Sam Farr

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. I was home last weekend. It was interesting that people were telling me, if you want to travel now and go by air anywhere in the United States--say I want to go from the West Coast to the East Coast--they said book your travel through Las Vegas. The prices for air travel going through Las Vegas are the cheapest in the United States.

Mr. FARR. If you break it down to business travel that we're talking about tonight, it's 2.4 million American jobs. That's $240 billion in spending and $39 billion in tax revenue, which is the TOT--the Transit Occupancy Tax--and sales tax that those folks in their business travel spend at places like we all represent. I don't represent a big convention area. I represent the very small Monterey peninsula, but our little county does $2 billion in travel and tourism, second only to agriculture. It is very important.

Mr. FARR. We have a bill that's annually introduced by Neil Abercrombie, the Representative from Hawaii, and it is obviously in Hawaii's best interest to have a lot of tourists. That's what supports their infrastructure. And he's introduced the business travel deduction for spousal travel and also increasing the meal deduction. We have just been unable to get it out of the Ways and Means Committee. Maybe now as part of the stimulus we could encourage things like that.

Mr. FARR. We have got a lot of great places to visit.

Mr. FARR. The national parks and the national forest. But I was in Big Sur last weekend and I was talking to one of the hotels there. They were telling me that people--and they charge a lot for their rooms. But people call up and say, If I book a room in this hotel in Big Sur, can I see a condor? Because there are very few condors and we're monitoring them and we have a radio device on them, we know where they are. So the answer is ``yes'' because we know where they are. We can guarantee that you will see a condor. Other people will want to know about seeing sea otters. So, living on the coast, what you realize is that natural flora and fauna--redwood trees that are native--that people want to come and see the out-of-doors. What I find is that you can't make people an environmentalist, so to speak, in appreciation for a living environment until you have been there and then also had it explained to you. Once you do, you get it. So this whole issue of why do we need to fight global warming and what is it doing to our natural systems, you can understand that once you get that experience in the national parks or get that experience being out-of-doors. So it's really all our culture. It's sort of the creativity of what you have done in Las Vegas, plus areas that just have the natural environment preserved in its natural state. Both add to this mosaic of travel and tourism.

Mr. FARR. Those associations, the small ones like your husband is involved in, have been canceling. So what has also affected the big conventions in your communities that can handle some of the largest conventions in the world trickle down to the smaller communities that handle the smaller ones. This impact, this negative message that got out about domestic travel, is just contrary to what you have just talked about. This stimulus package was about stimulating jobs, not about losing jobs. It was about keeping and creating more jobs. If there is any industry that can pick up a lot of labor quickly when things are going good, it's the travel and tourism. It's the restaurant workers. It's adding additional workers--dishwashers and people who wait on tables, to pick up the hotel services, to pick up the delivery services, the flowers, all of this. Somehow this is kind of looked at as, well, if you can have that kind of luxury, then you must not be sympathetic to the losses that are going on. We see those losses because those people are unemployed.

Mr. FARR. What I just wanted to mention for both of you--because I am very, very sympathetic to the problems of Las Vegas. Las Vegas is the biggest convention city in the United States, and because of the bad press, all of these businesses have canceled. You've pointed out what is happening to the unemployment. It has also had huge foreclosures in Las Vegas. It is a town that is probably, as a city, more affected by this economic downturn than any other city.

Mr. FARR. Welcome to this discussion.

Mr. FARR. You can use your tax refund to do travel, if you get one.

Mr. FARR. If the gentleman will yield----

Mr. FARR. Thank you very much for inviting me. I enjoy being part of this tag team that is really trying to give a different message than has been given. I think the press has really done a disservice in sort of criticizing business travel, because everybody knows we're in tough times, and so they feel like, well, people shouldn't be out recreating with a corporate budget. On the other hand, when you stop and cancel those conventions that have been in your city, in the backlash, we've lost 20 percent of the hotel market. Twenty percent of the hotel market has reported that, just in that 20 percent, cancellations have exceeded $220 million for January and February. Now, when you have a domestic travel industry that employs 7.5 million people, when that industry falls off----

Mr. FARR. Just in the domestic travel. Just domestic travel.

