Jerry Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. Mr. Speaker, I have been concerned about our crossing that line of the agreement, because it conceivably could lead to a veto, but I think the gentleman's motion today is very helpful in connection with that, because it, indeed, is very possible that the other body will come in with a lot less in that package than we have, and if there is a statement here that suggests that we really know what we would prefer to have move, that may very well cause the administration to bring us back for a supplemental much earlier. So I feel very comfortable with this discussion and I hope we go forward positively.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the motion to go to conference on the bill, H.R. 3338, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to honor the memory of Jacques LesStrang, whose lifetime of accomplishments included worldwide recognition as an author and expert on the Great Lakes and the founder of Harbor House Publishers. Mr. LesStrang passed away on December 5, at the age of 75. Jacques LesStrang was one of the nation's outstanding and most widely quoted authors on the Great Lakes. He wrote six books on subjects ranging from international trade to maritime and political history, to U.S.-Canadian relations. His book ``Seaway,'' which chronicled the history of the St. Lawrence Seaway, was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. He began publishing the widely respected and internationally distributed maritime journal, Seaway Review, in 1969 and served as Editor-in-Chief for 24 years. He founded the successful regional firm Harbor House Publishers, and served as CEO until 1990. In addition, Mr. LesStrang published economic reports for the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament and wrote the script for the 1993 PBS documentary, ``Inward Passage.'' He was named ``Maritime Writer of the Year'' by the U.S. Propeller Club and ``Great Lakes Man of the Year'' by the governors of the eight Great Lakes states and premiers of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In recent years, Mr. LesStrang served as the CEO of the LesStrang Group, a Christian publishing and marketing firm in Palm Desert, California. LesStrang was also the former president and creative director of an international advertising and marketing agency with offices in Michigan and London, England. He served as an international marketing consultant to the State of Michigan, heading trade missions to Europe to generate business for the state. In addition, he managed a number of successful state and national political campaigns for congressional and gubernatorial candidates, including former Michigan Governors William Milliken and George Romney. Mr. LesStrang's work on international marketing, government, and the maritime industry has been published in 16 languages. Bom in Pittsburgh, raised by his mother, Ada, LesStrang developed a lifelong love of literature and music, which he shared with his seven children and eleven grandchildren. LesStrang served in the Air Force in World War II and as a military journalist at Scott Field in St. Louis. He received degrees from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and the University of Michigan. Perhaps Jacques LesStrang's greatest legacy is the family he raised with his wife Barbara. Many of the members of the California Congressional Delegation will attest to the hard work and dedication of his son, Dave LesStrang, who is my deputy chief of staff and served as the staff member to the California Republican Delegation for many years. In the last days of his life, Jacques LesStrang was joined by Dave and his other children--Michelle Cortright of Boyne City, Michigan; Diane Mathias of Palm Desert, California; Steve Marcks of Carlsbad, California; Paul LesStrang of Ringle, Wisconsin; Linda Keefer of Ridgefield, Connecticut; and Christian LesStrang of San Francisco, California--along with his 11 grandchildren and great-grandson. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending condolences to the family of Jacques LesStrang and in remembering his many achievements.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the bill, through page 138, line 7, be considered as read, printed in the Record, and open to amendment at any point.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I will not use all the time, but I rise to express to the body my deep appreciation for the work of my chairman, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), in this entire matter. As many of my colleagues know, our Subcommittee on Defense had come together to mark up the base bill of $317 billion on the very morning of September 11, only to adjourn our meeting for obvious reasons. All of us recognized that America was faced with a new challenge like we had never faced in our own lifetimes. And indeed, since that time, the chairman and the ranking member, those people who are involved in defense appropriations, have worked hand in hand to try to make sure that we laid the foundation to be certain there was enough funding available to see us through these very difficult months ahead. As the chairman has suggested, and the ranking member knows as well, this could be a very, very long struggle. The challenge is real, and all of us are committed to winning this war against terrorism. If it should go forward well beyond the few months ahead of us, there will absolutely be a need for additional funding. I intend to give all of my personal effort to making certain that adequate funding is available. If we need to come back in January, we will come back in January. If we need to come back in March with a supplemental, we will come back in March. But, indeed, at this point in time, I have to support the position of my chairman that we should not go beyond the $40 billion because of all the reasons that have been outlined here. First, we need to get a handle on what we can best estimate the costs are, and then one step at a time. The public, as well as the Congress, can be assured we are not going to fail because of lack of appropriations to fight this war.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order against the amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I was going to follow on the gentleman's statement with one about California. In the past, we have had disasters. The fact that we have come together in the past without worrying about one State versus another, it seems to me we should operate with great care in disasters like this and help one another for the strength of the country.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. It is my intention to reserve a point of order, but I understand that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) would like to be recognized for a unanimous consent request, and so I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania is yielding back his time and he wants me to follow that course so we can save some time here today?

