Curt Weldon

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, as my colleagues no doubt recognize, one of the major challenges that the Department of Defense faces in the next century is providing adequate sealift capability in time of national emergency. This will become even more important as we complete the shift from a Cold war strategy which had large numbers of heavy forces forward deployed to a security posture that relies on mobile forces based in the United States. Concerned about this looming shortage of sealift for overseas requirements, the Department has been proceeding with the construction of a fleet of advanced cargo vessels. However, even with this new construction, there will continue to be a deficiency of sealift capacity. To meet this deficiency, the Congress--under the leadership of then Senator Bill Cohen--created the National Defense Features program. The committees of jurisdiction have already authorized funds to commence the program. Once the commercial viability of a project has been demonstrated, I am sure the Appropriations Committee will be prepared to begin appropriating the necessary funds to cover the cost of adding defense features to eligible vessels. Under the program, new vessels would be constructed in U.S. shipyards and would operate under the American flag in regular commercial service, subject to call up in an emergency. Under one proposal that has the strong backing of Congress, ten refrigerated commercial car carriers would be built with special military features, such as strengthened, hoistable decks. During normal commercial service, the vessels would carry vehicles to the United States and refrigerated products on the return trip to Japan. In times of national emergency, the ships could carry military supplies throughout the Pacific in support of any necessary operations there. Other commercial ventures also have been conceived that would similarly promote our national security interests. I am concerned, however, that the Government of Japan has apparently been unwilling to formally endorse the proposed refrigerated car carrier proposal. Naturally, for any such initiative to succeed, there must be a sound commercial underpinning. This seems already to have been established. At this point in time, from the perspective of our two governments, the question thus would appear to be fundamentally this: would the project advance our mutual security interests? The short answer is yes. Moreover, it would appear that the proposal can be implemented without any apparent economic cost to the Government of Japan. I hope that the Prime Minister of Japan will personally endorse increased U.S.-flag participation in the car carrying trade under the national defense features program. I also hope the Administration will take whatever steps may be necessary to work with the Government of Japan to get agreement on the project. We need to get on to the task of building new ships, hoisting the American flag, and putting them out to sea with experienced American merchant mariners on board to promote our mutual security interests.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I want to rise to applaud the distinguished member for this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I think it is very important that we look back at the Kosovo crisis and see what steps were taken, those that we are not aware of, in an effort to find a diplomatic solution. As I am well aware, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) spent countless hours himself trying to find a diplomatic way to end this crisis. I saw his efforts firsthand. I know of his contacts, I have applauded him for that publicly. I think it is important that we ask the administration to go back and look at what lessons can be learned from this situation, what kinds of, perhaps, opportunities we may have missed, what kinds of things worked well. Because there were successes and, perhaps, failures in both regards in terms of this crisis, and it is important to look back to see what we can do differently if a similar crisis occurs in the future. The gentleman and I were both involved, with nine of our colleagues, in trying to find a diplomatic solution. The Members on the gentleman's side of the aisle were as aggressively involved as were Members on my side to trying to find an alternative to the bombing that occurred as a way of solving the crisis. So I think the amendment is well worded, it is well intended, and I think it will be an overall help to future administrations. I applaud the gentleman for the effort he has undertaken, and hope that my colleagues on this side of the aisle would accept the amendment and work with the gentleman to see that his ultimate report is, in fact, issued so this body can learn lessons from the Kosovo crisis. Mr. Chairman, I want to also thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), my distinguished chairman, who has also been a tireless advocate for finding peaceful solutions to international crises, and I look forward to adding my support to the vote on this amendment.