Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor the tremendous career of Donald L. Woods, who is retiring after more than 13 years of service to the United States Attorney's Office, Western Division.

A Vietnam veteran, Donald Woods served in the United States Navy from 1962-1967. As a young Lieutenant, he was a pilot of anti-submarine aircraft aboard the USS Bennington aircraft carrier. From 1967-1982 he flew with Braniff Airlines as a flight engineer and pilot.

In 1989, he became a Certified Public Accountant. From 1990-1992, he served as an investigator with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC. In 1992, he transferred to the Department of Justice, United States Attorney's Office, in Austin, Texas, as an auditor for bank fraud cases.

During the late 1980s, Austin was the site of numerous failures of federally insured banks and savings and loans. Donald Woods was actively involved in the investigation and prosecution of the owners, directors, and officers of these financial institutions. He utilized his accounting skills to investigate and later testify to financial statements and transactions used to defraud federally insured financial institutions and their investors.

Over the course of his career, Donald Woods has demonstrated his commitment to the American justice system and to maintaining the integrity of our financial institutions. Today I would like to recognize his outstanding service to the legal profession and his dedication to the people of Texas and the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor Lake Highlands High School's Parent Teachers Association (PTA) for achieving the Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence certification from the National Parent Teachers Association in 2005.

Lake Highlands High School (LHHS) is the only school in the Dallas- Fort Worth area to achieve certification from the National PTA and only one of three recipients in the State of Texas. The award is based on excellence in six areas: communication between school and parents, promotion of parenting skills, parent assistance in student learning, recruitment and support of parent volunteers, school decision making and advocacy, and collaborating with the community.

Today, I would like to recognize the LHHS Parent Involvement in Schools Excellence certification committee, including chairwoman, Liz Luthans, Bonnie Blackman, Bob Iden, Sharin Clark, and Jenny Wagner. I would also like to recognize parents Paula Davis, Beth Hanks, Tami Trostel and Lake Highlands Exchange Club representative Jerry Allen who also served on the committee.

As the Congressman for the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, I am very proud to represent Lake Highlands High School. Lake Highlands High School's PTA is truly helping to shape a brighter future for our community and our country. I would like to offer my congratulations on this occasion and best wishes for their continued success.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to honor Pastor Jerome Brimmage and the congregation of First United Methodist Church of Mineola. In the hours and days before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the First United Methodist Church began preparing, so when the time came they were able to offer assistance, shelter, and other words of help to victims of these 2 devastating hurricanes.

Members of the First United Methodist Church stockpiled relief supplies for victims, including over 150 hygiene kits. The church itself opened its doors to house evacuees and volunteers and within hours, residents of Mineola began arriving with towels, sheets, blankets, as well as other items for those in need. More than 40 businesses, churches and civic organizations helped by donating money, food, and clothing. Approximately 450 volunteers also gave their time to make the evacuees' stay as pleasant as possible.

I am proud of the residents of the Fifth District who gave their time and energy to help those in need--from individuals cooking meals in the church kitchen to local health care facilities providing free supplies and services to evacuees.

Today, I am pleased to honor Pastor Jerome Brimmage of the First United Methodist Church, and the entire community of Mineola, Texas, for their part in providing relief to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor Mr. Scott Coulson and the Poteet High School Pirate Marching Band for their recent victory at the University Interscholastic League State AAAA Marching Band Championship. On November 8, 2005, the Pirates competed against more than 20 other bands from across the State of Texas and won their second State Championship since 1997.

This year mark's Mr. Coulson's 25th year of service to the Mesquite Independent School District and his 18th year on the faculty of Poteet High School. In addition, Mr. Coulson will also soon be inducted into the John Phillip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor, where he will be recognized as an outstanding high school band director.

A graduate from Mesquite High School, Scott Coulson has been a strong role model and exceptional leader for the Poteet Pirates Marching Band. In 1987, he was named Director of Bands at Poteet High School in Mesquite, and has since then received multiple Interscholastic League Sweepstakes awards, led the band to four Grand Championships at the Plano East Invitational Marching Festival and five state Marching Championships.

As the Congressional representative of the students, parents, and teachers involved with the Poteet High School Marching Band, it is my pleasure to recognize their tremendous victory. This is an accomplishment that Mr. Coulson and these young men and women will remember for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, unless we enact H.R. 4297, Americans will receive a most unwelcomed Christmas gift from the Democrats: a huge automatic tax increase. This will cost families billions of their dollars and jeopardize millions of their jobs. We cannot sit idly by and let the Democrats do this.

