Steve Buyer

Mr. BUYER

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of our time. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Filner for his cooperation on this bill and other bills. Mr. Filner, we have got the CIO bill, we have got the cyber security bill. The Senate sent us two health bills, a benefit bill and we have got the construction bill. So all of these are in negotiation with the Senate. It is hard work. It represents 2 years of effort. Recalling the recent words of my esteemed colleague, Nancy Pelosi, with the creation of this new theme of a bipartisan way for all Americans, let's embrace it. Let's get our work done. We enjoy bipartisanship on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and I wish other committees could see how well we have worked together over the years. I call on leadership of everyone here in the House in dealing with these bills here on veterans affairs to complete our work on behalf of our Nation's veterans. Mr. Speaker, I also call upon the Senate leadership to finish our legislative negotiations. Let's complete our work. Let's not forget our veterans and their families. And, Mr. Speaker, I also call upon the leadership of the veterans service organizations and the military service associations to encourage the Senate leadership to finish our negotiations and again finish the work that we had started on behalf of this Nation's veterans and dependents. These warriors fought for our freedom. The least we can do is complete our work and provide for them the best care and benefits possible. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I have no furthers requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BUYER

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (S. 2562) the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of- Living Adjustment Act of 2006, and move for its immediate consideration in the House. Mr. Speaker, the annual cost-of-living adjustment, S. 2562, as amended, is one of the more important bills the Congress considers each year since it was first provided in 1976. Briefly, S. 2562, as amended, would authorize a cost-of-living adjustment--COLA--to VA's disability compensation effective December 1, 2006, as well as publication of the rates. The Congressional Budget Office currently projects the COLA will be 2.2 percent. However, it may be higher or lower depending on changes in the Consumer Price Index. The exact percentage will be calculated in the next few weeks and the COLA will go into effect on December 1, 2006. The cost of providing a COLA is assumed in the Administration's budget baseline. Likewise, H.R. 5385, the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2007, fully funds this year's veterans COLA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Ranking Member Lane Evans for all his hard work and cooperation this Congress in his advocacy for veterans on this and other legislation. It has been truly a pleasure to work with him as Ranking Member this Congress. I do not think he ever forgot the core values shared by his family, and taught by his parents where he grew up. These same core values were polished by the United States Marine Corps. He embraced them and they were enduring and they helped guide him here in his service to country. Mr. Evans will be missed on this Committee and in the House. Mr. Speaker, I hope all Members will support this bill and I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks, and include extraneous material on S. 2562, as amended.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 2562) to increase, effective as of December 1, 2006, the rates of compensation for veterans with service- connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. BUYER

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, to bring a chill into the debate, the issue of who can be detained is not addressed in this bill. This bill is about trying alien detainees who are unlawful enemy combatants. Nothing in this bill changes the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005.

