Ted Poe

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. I do not understand why. I think, in my own opinion, there is a certain fear and panic about offshore drilling that is unfounded. Those folks that can drill offshore today can do it in a very environmentally clean manner. The best example is probably using the North Sea. The roughest seas in the world are in the North Sea. And the North Sea has numerous offshore rigs. Most of them built by, of course, Texans, and they can do so in a safe manner. We can drill offshore in a safe manner. We can drill in an environmentally safe manner. No one wants polluted air or water. I think the day has come now where we have to get rid of the unnecessary and abusive regulations so we can drill offshore. It will not only bring us natural gas, crude oil for gasoline, but it will bring an income to the American public, because when the Federal Government leases offshore, oil companies pay for those leases. And some estimate that the American Treasury could receive up to $7 billion a year by leasing in those areas where we have not leased before. So it is a decision that the American public is going to have to make, depending on foreign gas, natural gas, depending on foreign crude oil or drill offshore; and I think we should drill in numerous places. And it is a security issue because as you know when those hurricanes get in the gulf, they have to go somewhere. And we got all those rigs in one place, the refineries in one place as we have seen, it could have been a whole lot worse and the country could be in a whole lot worse shape just because of the energy and the lack of offshore drilling.

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, as far as I know there has not been any major problems. We know we have had these two hurricanes and with very little environmental impact with the offshore rigs. The refineries are built very, very well. The refineries knew that the hurricanes were coming. They started burning the fuel that was in the pipe so there would not be any pipe disasters. Just to mention as a side note, one-third of the pipelines in the United States go right through my congressional district. They go to all parts of the United States, but one-third are through that congressional district. It is all very highly concentrated, but we can proceed with a safe energy policy. And like I said, the American public has to make that decision, and I hope they make the right decision which would be that we become more self-sufficient on energy.

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) for yielding and for hosting this hour to discuss these important issues. When the two ladies of the gulf came in to Southeast Texas and southwestern Louisiana just in the last few weeks, in some respect the whole area and our attitude about natural disasters changed. As you mentioned, this is not the greatest loss of life regarding hurricanes. In fact, the greatest disaster that occurred in American history occurred in the year 1900 when ``the storm'' as it was called came across Galveston, Texas, that island, and killed at least 8,000 people, maybe even 12,000 people. Times have changed a great deal because we now follow those hurricanes as our weather forecasters did with the two ladies of the gulf, Katrina, and more recently, Rita. As you know, the folks in Louisiana disbursed throughout the United States but many, probably most came to Texas. And Texas is on the other side of the Savine River, and many of those people stopped off in my congressional district in Beaumont. Even this past week before Rita hit, there was still 15,000 people from Louisiana in Jefferson County where Beaumont, Texas is. Many of them went on further to Houston which is about 90 miles away. The good folks in Texas and other parts of the country have tried to take care of those displaced citizens the best they can. Just last week, almost a week ago Hurricane Rita came down hurricane alley and hit us in Jefferson County and Liberty County and Harris County, three counties that I represent or portions of these three counties. We did some good things. I say ``we,'' the government officials, local officials, Federal officials, and the community did some good things before Hurricane Rita came ashore. Of course, they were aware of the fact that there was a hurricane coming so there was an evacuation plan implemented. There was an expectation that about a million people would evacuate southeast Texas and move further west into other parts of Texas, but the truth of the matter was there was over 2\1/2\ million people evacuated. By any imagination this would have been a large scale military operation in time of war. Moving 2\1/2\ million people logistically is a massive undertaking. The mayor of the City of Houston, Bill White, and the county judge, which is our county president, Robert Eccles, did a tremendous job moving people and evacuating people. And so, those people are coming back into southeast Texas as we speak. The counties that I represent, Jefferson County, is still without power tonight. It has been almost a week. Still without water. It has been almost a week. The same is true in parts of Liberty County. As you know, in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana from New Orleans to Corpus Christie, Texas, 60 percent of the Nation's gasoline is refined in that one area. In Port Arthur, Texas, which was hit by Hurricane Rita, 27 percent of the gasoline is refined in that one small community for the whole United States. And because of the Katrina and Rita, several of these refineries have had to shut down. Many of those refineries have never shut down since the day they opened some 20, 25 years ago. Those refineries invented the phrase of working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, many years ago. It takes several days to get these refineries up and running once again. I will mention something about the refineries momentarily. But for the most part, there was no damage to these refineries that cannot be repaired in just a few days, but they are missing a power source to start up again. The county of Jefferson County, Beaumont and Port Arthur, evacuated about 90 percent of the people who lived there. Most of them are still displaced in parts of Texas, I think some of them are have gone to Iowa and looking at Iowa for the first time in their lives. They, of course, want to come home. The situation there now after a week, local officials are there trying to maintain, of course, some order. For the most part there has been very little looting, and our first responders are spending 12 hours a day working in shifts. The biggest problem our first responders have is that they are sleeping in their police cars. Of course, they have no electricity. They have no air conditioning and they are doing a marvelous job. It is interesting to note that not one member of the Beaumont Police Department left town during Hurricane Rita. Something remarkable occurred and I think it is worthy to note that the port of Beaumont ships most of the military cargo to Iraq and Afghanistan. Docked in the Port of Beaumont at the time of the hurricane was the Cape Victory and the Cape Vincent, two cargo ships that transport military cargo to Iraq and Afghanistan. They were all expecting a surge of water to not only take over Port Arthur but further north, Beaumont as well. So the mayor and the first responders were concerned about their vehicles, what to do with them because they were doing to need them as soon as the hurricane was over. So the two captains of the Cape Victory and the Cape Vincent and the mayor, Mayor Guy Goodson, came up with the idea to put all of these vehicles on the two cargo ships. One does not think of seeking safety on a ship during a hurricane, but that is exactly what happened. So they, in just a few minutes, made the decision and started within an hour without any red tape, without any permission, without any bureaucracy, without any committee meetings, just loading those two ships with police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, fire equipment, front- end loaders, police helicopters and dump trucks from several surrounding towns. Tug boats went into operation during the hurricane to secure the ships, and as soon as the hurricane passed by those vehicles were ready to be used and they are being used and they were all taken care of in a very safe manner. We are thankful to these two salty sea captains for coming up with that idea and protecting the first responders there. I do want to thank the President for coming down to my district and viewing the situation firsthand. He did so in Louisiana, came into Texas. He had a meeting with the local officials and the first responders. And then he flew over the entire area in a helicopter to see southeast Texas and of course Louisiana as well. The need for American petroleum and natural gas and dependence on ourselves could not be more evident in this hurricane, in these last two hurricanes. We in this country for various reasons have not built a new refineries since over 25 years ago. It is not economically profitable to do so so there has not been any. We are now 60 percent dependent on foreign crude oil in the United States, and every day we take more and more away from our own selves and we have to import crude oil to make sure that the American public has gasoline. These two disasters are evident that we need to do something about being energy self-sufficient. Most of our refineries are in southeast Texas, southwest Louisiana. Most of the offshore rigs are in the gulf in the same area. That is why it is important in my opinion that we drill in other parts offshore, not just off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas but even further east, even off the coast of Florida, the East Coast and West Coast as well. We are the only major power in the world that has the policy of not drilling off our own shores. People complain and are concerned, and that is rightfully so about the price of gasoline, certainly they should be, and we have to find a place to refine that crude oil and we also must find a way to produce crude oil as well.

Mr. POE. Well, of course they are not on a beach and the only way you could ever see is them on a clear night you could sometimes see the lights from the rigs that are offshore; but generally speaking, in the daytime you cannot see them at all.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, due to preparations for Hurricane Rita in my district, I unfortunately missed the following votes on the House floor on Friday, September 22, 2005. I ask that the Record reflect that had I been able to vote that day, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 488 (Sauder Amendment to H.R. 2123), 489 (Stearns Amendment to H.R. 2123), 491 (Musgrave Amendment to H.R. 2123), 492 (Boehner Amendment to H.R. 2123), and rollcall vote No. 493 (Final Passage of H.R. 2123, School Readiness Act). I strongly support these amendments and the bill because they take important steps to prepare children for success in school. I also ask that the Record reflect that had I been able to vote that day, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall vote No. 490 (Davis (D-IL) Amendment to H.R. 2123).

