Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in total and complete opposition to this ill-advised legislation that masquerades as a vehicle for creating jobs. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing in this bill that will create any jobs.

The President has traveled throughout the country saying this is a jobs bill and if we, once again, give massive tax cuts to the top 10 percent of earners in this country, we will have more jobs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Have we forgotten that in this very month, just 2 years ago, we passed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act Reconciliation Act which cut taxes by $1.35 trillion. And, do the Members of this House realize that unemployment, now, 2 years later, remains at 6 percent. This House passed one of the largest tax cuts in the history of the Nation in 2001, in hopes of creating jobs and growing the economy, and we have created no jobs, in fact, we have lost almost 2.7 million private sector jobs, and the economy grows at a measly 1.6 percent, the weakest economic growth in 50 years.

Bottom line, Mr. Chairman, huge tax cuts for upper income individuals do nothing to create jobs.

What this bill will do, though, is continue to add to the Nation's debt. This tax cut will mean that we will have annual budget deficits year after year after year. This House has already passed a budget resolution with a projected deficit of $385 billion in fiscal year 2004. And, if we don't use the Social Security trust fund to mask this deficit, we are going to put ourselves $558.4 billion further in debt just this year.

Economist after economist, including Alan Greenspan who testified to the Financial Service Committee just last week, say that the increased deficits caused by these tax cuts will actually damage the economy. Even our own Congressional Budget Office has said that the effect of this tax cut is not obvious.

Mr. Chairman, over 74,000 hardworking Americans are losing their jobs every month. In the last 3 months, more than a half million people have lost their jobs. The President and this House choose to address that crisis by providing another massive tax cut to the wealthiest of Americans, in hopes that this will somehow put these people back to work. I must admit that I am missing the logic in this argument. And the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs since the last tax cut in May 2001 are also missing the logic, in fear.

Mr. Chairman, we should send this bill back to the committee and to the White House and ask that they come back with meaningful and serious proposals to move this economy forward. If we want to cut taxes, cut the taxes of those middle class Americans who will actually put that money back into the economy. If we want to create jobs, let's pass legislation that increases educational and training programs and makes sure that large and small businesses invest their funds in programs to put people back to work. This bill does neither.

It is time for serious solutions to serious problems. Politically motivated tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans will not help the elderly pay for their prescription drugs. These tax

cuts will not help the unemployed father live his dream of putting his children through college. These tax cuts will do nothing to help the single mother, who works in a factory or cleans 50 hotel rooms a day, find a better job in hopes of giving her children a better life.

Let us reject this masquerade. Let us do something to help those who need our help.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate and honor a young Arizona student from my district who has achieved national recognition for outstanding volunteer service in his community. Mr. Christepher Romero of Phoenix has just been named one of my state's top honorees in the 2003 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, an annual honor conferred on the most impressive student volunteers in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Christepher, a junior at Sunnydale High School in Phoenix is being recognized for having developed a program to help keep at-risk teens in an inner-city neighborhood away from crime and drugs. Being raised by a mother who struggled with a drug and alcohol addiction, he was recruited by a neighborhood gang. He was later adopted and given the opportunity to turn his life around. As a way to honor his adoptive parents for helping him become a better person he decided to put together a program that would help at-risk teens. He approached a police officer working at his former school, and became a volunteer mentor. Christepher soon began to put together activities such as swimming and soccer, CPR and nutrition classes, and organizing neighborhood clean-ups. He also has encouraged kids to get involved in fundraising activities to help pay for annual theme park trips.

Christepher should be extremely proud to have been singled out from such a large group of dedicated volunteers. I heartily applaud him for his initiative in seeking to make a positive impact on the lives of others. He has demonstrated a level of commitment and accomplishment that is truly extraordinary in today's world, and deserves our sincere admiration and respect. His actions show that young Americans can play important roles in our communities, and that America's community spirit continues to hold tremendous promise for the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to pay tribute to one of Arizona's oldest family-owned and woman-run businesses, El Charro Restaurant. El Charro has become an institution in the City of Tucson and is celebrating its 80th anniversary.

