Jimmy Duncan

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I wish to honor a man whose service to his Country and contributions to his community were remembered by family and friends at the First Baptist Church in Lenoir City, Tennessee on October 22, 2016. Mr. Harry Wayne Wampler was born in Lenoir City to what would become a very large family. Mr. Wampler was the oldest of his parents' seven children, setting a tone for his leadership skills to flourish in years to come. He took on the heavy responsibility of contributing to his family's business, Wampler's Farm Sausage, by working at the young age of 14. Later, Mr. Wampler was a Military Chef while serving in the Army Reserves, allowing him to share his love of food with his fellow military personnel. He went on to become the CEO of Family Brands International, which continues to provide many jobs to the Lenoir City community while boosting the local economy. While leading his business, Harry Wampler devoted 26 years of his incredible life as a Lenoir City Councilman, 16 years as Vice Mayor of Lenoir City, and served on many boards. He contributed to the success of community organizations by serving as a board member for Lenoir City Utilities, Baptist Hospital, Roane State Community College, Harrison Chilhowie School, Small Business Bureau, United Way, SunTrust Bank, Third National Bank, and the Bank of Loudon County. Harry was one of the strongest leaders the Great State of Tennessee has ever seen. He is one of the best friends both my father and I have ever had. While I am saddened by his absence, I know this Nation is better because of the life he led. Not only will he be missed by his wife Jennifer, five sons, and ten grandchildren but also by hundreds of friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Harry Wampler was a patriotic American who loved his country, and one of the finest men I have ever known.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I am now the only Republican remaining in Congress who voted against going to war in Iraq. For about 3 or 4 years, that was probably the most unpopular vote I ever cast. But slowly, slowly it became so that now probably it is the most popular vote I ever cast, because the American people do not want forever, permanent wars. So, Madam Speaker, you can understand why I was very interested in two very recent columns that I read. Adam Walinsky wrote in the September 21 Politico Magazine that he was a lifelong Democrat, former aid to John Kennedy, and former speechwriter for Robert Kennedy. He wrote, though, that he will be voting Republican in the Presidential race this year. He said: ``But today's Democrats have become the Party of War: a home for arms merchants, mercenaries, academic war planners, lobbyists for every foreign intervention, promoters of color revolutions, failed generals . . .'' He added that ``Our first answer to trouble or opposition of any kind seems always to be a military movement or action.'' He wrote that Secretary Clinton, unlike the Kennedy brothers, has not sought peace, but ``instead she has pushed America into successive invasions, successive efforts at `regime change.' '' Perhaps worst of all, according to Walinsky, ``Her shadow War Cabinet brims with the architects of war and disaster for the past decades, the neocons who led us to our present pass, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, in Ukraine, unrepentant of all past errors, ready to resume it all with fresh trillions and fresh blood.'' Also, in yesterday's Washington Times, Jed Babbin, a former Deputy Secretary of Defense in the administration of the first George Bush, said the second George Bush made a terrible mistake allowing the neocons to lead him into nation building in the Middle East after he had spoken so strongly against such nation building when he was running for President. Secretary Babbin wrote that Islam is incompatible with democracy, and Iraq and Afghanistan--and I suppose these other countries where we are still sending troops--will go back the way they always have been when we leave, whether we stay 6 more months or 60 more years. George Will wrote that the neocons were magnificently misnamed and really were the most radical people in Washington. These neocons have caused many thousands of young Americans to be killed or maimed for life. They should be ashamed, but they seem to have no shame. The American people, Madam Speaker, I repeat, do not want permanent, forever wars. They want to do whatever it takes to win wars, get them over with, and go back to days of peace and prosperity.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for yielding. I, first of all, want to commend Chairman Shuster and Chairman Gibbs for their outstanding leadership on this legislation. I rise in support of this jobs and infrastructure legislation. It will help create thousands of jobs and help improve our infrastructure. I have the privilege of serving as the Republican chair of the Clean Water Caucus in this Congress and I had the privilege of serving for 6 years as chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, starting in 2001. So I know full well how important this bill is. This bill provides the authorizations needed to improve water transportation all across this Nation. Every day, many tons of goods are transported across our waterways. Without basic water infrastructure in good shape, most of these goods would be transported on our already congested highways. According to the Inland Waterways Foundation, a 15-barge tow can transport the same amount of goods as 1,050 tractor-trailers. Moving goods on the water is also the most fuel-efficient and environmentally sound method of transportation. This bill is, as others have said, a fiscally responsible one. It de- authorizes $10 billion worth of inactive projects that are no longer needed or feasible, which offsets the new authorizations made in this legislation. This bill also authorizes important flood control projects that we need to help prevent natural disasters. We saw what can happen when Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi a few years ago. That disaster caused an estimated $150 billion in damage. Now we have new flooding in Louisiana and Texas. We need to make smart investments today so that we are not foolishly spending billions of dollars after a disaster strikes. I also want to thank Chairman Shuster for including language on floating homes that was requested by Representative Meadows and myself. I want to especially commend Representative Meadows, who led the way on this issue. The TVA board had voted to remove privately owned homes, or floating houses, from its reservoirs. This would have been essentially a taking without any compensation being offered to the homeowners. The language in this bill mirrors that included in the Senate-passed bill that would allow these homeowners to keep their houses as long as certain safety and health standards are met. I urge passage of this very, very important legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support Congressman Adrian Smith of Nebraska's CO-OP Consumer Protection Act which we will vote on later today. This bill will temporarily exempt from the individual mandate penalty anyone who had a plan under one of the many failed ObamaCare co-ops; 17 out of 23 co-ops have failed since early 2015. Community Health Alliance was one such ObamaCare co-op based in my district. When it failed last year, 27,000 Tennesseeans were forced to find new plans. This year, Tennesseeans have been faced with even more bad news. Earlier this year, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee requested an average 62 percent increase in premium rates. Then just yesterday, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee announced that they can no longer afford to offer any ObamaCare exchange plans in Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis. This will affect over 100,000, including many of my constituents who will now have the option of only one health insurance provider. Congressman Smith of Nebraska's bill will provide at least some relief for people who have lost their health insurance because of ObamaCare. I urge my colleagues' support of this very important legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I do want to commend the gentleman from Georgia for the great work that he does on the Rules Committee. Once again, he has done yeoman's work on this legislation before us. Frankly, I have some reservations about the underlying bill, but I do respect the goal of this legislation. I also respect the gentleman from Mississippi in his efforts to come up with some legislation so that we can have enhanced interrogation of certain people wanting to come into this country. I think almost everyone on this side of the aisle believes in more detailed vetting of people wanting to come here, especially from countries that we deem as dangerous. I rise at this time, though, just to make the point that--in response to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), who spent almost his entire time talking about this bill, talking about the transparency of the Republican nominee for President, I also, though, might make the point that the Democratic nominee, Secretary Clinton, has refused for many months to release the transcripts or copies of her many speeches that she gave to Wall Street firms for really what most people would consider to be small fortunes. In addition to that, she has refused to give out details of the approximately 60 percent of the people she met with while Secretary of State who had contributed to the Clinton Foundation, in some cases, very large amounts of money from foreign countries, which really is possibly more closely related to this legislation than is the tax return of the Republican nominee.