Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to give my Special Order now.

Mr. Speaker, today the House passed landmark legislation in the passage of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2003. Lawsuit abuse is everywhere. It is harming American businesses, consumers, and families.

Mr. Speaker, there is something wrong with our legal system when it is easier to sue a doctor than it is to see a doctor. There is something wrong with our legal system when a plaintiff can be awarded millions of dollars because McDonald's serves hot coffee and not lukewarm coffee. There is something wrong with our legal system when people can sue Kentucky Fried Chicken for their weight gain because they ate too much fried chicken. And, Mr. Speaker, there is definitely something wrong with our legal system when the awards and settlements from class action lawsuits more often than not benefit the trial attorneys and not the purported victims.

That is right, studies show that over half of all tort liability costs go to trial lawyers and administrative expenses, not the victims, real or imagined. In one egregious example, a Bank of Boston settlement ordered $8.64 to each class member, but then turned right around and assessed each of those members $90 in trial lawyer fees.

In a case against Blockbuster, the attorneys took home $9.25 million in fees, while customers got a $1-off coupon for future video rentals.

In a suit against Cheerios, the trial lawyers were paid nearly $2 million in fees, while the customers from the suit received coupons for a free box of cereal.

Mr. Speaker, the examples go on and on and on; millions for trial lawyers, pennies for purported and real victims.

In recent years, State courts have been flooded with interstate class action lawsuits, many without merit. In fact, more than 15 million civil lawsuits were filed in 1999 alone. That is one lawsuit for every 18 people in our country.

Over the last 10 years alone, class action filings in State courts have increased 1,000 percent. That is right, 1,000 percent. Why is this happening? Well, with so many class action suits and so much at stake, most companies are deciding to settle these suits, even if they do not have merit, enriching trial lawyers and giving little or nothing to victims and costing the rest of us dearly.

How does it cost us, Mr. Speaker? The cost of litigation accounts for one-third of the price of an 8-foot aluminum ladder, it doubles the price of a football helmet, it adds $500 to the sticker price of a new car, and it increases the cost of a pacemaker by $3,000.

Mr. Speaker, the American people may not realize it, but they are paying $1,200 a year more for goods and services because of lawsuit abuse. That is enough to pay a couple of months of day care, purchase a home computer for a child, or buy 9 months of prescription drugs for a senior citizen. That is what each of us is losing.

It costs us in other ways as well. Another survey has found that for fear of product liability, almost half of small businesses have had to withdraw products from the marketplace, and 39 percent decided not to introduce new products. Litigation concerns have led several companies to postpone or cancel promising AIDS vaccines.

Class action lawsuit abuse especially hurts small businesses, because small businesses are often named as defendants in these suits so that the suits can be kept in trial-lawyer-friendly local courts.

These suits cause huge increases in insurance premiums, causing many small businesses to either pay up or go belly up. What a loss, Mr. Speaker, because two out of three jobs in America are created by small business.

Mr. Speaker, we must make the class action process more fair. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 will implement several important changes to dramatically improve our judicial system. By expanding Federal jurisdiction for truly multistate lawsuits, the Class Action Fairness Act will reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits and help prevent venue shopping by trial attorneys for favorable rulings. The judicial review and approval process will prohibit courts from awarding larger settlements to plaintiffs based solely on their proximity to the courthouse, and, very, very important, it will provide a much-needed safeguard for plaintiffs from being shortchanged by trial attorneys.

