Roy Blunt

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I move that the message of the President be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a group in Southwest Missouri that intends to turn a careless act of pollution into hope for families. Part of the American dream is buying a home for your family. Home ownership in America is at record levels. Two of three families owns or is buying their primary residence. But for many families that dream is beyond reach. Working with Habitat for Humanity, the House of Representatives has supported in word and deed a commitment to home ownership for low- income families. Members of this body have assisted in raising funds and working on homes that are ``dreams come true'' for many disadvantaged families. In Southwest Missouri I have assisted in putting up the walls on four homes in what has become an annual event that my staff and I look forward to. Habitat for Humanity is a charity that has been instrumental in helping thousands of families find permanent and affordable shelter. Home ownership contributes to building strong families. It inspires a family's desire to improve and protect it's personal stake in the community as well as promotes civic participation and involvement. More importantly today, I am pleased to announce that Habitat for Humanity of Springfield, Missouri has received a grant from the Corporation for National Community Service specifically to fund a service event on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday this coming year. The $7,500 grant will be used to fund the organization's kick-off of their new program ``Aluminum Cans Build Habitat Houses.'' On Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2002, hundreds of youth will be working throughout my district picking up and recycling aluminum cans. The money raised from collecting the cans will be used to build Habitat houses and also to provide a scholarship for a high school student in our district. I commend my local chapter for its continued involvement in Southwest Missouri and its proactive efforts to engage young people in public service. Those of us who have been privileged enough to help on Habitat projects have seen the unity that this organization can bring to our communities. Few things are more inspiring than witnessing people from vastly different backgrounds and ethnic heritages working together to help a family achieve their dream. It is fitting that this grant, given in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., be used for a project that unifies. I can think of no better way to honor the legacy of a man who sought to sweep away the barriers that kept all Americans from pursuing the American dream.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a dedicated civil servant who is working daily to improve the health of residents in the Seventh Congressional District of Missouri. Earlier this month, Harold Bengsch, the Director of the Springfield- Greene County, Missouri Health Department, was awarded the 2001 Humanitarian of the Year Award, established by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. The recognition comes with a $5,000 cash award that is to be divided between the recipient and the charities of their choice. Mr. Bengsch, true to the reasons why he was so honored, gave the entire amount to charity. Harold received the award for three decades of outstanding work improving the area's public health. His dedication and vision were instrumental in cutting the number of children testing positive for elevated blood lead levels in Greene County from 28 percent to 15 percent. Under his leadership, immunization rates for children at two years of age has increased from less than 50 percent to more than 90 percent. As director of the local health department, Harold has conducted research, had his studies published in professional journals and is responsible for the ongoing management of the ever growing city- county public health programs. These programs include disease control, preventive and environmental health and medical services. Harold is a proven problem solver. He is a master at bringing people together--those who need the service and those who provide it. His soft-spoken manner, intelligence and broad experience in public health issues makes Harold Bengsch an invaluable resource to his community and well respected throughout the state of Missouri. The unreasonable actions of government bureaucrats are regularly criticized on the Floor of the House. In this case I want my colleagues to know there is at least one bureaucrat who is doing an outstanding job of serving the public. I can assert without hesitation that the public health of Springfield Greene County and Southwest Missouri is better today because of the work, effort and vision of Harold Bengsch.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Like so many other speakers here today, I want to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Mica) for their hard work on this bill; also, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), who I had the honor to work with on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and on the Subcommittee on Aviation who always worked so hard and know so much about these issues. I think it was clear from this conference that the House conferees took in a much stronger set of understanding of what needed to happen, not just in aviation security, but in transportation security than others who were involved in the conference. Mr. Speaker, I will include for the Record a statement from the President. He also says in words that I would like to paraphrase, words that have been said here today. We turned this over to the right people, to the Department of Transportation. We did not take one little sliver of one piece of Transportation and say it will be in the Justice Department, at the same time that the Justice Department did not want it. We turned this over to the Department of Transportation but went beyond that and created a new role in that Department for somebody to worry about all levels of transportation security; not just airports, but seaports as well as airports, railways as well as highways, pipelines.