Ted Poe

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, a plaque on the Alamo wall states: ``The Alamo: The Thermopylae of Texas.'' The Alamo is a tribute to all those that are defiant against any form of tyranny. It is important for us to recognize all those that sacrificed for freedom, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Remember who we are and what we stand for. This week, we ``Remember the Alamo.'' One hundred seventy-five years ago, 187 freedom fighters started assembling in an old beat-up mission in San Antonio. Juan Seguin and his company of Tejanos, rode into the Alamo and readied for battle alongside William Barrett Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett. This rag-tag group of relentless patriots, made up of men from nearly every State in the Union and 13 foreign countries, including Mexico, readied for one of the most storied battles in our history. Outnumbered by an overwhelming Mexican army, these Texas warriors knew that surrender was not an option. Retreat was never on the table. Victory or death. On February 23, 1836, Santa Ana's army of 1,500 well armed troops unleashed on the defenders of the Alamo. During the siege, Travis sent out his famous call for reinforcements. Juan Seguin was the last messenger to leave, riding though enemy lines carrying the final message from the beleaguered mission. Unfortunately, the call for help was not answered in time. On March 6, 1836, Travis and 187 volunteers sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom after thirteen glorious days at the Alamo. It was at his final battle that my favorite Texas war hero, William Barrett Travis, penned the most famous letter in Texas history. From behind the walls of a besieged rundown mission in San Antonio, Travis wrote: To the people of Texas and all Americans in the world, fellow citizens and compatriots, 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, but I 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 north wall. I shall never surrender or retreat. I call upon you, in the name of liberty and patriotism and everything dear to the American character, to come to my aid with all dispatch. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself for as long as possible, die like a soldier who never forgets what is due his honor and that of his country. Victory or death. I could read this over and over. As a child, I was so intrigued by this letter. I would always be the first in my class to volunteer to play Travis at any given opportunity, if only just to read his words aloud. To me, he was the ultimate hero. History teaches us everything we need to know, if we just look. This letter was written nearly two centuries ago and its message still rings true today. It's a story of ``liberty and patriotism and everything dear to the American character.'' Freedom is still worth dying for. And to do so as a soldier, ``is what is due his honor and that of his country.'' Travis believed these words whole-heartedly. He believed that the cause for independence was worth his life. Our freedom fighters today understand these words as well, they know that America is worth fighting for and that defeat is not an option. When I visit our troops over in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Texas boys, and gals, are easy to spot. They usually have a Texas flag flying on their humvee. (I have even seen one on a tank.) My personal favorite is the ``Don't Mess with Texas'' bumper sticker. And when you meet these modern-day freegom fighters, you know that no truer words have ever been spoken. There's just something about a Texas warrior. As we continue to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Texas Independence this year, I will take a look back at those that put it all on the line for freedom. As much as some things change, the most important, thankfully stays the same. A century and half later, that same dogged determination that filled that little Spanish Mission is what continues to set us apart from all the rest. ``God and Texas.''-- William Barrett Travis. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Palestinians are going to the United Nations to seek some type of recognition as a state, but this decision should only be decided with direct negotiations with Israel and Palestine. The Palestinians have rejected this proper process for peace and go instead to the anti-Israel U.N. for recognition. Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.N., said: ``If there was a U.N. resolution whose first clause was anti-Israel and whose second clause was that the Earth was flat, the U.N. would pass it.'' The U.S. has come to this issue late, and even though it will object to the Palestinian statehood through the U.N., in recent years, the United States has given mixed signals about its support for Israel. That is unfortunate. Israel is our most loyal friend and ally in the Middle East. The U.S. objection to the Palestinian statehood in the U.N. will be a hollow, lone voice of reason. It will show once again that the U.S. has little leadership in the United Nations. However, the U.N. will reaffirm its position of bigotry against all things Israel even if it means proclaiming the Earth is flat. This is yet another reason to cut U.S. aid to the U.N. We don't need to pay the U.N. to hate Israel. They will do it for free. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, my grandfather, Theodore Otto Herman Hill, or ``Thunderhead'' as he was more appropriately known, was a hunter, a taxidermist and a Teddy Roosevelt conservationist. He was the frontiersman type. He could tell the type of tree by looking at the bark or observing the leaves. He predicted the weather by watching the actions of animals. He found and collected arrowheads on his land in central Texas. His love of nature was impressed on me as a child. Being born near where Texas independence was declared, Washington-on- the-Brazos, he told me many stories of famous Texas trees. Two trees in particular stand out in my mind. In Gonzales, Texas, stands the ``Sam Houston Oak.'' This tree was made famous 175 years ago this month during the War for Texas Independence. Before towns were settled, unusual or gigantic trees were often used as landmarks for people to gather under to worship, to hear campaign speeches or to prepare for battle. William Barrett Travis and 187 volunteers sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom after 13 glorious days at the Alamo. Sam Houston and his boys regrouped with Seguin and his company of Tejanos at this mighty oak. This tree became a rendezvous place for the new Texas Volunteers to organize and to later fight dictator Santa Anna. The ``Sam Houston Oak'' site is considered by most historians as the beginning of the ``road to San Jacinto'' taken by General Sam and his ragtag bunch of freedom fighters on April 21, 1836, in the final battle for independence along the marshy banks of the San Jacinto River. Today, a historical marker along St. Louis Street in Gonzales recognizes this historical tree. Another tree my outdoorsman grandfather told me about was the ``Treaty Oak.'' The Treaty Oak is an immortal symbol of Texas history that holds a special place in the hearts of all Texans. It is more than 500 years old. The Treaty Oak was a place of worship for the Comanches and Tonkawa Indians. The story goes that Stephen F. Austin signed the first boundary treaty with the Indians under the Treaty Oak, which is located in downtown Austin. The Treaty Oak has endured multiple threats throughout its life. In 1920, the land that the Treaty Oak lives on was put up for sale, and the tree was almost cut down. There was a massive outcry to save the Treaty Oak. Texans felt a loyalty to this tree and so in 1947, the city of Austin purchased the land so that the Treaty Oak could remain untouched as a historic treasure for the state of Texas forever. Back in 1989, a criminal by the name of Paul Cullen poisoned the great tree. In some sinister deliberate effort to kill the great tree, Cullen poisoned it with enough pesticides to kill a hundred trees. And as most outlaws do, he bragged about his crime, resulting in his swift arrest and incarceration. He was charged with felony criminal mischief. Of course, I promptly volunteered to try that case while I was still a judge in Houston. Although I didn't get to hear the case, a jury of 12 tree-loving Texans in Austin found him guilty and sentenced the culprit to nine years in prison for trying to kill the mighty oak. The nation was stunned that Texans would send a person to prison for so long for ``just'' trying to kill a tree. But this wasn't any old tree. This tree was a symbol of Texas. Amazingly, the Treaty Oak survived the attack, and her survival has astonished cynics who predicted the tree would certainly die. While she may not stand as mighty as before, she continues now to be a new symbol of Texas perseverance, ruggedness and determination. Two mighty oaks of Texas . . . symbols of no place but Texas. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this piece of legislation is critical to prevent the National Labor Relations Board from disrupting business and job growth by ordering an employer to relocate. The purpose of this board is to protect workers, not to leave them in fear that their jobs may be relocated on the whim of the Board's members. The NLRB has no place in telling businesses where they can operate. Businesses create jobs, not the government. In this economic climate, the last thing we need is for businesses to have any more anxiety preventing them from hiring more workers. Boeing, who the NLRB has attacked, is creating jobs in both South Carolina and Washington. With the attempt by NLRB to force Boeing to move the newly created jobs in South Carolina to Washington, jobs will now be lost in South Carolina. Texas like South Carolina is a Right to Work State. Businesses that operate in non-Right to Work States should not have to be intimidated from opening up locations in Right to Work States like South Carolina and Texas because of concerns that moving to these states will be considered ``transferring'' work. The NLRB should not have the power to force the relocation of a business. It has over a dozen other remedies to protect workers. The National Labor Relations Act needs to be amended to prevent this.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Ron and Cynthia Barrs from Texas sent me this email: ``The folks who are getting the free stuff don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay both for the free stuff and their own stuff. And the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff that they're already getting. So now the ones who are forcing the people to pay for the free stuff have told the people who are receiving that free stuff that the people who are paying for the free stuff are mean and greedy. So the people who are getting the free stuff have been convinced they need to despise the people who are paying for the free stuff. And they are promised more free stuff if they vote for the ones who force others to pay for the free stuff.'' Mr. Speaker, there's just not enough stuff for free. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, many, many years ago the second American Revolution took place when Washington, D.C., was invaded by the British in the War of 1812. Many forget that the Capitol, the White House, and Washington, D.C., were burned to the ground by the British. And after the War of 1812 was over with, America found itself in a situation that's not unfamiliar with us today. America was out of money. So what did people decide to do here in this body of Congress about how to get more money into the Federal Treasury? They thought of a unique approach that maybe we ought to think of and do today. Right now we talk about raising taxes, cutting spending, and we need more revenue. Maybe we ought to think outside of the box when it comes to revenue instead of more government taking from the people and giving it to its special groups. Let's do what they did at the end of the War of 1812. The Federal Government decided that it would sell some of the land to Americans--what a novel thought--and let Americans own America. They could produce that land, and then they could pay more taxes. And that's what they did at the end of the War of 1812. We talk about the land in America. Who is the biggest landowner in this country? Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam owns 27 percent of the land mass in the United States. This poster here shows the land area in red, including Alaska, that is owned by the Federal Government, Uncle Sam. Twenty-seven percent of the land! Half of the land west of the Mississippi, or in the West, belongs to the Federal Government. Those folks in the West, half of it belongs to Uncle Sam. He's their neighbor in every western State. It's different in the East because much of that land was sold at the end of the War of 1812. Now, 27 percent, what does that mean? That's really hard to understand how much that is. If you were to superimpose the 27 percent of the land mass in the United States into Europe, you would find that Uncle Sam would own almost all of Europe. Western Europe is about 27 percent of the land mass of the United States. And of course that includes the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, and even Spain. Now, we're talking about a lot of land. Does Uncle Sam really need all of that land? Much of it's unproductive, not paying any taxes, not paying any revenue to local and State governments. So maybe we should do something that our forefathers, our ancestors did--sell some of that land to Americans and allow that revenue to come into the Federal Treasury so we can pay off all of our debts that we have accumulated over the years. Twenty-seven percent of the land mass is 623 million acres in this country. Ronald Reagan tried to do that when he was President, but it did not go very far at all. You know, even President Obama mentioned about a month ago that there's 300 acres in Los Angeles County that's owned by the Federal Government. We could sell that for $2 billion. So maybe we need to think outside of the box. I've introduced the American Land Act. We talk about the American Jobs Act. The American Land Act would require that the Federal Government sell a portion of that land over a period of years. Now, I want to be careful to state we're not talking about the national parks. We're not talking about Yosemite. We're not talking about the marshes and environmentally sensitive areas in this country. We're talking about unused land by the Federal Government. And then we could raise some revenue. I believe that this could be up to about $200 billion of revenue that would be brought into the United States. Sell it to Americans and that will bring revenue into our treasury. When Americans own America, they can also develop that land. Then they can be productive and then they can pay even more taxes. When people own land, they pay property tax. That tax primarily goes to local and State governments, which pays for our school systems. So that undeveloped land, that unused land, some of that should be sold to Americans. Let Americans buy American. Real property in the hands of real Americans. What a novel thought that is. Uncle Sam, the Federal Government, is all about power and control over everything. Loosen up a little, and let Americans buy part of America. Uncle Sam shouldn't prevent Americans from having a real stake or share in our country, the United States of America. It doesn't belong to Uncle Sam--at least it shouldn't. It should belong to Americans. The United States owns most of the grand estate in this country, and it's time to let more Americans own it because America should belong to Americans. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this weekend, we honored those killed by the attack on America on 9/11--10 years ago. Many of those that were killed and gave their lives were first responders. And after the smoke cleared that day from Ground Zero, from the Pentagon down the street, and that special field in Pennsylvania, America went after Islamic terrorists who would murder in the name of religion. The wars against our enemies have taken us to the desert of the gun and the valley of the sun in Afghanistan and then off to Iraq. I've been to Afghanistan and to Iraq, as many Members have. And I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that our military that is there representing us is the finest military that has ever existed in the history of this country. Afghanistan is a land that seems to be cursed by God. It is a hard land. And in Afghanistan, on August 6, 2011, specially trained United States military were headed to root out the Taliban and help our Army Rangers who needed their support. The CH-47 Chinook helicopter they were in was shot down in the Wardak province of Afghanistan. Thirty Americans gave their lives that day, as well as eight loyal Afghans. They were our first responders abroad who go where the timid are not found and the weak of soul are never seen. Here are their names, Mr. Speaker, and their photographs. The first one here, David Carter, Chief Warrant Officer of the United States Army National Guard, Colorado. Next is Heath Robinson, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Michigan. Next to him, Mr. Speaker, is Alexander Bennett, Sergeant, United States Army Reserve, Washington. Next to him is Kraig Vickers, Senior Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Hawaii. Number five on this top line here is Jared Day, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, Utah. And the last one on the first row is Jonas Kelsall, Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy SEAL, Louisiana. I continue with the second row: Jon Tumilson, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, Iowa. Next to him is Michael Strange, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, Pennsylvania. Aaron Vaughn, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, Florida. Patrick Hamburger, Staff Sergeant, United States Army National Guard, Nebraska. Next to him is John Faas, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Minnesota. And the last one on the second row is Matthew Mason, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Missouri. I continue with the third row of our warriors: Robert Reeves, a person known by members of my staff, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Louisiana. Next to him is Stephen Mills, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, from the great State of Texas. Next to him is Louis Langlais, Master Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, California. Next, Christopher Campbell, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, North Carolina. The next warrior is Darrik Benson, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, California. And the last one on this row is Jason Workman, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, Utah. I continue, Mr. Speaker, and I hope you can see these photographs: Jesse Pittman, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, California. Next is Nicholas Spehar, Petty Officer 2nd Class, United States Navy SEAL, Minnesota. Andrew Harvell, Staff Sergeant, United States Air Force, California. Daniel Zerbe, Tech Sergeant, United States Air Force, Pennsylvania. John Brown, Tech Sergeant, United States Air Force, Florida. Kevin Houston, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Massachusetts. And the last row, Mr. Speaker: Bryan Nichols, Chief Warrant Officer, United States Army National Guard, Kansas. Spencer Duncan, Specialist, United States Army Reserve, Kansas. Nicholas Null, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, West Virginia. Thomas Ratzlaff, Senior Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Arkansas. Brian Bill, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy SEAL, Connecticut. And John Douangdara, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Navy SEAL, Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, these are the men who gave their lives so that others could live. And while we mourn the lives they gave for the rest of us, we should thank the good Lord that such men as these lived--the Americans, the American breed, the rare breed, the finest we have. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in the United States, throughout this entire land, there are 3,500 shelters--3,500 shelters--and these shelters are animal shelters. According to the Humane Society, there are at least 3,500 animal shelters in our Nation rescuing those animals, primarily dogs and cats, and making sure that they have some safety. I have dalmatians. In fact, one of my dalmatians was from a shelter, Dalmatian Rescue in Dallas, Texas, is where I got it. Three thousand five hundred. Bear that number in mind, Mr. Speaker, because in the same United States of America there are five shelters--five--for minor sex trafficked victims in this country. Fifty beds in the whole Nation is what I understand that there are to take care of minors, primarily young girls who are trafficked throughout the United States for sexual pleasure. Maybe we have gotten our priorities out of sync. You know, sex trafficking is nothing more than modern day slavery, and it is an epidemic in some parts of the world, and it even is coming to the United States. It's that crime to me that no one wants to talk about. I spent a lot of time at the courthouse in Houston, Texas, as a prosecutor in felony court, as a criminal court judge for 22 years, and I heard a lot of cases. But this case of someone kidnapping a minor child and transporting them across the United States for sex slavery is one of those cases that is difficult to understand why it occurs in this Nation. And many people, many people in the academic areas and others don't want to admit that takes place in this Nation, but human trafficking does take place, whether it's with minors or whether it's with adults, and primarily, Mr. Speaker, it's with women. I have traveled to the Eastern European nations as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and have discussed with people in the Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, the problem those nations have when their young women are sold to other nations in sex trafficking. Here's the way it works on the international scale. One way it works, and in many of these Eastern European countries, young women can't work, can't find jobs, and so they will learn either through the Internet or from an ad in the newspaper, if they go to a certain country they will be promised a job. So they leave their home in the Ukraine or Romania, and they go to some foreign country. They meet up with some person. It's a male, of course, and he promises that he will take care of them and they will get a job doing something. And, of course, what they end up doing is becoming a piece of property for that male so that that person can sell that young female into sex slavery. Back home where they come from, their families many times never know what happened to their daughter or their sister. They have just disappeared off in some other country. That takes place in that form in many countries throughout Eastern Europe and other nations as well. Unfortunately, those who keep statistics estimate that overseas the customers, the ones that use that sex trafficked victim, about 25 percent, I understand, are Americans; Americans that go overseas for the purpose of engaging in prostitution as a customer of some person that is trafficked internationally. But let's bring it back closer to home and what's taking place in the United States. Being from Houston, Texas, the location of Houston, Texas, where it is on the map and its closeness to other nations south of the border makes it, unfortunately, a hub for internationally sex trafficked victims that come into the United States, either stay in Houston or are trafficked to some other part of the United States, and it has become a hub, one of the hubs in this country for that awful, dastardly crime. It works this way. This is one of the ways it works. Young women, either adults or minors in some foreign country, are smuggled into the United States illegally by someone who promises that when he gets them into the United States, he's got a job waiting for them. In some cases, these young women have paid this person to smuggle them into the United States. And once they're in the United States, they become the property of that sex trafficker, and he forces them into exploitation. He uses threats against them. It's as simple as if you don't cooperate, I will have my friends in your country where your family is, I'll have them kill your family. So a 14-year-old girl, what decision does she make? She doesn't speak the language. She's in the United States, and this person says, either you cooperate and work for me, or I will make sure your parents are killed, and many times they choose the only alternative they think they have--to become a sex slave and be trafficked into the United States and allow that person to use them as property in the sex trafficking business. When they come into the United States, they're promised a better life, a good job; but that doesn't really happen to some of them. There are many stories. I'm going to talk about just two young women. Gabriella--that's not her real name--was working to support her family in Colombia. She was told by a friend--a male friend who recently moved to the United States--that she could make a whole lot more money if she came to the United States. So she took him up on the offer to let him get her into the United States; but as soon as she arrived here, that same ``friend'' forced her into prostitution. She couldn't afford to come into the United States. So, he said, Well, I got you here. Now you've got to pay your way. The way you pay me for getting you here and the cost of me getting you into the United States is you're going to have to become a prostitute, and you're going to work for me, the pimp. If you don't, I'll harm your family back home in Colombia. So for 5 years that young girl was moved around in different brothels, houses of prostitution. She said after she was finally rescued that she had no contact with the public and she really didn't even really know what city she was in. After years of servitude, ICE raided the brothel where she was held and Gabriella was rescued. She was one of the fortunate ones because she was referred to services where she received counseling and helped to find housing and care for her own child and also find a job. But, sadly, this type of trafficking occurs in the United States. People--women--come into the United States looking for freedom and prosperity, a job that they can send money back home to their families; but they end up being property of someone else who sells them for sexual favors. There are all kinds of ways that this is done. They're trafficked through massage parlors that advertise themselves as legitimate businesses. In reality, they're illegal sex rings. Part of that issue, massage parlors, occurs in the city of Houston, where women, primarily adult women, are smuggled into the United States from Asian countries. They don't speak the language. They're used in massage parlors, which are nothing more than a front for illegal sex rings. The problem that they have is this. This is a complicated problem. It's not an easy solution. They come into the United States. They're smuggled here. They don't speak the language. They come from a country where the police are corrupt, nobody trusts the government; and they find themselves in the United States, where law enforcement tries to help them, and they don't cooperate because they come from a culture where the police, law enforcement, are corrupt. They do not understand that they can get help in the United States. That situation occurs--these massage parlors--occur in some places, and one of those is in Houston, Texas, where Constable Ron Hickman has put his special teams together to try to stop this epidemic that's occurring in parts of our State. These trafficking individuals--the traffickers--they're smooth operators, and they will do anything to get around the law and intimidate the victim to cooperate. While victims are brought from overseas into our country, children in our own backyards are forced into a life of sexual exploitation. Let me distinguish here. I started out by talking about minor sex trafficking victims and how there are so few shelters for them, but let's distinguish the types of victims we're talking about. We have the international victims who come into the United States, smuggled into the U.S. and they are transported around the United States for sexual favors. Then we have people that are already in the United States. Citizens or people that are here legally who are moved from city to city in the United States. So those are domestic trafficked victims. Here's the big distinction, Mr. Speaker: generally speaking, if a person is brought into the U.S. as a trafficked sex victim and she gets involved in prostitution and she's rescued by Federal authorities, she's treated as a victim of crime and there are some places to place that rescued victim; but the rules don't seem to be the same and aren't the same in some cases for domestic trafficked victims. For example, if a victim is taken from Houston, Texas, kidnapped and taken to another State in the United States and is forced into prostitution by some pimp and law enforcement gets involved and they find her, in many cases she's treated as a criminal. She's arrested for prostitution. She's not treated as a victim. Now, in all deference to our law enforcement folks, who do as good a job as they can, there is no place to put that trafficked victim as a victim of crime. So she's put in the criminal justice system, in many cases the juvenile system because there's no place to put her. There are no shelters. There are no safe houses. There are no beds for those types of victims. Of course, it's a problem of resources. But it's something that we need to understand how difficult that is on a minor child who is a victim of crime to be shoved into the general population as a juvenile or in the criminal justice system to get her out of that system and treat her like a victim. Of course, she has a whole life ahead of her. It starts out she's in the criminal justice system. Once that happens, the next time she's seen or picked up by law enforcement, even with good intentions, she's put back in the criminal justice system or the juvenile system. So we have a standard here where we need to understand that we need to treat the victim of that traffic--the young woman, the minor child in some cases--they need to be treated as victims of crime and not criminals. We'll get to the criminals and who they are in just a minute. Traffickers use and contact very vulnerable young women. Many times they abuse and they manipulate these young women. The children--these girls, primarily--come from families, but sometimes they are homeless. They're runaways or in some cases throwaways, as some call them; and they're very susceptible for trafficking. They really have no place to go in our society and our culture. They have no place to go. And so when they're roaming the streets and somebody comes up to them and treats them nice, promises he'll take care of them, give them a place to stay and give them money, they're susceptible to that. Once they get into that environment, they become a slave. They are a slave in 2011. Our culture needs to understand that. The pimps, in many cases, will do anything. They will beat them, they will abuse them, they will drug them, and they will manipulate them through old-fashioned brainwashing. Take the story of Maria. Maria was an 11-year-old girl. Eleven, Mr. Speaker. That's her actual age. She was raised by her grandmother in Los Angeles. Her mother died when she was very young and her father was not involved in her life. This young girl, as most girls, in my opinion, needed a strong male figure to help her. She was looking for someone since she didn't have a father figure around. She didn't know that this male figure would end up being someone who would treat her as a sex slave. One day, this individual approached her. He