John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 3661) to amend section 29 of the International Air Transportation Competition Act of 1979 relating to air transportation to and from Love Field, Texas.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on S. 3661.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3661, which is known as the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006. This bill passed the Senate just a few hours ago by unanimous consent. This legislation is exactly identical to H.R. 6228 which was introduced by the House Transportation and Infrastructure chairman, the Honorable Don Young, and ranking member, the Honorable James Oberstar, and by several Members of the Texas delegation, including Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson, Kenny Marchant, Kay Granger, Joe Barton, Mike Burgess, Chet Edwards, Ralph Hall, Sam Johnson and also Pete Sessions. First, I want to commend my colleagues from the Texas delegation for working together to help foster this amendment that is the basis for this legislation. This legislation, Senate bill 3661, would implement a locally initiated and locally approved agreement that seeks to change and eventually eliminate what has been commonly known as the Wright amendment which, in fact, has restricted commercial air passenger service out of Dallas Love Field for over three decades. This is an anticompetitive law, and it has resulted in higher air fares and fewer service options for consumers for some decades now. It seems that the only beneficiary of the Wright amendment has been the small army of lawyers hired by the affected cities and airlines to litigate almost every aspect of this poorly conceived law. Earlier this year, members of the congressional delegation, along with the mayors, the airlines and others came together and reached a consensus agreement on July 11, 2006. This bill crafts a number of important provisions that will open service again and some of the wrong restrictions imposed by the Wright amendment. Mr. Speaker, I would like to see the Wright amendment repealed immediately. However, in my opinion, this is our best option. The political reality is that without this legislation, the 35-year- old ``Cold War'' waged by the affected cities, airlines and communities will continue indefinitely. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time the gentleman has remaining and also how much time I have remaining?

Mr. MICA. I am pleased at this time to yield to one of the most distinguished Members, not only of the Texas delegation but of the entire Congress, a real hero, Sam Johnson, for 2 minutes.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield to the distinguished Chair of the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a gentleman who has helped craft this historic agreement and codify it today, Mr. Young.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I have one additional speaker at this time, another great Texan, a wonderful representative from the State, Mr. Sessions. I yield to him 1 minute. (Mr. SESSIONS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), who is also Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 10 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas, and I ask unanimous consent that she be able to control those 10 minutes.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), one of the prime crafters and initiators of this compromise agreement.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to honor the grandparent- and other relative-headed households who have sacrificed to care for our Nation's children when the parents are unable to. Across the country there are more than 6 million minors living in grandparent- or other relative-headed households. Regardless of the reason children enter relative care--death of a parent, neglect, abuse, military deployment or poverty--it is never the fault of the child. I commend grandparents and other relatives who step forward to care for these children, keeping the children out of foster care while providing safe and stable homes, often at great personal sacrifice. Supportive programs like subsidized guardianship help children exit foster care into the permanent care of nurturing relatives. In my state of Florida, 9 percent of the children live with non- parent relatives. Grandparents and other relative caregivers are often the best chance for a loving and stable childhood for the children in their care, but their hard work and dedication often go unnoticed. Mr. Speaker, today I offer my formal acknowledgment and deepest appreciation for the ongoing service of these caregivers to our country and our Nation's most valuable asset, our children. I ask all Members of the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing these everyday heroes.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Ehlers for yielding me this time, and I thank him for bringing out a bill that is both a reasonable bill, a bill that looks out for the interests of the poor and those that could be deprived of the right to vote. I have the greatest respect for the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis). He is a hero among heroes, and I am here to tell you if this bill in any way infringed on anyone's ability to vote or discriminated on any basis of allowing them to have access to the polls, I would not support it. But what we have in this legislation which has been so ably crafted is legislation by a bipartisan commission, 21 members led by two very distinguished individuals, the gentleman from Georgia, the former President Carter, and the gentleman from Texas, former Secretary of State Jim Baker, a 21-member commission, and by a vote of 18-21, only three dissenters, they asked for and recommend this for protection of the ballot. Now we have been discussing here, day after day, border security. And we want our borders safe. This issue is what Americans want. They want safe borders and they want safe ballots. I come from the State of Florida where we had the question of who voted. This gives us protection because it asks for minimal identification. So it is a good recommendation and it is a recommendation because we don't want 50 States and some States with different levels of requirements. We have a national standard, and that is what was recommended by the commission to ensure that we have a safe and secure ballot, ensure that we not only are protecting our borders but we are protecting our ballots. In Florida you can have a requirement for identification to buy a six-pack or a pack of cigarettes. The very least we can ask is for someone who is going to cast a ballot that is so precious in our democratic process to show some identification, and I think this is a good measure. I urge its passage.