Darrell Issa

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I'll close by urging support for this noncontroversial bill but also reminding my colleagues that there are many things undone in the way of righting the wrongs to Asian Americans and in thanking Asian Americans for what they have done for our country for 150-plus years. So with that, I would yield back the balance of my time and urge passage.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of this resolution. I certainly believe that 100 years of the attempts by spouses to have this body work together in a better, more collegial fashion is noteworthy. Today, though, as we honor the work of our spouses, and particularly those who would say that if, in fact, you don't do what I'd like you to do, it could cause a great deal of domestic unhappiness--I believe was the line--in Washington, we should take note that this body is not operating in a collegial fashion. This body has, in fact, broken down. The concept of bipartisan behavior, including the long tradition of a motion to recommit, a long tradition of amendments and opportunities for ideas to be exchanged on and off the dais, has broken down. So I do think it's important that we turn to recognizing an effort made 100 years ago at a time in which Members of Congress--House, Senate, Republican, Democrat--went to dinner together in each other's homes. Their children played together. They, in fact, lived here in Washington. Living here in Washington has become sort of a term for misconduct. The idea that you would come and that you would work with 434 of your colleagues to make a better America, that you would walk across the Capitol and work with 100 Senators to make a better America seems to have fallen out of favor. Today, unfortunately, we spend a lot of time meeting in our conferences on a partisan basis. In those conferences we ask, well, how can we beat them? How can we beat them now? How can we beat them in the election? We should be asking, how do we work together for a better government and a better America? So I hope that the efforts of this club, which have been long, hard, and successful in many, many ways certainly in bringing our spouses together, certainly in activities for the community, will be a starting point today for us looking across the aisle and asking, why is it that we're afraid to have dinner together? Why is it that our meetings are Republicans with Republicans and Democrats with Democrats? We need to work together. We have big problems in America today; some of them are obvious to Americans. We talk of the war and we talk of gas prices, we even talk of the Pelosi premium. Well, I believe it's a Pelosi premium, but it's a premium built on years of other people's mistakes and other people's watches. Today, I use the opportunity given to me to talk about this important bipartisan resolution to say, let's solve gas and oil problems on a bipartisan basis. Let's deal with the challenges we face in Iraq and Afghanistan on a bipartisan basis. Let's deal with the immigration reform challenge on a bipartisan basis. Most of all, let's make sure that America's next 100 years is 100 years of success in competing worldwide. We can do this if we do it on a bipartisan basis. One hundred years ago, mostly women worked tirelessly to form an organization to help us do just that. Let's commit ourselves to doing just that today. With that, I yield back the balance of my time and urge support.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation that codifies the 1996 executive order of President Clinton that was issued to promote the proper use of excess Federal computers and electronic equipment to schools of our Nation. I might want to clarify, because I know a lot of people hear us on the House floor and they only know what they've heard. If you hear ``excess'' and ``surplus,'' you might think that, in fact, what we're doing is simply overbuying and letting it sit in warehouses and then giving it away. Virtually all of this equipment in the executive branch, as in the legislative branch, are equipment that we have used for 2, 3, 4 years. It is, in fact, past its prime for us, but very usable by many other institutions. So, Mr. Speaker, I would like to support this bill. I would like to also make sure people understand that we're not just simply overbuying. And the term ``excess'' or ``surplus'' doesn't by any means indicate that we're not using America's dollars wisely, but rather, we're using America's dollars again by making them available to people who can use a slightly used computer, who don't need the latest version of Windows and might not need the latest version of Pentium software. But, in fact, this can help schools around America in poor neighborhoods and even not so poor neighborhoods have a better opportunity and use their hard-earned and hard-given dollars in other areas. So I support this resolution. I hope that the American public understands that this is a great way of causing these products not to go into landfills 3, 4, 5 years earlier than they otherwise would by making them available to those who can use them. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5787, the Federal Real Property Disposal Enhancement Act, which was introduced last month by Representatives Dennis Moore of Kansas and John Duncan of Tennessee. This legislation would expand the number of agencies allowed to retain the proceeds from the sale of surplus Federal real property and would expand the authority of the General Services. It is very clear that this is a good bill, and I support it. It is also very clear that it is a step in the right direction but does not get us to where we really need to be. In fact, this is simply the tip of the iceberg. The Federal Government is the largest landowner in the country. As such, it is essential that the government manage its properties as efficiently and effectively as possible. More importantly, property which is no longer of use to the Federal Government should be removed from the inventory. Unfortunately, over the years Federal property disposal processes have become increasingly cumbersome and unwieldy, and agencies often decide it's easier to sit on property than to try to get rid of it. In fact, when we as a Congress have done rounds of BRAC, we have often had to do supplemental appropriations of dollars in order to give away property that has become surplus. In fact, OMB estimates a backlog of more than 21,000 properties in need of maintenance and repair carrying a price tag of more than $18 billion. Under Republican control, the Congress spent a considerable amount of time working, mostly on a bipartisan basis, to reform the Federal real property disposal system. The proposals we put forward for substantial changes provided real reform. Although H.R. 5787 does not contain the kind of substantive reform put forward in prior Congresses, it is nevertheless an improvement on the current system. I therefore ask my colleagues to strongly support this legislation as a step in the right direction. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, in closing, today we have handled a great many important resolutions on the floor and some laws. We've done this on a bipartisan basis. As we finish our suspensions for the House Oversight and Reform Committee, I would simply ask my colleagues, the Speaker, to take note that this past week, prices rose once again on gasoline in America. Up 17 cents in a blink of the eye, up a dollar since this Congress switched hands. It is very clear that we need to begin operating on a bipartisan basis to bring down the price of gas and diesel fuel. We can only do that if we work on as much of a bipartisan basis as we work on these resolutions. So I would ask all of my colleagues to note that the real problem America cares about today is not the 100 years of the Congressional Club. It is not, in fact, Arnold Palmer's accomplishments. It is not even Frank Sinatra's doing it his way. It is, in fact, America's inability to cope with rising gas prices, staggering unemployment, and the inability to live in one's own home. I ask that my colleagues take note of that and that we work on a bipartisan basis to bring a real resolution to these problems. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 1074, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1074 has been adequately explained by the majority. I urge its adoption, recognizing that it is, in fact, privately funded, has never taken Federal dollars in its construction, and continues to this day. I think it's a worthwhile project to recognize, and I urge the passage of this resolution.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of the efforts of the Welcome Home Troops, a Southern California based organization dedicated to ``Returning the Hearts of Our Soldiers to our Homeland.'' Welcome Home Troops is a non-profit organization based in Lake Elsinore, California. Its efforts extend beyond California to Texas, Kentucky, and future expansion to additional states. Dedicated to the reintegration of The Global War on Terrorism veterans back into the community, Welcome Home Troops provides support services to help servicemembers transition comfortably from combat to home, restore personal relationships, and encourage a productive and positive life after military service. Welcome Troops sponsors job fairs, college fairs, financial aid counseling, relationship counseling, drug abuse counseling, Vets to Vets mentoring, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) counseling. According to the National Center for PTSD, at least 18% of those serving in Iraq and at least 11% of those serving in Afghanistan will suffer from PTSD. Welcome Home Troops aspires to provide services that will lessen the effects of war time stresses. In honor of Memorial Day, Welcome Home Troops will involve the community with a Military Appreciation night in Lake Elsinore, California on May 24, 2008. This full afternoon and evening will be filled with assistance outreach opportunities and family fun activities to be capped with an evening game of baseball. Madam Speaker, I ask you to please join me in congratulating Welcome Home Troops for their dedication this Memorial Day and beyond to our returning servicemembers and their families.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of United States Marine First Sergeant Luke J. Mercardante. Luke Mercardante was the First Sergeant for Combat Logistics Battalion 24, the logistics element of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Luke was 35 when killed in the line of duty on April 16th in Kandahar province of Afghanistan while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. First Sergeant Mercardante's position required him to serve as a leader, but leadership came naturally. He is remembered for his love for country and ability to inspire those around him. Other Marines described him as the ``picture-perfect Marine.'' Mercardante enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1992, graduating from Parris Island as the company honor graduate. He later served on a deserter apprehension team and was responsible for apprehending more than 130 deserters. As a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. Mercardante trained more than 1,200 men, turning them from civilians into Marines. Later, he served at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina as the training chief and brig security for the base. He was assigned to the Virginia Military Institute as the assistant Marine officer instructor and was voted an honorary member of the class of 2007, as well as faculty mentor of the year in 2005. First Sergeant Mercardante's personal decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with 3 gold stars in lieu of 4th award, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with 1 gold star in lieu of 2nd award, and the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. Luke was engaged to Kimberly Hull and planned to marry when he returned from Afghanistan. He is survived by Kimberly, his mother Gertrude, father Patrick, brothers Patrick Jr., Frank and Mark, sister Bridget and his children Luke II and Cailin. On behalf of the people of the United States whom he served with courage and valor, we honor and commemorate the life and service of First Sergeant Luke J. Mercardante.