[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13741-13744]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 SENSE OF THE HOUSE COMMENDING NATION'S BUSINESSES AND BUSINESS OWNERS 
              FOR SUPPORT OF OUR TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the

[[Page 13742]]

resolution (H. Res. 201) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives that our Nation's businesses and business owners should 
be commended for their support of our troops and their families as they 
serve our country in many ways, especially in these days of increased 
engagement of our military in strategic locations around our Nation and 
around the world.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 201

       Whereas over 216,931 members of the reserve components of 
     the Armed Forces have been called to leave their families and 
     their jobs, in service to this country and her citizens;
       Whereas businesses of every size and scope have been 
     impacted as their employees who are members of the reserve 
     components of the Armed Forces have been called away from 
     their employment in local business and industry;
       Whereas businesses across the Nation have been 
     exceptionally accommodating to the unique demands on the 
     time, resources, and responsibilities of employee spouses and 
     families of active duty military personnel who have been 
     deployed for service; and
       Whereas business owners have made sacrifices so that they 
     might ensure observance of the letter and the spirit of the 
     Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act in 
     many ways including: restoring employment status after 
     military service obligation has been fulfilled, providing 
     continuation of health benefits to active duty employees and 
     their dependents, and committing uninterrupted pension and 
     retirement benefits: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that--
       (1) the businesses that establish the backbone of our 
     Nation in times of peace and rise to a greater standard of 
     resolve in times of challenge do so by--
       (A) carrying on the good work of commerce, industry, and 
     innovation; and
       (B) steadfastly supporting the members of our military and 
     their families; and
       (2) the business owners of our Nation deserve our 
     commendation and sincere expression of gratitude.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Stearns) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns).


                             General Leave

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 201.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 201, authored by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers). The resolution commends America's 
businesses and business owners for their support of our troops and 
their families, in particular their support for the Reservists and 
National Guardsmen called into active duty.
  As of today, nearly 220,000 members of the Reserve component of our 
Armed Forces have been called to active duty, leaving their families, 
homes, and their jobs to serve their country. Over 5,300 of those 
brave, part-time soldiers are from my home State of Florida. These men 
and women have volunteered to lay down their lives in defense of our 
country and the principles for which it stands, and have done so in 
their capacity as ordinary citizens, not professional soldiers.
  They are extraordinary citizens with ordinary jobs. They are cooks, 
teachers, mechanics, doctors, salesmen, truckers, secretaries, lawyers, 
technicians and so forth, that when called to serve their country, 
became extraordinary citizens and full-time warriors sacrificing 
greatly, both personally and, of course, financially.
  Our military today is dependent on these extraordinary citizens and 
of course these part-time soldiers. The 1.2 million Guard and Reserve 
personnel now make up nearly 46 percent of all U.S. military forces. 
When activated, Reservists and National Guardsmen have to leave their 
jobs abruptly, forcing their employers to face the serious challenge of 
losing a very valuable employee.
  American businesses have stood by their employees called to serve 
their country. H. Res. 201 aptly states American businesses ``have made 
sacrifices so that they might ensure observance of the letter and the 
spirit of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act 
in many ways including: restoring employment status after military 
service obligation has been fulfilled, providing continuation of health 
benefits to active duty employees and their dependents, and committing 
uninterrupted pension and retirement benefits.''

                              {time}  1400

  Indeed, Mr. Speaker, many American businesses, recognizing the 
hardship placed on the families of these servicemen due to the 
differential in their civilian and military incomes while on active 
duty, make up that difference for a period of between several days and 
a year or more. A recent survey by the Reserve Officers Association of 
the United States found that of the 154 Fortune 500 corporations that 
responded to the survey, 105 companies, or 68 percent, make up the 
difference in that pay. Last year, just 75 of the 132 responding 
companies, or 56 percent, did so. And in the year 2001, the number was 
53 of 119, or 45 percent of the responding companies.
  Mr. Speaker, I conclude by wishing our men and women of the Armed 
Forces Godspeed and commending American businesses that have supported 
them, especially our Reservists and National Guardsmen, the 
extraordinary citizen. I urge my colleagues to support this piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
make a few brief comments in support of H. Res. 201.
  House Resolution 201 honors businesses and business owners across our 
great Nation for their unwavering support for the men and women of the 
Reserves who have been called into service in unprecedented numbers to 
fight the war against terrorism at home and abroad. Businesses large 
and small have been exceptional in their commitment to supporting 
active duty Reservists and their families. Because of their support, 
the men and women of the Reserves can be secure in knowing that their 
job will be waiting for them when their service is fulfilled, with no 
loss of pension and retirement benefits or promotion opportunities, and 
that their families' needs were provided for in their absence.
  These businesses embody the true spirit of America. For these reasons 
I urge adoption of House Resolution 201.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Cox).
  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I am very, very pleased that we are here 
commending America's businesses and, more specifically, American 
business men and women for what they have done in their places of work 
to help support our war effort in the war in Iraq, the war in 
Afghanistan, and the war against terror, because, frankly, the war 
against terror has placed an enormous burden on our economy.
  According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, fear of terrorism 
since September 11, fear of the war in Iraq and now a mysterious 
respiratory disease called SARS have disrupted both business and 
leisure travel to the extent that half of all jobs lost since September 
11 have been in the travel and tourism industry. One out of every seven 
people in the U.S. private sector workforce--or 18 million people--are 
employed directly or indirectly in travel and tourism jobs. This 
industry is a big industry. It is a $100 billion industry, not in 
revenue, not in assets, but in taxes paid to Federal, State and local 
governments.
  Losing so many jobs in this industry is obviously a victory for the 
terrorists, but it is a victory that will be short-lived. Obviously, 
when people stop flying, when they stop traveling, they obviously stop 
staying in hotels, stop going to restaurants, visiting museums or theme 
parks, renting cars or shopping. This economic toll is precisely what 
the terrorists had in mind.

