Jerry Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I say to the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that which I have heard him describe of his amendment I would be very empathetic to, I believe. It seems very logical to me; but since it has implications in terms of cost that could put the whole bill in jeopardy potentially, and the same people the gentleman is talking about could be dramatically affected by that, and since the gentleman has not discussed this matter with me at any time, I do not know about the ranking member, but me at any time, I am afraid I must be constrained to object. Point of Order

Mr. LEWIS of California. I do.

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

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I made a point of order against the amendment because it proposes to change existing law and continues legislation in an appropriations bill, and therefore violates clause 2 of rule XXI.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I always appreciate hearing from the chairman of the full committee. Mr. Chairman, the bill before us provides the funding for national defense for the fiscal year 2002. The base bill, which is the fundamental consideration today, involves some $317 billion for national security; and, Mr. Chairman, I would like the entire body to know that this bill was prepared and we were taking it to the committee on the very day of the tragedy that occurred in New York. All of us watched with horror as that first plane hit that first tower and then in amazement, fear, and anger as we watched the second plane and the subsequent results. Over these several weeks, the Nation has reacted in a fashion that all of us have watched with great interest, for indeed America had been attacked; and for the first time since World War II, more Americans were killed by a foreign agent in a single event than had been killed in our history. As we observed that scene, America first responded in fear, responded in anger and in frustration; and over these weeks and months now, we watched as our public has come together in a kind of unified response that says directly to the Congress, we expect you to help America be ready to deal with this war on terrorism that the President is so ably leading us to wage at this moment. Subsequent to this bill, the base bill of $317 billion, as the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) suggested, there is a supplemental appropriations that affects defense that is slightly in excess of some $20 billion. We do not know, we cannot be sure, this may be but only the beginning, for the war on terrorism could indeed go beyond months, into years; but there is little question about our public's commitment. We will carry forward this war against terrorism, and we will win this war. Mr. Chairman, at this point I would like to insert into the Record a summary of the provisions of Division A of this bill, that is, the Defense Appropriations bill. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28NO01.006 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28NO01.007 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28NO01.008 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH28NO01.009 Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, by way of responding to the gentleman, I very much appreciate the professional way the gentleman is addressing this very important issue. As the gentleman knows, I have been a long-term supporter of this idea, this technology. We now think it is important that we emphasize the research side because we see the possibility of some rush to failure here. But in the meantime, it is not our intent to kill this program, and we appreciate the gentleman's cooperation.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to pay tribute to Paul Weeden, the Deputy Forest Supervisor of the San Bernardino National Forest in my district, who recently retired after 36 years of service in the National Parks and National Forests. Like many of the dedicated employees who work for the agencies that manage and protect our national lands, Paul Weeden began his service as a seasonal employee. Beginning in 1965, he worked summers as a fishery biologist aide, park ranger and a fire prevention technician. He became a full-time forester for the Forest Service in 1977, serving for 10 years in Arizona and Northern California. From 1987 to 1990, Mr. Weeden was assigned to the Fire and Aviation Management Staff in Washington, D.C., coordinating the Forest Service response to natural disasters in the United States, and serving as an advisor to other nations dealing with disaster when requested by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. He became Deputy Forest Supervisor of the San Bernardino National Forest in 1990, and has helped make the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountain region one of the most successful urban use forests in the nation. Located within easy driving distance of the 8 million people who live in Southern California, the forest's campgrounds, hiking trails, ski resorts and other recreation activities attract millions of visits each year. The forest is also home to thousands of constituents in my district, who see the Forest Service as their largest neighbor and in many cases their landlord. Although the national forest has seen a number of dramatic wildfires in the past decade, the Forest Service under Mr. Weeden has helped limit the losses of property and wildlife habitat in each case. The