Pete Gallego

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say thank you to the wonderful people of the 23rd District of Texas who, for the last 2 years, have given me the great privilege of serving as their voice here in the people's House. I am living proof that this is a nation of opportunity and that the American Dream still exists. God has blessed me in many ways. I was born into a warm and loving family. My parents, Pete and Elena, taught me to work hard and respect others. I am married to a wonderful wife, Maria Elena, who has stood with me through the peaks and valleys of the last 25 years. We are the parents of a phenomenal son, Nicolas Miguel, who has brought us joy we never knew possible and has taught us the true meaning of love. In addition, though my roots are humble, I have had the privilege of working in this Chamber. Few people get the privilege to serve here. Yet Congress isn't what it once was. Agreements are few, partisan rancor is common, statesmanship is rare. Who are the giants of history among us? Where are the statesmen and -women who accomplished historic feats through significant signature legislative achievements? But we know that progress is still possible. We saw this session that when Congress puts party labels aside and gets to work, like we did on VA reform, we can accomplish some great things for the American people. But those occasions were far too rare. More often, this Chamber saw bickering and pettiness, and this Congress made history as the least productive and most unpopular Congress in the history of this proud Nation. The American people responded by making history of their own. On election day, a record number of them simply threw up their hands, wondered what is the point, and didn't go to the polls. It is easy to see why Americans are so tired of politics, to understand why many of us don't check in on election day; when our democracy needs us the most, we check out. Polarization, discontent, dissatisfaction, disappointment, dismay-- all now normal in the course of our public discourse. Old-fashioned values like truth and good manners and respect for others' views and appreciation are no longer in vogue. Candidates and officeholders and super-PACs are shrill and mean--and yes, for some, the word would be even un-Christian--to one another. Politicians distort truth and attempt to stampede people with fear, and many times our fears or our lack of faith win out. We fail to realize how really truly lucky we are as Americans. Before chiding people for not meeting their civic responsibilities, Congress as a body should reflect on whether it has been meeting its own responsibility because even Congress complains about Congress, yet it does nothing to change. Most Americans are somewhere in the middle, but that is not where Congress is. In our current system, super-PACs attack those Members who stake out middle grounds. The American people deserve better than they are getting. Our country deserves better. Our future and our children's future is too important. Both Congress and our country must rise to the occasion and confront and conquer our own internal paralysis. Patriotism must trump partisanship. A robust democracy requires active participation. Congress--indeed, America--needs all of us. It needs Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians and Latinos and Anglos and African Americans and Asians-- Americans all. Soon I will have the highest title that any American can have--not the title of an elected official, but the title of citizen. And as a citizen, I hope to continue to remind Congress of the importance of governing well and our fellow Americans of the importance of participating in our electoral system. I have faith that ours is a resilient Nation blessed by God. Despite our frustrations and our fears and our failings, despite ourselves, we still live in the greatest Nation the world has ever known. Sure, times are tough, but they were tougher for our parents and our grandparents. If you think back a moment and you compare your life to theirs, you can see how far you and all of us have come. The job now is not to be mad about and continually relive the old battles of the past nor to be afraid of the future, but to look forward and to build our future together. I leave this institution with no regrets and many accomplishments for the people of home, particularly grateful for the opportunity to work with and serve our veterans and our Active Duty military and amazed at the incredible and still untapped potential of our amazing democracy. I want to say thank you to each of my employees and thank you again to all the people of the 23rd District of Texas, especially to those I have had the privilege of representing since I first became a State legislator in 1991. I wish my successor well, and I offer my prayers for all the Members of the 114th Congress. You are capable of doing great things for America when you remember to put people and policy ahead of partisanship and politics. May God bless Texas, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Palo Alto College on the famed south side of San Antonio. Making a high impact through education, Palo Alto College has been meeting the needs of first generation college students in the San Antonio area and in the surrounding communities. In doing so, Palo Alto College prepares students for a 4-year degree program or to enter the workforce with the skills and the training necessary to strengthen the future of San Antonio, Bexar County, and the 23rd District of Texas. Palo Alto College was officially chartered by the State of Texas in 1983. Two years later, in 1985, it began offering its first classes, and since then, Palo Alto has quickly grown with the city of San Antonio. In 1991, because of its deep roots in the Hispanic community and its dedication to helping Hispanic families overcome common barriers to higher education, Palo Alto College was named a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the Federal Government. Today, Palo Alto College serves over 8,000 students and offers 95 relevant academic programs that move the country forward. Programs include criminal justice and aviation technology, among many others. It also works very closely with employers like Toyota to be sure that its students are receiving cutting-edge training. In ensuring the college can meet the demands of Texas' energy production, it also offers programs in oil and gas technology. It is ably led by Dr. Mike Flores who, prior to assuming the presidency, had worked his way up through each of the three vice president positions at Palo Alto, and he has served the Palo Alto community for over 19 years. Where others have provided lip service, Palo Alto College has found success. With a firm understanding of the promise that our Nation has made to its veterans, Palo Alto College is committed to ensuring higher education remains accessible to veterans and Active Duty servicemen and servicewomen alike. Palo Alto College has been listed among the top 20 percent of schools that support veteran education. It has an incredible network of people and resources available to serve veterans. I thank Palo Alto College for the work that they do with our veterans and the Active Duty military. It really is very impressive. Palo Alto college also plays a fundamental role in the success of many individuals in our community, and its impact will be seen for many generations. Whether it's providing a second chance to nontraditional students through its GED programs or whether it is preparing students for the next level of education, Palo Alto College is there. It is there to meet the needs of the community and to help families achieve prosperity in the American Dream. I congratulate Palo Alto College on its upcoming birthday--30 years of educational excellence--and I thank them for their continued commitment to ensure education remains accessible. Their mission to provide relevant and needed educational opportunities is admirable. I look forward to seeing the many successes of those who pass through the doors of Palo Alto College.