a word a prayer father we acknowledge that all blessings come from you ask if you give the men and women who serve this great nation from these deaths wisdom courage and discernment to make decisions that are honoring to you and right for this country presently there are some of your sailors airmen and marines deployed around the world in harm's way but our pride he will keep them safe give them purpose guard their hearts from loneliness and despair and bring them home soon for their families upright you will comfort them and meet all of their needs for those who have given their lives in defense of freedom ords cannot express our sorrow and our gratitude my our actions honor their sacrifice and may your peace comfort their families father for this great nation our pride that it will continue under your blessing to stand as a beacon for goodness and a bastion of freedom may we understand the message of your scripture to do much has been given much will be expected in your precious name i pray a speaker mr speaker it's no surprise that our nation's economy is struggling the cities in the thirty second congressional district that i represent have seen unemployment rates soared to seven point two percent gasoline prices continue to go up above three dollars in los angeles a family loses a home to foreclosure every hour however the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors seem to be booming in two thousand and six the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector generated eight point five million jobs nearly a trillion dollars in revenue for the united states these jobs are good paying jobs and they will not be outsourced the green collar jobs act that was signed into law recently will help train three million new workers through the program workers include included will be those in under served communities like mine it's time of economic in this time of economic turmoil we need to invest in america and in our work force let's make sure that congress appropriates the accorded amount of money so that we can create this stream of jobs that will stay here on our shores i yield back the balance of my time for purposes the gentleman from south carolina  of the european union because he understands that inclusion in the e u would be a strong step toward growing the serbian economy and advancing the cause of peace and freedom in the region the serbian people have an extraordinary history and culture and i am hopeful the principles of freedom and democracy embodied by the leadership of president tarrasch will continue to thrive as a proud member of the serbian caucus i look forward to working with my colleagues in our diplomatic partners in serbia to forge a growing partnership between our two nations congratulations to president tarrasch in the people of serbia for building a robust free market democracy which is crucial for all balkan nations in conclusion god bless our troops and will never forget september eleventh my deepest sympathies to annette lantos the lantos family staff and constituents on the death of chairman tom lantos he lived to see hungary his birthplace become a thriving free market democracy pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the are ordered on which the vote is objected to under clause six of rule twenty record votes and postpone  postpone questions will be taken after six thirty p m today what purpose does the gentleman from gentleman from mississippi rise must speak to suspend the rules and pass house resolution nine five nineteenth two thousand pursuant to the rule the gentleman from mississippi mr thompson and the gentleman from tennessee mr davis each will control twenty minute chair recognizes the gentleman from mississippi mrs speak i actually now ms consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this resolution and include there and any extraneous material without objection the speaker you know myself such time as i may near yuma arizona on january nineteenth two thousand and eight i would also like to thank congresswoman zoe lofgren a member of the committee on homeland security for introducing this important legislation mr speaker on january nineteenth two thousand and eight agent aguilar was working with fellow border patrol agents to secure a suspected narcotics smuggler and imperial sand dunes recreational area when he was struck and killed by the suspected smugglers vehicle as it played into mexico a native of el paso texas agent aguilar has been assigned to the yuma border patrol station since joining the border patrol and july two thousand and two he was just thirty two years old at the time of his death agent aguilar survived by his wife erica his children luis an ariane a his father luis aguilar sr his sister andy and his bought up troll brother senior border patrol agent marco antonio aguila young man who's made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the sovereign borders of the united states and make america more says secure the mission of a u s border patrol is to control the nearly six thousand miles of land border between ports of entry with mexico and canada and the coastal waters around florida and puerto rico the death of agent aguilar serves as a stark reminder of the risk our frontline agents and officers face each day as they serve as the guardians of our nation land borders as chairman of the homeland security committee and i've been to the southern border a number of occasions i've witnessed firsthand the dedication of the men and women of the u s border patrol often on a difficult and dangerous conditions they work long hours often late into the night in extreme heat in coal like agent they are nations last line of defense against would be terrorists drug traffickers and others who would seek to enter this nation illegally agent aguilar's contribution to our nation's security deserves this recognition mr speaker i x my colleagues to join me in honoring senior border patrol agent luis aguilar and his service to our nation and all of my deepest condolences to the around gratitude that eros to support this resolution to honor the life and service of senior border patrol guard louis aguilar who was tragically killed in the line of duty on january nineteenth two thousand and eight he died after being struck by vehicle drive and driven by a suspected smuggler and the imperial sand dunes recreation area california the work of a border patrol agent is inherently dangerous in the normal course of their work they run the risk of heat exhaustion frost bot and other challenges from the outdoor environment of even greater concern is the threat from smugglers and criminals seeking to leave illegally cross our borders  violence against our border patrol agents as more agents assets and infrastructure in place along the border criminal activity is prevented from continuing with impunity the unfortunate result of gaining operational control of our borders is an increase in violence targeted agents and we have seen significant spike in the past several years with nearly one thousand assaults on agents last year ranging from rock throwing to sniper attacks and to murder death serves as a stark reminder of the risk our law enforcement agents face every day as they seek to serve here our nation's borders this despicable criminal acts will only strengthen our resolve to secure our borders with  additional agents fancying vehicle barriers and technology the border patrol plays a vital role in protecting america and the scarce sacrifices of its agents will not be forgotten i recently conducted an overnight visit on the southwest border and saw firsthand the challenges and the dangers that these agents face are returned with a clear resolve to support all the tools resources infrastructure and policy necessary to gain operational control our borders i would like to recognize the excellent work of u s law enforcement personnel in the government and of mexico for tracking down and arresting the primary suspect and the murder of a gen on january the twenty second for the sake of ag our family the border patrol and the justice right general are i if the government of mexico has continued cooperation and support to extradite this individual to the united states for trial the men and women of the border patrol face challenges and threats every day with diligence dedication to service and integrity as they work to strengthen our national security and to protect america and its citizens i would support of that resolution house resolution one five four and two under the life of senior border patrol agent we say are you not who has lost his life in the line of duty near yuma arizona on january nineteenth of this year he lost his life in a border filled filled with dangers for agents who confront organized drug and people smugglers on a daily basis smugglers who are prepared to go to great and dangerous lengths to check their profit and to protect the activity illegal activities are conducted on the border first let me give my condolences to mr rugg a large family who gave the ultimate sacrifice is why son and daughter who have lost an his life was devoted to to this country if he served in the u s border patrol for more than five years he protected this country and enforce its laws for his wife children and family he provided them with a great foundation he was a devoted family man actively involved in the lives of his children and his family making sure that his family was first community members could always count on him being there on a t ball or soccer field cheering on his children and others children we've had a lot of will be remembered as a quiet yet strong man who always had a smile on his face for his friends and family