Ted Poe

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, born in the 1920s, he grew up in the Depression of the 1930s poor, like most rural American children. Fresh vegetables were grown in the family garden behind the small frame house. His mother made sandwiches for school out of homemade bread. Store-bought bread was for the rich. He grew up belonging to the Boy Scouts, playing the trumpet in the high school band, and he went to church on most Sundays. In 1944, this 18-year-old country boy that had never been more than 50 miles from home finally found himself going through basic training in the United States Army at Camp Walters in Camp Walters, Texas. After that he rode the train with hundreds of other young teenagers, American males to New York City for the ocean trip on a cramped Liberty ship to fight in the great World War II. As a soldier in the 7th Army, he went from France on to survive the Battle of the Bulge and through the cities of Aachen, Stuttgart, Cologne, and Bonn. As a teenager, he saw the concentration camps and the victims of the Nazis. He saw incredible numbers of other teenage Americans buried in graves throughout France. A monument to those soldiers is at Normandy. After Germany surrendered, he went back to Fort Hood, Texas, expecting to be re-equipped for the land invasion of Japan. It was there he met Mom at a Wednesday night ``prayer meeting'' church service. Until a few years ago, this GI, my dad, would never talk about World War II. He still will not say much except he does say the heroes, they are the ones buried in Europe today. After the war he opened a DX service station where he pumped gas, sold tires, fixed cars, and began a family. Deciding he needed to go to college, he moved to West Texas and enrolled in a small Christian college called Abilene Christian College. He and his wife and his two small children lived in an old converted army barracks with other such families. He supported us by working nights at KRBC radio and climbing telephone poles for ``Ma Bell,'' later called Southwestern Bell. He finished college, became an engineer and worked 40-plus years for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Houston, Texas. He turned down a promotion and a transfer to New York City because it was not Texas and he said ``no place to raise a family.'' Dad instilled in my sister and me the values of being a neighbor to all, loving our country, loving our heritage, and always just doing the right thing to all people. He still gets mad at the Eastern Media. He flies the flag on holidays. He goes to church on Sunday, and he takes Mom out to eat almost every Friday night. He stands in the front yard and talks to his neighbors. He can fix anything. He still mows his own grass even though he is 80 years of age. And he has a strong opinion on politics and world events. He gives plenty of advice to all people, including me. He has two computers in his home office. He sends e-mails to hundreds of his buddies all over the world. Dad and Mom still live in Houston, Texas, close to where I grew up. So today, Mr. Speaker, as we on this 60th anniversary honor those who fought in the great World War II and the victory in Europe, we honor not only my dad, but all of those American heroes. My dad was one of those individuals. He is the best man I ever met. One of the charter members of the Greatest Generation. And I hope I turn out like him, the man I admire the most. Virgil Poe, good man, good father. That is plenty for one life.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my Special Order at this time.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man who spoke on this floor and wandered these historic hallowed hallways over a decade ago. Craig Washington, a former Democratic Congressman from Texas, made a name for himself in this place of Washington and in the Lone Star State of Texas. At home in the great State of Texas, he is best known for his courtroom mesmerizing oratory, his remarkable victories as a criminal defense lawyer and his persistent passion for helping out the little guy. Eleven years ago, he left Congress and headed back to Texas. Now Washington is back in the spotlight again defending one of Texas' high profile clients and doing what he does best, arguing for constitutional rights, helping the downtrodden. Those are the people who need him the most. He is gracing the front pages of the Houston Chronicle yet again, but if you ask his daughter, Chival, she claims that her dad is just a regular guy and that is one of the reasons she admires him so much. Craig Washington was born in deep east Texas, a town called Longview. He grew up in Houston and after high school he enrolled in Prairie View A&M University at the age of 16 with the hopes of becoming a dentist. Eight years later he finally graduated with a grade point average too low to complete his plans of dentistry. He was tremendously intelligent but could not be bothered with attending classes. In 1966 Craig Washington was introduced to the Dean of the Texas Southern University Law School. Washington had charisma and determination even at a young age, and he managed to talk the dean into accepting him into the law school program and then transferring to dentistry. But instead he was hooked on the law and looked on it for the rest of his life. Four years later, he would graduate with honors and become the assistant dean and assistant professor of law at his alma mater. Then in 1970, he left the university to enter private law practice, and in 1972, he was elected to the Texas State Legislature. In 1982, he was elected to the Texas States Senate. It was there he made a name for himself as the second African American to serve in the Texas State Senate since reconstruction. It seems, Mr. Speaker, the war between the States died real hard in Texas. In 1989, his good friend, Congressman Mickey Leland, was killed in a tragic plane crash representing this body in Ethiopia. Washington was determined to continue the work that Leland started and he ran for Leland's seat and was sworn in as Leland's replacement in Congress in 1990. His years in Congress were spent on national issues and advocating for those who had no voice. Some in Texas did not agree with the way he voted and carried himself, but inside this beltway he was seen as a star on the rise. He was a maverick. He wooed his colleagues on many issues and upset more than one organization when he voted against big issues like NAFTA and even NASA. One particular evening on this House floor he argued against amending our Constitution to protect the flag. He said, ``I prefer a man who will burn the flag and then wrap himself in the Constitution to a man who will burn the Constitution and then wrap himself in the flag.'' That is typical Craig Washington. Although Craig Washington and I disagree on many political issues, I admire him because he never made a decision based on politics. Eleven years ago, Washington left this Congress to return to his roots, Texas. He has a home in Bastrop, Texas, a small German town near Austin, and today Washington devotes most of his time to fighting for those who have no advocate in our courts. When I was a prosecutor, we tried cases against each other, and I found his word and handshake were his bond, as it is today. When I became a judge, I had the opportunity to see him represent people in the most serious of accusations. In court, he spoke with the oratory of Daniel Webster and often uses his words with such power, he could put the jury in a hypnotic trance. Like Spartacus of the ancients, Mr. Washington goes into the pit of the courtroom arena armed with the sword of righteous indignation, the shield of the Constitution, and the breastplate of impeccable honor to fight for those broken of spirit. When Craig Washington does his final summation, I am convinced the angels from above get a seat in the rafters of the courtroom just to listen to his voice, a voice from heaven advocating persistently and passionately for the poor and persecuted. Craig Washington may be quiet, but he is a hell fire and brimstone lawyer from East Texas that argues a case with such intelligence, intensity, and logic that juries are forever mesmerized. He has the courtroom demeanor and dignity the law deserves and a hallowed respect for the Constitution that is waning today among many lawyers and even some Supreme Court Justices who see the Constitution as an inconvenience to result-oriented agendas. Politically, Craig Washington, I think, is a populist and an honorable gentleman from the Old South from an era when honor was important. He serves his clients with distinction and compassion and tremendous energy. He is a tremendous criminal defense lawyer as well as a right-thinking American, and I stand today on this floor where he stood 11 years ago to salute Mr. Washington. I am proud to call him my friend; and if I ever leave Congress, I hope to return to the courtroom to join him in trial, to do battle together against the forces of evil, tyranny, and injustice.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, please annotate that in my Special Order of 28 April 2005 on America's rice farmers, the profiles highlighting the farming legacies of the two Texas rice farmers--Mr. Ray Stoesser and Mr. Jack Wendt--were derived from Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center (Beaumont, TX)'s Texas Rice Newsletter in the July 2002, Volume II, Number 5 and June 2003, Volume III, Number 4 editions, respectively. Moreover, Mr. Wendt's letter to President George W. Bush appeared in a Special Guest Editorial published in the March 2005, Volume V, Number 1 edition of the aforementioned newsletter. Thank you for your attention to this information.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, on Friday night, April 15, I had a meeting with local rice farmers in my southeast Texas district. We met out in the country in the lowland plains of east Texas on Aggie Drive in Beaumont, Texas. Really, it was closer to China, Texas. Many of these men had finished a 16-hour day and came to the meeting after working all that time in the fields. They drove up in their standard work vehicles: Texas pickup trucks. Their appearances would fool you, however. They are highly intelligent, some very well educated. They know more about farming, farming machinery, nature, conservation, irrigation, water resources, meteorology, pesticides, insecticides, fertilizer, trade, global competition, foreign governments, and efficiency than many who have a string of degrees behind their names, especially those near this House. As we sat around and ate fried catfish made out of rice flour, I talked to them for several hours about their plight. One rice farmer said this was his last year in farming. He was finally just going to sell off his equipment and sell the land. They painted for me, Madam Speaker, the extremely bleak picture of the present and future in rice farming. And while one could argue that economic decline plagues all rural America across the board on account of the death tax and high tax levels, too many government regulations, the rice farming industry has been hit particularly hard. Consider the following: in 1997, 8 years ago, there were about 10,000 rice farms in the United States. By 2002, that number had dropped to about 8,000. The State of Texas in 1972 had more than 600,000 acres of rice farming. That is about the size of Rhode Island. Last year, it was less than 200,000 acres, a two-thirds loss of the land to something else. Unfortunately, rice farmers, those in southeast Texas, for example, cannot change to alternative crops because other crops do not thrive in this environment, the marshy, unique wetlands and humid climate of southeast Texas. In addition, the farmers have to contend with the whims of the Lone Star weather, ranging from sun to hail, too much rain to not enough rain, or none at all. Natural disasters like hurricanes, they come and go and ravage the land where we live. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, in 2002, the average American rice farmer made about $1,700 from farming, or about 82 cents an hour for a 40-hour work week. I will repeat that. That is 82 cents an hour for a 40-hour work week, and that was with government support. This harsh reality forces most farmers to rely on nonfarming income to support their households. Rice farmers work their own land, Madam Speaker. They do not hire day laborers or seasonal workers. They cannot afford it. The farmer and his kids, they work the land. Rice farmers can barely support themselves financially, let alone make needed contributions to the industry to keep it afloat. At one time the American Rice Growers Cooperative Association in Dayton, Texas, that is in my district, they owned an irrigation system using the Trinity River to irrigate between 5,000 and 6,000 acres of rice land. It has not run in 3 years because not enough farmers could financially commit to pay $25,000 to run the pumps to irrigate the land. Now, get this, Madam Speaker. The water rights have been sold to the city of Houston, and the land is being used for trailer parks which, as one farmer put it, once the land is gone, it is over for the rice farmers. You see, rice land takes years to develop. If it remains unused for extended periods of time, like 3 years, the land becomes useless for rice farming. Moreover, industry representatives are dwindling. Farm machines, the John Deere stores, they are disappearing. Each year, older farmers quit or retire. Each year, less acreage is being used for crops. Each year, fewer young men go into farming because the cost versus the return on this investment is not sufficient for any type of lifestyle. What is the incentive for the young to enter the farming industry? This meeting we had on April 15, most of the farmers there were at least 50 or older. Farming, rice farming is a very labor- and energy- intensive business. It requires electricity to run the pumps to irrigate the crops, diesel fuel to run the combines, and fuel for the crop dusters, pesticides to control insect problems. And we have a lot of insects in southeast Texas. In addition to the labor from early morning to dark, from February to November, it is about 8:30 now, Madam Speaker, in southeast Texas, most of the rice farmers are coming in from working all day. All the costs have increased, yet the price that the farmer receives for selling his crop remains the same or has dropped. It also takes an enormous amount of