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians Chairman Vernon Wright. Chairman Wright passed away on Thursday, April 10, 2008, of liver cancer at the age of 53--far too soon for a man that had so much left to give to his tribe and community. Born in San Diego, California to Vernon Hollis Wright and Beverly Wright, Chairman Wright was a lifelong resident of the area. After graduating from San Diego High School and Palomar College, he studied at the Gemological Institute of America and operated a jewelry shop in Escondido, California until becoming politically active with the Rincon tribe in the 1990s. In 2006, he was elected chairman of the 650-member tribe, after serving as a council member and vice-chairman for several years. As chairman, he did a number of good things for the tribe and surrounding community. He worked hard over the years to heal internal strife that dwelled within the tribe and helped to mend disagreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He also brought the community together through his leadership and helped to usher in the tribe's current economic success. Not long before his passing, some tribal members had begun calling him ``Chief,'' a title that hadn't been used on the reservation for decades. This informal honor was appropriate for Chairman Wright, because he worked tirelessly for the benefit of his tribe. Months before his passing, he devoted countless hours and effort to helping tribal members recover from the Poomcha Fire, which devastated the Rincon reservation last year. Chairman Wright was a good man, an honorable man, who was taken from the world too soon and with much left to accomplish. While his passing is a tragedy, he truly touched the lives of those around him, and the Rincon Tribe has been left much better because of his leadership and guidance. He will be remembered and missed.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Michael J. Maher upon his receipt of the University of San Diego's Mother Rosalie Clifton Hill Service Award for 2008. In honor of Mother Rosalie Clifton Hill, the University of San Diego (USD) presents this award annually to an alumnus who personifies the spirit and philosophy of the University. Such a person must exhibit involvement, service enthusiasm and commitment well beyond what is expected of an USD alumnus; demonstrate support of, and service to the USD Alumni Association; and must exemplify in all aspects of his or her life an incorporation of honesty, loyalty, integrity and fidelity. Michael J. Maher epitomizes these above mentioned qualifications. Graduating from the University of San Diego in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, Mr. Maher returned to San Diego in 1976 to begin his 32-year professional career. Maher has been a fervent supporter of the University of San Diego's athletic programs. He has been instrumental in the continued success of the University's golf program as well as the Torero Athletic Committee. He has dedicated hundreds of hours of mentoring to student athletes. His continued support of the University has positively influenced associates and fellow alumni to become more involved. Madam Speaker, I ask you to please join me in congratulating Michael Maher upon his receipt of this esteemed honor.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember the life and commemorate the service of Border Patrol Agent Jarod Dittman, who died from injuries sustained while on duty Sunday, March 30, 2008. A Border Patrol agent since March 2007, Agent Dittman was assigned to the Brown Field Border Patrol Station in California. Agent Dittman's life-ending injuries were sustained in a vehicle accident while driving in the early morning to his assigned patrol area in Jamul, California. Prior to joining the Border Patrol, Agent Dittman served 6 years in the Pennsylvania National Guard, where he achieved the rank of sergeant. While in the National Guard, Agent Dittman served in Kosovo and was deployed to Louisiana supporting relief operations following Hurricane Katrina. Agent Dittman is the 18th U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent killed in the line of duty in the San Diego sector. His unfortunate death is a reminder of the danger and risks these officers face as they work to secure our Nation's borders. Agent Dittman will be remembered for his commitment to his job and country through his service in the United States military and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. May God bring peace to his wife, Paveline, their daughter, Angela, his parents, brother, sister, grandparents, family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time. On behalf of the people of the United States, we honor and commemorate the life and service of Border Patrol Agent Jarod Dittman.