happening. but because of their enthusiastic support as well as mine next week the speaker and the minority leader have agreed to -- not to forget those people who served our country and indeed served the international freedom community. i want to thank also from my office, emile and kim for working with all of the committees that had jurisdiction to expedite the fact that this would be done before june 25. and i'm reminded when you gave the facts as to when the north koreans invaded south korea, i was a 20-year-old kid in the barracks in fort lose, washington, when the sergeant screamed that the north koreans had invaded south korea and the second infantry division was slated to go to defend them. i was so anxious to leave i said, where the heck is korea? and i had no idea that a police

action involved putting yourself in harm's way. and aby -- away we did go. there was some question whether we could even land because the north korean communists had been so successful that they drove the 25, the 25th divisions that were in japan and the people's republic of south korea to the peninsula, but we were able to push them back. the marines landed and the chinese came and you know the rest of that story. but, how grateful it is to be not just alive but to know that we all participated once again in defending a democracy even in countries where we don't know the people and don't know the country. and as a result of that, one of america's strongest allies is the government of korea.

and the truth of the matter is, with china there and north korea there and especially the threat to iran, north korea has represented a symbol not only of democratic principles but a symbol of what can happen economically when freedom and democracy is the atmosphere in which we're working. and those of us who served and especially the 50,000 who did not come back home, the close to 100,000 that got wounded, the 8,000 that were prisoners of wars, -- war, we had no idea that our sacrifice would rebuild a nation from ashes to the great economic power it is today and the great contributions that create americans make each and every day in all parts -- korean americans make each and every day. i want to particularly thank john conyers who is the next

higher senior member here in the house of representatives. i want to thank howard coble. he is a veteran's veteran. there's not a day that i see him that he doesn't remind me and others that we should never forget the sacrifices that are made for all of us and our children and our children's children and of course sam johnson who i served with on the ways and means committee is truly a hearow -- hero and very few americans are living that have made the type of sacrifices he has made for his country. so, collectively on behalf of all of the veterans -- %% collectively and on behalf of all of the veterans who have served, particularly this war that they have called the forgotten war, we were sand witched between world war i and the vietnam war and so many people would ask when we came back home, prosecute, where were you? because they had no idea that america had been involved. but we had been involved and the

21 nations will have representatives here to thank america as we thank them for allowing this great country to be involved in what appeared to be a very unimportant crises but at the end of the day this country has risen to be one of our best trading partners, one of our best political partners and certainly has made an outstanding contribution to the entire world of free countries and free people. and so, mr. chairman, i thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to celebrate this occasion and never to forget those who made it possible for us to be free men and free women. and i thank you for the opportunity. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from arkansas is recognized. mr. boozman: thank you, madam speaker. i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from

north carolina, mr. coble, ranking member of the judiciary subcommittee on the courts and distinguished veteran of the korean war. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for as much time as he might consume. mr. coble: madam speaker, i too want to express thanks to the gentleman from american samoa and the gentleman from arkansas for having very ably managed this resolution. and i am pleased indeed today to be on the house floor with my friend from new york and my friend from texas, i want to be sure he was still there, hadn't left. i rise in support of h.j.res. 86, madam speaker, and while there's little i can add to enhance the merit of this resolution, i'd like to remind everyone that technically speaking the korean conflict has not ended. the recent actions by north korea against south korea and the chinese should not be taken lightly. south korea is our true ally on

the korean peninsula. although i have no solution for the growing threat of north korea, at this point it seems to me that immediate course of action should be for america to continue to embrace and support south korea. this resolution correctly states that we have successfully partnered with the republic of korea to promote international peace and security, economic prosperity, human rights and the rule of law on the korean peninsula and beyond. to that end, i encourage my colleagues to support h.j.res. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from american samoa is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i'm sure that our good friend on the other side still has speakers. i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time.

the gentleman from arkansas is recognized. mr. boozman: thank you, madam speaker. i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from texas, mr. johnson, ranking member of the ways and means subcommittee on social security, and a distinguished veteran of the korean war. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for as much time as he might consume. mr. johnson: thank you. and thank you, both of you over there on the democrat side, for getting this bill out. today marks a new milestone for those who fought in the forgotten war which was korea and today the united states congress recognized the importance of their service and reaffirms our longstanding commitment to freedom and the future of korea. as many know, it was june 25, 1950, when communist north korea invaded the republic of korea with 135,000 troops and that sparked the start of the korean war.

