Jimmy Duncan

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight because occasionally I still read articles or hear news reports about a teacher shortage in this Nation. This is a government-induced, contrived or special interest produced shortage, because this is a problem that could be solved very simply and very quickly if we would do a few simple things. Many, many years ago, I taught American government and journalism at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, the school that the famous movie ``Remember the Titans'' was made about. I have had many, many teachers in my family. My grandmother taught for 40 years. My older sister taught for 30 years. Nobody admires teachers, I suppose, more than I do. But I think some of the certification requirements are warped, are out of whack. It makes no sense, for instance, that people who have Ph.D.s or master's degrees and long experience and great success in a particular field cannot teach in most of the public schools of this Nation. What spurred me to speak here tonight was an article that was in yesterday's Washington Post entitled ``Down to Basics on Teacher Certification.'' This article says: ``University of Virginia Professor Frederick M. Hess says states should dump their current teacher certification requirements and instead ask prospective educators three simple questions: 1. Do you have a college degree? 2. Can you pass a test in your subject area? 3. Can you pass a criminal background check? If the answers are yes, yes and yes, you could apply for any teaching job in the state. To those who are picturing a crime-free yet clueless misfit at the front of their child's class, Hess says: Give school principals some credit. Allowing someone to apply for a job is not the same as guaranteeing them employment, he wrote in a recent paper for the Progressive Policy Institute. Currently, each state sets its own complex guidelines for certification. They require a degree from an education program. The problem is that nobody agrees on what these programs should be teaching, Hess writes, in `` `Tear Down This Wall,' the case for a radical overhaul for teacher certification.'' That is what we need, Mr. Speaker, a radical overhaul of teacher certification. It makes no sense, if, say, a Ph.D. chemist who works at Oak Ridge in East Tennessee and who has spent, say, 30 years in that field and decides he would like to teach for a few years, he cannot be hired over some 22-year-old recent college graduate who has a bachelor's degree in chemistry, because that young person took a few education courses, and this Ph.D.-experienced chemist did not. It makes no sense, Mr. Speaker, that a person who has a Ph.D. in political science cannot go teach American government in most of the high schools, public high schools, in this country. Or you could name any other field. Let us say that we know that many private small colleges are struggling financially. Some of them close. Some of them cannot pay as well as the public school systems in this country. So let us say a person who has a Ph.D. in English and has taught 25 years at some small college wants to go teach in a public school. They should be able to. The school systems of this Nation, the school boards, should be allowed to say a degree in education is a plus and a factor in favor of someone being hired; but they should have the flexibility to hire somebody who has great experience in a field and has maybe even advanced degrees in a particular field, and they should not be disregarded or excluded from even being considered for teaching positions in this country just because they did not take an education course when they were in college. So I appeal to the Committee on Education and the Workforce members here and at the various State levels across this Nation to give our school boards and school systems more freedom and flexibility in who they can hire. I believe that we will get much more qualified teachers and wipe out this contrived, government-induced, pressure group- produced teacher shortage in this Nation.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, every Member is proud when one of their hometown football teams has a winning season, but I am especially proud to say that two of my District's high school teams have won a Tennessee State Championship in their respective divisions. The Austin-East Roadrunners from Knoxville and the Maryville Rebels fought their way to victory on Saturday, December 1st. For the Maryville Rebels, this was a remarkable repeat performance. As Running Back Carl Stewart said following the game, ``It's tradition.'' In fact, this is the third time in four years that the Rebels have carried the title of State Champions. One of the keys to success that these players share is the belief that every game, no matter the odds, is winnable. They consistently remain focused on the next play and give it all they have. For the Austin-East Roadrunners, this season was especially rewarding. Many of the Roadrunners had played together since they were seven-years-old, and Saturday's game offered the chance to end their season side-by-side as champions. As Austin-East Senior Mark Andrews said following the game, ``Just tell Knoxville we've got a state championship * * *'' To Mark and his teammates I say, I believe your team's efforts deserve to be shared with Knoxville and with the entire House of Representatives. Congratulations. Those of us who have played football at any level know that it requires a lot of hard work, sweat and even, from time to time, a few tears beginning in summer training to achieve a state championship in December. These high school students have shown us all what can be accomplished with the right focus and dedication to excellence. I believe we can all learn a lesson from the fine young men on both teams. Head Coaches George Quarles of Maryville and Stanton Stevens of Austin-East, along with every player, coach, parent and fan, should be proud of these teams' efforts--I know I am.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the generosity of and pay tribute to one of my constituents--Mr. Allan Jones. Mr. Jones lives in Bradley County, Tennessee, where he grew up. During his high school years, he became a member of the wrestling team. He has said that wrestling taught him determination, discipline and character. In the years since his high school wrestling career, he has certainly exhibited these qualities. Most recently, he did so with a large donation to the Cleveland High School to build a first-class wrestling center. This donation represents more than $1 million that Mr. Jones has given to the sport of wrestling in his hometown. This is the largest amount ever given by one individual to a public high school in Tennessee. Groundbreaking on this new facility was held only weeks after the gift was made, and the construction was completed in six months. The center was named the W.A. Jones Arena after Mr. Jones' father. This 10,000 square foot facility will seat 500 people and be open year- round for wrestling events. The Cleveland High School wrestling coach described the new center when he said, ``This is a dream come true. I can tell you that we'll be the envy of the wrestling teams in the area''. Mr. Jones has also provided financial assistance for needed equipment, and scholarship funds for local wrestlers. In addition, he organized and funded the first Wrestling Kids Club. He has also made many other contributions in his community that are really too lengthy to mention. Mr. Jones is someone who cares about the young people in our Country, and his efforts will have a positive impact for years to come. Mr. Speaker, I believe we can all do more to give back to our communities. Allan Jones has set an example for all Americans.