Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.

I rise in support of House bill 1516 because it keeps a commitment, a sacred commitment to the men and women of our military. Our country has chosen to honor our veterans because of their sacrifice and because of their service. Our veterans did not serve to become heroes. They did not fight because they loved battle. Our veterans went to war because our country asked them to go to war. They fought to defend our freedom.

Such supreme dedication demands supreme recognition, and that is what this bill does. In Florida, we have over 2 million veterans, but only four veterans cemeteries. One is completely full, one accepts only cremated remains, and two are over half a State away from my district in northeast Florida.

This bill provides that a veterans cemetery will be built in northeast Florida. Our veterans want the cemetery. Our veterans need the cemetery, and most of all, our veterans deserve a cemetery.

I urge the passage of this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, it's not always easy to do what is right. Doing what's right sometimes means going against expectations. In regards to Iraq, the United States is doing the right thing; the reconstruction, granting the money, and building a relationship with a new Iraq is all part of staying committed to winning the war on terror. The price is high, the undertaking is huge, but we cannot afford to fail.

Winning the war means more than capturing terrorists, it means capturing the hearts and minds of Iraqis. During the U.S.-led invasion, Iraqis saw that we didn't target their homes, we targeted an evil regime. After the major combat, Iraqis saw the United States take a stance for stability and security. In the wake of recent deadly attacks, Iraqis see it is the U.S. rebuilding their schools and hospitals, not terrorists from neighboring countries whose only aim is to rip apart the beginnings of a democracy.

In Iraq, citizens know we invaded their country in pursuit of Saddam Hussein. They know we did not invade for oil or other profit. Upon that premise, we are building a foundation of trust. That foundation will breed civility not hate, understanding not undermining, and prosperity instead of chaos.

What Iraqis didn't expect was a reassuring hand after the smoke cleared. What Iraqis won't respect is an invader who forces them to sign loan papers.

We are getting something for our investment--an historic beginning to Middle East stability. In exchange for rebuilding their infrastructure, we are asking Iraqis to reject thirty years of an evil regime. We are asking that they consider democracy instead of anti-American hate. We are asking Iraqi citizens to hold structure over chaos and not become a breeding ground for terrorist training camps. We are not handing Iraqis money and a simple request. We are asking them to reject everything Saddam Hussein stood for, and build anew.

The sole reason we entered Iraq was to protect national security. We must continue on that course. More than 30 countries are working with the United States to stabilize Iraq and enable the Iraqi people to achieve self-governance. And just this week, the Japanese government committed $1.5 billion to Iraqi reconstruction.

The cost of reconstructing Iraq is high but we would pay a higher cost if we burden Iraqis with a multibillion-dollar debt. After all, history shows us what a tyrant can do when a country is burdened by war debt. Repeating the mistakes of the past could open the door for another Saddam Hussein, or another Adolph Hitler.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to rise in strong support of this legislation. I want to highlight a charitable organization in my community, Jacksonville, Florida, called the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. Last year they gave away about $13.5 million. They gave it to over 300 different organizations, everything from the Boys Clubs to the Girls Clubs to the United Way.

What this legislation does is encourages foundations like the duPont Fund and other charitable organizations, it gives them technical advice, it gives them guidance, and, more than anything, maybe holds them to public accountability.

The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is this kind of legislation encourages people to be good stewards in their own community. America is great because America is about people helping people; and any time that people want to give money, in terms of charity, we ought to do everything we can to pave the way. So I urge support of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, on this second September since the terrorist attacks of 2001, I think it is important to focus on what has kept our Nation strong.

In the darkest hours of September 11, many of us reached out to our loved ones. We did not understand why we were being attacked but we did know to reach for those people important to us. Let this be the reason why we gather today and remember September 11, 2001.

Those that harmed us on that day were attempting to steal from us our freedom. They did not succeed. They will not succeed. They will never take our spirit.

That day 2 years ago, marks many things for many people. It is images of horror. It is feelings of sadness. It brings striking appreciation for the precious fragility that is life.

For many of us, time will not wash away the hurt of that horrific moment. Though these things happened in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania, it was an attack on America. Through prayer and the support of our spouses and children, we survive. We move on. We persevere.

Today let our prayers remain with the victims, their souls, and their families during this time of immeasurable sadness. Our Nation grieves with you.

There are truly few moments in history when a Nation can agree the events of a day changed the world. September 11 is one of those days. Let us honor the people who gave their lives on September 11 and those both here and abroad who continue to work diligently to watch over us as we continue to go about our normal business. God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday the nation lost a man who lived his entire life as a public servant. Charles Edward Bennett was a lawyer, a soldier, an author, and a legislator. He will be remembered for representing the views of his constituents, his impeccable voting record, his admirable ethics, and for creating an environmental legacy in Northeast Florida to be treasured by past, present, and future generations.

