Vic Snyder

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt). (Mr. HOLT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth) who is one of the cosponsors of the gentleman from New Hampshire's amendment.

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will be brief here. I once again want to commend the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) for the work he does on behalf of our country and on national security. He is a great member of the committee. I would like to restate two points. First of all, there is never a good time to do a round of base closure. The United States cannot say, let us take a break here for a few years, let us just stop having conflict, let us let the tension go away so we can all work this out on our time schedule. It is not going to work that way. The world has never worked that way. There is never a good time. This is the time, and the process needs to move forward. For those Members who are watching in their offices and who follow the committee process, the Committee on Armed Services dealt last week with two different amendments to either eliminate or delay the BRAC process, and the vote on one was 8 in support, 50 against. The other one was 10 in support and 47 against. The committee now recognizes, as has been the gentleman from Colorado's (Mr. Hefley) metaphor, The horse is out of the barn, and the opposition to this amendment includes the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the ranking member. With that, I recommend a ``no'' vote on the gentleman from New Hampshire's (Mr. Bradley) amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, this is a grand and glorious debate we are having today. Think of what we are doing. We are debating the best route for achieving wonderful, healing medical possibility, possibility that would have been unheard of not many years ago. But it is only possibility. By definition, good research is always about possibility, about the potential of finding the answers to that which we do not know. Let me share three perspectives with you today. First, that of a friend. This is a picture of a family I know. The mother, father and I trained together at the medical school in Arkansas. She was diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes at age 7. She had early complications with retinal problems caused by the diabetes. Her husband is a doctor. Five years ago he had an accident and now has paralysis caused by spinal cord injury at the C7-T1 level. This family has hope, realistic hope that sometime in the many years of life ahead of them, medical research may give them the possibility of cure or dramatic improvement in her diabetes and his spinal cord injury. Second, as a family doctor, I practiced medicine. My patients and I relied on past research done by many good scientists striving in an ethical manner to end the harsh realities of so many diseases. I know some of my friends in opposition to this bill today argue that embryonic stem cell research is junk science. I do not share this view, but to those of you pondering this view today I say, let our gifted researchers, not us legislators, answer the unanswered scientific questions for us. Funded ethical research is not junk science. Premature conclusion is. Third, as patients, my wife and I have ventured into the world of fertility clinics. We have met doctors and nurses all working hard to help couples have families, and we have studied and prayed over the patient consent forms. The ultimate decision on what happens to unneeded embryos should be up to that fully informed family, and fully informed consent is part of this bill. I support this bill today. I do not know what, if anything, will come from this funded research. That is why we do the research. Please vote ``yes'' for this bill.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, the National Wheelchair Basketball Association is the largest and oldest wheelchair sports organization in the world. Established over 50 years ago, the NWBA has provided opportunities for people with physical disabilities, including children and disabled veterans, to play the game of basketball. The NWBA runs on generosity and volunteers; and one of those volunteers is Harry Vines of Sherwood, Arkansas, who has served as president since 2001. Harry is known in Arkansas for many volunteer activities, most significantly as coach of the Arkansas Rollin' Razorbacks, a five-time national championship wheelchair basketball team that he helped found in 1978. A high school All American basketball player at Central High School in Little Rock, Harry played at Oklahoma City University before returning to Arkansas as a coach and later a rehab counselor and administrator. Harry and the NWBA award, the NWBA Spirit Awards, recognize the work of outstanding volunteers and organizations that support the NWBA. The 2005 Spirit Award recipients include long-time UT-Arlington Jim Hayes, Bluegrass Invitational Tournament director Evelyn Bologna, Division III chairman Tim Stout, and the University of Illinois' Wheelchair Sports Program. Congratulations to all of these outstanding individuals.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, it was my honor last week to attended the 200th anniversary of the Arkansas National Guard. In 1804, Arkansas was part of the District of Louisiana which was attached to the Indiana territory for administrative purposes. On October 1, 1804, the governor and judges of the Indiana Territory met to pass the laws of the newly acquired District of Louisiana. One of those laws established the requirement for the establishment of a militia which stated ``all the male inhabitants in the district shall be liable to and perform militia duties.'' The Arkansas guard has grown from that. The first use of the Arkansas militia was during the territorial period when one company of the Miller County militia was called out in 1828 to settle a dispute between local settlers and Native Americans. The situation was resolved without the use of force. Arkansas units have served in every American war from the war with Mexico in 1846 to the current war on terrorism. Currently, over 3,000 members of the Arkansas National Guard are serving in Iraq with the 39th Brigade, and a number of other units, and over 40 percent of the Army Guard in Arkansas is currently employed in Iraq or in the war on terror. Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers are with these troops today as we celebrate the 200 years of service of the Arkansas National Guard.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) and also the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Total Force. I think this is an excellent bill, and I encourage everyone to support it. Mr. Speaker, one of the issues in the bill I also want to talk about is health care. One of the issues we face as a Nation is health care and the growing number of uninsured. We have 45 million uninsured, and it is growing. This is uninsured people for an entire calendar year. In the 2-year period, the Commonwealth Fund says that over 80 million people have part of this time without health insurance. Since early 2001, we have had almost 4 million people lose their employer-provided health insurance. I am from Arkansas. We have had several thousand people activated for deployment in our military forces. This occurred about a year ago. About 20 percent of them were not medically fit for military service. Think about it. The richest country of the world and 20 percent of our folks were not medically fit when they were activated. Well, this also relates to health insurance because a lot of them do not have health insurance. People without health insurance do not keep up nearly as well with their health problems. Two years ago, the Congress and this country put a provision in TRICARE to help with this problem. And we said, and this is the current law, 90 days before an activation, a person who is activated goes on TRICARE with their family. It will extend 180 days after their activation deployment ends. That law is unchanged. Importantly, what is in this bill is this: After the person returns, after 180 days at the end of their deployment, they are on TRICARE. They can make the decision to elect to sign up for TRICARE for themselves and their family as long as they are staying in the Guard or Reserve forces. For every 3 months of their deployment, they can sign up for a period of 1 year on TRICARE insurance if they want to pay 28 percent like all Federal employees do. What does all that mean? It means, if you were deployed for a year, you come back, get your 180 days of free TRICARE. You can sign up and pay the 28 percent premium and get 4 years of health insurance for yourself and your family. I think this is a great incentive. I rise in support of the defense authorization conference report. As the Ranking Member of the Total Force Subcommittee, I am proud of the accomplishments that we have achieved on behalf of device members, retirees and their families. The bill includes a number of provisions that improve and increase benefits for military personnel, including the