Mr. FARR. Travel and tourism is the largest business in the world, and it is expanding faster than any other business. Every country is trying to do more of it. You see the advertising on our television sets about islands in the Caribbean, about going to Spain or about going to Australia and New Zealand, all of those travel promotion ads. We don't do that. The United States, unfortunately, isn't running any ads in other countries, saying, ``Visit the United States.'' I and the other co-Chair, Roy Blunt, of the Travel and Tourism Caucus have a bill. It is a bill to essentially provide grants to States and local communities to do that kind of destination marketing. We know that a lot of Canadians----

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American and community servant, Edwin E. Bliss of Carmel, California for his lifetime of achievements and service above self. Edwin is a highly respected long time resident of the Monterey Peninsula. All of us who have had the good fortune over the years to befriend him, know that Edwin always exhibits his core values of respect, truth, and goodness. Edwin Earl Bliss was born in Ridgefield, Washington near Portland, Oregon on March 19, 1919. The son of a successful dairy rancher and respected school teacher, Edwin displayed uncommon leadership skills early and often. Editor in high school, fraternity president in college and manager of the Charlton Hotel in Cannes, France while serving as an Army officer during World War II, Edwin led others by example, humility and compassion. After the war, Ed moved his small family from rural Washington State to quiet Carmel. Called back into the Army to serve in Korea he moved his wife and three children back to Washington to be near family and friends. Upon his release from the military, Ed returned his young excited family permanently back to the Monterey Peninsula. Here Edwin lives the American dream, raising a wonderful family, building a beautiful home and selflessly serving his community. Edwin Bliss's sense of honesty and respect has guided and propelled him through a successful career in the insurance industry and community service. Leadership with the Pacific Grove Kiwanis, the USO, YMCA and the Life Underwriters Association are just some of the many boards he has served on. But his greatest community love is the Monterey History and Art Association. As a long time board member and President from 1964-65 he was instrumental in laying the early groundwork to establish the Monterey Maritime Museum. While a board member for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Edwin helped place the Cooper-Molera Adobe in Monterey on the National Registry of Historic Places. In addition, Edwin served on the first board to insure the preservation of Robinson Jeffers' Tor House. Perhaps Edwin's greatest social love has been the Ancient and Honorable Society of Buckeye. Founded by close friend and then State Senator, Fred S. Farr, Ed has been its guiding light for over fifty years. This annual gathering of ranchers, fishermen, politicians, musicians, doctors, lawyers, educators and businessmen has given rise to local legends and many community events. Madam Speaker, Edwin Bliss's accomplishments are distinguished and numerous. Edwin has lived an exemplary life grounded in truth, goodness and respect for others. I know my fellow members join me in congratulating him on his 90th birthday.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. You know what is interesting about your comment? I sit on the Military Construction Appropriations Committee. That is the military quality of life. We interview the soldiers, have them come in and ask them to prioritize what they want. Never in my 15 years have I ever heard them ask for a weapons system. What they ask for, their number one issue is quality of housing. The number two issue is childcare. Childcare. That is what the soldiers want. It is quality of life, because they are raising their families in the military. They are getting deployed and they are coming back. The weapons system, those are all Fortune 500 companies that make those. That is Wall Street. So you have a different lobbying effort between the personnel, the human factor in the military, and the weapons systems or the procurement side of the military, and that is what is incredibly remarkable. And I am really pleased that you are pointing out if we are going to make proper adjustment, we have got to really scrutinize these expenditures to really make them essential to a new global world order. We are not fighting conventional wars. We are fighting asymmetrical wars, and I don't know what a ballistic missile system is going to do in an asymmetrical war in fighting people that are using the Internet and public transportation to move their weapons and ideas around. Thank you for your time tonight. I really appreciate it.