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on August 9, 2016 I had a conversation with my good friend and Knoxville Attorney James M. Crain. Mr. Crain and I had the opportunity to discuss the federal edict announcing that every public school in America is to allow students to use whichever bathroom they choose. During our conversation Mr. Crain discussed a resolution adopted by the West Knoxville/Knox County Republican Club offered by Mr. Crain. Newscom published an opinion editorial titled, ``A Bathroom of One's Own,'' that is consistent with the adopted resolution. This article is well reasoned and is consistent with the views of many of the people from my District in East Tennessee. I think most people are tired of all the publicity on this issue and wish we could get back to a time when sexual preference was kept purely private. I also believe that the Federal government should have very limited power over the decisions State and local governments make about their schools. This has long been my position. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to the attention of my Colleagues and other readers of the Record the resolution adopted by the West Knoxville/Knox County Republican Club and the article that ran in The Weekly Standard on June 7, 2016. A Bathroom of One's Own--Newscom Two weeks ago the Obama administration issued a federal edict decreeing that every public school in America allow students to use whichever bathroom they choose, under pain of lawsuit and/or loss of federal funding. Less than a week after that, New York City's Commission on Human Rights issued its own edict, declaring that anyone under the city's rule who refused to use the preferred gender pronouns in dealing with transgender individuals--he, she, ``xe,'' or ``hir''--would be guilty of harassment and subject to penalties up to $125,000 for the first infraction and $250,000 ``for violations that are the result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct.'' As law professor Eugene Volokh noted, the use of the term ``harassment'' is important, because it means that employers and businesses are responsible not just for their own behavior but for the behavior of their employees and customers. And New York is, if you can imagine it, behind the times. Out in Oregon, Leo Spell, a fifth-grade teacher in the Gresham-Barlow school district, decided she was transgender. (Soell made this decision public only after receiving tenure.) Soell's transition took the form of insisting that she was neither male nor female and demanding that her colleagues refer to her as ``they.'' When other teachers continued to call Soell ``she'' and ``her'' and ``Miss Soell,'' Soell filed a harassment complaint. The school district settled with they for $60,000 and promised to initiate a sweeping set of transgender reforms. To hammer home the power dynamic, the school district claimed, in the statement accompanying the payout, that it was quite ``pleased'' with the outcome. If you think that's depressing, it could always be worse. In Canada, the minister of justice recently introduced legislation banning discrimination based on ``gender identity'' and ``gender expression,'' which could join previous legislation criminalizing anti-trans ``hate propaganda.'' Should the bill pass, you could do up to two years, hard time, if you think the wrong thoughts or say the wrong words. If this all seems like an inordinate amount of heavy artillery for an infinitesimally tiny issue, that's actually the point. Much as fights in academia are so bitter because the stakes are so small, transgender activists are crushingly authoritarian because the justice of their cause is so uncertain. What the trans project lacks in moral and logical clarity, it hopes to overcome with vehemence and intimidation. The confusion is abundant. If you tell a transgender activist that gender is determined biologically, through chromosomal composition, they reply, Well, what about people with Klinefelter (XXY) syndrome? But even with Klinefelter's chromosomal anomalies, only a very small proportion of persons will fall into a category of ``intersex.'' As National Review's Celina Durgin points out, arguments about the tiny, tiny sliver of the population who are biologically considered ``intersex'' actually run counter to transgender ideology, which places ``gender identity''--a self-discovered concept--on a separate plane above mere biology. In other words, if being biologically XX is irrelevant to whether or not you are a girl, then why should it matter if you're XXY? Resorting to arguments about the intersexed is actually an admission of the primacy of biology. Or consider ``gender fluidity,'' another pillar of the transgender project. According to this precept, some people may be one gender on Monday and another on Tuesday. Who can say which is which, or who is when? Not you. The individual is what he/she/they/xe/hir says at any given moment. And once you've divorced gender from biology and agreed that someone who is chromosomally XY can be a woman, you have no valid reason to object if, the next day, she says she is a man again. If you sign on for transgenderism, you're signing on for gender fluidity, too. It doesn't stop there, of course. Once you shoot past gender fluidity and the nongendered ``theys'' like Leo Soell and ``pangenders'' (who claim to be everything rolled into one), there's a whole other universe of gender identities out there. For instance, ``otherkin.'' What are ``otherkin''? Otherkin is the gender identity of people who believe that they are nonhuman. Last summer Vice.com profiled a fellow who identifies as a fox. Some identify as dogs. Some as lions. Some as dragons. Some otherkin even go through body-modifications to make their physical selves look more like their otherkin identity. The otherkin aren't officially part of the LGBTTQQIAAP alliance yet. But just wait. They're coming. Because to deny them their place at the table--to deny that a human person can be not just an animal, but a creature that does not even exist in the real world--is to put the entire transgender project in jeopardy. Because transgender theory, which posits that the self is infinitely plastic, cannot survive a single limiting precept. Fortunately, we are not yet fighting over the rights of otherkin unicorns. In the here-and-now, we merely have wars over public bathroom and school locker room accommodations. This may seem like a small-scale concern. The Census Bureau and the New York Times tried to estimate the number of transgendered persons in the United States last year and came up with a figure somewhere between 21,000 and 90,000. Or, to put it another way, transgenders probably make up between 0.007 percent and 0.029 percent of the American population. When you're dealing with fractions this small, it's hard to be precise. But because virtue-signaling is the highest form of morality in modern America, the full force of the federal government is being brought to bear on transgender bathroom rights, not only through Obama's federal edict, but through the Obama Justice Department's fight against the state of North Carolina. In March, the elected officials of North Carolina voted on and passed a piece of legislation, HB-2, which was designed to stop the forced march toward mandating that people must be free to use whatever bathroom they desire. (It is instructive to note that the initiatives pushing the transgender agenda are almost never enacted legislatively; they are often rammed through bureaucracies and commissions or accomplished by executive fiat.) HB-2 was not a perfect piece of legislation. But the reaction to it was illuminating. The Charlotte Observer's editorial board proclaimed, ``Yes, the thought of male genitalia in girls' locker rooms--and vice versa--might be distressing to some. But the battle for equality has always been in part about overcoming discomfort . . .'' Which brings us to the final bit of confusion in the transgender project. At the heart of the bathroom issue is a simple question: Is there a valid reason for separate facilities for men and women? Is there any rational justification for having separate bathrooms, or locker rooms, or changing rooms, for men and boys on the one hand, and women and girls on the other? The trans argument, per the Charlotte Observer, is essentially ``no.'' By their logic, if women just need to get over their discomfort at seeing naked men next to them, then there's no reasonable explanation for why women could want their own facilities. Except that this would mean there is no reasonable explanation for why someone who is transgender should prefer