The story and legacy of El Charro goes beyond decades of culinary excellence in serving fine Mexican cuisine. The restaurant has established deep roots within the community. Dedication and vision have enabled its two owners, Monica Flin and her grandniece Carlotta Flores, to maintain a unique atmosphere and style, which have embraced by the community and kept the enterprise strong through many difficult economic times.

Founder Monica Flin, a native Tucsonan of French descent, was smart and resourceful and used her cooking talents to establish El Charro in 1922. That first restaurant opened with three tables and a small simple menu of tamales, chili and tortillas. Through the years, the restaurant continued to grow in size and reputation. The Tucson Citizen characterized Monica's charisma and colorful persona in 1952 when it wrote that: ``El Charro is not a restaurant so much as it is an extension of Monica Flin's personality.'' Through its difficult beginnings, enduring the Great Depression and expanding the business, Flin exemplified the classy, independent and strong business owner in an era in which businesswomen were rare.

More than thirty years after establishing El Charro, Ms. Flin passed the business to remaining family members. Carlotta and her husband Ray Flores, Sr. were living in California at the time and returned to Tucson to assist family members with the restaurant. With no experience in restaurant operations, the couple decided to step in and revive El Charro. Carlotta carried the legacy of Monica's determination and passion for service and unique cuisine as the restaurant not only expanded, but also ventured into new venues. She began El Charro's catering businesses as well as a restaurant at the Tucson International Airport. Carlotta's vision to expanded and improve business didn't end there, as she has established a second El Charro restaurant and acquired a food production/processing facility. Managing the family's restaurants and companies has truly become a family endeavor, as Carlotta's children are involved in the operations as well.

Eighty years ago, Monica Flin began a business in the small community of Tucson, Arizona. Its current guardians Carlotta Flores and her family have embraced her legacy. The restaurant and its operations have progressed and developed throughout the decades from the tiny restaurant on South 4th Avenue to a Tucson tradition renowned for its excellent Mexican food and warm environment. Therefore, Mr. Speaker I ask that you join me in honoring El Charro Restaurant, Monica Flin and the Flores family for their ongoing success and the examples they have set for businesswomen everywhere.

Mr. Speaker, I call attention today to an Arizona institution that has risen from dusty frontier beginnings to become one of the nation's most successful public power companies. On Feb. 7, 2003, the Salt River River Project, generally known as SRP, will mark the centennial of its incorporation the oldest multi-purpose reclamation project in the nation.

On rivers east and north of Phoenix, SRP maintains a system of six large dams and reservoirs essential to maintaining central Arizona's economy. The company also operates a generation and transmission system that provides electricity to more than 60 percent of businesses, industries and residents of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

One could say much of SRP's one hundred-year history--how it began when pioneering settlers mortgaged their farms and lands for a federal loan to build Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River; how SRP paved the way for expanded water storage projects to quench central Arizona's thirst; how SRP got into the power business; and how it grew from hydro-power provider to Arizona's copper mines to the third largest public power utility in the U.S.

While these are noteworthy achievements, SRP deserves further note for the community-minded spirit and it has continued to show since the days when a partnership between small desert farm communities led to the building of Roosevelt Dam.

Many times in recent years the company's employees have been recognized locally and nationally for their spirit of volunteerism and generosity. They have led in fundraising for the United Way and have contributed time to many good causes, including litter clean-ups, school mentoring, environmental teaching, meal service at homeless shelters, Special Olympic programs, summer camps for youths--the list is long.

In short, one could say that the community partnerships that led to SRP's formation a century ago have instilled in the company an ongoing commitment to community service. And, while SRP in virtually every respect must operate by the same competitive standards as private industry, it has not forgotten the meaning of the word ``public'' as a public power and water provider.

Mr. Speaker, I wish SRP a bright future of continuing good service in the year of its centennial.