Randy Hultgren

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, it is a tough time to be a student in America. The President's health care bill, if not repealed, will make school health plans much more expensive. According to The Wall Street Journal, some plans that were $440 a year are going up to $1,300 or $1,600. Many schools will drop coverage altogether either because of cost or because of the President's birth control requirement. Students and young adults will then likely choose the cheapest option--going uninsured and paying a fine to the government. Then, in July, student loan interest rates are set to increase because of choices made by leading Democrats. Student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt in U.S. households, and the rate at which recent grads are underemployed or unemployed is 50 percent. No wonder students are moving back in with their parents and are more likely to take part-time jobs just to make ends meet. These failed policies and the bad economy have pushed young adults into survival mode.

Mr. HULTGREN

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

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Chairman, my amendment would transfer $15 million from the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy research program to the Office of Science. It would also reduce the EERE account by an additional $15 million, which could be put towards deficit reduction. The Obama administration has consistently prioritized industrial policy, under the guise of applied science, at the cost of reduced support for our Nation's critical basic science research and our national labs. EERE's Advanced Manufacturing Office is $35 million above current fiscal year 2012 levels. EERE's water technologies program is $25 million above the President's budget request. EERE's vehicle technologies program is $42 million above where it was just last year. EERE's solar technology program receives $155 million, despite billions of dollars of recent loan guarantees to solar companies and several high-profile industry failures. This amendment would remove $15 million from the EERE account, which is spent on subsidizing solar power and wind energy, and move it back to the Office of Science, where I would hope report language could specifically target it for the high-energy physics program which is critical to our long-term economic success and scientific leadership. At this time, I yield to the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Mrs. Noem).

Mr. HULTGREN. Just briefly, Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of this amendment. It does make sense. It's a commitment to basic scientific research and fiscal accountability, and I urge support of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 2013 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill. Most of the time, when budgets are cut and cuts are made, someone somewhere is upset about them. But as a wise Governor once said: you'll be amazed how much government you'll never miss. In the case of this bill, efficiencies were found within programs to trim billions in spending, while still providing for our warfighters and veterans in the most effective and efficient ways. The fact that funding for so many vital programs for our veterans were actually increased is a testament to the significant savings made in other areas of the bill. For example, it will provide disability compensation for almost 4 million veterans and their survivors, and it will provide post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits for more than 600,000 veterans. I ask my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of this important bill later this week.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou celebrates his second inauguration on May 20. With determination and courage, he has done what most pundits thought was impossible. Through his initiatives with China he has achieved lessening tensions between the two governments while maintaining the integrity of Taiwan's people and their free and democratic society. These strategic steps, assumed by many to fail, have in fact produced excellent results. Taiwan, long a major world trader, has opened up trade channels with mainland China which have been accompanied by tourists from the mainland. All this has been achieved while maintaining Taiwan's security. Peace in the Taiwan Strait, which President Ma has worked toward, is of great importance to us as a Nation; for peace, among other humanitarian advantages, lessens the need for the United States to deploy more of our military resources to the region. I congratulate President Ma and wish him well in his second term.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of my special order.

