Ike Skelton

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler). (Mr. NADLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, the chairman, Chairman Hunter, flatters me. It is rather interesting, and it is important for me to point out that my late wife, Susie Skelton, went to All Saints High School, which is in the middle of the Vicksburg, Mississippi battlefield. And because of that, that has special meaning to our family and, Mr. Speaker, I am most appreciative. This is an excellent bill. It includes language regarding detainees, pay raises, and medical help. I hope that this does not set a pattern on process. I realize that there was a time problem with the Senate passing the bill so late, and with the Thanksgiving recess coming up. But I hope that the panels will be able to meet fully, explore each of the issues, and as we are not able to do that as nearly as fully as we should, we had to rely on our wonderful staff, and they did an outstanding job. Toward the last, Mr. Speaker, this was a rather torturous procedural effort. We jumped two major hurdles toward the end; and at the end of the day, the bill is an excellent one for those in uniform and for those who defend our country. So with that I thank all of the members of the committee. Chairman Hunter, thank you especially for your help, your leadership, and to each member on our committee for the tremendous work that they did. Hours and days went into this. And a special thanks, Mr. Chairman, for this book on Vicksburg.

Mr. SKELTON. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak for an additional 1 minute.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I am indeed flattered, and I do thank the gentleman from Georgia for this unexpected tribute, and a special thanks to Senator Isakson, the fellow Georgian, for his efforts in this. I am indeed flattered, and I will do my best to merit the confidence both of the chairman for his presentation and the presentation Mr. Marshall made, and with deep appreciation.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, let me take this means to congratulate and pay tribute to Hubert Wilkens of Concordia, MO, who recently received the Safe Driver Award from OATS Public Transportation. He has distinguished himself and the Concordia community with dedicated service. Hubert Wilkens was given the Safe Driver Award for 4 years of driving the OATS bus without an accident. Mr. Wilkens picks up senior citizens from the city of Concordia and the outlying rural area. He transports them to the grocery store, doctor, chiropractor, dentists appointments and to the Concordia Senior Center. Mr. Speaker, Hubert Wilkens has been dedicated to making the City of Concordia a better place to live. I am certain that my colleagues will join me in wishing him and his wife Eunice all the best.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor RADM Christopher Weaver, United States Navy, who is retiring after more than 34 years of faithful service to our Nation. A native of Harrisonville, MO, Rear Admiral Weaver began his career in 1971, when he graduated from the United States Naval Academy. He holds a bachelor of science degree from the Naval Academy and a master of public administration degree from George Washington University. He is also a distinguished graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Rear Admiral Weaver is an honorary Seabee and honorary master chief petty officer. During the years that followed, Rear Admiral Weaver accrued an impressive operational career highlighted by command of USS Exultant and USS Spruance. Rear Admiral Weaver was designated a surface warfare officer in 1973. His sea tours also include duty aboard USS Marvin Shields, USS Capodanno, USS Boulder, and USS Samuel Eliot Morison. Ashore he commanded U.S. Naval Station, Norfolk, VA, the world's largest Navy base, and served as an assignment officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, as head of the Seamanship and Navigation Department at the U.S. Naval Academy, as head of the Surface Combatant Branch of the Surface Warfare Division and as head of the Mine Warfare Branch of the Expeditionary Warfare Division. He also served as executive officer to the director of Logistics, J4, the Joint Staff. He was selected for Flag rank in February 1997. Rear Admiral Weaver served as the 83rd commandant of Naval District Washington, the oldest continuously operated Navy installation in the Nation. In his most recent assignment as commander, Navy Installations Command, and director, Ashore Readiness Division, Rear Admiral Weaver led unprecedented organizational change amid an historic time of overall Navy transformation in the Navy's shore infrastructure. Rear Admiral Weaver is an exceptional leader. He is an individual of uncommon character and his professionalism will be sincerely missed in the Navy. Mr. Speaker, I am certain that my colleagues will join me in thanking RADM Christopher Weaver for his honorable service in the United States Navy, and wishing him and his wife Chris all the best in the years to come.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that Colonel Tony A. Imondi is retiring after a long and distinguished career. Colonel Imondi received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautics from Dowling College in 1975. After completing Officer Training School in 1976, he entered the Air Force. In 1981, he received a Master of Science Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. In 1987, he joined the B-2 Stealth Bomber program and became a member of the B-2 Operational Test and Evaluation team and the Deputy Commander for Operations of the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards AFB, CA. In September 1991, he became Strategic Air Command's very first B-2 pilot. He subsequently moved to Whiteman AFB, MO, upon delivery of the first production B-2. He was appointed Deputy Commander of the 509th Operations Group at Whiteman AFB, MO, in December 1993. After his promotion to Colonel, he attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair in Washington, DC. Following his distinguished graduation from ICAF, he served two years on the staff of the Secretary of Defense monitoring weapons testing before returning to Whiteman as the Commander of the 509th Operations Group in 1998. In 2000, Colonel Imondi assumed duties as the Vice Commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. In September 2001, after the terrorist attacks on the United States, Colonel Imondi deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as Vice Commander of the 28th AEW, conducting combat missions in Afghanistan. In 2002, Colonel Imondi was assigned to the Directorate of Operations, Headquarters AETC. Colonel Imondi is a command pilot with more than 5,500 hours of flying experience in a wide variety of Air Force aircraft. Colonel Imondi's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Legion of Merit Award, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal and the Aerial Achievement Medal. Mr. Speaker, I know the Members of the House will join me in paying tribute to Colonel Tony A. Imondi for his exception commitment to the United States Air Force and the United States of America.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. I thank my friend for yielding. Mark Twain once said: The more you explain it to me, the more I don't understand it. I want to know where the Defense bill is; 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, we ended our conference. By 5 o'clock, we filed the necessary signatures, both the Senate and the House, and yet the Defense bill is not even on any calendar whatsoever. This is outrageous. I understand the Republican leadership wishes to put some extraneous matter onto the bill. But the proper procedure was followed. It was a torturous, difficult, but a fair ending, and we signed the report. Yet, the Defense bill is not there, being held up for some extraneous misunderstanding, reason. I just don't understand it. I want that Defense bill on the floor. The United States of America wants it on the floor. We have young men and young women in uniform all over this world, Afghanistan, Iraq, and yet we can't get the bill here that authorizes a pay raise, TRICARE for reservists, all the ammunition that they need, the medical care that we need, the policies set forth in the detainee language, all of this that has been worked out. Yet we don't have the bill. I don't understand it. Please explain it to us and to the American people: Where in the world is the Defense bill, the authorization bill?