Mr. Speaker, many class action lawsuits are valid, meritorious, and address legitimate grievances by groups of people with similar claims. But the abuse of this legal tool is overwhelming. It is costing us jobs, bankrupting businesses, depleting businesses, and gouging consumers. We must have reform.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute a young man from Groesbeck, Texas, William ``Boo'' Barton, a 17-year-old high school junior with an incredible athletic gift, an incredible story and an incredibly big heart, as big as the State of Texas. Last September while playing for the Groesbeck Goats football team, Boo Barton suffered a tragic injury on the field. Shortly afterwards, doctors were forced to amputate his left leg 4 inches below the knee. The doctors told Boo with luck he would be able to walk, but

Boo and his track coach, Phil LaFountaine, had bigger dreams. Three months after being fitted with a prosthetic leg, with family, friends and teammates looking on, Boo Barton defied all the odds by running the 100-meter race at the Groesbeck Goat relays. His time: 14.06. Some may say that was not the winning time that day, but I and everyone in the stands know better.

Mr. Speaker, Boo Barton is an inspiring example to all of us. He shows us with the power of positive thinking and persistence through adversity, you can still dream bold dreams in America.

Mr. Speaker, I have been listening with a lot of interest to this debate concerning aspects of the Jobs and Growth Act, a bill that I was happy to cosponsor. America needs jobs, needs growth, but I think some on the other side of the aisle forget where jobs come from. Jobs do not come out of this United States Congress. They do not come out of Washington, D.C., or out of the Federal Government. If we want jobs, the people who need tax relief are job creators. Often when I listen to some of the rhetoric on the other side of the aisle, it is as if these people love jobs, but they hate job creators.

Another point, tax relief ought to be for taxpayers. We have a welfare system. I decline those who would take our Tax Code and turn it into a welfare system. We already have a welfare system; and as Republicans have controlled Congress, we have managed to move people off welfare and onto work. This is an excellent debate because it shows the clear differences between the two parties. It is as if the other side will not be happy until everyone is dependent upon a government check. We will not be happy until every American has an opportunity to have a paycheck, and that is a clear difference between the two parties.

So what we need to do once again, if we want to have jobs, we need to give tax relief to job creators. If we want to be fair, we need to give tax relief to taxpayers. That is the difference here, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 1474, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act.

This bill, which modernizes check-clearing transactions, is a win-win for both consumers and financial institutions. Check 21 will result in fewer errors in check transactions while providing consumers with more choices.

Because of increased on-line access, consumers can now have more confidence when inquiring about the status of their personal checks, and they can receive a much quicker response from their bank.

Consumers will further benefit by the reduced cost associated with modernization of check clearing, and Check 21 ensures that banks remain fully accountable to the consumers they serve.

Mr. Chairman, the act will make banking more efficient, reduce transactional cost, provide consumers with more choices, and help our financial services industry remain preeminent in the world.

I want to thank the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus) and my friends, the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ford), for their leadership on this important legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 1474.

Mr. Speaker, in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 15, Deputy Sheriff Shelby Green, of the Anderson County, Texas, Sheriff's Department, was brutally murdered in the line of duty by an unknown assailant.

After attempting to stop a suspicious vehicle, Deputy Green pursued the assailant for 10 miles as bullets were smashing through his windshield. When the chase ended, Deputy Green was left dead with a fatal gunshot wound to his chest.

A decorated law enforcement officer, last year Deputy Green received the Award of Valor from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mr. Speaker, today we honor and mourn the loss of this 39-year-old hero, a family man. He served and protected

our community with distinction and valor. Our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his friends, his fellow deputies, especially to his wife, Diane, and their three sons, Steven, Trey, and Scott.

May his killer be brought to justice and may God bless and keep Deputy Sheriff Shelby Green.

Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday President Bush signed the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003, a bill that I was proud to cosponsor. As a former small businessman, I believe I know something about what it takes to help build businesses and create jobs. But although our bill had to be compromised, it still has the ability to create more and better jobs for the American people.

Yet there are some in this body who say that this legislation is not fair. They say there is not sufficient tax relief for low income Americans.

Mr. Speaker, number one, they are wrong; and, number two, this is just another example of Democrats trying to foment class warfare in America.

Let us get beyond the usual class warfare rhetoric and examine the facts.

