Duncan Hunter

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. We will all continue to work together, and I thank all Members, Republican and Democrat, on our committee. We have got a great membership. Let me just say one thing, if I could, with the indulgence of my colleagues. A great gentleman, Cato Cedillo, who served as my assistant district administrator for 23 years passed away early this morning, and he was a real hero. He was a guy from San Angelo, Texas, who helped everybody, who had a heart as big as all outdoors; and I swear he could do more with a telephone, getting the problem solved, than the rest of us with a bank of computers. Cato was a wonderful, wonderful person, and I was with him and with his family last night as we said good-bye to Cato. It is sad. He will be greatly missed around his hometown of San Angelo, Texas, and San Diego, California. I thank the gentlemen for letting me mention him in the closing moments of our special order. I want to thank the gentlemen for participating tonight, and again, the message from our troops was that they are staying steady and we in America should stay steady. We are making this handoff. We need to follow through with it and follow through with our mission. I thank the gentlemen.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I and my colleague, Congressman Randy Cunningham, rise today to recognize and commend to the House a man who embodies the spirit of America and has worked tirelessly for his community. Mr. Samuel James (``Sandy'') Kahn, a third generation Californian, has had both a distinguished business career and an unselfish record of community and philanthropic service. Sandy received his undergraduate, graduate and law school education at the University of San Diego. He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of one of our country's largest privately owned real estate development companies that developed in excess of 25% of the developable land in the City of San Diego. Although a successful business owner and executive, Mr. Kahn has always been committed to public service. He became a member of the San Diego Sheriff's Department Reserve program. Sandy graduated first in his academy class and progressed through the ranks from Deputy to Sheriff's Captain retiring honorably in 1995 after 25 years. For his service he received the department's highest award for meritorious service. He has given unselfishly of his time to his community, State and nation. He was selected by the Adjutant General of the State of California to serve on the Advisory Board for Homeland Security. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors appointed Sandy to its Board of Economic Advisors for two terms. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and in October of 2001 he was appointed by the CEO of the San Francisco Federal Reserve bank to the ``Beige Book'' survey committee of leading economic indicators. He is a trustee of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation which is committed to defending the interests of crime victims and law enforcement through both State and Federal appellate jurisdictions. Mr. Speaker, Congressman Duke Cunningham and I ask that the House commend Mr. Kahn for his accomplishments and his service to our Nation.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, my San Diego Congressional District suffers from the same problem that exists throughout all of the West--a diminishing supply of usable water. As populations increase, and resources are evermore stretched between agriculture, municipal, and environmental uses, we must be smarter with our current water use. To address this problem, San Diego has had great success. In recent months, we completed a landmark deal with our Imperial County neighbors that will provide up to 200,000 acre feet of new water per year for our growing city. San Diego County has embarked on a remarkable regional seawater desalination program to tap the nearby Pacific Ocean. Water efficiency efforts spearheaded by the San Diego County Water Authority have resulted in our ability to rely on the same amount of water we used in the year 1990--even though our population has swelled by nearly 20 percent. This is great progress, but we have more to do. For this reason, today I am proud to introduce the San Diego Water Storage and Efficiency Act of 2004. The legislation helps the Sweetwater Authority, which administers much of the water supply in my district, make maximum use of the water they manage by enabling them to more fully use their existing reservoirs. In 1993, the Army Corps of Engineers determined that one of the top methods to ensure greater water reliability in San Diego County was to connect three isolated reservoirs--the San Vicente, which receives raw, imported water, and the Loveland and El Capitan Reservoirs, which receive only local runoff and are rarely full. By connecting the three, we can ensure that the ability to use available water storage is maximized. This legislation authorizes a $3 million federal feasibility study of the reservoir intertie project. I look forward to working with House Resources Committee Chairman Pombo, as well as Water and Power Subcommittee Chairman Calvert, both stalwart advocates for our State's water needs, in advancing this legislation. Mr. Speaker, this bill will promote conservation and increase the reliability of our regional water supply, and I urge my colleagues' thoughtful consideration of the San Diego Water Storage and Efficiency Act.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Chairman, let me say one does not have to go too far with this amendment before finding a very strong point for defeating the amendment and objecting to it. Quoting section 802, it states that none of the funds made available in this act may be used to defend in court. So the U.S. cannot even send in people to defend in court the detention for more than 30 days of a person apprehended on United States territory solely because that person is classified as an enemy combatant. Very simply, we have people who have been in Guantanamo, in fact who have been released from Guantanamo, who have been proven to have gone back to the battlefield and taken up arms against the United States. If the Sherman amendment passed, if we caught Osama bin Laden in the U.S. tomorrow, the Department of Justice would not be able to legally defend his detention as an enemy combatant. That makes absolutely no sense. It states further that none of the funds made available in this act may be used to classify any person as an enemy combatant if that person is apprehended on United States territory. We could have somebody driving a hijacked airplane and clearly in