Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my voice to the chorus extolling the life of President Ronald Reagan. On a similar occasion, over a century ago, Lincoln said of Washington, ``How do you add glory to the sun?''

I was at President Reagan's inauguration, and when he said, ``It is time for us to realize that we are too great a Nation to limit ourselves to small dreams,'' my spine stiffened, and so did that of so many people in the crowd. I got goosebumps when he called out that ``peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it, now or ever.''

From that day on, I knew America was back. You see, many people speak of the Reagan Revolution. I like to think of it as the Reagan restoration. Reagan restored our optimism, our belief in our ability to create, and the belief that God put man on this Earth to be free and that he made America to prove it.

President Ronald Reagan changed the paradigm. He changed America's foreign policy from one of benign containment to active confrontation. And for the first time since communism began extending its sinister reach, we saw its hand pushed back.

Our sympathies certainly go to the entire Reagan family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Corporal LaVerne Dennison, a World War II veteran who fought bravely to protect our freedom and to keep the world safe for democracy.

On June 5, 2004, 1 had the pleasure of recognizing Corporal Dennison for his heroism and bravery as a U.S. Soldier who fought with the Army- Airforce in the Second World War from September 11, 1942 until January 3, 1946.

During his service in the Pacific theater, Corporal Dennison developed a reputation for deadly accuracy with the M9A1 bazooka. For this he earned the nickname ``Deadhead'' among his comrades. He fought bravely and honorably throughout his service and made a significant contribution to the Allied cause.

I had the honor of presenting Corporal Dennison with medals he earned during his service to our Nation. They include the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four Bronze Service Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal.

I am humbled by the courage and service of Corporal Dennison, a true American patriot. I am thankful for the gift of freedom that he fought to protect.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my voice to the chorus extolling the life of Ronald Reagan. On a similar occasion over a century ago, Lincoln said of Washington, ``How do you add glory to the sun?'' And I must confess, I feel same futility at trying to add my few words to a life and legacy that shines so bright.

Ronald Reagan came to the stage when it appeared that America was grasping at the complexities of modernity. Inflation, recession, and unemployment appeared permanent and the light of freedom appeared to be dim. Europe was enthralled with socialism and communism and the American exception was denounced as arrogant and on the edge of failure. Much like today, we were told what we needed was more government not less; higher taxation, not less; more regulation, not less. Reagan saw all of this and he smiled.

I was at his inauguration. When he said ``It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams,'' my spine stiffened. I got goose bumps when he called out ``that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it, now or ever.''

From that day, I knew America was back. You see many people speak of the Reagan Revolution, I like to think of it as the Reagan restoration. Reagan restored our optimism, our belief in our ability to create, and the belief that God put man on this earth to be free and made America to prove it.

I was in Washington the day Reagan was shot. I held my breath and was glued to the TV. The humor, strength and courage that were Reagan's came through and, along with the rest of America, I laughed when he said ``honey, I forgot to duck.''

Ronald Reagan changed the paradigm. He changed America's foreign policy from one of benign containment to active confrontation and for the first time since communism began extending its sinister reach, we saw its hand pushed back, and that gave us hope.

Reagan confronted the evil he saw in the world and he did it without apology. He battled communism. He armed the resistance in Afghanistan; he sent troops to Grenada; Lebanon; and Pershings to Europe. In a courageous move he walked away from negotiations at Reykjavik. To the cries of the left and chattering classes he held firm to the belief that America never should and never would surrender her right to defend herself. Mikhail Gorbachev has said Reykjavik was the turning point. His strength broke the back of the Soviets.

Before the British Parliament, Reagan envisaged that the last pages of communism were being written and in those famous words predicted that totalitarianism would be consigned to the ``ash heap of history.'' He was derided. Yet few could know how prophetic his words would be, or how fast the fall would come.

In 1989, Soviet citizens voted for the first time. Pro-democracy demonstrations were held in Tiananmen Square. Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland. Shortly thereafter, the Eastern European Soviet Bloc closed the door on communism for democracy. In November, the Berlin Wall was opened and, as Reagan would have it, an anonymous German struck the first blow at tearing down wall. The following year, in free elections defeated the communist Sandinistas and the Soviet Union was dissolved. The light of freedom extended its reach.

