[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 27993-27997]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CONDEMNING THE ACTIONS OF SEPTEMBER 7, 2007, RESULTING IN DAMAGE TO THE 
                     VIETNAM VETERANS WAR MEMORIAL

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 680) condemning the actions of September 7, 2007, 
resulting in damage to the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 680

       Whereas the Vietnam Veterans Memorial serves as a memorial 
     to the 2,700,000 men and women in the United States Armed 
     Forces who served in the designated war zone during the 
     Vietnam Era;
       Whereas 58,256 men and women died while serving in South 
     East Asia or as a result of their wounds or a service-
     connected disability;
       Whereas on Friday evening, September 7, 2007, the United 
     States Park Police reported being notified of a light, oily, 
     and unidentified substance that was spilled over portions of 
     some of the names, panels, and paving stones of the Vietnam 
     Veterans Memorial;
       Whereas at least 14 of the 140 inscribed panels of the 
     Memorial Wall were damaged; and
       Whereas the National Park Service has determined that the 
     damage was the result of an act of vandalism: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives condemns all 
     attacks upon the memory

[[Page 27994]]

     of veterans and their service to the United States, as 
     exemplified by the incident of vandalism of September 7, 
     2007.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I might 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of this bill which condemns the action that 
resulted in damage to our Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We all know that 
this memorial recognizes and honors the men and women who are veterans 
of our Nation who served in one of America's most divisive wars. The 
memorial grew out of a need to try to heal the Nation's wounds as 
America struggled to reconcile its different moral and political points 
of view on this war. In fact, the memorial was conceived and designed 
to make no political statement about the war. It was designed to bring 
us together. It was designed as a place where everyone, regardless of 
their opinion of the war, could come together, remember and honor those 
who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of 
their country. I think all of us, wherever we were during that terribly 
divisive time, feels at peace and feels a relationship to those people 
who served our Nation.
  The memorial, as I said, has paved the way towards reconciliation and 
healing, a process that still continues. That's why, Mr. Speaker, I 
think we were all so disturbed when we heard about the senseless act of 
vandalism that happened earlier this year. Someone walked along that 
memorial with some type of oil applying it secretly on the wall as they 
walked by. The unknown oil has done real damage to the polished granite 
surface. But it did more than damage the wall, Mr. Speaker. It damaged 
the respect we have for our Nation's veterans and their sacrifice, 
damaging the healing process; and it takes us, as a Nation, back to a 
time when we did not honor or take care of our returning Vietnam 
veterans.
  It takes us back to a time when many people in this country confused 
the war and the warrior. If you did not like the war, you said to heck 
with the warrior. That was a deep mistake on our part, Mr. Speaker, a 
tragic mistake, and one, as a Nation, we still suffer from today.
  We did not provide these veterans the care they needed. We didn't 
welcome them back with honor and dignity and respect, and we're paying 
a price today. More than half of the homeless on the streets throughout 
America tonight, are Vietnam vets, over 200,000. Others still suffer 
from post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, other ailments. 
And as I said earlier, as many Vietnam veterans have now committed 
suicide as died in the original war. We, as a Nation, have to rectify 
this wrong. We have to take care and provide the health care, the 
treatment and the support that our Vietnam veterans deserve and need. 
We have to say that we are sorry for the treatment that they received 
when they came home, and honor these courageous men and women for their 
sacrifice to this Nation.
  Anything that subtracts from this healing process is an outrage to 
the honor and memory of these brave veterans who fought and died for 
our country. And that is exactly what the senseless, needless act of 
vandalism that was perpetrated on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial does. 
It rubs salt into the wounds of our veterans that are still healing, 
and dishonors those that deserve nothing less than our Nation's honor 
and gratitude.

