Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments, and I rise today in support of H.R. 42, the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act.

This bill, as the gentleman stated, provides that a condominium association, a cooperative association, or residential real estate management association may not prohibit a resident of the association from displaying an American flag on their property within the association.

American citizens should not be prevented from expressing simple acts of patriotism, especially raising the flag on their own property, even if their property is part of a larger association of properties.

I am proud to be here today to support this bill, which supports basic patriotism and ensures that Americans may display the American flag wherever they live.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would support the proposal before this House today if there were just one additional provision, and that is something I moved during the Budget Committee last week, to reinstate and add as an amendment to this PAYGO provisions that Mr. Spratt mentioned early.

PAYGO sounds complex. All it really is if you have a new spending proposal or a new tax cut proposal, the first section is, here is my proposal. The second provision is, here is how it will be paid for.

If we want to truly restore fiscal responsibility to this body, and to our Nation, we need to reinstate PAYGO that expired in 2002.

Over the last 5 years Congress has raised the debt limit four times by $3 trillion; raised the debt limit by $3 trillion in the last 5 years. The most recent was almost $800 billion in March of this year.

Unfortunately, our current fiscal carelessness is going to land squarely on the shoulders of our kids and grandkids. We are putting our children and grandchildren in a hole so deep they may never be able to climb out. Each person in this country now has their share of the national debt at $28,000.

This debt tax, Mr. Speaker, that we are imposing on our children and grandchildren cannot be repealed and can only be reduced if we take responsible steps now. We should and must reinstate PAYGO rules. In fact, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Greenspan testified in front of our Budget Committee, as did David Walker, the Comptroller General of our country, in favor of reinstating this rule.

Again, I would support line item veto if we had the addition of PAYGO rules. I think we need to take this measure now, and I urge people to look at this seriously and to reinstate PAYGO.

Mr. Speaker, due to a combination of mechanical problems suffered by US Airways and inclement weather in the Washington, DC, area, I arrived at the Capitol yesterday later than I anticipated. For this reason, I missed the following three recorded votes on June 19:

1. H.R. 5540--Sergeant Jacob Dan Dones Post Office Designation Act-- had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'';

2. H.R. 5504--Larry Winn, Jr. Post Office Building Designation Act-- had I been present, I would have voted ``aye''; and

3. H. Res. 826--Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Youth Sports Week should be established--had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, joined by my Kansas delegation colleagues--Representatives Tiahrt, Ryun and Moran--I recently introduced legislation to designate the United States Postal Service facility located at 6029 Broadmoor Street in Mission, Kansas, as the ``Larry Winn, Jr. Post Office Building.'' I am pleased that the House is considering it today and I thank House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis and Ranking Democratic Member Henry Waxman and their staffs for moving this measure so rapidly through their committee.

Edward Lawrence ``Larry'' Winn, Jr., represented Kansas' Third Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1967 to 1985. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919, he was an Eagle Scout who attended public schools and received a B.A. from the University of Kansas in 1941. Becoming an announcer for WHB radio, he later served as public relations director for the local branch of the American Red Cross. Returning to Kansas, he established and became vice president of Winn- Rau Corporation, a private home builder. For 14 years, he served as National Director of the National Association of Home Builders, and also served as President of the Home Builders Association of Kansas City.

In 1962, the incumbent U.S. Representative in the Third District, Robert Ellsworth, asked Winn, who had served as Republican Party chairman in that district, to be his campaign manager; he fulfilled that role in the 1962 and 1964 campaigns. In 1966, when Ellsworth unsuccessfully challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Jim Pearson in the Republican primary, Winn won election as his successor, defeating Overland Park Mayor Marvin Rainey. In later contests, among eight successful re-elections, Winn would defeat Lieutenant Governor James DeCoursey and Dan Watkins, the former chief of staff to Governor John Carlin.

Initially appointed to the House Committees on Space and Aeronautics (later renamed Science and Technology) and the District of Columbia, Winn later was appointed to the Select Committee on Crime, the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the International Relations Committee, which was later renamed the Foreign Affairs Committee. Described by Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America, 1982 as a ``quiet, unassuming man,'' Winn eventually rose to the ranking Republican seat on the Science and Technology Committee, where he was an active supporter of America's space exploration program. As Politics in America, 1982 noted, he also advocated research into alternative energy sources such as gasohol and solar and wind power, and tax credits for energy efficiency and conservation.

