August 3, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1407 

political discourse in the United States with 

Meetinghouses, and honors these institutions 

as symbols of American freedom and independence, whose creation and preservation 

are reminders of the founding of our country. 

f 

IRAN THREAT REDUCTION AND 

SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2012 

SPEECH OF

HON. JOE BACA OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, August 1, 2012 

Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 

H.R. 1905. 

Today, it is vital that the U.S. sends a 

strong message to the Iranian government. 

A nuclear capable Iran is our greatest security threat in a region currently defined by conflict, chaos, and uncertainty. 

We must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons through any and all means 

necessary. 

There needs to be strong economic sanctions and focused diplomatic efforts. 

As a nation it is also essential to prepare a 

strategy in the event that sanctions and diplomatic efforts are not successful. 

Allowing Iran to become a nuclear threat is 

not an acceptable outcome. 

That is why we must pass H.R. 1905, which 

increases the economic pressure on Iran’s 

leadership to abandon their illicit efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. 

Iran has the power to threaten and provoke 

regional allies without consequence. 

We must stand with our allies in these dangerous and challenging times to prevent a nuclear capable Iran. 

We must pass H.R. 1905 before it is too 

late for sanctions and diplomacy to reduce the 

Iranian threat. 

f 

RECOGNIZING ED WENZEL AND 

HIS HONOR FROM THE NATIONAL 

CIVIL WAR TRUST 

HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY OF VIRGINIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I 

rise to recognize Ed Wenzel for his passion, 

effort, and success in preserving our nation’s 

historic Civil War battlegrounds. Mr. Wenzel 

recently received an honor from the national 

Civil War Trust on behalf of his preservation 

efforts for a Civil War battlefield site in Chantilly, Virginia. The Ox Hill Battlefield Park was 

dedicated in 2008 thanks in large part to the 

tireless efforts of Mr. Wenzel. 

Mr. Wenzel spent 22 years working to preserve the grounds on which the Battle of 

Chantilly—referred to as the Battle of Ox Hill 

by the Confederacy—occurred on September 

1, 1862. It was during this battle that the 

Union army lost commanders Major General 

Philip Kearny and Major General Isaac I. Stevens, but it ultimately succeeded in slowing 

General Stonewall Jackson and the 

Confederacy’s advancements and ended the 

Second Manassas campaign. In 1915, monuments were built in commemoration of both 

Major Generals Kearny and Stevens on the 

site. 

During my tenure on the Fairfax County 

Board of Supervisors, I was proud to work 

with Mr. Wenzel and members of the Civil War 

Roundtable to raise awareness of the County’s Civil War heritage, to erect new historic 

markers, and create a new five-acre public 

park highlighting the monuments and the battle significance in the history of our County 

and our Country. 

Additionally, Mr. Wenzel played a major role 

in the Save the Battlefield Coalition, which 

successfully opposed construction of a shopping mall at Manassas battlegrounds in 1988, 

and he was a founding board member of the 

Association for the Preservation of Civil War 

Sites. 

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me 

in recognizing Ed Wenzel for his most recent 

accolade and in thanking him for his tireless 

pursuits to protect such important aspects of 

our Nation’s rich history. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT 

COLONEL PETE DEROUIN 

HON. GREG WALDEN OF OREGON

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

recognize a fellow Oregonian and good friend, 

Lieutenant Colonel Pete Derouin of the Oregon Army National Guard, as he departs the 

National Guard Bureau’s Office of Legislative 

Liaison in Washington, DC to return to Oregon. While Pete has served around the world 

over the past decade, he has always kept a 

very special place for Oregon in his heart. 

Pete was born and raised in my great state 

and joined the Army by earning his commission through the University of Oregon’s ROTC 

program. He served for many years as a parttime soldier in Oregon as an officer in the Oregon National Guard. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Pete felt the call of service 

and decided to leave the comforts of home 

and make military service his full time career. 

Over the last decade, he has served his country in different corners of the globe, including 

Iraq, Bosnia, and Kosovo. 

For the last four years, Pete has worked 

here on Capitol Hill as an outstanding advocate for the National Guard. I’ve worked closely with him during his time as a legislative liaison for the Guard, and have found his dedication and effectiveness to be exceptional. We 

worked together on obtaining approval for the 

new Readiness Center in The Dalles and on 

allowing the Oregon National Guard to retain 

parts of the Umatilla Chemical Depot. Pete 

was also instrumental in efforts to make sure 

that National Guard soldiers were not unfairly 

denied promised bonus payments due to paperwork errors by the Guard. 

Now the time has come for Pete to return 

home to Oregon. He has been selected to 

lead the 2nd of the 641st Theatre Aviation 

Battalion, which controls all of Oregon’s Army 

National Guard aviation assets. I have no 

doubt that he will serve our state and nation 

well in this new role. 

I would like to thank Pete and his wife Andrea for tolerating the frantic pace which 

comes with working here in Washington, D.C., 

and wish them happiness and success as they 

continue their service to our nation back in Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I invite our colleagues to 

join me in saying thank you to Lieutenant 

Colonel Pete Derouin for his dedication to our 

country. 

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INTRODUCTION OF COMPASSIONATE FREEDOM OF CHOICE 

ACT 

HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, August 2, 2012 

Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce 

the ‘‘Compassionate Freedom of Choice Act.’’ 

This legislation allows terminally ill patients to 

use drugs, treatments and devices that have 

not yet been approved by the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) if their physicians certify: 

(i) such patients have no other treatment options; and (ii) the patient executes written, informed consent that they are aware of any potential risks from the drug, device, or treatment. 

It is important to remember that this legislation only applies to otherwise terminally ill patients. Denying these patents a possible opportunity to cure their illness—or at least reduce their suffering—is nonsensical and cruel. 

The FDA’s approval process for drugs, devices, and treatments is costly and time consuming. Yet, time is the luxury terminally patients do not enjoy. So why should the FDA 

deny terminally-ill patients access to drugs, 

devices, and treatments that the patient’s physicians have determined represents the patent’s only possible chance for survival? 

For example, the FDA refused to allow Abigail Burroughs (who was diagnosed with head 

and neck cancer at the age of 19) access to 

the cancer drugs Iressa and Erbitux by the 

FDA. Never mind that a renowned oncologist 

at Johns Hopkins had determined there was a 

significant chance of saving her life if she 

could use these new drugs. With her only 

chance of survival denied by the federal government, Abigail passed away on June 9, 

2001, at the age of twenty-one. 

Another example of why this bill is necessary is the case of thirteen-year old Anna 

Tomalis, who enjoyed horseback riding and 

soccer until she was diagnosed with 

embryonal sarcoma. Chemotherapy and surgery failed to reverse the cancer, so Anna’s 

parents decided to try experimental drugs. 

They petitioned the FDA for approval to use 

Deforolimus, developed by Merk and ARIAD. 

Unfortunately, the FDA decided Ana was too 

sick to be admitted in Deforolimus’s clinical 

trials and did not grant her a ‘‘compassionate 

use’’ exemption until three weeks before she 

died. 

Mr. Speaker, I have attached a list of other 

patients who were denied access to treatments by the FDA even though their doctors 

believed these treatments where the only option left to potentially save their lives. I ask my 

colleagues to help make sure that no more 

Americans with terminal disease are denied 

treatments simply because the FDA has decide these Americans are better off facing certain death than using an ‘‘unapproved’’ drug, 

treatment, or device. Please cosponsor the 

Compassionate Freedom of Choice Act. 


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