Michael McNulty

Mr. McNULTY

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

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman is incorrect. I do not think we have the same situation because in prior wars a period of time went by after the last possible remains removeable realistically recoverable were found. We did not have the situation where we were being blocked from going to certain areas of the country to search for remains. We did not have a situation where three weeks prior to voting on normalizing relations, we found new American remains. I do not think the situation is the same at all.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez).

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, before I recognize my final speaker, I would ask the Speaker to outline the order in which the closing statements will take place.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I suggest that the order will be the reverse of what the Chair just outlined.

Mr. McNULTY. That is correct. The order of closing, then, will be the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), myself, and then the chairman?

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders).

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

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I thank Chuck Henley, Ron Cima, and Boyd Sponaugle of the Office of the Secretary of Defense for all of the latest information which they have supplied to me with regard to our MIAs. I am grateful to them and all of those who are helping to bring our MIAs home. Mr. Speaker, we heard a lot about priorities today. I try to keep my priorities straight. Part of that is remembering that had it not been for all of the men and women who wore the uniform of the United States military through the years, some of whom are present in this Chamber right now, I would not have the privilege of going around bragging, as I often do, about how we live in the freest and most open democracy on the face of the Earth. Freedom is not free. We have paid a tremendous price for it. That is why I try not to let a day go by without remembering with deepest gratitude all of those who, like my brother Bill and tens of thousands of others through the years, gave their lives in service to this country. And it's why I'm thankful for people like J. Leo O'Brien, whose funeral I attended yesterday. Leo was part of what we call ``the greatest generation''--those who served in World War II. Leo served, put his life on the line for all of us, for our families, and for all that we hold dear, and thankfully came home and rendered outstanding service in the community. He then raised a beautiful family to carry on in his fine tradition. That is what America is all about. Veterans are the reason why, when I get up in the morning, the first two things I do are to thank God for my life and then veterans for my way of life. And so, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all 1,442 Americans missing in action in Vietnam and their families, I support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, during this time of heightened military engagement, the benefits provided under this bill should go to our men and women in uniform without delay. The high price they are willing to pay is often overlooked during peacetime, but war quickly reminds us of their willingness to place their lives on the line for all that we hold dear. The families of these men and women deserve any help we can provide in making their lives a bit easier. This bill responds, as my colleague from New York pointed out, to two areas of need. It provides much-needed relief to members of our military through favorable tax treatment of death benefits paid on behalf of military personnel who die in the line of duty. In addition, the bill eases the burden currently experienced by certain military personnel with respect to the exclusion of gain on the sale of their principal residence. We all agree that the current death benefit of $3,000 is inadequate. This position was adopted earlier when the benefit was increased from $3,000 to $6,000 through the appropriations process. We must now ensure that our military men and women receive the full benefits as intended. Thus, under the bill the full amount of the death penalty payable, which is $6,000, would be excluded from income. The second provision of the bill would ensure that certain military personnel are not denied the benefits of excluding an amount of the gain realized upon the sale of a principal residence simply because of extended military assignments away from home. Current law provides an individual taxpayer an exclusion from tax of up to $250,000, or $500,000 if married and filing a joint return, of gains realized on the sale or exchange of a principal residence. To qualify, the taxpayer must have owned and used the residence as a principal residence for at least 2 of the 5 years prior to the sale or exchange. Many of our military personnel do not receive this benefit because they are stationed away from home for an extended tour of duty. Thus, they fail to meet the so-called 2 of the 5 preceding years rule. This bill would ensure that this benefit is not lost because of an extended tour of duty. Under the bill, military personnel would be permitted to exclude any time spent on an extended tour of duty for purposes of meeting the 2 of 5 preceding years rule. This provides the benefits which were intended when the law was enacted. I do not believe anyone in this body would argue that the Congress intended to deny this benefit to the men and women who faithfully serve in our Armed Forces. This provision brings about the fair and intended results. I join the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton) in strongly supporting this bill, H.R. 5063, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it as well. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I work very hard these days on trying to keep my priorities straight, and part of that is remembering that had it not been for all of the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States military through the years, I would not have the privilege as an American citizen of going around bragging, as I often do, about how we live in the freest and most open democracy on the face of the Earth. Freedom is not free. We have paid a tremendous price for it. I try not to let a day go by without remembering with deep gratitude all of those who, like my own brother, Bill, made the supreme sacrifice, and all of those who, like many members of this Chamber, served in our Armed Forces, came back home, continued to render outstanding service and raise beautiful families to carry on their fine traditions. Like many Members, I attended a number of events over the July 4th weekend. One of them was on Sunday, July 7th, with survivors of the Battle of Saipan. They recalled with great sorrow how 80 percent of the people that they served with at the time did not come home alive. But they survived. This was a very special group, Mr. Speaker, because they had never received the medals that they had earned 58 years before. Thankfully, one of the things that we could do, as Members of Congress, is to try to rectify that. On that day, I had the honor of pinning on their lapels literally dozens of those medals, including Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts, which they earned 58 years prior to the day, but had never received. People like Nick Grinaldo and Joe Mariano, Adam Weasack, Ralph Colangione, Frank Pusatere, and Sammy DiNova; and people like the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Johnson), who just left this Chamber, who served our country, was a prisoner of war, who endured torture on our behalf. These are the reasons why, when I get up in the morning, my priorities, Mr. Speaker, are to thank God for my life and veterans for my way of life. Beyond winning the two great World Wars of this century, think of what their service and their vigilance has meant just in the past decade or so: the democratization of all of Eastern Europe. And I can remember, as those Communist countries were falling in 1989, Erich Honecker, then the leader of Germany, standing up before the world and making the pronouncement, ``This is where it stops. It shall not happen here,'' meaning the democracy movement. Three weeks later he was no longer the leader of East Germany, replaced by Egon Krenz, who decided to adopt what he called the interpretation as, ``the moderate hard line,'' meaning he was going to try to preserve the Communist system and just appease the democratic movement. And he was quickly dispatched, and we know the rest of the story. What a great thrill it was for me in the following spring, in the spring of 1990, to travel and visit our troops in Germany. They flew me into Berlin and they took me to the Berlin Wall, as the people were out there with their hammers and chisels, tearing down the wall piece by piece. Our soldiers made that happen. I got a hammer and chisel, and I went out there and I banged away at the wall myself, and I brought back some of those pieces of wall and gave them to veterans and thanked them for what they had done for the people of that region and for every citizen of the Free World. And the year after that, the breakup of the Soviet Union into 15 individual democratic republics, who would have predicted that even a short time prior? I thank this body for sending me over to one of those republics when they were having their independence referendum in Armenia. I went over with three of my other colleagues and watched in awe as 99.5 percent of the people over the age of 18 in that country went out and voted, a privilege none of them had experienced before in their lives. I watched them stand in line for hours for the privilege of the right to vote. Then it was a beautiful scene, because when they finished voting, they did not go home. They had little banquets in every little polling place to celebrate their independence. What a great thrill it was for me as a Representative of the United States Congress to be there with them the next day in the streets of Yeravan, their capital, as they danced and sang and shouted (Armenian phrase), long live free and independent Armenia, and then pointed to the United States of America as their example of what they wanted to be as a democracy. At that moment, I was never more proud to be an American. But I remembered why I had that feeling: the men and women who put on the uniform of the United States military through the years and put their lives on the line for me, for my family, and every citizen of this country. This bill today, Mr. Speaker, is peanuts; it is small-time stuff; it is a couple of minor tax breaks. But we should enact it and build on it and remember why we have the great privileges we have in this country: the men and women of our Armed Forces. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, while the other countries of the industrialized world continue to support passenger rail services with `High Speed' and `Bullet' trains, the current Administration continues to nickel and dime Amtrak. Last fall, this Administration and this Congress came to the rescue of our airline industry to the tune of $15 billion. But when Amtrak asks for little more than I percent of that to cover its short term operating costs, the President hesitates. This Administration is proposing retroactive repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), sending $25 billion in rebate checks to the richest corporations in the world. The rebate check to IBM alone would be $1.4 billion. That one check would keep the trains moving in America for all of next year. Mr. Speaker, this is a disgrace! The Administration should immediately release the funds necessary to keep Amtrak in service.

