Duncan Hunter

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass) for moving this important legislation recognizing a great American, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2755) to authorize the President to issue posthumously to the late William ``Billy'' Mitchell a commission as Major General, United States Army.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns).

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass).

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today we have the opportunity to look back on the life of one of our Nation's great air power visionaries, General William ``Billy'' Mitchell, a man of immense energy, leadership and foresight. Like many men who strived to change the status quo and turn great institutions to a more enlightened course, he was a man whose contributions were not rewarded during his lifetime. H.R. 2755 corrects that oversight by calling for the President to grant him a commission in the grade of Major General. I want to, first of all, commend the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass) for renewing my interest in this issue and providing this House with a great opportunity to honor an American hero. From the earliest days of his military career, after enlistment at age 18 in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, Billy Mitchell stood out from the crowd. As a 32-year-old Captain in 1912, he was assigned to the Army General Staff as its youngest member. It was during this time that he began to understand the potential for air power to dominate the battlefield and, interestingly, the potential that we have seen reached so dramatically in this last campaign in the Iraqi theater. After commanding America's war component during World War I, he returned to become the Deputy Commander of the Air Service in the grade of Brigadier General. It was from this position that he pressed his attack on the Navy and the Army for being insufficiently farsighted regarding air power. His demand to improve air power funding gained instant credibility after his bombers sank the captured German battleship Ostfriesland and several other warships in the summer and fall of 1921 in a very public, and for the Navy a very embarrassing, test of the capabilities of bomber aircraft. In fact, Mr. Speaker, during that test a number of naval leaders were in an observation ship not far from these ships that Billy Mitchell's aircraft were demolishing, and there was a complaint, at least a thought, that perhaps he had directed some of the bombs be dropped not too far away from the observation ship so that the naval leadership could appreciate the full value of air power. Billy Mitchell continued to make the case for enhanced air power even after he was removed from his position in the Air Service and exiled as a Colonel to be the Air Officer at VIII Corps in Texas. His relations with superiors soured as his rhetoric took on an accusatory tone. After the crash of the Navy dirigible Shenandoah that killed 14 crew members, Billy Mitchell declared senior military leaders as incompetent and guilty of ``almost treasonable administration of national defense.'' That was the last straw for many in the military, the White House, and the Congress. Billy Mitchell's court-martial for insubordination followed, and he left active duty in 1926 after he was found guilty and sentenced to a loss of pay for 5 years. Even after separation, Billy Mitchell remained in the public eye and continued to be a very effective advocate for air power. Mr. Speaker, it is an unfortunate reality that the truly visionary people that herald important changes are often outcasts in the system they are trying to change. Our Nation is indeed fortunate that we had a man of Billy Mitchell's courage and leadership working for air power. Without Billy Mitchell, the combat victories we savor today, that have relied so heavily on air power, may never have happened. It was Billy Mitchell who jump-started an awareness of the importance of the strategic bombing mission that has proven so pivotal in each of America's wars in the 20th century and now in this war on terrorism, the first war of the 21st century. Mr. Speaker, the least that we must do is honor this great man with the promotion he was denied while serving his country. Again, I want to thank the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass) for the opportunity to honor Billy Mitchell. Mr. Speaker, I reviewed Billy Mitchell's writings that he published and gave to all the leadership in the administration in the early 1920s, after he had toured what he considered to be the world's problem areas, where this great man of vision attempted to project and analyze where America's next threat would come from. More than a decade before Pearl Harbor, Billy Mitchell predicted that at some point that American strategic strong point would be struck by a low-level early morning Japanese air attack. Interestingly, this gentleman of vision not only published his theories but he went out and spent a great deal of time backing them up with observations and putting in lots of time, and he made America aware of the importance of air power. He let us know that we were in the age of air power and that if we did not dominate in air power we would be dominated. I have always thought we need a Billy Mitchell in this age, in this age of missiles, and that if we do not build an adequate defense against missiles, at some point we will see an enemy missile striking the American mainland and striking our troops in theater. He was a visionary, Mr. Speaker, a guy who ruffled a lot of feathers, made a lot of people angry, and in the end demolished his own career. Yet he left as a legacy an understanding of the importance of a factor which has been of such major importance of each of the wars in this last century and this first war of this new century and that is the importance of air power. So I would urge adoption of H.R. 2755. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2755, the bill under consideration.