Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act and against this motion to recommit.

My friends, this is a cynical attempt by the Republican leadership to kill a bill that they never liked from the start. Too many people worked too hard and for too long on this legislation to let it be derailed now.

274 Members have cosponsored the bill. Three committees have passed it. And my two good friends, Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad, have worked for years to reach this vote today. I will not let their hard work be for nothing.

Mr. Speaker, I know what it's like to live every day with a disability and how important it is to have the care and the resources that allow me to live a normal life. See, you can see my disability. It's obvious. But with a wheelchair, with adaptive equipment, it really levels the playing field. With other support I can live a very fulfilling and normal life.

But, Mr. Speaker, there are millions of people across this country who live with a silent disability, a hidden disability, struggling day in and day out with substance abuse, mental illness, chemical imbalance, other mental illness challenges, and they don't have the support that they need, and they struggle day in and day out. They don't have the support they need because they don't have mental health parity. We have the opportunity to change that and give them the care and the support that they need to live a normal life.

Patrick Kennedy, my good friend, has had the courage to speak for all those suffering from the hidden disability of mental illness. He's been a champion and a leader, and millions of people across this country are looking to him right now and they will be looking at all of us to pass this bill and allow them the access and the care and the treatment that they deserve. We can't let them down.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill and reject this cynical attempt and specious motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, on February 28, 2008, I was away from the Chamber and unable to vote. I would like the Record to reflect that, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote Nos. 85, 86 and 87.

Mr. chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which will reauthorize the Higher Education Act for 5 years. This is the first time in almost a decade that this bill has been reauthorized, and I am proud to be part of a Congress that has placed such a high priority on making college a reality for all of our nation's students. This bill builds on legislation that passed last year to help lower college costs and boost Federal loan support for our students. Especially with the state of our economy, it is imperative that we invest in our education system to promote new employment and ensure that today's students can adapt to the jobs of tomorrow.

Two of the main goals of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act are to make a college education accessible to all students and to lower college costs for those students and their families. I am pleased that this bill increases the maximum amount of Pell Grants, which help 5.5 million low-income and minority students attend college, from $5,800 to $9,000. This measure also boosts funding for the TRIO program and the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP), which provide college readiness and support for low-income and first-generation students. H.R. 4137 ensures equal college opportunities for students with disabilities by creating a national center to improve college recruitment, retention, and completion of students with disabilities, and would also expand eligibility for Pell Grants for students with intellectual disabilities.

H.R. 4137 also establishes a user-friendly website to provide students and families with helpful information about college pricing, and will streamline the cumbersome filing process for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Families will now be able to receive estimates of their expected contribution and the amount of financial aid they may receive. H.R. 4137 requires higher education institutions and student loan providers to give borrowers fair and full information on their loan terms and repayment options, as well as promote financial literacy and education for students and families. This measure also helps

reduce the cost of textbooks, which on average sets back a student $1,000 per year, by making sure professors have full textbook pricing when making purchasing decisions and by ensuring students receive advanced lists of textbooks for their upcoming classes.

One of the goals of the 110th Congress is to create a new generation of innovators so that we continue to build an educated, skilled workforce in the vital areas of science, math, engineering and information technology. To maintain our international competitiveness and economic advantage in the coming years, our Nation must invest more in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. That is why I am pleased that H.R. 4137 includes many new initiatives and increases funding for STEM education. These new programs include grants for colleges and universities to provide incentives for students in STEM majors to teach in these academic areas; the YES Partnership Grant Program, which provides funding to eligible colleges to support minority youth engagement in STEM fields through out-reach and hands-on experiential learning; and the ``Robert C. Byrd Mathematics and Science Honors Scholarship Program'' which focuses on encouraging students to earn degrees in math and science.

H.R. 4137 increases college aid and support for our veterans and military families by requiring colleges and universities to treat students returning from military service as continuously enrolled students and preventing active duty servicemembers from accruing interest on student loans for the duration of their activation. The measure also encourages those students who commit to a job in high-need areas and public service for at least 5 years by establishing a $10,000 loan forgiveness program for nurses, early childhood educators, foreign language specialists, child welfare workers, school counselors, public sector employees, medical specialists, and mental health professionals. This measure further addresses the shortage of nursing faculty by establishing competitive grants to fund scholarships for nurses studying for advanced degrees with the intention of becoming faculty.

