Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the ``Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 2006'' which would authorize $45 million each year from FY2007 through FY2009 for programs in Afghanistan that benefit ``women and girls as well as the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs. The funding would be directed toward important needs including medical care, education, vocational training, protection from violence, legal assistance, and civil participation. This legislation was introduced earlier this year in the Senate by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Women's rights in Afghanistan have fluctuated greatly over the years. Women have bravely fought the forces of extremism at various points in the country's turbulent history. At one time, women were scientists and university professors. They led corporations and nonprofit organizations in local communities.

While the Afghan constitution guarantees equality for Afghan women, throughout Afghanistan, women continue to face intimidation, discrimination, and violence. The United States has an obligation to ensure that women and girls have the opportunities that they were denied under the Taliban and that the gains that have been made are not lost in the coming months and years. It is imperative that we provide the support needed to ensure that the rights of women are protected in the new Afghanistan.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong bipartisan support of H.R. 4916, a bill that will authorize continued United States participation in and appropriations for the U.S. contribution to the first replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund.

This bill was introduced with strong bipartisan support by Representative Pryce, who chairs the subcommittee on which I serve as the ranking member, Congressman Frank, Congresswoman Biggert and myself, and was reported unanimously out of the committee by voice vote.

The MIF is operated by the Inter-American Development Bank and is governed by a donors committee composed of representatives of 37 member countries. The United States is the MIF's largest contributor with 42 percent, and as such exercises considerable influence over its strategic direction and the individual projects it approves.

The MIF does exactly the kinds of things that those who follow the work of the international financial institutions on both sides of the aisle wish these institutions would do. Its principal work is to administer a private sector grant program to assist in developing microenterprises which particularly help small women-owned businesses, it builds workers' skills, it strengthens environmental management, and it improves the efficiency of financial markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Roughly 80 percent of MIF projects are undertaken in direct partnership with private sector business associations, trade groups and non-governmental organizations. Typically, MIF resources are matched dollar for dollar with contributions from these groups.

MIF resources also leverage additional funds from other sources, providing a multiplier effect for projects

that have consistently been recognized as among the most innovative and effective of multilateral development institutions.

The total authorization for U.S. participation contained in this legislation is $150 million over 6 years. The remaining member countries have pledged over $350 million. The first installment of the U.S. contribution, $25 million, was included in the President's budget request for fiscal year 2007.

The Financial Services Committee has conducted close oversight over MIF programs since the fund was first established in 1993. In 13 years of operation, MIF has worked with over 400 private sector organizations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, approving over $1 billion for roughly 800 different projects. The MIF is the single largest source of technical assistance for this part of the world.

One area in which the MIF's work has attracted particular attention in recent years involves the impact of remittances, transfer of money by foreigners to their home countries in that region. Thanks to the fund's efforts, the fees accompanying sending of these moneys back home have been significantly lowered, from 15 percent to 5 percent. Thanks to MIF technical assistance, the recipients of these funds have channeled them into their countries' formal financial systems, helping them to create badly needed jobs.

Madam Speaker, I would like to note that the House report that accompanies this bill mentions that the U.S. has an overdue balance resulting from the U.S. pledge to the original MIF agreement. While no funds are included in this bill for that purpose, the committee urges the administration to seek funding to pay this amount in back dues.

MIF is an example of a program that actually works. It offers proof that multilateral institutions can provide win-win solutions. MIF shows that U.S. taxpayers can benefit while hardworking citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean who wish to start a business and compete in the global economy can pull themselves out of poverty.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I agree completely with the gentleman. This not only will help the economic development, but certainly will give immigrants a reason to stay in their own countries and develop their own economy.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

(Mrs. MALONEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to speak in the time reserved by the Budget Act for discussion of economic goals and policies and traditionally led by members of the Joint Economic Committee.

If you listen to the President and his supporters on the other side of the aisle, you get a very upbeat assessment of the American economy; but if you listen to the American people, you get a very different assessment.

