Walter Jones

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Over this past weekend, a published article in a North Carolina paper was titled, ``U.S. Envoy: Troops could stay in Afghanistan,'' subtitled, ``The White House echoed that 2014 is not a deadline for total withdrawal.'' I would like to submit the article for the Record, Mr. Speaker. I will read the last sentence of the article: ``At a conference in Bonn, Germany, last week, President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan officials called for political and military support for at least another decade.'' This is coming from a man who, according to CNN, told a group of tribal elders last month, ``America is powerful, has more money, but we are lions here. Lions have the habit of not liking strangers getting into their house.'' President Karzai continued by saying, ``We want to say that Iran is our brother. During the years of jihad, Iran has been one of the best countries for hospitality for Afghans. They are our brother.'' Mr. Speaker, it just amazes me that he keeps saying that he doesn't even like us, but when he needs us, then he likes us. Our young men and women in the military are over there, losing their legs, their arms-- and dying. How in the world can we continue to spend $10 billion a month when this man says that Iran is its friend--``they are our brother''? The American people are sick and tired, quite frankly, of being in Afghanistan. Recently, when I spoke on the floor, I received a letter shortly thereafter from Jean Bonney Smith in Idaho regarding a recent floor speech that I gave. I want to quote a couple of comments. Then I would like to submit her letter for the Record, Mr. Speaker. ``Everything you said made perfect sense. These are things I've been thinking for 2 or 3 years, too. Karzai's most recent remarks were just the last slap in the face of the American people. How can you convince your fellow Republicans of these truths? We can't just stay on this `War, Inc.' course, waiting for the next election. It is criminal to our troops.'' There are so many people across this Nation who just wonder why we continue to support a corrupt leader in a country that will never, never change. I hope, as we get into the new year, that those of us in both parties can find legislation, as I have worked with Representative McGovern before, which we can submit in the House so that we can get this House behind getting our troops out, because, believe me, we'll be there for 5 to 10 more years. It's not fair and it's not right. Beside me is a picture from the Greensboro News-Record. It was taken a few months ago, but this tells it all. The title reads, ``Get Out,'' and there are soldiers taking a flag-draped transfer case off the plane. It is time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. It is time to fix the problems here in America, to create jobs in America. We can certainly use that $10 billion a month that we are sending to Afghanistan and spend it right here on the American people and do what's right to get America back on its feet. With that, Mr. Speaker, I will close as I always do: From the bottom of my heart, God, please bless our men and women in uniform. God, please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. God, please hold in Your arms the families who have given a child, dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Speaker, I ask God to bless the House and Senate that we will do what's right in the eyes of God. I ask God to give strength, wisdom, and courage to President Obama. And three times I will ask: God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America. [From the News & Observer, Dec. 2011] U.S. Envoy: Troops Could Stay in Afghanistan (By Rod Nordland) Kabul, Afghanistan.--The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan on Saturday raised the possibility that U.S. combat troops could stay in the country beyond the 2014 deadline that the White House had set for their withdrawal. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, speaking with a small group of journalists, said that is the Afghan government wanted U.S. troops to stay longer, the withdrawal could be slowed. ``They would have to ask for it,'' he said. ``I could certainly see us saying, `Yeah, makes sense.' '' He emphasized, however, that no such decision had been made. White House officials said that Crocker's comments were consistent with it previously stated position. ``The president never excluded the possibility that there would be some U.S. forces here, but he stressed that security would be under Afghan lead by 2014,'' said Eileen O'Connor, the embassy spokeswoman. Crocker's comments came as the administration is engaged in discussions with the Afghan government on what arrangements should be after 2014. At a conference in Bonn, Germany, last week, President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan officials called for political and military support for at least another decade. U.S. Deaths The Department of Defense recently confirmed the deaths of these American military personnel: Sgt. 1st Class Clark A. Corley Jr., 35, of Oxnard, Calif., Spc. Ryan M. Lumley, 21, of Lakeland, Fla., and Spc. Thomas J. Mayberry, 21, of Springville, Calif., died Dec. 3, in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wound suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Bliss, Texas. Sgt. Ryan D. Sharp, 28, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, died Dec. 3, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered Nov. 21 at Kandahar province, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 886) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 225th anniversary of the establishment of the Nation's first Federal law enforcement agency, the United States Marshals Service, as amended.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit an exchange of letters with the Ways and Means Committee regarding this bill. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, December 13, 2011. Hon. Spencer Bachus, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Bachus, I am writing concerning H.R. 886, the ``United States Marshals Service 225th Commemorative Coin Act,'' which is scheduled for Floor action today. As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains jurisdiction over matters that concern raising revenue. H.R. 886 contains a provision that establishes a surcharge for the sale of commemorative coins that are minted under the bill, and this falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding commemorative coin bills and in order to expedite this bill for Floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action. This is being done with the understanding that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation in the future. I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 886, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during Floor consideration. Sincerely, Dave Camp, Chairman.

