John Culberson

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, of all the irresponsible, bad ideas cooked up by the liberal leadership of the House, this has to be the blue ribbon boondoggle champion of bad ideas. This exposes the U.S. Treasury and the American taxpayers to a potential liability of up to $19 trillion of property from Maine to the Gulf Coast States. The flood insurance program is already, as we have heard, about, I believe, $20 billion in debt already, the flood insurance is already underfunded, and yet we are going through this legislation, if it passes, expose the American taxpayers to untold billion dollars worth of liability every year. And this is a public-private partnership. As my friend Randy Neugebauer of Texas pointed out, the insurance companies on the private sector's part are going to collect the premiums and the American taxpayers are going to pay the bill. This is, I believe, one of the most dangerous and fiscally irresponsible pieces of legislation ever brought to the floor of the House probably in history, and certainly sets a blue ribbon record for the liberal leadership of this House. We need to all remember as guardians of the Treasury that the American taxpayers are already facing individually, according to the Government Accountability Office, every living American would have to buy $170,000 worth of Treasury bills today just to pay off the existing liabilities of the Federal Government, both direct and indirect. And it is unconscionable, it is absolutely intolerable that this Congress, this liberal leadership of this House would attempt to pass on to my daughter and our kids a potential liability reaching $19 trillion. It is unacceptable, it is outrageous, and I hope this House will soundly defeat this utterly irresponsible piece of legislation.

Mr. CULBERSON. Which I voted against.

Mr. CULBERSON. Reclaiming my time. The Republican leadership might have bent the rules to give American seniors a drug benefit; but we didn't break the rules and steal a vote, as you all did, to give illegal aliens access to Federal benefits. And that shows the difference in priorities, I would point out.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. CULBERSON. This is a brand new liability that we are passing on to my daughter and to the children of America, to the people of the United States who are already saddled with $15.5 trillion worth of liability, and it is just irresponsible. It is unacceptable. It is outrageous to create a massive new program like this that if it passes that could create, potentially, liability in the trillions of dollars. That is my point. There has never been a more expensive nor more massive creation of potential liability to the taxpayers than this legislation before the House today. That is my point. Mr. Chairman, I urge every Member who cares about the fiscal solvency of the United States to vote ``no'' against this legislation.

Mr. CULBERSON. In response to the distinguished chairman's point that the legislation requires that the program be actuarially sound, that is true that is in the bill that you produced here. However, the law also requires that the flood insurance program be actuarially sound. It is $20 billion in debt. The legislation before the House asked the Federal Government, the taxpayers, to assume a potential liability for the $19 trillion worth of insured property, a valuation of property just along the coastline. It is important to remember that the taxpayers of the United States are already facing liability of $50.5 trillion according to the Government Accountability Office. It is just irresponsible. It is dangerous to pass legislation like this, creating a massive new expansion of an existing program that is already $20 billion in debt at a time when the country faces massive debt and massive deficits. It is just irresponsible and dangerous. I wanted to point out to the House and to the people out there listening, Mr. Chairman, that this legislation is fiscally irresponsible. It is dangerous. Mr. Chairman, I urge the House to defeat it. It is a bad idea to pass on the liability like this to the taxpayers.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, this bill should be defeated because it is irresponsible and absolutely fiscally dangerous to pass a piece of legislation like this with an open-ended obligation on the U.S. Treasury. The bill should be defeated because, for all practical purposes, no private insurer will ever write coverage again in this area because they can now count on the U.S. Treasury to pay for this coverage. And the bill should be defeated because of its massive potential cost that the CBO has scored it, a 10-year cost of about $10.4 billion. But I think probably the most important reason this bill should be defeated is one that we, as stewards of the Treasury, need to keep in mind on every bill, on every amendment, on every vote that involves spending a dollar of the taxpayers' money, that all of us in Congress should keep in mind the single, in my mind, most important fact that I have run across as a Member of Congress, and that is that David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States, the director of the Government Accountability Office, has estimated that in order to pay off the existing obligations of the Federal Government, both direct and indirect, the existing obligations of the Federal Government are so massive that every American would have to buy $170,000 worth of Treasury bills today in order to pay off the debt, the interest on the national debt, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. All the existing obligations, the Federal programs that are out there in existence today, those obligations are so massive that every living American would have to buy $170,000 in Treasury bills in order to pay them off. It is absolutely imperative that this Congress on every bill, every amendment and every vote do everything we can to prevent adding to that burden, and to subtract from it as much as we can as, in our private lives, if you had a second mortgage on a house and the credit cards were all topped out, you would only spend money on the bare essentials. We have the same obligation, and even higher, a greater obligation here in Congress, as stewards of the Federal Treasury, to ensure that we're not passing on obligations to future generations, or adding to that $170,000 burden. And I don't want to hear the proponents of this bill come back and say, well, this administration added a lot to that burden. I can tell you personally I voted against almost every one of those big spending initiatives that the White House proposed. My district opposed a lot of the expansions of these big new spending programs. I voted against No Child Left Behind as a violation of the 10th amendment and spending money we didn't have. I voted against the Medicare prescription drug bill as spending money we didn't have. I voted against the farm bill as spending money we didn't have and I'm not going to pass that on to my daughter or future generations. Most of us on this side, the fiscal conservatives in this House, have consistently opposed big new spending programs, and this bill is probably the worst I've seen so far. It is, in my mind, a perfect illustration of a liberal Democrat fiscal policy that they have passed an open-ended obligation onto future generations, a blank check on the U.S. Treasury. It's an utterly irresponsible and dangerous piece of legislation and it should be defeated.