Bob Filner

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I was a little surprised the gentleman was going to accept the motion after speaking out against it, but I appreciate that, and I hope we fight for this at the conference committee. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I have been informed that there are no ships with American flags going to Liberia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), ranking member of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 144, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 143, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 142, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 145, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 146, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to honor an American icon and an organization that we all know well, Girl Scouts of the USA. This year, Girl Scouts is celebrating 92 years of service to our communities and our nation. For 92 years, Girl Scouting has made a remarkable difference in the lives of girls in so many ways. The Girl Scouts is an organization that has always been ahead of its time, and the experiences that girls have in Girl Scouting today are profound. For example, they travel the world, learn about science, math and engineering by working with some of the most innovative thinkers in these fields, and perform community service projects that are literally changing many of our communities for the better. In March, I had the opportunity to meet with Girl Scout representatives from my district who came to Washington, D.C. with nearly 600 other Girl Scout executives, professional staff and volunteers from across the nation. The Girl Scouts/San Diego-Imperial Council is the council that serves girls in my district, and I am proud of their work and leading expertise on the challenging issues affecting girls in today's world. This council serves over 30,000 girls in San Diego and Imperial Counties. During their time in Washington, the representatives of Girl Scouts were discussing a very important issue: safety for girls. I am impressed by their dedication to helping all girls feel emotionally and physically safe, secure and strong. In our contemporary society where child abductions, rampant abuse and other violence against children occurs too frequently, their task is extremely important. I commend the Girl Scouts for their national and local leadership on this issue. Through a nationwide call to action, Girl Scouts of the USA is leading an effort to create communities in which all girls feel safe and empowered. I ask that schools, churches, youth-serving organizations, Congress, and other government entities join with Girl Scouts to bring attention to this very important issue. All of our nation's children deserve to feel safe, secure and strong. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion I congratulate Girl Scouts for a job well done and look forward to working with them on ensuring the safety of our nation's youth.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to urge support for improvements for veterans who have become disabled in their service to our country. I have introduced H.R. 4229, the ``Fair Insurance for Disabled Veterans Act'' to address this need. First, when the Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance, SDVI, began in 1951, it was intended to provide service-disabled veterans with the ability to purchase life insurance coverage at ``standard'' rates. Unfortunately, these life insurance premiums are based upon mortality rates for 1940, while current standard life insurance policies have premiums based upon the 2001 mortality table. This means that service- disabled veterans are being charged premiums based on a table that is 60 years out of date. The Independent Budget, prepared and endorsed by many veterans service organizations, has recommended that the mortality table be updated so that service-disabled veterans pay lower premiums for insurance. My bill would provide insurance comparable to standard policies, based on 2001 tables. Second, the VA provides mortgage life insurance, VMLI, up to $90,000 to severely service-disabled veterans who qualify for specially adapted housing grants. Currently, this amount covers only about 72 percent of the outstanding mortgage balances because the maximum amount has not been increased since 1992. We know how the cost of houses has skyrocketed since then in many areas of our country! In May, 2001, an evaluation by the Department of Veterans Affairs recommended that the coverage be increased to between $150,000 and $200,000. The Independent Budget has also recommended that the coverage be increased. H.R. 4229 implements those recommendations by increasing the maximum to $200,000 to cover 98 percent of mortgage benefits outstanding. I invite my colleagues to support H.R. 4229 to improve insurance policies for our Nation's service-connected disabled veterans.