[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 85 (Thursday, June 23, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H5092-H5098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 2000
REPUBLICAN AGENDA
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dent). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 4, 2005, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Foxx) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority
leader.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, in this Special Order, we are going to focus
on two things. I am first here to speak a tribute to a very good friend
of mine and then I will share the rest of the hour with my colleagues.
Tribute to Lois Britt
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to
pay tribute to the memory of a true leader and my friend, Anne Lois
Britt. On June 4, just 3 weeks ago, Lois Britt passed away in her
sleep. Not only did her family lose a devoted and caring matriarch but
Lois' passing marked a serious loss for my State. Lois' first love was
to her family and grandchildren, Ralph and Luke, but she loved and
treated the betterment of rural North Carolina like it was her second
family. She touched the lives of so many, and words cannot express what
she meant to those around her. Throughout her nearly 50-year career,
Lois was able to work for, and with, the things she loved--her family,
people, education, agriculture, and Duplin County.
Lois was born and reared in Duplin County, North Carolina. Duplin
County is in the rural eastern part of North Carolina. However, Lois
could see from an early age, if given just a few resources, the
citizens of Duplin County could do and achieve wonderful things. She
was determined to improve the
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lives of everyone she knew, and she knew almost everybody. So after
earning her bachelor's degree from East Carolina University and
graduating from North Carolina State with a master's degree in adult
education, she returned home to begin her life's work.
Once back in Duplin, she started with the extension service, working
in 4-H, home economics and community development. For more than 33
years, she helped mold 4-H'ers, families, and coworkers into positive,
productive citizens. To put into perspective how much she meant to the
4-H community, I would like to tell you a story I heard from one of her
closest friends. It is customary in North Carolina to have one large
family Bible that you keep records, newspaper clippings, and any
general memorabilia about your family. One common item usually found in
Duplin County family Bibles was the children's 4-H certificates. For 33
years, Lois Britt signed every single 4-H certificate awarded. You see,
Lois was a part of everyone's family in some way or another. Countless
people in Duplin County credit Lois and the skills they gained under
her 4-H and extension leadership for the success they have enjoyed in
life.
While she was doing what God had put her on earth to do, helping
others, Lois' career began to take off. In 1976, she was promoted to
county extension director. She held this position for 14 years and was
the first woman in North Carolina's history to serve in that capacity.
After leaving the county extension in 1990, she worked until 2000
with Murphy Family Farms as vice president for public relations.
Additionally, she was a member of the board of the North Carolina Pork
Council and was vice president of the National Pork Producers Council.
It was through her work in pork and agriculture that Lois and I first
became friends. We worked together in the North Carolina State Senate
and here in the House of Representatives on a number of projects to
improve and bolster the pork industry in our home State. We did not
always see eye to eye on every issue, but I always knew where she stood
and I admired her for that.
It was during her time with Murphy Brown Farms and the North Carolina
Pork Council that Lois became a national spokesperson for her industry.
She gained national notoriety in her field as an effective and creative
leader. People looked up to Lois and respected what she had to say.
Although she never ran for public office, I suspect Lois could have
held any elected position she wanted due to her leadership, compassion,
and understanding of complicated issues.
While moving the agribusiness sector of North Carolina forward, Lois
became heavily involved with North Carolina State University. She
served on the University of North Carolina board of governors and had
been appointed to the chancellor's board of visitors for North Carolina
State University. In fact, one of the easiest decisions I ever made in
the State Senate was to vote for Lois Britt for board of governors.
Along with her distinguished professional career, Lois was awarded
and achieved many honors in her successful life. Awards such as the
North Carolina Pork Council Hall of Fame, North Carolina 4-H Lifetime
Achievement Award, the North Carolina State University Watauga Medal,
the 2003 Volunteer Service Award from the National Agricultural Alumni
and Development Association, and the 2002 Distinguished Alumnus for
Agriculture from the North Carolina State University College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences are just a few of the awards and
achievements bestowed upon Lois. If I read them all to you, we would be
here till next week.
As you can see, Lois Britt meant the world to her family, her
community and the State of North Carolina. Lois had a history of
helping people solve problems that arise from our need to be good
stewards of the land. She built systems that allow our youth, families
and communities to plan and execute productive agribusiness
enterprises. She was a great mother and a great friend.
