Louie Gohmert

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. I appreciate the chairman yielding. I think we are getting closer, actually.

Mr. GOHMERT. Might I inquire, I don't have any other speakers, if I can find out where the chairman is with regard to additional speakers.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate Mrs. Tubbs Jones' comments. And I guess calling me or my comments outrageous was somewhat offensive, but as an old judge I was used to that. In fact, I have been called all kinds of names. And, yes, even 2 days ago when I was buying some potting soil back home, I had a guy come up to me with his father and said if it were not for me, he would never have straightened his life up. Those are not uncommon comments. And what it came from was being fair, but also having tough love. Because, as those who have been involved in dealing with people who have been addicted to drugs or alcohol, it does take tough love. And you do want to help them get out of the cycle rather than becoming an enabler. And that is my number one concern, is that we do not want to be enablers. And when we talk about Scripture, absolutely, there are all kinds of verses that apply to us for those that believe the teachings of Jesus as I do. They are entirely appropriate. Those are directed to individuals. If you get over to Romans 13, that is directed to the government. And where it says if you do evil, you need to be afraid, because God does not give the government the sword in vain, that is part of the role of government; if you do evil, then there are consequences. But it is a worthy goal to want to try to stop the cycle of recidivism. We all, I think, want that. No, I don't think; I know, we all want that same goal. But I am very concerned that we may be enabling by throwing money at a problem. One of the saddest words and lines I ever heard came at a hearing when the wealthiest people in my home county, they had the courtroom packed so that they were hoping that I would put her on probation yet again, and they knew she had had it too many times and it wasn't going to happen under me. And it didn't. And it turns out she had a huge trust fund every month. She never had to work, she never had to study, and she had spent all her money on drugs. And the last thing she said before I sentenced her was, ``I wish somebody had told me `no' before today and meant it.'' She has now gotten out. Her mother, when I was walking neighborhoods, I went up to her door and her mother said, ``Come in and sit down.'' She said, ``You know, my husband and I just hated you at one point, but you saved our daughter's life.'' Sometimes it is the tough love things that turn things around. We want the same goal. I don't want to throw good money after bad in renewed programs that shouldn't be. And I hope that if this fails on suspension, we can get the new data that is going to be forthcoming and work toward the same goal with additional, more helpful information. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Chairman, my time is short. I'll get right to some of these issues. I just have a copy of the bill here. Under the definition of ``religious organization,'' it actually excludes by definition schools, institutions that have been started by churches in which they set up their own boards, because it requires that the institution has to be in whole or in substantial part controlled, managed, owned or supported by the religion. So free- standing educational institutions, bookstores, things like that, would be opened up. Because there is so much language, I think while the Boy Scouts felt they were safe by the past litigation, but this opens up that whole new can of worms and we can expect more litigation against the Boy Scouts. To add in some of these things like, you can bring a lawsuit for discrimination if you don't like your conditions. I had one lawsuit that went nowhere because a woman claimed she was moved from working on copper to working on aluminum and that was an insult. Under this, that's a legitimate lawsuit if you have manifested, acted or had people perceive you in such a way that they think you may be homosexual. What this does is it invites people to come apply for a job, and if they feel like they may not get a job, make utterances like, well, you think I'm gay, that's why, and they will have a lawsuit. I can guarantee you, many lawyers will encourage their clients, the employers, to pay something just to make it go away. Training programs are listed. If you don't get the seminar, then you can go in and say, you didn't give me that trip because you think I'm gay. There may be a lawsuit there. In fact, you could, and lawyers in some circumstances, I would say most circumstances, will say, yeah, you ought to settle with these guys because they can take you to the cleaners. There is a provision, though, here. Isn't it nice, we have a provision in here that says States shall not be immune under the 11th amendment. This legislation is just going to set aside an amendment to the Constitution legislatively. My goodness. That's pretty bold. Pretty bold. Then we get down to what the real issue may be here, attorneys' fees on page 18. You're getting attorneys' fees. All the tort reform that occurred on med mal, this will bring litigation many times over if this becomes law. But the good news for the United States is, we have a provision in here, the United States will not be subject to punitive damages. Don't have a provision like that for States and for employers. So look out. What this Congress is now attempting to dictate is which religious beliefs and moral beliefs the majority believes are okay and which religious beliefs it feels are not okay. This will actually encourage people, whether they are gay or not, to flaunt or manifest what may be perceived to be characterizations to help the lawyers.