Tim Walberg

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, all of us in this Chamber agree, our recovering veterans deserve hospitals that are clean, secure and sanitary when they return home from the battlefield defending our great Nation in the name of liberty. The recent findings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are a grave breach of trust to those who shed blood on the battlefield fighting for our freedoms. This Congress must work with the administration to implement a comprehensive evaluation of conditions at Walter Reed and hold those in charge accountable for these deplorable conditions. The bipartisan commission created by the President to determine whether similar problems exist at other military and VA hospitals is also a necessary and appropriate course of action. Going forward, we must ensure world-class standards and patient-centered efficiency for our veterans. Better oversight is clearly necessary to ensure military facilities exemplify our soldiers' honor and courage. As hearings on the conditions at Walter Reed are held this week, this Congress must reaffirm its commitment to our wounded soldiers and veterans to ensure they are provided first class medical care.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, it is clearly and cleverly entitled the ``Employee Free Choice Act,'' but we are about to consider a bill that strips away the very tool that protects the sanctity of a free and open society, the private ballot. Private ballots ensure workers have elections without fraudulent interference, coercion, or intimidation. Confidence will be lost with a system that forces workers to publicly declare their intentions. The AFL-CIO recognized this hypocrisy by expressing support for secret ballots when workers are presented the opportunity to decertify a union. They have argued that private ballot elections ``provide the surest means for avoiding decisions which are the result of group pressures and not individual decisions.'' As a former union steelworker, I believe in the merits of unionization, when appropriate. I also believe that every American worker should have the right to choose freely and privately. Congress has a duty to defeat legislation that strips workers of this important right, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 800.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, Jim Hettinger, a constituent of mine from Battle Creek, MI, will be recognized as Scene Magazine's ``Man of the Year'' this Thursday. Mr. Hettinger is receiving this honor for his work in and around the community of Battle Creek over the past three decades. Mr. Hettinger's work has spanned all areas of community service; from education to economic development to the arts to food banks to health care. Jim Hettinger has touched many lives in his community. In 1978, Mr. Hettinger was named president of Battle Creek Unlimited, an organization. which brings together government, non-profit and business groups for the sole purpose of furthering the development of the economy of Battle Creek and Calhoun County. Highlights of Mr. Hettinger's leadership of Battle Creek Unlimited include saving the Federal Center in Battle Creek in 1993, the addition of Duncan Aviation and Western Michigan College of Aviation and the establishment of the West Michigan Aviation Research Foundation. As the article in Scene Magazine honoring Mr. Hettinger states, ``the Research Foundation will help to promote economic development and attract research dollars to this community.'' Mr. Hettinger is probably best known for his efforts and foresight in transforming Fort Custer, which was an abandoned military training base, into the 3,000-acre Fort Custer Industrial Park, the largest modem industrial park in Michigan. Today, the industrial park has over 90 companies and employs thousands of good paying, high-skilled jobs. This is not the first award for Mr. Hettinger as he has been rightfully showered with praise for his commitment to the Calhoun County community. Mr. Hettinger received Governor Engler's first Economic Developer of the Year award in 1995. He received Certificates of Recognition for Community Service from Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Mr. Hettinger's community service endeavors are too expansive to list here today, and his work is best displayed by the tremendous number of lives he has touched throughout his career in Battle Creek. I extend my sincere appreciation and offer the congratulations of the U.S. Congress to Mr. Jim Hettinger for being named Scene Magazine's ``Man of the Year.''

