Jim Saxton

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just like to say to my friend from Cleveland, who speaks very articulately on this bill, as I am sure he did on the original bill, the gentleman made some points that he believes I am sure very much that there are some things in the bill that he disagrees with, and the gentleman and 48 other people voted against the original bill, and I am sure for many of the same reasons. In fact, it would be surprising if they weren't the same reasons, because the 1,513 pages that the gentleman has under his arm that he referred to are almost identical to the original bill which is here, which has been available since December 6 of last year. And the 1,513 pages that my friend referred to had one single change from the copy that I have in my hand that has been available since December 6. And that change, both the ranking member and I took care to explain, I think we explained it well, had to do with terrorism, had to do with Iraq, had to do with not holding the current government in Iraq responsible for acts committed by the previous regime. And we also of course added the second provision that had to do with back pay. So, this is a good bill that passed by 370-49 previously.

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers on our side, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh).

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today to very sincerely thank my good friend from Missouri for his leadership in bringing this revised edition of the National Defense Authorization Act to the floor in an expedited manner. It's unfortunate that we find ourselves in this position, but through Mr. Skelton and Mr. Hunter's leadership, we were able to find a mutually agreeable compromise in an expeditious manner. On December 12, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act, as my good friend just pointed out, by a vote of 370-49. This amended version is a good bipartisan bill, with very few changes from the original legislation. In section 1083, we ensure terrorism victims have the legal redress against state sponsors of terrorism, while granting the President the waiver authority to protect our relationship with the new government of Iraq. This provision was the crux of the issue that brought this bill back to the House after we sent it to the President, and it's something that is near and dear to many of our hearts, and some of us worked very closely with Members of the other body, in particular Senator Lautenberg, over several years to bring the language that we had in the original bill to the attention of the House and inclusion in the NDAA bill. The new version simply gives the President the ability to waive the totality of this pertinent section as to claims against Iraq for terrorism acts that occurred before or on the date of enactment of the fiscal year 2008 NDAA bill. As my good friend, Mr. Skelton, just pointed out, this is perhaps a better way to write this because certainly we can't or shouldn't hold the current government of Iraq responsible for things done by its predecessor, Saddam Hussein. And so this is a good compromise and a good effort. We also make some other provisions. We make the 3.5 percent across-the-board pay raise and targeted pay raises retroactive to ensure American servicemembers are not penalized due to this delay. Overall, the defense bill takes care of the brave men and women serving our country at home and abroad. It authorizes $506.9 billion in budget authority for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. Additionally, it supports current operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the global war on terrorism by authorizing $189.4 billion in supplemental funding for operational costs, personnel expenses, and procurement of new equipment for fiscal year 2008. Once again, I want to acknowledge the leadership of Chairman Ike Skelton and Ranking Member Duncan Hunter for their hard work in shepherding this vital legislation expeditiously through their chamber. Through their work, this bill guarantees that our service men and women will get what they need, and when they need it. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. First let me, again, sincerely thank Chairman Skelton for the great job that he has done here bringing us to the floor with this bill today. Mr. Speaker, President Ronald Reagan used to say that all of the things that Congress does are important and all the programs that we fund are great programs and important programs. But then he would say, ``But none of that really matters much if we don't have a good system to protect the American people and our national security.'' I have kept that in mind ever since I was a freshman here, because that was when I heard him say that. I believe that this bill today carries on that same kind of tradition, because we work together as Republicans and Democrats, understanding that we have a finite amount of money and resources to put toward our national security, and therefore it's incumbent upon us to do it the best way we can. We do face a multitude of threats to our way of life and our national security interests, and as legislators, we therefore must accept that it is our responsibility to ensure that our brave men and women in uniform have the best available tools at their disposal to combat those threats and protect those interests. The provisions of this bill go a considerable way in demonstrating that kind of support. And so I urge all Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair as to how much time is remaining on each side.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. I want to say a word on behalf of the Air Land Subcommittee. I want to first thank our great subcommittee chairman, Mr. Abercrombie, the gentleman from Hawaii, for his outstanding work and for his great cooperation on our subcommittee. The major highlights of the Air Land Subcommittee's portion of this bill provide aircraft providing multiyear procurement authority for the CH-47 helicopter program; ensures continued development of two options for the propulsion system for the Joint Strike Fighter; authorizes $2.3 billion for eight badly needed C-17 aircraft; and allows the Air Force to proceed with their request to divest 24 C-130E and 85 KC-135E aircraft. These retirements will greatly help the Air Force. The aircraft are grounded or are unable to be used in combat operations. The land forces under our subcommittee benefited from several areas of upgraded armor: the mine resistant ambush protected MRAP vehicles; the up-armored Humvees; the body armor that we provide in the IED fragment armor kits are very important elements of the bill. We also authorized $3.4 billion for the Army's future combat systems. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Defense continues to have acquisition directives that are rarely followed. This is not a good thing. Requirements for advancement through research and development to procurement, these provisions are routinely waived by the Department of Defense. It is hard to know if acquisition policies actually work if we rarely follow them. Mr. Speaker, the conference report takes steps to address some of these issues, and I am encouraged by some of the things that I have recently seen and heard coming from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Mr. Speaker, this conference report supports our military men and women and provides them with the equipment they need while at the same time taking steps to redress acquisition concerns of Congress. This conference report certainly in this regard deserves all of our support.