time to fill out Federal forms, which has tripled, according to the farmers. These farmers are required just to sell the rice they grow. Due to government regulations, sanctions have prohibited farmers from making sales of their crops in an open market. They are even told by this government, our government, how much they can plant. Back in the 1970s, in what was called the rural renaissance, an average of 300 farmers or so would attend the American Rice Growers annual dinner. Last year at the dinner, 14 rice farmers showed up. Once the experienced rice farmers leave the industry, we cannot restore this lost knowledge. No government program can do that. Not to mention that the present farm program constitutes only four-tenths of 1 percent of the national budget. Madam Speaker, I would like to take some time to recount the personal stories of two of the countless Texas rice farmers, to give this body an idea just who these folks are. Ray Stoesser, he is a friend of mine. He is also a third-generation rice farmer in southeast Texas. He has a true appreciation for the value of research, education, and he loves the land. One of the most successful and consistent producers, he brings an exceptional crop each year to the rice market. Ray is quick to point out there is no secret to rice farming. He says, ``I believe that God could give me the talent and the strength to become a good farmer.'' Ray's grandfather, Emil Joseph Stoesser, immigrated from Germany around the turn of the country and settled in Illinois. He learned about rice farming through a friend, decided to move his family to Texas, southeast Texas. He had a different type of farming apparatus. He brought with him two Clydesdale horses, probably the first two Clydesdale horses ever in the State of Texas. They came with the farming community and he hoped to use them to plow his rice fields. Soon after moving to Texas, however, the Clydesdales succumbed to the heat and the humidity and mosquitoes common in our area. After that, they used mules to pull the plow. Ray remembers how, as a boy, he worked long hours to clear the new property and get ready for rice production. He said, ``Dad had 3,000 acres that was completely unimproved. We had to clear the trees, pull up the roots, build the canals, dig the wells just to get it ready.'' Ray's dad was a dedicated and talented farmer. And Ray attributes his strong work ethic and teachings to his dad. Every day after school Ray would meet his dad on the farm and work until well after dark. Ray also had a son that followed him into the rice farming industry. Neal Stoesser is 26 and has been farming since his senior year in high school. Although he works in partnership with Ray, Neal also farms 1,000 acres of rice and soybeans independently of his dad. In 2002, Ray and Neal had 2,000 acres of rice, all in Cocodrie, 5,000 acres of milo, 650 acres of soybeans. This was a father and son team that farmed from one end of Liberty County to the other, about 60 miles from one end of their farming community to the other end. In good years the Stoessers average about 7,300 pounds an acre on this main crop of rice. They sell to the Beaumont Rice Mill and the Gulf Rice Mill. Ray has considered joining the Riceland Co-op out of Arkansas, but he prefers to have his rice sold and milled in Texas. He says, ``declining infrastructure is a real problem for our Texas rice industry, and we want to do what we can to support our local mills.'' But Ray feels that the government policies regarding food exports have really hurt American farmers. He recalls the years when Iran and Iraq were two of our best export markets. They would buy the lion's share of U.S. rice. Not surprisingly, Ray feels the Cuban market should be open to U.S. farmers, as export embargoes only serve to hurt American farmers. They hurt farmers here at home. And they are not effective in dealing with political problem governments. Ray's younger son, Grant, is also very involved in the family farming operation as well as promoting the rice industry. And of course, there is Mom, Eileen Stoesser, very proud of all of her boys. She includes Ray as one of her boys, and has had many happy stories to tell about their life on the farm as the wife of a rice farmer. She remembers making a trip with her family and driving past endless fields of green. Eileen thought this was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen, and asked her parents what is growing on these flooded fields? Little did she know how important that beautiful crop would be, how it would come to shape her life. It was rice growing in southeast Texas. Ray and Eileen, they are humble folks. They believe that all their success comes from the good Lord. Ray said, ``I can plant the crop, but I cannot make it grow, only the good Lord can do that. I have been blessed with a wonderful upbringing, a beautiful family, and the talent to serve God by producing food for the American people.'' That is Ray's story. He is still farming in southeast Texas. Jack Wendt is also a third-generation rice farmer. He just planted his 62nd rice crop. Jack, he is not a young guy. Some would call him a senior. He is in his eighties. But you would be hard-pressed to keep up with the pace that he sets each day. Jack and his wife Billie, they live in Richmond, Texas, and the house outside of Kendleton is used for social gatherings, receptions, weddings, church functions and rice meetings. That is what they do in the country, Madam Speaker. Much of the furniture in the house is from their parents. There are several door frames dating back to 1868 from the original homestead of Billie's grandparents in Fulshear. That farm had been continuously operated by her family for over 100 years and was designated as a Texas Century Farm by the Texas Department of Agriculture. There are old photographs of Billie's and Jack's ancestors around the house, kitchenware and tools that date back to the 1800s. Jack takes pride in their family heritage. The man Jack called Grandpa Wendt came to America, like many other rice farmers, from Germany. He came in 1856, and he settled in this town called Sweet Home, Texas. That is right, Madam Speaker. It is Sweet Home, Texas. His father, William George, born in August of 1886, served in World War I, fighting for the United States. In 1936 his family moved to Stowell, Texas and started farming rice. Jack Wendt is an activist, and he has written our President, President Bush, and a number of Members of Congress, letters about the issue of rice. This is one of the letters he has written President Bush recently. I will read part of it because it is lengthy. He starts, ``Dear President Bush, I am a third-generation rice producer. I have spent my entire life, except for 3 years in service to the United States during World War II, being involved in agriculture; rice, cattle, cotton, and grain. I will be 83 years old this year, so I have seen a lot of changes, changes from horses and mules to 400 horsepower tractors, threshing machines to combines. This statement is coming from a farmer who is still actively engaged in the production of agricultural products. ``All of us who are engaged in production of agriculture commodities that are subsidized by the USDA are very concerned about the proposed cuts the administration is considering in the 2006 budget. Some commodities will not survive if these cuts are a reality. The subsidies that we now get for our crops are just enough to keep us in business. Other developed countries are supporting their rice production 3 to 10 times more than we are in the United States. The reason: These countries do not ever want to be without an adequate food supply. Three of our most lucrative markets we have ever had were Iran, Iraq and Cuba. The seed money to develop these markets came from our check- off funds. Now our government has curtailed sales to these countries by putting sanctions on the countries. Other rice-producing countries are supplying most of their needs. That should not surprise us. If we do not sell food to some country, they will buy it somewhere else. When and if these sanctions are ever lifted, it would be hard to reestablish these markets. American agriculture is known by some to be the envy of the world because of its quality and high production per acre. Since we are losing prime farmland to urban development, it is very important we maintain and support American agriculture and research so we can continue to produce our needs on less acreage. You know and I know we do not want to depend on our food supply coming from foreign countries. Although we in the United States, in the American agriculture, represent less than 2 percent of the American population, we play a vital role in the balance of trade with other countries. Agriculture is America's number one export. It totals $53 billion a year.'' He goes on to say, Madam Speaker, ``Keeping a strong agricultural system in our country is as important as keeping an updated and strong army. The old saying goes; 'you cannot fight or work on an empty stomach.' Once you lose the desire of the American farmer to produce, and he is forced to leave the farm, it will be hard to replace him or get him back on the farmland. American agriculture was built on individual initiative, private investment and incentives to produce. Once destroyed, agriculture will not be restored overnight by some government program or some government bureaucrat. ``If there is one thing Americans do not worry about these days, it is running out of food. We worry a lot about health care, jobs, the environment, crime. But food miraculously shows up on our supermarket shelves every day. There is plenty of it. It is not priced that bad, and it tastes pretty darn good. The truth of the matter is our food supply is the best and safest in the world. Let us face it, Americans are complacent about food and where it comes from, not realizing that most of our food is homegrown. ``Restrictions and regulations are putting a noose around the farmers' necks and tightening. Most of the farmers are top-notch stewards of the land. They care about the environment and want to do the right thing, but regulations that are being talked about in Washington, DC are punitive and would curtail farming. ``Here are a few of the facts. Today, each American farmer produces food and fiber for 144 people. ``American farmers produce 18 percent of the world's food on 10 percent of the world's land. ``American farmers account for 25 percent of the world's beef and veal production, 40 percent of the world's corn production. ``Food is most affordable in the United States where consumers spend less than 10 percent of their income on it. ``Farm programs that we now have represent only four-tenths of 1 percent of our national budget. ``However, as it is with most Federal legislation, the cost of our farm program is misleading. Our farmers will not receive all the money earmarked in the farm bill. In fact, they will receive only 30 percent of the funds. The remaining 70 percent in this fund, in this bill, provides support for the Food Stamp Program, the Children's Nutritional Programs, the Women, Infant and Children Care Program, and a range of other USDA programs. The bottom line is that funding provided to producers through the farm bill costs $0.17 a day per family in the United States.'' He goes on, Madam Speaker, to point out, it takes 440,000 people to process, package, market, finance, and ship agricultural exports. Thanks to our farming families, more and more Americans in related businesses are working. The United States is one of few families in the world that has never known wide-spread hunger. Not relying on other countries for food is key to national security. The vast majority of food America eats is grown by U.S. farmers. The question is not whether food price support is necessary, but one of determining how much price support is needed to protect our food producers and our food supply from unfair competition brought about by unequal agricultural trade restrictions on the American rice farmer. Like other businesses in our country, U.S. agriculture products have shown they can compete with the very best from any country, sometimes even when the playing field is leveled against them. So we must keep our agricultural system strong so Americans can never be dependent on foreign food imports to feed our people. If the American consumers want to keep adequate food supplies, the safest and cheapest cost per capita of food in the world, then our government should maintain a support level on agricultural commodities that is necessary to keep us in business until free trade supply and demand will return as it was in the past. In conclusion, Madam Speaker, with two comments in quotations from former Presidents. One is from President Dwight David Eisenhower when he said: ``Our farmers are the most efficient in the world. In no country do so few people produce so much food to feed so many at such reasonable prices.'' He also quotes President Bush 41, when he said: ``Our Nation owes a debt of gratitude to our farmers and to our ranchers to help ensure the stability of our economy, for providing food products that amply meet our citizens' needs and for representing what is best about America and its people.'' He concludes in his letter, Madam Speaker: ``Therefore, Mr. President, I urge you pose proposals to reopen the farm bill and single out farming families. Please give us new markets for our rice.'' Madam Speaker, these figures and personal accounts all point to the two main obstacles faced by rice farmers. The fact that the land that the farmers work in many times is not land that they own, but they are tenants on the land. Yet the owners of the land are the ones who receive the subsidies. Also, the United States Government has shut off several of the key markets to which our rice farmers used to sell. The rice farmers that I have talked to, Madam Speaker, they do not want to be dependent on the government. Most believe they are forced to sell their land and become tenants to land owners because of the government. The land owners receive the subsidies. Maybe the farmers who work the land should receive the subsidies. But with all this talk about free trade, the real issue is, Madam Speaker, is we prohibit free rice trade. It is unjust to further cut subsidies unless we expand the scope of the rice trade. During the 80s, Iraq was the number one rice market for American rice producers, producing 80 percent of Iraq's rice