Adam Putnam

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. Putnam asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks, and include extraneous material.)

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this issue. We do thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) and the rest of the minority for their assistance in moving this legislation as quickly as we have. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record jurisdiction-related letters between the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Resources regarding this legislation. House of Representatives, Committee on Resources, Washington, DC, November 19, 2003. Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I understand that you wish to consider H.R. 482, on the Floor of the House of Representatives today. This bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to convey several National Forest System parcels in the State of Florida. The bill was referred solely to the Committee on Agriculture. However, a closer reading shows that 16 of the 17 parcels are located in the Choctawhatchee and Ocala National Forests, which are forests created from the public domain. Those forests are under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Resources under Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. In addition, the bill waives a provision of the Federal Land Policy Management Act, a statute also under Resources' purview. My staff has reviewed the bill and we have no problem with the substance. Because of the limited number of days remaining in the first session of the 108th Congress and the importance of this bill to Congressman Jeff Miller, I will not insist on a referral of the bill. Of course, this action does not waive our jurisdiction over the bill, nor is this action to be construed as a precedent for other, similar legislation. In addition, I would ask you to support my request to have the Committee on Resources to be represented on any conference on H.R. 482 or a similar bill, should one become necessary. Finally, I would include this letter and any response you might have in the Congressional Record during debate on H.R. 482. Thank you for your consideration of my request. I appreciate our continued excellent working relationship on forest issues and look forward to working with you on other bills this Congress. Sincerely, Richard W. Pombo, Chairman.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Senate 117, the Florida National Forest Management Act of 2003. I commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller), my good friend, for his leadership on this issue. This bill allows the Secretary of Agriculture to solicit offers to sell or exchange 17 parcels of land within the National Forest system in Florida. These parcels, according to the Department of Agriculture are ``isolated lands that no longer contain National Forest characteristics and are no longer manageable as National Forest system land.'' Many of the parcels this bill considers contain structures such as baseball fields and the Okaloosa County Fairgrounds. The committee received letters of support from the Department of Agriculture and the concurrence of the Air Force for the sale or exchange of lands adjacent to Air Force property in Florida. All interested parties agree that this bill will improve ownership patterns, facilitate the best use of these lands, and enable the Forest Service to achieve its land management objectives. I urge all the Members to support this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man of honor and a dear friend, a man who touched so many lives and dedicated himself to making Polk County, Florida, a better place. Charles Richardson rose from humble beginnings in Polk County and helped to integrate what is now Bartow High School. He began his political career on the Winter Haven City Commission, and rose to be, as a Republican, the first African American ever to serve on the Polk County commission. He was described as a family man and a jovial leader, with a keen intellect and an extraordinary wit and wisdom. He was also known as a strong role model for young people, who encouraged them to get an education and to go to college and achieve the American Dream. He is survived by his wife, Karen; two daughters, Ericka and Janine; and two sons, Charles, Jr., and Elden. Mr. Speaker, even after being diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer, Charles Richardson continued to perform his county commission duties right up to the night he passed. Charles Richardson blessed our community through his hard work and generous nature, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome home the more than 100 men and women of the Florida National Guard's 495th Transportation Company from Lakeland, Florida as they arrive back in the United States and return to their families. I want to thank them for their courage, their service, their bravery, and I want to thank their families for their patience through this long ordeal. The 495th took small arms fire during its tenure in the desert, luckily without casualties. Floridians should be proud of the service and tremendous accomplishments of the 495th Transportation Company. These men and women risked their lives and made sacrifices to keep our country safe and secure and secure those same blessings for the Iraqi people. Mr. Speaker, the men and women of the 495th Transportation Unit have each played an invaluable role in their own communities for years. They are now home again to retake their place in businesses, schools, fire stations and farms. And I believe Staff Sergeant Stephanie Miller said it best: ``I'm just glad to be home. Glad we made it back safe.'' God bless Stephanie. God bless all her colleagues, and may God continue to shower his blessings upon this great land.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, I rise to make a point of order.

