Chip Pickering

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, July 8, 2003, a horrible tragedy occurred in my congressional district which caused me to miss the evening's votes, most noteworthy the Department of Defense Appropriation Act for 2004. A gunman entered the Lockheed Martin plant in Meridian, MS, and conducted a thoughtless and sickening shooting spree, wounding nine people and killing five. I felt it important that I be with the victims of this senseless tragedy to offer support and comfort. The families and friends of these victims are undergoing tremendous heartache and confusion as a result of this terrible act of violence. I would request the thoughts and prayers from the members of this body as we struggle to cope with this tragic incident. While I regret missing these votes, my duties required that I be with my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall votes 334, 335, and 336.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House to remember one of Mississippi's native sons who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War, and returns to us just this year for his proper internment at Arlington National Cemetery. This week, the brothers and sisters of Michael L. Roberts, a U.S. Navy Petty Officer from Purvis, Mississippi, will travel to Washington, DC to lay their missing brother to rest. He and eight of his colleagues on a secret reconnaissance mission in 1968 crashed and died in the Laotian jungle. Their mission had been to drop sensors designed to detect enemy movements in our struggle with communist North Vietnam. Their Navy OP-2E Neptune aircraft took off from Thailand on January 11, 1968, but never returned. Two weeks later an Air Force air crew photographed what appeared to be the crash site, but enemy activity in the area prevented a recovery operation. Between 1993 and 2002, six US- Laotian investigation teams interviewed villagers in the surrounding area, gathered aircraft debris and surveyed the purported crash site scattered on two ledges of Phou Louang Mountain in Khammouan Province. Then during a 1996 visit, team members recovered identification cards for several crew members as well as human remains. Recovery missions in 2001 and 2002 yielded additional remains, as well as identification of other crew members. Michael Roberts was a graduate of Purvis High School and Pearl River Junior College. Out of college, he enlisted in the Navy. He was twenty- four years old when his mission went missing. In addition to Michael Roberts, his eight friends and companions were Navy Commander Delbert Olson of Casselton, North Dakota; Lieutenants Denis Anderson of Hope, Kansas, Arthur Buck of Sandusky, Ohio, and Philip Stevens of Twin Lake, Michigan; and Petty Officers Richard Mancini of Amsterdam, New York, Donald Thoresen and Kenneth Widon of Detroit, Michigan and Gale Siow of Huntington Park, California. More than 1,900 Americans are still missing in action from the Vietnam War. While we mourn their losses, there is some joy that the families of these nine men can finally experience closure of this thirty-five year old wound. For over two centuries, the Territory and State of Mississippi has paid the price of freedom with the blood of our sons and daughters. Whether their sacrifice still remains hidden in a foreign land, or they rest in a small country churchyard, or they are honored in our country's national cemetery, we will always remember them--we will always honor them--we will continue to fight for the dreams they gave their very lives to secure for us and future generations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House as a proud cosponsor of this resolution to commend Medgar Wiley Evers and his widow, Myrlie Evers. I had the great privilege of coming from Arlington Cemetery where we gathered with people from all across the country, all across my State to remember the life and the legacy of Medgar Evers today. The gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), who is the lead sponsor of this resolution, will soon join us. It was 40 years ago that Mississippi lost one of her bright stars. His flame was extinguished by ignorance and hatred, yet his light shines on. Today, we do not mourn; we celebrate his life. We celebrate his courage; we celebrate his commitment for equal justice, equal protection, equality of opportunity, equality of education, and equal political rights. And when we look at his legacy today, I am a son of Mississippi. I am 40 years old this year. In 2 months, I celebrate my 40th birthday. My first grade class was integrated. I had the great privilege of attending public schools that were integrated. Political rights came about not only through Medgar Evers but many others who struggled during that time so that Mississippi now, in many ways, is making progress, with the highest number of African American elected officials in the land. So educationally, economically, and politically Medgar Evers' legacy lives on. My colleague asked the question, did he make a difference? Can one man make a difference? Today, I watched as Myrlie Evers, with her, her daughter, her children, her grandchildren, talked about the rich legacy of their father, her husband, of making a difference in my home State of Mississippi and across this country. We from Mississippi love our State. We love our people. We want to overcome the sins and the struggles of the past. We want to find common ground. We want to find a dialogue. We want to find common values and a common purpose to move our State forward. Today, in remembrance of Medgar Evers and finding ways to reconcile the differences of the present, to overcome the wrong, we now look to the future of how we can come together as a State and as a people to honor Medgar Evers and the principles for which he stood: for freedom, for courage, from overcoming fear, to finding equal opportunity and equal rights.

Mr. PICKERING. I yield to the gentleman from Mississippi, my good friend and colleague, who is the lead sponsor of this; and I am glad that we could come to the floor and work together and remember a great Mississippian, Medgar Evers.

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on our side?

