[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 104 (Monday, June 23, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1320-E1322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SUNSET MEMORIAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TRENT FRANKS

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2008

  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I stand once again before this 
House with yet another Sunset Memorial.
  It is June 23, 2008, in the land of the free and the home of the 
brave, and before the sun set today in America, almost 4,000 more 
defenseless unborn children were killed by abortion on demand. That's 
just today, Madam Speaker. That's more than the number of innocent 
lives lost on September 11 in this country, only it happens every day.
  It has now been exactly 12,936 days since the tragedy called Roe v. 
Wade was first handed down. Since then, the very foundation of this 
Nation has been stained by the blood of almost 50 million of its own 
children. Some of them, Madam Speaker, cried and screamed as they died, 
but because it was amniotic fluid passing over the vocal cords instead 
of air, we couldn't hear them.
  All of them had at least four things in common. First, they were each 
just little babies who had done nothing wrong to anyone, and each one 
of them died a nameless and lonely death. And each one of their 
mothers, whether she realizes it or not, will never be quite the same. 
And all the gifts that these children might have brought to humanity 
are now lost forever. Yet even in the glare of such tragedy, this 
generation still clings to a blind, invincible ignorance while history 
repeats itself and our own silent genocide mercilessly annihilates the 
most helpless of all victims, those yet unborn.
  Madam Speaker, perhaps it's time for those of us in this Chamber to 
remind ourselves of why we are really all here. Thomas Jefferson said, 
``The care of human life and its happiness and not its destruction is 
the chief and only object of good government.'' The phrase in the 14th 
amendment capsulizes our entire Constitution. It says, ``No State shall 
deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of 
law.'' Madam Speaker, protecting the lives of our innocent citizens and 
their constitutional rights is why we are all here.
  The bedrock foundation of this Republic is the clarion declaration of 
the self-evident truth that all human beings are created equal and 
endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights of life, liberty 
and the pursuit of happiness. Every conflict and battle our Nation has 
ever faced can be traced to our commitment to this core, self-evident 
truth.
  It has made us the beacon of hope for the entire world. Madam 
Speaker, it is who we are.
  And yet today another day has passed, and we in this body have failed 
again to honor that foundational commitment. We have failed our sworn 
oath and our God-given responsibility as we broke faith with nearly 
4,000 more innocent American babies who died today without the 
protection we should have given them. And it seems so sad to me, Madam 
Speaker, that this Sunset Memorial may be the only acknowledgement or 
remembrance these children who died today will ever have in this 
Chamber.
  So as a small gesture, I would ask those in the Chamber who are 
inclined to join me for a moment of silent memorial to these lost 
little Americans.
  So Madam Speaker, let me conclude this Sunset Memorial in the hope 
that perhaps someone new who heard it tonight will finally embrace the 
truth that abortion really does kill little babies; that it hurts 
mothers in ways that we can never express; and that 12,936 days spent 
killing nearly 50 million unborn children in America is enough; and 
that it is time that we stood up together again, and remembered that we 
are the same America that rejected human slavery and marched into 
Europe to arrest the Nazi Holocaust; and we are still courageous and 
compassionate enough to find a better way for mothers and their unborn 
babies than abortion on demand.
  Madam Speaker, as we consider the plight of unborn America tonight, 
may we each remind ourselves that our own days in this sunshine of life 
are also numbered and that all too soon each one of us will walk from 
these Chambers for the very last time.
  And if it should be that this Congress is allowed to convene on yet 
another day to come, may that be the day when we finally hear the cries 
of innocent unborn children. May that be the day when we find the 
humanity, the courage, and the will to embrace together our human and 
our constitutional duty to protect these, the least of our tiny, little 
American brothers and sisters from this murderous, scourge upon our 
Nation called abortion on demand.
  It is June 23, 2008, 12,936 days since Roe versus Wade first stained 
the foundation of this Nation with the blood of its own children; this 
in the land of the free and the home of the brave.


