Ted Poe

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. In closing, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations reports that North Korea trades in missiles and nuclear technology with not only Syria and Iran, but even Burma. And this is a grave situation since China won't do anything, and North Korea takes our western money with the empty promises of peace, but still rattles its sabers and soon will rattle its nuclear weapons. The United States must finally adopt a policy that holds both North Korea and China accountable for their belligerent actions against South Korea and the free world. I do want to thank the chairman for bringing this strong resolution to the House floor. I urge all my colleagues to adopt this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Djou).

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong, vigorous support of this resolution condemning the continued belligerent behavior of North Korea. Pyongyang's brinkmanship threatens the peace and security of not only the Korean Peninsula but the whole region. The artillery shelling of a South Korean island last week was the first such attack directed at civilians since the Korean War in the 1950s. We join our South Korean allies in mourning the deaths of both civilians and young Marines and offer our sincere condolences to the victims' families. In addressing another Korean crisis, as a presidential candidate almost six decades ago, Dwight Eisenhower said, ``In this anxious autumn for America one fact looms above all others in our people's minds. One tragedy challenges all men dedicated to the work of peace. This word is Korea.'' For the shelling which we condemn today, and the treacherous attack on civilians, is merely the tip of the North Korean spear of hostility. Another revelation came a mere week earlier of a North Korean secret uranium enrichment plant, a revelation described by a visiting American physicist as ``stunning.'' The plant also laid bare the duplicity, deceit, and treachery with which North Korea has approached the whole denuclearization issue for the past 20 years. The unconscionable revelations of classified information in the past few days by WikiLeaks have nonetheless opened our eyes to the full extent of the North Korean cooperation with the little tyrant from the desert, Ahdmadinejad, and the Iranian regime on missile technology. Thanks to Pyongyang's proliferation, Iranian warheads, possibly carrying a nuclear payload, can now reach American allies in the Middle East and even as far away as Europe. We have also learned that Air Iran transports landed at a Beijing airport to carry missile equipment from North Korea to Iran. There is indeed a North Korean-Iranian axis of evil with malice toward mankind. Its linkage runs right through the heart of Beijing, China. Does China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, have no guilt or have no shame when it blatantly disregards the Security Council's resolutions directed at both Pyongyang and Tehran? In that anxious autumn of 1952, Dwight Eisenhower pointed to his World War II experience as a roadmap for dealing with the dictators of Pyongyang. ``I know something of this totalitarian mind,'' the General said. ``Through the years of World War II, I carried a heavy burden of decision in the free world's crusade against the tyranny then threatening us all. ``World War II should have taught us all one lesson. The lesson is this: to vacillate, to hesitate, to appease--even by merely betraying unsteady purpose--is to feed the dictator's appetite for conquest and to invite war itself.'' Without firm resolve, more Six Party tea parties in Beijing, as proposed by China, will prove as meaningless as those that have occurred in the past. Beijing must come to understand and clearly demonstrate that it will no longer provide diplomatic, economic, and even military cover for Pyongyang's dangerously recklessly behavior. From the Mediterranean to the Yellow Sea, through missiles and artillery, North Korea has become an increasing threat to the peace and the stability of the community of all nations. China must firmly rein in its out-of-control puppet state before events spiral completely out of control. The risks are grave, Mr. Speaker. Our resolve must be firm as we stand with our South Korean allies in their hour of potential peril. I urge my colleagues to give their vigorous support to this resolution, which I am proud to be a cosponsor. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, the people who want to build a mosque at Ground Zero now want American taxpayers to pay $5 million to help build that mosque. Those who beg for American money to build an insult mosque on Ground Zero disrespect the 3,000 people of all faiths, nations, and religions that were murdered by a radical Islamic faction on 9/11. Ground Zero is sacred American soil. It's where America was ambushed by killers from the sky. A taxpayer-funded mosque at the site comes across as a memorial and tribute to the radical terrorists that murdered in the name of religion. Such a plan is unwise, insensitive, and shameful. Those who wish to build a mosque should instead build a monument and a memorial to the victims of 9/11--victims that include Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Otherwise, Ground Zero is off-limits. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it was dusk when he left Thailand and entered Laotian airspace. Soon he was flying into North Vietnam as darkness came over the horizon. It was his 25th mission into North Vietnam flying an F-4 Phantom jet. The date was April 16, 1966. The pilot was Sam Johnson, United States Air Force colonel, and he was doing his second tour of duty in Vietnam. He was flying with the fighter squadron called Satan's Angels. He was a career pilot who had already flown 62 combat missions during the Korean War flying an F-86 Sabre jet. Colonel Johnson also flew with the famed Air Force Thunderbirds. This is a photograph of Colonel Sam Johnson, United States Air Force. But this day of April 16th, 1966, Colonel Johnson was shot down by ground fire from the North Vietnamese. He was captured, he was put in a prisoner of war camp, and, Mr. Speaker, he was in that POW camp for 7 years. Because of the way that he would not give in to the torture and to the interrogation, they moved him to the famous ``Hanoi Hilton'' and a place called ``Alcatraz.'' Alcatraz was where 11 POWs were put because they were the most obstinate POWs, leaders of the other POWs. They were hard-nosed and they had to be segregated, and they called themselves the ``Alcatraz gang.'' They were defiant, and the North Vietnamese called this man right here ``Die Hard.'' They tortured him, but they got no information from him. During those 7 years he was beaten and tortured, but he never broke down. So then they put him in solitary confinement for 4 years in a cell 3-feet-wide by 9 feet, and he was there for 4 years. During that 4 years, all that was in that cell was a lightbulb that they kept on 24 hours a day. During the nighttime, they put him into leg irons, and during that 4 years, he never saw or talked to another American. While in the POW camp, he and the other POWs communicated with each other with a code by tapping on the wall, and during that time he memorized the names of 374 other POWs. He kept that memory going so that when he got away or was released or escaped, he would be able to tell their loved ones who they were and where they were. The torture continued every day. One example was this: One morning the North Vietnamese took him out of his cell and lined him up to shoot him. They told him they were going to kill him in a firing squad. They lined him up. Armed with AK-47s, they pulled the trigger, but there was no ammunition in those AK-47s. They laughed and made fun of Colonel Sam, and all he said was, ``Is that the best you can do?'' For food he ate weeds, pig fat and rice. He went down from 200 pounds to 120 pounds. And after 7 years of confinement, he was finally released with other POWs. He suffered torture and broken bones during that time that he still suffers from today. He continued to serve in the United States Air Force for 29 total years. While he was in that POW camp, his wife back home in Texas, Shirley, had known that he was shot down, but she didn't know for 2 years where Sam was, whether he was alive, dead, or missing in action. They have now been married for 60 years. After he left the United States Air Force, he served in the statehouse in Texas, had his own business, and then in 1991 he came and served with distinction here in the United States Congress. Today, Colonel Sam celebrates his 80th birthday. Down the street, he and a lot of friends, Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and family, are honoring him on his birthday. You know, Sam returned home to the United States after his torture and confinement in the POW camps. You notice right here, this patch, Mr. Speaker? You see what this patch says, which is from the 31st Fighter Wing? It says ``Return With Honor.'' Sam Johnson returned to America with honor. He is a special breed. He is the American breed. Where does America find such men as Sam Johnson? He is one of those. And he is that special warrior during even the time he was a captive warrior that never forsook his duty and never forsook his honor. So, Colonel Sam, we thank you for your service to the United States of America during war and during peacetime. Thank you for serving this great country. You are truly a hero among us. Here are the commendations that Colonel Sam Johnson received while serving in the United States Air Force: Commendations 2 Silver Stars 2 Legions of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star w/Combat ``V'' (Valor) 2 Purple Hearts 4 Air Medals POW Medal 3 USAF Outstanding Unit Citations And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, over 2,200 people have been killed just this year in drug-related border violence in Mexico, and some have been Americans. The violence is flooding into American communities. Bullets are literally flying across the Rio Grande River into El Paso, Texas. The drug cartels shoot their way across the border into America, and people are scared. The Federal Government has a two-part border security plan: one, put up warning signs not to travel parts of America because of the violent drug cartels; and, two, sue States that try to protect their people from illegal entry. That is no competent security plan. One real answer is to pass legislation to put 10,000 National Guard troops on the border, to be paid for by the Federal Government and supervised by the State Governors. How much more violence must occur on the border before the Feds actually do the job the Constitution requires? Protect the Nation. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I recently got a letter from a grieving family in Florida. Their young 21-year-old son was killed 3 years ago in a senseless homicide by an illegal. The family is still seeking justice, however. This is their son's story. On August 15, 2007, Brandon Randolph Michael was on the way to his lunch break. This is Brandon's photograph right here. He was driving to the credit union to cash his payroll check. His vehicle was struck by a car driven by a twice-deported illegal named Mario Tellez. Brandon's car flipped over several times and landed on its hood. Brandon was thrown into a ditch. The illegal driver, Mario Tellez, got out of his vehicle and calmly sat on the curb. He did nothing to help Brandon. He did not call for aid. He did nothing but watch Brandon struggle when he took his last breaths. Tellez refused to admit he was driving the vehicle, and Brandon's family had to go through a torturous, lengthy trial. Brandon's family found out that Tellez had been in this country illegally for 7 years. He was working and sending his money back to Mexico, even after