The President likes to talk about how fast the economy is growing and how successful his policies have been in stimulating an economic recovery from the 2001 recession. But the American people are saying, what economic recovery, and when am I going to see the benefits from this President's economic policies in my take-home pay, in my pocket?

Mr. Chairman, we should listen to the American people and we should adopt economic policies that promote the economic well-being of all Americans, not just those at the very top of the economic ladder. The President's fiscal year 2007 budget and the House budget resolution do not do that.

Instead, they continue economic policies that have produced a legacy of deficits and debt, that leaves us unprepared to deal with the budget challenges posed by the retirement of the baby boom generation and that weakens the future standard of living of our children and grandchildren.

This administration has set a series of records, only they are the wrong kind of records. They have raised the debt ceiling four times. It is now over

$8 trillion. Every man, woman and child in America now owes at least $28,000 of that debt, and we have had the largest deficit and trade deficit in the history of this country.

This chart shows how the President inherited a budget situation with large surpluses, but we have ended up with a string of large deficits. Economic policy over the last 5 years has not served the interest of the typical American working family. The resilience of the American economy has allowed it to recover from the 2001 recession, but we are still experiencing the labor market effects of the most protracted job slump in decades.

Job creation has lagged far behind what is typical in a strong economic recovery. There is still evidence of hidden unemployment, and the benefits of productivity and productivity growth have been showing up in the bottom lines of companies rather than in the paychecks of American workers.

Finally, and very disturbingly, there is a growing gap between the ``haves'' and the ``have-nots'' in this country as income and earnings disparities have widened. This is a very troubling trend. Yes, workers have become more productive. They produce more and more in each hour that they work. But they have not been getting rewarded for their productivity.

Average hourly earnings have not kept up with inflation, and they barely kept up even before that. Median family income has failed to keep up with inflation every year that President Bush has held office. Those who are already well-to-do are doing very well in the Bush economy. But the typical, hard-working American family is struggling to make ends meet in the face of high costs for energy, health care, and a college education for their children.

This chart illustrates the problem very clearly. The red bar shows the growth in the inflation-adjusted usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salaried workers under President Bush at different points in the earnings distribution. You have to be in the upper half of the distribution to have seen any gain. Earnings at the top have grown fastest relative to inflation and earnings at the bottom have fallen farthest behind inflation.

I would note the contrast with the last 5 years of the Clinton administration, which is the blue bars, when earning gains were strong and spread throughout the earnings distribution. They spread the wealth. They shared the wealth. The budget we are debating today does not address any of these problems. In fact, it makes matters worse.

An analysis by the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee shows that budget cuts in programs that provide payments for individuals are concentrated among lower income families, while the tax cuts go overwhelmingly to those at the top of the income distribution. The blue bars on this chart show that more than a third of the cost for spending cuts go to families in the bottom 20 percent of the distribution, families that together have only 3 percent of aggregate income. Meanwhile, those at the top get nearly three-quarters of the benefits from the tax cuts in this budget, as shown by the red bars in this chart.

With policies that have turned a $5.6 trillion 10-year budget surplus into a deficit over those same 10 years of at least $2.7 trillion, this administration has turned us into a nation of debtors, relying on the rest of the world to finance our budget deficits and the rest of our excessive spending.

Last year, we had a current account trade deficit of over $805 billion, the largest in the history of this country, the largest in the world. That is the amount of money we had to borrow from the rest of the world to finance our trade deficit and international payment imbalance. Foreign governments are holding large quantities of our public debt, putting us at risk of a major international financial crisis if they should decide the benefits of holding dollars are no longer worth that risk.

Mr. Chairman, our future prosperity depends on increasing our national savings and making wise investments. It depends on being ready for the retirement of the baby boom generation and the pressure we know that will be put on the budget with their retirement. But how is the other side preparing us for that future? With more deficits and more debt, the largest in the history of our country.