Tax relief has already created more than 4.4 million new jobs; but if you raise taxes, you start taking these jobs away.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you about a few of the jobs from my east Texas district that could be lost if the Democrats succeed in their tax increase plan today. Let me tell you about Hugh Dublin who owns East Texas Right of Way in Tennessee Colony, Texas. He specializes in the land-leasing business. Due to tax relief, his company has grown from two full-time employees to four full-time employees and four part- timers. His two new full-time employees are named Dan and David. They were unemployed, but now they are able to start new careers in a growing business.

The Democrats want to raise taxes on Hugh Dublin and his small business. They want to jeopardize Dan's and David's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks, and they call that compassion.

Eddie Alexander owns Triple S Electric in Henderson County, Texas. They are an electrical contracting business. For the first 3\1/2\ years he was in business, it was just him and one part-time helper. Since the passage of the President's economic growth plan, he has been able to hire two more additional employees named Jarad and John, both of whom were out of work but both of whom now provide homes for their families.

The Democrats now want to raise taxes on Eddie Alexander and his small business. They want to jeopardize Jarad's and John's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks; and this they call compassion.

Gill Travers owns Travers & Company. They are a home building company in Athens, Texas. Thanks to the housing boom created by President Bush's tax relief plan, Travers & Company has had to hire three new workers. Jan, who was previously unemployed, was hired to help clean up the job sites. Business is so good she had to turn around and hire Calvin and Christy. They were unemployed, too. The Democrats now want to raise taxes on Gill Travers and his small business. They want to jeopardize Jan, Calvin, and Christy's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks; and this they call compassion.

Mr. Speaker, tax relief has created over 4.4 million new tax-paying jobs of the future; 4.4 million hard-working Americans can now provide for their families this Christmas. More than just providing food and shelter, these jobs are providing newfound hope and opportunity. The Democrats would take all of this away.

We cannot go back. We must prevent this massive Democrat tax increase. We must support jobs and support the rule for H.R. 4297.

Mr. Speaker, unless we enact H.R. 4297 and defeat the Democratic substitute, Americans will receive a most unwelcome Christmas gift from the Democrats, a huge automatic tax increase. This will cost families billions of dollars and jeopardize millions of their jobs.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you just about a few of those jobs that could be lost in my east Texas district if the Democrats have their way in raising taxes. Hugh Dublin owns a small business called East Texas Right of Way in my district. He specializes in the leasing of land.

Due to tax relief, his company has grown from two full-time employees to four full-time employees. His two new employees are called Dan and David. They were unemployed. They were out of work. But due to the expansion of this business, they were able to start new careers.

The Democrats now want to raise taxes on Hugh Dublin and his small business. They want to jeopardize Dan and David's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks, and this they call compassion.

Eddie Alexander owns Triple S Electric in Henderson, Texas, an electrical contracting business. Since the passage of our economic growth program with tax relief, he has been able to hire two more full- time employees, Jared and

John, both of whom were out of work, but both now provide homes for their families. The Democrats want to raise taxes on Eddie Alexander and his small business.

They want to jeopardize Jared and John's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks, and this they call compassion.

Gil Travers owns Travers & Company, a home building company in Athens, Texas. Due to the housing boom from tax relief, they have had to hire three new workers, Jan, Calvin and Christy. They were all previously unemployed. They have been hired to help clean up all of the job sites from the new homes.

But the Democrats now want to raise taxes on Gil Travers and his small business. They want to jeopardize Jan's, Calvin's, and Christy's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks, and this they call compassion.

Mr. Speaker, tax relief has credited 4.4 million new tax-paying jobs with a future: 4.4 million hardworking Americans can now provide for their families this Christmas. And more than just providing food and shelter, these jobs are providing new-found hope and opportunity. We cannot go back. We must prevent this Democratic tax increase.

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

Mr. Speaker, again we have an opportunity to stand up for American families. Again, we have an opportunity to stand up for free trade and pass the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement.

This is a simple matter. Free trade delivers a greater choice of goods and services to American consumers at lower prices. That means families can buy more using less of their paychecks. More trade means more competition, and competition has always helped the consumer. We have over 200 years of history to prove that.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, prices have dropped for a wide array of goods and services which are produced around the world, such as video equipment and toys. Yet we pay a lot more for products that do not effectively compete with foreign companies, for example, prescription drugs and cable television. Again, competition works. Trade works.

But beyond all of the obvious economic benefits of free trade, we must recognize that fundamentally this is an issue of personal freedom. Nations do not trade with nations; people trade with people. With the exception of national security considerations, every American should have the right to determine the origin of the goods and services they want to purchase. Is this not the land of the free? Have countless generations not fought and sacrificed to secure the blessings of liberty for all Americans?