having already been deported two times. It took a jury only 20 minutes to find him guilty of driving without a license and causing the death of another person, that being Brandon. The defendant was sentenced to only 2 years in the penitentiary, 2 years for taking the life of another individual. Tellez has now served the 2 years for murdering Brandon Michael, and, upon release, he was deported yet again. But here is the rest of the story. Tellez's friend, a Richard Curtis, admitted during the trial that he harbored the illegal fugitive for years and hid him out, and Curtis was never prosecuted. It was Richard Curtis' automobile that Mario Tellez was driving when he killed Brandon Michael. Curtis worked for the Federal Government. And, get this. He worked for the IRS. Don't the laws apply to Federal bureaucrats as well as other people in this country? So the family asked the Florida State Attorney's Office, ICE, State, and local law enforcement officers to enforce the law. The family is asking them to charge Richard Curtis with harboring, aiding, and abetting an illegal fugitive in this country. But no one has prosecuted this apparent lawbreaker. And why not? No one seems to be talking. Brandon's family deserves some answers. Brandon's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Michael, wanted me to know how precious their son Brandon was to them. Here is what they said about him. They said he was a fun person to be around. He loved life, he celebrated with people, and he was seldom ever sad. He made others happy. He was looking forward to getting married and starting a family. And he was a Dallas Cowboys fan. He played the keyboard. And he played several different sports growing up, from T-ball as a small child to football in high school. He grew up with a loving middle-class family that raised him to respect people and respect the law. Brandon loved giving to those that had less than him. He helped feed the hungry. He often called his friends and asked them for blankets, coats and shoes so he could give them away to the needy in his area. While in middle school, Brandon and his sister were pages for the local city council meetings. He worked hard for the car that he was driving on that dreadful day he was killed by a person illegally in this country. Brandon loved animals and had just about every type during his childhood. He wanted to be a veterinarian. This is a real American family, suffering real consequences because of lax immigration and border enforcement laws in this country. Brandon's life was cut short by a twice-deported illegal who should not have been in the country in the first place. Brandon's family is a very close-knit group. They told me they have worked hard to raise children that loved the Lord and loved others and loved this country. The family said others things. The father, Richard Michael, well, first of all, he defended this country for 20 years in the military, and the family feels as though our country has turned a deaf ear on their plight and their situation. Our government officials that they have trusted seem to have turned their backs on this case and Brandon's death. The time to enforce the laws in this country is now, and they asked me how many American children such as their precious son have to be killed at the hands of illegals before our government gets serious about enforcing the laws of the land? They said, ``We cannot afford to ignore this enormous problem any longer. We don't want another family to endure what we have been through and are still going through.'' Mr. Speaker, Brandon Randolph Michael is worth the fight to get it right in this country, to enforce the laws that we have, to prosecute the guilty, to deport criminal aliens, and to secure the borders, because it is a national security issue to protect the lives of people like this. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, a trip to the airport these days leaves Americans with embarrassing choices. Law-abiding citizens can bare it all through a peekaboo body scanner--or they can get groped in a pat-down search by a Federal employee. Now that's a real choice. There is no evidence these new body scanners make us more secure. But there is evidence that former Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff made money hawking these full body scanners. The underwear bomber tried to blow up a plane over Detroit last Christmas. Shortly thereafter, Chertoff went on a media tour promoting the full body scanners. This former Homeland Security chief told everyone we had to have the full body scanners at airports to be safe. Too bad he didn't disclose he was getting paid to sell these intrusive devices. Isn't that lovely? Meanwhile, the populace is giving up more rights in the name of alleged security. These body scanners are a violation of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. There must be a better way to have security at airports than taking pornographic photographs of our citizens, including children, and then giving apparent kickbacks to political hacks. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill which makes corrections to the implementation legislation for The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. Under current law, U.S. citizens can generally adopt foreign children and have those children considered immediate relatives for immigration purposes if the children are adopted while under the age of 16. However, adoptions are also allowed up to the age of 18 in instances in which the U.S. citizens are seeking to adopt an alien child after having already adopted a sibling of the child. Unfortunately, the implementing legislation to The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions did not include the latter provision. Therefore, the Immigration and Nationality Act's provision allowing adoptions of siblings under the age of 18 does not apply to children adopted from countries that are signatories to The Hague Convention. This bill simply extends the provision to these sibling adoptions. The bill also contains one other provision to The Hague Convention. Under current law, prospective immigrants have to be vaccinated against certain diseases before they can come to the United States. There is an exemption for adopted children if the children are 10 years of age or younger and the adoptive parents certify the children will receive the necessary vaccinations within 30 days of coming to the United States. This exemption was enacted in 1997 to ensure that parents don't have to subject children to often unsafe immunizations in foreign countries. However, the exemption does not apply to children adopted from countries that are signatories to The Hague Convention. The bill simply expands the exemption to cover children adopted from The Hague countries as well. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I want to thank Representative John Lewis, the gentleman from Georgia, for authoring this legislation and for his long, long work, many years in the civil rights movement, along with the chairman, for bringing this legislation to the House floor and his work in the civil rights movement. This resolution recognizes and honors the 50th anniversary of Ruby Bridges. Now, unlike the chairman, I think 50 years was a long time ago, but maybe it wasn't. But it was 50 years any way you look at it since Ruby Bridges played a role in desegregating a previously all- white public elementary school in the South. I was in elementary school at the same time she was, but not the same school having been in Texas and going to school there. In 1954, this all started when the United States Supreme Court made possible desegregation of American schools in Brown v. Board of Education. Six years later, Ruby Bridges, an African American child, a first grader, would help further the goal of the Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Sometimes we have to leave it up to the kids to get things done. In this case, it was a first grader, a 6-year-old in elementary school who just wanted to go to school, and she was determined to get an education. In 1960, she had started to attend William Frantz Elementary School. It was an all-white school in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the New Orleans school system. She endured hateful crowds and threats to her physical safety. White parents initially pulled their kids out of the school, and only one teacher taught Bridges for more than a year. Robert Coles, a child psychiatrist who provided counseling to this young girl, later wrote a book, a children's book called ``The Story of Ruby Bridges,'' to educate other children about this child's role in desegregating not just one school but really, in essence, all the schools in the United States both in the South and the North. The courage demonstrated by Bridges and her parents continues to serve as an inspiration for children and adults. After 50 years, her example still encourages us to uphold the principles of equality and respect in our own lives and in our own culture. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for bringing not just this legislation, but all the legislation that has been brought up today to the House floor, and to emphasize the point that he made: Good legislation, most important legislation, is bipartisan legislation. What most Americans don't realize, most legislation is bipartisan that is passed through this House, and it will continue to be so. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The copyright bill before us today is an important housekeeping measure that contains largely technical and clarifying amendments to title 17 of the United States Code. For the few changes that are more substantive in nature, they are noncontroversial and are recognized as improvements to a code that is all too often perceived as complex. S. 3689, the Copyright Cleanup, Clarification, and Corrections Act of 2010, was originally introduced and passed by the other body on the 2nd day of August. Since that time, the House Committee on the Judiciary has worked in a bipartisan manner to consider the measure and to incorporate modest improvements to the bill. While I expect the majority to detail most of the bill's provisions, I do want to note some significant provisions, including an important change from the measure that passed the other body in August. That change is in the deletion of language contained in section 4(a) that would amend the Copyright Act to permit the owner of an exclusive right to sublicense that right or further transfer it if the original copyright owner had not expressly prohibited these actions in a prior written agreement. This provision raised a number of concerns among copyright owners who feared that those who had relied on a prior judicial decision in the case of Gardner v. Nike might be disadvantaged by such a change. In recognition of these serious concerns, both the chairman and ranking member agreed this issue ought not be addressed in this measure. Another substantive improvement that is worth noting is contained in section 5(b) of the bill, as amended. That provision makes clear that regulations issued by the copyright royalty judges are to be approved by the Librarian of Congress and subject to review of Federal courts. This bill also contains one amendment to trademark as opposed to copyright law. That amendment, which is contained in section 6(h), amends a study requirement that was included in Public Law 111-146, the Trademark Technical Amendments Act, earlier this year. In closing, the purpose of S. 3689, the Copyright Cleanup, Clarification, and Corrections Act of 2010, is to make modest but needed changes to the Copyright Act. I urge my colleagues to suspend the rules and pass the bill with the amendments contained herein. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, my district is in hurricane alley. Since I've been elected to Congress, we've had five hurricanes: Katrina, Rita, Humberto, Gustav, and Ike. Hurricane season is over in southeast Texas, but hurricane season came late this year to D.C. And as I predicted in September, the fall forecast in Washington was for gale-force winds. And sure enough, the hurricane hit D.C. on November 2. We warned them. We told them all about the hurricane warning signs. We even gave them an evacuation plan: Stop spending trillions of taxpayer dollars. Say ``no'' to nationalized health care. Stop the government takeover of everything that moves. Stop the taxes, and quit borrowing money from the Chinese. And most importantly, listen to the American people. But they didn't listen, and a hurricane named after the American people blew through town. And it was a category 5, with 63 electoral casualties. The elites and big government control gang have sown the wind, and now they are reaping the whirlwind. And that's just the way it is.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I support H.R. 6397, and I want to commend Mr. Duncan from Tennessee for introducing this legislation. Mr. Speaker, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, if a U.S. citizen dies while serving honorably in an active duty status in the United States Armed Forces as a result of injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by combat, the citizen's alien spouse can still seek permanent residence as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen. However, the INA also provides that the term ``spouse'' does ``not include a spouse by reason of any marriage ceremony where the contracting parties thereto are not physically present in the presence of each other unless the marriage shall have been consummated.'' This provision recently came to the attention of Congress through the case of Hotaru Ferschke. Mrs. Ferschke is the widow of late Marine Corps Sergeant Michael Ferschke. Hotaru was born in Okinawa, Japan, and met Sergeant Ferschke there in 2007 when he was stationed at Camp Schwab. The couple dated for more than a year before he deployed to Iraq on April 15, 2008. The couple learned that Hotaru was pregnant in March of 2008. They had planned to marry before she became pregnant. Mr. Ferschke and Hotaru were married by proxy via telephone on July 10, 2008, while Sergeant Ferschke was in Iraq. They were never able to see each other again after their marriage because Sergeant Ferschke was killed in the line of duty, in combat, on August 10, 2008. According to the INA, the Ferschkes' marriage is not recognized for immigration purposes because it was never ``consummated.'' However, the State Department and the Marine Corps both agree that the relationship was bona fide. Today's legislation is designed to help Hotaru and other widows in this terrible situation. It provides an exception to the consummation requirement when the failure to consummate the marriage is attributable to physical separation due to the deployment overseas of one of the spouses in an active duty status in the United States Armed Forces. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Yes, of course, this is an issue that's not partisan issue. As my friend, former Sheriff Rick Flores has said, this is not a Republican or Democrat issue. This is a red, white, and blue issue. He used to be a border sheriff in Laredo. There are those who say, well, the answer is this, don't go to Mexico; it's too violent so don't go down there. Well, first of all, I don't think that's a realistic point of view, in other words, it's okay for people in Mexico to be violent and the drug cartels to have their way and try to run roughshod over the Mexican military and law enforcement. I think that's an insensitive comment regarding our neighboring country, Mexico. They are our neighbors. We ought to be concerned about what takes place down there. But also that comment is a lack of understanding of the border culture. The border culture, especially in Texas and I'm sure this is true in Arizona, New Mexico and maybe California, goes back hundreds of years where there is cross-border travel, and we need and want cross- border travel. I think we should have legitimate travel across our border into Mexico and Mexico into the United States as long as it's verified that the people are coming in with permission. But many families have citizens who live in Mexico and Mexican nationals and American nationals and they're related and they want to go back and forth across the border, and this type of attitude, well, don't go into Mexico, that's just telling family members on this side, you can't go see relatives on the other side. And that is not the situation we want to be in and to say that that's their problem, it's not our problem. It is our problem because we need to be good neighbors and we need to help in every way we can to secure the border. When we have a secure border, it helps not only the United States but it also helps Mexico as well. We should be concerned about the violence in Mexico, not just because it's coming over into the United States, because it does affect Mexican nationals and it affects Mexican nationals who have relatives and family members on the American side of the border. So it is a complex issue, and verified border security, making sure that people don't cross without permission, is something that we have talked about for a long time in this Congress. And as my grandfather used to say, When all is said and done, more is said than done and not much has happened. So we secure the border first, and then we work on those other issues, but it's certainly something that I think is a national security issue. I wish we had stronger leadership from our government to secure that southern border of the United States because a lot of good people on both sides of the border are losing their lives because of the government's failure to act, other than put up some signs and sue States that try to defend and protect their citizens because the government doesn't.

