Bob Ney

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1259, introduced by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), which would award a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the Congress can bestow, on the Tuskegee Airmen. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, this award is long, long overdue. Pilots of the 99th Fighter Squadron, including the first group of black pilots who trained at the little airstrip in Alabama near Tuskegee College, and later the 100th, 301st, and 302nd, were not even expected by some to be capable of meeting the challenge. Cruelly, studies commissioned by the Army War College in the 1920s and 1930s speculated that African Americans were capable neither of military leadership nor of flying increasingly complex fighter aircraft. Tell that theory to Lee A. Archer, the young man from Yonkers who grew up dreaming of being a fighter pilot and reading comic books about the gallant fighter pilots of the First World War. Lee Archer flew 169 combat missions in his P-40 Tomahawk, P-39 Cobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, and his P-51 Mustang, known as the Macon Belle. He became an ace, notching five downed enemy aircraft in his career. Tell that also to then-Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., a West Point grad, who was one of the first 13 pilots trained near Tuskegee and became the first black flag officer in the Air Force, retiring with three stars and being granted a fourth in retirement by President Clinton. Tell that to Lieutenant Clarence ``Lucky'' Luster, who destroyed three German planes and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross the day Archer notched his first victory. In all, Mr. Speaker, these men, who were not supposed to be able to fly, came home from piloting their distinctive, red-tailed fighters with 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, Bronze and Silver Stars and Legions of Merit, a Presidential Unit Citation, and even the Red Star of Yugoslavia. They also came home with the knowledge that no one could plausibly assert that a segregated armed services made any sense, and integration soon followed. After the war, these men became business and political and civic leaders, many quite successful both in and outside the military, blazing trails at home the way they had blazed the trails in the skies of North Africa and Europe. Today, Mr. Speaker, we are here during Black History Month to add one more honor to that list. The legislation before us, cosponsored by 308 Members of the House, seeks to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen as a group and give it to the Smithsonian for display, with provisions that the medal may be loaned out temporarily to appropriate sites: perhaps to Moton Field in Alabama, where they trained, or to the Air Force Academy, where a statute of a Tuskegee Airman stands in Honor Park. Rarely, Mr. Speaker, do we get to do something in this great Chamber that is so widely supported, so appropriate, and so long overdue. It is a pleasure to be here today with Mr. Watt, who is managing the bill, and also again with Mr. Rangel and the many sponsors of this. Also, I can tell you that we were there for the 60th anniversary with Mr. Rangel and the Speaker and leaders, and my wife and Mrs. Rangel, and it was a pleasure to be there on that historic day with our congressional delegation. I commend Mr. Rangel and the other Members for supporting this, and I urge immediate passage of H.R. 1259. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess).

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Schwarz).