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, the renowned author William Shakespeare once wrote, ``How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.'' Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Alice Manning, an 87- year-old resident of Jackson, Michigan whose example has been a shining light to her community for over fifty years. According to a February 21, 2007 article in the Jackson Citizen- Patriot, Manning took a first-aid course through the American Red Cross in March of 1956 and began volunteering with the organization. To this day, the dedicated mother of two, grandmother of four and great-grandmother of four hasn't stopped. Though she has never actually donated blood due to the Red Cross' weight requirement of 110 pounds, Alice has served the organization in various capacities for more than 50 years. One blood donation can save up to three lives, and Alice has been an integral part of American Red Cross' efforts in the Jackson area. So we thank Alice Manning for going above and beyond the call of duty by working to save lives in south-central Michigan through her service to the American Red Cross Blood Center.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, throughout our Nation's rich history, we have reached moments where we arrive at what President Ronald Reagan described as a time for choosing. Today is such a day. This week, the House is asking ourselves a simple question: Will we choose to go forward with the resolve and determination needed to win the war on terror by supporting our brave troops, or will we retreat and wait for the fight to return to American soil? It was Winston Churchill who once said, ``Never believe any war will be smooth or easy or that anyone who embarks on a strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter.'' With this in mind, I acknowledge that the war in Iraq is not going as well as we all had hoped or wanted. Mistakes have been made. Thousands of precious lives have been lost, and there are likely more tough times to come. My wife and I pray for the men and women in uniform and grieve for every loss of life and injuries inflicted on these heroes who proudly serve our Nation. I, as much as anyone else speaking today, want this war to be over. But this resolution essentially tells these soldiers to give up because the cause they have nobly served is no longer worth the courage and vigor necessary, and protecting the American people and keeping terrorists off American soil are no longer national priorities. As Americans we are reluctant warriors, but throughout history, when our troops have been in harm's way, America has supported them and made certain our troops have the necessary resources to accomplish their mission. In a cynical way, this resolution says America has already lost and the leaders of our country no longer believe our troops can achieve victory. It tells other nations that we are unreliable as an ally, and they can no longer count on us in times of distress. My son proudly served in the Army. And during this time of service, I got to know many of his peers in uniform. I am not prepared to say to these men and women, nor to the young man fallen in battle, that I will go to right after this speech at Walter Reed Hospital, that I support you but I don't support the mission you serve, and the blood you shed on the battlefield was in vain. I am not prepared to call for a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq that will leave the Nation ripe for terrorism and ultimately bring the war on terror back to American soil. My neighbors in south central Michigan and across the country deserve to be protected from enemies of freedom. And they ought to have a Congress that doesn't shirk its responsibilities to soldiers and sailors and airmen sent into harm's way to ensure this war is fought off American soil. So we come to this time of choosing today. Are we willing to abandon our troops as they implement the new strategy based on quantifiable goals and measurable results? I hope not. I challenge my colleagues to honor America's brave men and women serving in the name of freedom and oppose this resolution of retreat.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor America's brave men and women currently serving in the name of freedom and to oppose this resolution of retreat. As Abraham Lincoln said famously in his second inaugural address: ``Fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.'' As Americans we are reluctant warriors, but throughout our rich history, whenever our troops have been in harm's way America has supported the men and women in uniform and made certain our troops have the necessary resources to accomplish their mission. Without a doubt, mistakes have been made, and these mistakes are important to acknowledge, but we must go forward with a new strategy in Iraq based on quantifiable goals and measurable results. We must not retreat. At this critical time, the American people long for true leadership and resolve. I urge my colleagues to put aside political posturing and partisanship and ensure our troops have the resources and support needed to complete this mission. Victory is the only option.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House today to draw attention to an honor recently received by my home community back in Lenawee County, Michigan. America's Promise--The Alliance for Youth, a foundation formed in 1997 to help children and youth from all socioeconomic sectors in the United States, recently named Lenawee County one of the 100 best communities for young people as part of its 10-year anniversary celebration. The criteria for winning included strong community support of children and youth, possessing valuable resources for children and youth, youth and child outcomes, overall progress within communities, and innovations in the areas of policy, practice, and resources. Communities in 38 States received this award and Lenawee County is one of the five communities in the Great Lakes State to be named a winner. This recognition is a tribute to all of the police officers, local officials, firefighters, outstanding teachers, community leaders and civil servants that make Lenawee County and south-central Michigan a great place to live.