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, there's a phrase that's used in the Bible a number of times: ``It came to pass.'' That really struck me this weekend. You know, the Republican majority, it came and it passed. The Democratic majority, it came and it will pass. So that needs to be thought about in these unprecedented procedural rules that shut out so much of America from having representation. You have a Rules Committee that says, we'll not allow any amendments. Now put on your evidence about your amendments. We have a majority leader that came to the floor and said, we reached out to the other side. I had a meeting this morning about SCHIP. The bill was put on display at 7:30; we didn't even get a copy. You have to come and look at the copy. It came to pass. I don't know how long the majority of the Democrats will last, but it came and it will pass. And people need to remember they're setting very, very dangerous precedents. It came and it will pass.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, but I understand, and I have not had the privilege of visiting the Great Falls area, it is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas and I am greatly appreciative of that. As I understand, this area is expected to include a microbrewery, a climbing wall, and an apartment complex is what was brought to my attention. And these of course raise other issues of liability. When we look around the country at all of the parks that are struggling right now to take care of their needs because the park service is a billion dollars in arrears as far as taking care of their current obligations, it should cause us to look carefully and go slowly in absorbing other land until we have the wherewithal to do so and the park service is able to work with Congress to come up with a solid plan to care for the park. There are also other issues when you bring in these other things like a microbrewery, a climbing wall, and an apartment complex regarding liabilities that may arise. There are so many questions still out there yet to be resolved. I have to say with regard to the Resources Committee, I am well pleased there are so many things that are completely bipartisan, and we have a number of them today. But because of the issues involved here, we will be asking our colleagues to vote ``no'' until we have a better plan. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I do need to address the question, and it may have been rhetorical, how dare anyone imply that this area is not significant? I haven't heard anybody imply such a thing. It is truly significant. That is not the issue. The issue is priorities. We have been hearing for the last week how important it is for poor children to have health care insurance. There are so many priorities; yet there are thousands and thousands of wonderfully historic significant pieces of property. No one, I would hope, would dare say that this area was not significant. It is quite significant. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my friend from Georgia (Mr. Price).

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, once again, I think my friend from Arizona has adequately explained the bill. We support it and I have no objections, and even though it's unusual here in Congress to yield back any time, we do so yield back our time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I believe the bill has been properly explained. I would like to add a personal touch as a Member of Congress from Texas. We are proud that a Texan like Dwight Eisenhower is being honored. Not many people are aware, since he grew up in Kansas, that he was born in Denison, Texas, but there was so much about this great man to be admired. It is a wonderful tribute, and of course, as chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee has indicated, this is not the beginning of the process. This is continuing the ongoing process to make this a reality. So we are very pleased that it's occurring. Of course, from a personal standpoint, I like the fact that he was a Republican and especially liked his hairline, but especially what he did for this Nation and shoring us up, protecting us in World War II, guiding this Nation as its President. This is a wonderful tribute, and I appreciate the work of the chairman in bringing this about. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 523 and yield myself such time as I may consume. First, I would like to thank Committee Chairman Rahall and Subcommittee Chairman Grijalva for scheduling and for pushing this important legislation. This straightforward bill allows for the conveyance of a few small pieces of public land to the Douglas Public Utility District for fair market value and then dedicates the sales proceeds to improving public access to existing Bureau of Land Management lands in Washington State. This conveyance from one public agency to another will better facilitate the use of this land. Congressman Doc Hastings is also to be commended for his work. He has worked and pushed, and it's great to see this all coming to fruition. Congressman Hastings is traveling from his district at this time and cannot be here.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. I do thank my colleague from the Virgin Islands for outlining H.R. 53. Two-thirds of the island of St. John is comprised of the Virgin Islands National Park. The park's dominant size is negatively impacting the quality of life for the growing population there at St. John. Without utilizing the park land, there is no other suitable property to build a school on St. John. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. We had hoped to consider an amendment to convey the property outright for the school, as was offered, but then withdrawn by Congressman Jeff Flake during our committee consideration of this bill. However, Chairman Rahall has given his support for other long-term leases, and this bill does establish an important precedent for the National Park Service. We support the bill. It is for a great purpose. I would urge my colleagues to support this, since we don't have an amendment to give it outright to my colleague, but, in the meantime, we support this bill and wish the project well. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 767, the REPAIR Act, as it is called, and yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to also congratulate and thank my dear friend from Guam. She gives hope to this country and encouragement by showing that there is class and there is graciousness in this body, and it exists in the delegate from Guam. She also carries that out as chairman of the subcommittee. Now, the effectiveness of the REPAIR Act will be in direct proportion to the amount of money Congress allocates. We simply cannot afford to let our wildlife refuges be systematically destroyed by invasive species, and that is happening. This legislation is a positive step because it offers hope in the fight against invasives in the future. One such species is the giant silvinia, a plant that has made its way across many lakes as it has entered Texas. It is a small harmless- looking little aquatic plant that finds itself on boat trailers leaving a lake. When the boat trailer is lowered into another lake, the nightmare floating plant finds itself in a new lake, and it can take over. It doubles its size in less than a week, and in no time covers acres, shutting off sunlight, killing off plants underneath, which results in aquatic life dying. It must be fought and eradicated without doing damage to the lake during the fight. Such a battle takes many good minds and hard workers coming together to prevent this creeping menace from being the last thing left in a lake alive. In Louisiana, there are cities like Shreveport whose sources of drinking water are being put in jeopardy by this freak of nature. Just recently I toured Caddo Lake, the largest freshwater natural lake at one time and a true treasure for America with its cypress trees, Spanish moss, and unusual fish. We had a joint task force of biologists and brilliant environmental problem-solvers from Federal, State, private groups, who all had the same goal: eradicate the invasion of this foreign species without doing damage to the lake. I just want to read a list of the types of people that are willing to come together when we deal with something that is such a grave threat to our water supplies. We had Dan Turner, representing Congressman Jim McCrery of Louisiana; Ken Shaw, chairman, Cypress Valley Navigation District; Robert Speight, President, Greater Caddo Lake Association; Jack Canson, community response coordinator; Mark Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge manager; Al Tasker, USDA/Animal Plant Health Inspection Service; Dustin Grant, USDA/Plant Protection and Quarantine, State operations support officer; Dr. Earl Chilton, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and a member of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee for the National Invasive Species Council, Department of the Interior; Paul Hoffman, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Interior/NISC; also Dr. Michael Grodowitz, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, biocontrol expert; Dr. Randy Westbrooks, U.S. Geological Survey, invasive plant coordinator; Judge Richard Anderson, Harrison County judge; Jerry Lomax, Harrison County Precinct 1 commissioner; C.E. Bourne, Marion County Precinct 3 commissioner for Judge Parker; Sam Canup, mayor of the City of Uncertain, and that is a real city, Uncertain, Texas; Jay Webb, Caddo Lake Chamber of Commerce; Bill Abney, Red River Compact; Walt Sears, manager, Northeast Texas Municipal Water District; Dwight Shellman, Caddo Lake Institute; Todd Dickenson, manager, Caddo Lake State Park; Alan Grantham, Dallas Caddo Club; Connie Ware, Marshall Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Jim Harris, Marshall Chamber of Commerce, Water Committee Chair; and Sam Moseley of Marshall. It just points up how important what this bill addresses is. These are invasive species that come into lakes and to parks and take over and destroy the native habitat that we are trying to preserve. I have to say, when we had this meeting that went on for a number of hours, I don't recall one time during the entire meeting where anybody ever asked what party anybody ever supported politically. It was all about trying to protect what God had graced this country with, and it is wonderful to see that kind of support. But what is very clear is that we cannot fight off these nonnative invasive species unless we work together in a bipartisan, in a cumulative fashion with all these different scientists, biologists, governmental groups coming together, because it affects so many different areas. It's one of the reasons I am so grateful to my friend from Guam and for all of those that have worked to help make this possible. We have got to preserve what we have got, and this is one of the ways to do it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, once again, some people advocate mechanical removal of an invasive species; others advocate using natural means, whether it's an insect or a fish or something to help control an invasive species. Some offer that there are chemical means for dealing with those. But unless we come together on a bill like this, bringing all the different entities with all the difference weapons at their command, we are not going to be able to control some of these species. Some of them, like the giant silvinia, are so resistant to so much, and they hide among other plants until they take over and just spread so rapidly, that we must come together. It is gratifying to see such bipartisan effort in trying to hold on to the land we love.