Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Eldon Powell. Mr. Powell served in the Army under General Patton with the 90th Infantry Division in Europe from 1944 to 1946. He has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for distinguishing himself by heroic service.

To best honor Mr. Powell, I would like to share with the members of this distinguished House the poem written, entitled ``By My Dad's Side'' by his daughter, Sandra L. Moore.

Always I'll remember being by my Dad's side

Watching him slowly rise to his feet

To pay homage to His American Flag

The look on his face

His posture secure

His hand over his heart

His eyes set only upon ``Her''

And without saying a word

And giving no thought to the crowd

My Dad once again would remember it all

As he would rise to his feet and pay homage to his call

His Call to his Country

His God given Word

To uphold and defend what was good, what was pure

To defend what was Holy

To defend what was True

To defend what God Himself values Precious and Pure

And so on every occasion, every ball game, parade

When His American Flag would so proudly wave

There would be my Dad with his eyes fixed and gazed

His hand holds his heart, for at times it does bleed

For all those he remembers whose lives bought Freedom for you

and me

His hand holds his heart as it swells deep from Pride

Remembering with Honor those who survived

His hand holds his heart as he humbly cries

Giving thanks to His God that

Freedom is still Well and Alive

Yes, I'll always remember being by my Dad's side

Where I learned Honor, Respect, Sacrifice and Pride

Where Reverence & Allegiance were Values that grew

Where Love of God and Country and all Mankind rang True

Yes, I'll always remember being by my Dad's side

Watching and leaning with tears in my eyes

His reaffirming his Pledge

Re-pledging his Vows

Vowing again and again his Allegiance with Pride

Giving Honor and Thanks for ``Our'' American Flag

Just ask any veteran about American Pride

They all tell a story with tears in their eyes

A brotherhood bonded by the willing sacrifices of men

Who for God and Country would do it all over again

God Bless America

May God bless Eldon Powell and all our Veterans. They truly are American Heroes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Franklin ``Frank'' Ford recognizing his recently revealed contributions to the U.S.-led allied victory in World War II as designer and superintendent for The Dow Chemical Company's ethylene plant.

During Word War II, Imperial Japan blocked shipments of natural rubber to the U.S. As necessity is the mother of invention, the U.S.

was forced to develop synthetic rubber to relieve the U.S. military of its dependence on imported rubber.

Mr. Ford and a team of dedicated engineers at The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, developed and pioneered domestic ethylene production, which as the precursor to synthetic rubber, was used to supply the U.S. with critical resources necessary to win the war, Ethylene continues to have practical, widespread applications today in plastic bags, paints, antifreeze and car components.

Until recently Mr. Ford's family was unaware of his impact on Dow and his important role in developing ethylene. He is being honored today at the Herbert D. Doan Historical Museum in Midland and finally getting the recognition he and others deserve.

Like so many in Mr. Ford's generation, he never asked for any credit, recognition or accolades for his work or the work of his team during the war. He did not ask for a blue ribbon or a tickertape parade. He is among the many anonymous Americans who quietly, selflessly did his job on the home front to win the war overseas.

That is why more than 60 years after World War II it is a privilege for me to publicly recognize Mr. Ford and his team at The Dow Chemical Company as unsung heroes and acknowledge their contributions to the U.S. during a time of world war.

Madam Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.

Madam Speaker, despite all of the respect that I have for the ranking member, I have to oppose the motion to instruct.

If looked at at face value, this motion to instruct adds to the deficit. Despite all of the tax increases in the Senate version, there are not enough tax increases to cover the cost of this motion to instruct.

Let me just say the motion to instruct seeks to include AMT relief in reconciliation, even though we have already in the House passed AMT relief. The House voted 414-4 to move the alternative minimum tax outside of reconciliation.

AMT relief cannot be passed within reconciliation without raising taxes or, as I said, violating the budget. Some AMT relief for middle- income taxpayers is inside, included in reconciliation. The bill does have a provision that allows families who claim personal tax credits targeted to lower- and middle-income families to use those credits to offset their AMT liability. The House extends both forms of AMT relief without raising taxes as the Senate did.