Maybe we in Congress have the power, but do we have the right to tell Americans that we will not allow them to buy cheaper products because those products may come from other nations? I think not, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this particular trade agreement not only stands for freedom; it stands for friendship. The nation of Bahrain is a friend of the United States and an important ally in the global war on terror. For over 200 years, America has benefited from trade and competition. I urge my colleagues to once again reject protectionism and, instead, stand for prosperity, stand for freedom, and stand with me in voting for this trade agreement.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the gentlewoman for yielding and certainly appreciate her leadership in this body on helping promote policies that promote economic growth in jobs and being a true leader in trying to help reform government programs that too often take away from family programs because they are wasteful, they are duplicative, they are inefficient, there is no accountability. She is one of the true leaders in Congress on these issues.

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of good news that Americans have tonight. Clearly, this Nation faces a number of challenges and we know about them, and families are still struggling to meet high energy costs. Yet this Republican Congress has been bold in enacting new energy legislation to help address that.

Families still have challenges in the high cost of health care, but this Republican Congress is doing things to help bring down the costs, particularly for small businesses and to make it easier to see a doctor in America as opposed to sue a doctor in America.

But although we still face a number of challenges, as we have just have come away from our great Thanksgiving holiday, we need to remember the things that we need to give thanks for and all the good things that are happening in America.

One of the things that I do not think a sufficient number of Americans appreciate is just how great this economy is today. It is absolutely amazing, Mr. Speaker, that this economy, not this government, not this government but the economy, men and women all over the Nation, rolling up their sleeves and risking capital, have gone out and created over 4 million new jobs since President Bush's economic growth program was enacted by this Republican Congress.

That is over 4 million new taxpaying jobs, jobs with a future, jobs that allow

the American families to create their housing program, their nutritional program, their health care program, and their educational program. That is incredibly good news.

We have now had 2\1/2\, 2\1/2\ years where the economy has grown at over 3 percent a quarter. That is just unparalleled historic economic growth that is helping elevate and enrich the lives of millions and millions of Americans and allowing them to take care of their families and for them to realize their American Dream.

Now, another aspect that too many people do not realize, because some people, particularly the Democrats, tell us that tax relief is a bad thing for the American people, that tax relief somehow hurts the deficit, well, we know that the deficit is too high. But guess what? The deficit has been falling. And why? I wish it were because spending was decreasing here. We are fighting those battles. But tonight we are here to talk about the values of tax relief and how important it is that we prevent a Democrat tax increase. And if we do not act this week, we will have yet another huge Democrat tax increase on the American people.

The American people do not realize, or perhaps not enough of them realize, that in Washington, DC, spending is forever and tax relief is temporary. Unless we enact legislation this week, there will be an automatic tax increase on the American people. And besides what that is going to do to the American family, it will hurt the deficit. Tax relief has proven to be part of the deficit solution, not part of the deficit problem.

Well, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his insight, and I certainly appreciate his bringing the chart because it dramatically illustrates this phenomena: that if you will simply allow the American people to keep more of what they earn, allow small businesses to keep more of what they earn, they will roll up their sleeves and expand. They are going to go out and create a new transmission repair shop on one street corner or a new barbecue stand on another corner. Somebody will have the capital to finally go out and maybe create the new generation of some revolutionary new software.

But you cannot have the benefits of capitalism without capital. And the Democrats on this side of the aisle, they want to take away the people's capital. They want to feed this wasteful Washington bureaucracy. They want to grow the Federal budget. We want to grow the family budget. And when we do, jobs are created. And guess what? People go to work and they pay more taxes.

As the gentleman knows, it is not just us creating figures out of thin air. It is not just somebody's opinion. It is fact. I hold in my hand here the latest report from the U.S. Treasury. This is the Treasury report. What does it tell us? It tells us that from last year individual income taxes, after we decreased the rates, we decreased the rates, guess what? Individual income tax revenues rose almost 15 percent. Corporate income taxes. Corporate income taxes. We cut their rates, and guess what? They paid more taxes. There was almost 47 percent more tax revenue from corporate income taxes once we cut the rates.

Again, you cannot have capitalism without capital. So what we need to do is we have to work this week to prevent that automatic Democrat tax increase. Increasing taxes, sending more money to Washington, that is going to ultimately fuel our deficit. And the American people inherently know that when it comes to the fiscal challenges that we face, it is not because the American people are undertaxed; it is because Washington spends too much.

Well, this is an excellent line of debate that the gentlewoman is developing here. And again it is very important that the American people know this week we do not have a bill on the floor to provide tax relief for the American people. We have a bill on the floor to prevent a Democrat tax increase. There will be an automatic tax increase on the American people if we do not pass this legislation, and one of the things that we will lose is the ability of small businesses to expense what we call depreciable assets up to $100,000.

