Zach Wamp

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I want to make two points: one, if my colleagues like what they see with our Armed Forces and what they have seen in the last several months around the world in terms of our men and women in uniform, I want them to know that what we are trying to do with homeland security is essentially the same kind of bipartisan cooperation here in the Congress so that we adequately resource and establish the priorities for homeland security that mirror what we have done in the Congress to support national security throughout the years, so that the technology that is deployed and the efficiencies that are created, the accountability that is instilled in the Department of Homeland Security is the same as the Department of Defense, and it is difficult. We can always spend more money, but I want my colleagues to know that this bill adequately and effectively resources the needs that we have today. I also want to point out that a lot is going to be said about tax cuts as we debate all of the appropriations bills, it already has been, but this is not a tax bill. We cannot cut taxes or raise taxes in an appropriation bill. We are charged with spending the money within the budget agreement, and that debate was in April. It obviously lingers here, but that debate was in April. Now we have the responsibility within the budget agreement to spend the money and set the priorities; and in doing so at homeland security, we have had extraordinary cooperation. I salute the professional staff, I think one of the best staffs that has ever been assembled here; and it was important that we put the best people on the field that we could possibly find, on both sides of the aisle. Our committee work and our chairman and our ranking member, the leadership has been extraordinary; but this is such an important issue. It needs to be the best possible. So we are off to a good start. Let us stay focused.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), the chairman of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia. (Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WAMP. Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the city of Cleveland, Tennessee, which I have the awesome privilege to represent and join them in celebrating the upcoming Flag Day ceremonies on June 14th. Beginning in the late 1800s, communities across the nation began envisioning a special day for celebrating our flag and the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. In 1949, President Harry Truman signed a Congressional Resolution designating June 14th of each year as Flag Day. The ``Stars and Stripes'' is a symbol to the world of the eternal principles that our nation was founded upon. Our flag is also a powerful reminder that our freedoms and liberties exist only because of the incredible sacrifices made by countless Americans in defense of our country. It is for that reason we must honor and pay tribute to our flag. I invite my colleagues to join me in commending the work of a very special group of individuals from Cleveland, Tennessee who came together as a community to find a truly patriotic way to celebrate Flag Day. Members of the Cleveland Kiwanis Club raised over $22,000 from community businesses and volunteers and organized efforts to fly over 500 American flags on the streets of Cleveland. It is a humbling sight and a perfect tribute to America and to the veterans who defended her. When a noble idea is coupled with a dedicated group of people--great things can happen. I would like to personally thank Mayor Tom Rowland, State Senator Jeff Miller, State Representatives Dewayne Bunch and Chris Newton, the Cleveland Kiwanis Club, and the citizens of Cleveland and Bradley County, Tennessee for their efforts in this endeavor. It is an honor to represent and serve a ``flag city.''

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of the Chattanooga Bar Association in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee and join them in celebrating their upcoming Law Day luncheon on May 7, 2003. In 1957, American Bar Association President Charles S. Rhyne, a Washington, D.C. attorney, envisioned a special day for celebrating our legal system and the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed a ``Law Day'' to strengthen our great heritage of liberty, justice, and equality under the law. In 1961, May 1st was designated by a joint resolution of Congress as the official date for celebrating Law Day. On this Law Day 2003, we have the opportunity to re-examine how we, as a nation, want our judiciary to function. At a time when partisanship and special interests try to shape a judiciary, we have the responsibility to reaffirm our commitment to an independent third branch of government. This year on May 7th, the Chattanooga Bar Association will honor the legal community of Chattanooga, Tennessee with their annual Law Day luncheon. During the luncheon, the Chattanooga Bar Association will honor Judith P. Medearis with the 2003 ``Liberty Bell Award.'' This award, given to a person who is not in the legal profession, is one of the CBA's highest honors. The purpose of the ``Liberty Bell Award'' is to recognize community service that has strengthened the American system of freedom under law. In selecting the recipient of this award, the Chattanooga Bar Association considers activities which (1) promote a better understanding of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights; (2) encourage a greater respect for the law and the courts; (3) stimulate a deeper sense of individual responsibility so that citizens recognize their duties as well as their rights; (4) contribute to the effective functioning of our institutions of government; and (5) foster a better understanding and appreciation of the rule of law. I ask all Members of the House of Representatives to join