Mr. SAXTON. I yield 1 minute to my friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner).

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Rehoboth, Alabama (Mr. Everett), the ranking member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. (Mr. EVERETT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry).

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin).

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the chairman as to how many additional speakers he has.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, Mr. Kline.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York, the ranking member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, Mr. McHugh.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Hagerstown, Maryland (Mr. Bartlett), who is the ranking member of the Seapower Subcommittee.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Chesapeake, Virginia (Mr. Forbes), the ranking member of the Readiness Subcommittee.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by very, very sincerely thanking my good friend from Missouri, Chairman Skelton, for the great leadership that he has provided in the months past in writing the original version and then shaping the bill and then using his steady hand to guide us through the conference, of course with the help of my good friend, Ranking Member Duncan Hunter. Both of these leaders provided great direction for us, and I might say that the product of their work is here today. I agree with the chairman, that this is a very, very good bill, and I am very fortunate to be able to stand here today to say how important I think it is that we all support it. Unfortunately, Ranking Member Hunter could not be here today, but I know he is very proud of this conference report as well. I'd like to thank all of the subcommittee chairmen and their ranking members for their hard work and leadership. It is responsible for almost 1,500 pages that this bill contains. And the staff that helped make this a reality, obviously Members would not have been able to be here today if it were not for them either. This is a good, bipartisan bill. Last Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee filed this conference report after an overwhelming majority of conferees signed the report. Seldom in my career here have I seen this kind of agreement among Members on the bill. Our subcommittee chairmen and their ranking members will provide a detailed summary of the bill, so I will only highlight a few key areas. Most importantly, this bipartisan bill takes care of the brave men and women serving our country at home and abroad. It authorizes $506.9 billion in budgetary authority for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. Additionally, it supports current operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the global war on terrorism by authorizing $189.4 billion in supplemental funding for operational costs, personnel expenses and procurement of new equipment for fiscal year 2008. This amount provides for end-strength growth in both the Army and the Marine Corps, continuing initiatives started several years ago by the Armed Services Committee, by authorizing increases of 13,000 Army and 9,000 Marine Corps active duty personnel to sustain our required missions. Additionally, this conference report authorizes a 3.5 percent pay increase, as the chairman remarked earlier. These pay raises for all members of the Armed Forces for 2008 are extremely important. We talk a lot about quality of life and here we're doing something about it. Some of the initiatives in this legislation continue successful, practical programs such as the Commander's Emergency Response Program, which is working well in battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other initiatives reinforce good legislation that the House has already passed, such as the Wounded Warrior legislation to address the challenges that face our recovering servicemembers and their families. Still others modify existing authorities or establish promising new programs and new policies. Some of the new programs and policies include these: Providing $17.6 billion for the mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, an armored vehicle which will save lives going forward; setting guidelines for all private security contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan and other areas where we have combat operations. And we know from recent news reports how important this provision is. We also authorize eight additional C-17s to support the intratheater lift requirements and meet the airlift needs for the increased end strength in the Army and Marine Corps. We added major acquisition reform initiatives, such as establishing new responsibilities for the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and mandating that new acquisition programs be aligned with the missions of the Department and the competency and capability of the service proposing the program. And finally, we acted to elevate