I am pleased that her son Ralph, his wife Suzanne, and Lois' sister
Gail have traveled to Washington to join me in celebrating the life of
their loved one. They traveled to D.C. to be a part of this tribute,
along with many other of Lois' closest friends. I was also honored to
be a part of her life. Although Lois is no longer with us physically,
we can rest easy knowing she is reunited with her husband and is
teaching somewhere in heaven. May God bless her soul.
Mr. Speaker, a group of us is here tonight to bring some perspectives
to many things that have been said in the past few weeks by leaders and
members of the Democratic Party. I want to recognize first,
Representative Marsha Blackburn who represents the Seventh District of
Tennessee, and then Representative Kenny Marchant who represents the
24th District of Texas. I will then speak very briefly and then
recognize the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake) who is here.
Let me please turn the floor over to the gentlewoman from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North
Carolina and how we welcome her enthusiasm and her dedication to
helping move forward with the Republican agenda and with the leadership
that has been shown.
Mr. Speaker, before I begin my comments this evening, I would like to
just pause for a few moments and commend our colleagues from across the
aisle as they have stood tonight to remember and to commemorate those
men and women who have given their lives in the fight for freedom. We
can never begin to express our thanks and our gratitude to the men and
women who fight to preserve freedom. Our country has a long, storied,
noble history in the fight for freedom and democracy. I want to commend
them for reminding and for remembering that there are those who have
given their lives. We need to remember each and every individual.
This Nation has been being attacked by terrorists now for a couple of
decades. We need to go back and as we remember these men and women who
have lost their lives in Iraq, we need to also remember those that lost
their lives with the Khobar Towers, with the Cole, with the first World
Trade Center bombing, those in Afghanistan and those that currently
serve in Afghanistan as well as all of our men and women who are
currently deployed. In Tennessee, in my district, we have men and women
who are members of the National Guard who are deployed in both
Afghanistan and Iraq. To those families, we say we stand with you so
solidly, so totally in this fight for freedom.
We have men and women from Fort Campbell, which primarily sits in the
Seventh Congressional District of Tennessee, who are preparing to
redeploy with the 101st or the 160th, who are in the process of being
redeployed. We thank each and every one of them for their service, for
their sacrifice, their families we thank for their service and their
sacrifice, these precious children who are at home for the summer
without mom or dad to go to the ball field with them or to take them to
swimming lessons or to hold them tight at night when they are worried
and have fears and concerns. We stand with you in this fight for
freedom.
We are talking a good bit about what our agenda has been and being in
touch with the desires of the American people. I want to call attention
to a couple of things that have been in the press lately. We had seven
House Members yesterday who wrote a letter to Minority Leader Pelosi
saying that they were shocked by a statement in which she said the war
in Afghanistan was over, and I am quoting from the letter. They wrote:
``Messages like yours could demoralize our troops and undermine our
efforts to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and around the world.'' That
was in their letter, and reminding her that we have known all along
this is going to be a long, long war. It is not going to be an easy
war. It is going to require some sacrifice on all of our parts, on each
and every single individual's part.
And then I pulled another article from today's press. It was talking
about Taliban, Rebels Fight Afghan, U.S. Forces. We had 102 insurgents
that were killed in 3 days of fighting in Afghanistan. It just goes to
show us, those who wish us harm, those who would do evil are still out
there and still fighting and fighting against freedom.
But much of this has to do with focus and where we put our focus and
where
[[Page H5094]]
this 109th Congress chooses to place its focus. We were here earlier
this week talking about the agenda, the Republican agenda, and some of
the things that we have accomplished. We are in our 69th day, I believe
it is, of our session. There are many strides that we have made for the
American people. As we have talked about this, and I know the
gentlewoman from North Carolina is certainly aware of this, every time
we pass a bill here, it does not mean we have added another law or
added another statute to the books. Many times what it means is that we
are removing or repealing something and that is the way it ought to be,
because being committed to freedom, being here to defend the individual
freedoms that each and every person holds dear, means that one of the
things we are doing is trying to roll back that long reaching arm of
government, roll it back and send that power and send that money and
send that authority to the State and local levels. That is something
that we as a majority feel is very important: individual freedoms,
local control, moving forward on an agenda that is a conservative,
well-placed agenda, rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, looking for
ways to shrink some of these programs.
