Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, American small businesses supply goods and services throughout the world. These businesses have led the way in providing innovative solutions to private and public sector challenges.

When Federal agencies spend taxpayers' funds, they should look to American small businesses first before outsourcing to foreign companies. In this age of high-speed communication and global transportation, American workers can contribute to American projects anywhere on earth.

This amendment does not require Federal agencies to use American small businesses for every project. It simply sets expectations that these agencies look first to American small businesses to meet their needs.

I urge passage of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield to the cosponsor of this amendment, Mr. Chabot.

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

Mr. Chairman, I want to commend Ranking Member Chabot and Chairwoman Velazquez for her hard work and dedication on this amendment, along with this bill, an outstanding job.

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

Madam Speaker, on Monday, May 7, I was unable to vote on rollcall votes Nos. 302, 303, or 304 due to a family obligation. Had I been present I would have voted ``yes'' on each vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Peace Officers Memorial Day, honoring Federal, State, and local peace officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. Our law enforcement officers dedicate and risk their lives daily to protect our Nation and ensure that our neighborhoods are safer.

More than 56,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted every year, and in 2006, 143 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. No words can adequately express our gratitude for their sacrifice and service. My heart goes out to the families and friends who have lost loved ones in the line of duty, and to those officers who have been harmed while serving this great country.

A few months ago, Western North Carolina lost one of our own brave officers. Police Officer Shawn Joshua Dean Williams died while responding to a fellow officer's call for assistance in Old Fort, North Carolina. He was only 23 years old. He is survived by his wife, Shannon Kirby Williams; his young daughter, Ryleigh Alexis; and his parents, Max Suttles and Holly Williams.

Mr. Speaker, Officer Williams' life was an example of service for all of us to follow.

I ask my colleagues to join me in expressing sadness over all the officers lost in the line of duty and to acknowledge the dedication of all law enforcement officers who protect and serve our communities every day.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I am proud to be a product of Head Start. As a young boy, I attended a Head Start program, and that helped make me the man that I am today.

It's time for Congress to recognize that faith communities contribute to Head Start. That's why I am proud to introduce this amendment today, along with Congressman Ellsworth, Congressman Donnelly, Congressman Carney and Congressman Loebsack.

This amendment thanks the community and faith-based organizations for the good work that they have done running the Head Start programs. It also confirms its right to continue running these programs.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Donnelly).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Ellsworth).

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. I was saddened to learn of her passing after her courageous battle with cancer, and my thoughts and prayers are with her husband, James McDonald, Jr., their five children and five grandchildren--as well as the people of the 37th district of California.

Congresswoman Millender-McDonald served this Congress honorably for over five terms, during which time she was a tireless advocate for underserved communities in the U.S. and around the globe. Among her many accomplishments, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald secured critical funding for counseling services for our servicemen and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and was instrumental in the passage of important AIDS-prevention programs in Africa. The Congresswoman was also a staunch advocate for the rights of women, minorities, children, and the elderly.

Congresswoman Millender-McDonald will also be remembered as a preeminent leader and trailblazer. She was the first-ever African- American or woman to chair the Committee on House Administration where she worked hard to ensure that all Americans would be guaranteed their rights at the voting booth. As the Democratic Chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, Congresswoman Millender- McDonald convened groundbreaking meetings with then-UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan to discuss global poverty programs, as well as the New York Stock Exchange to find ways to empower women in the workplace.

Madam Speaker, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald led an exemplary life of public service that included her most recent position as the ``Mayor of Capitol Hill''. The House community lost a true friend. May God rest her soul.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 1332, the Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2007.

As an entrepreneur, I understand the difficulties that small business owners face on a daily basis. I also know that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, both nationally and in western North Carolina.

Small businesses account for over half of all of our jobs in the U.S. and are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of all of our new jobs. For our small businesses to continue to grow and prosper, we must help them gain access to capital.

The bill will grant American entrepreneurs that access to capital by updating and streamlining SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan programs. Additionally, this bill will eliminate loan fees for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a member of the Small Business Committee, I urge all Members to support this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of House Resolution 179, expressing support for National Foster Parents Day.

There are over half a million children in foster care in this country. Every child deserves to have a safe and loving home, where they do not have to worry about the fear of harm or of being abandoned. While caring for a child is never easy, foster parents have additional difficulties to work through. All foster care children need special care, support and nurturing. There are a wide array of issues that these children are dealing with such as abandonment, physical or sexual abuse, undisciplined or delinquent behaviors, and physical or emotional handicaps and disabilities. Foster parents are challenged with helping their foster children feel secure and loved, while they also work through many of these difficult issues.