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed feelings that I come to this body tonight and will have many of my colleagues joining me over the next hour to remember someone who has had a huge impact, not only on this city and on this Nation, but on our world, a gentleman who had a very personal impact on my life, who passed away on April 21, 2012, Charles W. Colson. Chuck Colson, as many of us knew him, was a very intelligent man, a very well-spoken man, a passionate man who served people, who looked for ways to honor them, recognizing the value of every single person. His life dramatically changed through a circumstance that he went through by going to prison. And I'm going to pull out some information here. We were honored to have a service today, a memorial service at the National Cathedral that was a memorial and remembrance of Charles Colson's life. Charles Colson was born on October 16, 1931, in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brown University. He served in the Marine Corps, went to law school at Brown, and then went on to practice law. At a very young age, in 1969, while he was under 40, he was selected by President Nixon to be Special Counsel to the President, and served directly under the President from 1969 until 1973. During that time, he was known as a very tough guy. He was known as Richard Nixon's hatchet man, and was very intelligent, understood policy, understood politics, understood how to get things done, very driven, very focused, very tough. So he used his Marine Corps background, his tough upbringing in Boston, and his sharp intellect to be a huge impact for President Nixon. Well, he was also, in that time, involved peripherally with Watergate, and through that, he felt that he was called to be honest with his involvement in there and pled guilty and entered a plea of obstruction of justice and was sentenced to serve time in prison. And it was really as he was preparing for that time in prison that he started to examine his own life and to see what he had done, why he had done it, and what life was all about. It was really through a writer that he had read, a book that had been given to him, a book by a great author and great thinker, C. S. Lewis, ``Mere Christianity.'' And through that book, and through the testimony of one of Chuck's good friends, that Chuck Colson came to see his own failings, his own sin, his need for a Savior and his need for a change. And it was really in the friend's driveway, as they were talking, that he heard his friend's testimony of what Jesus Christ had meant to his friend, and the floodgates just opened up. All of a sudden Chuck Colson understood what the fact of his need for a Savior, the fact that he needed to turn his life around, that he was going to have to pay a heavy price for his involvement in Watergate, that he was going to have to leave his friends and family, his young children, his wife, to go to prison for a long period of time. He wasn't even sure how long it was going to be. But it was that night, in that driveway that he gave his life to Christ. And from that time on, before he entered prison in the early seventies, through his death here in 2012, Chuck Colson was an incredibly faithful servant of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But more than that, he also was a servant to the least among us. He never forgot that service, that time in prison, while he was there, and seeing the conditions that prisoners suffer under, the fact that we are all of incredible value, not because of what we've done, not because of what we know, not because of how much money we can earn, but because of how we have been created and the sacrifice that has been given for each and every one of us. He saw that, and he never forgot that. So through this time we're going to talk about much of his life since that time of going to prison and coming out of prison. As he came out of prison he had opportunities where he could have gone immediately back into the private sector after being one of the chief people in the White House. He certainly had many connections, could have had a seven- figure income coming out of prison, but he decided not to do that. Instead, he decided to start a ministry to fellow inmates. And it was from that start that literally, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of inmates, millions of inmates around the world, have been impacted by the ministry of Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship Ministries, and many, many other ministries that have come out of that. Angel Tree is another one that I'll talk about a little later on, of serving the victims of crime that we don't talk about very often, and that's children of inmates, unintended victims. Angel Tree is a service, a ministry that provides gifts to kids whose parents are in prison, a wonderful ministry that's provided gifts to millions of young children around the world. I am so honored tonight to be able to recognize, to honor, to talk briefly and to share this time with some good friends of mine and to be able to talk about someone who had a huge impact on my life, Chuck Colson. I am going to hand it over to my friend Steve Pearce in a few minutes here. But very personally, let me talk about the impact and my connection. I had known about Chuck Colson for the last 25 years or so, 30 years, through many of his books. He's written well over 25 books. He's been a speaker around the world. He had a weekly radio show called BreakPoint that would talk about issues that were going on in the world and, really, a Christian world view to addressing issues that we were facing here. But throughout all of his books, all of his speaking, all of his literature, every time that he was talking, it was a connection that he cared for people. He loved people. One of my favorite stories that I hear over and