These are some of the things that we have been able to make progress
on over the last few months: bankruptcy reform, which we passed with
302 votes in this body. That meant we had 73 Democrats cross over and
vote with us to pass that. The reason they do that, most of America
agrees with the majority's agenda, things that are going to strengthen
families, things that are going to strengthen small business.
Class action reform. We have all heard the stories of how trial
lawyers go out and make 20, $30 million off of different class action
cases and then the members of the class end up with a coupon for 50
cents off, a free movie, a free bottle of juice, a free packet of some
commodity. Class action reform passed in this body with 279 votes.
Fifty of those votes were Democrats.
The REAL ID Act, border security, addressing illegal immigration and
the impact illegal immigration has on this great Nation. We passed the
REAL ID Act which is the first step in this, working in concert with
many of our State legislatures. They were supporting us as we moved
forward with the REAL ID Act to be certain that we had valid documents,
immigration documents, used for driver's licenses. The REAL ID Act
passed with 261 votes. Forty-two of those were Democrat votes.
Permanent repeal of the death tax which we have passed in this body.
We look forward to seeing that signed into law, because we are looking
to roll back taxes and free up this economy, continue to free it up. We
have had 25 months of sustained economic growth and it comes from the
tax reductions that have been passed by this majority. One of those is
the death tax repeal. An important reason for this is because the death
tax is a triple tax. You pay tax when you acquire an asset, you pay tax
when you maintain the asset, and certainly when you earn your income
that you use to purchase that asset, you are paying tax there, too. So
rolling back the death tax. Two hundred seventy-two Members of this
body, the U.S. House of Representatives, voted to repeal the death tax.
Forty-two of those were Democrats.
Continuity of government. The energy bill. Everyone is concerned
about gas prices. Something we can do that is going to help us send the
right message is passing an energy bill.
{time} 2015
And we did that in this House, sent it across the Rotunda to our
friends and colleagues in the Senate. And we passed that energy bill
with 249 votes; 41 of those were Democrats. And the gentlewoman knows
that all of this goes to show that America responds to our agenda. They
are looking forward to our reducing the size of government, getting
government off their back, getting it out of their pocketbook, leaving
them with more money to spend, lightening up on that regulation so that
the free enterprise system can do what it does best: generate jobs. We
know we do not create those jobs. Government does not create those
jobs. Free enterprise creates those jobs.
So as we look at an agenda that is based on hope, is based on
planning for the future, is based on a better life for our children, we
welcome that the other party comes along and supports this agenda
because we know it energizes America. We have provisions that energize
this economy, that get us moving in the direction that we should be
moving.
I want to thank the gentlewoman for organizing this hour, looking at
the strength that is in the agenda that we are working on this year and
looking at the momentum that we have for this agenda. It is going to be
a busy summer here in Washington, and it is going to be a very brisk,
aggressive fall. And we look forward to continuing to work on these
issues of taxation, of regulation, the immigration, addressing illegal
immigration, litigation, beginning to continue to address these
frivolous lawsuits; and we know that progress is going to be made on
behalf of the American people.
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me and for inviting me to
join her on the floor.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs.
Blackburn).
Now I would like to yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Marchant),
who has come into this Congress along with me and whom I have come to
appreciate so much for his leadership and insights.
Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North
Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for yielding to me.
It is a rare privilege for me to be on the floor with her tonight,
and it was a privilege for me to spend the last hour listening to the
names of men and women who have given their lives so that we would have
the opportunity to be here tonight and to state our views and debate
and pass laws that will affect this country.
But this evening I would like to commend the leadership of the
Republican-led 109th Congress, which at its halfway point has been
marked by major legislative achievement. The Democrats have responded
to our party's ideas and vision with a lack of ideas and a lack of
vision. They have continuously criticized the actions of the majority,
but remain unwilling to put forward any constructive plan on Social
Security, energy, or illegal immigration.