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the members of his committee for bringing this bill to the floor today. Certainly, I also want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo), and almost 20 others who have joined with us as co-sponsors on this bill. In my district in southwest Missouri, we frankly do not have lots of limousine transportation; but we do make lots of limousines. In fact, I think we may be the biggest manufacturer of limousines anywhere in the country; and for those men and women who work to make limousines and for those many businesses, large and mostly small, and our friends in this industry who provide this service at a time when we are more and more concerned about all kinds of transportation and transportation security, this bill really solves a transportation security problem for many people. It solves just simply a problem created in doing business every day for the small businesses that provide this great service to so many Americans, whether it is to go to that football game Mr. LaTourette mentioned or simply to travel from Newark Airport to the City of New York where someone can take a passenger. But as of today they could not wait for that same passenger and take them back to the airport. That passenger is deprived of the security of knowing that the person they contracted with to take them somewhere can be there and be ready to take them back or in Washington, D.C., where limousine operators have to carry three separate license plates, one for the District of Columbia, one for Maryland, one for Virginia, and are forced to change those license plates whenever they cross the boundaries in order to avoid the fines that otherwise come with the inconsistent regulation that now dominates this particular service. Under this bill, limousine and sedan companies will be able to travel across State lines as long as they meet certain requirements, like registering with the Department of Transportation as an interstate carrier and ensuring that all their travel is prearranged. It is also important to note that even though drivers may travel over State boundaries, they are not allowed to pick up additional business while they are on their trip. For example, if a limousine takes a person from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, they can take their client back to Los Angeles; but they cannot engage in short-term fares while waiting for the return trip. Some cities were concerned that they would not be able to ensure out- of-state drivers had the proper security clearance. We added an amendment in committee that ensures that these States and localities will be able to require any individual operating within their jurisdiction have the proper criminal background check. This legislation was written in cooperation with the taxi association, the limousine association, the para-transit authority, various regional airports and the City of New York. I believe we have worked on all sides to produce a compromise bill that will help small business owners while ensuring that States and localities will be able to protect their citizens. Again, this has been a bipartisan effort. We are grateful to the committee for bringing this bill to the floor and to all those representing small business and representing the people who manufacture limousines and sedans who have worked to make this bill possible.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and of the bill, and I particularly appreciate the fact that this bill has been designated to honor our good friend, Jerry Solomon, who represented us so well in the association of NATO parliamentarians and who had made so many friends for America around the world, and particularly with our NATO allies. There is no question that NATO has been the most successful alliance in history. I would not want to revisit all of the issues of our policies in Eastern Europe today, but I think if we look back at who was following whose lead in what we did the last couple of years, it might not have been us following NATO as much as NATO following us on policies that were vigorously debated here on this floor. That is not what this bill is about. This bill is about whether we continue to open the doors of NATO to nations that meet the standards that NATO set, nations that add to the common defense of NATO, nations that so much want to be on this side of the curtain of freedom, if the curtain of freedom ever comes down again. Recently, at the NATO parliament meeting in Lithuania, those of us who represented the House of Representatives there saw people come out who remembered clearly not only what it had been like to live under the Soviet Union, but remembered what it had been like to be dominated by the Nazis; people who did not want to have that ever happen again; people who were desperate, because if they had not been in a concentration camp or sent out of the country, they knew somebody in their family that had. Person after person, group after group, came chanting NATO, NATO, NATO, with a sense of desperation; that if the line of freedom is ever drawn again, they know which side of that line of freedom they want to be on. This does not mean that the line of freedom has to end at the Russian border. In fact, meeting the right circumstance, the line of freedom can extend, but it does mean that those countries that are striving to meet the standards that NATO set, those countries that are striving to meet the standards that NATO set for membership that can add to the common defense, that are democracies today and want to ensure that democracy can best ensure that democracy by joining this family of nations and being part of NATO, by being part of the NATO parliament, by being part of the NATO defense structure. This is hugely important to the countries mentioned. All of them are not included in NATO as a result of anything we do, but we are just making the point again that that door is open to peace-loving people, freedom-loving people, people who honor democracy, and these countries are among those.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to report to my Colleagues that another brave American pilot is coming home. However, this one is not returning from an air strike to destroy the Taliban hiding in Afghanistan; this pilot is returning from a mission against the enemies of Freedom who threatened our world over a half century ago in France. On January 15, 1945, First Lieutenant William Wyatt Patton Jr. of Stark City Missouri disappeared while flying his P-51 Mustang on a weather scouting mission out of an allied air base in Wormingford, England. After the events earlier this year, I am sure than too many families today know firsthand the sorrow and heartache that Lt. Patton's family felt in southwest Missouri when they learned that their son was missing. A year later their son was officially declared dead by the U.S. Army Air Corps. However like those families whose loved ones disappeared in the collapse of the World Trade Center, the sense of closure eluded the family whose son who still had not come home. William Patton was committed to serving our country. He first tried to enlist long before the outbreak of World War II at age 16. Official disapproval over