Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, there are so many reasons why these tax cuts that have been proposed in the President's budget are irresponsible. One of them, obviously, is the fact that just as the budget deficits and the public debt balloons in 2008 and thereafter is when the baby boom generation, our generation, starts to retire. So we are no longer making money, helping to solve the problem; we become the problem. When I say ``we,'' I refer to the fact that most of the Members of Congress are members of the baby boom generation. We are going to double the retirement numbers, and yet what we would be doing with this tax cut is to use every last dime of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds to pay for these tax cuts. Mr. Speaker, $4.4 trillion over the next decade. That is the first element of irresponsibility.

Second, of course, is that we do not know what the costs are really going to be from other parts of the budget. We had an analysis in The New York Times yesterday. They consulted the

Congressional Budget Office, any number of distinguished economists, all of the best sources, to figure out what might be the cost of war in Iraq and of fulfilling the responsibilities that the President said that he would make us responsible for once we go in. They estimated the costs would be between $100 billion and roughly $569 billion. The point is, we do not know what the cost is, yet we are going to go ahead with these tax cuts when we do not know how much money we are going to have available. So we have no idea how much we are going to be borrowing from the next generation.

The third that has been aptly discussed is the fact that the money is going to the very wealthiest people in this country, the people who needed the tax cut the least and who are the least likely to spend it immediately to stimulate the economy. So it does not make a whole lot of economic sense when what we are really trying to do is to pull this country out of a lingering recession.

The last issue that I would like to address is some of the foregone alternatives that are caused as a result of the tax cut. Today we heard from the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The administration has a prescription drug plan. They are touting it. They should be ashamed of it, because the fact is that it is woefully inadequate. Medicare beneficiaries are going to spend more than $1.8 trillion on prescription drugs over the next 10 years, and even if every dollar of the President's proposal went to our prescription drug coverage, which it will not, there is really only about $300 billion that actually goes to covering prescription drugs, the plan would only cover 22 percent of beneficiaries' medication needs. Seniors who spend more than $5,500 of their own money would get only 20 percent reimbursement for their drug costs.

But it seems to me that when we look at a plan like this, we really ought to consider what we get as Members of Congress, and there is where the deficiency is most pronounced. The President wants seniors to pay a $275 deductible each year. Most Members of Congress pay no deductible. The President wants seniors to pay 50 percent coinsurance for the first $3,000. Members of Congress only pay 25 percent. The President wants seniors to have a gap in coverage where they pay 100 percent of the cost when their need is between $3,000 and roughly $7,000. Most Members of Congress have no gaps in prescription drug coverage, and yet the administration says that they want it modeled after the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan.

Mr. Speaker, it is not just the prescription drug coverage that is going to be necessarily inadequate. The Medicaid program is going to be capped with block grants. We look at programs like housing programs, HOPE 6 that the President has touted and, in fact, HOPE 6 is eliminated in this budget. This budget cuts education, it cuts 36,000 seniors from Meals-on-Wheels, not to mention No Child Left Behind which was the President's principal domestic initiative, and it is $619 million less than what is needed just to offset inflation. I could go down a long list. I am not going to do that.

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the President's budget and the President's economic plan does the American people an injustice. It needs to be defeated.

Mr. Speaker, the biggest problem with the tax cut that President Bush has proposed is not that it is going to require over $4 trillion in lost Federal revenue over the next decade, it is not that it is going to create more than a $2 trillion deficit, and it is not that the majority of it is going to go to those who need it the least, the biggest problem is that we do not know what the cost of the war is.

We have gone down this road before and we wound up quadrupling the public debt. The responsible thing to do is to hold off on tax cuts until we know what the cost of this conflict in Iraq will amount to, until we have some sense of how long we are going to have to stay there, until we have some sense of what it will cost to reconstruct that country, until we have some sense of what it will cost to establish a stable democracy before we get out of there and allow it to return to the kind of despotic leadership that it is subject to today.

So let us be prudent. Let us hold off on tax cuts. If we must, we should proceed with a prudent foreign policy with regard to the Middle East. Let us rid the world of weapons of mass destruction to the extent we can do so, but let us not break the bank in the United States and pass the bill on to our children.

Let us be prudent and fiscally responsible. Let us put off tax cuts until we know what kind of expense we are undertaking with regard to the war in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life's work of a retired American diplomat and longtime Alexandria, VA resident Omero Sabatini. Mr. Sabatini's crowning achievement is his modem translation of Italy's most treasured novel, I Promessi Sposi, or Promise of Fidelity, written by Italy's foremost novelist Alessandro Manzoni.

