Larry Kissell

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I ask my colleagues to please join me along with the church's pastor, Rev. John D. Fuller, Sr., and his nearly 4,000 parishioners, in celebrating this significant milestone. In honor of the occasion, I would like to submit into the Congressional Record a detailed historical overview provided by Lewis Chapel chronicling the church's incredible growth throughout its many years of spiritual service to families in Fayetteville and throughout the world: A History of Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church During the early 1900s, a small group of devout believers began meeting in a small one-room building located near the present Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. This one-room building was used at that time as a school for the training of Negro children in this area for a period of 6 months during the year. This group of believers felt a burning desire for spiritual food at least once a week. They obtained permission to start a Sunday School class in this building where they could assemble each week to study God's word. Foremost in this endeavor were three young men who were cousins from Pender County--Mr. Seavy Lewis, Mr. Henry McAllister, and Mr. Andrew ``Jack'' Newkirk. In the year of our Lord, 1911, these three cousins were instrumental in organizing the Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. The church was named in honor of Mr. Seavy Lewis. Rev. William McGuire was called to serve as the first pastor of the church and he served from 1911 to 1913. The church united with the Middle District Association and remained with this association for more than sixty years. It was under the leadership of Rev. McGuire that the first deacons were ordained. They were Brothers McAllister and Lewis. Brother Newkirk served as the first superintendent of the Sunday School with Sister Hattie McAllister and Rev. Dock Gerald as the first teachers. Brother Clarence Bridges served as the first sexton (janitor) and Rev. Dock Gerald was the first Church Clerk. Working diligently along with this courageous group were sisters Minnie Lewis, Annie Liza McAllister, and Hattie McAllister. They were now officially ready to move forward in the business of saving souls. Rev. William Rome became pastor in 1913, serving until 1917. During this period, the church purchased some real estate in the Seventy-First Township on Highway 401 South. Rev. W.M. Boykin served as pastor from 1917 to 1921. It was during this period that church members and friends put their means together and donated materials to erect the first Lewis Chapel Church building. It was located on the site of the present church offices. In 1932, a fire destroyed the church structure and services were temporarily held at a nearby elementary school. Soon a second sanctuary was erected on the original site, using the proceeds from the church's insurance, along with contributions from members and friends. In May 1937, the Rev. Robert L. Carr of Rose Hill, North Carolina was called to pastor Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, a position he held until September 1973. A father figure to many and a man of great insight, he encouraged home ownership and education. With Rev. Carr's guidance, a vestibule, two classrooms and stained glass windows were added to the structure. Outdoor bathrooms and heating were installed. During Rev. Carr's tenure many organizations were established, including the Home and Foreign Missionary Circle, the trustees and several choirs. On June 29, 1973, the Rev. R.L. Carr resigned so that the church might secure a full-time pastor. On July 19, 1973, the deacons and trustees recommended to the church conference that the Rev. John D. Fuller, Sr. become the church's eighth pastor. Rev. Fuller assumed that responsibility on the third Sunday in November 1973. For 38 years Rev. John D. Fuller, Sr. has shepherded the congregation and guided the members in understanding the biblical concepts of tithing and giving offerings. These sound practices have led to the building of two sanctuaries, the first in 1975 and the second in 1992. Offices and educational wings have also been constructed. The church has built a 47-unit senior citizens complex and a recreation athletic complex. Both complexes serve the community. A new ministry site established as Lewis Chapel- West was planted in Raeford, North Carolina in June 2009. Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church has been supportive of young congregations and has undergirded First Spanish Missionary Baptist Church, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Manna Fellowship Baptist Church, Spring Lake, North Carolina. True to the word ``missionary'', Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church has sent missionaries abroad, including South Africa and Liberia, Africa. Over 4,000 persons hold membership in Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. Members understand that Salvation by God's grace should be followed by compassion and good works. Through the years, God has blessed this church to engage in diverse ministries that advanced the ``Cause of Christ'' on local, state, national, and international levels. Needs of the hungry, thirsty, stranger and naked have been addressed. For example: Lewis Chapel responded promptly and generously to those distressed by Hurricane Floyd (Eastern North Carolina, September, 1999); Tsunami (earthquake in Indonesia off Sumatra, December 2004); Hurricane Katrina (New Orleans, Louisiana, Gulf Coast area, August, 2005); and Haiti (January 2010). Prayer, help, and comfort was provided for the sick. Visitations and messages of hope were delivered to the imprisoned. When necessary, mortgages were paid so that persons may keep their homes. The twenty-six graduating seniors were eligible for college grants. Support was given to Fayetteville State University, Morehouse School of Religion, Shaw University, Shaw Divinity School and Ricks Institute, Virginia, Liberia. Realizing