Mike Pence

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, a very moving part of my trip to Baghdad was our meetings at the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority at Saddam Hussein's palace.

Mr. PENCE. One of 100. It was the size of three or four resorts in Florida and twice as opulent. But across the street, there is a bunker underground hidden underneath what appears to be a garbage dump or a broken and destroyed building. It was three stories underground. It was one of those sophisticated bunkers we hear about; but what was most provocative to me was to learn that in that bunker was an enormous financial investment in a ventilation system which was designed as a countermeasure to the distribution of chemical or biological weapons. There was a decontamination room to essentially remove chemical or biological agents that were on a person before they could enter the bunker itself. For a regime that, according to some of the administration's critics, never had weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein's own bunker, literally down the street from his primary palace, had an enormous multi-million dollar investment to protect him from weapons that he apparently did not possess.

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, I think that the statement that the gentleman just made is extremely important. I think that statement should be highlighted and underscored and chiseled in a place where every American can read it. As he said again here on Capitol Hill, Dr. David Kay, weapons inspector who led the original effort after the war with the Iraqi survey group, he said what he found was more dangerous than what they believed would be there. In terms of the establishment of a diverse program of chemical and biological weapons, as the gentleman has with great particularity described, was prepared in the event of the strictures being lifted, was prepared to produce large amounts of these types of weapons. Of course we found the nose cones on missiles hollowed out just for the size of an inclusion of a vial of certain types of agents that would have no other reason to be hollowed out as a warhead in that way. We found these munitions in large numbers. But David Kay said that what we found was in many respects more dangerous than what we expected to find.

Mr. PENCE. If the gentleman will yield, I would like to know why President Bill Clinton got it wrong. I would like to know why Vice President Gore had the weapons of mass destruction estimate for Iraq so wrong. And I do not say that in a partisan spirit, I say that because if, in fact, there were never any weapons of mass destruction following the time he used them against his own people in the early 1990s, then there was an intelligence failure. But if it was, it truly was an institutional failure; not, as some would suggest, not associated with the present administration, but associated with an institutional failure that, I will add one other point if the gentleman will permit me, was not just an intelligence failure of the U.S. intelligence failure, but it was, as I said at the beginning, a world intelligence failure. The intelligence communities of every one of our allies in the western world, in this cause, and even many who chose not to join us, France and Germany and Russia's intelligence community, as their votes in the U.N. Security Council support, all of them came to the conclusion, unequivocally, that Saddam Hussein possessed biological and chemical weapons.

Mr. PENCE. The gentleman has caught me in a little bit of a rhetorical joust, and it seems to me that those who want to say we did not find what would have amounted, if we were absolutely correct, to a two-car garage load of biological and chemical weapons, it would not have filled more than that. But if we were wrong at the time, we went to war that that did not exist, that is the straining of the gnat when we ignore the elephant in the room. The elephant in the room is the man and his regime were a weapon of mass destruction, terrorized and killed over 1 million of his own people, had these weapons and used them against his own people in the past, and, as the gentleman from Michigan says eloquently, most assuredly our conclusion that he was a menace and threat was accurate.

Mr. PENCE. Apart from the inspiration of meeting particularly Hoosiers in uniform in Baghdad, the most inspiring for me, and this picture gives evidence, was the opportunities we had a week ago to meet with ordinary Iraqis, people working construction, men and women of various traditions, and even various faiths. One of our meetings, and it may astound some that could be looking in, Mr. Speaker, is we had a meeting with a Shia cleric, a Shiite Muslim politician and the Catholic Bishop of Basra, who walked in in full religious garb, embraced the Shia cleric, as they obviously had great affection for one another, and then spoke of the religious pluralism that was a tradition for over 800 years in the communities of Basra in southeastern Iraq.

