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, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 No. 135 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was The wars against our enemies have Aaron Vaughn, Petty Officer 1st called to order by the Speaker pro tem- taken us to the desert of the gun and Class, United States Navy SEAL, Flor- pore (Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee). the valley of the sun in Afghanistan ida. f and then off to Iraq. I’ve been to Af- Patrick Hamburger, Staff Sergeant, ghanistan and to Iraq, as many Mem- United States Army National Guard, DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO bers have. And I can tell you, Mr. Nebraska. TEMPORE Speaker, that our military that is Next to him is John Faas, Chief The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- there representing us is the finest mili- Petty Officer, United States Navy fore the House the following commu- tary that has ever existed in the his- SEAL, Minnesota. nication from the Speaker: tory of this country. And the last one on the second row is WASHINGTON, DC, Afghanistan is a land that seems to Matthew Mason, Chief Petty Officer, September 13, 2011. be cursed by God. It is a hard land. And United States Navy SEAL, Missouri. I hereby appoint the Honorable JOHN J. in Afghanistan, on August 6, 2011, spe- I continue with the third row of our DUNCAN, Jr. to act as Speaker pro tempore cially trained United States military warriors: on this day. were headed to root out the Taliban Robert Reeves, a person known by JOHN A. BOEHNER, and help our Army Rangers who needed members of my staff, Chief Petty Offi- Speaker of the House of Representatives. their support. The CH–47 Chinook heli- cer, United States Navy SEAL, Lou- f copter they were in was shot down in isiana. MORNING-HOUR DEBATE the Wardak province of Afghanistan. Next to him is Stephen Mills, Chief Thirty Americans gave their lives that Petty Officer, United States Navy The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- day, as well as eight loyal Afghans. SEAL, from the great State of Texas. ant to the order of the House of Janu- They were our first responders abroad Next to him is Louis Langlais, Mas- ary 5, 2011, the Chair will now recog- who go where the timid are not found ter Chief Petty Officer, United States nize Members from lists submitted by and the weak of soul are never seen. Navy SEAL, California. the majority and minority leaders for Here are their names, Mr. Speaker, and Next, Christopher Campbell, Petty morning-hour debate. their photographs. Officer 1st Class, United States Navy The Chair will alternate recognition The first one here, David Carter, SEAL, North Carolina. between the parties, with each party Chief Warrant Officer of the United The next warrior is Darrik Benson, limited to 1 hour and each Member States Army National Guard, Colorado. Petty Officer 1st Class, United States other than the majority and minority Next is Heath Robinson, Chief Petty Navy SEAL, California. leaders and the minority whip limited And the last one on this row is Jason to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Michigan. Workman, Petty Officer 1st Class, debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. United States Navy SEAL, Utah. Next to him, Mr. Speaker, is Alex- I continue, Mr. Speaker, and I hope f ander Bennett, Sergeant, United States you can see these photographs: Army Reserve, Washington. HONORING AMERICA’S FIRST Jesse Pittman, Petty Officer 1st Next to him is Kraig Vickers, Senior RESPONDERS ABROAD Class, United States Navy SEAL, Cali- Chief Petty Officer, United States The SPEAKER pro tempore. The fornia. Chair recognizes the gentleman from Navy SEAL, Hawaii. Next is Nicholas Spehar, Petty Offi- Texas (Mr. POE) for 5 minutes. Number five on this top line here is cer 2nd Class, United States Navy Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this Jared Day, Petty Officer 1st Class, SEAL, Minnesota. weekend, we honored those killed by United States Navy SEAL, Utah. Andrew Harvell, Staff Sergeant, the attack on America on 9/11—10 years And the last one on the first row is United States Air Force, California. ago. Many of those that were killed Jonas Kelsall, Lieutenant Commander, Daniel Zerbe, Tech Sergeant, United and gave their lives were first respond- United States Navy SEAL, Louisiana. States Air Force, Pennsylvania. ers. And after the smoke cleared that I continue with the second row: John Brown, Tech Sergeant, United day from Ground Zero, from the Pen- Jon Tumilson, Petty Officer 1st States Air Force, Florida. tagon down the street, and that special Class, United States Navy SEAL, Iowa. Kevin Houston, Chief