that there is strength in unity, Lewis Chapel joined with other organizations that engaged in missionary work. They include the Union Baptist Association (56 churches in Sampson, Cumberland, Hoke, Bladen, Robeson Counties), the General Baptist State Convention, Inc., Lott Carey Foreign Missionary Convention, USA, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., American Baptist Churches of the South, North Carolina Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance. Lewis Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Incorporated seeks to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ in these ways: --To worship God in Spirit and in Truth and to nurture each other in Christian faith and love; --To live a life worthy of our vocation and heritage as Christians while we strive for justice, peace, and love of Christ in this community and beyond; --To follow Jesus Christ and announce the Gospel by means of preaching, teaching, studying, and witnessing; --To serve God by meeting human needs in all the forms they are manifested through our local outreach, state, national, and global ministries; --To lead our community into the obedient and abundant life to all who will follow Christ and walk in the Spirit. As Lewis Chapel gathers to celebrate its centennial, the Church can truly remember its past, celebrate its present, and focus on the future with great expectations. I would like to congratulate Rev. Fuller, and all of the members of Lewis Chapel on the occasion of their 100th anniversary. I wish them 100 more years of dedicated service to the community.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. I would like to thank my colleague from California for yielding the time and also for her strong support for made in America and U.S. manufacturing. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3116, the Berry Amendment Extension Act. For over 60 years, the Berry Amendment has served as the law by which the Department of Defense has had to purchase uniforms for our military. It has served its purpose well in protecting the men and women of our services with having the best uniforms and also protecting Americans that make these uniforms in providing for the jobs thereof. In January of 2009, shortly after I was sworn in as a freshman Congressman, folks came to me and asked me if I would help extend the Berry Act in homeland security to just the TSA part. Now, I could not understand why this had not been done before, but I was assured it had been tried and had been unsuccessful because there was apparently a lot of special interest that was in opposition to this. Having worked 27 years in textiles myself, I gladly took on this initiative, and with a lot of help, we were able to overcome the special interest, and we were able to get the extension of the Berry Act to the amendment for the Recovery Act applying just to TSA. We immediately went to work to introduce a bill of legislation that would complete this process by making all of Homeland Security very compliant. I'm glad to say with a lot of support, and a lot of bipartisan support, today we are successful in bringing that bill to the floor. It makes sense. It's only logical for all of the reasons that have been given that we extend to Homeland Security and all the people that work there, whether it be Border Patrol, TSA, ICE, Coast Guard, and Secret Service, in whatever function that they have, the uniforms that are the best, and the best is always made in the United States. Textiles have suffered a lot through the years. It's estimated that, since December of 2000, the United States has suffered a $575 billion deficit in textiles and apparel, a loss of over 587,000 jobs. In the most recent economic downturn, textiles has lost 60,000 jobs with the closing of over 44 textiles plants. But textiles has not gone away. Textiles is energetic. It's creative. It represents the American entrepreneurial spirit, and it is surviving. This bill is a logical step to not only protect our Nation's security by having American uniforms on those that protect us in Homeland Security, but also protects American security by protecting American jobs. Mr. Speaker, just two examples of the good that came out of just the TSA amendment. We received a letter shortly after we passed this act that was from Arkansas. Twenty people wrote to thank us for passing that act because it saved their jobs. Now, that's just 20 people, but that's 20 families in an economic downturn that didn't have to worry about jobs. Richmond Yarns, located in a small town near my hometown, credits the TSA amendment for not only their survival but creating 80 additional jobs. We have seen this and heard this time and time again from just the amendment that we passed with TSA. We will see this expand even further when we pass this legislation. I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense H.R. 3116, the Berry Amendment Extension Act.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor one of our Nation's greatest military resources, the Special Forces. These brave patriots routinely endure harsh conditions in very austere environments to defend our Nation's freedoms. I was fortunate to have met Bert Caswell. Bert is a Congressional Visitor Center Tour Guide and has a heart for the military and our wounded warriors. Immediately after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Bert began using his gift of poetry to help comfort those who mourn. Soon after, Bert decided to write poetry for the military and wounded warriors to commemorate their sacrifices. I was particularly impressed with a poem he wrote in honor of the United States Special Forces. These quiet professionals live by the motto of ``for, by, and through.'' They proudly serve at the point of the Nation's military operations conducting a wide range of missions in support of the country they love. Today I ask my colleagues to recognize the tremendous sacrifices of America's Special Forces with Bert Caswell's poem. The Special Forces

