Dan Burton

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor of H. Res. 865.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Andre's wife, I presume, is here with him today, Mariama. They are the proud parents of a 1-year-old daughter, Salimah. I am sure when she is a little older, she will be very proud as well. I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I know Julia Carson, who was a beloved Member of all of us in this body, is looking down from heaven today and is very, very proud of Andre. He was the apple of her eye, her grandson, and if there was one thing she wanted, she wanted him to succeed her in the Congress of the United States. I am sure she is very, very happy today. Andre has a background in law enforcement. He worked with the State police, he worked with Homeland Security in the area of terrorism watching and controlling. He is a past member of the City-County Council of Indianapolis, and I presume they are going to have to pick somebody else to fill your seat now. He will be a welcome Member of this body. We congratulate you on your election and we look forward to working with you. Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Indiana (Mr. Buyer).

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I yield to our new Member of Congress.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend, Mr. LaTourette of Ohio, a very fine Congressman, for such time as he may consume.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I was looking at the picture of Mr. Kashkoush, and all I can say is he exemplifies the thousands of young men and women who have gone to serve their country in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere in the world. And we just can't say enough about young people like that who go out there and risk their lives to protect our freedoms. I am very happy that my colleague from Ohio took the time to introduce this legislation, and I am very happy to support that. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I will submit the majority of my remarks for the Record. I would just like to say that after reading about this gentleman, Mr. Chin, I think it is a great honor for him to receive having his name put on this post office. But he earned it. He really earned it. When you read about his exploits, as my colleague just mentioned, you can see why people like this deserve recognition. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a great American, Arthur Chin, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 85. Angered by the Japanese invasion of China's northeastern provinces, Mr. Chin sailed to China along with other Chinese-American flyers to volunteer for the Chinese Air Force in 1932. After enlisting in the Chinese Air Force, Mr. Chin fought in many aerial battles against the more experienced Japanese. Mr. Chin excelled in his military career and rose through the ranks to become a major in 1939. By this time, he had been shot down and wounded three times, and was severely burned when his Gloster Gladiator was hit by enemy fire at 3,000 feet and exploded. Amazingly, he survived but he spent five years recovering in hospitals all over the world. Despite the extensive healing process, Mr. Chin valiantly flew again. He transported supplies from India to China over the Himalayas until the end of the war. After the war, Mr. Chin briefly flew for China National Airways Corporation in China until the Communists took over in 1949. Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Chin settled back in his hometown of Portland, Oregon where he took a job with the United States Postal Service. Because of his outstanding military service, he was awarded numerous medals, including the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross. Soon after his death, Mr. Chin was also honored as one of the first American aviators inducted into the American Combat Airmen's Hall of Fame. In recognition of his years of selfless public service to his State and country, I believe it is fitting to name a post office in Beaverton, Oregon, in Mr. Chin's honor. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

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

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Smith), the sponsor of the bill, such time as he may consume.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today to urge passage of this bill honoring a tremendous citizen of the great State of Texas for her continued dedication to improving her region, state, and country--the Honorable Cyndi Taylor Krier. A native of Texas, Cyndi Krier has proudly followed in the footsteps of a long line of public servants. Her grandfather served as the postmaster in Dinero, Texas, until his death in 1956 and was succeeded by his wife, Cyndi's grandmother, who served as postmaster for an additional 20 years. Additionally, Cyndi's own mother served the USPS in Beeville, Texas, for more than 30 years. Earning both her bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Texas, Austin, Mrs. Krier was elected to the State Senate in 1984 and went on to serve two terms, until 1992. In 1992, Mrs. Krier became the first woman and first Republican ever elected as Bexar County Judge. In this capacity she worked to ``Build a Better Bexar County.'' Throughout her career as judge, she focused on youth education programs, broad-based ethics reform, recycling and conservation, competition for country and contracts and controlling government spending. She was successfully reelected twice in 1994 and 1998. In 2001, Governor Rick Perry appointed her to a six-year term on the University of Texas System Board of Regents. She served in various capacities on the board including as vice chairman and as Chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee. Throughout her career, Mrs. Krier has remained active in the community outside of her professional duties. Whether through her work with the United Way, serving as Chairman of the UT Austin Ex-Student Association or the number of statewide task forces helping to plan for the future of Texas, Judge Krier has consistently demonstrated her commitment to improving others' lives. I urge swift passage of this bill designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10250 John Saunders Road in San Antonio, Texas, as the ``Cyndi Taylor Krier Post Office Building,'' to honor this dedicated, passionate, and tireless public servant. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this fitting tribute.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to ask of the bill's sponsor if he would mind adding my name as a cosponsor of the bill.