Charlie Bennett began his public career in the Florida State House of Representatives in 1941. After serving only one term in office, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the infantry during World War II. He courageously led over 1,000 guerillas in the Philippines and was awarded the Silver Star and the Philippines Legion of Honor for gallantry in action. It was also during his military service that he contracted polio. Throughout his life, Mr. Bennett never let the debilitating disease prevent him from his duties as a lawmaker.

In 1948, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served 22 consecutive terms. Voting over 18,000 times during his career, Charlie Bennett missed only a handful of procedural votes and became known for not missing a single legislative vote between June 4, 1951, and January 3, 1993.

Widely regarded as one of Jacksonville's most trusted public servants, Mr. Bennett was nicknamed ``Mr. Clean'' for sponsoring legislation to create the House Ethics Committee. Once asked to list the most important legislation he sponsored, Bennett named the making of ``In God We Trust'' as the U.S. motto and requiring it be included on all coins and currency; creating an ethics code for government service; cosponsorship of the bill enacting the Americans With Disabilities Act; and legislation providing federal assistance toward school construction. Also notable were his roles in creating the Interstate Highway System and the placing of Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida.

For his interest in preserving North Florida's natural environment, Charlie Bennett became known as Mr. St. Johns River. As Florida's longest serving congressman and one of the longest serving members of Congress in this nation's history, Mr. Bennett led efforts to clean up and restore the St. Johns River and preserve its cultural and historical significance for future generations. He worked to conserve and enhance wetlands and was instrumental in the creation of the Fort Caroline Memorial and the Timucuan Preserve near Jacksonville. Mr. Bennett was a member of the Jacksonville Historical Society and wrote several books on Northeast Florida's environment and early history.

I am fortunate to have known Charlie Bennett throughout my life, He was a good family friend. Mr. Bennett and my father practiced law together and served in the Army during World War II. It was when my father was stationed in Texas and my mother was about to give birth to my brother that Charlie sent my parents a box of Florida sand. Charlie said he wanted the baby born over Florida soil. That was vintage Charlie Bennett.

Charlie Bennett was well known and respected. He served in Congress with honor and dedication. He set an example we can all recall as we ponder what it means to be a public servant. Mr. Bennett demonstrated his convictions and those values that enable people to place faith in their government. Charlie Bennett was a good man. He was an institution. Charlie Bennett's life is a model for lawmakers everywhere and at every level of government. He will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the school administrators, teachers, and students at Paxon High School in Jacksonville, Florida for their outstanding achievement in providing, guiding, and demonstrating a quality education.

Paxon High School was recently highlighted by Newsweek magazine (The Best 100 High Schools in America, May 26, 2003), as the third best school in the nation, as measured by the Challenge Index. This index takes the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all of the students at a school in 2002 and divides them by the number of graduating seniors.

The editors of Newsweek said they used participation in the Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests as benchmarks because ``these tests are more likely to stretch young minds--which should be the fundamental purpose of education.''

Paxon High School is clearly providing the curricula, support, and leadership in learning that is so very important to our young people.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to join me in applauding Paxon High School and all of those schools that strive to prepare their students for higher education and thusly, a higher quality of life. Moreover, I would like to commend the school administrators, superintendents, teachers, and all of the students who have committed themselves to a quality education. As John F. Kennedy once stated, leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

It is my privilege to recognize Paxon High School for its outstanding achievements.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the school administrators, teachers, and students at Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville, FL, for their outstanding achievement in providing, guiding, and demonstrating a quality education.

Stanton College Preparatory School was recently highlighted by Newsweek magazine (The Best 100 High Schools in America, May 26, 2003), as the second best school in the nation, as measured by the Challenge Index. This index takes the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all of the students at a school in 2002 and divides them by the number of graduating seniors.

The editors of Newsweek said they used participation in the Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests as benchmarks because ``these tests are more likely to stretch young minds--which should be the fundamental purpose of education.''

Stanton College Preparatory School is clearly providing the curricula, support, and leadership in learning that is so very important to our young people.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to join me in applauding Stanton College Preparatory School and all of those schools that strive to prepare their students for higher education and thusly, a higher quality of life. Moreover, I would like to commend the school administrators, superintendents, teachers, and all of the students who have committed themselves to a quality education. As John F. Kennedy once stated, leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

It is my privilege to recognize Stanton College Preparatory School for its outstanding achievements.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to laud the accomplishments of a group of young men from my congressional district that attend Providence School in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mr. Speaker, in just the sixth year of this school's existence, their baseball team has won the Class A state baseball championship. This is no small feat in the state of Florida, for ours is a state known for great baseball and baseball greats such as Fred McGriff, Alex Rodriquez, and Chipper Jones. This year the state of Florida had 50 men on Major League Baseball spring training rosters.

