[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H578-H583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             REMEMBER PAOLI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 1999, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) 
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this special 
order to discuss America's patriots. The patriots of America have been 
extremely important in the struggle for this great Nation over the past 
220 years, to allow us to enjoy the freedoms and the independence that 
oftentimes we take for granted. My discussion today will focus on the 
patriots of America of the past and the patriots of America today, 
those who are defending our country around the world.
  Let me start off by discussing a situation I think requires national 
attention.
  Over 220 years ago, Mr. Speaker, this Nation was fighting for its 
existence. Young patriots, many of whom were undertrained, who were not 
properly fed, who were ill-equipped, were fighting against the forces 
of England to allow us to have a free independent Nation. There were 
some very serious battles in that process. We know those battles from 
our history books, the battles of Valley Forge, the battles that took 
place in Brandywine.
  But, Mr. Speaker, what we have failed to understand is that one key 
battle that many historians would argue was the turning point in the 
morale of our troops to defeat the British was the battle that resulted 
in the outcry of our troops, ``Remember Paoli.'' It occurred in the 
spring of 1777 when the British were conducting the Philadelphia 
campaign to then take over the capital of our Nation because at that 
time Philadelphia was the capital of the United States. There was a 
major effort on the part of the British to move to capture 
Philadelphia, and in the process a series of battles took place.
  The first of two American attempts to stop the British invasion that 
fall was the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, and the 
unsuccessful Battle of the Clouds, September 16, 1777. There was also a 
third attempt to contain the British General Sir William Howe's advance 
on Philadelphia, and each of them were unsuccessful.
  But a very important history lesson shows us that in the Battle of 
Paoli the British troops sought and successfully committed a surprise 
attack on our troops that were encamped at Paoli at a cornfield, a 
cornfield that still exists today. The British went to do this in the 
early morning hours so as to avoid detection, and they did not want to 
use their guns because they wanted a surprise attack to wipe out the 
patriots for the fight for our independence.
  The battle took place, and the British massacred the American 
patriots. Their bayonet attacks on the American young men who fought 
there, many of whom were 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 years of age, were by 
all accounts devastating. Fifty-three young Americans were slaughtered, 
slaughtered by the British. They were slaughtered in such a fierce way 
that the story of that battle traveled throughout the Revolutionary War 
troops and the cry of ``Remember Paoli'' became a rallying cry for the 
American patriots in all future battles of the revolution which we all 
know we successfully won.
  ``Remember Paoli'' was about a battle fought on a 40-acre site in 
Malvern and Chester County in Pennsylvania, not far from Valley Forge 
and not far from Brandywine. Today there are 53 young American patriots 
whose bodies lay in rest at that site.
  The challenge we have, Mr. Speaker, is that that 40-acre battlefield 
adjacent to the burial site of these young American patriots is about 
to be sold. It is about to be developed; perhaps another shopping 
center, perhaps another housing project, perhaps being paved over by 
someone who wants to build some new type of development in the area 
that we call the Main Line coming out of Philadelphia, a very affluent 
area.

  But the owner of the property, a private school right next to the 
site, has issued a challenge, that America, the State, the county and 
the local community should undertake an effort to preserve that 40-acre 
site so that those 53 young American patriots, so that their memory is 
never forgotten.
  Two and a half years ago when the owner of that property came 
forward, the owner of the school, the board of directors said, ``We 
challenge the community, we challenge the country to protect this site 
and allow us to move on to other things. But if you do not take up that 
challenge, we will sell the site to developers.''
  Mr. Speaker, that sale is imminent, and if in fact the Paoli site is 
sold, it will be one of the last remaining significant sites that was a 
part of our Revolutionary War history. It is a site that needs to be 
protected. It is a site that needs the Federal Government, the State, 
the county and the local government to come together with the private 
sector to show those American patriots and all of our war heroes, 
including those serving the country today, that we will always remember 
and honor their service, and in this case especially because of the 
symbolism associated with the battle at Paoli and the massacre that 
occurred there.
  Two and a half years ago a local group led by citizens in Malvern 
Borough, where Paoli is located, joined together to begin to raise the 
private money to acquire this site. Now many would argue this site 
should be protected by the Federal Government. After all, it was a 
major battle, just as Valley Forge was a battle and Brandywine was a 
battle and other historical sites were battle grounds. But they decided 
they would set the tone, so they set out to raise money. To date they 
have raised over $500,000 in actual money and commitments to help 
protect this site.
  They came to me one year ago, and they said, ``Congressman, can you 
assist us? Because there are patriots of the Revolutionary War who are 
buried

