Porter Goss

Mr. GOSS

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the former Governor and a member of our committee and the chairman of our Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly), the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe of the Committee on International Relations. (Mr. GALLEGLY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the blue sky times of the past peace have clearly clouded over, and we have now come to realize that as Americans that our part of the world is not sheltered from global storms either. Our country was hit a terrible blow on September 11, one that was delivered by depraved men, not by Mother Nature, and unlike the forces of nature, the destructive power of man can and must be stopped before it surges and reaches our shores again. It is time we go straight to the eye and dismantle the elements from which the storm of brutal, repressive tyranny and oppression radiate. Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and their radical ilk are at the epicenter of terrorist activity in the Middle East. Nobody doubts that. It is not debatable. President Bush, Prime Minister Blair and others have made convincing cases about the threats the despotic Iraqi regime poses to world peace and stability today, today, as well as tomorrow. The list of offenses is long, and it has been much discussed. Briefly, Iraq has not lived up to the terms of peace it agreed to at the end of the Gulf War. So we are in a continuation of the Gulf War. It has illegally sold oil and fired missiles repeatedly at U.S. aircraft in no-fly zones. I am sorry that CNN does not run every night the aerial combat that goes on in the no-fly zones. The Iraqis are trying to kill our troops over there who are enforcing the sanctions the Iraqi regime agreed to. The policemen we put there, with their agreement, they are trying to take out. Iraq has expanded its weapons of mass destruction capabilities against its pledge not to. It still has deadly chemical weapons hidden throughout the country, and it has tried to develop nuclear devices as well. It is certain that Iraq has ties to many Islamic terror groups in the region, including al Qaeda. Evidence supports Iraq's involvement in the first and probably the second World Trade Center bombing. The ultimate goal of an Iraq invasion is clear. It is the removal of weaponry and the Saddam Hussein regime. Saddam Hussein, as we all know, is aggressive, he is a rogue leader, he ruthlessly crushes his political dissent. He ignores the most basic tenets of human dignity and uses fear and brutality to stay in power. He has not been truthful. There is no reason for anyone to believe him. He is known from our intelligence sources to be a master of deceit and deception in word and in deed. He would not be missed by his friends in that region, and no one, no one is defending him in this body that I have heard yet. Debate now, followed by unlimited inspection and full, effective enforcement of the sanctions are the best way to achieve his removal and reduction of weapons of mass destruction and the threat they represent. Now is not the time to sit back and observe the storm. As the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I can attest to the evilness of Saddam Hussein. There is no doubt. I can attest to the capabilities of his dreadful arsenal of weaponry and the inventory that that danger will grow geometrically the longer we wait to disable him. Those are undeniable realities that we have to live with and deal with. We know about him. What about us? What are we going to do about it? That is what this debate really is, the how and the when of dealing with something we have to deal with. President Bush asked in this resolution that we give him flexibility and support to handle this in the most effective way with the least risk to our troops, the least risk to further dangers for the people of this great Nation and our allies and friends around the world. We should support our President. I will support him with my vote; and I hope others will, too. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the Chairman of the Committee on International Relations, for the purposes of control.

Mr. GOSS

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 4628) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2003 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I may not have heard properly, but that list did not exactly conform to the list I submitted, and I want to make sure we remove any doubt.

Mr. GOSS

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the managers may have until midnight on Monday, October 7, 2002, to file the conference report on the bill (H.R. 4628) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2003 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes.