Mr. PENCE. That is absolutely right. Basra itself is just south of the convergence of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, which the Bible records to be the location of the Garden of Eden. At Tallil Air Base, you can see essentially a pyramid from 2100 B.C. that marks the birthplace of Abraham, what was known as Ur of the Chaldeans. It is a place of incalculable historical value and significance, and the people reflect that. But I have to tell the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Speaker, that I fell in love with the Iraqi people that I met. The two qualities of the people that I met, and, again, it was only 60 or 70 regular Iraqis that we spent significant time with in the course of that weekend, but the Iraqi people that I met were highly literate, most of them spoke functional English, which was helpful to me, and the two characteristics, there were three. Number one, they were people who had very strong opinions, which made me feel at home, being from Indiana and the Midwest, as the gentleman from Michigan is. We sat in a meeting, and, boy we heard it. Some people did not like how we were spending money on construction, other people did not like how we were investing in domestic security. But they had strong opinions, they were articulate, and they were revelling in the ability to express the opinions for the first time in their lifetimes.

Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman. That was evident. The reason I start with that is to say this was not a group of people that were handpicked to tell four Congressmen what they wanted to hear. These people had some sharp elbows. But when you would ask any Iraqi, what do you think of our decision, along with 33 other nations, to remove Saddam Hussein, they would stop in many cases, their eyes would well up with tears, they would often grab us by the hand, and, as one Shia cleric looked me in the eye and said through an interpreter, Saddam Hussein was a nightmare, and I quote, he said, because I will never forget it, he said, ``The day you defeated Saddam Hussein was like a dark curtain being lifted off of the Iraqi people and the daylight shone in.'' The sense of gratitude among the Iraqis, not only leaders, but rank and file folks that we met, was deeply moving to me as an American, and it was real and it was genuine. And I believe that from what they said, that among the 10 million souls who call themselves Iraqis, it is the dominant, overwhelming opinion of the people, one of gratitude to the people of the United States of America for ending a nightmare in their Nation.

Mr. PENCE. These are the stories, Mr. Speaker, that are not being told. These are the stories of compassion that are, however, reaching the Iraqi people. They may not make it on American broadcast television with great frequency, but they are reaching the hearts of the Iraqi people. You can see from this photograph, which is one of literally dozens I returned with, these men were construction workers at a USAID program, and some were attending a class on democracy. And we just stopped, and I think you can see even from this poor reproduction the warmth with which I was greeted by regular Iraqis. I share one anecdote. We walked into a classroom, they are holding these democracy classes all over Iraq, and they are probably at, what we would say in the United States as a 5th grade level, where they are teaching what it means to live under a constitution, what the Bill of Rights are. We went into one of these classes. They are all adults. And I walked in, and, of course, was listening in for a time as they spoke in Arabic. Then they rose and started to greet me and a few other Members of Congress. Several women wearing traditional garb walked up. I said, ``Do you speak English?'' They all said yes. They proceeded to share with me, and I have got them in my office, handwritten poems about what democracy means to them. And on my Web site, Mike.Spence.House.Gov you can see this picture, literally these women handing this to me as if it were a newborn infant, this poem, their hands literally shaking at excitement with the idea of being able to be involved in representative democracy as citizens. I close on this point. I looked them in the eye and I said, ``You all are like the founding generation of the United States of America. You are like the people that lived in 1776.'' I said, ``I envy you, because future generations of Iraqis will look back at you and thank you for your courage and your success and your belief in a free future.'' And they all giggled with delight; they understood what I meant and were obviously thrilled with the comparison to our founding generation.