agency has increasingly worked with local officials to provide maximum recreation opportunities while protecting the natural beauty that attracts the visitors. As manager of a 440-person agency with a $24 million budget, Mr. Weeden has helped guide the forest into the 21st Century as a verdant oasis in one of the largest urban areas in the world. Even as he watched over the San Bernardino National Forest, Mr. Weeden in 1998 coordinated American aid to Mexico in response to the worst wildland fire season in that nation's history. He has since provided guidance and leadership to Mexico's firefighting, detection and prevention programs, as well as helping in the restoration of important natural lands. Mr. Speaker, Paul Weeden retired last month to take a job in the private sector, although he and his wife Barbara remain residents of Highland, California, in my district. I ask you and my colleagues to Join me in thanking Mr. Weeden for his three decades of service, and wishing him well in his future endeavors.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to pay tribute to Letitia Hoadley White, a congressional staff member who has spent two decades representing the highest values we in Congress want to provide to our constituents: courtesy, commitment and a dedication to public service. Letitia Hoadley Joined my staff on November 9, 1981, as a receptionist. She quickly showed a sensitivity toward constituents, and an eagerness to help them solve their problems. It wasn't long before people began calling our office looking specifically for ``that young lady who was so nice on the phone.'' Her intelligence and willingness to go the extra mile led to her promotion to executive secretary after just a month, and to legislative correspondent in less than a year. Letitia wasn't sure she wanted the second promotion--it paid more and had more responsibility, but she worried she would miss the chance to talk to and help the people who called and came in our front door. Happily, she agreed to take the new job, and did it so well we promoted her to legislative assistant four months later. Letitia has always been someone I could turn to for the most difficult jobs. When it appeared we would never convince Congress in 1983 to pay for a flood control project that would protect more than a million Southern California residents, she helped convince colleagues from four counties to work together--and got the project started in our district. She has also shared with me a desire to encourage innovation and small business. Years ago, I asked Letitia to help me make sure the Pentagon provided increased funding for rapid development of a radical new technology--unmanned aerial vehicles. Through her work, we managed to move up testing and evaluation of the Predator UAV program by two years. Now, of course, it is one of the most highly touted new weapons in our war against terrorism. After years of toiling in the legislative trenches and solving problems for my constituents and district, Letitia became an appropriations associate in 1986, and now works directly with the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Since taking that job, she has taken the dedication to constituent service to a new level. Appropriations staff members have a special role in Congress, helping to ensure that our government spending meets the needs of the public and stays within our budget. At the same time, they must help us to win the support of a majority of Congress, since these spending bills must pass every year. New staff members working on appropriations would do well to learn from Letitia, who has made an art of providing ``constituent'' service to other House members and the agencies we oversee. She is the epitome of what we mean when we speak of dwelling on the positive. She looks for the good in people, and really works at building on their strengths. At the same time, she uses every bit of her energy to help them succeed in what they need. The members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, on both sides of the aisle, will attest to Letitia's intelligence, hard work, courtesy and optimism. She is one of the primary reasons we are able to pass a $300 billion spending bill with almost no debate or rancor. Twenty years after she took her first call as a receptionist, Letitia still jumps to answer the telephone when she is in the front office. She will still spend 15 minutes talking to constituents who are in town for a visit, and then take on the most technical meetings with generals and assistant cabinet secretaries. She will undertake any job and work nights, weekends and through her vacation to get it done. And she lives by a rule I often quote: It's amazing what we can accomplish if we don't worry about who gets the credit. Mr. Speaker, we often think of our congressional staff members as our ``family,'' and many times during the year they spend more time with us than their real families. We certainly owe a debt of gratitude to Letitia's husband, Dick White, for being understanding when she must work long hours--and then take more work home. I ask you and my colleagues to join in thanking Letitia for her dedication to the American people, and wishing her well in the years to come.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Reclaiming my time, and I will be willing to yield, is the gentlewoman suggesting that the language of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss) does not provide for an independent review of people with some expertise?

