Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, few are willing to admit--much less discuss-- the looming financial crisis facing our country.

However, the longer we put off fixing the problem, the worse the medicine will be and the greater the number of Americans who will be hurt. We need to begin this conversation with the American people today.

That is why I am introducing legislation to establish a national commission that will put everything--entitlement benefits and all other federal programs as well as our tax policies--on the table and require Congress to vote up or down on its recommendations in their entirety, similar to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) first created by former Rep. Dick Armey in 1988.

This commission would be called the SAFE Commission, to secure America's future economy.

Many will say the problem is too big to be fixed. Some will view the proposal as too risky, particularly in an election year. Others will say it is an abdication of congressional responsibility.

My response to such comments is that the problem is so great we can no longer look for excuses not to act. Nothing, I believe, is too big to undertake.

Abraham Lincoln, one of our Nation's greatest presidents, once said, ``You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.''

Yet that is precisely what we have been doing--avoiding our responsibility to future generations of Americans by passing on a broken system in the form of unfunded Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid obligations. And it's been both sides of the aisle and in both Republican and Democrat administrations.

The growing gap between money that has been promised to future generations in various entitlement programs and that which is available to pay these promised benefits is staggering.

To meet the government's current unfunded promises for future spending, every American--including multimillionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett--would have to hand over 90 percent of their personal net worth in today's dollars. This is unacceptable.

I deeply believe there is a moral component that goes to the heart of who we are as Americans. By that I mean, I wonder if we have lost the national will to make tough decisions that may require sacrifice? Moreover, have we lost the political courage to reject the partisan and special interest demands and do what is best for our country?

If we remember the legacy we have inherited, the debt we owe to previous generations--our grandparents and our parents and the sacrifices they made to make our country what it is today--we all will be moved to do our duty.

The SAFE commission should be embraced by both sides of the aisle. I am open to suggestions about the legislation from members of both parties. This is a national issue; not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue.

A month ago I took a trip to Antietam National Battlefield. As I walked along ``Bloody Lane,'' the site of one of the most vicious battles of the Civil War, I was struck by how many individuals made the ultimate sacrifice.

September 18, 1862 was the bloodiest single day in American history. There were more than 23,000 casualties, nine times as many Americans killed or wounded than in World War II's D-Day on June 6, 1944. More soldiers were killed and wounded at the Battle of Antietam than the deaths of all Americans in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and Spanish-American War combined.

I also recently visited the site of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in anticipation of the Battle of Trenton. Washington was down to only 3,000 soldiers and the war was almost lost. Yet, with great courage--and sacrifice--Washington and his forces were successful in changing the direction of the American Revolution.

And with Memorial Day's recent passing, I think of the tremendous sacrifice being made by the thousands of men and women serving today not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but around the globe. Their families here at home are also making great sacrifices.

These examples of sacrifice for country are what led me to ask just what are we passing on to those who are coming after us?

In two short years, the baby boom generation will begin trickling into retirement. Five years later, that trickle will become a flood that within five more years will become a tsunami that will begin to wreak havoc on our Social Security and Medicare systems.

As we tragically learned the lesson of Katrina in New Orleans, the best time to deal with a damaged flood wall is before the rains begin. Make no mistake; the levies that are our country's entitlement systems can only be plugged for so long. Without major repair and a long-term fix, we are facing a financial disaster like never before.

There is near unanimous agreement by all who have looked at this issue: Social Security and Medicare are amassing huge deficits and are ill-prepared for the coming flood of new baby boom retirees.

When our retirement security programs like Social Security and Medicare were established, the ratio of workers supporting each retiree was more than 10 times the number supporting retirees today. In 1945, there were 42 workers for each retiree. Last year, the ratio dropped to 3 workers for each retiree and is expected to drop to just 2 workers for each retiree by 2030.

The 2006 Social Security Trustees Report paints a grim picture with projections that the Social Security Trust Funds will begin running cash flow deficits in 2017 and be exhausted in 2040--one year sooner than last year's projection. That means that by the year 2040, the projected federal income will only be sufficient to pay 74 percent of scheduled benefits.

Perhaps even more troubling than the Social Security projections are those for Medicare.

By 2010, the trust fund expenditures are projected to exceed annual income from all sources and the reserves will be depleted by 2018, 12 short years from now. According to the trustees, ``Medicare's financial outlook has deteriorated dramatically over the past five years and is now much worse than Social Security's.''

As a father of five and grandfather of 11--soon to be 12--the challenge posed by the pending retirement of baby boomers strikes me as much more than a routine policy discussion.

Without action, just what kind of future are we leaving to our children and grandchildren?

My youngest grandchild is just two months old. By the time she is 15 years old, 29 cents out of every dollar paid in income taxes will be required to cover the needs of Social Security and Medicare to pay for my retirement. That's not including payroll taxes of almost 15 percent.

By the time she completes her undergraduate degree, more than 45 cents out of every dollar of income taxes then will be needed to cover the shortfall of Social Security and Medicare, rising to 62 cents out of every dollar if she decides to get her doctorate 10 years later. Again, this is on top of payroll taxes.

Sadly, before she retires--and looks into the eyes of her own grandchildren--retired baby boomers will be consuming 88 percent of every income tax dollar. With the baby boomers consuming so much, there will be little money left to meet the needs and challenges of her generation. Not only is this unacceptable, it raises serious moral questions. Is it right for one generation to live very well knowing that its debts will be left to be paid for by their children and grandchildren?

Before he left the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan gave a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he echoed the significance of the coming baby boom retirement on our budget and economy. In stark language, he noted that because of lower fertility rates and longer life expectancies, we are faced with dramatic elderly dependency ratios that will pose ``substantial challenges to Social Security,'' which he noted is already in ``chronic deficit.''

This coming crisis demands our immediate attention. While there is never a convenient time to make hard decisions, the longer we wait, the more dramatic the required remedy will be.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), balancing the budget in 2040 necessitates one of two alternatives: cutting total federal spending by 60 percent or raising federal taxes by two and half times today's level.

Either of these options would devastate our economy. But if we can summon the resolve to begin these difficult conversations now--and make some hard choices on the front end--we can change our current course.

