Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, the amendment that I offer today would raise the reimbursement rate for veterans traveling to health care facilities. The current standard reimbursement rate for Federal employees is 36 cents per mile, while veterans are currently reimbursed at the much lower rate of 11 cents per mile for beneficiary travel. This amendment would require the VA Secretary to reimburse veterans at the standard Federal rate.

In 1978, Congress enacted authority for the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to have the discretion to adjust reimbursement for certain veterans' travels to and from VA health care centers. At the time, the standard rate for reimbursement was set at 11 cents per mile. Reimbursement for eligible veterans is also subject to a $3 deductible for each one way visit, not to exceed $18 in one calendar month.

Each year, the VA is required to review the beneficiary travel rate and has not taken any action to increase it, despite that review. As a result, the VA beneficiary travel rate has not been adjusted for 25 years. In comparison, travel reimbursement for Federal employees is currently 36 cents, more than three times the rate we pay veterans.

I currently serve as the vice chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health, and have been long an advocate for improving veterans' access to VA health care. This is particularly true for those of us who represent rural districts, and in my case there is no veterans hospital in that district.

A reasonable reimbursement rate for travel is integral for our veterans actually being able to have access to the VA health care they are entitled to. I support an increase in the beneficiary mileage reimbursement rate; but, unfortunately, the only way that it can be paid for in today's proceedings is through compromising medical care.

Therefore, at the end of my remarks, I intend to withdraw this amendment, but I would use this as an opportunity to urge not only my colleagues, but the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to request additional funding from Congress for a rate increase for beneficiary mileage.

Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I ask the cooperation of my colleagues in achieving this goal. I would ask that the Secretary work with us to come up with the necessary funding to increase that rate.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Offered By: Mr. Moran of Kansas

Amendment No. 16: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following new section:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here today as provisions of H.R. 2414, the Department of Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Employment Act, a bill that I introduced earlier this year, are included in this bill now before the House.

I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the full committee, as well as the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons), my predecessor as the chairman of the Health Subcommittee for their leadership and assistance in advancing this measure to the House floor today.

Mr. Speaker, these provisions will prompt the Department of Veterans Affairs to make chiropractic care available to America's veterans in VA facilities by granting specific employment authority in VA for chiropractic care as clinicians under title 38 of the United States Code.

Millions of Americans use the services of doctors of chiropractic. However, veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system are unable to receive this specialty care. Numerous studies have demonstrated that chiropractic care can and is an effective therapy.

Mr. Speaker, Congress has acted twice before on chiropractic care in the VA health care system, but our intent has not yet been implemented by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Signed into law in 1999, section 303 of Public Law 106-117 required the VA Under Secretary for Health to establish a defined policy regarding the role of chiropractic care for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. Almost a year later, the VA established what it deemed to be a ``policy'' on chiropractic care. However, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs found the VA's response to be inadequate.

As a result, in 2001, 2 years later, Congress enacted section 204 of Public Law 107-135. This legislation required the Secretary of VA to create a program of chiropractic care and services for veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system and specified that each of the VA's health care networks put at least one program in place. This law also required the establishment of a Chiropractic Advisory Committee within the Department and charged the committee to provide assistance to the Secretary in developing and implementing the chiropractic health care program.

While some progress has been made by the VA's Advisory Committee, the Department is now contending that formal organizational, qualification, and classification studies are needed due to the VA's lack of a specified employment authority in title 38 of the United States Code. Such an undertaking by the VA would probably require extensive use of specialized resources and more bureaucracy on the part of the Central Office, the Advisory Committee, the Office of Personnel Management, as well as outside consultants. We can remedy this situation with the bill before the House today to speed the VA's decision-making on establishing chiropractic clinical care positions within the Department.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Our bill will provide a specialty care program for our Nation's veterans, who are most deserving of this benefit.

I again thank the chairman for his leadership.

Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to a great man and a great Kansan, Senator Robert J. Dole. Tomorrow, July 22, is Senator Dole's 80th birthday. In those 80 years, Senator Dole has become one of the most influential figures in American politics. Part of the Greatest Generation, Senator Dole is an example of an ordinary American who was called upon to meet extraordinary challenges and has risen to those challenges time and time again.

A native of Russell, Kansas, Senator Dole was born to humble beginnings. I grew up within 20 miles of Bob Dole's hometown, and I know the dedication, commitment, love and respect that the people of Russell share for their hometown hero.

In high school, Senator Dole was a good student and a good athlete and went on to enroll at the University of Kansas to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a physician. Like so many of his time, he heard the call to defend his country and left KU after his sophomore year to join the U.S. Army.

Dole excelled in the military and he served as a platoon leader of the 10th Mountain Division in the allied liberation of northern Italy. For his service and bravery in World War II, Senator Dole was decorated with two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star medal.

Senator Dole is also well know for his service to our country as a Congressman, a U.S. Senator and the longest-serving Senate majority leader.

Senator Dole began his public service as the county attorney in Russell County where the entire county's population is less than 10,000 people. From there, he served 4 years in the State legislature before being elected to Congress where he would serve for the next 36 years.

During his time on Capitol Hill, Senator Dole was known as a tireless leader who worked relentlessly to forge alliances in order to pass significant legislation. As a disabled veteran, he championed legislation to improve the condition of his fellow veterans and for the disabled, including the landmark bill, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Senator Dole also served as Gerald Ford's running mate in 1976 and received the Republican nomination for President in 1996.

Starting this week, Senator Dole's legacy of public service will live on through the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. The Institute's director and four-time Presidential librarian, Richard Norton Smith, explained that ``this place is about service, that every generation could be the greatest generation.''

The Institute is a resource for the citizens of our great State and for our Nation. The Center for Politics and Media focuses on public programming, including the Dole Lecture Series, the Dole Prize for Leadership, and the Presidential Lecture Series. The KU campus will also be enriched by this new collection of resources.

I am proud that my alma mater, the University of Kansas, has created this living tribute to a life of service. A university has no greater mission than to prepare our Nation's future leaders. This center will serve as a tremendous resource in that cause.

Since Saturday, Lawrence, Kansas, has been the center of a 4-day celebration culminating in the formal dedication ceremony of the Institute tomorrow morning. The dedication festivities include activities reminiscent of World War II, including an air show, an airplane display, a veterans' reunion, a living history encampment, and a reenacted USO show.

These activities are only a small token of Kansas' appreciation and affection for Senator Dole. It is my hope he will realize how much his lifetime of public service means to our State and Nation.

Bob Dole is a tremendous role model for those of us involved in public service. I thank Senator Dole for his service to our country. He exemplifies so well our country's Greatest Generation, and happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a Kansan devoted to his community and to the State of Kansas. Mr. Charles Reese, a Rotarian since 1975, will be installed as the District Governor of District 5670 of Rotary International on Friday, July 11.

I am personally proud of Mr. Reese, who resides in my hometown of Hays, Kansas. District 5670 encompasses Hays and all of northwest Kansas. As District Governor, Mr. Reese will lead 31 Rotary clubs with 1200 members in a 38-county region.

Reese's dedication to his community is well known. Mr. Reese served the Hays community as a board member of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry and as chairman of the board of the Kansas PRIDE program. Last year, Charles retired as Vice President of Corporate Relations for Midwest Energy, an electric and natural gas utility based in Hays.

Mr. Reese's commitment to community service is an example of tremendous leadership. He served as President of the Heartland of Development Corporation and is currently serving as interim director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development. Mr. Reese and his wife, Louise, have also traveled to Panama with the Rotary District HungerPlus service teams. For his volunteer work in economic development, Charles received the 2002 Volunteer of the Year award from the Kansas Economic Development Association.

Not least of all, Charles and Louise are the proud parents of three grown daughters and grandparents of three grandsons. The family will celebrate Charles' formal installation as District Governor at a banquet Friday evening, July 11, in Hays.