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the reason I want to do that is because I remember ``Big Cat.'' When I was a boy, I remember when he broke into the NBA, and he was an outstanding basketball player. The prejudice that occurred back in those days was unbelievable. I played sports at Shortridge High School, and we used to go down to a place called St. Andrews and we played against some really great basketball players who understood how the game was to be played. Big Cat said, and I just read his biography, his background here, said it was tougher playing basketball on the grass courts and the asphalt courts than it was when he went into college and the NBA, and I can attest to the fact that that was pretty rough basketball. We played against a guy, he probably doesn't remember me very well, but we played against a guy named Oscar Robertson back in the fifties who was a pretty good basketball player from Indiana. And ``Biscuit'' Williams and Herschel Turner and some of the other guys that had to endure the prejudices of that time were really outstanding basketball players. You have to give an awful lot of credit to people who were willing to fight and overcome the racial prejudice and barriers that existed at that time. So Big Cat gets my vote, along with Oscar Robertson and all these other guys. I really admire them for what they went through, and I also admire them for their basketball ability. I am telling you, some of those guys were unbelievable. Oscar Robertson was the only guy I ever saw play basketball who could go in five different directions at once and hit a shot without touching the rim. He was unbelievable. And Big Cat was in that league as well. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 286, honoring the accomplishments of Lloyd, the first African-American man to play in the NBA. How strange it must seem to young people that a league now 80 percent populated by African-American players once didn't allow them. But before Earl Lloyd signed with the Washington Capitols in 1950, that wasn't the case. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to take away anything from the well- chronicled accomplishments of Jackie Robinson. But in some ways, it must have been more difficult to do what Earl Lloyd did. Baseball is played on a big field, and the players are rarely close enough to the fans to hear their comments. Basketball is played in a room--sometimes not all that big of a room. Players wear what amounts to glorified underwear. In basketball, players hear the comments that get directed at them. But Earl Lloyd was used to that. Raised in Alexandria, Virginia, Lloyd honed his skills on the tough playgrounds of this very city, Mr. Speaker. He once said college and even pro basketball were easy after the education he'd received on the Banneker and Parkview playgrounds in Washington, DC. Mr. Speaker, Earl Lloyd did not accomplish what he did because of his skin color. And how did he do it? He helped his teams win. At West Virginia State, he led his team to two conference championships and one runner-up finish. In the pros, after being drafted by Washington, he played six seasons with the Syracuse Nationals. In 1955, the Nationals won the NBA title, making Lloyd the first African-American man to own an NBA championship ring. Today, he works in community relations for the Bing Group, which was founded by another D.C. basketball legend--Dave Bing. He continues to contribute and make his community proud. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this fitting tribute. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume I would like to submit my whole statement for the Record and be a little more brief. Mrs. Margaret Truman Daniel, as has been stated, was the daughter of Harry Truman, who was one of the fighting Presidents of the United States, and his daughter, Margaret, was also a very strong young lady. As has been mentioned, she became a vocalist, had her own television show. She went to George Washington University, and in 1944, the same year her father was elected Vice President, she earned her first degree. In 1946, one year after her father was sworn in as President of the United States, Margaret graduated with her bachelors in history. At the age of 16, she became a singer, taking voice lessons from a friend in Independence, and after graduating from GW, she pursued her career as a vocalist. She was a very outstanding young lady, accomplished a great deal, and was a credit to not only her mother and father but her country. She was highly regarded. She married a gentleman from the New York Times, and they, I think, had four children and three or four grandchildren. She was a very fine lady, and I think it's appropriate we honor her today with this. I rise today to urge passage of this resolution honoring one of the great first-daughters of American history, Mrs. Margaret Truman Daniel. Born to Harry and Bess Truman on February 17, 1924, in Independence, Missouri, Margaret Truman spent the majority of her childhood in her hometown until, in 1934, her father was elected to the United States Senate. Through the remainder of her primary school years, she split her education between Independence and Washington before graduating in 1942. That year she enrolled in George Washington University and in 1944, the same year her father was elected Vice President, she earned her associates of art. In 1946, one year after her father was sworn in as President of the United States, Margaret graduated with her bachelors in history. At the age of 16 Margaret began taking voice lessons from a friend in Independence and after graduating from GW, she actively pursued her career as a vocalist. Making her concert debut in 1947 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Margaret Truman embarked on a career that included several national tours and appearances at Constitution Hall and Carnegie Hall. Never shirking her duties as first-daughter, she always made time to break from her blossoming career to help her father, including frequent trips with him during his successful 1948 ``Whistlestop'' reelection campaign. After her father left the White House in 1953, Margaret took her vocal talents to New York City, where she spent a number of years working in both radio and television. While in New York, Miss Truman met Clifton Daniel, an assistant editor for the New York Times, and the two were wed in 1956 in Independence. The Daniels were the proud parents of four boys and grandparents of five. Beyond singing, Margaret Truman enjoyed a successful career as a writer. Completing her first book in 1956, she is probably best known for her Capital crime series novels, most of which took place in Washington, DC. She also published a number of biographies and non- fiction books relating to her parents and her time in the White House. After her husband's retirement in 1977, Margaret spent the remainder of her years in New York. She maintained her deep commitment to public service until the time of her death, serving on the board of trustees of the Truman Scholarship Foundation and as a member of the board of directors of the Truman Library Institute, among other worthy bodies. In 1984, she was the recipient of the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award. On January 29, 2008, at the age of 83, Margaret Truman Daniels passed away in Chicago. She will live on in the hearts of this country not only as a dedicated first-daughter and public servant, but also as a passionate vocalist, talented writer, and loving mother and grandmother. Let us honor this tremendous American with swift and unanimous passage of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this fitting tribute. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I want to associate myself with the remarks just made by Mr. Royce of California. I think he made the case very well for the Colombian Free Trade Agreement. Colombia has been a great friend of ours under President Uribe, and we ought to be doing more to make sure that that government down there is stable and that the trade with us improves. Right now we have about a $2.56 billion trade deficit, because they have access to our markets but we don't have access to theirs, like we should, because of the tariffs. If we pass a Colombian Free Trade Agreement, it will be a two- way street that will help them, will help us create more jobs in the United States, as well as more jobs in Colombia. But there is more to it than that. Right now, there is a threat from the FARC guerrillas in Colombia, and right on the border is Venezuela. President Chavez of Venezuela has recognized the FARC down there and is kind of working with those people, and I think that is a peril that faces Colombia over the long haul. Having a strong free trade agreement that will create jobs and a stronger economy in Colombia I think will be one of the things that will help stop the terrorists down there, the FARC guerrillas, the ELN and those who may be coming out of Venezuela. So I think this is a very good first step tonight. We are extending the trade preferences for the next 9 or 10 months, and I think that that is all right. But we need to get on with the business of making sure we pass a free trade agreement with Colombia, as we did with Peru. I think it is in our national interests and their national interests. They are a good friend, and we should get the job done.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 947, sponsored by my friend and colleague from California, Mr. Royce, which offers the House of Representatives' congratulations to Lee Myung-Bak on his election to the presidency of the Republic of Korea. Additionally, this resolution recognizes the very special and longstanding relationship between South Korea and the United States; a relationship whose modern day form was first forged in the heat of battle as U.S. and South Korean soldiers fought to defend South Korea from aggression by Communist North Korea. In fact, our history of friendship reaches beyond the past century; and just last year we celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Korean American Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation which was signed in 1882. In my opinion, it is hard to overestimate the importance of the close bond between the United States and South Korea. The United States and Korea have a mutual defense treaty that dates back to 1953, and Korea has supported U.S. military efforts abroad, as recently as in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Korea has been one of only four partners and allies that stood with us through all four major conflicts since World War II. In addition, South Korea demonstrated her great friendship and generosity in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, pledging over $30 million in aid for relief and recovery efforts--the fourth largest amount donated by any foreign country. On June 30, 2007, representatives of both governments signed the historic United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement. If and when this agreement is approved by Congress I believe it will increase trade and investment flowing through our agriculture, industrial, consumer products, automobile and financial services sectors. I believe this agreement will enhance the strong partnership between two great democratic nations and will open the door wider to the exchange of science and ideas that will cause us both to continue to prosper. This agreement is a natural extension of the strong affinity between our two countries, marked by extraordinary diplomatic, political, military, and economic cooperation. Although the devil is always in the details, I understand that this agreement could potentially be the most commercially-significant free trade agreement signed by the United States in more than a decade. As many of my colleagues already know, South Korea is already the United States' seventh largest export market and sixth largest market for U.S. agricultural products. In fact, according to the latest statistics, our annual bilateral trade totals nearly $80 billion. Any agreement that can open up more Korean markets to U.S. goods and services can only have a positive effect on the American economy by creating more and better jobs, enriching consumer choice, and boosting U.S. industry and manufacturing. Koreans have invested nearly $20 billion in the United States, and have created American jobs through companies like Hyundai Motors, Samsung Electronics, and Kia Motors. And as the largest investor in Korea, the United States already has a leading presence in that country. As I have said before and will continue to say, I think it is important to note that trade relationships do more than just facilitate economic growth; this FTA recognizes our special relationship with South Korea that I mentioned before and makes the strong statement that we will continue to stand with our allies. South Korea is the fifth largest tourism-generating country to the United States with over 800,000 Koreans visiting the U.S. every single year. This number is expected to double (at the minimum) when South Korea joins the Visa Waiver Program. According to the Department of Homeland Security, South Korea also has the largest foreign student population in the U.S. Nearly 2 million Americans of Korean descent live in communities all across our Nation, representing all walks of life and making innumerable contributions to the enrichment of our Nation's culture and economy. South Korea is a strong, unwavering ally in the U.S.