Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call on the House of Representatives to pass a permanent research and development tax credit. We are the strongest Nation on Earth, in large part because of the innovation inspired through research and development.

Throughout our history, America has led the way thanks to our innovators and entrepreneurs. Their contributions to our society have led us to a new era, but we cannot rest on these laurels.

Even now, people in Nebraska and throughout our country are looking beyond the horizon for new ways to strengthen and grow our small, rural communities. We owe it to them to do everything in our power to foster these new ideas.

We live in a world with unlimited innovation, and I look forward to seeing what the future will bring from further research and development.

I urge the House leadership to bring H.R. 2138, the Investment in America Act, to the floor as soon as possible.

Mr. Chairman, it is vital that we work to protect grazing on public and private lands. In fact, communities throughout the United States depend on it.

Millions of acres of lands within the NLCS have grazing. The NLCS is a direct threat to grazing for these several reasons. This is not by accident. Advocates who testified in support of H.R. 2016 list grazing as a ``threat'' to NLCS lands.

This bill, in fact, directs the Secretary of Interior to manage NLCS lands similar to the National Park Service. This is a problem because there is no grazing on National Park Service lands. Outside groups will use this to drive off ranchers through lawsuits. This is harmful not only to ranchers themselves, a very difficult industry at this time, but to the communities in which they reside. It is also harmful ultimately to the American consumer.

I urge others to vote ``no'' on H.R. 2016 and encourage a balanced policy as a result.

Madam Speaker, now that we are back in Washington, I am looking forward to passing a trade accord with Colombia. The agreement should be brought up before the House as soon as possible. Over 90 percent of U.S. imports from Colombia now enter our country duty-free. The agreement will provide U.S. companies and ag producers with duty-free access to the Colombian market.

Colombia's market grew by 7 percent last year, and is already a top global export market for U.S. crops such as corn and cotton. With the trade accord in place, U.S. exports are projected to rise by more than $1 billion per year. The time is right. Opening new markets and strengthening existing ones is tremendously important to Nebraska's Third Congressional District and our Nation as a whole. It is my priority to help Nebraska's producers and industries continue to compete and succeed in the global market. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chairman, when I'm back in Nebraska, I take the opportunity to listen to my constituents about the challenges they face in their day-to-day life.

The high cost of fuel, rising energy prices, and the overall strength of the American economy are all concerns for Nebraskans and all Americans.

Now is the time for Congress to step up to the plate and act with common-sense and fiscal responsibility.

The budget resolution we are debating, however, lets the American people down on those two fronts.

Instead of supporting common-sense budget process controls and responsible spending levels, this budget systematically guts a range of budget process tools, from the Majority's own PAYGO rule to abandoning any criteria for emergency spending.

In other words, the policies which make it easiest to tax-and-spend.

This budget hikes discretionary spending by $204 billion over 5-years on top of the Administration's proposed increase, the Majority loaded up their resolution with over 20 so-called spending ``reserve funds,'' and increased reliance on budget gimmicks, such as advance appropriations.

Unfortunately, this budget increases spending, raises taxes to historic levels, refuses to fix the AMT--which will hit millions of middle-class taxpayers if nothing is done.

It does nothing to rescue Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid despite the fact the Budget Committee has heard time and time again that something must be done about entitlement spending.

Regrettably, the budget we will consider today appears to simply underscore this Majority's insistence on reckless spending, chased by record tax hikes on American workers and businesses, and massive debt burdens for future generations.

Nebraskans--and all Americans--have called for Congress to live up to its fiscal responsibilities.

Today, however, we are debating a bill which badly misses the mark.

I urge my colleagues to take a stand against this budget--which proposes hundreds of billions of dollars in new government spending paid for with the largest tax hike in American history.

Madam Speaker, Today, I want to congratulate the Hastings St. Cecilia Bluehawks on winning the Nebraska Class C-I Boys Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 8, 2008.