one set of facilities over another. If biologically born women need to ``overcome discomfort'' about having naked men around them, why shouldn't a biological man who identifies as a woman not similarly have to overcome his discomfort at being around other naked men? The logical paradox of the transgender bathroom war is that it insists that the type of gender and genitalia in a public facility is completely irrelevant--except to the transgendered, for whom it is of supreme importance. At the end of the day, if you're not in favor of unisex facilities for all--one bathroom for everyone to use--then the transgender case falls apart. Because the transgender project tacitly admits that there are reasons of privacy, modesty, and prudence for segregating the sexes. It merely wishes to trump these concerns from the vast majority for the special pleading of a small, powerful, and illiberal group. It is the very definition of the tyranny of the minority. Resolution The West Knoxville/Knox County Republican Club Whereas, Persons who assert a ``gender identity'' other than their sex are claiming a right to utilize rest room facilities, locker rooms and associated showers with persons of the opposite sex; and Whereas, No such right has existed in the history of mankind; and Whereas, Persons--and particularly females--are made extremely uncomfortable by the presence of persons of the opposite sex in such facilities; and Whereas, There is no way to determine the legitimacy of a claim of ``gender identity,'' thus opening the door to false claims made to gain entrance to such facilities for immoral and illegal purposes; and Whereas, Agencies of the Federal Government have exceeded their lawful authority by construing various Acts of Congress as conferring a right to utilize such facilities designated for persons of the opposite sex upon persons claiming a ``gender identity'' different from their biological sex, to wit: a. On January 7, 2015, the Department of Energy Office for Civil Rights issued a letter construing 34 C.F.R. 106.33 (implementing 20 USC 1681(a)) as requiring that transgender students in schools that receive Federal funds must ``generally'' be allowed to utilize bathrooms and locker rooms assigned to the gender with which they identify. The Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, citing deference to administrative construction, has reinstated a suit by a transgender ``male'' to require her Virginia high school to allow her to use the boys rest room, and b. The Department of Justice has sent a letter to the Governor of North Carolina, asserting that the provisions of North Carolina H.B. 2 violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it treats Transgender persons differently than non- transgender persons by denying all persons the right to use multi-person facilities assigned to persons of the opposite sex, and Whereas, the expanded interpretations set out above will require schools, in particular, to require that schoolchildren share toilet, locker and shower facilities with any person of the opposite sex that claims a different ``gender identity,'' and Whereas, with particular reference to 20 USC 1681(a), this expanded interpretation of ``sex'' will have the effect of mandating that transgendered ``females'' be allowed to try out for and compete in women's sports and, because of the greater strength and speed potential of biological males, will largely destroy the very women's sports programs that the provision was designed to foster, and which it has fostered with great success; Now, therefore, be it Resolved as follows; 1. That the foregoing expansions of these Acts of Congress to create rights never intended or contemplated at the time they were enacted is an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power by the Executive Branch, and must be addressed IMMEDIATELY! 2. That the United States Code must be amended to clarify the erroneous ``interpretation'' placed on it by the Executive Branch by enacting a statute worded substantially as follows: As used in this Code, the word ``sex'' refers only to biological sex unless expressly stated to the contrary. No such reference in this Code either requires or prohibits any particular treatment of transgender individuals unless some particular treatment is expressly stated therein. 3. That since such legislation is certain to be vetoed by our President, the foregoing bill MUST BE PASSED AND PRESENTED TO HIM in a timely manner, so that upon returning it to Congress, ample time for votes to override that veto can be held BEFORE THE ELECTION IN NOVEMBER. 4. That this resolution be forwarded to our Representative and to both of our Senators, with the notation that failure to vigorously pursue the passage of the above statute will be construed by the Club as your agreement with these unconstitutional actions by the Executive Branch. 5. The undersigned officers of the West Knoxville/Knox County Republican Club execute this resolution in their capacities as officers only, and that the undersigned represent that this Resolution was passed without opposition by the voting members present at the June 13, 2016 meeting of the club. Resolved by the Club this the 13th day of June, 2016 Gary Loe, Vice President. Paul E. Wehmeier, President.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, this Nation has many friends around the world, but almost no country has been a better friend to the United States than has been the Republic of China on Taiwan, or, as it is more commonly known, Taiwan. I would like to recognize Taiwan in advance of the 105th anniversary of the founding of that great country. On October 10, the people of Taiwan will commemorate the founding of a nation which has much to be proud of in this year. Over the past 50 years, Taiwan has undergone dramatic political, social, and economic changes, and is now the only democracy in the Chinese-speaking world. This year, the people of Taiwan witnessed the third peaceful transition of power. This election was especially meaningful with the election of the first woman President, Dr. Tsai Ing-wen. There are important common values and principles that fundamentally link the United States and Taiwan, including respect for human rights, freedom, and democracy. I commend President Tsai Ing-wen for refreshing Taiwan's commitment to renewing Taiwan's commitment to these values. The Republic of China on Taiwan has become a trailblazer in the industrialized world with a vibrant and growing economy and a flourishing free people. Taiwan has surpassed India and Saudi Arabia to become the 10th largest trading partner of the United States. I cannot overemphasize how important this economic powerhouse and democratic ally is to the United States and to our trade relations. While I have some very serious concerns regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, if the United States ends up finalizing this agreement, Taiwan should definitely be included. In the early 1960s, my father was the mayor of Knoxville, and he met at that time a man named Nelson Nee. Mr. Nee was then head of the University of Tennessee's international students program, but he later became a very successful businessman in California importing products from Taiwan. The result of Mr. Nee and my father's efforts to bring students from Taiwan to UT has resulted in a very large UT alumni group in Taipei--an alumni group of several hundred. Also, we have a very large and active Taiwan group in Knoxville and east Tennessee. I had the privilege of spending a week in Taiwan, along with Congressman Pete Sessions and former Congressman Sonny Callahan, about 15 years ago. At the end of that trip, I asked one of the officials to tell me how you say in Chinese, ``Thank you for your friendship.'' I was told that you say, ``Shieh shieh ni de yo yi.'' I simply will end by saying to Taiwan once again, thank you for your friendship.