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the National Air Transportation Association and its leader, James K. Coyne, for coming up with an innovative Sky ID program. This plan would identify frequent flyers on commercial and general aviation planes and aviation personnel who could be classified as trusted travelers. They would have to undergo an intensive background check to be included in this program, but it would be completely voluntary, and people would be free to choose whether to participate or not. Their carry-on and other bags would still be screened, but this plan would be a significant step toward the goal of shortening the lines and reducing the delays at our Nation's airports. The plan would use advanced digital identification technology and would produce smart cards with biometric template information so they could not be used by others. This plan would be similar to security systems used in very sensitive areas by the Department of Defense. I want to encourage and urge the FAA to work closely with the National Air Transportation Association in this effort to decrease delays and, at the same time, increase security in a very low-cost way at our Nation's airports.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to officially recognize the recent accomplishment of my constituent and friend, Knox County Commission Chairman, Leo Cooper. Commissioner Cooper was recently reappointed as chairman of the Knox County Commission by a unanimous vote and is beginning his third term in this important role. Mr. Cooper's leadership and genuine desire to serve the public are reflected in the fact that he is now the longest-serving Chairman in the history of the Knox County Commission. In Washington, we often overlook the critical role local governments play in the lives of the American people. By focusing on broad legislative initiatives, we can easily lose sight of the tremendous work that must be done at the county and city levels. Commissioner Cooper's reappointment as chairman will not be covered by national news, but I believe it serves as an opportunity to highlight, not only his efforts, but also the efforts of all Americans who have committed themselves to serving in local elected office. Since 1986, Commissioner Leo Cooper has served the men, women and families of the Seventh District of Knox County as a tireless advocate and friend. Prior to being elected to local government, Chairman Cooper's career was dedicated to education and improving the lives of Knox County's young adults. Whether as an elected official or a schoolteacher and principle, Mr. Cooper has continually committed himself to public service. The people of the seventh district recognize this, and I am pleased that the other dedicated members of the Knox County Commission do as well. I add these remarks to the Record today so that every member of the House of Representatives can Join me in thanking Mr. Leo Cooper and every elected official in our respective districts who play such vital roles in the well-being of our communities.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, we are tightening security everywhere as we should, but we are about to make a big mistake by reinstituting a big loophole. Some are seeking to revive the part of our immigration law called section 245(i). This law lets illegal aliens, if they are married or related to a legal resident or sponsored by an employer, simply pay a $1,000 fee for instant legalization. These lawbreakers do not have to leave the country and they do not even have to undergo any background checks. Section 245(i) violates usual legal requirements. It is an amnesty. It led to a rush of sham marriages last April when the 245(i) deadline expired. Some sham marriages have been connected with accused terrorists. Without background checks, we do not know if the illegals using 245(i) are terrorists or criminals or sympathizers of our enemies. Mr. Speaker, we should permanently dump 245(i). Illegal aliens should have to go back to their home country first. We need to be a nation of laws. We cannot afford this security risk.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report. First, I want to commend my chairman, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young). This has been the first really difficult, major test of his new leadership of our committee and he passed with flying colors. I want to commend my predecessor as chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), who has done a really outstanding job in leading this legislation through the process. I also want to compliment the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), my good friends, the ranking members, two of the finest men I know, and also say thank you to the staff, as others have done. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, more people are killed in 4\1/2\ months on our Nation's highways than have been killed in all U.S. aviation accidents combined since the Wright brothers flew in 1903. U.S. aviation is incredibly safe, and the general public needs to know that and hear it again and again and again. But it has become even safer since the tragic events of September 11 because of the things we are doing, and as has been pointed out by the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), this bill today will do more for aviation security than any bill in the history of this Nation. It has all of the things that people have suggested and wanted: 100 percent screening of bags, strengthening of cockpit doors, air marshals on our larger flights, increased training for screeners and flight crews, more extensive background checks for everyone who has access to planes and the tarmac areas; cameras in the cabins so that pilots will know what is going on in case of anything strange happening; liability provisions for people to protect people who help out in cases of air piracy. It makes these screeners Federal employees, but it does not give them the civil service protection that does nothing for good, dedicated employees, but serves to protect the worst of employees, because we want our best employees in these screening positions. This bill is a good bill. It is one that will reassure the general flying public. I am proud to be a small part of it. I appreciate the chairman allowing me to be a part of the conference, and I urge passage of this outstanding legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I believe that all of us who are fortunate enough to serve in this House consider it a great privilege to do so, and we are very grateful to our constituents for giving us this privilege. I think most of us feel that the best part, the most gratifying part of our job is that we are able to help many people, and we receive many very kind thank you notes and letters. But certainly a close second is that we are each able to make some very close friendships with other Members from around the country, people we probably never would have met if we had never been able to serve in this House. I consider myself very lucky to have become friends with former Congressman Mel Hancock of Missouri. Mel came to Congress just a short time after I did, and this was only because I was sworn in the day after the 1988 election, and he came in in January. I rise today to pay tribute to Mel because he and his wonderful wife, Sug, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in Springfield, Missouri, this Sunday. Mel was one of the best examples of a citizen legislator that I have ever known. He was as honest as it is possible to be. He was a straight shooter. He always told the truth. If he could not support a bill, he told the people who were for it that he could not support it. He was one man who was never swayed by any special interests. He was and is a patriotic man who loves this country. His life has been the American dream come true. He did not have everything handed to him on a silver platter. He lived and worked for a while, for about a year and a half, in my hometown of Knoxville as a representative of International Harvester; and he and Sug had a son born there in 1954. I guess I am glad that he left, though, because both of us could not have been elected to Congress