Winn was appointed by President Carter and confirmed by the Senate to serve as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations in 1979. He also was a member of the Canadian Interparliamentary Group and was ranking Republican member of the U.S.-European Interparliamentary Group. Domestically, Winn was a leading advocate of ``value engineering,'' a cost-saving government management system that was implemented in the early 1970s. He also was a leading advocate of a successful proposal maintaining 10 regional Federal office centers in the United States, which preserved Kansas City as a Federal regional office center, rather than transferring those functions to Denver.

Winn also is remembered for his advocacy of a proposed Tallgrass National Prairie Park in Kansas; as a result of his initial efforts, the Kansas Flint Hills are now home to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, a unit of the National Park System managed in partnership with the private National Park Trust dedicated to the rich natural and cultural history of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

In their 1972 analysis of Winn's career, the Ralph Nader Congress Project's Citizens Look at Congress review of Winn's activities concluded that: ``Legislatively, Winn shows a good feel for Third District needs and interests. . . . Although Winn has had considerable experience in public speaking and writing, his style is more folksy than polished.'' During his tenure, he taped a weekly radio program on current congressional issues that was distributed to local broadcasters, as well as drafting and circulating weekly newspaper columns and twice-yearly congressional questionnaires that were sent to all in-district postal patrons. He estimated that over 2,000 Third District residents visited his Washington, D.C., office during the first 4 years of his tenure, and bumper stickers proclaiming: ``I visited Congressman Larry Winn in Washington'' were seen frequently across the Kansas City area.

Upon announcing his retirement from the U.S. House in 1984, Representative Winn published a column in the Christian Science Monitor decrying the increase in congressional partisan rancor. Twenty two years later, his words are even more relevant: ``It is important now for both Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives to recognize that a continuation of this rancor will undercut the legislative process. Most Americans are neither Republicans nor Democrats but are independents. This expresses a desire for pragmatism over ideology. Members of the House, without abandoning their individual philosophical approaches, should also approach problems pragmatically.''

Mr. Speaker, Larry Winn, Jr., served the Third District of Kansas as its Representative with diligence and decency for eighteen years. It is fitting that we now name a major postal facility in the Third District after him, and I hope the House and the Senate will move swiftly to approve this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my comments and concerns regarding H. Res. 861. While this resolution is purely symbolic and does not have the force of law, I am voting for it, as I agree with the majority of the sentiments it expresses. In 2003, I voted for the use of force resolution, based upon what we later learned was flawed intelligence about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. While I am glad that Saddam Hussein was removed from power and has been captured, and I hope that the new Iraqi government is successful, the U.S. must move toward a new policy in Iraq.

As I stated in a letter to President Bush last month, the time has come for the United States to give the Iraqis strong incentive to stand on their own feet and take control of their own affairs. I acknowledge this will be a challenge, as there is a persistent and strong insurgency, which continues to kill Iraqis every day. Therefore, they must speed up the process of training Iraqi security forces that are willing and capable of defending their country. There are many former members of the Iraqi Army who are still unemployed. The United States and the administration need to send a clear message to the Iraqis that we will not have a permanent military presence in Iraq. Taking this step will motivate Iraqis to take charge of their own affairs and create incentives for involvement from regional players and the international community.

Additionally, we need to begin private discussions with the leaders in Iraq regarding a timeframe for redeployment of our troops. To date, more than 2,500 U.S. soldiers have been killed and 19,000 wounded in Iraq. Extended and multiple deployments have eroded U.S. ground forces and overall military strength. A Pentagon-commissioned study recently concluded that the Army cannot maintain its current pace of operations in Iraq without doing permanent damage to the quality of the force. More than three years of continuous deployment of U.S. troops in Iraq has contributed to serious problems with military recruitment, forcing the Army to lower the standards for recruits, led to military equipment shortages that hamper the ability of ground forces to do their jobs in Iraq, and undermine the ability of the U.S. National Guard to deal with problems at home.

While I agree with concerns that publicly announcing a timetable for withdrawal would put our troops at risk, I'm concerned that political parties and new governments are very much like some people. If you undertake to do something for a person, some individuals will stand back and let you continue--and never step up to the plate to do for themselves.

