Dan Boren

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the author of the bill, the gentleman from the fine State of Michigan (Mr. Kildee), home to 12 federally recognized tribes.

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

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent a State that is home to nearly 40 federally recognized Indian tribes. But Native Americans are not only engrained in Oklahoma's history, they are also richly embedded in the history of the United States and in the history of each individual State. H.R. 2358 requires the government to do its part to recognize the importance of Native Americans to our country's history and development. Again, I want to thank the chairman, Mr. Frank, for recognizing the importance of H.R. 2358 and also Mr. Kildee for all of his efforts.

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

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Chairman, yesterday an historic event occurred. Yesterday, in Prince George's County, the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus held its annual shootout, and the Democrats were victorious. I want to congratulate my fellow caucus members: Mike Thompson, who is our Top Gun. Overall, Collin Peterson was the top Democrat. I want to congratulate some Members on the other side of the aisle: Mr. John Kline, the top Republican. I want to mention, Mr. Chairman, there was a little bit of confusion yesterday. At the trophy presentation, it was noted that the Republicans had beaten the Democrats by seven shots. It was later found out that there was a mysterious Member who did not actually shoot in the competition on the Republican side; so the trophy was then taken from Congressman Ryan's office to my office, and the Republicans can come visit it and see it often. Announcement by the Acting Chairman

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. The Department of Defense can and should review its weapon systems to ensure they are relevant to current threats. But by arbitrarily singling out Cold War systems, this amendment sends DOD the wrong signal. The House Armed Services Committee has provided thorough and aggressive oversight in considering DOD's budget request. While fully funding the Department, the committee cuts billions of dollars from major programs we found to be outdated or irrelevant to current and future threats, shifting those funds to more urgent priorities such as the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, MRAP vehicle. Every one of the weapons systems covered by the amendment has been reviewed during the three Quadrennial Defense Reviews held since the Cold War ended. Many Cold War systems, like the Abrams tank, Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the B-52 bomber, have proven tremendously useful and effective in current operations. This bill reflects responsible weapons priorities for current and future conflicts. I oppose this amendment because it puts DOD priorities in the wrong place, and I thank the gentleman from California and our chairman.

Mr. BOREN. Thank you, Mr. Skelton. I also want to thank our colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) and our ranking member, Mr. Duncan Hunter. Mr. Chairman, this amendment prohibits the commercial use of our troops' names and images without permission. The need for this protection was first brought to my attention by Judy Vincent, a constituent who lost her son, Marine Corporal Scott Vincent, to a suicide bomber in Fallujah in April of 2004. Since that time, Judy has found Internet vendors using the name and likeness of her son and other fallen soldiers on their merchandise. Bills were signed into law in Oklahoma and Louisiana last year to address this abuse, but Judy's story made it clear that there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of American families out there facing the same problem, and only a Federal law will offer the protection that they deserve. This amendment isn't about financial restitution, stifling debate on the war, even putting people in prison. It's about respecting the privacy of our soldiers and their families. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Thank you. My colleague from Arkansas, Mr. Ross, is a great leader for us on the Blue Dog Coalition. I am now in my second term, and I tell you there is no better organization than the Blue Dog Coalition. When I was elected, and actually when I was running for Congress, I was able to sit down with a lot of the Blue Dog members. We had a lot of common interests, and one of those was fiscal responsibility. Many of us that serve in Congress are former members of State legislatures. I can tell you, I can remember being a freshman State legislator and dealing with a State budget. When I was elected, we had a $700 million shortfall. That doesn't sound like big numbers here in Washington, DC, but they're big numbers in Oklahoma. And we were able to balance our budget because we basically had an amendment to our State constitution saying you will balance that budget. You're going to have to cut services; you're going to have to do something to rein in that spending. In Washington we don't have that. That's why it is so important that we have groups like the Blue Dogs who are focused on fiscal responsibility. I can tell you, since this Democratic majority has taken hold, the Blue Dogs have been a key player in making sure that we have things like the PAYGO rules, PAYGO rules that make sure that whenever there is a new government program, we find a way to pay for it. We don't just write a hot check for it. So that is why I am proud to be a member. My friend from Arkansas has been on this floor many, many times talking about the waste, fraud and abuse. And we will make sure that in this defense authorization bill we cut out any unwarranted spending that is not going to the warfighter. That is something that I have been working very hard with Chairman Skelton on each and every day, and I appreciate his leadership. We've got many Blue Dogs on the Armed Services Committee, and we are going to keep working to make sure that we spend those tax dollars wisely. We are joined also by our friend here, a new member who sits actually next to me on the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Brad Ellsworth from Indiana. I would like to turn it over to him for any of his thoughts on the Blue Dogs or what is going on in the defense authorization bill or any other topics he wants to discuss.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I request that my name be removed from H. Res. 106.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1676) to reauthorize the program of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for loan guarantees for Indian housing.

