[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 1, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H1694-H1696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING SYMPATHY TO FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND COWORKERS OF VERONICA
``RONI'' BOWERS AND CHARITY BOWERS
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on International Relations be discharged from further
consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 117)
expressing sympathy to the family, friends, and coworkers of Veronica
``Roni'' Bowers and Charity Bowers, and ask for its immediate
consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from North Carolina?
Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, and I shall
not object, will the gentleman please explain the purpose of the
resolution.
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. HOEKSTRA. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, on April 20, 2001, a Peruvian fighter jet
mistakenly shot down a small seaplane carrying Baptist missionaries
from Muskegon, Michigan, over the jungles of Peru. Believing that the
small plane was engaged in drug trafficking, the Peruvian pilot
attacked this small aircraft, killing two of its passengers, a mother
and her infant daughter, and severely wounding the pilot.
As you may know, Roni Bowers, her husband James, their 6-year-old son
Cory and 7-month-old adopted daughter Charity were flying aboard the
seaplane when it was intercepted and attacked by the Peruvian fighter.
[[Page H1695]]
The aircraft, owned by the Association of Baptists for World
Evangelism, was en route to Iquitos, Peru to acquire visa documents for
newly adopted Charity. Although severely wounded in the attack, pilot
Kevin Donaldson was able to land the plane safely. Unfortunately, Mr.
Speaker, Roni and Charity Bowers were killed in the burst of gunfire.
James and Cory Bowers escaped serious injury in the incident. An
investigation into this matter is now underway.
H. Con. Res. 117 expresses Congress' deepest and most heartfelt
sympathy to James and Cory Bowers, their extended family, and to their
friends and fellow missionaries. It commends wounded pilot Kevin
Donaldson for his bravery and skill in safely landing his crippled
aircraft and wishes him a speedy recovery. Finally, it calls on the
Governments of the United States and Peru to undertake a cooperative
and thorough investigation into this incident to ensure that similar
incidents will be avoided in the future.
I want to commend my colleague from Michigan, Mr. Hoekstra, for this
timely and important resolution and I join him in extending my personal
condolences to the Bowers family. I urge my colleagues to support this
passage.
Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation, let me just
share a few facts about the tragedy on April 20.
James and Veronica, also known as Roni Bowers of Muskegon, Michigan,
were missionaries affiliated with the Calvary Church of Fruitport,
Michigan, and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. The
Bowerses conducted their Christian mission work with their children,
Cory and Charity, serving the native tribes along the Amazon River in
the South American country of Peru. They had been there since 1995.
On Friday, April 20, 2001, the Bowerses were flying in an Association
of Baptists for World Evangelism plane piloted by Kevin Donaldson,
traveling from the Peru-Brazil border to Iquitos, Peru, after
attempting to secure necessary visa documents for their newly adopted
daughter, Charity.
The plane was wrongly attacked by a fighter jet of the Peruvian Air
Force in an apparent attempted antidrug interdiction effort that may
have also involved personnel of the United States. Roni and Charity
Bowers were killed by bullets that were fired by the Peruvian jet into
the plane, and pilot Kevin Donaldson was also severely injured in the
attack. Kevin Donaldson, despite his injuries, was able to safely land
his plane on the Amazon River, saving the lives of his other
passengers.
The family, friends, and coworkers of Roni and Charity Bowers have
displayed a shining example of their faith and grace in the face of
this terrible tragedy. With this resolution, the U.S. House of
Representatives expresses and conveys its deepest and most heartfelt
sympathies for the loss of Roni and Charity Bowers to Jim and Cory
Bowers, as well as to their extended families and their friends, their
coworkers and fellow missionaries at the Association of Baptists for
World Evangelism.
With this resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives commends
Kevin Donaldson for his heroic actions in safely landing the plane, and
further wishes Mr. Donaldson a speedy and complete recovery from his
injuries.
And with this resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives strongly
encourage the governments of the United States and Peru to work
together as expeditiously as possible to determine all the
circumstances that led to this unfortunate and regrettable incident and
to ensure that an incident of this kind never occurs again.
Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of
my good friend and colleague's resolution expressing our deepest
sympathies to the family and friends of Roni and Charity Bowers for
their tragic loss, and also our admiration and wishes for a speedy and
complete recovery to pilot Kevin Donaldson.