In recent years, our country's college and university campuses have seen unnecessary tragedies. H.R 4137 will boost campus safety by helping all colleges develop and implement state of the art emergency systems and campus safety plans, and will also create a National Center for Campus Safety at the Department of Justice. Administrators and students on campuses across the country have also pushed for environmental, or ``green'', initiatives, and this measure supports these efforts by providing funding for environmental sustainability programs.

Mr. Chairman, H.R 4137 shows that Congress is committed to the success of our students, and we will work to make sure that they can pursue their dreams without the burdens of unnecessary costs and debt. While we may find ourselves facing hard economic decisions, we must empower the next generation with the necessary tools and invest in their education. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act will set a blueprint for the future, and I encourage all my colleagues to vote for this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my deep concern about the budget request that President Bush transmitted to Congress earlier this week. By cutting programs important to working families and ignoring the significant economic downturn our Nation is facing, the administration has yet again demonstrated that its priorities are not those of the American people.

Our Nation is facing the real threat of a recession, and our government should be doing everything in its power to get our economy moving and to protect the American people from financial hardship. While the President has said he wants to work with Congress on an economic stimulus package, his budget request contains a number of devastating cuts to important programs that will make it even harder for our citizens to make ends meet.

Despite widespread recognition that fixing the U.S. economy will require addressing our weak housing market, the President's proposal only adds to the uncertainty that families are facing. This budget would slash funding for public housing and rental assistance programs, eliminating critical aid for lower income families, the elderly and minorities, many of whom may be facing foreclosure as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis. In Rhode Island, 400 families are at risk of losing their homes under the President's cuts to Section 8 vouchers. At the same time, he proposes to slash the Community Development Block Grant, CDBG, program, which provides vital funding for economic and community development in our State's cities and counties.

A real economic plan should also include an investment in education and job training programs that will promote new employment and ensure that our workforce can adapt to the jobs of the future. Unfortunately, those programs are not priorities in the President's budget, and even proposed funding for No Child Left Behind, a program that the President touts as one of his biggest accomplishments, does not keep pace with the rate of inflation. If this budget is enacted, Rhode Island would see $1.5 million less for after-school programs and a cut of almost $6 million for career and technical education. Even with lay-offs happening all across our State, President Bush wants to cut adult employment and training services, which would decrease Rhode Island's One-Stop Career System by half a million dollars.

I am deeply disappointed that the President's budget does not even begin to fully fund special education programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Furthermore, instead of fully funding our children's public schools, President Bush has turned back to the idea of school vouchers, renaming them Pell Grants for Kids. Vouchers will not solve our country's education woes, and naming them after Rhode Island's esteemed Senator Pell, who championed public education, is grossly misleading and dishonors the legacy of a great Senator.

The President's budget also fails to make higher education affordable for students with economic challenges. Rhode Island, where college tuition has risen 45 percent in 4 years, would see a $7 million decrease in educational grants for college students. This budget also raises the funding level of Pell grants only by slashing funding for math and science courses that prepare students for technical programs after high school. To maintain our economic advantage in the coming years, our Nation must invest more in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Cutting these programs is shortsighted and endangers our international competitiveness.

At a time when so many families are having difficulty paving their bills, this budget also shreds the safety net programs that help the poorest Americans. I am extremely disappointed that the President seeks to cut $570 million from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Despite record heating oil prices, the President wants to slash this program by 22 percent, a cut that would harm our elderly. Ironically, the budget will cause the heating costs of the poor to rise by eliminating the Weatherization Assistance Program. A Federal program that helps people actually reduce their energy consumption. These programs are vital to places like Rhode Island where families are struggling with astronomical heating costs.

The budget also endangers health care programs for our Nation's poor and elderly by placing critical domestic health care programs on the chopping block. The President has proposed nearly $200 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid over the next 5 years. Unfortunately, he aims to achieve these cuts by reducing reimbursements to health care providers and charging Medicare beneficiaries higher premiums for prescription drug coverage and doctors' services. This could not come at a worse time for the 316,000 Rhode Island citizens that receive care under these vital programs and are seeing the costs of goods rise and their purchasing power fall. Furthermore, the health care slated to receive additional reimbursement cuts under this proposal continue to struggle to properly treat the Medicare population. While I agree that we need to address the long-term solvency of Medicare, any reforms should be implemented in a manner that is responsive to the needs of beneficiaries and providers alike.

