[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4874-H4880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           REPUBLICAN AGENDA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McHenry). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. 
Blackburn) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here with some of my 
colleagues this evening, and we have a great agenda. We are going to 
talk about the agenda that we have had for this session of the 109th 
Congress and some of the positive accomplishments that we have made. 
But before I start on that, I do want to make a couple of comments, Mr. 
Speaker, regarding my colleagues across the aisle and some of the 
things that they have had to say.
  They are so very concerned about the budget and how the budget works 
and about spending. Mr. Speaker, I just have to say it is interesting 
for me to hear them. Some of them are talking about how we cannot have 
tax relief that grows the economy because we would be doing away with 
needed programs. And then we hear that we are not growing the economy 
enough. And the interesting thing is you cannot have it both ways. You 
cannot have it both ways. You know, you have to set a course and you 
have to move forward on that course, and that is what this leadership 
has done.
  We know that it is the people's money that we are here to be good 
stewards of. And it was so interesting, one of my colleagues just said, 
tax cuts are going to cost us. Tax cuts are going to cost us. Well, you 
know what, every time we pass a bill that spends another dollar, it is 
costing everybody that is paying taxes. When we reduce taxes, we give 
money back to the people that earn that money, the taxpayers. We leave 
that money in home communities. We leave that money where it belongs, 
with families.
  Right now in this great Nation of ours, taxes are the biggest part of 
any family budget. We will set about on a course, the leadership in 
this Congress

[[Page H4875]]

has set about on a course, the President and the administration have 
set about on a course to get some of that burden off the backs of the 
American taxpayer; and we are working to reduce the size of this 
government.
  Mr. Speaker, I tell you, I am so pleased that tonight we can take a 
moment and reflect. This is day number 169 on the 2005 calendar. It is 
day number 67 in our legislative calendar of the 109th Congress. And 
the majority in this Congress has, we are approaching the halfway point 
for this year and we have made substantial progress.
  Mr. Speaker, you cannot help but notice that a remarkable thing has 
been happening on the floor of this very House over the past few 
months. It is something most people probably are not very aware of and 
I can assure you, listening to my colleagues tonight, it is something 
that the minority leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) 
probably hopes will remain unnoticed by most of the American people, 
but my colleagues across the aisle, many have been abandoning their 
party leadership in droves and they are voting in favor of a Republican 
agenda and our legislation. And it is worth noting tonight.
  People say, oh, Washington is such a partisan town, nothing ever gets 
done. The town is in gridlock. And the minority leader will come to the 
floor and she will rail against the legislation that is being brought 
forth, and she will call it virtually everything in the book but good. 
And after all the hot air hits the rafters and people put their card in 
and cast their vote, dozens of Democrats vote for the legislation that 
she has just taken 5 minutes criticizing.
  Why is it, Mr. Speaker? I think it is probably because the leadership 
in this body is crafting legislation to solve problems. We are here to 
solve problems for the American people. We are here to work to reduce 
regulation. We are here to lessen the tax burden. We are here to cast 
votes that will preserve individual freedoms for this great Nation. And 
we are attracting so many Democrat votes because the legislation that 
is in this body is legislation that appeals to the folks back home, 
regardless of what the party is. They are folks who are interested in a 
better life and a better quality of life for their families.
  Here are just a few examples of what we have seen many of the 
Democrats come over and support, Mr. Speaker. One, bankruptcy reform. 
We passed that bill with 302 votes, 73 of those were Democrat votes.
  Class action reform. We passed that with 200 the votes, 50 of those 
were Democrats.
  The REAL ID Act. We passed that with 261 votes, and that included 42 
Democrats who joined us in saying let us secure these borders, let us 
stiffen up these immigration policies.
  The Continuity of Government Act passed with 329 votes, 122 of those 
were Democrats.
  The Energy Policy Act passed with 249 votes, 41 of those were 
Democrats.
  The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, 207 votes, 54 of 
those were Democrats.
  Mr. Speaker, it is phenomenal, but the good thing is it is an agenda 
that the American people are interested in. It is an agenda that they 
support.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to yield some time this evening to our chief 
deputy whip, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) who is going to 