imports. American rice sales to this country alone peaked at 500,000 metric tons. But from 1991 to 2003, because of Saddam Hussein and the Iraq sanctions, the U.S.A. Federation and the U.S. Rice Producers Association estimate that the United States lost $1.9 billion in rice export sales to Iraq. As a result of loss of these sales to Iraq, other countries have stepped in to sell rice to Iraq. Two of them are Thailand and Vietnam. We have perfectly good rice in the United States, perfectly good rice in Texas and the five other States that grow rice. Not every State grows rice in the United States, Madam Speaker. The States that grow rice are Texas, California, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi. Here we are rebuilding Iraq with American money, and yet rice is bought from Vietnam to restore Iraq. I ask the question, why. Charity begins at home if we wish to have charity, and maybe we should think about some of the other foreign giveaway programs that this country is involved in before we cut subsidies to our rice farmers, remembering, of course, that they really do not want the subsidies as much as they want market for their rice. In January I had the opportunity to go to Iraq. I met with James Smith. He was a counselor for the Office of Agricultural Affairs at the United States Embassy in Baghdad. That is a long title, but he is the person that is responsible for helping American farmers get rice to Iraq. He is a good individual. He understands rice economics 101. I congratulate him on his efforts to make sure that we get rice, especially Texas rice and rice from the southeast United States to Iraq. Upon returning to the United States, I was later invited by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations to join him and other congressional leaders to discuss with the Iraqi grain board the further expansion of United States rice trade to Iraq. We learned in that meeting that the Iraqis, through the Iraqi grain board, had purchased 60,000 metric tons of U.S. rice and another 360,000 metric tons will be purchased soon. The Iraqis wish to buy all the rice that they can. It is estimated that Iraq will need 1.3 million metric tons of rice every year. We want that rice to come from the United States, and we need to make sure that it is American rice that is on the Iraqi supper table and not rice from Vietnam. And while, Madam Speaker, this is a great historic first step, we cannot stop there. We need to reopen trade, not only with Iraq but also with Cuba on the issue of agriculture products, specifically rice. These two countries along with Iran were countries that we used to send our rice to before trade embargoes and sanctions were set. So these are some issues that are before the House and before our country. It is called food and food supply. I am working along with many others to facilitate rice trade with Cuba. I believe that our sanctions against Castro's regime, which have been in place since 1963, should not prevent our Nation from selling our farm products to the people there. Madam Speaker, the Cuban people will eat rice just like the Iraqi people will; and if we do not sell it to them, they will get it somewhere else. Why are we economically hindering ourselves, our farmers, and our industries? The Cuban market remained closed until this body passed the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. With the reopening mandated by this law, rice sales to Cuba have grown to $64 million a year. But now we hear that some want to slash back this trade for political reasons. On February 22 through the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, it announced it was redefining what Congress had put into law, that being the definition of payment of cash in advance. To most folks, payment of cash in advance is not a complicated issue. It means what it means. This bureaucracy is getting in the way of congressional intent. So Cubans are beginning to look to other nations, not surprisingly, Vietnam and Thailand and other sources for their rice. So I encourage other Members of this House to co-sign on to H.R. 1339 to further explain in simple terms to government bureaucrats that farmers should be allowed to trade with Cuba on a cash for crop basis. I continue to hear from rice farmers in my district that if U.S. political leaders would open world markets to American farmers, price supports would not be necessary. The modest price support provided by the U.S. Government and the greater efficiency of the U.S. agriculture production simply are not enough to provide a level international playing field and prevent erosion of U.S. agricultural infrastructure. We just want markets, Madam Speaker. America's food supply is the safest, it is the best quality, it is the most abundant and the cheapest in the world. As the agricultural society of the United States declines, we will become more and more dependent on other countries for our food. This could lead to a national security problem. It is one thing for this country to become more and more dependent on other countries for energy, but we should never get in the position, Madam Speaker, that this country becomes dependent on any country for our food. We cannot let that happen. It is a national security issue. Maybe we should also consider using Texas rice as an alternative fuel like Nebraska is doing with corn and Hawaii is doing with sugar. In devising a long overdue energy plan, we should capitalize on rice's potential. We should be openminded, be innovative, and not depend on foreign nations for not only our food but our energy as well. And this has great possibilities, Madam Speaker. This week is Small Business Week. Farms, the American farmer, the American farm family are the best examples of small business in the United States. So tonight and tomorrow morning when we push ourselves away from our tables, we need to thank the American farmer. We need to thank the folks like Ray Stoesser and Jack Wendt. We need to thank their families for what they have done to America and for America. They are our natural resources, for there is nothing quite like the American farmer. Madam Speaker, that is just the way it is.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commemorate an historical event in the Lone Star State's grand, glorious heritage. On March 2, 1836, Texas declared independence from the dictatorship of Mexico. On March 6, the Alamo fell with the loss of 187 defenders, all volunteers, William Barrett Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie. Now, I am going to tell my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, the rest of the story and why this day is so important to Texas. Less than 60 days after the fall of the Alamo, on this day years ago, an 18-minute battle took place on the murky banks of the San Jacinto River where it meets Buffalo Bayou in southeast Texas. History forever changed. Texas' independence from Mexico was secured, and Texas became a country for 9 years. After the Alamo fell, the Texas army moved rapidly east, being chased by three invading armies from Mexico. The Texans had been joined by settlers fleeing the advance of the tyrant Santa Anna, who was burning Texas settlements. The armies reached a marshy lowland where General Sam Houston decided it was time to turn and fight the enemy. In a letter Sam Houston wrote to a friend on the morning of April 19, he said, ``The odds are greatly against us, but the troops are in fine spirits and now is the time for action. We go to conquer'' for Texas and they did. Most battles, Mr. Speaker, in our history start at sunrise, but the Texans were not waiting for another day. So General Sam's army of frontiersmen, shopkeepers, lawyers, ranchers and former slaves, all volunteers, in various types of odd attire, began mustering at high noon. They did not look like an army, but they all had the boldness and bravery and brazen courage to fight for Texas and for freedom. The Battle of San Jacinto started at 4 o'clock on the afternoon of April 21, 1836. The Texan army consisted of approximately 800 volunteers under the command of General Sam Houston. The Mexican army consisted of approximately 2,000 professional, experienced soldiers under the command of Mexican President and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Santa Anna's army of hardened veterans had not yet been defeated in battle and even a few years before had defeated the French invasion of Mexico. The battle began when the Texans, advancing in a single column, attacked the Mexican camp. They were fatigued, they were filthy, famished and fuming, but Houston was mounted on his white stallion leading the army. Armed with tomahawks, Bowie knives and long rifles, they went forward across the open marshy plain of southeast Texas. A Georgian Huguenot, a Kentucky colonel, and a Scotch-Irishman from Tennessee led the march across the tall grass and down upon a Mexican camp engaged in their afternoon siestas. The pace was set by two unlikely characters that played field music as they marched. There was a German named Frederick Lemsky on the fife and a free black that, by all accounts, his name was Dick the Drummer. Two other musicians volunteered, but none of the foursome knew any marching music. They were only familiar with the popular music of the day. Therefore, Sam Houston, with a smile, had the foursome play ``Come to the Bower,'' a bawdy-house love song regarded as quite risque at the time. As the soldiers marched on to victory, they carried their banner, a flag of Miss Liberty consisting of a partially clad female proclaiming freedom. The enemy was caught by a stunning surprise. The battle lasted 18 minutes, but the Mexican defeat was devastating. Only nine Texans were killed or mortally wounded. Six hundred thirty Mexican soldiers were killed, and the number of Mexican soldiers taken prisoner exceeded the entire number of the Texas army. The battle cries of ``Remember the Alamo'' and ``Remember Goliad'' were the soldiers' calls for vengeance. This was a soldiers' battle, and they had scores to settle because they had lost brothers and friends at the Alamo and Goliad. The heroes of the battle of San Jacinto were a diverse mix. The youngest soldier at San Jacinto was Elijah Votaw, a 15-year-old that had been in Texas for about a year. The oldest was Asa Mitchell, a 60- year-old who had been in Texas for about 14 years. Captain Juan Seguin headed a unit of about two dozen Tejanos, people of Hispanic descent born in Texas, who fought in Houston's army and wore pieces of cardboard in their hatbands so fellow soldiers would not mistake them for the enemy. If we want to credit the most unlikely of heroes, we have to acknowledge the Yellow Rose of Texas, Emily Morgan. Legend has it that Emily Morgan, the young, beautiful, racially mixed housekeeper who had been captured earlier by Mexican forces, is said to have been lingering with Santa Anna in his tent, causing him to be unprepared for the Texans' attack. Later Santa Anna, when he was captured, was found hiding in a well. The battle of San Jacinto avenged the massacre of Texan soldiers at the Alamo and the murder of hundreds of Texans taken prisoner at Goliad and gave Texas its independence from Mexico. Texas claimed the entire area from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Canada, including not only the State of Texas, but New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming. So General Sam Houston, his boys took the day, and they defeated the invaders and proclaimed to all, ``Don't mess with Texas.'' Mr. Speaker, every year a local radio station, KILT, with its morning crew of Hudson and Harrigan and top newsman in America, Robert McEntire, honor this day by playing a recording of a bunch of third graders from Tomball, Texas, singing the State song, ``Texas, our Texas,'' with an old, out-of-tune piano. It is because of the Battle of San Jacinto, Mr. Speaker, all Texans can sing along with pride, ``God bless you, Texas, and keep you brave and strong, that you may grow in power and worth throughout the ages long.'' When Sam Houston died some years later, his last words were ``Texas, Texas.'' And Mr. Speaker, the rest, they say, is Texas history.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak for a group that live in the silent storm of stressful sadness. They live with the vicious wounds of being a victim of crime in America. To be a victim, to be chosen to be the prey by a predator, to have a life stolen or broken by criminal conduct, Mr. Speaker, it is a terrible and tragic travesty. But to have your own government desert you, abandon you, too, is an injustice. It is an injustice to the injured, to the innocent, to the victims. Mr. Speaker, the Victims of Crime Act, VOCA, the VOCA fund was created in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan to provide the most consistent stable source of funding for services to crime victims. It included counseling, victim advocacy programs, safety planning, State victim compensation funds that would help crime victims recover the costs associated with being a victim. Yet the current budget proposes to rescind the over $1.2 billion presently in this fund and redirect its resources to the Department of the Treasury, where it will be treated in the general revenue. It would go to the greater business of the general fund. Mr. Speaker, VOCA funds, these funds that we are talking about, are not derived from taxpayers paying dollars to the Treasury of the United States. But these funds come from fines and forfeitures and fees paid by convicted Federal offenders. This is an offender's accountability for the harm they have caused when they committed the crimes against citizens. It is a wonderful, successful idea. It makes outlaws pay for the damage they have caused; makes them pay for the system that they have created. It makes them financially pay the victims for these crimes. In fact, there are over 4,400 programs that provide vital victim assistance services to nearly 4 million victims a year because of these funds that are contributed by criminals. Half of these victims receiving these services are victims of domestic violence. Other victims are victims of sexual assaults, child abuse, drunk driving, elder abuse, robbery, assault, and old-fashioned stealing. They receive this type of assistance through shelters and rape crisis centers, child abuse treatment programs. Prosecutors' offices received help, law enforcement agencies and victim advocates. All of these agencies received funds paid