They make a lot more money in traf- The people who live on the border on port—now control 37% of the nation’s depos- ficking guns, drugs and people than both sides of the Rio Grande have a its. they would ever have in working as a right to expect their government to That’s well above their average from ear- Mexican or a Guatemalan soldier, and protect them from the Zetas and from lier this decade, reviving questions about the they’re using superior military train- all other criminal cartel enterprises risks of a financial system that’s even more ing—that training they received at the which illegally cross the border. concentrated than the one that imploded expense of the United States. Traf- last fall. And that’s just the way it is. ‘‘The TBTF problem has not only moved ficking in drugs, arms and human f beyond the banking system, it has become beings is a very lucrative business. Bil- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a much too costly for taxpayers and the U.S. lions of dollars worth of merchandise is previous order of the House, the gentle- moved across our southern border economy,’’ University of Massachusetts re- woman from California (Ms. WOOLSEY) searcher Jane D’Arista wrote in an August every year. is recognized for 5 minutes. paper. The Zeta international trafficking (Ms. WOOLSEY addressed the House. cartel has evolved into a privately f Her remarks will appear hereafter in funded military army. They have the BORDER WAR—THE ZETAS the Extensions of Remarks.) best military equipment money can The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a buy, and they have transformed into an f previous order of the House, the gen- international gang, working even in The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a tleman from Texas (Mr. POE) is recog- the United States. Without a secure previous order of the House, the gen- nized for 5 minutes. southern border, the violence will con- tleman from Oregon (Mr. DEFAZIO) is Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I tinue in Mexico, and only those who recognized for 5 minutes. bring you news from the second front— live in never-never land will think the (Mr. DEFAZIO addressed the House. the war on the border between Mexico problem will not get to the United His remarks will appear hereafter in and the United States. Dangerous drug States. The Zetas are an urban guer- the Extensions of Remarks.) cartels are already in control of major rilla organization which threatens to f stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border, topple any semblance of law and order. H.R. 268—MILITARY CHAPLAINS and they’re taking over whole Mexican According to the Houston Chronicle, BILL border towns. the ‘‘Zeta gunmen and their accom- The Zeta drug cartel is the most vio- plices routinely blockade Matamoros’ The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a lent and the most feared of the Mexi- downtown streets. Last winter, the previous order of the House, the gen- can drug cartels. Zetas have attacked gangsters mobilized thousands of peo- tleman from North Carolina (Mr. Mexican towns in military-style oper- ple to briefly close the region’s bridges JONES) is recognized for 5 minutes. ations at platoon-strength numbers. across the Rio Grande, halting trade’’ Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, it is a They have massacred hundreds of their with the United States into Browns- sad day in America when our chaplains competitors, often beheading and dis- ville. in the military cannot pray according membering them. They have fought Now, the administration’s strategy is to their faiths and consciences. Our hour-long battles with the Mexican to look the other way and to pretend troops are risking their lives in dan- military in the streets of Matamoros. it’s not happening. Well, we cannot gerous countries to protect the reli- Madam Speaker, Matamoros is a bor- wish away this threat to public safety gious freedoms of others, but our own der town on the Rio Grande River and to America’s national security. We military does not always permit that across from Brownsville, Texas. must not allow the situation to con- our military chaplains can pray ac- Recently, shots came over that bor- tinue to escalate unchecked, because cording to his or her faith. der, hitting buildings and a parking lot violence is actually spilling out into For this reason, I have introduced at a University of Texas branch in the streets of America near our border H.R. 268, which is a bill to ensure that Brownsville. Authorities presumed this towns. Our local law enforcement is every military chaplain has the prerog- violence was from the drug cartels, overwhelmed. The border sheriffs need ative to close a prayer outside of a reli- themselves. The Zetas have moved into more assistance. They are not equipped gious service according to the dictates Matamoros. They also claim to control or trained to handle these military- of the chaplain’s own conscience. Nuevo Laredo, which is across from the style incursions by the Zetas and by I have spoken with many, many Texas town of Laredo. other drug cartels. chaplains who have served in conflicts The Zetas have no fear of the au- While the administration is stalling from Vietnam to Desert Storm, and thorities. There is no law or order in and deliberating about what to do in there never was any restriction on any of the towns they control, and they Afghanistan, the government is also chaplains and on how they prayed until have assassinated police chiefs and giving little attention to our southern the mid-1990s. This suppression of reli- local politicians. They own the towns. border, but this is not the first admin- gious freedom, the very principle on They have raised terror throughout istration to neglect enforcing the rule which this country was founded, is a Mexico—fighting their rivals, the of law on the southern border. There pervasive problem that is affecting Mexican Army and the police. The suc- has been much rhetoric for years from every branch of our Armed Forces and cess of the Zeta cartel has forced other the government about protecting the that is affecting chaplains of every de- Mexican drug cartels into an arms race border, but like my grandfather used to nomination. As of 2008, 76 percent of with military weaponry and tactics. say, ‘‘When all is said and done, more the chaplains were Protestant, 9 per- Who are these Zetas, and where do is said than done,’’ and that is espe- cent Catholic, 1 percent Jewish, and they come from? cially by the government. 14.1 percent were of some other faith. Well, the Zetas were formed by de- The Nation needs to understand About 5 years ago, I was introduced serters from the Mexican Army’s vet- there is a border war on our southern to the case of Army Captain Chaplain VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:25 Oct 27, 2009 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A26OC7.027 H26OCPT1 wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with HOUSE October 26, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H11767 Jonathan Stertzbach, an independent ask three times, God, please, God, I am concerned that Chaplain Stertzbach Baptist by training. Chaplain please, God, please continue to bless was removed without justification. Again, I Stertzbach was called to perform a me- America. am requesting that you investigate this inci- dent and provide an explanation. morial service for a fallen soldier. In FEBRUARY 6, 2005. Sincerely, that division, he had to e-mail his Department of the Army, The Inspector General, 1700 Army Pentagon, WALTER B. JONES, prayer to the divisional chaplain. In Member of Congress. the prayer, the divisional chaplain Washington, DC. DEAR LTG STANLEY GREEN: It has come to f struck through the words ‘‘Jesus my attention that in all branches of the TRI-CAUCUS WELCOMES ALL Christ.’’ He sent back the prayer with military it is increasingly difficult for chap- the strike-through of ‘‘Jesus Christ’’ to lains to pray in adherence to their faith.