me in congratulating Judith Medearis for her contribution to the Chattanooga community. Beginning in 1999, the CBA began awarding a college scholarship to the winner of the Annual Law Day Essay Contest. This year's theme was ``Celebrate Your Freedom--Independent Courts Protect Our Liberties''. Megan Galbreth, a Junior at Girls Preparatory School is the winner for 2003. I join the CBA in congratulating Megan for her award-winning essay. Mr. Speaker, I ask the United States House of Representatives join me in thanking the Board of Governors of the Chattanooga Bar Association for their contributions and commitment to the legal profession and to the Chattanooga community. The members of the Board of Governors Executive Committee are: Lynda Minks Hood, Executive Director; Honorable Rebecca J. Stern, President; Alan L. Cates, President-Elect; Michael K. Alston, Secretary-Treasurer; Harold L. North, Jr., Immediate Past President. Board members include: William H. Cox, III; James M. Haley, IV; Cynthia D. Hall; Steven M. Jacoway; Jason L. Thomas; Joseph R. White and Wade Hinton.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the bravery of Rhea County Commission Chairman Ronnie Raper. Earlier this week, Chairman Raper risked his own life to save Melinda Andrews, 13, from the raging waters of the Richland Creek in Rhea County, Tennessee. On Monday, April 7th Ronnie Raper, a building inspector, happened to be in his car and heard a 911 call over his radio indicating that a 13-year-old girl had fallen into the dangerous Richmond Creek and needed immediate assistance. Mr. Raper ran 200 yards to the creek and instinctively jumped into the freezing water to help the young girl. Risking his own safety, he quickly secured her to a large concrete structure in the middle of the creek until firefighters were able to throw them a rope. Mr. Raper calmed the young girl and led her to the shore. The doctor who treated Ms. Andrews said the freezing temperatures of the creek water could have been detrimental to the 13-year-old girl if she hadn't been pulled to safety so quickly. This story did not have a terrible ending because a man like Ronnie Raper was there and was willing to put the safety of another person above his own. He is not only an excellent public servant through his work as the Chairman of the Rhea County Commission; Mr. Raper is good neighbor and a heroic man. I ask the United States House of Representatives to join me in commending Mr. Ronnie Raper for this brave act.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, certainly I thank the authors of this resolution for coming to the floor today, just a few hours after there was significant rancor and division, to a point of unity here, to recognize the best in college athletics. There is no doubt that Geno and Diana and the entire UConn team deserve the national championship, one of the greatest games I think in the history of women's basketball, certainly the two most prominent programs in the land. And as a basketball player myself, and I appreciate the compliment, but great is a relative term, and the older I get, the better I used to be. That is the way most of us are. The best lessons I have learned in my life were in the game of basketball. Sports are very important at every level. Also, I am the chairman of the Congressional Fitness Caucus, and it is important that we promote physical activity and to see the example of these female college athletes, the heart that they have, the dignity that their coach displayed, in victory and, a long time ago, in defeat. It has been a long time since the UConn Lady Huskies have not had a good year. It is really incredible. I just have to tell my colleagues, I am a Lady Vols fan, rooted for them, so proud of our program. But I tell my colleagues, this was a very special team and a very special year for a great bunch of ladies. And to see Geno, I watched every minute of the game and watched Geno's comments, and for him to even hail the proud Italian heritage that we saw demonstrated in the heart and soul, just the hustle, the determination. Of course, Tennessee played their hearts out as well: Karen, the Jacksons, incredible female athletes. This game of women's basketball is one of the fastest moving sports climbs in the history of this country. There is excitement filling up the greatest domes in the country with sports fans and enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes and ages. It is just really good that women's sports are doing so well. And boy, the apex I think of the competition was the University of Connecticut's victory for the national championship. So I applaud my colleagues. In a time of unity today on the House floor, we can come and praise this dedication. It is just wonderful that physical exercise and athletic competition can bring out the best in people, both physically and mentally, because I think that there is a tremendous respect between Pat Summit and Geno and the greatest coaches in the land in female sports. It is great for women's basketball that these two teams made it all the way to that final game. I do not know what the ratings were, but they had to be high; and I know many of my colleagues were glued to the television that night as they knew the two most successful programs in women's basketball had made it to the final game of the national championship. They played their hearts out, and my hat is off to the Connecticut Huskies. They deserved to win, they deserve to be champions, and they are true champions with dignity. They have the respect of every person, I think, in this country. So this brings out the best in America where two good teams compete and the best team won. So congratulations, Connecticut. We will see you next year.