Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the election of Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Chairman Berman bringing this before the House for consideration today. Time Magazine named Margaret Thatcher one of the 20 most influential leaders of the 20th century, and for good reason. She is the only woman to have ever held

the post of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She is a fearless leader, an advocate for democracy around the world, and a steadfast friend of the United States.

This resolution recognizes the 30th anniversary of her election as the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Margaret Thatcher served as Prime Minister of Great Britain for 11 years, from 1979 to 1990. At the time of her resignation, she was the longest continuously serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 1827.

This resolution pays tribute to her remarkable professional achievements. In addition to being the only woman to have ever held the post of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, she was also leader of the Conservative Party for 15 years, from 1975 to 1990, and was the only woman to ever hold that post.

In the 20th century, she was the only Prime Minister to win three consecutive terms, a testament to her bold and tenacious leadership. This resolution also recognizes Prime Minister Thatcher's dedicated work in promoting individual rights and free markets throughout the world.

During her time in office, Prime Minister Thatcher fostered the dawning of a new distinctive type of politics called ``Thatcherism,'' which emphasized individual responsibility and fiscal and social policies.

When she came into office, the state of the United Kingdom's economy was in deep despair. There were pickets; there were strikes; there were food shortages; pregnant women were denied medical services and the country had double-digit inflation. Margaret Thatcher represented a literal end to socialized government and the reinstitution of the free market philosophy.

Through plain speaking and sheer determination, she persuaded city after city to contract out public services to private companies, saving taxpayers $30 billion every year. Company by company, she denationalized the entire economy. Family by family, she taught the nation the importance of living within their means. What a novel concept.

During her tenure, 3 million families moved from public housing and became homeowners under her Right-to-Buy program. Homeownership under her administration jumped from 53 percent to 71 percent.

This resolution also recognizes Margaret Thatcher's robust and principled approach to foreign policy during the long Cold War. Prime Minister Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan were key forces in the collapse of communism under the former Soviet Union. As a matter of fact, in 1976, Prime Minister Thatcher delivered such a bold speech against communism in the Soviet Union that the Soviet Union Army's newspaper started calling her the ``Iron Lady,'' and it stuck. The Iron Lady helped bring down the Iron Curtain, Mr. Speaker.

Finally, this resolution acknowledges the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom fostered by Prime Minister Thatcher. Under her direction, the United States and the United Kingdom worked to overcome communism, encourage free markets around the world, curb terrorism, and promote democratic and individualistic values.

My grandmother used to tell me that ``there was nothing more powerful than a woman who had made up her mind,'' and my grandmother was right. Margaret Thatcher is one of those remarkable women who has led a remarkable life, characterized by courage, determination, intellectual integrity, and she had made up her mind.

She has not only inspired women all over the world to aspire towards positions of leadership, she has inspired an entire generation to promote policies that value economic freedom and individual responsibility.

I am proud to be the sponsor of this resolution today.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 378) recognizing the 30th anniversary of the election of Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 378, which pays tribute to the distinguished political career of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) for introducing this measure that enables the House to acknowledge the 30th anniversary of her election as the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

On May 4, 1979, Margaret Thatcher was sworn in as Prime Minister. Holding this position until 1990, she became the U.K.'s longest continuously serving Prime Minister since 1827, and the only Prime Minister in the 20th century to win three consecutive elections.

The special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States was strengthened during her tenure, particularly through her cooperative working relationship with President Ronald Reagan in addressing the threat of the Soviet Union.

Prime Minister Thatcher spoke in this House to a joint session of Congress on February 20, 1985. In her remarks, she cited the three occasions on which Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed Congress. Those were worth remembering, she said, ``because they serve as lamps along a dark road which our people trod together, and they remind us what an extraordinary period of history the world has passed through between that time and ours; and they tell us what later generations in both our countries sometimes find hard to grasp: why past associations bind us so closely.''

Her words are as true today as they were during the height of the Cold War and World War II. We again find ourselves living in extraordinary times. And, thankfully, the United States and the United Kingdom stand shoulder to shoulder as we confront today's challenges together, just as we did throughout the last century.

I ask my colleagues to join me in acknowledging the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's historic election and paying tribute to her professional achievements. We should also use this occasion to reaffirm the enduring friendship and partnership between our two nations.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, unfortunately last night, May 12, 2009, I was unable to cast my votes on the Motion to Table the Flake Question of Privilege, H. Res. 413 and H. Res. 378 and wish the record to reflect my intentions had I been able to vote.

Had I been present for rollcall No. 243, on the Motion to Table Representative Flake's Question of Privilege, I would have voted ``nay.''

Had I been present for rollcall No. 244, on suspending the Rules and passing H. Res. 413, Supporting the goals and ideals of ``IEEE Engineering the Future'' Day on May 13, 2009, I would have voted ``yea.''

Had I been present for rollcall No. 245, on suspending the Rules and passing H. Res. 378, Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the

election of Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on May 12 2009, due to an illness, I missed the following recorded votes:

Roll No. 243, on a Motion to Table a Resolution Raising a Question of the Privileges of the House; had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'';

Roll No. 244, on H. Res. 413--Supporting the goals and ideals of ``IEEE Engineering the Future'' Day on May 13, 2009; had I been present, I would have voted ``aye''; and,

Roll No. 245, on H. Res. 378--Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the election of Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain; had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, I was unable to attend several votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on the Motion to Table the Flake Privileged Resolution; ``yea'' on H. Res. 413--Supporting the goals and ideals of ``IEEE Engineering the Future'' Day on May 13, 2009; and ``yea'' on H. Res. 378--Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the election of Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain.