Michael McCaul

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked a dark and painful chapter in American history and for the State of Texas. People all across this Nation were devastated when they heard the news that soldiers and civilians of the United States Army at Fort Hood, Texas, were attacked by the least likely of assailants. It wasn't short an act of treason. I want to first thank my colleague and good friend, John Carter of Texas, who represents Fort Hood in his district, for introducing this legislation to give all Members of Congress the opportunity to stand here today in support of the brave men and women at Fort Hood and their families in such a time of trial. Fort Hood lies just north of my district, just north of Austin. It's in central Texas. Many of us all across this Nation have constituents who have gone through Fort Hood to train for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have had many of my constituents trained at Fort Hood. But yesterday was a dark chapter; and in the aftermath, we learned that 13 of our finest Americans were killed, and several dozen more were wounded. This senseless act of horror betrays our respect and deepest dignity for life. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with each of the families affected by this great tragedy. During this tragedy, there were reports that many soldiers provided heroic aid to their fellow soldiers who had been wounded, several of them already wounded themselves. These selfless acts saved the lives of many, and so many in central Texas have come forward to donate much-needed blood and offer themselves to help in this time of need. This selfless service and determination is a testament to our servicemen and -women and stands in bold opposition to the horror of yesterday's events. And today as Fort Hood observes a day of mourning, we offer our prayers and support in this hallowed Chamber in the Congress to all those touched by this tragedy, including our soldiers, civilians, military families and the central Texas community. Mr. Hasan, the suspect responsible for these acts of violence, these senseless acts of violence, was reported to have yelled out, ``Allahu Akbar,'' as he murdered innocents, as he wounded innocents. Translated that means God is great. To me, that's very disturbing. That is not my God. That is not our God. That is not the God of our fathers and Founding Fathers who have served in the military. May our God reach out to the families and the victims. May our God provide comfort in this great time of need. May our God hold them in the palm of his hand. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McCAUL. They certainly will receive attorneys' fees. They're being paid by these organizations to bring lawsuits.

Mr. McCAUL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McCAUL. Very quickly, to my good friend from New Jersey, courts have broadly and loosely interpreted the constitutional standing requirement to virtually allow anyone with any evidence of perceived harm to bring a lawsuit under these citizen suits. With respect to sensitive information, we are now going to turn that over into the discovery process as to what is sensitive and what information is not. With respect to the groups that my good friend mentioned, it is my understanding, while they are not opposed to the bill, they have certainly not endorsed this bill. I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I have a message today for the 52 Blue Dog Democrats out there, 40 of whom are conservative Democrats in districts that President Bush carried, and my message is loud and clear for them today, and that is that your leadership is making you walk the plank on this health care bill. Don't do it. Don't fall for it. Don't take the bait, for it will be your political suicide. Stand with us on the Republican side. Stand with us conservatives to defeat the Pelosi health care bill. You have the power to defeat this government takeover of our health care system and the takeover of one- sixth of our economy. You have the opportunity to do something right for America. Stand with us. Stand with us as conservatives. Stand up for the American people.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, last August we went home to our constituents and we listened to the American people. The American people were loud and clear in their message, and it was: Congressman, we do not support the government's taking over our health care system. Then we came back to Washington, D.C., away from our constituents. We've been up here for about 2 months now, and what are we seeing? We're seeing the public option being put back on the table. And what did the President say? Well, we know what he said on the campaign. He said basically, I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big old table and we'll have the negotiations televised on C- SPAN. Have we seen that? I don't think so. What are we seeing today? We're seeing three Senators behind closed doors in the darkness of the night negotiate a health care plan for this entire Nation. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. We need to bring these negotiations out on the table. Republicans need to be at the table. We have good ideas. We have good solutions. But they are not being heard and the voice of the American people is not being heard.