[[Page E1321]]

                       SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

  Title IV of Senate Resolution 4, agreed to by the Senate on February 
4, 1977, calls for establishment of a system for a computerized 
schedule of all meetings and hearings of Senate committees, 
subcommittees, joint committees, and committees of conference. This 
title requires all such committees to notify the Office of the Senate 
Daily Digest--designated by the Rules Committee--of the time, place, 
and purpose of the meetings, when scheduled, and any cancellations or 
changes in the meetings as they occur.
  As an additional procedure along with the computerization of this 
information, the Office of the Senate Daily Digest will prepare this 
information for printing in the Extensions of Remarks section of the 
Congressional Record on Monday and Wednesday of each week.
  Meetings scheduled for Tuesday, June 24, 2008 may be found in the 
Daily Digest of today's Record.

                           MEETINGS SCHEDULED

                                JUNE 25
     9 a.m.
       Judiciary
       Constitution Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine laptop searches and other 
           violations of privacy faced by Americans returning from 
           overseas travel.
                                                            SD-226
     9:30 a.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
         To hold hearings to examine the increased global energy 
           demand, focusing on the challenges for meeting future 
           energy needs, while developing new technologies to 
           address the current and future global climate change.
                                                            SD-366
       Foreign Relations
         To hold hearings to examine a new strategy for an 
           enhanced partnership with Pakistan.
                                                            SD-419
       Joint Economic Committee
         To hold hearings to examine the United States economy, 
           focusing on the skyrocketing oil prices.
                                                            SD-106
     10 a.m.
       Environment and Public Works
         To hold hearings to examine the future federal role for 
           surface transportation.
                                                            SD-406
       Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
         Business meeting to consider S. 2583, to amend the 
           Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 
           3321 note) in order to prevent the loss of billions in 
           taxpayer dollars, S. 1924, to amend chapter 81 of title 
           5, United States Code, to create a presumption that a 
           disability or death of a Federal employee in fire 
           protection activities caused by any of certain diseases 
           is the result of the performance of such employee's 
           duty, H.R. 5683, to make certain reforms with respect 
           to the Government Accountability Office, S. 3013, to 
           provide for retirement equity for Federal employees in 
           nonforeign areas outside the 48 contiguous States and 
           the District of Columbia, S. 3175, to amend the Robert 
           T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
           Act to reauthorize the predisaster hazard mitigation 
           program, to make technical corrections to that Act, S. 
           2382, to require the Administrator of the Federal 
           Emergency Management Agency to quickly and fairly 
           address the abundance of surplus manufactured housing 
           units stored by the Federal Government around the 
           country at taxpayer expense, S. 2148, to provide for 
           greater diversity within, and to improve policy 
           direction and oversight of, the Senior Executive 
           Service, S. 2816, to provide for the appointment of the 
           Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of 
           Homeland Security by the Secretary of Homeland 
           Security, S. 3015, to designate the facility of the 
           United States Postal Service located at 18 S. G Street, 
           Lakeview, Oregon, as the ``Dr. Bernard Daly Post Office 
           Building'', H.R. 5395 and S. 2622, bills to designate 
           the facility of the United States Postal Service 
           located at 11001 Dunklin Drive in St. Louis, Missouri, 
           as the ``William 'Bill'' Clay Post Office Building', 
           H.R. 5479, to designate the facility of the United 
           States Postal Service located at 117 North Kidd Street 
           in Ionia, Michigan, as the ``Alonzo Woodruff Post 
           Office Building'', H.R. 4185, to designate the facility 
           of the United States Postal Service located at 11151 
           Valley Boulevard in El Monte, California, as the 
           ``Marisol Heredia Post Office Building'', H.R. 5528, to 
           designate the facility of the United States Postal 
           Service located at 120 Commercial Street in Brockton, 
           Massachusetts, as the ``Rocky Marciano Post Office 
           Building'', H.R. 3721, to designate the facility of the 
           United States Postal Service located at 1190 Lorena 
           Road in Lorena, Texas, as the ``Marine Gunnery Sgt. 
           John D. Fry Post Office Building'', H.R. 5517, to 
           designate the facility of the United States Postal 
           Service located at 7231 FM 1960 in Humble, Texas, as 
           the ``Texas Military Veterans Post Office'', H.R. 5168, 
           to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
           Service located at 19101 Cortez Boulevard in 
           Brooksville, Florida, as the ``Cody Grater Post Office 
           Building'', S. 3082, to designate the facility of the 
           United States Postal Service located at 1700 Cleveland 
           Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, as the ``Reverend Earl 
           Abel Post Office Building'', and the nomination of 
           Elaine C. Duke, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for 
           Management, Department of Homeland Security.
                                                            SD-342
       Small Business and Entrepreneurship
         To hold hearings to examine solutions to cope with the 
           rise in home heating oil prices.
                                                           SR-428A
     11 a.m.
       Appropriations
       Energy and Water Development Subcommittee
         Business meeting to markup proposed budget estimates for 
           fiscal year 2009 for the Energy Information 
           Administration, focusing on forecasts for oil and 
           gasoline prices.
                                                            SD-192
     2:30 p.m.
       Armed Services
         To hold closed hearings to examine the current situation 
           in Afghanistan.
                                                            SR-222
       Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
         Business meeting to consider the nominations of Neel T. 
           Kashkari, of California, to be an Assistant Secretary 
           of the Treasury, Christopher R. Wall, of Virginia, to 
           be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Sheila McNamara 
           Greenwood, of Louisiana, to be an Assistant Secretary 
           of Housing and Urban Development, Susan D. Peppler, of 
           California, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and 
           Urban Development, Joseph J. Murin, of Pennsylvania, to 
           be President, Government National Mortgage Association, 
           Luis Aguilar, of Georgia, Troy A. Paredes, of Missouri, 
           and Elisse Walter, of Maryland, all to be Members of 
           the Securities and Exchange Commission, Donald B. 
           Marron, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Council of 
           Economic Advisers, and Michael E. Fryzel, of Illinois, 
           to be a Member of the National Credit Union 
           Administration Board.
                                                            SD-538