if he had stayed there. Mel started a bank security business and built that small business up from nothing to become one of the most successful small businesses in the State of Missouri. Probably from his small business background he became a staunch conservative, very much opposed to Federal rules and regulations and red tape, and absolutely horrified by waste and high taxes. He believed that the people of Missouri knew better how to spend their own money than Federal bureaucrats could spend it for them. He believed in a government of, by, and for the people, rather than one of, by, and for the bureaucrats. He led the fight in Missouri for the Hancock amendment to limit taxes because he knew it is not possible to ever satisfy government's appetite for money or land. He did not win every race or every election, but Sug stood by him through thick and thin, the losses as well as the victories. He won his seat in Congress running on the slogan of ``Give 'Em Mel,'' and he did just that in his 8 years of service here. He served from 1989 to 1997 and always won overwhelming reelections. He could have been easily reelected in 1996; but he had committed to an 8-year term limit, and he was a man of his word. In fact, probably about the only issue that Mel and I ever disagreed on was that of term limits. Mel started something called the Hancock Poll for those of us who had come to Congress with him, always rating us compared to his votes, and some of us always thought it was a great honor if we came out very close to Mel in the Hancock Poll. Shortly after the first election in 1988, Mel went with other freshmen to the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; but because he found that there is not really true academic freedom in this country on our college campuses, and particularly in a place like Harvard, Mel got fed up and walked out on Harvard after just a short time there. In his service here in this Congress, he became a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and he was a leader on the Committee on Ways and Means on all the major issues that that very powerful committee acts on. He was a pilot, and he was very much interested in aviation issues; and during my 6 years as Chairman of the subcommittee aviation, he always had good suggestions and comments to make in regard to the very important aviation issues facing this country. Mr. Speaker, Mel Hancock was and is a true-blue American who believes in free enterprise, private property and individual freedom, the things that made this country great. He voted that way here in the House. Mel Hancock helped make this Nation great, and our country is a better place today because of men and women like Mel and Sug Hancock. Mel Hancock is one of the finest men I have ever known, and I know that all of my colleagues who served here with him and got to know Mel join me in wishing him and Sug a wonderful and a happy 50th wedding anniversary this coming Sunday.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, Jerry Solomon was a great American. I think those of us who had the privilege to serve with him in the Congress know that he would consider this one of the finest compliments he could receive. He loved this Country. He was a Marine and proud of it. He was a patriot in the very best sense of that word. He was a loyal Republican who fought hard for the things he believed in. But he also had as many friends on the other side of the aisle as anyone in the House. I always called him my Leader, because I respected him so much that I always watched to see how he voted and then usually followed his lead. This Nation is a better place because of Jerry Solomon. He was one of the finest men I have ever known, and I want, in this small way, to express my great appreciation for his service and my heartfelt condolences to his family.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this bill by the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young), and I want to commend him and the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Mica) for their work on this legislation. This bill, the Airport Security Federalization Act, will do more to enhance and improve aviation security than any bill in the history of this Nation. We need to tell the American people the true situation as it stands today: that is, it is safer to fly now than ever before. This bill, the bill of the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young), will make it even safer. This bill provides the legal framework and funding for strengthening cockpit doors; providing air marshals on flights where they might be needed; cameras, so pilots can see what is going on in the cabin; expanded background checks for all key personnel; and most importantly, improve standards and training for airport screeners. I had the privilege, Mr. Chairman, of chairing the Subcommittee on Aviation for the past 6 years, and remain active on the subcommittee today. Three years ago, I suggested establishing a school for screeners, but there was almost no interest at the FAA in this proposal. In 1996, and again last year in FAA bills, we put in requirements for certifying screeners and improving their training and other security measures. As of September 11, the FAA still had not completed the work required under these bills. This is another reason why we are so concerned about turning this situation totally and completely over to the Federal Government. We did expand the list of crimes which would disqualify people from jobs as screeners. To be fair, no one ever dreamed that anyone would be mentally sick and warped and evil enough to use our commercial airliners in kamikaze missions killing thousands. But now we know, and this bill is the best response we can give to the situation we find ourselves in. The most controversial part of this legislation is whether to make the screeners Federal employees. I suggest that the former chief of security for El Al, the Israeli airline, was quoted in yesterday's Washington Times as saying this would be a big mistake. Unfortunately, we have a civil service system that does almost nothing for good, dedicated employees, but it provides great and undeserved protection for the worst employees. Everyone knows it is almost impossible to fire a Federal civil servant and extremely hard even to transfer one. We need to increase the pay and training of screeners. We need to have the best possible people in these positions. We can accomplish this much faster and continue to improve this work force much easier by having strict Federal oversight and requirements, but leaving these employees in the much more efficient private sector. This is the European model. Skyjackings in Europe went way down in the 1990s after screeners were largely privatized. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that 85 to 90 percent of the screeners around the world are private employees. Most of these are at airports formerly totally government run until they found out that the private free enterprise system works better. Mr. Chairman, about three years ago, I was the guest of the British Aviation Authority. They wanted to show me their airports and their whole operation, but what they were most proud of was their security provided by a private workforce. Their airport security and Israel's are considered the best in the world. I am especially pleased about a provision in this bill relieving persons who assist in fighting air piracy from any potential liability and also a provision I requested to give preference in hiring to retired military personnel. I urge all my colleagues to support Chairman Young's outstanding aviation security bill.