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, a long-time friend of mine and my family, County Commissioner Mike Brown, has recently left office after two-terms on the Knox County Commission. Not only did Commissioner Brown serve with great honor and distinction on the County Commission, he has served the community in many other ways throughout his life. I am sure that he will continue to help many people in retirement, because Mike Brown has always had a heart for service. But I can assure everyone that our Nation would be much stronger if we had more citizens like Mike Brown. I would like to call to the attention of my Colleagues the South Knox Shopper News which ran as a part of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow night in my hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, the 24,000-seat Thompson-Boling Arena will be filled with people to celebrate the life of Coach Pat Head Summitt. Coach Summit was buried last week in the little farming community of Henrietta, Tennessee, where she grew up. As most people know, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 58, 6 years ago. She fought this disease with such courage that, about 5 years ago, I had the privilege of sitting with Coach Summitt as she received the top award presented by the National Alzheimer's Association. This was the Sargent and Eunice Shriver Profiles in Dignity Award, and it was presented by their well-known daughter, Maria. No one could have been more deserving of this award than Coach Summitt. She made the decision to both go public with this diagnosis and continue coaching her beloved Lady Vols. Later, she decided to give up her coaching job after 38 years to help lead the fight against Alzheimer's. She and her son, Tyler, have established the Pat Head Summitt Foundation to carry on this battle that is and will be so very, very important to millions of people. Coach Summitt became head coach of the UT Lady Vols at the very young age of 22 because nobody was interested in the job. At that time, only the players and their parents attended the games. Thanks largely in part to Pat Head Summitt, women's basketball gained major support, drawing crowds of 20,000 and more. She certainly was the most respected woman in Tennessee and my most famous constituent and longtime friend. I was honored on two occasions to be her honorary assistant coach. The first time was on her 25th anniversary as a coach, and the second time was several years later in a game against Vanderbilt on the last home game of the season. Before that game, we were given a scouting report. Tennessee had beaten Vanderbilt in Nashville by 30 points. So it is accurate to say that the team was fairly confident about this game. However, at halftime, the game was almost tied, and the Lady Vols came into the locker room with their heads hanging down. That is when I saw Coach Summitt go into action. She got into each young woman's face like a baseball manager arguing with an umpire. She started with Lady Vol Teresa Geter and told her in a drill sergeant's voice that she was going through a pity party out there, and Coach Summitt was having no part of it and was giving her 2 minutes to make her presence known on that court or she was going to yank her out of there so fast it would make her head spin. When we went back out for the second half, the first thing that happened was that Teresa Geter stole the ball, and she took it down court for a lay-up and her first 2 points of the game. The Lady Vols went on a 20-0 run, and Vanderbilt called a timeout. A spectator in the stands, whom I had not seen because there were 20,000 people there, sent his card down to me, and on the back he had written: ``Jimmy, great halftime coaching, come again.'' But it was not me; it was Coach Summitt. In fact, when she was staring each one of her players in the face at halftime in an intensely angry, very loud voice, I was just glad I was not one of those players. Coach Summitt was the winningest coach in basketball history, with 1,098 victories. Her teams won 16 Southeastern Conference championships and eight national championships. She coached in 18 Final Fours. She had an 84 percentage winning record as a head coach. But to me, her most impressive statistic was a 100-percent graduation rate by her players. And she did not allow her players to take easy courses because she wanted them to be prepared for life after basketball, and almost all of her players have been successful after leaving the University of Tennessee. On top of this, she never had a question raised about her recruiting or any NCAA violation. She showed through the years that you do not have to cheat in sports to win and be very successful. She succeeded at her most important job, being a mother and raising her son, Tyler. Coach Summitt was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and was NCAA Coach of the Year an unprecedented seven times. In 2000, she was named Naismith Coach of the Year. Pat Head Summitt was a woman of great honor and integrity. She was a great, great success because of her very hard work, dedication, determination, and discipline. Most of her success she credited to her hardworking parents and lessons she learned on her family's Tennessee farm. Mr. Speaker, this Nation is a better place today because of Coach Pat Head Summitt and her work with young people and the inspiring example that she set for all of us.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I have tremendous respect for Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Visclosky. I know that they have had a very difficult job in trying to resolve all the competing interests in this bill. They are two of our finest Members. My amendment is being offered primarily because of my very great concern for our astounding national debt, now over $19 trillion, and a debt that is going up much higher in the years ahead. Also, I just do not believe in forever, permanent wars, and we have now been involved militarily in Afghanistan for over 15 years, with no end in sight. The words we see most often about the American public's view of the war in Afghanistan are ``war weary.'' The American people want us to stop spending so much money in Afghanistan and start making things more secure here at home. Afghanistan is classified as one of the least developed countries in the world. With a population of 30 million, their GDP is approximately $20 billion in American dollars. Even with my amendment, which would be a 13 percent cut, we would still be spending $3 billion there in the next fiscal year. My amendment would save $448 million and place it in the deficit reduction account. The OCO account has been referred to as a slush fund for the Defense Department and as a budgetary gimmick. Just yesterday on this floor, the ranking members of the full committee and the subcommittee both criticized this way of funding some of our overseas operations. The NDAA bill funded the OCO only to the level of $35.7 billion instead of the $58.6 billion in this bill, and there has already been acknowledgement that there probably will be a supplemental appropriations bill to be passed before May 1. Afghanistan was referred to by the disgraced General Petraeus, who is still respected by many, and many others as the ``graveyard of empires.'' It is ruled by tribes and village warlords, and the threats from radical Islamic terrorists to the U.S. are much greater for almost every other country, and even here at home. The average income there is about $667 a year. With the $3.5 billion in this bill for Afghanistan, we could put almost every leader there on the U.S. payroll and give them big raises. My amendment has been endorsed by the fiscally conservative Taxpayers for Common Sense. I commend the subcommittee leadership for already having a small cut in this bill for Afghan funding from $3.65 billion to $3.45 billion. This seems to me to be at least a partial admission that most on the committee agree with me. I believe that they have not gone far enough. In fact, I would have liked to have gone much further with my amendment. I simply believe that we should stop throwing money down this very wasteful black hole and start putting our own people and our own country and our own needs first once again. In recognition that the subcommittee is at least headed in the right direction with this small cut and in hopes that additional cuts could be made at conference, or at least in next year's bill, I appreciate being given the opportunity to at least express my very strongly held views on this situation in Afghanistan. I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Joseph Mussomeli spent 35 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, including serving as our Ambassador to both Cambodia and Slovenia. Ambassador Mussomeli wrote a column for The Washington Post, which, frankly, I am very surprised that the paper published in its June 10 edition. I would like to quote at length from this very important column. Ambassador Mussomeli wrote as follows: Most of my former colleagues at the State Department will be appalled by the assertion, but much of the media-fed angst about Donald Trump's dearth of foreign policy expertise is contrived. Our cadre of neoconservative foreign policy experts, unhumbled after marching us into a reckless war in Iraq and a poorly conceived one in Afghanistan, who applauded as we bombed Libya and bitterly resent our having failed to bomb Syria, are frightened. Wisely, they often focus on comments that Trump has made on issues that are of less genuine interest to them. But what really troubles them is his generally level-headed and unmessianic attitude untoward foreign affairs. Trump has no desire to make the rest of the world in our image. The neocons bemoan Trump's rejection of a global role for the United States, but Trump has no intent to withdraw the United States from the world stage. He only rejects the wanton use of our young men and women on foreign adventures of questionable value. The neocons have two clear foreign policy objectives, and Trump may grant them neither. For many of them, their deepest yearning is an air campaign against Iran. Trump doesn't like the Iran nuclear agreement, but his instinct is to make a better deal rather than attacking, while Hillary Clinton has a strong record of supporting the prodigal misuse of military force. Clinton is just another neocon, though wrapped in sheep's clothing. But clothing makes a huge difference. Most Americans don't want the United States to be disrespected, and they want a muscular