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, on October 1, 2005, the National Association of Police Organizations will honor law enforcement agencies and officers at the 12th Annual Top Cops Awards Ceremony here in Washington, DC. Officer Muzaffar Siddiqi of the Houston Police Department, a great man whom I have the privilege of knowing personally, is receiving an award at this prestigious event, and I join the city of Houston and all Texans in honoring this outstanding achievement. As a former prosecutor and criminal court judge in Houston, TX, I have had a longstanding relationship with the Houston Police Department. I have witnessed many great works by police officers in Houston and the surrounding communities, and I can say without hesitation that Officer Siddiqi's record of service is exemplary. Having previously been named Houston Police Department Officer of the Year, Officer Siddiqi has received high honors throughout his career. His service has been recognized at all levels: city, State and Federal. Before working for the Houston Police Department, Officer Siddiqi served as a police officer in Karachi, Pakistan. Since joining HPD, he has been a great asset in building positive relationships between law enforcement and Houston's South Asian and Middle Eastern communities. His work has been invaluable, and the people of Houston are fortunate to have a public servant of his caliber in uniform. As he honors the city of Houston with his service, Mr. Speaker, we must honor the selfless work of Officer Muzaffar Siddiqi.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, every day in this land of the free there are some women who live lives of quiet desperation. These women are not free, but are imprisoned in their own homes. Their crime? Being with the wrong person. Their warden is their spouse or their boyfriend. Their sentence? A lifetime of abuse, sexual assault, intimidation, mental turmoil, and even death. As a judge in Texas, I saw these victims appear in court to tell their compelling, sad stories of their incarceration in their own homes. This is a family issue. This is a national health issue. This is a public safety issue. And this is a criminal issue. This is an issue that must not go unnoticed by this House. We need to stand beside these victims that are battered, beaten, and bruised. The criminals will be held accountable for their actions. The protections in the Violence Against Women Act need to be reauthorized so women can truly enjoy living in the land of the free. Mr. Speaker, love should not hurt.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. POE. Mr. Chairman, I am offering this amendment to bring much- needed reform to the Crime Victims Fund. The Crime Victims Fund was created as a result of the Victims of Crime Act, called VOCA, that was signed into law during the 1980s. The purpose of this fund is to make criminals pay for their crime by funding direct services and compensations to victims of crime. This fund is completely paid for by criminal fees and forfeiture. Taxpayer money is not used. As time progressed, Congress began tinkering with VOCA and funding priorities started to shift away from helping victims and toward funding Federal bureaucracies. All the money collected by the Federal Government from criminal fees goes into the Crime Victims Fund; and each year, that money is distributed to several funding streams to help the victims of crime. The fund sends money to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, a Federal victim notification system, State victim compensation programs, and direct victim assistance service providers. Since 2000, the Appropriations Committees have been limiting how much of these funds can be used each year. The U.S. Attorney's, FBI and other bureaucratic programs are paid first, which means that direct victim assistance funding gets whatever is left over. At times, this has resulted in cuts to these critical victims assistance programs. This money pays for the salaries of victim advocates and counselors, domestic violence shelters, children's assessment centers, hospital and attorney fees for underprivileged victims, and other services directly impacting victims. The Poe amendment seeks to strike a reasonable balance between the needs of the victims' field for stable, assured funding and the realities of the appropriations and budget processes. It seeks to guarantee the original, primary purpose of the Crime Victims Fund--to support state and local victim services. At the very least, this amendment assures we give victims' assistance and compensation programs the same budgeting priority as the federal agencies and bureaucracy. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for your leadership in giving victims a higher priority in Congress. Your leadership helped pass the Child Safety Act that provides greater protections for America's children from Child Predators. You also committed to protecting VOCA from the Administration's plan for rescinding all of the money in the Crime Victims Fund and placing it in the general Treasury--balancing the budget on the backs of crime victims. And I appreciate your willingness to work with me to better prioritize the Crime Victims Fund. It is my goal to bring about reforms to the Victims of Crime Act that restores the original spirit of the law and puts victims ahead of bureaucracy. Mr. Chairman, I am withdrawing my amendment and look forward to working with you as this bill moves towards Conference.

Mr. POE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. POE. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. POE. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, William Murphy had everything going for him. He had a beautiful bride, three young children, and he was about to embark on a new chapter in his life. On June 16, 2005, all his dreams came to a crashing halt on a hot, humid, summer night in Dayton, Texas. Mr. Murphy had spent the evening celebrating with his family. He was scheduled to graduate as a medical assistant from the Texas School of Business the next day. On his way home from his mother's house in Baytown, Texas 10 miles away, his car stalled on a darkened stretch of rural State highway 146. He and his sister pushed the car to the shoulder and turned on the flashers. His 9-month-old twin daughters, Mariah and Miranda, remained strapped in the car seats and his wife Amanda cared for the 19-month-old William, Jr. They then waited for assistance. Soon after, Murphy saw a set of bright headlights heading toward the family. He was relieved because he assumed his mother, whom he had just called when the car stalled, was on her way. But this pickup truck barreling toward his family was not his mother and it was not stopping. Seconds before the impact he attempted to warn his family, but it was too late. He witnessed the destruction of his family that night. The truck never stopped, never slowed down, and crashed into the back of Murphy's vehicle. Murphy's vehicle was pushed a quarter of a mile down the road. When he got to his vehicle, the trunk was smashed into the back seat. He struggled to get his twin daughters from the wreckage. He found his wife laying in the grass unconscious and his son's barely breathing body 5 feet away. The driver of the truck stumbled out of the vehicle and it was clear he had been drinking. He failed a sobriety test and he was charged with three counts of intoxication manslaughter. Murphy's twin daughters were killed that night. So was his son. His wife and sister were badly injured. Mr. Murphy is still struggling with the assault on his family and the death of all of his children. Unfortunately, this story is all too familiar to the many families that have been affected by drunk drivers. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD as we know them, is working to prevent this sort of senseless crime. MADD's mission is to find effective solutions to drunk driving and underage drinking problems, while supporting and helping those who have been affected by the pain of these senseless crimes. Founded by a small group of California women in 1980 after a 13-year- old girl was killed by a hit-and-run repeat offender, MADD has saved more than 300,000 lives through their outreach and education programs. Mr. Speaker, as founder of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, I have worked closely with many members of MADD this year in the effort to protect the rights of crime victims and protect money in the Victims of Crime Act. The National Conference of MADD is here in D.C. this week celebrating their silver anniversary and continuing their fight against drunk driving and their mission to hold drunk drivers accountable for their crimes. There are hundreds of MADD staff, volunteers, board members, and past presidents coming from all across the Nation and as far away as Guam to take part in this conference. These people coming to town are kids, mothers, daughters, fathers, victims, and survivors who have been affected by drunk driving. I would like to commend them for their work on behalf of victims and their cause-driven efforts to stop drunk driving and the drunk driving epidemic. Thanks to the support of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, our roads and highways and children, friends, and family are safer today. Due to their efforts, alcohol-related traffic deaths have declined. Mr. Speaker, in the 1950s, when I was a little kid, my grandfather worked for the Texas Highway Department. In the middle of the day while laying asphalt on what is now interstate 35 between Dallas and Austin, Texas, he was struck and killed by a drunk driver. The driver was never punished because he was some big shot from Dallas. My grandmother became a widow and never quite got over the loss of my grandfather. She spent the rest of her life supporting herself by working in a department store selling dresses until she was required to quit at the age of 75. My grandmother died only a couple of years ago in her robust 90s, but she often mentioned until her death how she missed my grandfather. In those days there was no MADD organization. But thanks to MADD, the public attitude and the acceptance of drinking and driving has changed dramatically. Mr. Speaker, there are few tragedies that bring as much pain to families and communities as these violent crimes caused by drunk drivers. This pain is made even worse when our community's young people are injured and involved. As a criminal court judge in Texas, I saw firsthand what the effects of drunk driving do to a family and to our communities. This is one of the many reasons I support the efforts of MADD and I encourage MADD to continue their good fight. I admire the women who started MADD and those countless women who are still working. It reminds me of one of the statements my grandmother made many years ago. She said, ``There is nothing more powerful than a woman who has made up her mind.'' Mr. Speaker, that is just the way it is.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, the second lady of the gulf named Rita came across the shore of Texas and Louisiana, howling her winds and bringing her thundering rain this past weekend. Like her sister storm, Katrina, she took aim at the low-lying towns and the energy capital of the world that is located in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Nine of the 26 refineries in Port Arthur, Texas, alone were shut down. These refineries in and around Port Arthur refine 27 percent of the Nation's gasoline. Sixty percent of the Nation's gasoline is refined from New Orleans to Corpus Christi, Texas. Offshore drilling rigs were also shut down, and the start-up time is still undetermined. Being a target in the hurricane alley, these refineries and oil rigs are vulnerable to nature. That is one reason why the United States must explore opening up new oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida, off the coast of California. This is a national security issue; and we must, with proper environmental safeguards, drill in these areas so that the energy does not cease because of the anger of the ladies of the gulf.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, due to preparations for Hurricane Rita in my district, I unfortunately missed the following votes on the House floor on Friday, September 22, 2005. I ask that the Record reflect that had I been able to vote that day, I would have voted ``yea'' on Rollcall vote number 488 (Sauder Amendment to H.R. 2123), 489 (Stearns Amendment to H.R. 2123), 491 (Musgrave Amendment to H.R. 2123), 492 (Boehner Amendment to H.R. 2123), and Rollcall vote number 493 (Final Passage of H.R. 2123, School Readiness Act). I strongly support these amendments and the bill because they take important steps to prepare children for success in school. I also ask that the Record reflect that had I been able to vote that day, I would have voted ``nay'' on Rollcall vote number 490 (Davis (D- IL) Amendment to H.R. 2123).

