Duke Cunningham

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. You are correct. Action was not taken by the majority leader at that time.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, sometimes we talk about millions and billions of dollars and we lose the faces that are connected with AIDS. I want to just put a face on AIDS and a small victory. Being on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, we quite often go out to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. There I met a young African American. He walked up to me and says, ``Congressman, I have AIDS.'' He said, ``Every day I wake up and the only thing I think about is dying.'' He said this was so, until a medical research breakthrough that has a procedure where he goes through hell about every 6 months, but it extends his life. What it is called is hope. This young man now, with some hope, has gone out and bought a home, where he would not before. He has bought stocks. He did not before. I would say that I am a fiscal conservative. Speaker Gingrich used to talk about diabetes, that if we could stop amputations and blindness, think of the money we would save, let alone the quality of life. Well, I would say that if we could better people's lives, stop the hospital visitations and AIDS, think of the money that will be saved for health care to provide those dollars for more and more people. I thank the gentlewoman. I would also challenge the Black Caucus. We did the first prostate cancer town hall meeting in Washington, D.C. I also sit on that committee. It was very successful, with Mayor Williams. We are going to have another one in the spring. The highest rate of prostate cancer is among African Americans, and the highest rate is in Washington D.C. We are going to have another one this spring, and I would invite the caucus to work with us and with Mayor Williams this spring when we are going to do that.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to commend my colleagues on the other side, especially the Congressional Black Caucus. This was an informative hour. It was not to blast the White House or Republicans. It was issues of general concern, of moneys that they think should be put in, and it was issue-based, and I would like to commend my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, my friend and I, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), whose seat is down in San Diego, California, we come to praise Caesar and on a positive note, too many times that this Nation loses its heroes, and they are not recognized. Tonight, it was actually my colleague's idea. I just kind of chummed along. We stand up tonight and mention some folks that we know that have contributed to national security, that have contributed to every man and woman's life in this country, and some other countries as well; and with that, I would yield to my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Reclaiming my time, I would like to correct that. My backseater, Willy Driscoll, qualified, and the Air Force, Steve Ritchie was a pilot Ace, and Jeff Feinstein in the backseat.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. General Cardenas.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. I actually went through the whole page of things we were going to talk about General Cardenas, but I have got a couple of others that I have got to mention. General Cardenas is one of the few individuals that can tree a person with a smile. There is not a day goes by that I do not get a call from General Cardenas, and he says, ``Duke, what have you and Duncan done for the veterans today?'' I would be happy to announce also that he was very instrumental in San Diego. Widows and sometimes widowers have to drive clear up to Riverside, a 3\1/2\ hour drive, to visit the grave sites of their loved ones that they lost in different wars, the veterans. General Cardenas held some of the first meetings. We looked, we worked in a bipartisan way and ended up finding a spot at the former naval air station, Miramar, which now is MAS Miramar by the Marine Corps; and we found some 300 acres that will be a satellite for Fort Rosecrons that will provide over 200 grave sites. General Cardenas was instrumental and he was a driving force that pressed us and Tony Principi, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to come up with this site; and he also was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor, and as the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) mentioned, has done hundreds of things in the field of aerospace itself. But as a combat veteran and a veteran that has done a lot for space and for others, I was at General Yeager's 80th birthday a while back, and General Cardenas was prominent in that conversation at that meeting as well.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, we had studied when I was a kid, we studied about General Yeager and his exploits; and the first time I actually met him was at the naval air station Miramar, and he gave a lecture. This was before I ever went to Vietnam and flew, and General Yeager talked about getting engagement with a MiG and then you sit there and pulled about six Gs over the corner, came over the top, came back around and pulled six Gs. Then it was Colonel Yeager when he was briefing us. One of the guys said, ``Colonel Yeager, why didn't you shoot this guy?'' Because this was me, this was me out in front.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. We went up to northern California for his 80th birthday. I guess being a fighter pilot is okay, because General Yeager is 80 years old and he is dating a 35-year-old woman that he met on a hiking trail in the Sierras. If you look at General Yeager, he looks like he is 40, not 80. I just hope that I have accomplished one-tenth of the things he has when I am 80 years old and still have the spirit of heart that he does.