We have saved the Iraqi people from Sadaam Hussein, but we cannot save the Iraqi people from the Iraqi people--if they are not able and willing to fashion a political solution and bring the Iraqi people together. We must encourage the new Iraqi government and give them strong incentive to assume responsibility and stand on their own.

Our fighting men and women have served bravely. We must commit ourselves to an outcome in Iraq that honors their sacrifices.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief Ron Miller, who recently announced his retirement after 34 years of service with the department, including the last six years as chief.

Throughout his tenure, Chief Miller has focused the police department's crime fighting efforts on--in his words--``guns, drugs and violent crime.'' Under his command, the department maintained its national accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, where it first achieved that status in 1993 and was designated a flagship agency by them in 2004.

A Kansas City, Kansas, native who attended Central Missouri State University, Chief Miller focused his department's efforts on community policing and expanded community partnerships. As City Administrator, Dennis Hays said upon announcing Chief Miller's retirement, ``Ron has been a great leader for the Police Department and the community has benefited from his knowledge and ability. Ron is a dedicated professional . . .''

As U.S. Representative for the Third Congressional District, I have had numerous opportunities to work closely with Chief Miller during his tenure and I wholeheartedly endorse Dennis Hays' tribute to him. Chief Ron Miller was a dedicated, professional, public servant who served his community with distinction. His presence in the Chief's office will be sorely missed in the months ahead, I am sure, but I join with all Kansas Citians in wishing him well in his richly-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, joined by my Kansas delegation colleagues--Representatives Tiahrt, Ryun and Moran--I am today introducing legislation to designate the United States Postal Service facility located at 6029 Broadmoor Street in Mission, Kansas, as the ``Larry Winn, Jr. Post Office Building.''

Edward Lawrence ``Larry'' Winn, Jr., represented Kansas'' Third Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1967 to 1985. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919, he was an Eagle Scout who attended public schools and received a B.A. from the University of Kansas in 1941. Becoming an announcer for WHB radio, he later served as public relations director for the local branch of the American Red Cross. Returning to Kansas, he established and became vice president of Winn- Rau Corporation, a private home builder. For 14 years, he served as National Director of the National Association of Home Builders, and also served as President of the Home Builders Association of Kansas City.

In 1962, the incumbent U.S. Representative in the Third District, Robert Ellsworth, asked Winn, who had served as Republican Party chairman in that district, to be his campaign manager; he fulfilled that role in the 1962 and 1964 campaigns. In 1966, when Ellsworth unsuccessfully challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Jim Pearson in the Republican primary, Winn won election as his successor, defeating Overland Park Mayor Marvin Rainey. In later contests, among eight successful re-elections, Winn would defeat Lieutenant Governor James DeCoursey and Dan Watkins, the former chief of staff to Governor John Carlin.

Initially appointed to the House Committees on Space and Aeronautics [later renamed Science and Technology] and the District of Columbia, Winn later was appointed to the Select Committee on Crime, the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the International Relations Committee, which was later renamed the Foreign Affairs Committee. Described by Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America, 1982 as a ``quiet, unassuming man,'' Winn eventually rose to the ranking Republican seat on the Science and Technology Committee, where he was an active supporter of America's space exploration program. As Politics in America, 1982 noted, he also advocated research into alternative energy sources such as gasohol and solar and wind power, and tax credits for energy efficiency and conservation.

Winn was appointed by President Carter and confirmed by the Senate to serve as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations in 1979. He also was a member of the Canadian Interparliamentary Group and was ranking Republican member of the U.S.-European Interparliamentary Group. Domestically, Winn was a leading advocate of ``value engineering,'' a cost-saving government management system that was implemented in the early 1970s. He also was a leading advocate of a successful proposal maintaining ten regional federal office centers in the United States, which preserved Kansas City as a federal regional office center, rather than transferring those functions to Denver.

Winn also is remembered for his advocacy of a proposed Tallgrass National Prairie Park in Kansas; as a result of his initial efforts, the Kansas Flint Hills are now home to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, a unit of the National Park System managed in partnership with the private National Park Trust dedicated to the rich natural and cultural history of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

In their 1972 analysis of Winn's career, the Ralph Nader Congress Project's Citizens Look at Congress review of Winn's activities concluded that: ``Legislatively, Winn shows a good feel for Third District needs and interests. . . . Although Winn has had considerable experience in public speaking and writing, his style is more folksy than polished.'' During his tenure, he taped a weekly radio program on current congressional issues that was distributed to local broadcasters, as well as drafting and circulating weekly newspaper columns and twice-yearly congressional questionnaires that were sent to all in-district postal patrons. He estimated that over 2,000 Third District residents visited his Washington, D.C., office during the first four years of his tenure, and bumper stickers proclaiming: ``I visited Congressman Larry Winn in Washington'' were seen frequently across the Kansas City area.