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on House Resolution 980.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this resolution today that is being introduced by my good friend and colleague from Kentucky (Mr. Chandler). This resolution, H. Res. 980, expresses condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the August 27, 2006, aircraft accident of Flight 5191, which took place in Lexington, Kentucky. There were 50 people on board Flight 5191, including passengers and crew, with one individual surviving the crash, Copilot James Polehinke, who is currently recovering, and we wish him Godspeed in his recovery. Mr. Speaker, I want to say that my heartfelt sympathy goes out to the victims and to each and every one of their families, friends, and loved ones. Losing a loved one is always very tragic, but I think it is compounded when such a loss is the result of an unfortunate and unforeseen situation. I am hopeful that this resolution will in some small way help to comfort the families and friends of all those who lost their lives on Flight 5191. Mr. Speaker, as Chair of the House Aviation Subcommittee, I want to assure the traveling public and my colleagues that the National Transportation Safety Board is now and will continue to thoroughly investigate every aspect of this accident. Any presumption on the cause or causes of this accident at this stage are purely speculative, and at this time I think it should be definitely left to the professional investigative abilities of the NTSB. It is their responsibility in fact to determine the circumstances and cause, and they will report back to Congress. I can also assure the families, the public, and Members of Congress that those charged with the investigation of this tragedy will not rest until the cause of this aviation crash has been finally determined. While even the loss of one life in an aviation accident is unacceptable, the public should know, Members of Congress should know, and those who travel should know that our commercial airlines today are both safe and also reliable. Since 2001, more than 4 billion passengers have flown safely on U.S. commercial airliners with the lowest fatality accident rate in history. Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that on a typical weekday, just one day like today, there are an average of some 33,000 commercial airline takeoffs and landings at airports of general aviation across the country, and almost all of them, again with large commercial aircraft since November 12, 2001, have done so safely. Despite this amazing safety record, I wish we all lived in a world where we could eliminate all accidents and all risks. While I do not believe that we can do that, I do sincerely believe that we can continue to work together to do everything humanly possible to avoid these types of accidents in the future. Again, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims on board Flight 5191, also to Mr. Chandler, a good friend and distinguished colleague from Kentucky, and his constituents. He told me he lost a number of personal friends and a large number of constituents in this unfortunate aviation tragedy. Again, my condolences to all affected. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to extend my condolences to all the family, friends and loved ones of those who lost their loved ones on Flight 5191 in Lexington, Kentucky. I also want to express my condolences to Mr. Chandler. Mr. Chandler is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I particularly want to again thank him for the way he has handled himself in this matter. Mr. Chandler has been a spokesperson for those who have lost their loved ones in this tragedy. He has also yielded to appropriate manners of resolution to determine what caused this crash, and I appreciate his leadership on the committee and on this issue. It is critical that we do find the cause of aviation crashes and incidents and that we take preventative measures, and that is something that has been very much my intention as chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee. In fact, we have changed some procedures to accomplish that goal. One of the provisions of the law that we changed now requires NTSB to continue corrective measures. In the past the NTSB would investigate these accidents. A recommendation would be made, findings would be made, but they just sort of stayed on the shelf. That is no longer the case. Today recommendations from these accidents are not left on the shelf, where causes and risks would not be addressed. Recommendations now must be followed through and brought back to the Congress and measures taken to correct any of the errors or institute appropriate remedies that are recommended by the NTSB. Again, I am pleased that Mr. Chandler comes before the House today to remember those lost in this incident and that he has also been supportive of having the NTSB thoroughly investigate this crash. We give assurances to the loved ones and others that due course and due process will be followed and a full review and determination of the cause of this horrible aviation accident and tragedy will be made so that we will know how to prevent similar accidents in the future, and we will be able to correct these deficiencies. Again, to Mr. Chandler, to all those who suffered loss, we extend our condolences, and I ask the House to concur in adoption of House Resolution 980, sponsored by the gentleman.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 980) expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of Comair Flight 5191, and for other purposes.