Reserves and National Guard. all of our men and women in uniform are making extraordinary sacrifices in support of the war against terrorism, and we need to recognize their contributions by providing benefits that will enable them to support a quality of life for themselves and their families. I want to recognize the chairman of the Total Force Subcommittee, John McHugh, and the Chairman of the committee, Duncan Hunter, and the Ranking Member of the full committee, Ike Skelton, for their efforts to complete conference before we adjourn this year. Mr. Speaker, I want to share with my colleagues why it is important that we pass this conference report for the Armed Forces. We increased end strength for the Army by 20,000 and the Marine Corps by 3,000 in fiscal year 2005; we provide a pay raise of 3.5 percent to all uniformed service members; we protect the commissary and exchange benefit; we include a number of provisions that seek to ensure that the Department and the Services are providing adequate monitoring, tracking, prevention, treatment and improved medical readiness for the forces; and we required the Secretary of Defense to develop policies and procedures on the prevention and response to sexual assault in the military. Given the steadily growing demands on the Guard and Reserve, the bill includes a number of benefit enhancements that seek to recognize their contribution and provides incentives for them to stay in uniform. We expanded duty health care coverage to non-active duty reservists and Guardsmen who were called or ordered to duty for more than 30 days since September 11, 2001, and who commit to continued service in the Selective Reserves after their releases from active duty; we made permanent several of the demonstration authorities that were implemented by the Department of Defense to address the health care needs of the reserves and Guard, such as transitional pre and post- health care coverage for activated reservists; we increased a number of bonuses and special pays available for the reserve and Guard; and we clarified that operational activities in the interests of national security can be conducted under Title 32, which allows Governors to address potential terrorist threats against our country. The bill also addresses the highest priority for our military retirees and their survivors. We phase out the Widow's Tax over the next four years. No longer will survivors of military retirees have their benefits reduced when they reach age 65; and, we also provide immediate concurrent receipt to retirees who are also rated at 100 percent service connected disabilities. Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill for our military personnel and it is imperative for those currently serving on the front lines in combat that we pass this bill before Congress adjourns. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege today to welcome today's guest chaplain, Reverend Betsy Singleton from the Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, a position she has held for the last 3 years. This is my home church and Betsy is my minister. She is also my wife. Reverend Singleton, Betsy, welcome to the House. Thank you so much.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 771 and commend the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) for presenting this bill to the House today. The intent of this legislation, the intent of the country, is to honor the 50,000 former POWs and the 88,000 still missing in action, U.S. service people that have served this country so well and so honorably. Yesterday was National POW/MIA Recognition Day, in which once a year we formally remember these very important people. It is such a tremendous honor to serve in the Congress and to represent Arkansas, but one of the great honors is the opportunity to meet such wonderful and great people. A person I recently met from Saline County, Bill McGinley, is the only person I had ever met who was presented the Purple Heart posthumously, and I got to talk to him about that experience. How does that happen? On January 29, 1944, he was in a bomber and was flying over Belgium. In fact, the actor Jimmy Stewart was the squadron commander. Their plane was shot up. He and another man had to bail out, and he spent the next 9 months hiding out, helped by a family in Belgium that hid him. His family was first notified that he was missing, and he has this wonderful scrapbook that he shows me, the newspaper articles and the letters; and it goes through the progression of the notification from the War Department that he was missing and then the letter from his Congressman that they were sad to report that he was missing. And finally came the notice that he was presumed dead, and then the letter from the Member of Congress expressing great sorrow that he was presumed dead. And at some point his family was presented with a Purple Heart. And, of course, this story ended happily because 9 months later he was found by allied troops and his family was notified that he was alive and well. Not all of these stories end happily. And like the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons), it was my honor in November of 2000 to go back to Vietnam and to spend time with two sons, Dan and David Evert. Their father was Captain Lawrence Evert, and he was shot down in 1967 in an F-105 and was presumed dead. There was really not much doubt about the possibility of his being alive since people had seen a fireball when his plane went down. But these two young boys, now grown men, told a story of how, when they were youngsters, they would wear the bracelet in honor of their dad, and they would tell stories of how they dreamed of growing up and getting big enough that they could go to North Vietnam and rescue their dad. It was very moving to be out at the site of the excavation of this plane where remains were discovered, and with the two sons. President Clinton was there. It was a very formal and sobering ceremony. The two sons had gone there the day before by themselves, and they had a little ceremony where they buried somewhere on the site the bracelet that they wore in honor of their dad for all those many years. And, of course, we remember our POWs and the tremendous suffering that many of them went through, the uncertainty that their families thought and knew about what was going on in their life, and the legacy that they still carry with them today of being separated from not only their family but from their country for so long a time. And, finally, Mr. Speaker, we remember today all of our troops, all of our men and women serving in uniform; and we particularly remember the 150,000 serving in Iraq and Afghanistan that know that they are always at risk of becoming missing or a POW and who work so hard at doing right by their country, serving their country honorably and carrying out the foreign policy of this country so well. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans). (Mr. EVANS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate once again the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) presenting this House resolution to the Congress, to the floor; and I support it and urge all Members to support it. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, due to a clerical error, the sponsor of H.R. 3575 inadvertently added my name as cosponsor; and I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 3575.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 3575.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 83. And for those Members who are undecided on how they are going to vote today, I suggest two questions: First of all, have my colleagues read this proposal? If they have not, please go to the computer, pull it up, and read it. The language is confusing. It does not work. I do not believe it accomplishes the purposes that the sponsors have set out for us. Today is not the day of the vote for this proposal. It is still in a draft form and needs more work. The second question, What does one consider to be the essence of democracy? Is it continuity of government, or is it the right of a free people to be represented by those people whom they elect? If one believes in a seamless continuity, there has always been a way to do that. We have had kings. The king is dead. Long live the king. Succession just passes to the son or daughter. This particular proposal says succession will pass to people who we select. We die and the government will appoint one of those two people. That, in my view, provides continuity, but it does not preserve what I think is the essence of democracy, the right of a free people to be represented by those whom they elect. Finally, on the motion to recommit, which I believe is coming, the language that I read, I believe it is the current draft, says that this resolution will be sent back to committee for full hearings on this resolution. In the spirit of what has been said by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) and others, I would hope that language would be modified asking the committee chair to have hearings on all the proposals out there.