Mr. FARR. You have the expert on health care here with Dr. McDermott and the American leader on single payer plans, and certainly he can give a lot of that. But I think what I see missing in the dialogue here is that a lot of people, conservatives who would not agree with us would argue that government ought to run itself more like a business. You don't hear businesses talking about costs and expenditures. When they spend money, they talk about investments. Indeed, if America is going to grow and strengthen itself, then it has got to talk about these things as investments. And if you really analyze the investment in education, the investment in health care, not costs in, but investments in, obviously you want to run them well, and if you really look at the military and talk about an investment in peace operations and stability, which is what it is all about, I think you come up with different numbers than just costs. You come up with different priorities.

Mr. FARR. Well, the difficulty you have is, again back to that investment, if indeed the contracting purpose is to build infrastructure, it is nuts to think that a company from the United States has a vested interest in the outcome and survivability of that project. We learned that with the ``ugly American,'' where we would go and build things in other countries and leave and they would fall apart, because in the process we never got the host country nationals involved in building it, in owning it, in wanting to run it and keep it up and learn how to, as we saw with generators in Iraq that we installed and nobody put oil in them and they all burned out, because they said it doesn't matter, they will wait until they come back and replace them. So I think this dialogue is really important, because the first line of our national security is investment in a well-informed electorate or well-informed public. So the first line of our national security is investment in education. That is our biggest defense system, security system, and we have to make that investment equal to or greater than obviously it has been historically if we want to build a stronger America.