Also contained within the President's budget is a suggested increase of $20 billion over 5 years for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP. This amount falls drastically short of the bipartisan SCHIP bill passed by Congress in 2007 that would have expanded coverage for millions of children. Unfortunately, the President vetoed that legislation and has instead presented us with a proposal that might well be insufficient to cover current SCHIP participants, let alone cover children who are currently eligible but not yet enrolled in the program. As a longtime supporter of SCHIP, I cannot stress how important this program is to our children, expectant mothers, and parents alike. It is my hope that we will be able to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure that this program receives a proper reauthorization.

Federal health care programs are vital not only to our Nation's children, seniors, and disabled, but also to the brave men and women who served our country. While the President's budget includes an increase for VA funding. I highly doubt it will keep pace with the health care demands of our returning veterans. I am also dismayed by his cut of almost $40 million to medical and prosthetic research, programs that have helped our wounded veterans return to a normal life. Once again, the President has placed the burden of health care cost increases on veterans themselves by proposing to increase co-payments and introduce enrollment fees for VA medical care. Congress has opposed those efforts in the past, and we will continue to do so.

Finally, as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I am concerned about the impacts of the President's budget on our Nation's capacity for response, resiliency, and recovery in the wake of a national catastrophe. The budget calls for an unprecedented 79 percent cut to the State Homeland Security Grant Program, which awarded $34.8 million to Rhode Island from 2004 to 2007. The budget would also eliminate the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, SAFER, Grant program and would slash funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, despite clear evidence that more resources are needed to adequately staff and equip fire departments. Local law enforcement would also suffer under the President's budget, which would cut funding to the Community Oriented Policing Services, COPS, program and to Justice Assistance Grants, JAGS, which have reduced crime in communities nationwide. Our State and local law enforcement must have the resources they need to be effective, and I will fight to block these proposed cuts.

It is obvious that the President's budget does not reflect America's priorities. So, we must ask, what are the President's priorities? While he recommends raising health care costs for veterans, the President wants $70 billion more to continue the war in Iraq, though Defense Secretary Gates stated today that that number could climb to $170 billion. While he wants Congress to permanently extend his tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, his budget does not contain a long-term fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax, which if left unaddressed could mean a significant tax increase on our middle class. While he slashes programs for our most vulnerable citizens, his refusal to follow fiscally responsible budgeting practices would mean more deficits in the coming years, burdening future generations with crushing interest on the national debt. These priorities are wrong for America. I am confident that Congress will develop a more humane and careful roadmap for the coming year, and I look forward to working with the Democratic leadership toward that goal.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act, H.R. 5140. This important measure represents a bipartisan commitment to help hard-working Americans weather these turbulent economic times.

Millions of Americans have been faced with the rising costs of energy, housing and health

care, which have taken a toll on the state of our economy. In my home state of Rhode Island, the typical monthly housing payment is over $2,200, making homeownership a dream out of reach for too many. The situation for renters is not much better, as the average two-bedroom apartment in Rhode Island rents for nearly $1,200 a month. Compounding the cost of housing are the skyrocketing costs of energy, which rose 18.4 percent in 2007. Our employment outlook is also discouraging. Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the national unemployment rate has risen to a 2-year high of 5 percent.

These harsh realities, combined with the snowballing effects of the recent subprime lending crisis, have made it increasingly clear that our economy will face an even sharper downturn if we do not act soon. With that in mind, today we are taking swift and bipartisan action to jump-start our Nation's economy with a measure that is timely, targeted and temporary.

This measure will quickly inject $150 billion into our economy to revitalize our markets, increase consumer confidence, and protect against recession. Our package is targeted at low-income and middle- class Americans who need assistance the most, providing rebates that will put money directly into their pockets, which will, in turn, stimulate our economy. I am particularly pleased that this package will provide relief to 35 million Americans who work and contribute to payroll taxes, but make too little to pay income tax.

Our measure will also temporarily increase the size of individual mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase, offering help to those in need of affordable housing, particularly in high-cost areas like Rhode Island. Also included is a provision to allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure a greater number of subprime loans so thousands of Americans facing foreclosure may refinance their mortgages with fairer terms.

Finally, I am pleased this package will help to stimulate our Nation's small businesses by allowing them to write off 50 percent of the cost of equipment the year it is purchased. This important incentive--which expires at the end of the year--will encourage growth and help keep our small businesses strong.