talk to us about some of the ways that that this legislation impacts 
those in his State.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. 
Blackburn), and I commend her for conducting this Special Order 
tonight. It is a great opportunity for us to gather here and to really 
do a number of things. First, to set the record straight after 
responding to the comments made from the other side; but also, as the 
gentlewoman pointed out, to talk a little bit about our vision for 
America and what the majority has been doing in pursuing that vision 
through legislation that we have worked on here in the House of 
Representatives.
  First of all, I would like to join the gentlewoman in supporting her 
statement that we are here as shepherds of the people's money. It is 
and should be our aim to give back as much of the money that is earned 
by the taxpayers, to the people that are earning that money, so they 
can use the money and put it to the work in the best way and the most 
efficient way possible.
  In that spirit, Mr. Speaker, I would also point out that the other 
side, in making the comment that the President nor the leadership has 
noticed that there is a problem with the deficit, nothing could be 
further from the truth. All that needs to be done is if they would look 
back to the deficit, to the budget that we passed to deal with the 
deficit. The President has set the goal that we must halve the deficit 
within 5 years. And this House of Representatives along with the entire 
Congress managed to pass a budget which for the first time in at least 
8 years begins to chip away at the so-called entitlement programs. And 
we will have a bill later this year which does that, to begin to arrest 
the exponential growth in those programs.
  But also we passed a budget that actually achieves an approximate 1 
percent across-the-board cut in nondefense, non-homeland security 
spending. Although those savings may seem meager, this is the first 
time that we have done that since the Reagan era. So, Mr. Speaker, I 
would differ strongly with the statements made by the other side to 
remind the people across this country that we are serious. We are 
serious stewards of their taxpayer dollars, and aim to be able to give 
back more of the hard-earned money that the families and businesses 
across this country earn on a daily basis.
  Now, let us turn to maybe the accomplishments that the gentlewoman 
talked about just now, and make an introductory remark about how we are 
leading this country, how we are responding to those issues that are on 
the top of people's minds across this country, and certainly are doing 
everything we can to make safer our young men and women in uniform as 
they have volunteered their time and made a sacrifice for us to go over 
and to conquer the enemy that poses a tremendous threat to our freedom.
  First of all, almost 4 years ago, on September 11, 2001, there is no 
question that all convention in terms of security was turned on its 
head. It was on that day, Mr. Speaker, that we saw 19 terrorists kill 
3,000 Americans in about 20 minutes with box cutters on a plane. And 
that was something that was really demonstrative of the fact that we 
were not thinking the unthinkable. I dare to say that not many of us 
would think that such an awful, awful terrorist attack could occur on 
our own soil, but it did. And as the gentlewoman mentioned, we rose to 
the occasion and we passed the REAL ID act to make sure that no longer 
could a terrorist have access to false identification issued by any 
State government to board an airplane and use that airplane as a 
missile to kill thousands of Americans. No longer will that happen.
  And as the gentlewoman points out, we were able to garner an awful 
lot of support on the other side. But mind you, it was not support 
coming from the ranks of the minority leadership, but rather it was the 
leadership on the Republican side of the aisle that took the lead on 
that issue.
  But in terms of security and what is going on here at home, we are 
also dealing with a very real problem, and that is the spread of gang 
violence. This is not only a State problem, it is a national problem. 
It is an international problem that reflects the growing influx and 
occurrence of terrorists making it across the border, joining gangs, 
and participating in some very violent acts.
  A little over a month ago here on the House floor, we passed what was 
called the gang buster bill to provide Federal law enforcement with 
extra tools to go ahead and identify and apprehend individuals 
connected with these gangs, and also to strengthen penalties so that we 
can put an end to violent activity in our community.
  Once again, leadership position that was taken on the majority side 
of the aisle and, frankly, has not been at all echoed or supported by 
the other side's leadership. None of this, Mr. Speaker, none of this 
would be possible if we do not ensure that our economy remains strong.
  In going back to the point the gentlewoman made about ensuring that 
the more taxpayer dollars that we can return to the people that earn 
it, the better off and the more productive our economy can be, we have 
witnessed over the last several months an incredible surge in the rate 
of job creation in

[[Page H4876]]

this country. We are at about a 5.1 percent unemployment rate 
nationally, which is a lower rate, the lowest rate that we have 
experienced in this country since September of 2001.
  I can say, Mr. Speaker, in my home State of Virginia, we have an 
approximately 3 percent unemployment rate, which again demonstrates the 
productivity gains that we have made, but also demonstrates that we 
have got an environment where individuals have taken to putting their 
capital at risk to create jobs and creates value.
  Now, we all know we are in a 24-7 global economy. We make no mistake 
about that. I think it is an agreed-upon fact that today we in this 
country, it is not just that our constituents are competing across 
town, that it is not the competitor there that we are only worried 
about, but the competitor across the globe.

                              {time}  1930

  You talk to some of the economic developers that are active in 
today's global economy and they will tell you there is just as much of 
a chance that an individual or company looking to invest resources 
would do so in Lima, Peru, as they would in Lima, Ohio. That is the 
reality of today's global economy.
  That is why we must compete. We must ensure that our tax laws are 
competitive. That is why we need to make sure that we enact some 
permanency in the Bush tax cuts because there is nothing more obvious 
than the impact of those tax cuts on the economy itself and the 
tremendous surge that we have experienced.
  We need to make sure that the regulatory environment is competitive. 
We cannot have our regulators promulgating burdensome regulations that 
inhibit capital formation in this country, because literally we are 
competing with every nation in the world.
  Mr. Speaker, we also must be mindful of what we have seen as the 
proliferation of junk lawsuits. Nothing can be more inhibitive of 
capital formation than for an individual or a company to realize that 
they may be subjected to frivolous lawsuits and exposure to liability 
that simply is not warranted.
  All we have to do is recall the class action suits against some of 
the fast-food chains that posed a potential risk to them, exposing them 
to liability for making hot coffee. Frankly, for an individual to drive 
up to a drive-through window, purchase a cup of coffee and then not 
realize that it is so hot that if it spills on them it would cause a 
burn, to me, defies common sense and reason.
  It is those types of frivolous lawsuits that were included in this 
class action reform bill that we have passed and the President actually 
signed into law. It is that type of legislation that has been guided 
through this House, through the support of our membership, and 
certainly at the direction of our Speaker and our leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a daunting task ahead of us in approaching the 
very real problem of Social Security. This is one of the most 
successful programs that we have ever faced in this country; but yet it 
is a program, given the demographics that we face in this country, that 
frankly is unsustainable.
  The law, as it stands today, will not allow us to continue on the 
current course, and we have got to do something to bend the curve to 
ensure long-term solvency of our Social Security system and, at the 
same time, ensure that it is not only today's seniors that are 
beneficiaries of that program but it is our children and our 
grandchildren.
  That is what we and the majority side of the aisle have set out to 
do. That is where the proposals have stemmed from. It is from the 
majority side of the aisle, and to date, Mr. Speaker, save but one 
Member on the opposite side of the aisle, we have seen nothing, 
nothing, no contribution from the other side of the aisle, not even 
contributing to the discussion that there is a problem facing the 
Social Security system today.
  It is on that note, Mr. Speaker, with an issue of such import that I 
implore the other side of the aisle to join our discussion, to 
contribute to trying to come up with solutions for the American people. 
I implore the other side and the leadership there to begin to join the 
discussion in arriving at solutions for the American people.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia and 
thank him for his thoughts on the issue and the things that we have 
been able to accomplish so far in the 109th Congress. As the gentleman 
had said, there have been so many things that we have been able to do.
  I have got a list of 100 ways in 100 days that we have been able to 
pass legislation that at some point he just mentioned: class action 
reform, funding for the troops, workforce job training, a highway jobs 
bill, a budget that reins in spending, boosting our border security and 
tsunami relief, all things that are very important. As he said, when it 
comes to issues of taxation, we are reducing the rate of taxation and 
the impact that has on our families.
  Talking about the need for deregulation. We like to say in my 
district, we need deregulation that fosters innovation and spurs job 
creation because that is what it is about, creating those jobs, keeping 
this economy moving, keeping it effective. Of course, litigation, and 
being certain that we look at class action reform, the need for class 
action reform, the need for medical liability reform.
  At this time, Mr. Speaker, I am going to yield to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Price) who has certainly been very active in this agenda 
that we have in the 109th Congress, the common sense Congress; and he 
has truly been a leader as we have looked at many of the taxation 
issues, as well as many of the health care issues in this great Nation.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Tennessee for yielding. I appreciate very much the opportunity to be 
involved with her in this discussion tonight.
  I was listening a little earlier, and I was thinking, do you not just 
get tired of the naysayers? Do you not just get tired of the folks who 
have nothing but doom and gloom to offer? It really is remarkable. I do 
not know what I would do if I felt that way every single day; the other 
side of the aisle seems to be so depressed and demoralized about what 
is going on. They are obviously not paying attention. This is an 
exciting time to be an American. It is an exciting time for all 
Americans.
  The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), our whip, mentioned that it 
is a serious time, and it is a very serious time; but it is an 
optimistic time as well.
  The gentlewoman mentioned many of the issues that we have acted on 
these first 169 days. It is the summer solstice. It is the longest day 
of the year, and the light in this longest day we ought to use to shed 
light on what we have done over these first 169 days. The gentlewoman 
mentioned a couple of them that I wanted to touch on.
  Class action reform is one of them, real lawsuit abuse reform that we 
have been able to enact, and we have been working on that in Congress 
for years, literally, trying to get that done, and it took Republican 
leadership and it took a Republican Congress to get it done. We will 
end some of the harassment that is going on in terms of local lawsuits 
and protect consumers.
  The budget resolution was mentioned where we are actually cutting 
real spending. The unsustainable rate of Federal spending that we have 
we are ending. We are ending that unsustainable rate and moving in the 
right direction. That is optimistic. That is positive for our Nation.
  REAL ID, the border security that she talked about, and we are 
getting good support from other side of the aisle for these things. 
Forty-two Democrats were on that who voted for that, and it is a first 
step in the right direction as it relates to border security.
  The bankruptcy bill the gentlewoman mentioned as well. That is real 
reform that had 73 Democrats.
  The energy bill we have not talked much about, 41 Democrats on that 
bill.
  I want to talk briefly tonight about something that is near and dear 
to my heart and I know near and dear to the gentlewoman's and that is 
tax reform. The tax reform that we have acted upon this year in this 
Congress is the death tax, permanent repeal of the death tax.

