Michael McNulty

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time, and I thank all of the sponsors of this bill, especially the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) and our colleagues from the State of Washington, but it is sad indeed that so soon after the New York tragedy we are back here again memorializing firefighters who died in the line of duty. What the previous speaker said certainly is correct, that Tom and Devin and Jessica and Karen will go down in history as heroes, along with the Worcester Six and the New York Four. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the members of their families. But I will reinforce what I said when we memorialized the New York Four and that is that we should take to heart the words of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon). If the Members of this House and the Members of this Congress really want to do something for firefighters, we can pass that comprehensive grant program for fire departments all across this country. We had a program for cops, we had a program for teachers, we should have a program for firefighters. Let us get our priorities straight. They are putting their lives on the line for us every single day. Of course, as citizens, we can do something, too. Instead of just extending our thoughts and prayers to families when they have lost their loved ones, we can go around and thank the firefighters who are serving us this day and every day. I suggest to my fellow citizens that the next time they are taking a stroll in their neighborhood, stop by the local firehouse, walk in and say hello, shake somebody's hand and let them know that we are grateful for the fact that they are willing to put their lives on the line 365 days a year to protect our lives and our property. So I thank all of the sponsors of this resolution; and I especially thank the four fallen heroes, Tom, Devin, Jessica, and Karen, and express my thoughts and extend my prayer prayers to all of the members of their families.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with my colleagues today in saluting and paying tribute to John Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford and expressing our condolences to their families. What happened on Father's Day this year is a very sad reminder of what happens all too often in this country. It reminded me specifically of that sad day a couple of years ago when we lost six of our firefighters in that tragic fire in Worcester, Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have spent a lot of time with firefighters during the course of my career. I had the tremendous honor of serving as the mayor of my hometown, as my father did before me and as he does to this very day at the age of 90. In the course of our careers, we had the opportunity to work with a great many outstanding firefighters. Today I spend some of my leisure time with my firefighter friends at Engine 1 in Troy, New York, named for the late Harry Dahl, who gave 44 years of his life in the fire service in the city of Troy, New York. I have seen firsthand the dangers that firefighters face every single day of their lives. Also a few years back, from the neighboring city of Watervilet, responding to a mutual alarm in Troy, New York, our fire chief, Tommy McCormack, lost his life in the line of duty. Mr. Speaker, nothing can bring back John or Brian or Harry, but I suggest that there is something that we can do. We can express our gratitude to all of the firefighters who are serving us today. And so today I suggest to all of those who are within the sound of my voice, what I did on the day of the burial of those six heroes in Worcester, the next time when taking a stroll in the neighborhood when walking past a fire house, stop by, say hello and say thank you to the firefighters. Look them in the eye and say thank you for putting their lives on the line for us and our families 365 days a year.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Ohio for yielding me the time. I rise in support of the rule and the Sudan Peace Act. But I submit, Mr. Speaker, that this is not enough. I traveled to Sudan in the year 1989 with our late colleague Mickey Leland, with our late colleague Bill Emerson, and with Gary Ackerman. I saw firsthand the human devastation in that country. And here we are in the year 2001 witnessing the same civil war, the same devastation and basically the same participants. Sadeq al-Mahdi was in charge in Khartoum when we were there, but he was replaced later that year by Lieutenant Colonel Bashir, who is still in power. John Garang was then and is now the leader of the SPLA. We traveled after we left Khartoum to the south to Muglad and Waw, a couple of the camps down there. I cannot describe to you the feeling of looking out at a crowd of thousands and thousands of people who are not sure where their next meal is going to come from. One of the NGO officials at the time said, ``Congressman, would you like to see our hospital?'' I became encouraged for a moment. I was going to see a medical facility. They took me to their medical facility, which was a great big tent. It was large, and it was air-conditioned, just to keep people alive, but the medical facility was primitive at best. It became clear to me why it was so difficult to get medical personnel from the continent and elsewhere in the world to donate their time and to go there. The NGO officials explained to me that initially they had an outpouring of support from volunteer medical personnel from around the world but once they got there, the situation was so primitive as far as what they had to work with that they would get discouraged and leave. Now, I am suggesting, Mr. Speaker, that we do something more than just have the Sudan Peace Act. I think that the United States role has to be much more, and I am not talking about military intervention, but we have become involved in negotiation for peace in many other areas of the world where there is much less human devastation. We became heavily involved in the situation in Ireland, and especially because of my heritage I am very happy that we did that, and we made significant progress with the Good Friday Accords. We are not where we want to be but we are making progress. That is because the President of the United States got directly involved and got people together and we made significant progress. We have been doing that for years in the Middle East. We are not where we want to be in the Middle East, but we have made significant progress, most notably starting with the Camp David Accords back during the Carter administration and we have moved step by step. We are much better off today than we were a generation ago, but we have a lot of work to do. Bosnia. We keep going down the list. We got directly involved. Why is Africa the forgotten continent when there is so much more human devastation there? Compare it, for example, to the situation in Ireland, which I feel very deeply about. From the time that the current trouble started in 1969, 3,000 innocent people have died. That bothers me a lot. But in this one nation on the forgotten continent of Africa, in a shorter period of time, less than two decades, 2 million people have died. Two million innocent men, women and children have died. The year before Mickey led that delegation in 1989, 280,000 people starved to death in that one country in that one year. Why is this the forgotten continent? Why can we not become more directly involved? Members might ask me, what am I suggesting? I am suggesting that the President of the United States make this a priority. When I say that, I am not directing anything at the current President. He just started his term, so this is a new suggestion to him. Other Presidents, Democratic and Republican before, have not done that. I am suggesting that he do that and focus on this international issue, get Bashir and Garang to the negotiating table, get a cease- fire, and I think if we have the leadership of the President of the United States, the leader of this country and the leader of the free world, we can get the international attention that we need to stop the human devastation in Sudan.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

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