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Out of courtesy, let me say I think that the gentleman and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) are correct. We are going to need to spend more money on homeland security, protecting our ports. We are going to need to do that soon. But I think this is a great step in the right direction and this is sufficient. I want to say one thing to the whole House as a member of the homeland security subcommittee; be careful, because of what happened at TSA, not to overpromise to the first responders, local government, communities, that everything called homeland security is going to be funded by the Federal Government, because there is no possible way we can afford to fund everything that comes under the umbrella of homeland security. We need to be careful as a Congress. The statute for TSA said they could not be more than 45,000 people. We created the Transportation Security Agency. Today it is 64,000 people. We have got to be careful the government does not go too far. We have got to be careful we do not grow these agencies beyond our ability to manage them and to exert our oversight. We have got to be careful. We have got to do this quick, but we have got to do it right.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, today marks UT-Battelle's third anniversary as manager of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the Department of Energy. Over the past three years the staff of ORNL has continued its dedication to scientific discovery through research and development in cutting edge areas of science including: neutron science, energy, high performance computing, complex biological systems, advanced materials and national security. UT-Battelle has been an involved member of the Oak Ridge community. The team provides more than $1.25 million annually for math and science education, economic development and, other projects in the greater Oak Ridge region. Through unique federal, state and private sector partnerships, UT-Battelle is the leader in efforts to update the laboratory facilities and rebuild ORNL's research campus to continue to support the research work with world class facilities. For example, ORNL will be the home of the foremost center for neutron science research with the completion of the Spallation Neutron Source and the Center for Nanophase Materials Science. Due for completion this year is the Laboratory for Comparative and Functional Genomics where lab scientists will continue the leading role ORNL has in gene function and disease research. The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences, now under construction, will lead the U.S. into new scientific frontiers in high performance computing research. The dedication, hard work, and significant investments by the staff at ORNL has been formally recognized by the Department of Energy. This year, for the first time, the lab was awarded the highest rating possible under the lab management evaluation procedure. The ``Outstanding'' rating for lab management captures the history of scientific research and development excellence at ORNL. The recent successes rest upon the decades of accomplishments that preceded UT-Battelle's involvement at ORNL. The long ORNL history of serving the nation with the highest standards of scientific achievement bode well for a future that is even brighter than our past. UT-Battelle is proud of its involvement with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and looks forward to serving the nation and its citizens with more exciting scientific developments brought to you by ORNL under the management of UT-Battelle.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I want to say a word to the courageous men and women in uniform and a word to the courageous men and women of the United States Congress. First, I think we should remember September 11 because the greatest generation on whose shoulders we stand today were incredibly encouraged by the bravery and the sacrifice following September 11 when we were struck in our homeland. They were encouraged because they realized that their children and grandchildren had what it takes, that we were actually willing to answer our call to courage in our generation, and that we were willing to sacrifice. Today's men and women in uniform around the world are standing in the gap between a threat and our civilian population, and we all thank them for that. When I was growing up, it was almost all Active Duty career men and women in the military. Today it is the Guard and the Reserves, and they are all deployed, and they leave their jobs and they go and they serve, and they did not know this moment was going to come, but they are ready and willing. I sent off the 181st earlier this week from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and wives and parents were all there. They have got guts, and we appreciate them so very much. But let me say something quickly to this body. I have been around long enough to know, I do not know what the next election is going to bring except probably a real close election, and I do not know who is going to be President. I was raised in the Cold War, but I am raising my children in a hot war. This is not the only time that we are going to be on the floor addressing problems like this. We are going to be back. I do not know who is going to be President, but I hope that the tradition of us meeting at the water's edge when it comes to our national security is carried on, because this institution and that tradition is bigger than either party or any Member, and we must continue to stand together for freedom in the United States Congress.