into this fund by criminals. State crime victims compensation funds with VOCA funds help crime victims to pay for out-of-pocket expenses that they incurred while the criminal committed a crime against them. These expenses include medical care, counseling, lost wages, funeral costs, and many, many more. You see, when a crime occurs, the victim has no recourse financially against a criminal, even though the criminal may be convicted and sent to our Federal penitentiaries. Criminals just do not have any money. So victims are compensated through this fund through fees paid by other criminals. Many victims, when they suffer criminal conduct against them, have no insurance. This is what they look to to save their livelihood and their lives. Without victims' compensation funds in the United States, funded by VOCA programs, paid by the defendants, victims have two choices, live without this aid or ask taxpayers to pay in some form of taxation what defendants are now paying for and what defendants should pay for in the future. Mr. Speaker, as the founder of the Victims Rights Caucus along with the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris) and on the other side of the aisle the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa), all of us are united in this decision that reducing VOCA funding is an injustice to the people of the United States, the good people, the people who never asked to be victims of crime but yet they were chosen by some criminal to be a victim. It is ironic, Mr. Speaker, this is Victims Rights Week, the week that we proclaim in the United States the worth and value of victims, and yet it is the week that the budget is considering to reduce these funds, take these funds donated by criminals and put it in the general fund. How ironic this is. Mr. Speaker, in all of my career I have been involved in the political process, I have been involved in the justice system. First in the District Attorneys Office where I served as a chief felony prosecutor in Houston, Texas, for about 8 years and then a judge in Texas for 22 years where I saw 25,000, 25,000 defendants come to court charged with crimes against an equal number of victims. And during all of that time I have witnessed in the United States the victims' movement, how victims have been treated in the system. And sometimes we have forgotten as a people in 2005 how victims have been treated over the past. Things have not always been as good for victims after the crime as it is now; and I think a history lesson is due, Mr. Speaker. I tried numerous cases as a prosecutor, numerous defendants, death penalty cases, but I would like to talk about one person who really showed me the way of how victims continue to be victims after the crime was committed. And I have changed her name because her family still lives in Houston, Texas. Back in the late seventies there was a young lady who was married and had a couple of sons that lived in Houston, Texas. She worked in the daytime. At night, she went to school working on a masters degree at one of our universities. She left the school one evening. Her name was Lisa. And she was driving down one of our freeways and she had car trouble so she exited the freeway, Mr. Speaker, came into a gas station that she thought was open. It was not open. It was closed, but she did not know that. And she got out of the vehicle and started talking to an individual that she thought was a service station attendant. Luke Johnson was not the service station attendant. He was just hanging around. One thing led to another, and Luke Johnson pulled out a pistol. He kidnapped Lisa, took her and her vehicle to a remote area of East Texas that we call the Piney Woods. He sexually assaulted her and pistol-whipped her. In fact, he beat her so bad that he thought he had killed her. Later, when he was arrested, he was mad that he had not killed her. Lisa was a remarkable woman. She survived that brutal attack. She was found about 2 days after she was abandoned in the woods by a hunter that was going through that area. He stopped, rescued her and made sure that her medical needs were met. After she recovered from this vicious attack, Luke Johnson was arrested and charged with aggravated rape. I prosecuted him for this conduct. A jury of 12 citizens in Houston, Texas, heard the case, heard Lisa testify in this case. Luke Johnson was convicted and received the maximum sentence of 99 years in the Texas State penitentiary as he earned and as he deserved. Now we would have hoped as a people, as a culture that justice would have been done, that we would go on, that life would be good, but that is not, Mr. Speaker, the world that we live in. Because we live in a world far different from that. As Luke Johnson is shipped off to the penitentiary where he belonged, Lisa could not quite cope with that crime. The first thing that happened was she never went back to school, never wanted to go on that campus again. The next thing that occurred was she lost her job. In fact, she was fired. She could not focus, and she bounced around from job to job. She started abusing drugs, first alcohol and then everything else. Her husband, the sort that he was, decided he no longer wanted her. He sued her for divorce, convinced a judge in Texas that she was not mentally capable of raising those children that she had, and he got custody of both of them. He moved out of the State of Texas where he is somewhere else in this country today. Then not long after all of this occurred, Lisa's mother gave me a phone call and told me that Lisa had taken her own life and she left a note that I still have in my office today and that note says, ``I am tired of running from Luke Johnson in my nightmares.'' You see, Lisa faced this entire crime alone. There was no VOCA. There were no funds for victim advocates that could sit and be with Lisa through the trial. There were no funds for therapy and counseling after this crime and after the trial. Lisa was on her own when she testified, and she was on her own after the crime was over, and she received the death penalty for being a victim of crime. Luke Johnson, he just spent a few years in the Texas penitentiary for that crime, and he is running loose somewhere in Texas. Times did change from this type of conduct where victims were abandoned by the process, and we have progressed. When I was a judge, to show you the example of how people through VOCA make a difference, I will tell you about a second case. This case involved a little girl named Susie. A first grader in Houston, Texas, she walked to school every day and walked home. You know, in the big city we do not normally like our kids walking to school or walking home. It is not safe. Susie's case proves the point. One afternoon, she is walking home from school, a 7-year-old first grader in Houston. This individual, who had been stalking her for some time, pulled up beside her, rolled down the window of his pickup truck, yelled out the window, Hey, little girl. I lost my dog. Can you help me find my dog? She stopped long enough for this perpetrator, this predator to jump out of his vehicle, grab Susie, kidnap her and take off. He left Houston, Texas, and went down to the Gulf Coast down to the beach area of Galveston, Texas, about 50 miles from Houston. He took her to a secluded portion of that beach area, and he did to that little girl, that 7-year-old, exactly what he wanted to for as long as he wanted to do it. After he was through having his way with Susie, he abandoned her in the darkness of the night and fled. Before he left, however, he took all of her clothes away from her. About the time the sun was coming up, Susie, in shock, walking up and down the beach, was rescued by a sheriff's deputy that was patrolling the area. She received medical aid and the attention that she needed. The person that committed this crime was arrested out of State, extradited back to Texas to stand trial for this crime of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a 7-year-old girl. The case was tried in my courtroom. It was sort of a high publicity case because of who the defendant was. But when Susie took the witness stand, sat next to me on the witness stand, the prosecutor started asking her questions and she turned and saw the perpetrator in the courtroom, she could not say anything. She did not say anything. All she did was stare at the offender. Eventually, she started to cry. And, Mr. Speaker, she has cried a long time. She probably thought she was alone. She was alone, but she could not testify. Well, what do you do? Well, this was the main witness. Without this witness, the State did not have a case. The prosecutor asked for a postponement of the trial. I quickly granted that. We recessed. We came back a day or two later, and we started up the trial again. Susie testified, sat next to me and testified. And that day she was able to testify in detail, graphic detail what happened to her when she left school one afternoon and what this perpetrator did to her. The difference, the difference was there was another person in the courtroom, seated on the back row looking at her, telling her in her own way, you can testify. You can do this. I believe in you. Who was it? It was the victim advocate that worked with the District Attorney's Office that walked that little girl through that case. And because that woman was in the courtroom and because she had worked with this victim before and Susie saw her, it gave her the courage to testify. And that predator, that child predator was convicted of that case because one person, a victim advocate, was present in the courtroom. See, there was a time there were no victim advocates in the courtroom, and that time has passed, and part of the reason is that VOCA funds are used to fund advocates of victims in our courtrooms. One of cases that I tried where I met my first victim advocate was a case that was called the choker rapist. What this individual did, he assaulted co-eds from the University of Texas, choked them and sexually assaulted them. He did this numerous times. He was sent to the Texas penitentiary. By some error or mistake, having been sentenced to about 700 years in the penitentiary, he was released after a short period of time. He came to Houston, and he continued these ways of assaulting co- eds from the University of Houston. He was captured again, and this case was tried. The victim in that case was similar to Susie in that it was difficult for her to testify. She was older. She was a college student. The first victim advocate that I ever laid eyes on in 1984 was sitting in the courtroom, helping this witness keep with the trial and the crime and testifying. That person's name was Anne Seymour, and that was many years ago. But yet Anne Seymour and many like her work with victims on a daily basis, and part of the way they are able to take care of victims is by funding that they get from VOCA each year. Mr. Speaker, many people do not realize that when the Oklahoma City bombing occurred, now 10 years ago, that travesty, that assault on American citizens, VOCA funds were available and used to help those victims cope with that emergency. And those funds were available immediately so that victims and their families could be helped. I would like to read a letter from Marsha Kite. Marsha Kite's daughter was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, and her letter states how she feels as the mother of a murder victim about the VOCA funding. She says: We are only days away from the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing and I hear that there is consideration for emptying out our Federal crime victims fund. Number 1, this critical fund that is paid for by criminals and not taxpayers. Two, the fund helped thousands of families and survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, including my own family. The administration needs to take a hard look at what they are contemplating and realize the devastating impact it will have on programs that provide direct services to crime victims, including crisis intervention, emergency shelters, emergency transportation, counseling and the criminal justice advocacy programs, all of which were provided to Oklahoma City families. Number 3, no person, regardless of life choices or situations, should be met with the harmful or inadequate services. Each victim should be provided with the opportunity to access services based on their needs and not be further traumatized by a system that is neither prepared nor underfunded. So, Mr. Speaker, these funds have helped numerous victims and their families, and it would be a total injustice to cut these funds and put them in the abyss of the general revenue. Other examples of VOCA funding go to domestic violence shelters. Domestic violence shelters are a necessary requirement in our culture, and good people throughout this United States organize and establish these shelters to protect victims of domestic violence. We have such a one in my hometown of Humble, Texas. It is called Family Time, and Family Time is available on a 24-hour basis for victims of domestic violence where they can go and find safety when they have to flee their own homes. If they do not go to these domestic violence shelters, where will they go? If it was not for these shelters, many of these abused women would go directly back to that house and be victimized and abused again. These shelters are saving their lives. Many of these shelters rely on VOCA funding, and they would close down without the help of these funds, and these women and these children would be sent back to an environment of violence, domestic violence. These are just a few examples, Mr. Speaker, of how these funds are spent. It is interesting how we, as a Nation, are very concerned about the victims in lands far, far away across the seas, the recent tsunami crisis, where we have President Bush and President Clinton raising money in the United States to help these victims. While it is very important that we show that we are compassionate to peoples all over the world, Mr. Speaker, charity begins at home, and we need to take care of our American families first and then the world families, if necessary. So we must do both, but we must never neglect our own people, our victims for some other Nation. Mr. Speaker, I would like to just continue this history lesson talking about children, children in the criminal justice system, specifically children who are the victims of sexual assault. There was a time, Mr. Speaker, when