Mr. GOSS

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman of the committee for yielding me this time. I am obviously here to join my colleagues in honoring the memory of those who died in the terrorist attacks of a year ago this day and to underscore with gratitude the amazing valor displayed by them. I am sure every American remembers where they were and what they were doing when these ignominious attacks occurred. For me, I recall finding Speaker Hastert in his office, urgently gazing out the window down the Mall, looking at the smoke coming from the Pentagon. I urged immediate evacuation, and the Speaker said, stop. First, we must open the House and have a prayer. So part of my memory includes our short gathering in this Chamber and the earnest and moving prayer by the guest chaplain of that day, Reverend Gerald Creedon. I would like to begin my remarks this day recalling that prayer. He said, ``God of peace and life, send Your spirit to heal our country; bring consolation to all injured in today's tragedy in New York and Washington. Protect us and help our leaders to lead us out of this moment of crisis to a new day of peace. Amen.'' What Reverend Creedon did not know, and what none of us knew here, was that more casualties were to come in a field in Pennsylvania shortly after his prayer and our very hasty adjournment that day. Actually, this was not Father Creedon's original prayer; he had prepared one on the topic of immigration. But realizing the gravity of the situation, he spontaneously gave us heartfelt, wonderful words which were suitable to the moment and which are posted on the wall of my office to this day as a daily reminder. To the more than 3,000 people who lost their lives that day at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93, we owe continuing remembrance, deep thanks, and responsive action. A year ago today, terrorists attacked Americans and citizens of scores of other countries who were on our U.S. soil. We, along with a broad coalition of nations, have taken up the challenge of combating the scourge of global terrorism. It is serious business. President Bush has left no doubt about his commitment to have our Nation lead the way. Last year the fight came to the doorstep of each and every American citizen; and within the very first minutes of September 11, 2001, our Nation responded as one. I would like to dedicate my short time today to celebrating the men and women, ordinary Americans, who have fought back; the quiet heroes. Let me begin with Ceecee Lyles, a flight attendant of Flight 93, who was a resident of my district of southwest Florida. A former police patrol officer detective, she had spent 6 years risking her life to protect others in that service. In December of 2000, mindful of her young children and looking for a less dangerous career, she enrolled as a flight attendant school candidate; and 6 weeks later, she began flying for United Airlines out of Newark. At 9:58 on September 11, only 5 minutes after the House recessed for the day under the dire circumstances then apparent, Ceecee called her husband, Lorne, in Fort Myers, who is a police officer there, from her plane to tell him that her flight had been hijacked. Her words: ``I called to tell you I love you. Tell the kids I love them.'' Her last words that we know of were, ``I think they are going to do it. They are forcing their way into the cockpit.'' And then the phone went dead. In this Chamber, we owe a particular debt of gratitude to CeeCee Lyles and her companions on Flight 93, and we all know it. That flight may very well have been heading to Washington when it crashed into Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Without prompting or training, the passengers and crew fought back, and in doing so, saved many additional lives; possibly, our lives right here in the Capitol, for as we now know, many believe, and there is some evidence, that the Capitol was the intended target of Flight 93. FBI Director Mueller, speaking at the crash site in Pennsylvania, said, ``We believe that those passengers on that jet were absolute heroes.'' Wallace Miller, the coroner for the case, called the passengers citizen soldiers. He went on to ask: ``When can you think of, other than the Revolution or our Civil War or at Pearl Harbor, where American citizens died defending their home ground?'' But let us reflect a moment on our history. While many would compare 9-11 to the devastation of Pearl Harbor, there is a significant difference. Pearl Harbor was, after all, a military-against-military matter; 9-11 was a vicious attack on civilians and on freedom. It is obvious that all of us have had to deal with new restrictions on the way we live our lives; but we have also developed a sense of pride, of patience, and individual responsibility as we go about our lives to bring us closer as Americans. The terrorists thought they would destroy our spirit; but instead, they renewed it. Destroying the will of the enemy to fight is the common measure of victory in war. bin Laden and his depraved extremists fueled our resolve to wipe his brand of evil from a civilized world. In addition to people all over America who have stepped up to the plate, our government has also become more alert, more focused, and more vigilant. We all must recognize the dedication and sacrifice of the thousands of individuals in government service who are out there on the front lines. They are protecting you and me, and they are making us proud. They know we are counting on them at a time when it matters. Every new day as we wake up safe and sound in our homes here, I hope we remember to say just a little thank you to those out there for the work they are doing. Whether fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, working the streets in Africa, Latin America, Europe, or Asia, perhaps working in a cubicle in the D.C. area, or as part of the joint terrorism task force in a U.S. city, these are the intelligence officers, the military and civilian personnel who in all likelihood will not receive public recognition for the work they do; yet they do work long hours, often in places far from friends and family, and sometimes at very great personal risk. I regrettably acknowledge that sometimes they do not come home. Johnny Michael Spann was a CIA officer, a husband, and a father of three. He went into Afghanistan in an early phase of the war to collect information crucial to defeating the Taliban and to protecting Americans at home. He was killed last November during a prisoner uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif, which was particularly brutal, as we now know. Finally, I would like to recognize that since last September every American has been engaged in combatting terrorism. We have been more vigilant, aware and alert, reporting leads to the police and FBI in record numbers. We have volunteered time and resources to our communities. We have been more patient as we have tried new security procedures at airports and public buildings, even though some of them have clearly turned out to be unworkable. We have maintained our basic freedoms and our democracy in the face of further terrorist threat. We still fly, we go to the mall, we cheer on our sports teams, we drive over bridges, we speak our minds, and we assemble where we choose. So on this September 11, let us rededicate ourselves to honoring the memory of those who died by continuing to stand up to terror and to fear. Then let us also look to the future and the young people who are preparing to join the fray. Our youth, who some thought might be becoming a bit apathetic, or were perhaps now taking this great country for granted, are now applying in record numbers to service academies, to police and fire departments, the military, the FBI, the CIA, and other government service. They are our future and they are ready. September 11 will come again next year and every year thereafter. It is now part of who we are. Woe to those who would ever test us again.