military that doesn't take any nonsense--but they also don't want military adventurism. Trump succeeds in having it both ways: he reassures that the United States will be respected and also that we will not employ our troops as cannon fodder on distant battlefields. Underneath all the tirades against illegal immigration and the need to be tough with our adversaries, there is an inward focus. There is a sense that America--in order to be great again--needs to relinquish its role as global cop and tend first to its needs at home. By sounding caustic, Trump is able to appear more militaristic and tougher than the far more reckless Clinton. Calculating and cavalier, Clinton would agree with her old pal, then-U.N. Ambassador Madeline Albright, ``What's the point of having this superb military . . . if we can't use it?'' The stern rebuke to that question later provided by General Colin Powell that the military is not a toy is lost on the neocons and Clinton. Among Clinton's weaknesses, her fear of appearing weak may be her most damning. The second neocon priority? A new cold war with Russia. Vladimir Putin, unlikable and increasingly uncooperative and antagonistic, admittedly makes this objective more within reach, but Trump might avoid it as well. Clinton repeats over and over that Russia only understands a tough and determined opponent, while Trump may have a more sophisticated and mature approach. Far less petulant than most of the former Republican candidates, Trump says he would actually talk with Putin. That takes real courage, given the general view among Republican elites. Contrast that with Clinton, who thinks we should not be talking too much to Putin and that we ought to further expand NATO because, in her view, Russia would be an even greater threat had it not been for NATO expansion. Of course, to admit that NATO expansion triggered the current crisis would be admitting that her husband is largely responsible for it. Trump seems to understand George Kennan's warning that NATO expansion would directly lead to a more paranoid and aggressive Russia. Trump, for all his bizarre commentary on domestic issues, better grasps the subtleties of global politics and the dangers of thinking ourselves infallible and invincible. It is quite an irony: The ostensibly more reckless, infantile, inexperienced and bombastic candidate may actually be more mature, level-headed, and reasonable on foreign policy than his critics who, against all the good advice our parents gave us as children, pout and refuse to talk to those they don't like, escalate arguments to violence when they are upset, lack any remorse for the harm caused by their past opinions and actions, and fail repeatedly to see that there might be two sides to any disagreement. Mr. Speaker, I think these words of Ambassador Mussomeli should be considered very seriously by all of our Members.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had 43 students and chaperones from Washburn High School in east Tennessee as my guests at the Capitol. Among other things, I told them I was next going to a hearing about the prison in Guantanamo and that one group had estimated it was now costing us over $4 million per prisoner to keep that prison open. One of the students said, ``How can I get in?'' There are now only 80 prisoners there, and we spent $445 million to run the facility in 2015. The Washington Times reported in 2013 that we were giving these prisoners classes on computers, horticulture, art, and calligraphy as well as library services, special food, and recreational facilities. We sometimes hear of country club prisons. Apparently, this should be called a resort prison. I know the Federal Government cannot do anything in a fiscally conservative way, but spending $4 million per prisoner in Guantanamo is ridiculous. It costs an average of $34,000 per year per prisoner in most Federal prisons and $78,000 per year in the supermax prison. Mr. Speaker, we should stop giving these terrorists such ridiculously expensive special treatment and send all 80 to the worst, most dangerous prison in the U.S.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Barletta for yielding me this time. I rise in support of both H.R. 4465, the bill by Chairman Denham, and H.R. 4487 by Chairman Barletta. We need to realize, Mr. Speaker, that private ownership of property is a very important, even vital, part of our freedom and our prosperity. Today, the Federal Government owns almost 30 percent of the land in this Nation, and State and local governments and quasi-governmental agencies own almost 20 percent. So today, close to half of the land in this country is under some type of public governmental ownership. But you can never satisfy government's appetite for money or land. They always want more. I first became interested in this issue when I read in USA Today several years ago that governments keep adding land equal to half the size of the State of New Jersey each year through direct purchases or through indirect purchases through land conservancies. Then I read that the Federal Bureau of Land Management had about 3 million acres they didn't even want. I first introduced a bill on this subject in 2001, during the 107th Congress, called the Federal Lands Improvement Act. I reintroduced it in the next Congress. Then, in the 110th Congress, I introduced a similar bill with my colleague from the other side, Congressman Dennis Moore of Kansas, called the Federal Real Property Disposal Enhancement Act. In a similar bipartisan fashion, Senator Tom Carper of Delaware and Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma introduced companion legislation in the Senate. Several years ago, the Office of Management and Budget had found 21,000 Federal properties that the Federal Government no longer wanted or needed worth, at that time, $18 billion, and $9 billion of those were real property assets that the Federal Government wanted to dispose of. Jim Nussle, who was the Office of Management and Budget Director at the time, wrote a letter endorsing legislation to do what these bills are attempting to do here tonight. He said: ``To reach this objective, I believe we must improve and streamline the current process that Federal agencies face in disposing of real property assets.'' Some extremists never want the government to sell any property, and government at all levels continues to acquire more and more land every year. But we keep shrinking the tax base, Mr. Speaker, at the time that schools and policemen and all these other government employees want and need more funding. This legislation, we have worked on this through both the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, on which I serve, and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, on which I also serve. I want to commend, again, Chairman Barletta and Chairman Denham because, with so many needs and so many good things that we can do for the American people, it simply makes no sense to force the government to keep properties that it no longer needs or wants. We can and should put those assets to much better use.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, people all over the country are moving from the high tax States to the low tax States. This is great for my home State of Tennessee. Almost half the people I represent have moved from someplace else; but it is not great for the country as a whole, and we will face many problems in the future if the high tax States do not start lowering their taxes and start trying to keep more of their people at home. New York in the 1970s had 43 Members of the House. Now it has 27 Members. After the 2010 Census, each Member was supposed to represent between 705,000 and 710,000 people. While, in the 1970s, congressional districts had much lower populations than now, if New York had had the average growth of most States, it would have had about 11 million more people than it now has. Cities and States throughout the Northeast and the Midwest have been losing populations or have been having growth lower than in most other States for many years. Last year, a man from New Jersey told me his property taxes on a 2,800-square-foot house were $13,000. Plus, they had State income tax on top of that. I told him the taxes on a similar- sized house in east Tennessee would probably be between $2,000 and $2,500, and there would be no State income tax on top. Almost every week, when I am home in Tennessee, someone tells me a story about how high the taxes are in the States they have moved from. Of course, it will be good for the young people of Tennessee if our legislators keep taxes low and if people would keep moving there, because many new jobs will be created. An example of the problems, though, that high taxes have created in the States can be seen in Michigan's Flint water crisis. When taxes become too high, first, upper-income residents move out, then upper- middle, then, finally, middle-income. Then cities are left with a very low tax base. The pressures are greatest to pay the teachers, the policemen, and the firefighters first. The water infrastructure underground is out of sight, out of mind, and is often neglected. Flint has lost almost half of its population since the 1970s, as have many