Reagan has been so often called the Great Communicator, but I like to think about his time in office and his legacy in a different way. His victory was not of communication, but a triumph of content--the content of his ideas. He reignited the light of freedom. He cut taxes and regulation and in 8 years created 19 million jobs. He reminded us that the path to prosperity was one of individual freedom and personal responsibility. As Reagan has said, these were not his ideas, but they were American ideas. Reagan thought his revolution was ``more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense.''

So, as we honor President Reagan let us remember his humility, his dignity, his kind words and most of all his courage. Let us honor the legacy of President Reagan with a renewed commitment to the exceptionalism that makes us American. Let us renew freedom's promise to those who live in oppressive tyranny. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope.

There are many who stand against freedom and peace. There are many who criticize and compromise, but let us honor Ronald Reagan by standing firm, with resolve, in this time of war.

We can do it. Why? As Reagan would say, ``After all, we are Americans.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a distinguished constituent of mine, Mr. Lowell Bryant Stanberry of Dade City in Pasco County, Florida.

Mr. Stanberry is a loving husband of fifty-one years, father of one, and grandfather of three. After serving his country in the U.S. Army in the Korean conflict, Lowell moved to Dade City in my district in 1964.

A former board member of First National Bank of Pasco, Lowell is a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the Shrine. He is an active supporter of the Highway Patrol and Sheriff's auxiliaries.

Affectionately known as the ``grandfather of Pasco County's Republican Party,'' Lowell and his beloved wife, Evelyn, are known far and wide for their passion and dedication. In addition, he is a charter member of the East Pasco Republican Club and was the first recipient of their Lincoln Heritage Award in 2004.

I am grateful to have a civic leader as dedicated to his convictions and community as Lowell Stanberry. His lifelong commitment to his ideology and neighbors has improved the lives of countless Floridians. I am proud to call him my constituent and honor him on the floor of this House.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Staff Sergeant Joseph Fales, a World War II veteran who gave his life fighting against tyranny so that we might live free.

In honor of Memorial Day, I had the pleasure of recognizing Staff Sergeant Fales for his heroism and bravery as a U.S. Soldier who fought in the Second World War until his death in October 1943.

Staff Sergeant Fales served in the Army Air Force and heroically performed the perilous job of a waist gunner aboard a B-17 bomber. His plane was shot down over the Adriatic Sea, and an American Hero was lost. Sergeant Fales was only 20 years old.

I had the honor of presenting his family with medals Joseph Fales earned during his service to our nation. They included the World War

II Victory Medal, the Honorable Service Lapel Button, the European Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze star, the Good Conduct Medal, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart, the oldest military decoration in the world more than 50 years overdue.

I am humbled by the courage and sacrifice of Joseph Fales. I am thankful for the gift of freedom that he fought to protect. We must never forget Joseph Fales and those soldiers who paid the ultimate price on our behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sheldon Schulman, a Vietnam Veteran who gave his life fighting for our freedom and security.

In honor of Memorial Day, I had the pleasure of recognizing the late First Lieutenant Sheldon Schulman for his heroism and bravery as a U.S. Soldier who fought in the Vietnam War until his death on June 19, 1967.

Lieutenant Schulman served his country as an officer in the Army. He was killed as the result of a gun shot wound inflicted during a battle on the Mekong Delta. Also lost that day were three of his closest friends who had served with him since their days in Officer Candidate School. Lieutenant Schulman was only twenty four.

I had the honor of presenting his family with medals Lieutenant Schulman earned during his service to our nation. They included Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, the Sharp Shooter Badge and Rifle Bar, and two Marksman Badges, Machine Gun Bar, and Rifle Bar, as well as the Purple Heart, the oldest military decoration in the world.

I am humbled by the courage and sacrifice of First Lieutenant Sheldon Schulman. I am thankful for the gift of freedom that he fought to protect. We must never forget Sheldon Schulman and those soldiers who paid the ultimate price on our behalf.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with the Chamber an email I received from a constituent last week.

The subject line of the email was ``Gratitude'' and the email reads as follows:

``Dear Ginny.

``Warmest regards to you, your family and staff.

``Out of the 50-plus emails you've received so far from me, here's one you'll genuinely enjoy reading, I suspect.