With extensive experience in promoting intercultural relations and translating from and into Italian, Mr. Sabatini has interpreted at the highest levels of government in both the United States and Europe, and has published numerous booklets, articles and human-interest stories in both English and Italian. He is active in several Italian-American organizations and is a member of a number of associations of retired U.S. Foreign Service Officers.

Born in Indiana, Mr. Sabatini lived in Italy from the age of three until his early twenties. He attended Italian high schools, and it was there that he became an admirer of Italian literature and all things Italian.

He devoted most of his professional life to promoting U.S. exports, but in retirement chose to spend a large share of his time translating this Italian literary masterpiece. He undertook this task as an act of love, and out of a desire to make this great Italian classic better known in the United States and other parts of the English-speaking world.

When the novel that he has translated was first published in its original Italian, Edgar Allan Poe, and the great German poet, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, praised it enthusiastically. Sir Walter Scott called it the ``greatest romance of modem times,'' and Giuseppe Verdi, who composed his Requiem Mass to honor Manzoni's memory, thought that it was one of the greatest books ever written. This novel is also included in the original Harvard Classics series, under the old English title, ``The Betrothed''.

Throughout the years, several attempts have been made to translate this novel into English, but most of them have failed to capture the intensity and vividness of Manzoni's imagination. Mr. Sabatini's work, however, has been highly praised and admired by scholars from prestigious universities and other institutions of higher learning.

Though set in 17th century northern Italy, ``Promise of Fidelity'' is a timeless and universal tale that touches on every human feeling, passion and behavior. It tells the story of two young fiances separated by the events that marked Europe's dramatic political and social scene.

I concur with the vast majority of experts who feel that this novel is required reading for anyone interested in learning about Italian and world literature, but also those intrigued with how Italian social, intellectual, and artistic patrimony has helped shape our own American culture and our outlook on life. I salute Mr. Sabatini's work, as it will continue to provide learned enjoyment for many generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of a hometown hero, Dr. David Brown from Arlington, Virginia. His abundant passion for life and fearless pursuit of the farthest frontiers of space will serve as an inspiration for generations to come.

A graduation of Yorktown High School in Arlington, David's educational path led him to the College of William and Mary, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology. With an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding of the world around him, David entered Eastern Virginia Medical School, earning his doctorate in 1982.

David then heeded the call to service of his country by joining the Navy. For over a decade, David was a highly respected flight surgeon and became the first of his rank selected for pilot training. Driven by his childhood dream to fly, David graduated first in his flight class. Over the course of his exemplary medical military career, he piloted A- 60 Intruders, F-18 Hornets, and T-38 Talons.

Not content to remain constricted beneath the blanket of Earth's atmosphere, David continued venturing where many have dreamed but few have ever gone. His acceptance of an invitation to join NASA in April of 1996 began a dramatic new chapter in David's life. Stationed at Johnson Space Center in Texas and at Patuxent Naval Air Station in St. Mary's County, Maryland, he trained for 7 years in anticipation of what would be the greatest and final thrill of his daring and accomplished life.

On February 1, 2003, David Brown and the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia were tragically lost during reentry. But these brave souls in no way died in vain. Their memory will not be forgotten as space travel continues to break new boundaries in the exploration of the heavens.

Current astronauts and those of tomorrow are reminded of the risks they assume, but in that knowledge lies an ironclad certainty that this is a mission that must continue for the betterment of all mankind.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of the Ferris Foundation and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education for understanding the importance of international education programs.

In 1989, Dr. Richard Ferris created the Ferris Foundation for Graduate Education, Inc. to nurture the strong bonds between the people and institutions of the United States and Ireland. Since the beginning, the Ferris Foundation has invested resources in the creation of academic projects providing postgraduate education to outstanding scholars of both countries. Over the years, the Ferris Foundation has brought excellent young scholars from universities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to the United States for advanced studies in management and finance.

Last year, the Ferris Foundation and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education embarked on a partnership to give both African-American and Irish students an opportunity to learn about the Irish and African-American cultures that exist in their respective countries.

The rector of the university system in Ireland worked with Dr. Ferris and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education to facilitate the implementation of this innovative program. The Association identified a number of scholarly and well-rounded students from some of the most prestigious African-American universities. The four students who were selected for graduate study in Ireland include: James Keeton of Albany State; Akisha Campbell of Florida A & M University; Joseph Easter of Jackson State University and Keisha Senter of Florida A & M University. These four distinguished scholars will experience Irish culture through a planned program of graduate study and through employment in an American corporation in Ireland.

This unique project not only provides each participant with a superior graduate education but also an introductory employment experience and a perspective on American culture seen through their new ``Irish eyes.''