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It is my singular honor to stand before the House today to support H.R. 1154, a bill that Mr. Green is the lead author of, which he has coauthored with Mr. Burgess and I and other members of the Texas delegation, which Senator Hutchison has carried in the Senate, to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Michael DeBakey. Al Green and I are proud to represent the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the largest assembly of medical institutions and hospitals, learning facilities in the world, and certainly the greatest collection of medical talent, human talent in the entire world. And Dr. Michael DeBakey has had an impact on medicine based out of the Texas Medical Center that just simply cannot be overstated. And my friend Al Green has spoken so eloquently and so well of many of Dr. DeBakey's accomplishments. I could not agree more that if the Congressional Gold Medal did not exist, it certainly should be created just for Dr. Michael DeBakey. He is an educator, surgeon, innovator. As Mr. Green has said, Dr. DeBakey comes from Louisiana, the oldest of five children. He was born in 1908. And it is important for people listening to know that this great good man is 99 years old, in great good health, is still active, and is, I hope, watching this afternoon. He received both his bachelor's, his master's, and his medical degrees all from Tulane University in New Orleans and completed his internship at the Charity Hospital and his residency at the University of Strasbourg, France and Heidelberg, Germany. At the age of 23, and still a medical student, he reported a major invention, the roller pump for blood transfusions, which later became a major component of the heart-lung machine used in the first successful open heart operation. And while Dr. DeBakey was still a resident in surgery, he invented a blood transfusion needle, suture scissors, and a colostomy clamp while still a student. He is also credited with inventing and perfecting countless other medical devices, techniques, and procedures that have saved untold number of lives and led to healthy hearts for millions of people throughout the world. The man is truly a pioneer in ways that I think most people may or may not know. He is a modest good man, and I just can't tell you how proud I am to be here and to be a part of this tonight. When he returned to the United States in 1937, after completing his European studies, Dr. DeBakey accepted a position on the faculty of Tulane University's School of Medicine Department of Surgery. And although he had already achieved a national reputation as an authority on vascular disease and had a promising career as a surgeon and teacher, Dr. DeBakey volunteered for medical service during World War II, joined the Surgeon General's staff, and rose to the rank of colonel and chief of the surgical consultant's division. His firsthand knowledge led Dr. DeBakey to make a number of recommendations to properly stage the management of war wounds, which led to the development of the MASH units that we are all so familiar with because of the television show, and today the survival rate of soldiers in the field is remarkable. If they are injured or wounded in combat and defense of this Nation, the surgical attention they get from those mobile army surgical hospitals is a direct result of Dr. DeBakey's work in World War II. And for this contribution, Dr. DeBakey earned the Legion of Merit in 1945. After World War II, Dr. DeBakey recommended the creation of specialized medical centers in different parts of the United States to treat wounded military personnel returning from the war; and from this recommendation, Dr. DeBakey's ideas led to the creation of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center System. He also proposed a systematic follow-up of veterans, as he had done so with soldiers in the field, which led to the establishment of the Commission on Veterans Medical Problems of the National Research Council and an extensive VA Medical Center Research program. And in 2003, in honor of Dr. DeBakey's accomplishments, with the help of my friend Al Green and Sheila Jackson-Lee and other members of the Houston delegation, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, Texas, was renamed the Michael DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In 1948, Dr. DeBakey moved to Houston and started at the Methodist Hospital in Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center. Shortly after he arrived, he secured commitments to improve the institutions and quickly developed the first surgical residency program in the city of Houston. Guided by his vision, Baylor College of Medicine is today one of the most respected health science centers in the Nation and in the world. In 1969, as Al mentioned, Dr. DeBakey was elected the first president of the Baylor College of Medicine, and today he is chancellor emeritus of the Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. DeBakey has been crucial to the growth of the Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. At Methodist, Dr. DeBakey performed many of his groundbreaking surgeries, including the first removal of a carotid artery blockage in 1950. Today Dr. DeBakey is a senior attending surgeon at the Methodist Hospital. Convinced that there must be a way to improve existing methods of vascular surgery, Dr. DeBakey went out on his own and purchased fabric from a Houston area fabric store, using a craft he had learned from his mother as a child, Dr. DeBakey created the first Dacron prosthetic artery on his wife's sewing machine. Intensive studies and testing followed, and with the collaboration of a research associate from the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences, a knitting machine was developed that produced the first seamless artificial artery in history called Dacron