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, the renowned author William Shakespeare once wrote, ``How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.'' It is in that spirit of brotherly love that I come before this House to address an issue of great urgency back in my south-central Michigan district. According to a January 28, 2007 article in the Lansing State Journal, Michigan's statewide blood inventory levels ``have remained below an adequate supply for all negative blood types since early January. The article goes on to state that a 72-hour supply of blood is typically necessary for the needs of patients in Michigan's 127 hospitals, but the inventory level of certain blood types in Michigan has dropped to just a 12- to 24-hour supply. This past weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the St. Gerard Blood Drive held in Delta Township in Michigan's Eaton County. While I confess I have never been a fan of needles, the feeling of civic duty experienced by myself and all the donors that day far outweighed any temporary pain we may have felt as a result of a needle. It's said that a faithful friend is the medicine of life, and I urge my fellow Michiganders and Americans across this great country to heed the call of organizations like the Red Cross and make an appointment at your local blood donation center.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th anniversary of a very special organization. More than 1000 young men have sung in the Moody Men's Collegiate Choir since it's founding in 1957 as the Moody Men's Glee Club under the vision of founding conductor, Robert Carbaugh; a distinguished former professor of the Sacred Music Department of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Like all male choruses or glee clubs, the choir's members have enjoyed experiences of singing, touring, camaraderie and a wealth of tradition. Distinctive to this organization is a significant focus on the praise of God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--and the proclamation of God's Word through music. The mission of singing about their faith has taken this outstanding choral ensemble and its conductors over the years to all 50 of our United States, to Canada and to numerous destinations overseas, most recently to Australia and New Zealand in 2005. We salute former conductors Mr. Robert Carbaugh, Dr. Kerchal Armstrong, Mr. John Wilson, Mr. Vann Trapp, the late Mr. Robert Iler, Dr. Terry Strandt, and Dr. Timothy Newton, current conductor Dr. H.E. Singley III and all the members of the Moody Men's Collegiate Choir past and present for 50 years of music-making in service to their Lord, Moody Bible Institute and the Christian church around the world. Madam Speaker, we also honor them for their commitment to be men of character and faith. Their challenge can be heard in the words of a piece of music sung by these choirs over the years: ``God wants a man honest and true and brave, a man who hates the wrong and loves the right, a man who scorns all compromise with sin, who for the truth courageously will fight. God wants a man in lowly walk or high, who to the world by daily life will prove that Christ abides within the yielded heart, fitting that heart for service and for love. God wants a man who dares to tell the truth, who in the market place will stand four-square, whose word men trust, a man who never stoops to hurt his fellowman or act unfair. God wants a man of action and of faith whose life is something more than can't and talk, who lives each day as though it were his last and proves his faith by a consistent life. God wants a man of action and of faith.'' We honor the Moody Men's Choir for their 50 years of service and extend our best wishes for a bright future of expanded ministry.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, this Sunday, when Tony Dungy takes the field as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, he, along with Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith, will become the first African-Americans to coach a football team in the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. This is just one accomplishment in the extraordinary life of this native son of Michigan's 7th Congressional District. Born October 6, 1955, in Jackson, Michigan, Anthony Kevin ``Tony'' Dungy lives his life in a way that truly embodies all the best about south central Michigan. Dungy attended Parkside High School in Jackson, excelling on the football field, basketball court and in the classroom. Tony next starred as the quarterback of the University of Minnesota football team from 1973-76. By the time his collegiate career ended, Dungy finished as the school's all-time leader in attempts, completions, touchdown passes and passing yardage. Dungy played an integral role in the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl winning season of 1978, when he led the team in interceptions. Following his successful playing career, Dungy spent time as a collegiate and professional assistant coach, before being named head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995. In 2002, the Indianapolis Colts franchise named Tony Dungy its head coach, and this season is Dungy's fifth in Indianapolis and his 11th as an NFL head coach. Dungy is the first NFL head coach to defeat all 32 NFL teams and became the 35th coach in NFL history to earn 100 career victories in 2005. Dungy also is one of six coaches to win 100 or more regular- season games in his 10 years as a head coach. During the past four seasons, Dungy's Colts have won four AFC South Division championships and compiled the best winning percentage in the NFL. As remarkable as Dungy's career on the field has been, he is perhaps best known for his unique contributions off of it. Dungy and his wife Lauren, proud parents of five, have been involved with multiple organizations in the communities he has coached in, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, Basket of Hope and the Prison Crusade Ministry. Through his example of faith and family, Dungy has impacted thousands of men and women of all ages across our great country. On behalf of Michigan's 7th District, I would like to extend congratulations to Coach Dungy, a native son, for his outstanding accomplishments this season and wish both he and his family happiness in the years to come.