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. We have heard the expression, ``It's the economy, stupid.'' Well, it's the infrastructure, stupid. It's jobs, stupid. I know that the chairman, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), thinks about jobs all the time, as does our ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski). It is jobs, jobs, jobs. And that is what the infrastructure of this country provides. We have a bill here that is $100 billion less than it should be. To my simple math that works out to a loss of 4.5 million jobs. We are losing $600 billion worth of economic activities over the next 5 or 6 years. I do not understand an administration that is a ``donor'' administration in terms of its jobs that it has not created. By supporting a bigger bill, it could be a ``donee'' administration and actually create jobs, and that is what we need in this country today. There is a controversy, I understand, about donor-donee. There does not have to be. The gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), both want a 95 percent guarantee for every State, and they had it in the bill that we should have passed. And I say to the people who want to have that 95 percent guarantee, do not change this bill; vote for a bigger bill. We can afford it. We can be fiscally responsible. It is an investment in this Nation to have the bigger bill. But we will do part of the job by passing this one today. I happen to represent the whole California-Mexico border in this country. I have in my district 250,000 people crossing the border every day and thousands and thousands of trucks. I want to thank our committee for providing a ``border infrastructure fund'' to help address the needs that this international traffic places on our local communities. These local communities do not have the funds and should not be responsible. The border infrastructure fund gives us the ability for the Federal Government to meet its responsibility. So I say, Let's have the jobs. Let's get rid of the donor-donee controversy. I know the gentleman from Alaska wants to do that and the gentleman from Minnesota wants to do it. Hopefully, down the line we will do it.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, since the creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) health system, the Nation's doctors of chiropractic (DCs) have been kept outside the system and all but prevented from providing proven, cost-effective and much-needed care to veterans, including those among the most vulnerable and in need of the range of health care services DCs are licensed to provide. In 2002, 4.5 million patients received care in DVA health facilities, including 75 percent of all disabled and low-income veterans. Although the DVA health care budget is roughly $26 billion, in 2002, less than $370,000 went toward chiropractic services for veterans. I am proud to introduce legislation--H.R. 4051, the Better Access to Chiropractors to Keep Our Veterans Healthy Act (BACK Our Veterans Health Act)--that is designed to provide veterans with direct access to a doctor of chiropractic, if that is their choice, through the veterans health care system. In developing this bill, I have worked closely with chiropractic patients, particularly our veterans, who know the benefits of chiropractic care and bear witness to the positive outcomes and preventative health benefits of chiropractic care. I was also pleased to work with the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the Nation's largest chiropractic organization and the national voice of doctors of chiropractic and their patients. I am told by the ACA that there are more than 60,000 doctors of chiropractic and in excess of 25 million chiropractic patients across America. Specifically, my bill seeks to amend title 38 of the United States Code to permit eligible veterans to have direct access to chiropractic care at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics. Section 3 of the measure states that ``The Secretary [of Veterans Affairs] shall permit eligible veterans to receive needed [health care] services, rehabilitative services, and preventative health services from a licensed doctor of chiropractic on a direct access basis at the election of the eligible veteran, if such services are within the State scope of practice of such doctor of chiropractic.'' The measure goes on to directly prohibit discrimination among licensed health care providers by the DVA when determining which services a patient needs. Over the years, Mr. Speaker, representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs have come before the House Veterans Affairs Committee, a panel on which I serve, and have insisted that chiropractic benefits are available to veterans and that no bias exists within the DVA against the chiropractic profession. But the facts I cited above speak otherwise. For all practical purposes, access to chiropractic care has been nonexistent within the DVA system. Chiropractic care has so seldom been offered to veterans that it can be fairly said to be a phantom benefit--and for years, Mr. Speaker, the DVA has done nothing to correct this deficiency. There is simply no evidence that the DVA has ever acted proactively in any meaningful and substantive way to ensure that chiropractic care is made available to veterans--and because of that track record of neglect that the U.S. Congress felt compelled to take action. And as a result, Congress in recent years has enacted three separate statutes seeking to ensure veterans access to chiropractic care--Public Law 106-117, Public Law 107-135 and Public Law 108-170. The last of those statutes gives explicit authority to the DVA to hire doctors of chiropractic as full-time employees. I'm proud to have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help advance those initiatives--and I am hopeful that a reluctant DVA has finally seen the light. I understand that the VA Secretary Principi has just released some new policy directives regarding chiropractic care and that, at last, we may be on our way to seeing the true and full integration of chiropractic care into the DVA. But Mr. Speaker, if the past is any guide to the future, then I must remain concerned until I see these new polices firmly in place and working well in all DVA treatment facilities. To help ensure