Basic economics underscore the dangers inherent in our current national trends. America is living on borrowed dollars and borrowed time. U.S. spending is outpacing income growth and personal savings rates have dropped to negative 1.3 percent in the first quarter, meaning that U.S. consumers are spending more than 100 percent of their monthly after-tax income. In spite of this, our economy has remained strong, in large part because other countries have been willing to buy our debt. In fact, we have benefitted greatly from low long-term interest rates that have been kept low largely because of continued foreign purchases of our national debt. As our fiscal deficit grows, we can finance it in one of three ways: through foreign-held debt, through reduced domestic spending, or by selling U.S. goods abroad. In 2004, foreigners bought $900 billion of U.S. long-term bonds. I am told that we now need more than $2.6 billion a day of capital inflows to fund our savings shortfall.

As our fiscal deficit balloons, our current account deficit is projected to hit historically unprecedented highs, and our country's net investment position abroad is eroding rapidly.

While the Asian Central Banks and petrodollar countries like those in the Middle East have no doubt contributed to our country's growth (the housing boom and the ability of U.S. consumers to spend), the purchase of U.S. securities by foreigners has, at the same time, enabled us to live way beyond our means.

This makes our country--and our children and grandchildren--much more vulnerable in the future. Will a geopolitical dispute with a major oil exporter cause it to stop funding our deficit, resulting in a sharp drop in the dollar, a spike in interest rates and a market meltdown?

If foreigners lose faith in the U.S. and our ability to put our own fiscal house in order, their investment decisions could send shock waves through our financial markets and even result in a collapse of U.S. real estate prices.

Our children and grandchildren deserve a future that will allow them to respond to the challenges of their generation.

Who could have predicted, even 10 years ago, that today our Nation would be engaged in a global war on terror.

Each generation faces its own international threats, and we have an obligation to ensure that future generations have the flexibility to respond to the challenges of their time.

In addition to international considerations there are domestic factors. Getting our financial house in order will allow us to prioritize spending in areas such as cutting edge medical research for cancer, Alzheimer's and autism, and for education, particularly in mathematics and science, which are critically important to America's remaining the world's leader in innovation and technology.

It is with the hope of building consensus on this very difficult issue that I am introducing legislation to establish a bipartisan commission charged with evaluating the scope of our fiscal problem and recommending tangible solutions. One of the most critical responsibilities of this panel will be explaining the crisis we face and listening to the American people about how to get the country back on sound financial footing. It will also develop a strategic plan for the future. It will look beyond the Beltway for solutions, holding at least 12 town meetings--one in each of the Nation's Federal Reserve districts--over the span of six months in order to hear directly from the American people.

The SAFE commission will be comprised of 15 voting members, three of which will be appointed by the president, three by the Senate Majority Leader, three by the Senate Minority Leader, three by the Speaker of the House, and three by the House Minority Leader. The director of the Congressional Budget Office and the Comptroller General of the United States will be appointed as non-voting ex-officio members of the commission to lend their expertise. The president will have the ability to appoint the chair from among the 15 voting members.

To be successful, I believe the commission must include men and women who are more committed to their country than they are to their political party and committed to working in a bipartisan manner. Names such as former U.S. Treasury secretaries James Baker and Robert Rubin, former Federal Reserve Chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volker, former Senators Phil Gramm and Bob Kerrey and former Congressmen John Kasich and Charlie Stenholm come to mind. Leading economists from both the public and private sectors must also be included on the panel. Bipartisanship is critical to the commission's success.

I have heard criticism that such weighty decisions on the Nation's financial future are the responsibility of Congress. Because of the ever-increasing politically charged atmosphere that has come to characterize dealings in our capital city, I fear that partisan rather than national interest has become the order of the day. Congress is paralyzed. Our political system is polarized. Many now only think about ``red'' or ``blue'' ideology, which has led to paralysis and disregard of the common good. The American people deserve an honest assessment about the federal government's future saving's account and checkbook--a discussion driven not by politics, but by statesmanship and one which elevates the Nation's sights.

Working together to find common ground, this group will comprehensively review entitlement benefits, patterns in savings and insurance for retirement, tax policies and the long-term implications of increasing foreign ownership of the U.S. Treasury.

Everything must be on the table. As a fiscal conservative, I believe that the economy grows when people keep more of their hard-earned money, and my voting record reflects this belief. But given the enormity of the challenge, the commission needs to be able to look at every component of our fiscal policy to fairly assess where we stand and how we can best move toward a sound fiscal future. In looking at revenues, I believe any changes in the tax code must help simplify the system and stimulate increased economic growth and thereby tax revenue. The late William Simon, who served as Treasury secretary under presidents Nixon and Ford, believed ``the United States should have a tax system, which looks like someone designed it on purpose.''

The IRS estimates Americans spend 6.6 billion hours per year filling out tax forms--including 1.6 billion hours on the 1040 form alone and nearly $200 billion on tax compliance. That amounts to 20 cents of compliance cost for every dollar collected by the tax system.

Shouldn't we have a system that people understand? One that encourages faster growth in business formation, jobs, family income and tax revenue? A simplified tax code also could help increase the personal savings rate, which went negative for the first time since the Great Depression earlier this year.

After spending six months conducting town meetings around the country to determine the scope of the problem and consider solutions, the commission will present to Congress a report describing the long-term fiscal problems, public suggestions and views expressed during the town meetings and policy options available to ensure federal programs and entitlements are available for future generations.

With a bipartisan two-thirds majority vote, the commission will send to Congress a legislative package to implement the commission recommendations no later than 60 days after the interim report. The administration and Congress will have 60 additional days to develop actuarially equivalent proposals to achieve the same cost savings. Essentially, no later than 10 months from the organization of the commission, Congress would be required to vote--up or down--on each proposal.

For example, if the interim report is delivered on January 1, then the commission's legislative package would be due by March 1 and any alternative developed by Congress or the Administration would have to be presented by May 1.

All proposals must include a 50-year CBO score in addition to disclosing any impact on future federal liabilities. If more than one proposal receives a majority, the one garnering the greatest number of votes would prevail.

