H5870 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 12, 2012 

While we applaud his release, we cannot forget how Pastor Youcef was 

abused and falsely accused over the 

past 3 years. He was subject to intense 

interrogation. His wife was arrested, 

taken away from their two young sons 

for a period of time. His lawyer was arrested on trumped-up charges. 

Earlier this year the House drew attention to this persecution when it 

overwhelmingly passed a resolution 

calling for the immediate release of 

Pastor Youcef. We made it clear that 

the world was watching and would not 

tolerate the execution of an innocent 

man. 

The Government of Iran continues to 

abuse religious minorities within its 

borders: Jews, Sunni Muslims, Baha’is, 

as well as Christians. Pastor Youcef’s 

release is a victory for human rights, 

but we cannot forget about the other 

victims of this corrupt regime. 

f 

WIND POWER IS AN AMERICAN 

SUCCESS STORY 

(Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was 

given permission to address the House 

for 1 minute.) 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, 

wind power is an American success 

story. It is one of our fastest growing 

manufacturing sectors, with over 500 

American-based facilities. It provides 

us with clean, renewable energy that 

both consumers and the environment 

demand. 

But, unfortunately, it is threatened 

with the production tax credit due to 

expire at the end of the year. I am 

pleased to join with my fellow Ways 

and Means Committee member, DAVE

REICHERT, from the Northwest, as cosponsor of H.R. 3307, to extend the tax 

credit so that we don’t lose as many as 

37,000 jobs to the uncertainty. 

Congress shouldn’t wait until the end 

of the year because people need to 

make investment decisions now. Until 

we enact a comprehensive energy plan 

for this century, the production tax 

credit is key to our energy future: 

clean, dependable, very low operating 

cost wind energy. 

Please join us as we work to guarantee this production tax credit for our 

economy and our energy security. 

f 

AMERICA UNDER ATTACK 

(Mr. BROOKS asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, in Egypt 

our Embassy walls were scaled and the 

American flag ripped apart. In Libya, 

America’s Ambassador and three other 

Americans were brutally murdered. 

Ironically, our own Embassy in 

Egypt apologized by condemning Americans who exercised their religious and 

free speech rights as ‘‘misguided individuals who hurt the religious feelings 

of Muslims.’’ The White House, rivaling 

the Keystone Cops of lore, distanced 

itself from its own State Department 

apology. 

Let’s be clear. In Libya, this White 

House spent American treasury and 

risked American lives to topple Muammar Qadhafi, thus empowering those 

who killed our Ambassador. 

Not one to learn from history or its 

own mistakes, this White House says, 

America ‘‘will work to support a Syrian opposition to hasten the day when 

Assad falls.’’ 

Mr. Speaker, we must stop spending 

our treasury and risking American 

lives for those who neither appreciate 

our sacrifices nor believe in basic liberties like freedom of religion and freedom of speech. 

Mr. Speaker, I pray the President is 

listening. 

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EXTENSION OF THE PRODUCTION 

TAX CREDIT 

(Mr. PERLMUTTER asked and was 

given permission to address the House 

for 1 minute.) 

Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I 

too rise to promote the extension of 

the production tax credit. Thousands of 

jobs in Colorado and across the Nation 

are dependent upon this incentive for 

good, clean energy here in the United 

States, thousands of manufacturing 

jobs made right here, wind production 

right here in America. 

In Colorado, we have substantial 

manufacturing plants with Vestis; we 

have vendors who supply these particular manufacturers for this good 

clean energy. Yet we have the production tax credit that’s about to expire. 

Bipartisan support is in Colorado 

where we have virtually every Member, 

Democrats and Republicans, as well as 

you heard Mr. BLUMENAUER say he has 

a Republican cosponsor for this. But 

the Republican leadership will not 

bring it up, and it’s been removed from 

the platform of the Republican Party. 

These are good jobs in America. It’s 

clean energy for our country. It’s good 

for national security. If we make these 

things, these big windmills in America, 

we will make it in America. 

f 

b 1210 

LIBYA 

(Mr. DOLD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) 

Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, this is a 

tragic day for the United States and 

for all people across the world who 

stand for freedom—the freedom of 

speech and religious tolerance. It is 

also a day that serves as a powerful reminder of why we hold these core principles, of why each generation of Americans over the past two centuries has 

proudly fought to preserve and advance 

them, and of why we must confidently 

answer the call to do the same today. 

My thoughts and prayers are with 

Ambassador Stevens’ family and with 

the families of the three American diplomats murdered in the attack in 

Libya. 

There is simply no excuse or rationale to be found here. There is absolutely no justification for violence and 

murder against Americans. This act of 

terror stands in direct opposition to 

the freedom and liberty that we champion throughout the world. 

This is an extraordinarily volatile 

time in the Middle East. As Americans, 

we should expect—we should demand— 

nothing less than strong leadership 

from the United States. As is shown by 

the murder of American officials in 

Libya today, by the storming of the 

U.S. Embassy in Egypt yesterday and, 

most certainly, by Iran’s flagrant 

march toward nuclear weapons, this is 

no game. I am sickened and outraged 

by these recent events. It is time to 

lead. 

f 

HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT FOR 

RETURNING VETERANS 

(Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, tonight, 

I will join Members of Congress MIKE

QUIGLEY and PAT MEEHAN in an ice 

hockey game with and to benefit the 

wounded warriors. The Wounded Warriors is a great organization that takes 

care of our returning injured soldiers. 

Congress, however, is not living up to 

its responsibility to do the same. 

The unemployment rate for returning veterans under the age of 24 is 29 

percent. Congress just approved $53 billion for road and bridge repair next 

year—a very weak response to a big 

and important issue, particularly when 

you consider that we just spent $90 billion rebuilding the roads and bridges of 

Afghanistan. 

If you really want to say ‘‘thank 

you’’ to the veterans on behalf of a 

grateful Nation, let’s nation-build at 

home and put our veterans to work in 

rebuilding the America they so honorably defended. 

f 

OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL DESERVE A FAIR MILITARY VOTING PROCESS 

(Mr. WILSON of South Carolina 

asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) 

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. 

Speaker, both at home and abroad, the 

brave men and women serving in our 

Armed Forces dedicate their lives to 

protecting this great Nation. Access to 

absentee voter registration within our 

military’s ranks has been increasingly 

difficult due to changing residencies 

and overseas deployments. In order to 

make voting for our servicemembers 

more accessible, Congress passed the 

Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act. Unfortunately, the administration has failed in its implementation. 


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