They want to make the tax cuts that have gotten us into this mess permanent, and they have no realistic plan for controlling spending or bringing revenues into line with the amount we need to spend to defend the country and take care of the needs of our citizens. This is the wrong direction that we are going in. We need a better plan.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield to my distinguished colleague from the Joint Economic Committee and from the great State of New York, Maurice Hinchey, such time as he may consume.

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

Mr. Chairman, the gentleman mentioned the rhetoric coming from this side of the aisle; but we are not speaking rhetoric, we are speaking facts and figures and numbers do not lie.

The other side of the aisle raised the debt ceiling four different times under this administration so we now have a record debt of over $8 trillion. That is not rhetoric; that is a fact. If you break it down, each man, woman and child in America owes $28,000; and it is galloping upwards, the debt on our children and our grandchildren.

Another fact that is not rhetoric is we have the largest trade deficit in the history of our country, the largest in the history of the world; and other countries are financing our budget. We are shifting our wealth to other countries. It has been said if China invaded Taiwan, we would have to borrow money from China to defend Taiwan. That is not a good position to be in.

Mr. Chairman, the budget offered by the majority continues the failed economic policies of the Bush administration. The typical American family is still feeling the effects of the most protracted job slump in decades. Actually, it is the worst job slump since the 1930s. On top of that, wages and incomes are stagnating. There is a growing gap between the haves and the have-nots. This is a tremendously troubling trend in our country.

But this budget does not address any of those problems. It contains unfair spending cuts that disproportionately harm middle- and lower- income families to help pay for tax cuts that go overwhelmingly to those who are already very well off. Where is the fairness in this budget?

And this budget continues to add to our legacy of deficits and debt and has turned us into a Nation of debtors relying on the rest of the world to finance our budget and our deficits.

This is a very troubling trend in our country. We have never had it before. It leaves us unprepared to deal with the challenge posed by the retirement of the baby boom generation and weakens the future standard of living of our children and our grandchildren. I urge a ``no'' vote on this budget.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), the distinguished ranking member on the Budget Committee. We thank him for his leadership on this and his leadership in so many areas.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), a member of the Joint Economic Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green).

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey).

Madam Speaker, misplaced priorities in the Republican budget result in ballooning deficits and the underfunding of programs women and their families need to succeed in today's economy.

By cutting funding for education and training programs that help women pursue careers in nontraditional occupations, this budget does nothing to address one source of the gender wage gap that leaves women earning only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a male.

By freezing funding for child care subsidies and housing vouchers, this budget ensures that fewer women receive the support that they need to make work pay and stay off welfare. Women deserve better. We deserve a better budget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 370, a resolution that calls on Saudi Arabia to end its boycott of Israel.

In 2005, Saudi Arabia pledged to the United States that it would end its boycott of Israel as part of its accession to the World Trade Organization. Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal assured Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Saudi Arabia would follow all WTO rules, including the anti-boycott provisions and specifically pledged to dismantle the secondary and tertiary elements of the boycott against Israel during negotiations for WTO accession. However, shortly after joining the WTO in December, a Saudi official stated unequivocally that the boycott would be maintained.

Mr. Speaker, this blatant disregard for the terms of agreement must be addressed. We must force an end to the Saudi boycott on Israel which has been going on far too long.

I have been fighting the Israel boycott since I came to Congress. In 1993, I introduced H.R. 1407, the Arab Boycott Arm Sales Prohibition Act, a version of which was signed into law in September 1993. Thirteen years ago we talked about the harm the Arab boycott was causing--that it is a blatantly discriminatory practice which is contrary to free trade. It is now 2006 and we are still trying to end the boycott.

Mr. Speaker, I urge this Administration to continue to take a strong position against the Saudi boycott on Israel. It undermines our efforts in the Middle East to bring peace, stability and prosperity and it runs contrary to the obligations of membership in the WTO.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate Egidiana Maccioni on receiving the 2006 President's Medal from Marymount Manhattan College.

