Lynn Westmoreland

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Rodney Kay, named my State's 2009-10 ``Assistant Principal of the Year'' by the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals. Rodney, head of Curriculum and Instruction at Heard County High School in Franklin, will represent the Peach State well when he competes for the national title in March. Rodney won this award after serving as an administrator for only two years. This recognition so early in his career demonstrates the passion and commitment he brings to educating young people. His leadership, combined with the talents of all the fine educators at Heard County High, quickly brought demonstrable results. The school has achieved new records in test scores, and the Governor's Office of Student Achievement named Heard County as one of only nine schools to attain ``platinum'' status in the 2008-09 school year. Rodney's win was not only well-deserved, but it also had the additional benefit of bringing positive attention to Heard County students' accomplishments, said Principal Rusty Sowell. ``It is a tremendous honor to be selected, and it speaks for itself with the things he has done and helped us achieve,'' Sowell continued. This success might derive from Rodney's team player approach with teachers. Rodney knows first-hand the challenges as well as the joys that come with serving directly in the classroom. Before his promotion to assistant principal at Heard County, he worked as a Spanish teacher for 13 years in his hometown of Carrollton. As a Member of Congress, I greatly appreciate efforts to honor the outstanding public servants who dedicate their lives to enlightening the next generation of Americans. Our teachers rank among our greatest resources. They put their own hearts on the line for students facing educational hardships or troubled home lives. They also know the triumph of seeing students learn, overcome obstacles, achieve academic excellence and go on to successful college and professional careers. Rodney Kay obviously has approached this calling with fervor and passion--and with an eye on a higher purpose. ``I believe I am in the school to serve teachers and students, and I have been placed on this Earth to serve God and others,'' Rodney said. We appreciate that service from Rodney and his fellow educators. On behalf of the people of Georgia's 3rd District, I congratulate him on this honor and wish him the best of luck as he advances to the next level.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and for having this special hour. I did want to comment that we are all supposed to be treated equally in this country. It doesn't matter if you're a mayor, a city councilman, a State representative, a State senator, whatever, whatever you're elected to or appointed to, you should be treated the same as every citizen in this country. I guess it was back in February of 2009 that President Obama made a statement, and I don't know if the gentleman from Texas has talked about this yet or not, but I think this is what the American people were looking for when they elected President Obama because of what he had said on the campaign trail and what I believe people believed to be the truth. I think he was sincere in saying that there would be hope and change. And I think some of the change that people were counting on was to change politics as usual or how they had perceived politics in Washington. Because as the gentleman from Texas knows, in politics, it doesn't matter what the truth is, it's what the perception is. And right now, as I travel around the country, and I'm sure as the gentleman travels through his State and across the country and even into other lands, we hear that, What's wrong with Washington? Why is it that you've got all these different people being accused of these different things of getting special treatment? The President said, ``I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom- up politics. I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards, one for the powerful people and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes.'' Now that was a quote from President Obama on February 3, 2009. I'm sure as the gentleman mentioned I think in his previous slide about the IRS employees, these are the employees that are under Secretary Geithner, and what it says is ``willful failure to file any return of tax required under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on or before the date prescribed therefor (including any extensions) unless such failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.'' And we know, from at least the testimony that we've heard, that this was willful neglect, that he had actually been reimbursed this money by the company that he was working for. And so I think it was neglect, and I think this needs to be looked at. I'm not sure what committee or jurisdiction or whatever that this would come through, maybe the gentleman from Texas knows, but this should be something that we demand of somebody that holds an office like Secretary of the Treasury. I have filed for extensions, as I'm sure many people have filed for extensions, and I have never yet had the same treatment or had any constituents that's had the same treatment as the Secretary of the Treasury and while his dealings have been with the Internal Revenue. I will yield back to the gentleman.