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I thank him for that moving explanation. I can candidly tell the gentleman that I did not have the presence to ask why almost every one of the nearly 80 Iraqis that I met ended every conversation like this; but I am very moved to learn it on this blue carpet, that it meant this is the intensity of the gratitude and the feelings. But I can attest on this floor that virtually every Iraqi with whom I spoke ended with their hand on their heart, speaking to me as a member of the United States. And I really believe, although intelligence estimates are that we are dealing with 1,000 to 2,000 insurgents, left over thugs, imported terrorists, people that are doing the killing that is going on and purposing to do more, but this is 1,000 to 2,000 essentially criminals and terrorists in a country of 10 million. And I believe in my heart, and I know the gentleman is my senior in Congress and often cautions me about over generalizations, but I believe in my heart if the Iraqi people could look the American people in the eye and rise as one man or one woman, they would be standing with their hand over their heart. The people of Iraq that I spoke to are profoundly and overwhelmingly and emotionally grateful to the people of the United States of America, of Great Britain and Spain and all of the 33 nations that freed them from this nightmare of Saddam Hussein. I think of particularly the moment where a man who had been jailed 12 times over 25 years, who now is heading up an organization to identify the fate of nearly 1.2 million Iraqi men, women, and boys and girls who are still missing, who were dragged from their homes because of the belief in their disloyalty to Saddam Hussein. No due process of law, no trial of a jury of their peers, simply dragged away, never to be heard from again. And that man, as I expressed my appreciation for his courage, put his hand over his heart and expressed his thanks to the people of the United States of America for ending the nightmare, as he described it, of Saddam Hussein.

Mr. PENCE. We did, Mr. Speaker. As this picture attests, this is the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), who led our delegation with great distinction, and me with a number of Hoosiers in the Air Force at the air base south of Baghdad. We were able to dine, as the gentleman from Michigan did, with a number of men and women in uniform; and it was truly inspiring. As the gentleman suggested, Mr. Speaker, I just have to say that among the Iraqis with whom I spoke when I was in Baghdad and Basra, and among the soldiers, both British and American, when I would bring up the subject of weapons of mass destruction or the lack thereof or the search therefore, people would be completely uninterested. I remember speaking to an American intelligence officer who had been in charge of surveying a handful of the 270 mass graves that we found so far. And I looked him in the eye and I said, What say you of the lack of weapons of mass destruction? And he looked at me and he looked down at his shoes covered with sand, and he looked back at me with emotion in his eyes and he said, sir, from what I have seen, we did what needed to be done, whether we ever find any of those kinds of weapons or not. And this was the attitude that I got among our troops. I will say this without hesitation. Having walked into the palace of Saddam Hussein myself and walked into another one of his palaces and seen the opulence with which he indulged himself and his cronies, and then having walked through the ruination of Basra, which is a city with 20 percent of the sewage capacity that it requires, with 50 percent of the electricity it requires, 30 years of neglect and repression, and the tyranny and murder of over 1 million people, I am going to agree strongly with that intelligence officer. We did what needed to be done in Iraq and we, as these soldiers reflected again and again, and the gentleman from Michigan got this as well in his words, these soldiers know we were on the side of the right in ending the 30-year reign of a murderous dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I just remember when my colleague first returned from Baghdad, he shared with a number of us, his colleagues, video footage of Baghdad as a bustling city, a very modern city, which it was. And the reason we went to Basra the first day was because Ambassador Bremer and other officials were locked in round-the-clock negotiations over the constitution. So they sent us as the first delegation of American Congressmen to Basra. I have to tell you that going from Basra, which is like a Third World country, I mean it is ravaged not by war, it is ravaged by 30 years of neglect and tyranny by Saddam Hussein who refused to, even though billions of dollars were flowing from the Oil for Food program into his regime, and he was building more and more palaces, these monuments to his own greatness with marble floors and crystal chandeliers the size of minivans hanging from the hallway ceilings, but then go to Basra, and there is ramshackle dirt buildings falling down, roads in disrepair, sewers in disrepair, it demonstrated to me that contrast more than anything between the bustling city of Saddam Hussein to a city under the control of Basra, the Shiite population, the mendacity of this regime and the self-indulgence and evil of this regime letting so many people live in poverty while they live in sinful opulence.