In her family's restaurants, Le Cirque and Osterio de Circo, Mrs. Maccioni has worked tirelessly as a chef and hostess, making special memories of great food and lively conversation for a diverse community of New Yorkers. A woman who has quietly pursued her goals as a wife, mother, and businesswoman, Mrs. Maccioni truly embodies the spirit of New York City and is more than worthy of this recognition.

In presenting Egidiana Maccioni with the President's Medal, Marymount Manhattan College continues a long tradition of honoring individuals who have distinguished themselves through service to their professions and communities. I congratulate Mrs. Maccioni on this prestigious honor, the latest among her noteworthy achievements.

Mr. Speaker, last week, I introduced a bipartisan resolution, along with my dear friends and colleagues, Representatives Tom Reynolds, Christopher Shays, and Louise Slaughter, to recognize the cultural and educational contributions of American Ballet Theatre throughout its 65 years of service as ``America's National Ballet Company.''

Sixty-five years ago, American Ballet Theatre was formed to fulfill two essential missions: Become one of the world's great ballet companies and bring classical dance to communities who typically are not able to experience world-class ballet.

Now, 65 years later, ABT has brought world-class dance to America and American dance to the world, including performances in 126 cities throughout all 50 states and 42 countries, often as representatives of the State Department.

Dwight D. Eisenhower recognized the important role of American Ballet Theatre over 40 years ago, stating that ABT brings ``some measure of understanding of America's cultural environment and inspiration'' to audiences through the medium of ballet.

ABT's mission extends beyond the pursuit of artistic greatness. ABT's extensive educational outreach programs include the award-winning Make a Ballet program, which inspires and empowers at-risk students by guiding them through the entire process of staging their own ballet. From choreography, costumes and performance to lighting, marketing and concessions, Make a Ballet has served students in the New York City region for over a decade; now, ABT is bringing Make a Ballet on tour to communities like Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Chicago and Cleveland.

For 65 years, American Ballet Theatre has entertained, inspired and educated thousands and thousands of people across the country and the world. I am proud to represent this important institution and thank my colleagues for joining me in celebrating the past 65 years with ABT. We all look forward to the next 65 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Robert J. Levinsohn, an outstanding New Yorker who has devoted himself in service to others throughout his career. Robert Levinsohn has distinguished himself both as an attorney in private practice and as a driving force behind New York County's pioneering role in fostering a reform of its judicial culture, rendering it free of corruption and unwarranted partisan political influence.

A member of our Nation's greatest generation, Robert J. Levinsohn proudly served his country in the United States Army during World War II. He went on to graduate with a bachelor of arts degree from Yale College in 1946 and from the Columbia University School of Law in 1948, where he was named editor of the prestigious Columbia Law Review.

In 1952, Robert J. Levinsohn joined Proskauer Rose LLP, one of the Nation's oldest, largest and most highly respected law firms, and one of the first in the Nation to develop a specialized practice in tax law, which became Mr. Levinsohn's area of professional expertise. Named a partner of the firm in 1963, he continues to represent clients in the firm's New York office to this day. In addition, Mr. Levensohn's professional qualifications and impeccable reputation for probity and integrity have led his colleagues to name him to numerous leadership positions in the New York State and City Bar Associations as well as the New York County Lawyers' Association.

A lifelong activist devoted to the highest ideals of the Democratic Party, Robert J. Levinsohn naturally assumed a series of important positions of leadership in the world of politics and public policy. An active member and longtime Executive Committee member of the Lexington Democratic Club, one of the first political organizations in the Nation devoted to reform of the political and judicial system, Mr. Levinsohn also served as president of the Columbia Law School Democratic Club; president of the New York Young Democratic Club; chief campaign legal aide to the late, much beloved, Manhattan Congressman William Fitts Ryan; cochairman of the Committee for Democratic Voters and of the New Democratic Coalition; cochairman of the New York County Democratic Committee's Law Committee; vice chairman and member of the New York City Council Districting Commission; and a delegate to New York County Democratic Party judicial conventions for more than 35 years. Throughout his professional and civic obligations, Mr. Levinsohn remains devoted to his beloved wife, Louise Katz.