over and over again about Chuck Colson is, as he would travel around the world and travel into the worst of the worst prisons, that he would go in there and meet with prisoners. Oftentimes the warden wouldn't even go into some of these areas and meet with prisoners. The wardens of these prisons would be afraid. And yet Chuck Colson would go in, unarmed, without guards right with him, but would go up and meet with the prisoners, talk with them, touch them, hug them, and just interact with them and let them know that he was going to continue to be thinking about them, praying for them, caring for them, loving them, and that he would be back. That made a huge impact on my life. Reading many of his books, he often talked about what is our role in government, and how should we view the challenges sometimes that we see? As Christians, how should we be involved in government? He talked very clearly about that--of the respect of government but also of the importance of everybody from all faiths to be involved in government--and to recognize that this is our responsibility as citizens to be engaged and involved in the political process. So I had learned much about Chuck Colson through his readings, through hearing him speak. I had a wonderful opportunity a couple of years ago when I had heard about a program that he did, that he had started up about 10 years ago, called the Centurions Program. What this is is a program that Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship Ministries puts on. It's a yearlong program of study--of seminars, of training--of really talking about how to be involved in our country, to be involved in our government, to make an impact in our communities. It involved dozens of books that we read in a year: going through what impacts our culture, looking at movies, looking at music, looking at government, looking at education-- every single sector. Then we would come from all over the country out to Washington, D.C., three times during that year, to spend a long weekend together. Chuck Colson personally led those seminars, along with wonderful speakers from around the country who had come to train men and women from all over the Nation to be more effective in their communities, to be more effective in their families, to be passionate about using their gifts to impact others for good. I was privileged to be selected to be a part of this Centurions Program in 2009, and I went through that yearlong process. Little did I know at that time, honestly, that I would have the opportunity to serve in Congress. This was before I even considered the idea of running for Congress, but it was really through that program and through much that I had learned that I was brought to start thinking about this, to pray about it, to talk to my wife, to talk to my family, to talk to my kids of how important this is and what a pivotal time in our Nation this is right now. So it was much through the impact that Chuck Colson had on my life and that the ministry had on my life that I decided to run for Congress. I was so excited to have Chuck Colson here in the Cannon Caucus Room just several months ago to be able to meet with Members of Congress and to make the connection again. I had spent so much time with him in that year but hadn't had a chance to really connect with him since I had been elected to Congress. He came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, I am so proud of you. He wrote me a little note just saying, again, of how excited he was and how he wanted me to continue to be faithful in all that we had been studying together and learning together. He continued to challenge me, and we talked about how we were, hopefully, going to work together for many years to come. Unfortunately, there was his untimely death. It was a very sudden death. He was speaking before a group of people and had a dizzy attack. Within a short period of time, he had a blood clot in his brain, which had an impact there. Over weeks, they tried to do everything that they could to save him and weren't able to. Unfortunately, we won't be able to continue to work with him, but his legacy lives on in me and in so many others, in literally millions of others around the world whom he touched. So that is why it is such a privilege for us to be able to honor him tonight as to the direct impact that he had on us. Really, before I had the chance to get to know him more personally, part of the impact that he had was on the studies that I was doing when I was involved in our State legislature back in Illinois. My wife and I had had our fourth child, and we were trying to think of a good name for our new son. We decided together that we would name him Koleson. We call him Kole, but his name is Koleson, named after Chuck Colson. So it is such a privilege and a reminder all the time as I'm now with my 8- year-old little boy, Koleson, of the legacy that he has, of the big shoes that he has to fill and, really, of the power that his name means to me of a man who had a huge impact on my life. So, again, we will take this time over these next minutes to honor a man we could spend days talking about. I am so privileged to have my colleagues here tonight, and I am going to turn it over to my good friend from New Mexico, Stevan Pearce.

Mr. HULTGREN. I want to thank my colleague from New Mexico. I thank you so much. Now I want to yield to my good friend from North Carolina, Mike McIntyre.

Mr. HULTGREN. I want to thank my good friend and fellow Centurion. Thank you so much, Mike. I appreciate you being here. I yield to my other good friend, Robert Aderholt from Alabama.

Mr. HULTGREN. Thank you, Mr. Aderholt. Now it's my privilege to recognize a good friend from Iowa, Congressman Steve King.

Mr. HULTGREN. I want to thank my colleague from Iowa. It's now my privilege to yield to my good friend from Texas, Louie Gohmert.