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) for his leadership on the resolution today, for asking me to join with him, as we at the Arlington Cemetery joined together today not only with the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), but Senator Cochran, who led this resolution in the Senate last week, and Senator Lott, who was present at the cemetery today, shows that not only does an idea live on, but the example of courage and also the attitude of wanting not only to love all people, to find a way that not only did we demand the equality and the freedom that God gives us, but then we find a way to work together and come together. I think the message from Myrlie Evers today and from the other speakers, from the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), is in the best sense not only the best example from Mississippi, but one of the best examples for our Nation as we try to heal the wounds and reconcile and work together, and to continue the work and the commitment of equal opportunity for all of our people and all of our citizens. I am proud to represent the home of Edgar Evers in east central Mississippi, Newton County and Decatur. Last week, Mississippians from all over the State joined to celebrate his birthplace and to commemorate his life and his death 40 years ago, but it was in one of the regions that some of the most violent and hateful struggles, and now 40 years later, all races, all backgrounds, all political parties coming to pay tribute to Medgar Wiley Evers and his family. It is a tribute and example of what our Nation has become and what our State has become and is becoming, but it reminds us that we still have much to do, and that the commitment of Medgar Evers who has harassed, intimidated, beaten and who was eventually killed, that that example, that life lived, makes us all recommit and renew and hope for the great idea, the great ideal and the redemption and the potential and the promise of this country. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) for his leadership on this issue, and thank all of the Evers family for what they have meant to our home State and to our Nation.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 246, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to bring attention to a problem faced by livestock and food animal producers, animal and pet owners, zoo and wildlife biologists, and the animals themselves, which unfortunately goes largely unnoticed except by those who are directly affected. There currently exists a severe shortage of approved animal drugs for use in minor animal species. These minor animal species include animals other than cattle, horses, chickens, turkeys, dogs, and cats. In addition, there also exists a similar shortage of drugs and medicines for major animal species for diseases that occur infrequently or which occur in limited geographic areas. Due to the lack of availability of these minor use drugs, millions of animals go either untreated or treatment is delayed. This results not only in unnecessary animal physical and human emotional suffering but may threaten human health as well. Without access to these necessary pharmaceutical tools, farmers and ranchers also suffer. A diseased animal left untreated can quickly spread disease throughout an entire herd of its fellow species. The result is economic hardship to farmers and ranchers who are already struggling to make their operations' cash flow. For example, the sheep industry lost nearly $42 million worth of livestock alone in 2002. The industry estimates that if it had access to effective drugs to treat disease, production costs for their animals would be cut by 15 percent. In addition, feedlot deaths would be cut by up to 2 percent. Perhaps that seems like an insignificant loss, but it translates into $8 million in revenue to the industry. The catfish industry is by far the largest livestock industry in my home state of Mississippi. It provides jobs for ten of thousands of Mississippians and is a key component of my state's economy. The industry attributes $60 million per year in losses to diseases for which drugs are not available. Of the entire food and ornamental fish industry, only 6 drugs are approved and available for treating the hundreds of aquaculture diseases which affect it. The losses associated with the lack of necessary pharmaceutical tools can be crippling to anyone involved in the industry. Because of limited market opportunities, low returns, and enormous capital investment required, it is generally not economically feasible for drug manufacturers to pursue research and development, and then approval, for drugs used in treating minor species and infrequent conditions and diseases. Mr. Speaker, with a number of our colleagues from both sides of the aisle who recognize the urgency of this matter, Mr. John and I are today introducing legislation to help mitigate the shortage of minor species drugs. The Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act of 2003 will provide manufacturers the opportunity to develop and approve minor use drugs which are vitally needed by a plethora of animal industries. Our legislation incorporates the major proposals of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine to increase the availability of drugs for minor animal species and rare diseases in all animals. The Animal Drug Availability Act of 1996 required the FDA to provide Congress with a report, describing administrative and legislative proposals to improve and enhance the animal drug approval process for minor uses and minor species of new animal drugs. This report by FDA, delivered to Congress in December 1998, laid out nine proposals. Eight of FDA's proposals required statutory changes. The bill my colleagues and I are introducing today reflects the changes called for in FDA's minor species/minor use report while maintaining and ensuring public health. The MUMS legislation outlines two new ways to lawfully market new animal drugs: (1) It establishes a conditional approval mechanism for new animal drugs for minor uses and minor species. Conditionally approved new animal drugs must meet the same safety requirements as new animal drugs approved under Section 512 in that a `reasonable expectation of effectiveness' as opposed to `substantial evidence of effectiveness' must be demonstrated. If conditional approval is granted by the Food and Drug Administration, the approval will be effective for one year and renewable for a maximum of four additional years. This process will allow drug sponsors to recapture some development costs through marketing the product prior to full, unconditional approval. (2) MUMS establishes an index of legally marketed unapproved new animal drugs for non-food minor species. The index will provide a mechanism to lawfully market minor species drugs for which there is unlikely to be sufficient financial incentives to seek full or conditional approvals. If the FDA determines that a new drug is eligible for an index listing, it will be included in the index if benefits outweigh perceived risks. Additionally, the harm caused by the absence of an approved or conditionally approved drug will be taken into account when making this determination. An independent expert panel will be largely responsible for determining whether or not the drug may be allowed to be included in the index. None of the provisions outlined in the Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act will weaken the FDA's responsibilities of ensuring the safety of animal drugs to the public. The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine currently evaluates new animal drug products prior to approval and use. The rigorous review and testing process provides consumers with the confidence that animal drugs are safe for animals and consumers of products derived from those animals. Currently, FDA guidelines include requirements to prevent harmful residues and evaluations to examine the potential for the selection of resistant pathogens. Any animal drug considered for approval under this legislation will be subject to the same requirements. The Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act is supported by the Food and Drug Administration, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Animal Health Institute, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and virtually every organization representing all genres of minor animal species. Mr. Speaker, this is vital legislation which is needed now. This Act will alleviate much animal suffering, it will promote the health of minor animal species while protecting and promoting human health, it will benefit pets and promote the emotional security of their owners, benefit various endangered species of aquatic animals, and will reduce economic risks and hardships to farmers and ranchers. This is common-sense legislation which will benefit millions of Americans from farmers and ranchers to pet owners and wildlife biologists, in addition to the animals themselves. I call on all my colleagues in the House to support the Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act of 2003.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 146 I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yeas.''