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. If anybody was watching us tonight, they might think that this is some type of partisan thing that we have. It's not. In fact, it goes well beyond that. In a posting of November 17, 2009, the Huffington Post, which is no conservative posting, had a comment. It said: ``But for his personal tax problems, Tim Geithner would have been a consensus choice of Wall Street for Treasury Secretary last fall. Yet from the outset, Mr. Geithner's appointment compromised the Obama administration-to-be's credibility on ethics. The Treasury Secretary has become a continuing liability for this President.'' So even the most liberal of the blogs and the Web pages understand that this goes against the credibility of what this administration has said about it was going to change Washington. And as the gentleman knows, it's not just this appointment, it was other appointments to where he had to issue waivers of what some of his administration rules or promises were to allow other lobbyists or people to be not only in his Cabinet but appointments of his. I think that it's not just the conservative world or does it have anything to do with partisan politics, I think that everybody, and it seems like especially those that voted for him, are calling Mr. Geithner's credibility into account with the administration. I think the ultimate bearer of responsibility on this is the President and the administration and I would like to know if he is getting any advice as to why this Secretary is getting special treatment. I just don't think that that's what the American people felt like we were going to get after this last election.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I thank my friend for yielding. Let me just say this; that there were several appointees that the President made after his election and it was discovered that they had tax problems. One former Senator that was looked at for the Health and Human Services Secretary excused himself because he had tax problems. There were other people that had been appointed that had tax problems that excused themselves. We need to point out, I think, to my friend from Texas that Mr. Geithner's problems were pointed out prior to his approval or confirmation by the Senate.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. And so this brings in another whole new question. Is this something that we're going to accept? Is this something that's supposed to be accepted? I just don't think so. I think of our brethren--I think it was a mistake on their part when they knew exactly what had gone on, and they still went ahead with the confirmation process, whereas they should have just continued to ask questions and got more information on this. But I think it talks about character when the people that were under nomination--I mean, let's face it. It's quite an honor to be nominated to serve in the Cabinet of any President in this country. What an honor. But with that comes some personal responsibility. I think some of these nominees realize that what they were going to be doing was going to be a reflection on the administration. And not just the administration, but the rule of law, as you talked about, and how it affects and applies to everybody. And so it's with that that I think the gentleman from Texas has done a great job. And I've signed, I think, both of the pieces of legislation, the Rangel rule and the Geithner penalty waiver act. I think that's something that we can do to show the American people that we want to see some equal treatment. But I just wanted to bring into account this personal responsibility that people have to recognize; that if they have done something wrong or gotten treatment that was unfair, if they just recuse themselves from the nomination.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Isn't it ironic that the chairman of the committee that writes the tax laws and the Secretary who is head of the Treasury, that is really the boss of the IRS, are the two with the tax problems. Mr. Rangel being chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I felt it was interesting when he admitted that he didn't realize what the law was. I can't remember his exact quote, but basically he didn't realize that he was breaking the law. But from the constituents that have called me, and I don't know about the gentleman, what your calls have been like, they have told me that the Internal Revenue Service tells them that ignorance is no excuse.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. That ignorance is no excuse. It doesn't matter if you know that that was a tax law or not. If you don't pay, and if you don't file correctly, you're going to pay penalty and interest. Now the chairman also made a comment that he got his accountant to figure up what he felt like he owed and send the Internal Revenue a check for that. Now here, again, I have had my constituents tell me that they have never had the IRS tell them, Look, you just figure up what you think you owe us and send us a check and we're all square. They typically send a bill and tell you what you owe them, plus what the penalty is, plus what the interest is. Now it's up to the taxpayer to prove that they don't owe that. It's not the responsibility of the Internal Revenue to show you why you do owe that tax or why you do owe that penalty or interest. It's up to the taxpayers. It's the taxpayer's responsibility to tell you why you don't. So talking about the double standards. When you find yourself in that situation and you say, Well, I'll get my accountant to figure up what I think that I owe you, and I'll send you a check, and we'll all be square--that doesn't square with the typical taxpayer and how they're treated by the Internal Revenue Service. So we've got the gentleman that actually writes the laws and the rules that govern the IRS and what our tax code is that said, I don't understand it. But, according to IRS and every other citizen, ignorance is no excuse.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. If you would yield for just a minute.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I was going to say that at least Mr. Rangel said that he had forgotten that he owned this property or that this rental income had come in. And so that was his explanation. Mr. Geithner, I don't think, had that same explanation, because if I understand the information correctly and the evidence correctly, he was actually told by that company that he was being paid this additional money to pay those taxes that was due from the money he had received. I'm not sure what the gentleman has got up there.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Is that false swearing?

