Jim Moran

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, over the past four years, our troops in Iraq have been supplanted by another army of equal size--the contracting force. There are as many private contractors in Iraq as U.S. soldiers on the ground. Outsourcing our military is cause for concern in and of itself. But the recent uncovering of indiscriminate hostility toward Iraqi civilians and unprovoked killings by security contractors in Iraq is a sirens warning that demands immediate attention. Blackwater--a company that has reaped over $110 million since January 2006 in U.S. contracts--offers the most egregious example of what is wrong with our occupation of Iraq. Last week, Blackwater security protecting State Department officials, opened fire in a Baghdad neighborhood. In what appears to be an unprovoked incident, Blackwater guards killed at least 11 innocent Iraqi civilians and wounded 12 others. But because of a decree delivered in 2004 by former Ambassador Paul Bremer--on his last day on the job--these contractors are granted immunity from Iraqi law and will likely face no charges at home. The lack of accountability is anathema to our fundamental principle of justice and exemplifies why the occupation of Iraq is a failure. Congress must not be silent less we become complicit in these acts. The longer we stay in Iraq under the terms of the current occupation the more these incidents which undermine our international credibility will occur.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a distinguished individual who will take command as the 100th Garrison Commander of the Fort Meyer Military Community. Colonel Laura Richardson assumed command of Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia and Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC on July 24, 2007. Colonel Richardson is the first female Garrison Commander in the history of the two installations. Colonel Richardson grew up in Colorado and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant Aviation Officer upon graduation from Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado. Colonel Richardson's military education includes the Aviation Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Army Rotary Wing Course, UH-60 Blackhawk Course, Air Assault School, Airborne School, United States Army Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Among her many accomplishments, Colonel Richardson served in Washington, DC as Military Aide to Vice President Al Gore. Later, she served as Commander of the 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Following battalion command, Colonel Richardson was assigned to the Army Staff and served as deputy director and director of the Army's Transformation Office. Following the Pentagon tour, she was assigned to the Industrial College of Armed Forces at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC. Colonel Richardson's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal (seven), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Humanitarian Service Medal, Meritorious Unit Citation, Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Senior Army Aviator Badge. Madam Speaker, I commend Colonel Richardson for her well-deserved, historic achievement. I am truly honored to have her as a constituent and wish her all the best as she commands the Fort Meyer military community.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. Truly, we face a health care crisis in this country--in the richest country on Earth, 46 million Americans do not have health insurance, including 9 million children. Today's bipartisan, bicameral compromise is not a perfect solution to that problem, but is a decisive, strong step towards covering uninsured kids and fulfilling our moral obligation to our children. In my home State of Virginia, the CHIP program, known as FAMIS or Family Access to Medical Insurance Security, currently provides coverage to 137,642 low-income children each year. The current population survey estimates that 171,642 children in Virginia remain uninsured, and the CHIP Reauthorization Act will help us cover 74,200 of these children in Fiscal Year 2008. The CHIP Reauthorization Act will ensure that these children have access to high quality health insurance, including the preventative services that children need to be healthy and successful in school and later in life. This bill will provide dental and mental health benefits on par with medical and surgical services--truly ensuring that the whole child's health is provided for. The CHIP Reauthorization Act does not increase the deficit, through a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the Federal excise tax on cigarettes. In my view as chairman of the Congressional Prevention Caucus, an increase in the Federal tobacco tax is sound public health policy. On the one hand, it provides a reliable revenue source to offset the costs of expanding coverage to low-income children. On the other, given that 70 percent of health care spending in the U.S. can be attributed to chronic diseases, many of which are linked to smoking, measures which reduce tobacco use, particularly among young people, are responsible ways to improve public health and reduce the overall costs of our healthcare system. The CHIP Reauthorization Act also addresses a serious problem arising from the implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Opponents of this responsible, common-sense, humane adjustment claim that language