Mr. PUTNAM. If the gentlewoman would yield.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, I regret that I must rise again and raise yet another point of order against section 572 entitled, ``Competition in Contracting,'' on the grounds that this session changes existing law in violation of clause 2(b) of House rule XXI and is therefore legislation included in a general appropriations bill.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, it is with no small amount of regret that I rise to make a point of order against the distinguished chairman of this subcommittee who has worked very hard and is so capable in this area, but on behalf of Chairman Goodlatte of the Committee on Agriculture, I must rise to make a point of order against section 568(a)(3) in that it violates House rule XXI, clause 2, by changing existing law and inserting legislative language in an appropriation bill.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, again rising to raise a point of order and certainly not reflecting on the policy contained therein but rather the process and asserting the jurisdiction of the authorizing committees, I must rise a third time to make a point of order against section 575 on the grounds that it is changing existing law in violation of clause 2 of House rule XXI. By its very terms, this section changes current law and specifically says ``The United States Agency for International Development is authorized.'' This is a clear violation of the rule.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on this issue. I am from a farm family in a rapidly growing part of the State of Florida. I have seen what the death tax does to destroy families and destroy pieces of property that have been in the same family's hands for generations, that have cared for that land and have been steward of that land, and the environmental benefits that come from that. When the death of the grandfather or the great grandfather or the father comes along, it is busted up into half-acre ranchettes, and the environmental and agricultural benefits are lost. The food security issues are lost forever. We cannot unpave a parking lot, we cannot bring those families back together again, you cannot put agriculture back into practice. It is lost forever because of a quirk in our tax law which is purely redistribution of wealth. Now the Johnny-come-lately deficit hawks on the other side would have us believe that we cannot afford to do this in this particular economic environment. But they did not believe we should do it when we were projecting trillion-dollar surpluses either. The bottom line is that they do not support the repeal of this immoral tax. They continue to support the redistribution of wealth, the penalty on ambition, the penalty on thrift, the penalty on holding those family operations together again. Despite their best planning efforts, 70 percent of small and family-owned businesses do not survive the second generation and 87 percent do not survive the third. Mr. Speaker, 90 percent of those failed owners say the death tax was a contributing factor to the loss of that business. It is time for the death tax to die. It is an immoral tax. It sends the wrong philosophical message to the next generation of Americans who are looking for incentives to work hard and create wealth and jobs and build businesses and farms. I urge support of H.R. 8.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding me this time, and I appreciate his leadership on this important issue. I rise in support of H.R. 1954. Our servicemen and women shoulder the burden of defense as one of the responsibilities of citizenship in this country. Having participated in protecting our rights of U.S. citizenship, and having met lethal force on battlefields around the world, they are more than qualified to appreciate and treasure the blessings of citizenship in the country they so proudly serve. The relationship of citizenship to the all-volunteer force is very real. That force is a reflection of the intrinsic civic virtue of military service. That civic virtue is as strong today among America's citizen-soldiers as with the first minutemen. And making it easier for military service members to gain citizenship is a minimal act of gratitude by an often all-too-ungrateful Nation. A citizen of the United States is accorded a number of benefits not granted to lawful permanent residents. He has the right to vote and to hold public office and may qualify for various jobs from which permanent residents are barred. But who is more deserving to receive those benefits of U.S. citizenship than a member of the Armed Forces? I am delighted that the committee's bill incorporated my legislation, H.R. 1806, along with others, as part of the final package. It came to my attention that this was the right thing to do for our citizen- soldiers when one of my district caseworkers notified me that some of our own constituents were courageously serving in our Armed Forces, defending our freedom, and sadly, some of those who had been killed had yet to be granted U.S. citizenship. More so than most, these individuals have earned their opportunity to become citizens of the country they defend. These active duty service members who have shown such courage and bravery in the defense of our homeland deserve to become citizens before not after they begin risking their lives to defend ours.