Charles Reese is a role model for service to others. His devotion to his community, and to Rotary International, reflects his strong character and sense of duty to community, state, and nation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to utilize the time of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. Speaker, in Kansas today the combines and harvest crews are rolling through day 13 of the 2003 wheat harvest. Farm trucks and semi-trailers crowd the highways and gravel roads bringing Kansas's most celebrated crop from the fields to the grain bins and local elevators.

After a few days of rain, harvest is now in full throttle in the southern half of the largest wheat producing State. And with just under 20 percent of the harvest in, there is some good news to report. The yields are good and the landscape is of golden waves of grain, a welcomed change from the scenery of a year ago.

Two thousand and two was one of the worst years that farmers in Kansas ever faced. Because of severe drought wheat yields were poor, many families had net incomes of zero and farm equities plunged, the trickle down effect of the hard hit causing cash-flow problems for rural businesses and closing down stores on main streets in many small towns across our State.

But after consecutive years of natural disaster, Kansans can finally be cautiously optimistic this year. The harvest reports from producers are more positive and even a little upbeat this year, and the cause for that improvement can best be described in one word, rain. Thanks to the spring rains, many producers are getting their first wheat crop in 3 to 4 years. By the time this harvest is completed the first part of July almost 10 million acres of wheat will have been cut, the largest acreage harvested in our State in the last 5 years.

Behind the numbers of wheat harvest, bushels per acre, test weights, yields, are stories of real people who make farming their way of life. Harvest is a family affair. Although the methods of harvest are constantly changing thanks to new technology, the work ethic passed down from generation to generation still exists. Fathers, sons, grandfathers, brothers work side by side from dawn to sunset. A story in yesterday's Salina Journal paints the typical picture in a profile of the Anderson family from McPherson County. Wheat producer Tim Anderson is on the combine harvesting a field near Roxbury, Kansas. His father, Bill Anderson, is on another combine, and the third is manned by Tim's son Scott, age 17. Younger son Shawn is in a tractor nearby pulling the grain cart. Meanwhile Tim's wife, Renee, arrives in the field in a farm truck bringing lunch to the family. Harvest is a team effort.

In addition to being a family affair, the annual wheat harvest is a trademark claimed by our entire State, and we have been growing wheat there in Kansas since before Kansas became known as ``The Wheat State.'' Kansas's farmers produce more wheat than any other State, 20 percent of the Nation's total production, and Kansas ranks first in our Nation in flour milling, wheat gluten production and wheat stored. Kansas really is the ``Breadbasket of the World.''

Wheat harvest is a tradition, a legacy, and our livelihood, and as goes the wheat crop, so goes the Kansas economy. A good wheat harvest is the leading contributor to our State's revenue, about $1 billion annually.

So Mr. Speaker, as the combines roll northward and the harvest continues, it is good for all of us to take a few moments to recognize the lessons of the wheat field, to remember that there is satisfaction in making the right decisions and putting in the hard work to produce a bumper crop but ultimately mother nature has the final say in whether or not the yield is bountiful. That cautious optimism is the hallmark of every farmer who puts the seed in the ground hoping for a good harvest months later, and there are few things in life more rewarding than working with family side by side to complete the job of the wheat harvest. Wheat harvest is important to the Kansas economy but even more important as a way of life.

Kansans have been saying their prayers throughout the years of drought for rain and snowfall. Those prayers have been answered. Now we pray for abundant crops, good prices, and a safe harvest. Once again the old hymn reminds us: God our Maker doth provide.

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Department of Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Employment Act. I do so to prompt the Department of Veterans Affairs to make chiropractic care available to America's veterans.

Currently, thousands of veterans enrolled in the VA health care system could benefit from chiropractic care. Millions of Americans use the services of chiropractors. However, veterans who are enrolled in VA's health care system are unable to receive this specialty care. Numerous studies have shown that chiropractic is an effective therapy, and can be an effective approach to low back pain, spasm, and other maladies of the spinal region, including health problems caused by the aging process and physical exertion. This bill would grant specific employment authority in VA for chiropractors as clinicians under Title 38 of the United States Code.