Mr. JONES. I have no further speakers; so I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, when we were home during the Thanksgiving break, like all my colleagues, I did as much as I could to be with the people of the Third District of North Carolina. The Third District is the home of Camp Lejeune Marine Base, Cherry Point Marine Air Station, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and over 60,000 retired veterans in the Third District. Since coming back to Washington, I've done two town meetings by phone. What I heard while I was home during Thanksgiving and the two town meetings: Why are we still in Afghanistan? When I hear my colleagues in both parties talking about the problems facing the American people--unemployment benefits, extending the tax cuts for middle class America--we all grapple with, both parties, how we are going to pay for it. Well, there is a man in Afghanistan that is a crook and corrupt, who gets $10 billion a month that he doesn't have to worry about. Poor Americans are out here doing the best they can in a very difficult economy, and we can't help them, but we can help a corrupt leader in Afghanistan. It makes no sense. I hope that this Congress will come together and say to the President, let's not wait till 2014. How many more American boys and girls will have to die and give their legs in the next 3 years for a corrupt leader? I've asked the Department of Defense, and I wrote Secretary Panetta and asked him that question. Give me your projections of how many more young men and women will have to die and lose their legs. I hope that I get that response soon. That brings me to the point of a young marine I saw at Walter Reed/ Bethesda about 3 weeks ago. There were four marines from the Third District of North Carolina. Three have lost both legs, and the one that had lost only one leg, a corporal, mom sitting in the room, said to me, Sir, may I ask you a question? I said certainly you may. Why are we still in Afghanistan? And I looked at him and I said, I don't know why we're still there. Mr. Speaker, it makes no sense. The American people and the people of the Third District of North Carolina are saying, we have won; bin Laden is dead; al Qaeda has been dispersed all over the world. Mr. Speaker, it is time, as we debate these very difficult, complex issues for our Nation, that we get smart with our foreign policy. And smart means, let's don't try to police the world. History has proven you will never change Afghanistan. It will never change, no matter what we do or any other country tries to do. So, Mr. Speaker, beside me is a poster with a flag-draped coffin coming off the plane at Dover. And with humility I tell you today, Mr. Speaker, I've signed over 10,400 letters to families and extended families who've lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq. I thank God that He has allowed me to have a heart large enough to feel the pain of war, because I've never been to war. But when I sign those letters, I feel the pain of the families, and I lick every envelope that I send. Mr. Speaker, with that, I want to close my comments by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, God to please bless the families who've lost loved ones fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. God, please bless the House and Senate that we will do what's right for the American people. Bless Mr. Obama that he will do what is right for the American people. And three times I will say, God, please, God, please, God, please continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I again will keep coming to the floor twice a week when we're in session to talk about bringing our troops out of Afghanistan. Bin Laden is dead, and we need to start thinking about, as the lady said before me, let's think about what America needs and not what Afghanistan needs. And that brings me to this point of the talk I want to give today, Mr. Speaker. On February 16, 2011, then-Secretary of Defense Gates testified before the House Armed Services Committee, which I serve on, and I'd like to read his comments: ``By the end of this calendar year, we expect less than 100,000 troops to be deployed in both of the major post-9/11 combat theaters, virtually all of those forces being in Afghanistan. That is why we believe that, beginning in fiscal year 2015''--and that's important, Mr. Speaker. ``That is why we believe that, beginning in fiscal year 2015, the United States can, with minimal risk, begin reducing Army active duty end strength by 27,000 and the Marine Corps by somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000. These projections assume that the number of troops in Afghanistan would be significantly reduced by the end of 2014, in accordance with the President's strategy.'' Mr. Speaker, I read that because I read the same statement to the new Secretary of Defense, Mr. Panetta, whom I have great respect for, and I asked him, Do you have the authority to change those timelines? He said no, because this is what the President has agreed to. Well, Mr. President, I'm calling on you to reconsider. Because beside me is a poster, and beside that poster is a flag-draped coffin coming off of a plane at Dover. And the