and what people don't realize about charlie rangel is he could be dead because he was up on the river when the chinese decided to come across. and so he saved a lot of lives and buried a lot of guys. and i thank you, charlie, for that service. and, howard, i thank you as well for serving over there. on june 27, 1950, president truman ordered the united states armed forces to help the republic of korea defend itself against the north korean invasion. while it ended in an armistice, the better conflict between korea and north korea still lingers on. we all know that. korea is a strong ally, and america remains committed to korea's safety, survival and success. by commemorating the 60th anniversary of the start of the korean war, the united states congress and the country

rededicated our promise to thank those who wore the uniform during that time. an estimated five million valiant men and women served in the korean war. as a korean war veteran who flew 62 combat missions, it brings me great pleasure to remind americans of the sacrifice and service of those who fought in korea. to thess steamed korean war -- to the esteemed korean war veterans, you are not forgotten. we honor you, we appreciate you, god bless you and i salute each and every one of you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from american samoa is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, how much time do i have left on this side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from american samoa has eight minutes, and the gentleman from arkansas has 14 minutes. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i would like to certainly compliment and thank our distinguished veterans, the

korean war, now members, our colleagues here in this institution, not only sharing with us their experiences but the fact that this close + relationship that we have with the republic of korea should never, ever be lessen in any way. it's been my privilege over the years to visit the republic of korea, visited with their leaders and the outstanding results of now south korea becoming one of the great economic powers in southeast asia, i might say, mainly because of our close economic ties. i want to also note that the number one electronics company in the world is in south korea. also the number one shipbuilding company in the world is in south korea. so i really hope and i sincerely hope that in the coming months that we will be able to continue to negotiate successfully the proposed free trade agreement that was done

previously by the previous administrations and with the negotiators. it's my understanding that as a result of this proposed free trade agreement we stand to gain somewhere between $11 billion and $20 billion in exports of our product to south korea if we get approval of this proposed agreement. i also want to note as a matter of history of what my friend from new york stated about the people and the good leaders of south korea. my own personal experience while serving in vietnam, i tell you really know who your real friends are, the fact there were 50,000 south korean soldiers fighting alongside american soldiers in vietnam. now,,that is when you really know who your real friends were, and it was from the leaders and the people of south korea who joined us in that terrible conflict that our nation was confronted with in

fighting communism. it's my understanding that hopefully that in the coming months when the president of korea will be presiding over the g-20 meeting, 20 of the most prominent countries economically, hopefully that there will be better solutions given to the economic demise that not only the world is faced with now but especially the contributions that the 20 countries could offer in solving some of the serious economic problems that we're confronted with. >> will the gentleman yield? mr. faleomavaega: i gladly yield to the gentleman from new york. mr. rangel: and i want you to know that this just the beginning of the united states of america's involvement. in september of this year, in commemoration of the lives that were lost by koreans and americans and the other 20 countries that fought against communism, there will be a commemorative ceremony in seoul, which our state

department will be participating in, and, again, my colleagues have been invited to join but the situation here in congress didn't allow us to accept. but mr. boehner, the minority leader, as well as our distinguished speaker, has thought that since we could not be represented over in seoul next week that reception will be held right here and a ceremony in statutory hall where the participants from the free countries that joined with me will be there with their representatives. the reason i constantly say i haven't had a bad day since and to say how good god is because it's been 60 years ago and recently, last week, at the

kennedy center, the korean angels, a young group that's trained to go around the world talking about peace and harmony to the world celebrated and they laweded the korean veterans. -- and my colleagues here will know they came with crutches and canes but they came. and what this house and senate will do for them, even if they're not able to come to washington, they will be able to tell their kids and their grandkids and their neighbors and friends that their sacrifice has not been forgotten. i do hope that you and the chairman and subcommittee chairman have expedited this and the members that will hopefully be supporting this in the house and senate would realize how many lives they're making more bright by reminding the loved ones of those that were left behind, that what they lost, the pain that they

felt is not forgotten by the united states. and it gives us a time once again to talk about the brave men and women that were in the middle east, in afghanistan, each and every day that we're allowed to breathe the breath of democracy, to get up and to do and to say what we want is only because they're willing to put their lives in harm's way for our flag and for our country and for whether it was in world war ii, whether it's in korea, whether the persian gulf where my son served as a marine or whether the current crisis we face in the middle east, we have so much to be fortunate that in this country there is a spirit that we defend what is right, what is moral, and at the end of the day we're better people, we're better legislators and we're a better country for it. so everyone who votes today, i think it's our way of saying

thank you for those who made the sacrifice and also thank you for those who continue to do it as we speak today. mr. faleomavaega: i thank the gentleman for his comments. i might know, madam speaker, some 50 million asian pacific americans, we have over two million korean americans as part of the fiber of our great democracy and the tremendous contributions that they also make to our country. i just wanted to note that for the record. i will continue to reserve my time unless -- i don't have any more speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you, madam chairman. i want to thank mr. rangel for bringing this forward. he and mr. johnson and mr. coble being here make it very, very special. we certainly appreciate all of your service to our country. mr. rangel stating he went off