Mr. KISSELL

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

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I would like to thank my colleagues and our chairman, Ike Skelton, for bringing this much-needed legislation to the floor. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues Howard Coble from North Carolina and Mike Michaud from Maine for helping me sponsor this amendment. This amendment is very simple in its intent. For over 60 years, Mr. Chairman, the Berry amendment has allowed the Department of Defense to buy clothing and other apparel materials that are made in the United States when available. There has, in recent years, however, been a list of clothing articles that our soldiers and military personnel are required to purchase that are not provided by the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense does provide a clothing cash allowance for this purchase, but these items that are on this list are not necessarily made in the United States. This amendment would require the GAO to look at this list, to look at the possibilities and potential for making these materials in the United States or is the capacity there to make them there now to meet the demands, get with the Department of Defense, and then the Department of Defense, within 6 months, would be required to get back to the House Armed Services Committee with its findings as to whether or not these materials could be made in the United States under the Berry amendment. So it's a commonsense approach to expanding the Berry amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 2 minutes to my friend from Maine (Mr. Michaud).

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, the strength of America is shown in many ways--the strength of our military and its personnel and families that make up our service, but also shown in the strength of a strong economy and as many Americans working as possible. This amendment would help ensure that as many Americans as possible are working to make the clothing articles that our great servicepeople use. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Howard Twiggs, a friend, lawyer, legislator and citizen scholar. Howard was an attorney of the highest caliber and an ambassador of his profession. He had a fierce passion for justice and service to others and he was an inspiration to those fortunate enough to be near him. Through years of training and perhaps more importantly years of experience, he understood the law inside and out, both arguing cases in the courts and writing laws as a state legislator. When he served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1966-1974 he helped overhaul mental health laws, removed racial references in law, and championed the rights of the handicapped. He truly was a voice for those without a voice themselves. As an expert trial lawyer, Howard started his own law firm headquartered in his hometown of Raleigh in 1960. He was a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom and colleagues will attest that he was a formidable foe. He pursued justice for its own sake and was a guardian of our nation's sacred individual liberties. His knowledge of the law was vast, and his courtroom success eventually led him to become the President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America from 1996- 1997. In addition to serving the people as a state legislator and attorney, he was also extremely dedicated to his alma mater, Wake Forest. During his lifetime Howard served as the President of the Wake Forest University Law Alumni Association and chairperson of the law school's Board of Visitors. As in all of his endeavors, Howard's impact on Wake Forest was substantial, and he was recognized in 2002 with the Wake Forest University Distinguished Alumni Award. Friends and family will remember a man who brightened the outlook of everyone around him and had an enormous passion for life. I will remember him as an excellent listener and encouraging friend. Howard was the kind of man you could count on to listen when no one else would. His zeal for life, compassion for others, and dedication to service made him a role model to all of us and I am proud to have counted him as a friend. I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering and honoring the life and work of Howard Twiggs who is survived by his former wife, Betty, and four daughters: Elizabeth Johnson, Mary Catherine Twiggs-Valverde, Jennifer Twiggs-Bilich, and Ashley Twiggs.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine, Michael Lawson, recently told me about the little known role the first all black fighting regiment had during WWI. The 15th New York Infantry, ``The Harlem Hellfighters,'' later federally designated as the 369th Regiment Army. They served valiantly, including 191 days without a replacement and never lost a prisoner or a foot of ground. He said there had been no formal American recognition of the dedication and sacrifice of these young men. The French did recognize them with the Croix de Guerre, their highest military honor as well as a monument dedicated by a grateful French government. Michael knew all about the Harlem Hellfighters because his grandfather, MAJ Melville T. Miller, served more than 50 years in the U.S. Army through two World Wars and the Korean War. Major Miller began his service as a member of the unit when he was just 16 years old.