In a game dominated by the defense, the Bluehawks finished ahead of previously unbeaten Bennington by a score of 50 to 43--all the more remarkable when you consider the score was only 24-22 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Both teams deserve congratulations for finishing a great year. As one of the Bluehawks' coaches remarked, ``This group can do anything they want to do when they put their minds to it.''

I think that phrase can be used to sum up all of the great athletes who dedicated themselves this year, whether they made the championship game or not.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Perkins County Plainsmen on their 62 to 49 victory over Sutton to take the Class C-2B Nebraska Girls Basketball State Title on March 1, 2008. They embody the spirit of teamwork, determination, and heart, which champions display.

They finished the season unbeaten, but definitely not untested. Sutton, who allowed an average of just 35 points a game this season, gave the Plainsmen all they could handle, but came up short.

So, it is with a sense of pride that I congratulate the Perkins County Plainsmen girls' basketball team on winning this championship. This victory is the result of months and years of hard work by the players, students, and their coaches.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the Ewing Tigers girls basketball team for winning the 2008 Nebraska State Girls Basketball Class D-2 Championship by the score of 45-44 last week, just barely edging the Pleasanton Bulldogs.

The returning champs from 2007--who went 0-19 just three years ago-- found their salvation on the foul line, making three of four free throws with just 23 seconds to go in the game. A coach I know once said that if you make your free throws, you win the game. Well, the girls from Ewing certainly proved him right.

The players showed grit and determination during their championship game, but also dedication, teamwork and responsibility during the regular season to get them to the final game. They should be proud of their accomplishments, as I'm sure their entire community is of them.

I hope the girls and their coaches are as proud of themselves as we are of them. They deserve a well earned break, and I look forward to following their season next year.

Mr. Speaker, this week the House will, for the third time, debate an energy bill which actually raises gas prices for the American people, sends manufacturing jobs overseas, and increases our reliance on foreign energy. This energy tax hike will raise taxes on domestic energy producers, in essence making it more difficult and expensive to produce American energy for American consumers.

As you know, oil has reached and broken the previously untouched benchmark of $100 a barrel, and the average national price of gasoline has gone up 16 cents in just 13 days. In my State of Nebraska, gas prices are hitting $3.14 in Grand Island, and in Scottsbluff they're hitting $3.08.

The American public is deeply worried about the rising cost of energy, yet we stand on the verge of making it worse by stubbornly going forward with this legislation. It's simple, really; raising taxes on American energy leads to higher gas prices and a greater dependency on foreign sources of energy.

Madam Speaker, I rise to salute the engineers, past, present, and future, of the United States of America. Engineers have shaped our history, from aiding the colonists to win our independence to designing our advanced, modern technologies. They impact our daily lives from the first ring of our alarm clocks in the morning to our late-night, online shopping.

In my home State of Nebraska, engineers aid agriculture with new and more effective agricultural chemicals and better equipment and technologies. Nebraska engineers help secure our Nation's energy independence by supporting the ethanol industry. Nebraska engineers ensure our roads, bridges, water-works, and other infrastructure are well designed, functional, and safe.

Engineers are key to a prosperous and productive future for all Nebraskans and Americans. There are nearly 150 engineering companies in Nebraska's Third District. Every day I hear about the need to attract talented, educated young people to fill technical, engineering, and science positions in small communities and rural areas in the Third District. I have been, and continue to be, an enthusiastic supporter of the America COMPETES act which encourages American competitiveness in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. I am optimistic this initiative will help Nebraska's engineering businesses attract and maintain native talent in engineering.

Mr. Chairman, since being elected to Congress, I have had the opportunity to speak with young students throughout the Third District of Nebraska. They are smart and sharp, and we need to do everything we can to encourage them. Unfortunately, however, many rural States have seen what we call ``brain drain'' in recent years. As the depletion occurs, we lose our most vital economic asset to more populated areas. Responsible policy is needed to retain and grow our workforce to make our rural communities more competitive in this modern economy.

