H5864 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE September 12, 2012 

and a black flag was raised by those 

that stormed the compound. In Libya, 

the consulate was attacked, set afire, 

and our Ambassador to Libya, Chris 

Stevens, was murdered and apparently, 

according to the BBC, his body was 

carried through the streets of 

Benghazi. 

Both of these places are U.S. sovereign soil, the consulate and the Embassy. The groups or individuals that 

committed these acts must be found. 

There’s no evidence yet that there was 

any act by either one of these two governments but by individuals or even by 

groups. 

In Libya, al Qaeda cousins, as I call 

them, the Ansar al-Sharia, claims responsibility for the murder of our U.S. 

Ambassador. It’s no coincidence that 

these two attacks occurred nearly at 

the same time, and they both occurred 

on the anniversary of September 11. 

Immediately, the attackers blamed a 

movie that was produced as the reason, 

an excuse and justification for murdering. It’s never the fault of a movie; 

it’s never the fault of the United 

States; it’s never the fault of western 

culture that people are murdered in the 

name of religion. It’s the responsibility 

and it’s the fault, of individuals. The 

people that need to be held accountable 

are the ones who committed these specific acts of terror against the United 

States. 

In the past, the United States has always held and went after those that 

were responsible for this type of conduct. In 1998, when the Kenyan Embassy was attacked and Americans 

were killed, we responded. Of course we 

responded in 9/11. We responded after 

the first World Trade Center bombing. 

In 1996, when 19 American soldiers were 

murdered in Saudi Arabia, we responded. In fact, President Bill Clinton 

said this: 

The cowards who committed this murderous act must not go unpunished. We will 

not rest in our efforts to find who is responsible for this outrage, to pursue them and to 

punish them. 

After 9/11, President Bush made this 

comment: 

The search is under way for those who are 

behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full 

resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to justice. 

Madam Speaker, the United States 

must always respond to terrorists, and 

we must let them be reminded again 

and again we will respond in an appropriate manner as we did on 9/11. We 

must respond today, and we must respond tomorrow. I am encouraged that 

the President will soon address the Nation on what our response will be. 

We must hold those responsible personally accountable because we must 

let people understand that they need to 

leave us alone. That is what that message needs to be. We must have justice 

in these terrorist attacks by these individuals against Americans because, 

Madam Speaker, justice is what we do 

in America. 

And that’s just the way it is. 

f 

HONORING PETALUMA NATIONAL 

LITTLE LEAGUE ALL-STARS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 

California (Ms. WOOLSEY) for 5 minutes. 

Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I 

rise today to salute the Little League 

12-year-old All-Stars from my hometown of Petaluma, California. I salute 

them for their amazing run in the 2012 

Little League World Series. I couldn’t 

be prouder of the way they represented 

our community and themselves. 

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Even though they fell short of the 

championship, they distinguished 

themselves as one of this year’s best 

youth baseball teams, finishing second 

in the country and third in the world. 

Even in their final loss to Tennessee, 

they showed fierce determination, rallying for a 10-run comeback to force 

extra innings. Each and every player 

contributed to the effort. 

Bradley Smith led the way with an 

astounding .636 batting average, a tournament-leading 14 hits, a record-breaking 6 doubles, and 11 RBIs, as well as 

great fielding and pitching. Hance 

Smith hit .429, leading the team with 4 

home runs and knocking more home 

runs—12—than any other player in the 

tournament. Daniel ‘‘Danny’’ Marzo 

hit .348 with a walk-off home run 

against New Jersey, on top of his outstanding pitching. Cole Tomei batted 

.333 with clutch hitting and dazzling 

third-base defense that actually reminded many of Brooks Robinson. 

Logan Douglas, who provided great 

all-around leadership and topnotch relief pitching, also had a .318 batting average, and his 11 runs scored were the 

second-highest in the tournament. 

Catchers Austin Paretti and James 

O’Hanlon provided perfect handling of 

the pitching staff, with James ‘‘Jay-O’’ 

contributing timely hits and Austin 

adding eight runs scored in only eight 

at-bats. 

Dylan Moore, Blake Buhrer, and 

Kempton Brandis all contributed 

clutch performances, including 

Kempton’s two home runs against Tennessee, Blake’s big hit to spark a rally 

against New Jersey, and Dylan’s overall solid work in the field, on the 

mound, and at bat. Porter Slate scored 

eight runs out of the leadoff spot while 

playing stellar defense at second base. 

Quinton Gago’s home run against the 

Southwest would still be going if it 

hadn’t hit the side of a hill. And his 

dominant pitching performance 

against Texas gave the team a huge 

lift. Andrew White provided outstanding relief pitching, not just in the 

Little League World Series, but 

throughout district 35 and regional 

play. 