mr speaker we may disagree on the nature of the content and the future of an immigration policy for this nation but there were there was no disagreement on the bravery and value that the men and of the men and women who carry on january nineteenth he was intentionally struck by the driver of a vehicle that he was attempting to stop and on that day border patrol agents had observed both a ford pickup truck a hummer crossing illegally from mexico into the united states it was near yuma arizona and they began pursuit and the drivers of the two vehicles saw that the agents were following them and they turned back toward the border but as agent of you are deployed to spike strips he was intentionally struck by the driver of that hummer his death cer us as another stark reminder of the dangerous environment our border patrol faces every day violence against border patrol agents i sadly report is increasing in the united states has gone up thirty one percent between two thousand and six and two thousand and seven the number of incidences rose from seven hundred fifty two attacks to nine hundred eighty seven against our border patrol agents agents are being assaulted with an arsenal of weaponry that includes bottles and knives bats ball bearings steel pipes cinder blocks sling shots and vehicles when i was chairman of the subcommittee on international terrorism and nonproliferation i held hearings down on the border both in laredo texas and in san diego the focus was on border vulnerabilities and on international terrorism at that time there's been some reports of international terrorists trying to cross that border one thing the border patrol asked us for and they said this would make an immediate impact on securing our borders and securing our nation they asked us for a double border fence as was finally passed in the secure fence act many americans strongly supported that legislation to construct that fence to help slow illegal entry into the united states and quite frankly they are baffled that congress took such a step back from strengthening strengthening our borders to court security as we did with that omnibus spending bill earlier this year because that on of a spending bill gutted the secure fence act the secure fence act required double fencing it would put a fence where it was needed most in areas that have the highest instances of drug smuggling of human smuggling and of gang activity the omnibus bill that we passed here that i opposed removed the two tier requirement and the list of locations it also put up numerous bureaucratic and legal hurdles to undermine the fences completion it's past time we strengthen operational control of our borders we need to use every tool available to give the border patrol the support they need to help protect border patrol agents as they gentleman from california is recognized thank you mr speaker mr speaker as you know you are like myself was born and raised on the border he knew the challenges that face the border you understood the risks and sadly his life has documented a price we pay for out of control borders i just hope that everyone today when they vote on this bill and and support this bill recognizes that for all too long border patrol agents have not only faced the threat of life and death situations along the border while they're enforcing our laws protecting our neighborhoods and protecting the lives of the legal immigrants crossing the border every day a story that's not told enough about when somebody crossing the border illegal needs to be saved while they're dying in the desert drowning in rivers being attacked by coyotes it's the border patrol agents who are the last straw of of survival for so many of these e legals but border patrol value lar proved his loyalty to america with his life and sadly ideas ask all of us remember that there are aguilar's up and down the border north and south all over this country doing a tough job and frankly not getting very much credit and fact getting attacked personally and viciously just because they're doing the tough job that the american people want i just hope that we understand that our job today is to recognize the sacrifice  family and remember that when mrs aguilar passed away after finding out about her son i'm sure she would want to send a message of do what you can congress to make sure my other son is safe protected and well provided for in his duties of serve the american people so mr speaker i doubt that we recognize the service of not only agent you are but his mother his brother his entire family and by doing that let's be brave enough to send them the resources both in physical equipment and in the proper laws that the border patrol agents have been asking us to do for a long time so that they do not have to continue to function in this killing zone that we call the border area and so i asked strongly the democrats republicans join together and let's do what we can to avoid this issue situation the future that may mean taking some hits from our friends about building fences a cracking down on illegal employers doing all those things that we have not done enough in the past and that mr speaker would truly be a good recognition of the service gentleman from mississippi is fifteen minutes gentleman from tennessee ten and a half minutes thank you very much continue to reserve misspeak i have no other speakers gentlemen reserves gentlemen from tennessee thank you mr speaker as i prepare to close i want to again thank the aguilar family and pass on the american people's condolences to the family i want to thank his fellow border patrol agents who are willing to protect our freedoms each and every day and i would like to urge my colleagues and supported this resolution this afternoon with that i go back to remain or my time gentleman yields back down in from mississippi thank you very much in the speaker must  may consume gentleman's recognized misspeak are my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to recognize the life of senior agent luis aguilar the loss of agent aguilar not only leaves a big hole in the border patrol organization but in the lives of his family i'd like to express again my sincere condolences and urge passage of this important resolution mr speaker i yield back the balance of my time gentleman the rules are suspect resolution is agreed to and of gentleman from mississippi thank you very much muskeg on that i actually gave and i requested all those in favor of the ri the acadia national park advisory commission to provide increases in our services at the park and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona mr gross and the gentleman from utah mr bishop each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you again mr bicker and i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and included strenuous material on the bill under consideration without objection thank you speaker h r twenty two fifty one visit was introduced by my good friend from maine representative mike michaud the legislation addresses several housekeeping matters at the acadia national park kadian located on the  island on the coast of maine it's one of the most one of our most popular and most visited national parks this bill would authorize the park to participate in the construction of a new transit center currently visitors can only catch the park bus at their hotels meaning that day visitors have no access to the system the bill would allow the park to participate in the establishment and operation of the plant intermodal center to be located just off the island this center would provide visitor services parking and bus access to day visitors a variety of federal state and local agencies are involved in establishing the center h r twenty two fifty one would also extend the authorization  national park advisory commission for another twenty years continuing this important forum for the park and local communities to jointly consider issues of importance finally h r twenty two fifty one would authorize an additional ten million for the park land the parks land acquisition budget to enable the park to keep pace with the rising property values and provide providing for a prompt payment to willing sellers who regularly offer their lands to the park at the hearing in the last congress the national park service testified in support of similar legislation and that measure also passed in the senate the measure before us today has been updated to address several urns by the national park service and to s contributions to the intermodal transportation center mr speaker this bill will significantly improve the experience of visitors to one of our great national parks representative michele and representative allen are to be commended for their hard work on this legislation i urge the house to support h r twenty two fifty one mr speaker at this time i reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves gentleman from utah does recognized thank you speaker i arrived to speak on h r twenty two fifty one and you know my time myself as much time as i may consume gentleman from arizona has adequately explained h r twenty two fifty one and were prepared to accept this legislation with a brief clarification from the chairman of the subcommittee on the intent of this bill the question we have is is the proposed intermodal transportation center intended to limit the access to the park by automobile or is this part of a larger plan to abolish the public's ability to travel through the park by private automobile that would be important in fact the speaker i would yield to the gentleman from arizona fees prepared to address that issue right now thank you in the me thank the gentleman from utah for