-led Global War on Terror, having dispatched the third largest contingent of troops to Iraq, and to Afghanistan (where a South Korean soldier was killed during hostile action), and to Lebanon in support of peacekeeping operations; and South Korea is a key partner in the Six-Party Talks to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue. I firmly believe that South Korea may be the premier success story of U.S. foreign policy in the post-World War II period. Having assisted South Korea in transforming itself from a war-torn, impoverished economy into a successful democracy with a free enterprise economy (the world's 11th largest), South Korea is now an indispensable partner with the United States in promoting democracy, a free market economy and respect for the rule of law around the world. I believe that President-Elect Myung-Bak understands and appreciates the important history behind our bilateral relations. His desire to better relations with the United States through an emphasis on free market solutions encourages me that the work we have begun will continue to grow under his leadership. I look forward to a continuation of the United States-South Korean partnership during the President- Elect's term and for many years beyond. I strongly urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 947 and join me in congratulating President Lee Myung-Bak, and extending to him the very best wishes of the House of Representatives as he assumes office later this month.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, while I was back home in Indiana for the recent congressional recess, I came across an excellent op-ed in the Indianapolis Star written by the CEO of Conseco Inc--one of our Nation's premier insurance, annuity and financial security firms--C. James Prieur. The topic of this op-ed was a subject that I have been deeply concerned about for some time, namely, the question of long-term health care. Not since the days of Hillarycare back in the early 1990s has the issue of health care been raised to such prominence in political and civic debates all across the country. However, one aspect of health care that I believe is still not garnering the kind of attention it should is long-term care, LTC, insurance. Back in December 2006, the AARP released a shocking survey, which found that a full 59 percent of American adults age 45 and older overestimate Medicare coverage for long-term care. Other studies have shown similar results. Taken together, the implication is clear; far too many Americans do not have a clear perception of long-term care costs or to what extent long-term care is covered by public programs. For example, Medicare pays for care delivered in skilled nursing facilities to patients who require longer term medical treatment, but Medicare does not pay for custodial care needed to assist frail and disabled beneficiaries with eating, bathing and other activities of daily living. Medicaid only covers those types of services if you are impoverished or become impoverished, and it provides far fewer quality care choices than are offered through typical long-term care insurance plans. With the impending retirement of roughly 76 million baby boomers in the next 10 to 20 years, and the average cost of a private room in a nursing home running about $75,000 a year, in current dollars, we are facing a potential long-term care train wreck. Fortunately, the solution is already in place, and it is not a Government-run insurance program; it is the private insurance industry. As Mr. Prieur clearly says in his op-ed, and I agree with him, long-term care insurance isn't for everyone. But, millions of Americans have already put their trust in LTC insurance, and when 97 percent of long-term care claims submitted to private insurers are being paid out--which is the finding of a survey of the leading LTC insurers done by America's health insurance plans--the facts seem to show that this trust is well placed. I urge my colleagues to read this op-ed and to talk to your constituents about Medicare and long-term care issues. And I urge my colleagues to come together to enact simple, commonsense changes in Federal policy that can help Americans take an important step towards preparing for their long-term care and retirement security needs. One of the easiest things we could do is to allow long-term care insurance to be offered among employer-sponsored cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements, FSAs. Currently, benefits such as medical insurance, disability income, life insurance, and a variety of other voluntary benefits are cafeteria style but long-term care insurance is not. Moreover, long-term care insurance cannot be purchased using FSA dollars. That simply makes no sense. [From the Indianapolis Star, Dec. 31, 2007] Let's Work To Avoid Long-Term Care Crisis (By C. James Prieur) Here's a question: What percentage of the long-term care claims submitted to private insurance companies were paid in 2006? 10 percent? 25 percent? 50 percent? The actual answer-- according to a survey of the leading LTC insurers by America's Health Insurance Plans--is 97 percent. If that high percentage surprises you, it may be because a small number of problem LTC insurance cases have been grabbing the headlines. Public attention is focusing as never before on the important issue of how Americans will pay for their long-term care needs. Soaring health care costs, the looming retirement of millions of baby boomers, and the fear that Medicare and Medicaid will be dangerously strained are behind this concern. Unfortunately, misleading media accounts may be driving away the very people who would benefit most from LTC insurance. Far-sighted leaders in Congress who are pushing to broaden the number of Americans who have LTC insurance are doing so for good reason. The cost for providing long-term care will be a major, potentially crippling expense for many households. Contrary to what many think, government programs will pay only part of the tab. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa noted recently that ``preparing for long-term care needs can make a big difference in both the quality of life for individuals and the solvency of Medicaid.'' How the success of these products and their new variations will affect public programs is a serious issue. Many seniors mistakenly believe their LTC costs will be covered by Medicare. In fact, Medicare does not cover home health care, nursing home care or the type of care one may need for a severe cognitive impairment like Alzheimer's disease. This means that most seniors will have to bear a meaningful share of their own long-term care costs, and that's where private LTC insurers enter the picture. It is our mission to provide seniors with the assurance that their long-term care needs will be covered and their legacy will be preserved. Millions of Americans have put their trust in LTC insurance, and the facts show that this trust is well placed. Overwhelmingly, insurers are meeting their obligations. Across the country in 2005 (the most recent full-year data available), the LTC industry paid more than $3 billion of claims. LTC insurance isn't for everyone. If you are among the wealthiest of Americans, you might be able to afford to pay your own LTC expenses. If you have a very low income or few assets, Medicaid may help you. If you fall somewhere in between, LTC insurance may be the smart choice to relieve the financial strain on your family and help you protect assets. LTC insurance is getting more expensive. Many LTC insurers today are asking state insurance departments for authority to raise their LTC insurance rates. Policyholder premiums are based on several factors that have changed significantly over time, and in ways that few anticipated.