at h-20. mr. johnson, i think, at the same age around 20 and then howard, mr. coble in his early 20's going off to war. so fitting we take a little bit of time, that the house just pauses to remember the sacrifice that was incurred, again, for those that were so willing to go over for the rest of us. we look forward to the celebrations that are going to occur later in the year. and again at that time the whole nation will pause and remember the sacrifice that you all so willingly did for the rest of us. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas, mr. boozman, yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from american samoa is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i have no further speakers, but i do want to say for the record, again, on behalf of a grateful nation to extend our heart felt gratitude and thanks to the gentleman from new york, mr. rangel, mr. johnson and mr. coble for their

contributions and especially as veterans of this -- of the korean war. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house joint resolution 86 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, -- mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. and, madam speaker, i want to say that i meant also to include congressman john conyers in my previous statement before closing. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 286 as introduced. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 286, concurrent resolution recognizing the 235th birthday of the united states army. the speaker pro tempore:

pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. ortiz, and the gentleman from hawaii, mr. djou, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. ortiz: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume and ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. ortiz: madam speaker, i rise in support of house concurrent resolution 286, and it is my honor to stand here today and recognize the army for its 235th birthday. since 1775, the united states army has prepared to fight and win our nation's wars. and has provided us with some of the greatest moments in our nation's history. you know, as a poor child growing up in texas, i never

knew what existed outside of my neighborhood. however, when i joined the army and left south texas, the world soon opened to me. when i arrived in paris, france , as a military policeman fresh out of basic training and advanced military training, i knew that my life was changed forever. shortly after arriving in paris and a friend of mine from west virginia who had just finished basic and military police training, we headed down to see the eiffel tower. while walking around the city, we pulled over to the side of the road and a young woman, young lady stepped out of the biggest car i of ever seen in my life and approached my friend and me. she wanted to take a picture with us.

two young sold -- -- soldiers fresh out of basic training, but it wasn't until six months later that we discovered that this woman was one of the most popular movie stars in france. but all she wanted was a picture with two young soldiers wearing the american uniform. while in france, i became interested in learning more about police duties and investigations. the army saw that maybe i could learn some of the stuff that they were teaching, and i was reassigned to the army criminal investigation division. i took the lessons, learned the skills that i learned back in south texas where i became constable later after my retirement of the army and became sheriff in my county. the army has changed my life

like nothing has ever done. it made me a better human being, a better county commissioner, a better sheriff, and a better congressman. the training was hard and work was even harder but the lessons were never lost. just as was true in the early 1960's when a french movie star stopped to take a picture with a poor boy from south texas, our soldiers are respected and admired around the world for their professionalism and dedication to each other. i am proud of my service and my army experience. i am also proud of today's soldiers as they continue to fight and win our nation's wars as they have done for the last 235 years. from the sergeant leading a patrol through the mountain's

terrain of afghanistan, the strength of our nation is our army. and i am proud to be part of a legacy that i am proud to wish the army a happy birthday. but, you know, time has really changed. when i served back then in the 1960's, i went to the draft board and i volunteered to the draft because my father had passed away and i had four siblings, two brothers and two sisters, jobs were scarce, and i volunteered to go and serve the army. today's a different story. today we have an all-volunteer services. you can join the army, the navy, the air force, the coast guard, the national guard, the reserves. they serve and they volunteer because they love our country. and this is why we're so proud of the young men and women who sacrifice so that you and i can

enjoy the freedoms that we have in this country and the day when we fail to recognize the sacrifices of these young men and women who serve, this is with the fibers of this country start to begin to deteriorate. i am so proud to say that i served in the army and i wish everybody who is either serving now or have served in the past a happy birthday. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from hawaii is recognized. mr. djou: madam speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. djou: madam speaker, i rise in support of house conttnued resolution 286 which was introduced by my friends from texas, mr. edwards and mr. carter. this recognizes the 235th birthday of the united states army and honors the valid

commitment and sacrifice of the united states army and their families and civilians have displayed throughout the history of the united states army. i personally also want to know what the recognition of the army birthday means to myself and my district. three things i want to poubt point out to the floor, first off, of course, it is that it is my honor to respect hawaii's first -- represent hawaii's first congressional district which is home to the infantry division of the united states army. it is also home to the u.s. army pacific medical center and of course my army reserve unit. all of which i take great pride in representing here in the congress. second, i think it speaks to the strength and vitality and greatness of our nation and our nation's army that i for myself and child of immigrants from thailand and from china had the honor and privilege of calling myself an officer in the united states army reserve. it is a true testimony to the greatness of our nation and the