The calling to perform God's work is not given to all, and not all
heed this call to serve. Missionaries, like the Bowers family and Mr.
Donaldson, are blessed in their dedication to improve the lives of
their fellow man and their service to spread the word of God so that
all might know His love and promise of redemption.
The good work of these people must be commended, and the loss of a
young mother and child to a tragic mistake is heart-wrenching. Mr.
Speaker, while we are rightfully deeply concerned with the
circumstances of this tragedy, we must not allow it to deter our
resolve to fight the trafficking of illegal drugs that have affected
not only families and children living in the United States, but indeed
all those in the Americas.
I call on all my colleagues to support Congressman Hoekstra's
resolution to express our heartfelt sympathies and condolences, and to
strongly encourage a prompt and thorough investigation into the
circumstances that led to this tragic outcome. The details surrounding
the attack by the Peruvian fighter jet need to be determined, and we
must find a way for our governments to effectively work together to
ensure illegal drugs are not allowed to continue to poison our children
and our societies, and also that never again will innocent civilians
suffer due to an interdiction mission gone awry.
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my
sincere condolences to the Bowers and Donaldson families for their
loss. I commend Congressman Hoekstra for bringing this resolution to
the floor. It is the right thing to do.
My committee held a hearing today, chaired by subcommittee chairman
Mark Souder. What became readily apparent from a variety of
administration witnesses, is the CIA was responsible for this tragedy,
yet they refused to return staff phone calls, member requests for
briefings, and to provide a witness for the hearing. Instead the
hearing resembled Abbott and Costello's ``Who's on First'' routine.
There is an established procedure for air interdiction. It has worked
successfully nearly 100 times since it was implemented in 1995. Clearly
this procedure was not followed here. Why? Why is all information
surrounding the shootdown classified? Why does the CIA refuse to
provide legitimate oversight committees in the Congress with briefings
or witnesses? Why does the CIA refuse to provide a witness? All of
these questions need to be answered, and I hope Chairman Souder
continues to pursue this matter in his subcommittee with oversight
jurisdiction on this matter.
But, what cannot be done, is to give the drug traffickers a green
light to resume their illegal activity that has been significantly
slowed by the air interdiction program. I would like to submit for the
record this AP article in which the Bowers family indicates that their
tragedy should not stop the program. Mr. Bowers is quoted as saying
``the United States should quickly resume drug surveillance flights . .
. to say there needs to be an entire review of the whole program and
suspend it and to let the drug people continue their business as usual
is wrong.'' If a grieving husband and father can say this, the
government should take note, and get back to providing the necessary
coverage to stifle the drug flights as soon as possible.
There is an avenue here to consolidate these surveillance flights
under one roof. The U.S. Customs Service already does this mission very
well. They are a law enforcement agency with strict rules of
engagement. It may be time to give this entire account--and most
importantly the additional assets and funding necessary to successfully
complete the mission--to the Customs Service. This means more P-3
surveillance planes as well as Citation aircraft. By placing this in
one department who does not use civilian contractors, will leave the
responsibility in one place. There will be no question of who is
responsible, and where to go with questions. The acting Customs
Commissioner at the hearing today said they would be able to do this if
they were given the assets and the mission. I think it is time we in
Congress gain some accountability by giving them the responsibility for
this mission.
Thank you Mr. Speaker, and may God bless and comfort the Bowers and
Donaldson families in their time of mourning.
[From the Associated Press, Apr. 30, 2001]
Missionary Says Drug Surveillance Should Resume Quickly
(By Bill Kaczor)
Pensacola, FL (AP).--A missionary says the United States
should quickly resume drug surveillance flights suspended
after his wife and adopted baby were killed in Peru when they
were mistaken for drug smugglers and shot down.
Jim Bowers, who survived unharmed when their small plane
crash landed after being fired upon by a Peruvian warplane
April 20, said Monday he has expressed that view in a call to
Secretary of State Colin Powell's office.
``To say there needs to be an entire review of the whole
program and suspend it and to let the drug people continue
their business as usual is wrong,'' Bowers said at a news
conference.
He said it should take investigators no more than a day to
figure out the shooting was simple error.
The Peruvian air force failed to contact a control tower
that was in radio contact with the missionaries' float plane
before shooting at it without first firing any warning shots,
Bowers said.
``The main error in this whole thing is they were too quick
to the trigger,'' he said. ``I don't hold anyone responsible.
It was a mistake as though someone fell asleep at the wheel
and ran into us in a vehicle.''
[[Page H1696]]
A U.S. Central Intelligence Agency aircraft had detected
the missionaries' plane and notified the Peruvian air force.
American officials say the surveillance crew, however, had
advised it appeared, from the way the plane was flying, that
it was not a drug smuggling flight.
Bowers, 38, of Muskegon, Mich., was in Pensacola for the
funeral and burial Sunday of his wife, Veronica ``Roni''
Bowers, 35, and their 7-month-old daughter, Charity. He
stayed with family in Wake County, N.C., immediately after
the shooting.
The couple's 6-year-old son, Cory, also survived uninjured,
but the plane's pilot, Kevin Donaldson, 41, of Morgantown,
Pa., was wounded.
Bowers spoke to reporters at Marcus Points Baptist Church
where the funeral services was held. His wife's parents, John
and Gloria Luttig, of nearby Pace, are members of the church,
which had helped support the couple's missionary work.
Bowers expressed his forgiveness to all involved at the
funeral and during a memorial service Friday at his home
church in Michigan. He said Monday he also hopes to talk
personally with the Peruvian pilot who fired on their plane.
``I'm looking forward to that some day, but right now, I'm
praying for him,'' Bowers said.
Although insisting he wasn't placing blame, Bowers said the
pilot failed to give the missionaries a chance to land before
he started shooting.
``I was assuming, because I've watched movies just like you
all have, that there would be some kind of communication,
they would come up next to us and let us know what they
wanted,'' Bowers told reporters.
The air force plane swooped by a half-dozen times and begin
firing only five or 10 minutes after the first pass, he said.
``Any decent air force pilot would give the other aircraft
time to understand his intentions,'' Bowers said. ``I just
thought this is way too soon for them to be shooting
already.''
He said he saw a puff of smoke from the front of the
warplane and told Donaldson he thought it was shooting at
them just as the bullets began ripping through their
aircraft. A single bullet instantly killed his wife and
daughter.
Bowers said neither he nor anyone else from his family or
church has been in contact with the baby's natural parents,
but he said they knew she had been killed.
The couple's missionary work also has been supported by
Calvary Church in Fruitport, Mich., and the Association of
Baptists for World Evangelism, based in New Cumberland, Pa.
Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina.
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows:
H. Con. Res. 117
Whereas James and Veronica ``Roni'' Bowers of Muskegon,
Michigan, served as missionaries affiliated with the Calvary
Church of Fruitport, Michigan, and the Association of
Baptists for World Evangelism;
Whereas the Bowerses conducted their Christian mission work
with their children, Cory and Charity, serving the native
tribes along the Amazon River in Peru since 1995;
Whereas on Friday, April 20, 2001, the Bowerses were flying
in an Association of Baptists for World Evangelism plane
piloted by Kevin Donaldson, traveling from the Peru-Brazil
border to the city of Iquitos, Peru, after attempting to
secure necessary visa documents for their adopted daughter,
Charity;
Whereas the plane was mistakenly attacked by a fighter jet
of the Peruvian Air Force in an apparent attempted anti-drug
interdiction effort that may have also involved personnel of
the United States;
Whereas Roni and Charity Bowers were killed, and pilot
Kevin Donaldson was severely injured in the attack;
Whereas Kevin Donaldson, despite his injuries, was able to
safely land his plane on the Amazon River, saving the lives
of his other passengers; and
Whereas the family, friends, and co-workers of Roni and
Charity Bowers have displayed a shining example of their
faith and grace in the face of this terrible tragedy: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses and conveys its deepest and most heartfelt
sympathies to Jim and Cory Bowers and to their extended
families, friends, co-workers, and fellow missionaries at the
Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, for the loss of
Veronica ``Roni'' Bowers and Charity Bowers in an attack by a
fighter jet of the Peruvian Air Force on the plane in which
they were traveling;
(2) commends Kevin Donaldson for his heroic actions in
safely landing the plane and wishes Mr. Donaldson a speedy
and complete recovery from his injuries; and
(3) strongly encourages the Governments of the United
States and Peru to work together as expeditiously as possible
to determine all the circumstances that led to this
unfortunate and regrettable incident and to ensure that an
incident of this kind never occurs again.
The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________