I am proud of the many initiatives already passed by House
Republicans this year to strengthen this great Nation. This includes
class action reform. This reform addresses the most serious cases of
class action abuse by allowing large interstate class action cases to
be heard in Federal court. The measure unclogs specified, very
specific, overused courts and ends harassment of local businesses
through forum shopping and limits the thousands and thousands of
frivolous lawsuits that are being filed every day.
Another example is the READ ID Act. The READ ID Act completes the
mission and recommendations of the
9/11 Commission. It closes asylum loopholes and implements driver's
license reforms, strengthens deportation laws, and defends our borders.
This bill is necessary to secure our borders and our homeland.
This majority has also passed the permanent repeal of the death tax.
The death tax is the leading cause of dissolution for most of our small
businesses in America. This unfair tax hampers economic growth.
Permanently killing the death tax creates a tax policy that supplements
economic growth and opportunity and gives hope to future generations.
Our small farmers, our Realtors, our small businesses in America only
want to pass on what they have spent generations earning to their
families; yet we have a death tax now that robs them of that ability.
America needs a comprehensive energy policy. This Republican Congress
has passed an energy bill that creates \1/2\ million new jobs in a wide
range of industries. The initiative provides incentives for renewable
energies and leadership in energy conservation. The Energy Policy Act
allows for increased domestic oil and gas exploration and development.
It aims to decrease America's dependence on foreign oil and therefore
make our country safer and more self-reliant.
Republican Members of Congress are also currently hammering out
solutions to the looming Social Security crisis, as well as negotiating
a highway bill that will improve driver safety, traffic congestion, and
create millions of new jobs across America.
[[Page H5095]]
Such progress and achievement for the well-being of this country can
only be attributed to the leadership and effectiveness of congressional
Republicans. I am disappointed that our opposing party continues to
hinder progress and relies on its legislative obstructionism.
I am proud of what we have accomplished thus far in the 109th
Congress for the American people.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments.
I now yield to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake), who also
came in with this freshman class and represents the Second District of
Virginia.
Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina
(Ms. Foxx) for her leadership tonight and for allowing us to
participate here with her in this hour.
We have heard from the gentleman from Texas and the gentlewoman from
Tennessee that we are right at our halfway point for the very first
year of the 109th Congress. I think that the gentlewoman from North
Carolina would agree with me that it is a very exciting time to serve
in Congress. There are very many major issues that face our Nation, and
the exciting thing is that this Congress is committed to dealing with
those issues.
We have begun the debate on Social Security. We will begin the debate
on Medicaid reform with the commission that is being formed, a
bipartisan commission. We will work on the total issue of health care,
Medicare reform, illegal immigration. There are just many issues that
this Congress must deal with and is committed to dealing with.
We have heard tonight about some of the major pieces of legislation
that have already been passed by both bodies and enacted into law, from
bankruptcy reform to class action lawsuit reform to the READ ID Act and
the Continuity of Government Act.
We have also heard about pieces of legislation that were in the works
for a very long time and have now passed over to the Senate and we are
awaiting their action. On a national energy plan, our country knows
today how critical it is that we have a national energy plan. We can no
longer be reliant on foreign oil, which today is 62 percent of the
energy of the oil that is used in this country.
Other key things that this Congress has sent to the Senate is the
Child Interstate Abortion Act, a critical piece of legislation for our
parents and our families; Gang Violence Deterrence and Protection Act,
critical for our safety in our communities; the flag protection
amendment; U.N. reform; and the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act.
Also, both Houses have acted on our highway bill, and that bill is
currently in conference and there will be a compromise at approximately
somewhere around $284 billion for highways, transit, and road safety
through 2009, creating countless new jobs and addressing many
transportation needs.
The American people need to know that Congress is hard at work and
dealing with problems that have not yet been addressed. Bankruptcy
reform and class action lawsuit alone were at least 6 years before
those bills were passed. Last year Congress did not pass a highway
bill; and this year, as we have heard, we are very close to finalizing
that.
The people of this Nation have expressed that Congress needed to
demand and require commonsense reform in regards to our participation
and financial support of the U.N. I commend the gentleman from Illinois
(Chairman Hyde) and the House Committee on International Relations for
their hard work. Now the U.S. can require accountability and tie
payments to it.
And we now have figures to show how well the Bush tax cuts are
working. Current numbers reflect an additional $100 billion in revenue.