Signed into law in 1999, section 303 of Public Law 106-117, the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act, required the VA Under Secretary for Health to establish a defined policy regarding the role of chiropractic care for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. Issued almost a year later, VHA Directive 2000-014, established what the Department deemed a policy on chiropractic care. However, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs found that declaration to be woefully inadequate and less than a policy. It was a way for VA to further delay the advent of VA chiropractic services for veterans. As a result, Congress enacted section 204 of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-135). This statute required the Secretary of VA to create a program to provide chiropractic care and services for veterans who are enrolled in VA's health care system, and specified that each of VA's 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks put at least one chiropractic care program in place. This law also required the establishment of a Chiropractic Advisory Committee within the Department, and charged the Committee to provide assistance to the Secretary in the development and implementation of the chiropractic health program the law authorized, including recommendations on scope of practice, qualifications, privileging and credentialing matters, among other factors that might influence the employment of chiropractors and the deployment of the new program nationwide.

While some progress has been made by the advisory committee on chiropractic care, the Department is now contending that formal organizational, qualification, and classification studies are needed due to VA's lack of a specified employment authority in Title 38 of the United States Code for chiropractors. Other unnamed technical and professional fields are already specifically authorized. Such an undertaking by VA may require extensive usage of resources and much time investment on the part of the Central Office, advisory committee, Office of Personnel Management staffs, as well as outside consultants. A number of Members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee believe we can remedy this situation with the bill I am introducing today, to speed VA's decision-making on establishing chiropractic clinical care positions within the staff of the Department.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to introduce this legislation that would address the authority for VA to appoint chiropractors in the Veterans Health Administration of the Department so that those veterans who are in need of chiropractic care may indeed and at last receive it in VA facilities. This bill will allow a fair compensation schedule with other comparable

categorical providers already authorized in Title 38. Furthermore, this bill will permit the Secretary to appoint chiropractors on a full-time basis. Currently, chiropractors are only available to veterans on a fee or contract basis, thereby causing VA additional administrative expenses and inconveniencing the veterans who need this care. With this bill chiropractors may also be appointed to intern or residency positions, or on a part time or intermittent basis, as dictated by need. My bill will afford to chiropractors practicing in VA facilities the same privileges and responsibilities of other VA caregivers.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. My bill will provide an additional, needed specialty care program for our nation's veterans, who are most deserving of this benefit.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) and the committee staff for the opportunity to be here today and for the quality piece of legislation that addresses many important concerns back home to the State of Kansas.

I am grateful for the opportunity that we have had to work together, particularly in regard to Essential Air Service reform. This is maybe the most significant reform we have had since this program was created 25 years ago.

The EAS provisions included in this bill give small and rural communities a greater role in the EAS process. Besides preserving its funding, it will also allow small communities to better tailor their local air service to their unique individual needs. It is vital small communities across the country remain connected to the national air network.

This legislation also provides increased funding for the AIP, Airport Improvement Program, that is essential in maintaining our Nation's airports, both large and small, and continues funding for our Nation's contract tower program, a vital program that improves the safety for small community airports.

Mr. Chairman, one section of the bill that remains a concern to me is section 420 that addresses the availability of maintenance information. This provision has some economic ramifications for aviation manufacturers. We discussed this issue in the full committee markup, and I appreciate my colleague's continued involvement and his responsiveness to the issue I have raised. The manager's amendment that the gentleman has offered will address some of the concerns. However, a couple of key safety and liability issues remain to be resolved.

Mr. Chairman, as my colleagues know, I drafted an amendment that I think would be a satisfactory compromise on this issue, which I will not offer, but would ask for the gentleman's continued support and discussion as we try to find satisfactory resolution to this issue that is very important to the aviation manufacturing industry.

I again thank the gentleman for all the efforts that he has put into this legislation.

I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. Chairman, let me begin by thanking you for your efforts in drafting H.R. 2115, the Flight 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. This legislation is vital for the continuation of our nation's aviation system.

I would like to thank you, Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Mica, and the Committee staff for your assistance in creating a quality piece of legislation that addresses many important concerns for state of Kansas.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you in crafting the most significant Essential Air Service (EAS) reform since the program's inception twenty-five years ago. The EAS provisions included in this bill give small and rural communities a greater role in the EAS process. Besides preserving funding, it will allow small communities to better tailor their local air service to their unique individual needs. It is vital that small communities across the country remain connected to the national air network.