First of all, for all practical purposes, low-income people do not pay income taxes. In fact, in this bill we take 3.7 million Americans off the tax rolls. That is right, almost 4 million people who paid income taxes last year will pay no income taxes this year. None. How much more tax relief can you receive than having your tax bill torn up, thrown away, abandoned?

These Americans join millions of other low-income Americans who have already been taken off the tax rolls in recent history.

Additionally, Mr. Speaker, by lowering marginal rates, other low- income Americans benefit as well. Millions who were in the 15 percent tax bracket last year are now in the 10 percent tax bracket. More tax relief for low-income families.

The net result now is this: The bottom 50 percent of wage earners in America pay only 3.9 percent of the income taxes. In other words, half of all Americans, low-income Americans, pay almost none of the national income tax burden. In contrast, the top 10 percent of wage earners in America pay almost two-thirds of the income taxes.

Mr. Speaker, the critics of the jobs and growth bill fail to appreciate two other important facts:

Number one, tax relief is for taxpayers. If you do not pay taxes, you should not expect tax relief.

Number two, if you want jobs, give job creators tax relief. Tax relief is about capital. You cannot have capitalism without capital. You cannot claim to love jobs and then vilify job creators.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that some in this body want to turn our Tax Code into a welfare system. Well, guess what? We already have a welfare system. Fortunately, under a Republican Congress we have continued to move millions of Americans from welfare to work. And, to dispel the Democrat's disinformation campaign, we have increased Federal child care funding by 166 percent. We have increased Federal funding for housing by 75 percent. And, just this past year, we committed $17 billion to the TANF welfare program.

Tax relief is different from welfare. Tax relief is about allowing taxpayers to keep more of what they earn, earn through their hard work, helping to keep them keeping more of their own wages for their own families.

Mr. Speaker, let us not forget, it is not the government's money, it is the American family's money.

Furthermore, if critics of the Jobs and Growth Act truly care about low-income people, they should join us and help us move them off of welfare checks and onto paychecks, move them up from smaller paychecks to bigger paychecks. In other words, these critics should help us join together and create more jobs.

But Mr. Speaker, jobs are not created here in Washington, D.C. They are not created by the Federal Government. Jobs are created by hardworking risk-taking visionary men and women who, when granted access to capital, will roll up their sleeves and work hard to create that next generation of software or that new automobile repair shop or that innovative sign painting company, or any other enterprise. That is where jobs come from.

But Mr. Speaker, the number one impediment to launching new job- creating enterprises in America is access to capital. That is why we cut capital gains and dividend taxes in this bill. Additionally, we have lowered marginal tax rates. That is important because 80 percent of the tax relief at the top marginal rate goes to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

If we truly care about low-income families in America, let us quit trying to turn the Tax Code into a welfare system. If we want jobs, tax relief should go to job creators. If we want job fairness, then tax relief should go to taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday President Bush signed the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003, a bill I was proud to cosponsor.

After liberating the people of Iraq from despotism, it was time to liberate the American family from economic uncertainty. The best way to do that is to create jobs and economic growth, and although this bill has been substantially compromised, the bill was designed to do just that. Yet there are some in this body who still complain. They say the bill is not fair. They say that there is not tax relief for the poor.

Mr. Speaker, they are wrong. First, for all practical purposes, poor people do not pay income taxes. In fact, in this bill, we take 3.7 million Americans off the tax rolls. That is right, almost 4 million people who paid income taxes last year will pay no income taxes this year. None. How much more tax relief can you receive than having your tax bill canceled, torn up, thrown away? These Americans join millions of other low-income Americans who have already been taken off the tax rolls in recent history.

By lowering marginal rates, Mr. Speaker, other lower-income Americans benefit as well. Many who were in the 15 percent bracket last year are now in the 10 percent bracket. The net result is, the bottom 50 percent of wage earners in America now pay 3.9 percent of the income taxes. In contrast, the top 10 percent of wage earners in America pay over 50 percent of the income taxes.