This measure solidifies our commitment to revitalize our economy in a way that is timely, targeted, and temporary. I commend Speaker Pelosi for her leadership in negotiating this significant bipartisan agreement, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 908, which supports the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this resolution that recognizes mentors across the country who dedicate their time to support and guide the next generation.

It is unfortunate that there are children in our country who do not know their worth, and because of this, many end up failing in school or falling into troubled lives. Mentors help these children get back on a path to success by imparting the most important message--that they too can succeed. Mentors have helped youth build up their self-esteem and work on their academics and social skills. Many mentors also help students reach their potential by helping them prepare for college and career development.

Madam Speaker, I hope that by recognizing January as National Mentoring Month, we can honor the positive effect that mentoring has had on the youngest members of our society. I also hope that highlighting the importance of these relationships encourages others to seek out mentoring opportunities in their communities. This not only helps our children, but our society as a whole.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution expressing support for designation of the week of February 4 through February 8, 2008, as ``National School Counseling Week.'' I am proud to be a cosponsor of this resolution, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our school counselors for their hard work.

I am committed to ensuring that all school districts, particularly those with the greatest economic needs, have access to the necessary resources to retain talented teachers and school counselors. I have enjoyed a wonderful working relationship with school counselors in my home State of Rhode Island. I have seen firsthand the difference that the quality school counselors in our State are making in our children's lives and understand the tremendous need for the training and placement of more of these professionals in our schools.

We must make sure that our school counselors have the resources necessary to help our children, and that is why I am a strong proponent of increasing funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program--one of the programs that No Child Left Behind promised to expand. Funding from this program helps to ensure that all school districts have the ability to retain talented teachers and school counselors. However, despite this promise, school counselors and other advocates have had to fight hard to

maintain this program at the elementary level, and this year marks the first time it has enough funding to reach high school students. It has been and will continue to be a priority of mine to ensure that the federal commitment to education matches what we ask of school districts.

While we designate one week to honor our school counselors, let us pledge to help them the rest of the year with the resources they need-- and deserve.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support for S. 2499, the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act. This bill includes a number of provisions that are essential to the continued delivery of vital healthcare programs to our Nation's most vulnerable citizens.

This measure offers much-needed relief to physicians that serve our Medicare population by providing a 6-month suspension of the 10-percent cut in Medicare payments scheduled to occur on January 1, providing instead a modest increase of 0.5 percent. It also extends important incentive payment programs that provide a 5-percent bonus to physicians serving areas with a shortage of doctors, while ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries have continued access to therapy services through June 30, 2008.

Also included in this bill is a vital extension for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through March 31, 2009. Currently, 24,900 Rhode Islanders are enrolled in

the SCHIP portion of Rhode Island's model RITE Care program. As a proud Representative of Rhode Island and a longtime supporter of SCHIP, I cannot stress enough how important this program is to the health and well-being of our children, expectant mothers and parents alike. Although this was not the outcome that I and many of my colleagues originally envisioned for SCHIP, this extension is crucial for States like Rhode Island that are facing tremendous budgetary shortfalls.

Madam Speaker, access to quality, affordable healthcare is integral to the prosperity of every American. While I am pleased that this Congress was able to reach a compromise to provide temporary relief for our country's most important safety net programs, I believe that we have the potential to do so much more. Health care providers that have pledged to continue serving the aging, disabled, and low-income citizens deserve more than stopgap measures and temporary relief. This Congress has an obligation to take meaningful action to reform and stabilize the Medicare provider payment system, as well as to ensure the continued strength and success of our Medicaid and SCHIP programs. To that end, I will continue to work in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues in an effort to guarantee that these issues are properly addressed in this and future Congresses.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Temporary Tax Relief Act (H.R. 3996), which will provide tax relief for hard- working, middle-class Americans. However, while I strongly support shielding these taxpayers from the Alternative Minimum Tax, I am deeply disappointed that our efforts to pay for this fix now, rather than charging it to future generations, have been blocked.

Congress first enacted the alternative minimum tax (AMT) in 1969 to ensure that 155 wealthy taxpayers paid their fair share of the federal income tax. But because the tax was not indexed for inflation, it has since become outdated and unfair. Without a fix, this year over 23 million Americans--and 75,000 Rhode Islanders--would be forced to pay nearly $2,000 in additional taxes to which they were never intended to be subjected. Today's bill will provide a one-year patch to prevent these middle-class Americans from being caught in the ever widening-net of the AMT.