And let me just say, this motion to instruct excludes our effort to extend the lower rates on capital gains and dividends, which provides broad-based tax relief. The motion to instruct seeks to deny that broad-based tax relief by refusing to extend the lower rates on capital gains and dividends.

The AMT extension, which my friends on the other side are so in favor of, benefits a targeted class of people in a few States. Lower rates on capital gains and dividends benefits a much broader group of taxpayers. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the extension of the 2001 AMT provision affects only 14 million taxpayers. In contrast, capital gains are reported by more than 26 million taxpayers and dividends are earned by more than 35 million taxpayers. Many of these taxpayers would be adversely affected when lower rates expire in 2009.

Also, Joint Committee data shows that in 2005 95 percent of taxpayers hit by the AMT had incomes above $100,000. The AMT affected less than 5 percent of taxpayers with incomes below $100,000, only one-tenth of a percent had incomes below $50,000.

In contrast, nearly 60 percent of the taxpayers with incomes less than $100,000 had income from capital gains

and dividends. One in five taxpayers with capital gains, and one in four taxpayers with dividends have incomes below $50,000.

Let me also just say that H.R. 4297 is within the current budget constraints. The congressionally approved budget allows for up to $70 billion in reconciliation tax relief, and H.R. 4297 complies with the budget.

The motion to instruct seems to indicate that my friends on the other side want no action on the tax reconciliation bill. They do nothing about the expiring provisions which would lapse, including several items many of my friends on the other side have talked about, including the R&D tax credit, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, and Qualified Zone Academy Bonds.

Also the motion implies that the conferees should accept tax increases proposed by the Senate. That would lead to raising taxes in a number of ways, which have drawn bipartisan concern.

So for these reasons, I oppose the motion to instruct.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

We have paid for our entire reconciliation.

If the gentleman would let me finish, we have paid for our reconciliation bill, or extending our tax relief, in our budget. It is paid for in our budget. We take care of the middle-class AMT problem in our reconciliation bill.

Well, we provide for middle class taxpayers, AMT problems in reconciliation. This house voted 414 to 4 to move the entire AMT issue outside of reconciliation.

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

Madam Speaker, My friend from Michigan said, why would anyone want a tax cut? I will tell you why. The American economy, after tax relief in 2001 and 2003, is the envy of the industrialized world. Our unemployment rate is lower than that of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Productivity is booming. The average annual growth rate of output per worker since 2001 is 3.1 percent, the best since the 1960s.

Prices are stable. Inflation measured by the price index for personal consumption expenditures grew at a low 2.9 percent in 2005. Americans are working. The unemployment rate is at 4.8 percent, almost a 5-year lull, while initial unemployment claims are near the lowest point since 1999.

Nest eggs are growing. Average home prices rose 13 percent in 2005, a huge increase for the 69 percent of Americans who own their homes. Consumers are confident. Consumer spending rose 9 percent in January, the largest increase in 12 months. Americans are richer. Aftertax income is up 5.4 percent in the last 12 months, and the economy is stronger. Real domestic product growth has averaged 3.2 percent in 2005. That is why Americans want tax cuts.

The motion to instruct assumes the tax increases that the Senate has passed, which the House has rejected. Now, those tax increases aren't enough to cover the cost of this motion to instruct, so I urge Members to oppose that motion to instruct.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would just say that this is all provided for in our budget reconciliation.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart), the distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

(Mr. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Our legislation does provide AMT relief for middle-income taxpayers inside of reconciliation.

Again, I go back to why would anyone want a tax cut? Obviously, lowering tax rates on capital gains and dividends helps contribute to the long-run economic growth and expansion of this country.

Sixty percent of the people who realize capital gains have incomes below $100,000. Twenty-five percent of the people with dividend income have incomes below $50,000. Capital gains tax receipts have been increasing since the 2003 tax cut, and over the past year 2 million jobs were created, and the unemployment rate is at its lowest level since July of 2001 at 4.8 percent.

