John Tanner

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the majority leader for 1 minute.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Cohen, I do appreciate this courtesy, and I thank the gentlelady from Oklahoma for allowing me to go ahead and speak. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the Federal response to the tornados that occurred in Tennessee. I left here early last week and went down to my district in west and middle Tennessee to view, with the Governor of our State and others, the tremendous damage that was done, the loss of life that occurred. And I want to say that the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of FEMA were there as I got there last Thursday morning. And as we toured in Tennessee, most of the damage that we saw occurred near Jackson, Tennessee, where our daughter, our two grandchildren and son-in-law live, at a place called Union University. President David Dockery met us there that Thursday morning, and I can only describe the devastation to Union, the dorms and so on as horrendous; and also conclude that it was a miracle that there was no more bodily injury or loss of life than occurred at Union. But the other thing, other than the Secretary and the Director of FEMA being there was, in the aftermath of these tragedies like we've seen, and this is the fourth tornado that has basically hit Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee since 1999, the outpouring of help from friends, neighbors and others there gives one a great sense of resolve and gives one the magnanimous feeling of the human spirit rising out of the ashes of these tremendous natural disasters. Let me just make the observation that we appreciate the quick response of the Federal Government, the State government, all of the FEMA people there, but particularly to the friends, neighbors and my constituents, of those who were injured, who lost everything, their houses gone, it is truly a blessing to see people come together, even under tragic circumstances. I want to commend Mr. Cohen for bringing this. It hit Memphis, also, as well as middle Tennessee and the other States. But let me just simply add my congratulations to those who brought this resolution, and my thanks to those for the recognition of so many who are doing so much at this time to help those who have suffered so much.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a long-time community servant, a dedicated teacher and historian, and my friend, Miss Johnnie Whitelaw. In more than 20 years of knowing Johnnie, I have grown to see how important she is to our community in Dyersburg and how much she is loved by her friends, former students and neighbors throughout West Tennessee. An active leader of the Dyer County Democratic Party, Johnnie was also a teacher and librarian from 1972 to 1991. Even after retiring, however, she did not give up on one of her greatest loves--collecting oral, photographic and written first-hand accounts of history so that we and future generations will forever understand the history of West Tennessee and the stories of its people. Her contributions will truly be appreciated for generations to come. Madam Speaker, I hope you and all our colleagues will join me in congratulating Miss Johnnie Whitelaw on her upcoming honor from the Dyer County branch of the NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Community Resource Development and Order of the Eastern Star, organizations which understand how valuable Miss Johnnie's contributions have been to our community.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the long, distinguished career of an esteemed educator, a dedicated public servant, a tireless community leader and my friend, Richard Chesteen, PhD. Richard's academic career began almost 50 years ago. He earned his Associate's Degree from Holmes Junior College, his Bachelor's Degree from Delta State University, then his Master's Degree and Doctoral Degree in Political Science at the University of Mississippi. We have been fortunate to have him as a professor and faculty leader at the University of Tennessee at Martin, in the heart of northwest Tennessee, since 1969. Dr. Chesteen's leadership has always stretched beyond the edge of the UTM campus. He has held active positions in scores of government and political organizations in Weakley and Obion counties and throughout Tennessee. Richard has served on the Obion County Commission, the Obion County Regional Planning Commission and the Obion County Democratic Party. Statewide, Richard was a candidate for governor in the 1994 primary, where he earned a reputation for working on thoughtful solutions toward the problems facing our state at that time. Over the years, he has also served on the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, the Tennessee County Services Association and Tennessee Cares, an organization to help single parents with the educational support they need to get back into the workforce. These are just a few of an extensive list of ways Richard has served our community and state. Even as he looks toward retirement, Dr. Chesteen is not giving up on his dedication to education. He has helped found the Richard Chesteen Endowment for Government Internships at the University of Tennessee Martin to offer more first-hand opportunities for today's political science students, who will be the leaders of tomorrow, both in this great chamber and in other leadership positions throughout our country. Madam Speaker, I hope you and our colleagues will join me in congratulating Richard Chesteen and his family on his retirement, thanking him for his tireless service and honoring his work with the new Endowment for Government Internships.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, as slow as I talk, I'll talk fast. No political leadership in the history of this country has done what these people have done at the White House and here in the Congress in the last 6 years. When they say they oppose raising taxes, let me tell you, they have placed the largest adjustable rate mortgage on the American people in the history of humankind. Just in the last 72 months this country has borrowed more money in a shorter period of time than ever in its history. We're presently borrowing from foreigners a little over $20 million an hour. When in the name of all that is holy are you going to stop? We are trying to pay our bill and you won't let us. The Republicans in the Senate won't let us. When you place a $50 billion debt on every man, woman and child in this country to protect less than 10,000 people who are exploiting a tax loophole, and this is exactly what's happening here, when in the name of all that's holy are you going to quit? When China forecloses us? Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, this rule embodies a fundamental principle of responsible stewardship of this country, and that is to live within our means and pay our bills. There are some folks around here who apparently don't believe the laws of arithmetic apply past the steps of the Capitol or the front door of the White House. Well, they do. And there's some who've said deficits don't matter. Well, if that was true, we'd just borrow what we need to get along and forget about it, not have any Tax Code at all. Everybody knows that that is ludicrous. What we have witnessed over the last 72 months is something that has not occurred in the history of this country since 1776, and that is the willful and knowing plunge into debt by our continued refusal to pay our bills. When they say we can pass the AMT fix and we don't have to pay for it because it was never intended on these folks, and therefore, it doesn't exist, if I said that in Tennessee, they would say that fellow's been in Washington too long; we've got to get him home. That is absurd. The arguments to justify borrowing more money right now for all future generations plus us, to me, are the worst of political rhetoric. Somebody's going to pay this bill. We have asked the CBO, and they say if we don't pay for it, instead of $50 billion, with the interest carry, it will be $80 billion. And so it's not unlike a credit card, and we have a Nation's credit card here. I think we are looking at warning signs all over the world. When people begin to talk about the dollar, when the dollar has fallen to where it is, to when people say maybe the euro is a better alternative for us right now than the dollar, these are warning signs that this country cannot and must not continue down this fiscal path. All of us took an oath to uphold the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I think there's financial vulnerability that has been created and in a way that has never been done before. Go to the U.S. Treasury Web site. This administration and this Congress over the last 6 years, before last year when we started trying to pay the bills, borrowed more money from foreign sources than all 42 administrations before it put together. That's not a political argument; that was the numbers. And the more we do, the more the interest is. We have transferred over $700 billion in interest payments to people around the world. This year we have removed, basically from the tax base that we had in the summer of 2001, $131 billion, by CBO's calculations, every year. When we don't pay the bills when we pass these measures, when we don't pay for them, what we are basically doing is enacting a tax on the American people in the form of interest payments that cannot be repealed. That is wrong. It is, I think, a violation of our oath of office to continue to argue that we can pass bills without paying for them. I thank Mr. Cardoza and the Rules Committee for bringing another bill here, and I hope our colleagues here in the House and the Senate will understand what we're trying to say.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, thank you very much, and I will be brief because we have a lot of Blue Dogs here tonight that are going to speak to this issue, and they will elaborate on what I have to say. The PAYGO rule, as we have here now as Mr. Ross pointed out, is basically what all of us do in our private lives. We live within our means. We pay our bills, and we hope we have some left to invest in the future. This government has done none of that. And some people around here have argued about the AMT situation that you alluded to, that we don't have to pay for that because it wasn't intended to affect these people; therefore, it doesn't exist. If I said that in Tennessee, they would say that fellow's been in Washington too long. Only in Washington would somebody even dare make a statement as ludicrous as that is. We've also heard people here in this town say deficits don't matter. Well, if deficits don't matter, why don't we abolish the tax code and just borrow what we need? Of course deficits matter; they matter to all of us. Some people around here think the laws of arithmetic stop at the steps of the Capitol and the front door of the White House. Well, they don't, and this is why. As we are plunging this country into debt that's been done on a massive scale in the last 6 years, that no political leadership in the history of this country has gone there, we are transferring more and more of our assets to foreign-held powers. We transferred over $700 billion in the form of interest payments overseas just in the last 72 months. They talk about, well, we don't have to pay for this because we didn't intend it. Somebody's going to pay for it. There's no free lunch. People have been looking for a free lunch since the dawn of civilization. It does not exist, and I would contend that if we are going to keep our moral authority to govern as stewards of this country, then the time and place where we are now, elected to public office, if we do not reverse this and start paying our bills, we will undermine, I believe, that and we'll also undermine this country. I think this is a defining moment for us, and we're going to fight. Davy Crockett was from my district. We're going to make this an Alamo- type situation around this issue because this is a critical tool of this Congress and the American people in order to act financially and responsibly. I can't thank the Blue Dogs enough for their devotion to this idea of we're going to leave this place better than when we found it, and that's what this is all about.