John Carter

Mr. CARTER

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

Mr. CARTER. I thank my friend for highlighting this important program. As a fellow border State Member, I am especially aware of the issues we face with illegal immigration and criminal trafficking across our borders, particularly our southern border. Operation Stonegarden provides valuable resources to local and tribal governments for coordination with their Federal counterparts and to assist them in furthering our Nation's border security. I look forward to working with my friend from Arizona and others as we move forward to ensure continued support for this worthy and valuable program.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, the mission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is broad and diverse. The men and women of DHS protect our borders and modes of transportation; they guard our waterways; they protect U.S. and foreign leaders; they prepare for and respond to disasters; they manage our immigration process; and, they defend us against cyberattack. DHS employees provide selfless service to their nation and they do so with honor and distinction under an ever-present threat. I would like to pay tribute to the Department of Homeland Security's agents, officers, and Coast Guard personnel who lost their lives in the service of our nation in 2012. I would like to enter into the record the names of all sixty- one courageous men and women of DHS who have died in the line of duty since the Department's inception in 2003. We owe them more than a tribute on this day, but our gratitude begins with that. LORENZO R. GOMEZ, Immigration Enforcement Agent, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, El Paso, Texas, End of Watch: November 8, 2003. JAMES P. EPLING, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Yuma, Arizona, End of Watch: December 16, 2003. NATHAN B. BRUCKENTHAL, Damage Controlman Third Class (E- 4), U.S. Coast Guard, Iraq, End of Watch: April 24, 2004. TRAVIS W. ATTAWAY, Senior Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Harlingen, Texas, End of Watch: September 19, 2004. JEREMY M. WILSON, Senior Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Harlingen, Texas, End of Watch: September 19, 2004. PHILIP C. LEBID, Special Agent, U.S. Secret Service, Tampa, Florida, End of Watch: November 22, 2004. GEORGE B. DeBATES, Senior Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Casa Grande, Arizona, End of Watch: December 19, 2004. DAVID G. WILHELM, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Atlanta, Georgia, End of Watch: March 11, 2005. CHRISTOPHER J. SMITH, Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta, Georgia, End of Watch: March 25, 2005. NICHOLAS D. GREENIG, Senior Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Tucson, Arizona, End of Watch: March 14, 2006. JESSICA E. HILL, Lieutenant (0-3), U.S. Coast Guard, Arctic Ocean, End of Watch: August 17, 2006. STEVEN DUQUE, Boatswain's Mate Second Class (E-5), U.S. Coast Guard, Arctic Ocean, End of Watch: August 17, 2006. DAVID N. WEBB, Senior Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Ajo, Arizona, End of Watch: November 3, 2006. RAMON NEVAREZ, JR., Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Lordsburg, New Mexico, End of Watch: March 15, 2007. DAVID J. TOURSCHER, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Lordsburg, New Mexico, End of Watch: March 16, 2007. RONALD A. GILL, JR., Port Security Specialist Third Class U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, Puget Sound, Washington, End of Watch: March 25, 2007. CLINTON B. THRASHER, Air Interdiction Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, McAllen, Texas, End of Watch: April 25, 2007. RICHARD GOLDSTEIN, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Indio, California, End of Watch: May 11, 2007. ROBERT F. SMITH, Air Interdiction Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, El Paso, Texas, End of Watch: May 22, 2007. ERIC N. CABRAL, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boulevard, California, End of Watch: July 26, 2007. JULIO E. BARAY, Air Interdiction Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, El Paso, Texas, End of Watch: September 24, 2007. LUIS AGUILAR, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Yuma, Arizona, End of Watch: January 19, 2008. JAROD C. DITTMAN, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Diego, California, End of Watch: March 30, 2008. THOMAS G. NELSON, Captain (0-6) U.S. Coast Guard, Oahu, Hawaii, End of Watch: September 4, 2008. ANDREW C. WISCHMEIER, Lieutenant Commander (0-4), U.S. Coast Guard, Oahu, Hawaii, End of Watch: September 4, 2008. DAVID L. SKIMIN, Aviation Survival Technician First Class (E-6), U.S. Coast Guard, Oahu, Hawaii, End of Watch: September 4, 2008. JOSHUA W. NICHOLS, Aviation Maintenance Technician First Class (E-6), U.S. Coast Guard, Oahu, Hawaii, End of Watch: September 4, 2008. NATHANIEL A. AFOLAYAN, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Artesia, New Mexico, End of Watch: May 1, 2009. CRUZ C. McGUIRE, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Del Rio, Texas, End of Watch: May 21, 2009. ROBERT W. ROSAS, JR., Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Campo, California, End of Watch: July 23, 2009. CHE J. BARNES, Lieutenant Commander (0-4), U.S. Coast Guard, San Clement Island, California, End of Watch: October 29, 2009. ADAM W. BRYANT, Lieutenant (0-3), U.S. Coast Guard, San Clement Island, California, End of Watch: October 29, 2009. JOHN F. SEIDMAN, Aviation Maintenance Technician Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Coast Guard, San Clement Island, California, End of Watch: October 29, 2009. CARL P. GRIGONIS, Avionics Electrical Technician Second Class (E-5), U.S. Coast Guard, San Clement Island, California, End of Watch: October 29, 2009. MONICA L. BEACHAM, Avionics Electrical Technician Second Class (E-5), U.S. Coast Guard, San Clement Island, California, End of Watch: October 29, 2009. DANNY R. KREDER, JR., Aviation Maintenance Technician Third Class (E-4), U.S. Coast Guard, San Clement Island, California, End of Watch: October 29, 2009. JASON S. MOLETZSKY, Aviation Maintenance Technician Third Class (E-4), U.S. Coast Guard, San Clement Island, California, End of Watch: October 29, 2009. MARK F. VAN DOREN, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Falfurrias, Texas, End of Watch: May 24, 2010. SEAN D. KRUEGER, Lieutenant (0-3), U.S. Coast Guard, La Push, Washington, End of Watch: July 7, 2010. ADAM C. HOKE, Aviation Maintenance Technician First Class (E-6), U.S. Coast Guard, La Push, Washington, End of Watch: July 7, 2010. BRETT M. BANKS, Aviation Maintenance Technician Second Class (E-5), U.S. Coast Guard, La Push, Washington, End of Watch: July 7, 2010. CHARLES F. COLLINS II, CBP Officer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Anchorage, Alaska, End of Watch: August 15, 2010. MICHAEL V. GALLAGHER, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Casa Grande, Arizona, End of Watch: September 2, 2010. JOHN R. ZYKAS, CBP