While everyone agrees that AMT relief must be passed swiftly, I am concerned with the circumstances under which this bill is being considered. Just two months ago the House of Representatives passed a fiscally responsible measure that fully complied with pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules. In fact, I was proud to vote twice for legislation that provided for the necessary AMT relief and was fully paid for. Unfortunately, Republican obstructionism has forced us to consider a measure that will add $50 billion to the national debt. Fixing the AMT is important, and taxpayers should not suffer the consequences of political games. What saddens me is that there was an easy way to accomplish this goal without adding to the deficit, and we chose to ignore it.

I am also disappointed that this measure provides only temporary relief rather than presenting a long-term sustainable solution. We must develop a more permanent and fiscally responsible solution to the AMT, as it will continue to affect an increasing number of taxpayers in future years.

I would like to thank Chairman Rangel for his leadership in bringing this measure to the floor, and for his valiant efforts to follow a more fiscally responsible course. I am hopeful that as we continue to debate national tax policy, we will develop permanent solution to the AMT issue which does not place the burden of paying for it on our future generations.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise in strong support of H.R. 6, which will help our Nation take a major step towards energy independence. This legislation is truly historic, and I commend all of the sponsors and all who had a hand in bringing this legislation to the floor today.

Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot dig or drill our way out of our energy crisis. We need a better way. We need new strategies to develop sources of energy that will move our Nation away from our reliance on oil and gas. This legislation will benefit our environment by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, our economy by creating new industries and jobs, and our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

I am particularly pleased that H.R. 6 includes the first significant increase in automobile fuel economy standards in a generation. We have the technology to make our vehicles more efficient, and it is past time that we do so. While I wish that the bill retained the renewable electricity standards and the tax provisions that the House passed, I will keep working with my colleagues to see those efforts someday become law in the very near future.

In closing, I commend the many people who put together this historic legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the conference report to the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, and I urge my colleagues to adopt it.

As a member of the Intelligence Committee, I am pleased that this conference report will improve our security and protect the freedoms that make this country so great. It includes critical funding for counterterrorism, human intelligence and counterintelligence efforts, as well as making strong progress in improving our overhead architecture. And on that point in particular, I commend not only Chairman Reyes but also Congressman Ruppersberger, as well as the staff for their hard work in this area, and I was proud to be a part of that effort.

Furthermore, as my colleagues have discussed, it brings the intelligence community in line with the rest of our national security professionals by requiring it to abide by the Army Field Manual when conducting interrogations. As a member of the Intelligence Committee and, in general, members of the Intelligence Committee, we devote many hours behind closed doors addressing some of the most important national security issues facing our Nation. This conference report reflects the high priority that the committee, led by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), places on congressional oversight of the intelligence community. And I commend the chairman for his stepped-up efforts to ensure that oversight is a greater priority for the Intelligence Committee.

We have included a number of provisions to restore a greater role for the Congress and to ensure that our intelligence activities are not subject to political influence. This measure requires the Central Intelligence Agency's Inspector General to audit all covert action programs every 3 years, for example. It also requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to provide Congress with a comprehensive listing of all special access programs to ensure that the intelligence community is keeping us fully informed of these activities.

It requires a report on compliance with the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 regarding detentions and interrogations and mandates that the administration provide Congress with the Justice Department's legal opinions related to these activities. And it requires semi-annual reports on what we know about nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea to make sure that we have accurate and timely information.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, strong oversight is essential to effective government and to the ability of our intelligence community to respond to the threats that we face today. This conference report will demand accountability and give our intelligence professionals the resources that they need to keep Americans safe.

I want to thank, again, the chairman for his hard work, as well as the ranking member on this bill and as well as Members of the Senate for their hard work on this conference report.

Madam Speaker, last week, the House considered a privileged resolution, offered by the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Kucinich, to impeach the Vice President. I supported an effort to refer that measure to committee where it can get the attention it deserves.

Having served on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I have repeatedly condemned how the administration presented evidence to Congress and the American public to justify military action against Iraq. In October 2002, I voted against the resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq in part because of concerns about the intelligence we were given. It is Congress's responsibility to investigate the administration's claims and actions, not only to understand to what extent the White House cherry-picked evidence to support a course of action, but also to prevent intelligence from being manipulated by policymakers in the future. Congress has held numerous hearings into these complex questions, and we will continue to be aggressive in fulfilling our oversight duties.

