Scott McInnis

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Don Wilcox for his outstanding achievements as the president of the Norwood Roping Club of Colorado. Through his leadership, the Roping Club has accomplished much, and it is my distinct honor to stand and recognize Don before this body of Congress and this nation. The Norwood Roping Club hosts their own rodeo every year and, because of Don and his community's efforts, the size of that rodeo has nearly doubled over the last year. Don aggressively set out to increase the number of sponsors, giving Norwood's rodeo the distinction of having the largest prize money pot in the state. Don's work caught the attention of the Colorado Pro-Rodeo Association, which presented the Norwood club with two awards. Furthermore, the Norwood rodeo now attracts some of the best cowboys in the state. On top of this extraordinary record of success, this year's rodeo will be sanctioned by rodeo associations in New Mexico and Arizona, bringing cowboys from three states to Norwood for the competition. Despite his important role in the advancement of Norwood's rodeo, Don remains a humble man, giving much of the credit to the community. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Don Wilcox and congratulate him on his accomplishments. His dedication to preserving our Western heritage through his club's rodeo is a credit to himself, the Norwood Roping Club, and the community of Norwood. Don possesses a cowboy's determined spirit, and it is truly an honor to acknowledge his success before this body of Congress and this nation. Keep on riding, Don.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise before this body of Congress and this nation today to recognize Mrs. Sara Fisher of Gypsum, Colorado. As Sara prepares to step down from her position as the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder, it is clear that the people of Eagle County are lucky to have benefited from Sara's years of service. The job of Clerk and Recorder has presented many challenges during Sara's tenure. Since she first took office the population of the county has more than doubled. Sara modernized the county's voting system, streamlined the process of obtaining basic services, and increased staff at satellite offices. Sara, who speaks Spanish fluently, has worked to increase the number of bilingual office staff to better serve her diverse community. Throughout her service as Clerk and Recorder, Sara has always had a positive attitude about serving the people of her county. Sara serves because she loves her community, and that shows in her dedication and hard work. The people who have been fortunate enough to have worked with Sara while she has been the Clerk and Recorder all know that she is a true asset to Eagle County, and an excellent public servant. After more than a decade of service, Sara has recently built a new home in Gypsum and is looking forward to spending more time with her husband, Bill, and enjoying the beautiful landscape of Colorado. Throughout all of the challenges that Sara has faced, she has been a strong and competent leader in both Eagle County and throughout the state. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise to pay tribute to Mrs. Sara Fisher before this body of Congress and this nation. She has been a diligent servant of Eagle County and her commitment to her community will be greatly missed.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Colonel Frank Boyer of Colorado Springs, Colorado for his extraordinary service to this country. After joining the United States Air Force, Col. Boyer sacrificed his career as a jet fighter pilot to pursue nine years of medical training, eventually becoming an Air Force surgeon. That career change was especially important in the winter of 2001, when Col. Boyer was instrumental in saving the lives of seventeen young soldiers injured during their service in Afghanistan. Today I am privileged to honor Col. Boyer for his service before this body of Congress and this nation. In October 2001, Col. Boyer and his team of seventy doctors, nurses and medical staff from the Air Force Academy set up a combat hospital in Oman to support American troops fighting for Operation Enduring Freedom. Just forty-five days later, a B-52 dropped an errant bomb on a group of American Special Operations fighters in Afghanistan, killing three and wounding twenty, many severely. On that day, seventeen of the injured soldiers were rushed to Col. Boyer's military hospital. Every one of them survived. Col. Boyer and his team worked for thirty-six continuous hours, performing twenty- three surgeries, including four life-saving procedures. For this exceptional effort under extreme pressure, Col. Boyer received the Bronze Star. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Col. Frank Boyer for his outstanding service to the United States of America. I want to thank him on behalf of this nation and this Congress for his calm leadership through a chaotic and frightening incident. Seventeen young soldiers owe their lives to Col. Boyer and his medical team. All of our nation is in Col. Boyer's debt.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Buzz Zancanella, an outstanding individual who has dedicated his life to serving Glenwood Springs, Colorado. For the past thirty-six years, Buzz has worked in his community, most recently as a water maintenance coordinator. After a long and successful career, Buzz has decided to retire. As he looks forward to retirement, I would like to take this time to highlight his service to his community. Buzz is a native of Glenwood Springs who graduated from Garfield County High School in 1958 and began serving Glenwood Springs as a volunteer firefighter in 1959. In 1961, Buzz left home to fight for his country, serving honorably in the Navy. It was also at this time that Buzz met his wife, Gracie. When Buzz returned to Glenwood Springs in 1966, he began his long career with the city, working for the city's electric company. Later, in 1977, Buzz became the city's fire chief and remained in that role until 1985 when he began working for the Glenwood Springs Water Department. Buzz is now known as the go-to guy in the city of Glenwood Springs. His service has been much appreciated and he will be truly missed. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor to stand and recognize Buzz Zancanella before this Congress and this nation. Public servants work tirelessly to ensure that our communities are run safely and smoothly. Their service and dedication deserves our recognition and thanks. That is why I recognize Buzz Zancanella as he retires from his many years of service to his community. I wish you all the best Buzz.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I hope the gentleman can stay around here for a while. I think this is a very good discussion. I want to point out something. I was moved by his remarks. On Sunday, there is going to be a special event in this country. On Sunday, we are going to have some of the privileged few of this country attend a ceremony called the Academy Awards. Today throughout the news, I read about how different people that were going to attend or perhaps even receive an Oscar at the Academy Awards were preparing these antiwar, anti-U.S., anti- American troop statements to present. I want the people that are watching me and my colleagues this evening, on this floor, I want you to keep in mind that on Sunday as these movie actors such as George Clooney or Sean Penn or Julia Roberts or some of these other people, Martin Sheen is probably at the very head of that, as they pull up to the Academy Awards in their white limousines and walk on their red carpet and toast amongst the finest wine in this country, as they are in there on that stage being televised across this country on the Academy Awards, I want you to know that young American men and women could very likely be dying in the battlefield, dying to defend a country, dying to liberate another country, standing up for everything that this Nation believes in, a Nation that with its allies is willing to stand up and meet the challenge, to meet the cancer as it comes. I will be very, very disappointed, and I hope the rest of America joins me in their disappointment if on Sunday during the Academy Awards that these people, the sponsors of the Academy Awards, the Motion Picture Association, the industry as a whole, if they stand there and allow these very privileged individuals, very privileged few amongst our population, condemn this Nation, condemn this administration, and in essence condemn the forces of the United States while, in fact, we have young men and women dying on those battlefields, and that could commence almost immediately. Thank goodness there are nations like the United States of America and the British and the Spanish and the Italians and a number of other countries that are willing to stand up when good should rule over evil. They are willing to stand up and take on evil even though it is at the risk of their own life, at the risk of the safety of their own Nation, and how unfortunate that some people in the background who are safe in the foxhole take it upon themselves to come up with theories about how wrong the people that got out of foxhole are. Again let me go back to the ad that Fred Thompson is running on TV. Freedom. It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who's given us the freedom to demonstrate. It's the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It's the soldier, not the reporter, who's given us the freedom of press. It's the soldier who serves under the flag who defends the protester's right to burn the flag. Isn't it time now to demonstrate that we support our troops? Were it not for the brave, there would be no land of the free. Again, for those of you, and I hope that some of you have some correspondence with Hollywood, I hope when you have the Academy Awards and the Oscar things on Sunday, that you can keep in mind, is it not time now to demonstrate that we support our forces of the Americans and our forces of our allies? The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) brought up some stuff about the willing coalition, the coalition of the willing. I have heard a lot of propaganda, a lot of propaganda, including the preceding speakers, not my colleague from Texas, but before we got our hour some of the preceding speakers talked about how the United States is doing it alone, how the United States as a super power is going forward and going after poor little old Saddam. Let me say that that is nothing but pure propaganda. The coalition that is willing to stand up to the vicious regime of Iraq and liberate the people of Iraq, that coalition is larger than the coalition we had in the first Persian Gulf war. We do not have 10 other countries joining us. We do not have 15 other countries joining us. We do not even have 20 other countries joining us. We do not have 25. We have 45 other nations, 45 other nations that are willing to stand up and stand up to this threat and put their national defense in line to stop this cancer. Let me just give an example of a few of them. To my right take a look at this. I will just jump around. Afghanistan, Denmark, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Rumania, Turkey, United Kingdom. The British, they have been tremendous. Tony Blair, a profile in courage. Slovakia, the Philippines, Macedonia, South Korea, Iceland, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Colombia, Albania, Australia, Italy, Georgia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain. Take a look at these. And I saw an interesting article today by Andrew Sullivan. Let me read this. There are three categories, countries that explicitly support the United States' position; countries that support it but wanted a second resolution, that is the second category; and the third category are the countries that oppose the war against Saddam. In the first camp, we have the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. In the first camp those who support the United States and its willing coalition number 45 as of this hour, 45 as of this hour. In the second camp, supportive, we have the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Slovakia. I put those five in a broadly positive column. That makes the total, if we add to the 45, somewhere pushing 50. Then we have the neutral countries, the neutral countries out there in Europe: Ireland, Austria, Finland, Serbia, Switzerland, and Norway. Australia, by the way, has dedicated troops to this. Australia has come strongly into the coalition of the willing. Then we have the opponents. Let me stress the opponents that we have here, and let us count them on a finger. France, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, Sweden, and Greece. By my count we have about six countries that are neutral, six countries that are opposed; and over 45 nations, over 45 nations, have joined with the United States one way or the other to cut the snake off this horrible regime that has in fact enslaved the people of Iraq. And let me give some examples. Afghanistan, they have pledged their support for the U.S. efforts, may