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Isn't that against the law? I think it is in Georgia.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Well, I just want to say this to my friend from Texas, in closing, I appreciate you taking the leadership on this. I know this is not an easy subject for you to broach every week when you come down here, but we have to be serious about this. We are a country of laws, and regardless of whether some people think they can disregard them or not, that's not the way we operate. We all fall victim to this, but I think it's our responsibility to continually point it out and to point the way that we need to be going on this. I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you doing this week in and week out. I feel honored to be able to join you tonight.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, when President Obama meets tomorrow with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, I encourage him to express his strong support for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Deepening the important economic ties between our countries benefits both sides. Already, Georgia does billions of dollars in trade with Korea each year. For Georgians in the 3rd Congressional District, this relationship with Korea has yielded tangible benefits: thousands of good-paying jobs. Korean automaker Kia has opened up a production facility in West Point, GA, and eventually will employ nearly 2,500 people in a region devastated by textile mill closings over the past 30 years. New jobs are always welcome, but they're a lifesaver for many Georgia families as our State suffers with an unemployment rate above 10 percent. The plant will have a $6.5 billion economic impact on the local economy, creating up to 20,000 new jobs as a result. Direct Korean investment is bolstering our economy and paying the bills for thousands of families in west Georgia. Lowering trade barriers between South Korea and the United States will produce more positive outcomes like the Kia plant for communities throughout this nation. Not only will American consumers benefit from cheaper, duty-free products from Korea, but also American businesses will sell more of our products in the Korean market. In 2007, Georgia businesses exported $397 million worth of goods to Korea. Removing tariffs on U.S. goods, particularly those competing against protected Korean industries, could significantly increase that number. Agriculture remains my State's No. 1 industry and KORUS FTA would eliminate tariffs and barriers to Georgia farm products such as peanuts, poultry and cotton. Madam Speaker, for my constituents in Georgia's 3rd Congressional District, the KORUS FTA isn't some academic lecture with line graphs. For Georgians, the benefits are tangible and observable. For the people in West Point, GA, Korean economic investment means jobs. Good jobs. Lots of jobs. The Congress has dragged its feet on passing this trade deal even though we've seen previous agreements work. In the first four years of the U.S.-Singapore FTA, Georgia's exports to Singapore have grown 212 percent. Since NAFTA went into effect in 1994, Georgia's combined exports to Canada and Mexico have increased by 194 percent and since entry into force of the U.S.-Chile Agreement in 2004, the State's exports to Chile have grown 93 percent. I encourage President Obama to keep these numbers--these numbers that represent real jobs for real Americans--in mind when he shakes hands with President Lee tomorrow.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, on this bill the Congress is scheduled to vote on today will cost more than $1.3 trillion over the life of the bill. It'll expand entitlement spending, it'll raise taxes on small business payrolls, it'll cost jobs by mandating coverage that some businesses can't afford, it'll put government in between the doctor and the patient, and it'll cut Medicare funding. By expanding Medicaid eligibility, the legislation puts new burdens on states that already are struggling to pay their bills. The states share the cost of the Medicaid program, and this could cost my home state $2 billion to $4 billion over the next 10 years. That's a huge share of Georgia's state budget, and it's a cost we simply can't bear. But, luckily, there is a better way. Republicans are providing that alternative, although the Democrats continue to insist we're not offering ideas. We are. They just don't want Americans to know it.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the history of the former Eastern Airlines and its loyal employees. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Aviation, this matter is of particular importance to me. I recently met with one of my constituents; Mr. Robert G. Fuhrman of Fayetteville, Georgia, who is a former Eastern pilot; Bob recounted the history of the company and its employees' fight to maintain its reputation for leadership in the airline industry. Additionally, Bob presented me with a copy of his manuscript as well as a number of correspondences to elected officials detailing his experiences, both good and bad, at Eastern Airlines. I have brought these experiences and documents to the attention of the House Aviation Subcommittee so that the Members of the Subcommittee would be aware of the history of Eastern Airlines as well as fulfill my constituent's First Amendment right as outlined in our U.S. Constitution to petition his government for a redress of grievances. I would like to recount some of the history of Eastern Airlines which had such a profound impact on my home state of Georgia as a hub at Hartsfield--Jackson, Atlanta