Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor the Van Vandals boy's basketball team who won the Texas 3A High School Basketball Championship on March 11, 2005. In their first trip to the state finals in 63 years, the Vandals beat Graham High School to return home with the state championship trophy. The victory capped off an outstanding season for the Vandals with an impressive record of 38-2.

I would like to recognize teammates Grant McMillan, Kacey McCauley, Cory Foster, Beau Garland, Marcus Brown, Cody Huffman, Dalvin Davis, Duncan McFarland, Brandon Roberts, Chris Gossett, Andrew Thompson, Kenny Ghormley, Jeramie Calhoun, Wade Mackey, as well as Head Coach Jerry Cassell and Assistant Coaches Jeff Hutchins and Rick Jones.

As the congressional representative of the families, coaches, and supporters of the Van Vandals, it is my pleasure to recognize their tremendous victory and outstanding season. This is an accomplishment that these young men will remember for the rest of their lives.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to recognize the outstanding achievement of Amanda Blakely of Crandall, Texas, who was recently named the winner of the 37th Annual Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

Amanda, who is a graduating senior from Crandall High School is the High School Print Winner for her work, ``Ms. Mary and the Big Blue House.'' Her work takes readers into the home of foster parents Mike and Mary Brooks through moving interviews with three teenagers who have been placed in their care by the Texas Children's Protective Services.

The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards honor outstanding reporting of problems of the disadvantaged. RFK Journalism Award winners have covered such diverse issues as child abuse, juvenile crime, bank redlining and discrimination against people living with AIDS. Past winners of this prestigious award include Diane Sawyer of ABC, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, and CBS's ``60 Minutes.''

This is the second major national journalism award for Amanda. In November 2003, Bob Scheiffer presented Amanda with the Ryan White Foundation National Journalist Award at the Journalism Educators Association Convention in Washington, DC. Amanda has also received national honors from the Los Angeles Times in August of 2004.

Award-winning work and journalism must run in Amanda's genes. In 1988, her late grandmother, Jannette Cox, of Athens, Texas, was honored by both the Texas House and Senate as well as by United States Congressman Jim Chapman for her work with the Athens Creative Center. Amanda's grandfather, John H. Cox, now a journalist for the Cedar Creek Pilot, once was assigned to cover former Texas Governor, now President, George W. Bush for the Jacksonville Daily Progress.

As Congressman for the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, I would like to recognize Amanda and congratulate her grandparents, along with her parents Gerald and Lynda Blakely, for her outstanding accomplishment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 1185, the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005. As a member of the Financial Services Committee, I want to thank Chairman Oxley and Subcommittee Chairman 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, which passed by a vote of 411-11 in the 108th Congress, will help to create a more stable, fair, and secure banking system. By combining the Banking Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund into one single fund, the risk that a couple of large institutions could fail and impair each fund is greatly reduced. Merging these funds will help to increase fairness in our banking system by eliminating the possibility that two institutions of similar sizes could essentially be paying different premiums. Furthermore, the merged fund will make reporting and accounting less burdensome for both the institutions and the FDIC.

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, allowing them to properly price premiums to reflect 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.

Although I support the majority of provisions of H.R. 1185, I do want to take this time to express my concerns with Section 3 of this legislation. This section of the bill would increase a financial institution's insurance limit for individual accounts from $100,000 to $130,000. Section 3 also doubles the coverage for retirement accounts to $260,000 and increases the coverage limit for municipal accounts to $2 million or 80 percent of any deposits over $130,000. I believe that arbitrarily increasing these limits will unnecessarily expose American taxpayers to the increased hazards associated with shifting risk from private institutions to the federal government. Further, such a provision is likely to decrease a depositor's concern for the financial well being of their bank while at the same time diminishing market discipline. It is my hope that these factors are given full consideration should H.R. 1185 be considered in conference with the Senate.

Mr. Chairman, FDIC Chairman Powell stated in his testimony to the Financial Services Committee on March 17, 2005, that H.R. 1185 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, and I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 1185.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in very strong support of this conference report. And I also want to congratulate the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle), the chairman of the Budget Committee, who I know is on the floor now.

