Louie Gohmert

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Republican leadership on passing a budget resolution for fiscal year 2007. However, I must point out that the resolution we passed last week provides for a $27 billion increase in nonemergency discretionary spending over fiscal year 2006, when we spent more than we did in fiscal year 2005, when we spent more than we did in fiscal year 2004, and so on. The Federal Government has a long track record of spending more money than it takes in. Our fiscal irresponsibility has to stop somewhere. That is why I am introducing today a bill titled the Zero Baseline Budget Act of 2006. This bill will amend the misnamed so-called Balanced Budget Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, which instructs Congress to continue spending more money than it takes in every year by creating a budget baseline that automatically increases over the previous year's spending. The Zero Baseline Budget Act will instruct the CBO to provide a baseline that has no automatic increases and does not contain emergency and supplemental spending over the previous year. The baseline for the next year will merely be the sum of the year-long spending bills in effect for the current year. This way, an increase is an increase, a cut is a cut, and the status quo is neither. What a novel idea, for the government to say what it actually means.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I stand today in strong support of H.R. 4200, the Forest Emergency Research and Recovery Act. I tell you, is it not good to see common sense coming out on both sides and good things prevail? Well, excessive red tape prevents the Forest Service from being the best possible stewards of our public lands. While we have heard from many that there is no need to move quickly after a catastrophic event, here is an outline of the situation we face in the Gulf States. I think you will see we do need to move quickly, and inaction is not acceptable. The Gulf States are booming with newcomers, and many are moving in and living near the national forests. Hurricanes have hit and will hit, and when they do, they knock down trees, just as they did last fall. Shortly after the hurricane season ends, fire season begins. Forest managers need to remove the dead trees after a hurricane to reduce the chances for catastrophic fires, and because the wood rots quickly in this region, management actions need to occur within months, not years, as is often the case. H.R. 4200 will allow for expedited cleanup of excess wood debris that are actually fuels. If a fire does occur, it is also important to move quickly to remove dead trees to reduce the potential for insect epidemics, which have happened and do happen. H.R. 4200 will allow for the expedited removal of burned, dead trees. In addition, because of the rapid growth of brush and competing vegetation after a catastrophic event, the planting of seedlings needs to happen quickly for it to be successful. Right here in my district in east Texas, we have one of the best forestry schools in the entire world, and that is at Stephen F. Austin University. James Hull, the State forester to the State of Texas said on Monday in an editorial in the Houston Chronicle, ``Red tape forces Federal agencies to wait as long as 2 years before properly managing damaged forests afflicted by wildfires and hurricanes. With every passing day, there are increased risks. We must adjust current regulations in ways to promote healthy habitat, increased water and air quality and growth of new trees.'' Not to mention that we have a couple of industries that are willing to use the debris in order to generate energy to make that go so that we can free up electricity and natural gas and oil. I agree with the Texas State forester. I do urge my colleagues, this is the right thing to do. It is good for all of us. It is good for America, and it is good for the forests.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, this is a simple amendment that expresses simply a sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Army should consider conveying the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Marshall, Texas, to the Marshall-Harrison County Veterans Association for the purpose of erecting a veterans memorial, creating a park, and converting the present building to a veterans museum to recognize and honor the accomplishments of our Armed Forces. I have received letters, phone calls and personal visits about such a project. Harrison County, back in the 1990s, had closed a huge Army facility. There were thousands of people that lost jobs, and now BRAC has recommended closing a reserve center there. This is not trying to undo the BRAC process whatsoever. BRAC is already closing the reserve center. What this will do is allow them to transfer this. We have a letter from the Army indicating this should be surplus, less than 3 acres. This will allow them to have a veterans museum, a veterans center, a place veterans can go, many of whom will never have the opportunity to come here to Washington, D.C., to see the museums and see the memorials. And it will give them a chance there in East Texas where there have already been so many jobs lost because of BRAC. This is a bipartisan issue in the county. There are Democrats and Republicans both that are urging and pushing for this, and I was proud to go ahead and bring this amendment as a sense of Congress to urge that this is something that could be done. It will help the community in an area there in east Texas. Recruiting is up, recruiting is going well, but it further emphasizes and will give an opportunity to emphasize the importance of valor, duty, honor, country. I would like to thank Chairman Hunter and his committee for their hard work on this bill that will undoubtedly benefit our Armed Forces. I would ask that this amendment also be added to the bill to assist those folks there in Harrison County. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, my colleague across the aisle points to a $100,000 fine as not being adequate to deter Mr. Abramoff, and I would remind my colleague, he is going to prison. Mr. Cunningham has gone to prison. People who violate the law will go to prison. Mr. Chairman, there are already bribery statutes. There are already corruption statutes. This reminds me a lot of the 1990s, when anytime someone did a violent act with a gun, the Clinton administration ran in and said, we need more gun control laws, never mind the fact that they already violated many gun control laws as it is. What is needed is just enforcement of the current laws. Now, the lobbying reform bill will create some requirements of filing that will enable people to do their job, but apparently there is not a real knowledge of how the system works. Let me tell you how this will play out. Someday, heaven forbid but it will happen, there will be a politically motivated prosecutor, and he will go to a lobbyist, and he will say, You know, we have scoured through every report you have ever filed, and we finally found one entry you failed to make. Your accountant did not put this in, and you signed it, and by golly, you are going to go to prison for maybe 3 years. Now, we do notice you made a contribution to this Congressman over there. You know, and I am sure you can go to trial, and maybe, on your part of the case, you may be able to convince them it was not corrupt or willfully, knowingly. But you know what? If you just happened to remember that this Congress Member, Democrat or Republican, whoever they happen to be after, had asked for something in return or said they would do something in return for contribution, then we might just go away because that would show what good faith you are acting in, and maybe you really did not know and maybe this was not willful. That will happen someday because there are some prosecutors who are politically motivated. Now, I do not think it will happen under this administration, but it will happen someday. And when it does, if this amendment goes down, you can be reminded that there was a Congressman who stood up to try to do the right thing, because we have plenty of corruption laws; it is a matter of reporting requirements that will be enhanced here. We do not need to criminalize administrative functions. Mr. Chairman, with that, I would ask for Members to do the bipartisan thing and vote for this amendment.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I have this amendment to this bill. This is a bill that requires administrative reporting requirements. There are a myriad of things this bill requires, and we have chosen, apparently, to try to criminalize administrative conduct. Innocent mistakes will allow people to be taken off in handcuffs and have to prove later down the road what effectively will be an affirmative defense that they did not willfully and knowingly make these kind of omissions. That is just a dangerous business to get into, to keep criminalizing things. The way you fight things like this is, when you say it is the dollars or the problems, then you hit people with dollars, and so that is what this amendment does. It says, we are not going to talk about handcuffs; we are going to talk about immense fines. The first violation would be up to $100,000; second up to $250,000; third up to $500,000; and the fourth up to $1 million. That gives all the incentive anybody needs to make sure they file properly. Those are extremely high fines, the highest I have ever heard of, but I put them there to give people a degree of comfort that there would be sufficient penalty for failing to comply with the requirements. Now, what has come into play here is pure politics. On one side, people want to feel like, gee, we want to show that we are being tough, even though innocent people down the road will be hurt, and when that happens, ``I told you so'' will not be adequate to me because my heart will go out to people that are hurt unnecessarily. I understand the Democrats are going to stand up and oppose this. And when their Members are taken out in handcuffs because of this bill, if it passes with criminal sanctions, when their people are carried out in handcuffs, they will look to them and say, You know what, we probably should not have criminalized that because that gave a prosecutor what they wanted. I am just asking for a bipartisan way to handle this. The way to handle administrative errors is to punish with fines and not with dragging people out from their homes in handcuffs to try to make a political statement. If people will be honest, they know that happens on both sides. And I would rather not see that happen as an old judge and chief justice. It can happen, and I would rather not see it happen to either side. Mr. Chairman, I reserve my time.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great East Texas man who has realized the American dream the old-fashioned way, through a lifetime of hard work and dedication to his family, to his community, and to his craft. James Cavender began his business career by opening a Dairy Mart in Pittsburgh, Texas, 4 years after I was born there. He opened his business in 1957. Eight years later, Mr. Cavender took another chance and opened a retail western wear business for men and boys. Thirty-five years, 40- plus stores, and some 800 employees later, Cavender's Boot City, Cavender's Western Outfitters has become synonymous with the Texas cowboy. Mr. Cavender's success is built on the following motto, ``take care of the customer and everything else takes care of itself''. James Cavender is a family man. His company's operation reflects that. His wife, Pat, sons, Joe, Mike, Clay, are all involved in the day-to-day business of Cavenders. The family remains in tune with their customers by continuing to live a ranch lifestyle. On May 9, Junior Achievement will honor the business success and community service of James Cavender. Junior Achievement is a volunteer organization that teaches children how they can impact the world around them as businesspeople. Our young people who are interested in impacting the lives of others by entering the business world will find no better role model than James Cavender, a man who through honesty, determination, has attained great success as a businessman, but, more important, as a citizen of East Texas, of Texas and of these United States. We honor James Cavender. God bless you, and God bless America.