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw my Colleagues to the attention of the following articles on the Mulberry Memorial American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 72, in Mulberry, Florida from my district. Unit 72 is very active within the community of Mulberry, and I feel these articles exemplify the best of Unit 72's service and commitment. Please consider the inclusion of these articles in the Congressional Record. Mulberry, Florida's Schools Benefit (Submitted by Donna Righi, Unit 72 President and Education Chairman) Mulberry Memorial American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 72, Department of Florida works closely with the schools in Mulberry, Florida and are kept aware of the needs of their students. In February 2003, Unit 72 donated over $120 of underwear to two of the schools in Mulberry. School Supply drives are frequently held, and money is often donated to schools, however, Unit 72 discovered that children in need often do not have underwear to wear. You aren't able to give away your used underwear, so needy families often do not receive this necessity. The schools were contacted in regards to sizes, and Unit 72 bought them for the schools to distribute to those in real need. Items that were distributed were: Socks, underpants, jockey shorts, and even bras. The schools really appreciated this. They never seem to have enough of these items for occasional accidents that occur, not to mention the students that can't afford these necessities. On Wednesday evening, September 11, 2002, The Mulberry American Legion Auxiliary Unit #72, joined with the American Legion and Sons of the American Legion Squadron 72 and conducted a service in observance of the events of September 11, 2001. We had distributed bags to two local schools, Kingsford Elementary and R. Bruce Wagner Elementary, for the children to decorate for luminaries. These children did a magnificent job on over three hundred bags. Legion Post 72 Commander, Jerry M. Mitchell, opened our ceremony with a brief welcome and the Pledge of Allegiance. Legion Chaplain Dennis Farmer gave an invocation and then turned the ceremony over to Martha Bosley, Auxiliary Vice President who gave a short speech in remembrance of the victims and heroes of that fateful day. Auxiliary Unit 72 member, Jan Feldman closed our service with the singing of ``God Bless America''. The more than fifty participants then took their American flags to the side of Route 37 to wave in a show of patriotism and were greeted by passing motorists who waved back. Later the members lighted all the luminaries the students had provided and placed them by the side of Route 37 as dusk fell. Again the passing motorists signaled their approval and appreciation by blinking their lights and honking their horns.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, when Dr. Gregory Spirakis' 14-month-old baby, Petey, developed meningitis, the child was given antibiotics and recovered fully. When 14-month-old Andre Chionizilli of Balti, Moldova, developed meningitis, he lost his hearing because he had no access to antibiotics. To help children like Andre, Dr. Spirakis, a constituent of mine from Lakeland, Florida, began a humanitarian mission in Moldova, one of the former Soviet Republics. Dr. Spirakis has made two more trips to Balti, one of the cities of Lakeland's Sister Cities. During the second trip in August 2000, Dr. Spirakis, with financial support from the First Aviation Sertoma club of Lakeland, brought 115 hearing aids and 90 pounds of antibiotics and started a mobile audiology program. Dr. Spirakis began traveling to Moldova to treat hearing-impaired children in 1997 after meeting Dr. Iurii Lobeev, his Moldovan counterpart, in a medical exchange program in the United States. Dr. Spirakis and his wife, both audiologists, have made several visits to Moldova, consulting and treating more than 170 children. In 2001, Dr. Spirakis founded the Moldovan Children's Audiology Foundation (MCAF) and provided financial and technical support for the establishment of the Hearing Protection Center in the city of Belts, Moldova. The Center provides hearing and medical services for children with disabilities and operates a medical care unit fully equipped, through Dr. Spirakis's support, to solve children's hearing problems. Dr. Spirakis has personally provided training to his Moldovan counterparts at the Center, Dr. Iurii Lobeev and Dr. Victor Vrabie, and has assisted them in traveling to Lakeland and throughout the State of Florida to learn American techniques for treating disabled children, developing their capacity to perform audiograms for children, choose treatment strategies, and provide other operations that were previously only available in a specialized hospital in Chisinau, the capital. Through the combined efforts of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of State, the MCAF, and Counterpart International, a container of medical equipment, consumables, school supplies, and furniture, valued at nearly $48,000, was delivered to the Hearing Protection Center on October 1, 2002. With this delivery, the Center now has a state-of-the-art audiology clinic and provides services to the city of Belts and throughout the surrounding rural areas. The Center provides services to a larger number of constituents including newborn children, veterans, and pensioners with hearing disabilities. The U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Europe and Eurasia will be honoring Dr. Gregory Spirakis at a dinner on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 to recognize his efforts to improve the lives of people around the world and salute his continued commitment to foreign assistance. I would like to congratulate Dr. Spirakis for his work and express my thanks to him for his dedication and commitment to children around the world.