It is in Robert Levinsohn's extraordinary success in reforming New York's judicial and political culture that he will undoubtedly bestow his most enduring legacy on the citizens of our Nation's greatest metropolis. A leader of Manhattan's postwar political reform movement from its first origins, Mr. Levinsohn helped spearhead the drive to remove the taint of political influence from New York's judicial branch. The key to this movement's ultimate success was the reform of the process selecting nominees for judicial office through the establishment of nonpartisan judicial screening panels. This long- sought goal of civic activists like Mr. Levinsohn was finally realized in 1977 under the leadership of former New York County Democratic Party Chairwoman Miriam Bockman.

The judicial reform package promoted so ably by Robert J. Levinsohn and like-minded advocates of good government succeeded in establishing ``doubleblind'' independent judicial screening panels that effectively removed partisan political considerations from the judicial nominating process in New York County. Mr. Levinsohn's efforts to ensure the independence of the judiciary was further ratified after a fellow reform advocate, Congressman Edward I. Koch, was elected mayor of New York City and instituted a merit selection process for mayoral appointees to the bench. The reforms advocated by Robert J. Levinsohn have now become a model which is the envy of every other county in the Empire State.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues join me recognizing the enormous contributions to our civic and political life made by Mr. Robert J. Levinsohn, a true reformer in the finest traditions of our great republic.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This august institution is celebrating its 140th anniversary this month, and all Americans should salute its remarkable success as the first organization dedicated to the protection of animals in the Western Hemisphere.

Over the course of the last 140 years, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, has helped change the way Americans think about animals. The society came into being on April 10, 1866 when its founder, the diplomat and philanthropist Henry Bergh, succeeded in securing it a charter from the New York State Legislature. Just 9 days later, Mr. Bergh and his colleagues from the ASPCA convinced the legislature to pass a new law preventing acts of cruelty to animals and giving the society the power to enforce it. This burst of activism succeeded in focusing public attention on the plight of animals throughout the United States, and its activities helped spawn similar efforts across the Nation.

Headquartered on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has expanded its services over the decades to encompass a humane education program and a government affairs initiative that lobbies for the enactment of laws to provide better protections to animals. The ASPCA provided the city of New York with animal control services for a century, rescuing countless animals in its ambulances, providing them with medical care in its clinics, and sheltering and placing them in new homes whenever possible. The society's humane approach to law enforcement established a model that has been adopted by cities, towns, and villages across the United States.

Today, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is one of the largest humane societies in the world. Its New York City headquarters house an animal hospital, shelter, and adoption center. Law enforcement officers for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals continue to serve as the primary enforcers of anti- cruelty statutes in our Nation's greatest metropolis.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues join me recognizing the enormous contributions to the well-being of both animals and humans made by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mr. Speaker, if you look at the headline economic numbers and listen to the Bush Administration's talking points, you could get the impression that the economy is in pretty good shape.

But when we talk to our constituents, we get a very different picture. We hear anxiety about the economy, and a feeling that things are not going very well for the typical American family. The White House seems puzzled by this discrepancy, but it is very simple.

The benefits of the economic recovery from the 2001 recession have not been going to ordinary Americans. President Bush likes to cite statistics on how fast the economy is growing and how much productivity has increased.

But what he does not mention is that, on his watch, the economy went through the most protracted job slump in decades. There is still considerable evidence of hidden unemployment and that the benefits of productivity growth have been showing up in the profits of companies rather than in the paychecks of ordinary American workers.