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, I also rise in full support of House Concurrent Resolution 238. I would like to thank Chairman Filner and Representative Brown and others that made this bill possible. As a son of a World War II veteran and coming from a part of North Carolina that has a high proportion of veterans and as a student of history, we take full honor and pride in any opportunity to talk about our veterans and what they've done for our Nation throughout history. It is with great pride that, during this Black History Month, we have the opportunity to recognize the contributions of African American veterans and what they have done for our Nation. Throughout history, they have answered the call, from the Revolutionary War on. African Americans have fought for this Nation often as second-class citizens and often coming home as veterans and not enjoying the full benefits and the rights of our Nation. Throughout the years, African Americans have answered the call of Frederick Douglass, who said, every man that could to enlist, to get an eagle on their button, a musket on their shoulder, and a star-spangled banner over their head. Throughout the years, we have seen great heroic acts from African Americans, whether individually or as part of a unit. And to recognize some of these today, I would like to bring forth the 369th Infantry, the Harlem Hellfighters, who, during World War I, went to Europe and were loaned to the French to fight with them. They fought for 191 straight days without replacements, without giving up any grounds, and without losing any of their members as prisoners. The French so appreciated the 369th, they gave them the Croix de Guerre, the highest honor the French can give any unit of the military. Individuals such as Dorie Miller, who won great fame while he worked in the mess in the Battleship West Virginia, on December 7, 1941, he rose to the decks and he fought back in the great epic battle of Pearl Harbor and became a national hero. Jackie Robinson. He fought for his Nation and he fought against the segregation of the military long before he took on the battle of integrating professional baseball. The famous Tuskegee Airmen, led by Captain Benjamin Davis, the Tuskegee Airmen, who fought in the airplane designated the P-51, the Mustang. They had the famous red tail. The red tails became famous in the air over Europe during World War II. Our bomber crews always looked for the red tails, because there was not a single bomber lost to enemy fighters while the red tails were protecting them. In the 92d Infantry, the only all-black infantry to fight in Italy, many members of which won the Congressional Medal of Honor, a military unit that was the direct descendant of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry that was active from 1866 into the early 1890s. But all too often these veterans, once again, had to come home and be treated as second-class citizens. Even after Harry Truman issued the Executive order to integrate the military, it was not until many years that we saw equity even begin to be approached. So many of these veterans came home and took prominent roles in the civil rights movement, and it meant so much to their communities and to this Nation as we move forward. Mr. Speaker, so often as we look at the big picture of our legislation and of our resolutions, we always know that it comes back to individuals. I would like to take a moment of personal privilege to talk about a family from my hometown in Biscoe, North Carolina. It is a family with a mother who was a lady extraordinaire, Ms. Kagel, with many sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters who contributed so much to our community and still do. She had four sons who served our Nation--Pete, Jimmy, Lee, and Dan--who are my friends. Jimmy and I are members of the same church. Let me talk about Dan for just a second. He is a veteran of the Korean war. He was in the Air Force, and he worked at the school that I attended when I was in elementary school. He had the patience to answer many questions from my friends and me about his service. While I grew to know Dan as a friend, as a man, and as many things, I thought of him, first and foremost, as a veteran because he represented, as we are honoring here today, the African Americans who went and served our Nation and who then came back and served our communities. This resolution recognizes the accomplishments of these veterans. It also recognizes the inequities that have been in the VA system for too long. It calls upon the VA to always try to make sure that the inequities in terms of benefits and in terms of how illnesses are treated are ironed out and are made equal as we move forward.

