Leonard Boswell

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I would yield myself such time as I may consume and will be yielding to the gentleman from Kentucky very shortly. I would appreciate very much, if this has been designated, to be recognized, and would recognize the gentleman from Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Chandler).

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I would associate myself with the remarks Mr. Chandler made. I appreciate that. Judge Reed was truly an outstanding individual in many respects and served with great distinction. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 478 and urge its passage.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 429) to designate the United States courthouse located at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Hugh L. Carey United States Courthouse''.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 429.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 429 is a bill to designate the new courthouse in Brooklyn at Cadman Plaza in honor of former Member and New York Governor Hugh Carey. Hugh Carey began his distinguished public career in 1960 when he was elected to the House of Representatives. He served on the former Education and Labor Committee, the Interior Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee. During his seven terms, he became the deputy whip and helped pass several pieces of landmark legislation on education and the rights of the disabled. As Governor, Carey signed the historic Willowbrook consent decree, which committed New York to sweeping reforms in the care of the developmentally disabled. He also dealt with Love Canal and pollution of the Hudson River. Along with Senator Kennedy and former Speaker Tip O'Neill, he worked to end violence in Northern Ireland. He is truly a son of New York, a great civic leader and esteemed public servant. For these and other reasons, it is both fitting and proper to honor Hugh Carey with this designation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Graves for those kind words and appreciate his support and work on this very appropriate naming. I urge the acceptance of H.R. 429.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 430) to designate the United States bankruptcy courthouse located at 271 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Conrad Duberstein United States Bankruptcy Courthouse,'' as amended.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 430.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, a quote from Chief Justice John Marshall was recently used at St. John's Law School, Judge Duberstein's alma mater, to describe Judge Duberstein: ``Once in a while a man mounts the bench with the salt of like, the spice of wisdom, and the sweetness of humor blended in him so subtly and yet so successfully that those who are quite unlearned in the law glimpse some of its beauties.'' This quote so aptly describes Judge Duberstein. Judge Duberstein was a proud product of New York. He attended school in the Bronx, college in Brooklyn, and received his law degree from St. John's University Law School. His high school alma mater is also the alma mater of former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The words wisdom, fairness, beloved mentor, humor, humility, and humanity are used not only to describe his life but also reflects the principles he brought to his law practice. He was a judge guided by a sense of fairness and perpetual desire for nothing but justice for all who were in his courts. His accomplishments were without bounds. Judge Duberstein practiced bankruptcy law for over six decades, and when he died in his 90s, he was the oldest surviving bankruptcy judge in the country. Designating the courthouse in his honor is a most fitting tribute to the extraordinary life and work of Judge Conrad B. Duberstein. I support H.R. 430 and urge its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 430 to a person very deserving.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1045) to designate the Federal building located at 210 Walnut Street in Des Moines, Iowa, as the ``Neal Smith Federal Building''.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1045.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is quite a privilege today for me to stand here and speak about someone who has been my mentor and that I have admired for many, many years of my life. Neal Smith, and in fact I should say his wife, Bea, have been exemplary in so many ways and have meant so much to the people of Iowa and in fact the people of this Nation. I would recognize that Neal served with distinction and bravery in World War II. He was a bomber pilot and was highly decorated. Those of you here in the Congress that served with Neal know that he was highly regarded, both in Washington and in his home State of Iowa. He was known for his skillful legislating and attention to his congressional district. Having served 36 years in Congress, Neal is the longest serving Iowan to serve in the House of Representatives. Naming the Federal building in Des Moines is an honor he deserves, and the time is correct. As chairman of the Commerce, Justice, State appropriations subcommittee, Neal spent most of his time outside the spotlight tenaciously defending programs under his jurisdiction against budget assaults. He was rooted in Depression-era Iowa. Neal was a man of liberal instincts, but he was considered fair and an honest broker as a subcommittee chairman and was known to keep debating until an agreement could be reached. He once said, ``I don't try to get confrontational. I try to do whatever I need to do to pass the bill.'' Outside of appropriations, Neal was a champion for tougher meat and poultry inspection laws and introduced and supported legislation that required food labels stating sodium content. Neal was also instrumental in creating the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to guard against grain trading abuses and in setting up strict Federal procedures for grain inspection. Back in Iowa, other tributes have been given to his honor. We now have the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, the Neal Smith Trail, and the Neal and Bea Smith Law School at Drake. It is now only fitting that the Federal building in Des Moines, a building I understand he helped get funded, be named the Neal Smith Federal Building. Again, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this moment and urge passage of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, I would just share this. That is a very good question, Mr. Graves. It would be either a B-17 or B-29. It was one of the bombers at least. I know that. Neal was the kind of person, as others know from here, he never spoke about it. You had to kind of dig it out to know about that. But he truly was an American hero as well as a very much respected hero in Iowa, and I suspect that a lot of his influence reached over into Missouri.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would say this is a very special day for us in Iowa to name this building in Neal's honor. We also would say publicly and presently that we respect Bea so very much. They went to law school together at Drake and served together all these many, many years. Mr. Regula from Ohio was a colleague of Neal's and they served together, and he was very happy and ready to help sponsor the bill and so on. I would appreciate, Mr. Graves, if you will pass on to him our appreciation for his contribution and his greetings to Neal and Bea. Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support and pass this bill.