headlines in the Greensboro paper said, ``Get Out.'' It is time to bring our troops home. They've done everything they've been asked to do. And that reminds me, a few weeks ago, I went to Walter Reed at Bethesda--it's the new consolidated military hospital here in Washington--and I saw four marines from my district, Camp Lejeune. Three of the four had lost both legs. The one that had not lost both legs was a lance corporal who asked me, with his mom in the room, Congressman, why are we still in Afghanistan? And I looked into the young man's face and I said, I don't know why we're still there. You all have won many, many battles, and it's time to bring you home. And the only thing he said, Mr. Speaker, was, Thank you. That brings me to a letter that I received from a retired marine down in my district about a year ago. He said, ``I am writing this letter to express my concern over the current Afghanistan war. I am a retired marine officer with 31-plus years of active duty.'' Let me go down in the letter because there is another point I want to make. ``Our senior military leaders in Afghanistan continue to say that we are making progress, but at what cost to our country? This war is costing the United States billions of dollars a month to wage and we still continue to get more young Americans killed. The Afghanistan war has no end state for us. I urge you to make contact with all the current and newly elected men and women in Congress and ask them to end this war and bring our young men and women home.'' ``If any of my comments will assist you in this effort, you are welcome to use them and my name.'' Mr. Speaker, I don't know why we are--we've got this debt crisis facing our country, and yet we've got a corrupt leader in Afghanistan named Karzai that one day likes America, and the next day he hates America; and we send him $10 billion a month, and it's borrowed money from the Chinese. And yet we're going to say to the American people we're going to cut the programs for little children; we're going to cut the programs for senior citizens. But Mr. Karzai, you'll get your $10 billion. And that brings me toward the end of my comments, Mr. Speaker. I contacted a marine general who's been a very dear friend of mine for a number of years, and he sends me questions to ask in committees to the Secretary of Defense and others who might be testifying. But something that has always stuck with me is what he closes this email with--and I have many emails--``What do we say to the mother and father or the wife of the last marine killed to support a corrupt government and a corrupt leader in a war that cannot be won?'' That is the question. And I hope the American people will call on Congress, both parties, to bring our troops home before 2014. Mr. Speaker, I close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform, ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God, in His loving arms, to hold the families who've given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to bless the House and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for His people, and I ask God to give wisdom, strength, and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for His people. And three times I ask, God please, God please, God please continue to bless America. Let's bring our troops home. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. It's a sad day in America when a major general in the United States Army cannot give his honest opinion about our war in Afghanistan without losing his job. Last week Major General Peter Fuller gave an interview in which he commented on the Afghan Government and the President of Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai. And I want to quote the general, Mr. Speaker. These are his words: ``erratic and isolated from reality,'' that is the leader of Afghanistan. He continued by saying: ``Why don't you just poke me in the eye with a needle! You've got to be kidding me. I'm sorry, we just gave you $11.6 billion, and now you're telling me, `I don't really care'.'' That's what our young men and women are doing; they are dying and losing their legs for this erratic leader of Afghanistan. Let me further state, in a December 8, 2010, Washington Post article, while meeting with General Petraeus and former Ambassador Eikenberry, President Karzai said he has three ``main enemies'': the Taliban, the United States, and the international community. ``If I had to choose sides today, I'd choose the Taliban.'' Yes, that's the erratic leader our young men and women are dying for. Just last month during a television interview, President Karzai stated, ``If ever there's a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan.'' These are not the statements of a leader for whom United States servicemembers should give life and limb. On May 12 of this year, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Palmer and Sergeant Kevin Balduf, both from my district, Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, were in Afghanistan, with the sole purpose to train Afghan officers, when one of the trainees opened fire and shot and killed Lieutenant Colonel Palmer and Sergeant Balduf as they sat down for lunch. They both were killed by