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, as the skies have cleared in the aftermath of Katrina, and the howling winds and rain of Rita develop in the gulf and head for Texas, we have learned that giving away American money in the form of emergency debit cards should be reevaluated. There are reports in Houston of evacuees using their taxpayer debit cards to buy expensive jewelry, $800 Louis Vuitton purses. $2,000 cards are exchanged on the black market for cash in order to buy drugs, alcohol, and as they say, street entertainment. There are reports of individuals using multiple stolen identifications to get numerous cards. At the Astrodome there are reports of dice games with the pot being debit cards. Madam Speaker, we are also hearing the topless clubs are doing a booming business thanks to the evacuees. A local bartender has reported that the debit cards are used at his topless club to gain admission and purchase lap dances. Maybe these are emergency lap dances for the displaced and distressed evacuees. Madam Speaker, when American money is given away in the name of compassion without adequate control, we see the above abuse. Those who take advantage of this disaster should be held accountable. As the saying goes, Madam Speaker, no good deed goes unpunished. This ought not to be.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a native Texan and the most decorated United States soldier of World War II. Audie Leon Murphy was born into humble beginnings in northeast Texas near Kingston, Texas. He grew up in nearby Celeste, Texas. A sharecropper's son, he was the 6th of 12 children, only 9 of whom survived to see their 18th birthday. Murphy grew up in extreme poverty. By his ninth birthday, he had already become an impressive rifle shot due to the fact that he spent a good portion of his childhood hunting rabbits and squirrels for food for his family's table. He had no idea that his shooting skills would be needed later. When he wasn't hunting, he took odd jobs around the community--on farms, gas stations and local grocery stores. When Audie was 12, his father left his mother and the children to fend for themselves. He never returned and Audie became the breadwinner for the family. At age 16, he was working at a radio repair shop and tragedy struck his life yet again. His mother died and he and his siblings were left orphans. In desperate need of money to help support his siblings, he tried to join the military. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Audie tried to enlist but was rejected because he was too young. Eventually he was accepted into the U.S. Army after being turned down by the Navy, Marines and Army Paratroopers because he was too short at only 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 110 pounds. He signed the papers a few days after his 18th birthday and was sent to training at Fort Wolters, Texas. During one of his first training sessions, he fell flat on his face and was knocked out cold. The company commanders took this opportunity to encourage him to pursue other opportunities such as cook or bakers school but he would have nothing of it. He persisted and was resolute about becoming a fierce, fighting soldier. After 13 weeks of Basic Training, he was sent to Fort Meade, MD for advanced infantry training. Upon finishing training, he was sent to Morocco and eventually he was appointed to a Second Lieutenant in 1944 where he served in North Africa and in all European theaters. In World War II, Murphy made a name for himself and on one fated day he earned the Congressional Medal of Honor and went down in history. On January 26, 1945, Murphy is credited with holding off two reinforced rifle companies singlehandedly for hours. On that day, Murphy's platoon was attacked by 6 enemy tanks and waves of infantry. To keep his men safe, Murphy ordered his men to withdraw, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him, a U.S. tank destroyer received a direct hit. With the enemy tanks abreast of his precarious position, Second Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer, which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and engaged his .50 caliber machinegun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from 3 sides, but his determination and deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an additional hour the Germans tried any and all of their weapons to eliminate Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad that was attempting to sneak up unnoticed. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fierce fire. Wounded in one leg, Murphy continued the single- handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. His directing of artillery fire killed or wounded about 50 enemy combatants. Second Lt. Murphy's unconquerable courage and his refusal to give up saved his company from destruction, and enabled it to protect and hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective. He was a legendary and heroic American. In the end, he was credited with killing more than 240 German soldiers. Because of his valor in combat and action above and beyond the call of duty, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor and every other medal that the Army awards. He earned the Silver Star twice in three days, three Purple Hearts, and the Distinguished Service Cross. He even received 5 decorations that were presented to him by Belgium and France. When he was discharged, his face was on the front page of Life magazine and when he finally made it home, he was still not even 21 years old yet. He finished WWII as a liaison officer, and returned to Texas after the war. Upon return, Audie became famous not only for his heroic war actions but he also hit the big screen and made the move to Hollywood. He starred in more than 40 Western films and even played the part of himself when his autobiography, ``To Hell and Back Again'' was made into a movie. He also wrote more than 17 country and western songs. Sixty years ago today, Audie was released from the Army as an active member and reassigned to inactive status. His final rank was Major in the Texas National Guard. After all that he went through, Audie still maintained that his medals belonged to his entire company and that he was just, ``another man.'' He never really cared about the medals or glory, just the men of his unit and those he left buried and missing across Europe. His son Terry even said that he was always embarrassed to be called a hero. He always said that the real heroes where those ``who didn't come back.'' He once said, ``I believe in all the men who stood up against the enemy, taking their beatings without whimper and their triumphs without boasting. The men who went and would go again to hell and back to preserve what our country thinks right and decent. My Country, America!'' Audie was killed in a plane crash, on May 30, 1971. He left behind his wife of 20 years, 2 sons, a wealth of family and friends and a legacy that will live on forever.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, in San Jacinto County in east Texas last Thursday, two men died trying to save another's life. Denny ``Bo'' Galloway, deputy constable, 34, died when he ran into the rough Trinity River trying to save Bernardo Vasquez, a 21-year-old Marine on leave from Iraq. Vasquez had disappeared in the fast-moving river trying to save his uncle, who had gotten trapped in the current. Vasquez was to return to Active Duty today. His mother's only desire was that he return from Iraq alive. But Vasquez died saving another. Bo Galloway was a tough, rural cop who had spent the previous night rescuing people from a train wreck. When hearing the 911 call about Vasquez, Galloway rushed to the scene and went directly into the river. Galloway died and left a wife and three sons behind. Both men were warriors. One fought the war on crime, one fought the war on terror. Both died responding to the first duty of all American warriors, saving those in trouble. We share in the grief of the two families and once again thank our people who wear the uniform of the soldier and of the peace officer.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Speaker, this simple, powerful statement is a patriotic phrase defining what we are all about as citizens of this Republic. It is being said in school yards across America every day. In some States it is the State law that it be said. In Texas, for example, it is required along with the Texas State pledge and a moment of silence each day. This is observed by students and by teachers. But not every school child may say it. In fact, some are actually forbidden to say it because it mentions, heaven forbid, under God. A member of the pledge police, a Federal judge in California, has issued his decree denouncing the pledge and forbidding it in some school districts in California because some adult atheist has become offended. The atheist, mind you, is not a student in any school, just an offended individual that has convinced the pledge police to stop the pledge from being uttered in schools because he is offended. It has become the habit of the offended to use the Federal courts to change the majority will of the people, claiming the conduct of the majority of Americans is unconstitutional because it is offensive. Okay, Mr. Speaker, what constitutional violation has occurred here? Some claim the first amendment is violated by kids saying the pledge because of the theological phrase ``under God.'' Let us examine this. The first amendment reads in part: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. First of all, assume the pledge establishes religion. Congress has not made any law about the pledge, but our Federal courts have taken the word ``Congress,'' reinterpreted that phrase, and applied it universally to all governments, including school boards. By what authority do Federal courts expand the word ``Congress'' to include all government entities? Well, because they make words mean something more than they really mean by twisting simple concepts in the Constitution to mean difficult concepts for us people to understand. It is also necessary to understand that our Forefathers put the phrase in the Constitution to prevent a State and national religion like what was occurring in England at the time. So are the atheists and the pledge police Federal judges seriously really thinking that the phrase ``under God'' is equivalent to establishing a national religion in the United States? Well, my question for them is, what exactly would that religion be? Too bad the court did not enlighten us simple Americans what national religion the pledge establishes. But our