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. I thank the ranking member. Let me thank the author of the bill, Ms. Giffords, for her great leadership on what I consider to be one of the most important issues. That's energy independence. Mr. Chairman, I am proud to rise in support of this bill. I was proud to be a cosponsor of this bill. One thing is certain: the sun always rises, and it is important for us as a Nation to harness that energy. This is landmark legislation that, in my view, will make the United States a true leader in solar technology and in energy independence. What I particularly like about the bill is the collaboration between the academic, the environment, the universities, the Department of Education, and the private sector. I, personally, like the fact that the private sector is involved in this rather than just some bureaucrat behind closed doors in Washington, D.C., who is making those decisions. I recently met with the Stanford Research Institute, and I looked at their photovoltaic technology. The University of Texas at Austin, in my district, is also involved with the manufacturing of these photovoltaics, along with countless high-tech companies, like Applied Materials and many others. There is a lot of support for this bill in my district, and I think it's important to note that this bill has the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, IBM, BP, Intel, and National Semiconductor. The Chamber recently urged us to vote for this, and said that the increased research, development and demonstration of solar technology is crucial to America's energy security needs. We talk a lot about energy independence around here, but today, we really have something tangible that we can do about it, and that is to support this legislation. As a former counterterrorism prosecutor, it disturbs me that we export $700 billion from this country to countries overseas which don't have our best interests at heart. We need to change our energy policy, and this is a critical piece to that. This is a great step forward for this Nation towards achieving that goal of energy independence. My district really represents the broad spectrum of the differences-- on the one hand, the Houston suburbs with oil and gas and, on the other hand, Austin, Texas, which is a green technology center. It's my view that we need all of this energy. We need to make more of this energy here in the United States, which will, in turn, create more energy for Americans and which will create more American jobs. In my view, we can have a hybrid energy policy, if you will. We can go green, and at the same time, we can drill. So, again, I think this bill is an important step forward towards that path to energy independence. Solar energy, in my view, is one of the best potentials for alternative energies out there, and it can be placed on rooftops, and transmission is not as much of an issue. We are on the cutting edge with a huge breakthrough in this country where we can harness the sun's energy and can provide the energy that this country desperately needs.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. I thank the gentlelady. Mr. Speaker, today we rise as Americans, first and foremost, to remember: to remember the victims of 9/11, the 3,000 Americans who were killed on that day; to remember the fallen heroes, the firefighters, the police officers who rescued so many lives and some who gave the ultimate sacrifice. I remember watching the television on 9/11 with my daughter as the second airplane flew into the building and she said, Daddy, why did that airplane fly into the building? And by the time the second one hit, we all knew that this was no accident; this was an intentional act of terrorism, an act of war against the United States. I was a counterterrorism prosecutor in the Justice Department. We saw many warning signs--the embassies in Africa, the USS Cole, 1993 World Trade Center, Ramzi Yousef, who almost brought the World Trade Center down that day--when they arrested him in Islamabad, many of you may not know this, but they found 12 baby dolls stuffed with chemical explosives that he intended to take on airplanes, part of the Bojinka plot to blow up 12 airplanes simultaneously. The evil genius, his uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, who to this day the information we obtained from him has saved American lives, the most chilling experience I've had as a Member of Congress was to see Khalid Sheikh Mohammed imprisoned down in Guantanamo, the man who was responsible for killing 3,000 Americans. As the 9/11 Commission said, the only way we will ultimately prevail in this twilight struggle is through good intelligence. We cannot tie the hands of the intelligence community. We cannot threaten them with prosecution. We cannot have a global justice policy that Mirandizes terrorists captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan when the first words we say to them is, You have the right to remain silent. How in the world will we get good intelligence with that kind of policy? And if I could close with an FBI quote before 9/11 that said, ``Some day someone will die and the public will not understand why we were not more effective at throwing every resource we had at certain problems, especially since the biggest threat to us now, Osama bin Laden, is now getting the most protection.''