a child that was sexually assaulted would have to go through a long process in the criminal justice system. It in itself was a crime. The victim would be interviewed, usually by a police officer, a stranger. Another police officer would instruct the victim to go to the county hospital. They would wait in the emergency room along with everybody else that goes to the emergency room. They would be seen by a doctor that may or may not know anything about sexual assault cases, a doctor that sometimes was not even available to testify at the trial because they had been sent to some other hospital in the Nation. After being seen by this doctor, then the child would have to go to the police station to be interviewed again, and there were occasions in my home city of Houston that these victims would sometimes get on the elevator to go to be interviewed by the homicide detective, and the perpetrator would be on the elevator as well going to be interviewed by another detective. Then, after this was over with, they would have to go to the district attorney's office and be interviewed for the trial by a prosecutor, sometimes a prosecutor that has never tried a sexual assault case, and eventually the trial would come and those traumas would continue. Mr. Speaker, we are fortunate to say that those days are over. Those are no longer the days of children that are sexually assaulted in the United States because of groups like the National Children's Alliance here in Washington, D.C., where I am a board member. That alliance has over 400 children advocacy centers throughout the United States, and what those centers do is this. When a child is sexually assaulted, rather than be bounced from place to place, agency to agency, they are taken to one location, a child friendly location, and probably the best example of this center is in Houston, Texas, Children's Assessment Center, that is a privately funded, publicly funded establishment, and here is what happens. When a child is sexually assaulted, they go to this center. It is a very friendly, child friendly center, and they are interviewed only by child experts. They are interviewed about the crime and what took place. Their medical needs are met there by qualified doctors and nurses that deal with child sexual assault victims. The child, after this occurs, is allowed to talk to a prosecutor that deals only with child assault cases. The child then, before and after they testify, are provided therapy and counseling by child psychiatrists and experts, and they do all of this at the center. Every time they need to be involved in the case, they go to this one place, very child friendly, and because of centers like the Children's Assessment Center in Houston, Texas, and 59 others in Texas, 400 or more in the United States, child victims are able to cope and recover from the tragedy of sexual assault against them. Children's Assessment Center in Houston sees 350 children a month that have been sexually abused and assaulted. They receive VOCA funds, as well as funds from the community, from private foundations and the county government. The funds at the Children's Assessment Center go for a therapist, a bilingual therapist, that is able to talk to children that do not speak just English. That therapist, along with other therapists, will disappear if VOCA funds are cut. Just to show an impact on these centers, they constantly help kids cope with the crime. It is more important to help the child recover than even to have the perpetrator convicted, but they do many things with these kids to help them realize what has occurred in their own lives and how they can vent by even writing a letter to the perpetrator. I have one such letter that was written by a little girl to the person who sexually assaulted her that I have received from the Children's Assessment Center in Houston today, and she starts out her letter this way. These are some of the things that I have been wanting to say to you. I used to think that you were a nice person and that you would never hurt me. Then things changed. After you began touching me, I thought that you were not a nice person, and I wondered if you were hurting Mommy, too. When I think of you touching me, I get very mad, and I sometimes am sad. You are a jerk and a child molester. Sometimes when I think of you, I am mad at you for hurting me. I want to tell you that I am glad you are in jail and you cannot hurt me anymore. If I ever, or when I see you again I will tell Mommy and call the cops, and I will make a mad face at you. Ha, ha, you thought I would never tell but now everyone knows. I also know you did this to my sister, too. It is signed by a little girl. Letters such as this help victims, children cope with the crime that has been committed against them. These Children's Assessment Centers all over the country, God bless them, are doing a work to save America's greatest resource, our children. VOCA funds go to these centers, and without this funding, many of these centers would not be able to open the doors. So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House on both sides of the aisle to join me and the other 50 Members and counting who have signed a letter to the Committee on Appropriations chairman to save the VOCA funds. Grassroots victims organizations across the Nation have been flooding congressional offices with phone calls and pleading for their representatives to save VOCA and for them to sign this letter that 50 have already signed. Fourteen national victim advocacy organizations have partnered in support of saving the crime victims fund. And they are, Mr. Speaker, these organizations that work victims: Justice Solutions, Incorporated; Mothers Against Drunk Driving; the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence; the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards; the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators; the National Center For Victims of Crime; the National Children's Alliance; the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence; the National Crime Victim Research and Treatment Center; the National Network to End Domestic Violence; the National Organization for Victim Assistance; National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children; the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape; the Victim Assistance Legal Organization; and even way down in Midland, Texas, the Midland County, Texas, Sheriff's Crisis Intervention Center which has 35 volunteers. That organization will cease to exist if these funds are cut. We all are concerned, Mr. Speaker, about the budget, about the deficit, about Federal spending. We all are in agreement about that, but maybe we need to reprioritize how we spend money. Maybe we should reconsider some of the foreign giveaway programs that this country is involved in, giving away money, and maybe we should think about victims here at home, remembering that the victims fund, VOCA, is not funded by taxpayers, but it is funded by criminals, as it ought to be, and they should continue to pay, pay for the crimes that they have brought upon the good people of our community. Mr. Speaker, victims pay. They always pay. They continue to pay after the crime is over with, and we need to be compassionate and sensitive about them because the same Constitution that protects defendants of crime protects victims of crime as well. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about a person that I never met. He was an individual that did not have much going for him. He was born the same year that my son Curt was born in the 1970s, and my son now is a big, old strapping kid in his twenties, and sometimes when I look at Curt, I think about Kevin Wanstraf and the people I prosecuted that killed him. Kevin Wanstraf was born in Mississippi. His mother did not want him. So she dumped him off to some charity. The charity, though, found a home for him, and the home was in Houston, Texas. The people who adopted Kevin Wanstraf, John and Diana Wanstraf, could not have children of their own. They were middle-class folks, and so they found Kevin, they adopted him, and they made him their son, and they were happy as a family could be. But unbeknownst to this family, Diana Wanstraf's brother, Markum was his name, was plotting to kill this entire family. While he was plotting to kill the family, Markum Duffsmith, along with three other henchmen years before, had murdered Markum's own mother, and because of the way that crime was committed, he was able to convince law enforcement that it was a suicide, and he was not prosecuted until after he had murdered his nephew Kevin. He collected the estate of his mother, and he spent it, and when he was through spending the money, he needed more money. So he then plotted this other murder, the murder of John Wanstraf, Diana Wanstraf and Kevin Wanstraf. One evening while John and Diana were watching Channel 13 news in Houston, Texas, two people that Markum had hired, posing to be real estate agents, forced their way into the Wanstraf home and first shot John, then shot Diana and then, while Kevin Wanstraf, a 14-month-old baby, was asleep in his baby bed curled up to his favorite Teddy bear, clothed in blue terry cloth pajamas, dreaming about whatever those babies dream about, he was murdered. He was shot in the head. He was sacrificed on the altar of greed. Because of the work of a couple of Houston police officers, all those killers were brought to justice. Two of them received the death penalty and were later executed, and two received long prison terms. Over the years, I have kept a photograph of Kevin Wanstra on my desk, as a prosecutor, as a judge for 22 years, and now as a fortunate Member of Congress representing the Second Congressional District of Texas. You see, Kevin Wanstra never made it to his second birthday. He was denied the right to live. He was a victim of criminal conduct. Our Nation, Mr. Speaker, needs to be concerned about the Kevin Wanstras in our culture because they have the right to live as well. Kevin Wanstra will never grow up, he will never be in the backyard playing catch with his father, will never play football, never have a date, never get married, all because he was chosen to be prey, the victim of a crime. So our Nation, Mr. Speaker, during this Victims' Rights Week, needs to be determined. It needs to be reinforced as a culture that we will not stand idly by while people are maimed and hurt in our culture, that we will support them, that we will be compassionate toward them, and we will make sure that criminals who commit crimes against them will pay, and they will financially pay in the funding of VOCA. Mr. Speaker, we as a people will never be judged the way we treat the rich, the famous, the important, the wealthy, the special folks. We will be judged by the way we treat the innocent, the weak, the elderly, the children. I hope when we are judged, Mr. Speaker, we are judged favorably.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to speak about international villains, international outlaws. We need to know who they are and who they are not because these terrorists are not ministers of good, but they are ministers of evil. The terrorists are not freedom fighters as some say, for they oppose all freedoms. Terrorists are not moral because they preach, praise, and practice immoral acts. Terrorists are not for children because they murder children. They murder their neighbor's children, and they murder their own. Terrorists are not for any peace, but are for any chaos. Terrorists are not for democracies, but proclaim the value of totalitarian dictatorships. Terrorists are not for justice so we must bring them to justice. As related in Proverbs, when justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous and it brings terror to the evil doers. So I say let us bring terror to these evil doers. I have dealt with local terrorists, street terrorists, all my life, first as a prosecutor and a judge in a criminal court in Texas for 22 years. These people are mean, they are violent, and you can deal with them one way. You do not ask them to try to do better. You do not blame their culture or their lack of culture for their conduct. You do not reason with them. You do not negotiate. You hold them accountable for their choices. They live for crimes of violence, so you punish them. You make the price high, too high for them to pay so they stop it, so they leave us alone, for it is a right of all of us to be left alone. If they choose not to leave us alone, they must face quick, sudden, and decisive action. We must continue to deal with international terrorists the same way we deal with local street terrorists. We seek them out and we hold them accountable for their choices. It is not rational to stop once we have them on the run. In Iraq, for example, we must finish the job. The phrase ``cut and run'' may be in the vocabulary of the French Government, but it is not in our vocabulary. I have been to Iraq. I was there on election day January 30; and the people I talked to, those Iraqis were afraid that we would leave before the job was done. The terrorists want to wait us out because of the comments that they hear on this very House floor, that we should leave the job before it is through. Well, they will not wait us out because we will finish the job. So we will stay the course. We will finish the job before us. For it is far better to fight terrorists on their soil than on American soil, and we will know of no retreat or defeat. We must train the Iraqi security forces so that they can protect their own borders against the insurgents. We must continue to seek out the terrorists in Afghanistan as well, but we must also deal with the cocaine and heroin traffic that is there because it funds those terrorists. We must also allow our local law enforcement to fight that same secondary terror, that is, the terror of drugs, that is here in the United States that affects many American families, because those drugs that the terrorist cartels market in our land, they fund their evil ways. We must protect our homeland and support our first responders. For as our troops in lands across the seas battle these evil villains, our first responders are the ones who battle them here on the homeland, and they are always counted faithful. On September 11, we all remember what we were doing. I was driving my Jeep to the courthouse, and I heard on the radio about the first plane that hit the World Trade Center; second plane, World Trade