Jackie Speier

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Fire Chief Don Dornell, who is retiring after nearly four decades of service to the people of Burlingame and San Mateo County. His dedication to public service is a credit to his community and to his character as a leader. Don Dornell is a Peninsula native, born in San Francisco in 1951 and raised in Millbrae as the second of five children, and one of a pair of twins. He attended Capuchino High School in San Bruno, then earned his associate degree in Political Science at the College of San Mateo in 1971. It was then that Chief Dornell's career in public service began. He served in the Army National Guard for six years, until 1977. During that time, Chief Dornell trained as a plumber, and he began working for the San Carlos Parks Department. But from his first day, he knew that the Parks Department was not for him--his real goal was serving as a firefighter. After a brief stint in Piedmont, Chief Dornell was hired as a firefighter for the City of Burlingame in March 1977, a community he has served diligently ever since. He has risen swiftly through the ranks, earning a promotion to Fire Captain in 1985, and serving as the B-Shift Training Officer from 1985 to 1997 and codirector of the San Mateo County Fire Recruit Academy from 1996 to 1997. In January 1997, he became Assistant Chief, and he took over responsibility for training and overseeing line personnel. More recently, Chief Dornell has worked tirelessly to ensure successful transitions as local agencies consolidate fire protection to strengthen the cohesiveness of service and promote administrative efficiency. When the City of Burlingame and the Town of Hillsborough merged fire services in 2004, becoming the Central County Fire Department, he became the first Deputy Fire Chief of the new agency. This is a role he has embraced, as he became the agency's second Fire Chief in December 2006. Last year he took over responsibility for fire departments in Millbrae and San Bruno as well. Chief Dornell's service to the community has taken other forms as well. He is a longstanding Fire Technology Instructor at College of San Mateo, administrator of the San Mateo County Fire Recruit Academy from 1997 to 2006, and a Member of the San Mateo County Fire Chiefs Association, where he serves as liaison to a number of adjunct groups. Chief Dornell is also the first inaugural chairman of the Burlingame Adopt-a-Unit program, which since 2004 has supported hundreds of US soldiers through their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. In his retirement, Chief Dornell will be relocating to Calaveras County to enjoy hiking and outdoors activities in the Central Sierra, to continue work on the home he has been rebuilding, and to spend some time travelling around the country with his wife Debra. He will also continue his work as a volunteer for the Calaveras County Sheriffs Search and Rescue Team. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in congratulating Fire Chief Don Dornell on a remarkable career. His contributions to our community are an example of the best in public service, and his leadership and dedication will be missed. We wish him the best in his retirement.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Stephen S. Pearce, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi, who is retiring after serving Congregation Emanu-El for 20 years. Rabbi Pearce's inexhaustible empathy and commitment to others has touched and inspired thousands of people across this country. It is for good reason that Newsweek has recognized him as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in the U.S. on three successive occasions. One of the issues Dr. Pearce is determined to solve is hunger in the Bay Area. He recently received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the University of San Francisco for challenging the Emanu-El congregation and the community to address this pressing topic by reflecting on how faith is translated into action. Dr. Pearce took on hunger soon after he joined Emanu-El in July 1993. In September 1994, he initiated the High Holy Day food drive benefitting the San Francisco Food Bank. In April 1995, the Pe'ah Garden started raising vegetables for the Food Bank, Hamilton Family Center, Dream House and Raphael House. In February 2013, the Emanu-El Food Pantry on Geary Boulevard opened. In April 2004, he began a partnership with Dr. William Cobb elementary school to improve literacy and later expanded it to a food pantry. As you can see, once Dr. Pearce takes on an issue, his commitment is lasting. He also joined and won a drawn-out fight in 1997 to preserve one of the last remaining old-growth redwood groves in California. He organized an interfaith task force to help save the Headwaters Forest in Humboldt from chain saws. The effort won him the nick name ``Redwood Rabbi.'' Under Rabbi Pearce's long and distinguished leadership, congregation Emanu-El established a preschool and an adult education center, held fundraising concerts for victims of Hurricane Katrina, and for the work of American Jewish World Service in Darfur, helped young adults transition out of foster care, participated in the Pride Parade, launched a pulpit exchange