International Airport. Eastern Air Transport first emerged on the heels of the Great Depression, operating primarily as an airmail carrier. As air travel grew during the 1950s and 60s, Eastern proved to be a leader in both aviation technology and industry practices. It was the first airline to turn a profit from commercial transportation and the first to successfully implement a shuttle service. Along with its reputation for excellence in flight, Eastern became respected for its civic and philanthropic contributions. Eddie Rickenbacker, the company's founder and World War I flying ace, oversaw Eastern's participation in U.S. war efforts. In World War II, Eastern served the United States Military by establishing military support flights connecting Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas. This project eventually led to the creation of the airline's own Military Transport Division. The families of Eastern airlines shared both the drive for success and sense of responsibility its early founder established. Between 1985 and 1986, employees and their families sponsored three ``mercy flights'' to Ethiopia and the Sudan. Despite the company's early success and innovation, Eastern began to experience financial difficulty. After years of losses, a series of labor disagreements, and the slow accumulation of debt, Eastern filed for bankruptcy in March of 1989. However, the strategic move was not enough to salvage the company, as it was unable to keep up with the expanding market and the demand for cheaper fares. Eastern Airlines finally closed its doors in 1991. While the airline is no longer in operation, the advances its management and employees contributed to the industry are still used by major carriers today. It is of great importance to me that Eastern Airlines and its employees such as my constituent Robert Fuhrman are remembered by the U.S. Congress in a positive light for their contributions to air travel.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, if you get dressed in the dark, you are probably going to make some poor clothing choices that will open you to ridicule. Well, the same rule applies when you write bills in the dark. President Obama said last year that the health care reform negotiations would air on C-SPAN. That way, he said, Americans could see who was fighting for them and who is siding with the special interests. Based on the President's very own formula, we must assume that the Democrat-only, closed-door dealmaking on health care must have put the special interests at the forefront. It appears certain that one of those special interests at the table behind the closed doors was the trial attorneys. Maybe that is why the negotiations were secret. They can claim attorney-client confidentiality. But those trial attorneys must have charged by the hour, because the Democrats gave them quite the payoff in this legislation. This bill will override States' malpractice reform laws and it will prevent States from capping attorneys' fees or damage rewards. Isn't it ironic that it was President Obama who warned us that this would happen.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, as Veterans Day approaches, I rise today to pay tribute to the millions of brave troops who have worn our nation's uniform and particularly to the 700,000 who now live in Georgia. Today's American veterans are part of a proud legacy that dates back to the founding of our nation, independence won with the blood and sacrifice of underfed, undertrained, underequipped colonists hungry for the taste of freedom. That bank of Patriots gave birth to the greatest nation in history. Our 19th century veterans pushed our nation's boundaries across the continent, from sea to shining sea, and they patched our nation back together after it was ripped apart by a civil war that left more than 500,000 dead. At the dawn of the 20th century, our veterans again led the way as the United States met its destiny as the greatest of world powers. We did not deploy our mighty forces to pillage the world's riches. Instead we put American lives and treasure on the line in the service of mankind, fighting the scourges of military dictatorships, fascism, communism and terrorism. Never before has the world's greatest power acted so selflessly and so compassionately on behalf of those in need from all points on the globe. Our soldiers fought, bled and died from Pearl Harbor to Paris, from the Balkans to Baghdad, from Seoul to Saigon. They fought in defense of freedom; they fought on behalf of human dignity; they fought against genocide; they fought to right wrongs. Most important, they fought to protect the American people and their way of life. On Veterans Day, we salute those who fought for this nation, from our senior veterans who delivered victory in WWII to our brave men and women coming home today from Iraq and Afghanistan. When the call of duty sounded, they answered. They put liberty over life, and they put their countrymen above themselves. We know our veterans bear the scars of war, the pains of wounds physical, mental and emotional. We know they faced down horror, loss and sacrifice beyond compare. And we know they did it for us. The American people cannot repay the debt we owe to those who served. We honor them on this Veterans Day 2009, and may we reflect on their greatness every time we raise the Stars and Stripes, every time we sing the National Anthem, every time we place our hands on our hearts to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and every time we thank God for the birthright of liberty we inherited as Americans.