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 549, had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say thank you to Bill McManus, William McManus, who has announced his retirement as the chief of the San Antonio Police Department in the seventh largest city in the country. Chief McManus has been on board in San Antonio for some 8 years, but he brought with him 30 years of experience in law enforcement in such areas as diverse as narcotics, tactical positions, criminal investigations, internal investigations, the full range of experience. As a result of his service in San Antonio, their police department is more well-respected, more well-trained than ever in San Antonio's history. Chief McManus I first met when he was testifying before the legislature and I served as chair of the committee on criminal jurisprudence. I know well his passion for law enforcement and his passion for people. We will miss him dearly at the city, but we wish him well in his future endeavors.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, few things we do here are more important than taking care of the men and women who have fought to protect our Nation. Doing something about the issue of suicide is incredibly important. Not so very long ago, I had the opportunity to talk to a person that I had known for a very long time who I had met while serving in the legislature and who told me that his son, who was a veteran, had come back and was doing fine; yet, one day, he got the phone call that his son had committed suicide. No family should go through that. Here in the Congress, we have an opportunity to do something about that. It is my hope that Congress, working in a bipartisan fashion, can work together to do something about this problem and to take better care across the board of the men and women who have fought every day, day in and day out, to serve our country.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, this morning, I would like to highlight one of the really interesting towns of west Texas as we continue to journey through the 23rd District, which encompasses nearly 24 percent of the land area of Texas, some 800 miles from one end of the district to the other. With a population of over 800 people, Sanderson, Texas, is known as the Cactus Capital of Texas. It was originally named Strawbridge or Strobridge, and Sanderson was founded as a switching point for the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1882, a roundhouse was built there, and the name of the town was changed to Sanderson, after Thomas P. Sanderson, who was the engineer in charge of construction. In the following year, in 1883, a post office opened in Sanderson. In Texas lore, there is a very famous person by the name of Roy Bean who was known as the Law West of the Pecos. Judge Roy Bean, wanting to capitalize on the new town with a lot of promise, opened a saloon in Sanderson in the early 1880s, but he couldn't compete with Charlie Wilson's Cottage Bar Saloon. After Bean opened his saloon, Wilson allegedly spiked the whiskey with coal oil. Judge Bean soon had to move eastward to Vinegarroon and Langtry, and Sanderson was dubbed as being ``too mean for Bean.'' Those were the years of railroad workers and cowboys which filled the area. At the turn of the century, in 1905, the once unruly Sanderson became the county seat of the newly-created Terrell County, and it remains the county seat even to this day. Shortly after becoming the county seat, Sanderson started looking more and more like a town on the move, but, as time passed, Sanderson left behind its Wild West origins and became a crossroad--the midpoint, if you will--between San Antonio and El Paso. The courthouse was built in 1906. Near the courthouse some years later, in 1931, an art deco-style high school was built, and Sanderson's population continued to grow to about 3,000 people during the first half of the 20th century. Sheep and goats became the main goods as part of the livestock industry, and they are still main commodities of the area today. For example, in 1970, over 1 million pounds--over 1 million pounds--of wool and mohair were shipped out of Sanderson. In 1965, Sanderson was devastated by a flash flood. The usually dry Sanderson Creek overflowed and claimed 24 lives. After the tragic event, 11 flood control dams were built around Sanderson by the Army Corps of Engineers to make sure that that would never happen again. Sanderson was built around the railroad, and its fate has largely been determined by the railroad. A series of decisions altered, decisively, Sanderson's growth. During the 1970s, the new construction of Interstate 10, I-10, bypassed Highway 90, and it bypassed Sanderson. It left Sanderson out of its path. In addition, Union Pacific later moved its crew from Sanderson to Alpine. These had a detrimental effect on the community; but today, Sanderson remains a small but proud community which fights to maintain its rich history and its tradition of railroads, cowboys, and west Texas culture. Sanderson High School, known as the Sanderson Eagles, produce a lot of incredibly talented kids who go to universities from Rice to my own alma mater, Sul Ross State University in Alpine. In fact, many of the kids that I went to Sul Ross with were from Sanderson, Texas, and many of their teachers have degrees from Sul Ross. In more recent times, Sanderson has put out a number of people. My immediate predecessor in the legislature, Judge Dudley Harrison, was from Sanderson, and ``Chago'' Flores, who is the first Latino elected county judge in the history of Terrell County, is serving even now. If visiting that area, I want you to know that you will have access to an extensive variety of memorabilia at the Terrell County Memorial Museum, and I want you to know that Sanderson is still the Cactus Capital of Texas and the East Gate to the Big Bend Wilderness Area. I invite you to stop by Sanderson if you are ever visiting the 23rd District of Texas.