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an outstanding American who recently passed away. Publisher Charles Bussmann, one of America's leading advocates for ocean research, died on June 28, 1999 at the age of 75. As the founder, president, and Chief Executive of Compass Publications Inc., an oceanographic publishing corporation, Mr. Bussmann was widely known as an outspoken proponent of the high value and critical significance of the ocean/marine manufacturing industries to the success of oceanic research and marine resources development. Mr. Bussmann has had a long and distinguished career. He began his career with Texaco Inc. After a short time at Texaco he began working for Pit and Quarry Publication Incorporation where he stayed for seventeen years, eventually working his way up to executive vice president and director when he left to form his own company in 1963. In 1963, Mr. Bussmann created Compass Publications Inc.; publishers of Sea Technology magazine, Washington Letter of Oceanography, Commercial Fisheries News, Marine Performance News and several other oceanographic publications. Mr. Bussmann was a charter member of the Marine Technology Society and a charter member of the National Ocean Industries Association. He was the sponsor of three highly coveted professional and industry awards presented by the Marine Technology Society: Compass Distinguished Achievement Award, Compass Industrial Award, and Compass International Award. He was a former chairman of the government/ business science and technology information committee of American Business Press Incorporation as well as a member of Board of Directors and Trustee, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Inc., a major research organization of Fort Pierce, Florida. In October 1998 the Charles H. Bussmann Dormitory was named in his honor by the organization. Mr. Bussmann was also charter member of the National Ocean Industries Association where he sponsored the highly-coveted Safety In Seas Award, which is presented annually. As the Vice President of The Advisory Commission on the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS), I have worked closely over the past several years with Mr. Bussmann and known personally of his dedication to improving the oceanographic industry through his vast knowledge of the environment. All who knew Mr. Bussmann are grateful that they had the chance to work with him and sincerely mourn his passing. I extend my deepest sympathies to his family. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bussmann was a true champion of the ocean industry. The oceanographic/marine communities owe him a great debt of gratitude for his extraordinary work in joining research with industry to make our marine environment better for all mankind.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Regular order, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman knows full well, as all of our colleagues on the other side know, if there is a freestanding amendment on supporting the troops, it will pass 435 to 0. If there is a freestanding motion to recommit or motion to instruct that only supports the President, they could not get the votes. You could not get the votes. Let us have that vote. Let us have the vote you want. Let us have the policy decision that you have asked for, but you will not give it to us.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished chairman, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence), for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I say to my colleague and friend, I agree with him. Let us have the question on whether or not we support this President.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. That is what you just said.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. You just said in your statement, and I will take your words down if you want to repeat them, that we voted on whether or not to support the policies of President Bush. What I am saying and what my colleagues are saying, let us have that debate. Let us have a real amendment, not a phony amendment, where we have the President's policies hidden behind the skirts and the uniforms of the men and women in this military.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. No, I will not yield.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and chairman for yielding this time to me, and I rise with a great deal of disappointment. I have the highest respect for my good friend from Missouri. I think he is a great American. I have acknowledged that publicly on a regular and consistent basis. I would join with him in a heartbeat if this were a resolution honoring our troops, and the gentleman knows if that were the case, that resolution would pass this body 435 to zip with no dissenters. But if we took the resolution and if we want to honor the President, which is evidently what some on the other side want to do, then let us have that vote. Take out the troops and just honor the President for his role. I would say this to my colleagues: That would not pass this body. That resolution would not pass this body. So what do we have here? We have a resolution where we are using the patriotic troops as the cover, as the cover to allow a Commander in Chief with a policy that is being questioned by Members on both sides of the aisle in this body to be able to have him say that we praised him for his actions. If my colleagues want to have the vote on supporting the President's actions, then have the guts to have that vote separately. Have their up or down vote. Let us see how and whether Congress comes out in terms of whether or not they agree that this President did a good job. Let us have that debate. Let us talk about the fact that our relations with Russia and China have never been worse in this decade. Let us talk about the fact that we are