allowing me to try to clarify this point the island explorer transit system at acadia is entirely voluntary and i might add very very popular i can categor assure the gentleman that there are no plans to ban those from acadia visitors want to drive the park's loop roads are welcome to do so but many of found riding the bus is much more convenient so there is a categor that the intention of this legislation is not now or will be to ban deals from acadia thank you reclaiming my time i appreciate that say but with that assurance we can accept this  ranking member a bishop for their work on this measure this is a very important bill for the state of maine as well as the future of a kiddie a national park acadia national park is a spectacular and unique landscape of mountains hale ponds marshes and shorelines earlier visitors to mount desert island and its surroundings helped to establish acadia as the first national park east of the mississippi the park is a major engine of the regional economy bring in an almost one hundred thirty million dollars in visitor spending to the region and supporting over two thousand six hundred jobs the acadia national park improvement act will help the park continue to attract visitors to the area and maintain and preserve the important natural resources it allows the park to continue to complete the vision laid out in one nine hundred eighty six last setting the pox boundaries and to enhance the mission reducing al and explore the system most importantly this legislation will reauthorize acadia national park advisory commission the commission brings representatives from surrounding towns the state of maine the department of interior together to make sure all community members are involved in park planning so i want to thank everyone involved for their hard work on this night courage michael leagues to vote favorites important bill for the state of maine that ideal back to the bal question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r twenty two fifty one as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection t motion to reconsider is laid on the table what purpose does the gentleman from arizona arise mr speaker i move to spend the the rules and pass a chart thirty three thirty two as amended clerk will report the title of the bill h r thirty three thirty two a bill to provide for the establishment memorial with in college pop a national historical park located on the island of the work i e and in the state of hawaii to honor and perpetuate the memory of those individuals who were forcibly reason catered to the college papa peninsula from eight all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include a strenuous material of the bill under consideration without objection thank you misspeak or h r thirty three thirty two would provide for disease also known as leprosy were isolated from the rest of society at the settlement in all eight thousand hansen's patients were forcibly relocated to the settlement where they struggled to create new lives the majority succumb to the disease while living there today less than twenty percent of the graves and headstones of these former patients can be found in the peninsula that remain hundred eighty percent of forgotten on the landscape a nonprofit organization made up of family and friends former patients will be responsible for funding and constructing the memorial which will be which will contain the names of all eight thousand patients who were forced to call this settlement their home mr speaker i would like to com our colleague congresswoman he we know of why and our co sponsor congressman abercrombie also for life for their efforts to the ensure that all families of former residents have a fitting commemoration of their deceased loved ones mr athletes support h r thirty three thirty two and are just passage today as a tribute to the present and past and since patients and i reserve the balance of my time german reserves the gentleman from utah support of h r three three three two call papa is a tool and one fourth mile wide a shelf of land jutting out beneath the sea cliffs ranging from one thousand six hundred to three thousand feet in height on the island of it is an incredibly beautiful and isolated area with a unique history this bill authorizes this stablish meant of a memorial at callao papa national historical park in the memory of those who were forcibly relocated there because they suffered from over suspected of having hansen's disease or leprosy once sent to callao papa most never saw their homes or their families again these are the names of the first twelve people who were exiled to callao papa on january sixth eight hundred sixty six one hundred forty two years ago this poster is a copy of the kingdom of hawaii's register now at the white state archives of those sent to callao pop up in insula these first twelve were all native hawaiian nine men and three women from that day forward until nine hundred sixty nine approximately eight thousand people living in the whine islands were taken from their families and isolated on call papa peninsula first and cholera while and later in the town of kalak papa because of society's fear of leprosy which we hansen's disease food was scarce and shelter and health care remain a mle for the new arrivals the mortality rate for exiles in the first five years was forty six percent due to the poor conditions  enacted prevent the spread of leprosy was first signed into law in eight hundred sixty five by lot coming home me the king of hawaii the act essentially criminalize the disease children mothers and fathers were forcibly separated children born to parents at color papa were taken away from their mothers and sent to live in orphanages or with other family members outside of col papa the policy was continued in the republic of hawaii after hawaii was annexed by the united states and into statehood howie's isolation laws for people with hansen's disease were not repealed until nine hundred sixty nine ten years after statehood even though medications to control the disease had been available since the late hundred forty s nearly six thousand seven hundred of the approximately eight thousand people who have died at callao papa more than seventy five percent lie in unmarked or unidentifiable graves their names are known only in the official records which are not easily acceptable a memorial this thing the names of those who are excited to callao papa and died there is a fitting tribute and is consistent with the purpose of the park to preserve and interpret the callao papa settlement for the education and inspiration of present and future generations many have heard of the sacrifices of father damien who is represented by one of hawaii's two statues in this capital as well as those of mother marianne cope and and who each gave decades of their lives to care for the patients at callao papa fewer know however of the courage and sacrifices of the exiles who were torn from their families and all they knew to make a life in this isolated area it is important that their lives be remembered the co op on the morial will bring these people back to their rightful places in their family genealogy and history many families have gone to callao papa to search for the graves of their assets theirs but with only one thousand three hundred marked graves most are disappointed in a letter of support for the memorial david and chris milo not explained why they as native hawaiians feel an urgent need for a monument that would list the names of everyone sent to call papa i quote the naming process and giving of a hawaiian name is an important and sacred component of traditional hawaiian culture it is said that names carry significant m spiritual power and they are actually a part of the person just like an arm or leg in ancient hawaii a person's name was one of the most precious possessions unique to that individual and most times related to an event and ancestor or personality trait in every case the couple in a elders are always consulted it was the responsibility of the bearer of the name to carry its weight therefore it is important to remember these people by their names at their final resting place and called i'd also like to read the testimony that kool aid bill president of ca one a local papa submitted to congress cooley who contracted hansis disease at age six is now seventy four and i recently visited her a queens hospital in honolulu queally testified we need to remember the people who have dedicated their lives and came to color papa father damien who we love so much came to take care of all those in college while in the hundreds and he became one of us contracted the disease and so we know how this is and also we know that mother marianne gave her aloha and love with all the nuns to come and take care of the patients they need to be remembered these things are so important and the monument is a big part of our history and our lives so please consider what we are asking for is our history and for our children to know what happened to many of our patients how sad it was for my mother who had to wait for me to go and she could not even touch me because of the disease and i could not even touch my children these  things that we should consider how important it is these are the memories so please consider these things i see these things from my heart and i hope that you hear it clearly ended her testimon thank you for listening to this aloha and much aloha much much more hollow califano callao papa a nonprofit organization consisting of patient residents at callao papa national historical park and their family members and friends with the stablished in two thousand and three to promote