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, does the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) realize I have at least a half hour presentation here? Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the chairman of the committee.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I will have to raise a point of order on the amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, we very much appreciate the brevity of the gentleman and, with that, we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, this is an amendment that handles a number of technical items, and I know of no controversy. I ask for an ``aye'' vote on these technical amendments.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, as empathetic as I am to the gentleman's causes here, I think we have done a very balanced job in this overall package. Therefore, I make a point of order against the amendment because it provides an appropriation for an unauthorized program and, therefore, violates clause 2 of rule XXI. Clause 2 of rule XXI states in pertinent part: ``An appropriation may not be in order as an amendment for an expenditure not previously authorized by law.'' Mr. Chairman, the authorization for this program has not been signed into law. The amendment, therefore, violates clause 2 of rule XXI. I ask for a ruling of the Chair.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill (H.R. 3338) making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, when Melissa Rose Barnes was killed in the terrible attack on the Pentagon September 11, a mother in my district lost a daughter who put her career on hold for a year to care for an ailing sister. A family in my district lost the woman who could light up a room with her smile. And we all lost one of the young people who have devoted their lives to defend our Nation. Yeoman Third Class Melissa Rose Barnes was at her post in the Naval Command Center on the morning of September 11, no doubt making those around her smile with her optimism and sunny California spirit. Navy friends say the office was always a happier place with Melissa on duty. Melissa joined the Navy in 1992 after she graduated from Redlands High School. She served as a medical aide at Navy hospitals in Maryland and Virginia until 1998, when she took off time to care for her sister, Jennifer Mennie. For a year she watched over Jennifer until she died from lupus. Her mother, Linda Sheppard, remembers Melissa putting on a disco outfit and dancing around the room to make her sister smile. She came back to the Navy in 1999 and went to communications school. When she completed the course, she was assigned to the Pentagon. There she served her Nation in the command center, helping maintaining contact with our naval forces around the world. She was just 27 years old and a month away from an exciting new assignment on the U.S.S. Nimitz, her first sea-going duty when the jetliner smashed into the Pentagon on September 11. Mr. Speaker, there is no way to describe the sadness and feelings of loss we all have experienced as we realize the wonderful lives that were ended by those senseless attacks. Forty-two people who had devoted themselves to defend our Nation died in that attack, along with the 142 passengers and crew of the hijacked airliner. We feel the loss, and the anger at the attacks. But we must also feel the pride that mother Linda Sheppard feels, that Melissa's father Alan Mennie feels, when they know that their daughter served her country to the end. We will all miss Melissa--let us all cherish her memory and her dedication.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I did not intend to speak on the rule, but as I listened to the discussion, I thought it was important to point out that the base bill, the Defense Appropriations bill, that will be considered today involves some $317 billion for national security. It is designed in a fashion to meet our highest priority needs ranging from money for basic research projects that affect national security, all of the way to paying for increased pay and the health care needs of our men and women who serve in the various Armed Forces. The bill, above and beyond that, contains the supplemental; and in total, $40 billion supplemental, as the money has been distributed, I am pleased to say very much effectively supplements the work we have been about. There is slightly in excess of $20 billion from the original $40 billion package that flows to a variety of important defense needs, and because of that I am pleased with this rule. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to recognize that we do not solve problems, defense problems or otherwise, by simply throwing money at those difficulties, but rather, measuring very carefully the challenges themselves and then attempting to figure out what ways we can best apply dollars to solve those difficulties. This rule is a good rule. It allows us the kind of flexibility we need for the near term. Indeed, as we go into the next year, if we find challenges both in terms of national security or meeting the needs of New York and New Jersey, we will respond to those needs by way of additional supplementals. Because of that reality, I urge my colleagues to support this rule.