  This is part of that, those posters and the items that the 
gentlewoman talked about 100 days, 100 ways, what House Republicans 
have done to strengthen America. The death tax, the other side of the 
aisle earlier this evening said that tax cuts hurt Americans. I was 
dumbfounded when I heard that. Tax cuts hurt Americans. Do my 
colleagues know that the death tax itself costs

[[Page H4877]]

the American economy up to 250,000 jobs annually? By permanently 
repealing the death tax, we would add more than 100,000 jobs each year. 
Nearly 60 percent of business owners say that they would add jobs over 
the coming year if death taxes were permanently and completely 
eliminated.
  What does the death tax do? Well, it is the leading cause of the 
dissolution of thousands of family-run small businesses. Small 
businesses owned by families, the death tax comes at the end when 
somebody dies who is the senior in the family, and what happens is that 
that death tax is instituted, and they have to sell that family 
business in order to pay that death tax. It penalizes work. It 
penalizes savings. It deals an incredible death blow to small 
businesses.
  Get this statistic: more than 70 percent of family businesses do not 
survive the second generation. Eighty-seven percent do not make it to 
the third generation. Why is that? How much does that death tax take? 
You talk about 15 percent taxes here is high, and 20 percent there, and 
the income tax has a rate that is higher than that; but what does the 
death tax take? Forty-seven percent. Forty-seven percent. It is no 
wonder that 70 percent of small businesses do not survive to the next 
generation.
  So the death tax is unfair. It is unjust. It hampers economic growth. 
It increases the cost of capital. It artificially elevates interest 
rates, and this is another astounding fact: it probably costs the 
government and taxpayers more to collect the tax than the tax revenue 
that is gotten. That is the kind of nonsense that Americans are tired 
of.
  So what did our Congress do, led by Republicans and joined by some 
commonsense Democrats? What did our Republican leadership and our 
Republican House do? We passed a bill to repeal permanently the death 
tax. I could not be more proud to serve with men and women who act on 
this issue and other issues in such a responsible way.
  I am here to tell my colleagues that it is a positive thing that this 
Congress is doing, that this Republican leadership is doing, and that 
this Republican majority is doing; and we ought to be excited about 
where we are as Americans about the leadership that we have.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I am certain that in 
the gentleman's district in Georgia, just like in my mine in Tennessee, 
he has many family farmers. In our district in Tennessee, small 
business is the number one employer; and when I meet in my district 
with many of our farmers, with many of our small business owners, this 
is one of those issues, a permanent repeal of the death tax, this is 
something that they want to be certain gets signed into law. They are 
so supportive of the President and what he is doing there, and they 
want to be certain we get rid of that.
  We look at it as a triple tax. You pay tax when you acquire an asset; 
you pay a tax when you earn your income; you pay a tax when you 
maintain that asset; and then you die and you go and you pay it again. 
I talk a lot about sweat equity. Being a small businessperson, when 
somebody goes in there and they have that bright idea and they start 
that business and they put years and years and years into building that 
business and building that customer base, they want to be able to with 
pride give that to their children and their grandchildren, for that to 
be their livelihood, to continue that legacy.
  I look forward to our being able to put an end to such an egregious 
tax, and I thank the gentleman for his leadership on that issue; and I 
yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price).
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman ever so 
much. I appreciate that. I always thought it was two bites at the 
apple, but she is right. It is three bites that the government takes. 
That is unjust and unfair.
  I just wanted to come and add a little perspective of what I believe 
is the optimism that this Congress is leading with, this Republican 
leadership and this Republican majority is leading with. I appreciate 
the gentlewoman doing this this evening and giving us an opportunity to 
show the American people and talk with the American people about the 
positive things that this Congress is doing, and I thank her very much.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Price) for his comments, and he is so right. There is a spirit of 
optimism in America; and we see that in our districts, folks that are 
growing new businesses, folks that are working, getting new skills, 
training for new jobs; and we appreciate that about them. We love 
seeing that in our districts, and we like seeing that optimism, and 
certainly here on Capitol Hill we are encouraged when we hear from our 
constituents that they are excited about some of the legislation that 
we are passing here, whether it is with bankruptcy reform or the REAL 
ID Act, taking steps to secure those borders, reducing taxes, 
supporting our troops.
  A gentleman who knows quite a bit about supporting those troops is 
the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) with his military background. 
He is new to us this year here in Congress, and we welcome him, and we 
welcome his energy and his willingness to work on the great agenda that 
we have established in this 109th Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Tennessee for yielding.
  I believe that we have much to be pleased about; and contrary to the 
obstinate obstructionism of the far left, much is being done. There is 
a lot of talk about how Republicans and Democrats cannot seem to agree 
on anything, and I do not think that portrays an accurate picture of 
the work that is being done in the 109th Congress.
  So far we have seen several significant pieces of legislation passed 
with overwhelming bipartisan support. We have watched as a significant 
number of Democrats have broken ranks to support business and family-
friendly legislation.