in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) that imposed harsher citizenship verification requirements on State Medicaid programs is the only barrier protecting taxpayer dollars from being spent on healthcare for illegal immigrants. Empirical evidence from the first 9 months of the implementation of this rule demonstrates, in fact, that nothing could be further from the truth. First and foremost, existing Federal law and provisions in the CHIP Reauthorization Act prevent Federal funds from being spent to provide benefits for illegal immigrants. Section 605 specifically states that ``nothing in this act allows Federal payment for individuals who are not legal immigrants.'' Illegal immigrants have never been eligible for Medicaid, and nothing in the CHIP Reauthorization Act would change that fact. Secondly, the DRA requirements have overwhelmingly failed to meet their objective--producing cost savings for the Medicaid program. Instead, they have imposed substantial additional costs on taxpayers while reducing health care benefits available to poor children. Wait times have skyrocketed, and measures to streamline the application process have been rendered impossible. In the first 9 months of the implementation of this requirement, six States spent a combined $16.6 million in State and Federal dollars, and found just eight undocumented immigrants out of a pool of 3.6 million Medicaid applicants. The DRA requirements have effectively led States and the Federal Government to spend millions of dollars in additional administrative expenses, funds which have ultimately been put to use denying care to tens of thousands of otherwise eligible American children. Third, these draconian requirements, which are far stricter than those employed by other government programs, have caused tens of thousands of U.S. citizen children to lose health insurance coverage. In Virginia, there was a net decline of more than 11,000 children enrolled in Medicaid during the first nine months of implementation. Had growth in enrollment continued at the same rate it had during the previous 2 years, the State would have seen an increase of 9,000 poor children in the program during this same time period. Kansas has seen a net decline of 14,000 children. The Virginia State Medicaid Office has identified a total of two undocumented immigrants during this period; meanwhile, 20,000 poor children have gone without health insurance. Data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests that these children are overwhelmingly African American, hardly the demographic results we'd expect if our colleagues were correct in suggesting that tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children were being denied coverage. The debate about reauthorizing SCHIP should be about the public health and improving the health of our children. In a recent survey, 90 percent of parents applying for Medicaid for their children indicated that they have no other health coverage available. Allowing state flexibility in citizenship verification is sound public health policy that would enable thousands of American children access to vital health services to help them live better, healthier, and more productive lives. Because Medicaid is now the single largest cost to state taxpayers, we ought to make a concerted effort to support state flexibility. Twenty-four Senators signed letters to Chairman Baucus asking him to include this measure in the Senate's bipartisan SCHIP bill, and 51 other House Members joined me in requesting that Chairman Dingell include this provision in the House version. I thank the Committees for including this important provision in this landmark legislation. Reauthorizing SCHIP is sound public health policy--research shows that children who have access to health insurance are substantially more likely to access key preventative services, miss fewer days of school due to illness, get better grades, and continue to have superior outcomes later in life. Moreover, the financial benefits of covering children vastly outweigh the costs--one need only compare the cost of a visit to a primary care provider to the cost of a night spent in the emergency room. But above all, covering all our children is a moral imperative--it is the only possible humane, responsible course of action. I urge a yes vote on the underlying bill, and furthermore, would urge the President, in the strongest possible terms, not to veto this vitally needed, responsible legislation to cover the most vulnerable members of our society: our children.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, how many more thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars need to be spent to enable this President to avoid accountability, to save face for the worst foreign policy fiasco in America's history? And when all is said and done, when all the blood and the treasure has been spent and we look back at what we will have accomplished, we will have a Shia theocracy far more loyal to Iran than it is to the United States, and probably equally repressive of women's rights and human rights. How is that possibly worthy of the sacrifice of our soldiers? Mr. Speaker, it is not. The fact is that, if the President's supplemental for Iraq that he is requesting now is granted, we will be spending almost as much in 1 week, $3.5 billion, as it would take to provide needed health insurance for 4 million poor children for an entire year. Isn't it time to put America's priorities in order?

