[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8983-S8985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THOMAS VANDER WOUDE

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, we also, I think, need a government 
that will stand up for the weakest and most vulnerable amongst us as 
well.
  I have got a real story of human heroism that I wanted to share with 
the body, and then I am hopeful we can agree to a piece of legislation 
that Senator Kennedy and I have done that has been rolled into this 
bigger package that has drawn a lot of difficulty.
  But this is a piece Senator Kennedy and I have worked on for a couple 
of years now. There is no reason for this to be blocked. So I am 
hopeful we can then move to it and pass it through this body, move it 
on forward.
  I have got a picture of a gentleman. I want to show you a wonderful 
man. This is Thomas Vander Woude. This is an incredible story here in 
the suburbs around Washington, DC. On September 8, Thomas Vander Woude 
returned from mass that he had gone to in Gainesville, VA. He attended 
mass regularly and was working in his yard with his youngest son, who 
is 20 years old, Joseph. He is known by the family as Josie. Josie is a 
Downs syndrome adult. He fell through a 2 foot by 2 foot piece of metal 
that covered an opening to a septic tank, Josie did. His dad Thomas 
immediately rushed to his aid. According to an account in the 
Washington Post, when he saw that Joseph could not keep his head above 
the muck, Vander Woude, who was 66, jumped in the tank, ``submerged 
himself in sewage so he could push his son up from below and keep his 
head above the muck.''

[[Page S8984]]

  Tom Vander Woude saved his son, but he drowned in the process. As it 
is stated so eloquently: There is no greater love than to lay down your 
life for another. And Tom Vander Woude laid down his life for his 20-
year-old Downs syndrome son. This is a beautiful story that has taken 
place of the dedication of a father for his son, an act of heroism, but 
in his quiet life of dedication to his son, to his wife Mary Ellen of 
43 years, to his six sons, 24 grandchildren, and to his country.
  Tom served his Nation as a pilot in Vietnam, and after the war worked 
as a commercial airline pilot. Around the community of Gainesville, 
though, he was known as a generous neighbor, a volunteer at church, a 
basketball and soccer coach for the high school in Manassas that five 
of his sons attended.
  He was also a farmer, something dear to my heart, I know to the 
Chair, the Presiding Officer as well. Most of all, he was known as 
Josie's devoted dad. Wherever you found Tom--at a game, at church, 
helping a neighbor--there was Josie, lending a hand.
  Tom Vander Woude knew the value of his son's life. He considered it 
so precious that he gave his own to save it. He never considered the 
special care and attention that Joseph required because of his Downs 
syndrome, he never considered that a burden to the family. On the 
contrary, ``he always considered Joseph a wonderful blessing to the 
family,'' a special gift from God who brings out the best in his family 
and the lives of all of those he touches.
  This is true of so many families who have children with difficulties. 
They find that through all of the difficulty and trial of caring for 
and providing for their child who has a mental disability, these 
special individuals are ambassadors of love and of understanding, 
filled with an openness and unconditional affection that acts as 
a humanizing force of compassion in their families and in their 
communities.

  But we have to be open to this kind of gift and to the potential of 
every human life to make our world a better place. Now that I reflect 
on Tom Vander Woude and the value he placed on the life of his son, I 
also thought of Sarah Palin and what she said about her son, Trig, born 
in April. When the Governor and her husband Todd were told last year 
that the child she was expecting in May would be born with Downs 
syndrome, they knew that ending that pregnancy was never an option for 
them. After all, why would it be? ``We understand,'' she was quoted as 
saying at the time, ``that every innocent life has wonderful 
potential.''
  The problem is that between 80 and 90 percent of the children 
diagnosed with Downs syndrome in the United States will not make it to 
the world, simply because they have a positive genetic test in prenatal 
screening, tests which can be wrong, by the way. I have had a number of 
people come up to me and say they had a positive Downs syndrome 
designation and the child was born and the child did not have Downs 
syndrome.
  America is poorer because of this. To deny children with disabilities 
a chance at life will make us more insensitive, callous, and jaded, and 
will take away from the diversity of American life. I do not think this 
is what we were meant to do.
  So Senator Kennedy and I, for about 2 years now, have been working on 
a bill. What we are trying to do with this bill is to see that more 
Downs syndrome children make it here and get here. It is a pretty 
simple bill that establishes a registry of people who are willing to 
adopt Downs syndrome children. So that if someone gets that diagnosis 
and they say, I cannot handle it, fine. The answer is not to kill the 
child, the answer is to put the child up for adoption. We have got 
people willing to adopt it, and also to put forward information to 
people about the current condition of a Downs syndrome child and what 
all is available, because a lot is available for this child.
  So we worked a long time, got the spending lined up--we are in good 
shape on that--and we are ready to move forward with this so we can get 
more of these special kids here.
  What I was hoping we can do, and we had it almost passed through, and 
then this got caught up in the clutter of things, was that we could get 
this bill hot-lined--Senator Kennedy's sister is a big proponent of 
this, has done great work with the Special Olympics--that we could do 
this. It got caught up in this overall package. Nobody objects to this 
bill. What I would like to see us do is let us take the pieces of this 
overall omnibus that we can agree to and let's do them. So then we have 
got some progress that is being shown.


                   Unanimous-Consent Request--S. 1810

  I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of Calendar No. 701, S. 1810, the Prenatally and 
Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act. The lead sponsors are 
Senator Kennedy and myself.
  I ask unanimous consent that the amendment at the desk be agreed to, 
the committee-reported amendment, as amended, be agreed to, the bill as 
amended be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table with no interviewing action or debate, and that we 
can get more of these special children here.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. SANDERS. On behalf of the leadership, I object. This bill, as I 
understand it, is part of a number of bills that are noncontroversial 
and are going to be included together.


                   Unanimous-Consent Request--S. 3297

  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 784, S. 3297; the bill be 
read a third time and passed; and the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I object.
  Madam President, I would say, let's take pieces of that overall big 
bill that we can agree to.


             Unanimous-Consent Request--S. 1810 and Others

  I ask unanimous consent that we agree to consider S. 1810 which I 
cited, and then the PROTECT Our Children Act, and the Effective Child 
Pornography Prosecution Act--they have all been considered and cleared 
on both sides--and we move to the immediate consideration of those.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. SANDERS. On behalf of the leadership, I object. I understand that 
is contained within a group of other noncontroversial bills.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, I hope we could move forward with 
this. It would show that we can get something done in the body. There 
is no objection. We have worked on this for multiple years. We have got 
the funding worked out. This is a time in the country where people have 
heightened awareness of the genetic discrimination that takes place in 
utero. We have passed bills here that said you cannot discriminate 
against an individual for their genetic type once they are born, but in 
utero they are killed. That surely is not something that people want or 
defend or think is right.
  This is not even a limitation on that. It is saying that all we are 
going to do here is establish a registry and provide current 
information if you get a Downs syndrome designation. I hope in the 
interest of this wonderful gentleman Tom Vander Woude we could see this 
considered. I am sad that we are not doing that in this particular 
situation.
  The day after Trig was born to the Palins, they released the 
following statement. I thought it was so beautiful, I will read it 
here:

       Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We know through 
     early testing he would face special challenges. We feel 
     privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow 
     us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith 
     that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential 
     to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.

  All we are asking is that more people would really have that 
opportunity to do that or, if they don't feel they can handle it, to 
put that child up for adoption on a registry that we establish. It 
would be an important thing for us to be able to move forward with. I 
am sorry we cannot get that piece done here today.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Salazar). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.

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  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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