Jim Moran

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the Republican Party and the President will make it clear today to the American people that they own this war; hook, line and sinker. The President and his Republican colleagues will be successful today in continuing the Iraq war, but this is a pyrrhic victory at best. The Democratic leadership is allowing this bill to pass because, unlike the President, they will not leave our troops unprotected in battle. It is our troops and their families that are the only ones being asked to make any sacrifice in this war, and this President's policy is unworthy of their sacrifice. The only sacrifice requested of the rest of us has been to go out and spend our tax cuts at the mall. Meanwhile, the Iraqi parliament is preparing to take the summer off, probably using some of the missing $9 billion to sunbathe along the Mediterranean. Our soldiers risk life and limb to secure their country, which is in the midst of a civil war, and they go on vacation. Ask yourself if you think this is a war worthy of our soldiers' sacrifice. We Democrats will do everything, legally and legislatively, to bring our troops home as soon and as safely as possible. That is our pledge to the American people, and we will keep it.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the fine work of Deborah Cohn, Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), for her leadership in promoting government telework. As a result of her ingenuity and perseverance with this program, Ms. Cohn spearheaded the development of the USPTO's telework program at a time when telework was unconventional, and her efforts have paid off as the program is among the most successful telework programs within the Federal workforce. This year, the Trademark Work at Home (TWAH) program is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Established in March of 1997, TWAH began as a pilot program with 18 telework volunteers. Today, TWAH is the most successful and progressive program in the Federal Government, involving 85 percent of eligible trademark examining attorneys, who work 4 days per week at home. The USPTO, located in my congressional district in Alexandria, VA, has received many distinguished awards for opening doors to its telework program. These include the most recent 2007 Work-Life Innovative Excellence Award from the Alliance for Work-Life Progress-- the highest honor offered by the organization, which was created to showcase programs and policies that demonstrate excellence in promoting work-life effectiveness while achieving institutional goals. Other notable awards include those from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the Telework Exchange, the MidAtlantic Telework Advisory Council, and the International Telework Association and Council. The Trademark telework program is a successful model for other governmental agencies. Combining management by objective with hoteling results in proven space and related cost savings for the agency. The program also demonstrates that flexibility of schedules and location enables employees to maximize their working efficiency, which is reflected in production gains by its participants and the Office. The extremely low attrition rate experienced by the TWAH participants shows that agencies facing recruitment and retention problems would be well- served by offering telecommuting options, similar to those of the USPTO, to attract and retain qualified workers. I have been a longtime advocate of commuter friendly policies such as telecommuting. Proven benefits include helping to offset the high price of gasoline, continuity of operations in the case of a future threat or disaster, improved air quality, reduction in traffic congestion, increased employee productivity and work quality, improved employee morale, and employee cost savings. As the Nation's largest employer, the Federal Government should be the leader in telework policy. The USPTO serves as the gold standard for the Federal Government thanks to the efforts of Deborah Cohn. Ms. Deborah Cohn is a graduate of The American University and George Mason University School of Law. She began her career at the USPTO in 1983 as a trademark examining attorney, was promoted to senior attorney and then managing attorney, and then joined the Senior Executive Service as a Trademark Law Office Director in 2001. Ms. Cohn was named Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations in 2005 whereby she currently oversees the examination and processing of applications throughout the trademark operation and works with other USPTO business units in achieving agency goals. Throughout her legal career at the USPTO, Ms. Cohn has been involved in work-life improvement initiatives. She is a former Council of Excellence in Government fellow where she first began developing the TWAH program. Ms. Cohn is a sought after resource, speaker, and expert on the development and management of telework programs. I ask my colleagues to join me in commemorating Ms. Cohn's efforts in making the USPTO's telework program the most successful program within the Federal Government. I also ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Trademark Work at Home program.