Mr. HULTGREN. Thank you, Congressman Gohmert. I appreciate it. I do thank my friends that have been here. There's many others that wanted to be here tonight and weren't able to. One of those was our colleague Congressman Mike Pence from Indiana, who was unable to be here but wrote a letter. Many others also over the last couple of weeks have paid tribute to the life of Chuck Colson. I would like to recognize just a couple of them. One was Reverend Billy Graham, evangelist. He said: For more than 35 years, Chuck Colson, a former prisoner himself, has had a tremendous ministry, reaching into prisons and jails with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. When I get to heaven and see Chuck again, I believe I will also see many, many people there whose lives have been transformed because of the message he shared with them. He will be greatly missed by many, including me. I count it a privilege to have called him friend. Again, that was Reverend Billy Graham. I do think it is amazing to look at some of the history of the impact and really the decisions that Chuck Colson made that we talked about. Before he went to prison, his conversion, many were skeptical about that, thinking it was a ploy to get a lighter sentence. Clearly, it wasn't, when you look at the fruits of what happened afterwards. And I just want to go through a quick history of Prison Fellowship, something that, again, has had an impact on millions of people around the world. In 1976, a Watergate crook found Prison Fellowship. In 1974, the Watergate scandal sent White House Special Counsel Chuck Colson to Federal prison. A new Christian, he faced challenges and adversities that tested his faith and self-respect. Paroled in 1975, Chuck could easily have opted to close that book on that dark time and move on with his life as inconspicuously as possible. But Chuck knew that God wanted him to hold on to his ties to prison and continue to identify with his fellow prisoners, despite the skepticism and scorn of Chuck's critics. So in 1976, with little more than a vision and the support of a few friends, Chuck began Prison Fellowship to proclaim to inmates the love and power of Jesus Christ. In 1977, the next year after the founding, Prison Fellowship goes behind bars. At first, through the support of the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Prison Fellowship began transporting dozens of Christian prisoners out of prison for intensive training through Washington Discipleship Seminars held in the nation's capital. Those prisoners then were returned to prison to evangelize and teach their colleagues. But in 1977, Prison Fellowship ran into a hurdle when a warden from Wisconsin refused to furlough one of his prisoners to attend the Washington Discipleship Seminars. Instead, he challenged: If your program is so good, why don't you bring it inside the prison? Chuck and his team were up for the task, and 3 weeks later, 93 inmates attended Prison Fellowship's first ever in-prison seminar in Oxford, Wisconsin. That seminar paved the way for hundreds of thousands of prisoners across the country to receive biblically based teaching through in-prison seminars and Bible studies over the past 33 years. That first in-prison event also reinforced the importance of training local volunteers to go inside prisons and build relationships with inmates. Today, Prison Fellowship ministry relies on a volunteer network of well over 20,000 volunteers. In 1979, Britain catches the vision. Prison Fellowship International takes off. In 1982, ex-bank robber reaches out to prisoners' kids and starts Angel Tree. The same year that Chuck started Prison Fellowship, a former bank robber named Mary Kay Beard was released from prison in Alabama. And, as in Chuck's life, God graciously transformed the shame of prison into a golden opportunity for ministry. In anticipation of Christmas 1982, Mary Kay organized Angel Tree, a ministry to provide gifts to prisoners' children on behalf of the incarcerated parents. Beginning with 556 children that first year, Angel Tree has since exploded into a geyser of ministry opportunities reaching more than 400,000 American children of prisoners every single year, and their families, with the transforming message of Jesus Christ. Over 6 million children have received gifts from Angel Tree from their parents donated by someone else in the name of their parent. Again, the lost victim oftentimes of crime. In 1983, Justice Fellowship hits the stage. As Prison Fellowship was expanding its ministry inside prisons, its leadership saw firsthand all of the signs of a justice system in chaos: overcrowded and violent prisons, neglected crime victims, communities shattered by crime. In 1983, Justice Fellowship was formed to promote biblical standards of justice in our Nation's justice system. Justice Fellowship volunteers successfully implemented reforms across the country: victim-offender reconciliation programs; alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders; victims' rights legislation, and more. In 1995, former California legislator and ex-prisoner Pat Nolan took the helm of Justice Fellowship and has since spearheaded efforts to pass the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, and the Second Chance Act of 2007. In 1992, Operation Starting Line sweeps North Carolina. In 1991, North Carolina's Secretary of Correction Aaron Johnson was pondering the condition of his prisons and saw only one solution--spiritual transformation. In an unprecedented move, he invited Prison Fellowship into every prison in North Carolina to lead a contemporary version of an old-time revival meeting. So in the fall of 1992, using teams of professional athletes, musicians, comedians, and powerhouse speakers, Prison Fellowship's inaugural Starting Line evangelistic campaign swept through all of North Carolina's 90-plus prisons, sharing the life- changing