I have put in the legislation procedures for expedited consideration of the commission's legislation to ensure that the Congress acts. I do not want this to simply be another blue-ribbon commission whose findings end up on a bookshelf somewhere only to collect dust and never be acted upon.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this legislation.

I also welcome a forthright national dialogue. Only by working together in a truly bipartisan manner will we be able to secure America's future economy.

I believe most Americans will welcome it as well, especially considering we all want what is best for our children and grandchildren.

I will close with the cautionary words of George Washington's 1796 farewell address:

``We should avoid ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden of which we ourselves ought to bear.''

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me today to recognize the recent D.A.R.E. graduates from Mill Run Elementary School in Ashburn, Virginia. D.A.R.E.--Drug Abuse Resistance Education--has a long history of providing children with the information and skills they need to live drug-and-violence-free lives and I was pleased to recently visit the fifth graders at Mill Run as they completed this program.

I would like to recognize Mill Run principal, Paul Vickers, and fifth grade teachers, Ms. Garofalo, Ms. Neely, Ms. Page, Ms. Sovereign, Ms. Williams, Ms. Wolff, and Mr. Wolslayer. Special acknowledgment also goes to D.A.R.E. officer, Deputy Lynette Ridgley, who is specially trained to work with students, answer their questions, and establish a positive relationship between students, law enforcement, and the community. The D.A.R.E. program, supported by dedicated school faculty, has helped to address the critical need to educate our youth on the consequences of involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence, and how to avoid risky behavior.

Several students at Mill Run Elementary received special awards for poster and essay

submissions. Poster winners include Krista Sanders-Mason, Manik Dayal, William Kim, Ryan Orr, Rob Kramer, Renato Mazzei, Ellie Ferguson, and Brigitte Ganzer. Essay winners include Rachael Williams, Brandon Greer, Francesca Beller, TJ Soroka, Nick Carroll, Emily Ready, and Colin Ceresa. I have inserted for the record these students' essays because I feel it is important to hear from the students themselves about how much of an impact the D.A.R.E program has made.

One student, TJ Soroka, says it plain and simple, ``The information taught in the D.A.R.E. program has given me the knowledge to make good decisions in my life.''

(By T.J. Soroka)

When you go to school, you take many subjects, but this

year I took one program unlike any other. That was DARE which

stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It's not taught

by any ordinary teacher, in fact, DARE is taught by a Deputy

Sheriff who works in Loudoun County. When we started DARE, I

thought it would only be about smoking and drugs. But we also

learned about inhalants, making good decisions, friendship

qualities, being confident, and much more. But I gained the

most knowledge in DARE while learning about tobacco and the

qualities of a good friend.

Before you smoke a cigarette, think of all the bad things

you're doing, such as putting 200 poisons in your body. Also,

you aren't just hurting yourself, you're hurting the

environment and the people around you. If you're under 18,

it's against the law to smoke. I hope you don't smoke a

cigarette, now knowing the affects of it.

Do you think your friends have good traits? Do they treat

you like a friend? True friends have these qualities. They

are loyal to you and you can trust them. Also, they have a

bright personality so they can cheer you up. Last, if your

friend asks you to smoke, you should have a second thought

about them being your friend, after making a bad decision.

The Information taught In the DARE program has given me

knowledge to make good decisions. DARE also teaches you how

to say no to drugs and other substances. Next, DARE has

taught me affects of drugs and everything else. DARE has gave

me the knowledge to make good decisions in my life.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me today to recognize the recent DARE graduates from Mill Run Elementary School in Centreville, VA. DARE--Drug Abuse Resistance Education--has a long history of providing children with the information and skills they need to live drug-and-violence-free lives and I was pleased to recently visit the fifth graders at Mill Run as they completed this program.

I would like to recognize Mill Run Principal Paul Vickers and fifth grade teachers, Ms. Garofalo, Ms. Neely, Ms. Page, Ms. Sovereign, Ms. Williams, Ms. Wolff, and Mr. Wolslayer. Special acknowledgment also goes to DARE officer, Deputy Lynette Ridgley, who is specially trained to work with students, answer their questions, and establish a positive relationship between students, law enforcement, and the community. The DARE program, supported by dedicated school faculty, has helped to address the critical need to educate our youth on the consequences of involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence, and how to avoid risky behavior.

Several students at Mill Run Elementary received special awards for poster and essay submissions. Poster winners include Krista Sanders- Mason, Manik Dayal, William Kim, Ryan Orr, Rob Kramer, Renato Mazzei, Ellie Ferguson, and Brigitte Ganzer. Essay winners include Rachael Williams, Brandon Greer, Francesca Beller, T.J. Soroka, Nick Carroll, Emily Ready, and Colin Ceresa. I have inserted for the Record these students' essays because I feel it is important to hear from the students themselves about how much of an impact the DARE program has made.

One student, T.J. Soroka, says it plain and simple, ``The information taught in the DARE program has given me the knowledge to make good decisions in my life.''

(By T.J. Soroka)

When you go to school, you take many subjects, but this

year I took one program unlike any other. That was DARE which

stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It's not taught

by any ordinary teacher, in fact, DARE is taught by a Deputy

Sheriff who works in Loudoun County. When we started DARE, I

thought it would only be about smoking and drugs. But we also

learned about inhalants, making good decisions, friendship

qualities, being confident, and much more. But I gained the

most knowledge in DARE while learning about tobacco and the

qualities of a good friend.

Before you smoke a cigarette, think of all the bad things

you're doing, such as putting 200 poisons in your body. Also,

you aren't just hurting yourself, you're hurting the

environment and the people around you. If you're under 18,

it's against the law to smoke. I hope you don't smoke a

cigarette, now knowing the affects of it.

Do you think your friends have good traits? Do they treat

you like a friend? True friends have these qualities. They

are loyal to you and you can trust them. Also, they have a

bright personality so they can cheer you up. Last, if your

friend asks you to smoke, you should have a second thought

about them being your friend, after making a bad decision.