his young age and small size didn't stop him. Shortly, thereafter he began working at a military mess hall eating what he could to gain the necessary weight and working diligently until he could join the Army. Lt. Patton eventually entered the service in 1934 and was in Hawaii as a seasoned member of the military when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Dedication and perseverance as a young airman marked his career as he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Air Medal; the American Defense Service Medal with One Bronze Star; the European-Africa-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon; Four Bronze Service Stars for participating in action in Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, and the Ardennes. He also received the purple heart. All soldiers are not fortunate enough to return home to their families after the battle and enjoy the freedoms they have fought to protect. Unfortunately, Lt. Patton was one of those. The remains of a P-51 Mustang were recently discovered in a farmer's field near the village of Longueville, France. The United states Army Central Identification Laboratory has now determined the remains of the body inside that aircraft are in fact those of a Missouri farm boy who gave his life as a soldier and as a patriot. Mr. Speaker, Lt. Patton is finally beginning his last journey home to his family in Southwest Missouri after fifty-six years. He will join his comrades in arms from every war since the Civil War in burial at the National Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri. As our young men and women in the service find themselves today scattered around the world waging war against terrorism, it is important to remember that in war all must be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. Some, sadly, will be required to actually make that sacrifice. However that sacrifice is not only made by the airman, the soldier, the sailor, the marine, or the guardsman, but by their family and their loved ones as well. To the family of Lt. William Patton, I would like to say thank you, this Congress thanks you, and the citizens of our country thank you. We understand that our freedom is purchased by the sacrifice made by Lt. William Patton and by you.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, when people tell me, as they often do, I am praying for you, I almost always say to them, it is the most important thing you could do. Just as the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Shows) mentioned, prayer does matter; and those of us who come today to support this resolution will be joined by others when this resolution is passed, to come to the floor specifically on that day to pray. The tragic events of September 11 affected all the people in our country, including Members of Congress. Prayer is one way to heal our Nation and to heal ourselves. I stand today in support of the resolution which allows Members of both bodies to have the opportunity to come to this floor, as has been often repeated, while the cameras are off for a day of prayer and reconciliation. This resolution provides an opportunity, a gathering place, for elected officials who wish to seek God's blessings and guidance for our country. It does not force any Member of this body or the other body to participate in a day of reconciliation; it merely makes this place available for that purpose. Our Nation has a strong background in faith and worship by government officials. It is a background that other speakers, including the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), have already talked about. George Washington established a day of thanksgiving and prayer as the first President. Every President since President Kennedy has said a prayer just outside the doors of this Chamber before entering the House to give the State of the Union address. The House Chaplain opens every session of Congress with a morning prayer. Above the podium, Mr. Speaker, are engraved the words, ``In God We Trust.'' During the Civil War, President Lincoln set aside several days of national mourning and prayer. In the 1950s and in the 1980s, Congress passed resolutions providing for national days of prayer; and later, those resolutions became public laws. By praying together to a higher being in all different ways that any Member of either this House or the other body would want to do, we unify our Nation; we heal our wounds; and we do, as I tell people so often, the most important thing we could do.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment and in support of the bill as reported. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak today in opposition to the Kind- Boehlert-Gilchrest-Dingell amendment and in support of HR 2646 as reported. The 80% increase to conservation programs proposed by HR 2646 is proof that this congress believes in the protection of the nation's natural resources. With an over 800% increase to the EQIP program and the proposed Grassland Reserve program, those who make their living through best management practices will receive the tools needed to protect and enhance the environment. The conservation title in this Bill meets the needs of the nation's farmer's and ranchers while maintaining an affordable and abundant food supply and a clean and healthy environment. The 1996 Freedom to Farm Act started us in the right direction in making conservation a vital part of farm policy. The popularity of the EQIP program born out of that legislation is proof that farmers and ranchers respond when given the proper tools. In my district over 30% of those who apply to receive cost share under the EQIP program are rejected not because of their worthiness but because of insufficient funding. HR 2646 will make those projects a reality. Now is not the time to rewrite the conservation title of the farm bill with an amendment that is confusing at best. Chairman Combest and the AG committee have spent the past two years holding more than 50 hearings throughout the U.S. to gain input to the bill that we are considering today. They have listened to producers of livestock, organic growers, crop farmers, government agencies and those who are concerned about our natural resources. Now the proposed amendment before us threatens to undo that work, not only of the committee, but by the 100's of people who took time away from their daily schedules to help craft what is before us today. I stand here today to urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment and support the Conservation Title of HR 2646 as written. It is the right thing to do for those on the front lines of protecting our environment and conserving our natural resources for future generations.