greatness of our armed forces that the child of an immigrant would be allowed to serve as an officer in the most powerful fighting force the world has ever known. third and finally, of course, i am enormouslyyhumbled to call myself a member of the house of representatives. i think it is also testimony to the greatness of our military, our armed forces and to the united states army that i had the privilege earlier today of sitting in a hearing with general petraeus, discussing current actions and operations going on in afghanistan. i think one of the beauties of our army today is the fact that our army is professional, it is well trained and it also is under the control -- it is under civilian control and that even four star generals have to answer to the elected officials of our nation's people. as a member of the armed services committee and as a captain army reserve, i'm proud to speak in very strong support of this resolution. on june 14, 1775, in

philadelphia, a group of continental congressmen worked to lay out the provisions to form an army. the result was a simple paragraph, orders to the colonial states that provided men in arms to continue the uphill fight against englpped. that simple paragraph, authorized the formation of 10 companies and thus began the formation and the beginnings of our united states army. today 235 years later we continue to honor the commitment and duty of army soldiers who have risked their lives to preserve our freedom. they have left a lasting mark on this nation. during the army's 235-year history, tens of thousands of these brave young men and women have served on distant battlefields to keep our nation safe. i'm particularly prout of the residents of hawaii who continue to serve on behalf of our nation, as well as many reserves and guardsmen, many of them who are my personal friends who i have served with, with honor and

distinction. i salute them for their service to our great nation. today as our nation continues to fight the global war on terror, the army has been key to providing military capabilities and the need to persist in the struggle for liberty and democracy. through the efforts of the u.s. army, the world has been made a more secure, prosperous and better place for all of mankind. the courage and dedication of these soldiers and their families are inspirations to us all and we may rest -- and may the rest of us endeavor to be the army strong for our own lives. i'm honored to speak in favor of this resolution urge my colleagues to join me in support of resolution 286 and recognize the 235th birthday of the united states army. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. ortort i yield such time as my good -- mr. ortiz: i yield such time as my good friend from texas, my

friend and colleague, member of the appropriations committee from texas, mr. edwards. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. edwards, is recognized for as much time as he might consume. mr. edwards: i want to thank chairman ortiz for the time today and most importantly, not only for his service in the u.s. army as a soldier, but for his leadership as a key subcommittee chairman of the house armed services committee. the gentleman from texas works every day to support our soldiers, not just with his words, but with his deeds. and i'm deeply grateful for that. madam speaker this resolution honors the 235th anniversary of the united states army and i rise today on behalf of a grateful nation to say thank you to every army soldier, past and present, for their service to our nation. we express our gratitude with the humility of knowing that we could never fully repay the debt of gratitude we owe our soldiers and their families, that the

sacrifices they have made to protect our nation. when i drive past arlington cemetery each morning on my way to the u.s. capitol, i'm always reminded of that sacrifice. sacrifice of those who in the words of lincoln gave their las country. when i met with several young amp tees and dump amp tear -- amputees earlier this week, i'm reminded that the personal sacrifices of wa and as an ex peck tabt first time father, i count help but be excited as i talked to this young soldier sitting next to his young pregnancy wife, talking about how -- pregnant wife, talking about how excited i was to become a father. this soldier, who was about to deploy for bosnia, said without an air of complaint in his voy voice, sir, i miss the birth of my first son because i was serving in iraq.

and i will miss the birth of my second child because i will be serving in bosnia. he said, sir, i'm proud to serve my country. madam speaker, one cannot put a price on the sacrifice of a young father missing the birth of his two children. there are no makeup days for missed births. birthdays, anniversaries and graduatings -- graduations. that is why we are so deeply grateful to our soldiers and their families. to the spouses, children, parents and loved ones of our army's soldiers, i say, you are the unsung heroes of our nation's defense. whether you have worn our nation's uniform or not, you have truly served our country. for those family members who have lost loved ones in combat, we know you continue to

sacrifice each and every day of your life. were it not for the u.s. army and the magnificent men and women who have served in it and are serving in it today, the world would be a much different place, a less stable, less free place. just a few weeks ago i had the honor of meeting lynn lammel. he lives in new jersey with his wife. i took my wife and i took our two young sons, j.t. and garrison, to meet with mr. lammel because in my book he is a true american hero. %% an army soldier on d-day in 1944, he joined with earl rutters and the second battalion army rangers and climbed up that difficult life-threatening cliff in the face of german gunfire and grenades to try to knock out

the five massive german guns that could have put at risk the entire allied invasion of d-day. lynn lammel along with one other soldier went out scouring for the guns because they had been moved, unknown to army intelligence, been moved away from that cliff that we know was point hawk. it was la mel who found those guns and while nearly 100 germans were standing just a few yards away, took grenades and put those grenades in two different trips back to those guns, put grenades in those gear mechanisms of those guns and in doing so decommissioned all of them. the great historian steven ambrose said that next to eisenhower, lynn lammel had more to do with the victory of d-day