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 132, I was on a visit to Walter Reed. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for the time. I appreciate being part of this discussion today. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't help but be somewhat taken by Mr. Rangel's comments about the lack of urgency and the lack of sacrifice in our country because of what is going on with our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I can say to you, whoever is listening or watching, wherever you are, when I go through my communities, my towns, I sense the same thing. Where is the sense of urgency and where is the sense of sacrifice? I will tell you where it is. When you go to see the troops off, to see their families, to see them, then you know where the sacrifice is. Then you know where the urgency is, to be there when they go back the second or third time, and, as some have said, the fourth. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, a resolution in support of our troops who are serving with distinction in Iraq, and opposing the President's call for escalating the troop levels in Iraq. As a two-tour combat veteran of the Vietnam conflict, as Ike said, as an assault helicopter pilot, I, like many others in this body, know firsthand of the everyday sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform serving in Iraq. And, I might add, if I could, I know the sacrifices of their spouses and children. Branded on me always will be the reminder of my children when I had to leave, and they wondered if their dad would come back. You can't forget that. And it is happening to our troops repeatedly. More than 3,100 have given the supreme sacrifice. Over 20,000 have been injured, many of them very severely. This resolution recognizes our brave men and women for performing their mission to the best of their ability. All Members of this body, all Members of this body stand foursquare behind their efforts. As one Member of Congress who voted in support of the Iraq war resolution in 2002, I recognize the pretext for going to war was based on faulty, misleading, misinformation. I cannot reverse that vote, but I can no longer acquiesce to a failed and tragic military exercise in Iraq. Two months ago, Generals Casey and Abizaid stated they did not support the increase in U.S. troop levels in Iraq, and recently President Bush maintained that that military policy with regard to Iraq would be determined by our military leaders. However, last month, President Bush ignored his top military advisers and called for a 20,000-plus increase in U.S. troops in Iraq. I and others have been pressing the administration to level with the American people on the status of the Iraqi Security Forces being trained and ready to defend their Nation. If the Iraqis are trained and ready, reportedly over 300,000, as we have been told, it is time to begin now a planned phased withdrawal of U.S. troops. Sending more U.S. troops to Iraq does nothing to enhance the Iraqis' training. It only places more U.S. forces into harm's way to become additional targets of the Iraqi civil war. This failed policy must stop. We can support our troops in the field and oppose this escalation of U.S. forces. The sectarian civil war violence in Iraq is increasing, and U.S. troops are becoming an increasing target of the various tribes and factions. We cannot continue to place ourselves in the middle of this civil war. It is time to insist that the Iraqis resolve their own civil war. We must insist and allow the Iraqis to defend their own Nation. The Bush administration stated that Iraq Security Forces are trained and ready in sufficient numbers to do the job. Again, they stated over 300,000 trained and equipped. Therefore, I believe now is the time to oppose any further escalation of U.S. troop levels and now begin the planned, phased withdrawal of U.S. forces. I regret today's resolution is nonbinding. We need to begin addressing this matter in real substantive legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution and to work in unison to bring our troops home. Mr. Speaker, you know what we do best? You know what we do best? I will bet everybody who is paying attention intends to file their income tax April 15. We do best when we are under pressure to get it done. I think it is time to say to Mr. Maliki, you know what? You have got your government in place. You have got your chance for democracy. It has been given to you. We went in there and Saddam is gone. He is history. You have got your chance. It is up to you. Now, you have got your problems, but you have got your government and it is in place. You have your problems, but you have to work them out. We cannot come in there and settle a civil war. And that is exactly what is going on. We were, like you were there and I was with you in the White House, 14 months ago when they said to the President, the Vice President, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Rice and General Pace, if you have got at that time, 14 months ago, if you have got over 200,000 troops trained, equipped and in field, then what is your plan to bring our troops home? And just like now, silence fell in the room. Now, the claim is over 300,000 trained and equipped in the field and we are not bringing ours home. So we should say to Mr. Maliki, you have got to do it, pick something, whether it is oil fields or pick something and say starting next week or the week after you are responsible for their security because we are going to bring our troops out and bring them home and we are going to take them to Baghdad, put them on airplanes and fly them home. You have got to do it. It is yours to do and we hold you responsible to do it.