driving the Duma election this December into the hands of the ultra nationalists because of our deliberate policy of not involving the Russians for the first 3 weeks, and if a Member challenges me, I will show them a confidential internal State Department memorandum that outlines that because I have it. This debate is not about honoring our troops, and it is unfortunate because those on the other side know they boxed the Members on this side, Members who want to display their patriotism and their thanks for America's sons and daughters for the job they did. But as the President did when he used the military and paraded them down the White House lawn for that photo op, as the President did when he stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier and talked about his commitment for our military while cutting the budget to an unprecedented level, we are again going to give this President cover. We are going to let him hide behind the skirts of the women who served in the military in combat and did the service for this because we are going to let him hide behind the uniforms of our military personnel to get a victory based on the military so he can tell the fact that Congress is supportive of what he did. I have never been more sick in the 13 years that I have been here that we would have to have a vote where we use our military to give cover to a policy that should be openly debated, and if Members want to debate support for the President's policy, I would say to my colleague make that the motion to instruct conferees, make it be on the administration and the policy, but do not use the troops as political pawns. All of us praise our troops, but Democrats and Republicans alike express grave concerns about what we have done here. We caused the worst humanitarian crisis in the history of Europe in helping to push a million people out into the hinterlands, and now we are not going to have a chance to say that. All we are going to do is say because it has a paragraph that praises the President, all of us then must be behind what he did. What a crock of my colleagues know what. This is a very sad day in the history of this body.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague for his cooperation and for the support of both the minority and the majority sides on the rule. I want to add my comments to those in praise of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall). During the 13 years I have been in Congress, we come to respect certain people; and I can tell my colleagues, there is no Member I hold in higher regard than the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) for his untiring effort on behalf of people all over the world and the problems associated with hunger. So let us just hope for the best. We are solidly behind him in this body, and I think he represents an example for this entire country in terms of the kind of qualities we want in our elected officials. So, again, congratulations for being nominated. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. It is bipartisan. It is non-controversial. I rise under the rule because I do not want to discuss the details but rather to extend to my colleagues the significant amount of effort that was put forth by the Democrats and Republicans to find a solution to the potential development of one of the last remaining sites of the Revolutionary War. The site that we are talking about in Paoli is directly adjacent to a site where 53 patriots were killed. They were slaughtered by the British. In fact, in such a terrible way that this battle became a rallying cry, for our soldiers for the rest of the Revolutionary War, the battle cry became ``Remember Paoli'' because of the way the British used bayonets to basically tear apart young Americans, Americans who were 19, 20, 21, and 22 years old. If we do not protect this site, and this is not being done as a way to add to the Federal park land, this is being done locally and every dollar of money that we appropriate is being matched dollar for dollar by the local folks. In fact, in the case of Paoli, all but $100,000 of the $1.25 million has already been raised. The State has kicked in money; the County has. And the local folks, school kids, who have kicked in thousands of pennies in their ``Pennies for Paoli'' campaign, to other interested citizens who have made this a massive effort to protect one of America's real treasures. In fact, last July 4, ``Good Morning America'' did a Focus for Independence Day, and that focus feature was on the Paoli Battlefield and how important it was for America to protect this site. So I am saying to my colleagues, as we go into this open rule, please consider carefully amendments. We have the full support of the administration in this effort. It was very carefully crafted to make sure the Park Service would agree. There is nothing being done here to take land that will be acquired other than in a voluntary way. The money is being matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. It also sets up a process to do the same type of acquisition for the Brandywine Battlefield and also allows for the Park Service to look at a study on the possible cooperation between the Valley Forge Historical Society for a new museum. It is a non-controversial bill. It is one that is in the best interest of America. It protects sites that otherwise may be consumed by developers. The current owners of the 40-some-acre Paoli site, the Malvern Preparatory