                                JUNE 26
     9:30 a.m.
       Armed Services
         To hold hearings to examine the nominations of Nelson M. 
           Ford, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of the Army, 
           Joseph A. Benkert, of Virginia, to be an Assistant 
           Secretary, Sean Joseph Stackley, of Virginia, to be an 
           Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and Frederick S. 
           Celec, of Virginia, to be Assistant to the Secretary 
           for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense 
           Programs, all of the Department of Defense.
                                                            SD-106
       Veterans' Affairs
         Business meeting to markup S. 2969, to amend title 38, 
           United States Code, to enhance the capacity of the 
           Department of Veterans Affairs to recruit and retain 
           nurses and other critical health-care professionals, S. 
           2309, to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify 
           the service treatable as service engaged in combat with 
           the enemy for utilization of non-official evidence for 
           proof of service-connection in a combat-related disease 
           or injury, S. 22, to amend title 38, United States 
           Code, to establish a program of educational assistance 
           for members of the Armed Forces who serve in the Armed 
           Forces after September 11, 2001, S. 2617, to increase, 
           effective as of December 1, 2008, the rates of 
           compensation for veterans with service-connected 
           disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity 
           compensation for the survivors of certain disabled 
           veterans, and an original bill to provide technical 
           corrections to S. 22, the Post 9/11 Veterans 
           Educational Assistance Act of 2007; to be immediately 
           followed by a hearing to examine the nomination of 
           Christine O. Hill, to be Assistant Secretary of 
           Veterans Affairs for Congressional Affairs.
                                                            SR-418
     10 a.m.
       Commerce, Science, and Transportation
       Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine the outlook for summer air 
           travel, focusing on addressing congestion and delay.
                                                            SR-253
       Finance
         To hold hearings to examine the foundation of 
           international tax reform, focusing on worldwide, 
           territorial, and other related issues.
                                                            SD-215
       Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
         To hold hearings to examine nuclear terrorism, focusing 
           on the federal response for providing medical care and