Mr. GOSS

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I rise this evening to briefly summarize the bipartisan recommendations of the Intelligence Committee on title 2 of H.R. 5005. Before I offer the committee's recommendation, let me give you an idea of why the committee took its action. If you look at the overall structure of the new department, you will notice that the vast majority of the organization has to do with planning, implementation, protection and response to terrorist threats and actions. What we also know is that combating terrorism relies very much on timely, well-coordinated access to intelligence and other sensitive information. I would submit that if the analytical portion of the Department doesn't work, the rest of the Department's operations and functions are somewhat academic. The committee's strategic vision was that the new department needs an analytical focal point where foreign intelligence, Federal law enforcement, and state and local information will all be analyzed collectively in order to best understand threats, specifically to our homeland, and to properly evaluate the weaknesses in our defenses. Without an all-source analytic capability to validate and make sense of threat information, the Secretary for Homeland Security will have to rely only on Intelligence Community analysis that may be fractious, contradictory, parochial, and incomplete, and will have to make critical analytical judgments in a vacuum. The HPSCI recommendations to the Select Committee, which have been largely adopted in the Manager's amendment, provide for the establishment of an all-source, collaborative Intelligence Analysis Center that will fuse intelligence and other information from the Intelligence Community, as well as Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies and the private sector, with respect to terrorist threats and actions against the United States. Our proposal integrates the traditional mission of intelligence analysis with new sources of information and sophisticated information tools. An equally important duty of the Intelligence Analysis Center will be to integrate intelligence and other information to produce and disseminate strategic and tactical vulnerability assessments with respect to terrorist threats. The Intelligence Analysis Center would be charged with developing a comprehensive national plan to provide for the security of key national resources and critical infrastructures. The Intelligence Analysis Center would also review and recommend improvements in law, policy and procedure for sharing intelligence and other information within the Federal Government and between the Federal, State, and local governments. The committee believes that the proposed Intelligence Analysis Center should be made an element of the Intelligence Community and be a funded program within the National Foreign Intelligence Program in accordance with the National Security Act of 1947. Making the Intelligence Analysis Center an NFIP element will ensure that the Secretary has full and timely access to all relevant intelligence pertaining to terrorist threats against the United States, as well as to ensure proper coordination between the Department and Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The Intelligence Committee's recommendation envisions an Intelligence Analysis Center that is agile in terms of personnel and infrastructure, appropriately flexible in terms of its authorities and its capacity to address rapidly changing threats to the United States, and unique to our government in that it incorporates the best analytical practices and capabilities found in both the government and the private sector to defend our country and our people.