School, have said, if we do not move in the Congress, they are going to put it up for open sale. The estimates are that it could generate tens of millions of dollars for private development. However, they have offered that if the Federal Government takes the initiative to support the local folks, they will guarantee the sale price at $2.5 million. That means that the $1.25 million that has been committed to by the local folks will be matched by $1.25 million from the Federal Government. The land would actually be owned by the Borough of Malvern. In the case of Brandywine, it will be owned either by the Brandywine Conservancy or by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. So we are not adding to the size of our Park Service. We also call for a study by the Park Service to look at how the interpretation of Paoli and Brandywine can be better coordinated with Valley Forge. Because these two battles, the Paoli massacre and the Battle of Brandywine, were key parts of the struggle that led to our historic encampment at Valley Forge and the major battle to protect our capitol at Philadelphia when the British were making the move to take over Philadelphia and to take over control of this country. So these are very important sites. This bill is a very important process. I would ask my colleagues during the debate on the bill to please keep in mind that the administration is solidly behind this and any amendments that have not been supported by the administration could well doom this bill to defeat. So I ask them to please consider that as they look to possibly offer amendments as we get to the bill itself. I want to thank my colleagues and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel) who has been very supportive for the minority side for his outstanding work as a leader from the region and again the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) for his outstanding work and the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young). And really all the members of the Committee on Resources have been so helpful in this process.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague for yielding, who does such a fantastic job in this body and knows that I support, I think, almost everything that he stands for and speaks to. We have a great working relationship. As my colleague knows, the money that we are talking about is going to actually buy land, which obviously will be American land. But I appreciate the efforts of the gentleman in constantly reaffirming to the American people that we are using their tax dollars to always buy American products. I would not object to the amendment of the gentleman. Of course, I would have to defer to our leader because he is actually controlling the movement in this piece of legislation.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding me this time for the appropriate thank yous. We stand up on this floor and we take credit when legislation is passed, but all of us in this body know that the real credit for the legislation goes to those staff people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to work with us to help make things happen. It would be inappropriate for me not to recognize those people who helped make this day possible. I want to thank Todd Hall for his outstanding work on our behalf; Alan Freemayer from the full committee for his work. I want to thank Cheri Sexton and Marsha Stewart. I want to thank Rick Healy for his tremendous help. There he is over there on the minority side. It was, in fact, a bipartisan staff effort that allowed us to get here. I would be totally remiss if I did not mention my staffer who has spent 2 years working this issue, Erin Coyle. This is her fist major bill. You did a fantastic job, Erin Coyle, so you can bask in the glory of the passage of this bill today. Without you, it would not have happened. I also want to say to our colleagues, Mr. Chairman, this is a unique bill. When my distinguished friend had the hearing, the key witness was none other than George Washington. George Washington in the form of Jim Gallagher, who has played George Washington in the reenactment of the Delaware River crossing for something like 10 years, came down to Washington and actually presented the testimony as perhaps General George Washington would have done 200 years ago to protect this site. So we thank General Washington, Jim Gallagher, for being here. Ed Barrs, who is the historian emeritus of the Park Service for his cooperation; from the Park Service itself Don Berry; Jim Pepper and Arthur Stewart from Valley Forge. I also want to thank the local folks. Governor Ridge, State Senator Thompson, State Representative Flick; county commissioners from Chester County, Republicans Carla Hanna and Karen Martynick and Democrat Andrew Denniman. They were unanimous in their support. I also want to thank Henry Briggs from the Malvern Borough; the Chester County Chamber of Commerce, Rob Powson; and the local council member of Malvern, Sara Bones, who constantly prodded this through. It was a tireless effort on behalf of many people, and again, I want to thank everyone for allowing us to get to this point in time.