Officer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, San Diego, California, End of Watch: September 8, 2010. SHAUN M. LIN, Maritime Enforcement Specialist Third Class (E-4), U.S. Coast Guard, Portsmouth, Virginia, End of Watch: October 13, 2010. BRIAN A. TERRY, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Naco Cochise, Arizona, End of Watch: December 15, 2010. JAIME J. ZAPATA, Special Agent, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mexico City, Mexico, End of Watch: February 15, 2011. HECTOR R. CLARK, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Yuma, Arizona, End of Watch: May 12, 2011. EDUARDO ROJAS, JR., Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Yuma, Arizona, End of Watch: May 12, 2011. DALE T. TAYLOR, Lieutenant Commander (0-4), U.S. Coast Guard, Point Clear, Alabama, End of Watch: February 28, 2012. THOMAS J. CAMERON, Lieutenant Junior Grade (0-2), U.S. Coast Guard, Point Clear, Alabama, End of Watch: February 28, 2012. FERNANDO JORGE, Aviation Survival Technician (E-7), U.S. Coast Guard, Point Clear, Alabama, End of Watch: February 28, 2012. ANDREW W. KNIGHT, Avionics Electrical Technician (E-4), U.S. Coast Guard, Point Clear, Alabama, End of Watch: February 28, 2012. JAMES A. HOPKINS, Electronics Technician (E-6), U.S. Coast Guard, Kodiak, Alaska, End of Watch: April 12, 2012. RICHARD W. BELISLE, Civilian Employee (WG-8), Chief Boatswain's Mate (E-7), Retired, U.S. Coast Guard, Kodiak, Alaska, End of Watch: April 12, 2012. LEOPOLDO CAVAZOS, JR., Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Fort Hancock, Texas, End of Watch: July 6, 2012. JAMES R. DOMINGUEZ, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Cline, Texas, End of Watch: July 19, 2012. JEFFREY RAMIREZ, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Laredo, Texas, September 15, 2012. NICHOLAS J. IVIE, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Bisbee, Arizona, October 2, 2012. DAVID R. DELANEY, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Big Bend National Park, Texas, November 2, 2012. TERRELL E. HORNE III, Senior Chief Boatswain's Mate (E-8), U.S. Coast Guard, Marina Del Ray, California, End of Watch: December 2, 2012.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Sam Johnson is an American hero, and everybody in this House knows that. He's an American hero for all kinds of ways that he served this country. Many of the people here are going to talk about those ways, and every one of them are important. I read Sam's book. It's an awesome book. It makes you cry at points; it makes you struggle. But it also expresses the kind of a man and, quite frankly, the kind of a family Sam Johnson has. Sam was a guy with a broken leg, dislocated shoulders, who looked them straight in the eye and spit in their face and told them to take their best shot. And he suffered for it, he suffered unmercifully for it, but he never gave in to the enemy. He always stood his ground, to his detriment, and it harmed him in so many physical ways. And yet the thing that makes me always tear up is you read the part of the book where Sam steps off that plane, when we finally repatriated our prisoners, and saluted and said, Colonel Sam Johnson reporting for duty, sir. And Sam reports for duty. People say, Who do you want to have your back in a foxhole? But people also say, Who do you want to have your back in Congress? I want Sam Johnson to have my back in Congress. He's a friend. He's one of my best friends in this Congress. I've gotten to know him very well. He and I go to a Christian retreat together almost every year. And that's one of the things you notice from the book. Sam didn't talk about himself. He talked about when they took him out and he thought, This time they're going to shoot me. He prayed to God that he could stand there and be a man. And they went, Ready, aim, fire, click, and one more time they didn't shoot him. And at that time he thanked God and his Savior, because he knew he had witnessed a miracle. Meanwhile, his sweet wife was praying and fighting on the home front because she didn't know. She got very little news about what was going on in Sam's life, but she never gave up because her faith strengthened her. And that's part of the theme of that book that you need to pick up and read, that their faith strengthened them in trials that none of us can ever imagine. Sam Johnson is a hero, not just because of what went on in Vietnam and what our enemy did to him. He's a hero because he comes here every day and he fights for the people of his district and for the State and for this country. He's willing to take a risk and step out, even now after all the years of service, both legislatively and in the Congress. Sam Johnson is one who is willing to step out and take the shots. I was once asked by ``60 Minutes'' to define what a leader is, and I said, Well, I'm just a history guy who reads history. I always thought in the First World War how hard it would have been to come out of those trenches and charge those machine guns with a bolt-action rifle, and that the officers who climbed out in front and said, ``Let's go, boys; let's go get 'em,'' were the heroes, and the guys that stayed in the bottom and said, ``You go get 'em, boys,'' they were not heroes. And a special hero is one who says, ``I'm going first and I'll take the shots.'' There's plenty of shots to be had in this Chamber, and those are political shots. But I'm proud to say that that same hero that spit in the enemy's face, Sam Johnson, is still willing to stand up and take the shots in Congress. And for that reason, I today honor my good friend Sam Johnson and tell him I want him to keep taking care of my back, because I need it real bad. God bless you, Sam. You're my friend.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Colonel (Retired) Herbert A. Coley, a member of the Senior Executive Service, for his exceptional dedication to duty and service to the United States Army and to the United States of America. On December 31st, Colonel (Retired) Herbert Coley will be leaving Federal Service after a total of 39 years of selfless and dedicated service to our Nation as an Army Officer and as a government civilian. His distinguished career is culminating as the Chief of Staff of the Army Medical Command where he ensured that Army Medicine met the needs of our Soldiers, their Families, and others entrusted to the Army's care. The son of an Army Medic and an Army Nurse and a native of San Antonio, Texas, Colonel (Retired) Coley had more than 28 assignments over his 39 years of government service. He entered active duty in 1970 commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps after graduating from Trinity University. He served 28 years as an Army Officer as an aero medical evacuation pilot, healthcare administrator and commander. His active duty Army assignments included: Air Ambulance Section Leader at Fort Stewart, Georgia and Camp Mosier, Korea; Operations Officer and Platoon Leader for the 507th Medical Company (Air Ambulance); Commander, Headquarters and Support Company, 25th Medical Battalion, 25th Infantry Division; Commander, 507th Medical