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. What has happened, Mr. Speaker, in the last week, is that 100,000 layoff announcements have been issued. I do not know how many fewer of those would have been announced if we had acted last week, but I think fewer than that. And if we do not act this week, there will be more layoffs next week. We have had a whole week to discuss this bill. People have suggested that was not a bipartisan process. I can seldom think of a time in the House, in the few years I have been here, of a more bipartisan process, where the minority leader in the House, the Speaker of the House, the two leaders of the other body both agreed totally on what was going to go in this bill. That does not mean they think that is the only thing that needs to be done, nor should anybody suggest for a minute that anybody on this floor thinks this will be the last thing that is done. Just because our leaders on both sides of the aisle were for this does not mean that is all they are for. It does not mean we will not hear even later in this debate an understanding that there will be more legislation. But what it does mean is that if this rule is not approved and the second rule is not approved and the bill is not approved, after a week, a full week to come together, for our leaders to come together with the very best thing they could all agree on, is that some time this week airlines would no longer have insurance. The unknown liability of two airlines who were victims of terrorists last week would make it impossible, in all likelihood, for them to get access to the financial markets they need to get access to. And by this time next week, planes all over America would be sitting on runways. Nobody will be flying if we do not address these critical issues. Airlines cannot fly without liability coverage. We address those issues here. Two airlines would not be able to have access to capital with some unknown question about their liability. We address those issues here. Victims could not begin to get access to compensation through a special procedure that is addressed in this bill. This is a critical time. There will be more legislation that relates to this industry. Many of the points that have been made here tonight can be addressed. Those points were not made during the week in these discussions. Now, that does not mean they cannot be made; that does not mean they cannot be made or will not be made in the next few days. It does mean that we need to stop the layoffs now, we need to keep these planes in the air, and we need to keep this irreplaceable industry a viable part of our economy. We do this with the action we take here tonight. I urge my colleagues to vote for the rules and for the bill. point of order

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say that if I inadvertently suggested that anybody had not addressed these issues in good faith all week, or suggested that all of our leaders had not worked hard to make this happen, or that the issues, and I believe in fact I said I was confident that later in this debate our leaders would come to the floor, I meant to say and indicate they had discussed this; they had an understanding of how this would be handled in the future. I certainly meant no suggestion of any kind that our leaders had not worked hard; that they, and that all sides are not concerned about these issues. If I misspoke in any way, I certainly did not intend to. Because I think there has been hard and dedicated work put in on this by all sides this week.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, reflection on the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon leads us to the inescapable conclusion that the United States must ever be ready to meet new threats that face us, regardless of their source. During our district work period, former Congressman James W. Symington of Missouri spoke at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield for the groundbreaking on the new library at the Battlefield's visitors center. Mr. Symington's father, Senator Stuart Symington, spoke at the dedication of the National Battlefield forty years earlier. Jim Symington is now an attorney in Washington, D.C. Mr. Symington challenged those at the dedication to consider that threats today could be met by ``preventative diplomacy, the maintenance of traditional alliances, the forging of new ones, state-of-the-art intelligence capability, and sufficient countermeasures.'' As we deliberate our response as a nation to the events of September 11, I urge my colleagues to consider the comments made by Mr. Symington. Union, Reconciliation, Readiness In the words of a beloved hymn: ``Time, like an ever- rolling stream, bears all its sons away. They vanish lightly as a dream fades at the break of day.'' Has it really been forty years since my father stood here to dedicate this hard-won parksite as a memorial, in his words, ``to a high point of valor'' in our nation's history? It was a Missouri moment, just as it was a century earlier when Missourians in concert with units from neighboring states, contested and made sacred this ground in the same time frame as Bull Run in Virginia and with consequences no less significant. This morning we share another Missouri moment seven score years from the very day this hallowed ground became the resting place of so many gallant young Americans. The legacy of their combined valor, that proud legacy, is what brings us together, and requires that we reflect on its meaning. To my mind its meaning is three-fold: Union, Reconciliation, and Readiness. First, it signifies our precious Union; its bonds re-forged by that historic battle and so many like it over the ensuing four years. Again, in my father's words, ``As we dedicate this ground, let us join our hearts and minds in prayer that this be a battlefield