[[Page 13743]]

  If the damage on September 11 had been limited to the thousands of 
lives lost and the property damage suffered, as horrible as that would 
have been, we would not be experiencing these downstream victories for 
the war waged by terrorists against the United States. I do not think 
we can make any mistake about this. Beyond murdering Americans, the 
terrorists wish to destroy America's economy.
  The way for America to fight back is for working men and women, for 
small business owners, for entrepreneurs, for businesses of all sizes 
to go about their business, to show up for work early, to do a little 
more, to take the family vacation, to do those things that make us 
Americans and to keep our life normal because it is the disruption of 
normalcy that the terrorists seek to accomplish.
  As chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security in the 
Congress, I can tell Members that 50 of our colleagues, including eight 
chairmen of standing committees in this House of Representatives, are 
working diligently with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure 
Americans' safety. We are engaged in oversight to ensure that Secretary 
Ridge and his new department succeed.
  Secretary Ridge testified before the Select Committee on Homeland 
Security at a recent hearing on what we have accomplished in a few 
short months. We have orchestrated and launched Operation Liberty 
Shield, the first comprehensive, national plan to increase protection 
of America's citizens and infrastructure. We have deployed new 
technologies and tools at land, air and sea borders. We have 
established the Homeland Security Command Center, a national 24/7 watch 
operation. We have initiated a comprehensive reorganization of the 
border agencies, as well as other administrative measures to enhance 
departmental services and capabilities. We have completed the 
transition of 21 out of 22 component agencies of the Department of 
Homeland Security, none of which were previously focused primarily on 
preventing domestic terrorism.
  We have conducted hearings, and the department itself has conducted 
on-site visits at strategic ports throughout the United States and 
begun the development of security measures and plans for vessels, 
facilities and ports that we put in place in the Maritime Security Act 
of 2002. And, of course, the department has completed TOPOFF II, the 
largest terrorist response exercise in our Nation's history.
  Mr. Speaker, American workers and consumers are safer today than we 
were before September 11, but we are still threatened by terrorists who 
seek to destroy American lives and our economy, the very basis of 
American power. We must work together as consumers, as workers, as 
business proprietors to make sure that the terrorists do not succeed. 
Keeping America at work is job one in that effort. I thank American 
business for what they have done in these wars.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Rogers), the author of the bill.
  Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle at what I think is an important moment to recognize 
some other unsung heroes.
  Earlier today we recognized those very brave men and women who wear 
the uniform of the United States military and all of their sacrifices, 
and certainly rightly so. We have also discovered, I think recently, 
the many forms that patriotism can take. Maybe it is the spouse of a 
soldier who keeps the home fires burning. It is every American who 
believes in liberty's blessings and who cares to pursue every 
opportunity and every challenge that democracy offers. But during Iraqi 
Freedom and Enduring Freedom, both of those operations, we have seen a 
new patriot emerge.
  You can imagine, Mr. Speaker, at the time of your notice as a 
Reservist or a National Guardsman or -woman all across this country 
when that notice comes in and your country calls. You have trained for 
it, you have prepared for it, you are willing to serve. But there is 
always in the back of your mind that great concern about the family 
that you leave behind. Will they be taken care of? Will my employment 
be there when I get home? The law requires that at least your 
employment be there when you get home, but really nothing more. What we 
saw is that when those soldiers gathered up their family and kissed and 
hugged them good-bye and went off to do America's good service, our 
employers, from smaller companies to large companies, stood tall. 
Because the people who were called up were building cars for GM and 
Ford, they were delivering packages for United Parcel Service, they 
were mechanics, they were nurses, they were doctors, they were 
paramedics, police officers; they were machinists in small shops all 
across America. Maybe they were working retail. Maybe they were 
financial advisers.
  In all of those cases, in many, many cases all across this country 
these companies stood up and have gone beyond the call of duty in an 
effort to maintain their aid and comfort to the soldiers who serve our 
great Nation. In many cases, they provided differential pay for these 
soldiers and sailors and Marines and airmen and women, those in the 
Coast Guard. They provided continued health care for those families. 
They continued insurance, all on their own accord. Some even offered 
full payment of their services even though they were not working. We 
had a smaller company, a fourth-generation company, Magnolia Marketing 
Company in Louisiana, who offered its employees when they were notified 
that they would leave, that upon their departure they would be paid in 
full in addition to their military salaries, and stepped up even 
further by setting up a fund with the United Way and challenged 
everybody on a matching grant of $35,000 for those companies who could 
not afford those kinds of things to provide some help to those families 
who were left behind when their country called. This happened again and 
again and again, from Michigan to California, from Maine to Florida, 
and everybody in between.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a new breed of patriot in America, somebody 
that understands that the war on terror is fought by every one of us, 
not just those who wear the uniform so proudly and so bravely, but 
those of us at home who need to stand tall and make sure that the home 
fires are burning, that they know that our love and compassion for them 
usurps our sole concern for the bottom line.
  We need to stand tall today together supporting H. Res. 201, to stand 
tall for every business who went beyond the call of duty and stood firm 
for the men and women who serve so that their families would not have 
to worry when they got home. Mr. Speaker, they deserve our praise and 
our admiration. They deserve the call of patriot as we stand here and 
recognize them today with the passage of H. Res. 201.
  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to rise to 
support this resolution honoring our Nation's business owners for their 
very strong support of our employees who are members of the National 
Guard and Reserve.
  The world really witnessed the capability of our troops as they 
brought down the repressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan and, of 
course, brought freedom to the Afghan people. We again saw recently the 
brilliant performance of our troops as they drove out the brutal regime 
of Saddam Hussein and freed the Iraqi people. A major component of both 
of those efforts was the contribution of the members of the National 
Guard and Reserve.
  I come from Macomb County, Michigan, very proud home to Selfridge Air 
National Guard Base. In fact, Selfridge is somewhat unique in the 
inventory, I think nationally, because almost every facet, in fact 
every facet of the military is represented there. As I say, it is a 
Guard and Reserve base and it became sort of a staging area almost in 
the region, and we watched so many of those very brave citizen-soldiers 
mobilizing to defend our Nation. They left