open air space to U.S. military flights, U.S. and all of the allies. Albania, little Albania, offered to send troops, approved the U.S. use of their air space and their bases. Australia sent 2,000 of their elite SAS troops. These SAS troops are amongst the best in the world, 2,000 of them. They have sent fighter jets and they have sent warships to the Gulf. That is Australia. Bahrain, the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet; Bulgaria offered the use of air space, base and refueling for U.S. war planes, sent 150 troops specializing in chemical and biological warfare decontamination. Croatia, air space and airports open to civilian transport planes from the coalition. The Czech Republic sent noncombat troops specializing in chemical warfare decontamination in response to the U.S. request. This list goes on and on and on. There are a lot of people out there that realize what we are facing. They understand what the world will look like in 5 years from now if we do not do something about this. My good friend from the State of Texas mentioned that he regretted the fact that the French and the Germans did not come on board early on in this game, that had they come on board and had they let Iraq know that they meant business, we probably would have been able to resolve this diplomatically. When should they have come on board? They should have come on board 11 years ago. They should have come on board at any time during those 17 separate resolutions. The French adopted one policy. First of all, they let Iraq know that under no circumstances, no matter what they do, neither the French nor the Germans nor the Belgians will ever attack them with a war. So do not worry about leverage; do not worry about a threat. In the meantime let us negotiate and negotiate and negotiate. It was the French that took the lead in crafting the resolution called 1441 4\1/2\ months ago. It was the French that persuaded the Germans and the Belgians for a unanimous vote with the rest of their colleagues at the United Nations, for a unanimous vote, no ``no'' votes on 1441, and it was the French that were the first ones to back out. It was the French that were the first ones to stand down on enforcement of 1441. Had they stuck to their guns, had Saddam Hussein known that the entire international community including the limited few that are now are not part of the coalition, the French, the Germans, and the Belgians, had they known that we were unified, they probably would have resolved this diplomatically. Saddam Hussein really would have disarmed, probably. What kind of message does it send to the rest of the world, to a North Korea or to other countries like Iran or Libya or countries like that when they know that all they have got to do is get a little disagreement going between long-time allies and get one of the sides of that disagreement to say right at the very beginning we will never under any conditions go to war? What kind of leverage does that give to them? I had a very interesting discussion today with the students, and they asked a number of questions, and I think they should be addressed. I want to just very quickly, briefly talk about them before I turn the floor over to my colleague again. First of all, we had a little discussion on the Hollywood type. I have talked about enough on Hollywood, although I would note that over the weekend the Dixie Chicks who made that very derogatory political cheap shot at our President, who I think has done a tremendous job with Condoleezza Rice, with Colin Powell, with Dick Cheney, with Don Rumsfeld; but the Dixie Chicks brought it upon themselves on foreign territory to announce that they are disgraced that the President is from the State of Texas. Let me say what America feels about that. Sales dropped so dramatically after their comment. They had the number one song in the country. It dropped off. Do the Members know what the number two song is after I think a week or 3 days of being out on the charts? A song entitled ``Have You Forgotten.'' As my good friend from the State of Texas's comments were throughout his speech, have you forgotten September 11? Have you forgotten what this country stands for? Have you forgotten what these soldiers have done, the soldiers that have allowed the reporters the freedom of the press, the soldiers that have allowed the poets the freedom of speech, the soldiers that have allowed the protestors in this country the right to protest, protests where they would be immediately executed if they tried to pull that off in Iraq? And I say to these people, have they forgotten what America is about? Have they forgotten about the greatness of this country, that this country has gone to war more often than any other country for other nations? How many thousands and thousands and thousands of Americans lay in their graves on foreign soils having fought for those other countries? The United States is not a cocky country. The United States does not try to bully people around, but the United States is willing to stand up when it counts. Have we forgotten? And I venture to say this evening that the majority of Americans have not forgotten, that the majority of Americans understand that the good and the might of this country will in the end prevail for all good and that good will prevail over evil, and I venture to say that most Americans will not take with a grain of salt these movie Hollywood actors on Sunday when they appear at the Academy Awards condemning the United States, condemning the administration, condemning the very privileges that made them the privileged few. I venture to say that the American citizens are eminently proud of those soldiers and sailors and Marines and Coast Guard and the people in this country that are supporting logistically those troops. The students asked me, What about the human shields? Should we avoid the human shields? My position is this: if the human shields took direction from Saddam Hussein of where to go to provide themselves as human shields, they have crossed that line from being noncombatants to combatants, and, frankly, they are a fair target. Let me talk very briefly about the question that came up, What if we make the terrorists mad? If we attack Iraq and disarm Saddam Hussein and liberate that country, won't we make other countries mad at us, other terrorists? I said, as a comparison, imagine if we said to the police officers of this country, Before you make an arrest, make sure that you do not make the family of the defendant, the person you are arresting, make sure their families are not mad about the fact that you are arresting them. What about the preemptive strike? they asked. Do we have a right that this Nation preemptively strike? On September 11 things changed dramatically. First of all, when it comes to terrorism, we can no longer defend this country from terrorism. We cannot put a police officer in every theater. We cannot put a police officer in every restaurant. We cannot guard everything. We have got to reach out and strike at the terrorists that are out there. We have got to go after them. We cannot wait for them to come after us. We cannot play a defensive game. We have to be offensive in our nature when we talk about terrorism. We have to be willing to stand up and take a preemptive strike when we have somebody like Saddam Hussein, who, by the way, took the first preemptive strike when he invaded Iran, took another preemptive strike when he invaded Kuwait, took a preemptive strike when he gassed 60,000 of his own people. His own people, he gassed them, mustard gas, ricin, nerve gas, and I have got a chart of examples. We do not have time this evening, but I have a chart of examples of time after time that he used these weapons of mass destruction against the Iranians, against his own people. So of course we have the right to go out there, and I said, As a comparison, think of your local police officers. We do not say to our police officers they do not have the right of a preemptive strike. In fact we specifically give them the right to preemptively strike. If they roll up at a bank and there is somebody with a gun or there is somebody anywhere, a domestic dispute, and there is somebody with a gun, we do not ask the police officer to be shot at first before he can under certain conditions. Fire first. This country has met the highest of standards, and along with its allies do my colleagues think we can put together a coalition of 45 different nations in this world, opposed by only six? That is what we have right now. The governments of six people that have officially cited their opposition. Do my colleagues think we can put that together if we did not meet some pretty high standards, and if the snake and if the regime we are going after was not worthy of these people, sometimes not politically correct in their countries? Take a look at Tony Blair, still having enough guts to stand up and put a stop to the regime of Saddam Hussein. Let me move on and kind of wrap up because I want to have my colleague, who made what I thought was a very accurate statement, conclude. But I want to just say a couple of things. I really was excited to talk to these students today, and I told these students, our newspapers just by the nature of the business they are in, they print the bad stuff. Young people, my son and daughters are now grown, but they are in their early 20s, and it is very easy for them to be discouraged about what does the future of this country look like, what is my future, the opportunities, myself and my colleagues we have for our family, we have for jobs, for opportunities? We read the papers. It is pretty easy to be discouraged. But I say to them if they take a look at their generation, first of all, their generation has more opportunities than any other generation in the history of the world and certainly in the history of our country. Their generation is brighter than any generation in the history of this country, and I say to these young people, what is going wrong in our society? What is going right would go through the ceiling of this dome. In other words, what is going right way exceeds what is going wrong. And because of the military strength of this country, because of the strength of the character of the people of this country, because of the dedication and the willingness to sacrifice for freedom, for democracy, for freedom of speech, for the freedoms that we have enjoyed and many, many times taken for granted, because this Nation has met those standards, that is why we are the finest country in the history of the world. It is not because we have the biggest military machine, but it is because we have that machine that we avoid many fights. It is because people cannot wait to get into this country. I say to people, I say, what other country in the world has immigration problems like this country? You know what? In the United States, you do not see people falling over each other or swimming the Rio Grande to get out of this country. You see people coming into this country any way they can, because of the American dream, because of the American standards of democracy, because of the character of the American people. And at this very hour we are being tested. We have a regime that believes in murder. We have the worst murderer of Muslim people in the history of the world, who dares the United States to take him on, who dares the United States to tell him he cannot have weapons of mass destruction. Well, he has called the bluff on the wrong coalition of the willing. Not only has the United States accepted his challenge, in fact the United Nations did not accept the challenge, but the United States did accept the challenge, the British accepted the challenge, the Spanish accepted the challenge, the Italians accepted the challenge. Forty-five countries accepted the challenge to stand up for the character of freedom and democracy and to stand against the terrible regime of a dictatorship which has stolen from the people of Iraq, has stolen from the people of Iraq the basic bill of rights, the basic freedoms they ought to be guaranteed. I am so proud, and I will conclude with this, I am so, so proud of our forces out there, that voluntarily have entered there; the families, by the way, not just the men and women in the field, but those wonderful wives and husbands who are home managing families, without their spouse, worried about whether their spouse will survive. I am proud of all of you. We are Americans. We will always be Americans, and America will always stand proud. I would like to yield to my friend from Texas. I thought his comments were most appropriate. If the gentleman might yield for one moment, I have just been advised that the President of the United States will address the country at 10:15 this evening. I would urge, I am asking everybody, the gentleman from Texas will wrap these comments up in 5 or 10 minutes, I ask that you immediately after the conclusion of these comments, go to your national TV network at 10:15. The President, the leader of our country will address this Nation. This speech is historical. It is imminently important. It is imminently important for all of us to watch that. I am sorry to interrupt the gentleman.