The information taught in the DARE program has given me

knowledge to make good decisions. DARE also teaches you how

to say no to drugs and other substances. Next, DARE has

taught me affects of drugs and everything else. DARE has gave

me the knowledge to make good decisions in my life.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Chantilly High School National Economics Challenge Team for their tremendous success in this year's competition. The Chantilly High team, comprised of students Adriana Medina, Natalie Mutchler, Alex Pepper and Sam Perkins, and their teacher/adviser, Joseph Clement, should be extremely proud of being named runner-up in the David Ricardo Division of the National Economics Challenge. The students from Chantilly High School have the distinction of being one of the top four teams in a national competition involving more than 1000 teams.

The National Council on Economic Education and the Goldman Sachs Foundation established the Challenge in 2000 to provide a competitive format to test the knowledge of the best economics students in the country. The NCEE's mission is to improve economics education in grades K-12 through teacher training and development of instructional materials.

I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing the Chantilly High School Economics Challenge Team for their outstanding accomplishment.

Mr. Speaker, many of our colleagues and staff who are on the Hill today may not remember Marvin ``Lucky'' Mondres, but those of us who have been around for a while will recall Lucky ran Representative Burke's Washington office for several years.

Our paths first crossed when I served at the Interior Department and Lucky was my counterpart as the congressional liaison officer for the Commerce Department in the early 1970s.

He served with distinction at Commerce and in several other Departments in both the Nixon and Ford administrations. Members on both sides of the aisle came to know that if they needed information or assistance, they could depend on Lucky to be forthright and diligent in providing it.

I want to share the news that Lucky is battling the final stages of cancer. But as those who know him would guess, he is not dwelling on that but is focused on living each day to the fullest, just as he has done his entire life.

In his retirement years in Massanutten in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, he has devoted his time to his children and his grandchildren, with some charity work along the way, and always some time for golf.

We want to thank Lucky for his public service and his contributions to our country and ask the Good Lord to bless him.

Mr. Speaker, last week the Nation lost a giant in the field of journalism when A.M. ``Abe'' Rosenthal passed away at age 84.

He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent and executive editor of the New York Times. After his days directing the newsroom were over, he penned the op-ed column, ``On My Mind,'' for the Times and later the New York Daily News, a forum from which he championed the cause of freedom and human rights.

As Nicholas Kristof, who won a Pulitzer Prize last month as a Times op-ed columnist, said at Mr. Rosenthal's funeral, Abe Rosenthal used his column to make matters like human rights violations in China and Sudan ``recognizable as issues.''

``Abe fought to cure our blind spots, and it worked,'' Mr. Kristof said. ``He did indeed teach us to see.''

Mr. Speaker, I insert for the Record an obituary from The Washington Post and an op-ed column by Mr. Rosenthal's son Andrew, a New York Times deputy editorial page editor, remembering Abe Rosenthal.

[From the New York Times, May 17, 2006]

I Never Wrote for My Father

(By Andrew Rosenthal)

Funerals have a way of reframing memories. After the burial

of my father, A. M. Rosenthal, who ran The Times for nearly

20 years and wrote a column for 13 more, I recalled the day I

met President George H. W. Bush, not long after I became a

White House correspondent.

I was allowed to sit in on an interview that two of my

colleagues, Maureen Dowd and Thomas L. Friedman, were doing

for a magazine article. The White House told me not to ask

questions, but after a while, Mr. Bush said to me, ``You've

been quiet.'' I said the interview was supposed to be

strictly about the magazine article, but as long as he'd

asked, what did he think about the latest development on

Lithuania?

He was angry and would not answer. He said he was ``not

gonna be sandbagged in the Oval Office.''

On the way out, Marlin Fitzwater, Mr. Bush's spokesman,

helpfully noted that my introduction to Mr. Bush had gone

badly. He explained that Mr. Bush was unhappy with my father

for writing in his column that Mr. Bush had appeased the

Communists on China and (oh, great!) on Lithuania. ``The

president doesn't differentiate between you and your

father,'' he said.

I sputtered that the White House owed me for five years'

psychotherapy. I'd only just begun convincing myself I was my

own man in my father's field, and now I learned that The

Leader of the Free World could not tell us apart?

It was naive, of course, to think I could hide that little

coincidence of a last name. Dad was not just seen as the

embodiment of The Times; he saw himself that way. During the

tumultuous year 1968, my father said I could not wear an Army

fatigue jacket because anti-Vietnam protesters wore them.

``When you go out,'' he said, not for the first or last time,

``you're representing The Times.'' I was 12 years old at the

time.

Still, I tried to walk around as if I were not really Abe's

son, first at The Associated Press, where I was a national

and foreign correspondent for nine years, and then at The

Times. (I even left the middle initial, M., out of my byline

because my father's initials were so famous.)

I started to get the point that hiding in plain sight was

not working when I noticed that I hadn't received any checks

from WQXR, the Times radio station, for a weekly radio spot.

It turns out that WQXR was sending the $70 checks to A. M.

Rosenthal, instead of Andrew Rosenthal.

I called my father, outraged. He had been happily cashing

the checks. He said he hadn't known why WQXR was paying him,

but ``when someone gives me a check, baby, I cash it.''

I should have found the whole thing funny, but I didn't.

Then about a year later, I got a check for a reprint of my

father's classic 1958 essay, ``There Is No News From

Auschwitz.'' I sent him a copy of the check stub with a note:

``When someone gives me a check, baby, I cash it.''

Dad thought it was hilarious. And I've long since realized

that I overreacted on the ``Abe's kid'' front. But since my

father died, I've realized something else.

When I read his obituary to my children, their amazement at

his accomplishments was matched by my amazement at how much I

had forgotten, even discounted. Then colleagues began sharing

their experiences of my father.

They said what I knew, that he could be stubborn,

unreasonable and prone to anger. But what they held on was

how sure he was in his vision for the paper, how filled with

exuberance and a certainty about journalism that he freely

bestowed. I received dozens of stories about how he'd shaped

a reporter's career, how he'd traveled around the world to

get a correspondent out of trouble, how he'd stood up equally

to K.G.B. generals and to U.S. officials, how he'd helped

young people become better journalists, how he'd changed The

Times and the newspaper business.

Jose Lopez, a photographer and photo editor, said the first

time they met, Abe Rosenthal told him, ``Always be the hawk;

never be the blackbird that sits on the wire.''