It shows that that economic model of allowing people to keep more of
their hard-earned money means that they will creates new jobs, they
will invest it, and they will grow tax dollars for us.
But to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), who has
organized this, Mr. Speaker, as pleased as I am with the progress and
accomplishments of this Congress, I stand here today with a very heavy
heart and am very distressed beyond belief by the action and decision
of the Supreme Court today in regards to private property rights.
The constitutional right of the government to eminent domain to
purchase private property for public use is a sensitive, difficult
issue even when roads, schools, and other public facilities are the
reason for the rare and cautious use of this power. But to force an
unwilling private party to sell his property for the ultimate use by
another private party, even if the property's intended use is a more
productive one, is just plain wrong.
The exact words of the dissenting opinion are: ``Under the banner of
economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being
taken and transferred to another private owner so long as it might be
upgraded, i.e., given to an owner, who will use it in a way that the
legislature deems more beneficial to the public in the process.''
Mr. Speaker, this decision today effectively removes the requirement
of public use from the takings clause of the fifth amendment. With this
decision all property owners are at risk. My office is currently
exploring what legislative remedies are available to ensure that
Americans do truly own their property.
I would like to thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. I look
forward to continuing to work with her and adding this additional item
to our plate to make sure that the people of our country express the
right that our forefathers came here for, to own private property.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs.
Drake) for her comments, and I want to tell her that I am as distressed
about this ruling as she is. I think that the people of this country
are very concerned with activist courts and are very concerned at where
the country is going as far as judicial rulings, and I want to join her
in doing whatever we possibly can legislatively to stop this kind of
action from being taken. She is absolutely right. It is one of our most
fundamental rights, the right to private property, and it is one of the
things that has made this country so great. So I look forward to her
leadership on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario
Diaz-Balart), someone I have come to know and admire tremendously, who
represents the 25th District of Florida, for his wisdom on the issues
we are discussing tonight.
Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman is
very kind, and I thank her for yielding to me.
I too want to join the many who have expressed their gratitude for
what she is doing here tonight. But really more importantly, if I may,
I want to thank her for her incredible, passionate leadership
particularly on fighting waste, fraud, and abuse that is,
unfortunately, still rampant in the Federal budget. She has been such a
champion, and it has been a privilege for me to learn from her, see how
she does it, and she has been extremely effective. So it is truly just
wonderful to see how she works, and it is wonderful that she is giving
this Special Order to speak about issues that are important to the
United States of America.
{time} 2030
I was listening to the honorable gentlewoman from North Carolina, and
she was talking about things that have happened in this Chamber. One of
the things that is important is to highlight that it is not only
legislation that we have passed here, but it is legislation, not for
the sake of passing legislation, it is legislation that has had real,
concrete, positive results for the American people. Let us look at some
of the results; more than just the legislation, but the results of that
legislation.
Look at, for example, the growth in the GDP, the gross domestic
product. This is after 9/11. This is after the Internet bubble burst.
This is after the recession that President Bush inherited when he first
got elected. Despite all that, because of legislation that the
President led on and that this Congress passed, the GDP, the growth of
the economy, has been spectacular. Mr. Speaker, we have had 14
consecutive quarters of real growth in the economy, a 3.5 rate in the
first quarter of this year, a 3.5 percent increase in the GDP. Again,
14 consecutive quarters of real growth, despite what this Congress and
our President found itself dealing with after 9/11.
[[Page H5096]]
Look at payroll employment. It rose by 2.2 million jobs during 2004;
2.2 million jobs that would be unemployed if it was not for the
policies of this Congress, of this majority, and of the President of
the United States. Mr. Speaker, 3.5 million jobs over the past 24
months. Ask those hard-working Americans who now have jobs if the
policies that this Congress has pursued and passed have not worked for
them. They have worked for them, and we are grateful for the
President's leadership. I think we have to always remind ourselves that
with a little bit of help, with a few Democrats, but with the
leadership of the Speaker of the House and the Majority party, great
things have happened for our country, for our working men and women in
our great country.
