Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today I rise in honor of the 85th anniversary of the 105th squadron of the 118th Airlift Wing in our Tennessee Air National Guard. The roots of this storied squadron reach as far back as World War I, and their brave service continues today in military operations around the world.

The unit received federal recognition in 1921 and was assigned to the U.S. Army's 30th ``Old Hickory'' Division. The unit adopted the name dubbing themselves the ``Old Hickory Squadron'' and their insignia still bears the image of Old Hickory himself, Andrew Jackson, riding on horseback.

At the onset of World War II, the unit mobilized for this global conflict. Members of the 105th Squadron made history around the world on observation missions, antisubmarine patrols, reconnaissance, and bombardment. The men of the 105th flew over 100 missions in the Pacific Campaign. They attacked Axis targets around the world in planes like the B-10 Bomber, the Vega Ventura B-34, and the B-25 Mitchel Bomber.

In 1961, the wing converted to the airlift mission that it accomplishes with distinction to this day. Beginning with the C-97G Stratofreighter, moving to the C-124C Globemaster II and finally to the C-130 Hercules, the 118th Military Airlift Wing carried out their critical mission from Panama to Iraq. They provided support for the Berlin Airlift and Cuban Missile crises, national and state civil disturbances, the Vietnam Conflict, Red Flag, Brave Shield, Volant Oak and Coronet Oak, Desert Shield, and Desert Storm. In 1990, the Wing mobilized 462 personnel during 21 deployments in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, logging a record 7,239 flying hours.

After September 11, 2001, over one third of the 118th air wing was activated for a year or more helping patrol our skies in Operation Noble Eagle before deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2003, the 118th deployed ten C-130's and over 320 personnel to the Middle East in direct support of combat operations in Iraq. The members of the 118th refused to let living in tents in the desert prevent them from establishing a bare base in support of the largest contingent of C-130's ever based in a combat environment, with over 46 C-130's located at a single base.

Madam Speaker, the world is safer because of the men and women of the 118th. The nation owes them our thanks on their 85th anniversary. These brave Americans are members of our community both in and out of uniform. Nashville is a better place for having the 118th Air Wing, and I am proud to represent them.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Had I been present for rollcall 40, I would have voted ``yea'' on H.R. 6, a bill I proudly cosponsored that will improve America's energy independence and financial situation.

Had I been present for rollcall 42, I would have voted ``yea'' on

Madam Speaker, today I rise on behalf of the Tennessee delegation, in particular Mr. Cohen, Mr. Davis, Mr. Gordon, and Mr. Tanner, to pay tribute to a lifelong activist and community servant, Betty C. Nixon, upon the occasion of her retirement from Vanderbilt University. Betty's last 17 years have been spent building bridges between Vanderbilt and the Nashville community, firmly connecting this institution to the city she loves, and yet this work represents only a small sliver of her service to her fellow citizens.

Betty's ties to Nashville run deep. She grew up there, graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1954 and heading to Texas, where she would graduate from Southern Methodist University in 1958. Most people would rest or retire after teaching high school in Alabama for the decade of the 1960s, but not Betty. By 1975, she had been elected to her first of three terms in the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County and was serving as deputy press secretary for Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton. It was only the beginning of her public service.

In 1982, the same year she graduated from the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, Betty became the first woman to chair the Metro Council Budget Committee. Two years later, she managed the statewide political campaign for Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro, and four years after that, she managed James R. Sasser's successful bid for the U.S. Senate. Along the way, Betty ran for mayor in 1987 and 1991, and once again she blazed a trail: Betty was the first woman to run for mayor in Nashville's history.

Like many civic-minded individuals, Betty moved to Washington, but after a year of professional service to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations,

she returned to the community that she loved. From 1990 until 2007, Vanderbilt has benefited from her steady service, and the University knows it. In many ways, Betty defined both her role at the school and the school's role in the community; she retires as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations and leaves as her legacy an institution that fully and conscientiously participates in its community. And Vanderbilt has immortalized her by dedicating the Betty C. Nixon Center for Community Connections in her honor.

