G.K. Butterfield

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop). (Mr. BISHOP of Georgia asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis).

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the State of Georgia (Mr. Barrow).

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to first of all thank the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers) for bringing forward this resolution and for sharing his time during this debate and discussion today. Mr. Speaker, of the Tuskegee Airmen deserve every accolade that this body can possibly extend. I want to say to the Tuskegee Airmen, if you are watching this by television, to the families of the Tuskegee Airmen, this country owes to each of you a great, great debt of gratitude. May God continue to bless each one of you and may God bless your families. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. announcement by the speaker pro tempore

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

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

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey). (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin).

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr).

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I do not accept the suggestion that the academic community is un-American and not in support of our military. My friends in the academic community, and I have many in North Carolina who are part of the academic community, they are good Americans and they support our military completely. I sincerely believe that these individuals have a genuine difference of legal opinion that must be resolved by our Supreme Court, and that is why I am supporting this resolution. We need a determination by our Supreme Court of this matter. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution. The 103rd Congress determined that Federal funding should be denied to institutions of higher learning that prohibit military representatives from having student access while permitting access to other employers. The Solomon Amendment was passed by this body in 1994 after vigorous debate by a vote of 271 to 126. The amendment was simple, ``You cannot receive Federal funds for your institution if you impair the military from recruiting on your campus, yet allow other employers access to the students.'' It is essential that our military be prepared to defend our country. Cost-effective recruiting is the key to an all-volunteer Army. Many of our institutions recognize Congress's intention and immediately complied with the intent and spirit of the Solomon Amendment. Other institutions have taken offense to the amendment by insisting that this measure offends the first amendment's provision that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. The question of whether the Solomon Amendment violates the first amendment is now being litigated in our courts. The District Court for the District of New Jersey denied a request for injunctive relief which permitted this law to stand. The district court was of the opinion that the plaintiffs were not likely to prove a first amendment infringement. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in a 2 to 1 decision reversed the district court and concluded that the plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on their contention that the first amendment claim had merit and directed the district court to enter a preliminary injunction which has the effect of permitting these universities to deny access to military recruiters. Mr. Speaker, I was a trial judge in my home State of North Carolina for 13 years and a State supreme court justice for 2 years. I can tell Members there is a presumption in our law to favor congressional enactments that are intended to support our military. There is a high burden on a plaintiff to overcome this presumption. No court has ever declared unconstitutional on first amendment grounds any congressional statute designed to support the military. If this law in any way offends the first amendment, the courts are then required to balance the interests that are involved and determine whether the violation trumps the articles relating to the spending power and support of the military. I need not remind my colleagues of the perilous times the American people now face. Like never before, this Congress must ensure that we have the best military on the planet and this includes having unimpeded access to our colleges and universities for the purpose of recruiting. It seems illogical to me that an institution desires Federal resources but wants to restrict access to military recruiters. Acceptance of Federal funding carries with it an expectation of support and respect for the laws of this Nation. I therefore join with the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) in support of this resolution and urge its adoption. This matter needs to be put to rest. It is imperative that the executive branch take this matter to the U.S. Supreme Court to urge the court to give deference to the Congress and uphold this statute. This resolution makes it clear that the Congress intends to continue to support our military by ensuring equal access for military recruiters on college campuses, and it should be the sense of this Congress that we want judicial review of this matter by our highest court. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as cosponsor of H.R. 111.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the challenge.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the American mother in the embodiment of Mrs. Lena Roberta Murrell-White. She has raised nine children and has nurtured a throng of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her labor helped to build ships during World War II, supported the effort during the Korean War, sent a son off to the Vietnam War and provided more sons and daughters that have helped to build the American economy. Through her strong faith in a loving God she has brought light to her community in Camden, New Jersey. Mrs. Murrell-White was born and raised in the great State of North Carolina. She spent her formative years in the town of Greenville in Pitt County, North Carolina. Upon graduation from high school she moved to Camden, New Jersey where she married and raised her family. Now, at the age of 84 this paragon of mothers has neither slackened her pace, eased her resolve nor retreated an inch. She remains faithful to the Lord, committed to her family and solidly supports her community. So today she is to be commended for her efforts and receive the heartfelt gratitude of the Congress of the United States of America.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, the Republic of China (Taiwan) will be celebrating its National Day this October 10. I join my colleagues in wishing our friends in the Republic of China (Taiwan) a very happy National Day. Taiwan is an ally of the United States and maintains strong relations with the United States. I hope that our friendship with Taiwan will continue to grow in the months and years ahead. I also hope that Taiwan will be able to return to a number of important international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization in the very near future. Taiwan is too important a country to be ignored by the international community. I also wish to take this opportunity to welcome Taiwan's new ambassador, Dr. David Lee, to Washington. He will do an excellent job representing his government and his people.