Mr. FARR. Well, without a doubt the way we have been spending and putting the war efforts into just an emergency supplemental doesn't make any sense, because there has never been an accounting for it. The new administration has said they are bringing us in their budget the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan, so there is going to be some fiscal responsibility, and everyone knows there will be a day when we will not be spending that much money, which is a lot of money, and therefore those costs can be cut. I think that there is no way that we cannot. As we try to balance this budget or get it into sense in the outyears, the largest increase over the years has been the Defense Department, and therefore they are going to be the one that is the most dramatically reduced. I think all of us feel that the plan is to have a smaller military, but without a doubt it has to be a smarter military, and the investment in smartness is not the kinds of things you see on that board. I am very excited about upgrading the skills of American military, particularly because my background in the Peace Corps is that you find in Afghanistan and Iraq what is missing now is what we call soft power, which is that we have learned to kick down the doors anywhere in the world at any time, but we have not learned to win the hearts and minds of people. If indeed we are going to have peace and stability, we have got to do a lot more work on the soft power side, which is less expensive and probably more effective. So, obviously there is room for reductions. As we argue the cost of health care, we have to also argue the cost of defense.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud lifelong member of the NAACP, and today, I join my colleagues in celebrating this 100th anniversary. I am especially proud of my local moderate county branch of the NAACP where our chapter was created in 1932, and I believe this chapter ranks as one of the largest per capita branches in the United States, and has been active in education and law for all of these many years. I can tell you we are all better off for it. Our chapter's proudest member is Ben Jealous, now the youngest and, in my opinion, the most dynamic president of the NAACP. As we recognize the great achievements of one of America's best organizations, let us not forget that the struggle continues. We still face discrimination in our communities, in our schools and in the workplace. It is a struggle that requires continuing education and legal action. The NAACP offers us many examples as we continue on our path towards solving our racial troubles. Even the founders of the NAACP offer an important lesson on how such a diverse group can accomplish so much. The men and women--black and white, from different backgrounds and from different careers and from different religions--these people came together to create a force for good. I want to thank the NAACP for 100 years of hard work. God bless your president and his family as he leads us into the next century of fighting for human and civil rights. We congratulate you on this historic day. I'm a proud lifelong member of the NAACP, and today I join my colleagues in celebrating its 100th anniversary. I am especially proud of my local Monterey County Branch of the NAACP, where our chapter was created in 1932. My chapter ranks as one of the largest per capita branches in the United States and has been active in education and law--and we're all better for it. The Fort Ord Army training base in Seaside, Calif., was the first military base in the United States to be integrated in 1947. It was one of the largest bases in the United States to conduct training for Korea, Vietnam and many other conflicts. Now that base is closed, it's site is home to the newest campus of the California State University system--due in part to the fine work of the NAACP. And our chapter's proudest member is Ben Jealous, now the youngest-- and in my opinion the most dynamic--national president of the NAACP. As we recognize the great achievements of one of America's best organizations, let us not forget that the struggle continues. We still have discrimination in our communities, in our schools and in the workplace. It's a struggle that requires continuing education and legal action. Luckily, we have the rich history of the NAACP that offers us so many examples of how to proceed. One of the best is the group of individuals who founded the group. It shows us how such a diverse group can accomplish so much. Along with a life of activism, W. E. B. Du Bois was a noted professor and writer. Archibald Grimke, the son of a slave owner and slave, was a journalist and lawyer. Henry Moskowitz was a Jewish physician. Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard spent their lives writing. William English Walling, born into a former slaveholding family, once served as a factory inspector. And Ida B. Wells was also a noted women's rights activist. America is the country where dreams come true. Certainly the world has seen such with the election of Barack Obama. But the work will never end until peace and justice are available to everyone. I want to thank the NAACP for 100 years of hard work. You've made America a stronger and better nation. And your work continues. God bless your president, Ben Jealous, as he leads us into the next century of fighting for human and civil rights. We congratulate you on this historic day.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Diane Young of Pajaro, California. Diane passed away on January 28, 2009 at the age of sixty-five, after leaving the Pajaro community a better place to live and work. She was an extraordinary community leader who needed no official title to make a significant difference in the lives of every resident of Pajaro. Diane was born on November 25, 1943 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated from Southwest High School in Minneapolis. After meeting her late husband Pete, they both embarked on a path that would lead them to a small Central Coast community that could greatly benefit from their generosity of heart and tireless commitment to helping others achieve their dreams, particularly the youth of Pajaro. In 1983, she launched Young's Tire Service with her husband and son in Pajaro, California. Diane Young prided herself on the family business, which she maintained and participated in throughout her illness. Her old school business habits were rooted in an unshakable work ethic. Because she did not rely on computers for her business operations, Young's Tire Service was able to continue serving the community through the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and a massive flood in 1995. There was never a shortage of customers congregating at the shop, and the influx of well wishers following her death speaks to how Diane touched the hearts of everyone she met. It was Diane's business that became the catalyst for her lifelong community activism. After three violent killings, one of which occurred right outside her store, Diane decided she wanted to see a safer community, one filled with happiness and pride, not fear. She organized Together in Pajaro to accomplish this goal. TIP is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to community improvement and safety. Diane, along with her late husband Pete, founded Boy Scout Troop 505 15 years ago, to provide constructive alternatives for youth in Pajaro. These two organizations are just a small measure of Diane's dedication and contributions to making her community, as well as the lives of those who live in it, not only better but more meaningful. Madam Speaker, Diane Young touched the hearts of everyone she came into contact with, and was a pillar of her community. I am certain I speak for the entire House in extending our heartfelt sympathy to Diane's two children, her son Pete Young of Pajaro, California and daughter Sheliah Young of Oakley, California.