[[Page 13744]]

behind their jobs, they left behind their families to unselfishly serve 
to protect our freedom at home and abroad.
  This service absolutely could not have been possible without the 
commitment, without the support of the business owners who do their 
patriotic duty and support their employees who are called upon by their 
Nation.
  This, of course, is some hardship to many of these employers. And 
oftentimes we see that the Guard and Reserve, many members of them are 
members of their local fire fighting force, members of their local 
police agency or law enforcement; yet they have the full support of 
their employers. The Guard and Reserve are such an important component 
of our national defense, as many times has been said, a critical 
component of the total force concept. We must continue to fully support 
them in their vital mission.
  I certainly join my distinguished colleague from Michigan. Both of us 
are so proud of having Selfridge. Of course it is in my district, but 
Mike Rogers is almost right next door there. He is very familiar, as I 
am, with the incredible mission of Selfridge Air National Guard Base as 
we see what is happening in our Great Lakes State of Michigan and 
throughout our Nation with our Guard and Reserve. I join him in 
recognizing the commitment of our Nation's employers because without 
their continuing support, none of the service of the outstanding Guard 
and Reserve members would be possible.

                              {time}  1415

  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in my home congressional district, I have the 
headquarters for the National Guard at Camp Blanding in North Central 
Florida; so I am well aware of the sacrifices these folks make when 
they go off to war. Interestingly enough, a lot of Americans do not 
realize this, so I think it is altogether appropriate today that we 
recognize the businesses and National Guard, because prior to this we 
had the resolution honoring the military who participated over in the 
war in Iraq, and we mentioned the National Guard. But, of course, this 
resolution is concentrating on the businesses.
  There are 216,931 members of the Reserve components of the Armed 
Forces. When you think about each one of these people leaving their 
families and jobs in service to their country to go off to the war in 
Iraq, of course they leave behind employment.
  We are talking about hundreds of thousands of employers that had 
these people employed. It might be a small business of five people, and 
it might be a business of 5,000 or 6,000 employees. But if you take a 
small business and you have one individual that leaves it, he 
represents 20 percent of the employees of the business. That is a major 
sacrifice.
  So I think it is altogether fitting this afternoon that we take this 
time to recognize these businesses for their exceptional accommodation 
for these men and women and to honor them for what they are trying to 
do. Of course, under the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment 
Rights Act, they have many responsibilities. Again, these 
responsibilities are mandated by Congress, but in many ways most of 
these businesses, almost all of them, are obligated through patriotism 
and a sense of resolve to the war in Iraq to take these people back, to 
care for them and, in many cases, give them their back pay. So I think 
it is altogether fitting that we this afternoon honor the businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bass). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 201.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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