Federal judges here have systematically tried to remove any mention of a divine being in the public sector by claiming any mention of God establishes a national religion. This defies common sense and makes the first amendment say something it does not say. By the way, if this phrase is purely a religious one, why does the pledge police judge not read the second half of the first amendment that says, the government may not prevent the free exercise of religion? By banning the pledge if it is religious, does not this judge violate the free exercise of religion? That phrase is in our first amendment as well. It does seem so to me. The pledge, when stated and looked at objectively, is a statement of patriotic duty and affirmation to America, to truth and liberty and justice. It is not purely a religious statement. It is a statement of civic duty and responsibility and national pride. So what is next, Mr. Speaker? Are the pledge police going to ban the pledge we say each day here in the House of Representative? We shall see about that. The real issue here is not the forbidding of the Pledge of Allegiance by our courts. It is more serious than that. It is the new constitutional right that is being invented and conceived in the minds of the far-fetched Federal elites that is not even in the Constitution at all, but the Constitution is being used as excuse to invent this new right. It is the right not to be offended. If I am offended by what you say or do or by what the government says or does, I can go to court and sue you because I am offended. This atheist was offended by a bunch of school kids, by their mere utterance of the Pledge of Allegiance. So he goes and sues and convinces a judge to protect his right not to be offended. So no more offended words, so no more pledge. This is an example of the new phantom constitutional right of freedom from being offended. Mr. Speaker, I was a felony court trial judge in Houston for over 20 years. I heard thousands of cases. All of those were based on the United States Constitution. But the last time I checked in the Constitution, freedom from hurting someone's feelings was not included in the Constitution. So in truth this is the right that was allegedly violated by those kids in California. They offended someone, they hurt someone's feelings, and now they have to stop. This is a dangerous movement, but this mysterious right is not in the Constitution. But the right of free speech, Mr. Speaker, is in the Constitution. And I say to those kids in California, your right of free speech was violated by the pledge policeman when he issued his pronouncement against you mentioning ``under God.'' So now you may proudly say the pledge each morning in a closet or in silence, and when you get to that phrase ``with liberty and justice for all,'' just remember you lost some of your liberty by this ruling, and it certainly is not justice for all but only for those who are offended. Mr. Speaker, this ought not to be. {time} 1945

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, a fight broke out in one of the public high schools in Houston, Texas, this week between numerous recent evacuees from Louisiana and students from the Texas high school. Several were arrested. The tension and energy between the ``displaced'' and the ``hometowners'' should be channeled in a productive way. As a former judge in Houston, I believe these culprits should be held accountable for their attitudes and their attitudes need to be adjusted. At the end of class on Friday, the Louisiana kids should be put back on a yellow school bus and sent back to New Orleans to spend the weekend cleaning up their hometown from the mess left by Katrina. The Texas students should spend the weekend at the Astrodome helping the thousands of volunteers in the relief effort. Then when both sides arrive back at school on Monday morning, they should have a different attitude about cooperation. The schoolyard fight is similar to those here in the Capitol who gripe, complain, moan and groan and put blame on others for the Katrina disaster, but do nothing personally to help. Cease the fighting words and rhetoric and get on with the rebuilding, refurbishing, and renewal of our Nation.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, this past week, we have been reaping the destruction of a hurricane that brought the wind and rain and flooding of a natural and national disaster. But we have been for years reaping the greater destruction of a hurricane that continues to bring the wind, rain, and floods of the effects of child predators on America. We are talking about the murder of America's children by those child predators who live among us. The children I am referring to tonight have all been kidnapped, murdered, some sexually assaulted, and some are still missing. It is because of them, Mr. Speaker, we passed the Child Safety Act yesterday. Tonight, I will read just a few names of those children, the roll call of the dead: Cary Ann Medlin, 8, Tennessee; Nicole Parker, 8; California; Chris Byers, 8, Tennessee; Sherrice Iverson, 7, Nevada; Amanda Brown, 7, Florida; Christina Long, 13, Connecticut; Michelle Vick, 14, Washington; Maryann Measles, 13, Connecticut; Amber Hagerman, 9, Texas; Adam Walsh, 6, Florida; JonBenet Ramsey, 6, Colorado; Danielle Van Dam, 7, California; February the 1st, 2002. This, Mr. Speaker, is a photograph of Danielle Van Dam. She was 7 when she was abducted and murdered in California on February 1, 2002. She grew up in Sabre Springs, California. She loved coloring, playing with dolls, and writing and drawing in her journal. Danielle was a piano player and active in her Girl Scout troop. Her friends' parents described her as strong-headed, but very obedient. She loved sleep- overs with her friends. Her father, Damon Van Dam, described Danielle as a caring, studious child who adored her family. Danielle Van Dam was last seen alive when her father tucked her into bed on February 1, 2002. Danielle's parents reported her missing the next morning after her mother went to wake her up; she was not there. Almost a month later, Danielle's decomposed, brutalized body was found. Searchers found her on February 27 in a lot full of trash 25 miles from San Diego, California. David Westerfield was the only neighbor that was not home the morning Danielle Van Dam was discovered missing. Investigators recovered child pornography from his home. His home was two doors from the Van Dam family. This child predator lived in the neighborhood. The motive for her abduction was sexual. Authorities also said they found traces of Danielle's blood in Westerfield's motorhome and was on an article of his clothing. He was charged with murder, kidnapping, and possession of child pornography. Two days before Danielle disappeared, she had sold Girl Scout cookies to Westerfield. He was sentenced to death, and he is currently in San Quentin on death row, where he ought to be. There are more, Mr. Speaker. Christopher Meyer, 10, Illinois; Mary Mount, 10, Connecticut; Jeannie Singleton, 8, Michigan; Kenny Dawson, 11, Virginia; Jackson Carr, 6, Texas; Troy Ward, 6, Utah; Brittany Lochlear, 5, North Carolina; Bradley Lions, 6, Washington; Brianna Jackson, 5 months, Alabama; Tommy Gibson, 2, Oregon; Rosy Tapia, 6, Utah; Rosie Gordon, 10, Virginia; Richard Stetson, 11, Maine; Jeralee Underwood, 11, Idaho; Samantha Runnion, 5, California, July 2002. Samantha, like all of these others, Mr. Speaker, was a real person. She was a real child that lived in America. She was a beautiful and bright and joyful little girl. It is said she loved to read and write stories, paint, draw, play with guitar, sing, and dance. Most of all, she loved to play games with her family and friends. She liked Peter Pan and Hercules. She approached each day as a new adventure, eager to learn and play. She looked forward to growing up, being a teacher and a mommy. Samantha was playing a board game with her 5-year-old friend when a man drove up. The two children were seated on a short wall about 150 feet from Samantha's home. The man got out of his car next to the girls and asked them to help him find his dog. Samantha and the man spoke to each other for a minute, but then he grabbed her and drove off in his car. She was last seen, Mr. Speaker, screaming and kicking, saying, ``Tell my grandma, tell my grandma.'' She was saying this to her 5- year-old friend. This 5-year-old ran to the house and was able to give a good description of the man and his car. She was found a day later. Alejandro Avila kidnapped, sexually molested, and brutally murdered Samantha Runnion. He left her body on the side of a road 50 miles north of her home. A day later, he was arrested charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder. Just one year before he kidnapped Samantha, Avila was accused of molesting two other young girls. This past July he was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault of this little girl, Samantha Runnion. He is awaiting execution and, hopefully, justice will not be delayed or prolonged. There are others, Mr. Speaker. Shelby Barrackman, 3, Texas; Jamaree Coleman, 2 months, Georgia; Destiny Marie Flores, 4, Texas; Cecil Turner, 2, California; Jared Kitchen, 1, Michigan; Kendrick Broadway, 5, Missouri; Amy Sue Seitz, 2, California; LaTonya Wilson, 7, Georgia; Jennifer Noon, 5, Connecticut; John Short, 3, New York; Richard Short, 7, New York; Timothy Wiltsey, 5, New Jersey; Summer Rogers, 5, Oregon; Deborah Palmer, 8, Washington; Carlie Brucia, 11, Florida; February 1, 2004. Mr. Speaker, Carlie, a little girl from Florida of the age of 11, disappeared February 1, 2004. Her grandmother described her as blond and bubbly, affectionate, a great hugger. When she was in New York, she loved to go to the movies with her dad, go shopping, and go out for ice cream. Her favorite ice cream was mint chocolate chip. Her grandmother said, I always had that in the house when she visited me. When she was at our house, she would shoot baskets in the driveway with her Aunt Ginny, play softball in the back yard with her Aunt Catelyn and the rest of the family. She liked music. She was especially fond of Jennifer Lopez and knew all the words of all the songs that Jennifer Lopez sang. Carlie liked to help her dad at home, especially when the family was over for dinner. She pitched right in and helped with the serving and cleaning up. Here grandmother says, I can just picture her now, loading the dishwasher. She was a very good student, voted most popular, and a math whiz at McIntosh Middle School. Carlie disappeared February 1, 2004, while walking home from a friend's slumber party in Sarasota, Florida. A