message of Jesus Christ. Since North Carolina, similar evangelistic events have spread to prisons all across the country. And in 1999, Prison Fellowship joined other Christian organizations to launch Operation Starting Line, now an affiliation of 37 ministries committed to prison evangelism. In 1997, a new kind of prison ministry is born, Interchange Freedom Initiative, a values-based reentry program founded upon the teachings of Christ. With the full endorsement of then-Governor George W. Bush, Prison Fellowship and the State of Texas partnered to launch the very first IFI program in a prison unit near Houston. Interchange Freedom Initiative immerses its inmates-all volunteer participants in spiritual, educational, vocational, and life skills training from an unmistakably Christian perspective. Today, IFI is active in both men's and women's prisons in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas, and many other States are seeing the value of this, of really turning around recidivism. That we've got to provide all of this for our inmates for them to really have true life change. After God parted the Jordan River, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land into their new home, He commanded them to erect a memorial of stones. These would stand as a reminder of the miracles God had done for them, Joshua explained. Today we seldom use stones as reminders of God's provision. Instead, we preserve God's works in written accounts and photographs. But the reason remains the same: to remember ``the hand of the Lord is powerful''--that was from Joshua 4:24--``and by His hand, He leads us.'' Since this time, Prison Fellowship has continued to minister around the world, but Chuck Colson also had other activities I've already talked about, and Congressman McIntyre talked about the Centurion program, the impact it had on our lives, a hundred citizens each year going through the Centurion program. He also started the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, which again had a huge impact and has been directly involved in BreakPoint, which is a weekly radio program that is on. He also was awarded 15 honorary doctorate degrees. And in 1993, Chuck Colson was awarded the Templeton Prize for progress in religion. This is a very prestigious award. It's given to a person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension. With the Templeton Prize is a $1 million cash award. Chuck Colson could have taken that and spent it on his family. Instead, he donated it to prison ministry to impact prisoners' lives. He also continued to donate throughout his entire life all of the royalties that he received from his books along with royalties from speaking. In 2008, President George W. Bush honored Chuck Colson with the President's Citizen's Medal. So again, tonight we have taken just a few minutes to honor a man who had a huge impact on our lives. Many of us in Congress have been impacted by him through his writings and teachings and through our friendship with him. He has also had a huge impact on prisoners around the world and the plight of prisoners, and recognizing that all human life is valuable and needs to be respected and honored and treated with that respect that it deserves. From the service today, there were a couple of different things. There were a couple of different readings that were done at the service, and I would like to close with this. First, one of the readings was from Philippians, chapter 3. This was a very important passage for Chuck Colson: Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached this goal, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. My friend Steve King had talked about this radical transformation in his life, and this first pointed to that radical transformation where he could have had everything in this world, was right there next to the seat of power in the Presidency and saw how fleeting that was. He could have had money and resources when he got out of prison and a career in law or so many other things, but instead decided to give back to prisoners and to others as well. Many would ask: Why would he do that? Well, there was another passage that was read today. This was read by one of his grandchildren. This is from Matthew 25: Jesus said, Then the king will say to those on his right hand, ``Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was in prison and you visited me.'' Then the righteous will answer him, ``Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it when we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'' And the king will answer to them, ``Truly I tell you, just as you did it for one of the least of those who are members of my family, you did it for me.'' Then he will say to those on his left hand: ``You are the accursed. Depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devils and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me; naked, and you did not give me clothing; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.'' Then they will also answer: ``Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn't take care of you?'' Then he will answer them: ``Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'' Chuck Colson saw what his God had done for him, the incredible power of his redemption and transformation that happened in his life, and wanted to share that with those of greatest need. He saw that as the weakest, the poorest, those in prison. He was also dramatically impacted by his grandson Max. Max is diagnosed with autism. Again, Chuck saw the incredible value of every single life. Chuck was a hard driver, a type A personality to the maximum, but he learned from his grandson Max patience and understanding and love. So I am so grateful again for the relationship that I've been able to build with Chuck Colson and with his family. We will miss him so dearly. I want to end this time again by reading