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Florida set an example for the rest of the Nation by creating a program giving parents of children with disabilities the choice they deserve. The John McKay Scholarship Program was put in place to increase parental choice by allowing the parents of children with disabilities who had been attending a public school that was not addressing their needs to decide where their child would excel the most, be it private or parochial. Currently in Florida, those scholarships are funded by the State. In passing this amendment we would be able to reach more of the 374,000 students in Florida alone who are eligible for these scholarships. Today, over 9,000 students utilize these scholarships to receive the education they would otherwise not be afforded. Fifty percent of those students qualify for free and reduced lunch, a higher percentage of low-income students than in the general education population in Florida. Thanks to these scholarships, we are helping low income students receive services they deserve. This amendment will allow States to participate if they wish, a chance to benefit from the program like the McKay Scholarship Program; a program, by the way, which has an 89 percent reenrollment rate by those parents who are satisfied with the choice that the McKay scholarship affords them. Mr. Speaker, Florida has received very positive feedback from these parents and from the educational system, and the McKay scholarship continues to grow. Let us not turn our backs on these children who deserve these educational services and let us continue to help them achieve their goals.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) for yielding me time, a good friend who has made a tremendous difference in this body in a very short period of time; and my friend and colleague from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega); and our fellow author of this bill, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Boyd). Truly, conservation in the movement and the commitment to public access for hunting and other outdoor activities is a bipartisan effort and something all of us are committed to. Mr. Speaker, on March 14, 2003, the National Wildlife Refuge System celebrated its centennial anniversary. A hundred years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt established the first refuge, the Pelican Island Bird Reservation in Florida's Indian River Lagoon. Today the National Wildlife Refuge System has evolved into the world's most unique network of lands and waters set aside specifically for conservation of fish, wildlife, and plants. With 540 refuges encompassing nearly 95 million acres and hosting some 35 million visitors annually, the National Wildlife Refuge System is a complex network of lands managed for wildlife and the public. There are refuges in every State of the Union and within an hour's drive of almost every major city. The Secretary of the Interior, Gayle Norton, was joined by thousands of wildlife enthusiasts, Members of Congress, and notable conservationists to celebrate the centennial of the system on March 14 at Pelican Island. These celebrations occurred simultaneously at wildlife refuges across America, and the celebration will continue throughout the year. To commemorate this event, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) and I introduced H. Res. 173 to commemorate this centennial anniversary and to express support for its continued success in the next 100 years and beyond. As we gather in support of this to commemorate this tremendous birthday for the system, I would like to read into the Record an advertisement from Roll Call sponsored by nearly 40 sportsmen conservation groups. This diverse group represents the backbone of America's conservation efforts, and their strong support of the refuge system is both a testament and a tribute to the vision of the sportsman conservationist President Theodore Roosevelt, who proclaimed the first refuge in 1903. The ad begins with a quote from that great President and reads as follows: ``In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen. The excellent people who protest against all hunting and consider sportsmen an enemy of wildlife, are ignorant of the fact that in reality the genuine sportsman is by all odds the most important factor in keeping the larger and more valuable wild creatures from total extermination.'' The hunting community was one of the original, if not the only original, entity that recognized the need for wildlife conservation, not only for hunters but for all those who seek to enjoy wildlife. Hunters were conservationists long before it was the politically correct thing to do. The timing of the formation of the National Refuge System illustrates this. The system was formed after the virtual eradication of the native bison, together with a dangerous reduction in a number of other species such as the prong horn, migratory water fowl and others. Hunters were the first to wake up to the reality that our wildlife resources were not unlimited. President Roosevelt, an avid hunter and conservationist himself, recognized the need to preserve wildlife through sustainable use. Unfortunately, some who oppose these hunting efforts attempt to revise history to diminish the hunting community's contribution to wildlife