I wish the Ferris Foundation and the Republic of Ireland and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education well as they continue on the path of fostering cultural exchange and embodying the motto of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education in ``Keeping the Doors of Opportunity Open.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the accomplishments of Dr. William Claiborn during his 21 years of outstanding and dedicated service as Executive Director of the Alexandria Community Services Board and Director of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Claiborn has taken the Alexandria Community Services Board from an organization of four facilities to a nationally recognized provider serving over 4,000 Alexandrians in 63 facilities. Under his dynamic leadership, the Community Services Board has made many tremendous accomplishments. From creating a nationally recognized Sober Living Unit at the Alexandria Detention Center to establishing the Parent-Infant Education Program that assists infants with developmental disabilities and their families, Dr. Claiborn has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty to help others.

Dr. Claiborn's extraordinary commitment to improving the lives of his fellow Alexandrians, Virginians and Americans suffering from mental health problems; mental retardation and substance abuse has been a true blessing to those in need. His work in partnering with state and regional leaders led to the development of new Medicaid rules in 1989, representing a major positive change in social policy. Dr. Claiborn also spearheaded a regional cooperative effort to provide funding and carry out the discharge of people from state hospitals into the care of the Community Services Boards, where they would receive better treatment and higher quality care.

Mr. Speaker, it is with the greatest pleasure that I recognize Dr. Claiborn today. He is a brilliant and exceptionally compassionate public servant who has devoted his life to the betterment of our society and the people of Alexandria, Virginia, a city in which he has long served. The benefits of Dr. Claiborn's tireless efforts on behalf of the less fortunate will resonate not only in the present, but throughout Alexandria's history for decades to come.

Mr. Speaker, the principal thing that people are talking about, particularly the President of this country, is a $600 billion economic stimulus plan. Yet here we are at the same time debating whether we should help a million families whose breadwinner has been out of work, who has been searching for work, whether we should provide them 38 percent of the income that they had been getting from their job to put food on the table for their families.

And if we do not extend this, what happens to those families? Think about the faces behind the statistics. They stop payment on their mortgage. They have to pull their kids out of college. All kinds of suffering we cannot imagine. Yet we can put up $600 billion in tax cuts instead of providing five percent of that amount for people who would spend that money immediately.

Any economic stimulus needs to be fast acting, it needs to be fiscally responsible, and it needs to be fair. What could be fairer than providing the unemployment insurance for those people who have exhausted their benefits? All we asked for was an opportunity to vote on whether or not we could and should do that. We were denied that opportunity to vote.

We are going to vote for extending unemployment insurance for the part of the people who will be helped by this, but it is not the population that needs it the most. That is what we should be doing today, providing economic stimulus to the people who need it the most, who have been hard working, who are suffering because we have the highest unemployment rate we have had for 9 years, who cannot find a job. So let us let them keep being able to feed their families, keep their homes until they find that job, until the economy recovers.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from Utah for yielding to me. I knew Wayne, particularly having had the opportunity to travel to the Middle East with him, and one thing that struck anyone who got to know him was how profoundly proud he was of having served in this institution. He served as an aide to Bobby Kennedy and to others. He worked in a number of political campaigns. Politics was his life. But he saw politics as an instrument to do good, to make lasting and positive change.

His colleagues from Utah have talked about the environmental progress that he was able to achieve. He did any number of things in bringing diverse groups together. But I have to believe as his lifelong career pursuit, at least the latter part of his life, was dedicated to bringing about peace in the Middle East. He founded the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation.

He took a great many risks, not just personally and politically, but even physically. He had tremendous courage. That courage came from the personal belief in what he was doing. He put his own safety far below the importance of what he knew needed to be done in bringing about peace and reconciliation in one of the world's most conflicted parts. He found ways to build bridges. He loved people on both sides and found that commonality and worked on that commonality.

And I want to quote from somebody that not only founded the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation but was a very close friend of Wayne's, an intimate friend of Wayne's. They shared objectives. They loved each other. And that is Danny Abraham. Danny sent out a letter from the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. I want to quote from it. He says with regard to Wayne, ``He was respected, loved and cherished by all who knew him. Wayne's single-minded devotion to continued dialogue and peace between Israelis and Arabs in the Middle East, even in the most challenging of circumstances, gave us the hope and courage we could have never found on our own. Wayne never faltered from his dream that one day Israelis and Arabs would live in peace and he had the magic, the gift of nurturing that dream in everyone he met. My beloved friend Wayne was a true servant of peace and he lived and died serving humanity. May Wayne Owens' life, his dedication and belief in us not be wasted. Together we must recommit ourselves to the pursuit of peace.''

That will be Wayne's legacy, to help us recommit ourselves in the pursuit of the noblest objectives that he committed his life to. Again I want to thank my friend and colleague from Utah (Mr. Cannon). Let us memorialize Wayne in the actions that we take to further the vision that he had for peace, not only in the Middle East but throughout the world.