from one of Chuck Colson's books. I think this is so powerful. This, again, was part of the ceremony today, the memorial service over at the National Cathedral. This was from Chuck Colson's book, it's him talking in his book, ``Loving God'': Easter, 1980. As I sat on the platform waiting my turn at the pulpit, my mind began to drift back in time to scholarships, to honors earned, cases argued and won, great decisions made from lofty government offices. My life had been the great American Dream fulfilled. But all at once I realized that it was not my success God had used to enable me to help those in this prison or in hundreds of others like it. My life of success was not what made this morning so glorious. All my achievements meant nothing in God's economy. No, the real legacy of my life was my biggest failure, that I was an ex-convict. My greatest humiliation, being sent to prison, was the beginning of God's greatest use of my life. He chose the one thing in which I could not glory for his glory. Confronted with this staggering truth, I discovered in those few months in the prison chapel that my world was turned upside down. I understood with a jolt that I had been looking at my life backwards. But now I could see, only when I lost everything I thought made Chuck Colson a great guy, had I found the true self God intended me to be and the true purpose in my life. It is not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign God chooses to do through us. God doesn't want our success; he wants us. He doesn't demand our achievements; he demands our obedience. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of paradox, where, through the ugly defeat of the cross, the Holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes through defeat, healing through brokenness, finding self through losing self. Chuck Colson truly was one of my heroes, someone I will miss dearly, someone who impacted my family. I will think of him all the time when I look at my own son, Koleson, named after Chuck Colson. But I just want to thank my friends for joining me tonight to honor this great man, honor this great life, and be challenged together to follow the example that he left for us. Thank you, Chuck. We'll never forget you. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring the attention of the House of Representatives to a momentous occasion, the 85th birthday of Mr. Robert F. Jordan, to be celebrated on May 25, 2012, and to recognize the work he has done, first as a United States diplomat for more than 36 years, and in retirement, as an integral part of the US- Asia Institute. Mr. Robert F. Jordan was born and raised in Framingham, Massachusetts. He served overseas in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947 and then attended the University of Massachusetts, graduating in 1951. From 1951 to 1956 he was a high school teacher of Algebra and Spanish. In 1956 he started a 36-year diplomatic career with the U.S. Information Agency, serving as the Public Affairs Officer and director of the United States Information Service in 11 countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America with responsibility for all U.S. government press and cultural exchange programs. Mr. Jordan learned four foreign languages--Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese. He was president of the Fulbright Commission in several countries and was also president of the Government of Ireland's scholarship board. While on a Washington tour he was assigned to USIA's inspection corps and conducted policy and public diplomacy inspections of American embassies in some 40 countries worldwide. Mr. Jordan is the recipient of several meritorious and superior honor awards and performance pay awards from USIA, the Department of Defense and the Department of State. He also received the Order of Merit from the Government of Portugal. Following retirement in 1992 Mr. Jordan was called back by both USIA and the Department of State to conduct policy inspections of some 20 embassies worldwide. Then from 1995 to 2001 he worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency handling the Spanish-speaking media on disasters around the country. All total during his career, he has honorably represented the United States in over 100 countries around the world. In 1994 95 and then since 2007, Mr. Jordan has volunteered his time at the US-Asia Institute as a senior advisor and serving as Vice President of International and Government Affairs. In this role, he works closely with the Asian diplomatic community as well as with the U.S. Congress, and numerous delegations from Asia. He is committed to the mission and goals of the US-Asia Institute, promoting dialogue on international issues of common interest to the United States and Asian nations, whenever and however possible. In the course of his work, Mr. Jordan has led numerous delegations of Congressional staff to China and Singapore. He spent his 80th birthday on the Great Wall of China. In his retirement, Mr. Jordan continues to work tirelessly to promote mutual understanding and communication between the U.S. and the countries and people of Asia. As he celebrates this latest milestone, we say thank you to Mr. Jordan for his sage counsel, his inimitable vision, his quiet behind-the-scenes diplomacy, and his unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Asia relationship.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I wear this pin today in honor of May as National Foster Care Month. At the end of fiscal year 2010, over 100,000 foster youth were eligible and waiting for adoption. Sixty-five percent of former foster children experienced at least seven school changes while in care. In 2010, almost 30,000 youth ``aged out'' of the foster care system without a permanent family. In some States, up to 50 percent of former foster and probation youth become homeless within the first 18 months of emancipation. In some cities, nearly 60 percent of victims of domestic minor sex trafficking are youth from the foster care system. All children deserve safe, loving, and permanent homes. We must work together to create good policy for foster youth, and I would encourage anyone thinking about becoming a parent to consider changing a life through adoption and foster care.