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, while I support the many strides forward the Department of Defense Authorization will represent, I must rise to note my great concern about a provision regarding the Outlying Landing Field OLF proposed for Washington and Beaufort counties in North Carolina. I share the concerns of the community that the proposed OLF would displace 74 property owners, take 30,000 acres off the local property tax rolls, and could have a negative impact on the quality of life in the area. I also share the concern that the project could reduce the potential for tourism and economic development. The funding was removed by the House, but the Conference Committee elected to retain the funding language. Washington and Beaufort Counties, along with environmental groups, are in litigation to avoid the OLF development. They were successful and the federal courts have ordered the Navy to cease all OLF development activity, pending the outcome of legal challenges to the Washington County site. More recently, the federal district court rejected a plea by the Navy to reverse or narrow the scope of the injunction. The Washington County OLF site is strongly opposed by many elected officials, citizens groups and by major North Carolina agricultural, property rights and conservation organizations. I stand with them in opposing this site. While I oppose the inclusion of this funding, I cannot vote against fulfilling the needs of our brave fighting men and women. Under the bill we finally eliminate the social security offsets to the Survivor Benefit Plan payments for the spouses of military retirees; increase the number of troops for the Army and Marines; improve housing for our military men and women; and, create a reimbursement program for soldiers who were forced to buy their own body armor. These are just a few examples of the many accomplishments attributed to the bill.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of a much- needed and much-overdue tobacco quota buyout. I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for their tireless work on this important issue. The conference has worked very hard, and now we are coming to the end of a process that will recognize the commitment of tobacco farmers for so long. Mr. Speaker, there are 1,040 tobacco producers in my congressional district producing a crop of 35,147 acres of land. Every single one of these producers is in dire straits. They are cashing in their retirement to continue farming. They are mortgaging their houses to stay in business. They are going deeper and deeper into debt. A buyout is not a luxury payment, it is a desperately needed infusion into an economy that depends on a depression-era program that no longer works. Even farmers that would ordinarily be wealthy are instead being told by their bankers that their loan will have to be reevaluated in future years. Mr. Speaker, American farmers need a buyout.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) for bringing up this legislation today. The Oxford Research Station was established in 1912 as a crop and forestry research station. The station facilities include computerized curing barns, office facilities, a shop building, several equipment shelters, a tobacco evaluation facility and underground irrigation systems. For 92 years, the station's marquee programs have been tobacco- related. Accomplishments at the Oxford Tobacco Research Station include fertility investigations concerning tobacco plants' nutrition; development of the first tobacco varieties with resistance to Granvill Wilt and black shank disease; the invention of tobacco bulk curing barns; genetic studies to develop new varieties resistance to Granville Wilt and black shank diseases; evaluation of crop breeding lines, curing experiments, computerized monitoring and control of humidity and temperatures; and many others. As long a list of accomplishments that the station has accumulated in its 92 years of service to American agriculture, the station now stands unused by USDA, and American taxpayers are still paying for upkeep and maintenance. An unofficial estimate, Mr. Speaker, from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for fiscal year 2005 is that the station will cost $227,000 for basic upkeep. Mr. Speaker, one man's trash is another man's treasure. USDA does not want or need the Oxford Research Station, but the North Carolina Department of Agriculture does. If the facility is conveyed to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, the State will move its entire biological control program to the station. The State intends to use the quarantine facilities to research invasive species without risk of introducing them to the national environment of our State. Among the species to be studied include the hemlock wooly adelgid, an insect that has been identified in Public Law 108-148, the President's Healthy Forest Initiative, as a forest-damaging insect. The facility will also research control methods of the Sudden Oak Death Fungus. The people of North Carolina, Mr. Speaker, would be grateful for the passage of this legislation.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment. Given the opportunity and a level playing field, I believe in the ability of American workers to operate their vehicles safely. Without this amendment, we put our workers at a great, great disadvantage, allow our air to be unduly polluted and make our highways less safe. The gentleman from Arizona says it is about the Teamsters. No, it is about the American people who use America's highways. If trucks from Mexico are going to bring products into our country, using our highways, these trucks need to be held to the same safety and emission standards to which our own trucks are held. At present, Mexican trucks are not held to American standards for safety and emissions. Allowing an 18-wheel truck loaded with 88,000 pounds of cargo to speed over our highways without ensuring that the vehicle is safe simply makes no sense. Mexican drivers must be subject to the same level of scrutiny that we demand of our American drivers with regard to training and recordkeeping and incident violations. I respectfully urge support of this commonsense amendment.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my sincere appreciation for the strong bipartisan support of my distinguished colleagues from the North Carolina delegation, both House and Senate, in their sponsorship of this bill. I would also like to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Tom Davis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member, and Denise Wilson, along with the entire staff from the Committee on Government Reform, for moving so quickly in seeing the value of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to honor a great woman, a great community leader and a great American who helped so many people throughout my home State of North Carolina. Today, Mr. Speaker, we show our appreciation for an extraordinary woman, Ms. Eva Holtzman, by naming the post office in Ridgeway, North Carolina, in her honor. Affectionately called ``Ms. Eva'' by all who knew her, she loved the town of Ridgeway with all of her heart. She called Ridgeway her home. She lived and worked there her entire life. She reared four children and ultimately was laid to rest in that community. Ms. Eva was born in 1918 and educated in Warren County public schools, graduating with honors from Norlina High School in rural North Carolina. Ms. Holtzman was a strong force in the 4-H association, starting a chapter out of her home that eventually had to move to a local church because of its popularity. Her 50-year tenure with 4-H and teaching Sunday school at St. Paul's Lutheran Church did not go unnoticed when in the year 2000 she was presented with the Jefferson Award for her outstanding and selfless volunteerism by then-Governor Jim Hunt. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Holtzman was also a dedicated public servant. She worked at the post office for 50 years, 38 of those years as its postmaster. When the Ridgeway Post Office was closed in the early 1960s, Ms. Holtzman refused to let the town live without a post office and built a new one on her own. Sadly, Eva passed away 3 years ago, leaving behind her beloved post office that she worked so hard to preserve. As one of her Sunday school students, who is now an adult, said, ``Everything I learned, I learned because of Ms. Eva.'' And when asked why she tirelessly dedicated her life to the citizens of North Carolina, she always said, ``It's just wonderful to be able to do things for others. I just enjoy people.'' Mr. Speaker, while Ms. Eva Holtzman is deserving of far greater accolades. I am sure they will come in time, but it is my great pleasure to offer this legislation on her behalf. I strongly urge this body to pass this bill.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 2119, a bill originally introduced by Representative Ballance of North Carolina, for the purposes of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII.

Mr. BUTTERFIELD

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.