[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 57 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H1537-H1538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING OUR VIETNAM VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Williams) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today on this 
important day to commemorate those who served in Vietnam. I want to 
call attention to one servicemember, Colonel Marshall McRee, who passed 
from us just 4 years ago.
  Colonel McRee started his life in North Carolina poor. He chose a 
college because they offered a football scholarship and clothing that 
he could not afford.
  President Kennedy called him up to rush to Florida as a young officer 
in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Colonel McRee went on to serve 
for 30 years. He did two tours in Vietnam. In early 1965, he served 
first as an adviser but then in the fierceness of battles in 1967 and 
1968, in the Battle of Caisson, supporting the Marine Corps from his 
artillery position, supporting marines on long-range patrols during the 
day, and defending his perimeter all night.
  Marshall McRee earned three Bronze Stars with a V for valor for his 
service to our country. He returned to a Nation that was ungrateful, 
and he returned to a Nation that spit upon him when he returned.

                              {time}  1100

  There are those in our highest levels of government today who are 
among those who protested against our veterans before, more recently, 
it became popular to support the veterans.
  I want to add that Marshall McRee did not stand alone. His wife of 
over 50 years, Patricia McRee, was part of the fabric of the Army 
community that when the telegrams would bring news of loss, she was 
part of the fabric of women who came and supported young women who were 
now widows with children who were now fatherless. That was the Army and 
the fabric that they provided.
  I am proud to talk about Colonel and Mrs. McRee because they have a 
beautiful daughter who happens to be my wife. I am very proud to be a 
part of their family, and I am proud to stand up and talk about the 
Vietnam veterans who deserve our respect.


                         Reducing Energy Prices

  Mr. WILLIAMS of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 1 to lower energy costs for New York's 27th Congressional 
District.
  As an expert in energy and a nuclear submarine officer in the Navy, I 
understand firsthand the importance of reliable energy for American 
families, businesses, and national security.
  I stand here in support of H.R. 1 for the men and women of New York's 
22nd District.
  A constituent of mine, Steve Turner, shown right here behind me, is a 
Marine Corps veteran with cancer who is unable to pay his electric 
bills. Five days a week of treatment and soaring energy prices have 
brought this hero to his breaking point.
  This is unacceptable. I can't cure Steve's cancer, but I will be 
damned if I let Steve continue to suffer the indignity of soaring 
energy costs taking food off his table.
  H.R. 1 takes critical steps to promote American energy independence 
and will lower costs for people like Steve and the rest of central New 
York and the Mohawk Valley.
  Burdensome regulations and radical policies are hurting working and 
middle-class Americans through no fault of their own--taking their jobs 
and putting our country last. Let's streamline the process by 
reinvigorating oil and natural gas production, renewables, and nuclear 
energy dominance. The Lower Energy Costs Act is a commonsense solution 
to our Nation's energy challenges.
  Madam Speaker, Steve and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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