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Jean Booth Mitchell of Carmel, California. Jean was a remarkable woman who enlivened everybody and everything she touched. Jean passed away on January 19, 2009 at age 91, leaving the world a brighter and better place. Jean was born in 1917 in Oakland, California, and was raised in nearby Piedmont. She received her education at the prestigious UC Berkeley, where she was a member of the sorority Delta Gamma. The university is also where she met William F. Mitchell, who she married in the Piedmont Community Church garden in 1940. Jean had the greenest of green-thumbs. She was a member of the Piedmont Garden Club, Piedmont Beautification Foundation, and Garden Club of America. Jean was also a founder of the Carmel-by-the-Sea Garden Club and its first president. She found great fulfillment in the Club's campaign to ``save'' Carmel's Piccadilly Park, home to a host of rare and unique plant species. Jean's personal garden was also one of the earliest featured on the Garden Club of America website at the Smithsonian. Though gardening was her passion, Jean also involved herself in high- end real estate. She and her family established a real-estate firm in Carmel known as The Mitchell Group. In real estate sales, Jean was described as ``dynamic, convincing, and indefatigable.'' Before being sold to Sotheby's International Realty in 2005, the company had expanded to five offices and 140 agents. Madam Speaker, Jean Booth Mitchell planted seeds not only in soil, but in the hearts of everybody who had the good fortune of knowing her. I am certain that I speak for the entire House in extending our heartfelt sympathies towards Jean's three children, three granddaughters, and six great grandchildren, including Bill and Vicki Mitchell of Pebble Beach, Sheri Mitchell of San Francisco, Shelly and Dan Lynch of Carmel, John and Karen Mitchell of St. Helena, Sarah and Chris Hansen of Napa, and Hallie Mitchell Dow and Brad Dow of Carmel.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Gabilan Chapter of Kinship Center for their fifty-three years of service dedicated to children in need of foster and adoptive families. On behalf of the whole House, I am honored to extend to the Gabilan Chapter of Kinship Center the gratitude of the Congress and the American people for their past and future service. San Benito County, in Central California, is a region of rich farm and ranch land that has generously served the families of the area for generations. But perhaps the most valuable resource of that community is the people themselves, as represented by the women of the Gabilan Chapter of Kinship Center. For fifty-three years, this group of philanthropically-minded women has raised critically needed funds to help the most needy and at-risk children in the county--the neglected, abused and abandoned children who need a safe, permanent home through foster care and adoption. In 1989, the Gabilan Chapter partnered with the Monterey County based Kinship Center which shared their mission to create permanent homes for the area's most vulnerable children. Through this twenty-year partnership, the Gabilan Chapter women have continued to dedicate themselves to their mission as the Gabilan Chapter of Kinship Center. Each year, funds raised by the Gabilan Chapter support vital services to children in transition and new families struggling to meet the needs of children in their care. Kinship Center celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this year--success due in no small way to the steadfast support of the Gabilan Chapter. Each year the dedicated Gabilan Chapter volunteers organize one of the oldest wine tasting festivals in California, as well as a historic home tour. They sell cookbooks, aprons and hand crocheted quilts. They award an annual post-secondary scholarship to a local student from a foster, adoptive or group home. Their efforts are a year-round operation run with professional effectiveness by women who also have full-time careers managing businesses, ranches, farms, vineyards and households. The women of Gabilan are more than a group of hardworking volunteers. They represent the best of our Nation. They are an icon of the American spirit of caring and hard work forged by the pioneers who settled this land. After three generations, they have created a tradition of active philanthropy that is an institution in their community. Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to hold up the Gabilan Chapter of Kinship Center as a model of public service, an expression of what makes our Nation a worldwide leader in strong and compassionate philanthropy. May their continued success inspire many more generations to become involved in their communities here at home and throughout the world.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a great woman and model citizen. Mary Reese Green, of Monterey, California, lived her life to make the world a better place. She was many things: civil rights activist, mother, wife, political campaigner, and friend. On January 9, 2009, Mary passed away at the age of 81. Mary was a fearless fighter during the civil rights movement and an active advocate for art throughout her life. She held a passion for politics and played instrumental roles in numerous political campaigns over the years. She was a real spark plug whose personal motto was ``Yes, we can!'' Mary was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, where she developed a lifelong love of art. She went on to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and to teach art at George School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There she met her husband, Ross Green, a fellow teacher. Her first brush with politics came when she and Ross moved to Berkeley. Mary campaigned for the right of students to post political flyers on university bulletin boards. When she and her husband moved to Atlanta, she fought for civil rights alongside her friends, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, and Vernon Jordan. A notable story from Mary's life centers on a public meeting held in Atlanta to discuss voters' rights after the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Despite death threats and the hostile presence of the Ku Klux Klan at the meeting, Mary bravely spoke as scheduled, while many others backed out and retreated. Mary continued to play an active role in politics throughout her life. She served as the central California chair for Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign, the northern California co-chair for George McGovern in 1972, and worked on the presidential campaigns of Gary Hart in 1984 and 1988. Back in Monterey County, she promoted the arts. She helped raise funds to revitalize the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art's La Mirada wing and took the lead in founding the Pacific Street branch's sculpture garden. Mary also helped produce two award-winning documentary films: Time Captured in Paintings: The Monterey Legacy and The Roots of California Photography: The Monterey Legacy. Madam Speaker, I know that I speak for the whole House in extending our deepest sympathies and condolences to Mary Green's daughter, Alice Green, son Mitchell Green, her three grandchildren, and many friends.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, have a long record of supporting Israel and I have no intention of reversing course. My wish continues to be that Israel will one day soon enjoy a lasting peace with its neighbors. The resolution before the House today is not an easy vote for me. I refuse to vote nay because I continue to support Israel's right to exist and to defend itself. But I cannot vote yea because in the midst of a humanitarian nightmare in Gaza, this resolution is silent on the need for an immediate cease-fire and the need to actively relieve human suffering. The resolution is right to condemn the rocket attacks against Southern Israel. These attacks are crimes against humanity. The Hamas rockets endanger thousands of lives, terrorize the Israeli populace and deny the people of Israel and Gaza the peace they both deserve. However, to introduce a resolution in the midst of a raging war that has the impression of assigning blame does not measure up to the moment. We're watching another desperate episode in the cycle of Middle East violence, yet our call for a cease-fire is timid. We're watching human suffering at a stomach-turning scale, and our call to relieve suffering is weak. A spasm of violence is consuming lives and we're failing to do all that we can to be honest brokers of peace. I agree with almost all the language in this resolution, so I cannot vote against it. However, I cannot vote in favor of the resolution because it does not do enough to set the stage for lasting peace. My conscience dictates a vote of present, which is the only vote for peace.