This group of fourteen young men and five coaches compiled a 26-2 record on the way to their state championship, and along the way won the American Plumbing Classic in Jacksonville, the district, and regional championships. For some on this team, these winning ways are nothing new as Providence was District champion and Regional runner-up in 2001 and made the State Final Four in 2002.

Mr. Speaker, while the crowning moment of this team's season came at the end of a 7-2 win over Orangewood Christian at Tampa's Legend's Field, it was more than just 28 games that went into this championship. For most of these young men, this championship started at age 5 or 6 and has continued through many spring and summer league games since. This championship came with the help and sacrifices of family, friends and multiple coaches, many of whom are volunteers. This victory came at the expense of free time, other school functions, and even some blood, sweat, and a few tears.

It takes a lot to be a champion and this team, their family, friends, and coaches have all shown they know what it takes.

I wish continued success to all fourteen of these young men who make up the Providence School's baseball team: Kellyn Townsend, Joshua Maxwell, Kyle Wilson, Austin Heilig, Travis Martin, Jordan Bowser, Tim Aldridge, Connor Hodges, Steven Turner, Hunter Robinson, Ryan Kramer, Blake Gerber, Tim Brown, and Robert Hardee. I also wish continued success to Head Coach Billy Bell and his four assistants: Mark Aldridge, Greg Larrick, Jim Martin, and Mac Mackiewitz.

Mr. Speaker, the way the other side shapes this debate, you'd think keeping money in Washington is going to boost the economy, create jobs, and give business owners the incentive to hire more workers. Nothing could be further from reality. But that's where this debate has gone.

``We can't afford it,'' they say. ``It's too much money,'' they argue. ``Deficits until the cows come home,'' they claim. The reality is that taxes are the leg irons on economic growth. That's the big picture. We are in a situation where economic growth has plodded along at a snail's pace since 1999. Then we were hit by a number of circumstances beyond our control--but each with a huge impact on the economy.

So what do we propose? Well, the best way to create jobs is to kick- start our economy. The best way to improve our economy is to let people keep more of their money. The vehicle that will get us there is H.R. 2, the Jobs and Growth package. H.R. 2 will empower consumers, encourage investment, and enhance the retirement of our senior citizens.

The Jobs and Growth package is $550 billion in job creation. It lets families keep more of the money they've earned creating opportunities for every American who wants to work. On that note: Every American who wants to work, ought to have an opportunity. Who are we to stand in the way of growth and prosperity?

You simply can't keep pooling the money here in Washington and expect the economy to grow. This package creates 1.2 million new jobs this year, 45,000 of those in my home State of Florida. H.R. 2 is pro job, pro family, and pro economy. This package creates work opportunities, and accelerates real relief for real families this year. This package increases the child tax credit to $1,000.

This package reduces the marriage tax penalty. This bill will allow a family to buy a new washing machine this year, save for their child's education next year, and buy a new car the year after that. This package lets 27 million taxpayers benefit from the increased child tax credit. Two-thirds of this package goes to individuals.

This plan provides some relief to 10 million senior citizens who currently pay the wrong and immoral double taxation of dividends. This will relieve at least some of their worry that they'll outlive their retirement nest egg.

This plan gives the backbone of our economy--small business owners-- the freedom to invest in their business, hire more employees, and create more taxpayers. The federal government is not going to spend us out of a slowdown. That is not an option. You want to increase the tax rolls? Then increase the opportunities for work. You do that by empowering consumers, employing workers, growing the economy.

This is the taxpayer's money, not the federal government's. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill. H.R. 2 is the kick-start this economy needs.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained earlier today. I respectfully request the Record to reflect that, had I been here, I would have voted ``yea'' on roll No. 127 on agreeing to the conference report on S. 151. I would have also voted ``yea'' on roll No. 128 and 129 on the motions to suspend the rules and agree to the House Resolutions 141 and 165.

Mr. Speaker, the United States of America is the proud home to the best trained, most versatile, and most committed voluntary military force in the world.

The men and women of our armed forces defend our lives, our freedom, and our loved ones at a moment's notice, without question. This incredible commitment provides an incalculable benefit to the citizens of the United States of America; for this, I rise today on behalf of the Fourth Congressional District of Florida to say thank you.

There is a tremendous sense of patriotism among those in the military. These men and women answer a call to duty that often means the difference between life and death. The men and women of our armed forces are the first sent to confront the unknown; they face danger until the last threat is gone.