Mr. GOSS

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, and former Governor of Delaware. (Mr. CASTLE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the chairman of our Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, and the partial author with the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman) of the recent report that has been well received on the first outing of our efforts on counterterrorism. (Mr. CHAMBLISS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I too am happy to yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of the debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. Mr. Speaker, this is the standard rule that we have used for many years on the intelligence authorization. As far as I know, it is not controversial in any way. As in past years, we have thought it best to allow Members good opportunity to review the bill and debate the issues they feel are important to our Nation's security. Of course, that is particularly appropriate now. Therefore, as has been the tradition, the rule is a modified open rule, providing for 1 hour of general debate, equally divided between the chairman and ranking member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The rule further provides for the consideration of only pro forma amendments for the purpose of debate and those amendments printed in the Congressional Record prior to their consideration, as we heard in the Clerk's reading. This has allowed for vetting of amendments regarding classified matters in years past and has proved to be good practice. Finally, this rule provides for a motion to recommit with or without instruction. So I think it is a very clear, fair rule that suits the purpose well. Mr. Speaker, just one year ago we met to consider this bill in the wake of the tragic terrorist attacks and rallied support for our intelligence community and national security initiatives. Our country has come a long way since then, but there is still a lot more that needs to be done. This year's intelligence authorization bill contains the most significant investment by the administration for the intelligence community in more than 8 years. This is an important bill. These funds allow the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to continue the work that we have been promoting to address many of the longstanding shortfalls that have besieged our intelligence community throughout the 1990s. In the upcoming general debate, we will discuss in more detail some of the specific provisions of H.R. 4628. However, I would like to briefly highlight a few of the critical areas upon which the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has focused in this year's bill. We have further enhanced efforts to rebuild our Nation's human intelligence capabilities, human, spies; and shortfalls in the intelligence community's analytic core, more analysis; as well as addressing longstanding recapitalization needs for technical intelligence, heavy investment in important equipment. Of specific note are actions we are taking to address critical needs in the area of linguistic capabilities, people who speak the languages we need to understand. Addressing these critical areas is crucial to meeting our immediate counterterrorism challenges and to correcting our longer- range problems facing the intelligence community and the basic structure of the U.S. intelligence establishment. The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence continues bold initiatives on these points, knowing that true intelligence community reform will be necessary if our intelligence establishment is to successfully meet all of the national security challenges this Nation faces in today's puzzling and dangerous world. Through our regular oversight work and in our joint inquiry efforts with our Senate counterparts, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is and will be further addressing the pressing need for appropriate intelligence community reform. Meanwhile, this bill provides the President with the intelligence tools to win the war on terrorism and to remedy many other longstanding problems of the intelligence community, which we have pointed out several years in this process. In sum, this is a good, noncontroversial, bipartisan bill with very few, if any, contentious amendments to consider. The rule that has been crafted for its consideration is fair and will provide ample opportunity for debate. I urge support for the rule and the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 497 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), the chairman of the Committee on Science and a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. (Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), a very valued member of our committee.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk).