Frustration with the administration among the American public has become palpable, with some calling for the impeachment of senior elected officials. While I share the deep dissatisfaction that people have with the way our Nation is being led, we must be extremely cautious about how best to chart a new course. Impeachment is one of the strongest constitutional powers granted to Congress, and its exercise must be governed by the laws of this Nation and the rules of this House. While I respect the intentions of the gentleman from Ohio in offering his resolution, I believe that it would be premature for the Members of the House to vote on a matter of such gravity without the benefit of hearings and with imperfect information. For that reason, I supported its referral to committee.

When the American people elected a Democratic majority last November, we promised to lead the country in a new direction. We saw how the Nation's priorities had been ignored for 12 years under Republican rule in Congress, and we vowed to promote change. In the last 11 months, we have made tremendous progress--increasing the minimum wage, implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, restoring fiscal accountability to the federal budget, expanding access to higher education, investing in clean and renewable energy, and much, much more. We built on those successes just last week, when we passed a middle-class tax relief package that would prevent 23 million Americans from being harmed by the alternative minimum tax, as well as an appropriations bill that would make long overdue investments in health care, medical research, education programs and veterans health care. Also, for the first time, the Bush administration is not getting a free pass from a rubber stamp Congress. We have aggressively investigated the activities of the executive branch, and through our oversight efforts, we have held the administration accountable for a number of its failures.

The will of the American people had been ignored for far too long, but this Congress has promised to address our Nation's most urgent needs. I will keep working to ensure that we pursue policies that reflect the priorities of all Americans so that we can put our country on the right path once again.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which will bring greater transparency to lending practices nationwide. The housing market is under significant stress, and many families cannot keep pace with ballooning mortgage payments.

Unconventional mortgages have left countless Americans facing foreclosure. Unless we act soon, millions more may lose their homes. With this bill, we combat unscrupulous lending practices and bring transparency to the process by requiring mortgage originators to be licensed and mandating full disclosure of loan terms. Perhaps most importantly, mortgage originators must certify that consumers have a reasonable ability to pay back loans and that they are not predatory in nature. We have seen too many lenders steer consumers into loans they cannot afford.

This measure will address persistent problems in the housing market and bring financial stability to families. I thank Chairman Frank for his leadership, and I urge support for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3773. This legislation does exactly what our Constitution requires us to do: protect security while preserving civil liberties.

Maintaining that balance has sometimes been difficult, and the events of 9/11 have made it even more challenging. However, the RESTORE Act is a carefully crafted solution. We all recognize the gravity of the threats facing our country, and this bill gives the Director of National Intelligence all the authority he has asked for to fight terrorism while at the same time it protects civil liberties.

Further, the RESTORE Act provides for rigorous and independent oversight from the courts, the Congress, and the Department of Justice Inspector General. In our committee markup, I successfully offered an amendment to even strengthen this oversight by preserving the FISA Court's role to review compliance with their rules every 90 days for the life of a court order.

Rigorous oversight is why the Bush administration objects to this bill. They want unfettered authority. Unfortunately, we have seen what happens without checks and balances, and I will not allow that to happen again. As Members of Congress, we took an oath to defend the Constitution and the principles on which it was founded.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3773, which provides security while preserving the fundamental values that make this country so great.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3773.

Today, as we have so many times in our history, we are wrestling with the question of how best to protect security while preserving liberty. That struggle has always been challenging, and the events of 9/11 made it even more so. But today, the RESTORE Act provides a carefully crafted solution to that problem.

We all recognize the gravity of the threats facing our country, and that is why this bill gives the Director of National Intelligence all the authority he has asked for to fight terrorism. The legislation updates FISA to address new developments in technology so that our intelligence activities are not constrained based on what method of communication suspects happen to be using or where the communication may be routed. The bill also clarifies that no warrant is needed for foreign-to-foreign communications. These are requests that the DNI has made and which are included in the bill.

However, unlike the so-called Protect America Act, which passed in August, the RESTORE Act provides for rigorous and independent oversight from the courts, the Congress, and the Department of Justice Inspector General.

