Blaine Luetkemeyer

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2453) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of Mark Twain, as amended.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

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

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. I thank the sponsor of the bill, Mr. Baca, for his hard work. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Florida, one of the younger members of the conference, Mr. Rooney, such time as he may consume.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana, one of our senior Members and most distinguished Members, Mr. Burton.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 4040, awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to Jack Nicklaus. It is an honor and a privilege to be speaking on this bill brought to the floor by the efforts of my friend and colleague from California (Mr. Baca) and cosponsored by 342 Members. I commend the gentleman for his work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, we all know Jack Nicklaus is one of the best golfers of all time, but he also has been so much more than that. Jack Nicklaus is a successful businessman, a spokesman, a devoted father and grandfather, and one of the warmest, kindest public figures in history. Jack Nicklaus, the golfer, has been the recipient of countless athletic awards and honors. He is the only player in golf history to win each major championship at least three times, and the only player to win the Grand Slam on the regular and senior tours. A five-time PGA Player of the Year, he became the first golfer to win the Vince Lombardi trophy for excellence and has been inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame, just to name a few of his achievements. Jack Nicklaus is also a humanitarian. He has built an impressive record of giving to the world, establishing, managing and serving as the face of charities, golf tournaments and campaigns that raise funds to help people in need all over the world. He established the pro-am golf tournament called The Jake in honor of his young grandson who died in 2005. It serves as a primary fundraiser for the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation. He is an honorary chairman of a golf course designed for the rehabilitation of wounded and disabled veterans. He is a spokesperson and trustee for The First Tee program that brings golf to children who would not otherwise be exposed to it. Jack Nicklaus, the entrepreneur, has been involved in the design of more than 275 golf courses, and has been the recipient of the Old Tom Morris Award in golf course design, which is the highest award given by golf course superintendents. He has been given the Donald Ross Award by the American Society of Golf Course Architects and the Don A. Rossi Award by the Gold Course Builders Association of America. Jack Nicklaus was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2005, the highest Presidential honor given to any U.S. civilian. By approving this legislation, Congress will move forward to award the highest congressional civilian honor. Mr. Speaker, this legislation celebrates the accomplishments of a man who is honored by many for his achievements in a life very well lived. I ask all Members to support it. I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, April 16, 2012. Hon. Spencer Bachus, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Bachus, I am writing concerning H.R. 4040, to award a congressional gold medal to Jack Nicklaus, which is scheduled for floor action the week of April 16, 2012. As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains jurisdiction over matters that concern raising revenue. H.R. 4040 contains a provision that provides for the sale of duplicate medals, and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding commemorative coin and medal bills and in order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action. This is being done with the understanding that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation in the future. I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 4040, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration. Sincerely, Dave Camp, Chairman.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4040) to provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of Congress to Jack Nicklaus in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship in golf.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1815, the Lena Horne Recognition Act, introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings). This legislation, cosponsored by 308 Members, seeks to authorize the striking and awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of the indomitable spirit and overwhelming voice of the great singer Lena Horne. Few singers have captured the imagination, the ear, and the spirit of the country as did Lena Horne in her magnificent career. Fewer still did that while waging a tireless battle for civil rights through the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Ms. Horne was perhaps the top nightclub singer of that era, but still found time to come here for Dr. Martin Luther King's March on Washington--and she was also at an NAACP rally in Jackson, Mississippi, alongside Medgar Evers on the weekend he was assassinated. From her earliest performing days--at 16, in 1933, at the famous Cotton Club--until her very last performance in a Duke Ellington tribute album in 2000, her performances riveted audiences. She won a handful of Grammy awards and a Tony award, and she was nominated for other Tonys and for an Emmy as well as a large number of personal achievement and civil rights awards. Lena Horne appeared multiple times on all of the big television variety shows of the fifties and sixties, and of course, later in her career, hosted her own long-running, one-woman show on Broadway. She also acted in numerous films, including ``Stormy Weather,'' in which she performed what many thought to be her signature song of the same name. Sadly, despite her ability and her beauty, she never landed a starring role. Mr. Speaker, Lena Horne's magnificent voice and steadfast fight for civil rights make her a worthy recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. I salute her, and congratulate the gentleman from Florida for his effort on this legislation. I urge its immediate passage, and reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, April 16, 2012. Hon. Spencer Bachus, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Bachus: I am writing concerning H.R. 1815, the ``Lena Horne Recognition Act,'' which is scheduled for floor action the week of April 16, 2012. As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains jurisdiction over matters that concern raising revenue. H.R. 1815 contains a provision that provides for the sale of duplicate medals, and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding commemorative coin and medal bills and in order to expedite this hill for floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action. This is being done with the understanding that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation in the future. I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 1815, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration. Sincerely, Dave Camp, Chairman.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers at this time. I will continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1815) to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lena Horne in recognition of her achievements and contributions to American culture and the civil rights movement.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins Swimming and Diving team on its Missouri State Championship. The young women and their coaches should be commended for all their hard work and dedication throughout the regular season. The team went on to give the school's swimming and diving program its best showing since the team's 2008 sixth-place finish. Rock Bridge High School athletic teams have had a huge winning tradition this year. I ask that you join me in recognizing the Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins for a job well done!