Betty's ceaseless service to Nashville government and nonprofit organizations belies the limited number of hours in a day. Oasis Center, Nashville Electric Service, Tennessee State University Business Incubation Center, Bill Wilkerson Hearing and Speech Center, Davidson County Election Commission, Nashville Women's Breakfast Club, United Way, Project PENCIL, West End United Methodist Church, Citizen's Bank, Youth Encouragement Services, Tennessee Women's Political Caucus, YMCA Black Achievers, Rochelle Center, League for the Hard of Hearing, Alcohol and Drug Council of Middle Tennessee, WIN--these groups and many others have all benefited from Betty's skill, charm, and grace. She has been honored as a YWCA Woman of Achievement and has received the prestigious Athena Award.

Madam Speaker, Nashville is a stronger, more vibrant community because of Betty Nixon's commitment to improving the lives of those around her. Today I rise to pay tribute to her legacy, express our Nation's gratitude for her service, and wish her many more years of contented engagement with a city that has been forever changed by her efforts.

Mr. Speaker, the American people want us to stop bickering in Washington and to start making progress on the many problems we face.

Well, many millions of American families face dreaded diseases: cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, you name it. And today we have an exciting opportunity to vote for a chance towards curing those diseases.

Last year in the Republican Congress, the vast majority of this body and the Senate voted for embryonic stem cell research. This year, the majorities will be even larger.

I urge the President not to veto this legislation as he did last year. It is the only veto of his entire Presidency. He is the first President since Thomas Jefferson to have vetoed so few bills, but he chose last year to veto hope. I urge the President not to veto hope this year.

Mr. Speaker, the Iraq Study Group has completed its work. Now it is available for all Americans to read. I would urge everyone to pick up a copy. It is only 96 pages. It contains 79 recommendations, and it is a vitally important tool to inform the debate on Iraq.

Regardless of how you feel about this report, the men and women of this commission did a commendable job in reaching a consensus. If only the American people can do the same thing.

Voters voted for change. We will have change. And over the next coming weeks during the Christmas holidays, we need to inform the debate so that everyone can give us, your representatives, your opinion about how the war should be conducted or how it should be ended. So this is a very helpful tool. It is now available for everyone. I urge all of our citizens to pick up a copy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the many contributions of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and its historic Godchaux Hall. Some of Nashville's most talented health care professionals, educators and students will gather today to celebrate a place ``where tradition meets innovation,'' the newly renovated Godchaux Hall.

Godchaux Hall was built in 1925 as the dormitory for the 100 students and faculty of the Vanderbilt nursing program. It included classrooms, laboratory space and a library. Since then, it has undergone several name changes and renovations, but last year, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve the space for the first time in thirty years.

Today, Godchaux Hall is a truly innovative place where students from all over the world come to earn advanced nursing degrees and learn the skills they need to care for patients as nurses. An advanced 9-bed ``Intervention Lab'' provides a simulated hospital environment and includes state-of-the-art computer equipment, ``Sim Man,'' to replicate a human patient. New behavioral labs create space for nursing researchers to work with human subjects outside the laboratory. The increased space also allows Vanderbilt to expand its relationship with community partners like Fisk and Lipscomb Universities whose students can earn Bachelor degrees at Vanderbilt's Godchaux Hall.

The improved learning space at Godchaux Hall will give Vanderbilt the ability to continue its long tradition of excellence in nursing education. I commend Dean Colleen Conway-Welch for her leadership and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing for its achievements in innovation and education. One of the most significant outcomes of today's ribbon-cutting is that it will allow Nashville to combat the nursing shortage our nation faces and continue to provide the best in health care to patients from across Middle Tennessee.

Mr. Speaker, Nashville has long been known as Music City. It is famous as the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the best place anywhere to hear the stars of country and bluegrass perform. Nashville is also the place to head if you want to kick back at a lively spot like Tootsie's Orchid Lounge for a night of sad songs and good times.