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today as we continue our journey through the 23rd District in which I take viewers and listeners on a 1-minute journey through the district, through its towns, its cities, its cultures, and its people, this morning I have the great privilege of highlighting Fabens, Texas. Fabens is located in the Mission Valley south of El Paso and, as of the 2010 census, had a population of 8,257 people. It is about 30 miles southeast of El Paso, located along the Rio Grande River and I-10. Known as the home of the Wildcats, Fabens has long been a fierce competitor and a rival of my own Alpine Bucks. In fact, I still remember rather vividly when Alpine lost the district championship in football to Fabens my senior year of high school in 1980. I don't think anyone in either Alpine or Fabens has ever forgotten that football game. Kids in Fabens are competitors, whether in sports or academic competitions, and their prowess is known far and wide. The history of the community itself dates from the late 19th century, though in 1665 a mission branch known as San Francisco de los Sumas was established just southeast of the future site of Fabens. A stagecoach station called San Felipe was in operation about 3 miles northeast of the site before 1870. In the 1870s, Teodoro and Epitacia Alvarez owned a small farm on the actual site of what is now Fabens. That farm was known as the Mezquital. In 1887, the town site was sold to E.S. Newman, and the first permanent settler in what is now Fabens became Eugenio Perez, who came from San Elizario around 1900. Mr. Perez himself owned a small farm, opened a small store; and shortly thereafter, when the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway built through the area and established a water-pumping station, the community began to grow. In 1906, this store became the very first Fabens post office. The town of Fabens itself, when you think about the name ``Fabens,'' where did that come from? It was named for George Fabens, an officer with the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1910, Fabens had just a few section houses for the railroad employees and two stores; and in 1914, the estimated population was only about 100, but the next few years brought many to the area as people began fleeing the Mexican Revolution. The town site was laid out in 1911, but the development didn't really happen until the Fabens Townsite and Improvement Company bought it in 1915. The completion in 1956 of the Franklin Canal and the subsequent rise in cotton prices during World War I attracted a number of wealthy visitors to the area. The rolling fields of the area, nestled in the shadow of the mountains to the west and immediately adjacent to the Rio Grande, were and still are perfect for farming. The estimated population rose from 50 in 1925 to 2,000 2 years later, despite a major flood at that time. The price of cotton dropping and going up has all impacted Fabens. During the Great Depression, the estimated population of Fabens fell to 1,600. But in the early 1930s, as the Depression took hold, it fell and fell; but at the end of the 1930s, by about 1939, it had started an upward trend again. In April of 1972, Fabens served as the location for the filming of the Sam Peckinpah film, ``The Getaway.'' The crime drama starred Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw. Movie scenes were shot in the area and included explosions and car chases and shootouts. The film became a success and earned a big sum for those days of $25 million at the box office. Today Fabens is also home to one of west Texas' most popular and famous restaurants, the Cattleman's Steakhouse. The steakhouse serves delicious food, and it too has played a role in several movies. Fabens is also the home of jockey Bill Shoemaker. As I indicated earlier, kids in Fabens are served by the Fabens Independent School District and are known as the Wildcats. Many teachers in the Fabens ISD got their degrees from my own alma mater, my college alma mater, Sul Ross State University. Perhaps that is part of the reason I always feel so at home in visiting Fabens. The next time you are in the 23rd District of Texas, I invite you too to visit Fabens, to enjoy the hospitality, to see the sights, and to learn the history of Fabens and all of west Texas.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 493 I was temporarily off the House floor. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today, as we continue our journey through the 23rd District of Texas, I would like to highlight the historic city of Socorro, in El Paso County. It is located in the center of El Paso's Mission Valley, a valley named for three historic missions founded by Spanish priests, soldiers, and colonists. Socorro is also home to the Socorro High School Bulldogs. They are known for many things, but particularly they are known for their prowess in baseball. Socorro High is a former State champion in baseball. In a State as big as Texas, that is a pretty impressive feat. The roots of Socorro began to take shape in 1680 when Governor Antonio de Otermin and Father Francisco de Ayeta led the Spanish and Piro Indian refugees who were fleeing the New Mexico Pueblo Indian revolt to the El Paso area. Two years later, they built a mission, Nuestra Senora de la Limpia Concepcion del Socorro, the second-oldest mission in Texas. Unfortunately, this first mission was swept away by a flood on the Rio Grande in 1744 and a second mission was built. Today it may be hard to imagine, but the Rio Grande in those days was a wild river, much different from the dry riverbed or placid stream of today. And a powerful flood also washed away the second mission in 1829. In 1843, the main part of the present Socorro mission was completed, and at that time, Socorro had a population of about 100 people. The city of Socorro is one of those cities in Texas that has seen several flags flown over it. Founded by the Spanish, it became a part of Mexico from 1821 to 1848, and as a result of the U.S.-Mexican war, Socorro became part of Texas. The area around El Paso can be arid and harsh, but the secret to Socorro's longevity has been its acequias, a well-designed system of irrigation canals still in existence today. These acequias provided water for crops and vineyards. The development of Socorro suffered a setback in 1881 when the railroads laid their track all the way to El Paso but they bypassed Socorro. This shifted the development and the political power into the city of El Paso itself. And yet the determined city of Socorro continued to grow, and it diversified and developed various industries. Its resolute citizens were determined to stay in the area. Later on, unscrupulous developers started to build homes and residential subdivisions there that didn't have paved streets or water or sewer, but Socorro residents again rose up against these builders of these colonias to make sure that their city survived and prospered. And today, the city of Socorro is home to some 32,000 people, making it the 95th largest city in Texas. The city of Socorro is El Paso County's second largest municipality, and there is a lot of history in Socorro, a lot of places to go and see. If you have got a young kid, a young child, you will want to hang out where the community gathers, and that is at Bulldog Championship Park, which includes a splash park, an amphitheater, walking trails, and a pond. There is also the Socorro Entertainment Center, known as Speaking Rock, operated by the Tiguas, a Pueblo tribe located in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. The Entertainment Center welcomes recording artists like B.B. King and the Gipsy Kings, Everclear and Korn, just to name a few. Socorro is served by the Socorro Independent School District, with one high school, three middle schools, and five elementaries. I invite people visiting the 23rd to stop by Socorro, enjoy Texas culture. It is an infusion of Southwest history and Southwest traditions.