What the critics of this bill fail to appreciate is that tax relief is for taxpayers. If you do not pay taxes, you should not expect tax relief.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that some in this body are confusing tax relief with welfare. Welfare is about direct government assistance to those who are at or near the poverty line. Fortunately, under a Republican Congress we have continued to move millions of Americans from welfare to work, and we have increased Federal child care funding by 166 percent. We have increased funding for housing by 75 percent. Just this past year we committed $17 billion to the TANF program.

Tax relief is different from welfare. Tax relief is about allowing taxpayers to keep more of what they have earned, earned through their hard work, keeping more of their own wages for their families.

Mr. Speaker, let us not forget, it is not the government's money, it is the American family's money. If critics of the Jobs and Growth Act truly care about low-income people, they should help move them off of welfare, off of welfare checks, onto paychecks. In other words, they should join us in creating jobs.

But, Mr. Speaker, jobs are not to be found hanging in the trees, nor do they fall from the sky, and they sure are not brought to us by the Federal Government. Jobs are created by hard-working, risk-taking, visionary men and women who, with access to capital, roll up their sleeves, and they work hard to create that next generation of software, a new automobile repair shop, an innovative sign painting company, or any other enterprise.

Small business is the job engine of America. It creates two out of three jobs in our country. But, Mr. Speaker, the number one impediment to launching a new job-creating enterprise is access to capital. That is why we cut capital gains and dividend taxes in this bill. You cannot have capitalism without capital, and by lowering these tax rates, we will spur capital formation, the lifeblood of small business.

Additionally, we have lowered marginal tax rates. This is important, because 80 percent of the tax relief from reducing the top marginal rate goes to small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, I have had a number of jobs in my life. I used to clean out chicken houses. I used to bus tables. I have loaded windows on a loading dock. I have been an officer in two companies and started my own small business. In all of those jobs, not one low-income person has ever hired me. It was a taxpayer, a taxpayer who had vision, who had access to capital and went out and took a risk. If we want jobs, these are the people who need tax relief.

If we really care about low-income families in America, and if we truly want to be fair, let us quit trying to turn the Tax Code into a welfare system. Let us give tax relief to taxpayers, to small businessmen, to entrepreneurs, and go out and create jobs, jobs, jobs and more jobs.

Mr. Speaker, today we recognize the distinguished career of my colleague, friend, and fellow Texan, Congressman Larry Combest.

Mr. Speaker, Larry Combest has faithfully represented constituents of the 19th Congressional District of Texas for the last 18 years, truly representing the very best of West Texas from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin.

As a legislator, Larry Combest has dedicated his entire career to helping farmers and ranchers, educators and small business owners live the American Dream.

As the former Chairman and current member of the House Agriculture Committee, Larry Combest has put his background as a fourth generation West Texas farmer to work to improve agriculture in the United States and better the lives of farmers and ranchers everywhere.

Since he was first elected in 1984, Larry Combest has been a common sense conservative leader in Congress, fighting for fiscally responsible government, less regulation and lower taxes on American families.

Mr. Speaker, as proof of his outstanding service to his constituents, voters in his district have re-elected Larry Combest by ever increasing margins each year. You know you're doing something right when the people that know you best return you to Congress with more than 90 percent of their vote.

On behalf of my colleagues and my fellow Texans, we salute Larry Combest for his service and his leadership and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts for all that he has done for Texas and for America.

We wish him and his wife Sharon the very best.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this rule for H.R. 2, the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003. American families need more job opportunities, and they need them now. The Democrats' plan for the American family is the same it has been for 50 years: tax and spend, tax and spend. In other words, to take a larger slice of the family income pie. Our plan, the Republican plan, is to grow the size of that family income pie by growing the economy.

Democrats have a plan to create more government. Republicans have a plan to create more jobs. The Republican plan will create 1.2 million new jobs by the end of 2004 alone. The Democrat budget plan grows the government and erases tax relief, actually increasing taxes by $128 billion on American families and businesses, threatening, dramatically threatening our economic recovery.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot have capitalism without capital. The Democrat plan does nothing for capital formation. It does nothing for jobs. Democrats claim to love jobs; they just seem to hate the people who create them.