surveillance camera behind a car wash taped Carlie's abduction. The sixth grader may have walked through the car wash's parking lot as a shortcut to her home in her neighborhood. Carlie's remains were found 5 days later, just a few miles from where the car wash was. The defendant: Joseph Smith. The Sarasota Police Department questioned Joseph Smith after they received tips from anonymous sources. He had been in their custody the day after Carlie was abducted on an unrelated parole violation. A woman who said she lived with Smith was one of the tipsters who contacted the police. Of course, he refused to admit any involvement with the disappearance until later when the investigators questioned him more and he told them where he had hidden her body. On February 6, 2004, it was announced that Carlie's body had been found. Mr. Speaker, she had been brutally murdered and thrown in a church parking lot just miles from her home. Joseph Smith was a 37-year-old car mechanic, father of three who had been arrested at least 13 times in Florida since 1993. He had been previously charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment, and he was held in custody as the main suspect of the murder of this little girl, Carlie. On February 20, Smith was indicted on a first-degree murder charge and separate charges of kidnapping, capital sexual battery, and others were filed by Florida's attorney general's office. He had previous convictions: aggravated battery, carrying a knife, possession of heroin, possession of drugs without prescriptions, possession of cocaine, and attempts to obtain controlled substances by fraud. Mr. Speaker, thanks to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris), part of the Child Safety Act includes legislation that is a result of Carlie's murder. Joseph Smith, on the other hand, is scheduled to stand trial on the kidnapping and murder charges of Carlie Brucia on November 7. Prosecutors are seeking, and rightfully so, the death penalty. Until then, he will be in the county jail where he has been housed since his arrest. Mr. Speaker, I can continue with more names of real kids in America: Adam Finch, 4, Florida; Harley Hall, 6 months, South Carolina; James Hargon, 4, Mississippi; Tahisha Clay, 6, California; Elizabeth Byrd, 8, Arizona; Maile Gilbert, 6, Hawaii; Tracy Neef, 7, Colorado; Isaiah Lewis, 3 months, Michigan; Tara Huffman, 5, Illinois; Patricia Miles, 6, Arkansas; Alonzo Daniels, 4, Utah; Brittany Hendrickson, 7, Ohio; Danny Davis, 4, Utah; Amy Yates, 8, Georgia; Dylan Groene, 9, Idaho; May 16, 2005. Mr. Speaker, to my left is a photograph of Dylan at the age of 9 and his sister, Shasta, at the age of 8. This is his story: Dylan liked to be outdoors. He liked camping, fishing, and catching crawdads. He also liked to play games on his Play Station. He loved playing with his sister. Dylan and his sister, Shasta, were declared missing on May 16, 2005 after police found the beaten and bound bodies of their mother, their older brother, and their mother's boyfriend. Authorities believe that Joseph Edward Duncan, III, a registered sex offender, abducted Shasta and Dylan from their home and held them for 7 weeks at a primitive camp site in the vast forests of Montana. According to Shasta, Duncan repeatedly molested the children and eventually he killed Dylan. Shasta was discovered on July 2 at a local restaurant with Duncan. Two days later, human remains were discovered at that primitive, remote, western Montana camp site and on July 10, the remains were identified as Dylan Groene, this person, 9 years of age. Investigators have not really told us exactly what they believe happened to Dylan or how long they believe the boy was alive after the children's mother, 13-year-old brother and her boyfriend were beaten to death, but they have given us some information. Sheriff Rocky Watson has said that he believes the motives for the killings, of course, was to acquire these two children as sex objects. Watson always said authorities believe the family was chosen at random, but the attack was carefully planned. The police have interviewed Shasta a couple of times, and the details are agonizing, and they are slow in being revealed, but she has provided certain information that is astonishing. Dylan, when he was 9, like the others that I have mentioned, was a real person. He wanted to live like all kids, but he never made it to his tenth birthday, because of this criminal, this individual by the name of Joseph Duncan, III. Joseph Duncan, by the time he was 16, he had committed 13 sexual assaults. In 1980, Duncan was arrested for breaking into a neighbor's house, stealing guns and then accosting a 14-year-old and sexually assaulting him at gunpoint. He was convicted of the rape and sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in the penitentiary. However, in lieu of prison, somebody sent Duncan to the Sex Offender Treatment Center at Western State Hospital. An evaluation at Western State Mental Hospital found that Duncan, who was then 17, met the definition of a sexual psychopath, so Western State Hospital had given up on Duncan. Then, at 19, he announced that he wanted to leave treatment and serve the rest of his time in the penitentiary. So he received 14 more years for the rape and sexual assault and 3 more for parole violations. When he got out of the penitentiary, he moved to Fargo, North Dakota. Then, after leaving the penitentiary, he decided to create a blog on the Internet. Many of the entries appear to focus on his own sexual abuse crimes, and he seemed to be proud of it. It also shows us his rage over how sex offenders are treated in our community. Brenda Grone and her boyfriend, Mark McKenzie, and the 13-year-old Slade Grone were killed in their home sometime on May 15 by Joseph Edward Duncan, III. They were beaten to death with a hammer. Duncan, after kidnapping Shasta, he told her and explained to her what he did to these three before he murdered them. He said he watched the house and specifically had watched her for 2 or 3 days. At night, he would sneak up to the house and peer into the windows. He said it was real simple to kidnap them and kill the other three. He said he used a night vision goggle to learn about the family's layout before breaking into the home. And he bragged to Shasta about killing her family with a hammer, and he even taunted her with the hammer that he had used to kill her family. Duncan was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping in the bludgeoning deaths of this family. He is awaiting trial. Dylan, four-foot, 60 pounds, blond crew-cut, blue eyes and 9 years of age when he was murdered. I continue, Mr. Speaker. Carol Dougherty, 9, Pennsylvania; Sarah Pryor, 9, Massachusetts; Jennifer Short, 9, Virginia; Anthony Martinez, 10, California; Michelle Norris, 7, Rhode Island; Roxann Reyes, 4, Texas; Brandon Dyson, Jr., 1, California; Benjamin Brenneman, 12, California; Mary Lou Olsen, 10, from California; Joshua Walden, 10, Tennessee; Constance Carrillo, 8, Ohio; Louis Peytonn, Jr., 5, Arkansas; Janet Perkins, 9, Missouri; Charlie Keever, 13, California; Megan Kanka, 7, New Jersey, July 29, 1994. Mr. Speaker, this is Megan Kanka, 7, from New Jersey. In July of 1994, she disappeared. She grew up in the quiet suburban Hamilton township of New Jersey. She was a chatty little girl who loved chocolate chip ice cream, cookies and milk. In July of 1994, at the age of 7, Megan, an enthusiastic animal lover, was lured into a neighbor's home, 100 feet from her own door. Once again, another child predator living in our neighborhoods. She went over to his house with the hopes of seeing his new puppy he claimed he had. That neighbor, unknown to Megan's parents, was a convicted sex offender. The chatty little girl rode her bike over to Jessie Timmendequas' home. He told her that he had a puppy, but it was too young to go outside, so she needed to go inside to see it. Of course, there was no puppy. It was a lie. The defendant, Timmendequas, was a previously convicted sex offender, and he sexually assaulted Megan. Then, like the others, he murdered her. When he got her into the house, he tried to kiss her, but she attempted to escape. So he strangled Megan with a belt. He says he slammed her head into the dresser and strangled her. He sexually assaulted her. He tied two bags over her head. Mr. Speaker, he tied two bags over her head. He put her body into a toy box, and he drove his pickup truck to a nearby park with her in the toy box. He sexually assaulted her again and dumped her body into a patch of high weeds. In the hours following Megan's disappearance, a massive search effort took place all over the quiet Hamilton township of New Jersey. The red and blue lights of police cars filled the once quiet suburban neighborhoods. Police were instantly drawn to Timmendequas' home after learning that he and his roommates were both convicted sex offenders. They immediately questioned him, and only 1 day later, he confessed and led the police to Megan's body. His history? Well, he had a criminal history of sexual assault of children. In 1979, Timmendequas pled guilty to the attempted and aggravated sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl in New Jersey. He was given a suspended sentence. Mr. Speaker, that means, in simple terms, he did not go to jail. But somebody recommended that he get counseling for his sexual assaults. He did spend 9 months in the Middlesex Adult Correction Center. Then, in 1981, he pled guilty in regard to the sexual assault of a 7- year-old girl. He was imprisoned for 6 years. In May of 1997, he was sentenced to death for the murder of Nichole Kanka. He remains on death row in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. Hopefully, justice will be done, and he will see his maker soon. In honor of Megan's memory, a section of the Child Safety Act creates the Megan Nichole Kanka and Alexandra Nichole Zapp Community Notification Program. This program requires appropriate officials to notify the communities within 5 days of a change of a registered sex offender's information. Megan's parents had no idea that a sex offender was living across the street from them in their quiet suburban neighborhood. Hopefully, the Child Safety Act will rectify this in the future, and parents will know who lives among them. Kelly Albright was 12 when she disappeared in Kansas; James Francis Connelly, 15, from Illinois; Sandy Hoyt, 14, from Connecticut; Andrea Harriet Sax, 16, from Illinois; Tamika Turks, 7, from Indiana; James David Richards, 15, California; Stacey Sue Simpson, 4, Georgia; Tyrna Middleton, 14, Ohio; Clifford Grant Sheppard, III, 