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 417, introduced by the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter). This resolution recognizes and honors the Tuskegee Airmen for their contribution in World War II that led to the creation of an integrated United States Air Force. The Tuskegee Airmen not only faced the dangers of war but they did so in the face of prejudice and discrimination back home. Prior to 1940, African Americans were denied the opportunity to fly military aircraft. However, after pressure from civil rights organizations and others, the Army Air Force began a program to train African Americans as military pilots. The so-called ``Tuskegee Experiment'' began on July 19, 1941, at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The institute, founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881, provided the primary flight training for the first fighter pilots and became the center of African American aviation during World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen included not only fighter pilots but also navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support personnel that provided support for the famed 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group. I think of one of my constituents, Mr. Milton Crenshaw from Arkansas, who was one of the pilot instructors. In 1939, he took a bus from Little Rock to Tuskegee, a young, African American man seeking a career in car engineering at the Tuskegee Institute only to be drawn into the excitement of flight. He became one of the few African American pilot instructors in America and taught numerous Tuskegee Airmen of the 99th Fighter Wing how to fly. The 99th Fighter Squadron, led by the late General Ben Davis, was originally sent to North Africa but moved to the European continent and flew over Anzio in 1944. The 99th held the record of 200 combat missions without losing a single bomber to enemy fire. The men and women who were part of the Tuskegee experience proved that service, duty, and country were not limited by the color of a person's skin, but that all Americans regardless of race could succeed through hard work, dedication, and commitment. While their training occurred under a segregated condition, their focus was on the goal of all pilots regardless of race: avoidance of abrupt and surprising contact with Mother Earth. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), formerly from Arkansas.

