H328 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 15, 2009 

their constitutional responsibilities. I 

have a simple question: 

Why would any Member trust the 

very same group who engineered the 

first bill to do it to America again? 

That first bill has not worked. It has 

made the foreclosure crisis worse, 

which is at the heart of what is wrong 

with this economy. Yet Wall Street 

was handsomely showered with taxpayer billions, and they then thumbed 

their noses at Main Streets across this 

country. 

I wouldn’t expect anything from 

Treasury in the way of sensitivity to 

regular folks. Its job is to sell U.S. debt 

on Wall Street and to collect taxes. 

They’re not designed to do real estate 

lending or housing workouts or real estate accounting. That’s the job of the 

FDIC, of the SEC and of HUD. They 

should be in the lead in the mortgage 

workout process. And frankly, we 

ought to quadruple the number of financial crimes analysts at the FBI. 

I repeat: Why would Congress allow 

itself to be hoodwinked not once but 

twice into making the same big mistake? I urge my colleagues to vote no on the 

second Wall Street bailout bill. Instead let’s do 

what works for the American people by solving 

the home foreclosure crisis first. 

f 

HONORING THE LIFE OF ROY 

BOEHM 

(Mr. ROONEY asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise 

today to honor the life of Roy Boehm, 

a true American hero and a longtime 

constituent of Punta Gorda, Florida. 

Mr. Boehm was a retired Navy lieutenant commander, and was the first 

officer in charge of SEAL Team 2, one 

of the original Navy SEAL teams. 

Many would say that he was the first 

Navy SEAL. 

Lieutenant Commander Boehm enlisted in the Navy in 1941, and fought 

during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In 1942, he participated in the 

Battle of Cape Esperance at Guadalcanal, one of the largest, all-surface 

sea engagements of World War II. In 

1961, under orders from President Kennedy, Lieutenant Commander Boehm 

developed and launched the Navy’s 

elite Sea, Air and Land forces unit 

known as the SEALs. 

Our Nation is grateful for Lieutenant 

Commander Boehm’s service. Lieutenant Commander Roy Boehm set the 

standards for the Navy SEALs of 

today, and he will truly be missed. On 

behalf of all of the men and women who 

wear or who have worn the uniform, I 

say thank you for your service. 

f 

TARP REFORM 

(Mr. HALL of New York asked and 

was given permission to address the 

House for 1 minute.) 

Mr. HALL of New York. Mr. Speaker, 

the House approved the $700 billion financial rescue package last October 

only under the condition that banks 

would be accountable and that taxpayers would know what the banks did 

with the money. We all know that that 

hasn’t happened. 

The Bush administration and the 

Treasury Secretary never held up their 

end of the deal. They’ve ignored the 

measures Congress put in the package 

to protect the taxpayers. The result: 

blank checks to big banks and nothing 

to protect middle class families from 

foreclosures. 

Today, the House is going to vote to 

change this and will strengthen oversight on what the banks and the administration are doing with the funds. 

The taxpayers have the right to finally 

know exactly how their money was 

spent. 

f 

ALLEN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL 

WINS CHAMPIONSHIP 

(Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked 

and was given permission to address 

the House for 1 minute and to revise 

and extend his remarks.) 

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. I want 

to talk about a high school champion. 

I rise to congratulate the 2008 state 

champions of Texas high school football—the Blue and White Allen Eagles. 

Last month, the Allen Eagles defeated Fort Bend Hightower 21 to 14 in 

a stunning second half comeback to 

win the Texas 5–A football championship in Houston’s Reliant Stadium. The 

crowd went wild! 

Under head coach Tom Westerberg, 

the Eagles’ football program has 

thrived with stellar seasons in ’07, ’06 

and ’05 as well. 

I will insert the names of the top 

coaches into the RECORD. 

There is a special story about this 

team. Each spring, the rising seniors 

pick a motto for the upcoming season. 

The players selected: Start strong. Finish strong. 

Congratulations to the Allen Eagles. 

Way to finish strong. I salute you. God 

bless you, and God bless America. 

Go Eagles! 

Tom Westerberg, Head Coach, Asst. 

Athletic Director. 

Terry Gambill, Asst. Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator. 

Jeff Fleener, Offensive Coordinator. 

Jeff Chaney, Special Teams Coordinator. 

Mike Carter, Strength Coordinator. 

f 

BLOCK THE NEXT CONGRESSIONAL 

PAY RAISE 

(Mr. MITCHELL asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise 

to urge my colleagues to block the 

next scheduled congressional pay raise. 

At a time when the economy is forcing 

so many of the families we represent to 

tighten their belts, I believe this is the 

wrong time to be raising our own pay. 

Last month, 524,000 Americans lost 

their jobs, bringing the unemployment 

rate to its highest since 1993. Since last 

year, jobless rates increased in 49 

States and in the District of Columbia. 

In my home State of Arizona, unemployment rose by over 50 percent, leaving nearly 200,000 workers unemployed. 

Last week, I introduced House Resolution 156, with Representative PAUL of 

Texas, to stop the next automatic congressional pay raise from taking effect 

next year. As of this morning, we have 

been joined by 77 cosponsors—Republicans and Democrats. 

Our Nation is at war. Our economy is 

reeling. The American people aren’t 

getting a pay raise. We shouldn’t either. I will be donating my 2009 pay 

raise to charity just as I did with the 

2008 pay raise. 

I urge my colleagues to join our 

growing coalition and to support the 

Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act. 

f 

REJECT THE BAILOUT 

(Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, the definition of ‘‘insanity’’ is doing the same 

thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

Three months ago, Congress rushed 

to spend $350 billion of taxpayer dollars 

without adequate hearings and deliberation. The result was a lack of transparency and accountability, a disappointment in how the massive funds 

were spent and a bloated Federal budget deficit. But here we go again. This 

Congress is now proposing to do the 

exact same thing. 

Another $350 billion bailout is not 

the answer my constituents are looking for. The people in my district in 

Minnesota are struggling to make ends 

meet, and they’re worried about the future. We must take concrete steps to 

jump-start our economy and put people 

back to work. It’s time to stop exposing taxpayers to any more undue risk. 

It’s time to stop saddling them with 

unnecessary debt. 

Mr. Speaker, Congress should reject 

another $350 billion bailout, and instead, it should focus on preserving, 

protecting and creating jobs to get our 

economy going again. 

f 

MILITARY PERSONNEL 

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

minute.) 

Mr. NYE. Mr. Speaker, for most of 

the past 12 years, I have traveled all 

over the world with the Foreign Service. In places like Kosovo, Afghanistan 

and Iraq, I had the honor to serve 

alongside the brave men and women of 

our Armed Forces. 

It is now my honor to be here as the 

Representative of Virginia’s Second 

Congressional District—to represent 

the people of Hampton Roads and the 

Eastern Shore—and to represent our 

military personnel and their families. 

We have very important work ahead 

of us—strengthening the economy, restoring fiscal responsibility and standing up for the families who are working 


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