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation which will correct a great injustice being endured by many widows and widowers throughout this Nation. Current Social Security law requires that those who have lost spouses surrender their survivor benefits when entering into a new marriage. Many of those who have lost spouses count these benefits as their only source of income and rely upon them for continuing their daily lives. to force these men and women to abandon survivor funds simply because they enter into a marriage after their spouse's death is outrageous. This measure would be of very modest expense to the government, and the costs incurred are certainly justified by the positive results derived from the correction of this oversight. Senior citizens, a sector of our society often plagued by low incomes and tight budgets, would be the primary beneficiaries of this legislation, and we owe it to these citizens to provide them with every possible avenue to enjoy a proper standard of living. Mr. Speaker, this bill would ensure that those who enter into a new, long-lasting marriage are not punished simply for finding another loving spouse. It is fiscally sound and morally correct. I thank you and urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, although we were not in regular session this past Monday, I would like to remind my Colleagues that September 17th was Citizenship Day and that this week is Constitution Week. The tragic events of the past week should remind us just how important our Citizenship and our Constitution are and what they mean to each and everyone of us. This year's observances of Citizenship Day and Constitution Week come as we mourn for those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11th. The National Conference on Citizenship urges every American to honor the victims by working constructively within our democratic process, so the United States will remain the world's foremost defender of freedom and a beacon of tolerance toward all men and women of good will. The National Conference of Citizenship was founded in 1946 to sustain the unity of purpose that had bound together all Americans during World War II. In 1953, Congress granted this Conference a Charter that charged the organization ``To encourage ever more effective participation in citizenship activities and to promote a spirit of cooperation on the part of all citizens.'' Given the events of the past week, let us rededicate ourselves to this purpose. We are about to enter a period of our history that will perhaps be as important to our freedom as were the trials and tribulations of World War II. Over the past few days, we have seen how all our lives are bound together. Today, let all Americans continue to express this newfound sense of unity of purpose that we have not seen since World War II and remember that we are a nation of laws and principle.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I am amazed at the many heroic and kind deeds that we have seen since the horrible terrorist attacks of September 11. The Nation has developed a unity of spirit and patriotism such as I have never seen in my lifetime. This spirit has been captured in a beautiful way in a poem written by one of my constituents, Brittni Bates. This poem, entitled ``United We Stand,'' is even more impressive, considering it was written by a 13-year-old middle school student. This Nation would be a much better place if we had more young people like Brittni Bates, and I would like to call her poem to the attention of my colleagues and other readers of the Congressional Record. United We Stand Blood was shed for this land, many men took a stand. Now, again we unite. Now . . . again we must fight We will protect our nation, and protect our civilization. Freedom was won with a heavy price. Now again we must roll the dice. United we stand for our land. So now we come to pray, to our Lord and nation, we will obey. The deaths of those were pointless and cruel. United we stand to protect our land. To banish hate and not discriminate. And reclaim the declaration to our nation. Terrorists beware! You have gone too far! For United We Stand To Protect Our Land. God Bless America, Home of the Brave. --by Brittni N. Bates, age 13, Holston Middle School

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, many thousands of families across this Nation were hurt in terrible and tragic ways by the terrorist attacks last week in New York City and Washington, D.C. For them, there will be no closure, a word I dislike, because I believe it is simply a word used by those not directly affected to make themselves feel better. Those who lost loved ones or those who suffered very severe injuries will have to learn to cope with their losses and/or their injuries in the best way possible, but it will be extremely difficult, especially for parents who lost sons or daughters or small children who lost a mother or father. So I certainly do not in any way want to minimize their losses. But, there has been an outpouring of love, kindness and patriotism like I have never seen in my lifetime. There are thousands of people across this country attempting to do everything they can to bring good out of this bad, triumph out of tragedy--horrible, horrible tragedy. We have all been moved by many wonderful people and the stories of the good they have done. But I want to especially call to the attention of my colleagues, and readers of the record all over the Nation, the actions of Melissa Kesling and the words of Justin Wright, two outstanding young people from East Tennessee. Melissa is a 15-year-old sophomore at Farragut High School in West Knox County, just outside the City of Knoxville. She had worked for many months as a clerk in a doctor's office and as a babysitter to save money for a trip to Spain. On her own, without her parents ever knowing, she donated her entire savings of $1,100 to the American Red Cross to assist in their work arising out of these attacks. Justin is a fifth-grade student at Ball Camp Elementary School, also in Knox County. He was given an assignment to write about his feelings following the tragedies of September 11. He wrote the following words (words I wish all Americans could read): Attack on the U.S.A. I wonder why someone would do such a horrible thing? Whoever caused this tragedy will be greatly punished. At first I was scared because we live near Oak Ridge, which has lots of nuclear weapons. If the terrorists had attacked Oak Ridge, we might have been injured or killed. There may be a war, but I am not afraid. Many men will be put to the test. I believe in their ability to find and punish the morons responsible. I am still very upset, and I wish I had some way to help the government figure out who is responsible. If I were old enough, I would volunteer to be a fighter pilot and help punish these terrorists. I feel so sorry for all the victims and their families. I am glad that my family was neither on the airplanes nor in the damaged buildings. If I were old enough, I would go to New York and Washington to help the victims. I have chosen not to dwell on this tragedy. I will live my life in a cautious manner, but I will not let the threat of terrorism ruin my life. Our money says, ``In God We Trust'', and this is what we should do. We need to put our trust in God each and every day. The Lord is our shepherd, and He will guide us through the rest of our lives. I AM PROUD TO BE AN