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001. On that crisp fall morning, we lost nearly 3,000 American lives in an event that shook this nation to its core, violently searing the depths of our consciousness. Six years removed from that infamous day, we continue to mourn the victims, praise the first responders' heroics and seek out our enemies who committed such heinous, inhuman acts. It is still hard to comprehend what could drive someone to take their own life in order to kill others. What we do know is that the forces propelling the destruction and devastation of 9/11 were hatred, intolerance and fanaticism. Understanding what triggers this fervor of hate and how to mitigate its ascension is the key to ensuring our nation's long term security. As we continue to move forward from 9/11, the importance of well equipped, highly trained first responders and a robust but constitutionally balanced intelligence gathering apparatus remains paramount to our homeland security. The immediate and heroic emergency response to the attacks on the Pentagon from Arlington County's fire and police departments remind us that localities--not just the Federal Government--will play the integral role in any and all homeland security efforts. Further, sound intelligence and the regularity today with which law enforcement and agencies share intelligence across jurisdictional boundaries, which has proven difficult in the past, will lower the possibility of future attacks. Complacency is not an option, but the progress we've made in these areas has put us on the right track. Mr. Speaker, coming to terms with the realities of a post-9/11 world has been difficult for our nation. But to honor the lives of those lost and protect our current and future generations it is our responsibility to continue doing everything within our power--in line with our values as Americans--to ensure that a tragedy of this magnitude never occurs again.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, Republicans have attacked a provision in the CHAMP Act that would allow states flexibility in how they verify the citizenship of the American children applying for or renewing coverage under Medicaid, claiming that language in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) that imposed harsher citizenship verification requirements on state Medicaid programs is the only barrier protecting taxpayer dollars from being spent on healthcare for illegal immigrants. Empirical evidence from the first nine months of the implementation of this rule demonstrates, in fact, that the new requirements have denied tens of thousands of American children access to health care. In my own state of Virginia, this draconian requirement has adversely affected thousands of U.S. citizen children, children who are among the most medically vulnerable in the state. In the first nine months of implementation, there was a net decline of more than 11,000 children enrolled in Medicaid. Had growth in enrollment continued at the same rate it had during the previous 2 years, the state would have seen a net increase of 9,000 poor children, suggesting that overall, at least 20,000 have been denied access to health coverage. Among those who do receive coverage, the average wait time for processing has increased from sixteen days to four to six months. Twenty-one other states also reported declines in enrollment since the implementation of the DRA, including a net decline of 14,000 children in Kansas. While the DRA's requirements have unfortunately limited access to care for so many low-income U.S. citizen children, they also have imposed enormous administrative costs on the states, our financial partners in this program. In Virginia, the number of ``pending'' cases awaiting further documentation skyrocketed from about 50 per month to 4000. The DRA requirements have made measures to increase the efficiency of the Medicaid application process (including mail-in, phone and online applications) impossible. The DRA requirements don't seem to be succeeding in fulfilling its objective: in the first nine months of implementation, six states spent $17 million implementing the DRA requirements, but only identified eight undocumented immigrants out of a total of 3.6 million Medicaid beneficiaries. In addition, enrollment has fallen significantly in these states among white and African-American children, while enrollment among Latino children has increased--which would not be occurring if the provision were affecting undocumented immigrants, 78% of whom are from Mexico, Central America or South America, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. The DRA requirements imposed substantial bureaucratic costs on the states, but have produced almost no cost savings. Instead, millions of dollars spent implementing the DRA requirements have served only to deny care to tens of thousands of American children. The costs of care denied to low-income U.S. citizen children are passed on to taxpayers in the form of uncompensated emergency room visits and costs to treat the infectious diseases that these children may contract and unknowingly pass on while awaiting access to treatment. The debate about CHAMP should be about the public health and improving the health of our children. Attacks on this provision come from Members who are grasping at straws, trying to come up with reasons to oppose this bill, which takes monumental steps to improve the health of low-income children in this