Look at, again, the fact that unemployment today, right now, is lower
than it was, than the average of the 1970s, the decade of the 1980s
and, yes, even lower than the decade of the 1990s. Hard to believe that
that is possible, after 9/11, after the scandals on Wall Street, after
the bubble-burst of the Internet. Again, that is because of the
leadership of our President and because of the leadership of this
House.
The homeownership rate is at record levels. More people own homes
than ever in the history of our country and, by the way, if we look at
minority homeownership also, that is at record levels.
Now, we have more to do. We have more to do, still, and we are
working hard to do even more. All of us are concerned about the
deficit. We have to reduce the size of the deficit. We know that the
President has said, and he has pledged to cut the deficit in half over
the next five years. The budget that this House passed does just that
in a responsible fashion. It gets a handle on the deficit. It is going
to reduce the deficit in half. We do that by controlling spending.
Hey, folks, this is not rocket science. If you are spending too much
money, that is why you have a deficit, hey, what do you do? Spend less.
Not rocket science. Well, that is what we are doing.
But let me tell my colleagues what our friends in the Democratic
Party have proposed as their solution to control the deficit. We hear
them here on the Floor of the House continuously, and even in the
Senate, talking about, oh, the deficit is too high. But then, what do
they propose? They propose billions and billions and billions of
dollars in additional spending, which would go directly to increase the
size of the deficit. They have done so publicly. They have done so with
an amendment in the Committee on the Budget on which I have the honor
of serving and also here on the Floor of the House. They cannot have it
both ways. They cannot be concerned about the deficit and then propose
billions and billions of dollars of additional spending in the Federal
budget, spending of Federal dollars.
The President, by the way, has done a great job in looking for
programs that are not working. I do not think again it takes a rocket
scientist to understand that there are Federal programs that frankly
are just not doing that well, that are just wasting the taxpayers'
money. Once again, I have to repeat what I said in the beginning. I
want to thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for her
efforts, particularly in trying to fight waste in the Federal
Government.
The President has also done a great job. He has created this
assessment tool called PART. What he has done is he has gone through
every single area of the Federal budget, the Federal Government looking
for things that can be reduced or eliminated because they are not
needed, not doing a good job, because there are other programs that are
better and less expensive. He has proposed eliminating a number of
programs and to shift that money to programs that do work.
We also have to be very proud of the job that the chairman of the
Committee on Appropriations is doing, the honorable gentleman from
California (Mr. Lewis). He has actually cut an incredible amount of
those duplicative, those programs that do not work, that are proven
money-wasters, and has shifted those funds to programs that do work. I
think, again, we are doing some good things. We do get every once in a
while, a few, a couple, one or two, sometimes three or four, and
sometimes many more, Democrats who come on board and help us with these
efforts. But, unfortunately, most of the heavy lifting to cut waste, to
reduce the deficit, to cut taxes, to incentivize the economy has been
done with no help from the opposition party. But, fortunately, we have
been able to pass those issues, and that is why the economy is doing as
well as it is doing, and that is why millions of Americans that
otherwise would have been unemployed now have jobs.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I just want to end with a separate thought. It
is always difficult, and I think an honor and a privilege, to listen to
the names of our fallen heroes, and we had that tonight, we heard it a
little while ago, and I think it is always something that we have to
again thank them, thank their families, and thank God that there are
heroes like them that are willing to put even their lives on the line
to protect our freedoms. I have to say that I was very pleased to see
Members of this House come on to this floor to mention the names of our
heroes with respect.
That, unfortunately, contrasts so dramatically, sadly, with the
statements by a member of the other party of the U.S. Senate. He
recently had to apologize because he compared our troops, our men and
women in uniform, compared them to the Nazis, to the Soviets and their
gulags, to that mad assassin, crazy regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia,
those regimes that killed people as a policy, assassinated people. And
for anybody, anybody to even mention our troops, our men and women in
uniform in that same breath as the Soviet gulags, Pol Pot, or the Nazis
is, frankly, totally unacceptable. I guess he was comparing the hard
work of our brave men and women in uniform to Nazis. Is he equating the
treatment of innocent victims in the concentration camps or in the
gulags to the humane treatment that terrorists are getting in
Guantanamo at the hands of our troops? Again, it is totally
unacceptable.