with the Muslim community, and was involved in countless other projects. Stephen Pearce was born in Manhattan in 1946 and grew up in Brooklyn. He graduated with a BA in Psychology from City College of New York in 1967 and was ordained at the New York School of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972. He earned his PhD in Counselor Psychology at St. John's University in 1978 and was awarded an honorary DD by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1997. Before Rabbi Pearce joined Congregation Emanu-El, he served at Temple Sinai of Stamford, Connecticut for 16 years and Temple Isaiah of Forest Hills, New York for five years. He was a faculty member at the Rabbinic School of the Hebrew Union College for 20 years and has also taught at the University of Connecticut, St. John's University and the University of San Francisco. He is a board member of Palo Alto University and an advisory board member of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture. He formerly served on the board of the Graduate Theological Union and is a past president of the Northern California Board of Rabbis. Rabbi Pearce is a renowned lecturer and has written a tremendous number of articles and poems for publications such as the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Jewish Spectator. He is the author of Too Short and Sweetness of Honey, two children's books, a psychology textbook, and the coauthor of Building Wisdom's House. He is the former editor of the Journal of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, wrote a column for the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California and produced a weekly radio show for KUSF. His tireless engagement inside and outside his congregational duties has earned him universal admiration, utmost respect and many awards, including the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association's Silver Spur Award for interfaith community dialogue and engagement; the national Jefferson Award for inspiring worshippers to fight hunger; the San Francisco Food Bank Community Partner Award for inspiring member of Congregation Emanu-El to donate over 90,000 pounds of food in the last two decades; and the San Francisco Interfaith Council's recognition for encouraging green sustainability at the temple. Rabbi Pearce has been married to his wife Dr. Laurie Pearce for 36 years and they have two children, Sarah and Michael Pearce. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to honor an exceptional human being, someone I admire greatly. His influence will forever be felt in San Francisco, the Bay Area and across the country. Rabbi Pearce has shaped his congregation and created a haven for collaborative worship, life-long education, social welfare and cultural offerings. He is retiring, but Rabbi Pearce is the type of leader who never truly retires. We wish him well in his next adventure in life.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Clark E. Guinan, better known as Gus, who is retiring after a remarkable legal and public service career that spanned over three decades. Gus was the City Attorney of the City of Burlingame for the last four years. His devotion to justice and the Bay Area are reflected in his work and passion for life. Gus, a native San Franciscan and third generation Californian, was raised in Los Altos. He enrolled in the seminary in Menlo Park at the young age of 13 and studied there through high school and college until he was 24 years old. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from St. Patrick's College. After eleven years in the seminary, Gus realized that he had a different calling. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather who was his hero and a prominent attorney in the California Attorney General's office. Gus started law school and earned his J.D. from the University of Santa Clara. Upon earning his degree, Gus became a deputy public defender in San Joaquin County from 1974-1984. Then he accepted the position of Senior Assistant City Attorney in Palo Alto where he served for five years. In 1989, he faced a difficult decision. He and his wife Signe Harnett had adopted infant twin girls. They still lived in Stockton and the daily commute to Palo Alto would prevent Gus from seeing his two babies grow up. He left public service and became a litigation attorney with the law offices of Rishwain, Kakim and Ellis in Stockton from 1989- 1991. Gus' love for San Francisco drew the family back to the Bay Area and in 1991 they moved to Berkeley and he joined the law office of Barry Balamuth in Orinda. In 1993, Gus returned to public service and accepted the position of Assistant City Attorney for the City of San Rafael where he stayed until 2008 when he was appointed to his most recent position of City Attorney of Burlingame. Gus is a member of the Public Law Section of the California State Bar Association, the Bay Area City Attorneys Association, the Mann Public Agency Attorneys and an alternate board member of the California Joint Powers Risk Management Authority. In the past, he served as a delegate at the State Bar Convention in Sacramento, as a section editor of the Municipal Law Handbook of the League of California Cities and as a member of the board of governors of the San Joaquin County Bar Association. Gus has also lectured at the Delta Community College in Stockton and in the ``Bridging the Gap'' program. Last but not least, he has been a proud member of the San Rafael Elks Club since 2006. In his well deserved retirement, Gus is looking forward to spending more time with his wife of 25 years, their now 24-year-old twin daughters Kate and Lindsey and their stepson Chris. He will finally have more time to lose himself in his passion for California history, hiking, travel, photography, reading and swimming. Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representative to rise with me to honor Clark E. Guinan, a man with a brilliant legal mind and a big heart who has protected the rights and safety of the residents of Burlingame and other Bay Area communities.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the remarkable Sharon Williams, the long-time director of Menlo Park-based JobTrain. Sharon is retiring after forty years of instilling optimism in each JobTrain client and building life skills amongst an entire community. I have watched with amazement over these many years as Sharon has guided the JobTrain organization. Sharon earned her BA in English from the University of the Pacific in 1965 and her teaching credential from San Francisco State University in 1968. She joined JobTrain in 1973 as a GED teacher. She became Director of Development in 1978 and a short time later took over as Executive Director. Conducting job training classes and connecting people with jobs was very difficult in the late 1970s. Sharon guided JobTrain and its clients through difficult financial times and built a stunningly successful career and job education center. With Sharon's outstanding leadership, JobTrain has offered cutting- edge and traditional job training, everything from solar panel installation classes to computer repair to culinary arts to laboratory technician training for biotechnology facilities. Knowing that life skills are a large component of the training done by JobTrain, Sharon and her staff insist that clients learn how to show up on time to work, become team members in the modern work environment, and learn how to balance work and the demands of a family. Mr. Speaker and Members, Sharon Williams has infused JobTrain with the same ``can do'' attitude that she insists from her clients. I've visited JobTrain on several occasions, most recently in the last few months. It's a very busy place. JobTrain helps 8,000 persons per year, and 600 of them receive full-time vocational training. At least 85 percent of those who enroll complete their training. 75 percent of those persons are placed in jobs, and 12 months after placement, 84 percent are still working. JobTrain's success is spelled out in these numbers. Sharon's contributions to the Peninsula are not limited to JobTrain. She currently serves on numerous boards, including the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits, and East Palo Alto Digital Village. She has also previously served on the boards of the East Palo Alto Senior Center, the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula, Leadership Mid- Peninsula, and the San Mateo County Workforce Investment Board. After forty years at the helm of JobTrain, it is time for Sharon Williams to bid her beloved nonprofit goodbye and to head off in new directions. The only thing missing from JobTrain's smorgasbord of classes at the moment is a class on how to make eyeglasses. That's not surprising. Sharon sees quite clearly the need for human dignity through productive work. Why would she believe that anyone else in the community needs glasses when her own sight is both perfect and prescient? Let us give Sharon the highest compliment that any employer can offer an employee. Let us say, ``Job well done.''

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. I thank the gentleman. I want to address one section of this bill that would now allow individuals to record telephone and in-person conversations with Federal employees. This would preempt the law in my State of California and in the chairman's State of California and in 11 other States that require the consent of all parties to a conversation. It contains no exceptions for law enforcement, sensitive communications, the military or anything else. The FBI has already indicated to us that it strongly opposes this bill because, in its words, ``this proposal risks undermining criminal investigations by reducing the willingness of individuals to cooperate with law enforcement and would result in the creation of recordings of law enforcement conversations that could jeopardize sensitive and important criminal and counterterrorism investigations.'' I think this is ill-founded. Even the ACLU, which strongly supports the principle of allowing citizens to record law enforcement interactions, does not support the provision in this bill because it ``threatens to impermissibly interfere with government workers' constitutional liberties.'' So this is a bill in search of a problem that actually makes it harder to go after real criminals, and this bill does not apply to this body, to Members of Congress. Maybe it's time for this bill's authors to look a little closer to home.