Mr. Speaker, I believe he probably has the most difficult job that one has in the United States House of Representatives; and that is, each one of us, 435 of us, have opinions about how much money we should take from American families and spend in government, and once we get that money what should we spend it on.

And certainly I have my opinions. I believe we need to do more to protect the family budget from the Federal budget. And at the same time there are some categories of government I wish we could spend more money on. I believe that there is still more we could do in policing our border, more we can do in veterans health care.

But I strongly support this budget for several reasons. Number one, a budget is a whole lot more than just numbers. It is more than just an accounting green eye-shade function. It is about priorities. It is about vision.

This is a budget that provides for the common defense. This is a budget that helps us fight and win this war on terror. It is a budget that promotes economic growth.

Under this Republican administration's economic policies, we have come out of the recession. We have created 3 million jobs. We are giving Americans jobs and growth and hope and opportunity. And this budget protects that.

And perhaps also, very important and very historic, this budget provides for something we call reconciliation. Now, in Washington terms, that is kind of an insider baseball term. But what it means is we start the process to reform our entitlement spending.

Now, why is that important?

Our friends on the other side of the aisle are always talking about how, for some reason, their budget is fiscally responsible and ours is not. But right now we have Medicare; over the next decade it is growing to grow at 9 percent a year. Medicaid is going to grow at almost 8 percent a year. Social Security is growing at 5\1/2\ percent a year. The General Accounting Office tells us that if we do not reform these programs, that we are on a glide path to where our children and our grandchildren will have to see their taxes increased 2\1/2\ times. This is fiscally responsible?

Sure. We can balance the budget in 2040. All we do is we leave spending on automatic pilot, and we raise taxes on our children and grandchildren 2\1/2\ times.

Mr. Speaker, I see nothing fiscally responsible in that approach. And this is why I am a strong supporter of this. And I believe we must start the process of reform. Our children and grandchildren are facing this legacy, this sea, this tsunami of red ink. There is a question of generational fairness here.

And Mr. Speaker, many of us in this Chamber know that we can get better retirement security at a lesser cost. We can get better health care at a lesser cost if we just have different policies. I mean, right now we know, we know that if we will embrace real Social Security personal accounts with real assets that owners can work and have a nest egg, that they can get more, greater retirement security than what present Social Security is promising and cannot deliver.

Now, our friends on the other side of the aisle will find fault in this budget in a couple of ways. And I have been listening to the debate. They say tax relief is why we have these massive budget deficits.

Well, unfortunately, they have not looked at the latest Treasury reports. We have actually cut marginal rates. And guess what? We have more tax revenue because people have incentives to go opt and create new small businesses and to expand and to hire new people. Again, look at the facts. The facts are indisputable. We have cut marginal tax rates, and we increase more tax revenue.

But say that we believe in their theory, that tax relief is actually part of the problem. Say tax relief was just a line item that said the office of widget control.

Well, if you look very closely at what this budget does, it provides $16.6 billion in tax relief versus $2.5 trillion in spending. That is less than 1 percent. So somehow less than 1 percent of the Federal budget supposed to cause all these problems? I do not think so. In this case, tax relief has proven to be part of the deficit solution, not the deficit problem.

And when it comes to the deficit, the deficit is really a symptom. It is spending that is the disease. And without real reform, without real reconciliation, we do not get it, Mr. Speaker, and this is why I am so strongly in favor of this budget resolution.

And once again I congratulate our great chairman, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle) for the work he has done.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to congratulate the Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) Cardinal Cheerleaders for their recent victory in the National Cheerleaders Association Junior College Division Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Cardinal Cheerleaders posted an impressive score of 9.04 in the final round, earning TVCC their eighth national cheerleading title, the team's third since 2001.

On behalf of the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, I would like to extend my congratulations to all of the members of the TVCC Cheerleading team including: Kolan Lynch, Amber Trahan, Dreekus Burton, Eric Mahame, Loren Taylor, Kynan Downs, Jacqueline Vogel, Andy Cessac, Erica Weems, Charles Gilbert, Kyle McCall, Courtney Pike, Danny Ogura, Jennifer Tacker, Adam Yeatts, Lindsey Gonzales, Jesse Salas, Drew Clements, Megan Centeno, Dion Bagby, Wendy Hall, Kyle Fowler, Roxann Wylie, and Greg Smalley. I would also like to congratulate their coach, Lucy Strom, on their tremendous victory.