an act of aggression against the United States, and none of the funds available in this act, even if that person intended and was attempting to drive that airplane into a U.S. building, killing Americans, none of the funds in this act could be used to classify that person as an enemy combatant. So interestingly, the Supreme Court cases that have held on this subject have said at least the combatant is entitled to some type of a hearing to determine whether, in fact, he is a combatant and whether he is being held legally. Well, a hearing requires that there are attorneys present and that there are advocates for and against the position. If we take section 208 of the Sherman amendment, we cannot spend any of this money to have the lawyer representing the United States of America to make his point that that person is a combatant and that we cannot hold him for longer than 30 days. I would simply ask Members to vote against this amendment on this basis: It makes absolutely no sense. It in no way represents or reflects determinations made in the relevant court cases with respect to enemy combatants, detainees at Guantanamo or any other place.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to say before the gentleman yields, I know he has been to Iraq and we really appreciate that great tour, and also the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) has spent a lot of time in Iraq. And I want to thank also the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), a great member of the committee, and the gentleman from El Paso, Texas (Mr. Reyes) who was there with me over the last couple of weeks. So we have had great members of the Committee on Armed Services going over. I think that gives us some insight of what the troops need when we are putting together our bill to get the tools so they can get the job done. I thank the gentleman for his remarks, and I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thought we would talk tonight about several things, about our recent several CODELs to Iraq, to the theater, and also about the defense bill, and lastly, about the resources, the great American asset that ties all of our defense issues together, and that is the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States. I thought, Mr. Speaker, maybe I would just start off with my great colleagues, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), in just talking about a couple of those great men and women in uniform. I wanted to read a citation, Mr. Speaker, because we have had a lot of talk, lots of discussion and enormous publicity about the prison mess over the last several months. And one way we have countered that image that I think has wrongfully been splashed against lots of folks in uniform is by talking about the great heroism of a number of those people. And I remind my colleagues that we had some 16,000 Bronze Stars awarded in Iraq, some 127 Silver Stars, and I thought that tonight just to start off I would talk about a couple of the commendations that have been given to heroes in that very difficult theater in Iraq. This is a Silver Star that was presented by order of the Secretary of the Navy to Staff Sergeant Adam R. Sikes, United States Marine Corps. I wanted to read this, Mr. Speaker. ``For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as Platoon Sergeant, 1st Platoon, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 5, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force on 12 April 2003. During the Battle of At Tarmiyah, Staff Sergeant Sikes' platoon was pinned down by heavy small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire in the opening moments of the fight. Without orders, Staff Sergeant Sikes quickly rallied two of his squads and set them into position to suppress the enemy and prepare them to counter attack. With the squads in position, Staff Sergeant Sikes charged alone across the 70 meters of fire swept ground to close on the first enemy strongpoint, which he cleared with a grenade and rifle fire. Moving to the roof of a three-story building that was exposed to enemy fire, Staff Sergeant Sikes skillfully adjusted 60- millimeter mortar rounds onto nearby enemy positions. The rounds isolated the town from enemy reinforcement and decimated an enemy position in the nearby tree line. Upon learning that the other squad had taken causalities, Staff Sergeant Sikes moved to their position. With wounded Marines in a small compound, cut off by the enemy, Staff Sergeant Sikes signaled an amphibian vehicle and directed their evacuation while under a hail of small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire. By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Staff Sergeant Sikes reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.'' That is one of many, many commendations, Mr. Speaker, that have come out of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Here is another citation that I thought I would read tonight. This is a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal to Staff Sergeant Brian Porter, United States Marine Corps for heroic achievement while serving as tank commander, 3D Platoon, Company B, 1st Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. ``Staff Sergeant Porter's actions against the enemy were quick and deadly. Upon initial contact with the enemy near Imam Anas with two of four tanks in the platoon temporarily unable to fire, he guided his tank to the right of the platoon and destroyed an Iraqi T-55 tank with main gun fire. He personally engaged and destroyed numerous armored personnel carriers and tanks to ensure the safety of the company. During a reconnaissance operation in Ad Diwaniyah, he secured the southern flank of the company. During the ensuing firefight involving mortar fire, machine gun fire, and rocket- propelled grenade fire, he destroyed a technical vehicle that was firing upon the platoon at close range. Staff sergeant Porter's initiative, perseverance, and total dedication to duty reflected credit upon him and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.'' Mr. Speaker, these are obviously just a few out of thousands of citations that have been given to our soldiers and airmen and Naval personnel and United States Marines in theater in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Operation Enduring Freedom. Mr. Speaker, if we have time at the end of our special order, I would like to read a few more of those. But right now I would just like to introduce two of my great colleagues who also have been really working the issues that arise from this operation in Iraq and the operation in Afghanistan. I would like to yield first to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).