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1205, the Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2007. We thank the gentleman from American Samoa and, once again, my friend from Guam and also the gentleman from Puerto Rico for their work on this legislation. Coral reefs are truly a treasure, but they mean the world to the aquatic life in those areas. This legislation authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to undertake coral reef conservation activities. It does involve matching grants, and it provides it in areas under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. At this time, though, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield such time as he may consume to my friend from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. It does a good thing and preserves something that is so vital to our Nation as a resource. We do need to be careful about the unintended consequences of the expansion of the term ``wildlife'' in other statutes just to give the Secretary authority over coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems, even in limited circumstances. But with that aside, I would encourage support for the bill, and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 1462 stems from endangered species conflicts along the Platte River. As a result of lawsuits and the real threat of water and power infrastructure being shut down over endangered species conflicts, the Federal Government, three States, water and power users, and environmental organizations came together on the Platte River Recovery Program, and this legislation implements part of that program. The result is that existing water and power infrastructure is protected while a collaborative and far-reaching program to help save four different species begins. Since this program is contingent upon Federal appropriations and a State can opt out, the governance committee charged with implementing the program has the enormous responsibility of keeping all stakeholders together, conversing with affected parties, communities and landowners on land and water issues and finding real results. Congress will continue to have oversight on this program to see if it is being run effectively and efficiently. This legislation, if implemented properly, can be a win-win for both the people and species of the Platte River basin. Mr. Speaker, before I yield back, let me just emphasize again there were so many interests at work here. I don't know if anybody is totally thrilled with the result, but it seemed to be an appropriate way to bring what could be done together to come about with a result that will require oversight, will require monitoring. But under the circumstances to keep things from being totally shut down, we would encourage our colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 813. H.R. 813 does enjoy bipartisan support from the Orange County, California delegation. This legislation seeks to reduce Southern California's dependence on imported water by helping localities build needed desalinization infrastructure in the region. Congressman Gary Miller's bill could not be considered at a better time since millions of water consumers in Southern California may soon feel the brunt of water rationing due to a lawsuit and subsequent judicial decision reducing water deliveries to the region. A number of our colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, sent a letter over a month ago requesting that the Democratic majority hold a hearing on the impacts of this decision. This Congress needs to recognize that people are a part of the water equation as well in this endangered species debate. We hope the majority will work with us on this important hearing and ways to avoid future water shut-offs. This legislation may be too late to mitigate harmful lawsuits and judicial decisions, but it will help in the long term; and that is why we support the bill.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1803 and yield myself such time as I may consume. This important legislation was introduced by our colleagues from California, President--not President yet--Duncan Hunter and Susan Davis, both colleagues here in Congress. It represents the first step in expanding increasingly scarce water supplies for the citizens of the San Diego area. This bill authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to assess the feasibility of constructing an intertie system between four reservoirs. Several of these reservoirs are significantly below capacity in most years. Once interconnected, water could then be transported to the unused space. Growing populations and reduced water storage opportunities require us to make efficient use of the supplies that we have, and this bill does just that. I urge my colleagues to support this noncontroversial bill, which also passed the House in the last Congress. It also follows the adage that an east Texan once told me, ``Use what you got.'' This will allow us to do that. I urge support of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1855 and yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this legislation, sponsored by our California colleague and former Water and Power Subcommittee Chair George Radanovich, authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to participate in the design and construction of the Madera Water Supply and Enhancement Project. Due to a rapidly growing population and lawsuits filed, once again we hear about those lawsuits filed by San Francisco-based environmental organizations, the San Joaquin Valley of California faces increasing demands on its limited water supply. If excess water in the San Joaquin River exists, this project would store those flows in a nearby aquifer underneath the 13,000-acre Madera Ranch. This stored water bank could prove critical to meeting demands in dry years. This legislation also unilaterally declares the project feasible, which is something the bureaucracy would normally take years and much paperwork to decide. We commend the majority for agreeing to this rarely-used congressional declaration for a water storage project. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague across the aisle again, a Member of Congress with true grace and class. I appreciate her work on these bills, and I urge my colleagues to support this particular legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I believe the National Parks Subcommittee chairman has adequately explained this bill, and we have no objection.