treated her nice. He was 28 at the time. He took her shopping, bought her new clothes, treated her nice, took her to his house; and as soon as he went into that house with her, she didn't realize that she would never return to her home. He treated her well at first, but soon he had other girls who lived in the house take her to a house of prostitution, for lack of a better phrase, and show her how to be a prostitute. Because, you see, she was 11 years of age. She later learned that she was making about $1,500 a night that she turned over to this 28-year-old pimp. Later, she said she was beaten and brainwashed and stuck in ``the life'' and trafficked throughout the United States. Her pimp got all the money, making her believe that this is the way it should be and that he deserved the money while she was being raped by multiple men each and every night. He told her he owned her--and she believed it because she was 11. She was still maturing into society and what was right and what was wrong was all being taught differently to her. Maria was arrested on multiple occasions and didn't even know her grandmother and her sister were looking for her until the first time she was arrested at the age of 14. Fortunately for Maria, there was a place for her to go to receive specialized services, and she was able to get counseling and eventually able to get out of this life of being a slave. She finally believed that she had some self-worth, where she believed before she had no worth as a person. Part of the problem, Mr. Speaker, is we don't have enough places for young women like Maria--50 beds, only five shelters, I understand. So the United States, as a Nation, as a culture, as a people, the greatest place on Earth, we need to understand that we have to deal with this issue. It's only going to get worse. And ignoring the problem will not solve the problem. Of course, all different branches of law enforcement must work together--local, State, and Federal--on this issue, and especially on the issue of the fact that international trafficking victims in the United States seem to have some places to go when they're rescued and domestic trafficking victims don't, and especially those who are minor trafficking victims. The Victims of Trafficking and Violation Protection Act of 2000 was the first large-scale Federal law to address human trafficking in this country. The law addresses both the global and domestic trafficking problem and also establishes an annual Trafficking in Persons Report that analyzes the issue of global and country-to-country trafficking and places countries on a list--on a tier is what it's called--of the worst offenders, and I think we should know who the worst offenders are. The worst offending nations in the whole world that are kept up with--all countries are kept up with--on human sexual trafficking and slavery, here they are: Algeria, Burma, the Central African Republic, Cuba, New Guinea, Iran--I'll repeat that one, Iran--North Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. Those are the worst countries for this issue of international sex trafficking. This legislation was reauthorized in 2008 as the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act. We have improved the law over the years, and it's time that we make trafficking--international trafficking and domestic trafficking--as an issue, a human rights issue, a children's issue. Whatever you want to call it, it's wrong, and we have to deal with it in this country. And we cannot put an end to it until we are aware of the fact that it does occur. Just like the old days when many people used to say when I was a judge, oh, gangs aren't a problem, there are no gangs in the United States. Yeah, well, we found out that was wrong. It's the same issue when it comes to human sex slavery. It is occurring, and it will only get worse unless we do something about it. Our laws must identify the people in the system. And I think it's important that we take the child, the trafficked person, and treat them as a victim of crime. We have to have that mindset that in many cases they are a victim of crime. We, as a culture, need to recognize that and treat them that way and rescue them from that environment. That's the primary duty that we have: Rescue that child, get them out of that environment, and help them. Let me tell you, these are hard people to work with. These young women are hard. They are difficult. The agencies that work with them find them very difficult to work with, but that doesn't mean we should give up on them. So we take the victim and we work with them and treat them like a victim. Then we take the customer, the person that pays for the service, pays the slave to perform some sexual activity, we take that person and we prosecute those individuals. And when they're convicted, I think their photographs ought to be on the Internet. Line them up. Let the country know who these people are that live in this Nation that buy sexual favors from children. Show who they are. But prosecute those people. Too often in the area of prostitution--there are even some States that want to abolish it as a crime. Too often we center on the prostitute. And in some cases, the prostitute, unlike the cases I'm talking about, is committing a crime. They're doing it because they want to. They're not forced to do it. That's a different situation. But we center on the prostitute. Very seldom do we prosecute the male, the person who uses the service. Our society better start prosecuting the person who needs to be prosecuted. Then we deal with the trafficker, the slave owner. And there is no punishment that is strong enough for the slave owner in this country. Go after them. Make them know they're not going to do business in the United States and traffic international victims or domestic victims in this country. We will not stand for it. But let's come down hard on those guys and go after the other ones, too, who use that service and treat the victim as a victim. The people who use that service, they need to know we're going to find out who they are and we're going to publicize their names because that's the demand that's created in this country. We cannot continue to let those that pay to abuse children continue to roam our streets, and we need to treat victims as such. I am the cochairman of the Victims' Rights Caucus, along with my friend Jim Costa from California, and one of the things we're trying to do is raise awareness for victims of crime, especially those of domestic trafficking victims that are arrested and treated as criminals when, in the case, they should be treated as victims of crime. We must make sure that the international and domestic victims are both treated as victims and both receive essential services, and there must be services provided for them. We must also make sure that the victim in this case is rescued, that, as a society, that is the first thing we try to do is rescue them. As I mentioned earlier, it's my understanding there are only about 50 beds for minor sex trafficking victims in the United States and five shelters. We need to solve that problem and help those organizations that work with victims of crime have resources to house and treat and take care of those very special people. There are many organizations that are trying to help in the area of rescue, stopping trafficking of victims. I'd like to mention those before I finish, Mr. Speaker. Of course, I mentioned Constable Ron Hickman of Precinct 4 in Houston that's working on the prostitution involved in massage parlors and trying to prosecute the people who are involved in that, but also to rescue those victims that are very difficult to work with because they come from a culture where they don't work with law enforcement. Another organization is the Arrow Ministries in Texas, the YMCA International Services. Children at Risk in Houston does a great job. They do exactly what their name says. They try to take care of kids, children that are at risk. Houston Rescue and Restore, Arrow Ministries, Redeem Ministries. On the national level, there are other organizations: Shared Hope International, The Rebecca Project for Human Rights, Polaris Project, Catholic Charities, Humanity United, World Vision, International Justice Mission, Vital Voices, the Coalition to End Slavery and Trafficking, Amnesty International, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, Free the Slaves, Not for Sale Campaign, and Break the Chain Campaign, and there is that great organization, RAINN, as well. Mr. Speaker, we, as a culture, as a society, as a country, as a people, I think that we are judged, we are judged as a people. The United States claims to be the world leader in human rights, and I think we are the world leader in human rights, and we should continue to be. Because we've been blessed with so much, we should try to protect the dignity of humans throughout the world, but especially humans here. But we are judged not by the way we treat the rich, the famous, the popular, the powerful. We're judged by the way we treat the elderly, the weak, the poor, the children, victims of crime. That's how we're judged, not by the way we treat these other people. So I hope that we understand the necessity, the importance of taking care of our greatest resource, and our greatest resource is children in this country. No matter who they are or what's happened to them in their life, we need to take care of them, especially those young that, in the year 2011, become the slaves of someone else for money. Let's take care of this issue, Mr. Speaker, and stop this crime against humanity in this country and be the world leader. And that's just the way it is. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, 10 years ago, I was headed to the courthouse as a judge in Houston, Texas. I was driving my jeep and listening to country western music when I heard on the radio that New York was under attack. Later that day, as most Americans were watching television, as I was later in the evening, I saw those attacks on New York and the Pentagon and how thousands of people, Americans, were running as hard as they could to get away from that terror in the sky. But there was another group of people, not very many, but they were there. And they were running as hard as they could to get to that terror from the skies. And who were they? They were our first responders--peace officers, Port Authority officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and volunteers. And they rushed into those burning buildings and saved people. And while today it is just as important that we remember those thousands that died on 9/11, we should also remember those that got to live because America's first responders went into those buildings and saved them. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I come today to talk to you about something pretty basic--that is our Constitution, the way our Constitution was set up. We all learned in civics that this body, Congress, writes the laws for the people. Down the street the Supreme Court interprets that law, they judge that law. And the executive branch is the branch of government that we expect through our Constitution to execute the law or enforce the law. In fact, our Constitution in article 2 states specifically about the President and gives the President a job and a duty that no other person in this country has under our Constitution. Besides taking the oath to uphold the Constitution, article 2, section 3, says that the President shall ``take care that the laws be faithfully executed'', that the laws are in the hands of the President, and he is to take care that he fulfills his obligation to execute those laws, to follow those laws. That's the way our Constitution is set up, but that is not occurring. Because, you see, we have laws in this country that this body has passed that the administration doesn't want to enforce. In fact, recently, the administration sent down an edict through its administrative agencies and said no longer will the President be the chief enforcer of the law. He will, in my opinion, become the chief ignorer of the law, the immigration laws. Because, you see, Immigration Services has decided, well, we are really not going to enforce the law that applies to all of those people that are here in the United States illegally. So we are going to defer action. What does that mean? Here's what it means, Mr. Speaker. It means that people who have been charged with being in the country illegally, who are waiting for their hearings, waiting to be deported, they are going to get a pass if they haven't committed some serious crime or some other condition that Immigration Services has outlined. And if people are in this country illegally and they haven't committed a violent crime, well, they are going to get a pass too. They are not going to be deported because the law will not be enforced. The action of prosecuting them will be deferred indefinitely. Now, whether it's a good idea or not to let certain people stay in the country because of certain reasons is not the issue. The issue is Congress has not authorized this so-called prosecutorial discretion. I was a prosecutor, many Members were prosecutors. Before I was a judge, I was a prosecutor. Prosecutorial discretion means this: A case comes before the prosecutors's office and you read the case and you find out, hey, this person may not be guilty or there is no evidence to prove they did this. So you dismiss that case because the person is innocent. The law sets up reasons for why there is prosecutorial discretion, but not so anymore. The Administration has written execeptions to the law. There are 20 reasons, Immigration Services says--by no means these are exhaustive--why people should not be deported any longer. What that means is Immigration Services has given a list of reasons, well, we are not going to deport these people for these reasons. They don't have that authority. Congress writes the laws, not the administration. And just because the administration doesn't like the law gives them no authority to say we are going to ignore certain laws for this reason. I notice that this memo that came out from Immigration Service came out while Congress was in recess. The chief enforcer of the law has the duty to enforce the rule of law. We write them, the President enforces it. Whether the President, the administration, Immigration Services likes it or not, they are going to enforce the rule of law and not come out with some memo saying, well, here are some exceptions to the law, we are just not going to get around to deporting people because of these numerous reasons. In essence, the administration has altered the law by edict--or by memo in this case. It is the obligation of the chief enforcer of the law to enforce the rule of law, not to give a pass to certain people that are in this country illegally because of certain reasons. I don't know the reason why the President has made this decision. People can conjecture up their own reasons why certain folks are getting a pass. But it is great news for people who are in the country illegally. It's great news for people who are coming to the country illegally. The Government is saying: ``It's okay to stay in America as long as you don't commit some serious crime in the United States.'' And it is an obligation of the President to enforce the law, enforce the immigration laws that we write and not become the chief ignorer of the laws. And that's just the way it is. Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Priorities of the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens Factors to Consider When Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion When weighing whether an exercise of prosecutorial discretion may be warranted for a given alien, ICE officers, agents, and attorneys should consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to-- the agency's civil immigration enforcement priorities; the person's length of presence in the United States, with particular consideration given to presence while in lawful status; the circumstances of the person's arrival in the United States and the manner of his or her entry, particularly if the alien came to the United States as a young child; the person's pursuit of education in the United States, with particular consideration given to those who have graduated from a U.S. high school or have successfully pursued or are pursuing a college or advanced degrees at a legitimate institution of higher education in the United States; whether the person, or the person's immediate relative, has served in the U.S. military, reserves, or national guard, with particular consideration given to those who served in combat; the person's criminal history, including arrests, prior convictions, or outstanding arrest warrants; the person's immigration history, including any prior removal, outstanding order of removal, prior denial of status, or evidence of fraud; whether the person poses a national security or public safety concern; the person's ties and contributions to the community, including family relationships; the person's ties to the home country and conditions in the country; the person's age, with particular consideration given to minors and the elderly; whether the person has a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, child, or parent; whether the person is the primary caretaker of a person with a mental or physical disability, minor, or seriously ill relative; whether the person or the person's spouse is pregnant or nursing; whether the person or the person's spouse suffers from severe mental or physical illness; whether the person's nationality renders removal unlikely; whether the person is likely to be granted temporary or permanent status or other relief from removal, including as a relative of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; whether the person is likely to be granted temporary or permanent status or other relief from removal, including as an asylum seeker, or a victim of domestic violence, human trafficking, or other crime; and whether the person is currently cooperating or has cooperated with federal, state or local law enforcement authorities, such as ICE, the U.S. Attorneys or Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, or National Labor Relations Board, among others. This list is not exhaustive and no one factor is determinative. ICE officers, agents, and attorneys should always consider prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case basis. The decisions should be based on the totality of the circumstances, with the goal of conforming to ICE's enforcement priorities.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in coffee shops, barber shops and even in the beauty salons all across Texas, the talk is the same--how's the team gonna be this year? It's that time of year, a time that folks in Texas and across the South prepare for all year long, Football season. Football in Texas is its own religion, where even the preacher cuts the sermon short on Sundays to get you home in time to watch the game. Nowhere else on earth will you find a culture so linked with football like is in Texas. Texas football is that of both legend and legacy. It has spawned countless books, movies and TV series; providing a look into a way of life that is so proudly unique. It's the Junction Boys, the Tyler Rose, the last minute touchdown run by Texas Longhorn Vince Young in the Rose Bowl for the National Championship. I was there by the way with my son, Kurt. What a game, what a memory. Most Texans, if you ask them, have at least one team for which their loyalty lies. One thing I can say without a doubt is that Texas Tech fans love their football. It is the rich heritage of tradition that sets Texas Tech apart from all the rest. It is Bangin' Bertha, the Saddle Tramps and the Masked Rider. It's Raider Alley, the Double T Saddle and Raider Red. Raider Red fires two 12-gauge shotguns after every touchdown and field goal--only in Texas. The Mike Leach Era, at Texas Tech, began in 2000, when he arrived from Oklahoma (OU Sooners) to take the head coaching position. During his first season, Coach Leach's offense produced records in nearly every passing category. In his following nine seasons, the Red Raiders surpassed each of those passing records and doubled their yards per game. Everyone can agree that Leach has one of the greatest offensive minds in football history. Leach coaches outside-the-box; he trained Tech in the art of air assault operations. During his subsequent football seasons with Texas Tech, he was awarded three national coach-of-the-year awards: the Woody Hayes, the George Munger and the Howie Long/Fieldturf. He never had a losing season in his nine seasons at Tech. His record speaks for itself. Seventeen of Leach's Red Raiders were drafted into the National Football League, and another twenty-one signed free agent contracts under Leach's tenure. In addition, while coaching at Tech, Leach's graduation rates increased and remained over 70 percent. Not only is Mike Leach a great coach but he is also a lawyer. He earned his law degree from Pepperdine, and credits his law school education to his successful coaching career. According to Leach, ``a law degree is a degree in problem solving. My Juris Doctor has helped me solve a number of problems I have faced throughout my coaching career.'' A lawyer, who thinks outside-the-box, sounds familiar. In 2009, he was fired from Tech over controversy for allegedly mistreating one of his players. Leach denied mistreating the player and is currently working for CBS College Sports as an announcer. As legendary Coach Bum Phillips is credited with saying: ``there are two types of coaches--those that have been fired and those that will be''. Leach recently wrote a book about his path into coaching and he looks forward to getting back on the sideline. Among Red Raider fans and those who have met him, played for him and learned from him, Mike Leach is wholeheartedly considered a legend in his own time. So this weekend, grab the family, put on your team colors and head to the game. Grab some hot dogs and a coke and take part in one of Texas' finest traditions. You will see some of those folks that you went to high school with some of the same old guys sitting in the same seats as they were in 20-30 years ago. I wish all the players, the coaches, the trainers, the cheerleaders, the drill team and all those people that volunteer their time to support our kids the very best luck. Know that you are all a part of something very special, a Texas religion--Texas Football. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, recently I met with the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Houston, Texas, who shared some disturbing news: The First Amendment rights of veterans have come under attack by the Federal Government. The director of the Houston Veterans Administration Cemetery has led an authoritarian quest to remove Christianity and religion from funerals. She has banned the words ``God'' and ``Jesus Christ'' in the burial ceremonies of deceased veterans. She censors the prayers. She shut down the chapel, took out the cross, took out the Bible, and locked the doors. Government censorship of funeral services for those who have fought and died for our country is unacceptable, unconstitutional, and un- American. The policy of the director is anti-Christian, antireligion, and antiveteran. Today I filed the Veterans Religious Freedom Act. This bill will protect the constitutional right to freedom of religion and prohibit the Veterans Administration from censoring free speech and censoring religion. It will require the veteran cemetery directors to be veterans. The First Amendment is sacred. Funerals are sacred. And when our veterans are buried, that soil becomes sacred. It is the constitutional duty of the Federal Government to protect speech and religion, not censor it. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, everything I know and love and about the State of Texas, including what we stand for, is due in part to General Sam Houston. We've celebrated his victory over Dictator Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto for 175 years, and through the San Jacinto Monument, we celebrate his legacy as well. We get our Texas pride from Sam Houston. Houston refused to be overrun by a dictator and fought for freedom and independence even when he was outnumbered 2 to 1. Houston's army was an odd, terrifying- looking bunch. They were all volunteers. Instead of regular uniforms, they were dressed in buckskins, with pistols in their belts, bowie knives, long muskets, and tomahawks. They came from numerous States and Mexico. The Tejanos were hungry for independence. So as not to confuse these Tejanos with Santa Anna's army, General Sam had Capitan Juan Sequin put a playing card in the head band of each Tejano so they could easily be recognized. The combat lasted but 18 minutes on April 21, 1836, but the legacy is timeless: Texas became a free, independent nation that day. Houston and the Tejanos' legacy lives on through an obelisk soaring into the sky and crowned with a 34-foot star, the lone star of Texas. Built in 1936, one hundred years after the battle ended, the San Jacinto Monument looks like the Washington Monument, but of course, it's taller--15 feet to be exact. Just like the Texas State Capitol is bigger than the Capitol of the United States. As a child, I stood before the Monument, amazed at its size--a staggering 570 feet. It really felt like everything was bigger in Texas. 165 men built the Monument. The crew completed 6 feet of wall every day--an amazing feat when you consider the weight and height of the monument. Each stone weighed 500 pounds. (I'm sure the Ford Tough F-150 would have come in handy back then.) Weighing in at70,300,000 pounds, the Monument is fittingly Texas big. Thanks to the crew's hard labor, the San Jacinto Monument is now recognized as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. This year, as we celebrate the 175th anniversary of Texas Independence, head east to those famous marshy banks of the San Jacinto to see the Monument and witness the telling story at the San Jacinto Day Festival and BattleReenactment. We remember our past, knowing we were a nation once; and we have to smile knowing that sometimes we still act like an independent country. The Texas that we know and love would not exist had General Sam Houston and his men been defeated in 1836. They came from most of the States in the Union and many foreign countries--and they were all volunteers. Always remember Houston's Boys. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we often speak of great American like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. In Texas, there are State heroes like Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and William Barrett Travis. Similar to these great men, I would like to recognize one of Houston's most influential leaders and citizens, Ross Sterling. On a farm in Anahuac located in southeast Texas, Ross Sterling was born on February 11, 1875. After completing a fourth grade level education, he began working as a clerk at age 12. The experience led him at the age of 21 to launch his own merchandising business. Just seven years later, Sterling opened a feed store in Sour Lake, Texas. Despite his fourth grade education, Sterling could have taught a course about the hardworking man-Work Ethic 101. In 1910, Sterling's big break came when he purchased two oil wells; leading to the charter of The Humble Oil and Refining Company, which later became Exxon. Now the rest is as they say--Texas history. Sterling went on to open many banks, one of which was the Humble State Bank. He also was a newspaper publisher after buying the Houston Post, and owned KPRC radio station. In addition to these many endeavors, he owned several properties in the Houston area and was involved with the Houston Port Commission. Sterling entered Texas politics in the late 1920's when then-Governor Dan Moody appointed him as Chairman of the Texas State Highway Commission. Under his leadership, the State of Texas developed its first paved highway system. Sterling became known as ``the man who brought Texas out of the mud'' as a result of the project. In 1930, Sterling defeated primary opponent Ma Ferguson, former governor of Texas, in a runoff and became the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. He easily defeated Republican William Talbot to become Governor of Texas. The story could end there, but Texas politics is about as rough and tumble as the state we live in, and just about as diverse. Controversy plagued his first year in office, mostly concerning cotton prices and oil restrictions in East Texas counties. The East Texas oil fields were booming which led to a depression in the oil industry. To decrease production, Governor Sterling declared a drilling moratorium in four East Texas counties, ordering the National Guard to enforce it. As a result, Governor Sterling was defeated for the Democratic Party nomination in 1932 by former opponent Ma Ferguson. Out of work and in need of a job, Sterling returned to Houston bankrupt. All he had was a $100 Liberty Bond and sure determination to build another empire. Sterling decided to return to his first love-- oil. Using the Liberty Bond he again founded his own oil company, this time naming it Sterling Oil and Refining Company. By the end of World War II, Sterling had managed to rebuild his fortune. He served as President of Sterling Oil for 13 years until his retirement at the age of 71. Ross Sterling passed away in 1949 at the age of 74. In all of his endeavors, Sterling found a way to give back to his beloved Houston; leaving a legacy continuing long after his death. Two schools in my district bear his moniker, Ross S. Sterling High School in Baytown and Ross Sterling Middle School in Humble. A library, in Baytown, is also named for him, Sterling Municipal Library. However, one of his most notable contributions in my district was donating his home in La Porte to the Houston Optimist Club. In 1947, The Houston Optimist Club donated Sterling's former mansion to the Boys and Girls Harbor, a home that cares for children in crisis. Sterling also served on the board of trustees for the Hermann Hospital Estate for over 30 years. The backbone of our Nation is formed from hard-working citizens like Ross Sterling who pull themselves up by their bootstraps when times get tough, and still find ways to give back to their community. Ross Sterling is an example not only to Houstonians, but to all citizens of our great Nation. That is what makes America what it is: the land of the free and the home of the brave. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this was a good day. And one of the reasons it's a good day is because Gabby Giffords is back. Mr. Speaker, she is one of the best things in this Congress. To me, she came back tonight, cast her vote, the first vote since she was attacked. And she is a perfect example of bipartisanship. I have had the privilege to work with her on the issue of border security. And while she was in the hospital recovering in my hometown of Houston, Texas, her staff in Arizona hosted me so I could go down to the border and see firsthand the problems of border security in Arizona. I think she is a model for the attitude that we should all have. She is tenacious and she is relentless in her love for America and her desire to do what's right and represent the people in Arizona that elected her here. So welcome back, Gabby Giffords. You were missed, and we're glad you're back. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, when called upon by their country to go into service, Texans have always been up to the challenge. And, in fact, today, serving somewhere in the world, one out of 10 people wearing the American uniform is from the state of Texas. Texans are always on the front lines in the defense of freedom. It goes all the way back to 1836 when the first Texas veteran found himself at a beat-up old Spanish church in Central Texas that we now call the Alamo. The Alamo was more than 100 years old at the time that he and 186 other brave Texans defended freedom. The defenders of the Alamo were determined to seek liberty for the Republic of Texas. These veterans just like all of those who have followed risked their lives in the name of freedom. To be a member of the United States military is a gift, a sacrifice and it is an honor. Every day our warriors risk their lives, and today I would like to commend a special infantry battalion close to the heart of many Texans. The 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, or 1/23, also known as ``The Lone Star Battalion,'' is a home-grown group of soldiers headquartered in Houston, containing approximately 800 Marines and Navy/Corpsmen. The Lone Star Battalion has played a most significant and important part of history. I am proud to recognize and honor the service of the men and women of the 1/23 Marines. The history of this unit is one of many great successes. Activated in 1942 in North Carolina, they were sent to the Pacific to aid in the United States' ``island-hopping'' campaign against Japan during World War II. They participated in many battles during this time including Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. Post-World War II, the battalion was activated once again, this time out of Houston on July 1, 1962. After the 9/11 attacks, it was mobilized for the first time since World War II in support of Operation Desert Storm. Because of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, the battalion continued to support the global war on terrorism by participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It is currently deployed in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Ronald Reagan said this about the United States Marines: ``Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines, they don't have that problem.'' Recently, the Lone Star Battalion worked with coalition and the Afghan National Army troops to build a school in the small village of Abad, Afghanistan. Not only is this the first school the village has ever seen, the civilian enrollment is projected to be around 50 students come the start of the school year. This is a critical development considering the literacy rate of the total population in Afghanistan is 28.1 percent. Acknowledging that it was imperative for the ANA to establish trust and accountability for the civilians they defend, the Marines were eager to let the ANA take the lead role in the construction process of the school. It seems as though not only are these exceptional Marines training the ANA and performing their respective duties, but they are also aiding in forging a bond between a young, willing military and a civilian people in need of a sense of security. The sons of liberty and daughters of democracy throughout America, and especially Texas, continue to join the military. They understand that our nation is at war, yet they choose to charge headlong into battle. There are not many of us who would be willing to volunteer to leap into the lion's den of Afghanistan where the cowardly enemy hides in caves. There have been two warriors killed from the Lone Star Battalion this year in Afghanistan: SSgt. Jeremy Smith and Navy Corpsman Benjamin Rast. We shall always remember Smith and Rast and the lives they gave for our freedom. It has been said that wars may be fought by weapons, but they are won by warriors. It is America's warriors who pay the price for our freedom. With the recent demise of the most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, the Lone Star Battalion has rejoiced knowing that the Al Qaeda leader is dead but remains humble knowing the fight for freedom is not yet won. I am truly honored to represent many of these fine Marines in Congress and proud to know that there are so many Texans abroad aiding in the security, development and protection of the Afghan and American interests. I sincerely thank each person who has served our country yesterday, today and tomorrow. Without your service we would not be the greatest country the world has ever known. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an exemplary staffer, Ben Parmentier, Congressman Jim Costa's Victims' Rights Caucus Coordinator. As co-founder and co-chair of the Victims' Rights Caucus with Congressman Costa, I have appreciated Ben's consistent hard work and enthusiasm on behalf of victims. He always made the Victims' Rights Caucus a priority, ensuring that projects were completed in a timely manner and events ran smoothly. As Ben heads off to graduate school, we will miss his commitment to the Victims' Rights Caucus and passion for victims' rights. The Victims' Rights Caucus was fortunate to have a dedicated staffer like Ben. I wish him success in all his future endeavors and know he will excel as he did in his work on Capitol Hill. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. In this time of money crisis, we talk about the fact that we need revenue. Congress seems to be addicted to taxation as a form of revenue. But there's another way to raise revenue. Did you know, Mr. Speaker, that 27 percent of the land owned in the United States is owned by Uncle Sam? Fifty-two percent of it in the West is owned by Uncle Sam. How much is that? That's the size of all of Western Europe. So maybe we ought to think about Uncle Sam selling some of that land to Americans, not the National Parks, not the wetlands, these sensitive areas, but that land owned by the Bureau of Land Management that is not in use now. And then we sell that land, some of it, and then it will be revenue-producing because the people who buy it will pay taxes. Local taxes go to schools and help those schools. Something to think about. In this time of raising revenue, maybe Uncle Sam could do without 27 percent of all of the land in America. Let Americans own part of America, not just the Federal Government. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in less than one month, Americans will observe the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks. Those who witnessed the events of September 11th will always remember that day and what they were doing. It's like those of us that were alive when President Kennedy was assassinated. We remember that day; we remember what we were doing. And the old timers, they remember Pearl Harbor and what they were doing on December 7, 1941. September 11th is a day that we as a Nation should always remember because it reminds us of the preciousness of this Nation and her belief in freedom and liberty. It is something that is without a doubt worth preserving. As we remember where we were on that fateful day, it is even more important that we remember the 3,000 individuals that lost their lives that day. Many who lost their lives were heroes trying to rescue those trapped by the attacks. When those Twin Towers were set aflame, those volunteers, those firefighters, those emergency medical folks and those police officers, they rushed as hard as they could to get to that terror from the sky. As a result of their heroism, many got to live another day. There are countless stories of the selfless bravery which occurred on 9/11, how Americans reacted extraordinarily in order to rescue one and other. In the face of attack, we pulled through with a remarkable spirit of unity and compassion that swept through our country. Shortly after the tragic September 11, 2001 attacks on our great Country, Americans all over the world raised up `old glory' in patriotic understanding of the events which had just befallen our country. The American Flag has always been a symbol of bringing our Nation together in good times or bad. One of these many flags was the symbol of our Nation's perseverance, was the Flag which was flown over Ground Zero. Still today this flag continues to fly, all around this great Nation in support of our heroes, because of Texas Patriot, Chris Heisler. In the aftermath of September 11th, Chris Heisler, like many other Americans felt compelled to take action after witnessing his country come under attack. When Chris was gifted this patriotic flag by Texas House of Representatives, he helped organize one of the longest police motorcades in the history of the United States to honor it. The American flag is a symbol to revere, respect, and honor and Chris' profound respect for America's symbol should be commended. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, patriotism surged in the United States. Many young men and women enlisted to help fight the war on terrorism. Chris Heisler was part of this movement, and at the age of 34 he put his business career on hold to enlist in the U.S. Army. While serving his country, Chris carried his revered flag with him to Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq so it could fly with soldiers in combat zones. Soon soldiers began to refer to this flag as one of honor, as a result the flag is now named the United States Honor Flag. Ten years later, The United States Honor Flag continues to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty protecting the freedoms we all hold dear. The United States Honor Flag has been to many places including Ground Zero in New York, the Pentagon, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Presidential Libraries, VA Hospitals, and to countless sporting events. The flag has flown for more than 1,000 fallen soldiers and at funerals for police officers and firefighters. Recently it went to Space! It traveled on board the shuttle Atlantis' final mission. It is one single flag. There's a lot of security details involved in transporting the U.S. Honor Flag. It is kept in a secure case. The Department of Homeland Security has sewn microchips into the seam of the flag to verify its authenticity. The flag is constantly traveling. It is a national treasure that is respected and guarded. The betterment in our country often originates from the efforts of just one person. The establishment of the Honor Flag serves as an important reminder of the daily sacrifices our Nation's heroes make, and recognizes the freedoms of Old Glory. In recognition of Chris Heisler's patriotism, in remembrance of the tragic events on September 11, 2001 and for those who continue to fight to preserve our liberty, I am proud to salute Chris Heisler for his loyalty to America, and to the United States Flag. We should remember those that died, those that got to live, and those that continue to fight for our freedoms today in places all over the world in the name of liberty and freedom. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, time is up. It is time for the administration to quit stalling and make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline project, the pipeline that comes from our friends in Canada from Alberta all the way down to my congressional district in southeast Texas, to the refineries in Port Arthur, Texas. The House has done its job this week by passing a bill to move this decision along. Now it's the Senate's turn to pass this bill so that the administration finally makes a decision on the Keystone XL project that will create thousands of American jobs and decrease our dependence on unfriendly nations for energy. I commend my friend from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) for passing this legislation and being the spearhead of this legislation. All that has to happen is the State Department has to make a decision and the administration has to support that decision one way or the other. It's been 3 years for the administration to make a decision, yes or no, on the XL pipeline. It's time to fish or cut bait. Pick a horse and ride it. The administration must make a decision. And this should be, to me, an easy choice for this administration. Either they can force Americans to continue to rely on unfriendly foreign countries for our energy, like Venezuela and the Middle Eastern dictators, by depriving Americans of a reliable source of oil at a time when gas prices are around $4, or they can work with our friends in the north to supply over 1.4 million barrels of oil per day. Pipelines are the proven and safe, efficient source of energy. Best of all, this project creates thousands of jobs at a time when unemployment in this country is 9.2 percent. And it is climbing. I would think this job-creating, shovel-ready project--which my liberal friends always talk about--would be something they would support and the administration would support. As the administration continues to stonewall our own domestic production, we must safely and immediately look for ways to meet energy needs. The country needs energy. It needs jobs. This project provides both. What's the holdup, Mr. President? For every barrel of oil shipped a thousand miles, less than one teaspoon of liquid is lost from a pipeline. Transporting goods by pipeline has the lowest carbon footprint as compared with other transportation modes. Crude oil has to get to America some way. It either comes by barge or truck or rail or marine, and pipelines historically are the safest way to transport crude oil. Attacking a pipeline on environmental grounds seems to be absurd to me. Pipelines have been the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to transport oil and natural gas. A medium-sized pipeline, which is about 150,000 barrels a day, requires operating more than 750 trucks or a 75-car train every day to transport the same amount of crude oil. Transporting oil through a pipeline is far safer than using transportation by oil tankers. When an oil tanker has a major oil spill, millions of barrels of oil can be spilled in a matter of a few minutes, a few hours, or just a few days. Nearly half a million miles of natural gas and crude oil pipelines are in the United States--500,000 miles of pipeline. Over half of these are in the State of Texas alone--270,000 miles of pipeline. And about one-third of all of the Nation's pipelines, I understand, go through the energy capital of the world, my district in southeast Texas. If we don't use the crude oil from Canada in this pipeline, the Canadians could very easily, instead of having a north-to-south pipeline, have a pipeline east-to-west and pipe it to the west coast, and then ship it to our good buddies, the Chinese, who want to buy it. You know, America's energy plan seems to be twofold: send money to Brazil and let the Brazilians drill off their coast, and we'll buy their crude oil; and the second part is, make sure we use those cute little curly CFL light bulbs. And that's it. It's time that we take care of ourselves. This is a good project for America, American jobs, and a way to get crude oil into the United States. It's time for the White House to make a decision. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, over the past 10 years, the EPA has sent almost $100 million in taxpayer money to fund green projects in foreign countries. In 2010 alone, the EPA gave 18 grants to our good friends, the Chinese. Why does the EPA do that? We owe the Chinese over $1 trillion. Why are we adding to our debt in misguided hopes that they can clean up the smoggy skies in China with American grant money? There is more. Why is the Breathe Easy, Jakarta program in Indonesia the responsibility of the taxpayers in Houston, Texas? Well, it's not. I don't breathe easier knowing green money from the U.S. is financing green development in Indonesia. At a time when we are facing ``somewhat'' of a financial problem, we can't afford to be trying to green the rest of the world too. I'm for protecting our environment, but we do not have the money to spend in hopes of controlling pollution in other countries. Let's green America first, not China. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, delay, delay, delay is the administration's energy plan. The Keystone XL pipeline project would bring 700,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in southeast Texas. This would provide more energy for America. The President has had over 2 years to approve the project, but the State Department, the EPA, and out-of-towners have stonewalled the project on alleged environmental grounds. Pipelines are the most cost-effective and more environmentally sound ways to transport oil and natural gas. Oil must reach our refineries somehow. We can either import oil from a safe, reliable pipeline from our neighbors or on risky tankers coming from unstable Middle Eastern countries. Even the EPA should be able to figure this out after 2 years of delay, delay, delay. Our neighbors in Canada have developed a safe way to obtain crude oil from their oil sands. Unlike many of the countries in the world, the Canadians are concerned about environmental issues in crude oil production. They will sell us their crude oil. It will be piped to refineries in my district in southeast Texas and will be refined into energy and byproducts of crude oil. And it will create jobs in America. If the White House fails to act, the Canadians will take their oil someplace else. The Chinese are interested in buying that oil, so it's going to be used and it will go to China. Why not let it come to America? Some environmental extremists are against the project. Of course they are. They are against every type of energy that comes from below the ground. But they have no answers for our energy needs. They say they want green energy. Well, I do too, but there isn't sufficient green energy yet to run America. So they're against everything, it seems, except those curly CFL light bulbs that come from China. They're all in favor of those. The radicals are against nuclear energy because, well, the Japanese had an earthquake that caused reactors to overheat, so no more nuclear energy. They are against natural gas because they don't like fracking, even though safe fracking has been around for decades and they don't even understand what fracking does. They don't want America to use coal even though our resources are abundant and new technologies have made clean coal safer and more efficient. They don't like wind turbines because running turbines at night in west Texas may bother the flight pattern of bats. They don't want more offshore drilling; certainly can't have that. And, of course, they are against domestic crude oil anyway because they hate American oil companies. So what's the answer? Well, the only White House plan that has been offered is to give American money to Brazil so Brazil can drill off its shores and then America will buy their crude oil. But no more offshore drilling for us it seems. If we're going to buy crude oil from foreign countries, let's buy it from our neighbor, our ally, Canada. Or do the progressives prefer we keep buying crude oil from dictators like Chavez in Venezuela or continue to be held hostage by the monopoly of OPEC and Middle Eastern countries? Or do they just want us to do without energy altogether? Meanwhile, gasoline is around $4 a gallon. So it seems to me the progressives, if they get their way, will have no progress in energy self-reliance, and we'll regress and go back to the horse and buggy days. But whoa, wait a minute, Mr. Speaker, we can't go back to using horses because they, too, cause pollution. Mr. President, approve the pipeline. Show some leadership. Time to start making progress on taking care of America's energy needs. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding. I also admire the gentleman from Florida with the exotic tie and his comments. But I stand in support of the rule and, of course, the underlying bill. The rule is a fair rule. I represent southeast Texas. We still think we're the energy capital of the world. The pipeline from Canada will go down into southeast Texas, Port Arthur, Texas, which actually has high unemployment. The pipeline will go to the refineries. The refineries will be able to expand and hire refinery workers to refine that crude oil. I think that's a good idea. The Canadian oil sands will be able to produce 175 barrels of oil reserves, second only to Saudi Arabia. The idea that we need to move away from Middle Eastern oil is a good idea. Maybe we ought to support our loyal allies that are in a stable country. A medium-sized pipeline, just to give you some statistics, pumps about 150,000 barrels a day. To replace that, you would have to have 750 trucks a day or a 75-car train every day. Pipelines are the safest way to transport crude oil. Seventy-five percent of the accidents occur with a third party causing the accident to the pipeline. But if we don't make a decision--that's what we're asking the President to do--make a decision. And as my friend from Florida knows, being former judges, we made decisions. It didn't take us 3 years to make a decision. You get the evidence; you make a ruling. And it has taken, I think, the Federal Government way too long to make a decision on this issue. But failure to act--delay, delay, delay--is tantamount to a ``no,'' and eventually the Canadians will sell that crude oil that they have to China or other buyers. So I think it's quite important that we go ahead and make a decision, have the Federal Government rule on this issue. There are 500,000 miles of pipelines into the United States; about half of those run through Texas. I'm told that a third of all those pipelines run through my congressional district. We have a lot of pipelines. And I think it's important that we continue to try to take care of ourselves, use a safe product from Canada, make sure that all the environmental requirements are imposed in making this pipeline that creates jobs in America--build a pipeline, create jobs in southeast Texas for Americans and the refinery business--because we still rely on crude oil. And last I would say, I agree, we need to eventually have green energy, but we don't have that now. So if we cut off all of this, what will we use?