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, most people can point to at least one or two leaders, historical figures, or personal mentors who significantly affected their lives or callings. Chuck Colson was all three of these things to me and to many, many others. Charles W. Colson went to be with his Lord on April 21, 2012. Chuck Colson was a profound example of someone saved by grace. As a State legislator, I was truly grieved by our State's sky-high recidivism rates and got involved with several prison ministries, including Koinonia House, which was founded by yet another man whose life was turned around after he converted in prison and met Charles Colson. Then, a year before I ran for Congress, I was part of Chuck Colson's fantastic discipleship program. My wife and I chose to name our youngest son Koleson. I pray for my Kole that his life, like Chuck Colson's, would reflect the life-changing grace and redemption offered to us by the cross.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today, once again, to express my concern about the EPA, their redtape, and its effect on jobs and the economy in my home State of Illinois. In fact, a recent study found that the rules proposed by the EPA could destroy more jobs in Illinois than in any other State. According to this study, more than 38,000 Illinois jobs are at risk. These new layers of redtape would especially be harmful in their impact on the price of electricity, raising costs for small businesses and forcing them to lay off employees. In Illinois we could see electricity prices rise as much as 18 percent, a huge burden on small businesses already struggling to keep their doors open. Time and again, I've heard from small businesses in my district who are concerned about this regulatory onslaught. But House Republicans are not standing idly by. With bipartisan support, we've passed a half-dozen pieces of legislation that would rein in the EPA and help protect American jobs. Unfortunately, as with so many of the bills that we've passed to create jobs and spur economic growth, the Senate has refused to act. Perhaps another reminder of what is at stake will finally spur them to action.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Chairman Lucas, thank you so much for your support on this issue. It has been a pleasure working with you and your staff during my first term here in Congress and on the Ag Committee. In the committee this year, we have worked hard to protect farms and small businesses from Dodd-Frank red tape. That's why I rise today in strong support of Representative Vicky Hartzler's bill. H.R. 3336 reduces unnecessary regulatory burdens on small financial institutions to ensure they can continue to provide capital to small businesses in their communities. The bill ensures that small financial and farm credit institutions will continue to be able to provide swaps to their loan customers without being considered or registered as swap dealers. I am pleased that the CTFC has come out with a ruling more favorable than the original legislation, but I think it's important still to note that this bill ensures that the CTFC provides an exemption from clearing for small financial institutions that are hedging their own risks. I also want to thank my Illinois colleague, Congressman Bobby Schilling, for his work on this bill. He added a provision particularly important for companies like John Deere and Caterpillar, which has facilities in my district.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy on their 25 years of excellent education. Since opening its doors to students in 1986, the academy has graduated nearly 5,000 students and brought national and global recognition to the State of Illinois. With a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, eduction, IMSA has developed the talented workforce our State and Nation needs to compete in the modern world. Furthermore, the academy has provided opportunities to under-resourced students, effectively breaking down geographic and socioeconomic barriers. I am proud to represent the academy here in Washington, and I'm proud of the way IMSA alumni represent Illinois. I'd like to add a special thanks to Dr. Leon Letterman. His vision helped found the academy; his leadership has helped it to become what it is today, and his presence will be missed after he retires. Congratulations to the Illinois Math and Science Academy, and good luck to the Titan Robotics Team as they compete in St. Louis.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today in honor of U.S. Marine, Jack Silliman. Tragically, Jack was killed during the Vietnam War. In 1961, when Jack was still a boy in the 7th grade he wrote a winning speech that was presented to President John F. Kennedy. I submit Jack's speech. What I Can Do for My Country Madam president, honorable judges, fellow C.Y.C.L. members, parents, teachers and friends, The subject of my speech is, ``What I Can Do For My Country''. First of all I can be a good citizen. I can honor and respect the flag of the United States in which I live. I can be proud of our president and his ten cabinet members. When I am ready to vote I should know and understand the rules of voting. I should think of the privilege I have of being able to cast a free and secret ballot. In being a good citizen I should allow each person to speak his own opinion. I can give help to the ill and friendless. I must help make safety rules for my community and endeavor to carry them out. Second, I