                              {time}  1330

  So, Mr. Speaker, through this resolution we condemn this act. We 
condemn those who are responsible. The oil is not just a stain on a 
piece of granite; it is a stain on the fabric of our Nation, a Nation 
still healing from a divisive war but a Nation that honors the 
sacrifices of its soldiers and veterans.
  Maya Ying Lin, who designed the Memorial, said, `` . . . this 
Memorial is for all those who have died, and for us to remember them.''
  Mr. Speaker, let us remember their patriotism and valor and let us 
condemn the discordant acts of those who seek to tarnish them.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 680, which 
condemns the actions of September 7, 2007, resulting in damage to the 
Vietnam Veterans War Memorial.
  Mr. Speaker, the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, commonly referred to 
as ``The Wall,'' serves as a memorial to the 2.7 million men and women 
in the United States Armed Forces who served in Vietnam. It is a 
memorial that has many different meanings to those who lived through 
that era and serves as an especially poignant reminder of the cost of 
that war and the ultimate sacrifice made in any conflict.
  Americans come from all across the country each year to reflect on 
the sacrifices of the 58,256 names inscribed on the 140 panels of black 
granite. Whether it is a family member looking for the name of a loved 
one or a comrade in arms honoring a foxhole buddy or a young child 
searching for the name of a relative they never knew, every American 
who visits the wall leaves a changed person. It is fitting that the 
Memorial for our most divisive war has become a place of solace and 
coming together.
  Mr. Speaker, regardless of who is responsible for the recent attack 
on the Vietnam Wall, that cowardly act was an affront to every 
American. In an apparent act of vandalism, 14 panels were defaced with 
a light, oily substance that damaged names, panels, and paving stones 
of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
  While I am thankful that it appears that the substance was removed 
and the Memorial has been restored to its pristine condition, I believe 
it is important for us in Congress to show Congress's support for one 
of our Nation's most sacred sites.
  Mr. Speaker, I also urge my colleagues to join me between November 7 
through November 10 to read some of the 58,256 names on the Vietnam 
Veterans Memorial. This will only be the fourth time that this reading 
has occurred here in Washington, and it coincides with the 25th 
anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
  I thank my colleague Representative Carter for introducing this 
resolution and Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for bringing it 
to the floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
another hero of the Vietnam War, a man who served two tours in Vietnam, 
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell).
  Mr. BOSWELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Filner for yielding and 
what he is doing here for veterans.
  I have to thank John Carter for his attention to this issue. 
Vandalism is never acceptable. Never. When I learned about the 
vandalism that took place at the Vietnam Memorial, I was outraged. 
Outraged.
  As a Vietnam veteran, as many of you are in this Chamber, many of our 
colleagues, for me 20 years plus, I know firsthand, a lot of us do, the 
sacrifices that servicemembers and their families make.
  This memorial does more than just honor the brave men and women who 
gave their lives for this great Nation. It also serves as a reminder to 
all Americans the price of freedom.
  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial serves as a resting place for our 
brethren who were unable to come home. And I will bet some of the rest 
of you, as I, have wondered how come our name wasn't on that wall. We 
know it could have been. And for somebody to desecrate that is just 
unacceptable. I hope the park service will be able to find these 
criminals and swiftly bring them to justice.
  I would like to give special thanks to all of our troops and all 
those of them who have given the ultimate sacrifice. We cannot forget 
them.

[[Page 27995]]