``Gratitude is the subject of my email to you today. Today, I was approved by Medicare for the $600-per-year low-income credit with relation to the Medicare prescription drug bill. Thank you, the President, and the Republicans for assisting America's poor and disabled in this way.

``Others merely want your attention. We, however, need your attention. We thank you for your hard work and long hours assisting us.''

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that over 21,000 low-income seniors qualify for this $600 exemption in my district alone. This constituent's correspondence is one example of the seniors who are celebrating nationwide the ability to have this program in effect this week.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here this evening to discuss how well we treated the veterans in this budget.

Since Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, we have made great strides in improving the benefits for our Nation's veterans. During that period, total spending on veterans has increased from $38 billion to $60 billion. That is a 58 percent increase compared with only a 36 percent increase during the previous 10 years when the Democrats were in control.

And since 1995, payments per veteran have actually risen by 79 percent. Let us take a moment to review some of the most important improvements. For example, in veterans medical care, the Republican Congress has expanded eligibility for medical care in 1996 and 1999. As a result, the number of veterans using the VA medical care has increased from 2.5 million in 1995 to almost 4.7 million today.

Since 1995, the total spending on veterans medical care has increased from $16.2 billion to $28.3 billion this year alone. That is a 75 percent increase. In veterans educational benefits, since 1995 monthly education benefit levels under the Montgomery-GI bill increased from $405 to $985, a 143 percent increase. This compares with only a 35 percent increase during the time that the Democrats had control.

And under the 40 years of Democrat control prior to us taking control, there was no progress made whatsoever on concurrent receipt. We are very fortunate now that military retirees who are injured in combat or while training for combat or who are 50 percent or greater service disabled are eligible for the first time to receive retirement benefits concurrent with their veterans disability compensation. There is no doubt that the Republicans have helped the veterans in this budget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my constituent, Mark Earl of Spring Hill, Florida.

Mr. Earl will be recognized this evening at the Hope Awards Benefit for his work on finding missing children. He will receive the Charles B. Wang International Children's Award, given annually by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

In 1994, Mark's concern and vision prompted him to establish a Missing Children's Board in the Walmart store where he worked. Two years later, Walmart expanded on his initiative and installed Missing Children's Boards nation-wide. He was promoted to District Loss Prevention Supervisor, and his efforts have resulted in the recovery of over 100 children.

On behalf of these children, their families, and my entire constituency, I would like to formally praise Mark Earl on the floor of this House. His initiative and dedication to his community are to be commended. I am proud to call him my constituent and eager to honor him in person this evening.

Mr. Chairman, I certainly want to commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) for taking this very bold step on regulatory reform.

There is no question that we need regulatory reform. It has been estimated that Americans pay more than $800 billion a year to comply with regulatory burdens, and that amounts to about $8,000 per household. I am talking to you, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer out there.

The IRS alone accounts for about 80 percent of the paperwork burden on the public. In the House budget language, and I serve on the Committee on the Budget, I inserted some language on regulatory reform, and I would like to read just part of it: ``It is the sense of this House that Congress should establish a mechanism for reviewing Federal agencies and their regulations with the express purpose of making recommendations to Congress when agencies prove to be inefficient, duplicative, outdated, irrelevant, or fail to accomplish their intended purpose.''

Clearly, this will be the result of the gentleman from California's (Mr. Ose) very fine bill. Obviously, in accordance with the language in the House budget resolution, some of the provisions I would like to detail are that they strengthen the Congressional Review Act by providing Congress with more information much earlier in the process. It also provides Congress with in-house expertise comparable to the administration's experts at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Certainly, additional reforms are necessary. We need regulatory reform that goes even further than this very fine bill. And I am sure we will be seeing that later this year or next year. We must remember that the Constitutional responsibility in article 1, section 8 ``to make all laws which are necessary and proper'' rests with us.

Congress is elected by the people, for the people and is held accountable to the people. Having a regulatory system that reflects these principles are not only outlined in the Constitution but are reflected in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend and honor the Reverend Doctor Robin G. Murray of Spring Hill in my Fifth Congressional District of Florida. After thirty-five years as an Episcopalian minister, Reverend Murray is retiring in Spring Hill.