than any living person in this world. i have to wonder, how would the world be different today had it not been for that great army soldier? and all the soldiers who served with him? and all the soldiers who served before him? and those great ones who have served after him? madam speaker, we can never repay our soldiers such as lynn lammel or the young soldier i met at fort hood, or robert l. howard who died in my home town of waco this past december and was buried just four months ago in arlington cemetery, after earning the congressional medal of honor, the distinguished service cross, the silver star and eight purple hearts in his five tours of duty in vietnam. we cannot repay the 82,000 u.s. army soldiers serving in iraq today or the 57,000 soldiers serving in afghanistan that, but

let us always honor them with our words and resolutions off as this today but with our deeds and our budgets every day. our nation has a moral obligation to provide quality housing and heelth care for our troops and their families and firstclass education for their children. our nation has a moral obligation to stand up for america's veterans, because they have stood up for us. a grateful nation wishes our army a happy 235th birthday and may god bless all our soldiers, past, present and future, for risking their lives to protect our divine gift of freedom. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from hawaii is recognized. mr. djou: madam speaker, i yield as much time as he may consume, my colleague from texas, mr. carter.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for as much time as he might consume. mr. carter: i thank my friend from hawaii for yielding and i thank him for the opportunity to speak on behalf of this important honor we are bestowing upon the honor by congratulating them on their 235th birthday. the first time i ever realized that i was going to be given the honor to represent the united states army was when we had a redistricting in texas and i realized that my new district was going to have fort hood in it. and to be quite honest, it was an overpowering challenge to me to be called upon to represent over 50,000 american soldiers and all those who work with those soldiers. i was a little bit taken aback,

quite frankly. mr. edwards, as he pointed out and has been so helpful to me in the transition of fort hood mr. edwards represented for so many years and did an outstanding job and i was going to be the new kid on the block going to fort hood. and so i went to my office and i said, you know, the districts are changing. we got to -- you know, we got to impvisit soldiers. we got to be -- we got to visit soldiers. we got to be with soldiers. i got the opportunity to go to korea to visit soldiers who were stationed in korea, many of whom were part of the soldiers contingency that would return to fort hood. i grew up as a small child with what was earlier today commemorated, the korean war. to me it was just a map of a peninsula of korea that i

watched lines move up and down, but i know from people who came back what a terrible fight that was. and i know that that's still to this day, this very moment we stand in history a dangerous + place on the earth. and when we got there we were given the opportunity, my wife and i, to go up on the d.m.z., the demilitaryized zone. both sides were across the line looking at each other. in fact, as recently as four or five years ago were there fatalities on that line. there is another war to break out any minute of any day, 24 hours a day, and has been since the end of the korean war back in the 1950's. so it was kind of a challenge just to go up there.

when i got there there was all these young based american soldiers. my oldest son is a football coach and baseball coach. and as i looked at these young men and women, they looked at the kids that were at the graduation ceremony just a few months earlier that my son coached and taught. and when they came down for lunch they gave me an opportunity to sit down at this table with a bunch of young men and women. i tell you this because it was kind of unusual. my first time to ever sit down with just ordinary soldiers and talk to them. and you don't really know what they're going to say. they're kind of curious. well, the first thing i found out was, there was a kid there who played football for my son when my son coached for

kileen-ellison. there was a son that played for my son in baseball. there were just like these kids that graduated. and i went around the table and this is all a bunch of 18 and 19-year-old soldiers and they came from small town and big town america. they could have been your friends, your neighbors, your cousin. could have been your brother or your sister, and there they were standing up there potentially in harm's way on our behalf where it's cold and windy and kind of scary. so that was my first contact, and i asked a question kind of naively. ok, so when are you guys going to be through in korea? where do you want to go when you get out? expecting all kinds of exotic places. no, sir. we want to go to -- we want to go to either afghanistan or iraq.

and my wife was -- and i were both taken back by that. so my wife asked the question, why would you want to go there? and they gave an answer that is one of the definitions i think of the united states army. they said, sir, we're war fighters. that's where the war is. that's what we do for a living. we are the army. now, they -- you hear that from a 19-year-old kid that probably a year and a half ago had been playing on some practice field someplace in central texas and you say to yourself, what magic is it that we get people like this to come out and do this job and do it willingly and with such patriotism and such fervor for doing the job they're trained for?