Congress must continue to encourage investment and economic growth and, also, Congress must encourage Americans to plan for the long term. A 3-year tax provision does not allow for long-term financial planning, particularly for the 70 million baby boomers that are going into retirement in the near future.

So, again, I would urge Members to oppose this motion to instruct.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I do not have any speakers at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time remains.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, again, I find it interesting that some of my friends on the other side say that nobody benefits from capital gains and dividends when in fact 35 million taxpayers have dividend income and 26 million taxpayers realize capital gains. I think that shows how little they know about employee ownership in America of so many companies where people work.

So to dismiss out of hand as if no one benefits from these provisions is absolutely false, and not to mention the effect of these investment tax reductions on our economy and what that means for peoples' individual lives and their prosperity.

I spent some time earlier going through a number of statistics about how we have record unemployment, record homeownership, record productivity, and so many indicators of strength in our national economy that are as a result of the 2003 tax relief.

Also, the potential tax hike in investment taxes could already potentially be weighing on people about to retire, the 70 million baby boomers who are about to retire, and could weigh on investors as they make their longer-term investment decisions. That is why it is so important that we continue the capital gains and dividend tax relief in reconciliation; that we don't have a tax hike on investment taxes, because that would hurt the economic growth that we have been able to achieve in recent years.

Let me just say that we have been able to do both in our legislation, both capital gains and middle-income AMT, and they have been done within the budget. The congressionally approved budget by this Congress allows up to $70 billion in reconciliation and tax relief. Within our budget we do both of them. We may not do it exactly the way the other side does, but we accomplish both goals in our legislation.

Again, I would urge a ``no'' vote on the motion to instruct.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I rise to oppose this Democrat motion.

This motion takes some parts of our tax agenda and says they are important, like the savers credit, the direct payments of tax refunds to IRAs, but ignores so many other parts of our bill that are critical, like the permanency of the pension and IRA provisions, many of which were in the Portman-Cardin legislation which this House has debated long before, I noticed Mr. Cardin was here earlier, and long-term care insurance, which is a critical issue, and FSA rollover, which many of my friends on the other side are vitally interested in as well. So this motion to instruct is really incomplete, and I

would urge all Members to vote against it.

With regard to airlines, I am vitally interested in the viability of our airline industry and certainly their ability to provide pensions for their employees. But I think to simply accept the Senate language would not allow us to go to conference and deal with the airline issues in a comprehensive and thorough way in conference.

So I would urge Members, especially those Members interested in the airline issue, to oppose this motion to instruct.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to George Weeks, a distinguished resident of my district and a man whose home number is rung by American Presidents, U.S. Senators and Representatives, Governors, state legislators and local officials alike. As Michigan's foremost political columnist, a mention in George's tri-weekly submissions is courted by candidates for reasons far beyond the sheer volume of his readership. In a career that has spanned 5 decades and nearly as many continents, George's work epitomizes the fairness preached in j-schools across the country. It is no surprise that his praise is sought by both Republicans and Democrats, and it is certainly no surprise that George was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame long before his retirement. Michigan politics has been well served by this honored scribe. As George enters ``retirement,'' and the Detroit News loses its Glen Arbor Bureau, his commentary will be missed, but his work will long be remembered.

On behalf of the Fourth Congressional District, I extend best wishes to George and Mollie Weeks and sincerely thank them for their service to the great state of Michigan.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I rise in opposition to this motion to instruct. This motion is really based on a flawed rationale and flawed thinking. They are saying that we drop the 2-year extension on reduced rates for capital gains and dividends, somehow thinking that is going to help the deficit. First of all, that would be a tax increase on all those investors. As we have seen with employee stock ownership and employee-owned companies on the rise, stock ownership on the rise, more Americans participating in the stock market and investments than ever before, more than half, this would be a huge problem and tax increase for them.