And while immensely challenging, foster parenting is also immeasurably rewarding. When foster parents open their homes and hearts--sacrificing, while giving support and love--they change children's lives. Many foster parents go on to adopt the children that they have in their home--60 percent of children who are adopted after they have been in foster care are adopted by foster parents. These children are given what every child deserves--a permanent home and a loving family.

It is important to recognize and honor the crucial role that foster parents play in shaping the lives of hundreds of thousands of children each year. Because of this, I stand here today in support of a National Foster Parents Day, to honor their invaluable sacrifice, dedication, and selfless commitment to improving the lives of children.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, today I rise in support of H.R. 1361, the RECOVER Act. This bill is a strong step in the right direction to ensure that the problems small businesses face in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita will never repeat.

I know firsthand the difficulties that small businesses face after a natural disaster. It is vital for our community to know that the government stands with them in their hour of greatest need.

My district recently suffered disastrous weather, which wiped out nearly the entire crop of apples, strawberries and ornamental horticulture. I asked the people of the community to join together in prayer for the farmers and their families as they work through this crisis. Just like the small business owners of the gulf region and other areas affected by disaster, these farmers need the quick and effective response of their government in their time of greatest need.

I commend Chairwoman Velazquez for her work on this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to offer my thoughts and prayers to the family of those who died yesterday at Virginia Tech and all those affected by this senseless tragedy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation, H.R. 1677, the Taxpayer Protection Act of 2007.

As we mark the deadline for Federal income taxes today, this bill takes important steps to simplify the tax process for family-owned small businesses, which are the backbone of our country and our economy.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will allow both spouses in a family-owned business to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes as a sole proprietorship, not as a partnership.

Mr. Speaker, when a husband and wife owns a business together, they are really collecting only one paycheck. They should only have to pay taxes once.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, we entered the fifth year of the war in Iraq. Throughout that this Congress has provided the President with all the resources needed to wage this war. However, this body failed to provide any of the oversight he needed. Today, this Congress will correct that lack of oversight, while still providing our troops the funding they need and our military leaders the flexibility they require.

Today we say an open-ended commitment to this war is no longer acceptable. We say that we will no longer grant the President a blank check.

The war in Iraq has already lasted longer than World War I, World War II, and the Civil War. Continuing this war in the same manner with no accountability from the Administration or requirements on the Iraqi government is unacceptable.

Today, we stand up for our men and women in uniform; we honor our veterans, and we begin a new course to securing Iraq by passing H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act.

Passing this emergency funding guarantees our troops will have the equipment and resources they need. This bill demands that our troops are fully mission capable and meet the readiness standards set by the Department of Defense before we send them to war. And this bill demands the Iraqis get off the sidelines and begin fighting for their country.

The people of Western North Carolina sent me to Congress to ask the tough questions and demand accountability on this war. I have attended briefings at the White House and the Pentagon where I have been able to ask those questions. I have spoken to generals and troops on the ground, veterans and the families of those fighting. I have listened to my constituents, and I have prayed. I am confident that supporting this bill is the proper course of action. Soldiers support this bill. Generals support this bill. Veterans support this bill. The families of those fighting support this bill. A vote against this bill is a vote against our troops.

I am confident that this bill is a step in the right direction towards promoting a just and stable Iraq, and in bringing our nation closer to the day when all of our troops can return home to the warm welcome of a grateful Nation. May God bless our troops and their families, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, as water bills continue to rise larger, in the rural communities throughout the country home water bills have increased faster than the rate of inflation. Over 50,000 community water systems serve populations under 10,000. In North Carolina, 95 percent of our community water systems service populations of less than 10,000.

Currently, rural populations across America are being forced to comply with costly regulations. At this time, many rural areas have a greater percentage of the poverty and lower mean household income.

This is imposing a major burden on the rural families of America. In the same rural communities, some citizens are now paying 770 percent more for the water services than that of urban populations.

