Larry Kissell

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, I was unable to vote due to a death of a close friend and missed three rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have vote ``yea'' on rollcall No. 193 to pass H.R. 388, the ``Crane Conservation Act of 2009; ``yea'' on rollcall No. 194 to pass H.R. 411, the ``Great Cats and Rare Canids Act of 2009; and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 195 to pass H.R. 1219, the ``Lake Hodges Surface Water Improvement and Reclamation Act of 2009.''

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer a tribute to Staff Sergeant Justin Bauer and his wife, Kari. Staff Sergeant Bauer and his wife, Kari, were both from the State of Colorado. Staff Sergeant Bauer joined the Army and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne and stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Sergeant Bauer and his wife lived in my district, the Eighth District of North Carolina. By the words of the sergeant's co-soldiers, he was a leader extraordinaire. He was a noncommissioned officer that exemplified what was meant to be in the leadership role of being a noncommissioned officer. His soldiers looked to him as a friend and a leader and, by all accounts, was an outstanding soldier in our Army. I bring Sergeant Bauer's attention to the floor, Mr. Speaker, because Sergeant Bauer died in service to his country on January 10 in Iraq. He was a person that accepted the risk of his profession. His wife, Kari, accepted the risk of being a military spouse. And I simply want to honor his memory but not dramatize his memory because that would not be fitting to the soldiers that represent our great Nation. And by honoring the sergeant and his wife, Kari, I also want to extend that honor to all of our military personnel that serve this Nation knowing the sacrifices that they make and that they may be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice and are willing to do that, for this is part of their job. They accept that. Today I have a letter that I want to present as part of the Congressional Record that we will be sending to Kari. But in this honoring of Justin Bauer and his wife, I also want to honor all of the military that serve this Nation and their families that make up the heart and soul of our Nation's spirit. Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, February 25, 2009. Mrs. Kari Bauer, Moss Court, Fayetteville, NC. Dear Mrs. Bauer: I wish to once again convey my deepest condolences for the loss of your husband, Staff Sergeant Justin Bauer. My entire congressional staff also joins me at this time in sending our deepest sympathies and understanding during this period of bereavement. Staff Sergeant Bauer served his country and the American people in the most honorable of ways. Staff Sergeant Bauer's absolute selfless service, professionalism and loyalty to country will continue to serve as the pinnacle for which we will continue to honor his service to our great nation. His leadership and ``high regard'' as viewed by his fellow Soldiers were so strongly conveyed to me in the words spoken at the memorial service. I hope that time and memories will help lessen the burden of your sorrow, and that you may draw some measure of comfort knowing that others care and share in your loss. Please know that we have shared in your pain and sorrow and pay our final respects to undoubtedly one of our nation's best. If I can be of any assistance please contact my Washington, D.C. Office at (202) 225-3715 or in Fayetteville (910)-920-2070. I also wanted you to know that I went on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today to offer my appreciation for the sacrifice that your husband made, the loss you endured. And that the two of you represent why our military and our military families are the heart and soul of our country. Thanks again to you and Justin. Sincerely, Larry Kissell, Member of Congress.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, I rise to bring forth an amendment that will be known as the Berry Amendment Extension Act.

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, the Berry Amendment has been in effect for over 60 years and has allowed the Department of Defense to purchase uniforms and other textile apparels as needed for our military to be made and manufactured here in the United States. We know that textiles has brought forth the industrial revolution to the United States from its very beginnings, but not any industry has been hurt any more than textile has in the last few years in terms of lost employment. Over 60,000 jobs have been lost throughout the Nation in the last year; over 8,000 of those jobs in my home State of North Carolina, over 44 factories have closed. We have thousands of Americans that are ready, willing and able to work, and we're being asked to consider a recovery and reinvestment program to put Americans to work. This amendment would simply extend the Berry Act to be able to have Homeland Security to purchase uniforms for the TSA to be made in the United States. It would accomplish what we're looking for in the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it would put Americans to work, and furthermore, it would keep Americans working. We know that we have lost so many jobs in this area. We have the people that are ready, willing and able to work. I worked in textiles for 27 years. I watched the jobs leave and good people be left wondering where their meals are coming from and how they're going to take care of their families. This is an opportunity to put Americans to work and keep them at work. And what could be better than using our money, our taxpayers' money for that purpose and to put uniforms on the people that serve us? Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KISSELL. That is an incorrect figure, sir; it is less than that. Americans are competitive, and if we're going to spend American taxpayers' money, let's put Americans to work.

Mr. KISSELL. I recognize the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. David Price, for 1 minute.

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, I recognize the gentleman from North Carolina, Howard Coble, for 2 minutes.

Mr. KISSELL. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to the time remaining?

Mr. KISSELL. I would just like to conclude by saying we're going to put Americans to work making uniforms for those who protect us. It's a good use of tax money.

Mr. KISSELL

Mr. KISSELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my full support of SCHIP, but I also rise to question the funding of SCHIP as per the amendment I put forth to the Rules Committee last night. Having spent the last several years as a high school teacher in a rural poor county, I don't need to be told or to be reminded about the need of taking care of our children in terms of their health care. I am not here today as a spokesman for big tobacco or advocate of the cigarette industry. Indeed, I am here because I was elected to be a spokesman for working families. The funding that has been chosen to finance this bill with full implementation immediately will cost jobs and will cost revenues. At a time when our working families are struggling, at a time when we are going to be asked to consider measures how to create jobs and create funding, I would propose in my amendment instead of going to full implementation of this tax immediately, that we phase it in over 4 years at 16 cents the first year, then 15 cents each of the following years. It is important to know that the children that are going to be affected by this bill positively is great, but there are also families that are going to be negatively impacted at a time when we should not be doing that. I worked in an industry where government actions in textiles cost thousands of jobs. Let's look for a way to soften this blow to our people.