[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 4, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H4892-H4895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENSE OF THE HOUSE COMMENDING NATION'S BUSINESSES AND BUSINESS OWNERS
FOR SUPPORT OF OUR TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 201) expressing the sense of the House of
Representatives that our Nation's businesses and business owners should
be commended for their support of our troops and their families as they
serve our country in many ways, especially in these days of increased
engagement of our military in strategic locations around our Nation and
around the world.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 201
Whereas over 216,931 members of the reserve components of
the Armed Forces have been called to leave their families and
their jobs, in service to this country and her citizens;
Whereas businesses of every size and scope have been
impacted as their employees who are members of the reserve
components of the Armed Forces have been called away from
their employment in local business and industry;
Whereas businesses across the Nation have been
exceptionally accommodating to the unique demands on the
time, resources, and responsibilities of employee spouses and
families of active duty military personnel who have been
deployed for service; and
Whereas business owners have made sacrifices so that they
might ensure observance of the letter and the spirit of the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act in
many ways including: restoring employment status after
military service obligation has been fulfilled, providing
continuation of health benefits to active duty employees and
their dependents, and committing uninterrupted pension and
retirement benefits: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that--
(1) the businesses that establish the backbone of our
Nation in times of peace and rise to a greater standard of
resolve in times of challenge do so by--
(A) carrying on the good work of commerce, industry, and
innovation; and
(B) steadfastly supporting the members of our military and
their families; and
(2) the business owners of our Nation deserve our
commendation and sincere expression of gratitude.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Stearns) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns).
General Leave
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 201.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
[[Page H4893]]
There was no objection.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 201, authored by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers). The resolution commends America's
businesses and business owners for their support of our troops and
their families, in particular their support for the Reservists and
National Guardsmen called into active duty.
As of today, nearly 220,000 members of the Reserve component of our
Armed Forces have been called to active duty, leaving their families,
homes, and their jobs to serve their country. Over 5,300 of those
brave, part-time soldiers are from my home State of Florida. These men
and women have volunteered to lay down their lives in defense of our
country and the principles for which it stands, and have done so in
their capacity as ordinary citizens, not professional soldiers.
They are extraordinary citizens with ordinary jobs. They are cooks,
teachers, mechanics, doctors, salesmen, truckers, secretaries, lawyers,
technicians and so forth, that when called to serve their country,
became extraordinary citizens and full-time warriors sacrificing
greatly, both personally and, of course, financially.
Our military today is dependent on these extraordinary citizens and
of course these part-time soldiers. The 1.2 million Guard and Reserve
personnel now make up nearly 46 percent of all U.S. military forces.
When activated, Reservists and National Guardsmen have to leave their
jobs abruptly, forcing their employers to face the serious challenge of
losing a very valuable employee.
American businesses have stood by their employees called to serve
their country. H. Res. 201 aptly states American businesses ``have made
sacrifices so that they might ensure observance of the letter and the
spirit of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
in many ways including: restoring employment status after military
service obligation has been fulfilled, providing continuation of health
benefits to active duty employees and their dependents, and committing
uninterrupted pension and retirement benefits.''
{time} 1400
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, many American businesses, recognizing the
hardship placed on the families of these servicemen due to the
differential in their civilian and military incomes while on active
duty, make up that difference for a period of between several days and
a year or more. A recent survey by the Reserve Officers Association of
the United States found that of the 154 Fortune 500 corporations that
responded to the survey, 105 companies, or 68 percent, make up the
difference in that pay. Last year, just 75 of the 132 responding
companies, or 56 percent, did so. And in the year 2001, the number was
53 of 119, or 45 percent of the responding companies.
Mr. Speaker, I conclude by wishing our men and women of the Armed
Forces Godspeed and commending American businesses that have supported
them, especially our Reservists and National Guardsmen, the
extraordinary citizen. I urge my colleagues to support this piece of
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to
make a few brief comments in support of H. Res. 201.
House Resolution 201 honors businesses and business owners across our
great Nation for their unwavering support for the men and women of the
Reserves who have been called into service in unprecedented numbers to
fight the war against terrorism at home and abroad. Businesses large
and small have been exceptional in their commitment to supporting
active duty Reservists and their families. Because of their support,
the men and women of the Reserves can be secure in knowing that their
job will be waiting for them when their service is fulfilled, with no
loss of pension and retirement benefits or promotion opportunities, and
that their families' needs were provided for in their absence.
These businesses embody the true spirit of America. For these reasons
I urge adoption of House Resolution 201.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Cox).
Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I am very, very pleased that we are here
commending America's businesses and, more specifically, American
business men and women for what they have done in their places of work
to help support our war effort in the war in Iraq, the war in
Afghanistan, and the war against terror, because, frankly, the war
against terror has placed an enormous burden on our economy.