country. In a recent survey, 90 percent of parents applying for Medicaid for their children indicated that they have no other health coverage available. Allowing state flexibility in citizenship verification is sound public health policy that would enable thousands of American children access to vital health services to help them live better, healthier, and more productive lives. Because Medicaid is now the single largest cost to state taxpayers, we ought to make a concerted effort to support state flexibility. State flexibility is widely supported. Twenty-four Senators signed letters to Chairman Baucus asking him to include this measure in the Senate's bipartisan SCHIP bill, and fifty-one other House Members joined me in requesting that Chairman Dingell include this provision in the bill. I urge your support of this landmark legislation to protect the health of our most vulnerable low-income children, and your support of state flexibility in citizenship verification.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert a statement for the Record refuting the fact that this has anything to do with undocumented children. The fact is that the current provision prohibits undocumented children from getting health care, but if we don't pass it, it will deny tens of thousands of children who are legally eligible.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, our intelligence agencies have confirmed that America is more vulnerable now than it was 6 years ago before the 9/11 attacks. That is because Osama bin Laden has gained strength, gained recruits and gained experience in the meantime. It didn't have to be that way. We had him cornered and crippled in Tora Bora, but then we outsourced the job of capturing him. Then, to make matters worse, we poured our military and financial resources into Iraq, where al Qaeda was nonexistent, thereby giving Osama bin Laden his most effective recruiting tool. The President keeps referring to al Qaeda in Iraq. It is not the Iraqis who are planning on how to attack America. It is al Qaeda in Waziristan. We need an intelligence strategy to go after bin Laden in Waziristan with our Special Operations working with the tribal chiefs who want to rid themselves of this pest. That is what we need to do. Mr. Speaker, that is the only strategy that is deserving of the sacrifice of our military families. We need leadership that is deserving of the American public's support.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the words ``never again'' ring hollow today. It was exactly 3 years ago that we declared that what was happening in Darfur was genocide, and yet we have basically stood on the sidelines for these last 3 years. Lots of words, but no meaningful action. What we said was that we would deny the Government of Sudan access to oil revenues and extend American business sanctions on Sudan. But we haven't done either in any meaningful way. Hundreds of thousands of people, innocent people, killed; millions made homeless while we have sat on our hands. Oil accounts for 70 percent of Sudan's total exports. And do you know that 70 percent of Sudan's oil profits fund their military? And China buys much of their oil. In fact, China is Sudan's largest trading partner. We could have enormous leverage over China if we chose to use it, but we choose not to. So when the Chinese Premier goes over to Sudan, instead of telling him this is wrong, he offers to build more palaces for President Bashir. Let's get serious. Let's not allow genocide to continue in the 21st century.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Chairman, 5 years ago, when we passed the Freedom to Farm Act, we were promised that it would clean up the subsidy programs that really dated back to the era of the Depression. It didn't. In fact, in many ways it made matters worse. I don't think we can wait another 5 years before we have fundamental reform. The fact is that back in the 1930s, 25 percent of our population lived on farms. Today it's less than 2 percent. Today, corn, cotton, wheat, rice and soybeans count for 90 percent of our government commodity payments, and yet it leaves fruits and vegetables, which represent two-thirds of farm sales, ineligible for support. The largest farms that comprise only 3 percent of the total farms get the vast majority of crop subsidies today. It just seems to me that it's time for fundamental reform that more fairly distributes the benefits of this program to all of America's deserving farms and families. That's why I support the Kind amendment.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishments of Ms. Deborah J. Spero of Reston, Virginia, for her service to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency as Deputy Commissioner. Ms. Spero has served this Nation with honor and distinction for 37 years, and I commend her for her dedication to public service and tireless efforts to ensure the safety of our Nation. After the attacks of September 11th, with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, Ms. Spero was called upon to help shape the newly established U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, where border security, U.S. Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Department of Agriculture, were integrated. Ms. Spero's knowledge and experience made her the logical fit to lead this most important transition, which she met with strength and resiliency. In 2004, Commissioner Robert C. Bonner appointed Ms. Spero as Deputy Commissioner, and, in 2006, she served ably as Acting Commissioner for six months. After the confirmation of Commissioner Ralph Basham, she resumed her duties as Deputy Commissioner and has continued to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection through the many challenges it faces to secure our Nation's borders. Ms. Spero's commitment to this Nation is reflected in the many accolades she has amassed over her career. In 1999, she received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award for her extraordinary accomplishments within the Customs Service and the federal government community. Additionally, in 2004, Ms. Spero received the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award for her unparalleled accomplishment and service, and in 1996 she was the recipient of the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award for her major accomplishments as an executive. Madam Speaker, I wish to commend Ms. Spero for her many years of service to our Nation and I am proud to have her live in Virginia's 8th Congressional District. This Nation will lose a proud servant when she leaves office on August 3, 2007. I wish all the best to her and her family in her retirement.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, our intelligence agencies have confirmed that al Qaeda is stronger in numbers and effectiveness than it has ever been. And that's because 5 years ago, when we had bin Laden cornered and crippled, we outsourced the job of capturing him. And then we diverted our focus and our resources to Iraq, which turned out to be his greatest dream realized because it gave him so many propaganda tools as a rallying cry and a recruiting tool. And that's just what happened. And now, when President Bush says that he envisions a military presence in Iraq similar to South Korea, well, we've been in South Korea for 50 years, this plays into their propaganda. We need to make clear there will be no permanent military bases in Iraq; that we are not there as occupiers, but rather as liberators. Let's start getting serious about winning this global war on terrorism. We can start today by passing the resolution declaring that the Congress is unequivocally opposed to permanent military bases in Iraq.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from New York. I wish those on the Republican side that are objecting to this resolution would ask the President what is it about the word ``no'' that you don't understand? How many times do we have to say that there will be no permanent military bases in Iraq? Sure, we have said it in legislation before, but as recently as last month the Secretary of Defense elaborated on the President's statement about envisioning a long and enduring military presence in Iraq similar to the Korean model. Well, imagine how that plays into the propaganda of our enemy. No wonder al Qaeda is gaining in strength and effectiveness. No wonder people are believing in what they are saying, because we are playing into their hands. They are saying we are there as occupiers of an oil-rich Arab country. We believe that we went there as liberators, those who supported the war. But gosh sakes, don't play into al Qaeda's strength. Take away this recruiting tool and this rallying cry. Let's pass this resolution today and say clearly and unequivocally: No permanent military bases in Iraq, period.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Chairman, I oppose this amendment, which is nothing less than an attack on the nation's most trusted source of reproductive health services and information. The Pence amendment would single out Planned Parenthood for exclusion from the Title X program, at odds with the principles repeatedly articulated by the United States Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood is the nation's leading reproductive health care provider. The vast majority of services that Planned Parenthood provides are services to prevent unintended pregnancies, and test and treat for sexually transmitted infections, as well as breast and cervical cancer screening. The vast majority of Planned Parenthood patients have incomes at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, women who are four times more likely to face an unintended pregnancy. For many women, and especially those in rural areas and underserved communities, Planned Parenthood is their only source of health care. Title X helps 575 Planned Parenthood clinics to provide over 3 million women with family planning services each year. Madam Chairman, if we are to reduce the number of abortions in this country, as Mr. Pence clearly desires, we must get serious about prevention. Each year publicly funded contraceptive services help women prevent 1.3 million unintended pregnancies, which would otherwise result in 533,800 births, 632,300 abortions and 165,000 miscarriages. In the absence of publicly funded family planning, the number of abortions each year in the United States would be 40 percent higher than it currently is. In fact, from 1980 to 2000, Tide X clinics helped women prevent nearly 20 million unintended pregnancies, nine million of which would have ended in abortion. By restricting Title X, Mr. Pence's amendment would likely increase the number of abortions, particularly among our teenagers. We should oppose Mr. Pence's amendment because it is an inhumane attack on the quality of life of low-income women in this country, but moreover, we should oppose it because it does not make good public health sense. Gutting funding for family planning will never bring us towards a day with fewer abortions, it will only increase the devastating costs imposed on society by unintended pregnancies among young women and teenaged girls.