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, Mississippi lost a research treasure last week with the passing of Dr. Arthur C. Guyton. His is a legacy of medical excellence going beyond Mississippi and beyond America to be recognized internationally for his gifts to science and education. He began his life in Oxford, Mississippi, on September 8, 1919, born to the late Dr. and Mrs. Billy S. Guyton. His father--an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist--was also dean of the two-year medical school on the Oxford campus. His mother, Kate, had taught mathematics and physics as a missionary in China. He graduated from University High School with the highest academic average in his class and entered Ole Miss in 1936, completed his undergraduate work in three years, and again graduated at the top of his class. As a medical student at Harvard, his idea of creating a way to measure and differentiate ions in solutions resulted in a professor turning over an entire lab to the promising young scientist. His senior year in medical school, he and his future wife Ruth Weigle began a serious courtship which culminated in marriage on June 12, 1943. He began a surgical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital shortly after his marriage. His training was interrupted by a call to serve in the US Navy at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda and later at Camp Detrick, Maryland, where his work earned him an Army Commendation Citation. After World War II ended, he returned to Massachusetts General to complete his residency. Less than a year later, he was stricken with polio which would leave his right leg and shoulder paralyzed. During a nine-month recovery at Warm Springs, Georgia, he designed a special leg brace, a hoist for moving patients from bed to chair to bathtub, and a motorized wheelchair controlled by an electric ``joy stick.'' For these devices, he later received the U.S. Presidential Citation for the Development of Aids for the Handicapped in 1956. In 1947, the Guytons moved back to Oxford where he taught pharmacology in the two year medical school. In 1948, he was named chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. Modern research on and treatments of hypertension stand on the early work of Dr. Guyton. In the 50s, he described the ``permissive'' heart to explain cardiac output. The heart would pump only what was delivered to it through the veins. When body tissues need extra blood flow to carry required oxygen and other nutrients, the blood vessels in those tissues expand or dilate, to allow increased flow. The control of cardiac output, he decided, was vested in the periphery. This completely overturned the conventional wisdom that the heart itself controlled cardiac output. A little later, he succeeded in measuring the pressure of the interstitium, the fluid between cells which makes up about one-sixth of the body. No one had been able to measure it before, and few scientists were ready to accept Dr. Guyton's finding of a negative, or subatmospheric, pressure. In 1966, an early computer model gave Dr. Guyton the answer to the question he'd been asking since he was a medical student. He wanted to show the effect of an increase in fluid volume and had predicted that the extra volume would cause an initial rise in pressure which would then fall back part way toward normal. That didn't happen. The pressure fell all the way back to normal. This led to the ``infinite gain'' theory which said that fluid volume control by the kidney can be so powerful as a longterm regulator of blood pressure that other systems can only regulate pressure short-term and will eventually be overpowered by the key controller. These revolutionary theories flew in the face of conventional wisdom, but time and the research of thousands, has vindicated Dr. Guyton. His now famous and widely used textbook, Textbook of Medical Physiology, had its beginnings in Oxford. He decided that the text the students were using was unsatisfactory, and he began reading in diverse areas of physiology. In summarizing his reading, he wrote handouts for each section of the course and realized he had the core of a complete textbook. In the decades since, it has become the best selling physiology text in the world and quite possibly the most widely used medical textbook of any kind. In addition he has published hundreds of papers sharing the results of his research. And yet he always had time for students--for the medical students who had trouble understanding a portion of their lecture and for the graduate students who came from all over the world to study with the famous Dr. Guyton. The legacy of Arthur Guyton goes beyond his contributions to science and mankind. He and his wife reared ten children, all doctors: Dr. David L. Guyton, Professor of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Dr. Robert A. Guyton, Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Cardiothoracic Division, Emory University, School of Medicine; Dr. John R. Guyton, Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University; Dr. Steven W. Guyton, cardiothoracic surgeon at Virginia Mason Clinic, Seattle; Dr. Cathy Greenberger, internist in Boston, Massachusetts; Dr. Jean Gispen, rheumatologist in Oxford, Mississippi; Dr. Douglas C. Guyton, anesthesiologist in Phoenix, Arizona; Dr. James L. Guyton, orthopedic surgeon at Campbell's Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee; Dr. Thomas S. Guyton, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Florida School of Medicine, Gainesville; and Dr. Gregory P. Guyton, resident in orthopedics at University of Iowa School of Medicine. Over the past six decades, medical science has recognized the contributions of Arthur C. Guyton. Today, we mourn his passing but salute his many accomplishments. He is a Mississippi success story: born and educated in Mississippi, he returned to the Magnolia State to teach and research. The impact of Dr. Guyton's work on the present and future of Mississippi's health care community is immeasurable. Arthur Guyton was a blessing to Mississippi. He will be missed; but he will be remembered.