                              {time}  1945

  So what have we been spending our time on? For starters, we have 
given a helping hand to small businesses by passing class action 
reform, a permanent repeal to the death tax, and a comprehensive energy 
policy, all of which contribute to the overall good health of our 
economy.
  More importantly, these measures will help create jobs. Americans 
want to work. Americans want to earn a paycheck and want to feel like 
they have contributed to our part of the world.
  We in Congress can help Americans do that by continuing to support 
and pass legislation that creates jobs. Consider this: the energy 
policy will create 40,000 new construction jobs by building about 27 
large clean-coal plants. That will benefit the Commonwealth of Kentucky 
and the Ohio Valley, workers, suppliers, and also manufacturers and 
energy producers.
  It will create 12,000 full-time permanent jobs related to plant 
operations, and the legislation allows for increased natural gas 
exploration and development that will create jobs and provide more than 
$500 million in increased revenue for our economy. The comprehensive 
energy policy passed with the support of 41 Democrats who believe more 
in creating jobs and establishing an energy policy than playing petty 
politics.
  Let us also consider the permanent repeal of the death tax which 
passed with the support of 42 Members of the Democratic Party. They 
voted to allow small businesses and family farmers to keep jobs and our 
dollars in communities, rather than sending them to bureaucrats in 
Washington, D.C.
  There is the highway bill that will create more than 47,000 new jobs 
for every $1 billion invested in our country's transportation system. 
Not only does this create jobs, but it increases road safety so that 
our families and everyone else who travels them can be assured of a 
safer ride. And 198 Democrats supported this legislation. The minority 
leader did not, despite the fact that that bill alone will lay a 
tremendous foundation for future growth and future economic development 
throughout this land.
  Mr. Speaker, 71 Members of the Democratic Party joined with us to 
pass the Gang Deterrence and Protection Act of 2005, again without the 
strength or support of their leadership. Gangs are increasingly 
becoming a problem in nearly every community in the Nation, and we are 
starting to hear disturbing whispers about gangs that

[[Page H4878]]

regularly bring illegal immigrants into this country to boost their 
gang membership and may be teaming up with terror cells to smuggle in 
terrorists. This is a serious threat to our national security that we 
must address.
  But what can we expect from our Democratic leadership that continues 
to insult and denigrate our troops and the mission of our military, 
those who serve on the front lines? So we continue to be joined by 
rank-and-file Democrats, like the 54 Members who helped us pass the 
Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, the 42 Members who helped 
us pass the Border Security Act, and the 122 Democrats who helped us 
pass the Continuity in Congress Act.
  Moreover, 143 Democrats joined with us to support our troops at the 
tip of the spear, fighting the war on terror to protect our Nation and 
keep our communities and our homeland safe. They made sure that they 
ensured our troops have the resources and tools they need to fight and 
win this war on terror.
  Contrary to what the liberal media implies, there is strong 
bipartisan work in Congress; and there is a lot being accomplished. It 
is just too bad that the Democratic leadership continues being 
obstinate and obstructive when there is so much at stake for our 
future, our continuing economic well-being, the security of our 
homeland, and the security and jobs of ordinary Americans who depend 
upon us to pass commonsense, reasonable legislation.
  As a joint team, we are doing our part and we are getting some great 
help teaming with rank-and-file Democrats. It is too bad the liberal 
minority leader does not want to join her own colleagues who did the 
right thing in passing helpful and progressive legislation.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for taking the 
time to share his thoughts tonight.
  The gentleman is so right: it is family friendly, it is business 
friendly. That is the agenda that this leadership has. It is an agenda 
that is based on hope. It is an agenda that is based on the love of 
opportunity and knowing that we all want something better for our 
children, for our grandchildren. We all want to see America be vital 
and vibrant with a great economy and opportunity for all of our 
children.
  As the gentleman was speaking, I thought about a great Tennessean, 
Alex Hailey, and a comment he used to make regularly. He was a 
wonderful author, and we are so proud of the works he created. He had a 
phrase that he would use often. It was ``find the good and praise it.'' 
In this 109th Congress, the agenda that we have brought forward has a 
whole lot of good in it. It is wonderful to take a few moments on this 
first day of summer, on this 169th calendar day of the year, the 67th 
day of this 109th Congress, and praise the good work that is being done 
on this floor.
  We have talked a lot about our economic security and homeland 
security. Let us focus on moral security and the obligation we have for 
health care in this great Nation. One of the leaders in this debate 
here in this Congress is the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. 
Bradley), and he is going to talk about health care and some of the 
items we have been able to accomplish on our health care agenda.
  Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to join 
with the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) to talk about an 
agenda that helps get Americans back to work, that wins the war on 
terrorism and makes our Nation secure, and an agenda that focuses on 
affordable and accessible health care for all.
  Like the gentlewoman, I go home every weekend and I do town hall 
meetings. I am going to do my 100th town hall meeting this weekend 
since I have been a Member of Congress. One of the things that keeps 
coming up is the cost of health care and what can we do to further that 
agenda.
  There are a lot of things that we can do and have voted on in the 
past and will vote on in the future. It starts with the fact that 
doctors with high liability costs are being driven out of the practice 
of medicine because of those soaring liability costs. We need to 
confront that. We have done that on our side of the aisle and will 
continue to do that. Some reasonable limits on pain and suffering 
awards, which some States have enacted and have seen medical liability 
costs come down and stabilize.
  In my State of New Hampshire, we have seen higher-risk specialty 
doctors, obstetricians, gynecologists, trauma doctors, surgeons, 
actually have to relinquish or curtail their practice because of 
soaring liability costs. What does that mean? It means people that need 
medical care may not be able to get it from the doctor of their choice, 
or they have to travel further, or it is simply not available in 
certain regions of my State. This is a national issue, and we need to 
get this on our agenda. This is something that we voted on on our side 
of the aisle and supported, and I hope that the other side of the aisle 
will join in this commonsense reform to make sure that doctors stay in 
business.