Ms. SPEIER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this bill is truly astonishing. We have serious issues before us. We should be focused on job creation, on comprehensive immigration reform, on providing nutrition assistance to children and seniors, on postal reform or on funding the government; but we are again debating partisan bills that stand no chance of becoming law, including the 40th vote to defund or to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, as kids, we are told that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, so I sure hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have not given one bonus to one of their senior staff members. I hope that that is the case, that you have not given one bonus to a senior staff member. I hope, furthermore, that each of you is recording all of your staff members when they answer the phones because you want to know how they are treating your constituents. This particular bill is the height of hypocrisy. It is a blatant attack on Federal employees that reinforces the fact that current leadership is only interested in political messaging, including through repeated attacks on hardworking Federal employees. It is simply shameful to say that we will belittle public service like that. I am a public servant, and I am proud to be a public servant. Every Federal employee who works in this building and virtually every Federal employee who is out there in our communities is doing so because he believes in public service. I think that a Federal employee today is pretty crazy to be doing this job. He basically is being told, You're not worth very much. His integrity is constantly being questioned. He has had 3 years of pay freezes and furloughs, and he is supposed to continue to do public service.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Chairman, on July 6 of this year, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Incheon, South Korea, crashed on its final approach to San Francisco International Airport, which is in my district. Initial reports made clear that low airspeed was a crucial factor in that crash. It was a horrible accident. Three Chinese 16-year-old girls on their way to a summer camp in southern California lost their lives. It could have been an absolute catastrophe, because there were over 300 people, including crew, that survived that horrific day. Low airspeed has been a concern for air safety for almost 20 years. In 1996, the FAA's Human Factors Team concluded that flight crews needed better warnings that the aircraft was reaching low airspeeds. In 2003, following the crash that killed our congressional colleague Senator Paul Wellstone, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended the FAA study whether to require installation of low airspeed audible and visual alert systems. Following the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, New York, a recommendation was reissued in 2010 on installation of redundant audible and visual warnings of impending hazardous low speed conditions. Now, after almost two decades since the initial recommendation and over 3 years since the recommendation after Colgan, the FAA has not addressed this question of whether existing commercial aircraft should be required to install low airspeed warning systems. I fear that without direction from Congress, the FAA could take years to complete this study. That is why I am offering this amendment, which provides the FAA $500,000 to conduct and complete a study on this important question within 1 year. Low airspeed alert systems that cry out ``airspeed low'' are available and require a simple software change. These differ from the tonal alerts that sound similar to other pilot alerts. The FAA should investigate whether existing low airspeed tonal warnings, such as those in a Boeing 777, provide a sufficient level of pilot warning or if, instead, a verbal warning, such as those in the newer 737s, provides a higher level of safety. When the alert signals to a pilot that they are traveling at too low of an airspeed, they have at best a few seconds to react. It is vital that planes have alerts that are instantly recognizable, clear, and unambiguous. Airline safety advocates argue that verbal alerts are more effective at alerting a pilot that they are flying at too low of an airspeed because they are instantly recognizable to a pilot. If a verbal warning is found to be more effective, the FAA should take expedient action to require both new aircraft and existing aircraft to incorporate a verbal warning. Mr. Chairman, I had the pleasure just last week to talk to Sully Sullenberger, the pilot of the ``Miracle of Hudson River,'' and he said something very compelling to me. He said that when a pilot is in a position of reacting during a crash, they need every one of their senses being alert: the senses when you are holding the throttle, the senses when you hear low speed alert, and the senses when you see ``stall.'' I thought that was very compelling. We have a number of cases that suggest now that low airspeed alerts that are verbal should be incorporated. The FAA has dragged its feet. I believe that this particular amendment would be very helpful and save many lives in the future. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their unanimous support of this effort and of this particular amendment. Madam Chair, let me just close by saying that the GAO says 20 to 60 percent of these personality disorder designations are either done improperly or are done with undue influence. Certainly, those who have been victimized deserve to be able to have that designation erased from their DD-214 forms so that they are not in a position of having to then in the civilian world explain why they have this designation on their discharge papers. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, since I began working on this issue of military sexual assault 3 years ago, I've had the opportunity to speak to over 100 courageous survivors of rape. With each of their experiences, there is a unique nature to them. But many of these survivors that decided to report these crimes have had a very similar experience after they reported: they were retaliated against, ostracized, and involuntarily separated from the military on the grounds of a personality or adjustment disorder. Mental health diagnoses are grossly misused to administratively discharge or retaliate against survivors of sexual assault and other servicemembers. Since 2001, the military has discharged more than 31,000 servicemembers on the grounds that they were subject to a personality disorder. A GAO investigation found that 22 to 60 percent of the time personality disorders were either not diagnosed by a trained psychiatrist or psychologist, or there was undue command influence. This pattern has become a potent lesson to servicemembers that are assaulted: report and get kicked out of the military with a personality disorder diagnosis. This designation amounts to a scarlet letter, pinned where their medals should be, and follows them for the rest of their lives. These servicemembers are re-victimized every time they apply for a job and submit their DD214s. It also makes it virtually impossible to retain a security clearance. My amendment aims to address this clear pattern of retaliation against victims who report a crime of rape or sexual assault. The amendment provides funds to correct their service record and provide them with the benefits they have earned. My amendment realigns $65 million within the Operations and Maintenance Defense-wide account to dedicate these funds to identifying and correct the service record of servicemembers who were summarily discharged from the military following reports of a sexual assault. This amendment requires the Department of Defense to review all separations of individuals that made an unrestricted report of sexual assault and determine if they were discharged, and on what grounds--including personality and adjustment disorders. My amendment will also direct the Secretary of Defense to correct their records of service--to right this wrong--and provide them with any compensation and services they weren't able to receive as a consequence of this error. This is the very least we can do for these brave survivors. It is the first step in addressing the systemic re-victimization of courageous men and women who were brave enough to come forward. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, let me just say in closing, we all now recognize 26,000 cases a year of sexual assault and rape. This is not sexual harassment, I might point out; this is unwanted sexual contact. Of those cases, only 3,000 are actually reported. The fear of reporting, the fear of reprisal is so great, that very few of them, less than 20 percent, actually report them. Then when you report these cases, to have them improperly or inadequately investigated, that then results in a handful of actual courts-martial, and then even smaller, some 250 convictions out of some 3,000 that are reported suggests that we have a lot of work to do. I thank my colleagues for the support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. I thank the gentleman. Madam Chair, I've got goose bumps that I actually have an amendment that my colleagues on the other side support. I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, my amendment addresses a current issue that is undermining an already weakened system of justice in our military. Any JAG will tell you that it is impossible to effectively prosecute a case if the investigation was improperly handled. That is why the DOD Inspector General report released last week was so troubling. It uncovered that of the 501 investigations of sexual assault offenses they audited, all but 83 had some sort of deficiency. That means that less than 20 percent were completed without error. Fifty-six cases, 11 percent of the cases, had serious deficiencies. And 399 of these cases had interview and post-interview deficiencies. They also found weaknesses in collecting evidence, not developing leads, and photographing the scene. This in large part is a result of inadequate training in how to properly investigate these complex cases. A February IG report found that criminal investigators want and need more training on conducting sexual assault investigations. For example, criminal investigators for the Air Force told the IG they wanted more training on the psychology of interviewing victims and evidence collection. One investigator said he would be ``in trouble'' if he only relied on the training he received. That is why I'm offering this amendment that will provide an additional $10 million in funds to train investigators on how to properly investigate sexual assault-related offenses. My amendment realigns funds from the Operations and Maintenance Defense-wide account and shifts $5 million to Army Operations and Maintenance, $2.5 million to Air Force Operations and Maintenance, and $2.5 million to Navy Operations and Maintenance, which are accounts that pay for training investigators. Ensuring that assaults are investigated properly is the first step for holding perpetrators accountable. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, do we suddenly have extra money lying around, because I'm trying to figure out why we are so committed to wasting it. Budget challenges are forcing us to reexamine our investments. Adding $30 million beyond the President's request to support fossil fuel research is a foolish waste of taxpayer dollars that are better used to invest in the future and paying off our deficit. We simply cannot afford to spend taxpayer dollars on research the private sector can do better, and taxpayers should not be asked to provide additional support to an industry that consistently has record-breaking profits. Our energy sector has some of the most promising ideas and technologies in the world. Our energy policy, however, is horribly outdated. H.R. 2609 slashes research and development for renewable energy by some 60 percent and adds additional money that the administration neither wants nor needs to research fossil