that in the future, barriers to veterans who want and need chiropractic care are fully removed, I am pleased to introduce legislation that would require the DVA to make chiropractic care available on a direct access basis to our veterans. If the previous legislation had actually been implemented, my legislation would not be necessary--because referrals to doctors of chiropractic would actually be taking place with the encouragement and support of the DVA leadership. I hope this is what happens under Secretary Principi's new guidance--but as insurance, Mr. Speaker, in case the Department loses their newfound enlightenment somewhere along the way-- perhaps under a less supportive Secretary--then the enactment of the legislation I propose would guarantee the right of a veteran to obtain this important service without the cost and stumbling blocks of going through potentially hostile gatekeepers. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting unimpeded access to chiropractic care throughout the veterans health care system and help enact this measure.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 34, due to urgent constituent support commitments in my congressional district, I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 35, due to urgent constituent support commitments in my Congressional District, I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 36, due to urgent constituent support commitments in my Congressional District, I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea''.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 33, due to urgent constituent support commitments in my Congressional District, I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 32, due to urgent constituent support commitments in my Congressional District, I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to let everyone know of a bill I have introduced that will eliminate what we call the Disabled Veterans Tax and to provide immediate concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation to all deserving disabled military retirees. H.R. 3730 is called the Immediate and Full Repeal of the Disabled Veterans Tax Act of 2004 and does exactly what the title says. It eliminates the years of waiting before all disabled military retirees receive all the retired pay and compensation they have earned and deserve. Last year, our Nation's veterans waged a long and determined campaign to eliminate this Disabled Veterans Tax. As my colleagues know, we did take a step that some say was a legitimate compromise but I call an insult to our veterans. That law makes veterans with a disability rating of 50 percent or more wait 10 years before their tax is completely eliminated. A great number of those veterans are elderly and unfortunately may not live to see the day that they get their full compensation. Even worse, fully two thirds of America's disabled veterans have been left behind and will continue to be taxed as before, nearly 400,000 of our veterans. Despite the actions of Congress, the Disabled Veterans Tax is alive and well. Some of the veterans left behind include a veteran of the Kuwait theatre who had below-the-knee amputation after being hit by a drunk driver while jogging near the Pentagon to maintain physical fitness. He does not qualify under the act we passed. Neither does a retiree who cannot work on a family farm because of pain, numbness, and osteoarthritis of both feet due to exposure of cold during noncombatant military service; a veteran who lost an eye when an air hose accidentally detached from an airplane being worked on and who cannot work as an airline pilot. He still pays the tax; as does a female retiree who has weekly panic attacks and chronic sleep disturbances as the result of a sexual assault which occurred while on active duty. Mr. Speaker, we took the first step towards eliminating the Disabled Veterans Tax, but I would give us a grade of incomplete. We did not do the ``A'' work that our veterans deserve. During the time I have been in Congress, I cannot recall more than one or two other issues where I have received so many letters, e-mails, and phone calls. Our veterans have been telling us that this is an important issue to them. They deserve that we complete our work and do it at an ``A'' level. I understand there are costs to concurrent receipt, but I also understand that the now disabled veterans did not hesitate when they were called to duty. They have returned home with disabilities they have had to live with ever since. How can we doubt the imperative that we keep our promise and give them what they deserve? They earned their military retired pay. They deserve their VA disability compensation. We should not make them wait any longer for justice to prevail.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker: I rise today as many have before, To honor Theodor Seuss Guisel for his contributions galore! The literary world will never be the same, After being introduced to Dr. Seuss' name We remember the dreamer, the artist, the man, Who taught us about life, green eggs and ham For 60 years he captivated us with stories for all to know, And left a legacy of cherished books about the places we'd go He may not have been a real doctor--but boredom he cured, With rhythm and rhyme and colorful words, When our troops needed morale during World War II, He was too old to serve but did what he could do, With satire and imagery he inspired platoons With silly and potent political cartoons! We celebrate today, a man who dreamed, And created for all an unending stream Of insights and poems, books and tales, Of red fish, blue fish and others with scales He gave us the Lorax to speak for the trees, A little creature to save saplings from corporate greed And we cannot forget the Grinch with a heart so cold, Or the innocence of a child, ``Who,'' touched his soul His 46 books weren't meant to be silly, Barbaloots were for grown-ups and leaders of cities, Ahhh--So many stories, yet so little time, To commend this man for his gift of rhyme So when the sun does not shine, When it is too wet to play, When you are sitting in your house, On a cold, cold, wet day Always remember in December or September, The spell of wonder, Dr. Seuss put us under.