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 365, and I associate myself with the remarks just made. Well said. It is a scourge to our country. I want to thank Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall of the Science and Technology Committee for their hard work on this important piece of legislation. I also want to thank the Meth Caucus leadership, Messrs. Cannon, Calvert and Larsen, who I have worked with. Meth has wreaked havoc on our communities. Every district in our Nation has in some way felt the impact of what methamphetamine can do to families, the burden it places on local law enforcement and public health, and the toxic effect it has on the environment. In my State of Iowa alone, we had roughly 350 meth lab busts last year. Although this number is significantly down from 1,500 busts in 2004, it still presents a tremendous problem for my State. I personally thank Marvin Van Haaften of Marion County, our recent drug czar, for his great work and leadership in this cause. In order to effectively continue our efforts to eradicate meth from our communities, we need every piece of information available. This legislation will increase the pool of information that local law enforcement and others rely upon. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased that this legislation takes the necessary steps to coordinate the development of meth detection equipment with emphasis on field detection equipment. I believe having reliable equipment in the field will not only strengthen meth-related cases, it will increase the safety of our law enforcement officers, enabling them to take necessary steps to protect themselves from the toxic environment caused by the production of methamphetamine. Furthermore, the study commissioned by the legislation exposes the long-term effects of exposure of meth labs on children and first responders. This help is long overdue. I am proud this legislation addresses the issue. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of H.R. 365, I strongly urge my colleagues to support and pass this measure.

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a former colleague, a great American patriot, and a great friend, of Honorable Lane Evans from the State of Illinois, and to voice my support for H.R. 521, designating the Post Office in Rock Island, Illinois, as the ``Lane Evans Post Office Building.'' Lane served his constituents with great distinction in the House for 24 years. During his tenure in this great and honorable body, Lane was a champion of our Nation's veterans. As a veteran myself, having served 20 years in the United States Army, including two tours-of-duty in Vietnam, I feel fortunate that veterans across the Nation had such a strong and stalwart advocate in the United States House of Representatives. His fight to secure assured funding for veterans' health care and better services for our Nation's veterans will always be remembered fondly. Lane also serves as an inspiration for many in our Nation struggling with a debilitating illness. When Lane was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he did not shy away from it. He continued his service to his constituents in this great House. Many can look at Lane as an example that life does not have to end when confronted with great uncertainty. One can persevere, and can continue fighting for what one believes in. I, along with other veterans across our great Nation will never forget the tireless efforts of Lane Evans--a great American patriot, and a tireless advocate for the beliefs he held so dear. I, along with many in this House, wish Lane nothing but the best for the future.

Mr. BOSWELL

Mr. BOSWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to increasing U.S. troop strength in Iraq. As one Member of Congress who voted in support of the Iraq resolution in 2002, I recognize the pretext for going to war was based on faulty, misleading intelligence. I can not reverse that vote, but I can no longer acquiesce to a failed and tragic military exercise in Iraq. Two months ago, Generals Casey and Abizaid stated they did not support increasing U.S. troop levels in Iraq. Last month, President Bush maintained that military policy with regard to Iraq would be determined by our military leaders. However, last week President Bush ignored his top military advisors and called for a 20,000-plus increase in U.S. troops to Iraq. I, along with others, have been pressing the administration to level with the American people on the status of the American security forces being trained and ready to defend their nation. If Iraqis are trained and ready as we are told, we should begin a planned phased withdrawal of U.S. forces; if not, the administration should tell us when they will be trained and ready. Sending more troops to Iraq does nothing to enhance the Iraqis' training; it only places more U.S. forces into harm's way to become additional targets for the insurgency. This failed policy must be stopped. We can support our troops in the field and oppose the escalation of U.S. forces. I urge all my colleagues to work in opposition to the President's increase in U.S. forces.