an Afghan trainee. And, Mr. Speaker, these two little girls on this poster are the daughters of Sergeant Balduf, Eden and Stephanie. They're standing at their father's service at Arlington. The tragedy for these little girls is not just the fact that their daddy gave his life for this country, trying to help the Afghans learn to be policemen; but the day before he was killed, Sergeant Balduf emailed his wife, Amy, and he said, ``I don't trust them. I don't trust them for anything, not for anything at all.'' The next day, he and Colonel Palmer were shot dead by the people that we're spending $10 billion a month on in Afghanistan. And we're telling the American people, We've got to cut programs for your children and our senior citizens. I'm asking that President Obama and Congress do everything to defend the truth and encourage military leaders to be honest with the American people as to what is happening in Afghanistan, and I will submit a letter that I wrote to President Obama regarding General Fuller. Mr. Speaker, as we move forward with this debt supercommittee that's going to be making recommendations, I hope that my colleagues in the Republican Party will join those of us, the few of us in the Republican Party, as well as some of the Democrats, and let's bring our troops home before 2014. Yes, when you read in the paper we're bringing our troops home, it's 2014. How many more little girls and little boys have to go to their father's or mother's funeral? Why doesn't America wake up and demand that Congress bring our troops home before 2014? With that, Mr. Speaker, I will close, as I always do, from the bottom of my heart to ask God, please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God, in His loving arms, to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. And I ask God to bless the House and the Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God and God's people. Mr. Speaker, last night on ABC, I was so touched to see Gabrielle Giffords, one of our colleagues, making such a strong effort to come back to the Congress. I wish her the very best in my heart, and I ask God to bless her and her husband. Dear God, I ask You, please give wisdom, strength, and courage to the President of the United States, where he will do what is right in the eyes of God. And God, please continue to bless America. November 7, 2011. President Barack Obama, The White House, Washington, DC. Dear President Obama: It was with great sadness that I learned that a senior military officer was relieved of his position for telling the truth. Major General Peter Fuller should receive praise from the American people, not the scorn of military leadership. His comments about Afghan leadership being ``erratic'' and ungrateful for the United States' financial assistance and military training are correct. In a December 8, 2010 Washington Post article, while meeting with General Petraeus and former Ambassador Eikenberry, President Karzai said he has three ``main enemies''--the Taliban, the United States and the international community. ``If I had to choose sides today, I'd choose the Taliban.'' Just last month, during a television interview, President Karzai stated ``. . . if ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan.'' These are not the statements of a leader for whom U.S. service members should give life and limb. On May 12 of this year, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Palmer and Sergeant Kevin Balduf, both from my district, were in Afghanistan with the sole purpose to train Afghan officers when one of the trainees opened fire and shot and killed Lt. Col. Palmer and Sgt. Balduf as they sat down for lunch. In an email to his wife shortly before he died, Sgt. Balduf said ``I don't trust them; I don't trust them for anything, not for anything at all.'' These two families quickly learned why. Mr. President, the day after you visited the wounded at Walter Reed at Bethesda, I went and visited severely wounded Marines from my district, which includes Camp Lejeune. One Marine looked me in the eye and asked why we were still in Afghanistan. I had to tell this Marine and his mother that I did not know, and that I believed it was time to declare victory and bring our troops home before 2014. As of October, 1,812 U.S. service members have died in Afghanistan. How many more families will give a loved one for a corrupt leader? Maj. Gen. Fuller spoke the truth and does not deserve this fate. As Commander in Chief, I hope you will support and demand the truth for the American people. If our military leaders cannot tell the truth, then America is in deep trouble. Mr. President, you can right a wrong by reinstating Maj. Gen. Fuller to his previous position. Sincerely, Walter B. Jones, Member of Congress.