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Well, there they go again. The Commander in Chief has signalled the start of the culture wars, so they are here with their wedge politics, trying to divide us, trying to divide us as a Nation. Three million jobs lost since this President took office, a war in Iraq that we cannot seem to win, 545 of our bravest young men and women killed, more waiting as sitting ducks; but what we are going to talk about in this House is a constitutional amendment to preserve marriage. Talk about wedge politics at its finest. Talk about something to divide the Nation. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Indiana, and I assume all those who are going to come after him, should look at the history of the United States and the Constitution, the Constitution which represents for us expanding the rights of all Americans, expanding. We went from giving the right to citizenship to African Americans to giving the right to vote to women, always expanding what the American Dream was about, always expanding what America ought to be. But now we are going to pass an amendment that restricts rights. Now we are going to pass an amendment that says do not look at jobs, do not look at the war in Iraq, do not look at any of the things that bother the American people at their dinner table, their lack of health insurance, their lack of quality education. No, let us focus on this constitutional amendment. Mr. Speaker, the Commander in Chief has unleashed his Weapon of Mass Distraction.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2707. I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for his sponsorship and leadership. We have heard about how important it is to the areas of Texas and New Mexico. It is also important to my district, one of the most important agricultural areas in the United States, the Imperial Valley of California. We use water from the Colorado River, and we have heard how invasive this Salt Cedar can be. In fact, the Imperial County Agriculture Commissioners Office and the Brawley, California Research Station have been studying for a long time now how to control Salt Cedar. John Kershaw, the president of the Imperial Valley Conservation Research Center Committee, and Stephen Birdsall, Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner, have briefed me on the great strides that have been made to controlling Salt Cedar in our area. This bill will greatly help with those efforts. We have heard how much water these species use. Salt Cedar is like a giant straw: One tree can suck up to 200 gallons of water a day. It can cause an increase in fire and flooding, a decrease in water quantity and quality and an increase in soil salinity. It can replace native species, degrade wildlife habitat, and limit the human use of riverbanks. Salt Cedar was originally introduced in order to stabilize stream banks, but it has turned into a nightmare for our farming communities. We have spent millions of dollars trying to eradicate this pest. Million of gallons of water have been wasted. We have become increasingly concerned about water conservation and the best use of our natural resources in this Nation. Those of us who rely on the Colorado River see that Salt Cedar squanders this precious, precious water. Removing it would allow native plants which have been squeezed out by the noxious tree to come back to our community. Removing the tree would also encourage wildlife populations to increase, including several species, such as the Willow Flycatcher, that are declining or are threatened or endangered. The Flycatcher is an endangered bird that eats insects that thrive on native plants in my district, which the Salt Cedar has displaced. I commend the Departments of Interior and Agriculture for their dedication to controlling or eradicating invasive species such as Salt Cedar. We must continue this important work. We can protect our most precious natural resources, water, wildlife, and soil, by eradicating this invasive species. Mr. Speaker, clearly these species are serious problems across all the United States, but particularly in the Southwest. The challenges they present to our communities are enormous, but we cannot let them ruin our natural native resources. We can and we must take back the land and water for our communities. I thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) for his leadership in this struggle.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained for rollcall vote 22 due to a family emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on the previous question.