[[Page H579]]

at this site.'' And I said absolutely unequivocally I would help to 
have the Federal Government include this site as a part of the history 
of this great Nation.
  Throughout last year we worked on a bipartisan piece of legislation 
that worked its way out of the Committee on Resources. With the full 
support of Jim Hansen and his subcommittee and Don Young on the full 
committee the bill was passed in the Senate, but because of a 
difficulty in getting the bill under unanimous consent on the floor on 
the last day could not be brought up for passage. I have reintroduced 
that measure in the House this session.
  Yesterday I introduced the Patriot Act, Mr. Speaker, which would, in 
fact, allow us to assist the local folks in protecting the site of the 
Paoli massacre and the revered site where those 53 young Americans are 
buried. The bill has the unanimous support of the entire Pennsylvania 
congressional delegation, our neighbor in Delaware, Congressman Castle, 
our neighbor in south Jersey, Rob Andrews, because they understand, as 
I do, the historical significance of this site.
  The legislation, Mr. Speaker, would allow us to authorize up to $2.5 
million to show this local school that we want to work with the local 
folks to acquire this site. This act would require that a study be done 
by the National Park Service as to whether or not the site of the Paoli 
massacre should be included as a part of the Valley Forge National Park 
right down the road. In the meantime, it would allow the Federal 
Government to an appropriate on a dollar-for-dollar basis one-half of 
the $2.5 million needed to acquire this site.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, the local folks in Chester County have already 
raised $500,000. What we would do is then move to provide a matching 
dollar-for-dollar basis up to a cap of $1.25 million, so we would have 
a combined total of $2.5 million to acquire the 40-acre site.
  The Borough of Malvern, where the battlefield is located, has agreed 
to maintain the site until the Park Service determines whether or not 
it will take the site as a part of Valley Forge National Park. In the 
meantime, they will police it, they will oversee it. That site will 
remain as it was 222 years ago. It will still be the cornfield that it 
was when those soldiers bravely fought for our independence.
  To do anything less than protect that site would in my opinion be a 
national embarrassment, and I urge my colleagues to sign on, to jointly 
support and honor those brave patriots who fought for America's 
independence, to allow us to help protect one of those final sites in 
our history that is today threatened by developers.
  Mr. Speaker, the precedent is clear here. We are not asking for the 
Federal Government to go out and buy the land itself. The local 
community is raising the funds. The local community is committed.
  As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, two days ago I visited one of the 
elementary schools right near the Paoli site, the Exton Elementary 
School, where the combined students of the fourth grade class of the 
Exton elementary school handed me 41,000 and 500 pennies. In their 
Pennies for Paoli campaign these young students for the past five 
months collected pennies from throughout their neighborhood because 
they want to show the Federal, State and county governments that they 
think it is important that we take the time to protect this sacred site 
where these 53 American heroes are buried.

