E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 110 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 153 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2007 No. 85 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. THE JOURNAL The Senator from Michigan (Mr. Chaplain Marc Unger, California The SPEAKER. The Chair has exam- LEVIN) (Democratic Co-Chairman). State Military Reserve, attached to the ined the Journal of the last day’s pro- The Senator from Delaware (Mr. 1–184th Infantry, California Army Na- ceedings and announces to the House BIDEN) (Democratic Co-Chairman). tional Guard, Exeter, California, of- her approval thereof. The Senator from New Jersey (Mr. fered the following prayer: Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Jour- LAUTENBERG) (Democratic Co-Chair- O God, You have been our refuge in nal stands approved. man). every generation. I thank You, Lord, f The Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. for granting truths self-evident, and KENNEDY). endowing us, our Creator, with certain MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE The Senator from North Dakota (Mr. unalienable rights: Life, liberty, and A message from the Senate by Ms. DORGAN). the pursuit of happiness, our freedom. Curtis, one of its clerks, announced The Senator from Illinois (Mr. DUR- Help this body, O Lord, to remember that the Senate has passed without BIN). that our freedom was bought with a amendment a bill of the House of the The Senator from Florida (Mr. NEL- price, the blood of our heroes. And de- following title: SON). fense of our freedom comes at the same H.R. 2080. An act to amend the District of The Senator from Connecticut (Mr. terrible price. Columbia Home Rule Act to conform the LIEBERMAN). Grant the Members of this body: Wis- District charter to revisions made by the The Senator from West Virginia (Mr. dom as they legislate; freedom from Council of the District of Columbia relating BYRD) (Majority Administrative Co- partisan politics; unity, not division; to public education. Chairman). The message also announced that the and remembrance that they serve ‘‘of f the people, by the people, and for the Senate has passed bills of the following people’’ under God. titles in which the concurrence of the APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO Help each Representative, Lord, to House is requested: BOARD OF VISITORS TO UNITED represent the people, not politics; mo- S. 33. An act to redesignate the Office for STATES MILITARY ACADEMY rality, not mores; sacrifice, not self-in- Vocational and Adult Education as the Of- The SPEAKER. Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. fice of Career, Technical, and Adult Edu- 4355(a), the Chair appoints the fol- terest; right, not flight; defense, not cation. defeat. S. 375. An act to waive application of the lowing Members of the House to the Lord, please comfort the families of Indian Self-Determination and Education Board of Visitors to the United States our fallen. Grant the troops defending Assistance Act to a specific parcel of real Military Academy: our precious freedoms would: Live property transferred by the United States to Mr. HINCHEY, New York under the protection of the Most High, 2 Indian tribes in the State of Oregon, and Mr. HALL, New York be Your servant for good, and be grant- for other purposes. Mr. MCHUGH, New York ed overwhelming victory in the global The message also announced that Mr. TIAHRT, Kansas war on terror. pursuant to the provisions of S. Res. f For Yours is the kingdom and the 105 (adopted April 13, 1989), as amended ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER power and the glory forever. by S. Res. 149 (adopted October 5, 1993), Amen. as amended by Public Law 105–275 The SPEAKER. The Chair will enter- (adopted October 21, 1998), further f tain up to 15 requests for 1-minute amended by S. Res. 75 (adopted March speeches on each side of the aisle. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 25, 1999), amended by S. Res. 383 (adopt- f The SPEAKER. Will the gentleman ed October 27, 2000), and amended by S. Res. 355 (adopted November 13, 2002), IT’S TIME TO STOP PRICE from Pennsylvania (Mr. ALTMIRE) come GOUGING BY BIG OIL forward and lead the House in the and further amended by S. Res. 480 Pledge of Allegiance. (adopted November 20, 2004), the Chair, (Mr. DEFAZIO asked and was given Mr. ALTMIRE led the Pledge of Alle- on behalf of the Majority Leader, an- permission to address the House for 1 giance as follows: nounces the appointment of the fol- minute.) I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the lowing Senators to serve as members of Mr. DEFAZIO. Madam Speaker, while United States of America, and to the Repub- the Senate National Security Working Memorial Day is the traditional begin- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Group for the One Hundred Tenth Con- ning of the summer vacation and travel indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. gress: season for all Americans, it’s going to 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. H5625 . VerDate Aug 31 2005 03:16 May 24, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A23MY7.000 H23MYPT1 mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with HOUSE H5626 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 23, 2007 be a gloomy day across America. No, housing bill that keeps the people of Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, ‘‘amnesty’’ is I’m not a weather forecaster. It’s going the gulf coast on the road to recovering a trigger word for most Americans. to be a gloomy day because of record after Hurricane Katrina. While we as a people disagree on many extortionate and manipulated prices at We also accomplished something last issues, most Americans oppose the the pump. Guess what? Crude oil prices week that 3 of the last 5 years Congress thought of legalization of illegal con- are down over a year ago, but somehow was unable to do: come to an agree- duct; in other words, amnesty. gas is up 50 cents a gallon at the pump. ment on a sensible budget with the So the special-interest groups and How is that? The refineries are making Senate. It is a budget that prioritizes the profiteers from plantation labor four times, four times their normal our Nation’s veterans and achieves bal- have been careful not to call the new, margin on refining. Why is that? They ance without raising a penny of taxes. inclusive immigration proposal am- nesty. But that’s exactly what it is. It said, oh, well, gosh, we couldn’t have f known people were going to start buy- legalizes the illegals that are in Amer- THE DEMOCRATS’ FAILURE TO ing gas around Memorial Day. We had ica, some 12- to 20 million. All they GOVERN to close down some of the refineries to need to do is a few things, including maintain them and to clean them. Does (Ms. FOXX asked and was given per- pay a fee, or as I see it, a government Exxon translate into Enron? Remem- mission to address the House for 1 kickback, and they get to stay in ber when Enron was doing the same minute.) America. But supporters of this pro- posal still refuse to accept the obvious: thing in California? High demand, shut Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, does it not It’s amnesty, or pardon for illegal con- down the generating plants. Exxon, seem ironic that the week in which we are scheduled to vote on a lobbying and duct. high demand, shut down the refineries. If somebody trespasses on your land, It’s time to stop the price gouging by ethics reform bill, that I might add is largely a carbon copy of a Republican when they are caught they usually Big Oil. Break them up. They aren’t have to pay a fine, but they also must bill from last year, we are faced with competitive, they’re colluding. get off your property. If they pay the the behavior of a high-ranking Member f fine and are allowed to continue to of the Democrat leadership who made a stay on your property, it is amnesty. LEADERSHIP IS NOT AS IT threatening comment to another Mem- APPEARS, IT’S AS IT PERFORMS This is similar to what the special-in- ber? terest groups are trying to repackage (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was What are the American people sup- and sell to the American public and given permission to address the House posed to make of the failure of the ma- even illegal immigrants. But it seems for 1 minute and to revise and extend jority to keep their promises? Instead to me these groups are selling out her remarks.) of delivering real reform, the Demo- America. We shall see what the Amer- Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, you crats march in lockstep behind one of ican public think. know, leadership is not as it appears; their own, despite this clear violation And that’s just the way it is. leadership is as it performs. And what of House ethics rules. Not only has the f the American people want to see is us majority failed to deliver on their performing and solving problems for agenda, they have shown they will tol- BUSH THREATENS VETO OF them, addressing the issues that affect erate behavior in their ranks which is STRONG BIPARTISAN DEFENSE them, not window dressing.