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I want to thank my good friend the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) for yielding me the time. He has just been unbelievable in supporting this effort, which has involved well over a year. And without his support as the subcommittee chairman, we would not here today. And without the support of the full committee chairman the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), we would not be here today. They have just been tireless in their support of our effort to preserve these sites before they would be developed. I also want to add my thanks to the ranking member, the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo). He has been fantastic. I do not know whether he has left the floor or not. He is an outstanding individual and an outstanding leader. He sat through a hearing in which we had over 100 school children from all over Pennsylvania come in. Many of them had helped inspire thousands of letters that were written to Members of Congress in both parties asking us to remember the patriots that are being honored today with this bill. Mr. Chairman, we know the names George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin. We know their names because they have been recognized as great patriots who fought in the struggle for our Nation to receive its independence. We visit their historical sites at Monticello and Mount Vernon and Franklin Court to learn more about these great people. But today I ask my colleagues, do we know the names John Wilson, William MaGee, or Charles Temple? I think not, Mr. Chairman, because these are the names of over 50 patriots who were slaughtered in the Paoli massacre. These were young Americans. They were Americans who were 18, 19, 20 and 21 years of age, who only knew they were struggling to have freedom and independence from the tyranny of Great Britain. These patriots laid down their lives. In fact, Mr. Chairman, it was on the evening of September 20, 1777, that the British troops were moving on our National Capital at Philadelphia. There had been an unsuccessful battle at Brandywine. There had been another unsuccessful battle at the Battle of the Clouds. They were about ready to have a surprise attack on the British. But unfortunately, the British troops found out about it. The leader of the British troops decided that they would not use their weapons, their guns, but rather they were told not to have any weapons fired, but to let the American patriots fire, so the British could move on them in the dark of the night and only use their bayonets. They did that, Mr. Chairman. The British used their bayonets in ways that we cannot describe and history could never convey to us in real terms. They slaughtered young Americans. They slaughtered them in such a terrible way that when the light of day came on September the 21st and people saw the remains of these young Americans, it was no longer called the Battle of Paoli. It was referred to as the Paoli Massacre. Now, at that point in time, we were not doing well in our Revolution. In fact, the morale of our troops was at risk. We all know the stories of the encampment at Valley Forge only a few miles away from Paoli. But this battle and the slaughter of our troops inspired our troops. The rallying cry for the rest of the war was, remember Paoli, and remember those patriots who were torn apart by the bayonets of the British. Mr. Chairman, that battle was a turning point in our struggle for independence. It was a turning point that allowed us to turn back the British and ultimately allowed us to prevail. Today, Mr. Chairman, that holy ground, that sacred ground, is being challenged. The owners of that piece of property, the Malvern Preparatory School, no longer need the land. The land is in the same condition it was over 200 years ago. Nothing has changed. They are saying they are going to have to sell it. Now, if they sell this on the open market, which they have projected they would do later this year if we do not take action, that land will bring tens of millions of dollars because it is along the Main Line that runs out of Philadelphia, a very wealthy and a very high-priced area. But the school has said that if someone comes up and offers to maintain this property as a public property for the people of America to celebrate one of the most sacred sites in our history, that they will sell it for $2.5 million. So what happened over 2 years ago was the folks in Chester County and southeastern Pennsylvania got together and they formed the Paoli Preservation Fund. They have raised all but $100,000 that is necessary of the local match. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved a $500,000 allocation. Chester County put money in. Schoolchildren raised thousands of dollars through their Pennies for the Paoli Campaign. Today, Mr. Chairman, as we are about to pass, hopefully, this bill with bipartisan support, all this will do is allow that money to be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Now, for those who are concerned that there might be some precedent here, that perhaps we are adding to our National Park land, that is not the case. The Borough of Malvern has agreed to be responsible for all operational funds for this site. There is no requirement for Federal dollars to be put in to police the site. The site will not be owned by the Federal Government. It will be maintained in its current status, and the same thing applies to the Battle of Brandywine, which the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) has been in the forefront here since he came to this body several years ago. That battlefield also straddles our congressional districts and is another important site that we must not lose to