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments that Special Agent Ernest A. Simon has made to the safety and security of our Nation. Mr. Simon currently serves as the Executive Assistant Director for Criminal Investigations or the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and is a member of the Senior Executive Service. Special Agent Simon is retiring from federal service after an illustrious 31 year career in federal law enforcement. Special Agent Simon began his career with the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) in October 1975 following his graduation from San Diego State University. From December 1978 to December 1980, Mr. Simon was assigned to the NCIS Office in Guam, after which served as Staff Assistant to the Regional Director for Operations of the NIS Regional Office New York. In 1982, Mr. Simon was appointed Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the NIS Newport, Rhode Island Office, and in 1984 he returned to New York City as ASAC of the NIS Office in New York. In 1986, Mr. Simon transferred back to the West Coast as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the NIS Office in Miramar, California, and named SAC of the newly-formed San Diego Regional Fraud Unit, a highly specialized office that focuses on major procurement fraud investigations. In 1990, Mr. Simon transferred to NISHQ, as a Division Head of the Fraud Department, as part of the reorganization of NIS to NCIS; Mr. Simon was named Deputy Assistant Director for Fraud in the Criminal Investigations Directorate in 1993. In 1996, Mr. Simon was appointed Assistant Director for Government Liaison & Public Affairs and subsequently named Assistant Director for Criminal Investigations. In July 2001, Mr. Simon was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as the Executive Assistant Director (EAD) for Pacific Operations, headquartered in San Diego, CA. In this capacity, he served as the primary focal point for major Navy and Marine Corps Commands on all force protection, investigations and operations affecting the Pacific region and supervised seven NCIS Field Offices. In April 2006, Mr. Simon was again transferred back to NCIS Headquarters to serve in his current position as EAD for Criminal Investigations. By promoting results-oriented strategies, as well as focusing on those crime problems that are known to have a debilitating effect on operational readiness or, have the potential to precipitate a serious international political incident, Executive Assistant Director Simon has made the criminal investigations program as a model program for how federal law enforcement should operate in today's high impact and highly charged threat environment. Mr. Simon's career has been marked by sustained progression, significant challenges and numerous successes. He has earned the reputation over the years of being a stellar investigator who steadfastly adheres to the highest ethical standards of the law enforcement profession, and most importantly, an accomplished and dedicated leader. He will long be remembered as a leader who was deliberate and always maintained a sense of compassion and understanding for the people of NCIS.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the achievements of Dr. Judith Jackson, principal of Franconia Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia, since 1996: and a dedicated public servant for nearly 3 decades. While Dr. Jackson is retiring, she will leave behind a lasting impression of her caring nature and tireless devotion to the school she served so well. A graduate of Marygrove College, Dr. Jackson, earned her master's degree at the University of Michigan and her doctorate in education at Nova Southeastern University. She began her teaching career as an elementary school teacher in the Detroit Public School System, and has taught soldiers in Germany, where her husband, David Jackson, was stationed with the United States Army, and ex-offenders in Pennsylvania. She arrived in the Fairfax County School system in 1980, where she rose to the rank of Assistant Principal at Woodley Hills Elementary School. In 1996, she passed through a rigorous selection process to become principal of Franconia Elementary. Dr. Judith Jackson is also the mother of 3 wonderful children, Teresa, David, and Kevin. Throughout her service as principal, she has been ever present in the halls and classrooms of Franconia Elementary. She knows every student by name, and is involved in every aspect of life at the school. Dr. Jackson never misses an opportunity to read to the children at school events, and is unmatched in her advocacy of the development of reading and writing skills at the elementary level. As one member of her staff put it, ``All she does, day after day, is tirelessly search for ways in which every student can achieve, and every student can experience the joy of learning''. Some of the innovative programs supported by Dr. Jackson to this end are the ``Reading Restaurant'', ``Literary Lunch'', ``Friday Night Prime Time'', and ``Partners in Print'', making learning, and reading in particular, fun for her students. In recognition of her efforts, the library at Franconia Elementary School has been renamed the ``Judith Jackson Library.'' A supporter of after-school programs, Dr. Jackson instituted Math and Science Nights, supported ``CETA (Changing Education Through the Arts)'', and regularly attended Parent-Teacher Association meetings that fostered dialogue with parents and teachers. She has also volunteered with the Red Cross, tutored members of the military at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and assisted with Koinonia's efforts to help the underprivileged. The Franconia Mustangs will sorely miss her, but will not forget her any time soon. As the Ayoud triplets, second graders at Franconia put it, ``We'll just have to retire too, since Franconia won't be the same without Dr. Jackson.'' Something tells me she won't let them. I commend Dr. Jackson on her distinguished career in education, and wish her and her family health and happiness in her well-earned, much deserved retirement.