just recently, less than a few weeks ago, my wife and i -- and i shared this at the birthday party for the army last night, my wife and i got the nice honor of being part of a small delegation of members of congress who invited to go to the memorial day ceremony at normandy beach where our soldiers came ashore and accomplished the impossible. and in fact we stood on-pointe -- stood on pointe du hoc and we looked at the piers that allowed a heroic effort. and we got to see that beach both at high and low tide. and we got to see the distance those soldiers had to run under

heavy, heavy, heavy automatic weapon fire and artillery fire just to get to that bluff that they had to climb to get to the fight. it was -- you looked at it and you said, i don't think i could have done it. that was what i thought. i don't think i could have done it. and then you realize that those -- that's the same kids like the same kids i talked to in korea. they were young people who were members of the united states army and they had a job to do and they did it. they told us a story about a soldier who landed there, found his way across the beach to the bluff, fought his way up the bluff to get off of that deadly beach only to be wounded in the -- took off the right side of his face with a machine gun bullet. they wrapped him up on top of the bluff and said, you need to

go back down on the beach to a station and his comment was, i just fought my way off of that beach. and they said, no, you got to be evacuated. going back down to be evacuated he was shot four more times. the last of which caught the left side of his face. and his comment that he made when he came back to the -- to normandy as a 90-year-old man, and they said he looked fine. he said, they did a fine job on me and i look good. i have children, i have grandchildren, i have great grandchildren. and i did what i did for them, but i can say that i always wondered if i really ought to come to this beach because i was only here for nine hours. true, i did get five purple hearts while i was here, but i was worried to come back and say i landed here because i had to be evacuated.

that special something that makes up the united states army can't be described to us in detail. but when you walk among those 10,000 crosses in that cemetery, crosses of the star of david, and you realize that those heroes laying beneath that ground are exactly like those heroes who stand on the wall in the defense of liberty in iraq and afghanistan today, our soldiers today are exactly like those in the greatest generation. they sacrifice everything. i'm proud to represent the 31st congressional district, which is the home of fort hood. every soldier at fort hood has been deployed multiple times, and they never complain. they just do the job. we americans, wherever we are,

in this house where we're so blessed to be able to serve, or around the world should every day stop to -- and say thank you to the united states army for the quality of human beings they have produced to defend our nation and for the patriotic spirit that is part of what makes up the psyche of america. nothing is more precious to us than the united states army. nothing is more honorable to me than being given the opportunity to represent over 50,000 american soldiers. and so this day i am very happy to say to our united states army, happy birthday, u.s. army. we are proud of you. god bless you and keep you safe. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. ortiz: i yield three minutes to my good friend and colleague from new york, mr. hall, a member of the energy and global warming subcommittee, and as always he does a great job, mr. hall. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for three minutes. mr. hall: thank you, madam speaker, and thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in support of the house concurrent resolution 286, introduced by my colleague from texas and also the co-chairs of the army caucus, mr. edwards and mr. carter, and i would just like to follow on mr. carter's remarks about the modesty of the veteran who upon returning to the normandy beaches wondered if he was worthy after only spending nine hours there on d-day whether it was -- he deserved to come back there again. i have spoken to army veterans who were wounded and needed help but say i don't want to go to the v.a. and ask for help because maybe there's something wounded worse than i was and they need the help more, they need the money more than i need

it. and that modesty and sense of self-sufficiency is admirable but something we on the veterans service committee tried to get past and tried to convince all americans that they've earned the assistance that this country should give them. i'm somebody who was turned away on induction day when i went for my physical at haliburt avenue in baltimore for various physical reasons, but as fate would have it, i'm now chairing the veterans' affairs subcommittee on disability assistance and memorial affairs. and we were in the middle of a hearing yesterday on the state of veterans benefits administration when i had the honor to welcome general david pontoon who is taking over as superintendent of west point,

which is in my district, replacing the general who served there longer than i've been in this congress. and it's a very proud tradition at the army's academy. was founded shortly after our revolutionary war at the point of the hudson river called the world's end, where the hudson takes a 90-degree bend to the west and then once again 90 degrees straight to the north. it's the point where the revolutionary army stretched a chain across the army to stop the british fleet from sailing up and influencing the battles that were taking place further north in the hudson valley. and to this day produces our officer corps that is going -- including my nephew who graduated a couple weeks ago from west point, who are shortly going to be leading troops in battle. some older than them. some younger than them. but the enlisted corps who will

be looking to our new officers in the army for leadership. i was honored to be at a gathering of appointees that i had helped gain admission. of course, they had to pass the admission test to west point and the other service academies as well, but i heard a colonel from the admission's office at west point say the best thing that they could do as officers in the army is listen. and they listened to their soldiers who they lead and they lead through service. so once again i'd like to congratulate and honor the army on this 235th birthday, urge support of the resolution by all my colleagues and offer my hopes and prayers that all of our young officers and enlisted people and more senior ones and

more experienced ones as well will come back more safely and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from hawaii. >> we have no further speakers, i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. >> let me yield to the gentleman from american samoa, on the foreign affairs committee, i had the privilege of working with my good friend for many years, yield -- i yield three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. faleomavaega: thank you, madam speaker, i want to thank my friend from texas as well as the gentleman from hawaii for managing this important resolution. ironically we just got through honoring a resolution commemorating the 60th