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

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I was a good listener to my colleague, Mr. Skelton, and we have worked very well over the years. Sometimes we disagree, but I think more times we agree than disagree. In review of the section, though, I would say to my good friend from Missouri that, with regard to how individuals are tried, I have worked with the administration and the Senate and with my good friend Lindsey Graham. When you start this legislative process, Mr. Skelton, and you start with five amendments and you end up with a colloquy, some good things must have happened in the process. So I just want my good friend from Missouri to know that a lot of the concerns I had have been worked out with Mr. Hunter, with his cooperation, and with the Senate and with the administration. I know some of you have some concerns that didn't get worked out, and I can understand that and I can relate to the gentleman, but with regard to a process here, the Supreme Court struck down the tribunals, said the Congress needs to act on this to come up with a process, and when I examined this, we took some of the best, not only of our own legal system, but we took some of the best out of the UCMJ, and we took some of the best out of the world court to create the military commissions. So, now, when you look at title 18, the first chapter will be the Federal criminal code that will apply to United States citizens. The second chapter then is the UCMJ, and the third chapter will now be the Code of Military Commissions. In my judgment, the Code of Military Commissions is in fact a process that will reflect America's values, and it will be balanced against the protection of our national security, and it has indispensable judicial guarantees that are recognized by the world. The Supreme Court, yes, they will examine our commissions, no differently than how they examine the tribunals, but I am left in an area of good comfort, and that is my counsel that I now give to my country, of 26 years' experience not only as a military JAG officer but also the 14 years here helping lead our country. I am comfortable with regard to this process, not only if I were the military prosecutor but even if I were the military defense counsel, about the protections that we are affording not only this unlawful enemy combatant but making sure that we have a balance of interests. Yesterday, on the floor, a couple of our colleagues had raised some issues as to whether American citizens could be subject to the Code of Military Commissions and whether or not, if an American citizen was even classified as an enemy combatant, could they then be subject to a military tribunal. The answer is no. American citizens cannot. Mr. Hunter has made it very clear in this language. So even a strict constructionist, when they read this language in the Supreme Court, it is very clear. Section 948 says this does not apply to American citizens; that it only applies to aliens. But let's go with an example: Let's say an American citizen has been arrested for aiding and abetting a terrorist, maybe even participating in a conspiracy, or maybe participating in an action that harmed or killed American citizens. That American citizen cannot be tried in the military commission. His coconspirators could be tried in a military commission if they were an alien, but if that other coconspirator is an American citizen, they will be prosecuted under title 18 of the first chapter of a Federal crime, or even we could assimilate the State laws under the Assimilated Crimes Act. I am trying to go into details, and I want to share with the American people here beyond the rhetoric that sometimes you hear on the floor, that with regard to the process itself, I am very comfortable with the fact that American citizens cannot be tried in this. The reason I am spending a little time on it is that there was an editorial that went out there by a law professor published in the Los Angeles Times. Let me tell you, as a lawyer myself, just because a law professor says it, I am going to tell you what: not necessarily true. I read his editorial, and I also then looked at the law. Let me now speak unto the law professor: read the bill. Just like what you would do to your law students, you would tell them to read the bill. And when you read the bill and when you open it up, you would find that the words you wrote so that the readers in Southern California would somehow take what, action, or give you credit or credence to your words, your words are false. And that is completely unfortunate. So hopefully people will begin to understand that this whole issue about these military commissions applying to American people is not true at all. In the end, let me thank Mr. Hunter on a good work product. I do wish that, in the end, that this really could have been a product, Mr. Skelton, that the two of you could have brought together. I don't know what happened there, because I have such respect for both of you.

Mr. BUYER. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. BUYER. Wait a minute. Reclaiming my time, please do not come to the floor and make things up. As a JAG officer in the first Gulf War, I wrote the practice and procedures for article V tribunals. I participated in the tribunals to determine status, a person's status. The President of the United States does not participate in that process. So, please, don't be silly and just make things up.

Mr. BUYER. What I would like to share with everyone, having done interrogations, I have interrogated Iraqi high command when I was at the Western Enemy Prisoner of War Camp. I assure you that trying to use any type of method to torture or beat the person you are trying to interrogate, I assure you, you never want to do that as an interrogator, because whatever he is going to say is really not going to be helpful to you. So as an interrogator, it is the last thing. It wouldn't even enter your mind that you want to do this type of thing. The only time, I won't say the only time, some of the most difficult situations are usually what we find in the field where time is of the essence, where someone has just been killed, you are in a battlefield situation, you have gotten a prisoner and you need to know who they are and where they just went. That is generally where bad things happen. It is not at a garrison, in prison or a detention center.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, when the gentleman says the President can make any determination he wanted with regard to status, I would just like the gentleman to know that the determination of one's status is done by a tribunal under article V of the Geneva Conventions.