David Sanger said when he'd been a news clerk laboring to

become a reporter, he'd come to his desk one day to find

Champagne and a note: ``For an explanation, see the executive

editor.'' Abe had promoted David, and wanted to celebrate

with him.

``I wouldn't argue that he was always the easiest boss,''

David wrote. But, he said, my father ``knew how to infuse you

with his sheer joy of reporting and experiencing the world.''

Alan Cowell recalled how Abe Rosenthal flew to South Africa

in 1986 to argue the authorities out of expelling him. John

Burns, whose courage is endless, said Abe ``set the

trajectory of my life.'' Maureen Dowd reminded me that her

mother had kept letters from my father framed in her home

until the day she died.

In an era when journalism is commoditized, digitized and

endlessly televised, I feel the loss of that passion, drive,

emotion and energy. I also feel regret--not for sometimes

pushing my father away as I tried to be independent. I know I

was right to wait until he'd retired as executive editor

before joining The Times.

But I missed something big.

I never got to work for Abe.

Madam Speaker, I rise today because we must find ways to effectively address the rising gas prices the citizens of the Nation are paying at the pump.

Last week the House passed new legislation to address price gouging at the pump and set Federal penalties for price manipulation. The major oil companies say there are many factors in gas pricing, including basic economics of supply and demand, the switch to ethanol from MTBE as a clean fuel additive, and lack of refining capacity, among others, and that they have no control over the spiking gas prices.

But my constituents, especially working people raising families and those on fixed incomes whose wallets are being pinched tighter and tighter, tell me they are not satisfied with those answers.

Madam Speaker, it is time for the President to use the bully pulpit to get to the bottom of this issue the way that Teddy Roosevelt did. He should call to the Oval Office every chief executive of the major oil companies and let them explain to the American people why the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the United States today is nearly $3, and in some areas at least a dime over that.

There is another area of the energy market that also needs attention. Recent news accounts have theorized that the commodity futures trading market could be partly responsible for the rapid jumps in gasoline prices over the past couple of months. This past weekend, television investigative reports pointed to the energy trading industry as an area in need of investigation to see if fraud or manipulation is occurring. I learned yesterday that bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate on this matter. Senators Feinstein and Snowe have a bill that would increase transparency and accountability in the energy markets.

Madam Speaker, according to our colleagues, energy trades are often made using an electronic trading platform where no records are kept, so there is no audit trail for the Government to monitor. Currently, most energy exchanges occur on the New York Mercantile Exchange or on electronic exchanges such as the InterContinental Exchange. I was surprised to learn that while the New York Mercantile Exchange is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the electronic exchanges like the InterContinental Exchange are largely unregulated, even though it is estimated that up to 80 percent of our energy commodities are traded on the InterContinental Exchange. Under CFTC regulations, traders using the New York Mercantile Exchange must keep records for 5 years and report large trading positions to the commission. But traders using the InterContinental Exchange keep no records. Additionally, traders using the New York exchange are subject to other Federal regulations, like limits on how much of a given commodity can be traded in one day. Traders using the InterContinental Exchange are not.

Where is the transparency? Where is the accountability? Who are these speculators? The American people need to know their government is leaving no stone unturned in investigating this issue. After Hurricane Katrina, we saw prices jump. Many Americans certainly understood Katrina's wrath, but there were questions raised then about the almost overnight jump of gasoline prices. To find out if indeed there was gouging at the pump, this Congress ordered an investigation in last year's commerce spending bill. The FTC will report on May 22.

Can markets really be manipulated? Think back to the electricity market manipulation by Enron. As a result, last year's energy bill gave more authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the regulation of natural gas and electricity markets including more transparency.

In closing, there is no similar process for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the unregulated energy markets. Who is to say whether investment firms, commercial bankers or hedge funds could actually be driving up oil prices through futures trading?

Madam Speaker, as I mentioned at the beginning, a good place to start would be for the President to have an Oval Office chat with the big oil executives. It would also be important to have the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Chris Cox, our former colleague who is running the SEC; and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in that meeting.

We owe it to our constituents to find the answers, to bring everybody together. And so I urge the administration to do exactly what Teddy Roosevelt would have done, bring all the parties together to hammer this out, look at all of the trading to show and demonstrate we are doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this to begin to reduce these prices.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to welcome the news of the signing of the Darfur peace agreement. It is important to recognize the hard work that our international partners and the administration have done on this issue. Specifically, President Bush has done an outstanding job, as have Secretary Rice, Deputy Secretary Zoellick and Roger Winter; and there should be special gratitude expressed to Secretary Zoellick who went out there and spent 5 days to bring this to fruition.

Their efforts have moved the parties to an agreement, and the United States now must remain steadfast in this effort. It is my hope this agreement will be a stepping stone toward achieving lasting peace and security for the people of Darfur.

The international community and the American people now have an opportunity to take meaningful steps to improve the lives of the people of Darfur.

Most of the food in Darfur where I visited is coming from the United States Government and from the American people as a result of what the Bush administration has done. However, we must remember that women and children are still dying in the camps. Men are still being killed, and the genocide is still taking place. We must build on that momentum.

But the efforts of the administration are to be commended. And although the road ahead is long, this administration and Bob Zoellick have done an outstanding job. And the people who rallied on the Mall last week ought to be congratulated, too.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4975 because I do not believe it is truly reform.

I had looked forward to the day on the floor when the House by its actions could demonstrate to the American people that we take seriously the call for bold reforms in the wake of recent lobbying and ethics scandals.

In reviewing H.R. 4975, the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act, I am disappointed to say that today is not that day.

Last week I read in The Washington Post that some members are saying people don't care about lobby reform. Well, I care and I believe the American people care, too. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last month showed that 63 percent of Americans called ``corruption in Washington'' important to them.

Having worked in Washington for over three decades, I understand that lobbying is a part of everyday life in the nation's capital. Every day, good people walk the halls of Congress making the case for their constituency, advocating on any number of issues and causes with great passion and insight from cancer research to education reform to human rights awareness to environmental protection.

Yet something has gone terribly wrong with the general culture of Washington. Standards of conduct have shifted. What is acceptable today would not have been tolerated 20 years ago.

