E1508 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks September 13, 2012 

his family in the Walker County town of 

Sipsey. His father had been a coal miner for 

Debardeleben Coal Company and had decided in 1935 to start his own mine, the beginning of what is now Drummond Company, Inc. 

He attended Walker County High School in 

Jasper where he was co-captain and named 

to the all-county football team. He also played 

baseball at Walker and was selected for the 

East-West All-Star Game in Birmingham. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Business Administration from the 

University of Alabama in 1965. He also earned 

a master’s degree in accounting the following 

year before entering the University of Alabama 

School of Law, where he was awarded the 

Juris Doctor degree in 1969. During breaks in 

college, Larry worked in various areas of 

Drummond Coal operations—preparing a site 

for mining, drilling at a new mine, cleaning 

coal for loading, and work at other operations. 

Returning home with his law degree in 

hand, he rejoined his family’s company. Over 

the years, he was heavily involved with domestic and international coal sales. Along with 

his brothers, Larry was instrumental in fostering business relationships with Japan that 

continue today. He later assumed additional 

complex responsibilities as Vice Chairman of 

the corporation and Chairman of its Executive 

Committee. 

Larry was active in a variety of civic and 

educational organizations in Walker County 

and Alabama. He was a member of the Alabama and the American Bar Associations. At 

the University of Alabama, he was a member 

of the President’s Cabinet and of the Board of 

Visitors of the Culverhouse School of Commerce. The Culverhouse School recognized 

him in 2003 with a Career Achievement 

Award. 

He served on the boards of the Walker Area 

Community Foundation and the Alabama Conservation and Natural Resources Foundation. 

He also served as a board member for the 

Alabama Conservation and Natural Resources 

Foundation and the American Family Business 

Institute. He was a member of United Way of 

Central Alabama’s Le Societe National. In 

2011 Larry was inducted into the Alabama 

Academy of Honor and into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. 

Larry also possessed an abiding love for the 

outdoors and enjoyed working closely with the 

Boy Scouts of America. He was a director of 

the Black Warrior Council of the Boy Scouts, 

which presented him with the Silver Beaver 

Award. 

His leadership of one of Alabama’s top energy companies and his stewardship of our 

environmental resources will be sorely missed. 

On behalf of the people of Alabama, I would 

like to extend my heartfelt condolences to his 

wife, Abbie; brothers, Garry and John; daughter, Terri; sons, Scott and Patrick; five grandchildren, extended family and many friends. 

You are all in our thoughts and prayers. 

f 

TAKE POLITICS OUT OF POST 

OFFICE 

HON. HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR. OF GEORGIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, September 13, 2012 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I 

rise today to urge my colleagues to take politics out the Post Office. 

In 2006, Congress passed legislation that 

forced the United States Postal Service to prefund 100 percent of retiree health and insurance premiums. No other company, public or 

private, is forced to comply with this inherently 

destructive policy. 

On September 30, of this year, the law requires a payment of $5.6 billion to fund pension obligations. This will do more than cost 

the USPS precious dollars. It also threatens 

the very life of the postal service and it will 

cost hard-working postal employees the dignity and respect that goes along with a hard 

day’s work. 

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans cited declining physical mail volumes and a growing 

USPS labor force as the primary reasons why 

the 2006 legislation was necessary. Yet, 2005, 

2006, and 2007 were the highest volume 

years in the USPS’s 200 year history. In fact, 

2006 was the highest volume year ever for the 

USPS. And how did House Republicans expect the Postal Service to deal with the additional 2 million addresses being added to their 

delivery routes each year? By hoping and 

praying that the mail gets delivered? 

Mr. Speaker, the 2006 legislation was solely 

intended to break the back of a public sector 

union and privatize the mailing industry. Why 

else would Congress alter an entity that hasn’t 

used a dime of tax payer’s money in 30 

years? 

According to the Congressional Research 

Service, the USPS was self-supporting since 

1971, using revenues from postage sales to 

fund its operating costs. In fact, the Postal 

Service was so profitable, Mr. Speaker, that it 

returned money to the Treasury every single 

year while providing free services to visually 

impaired persons and overseas voters. If the 

Postal Service were a private corporation during that time, my colleagues across the aisle 

would have hailed it as the model of economic 

success and sung its praises from sea to shining sea for paying dividends to shareholders. 

In the years after Republicans dumped the 

pre-funding mandate into the lap of the USPS, 

the Postal Service has nearly crumbled under 

the weight of spiking pension costs. Mr. 