anniversary of the korean war, four of our colleagues were veterans of that terrible conflict, congressman rain fwell, congressman same johnson of texas, congressman conyers of michigan and congressman coble from north carolina. that korean war took 30,000 of our soldiers' lives, and lest we forget the sacrifices that we honor the celebration of the 235th birthday of the u.s. army, it was my honor to have served as a member of the u.s. army during the vietnam conflict, madam chairman. i recall that the time of the revolutionary war, george washington with some 12,000 soldiers that were not very well trained and they had to go up against some 30,000 british red coats the most powerful military organization at that time, and we had to fight and we won the war, giving credit to general george washington and those who were able to

assist him. another basic history also, the history of the u.s. army, madam speaker, just wanted also to say the time of world war ii, where some 100,000 japanese americans were incarcerated in concentration camps, despite the discrimination and hatred and racism heaped on the japanese americans, whereas the vol theefers battalion of the 4242nd infantry brigade sent to -- the 442nd infantryberry grade sent to europe, they became the most decorated units in the history of the u.s. army. the 100 battalion and 442nd infantry, some 18,000 individual decoration were given to the men who served, japanese americans. some 9,000 purple hearts were

awarded. some 560 silver stars. 52 distinguished service crosses. ironically, only one medal of honor. we corrected that. as a result of reviewing again the value and the courage of these japanese american soldiers who fought during that time, 19 additional medals of honor were awarded because of what they had done during the war. i just wanted to note that as a matter of history and i want to commend the gentleman from texas, mr. edwards, for his authorship of this resolution and sincerely thank my good friend, congressman ortiz, for allowing me to say a few words in celebrating the 235th birthday of the u.s. army. with that, i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from texas. mr. ortiz: you know, we cannot forget that at the same time when we are honoring the

soldiers, we cannot forget their families, because they have sacrificed as well. i've had 29 soldiers who have been killed in the afghanistan and iraqi war. on one of these funerals aattend -- i attended, i met a young escort soldier, who was escorting a body to my district. he gave me this poem that i always carry with me, that i will never forget. this is the people whose birthday we're celebrating today. it says, soldier is the title of the poem, i was that which others did not want to be. i went where others feared to go. and did what others failed to do. i asked nothing from those who gave nothing.

and reluctantly accepted eternal loneliness should i fail. i had seen the face of terror and felt the stinging cold fear and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment's love. i had cried, i have pain, and hoped. put most of all, i have lived in times others say were best forgotten, at least someday, i will be able to say that i was proud of what i was, a soldier. and this is their birthday, the united states army. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 286. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the concurrent resolution is agreed. to >> mr. speaker. mr. ortiz: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present and i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. house concurrent resolution 242 by the ayes and nays. house resolution 1422, by the ayes and nays, and house

resolution 1414, de novo. remaining postponed votes will be taken later in the week. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conduct as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentman from tennessee, mr. cohen to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1422, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1422, resolution honoring the department of justice on th occasion of its 140th

the speaker pro tempore: the unfinished business is the volt on the motion of the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen to suspend the rules and agreto house concurrent resolution 242 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 242, concurrent resolution honoring and praising the national association for the advancement of colored people on the case of its 101st anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution. mbers will record their votes by electronic device. we have 15 minutes for this vote. [ctioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house

proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by th u.s. house of representatives.] d take

responbility for every disability in vietnam. and a private group can come and say for 30 million a year we can actually probably clean up this mess. there is a humanitarian gesture to help with the disabilities. that money can come from private sources, some from the government, some from the vietnam government as well. we pretty much got everyone to agree on how to resolve the problem. >host: when you say a lot of agent orange was sprayed, how much? guest: 20 million gallons was stored, handles, and sprayed over one-third of the country of vietnam.

and 20 million gallons of -- we are watching the bp still intend to figure out what that means. we walked the famouu cases where a lot of that was stored during the war -- famous bases where a lot of this was stored during the war. we tried to get an on the ground sense of the problem. e problem is that, but it is not huge. the ford foundation has helped to clean up some of the spirit and hosis. host: there is a map put together. it shows between 1961 and 1971 the u.s. trade nearly 20 million gallons of u.s. oranagent orang.

much of it contained dioxin. the lingering health impact has made this the cost with impact in terms of veteran compensation. what has this done in vietnam? guest: a whole lot of money has been spent, and rightly so. in vietnam you can see increased incidence from birth defects and certain types of cancers. we went and visited centers where children or people in their 30's and 40's 44 not with birth dects, crippled, or what er, and we looked at the long- term humanitarian impact that it d on humans. -- who were bn with birth

defects, crippled, or whatever, and we look at the long-term humanitarian impact that it had on humans. a lot of things uld have been caused by beatie. you know there is a high year vel of its where dioxin was prese. -- you know there is a higher level oft where dioxin was present. once you get over to having a pen that scientific claim and said let's try to dd this for people who are disabled, i think that brings us back to the problem. host: the group recommends an estimated cost of 300 million over 10 years. the private sector could jump n. how much from the government from our u.s. government? have much money should b given

to vietnam for this problem.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas a 421, the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the concurrent resolution i agreed to, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1422, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: concurrent resolution 1422, honoring the department of justice on the

occasion of its 140th anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in coopation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] this, and the

u.s. is saying yes. the people are saying basically -- they are trying to show them this. the u.s. military is saying yes, this is yours and rolling it back.