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, this majority has just run a $1.4 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2009, even as we are told a new health care entitlement will reduce red ink by $871 billion over 10 years. But let's look at history and what has happened since the government has got involved in health care. Prior to the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, health care inflation ran slightly faster than overall inflation. In the years since, medical inflation has climbed 2.5 percent faster than the cost increases elsewhere in the economy. Let's start with Medicaid. House Ways and Means in 1965 estimated that the first 5 years' cost would be $238 million. Instead, it hit more than $1 billion, and costs have kept climbing since. Let's look at this. In 1965, Medicare, another government program, was projected to cost $12 billion by 1990. It cost $110 billion. Medicare hospital, 1965 projected 1990 costs, $9 billion; actual cost, $67 billion. Let's look at history and see what happens when the government gets involved.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, as the leader of coalition forces in a faltering Afghanistan, the United States appears indecisive at this critical juncture in the long war. Madam Speaker, we owe it to the Afghan people, the Pakistani people, our allies and our own national security interests and our courageous U.S. troops to stiffen our spines and heed the recommendations put forth by General McChrystal. As a leading expert on counterinsurgency efforts, General McChrystal has rightly put the focus on winning over the Afghan civilians to our side by providing the security they so desperately want for their families and villages. As an American and as a Member of this House, I hate to put U.S. soldiers in harm's way, whether it is on our own shores or halfway around the world. We all wish that we could remove our troops from the day-to-day, face-to-face conflicts with the insurgent forces in Afghanistan. We all wish that we could finish this job by dropping bombs on the bad guys from the safety of unmanned drones or conducting surgical strikes with Special Forces. These counterterrorism efforts hold much appeal and those tactics can win in many battles. But there is a problem. Our own very recent experiences teach us that counterterrorism alone can't win this wider war. We faced a similar crossroads in Iraq 3 years ago. American forces had suffered heavy casualties. The Iraqi Government was inept and corrupt. The Sunni insurgency and al Qaeda in Iraq ravaged the country. Our Nation then took a new course. We took a risk, a highly controversial one at the time, Madam Speaker, but that risk turned out to be an investment in Iraq's future, and it is an investment that has paid off for the United States today. Today we have a measure of stability that no one could have predicted 3 years ago. As a result, we are positioned to draw down our troop levels there. In fact, when President Obama was a candidate, he saw the success in Iraq as a chance to redirect our attention to Afghanistan. Then-Senator Obama said in August 2008: ``Ending the war will allow us to invest in America, to strengthen our military and to finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and the border region of Pakistan. This is the central front in the war on terrorism. This is where the Taliban is gaining strength and launching new attacks. This is where Osama bin Laden and the same terrorists who killed nearly 3,000 Americans on our own soil are hiding and plotting 7 years after 9/11. This is a war that we have to win. And as Commander in Chief, I will have no greater priority than taking out these terrorists who threaten America and finishing the job against the Taliban.'' As President, Obama issued an important policy statement on Afghanistan in March. He said his goals were to ``disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to prevent their return to either country in the future.'' In that statement, President Obama said explicitly that we cannot allow the Afghan Government to fall again to the Taliban because ``that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can.'' These are clear words, Madam Speaker. Those words, if they were U.S. policy, would give solace to our allies, to the Afghans, to the Pakistanis and to our own troops taking the fight to the Taliban. But our actual intentions in Afghanistan are not clear, even though General McChrystal's report states explicitly that without more troops in the next year, the United States faces mission failure where defeating the insurgents is no longer possible. That's the view of a respected general, the commander handpicked by President Obama, who works in Kabul and travels around Afghanistan every day. So why is it that the Obama administration is sending mixed signals to the American public and to the rest of the world? Why is his national security adviser on Sunday morning talk shows saying that Afghanistan is not in imminent danger of falling to the Taliban? After many years of fighting in Afghanistan, after many years of two steps forward and one step back, we cannot flinch. We must let our allies, our military and the Afghans and Pakistanis know right now that we will do what it takes to provide stability and security. Governing is about tough decisions. We must make the tough decisions to give General McChrystal the troops he needs to finish this mission. We must protect the population and assure them that we're not going anywhere. That's our only hope of winning over the Afghan people who fear that if they work with us, they'll be slaughtered by the Taliban when the Americans leave. As President Obama said just 2 months ago: ``This will not be quick nor easy. But we must never forget: This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity.'' Let's hope that he has not forgotten.