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 497.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would echo my colleague and friend's sentiment. This a fair and good rule. It deserves everybody's support. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise this evening in very strong support of this bill, which is the annual authorization for intelligence and intelligence-related activities, as required by law. This is a unique authorization bill in that sense. This is a very good bill that was crafted on a bipartisan basis. In fact, I think it more appropriate, I should say, nonpartisan basis. And it passed unanimously from our committee. This would not have been possible without the attention and involvement of all of our stellar members, and I truly mean that, but especially the tireless efforts of our ranking member, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who, I am sorry to say, is on other duties before the Committee on Rules now which is never a great place to be if you can be on the intelligence community. I cannot say enough about her support and guidance in this process, all in the spirit of ensuring that our intelligence community is positioned in the best possible way to protect our Nation. I want to thank the gentlewoman for the number of hours that she has contributed to the committee's all-important work and for the good nonpartisan work you do and for the leadership she provides for her side. Mr. Chairman, this bill turns a corner on rebuilding our intelligence capabilities. The administration has requested a significant amount of investment into these capabilities which is frankly long overdue. More importantly, the bill lays the groundwork for sustained investment in programs that will take a while to rebuild, but they are crucial, absolutely crucial to our success against today's and tomorrow's threats, which we have begun to better recognize and this bill begins to address some of the issues that have heretofore been placed on a back burner, despite the fact that some of us have been urging they be moved to a more forward place. In some ways, I see this bill as emphasizing the needs to get back to the basics of intelligence. Often of the last decade especially, many have gotten overly enamored with technology and finding ways to collect data with the least amount of risks, the intelligence version of the no-casualties policy. Although, I will be the first to emphasize the need to keep on top of various technologies and the importance of them to our intelligence capabilities, our real security relies on some of the most fundamental aspects of intelligence. Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, despite our concerns and warnings, we learned in a very tragic way how important these fundamentals really are, notwithstanding the extraordinarily good work a great many men and women representing our country are providing for us around the world in the intelligence community. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were well conceived; they were coordinated; they took advantage of liberties that we have come to rely on in our quality of life in this country. That also confirmed our fears that the world is, indeed, a very dangerous and very unstable place. And for the committee it unfortunately proved our worst fears that the Nation's intelligence community was not sufficiently robust or positioned to provide the first line of defense we need and do count on. Mr. Chairman, the price was much too high, and we owe it to those who lost their lives, some of whom were members of the intelligence community, I might add, to make sure we rebuild our capabilities and our people to the best of our ability is the mission of this bill. Other members of committee will highlight certain provisions of the bill, so I am not going through them. I will make the point, however, that certain lessons are involved in the getting back to the basics part of this. They include: That the way to gain the most vital information, plans and intentions of the enemy, what they are actually thinking of doing, is more often than not to be physically close to the target, that is the right way to do it, whether that is through the human agent assets or assets of other types, like technical assets or such things an unmanned aerial vehicles or manned aircraft, even. This involves taking risks, both in terms of who you may have to work with and in terms of, frankly, potential loss of life and tragically we have seen casualties in the intelligence community in the war on terrorism this year. Once you collect that data, you have the mechanisms and capabilities to analyze, understand and use the data, get it to the right people in a timely way, and that involves having the right people with the right training and the right skills and armed with the right tools to make sure those who get that information can get it, and the right management and guidance are available to you through the intelligence community, and that community is structured in such a way to allow the management to be effective. Those are all things that we need to work on. Mr. Chairman, this bill addresses many of these basics, save the structure question. And I want to emphasize that this is a task that is yet to be completed, but is every bit as important as the investment in the basics. This is an area that the committee hopes to address soon as has actually been somewhat sidetracked because of the 9-11 review, but it remains a major priority on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to deal with the intelligence architecture. Before I close, let me recognize two groups of people. First are the men and women of the intelligence community whom I referred to previously who are working tirelessly around the globe, and they are doing everything they can to protect us. They work 7-24, and they working in dangerous conditions and not very nice conditions and they do things that a lot of us would not be very happy to do, and they take up that work. They are the front lines of America. They are remarkable people. I think anyone on the committee would tell you, we owe them a great deal of gratitude and thanks. And I am sorry we cannot actually reveal some of the exploits and success of these people because it would make Americans proud, as it makes us on the committee proud when we get to know these things. The second group of people is close to home, Mr. Chairman. We would not be here tonight if it were not for our committee members and our committee staff. I have spoken my in the committee and my membership, my vice chairman, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) who does a great job taking care of me and pinch-hitting for me, and all the other members of committee. We have now broken down into subcommittee so we have more subcommittee chairman and ranking members and everybody has risen to the occasion and the extra tasks that our committees this year has been asked to take. We have expanded by something like 25 percent in terms of our membership and staff. We have been given many extra responsibilities because of 9-11 and everybody has risen to the task. I must say the committee staff has impressed me every day. When I arrive at the committee, I admire their work ethic and their understanding of the very complex and arcane activities of the Intelligence Community. I think they represent the committee and Congress very well. Special thanks to staff director Tim Sample, Mike Sheehy, the senior minority staffer who worked to make sure the functions of the committee occur in the least partisan atmosphere possible. And I am extremely proud of that accomplishment on their park. Thank to Chris Barton, our chief counsel, and Chris Healey, a minority counsel, as well as Michele Lang, our deputy chief counsel, and Mike Meermans, our budget coordinator for their tireless work on preparing this bill. Obviously, each and every person on this staff beyond those I named deserve our thanks and praise for jobs well done. In the atmosphere I want to particularly thank our security staff who have been given some extraordinary problems to cope with and I think have done an amazingly good job. Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I am privileged to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the distinguished vice-chairman of the committee, who also takes care of all of the policy coordination on our committee, which always dazzles me. (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), a decorated pilot from the services and the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence which covers quite a spectrum. (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra), a very valuable member of the committee.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr.)