Company (Air Ambulance); Commander, 41st Combat Support Hospital; Chief of Manpower Programming and Analysis, Office of The Army Surgeon General; and, Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation, Army Medical Command. While on active duty he received a Master of Health Administration from Baylor University, graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College and was a fellow at the RAND Arroyo Center. Herbert Coley returned to government service shortly after retiring from the military and provided another 11 years of service. He had served as the Chief of Manpower Division, Army Medical Command and in 2009 he entered the Senior Executive Service as the Chief of Staff, Army Medical Command. Colonel (Retired) Herbert A. Coley has devoted his life to the Army and our Nation's men and women in uniform. As the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Medical Command his skilled leadership was essential to improving the care or our Wounded Warriors and the readiness of our Army. He led this global organization with unwavering energy and compassion that endeared him to all, inspired trust and improved millions of lives. Herb Coley is one of the main reasons that Army Medicine is a preeminent system for health care in America. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful nation, I join my colleagues today in recognizing and commending Mr. Herbert Coley for a lifetime of service to his country. We wish Herb and his wife Stephanie all the best as they continue their journey in retirement.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the Lone Star Model A Ford Club upon achieving a milestone in the club's history. This Saturday, December 1, 2012, the club will meet for their 1,000th weekly breakfast in Georgetown, Texas. Organized on September 26, 1993, in Georgetown, Texas, the Lone Star Model A Ford Club is for owners and admirers of Model A Fords who are interested in restoring and maintaining the automobile in a manner to attract prestige and respect within the community. The Lone Star Model A Ford Club has served as a medium of exchange of ideas, information and parts for admirers of the Model A Ford car, manufactured from 1928 through 1931, and to aid them in their efforts to restore and preserve the car in its original likeness. In addition, the Lone Star Model A Ford Club encourages and maintains among its members the spirit of good-fellowship, sociality, and fair play through sponsored activities including the use of the Model A Ford and family participation. The Lone Star Model A Ford Club has consistently supported local civic endeavors by displaying their Model A's whenever asked by nursing homes, retirement homes, civic clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, the City of Georgetown, and Williamson County, including, during the re- dedication of the Williamson County Courthouse after its renovation. The Club has twice hosted the statewide Model A Ford Convention in Georgetown with attendance as high as 550 people from throughout Texas in 1998 and again in 2005 and has been selected to host the 50th statewide Model A Ford Convention to be held in June 2013 in Round Rock, Texas. Club members began meeting for weekly breakfasts every Saturday morning in October 1993 and have consistently continued this weekly social activity to this day. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the 77 family members of the Lone Star Model A Ford Club on the occasion of their 1,000th weekly breakfast together and encourage our state's citizens to congratulate these individuals whose efforts should be recognized in preserving an important part of our nation's motoring history for the benefit of future generations.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. I thank you for yielding. I'm really pleased to step up tonight and say a little bit about my friend, Ralph Hall. Here he is, the oldest Member to cast a vote on this floor. Texas has sent an awful lot of treasure to this place over the years. We've shared resources. We are a State of resources. We shared our resources, we think, pretty graciously with the rest of the country. And when we shared Ralph Hall with this body, we shared one of Texas's treasures. We've talked about Ralph, and most of the stories that have been told I have known and thought about sharing. But the truth is that when I think about Ralph Hall, it's amazing. People that don't really know him in Texas think they know him because they know his reputation. It's been said that a statesman is a person who puts everything above himself and all partisanship aside and tries to do what's right for the country. I've watched Ralph as a Democrat, I've watched him as a Republican, and that's what he does. A national treasure is something they bury in the ground, so Ralph doesn't like to talk about that, but what he does like to talk about is the fact that we all need to be nice to each other. And Ralph Hall is like what we Texans define as a Texan. And the first definition every Texan will give is a man that'll look you straight in the face, make a deal with you, look him in the eye, he gives you his word, and you can count on it. That's the definition we Texans cherish. He is the man who originated that definition, because he's the man you can look in the eye, and when he promises you he's going to do something, he's going to do it; but even more importantly, to be a person who has charm and grace and humor and the ability to make your day brighter every time you see him. I don't know of anybody in my life I've ever met that has that talent like Ralph Hall. That makes him a treasure. God bless you, Ralph.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. This amendment would require the Secretary of Transportation to submit a report to Congress estimating: one, the number of jobs lost from the rule; two, the fatalities and injuries caused by the rule; three the cost to the economy caused by the rule. And it prohibits the Department of Transportation from consulting with the Environmental Protection Agency or the California Air Resources Board to complete the project. What we really have here is a situation of executive overreach. We have seen a lot from the Obama administration along those lines. He told us when Congress doesn't act, he will. Well, the EPA has never been involved in fuel standards for the industry. This has been the job that the Congress authorized the Department of Transportation to do through the CAFE standards, Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, not the EPA. California has State standards that they have established, but that doesn't make them the sole authority on the right standards. What this rule will do is raise the average cost of a car by $3,000. It will cost 160,000 jobs by the Department of Transportation's own flawed analysis. It will cost industry and consumers $210 billion, the most expensive rule ever for the automobile industry. This rule will price 7 million Americans out of the new car market. It will end the cars that are priced under $15,000. It will reduce vehicle safety mainly by reducing the weight and producing lighter vehicles, which are more susceptible to fatal collisions. Finally, and most importantly to the State of Texas, this will reduce access to pickup trucks and other work vehicles, which are abundant in our State. This is overreach by the government.