Now, Nashville has another reason to claim the title of Music City. It is home to a new symphony hall that is being heralded as a world class triumph. According to the Wall Street Journal, ``the $123 million, 1,860-seat concert hall is an architectural and acoustic gem and one of the most successful auditoriums built in a century.''

Nashville's new Schermerhorn Symphony Center opened September 9th to great reviews from the media and the community. Praised for its elegant neoclassical design and its superb acoustics, the project also won fans because it was on budget and on time. But Nashville is truly proud of our new hall because it recognizes the extraordinary talent and dedication of a gentleman who led the Nashville Symphony for more than 20 years, Maestro Kenneth Schermerhorn. Under his leadership, the Nashville Symphony was transformed from an orchestra that too often struggled for funding and stability into one now recognized as among the best in the nation. And, equally important, Nashville became a city that celebrates music in all its genres. In keeping with the tone set by Maestro Schermerhorn, the new symphony hall will present performances that showcase music from classical to pops, cabaret, choral, jazz, and blues and yes, even a country tune or two.

On Saturday, October 7th, the spirit of Maestro Schermerhorn will fill downtown Nashville. On this day, the new symphony hall that bears his name will open its doors to one and all for a day-long celebration of music and culture in true Music City style. On this one day, more than 600 musicians from the region will bring their talents to the stages and courtyards and many performance spaces that are part of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The Nashville Symphony will share the spotlight with the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the Belmont Bluegrass Ensemble, the Gypsy Hombres, Annie Selleck and the Tennessee State University Band, among others. Come early and stay all day. Whatever style of music you prefer, you will find it celebrated here at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and that is just the way the Maestro envisioned it.

Saturday, October 7th will be a special day in Nashville. But in our city, and at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, we are proud to say every day is special because every day we celebrate what it means to be Music City.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a very special organization in my hometown of Nashville, WFSK-FM, the radio station of Fisk University. Fisk is recognized nationwide for its outstanding academic programs as well as the world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers--a group we recently honored here in Congress with the introduction of a special Congressional Resolution. Now, Fisk is also celebrating another outstanding accomplishment. WFSK-FM was just named the Nation's top black college radio station in the annual awards from Black Press Magazine and the Historical Black Press Foundation.

WFSK-FM broadcasts from its home on the campus of Fisk, but it informs and entertains a growing audience throughout the Middle Tennessee area. On air since 1973, WFSK has long been recognized for its diverse and innovative programming. The current format reflects the diversity and interests of the greater Nashville area. Music programs showcase smooth jazz classics, reggae, Haitian, African and gospel, as well as vintage funk and soul recordings. Public affairs programming includes in-depth news reporting, talk shows

that focus on issues of concern to the community, and features on art and culture events. According to Sharon Kay, General Manager at WFSK for the past year, the station prides itself on offering the community ``an opportunity to hear shows and events from a cultural perspective and viewpoint that is unique in this marketplace.''

On October 6, WFSK will kick off a major fund-raising effort with a non-stop, 48-hour on-air celebration of their heritage and their commitment to future growth. Under Sharon Kay's direction, WFSK is undertaking a major renovation and expansion, with plans for a new transmitter and new antennae, as well as upgraded digital equipment. I am honored to be joining the entire team at WFSK, as well as other community leaders and music professionals, for this important event.

WFSK is a powerful and important voice in Nashville. I am proud to salute them on their latest achievement, being named the Nation's top black college radio station. And I wish them continued success with their upcoming fundraising event and in the years to come as they expand their presence in our community.

Madam Speaker, we are in the final hours of this Congress. How will historians judge our work? Very harshly.

There has probably not been a more incompetent or corrupt Congress in modern times than this one. Don't take my word for it. Look at the book called ``The Broken Branch,'' by Norm Orenstein and Thomas Mann. It chronicles the failures of this institution under its recent Republican leadership.

Another objective measure is the lack of workdays in this body. Norm Orenstein pointed out only yesterday that we will have worked only 60 real days this entire year. Sixty days, 2 months of work, and yet we draw 12 months of pay.