Yes, workers have become more productive. They produce more and more in each hour that they work, but they have not been getting this reward in

their own paycheck for their productivity. Average hourly earnings have not keep up with inflation for the past 2 years, and they barely kept even the year before that.

Median family income has failed to keep up with inflation every year under President Bush. Mr. Speaker, even more disturbing than the general stagnation in wages and incomes is the growing gap between the ``haves'' and the ``have-nots'' in this country, as income earnings disparities have widened.

This is an extremely troubling trend for everyone in our country. Those who are already well-to-do are indeed doing very well in the Bush economy. But the typical American family is struggling to make ends meet in the face of high costs for energy, health care and college education for their children.

This chart illustrates the problem very clearly. The red bars show the growth in the inflation adjusted usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers under President Bush at different points in the earnings distribution.

You have to be in the upper half of the distribution to have seen any gain. Earnings at the top have grown fastest relative to inflation, and earnings at the bottom have fallen farthest behind inflation.

I would note the contrast with the last 5 years of the Clinton Administration, which is illustrated with the blue bars when earnings and gains were strong and spread throughout the earnings distribution.

Mr. Speaker, the economic policies of the Bush Administration are not benefitting ordinary American families. The Bush economy and Bush economic policies have produced a widening gap between the ``haves'' and the ``have-nots,'' and they have produced a legacy of deficits and debt that leaves us unprepared to deal with the budget challenges posed by the retirement of the baby-boom generation.

And that weakens the future standard of living of our children and grandchildren. We need to do better. We can do better if we focus on policies that address the economic challenges facing the ordinary American worker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 185th anniversary of Greece's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire. Against incredibly difficult odds, the Greeks defeated one of the most powerful empires in history to gain their independence.

Following 400 years of Ottoman rule, in March 1821 Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the traditional Greek flag at the monastery of Agia Lavras, inciting his countrymen to rise against the Ottoman army. The bishop timed this act of revolution to coincide with the Greek Orthodox holiday celebrating the archangel Gabriel's announcement that the Virgin Mary was pregnant with the divine child. Bishop Germanos's message to his people was clear: A new spirit was about to be born in Greece. The following year, the Treaty of Constantinople established full independence for Greece.

Greek Independence Day is an appropriate time to reflect upon the strong ties between Greece and the United States and the strong commitment to democracy shared by both nations. The Greeks of 1821 fought for independence from the Ottoman Empire while drawing inspiration from the ideals and institutions of the fledgling United States. During their war of independence, the Greeks also received support from many Americans, including Presidents James Madison and James Monroe and Representatives Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, each of whom gave memorable speeches in Congress in support of the Greek revolutionaries. Just as our defeat of the British army was remarkable, so too was the Greek triumph over the Ottoman Army, a momentous achievement in world history.

New York City is home to the largest Hellenic population outside Greece and Cyprus. Western Queens, which I have the honor of representing, is often called Little Athens because of the large Hellenic population in that neighborhood.

New Yorkers celebrate Greek Independence Day with a parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, along with many cultural events and private gatherings. These events, hosted by the Federation of Hellenic Societies and other Hellenic and Philhellenic organizations and friends, remind us of the Hellenic-American community's many contributions to our Nation's history and culture.

On April 2, the president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies, Nikos Diamontidis, along with the organization's officers and board members, will join Parade Committee Chairman Dinos Rallis and Secretary Petros Galatoulas in reminding New Yorkers of the glory of Greece and the hope of freedom and human rights for all. The grand marshals of this year's parade are Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Athens, Paul Stapholopoulos, and John Rangos.

Relations between the United States and Greece remain strong with a shared commitment to ensuring stability in southeastern Europe. I hope permanent solutions can be found for ending the division of Cyprus and finding a mutually agreeable name for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Greece continues to be the home of wonderful artistic achievements including the annual Eurovision song contest, which this year will be held in Athens. I also am pleased to note that Greece hopes to open its Acropolis Museum by the end of next year. This museum will give visitors the opportunity to experience and learn about the Acropolis in a new and exciting way. I hope that the Elgin Marbles, which have been on view in the British Museum, will soon be returned to their home.