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to Lieutenant Jessica Hill, who perished on August 17th in the line of duty for our country. Lt. Hill was proud to serve in the United States Coast Guard, and she earned the respect and admiration of many. She joined the Coast Guard in October, 2001 after earning a Master's Degree, and was stationed at MSO San Francisco where she decided to become a Coast Guard Dive Officer. After successfully completing dive school, Lt. Hill was assigned to the Cutter Healy, one of the Coast Guard's three polar ice cutters, as a marine science and dive officer. With her positive attitude, easy laugh and constant smile, she also served as Morale Officer for the crew of that vessel. Lieutenant Jessica Hill's ambition, training and passion served to inspire her entire unit, her shipmates, her family and many outside the Coast Guard. She has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and was regarded as a good Coastie, a woman of honor and a patriot. We should all remember Jessica's life, courage and ultimate sacrifice in service for our Nation. A native of St. Augustine, Jessica was a loving daughter to Mr. William Hill and Mrs. Dawn Zimmerman, and sister to Mrs. Adrienne Gullet. To all of Jessica's family, we know she will be dearly missed and we extend our deepest sympathy. Mr. Speaker, because of Lieutenant Jessica Hill's sacrifice for our country, I ask all Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in recognizing her service in our Nation's Coast Guard and remembering both her life and her dedication to the United States of America.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 921 and specifically in support of Israel's right to defend itself against the murderous actions of Hamas and Hezbollah. The terrorist attacks on Israel and India and the recent July 4th, 2006 ballistic missile launch by North Korea are stern reminders that the United States and world must remain vigilant against radical extremism. It is not enough that America and her allies guard against weapons of mass destruction, but we must also remain prepared to deal with acts of human destruction. Terrorist acts on any sovereign state can not and must not be tolerated. I am pleased that the House of Representatives and our President has remained firm in support of the people of Israel. While I am hopeful that a stable peace in the Middle East will be established, no arbitrary time limit should be placed on Israel's actions to defend itself. Neither should a time line be imposed on bringing to justice those who commit unjust acts.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, on July 14-16, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors will commence the Sixth District Convention in St. Augustine, Florida to remember those who served at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We welcome participants to Florida's Seventh Congressional District and wish them well as they gather in America's oldest city. It is my privilege to honor the valor and sacrifice of those Pearl Harbor veterans from the State of Florida who recently passed away: Allfrey, Lesley F.; Altner, Louis I.; Belisle, Frank E.; Benning, Bernard F.; Bernhard, Stephen W.; Brown, Melvin W.; Capra, Everest W.; Cardonell, Robert R.; Childers, James F.; Chilton, Harry C.; Chrastina, William; Cohen, Leon; Cook, Harold F. (Sarge); DeStwolinska, Adelbert; Forbis, Colbert F.; Freeman, Albert H.; Grabowski, Edward S.; Haas, Frank; Hallsman, Eldred E.; Hartley, Charles W.; Henner, Joseph E.; Henry, Robert; Hiedeman, Henry R.; Hull, Burton W.; Kearns, Joseph F.; Kennedy, Earl; Krakowski, Joseph H.; Lightkep, George R.; Loun, Jasper J., Jr.; Martin, Curtis C.; McClintock, Robert, Jr.; Miller, Howard C.; Payne, Donald; Restiva, Anthony Bilano; Rhodes, Clarence G.; Savage, Norman F.; Schnurman, John D.; Smart, Raymond; Smith, Billie J.; Spradley, Lester L.; Stephenson, Joseph, Jr.; Ulrich, Jack; Whetstone, Amos C.; Williams, Wallace R.; Wilson, George; Wright, Ralph; Young, Edward F., Jr.; and Zelenock, John P. I know I join all those in attendance at the convention and countless Americans who continue to recognize their heroism and their families incredible sacrifice to our Nation.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, this August, The International Civil Aviation Organization will bid farewell to Dr. Assad Kotaite, who has served as its Council President for past 30 years. The International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, is the United Nations agency responsible for setting the international standards of safety, efficiency and security for civil aviation. Created in 1944 by 52 nations, its member States now total 189, all rallying behind one mission--ensuring the highest possible degree of safety and efficiency. For the last three decades, one man has lead ICAO to unprecedented breakthroughs in aviation safety, Dr. Assad Kotaite. After 53 years of service to aviation, he is retiring from ICAO. Dr. Kotaite and his wife, Monique, are in Washington, DC, this week. He is being honored by the community that has benefited from his expertise--the Departments of State and Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, as well as the aviation industry. Dr. Kotaite has earned immeasurable respect during his years at ICAO--first as Lebanon's representative on the Legal Committee, then as Secretary General, and for the last 30 years, President of the ICAO Council. During this time, he has successfully dealt with a variety of challenges, both political and technical. Time after time, he brought people together and negotiated a consensus on the most difficult questions debated in the ICAO Council. His work can be found on some of ICAO's most pressing issues, including a multilateral agreement that yielded the North Pacific route system, the agreement on FIR boundaries in the Black Sea area, resolution of problems associated with the Dakar oceanic FIR and a compromise on transit problems between Cuba and the United States. Dr. Kotaite was once asked what it was like to bring the divide between groups that didn't see eye to eye. He said: Indeed, over the years, I have learned that the real secret in any negotiation is to first identify an area of common ground, no matter how small, and then to build upon it. It may not be the ideal solution, but at least it is workable and acceptable to all. Moreover, in international affairs, I firmly believe that one should avoid confrontation at all costs. It is essential that one listens to all parties and takes into consideration their point of view. Perhaps his greatest legacy will be safety. Dr. Kotaite presided over the birth of the ICAO safety oversight program. Not content there, he then supported and encouraged the expansion of the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme to include all safety related annex provisions. And finally, at a recent meeting of the Directors General of Civil Aviation held in March of 2006, he worked behind the scenes to gain acceptance of the public availability of the findings of the safety audit--all within a ten year period--equivalent to the speed of light in international relations. The traveling public owes a great debt of gratitude to this international civil servant for his dedication to aviation. I am pleased to recognize Dr. Kotaite for his accomplishments and contribution to aviation and I congratulate him on his distinguished career.