Upon announcing his retirement from the U.S. House in 1984, Representative Winn published a column in the Christian Science Monitor decrying the increase in congressional partisan rancor. Twenty two years later, his words are even more relevant: ``It is important now for both Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives to recognize that a continuation of this rancor will undercut the legislative process. Most Americans are neither Republicans nor Democrats but are independents. This expresses a desire for pragmatism over ideology. Members of the House, without abandoning their individual philosophical approaches, should also approach problems pragmatically.''

Mr. Speaker, Larry Winn, Jr., served the Third District of Kansas as it's Representative with diligence and decency for eighteen years. It is fitting that we now name a major postal facility in the Third District after him, and I hope the House will move swiftly to approve this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of this recent election of Kansas City metro area resident Richard Hellman, MD, FACP, FACE, as President-Elect of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, at its Fifteenth Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress in Chicago on April 29, 2006. Since 1999, he had served on the AACE Board of Directors.

Dr. Hellman has been privately practicing with a focus on diabetes mellitus and endocrinology in Kansas City, Missouri, since 1981; he is board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology. He is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of Medicine and is the past president of the Metropolitan Medical Society of Greater Kansas City, a current member of the Health Commission of Kansas City and chair of their Patient Safety Task Force.

He graduated from the Chicago Medical School and completed all of his post-graduate training at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Hellman is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He is also the medical director of the Heart of America Diabetes Foundation.

A methodology and data expert for the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, Dr. Hellman is also a member of their executive committee and co-chairs their implementation work group. The Consortium is convened by the American Medical Association

and includes representatives from more than 70 national medical specialty and state medical societies. The Consortium seeks to provide physician performance measures for both the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and for specialty boards. He was the first to show how an electronic health record can be used to improve adherence to the Consortium's physician performance measures. Dr. Hellman is the AMA representative for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Advisory Group for Disease-Specific Care Certification and serves on the National Diabetes Quality Improvement Alliance's Technical Expert Panel. He is also currently on the AMA expert panel on medication reconciliation.

In short, Mr. Speaker, Dr. Richard Hellman is a dedicated community leader in the medical field who is extremely well qualified to assume a leadership position with the 5,300 member-American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. I am pleased to have this opportunity to bring his accomplishments to the attention of the House and to pay tribute to him as he assumes this new position of trust and achievement.

Mr. Speaker, as Memorial Day approaches, I want to take a moment to bring to the attention of the House of Representatives the noteworthy contribution of Anne Brehm of Kansas City, Kansas, to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Originally attributed to an ``unknown Army nurse,'' a quotation inscribed on the memorial site recently was attributed to World War II Air Force nurse Anne Sosh Brehm, who wrote it in a 1990 letter to retired Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught, USAF, the foundation president for the memorial. The circumstances of her correspondence, and the recent attribution of the quote to Anne Brehm are recounted in a recent article from The Leaven, which I am including with this statement. Mrs. Brehm's quote, which will be properly attributed to her at a Memorial Day ceremony at the memorial later this month, is as follows:

``Let the generations know that the women in uniform also

guaranteed their freedom; that our resolve was as great as

the brave men who stood among us; and with victory our hearts

were just as full and beat just as fast as theirs, that the

tears fell just as hard for those we left behind us.''

[From The Leaven, Nov. 11, 2005]

Let the Generations Know--Sacred Heart Parishioner Earned Place in

World War II History

(By Bob Hart)

Kansas City, KS--For years it was an anonymous quote,

attributed to an ``unknown Army nurse'' at the Women in

Military Service for America Memorial in Washington, D.C.:

``Let the generations know that the women in uniform also

guaranteed their Freedom; that our resolve was as great as

the brave men who stood among us; and with victory our hearts

were just as full and beat as fast as theirs, that tears fell

just as hard for those we left behind us.''

Every so often, Anne Brehm, a parishioner of Sacred Heart

Church in Kansas City, Kan., would hear of the quote, and

think to herself, ``I said that.'' Typically modest the

former World War II Army nurse did nothing about it.