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, let me just say it is a great day for the Tuskegee Airmen. It is a great day for the United States, and it is a shining day for this institution of the House. I think that if you look at the quote from Langston Hughes, a great African American poet, ``Dream your dreams, but be willing to pay the sacrifice to make them come true,'' our veterans have done that historically throughout the history of this country, and the Tuskegee Airmen have done that. Again, I thank Congressman Rangel for giving them the honor they so much deserve.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 1259 and H.R. 2872 and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here with my colleague from Massachusetts on an important bill. It is designed, of course, to increase the borrowing authority of the National Flood Insurance Program. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I introduced H.R. 3669, the National Flood Insurance Program Enhanced Borrowing Authority Act of 2005. That piece of legislation increased insurance by $2 billion, which went a long way in helping the Department's flood insurance response. The bill before us today would provide a total of about $20.775 billion in borrowing authority to help ensure that the NFIP have sufficient funding on a cash basis in the short-term. This bill would allow FEMA to continue paying claims resulting from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, while the administration further evaluates the extent of the damage and the most appropriate means to cover all potential future claims. These claims from those whose homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma are not a new obligation. They are the result of a legal promise we made to these homeowners and business owners, a commitment we made when Congress passed the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and subsequent revisions. Homeowners and business owners across the country agreed to pay premiums, communities agreed to adopt building codes to mitigate flood dangers, and the Federal Government agreed to provide insurance coverage to policyholders after a disaster. Every single one of these claims represents someone who has taken the responsible course of action by purchasing flood insurance and paying premiums to the government. We not only have a legal obligation to honor our commitments, we have a moral obligation to provide the coverage we promised to provide to these people. I think the thrust of this bill is so important for people. I understand the argument some of my colleagues are making about the need to have further reforms for the National Flood Insurance Program. I note the Committee on Financial Services held a markup in November of 2005 that addressed several reform initiatives to enhance accountability and ensure 2004 reforms are implemented. We had the support of Chairman Oxley and our ranking member Mr. Frank of Massachusetts on a bipartisan basis. Mr. Speaker, I just want to make it clear, we had reforms. This is not going to be the last of these bills that we are going to see, and we will work towards having some reforms. In addition, the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held four hearings on this important program last year, including an August field hearing in rural Ohio, in my district. The Housing subcommittee will have continuous oversight of this important program, NFIP and look for all possible legislative solutions that will make this program as efficient and responsive as it can be. Floods have been and continue to be one of the most destructive and costly natural hazards to our Nation. Early last year, there have been three major floods in the district that I represent, all three of these incidents qualify for Federal relief granted by the President, and this flooding event, in January of last year, resulted in historic levels of damage in several communities. Now, we have a major disaster of the likes of which we haven't seen before down in the gulf, and the national flood insurance is a valuable tool in addressing the losses incurred throughout the country due to these floods. I urge the support of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2275) to temporarily increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out the national flood insurance program, as amended.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any additional speakers. I want to thank the gentleman from Oregon, and I also want to point out just a few things. We had the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer provisions in our bill to have FEMA enforce the 2004 that the gentleman from Oregon had mentioned was in there, also increased insurance coverage. We had raising the penalties on lenders who do not enforce the regs. So there were a lot of the reforms that we had in there. I am going to tell you today, we have a commitment, of course, and I know the gentleman from Oregon understands that and we all do here today, we have a commitment to these people that paid in and we need to pay back to these people because they paid their money; but we need to have the reforms. The other thing is if anybody stands here today and says this is going to last us, we will be okay until August, I want to tell you we will not be okay until August. This will not take us through to August. I predict to you today FEMA can say what it wants, it can communicate what it wants. This will not last maybe 2 months or more. I predict we will be back. We have to do the reforms. I personally commit to work with you on it.