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Well, as a kid, I had read about Pappy Boyington, Chuck Yeager and Joe Foss, but the first time I ever met Joe was, again, at the American Fighter Aces Reunion in San Antonio. And I covet that picture I gave the gentleman, because I never thought we would be without Joe. He was bigger than life. So I am going to have his wife, DeeDee, send me one of those pictures and sign it for Joe so I can hang it on my wall. I have a special memory of Joe Foss. He and I were inducted into the Riverside Aviation Hall of Fame together. And after the event, people in the audience were able to ask questions. There was an 8-year-old that stood up, and it was the first questioner of General Foss and myself, and his question was, ``General Foss, Duke Cunningham flew jets in Vietnam. You only flew propeller airplanes, didn't you?'' You could see the twinkle in General Foss's eye. He was a grandfatherly type guy, very strong Christian, no nonsense Christian. And so the little kid says, ``Well, General Foss, what does a propeller really do on an airplane?'' General Foss looked at the 8- year-old and he said, ``Son, the propeller is put there to keep the pilot cool.'' The little kid shook his head, and General Foss looked at him and said, ``Son, I'm not lying to you. If it stops, you watch him sweat.'' And that is the kind of individual Joe Foss was. He was not only good with aviators, and people in management as a governor, and head of the NRA and other issues, but he really related to children and fostered that kind of spirit. General Foss told me a story about when he was a little boy. He took his rifle that the gentleman referred to and he shot a light fixture off a telephone pole. When he came back home his father asked him what he shot today; squirrels? He said I shot a couple of things. His dad asked if he shot any squirrels, and he said, I shot a couple of squirrels, but he did not want to tell his dad about the light fixture. But when his dad pressed him, he says, well, I shot one of those little glass things on a telephone pole. His dad said, Joe, take your 22 and put it in the corner for 1 year. And he did not get to touch that rifle for 1 year. Joe drove his father's car, and he went out and dinged it. When he came back with a dent on it, Joe's father said, you do not drive that car for 1 year. So his father's discipline was a 1-year policy. So Joe said he grew up on the straight and narrow, but that is the kind of guy that Joe was. And if you talk to the American Fighter Aces, or basically anybody that knew Joe Foss, he ranks among the heroes and the great ones.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Twenty-six.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. The Honorable Wally Schirra.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Well, Wally, like General Foss, like Chuck Yeager, like most of the greats, grew up hunting and fishing. He is an outdoorsman. And Wally and I were up in northern California hunting pheasants together, along with a whole group of our folks that go up there yearly. A guy named Ernie King set it up. He used to live in my district but now lives up in Oregon. If you knew Wally Schirra, he looks like an English Lord when he hunts. He never buys anything. He used to work for Monsanto and they gave him every stitch of clothes he had. He has these little Lord jackets, these Little Lord hats, these little Lord hunting pants with the ruffles, and the little shoes and booties. And of course we make fun of him, but he does not care. Well, his little Lord hat fell on the ground and one of the guys threw it up in the air and it landed on the end of my shotgun. Wally looked at me and said, ``Duke, you wouldn't.'' So I pulled the trigger, and of course it blew a big hole in his hat. It was the most expensive hat I have ever paid for in my life. The thing cost about $200. But it was worth every minute, especially when Wally wore it for the rest of the day like that.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Well, I have a better picture of Wally. Because General Yeager and myself and Wally Schirra had a satellite feed that one of the television systems set up, and we were piped in basically into high schools across the United States, where young people interested in aviation could call in and ask General Yeager, Wally or myself questions. I did not get many questions. They wanted to talk to Wally and General Yeager. One young man called in and said, ``Mr. Schirra, when you flew Apollo, were you afraid?'' And Wally looked into the camera and he said, ``Son, you're sitting there in Apollo, an aircraft with a million moving parts, all of them put there by the lowest bidder. Do you think I had any reason for concern?'' But that, again, like when Joe Foss talked to the 8-year-old or Wally Schirra relates to children, they never forget where their roots came from and they speak to the youth to get them interested in math and science and aviation and spacecraft. It has been an honor for me just to walk among these men. I am an American, I am a man, but I walk among heroes.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I do not think that the French ones worked.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Billy Mitchell started flying in 1916. This was the time that Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Ace flew. He predicted these things that were going to happen in 1942 with Japan. He was also looked at being court martialed. He said if we did not have our air power, the Navy would be decimated without air power covering the top of it. One of the admirals said, I will stand on top of this battleship while you attack it, and Billy went out and single-handedly sunk this destroyer, which also showed air power, if we go into any war without air power, the Navy is very, very vulnerable, or without missile cover. Billy Mitchell is among the greats that we talk about. One of the things that I would like to talk about before we move to the next one, just to be a great name does not mean that you are a hero, but I will tell Members the names