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the town of Gladewater, Texas. Gladewater was incorporated on April 18, 1931. That was 11 days after oil was discovered 1 mile outside of town. With the discovery of oil, the town quickly experienced tremendous prosperity. During the 1930s people began to flock to the small East Texas town with the population swelling from 500 to 8,000 strong. With the depletion of petroleum reserves in the 1980s, the town was forced to attract and develop alternative forms of commerce. Gladewater, once known for its oil production, is now regarded as the antique capitol, with over 250 antique dealers and 16 antique malls. As a result of the Main Street Project and the downtown revitalization, the charming downtown area is now bustling once again with economic activity. Tourists from all over the southeast have now made this small Texas town a travel destination because of its shopping and its many attractions. Gladewater is a town of leaders with vision and workers with determination. From the nationally famous Gladewater Rodeo to the Fourth of July boat parade on its city lake, to its local merchants and citizens, Gladewater represents the best America has to offer. I congratulate the town of Gladewater on the remarkable first 75 years, with many more to come. It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to serve the citizens of Gladewater in the United States House of Representatives and to have so many of its citizens that I can call my friend.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 5 minutes.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. The gentleman from Iowa understands what it means then through his heritage to absolutely, entirely renounce fidelity to any foreign state or sovereignty. That is critical. And my great grandfather came over, was a European immigrant, in around 1870, came to South Texas and settled there. He didn't speak English and he had about $20. Within 25 years, he built one of the nicest homes that is still there, it has a historical marker, State of Texas and national historical marker, because he learned English and he worked his tail off and he assimilated and he made the community better, the State better and the country better. And that has been the legacy of immigrants. But it goes on. That is not enough. That means I am going to wave my American flag. That American flag is what is going to be the most important flag to me in my heart and soul. That is what in that oath means, American flag.

Mr. GOHMERT. Well, I appreciate very much my friend from Iowa for sharing this Special Order. And I appreciate the things that you have been pointing out. Of course, as you talk about Texas history, you are talking about my State. It is where I was born, reared, grew up. Except for my 4 years in the service and the summer I spent in the Soviet Union on an exchange program, it has been home. And when you talk about Nacogdoches and San Augustine, right in that area where the first settlement in Texas occurred, that is my district. That is my home. That is my district. So it is interesting. And I love history. I was a history major in college. And one of the things we were taught in elementary school, one of the things we were taught in junior high; high school; and college; Texas A&M, where I attended, we got the same thing all the way through schooling: What two words in common language are the basis for America's strength? ``Melting pot.'' We are a melting pot. People came from all over the world to America. They assimilated. They came together through heat and difficulties and problems of the day. And the heat that tests people and makes them pure and stronger, that heat brought us together and melted us together into one Nation under God, indivisible, and, yes, there was liberty and eventually justice for all. But I thought about it as you mentioned earlier, Mr. King, the discussion about immigration. Immigration has been a lifeblood to this country, and that does not need to stop. But as we have gotten wise in our own eyes, as you can find reference in the old Testament, ``wise in our own eyes,'' we quit using the melting pot metaphor and gone to using something that some people today like to say is even better: We are now a tossed salad, where each ingredient retains its individuality and just mixes together. A tossed salad. That was never the strength of America. The America that became strong, the America that we studied, the America that made it through world wars, the America that is responsible for France not speaking anything but French now and Germany speaking German, the great America that has allowed England to speak the language that it was accustomed to, the America that has not been imperialist, as some French people would say. Some French people say, You are imperialist. I say, Then why are you not speaking English instead of French? That is because it was never our intention. Why do Iraqis not speak English? Because that is not our intention. We are a great country and have always been. And if you would allow me and indulge me, the thing that I would like to share further is the oath of allegiance that is taken when someone becomes a citizen, and if the gentleman would continue to yield, I would like to go through that. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for people to be reminded. This is the oath. You want to assimilate in this country? You want to be a citizen of this country? Take this oath. And you have got to mean it. It is under oath. ``I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure,'' and, of course, in Texas we do not abjure a lot, but we know what ``renounce'' means, ``renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.'' That is pretty strong language. And if you have any comments on that first part of this oath.