[[Page E1322]]

           meeting basic needs in the aftermath of an attack.
                                                            SD-342
       Indian Affairs
         To hold an oversight hearing to examine access to 
           contract health services in Indian country.
                                                            SD-562
       Judiciary
         Business meeting to consider S. 2979, to exempt the 
           African National Congress from treatment as a terrorist 
           organization, H.R. 5690, to remove the African National 
           Congress from treatment as a terrorist organization for 
           certain acts or events, provide relief for certain 
           members of the African National Congress regarding 
           admissibility, S. 2892, to promote the prosecution and 
           enforcement of frauds against the United States by 
           suspending the statute of limitations during times when 
           Congress has authorized the use of military force, S. 
           1211, to amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide 
           enhanced penalties for marketing controlled substances 
           to minors, S. 3155, to reauthorize and improve the 
           Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 
           1974, S. 2746, to amend section 552(b)(3) of title 5, 
           United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom 
           of Information Act) to provide that statutory 
           exemptions to the disclosure requirements of that Act 
           shall specifically cite to the provision of that Act 
           authorizing such exemptions, to ensure an open and 
           deliberative process in Congress by providing for 
           related legislative proposals to explicitly state such 
           required citations, S. 3061, to authorize 
           appropriations for fiscal years 2008 through 2011 for 
           the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, to 
           enhance measures to combat trafficking in persons, S. 
           Res. 594, designating September 2008 as ``Tay-Sachs 
           Awareness Month'', and the nominations of Paul G. 
           Gardephe, to be United States District Judge for the 
           Southern District of New York, Kiyo A. Matsumoto, to be 
           United States District Judge for the Eastern District 
           of New York, Cathy Seibel, to be United States District 
           Judge for the Southern District of New York, Glenn T. 
           Suddaby, to be United States District Judge for the 
           Northern District of New York, Kelly Harrison Rankin, 
           to be United States Attorney for the District of 
           Wyoming, and Clyde R. Cook, Jr., to be United States 
           Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
                                                            SD-226
     2 p.m.
       Appropriations
         Business meeting to markup proposed budget estimates for 
           fiscal year 2009 for Labor, Health and Human Services, 
           Education, and related agencies.
                                                            SD-106
       Judiciary
       Crime and Drugs Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine effective ways to catch 
           fugitives in the 21st century.
                                                            SD-226
     2:30 p.m.
       Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
       Children and Families Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine reauthorization of the Child 
           Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)(Public Law 
           93-247), focusing on protecting children and 
           strengthening families.
                                                            SD-430
       Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
       Federal Financial Management, Government Information, 
           Federal Services, and International Security 
           Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine addressing the nation's 
           financial challenges.
                                                            SD-342

                                 JULY 9
     2:30 p.m.
       Energy and Natural Resources
       Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee
         To hold hearings to examine S. 2443 and H.R. 2246, bills 
           to provide for the release of any revisionary interest 
           of the United States in and to certain lands in Reno, 
           Nevada, S. 2779, to amend the Surface Mining Control 
           and Reclamation Act of 1977 to clarify that uncertified 
           States and Indian tribes have the authority to use 
           certain payments for certain noncoal reclamation 
           projects, S. 2875, to authorize the Secretary of the 
           Interior to provide grants to designated States and 
           tribes to carry out programs to reduce the risk of 
           livestock loss due to predation by gray wolves and 
           other predator species or to compensate landowners for 
           livestock loss due to predation, S. 2898 and H.R. 816, 
           bills to provide for the release of certain land from 
           the Sunrise Mountain Instant Study Area in the State of 
           Nevada, S. 3088, to designate certain land in the State 
           of Oregon as wilderness, S. 3089, to designate certain 
           land in the State of Oregon as wilderness, to provide 
           for the exchange of certain Federal land and non-
           Federal land, and S. 3157, to provide for the exchange 
           and conveyance of certain National Forest System land 
           and other land in southeast Arizona.
                                                            SD-366