Under the Republican jobs and growth plan, 23 million small businesses in America would face a simpler, fairer Tax Code. They will benefit from a reduction in marginal income tax rates and face lower capital gains taxes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2, the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003. Now that we have won the battle for Baghdad and liberated the people of Iraq from despotism, it is time to win the battle for jobs and liberate the American family from economic uncertainty.

American families need more job opportunities and they need them now. The Democrats' plan for the American family is the same that it has been for 50 years, tax and spend, tax and spend, in other words, to take a larger slice of the family income pie. Our plan, the Republican plan, is to grow the size of that family income pie by growing the economy. Democrats have a plan to create more government. Republicans have a plan to create more jobs. The Republican plan will create 1.2 million new jobs by the end of 2004. The Democrat plan grows the government and erases tax relief, increasing taxes by $128 billion, dramatically threatening our economic recovery.

Mr. Speaker, Americans want more jobs, not more government. When economic growth occurs, businesses generate greater profits, more people go to work, they get better jobs, and they get better wages. But to encourage individuals and families to risk their time, to risk their savings on that new software idea, a transmission repair shop or any other enterprise, they need tax relief. Our plan provides it.

Mr. Speaker, we have historical evidence that tax relief works. Each time our Nation has significantly reduced income tax rates, economic growth has followed. After President Reagan lowered tax rates in the 1980s, real economic growth averaged 3.2 percent per year and Federal revenues actually increased by 20 percent.

When President Kennedy reduced marginal rates in the 1960s, we experienced several years of 5 percent economic growth.

The same is true of tax relief during the 1920s, where economic growth averaged 4.3 percent. The Democrats criticize the Jobs and Growth Act because they claim tax relief causes deficits. But as I just explained, history shows us that tax relief and business incentives can grow our economy and create jobs. That is the way to fight deficits. And while the Democrats protest job-creating tax relief on the one hand, they want to bust the budget by increasing Federal Government spending by over $1 trillion on the other.

The tax relief proposed in the Republican Jobs and Growth Plan amounts to just 2 percent of the budget. In other words, 98 percent of the deficit problem is on the spending side, the Democrat side. No Democrat in Congress should be able to look the American people in the eye, claim to care about deficits, yet propose to spend billions and billions more on Federal programs.

The Democrat plan guts the family budget. It is wrong. It is unfair, and does nothing to create jobs. Democrats claim to love jobs. They just seem to hate those who create them.

Now, Mr. Speaker, before becoming a Member of Congress, I was a small businessman for 10 years. And small

business is the job engine of America, creating two out of three new jobs in our Nation. While consumer spending has grown over the last 2 years, total business investment has declined for 8 consecutive quarters. We must reverse this trend.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot have capitalism without capital. Small business needs greater access to capital. Under the Republican jobs and growth package, 23 million small businesses in America would face a simpler, fairer Tax Code. They will benefit from a reduction in marginal income tax rates; they will face lower capital gains and dividend taxes; they can increase the amount of plant and equipment they can expense, all of which will allow them to grow their businesses and hire new workers.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2 will indeed create new jobs and jump-start the economy. I urge all of my colleagues to support the Jobs and Growth Act and do the right thing for our economy and do the right thing for our American families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my outrage with the treatment of Justice Priscilla Owen, a fellow Texan and a highly qualified nominee for the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Mr. Speaker, despite unanimously receiving the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association, despite appearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary twice to answer every single question posed to her, despite the fact that the bench to which she has been nominated has been designated a judicial emergency, despite the strong bipartisan support of former Texas supreme court judges and 15 past presidents of the state bar of Texas, Justice Priscilla Owen has still not received an up-or-down vote in the Senate for almost 2 years.