Mr. McCAUL of Texas

Mr. McCAUL of Texas. I thank the gentlelady. We will never forget that day. We can never make the same mistake again. We owe that to the victims and the heroes of 9/11. It is our most solemn obligation to first and foremost protect and defend the American people.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to tell you about a constituent of mine by the name of Cathy Magill. She represents a personal side of this health care debate. Cathy is a small business owner in my district; she and her brother own a company that installs windows in new homes. In a difficult economy, she now has something else to worry about, a new tax she will have to pay if she doesn't spend thousands of dollars a year on health insurance for each of her employees. They have told her they would rather keep the money in their own pockets and pay for health care the way they see fit. If the Obama health care reform bill is passed, Cathy told me she will have no choice but to fire two of her employees so she can provide health insurance for the remaining three. Mr. Speaker, this bill is a job killer. We should make health care more affordable and accessible to every American, but this is not the way to do it. And people like Cathy Magill in my district deserve better, and so do the American people.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Reclaiming my time, they say a picture speaks a thousand words. Well, look at this picture right here because it says it all. This is a picture of Larry Summers, the President's top economic adviser. Look at him. He's not creating jobs. He is asleep. Mr. Speaker, I would submit to you, this administration is asleep at the wheel. The Vice President recently said that we can spend our way out of bankruptcy. What? Really? Spend our way out of bankruptcy? What happened to Economics 101? I think the American people are smarter than that. Instead of cutting taxes and spending, which has historically worked, instead, we are enacting policies that will devastate our economy; a national energy tax that will kill 2.5 million jobs and, according to the President, skyrocket energy prices. A health care bill that, according to the CBO, will spend over $1 trillion and kill 4.7 million jobs. It is time, Mr. Speaker, for the American people to wake up.

Mr. McCAUL. Well, look at this picture.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Leader and Mr. Speaker, where are those jobs? We have the highest unemployment rate since the 1930s. They say a picture speaks a thousand words.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, ``Electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.'' That is a direct quote from President Obama describing his ``Cap and Trade'' plan. I agree with the President. That is why we call it Cap and Tax. This is a failed European model that should not be imported into the United States. We've already seen the effects in Europe where household energy prices went up 25% and emissions were not reduced. This is the wrong bill at the wrong time. Imposing a national energy tax on the working families in my district who are already struggling to make ends meet is wrong. And who benefits from this? You guessed it, Wall Street, not Main Street. While I strongly support investing in alternative energy and green technology, I cannot support this bill. Overall, in my home state of Texas, energy costs will increase by $1.15 billion imposing an enormous tax each year on every Texas family. All of this for something that simply won't work. Companies that are not able to meet the cap will simply move their manufacturing facilities overseas to countries with fewer regulations. Nationwide, our country will lose around 2.5 million jobs and Texas alone could lose 277,000 jobs in the first year alone. Perhaps that is why the U.S. Chamber, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Farm Bureau, and dozens of other organizations oppose this plan. I continue to support the American Energy Act which increases our domestic energy supply by developing more of our resources here in the United States, investing in alternative fuels and offering incentives for better efficiency and conservation--without placing a greater burden on our families, our businesses and our economy.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. I thank the gentleman. ``Every person in America has a right to have his or her voice heard. No Member of Congress should be silenced on the floor.'' ``Bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full and fair debate, consisting of a full amendment process that grants the minority the right offer its alternatives.'' Speaker Pelosi, A New Direction for America. This right has been denied. This is not a new direction. It is a wrong direction. My amendment would block taxpayer dollars from being used for monuments to be named after sitting Members of Congress. I would like to yield the balance of my time to the Chairwoman of the Rules Committee as to whether she agrees that taxpayers dollars can be used to fund Monuments to Me after sitting Members of Congress; and if she does not agree with that, why my amendment was blocked when it has been ruled in order twice before.