11, Alabama; Reginald Brown, 16, Illinois; Carla Jo Otto, 14, from Michigan; Lori Ann Hill, 14, Ohio; Carmen Joy Otto, 10, from Michigan; Jacob Wetterling, 11, from Minnesota, October 27, 1989. Mr. Speaker, Jacob Wetterling, this is a photograph of him. He lived to the age of 11, and then he was kidnapped and hasn't been seen since. He was born on February 17, 1978. He grew up in St. Joseph, Minnesota, with his parents, Patty and Jerry Wetterling, and his three bothers and sisters. On the night of October 27, 1989, Jacob and his brother, Trevor, and a friend rode their bikes to a local convenience store to pick up a movie and a snack. On the way home, a man wearing a mask carrying a gun stopped the boys on a dark stretch of road less than a mile from Jacob's home. The gunman, wielding a pistol, told the boys to throw their bikes into a nearby ditch and lay face down on the ground. He then asked each of the boys their age. After the boys responded, he instructed Jacob's brother and friend to run into the woods and not look back or he would shoot them both. As they ran away, they glanced back to see the gunman grab Jacob's arm. When they reached the wooded area and turned around again, the gunman and Jacob had disappeared into the night. Local police were called to the scene of the abduction minutes later, and a search ensued that involved hundreds of volunteers, local law enforcement, the FBI and others. To date, law enforcement and Jacob's family still do not know what happened to Jacob or his abductor or where they are now. Sixteen years later, and the Wetterlings refuse to change their phone number or move from their four-bedroom home in hopes that Jacob would come back some day. He would be 27 this year. Mr. Speaker, in 1994, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act was passed as a part of the Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 by Congress. This requires States to implement a sex offender and crimes against children registry. Part of the Children's Safety Act that was passed yesterday amends the Jacob Wetterling Act that was passed in response to his kidnapping. It improves the sex offender registration and notification program on many levels. It seeks to ensure that sex offenders register and keep current where they reside, work and where they go to school. It creates a national sex offender database and requires that it be on-line and easily accessible to everyone in this country. The law also expands community notification requirements and creates harsher punishments for sex offenders. I would like to continue, Mr. Speaker. Jonathan Sellars, 9, California; Charlie Stevens, 12, Georgia; Christina Benjamin, 13, Texas; Brittany Billette, 1, Michigan; James Bryan King, 14, Texas; John Pius, 13, New York; Lacy Chandler, 16, California; Amy Rachelle Schulz, 10, from California; Lazaro Figueroa, 3, Florida; Mickey David Niles, 7, Texas; Christe Rogers, 14, Florida; Naja Smallwood, 5, Pennsylvania; Sarah Cherry, 12, Maine; Stephen Wicks, 10, Colorado; and Jetsetta Gage, 10, Iowa, March 25, 2005. Mr. Speaker, this is Jetsetta Gage, 10. She was kidnapped and sexually assaulted and murdered this year, in 2005, in Iowa, Cedar Rapids. According to news reports, Jetsetta Gage's goal each day was to give 20 compliments to people. She wanted to give them to her teacher. She gave them to a cab driver who took her to school. She gave them to her grandmother and anybody that came into her view. Her mother said that she was friendly, and she liked to say hi to everyone. She would come up to you and say, you look nice today. She would tell everyone that, even strangers. The adults who knew Jetsetta described her as bubbly, a happy girl. She would wear colorful but mismatched outfits. She loved the outdoors, and she loved her mother and her grandmother. Trina Gage was attending classes at Hamilton College the night her daughter was taken. Roger Bentley, a family friend, went to the Gage's home on the evening of March 25 of this year supposedly to fix the car. While there, he kidnapped Jetsetta. He took her to an abandoned mobile home in rural Johnson County about 45 miles south of Jetsetta's Cedar Rapids home in Iowa. In the darkness of the night he sexually abused her. He bound her feet. He suffocated her by putting a plastic bag over her heard. Twelve hours after killing and kidnapping Jetsetta, authorities came to the mobile home, and Roger answered the door with blood stains still on his cloth. Officials searched the home and they found the little girl's body. Jetsetta's mother, Trena Gage, had met Roger Bentley through his brother James Bentley whom she had dated several years ago. Court documents suggest that Jetsetta was sexually abused over a 2-year period by this James Bentley. James Bentley, well, he had already been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting Jetsetta in two counties. He is scheduled for trial on October 3 in Linn County. The second trial on the same charges follows in November 3 in Benton County. His brother Roger was charged with first degree murder and first degree kidnapping in the death of Jetsetta. His trial is scheduled for November 28 of this year. Hopefully, justice will be served in both of these cases. Shaun Jenkins, 5, from Pennsylvania. Kevin Wooden, 6, from Louisiana. Anthony Carter, 9, from Georgia. Durga Owens, 8, Alaska. Laura Arroyo, 9, California. Donald Todd, 13, from California. Angela Barnes, Washington, D.C., 14. Mary Angela Comacho, 8, Texas. Michael Lyons, 8, California. Mary Jennifer Love, 6, Ohio. Diana Hernandez, 7, Nevada. Liana Sandoval, 1, Arizona. Angie Housman, 9, Missouri. Samuel Rice, 9, Florida. Polly Klass, 12, California, October 1993. Mr. Speaker, this is Polly Klass, 12. She, like the others, kidnapped. She was born in January of 1981 in Fairfax, California. When she grew up she liked Mel Gibson as her favorite actor. She also liked a football player, a guy by the name of Joe Montana. She liked to read Archie comics and Judy Blume books. She liked popcorn and hot fudge sundaes. She had two cats, Spooky and Milo. She enjoyed performing in school plays and had dreams of becoming an actress. She loved music and she was active in the school band, but on the night of October 1, 1993, Polly Klass was hosting her first sleepover party with two of her friends. When Polly went to retrieve pillows from another room, she was confronted by a large hulking man armed with a knife. The man, Richard Allen Davis, threatened to kill all the girls if they did not do as he told them to. Davis made his way into the bedroom of the 12-year-old Polly Klass and he tied her up with her two sleepover companions and then he abducted her. When Polly's body was found later, she had been brutally sexually assaulted and strangled to death. Davis is a career criminal whose life has a twisted tangle of much violence and criminal activity. A few days after Polly's abduction, Davis confessed to the murder and led the police to her body. After a trial, he was found guilty of first degree murder. He was sentenced to death, as he should have been. Perhaps the most telling part of Polly's story is this: according to Polly's father, she had always had a fear of the dark. She had trouble sleeping unless there was a night light on. As many children are, she was scared of the boogey man and the possibility of being kidnapped. It is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, in our culture too many kids go to sleep afraid of the boogey man, like Richard Allen Davis. It was something that she had discussed often with her parents, and her father Mark recalls with bitter irony how he had assured his daughter that everything would be all right and that he would be there to protect her. Mr. Speaker, there are more children, there are many more in this country. Tonight I have just listed a few, a few over 100. Felicia Elliot was 8 in Arkansas. Mary Caussin, 6, in Michigan. Jason Verdow, 9, in Florida. Marcia Trimble, 9, in Tennessee. Christi Meeks, 5, in Texas. Michael Cameron Rainey, 14, in Nevada. Shelby Barrackman, 3, in Texas. Adam Benjamin Clark, 6, Arizona. Jenny Waltz, 16, California. Molly Ann Bish, 16, Massachusetts. Jessica Lunsford, 9, Florida. February 23, 2005, this year, just a few months ago. Mr. Speaker, we have all seen this photograph of Jessica Lunsford with her pink hat. She was 9 years of age this year. She had a lot of spunk. She was always smiling. When Jessica walked into the room, she was always having a good time. She and her grandmother collected dolls together. She loved people. She loved purple, and she loved pink. Jessica liked to do cheerleading and gymnastics. She and a friend were going to have a band, but they did not have any instruments, only a microphone, so they just decided to sing and to dance. She liked doing karaoke. She liked doing it with her friends. She also liked to ride bikes. And even though Jessie had several two-wheeled bikes, the one she liked riding best was an old three-wheeler with no brakes that her grandpa Archie had given her. She loved jewelry. She liked shoes. She liked putting on clothes and she liked putting clothes on her dog, Corky, and she loved make-up. She liked music. She liked to sing and dance. And she always said, I love you. Her father, Mark Lunsford, will always remember his last hug from her. Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to meet Mark Lunsford and to talk to him at length. He is a good person. He loved his daughter, and he says he will never get over the fact that he lost his daughter the way that he did. John Couey, the criminal, well, he was a convicted sex offender and he was living in a mobile home within eyesight of the Lunsford home. On February 24 of 2005, he snuck into the Lunsford home and he stole Jessica from her bed. He took her to his place and Couey said he watched for the police and noticed that they went to the Lunsford home. He then, Mr. Speaker, did the following: he chose to sexually assault her. When he was not sexually assaulting her, he stuffed her in a closet in his habitation. When he was through having his way with her, Mr. Speaker, he says he did the following: he decided it was time to get rid of this little girl, so he took stereo wire and tied her feet and her hands. He then wrapped her inside two plastic garbage bags. He dug a hole in his yard and as he said, he threw her in a hole. He buried her alive. When she was found days later, Mr. Speaker, she had poked her fingers through the plastic bags seeking air. John Couey, well, he was a registered and convicted sex offender with a long criminal history. It included 24 arrests and went back more than 30 years. A section of the Children's Safety Act that we passed yesterday establishes the Jessica Lunsford Address Verification Program. Although Couey was a registered sex offender, the address that he lived in and where he had kidnapped and taken Jessica was not the address that he had used when he was a registered sex offender. He had changed address and had not told anybody. The Jessica Lunsford Verification Program under the Child Safety Act authorizes verification and requires mailing verification of child molesters anywhere in the country every 30 days. Since Jessica's death, Mark Lunsford has made it his mission to protect other children and families. Mark Lunsford started the Jessica Marie Lunsford Foundation to help children in crisis and to inform people about the dangers of child predators. We are thankful that Mark Lunsford, this father, this good guy from Florida, came here to Congress and went door to door talking to people about the murder, abduction, and assault of his daughter and changed the minds of many so this bill, the Child Safety Act, would pass. Mr. Speaker, the House did pass the Child Safety Act yesterday, thanks to the leadership of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner). Many, many people were involved in the preparation and drafting of this legislation, people on both sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats. Because, Mr. Speaker, child safety is not a partisan issue. It is a people issue. It is an American issue. And it is important that we continue to focus on those people that do our children harm. We know that sex offenders live among us. The risk of attack to our children grows every day. There are approximately 550,000 convicted sex offenders in the United States. We know that 100,000 of these people who have been convicted are lost in the system. We do not know where they are, where they are hiding in the United States, because they failed to have registered in communities required under current law. We do not know where they work, where they live, or what they are up to. We know that statistics show that in this country one out of every five girls and one out of every 10 boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. We also know that only 35 percent of these incidents are ever reported. According to the Department of Justice, one out of every five children receive unwanted sexual solicitations online from their computers. And we know that 67 percent of all the victims of sexual assault are kids. So the Child Safety Act of 2005 is a comprehensive legislation to address those people who commit crimes and to try to stop the epidemic of violence and sexual abuse against our children. We know that these crimes are not confined to any one neighborhood, any area of the country, but these types of crimes are everywhere. Federal action is needed to solve the increasing dangerousness and widespread problems of violence against children. The legislation that we passed yesterday, which I was proud to be a co-sponsor of, reforms our sex offender registration and notification laws. It is aimed at preventing crimes against children through a coordinated law enforcement approach that includes broadening the definition of these crimes. It increases reporting requirements for new offenders. It increases the penalties for those convicted of sexual assault. It requires States to share information about sex offenders in their States. Because, Mr. Speaker, what occurs is someone will leave the penitentiary in some State. They will register under that State law, but then they will cross States lines, and they will disappear in that second State. That is what happened to many of these children that I mentioned tonight: registered sex offenders crossed State lines. Now we will be able to keep up with them when they cross State lines because failure to register when they move to that new State is a Federal offense. It is a Federal offense where they can go to a Federal penitentiary for up to 20 years for failure to notify law enforcement, the community, the media about their new residence. This Child Safety Act will also enhance punishments for sex offenders who reoffend. It will require sex offenders to register and notify people in the newer neighborhoods where they move. It will require verification monthly. It will require or allow citizens Internet access to the child predators that live among them. It will create Web sites to search for sex offenders in communities, and it will require and expand sex offenses covered by registration and notification to include the military and crimes that occurred against American kids overseas. These are some of the many, many requirements of this new law, Mr. Speaker. It will expand, in addition, law enforcement's use of DNA to solve criminal activity of these predators. This comprehensive legislation hopefully, Mr. Speaker, will send a message to those who live among us that wish to commit crimes against our children. Portions of this law, Mr. Speaker, are named after children. I hope we get to the point in this country that we quit naming laws after murdered children. Hopefully, that day will come. Mr. Speaker, I have four kids, three girls and a boy. I have three grandkids, one born last week. And as a parent I am very, very protective of my children. All parents are. Children are, as the Good Book says, a blessing to parents. And the worst thing that any parent can comprehend and the thing that we dread the most is the loss of a child at any age. To lose a child under any circumstances is tragedy. To have a child kidnapped, assaulted and murdered in their youth is something that parents cannot comprehend, but it happens in America. Mr. Speaker, in this Capitol, we have throughout these great hallways paintings and photographs of important people, people in our history that have done things for our country. They are of all persuasions, all parties, all races and both sexes. But I say, Mr. Speaker, that if we had on these same walls the photographs of the murdered children in our country, that this Capitol, this enormous building does not have the room for all of their photographs. We should remember who they are, their names and how they lived. We have done a lot in this country, organizations such as the National Children's Alliance here in Washington, D.C., the umbrella organization that takes care of sexually exploited children throughout the offense and after the offense is over with and helps them in court. One of those organizations is Children's Assessment center in Houston, Texas, one of the best advocate centers for children anywhere in the country. There are many of those, and it is unfortunate we have to have those to protect our children and take care of their needs after they are exploited. Mr. Speaker, these children have something in common. The last person on earth that these kids saw was not their mother, not their father, not their friends, not their grandparents. The last person they saw on earth was the killer, the person who stole their life in their youth. We hope, Mr. Speaker, that when we pass from this life to the next we are surrounded by the people who care about us, the most important people in our life, but not so with these children. They were surrounded by the person, the predator, that preyed on them and stole their life and their existence. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking a lot about resources the last few weeks, things that have happened in the country, the hurricane, but we need to remember one important factor. The greatest resource in this country is our children. They are the greatest natural resource that we have, and we should be as concerned about what happens to them and what predators do to them as we are about other resources and the disappearance of them. The darkest of history will report the blackness in the souls of those who have committed these crimes against our children. Those barbarians that kidnap, sexually assault and pillage and murder our children will be held personally accountable for their evil choices. It has been said in the scriptures that for whoever causes harm to a little child, it would have been better for him with a heavy millstone hung around his neck he would have been cast into the sea. Well, we do not throw child molesters in the sea. We claim to be too civilized for that, but we will throw them into the sea of accountability, the sea of consequences, the sea of humiliation and the sea of punishment. They have sown the wind of harm, shame, injury and murder. They will reap the whirlwind of justice and intolerance. Mr. Speaker, I was a prosecutor in Houston, Texas, for 8 years. I still have in my office this photograph. This was Kevin Wanstrath. He was murdered in May of 1980. He was 14 months old. The people who took his life, took the life of his mother and his father and his grandmother saw justice. Two of them received the death penalty, and they have been executed. The other two received prison terms in the Texas penitentiary. But, Mr. Speaker, Kevin was born the same year my son was born, Curt. Curt is a big ole strapping boy. I still call him my boy, and at times I look at my son Curt and wonder what could have happened and how Kevin could have turned out. I keep this photograph in my office as I have since that murder to remember that what we are about in this culture is to protect our greatest resource, children. After serving 8 years in the district attorney's office, I got to be a judge in Houston for 22 years and saw 25,000 felonies during that time. Many of those were child predators, and I learned, as we all now know, a couple of things about child predators. We know that most of them when they get out of the penitentiaries in our country they do it again. That is just a historical fact. They repeat their ways. They repeat their criminal activity against our kids. Mr. Speaker, we do not need to give them therapy as some say. They need to be kept away from our kids. Yet that is why we build the penitentiaries, to house those individuals who seek and destroy our children. We also know, Mr. Speaker, that most of them get out. You see, they are model prisoners when they are in the penitentiaries, so they usually come up for parole. They get parole rather early, but at least they all eventually return to society, but they want to remain anonymous in our communities. Mr. Speaker, child molesters are not what we sometimes think of as an individual walking around with a trench coat. They do not look like that at all. They look like anybody else in our communities, and it is time that we in this country quit excusing the