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Thank you. We'll try not to use it all so somebody can go get some rest around here for all the good work you people do here. But I am grateful to have a little more time so I can visit with my good friend, Mr. Bishop. That's what you've been saying to us here. And one of the things you hear around this House is, well, there's soft power. I've had debates with some of my colleagues that we don't use soft power effectively. We try to always use hard power. I would argue you can't have soft power unless you've got hard power. All the sweet talk in the world, if you don't have somebody to back you up that you can ultimately punch them in the nose, it ain't getting you anywhere. And if we're taking the punch out of our military, what are we left with? By the way, I think those young kids who are not getting the kind of history lessons they should get these days probably know from somebody telling them that the last time we took our military down to this level, we had an event called Pearl Harbor. And that shows what happens when your readiness is not ready. And this is a world full of very, very dangerous things right now. We've been looking at terrorism for the last 10 years, and terrorism remains a big, big problem for this country. But there are others who would do us harm out there that if we don't have the ability to defend ourselves, we could fall into serious harm's way. I yield to my friend.

Mr. CARTER. I thank the gentleman for pointing that out, and reclaiming my time, we've already done work to show the direction we can go to head off this absolute disaster for our national defense. It is in the hands of the Democratic-controlled Senate. It is in the hands of the majority leader in the Senate, and it is time for him to put the partisan politics aside and fund our military and make the cuts across other areas. Let's keep to our word to make cuts. Let's don't break that word, but let's don't destroy the military and violate the Constitution, which says we are supposed to provide for the common defense of this country. You know, sometimes we get kind of provincial in this country, so just for the fun of it, let's talk a little bit about all those jobs, who's going to lose those jobs. Let me put that chart up here. Potential job losses across the board: California, 125,800; Virginia, 122,800; Texas, 91,600; Florida, 39,200; Massachusetts, 38,200; Maryland, 36,200; Pennsylvania, 36,200; Connecticut, 34,200; Arizona, 33,200; Missouri, 31,200. That's the top. That's the top 10, I think it is. But the truth is the defense industry and those who provide for the defense industry are a major part of our economy. We're all going to feel this. But if you're one of those States, and you're already worried about where are your kids, when they get out of school, going to get a job with jobs being lost, look at that list and see that we're all in this together. As we make this crazy move of weakening our national defense to the point of disaster, we're also weakening the very economy we're struggling to strengthen. How can this possibly be good sense to anybody in this country? To me, it doesn't register. We're looking to create jobs, not destroy jobs. This is going to be a major impact on our country. I think we have the real potential to go back into a deep, double-dip recession and hopefully just being able to head it off at that. Meanwhile, as these cuts take place and our military gets weaker and weaker and weaker, what do we do about the enemies of the United States? Is that where we want to be? Have we become that kind of country? I don't think so. I think we all need to gut up and put the politics aside. Let's don't hold hostage these jobs and hold hostage our military so somebody can get their tax policy different from someone else's tax policy. Let's debate that without holding anybody hostage. Let's debate it, let's vote on it, and let's get it done. Let's go to conference and let's work on taxes the way we're supposed to, but let's don't hold anybody hostage with threatening to destroy our military and get half the country laid off because we want it our way. I would argue that that's exactly what Harry Reid is doing right now in the Senate. And I think that is something we need to stand up and shout on behalf of those warriors who go to war for us and who, by the way, have gone to war for us multiple times in the last decade. This is exactly what Congressman Bishop was talking about. We have a resolution that was sent over there, H.R. 5652. It replaces $78 billion in defense cuts with $316 billion in cuts over 10 years, and the cuts come from across the board--Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, and Ways and Means--instead of all out of the Defense Department. And the committee chairmen of the committees in the House did the work, held the hearings, and came up with these solutions. This is how this place is supposed to work. Now, why can't we let it work? Why do we have to play political games that hold the greatest defense in the world hostage? It's a crime. It's absolutely a crime not only to our institutions of the military, but to our individuals in the military who gave us 10 years of war and did it voluntarily. Not one of them was drafted into the fight. They all marched to war voluntarily. And some of them suffered horrendously on behalf of this country. They got promoted, and they were rising in the military; and with one fell swoop, because we refused to do it the right way, and the Senate wants to hold tax policy before the goodness of the Defense Department, these guys are going to lose their jobs. And those people aren't in those unemployment figures. These are industry figures we're talking about. But what about the guy that fought for you for 10 years and you've thrown him out of a job when he's been promoted? He may be a staff sergeant for all I know, that kid that I met in Korea almost 10 years ago. And yet do you know what? We're going to fire the kid even though he has been a good soldier. What are you going to do with him? He's got to find a new job and a new career. He chose defending his country as his career. Through no fault of his own, but through the political will of the Senate, at least the majority of the Senate, he gets his job taken away from him, and he's out on the unemployment line. Something is bad wrong with this whole picture. I'm not going to take all the rest of the time, Mr. Bishop. I'll yield back to you if you have anything you'd like to say in conclusion, and then I'll wrap it up. I'm really grateful for you coming down here because your insight coming from the committee and hearing this day in and day out, I know you all have held numerous hearings on every issue, and I really appreciate your coming and sharing that with us.

