[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 41 (Friday, March 9, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H2381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DANIEL J. HOLLMANN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONAWAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
congratulate a great American. Mr. Daniel J. Hollmann of Odessa, Texas, 
has been a community leader in Odessa and the Permian Basin for more 
than three decades. A small businessman, family man and steadfast 
volunteer, Dan is one of the shining stars in the Eleventh 
Congressional District of Texas.
  April 1 of this year marks the 30th anniversary of Dan receiving his 
license to practice law and the founding of his own firm, now Hollmann, 
Lyon, Patterson and Durell. Reaching this milestone is a great 
achievement, and I congratulate him for showing the hard work and 
perseverance I know it takes to run a small business.
  I would also like to recognize and congratulate Dan as the 2006 
recipient of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce's Outstanding Citizen of 
the Year Award. The award, given to the chamber member who best 
represents the collective goals of the business community of Odessa, 
was given to Dan because of his extensive volunteer history to the 
community and involvement in volunteerism that led to this award.
  He has donated legal services to various nonprofit organizations, 
including the Formation of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Ector 
County and Catholic Charities Community Services, and is a proud 
supporter of many public school booster clubs, ranging from the Permian 
High School Choir Booster Club to the Odessa High School Basketball 
Booster Club.
  Again, I congratulate my friend Daniel J. Hollmann on all of these 
achievements and thank him for his continued service to our community. 
Other citizens should look to him as a role model, and I am proud to 
represent him in the United States Congress and to call him my friend.


       Proposed Time line for Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Iraq

  Mr. CONAWAY. Madam Speaker, on a different topic altogether, we have 
heard talk that the Democrats will bring forth the idea that we can set 
some sort of an artificial time line on when to get out of Iraq. I 
would argue there are really only two choices in this issue, and this 
third choice is false and misleading.
  Here is the example: let's assume for the sake of this argument that 
Democrats decide in March of 2008 we need to stop this fight. I ask my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle, how do you look those family 
members in the eye whose loved ones are killed or maimed in March of 
2008 and say, gee, if we had known in March of 2007 what we now know in 
March of 2008, that your loved one would have gotten killed, I might 
have thought a February 28 date was a better date.
  Madam Speaker, we have no three choices. We have two choices, and 
they are honorable, in a sense. One is to fight this fight and win, 
which is the choice I believe is the correct one; or we simply raise 
the white flag, admit defeat, say that we have lost and get our troops 
out today. Anything short of that is untenable. The impact it has on 
the war fighter is obvious, ignoring, of course, the impact it has on 
the folks we oppose and the advantages it gives them. We simply cannot 
hamstring our fighters in this fight.
  I cannot face families in July of this year or March of next year and 
say, gee, but for the calendar clicking off, your loved one would not 
have been at risk.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pick sides in this 
fight. Either we fight it or we get out. Pick a side. There is no third 
alternative.

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