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. This photograph illustrates a brief meeting that we had with Ambassador Paul Bremer across the hallway from the negotiations over the constitution. My colleague spoke of the long work we have ahead. There is a new interim Constitution, which is a radical document in the Middle East, people have basic Bill of Rights freedoms in this ancient land for the first time ever in their history. In this picture actually appears the draft of that interim constitution that Ambassador Bremer calls it. If we will stay the course, not only will we see the changes and the repentance that we have seen of Colonel Qaddafi, but I believe we are going to see the transformation of the society of Iraq as an Islamic country in their own form of democracy and freedom and a society built on rights that will transform that part of the world for our children and grandchildren and for the children and grandchildren of the good people of Iraq.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the life of the devoted wife, courageous mother, publisher and journalist Lillian Rose Barcio. Lillian Barcio died February 29, 2004, in Indianapolis where she was born in July of 1931. She is survived by her loving husband of 31 years, Bernard; her daughters, Marsha Louzon, Sheryl Donnella, Karen Pence, Cyndi Barcio; and her son, Phillip Barcio. In addition, she is survived by eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Through many hardships, Lillian Barcio kept her faith in Christ and her humor and optimism about life. The Bible says that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Lillian Barcio, my mother-in-law, was such a woman whose life would merit remembrance in this Congress even if she had not raised the most wonderful woman I have ever known. May God rest the soul of Lillian Barcio and bring rest and comfort to her loving husband Bernie and all those who mourn her passing.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the opportunity to speak in strong support of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. As a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, there are many times that we deal with issues that are along the fault lines of the cultural debate; and I am a pro-life Member of Congress, and I do not apologize for that. But I rise today in support of what has come to be known as Laci and Conner's Law to say from my heart that this is not about abortion. This is not about the thorny issues that surround the debate over a woman's right to choose or the right to life; but, rather, this is simply a law about justice. The reality is that fetal homicide laws, which is a characterization of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, are already the law in 29 States in the United States of America. And what Congress seeks to do today, with the strong leadership of the chairman of the committee and the authorship of the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, is, in effect, to have Federal law catch up with those 29 State laws. That this is not about abortion is specifically stated in the law itself that provides that it does not apply to any abortion to which a woman has consented to any act of a mother herself, legal or illegal, or to any form of medical treatment. It is not about abortion or a cultural debate. It is about justice. And with regard to those who would argue for the view that when a woman is attacked and both she and her unborn child are injured that there is only one victim, I close citing the words of the mother of Laci Peterson and the grandmother of Conner Peterson, who speaks more eloquently and more powerfully than any of us can here today: ``I hope that every legislator will clearly understand that adoption of such a single-victim amendment would be a painful blow to those, like me, who are left alive after a two-victim crime, because Congress would be saying that Conner and other innocent unborn victims like him are not really victims, indeed, that they never really existed at all. But our grandson did live. He had a name, he was loved, and his life was violently taken from him before he ever saw the sun.'' I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I strongly support the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, the right of every nation to self-defense is an inalienable right. As my colleague, the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley), just so eloquently described, today we will introduce, along with nearly 60 Republican and Democrat original cosponsors in this House, a resolution affirming Israel's right to self-defense. Just last month, my wife, Karen, and I traveled along the fence line in Israel, the security fence itself, constructed in the wake of over 20,000 attacks over the last 3 years that have claimed over 1,000 lives. Israel is engaged in the construction of a fence in an act of self-defense, and our resolution affirms this timeless principle. Mr. Speaker, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for all of the people of the region. But affirming, as this Congress should, the wrongness of the action at the Hague and the rightness of Israel's choice to defend itself and innocent civilians is the proper course of action. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Nevada and all of our original cosponsors and urge expeditious action on our resolution supporting Israel's right to self-defense.