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Bill Harrison, the recently retired president of the Coweta County Development Authority, who died September 29 after a battle with cancer. I had the great privilege of knowing Bill personally. He was a professional, a dedicated husband and father, an avid outdoorsman, and an all-around great guy. He put his heart and soul into bringing new businesses and opportunities to Coweta County, and that's how he and I became acquainted. He would take business recruits under his wing like a mother hen. He would often bring them into my district office personally, assuring they had a friendly, familiar face in the room and that they got all of their needs met and all of their questions answered. He also saw to it that nothing got lost in translation between us Georgians and our international business partners. As the Newnan Times-Herald reported upon his death, ``Harrison assisted with locations or expansions of numerous companies, including PetSmart, SYGMA Networking, Kingwasong, Winpak Films, D&H Distribution, and MC Precast. He considered the planned location of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America to Coweta County the highlight of his professional career.'' It's fitting that his crowning achievement will be a center to fight the ravages of cancer, the disease that took him from us much too soon. The cancer treatment center will bring at least 500 new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact for Coweta County. When Bill retired this summer, the Times-Herald editorialized: ``Bill Harrison is a good guy. If he were in an old western movie, he would be wearing a white hat. . . . When Harrison took the economic development job in Coweta, our community's industry-recruiting effort was a mess. It was fragmented. There was no single go-to person or organization. It had gotten so bad that prospects would simply look elsewhere. That changed after Harrison was hired to preside over the Development Authority and that group became the go-to agency here.'' Bill was more than a fierce advocate for the community; he was also a beloved figure. On a web site set up for his family, more than 2,000 people expressed their condolences. All of Coweta County mourns the loss of our dear friend Bill Harrison. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of 43 years, Virginia Heitzman Harrison, and their family.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to stand with my colleagues about this language that was put in the conference committee report, and I am looking at the press release now: ``Conference Committee Adopts Shelby Water Wars Amendment.'' I just want to give a little warning to some other Members of this because, not only would the judges' ruling about the Tallapoosa Basin and the Chattahoochee Basin--it also mentioned that because this drinking water was nonauthorized, and who would ever have thought we would have to authorize the ability for humans to have drinking water out of their water source, it also is going to affect 17 other States with approximately 42 Corps impoundments in their States. If they do not believe that this will be used as a test case and a model for others to file suit with the Endangered Species Act or whatever for people taking unauthorized drinking water out of those water sources, they are very much confused. This bill needs to be defeated. This conference report needs to be defeated. We need to go back to conference. We need to get this language out. I hope that other Members in this body who have these impoundments located in their States understand the consequences this language could have for them if this conference committee report is passed in this body and goes to the President's desk for signing. Because if you don't believe this isn't going to be brought up in some of these court cases, you're just fooling yourself. So I would like to ask the other Members of this body to join me and my colleagues in voting against the conference report.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, times of crisis make or break reputations. My home State of Georgia experienced such a crisis in the past 2 weeks, with rainfall and floods believed to set the benchmark for a 500-year period. Last week President Obama declared parts of Georgia a disaster area, opening up Federal aid, and the House of Representatives paid tribute to both the victims of the flood and the courageous emergency workers who put their own lives on the line to protect lives and property. Tragically, despite our best efforts, at least 10 Georgians died in those floods. Seven of those deaths were in Douglas County, part of which I represent. The State of Georgia estimates that 20,000 homes suffered extensive damage, thousands were at least temporarily homeless, and damages have reached $500 million and could rise from there. The worst destruction occurred in the upper Chattahoochee River basin. Because the rising water flowing down the river could have easily snowballed and ravaged areas south of West Point Dam, we're fortunate that areas of west Georgia didn't experience devastation on the scale seen in north Georgia and metro Atlanta. While areas southwest of Atlanta did see some inevitable flooding during the heaviest rainfalls on record, counties south of West Point Lake benefited from the excellent management of the lake by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In