Mr. GOHMERT. I thank the gentleman, my good friend. I would continue on with the oath. That I will support and defend the Constitution, not just the Constitution, it goes on, I will support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America. All laws. The Constitution and the laws of the United States of America. Gee, that would seem to include immigration laws, wouldn't it? It goes on, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law. It is not enough simply to pledge allegiance. You have to be willing to risk your life for the American flag and all that it stands for. You have to be willing to pledge allegiance to the United States, the Constitution and the laws of the United States. It goes on, and I know your time is running short and I don't want to intrude on the gentleman's time. I guess we have got about 7 minutes, but I did want to point this out, at least this point of the oath of citizenship. If this Nation is going to continue to be stronger, I would only submit to you the Hispanics that have settled in my district from Central America, from Mexico and assimilated, have made East Texas a better place in which to live. I have some dear friends. As a judge I presided over the wedding of some dear Hispanic friends that had come in and assimilated. I am telling you, they have made Tyler, Texas, and East Texas a better place. They have assimilated. They are wonderful people. They bring family values, and they are strong in their faith and love and joy and mirth. It has just been wonderful. But they assimilated. That would be the one thing I just wanted to add. Melting pot is the strength, and that is what we need to get back to.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for those kind comments. At this time, I would like to thank the chairman for reaching out to me, and I also want to thank all of the institutions of higher learning in the districts. We have heard from so many of them. They have been so helpful, and I just appreciate that that is what makes for better government. I do applaud the chairman's efforts to stem the tide of vast increases over the last 30 years in the cost of education, and this amendment and the provisions that it deals with, I think it does create a bill that will be a significant help to America in higher education. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) my chairman.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment seeks to cut down on Federal meddling with our colleges and universities. As Republicans, we have made a promise to the American people that we stand for less government, not more. Our preeminent system of higher education is the last thing that needs extensive Federal oversight. We have seen what happened to K-12 as the Federal Government started meddling too much 30 years ago in it, and we are only now starting to recover from Federal meddling 30 years ago. I do support the overall bill, and I would like to thank Chairman McKeon for working with me on the amendment. He and his staff have been wonderful to work with, and I thank them for being so gracious. But this amendment would strike certain reporting requirements for colleges and universities within section 131(f). Cutting down on some red tape will allow these schools to focus on educating their students first. This amendment also strikes section 495(a)(1) that would allow States to apply to the Secretary of Education to become recognized accreditors. It just looked like that created more Federal bureaucracy, more State bureaucracy, and we have the best university system in the world. It is too expensive. It has gotten expensive so fast, and with two kids in college, I certainly am very sensitive to that. So I applaud the chairman's efforts in his bill to assist in bringing those down, but I have concerns about some of these other provisions. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent), my friend.

