[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11739]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SUMMER AGENDA

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Madam Speaker, this week the House will begin its summer 
session by hitting the ground running.
  Between now and the August recess, the House will take up several 
major pieces of legislation that will touch every piece of our national 
agenda.
  We will consider bills that will help us continue to fight and win 
the war on terror.
  Among these security proposals will be a bill to reform the 
institution and the programs of the United Nations, to help begin to 
make it possible for this vital international organization to meet its 
global responsibilities.
  We will also reauthorize the PATRIOT Act, the anti-terrorism 
legislation passed after 9/11 that has provided our law enforcement 
community with the tools they need to combat the unique threats 
presented by international terror.
  We also hope to take up the final conference report on the long-
overdue national energy policy that President Bush and the American 
people have been calling and waiting for since 2000.
  By reducing our dependence on foreign oil, the energy bill will 
provide the United States greater flexibility in dealing with the 
tumultuous Middle East region, and it is a huge jobs-creation bill.
  The energy bill will also empower our national economy, creating jobs 
and, over the long run, lowering gas prices for American consumers.
  The long-awaited conference report on the highway funding bill, which 
we also hope to take up before the August recess, will improve our 
national infrastructure, provide greater mobility for the American 
people, and create millions of new jobs across our country.
  Just as important to our economy as our infrastructure is 
international trade, which will be greatly enhanced in every region of 
our Nation and every sector of our economy by passage of the Central 
American Free Trade Agreement, another item we hope to have on our 
summer agenda.
  CAFTA will lower prices for American consumers while opening vast new 
markets for American businesses, which in turn will create jobs, good 
high-paying jobs, here at home.
  Finally, while we improve our security and bolster our economy, we 
will serve the pressing interests of individual families by moving a 
broad agenda to reform our health care system. And all the while, we 
will continue our work on the President's call to strengthen and 
improve retirement security for all Americans and complete our work 
before the Fourth of July on funding the Federal Government within the 
limits of our budget.
  All in all, a busy summer of heavy lifting awaits, Madam Speaker, but 
the American people demand and deserve nothing less.

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