According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, fear of terrorism
since September 11, fear of the war in Iraq and now a mysterious
respiratory disease called SARS have disrupted both business and
leisure travel to the extent that half of all jobs lost since September
11 have been in the travel and tourism industry. One out of every seven
people in the U.S. private sector workforce--or 18 million people--are
employed directly or indirectly in travel and tourism jobs. This
industry is a big industry. It is a $100 billion industry, not in
revenue, not in assets, but in taxes paid to Federal, State and local
governments.
Losing so many jobs in this industry is obviously a victory for the
terrorists, but it is a victory that will be short-lived. Obviously,
when people stop flying, when they stop traveling, they obviously stop
staying in hotels, stop going to restaurants, visiting museums or theme
parks, renting cars or shopping. This economic toll is precisely what
the terrorists had in mind.
If the damage on September 11 had been limited to the thousands of
lives lost and the property damage suffered, as horrible as that would
have been, we would not be experiencing these downstream victories for
the war waged by terrorists against the United States. I do not think
we can make any mistake about this. Beyond murdering Americans, the
terrorists wish to destroy America's economy.
The way for America to fight back is for working men and women, for
small business owners, for entrepreneurs, for businesses of all sizes
to go about their business, to show up for work early, to do a little
more, to take the family vacation, to do those things that make us
Americans and to keep our life normal because it is the disruption of
normalcy that the terrorists seek to accomplish.
As chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security in the
Congress, I can tell Members that 50 of our colleagues, including eight
chairmen of standing committees in this House of Representatives, are
working diligently with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure
Americans' safety. We are engaged in oversight to ensure that Secretary
Ridge and his new department succeed.
Secretary Ridge testified before the Select Committee on Homeland
Security at a recent hearing on what we have accomplished in a few
short months. We have orchestrated and launched Operation Liberty
Shield, the first comprehensive, national plan to increase protection
of America's citizens and infrastructure. We have deployed new
technologies and tools at land, air and sea borders. We have
established the Homeland Security Command Center, a national 24/7 watch
operation. We have initiated a comprehensive reorganization of the
border agencies, as well as other administrative measures to enhance
departmental services and capabilities. We have completed the
transition of 21 out of 22 component agencies of the Department of
Homeland Security, none of which were previously focused primarily on
preventing domestic terrorism.
We have conducted hearings, and the department itself has conducted
on-site visits at strategic ports throughout the United States and
begun the development of security measures and plans for vessels,
facilities and ports that we put in place in the Maritime Security Act
of 2002. And, of course, the department has completed TOPOFF II, the
largest terrorist response exercise in our Nation's history.
Mr. Speaker, American workers and consumers are safer today than we
were before September 11, but we are still threatened by terrorists who
seek to destroy American lives and our economy, the very basis of
American power. We must work together as consumers, as workers, as
business proprietors to make sure that the terrorists
[[Page H4894]]
do not succeed. Keeping America at work is job one in that effort. I
thank American business for what they have done in these wars.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Rogers), the author of the bill.
Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle at what I think is an important moment to recognize
some other unsung heroes.
Earlier today we recognized those very brave men and women who wear
the uniform of the United States military and all of their sacrifices,
and certainly rightly so. We have also discovered, I think recently,
the many forms that patriotism can take. Maybe it is the spouse of a
soldier who keeps the home fires burning. It is every American who
believes in liberty's blessings and who cares to pursue every
opportunity and every challenge that democracy offers. But during Iraqi
Freedom and Enduring Freedom, both of those operations, we have seen a
new patriot emerge.
You can imagine, Mr. Speaker, at the time of your notice as a
Reservist or a National Guardsman or -woman all across this country
when that notice comes in and your country calls. You have trained for
it, you have prepared for it, you are willing to serve. But there is
always in the back of your mind that great concern about the family
that you leave behind. Will they be taken care of? Will my employment
be there when I get home? The law requires that at least your
employment be there when you get home, but really nothing more. What we
saw is that when those soldiers gathered up their family and kissed and
hugged them good-bye and went off to do America's good service, our
employers, from smaller companies to large companies, stood tall.
Because the people who were called up were building cars for GM and
Ford, they were delivering packages for United Parcel Service, they
were mechanics, they were nurses, they were doctors, they were
paramedics, police officers; they were machinists in small shops all
across America. Maybe they were working retail. Maybe they were
financial advisers.
In all of those cases, in many, many cases all across this country
these companies stood up and have gone beyond the call of duty in an
effort to maintain their aid and comfort to the soldiers who serve our
great Nation. In many cases, they provided differential pay for these
soldiers and sailors and Marines and airmen and women, those in the
Coast Guard. They provided continued health care for those families.