The Cardinal Cheerleaders exemplify the hard work and team spirit of TVCC's student body and the institution's continuing commitment to excellence.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to congratulate the citizens of Malakoff, Texas, on their Sesquicentennial celebration on April 30, 2005. For the last 150 years, Malakoff has been home to fine families and a wonderful community rich in the traditions of East Texas.

According to the Handbook of Texas, the area we now know as Malakoff was first settled by Jane Irvine, a widow from Alabama, who immigrated with her family to the area before 1835. Once settled in Texas, they built a gristmill on Caney Creek, and a small community grew up around the mill. In 1852 the name was changed to Mitcham Chapel after a Methodist church of the same name organized by the Rev. Hezekiah Mitcham.

Around 1855 the city fathers applied for a post office under the suggested names of Mitcham or Purdon. Both names had already been used. The Postmaster, who had been reading about the Crimean War, suggested the name Malakoff, after a Russian town that had gained prominence during the war.

Since that time, Malakoff has grown, but it is has always maintained its small town East Texas roots. Lying at the gateway of East Texas, Malakoff boasts award-winning schools and plays host to the annual Malakoff Cornbread Festival.

During their Sesquicentennial celebration this year, the citizens of Malakoff can be proud of their past and optimistic about their future. As Congressman for the Fifth District of Texas, it is a privilege to represent them in the United States House of Representatives. On

this important occasion, I would like to extend my best wishes to the citizens of Malakoff and offer my heartfelt prayers for continued prosperity and success over the next 150 years.

Mr. Chairman, today the House of Representatives approved the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R. 6). I supported this bill because our nation needs to take positive steps towards ending our nation's dangerous dependence on foreign sources of energy. This bill helps by allowing America to better utilize sources of energy that we possess right here at home. Furthermore, by streamlining the regulations governing domestic and off-shore energy production and repealing current restrictions on the ability of people to invest in electricity, H.R. 6 increases our energy security and makes certain that our economy will continue to have access to the energy that is necessary for growth.

Unfortunately, despite its strengths, H.R. 6 also contains a number of provisions that I believe are unnecessary at best, and detrimental to the American taxpayer at worst. This bill contains dozens of newly authorized programs, including programs to acquire scooters and Segways. Although I believe there is a role for the government in helping develop cleaner sources of energy, the country currently faces an oncoming fiscal tsunami. To that end, I believe that we need to exercise extreme caution with the money entrusted to us by the American people.

Additionally, while H.R. 6 undoubtedly contains vital provisions aimed at improving energy efficiency, conservation, and development of alternative fuel sources, I am concerned that many of the tax incentives used to achieve these purposes will lead to the government picking winners and losers in the marketplace. In light of high gas prices, I believe there are already numerous incentives for energy users to develop ways to conserve and use energy more efficiently. Furthermore, high energy prices can also be a powerful driver of innovation for alternative, renewable fuels. Any producer who can develop an alternative fuel that is as efficient, reliable, and at least as cost-effective as gasoline could make tremendous profits in the energy market, even without government encouragement.

I congratulate Chairman Joe Barton on crafting a bill that makes our nation safer and less dependent on foreign energy. His leadership and commitment to passing this needed legislation should be commended. H.R. 6 will make energy in this country more affordable, increase our energy security, and help Americans use energy in ways that are increasingly environmentally friendly. It is my hope that when we go to conference with the Senate, our conferees will remember the importance of promoting competition and innovation, while protecting taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exceptional leadership, character, and outstanding achievements of my dear friend, Mayor Jerry King of Athens, Texas. After an unprecedented five terms in office and 10 years of exceptional service, Mayor King has decided to step down as mayor. His decision is truly a loss to the citizens of Athens, Texas.

A responsive and fiscally responsible leader, Jerry King has always brought Athens together to achieve many worthy goals, including the opening of a new city hall that is modern and meeting the needs of the citizens of that community and the Texas Freshwater Fishery Center, which is truly a wonderful showplace facility for Athens and east Texas that helps educate numerous tourists and school children on the wonders of nature and the environment and our freshwater fish.