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1676, the Native American Home Ownership Opportunity Act of 2007, reauthorizing the section 184 Indian Loan Program. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Frank and Subcommittee Chairwoman Waters for their hard work in making this legislation a priority and recognizing the importance of the section 184 program. This program offers home ownership, property rehabilitation, new construction and refinance opportunities for Native Americans. The primary purpose of the section 184 program is a 100 percent loan guarantee program for Native American families seeking home ownership who are members of participating tribes; 196 federally recognized tribes participate in this program, including 24 tribes from my home State of Oklahoma. Therefore, this program works by increasing home ownership in Indian country and improving the quality of life in Indian communities. Without argument, this program increased Native American home ownership in Oklahoma and throughout Indian country across the Nation. Section 184 is administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Native American Programs, created in 1992 to address the lack of private mortgage capital in Indian country, and authorizing HUD to guarantee loans made by private lenders to Native Americans. The section 184 program guarantees single-family residential loans for Native American borrowers, and provides for a 100 percent guarantee of the outstanding principal and interest and payment of other necessary and allowable expenses. The flexible underwriting, low down payment, higher loan limits, loan guarantee fee, and absence of income limits make this the most affordable loan program available to tribal areas. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to thank also my friends, Congressmen Neugebauer from Texas and Renzi from Arizona for their work on this legislation and for their bipartisan effort here. According to HUD, 4,200 loans have been guaranteed since the inception of the program, totaling $517 million. As lenders have become more comfortable with making loans secured by land in Indian country, interest in this program has only increased. My home State of Oklahoma represents 34 percent of the total loans guaranteed through section 184, thereby increasing the number of my constituents who have access to home ownership. Again, I want to thank Chairman Frank and Subcommittee Chairwoman Waters for recognizing the importance of the section 184 program in Indian country.