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it was William Shakespeare who once said, Me thinkest thou protest too much. Why are those speaking against this motion doing so? Are not they anxious to learn the truth? That is what this is, an informational inquiry. We have been hearing discussions from our friends on the other side, particularly my friend from Kansas, about something else. He did not address this particular motion. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise to offer a motion instructing House conferees on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 to support the Senate provision requiring a classified report on alleged clandestine detention facilities for individuals captured in the global war on terrorism. Before I get to the motion itself, let me speak to the broader issue of detainee policy that has been under consideration in this conference. Our conferees have an opportunity to bring back a conference report that will strongly state that it is our law and policy that no one in custody of the United States will be subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This House spoke resoundingly on that issue last night on Mr. Murtha's motion. This is the right policy, and I commend Senator McCain for offering his amendment for this Nation and our military forces as well as intelligence personnel. Mr. Speaker, I am confident that the ultimate conference report we bring back will contain this language. The rest of the provisions in that detainee package are complex. They deal with intricate changes in the law, and their implications will be felt for a long time to come. We would have been better served by a more deliberative process with hearings and debate. I will have more to say about the outcome of that package when we return a conference report to this body. A critical issue beyond the McCain language that should be included in the conference report is the issue of congressional oversight of potential secret prisons around the world. On November 2, the Washington Post published a story claiming that ``the CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe.'' Citing U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement, the article said that ``the secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly 4 years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries.'' The story has been followed by a flurry of press reports, both here and abroad, and statements by the administration. It has created a firestorm of concern amongst our European allies and defense partners that threatens to undermine our efforts in the war against terror. Just yesterday, the 25-nation European Union legislature voted to establish a ``temporary ad-hoc committee on the alleged use by the CIA of European countries for the illegal transport and detention of prisoners.'' No nation or individual should question America's commitment to combating terrorism; yet what sets us apart from the enemy is our fundamental commitment to human rights and the rule of law. While the administration has publicly stated that Americans do not torture and that the United States does not secretly move terrorism suspects to foreign countries that torture to get information, Congress has a fundamental responsibility to verify these claims on behalf of the American people. It is critical to ensure that the appropriate Members of Congress are fully informed about these activities. Congress must not hear of these matters from a newspaper. During Senate consideration of the defense bill, an amendment was adopted with bipartisan support, by a vote of 82-9, that would clearly establish congressional oversight expectations over clandestine facilities currently or formerly operated by the U.S. Government, regardless of location, where detainees in the global war on terrorism are or were being held. The provision, which had the support of both the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, does not pass judgment on the merit or values of these facilities. It simply asks for a classified accounting of activities related to the facilities by the director of National Intelligence to the Congressional Intelligence Committees. The provision was offered as a compromise measure by Senator Kerry and Senator Roberts, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Rockefeller, vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, also supported the provision. The Senate provision sets a higher standard for congressional oversight than what we have seen throughout the war on terror on numerous matters, including the abuses of detainees. We must set a higher standard in our own oversight and in what we expect the administration to tell us. Success in any war requires the informed consent of the American people, and in a matter as sensitive as this, that can only be derived from Congress reviewing appropriate information from the administration so we can understand the issues involved and provide such consent. The Senate provision is reasonable and limited in scope. It is the least we can ask for from the administration as it simply reenforces existing legal responsibility under title 50 of the U.S. Code to inform Congress about intelligence matters. Voting for this motion to instruct will send a clear message to the American people that the Congress intends to thoroughly review this matter and fulfill our important oversight responsibilities. It will also send a message to our allies that we are taking this matter seriously. It is a reasonable and modest motion, and I urge my colleagues to vote yes. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, how much time does each side have remaining?

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie). (Mr. ABERCROMBIE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 additional seconds to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My good friend from New York failed to read the part of the Senate bill that makes this all correctly before us. In section 1047, subsection A, the President shall ensure that the U.S. government continues to comply with the authorization reporting notification requirements of Title V of the National Security Act of 1947. The National Security Act of 1947 deals with this subject matter before us. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).