tubes. In 1953, Dr. DeBakey performed the first successful procedures to treat patients who suffered aneurysms leading to severe strokes. He later developed a series of innovative surgical techniques for the treatment of aneurysms enabling thousands of lives to be saved in the years ahead. During Dr. DeBakey's tenure as a member of the Task Force on Medical Services of the Hoover Commission, he initiated the concept and led the movement to establish a national facility for valuable and historical medical papers and artifacts. His efforts led to the dedication on June 12, 1959, of the National Library of Medicine housed at the National Institutes of Health. Today the National Library of Medicine is the world's largest and most prestigious repository of medical archives. In 1964, President Johnson appointed Dr. DeBakey to the position of chairman of the President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke, which led to the creation of the Regional Medical Programs established ``to encourage and assist in the establishment of regional cooperative arrangements among medical schools, research institutions and hospitals for research and training.'' In 1964, Dr. DeBakey also triggered the most explosive era in modern cardiac surgery when he performed the first successful coronary bypass in history. That's an extraordinary achievement, and everyone should focus on that. Dr. DeBakey was, once again, paving the way for surgeons worldwide to offer hope to thousands of patients who might otherwise succumb to heart disease. Two years later, Dr. DeBakey made medical history again when he was the first to use, successfully, a partial artificial heart to solve the problems of a patient who could not be weaned from a heart-lung machine following open heart surgery. And in the mid-1960s, Dr. DeBakey pioneered the field of telemedicine with the first demonstration of open heart surgery to be transmitted overseas by satellite, a technique that is today used extensively in Iraq. When soldiers in the field are injured and brought into the hospital and they need medical care, physicians in the Texas Medical Center, which Al Green and I are so proud to represent, are able to view those procedures live via satellite, of the x-rays, of the CAT scans and the procedure itself being done in Iraq. A doctor sitting in Houston, Texas is able to help observe and offer advice on that procedure to help save those soldiers' lives. And that technique was first pioneered by Dr. DeBakey back in the mid-1960s. In 1968, Dr. DeBakey supervised the first successful multi-organ transplant where a heart, both kidneys and a lung were transplanted from a single donor to four separate recipients. In 1968. In 1969, President Johnson bestowed on Dr. DeBakey the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. Dr. DeBakey has always focused on education and bringing young people into the field of medicine and strengthening and expanding the reach of our medical schools. And in 1962, he supported an educational outreach program that led to the creation of Houston High School for Health Professions, now recognized as one of the best high schools of its kind in the United States. And in 1996, Houston's High School for Health Professions was renamed the Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions in honor of this great, good man. And he was recognized by President Reagan in 1985 with the National Medal of Science. In 1999, Time Magazine chose Dr. DeBakey as one of the 100 Great Americans of the 20th Century and honored him for his pioneering work and innovation in cardiovascular surgery and the artificial heart. Dr. DeBakey continues his pioneering research today. Working with NASA engineers, he refined existing technology to create the DeBakey ventricular assist device for patients with dying hearts. This device is one tenth the size of current versions and restores the cardiac output of a heart to normal function in order to relieve the patient's failing heart and could eventually eliminate the need for heart transplant in some patients. And, in fact, the technology that Dr. DeBakey was able to develop for the ventricular assist device is very similar to and helped NASA in developing the fuel pumps for the space shuttle, which to this day the space shuttle fuel pumps on those engines are able to move more fuel, more fluid more rapidly than any other pump ever invented. And Dr. DeBakey's work was a key part of that. I have a particular soft part in my heart. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I do my best to avoid spending money. The starting answer is no, unless it's medical or scientific research. And when it comes to medical or scientific research, that's our Nation's insurance policy and the investment that we make. And the research that's done at the Texas Medical Center, other medical institutions around the country and in scientific research and in the space program is truly a part of our national insurance policy. And the research work that Dr. DeBakey has done with NASA has truly led to saving lives and improved technological spin-offs in many other areas as well. In 1999, Dr. DeBakey was one of eight individuals chosen to commemorate the United Nations' International Day for Tolerance and received the prestigious U.N. Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000, Dr. DeBakey was recognized by the Library of Congress, which designated him a Living Legend. Throughout his many years of public service, Dr. DeBakey has been awarded over 50 honorary degrees from colleges, universities and medical schools worldwide, as well as numerous awards from educational institutions, professional and civic organizations and governments worldwide. I want to again, Mr. Speaker, say thank you to my colleagues, Representative Al Green and Representative Michael Burgess, for bringing this bill to the House floor, and a special thank you to Chairman Barney Frank for expediting its approval through the Financial Services Committee. I could not agree more with my friend, Al Green. There is no better way to express the merit of this good man, that if the Congressional Gold Medal did not exist, it truly would need to be invented for Dr. DeBakey. With his extraordinary achievements, his contributions to mankind, to improving the lives and health of not only the people of the United States but of the world, I am proud to join my friend, Al Green, in urging the House to support and pass H.R. 1154 to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we have been joined by the other lead author of this bill, my colleague and good friend from Dallas, Dr. Michael Burgess. And I would like, if I could, at this time to yield time to Dr. Burgess.