Mr. KISSELL

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

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this is a simple amendment. It highlights the importance of curriculum in designing secure software. I would like to start out also by commending the chairman and ranking member for bringing this very timely and important piece of legislation to our attention. In North Carolina, we have many institutions, as there are across the United States, that are dependent upon secure software and informing our networks that are used in such a vital part of performing business on a day-to-day basis. Whether it's in our part of the world, it's the military, banking giants of America, education, or just corporations or businesses in general, or whatever, we're dependent upon networks and software for, once again, our day-to-day operations. However, Mr. Chairman, all too often we find that these networks are not as secure as they need to be. A recent study done by Dr. William Chu, who is the department Chair at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, which is a leading institution on secure software issues, Dr. Chu found that 97 percent-- and he did this on a random basis--they looked at corporate Web sites. And on a random basis they looked to see if the security of those networks was sufficient to keep them from being compromised, and they found that they weren't. Ninety-seven percent of the time they weren't sufficiently secure to prevent this ability for hackers to compromise. This is a wake-up call for us. So many of these amendments and this bill address that we've got issues here, and one of the ways that we can address these issues--it is in broad agreement--is that we need to improve the curriculum of our secure software. Now we would think this would be easily done in our colleges and universities. But, unfortunately, we find that this curriculum is not taught that consistently to a large degree to allow the programmers of tomorrow to learn how to secure software. So this amendment is very simple. It instructs the director of NSF to put language into the mission statement of Computer and Network Security Capacity Building Grants language that would highlight the importance of curriculum in designing secure software. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chair, this is a first step towards allowing our universities and colleges to be able to produce, once again, programmers of tomorrow to understand the importance of securing the software and the networks that are so important to us in so many ways. It's a first step; it is not the last step. But I do encourage my colleagues to support this and vote ``yes'' for this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 494) recognizing the exemplary service of the soldiers of the 30th Infantry Division (Old Hickory) of the United States Army during World War II, as amended.

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I request unanimous consent for Members to have the usual 5 days to extend and revise their comments.