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton).

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I urge the House to support this resolution that recognizes not only the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen to World War II but also how they helped transform America.

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

Mr. SNYDER

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Senate Joint Resolution 28, introduced by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, and commend my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, for introducing an identical bill in the House, H.J. Res. 93. Mr. Speaker, this resolution recognizes the 60th anniversary of one of the most important and critical military operations of World War II, the Allied landing at Normandy on June 6, 1944. This past Saturday, we honored World War II veterans with the official dedication of the first National Memorial that honors all those who served in the Second World War. This memorial is a tribute to the band of brothers who fought to restore freedom and liberty for all across the world. The turning point in the fight to liberate Europe from the Nazis during World War II was the successful Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944. While officially named Operation Overlord, ``D-Day'' will forever be known as the day the Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy that fateful morning. As the Supreme Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower led the largest, most aggressive air, land and sea campaign ever undertaken during World War II. On that day, the forces of liberty stared down the evils of fascism. Five thousand naval vessels, including 3,000 landing crafts, carried 153,000 Allied forces across the channel to hit the beaches of Normandy. While Gold, Juno Sword and Utah were taken by our allies and American forces with relatively minor opposition, for American forces that fought on the sands at Omaha, D-Day will forever live in their minds and hearts. The landing at Omaha truly captured the bravery, determination and fortitude of the American soldier. Many of them never reached the shores of Omaha, heavily fortified and defended by the Germans. Nearly 2,500 were killed or wounded in the attack. As the sun set on June 6, 1944, over 6,000 soldiers gave their lives that extraordinary day. Their sacrifices and those of all who fought that day allowed over 100,000 men and 10,000 vehicles to come ashore that evening, the first wave of Americans that would be sent to the European continent to defeat Nazi Germany. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services.

Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I urge the House to adopt this resolution in support of our many fine heroes that participated in D-Day on June 6, 1944. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.