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address America's legal black hole, known as Guantanamo Bay. The administration would like us to believe that the 15 prisoners that were very recently sent to Guantanamo are typical of the other 772 that have been sent there over the last 4\1/2\ years. Many of them are still languishing 4\1/2\ years later, even though only four of those 772 have ever been charged with a crime. In fact, only 8 percent are alleged to have ever acted as a ``fighter'' against the United States. Only 5 percent were actually captured by American forces. The vast majority were turned in for bounties by Pakistani or other northern alliance Afghan forces. That is why, Mr. Speaker, we need to shine the light of the law on this situation, to ask the administration what are they going to do about people who are being illegally detained there without charges and with no plans as to how to fix this situation, which continues to undermine America's reputation and credibility throughout the world.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I very much thank the Chair of the Armed Services Committee. I also rise in opposition to this amendment. The United States are liberators, we are not occupiers. And yet, our enemy is propagandizing to the people that they are trying to convert to their cause that we are there permanently to take their oil, to control their government, to control their actions. And if we pass this amendment, we are confirming what our enemy is trying to suggest in generating more support against the American cause. As I say, we have always gone in to liberate, not to occupy. And to suggest, which is what this amendment would do if it passed, that we are there permanently, with permanent bases, is exactly the opposite of the message that we need to send. And our military commanders have made it clear, we will not achieve a military victory. If we are going to be victorious, it has to be a political victory. And this is a key aspect of that political victory. So I strongly urge defeat of this amendment.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I only want to ask the author of the amendment, because I'm not sure I heard him correctly. Did he suggest that he thinks that the Iraqis have read this amendment? I'm not entirely sure you would agree that all of our colleagues have read this amendment. But do you really think the Iraqis have read this amendment?

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Yes, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Yes, I'd be happy to yield.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I thank my good friend for yielding. First of all, I agree with you the people you described, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the like, appear to be very dangerous people. These people, however, who were just transferred to Guantanamo, I think when Secretary Gates and the President spoke about Guantanamo, they were referring to the 772 that had been there over the period of 4 years now, rather than new arrivals. But the point is, this is only a report; this does not mandate any action. It just presents information to the Congress. If the Congress was to transfer it, what would be the implication? So it is only a report, I would again remind the gentleman.

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

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I thank the chairman. I will reiterate the comments I made at the beginning. I thank very much the chairman's leadership and his superb staff for bringing us to this point. And as you say, this is only a matter of acquiring information.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Chairman, I first want to thank the chairman of the Armed Services Committee and his superb staff for helping redraft portions of this language so that it might be considered. The final language represents a common-sense agreement that I think we should all reach consensus on. The amendment's purpose is to shed some light on what has become an increasingly invisible world down at Guantanamo Bay. The first detainees were brought to Guantanamo in 2002 to bypass the U.S. legal system and avoid international conventions and public scrutiny. Since that time the detainment facility has become a blight on American ideals and principles. We have captured, tortured and interminably held men that we call enemy combatants, some of whom are guilty of crimes against our Nation and should be punished. Others, however, are only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have created closed military tribunals that offer the false impression of justice, but they fall woefully short of what we should expect from our American system of justice. Like Abu Ghraib, we've created an unnecessary rallying cry and recruitment tool for al Qaeda and militant Islamists throughout the world. I strongly believe that the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay puts Americans in harm's way and threatens the safety of any of our captured military and civilians abroad. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Rice have agreed that Guantanamo Bay represents a serious problem if we are to prevail in the global war on terror. They both advocated shuttering Guantanamo Bay's detention facilities. Even President Bush expressed a desire to see Guantanamo Bay closed. This amendment offers a first step in giving the President, the Congress and the Department of Defense policy alternatives to Guantanamo Bay. This amendment will require the Department to develop a plan to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The report must estimate how many detainees the Department will charge with a crime, how many will be subject to release or transfer, or how many will be held without being charged with a crime, but whom the Department feels that it must detain. Lastly, the report would include a description of actions required by the Secretary and Congress to ensure that detainees who are scheduled for release are, in fact, released. This last piece is particularly important, as the Department of Defense has scheduled release of 82 detainees. DOD and the State Department, however, face obstacles releasing these men to their home countries, and in some instances their home nations won't accept their return. In other instances, the State Department won't return detainees to their home nations for appropriate reasons. But we need to know what policy tools Congress can provide to expedite the release of innocent detainees. All of this information is absolutely necessary for Congress and the administration to make informed decisions about what to do about Guantanamo Bay. Whether you like it or not, whether you believe that Guantanamo Bay is a blight on our international standing, or whether or not you believe that these detainees should be held and tried in the United States, we should all agree that the policy options before the President and Congress should not be limited by a lack of information. To opponents of shutting down Guantanamo Bay and my colleagues who believe its closure is a sign of weakness, I suggest that upholding our American principles of justice are not incongruent with our war against terror. And in a speech before the Republican National Convention in 1992, I would remind my colleagues President Reagan emphasized that our greatest strength as a Nation comes not from our wealth or our power, but from our ideals. I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this common-sense amendment, to move forward in our battle against anti- American sentiment, and to provide the President and Congress with real policy options for shutting down Guantanamo Bay.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Reclaiming my time. My only point is that this is so much about the message we send, and I think the message that we want permanent bases is the wrong message.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues that June 3-9 is Molecular Imaging Week. This year, Molecular Imaging Week is coinciding with SNM's (formally known as the Society of Nuclear Medicine) 54th Annual Meeting, which is taking place here in Washington, D.C. Based in Reston Virginia, SNM, with over 3,900 professional attendees and 180 exhibiting companies, will hold the world's largest event focused exclusively on the fields of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging in Washington, D.C. this year. Annually, more than 20 million men, women, and children need noninvasive molecular/nuclear medicine procedures. These safe, cost- effective procedures include positron emission tomography (PET) scans to diagnose and monitor treatment of cancer, diagnose neurological disease such as Alzheimer's and stroke, cardiac stress tests, bone scans and follow-up for breast and prostate cancer patients, and lung scans for blood clots. Molecular imaging and therapy procedures provide safe, painless, and cost-effective techniques to image the body and treat disease. These procedures are crucial in the early diagnosis of cancer, renal disease, cardiac disease, and Alzheimer's. Imaging procedures often identify abnormalities very early in the progress of a disease--long before many medical problems are apparent with other diagnostic tests. The techniques that are used in molecular imaging include radiotracer imaging/nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), optical imaging, the PET scan, ultrasound and others. Molecular imaging offers unique insights that allow a more targeted approach to evaluation and management of heart disease. It also plays a pivotal role in guiding the management of cancer: diagnosis, staging (extent and location), assessing therapeutic targets, monitoring therapy, and evaluating prognosis; and is playing an increasingly significant role in conditions such as tumors, dementias (Alzheimer's and other), movement disorders, seizures disorders and psychiatric disorders. Molecular imaging delivers on the promise of ``personalized medicine''--it can provide patient-specific information that allows tailored treatment of disease. It can show a precise (molecular) level of detail that provides new information for diagnosis. It is also key to the development of pharmaceuticals and genetic therapy. Molecular therapy can target molecules that deliver the therapeutic agent directly to the site of interest, bypassing normal tissue and avoiding the toxic side effects of many current therapies. In 2005, SNM created the Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence, an organizational component within SNM, dedicated to all aspects of molecular imaging in the detection and management of disease. I applaud SNM and its members for their efforts to educate others on this major healthcare innovation during Molecular Imaging Week (June 3- 9), and I urge my Colleagues to join me in supporting policies that will continue to keep our Nation on the cutting edge of molecular imaging research.