Reverend Murray was one of the first people I met when I moved to Florida. His friendship and civic-mindedness motivated me to become involved in the Hernando County Legislature, and he has been an inspiration ever since.

A loving husband, father of three, and grandfather of two, Reverend Murray has an

endless, mile-wide humanitarian streak of dedication to his family and community. His devotion improves the lives of everyone he meets. He is district governor of Spring Hill Rotary and a true civic leader who I am proud and fortunate to call my constituent.

It is my honor and pleasure to recognize Reverend Robin G. Murray on the floor of this chamber today.

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

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 165, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for yielding.

Coming from Florida, we obviously have a large number of seniors; and particularly in my district, we do not have wealthy seniors. The interim prescription drug card that is available, that began to become available yesterday, is a great benefit for so many of my constituents.

A lot of times there is a great fear of the unknown, and I think it is exactly what happened. I think that some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle in the Democrat Party had so frightened seniors that these cards were not going to be sufficient and that sufficient savings were not going to take place.

I have heard very positive comments from seniors in my district that the Web site is easy to navigate on. I actually, like you, also called Medicare because I wanted to make sure that there was not a big backlog or a long waiting period before you got a real person on the line, and that absolutely is not the fact. It is a very efficient system. There are operators standing by, and that number again is 1-800-MEDICARE, and you simply tell them your ZIP code and the number of prescriptions that you are taking now, and they will help you to navigate through which card is best for you.

I think it is important that Americans realize that, first of all, this is a voluntary prescription drug plan. It is not mandatory.

When one looks at the prescription drug cards, certainly it is not a one-size-fits-all scenario, nor should it be. Many people in my district have Tricare for life and/or they have retirement benefits from when they were employed, and they are happy with those. We want them to keep them. That is very important. I know that I worked with the two gentlemen here this evening, one from Georgia and the other from New Mexico, to make sure that we encouraged employers to continue to offer those benefits. How do we encourage them, with a tax-free subsidy.

I believe that the number of employers who will stop health care coverage to retirees, that the number of those that will stop will severely dwindle. I recently had a constituent come to me, and I am originally from New York. He had worked for a major power company there. He was so afraid that they were going to drop their coverage. Well, I called the power company for him as I told him I would do, and asked them exactly what their plans were, and explained the 28-cent subsidy tax free that they will receive. They have looked at the tax- free subsidy, they have no intention of dropping their coverage, and the constituent is very happy to know that the company that he had spent well over 35 years working for is going to continue the retiree coverage. As we worked on this bill, I know to many of us that was a very important factor.

I also visited the Web site, and here are a few examples of what I found on the Web site. For example, Lipitor, a common drug used to curb high cholesterol, according to the Medicare Web site, 17 Medicare discount cards are available to constituents living in, for example, Brooksville in my district, who take Lipitor. Most of the cards are accepted at over 8 different pharmacies within a 10-mile radius. Today, for example, seniors living in Dade City, Florida, are paying up to $87 for a 30-day supply of Lipitor. However, beginning in June, some of the cards will offer a 30-day supply for as low as $67. Many of the cards have no enrollment fee. That is a savings of $20 a month.

Another very common drug is Zyrtec, which is taken for allergies. Seniors in Crystal River are paying $86. According to the Medicare.gov line, one prescription discount card will only charge $58 a month for Zyrtec with no enrollment fee, and that means a $28 a month savings. There are many other examples of some of the other prescription drugs that also have savings, and I added some of them up. For example, Zyrtec, Lipitor, and Prevacid, which is used for acid reflux disease, the Prevacid, they actually will save $50 a month on by using the prescription drug cards. When we add all of this up, that is a savings of $350 a year, and that is if they are not low income. It is $350 this year, and $700 in 2005, and that is just for one prescription. If a senior took all three of these, they would save almost $600 this year. When you combine 2004 with 2005, it would be $1,100.

That is why I absolutely cannot understand why our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are supposed to be so concerned about the poor in our Nation have absolutely no concept of the benefits that this prescription drug bill will bring to every constituent.

As I went around in my district when we were off during April, I had many town hall meetings, and there were some things I said to people who said I do not need the plan, I have a great plan or I am on Tricare, I am covered for life, I am fine, no thank you. I said to them, well, for your friends and neighbors or maybe later in life you decide this is a good plan for you, but there are some great benefits in there for those on Medicare. For example, they will have a Welcome to Medicare physical exam that never before has been available.