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

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of Taiwan's decision to apply for admittance to the United Nations. I urge the Administration and the Secretary General to reconsider their positions and accept Taiwan, a sovereign and democratically elected government, as a peer in the international community. For over 50 years, Taiwan has been a flourishing, independent and sovereign government in the developing world and Southeast Asia. Taiwan has developed a world-class democracy, serving as a model for countries in the region. The people of Taiwan inspire others in Southeast Asia and around the world who desire freedom and prosperity. America should stand with our friends who engage in peaceful democracy and Taiwan deserves our support. Taiwan has all the qualifications for a sovereign state as laid out in the ``Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.'' Taiwan has a permanent population, a recognized and defined territory, government, and the capacity to enter relations with other states, including 23 members of the UN. Under Article 4 of the UN Charter, Taiwan clearly has the right to apply for membership. The Secretary General should allow Taiwan to present its case to the General Assembly and allow a vote to proceed. Taiwan plays an important role in the international community because of its democratic and economic success. Other nations are benefiting from Taiwan's access to markets and technology. It defies logic and the principle of fairness that the Taiwanese people and government are not given the same voice as everyone else throughout the world. In petitioning the UN for membership under the name Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian is dutifully responding to the sentiments of his people, of which three-quarters support applying for UN membership under the name of Taiwan. This is a responsible decision by the government and not a new initiative. The government in Taipei has been petitioning for UN membership since 1993. In closing, Madam Speaker, I urge this body to stand with our friends and allies in Taiwan. I hope you will join me in supporting strong democracy in the world by supporting Taiwan's bid for membership to the United Nations.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, everyone who is about to vote for this bill needs to read it. Mr. Speaker, on page 3 of the bill, on the bottom of the page, each State is going to conduct its own audit of eligibility of people that they are providing federally funded health insurance for. Now, we know already the State of California has said they want to provide health insurance coverage to all children in the State, regardless of whether they are here legally or not. But they can't do that. California cannot extend health insurance to people who are undocumented, because Federal law currently requires that you must prove you are here legally or that you are a citizen under existing law. But this bill repeals that verification requirement. The bill specifically allows each State ``shall audit itself.'' Under State law, States can use any verification method they wish to determine whether or not somebody is a citizen or they are here legally. Obviously, this law repeals the verification requirement and allows the State to provide health insurance coverage to people who are here illegally or undocumented aliens. In fact, there is no way to even verify their income level. This is an open-ended faucet that the States are going to be able to tap into the Federal treasury. This is a creation of ``HillaryCare'' where everyone in this Nation under the age of 25, we are going to kick seniors off of Medicaid and Medicare and allow States to sign up people who are undocumented aliens for the first time in this Nation's history, at a time of record debt, record deficit, and at a time the taxpayers cannot afford it. Mr. Speaker, this spendthrift majority is going to bankrupt this Nation.