the value and dignity of the exiles of callao papa and to make certain that the lives of these individuals are honored and remembered  to the floor and i also want to thank michael sponsor congressman the all abercrombie for his strong support and assistance most of all i send my heartfelt a lot and mahalo to all the members of  to all the kolob pop up patients and their families and most especially to calais on this momentous day i ask all of my colleagues to vote yes on h r three three three two i you back my time enough to send over the pronunciation guide but i didn't get where they are the accent marks ago so i didn't know where the end fastest was on this particular word but with that i'm still very supportive of this particular act will reserve ten reserves gentlemen from without objection mr speaker i fully supported the provisions of this proposed bill and the bill proposes to establish a memorial to honor the memory of all those people who became victims of the dreaded disease leprosy or commonly known by the polynesian voyaging society under the leadership in my good friend and brother nine or sampson to serve as a member of the crew of the how iron polynesian voyaging canoe known as the whole color for which we were able attention on account of the circumstances and events surrounding the history of what then took place under the sovereign kingdom of eating the early eighteen hundreds before the arrival of the europeans there were some three hundred thousand native hawaiians living on these islands the warrior chief can come in there with some twenty thousand warriors as some one hundred war canoes finally you was able to unite these are units under one rule average after some two thousand years of conflict among the ruling chiefs of these islands what also occurred was the illnesses and the many diseases that europeans brought to these islands and one of these diseases was leprosy or hansen's disease and the unfortunate situation at the time having no knowledge or understanding how they're going to cure the native hawaiians are not immune to this kind of sickness so illnesses so the only way to to to the process we also had one probably in my humble opinion mr speaker one of the great leaders when i say in the world as a catholic priest originally from belgium named father damien father damien if there is anything that i could ever say the epitome of what the pure love of god is this was one man who voluntarily ministered to these people who lived on this slippery lepers in this colony or this settlement where full of the press he voluntarily subjected himself even to this contagious disease after twelve years of helping the people who lived bill chapels built schools and even helped buried those who died as a result of his that it is easy father damien as you know and maybe my colleagues are aware was given as one of the two leaders representing the great state of hawaii right here in statutory hall the beautiful story about this catholic priest was the fact that he voluntarily gave his life in order to serve the people who contracted the strategies leprosy on this beautiful area called that was also another gentleman and maybe as might be as a matter of knowledge to my good friend from the state of utah at that time it wasn't just people who were forced to have to to to live in this isolated but it caused so much sorrow and sadness where even those who loved ones your wives your husbands your daughters your sons one of these leaders voluntarily went because his wife eventually contracted leprosy his name was jonathan not as a native hawaiian leader and was a high priest and a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints commonly known today as the mormon spent the last years his life in this leper settlement because of his life because of his love for his wife kitty who would also contract this there was a lot of controversy about the life of father damian at the time that the relationships between the protestants and the catholics were not very positive in fact according to the records amended state of the presbyterian church reverend hyde castigated him literally criticised father damon for some of the things that he did and it responds as another noted leader that time and author in a scottish scotsman from scotland who happens to be robert w despite the wishes and desires of the scottish people and the government to return his remains we said no but the point that i wanted to make is that in response to the criticism of father damien and gotten from his  ministers are those men of the cloth i wanted to share with my colleagues robert was stevenson's response when we have failed and another has succeeded when we have stood by and another has stepped in when we sit and grow bulk in our charming mansion he's talking about this minister now and in plain uncouth peasant steps into the battle under the eyes of god and should go to the afflicted console's the dying is him self afflicted in his turn and dies upon the field i'm on or the battle cannot be retrieved as your unhappy irritation has suggested it is a lost battle and lost forever my point of this mr speaker this national historical memorial to the thousands of native hawaiians and other races who are also contracted this dreaded disease and should be recognized for the sacrifices that they have had to make and when i mr speaker again i thank my good friend those opposed now in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona arise thank you again mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass house for a resolution eighty six a clerk will report the title of the bill house resolution eight sixty eight resolution recognizing the one hundredth anniversary of the declaration as in your words national monument by president theodore roosevelt pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona mr grandfather and the gentleman from utah mr bishop each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank the speaker and once again i ask for you know miss consent that all members have five legislative days to revise the next then the remarks and included strings material in the resolution under consideration without objection thank you speaker house resolution eight sixty eight introduced by our colleague from california representative lynn woolsey recognizes the beauty and the significance of muir woods national monument and its one hundredth anniversary  would national monument preserves one of the last remaining ancient redwood forests of the pacific coast and the world the call the coast redwood is the tallest pieces of tree in the world and one of the oldest the mature trees of t mean girls in mere words which heights of two hundred fifty feet and average between six hundred and eight hundred years in age with the oldest believed to be at least eleven hundred years old in one thousand five congressman william ken who later went on to introduced a bill that would establish the national park service purchased a land where mere woods stands recognizing the beauty value and significance of an uncut old growth redwood forest eventually congressman were of extraordinary scientific interest and portraits because of the unique character of the forest and the character its character age and size of the trees president roosevelt wanted to name the new monument for beauty these ancient trees now offer a silent yet powerful testimony to mirrors ideals mr speaker i commend to gradually league representative was lee for her commitment and leadership on this matter we strongly support passage of house resolution eight sixty eight and urge its adoption by the house today and i reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves gentleman from utah thank you mr baker the gentleman from arizona has adequately explained the bill and we reserve the balance  gentleman reserves gentleman from arizona at this time the speaker let me you to the gentle lady from california the sponsor of the of the bill ms was lee for as much time as she may consume gentle lady from california you mr speaker my district just across the golden gate bridge north of san francisco includes one hundred percent of maroon county md eighty percent of sonoma county where we are blessed with many environmental treasures in fact it is one of the most beautiful places on earth and it is just across the bridge from one of the largest cities in our country in this area we have a stand of old growth redwoods known as muir woods and we consider this our crown jewel near woods's nearly three hundred acres to what i refer as heaven on earth where its natural beauty has been preserved and protected for everyone to enjoy so that we can enjoy the trees which are mostly redwoods that stand over two hundred fifty feet tall and are as old as the chairman just told you as old as eleven hundred years that's why i'm so pleased that congress is considering eight friends a sixty eight today to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of president teddy roosevelt's declaration of mere words to as a national monument it's fitting that we honor the senate daniel a mere words on the floor of the house of representatives because it was the actions of congressman william can who represented murren county at that time who made the national monument possible william can't privately owned the land where mere woods now stand and he and his family donated it to the federal government to ensure its protection i'm proud to say that one hundred years later congressman can vision is still going strong leadership in conservation that william can't shoulder one hundred years ago is a valuable lesson for us today imagine all the national wonder that could have been saved