Mr. CARTER. I thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have got a lot of hard work to do in about the next 3 months around this place. I want to talk tonight about a process that we have brought upon ourselves so that now we are faced with what, I think, could be one of the greatest catastrophes in the modern history of the United States--and that is almost the complete destruction of our military through a process called ``sequester.'' We use a lot of big words around this House, and half of the people who sit in this room on a daily basis don't even know what it means, to be honest with you, but they know what the process does: across-the- board cuts at every level of government. The reality of these cuts is that, at least in the current makeup of our government and with so many of our expenses in this government being mandatory spending and what we call ``entitlements,'' the lion's share automatically falls upon the military, on the Defense Department. Even more critical to this particular agreement, which was made in the earlier part of this year when we had one of our many shutdown-the- government risks that have come upon this body in the last couple of years, the White House with the President, along with the majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, met to discuss how to keep from having a shutdown of the government and how to raise the debt ceiling so we could continue to operate this government. With everyone recognizing that there was a looming crisis from having spent more than we make for as long as we can remember, quite honestly, and, therefore, that we are now in a problem of debt which is drowning this Nation and the Members of this body wanting to address that, the discussion was about how we would do it. They came up with a concept of a supercommittee. Most of you who keep up with current events know that we formed a supercommittee, the purpose of which was to come up with the cuts from the appropriate parts of this government so that we would reduce the spending of over $1 trillion, thus starting ourselves down the road to fiscal responsibility. This is what we set out to do. It was an honest effort, let's be frank. It was an honest effort. Everybody, whether elected to do it or not, recognized that this was the issue that was before us. The question was how to do this, and they came up with this supercommittee. They agreed that, if the supercommittee failed, then the process of sequester would replace the actions of the supercommittee. There will be a political debate that will go back and forth as to who killed the effort in the supercommittee; but wherever the fault may lie, the supercommittee failed. Those of us who were in this House asked about the sequester and looked at it and worried about it as the vote came up as to whether or not this was the right thing to do. We then asked the question of the leaders here, which I'm sure was asked on both sides of the aisle: So what happens if the supercommittee doesn't perform? We were told sequester, which was the worst possible thing to happen to this House, and I think both sides of the aisle agreed with that. But don't worry, it has never happened. It never will happen. We will do the right thing. The committee failed. It is almost August. Quite honestly, the number of legislative days left before the election can almost be counted on these two hands, and we haven't addressed how we are going to do this; but the folks who may most be affected have no choice but to address it. The agreement that came out of the meeting between the President and the Congress was that roughly half the $1.1 trillion number, I believe it is, would come out of the Defense Department and that the other half would come out of domestic spending. Well, the Defense Department being the Defense Department--and it cannot function without planning--is already planning what it would have to do in case this occurs. We talk in big ideas and issues around here, but the reality is this: this is about a bunch of people who chose the profession for their lives, that of defending our Nation. We should never forget that the ordinary soldier, sailor, airman, marine, and Coast Guardsman volunteered to join their branch of the service, most of them, as their profession. This is not the old drafted military of World War II or the Korean war or the Vietnam war or the Cold War. This is a volunteer military. This is a young man or woman saying: I choose the job of fighting for my country. This is what I choose to do with my life. I will earn my way. I will earn my promotions by being a good warrior. My wife and I, when we first learned that we were going to have the honor of representing what we call a great place, Fort Hood in Texas, we wanted to meet with soldiers, and the place we could find them to meet with us around Thanksgiving time was in Korea. We went and met with Fort Hood soldiers in Korea. Most of them were from Texas at our table where they were talking to us, and I asked a question. I was new to getting to talk to the ordinary soldier. These were just ordinary soldiers. There may have been a couple of sergeants there, but most of them were not highly ranked. I said, How long are you guys and gals going to be in Korea? They said, Oh, 3 months, 6 months, whatever the time period was. I said, What do you want to do next in the Army? They responded, We want to go to Afghanistan or Iraq. This is back in '04. From someone of my age who has the memory of the draft Army, that was a shocking answer: We want to go from this place in Korea to the place where the war is, and we would like to go directly there. These were 19-year-old kids, kids like my son coaches in football and baseball back home. These were kids that could have been the same kids that played on the team the year before who were sitting there at the table telling us they wanted to go to war. I was kind of taken aback by that answer. It was unanimous, by the way. There were eight people around the table that were all unanimous: we want to go to war. Then this young tow-headed 19-year-old soldier said, Sir, that's what we are. We're trained warriors. That's what we do for a living. We fight wars. We want to