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 6, which will raise the prices at the pumps, discourage domestic energy production, hurt America's working families, and encourage America's dependence on foreign energy. I'm reminded of the family down the road from me back home in Michigan. They are a family with four kids, both their parents work and are struggling to get by; and if this legislation becomes law every time they fill up their gas tank or heat their house it will be an even greater burden on this family. I've always said my number one priority while I'm in Congress is to protect the American taxpayer, that's a promise I made and that's a promise that I'll keep. Never voting for a tax increase is the same promise I made and kept during my 16 years in the Michigan House. This is the first tax increase vote in 13 years and it didn't take the new majority more than 2 weeks to bring it to the floor to punish the American worker. This legislation doesn't just force taxpayers to throw more money to the government, it also has our government tearing up already negotiated private contracts with the government at the same time we're trying to convince Russia, Venezuela and other countries to abide by the rule of law and respect its citizen's property rights. Bottom line, this bill will increase our reliance on foreign oil, decrease our competitiveness and raise the prices at the pumps and the energy bills of working families. I urge my colleagues to vote no on increasing our dependence on foreign oil and yes on lower taxes, less regulation and respect to the rule of law.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Thank you for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to come before you today and join my distinguished colleagues to address an issue close to my heart. My initial entry into politics came as a member of a right-to-life organization, my home county of Lenawee, Michigan. I am proud to say that during my 16 years in the Michigan House of Representatives, I established a 100 percent pro-life voting record. As I begin my first term in the U.S. House with the same ardent commitment to the sanctity of life, I want to preface my remarks by saying I wholeheartedly support stem cell research in all cases except one, any form of research that requires the eradication of human life. The legislation this Congress is considering not only destroys human life and could ultimately lead to human cloning, but also is antiquated. Embryonic stem cell research has seen consistently disappointing and with fruitless results, while nearly every month more studies come out showing that ethical, adult stem cell research continues to flourish. Just this week my wife and I were heartened to learn about stem cells derived from amniotic fluid and placentas. It is time for Congress to catch up with the remarkable and ethical developments taking place in the scientific community. In truth, this debate isn't really even about the science of stem cell research, but rather how such research will be financed. Taxpayers should not be expected to fund this research, especially when it continues to be illegal in the private sector, though unsuccessful to date. On behalf of the men and women in my district and across the pro-life districts of the country, I urge my colleagues to cast a vote for both the sanctity of life and fiscal responsibility. This vote was made even more personal and poignant to me this past Sunday when I read an article talking about a couple who will be giving birth to a child this next week as a result of having an embryo saved 2 weeks after Katrina hit, where literally National Guard troops, the Governor of Louisiana, troops from Illinois as well, moved literally hell and high water to save not only this couple's embryo, but 1,400 other embryos. The question comes, if we are going to talk about discarded embryos, or those not wanted, which ones of those 1,400 that were saved as a result of moving hell and high water by our government would be the ones that we would discard? Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleagues to support life and to support good science and vote against this proposal.

Mr. WALBERG

Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a proud Michigander today to express my profound respect and appreciation and admiration for the life and public service of our 38th President. President Gerald Ford was a man of impeccable integrity and ethics who served valiantly in World War II on the USS Monterey, where he came close to losing his life in December of 1944. After returning home to Michigan, his calling remained in public service to his country. He ran for the Grand Rapids area congressional seat against an incumbent Republican congressman. Nobody thought he could win. But with a strong conviction and a clear contrast between the two, he won two-to-one in the primary. President Ford went on to serve 25 years in the U.S. House and was voted in 1961 by the House membership as a ``Congressman's Congressman.'' Rising to the rank of Republican leader, he was known for his modesty, his intelligence and thoughtfulness throughout his career. After Ford became President, his decisions that he made, though costing him politically, healed a fractured Nation. Today, we thank him for putting our country ahead of his own political success. May we never forget this great Michigander, and may the Lord's blessings be upon his family.