Not only that, as we have seen when President Clinton was President in 1997 and signed a reduction in capital gains rates from 28 to 20 percent, we saw that then increased revenue to the government because of the economic growth that came out of that increased investment. We have seen the same with our recent capital gains and dividend reductions.

For example, the Congressional Budget Office says that receipts to the government have not declined, but have increased significantly by 45 percent, and that is by reducing the capital gain rates from 20 to 15 percent because not only did that double the realization of gains, and one reason was there was a higher return on investment as that tax declined, but also there was this unlocking effect where investors could sell their assets and move into other investments that then grew more rapidly. So we had this growth and dynamic aspect of the economy that took over that is so critical.

The CBO also found that tax collections from what they call nonwithheld tax receipts also jumped dramatically by 32 percent. We have seen dividend payouts from American companies virtually triple as a result of this reduction. So we have seen that this is tremendous benefit for the American people as their investments grow and they become more well off, and this is all income levels. Anybody who is part of an employee-owned company can participate, anybody can participate in the market, it is not just the high-income people, and we have seen lower and lower income levels participating in

the stock market over times because of these changes.

So I think it is critical that we not approve this motion to instruct, that we reject it for the reasons that to create economic growth, increase prosperity and give every American a shot at the American dream, we must extend the reduction in capital gains and dividends.

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

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

I note that the House voted 414-4 to move the alternative minimum tax outside of reconciliation to pass alternative minimum tax relief. I was sincere in my vote. I would just inquire whether those on the other side of the aisle who voted for this bill were sincere in their votes.

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

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

I would just say for the Record, the will of the House by a vast majority extended both kinds of AMT relief we have been discussing today without raising taxes as the Senate did.

I just want to say that one in five taxpayers, or 20 percent with capital gains, and one in four taxpayers, 25 percent of the taxpayers with dividends, have incomes below $50,000, so this clearly is an opportunity for Americans to begin to become part of the American dream by investing and growing that income. To not extend the tax relief would be to raise taxes, which would be the wrong thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Well, because your whole assumption is based on the flawed principle that if we reduce investment taxes, revenues to the government decline.

Well, we are certainly not going to raise taxes like the Senate did.

Well, because the investment taxes actually increase.

Mr. Speaker, first let me say, we are certainly not going to pay for it by raising taxes as our friends in the Senate did by including AMT in reconciliation. And let me just say that we have seen since we reduced investment taxes in 2003, we have seen a doubling of capital gains realizations, meaning, a huge increase in the amount of revenue generated by capital gains sales and a huge 45 percent increase in tax receipts as a result. This is part of the revenue that I hear from the other side.

And so what happens when investment taxes are reduced is revenues to the government increase. That occurred in 1997 when President Clinton signed a bill that reduced investment taxes, that occurred in 2003 when President Bush signed a bill reducing investment taxes. And so one of the things that you have seen from the investment community is that even though we have seen dramatic, positive revenues to the government as a result of decreasing these taxes, a lot of people in the investment community say that if we do not enact an extension, that would be a very negative signal for Wall Street.

Others have said you really will not even see the full potential of realization from the effects of lower rates on investment taxes until they are perceived to be permanent. And that is from the Congressional Budget Office. So the threat of these taxes expiring will affect business decisions well before they do expire and personal investment decisions. So that is why it is important we act now. So, again, I urge Members to reject this motion to instruct.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would just say briefly that the threat of these expiring will have an effect on business and individuals from investment decisions well before midnight on December 31, 2008. So it is important that we act now while we can, because that will send a very strong signal that these reductions in investment taxes are here to stay, which will continue to encourage the kind of investment and growth that has created the job relief that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English), or job creation that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English), mentioned, over 2 million jobs. And it is so important that we continue to do that.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First let me just say that lowering tax rates on capital gains and dividends helps contribute to the long-run economic growth and expansion of this country. Sixty percent of the people who realize capital gains have incomes below $100,000. Twenty-five percent of the people who have dividend income have incomes below $50,000. Capital gains tax receipts have been increasing since the 2003 tax cut. More companies have been offering dividends since the 2003 tax cut. These pro-growth policies are getting America moving again. In the past 12 months, 2 million jobs were created, and the unemployment rate is at its lowest level since July 2001. Do not derail or reverse that growth.

