[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5] [House] [Pages 6614-6616] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]EXPRESSING SYMPATHY TO FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND COWORKERS OF VERONICA ``RONI'' BOWERS AND CHARITY BOWERS Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on International Relations be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 117) expressing sympathy to the family, friends, and coworkers of Veronica ``Roni'' Bowers and Charity Bowers, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina? Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, and I shall not object, will the gentleman please explain the purpose of the resolution. Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield? Mr. HOEKSTRA. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina. Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, on April 20, 2001, a Peruvian fighter jet mistakenly shot down a small seaplane carrying Baptist missionaries from Muskegon, Michigan, over the jungles of Peru. Believing that the small plane was engaged in drug trafficking, the Peruvian pilot attacked this small aircraft, killing two of its passengers, a mother and her infant daughter, and severely wounding the pilot. As you may know, Roni Bowers, her husband James, their 6-year-old son Cory and 7-month-old adopted daughter Charity were flying aboard the seaplane when it was intercepted and attacked by the Peruvian fighter. The aircraft, owned by the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, was en route to Iquitos, Peru to acquire visa documents for newly adopted Charity. Although severely wounded in the attack, pilot Kevin Donaldson was able to land the plane safely. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, Roni and Charity Bowers were killed in the burst of gunfire. James and Cory Bowers escaped serious injury in the incident. An investigation into this matter is now underway. H. Con. Res. 117 expresses Congress' deepest and most heartfelt sympathy to James and Cory Bowers, their extended family, and to their friends and fellow missionaries. It commends wounded pilot Kevin Donaldson for his bravery and skill in safely landing his crippled aircraft and wishes him a speedy recovery. Finally, it calls on the Governments of the United States and Peru to undertake a cooperative and thorough investigation into this incident to ensure that similar incidents will be avoided in the future. I want to commend my colleague from Michigan, Mr. Hoekstra, for this timely and important resolution and I join him in extending my personal condolences to the Bowers family. I urge my colleagues to support this passage. Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, continuing my reservation, let me just share a few facts about the tragedy on April 20. James and Veronica, also known as Roni Bowers of Muskegon, Michigan, were missionaries affiliated with the Calvary Church of Fruitport, Michigan, and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. The Bowerses conducted their Christian mission work [[Page 6615]] with their children, Cory and Charity, serving the native tribes along the Amazon River in the South American country of Peru. They had been there since 1995. On Friday, April 20, 2001, the Bowerses were flying in an Association of Baptists for World Evangelism plane piloted by Kevin Donaldson, traveling from the Peru-Brazil border to Iquitos, Peru, after attempting to secure necessary visa documents for their newly adopted daughter, Charity. The plane was wrongly attacked by a fighter jet of the Peruvian Air Force in an apparent attempted antidrug interdiction effort that may have also involved personnel of the United States. Roni and Charity Bowers were killed by bullets that were fired by the Peruvian jet into the plane, and pilot Kevin Donaldson was also severely injured in the attack. Kevin Donaldson, despite his injuries, was able to safely land his plane on the Amazon River, saving the lives of his other passengers. The family, friends, and coworkers of Roni and Charity Bowers have displayed a shining example of their faith and grace in the face of this terrible tragedy. With this resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives expresses and conveys its deepest and most heartfelt sympathies for the loss of Roni and Charity Bowers to Jim and Cory Bowers, as well as to their extended families and their friends, their coworkers and fellow missionaries at the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. With this resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives commends Kevin Donaldson for his heroic actions in safely landing the plane, and further wishes Mr. Donaldson a speedy and complete recovery from his injuries. And with this resolution, the U.S. House of Representatives strongly encourage the governments of the United States and Peru to work together as expeditiously as possible to determine all the circumstances that led to this unfortunate and regrettable incident and to ensure that an incident of this kind never occurs again. Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my good friend and colleague's resolution expressing our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Roni and Charity Bowers for their tragic loss, and also our admiration and wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to pilot Kevin Donaldson. The calling to perform God's work is not given to all, and not all heed this call to serve. Missionaries, like the Bowers family and Mr. Donaldson, are blessed in their dedication to improve the lives of their fellow man and their service to spread the word of God so that all might know His love and promise of redemption. The good work of these people must be commended, and the loss of a young mother and child to a tragic mistake is heart-wrenching. Mr. Speaker, while we are rightfully deeply concerned with the circumstances of this tragedy, we must not allow it to deter our resolve to fight the trafficking of illegal drugs that have affected not only families and children living in the United States, but indeed all those in the Americas. I call on all my colleagues to support Congressman Hoekstra's resolution to express our heartfelt sympathies and condolences, and to strongly encourage a prompt and thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to this tragic outcome. The details surrounding the attack by the Peruvian fighter jet need to be determined, and we must find a way for our governments to effectively work together to ensure illegal drugs are not allowed to continue to poison our children and our societies, and also that never again will innocent civilians suffer due to an interdiction mission gone awry. Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the Bowers and Donaldson families for their loss. I commend Congressman Hoekstra for bringing this resolution to the floor. It is the right thing to do. My committee held a hearing today, chaired by subcommittee chairman Mark Souder. What became readily apparent from a variety of administration witnesses, is the CIA was responsible for this tragedy, yet they refused to return staff phone calls, member requests for briefings, and to provide a witness for the hearing. Instead the hearing resembled Abbott and Costello's ``Who's on First'' routine. There is an established procedure for air interdiction. It has worked successfully nearly 100 times since it was implemented in 1995. Clearly this procedure was not followed here. Why? Why is all information surrounding the shootdown classified? Why does the CIA refuse to provide legitimate oversight committees in the Congress with briefings or witnesses? Why does the CIA refuse to provide a witness? All of these questions need to be answered, and I hope Chairman Souder continues to pursue this matter in his subcommittee with oversight jurisdiction on this matter. But, what cannot be done, is to give the drug traffickers a green light to resume their illegal activity that has been significantly slowed by the air interdiction program. I would like to submit for the record this AP article in which the Bowers family indicates that their tragedy should not stop the program. Mr. Bowers is quoted as saying ``the United States should quickly resume drug surveillance flights . . . to say there needs to be an entire review of the whole program and suspend it and to let the drug people continue their business as usual is wrong.'' If a grieving husband and father can say this, the government should take note, and get back to providing the necessary coverage to stifle the drug flights as soon as possible. There is an avenue here to consolidate these surveillance flights under one roof. The U.S. Customs Service already does this mission very well. They are a law enforcement agency with strict rules of engagement. It may be time to give this entire account--and most importantly the additional assets and funding necessary to successfully complete the mission--to the Customs Service. This means more P-3 surveillance planes as well as Citation aircraft. By placing this in one department who does not use civilian contractors, will leave the responsibility in one place. There will be no question of who is responsible, and where to go with questions. The acting Customs Commissioner at the hearing today said they would be able to do this if they were given the assets and the mission. I think it is time we in Congress gain some accountability by giving them the responsibility for this mission. Thank you Mr. Speaker, and may God bless and comfort the Bowers and Donaldson families in their time of mourning. [From the Associated Press, Apr. 30, 2001] Missionary Says Drug Surveillance Should Resume Quickly (By Bill Kaczor) Pensacola, FL (AP).