We accept his apology, after he was forced to apologize, even though
he first did not want to. We are talking about the second highest
ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate who said those things. So we will
accept his apology. I think, though, that we should also demand his
resignation from that position of leadership, a position of leadership,
the second highest ranking leader, democratic leader in the Senate, who
compared our troops to the Nazis, to the Soviet gulags, and to Pol Pot.
So that is why, Mr. Speaker, I have to tell my colleagues that I was
very pleased with coming here tonight and listening in contrast to the
names of our fallen heroes. That is the way we should refer to our
troops as heroes, as men and women who guarantee the peace not only of
the United States of America, but of the entire world. They are heroes
that will never be forgotten. And I, for one, have to tell my
colleagues, as I will also never forget those who insult our heroes,
who compare them to Nazis; I will never forget that either.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx)
for her great leadership, for her impassioned leadership and again, in
particular, I thank her for really teaching us a lesson as to what it
means to be passionate, fighting for the taxpayer against fraud, waste,
and abuse in the Federal budget.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate so much the gentleman from
Florida. He also has great passion for the issues that he is concerned
about, and I am so proud to be serving with him in the 109th Congress.
I agree with him that it is appropriate for us to honor our heroes,
and what happened tonight is a great contrast to much that has been
said recently.
Mr. Speaker, I took to the Floor earlier this session to reject
Democrat charges that the Republican Party is out of the mainstream. At
the time I thought the rhetoric from the other side of the aisle could
not be more partisan, more vitriolic, or more damaging to America's
credibility abroad. I also thought that they would take their rhetoric
only so far. I never thought that they would take their rhetoric so far
as to put our troops in greater danger than they are already in. But,
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to say I was wrong. From the chair of the
Democrat National Committee to their
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party leaders in Congress, something has gone terribly awry. Where are
the statesmen who put country ahead of party? What happened to the
party of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, the party of Daniel
Patrick Moynihan and John F. Kennedy?
Last week I was able to take my grandchildren to Arlington National
Cemetery, and I can tell my colleagues that I could not read the words
at the Eternal Flame spoken by President Kennedy without getting very,
very emotional. I think that President Kennedy's words are so important
for us to talk about tonight in light of our having talked about our
soldiers who have given their lives. President Kennedy said, ``Ask not
what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your
country.'' That is what the brave men and women who are now serving in
our military have done. They have asked what can they do for their
country. Some of them are giving the ultimate sacrifice.
But, unfortunately, the party of President Kennedy and the party of
these other great patriots seems to be gone. It has been replaced by
the party of moveon.org and George Soros. A once proud party with a
strong pedigree of ideals and values has devolved into a festering
wound whose only attributes are hate and obstruction. What is worse,
Mr. Speaker, is some Democrats are proud of their transformation and
proclaim it loudly. At a DNC gathering in New York, the chairman of the
party said, ``I hate Republicans and everything they stand for.''
Well, Mr. Speaker, I do not hate Howard Dean and I have never heard
another single Republican say that they hate him, but we do feel sorry
for him. I feel sorry for those whom he has let down, the millions of
Democrats across the country whose party he leads. Mr. Speaker, unlike
Dr. Dean, I do not lump all members of the opposition party together. I
know there are good Democrats who possess bright ideas and patriotic
souls. Some of them might even live and work in this town. And I feel
for them. Their leader believes that the louder he screams, the better
people will somehow be able to hear him. But I tell my colleagues this:
soon, people will stop listening.
Mr. Speaker, our two-party system works best when both sides bring
ideas to the table and hash them out. Yes, the Majority party tends to
win most, if not all the time, but that is what the voters intended. I
understand this better than most, because I spent 10 years in the North
Carolina General Assembly in the minority party.
What is most important is that the marketplace of ideas is routinely
stocked with the freshest and most visionary policies each side has to
offer. I am happy to say Republicans are doing their job, but I am
sorry I cannot say the same about the Democrats' leadership.
Instead of policy proposals, we get blank stares. Instead of
negotiation, we get obstruction. Instead of dialogue, we get rhetoric.
{time} 2045
And I truly wish this were not the case, because now is a time of
great responsibility. Now more than ever we need a Congress that is
serious about preparing this Nation for the challenges of the century
ahead.