cities, large and small, throughout the high tax States of the Northeast and the Midwest. We are going to send a boatload of money to Flint because of all the publicity it has received, but we cannot do that for every city and county in all of the high tax States. I read a few days ago that Galesburg, Illinois, leaders are telling citizens to drink only bottled water. It is not fair to my taxpayers in Tennessee, where we have acted in fiscally responsible ways and have kept our taxes low, to have to now bail out all of the cities and counties and even States that have acted in fiscally irresponsible ways. Of course, the problems these wasteful, irresponsible, high tax areas that keep driving people out will be seen not just with infrastructure, but all across the board--in education, in law enforcement, and in other areas. Puerto Rico is in big trouble now. Many people say Illinois is next. I urge the high tax States all over the country to start drastically lowering their taxes. While this exodus of people from these States has been very good for States like Tennessee, it will not be good for the Nation as a whole in the long run if it continues. It should also serve as a lesson or as a warning that almost every city or State in this Nation and almost every country around the world that has had liberal, leftwing, big spending, high tax leadership is in serious financial trouble. Every young person who seems to be attracted to the false promises of socialism should look at Cuba, where despite hundreds of miles of beautiful oceanfront property and a wealth of interior natural resources, the average salary is $24 a month. They should also look at Venezuela, which has more oil than Saudi Arabia has. Their economy is in shambles, and children are dying because they can't get food and medical treatment. That is what socialism gives the people, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Ina Hughs, a longtime columnist for the Knoxville News-Sentinel, has written a very honest and entertaining column about her upcoming marriage at the age of 75. First, I want to congratulate her and her husband-to-be. Second, I want to call this enjoyable column to the attention of my colleagues and other readers. Third, I will recall a story I heard in the News Sentinel many years ago when Senator Strom Thurmond was running for re-election one month short of his 94th birthday. Someone--either the Senator or somebody on his staff--had found a 105-year-old-woman who had been a babysitter for Senator Thurmond when she was 16 and he was five. This 105-year-old endorsed the almost 94-year-old and called him a ``fine young man.'' I hope Ms. Hughs and her ``intended'' will be a fine young couple. Going to the chapel different this time Well. I have a bit of news. Not breaking news worthy of interrupting regularly scheduled programs. But rather shocking nevertheless. Close friends with whom I first shared this--well, their reaction over the phone was a long silence, howling laughter, and then they dropped the receiver. I am getting married. In three days. I met him and his late wife in the early 1960s, when he and my husband served churches in the Norfolk area. As couples we became friends. Over time our families exchanged Christmas cards, but then a few years ago he and I landed in the same area in retirement. His wife sadly died of invasive cancer, and I had been single for some 20 years. Shortly after the news got around town, I called a friend to wish her a happy birthday. When she read on the caller ID who I was, she answered by saying, ``Oh, goody! You're calling to ask me to be a bridesmaid?'' After my daughter digested the news--in great joy--she asked what was I going to wear. Did I want her to go with me to David's Bridal? ``Honey,'' I said, laughing, ``I don't even own a dress. How do you expect me to wear a gown?'' She made me promise I'd find a friend with better taste in clothes than me to help find my outfit so I wouldn't embarrass the family. I am not doing any of that young bride stuff except maybe the old-new-borrowed- blue. The something old, of course, will be me. At 75, what else could you call it? The Zombie Bride? The borrowed item will be white pants I inherited from my older sister, who will no doubt be peering over a cloud from heaven saying, ``Don't you have any clothes of your own? What on earth did you wear before I died and you got all mine?'' Something blue? That would be a necklace my younger sister gave me for my 21st birthday back in the previous millennium: a strand of white and blue pearls to match a blue jacket that is new, closing out my four-part matrimonial couture. I do worry a bit that I'll look like a sea captain: white top, white pants, blue jacket. But it doesn't have brass buttons and I won't have on the cap. Or, Lord forbid, a veil. And we aren't throwing rice or birdseed or rose petals. If there's any throwing to do, it'll be me sick with nerves. Blushing, teary-eyed and bashful is charming in youth. It just makes old women look wrinkled, frog-eyed and acutely geriatric. Although I am 100 percent sure I won't be left at the altar, I find it humbling and altogether amazing that my intended (Where, pray tell, did that word come from? Does that mean every relationship that doesn't end in marriage is unintended? I think not.) is willing to cast lots with me at our ripe old age. Me of the elastic-waist pants. Me of age-spotted hands. Me of trifocals and bunions. I sleep in socks. On the rare occasions I do wear a bathing suit, it's always under a cover-up. I often fall asleep in the recliner and drool. I sometimes break wind when getting out of the back seat of a car, and if you find that funny you are either under 50 or your grandmother is dead. We are like the old couple that came into the drugstore holding hands. ``Do you sell wheelchairs and canes?'' they asked. The pharmacist answered, ``Yes. We have a whole back room full of the latest models.'' ``Do you sell magnifying glasses?'' ``Yes. Right over there.'' ``Heating pads? Walk-in bathtubs? Medical alert systems? Adjustable bed rails? Blood pressure kits? TV sound amplifiers?'' ``Yes. Yes. Yes.'' ``We'd like to use you as our bridal registry.'' So, my friends, never say never. One day you, too, might have your friends dropping the phone.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, for the last 2 years, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green) and I have had the honor of co- chairing the Congressional Charity Golf Classic with Members and former Members. This year, the tournament was a great success. We had over 200 participants, counting Members, former Members, military, and volunteers. The charity chosen by the United States Association of Former Members of Congress for the past 9 years has been Warfighter Sports, which is an organization that enables our most severely wounded military people--those who have lost legs or arms or who have been blinded--to participate in sports. This year, we were able to raise $137,000 for that great charity. The Republicans won the Speaker's Trophy, which I have here, by a score of 158-109. The number one team was headed by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth), and the number two team was headed by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw). I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green), the co- chairman.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I wish to honor a man whose service to his community and commitment to the lives of many young men has brought great distinction to East Tennessee and this Nation. Mr. Jim Braden was originally a resident of Ripley, West Virginia, before finding permanent roots in East Tennessee's City of Farragut where I am glad he stayed. Jim Braden has devoted fifty-two years of his incredible life to coaching baseball as an unpaid volunteer. His impact on the Farragut community can be seen through organizing and implementing the countywide Knox County Middle School Baseball League and raising funds for facilities that support Farragut baseball. Coach Braden worked with young men who would later go on to be team members of college, minor and major league teams. Mr. Braden has worn many hats in life on top of his baseball cap. He bravely served our Country during Vietnam War as a member of a United States Navy helicopter squadron. He is the husband of Catherine who contributed to the success of Knox County and Farragut athletics. He is the father of two Farragut High School Alumni, Mark and Laura. He is the legend that the Farragut High School Dugout Club will name an award after. The Farragut High School Dugout Club recognizes an outstanding player each season by recognizing them with a ``Mr. Baseball'' award. On the occasion of the name of this award being changed to the ``Coach Jim Braden Mr. Baseball Award'' I call to the attention of my colleagues and other readers to celebrate his contribution to countless lives on and off the baseball field. Coach Braden looks forward to passing along the love of the game to his grandchildren while instilling the importance of community involvement. He is a shining example of a true Tennessee Volunteer. I hope you will join me in celebrating his life and legacy.