We must break the cycle of ``Washington business as usual'' which has impugned the honor and integrity of this institution.

The American people demand honesty and integrity in their government--as they should. Cosmetic changes will not suffice. Bold, sweeping reforms must be enacted.

Sadly, the bill before us today fails to meet that test, and I cannot support it.

I was encouraged when we began this process in early January and members were urged by the House leadership to provide ideas and suggestions on changes in lobby and gift rules. I sent a three-page letter with several recommendations which I believe should be a part of this debate. Several committees were then given the opportunity to come up with reforms under their jurisdiction.

But tinkering around the edges is not real reform. I believe this bill fails to fully acknowledge that the current system is broken, and it fails to offer genuine reform.

It pains me to say that we have reached the point where the ethics process in Congress has become paralyzed and unworkable. Bipartisanship and comity which used to be the norm have been replaced with partisanship and animosity. Rules with no enforcement are useless.

We had the opportunity through this legislation to establish an independent, non-partisan Office of Public Integrity to provide credibility in the ethics process and ensure fairness for every member on both sides of the aisle. But this bill has no provision to create that office.

While this legislation offers some increased lobbying disclosure reporting requirements and penalties for noncompliance, it doesn't go far enough.

With regard to the revolving door between congressional service and lobbying Congress, current law is a one-year cooling off period, and as I read it, this bill keeps the status quo, opening the door after a one-year ban--albeit with some added notification and disclosure requirements. To show real reform, we should be debating keeping the door closed for a much longer period of time, similar to the Senate bill which I understand is a two-year ban.

And it's not just Congress where the revolving door should be shut longer. I believe the executive branch needs scrutiny.

My amendment was made in order to restrict former ambassadors and CIA station chiefs from lobbying on behalf of the foreign nations where they have been stationed. Currently, an ambassador can leave the service of the United States one day and be hired the very next day as an agent of foreign nation where they had served. These officials see every decision the United States makes in relation to that country. They have access to intelligence, policy documents and other confidential information.

But under today's rules, the day they leave they have every legal right to use that same information on behalf of a foreign nation. Being an ambassador or CIA station chief is a high honor. That person becomes the face of our nation in the country where they are serving. We must safeguard the integrity of these positions.

Yet how can we debate subjecting certain executive branch officials to a five-year revolving door statute when this bill fails to extend the cooling off period for members leaving Congress or even allow debate on this matter? Therefore, I am withdrawing my amendment.

We also are supposedly here today considering legislation to tighten lobbying regulations in large part because of the lobbying scandal associated with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the information revealed about his ties to tribal casinos. The corruption which has been associated with the explosion of tribal gambling and political contribution is an issue I've been concerned about for nearly 10 years and one I have raised on this House floor numerous times.

These revelations have focused renewed attention on the need for Congress to thoroughly review the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. We should have a provision in this bill to close the tribal contribution loophole that allows funneling of millions of dollars into campaign coffers.

How can we even begin to call this the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act without addressing the issues that initially fueled this debate?

Then we come to the issue of so-called earmark reform. True reform and transparency in the process of identifying how taxpayer dollars are being spent must be comprehensive reform. The spotlight has to shine on every committee--appropriating and authorizing including the tax writing committee. Lobbyists don't limit their work to appropriations issues. They lobby year round advocating for a myriad of issues across the committees of Congress--tax credits, defense programs, transportation projects. The narrow focus on only the appropriations process in the bill as written is not real reform. Real earmark reform must include projects in authorization bills like the ``Bridge to Nowhere.''

We had an opportunity today to make true, fundamental, substantive reforms in the way business is done in Washington and restore the confidence of the American people in this institution. This legislation before us and the few amendments allowed under the rule fail this institution and the American people. More amendments should have been allowed from members of both parties.

In a 1799 letter to Patrick Henry, George Washington said, ``The views of Men can only be known, or guessed at, by their words or actions.'' Would our Founding Fathers think our actions today are the best we can do to restore integrity to this institution?

I think they would say we can and we must do better.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to honor the legacy of the Honorable Harry J. Parrish by introducing legislation which would name the Manassas Post Office at 8801 Sudley Road, Manassas, VA 20110 the ``Harry J. Parrish Post Office Building.'' Mr. Parrish was a member of the Virginia General Assembly and decorated WorId War II pilot from Manassas, Virginia, who passed away on March 28 at the age of 84.

Harry Parrish served over 50 years in elected office, including 13 terms in the Virginia House of Delegates and chairman of the Finance Committee since 2000, Manassas council member and mayor. At the time of his passing, he was the oldest serving member of the House of Delegates. During his 12 years as town councilman and 18 years as mayor, Harry helped guide the transformation of Manassas from a small Virginia town to a thriving, lively suburb. As a member of the House of Delegates, he was known for conducting himself in a bipartisan manner, putting Virginia first. I was proud to call Harry my friend. He was a true Virginia gentleman.

As a decorated World War II pilot, Harry was part of the British Royal Air Force. He flew C-47s over the Himalayas delivering supplies, weapons and other cargo, from India to China. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal for his valiant efforts. He served as a reservist in the Korean and Vietnam wars before retiring as a colonel.

Naming the post office on Sudley Road in Manassas in his honor is an appropriate reminder to the people of Manassas of Harry's dedication to public service.

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to create the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area. Senator Allen is introducing companion legislation in the Senate.

We remember the words of Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address:

We cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we cannot hallow

this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled

here, have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or

detract.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground winds its way along U.S. Route 15 from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Jefferson's home of Monticello, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Starting as a trail used by the Susquehannock and Iroquois, America's early history can literally be traced along this corridor. Jefferson's Monticello, Madison's Montpellier, Monroe's Oak Hill and Ashlawn Highland, Zachary Taylor's homes, Eisenhower's Cottage, Teddy Roosevelt's Cabin, John Marshall's home, General George Marshall's home, and Camp David are situated along this route also dotted with numerous Civil War battlefields and sites from the underground railroad.

Designation of this historic route as a National Heritage Area will create a partnership between the Federal, State, and local governments as well as local civic organizations to commemorate, conserve and promote the history and resources along the Route 15 corridor between Gettysburg and Monticello. It will help link national parks to historical sites, package tourism opportunities, and provide financial and technical support for sites in the corridor.