Now, before I became a Member of Congress, I was a small businessman. I have gone out there, I have rolled up my sleeves, and I have risked capital. I have signed the front of a paycheck. I helped start a business that had a dozen employees, and it was not easy. It was not easy. We could not have started that business without capital. Yet the Democrats want to take away our ability to form capital and create small businesses, which is the job engine of America. That is where all the new jobs come from, is small business.

Now, what is going to happen if we lose this? Let me give one example, one story from my congressional district. I am very proud to have the ability to represent the Fifth Congressional District of Texas. It starts in east Dallas and goes through great communities like Mesquite. It takes in rural east Texas, which is a wonderful place to live and raise a family, but sometimes a tough place to make a living.

I went to visit a business, small business called Jacksonville Industries, in my congressional district, located in Jacksonville, TX. They are a zinc and die cast business, and I do not totally understand what they do; but they had 20 employees when I went to visit them. Well, due to competitive pressures, prior to being able to benefit from our tax relief economic growth program, they were on the verge of having to lay off two people. Now, that is 10 percent of their workforce. They were going to have to lay off 2 of 20 workers.

Thanks to this provision, small business expensing that we passed way back, they were able to go out and buy a new piece of machinery. Now, I do not recall what it is called or precisely what its function was, but I know what it did. It made them more competitive. And instead of laying off two workers, they hired three new workers. And that is one small business in one rural part of Texas, but that is happening all over the Nation.

We are allowing families and small businesses to keep more of what they earn, and yet the Democrats want to take that away from them. They want to take that capital back.

We were talking earlier about how do you cut tax rates and increase tax revenue. Think about this one example in Jacksonville Industries. They were getting ready to lay off two workers, and they end up hiring three because they are more efficient and keep more of what they earn and buy new equipment and machinery. That is five people that could have been on unemployment and food stamps and welfare, five people taking from the Federal Treasury because they had dire needs. But instead of five people taking from the Treasury, it is five people paying into the industry.

That is how it happens. That is how you cut tax rates and increase revenues. That is five Americans who are putting a roof over their family's head and start putting money in the college fund. That is the difference that this has made. And yet the Democrats want, at Christmastime, if you can believe that, want to present the American people with a big, fat tax increase.

Mr. Speaker, that is a very important point. I know when this debate takes place tomorrow, and we have heard about so many of the great tax relief provisions which have been passed for American families and small business, and how they are going to be taken away tomorrow if we do not defeat this Democrat tax increase, but the capital gains and dividends, we know the rhetoric. The class warfare rhetoric of our friends on the other side of the aisle, we know it is coming. Yet I sit here and I think they claim they love jobs, they just seem to hate the people who create them. Capital gains and dividends is all about investment. Again, you cannot have the benefits of capitalism and job creation without that capital in the first place.

Since I was quite young, I have held a number of jobs in my life. My first job, I come from an agricultural family. We raised poultry. Frankly, my first job in life was cleaning out chicken houses. It was a job I did not want to hold for later on. Later I bussed tables at the Holiday Inn in College Station, Texas. I used to be a desk clerk at the Ramada Inn. I used to load windows at a window factory in Bryan, Texas. I am trying to live it down, but I actually practiced law once. I was an officer in two different corporations.

The point I am making is of all of the jobs I have had, I have always tried to work hard and tried to learn something and tried to improve myself and move up that ladder. And guess what, in all of the jobs I have had, no poor person ever hired me. No poor person ever hired me. It was somebody who had managed to amass some capital, and he or she went out and risked that capital in a business enterprise that succeeded and because of that I got a job. I received a paycheck.

Again, you cannot love jobs and hate the people who create them. By trying to increase the taxes on capital gains and dividends, you are attacking investors, you are attacking job creators and you are taking away jobs from American families, and that is wrong and that is another reason we must defeat this Democrat tax increase tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, over half of Americans are invested in the stock market. They do have some form of dividend or capital gains and it is really their nest egg. Those are the 401(k) plans to help them in their retirement years. That is money that is put away for education for their children, and yet our Democrat colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to tax away that dream. They want to tax away that nest egg by passing a huge tax increase tomorrow. That is over half of Americans in just this one provision. Just this one provision would see a huge tax increase right before Christmas if we do not defeat this Democrat tax increase tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate again the gentlewoman yielding, and I appreciate her point that is so important that tax relief has driven job creation. You take away the tax relief, as our Democrat colleagues are trying to do, and you end up taking away the jobs.

