Pete Sessions

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. Mr. Speaker, this rule provides for 4 hours of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and minority leader or their designees. It waives all points of order against consideration of the resolution and also provides one motion to recommit, which may not contain instructions. Finally, it provides that notwithstanding the operation of the previous question, the Chair may postpone further consideration of the resolution to a time designated by the Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are here today, 5 years after the tragedy of September 11, to speak with one voice to let the world know that we have not forgotten the lessons of that terrible day. We are here to remember the thousands ruthlessly murdered by our enemies who hijacked four civilian aircraft and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, and to recognize the unimaginable losses suffered by their families. We are also here to honor the sacrifices and the courage shown by our first responders who selflessly rushed to the flaming buildings in order to rescue the victims of these attacks. We are also here to let our allies in the war on terror know that we stand united with them in the war on terror, and to recognize the progress that continues to be made by our Federal intelligence, law enforcement and security agencies in conjunction with intelligence, law enforcement and security agencies of our allies, in keeping Americans safe. And we are here to remind these allies and to place our enemies on notice that we will never shirk from the war on terror and that we will never forget what happened on September 11, 2001. The six-page resolution should be recognized by every Member of this body as an opportunity to remember our Nation's tragic loss and to encourage every American to do the same. It is an opportunity to extend our sympathies to the families of the lost and to honor those who risked their own lives and health trying to protect the lives and health of others. It is an opportunity to extend our gratitude to our intelligence and military personnel serving at home and abroad and their families for their service. It is to thank the citizens of other nations who are contributing to the effort to defeat global terrorism. More importantly, it is an opportunity by this body to reaffirm that we remain vigilant and steadfast in the war on terror, that we remember the sacrifices made by so many innocent Americans on September 11 and that we will never succumb to the cause of terrorists. Mr. Speaker, the resolution that will be brought here before the House for a vote is an earnest, heart-felt and comprehensive resolution putting the House on record and standing once again against terrorism. This House already has a strong record on this topic and has already passed a number of bills designed to accomplish the main goal laid out in this resolution, to remember the lessons of 9/11 and to honor the victims by preventing another attack on American soil. We have voted to give our law enforcement the tools they need to prosecute the war on terror in the United States and throughout the world, and through the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and its reauthorization we have once again reaffirmed that. We have voted to implement a key component of the 9/11 Commission by creating Federal standards for the application process in the issuing of State identification cards through the REAL ID Act. And this House has voted to secure our borders through the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act and to defend our ports through the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act. We have made important reforms in the intelligence community through the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act and provided our first responders with the resources that they would need with our annual Homeland Security authorization and appropriations process. Mr. Speaker, this House has accomplished a great deal on behalf of the American people to ensure the citizens of the United States that they can be safe here and abroad, but we understand that this job is not yet done. Next week the House is scheduled to consider legislation that will build upon all of this hard work, legislation to further boost our national security and to give our law enforcement the tools it needs to prevent our shadowy, ever-shifting, and determined enemy to once again demonstrate that we do not rest in the war on terror and that we will not forget. I encourage all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this rule to let our allies and our enemies alike know that we will continue the war on terror both in memory of those murdered on September 11 and for the generations still to come who will look back and evaluate our ability to put partisanship aside and to stand together on behalf of our Nation, our citizens, and, in fact, our civilization. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Army Sergeant Jeffrey Scott Brown, an American hero who gave his life in defense of liberty and freedom. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that others might know freedom, and I am humbled by his bravery and selflessness. Sergeant Brown lost his life on August 10, 2006 due to injuries sustained when his UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Rutbah, Iraq during combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was 25 years old. Sergeant Brown was assigned to the 82nd Medical Company at Fort Riley, Kansas. Sergeant Brown came from a family dedicated to American ideals and serving this great Nation. His father is a Vietnam veteran and his brother, Timothy, currently serves as a crew chief on an Apache helicopter in Germany. Sergeant Brown is survived by his wife, Ashley, of Carrollton, Texas; his parents, Ed and Diane Brown of Trinity Center, California; his brothers, Timothy and Michael; and his sister, Kathryn. I extend my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Sergeant Brown. He leaves behind a legacy marked by courage, integrity and character. May God bless all those he loved, and may they know the gratitude of the American people.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, in recent weeks, radical terrorist organizations have engaged in a number of unprovoked attacks on the State of Israel. I rise today in strong support of Israel's right to defend its citizens and its borders from acts of terrorism. Most recently, Hezbollah military forces committed an act of war by crossing the border between Lebanon and Israel, attacking and killing several Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two Israeli soldiers. The integrity of the internationally recognized border between Lebanon and Israel must be respected in order for Israel to provide for its security. Hezbollah--a terrorist organization recognized by the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)--operates with impunity in many areas of southern Lebanon. Lebanon must accept responsibility for and bring an end to military attacks originating from within its territory. Iran and Syria also bear responsibility for the current crisis, because armaments used by Hezbollah have been traced to Iran and transferred through Syria for use by these Hezbollah forces. This month, Hamas--another organization designated by the State Department as a FTO--also conducted an unprovoked military attack on Israel, killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers. This military invasion represents a small part of the Palestinian violence emanating from Gaza into Israel. Last August, Israel withdrew every settler and soldier from Gaza in hopes that Palestinians would establish a democratic state capable of living side-by-side in peace with Israel. However, Palestinian terrorists took this historic opportunity to begin systematically firing Kassam rockets at Israeli towns. Over 1,000 have been fired since Israel's total withdrawal from Gaza--and it is important to note that the rockets are fired into territory belonging to Israel before 1967 and universally recognized as being Israeli territory. Israel has the obligation and the right to defend its citizens against attacks emanating from both Lebanon and Gaza. I support Israel's right to take the appropriate military action necessary to deter future attacks, and hope that Israel's neighbors will take this opportunity to control future terrorism within their own borders.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I was granted official leave of absence the week of July 10, 2006. Please let the record reflect, that had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on roll No. 374, final passage of H.R. 9, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 896 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. SESSIONS. It is a real sad day in this House, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, we are asking for all Members of Congress to universally say today we believe the leaking of classified information is wrong. And that is what we are here for today. I am disappointed that we have Members of this body that say that is what a free press is all about, to leak classified information.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield all time remaining to the Chairman of the Rules Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier).