This historic corridor includes a significant part of the 10th District of Virginia, which I am proud to represent. I echo the sentiments of author and historian David McCullough when he said that ``[t]his is the ground of our Founding Fathers. These are the landscapes that speak volumes--small towns, churches, fields, mountains, creeks and rivers with names such as Bull Run and Rappahannock. They are the real thing, and what shame we will bring upon ourselves if we destroy them.''

This bill is modeled after the legislation Senator Warner and I introduced which created the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District in the Shenandoah Valley in 1996, Through that legislation, the Civil War battlefield sites in the Valley are being preserved, As with that bill, local, State and Federal officials, working along with landowners and business leaders will be able to better promote the history of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground attracting tourism and an appreciation for the unique history of this area.

I would like to thank the Journey Through Hollowed Ground Partnership which has been working to forge partnerships that span the four States that fall within the proposed boundaries of the heritage area. This group has laid the groundwork in identifying the significant historical properties within such a concentrated area along U.S. Route 15. Dozens of towns and counties along the corridor have offered letters of support as have local civic groups. The Virginia General Assembly also has approved a resolution of support.

Thomas Jefferson in his Notes of the State of Virginia said:

You stand on a very high point of land. On your right comes

up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the

mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left

approaches the Potomac, in quest of a passage also. In the

moment of their junction, they rush together against the

mountain, rend it asunder, and pass off to the sea. The first

glance of this scene hurries our senses into the opinion that

this earth has been created in time, that the mountains were

formed first, that the rivers began to flow afterwards, that

in this place, particularly, they have been dammed up by the

Blue Ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean which filed

the whole valley; that continuing to rise they have at length

broken over this spot, and have torn the mountains down from

its summit to its base. The piles of rocks on each hand, but

particularly on the Shenandoah, the evident marks of their

disrupture and avulsion from their beds by the most powerful

agents of nature, corroborate the impression. But the distant

finishing, which nature has given to the picture, is of a

very different character. It is a true contrast to the

foreground. It is as placid and delightful as that is wild

and tremendous. For the mountain being cloven asunder, she

presents to your eye, through the cleft, a small catch of

smooth, blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain

country, inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult

roaring around, to pass through the breach and participate in

the calm below.

The landscape Jefferson depicts has been inspirational to American leaders for hundreds of years. From Susquehannock Indian trading routes and to Revolutionary War battles; from the homes of the founding fathers to the first brave pioneers to make a home beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains; from the Civil War battles which threatened to divide the union to the underground railroad, our Nation was forged along this route. From Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and the fertile Piedmont to the east of the corridor the route in many ways exhibits the birth and development of our Nation's economy, social movements and political landscape. Perhaps even more significant than the battlefields that cluster along the route are the documents penned in the homes along the corridor. The Declaration of Independence, the Monroe Doctrine and the Marshall plan have influenced not only this Nation, but the entire world.

Every American citizen should take a trip along this route so that they know not only from where our Nation has come, but also to where we are going.

As we come upon the 400th anniversary of America's birthplace at Jamestown, I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the amendment offered by my colleagues Representatives Kirk and Larsen. They are to be commended for drawing attention to the importance of student exchange and language education programs, particularly related to Chinese and Arabic. In the 21st century world, China and the Middle East are critically important.

I share their support for language and culture education programs to help equip today's young people for the global marketplace. I was pleased to be able to help bring Japanese and Chinese language programs to the Fairfax County Public School system in northern Virginia. During the early 1980s Japan was the primary United States competitor. In an effort to understand how to help United States businesses remain competitive in an expanding global economy, especially with Japan, I wrote to the top 500 U.S. companies asking for their feedback.

The overwhelming response was that U.S. businesses were having difficulty finding qualified people who spoke Japanese and understood that culture. It became clear that the younger generation of Americans who would be the business leaders of tomorrow needed the training to compete with Japan. To help enlarge the pool of fluent Japanese speakers and broaden understanding of the Japanese culture, I worked with the U.S. Department of Education to establish language immersion programs in northern Virginia in 1988.

As a result, Floris, Fox Mill and Great Falls Elementary schools, all in the Fairfax County Public School system, began offering Japanese immersion programs. In these programs, students spend half the school day in their subjects learning to converse in Japanese and the other half in English. I insert for the Record excerpts from my congressional newsletters from 1988 announcing the launch of the Japanese language immersion program.

Today, the United States' main global competitor is no longer Japan. China has assumed that position. As we did in the 1980s with Japanese language immersion, we need to replicate today with the Chinese language. The Chinese program will expand and build upon the success of the Japanese immersion program, which helped America counter the serious competition it faced from Japan. In addition to having the opportunity to improve academic performance, students also will have the chance to learn a language that will equip them to compete in the global economy. With one-quarter of the world's population living in China, it is imperative that America's rising business leaders learn the Chinese language and culture.

Studies have shown that students who participate in language immersion programs do well academically. This amendment highlights a critical area in preparing our young people--as Tom Friedman so aptly put it in his best-selling book ``The World is Flat''--to develop language skills to help our country meet the challenge being posed by China and India.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Kirk/Larsen amendment and thank the gentlemen for their good work on highlighting this important issue.

Foreign Language Study Key to Competitiveness

Our national trade deficit has caused deserved concern. We

must not only make sure that American companies are on a

level playing field with their foreign competitors, but also

provide that American companies are equipped to compete in

the international marketplace. The key to this is the

education and training of our young people.

We must educate our young people in the languages and

cultures of other nations, so that in the future American

businesses are able to market products abroad and negotiate

with foreign counterparts.

I have been pleased to work with our local school systems

to expand the foreign language courses offered. The language

of Japan, which has the largest trade surplus with the United

States of any of our trading partners, is now offered at many

of our area high schools. In addition, if a recently

submitted grant application to the Department of Education is

approved, Japanese, Spanish, and French may soon be taught to

kindergarten students in some local schools.

These youngsters who are able to study the languages and

cultures of other peoples of the world will be the business

leaders of tomorrow, negotiating and devising strategies to

sell American products all over the world.