Madam Speaker, not enough can be 

said about the coaching staff: Manager 

Eric Smith, Trevor Tomei, and Mike 

Slate. Their commitment to the team 

and to the families was nothing short 

of remarkable. They just didn’t teach 

the boys skills and fundamentals; they 

instilled in them poise, determination, 

and drive. 

The Petaluma National League AllStars are talented ballplayers, but they 

also succeeded because of grit, hustle, 

and desire. They revealed themselves 

to be young men of maturity and 

strong character. They demonstrated 

sportsmanship in victory and in defeat. 

They were models of teamwork and discipline, qualities that will serve them 

well throughout their lives. These boys 

exemplify what is best about youth 

sports, being true to the mission and 

values of Little League baseball. Their 

performance on and off the field is a 

testament to their coaches, their parents, their teachers, and their individual character. These boys are unquestionably champions. They are tomorrow’s leaders, and they give confidence for our country’s future. 

f 

AFGHANISTAN 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

North Carolina (Mr. JONES) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. JONES. Yesterday was a remembrance of a tragedy beyond belief that 

happened to America on 9/11. There’s 

another tragedy taking place, but it 

happens to be in Afghanistan. The 

tragedy is our young men and women 

are going there to give their life for a 

corrupt leader and a policy that will 

never change Afghanistan. 

During the August break I had the 

privilege, like most Members of Congress, to be in my district to speak to 

numerous civic clubs. Two of the clubs 

I spoke to were retired military groups, 

one being the American Legion. Every 

time I talked about the failed policy in 

Afghanistan and the need to bring our 

troops home, I got applause. And I’m 

not a great speaker. But our military 

has done everything that it can do. 

Three marines from my district at 

Camp Lejeune were in Afghanistan 

training Afghans to be policemen, and 

one of the trainees turned around and 

shot and killed three marines. This 

isn’t the first time it’s happened, and 

it’s not the first time that I’ve lost marines from the Third District of North 

Carolina. But the person they were 

training was an Afghan officer in the 

police force. It is an absolutely 

unwinnable situation. The purpose that 

the former President, Mr. Bush, said 

we’re going to Afghanistan for is to get 

bin Laden. Well, he’s dead. To disperse 

al Qaeda. It is dispersed. 

On the 20th, which is next Thursday, 

we’re going to hold a bipartisan news 

conference with the author of a book 

called ‘‘Funding the Enemy,’’ by Douglas Wissing, who spent a number of 

years embedded with our military in 

Afghanistan. He has seen the tragedy 

of the money going to Afghanistan ending up in the coffers of the Taliban to 


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September 12, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H5865 

buy weapons to kill our young men and 

women. 

If I could advise Mr. Romney and Mr. 

Obama, I would say: Listen to the 

American people on our policy in Afghanistan, because the American people want our troops home. I hear both 

sides complaining about the debt, the 

cliffs, sequestration, and all these 

things. And yet we’re spending $10 billion a month in Afghanistan. And, as 

‘‘Funding the Enemy’’ says, we can’t 

even account for most of it. Yet we’re 

going to cut programs here for children 

and senior citizens. But no, we don’t 

even debate Afghanistan on the floor of 

the House. That is the tragedy. 

Just a few of us on both sides have 

been speaking out constantly on the 

failed policy in Afghanistan. The 

former commandant who has been my 

adviser for 3 years—I’m not at liberty 

to say his name for the RECORD—he has 

said to me: 

What do we say to the mother, the father, 

the wife of the last marine or soldier killed 

to support a corrupt government and a corrupt leader in a war that cannot be won? 

Congress needs to awaken to the fact 

that we need to bring our troops home 

in 2013—the spring of 2013 and not the 

end of 2014. 

Madam Speaker, next week I will go 

to Walter Reed. I will visit the wounded from Afghanistan, some from Iraq. 

And I will leave with a heavy heart because I will see the broken bodies. I 

will see the young men and some 

women that have lost legs, other parts 

of their bodies, some paralyzed from 

the waist down, some with burned 

faces. And yet the Congress sleeps 

through this war. I ask my friend on 

both sides, when we get back in November, let’s pass a resolution saying 

that we need to bring our troops home 

in 2013. 

Madam Speaker, before closing, I’ve 

signed over 10,855 letters to families 

and extended families in America because of my weakness and my mistake 

on Iraq, a war that never had to be 

fought. Look at Iraq today. It’s falling 

apart. It’s time for us to stop trying to 

build empires and to rebuild America. 

f 

ISSUES FACING THIS CONGRESS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

Virginia (Mr. CONNOLLY) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Madam 

Speaker, Republicans have pursued an 

obstructionist agenda since taking control of this body, cynically willing, 

seemingly, to risk even harm to our 

economy for political gain. The refusal 

of House Republicans to even consider 

compromise has resulted in the 112th 

Congress becoming among the least 

productive Congresses ever. The 112th 

Congress looks like a Potemkin Congress when it comes to measured productivity. 