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I urge support for this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, as one of the Chairs of the Congressional Sudan Caucus, I am proud to offer this amendment to require the administration to, within 60 days, submit to Congress a comprehensive plan to address the ongoing atrocities in Sudan. July 22, 2009, will mark the 5-year anniversary of the declaration by the United States Congress that the atrocities occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan constitute genocide. It was an historic resolution because it represented for the first time that Congress had made such a determination while the killings were actually taking place. Today, innocent civilians in Darfur are still suffering from genocide directed by a callous regime determined to hang on to power at any cost. They are dying at the hands of the Janjaweed, also known as ``the devil on horseback.'' The United States for years has been seeking to help find ways to ease the suffering in Darfur and find a lasting political solution to each of the interrelated crises in Sudan. We've passed resolutions, imposed economic and travel sanctions, frozen assets, and enabled divestment from companies linked to the Sudanese regime. The United States has led efforts at the United Nations and with bilateral partners to meet humanitarian needs while pressing for the full deployment of peacekeeping missions to help protect civilians. In addition to supporting efforts to negotiate and implement the Darfur Peace Agreement, the United States also was at the forefront of efforts to resolve the conflict in southern Sudan, a conflict which has left over 2 million people dead and another 4 million displaced. Today, there is universal acknowledgement that if the comprehensive peace agreement between the north and south fails, there can be little hope for Darfur. Unfortunately, the terms of this peace agreement have not yet been fully implemented, and observers consistently warn that it could fail at any time. With the national elections due this year and reports of deadly conflict within and among various armed groups on the rise, the stakes could not be higher. During the presidential campaign, each of the candidates assured voters that Sudan would be a major priority for their administrations and spoke of robust actions that would need to be taken in order to resolve Sudan's multiple conflicts. While serving in the United States Senate, President Barack Obama called for oil sanctions and the imposition of a no-fly zone over Darfur. While working for the Brookings Institution, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice went so far as to call for military action against the Sudanese regime. But then on April 22, 2009, almost exactly 1 year after then-Senator Obama condemned the supposed efforts by the previous administration to normalize relations with Khartoum as a ``reckless and cynical initiative,'' his Special Envoy for Sudan, Scott Gration, announced, ``The United States and Sudan want to be partners, and so we are looking for opportunities for us to build a stronger bilateral relationship.'' Obviously, this bold statement sent conflicting messages to observers and caused a great deal of confusion here in the Congress, where Sudan has such a high priority for Democrats and Republicans alike. Implementing this comprehensive strategy will advance respect for democracy, human rights, and religious freedom throughout Sudan. It will address internal regional security while combating Islamic extremism. And by advancing regional security and cooperation, it will eliminate cross-border support for armed insurgents, and it will shut down safe havens for extremists who pose a threat to the national security of the United States and its allies. During committee debate on an amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) regarding Sudan, it became clear that there is universal agreement on both sides of the aisle that the United States needs a coordinated, comprehensive strategy for Sudan which balances the United States' imperatives in Darfur and in southern Sudan. This amendment simply goes one step further by giving the current administration the opportunity to resolve any outstanding issues with regard to the United States' policy towards Sudan by formulating such a strategy and reporting that strategy back to the United States Congress. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, as the lead Republican sponsor of this resolution I would like to thank the gentleman from New Mexico, Congressman Teague, as well as Chairman Reyes for all of their work on putting together this legislation. The U.S. Border Patrol has been keeping this country safe from threats like terrorists, illicit drugs, weapons, illegal immigrants and criminals for 85 years. I would like to thank the border patrol and I commend them for their service. In the early 20th century, control of the border was sporadic and piecemeal and included mounted guards, Texas Rangers, and military troops. After the prohibition of alcohol and the immigration reforms of 1921 and 1924, the Labor Appropriations Act of 1924 officially established the U.S. Border Patrol with an initial force of 450 officers to help defend our borders. Today the Border Patrol uses state of the art technologies to aid in the performance of their duties; infrared cameras, remote video surveillance, unattended underground sensors, and ground radar. CBP is responsible for guarding nearly 7,000 miles of land border the United States shares with Canada and Mexico and 2,000 miles of coastal waters surrounding the Florida peninsula and off the coast of Southern California. The agency also protects 95,000 miles of maritime border in partnership with the United States Coast Guard. I would like to praise for their tireless efforts the 52,000 CBP employees including the over 18,000 CBP Border Patrol agents, 1,000 CBP Air and Marine agents, almost 22,000 CBP officers and agriculture specialists and the nation's largest law enforcement canine program. I would also like to pay particular tribute to the 104 CBP employees who lost their lives in service to their country. In sum, CBP performs the vital task of securing America's borders 24 hours a day, seven days a week while facilitating legitimate trade and travel. I congratulate them on their 85th anniversary and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this Resolution.