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Dingell substitute. First, H.R. 6 appropriately targets and creates, effectively, authority and punishment for those who engage in fraud and manipulation. We have already seen the FERC act aggressively to enforce any type of misconduct by those companies such as Enron in market manipulation and fraud. Just as we responded to other corporate scandals, we have in this act and in the FERC appropriated authority and action to punish wrong-doers. But what we do not want to do is to needlessly expand FERC authority to rural co-ops and communities, to give courts sweeping authority that is unnecessary, unwarranted and unwise and the way that we can target wrongdoing effectively, while not creating new bureaucracy and new sweeping court authority. For that reason, for the rural co-ops and for the others that do not need to be necessarily targeted by the FERC jurisdiction, I oppose the Dingell substitution.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce a bill today to help America's energy consumers by repealing an outdated law that serves as a barrier to competition in the energy marketplace. I am pleased to be joined by the Gentleman from New York, Mr. Towns in introducing this important legislation. This bill, which is nearly identical to legislation I introduced in the last Congress and very similar to legislation approved by the Senate in the last Congress, would repeal a New Deal Law, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). This legislation is a bipartisan initiative. The current Republican and previous Democratic Administrations have called for the repeal of PUHCA. Further, the bill would implement the recommendations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made in 1995 following an extensive study by the SEC of the effects of this outdated law on today's energy markets. PUHCA is a law that has long outlived its usefulness. It imposes unnecessary costs on consumers and directly undermines the intent of current federal and state policies designed to bring more competition to America's energy market. PUHCA was enacted in 1935 to address abuses arising out of pyramid corporate structures at a time when electric utility regulation was just starting at both the federal and state level. PUHCA's primary purpose was to dismantle more than 100 complex utility holding company structures that, in many cases, took advantage of weak federal and state regulations to pursue inappropriate business practices. There are now 28 top electric and gas utility holding companies that are required by PUHCA to operate under arbitrary investment caps that preclude them from investing in areas of need. Other utility companies are exempt from PUHCA's caps, but must operate primarily within one state in order to maintain their exemptions. Our nation's gas and electric utility companies, therefore, must operate principally within certain geographic ``boxes.'' This stifles innovation, hinders competition, and undermines the development of regional electricity markets. Moreover, such a circumstance inhibits the very competition that Congress has sought to foster in our national energy policy. More specifically, PUHCA delays or, in some cases, prevents registered companies from offering new products and services to their consumers. As a barrier to entry for gas and electric utilities in all states, PUHCA limits investment and growth opportunities on a nationwide basis in the gas and electric industries. PUHCA also unnecessarily restricts the flow of capital into all states thereby inhibiting the development of new transmission and generation capacity. PUHCA stands in the way of the efforts by our nation's utility industry to serve consumers in a more competitive manner. Interestingly enough, the financial collapse of Enron underscored the need to encourage--not discourage--the entry of stable, regulated, asset-backed energy companies into the marketplace. Ironically, it is just these types of companies that are effectively barred from investing in new markets by PUHCA. Enron was opposed to PUHCA repeal because its continued existence imposed competitive handicaps on well- established, asset-backed energy companies in emerging competitive markets. The counterproductive restrictions that PUHCA places on the natural gas and electric power industries are based on historical assumptions that are no longer valid. The factors that existed when PUHCA was enacted in 1935 no longer exist today. Federal and state laws at that time were inadequate to protect consumers and investors. Today, federal and state regulations have become much more comprehensive and sensitive to market conditions. PUHCA, however, remains an economic drag on America's energy industry. The ability of State commissions to regulate holding company systems and, together with the development of regulation under the Federal Power Act of 1935 and the Natural Gas Act of 1938, have eliminated the regulatory ``gaps'' that existed in 1935 with respect to wholesale transactions in interstate commerce. The expanded ability of State commissions and the FERC to regulate inter-affiliate transactions have further rendered the 1935 Act unnecessary. In addition, important market power issues will continue to be reviewed by FERC, DoJ and the FTC. This legislation would reform the regulation of utility holding companies by repealing the duplicative SEC-related provisions of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, while assuring that the SEC retains all of its non-PUCHA jurisdiction of securities and securities markets in order to protect investors. The bill would put gas and electric power companies on an equal competitive footing, allowing them to take advantage of market opportunities that benefit investors and utility companies. Registered companies will continue to be subject to all government regulation intended to protect investors to which other industry participants are subject. SEC authority under the Securities Act, Exchange Act, Investment Advisers Act, and Trust Indenture Act will all remain in place. The State securities commissions will also have available to them the various State Blue-Sky laws. The bill will enhance the ability of FERC and the State utility commissions to access the books and records of utilities and their subsidiaries in order to improve customer protection. This would be in addition to the ongoing authority of state and federal regulators to oversee rates charged by regulated utilities in retail and wholesale markets. In the new environment confronting the utility industry, PUHCA has become nothing more than a bottleneck that constrains the ability of our nation's natural gas and electric power industries to serve consumers. PUHCA is an anachronism that burdens utility systems with costs and restrictions that impair their competitiveness and prevent them from adapting to the new and more competitive environment. PUHCA is no longer a solution because the problems of the 1930's have been replaced by effective state and federal legislation and by the realities of today's marketplace. Simply put, America no longer can afford the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. It is time for Congress to act on the recommendations of the SEC and to enact this legislation.