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, a couple weeks ago, I had the privilege and the honor to visit our wounded at Walter Reed-Bethesda. It so happened that five marines from Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in my district were there. Four of the five had lost both legs--double amputees. And the one kid that had his leg blown off by an IED, I went into his room, as I did the other four, but this one had a question for me. His mom was sitting in the room. And he said, Congressman, why are we still in Afghanistan? And I told the young lance corporal, I don't know, I cannot answer it. I don't understand why we are not pushing the President to bring our troops home before 2014. And that leads me to a quote by Ronald Reagan from his book entitled, ``An American Life: The Autobiography,'' based on Reagan's life. And it dealt with Lebanon, and he was the President at the time. ``Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps the idea of a suicide car bomber committing mass murder to gain instant entry to paradise was so foreign to our values and consciousness that it did not create in us the concern for the marines' safety that it should have. ``In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believed the last thing that we should do was turn tail and leave. Yet the irrationality of Middle East politics forced us to rethink our policy there. If there would be some rethinking of policy before our men die, we would be a lot better off. If that policy had changed towards more of a neutral position and neutrality, those 241 marines would be alive today.'' I thank Mr. Reagan for his service to our Nation, and I thank him for those words. I wish both parties would listen to leaders like Ronald Reagan who understood that you're not going to change the Middle East no matter what you want to do or hope to do or pray to do. You can't do it, and you won't do it. Mr. Speaker, beside me are two little girls, one named Eden and one named Stephanie. They are at the graveside of their father, Sergeant Kenneth Bladuf, sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. About 2 months ago, he was sent to Afghanistan, along with a Colonel Benjamin Palmer from Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, which is in my district also. One night, when they were having dinner with the Afghan trainees, one of the trainees pulled out a pistol and killed both of them. It is so ironic that the day before Sergeant Bladuf was killed, he had emailed his wife and he said, ``I don't trust them, I don't trust them, I don't trust any of them,'' and yet we keep spending $10 billion a month. We're going to cut programs from senior citizens and children in America. We can't balance the budget. But old Mr. Karzai, he'll get his $10 billion a month. The Congress needs to look at this and start bringing our troops home before 2014. Mr. Speaker, also in Sunday's paper, it says: ``Suicide bomber hits NATO bus; 17 people, including 12 Americans, are killed in the deadliest attack since the war began.'' Mr. Speaker, I hope that we don't have to continue to go to Walter Reed-Bethesda and see all of these broken bodies. If we're going to be there until 2014, there are going to be a lot more broken bodies and dead young men and women. I hope the leadership of both parties will start joining those of us in both parties and bring our troops home before 2014. Mr. Speaker, again I state to all the children like Eden and Stephanie, be proud of your moms and your dads. But for those of us who are policymakers, we have the responsibility--not the generals, but we the policymakers--of sending our young men and women to die and lose their limbs for absolutely nothing but a corrupt leader. Mr. Speaker, I will close right now with the same closing I do all the time: God, please bless our men and women in uniform. Please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. God, in Your loving arms, hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. God, please bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in Your eyes. Please bless President Obama, that he will do what is right in Your eyes for his people. And three times I will say, God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank President Obama for bringing all of our troops home from Iraq by the end of this year. This was an unnecessary war that cost over $850 billion, in which over 4,400 Americans were killed and over 33,000 wounded. It is my hope that future Congresses will not accept misinformation from an administration as justification for sending our troops overseas to engage in combat. I am reminded of a quote from Rudyard Kipling's ``Epitaphs of War'': ``If they ask you why we died, tell them it is because our fathers lied.'' I hope this lesson stays with the future leaders of this country and they do everything they can to keep our young men and women from going to war unless it is absolutely justified. Before the district work period, I went to the new Walter Reed facility in Bethesda. I saw five marines, four of whom had lost both legs. A young lance corporal looked at me and asked, ``Why are we still in Afghanistan?'' I had to stand there, with his mother in the hospital room, and say, ``I don't know.'' My hope now is that this administration will bring our troops home before 2015. That is the timetable that Mr. Obama has agreed to. Just this weekend, President Karzai said, ``If fighting starts between Pakistan and the United States, we are beside Pakistan. If Pakistan is attacked and the people of Pakistan need Afghanistan's help, Afghanistan will be there with our friends in Pakistan.'' I don't know how