--A missionary says the United States should quickly resume drug surveillance flights suspended after his wife and adopted baby were killed in Peru when they were mistaken for drug smugglers and shot down. Jim Bowers, who survived unharmed when their small plane crash landed after being fired upon by a Peruvian warplane April 20, said Monday he has expressed that view in a call to Secretary of State Colin Powell's office. ``To say there needs to be an entire review of the whole program and suspend it and to let the drug people continue their business as usual is wrong,'' Bowers said at a news conference. He said it should take investigators no more than a day to figure out the shooting was simple error. The Peruvian air force failed to contact a control tower that was in radio contact with the missionaries' float plane before shooting at it without first firing any warning shots, Bowers said. ``The main error in this whole thing is they were too quick to the trigger,'' he said. ``I don't hold anyone responsible. It was a mistake as though someone fell asleep at the wheel and ran into us in a vehicle.'' A U.S. Central Intelligence Agency aircraft had detected the missionaries' plane and notified the Peruvian air force. American officials say the surveillance crew, however, had advised it appeared, from the way the plane was flying, that it was not a drug smuggling flight. Bowers, 38, of Muskegon, Mich., was in Pensacola for the funeral and burial Sunday of his wife, Veronica ``Roni'' Bowers, 35, and their 7-month-old daughter, Charity. He stayed with family in Wake County, N.C., immediately after the shooting. The couple's 6-year-old son, Cory, also survived uninjured, but the plane's pilot, Kevin Donaldson, 41, of Morgantown, Pa., was wounded. Bowers spoke to reporters at Marcus Points Baptist Church where the funeral services was held. His wife's parents, John and Gloria Luttig, of nearby Pace, are members of the church, which had helped support the couple's missionary work. Bowers expressed his forgiveness to all involved at the funeral and during a memorial service Friday at his home church in Michigan. He said Monday he also hopes to talk personally with the Peruvian pilot who fired on their plane. ``I'm looking forward to that some day, but right now, I'm praying for him,'' Bowers said. Although insisting he wasn't placing blame, Bowers said the pilot failed to give [[Page 6616]] the missionaries a chance to land before he started shooting. ``I was assuming, because I've watched movies just like you all have, that there would be some kind of communication, they would come up next to us and let us know what they wanted,'' Bowers told reporters. The air force plane swooped by a half-dozen times and began firing only five or 10 minutes after the first pass, he said. ``Any decent air force pilot would give the other aircraft time to understand his intentions,'' Bowers said. ``I just thought this is way too soon for them to be shooting already.'' He said he saw a puff of smoke from the front of the warplane and told Donaldson he thought it was shooting at them just as the bullets began ripping through their aircraft. A single bullet instantly killed his wife and daughter. Bowers said neither he nor anyone else from his family or church has been in contact with the baby's natural parents, but he said they knew she had been killed. The couple's missionary work also has been supported by Calvary Church in Fruitport, Mich., and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, based in New Cumberland, Pa. Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina. There was no objection. The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows: H. Con. Res. 117 Whereas James and Veronica ``Roni'' Bowers of Muskegon, Michigan, served as missionaries affiliated with the Calvary Church of Fruitport, Michigan, and the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism; Whereas the Bowerses conducted their Christian mission work with their children, Cory and Charity, serving the native tribes along the Amazon River in Peru since 1995; Whereas on Friday, April 20, 2001, the Bowerses were flying in an Association of Baptists for World Evangelism plane piloted by Kevin Donaldson, traveling from the Peru-Brazil border to the city of Iquitos, Peru, after attempting to secure necessary visa documents for their adopted daughter, Charity; Whereas the plane was mistakenly attacked by a fighter jet of the Peruvian Air Force in an apparent attempted anti-drug interdiction effort that may have also involved personnel of the United States; Whereas Roni and Charity Bowers were killed, and pilot Kevin Donaldson was severely injured in the attack; Whereas Kevin Donaldson, despite his injuries, was able to safely land his plane on the Amazon River, saving the lives of his other passengers; and Whereas the family, friends, and co-workers of Roni and Charity Bowers have displayed a shining example of their faith and grace in the face of this terrible tragedy: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) expresses and conveys its deepest and most heartfelt sympathies to Jim and Cory Bowers and to their extended families, friends, co-workers, and fellow missionaries at the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, for the loss of Veronica ``Roni'' Bowers and Charity Bowers in an attack by a fighter jet of the Peruvian Air Force on the plane in which they were traveling; (2) commends Kevin Donaldson for his heroic actions in safely landing the plane and wishes Mr. Donaldson a speedy and complete recovery from his injuries; and (3) strongly encourages the Governments of the United States and Peru to work together as expeditiously as possible to determine all the circumstances that led to this unfortunate and regrettable incident and to ensure that an incident of this kind never occurs again. The concurrent resolution was agreed to. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________