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may use. I rise today with strong and enthusiastic support for House Resolution 494. This resolution honors the history of the 30th Infantry Division of the United States Army, a division that was founded in 1918 during World War I and extends until today with its service in Iraq as we currently speak. I also especially want to point out a particular time during August of 1944 when the 30th Infantry Division was engaged in a battle in Mortain, France, a battle that proved to be pivotal in our securing the invasion of Normandy and a battle which the 30th Division, for whatever reason, has not fully received the credit for their bravery and the dedication they showed. The infantry division that we call the 30th was originally manned by mostly National Guard folks from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. They took on the nickname of President Andrew Jackson and called themselves the ``Old Hickory'' Division, a nickname which they maintain today. This division was reactivated prior to World War II and served from the invasion of Normandy in which the 230th Field Artillery of the 30th Division came ashore on Omaha D-day-plus-1. The rest of the division came ashore D-day-plus-2. The units were reunited and fought almost continuously in the days and weeks that followed our invasion of France. In August of 1944, the much-anticipated German counterattack developed, and the Germans attacked in or near a town, Mortain, France, a place where the 30th Division was at that point protecting our lines. The generals from Eisenhower on down, the Allied generals, had grown concerned that we were not moving quickly enough to secure the area of Normandy around our invasion beachheads in a way that we could expand throughout France the way that we had anticipated and wanted. The German counterattack thus came with a certain amount of concern: Would we be able to withhold and protect the land that we had already captured? But it also came with a certain amount of opportunity, because if we could hold off this counterattack, then it would create an opportunity for us to outflank the German Army, a maneuver that would eventually be called the St. Lo Breakout. It all depended upon if the 30th Division, the Old Hickory, could hold. And the 30th Division, taking on the multiple panzer divisions of the German Army, did hold. They scattered into individual units and fought bravely for almost a week. They fought as our American soldiers have fought in the past. They fought bravely and were dedicated against great odds, but they held. And General Bradley was able to send General Patton on the flanking maneuver once again known as the St. Lo Breakout that once and for all secured our beachhead and launched us across France toward the end of World War II. Eisenhower's chief historian, S.L.A. Marshall, called the 30th the ``most efficient fighting division in Europe.'' The German Army paid the 30th a great compliment in referring to them as ``Roosevelt's S.S.'' It's for these reasons that we want to honor the 30th and its history and especially to draw recognition to the battle of Mortain, France, a time in which the 30th held in a most important time period for our invasion to be successful and secured. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Virginia for his support and remarks. The 30th Division, after its historic stand at the battle of Mortain, fought its way into Belgium in the heavy fighting that took place before the Battle of the Bulge. They fought in the Battle of the Bulge. They crossed the bridge at Remagen, and they shook hands with the Russians on the Elbe River at the end of the war. The 30th Division has returned to its National Guard identification, centered mostly once again in North Carolina. The 30th, as I mentioned before, is currently in Iraq on its second tour of duty of service to this Nation. So the great tradition of the 30th, the Old Hickory Division, that began during World War I continues today as these troops, men and women, serve our Nation. Madam Speaker, on a personal note, I would like to add that my father, Richard Henry Kissell, was a sergeant in the 30th Division. He joined the Army in the early part of 1941, and he was with the 30th all the way through. As a member of the 230th Field Artillery, he stepped ashore on the beaches of the Omaha D-day-plus-1, and all of the battles we talked about, my father was there. But he was just one of many that served our Nation in the 30th and all the other forces during World War II that we call the ``Greatest Generation,'' that came back and did so much to make this Nation the great Nation that it continues to be today. So it is with great pride and enthusiasm in noting the aspect of the 30th Division and its relation to not only my State, to my family, but to the Nation that I encourage all my colleagues to join in voting for House Resolution 494 honoring the 30th Division. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 129) congratulating the Sailors of the United States Submarine Force upon the completion of 1,000 Ohio- class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) deterrent patrols.

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I request unanimous consent for Members to be able to extend and revise their remarks during the next 5 days.

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, it is with great enthusiasm that I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 129, and I want to thank Representative Dicks from Washington for his work in bringing this resolution to the floor. It is an opportunity for us as a House of Representatives to congratulate the Navy and the sailors of our ballistic submarine fleet upon the completion of 1,000 missions, that's 1,000 missions of deterrence and protecting our Nation. This silent service, the Ohio- class submarine, the highest of technology, the greatest of sailors, and the most stealthy of operations, has been in service protecting our Nation since the first cruise of the USS Ohio in 1982. This is not an easy service. Only 5 percent of all our sailors are qualified to serve in our ballistic submarine fleet. The highest of technologies and the advancements that we have seen as a Nation are represented in this classification of service also. Oftentimes, our sailors are on duty for 77 or more straight days and they come back then to work 35 days of maintenance. It puts a tremendous burden upon them. But, once again, these are the highest qualified of individuals that you can find, because when they are on their ship, they have to have the knowledge of the technology to the most minute of details to be able to service the ship as needed and to complete the mission. And they have an A-plus rating for these years of service during the 1,000 missions that they have brought to us. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks).

Mr. KISSELL. I would like to, at this point in time, thank my colleagues from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) and from Washington (Mr. Dicks) for their words about this resolution, the importance of this resolution. This branch of service in the Navy, to the crews of the 14, these Ohio-class submarines, we offer our appreciation and thanks to the people that make it work, all of the listings of people that were given, but especially to the friends and the families of these crew members that, without them and their support for these crews, it would make this work extremely much harder than what it is already during the times of separation and trials that exist upon the families. This branch of service remains strong. It is a clear deterrent to threats that our Nation may incur. We once again congratulate this branch of service on its 1,000th mission of deterrence and 1,000th successful mission. I reserve my time.

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, at this point in time I would like to encourage all of my colleagues to join in voting ``aye'' on H. Con. Res. 129 to honor the Navy once again and the sailors in the Ohio-class submarines, the silent service, for its great work and successful 1,000 missions. I yield back my time.