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House today to introduce legislation creating a Constitutional Amendment to protect the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto. Last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals let stand the ruling of a San Francisco Federal Court which proclaimed the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. There have been reports that the next victim of the left's crusade against the historic heritage of our nation could be to challenge the use of our National Motto, ``In God We Trust,'' on our currency. These are unfortunate assaults on America's tradition of recognizing the role of God in our country's life, and as the foundation of our liberties. Unfortunately, there has been a trend in our courts that has sought to remove every vestige of God from our country, while child pornography is protected. When our Founding Fathers sought the monumental break between the American people and the British King, they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that they appealed ``to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions.'' They appealed to God to judge their moral condition, their uprightness and righteousness in forming our nation. Today, we can forget making any such appeal, for our judges have declared that the mere acknowledgement of God violates our highest national law. My colleagues, those who led our country in years past would be outraged. Those who gave their lives for our independence would be outraged. Those who gave their lives that we might realize the most American dream, that ``ail men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,'' those leaders too would be outraged. Americans who gave their lives to secure our freedoms would be outraged. Americans, who this very day face a war to secure our freedoms and liberate Iraq, are outraged. And friends, I am outraged, too. The time for action has come. Today, I am introducing legislation that would provide for a Constitutional Amendment to protect the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto, ``In God We Trust.'' Amending the Constitution is never taken lightly, nor should it be. Yet Congress can no longer sit idly while the courts rewrite our nation's history and traditions. This amendment is very clean, clear, concise, and unobtrusive as possible. However, it is very effective and the only way to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto are protected and preserved. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill and hope that we can begin the process to move it forward.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, for the past 41 years, Wilson Terrell has coached basketball for the Laurel City School District, influencing the lives of many of the young men within the community of Laurel, Mississippi. While some people remember him as a coach, I remember him as someone who enjoyed mentoring and teaching students as much as he loved the game of basketball. Since the beginning of his coaching career in 1962, he has been a role model for many young men. He taught them how to respect others, how to take responsibility for their actions, and a discipline of hard work and accountability. He has been a strong asset to the Laurel City School District and the community. During his time as coach he led the Laurel Tornadoes to several District Championships and to the State playoffs. Coach Terrell loved to win at basketball, but more importantly, he loved to see his students succeed in life. Wilson Terrell is truly a man of incredible character. As a former student in the Laurel public schools, I am honored to join with the entire community, and his former and current students and players, to wish him well in his retirement and to thank him for his invaluable service.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I rise before the House today to express my sincere concern for the severe economic conditions faced by the U.S. lumber industry. For nearly two decades our lumber industry has been at odds with the provincial governments of Canada over heavily subsidized softwood lumber. We've implemented numerous quick fixes to provide relief for our domestic industry, but since the expiration of the last U.S.-Canadian Softwood Lumber Agreement in 2001, lumber prices have continued to drop. If current market conditions continue, many lumber manufacturers will not survive the next 6 months. I represent the Piney Woods of Mississippi. The timber industry is the second largest sector of our economy behind the poultry industry. My constituents depend on the production of lumber and timber harvest for jobs and economic stability. We are losing jobs and our economic base in the Third Congressional District of Mississippi because heavily subsidized softwood lumber imports are being dumped in the United States by the provincial governments of Canada. Mr. Speaker, I realize the benefits of open markets, and my record clearly reflects that I am not against free trade. I am, however, opposed to unfair trade practices sometimes implemented by some of our trading partners. I oppose dumping, and I oppose the practice of the Canadian Government practically giving away trees to its mills for processing. The Department of Commerce knows that the provincial governments of Canada are engaged in unfair trade practices. This is reflected by the countervailing duties and antidumping duties imposed on Canadian softwood lumber imports. Our hope was that these duties would level the playing field between our two countries. But that effort has failed because the Canadian provincial governments have simply expanded their subsidies to offset our duties. In that light, Mr. Speaker, we are obliged to go a step further in our actions to promote fair trade. Today, I am introducing the Duty Parity Act of 2003. This legislation will clarify U.S. statute and ensure that our trade laws fully offset the values of unfairly traded products. My legislation will treat countervailing duties imposed by our government as costs of production when antidumping duties are calculated by the Department of Commerce. Not including these duties as costs of production will only permit continued unfair pricing by our trade partners at the expense of U.S. companies and workers. The Duty Parity Act will give the Commerce Department the authority to accurately account for all subsidies and impose properly valued duties. The EU and Canada treat countervailing duties as costs of production when determining antidumping duties. Why should we act differently? I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation to provide parity to our domestic lumber industry. We can ask our lumber mills to compete within the free market. But we can't ask them to compete against the treasuries of the Canadian provincial governments.