Their legislation provides increased funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP)--essential in maintaining our nation's airports--both large and small. Also, this bill provides continued funding for our nation's contract tower program--a vital program that dramatically improves the safety of small community airports.

Mr. Chairman, one section remains that still concerns me--Section 420--the section that addresses the availability of maintenance information. As you know, this is a controversial provision because of its dramatic economic ramifications for aviation manufacturers--many of whom, I might add, are laying off workers and temporarily closing their production lines. Aviation manufacturing is vital to the Kansas economy. It is our second largest industry behind agriculture. Also, more than 60 percent of the general aviation aircraft produced in the United States originates in Kansas. We discussed this issue during the Full Committee markup and I am appreciative of your continue involvement and your responsiveness to the issues I raised. The manager's amendment does address my concerns with the bill's language addressing the cost of maintenance manuals.

I continue to have concerns with Section 420 because we have not held a hearing on the issue, we have not heard from the FAA or the NTSB on the issue, and no one has shown me evidence that this provision will address a safety problem, if one in fact exists. Also, I have yet to see evidence that manufacturers are over-charging for these manuals.

If the case has not been made that such an immediate safety issue exists, why is Congress getting involved in the economic regulation of the aviation industry? Mr. Chairman, unless it an urgent and significant safety issue, I think we should be reluctant to intervene in the marketplace. I still believe we should first ask the FAA to study this issue in order to define the key terms of this legislation. Why pull the trigger without asking questions first?

Mr. Chairman, I drafted an amendment that I believe is an amenable compromise on this issue. However, rather than offer an amendment on a little-known and complex issue, I ask that you continue to work with me, the aircraft manufacturers, and the repair station industry, so a mutually agreed upon compromise--one that satisfies all parties--can be crafted during conference. I specifically ask for you commitment to address the following issues:

(1) For safety purposes, language to protect manufacturer oversight;

(2) Manufacturer liability concerns;

(3) In keeping with the current scope of the regulation, to include in section (a) the terms ``type certificate holder,'' ``supplemental type certificate holder,'' and ``amended type certificate holder''; and

(4) The definition of ``design approval holder.''

Again, I sincerely thank you and your staff for adopting the language contained in the manager's amendment--this is definitely a step in the right direction. Mr. Chairman, again, thank you for your consideration and your assistance.

Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor today to welcome to the House of Representatives the Reverend Clint Decker. Through radio interviews and his involvement in his community of Clay Center, Kansas, I have worked with Clint for many years, and I am pleased to have him here today to offer our opening prayer.

I am also happy to welcome his wife, Kathe Decker, a State Representative from the 64th district in Kansas. She has served our State very well in the State capital. Also joining them today is their granddaughter Jessica, who is visiting Washington, D.C., for the very first time.

Clint is an ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church. He has served in the positions of Assistant Pastor and Youth Pastor in Clay Center Wesleyan Church since 1997.

Over the last 3 years, Clint has served as the Assistant News Director for KCLY and KFRM radio. In these positions he has earned State awards for his work and has also helped the station earn Station of the Year honors.

Clint has been involved in the Detour Youth Center, a local community youth ministry, since 2000. He has served on the board and been the ministry's director and has been a regular speaker in working with youth.

In 1990, Clint's life was transformed and he later left a promising career in business to pursue service in the full-time ministry. Clint attended the Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, and completed his requirements for ordination in Indiana.

Clint was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and has also lived in Ohio, Colorado, and Missouri. He is the youngest of one brother and two sisters. His father is an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. His mother and father have been in the pastorate for over 25 years.

Mr. Speaker, I welcome Clint and his family to the Nation's Capital.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose the decision of the Federal Communications Commission to increase the cap on media ownership.