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3001) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Raoul Wallenberg, in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material to the bill.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3001, the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act, introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks). This legislation, cosponsored by 301 of our colleagues, including myself, seeks to authorize the striking and awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal honoring Raoul Wallenberg in recognition of his heroism in saving tens of thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Budapest during World War II. Mr. Wallenberg truly personified the definition of a humanitarian, a hero, and a defender of individuals facing persecution and near-certain death at the hands of a truly inhumane Nazi regime. Born into an affluent Swedish family of diplomats and bankers, Raoul Wallenberg developed a keen interest in foreign cultures and languages at an early age. He became fluent in English, French, German, and Russian, and after graduating from high school attended the University of Michigan to study architecture. In 1936, a year after graduation, he accepted a job at the Central European Trading Company, an export- import company with operations in Stockholm and Eastern Europe. He quickly became joint owner and international director of the firm, and traveled throughout Europe to assist his boss, a Hungarian Jew. During this period, Mr. Wallenberg immersed himself in the Hungarian language and culture and witnessed the Nazis' increasing stranglehold on Europe. While Hungary was nominally an Axis power, it sought a secret peace pact with the Allies. When that was discovered, Adolf Hitler invaded Hungary in March of 1944. Under the Nazi occupation, Hungarian Jews faced immediate deportation to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in southern Poland. Jews living in Budapest desperately sought help from the embassies of neutral countries, which could provide short-term identity passes to escape the Nazis. The Swedish delegation was successful in ensuring that the provisional passes would allow the bearers to be treated as Swedish citizens, providing a great deal of protection. In 1944, the United States created the War Refugee Board for the purposes of rescuing European Jews from Nazi persecution. The Board worked closely with the Swedish delegation to locate a Swedish national to spearhead a rescue operation for Jews facing deportation. Raoul Wallenberg, then a 32-year-old prominent businessman who had a keen familiarity with Hungary, was given the daunting task. In July 1944, when he arrived in Budapest as the First Secretary of the Swedish delegation, more than 400,000 Jewish citizens already had been deported by SS Officer Adolf Eichmann. Only 230,000 Jews were left. Wallenberg succeeded in designing a facsimile Swedish passport to be issued to Jews trapped in Budapest. They were authentic enough to pass the inspection of local officials, and Wallenberg employed several hundred workers, all of Jewish descent, to produce and issue more than 10,000. He also constructed more than 30 buildings that allowed more than 15,000 Jews to find shelter under the banner of the Swedish delegation. A Swedish flag hung in front of every door, and residents in every building were granted diplomatic immunity. In November 1944, Eichmann began a campaign of death marches, forcing large numbers of the remaining Hungarian Jews to march out of Germany on foot. Wallenberg marched along with them. He handed out provisional passes, provided food, water, and medicine, and bribed Nazi guards to free those with passes, wielding the full authority of the Swedish government. For the persecuted who were deported by train, Wallenberg issued provisional passes on the train tracks, on the roofs, and even inside the train cars themselves. In one of his most important accomplishments, he prevented Eichmann's attempted massacre in Budapest's largest ghetto in January 1945. At the risk of his own life, Wallenberg used his diplomatic influence to secure a note from a prominent official calling off the massacre. Then, at the end of the war, he was taken by the Soviet army, allegedly for spying, and was never heard from again. He is said to have died in the KGB's Lubyanka prison in 1947. Mr. Speaker, we remember Raoul Wallenberg for his unwavering courage in saving the lives of as many as 100,000 innocent men, women, and children. Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Mr. Wallenberg is the very least that we can do to honor a man who imperiled himself for a cause so worthy. We can now examine, with gratitude, a uniquely bright flame of valor in a terribly dark period of world history. Individuals such as Raoul Wallenberg were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice of life and livelihood to serve the greater good of humankind. It is my hope that his efforts and sacrifices will serve as an example for all of us and for future generations. Mr. Speaker, I urge immediate passage, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, April 16, 2012. Hon. Spencer Bachus, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Bachus: I am writing concerning H.R. 3001, the ``Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act,'' which is scheduled for floor action the week of April 16, 2012. As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains jurisdiction over matters that concern raising revenue. H.R. 3001 contains a provision that provides for the sale of duplicate medals, and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding commemorative coin and medal bills and in order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action. This is being done with the understanding that it does not in any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar legislation in the future. I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 3001, and would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration. Sincerely, Dave Camp, Chairman.

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

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield as much time as she would consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Hayworth). As the gentleman from New York indicated, she has worked tirelessly on this issue and is one of the most respected newest Members of our body.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I'd like to yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) as much time as he would consume.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time at this point, and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins Basketball team for winning the Class 5 Missouri State Championship on March 10, 2012. The young women and their coaches should be commended for all their hard work throughout their stunning season. In the championship game against Blue Springs, the Lady Bruins prevailed 52 to 41, marking the team's first title since 2008. The Lady Bruins had come to win starting with a 14 to 0 lead and then never letting their opponent come closer than five points. I ask that you join me in recognizing the Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins for a job well done.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins Swimming and Diving 400-Yard Freestyle Relay team on its Missouri State Championship. Madeline Simon, Libby Walker, Kortney Betz and Chelsea Tatlow gave a tremendous showing in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:33:37, allowing them to pull ahead by less than two-tenths of a second of the runner-up. These young ladies and their coaches should be commended for all their hard work throughout the regular season and helping bring home their school's first overall team state championship. I ask that you join me in recognizing the Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins for a job well done!

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins Swimming and Diving team member Chelsea Tatlow on her state victory in the 100- yard backstroke. Ms. Tatlow played an integral part in the school's success at the state championship. Winning this event in her sophomore year is indeed a considerable feat, and I am sure that we will continue to see her name in swimming headlines. Ms. Tatlow and her coaches should be commended for all their hard work throughout the regular season and in the state championship. I ask that you join me in recognizing Rock Bridge High School Lady Bruins' Chelsea Tatlow for a job well done.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Trey Smith of the Moberly High School Wrestling team for his first Class 2 Missouri State Wrestling Championship. Mr. Smith won by decision in the 152-pound weight class. Mr. Smith and his coaches should be commended for all their hard work throughout the regular season and for bringing home the state championship title in the Class 2 152-pound weight class to his school and community. I ask that you join me in recognizing Mr. Smith for a job well done!