When Republicans held the majority during President Clinton's term, no judicial nominee was ever deprived of a vote due to a filibuster. Now Democrats want to undermine our Constitution and change the rules.

Mr. Speaker, the President has a right to get a vote on his nominee.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 522, the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2003. As a member of the Committee on Financial Services, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Oxley) and the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), for their work on this legislation and for acting quickly in this new Congress to address this matter of importance to banks and depositors alike.

This legislation will help create a more stable and a more fair and secure banking system. By combining the Banking Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund into one fund, the risks that a couple of large institutions could fail and impair each fund is greatly reduced.

Merging these funds will help increase fairness in our banking system as well by eliminating the possibility that two institutions of similar sizes would essentially be paying two completely different premiums. Further,

the merged fund will make reporting and accounting less burdensome for both the institutions and the FDIC as well.

Our deposit insurance system plays a vital role in our economic security. This legislation will give the FDIC the necessary flexibility to respond to varying economic conditions and allow them to properly price premiums to reflect actual risk. By eliminating the 23 basis point premium ``rate cliff'' required under current law, more institutions will have more capital to invest in our economy. That means more jobs, more hope, more opportunity.

Mr. Chairman, FDIC Chairman Powell stated in his testimony before the Committee on Financial Services last month that H.R. 522 gives Congress ``an opportunity to remedy flaws in the deposit insurance system before those flaws cause actual damage, either to the banking industry or our economy as a whole.''

As a member of that committee, I am glad to see this body act so expeditiously on this legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for H.R. 522.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge all of my colleagues and to urge all Americans to unite and support our troops now engaged in battle in Iraq. Our Commander in Chief, with the approval of Congress, called our Armed Forces into action to disarm a rogue regime that threatens our freedom and our security.

With our troops now in the line of fire, with more than four dozen Americans having made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, the time for protest has passed. The time for unity has arrived.

Madam Speaker, we live in a free society. We all share the right to debate the best policies for our Nation; and in a free society each of us also have the right to assemble and to protest. These are sacred rights; but once our Nation, through our democratic process, has decided to commit troops and once those troops have been put into harm's way, the time for debate and protest is over.

Just as we share sacred rights, we also share sacred duties. Today with American troops in the field, we all share a duty to unite behind them and ensure that our actions do them no harm. But, Madam Speaker, even as recently as yesterday, Democrat Members of Congress were still denouncing Operation Iraqi Freedom. And Madam Speaker, if just one of these floor speeches by a Member of Congress, if just one acceptance speech by a Hollywood director, if just one street protest causes Saddam Hussein and his forces to continue the fight for 1 day longer, then those responsible would have done a terrible, terrible disservice to those serving so bravely in our name.

Now, I would never question Americans' right to speak or protest. I only question the wisdom of doing so at this time. No matter what political beliefs we hold we are all Americans, and those soldiers in uniform fighting on the front lines are our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers. Those who undertake further protest at this point only fuel the resolve of our enemy, and they must take full responsibility for their actions.

Now, perhaps some need to be reminded why we are fighting and what we are fighting against.

Americans were sent to disarm an evil regime that has stockpiled weapons of mass destruction that threaten the peace and security of the Free World. Madam Speaker, 26,000 liters of anthrax, 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, 500 tons of sarin, mustard gas, and VX nerve agents; enough chemical and biological weapons to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans in a single act of terrorism.

I agree with our President. The risk of doing nothing is far greater than the risk of doing something.

Madam Speaker, Americans were also sent to Iraq to end a regime of terror, a regime that has used chemical weapons against their own people, a regime that has made rape and torture an instrument of public policy, and now a regime that uses innocent people as human shields and savagely executes prisoners of war.

Just ask a 68-year-old mother, Zahra Khafi, why we are in Iraq. As she was recently liberated by American forces, she let it be known that her 28-year-old son was summarily executed by Saddam's regime for merely practicing her religion. She greeted our troops saying, ``Peace be upon you, peace be upon you.''

