Ted Poe

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Yes, I would certainly be willing to do that. I will withdraw my amendment.

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. POE of Texas. As stated in the report language of the bill, my amendment cuts $1.3 billion that is going specifically to Pakistan. Pakistan seems to be the Benedict Arnold nation in the list of countries that we call allies. They have proven to be deceptive and deceitful and a danger to the United States. Here is some of the evidence: For the last 7 months, Pakistan closed down the southern supply route. The route transported about 40 percent of all NATO supplies into the country and to Afghanistan; Pakistan still refuses to go after the terrorist sanctuaries in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Terrorist groups like the LET, the Pakistani Taliban, and al Qaeda frequently cross over into Afghanistan, kill our troops and then run back into Pakistan and hide where our troops cannot follow them; On May 23, 2012, Pakistan sentenced the doctor who helped us get Osama bin Laden to 33 years in prison. I thought getting the world's No. 1 terrorist--the terrorist who killed thousands of Americans--was a good thing, but apparently, Pakistan prosecuted him; In February 2012, a NATO report confirmed our suspicions: the ISI is aiding the Taliban and other extremist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan by providing resources, sanctuary, and training; In June 2011, Pakistan tipped off terrorists making IEDs--not once, but twice--after we told them where the bomb-making factories were and asked Pakistan to go after them; In 2011, Pakistan tried to cheat the United States by filling out bogus reimbursement claims for allegedly going after militants when they weren't doing that at all. There is more. On September 22, 2011, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee: ``With ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted that truck bomb attack as well as the assault on our Embassy.'' The truck bombing he mentions here wounded more than 70 U.S. and NATO allies and troops. Admiral Mullen went on to say: ``The Haqqani Network acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency.'' What more do we need to hear? Pakistan doesn't deserve American money. By the end of fiscal year 2011, Pakistan had had a total of $21.5 billion of American money since FY 2002. Mr. Chairman, I ask: Has America received its money's worth? The answer is no. I want to address a couple of arguments I've heard from the other side: First, some say that the money in this bill for Pakistan is only to reimburse them for going after terrorists. They say we shouldn't take away that carrot. But, since 2002, Congress has already appropriated over $8 billion to the Coalition Support Fund specifically for Pakistan. Where I come from, if you try something and it doesn't work, you don't continue to do it. We've been doing the same thing for over 10 years. It's time for a new strategy with Pakistan. More money is not going to solve the problem. Second, they say Pakistan just reopened the southern supply route. Pakistan closed the southern supply route from November 2011 to this month. Pakistan was a bad ally before it closed the supply route. The fact that they messed us around and closed it for 7 months only adds to the long list of evidence that shows they are no friend of ours. It also shows that we don't need them to win the war in Afghanistan. We were able to pursue our mission in Afghanistan without them. What really endangers our troops is not access to the southern supply route, but the failure to get access to Pakistan's tribal areas where Pakistan gives terrorists a safe haven. Pakistan is playing America. The only thing Pakistan's military rulers understand is dollars, and as long as we keep the money flowing, they have no incentive to change their evil ways. Our message should be this: Pakistan has a raging insurgency in their country with al Qaeda, the Pakistan Taliban, and the Haqqani Network. Pakistan can either receive assistance and go after these terrorists with us or don't take any of our money, and we will find our own way to take these terrorists out. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in telling Pakistan they will no longer get American money. We don't need to pay Pakistan to betray us. They will do it for free. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding. My understanding is, in the report language, to specify a certain country would not be ruled in order; therefore, I used the $1.3 billion with the floor statement that applies only to Pakistan and none of our coalition countries that you have mentioned. I am open to an amendment that would be ruled in order, and I would be glad to work with the chairman on that amendment.

Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the Chair. I thank the chairman, and his staff especially, for working with me on this amendment, which I would like to associate my previous remarks in a previous amendment on Pakistan to this amendment. Basically the intent is to cut half of the money that goes to Pakistan under title IX in this legislation.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, when I am back in southeast Texas, I hear from individuals and businesses who are concerned about how ObamaCare will affect them. Ava, a senior from Houston, tells me this: I am a senior who is very concerned that I will lose the great health care that I am presently receiving under Medicare. I am pleased with my doctors and with my health care plan. At the present, I can afford it, and I am concerned I will not be able to in the future if ObamaCare goes completely through and that I might not get the care I need for the health issues I already have. Seniors cannot afford ObamaCare, nor do they want it. Living on limited income today is hard enough without this new health care plan wanting more of my money. Seniors seem to be taking it on the chin tremendously on this issue. Madam Speaker, Ava is right: ObamaCare is not good for seniors on Medicare. They will pay more for less care because of this expensive government takeover of America's health. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a leader in the victims' rights movement, former Michigan State Senator Bill van Regenmorter. It was fitting that flags in Michigan were flown at half-mast following Bill's death. Many news reports in Michigan detailed his significant contributions to the people of his beloved state and, most especially, his long advocacy and legislative accomplishments on behalf of crime victims and survivors. I feel it is fitting to equally recognize that Bill's contributions go far beyond the borders of Michigan. As one of the earliest state legislators to draft and enact crime victims' rights legislation, Bill was extraordinarily generous in sharing his experiences, insights and innovations with those of us in other states dedicated to the same cause. His hand can indeed be seen in similar laws in dozens of other states. Bill's tireless efforts were recognized in 2009 by the U.S. Department of Justice, when he received the Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award from the Office for Victims of Crime. There is no question that without Bill van Regenmorter, we could not have made as much progress as we have in securing crime victims' rights throughout our entire nation. As a Texas judge, I can attest that we tapped Bill's wisdom and expertise in the late 1980s to develop our own ``Victims' Bill of Rights''--an important law that, to this day, provides a strong foundation for the fair treatment of crime victims in my state. In Bill's own words, ``victim empowerment has brought integrity to the system that wasn't there before.'' Bill's legacy can be found in his pioneering efforts that empowered countless crime victims and those who serve them to stand up for victims' rights, and his inspiration for anyone concerned about individual and community safety to, as he did throughout his entire life, get involved and make a positive difference. The U.S. Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus sends its condolences to Bill's wife Cheryl and his family, and his ``extended family'' of crime victims, survivors and victim advocates who benefit today and in the future from his pioneering efforts. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Indiana prison inmate Ryan Greminger collected unemployment benefits during his 2-year sentence in the county jail for a drug crime. He collected $14,000 of taxpayer money. He was in jail, and the government continued to pay him anyway. Only in America would we pay people in jail because they are unemployed. Greminger should not have obtained money from honest American taxpayers, but he did. Government is becoming incompetent when it comes to paying unemployment benefits. According to CNN, the Federal Government overpaid $14 billion in unemployment benefits just last year. That means 11 percent of all jobless benefits paid out were not supposed to be paid to those individuals. Those overpayments that should have gone to people in need were sent by government to those who didn't deserve any money. You see, not all payments are to honest people who are looking for jobs and are out of work. Inmate Greminger's case is bad, but there's more. A convicted killer, murderer, in a California prison was receiving at least $30,000 in unemployment checks. The murderer made sure that his family and his friends cashed his checks while he was locked up. So each month, his family fraudulently cashed his $1,600 check, which they would then deposit in his jail bank account. Guess where it went next, Mr. Speaker? He shared the jail money with some of his low-life prison gang members while he was in the joint. There's more. The Federal Government reportedly sent a man $515,000 in payments over 37 years--37 years, Mr. Speaker--because he was supposedly unemployed. Thirty-seven years of unemployment benefits for anyone is nonsense to me, but who exactly were they sending that money to in this case? A dead person who died 40 years ago. No wonder he wasn't working, Mr. Speaker; he wasn't around. We count on our government to spend our tax dollars wisely, but it is inefficiently sending money to those not qualified to obtain taxpayer support--prison inmates and dead people. Fourteen billion dollars is a lot of money in anybody's book. In the private sector, if a business misappropriated $14 billion, the people in charge would be fired or go to jail, but not so with government agencies. These overpayments and wasteful incompetent spending really don't shock or surprise Americans anymore at all. There's so much waste of taxpayer money that we have become accustomed to it, and we actually expect government to waste money--too big, too wasteful, too incompetent, and too inefficient. But the real problem is not waste, but the size and inefficiency of government. We're moving to a society that is just another European nanny state, where government is bigger, bloated, and controlling. The government says it will provide all our needs if we just turn over more power, authority, and money to government and government agencies. Mr. Speaker, does anybody ever really get warm fuzzies when we hear about government programs like the post office, FEMA, the IRS, or TSA? I don't think so. Government doesn't do things better; it does things more expensively and wastefully. And government promotes a concept of more dependence on government, not independence. We in Congress need to realize the obvious--that unlimited, out-of- control government is not the answer to our problems. But until we get a grip on government and move to a constitutional concept of limited government, we should expect and demand more accountability from the people that are in charge of the people's money. With hard economic times affecting the unemployed, we cannot tolerate wasteful spending by government bureaucracies. With 8.5 percent unemployment nationwide, 11 percent in the Hispanic community, 14 percent in the African American community, 14 percent for returning military from Iraq and Afghanistan, and 50 percent unemployment for recent college graduates, we should demand that when government helps those we as a society say it should help, government does so properly and efficiently and in a dignified way. Otherwise, more dead people will continue to receive taxpayer money that should go to people that are at least alive. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, late one summer night a few years ago, I boarded a red-eye flight back to Houston. I saw college students on the plane, and I expected the worst. I was wrong, however. As soon as the plane took off, these athletes broke out their books, and they studied for the rest of the flight. I was impressed by this group of considerate, smart, focused, and driven student athletes. No surprise, they were the Owls baseball team from Rice University. Rice was named after Massachusetts-born businessman William Marsh Rice, a transplanted Yankee who was successful in Houston, Texas. He chartered the Rice Institute. Today, Rice University is the home of 5,000 students. Its achievements make Houston proud--artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, and space science, just to name a few. And the Rice Owls baseball team gives Houston a baseball team we can be proud of. And just yesterday, Rice was named one of the top 100 universities in the world by the Center for World University Rankings. I want to congratulate Rice president, Dr. Leebron, his wonderful educators, and his students for an amazing 100 years of excellence and education. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, at this moment, Attorney General Eric Holder is going to deliver a speech at a conference in Houston, Texas. A media advisory issued by the Department of Justice said, ``NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license) as well as valid media credentials.'' In order to hear him speak, media must present a valid government photo ID. I assume this is to prevent unauthorized individuals from being able to enter the auditorium. I suspect Mr. Holder will rant about Texas' having a voter ID law to vote, however. You see, Madam Speaker, the Justice Department is also in court today suing Texas, claiming that the Texas voter ID law disenfranchises people. It seems to me the law would only disenfranchise fraudulent voters. Never mind the Supreme Court has already upheld voter ID laws. Madam Speaker, the DOJ just ignores Supreme Court decisions it doesn't like and continues its war against Texas. Holder is inconsistent. He believes in security and photo IDs for people when he speaks, but rejects ballot security and IDs for people when they vote. Security is important. Security prevents unauthorized individuals from entering an auditorium or voting who shouldn't enter the auditorium or shouldn't vote. But the DOJ doesn't care about being hypocritical. The DOJ, Madam Speaker, is once again on the wrong side of justice. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Bangladesh national and illegal immigrant Shafiqul Islam was convicted in 2008 of promoting sexual performance of a child. After he served his sentence in New York, an immigration judge ordered Islam to be deported back to where he came from, but Bangladesh wouldn't take back their criminal deviant. They did what many countries do, delayed, delayed, delayed, until, by law, he was released back onto the streets of America. As other countries are well aware, U.S. law does not allow indefinite incarceration. Six weeks after his release, Islam struck again at another victim. On a cool evening in November in New York, 73-year-old grandmother Lois Decker, a mother, a grandmother, retired school cook, a Sunday school teacher, was walking home from the grocery store. Islam stalked her and followed her into her home and murdered the defenseless grandmother. But stealing her life just wasn't enough for him. After Islam left her to die, he stole her car and took off in the darkness of the night. The thief, however, wrecked her car. Two good Samaritans saw the crash and mistakenly stopped to help him. Then, being the worthless outlaw he is, he tried to steal their car as well. More witnesses intervened and prevented him from stealing that vehicle, but he still fled the scene in yet another stolen vehicle. In June, a judge in New York sentenced Islam to life, where he belongs. Mr. Speaker, currently there are thousands of criminal illegals in our country, just like Islam, that have been sent to prison, ordered deported, but their native countries stall, delay, and eventually refuse to take back their outlaws. Many of those criminals are roaming around American streets looking for more crime and malicious mischief. There is more. Ashton Cline-McMurray was a 16-year-old with cerebral palsy when he came in contact with another ``do-bad.'' One evening he was walking home from a football game in Massachusetts when he was ambushed, beaten, stabbed, and murdered by Loeun Heng, an illegal from Cambodia. Heng was convicted of manslaughter, sent to prison, and then ordered deported. But Heng never went back to his native country of Cambodia because they wouldn't take him. There is more. Vietnamese citizen Binh Thai Luc was convicted of armed robbery of a Chinese restaurant in California in 1996. He was sent to prison for 10 years and then ordered deported back to Vietnam. But, once again, Vietnam would not take him back. So, in March of this year, Luc was running loose in San Francisco and murdered five people. Mr. Speaker, these are tragic cases that occurred in our Nation. There should be consequences for countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia who fail to take back their lawfully deported criminals. The blood of Ms. Decker and these other victims are not only the fault of Islam and the other felons, but also the fault of those countries that refuse to take their outlaw citizens back. Some of the most offending countries are Cuba, Pakistan, Vietnam, Jamaica, and, yes, our ``good buddies'' the Chinese. What should we do? We should do two things: One, U.S. law should allow civil suits against these offending countries for damages without any caps on compensation; and, two, freeze legal visas to nations that refuse to take back their criminals. Mr. Speaker, did you know a similar law already exists in the U.S., but the State Department won't enforce the law for supposedly ``diplomatic reasons''? According to Secretary Napolitano, DHS and the State Department are working with these offending countries to resolve these matters, that being the folks that are getting murdered in the U.S. I have introduced legislation that removes the uncertainty and the weak knees of bureaucrats and requires the State Department to follow through with visa sanctions against these countries. Time to play a little diplomatic hardball with these nations. After all, Americans are dying because these lawfully deported illegals don't go back where they come from. It's time to make these crooks and misfits the problem of their home country rather than continue to remain our problem; otherwise, more grandmothers are going to die in America. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, thousands of dead people and citizens of other countries are reportedly registered to vote in the battleground State of Florida. Texas, however, has passed a law that would require citizens to display a photo ID when they vote. But the Justice Department isn't interested in fixing voter integrity, even though the Supreme Court has said voter ID laws are constitutional. The DOJ, ignoring the Supreme Court decision it doesn't like, sued Texas anyway, claiming the law discriminates. The DOJ, with its battery of high-dollar lawyers, apparently has yet to find any evidence to back their claim, so it brought in a hired gun to try to find some support for its allegation--a biased liberal data group called Catalist, a self-defined agent for progressive organizations. So much for the DOJ being objective. Instead of attacking Texas for constitutionally enforcing the law, the DOJ should focus its resources on protecting the sanctity of the ballot box. It seems the people who would be disenfranchised by voter ID laws would be unlawful voters or dead people. The DOJ is on the wrong side of justice again. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as a kid growing up in Spring Branch, I always looked forward to the long days of the hot Texas summers. Long days meant more time to play outside. I didn't know that summers in the other parts of the world were not steamy like here in Houston. (I now tell my friends in Washington that are from the north, that Houston has two seasons: Summer and August.) Like most kids in the neighborhood, my sister, Jayne, and I played outdoors a good portion of the day and didn't come in 'til dark. We knew that when the porch light came on, we had to be home within five minutes of seeing the ``beacon'' or there would be consequences. Occasionally, we got to take summer excursions with the family to the battlegrounds, the Monument and, of course, the Battleship Texas. My fondness for the USS Texas began in those days and has stuck with me throughout my life and career. As kids, we thought it was ``cool'' that Texas had its own battleship. We would pretend to shoot the guns on the ship, run through the countless corridors, hide in the nooks and crannies, and generally live in the disappearing past of the history of the great battlewagon. My best friend, Pete Cliburn, and I would climb from top to bottom of the ``Mighty T,'' firing every gun and squeezing down every open hatch along the way. We explored the many decks and climbed the ladders of the upper decks as high as we could go. When you reached the top of the ladder of the highest point, you better remember that the metal deck you were about to lay your forearms on was as hot as a cast iron skillet! But, as kids we couldn't care less, we were fighting on the greatest battleship to have ever sailed. As I got older I learned more about the amazing legacy of BB 35. The USS Texas is the last survivor of the great Dreadnought Battleships. She participated in the most important battles of the first half of the Twentieth Century, including both World Wars. She was launched 100 years ago this year and commissioned on March 12, 1914. She was the most powerful warship that the world had seen, and she participated in the invasion of North Africa, Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Her most notable contributions came in WW II, firing at Nazi defenses during the D-Day invasion at Normandy. Called the ``smartest man o'war afloat,'' the Texas was an integral part of many US victories. As the flagship of the US fleet on D-Day, the Texas was the first of her kind to mount anti- aircraft guns and the first US battleship to launch an aircraft. At the end of the War, she made three trips, bringing American servicemen home. On the anniversary of San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1948, the Texas was decommissioned. Her place in history took root right here in our backyard. School children across Texas saved their nickels to help pay to dry dock the Battleship at the site of the Battlegrounds on the San Jacinto River. As a kid, it was obvious to me why General Sam routed Santa Anna--we had a Battleship! After all she was retired on San Jacinto Day. It took me awhile to figure out that the Texas Revolution was in the 1800s, and the Battleship Texas was used in the 1900s. While that all made perfectly good sense to me back then, my love for Texas history in the years to come taught me that they were not the same war and General Sam's accomplishments became far more impressive. During my tenure as a judge, the ``Mighty T'' found its way back into my life and into the lives of offenders that I ordered to be ``enlisted'' in the ``Texas Navy.'' I ordered probationers who were skilled welders, painters, plumbers and electricians to help in the restoration efforts of the Battleship. As one of many creative sentences, this became another effective tool that both served the public and the probationer--a few even went on to be hired by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The probationers became a part of the history of the great ship. After being dry docked in Galveston in the 80's, many much needed repairs were made by different organizations and thousands of volunteers. The Battleship is now moored in its present location. During my first term in Congress, I joined efforts with Congressman Gene Green in securing federal funding to permanently dry dock and display the USS Texas so that my grandchildren and generations to come could climb all over one of the world's finest fighting vessels. My DC staff visits the ship, usually in August, and I act as the Texas historian, along with help from the real experts, the Battleship staff from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Today, the Battleship Texas serves as a museum and a reminder of wars long past. In 1948, she was designated a National Historic Landmark. Today, the Texas has an onboard museum that details her efforts in our fight for freedom and a history of the sailors that called her their own. But, all is not well with the Texas. What her enemies in battle could not do to her, nature has. She is old and is taking on water. She is covered with rubber patches and aluminum plates, and about one thousand gallons of water pour through her body every day. Last week, visitors were turned away from this National Historic Landmark. The grand lady of the seas is closed until further notice. Visitors have been told the ship is closed while workers battle her leaks. Her recovery could cost an estimated 50 million dollars. In a 2007 bond election, voters approved $25 million for her repair. This isn't enough. And, as much as it will help, the money won't be released until September. Texas is not just a National Historic Landmark, she is a state treasure to Texans and a monument to American sailors who first sailed her 100 years ago. The Texas needs volunteers and money to honor the ship and all who sailed her. Time is not on the side of the ship. Texans must save the ship now. Otherwise, as we approach the sweltering heat of the ``season'' of August, we may see the beginning of the permanent demise of the USS Battleship Texas. Texans cannot allow the great Texas to sink from neglect and disappear beneath the water of history. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, here's what the people of Texas think of the Supreme Court's ruling on ObamaCare. Jason from Kingwood, Texas says this: Now that the Supreme Court has deemed every action of Congress that it does is acceptable so long as it's considered a tax, you can kiss it all goodbye. Tax on gun ownership, boxes of ammunition, worship fees, mission trip tax, Bible fee. But don't worry. They won't take away your right to vote directly. They'll just dilute it with multiple voting, illegal voting and fuzzy counting. But it won't be through taxation. Stacie from Texas also wrote me and says this: This ruling sets up so much more of nanny taxes and government telling us what we can do and cannot do. Don't buy the right car? It's a tax. Don't buy the right vegetables? Tax. Don't buy the right newspaper? Tax. Don't buy the right music? Another tax. Mr. Speaker, the power to tax is the power to destroy. So what's the next tax from Big Government? Congress and the Supreme Court have both had their chance to voice their opinion. Now it's time for the American people to voice theirs. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Secretary Clinton is giving away $2 billion of taxpayer money for green energy development in third-world countries. This isn't money for vaccines. This isn't money for clean water. This isn't money to help child hunger. This is money for green energy. Don't we need to make sure that people have electricity before we worry about what kind of light bulb they are using? People are starving, being ransacked by terrorists, taken away as child soldiers, and dying of preventible diseases like diarrhea. So our government decided the best use of taxpayer money was to put billions in those countries for green energy. Our government wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on phony loans for green energy right here in the United States to companies like Solyndra. Congress didn't even approve this $2 billion giveaway. With all the problems of debt in the United States and disease in other countries, government is providing subsidies for green energy. Who would have thought? The government is out of control. More taxpayer money thrown into the windmill of willful waste. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, we are here today because of an ill-conceived, dangerous, illegal, gun-running scheme called Operation Fast and Furious. This operation has resulted in the death of at least one--maybe two-- Federal agents and in the deaths of hundreds of Mexican nationals; yet we still cannot get a straight answer from the Justice Department as to what happened. The Attorney General says he doesn't know who authorized this nonsense, but he won't let Congress help him find out the facts. In December of last year, Attorney General Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee and told me that Operation Fast and Furious was ``flawed and reckless'' and that it was ``probably true'' that more people were going to die. Now, isn't that lovely? Why is the Attorney General being so obstinate? After months of delay, delay, delay, today is the day of reckoning. This administration claims to be the most transparent administration in history. So why won't the administration let the American people know what happened during Fast and Furious? What are they hiding? This contempt resolution is about one thing. It's about finding out how such a stealth and dangerous operation could ever be authorized by the Government of the United States. Why would our government help smuggle guns to our neighbor and put them in the hands of the enemy of Mexico and the United States--the violent drug cartels? And no wonder the Attorney General of Mexico wants those in the United States who are responsible to be extradited to Mexico and tried for those possible crimes. Mexico is more interested in Fast and Furious than is our own government. As a former judge, I can tell you that contempt is used as a last resort to let individuals know they will comply with a lawful order whether they like it or not. Even the Attorney General cannot evade the law. Time for America to find out the truth about gun smuggling to Mexico. Time for a little transparency. Today is judgment day. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Justice Department, with the aid of the ATF, facilitated the smuggling of over 2,000 weapons to the drug cartels south of the border--the national enemy in Mexico. Hundreds of Mexican nationals died as a result of this operation. Mexican Attorney General Morales says she was left in the dark about Operation Fast and Furious. And she wants those officials who were involved to be extradited and sent to the U.S. for prosecution. She is more interested in Fast and Furious than our own Attorney General. Our own Attorney General says he still doesn't know who authorized this reckless and deadly operation and doesn't want any help from Congress to find the answers. Tomorrow is the day of reckoning for AG as he still refuses to turn over the evidence. What is he hiding? And why is he hiding it. The time of hiding is over. It's time for Congress to hold someone accountable. We call it contempt. Tomorrow is Judgment day for the Attorney General. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding and for his work on this legislation. I also want to thank subcommittee Chairwoman Miller for her work on this legislation. Both see the need to fix the gaps that are in our port security. I want to thank the gentlelady from California (Ms. Hahn), who introduced this legislation. We are both alumni from the same school. I'm sure you've heard of it, Abilene Christian University in West Texas. The closest port to Abilene, I guess, is a boat dock at Fort Phantom Lake, if you want to call that a port. But anyway, this bill is a good example of bipartisan work--of both sides of the House--on an issue that is important to all of us: security. This means national security and port security. Congresswoman Hahn and I recently founded the Congressional Ports Caucus to raise awareness about ports in Congress and in our Nation. She represents west coast ports, and I represent ports in southeast Texas, on the gulf coast. We saw a need for a national discussion about ports because of their importance to the Nation and to our economy. Since we both have ports in our backyards, that is the reason the caucus was formed. We have over 65 Members in both parties from all regions across the United States. Some Members don't even have ports in their districts, but all see that ports are a national security issue. One discussion we hope to continue through the caucus is the need to ensure that our ports are safe and secure. In meeting with industry groups and administration officials, it became evident to us that an updated plan on how ports should remain operational in the event of an attack really doesn't exist. There are gaps in our port security. The GAPS Act is an important step in addressing this existing problem in port security. Any attack on our Nation's ports would be detrimental to the economy because ports play a large role in facilitating the flow of commerce. Most of the products in our stores arrive through ports and then are transported by other means to stores throughout the Nation. A crisis event causing a port to shut down would greatly affect our national commerce--money would be lost; businesses would lose revenue; and people would be out of work. Both the chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee support this legislation, and I'm grateful for that. I urge all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation. Port security is not a partisan issue; it's a national security issue that we all should be concerned about.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I would like to thank the chairman for the time. I especially want to thank Representative Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania for introducing this important legislation, which makes improvements and reforms the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. This program is intended to expedite the processing of claims and expand coverage to include some nonprofit emergency personnel who are currently not covered by this important program. The reason H.R. 4018 is important is that 72 police officers were killed by perpetrators in 2011, and that number represents a 25 percent increase from the previous year and a 75 percent increase from 2008. One of these 72 was 38-year-old Houston police officer George Will. He was killed by an out-of-control drunk driver. Officer Will was investigating an accident. The drunk driver comes barreling, out of control, down the freeway. Officer Will sees him coming and pushes a witness out of the way so that witness to the first accident wouldn't be hit. While doing so, the drunk driver ran over and killed Officer Will. He left behind a wife, two stepchildren; and the wife he left behind was pregnant. Also in 2011, a total of 61 on-duty firefighters were killed in the United States. So, in 1 year, that's 133 families who don't have a father or a mother anymore. And the last thing these families should have to worry about after facing the loss of a father or mother first responder is financial instability. Madam Speaker, in my career as a judge and a former prosecutor in Houston, I knew a lot of first responders. Some of them were later killed in public service to our communities. Our Nation's police, firefighters, and EMS workers are our true national treasures. They are the ones that run into burning buildings when everybody else runs out of those burning buildings. They are the ones that put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe and protect our communities. They go into the shadows and dark corners of our society looking for do-bads, outlaws, and social misfits. This work, Madam Speaker, is dangerous. When these Americans wake up every day, they need to be able to focus on the duty they have before them, and they need to know that if, God forbid, something happens to them on their duty shift, that their family will be taken care of. For all these reasons, I support H.R. 4018. I urge my colleagues to support it. And once again, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for this legislation. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, like many Americans, my neighbors are concerned with the President's refusal to follow the Constitution. James from Kingwood, Texas, wrote me this: When, as an officer on activity duty, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. I honored and still honor that oath because I believe in this country and in the constitutional form of government. As near as I can see, the President is not enforcing the laws he is required to do. If a military officer were found selectively performing his duty, he would be court-martialed, discharged, and dismissed from the service, as he should be. Sir, how long does the President get to thumb his nose at the Constitution and at Congress? The Congress must take action now to support the Constitution, or we won't have a Constitution. Mr. Speaker, James is correct. The President is not supposed to make law by Executive edict from the palace of the White House, nor is the President to willfully refuse to enforce laws. Both actions are a violation the supreme law of the land, the Constitution. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the sun was lazily rising on the horizon. It was around breakfast time on a stunning Sunday morning. It was quiet, peaceful, calm. People felt secure. There was a small tropical breeze as the American flag was being raised on a nearby flagpole. Suddenly over the horizon, a large formation of aircraft darkened the glistening sky. They broke formation and dove down from the sky, unleashing a fury of deadly, devastating bombs and torpedoes on a quiet place called Pearl Harbor in the Pacific Ocean. It was on that day, 70 years ago, when sailors, soldiers, airmen, and marines saw war declared on America. It was December 7, 1941. Over 5,000 miles away from terror stood a small, quiet town covered in maroon decor known as College Station, Texas. College Station is not only home to Texas A&M University's Fightin' Texas Aggies, but also to the patriotic Corps of Cadets. Around campus you can spot the Corps of Cadets marching in sync wearing the uniform that matches their rank whether it is brown leather boots or trousers made of serge material. December usually holds a brisk chill in the air in College Station, but the Texas sun kept the weather from being unbearable. Word traveled fast of chaos on the Pacific as America became engaged in another world war. Aggie tradition tells us that on that day teenagers turned soldiers when the entire 1942 junior class enlisted into the war along with half of their senior level comrades. They were all volunteers. They stood together as Aggies, brothers, Texans and Americans. They stood shoulder to shoulder and raised their right hands in unison and swore to defend their homeland. College Station became an image in a rear view mirror as pens and pencils were traded for guns and ammo. They left Texas to go fight on small islands in the Pacific, brutal deserts in North Africa and bloody beaches in Italy and France. The year 1942 was also the time of the most well-known Aggie Muster under the command of General George Moore during World War II. Aggie Muster is on April 21st which also happens to be San Jacinto Day, the day Texas won independence at the battle of San Jacinto in 1836. Amid fierce enemy fire, General Moore and 25 fellow Aggies mustered in the trenches and caves on Corregidor in the Philippines. A war correspondent observed the make-shift ceremony and the world was introduced to the Aggie spirit. Every one of those Aggies were either killed or captured by the Japanese. Four years later when the Americans returned with Gen. McArthur and retook the island the Aggies mustered again. When I went to the Philippines recently, I saw a photo of those returning Aggies on the fortress wall of the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor. According to Aggie Muster tradition, ``if there is an A&M man in one hundred miles of you, you are expected to get together, eat a little, and live over the days you spent at the A&M College of Texas.'' During times of war, Muster is especially poignant. Texas A&M has produced more officers in the United States military than even West Point. It has the distinction, other than West Point, of having more Medal of Honor recipients than any other university in the United States. When General George Patton was in Europe going into combat in the Third Army, he made a comment about the Texas Aggies and the soldiers that he had under his command. He said, ``Give me an army of West Point graduates and I will win a battle. You give me a handful of Texas Aggies, and I will win the war.'' The Aggies' long tradition of duty and service to our great nation dates back to their beginning, to the days when A&M was an all-male military academy. Texas A&M trained nearly 4,000 troops during World War I and over 20,000 Aggies served in World War II, 14,000 as officers. World War II was hard. Millions served in uniform overseas; millions served on the home front; all sacrificed for the cause of America. Many of them gave their lives all over the globe in places known only to God. The Aggie band doesn't play an Aggie ``Fight Song''. There is no such thing. The band plays the ``Aggie War Hymn'', quite a different concept. The ``Aggie War Hymn'' was written by Aggie Marine J.V. ``Pinky'' Wilson while standing guard on the Rhine River during World War I. It remains the most recognizable school war hymn across the country--probably the world. Today, Muster is observed in more than 400 places worldwide and this year's ``Roll Call of the absent'' honored 970 people around the world, including those remarkable young men and women who gave their lives for our country in lands far far away. While Muster is a time to honor those that have died, it also is a time when Aggies, young and old, come together to reconnect and celebrate a way of life known only to those that proudly hail from Aggieland. Muster means different things to different people. Every Aggie will tell you something different, something personal about what it means to them as an Aggie. One thing that is consistent in every answer is their dedication to tradition. It is the rich heritage of tradition that sets Texas A&M apart from all the rest. It is the Corps, the Aggie War Hymn, the 12th Man, Midnight Yell, Bonfire, Texas State pride and as much as it pains me to say it--it's TU. It's the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, Silver Taps and ``Hallabaloo, Canek, Canek.'' It's the Junction Boys, Howdy, Gig'em, Reveille, the Dixie Chicken and of course, the ring. But above all else--it's Muster. Most of the junior class of '42 who fought in World War II have died as with most of the veterans of World War II. But, in Texas we remember them all this July 4th. Seventy years after, when America called they all answered to the sound of reveille. There is nothing quite like an Aggie. Gig 'Em. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the events over the past six years in Thailand have left the country deeply divided. A military coup overthrew an elected government in 2006. Violent protests demanding new elections in 2010 led to the deaths of at least 90 people. Rich and poor, military and civilian, politician and voter--all have had differences over the years. But, the newly elected party of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised to bridge those divides and lead Thailand towards a more stable and democratic future. For this country to move forward towards a more free and fair society, its leaders must push for political reconciliation between differing parties despite any opposition it may face today. The Thailand legislature is currently working its way through a political reconciliation bill. As it continues this process, the United States should be encouraged and hopeful in our ally's path to democracy and reconciliation. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the government continues to hide the evidence of the Fast and Furious gun running scheme. The attorney general says he doesn't know who authorized this reckless and deadly operation, but he still conceals documents to show what occurred. The President claims he was not involved, but minutes before Congress began the process to hold the Attorney General in contempt, the President--``the leader of the most transparent administration in history''--desperately asserted executive privilege to withhold the documents from Congress. According to The Washington Times, when the President was a Senator, he said this about the previous administration: There has been a tendency on the part of the administration to try to hide behind executive privilege every time there is something a little shaky taking place. I think the administration would best be served by coming clean on this. There doesn't seem to be any national security involved. Mr. Speaker, that was then, and this is now. And this President conveniently does exactly what he criticized others for doing. So the saga of the Republic continues, and that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, our Nation's income tax system is a giant mess. It's complicated; it's not fair; it's outdated--and not everyone follows the law. Hypothetically, suppose tomorrow, the President issued an edict from the White House directing the IRS not to enforce tax laws for certain special people, for example, people under the age of 30. Why? Maybe the President just doesn't like the law, so he issues that new order. Well, Mr. Speaker, last Friday, much to the surprise of all of us who believe in the Constitution and in the separation of power, something very similar did happen. In his latest Friday afternoon surprise, the President issued a decree unilaterally discarding the immigration law of the land--a law passed by Congress and signed by a previous President. The President disagrees with the law; and since he had to have his way, in spite of the Constitution, he improperly ordered his way to be the law of the land. The President's temporary amnesty plan applies to those who are under 30 years of age. They also can obtain a work permit. It would be nice if the President were as concerned about the 23 million Americans who are looking for work in America as he is about the 12 million undocumented individuals the President claims are looking for work in America. News reports even show 50 percent of new American college graduates can't even find work. Mr. Speaker, here is the chart we all probably saw in ninth grade civics classes: a bill is filed in the House. If the House of Representatives debates it and passes the bill, it goes down the hallway to the Senate, and they discuss it and vote on the bill. If they pass the bill, it becomes the law if the President signs it. We call that ``the law of the land.'' But the President, it seems, has ignored most of this and has just issued new orders from the White House to not pay any attention to the Senate or to the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, like most of us learned in ninth grade civics classes, it is Congress' job to write laws and the President's job to execute the laws. That means: enforce the law. It doesn't mean he is supposed to ignore laws and then issue his own policies like kings used to do with their policies. He is to follow the law whether he likes it or not. Once upon a time, the President even claimed to believe in the Constitution. Here is what he said last year: With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that's just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed. But that was a year ago. That was then and this is now. If the President doesn't like a law, he believes he can ignore it and come up with his own set of rules. Our Founders envisioned a country in which freedom was protected from government and was limited from the policies of kings. You see, old King George III of England constantly decreed new laws without the consent of the people. That was one of the reasons we rebelled against the merry ole King of England and his monarchy and his policies. Our ancestors structured the American Government in the Constitution. The last time I checked, it was Congress that makes laws and the job of the executive branch to enforce laws, not to ignore the ones it doesn't like. The immigration system needs fixing. Congress should do its job and fix the problem. In the meantime, the President should do his job, not ours, and he should enforce the law. Otherwise, we have lawlessness in America. The President says he can use prosecutorial discretion not to enforce immigration law. Mr. Speaker, the President is wrong again. I dealt with prosecutorial discretion as a former prosecutor and a judge. Prosecutorial discretion is when a prosecutor does not prosecute a specific case because the accused is innocent or there is insufficient evidence or witnesses have disappeared or the government has violated the rights of the accused, et cetera. Prosecutorial discretion cannot be used to ignore a specific law because the government just doesn't like the law. It is true, through no fault of their own, that young undocumented individuals are here as a result of decades of a failed broken immigration system, but the President has no interest in fixing what is broken. He is more concerned with picking up a few votes to further his reelection. The law gets in the way, so his policies look like they come from an emperor instead of a President. So what new orders will be issued next week from the President and the White House? Is he going to ignore the Tax Code for some in the name of prosecutorial discretion? I guess it depends on what political forces push the President to new orders and decrees. We shall see. Stay tuned for another day in the life of the Republic. It's time for the former constitutional professor to follow the Constitution, not to make up his own rules during his on-the-job training. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, each year, Americans write a check to Uncle Sam in hopes that their money is going to the right places. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has lost credibility as the steward of taxpayer money. In the past 3 years, millions of taxpayer dollars have been squandered in risky ``clean and green'' energy projects, and many of those companies have failed. And the beneficiaries of these shady ventures just happen to be the President's men. Enter Solyndra. Half a billion tax dollars subsidized a company that was doomed to fail. Eighteen hundred people lost their jobs, and Americans will never see the refund on their money. But the cronyism continues. Last week, the Department of Energy awarded $2 million to Solar Mosaic. The President's former green jobs czar, Van Jones, is an adviser to that company. Imagine that. It's time to quit gambling taxpayer money on risky projects for all the President's men. And that's just the way it is.