The College Opportunity and Affordability Act seeks to address this by encouraging economic development partnerships. These partnerships would be formed between rural colleges and universities and rural employers. This would provide additional career training to students attending rural schools in fields significant to the local economy. It also would encourage rural businesses to employ students once they graduate.

I thank the chairman and ranking member for working with me to target these partnerships to the areas in the most need.

Mr. Speaker, prizes have a history of encouraging innovation by promoting competition and expanding the talent pool to include a numerous and diverse array of groups and individuals. Those unable or unwilling to secure grants can participate in the race for the goal. With prizes, government funding is not used to pick technological winners and losers. The prize is only awarded if the goal is met. Prizes encourage the investment of private capital and research, even beyond the monetary value of the prize.

I applaud the X PRIZE Foundation for spurring competition and innovation in the race to a more efficient automobile. When the 100 mile-per-gallon vehicle is achieved, citizens of my home State of Nebraska will be able to drive across the State on Interstate 80 on only 4\1/2\ gallons of fuel. This tremendous efficiency would dramatically reduce our Nation's dependence on foreign oil, it would stimulate our economy, and certainly improve our national security.

I am grateful for the vision and enterprise of men like Dr. Peter Diamandis who kindle the spark of innovation that leads to revolutionary technologies.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 11 Nebraska towns for being named ``Great Places to Raise Kids for Less'' by Business Week Magazine.

Anyone who has ever been to Nebraska knows it's a great place to raise a family. Now it looks like others are finding out, and I hope the rest of the Nation takes note.

Nebraska boasts 11 of the 50 places in the United States which offer kids and their parents the right combination of safety, community, and education. I am also proud to point out that out of those 11, seven are in Nebraska's Third Congressional District, which I have the honor of representing.

So congratulations to the towns of Davenport, Loomis, Diller, Petersburg, Bartlett, Lawrence and Arapahoe for showing the rest of the country how good Nebraska's good life can be.

Madam Speaker, on Thursday, November 29, my uncle, Giles Smith, died at the age of 64.

My Uncle Giles was a man who cared about his community and actively made it a better place. He meant a lot to me, and was an inspiration to many. We will miss him.

Due to family matters, I was delayed in returning to Washington DC until today, causing me to, regretfully, miss several votes.

For the record, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall 1123, ``yes'' on rollcall 1124, ``yes'' on rollcall 1125, ``yes'' on rollcall 1126, ``yes'' on rollcall 1127, ``yes'' on rollcall 1128, ``yes'' on rollcall 1129, ``no'' on rollcall 1130, ``yes'' on rollcall 1131, ``yes'' on rollcall 1132, and ``yes'' on rollcall 1133.

Mr. Speaker, I rise also with a heavy heart to express my condolences to the families of the victims that were tragically gunned down yesterday in Omaha. It is amazing, as Mr. Fortenberry pointed out, how cruel the world can be, and I only hope that we will come together and look at the root causes of these sources of violence, as we look at the violence that affects basically a rural area of our country, the Heartland, as many would call it, that none of us can escape some of this violence.

As we pull together, I know that perhaps we can learn from what happened yesterday. But, again, I want to especially express the condolences that I feel for these many victims who actually have roots across Nebraska.

With that, I yield my time to Mr. King of Iowa.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the White Ribbon Campaign and call on men everywhere to help stop violence against women.

The White Ribbon Campaign is the largest effort in the world organized by men and aimed at men to say that all forms of violence against women must stop now.

I applaud this grassroots effort of men from all walks of life working together to contribute to this important goal.

One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her life, and an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by a partner each year.

I am proud that my home State of Nebraska has long been concerned for women living in fear of violence, and in 1976 was the first State to abolish the marital rape exemption.

We owe our thanks for the important work the men of the White Ribbon Campaign are doing as they work toward the goal of stopping violence against women.