They continued insurance, all on their own accord. Some even offered
full payment of their services even though they were not working. We
had a smaller company, a fourth-generation company, Magnolia Marketing
Company in Louisiana, who offered its employees when they were notified
that they would leave, that upon their departure they would be paid in
full in addition to their military salaries, and stepped up even
further by setting up a fund with the United Way and challenged
everybody on a matching grant of $35,000 for those companies who could
not afford those kinds of things to provide some help to those families
who were left behind when their country called. This happened again and
again and again, from Michigan to California, from Maine to Florida,
and everybody in between.
Mr. Speaker, there is a new breed of patriot in America, somebody
that understands that the war on terror is fought by every one of us,
not just those who wear the uniform so proudly and so bravely, but
those of us at home who need to stand tall and make sure that the home
fires are burning, that they know that our love and compassion for them
usurps our sole concern for the bottom line.
We need to stand tall today together supporting H. Res. 201, to stand
tall for every business who went beyond the call of duty and stood firm
for the men and women who serve so that their families would not have
to worry when they got home. Mr. Speaker, they deserve our praise and
our admiration. They deserve the call of patriot as we stand here and
recognize them today with the passage of H. Res. 201.
Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman
from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).
Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to rise to
support this resolution honoring our Nation's business owners for their
very strong support of our employees who are members of the National
Guard and Reserve.
The world really witnessed the capability of our troops as they
brought down the repressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan and, of
course, brought freedom to the Afghan people. We again saw recently the
brilliant performance of our troops as they drove out the brutal regime
of Saddam Hussein and freed the Iraqi people. A major component of both
of those efforts was the contribution of the members of the National
Guard and Reserve.
I come from Macomb County, Michigan, very proud home to Selfridge Air
National Guard Base. In fact, Selfridge is somewhat unique in the
inventory, I think nationally, because almost every facet, in fact
every facet of the military is represented there. As I say, it is a
Guard and Reserve base and it became sort of a staging area almost in
the region, and we watched so many of those very brave citizen-soldiers
mobilizing to defend our Nation. They left behind their jobs, they left
behind their families to unselfishly serve to protect our freedom at
home and abroad.
This service absolutely could not have been possible without the
commitment, without the support of the business owners who do their
patriotic duty and support their employees who are called upon by their
Nation.
This, of course, is some hardship to many of these employers. And
oftentimes we see that the Guard and Reserve, many members of them are
members of their local fire fighting force, members of their local
police agency or law enforcement; yet they have the full support of
their employers. The Guard and Reserve are such an important component
of our national defense, as many times has been said, a critical
component of the total force concept. We must continue to fully support
them in their vital mission.
I certainly join my distinguished colleague from Michigan. Both of us
are so proud of having Selfridge. Of course it is in my district, but
Mike Rogers is almost right next door there. He is very familiar, as I
am, with the incredible mission of Selfridge Air National Guard Base as
we see what is happening in our Great Lakes State of Michigan and
throughout our Nation with our Guard and Reserve. I join him in
recognizing the commitment of our Nation's employers because without
their continuing support, none of the service of the outstanding Guard
and Reserve members would be possible.
{time} 1415
Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, in my home congressional district, I have the
headquarters for the National Guard at Camp Blanding in North Central
Florida; so I am well aware of the sacrifices these folks make when
they go off to war. Interestingly enough, a lot of Americans do not
realize this, so I think it is altogether appropriate today that we
recognize the businesses and National Guard, because prior to this we
had the resolution honoring the military who participated over in the
war in Iraq, and we mentioned the National Guard. But, of course, this
resolution is concentrating on the businesses.
There are 216,931 members of the Reserve components of the Armed
Forces. When you think about each one of these people leaving their
families and jobs in service to their country to go off to the war in
Iraq, of course they leave behind employment.
We are talking about hundreds of thousands of employers that had
these people employed. It might be a small business of five people, and
it might be a business of 5,000 or 6,000 employees. But if you take a
small business and you have one individual that leaves it, he
represents 20 percent of the employees of the business. That is a major
sacrifice.
So I think it is altogether fitting this afternoon that we take this
time to recognize these businesses for their exceptional accommodation
for these men and women and to honor them for what they are trying to
do. Of course,
[[Page H4895]]
under the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act,
they have many responsibilities. Again, these responsibilities are
mandated by Congress, but in many ways most of these businesses, almost
all of them, are obligated through patriotism and a sense of resolve to
the war in Iraq to take these people back, to care for them and, in
many cases, give them their back pay. So I think it is altogether
fitting that we this afternoon honor the businesses.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bass). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 201.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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