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishments of Mr. John H. Christensen of Reston, VA, for his service to the Defense Logistics Agency, DLA, as Chief of Logistics Research and Development at DLA Headquarters. He has served one of this Nation's most important agencies admirably, administering virtually all of the DLA's Research and Development initiatives and Industrial Base programs that have supported our soldiers in combat. A graduate of the University of Florida, Mr. Christensen received his bachelor's degree in environmental engineering in 1979. Additionally, he has obtained two master's degrees, one from Virginia Tech in systems engineering and the other from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in national resource strategy. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Christensen served as the first Program Manager of the Department of Defense, DOD, Electronic Mall, a single point acquisition center for off-the-shelf goods found in the commercial marketplace. His leadership helped bring a set of competing prototypes into a single operating system to provide for easy access, multiple searches, and cross-store shopping and ordering among millions of items from over hundreds of sources, all of which can accept credit card orders. The DOD Electronic Mall now generates millions of dollars each month in support of agency missions. As chief of the Logistics Research and Development at Headquarters, Mr. Christensen is responsible for two major program elements; Manufacturing Technology Research and Development, and also Logistics Research and Development. The Manufacturing Technology element consists of programs in Castings, Forgings, Industrial Plant Equipment, Operational Rations, and Military apparel. Logistics Research and Development includes a drive in Medical Readiness, Aging Aircraft, Supply Chain Management, and Competitive Sustainment. Additionally, the Industrial Base responsibilities include Waterstoppers, Surge and Sustainment, the Rapid Manufacturing Initiative, and all statutory programs related to the Industrial Base. Having been in federal service for nearly 30 years, Mr. Christensen's career has been marked by sustained progression. Having served a 3-year tour as the Assistant Officer in charge of the Naval Fuel Depot in Yokusha, Japan, with the United States Navy, he then went on to serve 2 years as the first Program Manager of the Department of Defense E- Commerce Program, and lastly served 7 years as the Chief of the Logistics Research and Development Division with DLA. Mr. Christensen has remained a committed member of the Naval Reserves, and he holds the rank of Commander with over 26 years of combined service. Madam Speaker, I wish to commend Mr. Christensen for his many years of service to our Nation and I am proud to have him live in Virginia's 8th Congressional District. The Nation will lose a proud servant when he leaves office on August 31, 2007. I wish him and his wife, Mary, Godspeed in his retirement.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Chairman, the moratorium on A-76 public- private competition at the Department of Labor is the right provision, in the right bill at the right time. The moratorium is included in this Appropriations bill because the Department of Labor has made indications that the agency is trying to reach numerical privatization targets--quotas--for its outsourcing. The use of outsourcing quotas was first addressed by Congress when the Office of Management and Budget under the Bush Administration introduced its effort to outsource at least 15 percent of each agency to the private sector, with a goal of outsourcing up to half of the agency workforce. The problem with outsourcing quotas is that they are a ``one-size- fits-all'' arbitrary privatization effort. Quotas never consider the unique needs of different Federal agencies, and they often lead to widespread cuts that harm the ability of Federal agencies to effectively carry out their mission. I offered an amendment to the Transportation-Treasury Appropriations Act in 2003 that shed light onto the administration's effort, and outlawed the outsourcing quota. Now it appears that the Department of Labor is taking the same approach. In the next two years, over 2,000 jobs are expected to be competed, many of which appear to be both inherently governmental and even discriminatory. These jobs include technical writers reviewing OSHA enforcement action, senior instructor for safety specialist responsibilities, and physical scientists that analyze toxic materials in working environments. It is vital that these positions provide sound, objective services that Federal employees can. Furthermore, the majority of employees impacted by the recent round of A-76 competitions were older African-American women. The GAO report will analyze whether the scheduled outsourcings are discriminatory. The DOL has won 21 out of 23 competitions conducted in the past 3 fiscal years. Millions of dollars have been spent over the last several years on these initiatives; 90 percent of the cases are won by Government. The GAO report would give Congress an objective analysis of the outsourcing program at the Department of Labor from which to base further decisions. Competitive sourcing is not inherently a bad thing if it can save money for the Federal Government, but arbitrary quotas, numerical targets, are a bad thing.