John McHugh

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton), a senior member of the Committee on Armed Services.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, very simply, this is a bill that is necessary to be dealt with in what I agree is perhaps an unconventional way, but nevertheless has caused great anxiety, great fear and concern amongst mothers, fathers, and children. This is a way to put the fear aside. That should be a primary duty of the House of Representatives. And, as I suspect even the proponents will, a ``no'' vote is the right vote.

Mr. McHUGH. 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 now under consideration, H.R. 163.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the Senate concurrent resolution now under consideration.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor now to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), a gentleman who is certainly no stranger to humanitarian causes and who has traveled the world over in support of the oppressed wherever they may be found and no stranger to this region and the good people of this Congress. (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus) who also has a great interest in this resolution and is a member of this cause. (Mr. BACHUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks, and include extraneous material.)

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Very briefly, I thank all of the Members on both sides, certainly the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne). And my compliments to the gentleman from New Jersey for his leadership not only on this issue but on so many involving human rights. And the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), of course, and my two colleagues on our side of the aisle, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus) have summed up the horror of this situation and the incredible circumstances which surround it. I join with the gentleman from Alabama's (Mr. Bachus) closing comments that certainly all of us hope and pray that we will have resounding support for this very necessary, unfortunately very necessary resolution, and one that in no way exceeds the dire circumstances in which the Sudan, the Darfur region, finds itself.

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

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 767) condemning the terrorist attack in Jakarta, Indonesia, that occurred on September 9, 2004, as amended.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 767, the resolution under consideration.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in an unspeakable act of terror, suspected al Qaeda- linked militants detonated a car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, September 9 of this year, killing 9 people and wounding at least 173. The bomb exploded shortly after 10:15 a.m. local time, just in front of the Australian embassy's gate, flattening a section of the steel fence and shattering scores of windows in the high-rise office building as far as 500 meters away. Most of the casualties were Indonesian policemen, embassy security guards and passers-by. No one inside the embassy was killed, although several Australians and other foreign citizens were wounded in the attack. Police are now investigating whether a suicide bomber triggered the blast. The Australian embassy bombing is the third attack perpetrated by the Islamic militants in the 2 years since the horrible Bali bombings and a deadly blast at Jakarta's Marriott hotel last year. The attacks have been blamed on the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah. Mr. Speaker, all Americans strongly condemn this outrageous act of violence. We express our deep condolences to the victims and families of this heinous crime, as well as to the peoples of Indonesia and Australia. It is also fitting, Mr. Speaker, that we recognize the strong steps Australia and Indonesia have taken jointly, as well as separately, to combat terrorism and investigate this crime. We applaud their efforts to stamp out terrorist threats to their countries and the region and are confident they will bring the perpetrators of this brutal attack to justice. Mr. Speaker I would urge support for the resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and on a closing note, first of all, my compliments to my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), for his continued leadership on this issue as well. And I want to also commend the original sponsor of the resolution and one of the senior members of the Committee on International Relations, my good friend and former chairman on the Committee on Government Reform, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), who also had a very important hand in this very necessary and I think very appropriate resolution. And as has been said here today, I certainly would urge all of our colleagues to pass it, and I look forward to its adoption.

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

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time. As the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Total Force, I just wanted to rise and associate myself, really, with the comments of all of us who have stood up and talked about the importance of our military housing program. It has been a money saver. I think, frankly, Mr. Speaker, the problem is less with the rule than any Member who may exercise the authority given under the rule. If, in fact, this bill goes forward and no one stands to rise in objection, this program that needs to go forward is a taxpayer savings; and most importantly, as everyone has said, placing our military family in much better and much more attractive housing is the right thing to do.

Mr. McHUGH

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McHUGH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McHUGH. You will yield. I thank the gentleman. Let me from the outset, Mr. Speaker, say that I deeply appreciate the two gentlemen's comments about the concerns with respect to veterans benefits. I think both sides of the aisle, Republican and Democrat, share that concern. What troubles me is the comments the two gentleman have made with respect though the Republican majority in this House as it relates to concurrent receipt. The fact of the matter is, this concept has existed since the 1860s, since just after the Civil War. The fact is, for the 40 years prior to the Republicans taking the majority of this House, my friends' party did absolutely nothing to correct the inequities, the wrongs associated with concurrent receipt that they so rightly cited.

Mr. McHUGH. I am making my point as quickly as I can. If the gentleman cares to reclaim his time, that is his right. As the chairman of the subcommittee that has responsibility over concurrent receipt, I would say under the Republican majority, for the first time in more than 140 years, including 40 years of uninterrupted Democrat majorityship in this House, we have taken steps to cut the concurrent receipt inequities by more than half. It is not enough. We need to do more.

Mr. McHUGH. But for these 2 Members to say we have done nothing is the most disingenuous comment I have heard in my 12 years here.

Mr. McHUGH. Would the gentleman yield? * * *

Mr. McHUGH. * * *

Mr. McHUGH. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McHUGH. Will the gentleman yield?