He has helped revitalize downtown Athens, Texas. Mr. Speaker, at a time when many small towns in rural America and rural Texas have seen a decline, they have seen their glory days pass them up, downtown Athens is vibrant, it is alive, it is well, thanks to the leadership of Jerry King. It shows that Athens' glory days are in the present and in the future, not in the past.

Mayor King has also worked to improve Athens' transportation infrastructure through the new loop that is just vital to economic development in that part of east Texas. Mayor King has led and won the support on so many different programs and projects that are important to the people of Athens. This is truly a record of accomplishment.

Undoubtedly because of it, Mayor King is recognized as a strong and visionary leader throughout all of east Texas; and elected officials throughout East Texas, including myself, have sought his advice, his counsel, his wisdom.

Mr. Speaker, he is upbeat, he is optimistic, he is forward thinking and he is a good listener; and through his efforts he has made Athens, Texas, a better place to live, to learn, to work, and to raise a family.

Mr. Speaker, Jerry King has not only demonstrated his dedication to public service through his tenure as mayor but through his volunteer service and enthusiastic involvement in community organizations as well. Jerry has always led by example. He served as the president of the Henderson County YMCA, the president of the Athens Noon Kiwanis Club, the president of the Athens Teenage Baseball Association, the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the Athens Industrial Foundation, and the list goes on and on and on.

In his professional career, Jerry King has undertaken a noble life, that of educator. His life is one about improving education and strengthening our institutions of higher learning.

After graduating from Commerce High School, Jerry King attended Texas A&M University at Commerce, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics, a master's degree in business administration, and a doctorate in education.

He has put his education to work for the citizens of east Texas as a professor of management, business and economics at his beloved Trinity Valley Community College. Today he serves there as Dean of Occupational Instruction; and thanks to his work, young people from all over east Texas have been enlightened about business and economics, and thusly they have been empowered. They have been empowered by a great teacher that they respect and admire to go out and create the next generation of inventory software, to help found the next community bank next door.

As the Congressman for the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, I am pleased today to recognize my good friend Jerry King for his many years of public service as mayor and for the outstanding contributions he has made to the city of Athens. I also want to thank his wonderful and patient wife, Dosha, for the sacrifice she too has made on behalf of the people of Athens.

Although he is stepping down as mayor, Jerry King has truly made his community and country a better place. I know he will continue to do so, be it as public servant, leader, volunteer, or educator.

Mr. Speaker, the greatest compliment I can pay my friend Jerry King tonight is that when I think about my 19-month-old son, Travis, I can be proud if one day he would grow up to be just like Mayor Jerry King of Athens, Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of H.R. 8 and in support of this rule. I believe, as most Americans do, that it is unacceptable for a grieving family who has recently lost a loved one to get a visit from the undertaker and the IRS on the very same day. It is unconscionable, and it ought to be illegal.

The death tax is really a tax on the American dream. Americans work hard all their lives building up farms and ranches and small businesses, hoping that maybe one day they can pass this along to their families. But after years of payroll taxes and income taxes and sales taxes and property taxes, many businesses and farms just do not make it. And those that do, the government can step in and take over half of what they worked their entire life to build.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I grew up working on a farm, and I represent a large portion of rural East Texas. East Texas is a great place to live, but sometimes it can be a challenging place to make a good living.

Recently, I spoke to a rancher in my district who has worked hard nearly 30 years building up a cattle ranch operation. His greatest dream is one day to leave that ranch to his family. But with sadness in his voice he told me, you know what, Congressman? By the time the government takes its share, there is just not enough to go around.

It is not fair to take that family's ranch. It is not fair that Americans are being taxed twice on the same income. And it is not fair that the Federal Government can step in and automatically inherit 55 percent of the family farm, a family business or a family nest egg.

Mr. Speaker, let us vote for this rule. Let us support H.R. 8. Let us kill the death tax and breathe new life into the American dream.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I certainly appreciate his leadership on this vital issue to the future of many Americans, not only seniors but younger Americans. So I think it is especially apt that the youngest Member of the House of Representatives would help bring this issue to the national consciousness tonight.