This unwavering commitment to defending our freedom extends beyond asking our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines for their duty; this commitment includes asking their parents, their spouses, and their children to stay strong while they are fighting for freedom on a foreign shore.

To the men and women of our Armed Forces, thank you. Your sacrifice is priceless. Your dedication is greatly appreciated.

Mr. Chairman, You can tell a lot about a family by looking at their checkbook. The same is true of our nation. This budget reflects our priorities by investing in Defense, Homeland Security, the economy, and programs supporting our most vulnerable populations. The number one responsibility of the federal government is to protect American lives.

Under this budget, our military men and women will have the best and most modern equipment, better pay, better housing, and better Veterans Benefits--$62 billion dollars. That's $4 billion more than the previous year.

In my district of Jacksonville, the USS John F. Kennedy is undergoing an extensive maintenance rehabilitation period. There are many other aging ships within our fleet that require this type of depot level maintenance. This budget provides $5.3 billion for intermediation and depot level ship maintenance--an additional $500 million over last year's levels. This budget is a responsible investment in Jacksonville as a national security asset.

Included in the 2004 Military Construction request is $115.7 million for the acquisition of Blount Island. The Marines operate their maritime pre-positioning force from this location. Sixteen ships loaded with a brigades worth of equipment from light armored vehicles to the Meals Ready to Eat are maintained on a routine basis at this location. The Maritime Pre-positioning Force floats in certain geographical locations around the world to reduce time required to deploy Marine forces. Currently 11 of these 16 ships have off-loaded their Jacksonville maintained equipment in Kuwait for the Marines use in the liberation of Iraq.

Under this budget, the federal government is on a 9-year-track toward balance and we remove tax code obstacles that stand in the way of growing our economy.

I urge my colleagues to vote for this budget resolution, not just because it protects Americans, not just because it restrains spending, not just because it targets waste, fraud, and

abuse, not just because it removes barriers to economic growth . . .

Vote for it because somewhere in my hometown of Jacksonville, there's a family that will sit around their kitchen table tonight, and they will talk about how much money is in the checking account and they will talk about when their bills are due.

They are making responsible decisions and expect nothing less from us.

This budget blueprint will protect that family, it will let that family keep a little more money to pay a bill, buy new clothes, or save for their children's education.

Vote for this budget because it's what's right for America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the lives of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia.

The loss of the space shuttle Columbia is a tragedy of tremendous proportion. The seven Columbia astronauts possessed an unquenchable passion to explore and push the boundaries of science and technology. Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel

Clark, Rick Husband, William McCool and Ilan Ramon were not names familiar to most Americans until Saturday's catastrophe. But as the pain of the loss of these seven brave explorers ebbs with time, the resolve to keep their work ongoing must remain ever vigilant.

I, like many Americans, remember huddling with classmates in excitement as Alan Shepard blasted off in the first American manned space flight in May 1961. Ever since then, I followed both the highs and lows of the space program.

From the outset of our manned space program, it was known that lives could be lost exploring space--just as when man explored previous frontiers. Despite the recent tragedy, there are schoolchildren throughout the world that will be inspired by the Columbia seven.

As the nation grieves over its terrible loss of this past Saturday, we must also strengthen our resolve to press forward. Those who died did so as heroes. We must not let them die in vain.

I know all Americans share in the sadness brought about by this event. One measure of mankind is the amount of risk taken for the greater good. These astronauts are clearly heroes whose acts we will remember for all of history. My thoughts and prayers are with the crew of Columbia and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an event that took place in my district yesterday, and to welcome the Rotary International President Bhichai Rattakul to Jacksonville and the United States.

The Rotary Clubs of Greater Jacksonville are dedicated and respected members of the large international humanitarian service organization. The Rotary Clubs of Greater Jacksonville are comprised of business and professional leaders who practice ethical standards in relationships in the community.

The many members of the Rotary Clubs of Greater Jacksonville dedicate their time, skills, expertise and other resources to help improve the lives of others in developing countries by supporting the Rotary Foundation and by working to eradicate polio worldwide; and consistently promote truth, fairness, and try to improve relations among the citizens of northeast Florida.

The Rotary Clubs of Greater Jacksonville provide friendship and fellowship to its members and visiting Rotarians. These dedicated men and women are some of the most active local citizens who motivate and influence community leaders through their efforts on a regular basis. But more importantly, the members of the Rotary Clubs of Greater Jacksonville are citizens of the World who live each day with the goal of ``Service Above Self.''

It was an honor for me to join the fine men and women of the Rotary Clubs of Greater Jacksonville on January 6, 2003, to welcome Rotary International President Bhichai Rattakul and thank him for his many efforts and his service on behalf of all Rotarians in Jacksonville, the Nation, and the World.