of the last war which will ever be fought on native Missouri or American soil''. His words call to mind a speech Abe Lincoln made in 1838 to the Young Men's Lyceum in that other Springfield, Illinois: ``From where'', he said, ``should we expect the approach of danger. Shall some transatlantic military giant step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa with a Bonaparte for a commander could not by force take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation free of men, we will live forever or die by suicide.'' What a prophetic utterance--for that Illinois lawyer to make, that young but farsighted Illinois lawyer destined to help his country draw back from the brink of such suicide a quarter of a century later. By giving his own life to the rescue he confirmed the spirit he had already seeded with the appeal he made in his First Inaugural Address.`` We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break, our bonds of affection.'' Reconciliation--the second lesson of Wilson's Creek. Missourians answered this appeal long before Appomattox. Last spring my wife and I journeyed down the Mississippi on the Delta Queen. Stopping at Vicksburg, we visited that historic battlefield, and particularly the monument to fallen Missourians. I had not known until then that Missouri was the only state that fielded troops on both sides in that crucial campaign. We were then given a heart-rending reminder that blood is thicker than politics. In the shadow of that graceful Missouri monument we were told by our escort that during a lull in the battle a young Confederate soldier, learning that his brother was in the opposing ranks, wrote him a letter telling him their mother was ill and in need of some money; could he help? The brother sent word, ``of course'', and they arranged to meet between the lines. Seeing this, their comrades on both sides laid down their rifles and met together-- with the dust of the day's battle hardly yet settled--in an area of no- man's-land that become known as ``the trysting place''. For there, during interludes in the fighting, they traded coffee, tobacco and beans, reminisced and talked of home, families, and mutual friends before reluctantly rising and returning of their posts. Those of you who may have seen the Ken Burns public television documentary on the Civil War will recall, I'm sure, that poignant moment, recorded on scratchy black and white movie film in 1913, the Fiftieth Anniversary of Gettysburg. The lame, white haired old survivors of that bloodletting squared off again in reenactment of Pickett's charge. The Confederate veterans, giving their now feeble rebel yell, struggled up the incline to the Union parapets where they were met not by gunfire, but the cheers and welcoming arms of their former foes. Shedding unashamed tears, they embraced, and held one another close. Had the veterans of Wilson's Creek enjoyed a similar chance to meet, the result would surely have been the same. As it is we must assume their spirits mingle kindly together and hove approvingly over us today. Accompanying my father at the 1961 dedication was his nine- year-old grandson, my nephew, Stuart Symington IV, now a career diplomat. Dad wanted him here to implant indelibly in his mind the significance of that joint sacrifice--just as my Mother, also at the age of nine, had attended the dedication in 1914 of a monument at Gettysburg to her great grandfather, General James Wadsworth of New York. Wadsworth had fought in that battle and many others, against my father's granddad, Captain Stuart Symington, young aide-de-camp to General Pickett. Symington survived the war. But the 56-year-old Wadsworth was later killed at the Battle of Wilderness. His remains were returned to his widow by a young Virginia farmer whose life he had spared in an earlier encounter. Little did the two soldiers know that their families would one day be united in that ultimate reconciliation, matrimony, a union to which I had my family including nine-year-old twin grandsons, are understandably indebted. Our born again Union and the new nation it forged has crossed many a perilous divide since the men in blue and gray stacked their arms, and returned to their homes in 1865. Two subsequent world wars preceded the 1961 commemoration my father addressed. The ``passions and faults of human nature'', as he said, coupled with the capacity of mankind to destroy itself, placed a grave burden on diplomacy, backed by a force no ``transatlantic military giant'' would ever dare confront. His focus was Soviet power and intent. Now nuclear proliferation, bio-chemical and other potential threats to our air, water, and cyberspace make today's challenges more complex, diverse, and unpredictable. They require preventative diplomacy, the maintenance of traditional alliances, the forging of new ones, state-of-the-art intelligence capability, and sufficient countermeasures to detect, deter, and, if necessary, overcome any threat that could arise within or beyond our borders. A daunting, multi- faceted challenge, but one which the heroes who contested this ground would expect us to meet cheerfully and without hesitation. And that is the third lesson of Wilson's Creek: Readiness, the wisdom to define it and the acceptance of the sacrifices necessary to maintain it. Mr. Chairman, in conclusion I know I speak for my departed father, My brother Stuart, and all our family when I convey both our gratitude and warm congratulations to you every one of the remarkable men and women who dreamed, planned, designed, funded, promoted, lobbied, voted, and ultimately achieved this breathtaking memorial to Missouri's ``high point of valor''. It is an honor to be among you. And I thank you.