Second, I would say the House voted 414 to 4 to move the alternative minimum tax outside of reconciliation. The House voted in a majority vote just a few days ago to include capital gains relief inside of reconciliation.

This motion to instruct is a clear attempt not to instruct the conferees, but to reverse what the will of the House has voted just a short time ago.

I urge Members to vote ``no'' on this motion to instruct.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4297.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2830, the Pension Protection Act of 2005 strengthens retirement security for millions of Americans. Current pension funding laws and structures are outdated and threaten the financial stability of the pension system. In fact, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, PBGC, the government insurer of pension plans, estimates that single employer plans are underfunded by up to $450 billion.

Furthermore, an increasing number of companies are using the bankruptcy system to dump massively underfunded pension plans on the PBGC. Since traditional pensions are a critical component of retirement security, it is essential to form law that modernizes and strengthens funding rules. H.R. 2830 ensures that companies fulfill their pension promises to working people. It requires employers to fully fund their pension plans and rectify funding shortfalls more quickly. It also ensures that employees receive up-to-date and accurate information about their pensions and prevents companies from making future promises when they cannot even meet current obligations.

The bill strikes the right balance in ensuring the plans will begin to be

more appropriately funded while not being so strict that the companies providing pension plans are in danger of having to terminate them. To that end, H.R. 2830 provides transition relief to employers, giving them time and flexibility to get their pension funding in order.

In addition, the Ways and Means Committee incorporated into this package a number of tax incentives to increase retirement savings for Americans. Included in H.R. 2830 are provisions to make permanent the savers' credit and the increased contribution limits for IRAs and other 401(k) plans. The bill also increases savings opportunities for our men and women in combat and provides increased pension flexibility for public safety officers, including firefighters, policemen and emergency medical service employees.

Furthermore, this bill provides tax benefits to make health care and long-term care more affordable. H.R. 2830 makes permanent bipartisan pension improvements established in 2001. While pension reform is a difficult area to make adjustments, given the unique needs of each employer, this legislation is a fair and balanced package that will provide economic security for millions of Americans. It has broad support for both the employer and labor communities. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds just to say that we had several hearings on this pension bill in the Ways and Mean Committee, including the Select Revenue Subcommittee which I chair. Let me just say that the PBGC's analysis shows that funding contributions to this end up being lower only in the short term; but, actually, starting in 2010, contributions to pension plans will increase. And that is because the funding reforms in the bill are phased in over 5 years.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Chocola), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would just say to the gentleman, as chairman of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee of Ways and Means, I look forward to working with him on this and other issues as this legislation moves through the process and to conference.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, pension reform is more than just an accounting issue; it is about protecting the trust between employers and their employees. It is critical for Congress to address this issue and step in and fix rules that no longer work. Many businesses are complying with pension laws. However, the current system is too weak, and many companies have plans that are underfunded. It is time for Congress to step in and reform single-employer pension plans, multi-employer plans, improve disclosure and enhance retirement savings. The bill before us achieves these goals.

The pension bill requires companies to accurately measure how much to contribute to their plans and how much they owe.

This bill also protects shutdown benefits. Those are benefits that are paid to workers who are being laid off because of a plant closing. These benefits are critical to help older workers affected by corporate downsizing. It is imperative that well-funded plans be able to continue to provide their workers with shutdown double benefits, and I am glad this Pension Protection Act preserves this important pension security tool.

The strength of multi-employer pension plans is critical to the retirement security of many Americans. Approximately 1,600 multi- employer plans cover about 9.8 working people in the United States. Multi-employer plans, like single-employer plans, cannot simply be turned over to the PBGC. Therefore, it is even more important to those involved that these plans are properly funded.

This bill strengthens the solvency of multi-employer defined pension benefit plans by providing trustees with the tools to fix the plan's financial situation. The bill requires trustees to adopt rehabilitation plans for critically funded pensions and protects employers from defaulting on their promises.