in the last one hundred years wonders like  would that we could be enjoying today had more people been as selfless as he we in congress have the power to ensure that one hundred years from now people can look back and applaud new conservation effort mr speaker your was is a unique sanctuary for the protection of one of her earth's greatest wonders the coastal redwoods and its preservation is to be commended i want to thank chairman ray hall the ranking member young and mr bishop for bringing my resolution here to the floor today because working together mr speaker working together today we will ensure that one hundred years from now our grandchildren our great grandchildren their children will enjoy the mirrored woods by centennial so i thank you resolution eight sixty eight thousand dollars they are those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds 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 what purpose does the gentleman from arizona arise thank you mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass health concurrent resolution to all nine clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution houghton current resolution to  nine concurrent resolution expressing the sense of congress said to me thing i am of the american culture society located in paducah kentucky should be designated as a national quel museum of the united states pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona mr great father and the gentleman from utah mr bishop each will control twenty minutes to recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you misspeak there are now once again i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend the remarks and include externals material on the build under consideration without objection the speaker house concurrent resolution twenty two zero nine would express the sense of congress that the museum of american culture society and paducah kentucky should be designated the national quilt museum of the united states the concurrent resolution was introduced by our colleague representative edward whitfield of kentucky since its estab hundred one the museum of the american quilting society is collected and displayed quilts made by quilters from forty four of the fifty states today with a permanent collection of more than one hundred eighty quilts and three galleries totaling thirteen hundred for thirteen thousand four hundred square feet of exhibit space the facility is the largest museum in the world dedicated to the artistry of quilting and illustrates the significance of quilts and quilting to this nation a friend's group comprised of members from all fifty states have provided the museum with a broad national fund raising support and advocate since its inception seventeen years ago mr speaker house concurrent resolution twenty nine twenty zero nine would grant recognition of the house to this museum and the art form it seeks to preserve the a museum of this size school and significance appears worthy of designation as national quilt museum of the united states we have no objection to house concurrent resolution two zero nine and urge its passage and i reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves the gentleman from utah thank you rise in support of house concurrent resolution two and i am in my myself the same as i may consume the resolution has been adequately explained again by the gentleman from arizona i would like to command congressman whitfield for his work on this resolution that designates the museum of american quilters society in paducah kentucky as the national quilt museum of the united states that is your nation that brings us all a great deal of warmth and comfort and helps ties together the loose ends of our society i'm grateful this resolution has been brought to the floor gets worse so that we can finally put this to bed at this point i have a statement from the bills author mr whitfield who has been who wanted to be here today but his flight has been unavoidably detained because of weather minutes to the gentle lady from texas congresswoman jackson lee gentle lady from texas is recognized for three minutes i think that this english gentleman from arizona i thank the sponsor of this well i had my appreciation and recognition of h konrads two zero zero nine expressing the sense of congress that the museum of america's quilt a society located in kentucky should be designated as the national quilt museum of the united states having had the opportunity to have the traveling quoters from alabama come to houston i know that quilting is a national treasure and it is an important part of our history it is important for this congress each step of the way to remind americans of how valuable their history is we happen to be in black history month and i know that as we look to honor everyone's history it is to say that americans are united we are one so i'm very proud acknowledge this resolution and to support it and as i asked for my colleagues indulgence i just got off the plane from texas i do want to make mention of a trigger nine fifty four as a member of the house judiciary committee subcommittee on immigration and as a member of the homeland security committee i rise to honor the life of fallen border patrol agent luis a aguilar who lost his life in the line of duty at yuma arizona on january nineteenth two thousand and eight many time americans did not really understand that our border patrol agents put themselves in the line of fire and they are in fact first responders on behalf of the behalf of the people of the united states i want to give honor to his family certainly to his fellow border patrol agents and to acknowledge my deepest sympathy  to them and as well to them as a family as a member the homeland security committee i am forever reminded of their service and have been an advocate for providing them with more resources we do need to get a complete response to immigration both through border security and comprehensive immigration reform so in conclusion let me say that i want to express again my sadness in the loss of a senior border patrol agent we say aguilar and again express my sympathy to america question is will the house has been the rules and agreed to house concurrent resolution two zero nine those in favor say aye those opposed no and then you know the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table gray and the gentleman from utah mr bishop each will control twenty minutes chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members they have five five days to revise and extend the remarks and include extending extraneous material in the bill under consideration without objection thank you again with speaker and i yield myself as much time as i may consume a chart twenty nine was introduced by our colleague representative darrell issa and would authorize the secretary of the interior construct facilities to provide water for irrigation municipal domestic military and other use as from the sea some time ago to the river in california and for other purposes similar legislation introduced by myself this time as i may consume h r twenty nine was introduced by our colleague paralyzed authorizes the construction of a ground water recharge and pumping project in the lower santa margarita river basin in southern california if constructed the project would provide much needed water to the local water utility district as well as to camp pendleton the marine corps base for its military training needs this project would augment the local water district supply would relieve future additional demands for costly limited imported water supplies and would set aside and preserve valuable environmental habitat this project is an excellent example of local and federal agencies working together secure safe dependable water supplies for future generations this bill is good for a lot of consumers and it's good for our soldiers and i urge my colleagues for this important bill which has been considered by the house twice already perhaps third time be the charm and i reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves gentleman from arizona let's just be clear that i asked that  in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table time and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from new york mr crowley will and the gentleman from pennsylvania mr english will each control twenty minutes to recognize the gentleman from new york  sent a letter to the committee on ways and means indicating the ability of the if it provides services in two thousand they will be impeded if this extension it is not acted and i ask that this letter from the f a be added to the record this week without objection thank you of the community ways and means reported out of previous extensive bill with bipartisan support this bill will keep the airport near way trust fund taxes and operations in cost to our nation's economy of doing so would be devastating as you know authorizing legislation permitting the collection of aviation taxes and fees sadly expired at the end of the last fiscal year congress since then has extended that authorization through the end of this month in the consolidated appropriations act it is in unfortunate in my view that congress was not able to reach an agreement with the other body on a longer term solution before resorting to temporary extensions i feel that the ways and means committee in the transportation and infrastructure committee worked well together to put together a workable bill that would continue financing our system with modest changes for a period of four years four years would have given us enough time to allow this body to devote the necessary time to make a close