Where are the hearings? Where are the debates? Where is the action on American priorities? Where is the immigration bill? Nowhere. Where is the defense bill? And we are in the middle of two wars. Crucial, vital pieces of legislation for America, and this leadership says it simply does not have the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute a man who has touched the lives of so many in my community of Nashville, as well as around the world, through his music and his commitment to sharing his talent with others.

Matthew Kennedy was born in the segregated South in 1921, the son of a strict, school teacher mother and postal worker father. Only months after his birth, his father dies of a heart attack leaving his mother on her own to care for the family. Despite the challenges, Matthew's mother is determined that her young son and will be able to take ``serious'' piano lessons with the town's white music teacher. The teacher agrees to lessons and in exchange Matthew and his cousin agree to clean her studio.

Even at this very young age, Matthew's talent is evident. The famous Russian pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff comes to his hometown of Macon, Georgia and Matthew and his mother somehow get tickets to hear the master from the segregated balcony. Matthew says his life was changed by that experience forever. Soon, Matthew is heading to New York, having won a scholarship to continue his music studies at the Julliard School.

While in New York he performs at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theatre. But before long he is on his way to Nashville. His Julliard teacher encourages him to return to the South to use his talents to help his people. Matthew arrives at Fisk University where he is welcomed by the director of the world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers. He agrees to take on the role of piano accompanist for the Jubilee Singers and begins what will be a lifelong commitment to the school, the Jubilee Singers and his belief in the power of music.

Matthew Kennedy served as the director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers from 1957 to 1985.

During that time, he traveled and performed with them in the world's most famous concert halls in Europe, South America, the Middle East and the Caribbean. He influenced the lives of hundreds of young students during those years, and inspired thousands who witnessed his performances and his musical direction.

On this coming Monday evening, September 25, Matthew Kennedy will be honored at a special event at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. That evening Nashville will salute Dr. Kennedy at the premiere of a new documentary film that is a tribute and testimony to his accomplishments and talent. The film is directed by his daughter Nina, also a recognized pianist and filmmaker. It will be a special night for Dr. Kennedy and his family. But it will also be a special night for all Nashvillians and music lovers everywhere as we pause to celebrate the life of a truly gifted and generous artist and community leader.

Mr. Chairman, earlier today, I was speaking at an event being held in the basement of the Rayburn building and because the clock and bell system did not work in Room B-338, I missed two votes on amendments to H.R. 2965, the Federal Prison Industries Reform Act of 2006. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on the first Scott Amendment and ``aye'' on the second Scott Amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the First Annual Patriot Day Community Candlelight Tribute in Mt. Juliet, TN.

Tonight, citizens from across Wilson County will come together to pay tribute to the men and women in uniform who work hard to protect our communities everyday. With flags flown at half-staff, a moment of silence and heartfelt prayer and a candlelight ceremony this evening, Mt. Juliet will remember all those who were lost on September 11, 2001 and honor the Americans who serve and protect our country today.

At home, our law enforcement officers, sheriff's department personnel, firefighters and emergency rescue workers give their energy and expertise to fight a variety of challenges and threats to make sure we are safe. From natural hazards and fires, to crime prevention, and the ever-growing meth epidemic, these local heroes endanger their lives to make ours safer.

Overseas, we count on the brave men and women of the Armed Forces to defend our

freedom and protect democracy. They face countless dangers as they serve under the most difficult of conditions. We remember our family members, friends and neighbors across Wilson County and Tennessee who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. And it is with great pride and admiration that we support the Tennesseans who continue to serve their Nation overseas.

Tonight's Patriot Day Community Candlelight in Mt. Juliet is an opportunity to personally thank our local heroes--both at home and overseas--for their dedication and sacrifice. It is a time to remember those patriots we have lost, and it is a chance for us to renew our own patriotic spirit.

Mr. Speaker, today I wish to recognize Bethlehem Centers of Nashville and express my heartfelt congratulations on their fourth year to receive a three-star rating from Tennessee Department of Human Services for their child care services.

Founded in 1894 as the United Methodist Neighborhood Centers, today the Bethlehem Centers of Nashville serve thousands of children, young adults, adult women and senior citizens in the North Nashville and downtown neighborhoods. Bethlehem Centers provide a variety of services designed to support individuals regardless of their economic background.