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, Alexis Monroe, a 16-year-old, student at Glenelg Country School in Ellicott City, MD, raised over $5,300 to go toward ambulance purchases for the Lebanese Red Cross at her school's annual International Dinner and Fashion Show Fundraiser in 2007 and 2008. I would like to commend Alexis for her efforts as a young leader assisting a humanitarian cause that is supported by the American Red Cross. I would like to thank Alexis for her efforts, and I am submitting Alexis' speeches from 2007 and 2008 for the Congressional Record so that her work can receive recognition as example of U.S. philanthropy to aid those in a far away land who need assistance. Lebanese Red Cross Presentation (By Alexis Claire Monroe) One of the great things about Glenelg is the sense of community one feels. When crises occur outside our own community, it's important to help and support the family and friends across the seas--as they are really just an extension of our own community. In planning this event, we learned that there are no less than 8 families of Lebanese descent here at tiny GCS--including 2 faculty--many of whom still have family and friends in Lebanon. We had four generations in our family touched by this crisis. On July 1, 2006, my great-aunt and uncle visited our family in Lebanon. Great-grandmother Fawaz had turned 97. They were so happy to see how Lebanon had recovered from the civil war and 28 years of occupation. The streets were safe, downtown Beirut had been reconstructed, the hotels and restaurants were filled with tourists. On July 10th, they left for a short visit to Petra, Jordan to see a 2000 year old temple that is still being excavated by their friends from Brown University. They planned to return to Lebanon on July 14th in time for my great-uncle's birthday celebration which was to be at an elegant restaurant on the harbor near Byblos. Early July 13th, the Israelis bombed the newly finished Beirut Airport along with more than 60 bridges, all superhighways, and all ports. The combined naval, land and air blockade made travel impossible. My great-aunt and uncle were stuck in Jordan for 10 days before they could get a flight out leaving most of their belongings behind in Lebanon. During that time, they watched, in horror, the TV broadcast of the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and the displacement of 800,000 Lebanese (almost 25% of the population) from their homes, half of those being children; 1,300 Lebanese were killed and 3,200 injured. The use of force against innocent Lebanese was excessive and prolonged and destroyed over 10 years of reconstruction and re-investment efforts. Many people are still homeless and hungry and need assistance. One of the primary sources of aid is the Lebanese Red Cross which is a non-partisan humanitarian organization whose volunteers provide medical treatment and relief services. The American Task Force on Lebanon has a commitment from a private foundation to match contributions dollar for dollar-- so GCS' gift will go twice as far. On July 22, 2006, my great-grandmother died. My family was unable to bury her in our ancestral home in Joun because the roads and bridges had been destroyed. We hope that some day, she will be able to rest there in peace.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I am astounded that you can use the words ``torture'' and ``waterboarding'' as though you were not on the committee of jurisdiction knowing about it as an ex-officio at the time it is to have occurred. I am shocked that this is going to be all about a procedure or procedures that in fact the Speaker of the House had the ability to know about and condoned for years. I am shocked that the Speaker of the House would speak about David Petraeus, when in fact David Petraeus has said publicly and privately: ``You know, on the battlefield of Iraq, I can kill the enemy, but I can't listen to him if he calls America.'' This today should be about what we haven't done. We haven't taken up the Senate's FISA bill. We haven't dealt with the fact that we are in danger every day, and as a member of the intelligence community, I know just how damaging the absence of action has been. This bill has become a partisan bill, and wrongly so. I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fix it and move on, rather than complaining about something that the Speaker is well aware of.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of my bill H.R. 29. the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project. I would like to thank Chairmen Nick Rahall and Ike Skelton for quickly moving this bill through their respective committees. This is now the third Congress in which this bill has passed the house, and I hope the Senate will act just as quickly. The Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project is very important to U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and the city of Fallbrook. In 1966 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California entered a stipulated judgment in U.S. v. Fallbrook P.U.D. directing the Department of the Interior to provide a ``physical solution'' to the 60/40 allocation of the Santa Margarita River. Since then, previous legislative efforts to authorize a project carrying out the Federal judge's mandate have not been successful despite past support of Members of the California Congressional delegation. Finally, through a long process of negotiation between the Marine Corps and the city, this conjunctive use project was agreed upon. This design was deemed to fully implement the court's directive at far less than half the cost of previous proposals with no environmental degradation. Furthermore, passage of this authorization for the conjunctive use project is essential to giving Camp Pendleton access to the San Diego Aqueduct. Since its completion, the aqueduct has provided ample access to Southern California's regional water supply system for nearly all of San Diego County, except for Camp Pendleton. A key benefit of H.R. 29 will be the construction of a water system physically connecting Camp Pendleton to the San Diego Aqueduct, thereby making it possible to use imported water as needed, including