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege for me to join my colleague from Missouri as he leads this critical Special Order among my colleagues on legislation that this Congress will take up tomorrow, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. We heard much debate today, Mr. Speaker, on the subject of this legislation, and, for all the world, it seemed as though we were talking about a bill that had something to do with the debate over abortion. This bill most certainly emanates around a respect for the life of a mother and the nascent life within her, but this is not a debate over abortion or the right to life, but rather this is a debate about justice. It is about the institution of Congress in Federal law recognizing, as 29 other States have recognized, the demands of justice when a woman and her unborn child are both the victims of a crime. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act is simply legislation authored by the distinguished gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart) which recognizes that when a criminal attacks a pregnant woman and injures or kills her unborn child, that he has claimed two human victims. The bill would establish that if an unborn child is injured or killed during the commission of an already-defined Federal crime of violence, then the assailant may be charged with a second offense on behalf of the second victim, the unborn child. The exact charge, of course, would depend on which Federal law was involved. It may astonish many of those that look in on our debates and proceedings, Mr. Speaker, to know that under current Federal criminal law, an unborn child is not recognized as a victim with respect to violent crimes. For example, if a criminal beats a woman on a military base and kills her unborn child, he would be charged only with battery against that woman, because the unborn child's loss of life is not at the present moment even recognized as a crime under Federal law. Therefore, as we engage in this critical debate on the House floor tonight, and as we move this legislation, I believe, with broad bipartisan support tomorrow, it is my hope that our intentions will be laid bare that this is not about the debate over the sanctity of life or some debate over the fault lines of the culture war, but, rather, this is simply a debate about justice and about the demands of justice. To those, Mr. Speaker, who say that this is somehow an idea on the fringe of the American political debate, I offer as case in point this chart, which points to the fact that there are at the present moment, with the recent addition of Kentucky, 29 States in the Union, even, using my mathematical skills, nearly 60 percent of the United States of America in their various State laws, including my home State of Indiana, that recognize fetal homicide for all or part of prenatal development. Mr. Speaker, 29 States recognize a criminal act, when performed against a pregnant woman, that criminal charges can be rendered, not only against the woman who is assaulted, but against the unborn child. And here Congress is with regard to Federal law, in a very real sense, Mr. Speaker, trying to catch up with what 29 States have already understood in their State legislatures and assemblies to be the demands of justice. Now, as to the issue of whether or not this is by subterfuge a debate about abortion, I think it is important to point out, as pro-life as I am, and proud of it, this bill explicitly provides that it does not apply to any abortion to which a woman has consented, to any act of the mother herself, legal or illegal, or to any form of medical treatment, period. That is in the specific language of this legislation. Therefore, those who would argue that by subterfuge, somehow, in the language there is an effort to erode Roe v. Wade with a fetal homicide law on the Federal level, do so with a genuine lack either of understanding or lack of intellectual honesty. In fact, it is well established that unborn victims laws do not conflict with the Supreme Court's pro-abortion decrees beginning in Roe v. Wade. The 29 State laws mentioned above have had no effect on the practice of legal abortion in those States. Criminal defendants have brought many legal challenges to State unborn victims laws based on Roe, but all such challenges have been rejected by State and Federal courts. The jurisprudence on this issue is overwhelming and decisive. But as I close and prepare to yield back to the gentleman from Missouri who is leading us tonight in this debate, it would be wrong to spend the few moments that I have on this blue carpet tonight speaking of this issue as though it could simply be resolved in the cold confines of law schools and judicial chambers. When we talk about the demands of justice, I believe we are talking about the fundamental obligations of this institution to interpret the intangible obligations of the law. And as we come upon the very idea of a woman who is assaulted and as a function not only may have lost her life, but lost the life of her unborn child, and the wake and wash of grief that is left behind that, we cannot think of this in cold and sterile terms. So I close with two examples of the real world impact of crimes against unborn children. Carol Lyons' 18-year-old daughter, Ashley, is pictured here; a beautiful young woman who, along with her unborn child, was murdered in