Consider the most simple, straightforward metric: the number of laws 

passed per Congress. The legislative 

output of this Congress, a mere 173 

public laws passed, is a pittance when 

compared to the 900 public laws passed 

by what was called the do-nothing Congress of the Truman era, or the 333 public laws passed in an era of divided government in the 104th Congress. 

b 1020 

Or consider one of our most fundamental constitutional responsibilities, 

funding the government. Once again, 

the 112th Congress distinguishes itself 

for sheer incompetence, having managed to pass zero appropriations bills. 

The 112th Congress looks even worse 

when directly compared to the Democratic-led 111th Congress, which boasted a productivity level on par with the 

legislative records during the era of 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon 

Baines Johnson in the thirties and sixties, respectively. 

The landmark legislation enacted in 

the 2-year period between 2009 and 2010, 

from the Recovery Act, the health reform bill, financial regulation, put the 

meager output of this current Congress 

to shame. 

Further, beyond these big three, at 

least a dozen other important bills 

were passed during that time period, 

including legislation addressing fair 

pay, student loans, consumer protection, national service, stem cell research, and food safety. 

The American people are tired of 

business as usual. They are tired of 

Congress waiting until the last possible 

moment to avert yet another disaster. 

They are certainly tired of this House 

returning from a 37-day summer vacation only to hold a couple of show 

votes this week before rushing Members out of town again next week, leaving in their wake a sea of critical work 

that remains undone. 

Our country faces serious, daunting 

challenges that demand action now, 

which is why I advocated canceling the 

August recess. 

The House now has an opportunity to 

take decisive action in the coming 

days on at least two major deadline 

issues facing Congress: passing a 5-year 

farm bill and enacting comprehensive 

postal reform. 

Despite the 112th Congress being 

among the least productive and the 

most dysfunctional in history, the Senate, not known for its speed, has managed to engage in constructive cooperation and addresses both of these issues 

in an overwhelmingly bipartisan manner. 

On two of the most urgent matters 

facing this Congress, the Senate has 

exposed the extreme intransigence of 

this House Republican majority. Two 

Republicans, a Democrat, and an Independent, developed the 21st Century 

Postal Service Act of 2012 which passed 

the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. 

On the vital 5-year reauthorization of 

the farm bill, the Senate again developed a reform bill, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, and 

also passed it with a bipartisan supermajority. 

Compromise is at the heart of these 

bipartisan measures, which are far 

from perfect and contain provisions I 

would oppose. However, both bills contain provisions vital to saving the postal service, safeguarding the health of 

Americans and the American agricultural industry, and providing a critical 

safety net for American families. 

In my perfect world, we would pass 

my Reform the Postal Service for the 

21st Century Act. And I’m sure in the 

House Republicans’ perfect world, we’d 

pass their House Postal Reform Act of 

2011. But in the real world, I do not believe either of our constituents sent us 

here to stubbornly fight for the partisan perfect at the expense of the 

American good. 

If Republican leadership are willing 

to compromise on behalf of the American people, they will take up and pass 

the bipartisan bills, S. 1679 and S. 3240, 

this week or next. I realize I risk appearing naive for even proposing compromise by taking up and passing Senate bills. But my own experience with 

my predecessor in the 11th District of 

Virginia gives me hope. 

As many of my colleagues are aware, 

even though former Congressman Tom 

Davis is a Republican and I’m a Democrat, we get together and we like to 

say that we belong to the same political party—the party of getting things 

done. We have roots in local government and that’s the ethos of local government, and I appreciate his generosity in working with me in the transition to the 111th Congress. 

I recall one extended transition 

meeting at a local Denny’s. We were 

talking. There was a waitress that was 

going back and forth. We kind of 

thought she would recognize us, maybe 

want to say ‘‘hello.’’ In fact, she said, 

‘‘You need to move on. I need that 

table.’’ 

That’s where the American people 

are. They want us to move on and get 

our business done so they can get on 

with theirs. 

f 

FARM BILL 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 

South Dakota (Mrs. NOEM) for 5 minutes. 

Mrs. NOEM. Madam Speaker, today, 

I wanted to bring to the attention of 

my colleagues something that is of utmost importance to this country and 

our food supply and to this Nation’s 

farmers and ranchers. It is the importance of getting a farm bill done. 

Growing up on a farm in South Dakota and then farming for years with 

my family, I certainly recognize how 

volatile the agriculture industry is. 

Our producers invest in seed and fertilizer, they put it in the dirt, and they 

hope that that fall that they have the 

opportunity to come back and harvest 

something that will provide for their 

family and provide food for this country and for this Nation. 

The crops that are grown are relied 

upon to fulfill the need that we have in 


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