I am also especially honored that I could follow the esteemed majority leader to the floor. But for his leadership we would not be having this discussion now. And due to his leadership and his courage and his commitment to principle, this House is trying to make a stand, not just for the next election but for the next generation, because I think as more Americans become familiar with the challenges in Social Security, they will soon realize that if this House does not act and act now that Social Security as we know it will not be there for future generations. And, Mr. Speaker, we cannot look ourselves in the mirror and let that happen.

And I not only speak for myself tonight, but I probably speak for many other Members of this body in saying that Social Security is more than just a run-of-the-mill congressional debate. It is something that is very personal to me because, Mr. Speaker, I have two parents who are in their 70s. Social Security is part of their retirement. My father worked all of his life paying into the system, and I feel a moral obligation not just as a Member of Congress but as a son to make sure that my parents receive every single penny of Social Security benefits that they paid for.

So as we have this discussion about what can we do for future generations, every Member of this Congress I believe is committed to the proposition that for anybody who is receiving Social Security today, or will soon be receiving Social Security, nothing in the system is going to change. That is a matter of fairness. That is a matter of commitment that this Nation has made to its seniors. But not only do I feel a moral commitment to my parents; I have a moral commitment to two other people. And that happens to be my daughter, Claire, who is 3 years old; and my son, Travis, who is 18 months old. And again my wife, Melissa, and I realize that if this body does not do something that the retirement security that my parents enjoy will not be there for our children; and that is simply not fair, Mr. Speaker.

Let me say that Social Security has indeed been a very important program in the history of America, and it has helped alleviate poverty for a number of seniors. It has given a lot of seniors peace of mind, but it is not a system that is based upon savings and investment. It is a system that takes funds from current workers to transfer to current retirees. That is a system that works well if we have a whole lot of workers and only a few retirees. And when Social Security was first created back in the 1930s, we had over 40 workers paying into a system to benefit every one retiree. As recently as 1950, that figure was down to only 16 workers paying into a system to benefit every one retiree. Today we are down to only 3.3 workers paying into a system for every one retiree. And today's younger workers are quickly on a road to see only two, two workers paying into a system for every one retiree. That presents incredible financial challenges to our Social Security system.

And there is another challenge we have. There is another demographic trend that is great for seniors, but not so great for the Social Security system, and that is when Social Security was first created, the life span of an average American worker was 60 years of age. Due to the marvels of modern medicine and better technology, today the average life span of a worker has increased to 77. So again we have fewer and fewer workers supporting more and more retirees, and these retirees are living longer and longer. The system cannot keep pace.

So what has Congress done in the past? In many respects it has started to take the security out of Social Security. As time has gone by, taxes have increased. Many benefits have been cut. So as time goes by, we start to lose the security in Social Security. Social Security was a great deal for my grandparents, who were born in roughly 1900. When we look at what they put into the system versus what they took out, they received a 12 percent rate of return on their Social Security. That is great retirement security, Mr. Speaker. That is great retirement security.

My parents who were born, my dad in the late 1920s, my mother in the early 1930s, they are receiving roughly a 4 percent rate of return on their Social Security. Not good, but not bad.

My generation, represented by those born around 1960, we are going to receive only about a 2.5 percent rate of return. That is barely keeping pace with inflation, Mr. Speaker. And my children, represented by those who were born approximately in the year 2000, they could receive a negative rate of return. In other words, they may be putting more money into the system than they take out. That, Mr. Speaker, is when we lose the security that is in Social Security.

So all of these financial pressures, where is this leading us? Unfortunately, it is soon going to lead us to a sea of red ink.

There is some good news. The good news is as of today, Social Security is still running a surplus. But for those who can see the top of this chart here, just 3 years away, the surpluses in Social Security begin to decline. And in just 12 years, in the year 2017, we go from having surpluses to having deficits. In other words, in the year 2017, Social Security begins to go bankrupt. And as the years go by, the sea of red ink only gets larger and larger and larger and larger. And, Mr. Speaker, that is indeed a large sea of red ink.

How large? The trustees of the Social Security trust fund tell us that is a $10.4 trillion sea of red ink that will simply drown the system, drown our children and grandchildren, if we do not act today.