Mr. POE of Texas. Yes. Investigator Rolando Flores, from Mexico, had just started the investigation into the death and murder of David Hartley when he was beheaded. Of course, when the Zetas and other drug cartel members behead someone and then throw his body in a place like in front of the police station or city hall, it's to send a message. And they sent a message and they sent a message first to the Government of Mexico: Back off, Falcon Lake is ours. And 5 weeks later, it looks like the Mexican government backed off. No one's ever been held accountable for that homicide. The body was never found of David Hartley, and so that was the warning of unfortunately an obviously good man, Investigator Rolando Flores, but it was also a message to the United States, that Falcon Lake belongs to them. It doesn't belong to Mexico. It doesn't belong to the United States. But portions of it, right there in the middle, have operational control by the Zetas at night, and it belongs to them. Apparently, that message has gotten to our government as well because 5 weeks later it doesn't seem like anything has occurred to improve the situation. In the meantime, more people, Mexican nationals and American citizens, have been murdered on the border on the Mexican side. I would hope that we won't need more people being murdered, regardless of their nationality, on the border to get the attention of most Americans and Members of this House that this is a national security issue. It goes back to the basics that it is the government's responsibility to protect the country, and I don't see, in my opinion, that we are protecting the people of the United States by the way the border is insecure, and we need to do whatever is necessary to secure our side of the border and our sovereignty and also to help Mexico rid itself of the corruption that it has in the government and in law enforcement. It's a tough job to be over there and be an honest cop. We need to help them as well and work both sides because we have a mutual responsibility I think with Mexico and they with us to protect the safety of Americans and Mexican nationals who live along the border. I'm sure you've traveled there, as well as I have, and when you go to those small towns, people are afraid. They're just afraid, and nobody should have to live that way in fear of some narco-terrorist coming across whenever they want to with automatic weapons, bringing those drugs into the United States, and then, whenever they want to go back, they just cross back into Mexico because the Mexican government has the same issues we do about insecure borders.

Mr. POE of Texas. Well, I think that the current plan really is a two-part plan. The plan isn't just to erect a few signs in Arizona, saying, We can't take care of you. Travel north of Interstate 8 and, as you mentioned, really secede the land south of Interstate 8 to the drug cartels. That may be part of the plan. That's plan A of a two-part plan. Plan B, though, is: We're also, as the government, going to sue States that try to defend themselves. So put up some signs and sue States that try to protect their citizens, like the State of Arizona, where both of these incidences are occurring. I think it is tragic that the United States Government has gone to court and has spent who knows how much taxpayer money in suing a State that wants to protect the people of that State and wants to enact State laws that do what the Federal Government is supposed to do but which obviously it won't or cannot do.