The Conaway-Shuler amendment does not call for more money or strike existing language. This is a fiscally responsible approach which points us in the right direction to take some of the strain off of the rural communities as they struggle to provide safety.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I most certainly would. In rural America, they struggle so often. Although it is not binding, it doesn't cost any more; I would certainly like to see this in the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Specialist Kenneth D. Hess; Sergeant Kevin D. Akins; Specialist Prince K. Teewia; Specialist Robert T. Johnson; Lance Corporal David S. Parr; Specialist David N. Timmons, Jr.; Sergeant Anton J. Hiett; Sergeant Jessie Davila; Air Force Civilian Daniel J. Kuhlmeier; Staff Sergeant Jay T. Collado; Second Lieutenant Almar L. Fitzgerald; Sergeant Rickey E. Jones; Staff Sergeant Gregson G. Gourley; Private First Class Christopher L. Marion; Private First Class Allan A. Morr; Staff Sergeant Curtis T. Howard II; Sergeant Gordon F. Misner II; Specialist Thomas J. Wilwerth; Private Joshua Francis Powers; Sergeant Dimitri Muscat; Staff Sergeant Gregory A. Wagner; Specialist Aaron P. Latimer; Sergeant Alessandro Carbonaro; Private First Class Eric D. Clark; Specialist Armer N. Burkart; First Lieutenant Ryan T. Sanders; Sergeant Carlos E. Pernell; Corporal Andy D. Anderson; Staff Sergeant Richard A. Blakley; Sergeant Mark T. Smykowski; First Lieutenant Scott M. Love; Private First Class Davod N. Crombie; and Second Lieutenant John Shaw Vaughan.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, as an entrepreneur myself, I am proud to stand strong in support of our Nation's small business owners. Western North Carolina is blessed with thousands of small manufacturers, technology entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, and restaurant owners. Small businesses are the backbone of our Nation's economy.

Today's legislation will cut taxes and increase opportunities for our small business communities. This is what happens when Democrats and Republicans work together.

I would like to thank the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means for their efforts on this bill. I look forward to working with them in further addressing the needs of small businesses and increasing opportunities for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in support of this resolution because for 4 years this administration has driven us down the wrong road in Iraq. The administration's newest proposal does nothing more than accelerate our pace further and further away from our obligation of stabilizing Iraq and getting our troops home.

Our men and women in uniform have performed bravely and done everything

asked of them. Yet, 4 years into this conflict, we have our troops driving unarmored humvees in enemy territory.

Meanwhile, our government cannot account for roughly $12 billion allocated for the war in Iraq. With that $12 billion, we could have made the following purchases for our men and women in harm's way: 80,000 armor kits for humvees; 16,000 armored security vehicles; 20 million bulletproof vests; 40 million helmets. That money is gone. It disappeared in a cloud of waste, fraud and incompetence that has engulfed this war from the beginning.

In the words of Three Star General Greg Newbold, ``Members of Congress, from both parties, defaulted in fulfilling their constitutional responsibility for oversight.''

Now, this administration wants Congress to rubber stamp an escalation and continuation of those same failed policies. Well, that time is over.

My fellow Blue Dogs and I have made a public commitment to root out war profiteering. We demand oversight. We demand accountability. We demand transparency. The Blue Dogs and I will do everything in our power to make sure when we say we are funding our troops, the money actually gets to our troops.

Mr. Speaker, our military defeated a terrible dictator. This is what they were asked to do, but for 4 years now, we have asked those same troops to rebuild a Nation, and we have asked them to do this without a plan.

Now, this administration has asked us to send over 20,000 more military troops to continue trying to rebuild Iraq, still with no plan. Mr. Speaker, that is wrong.

I believe it is the patriotic responsibility of every Member of Congress to ask those tough questions. I promised the people of Western North Carolina that I would ask those questions. I have been to the White House, I have been to the Pentagon, and I have been to the hearings, and I am not satisfied with the answers I am getting.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution we are debating is not a binding resolution, but the grief felt by families who have lost loved ones is binding. The physical and mental struggles of our returning troops are binding. The devastation caused to innocent people by the violence in Iraq is binding.

It is a moral outrage to continue sending troops into harm's way without a plan for success.

This administration must realize that military might alone is not enough to secure Iraq and end the civil war.

Victory in Iraq requires more than bullets and bombs. It requires the cooperation of the Iraqi government, increased regional diplomacy, and competent leadership at home.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the memory of Police Officer Shawn Joshua Dean Williams. Officer Williams died while responding to a fellow officer's call for assistance last Thursday night in Old Fort, North Carolina. He was only 23 years old.

I offer my condolences to his wife, Shannon Kirby Williams; his young daughter, Rye-Lee Alexis; his parents, Max Suttles and mother Holly Williams; and all of his family and friends.

I also want to extend my thoughts and prayers to his fellow Old Fort police officers and the entire law enforcement community in McDowell County.

Mr. Speaker, Officer Williams' life was an example of service for all of us to follow.

I ask my colleagues to join me in expressing remorse at all the passings and the dedication of all law enforcement officers and gratitude to all those who protect and serve our communities every day.