conservation. Recently on the eve of the centennial of the system, some have cast a pall by waging a litigation challenge to the system. Sadly, they missed the beauty of the refuge system as a place for all to enjoy wildlife and to cooperate in that effort. The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, identified by then President Clinton as ``the most significant conservation legislation to emerge from Congress to date,'' was a collaborative effort born of extensive negotiations between executive branch, Congress, environmental groups, and sportsmens organizations. According to the executive order that announced the 1997 law, the bill was ``proof that when there is a shared commitment to do what is right for our natural resources, partisan and idealogical differences can be set aside and compromises can be negotiated for the benefit of the common good.'' Sportsmen are the original conservationists. The stewardship of the game population that provides a bounty of food and sport is crucial in the survival of many game species. The gains achieved in scientific management of game species can be linked to the efforts of hunters to maintain the populations and quality of the game they hunt. Populations of game animals have flourished through proper game management by concerned and devoted hunters. The populations of deer and turkey alone are far greater now at the beginning of this century than they ever were at the beginning of the last. It is in a hunter's best interest to maintain game populations so that they may continue to practice the tradition they love. Licensed game hunters are deeply involved in game management on a number of levels. They pay taxes on their arms and ammunition, stamps and permits, funds that all go to help protect and maintain the sport that they hold so dear to their hearts. The rules and codes that today's sportsmen follow serve to protect and improve the quality of game species for generations to come. I again thank the cosponsors of this legislation on both sides of the aisle, and I appreciate the time given us by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, a recent broadband technology decision by the Federal Communications Commission presents serious issues for rural America and the agricultural industry as a whole. Perhaps no small- to mid-sized business sector has been more affected by technology than agriculture, where computer systems monitor crop production, satellites relay soil moisture information and cell phones coordinate efforts. However, last year, when the House passed the Tauzin-Dingell bill, which would remove outmoded restrictions on local phone companies in exchange for aggressive system modernization and network build-out requirements, by adopting the business-as-usual stance, the FCC refused an opportunity to move in the direction that American agriculture and rural America has by adopting new technology, and instead attempted to require some companies to give deep discounts to their competition. Capital investment by these companies will suffer greatly in central Florida and throughout rural America. Mr. Speaker, if local phone companies have little interest and no real incentive to invest heavily in urban and wealthy suburban areas, rural and small-town Americans will once again get the short end of the stick. I join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) in strongly urging the FCC to reconsider their position. Rural America needs the technological progress regulatory reform could bring.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 380, which contains the same language as H.R. 735. This legislation, as has been said earlier, is critically important to our Nation's economy, especially in these uncertain times. S. 380 is good for the American consumers because it means that we will be able to hold the line on postal rate increases for at least 2 more years. It also relieves pressure on those who rely heavily on the postal service to deliver their products, allowing them to reinvest that savings into their local communities and provide more jobs. Most importantly, by freezing rates for 2 years, the postal service and its customers are afforded great stability in their mailing and long-term planning budgets. As has been said earlier, this involved the support of all of the postal service customers, the unions, the administration; and it involved a great deal of compromise for those folks to come on board, setting the tone for long-term structural reform of the postal service. The bill buys everyone valuable time to develop a comprehensive long- term solution to the post office's solvency, while avoiding the temptation to micromanage post offices. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh), a congressional leader on postal issues, and my chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), for his hard work bringing the bill so swiftly to the floor. The gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Tom Davis) has demonstrated his leadership in legislative capabilities as chairman of the Committee on Government Reform in a very short period of time, and I appreciate his work on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for the time. Mr. Chairman, we have been through this budget process, and I serve on the Committee on the Budget, and we have worked through a very deliberative process where there can be legitimate disagreement over how we fund these priorities, but the bottom line is this. This country has suffered a national emergency through