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleague this evening, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady). He and I for some time have wanted to get together and have a discussion on the House floor with our colleagues and discuss the central issue of Iraq. As Members know, this evening is a very important point in time in our history. Tonight at 8 o'clock the what I would consider generous offer for Saddam Hussein to take his regime and liberate the country of Iraq expired. I would expect that at any hour from here on forward that the United States and its willing coalition, and I will present to my colleagues that this willing coalition actually today exceeds, exceeds the size of the coalition of the first Persian Gulf War. This is not the United States acting alone, in contrary to some of the previous speakers that we have heard up here. Contrary to what they are saying, this is not the United States taking on the world; this is the United States and a large part of the free world taking on the horrible regimes of people like Saddam Hussein. Contrary to what some of the previous speakers said about standing silent, it is the United States of America, it is the United Kingdom, it is the Spanish, it is the Italians, it is the Turks, it is the Netherlands, it is the Polish, it is the Hungarians, it is the Netherlands. I could go on through 45 of those names. These people are not standing silent. They are willing to stand up to a horrible monster, and they are willing to make sure that that horrible monster does not stand down the people of his own country, nor stand down the people of the world. For that, the United States and all of its allies deserve a great deal of credit. Last night when I addressed this House, I talked about what I felt was patriotic action by citizens of this country and unpatriotic action. It is my feeling that it is certainly within the rights of our Constitution, it is something that people have fought and died for, the freedom of speech. While I disagreed with the likes of people like Martin Sheen, and George Clooney, and the Dixie Chicks, and Cheryl Crow and some of the people like that, although I disagreed with the brash, unjustified, unstudied, uneducated statements that they made, in my opinion, I am exercising my freedom of speech, and I did not take away from them the right to express those feelings. I do not take away, although I find very hard to swallow, I do not take away from the right of anybody that wants to march in a peace protest or have a sign of protest. I do, however, find it somewhat ironic and somewhat sad that many of these people, including some of my colleagues on this very House floor, spend more time bashing our President who I think has done a remarkable job in the leadership understand a tremendous challenge, spend more time bashing the leadership of the country which has given them all of their privileges than they spend bashing the monster, the man who has killed more Muslims than anyone in the history of the world. That is ironic. But then again these people, I think there are people that truly believe in this protest. And I think that they are within their rights, and I do not think they are unpatriotic because they march out there. But where they cross the line, where that line is crossed is when our troops engage and it is upon that moment of engagement that every person in this country that protested this, the George Clooneys, the Hollywood superstars, the Sheryl Crows, the Dixie Chicks, ought to drop those signs and ought to be in complete and unanimous support of our troops. And if you are not willing to support the troops of the United States of America, and I will state this again 50 times as I stated this last night and I will say it again now and I will say it till the day I die, if you are not willing to stand for the troops of the American forces, for those young men and women throughout the world that are standing on behalf of the security of this country and our allies, then you are unpatriotic and you have crossed that line. And there is a line between patriotism and being unpatriotic, and that line will be crossed within the next few hours if people like Martin Sheen or Sheryl Crow or George Clooney decide in their own manner, I will not support the troops of the United States of America. How interesting I see the Oscars, the Academy Awards that are coming up. And by the way for people like Julia Roberts, some of these people that have taken positions, let me tell you, I think they are outstanding actors but, you know, you cannot be a master of all trades. And they certainly are not masters of foreign knowledge or foreign affairs. They ought to stick with acting. And I hear that some of these actors who are amongst the very privileged few of this country, take a look at Hollywood, these are amongst the very privileged few. They get money. They get limousines. They are welcomed at the Academy Awards with red carpet. They are treated. They are spoiled. Anything you want to take a look at. It is not to say they did not earn it. I am not saying they did not earn it. I am just saying they are a very privileged few; and, frankly, those privileges that are then bestowed upon them have been bestowed because they live in the greatest country in the history of the world. Do you think in Iraq these people, George Clooney, could stand up and criticize the government? Do you think Martin Sheen, Martin Sheen would have been executed by Saddam Hussein a long time ago. Do you see any pictures in the Iraq paper of anybody protesting the policies of Saddam Hussein? Of course you do not. How interesting that Saddam Hussein says he has free elections in Iraq and in the last election he did not have one ``no'' vote. Out of the millions of people in Iraq not one ``no'' vote. Now that ought to tell Martin Sheen something about a democracy. And those people that are going to stand up at the Academy Awards and think it is their God- given duty, not right, not right under the Constitution, but their God- given duty to stand up and not support the troops of the United States and criticize the country that has allowed them to have the privileges that very few in our society ever dream of having, and that is to go to the Academy Awards and get an award and they are going to criticize this country. I find that appalling. I find that so, so disappointing. But on the other hand, there are a lot of people who do support the troops of the United States of America. I want to show you a commercial. It is titled ``Freedom,'' and I think it is very appropriate. I think it is very appropriate for what I am talking about right now, and that is appreciation of the history of this country, appreciation that the United States of America has done more good for more countries than any other country in the history of the world. This country gives by far more aid dollars than any other country in the world. This country has given more lives of its servicemen and servicepeople than any other country in the world in defense of other countries. This country is not a conquering country. When the rest of the world gets in trouble, they come to the United States of America. They come to Great Britain. They come to the British and the Spanish. This alliance that we have put together to go in and cut the head off the snake is a coalition that has built respect, that has put the best example forward for the rest of the world. This country is a great country. I had the privilege today of talking to some college students. What a great generation coming up. And I want to first have my colleague speak for a few moments, but after he speaks I want to go through some of the questions they asked me. They have got so much promise, and they were so proud of this country. And they were not necessarily prowar to be proud of this country. You do not have to be prowar. I heard the preceding speaker up here talk about war. We should not have war. War is the last resort. Of course war is the last resort. Of course it is. But what recommendation do you have that is going to change things right now? You do not have it. You like to blah, blah, talk, talk, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate some of you people, but the fact is at some point in time somebody has got to have the courage to stand up and attack the cancer. You cannot play around with cancer. You cannot talk it to death. You need to get in. You need to diagnose it. You need to figure out what alternatives you have, but if the facts show up that you have no alternatives left, you better attack cancer. And it is the same thing with people like Saddam Hussein. Imagine what this world would look like, just for a moment, even if you disagree with what I am saying this evening, tell me what this world would look like in 5 years if the United States stood down from Saddam Hussein. Tell me what the world would look like. Tell me what the world looks like today in Iraq. Tell me about the women in Iraq today. Tell me what privileges they have in that society. Compare it to the privileges given to the Hollywood celebrities at our Academy Awards, for example. Tell me about the health care in Iraq. Tell me about the criminal justice system where they put men through shredders, well, maybe women too. Tell me about the abuses in that. Tell me about the starvation in Iraq. There are a lot of comparisons we can make. And you can be very proud, very proud that we are all lucky enough by sake of birth, we are lucky enough to be citizens of the United States of America, but it comes with a price. We have got to be willing to stand up and defend this flag that stands behind us. I want to refer over here to my poster to the right of what I said earlier. Freedom. Is it not funny, this is from the former Senator, U.S. Senator Fred Thompson. Freedom. ``It is the soldier, not the campus organizer who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.'' Look at that line. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier not the reporter, not the reporter, it is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of press. It is the soldier, not the poet who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the poet who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the soldier who serves under the flag who defends the protesters' right to burn the flag. It is the soldier who stands under the flag and defends the flag that gives those protesters that right to burn the flag. Is it not time now to demonstrate that we support our troops? Were it not for the brave, there would be no land of the free. Were it not for the brave, there would be no land of the free. The Martin Sheens of this world, the George Clooneys, the Julia Robertses, the Dixie Chicks, the people that have come out, the Howard Deans of Vermont, people like that, it is time for you to put down those signs of protest. It is time for you to support the troops of the United States of America. And if you fail to support those troops, I mean now, I mean today, this time limit is gone. At any given moment this Nation will engage in a military conflict. And let me repeat it once before I yield to my good friend from the State of Texas. Failure to support the troops of the United States of America by a United States citizen is representative and by definition unpatriotic. Now, you can call my office all you want. You can be as mad as you want at me; but the fact is I believe in my heart that patriotism is defined right here, allows the campus organizers because of the soldier to have the freedom to demonstrate. Allows the poet the right to freedom of speech. Allows the defenders of the protesters' rights. But once we cross this line, once we ask these 18-, 19-, 20-year-old young men and women to take a weapon and risk the loss of their life, and, mind you, these are voluntary forces over there. This is not the draft. These are voluntary forces, the best fighting force the world has ever known. Once we ask them to stand on our behalf and to put their lives in the line of fire, then, by God, in my opinion you are unpatriotic if you do not support those troops. Now, I am very pleased this evening that I have a colleague of mine who wished to join me and we wanted to do this as a joint statement. So I am very happy to yield to the gentleman from the State of Texas (Mr. Brady).

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Carl Goss of Pueblo, Colorado on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday. A true Colorado native, Carl was born on April 1, 1913. As Carl celebrates this impressive milestone in his life, I would like to honor him and his accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation. Carl's grandparents came to Colorado from the east, settling on a ranch in Pueblo. After ninety years raising cattle, you could say that ranching runs deep in his blood. He worked on farms in New Mexico before returning to Pueblo to run the Hatchett Ranch for thirty years. Carl has always been proud of his Hereford cattle, even winning adulation at the Stock Show for his ``Pen of Ten'' calves. He has been an active member of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, the Pueblo County Stockmen's Association, Central Christian Church, and the Pueblo Historical Society. Even more than his accomplishments, I know Carl is proud of his family. He has two daughters, Susan and Norma; four grandchildren, Carl, Matt, Megan and Rachel; and a great grandson, Alex. His family values his honesty, compassion, and generosity. They are truly blessed to have Carl in their lives. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to stand today before this body of Congress and this nation to wish Carl Goss a very happy ninetieth birthday. Carl's lifetime of experiences is an invaluable resource for his family, friends, and all of us in Colorado. Happy Birthday, Carl. I wish you all the best!