Mr. Speaker, because of a previously scheduled event which required my attendance at a high school in my congressional district this evening, I missed the three rollcall votes under suspension of the rules today. In conjunction with the Loudoun County Public Schools' Academy of Science, I had invited Dr. Robert Ballard, founder of the JASON project, to speak to students and parents at Dominion High School in Loudoun County about the importance of science education in our Nation's schools. JASON is funded through the Science-State-Justice- Commerce appropriations subcommittee which I chair. Dr. Ballard also is the explorer-in residence at the National Geographic Society and discoverer of the RMS Titanic shipwreck.

Had I been present and voting, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.J. Res. 81, providing for the appointment of Phillip Frost as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution; H. Res. 703, recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and supporting continued efforts to control radiation and mitigate the adverse health consequences related to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and H. Res. 744, expression support for the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 as the blueprint for lasting peace in Northern Ireland and support for continued police reform in Northern Ireland as a critical element in the peace process.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to remember Mr. Harry Parrish, member of the Virginia General Assembly and decorated World War II pilot from Manassas, VA, who passed away on March 28 at the age of 84.

Harry Parrish served over 50 years in elected office, including 13 terms in the House of Delegates and chairman of the Finance Committee since 2000, Manassas council member, and mayor. At the time of his passing, he was the oldest serving member of the House of Delegates. During his 12 years as town councilman and 18 years as mayor, Harry helped guide the transformation of Manassas from a small Virginia town to a thriving, lively suburb. As a member of the House of Delegates, he was known for conducting himself in a bipartisan manner, putting Virginia first. I was proud to call Harry my friend. He was a true Virginia gentleman.

Harry was also a decorated World War II pilot. As part of the British Royal Air Force he flew C-47s over the Himalayas delivering supplies, weapons and other cargo, from India to China. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal for his valiant efforts. He served as a reservist in the Korean and Vietnam wars before retiring as a colonel.

I insert for the Record the Potomac News obituary from March 28. A northern Virginia native, Harry will be deeply missed by the people of Manassas, and at home by his family and wife, Mattie, of 62 years.

[From the Potomac News, Mar. 28, 2006]

Harry Parrish Dies at 84

(By Bob Lewis)

Richmond, VA--Harry Parrish, who defied death as a

decorated World War II pilot and headed the state's most

powerful tax-writing panel in the General Assembly, died

Tuesday. He was 84.

Parrish had been in intensive care at Prince William

Hospital for about three weeks, suffering from pneumonia. His

death was announced by Sen. John Chichester during a meeting

of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Square.

Parrish had been in declining health for at least two years

but continued a full legislative schedule, including acting

as chairman of the House Finance Committee, one of the most

powerful leadership positions in the General Assembly.

Last year, Parrish warded off a Republican primary

challenge for his House seat--payback from his party's own

conservative wing for defying its anti-tax orthodoxy during

the 2004 tax battle.

Parrish, the House of Delegates' oldest member, was in his

13th term from Manassas.

He was born Feb. 19, 1922, in Fairfax County and moved as a

child with his family to Manassas, then a small, rural town.

He graduated from Osbourn High School in 1940 and later from

Virginia Tech.

He joined the Army Air Force in 1942 and began pilot

training in Alabama, but was assigned to the British Royal

Air Force, where he completed his training.

He was part of an allied mission to fly lumbering transport

planes laden with heavy supplies, weapons and ammunition from

India into China over the world's highest mountain range, the

Himalayas.

The C-47s like the one Parrish flew took off from crude,

sometimes muddy airfields in the Indian jungles and struggled

to heft their cargo over icy peaks that doomed many flights.

Because Japan controlled land routes through Burma, the

airlifts over what pilots called ``the Hump'' were the only

way to supply the legendary Flying Tigers, which bombed Japan

from bases in China.

Parrish received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air

Medal with two oak leaf clusters. He left active duty in 1946

but flew as an Air Force reservist in wars with Korea and

Vietnam before retiring as a colonel and command pilot.

In 2002, as one of few remaining World War II veterans in

the General Assembly, Parrish helped secure Virginia's

$334,000 contribution to the National World War II Memorial

in Washington, D.C.

``I kind of regret us being the last state, but I'm glad we

finally came around,'' Parrish said in an interview, pained

that Virginia was the last state to contribute to the

memorial.

Parrish was elected to the House in 1981 as part of an

insignificant Republican minority. Before that, he served for

12 years on the Manassas Town Council and for 18 years as

mayor. During his mayoral term, Manassas transformed from a

town into a thriving, affluent city.

Through a total of 53 years in elected office, Parrish won

abiding respect as a listener and problem solver from

Republicans and Democrats. In 2000, when the GOP ended a

century of Democratic dominance in the House, Parrish became

co-chairman and later chairman of the Finance Committee,

where his evenhandedness endeared him delegates and senators

of both parties.

``He's my best friend,'' Democratic Sen. Charles J. Colgan

of Prince William said in a 2004 interview. ``He and I are

the only Democrat and Republican in the General Assembly ever

known to have held a fund raiser together.''

Parrish was willing to exert his independence at times,

even at the risk of his own party's wrath and his prized

House leadership post.

By two votes, Parrish's committee in 2004 advanced a bill

to increase taxes by about $1.4 billion. When the bill came

before the full House for a decisive vote that April, Parrish

was among 17 Republicans who sided with House Democrats to

pass it. The vote was critical to ending a 115-day session

that divided GOP legislators.

In addition to his public duties, Parrish also is chairman

of the board of his family's business, the Manassas Ice and

Fuel Co.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a great day for peace and justice in West Africa. Former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, was arrested and sent to face trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor will face 17 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian law for crimes committed against the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor committed horrific crimes during his presidency and his arrest will no doubt send shockwaves through Africa and a strong message that tyranny will not be accepted by the people and that you cannot escape justice.

I would like to commend Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for her courage in calling on Nigeria to hand over Charles Taylor. She did this with no small risk to herself and her fragile country. It is my hope that the international community will come to Liberia's aid and help her as she rebuilds her war torn country.

This is a new dawn for West Africa. The United States and the international community stand with the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone and honor them for their courage to seek justice.