[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 18713-18715]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING TOBY KEITH'S COMMITMENT TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES

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

[[Page 18714]]

resolution (H. Res. 1255) honoring Toby Keith's commitment to members 
of the Armed Forces.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1255

       Whereas thousands of celebrities have donated their time to 
     entertain members of the Armed Forces both in the United 
     States and abroad through the United Service Organizations 
     (hereafter known as the ``USO'');
       Whereas since the USO's founding in 1941, country music 
     personalities have been an essential element of the USO's 
     entertainment;
       Whereas Oklahoma native Toby Keith made six USO tours 
     around the world, performing in such locations as Cuba, 
     Germany, Belgium, Kosovo, Italy, and Africa; and entertaining 
     more than 135,000 members of the Armed Forces in Middle East 
     Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom;
       Whereas Toby Keith has volunteered to perform at some of 
     the most dangerous and remote locations in the Persian Gulf, 
     which require Apache escorts and include Forward Operating 
     Bases with total populations of not more than 50 members of 
     the Armed Forces;
       Whereas, on April 24, 2008, while performing in Kandahar, 
     Afghanistan mortar fire disrupted his concert;
       Whereas few, if any, performers have traveled to such 
     remote and dangerous military bases with Toby Keith's 
     frequency;
       Whereas Toby Keith has acted as a valuable liaison between 
     forward deployed troops, the USO, and the American public;
       Whereas Toby Keith makes it a priority to give tickets to 
     members of the Armed Forces here in the United States;
       Whereas Toby Keith allows members of the Armed Forces to 
     eat and drink for free in his restaurants; and
       Whereas Toby Keith co-wrote and performed the hit song 
     ``American Soldier'' honoring the sacrifices that America's 
     soldiers make on a daily basis: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) honors Toby Keith's commitment to our country's Armed 
     Forces overseas;
       (2) encourages other entertainers to take into 
     consideration Toby Keith's deep commitment to boosting the 
     morale of our Nation's Armed Forces when supporting USO 
     operations; and
       (3) a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be 
     transmitted to Toby Keith.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1255 to 
honor Toby Keith's commitment to strengthening the morale of our Armed 
Forces and working with the United Services Organizations, the USO, to 
accomplish this important task. I thank my colleague from Oklahoma, Mr. 
Tom Cole, for bringing this measure before the House.
  Toby Keith has gone above and beyond his celebrity to bring members 
of our Armed Forces the joy and laughter of entertainment no matter 
where in the world they serve. From Cuba to Kosovo, Italy to Africa, 
and many more locations, both welcoming and dangerous, Mr. Keith has 
played for more than 135,000 men and women in uniform.
  In April of this year, Mr. Keith performed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 
where the nervous sounds of mortar fire disrupted his concert. However, 
Mr. Keith continued to travel to remote and dangerous locations 
bringing a bit of the American spirit and character alive on stage. His 
travels are a testament to the importance of morale in the men and 
women who continue to serve our Nation abroad every day.
  By working with the USO, Mr. Keith has helped bring together two very 
different worlds: the world of an average American who can work during 
the day and watch a concert at night, and the world of the military 
abroad who must keep constant guard both day and night.
  Mr. Keith's performances and even the free meals he gives the 
military at his restaurants remind both Americans working at home and 
those serving abroad that we must keep each other in our minds and 
hearts and we must keep our morale high. Like Mr. Keith, we should all 
find something positive to contribute to each other as we face these 
dangerous times.
  By passing this resolution, we are honoring a person who has used his 
talents to serve the men and women in uniform as they continue to serve 
our country. Toby Keith is just one of the hundreds of entertainers who 
have volunteered to entertain the troops with the support of the USO to 
generate a spirit and morale that is invaluable to this Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 1255.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend a great Oklahoman and American 
patriot, whose unceasing support for the men and women in our armed 
services has been a hallmark of his career. Country music star Toby 
Keith was born and raised in my hometown of Moore, Oklahoma, and is now 
a resident just south of us in Norman, Oklahoma, and has made it his 
mission as an entertainer to keep our troops entertained and to boost 
their morale as they serve this Nation in some of the most dangerous, 
remote places on the planet.
  This resolution outlines Mr. Keith's commitment to our troops and 
encourages other entertainers to take into consideration Toby Keith's 
deep commitment to boosting the morale of our Nation's soldiers when 
supporting USO operations.
  As many of you know, Mr. Speaker, Toby Keith is one of the most 
successful country music stars of the last two decades. His songs not 
only appeal to a wide variety of listeners but are also critically 
acclaimed.
  On a personal note, I'll tell my friend on the other side of the 
aisle, he's actually a very good Democrat. But like all of us, I think 
he's an American and I'm proud to say an Oklahoman, far ahead of being 
affiliated with any political party.
  Despite his fantastic success as a performer, I'm here to highlight 
the work Mr. Keith has done for the United Service Organizations. Since 
the founding of USO in 1941, thousands of celebrities have taken time 
out of their lives to visit service men and women who sacrifice their 
lives for the cause of freedom. These shows not only help to boost 
morale among our troops but also help to connect our Armed Forces to 
America when they are far from home, Mr. Speaker.
  Since before the United States entered the Second World War, the USO 
has been the bridge between the American public and the U.S. military. 
These performances also remind the troops that we are all eternally 
grateful for the work they do.
  Today, the USO delivers its programs and services at more than 130 
locations around the world. More recently, the USO opened centers in 
Kuwait, Qatar and Afghanistan to support service members participating 
in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. The organization relies on 
over 25,000 volunteers, and servicemembers and their families visit USO 
centers 5.3 million times a year, Mr. Speaker.
  Country music personalities have always been an essential element of 
the USO's entertainment. In the early years, performers like Gene 
Autry, another notable Oklahoman--actually Gene Autry, Oklahoma, is in 
my district as well, Mr. Speaker--Patsy Cline, and many other acts from 
the Grand Ole Opry have traveled around the world to entertain our 
troops. Today, performers like Neal McCoy and Lee Ann Womack have all 
gone to Iraq to entertain our troops. However, few celebrities have 
visited our troops fighting the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan 
with as much fervor and frequency as Toby Keith.
  Mr. Speaker, Toby Keith has made six USO tours, including 
entertaining