                              {time}  1530

  They handed me the money and the accompanying check for $415 as a 
part of their ongoing commitment to help indicate their support and 
their involvement in saving Paoli.
  Other schools in the region have taken similar initiatives to help 
protect the Paoli site. Mr. Speaker, the Sugartown Elementary School, 
the KD Markley Elementary School, the Charlestown Elementary School and 
the Exton Elementary School all have conducted letter writing 
campaigns.
  My office has received thousands of letters from young people, not 
just in our region, but because this story was the subject of a 
national news story on Good Morning America on July 4th of last year, 
thousands of people around America have written to say that we too 
think America should protect and preserve this final site that is so 
important to understanding the history of America during our struggle 
for freedom and independence. I think our students have set the example 
for us.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit some of the letters from these 
elementary students about what they think about the Paoli site.
  From Nick, dated January 4, 1999: ``Dear Mr. Weldon, please save the 
Paoli Battlefield. It is very special to us. It helps us learn about 
our country's history.'' He drew pictures of the battle.
  I have another letter from Myles Neuman from Sugartown School: ``Dear 
Curt Weldon, the Paoli Battlefield should be preserved as a national 
park because those graves should honor the brave soldiers that fought 
for our country. If you were one of the honorable soldiers that fought 
on this field, would you like builders to develop something or develop 
it for other uses in Paoli? This would be a great honor for us and the 
kids that are learning about our history. It would be a wonderful 
addition to Valley Forge Park.'' That is from Myles Neuman.
  Or Alyssa Jackson, who says: ``I am in Mrs. Weigal's fourth grade 
class. I live in Frazer, PA. I am writing to you to do all that you can 
to save the Paoli Battlefield. I think the builders are wrong to want 
to build homes or businesses where over 50 people are buried. I hope 
you can do something about it.''
  Finally, from Emily: ``Please save the Paoli Battlefield. It is very 
special to us. It helps us to learn about our country's history. I have 
seen the Paoli Battlefield. It is very pretty.''
  Mr. Speaker, these are but a few of the thousands of letters that I 
have received from young people, not just in my district, but 
throughout the region and throughout the country, that are asking this 
Congress to do something very small, very simple, yet very historic, 
and that is to pass the authorizing legislation that passed the Senate 
in the last session, that passed the Interior Committee, to allow us to 
work with the local folks to preserve the Paoli Battlefield. Nothing I 
think of could be more important for the remembrance of our patriots.
  Also in our P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, Mr. Speaker, we authorize the 
continued funding of approximately $6 million for the full definition 
of the Brandywine Battlefield. The Brandywine Battlefield, where 
another historic battle was fought between our patriots and the 
British, has not yet been fully completed in terms of acquiring the 
space around it.
  We are not talking about money to build buildings. We are talking 
about the easements necessary to keep this battle site as it was 222 
years ago.
  In the case of Brandywine, again, we are saying that the 
authorization is for $6 million, but the local folks must raise $3 
million, so on a dollar for dollar basis, with state money, with county 
money, with private dollars, we will match on a dollar for dollar basis 
the funding necessary to complete the full dimensions of the original 
site of the Brandywine Battlefield.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the third provision in my P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act 
would allow us to approve an agreement between the National Park 
Service and the largest collectors of Revolutionary War artifacts in 
America.
  For the past 5 years I have been working with the collectors, those 
people who have the largest private collections of Revolutionary War 
materials. Most of these materials are today being housed within their 
own control or they are loaned to museums when they see fit.
  The collectors approached me and said, ``Congressman Weldon, we would 
like to work with you to privately fund a major new display area and 
museum at the site of Valley Forge. We are not asking for Federal 
money. We are asking you to work with us in an agreement with the Park 
Service that will allow us to have a trade of property that is 
currently owned by the Valley Forge historical society to allow us to 
raise the money to build this new 21st century learning center about 
the Revolutionary War.''
  The collectors that I have been working with, Mr. Speaker, have 
agreed that they would make their collections available to this site, 
that they would be permanently on display for all Americans to see, 
artifacts that Americans otherwise would not have access to, to 
compliment those artifacts that are already existing at Valley Forge.

[[Page H580]]

  All we are asking in this bill is to give the Park Service the 
approval to finalize that agreement between the private collectors and 
the National Park Service. We are asking for no authorization of 
dollars to allow this new museum to go forward.
  Mr. Speaker, he think these three initiatives are very logical. I 
think they are the kind of thing that Republicans and Democrats can 
jointly support. I think there is no better series of actions that we 
can take in 1999 to remember the Pennsylvania patriots who fought to 
give us the freedoms and liberties and independence of this great 
Nation. I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting the patriots 
of the Revolutionary War and to cosponsor the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act of 
1999.


            Meeting the Needs of America's Patriots of Today

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, in the second half of my 
special order I would also like to discuss America's patriots of today, 
because we have some major problems that need to be addressed in this 
session of the Congress.
  We need to address these, Mr. Speaker, because the patriots of today 
are finding it extremely difficult to do the job that they voluntarily 
signed up to do on behalf of our great Nation.
  I am ashamed to tell you, Mr. Speaker, today, as a senior member of 
the Committee on Armed Services, as the chairman of one of our key 
subcommittees, that we have some of our fighter wings where up to one-
third of our airplanes are not flying because they have had to be 
cannibalized to use the parts from those planes to keep the other two-
thirds flying.
  I am ashamed to report, Mr. Speaker, that we have ships at sea, our 
carriers, where we are hundreds of sailors short, going out to complete 
missions and coming back home without the proper staffing that we have 
identified as appropriate for these most important vessels of our Navy.