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, as brave firemen, police construction workers and other citizens continue to clear away the physical rubble of destroyed buildings, we also are surveying the damage done to our economy. It is not too soon to begin plans to rebuild the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. It is also not too soon to begin thinking about what we can do to rebuild our economy. World trade is an essential part in the engine of our economy, but a part that hasn't been working fully. The United States has been excluded from too many agreements in the past years because we couldn't move fast enough. It's time to make a change. I urge my colleagues to read the following article from the September 9, 2001 issue of the Springfield News Leader by United States Trade Ambassador Robert Zoellick. State Needs Open Markets to Prosper It's critical for Congress to give President Bush a fast- track authority on trade pacts. On a recent trip to the Springfield area, I visited the headquarters of five local companies engaged in foreign trade at the invitation of Congressman Roy Blunt, a legislative leader and partner. The performance of businesses such as Leggett & Platt, King Press and the Loren Cook Co. reinforced my belief that trade and open markets are critical to the economic well-being of America's manufacturers and farmers. President Bush has been pressing to open markets to help U.S. businesses and families. Yet, this effort has been hampered because the president lacks U.S. Trade Promotion Authority that must be granted by Congress. This authority to negotiate market-opening agreements subject to an up-or-down vote by Congress expired in 1994. Consider the following: There are 130 free-trade agreements worldwide; the United States is a party to only two. There are 30 free-trade agreements in the Western Hemisphere; the United States is a party to only one. The European Union has 27 special bilateral trade agreements, with 15 more in progress--Mexico has forged ahead with eight agreements, with 32 countries. So what is the loss to the United States? Consider the story of Caterpillar Inc. with just one country; Chile. Caterpillar's motor graders made for export to Chile face nearly $15,000 in tariffs. When Caterpillar manufacturers motor graders in Brazil for export to Chile, the tariff is just $3,700. And when Caterpillar's competitors produce a similar (but not as good) product in Canada, it can be exported to Chile free of tariffs because of the Canada-Chile free-trade agreement. But if we are going to correct problems such as that one and open markets around the world, President Bush and I need Congress to enact U.S. Trade Promotion Authority this autumn. This trade authority will help us launch a new round of global trade negotiations in November. And this new round is critical if we are going to reduce the world's trade barriers to an array of U.S. products. Some people want to turn back the clock on trade, embracing isolationism and protectionism at a time of global interdependence. During my Springfield trip, I saw the region's companies appreciate that open markets create job opportunities in Missouri and throughout the United States. Today, exports support 152,000 jobs in Missouri--in industries such as chemicals, agriculture and industrial machinery. More than 75,000 of Missouri's manufacturing jobs are tied to exports, as are more than 16,000 of the state's agriculture jobs. These dry numbers mean new jobs and improved prospects for companies and families throughout the Springfield region. I toured the Paul Mueller Co., where exports--to countries ranging from Canada and Mexico to Japan and Brazil--accounted for 19 percent of its total sales last year, up approximately 42 percent since 1995. International Dehydrated Foods in Monett was Missouri's Agriculture Exporter of the Year in 1998 and has customers throughout Latin America and Asia. Missouri's farmers, manufacturers and consumers need open markets to prosper. The Bush administration is committed to working with the Congress and our trading partners to clear the way. We have a historic opportunity to make free trade a defining feature of the 21st century. It is an opportunity and indeed necessity that America cannot afford to miss.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, as I listened the other day to my colleagues respond on their own, away from this building, to what had happened, I noticed two overriding themes. One was in a free society that stands as a symbol for freedom of the world, we are uniquely open to the kind of cowardly acts that happened this week. The second was that our only real safeguard against those kinds of acts, no matter how much we might attempt with funding of our efforts to see that they never occur, our only true safeguard was to make certain that the people who planned, who perpetrated, who helped finance, who sheltered those who did any of those things, paid such an incredible price that they would not be willing to disrupt the freedom of the United States of America. This resolution ensures that the President has the support of the Congress as he does everything possible to see that that price would be paid. It is a price that must be paid. We must move forward. I urge my colleagues to vote for the resolution.