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor my mother and all the women in my life. On behalf of these women, I demand answers to the question of what causes breast cancer. This disease has impacted virtually every American's life. More than three million women are currently living with breast cancer, and each year tens of thousands of women die from this disease. A woman in the United States has a 1 in 7 chance of developing invasive breast cancer during her lifetime--this risk was 1 in 11 in 1975. Breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death among women. While important advances have been made, we still do not know what causes this disease, or how to prevent it. Scientific evidence about whether the environment plays a role in the development of breast cancer is scarce. There is a clear need for research on the potential relationship between environmental factors and breast cancer, and federal commitment is critical to the overall, national strategy and to the long-term research investments needed for this effort to succeed. To further this important research, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1157, the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act. This bipartisan legislation was introduced again this Congress by Representatives Lowey, Myrick and Capps. Madam Speaker, this bill would create a competitive, peer-reviewed research program at the National Institutes of Health to study the potential links between breast cancer and the environment. It is modeled after the successful peer-reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program at the Department of Defense. A key component of this bill is inclusion of consumer advocates in the peer review and programmatic review process. Let's continue to fight the war on breast cancer, and invest in getting the answers to eradicating this disease, in honor of all our mothers. Pledge your support today, by joining me in co-sponsoring the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act, and in working towards enacting it this year.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank very much my very good friend Chairman Rahall. He has shown a lot of courage and also caring and sensitivity to the situation that confronts these particular Indian tribes. I see my good friend Mr. Scott from Virginia, as well, who will speak to this and my good friend, the ranking minority member, Mr. Don Young; and I thank him for stepping up on this, too. I know that his words are deeply felt, and his support is deeply appreciated. I also want to compliment the staff on both sides. They have done the research. They have provided the accurate information; and without that, there would be a lot of misimpressions that would be going around the floor that could defeat this bill; but the facts are on our side, and that is because particularly the very good, hardworking staff has made sure that the facts have become public. Let me share some of those facts with you. The argument is going to be used that these tribes should go through the regular process at the BIA, and the argument will be made that this just opens it up to gambling and there is going to be another issue in terms of the corruption that is inherent within casino gambling and so on. The fact is that it would be virtually impossible for these Virginia Indian tribes to provide the documentation that the Bureau of Indian Affairs requires. This is a unique situation that does not apply in other States because other States did not make it legal to go into courthouses, local courthouses, throughout the State and destroy the very documentation that is now necessary. Now, of course, the Governor of Virginia and all the previous Governors, including Senator Allen who specifically recognized these Indian tribes when he was Governor, they have all acknowledged there is no question these Indian tribes exist. In fact, they have the oldest treaty that has been in existence in the United States, 1677, signed with King Charles II. But, of course, that was before there was an American government; and, as a result, ironically, we haven't specifically recognized these Indians, because they have the oldest treaty. But these were the Indians that enabled the Jamestown settlers to survive. Here we are, the Queen is at the White House, and we are having all this pomp and circumstance, and the very Indians that enabled it to happen have not been recognized by our government and, in fact, have been treated to some of the worst injustices across this land. From 1912 to 1946, their documents were deliberately destroyed. In 1924, there was a Racial Integrity Act passed by a white supremacist, Dr. Walter Plecker. He was head of the Department of Vital Statistics, very politically powerful. And that, in effect, made it a crime to be identified as an Indian. You had to check a box ``white'' or ``colored'' throughout the State in the parlance of that time. My friend and colleague from Virginia knows what I mean, and he believes it, because he knows Virginia history. Many of our colleagues, though, might not believe that this could happen; and, yet, it did. It was a penalty of a year of imprisonment for identifying oneself as an American Indian. So they don't have the documentation. Bureau of Indian Affairs would say, yes, we would recognize you, there is no question you exist, but it won't be in your lifetime. Well, 400 years. Isn't this time? Now, obviously, there has been a lot of intermarriage, but the fact is, there are records, and we can produce those records. But we don't have the time, and it doesn't seem to be fair to force these Indian tribes through a process that may fail only because of governmental action, a grossly unjust governmental action. So gambling is not an issue. These Indian tribes, even though they should certainly be on a par with all other Indian tribes, have compromised, have accepted language that prohibits them from being able to gamble, even bingo. The State gets an enormous amount of money from lottery, but they can't participate. They have accepted that. This is a matter of pride for these Indians. This is a matter of pride. These Native Americans want to be able to tell their children, and their grandchildren, and their grandchildren, in turn, their grandchildren, we were the ones that enabled the English settlement to survive. We have a proud tradition. We were recognized by the United States Congress. Now, hopefully, at