C. Young

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes, and despite the eloquence of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), my friend, who makes this amendment sound really attractive, I must rise and express the objection of the Committee on Appropriations to this amendment. This amendment is no better than the amendment offered in full committee which would have taken $50 million from very important environmental protection issues and transfer it to this fund to create an inventory of gas and oil. The fact of the matter is, we cannot afford to remove the environmental protection in this bill, and we do not need the inventory that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) talks about. This amendment opens all coasts to new drilling. The oil companies, the energy companies, the gas companies themselves already have this inventory, as does the Minerals Management Service at the Department of the Interior. We already know about this. The truth of the matter is, this would just be a raid on the environmental issues to fund something that does not need to be done. The committee is opposed to this. The Committee on Energy and Commerce have debated this in the past, have rejected similar amendments; and I hope that we will do the same thing today, that we will reject this particular amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) for the purposes of control.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations for yielding me this time. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), the ranking member on our Defense Subcommittee, has explained the bill quite thoroughly as it relates to the war fighters. The biggest part of this supplemental is for war fighters, and the bill that we have put together goes just to that issue. The increases that we have added in this bill go to the urgently needed items such as ammunition, weapons, up-armored Humvees, transport vehicles, Jammers, night vision equipment, radios, add-on armor kits; and the list goes on and on. And I include a list of those items that are for the war fighter and force protection, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) and the gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis) and I and many of our colleagues have visited our hospitals to visit with our soldiers and Marines at Walter Reed and at Bethesda Naval Hospital and also at Landstuhl, where many of our servicemen come first before they get transported back to the United States, and we have located a number of areas where the government just does not take care of these soldiers and the Marines. And this bill goes a long way towards taking care of that. It has been pretty generally known that we have in this bill increased the death benefit for those who make the total sacrifice and lose their lives in working and supporting the Nation's security. We have also increased the service group life insurance programs substantially so that those who prefer to take part in that program can have additional benefits, and many of these benefits are really needed. And the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) referred to this, but I want to take just a minute and explain. We added, basically, a new program, and that is for a traumatic injury insurance benefit for members of the service. We provide up to $100,000 to compensate for injuries such as loss of sight, losing a hand or a foot, or other debilitating injuries. And these benefits would be retroactive to October of 2001, when the war started. There are many soldiers and Marines today who have been wounded so seriously that in previous wars would have died on the battlefield but who are living today in this war because of improved and increased medical benefits and better training and better medicines and the ability to transport from the battlefield to a medical facility. So these soldiers and Marines are hurt really bad, and we have an obligation to take care of them, and this bill goes a long way toward beginning that process, to take care of things for our heroes and our fallen heroes who have not been taken care of by the government properly.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure and privilege to rise today and recognize an outstanding Marine, Lieutenant Colonel John D. Barth, who will retire this summer after 20 years of active service in the United States Marine Corps. During the past three and one-half years, a time of great importance to the Marine Corps as we are a Nation at war, he has served admirably as the Marine Corps primary liaison to Congress for Appropriation Matters. Many of my colleagues and their staffs have come to know Lieutenant Colonel Barth as an exceptional spokesman for the United States Marine Corps. He has earned the complete confidence of the Members and staff of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, which I have the honor to chair, and the personal staff of Committee Members. His straightforward approach and complete grasp of all facets concerning expeditionary warfare and program management, coupled with his gifted leadership and superb management have been of great benefit to my staff, the U.S. Congress and our national security. Lieutenant Colonel Barth ensured that the U.S. Congress had the information necessary to determine how to best equip, maintain and support the United States Marine Corps, America's force-in-readiness. These important programs include the MV-22, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), Lightweight 155 Howitzer (LW- 155), Maritime Prepositioned Force (Future), LHA(R), LPD-17, initial issue of gear for the individual Marine, and critical equipment required for the Global War on Terrorism. Lieutenant Colonel Barth's uncompromising professionalism and interpersonal skills have provided a great service to the Congress. He has helped ensure that the Congress has the proper information