Mr. Speaker, we often hear large numbers tossed around in the Nation's capital and $10.4 trillion is a very large number. But let me try to relate that to a number that we can all understand. In other words, what the Social Security trustees are telling us is that if we wanted to balance the system and ensure that our children and grandchildren have the same retirement security that current retirees have, every man, woman, and child in America would have to write a check today to the Federal Government for over $34,000. That is almost a $150,000 check from a family of four to try to balance this system. Mr. Speaker, my guess is not many Americans would want to write out that $34,000 check tonight. So we are going to look at some other options.

What are the options if we do not write out that check tonight to balance the system since we know we have fewer workers, more retirees, and they are living longer? If we do nothing, younger workers today who have just recently entered the workforce, those in their 20s, by the time they retire, they will have their Social Security benefits cut by a full third. How many seniors today could afford to have their Social Security benefits cut by a full third? So many seniors rely upon that Social Security. It is unconscionable. Is that the future we are going to leave our children and grandchildren?

Mr. Speaker, indeed, I appreciate the gentleman for bringing up that point because not only do we have a huge dollar amount to solve the problem today, every year that we turn our backs on this as a Congress, as a Nation, that mountain gets $600 billion higher each year of inaction. So, indeed, the cost of inaction is great.

Mr. Speaker, if for whatever reason we choose not to reduce benefits when we can use the least creative approach that has ever come out of Washington, D.C., and that is increase taxes, if we decide to try to solve this sea of red ink by raising taxes again, younger workers today will see their payroll taxes increase by 43 percent. I mean 43 percent, what a staggering tax increase on young families. I mean, what is that going to do for people who are trying to buy a home or start a family, and what is that going to do to job creation in America? It would be a crushing tax burden.

But at the end of the day, there are only three options if we are going to save Social Security as we know it for future generations. We are either looking at a massive tax increase, we are looking at a massive benefit cut, or we are looking at something else that the President is leading on, and that is having something called a personal retirement account, something that is going to have real assets in it that people own, that families can create a nest egg with, their own nest egg that will grow over time, and using something that Albert Einstein once called the greatest discovery he ever made in his life, and that was compound interest. And I believe that that is the option that we should begin to look at as a Nation, personal saving accounts.

And again I want to reiterate a couple of principles. No one is talking about changing Social Security. For those who are on Social Security tonight, those who are about to be on Social Security, we have a moral commitment to make sure that the system they worked on is there. But I hope, Mr. Speaker, that as time goes by and more Americans will listen to this debate, I do not know of any grandparent in America who wants to deny their grandchildren equal retirement security and equal retirement opportunity that they have enjoyed.

So I think it is critical that we turn to personal accounts so that younger workers on a voluntary basis, a total voluntary basis, will be able to put some money aside in an account that can grow over time. And I think what we are doing, Mr. Speaker, is we are adding the best elements of Social Security to the best elements of a company pension plan. We are going to keep the government backing. Nobody is ever going to lose all their retirement security. The government backing, the social safety net, will always be there. We are going to have guaranteed lifetime benefits. We are going to have progressive benefits for lower-income workers. But to that we are going to add worker ownership so that workers can actually own a part of their Social Security. They will be invested in the length and breadth of the American economy, not in their brother-in-law's real estate deal or in 100 shares of Enron, but we are talking about pension-grade investments that over time have proven to be safe and yield a retirement security better than Social Security promises and cannot deliver.

Some tonight would say, That sounds great but it sounds a little risky to me. The real risk is leaving one's retirement security in Washington because already Washington has raided the Social Security trust fund over 59 times, and they have spent that money for $75 million indoor rain forests, and they have spent it on $800,000 outhouses that do not even work and studies about how college students decorate their dorms. They spend it on a lot of things besides retirement security. There have been over 20 tax increases. And we started out taking 1 out of $50 for Social Security, now 1 out of 8. There have been multiple benefit cuts, declining rates of return, and no ownership rights.

Mr. Speaker, the real risk in Social Security is leaving America's seniors' retirement security in the hands of Washington. Because of that, I want to applaud my colleague from North Carolina, who has made a great impact as a freshman Member, I want to applaud him for his leadership and speaking out not only for the current generation of retirees but future generations of retirees, represented by my children.

Mr. Speaker, Social Security has been a vital program for America's retirees for many years. Unfortunately, it is a system that was designed in 1935, not 2005.