the chief of the National Guard bureau to a four-star general and adopted many of the recommendations of the Commission on National Guard and Reserve Corps. Just as importantly, this legislation avoids contentious language, such as the hate crimes provision, which would have put our bill at risk of a Presidential veto. I want to acknowledge the leadership of Chairman Ike Skelton, whose hard work in shepherding this vital legislation through the conference has guaranteed that our servicemen and women will get what they need, and they will get it when they need it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I happen to believe that this motion to instruct is extremely important. I think it is extremely important for two reasons. First, as Mr. Hunter pointed out, this provision provides instruction to authorize the full $192 billion supplemental for the war spending bill without strings or date certain to withdraw American forces from Iraq. I think that is important. And I will say why a little bit later here. But I also I think it is important to recognize, as this provision also does, that there are consequences for not carrying out our actions in Iraq and in other places in the world, for that matter, in a responsible fashion. This measure instructs the House conferees to accept a provision that has already been passed by the Senate. It is known as provision 1536 which states that it is the sense of Congress that a failed state in Iraq would become a safe haven for Islamic radicals, including al Qaeda and Hezbollah, and others, who are determined to attack the United States here at home and our allies. Let me speak to the first point to say why I think it is important that we go forward to authorize the full $192 billion supplemental war spending bill. All of us should be students of history, particularly recent history. I know that the chairman of the Armed Services Committee is a great historian himself. But recent events I think are extremely important. Perhaps some of our colleagues here have not watched this as closely as perhaps some of us on the Armed Services Committee, but as we saw progress begin to take place in Iraq, many of us asked why. And I think it was universally accepted that one of the reasons was that the Sunni tribal leaders, for a couple of reasons, I believe, began to cooperate with our forces and our personnel who are there. One reason was in their own self-interest. They recognized that the time of wishing each other, that is Sunnis and Shias ill, was drawing to a close because the Iraqi people themselves were tired of the violence. So just like any of our neighbors here would be tired of violence under those circumstances, the Iraqis grew tired of it as well. But the second reason I believe we began to make the progress that we see today is very simply that the Iraqi people became convinced, in spite of many days of rhetoric on this floor, became convinced that we weren't going to leave them, that we were going to stay and finish the job. And so the commitment that would be expressed by the passage of this language I think is extremely important. But I also think it is important to recognize that the provision notes that a failed state in Iraq could lead to a broader regional conflict. There was a lot of talk here this morning on this floor and yesterday in the news media about the state of Iran, and why was it that in 2003 we now believe that they discontinued their effort to create nuclear weapons. Could it have been something that happened in their neighborhood? Could it have been the determination that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines showed next door in Iraq? And could it be that the Iranian leadership recognized that there were actions that they needed to take in their best interest which perhaps included the discontinuation of their effort to create nuclear weapons? Senate provision 1536 concludes by stating that the Congress should commit itself to a strategy that will not leave a failed state in Iraq, that will continue the progress that we have seen in recent months and should not pass legislation that will undermine our military's ability to prevent a failed state in Iraq.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Joseph M. Laufer. On November 29, 2007, Mr. Laufer will receive the 2007 Lloyd Ritter Community Service Award on behalf of the Volunteer Center of Burlington County, NJ. In 1997, Mr. Laufer retired as an associate dean at Burlington County College after 27 years of tireless service. Yet, he has continued to reach out and dedicate his time to the residents of Burlington County. Some of his recent activities include maintaining and updating the Southampton Township website and assisting a local fire relief company in obtaining a preservation grant. He has also served as a member of the Jack Allen Early Country Living Museum, the Roebling Main Gate Museum, the Rancocas Valley Tourism Association, the Burlington County Historical Society, and he volunteers at the