  I am embarrassed that we are asking our Marine Corps to fly in CH-46 
helicopters that were built during the Vietnam War that we will 
continue to fly until they are 55 years old. I am embarrassed that we 
will be flying the B-52 bomber when it is 75 years old.
  Mr. Speaker, we have problems in our military that we need to 
address, and these problems did not happen overnight and these problems 
need to be addressed this a bipartisan manner.
  First of all, Mr. Speaker, we have to understand why we are where we 
are today. Let me take a few moments to inform our constituents and our 
colleagues, especially our colleagues who are sitting in their offices 
or perhaps back in their homes, about the problems that our military is 
suffering today, because the perception in America is that we have 
given so much money to our military that they should have the need of 
no new dollars. In fact, there are some who say we should cut the 
defense budget even more than we have cut it.
  Mr. Speaker, over the past 14 to 15 years, the only area of the 
Federal budget that we have cut in real terms has been our defense 
budget. Fourteen consecutive years of real cuts, not inflationary cuts, 
but real cuts, in the level of defense spending.
  Now, some would say, well, that was justified because the Cold War 
ended. Let me give you a simple comparison, Mr. Speaker. Let me use the 
time of John Kennedy, not Ronald Reagan.
  When John Kennedy was the President in the 1960's, this country was 
spending 52 cents of every Federal tax dollar on our military, on those 
brave patriots who serve our country. That was a time of peace. It was 
after Korea, yet it was before Vietnam. Yet in those years that John 
Kennedy served, 52 cents of every Federal tax dollar sent to Washington 
went to support the men and women in the military. Nine percent of our 
country's gross national product was used on defense.
  In this year's budget, Mr. Speaker, we are spending 15 cents of the 
Federal tax dollar on the military. We are spending approximately 2.8 
percent of our country's gross national product on the military. By 
anyone's calculation, that is a dramatic decline.
  Now, some would say that is still enough money. It is more than 
others nations spend collectively, and we should be able to handle that 
because, after all, the Cold War has ended.
  But, Mr. Speaker, things have changed since the 1960's. Let's go 
through a few of those changes.
  First of all, when John Kennedy was President, we had a draft. We 
sucked young people out of high school, we paid them next to nothing, 
they served the country for two years, and then they went on to do 
their chosen career or their job in the private sector.
  We no longer have the draft, Mr. Speaker. Our troops today are well 
paid. Our troops today have high school educations, many have college 
degrees, many are married, they have children. Therefore, we have 
housing costs, health care costs, education costs, travel costs, that 
they never had when John Kennedy was the President.
  Mr. Speaker, even though we have cut defense spending dramatically, 
the portion of our defense budget that we use for the quality of life 
for our troops has increased dramatically. This is where the bulk of 
our money goes today, to educate the young offspring, to take care of 
health care needs, to provide housing for our troops and families and 
travel to move them at home and around the world.
  But some other things have happened, Mr. Speaker. Back when John 
Kennedy was the President, we spent no money in the defense budget on 
the environment. In this year's defense budget, Mr. Speaker, we will 
spend $12 billion of DOD money on environmental mitigation. 
Approximately half of that money goes for our nuclear program, to deal 
with our decommissioned nuclear vessels. The other half goes for a 
variety of programs, ranging from base cleanups to environmental 
cooperation with nations and militaries around the world. But that is 
$12 billion more out of our defense budget that wasn't spent during 
John Kennedy's era. That is increasing each year.
  But perhaps the most dramatic change, Mr. Speaker, since the 1960's, 
is best reflected by this chart. From World War II until approximately 
7 to 8 years ago, the commanders-in-chief of our country, who were both 
Democrats and Republicans, committed our troops to just 10 deployments 
at home and abroad. Ten times over 40 years our troops were sent into 
harm's way. They were sent into Vietnam, they were sent into Grenada, 
they were sent into Chicago and Detroit and Watts, but only 10 times in 
40 years.
  Mr. Speaker, in the past 7 years, most of them under the current 
administration, this commander-in-chief has deployed our troops 32 
times. Thirty-two times in 8 years, 10 deployments in 40 years. At a 
time where the bulk of our money is going for quality of life, at a 
time where we are spending $12 billion a year on the environment, we 
have 32 deployments, and the President is talking today about sending 
4,000 to 5,000 troops to Kosovo, which would raise this to 33 
deployments.
  Now, why is that important, Mr. Speaker? Because every time the 
commander-in-chief commits our troops, he has not identified the 
dollars to pay for those deployments. He simply commits the troops, and 
then we are left to pay the price that is required to pay for those 
deployments around the world.
  The deployment to Bosnia, Mr. Speaker, as of today, has cost the 
American taxpayers $9 billion. Where did that money come from, Mr. 
Speaker? Because we did not allocate that money in advance, all of that 
$9 billion had to come out of an ever-decreasing defense budget.
  So what did we do? Instead of building replacement helicopters for 
the CH-46, we slid the replacement program out to some other 
administration. Instead of building the Army's replacement helicopter 
for their existing helicopter, we shipped the Comanche out to the out 
years. Instead of taking care of the replacement parts for those 
fighter planes, we slipped that out and we have to cannibalize existing 
planes. And because we cannot recruit new young people to fill the 
slots for the Navy and the other services, we have had to go to 
deployments with less than the required slots filled. In fact, Mr. 
Speaker, our retention rates for pilots in the Navy and the Air Force 
is the lowest rate since World War II.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. Speaker, these deployments have robbed our modernization and our 
research for the future. It has caused us, in my opinion, to face the 
time when we will look back on these eight years

