John Carter

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 350, On Ordering the Previous Question, Providing for consideration of H.R. 5658, the Department of Defense Authorization, 2009, I was unavoidably absent due to a family medical emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 351, On Agreeing to the Resolution H. Res. 1218, Providing for consideration of H.R. 5658, the Department of Defense Authorization, 2009, I as unavoidably absent due to a family medical emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 354, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 1194, Reaffirming the support of the House of Representatives for the legitimate, democratically-elected Government of Lebanon under Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, I was unavoidably absent due to a family medical emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 353, On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 6124, to provide for the continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through the fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes, I was unavoidably absent due to a family medical emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote by which the previous question was ordered on the resolution. Motion to Table Offered by Mr. Welch of Vermont

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote. Motion to Table Offered by Mr. Hastings of Florida

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the Thirtieth Quadrennial Convention of the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas (SPJST), which will be held on June 8-11, 2008. For 111 years, SPJST has served as a fraternal organization and an educational tool for Czech immigrants to learn the democratic process, the value of free speech, and the importance of voting in their newly adopted homeland. Today, there are more than 47,000 members of the SPJST in 120 lodges throughout the state of Texas. In recent years, SPJST has expanded to include youth activities and community service programs. As a result, many SPJST projects and members have been recognized by the Texas Fraternal Congress for their service and contribution to communities throughout Texas. SPJST has provided its members with identity and support throughout the years. In lodges all over the state of Texas members are committed to helping those in need by working in hospitals, providing scholarships, and supporting drug abuse programs and other charities. The members of SPJST have upheld the tradition of helping people to care for their families and their communities. With its great commitment to its members, communities, and organizations that it serves, SPJST embodies the value and tradition of the great state of Texas.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the Thirteenth Quadrennial Convention of the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas SPJST, which will be held on June 8-11, 2008. For 111 years, SPJST has served as a fraternal organization and an educational tool for Czech immigrants to learn the democratic process, the value of free speech, and the importance of voting in their newly adopted homeland. Today, there are more than 47,000 members of the SPJST in 120 lodges throughout the state of Texas. In recent years, SPJST has expanded to include youth activities and community service programs. As a result, many SPJST projects and members have been recognized by the Texas Fraternal Congress for their service and contribution to communities throughout Texas. SPJST has provided its members with identity and support throughout the years. In lodges all over the State of Texas, members are committed to helping those in need by working in hospitals, providing scholarships, and supporting drug abuse programs and other charities. The members of SPJST have upheld the tradition of helping people to care for their families and their communities. With its great commitment to its members, communities, and organizations that it serves, SPJST embodies the value and tradition of the great State of Texas.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. You know, the first question, they all started talking about how they joined the paramilitary unit. They told about families being slaughtered, being separated from their families, having to run and escape the guerrillas that came out of the woods. And they ran to escape, and then came back to find their families slaughtered, and so they joined a paramilitary group. And a question was asked, rather naively, I think, by us, you mean, you were carrying weapons? Absolutely. Every one of them, male and female, were carrying weapons. And now they are working in programs that are changing the culture of these people that joined the violent behavior. They have laid down their weapons. We asked them why. They said the comandantes said we have talked to the president, we lay down our weapons, and they did. They are out studying. They're proud to say they're getting high school educations. They're proud to say they're going to trade schools. A few were proud to say they had received admission to university. These were jungle fighters just a short while ago, and now they are coming into society and working very hard because they see a future for Colombia. And this future rests upon a world of free enterprise and trade, and this agreement starts the process that gives them many opportunities for free trade around the world.

Mr. CARTER. We did. We divided into groups and met with an assortment of both male and female. And you're right--

Mr. CARTER. Absolutely. Transformed it completely. It's a joy to be in Medellin, it really is. And, you know, the Medellin cartels are gone, and they are prospering. And, you know, they talked to us and they said, look, we are trying to stand up for democracy and free enterprise, we believe in this system. And this trade agreement is the linchpin that holds it all together for this country that has worked so desperately to solve problems that, quite frankly, not very many countries in the world would have been able to solve. Getting 40,000 people to lay down their arms is a major project.

Mr. CARTER. I was in Medellin.

Mr. CARTER. I thank you for yielding to me. My friend from California is gracious to do so. Let me start off by telling you what happened when I decided I was going to Colombia. My daughter, who lives here in Washington, called me up and said, Daddy, I told you not to go down to Colombia. Didn't you see ``Clear and Present Danger?'' Didn't you see that movie? Have you lost your mind? I want to point that out because I think that's a lot of what the American people think about Colombia when it comes to their mind, they think of that movie and that book. And I am pleased to say that I was very pleasantly surprised to find a very peaceable place where an awful lot of people have done an awful lot of hard work to get violent people out of their country and to get those people who joined defense bands and guerrilla bands to lay down their weapons.

Mr. CARTER. I agree wholeheartedly that I think an up-or-down vote and we will have a Colombia free-trade agreement. I think that our Democratic colleagues will be reasonable and understand this. And I think we have the votes to get it done. But I think Speaker Pelosi needs to release this and let us have a vote. That is the key thing. And you notice that letter you just read kept talking about national security. What we really have here, if you look at it closely, is a contest of two socialist--we used to call them Communist--a regime in Hugo Chavez, and we have Uribe who is trying to create a free democracy, and a free enterprise system. These are two, side-by-side competing systems that will influence that entire continent. And that is why this is in our national security interest. It is not just a trade agreement which is going to benefit American workers. It is a security agreement that points to the direction that we stand up for what we believe in, democracy and free enterprise.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, this week is National Crime Victims' Rights Week. This Congress should be working to make our cities, our streets, our States, our Nation safer for crime victims instead of talking about things like beaches and protecting union bosses. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was created 10 years ago, and this is about to expire in a few months. Let me tell you, having spent 21 years on the bench, I probably tried 250 to 300 aggravated sexual assault cases. One was an adult, the balance were children. This is epidemic in this country. It's time for this Congress to get on board and work on the Internet Sex Offender Prohibition Act, which would punish people for using the Internet to find victims for their sexual offenses as child predators and would increase and enhance the punishment for those crimes. This is important work. This is work this Congress needs to do to protect our children and make our streets safe.

Mr. CARTER

Mr. CARTER. That's right. I thank the gentleman for recognizing me.

Mr. CARTER. Amen, brother.

Mr. CARTER. Hearing the comments of Dr. Gingrey, I was at the Vets for Freedom rally this morning, and someone read an e-mail that they had received from a captain in the field, and he said, it went something like this, I started my morning at daybreak, and I have been on three missions today. I have gotten home and I immediately went and checked the evening news, as we all do here in Iraq, to see what folks were saying back home, and I saw someone say ``I support the warriors, but I don't support the war.'' He said, ``Sir, we are the war.'' I think that's something we ought to remember. As far as they are concerned, not supporting their effort is not supporting them. We need to remember that before we hurt feelings.

Mr. CARTER. Yes, we do. Yes, we do. You know, it is very important, there has been a lot of talk about this latest fight down in Basra. Fifteen thousand Iraqis went into the fight there and there has been a lot of talk about over 1,000 of those Iraqis ran. That is kind of looking at that glass half full or half empty. Yes, maybe 1,000 or more soldiers turned and ran, but 14,000 stayed and fought. If you went 3 years ago when I went on my second trip to Iraq and I sat down at a dinner table with a bunch of ordinary soldiers and said what are we trying to accomplish over here? And they said, sir, when they think about their units the way we think about our units, they will be a qualified fighting force over here, and we are trying to instill that in them. I say 14,000 of them acted like soldiers, and that is something we should be proud of.