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the resolution before us. The most grave responsibility any Member of Congress ever undertakes or considers is the vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force if necessary. On September 11, I drove past the Pentagon. I came in to my congressional office building, and I was informed that a plane had just struck the Pentagon. We left our offices, we went to a place, we tried to call our families, the communications systems were jammed. It took 3 hours until I could finally talk to my wife and I have five sons, and I began talking to each of my boys. I got to my second son, Ross, and he was crying, and he asked me, Daddy, are we safe? In my lifetime, I never asked that question. I never asked that question, Are we safe, of my mother and daddy, of my father, because the generations that went before us gave us the blessings of liberty. They protected and defended our safety and security when a threat, a challenge emerged; when we were at risk, they answered the call. So many times in our Nation's history, we have had the strong voices that have given us warnings and called us to action, and so many times we did not listen. Winston Churchill called on the world to look and to act at the threat that Hitler posed, and the world did not listen; and because of that, more death and more destruction and world war came. Today, we have an opportunity, backed by a clear and convincing threat, and backed by a leader of character, to hear the warnings, to know that nuclear capability is around the corner in the hands of a dictator, in the hands of a tyrant; and he could use it, and the death and the destruction that it could cause would be devastating. It would be overwhelming. But if we act now, we can stop it. We can prevent it. We can preempt it. For those reasons, we have the moral obligation to act. I support the resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Doctor Charles David Lee, a constituent of mine from Forest, Mississippi, who recently announced his retirement after 44 years of service as a general medical practitioner in Forest. Dr. Lee, affectionately known as “David” to his many friends, is the son of the late Chief Justice and Mrs. Percy Mercer Lee. He is a 1948 graduate of Forest High School, where he excelled, in both academics and athletics. Doctor Lee's undergraduate degree was attained at Mississippi College, and his Doctorate of Medicine was attained at Tulane University. While at Mississippi College, he was an outstanding athlete, participating in football, basketball and baseball. He served as Co-Captain of the football team his sophomore year, and during his juror year he was selected “Little All American” and at the same time picked up the nickname “Dixie Dave” which remains to this day. He has been recognized as one of Mississippi College's most outstanding athletes in school history. Because of his athletic achievements, he was named to the Mississippi College Sports Hall of Fame in 1972. Doctor Lee entered Tulane Medical School in 1951 and graduated 4th in his class in 1956. After graduating and completing his internship, Doctor Lee entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps as a Captain, and spent two years of service in Okinawa where he became an expert in the treatment of military divers. Because of his exemplary military service, Doctor Lee was encouraged by his military superiors to remain in the Army and make it a career. After much thought and deliberation by he and his wife, Doctor Lee decided, to return to Forest and begin his medical practice. Doctor Lee was honorably discharged from the Army in 1958. For 44 years Doctor Lee and his wife have faithfully served the Forest and Scott County community. He has focused on being a “patient's doctor” and is recognized among his peers as being a caring and loving physician with a concerned bedside manner. Over this time span, Doctor Lee has delivered more than 2,000 babies, and has served as the team Doctor for the Forest High School football team for more than 41 years. The commitment of Doctor Lee to the town of Forest, the Scott County community, and the state of Mississippi, as well as, his love for athletics, is legendary and recognized by all those around him. To show their love and appreciation for Doctor and Mrs. Lee, the town of Forest, in the early 90's, named them “Citizens of the Year.” Sid Salter, a close friend and newspaper reporter who normally accompanied Doctor Lee's to the high school athletic events said, “Lee has rarely missed a Bearcat football game at home, or on the road in the last 43 years. He has treated more than three generations of Forest High School athletes.” Doctor and Mrs. Lee are the parents of two children David Lee, Jr., and Margy Thaxton. They have two grandchildren, Jacob Lee and Joni Tillman and one great-grandson Reese Tillman. In retirement, Doctor Lee plans to fish, hunt and travel. Thus, it is indeed an honor for me to recognize, and call to the House's attention a great doctor, a great athlete, and a fine Christian gentleman, my friend from Forest, Mississippi Doctor Charles David Lee.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this act. In my home State we now have a crisis. Our legislature cannot reach agreement. It cannot enforce or enact any type of boundary or set of limits that will give us some protection and stability and predictability and certainty for our medical community. We have acute shortages of nurses, of OB/ GYNs, of neurosurgeons. Our trauma care, if there is a car accident, this is becoming a matter of life and death in Mississippi. We needed to do something here so that we can help in Medicare and Medicaid and for our veterans so that we can help have the nursing and the physician professions stay in business and stay in a very noble calling to heal the sick and to make well those who are hurt and injured. If we do not do this, we will see health care in places like Mississippi diminish. It will not be affordable. It will not be accessible. I know from personal experience. My mother just had open heart surgery. My sister just had her eighth child. On one day we had new life in our family. On the next day my mother got a new heart. We must have the medical care and we need this act to contain the costs and to keep those who heal in business.