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, if you read what reporters are already saying, they are saying that this isn't a serious bill that will ever become law--that opportunity was lost yesterday when the original bill was pulled. They are saying this bill does nothing because it isn't going anywhere once it leaves the House. The perception of the press and the American people is that this is all political theater. Why don't we prove them wrong? Why don't we cancel our travel plans and commit to staying here until we can agree on an actual solution to this border issue that we can put into a bill that might actually have a shot of becoming law? Any single one of us who is married knows the importance of compromise. Imagine what happens if you walk in your house every day and you tell your spouse: I really don't care what you think today, I am not interested in your opinion, we are going to do it my way. Well, that marriage wouldn't last very long. Anyone who is in a marriage knows the importance of compromise and knows what happens when a relationship is one-sided. We can get together on this. We did it for the VA; we can, and we should do it for this. An opportunity to sit down around the same table and negotiate our way through in a very serious and in a very real way--without the rhetoric, just simple reason, simple common sense-- that makes a difference every day for the people on our border. That is what I would ask, and that is what I think the American people are asking.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of the conference committee report, asking all of our fellow members to support it, and I congratulate the chairman with whom I had a rather spirited conversation on this floor, as well as the ranking member on accomplishing the first step, I think, and it is the first step, but it is a significant step. I am particularly proud that two of the provisions that I came to this floor to argue for--that being additional facilities, including an expansion of the facility in San Antonio, as well as additional support personnel, medical personnel, and health care personnel--are included in this bill. This bill includes so much more: a graduate medical education component and, in addition, educational opportunities for spouses and families. This is an incredible first step. I, again, want to underscore my thanks to the chairman, to the ranking member, to the members of the conference committee, and this is a great first step at putting us in the right direction towards finally treating our veterans with the respect that they not only deserve, but they have earned over the period of their service.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to continue the journey through the vastness of the 23nd District of Texas and pass through a Texas town with an early reputation for infamy. ``Cotulla! Everybody get your guns ready,'' that is what train conductors would yell as they approached the town of Cotulla, which was established in 1881. In spite of its infamous start, Cotulla emerged from the roughness that is common to early Texas towns and became an early indicator of the social change that was to come to America, taking on issues such as civil rights and women's education. Life in Cotulla inspired a very young teacher, a man by the name of Lyndon B. Johnson, who went on to serve as our country's 36th President, and inspired him to lead the fight for change. President Johnson taught Mexican Americans in Cotulla's segregated public schools. Early on, he understood how education could pull a family out of generations of poverty and push them into the middle class. LBJ, after his experience in Cotulla, once said: This Nation could never rest while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American. Education, the key that opens the locks of success, found an early ally in Cotulla. The town itself was founded by a young entrepreneur by the name of Joseph Cotulla, who was a Polish immigrant and a veteran of the Union Army. He was willing to take the risk of establishing a town after learning that the International-Great Northern Railroad intended to expand into La Salle County. This willingness to risk is still what makes our country great today. The town grew from an early farming and ranching community into an energy boomtown in the 1950s. That still continues today in the Eagle Ford Shale area. Today, as in the past, the folks in Cotulla work to secure America's energy future, and by 2035, our energy deficit will be reduced to 4 percent. Today, many of the descendants of Joseph Cotulla still live in the town. The town has seen tremendous change since its founding and its infamous early reputation. In truth, we find a small reflection of America in Cotulla: a willingness to overcome adversity and take risks to find success and to achieve. Cotulla's history also points out that the fabric of American society doesn't always match our founding values, but in Cotulla, it set in place a desire to change that. I invite anyone who is visiting south Texas to stop by Cotulla, to learn its history, and to enjoy its hospitality.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to continue the journey through the 23rd District of Texas and talk about Kermit, Texas, which many people know as being one of the communities in the center of all of the action with respect to the energy economy in Texas, but I know it as the home of the Yellow Jackets, the Yellow Jackets who, for years, have been a formidable foe for my own Alpine Bucks. Kermit started life, the town started as a local trading and supply company, or trading and supply depot, for the ranches that dotted the west Texas landscape. Kermit gets its name not from a notable green frog known for being the first frog to communicate with humans, but, instead, it gets its name from Kermit Roosevelt, the only place in the United States that is named for the son of a former U.S. President, Teddy Roosevelt. Kermit, Texas, became the county seat of Winkler County in 1910 and was a city, like many of the other rural communities in Texas, that had a challenge staying alive. Small towns have always had a particular challenge, and in Kermit's case, they were devastated by a drought that struck the area in 1916 that forced many homesteaders and ranchers to leave. Kermit ran dry by 1924, and the Ern Baird family was the sole family in town, with three houses, a single-student school, and a lone courthouse. The whole town nearly evaporated into the air until that sea of oil was discovered below the surface and, in 1926, Kermit, Texas, became a boomtown. That boomtown continued into the sixties, and through the boom, the town has seen tremendous growth. During the rapid expansion of the city, flooding actually became a problem. As with small towns that are scattered throughout rural Texas, they worked through that problem to a solution. They constructed crown streets, and the city kept growing and building additional infrastructure to support the oil boom and the growing needs of their county. Kermit, Texas, although small in size, has displayed that same attitude reflected in many of the successes of our great Nation. They work through tough situations with creativity and resolve, and, as a result, we as a nation greatly benefit from their willingness to stick through it. Kermit, Texas, and those who worked and lived and raised families there, they have all contributed to our energy security. They have all contributed to the energy security of our entire country. Without them, it would have been difficult to meet the energy demands of World War II and, after the war, the economic boom that the U.S. would experience. Even today, Kermit is a mainstay of the west Texas economy, an active chamber, an active community, a wonderful place to live and to raise kids, and, of course, the ever-proud Yellow Jackets. If you find yourself near Kermit, Texas, I invite you to visit this small and historic town that has contributed so much so greatly to our Texas values, our Texas history, and our Texas success, Kermit, Texas.