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, the attacks of last week were the most evil, tragic actions ever carried out in this country. I have said many times that we need to take the strongest possible action against bin Laden and other terrorists. However, we must be very careful not to overreact. If we go overboard and have an almost panic- type reaction, we will be doing just what the terrorist want us to do. The Wall Street Journal reports today that bin Laden's fortune is nowhere close to the $300 million stated in some stories, that his fortune has been wildly exaggerated, and bin Laden's network is a ``primitive and cheap force.'' Besides that, we have just appropriated $40 billion in emergency funding, and today we start on a bill to give the military the biggest increase in history following 6 straight years of multi-billion dollar increases. I believe bin Laden has probably been shocked by the worldwide condemnation he received even from people and countries he probably thought would support him. We need to take the terrorists' threats very seriously, but it would be a very bad mistake to greatly overreact. We need to carry on the other functions of government too, and as President Bush has urged, try to get back to normal as soon as we possibly can.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I rise in the strongest possible support of this resolution and to condemn the cowards who perpetrated these horrendous acts against the people of the United States; certainly what many people say is the darkest day in American history. I believe we must do everything humanly possible to find out who is responsible for these acts of terror and take the strongest possible action against them. We need to show the world in a very determined and dramatic way that we will not stand for this type of senseless violence. I will support the President in taking the strongest possible action against the cruel and cowardly terrorists who are responsible for yesterday's tragedies, as well as any country which offers safe harbor to these inhuman thugs. Most importantly, right now, Mr. Speaker, our sympathy should go out in the most heartfelt way to the families of those who have fallen victim to these unspeakable tragic events. The American public and the world should know that this Congress, working closely with the administration, will not rest until these mass murderers are brought to swift decisive justice and punishment. We must recognize that there are fundamental security problems in our country that allow such incomprehensible events to take place. We need to work with the FAA, the Department of Transportation, as well as the airlines to secure our airports and our airplanes against people who would cause such destruction. I have spent the last 6 years as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation. We need to immediately place U.S. marshals or other law enforcement officials on all commercial flights. We also need to focus more resources on and do more detailed background screens on the men and women who are the security screeners in the airports across our country. We need to make it impossible for terrorists to compromise the cockpits of our airliners by retrofitting all aircraft with an impenetrable barrier between the cockpits and passenger cabins. Most importantly, we must restore the confidence of the flying public in the security and integrity of our commercial aviation infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this resolution. It is the least we can do, and we all need to join together in supporting those who have suffered so much in these horrible tragedies.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, we can never satisfy government's appetite for money or land. If we gave every department or agency up here twice what they are getting now, they would be happy for a short time but then they would be coming back to us crying about a shortfall in funding. But it is this threat to land and to private property that especially concerns me tonight. The Federal Government today owns over 30 percent of the land in this country, and State and local governments and quasi-governmental agencies own another 20 percent. So that half the land today is in some type of public control. The alarming thing is the rapid rate at which that government control of land has been increasing in the last 30 or 40 years. Then on top of that, we continue to put more and more restrictions on what people can do with the private property that remains in their hands. We have to realize at some point, Mr. Speaker, that private property is one of the few things that has set us apart from countries like the former Soviet Union and Cuba and other socialist and communist nations. We need to recognize that private property is a very, very important part of our freedom and our prosperity. I have talked about these restrictions on what people can do with their land. There are groups all over the country that protest any time anybody wants to dig for coal, drill for any oil, cut any trees, or produce any natural gas. What they are doing is hurting the poor and lower- and middle-income people most of all by destroying jobs and driving up prices on everything. I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues tonight a column that was in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago called ``Rural Cleansing'' by Kimberley Strassel, who is an assistant editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal. She wrote a column, most of which I want to read at this time. She talks about the cut off of water to 1,500 farm families in Oregon and California's Klamath Basin in April because of the sucker fish: ``The environmental groups behind the cut off continue to declare that they were simply concerned for the welfare of a bottom feeder. But last month these environmentalists revealed another motive when they submitted a polished proposal for the government to buy off the farmers and move them off their lands. This is what is really happening in Klamath. Call it rural cleansing. It is repeating itself in environmental battles across the country. ``Indeed, the goal of many environmental groups from the Sierra Club and others is no longer to protect nature. It is to expunge humans from the countryside. ``The strategy of these environmental groups is nearly always the same. To sue or lobby the government into declaring rural areas off limits to people who live and work there. The tools for doing this include the Endangered Species Act and local preservation laws. In some cases, owners lose their property outright. More often, the environmentalists' goal is to have restrictions placed on the land that either render it unusable or persuade owners to leave of their own accord.'' The column continues that there was a court decision in this case. ``Since that decision, the average value of an acre of farm property in Klamath has dropped from $2,500 to about $35. Most owners have no other source of income. So with the region suitably desperate, the enviros dropped their bomb. Last month they submitted a proposal urging the government to buy the farmers off. ``The council has suggested a price of $4,000 an acre which makes it more likely the owners will sell only to the government. While the amount is more than the property's original value, it is nowhere near enough to compensate people for the loss of their livelihoods and their children's future. ``The environmental groups have picked their fight specifically with the farmers but its acts will likely mean the death of an entire community. The farming industry there will lose $250 million this year. But the property tax revenues will also decrease under new property assessments. That will strangle road and municipal projects. Local business are dependent on the farmers and are now suffering financially. Should the farm acreage be cleared of people entirely meaning no tax and no shoppers, the community is likely to disappear.'' ``Environmentalists argue,'' this columnist continues, ``that farmers should never have been in the dry Klamath Valley in the first place and that they put undue stress on the land. But the West is a primarily arid region. Its history is one of turning inhospitable areas into thriving communities through prudent and thoughtful relocation of water.'' The columnist goes on, ``But, of course, this is the goal. Environmentalist groups have spoken openly of their desire to concentrate people into the cities turning everything outside city limits into a giant park. Do the people who give money to environmental groups realize the end game is to evict people from their land? I doubt it.'' Ms. Strassel says, ``The American dream has always been to own a bit of property on which to pursue happiness. And we are very slowly doing away with that in this country.''