[[Page H581]]

as the worst period of time for undermining our national security in 
the Nation's history.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, critics will look at this and say, ``Wait a minute, 
wait a minute, what about President Bush?'' Because eight years ago he 
was the one who sent our troops into Desert Storm, and after all, that 
was a major war. Mr. Speaker, they would be right. President Bush did 
send our troops into Desert Storm. He sent 400,000 of our troops over 
there. But, Mr. Speaker, when Commander in Chief Bush sent our troops 
into Desert Storm, he went to all of our allies and he said, ``You 
either send troops, or you pay for the cost of Desert Storm.''
  Desert Storm cost the American taxpayers $52 billion, but unlike this 
administration, President Bush was able to receive $53 billion in 
reimbursements. Those allied nations that did not send troops to Desert 
Storm gave us the dollars to pay for that deployment, so the net cost 
to us in terms of dollars was zero. And the deployments under this 
administration, every one of them, have been paid for by the U.S. 
taxpayer by robbing the DOD budget.
  When we sent our troops into Haiti, President Clinton said it was 
going to be a multinational force, and some would say it is. But what 
he did not tell us, Mr. Speaker, is that we are paying for the salary 
and the housing costs and in some cases the food costs for foreign 
troops to go into Haiti. Bangladesh sent 1,000 troops. It was a good 
deal for them because American taxpayers are paying for the costs of 
keeping them in Haiti.
  Mr. Speaker, unlike Desert Storm, these most recent 31 deployments or 
32 deployments have been paid for by the U.S. taxpayer, taking money 
out of the defense budget that was already dramatically being 
decreased. The irony of all of this, Mr. Speaker, is I have to focus on 
two points.
  First of all, by deploying American men and women around the world, 
this President has created the impression that all of a sudden the 
world is safe. There are no more wars in Bosnia, there is no more 
conflict in Haiti, there is no more conflict in Macedonia and there 
will be no more conflict in Kosovo, because America has our troops 
around the world. And the irony is that the American people think by 
perception that therefore we must cut the defense budget because the 
world is so much safer today, when in fact it is safer because we have 
troops on standby and on alert around the world that is costing us 
dearly in terms of dollars necessary to modernize our military.
  No wonder, Mr. Speaker, the President got a standing ovation when he 
went to the U.N. If I were the President and went to the U.N. and all 
of those nations out there saw America ready to put our troops on the 
spot around the world and not pay for it, I would get a standing 
ovation too.
  Mr. Speaker, the Pentagon's own numbers show that for these 
deployments just in this administration, the American taxpayers have 
spent a total of $19 billion, $9 billion for Bosnia alone. Mr. Speaker, 
$19 billion, to send our troops to places some of which I support, but 
which should have had our allies pay the bill.
  When many of our colleagues, Mr. Speaker, both Democrats and 
Republicans, objected to deploying our troops into Bosnia, it was not 
because we did not think that Bosnia was important or that we did not 
think we should be part of a multinational force, because we do. What 
we objected to, Mr. Speaker, was the fact that America was going to 
send 36,000 troops into Bosnia, both in theater and in the support 
around Bosnia, when neighbors like France and Germany were only sending 
in token components. In the case of Germany, 4,000 troops; in the case 
of the French and the other neighbors of Bosnia, much smaller amounts.
  The question we had is, why is the U.S. footing the bill? Why should 
not these other nations do what George Bush got nations to do in Desert 
Storm? Why should they not chip in and help to pay for these 
operations?
  That did not happen, Mr. Speaker, and right now we are facing a 
situation where the President is saying to the American people, we need 
to send 4,000 to 5,000 troops into Kosovo. That may or may not be 
justified, but, Mr. Speaker, he is not going to ask for the approval of 
the Congress. For the 33rd time in 7 years, he will simply send our 
troops, as he can do as the commander in chief. He is not going to tell 
us how much it will cost, because we already asked and he said we do 
not know. And he is not going to tell us how long they are going to 
stay there. He is going to send our troops and the Congress is going to 
be left to foot the bill.
  The second irony of this whole thing, Mr. Speaker, is as we in this 
Congress, Republicans and Democrats over the past four years have tried 
to replenish some of these funds, to reimburse the military for the 
extra costs of these deployments, we have been criticized for putting 
more money in the Pentagon's budget than what the service chiefs asked 
for. In each of the past four years, Democrats and Republicans came 
together in both the House and the other body and we said, we want to 
replenish some of these funds because they have been taken away for 
military operations and the Pentagon was not reimbursed for the cost. 
Each year that we did that, this White House that sent our troops on 
these deployments and did not ask for our approval publicly criticized 
us for putting more money into the defense budget than what the service 
chiefs had asked for. Amazing, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, $19 billion to pay for these deployments. This Congress, 
in a bipartisan way trying to reimburse the Department of Defense for 
those deployments, gets criticized because we are putting pork that was 
not asked for back into defense budget.
  Because of these shortcomings, Mr. Speaker, we are facing a crisis 
today. We have slipped the modernization of our military systems to the 
next administration. The service chiefs have now publicly come on the 
record, and in a hearing last week before the House and the week before 
before the Senate, they said this year they are $19 billion short just 
to meet their needs.
  Now, the President has given some great speeches over the past 30 
days. We heard the Secretary of Defense give a speech where he said the 
White House had now agreed with the Congress that the threat of 
external missile proliferation is now real and it is here, and 
therefore they put hundreds of millions of dollars into the outyears 
budget for missile defense, something we have been saying for the past 
three years.
  The President gave a speech on cyber terrorism. He said we need to 
put more money in the budget to protect this country from those who 
would threaten to take out our smart systems, both our weapons systems 
and our information systems that control our quality of life. He gave 
another speech where he said we needed to spend more money against 
terrorism and for detection of use of weapons of mass destruction.