Let me again return to my congressional district. As I said earlier this evening, how proud I am that I have the honor of representing the Fifth Congressional District in Texas. There is a small business there named Hugh Dublin, who has a company called East Texas Right of Way. He has been in business for 8 years. He works hard. His company specializes in the leasing and purchasing of right of ways for different corporate clients. Before we passed tax relief, his company had two full-time employees. That is a small business. But thanks to tax relief, his business expanded and he went out and hired two more. He hired a gentleman by the name of Dan and another gentleman by the name of David. They were unemployed. But thanks to the tax relief package, they got jobs in a business that was growing.

But yet this week, the Democrats want to increase taxes on Hugh Dublin and East Texas Right of Way. They want to take away the paychecks of Dan and David and replace them with welfare checks, and they call that compassion.

Let me tell you another example. There is a gentleman in my congressional district named Eddie Alexander. He has a small business called Triple S Electric. It is an electrical contracting business for residential and commercial. For the past 3\1/2\ years, he worked alone and he had one part-time helper. But thanks to the boom in the economy brought about by tax relief, and we have not even talked about the fact that we have the highest rate of homeownership in the history of America and each and every one of those homes needs electricity, since the economic growth package with tax relief was passed, he went out and hired two full-time employees. He hired a gentleman by the name of Jarad, who was unemployed and he hired a gentleman by the name of John, who was also unemployed in Henderson County, Texas. Now all of a sudden, the Democrats want to raise taxes on Eddie Alexander and Triple S Electric.

And it is just so important that everybody realize this connection between preserving tax relief, preventing a tax increase and preserving our jobs. Again, over 4 million new jobs created in this economy since we passed tax relief. Why would we want to go back? Why would we want to take that tax relief away and pass a huge tax increase, because that affects real people all across America.

Let me give you another example. I talked earlier about the fact that we are enjoying the highest rate of homeownership in the history of the United States of America. I mean, home ownership, part and parcel of the American Dream. Well, somebody has to go out and help renovate those homes and build new homes. And one of those gentleman is in my congressional district back in Texas, a gentleman by the name of Gil Travers of Travers and Company. He is a home builder. Prior to us passing the economic growth legislation with the tax relief, he had just a handful of workers; but once we passed the tax relief, he had to hire extra workers. He hired a lady named Jan, who was unemployed, to help him clean up some of his job sites. She got so busy that she had to hire two people who were unemployed to help her clean up the job site, a gentleman by the name of Calvin and another lady by the name of Christy, all because of tax relief.

And yet this week the Democrats want to raise taxes on Travers and Company Home Builders. They want to jeopardize the pay checks of Jan and Calvin and Christy and replace them with welfare checks, and they call that compassion.

Well, again, it illustrates just how valuable the tax relief has been to our economy. We have spoken this evening at length about over 4 million new jobs. Four million new jobs in the future that have been created. Four million new paychecks. That is what compassion is all about. Compassion is not measured by the number of welfare checks that are printed in Washington. It is measured by the number of paychecks that are printed all over the United States of America.

Our GDP growth, 2\1/2\ years straight where each and every quarter of economic growth has been over 3 percent. We have consumer spending that is advancing, advanced 4.2 percent during the third quarter. Retail sales are up. Real disposable income for our working families is up since we passed the tax relief package in our economic growth legislation. And manufacturing, which has faced many, many challenges in recent years, manufacturing production is continuing to expand. We have increases in productivity, and the list goes on and on and on. And all of this is threatened if we permit the Democrats to offer their Christmas gift to the American people, a huge tax increase; and that is why it is so vital, so vital tomorrow that we do not allow that to happen.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor the Poteet High School Pirate Marching Band for their recent victory at the University Interscholastic League State AAAA Marching Band Championship. On November 8, 2005, the Pirates competed against more than 20 other bands from across the State of Texas and won their second State Championship since 1997.

I would like to recognize the students and directors of the Poteet Pirates Marching Band, especially director Scott Coulson. Scott Coulson has been a strong role model and exceptional leader for the Poteet Pirates Marching Band.

As the Congressional representative of the students, parents, and teachers involved with the Poteet High School Marching Band, it is my pleasure to recognize their tremendous victory. This is an accomplishment that these young men and women will remember for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the leadership and achievements of Janie Walenta, former president of the Westlake Republican Women.

Mrs. Walenta has served the Republican Party as a Precinct Chair and election judge. In addition, she has been actively involved with the Dallas Republican Career Women, the Bayview Century Club, and the Westlake Republican Women's Club. Through her service she continues to strengthen the Republican Party through candidate recruitment, training and election activities as well as advocating the GOP's common sense conservative philosophy of faith, family, free enterprise, and freedom.

Janie Walenta is a graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Dallas, and is currently employed a senior consultant with O'Neal Communications Management.