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, all too often in the news, the only young people we hear about are those who are in trouble for one reason or another. It is an honor today to rise and share with my Colleagues information about an outstanding young woman in my district who demonstrates exemplary character and leadership skills in her Southwest Missouri school and community. This exceptional young leader is Roberta Rader, or ``Robbie'' as everyone in Mount Vernon, Missouri knows her. In many ways she is just a typical teenager in her senior year at Mount Vernon High School. But at the same time, this typical teen is doing extraordinary things. Robbie is active in Student Council where she serves as the Community Service Chair. Because of her personal commitment she has helped build houses through Habitat For Humanity and has volunteered at various shelters for the underprivileged in the community. Robbie also serves as President of her school's National Honor Society and was on the three-person team from Mt. Vernon that captured the state Future Farmers of America forestry championship this year. To further demonstrate that she is a well rounded person, Robbie has lettered for two years on the school's track team, is a district champion in hurdles and will be co-valedictorian of her Senior class next spring. Such a rich menu of accomplishments has not gone unnoticed at the national level. Robbie was just chosen to be the Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the National Association of Student Councils, a position in which she represents seven states. As a member of the national board, she also participates in setting national goals for student councils and directing those activities as co-chair. It is clear that this young lady is motivated and focused. Part of her commitment is seen in a personal habit of keeping a list of her goals with her everywhere she goes. Robbie has to update the list every six months! Our country would benefit if more could achieve their goals as quickly and stay as committed and focused as Miss Rader. Robbie has benefitted from a supportive family and caring teachers who have encouraged and guided her along the path of learning and achievement. Robbie continues to work relentlessly toward her goals, earning the respect of classmates and teachers. It is a testament to the strength of her character that despite all of her accomplishments, her teachers still praise her as ``humble.'' Robbie Rader is leadership in action. It is a comfort to know that young people such as Robbie are preparing themselves today to our future leaders. I know that my Colleagues join me in commending Robbie for her national office and her commitment to excellence in her personal life.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an institution which for a quarter of a century has served an invaluable role in preserving and remembering our Southwest Missouri history and heritage. Twenty-five years ago The History Museum of Springfield and Greene County was created in honor of the Bicentennial of our great nation. The citizens of Springfield and Greene County established the museum to educate others about the area's culture and open a new window on the history of day-to-day life in the region. A key local education resource was born. Teachers and other educators in Southwest Missouri have been blessed to have such a historical museum readily available. Over the years it has become a favorite field trip destination, permitting thousands of young minds to experience some of the culture that nurtured their parents and grandparents as well as other generations before them. Many educational trips have been hosted by The History Museum for Springfield and Greene County. The Museum, founded and guided in its early years by Springfieldian Kitty Lipscomb, is also a place of remembering and learning for adults too. The museum is a storehouse of knowledge about past experiences which helped shape our families, neighborhoods and communities and are still molding us as a society today. It reveals the common threads that bound neighborhoods and communities together in past generations. Capitalism, Democracy, Liberty and Faith were the core values that stirred our imagination and gave birth to America's work ethic, innovation, and self betterment through a commitment to education, and personal independence. Each of these qualities is on display at the History Museum for Springfield and Greene County in vintage photographs, clothing displays, maps and documents depicting how our communities grew and developed. With its home on the top floor of the Springfield City Hall, the Museum has dedicated itself to the reflection of our past with an eye toward our future. This superb facility gives us the opportunity to memorialize our own stories of accomplishment, development and expansion as well as documenting how we overcame challenges and disagreements. Individuals, neighborhoods, community leaders and institutions joined together to forge a strong, diverse economy and society in the Ozarks. I'm confident that my Colleagues join with me in expressing our thanks to the vision and foresight of community leaders a quarter century ago. Because of their dedicated work, the residents of Southwest Missouri have had a place where they can go to rediscover the roots of our past and benefit from lessons for the future.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to give tribute to Marissa Whitley, who for the last year has been Miss Missouri Teen USA. On the night of August 22nd, this wonderful young lady was crowned Miss Teen USA 2001. For Marissa, who lives in my district, this coronation serves as a fitting accomplishment in a journey full of dedication and sacrifice. ``She's always been a leader since she was young'' according to Marissa's aunt, Karen McHaney. Mrs. McHaney should know as well as anyone. McHaney took three-year-old Marissa in after Marissa's mother passed away due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Marissa and her family met the challenges of her loss. She has worked hard to achieve her new title of Miss Teen USA. Marissa volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and a local Boys and Girls Club while competing in and winning four pageant events. In addition to maintaining her rigorous schedule as Miss Missouri Teen USA, she was still prepared for college and scheduled to begin classes at St. Louis University this fall until this most recent ``detour.'' Her perseverance and vision to seek out and fulfill her dreams make Marissa an excellent role model not only for the young people of Missouri, but for youth across our country. Marissa's home town is Springfield, Missouri. She has been featured in local media stories as she worked to represent young American women. Marissa's hard work and dedication are worth recognition and I'm confident she will continue to use her position of leadership to set a positive example to young people. I know my colleagues in the United States Congress wish her well as she begins this part of her life's journey.