  With the passage of this legislation today, it is one more example of 
what Congress has done to fulfill our Nation's obligation to 
servicemembers, their families, and all veterans.
  I am proud to stand here as a cosponsor of this bill, and I encourage 
the House to pass H. Res. 680 today.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the sponsor of the 
legislation, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I would also like 
to thank Ranking Member Buyer and Chairman Filner for bringing this 
forward today. I think this is an important resolution.
  When I heard about the fact that someone had defaced the Vietnam 
Memorial, I just didn't really know what to think about it. It wasn't a 
front page item; it was a back page item. But to me it was just a 
shock. So I went down to the park to take a look at it.
  And as I walked along there, and I know some others have done this 
too, you could see where this substance had cast what looked like a 
shadow across the names that were printed on portions of this wall. And 
it brought back to me a memory of the time when the traveling wall came 
to the town I am from in Round Rock, Texas, and was put up out in the 
park, and I went out there with one of my good friends and one of the 
lawyers who worked in my court who was a true Vietnam veteran and a 
hero, and we walked up to approach that wall. And it was sitting up on 
a hill in our park, and he got about 75 or 50 yards from the wall and 
he just stopped. And I said, Mike, are you going up there? And he said, 
Not right now. And then he stood there and stared at that wall and 
cried. And it took him a long time before he approached that wall 
because, as he said, there were too many names on that wall that he 
missed and loved.
  That wall means that kind of thing to our Vietnam veterans. And for 
someone to go out and deface the honor of these fallen heroes whose 
names were carved on that wall is intolerable. I too hope the Park 
Service finds these people and prosecutes them to the full extent of 
the law because this is a shame. It's not only a shame to our national 
monument, which is against the law, but it is a shame to our national 
honor that this happened. And that is why I brought this bill forward.
  I want to note that there are others who feel the same way, and many 
of them are here today and I am thankful for them. The Gathering of 
Eagles and the AMVETS posted a $5,000 reward to try to find out who did 
this defacing of the wall. That's how much it means to them.
  This act of vandalism cannot be tolerated, should not be tolerated. 
And by passing this resolution, we will reaffirm to our veterans who 
fought the war in Vietnam that they did it with honor, they did it with 
principle, and we respect them as our warriors who did their job and 
should have been treated accordingly with honor when they came home. We 
need to continue to honor our Vietnam vets. That's why I feel this 
resolution is so important. And I hope it will be passed unanimously by 
this House.
  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial serves as a memorial to the 2,700,000 
men and women in the United States Armed Forces who served in the 
designated war zone during the Vietnam Era.
  While serving in Southeast Asia or as a result of their wounds or a 
service-connected disability, 58,256 men and women died.
  On Friday evening, September 7, 2007, the United States Park Police 
reported being notified of a light, oily, and unidentified substance 
that was spilled over portions of some of the names, panels, and paving 
stones of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
  At least 14 of the 140 inscribed panels of the Memorial Wall were 
damaged.
  The National Park Service has determined that the damage was the 
result of an act of vandalism.
  Thank the Gathering of Eagles organization and AMVETS for bringing 
attention to this crime through the $5,000 reward they are offering and 
by spreading the word to their members.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing the words of our 
great Vietnam hero, Mr. Johnson, who was, of course, a POW in Vietnam 
for many, many years. But I will let Mr. Boozman introduce him.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson), a true American hero who 
certainly can speak with authority on this subject.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Thank you, Mr. Boozman, and thank you, 
Chairman Filner. I appreciate your bringing this to the floor. It's an 
important piece of legislation. And I think what everyone has said is 
absolutely true.
  Mr. Speaker, as a former POW in Vietnam for nearly 7 years, and I was 
there for 2 tours too, Mr. Boswell and I both, I find this vandalism 
unconscionable and un-American. Why on Earth would someone want to 
reignite the pains of the past?
  Defacing the wall was the ultimate act of cowardice. Why anyone would 
want to destroy a sacred monument in Washington, DC is beyond me.
  Even though I did 2 tours in Vietnam, I spent most of my time in 
captivity. I didn't get to know a lot of the brave men and women who 
died in action, those who have their names etched into the shiny, 
marble dark wall.
  But I did get to know a great American very well. His name is Ron 
Storz, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and a fellow fighter 
pilot.
  Originally from New York, Ron was shot down on April 28, 1965. I was 
shot down barely a year later, on April 16, 1966.
  Because our captors tried to blame a handful of us for overthrowing 
the Vietnamese Government, they labeled us diehards. They threw 11 of 
us in solitary confinement in adjacent cells. Of the 11 of us, only 10 
came home. Our captors killed Ron Storz after he went on a hunger 
strike.
  It breaks my heart to think that someone would senselessly harm and 
deface the names, the honors, the legacies of great patriots like Ron.
  You can find Ron's name on panel 1 of the east wall.
  I deeply hope and pray the loved ones of those men and women 
memorialized on the wall know we remember their selfless family members 
and thank them for their dedicated service and ultimate sacrifice. 
These men and women listed on the wall all demonstrate why America is 
the land of the free and the home of the brave. These valiant warriors 
fought to protect and defend this great Nation, and we should not allow 
someone to tarnish their good names, and we must condemn this 
vandalism.
  I thank you both.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Minnesota, Colonel Kline.
  Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I, like my colleagues, have come here today to condemn in the 
strongest possible terms the actions which damaged the Vietnam Veterans 
Memorial.
  And as always when I am in the same room with my colleague Mr. 
Johnson from Texas, I am humbled to be in the presence of a real hero 
of the Vietnam War. And I don't know that I can add to the passion and 
to the caring that he has already conveyed for us, but I just have to 
say that I can't remember being so outraged by such a cowardly act.
  Visitors from around the world who come to visit the Memorial are 
moved by the simple but powerful image of the etched granite wall. For 
those of us who served in Vietnam, however, the names on the wall hold 
an even stronger significance. Those names bolster our sometimes 
failing memories of the friends and comrades who didn't return with us.
  It is with these memories in minds that I express my complete, my 
total, utter outrage at this recent desecration. The person or persons 
who did this have violated a sacred trust, and I consider their actions 
deplorable. Their cowardice, yes, their cowardice, stands in sharp 
contrast to the bravery and valor of those for whom this memorial was 
erected, and we as a country will simply not tolerate such behavior. 
Just as we honor and pay tribute to those