With the goal of helping individuals toward becoming strong, independent and contributing members of their family and community, Bethlehem Centers provide Nashvillians with life skills training, tutoring, nutrition counseling, senior outreach programs, business and career training, GED preparation, mentoring, and even daily hot lunches.

In addition to these community programs, Bethlehem Centers have earned a three-star rating for their high quality child care services from the Tennessee Department of Human Services. This is their fourth year to receive the highest rating awarded by the State and to be placed among the top rated child care centers in the Nation.

I am proud to send my heartiest congratulations to Bethlehem Centers' Joyce Searcy and all the dedicated staff members who have committed themselves to bettering Nashville's communities.

I join with everyone in Tennessee's Fifth District in applauding the Bethlehem Centers of Nashville for all that they do for the community and I commend everyone at Bethlehem Centers of Nashville who make it a special place to learn, play and grow.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends from Arkansas and Georgia for their leadership in the important Blue Dog Coalition, as we are the centrist group in Congress. We try to do the right thing, whatever the parties say. We try to do the right thing for the American people and the American taxpayer.

The gentleman has been a particular leader showing the tragic waste around the town of Hope, Arkansas, the thousands and thousands of trailers lined up there, the clear mishandling of taxpayers' dollars, but I would like to bring up for the Speaker and for the American people tonight a new book that is pretty remarkable.

It is called ``The Broken Branch,'' and the subtitle is, ``How Congress is failing America and how to set it back on track.'' This should be available in most all bookstores around America. It is not a Democratic book. It is written by a scholar, Norm Ornstein, who is at the American Enterprise Institute which, if anything, is a Republican think tank. Another coauthor is Thomas Mann, who is at the Brookings Institution, which bills itself as a nonpartisan think tank. Some of our friends might call it Democratic, but this is a thoroughly bipartisan book.

What it does is list the many ways that this institution needs to change. That is what I think Blue Dogs are all about is bringing that needed change to this institution because, under Republican leadership, as the authors of this book point out, things are clearly not working.

The gentleman has pointed out quite eloquently that the deficits are clearly out of control. We seem to have no clear policy in Iraq. There are so many things that are not allowing our great Nation, the greatest Nation in the history of the world, there are so many things that Congress is not doing to allow America to live up to its potential, to allow our families, our kids and grandkids to live up to their potential.

We, Blue Dogs, we want things to work. We want things to work right. We want taxpayer dollars to be spent wisely, and this book is an important read because it lists it in a nonpartisan fashion. This book is called, ``The Broken Branch.'' It is Oxford University Press. It lists hundreds and hundreds of ways that the Republican leadership has failed the American people.

So I want to encourage everyone to take a look at this. Do not take our word for it. Read it in the bookstore. Get it online. See what is really happening in Congress because, sadly, our TV stations, our newspapers are simply not reporting all this. They are spending way too much time trying to entertain us or affirm what we already think, but this book tells us the truth about Congress and how we need to change.

So I thank my friends from Arkansas and Georgia for yielding, and I will chime in at a later point in the debate.

I thank my friends Arkansas and Georgia.

Another Blue Dog proposal for reform that is extremely important, because it would do a lot to fix our entire fiscal situation, to get our budget balanced again, and that proposal goes by the name of pay as you go. It is a very simple concept. Every household back in our districts has to follow it. Because if you don't have the money, you can't spend it. You might be able to borrow a little for a little while, but sooner or later, you have to pay the bill. That is the same principle America should be run on.

It is not just us saying it. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan, said that that would be the single most important reform America could undertake. The single most important reform, and we Blue Dogs are championing it. We, as Democrats, are championing it, and yet the Republican majority in this House has prevented that reform from even coming up for a vote.

Now, this isn't theoretical or experimental thinking that Chairman Greenspan is proposing, this pay as you go proposal, this idea that if you want to spend more money on a program, fine, but get money from somewhere else to pay for it. Or if you want to cut taxes, fine, get money from somewhere else to pay for the tax cut. This proposal was the law of the land in America from 1990 to 2002. For 12 years, from 1990 to 2002, the pay-as-you-go proposal worked and worked well in America.