``For 15 years, I just let it go,'' Brehm said.

Things changed this past August when Brehm received a phone

call from retired Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught, USAF,

foundation president for the memorial. Years earlier, Brehm

had written the brigadier general to register for the

memorial and had included the quote in the comments.

Vaught had been using it in speeches for years and had

passed it on for inscription in a panel at the memorial

itself, overlooking the pool. Unfortunately, she had long

since misplaced Brehm's letter and could not remember whose

words she was quoting.

As fate would have it, Vaught found Brehm's letter shortly

before she was scheduled to speak at an American veterans of

World War II convention in Kansas City. Mo., late this past

summer. The rest, as they say, is history.

Where the action was

Gary, Ind., native Anne Sosh was just 22 and fresh out of

nursing school in 1943 when she enlisted in the Second Air

Force--incurring the playful wrath of her four brothers, who

were all in the Navy.

``I betrayed my family,'' Brehm said, laughing in the

kitchen of the Kansas City home in which she's lived for 50

years. ``But the Navy didn't send their nurses overseas, and

I wanted to be where the action was.''

She got her wish.

She spent time in Bombay, India, where she was ``in awe''

at seeing Mahatma Gandhi; in Burma, where she saw Gen. Joseph

Stillwell on the Ledo Road; and finally in China, where she

got to know Gen. Claire Chennault and members of his famed

Flying Tigers--many of whom were patients in the 172nd

General Hospital where Brehm served.

She was still in China when the A-bomb was dropped. Chinese

nationalists and Communists took up their fight, and the

nurses were told to quickly leave the country.

They grabbed what pictures and other belongings they could,

leaving behind 20 of their own--nurses and good friends who

had been killed in a plane crash in Burma.

Brehm was first sent back to India. With the promise of her

choice of hospitals, she reenlisted and requested Topeka

General, stateside, with a secret ulterior motive: She was

dating a young man she'd met overseas, Dick Brehm from

Mission.

She would marry Dick Brehm and raise two children--son Alan

and daughter Susie. She would also continue her nursing

career until 1990, right about the time she heard about the

memorial being built in Washington, D.C., to honor female

veterans.

Ann Brehm picked up her pen and wrote, in her letter to

Vaught, what would become a very famous quote.

``For all of us''

``I was very moved by your words,'' Vaught told Brehm on

the phone last August. ``I've used them in hundreds and

hundreds of speeches over the years.''

The general invited Brehm to join her at the American

veterans of World War II convention at Crown Center, where

she would finally be identified as the writer of the quote

that had been on display in the nation's capital for 15

years.

``I was introduced and spoke,'' Brehm said. ``I have no

idea what I said.''

Brehm was greeted warmly by her fellow veterans, many of

whom thanked her for the words that had moved them when they

visited the memorial. Although the revelation that she is the

woman who wrote ``let the generations know'' has brought her

a certain level of celebrity, she treasures one clipping

above all: a short article in her church bulletin written by

her pastor, Father Michael Hermes, whom she calls ``my

archangel.''

The memorial will soon change the inscription from

``Author, unknown Army nurse'' to properly credit 1st Lt. Ann

Sosh Brehm. She thinks that's nice, but not such a big deal.

``We had a camaraderie you just don't find in civilian

life,'' she said, recalling her fellow nurses, many long

since gone. ``What I said was for all of us, I don't need any

credit.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to the conference report on H.R. 4297, the FY06 tax reconciliation bill.

As I stated in December 2005, when I voted against the House tax reconciliation bill, I do not oppose tax cuts, and in a more stable fiscal climate I would support reduced tax rates for capital gains and dividend income. What I do oppose is borrowing money to pay for tax cuts, particularly for tax cuts that do not expire for another 3 years. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the conference report before us today would cost approximately $91 billion over the next 10 years, and would raise taxes by approximately $22 billion over the same period. Considering the state of our current fiscal situation, this conference report would do more harm than good at this time.

In 2001, I was one of only 28 House Democrats to vote for President Bush's 2001 tax cuts that reduced marginal income tax rates. Since 2001, however, our country's fiscal condition has dramatically reversed course. In 2001, the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] predicted that the 10-year budget surplus would be $5.6 trillion. That projected 10- year surplus of $5.6 trillion has deteriorated into a projected $3.9 trillion deficit during the same period. In FY 2005, the Federal Government ran a budget deficit of $319 billion, the third largest deficit in our Nation's history.