``Should I be afraid?'' She asked, wiping back her tears. ``Is Saddam coming back?''

Ask Ali Khemy, who said after the First Marine Expeditionary Unit liberated his village, ``Americans very good. Iraq wants to be free.''

Madam Speaker, President Ronald Reagan once said, ``No weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.'' Madam Speaker, the minions of tyranny and evil are learning that lesson today.

Now, our Nation has faced much greater challenges and has seen darker days. During the Civil War when brother fought brother, our great President, Abraham Lincoln solemnly stated, ``I have often been driven to my knees with the overwhelming conviction I had nowhere else to go.''

I believe now is a good time for all Americans to be driven to our knees, to pray for a speedy victory, to pray for our men and women in uniform, to pray for their families and pray for a peaceful world no longer threatened with weapons of mass destruction.

Madam Speaker, our cause is just, our victory is inevitable. Freedom will prevail. But we, all Americans, must unite behind our troops and unite today.

Mr. Speaker, today I urge all Americans to unite in support of our troops now engaged in battle in Iraq.

Our Commander and Chief, with the approval of Congress, called our armed forces into action to disarm a rogue regime that threatens our freedom and security.

With our troops now in the line of fire, with more than 28 Americans having made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, the time for protest has past. The time for unity has arrived.

We live in a free society where we all share the right to debate the best policies for our nation. And in a free society, each of us also has the right to assemble and to protest. These are sacred rights.

But once our nation has decided to act through our democratic process, and once our troops have been sent into harm's way, the time for debate and protest is over.

Just as we share sacred rights, we also share sacred duties. Today, with American troops in the field, we all share a duty to unite behind them and ensure that our actions do them no harm.

But if just one floor speech by a member of Congress, just one acceptance speech by a Hollywood director, or just one street protest causes Saddam Hussein and his forces to hold on for even one day longer, then those responsible will have done a terrible disservice to those serving so bravely in our name.

I would never question any American's right to speak or protest, I only question the wisdom of doing so at this time.

No matter what political beliefs we hold, we are all Americans--and those soldiers in uniform fighting on the front lines are our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers.

Those who undertake further protests at this point only fuel the resolve of our enemy, and they must take full responsibility for their actions.

Perhaps some need to be reminded why we are fighting and what we are fighting against.

Americans were sent to disarm an evil regime that has stockpiled weapons of mass destruction that threaten the peace and security of the free world.

26,000 liters of anthrax. 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin. 500 tons of sarin, mustard gas, and VX nerve agents; enough chemical and biological weapons to kill millions of innocent people in a single act of terrorism.

I agree with President Bush, the risk of doing nothing is far greater than the risk of doing something.

Americans were also sent to Iraq to end a regime of terror. A regime that has used chemical weapons on its own population, a regime that has made rape and torture an instrument of public policy.

Just ask 68-year-old mother, Zahra Khafi, recently liberated by American forces, whose 28-year-old son was summarily executed two years ago by Saddam Hussein's regime for merely practicing his religion, a branch of Islam out of official favor. She greeted our troops saying, ``peace be upon you, peace be upon you.''

``Should I be afraid?'' she said, wiping her eyes. ``Is Saddam coming back?''

Ask All Khemy, who said after the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit liberated his village, ``Americans very good . . . Iraq wants to be free.''

President Ronald Reagan once said ``no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.'' The minions of tyranny and evil are learning that lesson today.

Our nation has met much greater challenges and we have faced darker days. During the Civil War when brother fought brother, President Abraham Lincoln solemnly stated, ``I have often been driven to my knees with the overwhelming conviction I had no where else to go.''

I believe now is a good time for all Americans to be driven to our knees and pray for a speedy victory . . . pray for our men and women in uniform, and pray for a peaceful world no longer threatened with weapons of mass destruction.

Our cause is just. Our victory is inevitable. Freedom will prevail. But we must all must unite behind our troops today.