Today, I would like to recognize Janie Walenta's service and help making our community and our country a better place to live and to honor her as a strong Republican woman embodying the energy, vision and values of our party.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to help celebrate two significant anniversaries of Rotary International. This year, Rotary International celebrates its 100th anniversary. From its humble roots in Chicago, Illinois, Rotary has grown into a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Since 1943, Rotary International has distributed more than $1.1 billion to combat Polio, promote cultural exchanges and encourage community service.

I also want to recognize the Dallas Rotary Club for their 95 years of service to Dallas County. Throughout its history, the Dallas Rotary Club has achieved great success in carrying out the mission of Rotary International.

The Dallas Rotary Club has raised money for community programs and events, from the local bike rodeo and youth summer camps, to teacher award programs and as far away as supporting our troops fighting in Iraq and being housed in San Antonio. In addition, they strongly support organizations, such as the Children's Medical Center and Scottish Rite Hospital.

Through these initiatives, the Dallas Rotary Club exemplifies the values of service and charity that lie at the heart of American society. As one of the Congressional representatives of the members of this outstanding organization, it is my distinct pleasure to honor them today in the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Dallas County Council of Republican Women. Fifty years ago, 17 Republican Women's groups joined to form an alliance, based on the guiding principle of the National Federation of Republican Women, ``to foster and encourage loyalty to the Republican Party and the ideals for which it stands.''

For the past 50 years, the Dallas County Council of Republican Women have worked together to support Republican Women's groups in the area as they promote the principles of the Grand Old Party and help elect Republican leaders from the Courthouse to the White House. The Dallas County Council of Republican Women continues to serve Republican Women's Clubs through meetings, a council newsletter and website, and training seminars.

Today, I would like to honor the Dallas County Council of Republican Women and their leaders, including: Pat Jordan (1955), Eleanor Owens (1956), Tilla Lindsey (1956), Mary Jester (1957, 1958), Dorothy Cameron (1959), Bobbie Biggert (1960), Glenna McCord (1960, 1961, 1962), Babs Johnson (1963, 1964), Linda Holloway (1965), Ann Good (1965), Alice Hale (1966), Jonita Hilton, (1967), Anne Nicholson (1968, 1969), Peeps Moffett (1970), Jan Bryant (1970), Iris Snell (1971, 1972), Dottie Beckham (1972, 1973, 1974), Barbara Staff (1975), Ruth Potter (1976, 1977), Ginny Bauman (1978), Shirley Dickinson (1979, 1980), Jean Rheudasil (1981, 1982), Marianna Ziegler (1983, 1984), Jan Patterson (1985, 1986), Edith Schuler (1987, 1988), Lynne Tweedell (1989, 1990), Alma Box (1991, 1992), Betty Doke (1993, 1994), Sandy Melton Stephens (1995, 1996), Sue Hutchins (1997, 1998), Rosella Hutchison (1999, 2000), Taffy Goldsmith (2001, 2002), Valerie E. Ertz (2003, 2004); Deborah Brown (2005). These strong Republican women embody the energy, vision and values of our party.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to help celebrate two significant anniversaries of Rotary International. This year, Rotary International celebrates its 100th anniversary. From its humble roots in Chicago, Illinois, Rotary has grown into a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Since 1943, Rotary International has distributed more than $1.1 billion to combat polio, promote cultural exchanges and encourage community service.

I also want to recognize the Southeast Dallas Rotary Club for their 19 years of service to Dallas County. Throughout its history, the Southeast Dallas Rotary Club has achieved great success in carrying out the mission of Rotary International.

The Southeast Dallas Rotary Club has raised money for Dallas Independent School District (DISD) and supported programs to buy school supplies for students. In addition they have been involved in local projects, such as constructing neighborhood parks and helping individuals in need with home improvements.

Through these initiatives, the Southeast Dallas Rotary Club exemplifies the values of service and charity that lie at the heart of American society. As the Congressional representative of the members of this outstanding organization, it is my distinct pleasure to honor them today in the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good colleague and fellow Texan for yielding to me this evening. I appreciate his leadership on the issue of helping promote economic growth and helping promote jobs in our economy. I also want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, for his illuminating presentation and, indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we benefited by many, many words tonight through those pictures.

There are a number of facts that the American people need to know, Mr. Speaker, and I hope that we can help illuminate those this evening. As we enter the Christmas season, people are looking for some good news and, Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of good news out there. There is good news because of the economic policies that have been enacted by this Republican Congress at the instigation of President Bush.

Since we passed tax relief, as the gentlemen have pointed out, 4.4 million new jobs, jobs with a future, have been created in this economy. That is 4.4 million new jobs. Mr. Speaker, that is wonderful news at this Christmas season. Now, before we passed the tax relief, this economy was struggling. It was struggling after 9/11, it was struggling after the wake of all the corporate scandals, and it was struggling in the wake of the bust in the high-tech bubble.