development. Mr. Chairman, the final portion of this bill deals with an effort that all the major private collectors of Revolutionary War artifacts have agreed that they would work together with the Valley Forge Historical Society, one of the oldest historical societies in America, a nonprofit organization that currently has a huge collection of Revolutionary War artifacts. They have agreed that if we move forward, and the Park Service can come to terms with them, that they will fund with private dollars, yet controlled by the nonprofit Valley Forge Historical Society, a new museum that they estimate will be in the $30 to $40 million range. The museum will not be owned by a private citizen. It will be owned by the historical society, one of the oldest in America, and it will include all of the artifacts given to the historical society by the major collectors of these artifacts nationwide. This is a good piece of legislation, Mr. Chairman. As I said before, schoolchildren have seen this as a way to impact our democracy. In fact, the children from a number of schools have traveled to this Capital, attended congressional hearings, and several of them actually spoke at that hearing. From Exton Elementary School, East Goshen Elementary School, the K.D. Markley School, the Sugartown Elementary School and many of the students at Malvern have come out and said this is something that America needs to do. As I mentioned during the debate on the rule, ``Good Morning America'' last July 4 used this story about Paoli as their national focus piece as we celebrated the independence of America. Is it not fitting that if we pass this bill today, on this July 4, ``Good Morning America'' can come back and thank Members of both parties for their foresight and for their leadership in allowing this bill to move forward. Mr. Chairman, I would be remiss if I did not mention one individual who has been a tireless advocate for this effort. While I am standing here as the original author of this bill, the credit for this goes to another great patriot, another great American, Pat McGuigan. It has been due to Pat McGuigan's diligence that we are here today, because Pat has committed his life to service on behalf of our country. He served in the military for, I believe, 31 years, from 1951 to 1982. He had assignments in Korea, Japan, South Vietnam, West Germany, Italy and the United States. He received during his service nearly two dozen awards and decorations. He retired from active duty as a command sergeant major and returned to service at the Valley Forge Military Academy, which is right near each of these sites. He served as a special assistant to the superintendent, a department head, and an instructor. He spent his time training young men for a future in service to their country. As many of us probably know, General Schwarzkopf is one of the famous graduates of Valley Forge. In 1991 until just recently, Pat continued his service to his community as manager of Malvern Borough. He dedicated the last 5 years to saving this land. I ask our colleagues to join with us in a bipartisan effort in remembering the great patriots of this country, those who fought for our independence. I want to say to Pat McGuigan, you are an example of a modern-day patriot, as is the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) for his service to our country and to our people. I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel) for his cooperation and leadership. I see the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) on the floor who has been a tireless advocate, and an original cosponsor of this, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen), the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) and everyone else who has helped make this bill today become a reality.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to my good friend and colleague, Dr. Rocco Leonard Martino, on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Dr. Martino is a pioneer and international authority in the planning and use of computers, as well as a member of the board of Rome's prestigious Gregorian University. Highlights of Dr. Martino's career include graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Toronto in Mathematics and Finance, earning a Ph.D. from the Institute of Aerospace Studies for work in the re-entry of Space Vehicle and receiving an honorary doctorate from Neuman College in 1993 for his contributions in Information Technology. Dr. Martino served as a Professor of Mathematics and Engineering at the University of Waterloo and at New York University, is the founder and Chairman of the Board of CyberNet Group, Inc. and recently completed 25 years of service as Chairman and CEO of XRT, Inc. In his role as a board Member on Rome's Gregorian University he serves as a consultant in the designing of one of the most advanced academic computer systems in the world. A devout Catholic, Dr. Martino is a leader in his local parish, St. Katherine of Siena in Wayne, PA and was formerly president of the Fathers' Club at both St. Aloysius Academy and St. Joe's Prep. Dr. Martino has managed to find a balance between two of his passions, theology and technology, and has contributed enormously to both fields. Dr. Martino is nothing less than a visionary whose inventions and ideas are bringing computer technology into the next millennium. Yet, even though his scholarly title abbreviations run the alphabet in length (literally 26 letters long,) Dr. Martino will be the first to tell you that the most important thing in his life is not his inventions or titles, but his family. He is the embodiment of hard work, integrity and vision and I applaud his dedication to both his work and his family. I am proud to have Dr. Martino as my constituent, but I am even more honored to have him as my friend.