  There are other things that we can do. Small businesses have so many 
employees, and they constitute about 70 percent of the new jobs; but 
for many small businesses they are also where, unfortunately, a number 
of Americans cannot afford health insurance through their business, the 
business owners, that represents a significant number of the uninsured 
people in our country. So allowing small businesses the same 
opportunities that large corporations have, to pool together and to do 
so across State lines, to join through bona fide business 
organizations, whether it is chambers of commerce, or like-minded 
business groups around the country, to be able to purchase health 
insurance through what are known as associated health plans, is a 
commonsense reform that, once again, we are leading the way on.
  I hope that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and there 
are some that support this because it is a great idea, it will give 
small businesses the same buying power that large corporations have so 
they will get better discounts in health care. It will allow them to 
spread out the risk of expensive treatments and to spread out high 
administrative costs, all things that small businesses endure. I hope 
that we are able to pass this here in the House and the Senate to enact 
this reform.
  A couple of things that we have done in the 108th Congress, and we 
need to look at that because one of the big things that we have done is 
going to take effect on January 1, 2006, and that is a Medicare drug 
benefit for senior citizens. It is long overdue for senior citizens, 
especially those who are lower income, who are facing the cost of high 
prescription medicines, to have access through Medicare to prescription 
drugs so they can live healthier, more independent, longer lives. This 
was a reform that was adopted in the 108th Congress and will be 
implemented on January 1, 2006.
  As part of that legislation, we also allow families and businesses, 
if they choose to match contributions of families, to create health 
savings accounts, and to do so up to an amount of $5,000 for a family 
of tax-free dollars that they can actually use to purchase their own 
health insurance.
  So this is a reform that we both know is something that will allow 
people to be wiser consumers of health care because it is their money 
that is going for either the purchase of health care or the purchase of 
higher deductible health insurance.
  These are reforms, the Medicare drug benefit and health savings 
accounts, that we have accomplished in the last session of Congress. It 
is my hope that we will be able to push this agenda forward, this 
positive agenda, so we have lower liability costs for doctors and we 
allow small businesses to pool together to purchase health care in 
collective units.
  Now one last thing that has enjoyed bipartisan support and the 
President deserves a great deal of credit for, those are community 
health centers. I have one in my district that recently got Federal 
funds that is going to expand its operation, nearly double its square 
footage. Community health centers are alternatives to more expensive 
hospitalization. And they give people of lower income or people who 
need preventive care, primary care, better access to health care 
facilities. We have dramatically increased the funding for community 
health centers over the last several years from about $1.1 billion when 
President Bush became President to this budget, the Labor-HHS budget, 
to about $1.83 billion. This will enable more of these community

[[Page H4879]]

health centers to be built, improve access to all Americans, but in 
particular lower-income Americans.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I want to go back to the poster that is 
right behind the one that is displayed next to the gentleman. It is the 
commonsense Congress, and the gentleman has touched on this several 
times. I think it is worth drawing some special attention to: common 
sense.
  The legislation that the leadership has brought forward in this 
Congress, the things that America supports us on that we are hearing 
from them, they are pleased with the agenda that we have moved forward 
on, is based on common sense. A couple of other things the gentleman 
has mentioned, whether it is the community health centers or the health 
savings accounts or the medical liability reforms, one of the points 
the gentleman just made is so true.
  What we are talking about is the taxpayers' money. The gentleman 
said, ``It is your money.'' That is so true. We realize this is the 
taxpayers' money. It is not our money. It is not government's money. It 
is the taxpayers' money. I agree so wholeheartedly with the gentleman 
from New Hampshire. We trust the individual to make those decisions on 
how to spend that money. We trust those local governments and those 
wonderful community health centers. The gentleman has them in his 
district. I have them in mine. What wonderful work they do, and how 
cost effective they are.
  It is exciting to see that we have a budget where we have had a 
reduction in discretionary spending. We have a budget where we are 
putting the emphasis on priorities. We are beginning to turn this 
around. Forty years of Democrat control grew program upon program upon 
program without accountability. Now we are beginning over the past 
decade to see that accountability move in place; and with the positive 
proactive agenda that we have this year, we are seeing action.
  Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, that brings something we 
have to reiterate. When the tax cuts the gentlewoman referred to were 
passed, we had an unemployment rate of over 6 percent. Today, that 
unemployment rate is 5.1 percent, and 3.5 million jobs have been 
created.