Scott County, Kentucky, on January 7 of this year. And her mother, Carol Lyons, speaking of the law about which we debate tonight, said, ``Nobody can tell me that there were not two victims. I placed Landon,'' her grandson, ``in his mother's arms. I wrapped him in a baby blanket that I had sewn just before I kissed my daughter good-by for the last time and closed the casket.'' Carol Lyons, whose 18-year-old daughter, Ashley, and unborn grandson, Landon, were killed just weeks ago, said, ``Nobody can tell me that there were not two victims.'' And of the legislation that we will consider tomorrow, another voice. This legislation has even come to be known euphemistically as Laci and Conner's Law, and there is scarcely an American who does not know the story of Laci Peterson and her unborn baby, Conner, a woman who was abducted on Christmas day and vanished and was found brutally murdered, with her 8-month child a victim as well. Her mother said the following: ``Of those who would have us think of this type of an act as only having one victim,'' Sharon Rocha, mother of Laci Peterson, said, ``please understand how adoption of a single victim proposal would be a painful blow to those like me who are left to grieve after a two-victim crime, because Congress would be saying that Conner and other innocent victims like him are not really victims, indeed, that they never really existed at all. But our grandson did live,'' Sharon wrote. ``He had a name, he was loved, and his life was violently taken from him before he ever saw the sun.'' This parent, and no parent within the sound of my voice, can fail to be moved by the tragic loss of both of these families or, in my judgment, fail to understand the opportunity we have as Congressmen and -women, Republicans and Democrats, in the next 24 hours to pass the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, not to engage ourselves in yet another tiresome debate on the fault lines of a woman's right to choose, but rather to engage ourselves in the expansion of justice, to look at the grief of these families and know what plain, commonsense Americans all know: that there are two victims and Federal law, as 29 other State laws have done, should recognize and address that with clarity. With that, I yield back to the gentleman from Missouri with gratitude for his leadership on this issue and for hosting this important debate tonight.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I rise in strong support of the rule and of the underlying bill, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. I rise today as a pro-life Member of this institution to say that this bill is not about the debate over the sanctity of human life. This bill is just about justice. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act recognizes that when a criminal attacks a pregnant woman and injures or kills her unborn child, he has claimed two human victims. The bill would establish that if an unborn child is injured or killed during the commission of an already defined Federal crime of violence, that this is in and of itself a crime. This is about justice, Mr. Speaker. In current Federal criminal law, an unborn child is not recognized as a victim with respect to violent crimes. In fact, this is such a self- evident fact that at this point in time, 29 States have recognized fetal homicide for all or part of prenatal development, hardly a fringe issue on the edges of the American culture wars. Twenty-nine States in the Union have recognized this as a function of State law, and we attempt today to make it a part of Federal law. Despite lots of talk, Mr. Speaker, that this is somehow by subterfuge about abortion, the bill explicitly provides that it does not apply to any abortion to which a woman has consented. And it is well established that unborn victims laws do not conflict with the Supreme Court's pro- abortion decrees. This really is not just about the cold and sterile confines of law school and courtroom debates. This is really about compassion and about families and about tragic loss. I would close on this remembrance, the words of Carol Lyons, whose 18-year-old daughter Ashley and unborn grandson Landon were murdered in Scott County, Kentucky, on January 7 of this year. She said: ``Nobody can tell me that there were not two victims. I placed Landon in his mother's arms, wrapped in a baby blanket that I had sewn for him, just before I kissed my daughter good-bye for the last time and closed the casket.'' One story after another. Two victims of violent crime. This for once on this blue carpet is not a debate about life, about the most contentious issue of our time and our culture. This is about justice, this is about compassion, and this is about this Congress standing for what justice demands. I urge my colleagues to support the rule and to support strongly the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, today there will be much focus across our country on a motion picture known as ``The Passion of the Christ,'' and like millions of Christians, I cherish the sacrifice of Christ and welcome its remembrance. Also, like millions of Christians, I cherish Israel, as a Jewish State and as our staunchest ally in the Middle East. After traveling to Israel last month and witnessing firsthand daily terrorist-attempted incursions into Israel to kill Israeli civilians, I realized in my heart that America must stand by Israel and by her efforts to protect her people in the construction of a security fence today. In that spirit, joined by the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley) and a growing list of cosponsors, today I will introduce bipartisan legislation that expresses congressional support for Israel to construct a security fence in order to reduce terrorist attacks. Further, the resolution will condemn the United Nations General Assembly for requesting the International Court of Justice to render a legal opinion on the issue of the fence. Like millions of Christians, I cherish Christ, and I cherish Israel and our relationship with her.