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of the great Americans of the last century, Dr. Edward Teller, who passed away on the 9th of September and said of his own accomplishments, ``What I did, I did because it was necessary, not to be remembered. The little contributions I made in pure science, I am proud of those, and whomever wants to remember that, fine.'' But Dr. Edward Teller deserves to be remembered, and it is important that we remember him because he perhaps more than anyone else in American science believed that we could achieve peace in the world through military strength. He did everything he could to rally a community of scientists, technical people, engineers to back up the political leadership in this country when we were faced with an enormous military adversary in the Soviet Union. And ultimately as the Soviet ambassador said when he left at the end of his tenure upon the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative, which was largely Edward Teller's, hastened the fall of the Soviet Empire by a full half decade. Dr. Teller died at age 95 of a stroke at his home in Palo Alto where he had worked for the past 28 years as a senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, a towering source of American intellect and ideals, both literally and figuratively. Just a few days earlier, he had put in his last day of work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory which he cofounded with his fellow University of California professor, Ernest Lawrence, 51 years ago this month, and where he labored prodigiously for the American cause ever since. Characteristically on his last Livermore workday, he was reviewing recent technical developments concerning a new source of nuclear energy, an area he was deeply engaged in the past 64 years and upon which topic he coauthored a seminal scientific paper 70 years ago that is still widely referenced today. But what makes Teller unique among all of the rest of the greats of our time is a vision and courage that he manifested in a most difficult, too-little-remembered era already a half century in our Nation's past when Americans and the other free people in the world came into serious confrontation with the empire led by the Soviet Union. In the late 1930s, Teller and many others, more than a few being fellow refugees from Hitler's tyranny, had answered President Franklin Roosevelt's call to commit their technical talents to the defense of freedom against the clear and present danger of fascism with historic consequences known to us all. A decade later in the late 1940s when the world's free peoples faced another grave, but less clearly perceived, totalitarian threat, Teller rallied and led American scientists and engineers in providing American political leaders with the key technical means for withstanding the Soviet challenge. He continued his exemplary leadership for the following quarter century until one of our greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan, sounded the call for the conclusive campaign of the Cold War. Then already at an age when most are content to rest, Edward Teller again rallied and marshaled his professional colleagues from all over America to create the technical core of the interlock set of philosophical, political, economic, and military challenges that Reagan launched at the Soviet Empire, resulting in its unexpectedly swift, bloodless, and utter collapse. Mr. Speaker, Teller's technical genius and near solitary perseverance gave the United States crucial first access to the most fearsome weaponry, and the vision that he shared with Ernest Lawrence in founding the second laboratory concerned with nuclear weaponry that has endured and ensured America's weaponry excellence through its brilliantly conceived, supremely effective appeal to innate American competitiveness, and as we will do very well to remember this Teller- Lawrence lesson regarding the surpassing importance of competition- based technical preeminence in all crucial national security programs, very specifically including nuclear weaponry, for every bit as long as it takes to undergird America's national security. It was Edward Teller's Churchillian-quality vision, his simple eloquence, and his unwaivering moral courage, and not just once but twice facing down multitudes of those less committed to the effective defense of traditional Western values, and yes to the triumph of the American cause, that we should most honor and longest remember. To be sure, Edward Teller made mistakes, and he acknowledged and regretted them; but they dwindle into complete insignificance when viewed against his monumental accomplishments on behalf of all Americans and indeed all freedom-loving people everywhere. Mr. Speaker, I am reminded when Dr. Teller talked about going to meet Albert Einstein in 1939 and asking a little girl skipping rope if she knew where Dr. Einstein lived. She said no as she was skipping the rope. He finally asked about the guy with the big fuzzy white hair, and she directed him to the correct door. He went in with two other physicists and together with Albert Einstein they wrote the letter to FDR that changed the world. Edward Teller was a great scientist. He was also a great American.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a gifted and talented local artist from the San Diego area, my friend, Mark Martensen. Mark was asked by his hometown of Chula Vista to create a sculpture that will be displayed outside the city's new fire station in Otay Ranch. Mark's piece, as yet unnamed, will be unveiled on September 11, 2003, serving as a lasting memorial to the brave firefighters who risk their lives to protect ours. Born and raised in Chula Vista, Mark has been making a living selling his western art for 20 years. Described as his generation's Olaf Wieghorst, San Diego's most recognized western artist, Mark is represented in art galleries all over California, Arizona, New Mexico and Indiana. A few years ago, Mark presented the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General Charles Krulak, with a bronze sculpture he created of Lt. Gen. Chesty Puller, a hero and legend to all Marines. General Krulak was deeply impressed with Mark's work and clearly moved. Just as impressed was President Bush when, earlier this year, Mark and I went to the White House to give the President a bronze he created titled ``Texas Skip.'' As plans for the new fire station were finalized, it was determined that the facility must include some type of public art. Mark was a natural choice, and he has not disappointed. His first life-size sculpture, weighing 700 pounds and depicting a veteran firefighter with his hand on the shoulder of a kneeling rookie, required 15-hour work days for three months. The piece will stand on a pedestal in front of the firehouse with water falling from the fireman's hose. In 1985, President Reagan told recipients of the National Medal of Arts that, ``Where there's liberty, art succeeds.'' This couldn't be more true. Generations of San Diegans will have the opportunity to admire Mark's work and reflect both upon the sacrifices and the privilege of living in our great nation. Thank you Mark for using your talents to remind us about what is important.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this provision which is in the House-passed bill is a provision that was agreed to by the vice-chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) last year. It was restated this year. It is the House position going into conference. For that reason, we are certainly not going to urge anybody to vote against it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