Mr. POE of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. POE of Texas. I appreciate your yielding time, Judge Gohmert. Yes, on November 2 the American public, the American people, the American voters went to the polls and they voted. And it's a good thing that they vote, and we have the right to vote. As you mentioned, Judge Gohmert, the right to vote in this country is sacred. And we should always treat it that way to make sure that in all elections that the voting box and the voting ballot are sacred and only valid voting takes place anywhere in the United States. I heard a lot of comments, as did many Members of Congress--probably all Members of Congress--during the recess before the election, and one of the biggest concerns was the runaway spending that the government seems to be addicted to. And it seems to be an addiction of spending somebody else's money--the taxpayers' money--people who work every day and go out and try to support their families. One startling statistic, Mr. Speaker, is that for every dollar that the government spends on something, whether it's a good project or it's a worthless project, for every dollar the government spends, forty-two cents of that dollar is borrowed money. So we don't have the money. The bank is broke. And we can't print it fast enough. So we have to borrow the money. Forty-two cents on every dollar. Now that's kind of hard to understand how much that is, but that's a lot of money. Almost half of what we spend is borrowed money. But that forty-two cents amounts to approximately, every year, just on the interest payment of that forty- two cents, $600 billion. That's with a B. Now we're talking about real money--$600 billion. The war in Iraq I understand so far has cost up to $720 billion total for the entire Iraqi war. But yet just the interest American taxpayers have to pay on that forty-two cents is around $600 billion every year. And, of course, who does that money go to? It goes to our good friends, the Chinese, who own most of our debt. And there are other countries that we borrow money from, too. It puts us in a bad national security position when we have to go overseas and ask countries to lend us some more money. The American public, I think, is tired of those days and want the borrowing, the spending, and of course the taxes to all stop where they are. I hope Members of this body in January have heard the American people and that we get our house in order and we quit spending somebody else's money and reduce the size of government, get government out of our lives, and have government work for us instead of work against us, as so many people have said. One of the other two things that I heard during the recess, or the break, before the election was the concern that people had about this lame-duck session, that we are now a part of the lame-duck session where we have come back and there's a lot of legislation that hasn't been addressed, and people are concerned about Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who have been defeated still here to vote on legislation even though the public has not returned them for the next Congress. Maybe one thing that we need to do in future Congresses on election year, the Federal election year, the even year, that the session of Congress end on election day, therefore there is no lame- duck session because Congress adjourns on election day and doesn't return until the following January. Therefore, we prevent some of the concerns that people all over the country have mentioned about people returning in both parties who have been defeated in their elections. The third issue, of course, as you know, Judge Gohmert, in Texas, although the economy was the number one issue for most people in the United States, in our State the number one concern among voters was the lack of border security with our neighbors in Mexico. And we've heard all of the recent cases of Americans being murdered just on the other side of the border. And, of course, there are Mexican nationals that are getting murdered as well. And they're not all members of the drug cartel or affiliated with the drug cartel. They're just good folks trying to earn a living as well, but they get in the way of the drug cartels. And it seems to me that this is a national security issue. And people who say that the border is secure, I invite them to go with me down to the Texas-Mexico border and then you can make up your mind firsthand. Of course, earlier we talked about the situation on Falcon Lake, this massive lake. Nobody is on the lake on either side of the border because it's not safe. The safest thing on Falcon Lake are the fish because nobody's out there fishing and those bass are probably getting rather large by now. And that's an unfortunate situation for not only Americans but Mexican nationals as well. And we also now hear that we have the extortion racket taking place on the American side. There are reports that Americans of Hispanic descent living on or near the American border are being extorted of money to protect some relative they have on the other side of the border. And that protection racket is being run, we understand, by, of course, the drug cartels. So you've got money and guns going south of the border and you've got people and drugs coming north of the border. And their operational control of the border is by the drug cartels. You see, the Mexican Government doesn't protect their border any better than we do because that's how come guns can get in. Of course, I don't know if the Mexican Government complains about the money coming south of the border or not. But either way, that money is illegally going back into Mexico by the drug cartels. So what do we need to do? I think we ought to put more boots on the ground. The Border Patrol does as good a job as we'll let them do, but they need some help. It is a national security issue, and we need to put the National Guard on the border and allow them to do their job to prevent people from coming into the United States, especially the drug cartels, who have operational control of portions of the Texas-Mexico border and other portions of the border in Arizona, New Mexico, and California as well. To show you how serious and how dangerous it is to be living or be in one of the cities in Mexico near the border, you've got in El Paso--and I don't know, Mr. Gohmert, if you were stationed at Fort Bliss or not-- but you have Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, a military base where our troops come and go from Fort Bliss to Iraq and Afghanistan. They go off to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They come back to Fort Bliss, but they cannot cross the river and go into Juarez, Mexico, because it's off limits to people in the military. So we send our young men and women off to war, but they can't cross the river into our neighbor's country because it's too dangerous. And that's an unfortunate situation not just for Americans but certainly an unfortunate situation for Mexican nationals who just want to survive on their side of the border as well. So it's become a national security issue. It is an issue of great concern to people along the border. And I hope more Americans understand how the border has become in places a place of really no- man's land except for the drug cartels who shoot their way across the border and shoot anybody that gets in their way. And I will yield back.