  But what he did not tell the American people, Mr. Speaker, is that 
his budget request for next year actually does not increase funding for 
any of those areas. The missile defense budget decreases by a 
significant amount over five years. The budget for antiterrorism does 
not increase the way it needs to, in spite of this Congress's 
leadership in that area; and the budget for cyber terrorism and 
information warfare likewise does not increase. In fact it stagnates 
and, I would argue, decreases, when the Defense Science Board three 
years ago told us we should be spending $3 billion more on the issue of 
information warfare to protect America from a cyber attack.
  Mr. Speaker, we are in a very unusual situation. We have an 
administration that has used our military more than any administration 
in this century, in this country's history. Mr. Speaker, 32 and soon to 
be 33 deployments in 7 to 8 years, versus 10 in 40 years. Yet, during 
that time the administration has continued to decrease the funding for 
the services, has paid for none of these deployments, has asked to take 
all of that money out of the backbone of our military budget and then 
has criticized the Congress for wanting to put more money back in, and 
goes around the world saying how nice and calm things are.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to be real. This is not an argument between 
Republicans and Democrats. In the House and the Senate, the defense 
battles have been won by Democrats and Republicans coming together to 
tell this administration that they have got it all wrong. And in this 
Congress, the single most important debate we will have is about the 
future of the support of our patriots.

[[Page H582]]

  I started off my talk today by focusing on the patriots of 222 years 
ago. I end my talk today in talking about the patriots of 1999, young 
people around the world who are being asked to go from Bosnia to Haiti, 
from Haiti to Somalia, from Somalia to Macedonia. In the trips I have 
taken to meet with our young troops they talk about their pride in 
America and their pride in the service and they are the best in the 
world, but they also say, ``Mr. Congressman, can you please stop 
sending us from one deployment to the next? We need some time off with 
our families. We need some time off just to have some rest.''
  We need to stop being deployed around the world, because while we 
have not done that for them, our morale has declined. That is why our 
retention rates are so low. That is why we do not have the staffing 
needs that we should have for the military. And that is why, Mr. 
Speaker, I maintain that this period of time is going to go down in 
history as the worst period of time for undermining our Nation's 
security in the history of America.
  In spite of the presence of our troops all around the world in all of 
these deployments today, I would argue the world is more unstable than 
in some cases it was during the Cold War. Russia has many internal 
problems: economic instability, massive proliferation that is in many 
cases totally uncontrollable. We have instances where China and North 
Korea have been caught sending technology to countries like North 
Korea. We know that Pakistan and India both got their technology from 
Russia and China. We know that Iran and Iraq have developed missile 
systems because of cooperation from those nations. And all of this 
instability is causing us to face increasing threats in the 21st 
century.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to be real with the American people. This 
administration has not been real with the American people. They have 
painted a rosy picture. They have had the photo ops of the commander in 
chief walking down the White House lawn with the troops behind him. 
They have had the photo opportunity of the commander in chief on the 
decks of the carrier when it was dedicated. But that is not what 
supporting our troops is all about. It is about funding them. It is 
about asking for the dollars to support these deployments. It is about 
giving them the systems to protect their lives.
  Mr. Speaker, another example of an attempt to back-door the defense 
budget is the administration's backhanded effort to pay for the Wye 
River Agreement. The Wye River Agreement, which I applaud the 
administration for achieving, is important for security, and we need to 
understand the importance of that. But instead of coming to this 
Congress and asking us openly to support the funding for the Wye River 
Agreement, the administration has proposed and has informed the 
Congress that they will take an additional $230 million out of our 
defense budget for missile defense purposes to fund the Wye River 
Agreement, which has nothing to do with our defense budget.
  Mr. Speaker, how much longer will this continue? How much more will 
we tolerate the efforts of this administration to undermine the 
security of this country? Democrats and Republicans alike have been 
working together in this area to do the job that America needs.
  I urge my colleagues in this 106th Congress to pay attention, to work 
together as we have in the past to convince the administration that 
this must stop, that we must support our troops, that we must make sure 
that everyone understands that the reason we have a strong military is 
not just to deploy our troops around the world but to deter aggression. 
No Nation has ever been defeated because it was too strong, and we must 
understand that one of most important responsibilities outlined in the 
Constitution is the defense of the American people wherever they might 
be, at home or abroad.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the students of the 
outstanding schools in my Congressional District--Sugartown Elementary 
School, KD Markley Elementary School, Charlestown Elementary School, 
and East Goshen Elementary School. The fine students of these schools 
have contacted me to inform me of an issue which is important to them, 
to their schools, to their community and to our nation--they are 
fighting to save the Paoli Battlefield.
  The Paoli Battlefield, which is located in my Congressional District, 
remains one of the only historic sites from the Revolutionary War left 
untouched since 1777. This land was the site of the ``Paoli Massacre'' 
in which British troops led by Major General Grey attacked the American 
Army of Pennsylvania Regiments on the wooded hillside and two fields 
between what is now Sugartown Road and Warren Avenue. The ensuing 
battle resulted in at least 52 American deaths and 7 British 
fatalities. The British night-time bayonet charge was aided by the fact 
that Americans were silhouetted against the light of their campfires. 
Some American troops panicked and fled and general disorder spread 
throughout the American line. British dragoons, arriving on the field, 
shattered the American column and pursued retreating Americans as far 
as Sugartown Road. Only the more disciplined American soldiers escaped 
the original onslaught unscathed, but a following British assault 
completed the rout.
  The Paoli Massacre was part of the Revolutionary War's Philadelphia 
Campaign, a chapter of the war that witnessed the occupation of 
Philadelphia and the famed American encampment at Valley Forge in the 
winter of 1777-78. The first two American attempts to stop the British 
invasion that Fall were the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, 
and the unsuccessful Battle of the Clouds, September 16, 1777. The 
Paoli Massacre was part of the third effort to contain British General 
William Howe's advance on Philadelphia.
  In an effort to save the Paoli Battlefield, I will be introducing the 
P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act--Preserve America's Treasures of the Revolution for 
Independence for Our Tomorrow. Passage of this legislation will forever 
insure that the sacrifice made by our nation's first veterans will be 
remembered. This legislation will also protect the Brandywine 
Battlefield. The Battle at Brandywine was the most significant battle 
of the Philadelphia campaign. My bill further memorializes this 
campaign by authorizing the Superintendent of Valley Forge National 
Historical Park to enter into an agreement with the Valley Forge 
Historical Society to build a museum which would house the world's 
largest collection of Revolutionary War artifacts and memorabilia, 
including the tent in which General Washington slept at Valley Forge.
  And so Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to 
recognize the outstanding young patriots of my district who have made 
their voices heard in the fight to preserve this piece of our nation's 
history. The students of these schools sent me almost five hundred 
letters, pictures, and banners with their plea for this body to 
``Remember Paoli!''--this small piece of land that is so important to 
their communities. As a former school teacher and a father of five, I 
am heartened by their dedication and commitment to this cause. The 
future of America lies with our youth, and with youngsters like these, 
I am confident that America's future will be bright.
  I would like to congratulate these young patriots of my district, and 
thank them for taking part in this campaign to preserve the history of 
the Revolutionary War. I would also like to thank their teachers and 
parents who also sent me letters, and taught these students that their 
involvement could make a difference. I would like to include the 
letters of Melissa Clark, who is in the first grade at KDMarkley; 
Bonnie Hughes-Sobbi, mother of a fourth grader at KDMarkley; Bess 
McCadden who is in the fourth grade at Charlestown Elementary; and 
Catherine Wahl who is in the fourth grade at the Sugartown School for 
the record so that my colleagues can also appreciate them.