Mr. BUYER

Mr. BUYER. Chairman Hunter, I want to thank you for entering into this colloquy with me and for your work on this provision and the legislation as a whole. I would also like to thank the President. He said he would work with the House and the Senate. He has done that. Chairman, you have done that. I want to thank Senator Lindsey Graham for having done that. Let me just share to all of my colleagues that I do believe this is a good product, Chairman Hunter; and I want to let everybody know and understand that. This Code of Military Commissions, it has a good balance. You have struck that.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure the debate has clarity. To the gentleman, when you say this bill applies to everyone or all American citizens, that is completely false. I want the gentleman to know that. I would like you to know that when you refer to page 61, at the top it says, provisions of this chapter. So an earlier speaker brought us this issue about, well, it doesn't say the word alien. In order to be tried under the Code of Military Commissions, you have to be an alien. So when you go to page 7, you look at line 17, section 948c, it says the persons who are subject to a military commission is any alien unlawful enemy combatant. So this does not apply to American citizens.

Mr. BUYER. I just want to share with the gentleman, I have to go back, you have to look at the four corners of the document. Please don't dive into rhetoric. When you go to the four corners of the document, it is very clear who is subject to the Code of Military Commissions. So, in title 18, you will have the Federal Code that applies to U.S. citizens; you will have the UCMJ creating a third chapter that will apply to unlawful enemy combatants, the Code of Military Commissions. It will not apply to United States citizens. It is very, very clear. If you think it applies to somebody else, sir, I cannot get into your mind, but I just want you to know that the world will be able to see what we have created here does not apply to American citizens.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to enter into a colloquy with the distinguished chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mr. Hunter. Mr. Hunter, as stated in section 948k of the legislation before us, military defense counsel shall be detailed to the accused as soon as practicable after the swearing of charges against the accused. Section 949a of the legislation permits the accused to represent himself. That section also defines how the accused will conduct himself and when the military judge, in his discretion, may partially or totally revoke this right. Of concern to me and some military lawyers is that, should this right be revoked, a delay of trial could occur while waiting for the detailed defense counsel of the accused or an appropriate authorized civilian counsel to get up to speed and to begin to perform the defense. It is my understanding that the intent of the legislation allows the detailed military counsel to remain as an associate counsel should the accused exercise his right of self-representation. This ensures that even if the accused's right is revoked by the judge, the trial will continue in a timely and efficient manner.

Mr. BUYER

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud of my friend from South Carolina for delivering those remarks within the limits of time. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman).

Mr. BUYER. I appreciate the chairman's contribution to the bill. He chairs the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to Mr. Murphy of Pennsylvania, who also worked with us on the bill. He had his own bill, H.R. 6109, dealing with encryption; and we worked with the gentleman. We have three legacy platforms which are basically older operating systems. We were not able to achieve everything the gentleman has been seeking, but I want to appreciate the gentleman's sincerity and his effort and want to continue to work with the gentleman.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for allotting the time for us to bring this bill to the floor. This is bipartisan legislation. It reflects proposals introduced in this Chamber over the past months. I thank the Members and staff who contributed to this legislation. I am especially grateful for the support of Lane Evans and Bob Filner in moving this bill through the committee and to the floor. I want to thank Chairman Davis and Ranking Member Waxman of the Government Reform Committee in our work on the FISMA component of the bill. I also would like to thank Chairman Oxley and Ranking Member Frank of the Financial Services Committee for their assistance in moving this bill to the floor, as well as the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Chairman Walsh and Ranking Member Edwards, and to recognize again that information security is crucial to our veterans and have provided valuable support for this legislation. I also commend Mr. Bilirakis and Mr. Strickland, the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, for their oversight of IT at the VA. I am indebted to the chairmen and ranking members of the committee's Subcommittees on Health, Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and Economic Opportunity for their help in reviewing the VA's data security and coming up with this legislation. Mr. Speaker, several Members introduced legislation after the May 3 loss, including Representatives Hooley, Salazar, and Bilbray from the Committee on Veterans Affairs. Representatives Blackburn, Andrews, Drake, Capito, and Granger also introduced legislation, and all of this legislation was taken into account to create this product that has come to the floor. So this is a pretty good work product, to also include that of the gentleman from Pennsylvania. I also want to thank the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations; the staff director, Art Wu; and minority staff director, Lynn Sistek, for their work on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support our veterans by passing H.R. 5835, the Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act of 2006. This legislation will safeguard the sensitive personal information of veterans, and help lay the groundwork for a national solution