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the recent professional honor bestowed on my former high school classmate and good friend, Dr. Ronald H. Kirkland. A practicing otolaryngologist for nearly a quarter of a century, Ron was elected as the 2008 Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Medical Group Association, AMGA, located in Alexandria, Virginia. AMGA represents more than 300 medical groups, including some of the Nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA members deliver health care to more than 50 million patients in 42 States, including 15 million lives. Dr. Kirkland is the past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jackson Clinic Professional Association in Jackson, Tennessee, a multi- specialty group practice of more than 130 physicians in 25 specialties and sub-specialties in 14 West Tennessee locations. In addition to his medical career, in which he was twice selected by his peers as among the ``Best Doctors in America'' and once as one of ``America's Top Physicians,'' Ron has held leadership responsibilities in a variety of educational, medical, religious, business and political organizations. Ron received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and completed residencies both there and at the Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a member of the American Medical Association and the Tennessee Medical Association, and is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology. Ron also served his country in the U.S. Army as a counter-intelligence officer in Vietnam. Madam Speaker, Dr. Kirkland and his colleagues bring a unique perspective on coordinated care for chronically ill patients, health information technology, and quality care to our continuing debate on health policy. I look forward to working with my friend Ron Kirkland during his tenure as Chairman of the Board of Directors at AMGA.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, trade is not a political issue; trade is an economic issue. The economics of this agreement are such that Peru, if you voted for the Andean trade preference, already has access to our markets without regard to tariffs and duty. This is the other side of the coin and will allow us to immediately export into Peru cotton, soybeans, soybean meal, crude soybean oil, beef, wheat, sorghum, peanuts. This is the other side of the Andean Trade Preference Act. So if you believe, as I do, that in this country we can grow more food than we can consume, we can make more stuff than we can buy and sell to each other, then it's not a political argument; it's an economic fact of capitalism that whoever is engaged in that excess production is going to lose their job because we cannot eat all the food we can grow and we can't buy and sell to each other all the stuff we make. So how do we save jobs in this country? By exporting manufactured goods and agricultural products that we can grow and that we can make. This allows us to do better than current law. Now, if you want to vote ``no,'' what do you get? You get status quo. I thought that's what we were trying to change. We don't like status quo. We want more jobs in America. How do you get more jobs? You get more jobs by allowing people who are engaged in excess production to sell it to somebody else out of this country. That's what it's about. There is one more aspect that I would like to touch on briefly, the national security aspect. South America is going to go one way or the other. I was just in Colombia, South America this last weekend. Chavez and Venezuela is against this. Are you with Chavez or are you with America? That really is basically what I am trying to talk about.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume in speaking on behalf and in support of this resolution. I would first like to thank our colleague, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, Ed Royce of California, for introducing this resolution. North Korea is quite literally, as we know from satellite images, one of the darkest places on Earth. One can see that when these images are taken from space at night. It has an underdeveloped economy which cannot supply even the most basic utilities. People there live under this darkness. It's well-known that the North Korean regime regularly uses imprisonment, forced labor, torture and execution to intimidate the people into submission. Therefore, many try to flee their country each year, thousands crossing into northeastern China. Some are driven by starvation or desperate poverty. Some flee because they fear persecution for their thoughts and beliefs. I would say that given this situation most North Koreans, given the choice, would leave. So the regime clamps down ruthlessly to stop this flow of refugees. Yet, the sad fact is that those who successfully make it may face further human rights abuses by the Government of the People's Republic of China. Beijing is fearful of attracting too many refugees. So it tries to disincentivize the North Koreans. The government sometimes imprisons these people who cross into China; and in an attempt to avoid its responsibilities under the United Nations Conventions and Protocols that govern the status of refugees, to which the PRC is a signatory, China falsely labels North Korean refugees as economic migrants. This cynical excuse Beijing uses to thwart the legitimate needs of these refugees will not allow the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees access to northeastern China to assess the welfare of the North Koreans who are there. The disturbing truth is that those in China go to great lengths to attract North Korean refugees through sex and labor trafficking. H. Con. Res. 234 calls on Beijing to stop this awful charade and live up to its moral and legal obligations. It further demands that China stop repatriating North Korean refugees; that it honor the United Nations Conventions and honor the status of refugees; and that it provide unfettered access to the U.N. High Commissioner on this subject. Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution. North Korea is quite literally one of the darkest places on Earth. Satellite images show us that North Korea at night is covered in an eerie black, in sharp contrast to the bright lights emanating from the lively, modern cities that dot the rest of North East Asia. This dramatic image is stark evidence of North Korea's backwards, underdeveloped economy, which cannot supply even the most basic utilities. But it is also a cold reminder of the horrific conditions that the North Korean people, who live under the cover of this darkness, must endure. It is well known that the North Korean regime regularly uses imprisonment, forced labor, torture, and execution to intimidate the people of North Korea into submission. It is no wonder that so many North Koreans attempt to flee their country. Each year, thousands and thousands cross the border into Northeastern China. Some are driven by starvation or desperate poverty. Some flee because they fear persecution for their thoughts, beliefs, or simply because a member of the regime has arbitrarily labeled them a risk. Pyongyang knows that given the choice most North Koreans would leave, and so the regime clamps down ruthlessly to try and stop the flow, making an already dangerous trek even more perilous. Yet, the sad fact is that those who successfully brave the hazards of the border crossing face further human rights abuses by the government of the People's Republic of China on the other side. Beijing is fearful of attracting too many refugees, and so it brutally tries to create disincentives for North Korean refugees. The government imprisons North Koreans who cross into China, subjecting them to terrible conditions and abuse, only to repatriate them to North Korea, where they face likely torture or execution. In an attempt to avoid its responsibilities under the United Nations Conventions and Protocols that govern the status of refugees, to which the PRC is a signatory, China falsely labels North Korean refugees ``economic migrants.'' Using this cynical excuse Beijing stubbornly refuses to provide for the legitimate needs of these refugees and will not allow the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees access to Northeastern China to assess the welfare of North Koreans there. The disturbing truth is that there are those in China who go to great lengths to attract North Korean refugees, through sex and labor trafficking. H. Con. Res. 234 calls on Beijing to stop this awful charade, and live up to its moral and legal obligations. It demands that China stop repatriating North Korean refugees, that it honor the United Nations Conventions that govern the status of refugees, and that it provide unfettered access to the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees so that these people who have suffered so terribly can finally receive the protection and fair treatment they so richly need and deserve. I strongly support this resolution and encourage my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to Mr. Moran of Virginia.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 234) calling on the Government of the People's Republic of China to respect the human rights of refugees from North Korea.

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

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 573) recognizing and commending the efforts of the United States public and advocacy groups to raise awareness about and help end the worsening humanitarian crisis and genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield as much time as she might consume to the gentlelady from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. TANNER. I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran) for his efforts in this regard and to say a few words, so I will yield myself such time as I may consume before I recognize the gentleman from Virginia. The genocide in Darfur has taken a horrific toll on that region. Well over 60 percent of the villages have been destroyed, 2 million people displaced, 400,000 killed, and 200,000 driven into refugee camps in neighboring Chad. Thanks to the work of tens of thousands of Americans, the genocide has not been ignored. All over the country, local communities have been organizing and mobilizing with regard to this issue. In response to the call for divestment from Sudan, 20 States have adopted divestment from Sudan policies and another 20 have it under consideration; 58 universities and colleges have adopted policies to divest pension funds from Sudan and another 47 are pursuing similar policies. In addition, 10 cities, eight international and religious organizations and eight countries have either adopted policies or are in the process of so doing, while seven major international corporations have ceased doing business with the government in Sudan. While this Congress, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Bush have described atrocities in Sudan as genocide and hold the Sudan overwhelmingly responsible, the international community has yet to come together to put an end to the genocide. I want to commend the American people for not giving up on this issue. The U.N. is deploying peacekeepers. Foreign and civil society groups are also involved. Muslim pop stars from around the world recently came together at a charity concert for Darfur. The head of the sponsoring organization, Islamic Relief, said, ``British Muslims must unite and raise their voices over the issue of Darfur.'' We cannot allow our voices to remain silent. Therefore, I urge all of our citizens and activist organizations to continue speaking out on Darfur and to continue pressure for economic sanctions and real civilian protections. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran).

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

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 726) calling on the President of the United States and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to and prevent acts of rape and sexual violence against women and girls in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad and the Central African Republic, as amended.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to thank Congresswoman DeLauro for this important resolution that focuses again on one of the most heinous crimes of war known to humans: the rape of women. In the process of the Darfur genocide, women and girls have been targeted specifically. And I will let her speak more about this, but when women living in refugee camps, for example, were asked why they went to fetch water and risk rape rather than the men, they answered, If we let the men go, they will be killed. It is better for us to be raped than for our husbands to be killed. It goes on and on, Mr. Speaker, but I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.