As a founder and cochair of the Hellenic Caucus in Congress, I ask the Nation to join me in celebrating Greece's independence. Additionally, it is my sincere pleasure to pay tribute to New York's Hellenic-American community for its many contributions to our city and Nation.

Zeto E Eleftheria. Long Live Freedom.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Rangel motion to instruct conferees on the alternative minimum tax. It also calls upon this body not to increase the debt and the deficit of this country, which is a burden on our children and grandchildren and a growing burden.

The AMT was originally enacted to ensure that the truly rich pay their fair share, but now it has a very unintended effect, and it is hurting millions in the middle class. Twenty million taxpayers will be hit by the AMT this year, 17 million of whom are in the middle class, and these are the jobs that are growing this economy. It has jumped from 3 million in 2004 to over 20 million this year.

It is hurting the middle class. It is unfair. It should not be this way. Support the Rangel bill.

There is the deficit. The deficit is out of control. The Republicans have raised the debt ceiling four times. It is now over $8 trillion. This budget before us proposes to increase the total national debt from $8 trillion at the end of the last year to over $11 trillion in 2011. That is more than double what it was when this Republican administration came into power. This means that each man, woman and child in America owes over $30,000, and on the interest alone to the national debt, the interest alone will be over $247 billion. That is 50 percent of the discretionary spending in this country. It is a burden we cannot continue to carry.

I am just warming up on this issue because I am concerned about my children.

This administration is setting records, but they are the wrong kinds of records for the future stability of this country. We have a record debt, over $8 trillion and galloping forward. We have record deficits. We have a record trade deficit, the largest in the history of our country.

Both the debt, the trade deficit, and the deficit have hit historically high numbers. And what is truly troubling to me is that foreigners are buying our debt. About 80 percent of the deficit is financed by foreigners. This is not the right direction.

Vote for the Rangel motion to instruct.

Madam Speaker, today I pay tribute along with my dear friend and colleague, Representative Henry Hyde, to the wonderful people of Italy.

In the hours and days following the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, hundreds of thousands of Italians rallied in Rome in sympathy with and in support of America.

Prime Minister Berlusconi visited the United States and in his public statements expressed these same sentiments. He rightly stated that these attacks were attacks against all nations.

A great honor bestowed upon visiting heads of states to the U.S. is the opportunity to speak before a joint session of Congress. During that appearance, he emphasized goals we all share; promoting democracy and protecting human rights. He called for continuation of the global efforts to fight terrorism.

Italy is a great ally of the United States, and I believe we should continue efforts to bring the people of both nations closer together.

As the representative for thousands of Italian Americans, I know, as they do, that our society has benefited strongly from the many contributions made by this vibrant community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions to American civic and public life of Mr. Timothy J. Rooney, the the 245th Grand Marshal of New York City's world famous St. Patrick's Day Parade, which marches up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on March 17 every year.

Timothy J. Rooney is a scion of the Rooney family, which is prominent in the worlds of business and professional athletics. He is the proud son of Arthur Rooney, the founder of the National Football League's fabled Super Bowl-winning franchise, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Rooney family also owns and manages the Yonkers Raceway in New York, a premier harness racing venue that is currently being refurbished. Since his family assumed ownership of the raceway in 1972, Mr. Rooney has served as the track's president.

Mr. Rooney has long been active in Irish-American circles. He was honored by the New York-based, United Irish Counties organization in 1975, and the Rooney family's dedication to the people of Ireland and contributions to Irish-American relations and to the Irish-American community have been honored by the American Ireland Fund in New York and Palm Beach, FL.

In 2004, the Knights of St. Patrick presented Timothy Rooney with its Lifetime Achievement award. He has been recognized with many other civic honors as well, including the Terence Cardinal Cooke Award from the New York City Catholic Youth Organization.