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to come over today for the discussion of the flag amendment because of meeting with some of my constituents and because of an important markup in the Committee on Resources. However, I would like to tell my colleagues and others about an article or a column that was written in the July 9 issue of Newsweek Magazine by a woman named Joan Jacobsen. She told that she was an antiwar protestor in the late 1960s and early 1970s and had many very bitter arguments with her father who was a brigadier general in the Army. Then she wrote a few days ago about her father's passing. She said this: ``Two days after my father died, as the visiting hours at the funeral home ended and we were putting on our coats, there was one last visitor. He was a stooped, solitary man who walked slowly to the open coffin and gazed down at my father, lying in his military dress uniform. Suddenly, the visitor stood up straight, and still looking at his Army comrade, gave the brisk salute of the spirited young GI that he must have been 55 years ago. Then he slowly lowered his arm and became an old man once more, turning and shuffling out the door. His gallant gesture has come to symbolize a profound shift in my feelings toward the United States military.'' Ms. Jacobsen continued: ``The following day at the funeral service, the soldiers draped the American flag over the coffin and accompanied it from the church to the cemetery. As we gathered at my father's grave site under a light December rain, four members of the honor guard stood at attention. One soldier raised his rifle and fired three shots while the bugler played Taps. The flag was removed from the coffin and slowly and meticulously folded into a triangular shape. After one soldier inserted the empty casings into the flag's angled pocket, the rest of the guard lined up in formation behind the highest-ranking officer, who approached my teenage son. The officer, holding the folded flag on his outstretched palms and looking straight at my boy, said, `Please accept this flag on behalf of a grateful Nation.' ``And so it was, at the end, the United States Army that provided my family and me with a noble conclusion to my father's life. I began to realize that the military traditions I had once considered unquestionably rigid endure because they serve a purpose. Every morning, as long as he was able,'' and I want everyone to hear this, especially. ``Every morning, as long as he was able, my father raised the American flag on the pole outside his house, observed a moment of silence, then stood at attention and saluted. I had always thought this exercise sweetly eccentric,'' Ms. Jacobsen said, ``but also meaningless. Now, I envy the ritual.'' Mr. Speaker, I think in at least a small way, this lady has explained what this flag means to so many people in this country, and that this flag is a whole lot more than just a simple piece of cloth. In the great song of the ``Battle Hymn of the Republic,'' Mr. Speaker, it says, ``In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea, with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me. As he died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.'' That is what so much of what we do today is all about. The battle or the struggle for freedom is ongoing. It is never ending. There are always tyrants and dictators from abroad who would take our freedom away if they had the slightest chance to do so, and there are always liberal elitists and bureaucrats from within who want to live our lives for us and spend our money for us and take away our freedom, slowly but surely. I think of this in relation to a hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks this morning. We talked about the Antiquities Act. Mr. Speaker, one can never satisfy government's appetite for money or land. We talked in the hearing this morning about how 70 million acres have been locked up, almost all of it just in the last few years, and that 70 million acres does not even count what we have in the national parks, in the national forests and all of that. Mr. Speaker, if we do not wake up and realize that we are slowly, very slowly doing away with private property in this country, we are about to lose a very important element of our freedom and our prosperity, and we are about to lose the freedom that this man fought for and supported all of those years and why so many people have given their lives for this country and in defense of that flag. I am very pleased that this Miss Jacobsen realized that and wrote such a moving column in Newsweek. I just wanted to call that to the attention of my colleagues tonight.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, John A. Rapanos owned a 175-acre tract of land a few miles west of Bay City, Michigan. He cut some timber, removed the stumps, and brought in a considerable quantity of sand as fill. Now, this was on his own private property. However, the Michigan State government ruled that 29 acres contained wetlands, and a federal permit should have been obtained first. Mr. Rapanos was indicted, convicted, and the judge reluctantly imposed a $185,000 fine, put him on probation for 3 years, and required 200 hours of community service. Then a few months ago, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the judge, because incredibly they said he had given Mr. Rapanos too lenient a sentence. Mr. Speaker, when something like this can take place, I wonder if we really live in a free country any more. The judge whom the 6th Circuit unbelievably found to be too lenient said at one point, ``I don't know if it's just a coincidence that I just sentenced Mr. Gonzales, a person selling dope on the streets of the United States. He is an illegal person here. He's not an American citizen. He has a prior criminal record. So here we have a person who comes to the United States and commits crimes of selling dope, and the government asks me to put him in prison for 10 months. And then we have an American citizen who buys land, pays for it with his own money, and he moves some sand from one end to the other and the government wants me to give him 63 months in prison.'' And the judge said, ``Now, if that isn't our system gone crazy, I don't know what is. And I am not going to do it.'' Of course, he was reversed. This story was told in a recent column by nationally syndicated columnist James J. Kilpatrick entitled, ``Wetlands Case Shows Government Run Amok.'' Mr. Speaker, we can never satisfy government's appetite for money or land. If we gave every Department or agency up here twice what they are getting, they might be happy for a short time; but they would very soon be back to us crying about a shortfall of funds. Now, the Federal Government owns slightly over 30 percent of the land in this country and State and local governments and quasigovernmental entities own another 20 percent, half the land in some type of public ownership; but they always want more. And the two most disturbing things are, one, the rapid rate at which government has increased its taking in the last 30 years or 40 years; and, two, the growing number of restrictions, rules, regulations, and red tape the government is applying to the land