much more America has to take from a corrupt leader like Karzai. Bin Laden is dead. That was the whole purpose in going to Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has dispersed all around the world, and we are spending $10 billion a month in Afghanistan to prop up a corrupt leader, $10 billion that we could be spending here in America to help our children and our senior citizens. I hope that this Congress will come together and join those of us in both parties who say that victory should be declared because bin Laden is dead. Mr. Speaker, I bring with me to the floor a picture of a triple amputee, a young soldier and his lovely wife looking at an apartment and thinking as to how they're going to adjust their life. Both legs were amputated and his arm was amputated. It is time for the American people to speak out to Congress and say, ``Bring our troops home'' because they have done everything that they could do and they've done it so very well. Mr. Speaker, I will close by asking God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God in His loving arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. I will ask God to bless the House and Senate, that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for His people here in America, and I will ask God to give wisdom, strength, and courage to President Obama that he will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's people here in America. And I will close three times by saying, God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

Mr. JONES. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2447) to grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is very important legislation. I want to thank the gentlelady from Florida, Congresswoman Corrine Brown, for bringing this forward. I want to say that the chairman of the Financial Services Committee and the ranking member, Mr. Frank, saw the importance of this legislation and wanted to bring it to the floor as quickly as possible. Mr. Bachus, who is chairman of the committee, has a son, Warren, who is now in the United States Marine Corps. Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to serve the Camp Lejeune Marine Base, which is in the Third District of North Carolina. In 1994, as a candidate for this office, I heard about the very special marines who trained at Montford Point, which is on the base at Camp Lejeune. I did not know the history at that time, but as we all know, during that period of time, we had segregation in this country, which was wrong. President Franklin Roosevelt made a decision and issued a directive that the Marine Corps would accept these fine Americans who wanted to be marines, so therefore they were segregated, but they were marines who gave their very best for our country. October 24, 2011. Hon. Spencer Bachus, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Bachus: I am writing concerning H.R. 2447, to grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines, which is scheduled for Floor action on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains jurisdiction over matters that concern raising revenue. H.R. 2447 contains a provision that provides for the sale of duplicate medals, and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding commemorative coin and medal bills and in order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action. This is being done with the understanding that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation in the future. I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 2447, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during Floor consideration. Sincerely, Dave Camp, Chairman.

Mr. JONES. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in addition to what Mr. Clay was saying, I want the House to know that the Montford Point Marines are revered by the citizens of Jacksonville and Camp Lejeune. Their history speaks for itself. They gave their blood and their lives in the South Pacific with their fellow marines as they fought for this country during World War II. Again, I think that Congresswoman Brown deserves so much credit in bringing this forward, as does the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt for seeing the value of creating this opportunity for Americans. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES. I would advise my colleague that I have no further requests for time and will close on our side.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee. (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I think this has been a great debate. I want to thank Congresswoman Brown for bringing H.R. 2447 to the floor. I think, any time, that the House of Representatives can debate and soothe the pains of yesterday with the glory of today by honoring these Marines who served at Montford Point. So, Mr. Speaker, it is long overdue that we honor these Marines for their courageous service to our country. These men are a very important part of our country's history, and I hope that each and every one of our colleagues in the House today will join Ms. Brown in saluting these great marines. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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