emergency mobilization in time of conflict. The conference report for the Fiscal Year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act directed the Bureau of Reclamation, under the Santa Margarita River feasibility authorization, to ``. . . perform the studies needed to address current and future municipal, domestic, military, environmental, and other water uses from the Santa Margarita River.'' Funding for Reclamation's feasibility study of the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project has been provided in each subsequent fiscal year up to the present, and its work is more than 90 percent complete. When signed into law, this project will be funded by the Department of Navy and Department of the Interior. This project is essential to ensure that Camp Pendleton has a larger water supply to meet the current and future needs of the base. This project has been vetted by multiple committees over a number of years and found to be of the utmost importance to the Marines at Camp Pendleton, while also benefiting the city of Fallbrook. It will provide for enhanced recharge and recovery from the underground basin on Camp Pendleton to provide a constant water supply for the base, along with a safe, reliable, drought-and earthquake-proof water supply for more than 35,000 families. Again, I thank my colleagues for working with me and my constituents to move H.R. 29 through the legislative process.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, 1 minute is just the right amount of time to deal with an issue that is as simple as this: we cannot allow our enemies abroad to have secrets, and we must maintain the secret of how we discover, uncover, reveal, and react to their attempts to hide their activities, including the attempt to kill Americans. That's what this is all about. That's what we are looking for within the next 15 days. I am supportive of this bill because I want to make sure that we cover these two points. It is not enough to simply attack your enemy when he attacks you. We clearly have to know what he intends to do, including when he communicates with his operatives in America from overseas; and we very clearly need to not let our enemies, through discovery in more than 40 lawsuits leveled against all of our communications companies, uncover what they may or may not have done. I want to make sure that we understand: it is not just what communications companies may have done. We do not want our enemies to know what they may not have done.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the ``Performance Rights Act,'' which was introduced today. This legislation, long in the making, has the simple goal of requiring that those who generate revenue from the use of music, pay for the use of music. Terrestrial broadcasters have a strong and meaningful relationship with the American public. There are few of us who do not have wonderful memories that are accompanied by music played over a radio, and fewer still who have not tuned in to hear news, traffic or emergency information. The American radio tradition is akin to apple pie or baseball. It is part of the American consciousness, and, with the help of HD radio, will remain so. Even so, the past few decades have seen huge changes in how people consume music. Terrestrial radio once dominated new music awareness. This fact meant that if a consumer wanted to buy a song, they were likely to hear it on the radio first. Radio therefore had a dramatic promotional impact on music sales. However, even at the outset of mass music broadcasting in the United States, when Congress exempted terrestrial radio from paying artists a royalty, terrestrial radio was making money off of artists' work and paying nothing for it. As time went on and records lost market share to 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, and now MP3s, and terrestrial radio lost market share to cable radio, internet radio and satellite radio, consumer dependence upon terrestrial radio gradually decreased. Terrestrial radio no longer serves the same promotional role for music sales that it once did, but terrestrial radio is still exempt from paying a royalty to artists. Additionally, the other music platforms do pay for the right to broadcast music. The ``Performance Rights Act'' encourages parity in music broadcasting by requiring terrestrial broadcasters to pay for the music they use. Stations that gross over $1,250,000 will negotiate with artists to pay a fair royalty. ``Small'' stations, those grossing under that amount, can opt to pay a flat rate of $5,000. Public broadcasters can elect to pay a flat rate of $1,000. Talk radio that only uses music incidentally is exempt from paying as are religious services. All together, approximately 77 percent of all radio will have to pay artists virtually nothing to use music. This bill is not the boogeyman that detractors will make it out to be. However, this bill is, I believe, unfinished. The songs that individuals consume via terrestrial, satellite, cable, and internet radio contain the same notes and the same voices regardless of which platform does the broadcasting. Yet they pay different rates, sometimes vastly different rates. We need to look further into these disparities, and I look forward to working with Chairman Howard Berman and others on correcting any inconsistencies in current law. The arguments that supported exempting terrestrial radio from paying a performance right have been eroded by the passage of time and technological innovation. We all yearn for the nostalgia of yesteryear and American terrestrial radio is a big part of that, but our recollections of the past do not support injustices into the future. Radio has changed. Terrestrial radio should pay for the right to use the music from which it benefits.

Mr. ISSA

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