[[Page 27996]]

who served and sacrificed so much, so too must we condemn, we as a 
Congress, we as a people, we as a Nation, those who would denigrate 
that sacrifice through such cowardly actions.
  If there are those who applaud or somehow justify this desecration, I 
would only remind them of the hypocrisy of their beliefs and their 
actions. Our freedom was won and maintained by brave men and women such 
as those honored on this wall, and we should all hold them reverently 
in our hearts.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague Mr. Carter for bringing 
this important resolution to the floor, to the chairman and ranking 
member of the committee for bringing it to the floor.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. Let's support it 
unanimously.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite).
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues today to condemn in the 
harshest terms possible the vandalism that scarred the Vietnam Veterans 
Memorial a few weeks ago.
  My district in Florida is home to the second most veterans of any 
Member of this body, with more than 105,000 veterans and their 
dependents residing there.

                              {time}  1345

  I also serve on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. So many brave 
soldiers, marines, Navy men, airmen who fought with bravery over in the 
Southeast to stop the spread of communism and to protect American 
interests live in my district. For those brave troops throughout our 
great Nation who perished in the line of fire, their names are forever 
marked on the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial here in Washington, DC. 
That anyone would deface the wall and desecrate the memory of these 
fine soldiers is beyond anyone's comprehension.
  As someone who grew up in the Vietnam era and someone whose brother 
and cousin and other family members served honorably and, thankfully, 
came home safely, I know firsthand the sacrifices these soldiers made, 
physically and emotionally, during their periods of service.
  While thousands of our troops perished in the jungles of Vietnam and 
had their names inscribed on the wall, tens of thousands more came home 
to their families and loved ones. These are the people who deserve to 
be the most outraged by the vandalism that took place, the families, 
friends and fellow soldiers of the deceased, who make pilgrimages to 
the wall to pay respects and honor those who gave the ultimate 
sacrifice for our great Nation.
  I commend Judge Carter for bringing this resolution to the floor 
today. And I thank him for doing his part to honor the memory of those 
who fought and died in Vietnam.
  We all hope that the individuals who perpetrated this crime will be 
caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law and that, clearly, 
something like this would never happen again.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).
  Mr. POE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  General Westmoreland said: ``I do not believe that the men who served 
in uniform in Vietnam have been given the credit they rightfully 
deserve. It was a difficult war against an unorthodox enemy.'' I agree 
with General Westmoreland, especially in light of those events when, 
last month, Vietnam veterans were dishonored when outlaw vandals 
desecrated the memorial.
  I want to thank my colleague, Judge Carter, for introducing this 
resolution that deplores this despicable act. I'm glad to be a 
cosponsor of it.
  It has also been said that in this war, Vietnam War, ``all gave some, 
and some gave all.'' And the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial lists the 
names of over 58,000 Americans who gave all for their country. And of 
course the men and women who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam deserve 
better than what happened to the memorial that honors them.
  The thugs who desecrated the wall ought to be tracked down and be 
brought to justice because justice is the one thing we should always 
find. I certainly know what I would do to them if I were still on the 
bench, and I'm sure Judge Carter would like to do the same if he caught 
them. Be that as it may, they should be brought before the bar of 
justice.
  Many of the friends that I grew up with in Texas served in Vietnam, 
and there are five of their names on that wall. We can honor them today 
by passing this resolution and demanding justice.
  It has been said that in the Vietnam War it cost our troops 
everything, and it cost the American public almost nothing. It's time 
for the American public, by standing up for this resolution, to stand 
up for our troops and honor their memory in Vietnam.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I know that all of us look forward to 
passing this very important resolution. I want to thank Judge Carter 
for bringing it forward. And then also a special thanks to Mr. Filner, 
chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Ranking Member Buyer, 
in expediting it and getting it on the floor.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H. Res. 680.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Carter. I thank all the Members 
who spoke on this legislation. It is an important bill. But I must say, 
we ought to go further than this resolution.
  Mr. Poe said voting for this resolution means we're standing up for 
our troops. Well, I just spoke recently to the Annual Convention of the 
Vietnam Veterans of America. I'll tell you what they define as standing 
up for our troops--and there will be legislation embodying all of this 
soon. It would mean that we would look at the 200,000 Vietnam vets who 
are on the street homeless tonight and solve that moral blot on our 
record.
  Most of us go to Stand-Downs every year, where the whole community 
comes around for 3 days and provides security and comfort, medical 
attention, dental health, legal assistance, clothes for the homeless 
vets in that community. The community comes together and has a holistic 
approach of drug and alcohol abuse and job counseling. So we know what 
to do for those 3 days. But the last five or eight Stand-Downs that 
I've addressed I said, I'm tired of coming to Stand-Downs. We should 
have Stand-Downs 365 days a year. That's what the Veterans 
Administration ought to do. With a $100 billion budget, you would think 
we could take care of the Vietnam vets who are homeless. That would be 
standing up for the troops.
  In addition, many of them have been fighting for decades to get 
compensation for an agent orange disability. And the law, while we have 
extended the areas to which presumption applies and give these brave 
veterans health care and disability compensation, there is still too 
many areas that are not awarded a claim.
  At this stage (I would like to talk to Mr. Johnson later about this), 
I would say all these agent orange claims, if they have medical backing 
and help by a veteran service officer, are presumptive, and have them 
stop fighting after all these decades and get the care and attention 
that they need.
  I will tell you, I have just got a list of 500 veterans from one 
State, Vietnam vets, who got Parkinson's disease in their early 
fifties. That's way earlier than the average age of on set for the 
general population. So it's obviously Vietnam that was the cause. Yet 
the law says there is no proof that agent orange caused Parkinson's or 
Lou Gehrig's disease, and so they're shut out. That's a shame. They 
served us; we should serve them. Let's grant all these agent orange 
claims.