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Remote Area Medical is a nonprofit organization that sends teams of doctors and nurses to give free medical care to our Nation's poorest people. I am proud that it is headquartered in my district and founded by my constituent, Stan Brock. RAM, as we call it, is world-renowned for its great work. For over 30 years, many thousands of people in the U.S. and worldwide have benefited from the free medical services provided by RAM's volunteers. RAM has been featured on 60 Minutes and recognized for its excellence by media outlets such as Time Magazine, BBC, and countless others. I have introduced the HEALTHIER Act of 2016, which would give a financial incentive to any State that does pass, or already has passed, laws that enable groups like RAM to volunteer more easily across State borders to provide free medical services to our Nation's neediest. Unlike many recent healthcare initiatives, this is not a Federal mandate. It uses funds already available and does not require new funding. It protects State's rights. My bill makes those who can't afford good health care a priority. It unites them with people who are always searching for ways to help others. That is what health care is all about--helping others. I ask my colleagues to cosponsor my legislation so that our doctors and nurses can volunteer their skills and expertise to help their fellow citizens who desperately need help and health.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, WMAL Radio in Washington reported yesterday that a group affiliated with Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted out a congratulations to those who forced the cancellation of the Trump rally in Chicago this past Friday, calling it a great victory. This morning, Willie Geist, a co-host of the Morning Joe television program, said that one poll showed that 88 percent said Mr. Trump had actually been helped by the extremism of the anti-Trump demonstrators in Chicago. Then Joe Scarborough reported that Mr. Trump had gone up 6 points in one poll in Florida since the Chicago protests, despite having $25 million in negative ads against him. It was sad to see such hateful intolerance on public display this past Friday, and I am pleased that no conservatives are doing things like this to Clinton or Sanders rallies. I have not endorsed anyone in this Presidential campaign, but these anti-free speech thugs and their leftist supporters should realize that all they did was make Donald Trump more popular.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Dean Stone has served as Editor of The Daily Times in Maryville, Tennessee for more than six decades. Recently, he retired from his full-time position. As The Daily Times recounted in a tribute piece devoted to Dean, he oversaw and outlasted an industry that changed from ``hot type, to computer-generated type, to the internet.'' Dean is the standard of journalistic fairness and integrity in my District and a towering figure in East Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I call to the attention of my colleagues and other readers the tribute to Dean's career that ran in The Daily Times on December 27, 2015, and wish him well on his much-earned retirement. Stone, Fixture in Tennessee Journalism Since 1948, Retires From The Daily Times (By Daryl Sullivan) H. Dean Stone has outlasted four owners and six publishers, while seeing the news move from hot type, to computer- generated type, to the Internet, all the while recording Blount County history. Stone will still be writing, but as 2015 comes to a close, he is retiring from the newsroom--but not without having made an indelible mark on Tennessee journalism and his community, a mark that has earned him the title of editor emeritus at The Daily Times. ``Dean Stone serves as an exemplar for all who are engaged in community journalism,'' said Gregg Jones, president and CEO of Jones Media Inc., owner of The Daily Times. ``Dean never limited himself to merely leading the newsroom, but served as a leader in community affairs. He understood, and exemplified, that community journalism is best practiced when one is immersed in the community one serves, and he has done so--from Alcoa Kiwanis, to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I first met Dean Stone decades ago when The Daily Times was owned and published by the late, great Tutt Bradford. It didn't take me long to see what a giant Dean was in terms of the passion he felt for his beloved community and for good journalism. Dean became, and will remain, one of Blount County's greatest treasures, and I will always be proud to claim him as a friend for whom I have great respect and affection.'' ``It's hard to express how humbled and appreciative I am to have had the opportunity to work with Dean, day in and day out, the past five years,'' Publisher Carl Esposito said. ``As he's done his entire career, he's contributed greatly to our success during that period, and I'm grateful he'll continue to contribute as editor emeritus. He's become not only a valued and trusted colleague, but a great friend as well.'' Stone arrived at what was then The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times on June 19, 1948, but did not begin his full-time journalism career until 1949, when he was named editor of the paper's first Sunday edition. The Sunday edition was short- lived--published from February through June of that year--but Stone, who was then named managing editor, began laying the groundwork for a career that has spanned more than 66 years. working journalist ``I've been very well blessed with the people I've been associated with at The Times over the years,'' Stone said. ``I've enjoyed my time here. This is my birthplace. It's my home county.'' As for his own personal success, he attributes that to a trait many leaders with successful careers fields share. ``I feel blessed in that I've had a determination to work. Now that comes not from seeking recognition, but from achievement, knowing that I've done something worthwhile,'' Stone said. ``I've received a lot of really nice recognitions, but I worked because I feel like there's a need for all humans to work and earn our keep. I'm thankful that I've been driven by that all these years, and still am.'' newspaper of record Under his direction in 1953, The Maryville-Alcoa Times won the University of Tennessee's State Press award for Public Service. Since then, it has captured literally hundreds of state and regional awards. In 1955, Tutt S. Bradford became the fifth owner of Blount County's newspaper of record, and Stone was there to greet him. In 1988, Stone was named editor. In December 1989, the Bradford family sold The Daily Times to Persis Corp., a Honolulu-based newspaper group headed by Thurston Twigg-Smith, publisher of The Honolulu Advertiser. Persis Corp. was also owner of The Knoxville Journal, what was then a daily newspaper. Stone greeted them, and said goodbye to both: The Journal ceased publication on New Years Eve 1991, and Persis Corp. later sold The Daily Times to Horvitz Newspapers, headed by Peter Horvitz. In 2010, Jones Media Inc., a Greeneville-based family newspaper group with deep roots in Tennessee journalism, purchased The Daily Times. Stone, with his deep appreciation of community and history, was here to greet them. (In December 1989, when the company that owned The Knoxville Journal purchased The Daily Times from the Bradford family, the late Phyllis Cable greeted this journalist in the newsroom with the words, ``I hope they know they bought a tremendous amount of goodwill when they bought this newspaper.'' I learned over the following years that a huge amount of that goodwill came through the work of Dean Stone.) years of service Over the years, Stone has served in numerous nonprofit organizations, even outlasting some of them: president and campaign chair of United Way of Blount County; president of Maryville-Alcoa Jaycees and Alcoa Kiwanis; board member of Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Little River Railroad Museum, Sam Houston Schoolhouse, Hillbilly Homecoming, Passion Play, Friendsville Academy, Townsend Chamber of Commerce; deacon in Maryville First Baptist Church, and chaired publication of a history of Chihowee Baptist Association churches. He founded and co-founded numerous community organizations, including the Empty Pantry Fund, in 1952, and Leadership Blount, which in 2002 awarded him the Community Leadership Award. Stone has received countless other awards, including Blount County's Pride of Tennessee Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Oklahoma, special recognition from the director of the National Park Service, and the Tennessee Air National Guard's highest award, the Minuteman Award. He was longtime chairman of the Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission, member of the Tennessee Historical Commission, and the Southeastern Regional Council of the National Parks Conservation Association. In 2003, Stone was presented the Tennessee Outstanding Achievement Award for service on state commissions, and in 2006 he was recognized for his community service with a joint state Senate and House resolution. preserving history In 2007, he was awarded the East Tennessee Historical Society's first Professional Achievement Award for his ongoing preservation of local history, most recently through a series of books entitled, ``Snapshots of Blount County History.'' During his journalism career, he has twice served as president of Tennessee Associated Press Managing Editors, is a lifelong member of the Society of Professional Journalists, a 50-year member of the Professional Photographers of America, and author of a newspaper handbook, ``Newspapers: Making the Most of the News Department.'' And perhaps the award that says it all is this: In 2013, Stone was in the inaugural group of those inducted into the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame. Stone once told an interviewer, ``To be perfectly honest with you, probably the last thing I ever thought I'd do would be to end up writing.'' Quite an accomplishment for something that was the ``last thing'' on his mind.