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I will cherish the sincerity of the compliment from Mr. Filner. I do not question his commitment nor his motive to the service of veterans in this country. I think members of the committee over the last 14 years have recognized that Mr. Filner and I have had some real battles, but at the same time, when it comes to this particular issue on IT, there is no difference. We walk together in lockstep. It is not just Mr. Filner and I. It is the entire committee over the years we have taken this on, even when I chaired the oversight investigations. So I appreciate the commitment on both sides on improving the IT infrastructure. I also want to compliment the Government Reform Committee, because they have taken this issue on over the years. Mr Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and thank him for his cooperation in working with our committee. He introduced his own bill on notification provisions. He worked with us and waived jurisdiction. We incorporated that in our bill.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from South Carolina has requested 2 minutes of me, and I have great fear that the slowest talking man from the First District of South Carolina may not make the mark. But let's see how he does. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown), the chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. BUYER. At this time, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from San Diego, California (Mr. Bilbray), who helped us work on the provisions of the bill.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5835) to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve information management within the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge all Members to support this legislation.

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5835, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, having moved H.R. 5835, as amended, the Veterans Identity Credit Security Act of 2006, I, along with Ranking Member Lane Evans and Acting Ranking Member Bob Filner, Chairman Davis, and Ranking Member Waxman of the Committee on Government Reform, Chairman Walsh and Ranking Member Edwards on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs, and other members of this body introduced this legislation on July 19, 2006. Since 2000, the Veterans' Affairs Committee and our subcommittees have held 16 hearings on information technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and as a subset, information security issues. These hearings have covered a variety of IT issues, including the budget, organization, authorities, actions VA has taken regarding its IT programs, and of course information security. Last year, the House passed H.R. 4061 to address problems in IT at the VA. The Senate and the administration can best be described as having stiff-armed us in our proposals to centralize the IT architecture at the VA, opting for more of what they call now a federated model, or what I will also refer to as an incremental approach. That is how they wanted to proceed. Then bad things happened. This summer, we held 8 hearings in response to the May 3 theft of a loaned lap-top belonging to the VA that held the sensitive personal data of 26.5 million veterans and 2.2 million Guard and Reserve component servicemembers and families. We heard from 23 witnesses during our hearings. These witnesses included the VA's Secretary, the Inspector General, the General Counsel, as well as others from academia, the Government Accountability Office, and experts in data security, information technology management, and identity theft. Mr. Speaker, I applaud Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson for his stated commitment to making the VA the gold standard in information security. H.R. 5835, as amended, will provide the Secretary with some of the tools needed to make the VA that gold standard and set an example for the Federal Government. H.R. 5835, as amended, provides the chief information officer the authority to enforce information security in the Department. It also requires a monthly briefing to the Secretary on VA's compliance with the Information Security Management Act of 2002, which we refer to as FISMA. Mr. Speaker, Chairman Tom Davis of the Committee on Government Reform and I have worked together cooperatively, and our staffs, on a provision in the bill, and the Committee on Government Reform has waived consideration of H.R. 5835. Included in this bill is a part of Chairman Davis' work product, and I want to thank him for his cooperation, along with Mr. Waxman. I would, in addition, also like to thank Chairman Mike Oxley of the Committee on Financial Services, who has waived consideration on this bill, and the committee will continue to work with these two committees on this legislation as we move forward with the Senate. Mr. Speaker, the letters that I have here in my hand between the two committees and the Veterans' Affairs Committee regarding H.R. 5835, in which they have waived jurisdiction, are submitted as follows for the Congressional Record. House of Representatives, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Washington, DC, September 12, 2006. Hon. Tom Davis, Chairman, House Committee on Government Reform, Washington,

Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.