recent years the Corps of Engineers has battled both extremes from divvying up sacred water resources during a painful drought in 2007 to taming raging floodwaters in recent weeks. The Corps has performed important water management tasks that most Americans take for granted. The Corps takes abuse when it has to issue tough decisions, but its many good works go unnoticed. I want to correct that oversight today. The Corps management of the basin and specifically West Point Lake during the floods unquestionably saved lives and property. The Corps has acted with foresight and skill, and my constituents in west Georgia benefited from the actions immensely. When heavy rains began to fall in north Georgia and metro Atlanta, the Corps prepared early for the deluge of water heading downstream and strategically released water from the lake to create more storage capacity. A leading expert on West Point Lake, Joe Maltese of LaGrange, called the Corps' early maneuvering ``brilliant.'' ``Throughout the week of the floods, the Corps used the water storage capacity it had been given to its fullest and held nature's fury back to protect as much and as many as they could downstream below West Point Dam,'' Maltese said. The Corps walked a tightrope trying to assure the dam held back all it could against a mighty surge, and they succeeded. Even though this year's flood set the 500-year benchmark, the Corps managed to keep the dam below record levels set in 2003 while at the same time regulating releases to prevent massive flooding below the dam. Residents of Troup County, the county where West Point Lake is, have stood united in their praise of the Corps of Engineers. The LaGrange- Troup County Chamber of Commerce West Point Lake Committee gave the Corps a sincere thank you. And the city of West Point, which did suffer some flooding, is grateful that the Corps of Engineers prevented the worst from happening. ``The Corps did an excellent job controlling the river,'' said West Point police chief David Kerr. To that, I would like to add my gratitude and congratulations to the fine men and women of the Corps of Engineers for their efforts during a trying time for Georgia. When crisis hit, these public servants stood ready and able. When reputations could be made or broken, they made theirs. We will never know how many lives were saved by their actions, and for that we're all grateful. And the people of west Georgia want to commend the Army Corps of Engineers.

Mr. WESTMORELAND

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Thank you for yielding. I did want to bring the substance. We were talking about the rule of law. Speaker Pelosi, after the 2006 election, made a comment. She said, This leadership team will create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history. To my friend from Texas, we know we've been here many times talking about the Rangel rule where Chairman Rangel was found to not have paid his taxes and then had his accountant figure out what he felt like he did owe and sent it in without penalties and interest and other things. Then we had Secretary Geithner who did not pay his self-employment taxes and some other taxes on more than one occasion. And this is something that the American people are wanting to know where this most honest, most ethical Congress, most open Congress is at. I just wanted to kind of bring that up to remind the people that we are not special in this body right here. We need to be operating under the rule of law and be under the same consequences that every American is under. Let's talk about ACORN and what the bill is that Leader Boehner and Ranking Member Issa have introduced. We might want to remember that last week the House voted about 345-79 for an amendment to bar the Federal funding of ACORN, but we need to go further than that. We need to pass a stand-alone bill. And that's what this H.R. 3571 does, the Defund ACORN Act. No Federal contract, grant, cooperative, or agreement or any other form of agreement may be awarded to or entered into with ACORN. No Federal funds may be given to ACORN. No Federal employee may promote ACORN, including some ACORN State chapters, organizations with financial stakes in ACORN, and organizations that shared directors or employees with ACORN. And Judge, my friend from Texas, I am glad to announce the great Governor of the great State of Georgia has canceled the contract that the State had with ACORN. So people are starting to understand that when you have an organization that not only these videos exposed, but even the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform found ACORN had committed a list of offenses: voter fraud, tax evasion, obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting embezzlement, investment fraud, use of taxpayer funding for partisan political activity, Department of Labor violations. You know, ACORN should not be allowed to get off with just an internal audit. They need to be looked at much deeper than that. An internal audit for ACORN is the same as asking Secretary Geithner to investigate Chairman Rangel. So we need to go further with that. ACORN has received hundreds of millions of dollars. We should be more responsible to the people of this country, the hardworking people of this country that pay their taxes that we would want to give it away to organizations such as this. Right now, I'll be glad to yield to our friend from--I'll yield back the time to you, Judge, and then you can yield. But thank you for giving me this time.

Mr. WESTMORELAND. Well, thank you for yielding the time, and I don't know if we're going to get back to ACORN.