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, after weeks of legal and moral confusion, from Massachusetts to California, today President George W. Bush called on this Congress to adopt a constitutional amendment defining marriage historically and culturally as it has ever been, as the union between a man and a woman. In so doing, President George W. Bush brought moral clarity to the debate by calling for this amendment banning gay marriage, in his words, preventing courts from changing that ``most enduring of human institutions.'' And so marriage is. Ordained by God, confirmed by law, marriage is the glue of the family and the safest harbor for children. Congress should heed President Bush's courageous moral leadership, pass the marriage amendment, and affirm the confidence of the American people in our ability to defend their most cherished of institutions.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Michael J. Easley to the floor of the Congress today to open what will be a very important session day in the life of this Congress in prayer. Dr. Easley is senior pastor of the Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia, and has been in that role for over a decade. He came to the region of the Nation's Capital, however, from Grand Prairie, Texas, where he served in ministry. He recently obtained his Doctorate of Ministry from Dallas Theological Seminary, where he also received a Master's of Theology in 1985. Dr. Michael J. Easley, Michael to his friends and to the members of his church, is a man after God's own heart. He preaches the word of God with conviction and with sincerity and with clarity. In every sense as a family on the occasions we find ourselves in the Nation's Capital and find ourselves in the pews of his church, on those weekends I can testify, Mr. Speaker, that Dr. Michael J. Easley is, as the Scripture says, a workman approved, rightly able to handle the word of truth. It is my profound honor to welcome him and to thank his wonderful wife, Cindy, and his four children, Hanna, Jessie, Devin, and Sarah for their contribution to the life and Ministry of Christ in this region of our Nation.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, today Congress will adopt a resolution recognizing the 93rd birthday of President Ronald Reagan. It will take place this coming Friday. As we in Congress today face difficult choices ahead in crafting a Federal budget, I think we would do well to reflect on the wisdom of the 40th President of the United States who, in October of 1964, said, ``There can be no security anywhere in the Free World if there is no fiscal and economic stability in the United States.'' He said, ``Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. And that ``the size of the Federal Government is not an appropriate barometer of social conscience or charitable concern.'' But he also said in January 1981 in his first inaugural address, ``It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work; work with us, not over us; stand by our side, not ride our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it. A healthy economy built on a vision of limited government.'' Happy birthday, President Reagan. May Congress honor your memory by honoring the principles of limited government in our day that you so tirelessly advanced in yours.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, this week the State of Indiana said farewell to a memorable Hoosier and a dear friend, Chris Duffy, a man whose impact on Indiana broadcasting in the 20th century can scarcely be overstated but whose impact on the lives of thousands of Hoosiers, myself included, was greater still. Chris Duffy was born in 1936 to George Christopher Duffy, who was himself a legendary band leader back in the days when traveling band leaders were the equivalent of rock stars today. Chris was born to a promoter and he was himself a born promoter. He came by it honestly. Long before arriving in Indianapolis where he would run or build three out of the five television stations in that city, Chris Duffy cut his teeth on the first successfully syndicated daytime television show in history, the Mike Douglas Show. Young Chris Duffy was a producer for the Mike Douglas Show and his energy and comic timing led not only to the show's success off the air but resulted in Mike Douglas actually routinely pulling a young Chris Duffy on-stage and turning him and his antics into a regular that contributed to that show and still contributes to quality daytime television today. From the time Chris Duffy moved to Indianapolis in 1975 to his retirement a few years back, he was not so much a business leader as a force of nature. He transformed Channel 13 into an NBC affiliate and turned it into one of the premier local news stations in