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding me this time, I want to use the last of the voice I have left this week to talk for a few minutes about this bill and the rule that allows it to come to the floor. What we have a chance to do here today is to end 6 years of gridlock, 6 years of striving for a solution that has been outside of our reach. Today we can achieve that solution. Lots of Members have worked very hard to try to find that solution on both sides of the aisle. My good friend, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske); the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood); the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell); the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson); and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher) have all worked hard to try to find that ground that gets us to a solution that really does create parents' rights. I think what this bill does, and the amendments that go along with it is, it puts patients first. It puts health care first. It puts the health care decision first, and that is a critical difference in this and some of the other concepts that we have talked about, such as the health care professional review panel that has an immediate answer. In fact, how they respond to that answer depends on the way that patients are dealt with in the future of this process. If in fact an individual is provided insurance, and responds to what that doctor-driven health care professional panel says needs to be done, they have done the right thing and the law recognizes that. This law talks about greater access to the system. It talks about liability, but it also talks about some ways to avoid that liability, which continues to encourage employers to provide health care to their workers. For a generation now, one of the questions that workers first asked when they filled out a job application was, Is health insurance provided? What we do not want to see at the end of our debate here is the answer to be, We used to have health care. We used to offer health care, but now we just give employees money because we do not know what our liability is. It was undefined. Our bankers, if it is a small business, would not let us continue down that path. Our shareholders, if it is a large business, because of the responsibility we have to them, we decided not to have health care insurance any longer because we did not understand our liability. That is one reason many of us thought it was so important to understand the limits of that liability. This bill sets a higher limit than many of us would have ever thought we could accept; but employers can work with it, the system can work it. Most importantly, the results of the hard effort in the last 24 hours, the President's efforts, the efforts of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood), the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) stayed up all night to make sure of the language, to come up with a bill that this House can vote on this week that can be signed into law. Mr. Speaker, 6 years of talking about this is too long. Now is the moment when we can reach a final decision. We can send a bill to the Senate that is a better bill than the Senate's bill. We can put a bill on the President's desk. He wants to sign a bill; we ought to give him the chance to do that. This bill truly does protect patients' rights.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I rise in opposition to the amendment that my friend, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake), has presented, and certainly in support of the amendment offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) before the body today. Cuba is different. Cuba is 90 miles away. It is in this hemisphere. The Secretary of State of the United States says Cuba is different in treatment on these issues. The President of the United States says Cuba is different in treatment on these issues. Within the last 2 weeks, the President has said that the United States stands opposed to such tyranny, talking about Cuba, and will oppose any attempt to weaken sanctions against the Castro regime until it respects the basic human rights of its citizens, frees political prisoners, holds democratic free elections, and allows free speech. That is a higher standard than even the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) have put forth in this amendment. This is a sanction. Clearly, it is a travel sanction; but it is a sanction on a country that is the only dictatorship in our hemisphere. Mr. Chairman, 77 convicted U.S. felons are in Cuba, people who have killed police officers are in Cuba, people on the FBI's 10 most wanted list are in Cuba. We need to have respect for our rule of law before we move forward with this kind of change in policy.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BLUNT. I am unaware of any procedural decisions that have been made on that.

Mr. BLUNT. I am not saying that. I have not had time to calculate this. We really thought we were going to win this rule and vote on this tonight. We thought it was a fair rule, an equitable rule that clearly gave all options. Apparently, the majority did not think that, and I have no further information.