                              {time}  2000

  When we talk about making our economy more competitive so that 
Americans can compete around the world, tax reform is a significant 
issue, and a stimulus package that drives jobs is a huge issue to make 
sure that Americans have every opportunity, anybody that wants to find 
a job has the opportunity to find a job. As I have noted already, 
making health care more accessible and more affordable through some of 
the reforms that I outlined will make our economy more competitive and 
enable businesses to better afford health care for employees and our 
Nation to grow.
  I thank the gentlewoman so much for organizing this hour.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman for joining us. He is so 
correct in jobs and talking about jobs. We are pleased that the 
unemployment rate is at 5.1 percent. One of the points that we have 
accomplished this year, with bipartisan support, is the jobs training 
bill, giving the training that is necessary, and allowing that to be 
accessed by individuals right there in their home communities so they 
have the skills necessary to move forward and to secure good jobs right 
there in their communities for their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
McHenry) for his comments and thoughts on the agenda in his first 
Congress here with this 109th Congress.
  Mr. McHENRY. I certainly appreciate the leadership of the gentlewoman 
from Tennessee here in Congress, and I know her constituents are well 
represented by her values here. We are talking about the GOP agenda 
here in the House, our conservative agenda, our agenda that has 
solutions, real solutions for the American people. We passed a 
conservative budget that reins in non-defense, non-homeland security 
discretionary spending by 1 percent. It is a start. It is a move in the 
right direction. It is the most conservative budget since Ronald Reagan 
was in office. However, at the same time it funds key priorities, like 
our national defense, our homeland security. It funds fire departments. 
It funds police officers. It does the right thing for the American 
people. We passed a good budget.
  We also passed class action lawsuit reform with bipartisan support. 
It reins in trial lawyers. It reins in these out-of-control lawsuits 
and lawsuit abuse.
  We passed bankruptcy reform that says you should make good on your 
bills. We have bankruptcy reform. It was bipartisan as well.
  REAL ID, Border Security Act. Border security, ladies and gentlemen. 
The Republicans in this Congress have taken on this challenge and some 
Democrats bought in.
  Death tax repeal, eliminating the death tax.
  A transportation bill that ensures that we have good roads in this 
Nation and funds priorities.
  We also passed pro-life legislation, reasonable pro-life legislation 
that does the right thing for minors and does the right thing for the 
unborn child as well. We have passed good legislation.
  The American people need to know that, Mr. Speaker. The American 
people need to know that we are a Congress that is focused on getting 
real results for people. We are not here about partisan rhetoric. We 
are not here to complain about the process. We all know the process 
here in Washington, D.C. is not what it should be. That is the way it 
has been for over 200 years in this Nation. But we are a free people 
with high ideals that we try to live up to as a Nation. And we are a 
Congress that respects those values.
  But I certainly appreciate the gentlewoman from Tennessee having this 
hour so that we can discuss the solutions that we have put forward, not 
just as Republicans but as Americans, working across the aisle on a 
bipartisan fashion.
  Before me is a chart, Democrats Running to GOP Solutions. They are 
buying into our agenda. They are buying into our agenda. Bipartisan 
Victories for America Expose House Democrat Leadership's Lack of 
Vision. We have had five major pieces of legislation pass the House 
with strong bipartisan support that has an impact on people's lives.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman so much for his comments. I 
think this is one of the things that we hear repeatedly from our 
constituents. They want to see us solve problems. They have appreciated 
how aggressively we have attacked the agenda this year and have worked 
to move forward on a positive, proactive track.
  Bankruptcy reform. That is something that they have tried to pass for 
years here in Washington. For years. As I was in the State Senate in 
Tennessee, we would hear about the gridlock in Washington in not being 
able to move this forward.
  Class action reform. We have been hearing for a decade that that was 
needed.
  The REAL ID Act. Since September 11, 2001, we heard about the need to 
secure our borders and to be certain that those driver's licenses were 
using proper documentation.
  Permanent repeal of the death tax. I cannot remember a time that I 
was not hearing about the need to repeal this. A continuity of 
government, having a plan for that. There again, since September 11, 
2001, we have been hearing of the need for this.
  I would just express to the gentleman that I feel it has been a very 
aggressive 67 session days that we have had and 169 calendar days that 
we have seen so far, and we have our list that we have been talking 
through tonight of 100 ways, in 100 days, that we have been able to 
pass legislation.
  One thing I think that is important to point out, also, is that not 
always does it mean when we say we are passing legislation that we are 
adding another law to the books. Many times what we are doing is 
repealing and taking laws off the books, repealing. We are deregulating 
instead of increasing regulation. We are lowering taxes instead of 
increasing taxes. We are trusting people to make the decisions they 
need to make for their families. I think that is one of the 
differences.
  Mr. McHENRY. If the gentlewoman will yield, the gentlewoman outlined 
a few major pieces of legislation. We had 73 Democrats vote with our 
Republicans for bankruptcy reform. The leader on the left voted no.