fuels and clean coal. At the same time, it continues to spend far too much on fossil fuel R&D. In fact, we dole out more fossil fuel subsidies than any other country-- more than $500 billion in 2011. They often go to expensive projects with little upside. The fact is we don't need to spend taxpayer money this way. Fossil fuel companies are highly profitable, posting some of the highest profits in the world, and they can shoulder their own R&D costs. This is a clear example of duplication. Cuts to fossil fuel research are supported by the Fiscal Commission and the fiscal watchdog groups like Taxpayers for Common Sense. These kinds of cuts are necessary to get back on the right fiscal path, and these are the kinds of cuts our constituents elected us to enact. This kind of research can, is, and should largely be funded by the private sector, since industry has market incentives to make new discoveries in this area. Government spending should be focused on areas where there are emerging markets, where public funds are needed to support basic research. My amendment reduces our reliance on ``old energy.'' The amendment simply strikes $30 million in R&D from fossil fuels and commits it to deficit reduction, what we've all been clambering for, and maintains the President's requested level of funding for this research. Our biggest innovators succeed because they are forward thinking. Our energy policy needs to do the same. We need to stop funding the past at the expense of the future. It is the fiscally responsible thing to do. I ask that you support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Today, I'd like to highlight two very important topics: real justice and military justice. As a recent case of sexual abuse illustrates, they are far from one in the same. Last fall, Lieutenant Colonel James Wilkerson was convicted of sexual assault by a military jury. The assault took place in Wilkerson's own home, as his wife and child slept upstairs. The all-male jury--four colonels and one lieutenant colonel--was unanimous in their ruling: guilty. Wilkerson was sentenced to 1 year in prison, a less than honorable discharge, and a loss of benefits. Three months later, General Craig Franklin, a three-star general who had originally called for the court-martial, overturned the punishment. General Franklin has no legal training. Wilkerson was free and clear and reinstated on Active Duty. Now, that's quite a reversal, you'd say. There must have been some ironclad, watertight, slam-dunk evidence for a general to negate a jury of five officers, right? Some silver-bullet testimony? Sorry, no. In this case, the reasoning for the general's stunning intervention was ``character.'' The general simply felt that Wilkerson was a ``doting father and husband.'' You know, a family man. Okay, you say. Maybe the general considered solid evidence that calls the entire night into question. Sorry, no. It turns out General Franklin relied on evidence that was ruled inadmissible in court. Evidence like letters of support from Wilkerson's wingmen, who had his back. On the other hand, he ignored the results of a polygraph test that Wilkerson had failed. Wait a minute, you say. Maybe this one terrible act was an isolated incident, horrible as it was. Sorry, no. Earlier this month, the Air Force acknowledged that Wilkerson had previously fathered a child through an extramarital affair. Adultery is a crime in the military, but only inside a 5-year statute of limitation. This crime from 8 years ago is no longer punishable. And it was kept quiet by the Air Force. Why? Because they say the Privacy Act prevented the disclosure of those actions without Wilkerson's permission. Can you believe that? Those are the facts of the case. Currently, Wilkerson is slated to receive full military benefits, including a pension and health care, for life. And this is what military justice currently looks like. If the Uniform Code of Military Justice allows for such negligence and obstruction, then the Code is more than just outdated and ineffective; it's broken. It's damaging the military itself. It's also obvious to any legal expert that General Franklin was out of his depth and overmatched in this situation. Is he a lawyer? No, he's not a lawyer. But you keep these proceedings in the chain of command and you get bias. You get a travesty. You get no justice at all. Today, I'm demanding real justice. The Air Force needs to redeem itself. I call on the Air Force to convene an involuntary discharge board. For Wilkerson's gross misconduct, the Secretary of the Air Force should also do a grade determination and assess whether Wilkerson should be demoted to his rank at the time of his first offense. I've sent a letter to the Secretary demanding these actions. Twenty-five of my colleagues in the House have joined me and signed the letter. We've heard repeatedly how bad this problem is. There are 26,000 cases of sexual assault a year. A tiny fraction of those are reported. It's rare that a case like the Wilkerson one ever gets to this stage. And when it does, look what happens. Zero tolerance evaporates and becomes zero accountability. Victims suffer all over again. The military continues to look inept, incompetent, arrogant, and unjust to everyone but to themselves. In the meantime, we are left to describe this ongoing problem in any number of ways: a plague, a cancer, or simply a national embarrassment. Should we even consider this type of justice--this sham of military justice--worthy of our country and our values? I say ``no.'' I believe the American people would say a resounding ``no'' as well.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join Leader Pelosi in expressing my condolences to all those affected by the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on Saturday morning at San Francisco International Airport in my district. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two victims of the crash on their way to a summer camp in southern California. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who were seriously injured and face months or years of recovery. The miracle of Flight 214 is that 305 passengers and crew survived this horrific tragedy. That is due, in no small part, to the many heroes of that day: crew, fellow passengers, valiant first responders, SFO staff, everyone who evacuated the plane, even when fire was burning in the fuselage; the crewmember who carried a young passenger off the plane on her back because he was too frightened to escape; the firefighters and San Francisco Police Officer Jim Cunningham, who was wearing no protective gear, who entered the plane and helped four passengers escape, including one who was trapped. It was nothing short of heroic and remarkable. Plane travel is safer than it ever has been, but this crash is a reminder that we need never stop the focus on safety. Thankfully, the National Transportation Safety Board, under the leadership of Chairman Deborah Hersman, is there to fully investigate and determine exactly what happened. Mr. Speaker, this was a horrible tragedy, but we have much to be thankful for.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I was unfortunately unable to cast votes on Monday, July 8, 2013 due to inclement weather that prevented me from making it to Washington, DC.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 284 the vote was gaveled down before I could record my vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Personal Explanation

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. But we're more interested in talking about the Atlantic spiny dogfish, or pennycress than dealing with issues around veterans accessing SNAP and whether or not the public has a right to know when we spend $9 billion a year on premium payments for crop insurance, just another name for what has historically been a farm subsidy.

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his profound leadership on this issue. You know, I rise in opposition to this rule because there are many amendments that were not made in order, but there's enough pork in this farm bill to make a dead pig squeal. I want to talk about just some of the silly things that are in this bill that were made in order as amendments for us to take up this afternoon, including pennycress as a research and development priority at the Risk Management Agency, or an amendment to direct the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to conduct an economic analysis of the existing market for U.S. Atlantic spiny dogfish. But an amendment I had that would have given veterans waiting for disability claims to be processed the opportunity for SNAP as a disabled person was not made in order. And another amendment that would have made crop insurance subsidies that taxpayers in this country pay, some $9 billion a year, transparent--not in order. There are 26 companies in this country, agribusinesses, that are receiving more than $1 million apiece in crop insurance premiums, but we don't get to know who they are. That was an amendment I had that was not made in order, even though Grover Norquist thinks it should be made in order, U.S. PIRG thinks it should be made in order, and the Environmental Working Group thinks it should be made in order.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from the Northern Mariana Islands for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in support of my legislation, the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act, which will allow the Department of the Interior to study the role the Buffalo Soldiers played in defending our first national parks. This is a key step in preserving the legacy of the Army's first African American infantry and cavalry units and the contributions they made to the Nation. This bill has passed the House under suspension of the rules twice before, once in the 111th Congress and once in the 112th Congress. I'm grateful to the many cosponsors of this legislation, as well. Specifically, my bill would evaluate the feasibility of a National Historic Trail along the Buffalo Soldier route from their historic military post at the San Francisco Presidio to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The study would also identify properties that could be listed in the National Register of Historic Places or designation as National Historic Landmarks. For several years, Buffalo Soldier regiments traveled 320 miles along this route to patrol the park lands for loggers and poachers, build new trails, and escort visitors. The Buffalo Soldiers were among our very first park rangers, a task these troops took on with pride after serving bravely in the Civil War and other campaigns. Because of the color of their skin, the Buffalo Soldiers were all too often marginalized instead of respected for their service to the Nation, both on and off the battlefield. However, during their time protecting the parks, they not only confronted racism and discrimination--they overcame it. They became respected neighbors and friends to people living in the park regions, and they made real inroads towards racial progress that was extraordinary for their day. Although they were assigned to watch over government property for only a relatively short time, the Buffalo Soldiers helped lay the groundwork for some of our greatest wilderness to be preserved forever. I'm proud that the Buffalo Soldiers traveled through my district on their way to the parks, and I believe this bill will help shine a light on the history they made in the great State of California and in many places across our great country. All Americans, from all walks of life, will benefit from learning about this often-overlooked chapter in our history. The Buffalo Soldiers' story is ultimately about the triumph not just of African American troops over prejudice and injustice, but about the movement of our Nation toward a more tolerant and courageous society. This is history that should be more fully incorporated into our parks system, and I believe it will enhance the parks experience for millions of visitors for many years to come. I thank my colleagues for supporting this bill.