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise before this body of Congress and this nation today to recognize the men and women of the Norwood-Redvale Volunteer Fire Department of Norwood, Colorado. Their heroic efforts are responsible for saving the lives and homes of many in my state, and it is my honor to pay tribute to their efforts today. On the night of December 29, 2002, there was a fire in a home south of Norwood. Although the home is occupied, there was no one present when the blaze started. The quick actions of the Norwood-Redvale Volunteer Fire Department saved the house, which sustained only minimal smoke damage. Almost the entire fire department responded, including four engines and the ambulance crew, adding up to more than fifteen VFD members on the scene who spent more than three long hours battling the flames. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise to recognize the Norwood-Redvale Volunteer Fire Department before this body of Congress and this nation. Their selfless and capable service is a credit to themselves and their families, and their dedication to community is a great asset to their neighbors and countrymen. I personally thank them for their efforts.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to honor veteran Doug Winter of Paonia, Colorado. It is my privilege to recognize Doug as he prepares to assume the role of State Commander of the Colorado American Legion. Doug believes deeply in our great nation and has demonstrated his dedication and commitment to his country through his service, endurance, and sacrifice in the United States Marine Corps as a battery gunner sergeant. Now, as he prepares to take on his new role as State Commander, I would like to honor Doug's service before this body of Congress and this nation. Since his service in Vietnam, Doug has demonstrated a deep commitment to his fellow veterans. Thirteen years ago, Doug joined Paonia Post 97 of the American Legion. Since then, he has served as adjutant commander, commander and first vice commander of Post 97, and as District 11 junior and senior vice commander. Doug understands that the completion of military service does not mean the end of a serviceman's responsibility to his fellow veterans. He reaffirms his commitment to his country and his fellow veterans daily, through his work with the Colorado American Legion. Mr. Speaker, in this time of international uncertainty, our veterans provide a firm foundation for our nation. It is an honor to rise today and recognize Doug Winter before this body of Congress and this nation for his service to this country and dedication to his fellow veterans. For the first time in 25 years, the Colorado American Legion will have a leader from the Western Slope, and it is my distinct honor to represent such a fine American as Doug Winter in this Congress.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, Members who were not here during the first Persian Gulf War, the next few days will probably be some of the most serious time that we have served in the House. The consequences of the action of our Nation will be consequences that will go down in history. I think it is a good time this evening for us to sit back and take a look at what are our responsibilities. What are our responsibilities as Republicans? What are our responsibilities as Democrats? On what issues should we act in a bipartisan fashion? On what issues should we go out and be willing to stand up for the issues, for the very standards that this country stands for? I think in the next 48 hours or so, our country, it is pretty obvious, will engage in a military conflict; and I think it is for the right reasons. President Bush's speech last night was simple, not a lot of fancy language. It was straightforward. He did not mince any words; but more than anything else, it was appropriate. It spoke of the responsibility of the Commander in Chief. It spoke of the responsibility of the United States of America. It spoke of the responsibility of the allies and the willing coalition that has the gumption, has the foresight to stand up to one of the most vicious men and one of the most vicious regimes in the history of the world. It is time for us to stand united. When we speak about responsibility, let us talk about what another President thought about responsibility. Let us talk about Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States. He recognized, and whatever issues Members have with Bill Clinton, he recognized what Iraq was about and what Saddam Hussein was about. Unfortunately, in the last few days I think the former President has violated kind of an unspoken rule and that is past Presidents do not interfere or try to interfere or play politics on foreign matters especially at a time of war. But President Clinton and, of course, former President Jimmy Carter have decided to speak out. But I want to relate to Members and show exactly what President Clinton recognized; he recognized what the responsibility of this Nation was against the horrible regime of Saddam Hussein. This is what Bill Clinton said about it on February, 18, 1998. President Clinton on Saddam Hussein and Saddam's threat: ``What if Saddam Hussein fails to comply and we fail to act, or we take some ambiguous third route which gives him yet more opportunities to develop his program of weapons of mass destruction and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he made? Well, he will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude he can go right on and build an arsenal of devastation and destruction.'' Bill Clinton 1998. That President recognized the responsibility of this country, and President Bush and his team at the White House have correctly recognized and stood up for the responsibility of this country and our willing allies. I want to talk about what are the responsibilities of the United Nations; what can the United Nations do and what should we expect from the United Nations; and what can they not do or what would be defined as an overexpectation of the capabilities of the United Nations. Let me say first of all, we have to look at the structure of the United Nations to understand why, when it comes to standing up militarily or taking a tough police action which involves military engagement, we can see why the United Nations the way it is structured cannot possibly come to an agreement on how to do that. They could not come to an agreement in Kosovo where we had clear and resounding agreement on Slobodan Milosevic. They could not come to an agreement on the Cold War or on Somalia. The United Nations, time after time when we take a look at particular actions that require military engagement, the United Nations cannot come to a decision. Why can they not come to a decision? Because of the makeup of the United Nations. The United Nations has 192 separate countries. The United Nations has chosen to put Libya as head of the Human Rights Commission; and they actually had Iraq to chair the U.N. conference on disarmament. Mr. Speaker, Iraq was chairing the United Nations conference on disarmament. How can we expect much more from the United Nations. The United Nations has failed to act. The United States and its willing coalition has stood up to its responsibilities. The United Nations, unfortunately, was bulled over, as they always are, in my opinion, in part by the French. And the French, the only success that I have seen in the last month or 6 months or 12 years, frankly, the only success I have seen from the French and the Germans and the Belgians is to successfully isolate themselves. It is interesting to think that the members of the United Nations like North Korea, Libya, Iraq and Iran consider the French their ally. Who could have ever imagined, who could have ever imagined that the French, the perception out there in the country of renegade nations, that those nations would recognize France as their ally? We all grew up with the understanding that the French were a democratic society, a society that stood strong with the United States, although the French never really led the battle. Keep in mind in World War II, it was the French, and frankly when we look at it, take a look at where they were. It was the French that adopted the constant policy negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, talk, talk, talk. In World War II some of these countries in Europe wanted to do everything they could to get rid of Adolph Hitler, except for one thing. They did not want to fight him. They did not want to take him head on. But back to the United Nations. How can the United Nations function when it is 192 separate countries from 192 different economic levels from a variety of different types of governments within those countries, whether it is democracy, communism, socialism, dictatorship or run by a bunch of thugs like we saw in Somalia? Those 192 different countries have different economic levels and cultural environments that they have adopted over the years, and different treatments of human rights. Take a look at the treatment of women in Iraq or the treatment of children in Iraq and the so-called theory of education in Iraq, and the starvation and prejudice that we see in North Korea; but yet all of those countries are standing members of the United Nations, and I am being told that we can expect the United Nations to come together on an issue of serious consequences such as the engagement of a military conflict? We can understand why it has taken the United Nations 12 years to reach a decision that they cannot reach a decision. The United Nations is in fact on military engagement a paper tiger. Does the United Nations have an appropriate location and what is their responsibility? One, their responsibility right now at the very beginning, and the responsibility of the French and the responsibility of the Germans and the responsibility of the Belgians, they should all adopt resolutions supporting the troops of the willing coalition. They should all put out a resolution supporting a regime change of Saddam Hussein. The door has closed on the so-called diplomatic relations as stated by the President. If the Germans and French want to continue what I think were good allies or at least an alliance that withstood a lot of pressures through the years, they need to come out and support the Americans troops and the troops of their neighbors, the troops of Spain and Italy and the British troops. The French, the Germans, and the Belgians need not go any further to be identified as allies of North Korea, as allies of Libya, as allies of the regime in Iraq, and as allies of Iran. They need to distinguish themselves, and all they have done in the last several months is to isolate themselves in a corner with those rogue countries. We have had the debate and discussions. We are going to engage in a military conflict, barring some miracle in the next 24 hours. The French, it is time for our allies to stand up. We are not asking for much, they would not give us much, but they at least ought to stand up and support the American troops, and that is the responsibility I think; and I am not asking too much of those allies who I feel this time around, as in the past, have let us down. But going back to the United Nations, where does the United Nations fit in this puzzle? How can the United Nations be an effective institution? I think they can be an effective institution as long as we focus very narrowly on the responsibilities. Again coming back to the responsibilities, one, responsibilities that they can handle; and, two, responsibilities that they can effectively carry out. As I have made clear in my statements, the United Nations cannot effectively handle nor can they come to any kind of decision when it comes to military conflict in the world. They just do not have the structure to do it. We cannot have 192 nations with that kind of diversity with those different kinds of governments come to an agreement. But the United Nations can play a role. What role do I see them play? I see the United Nations as a social institution, as an institution that can probably effectively deliver food to starving countries such as Ethiopia, maybe even help under certain circumstances to deliver what human aid they can to North Korea, what human aid will not go straight to the military, what will go to the people. I see the United Nations as a social institution which can help facilitate and lead the world's fight against AIDS, and be a leader against breast cancer and prostate cancer and health in general. I think they can be effective in those areas. But it is a huge mistake, and it has been proven in the last several weeks, for us to assume that the United Nations can really play an effective role in standing down a regime like Saddam Hussein. To me the United Nations is kind of like Chamberlain was in 1938 with Hitler. I have a well-written article, and let me give credit to the author, Alistair Cook. Throughout the ceaseless tide, there was a voice of an old man, Prime Minister Chamberlain, saying instead of taking on Hitler, I believe it is peace for our time. When he made that statement, instead of going to war to stop Hitler from taking Czechoslovakia and other countries, he said, I believe it is time for the peace of our time. The entire House of Commons applauded. They stood up. They gave him a standing ovation. Only one old grumpy man in the back of the room said much of anything, and he said, ``I believe we've suffered a total and unmitigated defeat when we look at somebody like Hitler and say it is, Peace for our time. Appease him.' '' That grumpy old man happened to be a guy named Churchill. The scene concluded in the autumn of 1938 with the British Prime Minister's effectual signing away of most of Czechoslovakia to Hitler, the appeasement. The rest of it, within months, Hitler went ahead and walked into it and conquered it. ``Oh, dear,'' said Mr. Chamberlain, ``he has betrayed my trust. Oh, my gosh, Hitler has betrayed my trust.'' What do you think you are dealing with when you are dealing with a Saddam Hussein? That is why in my opinion the United Nations really, I think, have tremendously weakened themselves. I do not see any circumstances whatsoever. I mean, we have a history of 12 years of the United Nations, and I have got a poster over there that shows resolution after resolution after resolution after resolution, appeasement after appeasement after appeasement after appeasement. And where has it gotten us? It has not gotten us anywhere. Frankly, I think, in fact, it has gotten us into a war. I think if the United Nations would have taken just their first resolution and followed through with what they said they were going to do, if they would have put inspectors in there that really meant something, if they would have enforced that, we could have done it diplomatically. The United Nations probably could have done it during that period of time diplomatically. But instead they adopted the doctrine of appeasement. They adopted the doctrine of the French. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Do whatever you can to get rid of the problem except fight it. The policy that was adopted by the United Nations, the policy that has been adopted by the French and the Germans and the Belgians is the policy of going to the cancer doctor, and when he tells you that you have cancer, you say, ``Doctor, I don't want to believe it. I'm going to go out of this room and hope I can talk to some friends about what a horrible thing it is, and it's going to go away on itself. Don't talk to me about cutting my foot off, Doctor. There's got to be some other way to handle this cancer, maybe some warm talk or maybe prayer.'' Prayer helps, by the way, but it usually does not get rid of the cancer. ``Maybe there is some other alternative other than going in there under the knife, Doc, to attack this cancer.'' The fact is that had you attacked the cancer when you first went to the doctor, the next time you go to the doctor, it probably would not be all over your body. The fact that here in the United Nations, had the United Nations not let the world down, had the French and the Germans been as insistent on the United Nations enforcing their first resolution as they are insistent on the United States and its allies not enforcing 1441, the 16th or 17th resolution, we would not be here today. We would not have a war. It amazes me that the French stand out to the world as the peacemakers of the world, as if they are the Chamberlains. Where were they in 1993 and 1994 and 1995 and 1997? By the way, those were years that Saddam Hussein was using mustard gas, nerve gas and anthrax against his own population. Where were the French? Where were the Germans? I honestly think we could have avoided war today had we tackled that cancer back then, but they did not do it. The United Nations has, as the President says in dealing with the French, the United Nations has played their hand. They are not fit. They are not structurally designed to do this. They do not have the gumption or the leadership to do this. They cannot get the votes to do this. They are not a military institution. They are not an institution that can issue resolutions and then back it with discipline. It is kind of like going to school. I knew some teachers that became principals. They were not successful as principals. They were great teachers. In fact, in most cases they were too nice to be a principal. They could not bring it upon themselves, one, to discipline other teachers, and they could not bring it upon themselves, even though we were friends with the principal, we knew we got away with misbehavior because the principal was too nice, he just could not bring it upon himself in this particular case to discipline us. We read that like a clock, just like a clock. Saddam Hussein can read the United Nations like a clock. It is not complicated, by the way. You figure it out pretty soon. It is like going to the cookie jar. You find out pretty soon whether you are going to get in trouble or not for getting your hand in the cookie jar. If you are not in trouble, you tend to find your hand going to the cookie jar a little more frequently. I think the United Nations unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, now that I think about that, maybe it is good that this has occurred so we really can figure out what focus the United Nations should take. Maybe it is good in that we can understand, look, we have overassigned the United Nations, we have expected too much from a structure that simply cannot handle the responsibility that is handed to it. With that vision, I think once we resolve this situation in Iraq, there will be other problems. There is going to be the North Koreas. There is going to be the Irans. There are other problems out there. But I think we are best, I guess, situated or to our advantage to approach those problems understanding that the United Nations really should not be the vehicle, the wagon that we put all our gear in and expect the United Nations' horses to be able to pull that wagon up the hill. They cannot do it. But as I said earlier, there is an appropriate spot for them, to help us in the worldwide fight on AIDS, the worldwide fight on starvation, to help education throughout the world. Those are passive, social science issues that are very, very important to the international community and very, very important, whether my colleagues are Republicans or Democrats, very, very important for the whole world. Our Nation can help in that, but I think the United Nations is appropriate in that location. I want to switch from the United Nations. I think I have made it pretty clear. I think they have dropped the ball on this. I think it was the Wall Street Journal today, and I may even have a copy of an editorial out of the Wall Street Journal. They are right. The Wall Street Journal said today, ``The fighting will likely soon commence, but it is not in fact the start of this war. It is the beginning of the end of the war that began when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990.'' Keep in mind that the reason Saddam Hussein remained in power is not because Bush, Sr., did not want to go into Baghdad, it is because Bush, Sr., frankly listened to the advice and the demand from the United Nations that the regime be left standing; that the only mission out there was to free Kuwait, to push Iraq out of Kuwait, but to leave Saddam. We could not go into Baghdad. People blame the Vice President, Dick Cheney, whom I think is one of the outstanding leaders of this Nation. People say, ``Why didn't you guys kill him 10 years ago?'' It is because we listened to the United Nations, and the United Nations insisted, demanded that the United States not go in and kill Saddam Hussein. That was the United Nations. Just another example. They cannot do it. I am critical of the United Nations, but I also understand. It is kind of like getting mad at a child. You know they misbehaved, but you have also got to look at all the circumstances around it. Does that child have some reason that they cannot behave, that they cannot really control? It is the same thing with the United Nations, structurally the way it is built. You think North Korea? You think Iraq who is head of the disarmament convention, or you think Libya which the United Nations just installed as the head of the Human Rights Commission are going to come to some kind of agreement to restore human rights, for example, in any country in the world? Let me move off the United Nations and talk about something else. I have heard time and time again, in fact, I was surprised, over the weekend, time and time again I heard commentators who know better talking about the United States' war against Iraq, the United States' effort against Saddam Hussein. The United States. I have heard this so often, it almost makes me ill. The United States acting alone. I used to be a police officer. Somebody asked me the other day, my friend, Fred Cheney, ``What is it you took out of your police career? What is it that you took that was the most benefit to you being a police officer?'' I said, ``I can't tell you how many times I rolled up to the scene of an accident or rolled up to the scene of a crime, made an assumption as to what happened there only to find out later I was completely wrong once we looked at all the facts.'' I guess the best case is the Smart case in Utah. Take a look at that. Everybody probably assumed that the deceased suspect was the one who kidnapped her. They found stolen goods in his car, everything pointed to him, so it must be him. Once the facts are looked at more carefully and more carefully, we find out, in fact, that he was an innocent man. It is the same kind of thing here. Before these journalists start making the statement that the United States goes it alone, or they somehow downplay the fact that the Brits, Tony Blair, who stands up as a profile in courage, they downplay the courage that he has shown, they downplay the United Kingdom as if it is not much of a country, and so the fact that they are joining the United States really is not of much substance because, after all, who is the United Kingdom? The responsibilities, again coming back to that word responsibilities, the responsibilities of the national media and the worldwide media are to look at the facts. Let me show you the facts on the coalition, the willing coalition, as President Bush puts it. To my left are the member countries that are joining the United States, joining the United Kingdom, joining the Spanish, joining the Italians, joining the Turks, joining the Polish, joining the Hungarians. Look at all of these countries. These countries, even Poland, the Polish are sending 200 troops into this action. You tell me that any of those commentators that talk about the U.S. going it alone or the U.S. and the Brits going it alone, this does not take a lot of intellectual ability to figure out what this coalition is. You can pull this list right off the Internet. Take a look at these countries that are supporting us in our effort. Denmark, Afghanistan. I will just jump around. Hungary, Japan, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Rumania, Turkey, Slovakia, Philippines, Macedonia, South Korea, Iceland, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Colombia, Albania, Australia, they are sending forces in there, Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy, I talked about Italy earlier, the Netherlands, Poland, I talked about them, Spain. This is what that coalition looks like, and the momentum is building by the day. The momentum is building by the day. Why are these countries doing it? Because they understand the word ``responsibility.'' We cannot afford to shirk our responsibility. We cannot walk away from this fight. This is a cancer you cannot walk away from and hope it is better tomorrow. This is a cancer that you cannot go away and say, if I sleep on it and wake up tomorrow, it is actually going to recede. That cancer is going to go in remission because I simply sleep on it and give it a little time. Give cancer a little time, and it will go backwards. It will go into remission. That is not what happens. You have to reach out and attack it. I was at a town meeting not too long ago, actually a group meeting, not an official town meeting. Somebody said, the United States, what is our responsibility as a government to protect this government from terrorism, and are they tied together? I said, of course they are tied together. A lot of these people feed from the same trough, frankly. They have the same coffee together. Of course it is tied together. But the fact is in order for us to protect, we cannot have security at every mall in America. We cannot have armored guards and meters and checkpoints when you go to some theater somewhere, you go to a mall, you go to a restaurant somewhere in this country, you go to a football game, a high school football game. The fact is our responsibility, and frankly, Democrats, it falls on you as well, but our responsibility is to reach out. We cannot defend this country completely. We have got to go out and attack the terrorists, in their field. We cannot sit, and every country in this list to my left understands, you cannot sit and let that cancer grow. We have let Saddam Hussein flaunt his weapons, flaunt the United Nations, flaunt the international community for over 12 years and many, many resolutions. By the way, I find it somewhat appalling when we talk about responsibility. I listened over the weekend, and I am not trying to be partisan here, but I am talking about facts. Howard Dean stands in front of the Democrats at their convention in California. They give him a standing ovation as he blasts the leadership of this country, as he blasts this antiwar stance. My response to Howard Dean, my response to Martin Sheen, my response to Sheryl Crow and my response to some of these other people is, don't walk away from the cancer. You better figure out how you are going to handle this thing. It will not go into remission on its own. Frankly, these countries have come together in a willing coalition to do whatever is necessary to take care of the threat that Saddam Hussein has. I think this coalition will come close to the size of the coalition that we had in the first Persian Gulf War. My particular point here is when you listen to the media, understand clearly, it is not the United States acting alone. It is not the United Kingdom acting alone. It is a coalition of the willing. I give a lot of credit to our President. I think he has done an admirable job. Anybody that thinks they would like to have his job, look at what he faced in his first term. He comes into an economy that is going south on him. We had two down quarters before he even came into office. He has got an economy that seems to barely be hanging on. He loses a space shuttle on a weekend. He has got the problem with the Middle East, with the Palestinians and the Jewish community fighting. We have got this situation with Iraq. We have got the situation with North Korea. He had the international incident with the Chinese when they went on the aircraft equipment. That is a full-time job. These people that criticize it, I find it interesting that people like Martin Sheen, who has probably had all of 5 minutes' education on foreign affairs and certainly, certainly is not able to access any classified briefings at all that we get or any kind of knowledge on the subject, criticizes our President, has spent, many, many, many times more, same with Howard Dean, criticizing our President than they have Saddam Hussein. Where is the responsibility? I think it is a freedom, a part of democracy, that we stand up and voice our opinion. I absolutely agree with that. But at some point, it does become unpatriotic. And let me issue a challenge right now to my colleagues on the Democratic side because frankly I have not heard it on the Republican side, but I am pointing to some of my colleagues on the Democratic side, to Howard Dean, to Martin Sheen, to Sheryl Crow, to some of these movie stars out there that have become all of a sudden experts. Although they are wonderful actresses and actors, they have become experts in foreign affairs, they do become unpatriotic. And mark my words here. They do become unpatriotic when this action begins if they do not support the troops of the United States of America and its allies. They ought to throw that sign they have been carrying or those T-shirts they have been wearing or, in Sheryl Crow's case, that