Mr. POE of Texas

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it was just another day on the Texas border on October 1, 2010. A young couple, David and Tiffany Hartley, were on Falcon Lake. Falcon Lake is a massive lake that borders Mexico in the State of Texas, an international border. They were on their jet skis, and they traveled across the international line into Mexico. They had gone to see an old mission that was partially submerged in Falcon Lake. On their way back coming into the United States, they were being chased by three boats full, obviously, of drug cartel members--later we learned they were the Zeta drug cartels--firing automatic weapons at David and Tiffany Hartley. David was shot in the back of the head. Tiffany tries to help, but they were still shooting, so she flees. She comes back into the United States, and one of the boats--get this, Mr. Speaker--follows her into the United States for over 3 miles until she got ashore and finally sought safety with some passerby that was standing there. Then this boat casually goes back into Mexico. David Hartley was murdered on October 1, 5 weeks ago. The way the current runs in Falcon Lake, his body would have been into the American side in about 2 hours had not someone taken his body out of the water or cut the life preserver off of him or both. His body has never been found. The Mexican Government quickly accused Tiffany Hartley of being the culprit--the audacity--just to not investigate this case. David Hartley's body has never been found. The perpetrators who murdered him and shot at Tiffany Hartley have never been prosecuted. A detective by the name of Rolando Flores from Mexico was assigned to investigate this case. He apparently was the only person investigating this case. Soon after he started investigating it, his beheaded body turned up in front of a police station. Mexico quickly decided: We are not investigating the case. And, of course, they have not. Mexico has an awful track record of solving homicides, not just homicides of Americans in Mexico, but of Mexican nationals who are murdered in the name of selling drugs across that border and bringing them into the United States. So this case has not been solved. I doubt it will ever be because of the ineptitude of the Mexican Government to preserve and defend and protect people in Mexico. As Sheriff Sigi Gonzalez of Zapata County has said: This area is a trafficking area for drug cartels. The Zeta drug cartels have operational control of parts of that lake and bring drugs into the United States at night. I went down to Falcon Lake along with Sheriff Gonzalez' people. We went up and down the lake in speed boats. Of course, before we were allowed to get on the boats, we had to make sure that the locals who were taking us there had automatic weapons and everybody was wearing a bulletproof vest. Then we flew up and down the international border of this massive lake, some 60 miles long, almost 8 miles wide. Interesting to note, Mr. Speaker. The entire time we were on the lake either in a boat or flying over it, we saw no other boats on either side. No Americans are out on the lake. No Mexican nationals are out on the lake. For 6 hours we toured that lake and we saw no one, and the reason is it is dangerous. People on both sides of the borders don't go on that lake because it is not under the operational control of either Mexico or the United States. It is under the operational control of the Zeta drug cartel. That is a very unfortunate situation. This is one instance of many where there are places on the international border with the country of Mexico where neither country has operational control of the border, and it is time that we force them to do something about this nonsense that is taking place, the murder of Americans. Since then, there have been other Americans murdered in Mexico. Have these been crimes solved? Of course those crimes have not been solved. We were just hearing comments by the other side about being at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is true. We go to war and fight the battles in other countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, we defend the borders of other nations. Maybe it is time we come home and defend our own borders and protect our borders as well as defending borders in Afghanistan and Iraq, because it is the first duty of government to protect the people. So what do we need? We need more boots on the ground. We need National Guard troops on the ground. We need more Air National Guard, Coast Guard, and we need the help of the Border Patrol to protect the dignity and sovereignty of the United States to keep the drug cartels from bringing that cancer into the United States, because it is the first duty of government to protect the people, and it is about time we protect all the citizens of this country. And that's just the way it is.