And, Mr. Speaker, while Republicans are happy to continue passing our
solution-oriented agenda, I truly wish we had a partner in the
Democratic Party. How much more vibrant would our political discourse
be if we could speak civilly with each other? How much more fruitful
would this Congress be?
Nowhere is this clearer than the issue of Social Security. We all
know that reforming America's most honored program is more than a hot
topic around here; it is the premier domestic issue of our day. And so
you would think that all honest attempts at reform would be met at the
very least with openmindedness and a desire to discuss, but not so.
When a member of the Democratic caucus offered his plan to reform
Social Security, his own leadership chastised him for even bringing an
idea and signaling a willingness to talk with Republicans.
Mr. Speaker, it is one thing for Democrats to criticize Republican
policies. It is another for them to reprimand one of their own for
simply introducing an idea. While I certainly do not agree with the
policies proposed in the gentleman's legislation, I applaud him for
bucking his party's reticence. He put the needs of the American people
before politics. For that he should be commended; and for their
condemnation of action, the Democrats should be ashamed.
For what is the purpose of this body but to debate solutions to
problems and then choose the very best among them? And that, Mr.
Speaker, is just what House Republicans have been doing. My colleagues
have given you a long list of accomplishments in this session of
Congress. We have proposed an agenda with solutions that are reaping
results.
I am happy to say that on many of the most important issues of the
day, a large number of rank-and-file Democrats have joined us, despite
the reluctance of their leadership.
In 5 short months, the House has passed landmark legislation
addressing everything from our roads and highways to the war on terror.
Mr. Speaker, we have heard on numerous occasions from the minority
leadership that bills are being railroaded through, that substitutes
are not being allowed, that rules are closed too often.
You have heard already how most of our bills have had Democratic
votes. And nothing could be further from the truth that our rules are
closed. And I might also add that Democrats are being treated a great
deal better than they treated Republicans when we were in the minority.
When Democrats controlled the House, Republicans were often denied
the right to offer motions to recommit. For those unfamiliar with that
term, it is the last chance for the minority to attach an amendment to
a bill under consideration by the full House.
When Republicans took control of the House, we changed the rules so
that the minority always has the opportunity to offer the motion to
recommit.
We have enacted rules governing debate on legislation that have
allowed for numerous Democratic amendments and substitutes. We
responded to demands for greater access to legislative information and
have granted nearly every request of the minority. Yet the Democratic
leadership continues to use abuse of power as a campaign issue.
I ask the American people to examine the facts, and I also ask the
American people to contrast the Republican record of achievement with
the Democratic record of obstruction, obtuseness, and obliviousness.
I mentioned earlier that when I last took to the floor to discuss
these matters, I thought the Democratic leadership could not be further
out to sea when it comes to the most important issues facing the
Nation.
Well, it now seems they are somewhere between the Bermuda Triangle
and the Lost City of Atlantis. You know, Mr. Speaker, I just do not
think the leaders of the Democratic Party here in Washington get it. It
has been 4 years since our homeland was attacked, and they still cannot
distinguish friend from foe, and patriot from terrorist.
From the comments made by members of the Democratic leadership in
both bodies, it is clear that they are not connected with the realities
of the war on terror. One said, and I quote, ``the war is unwinnable.''
Another compared our men and women in uniform to Soviets and their
gulags, unquote. And yet another, perhaps most egregiously compared
Operation Iraqi Freedom which brought an end to Saddam's ethnic
cleansing to the Holocaust. He said, the war, and I quote, is the
biggest fraud ever committed on the people of this country. This is
just as bad as the 6 million Jews being killed, unquote.
Mr. Speaker, I struggle for the words to respond to such comments.
The Washington Democratic establishment is simply adrift at a time when
our Nation is at war and preparing for the next great American century.
It is sad that they are not a part of that preparation. And it is
deplorable that in some cases they are actively campaigning against it.
I hope that soon things will change. And I hope it happens before the
Democratic Party is lost once and for all.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the comments that were made by my
colleagues tonight outlining the very major successes that have
occurred in the 109th Congress already. Along with
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my colleagues, I came to Washington to get things done. I long for a
time when the Democratic leadership will come to the table and work
with Republicans to make policy that has the best interests of the
American people at heart.
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