                                                  January 6, 1999.
       Dear Sir: I am writing to you to ask you to save the Paoli 
     Battlefield. We need to remember the men who who fought to 
     make our country free. Please do not build houses on the 
     Paoli Battlefield.
           Sincerely,
     Melissa Clark.
                                  ____

                                                  January 5, 1999.
       Dear Representative Weldon: It has come to my attention, 
     through my daughter's fourth grade class, that a part of our 
     local history is being threatened by ``progress''. The site 
     to which I refer is the Paoli Battlefield, located in 
     Malvern, PA.
       Our children are being taught the importance of this site 
     in their local history lessons and are also being taught to 
     respect sites such as this for their intrinsic and 
     irreplaceable value. We should be willing to support our 
     lessons to our children by protecting the Paoli Battlefield 
     from development.
       Thank you for your efforts in support of protecting this 
     site, hopefully with permanent registry as an historic 
     landmark. I will be happy to lend any assistance, as I am 
     able, to further this cause.
           Very Truly Yours,
     Bonnie Hughes-Sabbi.
                                  ____

                                                December 22, 1998.
       Dear Representative Weldon: People know that it is wrong to 
     build something on historical land. Valley Forge Park is part 
     of our history, so we should also save the site of the Paoli 
     Massacre Battlefield. My classmates and I have been studying 
     it, and I

[[Page H583]]

     think that building things on historical land is destructive. 
     If General Anthony Wayne were here, he would do all he could 
     to stop people from building something on the ground of our 
     past.
       Don't let people build on the site of the Paoli Massacre 
     Battlefield! Please save it!
           Sincerely,
     Bess McCadden.
                                  ____

                                                December 11, 1998.
       Dear Mr. Weldon: I think that you should stop this 
     craziness because it should remain a burial ground. Paoli 
     isn't very popular except for the Paoli Battlefield. That 
     puts us in the battlefield book. It is a historical sight 
     [sic]. It's disrespectful to knock down a memorial 
     battlefield. One of my ancestors was buried at that 
     battlefield there so I care very deeply about this 
     battlefield.
     Catherine Wahl.
                                  ____

                                                  January 4, 1999.
       Dear Mr. Weldon, please save the Paoli Battlefield! It is 
     very special to us. It helps us learn about our country's 
     history.
                                  ____

                                                 Sugartown School,


                                                  Malvern, PA,

                                                December 15, 1998.
     Hon. Curt Weldon,
     Rayburn House Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Honorable Curt Weldon: The Paoli Battlefield should be 
     preserved as a national park because these graves should 
     honor the brave soldiers that fought for our country.
       If you were one of the honorable soldiers that fought on 
     this field would you like developers to build something over 
     you? We have enough developments built in Paoli. This would 
     be great for us kids that are learning about history. This 
     would be a wonderful addition to Valley Forge Park.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Myles Newman.
       P.S. Thank you for reading my letter.
                                  ____

                                                December 22, 1998.
       Dear Rep. Weldon, I am in Mrs. Weigal's 4th grade class. I 
     live in Frazer, PA.
       I'm writing to you to ask you to do all you can to save the 
     Paoli Battlefield. I think that the builders are wrong to 
     want to build houses there when 50 people are buried there. I 
     hope you can do something about it.
           Sincerely,
     Alyssa Jackson.
                                  ____

                                                  January 4, 1999.
       Dear Mr. Weldon, please save the Paoli Battlefield! It is 
     very special to us. It helps us to learn about our country's 
     history. I have seen the Paoli Battlefield it is very pretty.
           Sincerely,
     Emily.
                                  ____



                                           Chester County, PA,

                                                December 22, 1998.
       Dear Rep. Weldon, you should strongly support saving the 
     Paoli Battlefield because many people lost their lives 
     fighting for freedom and if you didn't it would be 
     dishonorable to the soldiers. But really what would you 
     rather have more population or more historical sites? Have a 
     good time in Washington, D.C. with that legislation (I hope 
     it will be positive.)
           Sincerely,
     Trey Morris.
                                  ____

       Dear Rep. Weldon, my name is Steven Binstein. I am in 
     fourth grade at Charlestown. I live in Malvern. I would 
     appreciate it if you don't let the developers make houses on 
     the Paoli Battlefield because that is a very nice peace of 
     land. Soldiers fought their and some died and some didn't. 
     The real reason I think the developers shouldn't build houses 
     there is because people were buried there, and they cant just 
     build over them.
       That's why I think you shouldn't let the developers build 
     there.
           Sincerely,
     Steven Binstein.

                          ____________________