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I come from a rural community that prides itself in its values and the ability to express those values. Our local health care providers work tirelessly to improve the quality of life and care for the small towns and communities they serve. It is important to note that many of our rural states and rural health providers have no choice than to rely on public aid for supplying care. We must not limit their ability to serve their communities. We should give them the decision making power that will enable them to better serve their areas while protecting them from discrimination in the law. Because I believe that it is our local communities that better understand the needs of the people, I strongly support the passage of H.R. 4691, the ``Abortion Non-Discrimination Act of 2002.'' This bill will provide the necessary protection to health care professionals as they strive to provide quality care to the people they serve.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) for his leadership on pension reform and thank both him and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for all they have done. I am pleased to sponsor the resolution before us today expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should complete action on H.R. 3762, the Pension Security Act of 2002. Mr. Speaker, due to gross irresponsibility, corruption, and financial mismanagement, several of our country's most noted corporations have collapsed. Accordingly, tens of thousands of employees who held their retirement accounts in these companies have lost everything. Plans made for retirement vanished, hopes and dreams for the future disappeared, and savings to send children to college are gone, all because of improper and fraudulent actions of a handful of corporate executives who took advantage of this system. We know all too well in my home State of Mississippi the cost and the consequence and the hurt and the pain and the loss when this happens. The leadership of this House, Republicans and Democrats on a bipartisan basis, took action to prevent further such abuses. We passed the Pension Security Act in April to protect the pensions of American workers from corporate wrongdoing while restoring worker confidence in our country's pension system.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, since December, several of our country's most noted corporations, many widely regarded as the most innovative, fastest growing, strongest, and best managed companies, have collapsed due to gross irresponsibility and financial mismanagement. Accordingly, shareholders in these companies as well as tens of thousands of employees who held their retirement accounts in these companies have lost literally billions of dollars. These shareholders and employees have lost everything. The plans made for retirement? Vanished. Their hopes and dreams for the future? Gone. Money set aside to pay for sending their children to college? Disappeared. All because of the improper and fraudulent actions of a handful of corporate executives who took advantage of the system. In April, the Republican leadership of the House brought to the floor legislation to protect the pensions of employees from corporate wrongdoing. This legislation, the Pension Security Act, HR 3762, provides new protections and options to help workers enhance and preserve their savings while restoring employee confidence in our country's pension system. That crucial legislation passed this body with a bipartisan vote of 255-163. Since that time, however, the Senate has not taken action on this bill. Pension security is a must past issue for this Congress. Employee confidence in their pensions is deteriorating. Will we allow yet another corporate scandal to hurt even more families throughout this country before getting a bill to the President's desk? The Pension Security Act will reform outdated federal pension laws. The bill will prevent company insiders from selling their own stock during blackouts while employees are left to fend for themselves. It will require employers to offer workers high quality investment advice so they can make well-informed decisions on how to invest their hard- earned money. It gives workers freedom to diversify their portfolios and seek alternative investment options. The President is ready to sign this bill. The House has not turned its back on American workers. The House has taken action! We passed the Pension Security Act five months ago! But, the Senate has not acted on pension reform legislation, and American workers are worried about their retirement. Mr. Speaker, a few bad apples in the corporate hierarchy have drained the retirement savings of tens of thousands of workers, and it's time to act! Today, I am introducing a resolution demanding action on the Pension Security Act. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. It's time to stop playing politics with the savings of hard working Americans.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 352, I was detained due to traffic. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to speak out of order.) Congratulations to Congressman Meehan and his wife, Ellen, on the birth of Daniel Martin Meehan

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, eighty years ago on August 2, 1922, Julius Wade King was born in Lockhart, MS, to James and Clara King. Julius, better known as Judy, has led a life devoted to business, education, service, church, and family. A product of public schools, Judy graduated Heidelberg High School in 1940 and entered Jones County Junior College (JCJC); Judy then received his B.S. degree from the University of Mississippi in 1943. Upon leaving Ole Miss, Judy attended U.S. Naval Midshipman's School at Notre Dame and was commissioned as an officer. But graduating from JCJC, Ole Miss, and Notre Dame would not end Judy's association with education, for he has devoted more than 6 decades to the field. Active in the South Pacific until 1946, Judy was discharged from the Navy and moved to where he still calls home--Laurel, Mississippi. In Laurel, Judy began work in the automotive business and later, in 1951, Judy launched a career in the oil and gas industry as