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Stockton Morris, a 9 year old student at the Coopertown Elementary School who has just completed the third grade. On Sunday, June 20, Stockton will be traveling to Washington, DC as a Pennsylvania delegate to the First Juvenile Diabetes Congress to raise the awareness of the Congress and the country about diabetes. Diabetes is a devastating disease which affects over 16 million Americans. Even though 1,700 people are diagnosed with diabetes each day, half of those who have this disease do not even know it. Unlike many other chronic and potentially deadly diseases, there is so much more that we can do to tackle diabetes--much of it simply through education and awareness. Most important, however, is the need for increased funding for diabetes research at NIH and CDC so that we may someday discover a cure to eradicate this disease. I have heard from many of Stockton's friends and teachers. All of them applaud him for his character and courage. Susan Mingey, a teacher in Stockton's school, wrote to me saying, ``As a teacher in Stockton's school, I have watched him for almost four years carry himself with dignity and honor as he accepts the day to day routine of `highs and lows' with needles. I have listened to him explain his disease to peers, teachers, and Coopertown's youngest students with the knowledge and authority of one who is in control of his disease.'' Karen Brimer, Stockton's Learning Support Teacher, wrote to say, ``I have seen Stockton grow into such a wonderful young person. He is full of knowledge, wisdom, and zest for life. I often look at him as my teacher when it comes to learning about diabetes.'' Stockton has worked patiently, quietly, and courageously to raise the awareness of his schoolmates regarding this disease. He has even raised money for research to find a cure. On Sunday, Stockton will be taking his efforts to a new level, traveling to Washington, DC to raise the awareness of the country and the Congress about the need for increased research dollars. Three years ago, I myself was diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin--a hormone which breaks down sugar and converts it to energy. I was diagnosed after I underwent a diabetes screening test after former Speaker Newt Gingrich urged me and my colleagues to become more involved with fighting diabetes. I have type II diabetes, the most common form, and can easily treat and control my condition through medication, exercise, and diet. Since then I have worked as a leading Member of the House diabetes caucus to do what Stockton has been so successful at--teach others about the disease, and raise awareness about the need for increased research dollars. In April of this year, I introduced legislation that will help us to fight this deadly disease by raising public awareness and provide increased funding for research. This innovative legislation, called the Stamp Out Diabetes Act, would create a new first-class postage stamp to raise funds for diabetes research. Under my legislation, supporters of diabetes research would voluntarily pay between 34 cents and 41 cents for the special stamp. The additional penny to eight cents would be earmarked for diabetes research at the National Institutes of Health, after the administrative costs incurred by the postal service are subtracted. My hope is that Americans will realize the importance of funding this type of research and will show their support by paying a few extra pennies to mail a letter. With millions of Americans taking part in this program, it is my hope that we can raise as much as $10 million in additional funding for diabetes research. As we struggle to balance the budget and reduce the national debt, we have to come up with new and innovative ways to fund research in critical areas like diabetes. By allowing individuals to voluntarily help the cause of diabetes research, my legislation will help to fund this life-saving research. Not only will the stamp help to raise much-needed funding for diabetes research--at no expense to taxpayers--but it will also help to raise the public's awareness about the disease. Perhaps it will even prompt some individuals to undergo diabetes screenings and catch the disease in its early stages. With innovative projects such as the diabetes stamp, combined with the work and support of young leaders like Stockton Morris, we will indeed be able to find a cure for diabetes as we enter the new Millennium. And so I rise today to applaud this extraordinary young man. He is a tribute to his family, his school, and his community. His continuing advocacy on behalf of the diabetes community is an immeasurable benefit to our common cause--finding a cure for diabetes. In conclusion, I would like to thank Stockton for all of his work on behalf of the diabetes community. I would also like to thank the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation for holding this important event. The work that they have done has indeed made a difference.