Additionally, during the Intelligence Committee's consideration of the bill, I successfully offered an amendment to strengthen the oversight by preserving the FISA Court's role to review compliance with their rules every 90 days for the life of a court order. By having the FISA Court review the procedures and guidelines used by the DNI and Attorney General when determining that prospective targets are located outside the U.S., we provide another safeguard against the collection of communications of people inside the U.S. Finally, the bill requires greater congressional oversight of the program so that we can monitor how it is being implemented and make any changes that may become necessary.

Such rigorous oversight is why the Bush administration objects to this bill. To them, the Protect America Act that passed in August is just fine the way it is. They want unfettered authority, without checks and balances. But we have seen what happens when the administration is given free rein, and I will not let that happen again.

I want to be clear that this is not a perfect bill. While in theory it is a vast improvement over the Protect America Act, in reality, this legislation will only work if everyone involved follows the rules that Congress establishes and remains within the confines of the law. Like any program, and indeed more so than most, this one could be subject to abuse, and we must remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure that does not happen. We have included meaningful safeguards and significant checks and balances in this measure. However, these provisions are only as strong as the individuals and agencies implementing them. Congress must continue to conduct robust oversight and insist on the briefings and information to which we are entitled. If we fail in these efforts and abuses occur, we will have ourselves to blame.

Mr. Speaker, we have faced grave threats before. Our Constitution was drafted at a time when the very survival of our Nation was in doubt. Yet our Founding Fathers made the preservation of basic liberties part of the fabric of our national identity.

As Members of Congress, it is our sworn duty to defend the Constitution and the principles on which our Nation was founded. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3773, which protects security while preserving the liberties that make this country great.

Madam Speaker, yesterday President Bush signed into law H.R. 3222, the Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008. The bill contained many important provisions to support our men and women in uniform, their families and our returning veterans. The measure includes a 3.5 percent pay raise for our troops, blocks the President's proposed fee increase for Tricare beneficiaries and provides significant funding for family advocacy programs to help military spouses and children manage the difficulties associated with deployments. We all recognize that our military's strength comes from the people who serve, and this legislation demonstrates our commitment to their health and well-being.

I am also extremely pleased that the Defense Appropriations Act includes an additional $588 million in advance procurement funding for materials that will permit the expedited construction of a second Virginia-class submarine. As co-chair of the Congressional Submarine Caucus, I know the importance of submarines to our national security. Quiet yet powerful, submarines can conduct a variety of surveillance and reconnaissance missions, protect our fleet, project U.S. force onto distant shores and support global strike operations. The ability of submarines to operate independently in unconventional locations makes them one of the most capable components of our fleet. In fact, submarines are in such high demand that the Navy can fulfill only about 60 percent of Regional Combatant Commanders' requests to use them for missions.

The Navy has estimated that we need 48 attack submarines to meet the needs of our military commanders. However, under the Navy's current 30- year shipbuilding plan, they do not expect to increase production to two subs per year until 2012, causing a perilous decline in our future sub fleet--dropping below 48 ships in FY2020-33 and hitting a low of 40 in FY2028 and FY2029. Since I came to Congress nearly 7 years ago, I have consistently advocated an increase in our build rate of Virginia- class submarines to two per year so that we have sufficient capabilities to address emerging threats. Unfortunately, the Navy has repeatedly pushed back its two-per-year target date, causing instability in the industrial base. In FY2004, the Navy expected to build two subs per year in FY2007. By FY2005, the target had moved to FY2009. That date was delayed again and again, and now stands at FY2012. Meanwhile, our defense industrial base in Southeastern New England has suffered layoffs of submarine designers and engineers, whose specialized skills would be very difficult to reconstitute if lost. Without prompt action, we risk shrinking our sub fleet to dangerously low levels, precisely when nations such as China are expanding and modernizing their navies.

The FY2008 Defense Appropriations Act demonstrates Congress's commitment to addressing this dangerous problem and will enhance our national security. On behalf of the submarine industrial base in Rhode Island, I want to thank Chairman Murtha and Ranking

Member Young for their leadership on this important issue. I would also like to thank my friend and colleague from Connecticut, Mr. Courtney, for his tireless advocacy and efforts to achieve this goal, as well as the co-chair of the Submarine Caucus, the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Forbes, for being such a dedicated partner in this initiative.

I am hopeful that this additional funding will prompt the Navy to adjust its shipbuilding plan to begin construction of a second submarine in next year's budget. I remain committed to that goal, and I look forward to working with the Navy and my colleagues in Congress to build a more robust and capable submarine fleet.