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, 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, Monday, June 10th is the 22nd Anniversary of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School in my congressional district in Albany, New York. This year's recipient of the Dr. Morton Berger Memorial Award is Mrs. Hope Goldman Berger Nathan. On Monday, the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District, an exemplary pre-K through 12 educational institution affiliated with Torah Umesorah National Association of Hebrew Day Schools, will hold its Annual Scholarship Dinner marking 22 years of outstanding Orthodox Jewish education with outstanding secular education for Jewish youth of the Capital Region. The School is named after Moses Maimonides, a sage rabbi, teacher, and physician who created the first comprehensive code of Jewish law-- and serves a role model for excellence. In this age of unprecedented challenges, especially in the wake of the catastrophic attacks upon our nation on September 11, 2001, our young people need the optimal moral, religious, and secular education to prepare them for a challenging future. As part of the Maimonides Dinner, Hope Goldman Berger Nathan will be presented with the Doctor Morton Berger Memorial Award. This award was established in loving memory of her husband, Doctor Berger (of blessed memory), in recognition of his outstanding leadership on behalf of Jewish education and Jewish communal life in the Capital Region and New York State, until his untimely death as a crime victim of a drunk driver. Since arriving in Albany with Doctor Berger over 42 years ago, Hope Goldman Berger Nathan has raised three wonderful children, Linda, Howard and Allen--who themselves have excelled in Jewish and secular education and community service. Mrs. Nathan has rendered invaluable service to Jewish education and communal life including but not limited to Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District, The Hebrew Academy of the Capital District, the ``Vaad Hakashruth'' (Board of Kosher dietary laws), Congregation Shomray Torah, Congregation Beth Abraham Jacob, Temple Israel and its Camp Givah, and Congregation Beth Emeth. Mrs. Hope Goldman Berger Nathan, with her beloved husband, Tom Nathan, continues to play an active role in community service. I also proudly extend my highest regard to Maimonides School President Yisroel Bindell, the School's Rosh Yeshiva, the esteemed Rabbi Israel Rubin, and all of the administrators, staff, teachers and students, and offer them my best wishes for continued success.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, as we approach Memorial Day, I would like to take this opportunity to clear the air regarding an unwarranted blemish cast upon a unit of the New York National Guard--a unit that enjoys an otherwise illustrious history dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War. For 56 years, the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division, a unit of the New York National Guard, has carried this black mark--as a result of a thoughtless outburst with little basis in fact--by the Marine General commanding the Saipan Invasion in 1944. This situation was further compounded when Time Magazine published the General's remarks without seeking to corroborate their veracity. In July 1944, the 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Army General Ralph Corbett Smith, was ordered to relieve a division of Marines engaged in fierce fighting on the mountainous island of Saipan in the western Pacific. The combined force of National Guardsmen and Marines would be led by the top-ranking ground officer on Saipan, commanding the Fifth Amphibious Corps, Marine Lt. Gen. Holland M. ``Howlin' Mad'' Smith. This proved to be a questionable decision. The dissimilar training of the Army and Marine Corps units did not prepare them to achieve the expectations of Lt. Gen. Smith and he overreacted. Marine Lt. Gen. Holland Smith relieved Army Gen. Ralph Smith of his command when Lt. Gen. Smith mistakenly charged that Gen. Ralph Smith was incapable of motivating his troops in battle that he said resulted in losses to the Marines. Officers are relieved in wars for various reasons, and the matter usually remains private within the military. The Smith versus Smith controversy, however, spread from the remote island in the Pacific all the way to the American media and the Pentagon. Army generals in the Pacific angrily accused Lt. Gen. Holland Smith of bias. While the Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, did not believe Lt. Gen. Holland Smith's allegations, he ordered that no public response be made--in an effort to preserve interservice cooperation. In fact, Marshall was eventually able to smooth things over with his naval counterpart. Gen. Ralph Smith, for his part, was later exonerated by an Army board of inquiry and enjoyed a successful military and diplomatic career. At the time, however, the American press was quick to choose sides, and Time-Life allied with the Marines. Time Magazine printed an article that maligned the heroism and credibility of the 27th Infantry Division. Marine recruits were told that the Army ``wouldn't fight'' on Saipan. Lt. Gen. Holland Smith's version of events was repeated without question in numerous histories and memoirs. Following a complete investigation, the Lt. General's superior, Admiral Chester Nimitz, announced in an official memorandum that the 27th Division had been harshly treated and much maligned. Admiral Nimitz concluded that there was a definite need to remove the stigma attached to the division, by the Navy Department in Washington, by publicly stating their ``continued confidence in the courage and battle efficiency of the 27th Division.'' At the conclusion of his extensively researched book on the Saipan battle, published in 1986, historian Harry A. Gailey noted that ``the slurs cast upon the officers and the men of the 27th Division then and later by [General] H.M. Smith in his articles and books were totally unwarranted and unconscionable. Those who gave a part of themselves to gain victory in the conquest of this important island bastion deserved better--from their commander and their nation.'' As more and more of the brave veterans who placed themselves in harm's way for America pass to their final resting places, it is not only appropriate but incumbent on us to correct any miscarriage of judgment and restore any lack of recognition which they, the men of the 27th, truly have earned and deserve. Mr. Speaker, let us, here, in this chamber, take a necessary first step and salute those veterans of the 27th Infantry Division--three of whom were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor: Capt. Benjamin Salomon and Troy, New York, natives Col. William O'Brien and Sgt. Thomas Baker--in the glorious spirit that has characterized so many in our military, who did what was asked of them with courage and determination, without regard for their own safety, and asking for no special reward but the thanks of their citizens. Mr. Speaker, had it not been for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States military through the years, we would not have the privilege of bragging about how we live in the freest and most open democracy on the face of the earth. Freedom is not free. We have paid a tremendous price for it, and I try not to let a day go by without remembering with deep gratitude all of those who, like my brother, Bill, made the supreme sacrifice; and all of those who served and were willing to put their lives on the line--as servicemen and women are doing right now--for all that we hold dear. That is why when I get up in the morning, the first two things I do are to thank God for my life and veterans for my way of life. Today, Mr. Speaker, and this Memorial Day, I am proud to say ``Thank You'' to the veterans of the 27th Infantry Division.

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

Mr. McNULTY

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