Mr. HUNTER. I want to thank the gentleman. I just want to remind the gentleman that my job here is lots of inside work and no heavy lifting. It is interesting, we do a lot of things here that have some import and affect the ways our troops operate. But seeing those guys and ladies in 120 degree heat in Iraq and cheerful is an extraordinary experience.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman has described something very important to our country and that is all of us pulling together. That means we are pulling together whether you are part of the family and you know your husband or loved one is going to have to take off and spend some time overseas and you are going to try to pull through those difficult times, or if your neighbors are going to help out or relatives are going to help out. Or as the gentleman has said, employers are going to help out. This country has got to pull together. We have done a lot of that. One thing that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) has worked on so much is American businesses pulling together. That means if you are a business, you are a prime contractor in this country and you can buy a piece of material or a machine tool from another country but you have the opportunity to buy one from Americans, and employ Americans by your purchases, create jobs in America by your purchases, take a look at that and that is something that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) has been encouraging our American businesses to do. That is part of pulling together. We are going to have to all do that with the same spirit that we used to win the Cold War and World War II. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, mentioning the President reminded me of something Saddam Hussein said, because the other day when he got to have his say in court, which is something he never gave the people that he oppressed, he said words to the effect that he would not be there if it were not for George Bush. I will not repeat the adjectives that he used to describe President Bush, but when he said he would not be there if it were not for President Bush, or words to that effect, he was right, George Bush and about 300,000 great Americans in uniform. The point is we have to be the leaders of the free world. If the free world were not led by the United States, I do not think there would be a leader in the free world.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) for the point he has made. It is a very important point. That is the message that I think has gone out to people around the world. They really understand the goodness of this country. Interestingly, they might not understand by watching our own television, but they have enough experiences with their own families and with their own view of the world to know that the United States is a good country. I am reminded of a couple of years ago when my parents were in Manila in the Philippines, and the Philippines were undertaking demonstrations against the United States. The demonstration leadership would walk over to the line of Filipinos waiting to get visas to come into the United States, and they would hire people to take hold of signs that said ``Down with the United States,'' or ``The United States out of the Philippines.'' They would hire them to demonstrate against the United States and after they demonstrated awhile, the demonstrators would then give back their signs to the organizers, and they would retake their position in line waiting for their visa to the United States that they just demonstrated against. I think it is clear to the Iraqi people that we are the good guys. I think they are reflecting on this now as we have turned this government over. They have been ruled by a government for so long that was very self-serving. Its own survival and its own enrichment were the major goals that it undertook. Here is the United States, which has expended an enormous amount of human capital and our economic capital in this part of the world, and yet what we are asking them to do is be free; be free, grow your economy, become prosperous, become a member of the world community, which does not oppress its people; and it is our hope if you have a free government, you are not going to oppress other people. The Iraqis are going to have to be tough to maintain this government. There are going to be bombs and explosions going off in Iraq for a long time to come. If the pouring in of resources could stop explosions from going off, we would not have explosions in Israel right now, but that is a fact of life in that part of the world. It is going to have to be a tough government with some grit. They are going to have to develop a military that has the capability of protecting that government and protecting this running chance at freedom that we have given the Iraqi people. Maybe it will not work; but from the beginning of time to the end of time, the only time when the Iraqi people will have had a real chance at freedom is when the Americans were there, and that is something we can all be proud of. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes). It must have taken a lot of grit for Mikhail Gorbachev to have all of the previous speakers or the speakers at that ceremony talk about how Ronald Reagan equipped him; but, you know, he put up with that and then paid his respects to President Reagan. And I think there is a message there, and that is that the goodness of America comes through, and ultimately it persuades others to follow the path of freedom. I thank the gentleman for his comments. And I think, Mr. Speaker, we are out of time. We would like to yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. HUNTER. I would be happy to yield to the gentleman.

