but standing in his way was officer johns, officer stephen tyrone johns who died in defense of tolerance in our country, against intolerance in our country and saved probably the lives of many, many people in doing so because that shooter was going on to kill others. we owe him and his family a debt of gratitude and send condolences to those who loved him. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. hay rey hall: i yield one minute to the distinguished speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the honorable speaker is recognized. the speaker: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and i thank all of those who were involved, mr. klein of florida, members of the house anti-semitism caucus and others, certainly the chairman of the committee, mr. rahall and others for giving us the opportunity to speak on the floor, to express our grief and our outrage over what happened yesterday. when the news came to the capitol of what had happened at the u.s. holocaust museum, we were shaken, shaken to the core, that this cou

stephen johns was just 39 years old. he had a wife and a son. he grew up in temple hills maryland, a few miles south and east of where i stand today. he still lived in that communi community. stephen johns started working at the holocaust museum after spending a year in new articles in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. those who knew mr. johns called him "big john," a genera gentle, friendly and helpful. even those who did not know him are deeply saddened by the loss and inspired by hi the heroism. it is our duty to keep alive his memory. today the holocaust museum is closed. flags fly at half-staff. when it opens tomorrow it will continue to serve as one of our nation's most poignant reminders of the inexcusable racism, hatred, violence and cruelty we must never stop working to erase from the world. when it opens tomorrow, and every day thereafter, stephen johns, courage and c

resulting in the tragic murder of officer stephen tyrone johns. this was a murder based on hate and malice and took the life of a good man. a security officer for six years at the holocaust memorial museum and resident of temple hills, maryland, which is the district in which i represent, officer johns was beloved by his family and friends. colleagues called officer johns big john. he was known as a gentle giant and remembered for his friendliness, soft spoken nature and gentle demeanor. this morning i had the opportunity to speak to officer johns' mother and stepfather. the entire family is grieving this senseless loss. above all, the family wanted america to know that stephen was dedicated to his job and his family. his mother said he loved his job and he took his duty at the holocaust memorial museum very seriously. so seriously that he ended up paying the ultimate sacrifice. as we join officer johns' family in struggling to find answers, the truth is that this was a senseless act and a senseless murder that has resulted in a great loss. office

just this past june 15, stephen johns, a supreme court guard at the u.s. holocaust museum lost his life to aerson who was deranged but also was acting under hate. on february 12, 2008, lawrence king, a 15-year-old student, lost his life because he was gay. by a hate crime. on election night, we saw two men go on a killing spree against african-americans because america elected its first african-american president. in july of last year, four teenagers killed a mexican immigrant and used racial slurs making it clear it was a hate crime. since 2007, in 2007, there were 7,600 reported hate crimes in america, 150 in my state of maryland. so we need to do something about this. the trends have not been positive. they've been negative. latino, crimes against latinos s based on hate have increased. in 2007 we saw the highest number of hate crimes against lesbian, gays, bisexual and transgender, up 6%. the number of supremist groups have increased dramatically. there has been an increase in antisemetism between 2006 and 2007 and the list goes on and on and on. my po

the two who lost their lives on guarding the capital -- and now, stephen john's. later today, we will have a resolution on the floor to bring comfort to his family and to also talk about how despicable this act of violence was. it is really sad. earlier this week, we met with the president at the white house when he announced his pay-as- you-go initiative. it was with great excitement that we heard his statement. just as a little history, maybe even ancient history, before you were born history, in 1982 at the democratic midterm convention in philadelphia, congressman george miller introduced a resolution for pay- as-you-go. it passed. it became part of the democratic -- democratic platform of that year. it took until 1994 to become operative here. president bush was president of the united states. throughout the '90s, it was how we operated pay-as-you-go. you know what has happened in the eight years in terms of the reversal of that under president george w. bush. now, happily, democrats are coming back around. it has been the central organizing purpose of the bl

tyrone johns, and so eloquently articulated by so many of my colleagues yesterday during that debate, we a lule officer johns for his bravery and his courage and extend our deepest condolences to his family. i rise today not only to express my support for h.res. 529, but also thank my good friend and colleague, mr. klein, for introducing it and including me as a co-sponsor. mr. speaker, the holocaust memorial museum is a noble and vitally necessary attempt to remember and honor the victims of the holocaust. the memorial itself is a witness to truth and the promotion of human dignity and tolerance. wednesday's attack on that museum by a crazed hate philed gunman is yet another chilling reminder that our society still harbored a dangerous collection of bigots and racists who hate jews. unparalleled since the dark days of the second world war, jewish communities around the world are today facing violent attacks against synagogue, jewish cultural sites, cemeteries, and individuals. anti-semitism is an ugly reality that won't go away by ignoring it or by wishing it away. it must be combat

up next on news makers, labor secretary talks about the latest in a normal situation didn't senator john ensign and then former vice-president dick cheney answers questions on a number of topics including the american national security. >> tonight, on "q&a," mitch daniels. q&a, at a p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> how does he spend funded? >> taxpayers? >> i don't really know. >> from public television. >> it donations. >> i do not know where the funds come from. >> how c-span funded? 30