Mr. SESSIONS. Leaking classified information is wrong.

Mr. SESSIONS. Well, we just heard it. It's okay to leak classified information. New York Times, it's okay. Democrat Party, no problem. That is what the power of the press should be all about. We need them now more than ever, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I disagree with that.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States did speak about this opportunity that we had as a result of what the Congress passed the law asking and giving the legal authority to the President to track financial transactions. The Congress had already spoken about it as we were debating whether we were going to pass that law. In fact, the President did as a result of these disclosures of finding terrorists say that we found financial ends and means by which terrorists were being supported. But I will strongly disagree with the young woman from New York in her characterization that the President spilled the beans on all of this. Not true. It was someone going and talking to over 20 people, revealing intimate details of what the plan was. Not that it existed, but how it worked, where it was formed, where we gathered information, how things were done. And that is a desperate attempt by someone to go and provide the enemy with information that would allow them to work around those things that we had established. What we are talking about is classified information, not the knowledge that something is happening. And classified information in detail about not just the summary of this, but in details, is what we are concerned about today. So I disagree with the gentlewoman from New York. I believe that her characterization is not only wrong, but it is also aimed at the wrong people. We had hoped and would still hope that the minority today would see that what we are talking about is sharing of classified information and that we believe it is the wrong thing to do. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley), the chairman of the Financial Services Committee. (Mr. OXLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SESSIONS. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time is yielded for the purpose of debate only. This rule provides for 1 hour of debate in the House equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services. It waives all points of order against consideration of the resolution and, as always, provides the minority with one motion to recommit, which may not contain instructions. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this rule and its underlying simple House resolution that allows the House of Representatives to take a very clear position on our collective commitment to identifying and tracking terrorist finances and our condemnation of the disclosure of any information that puts the lives of American citizens at risk. Today, throughout the course of the debate, we will hear a great number of accusations hurled from those Members opposed to this resolution. It is their right to dissent. That is the basis of our democracy. However, it needs to be made clear at the outset what this resolution does and what it does not do. What this resolution does is simple: It states that the U.S. House of Representatives supports efforts to identify, track and pursue suspected foreign terrorists and their financial supporters by tracking terrorist money flows and uncovering terrorist networks and that the House finds that the Terrorist Financing Tracking Program has been conducted in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations and executive orders, and that the appropriate safeguards and reviews have been instituted to protect civil liberties and that Congress was duly informed of this fact. It also says that the House condemns the unauthorized disclosure of classified information and expresses concern that disclosure of this information may endanger the lives of American citizens and our efforts, and that the House expects the cooperation of all news media in protecting the lives of Americans and the capacity of the government to identify, disrupt and capture terrorists by not disclosing classified intelligence programs such as the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program. This resolution does not single out or censure any specific media outlet for its disclosure of classified information that has put American lives at risk and made our allies less likely to share classified data in the future. Nor does it chill first amendment rights or prevent the news media from performing their constitutionally protected activities. We will hear these kinds of accusations today time and time again from the other side, Mr. Speaker, and it is important to make clear from the outset that they are simply not true. The basis for the House taking this position is just as clear. We know that after our country was attacked on September 11, President Bush launched a full-on campaign against terrorist financing and authorized the Treasury Department to track the financial supporters of terrorist groups like al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah to prevent any further attacks on American citizens either here or abroad. We know that by following these monetary transfers, the United States has been able to locate and identify terrorists and their financers, chart shadowy terrorist networks, and keep funds out of the hands of these criminals. We also know that data provided by this program helped to identify a Brooklyn man who was convicted of laundering $200,000 through a Pakistani bank on behalf of al Qaeda. This program also facilitated the capture of the mastermind of the Bali resort bombing of 2002. This terror finance-tracking program, better known as the SWIFT program, has been invaluable in protecting American lives and choking off the sources of terror funding. It is exactly the kind of limited, legal and effective program that we need to hunt down and starve terrorists of the funding that they use to attack American interests and citizens. As with any national security program, the administration must be protective of the sources and methods it uses to execute its mission. Disclosure of this program has degraded our national security and injured our efforts to prevent terrorist activity by allowing our enemies to understand what steps we were taking to stop them. And in a situation where it is vital to always remain one step ahead of your enemy, the consequences of showing them our techniques has potentially devastating and life-threatening consequences. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to speak with one voice today in recognizing the importance of identifying, tracking and ending the financing of terror and condemning any actions that would allow the unauthorized disclosure of information that helps our government to achieve this end. I urge the adoption of this rule and the underlying resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. SESSIONS. And the----

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, you know, we do talk about disclosure, unauthorized disclosure of information. But I fail to see where this resolution talks about any newspaper where we mention them. We intentionally chose not to do that because that is not what the resolution is about today, Mr. Speaker. Time after time we have heard our Democrat colleagues mention newspapers by name. That is not what this was about. We are simply trying to say that we believe that information that is considered private, sensitive, and that should not be disclosed should not be done. It would be very simple for us to understand that the President may say, you know, we have spies that work for the United States, but if he disclosed who they were, what they did, how they went about doing their business, where they were located, who they came into contact with and their MO about how they did things, that clearly would be something that would be out of order. So I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, we intentionally have not tried to chastise anyone. We are simply saying we believe the unauthorized disclosure should not be revealed. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, last night at the Rules Committee we had an opportunity to digest a lot of information about this, not only about the program but also about, theoretically, who knew what, where, and when. It is my understanding that every single member of the Intelligence House Committee received an invitation to attend a briefing. That is not an indication that every single member attended that open invitation. I would allow the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra), 1 minute.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, we are through with all of our speakers that we might have. We will then wait for the gentlewoman from New York to close, and then we will do so.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 440) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SESSIONS

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

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, at this time, I would like to notify my colleague, Ms. Matsui, that I do not have any additional speakers. I would welcome the opportunity to have her go through those speakers, have her close, then I will do the same after she is through. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 891 and ask for its immediate consideration.