guitar band she likes to wear around; and they ought to throw that in the trash and replace it, Sheryl Crow, with a band that says ``I support the troops of the United States of America.'' And if they cannot find it upon themselves to do that, in my opinion, they have in fact crossed that line from patriotism. Regardless of how they debate the issue, they can still be patriotic. They have crossed that line to be unpatriotic. They have shirked their responsibility. They have dropped their responsibility to this great country. George W. Bush has done a good job. Dick Cheney has done a spectacular job. The President leading this team, putting this team together. How could we have been so lucky as to find somebody like Condoleezza Rice? Take a look at Colin Powell. Take a look at Rumsfeld. Take a look at that team. We have got the A-team down there on Pennsylvania Avenue. We have got a team that most countries only dream of; and we have got a team that when it has come time to stand up and accept the responsibility, they do it. And this Congress, frankly, and to the credit on both sides of the aisle, we did it in a bipartisan vote. Although we had some dissent and we heard some very harsh language, especially at the Democratic convention in California, the fact is most of the Democrats and all of the Republicans stood up and supported this. We are standing up to our responsibility, and it is not the United States going alone. These countries in their own way, even if it is only 200 troops from Poland, in their own way with the resources they have, they have stood up. They stood to be counted, and counted they will be. And every one of these people, the contribution they make to this effort, even as small as it may seem to others, it is big to them; and, frankly, in the overall picture it is very, very important. When we fight a cancer, we had better take all the assistance we can get from every friend we can find. That is the only way we are going to conquer it. And I want them to know I appreciate it, and any of my colleagues here who have family over there, come from these countries, know people, the next time they see somebody or the ambassador or one of their representatives or just a citizen from this country, they ought to tell them thanks. Not thanks that they came to the assistance of the United States of America, but they ought to thank them for standing up to the responsibility that the entire world ought to be standing up to, that they are filling the void that the United Nations could not stand up to, that they are taking on the issue head-on for the good of their country and for the good of the rest of the world. They are not doing it as a favor to the United States or as a favor to the United Kingdom. They are doing it as an obligation of responsibility to this fine world that we live in. Now I want to talk about our forces. I am so proud of those young men and women, and not only the young men and women right now that are on the desert floor waiting for the final order, not only the men and women that have now actually instituted in one way or another the beginning of the military action, but also the young men and women, and not just young, by the way, but the men and women of our military forces that are stateside as well. Keep in mind it takes a lot of logistics. It takes a lot of men and women to prepare all of the things. I was talking to somebody yesterday. I said, just imagine, we have got 250,000 troops out there. Somebody in the United States has to figure out about every other week how to get 250,000 tubes of toothpaste to these people, 250,000 meals times three or probably four a day considering the energy that they are using, how to get the fuel to the trucks. This is a nationwide effort by a lot of citizens of the United States. I taught a class in Montrose, California, yesterday. I had a young man ask me, and I hear this question quite often, ``Are we ever going to see the draft again?'' And I think this action that we see today illustrates why the draft will not work. Why will it not work? I said to this young man, ``What do you want to be?'' He wanted to be a songwriter. Frankly, I think the kid probably will be a songwriter one of these days and probably a pretty good one, but he wanted to be a songwriter. I said, ``How would you like to have graduated from college in music, beginning your songwriting career, and the United States Government calls you up and says, `One, we are not only going to put you in the military but instead of going to the Army band, for example, you are going to be washing trucks or doing something that you cannot stand. We are forcing you to do it and you are going to have to give up 2 years of your life'?'' What we have today is not a force at all like that. Today our force, regardless of the branch of the military, is an all-volunteer force, and our morale is the highest it has been in decades. Our people are serving this country because they want to serve this country; and I know that by far the majority, not all of us on this floor, but the majority of us support these troops 100 percent. And I am embarrassed and I am going to be really embarrassed and angered, by the way, if people like Martin Sheen cannot, and the debate is over, Martin, and Sheryl Crow, who, by the way, a lot of us country music listeners like, and the Dixie Chicks kind of stepped on their own toe last week too, put it aside and support the troops. Put down the signs, protesters, that are giving more credit to Saddam Hussein and have expressed more hatred towards their own President than they do one the most vicious men in the history of the world, the worst murderer, by the way, who killed more Muslims than any other man in the history of the world. Put down the signs that are supporting him and trashing our own President. Put those signs down and pick up a sign that says to the troops of the United States of America ``We are behind you. You are our people, you are our boys, you are our men and women and we support you.'' Regardless where we stand on the issue of the war, whether or not we like the United Nations or do not like the United Nations, whether or not we like Scott McInnis or do not like him, whether or not we like the President or do not like the President, the fact is the time has come for every so-called peace protester, although I happen to think the way we secure peace is to make sure we do not let Saddam Hussein out there, the way you stop cancer is to attack it, not to ignore it. But all out there who have carried those signs, I challenge you, and colleagues of mine here on the floor, I challenge each and every one of you to pick up a sign or make a sign tonight that says ``We support the troops of the United States of America,'' whatever those troops need. Tomorrow many of us will go on with our daily routine, but the real sacrifice is going to be carried by several hundred thousand of our people in the military forces and civilian employees that support them; and we ought to at least take a little time in our day, regardless again of where we stand on the issue, to say thanks, to pat those people on the back and to give them every prayer we can possibly give them, to give them every thought of hope we can give them. Our government and our President and this administration as previous administrations have provided them with the weapons and the assets. We have given them everything they can get out there. But what will get them over the hump, what they really need the most is to know that people at home support them. Martin Sheen, what do you think it says to our military forces or to those Democrats that stood and applauded at the Democratic convention in California this week, the anti-war attitude of that party, what kind of message do you think it sends over to these people? Put it aside. Stop. Put it aside. And just for a while come out here and help send a word of praise, a word of encouragement, a ``go get them'' to our forces that, by the way, are the ones that will really make the sacrifice. Most people tomorrow in this country will go to McDonald's; they will go to the grocery store. Their life pretty well will run on pattern, but in the next 2 or 3 days, hopefully not very many but we have to expect there will be some deaths in this engagement and the next few days those people will sacrificing, and they at least ought to know that the people of America unanimously, not part of the people, but the people of America unanimously support the troops of the United States of America. Let me move on to another subject that I think is awfully important. I have several times during my comments talked about Saddam Hussein and his vicious regime; and let us not kid ourselves, his sons are as deadly as he is; and I want to just read some of the firsthand experience. A lot of people have come up to me and said, How do you know he is such a vicious guy? That is what some people say. How do you know he has these weapons of mass destruction? For two reasons: One, we have got the proof of the horrible things he has done; and, two, the fact that these weapons that he now says he did not have, he said he did have. But I want to read this comment, and this is from an Iraqi expatriate. The reality of Saddam's Iraq. This is not a Martin Sheen. This is not a Sheryl Crow. This is not Howard Dean, the ex-Governor of Vermont talking. Those people have never been there. In fact I would bet that Sheryl Crow, Martin Sheen, the Dixie Chicks, some of these people like that have never felt hardship, have never felt hardship like the person that I am talking about. My guess is they have never been on a foreign visit other than playing in a concert somewhere or playing in a movie somewhere. My guess is they have never been on the ground firsthand to witness what this person talks about. Let us read it: ``You will be hardpressed to find a single family in Iraq which has not had a son, a father, or a brother killed, imprisoned, tortured, or disappeared due to Saddam's regime.'' And I note here not just Saddam but Saddam's regime. The majority of Iraqis inside and outside Iraq support the invasion action because they believe they are the ones that have to live as things are. They believe they are the ones that have to live as things are. The President, in his speech last night, very accurately said we will liberate the people of Iraq. There are a lot of people like the Martin Sheens and the Sheryl Crows and people like that in the world that are protesting in our own country that have no idea how oppressed those people are. They have no idea how happy those people will be when they see American forces. Take a look at Afghanistan 2 years ago and take a look at Afghanistan today, the liberation that took place there. Take a look at the people in the villages running up and hugging the soldiers, people offering the soldiers food, applauding them, cheering them. Take a look at Iraq a year from today. As a challenge, take a look at that, where the people will be a year from today versus the oppression that they are under today under this regime. Do my colleagues think we would have gotten there through negotiations with the United Nations? Do my colleagues think we would have gotten there with the French or the Germans or the Belgians that love to negotiate and talk and have coffee and negotiate and talk and have coffee and negotiate and talk and have coffee? No way. They have tried it for 12 years. The Wall Street Journal said very accurately this war started 12 years ago. It is not beginning in the next few days. It started 12 years ago. And, finally, there is a coalition of countries throughout this world that are willing to stand up and liberate the people that have faced this kind of oppression. Name one other leader in the world that has used mustard gas or nerve gas to wipe out between 5,000 and 50,000 of his own citizens. I was corrected. Remember Kent State years ago in the Vietnam War and the protests and this country's armed forces, I think it was the National Guard shot, I think, four students at Kent State and the country was outraged. How could a Nation's military kill four people of its own? And yet the very people that I am sure would have been leading the protest, objecting to that kind of action, are the very people that unfortunately, tragically, incorrectly stand by silently as this population of people suffer from the regime of Saddam Hussein. I am pleased to say that our fine President, our President and this administration and this Congress and this country, is not going to allow that to go on for very many more hours. I did not say years. I cannot tell you how proud I am to stand here and look to the next generation behind us, to my kids, to the young people, to the people that we serve, and say we are about to end a regime within the next few hours, the next couple of days at the most, 3 days, but certainly within hours. The country of Iraq will be liberated from one of the most horrific animals, one of the most vicious men ever known to mankind. I wish some of you that were carrying those protest signs, and I wish some of you who had been so vehemently opposed to George W. Bush, personally attacking our President, I wish you could be in this young lady's presence when she finds out, when she gets the word that Saddam Hussein and his regime are dead and gone, that they are out of power. I wish you could be in the family room of some of these people when these families find out that the horrible monster that they have dealt with has been put down by a coalition of the willing, by some people willing to accept the responsibility that this cannot stand, that this cannot continue to go on. I also hope, those of you that witness this, keep in mind and let your memories keep in mind those people who would not join the willing coalition, those people who stood by and said, leave him alone, we have no right. Today, in fact, I heard a previous speaker here on the House floor a few minutes ago say that we are violating some international concept he has. In his opinion, from what I drew from his remarks, I am not quoting him, but from what I drew from his remarks, it was let it be. Kind of like the Beatle's song, ``Let It Be,'' to let it go. Keep in mind, those people that were willing to let this regime stand, that after 12 years of breaking resolution after resolution, after killing tens of thousands, not tens, not hundreds, not thousands, tens of thousands of his own people through poison gas, and these people stood there and talked about, well, let us have another cup of coffee and negotiate, while people like this expatriate's family suffered. God knows how many people in that country we are going to discover have suffered horrible acts of violence. I read yesterday on the I think it was the