Most historians agree it was the single most important factor during that era that helped America live within its means so that we could have a stronger Nation for our kids and grandkids. And former Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan even remembers the day that the Republicans allowed the pay as you go proposal to expire, and that day was September 30, 2002.

September 30, 2002, the end of that fiscal year, was a dark day in America, because the 12 years of fiscal restraint that we had had, the 12 years of living within our means, the 12 years of kitchen table budgeting were then over. And, basically, all hell broke loose when that happened. Because suddenly there was no restraint. You could spend anything. Earmarks and other things exploded.

That is going to be a terrible fiscal headache, a nightmare for our kids and grandkids. So that is probably the most important of all the Blue Dog proposals. We have had many, and the gentleman from Georgia has mentioned several. We have had the 12-step plan so that America could get off its addiction to deficit spending, much as the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program helps many people across America get off their addiction to alcohol.

So these are just a few of the reforms that the Blue Dogs have been participating in to make us have an even stronger Nation. We are proud of America. We want a strong America in all respects, but America can be even better than it is today.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

The point that the gentleman from Georgia was just making about how much money we borrow from foreign countries, the American people need to know it is not just China we borrowed $300 billion from. It is also countries like Iran, another part of what President Bush called the Axis of Evil. They own a big part of the American debt now. Venezuela, under Hugo Chavez, not exactly a friendly nation. Other nations like the Soviet Union with whom we do not have good relations these days. It is incredible our dependence.

And for President Bush to have borrowed more money from foreign nations than all previous Presidents put together going all the way back to George Washington, that is incredible. The average American back home just does not understand how much President Bush has borrowed from foreign nations. And that makes us terribly dependent on those nations. We do not want China or other countries trying to foreclose on America or any part of America, but that is the situation we are getting more into every day. We are borrowing 2 to $3 billion every day from foreign nations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute one of the great voices in American music and a resident of my hometown of Nashville: Charlie Louvin.

Charlie just celebrated his 79th birthday at a day-long celebration held at the Louvin Brothers Museum in Nashville last weekend. Folks from around the country came to wish Charlie well and to thank him for his many great musical accomplishments on stage as a performer, and to recognize his extraordinary songwriting achievements.

Charlie Louvin's career has spanned more than six decades and earned him a following that cuts across all music genres and generations.

Charlie Louvin was born Charlie Loudermilk in Alabama in 1927. Along with his older brother Ira, he grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio at night and dreamed of a career on the stage of Opry.

Changing their name to Louvin, the brothers made their first musical performance on July 4th, 1940, playing background music for the merry- go-round at a country fair. From that time on, the Louvins became known for a distinctive style of harmony singing that blended gospel harmonies with country influences. They performed regularly across the South, particularly in Alabama and Tennessee, building a following that would earn them attention--and a recording contract--in Nashville.

From the mid-1950s through the early 1960s, the Louvin Brothers had over twenty entries on Billboard's country chart, including ``Cash on the Barrelhead'' and ``You're Running Wild.'' The Louvins would achieve their childhood dream, invited to join the Grand Ole Opy in 1955. Ira Louvin would die in a tragic automobile accident in 1965 but Charlie would continue on his own to record, perform and win the hearts of music lovers everywhere.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, groups like The Byrds and country rocker Gram Parsons introduced rock fans to the Louvins' talents, recording some of their classic songs. In 2002, Charlie was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and, the following year, artists as diverse as James Taylor, Patty Loveless, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton joined together to pay tribute to the Louvins. The result was a special CD: ``Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers'' that became a must-have recording for country and rock fans alike. Even today, Charlie is apt to be found on stage performing alongside the likes of Cake, the popular rock band he recently toured with, or on stage at the Opry.

As one of Nashville's most highly respected musicians and writers, I congratulate Charlie Louvin on his 79th birthday--and for creating music that is just as relevant today as it was 50 years ago.