I have a personal stake in Social Security. My parents are in their 70s. They depend upon Social Security as part of their retirement. But I am also the father of two small children, and I owe them no less retirement security tomorrow than my parents enjoy today.

Unfortunately, fewer workers, more retirees, and longer life spans will bankrupt Social Security. We must work together to save the system, which can be done without changing benefits or raising taxes on current and near retirees. Instead, we can give younger workers the opportunity to voluntarily invest some of their payroll taxes in personal retirement accounts that they can own, which will grow over time and which Washington cannot take away.

By allowing them to do this and build their own nest eggs, and by protecting the Social Security surpluses from being raided in Washington, we can keep the promise of Social Security for the next generation of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor several members of our Nation's military who have recently returned home after serving our country with distinction in Iraq.

Specialist Rocky Padgett, Specialist Chad Sumner, Specialist James Tyson Zigler, Specialist Bud Rath, Specialist Bradrick Graves, Specialist James Arnold, Specialist Jason Yanna, Specialist Michael Easdon, Corporal Jason W. Fitzgerald, Sergeant Christopher Callaway, and Sergeant John L. Tetty all deserve our deepest appreciation and respect. In the face of tremendous danger, these 11 men bravely answered the call of duty to fight our enemies abroad so that we would not have to fight them here at home. Because of their efforts, America is safer today than it was just 2 years ago.

On behalf of the grateful citizens of the Fifth District of Texas, it is my pleasure to welcome these heroes home. America owes these men, and all who serve beside them in the War on Terror, a tremendous debt, one that we will probably never be able to fully repay. Today, we thank them for their courage, their patriotism, their service, and their sacrifice.

As these men return to their families, friends, and the lives they left behind, I want to ensure that they do so secure in the knowledge that it is through their service that America will one day be free from the horrors of terrorism. It is because of their service, that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy freedom, peace, prosperity, and the many other blessings that God has bestowed upon this great land, the United States of America.

Gentlemen, on behalf of a grateful Nation, welcome home.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor the Van Vandals boys' basketball team who won the Texas 3A championship on March 11, 2005. In their first trip to the state finals in sixty-three years, the Vandals beat Graham High School to return home with the state championship trophy. This is an accomplishment that the young men on the team will remember for the rest of their lives. As the congressional representative of the members, coaches, and supporters of the Van Vandals, it is my pleasure to recognize their outstanding accomplishment today on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like honor the life of Mrs. Anne Dora Moore Hall, 4 passed away on March 16, 2005. Mrs. Hall was born in Cherokee County, Texas to Miles Cleveland and Madge Edwards Moore. She lived most of her life in Dallas and had a long, successful career as an insurance executive.

A mother to two children, Robert and Steven, and wife to Bergen Hall, Mrs. Hall was also very active in her community. She was an officer in the Pierce Brooks Gospel Foundation, served on the Texas Safety Council, and worked with the Crippled Children's Foundation of America. She was also engaged in politics as a longtime member of the White Rock Women's Republican Club, the Public Affairs Luncheon Club, and working at her local precinct during elections.

As a mother, a wife, a businesswoman, and a community leader, Mrs. Anne Dora Moore Hall's life has embodied the values of family, community, and hard work that lie at the core of American society. As her representative in Congress, it is my distinct pleasure to honor her today on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, as the elected representatives of the American people, we have no greater responsibility than defending the lives and liberties of the most vulnerable among us. Today, both the legislative and executive branches of the United States government are acting in concert to defend the life of one such human being, Terri Schiavo.

While the legal issues related to this case remain uncertain, the moral issues could not be more clear. Terri Schiavo is very much alive today. By all appearances, she is responsive to her family and still has the capacity to feel joy and pain, like the rest of us.

Terri Schiavo has a right to live, and we have a responsibility to help her. With such complex ethical questions that fall between interpreting the law and saving an innocent human life, we must always err on the side of life.

President Abraham Lincoln said, ``I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.'' This week, millions of Americans, many of my colleagues, and I found ourselves in a similar position.

Through this action, Congress is not only saving the life of Terri Shiavo, we are making a statement about the country we live in and the culture of life which we seek.