America. He built Channel 59 Television with several local leaders and then went on to build another independent UPN station. During a time when local broadcasting was thought a thing of the past, Chris Duffy made an investment in high school athletics as the leader of WNDY Television like no other. His accomplishments, though, in people far outweigh his Indiana Broadcasting Hall of Fame career. Chris Duffy was all about his people. Whether it was recognizing that a young FM radio man named Tom Cochran who could someday reach the highest levels of recognition in local news or even recognizing that a young political has-been could achieve success in talk radio and someday in politics, Chris Duffy loved to bring out people's potential. He did it with toughness, straight talk and a heart that made you want to be better, better even than you ever thought you could be. Chris Duffy was a devoted American. At the time of his retirement from the Marine Corps Reserve, he put in more than 20 years of distinguished service for his country in uniform and his courage was not just in uniform. While leading the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis in the early eighties, he broadcast a documentary of the Ku Klux Klan that drew death threats before it aired but Chris went ahead undeterred. Chris Duffy believed in America and in the highest ideals of the American people. And Chris Duffy was about family. His 41-year marriage to Bobbi and his total devotion to Maureen, Karen, Susan and Chris pervaded everything he did. It was impossible to talk to Chris for any length of time and not eventually hear about Bobbi's opinion or some progress in his children's careers. I last saw Chris Duffy over breakfast this last December. In his usual style he put the bad news up-front. He told me he had cancer and that it did not look good. But he also told me, Mike, I'm not the least bit worried, and he reflected on his life, his family and his profound faith in God. He thought he had more time. When the Lord called him home last week, like so many other lives that he touched, I felt sorrow in my heart at the loss of a friend but not at the loss of a life. Chris Duffy lived a life and then some. Chris Duffy died, as he told me, rich in family, friends and accomplishments that any 10 men would envy. I have no complaints, he said, I'm not mad at God or anything like that, and he meant it. Chris Duffy will be missed. He was for so many of us, as his father must have been before him, the leader of the band who believed that behind every instrument was a performer who still does not know how good he could really be. Thank you, Chris, and God bless you.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, the time has come for Congress to put our fiscal house in order. This week the Congressional Budget Office released its economic and budget projections showing budget deficits over the next decade including nearly $500 billion for fiscal year 2004. The American people know about the deficits. The American people also, however, know that this President inherited a recession, experienced and bravely led us through a national emergency and has led America into the war on terror; and these have all taken their toll. Having mostly, however, cleared these historic challenges, I believe that in the coming budget debate, the Republican majority must again demonstrate its commitment to fiscal discipline and limited government. The time has come for Congress to put our fiscal house in order again. We must resist the siren call to raise taxes, which our Democrat friends will bring to this floor again and again; put our fiscal house in order by holding the line on spending, renewing our commitment to limited government and fiscal discipline, which are true Republican values of the majority.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, it is written that we are to grieve with those who grieve and mourn with those who mourn. It is in that spirit today that I rise to honor a hero, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hazelgrove. Warrant Officer Hazelgrove is the son of Ron and Patty Hazelgrove of Edinburgh, Indiana, a small town just a stone's throw from my home, where I am sure today in Sherman's Barbershop and elsewhere there is genuine grief and sadness at the loss of this 1994 graduate of Edinburgh High School. Warrant Officer Hazelgrove joined the Army in that year of 1994. He began his service in military intelligence before becoming a pilot and serving two tours of duty in South Korea. He was serving with the 3rd Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. He died this January 23, 2004, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom when his OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter went down 31 miles south of Mosul, Iraq. He was bravely executing a combat mission at the time. Warrant Officer Hazelgrove, Mr. Speaker, died like every other American soldier throughout our Nation's history, bringing hope and freedom to a people who have never known it before. On behalf of the people of the sixth congressional district, I extend my deepest sympathies and prayers to the family of Chief Warrant Officer Hazelgrove, to his lovely wife, Kimmi; their four children, Taylor, 11; Zachary, 10; Brandon, 3; and Katelyn, 7 months. Indiana and America mourn the loss of this heroic American, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hazelgrove.