go where our country needs us. We want to go to war. Not because we like war, but because we are professional soldiers. We do this for a living. This is the mindset that goes back in history a long ways. Some of the greatest armies in the world had that mindset, that this was the job they chose for their life. Now, because we have not been willing to live within a budget in the United States--we're all at fault, every one of us. The people in this House, both sides of the aisle, we're all at fault. We spend more than we make, and we wonder why in the world it doesn't work. How many people sit at home and look at their household budgets and say, My gosh, we're spending more than we make. No wonder it doesn't work. That's like the law of gravity. It's a natural thing that you can't spend more than you make and not ultimately be in trouble, even when you can take it out of other people's pockets like the government. Now we are faced with a crisis, and we're talking about a solution for that crisis that's going to fall on the back of that 19-year-old kid that talked to me in Korea because his goal in life was to rise in the ranks by being a good soldier. As a good soldier, if he did a good job, he would be promoted and he would rise in rank. Maybe in his heart his goal was to some day be a command sergeant major of one of the commands in the Army, kind of the pinnacle of the career of an ordinary soldier. Because we spend too much and can't agree on how to cut it and we're going to have to go to automatic cuts, that young man's job is at risk. The President says he's going to protect the jobs of the soldiers. I hope what he means he's not going to fire anybody. Although one of the papers that I was reading an article in it said he's not going to cut the pay of the soldiers. I happen to be blessed. One of the things that I'm very proud of in this body is I am a cochair of the Army Caucus here in the Congress, and I've heard the generals talk about what sequester means to the Army. It means cuts of 100,000 to 180,000 soldiers. That means that kid that I talked to in Korea, who's probably now done three tours in Afghanistan or Iraq, who has done a good job, fought for his country, performed in an excellent manner, has been promoted, he's in the beginning of the middle of his career, and because we can't agree on how to reduce our runaway spending, that kid is going to lose his job. He will not only lose his job, but he's going to lose his career. He chose our United States Army partially out of the job he wanted to do, but in a great many cases out of patriotism for this country. He didn't sign on to be in somebody else's Army. He signed on to be in our Army. He's done everything right; and yet because we can't control our spending, that young man and those young men and women at that table could lose their careers that they chose for their lives, careers to be proud of as Americans. There are young people willing to do this for our country. When we talk these big numbers and throw around big words, we've got to remember it affects human beings. We've got some charts here I want to show you so you get some idea of what we're talking about. Where is the spending? This is entitlements. The spending is at $26.1 trillion. Nondefense spending is at $11.3 trillion. Defense spending at $3.6 trillion. That's where the spending is in our country today. Let's look at what we propose to do as a solution under sequester. From entitlements we're taking $171 billion out of $26.1 trillion. From nondefense spending, we're taking $322 billion out of $11.37 trillion. Over here in defense we're taking $422 billion, the highest of any of these numbers, out of $3.6 trillion. This is about a 42 percent cut. This is out of whack. What's this out of whack going to do to our military? Let's start off with what we're talking about right now in the country. We're talking about our economy, we're talking about getting ourselves out of this slump we're in and putting Americans back to work. Does anybody think it's a good idea to create a program that loses American jobs? To me, I just can't fathom it. But according to CNN, 1 million jobs will be lost under sequester. That's not military jobs. That's the people who provide goods and services either directly for the military or sell it to the military. And here is something else that's pretty frightening. As we look down the road at this sequester program, the law that was created by the Congress and which was signed into law says, if we anticipate the loss in an industry of jobs based upon the actions of this body, they have to pass out pink slips 60 days before that might happen and in some cases 90 days. Well, the drop-dead date on sequester is January 2 of next year. So if we do nothing by January 2, we are going to have these across-the- board cuts. We are going to have 1 million people get pink slips in either October or November. Now, is that going to raise the enthusiasm for growing our economy in America? It is absolutely as destructive as it could be. We have a responsibility to try to do something about this, and we can't keep kicking cans down the road in this body. If we do, one of these days, we are going to get a broken foot, and already there seems to be a brick in the can. This is serious stuff. We've got real people's lives being affected in the military. We've got real people's jobs being affected in the defense industry. These are people who go to work, just like everybody else in this country. Somehow we hear the words ``defense industry,'' and we assume some kind of fat cats. Go over to one of the defense industries and see the machinists and the guys that do all kinds of jobs, that create these great instruments that are instruments of war and also instruments of peace that we use in our military. All of these things are at risk, and the people who do those jobs are at risk right now as they relate directly to the sequester. I am joined by my friend Mr. Bishop from Utah. Would you like to jump in here and talk a little bit about this? You are on the Armed Services Committee, I believe. We had 20-some minutes to start. So we are down to 10 minutes, I believe. Tell us your view from the committee.