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity. I am constantly frustrated in this Chamber by our inability to come to an agreement. And today, we stand here arguing about whether a Senate position is better or whether a House position is better. The truth is that the American people want action. One of the basic things that we can all agree on is that we do not have enough medical providers in our system. We see a lot of veterans, and we try to force a lot of veterans through a very small funnel with very few providers. In fact, if you look at the data recently, as men and women come back from different places across the world, like Iraq and Afghanistan, we have a much higher pronounced need than ever before for physicians to treat PTSD. And yet, we have fewer physicians able to do that because, in that area of specialization, we do not have enough medical care providers in the VA. It seems pretty basic that one of the things that we ought to be able to agree on is the fact that we need more health care providers in our system. You can leave aside the issue of construction or leave aside the issue of technology or any of those kinds of things. The fact is that when a person, a patient, comes into the VA system, he needs a health care provider to be able to see him or her, and we do not have enough health care providers. That fact is inescapable. Today's motion, essentially, seeks to take care of that one issue, and that one issue is that we need more health care providers. It makes no difference to me, to the American people, to anyone that I know, whether we adopt the Senate position or the House position. The idea that we are arguing about that, about whether the Senate does this or the House does that is, frankly, ludicrous. We should all come together on that one point. We should all understand that we need more health care providers. Our veterans deserve it. Our veterans need it. They are asking for that. The American people are demanding it. And Congress needs to be able to respond. How should they respond? They should respond through this motion to instruct the conferees so that we can agree on a very limited provision of the bill, a limited provision that says, regardless of all of the disagreements, regardless of all these side fights, we will agree on this one area, and that one area would be, we need more health care providers. PTSD isn't the only thing where we are short of physicians. We are short of cardiologists, we are short of a lot of things. And if the VA has the opportunity and the permission to go forward and look for additional health care providers now, then we will be up and running much earlier than if we wait and wait and wait. The challenge with Congress: manana seems to be the busiest day of the week here. We wait until tomorrow and tomorrow, and maybe next week there will be an agreement or maybe the week after that there will be an agreement. We need an agreement today, and this is our opportunity to do that.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today, as we continue our journey through the 23rd District, I would like to travel to a small town some 40 miles west of San Antonio. That would be Hondo, Texas. It is about 9.6 square miles of iconic America, and as you pass the city boundary, you are kindly reminded by a sign: ``This is God's country. Please don't drive through it like hell.'' That sign, erected by the local Lions Club in 1930, deters speeders. It has been featured on postcards; it has been the subject of many photos sent home by tourists; and it even made the cover of National Geographic magazine. I remember that sign even as a little kid, long before I-10 was built and when Highway 90, through Hondo, was still the main thoroughfare-- the east-west highway--from L.A. to Florida. Actually, the original sign just read: ``This is God's country. Don't drive through it like hell,'' but as you might imagine, it was a somewhat controversial sign for the 1930s. So, finally, in the 1940s, the word ``please'' was added to soften the tone and to placate those in town who found the sign a bit too harsh. Today, some 84 years after its installation, that sign still serves as a not-so-subtle reminder to slow down and, perhaps, to take a breath from the everyday rush of life and enjoy the little things, like family and friends and God and country. Though settled in 1891, the Hondo area, which is now located in Medina County, was first explored by Cabeza de Vaca in 1519, only some 27 years after Columbus arrived in the New World. It displaced Castroville as the county seat, and Hondo shares a place in history with the many early Americans who built this Nation through sheer sweat and determination. With the construction of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway, which was built through the county from the east in 1881, Hondo quickly transformed from a small, 25-resident settlement into a trade and shipping center for agriculture and ranching. Hondo was the scene of two bank robberies in the early 1920s. The crooks were the famed Newton Gang, the most successful outlaws in American history. Interestingly, both bank heists occurred on the same night. Hondo, itself, was incorporated as a city in 1942, and at that time, Hondo applied for a U.S. Army air training facility to be built there. When our Nation was in need, they stepped up. The Hondo Army Airfield was constructed with local funding in 89 days, and it opened on July 4, 1942. The airfield would become the largest air navigation school in the world and would eventually train over 15,000 navigators to serve in World War II. That airfield still exists, and though it is no longer affiliated with the U.S. military, today, it is a regional facility and is one of the busiest small commercial airports in Texas. Mayor James Danner and city leadership have done a phenomenal job of developing the airfield into a center of transportation and commerce. If your business needs a small airport near San Antonio and not too far from Eagle Ford Shale country, check out the airport in Hondo. In addition, that airfield is home to one of the largest and most fun and entertaining air shows in Central Texas--and certainly the best air show in all of Congressional District 23. Each year, thousands of airplane enthusiasts descend on Hondo for the air show, which last year featured more than 20 or so World War II-era airplanes. Another feature of the air show was an exhibition called, ``Tora, Tora, Tora,'' a smaller but incredibly well-done reenactment of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, a reenactment which was done using these vintage airplanes. It is a great event to take your kids and your grandkids to. Hondo is a town of living history as many of its residents are descendants of the original 25 settlers. It is a town not lost in the rush of everyday life, and like much of Texas' 23rd District, its connection and commitment to the U.S. military run deep through its veins. I invite everyone to take a trip to Hondo and experience iconic America. Remember, this is God's country. Please don't drive through it like hell.