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I was truly sad when today in the Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing I saw the figures in the administration's budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs for the coming fiscal year. Last year in an effort that was actually just completed a couple weeks ago, many Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, worked with the support of our Nation's veteran service organizations to finally arrive at a budget, while not completely adequate, at least addressing many of the needs of our veterans. So I was very disheartened to find ourselves in the same place we were a year ago. We were faced with the same tired old proposals to raise the copayments on prescription drugs at the VA, a proposal that Congress soundly defeated probably many times. We are faced with a proposal for a $250 annual fee for many veterans, which Congress also has defeated. So we are faced with a VA policy of continuing to suspend enrollments for the so-called priority 8 veterans. These are veterans, but they cannot be enrolled because we cannot handle them. And this budget request from the administration cuts the VA nursing home program and cuts funding, if you can believe this, for medical research. Imagine how our veterans must feel. Actually, we know how they feel. The Paralyzed Veterans of America has issued a press release entitled. ``Another Year, Another Inadequate Budget Request for Veterans' Health Care.'' They go on to point out that this request includes the lowest appropriation request for VA health care made by any administration for a decade. Although the VA Under Secretary for Health has testified that an average yearly medical care increase of 12 to 14 percent is needed to meet the cost of inflation and mandatory salary increases, there is less than 2 percent more than last year's appropriation recommended in the President's budget. Likewise, the leaders of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans organizations have expressed dismay, if I can say the least, at the proposed VA medical care funding. In fact, I feel I should just pull out the old tapes and old speeches from last year and rerun them, except it is not last year. And since the last budget request from this administration, the Nation has sent our young men and women to a war in Iraq, and they will be coming home as, guess what? Veterans. Caring for our veterans is one of the costs of war, and the budget request does not take note of this fact. I have enormous respect for Secretary Principi, who I believe does a great deal with inadequate budgets. But even this Secretary, or should I say especially this Secretary, needs a Congress that will pass a budget that is worthy of our veterans. So sign me up for the battle again this year. Whatever is needed we will do to fill the budget holes that the President has left in this fiscal year. Most of all, let us take note that this budget request points out the need for mandatory funding for VA health care. Let me repeat, mandatory funding of VA health care. It is now called discretionary, so we have to go through this battle every single year. Let us pass mandatory funding for VA health care so we will not have to rerun the same tapes next year and the next year and the next year.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Joaquin Reclosado, Jr., a Marine and California National Guard veteran who is the driving force behind the Annual Sunset Retreat Ceremonies held in Imperial County, California in my Congressional District. On November 11, 2003, the Eighth Annual Sunset Retreat was conducted by local veterans to celebrate Veterans' Day. Each year, a ceremony is held for veterans, with special attention to veterans of a prior war, women veterans, and this year, Native American veterans. The Sunset Retreat is the brainchild of Mr. Reclosado, universally recognized as ``Junior''. He organized the first event in 1996. He oversaw the committees, obtained equipment and the venue, contacted participants, and made certain that the event took place. But for Junior, all agree that the Sunset Retreat Ceremony would not happen! He was born in Calexico, California in 1935 of Mexican and Filipino parents and attended school in Calexico. He joined the Marines in 1953, serving in Korea and leaving active service in 1963. The next 27 years, Junior spent with the Imperial County Sheriff's Department and serving in the California National Guard. He retired from the Guard at the age of 60 with the rank of Sgt. Major. In addition to his duties with the annual Sunset Retreat, Junior is active with the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Korean War Veterans Association, and the 1st Marine Division Association, both in Imperial Valley and in the state of California. He organizes Memorial Day ceremonies, MIA-POW recognitions, and the details of veterans' funerals. He arranges for veterans to visit local schools. He is a frequent participant in events of the Imperial Valley United Veterans Council. Junior Reclosado is someone who is deeply involved in bringing deserved attention to the contributions of the men and women in the Armed Forces and to our country's veterans. He is a veterans' veteran! I am pleased to take this opportunity to honor him and his service to his community and to our nation.