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon), for yielding me this time, and I applaud him for this law. Mr. Chairman, we are here to support Aimee's Law. As we know, laws are about people. This is Aimee. Aimee lived 2 miles from my home in Pennsylvania. Aimee was a bright 22-year-old, promising young lady, great in athletics, great in school, who had an unbelievable career ahead of her. Her life was snuffed out because a man who had been repeatedly involved in hurting other people struck her car on a freeway to make her pull over. When she pulled off the side of the road on June 20, 1996, and got out to see what was wrong, as any normal person would do, he accosted her. She was abducted. She was raped. She was brutally murdered. She was found in a dumpster with two trash bags over her head and a stick between her legs. The man who was convicted of brutally murdering Aimee Willard served 11 years of a life sentence that had been given to him for killing someone else, but that State paroled him early. They let him out without serving his full sentence. Not only did he kill Aimee Willard, he is now the suspect in a second murder, Maria Cabuenos, who disappeared in March 1997 and was also found murdered. The same individual who has been convicted of murdering twice was driving Miss Cabuenos' car when he was found while trying to burglarize another house. How many times are we going to let someone out early? And why should not we create a disincentive to have States thoroughly review the process for people who have been convicted of rape, of murder and child molestation from getting out prematurely? This does not provide a one-size-fits-all answer. It simply says to States that we are going to hold a person accountable. If someone allows people who commit these brutal crimes to get out prematurely, then they are going to pay the price of the other State where that person is convicted of their costs in having to convict that person a second time. In the name of Aimee Willard and all of those other thousands of people, I ask our colleagues to support Aimee's Law.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I share the gentleman's concerns and applaud him for his outstanding national leadership on this issue. The committee's report states that the protection of the Nation's critical infrastructure against strategic information warfare attacks will require new tools and technology for information assurance and dominance. The ability to assess the vulnerability of the domestic electric power grid infrastructure to information attack will require the development of integrated models that can be used to develop strategies and procedures to detect and respond to terrorist attacks on the national electric power grid. Because defense information infrastructure is closely linked and dependent upon the domestic information infrastructure, I believe, and the committee report states, and I reinforce, that government, industry and academia should form partnerships to cooperatively develop information assurance solutions to protect the Nation's critical information systems infrastructure. Mr. Chairman, I applaud the gentleman because he has taken a leadership role in developing such a model in the Philadelphia metropolitan region.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I have a great announcement to follow up the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm), who announced this earlier. For all those naysayers, today the THAAD program had a very successful intercept. We hit a bullet with a bullet. Not only did we hit the target, we hit it right in the spot where that target would be eliminated so that the trajectory of the missile would not continue on into where our troops would be held. So for all of those people who stood on the House floor and said missile defense does not work, the technology is not there, it is a failure, guess what, Mr. Chairman, today we hit a bullet with a bullet. We solved the problem that people said we could not solve. I just want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who had the good common sense to understand that American technology can do anything, and we are never going to have a case where those 28 brave young Americans, half of whom were from my State, came back to their homeland in a body bag because we could not defend a missile attack against them.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. In closing, the gentleman would make a fine fantasy writer for fantasy books. We are dealing in substance here. There have been serious security concerns brought before this Congress by nine of the most solid Members of this institution, four members of the Democrat Party who I have the highest respect for, who understand security issues and understand the implications of them and do not get on this floor and rail with a bunch of uninformed and unbacked-up rhetoric about what we are trying to do. This is a serious issue that deserves a serious response. This amendment takes that step. I would encourage and ask my colleagues to support this bipartisan effort to provide one more tool to allow us to monitor our technology before it is sold to a rogue nation or a terrorist state.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, I would say the gentleman is correct. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Absolutely.

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Absolutely. And Democrats have been on the forefront of that in this body, as have Republicans. Our battle has not been within this Congress.