[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FOND FAREWELL TO DEPARTING FLORIDA DELEGATION MEMBERS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 2006

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, Florida is a state like no other. Our 
distinct regions range from the white-sanded beaches of the panhandle 
to the pink-sanded, sophisticated boutiqued avenues of Miami, passing 
through the space coast, home to Kennedy Space Center, and, most 
exquisitely, through the beautiful, rolling horse country of Marion and 
Alachua counties.
  Our congressional delegation is no less diverse. We have our rock-
solid fiscal conservatives, our steady moderates, and our progressive 
liberals. I am proud to be associated with them all.
  Tonight, I join my Sunshine State colleagues to bid a fond farewell 
to Clay Shaw, Mike Bilirakis, Jim Davis, and Katherine Harris. Each of 
them are unique seashells, sparkling on the beach that we call Florida.
  Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Davis and I have spent many years together on the 
Committee on Energy & Commerce. For countless hours, we have debated 
the Outer Continental Shelf, Medicaid, and telecommunications issues. 
There were never dull moments, but even as we disagreed, I think that 
the three of us asked a common question as we legislated: what is best 
for Floridians?
  In Mr. Bilirakis, further, one could ask for no more dedicated 
advocate for our Nation's veterans. He has introduced the fix for the 
unfair offset of concurrent receipt of veteran disability pay and 
military retirement pay for 20 years now. Happily, he must leave here 
with the satisfaction that Congress has made substantial progress in 
ending this century-old problem.
  Mr. Shaw's leadership in Medicare is peerless. Physicians around 
Florida and around the nation have him to thank for his tireless 
efforts on their reimbursement, as well as medical liability reform. I 
am honored that he asked me to carry the torch for his work on medical 
screenings for first responders. I shall not let him down.
  Mrs. Harris has served honorably as a brilliant stateswoman, both for 
Florida and for the United States. As Secretary of State for Florida, 
she represented and advanced our interests in trade, with diplomacy and 
aplomb. And, she is an accomplished horsewoman and solid booster and 
alumna of the University of Florida, with strong family ties.
  As an example of our unity, like other States with no income taxes, 
our delegation has lobbied hard for federal income tax fairness, via 
the deduction for state and local sales taxes. When I gathered the 
support of the Florida delegation for this deduction in the American 
Jobs Creation Act of 2004 in a letter in the summer of 2004, I am proud 
to say that I collected the signatures of 100 percent of our 
delegation, all 25 of our House Members, and our two Senators. One of 
our delegation, the Honorable Porter Goss, in fact had one foot out the 
door, to head the Central Intelligence Agency, but he still took a 
moment to sign our letter. I don't think any of the other non-income 
tax states, including the even larger delegation of Texas, secured 100 
percent support. This solidarity just exemplifies who Floridians are. 
Representatives Bilirakis, Shaw, Harris, and Davis, fare thee well.

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