examination of the financing of the system and consider the long term changes that technology and the demands of that system are imposing on us something that i believe the committee on ways and means on the select revenue s not have time to accomplish despite multiple hearings on this issue and while today's bill will only extend current law authorities through the end of june this is a necessary step in the process it does not speak well of this congress that we are not able to do these things promptly with discipline and do so in a timely fashion but i believe that our committee ways and means and together with the transportation and infrastructure committee have provided value added and i would like to believe that given some additional time that this legislation would give us that we would have an opportunity to put forward a permanent solution i reserve the balance of buy time ten reserve gentleman from new york i thank you mr speaker before you go to turn away from texas i want to point out to my understanding the delay has been in the senate not in the house of representatives not between the two would like to yield at this time three minutes the gentle lady from texas miss sheila jackson lee gentle lady from texas is recognized for three minutes i'd like to congratulate the ways and means committee and the good work that they've done with the transportation and infrastructure committee on coming forward today and providing us with an opportunity to do the smart thing that is to provide this extension for this trust fund yesterday in my capacity on the transportation security committee i host of the transportation security administration or in my district at one of my large airports obviously the infrastructure of airports the safety of airports travels parallel to the security of our ports this is a vital funfest cities like houston texas which happens to have the top ten on one of the top ten airports in the nation airports are the sights of places of usage by millions and millions of americans every single day and therefore it is important that the delay of the actual completion of a final bill not be used to prevent the flow of dollars to protect our airports and provide a safe and secure passage for our travelers i understand as my good friend from new york is new york has indicated that the delay is in the senate this is the right direction to go i applaud the ways and means committee and chairman charlie rangle and i rise enthusiastically to support this legislation i yield back colleague of mr english from pennsylvania and i appreciate the hard work that he and members of his committee have done and in in this area and have the privilege of appearing before his subcommittee as we were considering the financing of this legislation in fact in september of last year house considered and passed a bill that resulted from that hearing the f a a reauthorization act of two thousand and seven which was h r twenty eight eighty one it reauthorized the f a a for the next four years and several occasions after that the house passed bills to extend the f a a programs and fortunately another via has taken no action on any of of these measures therefore the authority of the f a a is essential programs and taxes were extended through the end of this month as part of the on of us appropriations act regrettably those f a a programs and authorit longer has the authority to make new obligations including sorely needed airport improvement program grants to allow airports to complete vital infrastructure improvement projects the omnibus also included a provision that will prevent the  from spending any money out of the airport and airway trust fund after march first of this year without some congressional action to extend the f a a is authority on march first the f a a will be facing a partial shut this bill would extend the funding and expenditure authority of the f a a through june thirtieth of this year two thousand and eight the bill also extends the taxes funding their port an airway trust fund through june thirtieth provides airport improvement program funding authority through september thirtieth and extends eligibility for essential air service subsidies that airport grant funding ideally we should be considering the f d a reauthorization conference report at this time unfortunately that is not the case said we are considering the third short term extension of the f a s authority by the house however this bill will ensure that our national aviation system continues to operate until a full president can sign i support this extension in order to allow us time to accomplish this important goal and i think the gentleman from pennsylvania for you know they need the time down kneels back gentleman from new floor and for the support from the republican side mr english good to have you participating in and our colleague on the committee mr p try for his diligent work on behalf of aviation issues the house has done its job on an aviation we passed in september september twentieth the reauthorization act to extend aviation programs through two thousand and eleven and shortly thereafter we passed another bill to provide a short term extension of f a a programs and then in november we amend passed another attempt to extend aviation program programs in the short term regrettably our colleagues across the way in the other body have not acted on any of these  if we don't act frankly the f a a just simply runs out of money and run out of authority to spend money not of authority to collect the revenues so the house again thank  authority for the f a a programs the first of all we extend it with this legislation extend the aviation taxes now that covers eighty percent of  and with an uncommitted cash balance of only one and a half billion dollars any lapse in the aviation taxes could put solvency the trust fund at serious risk aviation trust fund ran out of money and curiously ticket prices didn't go down the airlines just kept charging the same price they didn't give during that period of  they didn't give the consumer a break they just collect kept on collecting taxes are and revenues at a higher at the higher level without without giving any kind of a rebate on taxes and we don't want to let that happen again  second thing that we do in this legislation is to extend authority for the f a a to make expenditures from the from the aviation trust fund without that on march one f a a will face a partial shut down they will not be able to pay some four thousand employees in and a good many of those will be air traffic controllers the third provision critical in this  legislation is the two point seven six billion dollars in contract authority for the aviation improvement program that is the construction program runways and taxiways the hard side the air side of the airport because the previous authorization expired on september thirty there is no contract authority place now for the ip program in fiscal year two thousand and eight no new airport grants can be made so without this legislation not only is going to have to f a a going have to lay off four thousand paulie's they're not going to be able to make grants to airport authorities we will lose tens of thousands of construction jobs and building airport capacity and we'll lose the ability to meet the needs of aviation capacity out into the balance of of this fiscal year so the to june thirty in order to keep pressure on the other body to take up our aviation authorization bill which it passed our committee overwhelming bipartisan support passed the house overwhelming vote and yet the other body sits over there in splendid isolation is all and nothing else in the world matters and i find that very very disturbing we need to pass this legislation that the house already acted on the senate pass it get into conference with us we'll get this result we can get it passed we get it to the president in very short order but meanwhile we have to take the action embodied in the pending legislation and gentlemen have any further speakers we have no other speakers on our side and that case i will yield myself such time as i may consume time and i think we made the case here mr speaker that it is important that this legislation go forward  cure you know and an inability of congress to bring closure on this very very important issue this is stopgap legislation that is necessary to allow our america's aviation system to remain airborne and then a critical time it is essential that we pass this bill in order to ensure the thousands of f a a employees are not furloughed through congressional inaction it is also vitally important for communities and gauge an airport construction projects communities like my hometown of erie pennsylvania that the bill before us reus states the contract authority for the f a a to issue money under the airport improvement program i believe that this is an opportunity for us to get this right in the coming months it is essential that the house ways and means committee the house transportation and infrastructure committee and the bipartisan leadership of this body engage the senate in order to pass a permanent solution that provides long term funding for the f a a in a manner that is consistent with the fundamental changes in that system in order to provide the necessary investment and this essential piece of our national transportation infrastructure i urge my colleagues to vote for question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r five to seven zero those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection t motion to reconsider is laid on the table for what purpose does the gentleman from american samoa arise as the speaker