conduct of child predators. For whatever reason they choose to commit a crime, they must be held accountable for that. Too often in this country we have become the land of excusable conduct. We excuse somebody's conduct because something bad happened to them when they were a kid. That is certainly no excuse for committing a crime against a child today. We can no longer live in the land of excusable conduct. We must hold people accountable for what they do. Mr. Speaker, when a cow is born in the United States on some ranch in Texas or Montana or Kansas, we track that calf until that calf ends up as a steak on somebody's supper table. We do that for public safety. We want to make sure there is nothing wrong with that beef. Mr. Speaker, now we are going to track child molesters when they leave the penitentiary indefinitely. We should raise at least the safety of our children to the same level as the safety of the beef that we eat and protect them from those child molesters. Mr. Speaker, as stated by a couple of the kids, their fear each night is to be abducted by some bogeyman, and so we lock ourselves up in our homes. We put the bars on the windows. We have the alarms in our rooms to protect us from the bogeyman, those child predators. Mr. Speaker, it is time that we quit being imprisoned in our own homes and our children imprisoned in their homes, and it is time that we make child molesters our prisoners rather than us continuing to be their prisoners. So to the child molesters, we will state this wisdom, we will send this word, we will spread this warning. Leave our children alone or face a lifetime of severe, unpleasant and unrelenting consequences. Mr. Speaker, we are not judged by the way we treat the rich, the famous, the powerful, the important. We are judged by the way we treat the innocent, the weak, the children of our community; and it is time that we focus on what is important for them rather than maybe on other issues in our culture. So it is our resolve, Mr. Speaker, as a Nation, to those child predators, we say, you cannot run, you cannot hide, you cannot avoid justice. Because as injustice hopefully will soon fade away, justice will rule this day. That is just the way it is.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 100th meeting of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. The men and women who serve the state of Texas as prosecutors are the foundation of the criminal justice system. As a prosecutor for 8 years and a district judge for 22 years, I witnessed first-hand the remarkable dedication to the law that is exhibited by county and district attorneys and their staffs. Texans are truly privileged to have such an extraordinary group of legal minds who have answered the call to public service. On November 2, 1905, less than 50 prosecutors met in Dallas, Texas at the first meeting of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. In 1970, the TDCAA re-organized for the purpose of offering training and technical assistance to prosecutors. The TDCAA has made great strides since that time, currently providing training to two-thirds of the prosecutors and staff in Texas. The 2005 meeting will take place in Corpus Christi, with more than 1100 prosecutors and staff members in attendance. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a lifetime member of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Our district and county attorneys make communities safer while holding criminals accountable for their actions, and I commend the TDCAA for setting the bar with regards to training prosecutors. I wish the Texas District and County Attorneys Association all the best as they look forward to another 100 years of success.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise September as National Rice Month and honor those who grow it, process it, transport it, and all those who bring it to the dinner tables of America and the rest of the world. National Rice Month was established in 1991 when both Houses of Congress agreed and the President of the United States sought to increase awareness of rice and recognize the contribution made by the U.S. rice industry to America's economy. National Rice Month celebrations will take place all across America this month in grocery stores, restaurants, schools, in festivals in many rice-growing communities, including the 36th Annual Texas Rice Festival just outside my district in Winnie, Texas. Rice is an important part of American history and heritage. It has been grown in North America since 1696, when an improved variety of rice, reportedly from Madagascar, was grown on the Carolina coast. Early Americans recognized the promise of this crop throughout the world; and by 1726 the port of Charleston, South Carolina, was a major rice port in the United States. As America earned independence, rice was growing as one of our largest exports. Over the years, rice became less and less important to the Carolinas as crops such as cotton and tobacco were better suited for that climate. But it was not until the war between the States, as advancing Union armies in the 1860s put the great rice plantations to the torch, that farmers picked up and moved west to the rich, fertile land of the Mississippi Delta and the lowlands off the gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana. Today, there are only six States that have land and climate suitable to produce rice. As a $2 billion cash crop, rice is the fifth most valuable food crop grown in the United States. Ninety percent of the rice consumed in the United States is grown here. The people of the United States consume approximately 18 pounds of rice per person per year. That amount continues to increase. Until recently, the combined acreage of rice farms in the State of Texas was over the size of the State of Rhode Island. Rice is vital to agriculture producers through exports, too, as the United States is one of only two or three major players in the world rice market. We export rice to more than 120 countries and supply 14 percent of all the rice in the world trade. It is one of the world's most important foods. It is a primary staple for more than half the world's population. The U.S. rice industry has a long, successful past. However, Mr. Speaker, its future is much in jeopardy. These are tense and troubling times. The American rice farmer is becoming an endangered species. Ray Stoesser, a constituent and friend of mine down in Liberty County, Texas, is struggling like many other rice farmers. Ray, like most farmers, simply wants a market to sell their product. They want a sanction-free world. American political policies keep prices of rice depressed while increasing costs to American farmers. World markets are being lost to others. While farmers like Ray are doing the most to improve their yields, they have nowhere to sell their rice. Rice farmers do not want more government subsidies. They want markets for the rice that they sell. The three largest foreign markets of United States rice producers has historically been Iran, Iraq and Cuba, countries in which the United States has heavily sanctioned against. Those sanctions do not hurt those countries. They hurt American rice farmers. We need to have free rice trade with these countries. The people of these nations are going to eat and buy rice. They should buy rice from America, because that is where they want to buy their rice. But in the name of politically correct sanctions, American rice farmers are hurt because the government does not allow complete free trade with these nations. The Cuban market and its $64 million in sales last year has been lost to more government sanction, red tape, regulation and lack of common sense. Mr. Speaker, however, this resolution, H.R. 3058, the Transportation, Treasury appropriations bill, contains a very important provision to keep rice sales thriving. So as we recover from the stress of the hurricane and fuel price increases, it makes sense that we would want to ship rice to generally a close country such as Cuba who wants to buy it. If we get rice moving to Cuba, it would solve many problems. We need to make it easier to sell rice to Iraq. We need to drop the agricultural sanctions to that nation. As we celebrate National Rice Month and look back on its historical importance to America, we must ensure our government gives our rice producers the opportunity to keep the tradition long and strong and end those stupid sanctions. We need to keep the great American rice farmer like Mr. Ray Stoesser on his combine harvesting rice in Southeast Texas.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. POE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today with my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), to offer this training technology amendment. The training and technology amendment addresses several key issues for law enforcement throughout the country when dealing with Internet crime against children. These crimes committed against children on the Internet are facilitated by the latest technologies and advances in computers and the Internet. Without properly equipping law enforcement, these cases will not be investigated and prosecuted effectively, allowing many predators to slip through the cracks in our criminal justice system. Furthermore, many cases involving exploitation and enticement of children on the Internet cross jurisdictional lines and even international boundaries. There is a great need for law enforcement prosecutors and investigators to have the ability to share information quickly as cases unfold. To address these needs, the training and technology amendment funds the Department of Justice $3 million to do two things: (1) Train law enforcement to use the most up to date technology while investigating and collecting evidence from a suspected internet predator--for example, recovering files from hard drives of suspected child pornographers. (2) Provide hardware and training to use software that Microsoft is developing and donating to the Department of Justice. A similar project has successfully been implemented in Canada. The software would link Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preventions' 46 regional Internet Crimes Against Children Units with one database. This will allow law enforcement across the country and even internationally to work together and share information on cases that cross jurisdictions. In order for the Child Safety Act to be successfully implemented, law enforcement must be equipped and trained to meet the challenges of investigating cases involving advanced technological tools. I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment.