mr. speaker , while i have problems with the concept of this supplemental and supplementals , and the misplaced budget priorities of the republican party , this bill , i believe , is needed for our men and women who are fighting the war on terrorism . 
this bill includes much needed higher death benefits for our military . 
and while it will never return these patriots such as christian engeldrum in my district to his family , what we can do as americans is ensure that his wife and children have financial security for his personal sacrifice to his country . 
this bill finally provides funding for body armor for our troops , something that this administration has refused to do for over 2 years now . 
so hopefully less families can claim the new death benefits for their loved ones fighting overseas . 
this bill provides much needed aid for the victims of the december tsunami . 
i led a delegation to sri lanka in january , and i saw first hand the resources needed in that country , multiplied by the effects on other countries ; and this money will go to good use . 
this funding , along with the sheer generosity of the american people , is a true testament of our country in comparison to the tepid actions by the white house in the immediate days after the crisis . 
while this money is important , i would be remiss if i did not express my disappointment at no funding being included for the u.n . 
population fund for children and maternal health care in the tsunami region . 
i offered an amendment to fix this , but yet again this administration has played politics and refuses to fund the unfpa . 
this bill provides $ 50 million in important aid to the state of israel as they embark on the critical disengagement plan and withdraw from the gaza strip . 
we have the support , the courage of the israeli people ; and this is the right thing to do at this time . 
and , finally , this bill includes important language to create the 9/11 heroes medal of valor , for which i am deeply indebted to the gentleman from virginia ( mr. wolf ) xz4004350 , the gentleman from new york ( mr. serrano ) xz4003660 , the gentleman from ohio ( mr. oxley ) xz4003070 , and the gentleman from massachusetts ( mr. frank ) xz4001400 for including this provision in this bill . 
on behalf of my cousin , john moran , who was killed on 9/11 , a battalion chief of the fire department of new york , and the over 400 families in new york city that are affected by this legislation , i want to say thank you for this honor that is going to be bestowed by the president in september of this year . 