that is left in private hands. And some very left-wing environmental extremists are even promoting something called the Wildlands Project with the goal of taking half the land that is left in private hands and making it public. No one seems to get concerned until it is their land that is being taken or their home. Talk about urban sprawl, if you feel overcrowded now, wait until the government takes half the private land that is left. Already, there is so little private land that is still developable in many areas that builders are forced to build houses on postage-stamp size lots. Fairfax County, Virginia, recently had a man placed in jail for about 3 months because he had the audacity to put a golf driving range on his own land in competition with a county government driving range. He even spent huge money, I believe it was over $100,000, placing trees and complying with all sorts of ridiculous requirements; but when they told him he was going to have to spend many more thousands more to move trees they had ordered him to put in in the first place and basically undo what they ordered him to do, he fought back. I ask again, Mr. Speaker, is this still a free country? The Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman said, ``You cannot have a free society without private property.'' Linda Bowles, a national syndicated columnist, a few days ago in a column entitled, ``Endangered Species versus Farmers,'' wrote this, ``In his 1992 best seller, `The Way Things Ought To Be,' Rush Limbaugh wrote, `With the collapse of Marxism, environmentalism has become the new refuge of socialist thinking. The environment is a great way to advance a political agenda that favors central planning and an intrusive government. What better way to control someone's property than to subordinate one's private property rights to environmental concerns.' '' Ms. Bowles said at the time, this sounded like hyperbole, but it was not. Limbaugh's warning was worthy and prophetic. I realized this a few years ago when I came across a story concerning a farmer in Kern County, California, who was arrested for allegedly running over an endangered kangaroo rat while tilling his own land. His tractor was seized and held for 4 months, and he faced a year in jail and a $200,000 fine. As time has passed, it is now clear, Ms. Bowles said, what happened to the farmer in Kern County was not an anomaly, but part of a developing pattern of government invasion of private rights. On April 7, 2001, the federal government's Bureau of Reclamation cut off irrigation water to 1,500 family farms in the Klamath Basin on the Oregon-California border. Based on ``citizen lawsuits'' filed by environmental activists, all the available water will go to save fish, primarily the sucker fish. A federal judge denied an appeal by the farmers saying, ``Congress has spoken in the plainest of words, making it abundantly clear that the balance has been struck in favor of affording endangered species the highest of priorities.'' While the farmers are going bankrupt, the legal bills of the environmentalists are paid for by the American taxpayers under the ``citizen lawsuit'' provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Mr. Speaker if we don't soon start putting people and private property before sucker fish and kangaroo rats, it is us who will be the suckers and we will lose our freedom and prosperity. Meanwhile, based on a successful lawsuit filed by the Earth, Justice Legal Defense Fund, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has just designated 4.1 million acres as critical habitats for the endangered California red-legged frog. Nearly 70 percent of the acres are private property. The protected habitats hopscotch across 28 California counties, including key agricultural counties, adding layers of new regulations on already over-regulated private land. No activity of any kind on this land will be permitted until it has been proven that such activity will in no way affect the well-being of the beloved red-legged frog. Another endangered critter wreaking damage in California is the fairy shrimp, which thrives in what environmentalists call ``vernal pools'' and what ordinary folk call standing water or mud puddles. Anyway, when these puddles evaporate, the fairy shrimp eggs nest in the mud until the next seasonal rains hatch them. Apparently the deal is this: if you drain or spray standing water, you get an award from the mosquito control people and a summons from the fairy shrimp police. The protection of these ``vernal pools'' is a nightmare to California farmers, developers, and even local governments. For example, environmental concerns for the shrimp cost Fresno County a six-month, $250,000 delay in the construction of an important freeway. However, that's cheap compared to the undisclosed cost of moving the site of a major new University of California campus in Merced, Calif., because there are too many vernal pools on it. California is the nation's largest producer of food crops and commodities, including fruits, nuts, vegetables, melons, livestock and dairy products. This massive agricultural industry depends entirely on irrigation for water. In California, rainfall is slight or non-existent from early May to mid-October. Land regulations, fuel costs and electrical shortages are disastrous to farmers. But the most critical issue for them and for all Californians is water. The eco-inspired ban on the construction of dams and water storage facilities to catch the runoff from winter rains and spring snow melts is limiting the supply of water even as demand for it is surging. It is a disaster in the making. Deja vu! While there is local outrage in California and elsewhere over these abuses, there is little national outrage. One hopes this is due to a lack of coverage by the mainstream media, rather than a fatalistic American submission to state socialism. One fears that only in retrospect, when it is too late to resist, will it be understood that freedoms have been irretrievably forfeited and the Constitution irreversibly abandoned.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, the Scripps Howard News Service reported Sunday that IRS records show 340,000 Federal employees or Federal retirees have failed to pay their income taxes. 340,000, including, get this, almost 3,000 IRS employees. This information came from a report prepared by the government's own General Accounting Office. Already we know from news reports that almost half of the tax advice that the IRS itself gives out is wrong. Now we discover from this GAO report that while the IRS comes after private citizens, it cannot clean its own house. Almost 3,000 IRS employees not paying their own taxes is scandalous. Federal ethics laws require Federal employees to pay their taxes as a condition of employment. These 3,000 IRS employees who have not paid their taxes should be ordered to pay immediately, or they should be fired. But the best thing, Madam Speaker, we could do would be to tear up or burn the confusing, convoluted Tax Code we now have, come up with a new, simple system and do away with the IRS monster as we know it today.