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, as we observe the remembrance of September 11th, it is my hope that the citizens of the United States will honor the legacy of those who lost their lives and pay tribute to their survivors in time honored American ways . . . like helping others in need, saying a kind word to a stranger, volunteering at a homeless shelter or sending relief to people around the world who we may never even meet. After all, our country is not great because of our military strength, our free enterprise system or even our right to vote (as awesome as these qualities are!). America is great as we give more than we take and as we are willing to serve and sacrifice for others. We now know countless stories of heroism and remarkable bravery—passengers on flight 93 that had the courage to stand up to terrorists giving their lives to protect hundreds of others, a Lieutenant Colonial who died trying to get his co-workers to safety or a firefighter who ran up the stairs of a building that was coming down on top of him. Although they didn't sign up to fight in the trenches of the War on Terrorism, fire fighters, EMT's, law enforcement officers, medical professionals and even airline passengers were willing to lay down their lives for people they had never even met. The sacrifice and courage of our first responders on September 11th caused a swell of pride in all Americans, of every generation. What we witnessed when America came under attack was comparable to the noble actions of the “Greatest Generation” veterans on D-day when they stormed the beaches of Normandy or in the lonely courage of American heroes in the jungles of Vietnam. The United States of America is at her best not when the Dow Jones average is above 10,000 points, or when we land on the moon, but when our citizens are willing to sacrifice themselves so that others might be secure. I participated in a historic joint-session of Congress at Federal Hall in New York City, laid a wreath at Ground Zero and spoke at a memorial service in a Brooklyn church. On Wednesday, September 11th I attended the National Memorial Service at the Pentagon with President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. That evening I listened with the rest of the world to President Bush speak about this past year and America's security in an unstable world. As we bow our heads in respect, let us all be committed to honoring our country and those that have gone before us by giving of ourselves to help others. After all, every day of life is a gift from God and none of us know which might be our last. Let us stay united and make the most of every day!

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this important resolution and I thank the leadership of both sides for their initiative. Mr. Speaker, this is a day of remembrance, a day of remembering over 3,000 individual persons who died at the hands of people who were so deranged that they also died in their killings of innocents in America. A day of remembering 3,000 families that will never again be the same, but the families through their sacrifice have definitely contributed to a better America because of what they have given. A day of remembering the sacrifice and courage that was demonstrated, manifesting itself as love, immediately overtook hate, incredible love that sent warm feelings throughout the world towards the United States of America. It is a day of emotion. I was at the Pentagon this morning, as were many of my colleagues and our President and the Secretary of Defense. I was there last year right after the Pentagon was struck. The stench of war, death and destruction a year ago was replaced this morning by the smell of new construction, a breeze that blew up the dust of a construction site now complete, sparkling new windows, and a whole new day at the Pentagon. A day of sadness for great loss. A day of joy for the Phoenix project and that new beginning. A day of humility. I continue to be in awe of this job, this country, and the people of America. A day of national pride as we stand together with our President and our leadership. A day of deep and abiding love for our fellow man of all denominations from all around the world. God created each of us. But a day of righteous anger for what has happened, and a desire for justice to be served, but for our country to never extract revenge. Mr. Speaker, today is a day of unity in this House and across this land. The Holy Scripture says that unity is a supernatural anointing of God. The words say, One can chase a thousand, in the Old Testament. Two can chase 10,000. What that means is whenever God's children get together with a common purpose, spirit of unity, God anoints that unity and supernatural things can happen. We have seen that in this country as we have come together. We need to do it more often. We need to continue the unity that this tragedy brought to this great Nation. Mr. Speaker, today is a day of resolve. We live in a new and difficult time. We stand today, my generation, on the shoulders of the greatest generation. A generation that I grew up admiring and continue to admire. The greatest generation rightly earned their place in our country's history because of their dedication and their sacrifice. My generation has been called the ``me generation.'' We are self-absorbed, self-consuming, lazy, maybe not even capable of having what it takes. But I believe that in the last year, thanks to our domestic warriors, our first responders, our troops on the home front, our firefighters and law enforcement personnel and EMTs, and the bravery and courage that they have shown, this ``me generation'' may be becoming the ``we generation.'' More selflessness, more sacrifice, more courage than I have seen in my lifetime has been demonstrated in the last year. I even see the joy in the eyes of the greatest generation as they look in their later years at what has happened in the last year with some amazement and incredible pride to say to this generation, you have what it takes, too. And I am glad because the days ahead are uncertain, challenges are many. We may have many difficult times that we must go through ahead; but, Mr. Speaker, we have what it takes because we inherited a legacy of courage and honor and valor and we must answer this call to courage because what is at stake is freedom. It is fragile. It is a powerful force much like unity and love, but it is fragile. We must not rest. We must not grow complacent over time. We must be vigilant. We must be willing to fight and to die to preserve freedom.