There was scheduled by a previous Congress, not one that any of the three of us belonged to, but there was scheduled to be a Medicare home health copay. That copay for home health care, which is so necessary when someone comes out of a hospital setting, and they are coming out of hospitals a whole lot sooner now, and they go to the home, and having home health care is such a blessing because it helps them to be in their home where they will recuperate better and also have medical supervision. There was a copay scheduled to be to go into effect. The copay scheduled has been scrapped by the Medicare Modernization Act.

Additionally, there was a $1,500 physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy cap, a total of $1,500 a year for all the therapies. If you broke your wrist, $1,500 worth of therapy

might be okay; but Lord, if you have a stroke, you need all three of those therapies. You need physical, occupational and speech therapy, and $1,500 was just the tip of the iceberg for the needs of those who had had a stroke. We eliminated that very arbitrary and cruel $1,500 therapy cap which another session of Congress had imposed.

Additionally, doctor reimbursement. Physician reimbursement was scheduled to be cut by 4.5 percent. I was hearing, as were many of my colleagues in Congress, hearing that doctors were going to withdraw from Medicare because they had an unusual phenomenon of their Medicare reimbursement was going down and their expenses were going up, certainly including malpractice insurance. Those two storms, if you will, of rising costs and lower reimbursement were a problem on the horizon that this bill took care of. We did not cut physician reimbursement, we actually increased it by 1.5 percent so physicians are staying in the Medicare program.

With so many seniors in Florida, it is so important that we have adequate physicians, and it is funny the gentleman should mention the HMOs. In my area, so many of my constituents love HMOs. I actually was at an event last night in Lake County, and she said to me, What are you going to do to get some HMOs here? They had lived in another county that had a lot of HMOs, and she really appreciated HMOs and wanted to know when we were going to have an HMO in Lake County. I explained that is not something that the government mandates, but here is an example of somebody who is very happy with an HMO, and I have heard that from many of my constituents.

But for those who live in counties where HMOs are, this bill also increased the reimbursement to HMOs and mandated that they either increase the benefits to those subscribers who are in HMOs or that they cut the costs. In my area, in the Tampa Bay area, we have a variety. Some added services, and others cut the monthly subscription fee. So many people are very glad that the HMOs are being adequately reimbursed in this bill for those who love the HMO concept.

Mr. Speaker, it has been said that the cost of litigation drives up health care costs by 25 to 30 percent. It not only drives up physicians' costs and hospital costs but also pharmaceutical company costs because so many times there are extremely expensive lawsuits that are out there. Whether the lawsuit goes completely to court or whether it is settled out of court, all of this drives up the cost of health care. A lot of times, constituents will say to me, well, that medicine was actually patented 5 years ago. Why are they continuing to increase the price? It is a lot of times because of litigation that is ongoing that drags on for absolutely years.

When I was a State senator in Florida, I accomplished some tort reform in the area of nursing homes because we had nursing homes leaving the State. Accomplishing tort reform is a very difficult job. There is a very delicate balance there. You want to make sure that those who are harmed by an egregious act, that there is a method for compensation for them. But the number of frivolous lawsuits has gotten so out of hand. My constituents will come to me and say, isn't there some sort of law against filing frivolous lawsuits? In Florida we actually have a law. Does the gentleman know how many times judges have imposed fines on attorneys for filing frivolous lawsuits? There was one judge. It was an amount of money that he fined the lawyer that he could take it out of his wallet and hand it to the judge that day. Obviously, there is not enough of a financial disincentive there to thwart the number of lawsuits that are filed. Again, this drives up the cost of prescription drugs.

But getting back to the prescription drug bill, passage of this bill is one way that we can help so many low-income seniors. My mother-in- law was only on Social Security. The pharmacist came to us, gave me a call and said, you know, she's not refilling her prescriptions often enough. My husband and I took over and assisted with helping her with her prescription drug costs. But there are so many families out there who cannot or will not for some reason help their elderly parents or grandparents. The passage of this bill gives seniors dignity because they do not have to turn to their children. I think that is an important concept that we may have not promoted enough and that certainly the other side is missing. For somebody who only has Social Security, you cannot afford car payments and insurance payments and your rent and food and buy those prescription drugs. Believe me, my mother-in-law is not atypical. There are so many seniors who are in exactly that situation, older teachers who outlived their pension, just a lot of seniors who only have Social Security or very, very small pension amounts. They will fall into this category of a single person with $12,568 or a couple of $16,861. There are so many people who will benefit from this.