Petty Officer, field in Pennsylvania, America went Next to him is Michael Strange, United States Navy SEAL, Massachu- after Islamic terrorists who would Petty Officer 1st Class, United States setts. murder in the name of religion. Navy SEAL, Pennsylvania. And the last row, Mr. Speaker: 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. H6101 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 02:59 Sep 14, 2011 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13SE7.000 H13SEPT1 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H6102 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 13, 2011 Bryan Nichols, Chief Warrant Officer, b 1010 thing. Yet we’re spending $10 billion a United States Army National Guard, We can and we should combine these month in Afghanistan to prop up a cor- Kansas. efforts with deficit reduction and eco- rupt leader. It makes no sense. It Spencer Duncan, Specialist, United nomic recovery. This is what happened doesn’t make any sense to the Amer- States Army Reserve, Kansas. with Ronald Reagan in 1982, with Bill ican people, and it makes no sense to Nicholas Null, Chief Petty Officer, Clinton in 1993, what was called for by many of us in the House, both Repub- United States Navy SEAL, West Vir- Simpson and Bowles, the cochairs of lican and Democrat. ginia. President Obama’s deficit reduction I understand from the newspapers Thomas Ratzlaff, Senior Chief Petty commission. that there’s a conversation now going Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Ar- Make no mistake. Unmet infrastruc- on between the United States and Af- kansas. ture needs threaten the health and ghanistan which would provide so- Brian Bill, Chief Petty Officer, safety of our communities, our envi- called ‘‘strategic partnership agree- United States Navy SEAL, Con- ronment, and our global competitive- ment’’ between the two, America and necticut. ness. Congress will find a tremendous Afghanistan, and this means that we And John Douangdara, Petty Officer coalition supporting bold action from could keep approximately 35,000 to 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, the business community, organized 40,000 troops past 2014, 2015. This does Nebraska. labor, contractors, environmentalists, not make any sense. I hope that this is Mr. Speaker, these are the men who engineers, architects, local govern- not true, but I’m afraid that it is true. gave their lives so that others could ment. The list is extensive, broad, and And something else that bothers me live. And while we mourn the lives the commitment is deep. Many com- about this conversation is that it will they gave for the rest of us, we should munities and some States have already not be called a treaty because, if it’s thank the good Lord that such men as stepped up on their own. called a treaty, it has to come to Con- these lived—the Americans, the Amer- It’s now time for the Federal Govern- gress and be approved by Congress. ican breed, the rare breed, the finest we ment to be a better partner, reclaiming This, again, takes away the voice of have. the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy the American people, especially on this And that’s just the way it is. Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ei- issue of Afghanistan, when the Amer- f senhower, back when infrastructure in- ican people, in large numbers in all the latest polls, are saying get out, get out, REBUILDING AND RENEWING vestment was not partisan or particu- get out. AMERICA larly controversial, but a national vi- History has proven that Afghanistan sion that brought us together. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The will never be anything more than what We can begin by passing this legisla- Chair recognizes the gentleman from it is today. Great nations have tried in tion later this afternoon. We need to Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- the past to try to create a national move to a larger and a longer term utes. government in Afghanistan, and it agenda as we rebuild and renew Amer- Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, never happened. Here we are going to ica, jump-start the economy, and make there has been much talk about jobs spend $10 billion a month, $120 billion a our families safer, healthier, and more and economic recovery—sadly, more year, to rebuild Afghanistan, and we economically secure. talk than action. don’t even have the money to rebuild Today’s consideration of extending f America. the Surface Transportation Act and AFGHANISTAN I hope that the Congress will join the FAA Authorization, both of which those of us, again, Mr. MCGOVERN and have expired, is a positive develop- The SPEAKER pro tempore.