Further, on February 17, 2004, the national debt of the United States exceeded $7 trillion for the first time in our Nation's history. On October 21, 2005, the national debt of the United States exceeded $8 trillion for the first time in our Nation's history. That is an increase of $1 trillion in our national debt over the last 2 years. It took our country 193 years, from 1787 to 1980, to accumulate an additional $1 trillion in debt.

Unfortunately, our national debt is only getting worse. When I voted against the House tax reconciliation bill in December, our national debt was $8.1 trillion. Today, our national debt is $8.4 trillion, an increase of $300 billion in only 5 months. An $8.4 trillion national debt comes down to approximately $28,000 per person in our country. That is simply unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, the conference report on H.R. 4297 extends several tax cut measures, including reduced rates for capital gains and dividend income and relief from the alternative minimum tax, that I support and would vote for in a balanced, revenue neutral measure. I would also support several provisions, including the above-the-line deduction for higher education and classroom expenses and the research and development credit, that were included in the House tax reconciliation bill and are not included in this conference report. I hope that extensions of these provisions in the tax code will be included in a future tax measure this year.

Further, while the conference report includes multiyear extensions of lowered capital gains and dividend tax rates, it includes only a one- year extension of relief from the alternative minimum tax [AMT]. I strongly support AMT relief, and voted for H.R. 4096, the Stealth Tax Relief Act, on December 7, 2005, which extended AMT relief and indexed it for inflation. The AMT is the most significant looming tax concern for middle-class American families; if AMT relief is allowed to lapse, the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT will increase from 3 million in 2004 to 21 million this year. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending AMT relief and indexing it for inflation would reduce Federal revenue by $191 billion over the next 5 years. This is an immediate problem that Congress and the administration need to work together to fix in a responsible, bipartisan, and long-term manner, before millions of Americans are hit with large, unexpected tax increases.

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to work with my colleagues in both parties to advance commonsense, bipartisan approaches to solving

our country's fiscal problems. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to act as soon as possible, in a fiscally sound way, to prevent serious consequences for current and future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5037, the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act. I read with disgust the article on the protests that occurred at the military funeral for Army SSG. Jeremy Doyle, who was killed in Iraq, earlier this year. It especially saddens me that the individuals who protested at Staff Sergeant Doyle's funeral were from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, KS. The church's founder, Rev. Fred Phelps, says that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays.

I find it abhorrent that individuals and groups feel a military funeral is an appropriate forum to display their beliefs on gay rights. Losing a family member during military service is a very difficult and devastating thing. It is unfortunate that some individuals and groups add to the anguish and grief of those who have lost a loved one by protesting outside of the funerals of fallen soldiers. Our military heroes who make the ultimate sacrifice for our country deserve our respect and gratitude. I condemn these actions in the strongest terms possible and I'm proud to support H.R. 5037.

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, May 3, 2006, I voted against final passage of H.R. 4975, making changes to congressional ethics procedures and campaign finance laws.

As a member of Congress first elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, I have supported and continue to support efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics because I believe that public cynicism is eating away at voter participation, causing citizens to tune out discussions of very serious issues, and turning a whole generation of young people away from our political system as a means of social change. There is a national crisis of confidence in our political system because of the influence of money in the legislative process. The American people share a widely held belief that special interests, lobbyists, and the very wealthiest campaign contributors wield too much influence in government.

Unfortunately, these concerns have been warranted, as recent scandals have come to light involving, among others, the transgressions of former Rep. Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham and lobbyist Jack Abramoff. For this reason, I joined as an original cosponsor of H.R. 4682, the Honest Government and Open Leadership Act. This legislation, among other things, takes steps to ban all gifts, including meals, tickets, entertainment and travel, from lobbyists and non-governmental organizations that retain or employ lobbyists; requires Members to pay full charter costs when using corporate jets for official travel; and establishes a new Office of Public Integrity under the Inspector General of the House.

H.R. 4975 falls short in all of these areas and instead chooses to maintain the status quo. Furthermore, the final rule reported out of the Rules Committee did not allow for the consideration of amendments on the House floor that would have addressed these concerns. Instead, the Rule included H.R. 513, controversial campaign finance legislation that would limit the ability of the public to mobilize voters and to hold incumbents accountable for the very misconduct that this bill purports to change. This kind of closed door process is indicative of the problems we are now experiencing in Congress.