[[Page 18715]]

over 135,000 U.S. service personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, 
Germany, Belgium, Kosovo, Italy, and Africa. In fact, he has 
volunteered to perform at some of the most dangerous and remote 
locations in the Persian Gulf, including forward operating bases with 
populations of as few as 50 servicemembers that require Apache escort 
helicopters to reach. In many of these cases, these places and the 
garrisons literally haven't had entertainment in many, many months.
  The USO also noted in our discussions with them, Mr. Speaker, that 
Toby's brought back valuable insight from forward deployed troops, 
including things they would request from the USO and the American 
public. As a result, the USO has developed a program called USO 
Delivered, which includes transportable USO centers for remote areas.
  On April 28, 2008, while performing in one of these dangerous 
locations, Kandahar, Afghanistan, mortar fire disrupted one of Mr. 
Keith's concerts. Instead of packing up and going home, Toby Keith 
returned to the stage to finish the show. This attitude, that all 
troops no matter where they are stationed deserve our support, is what 
makes Toby Keith an exemplary patriot, and all entertainers should, and 
I'm sure do, take a good lesson from his dedication to our men and 
women in uniform.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Keith's visits to the USO are not only places where 
he deserves recognition for supporting our troops. He also freely 
provides tickets to military personnel for all of his shows in the 
U.S., and servicemembers showing military ID are allowed to eat and 
drink for free at his restaurants. Toby Keith also reflects his deep 
admiration for the troops in his hit song ``American Soldier'' which 
hails the work that our Armed Forces do to protect us all on a daily 
basis.
  Mr. Speaker, at a time when the thousands of Americans question the 
merits of our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is essential that 
our service men and women know that we support their dedication to 
America, regardless of our political disagreements at home. Toby Keith 
has been a stalwart supporter of our troops throughout his career and 
deserves our recognition and our appreciation. Regardless of one's 
opinion on our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, supporting our men 
and women overseas is certainly something that all Members of this body 
encourage and support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on House Resolution 1255 
and honor a true patriot.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, at this time I have no further requests 
for time. I am prepared to close after my colleague has yielded back 
his time. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize for such time 
as she may consume my distinguished colleague from Washington (Mrs. 
McMorris Rodgers).
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Thank you, Mr. Cole, and Members of the House. 
I rise and I, too, want to applaud Toby Keith and his commitment to our 
troops and his efforts to encourage our troops, especially when they're 
serving our country overseas and away from their family and friends.
  And while thanking Toby Keith and others and recognizing the 
important role that our military plays in our country, I rise today out 
of a frustration that we in Congress right now are refusing to address 
the important issue of energy and, especially, the Democrats' refusal 
to bring an up-or-down vote on the American Energy Act.
  Our failure to enact a comprehensive energy policy is having real 
consequences on families and small businesses and especially our 
seniors. While I was back home last month, I heard time and time again 
how high energy prices are having real consequences.
  For example, Frank and Bannie Bowman, they're retired and live in 
Walla Walla. They told me that things are so tight they're having to 
choose between less on groceries and other necessary items and paying 
their gas bills.
  Seventy-one-year-old Fran Balcom in the Spokane Valley told me that 
she's still working. She can't retire because of high energy prices.
  It's time we begin saying ``yes'' to American energy. We need to move 
away from foreign oil, produce more energy here at home, and make 
conservation a priority. It's time we start meeting America's energy 
needs with American resources, and the American energy bill does just 
that.
  This bill is focused on increasing our American energy supply, 
promoting conservation, and supporting renewables like hydro, solar, 
and wind.
  Specifically, the bill lifts the ban against offshore energy 
exploration; promotes safe and environmentally responsible exploration 
and development of ANWR; develops America's vast oil shale resources; 
helps expedite the production of domestic coal-to-liquid fuel; provides 
permanent tax credits for important renewables like solar, hydrogen, 
and wind energy; and promotes greater energy efficiency by increasing 
and extending personal and business efficiency tax credits and 
deductions.
  Americans are concerned about energy costs, and they want us to 
unleash American ingenuity. We can and we must start meeting America's 
energy needs with American energy, and doing nothing right now is 
simply irresponsible.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and 
simply want to thank the gentlelady from Guam for working with me on 
this bill. It's personally important since I have the great honor of 
representing Toby Keith, and he is, indeed, a great American and 
certainly somebody in Oklahoma we're very proud of.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) for co-managing the bills here. I've enjoyed it. I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1255.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. COLE of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  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.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________