Mr. HUNTER. You better leave on that one. That is a good one.

Mr. HUNTER. I look forward to it.

Mr. HUNTER. I would be happy to. I would say to my friend that I would be happy to.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to do that with my friend. I cannot guarantee the American public is going to make a sell-out crowd for us, but I would be happy to do that. Sure.

Mr. HUNTER. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. HUNTER. The gentleman is absolutely right. And this Cold War was won by American service personnel. I look at Korea and Vietnam as two of the important battles in that war and battles which helped to bring that war to a successful conclusion. The gentleman makes a great point about people who used to be behind the Iron Curtain now serving side-by-side with Americans. And I am reminded also that troops from Nicaragua and El Salvador, which were the centers of the so-called Contra wars during the 1980s, when America's liberals said Ronald Reagan should stay out of Central America; that if the Soviets want to have an influence in Central America, which they were having with the Communist Sandinista and the FMLN in Salvador, let them have it, said the liberals, and let us stay out of Central America; we cannot possibly win that war. And of course they brought back the old Vietnam thing, they said you are going to get bogged down in another Vietnam. Today, we have fragile democracies in each of those countries, and they have sent troops to stand side-by- side with Americans in Iraq to try to bring freedom to yet another country. I was told, incidentally, that the Salvadorans in particular have fought fiercely in the Iraq theater; that they are excellent fighters and they very much support the coalition, and that they have brought a measure of strong support to our operation there. So I thank the gentleman for bringing that up because I think that is an important one. When Ronald Reagan was bringing down the Wall, and when he met that first move of force by the Russians during his administration, when the Soviet Union started to ring Western Europe with SS-20 missiles and Ronald Reagan started to push in ground launch cruise missiles and Pershing missiles into Europe, the liberal commentators across the world said, essentially, now you have gone and done it; we will never have peace with the Soviet Union, and we have to get this Ronald Reagan out of there. Yet, by meeting the strength of the Soviet Union with American strength, the President produced a situation where at one point the Russians picked up the phone and said, can we talk? And when they started talking, they talked not about a negotiated settlement but they talked really about the disassembly of the Soviet empire brought about by American strength. I think this operation in Iraq, while it is tough and hard and very dangerous, is going to produce a good result in that very difficult part of the world. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.

Mr. HUNTER. Well, I thank the gentleman for pointing that out, and I think that the American service personnel who are serving in Iraq, because of what the gentleman has mentioned, are undergoing enormous hardship because they always have to be on guard for the possibilities that other shells, for example, that have nerve agents like the one that was picked up as an IED in Baghdad and was partly exploded to the point where the people who were the team that were neutralizing the shell got sick, there is always a possibility that more shells are going to be taken out of that particular load or cache of weapons. And that will be a danger to American troops. So I thank the gentleman for bringing that point up.

Mr. HUNTER. He may make that point to you when you try to get a part of the royalty.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), also a great member of the Committee on Armed Services