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time. Mr. Chairman, I want to say I have the greatest respect for the gentleman from Arizona. He is as solid as a rock and totally believes in his position here. In previous years, I have actually supported him and Mr. Sanford before him on opening up travel. I supported the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) at the Committee on Appropriations with regard to food and medicine. But I have to tell you, the question was asked earlier what has changed, and I rarely have changed my position on any issue over the last 8 years, but today I am going to change my position on this issue after careful research because the world has changed. It changed September 11, and we have to listen to our intelligence community and make informed decisions. Why should we be concerned? Well, the President has said those nations that harbor terrorists are terrorists and should be treated as such. A gentleman just compared China, Vietnam or other countries such as that, to Cuba. There are no allegations that I know of of those nations harboring terrorists. We have concerns in our intelligence community about Cuba harboring terrorists. What about the proliferation, production, of biological weapons? We have information in our intelligence community that Cuba is up to no good. Somebody said that we should try something new after 42 years. Mr. Chairman, this is not the time to try something new. This is the most serious time in the history of our country. We have got to be extremely careful. This is not a trade issue where you do want to promote travel and open up markets. This is a national security issue and should than treated as such. We need to treat Cuba like Syria, not like Mexico. There is a huge difference. I am going to listen to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss) and our intelligence community, not Fidel Castro and his propaganda. Mr. Chairman, I agree in principle with the issues that bring those proponents of this amendment to the floor today on opening markets and how to engage. But this is different. We have information that should gravely concern us. Let me tell you why I have changed my position: Because I would rather be safe than sorry. I would rather be safe than sorry. I do not want to come back to this floor because somebody from Cuba was involved in a terrorist action in this country and we promoted open travel between the U.S. and Cuba. I am changing because I am better informed, and the world has changed.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. I commend and thank our distinguished chairman for working with me on this important issue for our veterans in the Southeast. The recent migratory trends in our veteran population affect much of the South and I know that the chairman shares my concern about the medical attention that they are being provided.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I just want the record to reflect and to be clear, we debated this expatriate issue at the full Committee on Appropriations. An overwhelming bipartisan vote took place against expatriate corporations, and the gentlewoman from Kentucky (Mrs. Northup) and myself led the Republican debate to hold these companies accountable; to say to expatriated companies, they cannot do business with the Federal Government. It was a defense measure, to say they could not contract with defense. I stood to say we should go further. They should not do Medicare, Medicaid business, and should not contract with the Federal Government. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. To me, this is an American issue. I said that these corporations are un-American that seek to set up shop in foreign countries to avoid paying taxes. We need to hold them accountable. This amendment is about joint taxation, where they have connected this issue. I hope we can reach agreement with the authorization committee to accommodate the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran). But this issue of expatriation, in a bipartisan way I believe people of patriotic fervor will come together to say that we have to say, if you are going to do business in America, be American, pay your taxes, pull your load, do what is right for the workers. Republicans and Democrats are going to hold corporate America to a standard; we are not going to regulate them into oblivion. The gentleman from Georgia is right, we cannot tax them, regulate them, or litigate them too much or they will be strangled. We want the free enterprise system. But we have to say to American corporations, they should pay their taxes as they go. We say it with a unified bipartisan voice. We did it in the committee, a bipartisan vote. So before the gentleman makes hay out of this all the way to November, understand we stand together in a bipartisan way to hold American corporations accountable.