Yesterday, the five-member board of the Federal Communications Commission voted to allow one owner to control more stations within the same market and to allow television networks to acquire more stations. Until today, broadcast ownership rules limited networks to owning no more than a 35 percent share of television households. With this decision, that share rises to 45 percent. The FCC also voted to ease restrictions on media companies owning a newspaper and television station in the same market. These new rules will allow for more mergers and increased media consolidation across the country.

This decision poses a threat to local programming in rural America. National programmers operate from a ``one-size-fits-all'' mentality and have less interest in the needs of our rural communities. If the networks acquire more of the local television affiliates, programming decisions are less likely to be made by local managers who have personal knowledge of the communities they serve.

At the heart of our democracy is a free and diverse exchange of ideas. Placing the power of communication solely in the hands of a narrow group of media giants will undermine freedom of expression. Columnist William Safire expressed it best, ``The diffusion of power through local control, thereby encouraging individual participation, is the essence of federalism and the greatest expression of democracy.'' Yesterday's decision diminishes individual participation in the democratic process by suppressing one's ability to voice his or her opinion. Having fewer outlets for expression means that only a few voices will be heard: those of the large national programmers.

These new regulations not only threaten to reduce the access to the local news, they infringe upon the ability to maintain an open forum for sharing opinions and ideas--the very democratic principals upon which our Nation was founded.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be here tonight. I am honored to have served in the House of Representatives as a colleague of an outstanding Member of Congress, the gentleman from the 19th District of Texas. I have been especially privileged to serve on the House Agriculture Committee under the chairmanship of Larry Combest. Chairman Combest's example of leadership, commitment and integrity serve as a model for all of us in Congress, especially those of us who care deeply about agriculture.

When I came to Congress, I knew it was important to me to be associated with people who understood and cared about agriculture and the farmers and ranchers of America. It was my honor to become acquainted with Chairman Combest. He has been a mentor for me since that time of my arrival seven years ago.

Those of us who represent agriculture in the House of Representatives are a minority. There are not enough of us, so what it takes is people who go beyond their numbers, who more than 1 out of 435 can make a difference. And the gentleman from Texas has done that because he is knowledgeable and understands the issues. Agriculture is in his blood. That is where he comes from. It is who he is. Farming and ranching is Larry Combest. And he is a leader; he cares about using that information and knowledge on behalf of those engaged in everyday activities trying to earn a living on America's farms and ranches.

Mr. Combest's leadership in the Committee on Agriculture is extraordinary. It is just something that we have relied upon and at times perhaps taken for granted. As we worked our way through a farm bill in this last Congress, it is clear to me that because of his leadership--and sometimes only because of his leadership--things happened.

Larry Combest has a commitment to what he believes in, and he believes in farmers and ranchers. He wants to see our family farms survive and prosper. He wants that rural way of life to continue. He has a commitment to serving his constituents and to helping American agriculture be here today and tomorrow.

Perhaps most importantly, he has integrity. I have never known anyone I could trust more than Larry Combest. His word can be taken for what it is, his word. What he says is what he means. His advice is honestly given. I have never known him to mislead anyone. And it was that character and that integrity that made it possible for us to do things in agriculture on this House floor. People trusted him, they respected him, and they honored what he was about.

As he returns home to Texas, it is with some sadness that we see our friend Larry Combest leave. We all invest in other people in this place. Often I suppose we spend too much time worrying about things that are not so important. But the thing that is important is the relationships, friendships, and understandings that we have with other Members of Congress. I consider it the highest honor to have been associated with Larry Combest during his term as a Member of Congress.

His relationships with other Members of the House will not end with his departure. His friendship with President Bush has been beneficial to those of us who care about rural America, and we look forward to his continued involvement in issues that matter to us and to farmers and ranchers across the country.

Public service is something that we all talk about and engage in as Members of Congress, but we would do well to learn from the example of Larry Combest. He exemplifies the role of a true public servant, who did what he thought was right, who fought the fight and made a difference on behalf of his constituents, on behalf of all Texans, and on behalf of the people of America.

Mr. Speaker, I wish both Larry and his wife Sharon the absolute best in their future years. I thank them both for their friendship. I honor and respect them, and I hope the fish bite. Thank you, Larry.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I am delighted to be here. It is an honor to have served in this Congress these last 7 years with the gentleman from the 19th District of Texas (Mr. Combest).