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I want to go in a different direction at this point and mention another topic. A couple of months ago, in interviews both by National Public Radio and CBS News, I described the air marshal program as possibly the most needless, useless, wasteful program in the entire Federal Government. Shortly thereafter, the Los Angeles Times published an editorial entitled ``It's Time to Ground America's Air Marshals'' and said, ``Duncan has a point.'' The editorial pointed out that there is no data showing marshals successfully put down in-flight threats and added: ``In fact, passengers are apparently more likely to stop troublemakers on board than armed marshals.'' The Times said that air marshals are a placebo the country should stop taking. I became concerned a few years ago about this when I read in USA Today that more air marshals had been arrested than arrests by air marshals. At that point, the Service was costing $200 million per arrest. I was able to get the Appropriations Committee to start reducing their funding from a high of $966 million, after they had been given big increases each year, to $790 million this fiscal year. Having airport screeners and simply locking aircraft doors have done much more good than the many, many billions we have spent just so air marshals can fly back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, usually in first class. This money is money that could and should be spent on much more cost-effective security measures. In fact, Mr. Speaker, The Wall Street Journal, a few months after 9/ 11, when they noticed that almost every department and agency in the Federal Government was sending up requests for more money based on security, said a wise legislative policy to follow would be that, from now on, if any legislation came to the Congress with the word ``security'' attached, it should be given twice the scrutiny and four times the weight. Unfortunately, we have wasted many, many billions on different programs in this country just because they had the word security attached. We need to take the advice of The Wall Street Journal and give those bills much more scrutiny.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, the word hero is used way too lightly these days, but an extraordinary man from my district was a true hero of legendary proportions. During World War II, Army Sergeant Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee, was captured at the Battle of the Bulge by the Nazis and sent to a POW camp. When the war was nearing an end, the camp's commander ordered all of the Jewish prisoners to report for what they knew was certain death. As the highest ranking American in the camp, Sergeant Edmonds called on all 1,000 servicemen imprisoned there to step forward. The German commander explained: They cannot all be Jews. Sergeant Edmonds responded, with a pistol at his head: We are all Jews here. The German commander backed down. Sergeant Edmonds has now been designated Righteous Among the Nations, Israel's highest award for non-Jews. He is the first American serviceman to receive this honor. Much has been written about the Greatest Generation, Mr. Speaker. It is because of people like Sergeant Edmonds. His son was given this great award on behalf of his father at the Israeli Embassy last week. I am introducing a bill requesting that Sergeant Edmonds be awarded a Medal of Honor posthumously. Director Steven Spielberg has purchased the rights to Sergeant Edmonds' story, and I hope a movie about his life will come out in the near future. The story of his valor should be made known to all Americans. Federal Air Marshal Service

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Chaffetz for his support and for yielding me this time. This is a bill that has passed in three separate Congresses with overwhelming bipartisan support and very, very little opposition. In fact, in this Congress, it is cosponsored by Ranking Member Elijah Cummings. In past Congresses, it has been cosponsored by Ranking Member Edolphus Towns; and in one Congress, Chairman Waxman became the primary sponsor. So it is a very bipartisan bill. It is a very simple bill, one that I think can be supported by anyone who is opposed to secrecy in government and believes in an open, transparent system. The Presidential Library Donation Reform Act simply requires that donations to a President's library greater than $200 be disclosed to the public and posted online. It is very surprising to people that there are no laws governing these donations at this time. In fact, any person, corporation, or foreign government can donate any amount, unreported, while a President is still in office. I first introduced this bill in the 106th Congress after reading a front-page story in The Washington Times reporting that foreign governments from the Middle East were making very large donations to the proposed library for President Clinton. I was concerned about the influence of donations being made by foreign governments. However, I hasten to say this is not directed toward former President Clinton or anyone else. This bill has been introduced and passed, and I have sponsored this bill under both Republican and Democratic Presidents. I did read at one point that after I introduced this bill that President Clinton's library had received a $450,000 contribution from the ex-wife of Marc Rich, who had fled the country to evade $40 million in taxes. So these types of things have certainly raised concern. In 2013, the Sunlight Foundation's policy director endorsed my bill during a hearing on Federal Government transparency in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, saying: ``It would provide valuable information on special interests whose donations put them in close proximity with Presidents.'' Presidential libraries were once modest structures, but they have grown rapidly over the years into megamuseums devoted to a President's life and legacy. President George W. Bush's library topped $500 million in costs. That is seven times the cost of his father's library. A recent report in The New York Times noted that President Obama's library could end up costing $1 billion. As costs soar, clearly there is potential for abuse, no matter who is President. This is, as I said, not a partisan issue. It is not directed at any President. It is simply a good government bill that I think almost everyone can support, and certainly they have in the past. I urge support for this legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, my District spans a large area of East Tennessee, including parts of the Smoky Mountains in the heart of Appalachia. This region has a rich history of country music. Recently, one of my constituents, Emily Ann Roberts, rose to stardom on the national stage after placing second on the NBC television show The Voice. Emily wowed judges during her audition with a version of Lee Ann Womack's ``I Hope You Dance,'' earning her the admiration of show host and singer Blake Shelton. From there, she spent months competing each week with dozens of other contestants. During the show's run, Emily even made the iTunes Top 10 several times and climbed to 21 on the country Billboard chart for her rendition of The Judds' song ``Why Not Me.'' I have had the privilege over the years to get to know Dolly Parton. Emily was very excited when Dolly made an appearance on the show to help coach her. It was certainly a favorite moment for me and East Tennessee viewers. Emily told the Knoxville News Sentinel, ``That's such a once in a lifetime thing. I've grown up surrounded by her influence . . . when she hugged me, she said `I love my little hometown girl' and then she leaned back and she said `I'm so proud of you.' '' During the show's finale, Emily stood live in front of millions of viewers and sang with Ricky Skaggs. She was a symbol of East Tennessee graciousness when she hugged her fellow competitor after the results were announced. Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt we will hear Emily's beautiful voice for many years to come, and she will find continued success in music. I call her inspirational journey to the attention of my colleagues and other readers in hopes that it inspires many more young people to reach for the stars.