Speaker, how does an organization that had 

robust profits for 30 plus years leading up to 

the 2006 legislation suddenly start running 

deficits and lose $25.4 billion between 2007 

and 2011? How did the USPS go from no 

debt in 2006 to over $13 billion in debt today? 

The answer is simple—my friends across 

the aisle wanted to continue their assault on 

public sector unions. They chose to pass a bill 

they knew would cause massive deficits for 

the USPS. They chose to commit the USPS to 

payments they knew it could not afford. They 

created this problem for the USPS and now 

they refuse to be part of the solution. 

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans should 

abide by the phrase ‘‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix 

it.’’ 

Many of my colleagues on the other side 

have well-connected friends, such as the Koch 

Brothers, who publicly advocate for postal 

service privatization. I am here to connect the 

dots for the American people. I repeat, we 

must ‘‘take politics out of the post office.’’ 

Instead of wasting time today, we should 

vote to stop the damage inflicted upon the 

USPS by this body and remove these absurd 

constraints by passing H.R. 1351, the United 

States Postal Service Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act. We must protect the hard working employees of the Postal 

Service by passing legislation to fix this blunder. 

The USPS was not in danger of becoming 

insolvent until Congress decided to meddle in 

its affairs. 

Mr. Speaker, the Postal Service already 

missed a $5.5 billion payment in August. This 

body must act before the Post Office defaults 

on another payment later this month. Instead 

of scheduling symbolic votes that highlight our 

differences, let’s stop the madness and do 

what is best for the American people, the 

economy, and communities across the nation. 

Mr. Speaker, it is vital that we keep our 

Postal Service in good financial standing. The 

Postal Service employs 700,000 of our fellow 

citizens, 17,751 of whom are in the state of 

Georgia; one third are military veterans who 

deliver 212 billion pieces of mail to over 144 

million locations. 

If big corporations and the Koch Brothers 

get their wish, the Postal Service will slowly be 

destroyed, causing good jobs to be lost and 

allowing companies to raise prices of delivery. 

The American people deserve a Postal 

Service reform bill that will allow the Post Office to continue its operations and not reduce 

or restructure them. 

Taking action to strengthen the Postal Service’s finances is not just good for letter carriers 

and post masters, it is also good for business. 

There is a $1.3 trillion mailing industry in the 

U.S. that supports between 7–8 million private 

sector jobs that is heavily dependent on a 

healthy and efficient Postal Service. 

The time to act is now. 

f 

WELCOMING THE EIGHTH HONOR 

FLIGHT SOUTH ALABAMA TO 

WASHINGTON, DC 

HON. JO BONNER OF ALABAMA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, September 13, 2012 

Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great 

pride that I recognize Honor Flight South Alabama and the World War II veterans this very 

special organization is bringing on its eighth 

flight to Washington, D.C. on September 19, 

2012. 

Founded by the South Alabama Veterans 

Council, Honor Flight South Alabama is an organization whose mission is to fly heroes from 

southwest Alabama to see their national memorial. 

Almost seven decades have passed since 

the end of World War II and, regrettably, it 

took nearly as long to complete work on the 

memorial that honors the spirit and sacrifice of 

the 16 million who served in the U.S. Armed 

Forces and the more than 400,000 who died. 

Sadly, many veterans did not live long enough 

to hear their country say ‘‘thank you,’’ yet for 

those veterans still living, Honor Flight provides for many their first—and perhaps only— 

opportunity to see the National World War II 

Memorial, which honors their service and sacrifice. 

This Honor Flight begins at dawn when the 

veterans will gather at historic Fort Whiting in 

Mobile and travel to Mobile Regional Airport to 

board a chartered flight to Washington. During 

their time in their nation’s capital, the veterans 

will visit the World War II Memorial, Arlington 

National Cemetery, and other memorials. 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with REMARKS
September 13, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1509 

The veterans will return to Mobile Regional 

Airport that evening, where some 1,000 people are expected to greet them. 

Mr. Speaker, the September 19, 2012, journey of heroes from South Alabama is an appropriate time for us to pause and thank 

them—and all of the soldiers who fought in 

World War II. They collectively—and literally— 

saved the world. They personify the very best 

America has to offer, and I urge my colleagues to take a moment to pay tribute to 

their selfless devotion to our country and the 

freedoms we enjoy. 