of some real heroes. Willy White, when I was in Vietnam, jumped up on my airplane and he said, ``Lieutenant Cunningham, we got our MiG today, didn't we?'' And Willy was telling me that they felt part of a team. Last night I was watching television, and on there was a movie that was very moving. It was called ``Glory.'' It was about a white colonel that was killed in the battle of this movie, but he led black troops in the 54th Regiment, and these troops were asked to fight against a fort. First of all, the general that was talking to the colonel said you have not slept for 2 days and the colonel said, True, General, we have not slept for 2 days, but they have fight left in them. They have character, strength of heart, and you should have seen us just 2 days ago. The black soldiers that night sat around a camp fire knowing that they were going to lead this attack. They volunteered to lead this attack which was going to be the highest casualties. As a matter of fact, in ``Glory'' the black soldiers under this command and their leader took 50 percent casualties. They never did take the fort, but the point was that one of the soldiers said, if I should fall, who will carry the standard, meaning the flag. A voice quipped out, I will, sir, and then, I will, sir. Seven different times that flag fell and each time a black soldier picked that flag up and went forward knowing that they would probably be killed. When we talk about greats and aviation greats and heroes in this world, I think some of the things that have happened in our own history are sad; but when I think about like Denzel Washington who played in the movie, had a difficult time speaking, with tears, he said, I love the 54th. This is my family, and we are men. That is the spirit of the fighting men and women that we honor here tonight, not just with General Yeager and Billy Mitchell and Wally Schirra, but with men like this that have given their utmost. And today, when we are looking at Iraq, and our men and women are stationed in the Middle East and all over this world, we should pay them an homage and honor what they are doing for us here today.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Does the gentleman from California know what is put on the bottom of a Coke bottle at an Air Force base?

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Open other end.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I remember attacking a site and the guy on the ground said hit the purple smoke, and the purple smoke was their position. And it was guys like the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) and the rangers in Vietnam that were trying to scamper down the back side of a hill; and I remember thinking I am glad that I am in this nice air- conditioned airplane at 20,000 feet, not scampering down on the ground like the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter). Mr. Speaker, it is all relative. Men like the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) was a prisoner of war for 7 years. Half of that time was in solitary confinement. He was leader of the Air Force Thunderbirds, and what a marvelous representative he is here. When Americans hold up their heads and look to heroes, we know that Mexican Americans, Hispanics, had more per capita Medal of Honor winners than any other group. Because of their values and defense of national security and taking care of their families and so on, that the Tuskegee Airmen, during very difficult times in our country with racism, fought through those barriers. Not a single bomber went down that was escorted by a Tuskegee Airman, and those are the kinds of things that I am talking about. We have a friend in Vietnam that took almost 6 years to knit an American flag together to have it like the Speaker has here tonight so people could celebrate when a few POWs got together. The Vietnamese guards came in, saw the POW without his shirt, and ripped it apart and they took him out and brutally beat him for hours. They did not think he would survive. They comforted him on the side. He had a broken jaw and internal injuries. And so they started conducting their meeting, and there this broken-bodied POW had drug himself to the center of the floor and started grabbing those bits of thread that had been shred up so he could knit another American flag. That is the spirit that we are embodying here tonight, from the 54th in ``Glory'' to the Tuskegee Airmen, to the Hispanics that contributed, to the Filipinos who gave your father the flag, I believe, which flew over Baguio when the Japanese took over Baguio which you donated to a museum. This is the American spirit, and this is the spirit that we will overcome regardless of what Saddam Hussein does.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution recognizing the courage and sacrifice of those who were held prisoners of war in Vietnam on the 30th anniversary of their release, and calling for a full accounting of those who never returned. This remembrance has a special meaning--not just for those like myself who served in Vietnam and saw the horrors inflicted by our enemy, but for those held captive so long, it is an especially emotional day. And I rise in honor of each of those POWS, for their service to this nation and the sacrifice that stands today as a testament to the greatness of our free nation. On this fitting occasion, I also want to honor one of those POWs, a great friend and hero of mine and many Americans, and our colleague, Sam Johnson. Sam and I shared long careers as fighter pilots before coming to Congress. Although we continue to argue to this day over the accomplishments of Navy versus Air Force fighters, we have developed a strong bond over those shared experiences and our commitment to carry forward the lessons we learned from them. Sam, and I have travelled together extensively, speaking to veterans' groups and working to ensure that Americans understand the importance of supporting the military--particularly at times like these when our troops are defending freedom around globe. As one who was shot down in combat myself, I know how difficult it is to talk about those harrowing experiences--and you won't hear that from Sam, nor him boasting that record of service or sacrifice. But it is clear from the historical records and the testimony of those who served with him that he is an American hero, and more that worthy of the numerous military awards and national recognition he ultimately earned. From his numerous combat missions and enemy kills, to the inner strength that earned him the label ``die hard'' by his captors, Sam stands out as an example of true American strength. On this anniversary of Operation Homecoming, I want to recognize Sam's accomplishments, his bravery, courage, sacrifice and service to this nation. Godspeed, my friend, from this Navy pilot.