But what this President knew, and what this Republican Congress knew, is that if you would only allow the American people to keep more of what they earned, put more capital into small business, allow families to keep more of what they earn as they go about

their daily lives, that people would go and they would expand their businesses.

They would become entrepreneurs, and they would start new businesses. And then the greatest housing program, nutritional program, and educational program in the history of mankind would be created, and that is a job in the free enterprise system.

Thanks to the tax relief policies of this Republican Congress, that is what has been done. Now we are going to have this incredibly important vote, I believe, at the end of this week where the Democrats are trying to increase taxes yet again on the American people. What is odd about the procedures that we have, and my colleague from Texas knows this, but when a Member of Congress does something to enact spending, spending is forever; but somehow tax relief is only temporary. We have to vote to keep it alive. Spending goes on forever and ever and ever, but we have to keep tax relief alive.

This is not about any further tax cut; this is about preventing tax increases on the American people. That is what this is about. Already the Democrats want to take all of the tax relief that has been enacted in past years away. Somehow they want to bring back the death tax so Americans will have to visit the undertaker and the IRS on the same day. They want to bring back the marriage penalty so that when two people fall in love, they are going to have to pay Uncle Sam extra money if they want to get married. They would double the child tax credit.

I can tell you as a father of two young children, it is not easy. And yet the Democrats want to take that child tax credit and cut it in half. They want to take away the accelerated depreciation for small business and they want to tax investments, the capital of capitalism, that makes all of these jobs possible.

Mr. Speaker, I have held a number of jobs in my life. I used to clean out chicken houses on a poultry farm. I used to tote luggage at a Holiday Inn in College Station, Texas, and I used to bus tables. And although I am somewhat loathe to admit it, I actually practiced law at one time.

That is an excellent question. I will say this, though. It has proven to be excellent practice for this particular avocation of Congress since there are a number of messes that have been left here as well that need cleaning up.

But the point I was going to make is that of all of the jobs I have held, no poor person ever hired me. It was somebody who rolled up their sleeves, risked their capital, and went out and created a business. So Democrats keep on telling us how much they love jobs, they just seem to hate everybody that creates them because they want to go out and tax and tax and tax and tax. That is no Christmas gift for the American people.

Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, what is going to happen later this week, if we allow the Democrats to impose their tax increases yet again on the American people, let me tell you what could happen to the 4.4 million jobs that have been created because of tax relief. Let me tell you about just a few in my congressional district.

Not long ago, I went to visit a small business in my congressional district called Jacksonville Industries located in Jacksonville, Texas. They are an aluminum and zinc die cast business. They employ about 20 people. Prior to passing tax relief, due to competitive pressures, they were on the verge of having to lay off two of their workers, two of 20. That is 10 percent of their workforce.

Because of what we call ``accelerated depreciation,'' they were able to go out and buy this new piece of equipment. It is large. It is noisy. I could not tell you what it does, but it makes them more competitive. And because it makes them more competitive, they went out and hired three new workers. They did not lay off two. They hired three. They hired Roger. They hired Jess. They hired Victor.

The Democrats now, though, they want to go and increase the taxes on Jacksonville Industries. They want to take away the paychecks from Roger and Jess and Victor and replace them with welfare checks. Mr. Speaker, they call that compassion.

I will tell you about Hugh Dublin and East Texas Right of Way and Tennessee Colony over in Anderson County in my district in east Texas.

This company specializes in the purchase of leasing and leasing of right-of-way for property for many different purposes. Previously, it had two full-time employees, a very small business. But once we passed tax relief, this business took off. The economy soared. As you have seen earlier this evening, we are having over 4 percent economic growth. Their business soared, and so East Texas Right of Way went out and hired two other people who are unemployed, Dan and David. Those are two new workers who now have good jobs.

Yet the Democrats this week are trying to increase taxes on Hugh Dublin and East Texas Right of Way. They want to take away Dan and David's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks. And, Mr. Speaker, they call that compassion.

Let me give you one more example. Eddie Alexander of Triple S Electric in Henderson County, Texas, once again in my congressional district, has a small business that specializes in residential and commercial electrical contracting. Up until we passed the tax relief, his business consisted of himself with one part-time helper. But since the passage of tax relief and the economic boom that has brought on, he has hired two new individuals. He hired Jarad. Jarad was unemployed. He hired John. John was unemployed. Now they are both full-time employees. They started at minimum wage, and they have worked hard. They are now making above minimum wage, and they have both been able to go out and provide homes for their families, something that earlier they could not do.

Yet the Democrats this week are trying to raise taxes on Eddie Alexander and Triple S Electric. They want to take away Jarad and John's paychecks and replace them with welfare checks.