AP wire about the shredding machine, one of the torture chambers they have. One the ways they have of torturing is a shredder. If they are kind, they put you in head first, because it kills you instantly. If they do not want to do that, they put you in feet first, so you know what happens. This kind of stuff we are going to find out. The Sheryl Crows and the Martin Sheens and the people that are saying we are going to use the Oscar ceremonies to protest the war, I hope you are watching your TV. I hope you are paying as much attention to what Saddam Hussein has done, when the facts come out after we militarily bring down that regime, as the time you have devoted to condemning our President and our team down there on Pennsylvania Avenue, and, in fact, this United States Congress. Responsibility, that is what it is about. Every one of us in this House was elected to accept responsibility. We have more responsibilities than the average person on the street. But the average person on the street has responsibilities. It is not an overused word. It is not an overused word. Responsibility is a character. It is a standard of character, in my opinion. Responsibility, acceptance of the responsibility and carrying out the mission of responsibility. I stand here with a great deal of pride, one acknowledging the responsibility and the great sacrifice our American forces have made. Once again I renew my challenge to every protester, to every Congressman, to every movie star, to every singer, the Sheryl Crows and those out there. I challenge you tomorrow, or as soon as we take that action, for you to stand up and sing a song for the forces of America. This responsibility that we carry on our shoulders, nobody ever said pulling that wagon up the hill was going to be easy. But it is our responsibility to get that wagon up the hill, and not just for the United States of America, not just for our willing coalition of 30-some countries, but for the world, for the goodness of man. There is no country in the history of the world that has represented more goodness and protected more goodness and accepted the responsibility of helping other people than the United States of America. This Nation has nothing to apologize for, and I as a United States Congressman will never apologize for the United States of America. I stand here with pride, because I think in part we as Congressmen, although we do not carry, are not there in the field, I would like to be. I wish I were 20-some years younger. I would like to have them drop me in the center of Baghdad. I know many of my colleagues would, too. In a small way as Congress people, and the administration in a big, big way, a lot of people in this country have stood up to the responsibility, have acknowledged it and have put that pack on their back. They are willing to help get that wagon up the hill. A few have dropped off. When I went camping as a young man, I always used to get upset with the people that sat by the fire but never helped gather the firewood. A lot of people deserve to sit by the fire, because they have helped get the firewood. It is time for those who have not helped gather the firewood to get out there and get some firewood. Then they, too, can sit by the fire. But we have an inherent obligation, an inherent obligation, to our generation and to the generations that follow our generation to make sure that tyrants like Saddam Hussein, to the extent that we can stop it, that we carry out the mission of our responsibility, that we carry out the mission of our duty to the United States of America, that we make the people who have fought for decades and generations under the Stars and Stripes, that we carry out our part, that our generation, too, can be spoken of in the future as one of those generations that stood when the challenge came forward and proudly took those colors and proudly took those colors to the next generation and delivered to that generation a country strong in will; a country strong in freedom; a country that represents democracy, the model of democracy; a country that is militarily strong; a country that has a good, solid justice system; a country that has an educational system second to none; a country that has a medical system second to none. Those are big challenges. In the next few hours we are going to see who is going to be counted, and I hope every person that is listening to me on this floor, I hope every one of us unanimously, not one dissenting vote, unanimously supports the forces of the United States of America in their mission to accept that one word, responsibility. I hope with Godspeed that all our forces are safe. I hope with Godspeed the citizens of the United States and all of our allies, and, in fact, the whole world, can be freed of this tyrant so we can all live in at least some type of peace. But from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all my fellow citizens, and I want to thank those forces that are out there in the time of need and the time of danger that have stood up and accepted that responsibility.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Ruth Steele of Pueblo, Colorado for her determination and commitment to her community. Ruth is the director of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission and Cultural Center, and has been a tireless activist for African-American interests in Pueblo and throughout Colorado. I am honored to recognize her accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation. Ruth graduated from Centennial High School in Pueblo and attended the University of Colorado at Boulder. In the 1950s and 60s she was active in the civil rights movement, registering African-Americans to vote. Since then, she has been a leader for Pueblo's African-American community. She was a legislative aide to state Representatives Wilma Webb and Arie Taylor, and worked to establish a Martin Luther King holiday in Colorado. Ruth helped found Pueblo's orphanage for African-American children, the renovated Lincoln Home, and the Martin Luther King Cultural Center which she now directs. In the future, Ruth hopes to build a multicultural center next to the Lincoln Home and expand African- American leadership in Pueblo. She has been a strong advocate of quality education for African-American youth and was recently named the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year for her service. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Ruth Steele before this body of Congress and this nation for her outstanding commitment to the community she calls home. Ruth has worked tirelessly to build bridges between Pueblo's disparate communities. Her leadership is an invaluable asset to her neighbors and fellow citizens.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand before you today to recognize the leadership of Christy Whitney of Grand Junction, Colorado. For the last ten years, Christy has served as the president and CEO of Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado, an institution dedicated to enhancing quality of life for the seriously ill in Mesa, Delta, Montrose and Ouray counties. A registered nurse, Christy has recently been elected to serve as a director of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. In her new post, Christy will represent hospice programs nation-wide by working with other organizations that share an interest in end-of-life care. Christy also chairs the National Hospice Work Group, a professional coalition of executives from some of the nation's most innovative hospices. Christy's involvement in national hospice organizations ensures that she is at the cutting edge of education, research and advocacy for the best ideas and models for end-of-life care. Her national leadership is an invaluable asset to her patients in Western Colorado. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Christy Whitney for her outstanding commitment to the seriously ill. Her organization serves a vital purpose to the citizens of Western Colorado, and her leadership is a credit to the community she serves. I am honored to recognize her accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the Reverend Thomas Bond for exemplary service to his community. Eighteen years ago, Reverend Bond founded the Wayside Cross Gospel-Rescue Mission in Pueblo, Colorado to serve the area's homeless population. Today, I stand before this body of Congress and this nation to recognize his accomplishments. With its food, housing, and educational programs, the mission provides a hand up, not a hand-out, for Pueblo's homeless community. In many cases, the mission has helped rebuild lives and reconnect people with families. Reverend Bond provides invaluable assistance to all people, enabling them to overcome the challenges of poverty and lead meaningful lives. He saw a community need and selflessly filled it, donating his time, talent, and energy. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Reverend Thomas Bond for his dedication to improving the lives of his fellow citizens. The people of Pueblo are immeasurably enriched by his years of selfless service, and his retirement from work at the mission is a tremendous loss to the southern Colorado community. I wish Reverend Bond well in his retirement.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I stand before you today to honor a young man tragically taken from this earth while in the service of his country. U.S. Army Specialist Lucas V. Tripp of Aurora, Colorado was one of ten soldiers killed in the unfortunate Black Hawk helicopter accident near Fort Drum, New York last Tuesday. Those who seek the true meaning of duty, honor, and sacrifice will find it in dedicated servants like Luke Tripp and his fellow soldiers. I am truly humbled to honor them before this body of Congress and this nation. Luke joined the Army four years ago and, like so many young men and women before him, he saw it as an opportunity to serve our great nation. After enlisting, Luke graduated from boot camp at the top of his class and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a Black Hawk crew chief and certified flight instructor. Luke could rappel out of a hovering helicopter into a hostile area and repair damaged aircraft, an action that requires stunning bravery. The accident last week occurred as the 13 crew members returned from a training exercise in upstate New York, where they had been preparing for a possible deployment in the case of war. Luke's best friend was the first to reach the crash site and reported that he found Luke heroically shielding one of the two survivors. Mr. Speaker, I cannot fully express my deep sense of gratitude for the sacrifice of these young soldiers and their families. Throughout our history, men and women in uniform have fought our battles with distinction and courage. At the dawn of this new century, the United States military has once again been called to defend our freedom and ideals against a new and emerging threat. Soldiers like Luke and his crew embody America's determination to lead the world in confronting that threat and I know that their awesome sacrifice will not be in vain. They have done all Americans proud and I know they have the respect and admiration of all of my colleagues here today.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with much pleasure that I rise today to commend a distinguished artist, Sonja Horoshko of Cortez, Colorado, for expanding the reach of artistic endeavor in Montezuma County and the four-corners region. Sonja is a nationally recognized artist who brings an appreciation for art to diverse communities through her ``Drawing Together'' workshops. Today, I am honored to pay tribute to her accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation. ``Drawing Together'' encourages individuals, families and communities to create art collectively and with a wide variety of media. In 2001, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Sonja a Challenge America Grant to present her workshops to four locations in Montezuma County. Eighty-one students, ages eight to sixty-two, participated. This summer a film drawn from one of her pioneering workshops with third grade Butterfly Dancers will be released at Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico. Since relocating to Montezuma County in 1993, Sonja has become a fixture of the Southwestern Colorado Art Community. She has been an artist in residence at Hovenweep National Monument and has received grants from Colorado Council of the Arts, the Utah Art Council, and the Mesa Verde Museum Association, among others. Internationally, she was invited to participate in the 53rd Conference on World Affairs in 2001, where she participated in panels connecting art to journalism, science, and politics. Sonja's art has also been a platform for activism in Colorado, as she represented the rural voice of Montezuma County at a conference in Denver focusing on critical statewide issues including economic development, tourism, and public health. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today and recognize Sonja Horoshko before this body of Congress and this nation. Sonja's career models the wide scope and influence of art in all its forms. Her workshops teach artistic expression to communities and individuals, both young and old, encouraging them to tell their own story in their own voice. It is my distinct honor to represent such a fine and creative American in this Congress and to know that there are individuals, like Sonja Horoshko, who constantly strive to create and appreciate beauty in our world.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand before you today to recognize Connie Buchner of Rocky Ford, Colorado for her decades of service to the United States Postal Service. Connie retired in January after a a thirty-four year career and, as she enjoys her retirement, I would like to highlight her accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation. In her thirty-four years with the postal service, Connie has overseen remarkable changes in technology, moving from labor-intensive mail processing to a largely automated workload. Connie also supervised increased security demands following the September 11, 2002 terrorist attacks. Connie began working for the postal service in 1970 as a letter carrier. She rose through the ranks to become Rocky Ford's postmaster, and also served as the Fowler postmaster for sixteen years. Connie has touched many lives in her long career, and the Rocky Ford community insisted on holding an open house reception to officially send her off into retirement.- Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Connie Buchner for her thirty-four years of outstanding service to her community. Post Offices are often the lynchpin of small communities, and Connie filled her position with the Postal Service with compassion and efficiency. I am thankful for her service.