One important provision of this bill, and perhaps one of the least mentioned, is regarding disclosure requirements. The bill would give retirees and employees better information on the financial condition of their plan. Now workers will be sent information from their plan's sponsor and the plan's ratio of assets to liabilities, the plan's funding and asset allocation policies and other critical information.

While protecting pensions is a focus of this legislation, the bill does much more than that. It includes new opportunities for people to prepare for their retirement and bolster their savings. The bill provides individuals with new insurance products that help Americans better afford long-term health care costs.

I applaud the work of Chairman Thomas and Chairman Boehner and urge support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the distinguished chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding.

I oppose the motion to recommit. This motion to recommit leaves current pension funding rules in place which ends up weakening the funding rules in the underlying bill. This means that businesses would not be fulfilling their promises to working people.

The motion to recommit also has a $53 billion surtax contained in it on small business. That surtax is bad for workers, bad for small business, bad for America. So I would urge a ``no'' vote on the motion to recommit, a ``yes'' vote on the underlying bill, which would ensure that pension plans would be appropriately funded, but not so strict as to cause employers to terminate their pension plans. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the service of a fellow Michigan congressman: the Honorable John Dingell, who marks today his fiftieth year as a member of this distinguished House of Representatives. The length of his labors is astounding; his constant concern for his constituents is exemplary; and his integrity is simply beyond reproach.

Having been elected to fill the seat and the shoes of his father (who passed away while still in office), Mr. Dingell has blazed his own path over the past five decades. Impacting virtually every major piece of legislation to be signed into law during the last half century, Mr. Dingell is one of a handful of lawmakers whose effectiveness does not rely solely on his party being in the majority.

Impressive in both stature and the tenacity with which he pursues his positions, Mr. Dingell has lent his life to public service. The good citizens of his district and his colleagues here on the Hill are all the better for his tenure; may it long continue.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Chocola), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Trade Subcommittee.

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

I just want to point out to the Members that yesterday the House passed the Gulf Opportunities Zone Act 415-4 which dealt with many items to help gulf coast area residents who had been hurt by the hurricane, incentives to help rebuild housing, investment to provide depreciation and expensing for small businesses, bonding authority so that tax-exempt bond authority could help rebuild devastated infrastructure in the hurricane zone.

So this House has acted to help hurricane victims.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

(Mr. HAYWORTH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Beauprez), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner).

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

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today extends important tax relief for families and small businesses all across this country. Much of the relief in this bill is already in current law and will expire next month. If we do not pass this bill, Americans will be hit with tax increases.

The tax relief in this bill goes directly to the issues of poverty and education that the gentleman from New York mentioned. This bill will allow America's teachers to receive tax deductions on out-of- pocket classroom expenses. Students will be able to use tax incentives to enhance the affordability of higher education. Employers will be eligible for incentives for hiring low-income Americans transitioning from welfare to work, getting on that first rung of the economic ladder, and States and local governments will continue to be able to qualify for tax credit bonds to help repair schools, purchase school equipment and train teachers in economically distressed areas.

These are just a handful of the important tax benefits this bill will provide to low- and middle-income Americans and small business owners.

This bill is also a big win for our Nation's economy; and without a strong economy, we will not see families achieve the kind of economic independence they need to realize the American Dream. This bill reauthorizes and strengthens the research and development tax credit amendment which passed the committee with a unanimous vote. It is a valuable tool in promoting U.S. businesses to innovate.

When I hear about distressed manufacturers in Michigan, one of the main issues they are competing on is to innovate and find the newest technology to remain competitive in a global economy. Michigan's economy, my home State, is closely tied to the ability of Michigan companies to make a sustained commitment to long-term, high-cost research. The manufacturing sector in the United States is the highest user of the research and development tax credit. Michigan, for example, is one of the top 10 States in reported research and development activity with more than 1,300 companies performing research and development in that State.