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise to engage Chairman Taylor in a colloquy. Mr. Chairman, in the Southeast we are facing a major problem with a veterans' health care system that is outdated and no longer able to meet the needs of those who have placed their lives on the line to preserve our freedom. We have seen a recent trend of veterans moving southward, yet the medical facilities that are in place in these States seeing the greatest influx are not sufficient to meet their needs. In July of 2000, the Veterans' Administration entered into a contract in my district with Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee that created a pilot project to provide quality medical service to our veterans closer to home. There are currently veterans in my district who are forced to wait months for appointments in Murfreesboro or Nashville when by utilizing services at Erlanger Medical Center, our regional safety net public hospital, they can reduce their wait time as well as their travel. Since the inception of the program in July 2000, I believe that the VA never truly committed to this contract. In the first year of this pilot program, there were only 24 referrals to Erlanger from the VA. When Erlanger renewed for a second year, we negotiated contract changes to increase the volume of veterans eligible to be referred to Erlanger. However, the second year of the program saw only a meager increase in referrals to 34. Despite the fact that Erlanger is being reimbursed at the Medicare rate, the VA refuses to refer the vast majority of the veterans in the area and instead forces them to make the long trip to the veterans' hospital 2 hours away. The current contract is set to expire next month, August 31, and the VA received zero bids for their requests for proposals. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for agreeing to join me in sending a letter to the GAO requesting a study of this pilot project and the reasons for its failure. We have asked the GAO to undertake a study of the VA Tennessee Valley Health Care System-Erlanger Medical Center contract in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The focus of the study should be for the GAO to evaluate the 2-year contract, the volume of referrals, system for referring veterans, the funding allocated to the contract and the total amount expended. The study should also focus on the specific reasons for contract termination, adjustments of future contracts, diagnosis and medical services list, like surgery, the number of veterans that qualified under the terms of the contract that were not referred, and the cost estimate to continue this contract with the focus on quality care closer to home for veterans. Furthermore, we would like the GAO to review and update an inspector general's report on the Chattanooga outpatient clinic. This update should include wait times for appointments, referral times to a VA hospital, staffing issues and physical capacity to accommodate increasing patient load, specialty care provided by the Chattanooga outpatient clinic, and report back to the subcommittee and me as soon as possible.

Mr. WAMP. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.

Mr. WAMP

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that all debate on this amendment and all amendments thereto be limited to 30 minutes equally divided.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I very reluctantly rise on behalf of the subcommittee to oppose the gentlewoman's amendment. She is a class act in every sense of the term, and such a wonderful person, and serves her State and district with such distinction, and certainly her motives are pure here in trying to take care of the environment in the great Pacific region of our country. Certainly there is a need there. However, there is no reason for this funding limitation in this bill when there are no development plans approved by the Department of Interior for this year. Both the State of California and the leaseholders are currently litigating this issue. Some Members today will likely point to the actions that Congress took last year with respect to the leases off the coast of Florida, but the facts are very different and there has not been offshore oil and gas development off the coast of Florida. We know there has been a significant amount of development off the coast of California. As a matter of fact, Federal leases have produced more than a billion barrels of oil, and State leases have produced more than 2.5 billion barrels of oil. I am the co-chairman of the House Renewable Energy Efficiency Caucus and have worked with the gentlewoman there on a variety of new technologies and alternative energy sources. And clearly with respect to energy and the environment, we need to do that. I advocate that greatly. However, we cannot reduce the amount of energy production that our country has today without dramatically impacting our freedom in this country. In order to maintain our society as we know it, we are going to have to maintain a certain amount of domestic production, and this obviously would cut into that domestic production. Energy issues have dominated recent debate, especially as both price and supply of energy fuels have been in the headlines. This amendment would actually send the wrong message right now to the markets. It would potentially drive up costs at a time when we are experiencing economic pains; and clearly, we are going to have to look at both reducing the demand and increasing the supply. That is what the President's comprehensive energy proposal is all about. That bill is in conference today between the Senate and the House. We need a conference report on the energy bill, but we better not tie our hands behind our backs through this amendment and actions like this amendment because we have to be able to produce a certain amount of oil in this country in order to not be so reliant on foreign sources and ultimately have the proverbial gun to our head from OPEC, Iraq and other nations. Therefore, the subcommittee respectfully, very respectfully, opposes the gentlewoman's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), a member of the subcommittee.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) who is the past chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Science and the current chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 6 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Resources.

Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?