Mr. Rooney's leadership in the business world reflects his many diverse interests. A partner for 10 years at Chaplin, McGuiness & Co., Mr. Rooney is an associate member of the New York and American Stock Exchanges. He is president of Delta Electric, an electrical contracting corporation in Westchester County in New York, and served as a

partner in an investment banking firm before assuming the reins at the Yonkers Raceway.

Mr. Rooney's leadership in the racing industry has been well- documented. He is one of the owners of a stud farm in County Kildare in Ireland, and he serves as a director of the United States Trotting Association. He is the business manager of the family-owned Shamrock Farm in Maryland, one of the oldest horse breeding farms in the Terrapin State.

Mr. Rooney is also a devoted family man. He and his wife June are proud parents of 5 children and are devoted to their 17 grandchildren as well as 1 great-grandchild.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues join me in honoring Mr. Timothy Rooney, the grand marshal of New York's 2006 St. Patrick's Day Parade, the largest parade held in our Nation's greatest metropolis.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry of the New York National Guard who are being honored on St. Patrick's Day in New York City. I know that my distinguished colleagues will join me in extending our appreciation and gratitude to all of the brave members of the armed forces serving in the National Guard and the Reserve, who are so courageously and selflessly dedicated to their fellow Americans.

The National Guard in an integral part of a great tradition in American military history that began during the American Revolution. At that time, our Founding Fathers placed the country's security in the hands of citizen-soldiers who trained and organized into militias in their home colonies. To this day, members of the National Guard must be ready to serve their state and their country, often at a moment's notice.

The members of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry continue to uphold a distinguished tradition in both battle and disaster response. As part of the famous Irish Brigade during the Civil War, the members of the 69th Infantry were renowned for their tenacity on the battlefield, leading Confederate General Robert E. Lee to bestow upon them the nickname of ``The Fighting 69th.'' In acknowledgement of its proud heritage, the Fighting 69th participates each year in New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The Fighting 69th are infantry soldiers--the ``guns on the ground''-- whose mission is to engage and destroy enemy forces in close combat. In addition to the Civil War, its members have also fought in the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II, where its soldiers served valiantly in the battles of Makin, Saipan and Okinawa, and its members just completed a tour of duty in Iraq, returning to the U.S. six months ago after serving with distinction. Sixteen soldiers in the Manhattan- based 69th National Guard Regiment have died in the Iraq War, including a member who was one of the New York firefighters who raised the American flag above Ground Zero, Christian Engledrum.

In April, six members of the 69th Regiment were awarded Purple Hearts after being wounded by roadside bombs in Iraq. The unit patrolled the infamous road to the Baghdad airport and was stationed primarily in the Sunni Triangle, where most of the insurgent attacks have taken place. In a speech at Fort Drum, New York, Vice President Richard Cheney paid tribute to the Fighting 69th, thanking its members for their ``toughness in confronting insurgents around Baghdad.'' Nine members of the Fighting 69th are continuing to serve on active duty in Iraq today.

The members of the Fighting 69th also have mobilized during times of emergency in their home state of New York. The Battalion Commander, Lt. Col Geoffrey Slack, informs me that the Fighting 69th was the first National Guard unit to arrive on the scene following the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. In the hours after the attacks, the Battalion assisted medical teams treating the wounded and provided significant assistance to rescue and recovery operations, continuing in this mission for nearly a year.

Mr. Speaker, in recognition of its tremendous contributions to civic and public life, I request that my colleagues join me in paying tribute to the Fighting 69th Regiment of the New York State National Guard, who are great New Yorkers and great Americans. All Americans should be grateful for the dedication demonstrated every day by the men and women of the Fighting 69th as well as all of the brave individuals serving in National Guard and Reserve units throughout our nation. Their members' dedication to our country serves as an inspiration to us all.