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I want to thank the Black Caucus for taking this Special Order tonight. Julia Carson was a friend of mine and a friend of Steve Buyer. We traveled back and forth on the plane from Indianapolis to Washington on a regular basis and we got to know each other. Julia was a wonderful person, very highly regarded by the people of Indianapolis. In fact, she is the only woman in the history of the city who was recognized as Woman of the Year by the Indianapolis Star twice. That honor came to her by readers of the paper voting for her. That was quite an honor, an honor that has not been bestowed upon any other woman in the city's history. The thing I really liked about Julia was that even though she was a Democrat and I was a Republican, we worked together on a lot of issues that were very important to central Indiana and the City of Indianapolis. I remember one case in particular that dealt with the Children's Museum. I talked to Julia about it, and she took the bull by the horns and worked very hard to make sure that the problems that we had with the Children's Museum were resolved, and I really admired her for that. Her predecessor and her buddy, Andy Jacobs, to whom you just referred in that article, really loved her like a sister. Andy served here for, I think, 28 or 30 years, and he is a very dear friend of mine, and Andy has told me on a number of occasions the great contributions that Julia made to him and his staff when she worked for him before she became a Congresswoman. She was a State representative. When Andy was defeated in 1972, he urged her to run for the Indiana House of Representatives, and she did. She was elected, and then she was later elected to the Indiana State Senate. Then she ran for the Center Township Trustee's job in Indianapolis and was elected to that. The thing I talked about yesterday when we were acknowledging Julia that I didn't know much about until just recently was that when she took over the Center Township Trustee's job, it was in a chaotic situation. And she was able to take care of the needs of the people of Indianapolis that really needed help and at the same time to reduce the budget of the Trustee's office, and that was something that I think all of us, Republican or Democrat, really can admire. She was a very fine Congresswoman. She was a very fine person. She always had a smile for everybody, and I really appreciated knowing her. She shall be missed. I think that she is probably in heaven looking down on us right now. Julia, you did a good job.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Let me just say that Julia Carson was a friend of mine. I have known Julia for a long, long time. She worked for our former colleague Andy Jacobs when he was in the House, and she did a tremendous job for him. She started out politically in Indiana as a State representative and became a State senator. And when Andy retired, she ran for and was elected to the Congress of the United States. She was also a trustee. One of the things she did as a trustee was she reduced the cost to the trustee's office and reduced the number of people who had to be served on the welfare rolls. I think that is very honorable that she did that. She worked so hard. As a Republican, I have to take my hat off to Julia for reducing the cost of that township trustee's office. She did a fantastic job. She worked here in the Congress for a long, long time. Her health started failing, as you all know, in the last couple of years, but she continued to try to serve her constituents as best she could. Julia was loved, literally loved by all of the people she served in Indianapolis. She worked so hard and so long, and I know everybody in the Indiana delegation and in Indiana will miss her. And I know her good friend, Andy Jacobs, grieves for her as well as we do tonight. I would just like to say that Julia, we miss you and we wish you Godspeed.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I yield to my colleague from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 880) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, you know, we've had probably close to 1,100 votes this session. We've been here since January. In fact, January we had more work scheduled than I've seen in a long, long time because January is usually a light month. But we had all those votes, and here we are with just a few days left in this session and we haven't done a darn thing. In my opinion, the accomplishments of this Congress under the Democrat leadership has been a big zero. The appropriation bills that the President wanted to sign and get through this process have not been given to him, and now you're going to come up with an omnibus spending bill right here at the end with a lot of pork in it that nobody knows what's in it, and you're going to present that to the American people as a job well done. Well, it is not a job well done. That omnibus spending bill, if it has all that pork in it that we've heard of, the President's likely to veto, and then we're going to have to come back with a continuing resolution to get us through the end of the year into the middle of January. So I'd just like to say to my colleagues, whom I respect a great deal, the promises that you made at the beginning of the year when you took charge of this House have not been met. We have not gotten anything done of substance, and we're going to leave here with an omnibus spending bill that may or may not be vetoed, and the American people are going to wonder what in the world's in that bill. So I'd just like to say to my colleagues, I'd like to say a job well done, but I can't. It's been a total zero this year. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, it's late at night here in the Capitol, and most of my colleagues are in their offices or have gone home. But I want to talk about an issue that's very, very important that we've been talking about now for the last 8 years. I was chairman of the Government Reform Committee for 6 years, and during that time, my grandson became autistic; and we checked to find out what was the cause, trying to find out, because my daughter and her husband were just extremely upset about it, as we were as grandparents. And we found that he had received nine shots in one day, seven of which had a product called themarasol, a preservative, in it. And the themarasol was 50 percent ethylmercury. And so I decided to have hearings to try to find out if the ethylmercury in those vaccines had anything to do with the autistic problem my grandson had. And we found, by having many, many hearings over a 4-year period, we found that scientists from all over the world and leading doctors and educators here that work with autistic children, that the mercury in the vaccines did contribute to the autistic epidemic that we had. We used to have one in 10,000 children that were diagnosed as being autistic. One in 10,000. Today the Centers for Disease Control will tell you it's one out of 150. It's an absolute epidemic in this country. And we have been fighting and fighting and fighting to make sure that those families who have been damaged and those children who have been damaged by autism get some kind of compensation. And that's why, and I think in 1986 we passed what was called the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund, and it took some of the money from the pharmaceutical companies when they sold their vaccine products to put into this fund to take care of people who are damaged by vaccines. And one of the reasons we did that was because of the issue of autism, although at that time I didn't know much about it. In any event, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund has about $3 billion in it, and the people who's children have been adversely affected by mercury and have autism have not been able to get anything out of that. They have to go through a process and see a special master, and he has to judge whether or not the information that he has and the information they have lead them to believe that the mercury in the vaccines caused autism. And so far the special masters have not been able to ascertain, according to them, that the mercury in the vaccines does cause autism. Well, last week, 2 years ago, let's see, 4 years ago there was a report, 2004, that said that there was definitely no connection between the mercury and the vaccinations and the children getting autism. Well, this past November, just last month, two doctors, Dr. Catherine DeSoto and Dr. Robert T. Hitlan, both very renowned doctors across this country, they have Ph.D.s in medicine, they wrote an article in the Journal of Child Neurology. And you can't discount this. What they're saying is fact. I want to read to you the summary of what they said. They said: ``The question of what is leading to the apparent increase in autism is of great importance. Like the link between aspirin and heart attack, even a small effect can have a major health implication. If there is any link between autism and mercury, it is absolutely crucial that the first reports of the question are not falsely stated and that no link occurs.'' Now, get this: ``We have reanalyzed the data set forth originally reported in 2004 and have found that the original P value was in error and that a significant relation does exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, the hair sample analysis results offer some support for the idea that persons with autism may be less efficient and more variable at eliminating mercury from the blood.'' The fact of the matter is the mercury in the vaccines has autism. It's not the only cause of autism. But now we have scientific evidence by two leading doctors in the Journal of Child Neurology that says without doubt, the mercury in the vaccines does cause autism, is a major contributing factor. Well, I've written, contacted Congressman Kucinich, who's chairman of the subcommittee that deals with this in the Capitol, and I've also contacted the special masters that decide these cases and have urged them to re-evaluate all of these cases where people who have autistic children have found that the mercury in the vaccines may have been a major cause. Now we know that it is a cause of autism, and those people who have suffered, and those kids who have suffered need to be compensated out of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund. So I'd like to say to my colleagues, I hope you will join me in making sure that the information I just read gets out to everybody. These kids are going to live to be 50, 60, 70 years old, and unless there's some help for them, they're going to be a real burden on the taxpayers and on society. We have an obligation to make sure they're taken care of. I hope all of my colleagues will read this statement tonight and help us to change the attitude of our health agencies and the special masters dealing with this problem. In November 2007, the well-respected scientific journal, the Journal of Child Neurology, published an article authored by Drs. M. Catherine DeSoto and Robert T. Hiltlan (PhDs), detailing their findings on the relationship between mercury and autism spectrum disorders. The article was entitled ``Blood Levels of Mercury are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set.'' To summarize the article, Drs. DeSoto and Hiltlan reanalyzed a data set the subject of a 2004 study that found no relationship between mercury and autism. By reexamining the data set, Drs. DeSoto and Hiltlan determined that the conclusions of the 2004 study were wrong, and that a relation does exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. As Drs. DeSoto and Hiltlan noted in their article, there has been a marked increase in the diagnosis of autism in this country over the last 20 years. In fact we have gone from an autism rate of 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 150. So, answering the question of what is (and is not) a possible contributing cause of autism is crucial, not only to the millions of American families currently affected by autism but to future generations. We simply cannot dismiss or downplay scientific research, which has the potential to unlock the mysteries surrounding what is causing our Nation's autism crisis. We owe it to the thousands of families living with autism to follow the science wherever it may lead. That's why in late November, I wrote to the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, Representative Dennis Kucinich; and the Special Masters assigned to the Congressionally-created Office of Vaccine Program within the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alerting them to the findings in Drs. DeSoto and Hiltlan's latest research. Specifically, I asked the Special Masters to take Drs. DeSoto and Hiltlan's latest findings into consideration as they carry out their mandate of managing and adjudicating childhood vaccine claims. I asked Chairman Kucinich to hold a hearing on the environmental risks of mercury in childhood vaccines before the 110th Congress ends. Given the high stakes involved, scientific reports discussing a connection between blood mercury levels and autism deserve serious consideration and review by the medical and scientific community. During my tenure as Chairman of the House Committee on Government and Reform, I spent 6 years researching and hearing testimony from the autism advocacy and scientific communities about the autism epidemic sweeping our country. Over