Jerry Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague from the Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by making a personal observation. This evening we are embarking upon the most irresponsible, convoluted legislative exercise I have seen in my many years in this body. My dear friend and former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the late Senator Robert Byrd, would be embarrassed by this process, or the lack of process, because it greatly diminishes the integrity of this Congress he loved so dearly. I can hear Senator Byrd's voice clear as day. ``Shame, shame,'' he would say. It was 35 days ago that the full Appropriations Committee was scheduled to mark up the fiscal year 2010 emergency supplemental before us. Republicans and Democrats alike had a number of amendments they planned to offer to make the package a better piece of legislation. But, for reasons that remain a mystery to everyone, that markup was abruptly canceled 3 hours before it was to occur. Tonight, the House is considering legislation written by Chairman Obey and the majority leadership with absolutely no input from rank-and-file Members on either side of the aisle. The only legislation we should be considering today is a clean emergency supplemental funding bill to provide critical funding for our troops; foreign assistance and economic support for Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and Iraq, should be included; FEMA disaster assistance; oil spill cleanup assistance; and relief for Haiti. Many other funding and policy items could easily be addressed through our regular order spending bills. Just hours ago we were sent a package of six different amendments and two resolutions, totaling 153 pages. Included in that package were efforts to cut off troop funding, a timetable for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, billions in additional spending on domestic programs, a variety of complex legal settlements piggybacked into a billion-dollar summer youth program, and a deem-and-scheme resolution that proposes spending $31 billion more in discretionary spending in FY 2011 than was spent in FY 2010. It's worth noting that only in Washington could Chairman Obey and Chairman Spratt characterize this $31 billion increase as a cut. I am deeply concerned about the impact these amendments could have on our ability to approve a bill for the President's signature prior to the Fourth of July recess. The failure of this body to approve critical funds for our troops before the Fourth of July would send absolutely the wrong message to our men and women in uniform, and delay needed money for other emergency needs. Further, this inaction would force our commanders to begin making budget decisions that could compromise our military readiness. It would also signal to our enemies a lack of resolve that could undermine our mission in several very dangerous areas of the world. The fact that we are sitting here in July without this spending bill passed and signed into law is, frankly, astonishing to me. The President submitted his request in February of this year. The Senate passed its war funding measure on May 27, and indicated that it was ready to conference the bill with the House. The House never marked up this supplemental or had an opportunity to amend it in any way. And yet, here we are 35 days and tens of billions of dollars of spending later, and we still have not approved funding for our troops. Yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a long-term budget outlook. CBO noted that our national debt equaled 40 percent of our country's economic input in 2008. By the end of this year, the Federal debt will represent 62 percent of our national economy. That's a 22 percent increase in the level of debt in just 2 years. The additional unrequested nontroop-related spending the House is considering today would drive that debt even higher. I recognize there are tremendous political pressures that come to bear on majority Members when it comes to opposing measures sponsored by their own party. Today my request to the Members of the majority is quite simple: Please think long and hard about the consequences of supporting anything beyond the clean Senate supplemental spending bill.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield myself 30 additional seconds. I urge my colleagues on both sides, particularly my friends in the majority who are truly concerned about the ever-escalating rates of growth of spending, to reject these amendments and reject this Fourth of July spending spree. Let's support our troops, pass a clean version of the supplemental on a broad, bipartisan basis, and get this package to the Commander in Chief. Our men and women in harm's way deserve no less. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to Ike Skelton's partner, the gentleman from California, Buck McKeon, who is the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to yield 3 minutes to our leader of the Homeland Security Committee, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Smith of Texas.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence). (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is important for all of my colleagues, especially those on the majority side of the aisle, to make note of the fact that this is the President's supplemental request. This amendment adds almost $17 billion in new domestic spending to a critical war funding and disaster assistance bill, most of which was never formally requested by the Commander in Chief and none of which is included in the Senate-passed bill. These bloated domestic spending add-ons include those that either are unnecessary spending or should be considered as part of the regular fiscal year 2011 appropriations process. For example, the amendment includes language under the Teacher Jobs Fund that singles out Texas by requiring that Texas maintain a higher level of State support for elementary and secondary education and higher education spending than any other State. It adds $4.95 billion for Pell Grants that would normally be and should be funded in the fiscal year 2011 Labor, Health, and Human Services bill, as has been the practice in previous years. There is $538 million to game the fiscal year 2011 appropriations process by forward-funding certain activities now with fiscal year 2010 funds, thereby freeing up money to spend on other activities in 2011. This includes giving the IRS an additional $245 million now to ramp up its enforcement.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I rise to oppose the Lee amendment to essentially cut off the funding for our troops in Afghanistan. I am very proud to yield 5 minutes to my colleague, our leader on the Defense Subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, Bill Young.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri, Ike Skelton, the chairman of the House authorizing committee on national security or defense.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 additional minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have on each side?