Mr. Speaker, they call that compassion. I do not see the compassion in that. I see compassion in keeping the tax relief alive. I see compassion in preventing tax increases on small businesses and preventing tax increases on American families. That is where I see the compassion.

Let me tell you about some more compassion that I see in the economic policies of this President and this Republican Congress. We are seeing the highest rate of homeownership in the entire history of the United States of America under this administration and this Republican Congress. The highest rate of homeownership. Part and parcel of the American Dream is to go out and have your own home and put that roof over the heads of your own family. That is the American Dream. Under this administration, this Republican Congress, our policies, our tax relief policies that the Democrats are trying to take away, so many people have been able to buy new homes because of the tax relief. Yet the Democrats would take that all away with their tax increases. The compassion is seeing that we have the highest rate of homeownership in the entire history of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, as you have heard earlier this evening, this Nation still has a big deficit challenge. But you know what, since we have passed tax relief, the deficit has come down. I wish it were because we were spending less. Many of us fight the battles up here to try to protect the family budget from the Federal budget. But what it is, we have cut tax rates and guess what, we have more tax revenues. And do not believe me, it is not my opinion, go to the United States Treasury. Look at the report. It is there in black and white. Already individual income tax receipts are up 14.6 percent over last year since we passed tax relief. Business income tax, corporate income taxes are up a whopping 47 percent. More revenues, more tax revenues are bringing down the deficit.

Now, for some people that may not make a lot of sense, but it is happening. We have the proof. Mr. Speaker, we have seen it in history. Under President Reagan when we cut marginal tax rates, guess what? Not only did the economy grow but so did tax revenues. Tax revenues grew by about 25 percent.

The same is true under the Kennedy administration. They cut tax rates, and real economic growth was promoted at about a 5 percent rate, and it increased revenues to the Federal Government by about 33 percent.

You can go back to what some people consider fairly ancient history, the Coolidge administration. Guess what? They cut tax rates and they got more tax revenue, an increase of 61 percent. Why? Again, if you will allow the American people, if you will allow small businesses, if you allow American families to keep more of what they earn, they will go out. They will start that new barbecue stand over on the corner. They will start a new transmission shop over there, and they will grow a new automobile dealership on that street corner. It is free enterprise. We have 200 years of history to show us that is where jobs of the future are created. That is where the great nutritional program is, the great health care program, the great educational program.

But to support that free enterprise system, we have to prevent the Democrat tax increase that they are trying to impose upon the American people. I want to thank my colleague from Texas in leading this Special Order this evening and making sure that the American people know that due to the economic policies of this Republican Congress and this Republican President, there is a lot of good news today, 4.4 million new jobs. But that is in peril. It is in peril if we do not prevent the Democrat tax increase that we know is coming and coming soon.

But when the American people know what is at stake, when they know that the Democrats want to increase taxes and take away jobs, the American people are not going to buy into that; and we will keep this economy growing and the American people will truly have a great Christmas and a great holiday season.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Soroptimist Women of Garland. Soroptimist International was founded in 1921 as an international organization of business and young professionals who work to improve the lives of fellow women and girls. In 1954, the Soroptimist Club of Garland was chartered with Mrs. Lillie Alma Bradfield serving as the first president.

Today the Soroptimist Women of Garland are dedicated to providing service opportunities to women focusing their service endeavors on the local community. They support community projects ranging from renovating domestic violence shelters and providing mammograms for low- income women, to sponsoring self-esteem workshops for teenage girls. In addition, the Soroptimist Women of Garland raise funds to support charities such as Meals on Wheels and scholarships for students from the Garland Independent School District.

The Soroptimist Women of Garland are truly helping make our community and our country a better place to live. As the Congressional representative for this outstanding service organization, it is my pleasure to honor them as they celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exceptional leadership and outstandIng achievements of Ebby Halliday Acers, founder of Ebby Halliday Realtors. I would like to congratulate her on 60 years of extraordinary service to the North Texas community and to the real estate industry at large.

Ebby Halliday Realtors was recently honored as one of the ``50 Best Companies to Work For'' in Texas, as named by Texas Monthly, the Texas Association of Business and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Founded in 1945, Ebby Halliday Realtors began as a single office operation that now consists of 28 branches and serves 12,000 square miles in North Texas. Today, Ebby Halliday Realtors is the 20th largest independent residential real estate company in the nation and the single largest in Texas. In 2004, their 1,500 sales associates and staff assisted more than 18,000 families in finding new homes.

Ebby Halliday has also remained an active and important member of our community. Her civic and professional endeavors have earned her the highest recognition and awards. I am proud to honor Ebby Halliday and her valuable contributions to the real estate industry and her community in the United States House of Representatives.