and over again, questions of causation, namely the use of thimerosal--the mercury-based vaccine preservative-- in childhood vaccines were raised. Here's what I learned: A number of credible national and international scientists testified before the Committee that mercury in vaccines is a contributing factor in developing neurological disorders, including, but not limited to, modest declines in intelligent quotient, autism, and Alzheimer's disease. And the body of evidence to support that conclusion gets larger everyday. Experience tells us that, as with any other epidemic, while there may be underlying genetic susceptibilities, there usually is also some type of environmental trigger as well--be it exposure to a virus, fungus, heavy metal, or pollutant. There has never, to the best of my knowledge, been a purely genetic epidemic. Genetics alone cannot explain how we went from 1 in 10,000 children with autism spectrum disorders 20 years ago to 1 in 150 today. The increase happened far too quickly for a genetic shift. As mercury is a known bio-accumulative neurotoxin, it is biologically plausible that it is a contributing factor to our Nation's autism epidemic. Autism has no cure, and while it is a life-changing condition, it is not a life-threatening disease. This means that the autistic children of today will be the autistic adults and autistic seniors, 20, 30, 50, even 70 years from now. Our Nation is ill prepared to deal with the complex educational, financial, housing, and health care challenges posed by a generation of autistic individuals. My only grandson is autistic, so this is an issue that is very close to my heart; and for the last several years I have fought hard to raise awareness of this disease, and increase research into the causes of autism, as well as new treatments for those suffering with autism. As a Nation, I believe, we have a collective responsibility to do everything we can to not only stop the further spread of this disease but to help the millions of children, adults and families afflicted with it. Journal of Child Neurology Blood Levels of Mercury Are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set (By M. Catherine DeSoto, PhD, and Robert T. Hitlan, PhD) The question of what is leading to the apparent increase in autism is of great importance. Like the link between aspirin and heart attack, even a small effect can have major health implications. If there is any link between autism and mercury, it is absolutely crucial that the first reports of the question are not falsely stating that no link occurs. We have reanalyzed the data set originally reported by Ip et al. in 2004 and have found that the original p value was in error and that a significant relation dose exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, the hair sample analysis results offer some support for the idea that persons with autism may be less efficient and more variable at eliminating mercury from the blood. Keywords: autism; mercury; environmental health; neurotoxin; neurodevelopment; blood. There is a marked increase in the diagnosis of autism. The question of what is (and is not) related to this increase is crucial to millions of persons affected by the disorder. This article reanalyzes an original data set regarding the relation between blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by Ip et al. based on our finding of discrepancies in the original article.\1\ A review of what is known about the neurotoxic effects of mercury is beyond the scope of this paper,\2\ but the observable symptoms of acute mercury poisoning have been reported to match up with many of the problems observed in autism.\4\ Furthermore, mercury poisoning has sometimes been presumptively diagnosed as autism of unknown etiology until the mercury poisoning has been uncovered.\4\ Because there has been a several-fold increase in environmental mercury exposure, the hypothesis that the rise in autism could be related to an environmental increase in mercury levels is a reasonable one to pursue. Autism may result from a combination of genetic susceptibility (perhaps in the form of reduced ability to remove mercury or other neurotoxins from the system) and environmental exposure at key times in development.5,7 This would mean a generalized increase in mercury levels would be expected to co-occur with a generalized increase in autism. but some people exposed to relatively high mercury would not be affected if, for example, their bodies were very efficient eliminators of such toxins. Only if an exposed infant or fetus also had a genetic susceptibility that makes one less able to remove mercury (or other heavy metals) would normal levels of mercury exposure lead to problems. Alternatively, it could be that genes that help detoxify get switched on and start to express themselves a little later than normal in those genetically predisposed to autism; or perhaps. autism results from some combination of these theories. Nevertheless, if mercury does play any causal role in facilitating a diagnosis of autism, there would likely be at least some relation between high mercury measured in the blood and symptoms of autism even if ability to metabolize mediates the relationship between exposure and neural toxicity. This is because even if exposure is identical, those who remove mercury less effectively should still have higher levels in the blood. Interestingly, results of hair samples could be expected to be somewhat mixed. The level of mercury in hair may be better understood as an indication of how much mercury has been removed by the body as opposed to the level in the body.\6\ If people are approximately equal in their ability to remove circulating mercury from the bloodstream, then these 2 indicators should match up closely, but if a person's ability to excrete is low, their hair samples might not be elevated even when their blood levels are high. Fido and Al-Saad found that mercury levels in hair samples were higher in children diagnosed with autism.\8\ These children were aged 4 to 7. In contrast, Kern et al. reported that mercury hair levels were not significantly different, but were lower at a marginally significant level.\9\ Kern et al. used younger children, ages 1 to 6. Holmes et al. performed the most direct test of the hypothesis that autistic children may be deficient in terms of ability to remove mercury from circulation.