should get the best education possible by learning the principles of my classroom. I can learn to enjoy the company of others. I must do my best to understand the governmental problems of my nation. I can read and listen to the news and current events of my state and nation. I can take an active part in political affairs and learn all I can about them. I must learn all I can about the science and progressiveness of other nations as well as my own. I must be able to contribute to the defense effort. Third, I must keep myself physically fit by eating the right kinds of food, getting the right amount of sleep and correct exercise, and avoiding the use of those things harmful to me. I must train myself so as to make a real contribution to the defense of my country in the fields of science and education. In conclusion, I can be a good citizen, get the best education possible and keep myself physically fit. Thank you.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this bill. The unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats of the Independent Payment Advisory Board pose a threat to the ability of seniors in my district and around this country to get the health care they need. Across my district, I hear from doctors who are deeply concerned about their ability to accept more Medicare recipients because reimbursement rates are already too low; but if the IPAB bureaucrats are allowed to ration care, rates will be driven even lower. Fewer doctors will be able to afford to treat Medicare patients. It's cruel to tell our seniors that they have Medicare but refuse to tell them that there will be no doctors who will be able to treat them. IPAB will be the end of Medicare as we know it and the end of seniors' ability to get treatment from their preferred doctors. That's why we must act now to repeal IPAB--to protect seniors and to protect Medicare. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with many of my constituents who were here to advocate for continued support for Israel. I had the opportunity to listen to Prime Minister Netanyahu's remarks on the importance of the American-Israeli alliance and friendship. I'm here to tell them today that I could not agree more, and that at no time has the bond between our countries been more important. In an increasingly uncertain and unstable region in the world, Israel has proven time and again to be a steadfast friend. In a region governed at best by fledgling democracies with uncertain futures and at worst by brutal authoritarian dictatorships, Israel is a champion of democracy and freedom. But today Israel is surrounded by increasingly unstable neighbors. Just over the horizon, they're faced with an Iranian regime that threatens them with annihilation. In these circumstances, we must do what is right and stand with our friends and allies, the Israeli people. I've been proud to do so in this Chamber, and I will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, last week, I heard from my constituents about the impact rising gas prices are having on their families and on their small businesses. Congress must act to protect our constituents from even higher gas prices by expanding our Nation's domestic energy production. The solution is pretty simple--let's expand American energy production. This will reduce the cost of gas, putting money back in the wallets of every American, and it will create the kind of good-paying jobs that so many people need and would help get our economy moving again. The House has already passed four bills to expand domestic energy production. It's time for the Senate to pass those bills and send them to President Obama so that he can show us whether his commitment to an all-of-the-above energy policy is mere rhetoric. Creating jobs, saving our constituents money, and helping our economy should be bipartisan goals, and we can achieve them by expanding American energy production.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, a recent report from a respected Illinois think tank found that within 5 years the State of Illinois will have amassed an incredible $34.8 billion in unpaid bills. This, of course, comes only 1 year after an allegedly temporary tax hike that they were told would help restore the State to fiscal health, but instead has made the State's economy much worse. Yesterday, the CBO reported that, for the 4th consecutive year, the Federal budget deficit will once again exceed $1 trillion. This is a mind-boggling number, and it underlines the need for serious fiscal reforms such as the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act that we passed last year. But, Madam Speaker, I'd like everyone in this Chamber to learn a lesson from my home State of Illinois. We need to learn from the mistakes that they've made. Despite what some people here believe, we can never tax our way to prosperity. Let's heed the warning of the Land of Lincoln and make the tough decisions to break Washington's spending addiction.

Mr. HULTGREN

Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support National School Choice Week. School choice means empowering families to make the best decision for their students and helping them learn in an environment that best suits their child's needs and interests. We must work to ensure that every student has access to quality, public education, but some families may choose alternatives like charter schools, private schools, or home schools. State and local governments, as well as the Federal Government, should do their part to pass legislation making it easier for students to choose the school that best suits them. My wife and I have tried to choose the schooling that is best for our children, and I trust that our decision will help them have the best education possible. I want all families and all students to have that same opportunity, choosing the education forum that best suits their students.