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce legislation which would amend the Constitution to prevent desecration of the American flag. This measure is identical to H.J. Res. 36, which I sponsored in the last session of Congress, and language adopted by the House four times. It is necessary to restore protections for the symbol of our nation and all its honored traditions, which were sadly wiped away in the 1989 Supreme Court ruling on Texas v. Johnson. In that fateful 5-4 ruling, the Court cast aside longstanding national laws and 48 state laws recognizing the flag's special status and honoring its place in American society--ruling that its desecration is protected under the First Amendment. For those who see our flag as a revered symbol of freedom and the great sacrifices that were made to sustain it at home and abroad, that decision was a horrible affront-- and the call to action was immediate. Inspired to preserve our national trademark and unalloyed symbol of unity, Congress quickly moved to pass a law restoring flag protections. But in its 5-4 ruling on United States v. Eichman in 1990, the Supreme Court once again found that flag protections were inconsistent with free expression rights accorded under the First Amendment. That ruling made it clear that restoration of flag protections would require a Constitutional Amendment. Since that ruling, the House has four times passed a Flag Protection Constitutional Amendment with well over the two-thirds majority required. The Senate has also acted, failing to achieve the two-thirds votes necessary to move the amendment forward to the states for ratification by a mere handful of votes. Since that time, our nation has endured some of its most difficult challenges and we have been reminded once again how important the flag is in unifying our nation, demonstrating our resolve and honoring those who have sacrificed to protect the lives and liberties of the American people. Each color on the flag, each star and each stripe evokes emotion in me, and together they stand as a symbol of everything I believed in about this country when I fought to defend it. When I heard that some in my country were opposing my military's involvement in Vietnam, that flag reminded me of our tolerance for differences and our endurance through unity. It was a steady symbol of the liberties we enjoy--a way of life that should be protected for future generations and defended for others who aspire to it. From the soldier deployed or detained abroad to the policemen and firefighters protecting citizens in communities, it has stood as a symbol of the country we love, the reason we serve and most important, the sacrifices that have been made. There have been several major incidents of flag burning since the Court ruling in 1990. These incidents tear at me, and represent a direct attack on all I hold dear about this country. The Constitution was not designed to protect actions which jeopardize others' rights, and the government has long acted to restrict speech and conduct that could cause harm to others. Those who want to express their anger against this country have options that don't involve destroying the sacred symbol that belongs to all citizens. At a time when we are faced with increasing youth violence and cultural breakdown, restoring our most recognized sign of unity would be a positive step in the right direction--providing a steady reminder that living free comes with responsibility to respect others. Since 9- 11, the flag has come to represent even more for all Americans and a reminder of those who were lost protecting us. Allowing its desecration is an insult to all those who perished. Mr. Speaker, the state of Israel has laws protecting not only its flag, but the flags of its allies as well. It is inexplicable to me that the United States is being told by its courts to tolerate such acts of hatred and violence against its flag when our allies go to such great lengths to protect it. Over seventy-five percent of Americans consistently agree: the time to restore protections for our flag is long overdue. I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this Constitutional Amendment, and to move it back to the American people for speedy ratification.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, the issue is to get people back to work and for those that cannot find work, it is to help them out. The other side of the aisle opposed that. One of the problems we have had in the past, in the Senate, we have had gridlock. James Carville wrote in a memo to the then-leader Daschle that he recommended two things: one, that the Senate not have a budget; two, that they gridlock all House bills. The House passed an unemployment bill. It takes 60 votes in the Senate, unlike the House with a simple majority. Yes, we control the House and the Senate. We could pass the bill right here today. But in the Senate, the same Senate Democrats gridlock legislation, that would go forward in a bipartisan way. We need to pull together on both sides of the aisle to make sure that the people that do not have work, work. But even more important, instead of handing out dollars to individuals, we need to create the jobs, whether it is tax relief which the President has offered. Not only long-term, instead of just handing out money and having Davis- Bacon and unions reap the benefits of it, it creates jobs across the board and allows those same people, instead of having to receive benefits, will have a good job. The gentlewoman from Washington has stated clearly that they have received both State and Federal moneys. That runs out, and we have got to come together today to make sure that that happens. Put aside the partisanship, and let us pass this bill.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I have been in this body for 10 years, and each year we have had continuing resolutions, both when I served in the minority and also in the majority. They are always unfortunate because it holds up the work of this House. I would say to my colleagues a little lesson in history, in the 107th Congress the House passed 58 bills, 58 bills that the other body refused to either take up or pass. They gridlocked them. I would say that this body did its work. We passed bills. And regardless of the gridlock in the other body, we did many things together, Republican and Democrats, that helped the American people. I worked with many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), whom I serve with on the Committee on Appropriations. Mr. Speaker, we intercepted a memo from James Carville, a political partisan, Democrat operative, and it was entitled, ``It's the Economy, Stupid,'' and he recommended two things to the other body, one that they not pass a budget. Why? Because a good example is prescription drugs. The House did its work. We passed prescription drug legislation two times in this body. The last time was for $350 billion, more than the other side of the aisle requested during the first go-round, yet it did not satisfy them. Carville and the other body, they requested $1.3 trillion for prescription drugs in their first go-round. Why? So they could bad mouth Republicans to specific interest groups. And in the 13 appropriations bills if Democrats do not have a budget, they can put a trillion here and a trillion there. In Labor-HHS, for example, over time it was $278 billion more, yet they talk about being fiscal conservatives and it just does not add up. Yes, we did not pass the appropriations bills as the gentleman talked about, but we chose to wait and see what we could do to work it together. But with the Senate not passing its bills, it made it more and more difficult. The second portion of the Carville memo recommended that the Senate not pass any of the House bills, which they did. They held 58 of them up during that time, bills that would help the American people, such as the energy bill, and I can tell Members California is very strapped for energy and the need for infrastructure. Yet the other body, upon recommendation, held that bill up. The economic stimulus package, we all know that the economy, a lot is based on the stock market. We had bills that we passed in this body that would help people regain confidence in the stock market so that the people like from Enron that invested their life savings in a retirement plan would not have some CEO take the whole bundle of wax and leave them with nothing. We heard testimony of a lady that had over $200,000 in her retirement account. After Enron, she had like $15,000 in her retirement account. The gentleman says we did not do our work, but the Senate refused to take up legislation. They refused to take up an energy bill. Mr. Speaker, I would tell Members yes, we did not pass appropriations bills, but we were not going to play the Carville game. Secondly, when the Democrats had majority in this place, we remember in 1993 when they said they were going to help the middle class. They increased the tax on the middle class, after months and months of the then-majority leader saying that they were going to cut taxes on the middle class. They increased the tax on Social Security. That is because they had a President in the White House that would sign it. They increased the tax on gas. They even had a retroactive tax. They took every dime out of the Social Security Trust Fund. They cut veterans' COLAS and military COLAS, and this is when they had control. They passed it because they had large numbers in the majority in the other body. In the other body, we have a 2-vote margin. We do not have 60 votes to pass things in the Senate. They are not like the House where it is a simple majority. Yes, in the future there is also going to be gridlock from the Senate because the same partisan Democrats that held up legislation in the Senate when they were in the majority are going to hold up legislation on the Senate side. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of things that we can come together on in this House over the next 2 years; but, if we look at the pending bill, all I have heard so far is vitriolic, partisan points at the Republican Party. That is not going to get Members anywhere; it just makes us madder, like it makes the other side of the aisle madder when they do not get their way. There is a lot of things we can do together, which we do within the committees themselves. But when it comes to the leadership of the Democrat Party, that is their goal, to gridlock, to hold things up like over the past 2 years.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I yield to the gentleman and my friend from Wisconsin. The Democratic Party. I meant nothing by that and the gentleman knows that. But there are a lot of things we can do and most of these freshmen that came have ideals, actually sitting down and working together. Unfortunately, we have got a Presidential election, and there is a lot at stake for the parties. Myself, I am a fighter. The gentleman knows me by now, over 10 years. But I would much rather sit down with the gentleman from Wisconsin and with the leadership of the Democratic Party and work out these things instead of this bickering. It hurts all of us.