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the American Society for Training & Development, ASTD, as one of the largest associations dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals, and recognize their annual Employee Learning Week, that is to be held December 3rd through the 7th, 2007. In 1944, ASTD began their first annual conference. ASTD has widened the profession's focus to connect learning and performance to individual and organizational results, and is considered a strong voice in the field of workplace development. Members of ASTD come from more than 100 countries and connect locally in 136 U.S. chapters and 25 global networks. Members work in thousands of organizations of all sizes, in government, as independent consultants, and suppliers. ASTD has a commitment to maintaining an edge in the highly skilled workforce that is critical to growing and sustaining a competitive advantage. To further these goals, ASTD has declared December 3rd through the 7th, 2007, as ``Employee Learning Week'' and designated time for organizations to recognize the strategic value of employee learning. I applaud ASTD and its members for their commitment to developing the skills of employees and the workforce during Employee Learning Week, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting policies that commit to maintaining a highly skilled workforce.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Robert Nicholson of Alexandria, VA, on being awarded the Air Force Association's DW Steele Chapter ``Teacher of the Year Award.'' A teacher at Alexandria County Public Schools since 1984, Mr. Nicholson has taught earth sciences, oceanography and astronomy and is also the Earth Sciences Division coordinator at TC Williams High School. Mr. Nicholson's creative approach to education allows him to teach a variety of classes using hands-on learning that captivates students while enriching their learning experience. Deputy Superintendent of Alexandria County Public Schools, Cathy David, praised Mr. Nicholson not only for his outstanding work in enhancing the science curriculum at TC Williams but also for mentoring fellow teachers, ensuring consistency and rigor in the science curriculum. In addition to the courses he teaches Mr. Nicholson is planetarium director at TC Williams High School and is known to use his free time to give shows to students outside his astronomy classes and also gives informative and entertaining presentations to middle and elementary school students from Alexandria City Public Schools and area private schools. Fellow colleagues from all disciplines frequently ask Mr. Nicholson to present planetarium shows that relate to their specific content needs. Mr. Nicholson is truly an asset to the students he inspires and the lives he shapes in the Eighth District of Virginia. I congratulate him on being awarded this great honor.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from New Jersey. I rise in support of this bill. I can't believe the argument in opposition to this bill, that we should continue to stay the course, because this is the policy that has led us in the wrong direction for four straight years. This has been the worst foreign policy fiasco in American history. Now we're being told that we're there to fight al Qaeda. There were no al Qaeda in Iraq when we went into Iraq. Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. Now there are about 5,000 there out of a population of 26 million. We have trained hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Many of them we've given them more training than we've given our own troops. This policy is not worthy of the sacrifice of our troops and their military families. It's leading us down a dead-end street. It's time that it was changed. Mr. Speaker, we are told that we need to train the Iraqis more. All we are doing is equipping and training them in order to kill each other in a civil war that I'm afraid is going to be inevitable.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the so-called global war on terrorism cannot be won by military might alone. It is a war of ideas and philosophies. Terrorism is the tactic used by people who seem to hate what the U.S. stands for more than they love life itself. But it is hard to hate the concepts of justice, individual freedoms and human rights. The problem is that as long as our enemies can claim that we deny justice and abuse human rights and individual freedoms, we lose ground in this war of ideas. In fact, as long as we maintain the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, we undermine our standing, our credibility, throughout the world. This is not what America stands for. America stands for the concept of habeas corpus and human rights. Guantanamo Bay is unAmerican, and that's why it needs to be closed.