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I also rise in support of Mr. McHenry's amendment, but I also want to thank my ranking member, the subcommittee chairman here. I serve on the Appropriations Committee, and Chairman Obey is correct: the committee has done a good job of making sure we had bills in front of us and opportunity for debate. But I also want to reiterate Mr. Barton's point. He is absolutely right. The reason we're out here today and having this discussion is because we, each one of us, as Members of Congress have really a fiduciary, very deep and profound fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of the taxpayers' dollars. And we're here debating an appropriations bill on how to spend those tax dollars. And the Agriculture Department has, an important part of its role is the taking, they have a role directly, for example, in the Texas Medical Center. And the nexus to this debate, Mr. Chairman, that I would certainly point out is, under this bill, the Department of Agriculture, for example, helps maintain the children's nutrition program at the Baylor College of Medicine, which I'm proud to represent. The Agriculture Department, a key part of their responsibility is children's health. And it is highly relevant to talk about this Children's Health Insurance Program that the Democrat majority is attempting to shove through this Congress with very little debate, very little sunlight, which is always a dangerous sign. If they won't let you read the bill and they won't let you talk about it, it is sure going to contain serious problems. And I for one am deeply concerned about the tremendous expansion this bill proposes. The bill will, it is clear from what we have seen, take seniors off of Medicare and allow States to put illegal aliens on Medicare. The bill has no reasonable limits. The bill has no enforceable limits on age. The bill has no enforceable limits on income requirements. And the bill is also silent as to whether or not States can include illegal aliens in coverage. The bill will allow States to provide Medicare coverage at Federal taxpayers' expense to anyone the State chooses to cover. Now, imagine what that means in the State of California where the Governor has already advocated and the legislature has advocated providing health care coverage to illegal aliens. And I say that in the context, ladies and gentlemen, of the fact that all of us need to remember, every bill, every dollar we spend, that the Government Accountability Office has already calculated that in order to pay for the obligations of the Federal Government today, my overriding concern is that, in order to pay for the existing obligations of the Federal Government, the GAO has calculated, Mr. Farr, that each American would have to buy $155,000 worth of Treasury bills. That's how massive the existing obligations of the Federal Government are. The existing obligations of the Federal Government are so massive that every living American would have to purchase $155,000 worth of Treasury bills, and that wouldn't even touch the national debt. That wouldn't even touch the interest on the national debt. And yet the Democrat majority has attempted to jam through a bill here that we don't even really know the ultimate cost. Mr. Barton estimates that if the States expand coverage as far as they could to pick up illegal aliens and people of any age group or income group, but if Mr. Barton is correct, and I think it is reasonable that there is no real way to calculate how much this bill costs, we are adding a monstrous and inexcusable financial debt on the back backs of our children. You are taking away Medicare coverage from seniors and allowing States to give it to illegal aliens. This is outrageous, it is unacceptable, it is unaffordable, and you are going to break the back of the taxpayers of this country. And I, for one, will stand at this microphone and all of us have an obligation to stand up here like Horatio at the gates of Rome. If this is the only place that I can stand and fight, I will stand and fight here as long as it takes to protect the Treasury and the taxpayers of this country from irresponsible, irresolute spendthrift practices of the majority of this House, and I won't stand for it. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Thank you very much.

Mr. CULBERSON. But in particular, in relation to those planets that they led the effort to explore.

Mr. CULBERSON. If I could yield quickly for a point of legislative intent clarification. I notice the intent of my cosponsor that these centers, and I agree completely, they all need to be recognized and honored, but of course the front of the coin is going to represent each one of the nine planets. And it is your intent, as I know it is mine, that the reverse of the coin reflect and honor the research center that contributed to missions to that particular planet is what I'm confident you mean.