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and offer my congratulations to my friend Holly Warlick. Holly was inducted this past weekend into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in our hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Holly was the first athlete, male or female, to have her number retired at the University of Tennessee. She was a star point guard and 4-year starter for the Lady Vols from 1977 to 1980. She was placed on the U.S. Olympic team that year and later played in the first women's professional basketball league. For the past 16 years, she has been an assistant coach to the great Pat Head Summit, and the Lady Vols basketball team has won many national championships and is always ranked among the Nation's top. Holly Warlick is an inspiration to young girls and women everywhere and one of our finest citizens. I congratulate her on a well-deserved honor, her induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, in this week's National Journal, Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, calls the number and length of FBI background checks ``insane.'' I read in Insight Magazine last week that only 55 nominees for sub- Cabinet positions have been confirmed out of 436 positions. Paul Light of the Brookings Institution's Presidential Appointee Initiative was quoted as saying that the Bush administration will be ``lucky'' to have these positions filled by March 1 of next year. In other words, the Bush administration, which is already being blamed for problems that started long before it came into office, will not really have its people in upper-level positions until well over a year after the President was sworn in. This is ridiculous. Mr. Ornstein said most of the 1,250 top positions should have a simple, quick computer background check. I read in the Knoxville News-Sentinel that even Senator Howard Baker who spent 18 years in the Senate and 2 years as chief of staff at the White House had to fill out a detailed 85-page questionnaire, one question of which was, ``Have you ever been involved in a controversial issue?'' Mr. Speaker, this process has become ridiculously bureaucratic and needs to be greatly speeded up.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) for yielding me this time. Madam Speaker, every Saturday in the fall, football coaches across America are cheered on by thousands of fans for their work on the field. Today we have a resolution on the House floor which honors them for their work off the field. The resolution that I have introduced, H.Con.Res. 100, recognizes the American Football Coaches Association and its efforts to protect our country's children. The American Football Coaches Association has teamed up with Clear Channel Communications, one of our Nation's leading companies, to distribute child identification kits to thousands of parents every year. These kits, which are handed out at no cost to families, allow parents to fingerprint their children and keep the prints at home. Should their child ever become missing, parents can turn over these fingerprint records to local law enforcement authorities who use the information to help locate the missing children. The National Child Identification Program distributes these free kits to parents and guardians at college football games across the Nation. This program began in 1997. In that year alone, 2.1 million of the child ID kits were given to parents. Since then, over 8 million kits have been distributed at football games. The stadium effort was so successful that the coaches have worked with Clear Channel Communications to reach even more families and more people in their communities. Football coaches across America have promoted this program on the more than 1200 radio stations owned or operated by Clear Channel Communications. Clear Channel has been instrumental in providing the program publicity as well as recruiting other sponsors to help finance the purchase of these kits. Unfortunately, 800,000 children are reported missing each year in the United States. This is a tragedy that should never happen. The American Football Coaches Association and Clear Channel Communications have taken the initiative to try to help parents and authorities return missing children to their homes. In my district, the coach of the University of Tennessee football team, my good friend Phillip Fulmer, has taken an active role in promoting this program. Hundreds of thousands of these kits have been handed out at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. Other individuals who have helped with this effort include coaches and athletes like Grant Teaff, R.C. Slocum, Nolan Ryan, Joe Montana, Cal Ripken, David Robinson, and many, many others. I should mention that my colleague, the gentleman from Nebraska, who is a former college football coach, has very actively participated as well, as he has just mentioned. He has helped raise funds as well as handed out personally some of the first kits in Nebraska. In addition to his work on this resolution, I want to thank him for his efforts on this very worthwhile program. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Lowry Mays and Mark Mays for their leadership in bringing Clear Channel Communications on board with this effort. In Tennessee, Governor Don Sundquist proclaimed March as Child Identification Awareness Month to raise awareness of the need for fingerprinting children. And as the governor of Texas, President Bush helped raise funds for the National Child Identification Program. Madam Speaker, I am from Tennessee which is known as the Volunteer State. I am happy to see that volunteers from all across the country have come together to support this important program that helps bring children home to their parents. Finally, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) for allowing this, what I believe to be a very noncontroversial resolution, to come to the House floor today. I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) for his support. I hope that all of my colleagues will join me by supporting H. Con. Res. 100 and recognize those who have helped make our country a safer place for children.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago a front page story in the Washington Times reported that IRS employees used about half their on- line time at work to visit sex sites, gamble, trade stocks and visit chat rooms. I know that people say it is dangerous to criticize the IRS, but this is ridiculous. This article by the Scripps Howard News Service did not come from some enemy of the IRS. This report came from the office of the IRS's own inspector general. No wonder we read that almost half the advice the IRS itself gives out is wrong. There is no good reason why our Federal Tax Code should be nearly as complicated, convoluted and confusing as it is. For years, liberal elitists have cried, take the politics out of everything, and the people have lost control over their own government. Federal bureaucrats know they can get away with almost anything, but Federal employees who use work computers to visit sex sites, gamble, trade stocks and visit chat rooms are underworked, overpaid and should be fired.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to be given the time normally reserved for those in opposition.