-- throwing it back. the people said because there is not enough for everyone. then they say only the supreme colden ninjawarrior can grant as power. guest: i think that is probab overstating its. we had a very good dialogue group. we have the gates foundation that has helped a little t. this is very scientific-based. i do not think we were getting into all sorts of unnecessary political battles. and i think we were just trying to say this is not the hardest problem to solve.

each chip in a bit of money to show the will, the desire to clean this up here again the vietnamese, american government, foundations, private corporations, i think that is the way. we are americans, we know how to clean up our mess. this is just a way to solve a problem. host: michael on the independent line. in new orleans. caller: i would like to ask your gst if he is aware of mr. schaumburg's -- he is a pulitzer prize award winning "new rk times"contributor that said every president has hidden the fact that we have left prisoners of war in vietnam because we

would not pay the $3.5 billion in retribution that they were asking for. guest: that is interesting. the missing in action p.o.w. issue is not one be addressed. they are not asking for retribution money. they are not asking for restoration. i know this is very important, but our group was not an expert on that. we look at the notion of how to clean up the mess of the agent orange that has been left in the country. host: georgia as on the line. and caller: my problem is i want to kn why she wants to go to

vietnam to pick up problem with the problem here is not solved yet. i am a veteran. i am a veteran of the army and marine corps. the v.a. has been tearing up my claim form since 1993 about something thathey should have

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 408.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 416. the nays are three. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. . the speaker pro tempore: the unfinished business is suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1414 as amended, which the clerk will report by title.

the clerk: house resolution 1414, congratulating engel wood campus, the nation's first all male charter high school for receiving 155% acceptce rate for the congratulating class of 2010 the speaker pro tempore: will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. andrews: i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded ote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device.. [captioning made possible by the

national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

caller: i am dave. i am a vietnam veteran. i served two tours. 1967 and 1968. and when i came home and got out of the military in 1969, 1970 i started having muscle spasms in my back. and finally, when they put out that agent orange and numbers for us i applied, got my number. i will try to make this brief. i have had muscle spasms ever since. it has been ov 40 years. they made me retire 10 years ago. the doctors did. and since i have read the american legion and read on the website that there are six

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 420, the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? >> by direction of the house republican conference i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. th clerk: house resolution 1447, resolved that the following named members be and they are elected to the following standing committee,

committee on agriculture, mr. rooney, committee on homeland security, mr. bray of georgia, committee on transportation and infrastructure, mr. bray of georgia. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. does the the gentlewoman from from texas seek recognition. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: because i was chairing the committee addressing the question of the united continental merger i was unavoidbly detained and missed the vote h. con. res. 242, monday -- honoring and praising the national association for the advancement of colored people on the occasion of its 101 anniversary. if i had been present i would have voted a yes and ask that it be placed in the appropriate place in the record for the

record to be correct. i would have voted iowa. the speaker pro tempore: the lady's explanation will be recorded in the record. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. will other members please take their conversations out of the chamber.

for what purpose does the gentleman from the northern mir yawn ast rise? -- miranas rise. without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: madam speaker, some families have an outside influeece in their community, with 12 children, 40 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, manuel gomez has had an impact but the influence was more than a miracle. he was the first entrepreneurs to emerge from the ashes of world war ii. manny's family sold produce to the japanese before the war but after the war they became

business people themselves and began a small grocery store. they invested in real estate, went into construction, sold scrap and grew their fortune and invested in their children's education though they only had a sixth grade and third education between them and brought chair children into the stores. she was passed away surrounded by loved ones. manny gomez lives on, farming as he did as a child, still traveling occasionally and devotion to family and faith. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all members are reminded not to traffic the well while other members are under recognition. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to

address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the house is not in order. will members take their conversations off of the floor. mr. poe: israel has the absolute right to defend itself. it c13 right to defend itself. it is under siege and has the terrorist group hezbollah and in the south terrorist group hamas firing missiles. six ships tried to break a blockade. israel defends its borders and searches ships to make sure aid going to gaza is not from iran and is not weapons. but this was not humanitarian aid, workers that assaulted these israeli commandos where 10 of them were hurt.

their goal was to have an international incident, the rereason being after the ships were stopped and being allowed to proceed into gaza the humanitarian aid was denied and refused by hamas. obviously an international incident that had gone bad for hamas. recently, myself and the gentleman from michigan, mr. peters,