Public office is a public trust. All elected officials and their staffs must conduct the public's business in public view and in a manner that is above reproach. Congress must take real steps to improve congressional ethics standards and to make congressional procedures more open and accountable to all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, from April 29 to May 1, 2006, approximately 1,200 students from across the country participated in the national finals competition of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, the most extensive educational program in the country developed specifically to educate young people about the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. I am pleased to announce that Saint Thomas Aquinas High School from Overland Park, Kansas received the Mountain/Plains States Regional Award in the competition. The We the People program is administered by the Center for Civic Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Education by act of Congress.

The We the People national finals is a three-day academic competition that simulates a congressional hearing in which the students testify before a panel of judges on constitutional topics. Students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles as they evaluate, take, and defend positions on relevant historical and contemporary issues. Among the questions students responded to in the competition includes: Is judicial review essential for the functioning of our American constitutional democracy? Explain and justify your position.

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud of these outstanding students from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School: Danny Akright, Carrie Brand, Rob Conard, Andrew Conde, John Darnell, Evan Daugharthy, Kelsey Gustafson, Ben Haefele, Anthony Halling, Steve Hengeli, Jennifer Kinkade, Sarah Kuhlmann, Sinom Longhi, Christy Millweard, Evan Pederson, Sarah Potter, Patrick Short, Caitlin Thornbrugh, Jenny Timmons, Patrick Trouba, and Paul Wooten.

I also wish to commend the teacher of the class, Spencer Clark, who was responsible for preparing the student class for the national finals competition. Also worthy of special recognition are Lynn Stanley, the state coordinator and Ken Thomas, the district coordinator, who are among those responsible for implementing the We the People program in my district.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues in the House, please join me in congratulating these young constitutional experts for their outstanding achievement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation I introduced with my Kansas colleagues, Todd Tiahrt, Jim Ryun and Jerry Moran, to designate the United States Post Office located at 110 North Chestnut Street in Olathe as the ``Governor John Anderson, Jr. Post Office Building''.

Governor Anderson was born near Olathe in 1917, educated at Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, where he received a law degree in 1944. After serving on the staff of U.S. District Court Judge Walter Huxman for 2 years, John Anderson won election as Johnson County Attorney in 1947, where he served for 6 years. He was a member of the Kansas State Senate from 1953 to 1956 and was appointed Kansas Attorney General, serving from 1956 to 1961.

He was elected Governor of Kansas in 1960 and 1962, he defeated incumbent Governor George Docking, served as Governor during Kansas's centennial celebration, and appointed James B. Pearson to the United States Senate upon the death of Senator Andrew Schoeppel.

John Anderson's tenure as Kansas Governor was marked by numerous achievements, including revision of the State's pardon and parole systems; creation of a combined State medical and psychiatric hospital; restructuring the State's public school system into unified districts; increasing the State's per-pupil expenditure allowance; addition of the University of Kansas to the State board of regents system; sanctioning of fair employment practices standards; approval of an advanced public employee retirement system; advancements in highway construction; expansion of vocational-technical schools in Kansas; authorization of a State library consultant; improvements in the public welfare system; and reorganization of state agencies, commissions and boards.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation honoring an important Kansas leader is long overdue, and I know that my delegation colleagues look forward with me to its speedy enactment. I thank the leadership of the Government Reform Committee for bringing it before the House in such an expeditious manner, and I urge all of my colleagues to support today this legislation for my friend, Governor John Anderson of Kansas.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased that today the House is taking up S.J. Res. 28, a joint resolution approving the location of the commemorative work in the District of Columbia honoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. This measure, which was approved by the Senate earlier this month; it is identical to H.J. Res. 78, which was introduced by Representative Jerry Moran of Kansas, with my original cosponsorship. With House approval of this measure today, this legislation will be sent to the President for his signature, marking an important milestone in the construction of a national memorial to President Eisenhower.