Mr. NEY. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. NEY. Reclaiming my time, I predict we will be back here within 60 days, 60 or 90 days, I will bet that we will be back here, so we will have to work towards the reforms. Also, our subcommittee was the first committee of the House to go down to New Orleans and to Gulfport, Mississippi. We went down with our ranking member, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters). Some Democrats and Republicans on the staff went down there and they did a fine job. They saw what we saw. This is going to be a long, long process. I will tell you we will be back here within 90 days again because they can say it will last, but it will not last.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, before we conclude this first session of the 109th Congress, we need to acknowledge the exemplary service of our retiring Clerk of the House, Jeff Trandahl. Before retiring last month, Jeff diligently served this Congress for over 20 years. He began his career in the other body working for Senator James Abdnor from South Dakota, Jeff's home state. Thankfully for those of us who serve in the House, he soon chose to join us on this side of the Capitol, taking a job with Congresswoman Virginia Smith from Nebraska and working on Appropriations Committee matters. Jeff got his first real experience with House operations working for Congressman Pat Roberts from Kansas who served on the Committee on House Administration. When the Republicans won the House in 1994, Jeff was promoted to Assistant to the Clerk, and in that capacity was responsible for legislative operations, personnel, and budget. In November 1996, he was appointed Acting Chief Administrative Officer of the House and led a drastic reorganization of that office. In December 1998 he was made the 32nd Clerk of the House and was elected to four consecutive 2-year terms by the House membership. For the past 8 years his responsibilities as Clerk have included management of the House Floor operations, legal support for the institution, management of public information and required legal filings, and numerous other duties. Simply put, Jeff was responsible for seeing that the essential tasks that allow this House to operate get carried out. In addition to his regular duties, he played a pivotal role in numerous historic events including the annual State of the Union address, presidential inaugurations, the response to September 11th, the anthrax attacks, and the national funeral for President Reagan. Members will always be grateful to him for his extensive efforts to use technology to improve the efficiency of House operations. It truly has made our jobs easier and made the business of the House more accessible and open to the public. One of the accomplishments of which he is the most proud was the establishment of an office to handle the House's historical, curatorial, and archival needs. Jeff has always had an immense amount of respect for the Institution and he will be remembered for his outstanding service. While this is a loss to the United States Congress, it is certainly a gain for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where Jeff will be Executive Director. I am sure he will approach that job with the same determination and perseverance he has shown in his service here. Jeff has always been the consummate professional, and the House is a better place because of his great record of service here. We thank him and we will miss him, but we wish him the best of luck in his new endeavors.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 633.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), and I want to thank him for bringing this resolution to the floor. This was his idea on behalf of the House to do it, and we certainly appreciate it. (Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 633) honoring Helen Sewell on the occasion of her retirement from the House of Representatives and expressing the gratitude of the House for her many years of service.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am not going to be lengthy in my comments because I know our ranking member is going to say something, and then I am going to yield a lot of time to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), who has asked for this resolution, and rightfully so to ask for it. When I came to the House around 11 years ago, I guess, one of the first persons I ever met was Helen Sewell. And I soon found out she is probably one of the most important people, in fact, in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, a lot of the public would not be aware unless they had the chance to be here on the floor, but in back of the Chamber on one side is the Democrat Cloakroom and on the other side is the Republican Cloakroom. And of course I have been over in the Democrat Cloakroom. They have got good sandwiches over there, too, which you can buy. And in our Cloakroom on the Republican side, Helen runs a little counter and we call it Helen's Cafe. She makes sandwiches and of course the Members buy those sandwiches or soup, and she has been doing that for such a long time. She is just a fine woman who always has a pleasant smile, always has a good word constantly to say when she was here. And as many people in the country know, if they watch C-SPAN of course, that we will be voting sometimes till 2 and 3, in fact probably this morning we will be voting until 4 a.m. And if in fact we are here voting at 4 a.m. and if Helen were here working, she would be back there still providing people, you know, with pop and water and sandwiches and different things, because you cannot get out of the building at that time to go find something to eat and you are sitting here long hours. So she did that. She provided that nutrition for everybody. But, again, she always did it with such a pleasant smile. Helen is a lovely woman who really gave, frankly, great service to her country by doing what she did; and for that, Helen, on behalf of the House, we think the world of you. We wish you the best in your retirement. And we send all our love to Helen. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am just going to conclude by thanking the Members for being here today, our ranking members. This could not have happened without Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald being here and taking her time to give tribute, and, of course, the other Members, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Congressman Gilchrest. Especially, of course, I want to thank Congressman Weldon of Pennsylvania for doing this, for giving Helen the honor that she so deserves. Obviously, from everything that we have heard today, I think the whole Nation can understand the feeling we have for Helen and how we miss her being here. Of course, when I conclude, I am going to ask for the Record to be kept open because Members are going to want to submit statements for the record to Helen to give her the honor she so deserves. So we wish Helen the best. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier).

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding me the time and also my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their hard work to bring this legislation to the floor. It is important, it is bipartisan. We had the hearing in which were present the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson). It was the first hearing that we could find in the history of the House actually held on the tribal ground. When we also looked in the subcommittee at the issues for people to be able to get a house, can you imagine if you had to wait 1 or 2 years to get your title? I think the interest rates had probably changed by that time. I applaud the work that you have done, Congressman Renzi, on that issue. It is so important because of the conditions for native Americans in the housing, and, again, very proud of the work that you have done, Congressman Renzi, and the bipartisan effort by our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help people who really need the assistance.