Mr. CARTER. Reclaiming my time, and we may get a little more time, so don't run off. What you just had to say was really important. That's the kind of shock that the American people need to hear. We are going to take the most powerful and the strongest military force on Earth and hollow it out. And when you ask a commander to explain a hollow force, he will say, On paper, it will look like a combat brigade; but when you go down into the various jobs that must be done to have an effective fighting combat brigade, you will find there is no one in those jobs. Therefore, it is not an effective combat brigade. This is simple stuff using just people as an example. When you are using carrier forces and you are saying, We're going to take out the carrier and all their supporting ships--so we're going to give up a carrier and its ships or maybe two carriers and its ships to meet this sequester--you gut the Navy. You gut the way they deliver force to a fight. They are one of our major deliverers of force to a fight. We take their claws away from them. The long-range Stryker and our new ships that are coming online, that as I understand it--and I forget what they call that--but that is gone. And the thing about the Air Force, my gosh, we have known for a long time, since I first came to this Congress, that we were behind the eight ball in developing the next generation of combat fighting aircraft. We were behind the eight ball. This is when I came in 2002 and the discussion I was having with the folks in those days, we are working on it, we have them on the assembly line, we are trying to finish them up, but we're behind the eight ball. The Chinese and the Russians already have the next generation of fighting aircraft, and they're developing more, just as you said. And yet, we're talking about ours are going to go away. You have much more experience with this than I do, but I think everybody has common enough sense to know that if you shut it down, bringing it back is going to take a long time. It's just that simple. It's complicated. It's not easy. And then of course, if we're not going to reduce the numbers of our fighting force, we're going to reduce the way they go to battle because you've got to cut something in the Army. If you're not cutting people, and I don't know if that's what the President means when he says he's not going to go after the personnel, whether he means he's not going to lower their pay or he's not going to lower their numbers. I don't know the answer. But if they lower the numbers, this is the vehicle the next generation is supposed to go to war in. We're not going to have that vehicle to go to war in.

Mr. CARTER. I think a good point that you've clearly made, ``sequestration'' should be a definition of our failure to meet our constitutional responsibility. And it just can't happen. So I want to end by encouraging both sides of the aisle and all my colleagues in this House, let's get this deal done, let's don't gut our military, let's come up with other solutions, and for goodness' sakes, let's don't sell out the people who have gone to war for us for the last 10 years. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Rev. ``Bob'' Xiuqui Fu on the ten year anniversary of his organization, ChinaAid Association. This Texas-based organization has been at the forefront of the struggle for freedom and rights in China. ChinaAid is doing important work and I hope they will continue to flourish in their next ten years. In 2002, only six years after migrating to the United States, Rev. Fu founded the ChinaAid Association to promote religious freedom and raise worldwide awareness of the ongoing and unjust persecution of religious believers in China. ChinaAid's goal is to provide for the physical, legal, and spiritual needs of victims of human rights abuses and to be a ``voice for the voiceless'' in Washington, DC and the capitals of the world. ChinaAid is not only an effective voice for the voiceless, but is also working to make sure China's human rights defenders are able to speak against injustice. In recent years, ChinaAid has expanded its mission to support legal defense in religious persecution cases, academic research on the rule of law, and the training of human rights defenders. Rev. Fu knows first-hand what it's like to be persecuted by the Chinese government. In 1989, he was one of the student leaders in Tiananmen Square demonstrating for freedom and democracy. After the bloody crackdown, Bob became a Christian and led a house church while teaching English at the Communist Party School in Beijing. Considered a threat to the Chinese Communist government, Bob and his wife Heidi were imprisoned for ``illegal evangelism'' causing them to flee from China in 1996. He eventually migrated to the United States with the assistance of members of Congress and then President Bill Clinton. Pastor Fu is recognized as a leading expert on religious freedom and the rule of law. He regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress and has provided expert testimony before the European Union and the United Nations. Bob has also established a close working relationship with President George W. and Laura Bush, taking the first group of Chinese ``house church'' Protestant leaders to meet a sitting President in the White House. The work of his organization is vital, it is effective, it is bipartisan, and it is necessary. Everyone here in Congress will agree, a future China that respects the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship, and the rule of law will be a critical strategic partner with the United States. ChinaAid is working to ensure this future and that is why it should be congratulated today on its tenth anniversary.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to honor United States Navy Captain Henry Domeracki. Captain Domeracki has made countless sacrifices throughout his 36 years of dedicated service to the defense of our great nation. He is an American hero who has received numerous medals and recognitions for his dedicated service. As such, I am proud of his achievements and congratulate him on his recent retirement. Captain Domeracki was recalled to active duty during the Gulf War in 1991, and served as a Counter-Terrorism Officer/Agent in Europe for six months. In 2004, he was mobilized again for Operation Iraqi Freedom and served as the Chief of Operations for the Coalition Provisional Authority--Baghdad Central in Baghdad, Iraq. During this time, Captain Domeracki built the financial structure for the Baghdad Provincial government and reestablished financial operations for the City of Baghdad. He aided in rebuilding the country of Iraq by managing over $100 million in business development projects and capital outlays. In 2009, he was mobilized to fill the U.S. Army Civil Affairs' billet. He served as the Chief of Operations for the Multi-National Forces Iraq--Civil Military Operations Directorate and was in charge of the development and vocational training programs and projects for the entire country of Iraq. Captain Domeracki's actions also enabled thousands of militia-aged Iraqis to be employed. He was able to facilitate this through personally coordinating three international conferences and over $2.1 billion in private sector funds from companies in the United Arab Emirates. These funds were invested in business development projects in the various regions of Iraq and enabled the building of ten vocational training schools with over 10,000 students enrolled. Additionally, over 70 agri-businesses and co- operatives, ranging from commercial milk processing to date production, and industrial-level honey processing, were created through these efforts. In conjunction with his military achievements, Captain Domeracki has thirty-two years of municipal government management experience and has served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool for the past twenty years. Captain Domeracki's awards include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (3rd Award), Meritorious Service Medal (4th Award), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Commendations Medals (3rd Award), Army Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3rd Award), Army Achievement Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to recognize this great American. His selfless service and duty to this country are an inspiration to us all.