Mr. Speaker, when I came to Congress I knew it was important to me to be associated with people who understood and cared about agriculture and who cared about farmers and ranchers of America; and it was my honor to become acquainted with Chairman Combest. He has been a role model and mentor for me since that time of my arrival 7 years ago.

Those of us who represent agriculture in the House of Representatives are a minority. There are not enough of us, and what it takes is people who go beyond their numbers, who more than 1 out of 435 can make a difference. And the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Combest) has done that. He has done that because he is knowledgable and understands the issues. It is in his blood. That is where he comes from. It is who he is. Agriculture, farming and ranching is Larry Combest.

It is because he is a leader, because he cares about using that information

and knowledge on behalf of those engaged in everyday activities trying to earn a living on the farms and ranches of America.

His leadership in the Committee on Agriculture is extraordinary. It is just something that we have relied upon. As we have worked our way through a farm bill in this last Congress, it is clear to me that because of his leadership things happened. He has a commitment to what he believes in, and he believes in farmers and ranchers of America. He wants to see our family farms survive and prosper. He wants that way of life to continue. He has a commitment to serving his constituents and helping American agriculture be here today and tomorrow.

And, perhaps most importantly, he has integrity. I have never known anyone who I could trust more than Larry Combest. His word can be taken for what it was, his word. What he said is what he meant. His advice was honestly given. I have never known him to mislead anyone. And it was that character and that integrity that made it possible for us to do things in agriculture on this House floor because people trusted him, they respected him, and they honored what he was about.

As he returns home to Texas, it is with some sadness that we see my friend Larry Combest leave. We all invest in other people in this place. Oftentimes I suppose we spend too much time worrying about things that are not so important. But the thing that is important is the relationships, friendships, and understandings that we have with other Members of Congress; and I consider it a high honor to have been associated with Larry Combest during his term as a Member of Congress.

His relationships with other Members of the House will not end with his departure. His friendship with President Bush has really been beneficial to those of us who care about rural America, and we look forward to his continued involvement in issues that matter to us and to farmers and ranchers across the country.

Public service is something that we all talk about, something that we engage in as Members of Congress, but we all have a lot to learn from Larry Combest who exemplifies the role of a true public servant, who did what he thought was right, who fought the fight and made a difference on behalf of the people of Texas and on behalf of the people of America.

Mr. Speaker, I wish Larry and Sharon the absolute best in their future years. I thank them both for their friendship. I honor and respect them, and I hope the fish bite. Thank you, Larry.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), my very good friend and colleague, for yielding. I thank him for laying out the Democratic and the Republican plans tonight.

These are going to be the subjects of the debate tomorrow, and it appears that we are going to have another party-line vote. My friend recalls another party-line vote that we had in 1993 when President Clinton proposed an economic growth strategy to get out of another Bush recession. We were told by our colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle that this was going to cause more unemployment, further recession, that we would never recover, that it was unfair.

The fact is President Clinton did raise taxes. We are not talking about raising any taxes. President Clinton went ahead, raised taxes on the wealthiest people in this country. He balanced the budget. He made sure everything was paid for, that we did not

have to borrow money from Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts as of course this tax cut plan does. It borrows every penny out of Social Security and Medicare. But now that we look back on the effects of that economic growth strategy that was very consistent with the Democratic plan that the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) has laid out and that the Democrats are going to present tomorrow, it worked. It worked.

During the 8 years of the Clinton administration, this country experienced the highest prosperity that any country in the history of civilization has ever experienced. Certainly this was the best extended economic boom that America could ever have realized. And, in fact, all those people, those people at the highest tax bracket, that was 39.6 percent at that time, they took home more after-tax income than has ever been achieved in any economy in the history of this United States of America. The wealthiest made more wealth, more wealth than they have ever experienced. So it was not a confiscatory rate. What we did was to plow money back into investing in people and education and training, balancing the budget so the financial markets had confidence that there were not going to be high interest rates in the future, and it worked. It worked. And of course those who own the means of production, they benefitted the most.