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I know both the gentlemen mentioned going through the air base in Germany, Ramstein Air Base, and going to the medical facility in Germany where our wounded troops are taken before they are brought back to Walter Reed or Bethesda; and in doing that this time, just this last week, I was reminded very strongly about what we displaced in Iraq when we got rid of Saddam Hussein, because one of the lead surgeons there had a videotape that was done by Saddam Hussein's agents as they amputated the hands of businessmen who they brought to the prison and decided, because Saddam Hussein had figured that they had not done enough for business lately and they had not brought the economy up sufficiently in Iraq in a certain period of time, he had their hands surgically amputated to give a little motivation to the other members of the business community. I imagine it did motivate them. It probably motivated them to get out of there as quickly as they could. When I see the discussion about Iraq peel off into some type of a debating society over whether or not we have found weapons of mass destruction lately, I pull that picture out of my top drawer that has all those Kurdish mothers spread out across the hillside dead, where they were killed in mid-stride holding their children, holding their little babies, where that chemical hit them and appeared to kill them just where they stood, and those pictures were as poignant and dramatic as any photos I saw of any of the death camps in Germany. I was reminded once again of what we displaced when we displaced Saddam Hussein; and certainly, we are going to have, as the years go by and more mass graves are discovered and more people come forth with their stories, it is going to become very evident that the United States of America acted when others were afraid to act, when they were intimidated or when they were incentivized not to act because of economic situations, like the French who thought they were going to get all the contracts for the big oil fields, and perhaps others who thought that they somehow would have a good political or economic relationship with Iraq. The United States acted, and we acted on behalf of humanity because it is humanity which rejects cutting people's hands off because they have not raised the economic standard; or shooting thousands of Shiites in the back of the head and bulldozing them into open trenches because they would resist Saddam Hussein's regime; or gassing Kurdish citizens in their little villages in northern Iraq. That is resisted by humanity, and the only nation which really took action along with our great British allies and Australia allies and several others brought something to the battle but not a lot, was the United States of America, and I think we can all be proud of that leadership. It is going to be a rocky, tough road. They live in a tough neighborhood, and there is lots of danger for that new government to face. In fact, I think the biggest challenge for their armed forces is, number one, just keep their government alive, because there are lots of predators out there that want to take them down. I think we are going to make it and we are going to have an Iraq which is benign with respect to its relationship with respect to the United States, and that is going to accrue to the benefit of lots of Americans in generations to come. I would be happy to yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).

Mr. HUNTER. I would be happy to yield to the gentleman.

Mr. HUNTER. No. In fact, you know what I saw, The Washington Post had a front page article about the prison mess, and what they devoted the front and center to their front page on one day was that some prisoners in Guantanamo had asked for sugar in their tea, and they were told it was going to be a while before they got sugar for their tea. So they thought that was quite an abuse, and so instead of putting in an article about people who had their hands amputated by Saddam Hussein, they wanted to devote that very important space to prisoners who did not get sugar in their tea.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Dr. J. Robert Beyster, the founder of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Thirty-five years ago, Bob Beyster and a small group of scientists founded SAIC in my home town of San Diego. During this 35th anniversary, I would like to recognize Bob for his accomplishments in creating and leading a company dedicated to helping the United States government protect and serve its people. Today, SAIC is one of the nation's top federal prime contractors. One unique aspect of this corporation is the fact that it is truly ``employee-owned.'' Dr. Beyster believed strongly that ``those who helped him build the company should own the company.'' Most of the 40,000 plus employees currently own SAIC stock. SAIC has always worked with the U.S. Government, and has played a key role in our national security by providing systems engineering and integration support for our Armed Forces and allied powers. In addition, SAIC serves 12 of 13 Cabinet-level U.S. civilian agencies and has supported all 22 agencies of the newly created Department of Homeland Security. In the aftermath of September 11, it provided wide-ranging support in New York City and Washington, D.C., and for military and government agencies. Today, SAIC support helps safeguard the nation's critical infrastructure and the information assets of government agencies. Its systems and networks are used to thwart crime and terrorism, and its technologies are used to examine vehicles and containers at ports and borders without impeding the flow of commerce. SAIC designed and developed the Composite Health Care System for U.S. military hospitals, worldwide. Now, the company's Frederick subsidiary manages the National Cancer Institute's leading center for cancer and AIDS research. Telcordia Technologies, an SAIC subsidiary, is the leading provider of telecommunications network software and new wireless solutions for military and criminal justice initiatives. Decades of service to energy, the environment and our space programs have improved cost efficiencies, reduced risk and produced measurable results. Agencies have selected SAIC to help them modernize and manage huge volumes of data and to develop internet-based systems praised for setting new standards for e-government. Dr. Beyster's contributions to the nation as a leader in applying science, technology and innovation to meet national needs stand as a tribute to the American entrepreneur and truly demonstrate American business at its very best. I am truly honored to call Bob Beyster my friend.