about Marine Corps requirements and issues at the right time to make critical decisions about the future of the Marine Corps. His responses to numerous congressional inquiries made by House and Senate Members have always been timely, accurate, and professional. Mr. Speaker, I have personally known Lieutenant Colonel Barth to possess an unquestionable devotion to duty, impeccable integrity, absolute sound character, and an exceptional sense of humor. He is a true consummate professional. His judicious use of these traits has allowed him to handle even the most delicate situations with what appears to be relative ease. On a more personal note, I wish to highly commend Lieutenant Colonel Barth for his unwavering devotion to the injured and wounded Marines returning from our current combat operations overseas. On many occasions over the last several years, my wife Beverly and I have enlisted Lieutenant Colonel Barth's assistance in addressing the needs of our Marines and their families at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda and other hospitals. Lieutenant Colonel Barth has not only addressed the needs and concerns of the Marines and their families promptly, but he has gone beyond the call of duty by personally visiting these young Marines, building personal relationships, offering counsel and other words of encouragement and advice, and providing true Marine leadership to these young men otherwise facing daunting personal challenges. Through his exceptional personal efforts, Lieutenant Colonel Barth has contributed immeasurably to the Marine Corps, helping to ensure the strength and vitality of the Navy/Marine Corps team for years to come. In doing so, he has gone beyond his own service and positively impacted our Nation's defense. Lieutenant Colonel Barth has made a lasting contribution to the capability of today's Marine Corps and the future shape of tomorrow's Corps. It has been a distinct pleasure to work closely with Lieutenant Colonel Barth over the past three and one-half years. His insights have always been invaluable. He has set a high standard for others to emulate. His superior performance of duties highlighted the culmination of 20 years of honorable and dedicated Marine Corps service. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in the House and on the Appropriations Committee in wishing Lieutenant Colonel John Barth, his wife Michele, and their wonderful family continued success in their future endeavors. Many thanks, and Semper Fidelis, Lieutenant Colonel Barth. Our Nation has benefited from your outstanding leadership.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask my colleagues to join me this afternoon in celebrating the 50th anniversary of incorporation of the City of Treasure Island, which I have the great privilege to represent. It was at 2:32 p.m. on May 3, 1955 that the Florida State Legislature by a special act incorporated the towns of Sunset Beach, Boca Ciega, Sunset Beach, and Treasure Island into the City of Treasure Island. Throughout this past half-century, the city has grown into a favorite destination for beach goers from throughout Florida, our Nation and the world. Although the current population of Treasure Island is 7,500, in the winter months it more than doubles to accommodate the many visitors who want to experience its beautiful beaches; colorful sunsets; unique shops, restaurants and businesses. It is a great community in which to live, to work, and to play. Many individuals, volunteer organizations, and elected officials have made significant contributions to the development of Treasure Island over the past 50 years. Eight individuals have had the honor to serve the city as Mayor and countless others have served on the city council. Together, they have worked hard to maintain the small town feel for this jewel of Florida's Gulf Coast. In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me again congratulate the people of Treasure Island as they gather today for the reenactment of the signing of their charter of incorporation. It has been an honor to represent the city in public office for 45 of their first 50 years and to call it home for many of those years. Please join me in wishing the City of Treasure Island and its residents and visitors well as they embark on their next 50 years of living and working together.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I compliment the gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis) for having brought this first of many important appropriation bills to the floor. He explained the Defense part of this bill very well, as well as he should because he has served superbly as chairman of the Defense Subcommittee for many years. Our portion of the bill is just a little over $73 billion, and it is to provide for the warfighters, to provide the equipment that they need and the protection that they need as they go about carrying out their mission. I want to take just a few seconds and comment on the issue that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) raised because we have worked together on this section of the bill from the very beginning, along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) of the Committee on Armed Services, the gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey). This is truly a work of bipartisanship. But on the subject of accountability, there is no reason that I can think of other than the importance of the Legislative Branch of government that Article I of the Constitution establishes the Legislative Branch of government. We have three branches, separate but equal, but right after the Preamble the first article is the Legislative Branch. So I do not know whether that means we are a little more equal, but I do know that we control the money. And as I have referred to so many times, and I will continue when it is necessary, it says ``No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.'' That means nobody can spend money, Federal money, unless we appropriate it. But part of that section that does not get referred to very often says in the same sentence, ``and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.'' So we think that is just as important, and we, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), myself, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) have just recently met with representatives of the Defense Department. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) and I just recently sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense outlining our concerns. I think we have made that point very well. What we do in this supplemental is to provide, as the gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis) has mentioned, body armor, the uparmored Humvees, ammunition, and medical care. We provide the soldiers that are fighting in the war with what they need to accomplish their mission and what they need to protect themselves while they are accomplishing their mission. And the specific details of the bill have been made available to Members if they want to see all of the items that are funded in this bill. I would like to make a brief closing statement that if we are going to get our troops out of Iraq, and we are, and we want them out as soon as we possibly can, and as difficult as it is to state a specific date, but the way we are going to get our troops out, our exit strategy is to provide training to the Iraqis so they can protect themselves from these terrible, violent insurgent terrorists. Part of the money in this bill goes to do just that, to train the Iraqis to protect themselves so that they can have a self-government with some semblance of security. So part of the money will allow the Iraqis to get the training that they need. That is our exit strategy. Let them take over from the American troops, and our American troops will come home. And in the meantime, say a prayer for them, the ones that are over there still. They are still in harm's way. They are doing a really great job. Their attitude is beautiful. As we visit soldiers who have come back from the war in the hospitals, in the VA hospitals, their attitudes are just unbelievable. They believe in what they are doing. So many of them are anxious to get well and get back to the battle if they can. But, anyway, remember, support our troops. Find a job for them when they get out. Take them to lunch. Buy them dinner. Thank them for the good work that they do.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a great American, Tillie Fowler, who served this House with honor and with passion for eight years. She was not only a colleague and friend to many of us but she was an unquestioned expert on national security. Her highest priority was always taking care of our men and women who serve in uniform. She established such a strong reputation as a tireless worker for her district, our state, and our nation that she quickly rose to one of the most important leadership posts in our conference. Even after she left this House, she continued to serve when called upon, taking on a number of difficult assignments given to her by the President and Secretary of Defense. As much as Tillie Fowler will be remembered for her dedication to this House, I will always remember her for the respect and compassion with which she served. At a time when we talk about civility in the House, it would do us all some good to reflect on the way in which she treated all the members and staff in this body with grace and respect. Our prayers go out on this day to Buck, Tillie's husband of 34 years, and their two daughters Tillie and Elizabeth. The news of her sudden hospitalization and quick passing was a shock to them and all of us as well. The family can take great solace, though, as they reflect on a woman who dedicated her life to public service and who will long be remembered not only for what she accomplished but for the way in which she set about to serve others. Today indeed is a tragic day for the people of Florida, our nation and this House. We have lost a great American, a great colleague, and a great friend.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, every once in a while you have the opportunity to work with an individual who touches a community in a special way. For me, that person is Dr. Carl Kuttler, Jr., the President of the St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida. As President of the College for the past 26 years, Carl has touched the lives of thousands of students. He has made college an option for many students who otherwise due to cost or scheduling conflicts would not have been able to attend. He also has responded to the needs of our community by creating programs of study to fulfill labor demands, such as qualified teachers, nurses, pharmacists, law enforcement personnel, and most recently specialists in the field of orthotics and prosthetics. Carl is one of those public servants who lead by example and with vision and commitment. He has been such a strong and consistent force for change in our community that the St. Petersburg City Council recently honored him by declaring January 31, 2005 as Dr. Carl Kuttler Jr. Day. Following my remarks, I would ask that the city's resolution be included so that my colleagues in the House can see what a dynamic leader Carl Kuttler is. He is an example for all public officials and college Presidents to follow in leading with a creative energy that not only enhances the quality of education but the quality of life for an entire community. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Carl Kuttler Jr. is a unique individual, a man with more energy and ideas than any person I know. It is an honor to share his story with you today. Whereas, Dr. Carl Kuttler is a long time St. Petersburg citizen and has led St. Petersburg College for 26 years as President; and Whereas, Recently Dr. Kuttler has helped St. Petersburg College evolve into a four-year school, offering baccalaureate degrees, the first community college in Florida to be given such a privilege; and Whereas, Dr. Kuttler has been an advocate for Community Colleges everywhere; and Whereas, Dr. Kuttler has worked with the City of St. Petersburg to develop a joint use library at Gibbs High School, the largest public library in the city; and Whereas, Dr. Kuttler agreed to oversee the 300-100 year anniversary celebration between St. Petersburg, Russia and St. Petersburg, Florida, culminating with the two cities signing a twin city agreement; and Whereas, Dr. Kuttler has led efforts to establish St. Petersburg College campuses in Midtown and Downtown St. Petersburg; and Whereas, January 31, 2005 is Dr. Kuttler's 65th birthday. Now, therefore, I, Rick Baker, Mayor of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, proclaim January 31, 2005 as Dr. Carl Kuttler Jr. Day in St. Petersburg, and I urge residents to join with me in recognizing the great and proactive impact he is making on our community.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to respond to the gentleman. The problem is not in the House. This issue was discussed openly in a colloquy with the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. We discussed this issue thoroughly, and we made it clear what the intent was. Why we are removing the provision today is because the other body amended our resolution and said they wanted it out. We are a bicameral legislature, and we have to work with the other body. In fact, this whole comedy of errors of an omnibus appropriations bill would not have happened if the other body, and I am not allowed by the House rules to say who or what or why, but the other body did not pass their bills. I really get offended when I hear the news media reporting the Congress did not get their job done. The House did. The Committee on Appropriations passed all of its bills. By the end of July, we had all of our bills reported, and we had all but one through the House floor, and that one could have gone through the House floor, but we were not given time to do it on the floor. The other body did not do their job, so we had to do this omnibus package rather than doing 13 separate bills. There is the answer to the gentleman's question.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis). (Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, we understand the problems that have been created here, mainly confusion. I certainly endorse what the gentleman from Wisconsin has said about how this came about and what the intent was. The intent was to provide the proper oversight of a half-a-billion-dollar request for an increase in an agency's budget. But this is not the best way to do business. An omnibus appropriations bill is the last thing you want to do to get the appropriations bills passed. Now, appropriations bills have to pass. You cannot adjourn and not complete the appropriations bills, because then the government shuts down. I am happy and proud to say during my chairmanship, on my watch, we did not have any government shutdowns, we did not have any appropriations bills vetoed, and we had pretty good votes on most all of the appropriations bills. In fact, this year we never got less than 300 votes on an appropriations bill in the House. That is not a bad record. The reason that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I both pushed our subcommittees, majority and minority Members, so hard to get our work done on time was to avoid an omnibus appropriations bill, and we did that. The last bill of the 13 bills was reported by the House Committee on Appropriations on July 22, 4\1/2\ months ago, the final bill. The last bill that we passed in the House was September 22, 2\1/ 2\ months ago. The thirteenth bill would have also been passed that same month, except we were not given time to put the bill on the floor. The House would have had its job completed. Then we could have paid attention to 13 bills, each one individually, each one separately, so there would have been time to have a more thorough evaluation of what was in those bills. But, the other body would not pass their bills. They would not put them on the floor, for whatever reason. So there were nine bills in this omnibus appropriations bill. It was a bad way to do business, but it was the only alternative left to us in order to get the job finished in the time that we had to get it done. The bill itself has passed. The House passed it with 344 votes. The Senate passed it with approximately 60 votes. The bill has passed. What we are dealing with now is a technical correction. We have all agreed to it. We just ought to go ahead and do it, get the bill transmitted down to the President, and clear the decks so that the new Congress and the new administration, can start with a clean slate. Hopefully there will be decisions made that will allow the appropriations and budget process to work more effectively. There are some who say that the process is broken. I disagree with that. I do not think the process is broken, because the House passed all of our bills. What broke down was the opportunity to go to conference with the other body, because they did not pass their bills. The budget process might also be a little bent out of shape because we have not had a budget in a couple of years. The gentleman from Iowa (Chairman Nussle) deserves credit. He passed a resolution in the House setting a budget, but, again, there was never any conference agreement with the Senate to bring that budget forward and to have the full force of a budget. So in the House we deemed the budget number to be that as the House passed it, and the Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), although we had different approaches, we worked hard to stay within that budget number. Mr. Speaker, we stayed within the budget. We did not exceed the budget. The omnibus bill does not violate the budget as deemed by the House. But it would be far better if we could have the budget process work to the point that the House would pass it, the Senate would pass it, we would conference it, and then both of us work from the same budget. We had to end up with the same number on appropriations bills, and the way we did it was to have this omnibus appropriations bill. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Appropriations, you know how hard I pushed to get this work done. And we did our job. I am proud of this House, and I am proud of the Committee on Appropriations, on both sides of the aisle. We did our job. But we are part of a bicameral legislature. The saying is, ``It takes two to tango.'' Well, it takes two Houses to appropriate. That has been one of our problems. There is a lot more I would like to say about this, but I am not going to. It is time to get rid of this resolution, H. Con. Resolution 528, and allow this appropriations bill to be transmitted to the President.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 528) directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make technical corrections in the enrollment of the bill H.R. 4818.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the legislation before the House, H. Con. Res. 528, directs the Clerk of the House to make technical corrections in the enrollment of the bill H.R. 4818, the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005. Members may recall that the House passed this resolution, H. Con. Res. 528, along with the omnibus appropriation bill on November 20, 2004. Today we are considering an amendment which was added by the Senate to the concurrent resolution that would make a further correction to the omnibus appropriations bill by deleting section 222 of the bill which deals with IRS oversight. I think it is important to take just a minute or two to say some things about this provision. I explained why this provision was included, and I included this statement in the Congressional Record in part of the debate on the last continuing resolution. I want to be clear, though, that the Committee on Appropriations never had any intention to review or investigate individual tax returns. That is the prerogative of the Committee on Ways and Means in the House and the Committee on Finance in the Senate. However, it is important to note that the IRS had requested an increase of $500 million, a half a billion dollars, for their programs and functions in the IRS. The Committee on Appropriations does have an obligation to review and provide oversight of that kind of an expenditure. That was the purpose of the language. It was never intended to have anything to do with individual income tax returns. I stated this very clearly in a colloquy with the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. I will also point out that section 203 of the same division of the bill includes an IRS general provision which has been carried for years. The section reads, ``The Internal Revenue Service shall institute and enforce policies and procedures that will safeguard the confidentiality of taxpayer information.'' IRS would have had the authority they needed to protect taxpayer privacy. It is an unfortunate set of circumstances that have led many to misinterpret the section in question and the intent of that section, section 222, of the appropriations bill. However, in order to eliminate the confusion that has been created around this issue, I ask that the House agree with the amendment by the Senate to this concurrent resolution and ask the Members to support it. Before the Omnibus Appropriations bill, which has been passed by the House and the Senate, but before it can be sent to the President for his signature, this concurrent resolution has to be passed. I would like to read for the Record the colloquy I just referenced. Mr. Thomas said, Mr. Chairman, I understand section 222 of the Transportation, Treasury and Postal title provides the Committee on Appropriations with proper access IRS facilities for oversight purposes but not the ability to examine individual tax returns, data, or information and that it is the intent of the Committee on Appropriations that all access to taxpayer information would remain governed by the disclosure and privacy rules of section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. Is that correct? I responded by saying the gentleman is correct. The Committee on Appropriations needs access to IRS field facilities to do our oversight work. That work does not require the Committee on Appropriations to review individual tax returns under section 6103, but it does require access to the facilities. This colloquy can be found on page H10191 of the Congressional Record of November 20, 2004. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, I will say to the gentleman that unlike some committees in this House who do their work in secret, this committee does its work in public, in the open. We may have to work late hours, all night long, weekends, and that is a fact. The fact of the matter is this provision, along with every other provision of that section that we are concerned about here, was read word for word, comma by comma, period by period, by 17 staff members who supposedly reported to their chairmen and their ranking members. These 17 staff members were Republicans, they were Democrats, they were from the House committee, and they were from the Senate committee, and they read the entire section, and they reported to the leadership of their respective committees. It was done in public. We do not do our bills in secret.

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on House Concurrent Resolution 528, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I regret that some have misinterpreted section 222 in the omnibus bill. The administration had requested an unprecedented increase to hire additional staff for the IRS's processing and enforcement activities. Because of this more than $500 million increase in funds, the subcommittee felt it necessary to conduct proper oversight. The provision was simply an attempt to exercise our constitutional stewardship of the IRS's budget request, with no intention to review or investigate individual tax returns. This intent was clearly communicated in a colloquy with the chairman of Ways and Means Committee during Saturday's floor debate. In order to allow oversight of these funds without infringing upon individual's privacy, the subcommittee requested that IRS draft the language. Two days prior to the bill being considered by the House, 17 staff members from the House and the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, read through every word of the subcommittee's bill and report. Clearly, there was never any desire to access personal information and it's unfortunate that some have misrepresented and exaggerated the purpose of this language. Nevertheless, I support the removal of the provision to end the confusion surrounding the issue.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I appreciate the gentleman's comments. I want him to know, I am not going anywhere. I plan to be back with all our appropriations bills as we proceed. I would like to call attention to all of the members of the Appropriations Committee on both sides because this is a working committee. I know that in some cases the committee is really admired and respected and appreciated. In other cases we are probably sort of hated on occasion, but nevertheless we have the responsibility of adopting legislation that is must-pass legislation. Without the appropriations bills, the government does not function. The committee has worked really well, and I am proud of the committee. I am proud of the members. I am proud of the staff. We have great staff. I want to call particular attention to, and there are too many to refer to everybody by name today, but the front office staff, the main staff headed by the clerk of the committee, Jim Dyer, and his very, very able assistants, John Blazey, and Therese McAuliffe and Dale Oak, and I do not know of anybody who knows more about the numbers in these bills than Dale Oak, and John Scofield and Doug Gregory who is the man who I rely on considerably to make sure that I am in touch with everything that is happening to the best of our ability. We have a really great staff and they work together very well. The gentleman from Wisconsin has a very great staff on the minority side. We do our very best to make sure that we do not have any surprises for them, and they have been very good about not having any surprises for us. We are open and honest with each other and that is, I think, important to the type of work that we are responsible to do.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the distinguished majority whip.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh). (Mr. WALSH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I appreciate the gentleman's comments. I wanted to make particular mention of the staff for the Energy and Water subcommittee. I think everybody understood that Energy and Water was not going to be in this bill, that there were great difficulties in Energy and Water, and so it was going to be on a long-term CR. Senator Stevens and I were determined that that was not going to happen, and we worked really hard with the House, both sides of the House, both sides of the Senate. We were finally able to get agreement to include the energy and water in this package. So this bill includes everything. That is why it is so big. It is nine bills. That is why the stack is so high. But the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development staff only had 2 days to prepare this legislation and to write it and to read it and to get it fit into the bill. And these 2 days they went 48 hours without a break, without sleep, with an occasional snack and something to drink. But they really worked hard because they were only given 2 days to get their work done. As we conclude the business of the Congress, as we conclude the appropriations business, I wish that I was able under the House rules to say what a great honor it is to work with the chairman of the Appropriation Committee in the Senate. Senator Stevens, while he is a tough negotiator and he takes really good care of Alaska, he is a good, honest guy, and he is good to work with, and I appreciate him very much. And Senator Byrd, it is an experience to work with Senator Byrd as the ranking member. He is such a distinguished gentleman and is very knowledgeable about what it is that we do here. So as we close the session and close this bill, I want to wish everybody a very safe and happy return to their homes and Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and whatever other celebrations that we might have between now and the time we come back together. And I would like everyone, as they recognize all of these holidays and they remember and they enjoy their family times together, to think about our troops. Think about our Americans who are deployed overseas in harm's way and their families and just give them a little extra prayer for their safety and a successful completion of their mission. Mr. Speaker, God bless everybody in this institution.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is correct. The Committee on Appropriations needs access to IRS field facilities to do our oversight work. That work does not require the Committee on Appropriations to review individual tax returns under section 6103, but it does require access to the facilities.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf). (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)