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

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank the gentleman for his participation as a great member of the committee. I did have and do have my reservations about his position, but it was an agreement between the gentleman from Pennsylvania and the gentleman from South Carolina and it is the position of the House. We are now going into conference with the other body, and I think it is appropriate to carry the House position forward. I thank the gentleman for his thoughtful words.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from Missouri for yielding. This unanimous-consent request allows the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to formally begin conference.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 1588) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2004 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed Forces, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 12 of House rule XXII, I move that meetings of the conference between the House and Senate on H.R. 1588 may be closed to the public at such times as classified national security information may be broached, provided that any sitting Member of Congress shall be entitled to attend any meeting of the conference.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague for yielding me this time, and let me just rise to oppose what I think is a very dangerous amendment. Historically, companies do not have to have a license to transmit marketing information to foreign customers. A couple of years ago, when we strengthened export controls on satellite exports, foreign customers started increasing their demands for what they called technical information as part of a marketing pitch. The foreign customers were not looking for the kind of information that the public can get. They were after proprietary design, integration, and operational information that could be used for a variety of purposes, including improvements in their own capabilities. So while the Tauscher amendment purports to prevent that information from being sent abroad, it leaves the definition of marketing information up to the prospective foreign customer. And let me just say, Mr. Chairman, that this technology, this technology of separation of a payload from a booster that puts a satellite up is very much akin to the technology that accompanies a separation of a MIRV'd nuclear warhead from its booster. This is dangerous technology, and I would ask everyone to vote against the Tauscher amendment.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I wanted to speak in support of the amendment which expresses a sense of the Congress that the International Boundary and Water Commission should move forward with a program that is intended to eliminate the flow of Mexican sewage across the international border in the Pacific region into waters that end up polluting the Southern California coastline and requiring a quarantine of that coastline. Mr. Chairman, we have been urging the International Boundary and Water Commission to make treaty negotiations with Mexico on establishing a public-private partnership to construct and operate a wastewater treatment facility in Mexico as outlined in existing Public Law 106-457. To date, they have shown insignificant progress. They have shown no inclination to move forward on this important mandate which is in law, and this is a sense of Congress to urge them to get moving.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give recognition to the extraordinary life of Dr. Tom Taylor who passed away in late May of this year. Tom was the chief scientist and director of special projects in the Expeditionary Warfare Department at the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. Not only did Tom have great strategic vision and scientific expertise but he was a great friend. Tom, who was part American Indian, was born in Waco, Texas, and grew up in Oklahoma City. He earned his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at the University of Oklahoma and his Ph.D in chemical and aeronautical engineering at the University of California Berkeley. He was commissioned in the Army through ROTC and participated in research and development programs at the Army's Picatinny Arsenal. Tom often credited his days at Picatinny with making him a successful scientific program manager. Dr. Eli Zimet, an old friend, remembers that ``Tom could visualize concepts, and see them through development to completion. He knew how to get things done--to get funding, find the right performer for a program, and sit on the performer until he produced.'' Tom defined a new model for public service with a career path that included a mix of work for corporations, not for profit organizations, and the Government. At Northrop, Ford, and the Aerospace Corporation he worked on re-entry physics research and aircraft development. While at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Tom worked on submarine detection concepts. This work took him to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as the codirector of the Naval Technology Office and the Advanced Submarine Technology (SUBTECH) program. As a senior fellow and director of technology systems development at the Center for Naval Analyses, Tom carried out a highly respected and well-received study of design concepts for future aircraft carriers, and a second highly regarded study of air-traffic management for the Federal Aviation Administration. He co-authored a book, ``Computational Methods for Fluid Flow,'' and wrote numerous papers on computational fluid dynamics and other topics. Just two years ago Tom was one of a handful of experts to testify before the House Science Committee Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Review of Vertical Takeoff and Landing Technology in the National Airspace System. At the Office of Naval Research, Tom started as the director of strike technology for the Special Programs department. Later, he was the chief scientist and director of special projects in the Expeditionary Warfare department. The Affordable Weapon program was his ``crowning achievement.'' Tom's science and technology prototype proved that an effective cruise missile could be made from commercial and government parts without costing a fortune. In addition to his numerous scientific and management accomplishments, Tom was a tremendous guy--a lot of fun to be around. He had lived in Paris, drove a fast car, was a sharp dresser, and owned a vacation home on the coast of Morocco. He made friends wherever he went. His passing leaves all of us sad but filled with happy memories. Tom leaves a wife, Francoise, of Paris, a son, Scot, of San Francisco, a daughter, Cynthia, who lives in London, a granddaughter, and a sister, Sandra.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, the briefing by Secretary Rumsfeld that was to take place on the floor at 4 p.m. will take place at 4 p.m. in Rayburn 2118.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have left?