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Sue Jones of Pagosa Springs, Colorado for her outstanding service to the citizens of Pagosa Springs and the many student athletes of the Archuleta School District. For the last nineteen years, Sue has helped organize Pagosa Springs' Annual Blow-out charity softball tournament, and I would like to acknowledge her efforts before this body of Congress and this nation. For eleven years, Sue has been the tournament's director. Each year over thirty teams come from all over the four-corners region to participate in the tournament, generating thousands of dollars for the local economy, in addition to charity contributions. For the first ten years of the tournament, proceeds went to support the Spanish Fiesta Scholarship Fund, then for two years to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. For the last seven years proceeds have gone to local school athletic programs. Just over the past three years, Sue has raised enough money to allow the Pagosa Springs school athletic department to purchase baseballs, a radar gun, volleyballs, score clocks, weight room equipment, and wrestling shoes. She also contributed to a band competition trip to the Air Force Academy. During the school year, Sue donates countless hours to school athletic programs as a scorekeeper. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Sue Jones for her enduring commitment to the boys and girls of Pagosa Springs before this body of Congress and this nation. Sue recognizes the importance of athletic programs and competition in the development of well-rounded and conscientious young citizens. Her energy and service have provided students of the Archuleta School District invaluable support for their athletic dreams.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today in order to recognize Brian Brady of Grand Junction, Colorado. Brian is a gifted young man whose dedication and entrepreneurship are a credit to his community. Today, I would like to pay tribute to his efforts before this body of Congress and this nation. As an active member of the Grand Junction community, Brian serves on a variety of local boards and works with many organizations including three of the largest and most active organizations in Mesa County: the Rotary, United Way and the Mesa County Crime Stoppers. Brian's company, Brady MicroTech, creates and maintains websites and is currently the Webmaster of the Gene Taylor's Sporting Goods website, in charge of everything from the creation of their online catalogue, to taking the photos of the store and maintaining customer relations. Brian has a lot on his plate, especially for a young man who is currently a senior at Central High School in Grand Junction. A few years ago, Brian and few other young men, Ryan and Rob Cook, and Daniel Davis, approached a local radio station about a teen issues program. The radio station gave the boys an opportunity to broadcast their show, which became an amazing success. Currently, the show airs every Tuesday night from nine until ten o'clock and gives local teens a platform to discuss everything from local issues to the concerns on the mind of today's teenagers. Brian is a true asset to the people of the Grand Valley, not only for his work with teens, but also for his contribution to local organizations and businesses. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I recognize this capable and gifted young man before this body of Congress and this nation. His dedication to community service is a credit to Mesa County and the entire State of Colorado.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to recognize Dr. Edmund Vallejo of Pueblo, Colorado. Dr. Vallejo has been a dedicated teacher and mentor in the Pueblo community for nearly fifty years. He has made significant contributions as an author and citizen, and it is my honor to pay tribute to his accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation. Edmund grew up in an orphanage for boys in Denver and graduated from St. Mary's High School in Walsenburg, Colorado. After a year at Regis University, he joined the U.S. Navy and trained to be an aerial photographer. Edmund served the United States during the Korean War, and received a battle star for taking video footage of the fighting on Bunker Hill and Siberia Hill. After being discharged, Edmund went back to school, first at Adams State College, then at the University of Northern Colorado, ultimately receiving a Ph.D. in education from Kansas University in 1975. Edmund spent over thirty-six years in Pueblo School District No. 60 as a teacher, guidance counselor, principal and superintendent. After retiring in 1991, he has furthered his dedication to education by serving as a mentor and tutor to at-risk children in the district, and Edmund now serves as the volunteer coordinator for Communities In Schools of Pueblo, a volunteer mentoring and tutoring program. Edmund's other interests include both civic service and writing. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Pueblo, the Colorado Historical Society Board of Directors, the Rocky Mountain Council Boy Scouts of America Executive Board, the Pueblo School District No. 60 Educational Foundation, the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, and VFW Post 5812. He is a contributing author to educational and historical journals and has already published a compilation of Colorado photography. He is working on a photo book about his Korean War experiences. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Edmund Vallejo is a remarkable man with an extraordinary lifetime of achievements. He has served his nation, his community, and his students well, and I would like to extend to him my congratulations on a life lived with a passion and dedication to serving others. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to recognize the United Way of Pueblo County, Colorado. The United Way has been serving Pueblo County for eighty years, providing a central resource for donations to support an array of critical community services. It is my honor to commend the Pueblo United Way's long record of success before this body of Congress and this nation. The United Way organization came to Pueblo in 1923 when community leaders raised $105,000 by knocking on neighbors' doors. Though this effort went through many name changes, it always pursued the same mission: creating a central community fund to support community services. Today, the Pueblo County United Way is an autonomous organization that can focus its resources on the specialized needs of Pueblo County. It relies on hundreds of dedicated volunteers to raise money and keep administration costs low. Over the years, the UWPC has raised over $31 million with its fundraising campaigns for its nineteen partner agencies including the American Red Cross, Pueblo Community Health Center, Salvation Army, and the YWCA. Other United Way partner agencies focus on youth development, providing basic food and shelter, and addressing the problems of domestic abuse. In addition, Pueblo United Way administers an endowment gift from the El Pomar Foundation and FEMA funds from the federal government to assist in emergencies. Mr. Speaker, the United Way makes every dollar count for the citizens of Pueblo County. Thanks to the United Way, thousands of Coloradans have benefited from the generosity of their neighbors, and thousands more have known the joy of giving. It is my great pleasure to honor their eighty years of success here today. Congratulations, and may the United Way continue to serve Pueblo County long into the future!

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to rise today and recognize Glenn Randall, an outstanding young cross- country skier from Collbran, Colorado. Despite unlikely odds, Glenn won the right to compete in the Junior World Championships in February. His dedication to the sport, and his determination, is truly a credit to this young athlete. Glenn developed asthma at the age of three, but set his mind on racing with an inhaler. After competing in five- and ten-kilometer races, Glenn decided to enter the 30K United States Cross Country Championships. His parents, both avid cross-country skiers themselves, wondered whether their son could handle the exertion. Glenn, who is sixteen and a high school sophomore, placed twenty- first overall and second among juniors, earning him a place on the American team for the World Championships and making him the youngest member of the U.S. team. Unlike many elite skiers, Glenn still attends a public school, squeezing in training around school hours, while also participating in high school cross-country and track. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Glenn Randall for his dedication and hard work before this body of Congress and this nation. The determination of this young man to exceed all expectations and overcome all obstacles is an inspiration to his peers as well as his elders. Glenn, who has achieved so much at a young age, has great things ahead of him, and it is my distinct pleasure to wish him the best of luck.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today in order to recognize the Pink Ladies of Delta, Colorado. This group of women has been truly dedicated to serving their community through numerous volunteer efforts with the Delta County Memorial Hospital. I would like to pay tribute to their efforts before this body of Congress and this nation today. Over 65 strong, the ``Pink Ladies'' get their name from their distinctive pink jackets. Some work cleaning the whirlpool tubs used by rehabilitation patients, others greet people at the visitor's desk or in the cafeteria, and others knit baby caps for newborns. By donating more than 16,000 hours in the past year, the Pink Ladies have helped the hospital save more than $85,000. The ladies have also raised money to fund an annual scholarship for health care students, while also donating much-needed medical equipment. Helping those in need is truly admirable work, and these women have taken on this work with passion and fervor. It is very inspirational to see a group of people who work this much in order to help others in their community, and I feel lucky to have the ability to honor these women who have worked so selflessly for such a long time. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I recognize the Pink Ladies before this body of Congress and this nation for their dedication to their community hospital. Their volunteer efforts have truly been a wonderful benefit to not only the people of Delta County, but to the people of the State of Colorado as well.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Bob Bigelow of Pagosa Springs, Colorado for his outstanding service to the education of Colorado's youth. Bob has been involved as a volunteer in Pagosa Springs schools for eight years. Bob is a retired rancher and corporate CEO who volunteers five days a week at area schools. At the local elementary school, he offers small group attention to students who need it, and also works with sixth graders to improve math and reading skills. Outside the classroom, Bob serves as the Accountability Chair for his school district and volunteers as a ``big brother'' to several local youth. In honor of his service, the Pagosa Springs Area Chamber of Commerce has named Bob Citizen of the Year. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to recognize Bob Bigelow for his dedication and commitment to the children of Pagosa Springs. His energetic service has enriched their young lives beyond measurement, and I am honored to recognize his accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise before you today to honor the good people of the Grand River Hospital District of Rifle, Colorado. America's rural health facilities are in crisis and it is our duty to embrace them in these trying times. Fortunately, the success of the Grand River Hospital District offers other rural medical providers hope. It gives me great pleasure to recognize them before this Congress and this nation. The people of the Grand River Hospital District are devoted servants, dedicated to improving the delivery of quality, cost-effective health care in their community. Their hard work has paid off, and on May 12, they will open the doors to their brand-new 16.5 million dollar Grand River Medical Center. This expansion is an amazing accomplishment at a time when so many rural medical providers are struggling to stay open. Like all success, it has taken smart and dedicated people who have given much of themselves in the pursuit of excellence. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand before this body of Congress and this great nation to recognize the accomplishments of the Grand River Hospital District. They are a guiding light for all struggling medical providers in rural America. Their example offers hope, and I am grateful to them for their dedication and the quality service they provide for the people of my district.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to recognize ``Moon'' and Wanda Schneider of Montrose, Colorado. The Schneiders have been important members of their local community and the State of Colorado for many years, and I would like to pay tribute to their efforts before this body of Congress and this nation today. The Schneiders have been married for fifty-six years and are the parents of eight children. The couple began volunteering after Moon retired from the Agriculture Stabilization Conservation Service in 1978. Wanda had learned to play the piano, accordion and clarinet as a young girl in Canon City, so in 1983 the Schneiders started visiting nursing homes, where Wanda would play her keyboard and Moon would entertain the residents with his sharp sense of humor. When the new senior center opened in Montrose, the Schneiders put on their show once a week. Eight years ago, Wanda volunteered to serve as the senior center's program chairman. Since then, she and Moon have helped with a variety of activities, including producing four plays. Moon himself has starred in three of them, most recently portraying the colorful actress Carmen Miranda. Moon has also served on the board of directors for the Golden Circle for six years, and the couple still finds time to pack and deliver Meals on Wheels. Mr. Speaker, it is with pride that I recognize Moon and Wanda Schneider for the countless hours they have contributed to the welfare of seniors in Montrose, Colorado. They have been a great asset to the senior center and to the people of the nursing homes they serve. Their active involvement in their community is a credit to Montrose County and the entire State of Colorado.