Holy Eucharist Parish in Tabernacle. In addition, Mr. Laufer does not shy away from providing valuable leadership to area organizations. He was appointed the Burlington County Historian in 2003 and elected president of the H.B. Smith Industrial Village Conservancy, the director of alumni relations for the Lenape High School District, and finally, was a past president of the Southampton Historical Society and Library Board. Madam Speaker, the Burlington County community has truly benefited from Mr. Laufer's experience. As he is honored by the Volunteer Center of Burlington County for this very special award, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for his desire to utilize his talents for the greater good and enduring commitment to improving the lives of those around him.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my good friend, Jane Maloney, the 2007 recipient of the Hope Award. This great honor, awarded annually by the Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey, recognizes a member of the community who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the area's senior population. I am so pleased that this year's honor is bestowed upon Jane. Jane has served as the director of the Ocean County Office of Senior Services since 2004, and was formerly the assistant to the director for 15 years. During this time, Jane has been a dedicated, tireless advocate for the seniors of Ocean County, NJ. She was one of 58 Americans to serve on the National Advisory Committee for the 1981 White House Conference on Aging, and was also a delegate to the 1995 and 2005 White House Conferences on Aging. Additionally, Jane is an active member of the New Jersey Association of Area Agencies on Aging, as well as other committees with common goals of improving the quality of life for older adults, and has been a long-time supporter of the Interfaith Volunteer Caregiver Initiative. Jane and I have had the pleasure of working together over the past two decades on a variety of issues of importance to the seniors of Ocean County. Throughout this time, we have collaborated on many important initiatives, and it is always with great interest and appreciation that I learn of the valuable work she is doing. These details are just a few of the reasons Jane Maloney is a deserving recipient of the 2007 Hope Award. I wholeheartedly congratulate her on this great honor, and look forward to our continued work together on behalf of Ocean County's senior population.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 186. House Concurrent Resolution 186 recognizes Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, in honor of the 75th anniversary of its opening to the public. In 1931, Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington founded Brookgreen Gardens to preserve the natural flora and fauna and to display objects of art within that natural setting. Today, Brookgreen Gardens is a Natural Historic Landmark and contains more than 550 works from American artists in what was the country's first public sculpture garden. The Gardens also offer a nature and historical preserve, small zoo, and a nature exhibition center. To honor the 1932 opening of the Brookgreen Gardens to the public, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Additionally, I would like to recognize the strong efforts of Congressman Henry Brown for his persistence and diligent work in bringing this resolution to the floor.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First, let me thank and commend the gentleman from West Virginia for expeditiously bringing this bill to the floor. I rise in strong support of H. Res. 634, urging the establishment of a National Hunting and Fishing Day. Since the founding of our Republic more than 230 years ago, hunting and fishing have been woven into the very fabric of our cultural heritage. There is no question that sportsmen are among the foremost supporters of sound wildlife management and the conservation of our natural resources. In fact, without the billions of dollars that have been paid by sportsmen in excise taxes and duck stamp fees, it is likely that President Theodore Roosevelt's vision of a national wildlife refuge system would never have been achieved. Today, that system is comprised of more than 96 million acres, and more than 90 percent of those Federal lands are open to the 42 million Americans who hunt and fish. It is appropriate that we designate a National Hunting and Fishing Day and that we celebrate on October 9, the 10th anniversary of the National Wildlife Improvement Act of 1997. This historic law, sponsored by the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) and myself, has the fundamental purpose of working to ensure that the American people have the finest refuge system in the world and the ability to hunt and fish on lands they largely purchased with their hard-earned dollars. It is achieving that goal that I believe is very, very important. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.