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the inclusion of Davis-Bacon in H.R. 720, the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007. I was absent for the vote taken on this legislation on March 9, 2007, because I was leading a House Armed Services Committee delegation to Iraq. I wish to state for the record that, had I been present for this vote, I would have supported the inclusion of Davis-Bacon language in H.R. 720. The Davis-Bacon Act, which dates back to 1931, requires every construction contract in excess of two thousand dollars to which the federal government is a party to pay all laborers and mechanics not less than the locally prevailing wage. I believe it is important for Oklahomans that federal contracts are not awarded to firms that seek to undercut the prevailing wages paid in our region. Government contracts should not be won by sacrificing fair wage rates for Oklahoma workers. For these reasons, I have supported the passage of Davis-Bacon in the past and would have also supported it on March 9th as part of the Water Quality Financing Act.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our men and women in uniform, and in support of this resolution. Nearly 230,000 Americans are currently deployed to the Middle East fighting the war on terrorism. Three thousand of those are from my home State of Oklahoma. These men and women are fighting for their country, not as Democrats or as Republicans, but as Americans. I was not in Congress nearly 4 years ago when the war in Iraq began, but in the 2 years since I have served here I have not once encountered a colleague who does not support our troops. We have our disagreements over strategy, spending and even the war itself, but when it comes to support for the selfless Americans serving in uniform, we are unanimous. For anyone, and I repeat, anyone to suggest anything to the contrary just distracts from this serious, serious debate. As many of my colleagues have already noted, our troops are not the problem. They have done an outstanding job executing the mission that they have been given. The problem is with the administration's strategy. We owe it to the men and women of our Armed Forces to pursue a policy that offers them the best possible chance at success, not a plan that repeats past mistakes. The President's decision to deploy an additional 21,500 American combat troops to Iraq is not the first time that we have had a surge of troops in this conflict. In April of 2004, January and October of 2005, and again in October of last year, we saw temporary escalations that provided no long-term reductions in violence. I am concerned that this latest plan is a renewed effort for more of the same that does little to encourage the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. As one general told the Iraq Study Group, ``All the troops in the world will not provide security if the Iraqi Government does not make political progress.'' Rather than laying out a plan that establishes solid benchmarks for Iraqi security and the corresponding redeployment of U.S. troops, the President is pursuing a strategy that history shows does not work. Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell, Commander of the U.S. Central Command General John Abizaid, Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway, and many other current and former military leaders have said more troops is not the answer. Our Nation's military is already stretched thin. This open-ended plan to increase American troop levels in Iraq would exacerbate the overextension of our Armed Forces and cripple our ability to respond to other crises around the world. Because we don't know what the future holds, we have to be ready for anything. U.S. and coalition forces successfully removed Saddam Hussein from power, and the world is a better place for it. But we now find ourselves locked in the middle of an Iraqi civil war. The Iraq of today is vastly different from the Iraq we entered nearly 4 years ago, yet our strategy remains the same. We need to succeed in Iraq, but we need to redefine what success really is. For over a year now I have joined our great chairman, Chairman Skelton, in his call for solid benchmarks in Iraq. We need a mechanism to measure our progress toward an Iraq that is responsible for its own security. It is in our interest, it is in Iraq's interest, and it is in the interest of the region to ensure that Iraqi personnel are trained and ready to take control sooner rather than later. Realistically, some of the more than 140,000 troops we already have in Iraq to secure the Iranian border would do more to further our goals in Iraq than sending more Americans into Baghdad. And that is a plan, my friends. At the end of the day, military command decisions rest with the Commander in Chief. This resolution and this debate are not about micromanaging the war or forcing a withdrawal of troops. Public opinion polls should not dictate war strategies. The facts should. And the facts are that surges haven't worked in the past and experts agree it won't work this time. The President knows we are all in this together. That is why I was very disappointed to see the administration move forward with such a dramatic escalation despite strong bipartisan opposition in Congress. Without a clear mission or effective benchmarks, it is too big of a gamble to take with so many American lives.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I bring some bad news from my home State of Oklahoma. We are facing a terrible ice storm in the eastern portion of our State, the Second Congressional District. We have had many homes without power. We have had trees fall over. We have had individuals lose their life. So I would like the record to reflect that I am not going to be here tomorrow because I think it is more important that I be with my constituents. The Governor of the State of Oklahoma, Brad Henry, is also going to be touring the damage with me. And I would like the record to reflect that if I were here in this Chamber, I would have voted ``aye'' in regards to the cost savings for our college students here in the Congress.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the groundbreaking of a memorial to the USS Oklahoma, which sank 65 years ago today in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Commissioned in 1916, the 583-foot USS Oklahoma escorted President Woodrow Wilson to and from France at the conclusion of World War I. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets through the 1920s and 1930s, and when the Spanish Civil War erupted in 1936, she steamed to Bilbao to ferry American citizens to safety in Gibraltar and French ports. One year and a day before the Japanese attack, the Oklahoma was assigned to Pearl Harbor. The casualties aboard the USS Oklahoma represent the second-largest loss of life aboard any Pearl Harbor ship. Yet neither memorial nor marker exists to commemorate her and her crew. With today's groundbreaking at Pearl Harbor, we mark a significant step toward the creation of a lasting memorial to honor the 429 sailors, officers and Marines who perished on the ``Okie,'' many of whom until 2002 rested in unmarked mass graves. I am proud to have worked with Congressman Cole and the other members of the Armed Services Committee to pass language in the 2005 Defense Authorization Act providing a site for the memorial. But the real credit for making this project a reality goes to the Oklahoma's remaining survivors, the people of the State of Oklahoma and the USS Oklahoma Memorial Committee, which is raising private funds for the memorial. I hope that this long-overdue tribute provides some comfort to the Oklahoma's survivors and their families, knowing that their sacrifices that day will never be forgotten.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Justin Whitefield, successful attorney, dedicated father, tremendous leader, and tireless advocate for agricultural development throughout Oklahoma and the Nation. A native of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, Justin Whitefield attended Oklahoma State University, earning a degree in Business, excelling in his studies and regularly recognized for his campus-wide leadership. Later attending the University of Oklahoma Law School, Justin Whitefield earned his Jurist Doctorate, repeating his academic excellence and class leadership. Throughout his career Justin Whitefield was a forward thinking individual, helping better the community through his dedication to helping others and his commitment to youth and agriculture. Examples of his initiatives and contributions are the growth of scholarship programs through the Oklahoma Youth Expo to young people, the development and implementation of collegiate programs such as the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Encounter program, and the Oklahoma Youth Expo College 101 and the Academic All State Scholarship Program. While his primary focus was to bring recognition to others by honoring individuals through the Oklahoma Youth Expo Exhibitor Hall of Fame, he was also progressive in his ideas for events such as the Western Art Exhibition, the Master Showmanship Contest and the Cattle Fitting Contest. In his most recent assignment as Executive Director of Oklahoma Youth Expo, Justin Whitefield's accomplishments were far-reaching. Prior to joining Oklahoma Youth Expo, he served as General Counsel for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, served as an Attorney specializing in Government Relations for Derryberry, Quigley, Solomon and Naifeh Law Firm and served as President and Chief Lobbyist for Capital Resource Group. As a result of an airplane accident, Justin Whitefield lost his life on November 4, 2006. He was not only a leader in Oklahoma, but he was my friend. We worked together during my service in the Oklahoma Legislature. I always found him to be a man of character, faith, and honor. We will truly miss him. I am proud, Mr. Speaker, to thank him for his contributions to others, specifically the young people of Oklahoma.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Speaker, at a time when America should be encouraging every high school student to attend college, the administration continues to drag its feet when it comes to making college more affordable. While college costs at a 4-year public college have increased by 57 percent since 2001, the Pell Grant maximum has not been increased for 4 years straight. Investing in education must be a priority in the United States if it is going to maintain its advantage over other countries in an increasing global economy. Our education policy must reflect that nothing is more important to our long-term economic growth than an educated work force. We should not leave this week without making this commitment to students across the country. We should bring up and pass an improved Labor, HHS appropriations bill that expands the size and the availability of the Pell Grants.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I introduced the Ouachita National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act to provide a technical correction to section 305 of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996. Section 305 provided for a land exchange between the Ouachita National Forest and Weyerhaeuser Timber Company but did not fully establish the new boundaries of the forest. My legislation would make this technical correction so that the boundaries of the forest would accurately reflect the land exchange. This correction would allow the Forest Service to better manage the land, because the boundaries of the forest would be more uniform and would allow future land management adjustments without the need to continuously adjust the boundaries. H.R. 5690 has the support of the administration, the local Forest Service office, Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Plum Creek, and the members of the Arkansas delegation whose district would be affected. The Forest Service is a valuable partner in preserving and managing the resource for Oklahoma and Arkansas, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation that will make managing the Ouachita easier for the Forest Service.

Mr. BOREN

Mr. BOREN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to join my colleagues in support of the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act. I support this act for a multitude of reasons; however, I want to briefly talk about how this legislation is important to non-coastal states like mine. Mr. Chairman, many people may question why a piece of legislation that opens the Outer Continental Shelf should matter to states like Oklahoma. Well, I am here to say that it is vitally important. It's important to the farmers of America's Heartland. This bill will bring relief to the farmers who have seen their costs for fuel and crop inputs rise significantly over the last several years by increasing natural gas supplies. The farmers and ranchers of America know all too well that natural gas is an important feedstock for the nitrogen fertilizers that are used on virtually every crop produced in this country. Mr. Chairman, we can even take the farmers out of the equation and this legislation is still important to our nation. Producing more natural gas will mean that we can reduce the cost of utilities for the nation's working families. Finally, I want to call attention to the fact that natural gas is a clean source of energy. It is clean from its utilization as a fuel to the processes that are used produce it. In recent years, the technologies in the industry have dramatically improved leaving us with everything from cleaner diesel fuel to smaller footprints after drilling has ceased. Mr. Chairman, this is our chance to help lower costs, create jobs, and even increase production of an environmentally-friendly domestic fuel source. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support H.R 4761.

Mr. BOREN

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