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, this morning, as I continue highlighting places in the 23rd District, which comprises nearly 24 percent of the land area of Texas, I would like to talk about the city of Brackettville. With a population of a little over 1,500 people, it is a small town with a big history. Located as the county seat in Kinney County, Brackettville was once the drive-in movie capital of Texas. It was founded in 1852 as Las Moras, the name of a nearby spring and creek it feeds. The town initially was a supply stop on the old San Antonio-El Paso Road and a supply depot for the U.S. Army's Fort Clark, which was also established in 1852. The town was later called Brackett, after Oscar B. Brackett, the owner of the first dry goods store in the area. It is a name that still sticks among locals. In 1873, when a post office opened in the town, the ``ville'' was added to ``Brackett'' in order to differentiate it from another town. The town grew exponentially in the 19th century with the expansion of the garrison at Fort Clark during the Indian wars. During that time, the town's fortune was completely tied to Fort Clark. For many years, Fort Clark was the headquarters of the famous Buffalo Soldiers, made up of African Americans. At that time, Brackettville had a large proportion of Black Seminoles, who were people of mixed African American and Seminole ancestry, who originated in Florida. The Black Seminoles were recruited by the U.S. to act as scouts for the Buffalo Soldiers, and they settled with their families in Brackettville. During slavery years, the Black Seminoles began living in a settlement in northern Mexico in order to escape conditions in the U.S. Their language, Afro-Seminole Creole, was developed in Florida. Impressively, even today, Afro-Seminole Creole is still spoken by some in Brackettville. After the Buffalo Soldiers moved out to Fort Clark with the waning of the Indian Wars, Brackettville became a cavalry post. In 1914, the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts were finally disbanded, but these scouts had an amazing history of service. In fact, the Seminole cemetery near Brackettville has the highest number of Congressional Medal of Honor winners resting there per capita than has any other cemetery in the country. Virtually every cavalry unit in the U.S. Army was stationed at or was trained at Fort Clark at one time or another, and many famous soldiers, including John Pershing and George Patton, were there. Others just visited, people like George Armstrong Custer and Phil Sheridan, who nearly lost his life near Fort Clark to a Comanche war party. It was there that he made his famous statement: ``If I owned Texas and hell, I would rent out Texas and live in hell.'' In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. Army activated the 2nd Cavalry, which was the last horse-mounted unit. By 1944, even the 2nd Cavalry had been mechanized. Fort Clark, so long the center of mounted cavalry, was targeted for closure, but before it closed, it was used as a German prisoner of war camp. Because of the families of soldiers at the fort and the African American veterans and the descendants of those who had settled in Brackettville during the war, the U.S. Government funded the construction of a high school for Black students. The school opened in 1944 so that the children of these veterans could be educated. At that time, Texas was still racially segregated. This high school is believed to have been the only federally built school of its kind between San Antonio and El Paso. After Fort Clark closed in 1946, it had a variety of uses. It was converted to a resort or a retirement center, and the Historic District of Fort Clark is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. North of the town are the remains of the Alamo Village, built in the 1950s as the set for John Wayne's movie ``The Alamo,'' and scenes of the 1969 comedy ``Viva Max!'' were also shot there. I invite everyone to visit the city of Brackettville to learn more about the cultures and traditions of the incredible 23rd District of Texas.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GALLEGO. As the Chair knows, I find several of the Federal agencies very frustrating, but among the most frustrating is the Internal Revenue Service. One of the more interesting rulings of the Internal Revenue Service deals with the reclassification of certain gratuities as wages when they were meant to be tips. And having grown up in the restaurant business, I will tell you that there is a tremendous difference--not only to the employer, but to the employee--as to whether a wage is classified as a wage or whether it is classified as a gratuity. I know that firsthand from growing up in a family-run and local restaurant. Revenue rule 2012-18 has forced businesses to change the way that they have traditionally handled consumer checks, and that has resulted in a burdensome and logistical challenge for small and local businesses across the country. Mr. Chairman, for over 50 years, restaurants have had a longstanding practice of treating these automatic gratuities as tips. For example, if you have a large party of 50 people, then you want to make sure that your waiter or waitress is well taken care of. And for a while there it was 15 percent, now it is about 18 percent, that is added on as a gratuity. That gratuity is meant to go to the waiters and waitresses who have helped your party. Yet, the way the IRS would treat that, the IRS would treat that not as a tip, not as a gratuity, but as part of their wage, which means it is counted against the employer for income purposes, and then it is counted again against the employee for income purposes. The revenue ruling clearly, clearly, clearly is against years and years and years of practice by the IRS. Now, a lot of bigger restaurants may have the ability to forgo the automatic gratuities without experiencing any significant challenges, but for small and local restaurants, that is a big deal. Wait staff are often subject to inadequate tips on large parties. And if restaurants continue to utilize automatic gratuities, if they continue to say, please put an additional 15 percent on here for your waiter or waitress, then they can no longer take advantage of the Fair Labor Standards Act tip credit for employees who serve these tables, even if the restaurants distribute these gratuities to the employees. So even if the employee gets the money in the end, it is still counted against the restaurant as income and taxed in one place, and then it is again taxed as income to the employee. For many small businesses, an inability to collect this tip is a really big burden. It is very difficult to determine wages for employees when they are simultaneously performing tipped and non-tipped work because you cannot add that gratuity for large parties without it being classified in one direction, but for smaller parties you can do a different thing. Restaurants have treated automatic gratuities as tips for years, and they have been passed on to the employee. That is very important to the employees. It is a big part of the money that they make. And so as the champion of small and local businesses, I have very real concerns about the implications of the revenue rule 2012-18. I would like the IRS to delay it and reconsider their characterization of these tips and service charges. I want to thank the chairman of the committee for allowing me to step forward and raise my concerns, as well as the ranking member. Mr. Chairman, thank you so much for the opportunity. At this point, because of the point of order, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Chair, during rollcall vote No. 422 on H.R. 5016, I mistakenly recorded my vote as ``yes'' when I should have voted ``no.'' Amendment Offered by Mrs. Blackburn

Mr. GALLEGO

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to instruct at the desk.