Center; third plane, crashes in Pennsylvania because of some heroes; fourth plane, hits the Pentagon. Later that day, as many Americans like myself were watching television, I noticed the phenomena. I noticed thousands and thousands of Americans in New York City when those terrorists hit those buildings. They were running as hard as they could to get away from that terror. But there was another group of people, not very many, but they were there. When that terror hit the World Trade Center, they were running as hard as they could to get to that terror. Who were they? They were emergency medical technicians, they were firefighters, and they were cops. Because these people responded, and these are the people who we count on first, the people responsible for the deaths of the 3,000 on that day will be held accountable. So we will not waiver in our battle against these international villains. There is no substitute for victory. For we are a people committed to remaining and continuing for centuries to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, ``I don't do it for the money, I don't do it for the glory. Providing for our future is my responsibility. I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekend has been too strong. I just work straight through the holidays and sometimes all night long. You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door. I am solid, I am steady, I am true down to the core.'' This is taken from Toby Keith's ``American Soldier.'' And, Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a young American Marine from a tranquil town in southeast Texas of approximately 34,000 people, Marine Lance Corporal Wesley Joel Canning, who died valiantly serving our country and our Nation in Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Lance Corporal Canning, in just 21 short years, had already exhibited a lifetime of courage and boldness. He was killed in combat on November 10, 2004, in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, during the successful American offensive against the insurgent enemy in Fallujah. He was a native of Friendswood, Texas. Wes, as he was called by his friends and family, graduated from Friendswood High School in 2002 and left for boot camp in July, just 2 months after his graduation. Resolute about becoming a Marine since his junior year, he had approached his parents with the idea. His father, Joe Canning, recalls their hesitations: ``He decided he wanted to become a Marine,'' his father said. ``Spend 20 years in the service and pursue a career in the criminal justice system. I tried my best to talk him out of it, telling him to go and get a good education, but he was hooked on becoming a Marine. And after doing everything I asked him to do, talking to recruiters from the other branches of service and friends and relatives who had served, he seemed more convinced than ever that the Marines was absolutely the right thing for him to do.'' In the end, ``His mom and I gave him our blessing.'' The devastating terrorist attack on September 11, which occurred before he ever graduated from high school, further fueled this desire. According to his mother, Jo Ellen Canning, ``9/11 didn't deter his efforts. He wanted all the more to go and protect his country.'' He graduated from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. He steadfastly pursued a post that would allow him to see action. Open for deployment in Iraq, he stayed at Camp Pendleton in California rather than accept another assignment. In mid-March of 2003, with the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Lance Corporal Canning's wish came true. ``He went to the front lines at the beginning of the war. There was not much telephone contact, so we watched TV the whole time until he made it home,'' Mrs. Canning recounts. In a letter to his parents that month, he described going in with the initial push and penetrating Baghdad. He then returned to Texas after completing his first of ultimately two tours he volunteered for in Iraq. He excitedly did two things that, as his dad told me, ``they advise the boys not to do.'' He trekked out to Lone Star Ford, bought a new little black pickup truck, so he could show his band of Marine brothers back at the base in North Carolina his proudly displayed bumper sticker, ``Don't Mess With Texas.'' He also wedded his sweetheart from Fort Collins, Chayla. Married just 11 months, and only 11 months, he was once again deployed in September of 2004 to Iraq, where he was looking forward to participating in the training of Iraqi soldiers and police. Now he is a husband, a family man, and he decided to serve 4 years, go back to school, and build a life with his new bride, Chayla, who, in spite of the obvious strain, loved being a Marine wife. She said, ``Wes wanted to protect our family so our little brothers wouldn't have to. He was very protective of everybody.'' Two months after being deployed to Iraq for a second tour, he left the following voice mail message for his father, who could not answer the phone because he was working on an offshore oil rig: ``Hey, Dad, it's me. I love you and miss you. We're still over here.'' Two days later, Lance Corporal Canning was killed in action precisely on the 229th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, November 10, 2004. Myrlene Kennedy, the principal of Wes's high school, recalls, ``He was kind to students and adults alike. He had a quick smile, a captivating personality, and that allowed him to have many friends.'' Wes's teachers said, ``He knew pretty much what he wanted to do. Following his ambition, he joined the United States Marine Corps after graduation in 2002. He began that journey he dreamed of and talked about with teachers and friends. He loved wearing his Marine Corps T- shirt to class his senior year.'' Wes's philosophy was written in his own high school yearbook: ``Everything happens for a reason.'' For the Marine Corps Reserve Unit in Galveston, Texas, a unit like the one Lance Corporal Canning was a part of, his death constituted the first time it had to bring home one of its own flag-draped caskets, the flag that was presented to Chayla, in addition to the Purple Heart Lance Corporal Canning was awarded. When asked by a reporter if she deemed her son a hero, Mrs. Canning swiftly replied, ``He's always been a hero.'' Today, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the United States Marine Corps alone has lost 49 Texans in combat-related casualties. While our military cannot replace individuals of exceptional character like Lance Corporal Canning, I believe his service will provide a sterling example for the men and women who carry forward his tenacious fight against terror, tyranny, and treachery. In fact, Mr. Speaker, just this last week, April 1, which would have been Lance Corporal Canning's 22nd birthday, marked another momentous occasion, his best friend, Jason Powell, graduated from the United States Marine Corps Depot that had christened Lance Corporal Canning. Lance Corporal Canning, as LeAnn Womack said, achieved ``something, something worth leaving behind.'' He has touched other lives and inspired a fellow man to carry the torch and legacy of the Corps. Moreover, Lance Corporal Canning helped establish a democracy in Iraq, this historic start which I was privileged to observe on January 30 in a land far, far away. I believe if today we could hear from Lance Corporal Canning himself, as a member once and always of the United States Marines, as a member of the few and the proud, he would resonate the remainder of Toby Keith's American Soldier: ``And I will always do my duty no matter what the price. I have counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice. I don't want to die for you but if dying is asked of me, I will bear that cross with honor 'cause freedom don't come free. I am out here on the front line. Sleep in peace tonight. I am an American soldier, an American, an American Soldier.'' So, Mr. Speaker, we extend our prayers, our condolences to his parents, relatives, fellow students at Friendswood High School in Texas, and his beloved wife. May this American hero's devotion to his country continue to kindle our dreams and ambitions as a free and independent people. So Semper Fi, Lance Corporal Canning. Semper Fi.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, media stories about sex crimes against children are presently being reported at an alarming rate in the United States. These crimes are also some of the most underreported of criminal acts. Last month in Colorado, an ex-convict for sexual assault of a child, a child predator, continued his dastardly deeds against kids and assaulted several children. This child molester was able to slither and sneak into a quiet Colorado community and prey on the innocent children because of registration loopholes in current law. One of the victim's grandmothers said, ``People have the right to know where sex offenders are living. The police should know. The public should know.'' We know the number one thing child predators desire is to remain anonymous. Those days are over. No longer can ex-convicts for child sexual assault move in and out of our neighborhoods without us knowing who they are. While some States have registration laws for convicted child predators, when those criminals move across State lines, they slip through the system. We know that the recidivism rate of a convicted child molester is extremely high. When many leave the penitentiary, they continue their evil ways against our greatest natural resource, our children. So today, Madam Speaker, I am introducing my first bill, the Child Predator Act of 2005, to hold these outlaws accountable and impose tougher sentences for child predators who reoffend. This act closes loopholes in the present law and places tools in the hands of parents who want to safeguard their children from these people. This legislation amends the Wetterling Act of 1994 in six ways. First, the Child Predator Act defines the term ``child predator'' as a person who has been convicted of a sexual offense against a victim who is a minor if the offense is sexual in nature and the minor is 13 years of age or younger. Second, child predators must report change of residence within 10 days of a move. Third, the Child Predator Act requires community notification. Child predators would have to notify, at a minimum, schools, public housing and at least two media outlets such as newspapers, television stations or radio stations covering that community. Fourth, child predators who knowingly fail to register would be charged with a Federal felony. Fifth, the Child Predator Act would also mandate a national registration database. This would be available on a free access Internet Web site. Finally, the Child Predator Act would require prominent designation of a convicted offender as a child predator. The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children confirms that the sexual victimization of children is overwhelming in magnitude, yet largely unrecognized and underreported in the United States. Statistics reveal that one in five girls and one in 10 boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. Less than 35 percent of those child sexual assaults are reported to authorities. While through previous legislation we have significantly reduced the prevalence of this terrible and real nightmare to children, we must stay the course. We must remain ever vigilant and keep in this fight. Child predators, like their criminal counterparts in other arenas, are innovative. They stalk neighborhoods, playgrounds, Cub Scout dens, houses of worship, and as of late they exploit the Internet to target youngsters. Madam Speaker, we must put child predators on notice and let them know once and for all that we will not tolerate this continuing victimization of children. I wish to extend an invitation for Members of this body to consider enlisting in the Victims Rights Caucus that I recently founded and cochair with the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris). During my 22 years as a felony court judge in Houston, Texas, I have seen scores of victims come through my courtroom. Ironically, as large a contingent that victims are, they are one of the most underrepresented groups in the United States. This session of Congress, in cooperation with my fellow representatives, I hope to change this. We must always remember that victims do not choose to be victims. As L.H. Harrington of the President's task force on victims of crime once said, ``Somewhere along the way, the criminal justice system began to serve lawyers, judges and defendants. Victims are treated with institutionalized disinterest. The neglect of crime victims is a national disgrace.'' Madam Speaker, to be a victim is an unforgettable nightmare but to become a victim at the hands of the criminal justice system is an unforgivable travesty. The first duty of government is to protect its citizens. We as a people are not judged by the way we treat the rich, famous and influential but by the way we treat the weak, the innocent, the children.