Mr. CULBERSON. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I thank my coauthor, and I urge Members of the House to pass this legislation honoring NASA's 50th anniversary. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume in support of H.R. 2750. I want to, first of all, thank the chairman of the committee, Chairman Frank, for his insistence in bringing this bill to the floor throughout this process. I want to thank my colleague from Houston, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee. Thank you so much, Sheila. It's been a pleasure working with you on this important bill honoring the 50th anniversary of NASA, an organization whose exploration of outer space has truly touched the lives and hearts, I think, of every American today, can relate to the experience I know so many Americans had on the 31st of January, 1958, when the very first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, was launched into orbit. In response to the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which had been set up under the guidance of the United States Army, put together Explorer 1 and built it and launched it. And before the year was out, Congress had created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on December 3, 1958. So next year is a golden anniversary for NASA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has given the people of the United States many, many things to be proud of. NASA has gone on to explore, from that first launch of that first satellite, the entire solar system and much of the visible universe with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. We now have telescopes in orbit, Madam Speaker, around the Earth that have identified up to 160 planets around other solar systems. NASA has discovered, with the Mars Rovers, that liquid water not only once existed on the surface of Mars, but it appears that there are large frozen lakes on Mars today. We have landed on the surface of the moon, Titan. We not only landed men on the moon with a very successful Apollo program, but we are today, under President Bush's vision and the leadership of our new NASA administrator, Mike Griffin, rapidly moving towards the day very soon when men and women will return to the surface of the moon. The accomplishments of NASA, JPL, and all of the research labs under NASA are absolutely extraordinary, but this exploration has not come without loss. As with all exploration that is new, it has been dangerous. On January 27, 1967, America tragically lost three Apollo astronauts on the launch pad because of a fire in Apollo I. Changes were made to the program, and the spacecraft became much safer and we moved on and beyond that terrible tragedy. And then of course we lost the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, with its entire crew, a terrible day that I know many of us remember. And then most recently, tragically, on February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during reentry with its entire seven-man crew. Therefore, in the design of this coin set, my coauthor and I, Congresswoman Jackson-Lee, have proposed that the centerpiece of the coin will be a $50 high-relief-proof gold piece that will honor the lives of the astronauts who have lost their lives in the exploration of space. On that $50 gold piece will be an image of the sun. Then arranged around it will be nine silver-proof dollars, each one representing a different planet in our solar system and each one commemorating missions to that planet as put together by each of the different NASA centers. And the silver dollar for the planet Earth will of course have on the reverse side a design emblematic of the Apollo mission as well as Earth orbital missions. This commemorative coin set, Madam Speaker, is just one small piece of ongoing work that Congress is doing in support of NASA. And it's really difficult to measure the value of what NASA has done for the United States and for all mankind in exploring space. Asking what NASA has done for the United States and for all of humanity is a little like the question facing Americans 200 years ago when Congress authorized the Lewis and Clark Expedition. No one knew at the time what Lewis and Clark might find. They didn't know what resources might lie out there. They did not know what the unchartered blank spots on the western American map would yield. And it was impossible, 200 years ago, to measure the value of the discoveries, the minerals, the animal species, the incredible new horizons that Lewis and Clark would discover; no way to measure that. And I think equally here today, Americans standing on the brink of the 21st century cannot place a value or measure on the discoveries that the men and women of NASA, our brave astronaut core and all the scientists and engineers who work at NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard, the Applied Physics Lab, and all the research centers around the country that have helped the American space program lead the world. I am very proud to be a lead coauthor on this bill and helping honor the men and women of NASA and the extraordinary discoveries that NASA has made, and also to remind Americans of the value we each enjoy with miniaturization of computers, medical technology, heart pumps, valves, power generators, image processing, cell phone technology, CAT scanners, MRI machines. All of the extraordinary technological innovations that we touch on a daily basis have come from our work on the space program. I am proud to be here today with my coauthor, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, on a bill that is strongly supported in a bipartisan way. It was passed unanimously last Congress. I am confident we will enjoy that kind of support today for this coin set honoring NASA's 50th anniversary. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I commend the House and the Appropriations Committee for passing the FY 2008 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill last week. Back in January, I signed a bi-partisan letter along with 39 of my colleagues calling for an increase in NASA's budget. The President requested $17.3 billion, an increase of over $1 billion from FY 2007 enacted levels. Subsequently, 23 CEOs of our country's top aerospace companies wrote Congress calling for a top-line increase in NASA's budget. I'm happy to report that Appropriations Committee not only listened but acted. This bill contains over $17.6 billion for our space program, $1.3 billion above current levels and $313 million on top of the President's request. The bill moves ahead with construction of our next generation human space vehicle, while ensuring that our current vehicle, the Space Shuttle, is fully funded so that it can continue to fly safely, complete construction of the International Space Station (ISS), and service the Hubble Space Telescope. It also restores funding for important missions in space science and aeronautics. Some of my colleagues who don't have an active space constituency in their district might ask why should we spend this amount of money on NASA? Quite simply, NASA programs are about investing in our country's future--our future from a scientific standpoint given all the agency does to promote and to inspire young people to study science, math and engineering; our future economically given the agency's development and support for new industries, just think of how many folks are watching this debate as a result of space-based communications; and lastly, our future from a national security standpoint. Let me go into that last point in more detail. My colleagues are well aware of China's irresponsible and provocative anti-satellite weapons test. Debris from that test is now floating in orbit and presents a real threat to our space-based assets. But my colleagues may be less aware of China's plans for manned space exploration. China has already flown humans in orbit and has stated plans to build a space craft to land people on the Moon. Thirty years ago we were in a space race with the Russians. Now, our main competitor is the Chinese. Frankly, I do not want to see the American flag on the Moon supplanted by the Chinese flag. That remains a real possibility if we do not properly fund NASA. This bill contains the full request for development of the next generation U.S. human space flight vehicle to get us back to the Moon and beyond. Lastly, I would like to point out one area in the bill where we could make some improvements once we get into Conference with the Senate. The ISS faces $20 million in reductions from the President's request in reserve funding and crew and cargo services. Given that we are entering into the most critical phase of construction, I believe it is vital that we fully fund the ISS. So I hope the Committee will be able to restore these funds. I thank my colleagues for supporting this important legislation.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, every American is born with an innate sense of fairness and what is right and wrong. This case, more than any other, has struck a chord among Americans as being fundamentally unjust and flat wrong; that two law enforcement officers who swore an oath to protect this Nation, who were out on that violent Texas-Mexico border to protect this Nation against criminals and terrorists, every American understands the case where the two Border Patrol agents doing their job are thrown in prison for 11 and 12 years, and the drug smuggler goes free with a visa to pass back and forth as often as he wants. And the drug smuggler sues us, the taxpayers, for millions of dollars. Every American gets that. I have never seen a level of outrage among my constituents and really across the country on any issue as there has been on this issue of freeing Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean. It is patently unfair these two men, whatever you may say about the circumstances of the case, if they improperly picked up shell casings, they did not report the shooting, it is an administrative violation. At most you fire them from their job. But to be sentenced to 10 to 12 years in prison, these two law enforcement officers, to be sentenced to prison for 10 to 12 years is an outrage. It is just, it is unfair. The drug smuggler to this day is free. As Judge Poe said, the drug smuggler ran another load of dope into the United States, and the DEA knew about it during the trial of this case. This guy ran more drugs into the United States, and the prosecutor ordered the DEA not to arrest him and let him go free. Every American understands this case. People may not have understood the Nigerian oil barge transfer and the Enron case; everybody gets this one. And the Congress, I am very proud to stand here tonight with many, many other Members of Congress who have asked the President first to pardon these two officers. And now that they are in prison and have suffered so much and have lost everything, many of my colleagues, who you will hear speak, have joined together in writing a letter and asking the President, and we reiterate that call tonight, Mr. Chairman, asking the President to commute the sentences of two Border Patrol agents, Ramos and Compean, for the same reason that he commuted the case of Scooter Libby. In the case of Scooter Libby, the President said the sentence did not fit the crime. Certainly that is true here. If they picked up shell casings and didn't report the shooting, you don't go to prison for 10 and 11 years. In the case of Scooter Libby, the President said Scooter Libby had already suffered enough. Clearly these two Border Patrol agents have already suffered enough. They have lost everything. Their lives have been destroyed. They have been thrown in prison. It is just simply wrong for their incarceration to continue another day. For whatever reason, the White House is turning a deaf ear on the call of the American people, the overwhelming outrage of the American people to have these two men released from prison. So what other choice do we have, Mr. Chairman, as Members of Congress, but to cut off the funding to the Bureau of Prisons to incarcerate them? We cannot as Members of Congress send a stronger signal to the White House and to the American people how committed we are to protecting this border and standing behind our law enforcement agents, and letting the Border Patrol agents know that we are proud of them and support the work that they are doing for the sake of our children and for the sake of our constituents. We understand clearly that we will never win the war on terror until we have truly protected our borders. The border today is unprotected and wide open. If you cross in Arizona, you won't even be arrested the first 15 times you cross over. You're going to be put right back across the border. If you cross in Brownsville, an agent told us on a trip just a couple of weeks ago, Brownsville will only arrest an illegal alien if they come up and knock on the window of the vehicle. But yet, right next door in Del Rio, thank God Del Rio is arresting everybody. In Del Rio, using existing law and existing resources, Federal Judge Alia Ludlum, Border Patrol Sector Chief Randy Hill are arresting every single illegal alien crossing the border in Del Rio. They have zero tolerance for illegal aliens crossing in Del Rio. The local community loves it because it keeps the streets safe, the schools safe, the business community thriving. The illegal crossings have plummeted, burglaries have plummeted, and the result in Del Rio is peace and quiet. Yet, right next door in Brownsville there's chaos. So, we all of us have a stake as Americans. In winning the war on terror, you've got to secure the border. No better way to secure the border than enforce existing law, and the best way to make sure that our agents out there in the field know that they're going to have the support of the American people is for the President to step up and commute the sentences of these two border patrol agents. Until that happens, it is up to us here in Congress to do all that we can to send a message to every border patrol agent that we're doing everything within our power, officers of the law, to support you, to tell you we're proud of you. You are in front lines of the war on terror on the border, just as our soldiers are in Iraq. I urge the Members of the House to support Mr. Poe's amendment so we can stop the funding of the incarceration of these two agents and send as strong as possible a message to the White House and, frankly, also to every law enforcement agent in the field that we're proud of you and that we want you to protect our border.