[[Page 27997]]

  And we ought to, according to the representatives at the convention, 
give the status of ``mandatory'' or ``assured funding'' to the health 
care for our veterans. Right now, health care in our budget is called 
``discretionary.'' We fight over it every year, Democrats, Republican, 
House, Senate, VA Committee versus everybody. We should not play 
politics with veterans health care, and we should have a guaranteed 
mandatory budget.
  Those are the things that would really tell our Vietnam vets that we 
care about them. So let's pass this resolution. The wall is, as we've 
heard today, so important to our memories, to our healing, to those 
brave men who fought for us. But let's go further and really give the 
Vietnam vets a thank you and pass legislation that will not only end 
homelessness and grant the agent orange claims, but give mandatory 
funding for the VA health care budget.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 680 
condemning the act of vandalism on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial last 
month. On the evening of September 7th vandals dumped an oily 
substance, which damaged 14 of the 140 black granite panels 
commemorating the lives of more than 58,000 men and women killed or 
missing during the war. The substance has been cleaned up, however I 
believe it is important for the American people to know what happened 
to this sacred shrine.
  Mr. Speaker, while no one has yet been connected with the vandalism, 
anti-war protesters earlier this year defaced other Washington 
landmarks. In January, protesters spray painted a Capitol terrace. 
Protesters later defiled the Lone Sailor statue at the United States 
Navy Memorial. This pattern of attacks is a national disgrace.
  When I stand before the Wall and look on those names, I feel great 
humility in the presence of what this memorial represents. These men 
and women died so that our very way of freedom might endure. I call 
upon the coward or cowards who defiled this shrine to come forward and 
accept responsibility, or go back under the rock from which they came. 
It is an obscene perversion that others would creep out in the dark of 
night to deface the memory of heroes. The memory of these patriots 
endures in our hearts, whatever hateful attacks vandals may attempt.
  I would like to thank my colleague Representative John Carter of 
Texas for introducing this important legislation, and I thank the House 
leadership for bringing it to the floor.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 680.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CARTER. 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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