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, this morning on the west lawn of this fine building, the Capitol of the United States, I participated in the National Anthem Project. Sponsored by the National Association For Music Education and supported by its honorary Chair, First Lady Laura Bush, as well as Jeep, Chrysler, Save America's Treasures, the Girl Scouts of America, the NBA, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Education Association, the American Legion and many, many more, this 3- year project will get America singing our national anthem again, the ``Star-Spangled Banner,'' proudly and strongly singing it again and will help people understand the important role that music classes play in teaching our culture. During the most forgotten American war, the War of 1812, some say the second American revolution, between the United States and England, the British invaded the United States and they torched this city, Washington, consuming numerous public buildings, including the White House and this Capitol, leaving it, as they said, in a most magnificent ruin. Next on their list was the city of Baltimore, not far from here. They attempted to attack Baltimore by sea. American forces under the command of Colonel George Armistead defended Baltimore in the harbor with Fort McHenry standing in the way of the British and Baltimore, and they thwarted this destruction by the British. A young lawyer on a British ship trying to seek the release of a friend watched this 25-hour British naval bombardment of Fort McHenry throughout the night, and the next morning he saw the largest United States flag he had ever seen flying at dawn and inspired this young lawyer by the name of Francis Scott Key to write the words that later became our national anthem. He watched the flag fly as the British ships left the harbor in defeat. Yet, Mr. Speaker, the lyrics to the ``Star-Spangled Banner'' that we have officially called our national anthem for 75 years are foreign to many of our citizens. According to a Harris poll, fewer than 30 percent of American children can sing this patriotic song. This is somewhat tragic. We must revive America's heritage starting by equipping our Nation's music teachers with the resources they need to preserve our tradition in freedom, freedom in song. Unfortunately, when budget cuts are made in the area of education, music classes in schools across the country are the first to be asphyxiated. But considering that so much of our history is chronicled through songs, songs like the ``Star-Spangled Banner,'' and that three out of four Americans cite music class in their public school as the primary place they learn about American history, how can we let this trend continue? Are we going to deprive future generations of Americans the vibrant spirit of our land? Cicero, the Roman orator, author, and politician, once said: ``Not to know what has been transacted in former times is always to remain a child. If no use is made of the labors of the past, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge.'' And even though he warned us about the tragedy of this apathy of history, we have deserted our commitment to the far-reaching study of civics, civics education and American history in these United States. We must ask ourselves how many of our students can identify such names as John Paul Jones, Susan B. Anthony, Paul Revere, and Nathan Hale. To answer this question, we have to examine where a number of the curricula in our Nation's classrooms begin the American tale. Now, in many American classrooms they do not start American history with the American Revolution. They start it with World War II to the present. They just do not have enough time, according to educators. So how can we blame our young children who become our young leaders if they do not know our history? Moreover, according to the Fordham Institute, which seeks to focus on effective education reforms, few history teachers ever learn much history themselves. More than half of high school history teachers did not major or even minor in history in college. As a result, teachers charged with imparting information to young Americans about the history of their country and the history of the world rely on the textbooks available to them, often textbooks that the teachers themselves had little to do with selecting or reading. At some places in the United States we still use coaches to teach history. Mr. Speaker, this state of affairs is why I am proud to support campaigns like the National Anthem Project and encourage my fellow Americans to help us regain our appreciation for this legacy. Luckily, I come from Texas where the knowledge of our State's history is not neglected, but hallowed. In fact, State standards mandate the study of Texas history first in the fourth grade and then more comprehensively in the seventh grade. Lone Star students among other topics learn about the Texas Revolution, the establishment of the Republic of Texas, and subsequent annexation to the United States. As my colleague Senator Robert Byrd has said, ``An American student regardless of his race, religion or gender must know the history of the land to which they pledge allegiance. They should be taught about the Founding Fathers of this Nation, the battles they fought, the ideals that they championed, and the influences they have made throughout the world. They should be taught about our Nation's failures, our mistakes, our inequities. Without this knowledge, they cannot appreciate the hard-won freedoms that are our birthright.'' So, Mr. Speaker, to reclaim and be the home of the brave and the land of the free, as our ``Star-Spangled Banner'' recites, we must learn our history, know our history, teach our history to our kids and be proud of our history; and we must get America singing about the United States of America.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day, a day we honor women and their contributions to the American way of life. American women, from the frontier era to the space age, have steadily blazed the trails and stayed the course to bring recognition of the accomplishments of women not only in the United States but across the world and across the seas. Each of us can identify at least one woman who forever marked our life in a positive way. My grandmother lived to her late nineties and was always the most influential person in my life. In the 1950s, after my grandfather was killed by a drunk driver, she went to work as a clerk in the ladies' ready-to-wear section of a department store; and while she would have continued to work there, they forced her to quit at the age of 75. She taught me the values of public service, and this is why I have dedicated my life to public service. She was the most influential woman in my life. All of us have people like that, women who have influenced us in a positive way. Those American women, they are a rare breed. In other countries, like Iraq, where I recently traveled on a fact- finding mission, women recount the decades of torture and execution and oppression they experienced under the tyrant and dictator Saddam Hussein. For most women it has only been since our toppling of that vicious and murderous tyrant that they have been allowed to pursue opportunities that we take for granted, like employment. On the historic election day, which I was privileged to observe this year, for many Iraqi women this was their first chance to ever vote. Yet as encouraging as these illustrations are, millions of women are victims to a destructive force known as domestic violence. In fact, in the United States alone, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, nearly one-third of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a boyfriend or a husband at some point in their life. Moreover, the Department of Justice's statistics show that in 2003 alone 9 percent of all murder victims were killed by their spouse or their partners. Eighty percent of those victims were females. Mr. Speaker, this is a serious problem, not just for our Nation's women but also for our Nation's families. It is a serious problem for children, children that live in those homes with all of that serious, serious turmoil. Domestic abuse scars children through the images of violence and fighting; the ramifications if they try to intervene; the emotional anguish they suffer for years. Domestic abuse in some cases results in withdrawal or unhealthy perfectionism, and in other cases they act it out. The American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family concluded in 1996 that a child's exposure to the father abusing the mother is the strongest risk factor for transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next. In addition, the American Medical Association has calculated that family violence costs taxpayers in the range of $5 billion to $10 billion a year in medical expenses. It is not only a family problem and a criminal problem; it is a health issue. Domestic violence costs us in police and court costs, shelters, foster care, sick leave, and nonproductivity. As a former judge and founder of the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, this epidemic is of great alarm to me. I believe we must work to eliminate this domestic abuse while protecting the victims that have already resulted from this trend. Mr. Speaker, I hope that all of us on this day, as we recognize the worth of women, are determined to make sure that they live in a safe environment in their homes.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about two young men. They both grew up in Houston, Texas. They both grew up without any family support. They both were basically raised by others. They were both named Michael. And they both chose careers in the criminal justice system. Michael Lopez chose in the criminal justice system the career of crime. He started committing violent crimes at the age of 11. He spent a lot of time in and out of the criminal justice system. He was a gang member, a drug abuser, committed numerous robberies against other juveniles, a burglar, and a thug in his own community. Michael Eakin also chose criminal justice as a career, but he chose it as a police officer. Their paths crossed on a quiet peaceful night in Houston, Texas, after Officer Eakin stopped Lopez and his fellow gang members who were cruising Houston, Texas, looking for criminal opportunities. When Officer Eakin stopped the vehicle, Lopez jumped from the vehicle, took off running and Officer Eakin made the decision to chase Michael Lopez. After capturing Lopez, Lopez pulled out a pistol, pointed it at point blank range and shot Officer Eakin, and then he fled in the darkness of the night. Lopez was 17 and on probation for criminal offenses. Eakin was 24 and a rookie police officer. Lopez was charged with capital murder of a police officer. In Texas, a 17-year-old is an adult by State law for criminal law purposes and not a juvenile. It is a long-established rule of law that the States determine the age of accountability for criminal law purposes. Not the Federal Government, not the Federal courts. I was the judge in the Lopez case, having been a judge for 22 years in criminal cases. A jury heard the case in my court. A jury found the defendant Michael Lopez guilty of capital murder of a police officer. Court TV even showed this on national television. The same jury unanimously found the defendant would be a continuing threat to society in the future. The jury unanimously found there was no mitigation that would warrant a sentence less than death with Michael Lopez. The defendant was assessed the death penalty by a jury in 6 hours. During sentencing I referred to the defendant as a street terrorist based upon the evidence in the case. On appeal, the highest court in Texas referred to the defendant as a mean little guy and upheld the death penalty. Now the Supreme Court has gotten involved in these types of cases and declared once and for all that no one 17 or under can be executed for the crimes that they commit. Citing international court decisions and the so-called evolving United States Constitution, the Court yesterday struck down these types of cases five to four. The Supreme Court of the United States should not look to foreign courts for guidance but to the United States Constitution because that is what they are sworn to uphold. The Supreme Court once again has discriminated against victims based upon the age of the defendant. Whether or not a person agrees or disagrees with the death penalty, whether or not a person feels the age of accountability should be 17 or 18 or 21, there is no precedent in law that the Supreme Court may arbitrarily say a 17-year-old is a mere child and an 18-year-old is an adult. The Supreme Court has once again promoted the philosophy that America is becoming the land of excusable conduct in our criminal courts. There should be consequences for criminal conduct even for 17-year-olds. The Supreme Court has replaced the law of the land with its own personal opinion and European thought. This is an affront to the rule of law, to the Constitution, to the 10th amendment. It is an affront to the peace officers in the United States, and it is an affront to Officer Michael Eakin and his family.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the unique history of the great State of Texas. Today, March 2, marks Texas Independence Day. On this day, 169 years ago, Texas declared its independence from Mexico and its dictator, Santa Anna, the 19th century Saddam Hussein. In 1836, in the small farm village of Washington-on-the-Brazos, 54 Texians, as they called themselves in those days, gathered to do something bold and courageous: Sign the Texas Declaration of Independence and once and for all ``declare that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign, and independent republic.'' As these determined delegates met to declare independence, Santa Anna and 6,000 enemy troops were marching on an old beat-up Spanish mission that we now call the Alamo, where Texas defenders stood defiant, stood determined. They were led by a 27-year-old lawyer by the name of William Barrett Travis. The Alamo and its 186 Texans were all that stood between the invaders and the people of Texas. And behind the cold, dark, damp walls of that Alamo, Commander William Barrett Travis sent the following appeal to Texas requesting aide. This appeal read in part: ``To all the people of Texas and Americans in the world, I am besieged by a thousand or more of the enemy under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment and cannon fire for over 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded surrender at its discretion, otherwise the fort will be put to the sword. I have answered that demand with a cannon shot, and the flag still waves proudly over the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. I call upon you in the name of liberty, patriotism, and everything dear to our character to come to our aid with all dispatch. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself for as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. Victory or death. William Barrett Travis, Commander of the Alamo.'' After 13 days of glory at the Alamo, Commander Travis and his men sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom. Those lives lost would not be in vain. Their determination paid off. And because heroes like William Barrett Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie held out for so long, Santa Anna's forces took such great losses they became battered, demoralized, and diminished. As Travis said, ``victory will cost them more dearly than defeat.'' General Sam Houston, in turn, had the time he needed to devise a strategy to rally other Texas volunteers to ultimately defeat Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. The war was over, and the Lone Star flag was visible all across the broad, bold, brazen plains of Texas. The Alamo defenders were from every State in the United States and 13 foreign countries. They were black, brown, and white, ages 16 through 67, and they were all volunteers. They were mavericks, revolutionaries, farmers, shopkeepers, and freedom fighters. They came together to fight for something they believed in: Freedom. Freedom has a cost. It always does. It always will. And as we pause to remember those who lost their lives so that Texas could be a free Nation, we cannot forget those Americans that are currently fighting in lands across the seas for the United States' continued freedom and liberty today. Texas Independence Day is a day of pride and reflection in the Lone Star State. It is a day we remember to pay tribute to heroes like William Barrett Travis, Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, Jim Bonham, Sam Houston, and the rest of those volunteers who fought the evil tyrant and terrorist Santa Anna. It was an effort to make Texas free, and that effort was successful. On this Texas Independence Day, let us not forget those brave men and women in our military that are fighting to preserve and uphold our freedom from a new world threat of terrorism. Mr. Speaker, I hope that the Congress and the country will join me in celebrating this Texas Independence Day. In Colonel Travis' final letter and appeal for aid, he signed off with three words that I leave with you now: ``God and Texas.'' ``God and Texas.'' ``God and Texas.'' And the rest, as they say, is Texas history.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 66) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I offer a resolution (H. Res. 112) and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a young American marine from my Southeast Texas district, Marine Lance Corporal Fred Lee Maciel who died valiantly serving our Nation in Iraq. He was assigned to the Third Marine Division. Lance Corporal Maciel in his 20 years had already exhibited a lifetime of sacrifice and selflessness. In the deadliest event for American forces in Iraq since the start of the operations in March of 2003, he and 30 other servicemen were killed in combat when the helicopter in which they were traveling crashed in Al Anbar Province in Iraq. Lance Corporal Maciel and all his brethren aboard this helicopter, including 6 other U.S. marines from Texas, were on their way to begin security preparations for the ultimately successful and historic Iraqi elections that I personally had the honor to witness several days later. Lance Corporal Maciel died so that freedom could live in the birth of this new democracy that we call Iraq. This Lance Corporal was a native of Spring, Texas. He graduated from Spring High School in 2003 and joined the United States Marine Corps that September. He is remembered as an athlete, a leader in the school's Naval Junior ROTC, and a role model for other students. Gloria Marshall, the principal of Spring High School, recalls Fred's participation in basketball and football as well as his rise through the ranks of the ROTC program to become a leader and an officer. She said, ``Fred is greatly mourned at our school. The teachers and the students all mourn him. He was truly a fine, fine young man.'' Lance Corporal Maciel was scheduled to return home following the January 30 elections in Iraq and had plans to marry his fiancee, Jamie Hommel. Last week when I spoke to Fred's mother, Mrs. Patsy Maciel, she told me that her son went to Iraq to protect Texans and Americans from terrorists. Under extremely grueling circumstances, Lance Corporal Maciel contributed to that very cause. He inspired his follow marines with his courage, commitment, his character. Fred's father, Fred Copenhaver, told me that his son had marveled at the thought of becoming a State trooper upon his eventual discharge from the United States Marine Corps. Now Fred pays tribute to his son with a freestanding wall proudly featuring photographs, notes and ribbons in honor of his son. To date in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, our United States Marine Corps alone has lost 48 Texans, 3 from the Houston area in combat-related casualties. And while our military cannot replace individuals of unique character like Lance Corporal Fred Maciel, I believe that his service will provide a stirring example for the men and women who carry forward his unbendable fight against tyranny, terror, and treachery. Country western singer Billy Ray Cyrus sang, following the first Gulf War, about America's valiant youth who readily insert themselves between us and international villains. He said, ``All gave some and some gave all. And some stood tall for the red, white and blue, and some had to fall.'' At his memorial service, Pastor Robert Hogan reminded Fred's family and friends and the hundreds of other people at the funeral that he had paid the price for freedom and thus had not died in vain. Pointing to the fruitful elections in Iraq that Sunday, Pastor Hogan said Fred was so loving and willing to give his life for his country and for causes he believed in. Lance Corporal Maciel died in helping establish democracy in a land far, far away. You know, some causes are worth dying for. And liberty is one of those causes. Fred's brother Carlos echoed his brother's life was not wasted when he said he died for what he believed in. We live in a culture sometimes where people do not believe in anything. And so I believe that if today we could hear from Lance Corporal Maciel himself, a member of the once and always United States Marine Corps, as a member of the few and the proud, he would resonate the remainder of the refrain from Billy Ray Cyrus's Some Gave All: ``And if you ever think of me, think of all your liberties and recall, yes recall some gave all.'' Lance Corporal Maciel we will remember, we will forever remember your fight against these international outlaws. Mr. Speaker, as we extend our prayers and our condolences to his parents, his relatives, his fellow students at Spring High School in Texas and his fiance, may this American hero's devotion to his country continue to kindle our dreams and ambitions of a free people. So Semper Fi, Lance Corporal Maciel, Semper Fi.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment by my colleague from Delaware. This amendment takes a common sense approach in saying that those who want to board our Nation's airplanes must show documentation showing their full legal identity. The REAL ID Act, which I strongly support, requires that these driver's licenses must meet tough federal standards, chief among them are the requirements that applicants must demonstrate their legal presence. As a member of the Aviation Subcommittee and as a Member from the great state of Texas, I strongly feel we need to put just as much of an emphasis on protecting the skies as we do our land borders. This amendment would simply require the Homeland Security Department to better track those attempting to conceal their identities before boarding airplanes and allow those officials greater authority to screen these passengers and detect threats before they may occur. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and the underlying bill.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, just last October, FBI agents, in cooperation with Baytown, Texas, and LaPorte, Texas, police, both law enforcement departments in my district, shattered a major document forgery operation being run out of a trailer house just across the street from the massive Exxon Mobile Refinery in Baytown, Texas. The result: six men were arrested and charged with numerous Federal counts of conspiracy and producing false documents, including Texas driver's licenses, resident alien cards, and industrial safety training cards used for employment in the strategic petrochemical industry. The REAL ID Act that our Chamber passed today was a sensible first step toward desperately needed immigration reform in the United States. Still, however, in order to truly construct a watertight system, we cannot, when legislating here in Congress, just hitch our wagon to the newest pony when we have a solid team of stallions sitting around with nothing to do. Before discussion of any new proposals or their benefits, we must first ensure the laws currently on the books are being enforced. We must expect people from other nations to respect our borders. Not only is it essential that we enforce existing laws; we must also reduce the incentives we offer foreigners to come to our country illegally. CNN reported a short time after the forgery bust I just mentioned that precious American dollars are being hijacked on unreimbursed medical care and education for illegal aliens who, in the darkness of the night, manage to come across our borders. Have Texas and other border States merely become free HMOs for illegals, with Americans, many of whom do not even have their own medical care, paying the cost? Similarly, in the Washington Times, they had an article dealing with the invasion of illegal immigrants and the exorbitant cost to taxpayers in the health care and prison areas. It was reported that one in every four uninsured people in the United States is illegal. Moreover, its study revealed that in 2000 alone States like Texas, which are on the Mexican border, have losses in almost $190 million in unreimbursed costs for treating illegals, with an additional $113 million in ambulance fees and follow-up medical services. Mr. Speaker, why, as unintentionally as it may be, are we rewarding brazen lawlessness? During my tenure on the bench as a felony court judge in Houston, Texas, I can recall that approximately 15 to 20 percent of the criminals I sentenced in my court for the most serious felony crimes were illegal immigrants. And while these individuals were doing time in the penitentiary, Texans, Americans no less, were once again paying the price for their incarceration. Americans pay for the illegal immigration. Americans always pay. As that noted scholar Pogo once said: ``We have found the enemy, and it is us.'' I believe, though, as we continue to heed vital lessons from the tragedy of the September 11 attacks on our soil, that we are making progress in securing our borders from unlawful immigration, while tightening the noose of the perpetrators of senseless violence and terror who harm our citizens. I commend the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary; the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee; and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, for their leadership towards these collective goals.

Mr. POE

Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, 2 days ago, amidst intimidation and threats and actual violence, the people of Iraq spoke out against the past oppression of Saddam Hussein and his dynasty of tyrants and spoke loudly for democracy. And I was there, privileged to be there, to witness this birth of a new era in this Nation of Iraq. I saw how the Iraqi people boldly, with the courage of a free people, said no to the outlaw desperadoes that plague their land almost daily, with the terror of abuse, ambush, and assassination. A people yearning to be free cannot be deterred by the acts of cowardly villains who harm the innocent and the unarmed. Even on this day, January 30, Iraq's Election Day, a day of promise, there were still 212 reported acts of violence against these people, 44 of whom died, one being an 8-year-old mentally challenged boy. Yet 60 percent of these proud Iraqis walked to 30,000 polling stations with watchful Iraqi security police on rooftops of schools armed with M-16 rifles. Yet they ventured out with their families. They stood in lines, received historic ballots with 111 selections from which to choose. They entered a cardboard voting booth, and they made their free choice. They all cast a vote for Iraq. I talked to these people, the young and the elderly, who were all defiant of the violence and proud to be voters in this first free and fair election that carries the hope of democracy. I even saw husbands taking photographs of their wives while their wives were voting. The atmosphere of democracy unfolding was almost carnival in nature. After voting, each Iraqi dipped their right forefinger in an inkwell to record the fact that they voted. Some even left the polling place singing as they held their finger up high, a symbol that has come to be termed a badge of courage. They wanted all to know they had participated in this day. One young girl told me that she got there very early that morning so she could be the first person in her community to vote. This election was planned and conducted by Iraqis. The security force of 100,000 officers were all Iraqis. The votes will be counted by Iraqis, and the 275 members of this new parliament will all be Iraqis. Mr. Speaker, I believe the United States made a sound decision in helping start this democracy. Similar to the events following World War II when America launched democracies in the nations of our enemies, Japan and Germany, the skeptics and critics said it could not be done, and those skeptics and critics are still around today. But today Japan and Germany are not only thriving democracies but they are also world economic powers and they are our allies. So this, too, will be our hope and desire for Iraq and for Afghanistan. These two nations will become democracies in spite of the hardships and detractors here at home and abroad. Those people who utter words of gloom, doom, and despair, history will prove those people wrong. History corroborates that freedom can grow in the desert of oppression. Our efforts have not gone without appreciation by the Iraqi people. The individuals I spoke to on that Sunday morning and afternoon said they love Americans, especially our military. They are truly grateful. As Election Day drew to a close on Sunday afternoon, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and I spoke with the president of Iraq. And in an almost emotional tone, he told us that the Iraqi people recognize that America has sacrificed their young men and women for Iraq, for this day to come. We should be happy for the Iraqi people and proud that we have sown the seed of freedom in this land far, far away. And we must remember the words 40 years ago of a young man from Massachusetts, President John Kennedy, when he stated our commitment then and our commitment today. He said, ``Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.'' We are doing that in Iraq, Mr. Speaker.