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the career of Major General Michael Taylor. All citizens of the United States owe General Taylor a debt of gratitude for devoting his life to freedom and all the ideals that make this country so great. Not only did he serve his country valiantly for 37 years, but he also attended Texas A&M University, an institution of higher learning famed for its rich tradition, its honor; and it also happens to be my alma matter as well. General Taylor began his military career in 1970, upon graduation from Texas A&M. Commissioned as an armor officer, he served as a platoon leader in Vietnam with the 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Serving in various roles throughout his career, including deputy commander of the 71st Troop Command, General Taylor assumed command of the 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas in May of 2004. Of the many major awards and decorations he has received over the course of his accomplished career, time limits me to name just a few. Some of the most notable are a Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal of Valor with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, not for some scratch on him either. He has a Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster and the Army Achievement Medal. General Michael Taylor is a man of honor. He is a man with a sense of duty. He is a man with a love for God and his country. He served this country and he served his fellow man with wisdom, with discretion, with courage, with valor, and with clarity. His career of service to our Nation should be admired by every citizen who enjoys living free, and I am proud to honor him on the House floor today as a great American. He is a powerful patriot, and he is a personal friend of mine. He is an example for young people today who desire to be an intellectual servant and a defender of freedom. May God bless General Mike Taylor because he has certainly blessed America with his service.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the time. I had concerns about this bill as well. As Republicans, we are not in favor of increasing government but decreasing the amount of restrictions that additional bureaucracy creates, and I saw part of this that created additional bureaucracy by allowing States to start accrediting. But before I say anything else, there has been a great deal of misinformation about what the Deficit Reduction Act did. Having two children in college right now myself and another about to start next year, I have been particularly sensitive about this issue. I have had bankers and other educators saying, we understood you cut $12 billion in the Deficit Reduction Act for money that was available for students, and that is not right. What occurred was there was a reduction by about $12 billion of subsidies that were going to banks for making the student loans, but the fact is there was around $9.5 billion increased in the amount available for student loans and grants and funding. So we increased, not decreased, by about $9.5 billion the amount available for students. So it was a good thing, and we recognize the importance of education, and we are trying to help them. So that addresses that comment from my colleague. But with regard to the bill, I have grave concerns about it, especially to allow the States to start accrediting. Governments have done enough damage to education in K-12 over the last 30 years. I was very concerned about that, but I appreciate Chairman McKeon working with me, and I appreciate his staff working with us. They have agreed to support an amendment which strikes out the provision that allows States to apply to the Federal Government which creates more Federal Government, to allow them to start accrediting, and that provision, under my amendment, will be struck. There will be no additional State agencies accrediting universities and colleges, and I am hopeful that that will be passed with the chairman's support of that. Also, we share a very strong concern about the increases in college tuition and fees. They have dramatically gone up over the last 30 years. In fact, I was asking, when I went to law school, if it was still $500 a semester for tuition, and they said, yeah, that much an hour now, but anyway, over a 30-year time, things have just gone up dramatically. In balancing the difficulty of not increasing government, which naturally requires an increasing cost to universities but at the same time requiring some accountability, I think the chairman's bill, if my two provisions are passed, that this is a good bill because it balances those things. The task force that is created in the top five most abusive colleges in raising tuition over a 3-year period and costs of the college, they will have to set up their own task force to figure out why their institution has gotten so abusive in its costs. So it will be its own people looking at its own institution. It will not set up more bureaucracy. It will not set up more government, and this will push and provide pressure on institutions and have some accountability, even though it is by people in their own community, as the bill sets out, as amended, if my amendment is allowed to pass. So I applaud the bill if my amendment, those two provisions, pass. I think it will be helpful in controlling costs without increasing bureaucracies in government, and I appreciate very much Mr. Bishop and the chairman and his staff in working with us on this.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1578) to reauthorize the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basin endangered fish recovery implementation programs.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 1190, introduced by our colleague, Chairman Duncan Hunter from California, is the first step in expanding increasingly scarce water supplies for thousands of citizens in 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 those 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. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this noncontroversial and important legislation. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam 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 the bill under consideration.

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1190) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study to design and construct a four reservoir intertie system for the purposes of improving the water storage opportunities, water supply reliability, and water yield of San Vicente, El Capitan, Murray, and Loveland Reservoirs in San Diego County, California in consultation and cooperation with the City of San Diego and the Sweetwater Authority, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GOHMERT

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, we yield back the balance of our time as well.