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. I have no doubt that the gentleman who has offered it is well intentioned, and he is clearly becoming a leader on moving our country to greater energy independence. But we will not get there by lifting the moratorium on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. We will, however, invite great harm to established fishing and tourism industries, as well as the environment. Off the coast of Virginia, we will interfere with the U.S. Navy's Virginia Cape Operations area in a way that the Department of Defense has warned us in unequivocal terms would be totally unacceptable and utterly incompatible with the operations that they are currently conducting. They could not conduct very sensitive essential operations off the coast of Virginia that are ongoing if we were to pass this amendment. While it's technically feasible to drill for natural gas, there are also some fundamental, legal and economic questions about whether any drilling offshore could be limited to just natural gas. But I want to focus particularly on the fact that this amendment can't possibly solve our energy problem. The natural gas and oil estimated to be recoverable from the outer continental shelf will not result in lower natural gas prices. It simply takes too long to develop a natural gas field to affect prices in the short term. We are talking 1 to 3 years at least to develop a field. Natural gas from areas currently off limits to drilling won't reduce prices in the long term either, since there is not enough gas there compared to either annual U.S. production or consumption. A Department of Energy study compared the price of natural gas with the OCS moratorium areas that are kept out of production, versus the price of natural gas, if all of the moratorium areas were opened for drilling in the 2007-2012 5-year plan. With all of its supply and demand information, the Department of Energy's model modeling system predicted that the price of natural gas would be $3.26 per thousand cubic feet in the year 2020, without the gas under moratoria, and $3.22 per thousand if we eliminate the moratorium. In other words, we could only save 4 cents if this amendment were implemented. Moreover, the vast majority, over 80 percent of the Nation's undiscovered but technically recoverable Outer Continental Shelf gas is already located in areas that are open to drilling. And that's according to the Interior Department's 2006 report to Congress. According to the same report, there is an estimated 86 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources in all the Outer Continental Shelf areas that have been withdrawn from leasing, compared to 479 trillion cubic feet of reserve appreciation undiscovered technically recoverable resources within the total Outer Continental Shelf belonging the United States. These are technical words and statistics. What it says is that, at best, you can open up 20 percent, and the fact is, it wouldn't make but a pittance of difference in the cost of natural gas. Eighty percent of the Nation's undiscovered natural gas is already open to drilling. The other thing that we're very much concerned about is what the drilling operations do to our environment. They discharge hundreds of thousands of gallons of what's called ``produced water'' that contain a variety of toxic pollutants, including benzene, arsenic, lead, naphthalene, zinc and toluene, and can contain varying amounts of radioactive material. And tons of air pollutants are emitted. It will also trigger the uncontrolled release of methane hydrates, a greenhouse gas that's 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And then if you look at what drilling has done to the Gulf Coast, you will recognize that it's destroyed hundreds of miles of wetlands and sensitive coastal habitats. When they bring the channel transporting the oil or gas into the shore, it brings the saltwater into the fresh water and destroys the plant life which reduces erosion. Thus we lose several football fields of shoreline every day along the Gulf Coast. Mr. Chairman, there are a host of reasons this amendment is a bad amendment. It should be defeated. We should follow the lead of the chairman of the subcommittee.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. The gentleman's wit is deeply appreciated by the Member from Virginia. I don't think we have a current problem with being overtaken by wild horses in Northern Virginia; but I appreciate your support as well for this humane approach in dealing with the wild horse and burro population.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. As you know, Mr. Chairman, there have been significant advancements in the development of technologies that allow safe and effective application of contraceptive medicines to wild horses to allow wild horse populations to be maintained at sustainable levels. I believe these medicines have been used in pilot programs running for years as a result of the partnering of private organizations like the Humane Society of the United States with the Bureau of Land Management.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I believe that contraceptives could potentially be effective and also would be a more humane approach to managing wild horses than the current strategy that relies primarily on rounding up wild horses and placing them in pastures where they must be fed for years until they die of old age at a cost of over $20 million a year. It is also my understanding that the BLM signed a memorandum of understanding in October of 2006 outlining a large scale pilot program that will expand the pilot wild horse management effort. I would like to thank you for working with me to see that the Wild Horse and Burro Management Program does not get such a large budget cut as was proposed by the administration. It is my understanding that BLM will be able to move forward with that pilot program under this act; is that correct, Mr. Chairman?