[[Page H4880]]

  Class action lawsuit reform, we passed with 50 Democrat votes. Their 
leader, out of step with her own Members, voted no.
  REAL ID Act, 42 Democrats voted yes. Their leader voted no.
  Permanent repeal of the death tax. What happened? Forty-two Democrats 
voted yes. Their leader voted no.
  Continuity of government, bipartisan support for this, included 122 
Democrats voting for it. They thought it was the right thing to do. 
Their leader voted no.
  The agenda on the left is all about no. No action, no results, no 
ideas. And we on the right, we the Republican majority, are acting. We 
are moving forward. We are trying to do what is right for all 
Americans, not just say no.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. We have a newspaper here in Washington, D.C. It is 
called The Hill. Today there was an article, Progressives to Unveil 
Their Core Principles. The article talks about how some of the liberal 
Members in the House felt sidelined, and I am quoting, ``felt sidelined 
as more centrist Democrats have chosen to side with Republican 
leadership on several issues.''
  I would suggest to the gentleman that the reason so many Members of 
this body do talk with us, side with us, work with us, vote with us to 
pass this legislation, is because it is what America wants to see 
happen. It is what their expectation is and the legislation they want 
to see.
  Mr. McHENRY. That is a wonderful way you put that. We are trying to 
take a consensus agenda on what the American people need and want and 
the direction this country wants to continue heading. And that is more 
local control, individual ownership and responsibility, keeping more of 
what they earn to help their families, help their communities, help 
raise their children and improve small businesses around this country.
  I certainly appreciate the gentlewoman from Tennessee taking the time 
to be here tonight to discuss our agenda, not a Republican agenda but 
an agenda for America, to do the right thing for all American people. 
That is what we are trying to do. My constituents back home in western 
North Carolina certainly have those same ideals in mind. I am sure 
yours do as well there in Tennessee. I thank the gentlewoman for 
hosting this hour.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman so much for being here this 
evening. I think one of the things that we have seen is that so many 
Members of this House have supported tax relief for every taxpayer. 
They know that this majority has supported tax relief for every single 
taxpayer, not for just a few. And, true, we have targeted that relief 
to those at the lower end of the earning scale and that is an important 
thing to do.
  In the past few years, we have also reduced income tax rates across 
the board. We have eliminated that death tax. We hope that the Senate 
works with us, making this a permanent elimination.
  We are allowing businesses, we talked about small businesses and jobs 
creation, allowing businesses to deduct more for their equipment, for 
their depreciation, for their leasing, so that they can up those 
capital expenditures. We are seeing capital investment increase and 
jobs growth take place.
  For States like my State, Tennessee, and others that do not have a 
State income tax, we have passed a bill restoring the Federal sales tax 
deduction. In my State in Tennessee, that is putting hundreds of 
millions of dollars back into our State economy. It is a great thing. 
It is a great thing for Main Street. We know that it is the right thing 
to do, to be sure those dollars stay at home. The last thing we need to 
do is to take more out of somebody's paycheck, more out of their 
pocketbook, and turn around and send it here to Washington, D.C. to try 
to decide how we are going to send it back. Leave it at home.
  The tax relief for individuals and for small businesses has paid off. 
We started with a recession in 2001 and now we are entering the 25th 
month of steady jobs growth. Twenty-five months. Since May 2003, this 
economy, not the government, not Washington, D.C., but this wonderful 
free enterprise system in this great Nation has created nearly 5 
million new jobs. The reason we see this jobs growth is not because 
government is creating jobs, it is because this leadership in this 
Congress, in this administration, understands create the right 
environment and get out of the way. Let the free enterprise system do 
what they do best, which is create jobs. Over the past couple of years, 
25 months, an average of 146,000 jobs a month. We have got historically 
low unemployment and we have got steady growth.
  We have led on tax relief. We have led on the effort to eliminate 
waste, fraud, and abuse in government and on the effort to cut Federal 
spending. We passed a budget, despite outcry from the left, that 
allowed a .8 percent, nearly a full percent cut in budget authority in 
non-defense, non-homeland security spending.
  An issue I know my constituents care deeply about is the growing 
problem of illegal immigration. We have taken a strong stance on this 
issue and have made a terrific start with passage of the REAL ID Act. 
We are funding more border agents. Our list goes on and on, 100 ways, 
in 100 days.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to be here to visit with my 
colleagues tonight. We look forward to continuing the conversation and 
to continuing to work on a positive, progressive, proactive agenda for 
America.

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