September 11. We are engaged in war at this time, and we have come out of a recession that has put tremendous pressures on our revenues, but there are some in this Chamber who think that Washington should be exempt from belt- tightening when every school board, every municipality, every State in America is going through the same process. Just because we print the money does not mean that we should not have to find savings. There are people on both sides of the aisle, Mr. Chairman, who want to work towards a responsible way to save Social Security, to save Medicare. As a young Member of this Congress, I believe we have to think beyond the next election and beyond the next budget to do those kinds of things, but if we cannot find 1 percent savings, then we will never, ever be able to tell the American people that we can take the giant leaps to reform those huge programs. The gentleman managing the floor for the other side on this debate has labeled some of us in this Chamber as henchmen for supporting our President's crusade to liberate Iraq. He has accused the President of ordering the assassination of Saddam Hussein to cover up for the fact that we have yet to find bin Laden, although we have disrupted al Qaeda. I resent that, Mr. Speaker, and I think that he should take his tongue-in-cheek tirade back to Baghdad where some of his colleagues have trod in the past. It is unacceptable when our young men and women are at war to have those kinds of character assassinations. To label Members of this body as henchmen, to go after the character of our President who has led this Nation through so much, goes above and beyond legitimate disagreement over the priorities that this budget should have, and it is unacceptable, and it should not stand.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an extraordinary man, a man who lived to see his wish come true. Lakeland's John McMorran, who passed away as the oldest-living American at the ripe old age of 113, got his wish to live in 3 centuries. John McMorran, the fourth-oldest living person in the world, was born in a log cabin in Port Huron, Michigan, on June 19, 1889, the same year the Eiffel Tower was built. In 1990 he moved to Lakeland in my district to be near his family. The son of farmers, he held a variety of jobs until he retired at 84. He worked at a Detroit munitions factory earning a dollar a day during World War I. Kind, happy, hard working, well put together were just some of the words used to describe him. He is survived by a vast network of family and friends who loved him. Madam Speaker, I believe John McMorran said it best himself. When asked what his secret was to long life, he responded by saying: ``I drink a cup of coffee before every meal and I stay away from cheap whiskey.'' God bless John and his family, Madam Speaker.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, just about every day the media glorifies and offers a platform for actors and actresses who speak out on the great issues of the day: war, environment, human rights. These social icons usually stress that they are taking these stands for our children; and rightfully so, cause we should all strive to be models for future generations. That is why I was puzzled to learn that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has nominated Roman Polanski for an Oscar as best director. Mr. Speaker, he fled the United States a quarter of a century ago to escape sentencing after having pled guilty to the rape of a 13-year-old girl. In fact, if he returns to the United States to receive his Oscar, he will be apprehended by the LAPD. The Academy, however, is in good company with their nomination. The French have also nominated Mr. Polanski and are recognizing him by bestowing their Cesar Award for his work. Mr. Speaker, there is something fundamentally wrong with the value system present in Hollywood today when the Academy would honor a pedophile who fled the country rather than face sentencing. It is times like these when it becomes brutally apparent just how out of touch Hollywood is with mainstream American values.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, as the United Nations charges towards irrelevance, we have this latest news that Libya has been selected to become Chair of the United Nations Commission on Rights. Libya continues to be a blatant violator of human rights and remains on our own State Department's list of state sponsors of terror. Libya's totalitarian regime under Muammar Qadhafi has been a leading state sponsor of terrorism, including on November 13 the German court which convicted a Libyan national for the bombing in 1986 of the La Belle disco in Berlin; and the court further declared that there was clear evidence of responsibility of the Libyan Government for the bombing. Additionally, Libya was responsible for the explosion of Pan American Airline Flight 103 that crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 259 passengers and crew and 11 citizens on the ground. To add insult to injury in this latest mockery of the United Nations, Iraq is in line to chair the United Nations Conference on Disarmament later this year. Mr. Speaker, the world needs a credible spokesman for human rights and democratic values. The ascension of Libya to chair this body and the ascension of Iraq to chair the Conference on Disarmament make a further mockery of the Commission and the entire United Nations.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn in memory of the valiant crew members of the Space Shuttle Columbia.