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Chairman, this amendment slashes immigration enforcement and will result in laying off many, many ICE agents and potentially releasing dangerous criminal aliens from custody. Now, the gentleman's argument is interesting. His argument seems to be that if you fire the enforcing officers and legalize the criminals, you're not going to have a problem. Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman, but that's not the way it operates. When you break the law, you have to face the consequences. And we need the enforcement officers to go out and assist us enforcing the law. Whether or not the immigration law is broken--I happen to agree that it is broken. We might not necessarily agree on how to fix it, but I agree that it is broken. Because I agree we have porous borders. But I believe the ICE people are doing the very best they can. Quite honestly, I'm shocked that the solution to a criminal problem is fire the law enforcement officers. And that's not good policy under anybody's thinking. Supposedly, those who object are not thinking straight. Well, I would argue the contrary is the case in this particular argument. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CARTER. I thank the chair for yielding to me. I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues the recent change made by the Department of Justice to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, also known as SCAAP. While this program is under the jurisdiction of the DOJ, it is a consequence of the Federal Government's failure to secure our borders, which is why I bring it up during this debate. SCAAP reimburses States and counties for part of the cost of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens. I want to emphasize that this program does not come close to fully reimbursing our States or our counties for the full cost of incarcerating these individuals. Recently, DOJ announced that they will offer no reimbursement for what they consider to be unknown documented aliens. Being an unknown documented alien simply means that DHS has no information on that individual, a designation that would apply to a majority of the illegal aliens in this country. For example, when the sheriff in my home county picks up someone for aggravated assault and, in accordance with the Secure Communities Checks, the Federal database, if this person has never been processed by DHS, they will be considered unknown documented aliens and therefore ineligible to be reimbursed for any part of the cost of the incarceration under this new rule. I would like to point out this change disproportionately affects counties over States, both of which are eligible for reimbursement under SCAAP. The county jail is the first point of contact with the criminal justice system for many illegal aliens, so there is no background on the individual. These inmates are also typically held for a shorter period of time, making it difficult for them to be processed by the Federal Government before they are transferred to a State institution after they are convicted. This change has much less impact on the States as they typically hold inmates for a much longer period of time, giving them plenty of opportunity to be processed by ICE agents who are typically located at the State prisons, a luxury the counties do not have. If these changes were implemented in 2010, Williamson County, my home county, would have received $90,000 less than their full payment for that year, which is only about $150,000, and which is only a small portion of the overall cost of incarcerating these individuals. That's a lot of money for a moderately sized county in Texas. The impact on larger counties would be much greater. I do not think that our counties should be punished for the Federal Government's failure to secure our borders and process undocumented aliens in an acceptable timeframe. Now, I would like to commend Chairman Aderholt for prioritizing the frontline operations by funding Border Patrol agents and CBP agents at the highest levels in history. I would like to propose to the chairman that we work together with these Agencies to find a solution to this problem. In the meantime, I will be writing a letter to the Justice Department, along with my friend and colleague, Congressman Honda of California, to ask the Department to delay this change while we work to find a solution that will not punish our counties for the failures of the Federal Government.

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CARTER. This amendment seeks to cut critical funds for enforcing our Nation's immigration laws. Those laws are important to be enforced. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CARTER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, as the Army Caucus cochairs, my colleague and I rise today in celebration of the United States Army's upcoming 237th birthday. Since June 14, 1775, when the first company was formed to defend our great country against the British, the brave men and women of the Army have upheld the seven core values of this strong brotherhood. Those values are: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Today, the Army stands over one million strong. We pause to salute the soldiers and fallen warriors of 237 years past whose legacies our soldiers strive to uphold. We pause to thank them for their service and sacrifice in every conflict in war in the history of our Nation. And we pause to thank the families of our soldiers for their continuing support of our Nation's defenders during these critical times. The past decade has proven the Army as a leader in the war against terrorism, tyrannical leadership, and oppression in the Middle East, where you, the Army, have given countless millions of people hope for their future while at the same time making America more secure and a grateful Nation. Your actions on and off the field of battle have and will continue to inspire us all for generations to come. From Iraq and Afghanistan, across Europe and the Pacific Rim, the men and women of the United States Army represent the best of America's ideals and the finest of her dreams. You are the very best at what you do. Your resilience, courage, professionalism, and battle-hardened ways will seize the day against any enemy of our great and powerful Nation. We cannot thank you enough for what you do, your devotion to duty, and your tireless efforts in the defense of our Nation. Thank you for always putting the mission first, never accepting defeat, and never quitting. For 237 years you have made it perfectly clear that no matter who rises up against our country, there's one thing that will never change: you always have been and will continue to be Army strong. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend and cochair, Mr. Reyes.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5855, the FY2013 Homeland Security Appropriations measure. As a member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I believe that under the leadership of Chairman Aderholt we have exercised the much-needed oversight of the Department through the course of this year's hearings. This bill, along with the accompanying report, continued to ensure Congress is kept informed of how valuable taxpayer dollars will be spent by requiring numerous reports and briefings from DHS. This bill funds frontline security operations at their highest level in history, ensuring that our Border Patrol agents and ICE officers have the resources they need to secure our borders. I'm also pleased that this bill includes language that will improve awareness and cooperation between Federal Agencies and nongovernmental organizations to help them combat the heinous crime of human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery. I urge my colleagues to support this critical measure.