As a member of the Executive Committee of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, established under Public Law 106-79 and Public Law 107-117, I have been working with my Commission colleagues to fulfill the laws' mandate that ``an appropriate permanent memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower should be created to perpetuate his memory and his contributions to the United States,'' and that the ``Commission shall consider and formulate plans for such a permanent memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower, including its nature, construction and location.'' I want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Commissioners for their dedicated work on this project, and to take particular note of the contributions of Commission Chairman Rocco C. Siciliano and Commission Executive Director Brig. General Carl W. Reddel, USAF (Ret). Working in particular with my fellow Executive Committee members Senators Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye, their tireless dedication to this project has been the primary reason we have moved so far so fast with this legislation. Their outstanding work is exemplified in the Commission's biographical essay about Dwight D. Eisenhower, which I include below:

The National Memorialization of Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower (October 14, 1890-March 28, 1969)

served as the 34th President of the United States and ranks

as one of the preeminent figures in the global history of the

twentieth century. Eisenhower was a central leader in the

victorious resolution of World War II but his lasting

significance in history lies in his deep commitment to

freedom, the Constitution and democracy, and his

contributions to defining and sustaining an international

peace for which many Americans died.

A serving officer in World War I, Eisenhower's unusual

abilities led to accelerated promotions at the outset of

World War II and his selection in December 1943 as Supreme

Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. For this

position he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

and endorsed by General George C. Marshal1. He commanded the

largest and most complex amphibious assault in world history.

In this historic role, although he asked many Americans to

sacrifice their lives, he became one of the most popular

political figures in America and one of the most beloved

military leaders in American history.

Toward the end of World War II, Eisenhower was nominated by

President Roosevelt and approved by Congress for the rank of

five-star General. Upon retiring from military service, he

actively served as President of Columbia University from

October 1948 to January 1951. While in that position,

President Truman regularly sought his advice and counsel and

then recalled him to active duty, appointing him in December

1950 as the first

commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO)

military forces in Europe.

As the second presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of

Staff, replacing General Marshall in December 1945, he

oversaw the peacetime demobilization of American military

forces, recommended the continuation of universal military

training and strongly advocated the unification of the

armed forces.

As Eisenhower's two-term presidency began, American

democratic values and national security were threatened by

powerful adversaries. Passionately devoted to national

security through alliances with other nations, President

Eisenhower began his first administration when the Cold War's

global challenges had gone beyond Europe. Convinced that a

long-term strategy would be necessary to win this war,

President Eisenhower sought to contain the Soviet Union

militarily while building a prosperous economy. He understood

the political economy of warfare better than most of his

contemporaries and realized that excessive military

expenditures could undermine the nation itself. Knowing that

nuclear war was un-winnable and a threat to civilization,

President Eisenhower promoted the peaceful uses of atomic

energy, while skillfully and willingly deploying the most

advanced electronic and photographic technologies to ensure

American security. Simultaneously, he sustained strategic

nuclear deterrence. President Eisenhower inaugurated the

national security policies that guided the nation for the

next three decades, leading to the peaceful end of the Cold

War in 1989.

While undertaking strategic Cold War measures, President

Eisenhower assiduously pursued balanced budgets with

remarkable fiscal responsibility and without sacrificing

necessary public works. He introduced lasting innovations to

the institution of the presidency, creating the first White

House chief of staff, the first congressional relations

office, the first presidential assistant for national

security affairs and the first presidential science advisor.

He dramatically improved the transportation infrastructure of

the country with construction of the interstate highway

system and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The territory of the

United States was expanded with the addition of the new

states of Alaska (January 3, 1959) and Hawaii (August 21,

1959).

To address the increasing complexity of citizens' social

needs, President Eisenhower created the Department of Health,

Education and Welfare in 1953, improved Social Security by

increasing benefits and placing an additional ten million

Americans in the Social Security system, and dispensed free

polio vaccines. In 1957, he signed the first civil rights

legislation since Reconstruction.

The extraordinary accomplishments of Dwight D. Eisenhower

as president and military leader are enhanced in a series of

memorable addresses and speeches inc1uding--Guildhall Address

(London, 1945), Chance for Peace (Washington, 1953), Atoms

for Peace (United Nations, 1953), Open Skies (Geneva Summit,

1956) and the Farewell Address (1961). Similar to Washington,

Eisenhower became president and commander in chief after

leading his country and its allies to military victory in

Europe. His preeminent historical and national significance

is assured. The challenge in our national memorialization of

Dwight D. Eisenhower will be to honor all facets of his

extraordinary career of life-long public service in a

distinct, unique and enduring manner.