\6\ This study estimated mercury exposure of the mothers via a mercury exposure survey questionnaire. They then analyzed the first haircuts of the autistic children and a group of controls (the first haircuts would reflect mercury excretion in utero and very early life). In the autistic group, severity of autism was inversely related to hair mercury levels. This means that the more severe autistic cases actually had less excretion of mercury. Furthermore, among the normal children, hair levels of mercury were correlated to the mother's mercury exposure (as would of course be expected). But among the autistic children, there was no linear relation between the mother's mercury exposure and excretion of mercury in the hair. As the authors state, this pattern of results is easily understood if one considers ``detoxification capacity of a subset of infants,'' \6\ such that the bodies of those diagnosed with autism appeared to be less able to excrete and/or metabolize the mercury they were exposed to. As the rise in autism is relatively recent, it is not surprising that research into the etiology has not kept pace. Indeed, there are few published articles that consider blood levels of children with mercury that utilize a control group; a psycInfo search using the words ``autism,'' ``mercury,'' and ``blood'' yields only one hit.\1\ Given the high stakes involved, it is crucial that early reports of the connection between blood mercury levels and autism not be misstated. Even a small effect size would be of great theoretical and practical consequence. In 2004, Ip et al. reported that no relationship existed between mercury blood levels and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder among a group of children with an average age of approximately 7 years. While attempting to estimate the effect size based on the Ip et al. statistics, we realized that the numbers reported by Ip et at could not be correct. The means and standard deviations reported in the 2004 article yielded an easily significant t value (autism mean = 19.53 nmol/L, SD = 5.6, n

Mr. BURTON of Indiana

Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, one of the great things that has happened in my political life and serving in Congress is to have known Henry Hyde. Henry Hyde I think was one of the greatest Congressmen to ever serve in this Chamber. He was a man of integrity. He was honest. When he gave you his word, it was his bond. He was loved by everybody. Even during the controversial impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, he did it with honor, and he did it in a way that everybody respected him even though it was very, very controversial. He was a great chairman. He was the chairman of both the Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, and he did a great job in both areas. I served with him on the Foreign Affairs Committee and I was one of his subcommittee chairman, and I want to tell you, he was a chairman you could be proud of. He was a man who was always ready to listen and work with his subcommittee chairmen and anybody in the Congress to solve problems facing this Nation. He was known best, I think, for the Hyde Amendment, which stopped Federal funding for abortions, and it has been known throughout the time since that bill passed as one of the great human life amendments ever presented in this body or in the other body as well. He was a fighter. He was the kind of man who was very strong-willed, who would fight like the dickens. But he had a heart that was very, very soft where his fellow man was concerned. When he was on an issue, however, he had a heart that was very, very tough, and everybody that dealt with him knew that. He was probably one of the greatest orators who ever served in the Congress of the United States in either body. When he came down to speak, everybody listened. You could hear a pin drop. I know when a lot of my colleagues speak today they have to bring the gavel down several times to bring the House to order and ask for regular order, but when Henry Hyde came down on a great cause and spoke, you could hear a pin drop in this place because people knew he had something to say and they wanted to hear what he had to say. I am very proud to have known Henry. I knew him for over 20 years in this body. I can't tell you or any of my colleagues how great he was and how much I held him in high esteem. He will be missed not only because he was a great Congressman, he will be missed not only because he was a great chairman, he will be missed because he was a great American. And before I leave, I have to tell you one little story about Henry that he was so proud of. When he went to college at Georgetown University, he played on the basketball team. And one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player of that era, was a man named George Mikan, and Henry used to smile and with great pride tell everybody that when he played against George Mikan, in the second half he held him to one point. And there aren't many people who could do that. In addition to all of this, he authored the staunchest pro-life legislation in Congress in 30 years, and headed the impeachment hearings against President Clinton. Either of those efforts would naturally incite a whole camp of enemies. ``Henry Hyde spoke of controversial matters with intellectual honesty and without rancor,'' said President Bush. ``He was gifted as a legislator. There was a time when the Illinois House was divided evenly and needed 89 votes to pass a bill, and nothing was getting done because of partisan wrangling. People were angry and debilitated. ``Henry stood up and said he had voted against something just because he was on the other side of the aisle, and asked the House to reconsider the last bill on its merits. They wound up going back to the last 32 bills that had failed, and he brought people back into an atmosphere of wanting to work together.'' ``Congressman Hyde played a big role in crystallizing the issue of abortion as central to politics and the culture,'' said Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life. ``He has always been a driving force in making it clear that abortion is not one among many issues.'' Hyde, a Catholic, was a vocal opponent of abortion. In 1976 Hyde attached an amendment to a spending bill that banned Federal funding for abortions. The amendment later become known as the ``Hyde Amendment'' and has been at the center of the political fight over abortion since its passage. ``This erudite, scholarly man has walked with kings and kept the common touch,'' Bush stated. ``They're quick to say it's not the same Congress without him--but that we're a better country because he was there. And colleagues will always admire and look up to the gentleman from Illinois, Henry J. Hyde.'' Born in 1924, Hyde served in the House from 1975 to 2006 and retired at end of the last session. Hyde served as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 2001. In a written statement, Boehner called Hyde ``a constitutional scholar, a thoughtful legislator, and a passionate orator.'' ``But above all, he will be remembered as a gentleman who stood as a beacon for the bedrock principles of liberty, justice, and, above all, respect for life,'' Boehner said. On November 5, President Bush awarded Hyde the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the president can bestow on an American citizen. Henry, we miss you, buddy. Godspeed.