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time. For 5 years in the Senate, I was a staffer under Senator Hawkins, who chaired the Drug Policy Committee on the Senate side. I have served most of my time in the House on the Criminal Justice Drug Policy Subcommittee or one of its predecessors. I chaired Criminal Justice Drug Policy. I point that out to tell you, in the nearly two decades, I have never heard one credible source that said that there is a need for medical prescription and use of marijuana, not one credible source through dozens and dozens of hearings. In fact, we have heard the other side say, let the doctor decide, and in fact, the experts, and there is no bigger association than the American Medical Association of doctors. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has opposed this. The American Glaucoma Society has opposed it. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Cancer Society have all opposed this type of use. Millions of dollars have been spent in an effort to try to push this agenda, and we know Mr. Soros has spent millions. In 1979, Keith Stroup, the NORML founder, announced that NORML would be using the issue of medical marijuana as a red herring, not my term, red herring to give marijuana a good name. You have heard the testimony. In over half the instances of use of cocaine and marijuana, the gateway drug that is used, in fact, is marijuana. So this is a gateway opportunity to use and encourage the use of marijuana. In fact, early marijuana users are eight times more likely to use cocaine and 15 times more likely to use heroin and five times more likely to develop a need for treatment. That is according to our Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Thank you. Again, I am pleased, I appreciate the cooperation and want to make certain that hopefully this amendment corrects an unfair situation, unfair competition. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is a Buy America amendment. I usually don't offer these. I believe in free and open competition. But I am pleased that the committee is going to entertain this amendment. Just for the record, I want to enter into the record why I am here and why I think this is necessary. For the record, the Department of Commerce has awarded for nearly two decades a contract which promotes United States products and goods overseas in European trade fairs to a Dutch firm. Now, this has gone on for some two decades. Several years ago, I was contacted by a U.S. firm that was interested in competing back in 2004. They contacted me and said they wanted to compete, and there were problems in entering. NOAA handles the contracting and solicitation for, again, for this civilian business and awards the contract. They issued a solicitation. When I was contacted, this firm said, all we want to do is compete. This Dutch firm has had this for two decades. They made some moves toward considering others, but then they gave the contract to the European Dutch firm and excluded the U.S. They just continued the contract. I told the American firm, well, maybe next year, we will try it again, a little late, see if you can't get fair competition. Then they opened it again this past year, and in fact, they put out a request for proposal. The American firm was allowed to compete, and then once this process and submissions had started, they ended the competition; they changed the rules. They changed the rules to favor the European firm, the Dutch firm, which has had the contract for 20 years. Now, I think all that should be fair is that an American firm also gets the opportunity, and this is to put on an exposition of United States goods sponsored by the Department of Commerce and the U.S. taxpayers. All I want is a fair shot for Americans to compete in putting on exhibitions and compete in a fair and open manner. That is the purpose of this, and I want that as part of the record. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding and also for your cooperation in allowing this amendment. I have two other amendments with much larger amounts that I wanted to shift into our United States Foreign Commercial Service and Trade Development Agency, but I am not going to offer those amendments. I have agreed to a smaller amount, some $5 million, which would come from the State Department's public diplomacy programs over at the State Department, again to promote United States business interests in international trade and through that administration in the Department of Commerce. Yesterday, I think from the other side of the aisle, we took some $25 million from State and moved it into Legal Services. I can stand before you today, my colleagues, and say that probably nothing we do in this bill, as far as the Department of Commerce and our efforts to promote international trade and U.S. business and selling U.S. products abroad and creating jobs in the United States, is more important than this small shift of funds. Today, we have a $724 billion trade deficit, and adding some $5 million to bolster our efforts and give us the tools and the resources we need to compete in these international markets and sell U.S. products abroad is so important. So that is what this amendment does. And let me just commend Mr. Wolf, his staff, and the minority staff for the difficult task they have in moving these funds around in these very important projects. But this is a priority for me, it is a priority, I believe, for our Nation, and it is a priority for creating jobs and selling our products abroad.