i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution housewares nine zero nine as amended the clinical report the title of the resolution house recollection nine zero nine resolution commemorating the courage of the haitian soldiers that fought for american independence in the siege at the vanna and for haiti's independence and reunification of laboring pursuant to the rule the gentleman from american  sponsor of my good friend and colleague from the gentleman from florida mr meek for his introduction of this resolution which commemorates the courage of the haitian soldiers who fought along our revolutionary soldiers for gaining independence from great britain house resolution one zero nine also recognizes this stablish meant of the haitian memorial monument which celebrates the historical bond between the good people of haiti and the overdue that we attach the proper importance to this asian participation after returning home asian veterans of the revolutionary war led their own rebellion and revolution against french colonialism and eventually time as i may concern thomas recognized i rise in support of house resolution nine zero nine and i join my colleagues in recognizing the valuable contribution and significant sacrifice that haitians made they joined the fight for the american independence over two centuries ago in the fall of seven hundred seventy nine over five hundred courageous men volunteered to cross the treacherous waters from haiti to the us to join our soldiers at the siege of savannah this was no easy feat yet these men were committed to fighting for america's liberty and independence representing the largest contingent of soldiers of african descent to fight in the american revolution these haitian troops bravely joined in our efforts forging the friendship between the u s and haiti that is only strengthened in the centuries of follow sadly such courage had a high price more than three hundred haitians lost their lives in this battle last year a monument to this glorious sacrifice was erected in savannah georgia the collaborative efforts of local officials in georgia haitian american historical society of miami guided this project to completion today the savannah monument stands as a tribute to those individual foreign volunteers who joined in the american revolution remarkably it was also the first nation in the western hemisphere to renounce live are for this reason i am proud to stand with my congressional colleagues in calling for the passage of this important resolution yet we must also recognize that there's more to be done despite haiti's early historic commitment to democracy the country continues to languish under the oppression of extreme poverty disease and violence as a significant partner in the region the us must remain not only cognizant of haiti's progress but also engaged in its development we cannot be fully successful as a hemisphere without haiti fulfilling its potential as a strong and i reserve the balance of my time as gentleman from american samoa mrs speakers with pleasure that i knew all the time that he needs the chief sponsor of his proposal is question my good friend the gentleman from florida forge this gentleman from florida is recognized thank you thank you very much and thank mr speaker and i want to thank my colleagues very kind words that they've given about this great piece of legislation i think it's important it's resolution i think it's very very important to speaker that we come together as a country and celebrate the contributions of other countries that they've played the role that they played and as sitting us not only with our independence but making it concrete  i also mr speaker as we look at house resolution nine zero nine i want to give my sincere thanks to the committee on foreign affairs of bring this resolution to the floor and especially shed light on hopefully his memory will continue on not only on the committee but here in congress i think it's also important that we pause to not only thank staff but also  thank haitians that throughout this country haitian americans throughout this country did have thought very hard on behalf of this country not only in iraq afghanistan and other theaters but have contribute in many other areas and where this bill came about the haitian american historical society in miami florida move forth with a with a monument in savannah of the great battle and i had an opportunity to go there recently and there are a number of haitians and those that care about the well being of haiti that wanted to make sure that it was wrecked the contributions of these soldiers were recognized in a way that  would be able to allow not only this generation the future generations to understand haiti's contributions when you start talking about five hundred freed haitian slaves traveling to savannah georgia to be a part of a multinational force to fight on behalf of this country against the brits at that particular time and to be in the same city where you had people who look like me that were in sleigh and traveling to savannah it's a very moving experience for every american because so many battles have taken place there and it's such a historical and beautiful city that you can't help but cause to think about the courage so for us to be on the floor mr speaker and members to talk to not only talk but to pass hopefully this resolution will be the first time in the history of the republic that we have actually said thank you to haiti that we said thank you to the family of the three hundred to five hundred troops that actually traveled to savannah to fight on our behalf i don't believe it's too late but i think that it's very appropriate for us to be here on the f allow the members to show their their appreciation for their contributions as we celebrate not only the contributions of the soldiers but we also shared life with our members and also with america live with our members and americans about the contributions that haitians have made i think as we look at this debate and we look at what we're doing for haiti right now  we must bring americans up to speed on the history the fact that the slaves freed slaves came to savannah and fought and the fact that haiti was one of the first countries to denounce slavery and to fight for their own independence to fight napoleon that pushed him to carry out the louisiana purchase with the united states of america these haitian fighters traveled throughout the western hemisphere and played a very strong role and allowing the united states to be who we are so we start talking about assistance for haiti it's not like it's a one way street it's a two way street and i am proud to represent a constituency that you have more haitians than anywhere else in the united states of america but haitians throughout the  very proud day for them and i believe it will be a very proud day for them we vote in affirmative i think when we look at the contributions of mr christopher henry christopher who fought an american resolute revolutionary war th uses experience from the first free government in the western hemisphere in the western hemisphere and when we look at what the haitian american historical society has spent a number a number of years to be able to not only bring the haitian history haitian american history to the congress but to also bring to everyday americans i think it's very very important mr speaker that members share with their constituency the contribution of these great men and to be able to make sure that we share the history of all communities that have come to this country to make us strong once again i want to thank the committee and i and i want to also thank the staff that has worked very hard on it and know that we have other members that want to speak in affirmative the passage of this legislation but i'm personally moved because i represent a number of individuals that when we look at immigration policy when we look at aid to haiti when we look at our interventions when coups have taken place in haiti as of recently the eighty second airborne when we look at those that are in the state department the service and the foreign service and the conditions that they have to work under when we also look at the peace corps and other organizations like it religious  institutions a number of n g o s that we call non governmental organizations and what they do and where they live in the rural parts of haiti providing an only education and food and we look at their contributions and we look at the conditions that they have to work on now as haiti struggles with natural disasters and struggles with hard economic times this legislation will help ensure my not only the contributions of haiti for the united states haitians toys united states but also americans returning not only the favor but the goodwill back to the great country of haiti so with that mr speaker i urge members to verdun vote in affirmative own house resolution nine zero nine and i yield back the balance i thank the distinguished speaker and the distinguished member of the foreign affairs committee i joined him as a fellow member of the foreign affairs committee to applaud and congratulate the distinguished gentleman from florida who has a long history in representing haitians in florida but has a long history in commitment of his concern of the haitian people both today and in the past as a member of the foreign affairs committee and one who has traveled to haiti and visited  individuals who are incarcerated because of their beliefs in democracy this commemoration is important because it really emphasizes a friendship longstanding friendship between the united states and the haitian people i am saddened by the journey that haitians