I salute each of the veterans who made the 

trip to Washington. May we never forget their 

valiant deeds and tremendous sacrifices: Hector Anderson, Eason Andrews, Robert Andry, 

Charles Baggett, James Ballard, Robert 

Barnes, Edward Beasley, Tommie Beasley, 

Joseph Betbeze, Jr., William C. Betbeze, 

Elmore Blake, Floyd Bivens, Nolan Black, 

Robert Bock, Richard Bolks, Samuel Branch, 

William Branscomb, Bernard Bringhurst, Wilton Brunson, Benjamin Canavello, Millard Carter, William Chapman, John Cherry, John 

Clark, Joseph Collie, William Colvin, O.S. 

Conerly, Jr., Benjamin Cooper, Bob Copley, 

Quincie Curtis, James Dailey, Carroll Darby, 

James Daves, John Davis, Perry Davis, Jeffrey Davis, Glenn Dehlin, William Douglas, 

Robert Drollinger, Robert Eastburn, Russell 

Faulkner, William Fox, Frank Frith, Aubrey 

Fulford, Luther Fuller, William Gilly, Edward 

Gold, Schauss Greben, Horace Gray, Doyle 

Griffiths, Michael Guarino, Nathan Gulley, 

Lawrence Hansen, Joe Harris, Jr., Thomas 

Harris, Jr., William Hatter, Benjamin Hays, Jr., 

Felix Hills, Jr., George Holladay, Robert 

Hughes, James Hummer, Alfred Hyde, Willard 

Johnson, Junior Keller, Roger King, Albert 

Kinnison, Joseph Knapp, Fred Levin, Lonza 

Lewis, Bernard Losse, Marjorie Markert, 

George Massengale, Jr., James Mathews, Jr., 

Elbert McCall, John McClelland, Eugene 

McGuire, Amy McHenry, Harold McLain, Olen 

McManus, Cecil McMullan, Bert Milling, Douglas Modling, Roland Montalvo, John Motes, 

Norman Mullen, Lloyd Mullen, Arthur Perez, 

Jr., Riley Pettis, Hiram Phillips, Rufus Pinkerton, Charles Reaves, I.G. Reeves, Hilburn 

Richards, James Robertson, Rudolph Rolison, 

Sr., Will Sawyer, Herman Shaddix, Dayton 

Shell, John Sheppard, John Shiver, Jr., William Smith, William Spaulding, James 

Stapleton, Preston Stengel, Ross Street, Robert Tanner, Donald Thomson, Shelby Trice, 

Alexander Trione, Etheridge Turner, John 

Vickers, Ray Wadsworth, Robert Wallace, 

Thomas Warner, Jr., Ennis Warren, Harold 

Watters, Jr., Billy West, Sr., Vernon Whiteside, 

Lavaine Williams, Walter Williams, and Ross 

Wingo. 

f 

COMMENDING PRESIDENT 

NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV AND 

THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN 

FOR LEADING THE WAY ON 

GLOBAL NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT 

HON. ENI F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA OF AMERICAN SAMOA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, September 13, 2012 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise 

today to enter into the CONGRESSIONAL

RECORD my recent speech before the international conference From a Nuclear Test Ban 

to a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World held in 

Astana, Kazakhstan on August 29, 2012. 

For historical purposes, I am also including 

a parliamentary appeal for nuclear abolition as 

well as a news article dated August 30, 2012 

announcing Kazakhstan’s launch of the ATOM 

project to support the global movement 

against nuclear tests. 

The ATOM project, an acronym for ‘‘Abolish 

Testing. Our Mission’’ is an international petition campaign designed to unify public opinion 

against nuclear weapons testing. The ATOM 

project is the initiative of the Nazarbayev Center, and I encourage any person who opposes 

nuclear weapons to sign this online petition to 

the governments of the world calling for the 

permanent step to stop nuclear testing. Interested persons may sign the petition at 

www.TheATOMProject.org. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ENI F. H. 

FALEOMAVAEGA BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE FROM A NUCLEAR TEST BAN TO

A NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-FREE WORLD HELD IN

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN ON AUGUST 29, 2012 

Distinguished Guests: 

On December 2, 2009, the United Nations 

General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution 64/35 which declares August 29 the 

International Day against Nuclear Tests in 

recognition of President Nursultan 

Nazarbayev’s historic decision in 1991 on August 29 to close down the world’s second largest nuclear test site and dismantle the 

world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal at 

Semipalatinsk. 

The resolution—which was initiated by 

Kazakhstan and sponsored and cosponsored 

by many other governments—calls for increasing awareness and education ‘‘about the 

effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or 

any other nuclear explosions and the need 

for their cessation as one of the means of 

achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free 

world.’’ 