So now what are we going to do? As the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price) has shared with us, we are doing just the opposite of the Clinton plan. We are consistent with what President Bush has already done, although so far the tax cuts that he has implemented have cost this economy 2.7 million jobs, but now we have a tax cut that is going to give the same amount of money to 1/10 of 1 percent of the American people. The 1/10 of the 1 percent of the very wealthiest Americans are going to get the same amount of money that the 90 percent of Americans who are earning less than $95,000 a year, which is pretty good but those are in the middle class. From $95,000 down, that is 90 percent of the American people, they are going to get as much benefit as the top 1/10 of 1 percent of the very wealthiest. Can that possibly be fair? It is not fair, and it is going to come back to haunt us. And this money that has to be borrowed from Social Security and Medicare that is going to come due, we are not going to have to pay it. Our kids are going to have to pay it. We have estimates now that the public debt of a child that is born today, by the time they are ready to enter high school, we are going to have $12 trillion of debt.

By the time they become a working adult, it is going to be much more than that; and they are going to be spending half of their income paying off debt that their parents' generation caused because of these tax cuts that are unpaid for. It is almost criminal.

Also, in addition to being so unfair to subsequent generations of Americans, it is so duplicitous. Now, I know it seems like nickel and diming; but, gosh sakes, in order to get this plan that is going to be offered by the majority through, we get a whole lot of magic tricks in this.

For example, you raise the child tax credit to $1,000, but for 3 years; and then you bring it back down again so that it does not look as though it is as costly as it really is. You do the same thing with the marriage penalty.

The American people ought to ask the proponents of this tax plan, do we get to keep these tax cuts? Are you going to give it on the one hand and take it away from the other? The fact is it is the latter. It is just like the last tax cut, to purport we could pay for it, they sunsetted it all in 2011. Now they come back, of course, and want to make all the tax cuts permanent.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, on National Teacher Day, to recognize this year's inductees into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas. All of us have had special teachers in our lives, and we are forever indebted to them for their motivation, their compassion, and their desire to see students achieve their full potential. Now in its 14th year, the Hall of Fame continues its mission to honor exceptional teachers and promote excellence in teaching. Congratulations to the 2003 inductees: Larry Statler, Cynthia Jones, Ruth Ann Gaines, Kathleen McGrath, and Carol Strickland.

At Santa Teresa Elementary in San Jose, California, Larry Statler has used his talents to create the Discovery program. Discovery is a collaborative effort between special and general educators. Although Larry specializes in special education, his superintendent calls him `a man for all children.'

Cynthia Jones, a third and fourth grade teacher at Cason Lane Academy in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has shared her love of education around the world. She has presented original research in Durham, England, and in Washington, DC. She participated in the White House Conference on Education from 1995 to 2001 and also traveled to Japan in 1999 as a Fulbright Scholar.

According to a former student, Ruth Ann Gaines takes teaching beyond the classroom. At East High School in Des Moines, Iowa, she has created the `Sisters for Success' program, a mentoring organization for African-American high school girls to build self esteem and facilitate academic success. She has also created the Leadership Council, a school organization that helps address problems of diversity in the school and community.

Kathleen McGrath of Ocala, Florida, loves knowledge and conveys that to her students through her dedication to teaching. Every student TRIES in her classroom. This motto stands for Trust, Relationships, Involvement, Expectations, and Success. Kathleen is also a three-time recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship in 1992, 1999, and 2001.

I am especially proud to recognize Carol Strickland, who is from Emporia in my home state of Kansas. Carol won the Kansas Teacher of the Year award in 1999 followed by the U.S. Department of State Secondary School Excellence Award in 2001. Her accomplishments include launching an Applied Communication class to help students with Limited English Proficiency transition from high school to the working world.

Larry, Cynthia, Ruth Ann, Kathleen, and Carol exemplify what it means to be a teacher--what it means to make a difference. These five inductees collectively have 143 years of teaching experience. I salute these men and women for their dedication to the youth of our country. It is my hope that they will find satisfaction in knowing the influence they have made on the lives of their students.