Mr. LEWIS of California. Reclaiming my time, it is my understanding that as late as 9:30 or 10:00 in the well of the House in a discussion, the differences here were that close because both presumed there was independence in review. One had required more expertise than the other approach apparently. But the important point I would make is that optically, the gentlewoman is presenting a picture. So there is some big difference here in terms of review.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to have an exchange with the gentlewoman. I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would yield just a moment further, I am sorry to do this, but I think the gentleman knows that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) and I deal with some pretty sensitive areas in our defense responsibilities. We are able to come together and work in a nonbipartisan way without having a public display that suggests there is some partisan difference. There is not a partisan difference here. They are both independent commissions. It just seems to me that the ranking member should have been able to work this out between now and conference without a display that suggests there is some division in the House, and there is not a division in the House.

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

Mr. LEWIS of California. Yes or no?

Mr. LEWIS of California. The gentlewoman and I have had differences on this subject before. I no longer serve on the committee, as we all know. I do spend a lot of time there because of my work. Having said that, I remember our debates on the floor regarding whether our budget should be public or not. The gentlewoman wanted to do that.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I appreciate my colleague yielding. Mr. Chairman, I normally would not do this, but it is my understanding that the difference in the language here is really very small. Indeed, the Goss amendment would bring in an independent group. The difference is that there would be some requirement that the people on the commission have some experience. It strikes me that in this arena, it is pretty obvious that we need people with some experience. I further would suggest to my colleague, I understand last night, like at 9:30 or 10:00 the two sides were essentially in agreement in the middle of the night. For some reason, we have to come out here optically and have a partisan vote. It should have been taken care of. The conference is ahead of us. The gentlewoman has the responsibility to work out that kind of compromise. I do not understand why we find ourselves in this position.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Reclaiming my time, it certainly is disconcerting to this Member that it would appear as though at least somewhere down the line we would like to be able to find a mechanism, independent commission or otherwise, to point the finger at somebody and say someone else was to blame besides us. Indeed, it really is fundamental in the important work of this committee that the leadership on both sides be willing to come together and solve these kinds of problems before they provide an appearance of difference when there truly is no difference.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I am happy to yield to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I would submit to the gentlewoman that there probably are messengers from the Taliban who would love to see the adjustments that the committee is making at this point. I do not notice a Member on the floor in connection with that at this point in time. I must say optically we are presenting a difference with no difference. It is a bit disconcerting to me that the leadership of the committee has not been able to handle this in a way at this very delicate time that does not provide such an appearance of difference.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to pay tribute to H. Norman Johnson, a lifelong civic leader in my hometown of San Bernardino, California. Mr. Johnson, who was the owner and operator of Fourth Street Rock Crusher in San Bernardino, died on September 19 at the age of 73. Norm Johnson was the old-fashioned kind of civic leader, one who was deeply involved in his community because he loved it and wanted to make it a better place. He never held public office, but could always be counted on to work as a volunteer in the service of San Bernardino. He helped convince voters to pass an improvement tax that has made our streets safe, headed up a drive to provide underprivileged children with dental care and even campaigned to save the historic whistle at the local Santa Fe Railway depot yard. Much of what Norm Johnson did came with no publicity. He donated all of the concrete for an addition to the local Lighthouse for the Blind, and made a similar donation for an addition to Santa Claus Inc., a local charity. Most of the Little League dugouts in the Inland Empire were provided and poured at no expense by Fourth Street Rock Crusher-- and many of those teams were sponsored by the company, as well. When Yucaipa High School needed new volleyball courts, 200 tons of materials were donated by Norm Johnson and his company. When any church called, materials were supplied and delivered at no expense. Norm Johnson worked closely with local schools long before it became fashionable for companies to ``sponsor'' a school. He ensured local libraries stayed in business. When San Bernardino Unified School District opened the new Arroyo Valley High School in August, Mr. Johnson advanced the city the funds needed to complete street improvements around the school. A graduate of my alma mater, San Bernardino High, Mr. Johnson went to the University of Arizona to study business and engineering. He returned to take over Fourth Street Rock Crusher when his father became ill, and was in the office nearly every day since. His employees remember him as a tough, solid man who was unswerving in his loyalty to his company family. City officials will remember him for his insistence that they must meet his standards in supporting San Bernardino. Please join me in expressing our condolences to his wife, Merrily, and three daughters: Christi Bulot, JayAnn Stanley and Debra Ann Borden, and in praising Norm Johnson's dedication to his city and community.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much the gentleman yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I have come to tell friends in the last couple of days that Americans have not wanted to believe that our shores would ever be in danger, for we are a free people, a people who live in peace and who want freedom and peace for the world. It is hard to believe that there are those who would use murder as their mechanism to make their point in the world. But, indeed, we have come together as a people across the country. We will adjourn not too long from now to go and pray together. The world will see a different kind of America in the days ahead. My chairman in his statement said that we will not live in fear, and, indeed, we will not. A great President of our past, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, once said that the only thing we have to fear is, indeed, fear itself. Yesterday on the floor of the House, the minority leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), expressed the feeling of all of us that we in the House of Representatives, who have some serious responsibility here, nonetheless recognize in a time like this that we must support our Commander in Chief. There is no party. My colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), and I working on this Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, know the importance of national strength. But when our people come together, there is no Democrat, there is no Republican. We are the American people, and we will make sure that our freedom is preserved as we go forward and deliver hope for the world. Indeed, today is an important day for our people, standing shoulder by shoulder. We will communicate to all people who will hear that freedom for the world is our purpose.

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

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I can assure the gentleman that when it comes to intelligence funding that may be in this bill, it is indeed the intent of this legislation that the administration will provide Congress with specific spending plans as funds are obligated as well as detailed records of expenditures actually made. Mr. Speaker, further, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) and I have just signed a letter to the director of the agency to make certain that there is a clear understanding of that very point that the gentleman makes.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield further, that is correct.