In 2011, we commemorated the 20th anniversary of President Nazarbayev’s courageous act and, on March 7, 2012, the people of 

the Republic of the Marshall Islands through 

their Nitijela at its 33rd Constitutional Regular Session passed a resolution calling for 

President Nazarbayev to be awarded the 

Nobel Peace Prize in tribute to victims and 

survivors of Cold War nuclear testing. 

The President of the Marshall Islands, the 

Honorable Christopher J. Loeak, noted that 

the Committee has only recognized those 

who have inspected nuclear test sites or 

talked about the need to cooperate. At no 

time has the Committee bestowed the award 

for the actual abolishment of nuclear weaponry. So I join with the people and parliament of the Marshall Islands, and urge 

you to do the same, in calling upon the 

Nobel Peace Prize Committee to honor 

President Nazarbayev for promoting peace 

by changing the course of world history for 

the better. 

Unlike any other government, the Republic of the Marshall Islands shares the same 

history and experience as Kazakhstan, having also been used as a nuclear testing 

ground during the Cold War. From 1946–1958, 

the United States began testing nuclear 

weapons in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and, during that period, the United 

States conducted 67 nuclear tests with an 

equivalent yield of 7,000 Hiroshima bombs. 

On March 1, 1951, the United States detonated a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb codenamed BRAVO in the Marshall Islands. The 

bomb was equivalent to 1,000 Hiroshima-sized 

bombs and was acknowledged as the greatest 

nuclear explosion ever detonated. The 

BRAVO test evaporated six islands and created a mushroom cloud of 25 miles in diameter. 

On August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear explosion codenamed ’First Lightening’ at the 

Semipalatinsk Test Site in eastern 

Kazakhstan. From 1949–1989, the Soviet 

Union conducted 456 nuclear tests in 

Semipalatinsk and the cumulative power of 

those explosions is estimated to be equal to 

the power of 2,500 Hiroshima-sized bombs. 

As a result of Soviet nuclear testings more 

than 1.5 million Kazakhs were exposed to nuclear radiation. As a result of U.S. testings, 

the people of the Marshall Islands were also 

exposed to the horrific effects of radiation 

poisoning. Neither the Soviet Union nor the 

U.S. have fulfilled their obligation in cleaning up the mess they left behind as a result 

of their Cold War arms race. Instead, they 

turn a blind eye to the human suffering that 

carries forward today. 

This is why I will continue to speak out 

and praise President Nazarbayev for his 

choice to renounce nuclear weaponry. My position regarding this matter is no different 

than the position the United States took 

during a joint meeting between President 

Obama and President Nazarbayev on April 

11, 2010 when President Obama stated that 

‘‘the US. appreciates the leadership of President Nazarbayev and the contribution of 

Kazakhstan to nuclear disarmament and 

nonproliferation.’’ 

While I applaud President Obama for stating on April 6, 2010 that ‘‘the United States 

will not conduct nuclear testing and will 

seek ratification of the Comprehensive Test 

Ban Treaty (CTBT)’’ which bans all nuclear 

explosions in all environments, I believe, as 

the theme of this conference suggests, it is 

time to move from a nuclear test ban to a 

nuclear-weapons free world. 

After all, the CTBT, like the Nuclear Non 

Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is based on a 

flawed and outdated premise. The NPT asserts that only five nations—the nuclear 

weapons states—namely, the United States, 

Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and 

China (which also happen to be the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council)—will pursue nuclear disarmament and share their technology for 

peaceful purposes if non-nuclear states agree 

never to acquire nuclear weapons. The NPT 

also states that only the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, China, and France 

are permitted to own nuclear weapons because only they possessed nuclear weapons 

at the time the treaty was open for signature 

in 1968. 

The world has changed since 1968. No 

longer can non-nuclear states support the 

outdated premise of the NPT and none of us 

should settle for what the CTBT offers, particularly since the signatories of the NPT 

are among the worst violators of the nuclear 

code. 

From 1949–1990, Russia conducted over 700 

nuclear tests. In roughly the same time period, the U.S. conducted over 1000 nuclear 

tests. Since 1964, China has conducted more 

than 43 nuclear tests. Between 1960 and 1991, 

France conducted more than 200 nuclear 

tests and, in 1996, despite being a signatory 

of the NPT, France broke a world moratorium conducting 6 more tests at Moruroa 

Atoll in the South Pacific while the Nuclear 

Suppliers Group (NSG) silently consented. 

It is time for all of us to say enough is 

enough. It is time for the world to follow 

Kazakhstan’s lead and begin the process of 

dismantling. If Kazakhstan can dismantle a 

nuclear arsenal which was larger than the 

combined nuclear arsenals of Great Britain, 

France and China combined, then certainly 

the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China can also do what is 

right. 


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