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I would like to claim the time in opposition.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I am not sure what standard the gentleman from Arizona follows, but as a member of the Appropriations Committee, as a guardian of the public Treasury, representing the people of Houston, I have approached all spending requests from the perspective as someone who has a second mortgage on the house and all the credit cards are topped out. My starting answer on all spending requests is ``no,'' and ``yes'' has to be earned. I have published all of my appropriations requests on my Web site for many years. I published both my request letters as well as the final result of those requests that the members of the committee have graciously agreed to support because they know that any request coming from me and my office has already been carefully screened. I won't submit requests that haven't already passed my very careful scrutiny. Again, I approach the request from the perspective of there is not enough money in the Treasury to do it; the starting answer is ``no,'' and ``yes'' has to be earned; the request has to fall within the functions of the Federal Government, and it has to be something for which there is no other source of revenue. I am proud to represent the Texas Medical Center. I am proud to represent the Houston Zoo. This $300,000 will be used by the zoo. They are matching it, providing a 3-1 private match to these dollars that are going to go exclusively into providing live video feeds to critically ill children and children that are dying of cancer who otherwise would have no interaction with the outside world. The Texas Medical Center is recognized around the world as probably the greatest concentration of medical talent anywhere in the world. God forbid anybody within the sound of my voice comes down with cancer or a dreaded disease; but if they do, there is no better place to find a cure for that than at the Texas Medical Center. If you are a child with terrible burns, trapped in your room and unable to get out and visit the zoo personally, there is no television channel in Houston for you to see what goes on at the zoo. The zoo is going to use these dollars to construct dedicated transmission facilities to these dying children, critically ill children in their hospital rooms so they can talk to the feeders, people actually working with the animals, observe the animals around the clock. And, certainly, your mental attitude is a tremendous part of getting well and recovering. This request was the only one that I submitted on behalf of the Houston Zoo. They submitted a lot of requests to me. In fact, I think the appropriators will find that most of the requests from me will take about one page, because I am very careful and only submit a very few. I am proud of all of them. They are all on my Web site. And I can tell you, this is one that I am very grateful to the chairman Mr. Olver and to the ranking member Mr. Knollenberg for supporting. They know they don't get many requests from me, and this one certainly is one that is appropriate to help these dying and critically ill children revive their spirits in interacting with and seeing what marvelous work the Houston Zoo is doing, which is, of course, right next door to the Texas Medical Center. Finally, I want to encourage Members to vote against this amendment based on the merits, but then also because the amendment doesn't save any money. I am one of the most fiscally conservative Members of this House and proud of it. I voted against all of these big new spending programs over the last many years, whether it be the farm bill; I voted against the farm bill, billions of dollars for AIDS in Africa as money we don't have; voted against the No Child Left Behind because that is an intrusion of the 10th amendment sovereignty of the States and money we can't afford to spend; voted against the Medicare prescription drug program. I have voted against most of the big spending programs that have been driven through this House, because I truly believe that I have got a responsibility to my daughter and future generations to try to keep Federal spending at a minimum, diminish the size, power, and cost to the Federal Government. As Mr. Jefferson, my hero, said, apply core republican principles, with a small ``R,'' keeping most power and responsibility at the local level. If you apply core republican principles, the knot will always untie itself. So I am always looking for ways to save money. So I would ask Members to vote against this amendment first on the merits; and then, secondly, because unfortunately, once again, Mr. Flake's amendment doesn't save any money. He is not reducing the overall 302(a) allocation of the bill. So this is another phantom savings that is not going to result in a savings of one nickel for taxpayers by cutting out the live video feeds to these dying and critically ill children in the medical center. And I am sick and tired of phony amendments that act like they are going to save money. I have already scrutinized this, along with every other request from my office. I am proud of the work the zoo is doing and the work the medical center is doing. And you can expect me to be out here vigorously defending the work of this committee investing in the sciences. I thank you, Chairman Obey. The chairman of my Subcommittee on the Sciences, Mr. Mollohan, is here. Our ranking member, Mr. Frelinghuysen of New Jersey. God bless them for the investments they are making into sciences and NASA and medical and scientific research. That is our Nation's insurance policy. I will be out here vigorously defending them against anyone attempting to cut those investments into sciences or NASA or in medical research. That is this Nation's insurance policy. And I especially resent somebody coming out here and offering a phony amendment that is not going to save one nickel of taxpayer money; because this $300,000 is not being taken out of the overall spending, it is just going to be spent by bureaucrats.