Mr. FARR

Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the distinguished military career of United States Army LTC Richard W. Skow. On behalf of the whole House, I am honored to extend to Lieutenant Colonel Skow and his family the gratitude of the Congress and the American people for his service on the occasion of his retirement after 24 years in uniform. During his long and decorated career Lieutenant Colonel Skow made enormous contributions to the success of the U.S. Army's worldwide mission. Most recently, he served for the last year and a half as the Defense Language Institute's, DLI's, Chief of Staff where he had previously studied Portuguese. He built a reputation for an outstanding work ethic, sound judgment, and proactive leadership--a true example for the junior officers under his command. As chief of staff, he played an instrumental role in helping his commander fulfill the DLI's complex mission. His duties included, but were not limited to, personnel and budget management, special projects, congressional inquiry review and response, and primary command briefing responsibilities. Highlights of his service prior to DLI include: Defense and Army Attache, Uganda, July 2005-July 2007. In this role, Lieutenant Colonel Skow advised the ambassador on Uganda's continually shifting security situation. He coordinated with the Ugandan Army in dealing with the Lord's Resistance Army and reported on the activities of this group in neighboring countries. Notably, he was instrumental in the recovery of five citizens from the UK, Australia and New Zealand after an attack by LRA insurgents. Army Attache, South Africa, January 2003-July 2005. Lieutenant Colonel Skow regularly reported on military issues in South Africa where he coordinated a joint training exercise between a U.S. Ranger company and the South African airborne regiment. Additionally he coordinated the procurement and transportation of South African mine resistant armored personnel vehicles, NYALA, and mine detection and IED detection vehicles, HUSKY, for deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq. Defense and Army Attache, Rwanda, October 1998-December 2001. Lieutenant Colonel Skow served as the primary military/political advisor to the ambassador during a violent insurgency in northwest Rwanda. He monitored the security situation in northwest Rwanda and advised the ambassador regarding travel restrictions for U.S. citizens. He was responsible for routine interface with Rwandan military personnel and interviewed insurgent prisoners of all ranks. In addition to providing current combat intelligence and information from the POWs, Lieutenant Colonel Skow also created a list of insurgents that were responsible for the murder of U.S. and UK tourists in Bwindi National Forest, Uganda. He then coordinated closely with the FBI to ensure they received all necessary support. In closing, Madam Speaker, I want to extend the gratitude of the House to Lieutenant Colonel Skow and his wife, Janice, for their service to the Nation and to wish them the very best in the future.