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. McInnis).

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 177, a resolution commending the members of the Armed Forces and our allies, their armed forces and all those who were involved in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. As we stand here today, U.S. forces are deployed around the world engaged in the global war on terrorism. The first two campaigns in that war, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, proved our resolve in taking the fight to anyone, anywhere, who wishes to do us harm. The results showed that the United States military remains the most powerful and effective military in the history of mankind. The after-action reports will show many reasons for our success. However, I believe that the most important factor is the simplest one: our people. The United States is blessed to have the most highly trained, equipped and motivated force in the world. It is through the dedication, creativity and ability of our young men and women in uniform that we were able to prevail. I, and all my colleagues, commend them for their service. Through both these operations, our forces stood shoulder to shoulder with 21 allied nations in Afghanistan and 49 coalition members in Iraq. And I might mention specifically the 40,000-plus troops of Great Britain and the 2,000-plus troops from Australia and the 200 Special Operators from Poland, who aided us in this fight. And without the help of these allies who contributed so much, we would not have enjoyed the success that we have had at this point. Neither could we have succeeded without the support of the civilian employees of the DOD, industry employees and leadership. Of course, we had lots of contractors working our systems, helping out in that operation and, of course, we had community organizations and employers. Very importantly, Mr. Speaker, employers who made their Guardsmen and Reservists available for these endeavors and those employers who accommodated their absence to go out and defend our country. Their support to the men and women in the field made these operations possible. H. Con. Res. 177 commends the bravery, dedication and resolve of all those who contributed to the success of these two operations. In particular, however, I want to express the condolences and thanks of a grateful Nation and a grateful Congress to the families of those American service personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice during these operations. Nothing we do here today can adequately express our sorrow at the loss of these brave men and women. The sole consolation that we can offer is that it is our conviction that they did not die in vain. Our country and the entire world is safer and freer today because of their sacrifice. We honor their service and we mourn their loss. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, just one last point. I was in Iraq a couple of days ago. And in talking at our last visit in Kirkuk, in getting our briefings from the commander of the 4th Infantry Division, I asked him the inevitable question. That is, of the 26,000 folks you have in theater right now, how many incidents have you had of mistreatment of Iraqi citizens? Of course, these things happen when you have hundreds of thousands of people deployed, you now and again have incidents like that. But he looked surprised when I asked the question, and he answered not one, not one incident of mistreatment of Iraqi civilians by our military forces. Mr. Speaker, that reflection on the professionalism and the goodness of our people during this occupation following the war is itself another reason for us to commend our troops and commend their service to our country. Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 177, the concurrent resolution under consideration.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 177) recognizing and commending the members of the United States Armed Forces and their leaders, and the allies of the United States and their armed forces, who participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and recognizing the continuing dedication of military families and employers and defense civilians and contractors and the countless communities and patriotic organizations that lent their support to the Armed Forces during those operations, as amended.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.