some point, the other compromise we have made in terms of putting land into trust, that will be rectified, too, but that's not going to be immediately put into trust. We compromised with the communities; we have gone through all of the possible procedures that might raise some objection to this. Now, Members may come to the floor who, I suspect, have not read the bill, with some objection. I don't think it's a matter of bias, but it certainly is a matter of concern that there has been abuse on the part of some lobbyists working with Indian tribes. We understand that. But, gosh, this is a unique situation. This is a matter of injustice that cries out to be rectified. This bill rectifies that injustice. Hopefully we can do it in time for the actual date of the English settlers landing at Jamestown. It's 400 years overdue. Again, I thank the chairman, the ranking member, and I thank the Speaker for the time. In advance, I thank my colleagues for doing the right thing. Mr. Speaker, if floor procedures were to permit, I would address the members of the six Virginia tribes seeking Federal recognition. I would say that I know their quest has been a long struggle to assert their identity and their rights. Despite centuries of racial hostility and coercion by the Commonwealth of Virginia and others, they have refused to yield their most basic human right and have suffered and lost much. But, throughout the centuries you have retained your dignity and supported your people. When it appeared that no one else would, when little was available, when even the doors of the public school house were closed to your children, you have never yielded to those who said you didn't exist. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the Virginia tribes that win or lose today, you have already won by refusing to yield and by remaining true and faithful to who you are. I would also say that it has been an honor for me to have helped carry this legislation. While it is less than ideal, it moves you closer to the day our national government recognizes you exist. Mr. Speaker, as Member of this chamber know, the crafting of congressional legislation is far from a perfect process. But, when it speaks, it speaks with the people's voice. Today, I encourage my colleagues to speak and finally affirm that the Virginia tribes exist and deserve Federal recognition.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 291, which supports the goals and ideals of National Peace Officers' Memorial Day to honor Federal, State, and local peace officers killed or disabled in the line of duty and calls upon the people of the United States to observe such a day with appropriate ceremonies and respect. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this resolution and support the recognition of May 15th as National Peace Officers' Memorial Day, a day dedicated to the recognize and pay tribute to more than 870,000 law enforcement officers throughout the United States, and those officers who are killed or disabled in the line of duty. It is estimated that more than 56,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted every year, and 143 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in 2006. Of those 143 killed in the line of duty last year, we also lost two outstanding law enforcement officers, Detective Vicky Armel and Master Police Officer Michael Garbarino of the Sully Police Station of Fairfax County in Virginia. Exactly 1 year ago today, on May 8, 2006, Detective Armel and MPO Garbarino were both shot and killed when a suspect using a hunting rifle opened fire on them in the parking lot of the Sully District Station. Detective Armel died on the scene and MPO Garbarino died 9 days later while in the hospital. Both officers gave a combined 40 years of service, protecting our country. They died heroically trying to protect their fellow servicemen. Today, they, along with all other peace officers, are being honored in our hearts and minds. This week, a monument will be unveiled at the Sully Police Station in Fairfax honoring Detective Armel and MPO Garbarino and a full memorial service is also planned. Detective Armel and MPO Garbarino, along with the hundreds of thousands of other law enforcement officers that serve us or were injured or killed in the line of duty, deserve our support. We owe the thousands of men and women who put their life on the line the recognition and gratitude for all their hard work, tireless efforts and daily life threatening situations that they encounter, to protect and serve us. I urge my colleagues to vote for H. Res. 291.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. First of all, it is six tribes. The Governor of Virginia recognizes them, and the Commonwealth of Virginia has recognized them since it did away with the Racial Integrity Act. Senator Allen when he was Governor recognized them because they do exist.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. In this case, we are recognizing six. There was one tribe in the 1990s, the Narragansett Tribe, a similar prohibition against gambling was instituted. They don't gamble. This is about recognition.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. If the gentleman would continue to yield, I again thank my friend and thank you for being able to communicate in this fashion. The fact is that they have tried for 8 years to get recognition. But when you say that they are bypassing the process, the reason the process doesn't work is, in this case, the Commonwealth of Virginia made it legal to destroy all of the documentation that would have proved their existence. It was legal under the Racial Integrity Act. They went in and destroyed every reference to them.

Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?