well as in real estate. Throughout his career at Julius W. King Oil Properties, Judy has been a longtime member of the Board of Directors of Independent Petroleum Association of America and Mid Continent Oil and Gas Association. Judy was married on April 10, 1955 to Marion Louise King; they are the parents of two daughters--Mary Gwendolyn and Kendall Lea and the grandparents of five. Judy has given many years of his life to the service of the community. A member of First Baptist Church of Laurel, Judy has helped the church with continuous growth and expansion by serving as Property Acquisition Chairman. Many of Judy's service hours have also been committed to education. As past chairman of the University of Mississippi Foundation, board member, and endower of the King Lectureship in Ethics, Judy has played an active role in serving the University of Mississippi. Along with his brother, James E. King, Jr., Judy donated the necessary money to initiate the building of the JCJC King Chemistry Center. Still serving JCJC today, Judy is the chairman of the JCJC Foundation. Judy is an outstanding leader. He has served as president and board member of United Way of Jones County; president of Laurel Jaycees; twice president of the Laurel Country Club; president of Jones County Chapter of the American Red Cross and Lung Association; and board member of the Jones County Economic Development Authority. Judy has also recently completed 14 years on the board of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. In addition to serving his community, Judy has made contributions to the Republican Party on both the local and national level. Judy has served as the Finance Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party and assisted in building the United Republican Fund of Mississippi. He has been recognized as a Pioneer Republican and ran for State Senate in 1963. Judy has also served on the state and county GOP executive committees. On the national level, Judy has had the honor of being a presidential elector three times and serving three years on the White House Selection Committee for Fellowships. He also has the distinction of being a member of the Transition team for the Reagan White House. Judy has been a role model for me as a Christian husband, father, businessman, and leader. I thank him for his example and for his friendship to me and my family. It is an honor and privilege for me to extend birthday wishes to a man who knows the true meaning of faith, service, community, and family. Happy 80th Birthday Judy King!

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that would create a constitutional amendment to protect the Pledge of Allegiance and the National motto. Recently, a federal court in San Francisco ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional and cannot be recited in schools. This is the latest in a rash of stunning decisions that have come from our federal courts. It is an unfortunate assault on America's tradition of recognizing the role of God in our country's life and as the foundation of our liberties. The order and decision by this court has been suspended, but it is a chilling fact that this decision was ever issued in a U.S. Federal court. An overwhelming majority of Americans were outraged with this decision and are hopeful that it will be overturned--but there is no guarantee. In fact, there have been reports of those wishing to challenge the use of ``In God We Trust,'' the National motto, on our currency. Unfortunately, there has been a trend in our courts that have sought to remove every vestige of God from our country, while child pornography is protected. The time for action has come. Today, I am introducing legislation that would provide for a constitutional amendment to protect the ``Pledge of Allegiance'' and the national motto ``In God We Trust.'' Amending the Constitution is never taken lightly, nor should it be. Yet Congress can no longer sit idly while the courts rewrite our nation's history and traditions. This amendment is very clean, clear, concise, and as unobtrusive as possible. However, it is very effective and the only way to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto are protected and preserved. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this bill and hope that we can begin the process to move it forward.

Mr. PICKERING

Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this measure to ban a horrific procedure. For my generation, we have walked in as mothers and fathers into our doctors' offices and we have had the stethoscope with amplifier hooked to the mother's stomach. We have heard the heartbeat of the child at 11 weeks fill the room with a beating and a pounding and a pulsing of life. In the second trimester in the fourth month, we walk in and with modern technology in the window through the womb we see our babies. We know whether it is a boy or a girl. We see their heartbeat, we see their arms and legs kick and move. We see them suck their thumbs. We as a generation have had the experience of being in the delivery room to actually hold a baby as it arrives, to cut the umbilical cord, to know that what was once hidden is no more, what was once a mystery is now a revelation of life. I would ask us all, then, to stand for the life that we know, to stop this horrific practice. Mr. Speaker, my generation has had the opportunity to walk into our doctor's office, and through the use of technology we have heard the beating of our unborn child's heart, we have seen the movement of the child's arms and legs. We know whether the child is a boy or girl. We have been able to be present in the delivery to room to hold the newborn child and cut the umbilical cord. What was once hidden is now known. What was once a mystery is now a wonderful revelation of newborn life. I would ask my colleagues that before they cast a vote on this measure, listen to that heartbeat. Look into the womb. Feel the kick of the baby's legs and arms. Before the abortionist sticks the scissors into the baby's skull, turn the baby. Look at that face and the fullness of life that resides in it. Feel the baby's body and the very essence of life. If you still have the courage, then insert the scissors. Collapse the brain, and take the life. But, if you do that, our nation, our people, or anyone who allows this or commits this act violates the nation's ideal that all are created equal and are endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If we allow this to continue as a nation, we have lost our moral compass. We have lost our conscience.