This bill is a positive piece of legislation across the board. It helps small and low-income businesses and working families, as well as helps our manufacturers to rebound, and also our high-tech community to stay competitive in a global economy. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and vote ``yes'' on the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would say to my friend from New York that we have dealt with the AMT issue. In our legislation, we did not choose to raise taxes, as the gentleman's substitute does, to the tune of $40 billion. So because of that, the AMT is done outside of the reconciliation process.

When I hear so many on the other side of the aisle talk about high- income earners, I remind Members that many small businesses in the United States file as individuals. So when they have this $40 billion tax increase, that is really on small businesses and the families that those small businesses support. According to the Treasury Department, 80 percent of the people affected by the $40 billion tax increase in their substitute are small and entrepreneurial businesses. That is the engine of job creation in America, and that is why our economy has recovered, because we have helped those small businesses.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart), a distinguished Member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a distinguished Member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the distinguished majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, and the $40 billion in taxes in the Democrat substitute certainly will not give many Americans a break.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

(Mr. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the current rate structure of the AMT was created by the Democrats in 1993 with no Republicans supporting the bill.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Hulshof), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella).

(Mr. FOSSELLA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. McCrery), distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, chairman of the Trade Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Actually, in a few minutes we will have a vote on two tax bills, and we have heard a lot of debate this afternoon about the two approaches the bill takes, and I certainly appreciate my friends on the other side for recognizing the need for tax relief.

In fact, in many important ways these bills are very similar. Twenty- two provisions in our underlying bill were taken by my friends on the other side and put into their bill. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

For example, the income tax deduction for State and local taxes; the research and development tax credit, so important to our high-tech and manufacturing sectors of our economy; the above-the-line deduction for higher education expenses; and the bonds for school modernization equipment and teacher training; as well as the enhanced charitable deduction for computer donations to schools. These are provisions that we have that are the same.

What the Democrat substitute does not include is the extension of a saver's credit for low-income families; the expensing for small businesses so small entrepreneurs can grow their companies, buy the equipment, increase their businesses and hire more people; cleaning up brownfields sites so we can continue economic development in so many small towns and communities in our Nation; as well as helping our domestic manufacturers finance those large equipment sales overseas so we can export more.

Also capital gains and dividends. We have heard a great deal about that this afternoon. That tax provision, that benefit, has helped 24 million American families in this country. Twenty-five percent of those families have incomes under $50,000 a year. Are those the rich we hear talked about so much on the other side? Fifty-seven percent, almost 60 percent of the families have incomes under $100,000 a year. Are those the very rich our friends on the other side are so worried about us assisting?

What is irresponsible is the part of the Democrat substitute which raises taxes. Forty billion dollars in tax increases. And 80 percent of those taxes, that tax burden, would fall on small entrepreneurial businesses. I urge a vote against the substitute and in favor of the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

(Mr. THOMAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Reverend James William Bessert as he celebrates the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a Roman Catholic priest.

As many do, I know him simply as Father Jim. I am proud to call him a friend and join with so many others in offering our congratulations to Father Jim, a servant of God who has truly dedicated himself to walking the path of Christ.

In his 25 years as a priest, Father Jim has shared the Good News and his gift of music since his first ordained assignment as associate pastor of St. Maria Goretti Parish in Bay City to his present calling as pastor at St. Brigid of Kildare Parish in Midland, Michigan. I am especially privileged as a graduate of St. Brigid School and native son of the parish to acknowledge Father Jim's positive impact on the church and the school communities.

At a time when some parishes and schools face the heart-wrenching challenge of decreased membership and enrollment, St. Brigid is experiencing a rebirth on both accounts. The pews are filled with families and the sanctuary resounds with worshipful song. Since he arrived at St. Brigid in 1999, Father Jim's vision and example have proven a reason for this blessing in downtown Midland. With a shepherd's care, he walks with the flock of St. Brigid in learning and loving the way of Christ.

As the members of the community of believers, we offer our prayers and congratulations to Father Jim on his silver anniversary as a priest and wish him many more years of inspired and inspiring leadership. We pray that the sustaining strength of the Spirit continues to guide him.