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, we have all heard so much about the challenges that the VA faces and how it has totally, thoroughly, and completely failed many of our veterans. This motion to instruct the conferees would be a motion to ask that we essentially recede to the Senate provisions on leases per VA facilities. What this would do would be to provide and expand 26 VA facilities from across the country and improve access to care for our Nation's veterans, including the 1.7 million veterans from across Texas. In the district that I represent, as an example, District 23, which comprises about 24 percent of the land area of Texas, it is 800 miles or so from one corner of the district to the other, and in that district are a very large number of veterans. The challenge is, first off, to be able to get the veterans who have served, who are from the rural areas, to get them access to the nearest VA facility. From my hometown of Alpine, for example, to El Paso, where there is a VA clinic, it is some 220 miles. If you live further south in Brewster County, that distance is longer. If you live here in Eagle Pass, in Maverick County, for example, you have got to go all the way down to the Rio Grande Valley before you find the nearest veterans facility-- actually, all the way down to Corpus. The Senate provisions would allow for an additional 26 facilities, including a new facility in Lubbock and improvements and consolidations to facilities in San Antonio that are critical to veterans and their families. New facilities will help address the wait times for medical care where it is needed for veterans in our communities. Frankly, these facilities will help open up appointment slots. According to an internal VA audit that has been released, there are more than 57,000 patients who have waited at least 90 days for their first appointment. Unfortunately, some VA facilities in Texas have among the highest average of wait times in the Nation, and that is totally inexcusable. It fails the people who stood up and served their country and did so much to maintain and protect our freedom. While we need to explore all our options, including more contracted care to address the backlog, we also have to make sure that the VA has the capacity to fill the needs of our vets, and especially for those who have unique health care needs. I maintain that regardless of where you live in Texas or any other State, you have as much right to health care as any veteran from any other part of the State. And by creating an additional 26 facilities, you would actually be creating more slots and giving more access to more people. For rural vets who face additional barriers--for example, if you are driving from Alpine to El Paso, that is 220 miles, and you need a driver, and that driver has to take time off from work; you need probably to spend the night in El Paso, that is a hotel room; and you have got to eat while you are there, so that is meals--all of those, additional expenses. The other thing, frankly, is that many of the rural vets tend to be older, sicker, and poorer than the general population. These additional facilities may very well be lifesavers for that population. These new facilities will help address wait times for medical care where it is needed, and they are crucial. Frankly, I know there has been a conversation on the House side with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about creating more facilities than 26. I know that my friends from Oklahoma, for example, would like to see an additional clinic in Tulsa that would serve Oklahoma. Oklahoma veterans, as Texas veterans, as veterans across the board in every State, deserve more access to health care and better access to health care. This week, in fact, the Acting Secretary of the VA, Secretary Gibson, told members of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee that we need to increase the internal capacity at the VA. And while we need to do a lot more than just that, these additional facilities would help achieve that goal. One thing is clear. We have a growing demand for care. As we draw down from all of the places where we are right now--Afghanistan, for example--as we change the shape of our military going into the future, we will have more and more veterans entering the health care system. They deserve better treatment than the veterans in our health care system have had. Frankly, the entire system needs to be upgraded and to provide A-1 quality health care to each and every person who has served in uniform and their families. We must grow the capacity. We must continue to ensure quality and to meet the growing demand for our veterans. These leases that I am talking about in some 18 States, they will help address some of the underlying problems that lead to treatment delays. If you look at it, we are funneling all of the veterans into a very few health care facilities across the country. If we accede to the Senate's suggestion for additional facilities, we will have community- based outpatient clinics, for example, or primary care clinics or specialty clinics. It will be a huge help to everyone, and that is incredibly important. As you look at this map, it gives you some idea of just one microcosm in one congressional district in this country what difference additional VA facilities would make. Look at the distance from the nearest facilities. If you live here along the Texas-Mexico border and you are trying to go up to the nearest facilities, which are either in El Paso or in Big Spring or over here in San Antonio, the distances are enormous. That is so much to ask of a World War II vet or a Korean war vet who is getting older, who is having to ask for help from somebody, for somebody to take time off of work to take them for a basic appointment, and then, frankly, as we have seen, to be unable to get the health care that he or she needs and deserves. There is no part of the population in this country that is more deserving of health care than our veterans who have served in uniform in any conflict; or, frankly, even if they haven't been in conflict, they have stepped forward, they have put themselves at the Nation's disposal, and they have protected our freedom each and every day that they wore that uniform. They deserve much better than they have gotten over the course of history. And I would point out, this isn't a new issue. There were more than 15 reports at the VA that have indicated that care was substandard. Congress has known about this for a long time. The challenge with Congress is that it is a crisis management institution. Whatever the crisis of the day is, that is what Congress responds to. And if there is a subsequent crisis that takes the first crisis off of the front page, then suddenly Congress is reacting to the new crisis and forgets about the old one. This is too important to forget about. This is too critical to our veterans. It has to be taken care of; it has to be resolved; and it has to be resolved once and for all so that there are not an additional 15 reports out there about problems at the VA, so that we don't hear every day from the American Legion or the Veterans of Foreign Wars or any of these other organizations that for years have been telling Congress that the VA has problems. Let's step forward. Let's fix it. Let's fix it now, once and for all. And we can take that first step, as a body, Mr. Speaker and Members. We can take that first step as a body by making sure that there are at least--at least--26 new leased facilities across the country that will take care of this issue and that will provide additional service to our veterans across the country. I point out that these additional facilities are in places like Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Nebraska, South Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Georgia, Hawaii, and Kansas. Whether you are a Democratic Member of this body or a Republican Member of this body, you should be in favor of additional VA facilities. You should be in favor of broadening up that funnel so that it is not so clogged up and we are not trying to put so many people through such a narrow slot and create all of these problems where people don't get the health care that they need and deserve. New facilities, as I said, will help address the wait times for medical care where it is needed. And as a guy who represents a vastly rural area but who also represents urban areas in El Paso and San Antonio, I will tell you that this helps everybody. It helps every single veteran, whether you are a rural guy or an urban guy, whether you served in uniform in World War II or whether you are a serviceman or -woman from the most recent conflict. You deserve, and America has made a commitment to you, that you will get health care, and you will get quality health care. This is the first step in that direction. It is incredibly important that, right, left, center, Democrat, Republican, or Independent, whatever you think you are, you ought to be in favor of additional facilities for the VA, you ought to be in favor of better health care for our veterans, and you ought to be in favor of using the Senate language. Frankly, again, I know that there are some Members, my colleagues who are from Oklahoma, who would like to see additional facilities and who would want one in their State. I agree with that too. The more that we can do to help our veterans and to meet our commitment, the more we ought to do. And, frankly, we ought to do a lot more than we have been doing. Again, I move that we instruct the conferees on H.R. 3230, the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014, to recede to the Senate provisions on leases for VA facilities under title 6, section 601. It is incredibly important not only to me, not only to the 23rd, but it is important to 435 Members of this body, and it is important to every single veteran in every single one of our congressional districts. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to reclaim the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am in my first term as a Member, and growing up as a kid in Alpine, Texas, I always heard the saying with respect to things that were really, really hard, and that saying was it takes an act of Congress to do that, and for the first time in my life, Mr. Speaker, I finally understand what that means because part of our challenge as an institution is that we are so wrapped up with who goes first, whether it is the House or the Senate. The House passed a bill by 390 votes. That is great. The Senate version passed by 93-3, and here, we are discussing whether the House version or the Senate version is better, and in the meantime, we are failing our veterans. My own view is that people across the political spectrum, veterans and nonveterans alike, are tired of the political blame game and the finger-pointing. Notice that not once did I ever really talk about the differences between Democrats and Republicans because, frankly, there are both Democratic veterans and Republican veterans and Libertarian veterans and Independent veterans and apolitical and nonpolitical veterans. The issue of veterans should not be something that we pound each other over the head on. The issue of veterans is something that should bring us all together in a cohesive fashion, so that we can move forward as a country and show the rest of America that Congress can actually function as intended, that it can actually work its will as a body and move a product forward. The idea that we would have to wait for a clean bill, that we would have to wait for procedure to take its course and for things to happen is telling people we will get to it. Along the border, there is a saying, and that saying is manana. Manana seems to be the busiest day of Congress' week. Manana, we will do it tomorrow. Tomorrow seems to be the day that Congress takes action on every single issue, and veterans are too important to be left until tomorrow. The American people view Congress as an institution that is very full of hot air, and they don't understand why we recess in August when it is hot here because we would fit right in with the rest of the environment in the month of August. The approval ratings for Congress are lower than they have ever been since the Gallup organization started taking polls, and it would appear to me that there is good reason for that. I have great respect for the chairman and the other Members of this body. Their work, I admire. I don't admire, though, how much time it takes for this Congress to move forward. Another day, another hearing, another conversation, another headline--all of that while another veteran waits, and another veteran waits, and another veteran waits. My motion to instruct doesn't touch topside or bottom the rest of the Senate bill. My motion to instruct talks about one particular provision of the Senate bill, and that one particular provision deals with additional space--additional leases for additional facilities. It doesn't talk about choice cards or private pay or the rates or any of those other things which are crucial issues and important. My motion just deals with this issue that I talked about earlier, which is the funnel. We have such a narrow opening in this funnel that we try to channel all of our veterans through, and there is not enough space. There are not enough resources there. We don't have adequate health care providers in the mental health fields, for example. We don't have enough specialists. We don't have enough places to put them. We don't have enough facilities. People have to go too far in order to get their health care, and as a result, they are not getting their health care at all. Mr. Speaker, manana isn't good enough. Manana, tomorrow, should not be the busiest day of our week. This is not an issue or question that should be left for tomorrow. This is an issue that Congress can decide now, immediately. We can instruct our conferees not on the rest of the aspects of the bill because I understand that takes time and negotiation, but we can come together on one part of the bill. We can come together to the one part of the bill that says we need additional facilities, not only in Texas--although Texas needs them--but in other States as well. That serves all of our veterans well. This isn't about a Democratic position or a Democratic Senate versus a Republican position and a Republican House. This is about our veterans who served every day in uniform, who sacrificed every day, so that 435 people here in this body and 100 people in the body across the way could serve and do our jobs and vote and participate in the American democratic experiment. We wouldn't be here participating in this American democratic experiment, but for the service and the sacrifices of our veterans. If we recognized that, if we truly recognized that, then we would step forward now, not tomorrow. We would step forward now and admit that we desperately need additional VA facilities. We desperately need those 26 additional places. We could put off for the conferees and allow the conferees the latitude to discuss all of the rest of the bill, but we ought to be able to come together on that one thing, and that one thing is those additional 26 facilities. Waiting for a clean bill, I can't tell you, Mr. Speaker, how many times in meeting with the VA or the VFW or the American Legion or any one of the number of organizations like the Vietnam Veterans, I can't tell you how many times they tell me they have been asked to wait another day--wait, you will get your bill; wait, we will take care of you; wait, we understand you are important. They don't need a pat on the head. They don't need a pat on the shoulder. What they need is what they have earned, and what they have earned is health care. Those 26 additional facilities would help us get them their health care and help us get them exactly what they need and what our government has committed to them, regardless of party, regardless of rhetoric, regardless of partisanship, regardless of blame, regardless of whatever. If I started by saying it takes an act of Congress to do this, this is a great opportunity for Congress to step forward and say, through an act of Congress, we understand how important the veterans are, and we are not saving that until tomorrow--you will get your 26 facilities, your 26 additional facilities. We will broaden that pipeline, so that more veterans across this country will have access to health care, and we will do it now. Mr. Speaker, I don't think that is too much to ask. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Let me start by, in all sincerity, saying that I have the greatest respect for Chairman Miller and the work that he has been doing. I follow his comments and his remarks and his committee regularly because the issue of veterans is an issue that is near and dear to my heart, as it is to so many of us, and I have great respect for his views and his expertise. While I may differ in my opinion, I certainly would never, ever think that his motives are impure because they are not. He is very sincere and very driven to help, but here is what I don't understand. For veterans across the country, they don't care, in my view, if the first two letters on a bill are H.R. or S. That makes no difference, topside or bottom, to any veteran that I have ever talked to. I would urge my colleagues to talk to as many veterans as they can and to ask them specifically: Does it matter to you if this is a Senate bill or a House bill? I guarantee you that every veteran across the country will say, no, it doesn't matter. So the idea that we are stuck here at this point in the process because the House wants a House bill and the Senate would like a Senate bill, frankly, that is ludicrous, and it is offensive to the veterans who have served our country.