have had to take over the last decades from baby doc and the oppressive leadership that they have had over past years from their desire or necessity he of necessity to flee because of persecution to the united states and then of course the double standard the clean the wet feet dry feet immigration policies where many of them have been treated in a discriminatory fashion this actually late is long overdue and i might  acknowledge the fact that this was in the early years of our beginning it was in the dawn of october one thousand seven hundred seventy nine that this battle was fought on the western outskirts of savannah what was unquestionably the second bloodiest battle of the entire eight years of the american war for independence can we imagine that these brave soldiers left their soil some many many miles away from our land about seven hundred  fifty haitian freeman fought alongside colonial troops against the british in the siege of savannah on october ninth seventeen seventy nine in a single hour mr speaker there fell with an area of a few hundred square yards more dead and wounded than are credited to any other battlefield in the struggle struggle for american independence except for bunker hill the valor of these brave men deserve to be commemorate and i'm proud to be a co sponsor of this legislation of course we know that american history is intertwined with many brave persons from places far and wide but i think this statement today also seaman's the importance of haiti today as we fight against the poverty the extensive poverty that exists now today as we tried to assist them in building their democratic government as we tried to reemphasize  friendship between united states and haiti and in essence apologized for some of the interventions that could be considered coups that resulted from policies utilized in this country i would say that this is a very important statement that again reinforces the relationship and again talks about the bravery of these haitian soldiers at a time in our country when we are engaged in a global war on terror joined by our friends and allies it is imperative that we recognize the service and dedication provided in the past by foreign countries like haiti speaker i close my words by simply congratulating mr meek again for this outstanding legislation but more importantly thanking the haitian people even though it may yes on this very timely resolution and having no further speakers in the back the balance of my time gentleman yield back gentleman from american small thank my good friend from arkansas time for our management of this legislation small rise and remain standing until counted sufficient number having risen the azan naser ordered pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty in the chairs prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postpo for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina arise mr speaker move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h r ninety six zero which commands the new york giants for winning super bowl forty two as the forty two and completing one of the men's remarkable postseason run compressional sports history pursuit of the rule the gentleman from north carolina mr butterfield and the gentleman from connecticut mr shays which will control twenty minute chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks without objection mr speaker i'm pleased to join my colleagues today in the consideration ninety six zero which provides for the recognition of the national football league champion new york giants for winning super bowl forty two and for completing one of the most remarkable postseason runs in professional sports history on super bowl sunday i was in columbus georgia and when i realized that my flight was scheduled at the very same time as the super bowl i canceled my return and had the privilege of watching this extraordinary game at the home  my good friend congressman sanford bishop mr speaker h read ninety six zero was introduced by representative steve rothman of new jersey and it has the support and co sponsorship of sixty members of congress mr speaker it is only fitting that we consider this resolution today as it how i like then express it is our commemoration of one of sporting history's most exciting wins which occurred on february third two thousand and eight when the new york giants battled back from behind to beat the undefeated new england patriots by a score of seventeen to fourteen to capture the n f l s coveted lumbar lombardi trophy super bowl forty two and the present variants of the new york giants to become only the second team the second team in football history to go from n f c wild card contender to n f l champion will undoubtedly go down in the record books for this accomplishment mr speaker we stand to commend the new york giants franchise the players and the coaches and all of the support of fans from across the world on a job well done urge the passage of this measure and at this time i will reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves gentleman from connecticut thank you mr speaker this is great fun mr speaker i rise today in support of h conrad's nine six zero congratulating the new york giants for their seventeen fourteen victory over the new england patriots in super bowl forty two it was a second straight super bowl victory for the first family of football the mannings peyton manning led the indianapolis colts to the title last year and his younger brother eli threw two touchdown passes to lead the giants to victory this year and claim the most valuable player award like his brother their father archie of course was a great pro quarterback unself spending most of his career with the new orleans saints john wooden the great form a u c l a basketball coach said sports don't build character they reveal it so what does this victory say about the new york giants it says they are a resilient bunch entering the play says the number five seed in a sixteen and f c field then defeating a dallas team who had beaten them twice in the regular season and a green bay team in arctic conditions to reach the big game there they stay meet in off ants that had scored more points gain more yards and warren more games in a season than any team  f l history they did it by keeping that off and off the field new york owned the ball for nearly twenty of the first thirty minutes they did it with new heroes such as david tyree who scored the go ahead touchdown he had never caught a touchdown pass in the n f l before the end they did it with a season that's like such as michael stray hand who led a defense that held the pats to ace a season low of two hundred seventy four yards so what was revealed of the character of these giants that they ignore the conventional wisdom which they didn't get which didn't give them a chance that they found in each other the strength to do what they couldn't have done any other way take down the next big thing and the biggest game of the year thanks giants for showing us what is possible when we don't take no for an answer mr speaker i reserve the german is recognized for five minutes gentleman thank you mr speaker this is speaker i rise today in support of house resolution nine sixty legislation to congratulate the new york giants for winning super bowl forty two and completing one of the greatest upsets in professional sports history i introduced this lucian because i am so proud of this team that plays at giants stadium in the new jersey meadowlands in east rutherford new jersey my constituents and i are so honored that we have a super bowl champion back in our region on sunday february third in glendale arizona the new york football giants achieved the highly improbable by beating the previously undefeated new jersey new england patriots the score was seventeen fourteen and they went on to win super bowl forty two the game was the most watched super bowl ever with nearly one hundred million viewers tuning in to make it the second most viewed american television broadcast in history i offer this resolution to honor the entire giants organization on their incredible season and on their win specifically i would like to congratulate giants owner and chief executive officer john mera executive vice president steve tish head coach tom coughlin defensive coordinator steve speck nola offensive coordinator kevin gilbride and all of the giants players and support staff on the job very well done the entire giants franchise has been a model of professionalism teamwork and community service in representing the new york new jersey metropolitan area their super bowl triumph shows that no matter what the odds a group of determined underdogs can take on a dynasty and emerge victorious this time the team that slew goliath were giants themselves i urge my colleagues join me in supporting house resolution nine sixty and in congratulating the new york football giants for their outstanding season and remarkable win in super bowl forty two thank you mr speaker i yield back the gentleman from north carolina continues to serve his time the gentleman from connecticut and to thank you a misspeak i'm going to reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from connecticut continues to reserve the gentleman from north carolina thank you to speak at this time i'm pleased to yield three no four minutes to the gentleman from new jersey mr pascrell the gentleman from new jersey mr pascrell is recognized for four minutes thank you mr speaker to rise to congratulate the football giants on their improbable and inspirational super bowl victory house resolution nine sixty i'm sure w get tremendous support here on any list of the most memorable moments