On behalf of Michigan's Fourth Congressional District, may God continue to lead Father Jim to do His will.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for yielding me this time, and also the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), both of these gentlemen, for their leadership on the Energy Policy Act.

As a conferee to the tax title on H.R. 6, this bill delivers a huge win for Michigan soybean growers by securing an extension of the Federal Biodiesel Tax Incentive through 2010, a program that many farmers in my district depend on. Biodiesel makes sense on every level, our environment, national security, reducing dependence on foreign oil, and it is certainly better for farmers in Michigan. The tax incentive is expected to increase demand for biodiesel, most often made from soybeans. And soybeans are Michigan's fourth largest commodity in terms of farm income, and by far the largest crop grown in mid-Michigan.

I am also pleased that the conference report includes legislation I have been working on that provides consumers with a tax credit for the purchase of hybrid advanced technology, lean-burn diesel, and alternative-fuel vehicles. This incentive will help reduce the amount consumers pay at the pump, lessen our dependence on traditional fossil fuels, and achieve cleaner air.

This bill reflects a balance between oil and gas production and efficiency and conservation. I urge my colleagues to vote for this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Americans Write, an organization that is committed to helping the people of Northern Michigan contact their elected officials.

Americans Write builds on the success of other well-known national opinion ballot organizations, by incorporating issues of the day in its monthly newsletters. By focusing on issues that are most important to its recipients, Americans Write provides the opportunity and inspiration for individuals to engage in the democratic process.

It is important that all Americans become involved in our government, to ensure that their voices are heard. As Americans become increasingly busy, it becomes more important to have organizations like Americans Write to facilitate easy communication with their elected officials.

I commend Americans Write for their efforts in keeping representatives at every level of government apprised of the issues important to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the distinguished service of an employee of this House. To do so, I'm reminded of an old phrase that doesn't fit anymore in today's society. It goes: behind every good man is a good woman. The saying may be outdated, but the point it tries to make still rings true: nobody gets very far without a lot of support.

Nowhere is that more accurate than in the world of politics and public service. I'd like to think that the modern corollary up here on the Hill might sound something like: behind every good politician is their staff. And, Kathryn Lehman has helped make many a good politician.

Kathryn may not have been in the headlines, she may not have been lauded with award after award and plaque after plaque, but she has done much to make our Republican caucus a success.

In her many roles, Kathryn has always been a go-to person. Working the halls of Congress with an in-depth knowledge of policy, an ability to handle even the toughest personalities and a dedication to public service that is second to none, Kathryn has remained a constant force in moving our agenda forward.

Kathryn is leaving us to take that next step in her already distinguished career. While I know that Kathryn's talents will be missed, I wish her the very best in her new endeavor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the honorable Tillie Kidd Fowler. Mrs. Fowler was a distinguished member of this House from 1993 to 2000. She was a personal friend and someone who I admired greatly.

Tillie was as good a Representative as this House has seen. She was tenacious in the defense of her constituents; principled to a point; and, willing to listen to any good argument.

Raised in an era when professional women were passed over regardless of qualifications for their male counterparts, Tillie used her sharp intellect to climb to the highest levels of government and public service; and our Nation is the better for it.

Today, as we grapple with how best to defend our Nation against the threats of the 21st Century, each of us in the public arena will have to double our efforts in order to fill the knowledge void created by Tillie's absence. We all relied on her keen insights and the significance of her efforts to rebuild our Nation's military and maintain the world's most elite armed services cannot be understated.

While I could go on and on about Tillie's policy successes as a United States Representative and later as Chairwoman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, it is her work off this floor that I will miss most. When the day's work was done, Tillie had an amazing ability to cut through the clutter and remind you what matters most; to keep you focused; and, to give you a renewed sense of energy with which to tackle the issues of the day.

Just as she was in life, her memory will continue to serve as an inspiration to all of us who knew her. May God receive and keep her, and hold her family close in their days of mourning.