Mr. LEWIS of California. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by reminding the Members that this supplemental originally was sent to us by our Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, Barack Obama. I understand the concerns about the war in Afghanistan. I have similar concerns, especially following the recent turmoil regarding command changes. But I also have full faith and confidence in our brave and selfless men and women fighting over there. The President knows that war is tough and a dirty business. But our forces, although tired, are eager for the opportunity to succeed and more than capable of doing so. I have in my hand a Statement of Administration Policy from our Commander in Chief, Barack Obama. In it, his advisers suggest, if this amendment is a part of the bill, that they will be recommending to the President that he veto this bill. Indeed, it is time for us to recognize that the war on terror is very real. The challenge in Afghanistan is supported by the President because he recognizes it's very real, and it's one of the bases of operation for their activities. In fact, I believe that we have to let conditions on the ground dictate the process, as General Petraeus just testified this week, even if those conditions require forces to stay past the President's July 11 withdrawal date. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time; so I will close. Mr. Speaker, I think you know that as a result of your interpreting existing policy relative to the unanimous consent requests on three different occasions in an effort to get the original package here before the body so they could vote up or down on H.R. 4899, I know that I could speak for my own leadership, they certainly would agree to this unanimous consent request. It would appear the leadership on the other side, perhaps of the committee, I can't speak for the Speaker, of course, but apparently the other side does not want us to have that package before the body. Mr. Speaker, it is critical for us to remind ourselves continually in the weeks and months ahead, the war on terror is very real. America has been challenged at home and continues to be challenged abroad. The men and women that our Commander in Chief have chosen to send to Afghanistan are in need for supplemental funding. To have us essentially water down those proposals by way of the amendments that have been before us is absolutely unbelievable to me. If the public could only know what the people's body is doing tonight to not just our people here at home but our people overseas as well, I believe they'd essentially make a decision that they ought to change the entire Congress. With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr LEWIS of California

Mr LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I join my colleague Ken Calvert to pay tribute to Chester Reed, a hard-working, highly valued employee of the United States Postal Service. Chester will soon retire after 37 years as a forklift operator in the Postal Service's facility in Redlands, CA. One item I should note: Chester is 95 years old, making him the oldest of the Postal Service's 596,000 career employees. Joining the plant in 1973, this Ohio native and proud Riverside, CA resident started a career of service that was marked by never arriving late, never using a day of sick leave, and regularly working 12-hour days while volunteering to work more. His enthusiastic spirit has made him a favorite among his colleagues. Chester knows something about longevity. He was married for over 60 years. Prior to his time with the Postal Service, Chester served 25 years in the Air Force where he retired as a sergeant. He attributes his durability to his faith, no junk food, not much meat, and an onion sandwich every day. Chester cites his time with the Postal Service as the best job he's ever had. Throughout his nearly four decades with the Postal Service, Chester represented the highest values Federal employees want to provide: courtesy, commitment, and a dedication to public service. Retirement is something to be celebrated and enjoyed. It is not the end of a career, but rather the beginning of a new adventure. Chester has his sights set on world travel and pursuing his hobby of hang gliding. Madam Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join Rep. Calvert and me in sending our best wishes to Chester Reed.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the gentlelady's yielding. Robert Byrd, a colleague and associate on the Appropriations Committee, this incredible, incredible leader in our committee, has made such a difference over the years. Beyond that, I quickly developed great respect for his support of the legislative role relative to our constitutional responsibility. And over the decades he has fought administration after administration, Democrat and Republican alike, whose bureaucrats want to take away authority from the legislative branch. His voice was heard consistently reflecting the priorities of this institution. And for that I will never forget him. As you have just heard from our leader, in recent years, Senator Byrd and I developed a different kind of friendship because of our love for our dogs. Indeed, it was a reflection of this man, the wonderful human side of this man, that has been the experience for me. We will--Arlene, my dog Bruin, and I--miss Senator Byrd.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, Israel has the right and the duty to defend itself and its citizens. Part of its defense includes seeking to inspect ships run by Islamist extremist groups. These extremists were seeking to enter Hamas-controlled Gaza despite repeated requests from the Israeli government not to do so. I am very concerned by these recent events that have occurred in the Mediterranean Sea. As we now know, on Monday, May 31, the Israel Defense Forces intercepted six ships, known as the ``Free Gaza'' flotilla. We have learned that this flotilla attempted to break Israel's blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Although many have said that its primary aim was to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, it seems apparent that its main objective was to provoke Israel and disrupt the blockade. More than a million tons of humanitarian aid and medical supplies have entered Gaza through the Port of Ashod and other already established routes. The blockade was set in place to prevent weapons from being smuggled into Gaza. Although I am deeply saddened by the loss of human life that occurred during the interception of the flotilla, I do feel that the Israeli soldiers had every right to defend their lives against a hostile group who attacked them with clubs and knives. The United States must stand by Israel and its right to self defense.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of John Wooden who became an angel at age 99 on June 4, 2010. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time. I appreciate the efforts of my colleague, fellow UCLA graduate, and friend Henry Waxman who authored this resolution honoring Coach Wooden. While Henry and I haven't always agreed on policy issues, I have long valued his friendship and our shared love of all things UCLA. For those who do not know just how strongly I feel about my alma mater . . . my dog happens to be named Bruin. It is a humbling moment to rise on behalf of thousands of UCLA alumni who are proud not just to graduate from a great university but to be associated with John Wooden, the preeminent basketball coach for all time. From 1964 to 1975, his Bruin teams won 10 national championships, including seven in a row. No other men's basketball coach has won more than four. He led UCLA to four perfect seasons. No other coach has had more than one undefeated season. Wooden's teams won with legendary players known the world over and were victorious with players whose names are remembered only by the UCLA faithful. But Coach Wooden was so much more than statistics, championships, and career honors. He was a reminder of values both endearing and enduring during a time of great social and political upheaval. Bruins and basketball lovers could disagree over the headlines in the newspapers but could unite around the humble leadership of Coach Wooden. It is his role as an educator where he has made his greatest mark. Wooden developed the ``Pyramid of Success'' a simple, yet profound, representation of the ideals that form the basis of Wooden's outlook on life and explain much of his success on and off the court. Emphasizing such traits as skill, poise, and confidence, the Pyramid of Success has helped millions be their best when their best was needed. Wooden's maxims benefit us all. Be quick, but don't hurry. It's not how tall you are, but how tall you play. Character is what you really are; reputation is what you are perceived to be. Wooden's supreme devotion was to his family. He married his beloved Nell, the only woman he ever dated, and wrote her love letters every month on the anniversary of her passing. When UCLA's basketball court at Pauley Pavilion was recently renamed in their honor Wooden insisted her name came first. He and his wife symbolized the very best of family life. Coach Wooden often said ``make each day your masterpiece.'' While he had many days that were masterpieces, the 99 years John Wooden graced us with his presence were his magnum opus.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I too rise today to express my deep appreciation for the life and work of John Wooden, the great coach from UCLA. The resolution, by the way, that we are discussing today was originally introduced by my colleague Henry Waxman, who spoke a while ago. Henry's district includes UCLA within its territory. And Henry and I have worked together for many, many years and have had in common the fact that we are both, kind of, red-hot graduates of UCLA. We don't agree upon everything. In fact, some would suggest we almost never agree. The reality is, though, that Henry and I have worked together for many, many years, and I'm very proud of the fact that he's a close friend. Beyond that, let me say that the House might be interested to know that Henry and I are such fans of UCLA that he actually allowed me to name my dog Bruin. And Bruin walks to work with me every day, and, in fact, he's over in my office watching this on the floor and will be most intrigued by the fact that people finally are recognizing John and Nell Wooden for the wonderful, wonderful contribution they've made to our country.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join the community of Twentynine Palms and the Morongo Basin of California in congratulating long-time broadcaster Gary Daigneault in being named to the Associated Press Television-Radio Association Hall of Fame. Gary Daigneault has been on the air for 31 years as a newscaster in the eastern desert area of California known as the Morongo Basin. When he went to work for stations KDHY/KQYN in 1979, the area was made up of small towns with a few thousand people scattered over vast desert vistas. I came to know both the desert communities--and Gary--as the member of Congress for the area. He was a bright and earnest young reporter serving a small but devoted radio audience. Over the years, the small towns of Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Morongo Valley and Twentynine Palms have grown dramatically, with tens of thousands of people now tuning in to listen to Mr. Daigneault, who has been the community's voice for news with a morning news program for the entire 31 years. Mr. Daigneault invested in the community and became an owner- broadcaster in 1989 when he and his wife Cindy started up their own station, KCDZ, making local news a priority. Although the area is still considered a ``small market'' for news, it is one with a worldwide focus because it is home to the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, a premier training center that has hosted tens of thousands of Marines each year. Many of those Marines now living around the country would recognize the voice of Mr. Daigneault, who has done an exemplary job of covering the base and its units. In perhaps his most dramatic accomplishment in covering the Marines, Mr. Daigneault in 1992 was the only ``embedded'' journalist covering the peace-keeping action in Somalia, which won him one of his many broadcasting awards. He came home from that mission and was quickly put to the test again when a 7.3 earthquake struck the desert town of Landers, causing widespread damage and disruption to the area. He stayed on the air and was the only source of news for many of the desert residents cut off by the quake--an effort that won him yet another award for broadcasting excellence. Gary has been recognized by the Associated Press for breaking more than 40 national and major regional news stories over the years. In 2000, KCDZ was declared ``station of the year.'' He was given the prestigious Mark Twain Award for news writing in small market radio and the Golden Mike award for best small market radio news broadcast. Gary Daigneault is considered a community leader in Twentynine Palms. He is the president of the Theatre 29 community theater group, president of the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce and the immediate past president of the local Rotary Club. He has also served twice as president of APTRA, and has taught broadcasting classes for the past 21 years. Madam Speaker, Gary Daigneault has been the voice of news for an important part of my district for the past three decades, and he and his wife Cindy have been community leaders in the eastern desert area of California. His election to the radio-television news Hall of Fame is much deserved, and I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating him and thanking him for his lifetime of service.