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the Congress to correct an injustice that has been inflicted upon a group of World War II veterans, the World War II United States Merchant Mariners. World War II Merchant Mariners suffered the highest casualty rate of any of the branches of services while they delivered troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the war. Compared to the large number of men and women serving in World War II, the numbers of Merchant Mariners were small, but their chance of dying during service was extremely high. Enemy forces sank over 800 ships between 1941 and 1944 alone. Unfortunately, this group of brave men were denied their rights under the GI Bill of Rights which Congress enacted in 1945. All those who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard were recipients of benefits under the GI Bill. The United States Merchant Marine was not included. Mr. Speaker, the Merchant Marine became the forgotten service. For four decades, no effort was made to recognize the contribution made by this branch of the Armed Forces. The fact that merchant seamen had borne arms during wartime in the defense of their country did not seem to matter. No legislation to benefit merchant seamen was passed by Congress until 1988 when the Seaman Acts of 1988 finally granted them the status of veteran and a ``watered down'' GI Bill of Rights. Some portions of the GI Bill have never been made available to veterans of the Merchant Marine. While it is impossible to make up for over 40 years of unpaid benefits, I propose a bill that will acknowledge the service of the veterans of the Merchant Marine and offer compensation for years and years of lost benefits. My bill, H.R. 3729, the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2004, would pay each eligible veteran a monthly benefit of $1,000. That payment would also go to their surviving spouse. The average age of Merchant Marine veterans is now 81. Many have outlived their savings. A monthly benefit to compensate for the loss of nearly a lifetime of ineligibility for the GI Bill would be of comfort and would provide some measure of security for veterans of the Merchant Marine. I owe a debt of gratitude to Ian Allison, Merchant Marine combat veteran, Co-Chairman of the Just Compensation Committee, for bringing to me the plight of the Merchant Mariners. To recognize Mr. Allison, his Co-Chairman, Henry Van Gemert, and the thousands of veterans of the United States Merchant Marine, I today introduce the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2004, today, January 27, 2004, the date of Mr. Allison's 84th birthday. I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this legislation. We can never make up for the years lost, but we can fix the injustice by passing H.R. 3729 as quickly as possible.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, Colonel Earl McCandless lived in Solana Beach, California, near my Congressional District--and he and his family have been longtime friends of mine. Earl McCandless died last December 8, 2003, and I think his passing should be noted by the House of Representatives. He was a true Korean War hero, as well as being a musical genius who entertained Presidents and captains of industry at the Bohemian Grove in Northern California. Mr. Speaker, I submit for inclusion in the Record at this time a wonderful outline of his life, as written in his obituary in the Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma's largest daily newspaper. Earl R. ``Mac'' McCandless, accomplished pianist, retired Army Colonel and former military aide to Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, died Monday (12/8) of cancer in San Diego. He was 78. Before entering elementary school, McCandless discovered he had a gift for music. Without ever taking a lesson, he taught himself piano and organ, a talent that would later pay his way through his studies at UCLA and land him a job in his 20s playing background music on Art Linkletter's ``House Party.'' He enlisted in the Army right after graduating from Hobart High School (Hobart, Oklahoma) in 1943, served briefly in Guam and remained in the Army Reserve after his discharge in 1946. McCandless had just begun what seemed a promising career in music on Linkletter's show, when he was called up again to serve in the Korean War, in the Army Medical Service Corps. During his service there he was awarded a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. After another discharge and another call back, this time to Germany in 1953, McCandless decided to make the Army his career. He earned a Masters' degree in hospital administration, and at one point in his career oversaw CHAMPUS, the Army's medical insurance program. As a handsome, unmarried young officer stationed in Washington, DC, he was offered the off- hours job of serving as a military social aide to President Eisenhower. The task involved attending State dinners and other formal White House functions, giving discreet protocol instructions to guests, escorting single women through receiving lines and whispering names of guests in the President's ear. He continued the social staffing duties through the administration of President Kennedy. He was a staunchly liberal Democrat who diplomatically avoided political discussions with many in his mostly conservative circle of friends, offering a drink or a ``tune'' to change the subject. Col. McCandless retired from the Army in 1976 and settled in Solana Beach, where his small condominium overlooking the Pacific Ocean was dominated by a grand piano and his wall-to- wall collection of music on albums and tapes. Though devoted to his Army career, music was always a strong avocation. He enlivened hundreds of parties and events with his piano playing, and in his later years wrote, arranged and played two full musical productions for the Bohemian Club in Northern California. He is survived by his brothers Jack McCandless of Denver, John McCandless of Oklahoma City, Bob McCandless of Washington, DC, and sisters-in-law Betty and Anne McCandless of Oklahoma City. Services will be private. Memorials can be made to the McCandless Fund, in memory of Earl and his mother, Leah, c/o Oklahoma University College of Fine Arts, 540 Parrington Oval, Rm. 122, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019. Checks should be made payable to the OU Foundation.