I say shame on the Democrats in this House for not promoting this bill in their districts, for again engaging in the Mediscare tactics of the past.

Mr. Speaker, I want to speak briefly this evening on the House budget and the House budget resolution. It is a responsible budget that has a proper balancing of national priorities. However, Congress cannot get a control on government spending and reduce the deficit unless we find a way to combat waste.

We right now are spending $69,000 per second. The 2005 House budget seeks to weed out waste, fraud and abuse, and builds on our successes of 2004.

Last year the Committee on the Budget, which I am very proud to serve on, began an effort to identify the most blatant examples of waste, fraud and abuse in the Federal mandatory programs. One year later, we know with certainty that we have not even scratched the surface.

For example, the Inspector General of the Department of Education found that States are not complying with the Federal regulations for distributing IDEA funds to local agencies. In a review of six States, half were not complying. Many local education agencies were receiving an incorrect allocation. Some were underfunded by as much as $600,000 and some overfunded by more than $800,000.

The budget that we passed also provides for the permanent extension of the President's tax cuts, the marriage penalty on which we voted earlier, the death tax, and also the child tax credit. Included in the House budget which we passed was language that I had suggested, suggesting the importance of regulatory inform.

Let me briefly quote from the budget resolution: ``It is the sense of the House that Congress should establish a mechanism for reviewing Federal agencies and their regulations with the express purpose of making recommendations to Congress when agencies prove to be inefficient, duplicative, outdated, irrelevant, or fail to accomplish their intended purpose.''

Some would think that we could do away with half of the Federal bureaucracy with that description.

To continue with the language that is in the budget: ``It is an economic reality that unnecessary and ineffective regulations discourage investment and run counter to a holistic vision of growth. They increase prices for consumers, and they suppress job creation. Making agencies more accountable to Congress and the American taxpayer will lead to more efficient practices and less waste.''

Based on these findings, I have introduced legislation to reduce wasteful government bureaucracy. It is actually called the JAPC bill, or the Joint Administrative Procedures bill, and it is House Resolution 3356.

I introduced it because during my term as a State Senator I had the privilege of serving on the Florida JAPC commission. It is a bipartisan commission made up of House and Senate members who were charged with the responsibility and the authority of reviewing agency rulemaking. Our State knew that excessive paperwork and burdensome regulations thwarted economic growth and global competitiveness. The accountability will lead to far more efficient practices and much less waste.

The JAPC Act that I introduced is very similar because it establishes a bicameral committee modeled after the Florida system to review agency rules. It also builds on the success of the Congressional Review Act, which was implemented in 1996 as part of the Contract With America.

Mr. Speaker, it has been estimated that Americans pay more than $700 billion a year to comply with regulatory burdens, and that is more than $8,000 per household. I believe that it is time to put the brakes on this unnecessary and ineffective runaway system of regulations that we have. I hope that Democrats, like the gentleman running for President, will embrace regulatory reform and eliminate this burden from the American economy and the taxpayer before they seek out new ways to raise our taxes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the Brooksville City Police Department for their commitment to maintaining law and order while safeguarding county residents. Hernando County has grown tremendously. It is regarded as one of the fastest growing counties in the nation with a population that has increased 330 percent since 1980. This growth has presented new challenges to our local law enforcement agencies. Thanks to the leadership and commitment of Sheriff Nugent and Police Chief Boyce, Hernando County continues to be provided effective and professional law enforcement.

I would like to recognize the bravery and selflessness of the fine individuals who wear the badge as this week marks Hernando County Law Enforcement Appreciation Week. These fine individuals who serve in law enforcement are an exceptional breed. They serve in the line of fire to protect us from harm's way and ask for little in return. The brave men and women of Hernando County law enforcement have more than earned our gratitude and whole hearted support. I am so very proud of our local sheriffs and police and happily thank them for their service and dedication to the county's safety. The residents of Hernando County and I are indebted to them.