[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H2452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SUPPORTING AND PROPERLY EQUIPPING OUR BRAVE TROOPS OVERSEAS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute Staff Sergeant 
Eugene Simon of Beaumont, Texas. It has come to my attention through a 
number of e-mails and other contacts from families in my district about 
the concerns that many of them are having about our fighting men and 
women in Iraq. But Staff Sergeant Eugene Simon of Beaumont wrote to me 
recently, and I want to bring to our colleagues' attention his e-mail 
that he sent me from his station there in Iraq.
  Staff Sergeant Simon and his fellow troops are having a hard time 
protecting themselves from hostile action, especially in the Humvees 
they are traveling around in in Iraq. He said that he and the other 
brave, committed and dedicated troops, and this is his quote, ``cut 
some metals to put a little something on each door'' of their Humvees. 
And that is because they do not have the proper armor on their 
transportation.
  I inspected an armored Humvee today on Capitol Hill, and it disgusts 
me that our troops have to weld scrap metal on to their Humvees. Troops 
need properly armored vehicles. They need to withstand small arms 
attacks and roadside bombs. Can we really afford to sell our troops 
short when it comes to providing them what they need to protect their 
lives?
  That is why I have sent a letter to the Department of Defense calling 
for immediate action at whatever the cost might be to provide the 
equipment and the materials to protect our brave young fighting men and 
women, and I ask every Member of Congress to join me in demanding more 
protection for our troops. It is an absolute outrage to me that rock 
stars on the streets of Los Angeles have safer limousines and safer 
transportation than our brave men and women do in Iraq. This situation 
cannot continue.
  Let us keep supporting our brave troops for all their valiant efforts 
overseas. We want them to know that, and we do indeed. But let us also 
let them know that their country stands behind them with our actions, 
not just our talk.

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