Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, it has been my privilege to serve alongside the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) who I admire. The man is a legend and a great leader in the civil rights movement. He is a thoughtful man with a good heart and sincere principles. These are sincere, earnest differences of principle here, Mr. Lewis. We have deep concern for the future course of the Nation, the financial solvency of the country. And it is a source of real concern to us. Teen violence is a source of concern, but I have to tell you, the reason we are speaking out here today is we have had so little opportunity to speak out in committee. There has been so little debate in committee and on this floor of this massive spending bill, not enough time to educate the American public about the details of the bill because it was dropped on us with so little notice, written largely in secret, dropped into the Appropriations Committee and the Ways and Means Committee without much notice to the public, without an opportunity for them to scrutinize it.

We are spending $1.3 trillion in 17 legislative days when the annual discretionary budget of the United States is about $900 billion, prepared very thoughtfully and carefully over many months by the Appropriations Committee with hundreds of hearings and witnesses and thoughtful deliberation. All of us want to see this economy get back on track and get us out of the ditch, but it is just self-evident that in 17 legislative days, with a few hours of committee hearing, a few hours of floor debate, for this liberal majority in Congress to spend $1.3 trillion, and then the very best we have heard is you guys hope it is going to work, it is not enough.

As the gentleman from Utah said quite eloquently, we are living on a national credit card. This is like we are paying the mortgage with a MasterCard. I think it was Winston Churchill who said for a nation to attempt to tax and spend its way into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket attempting to lift himself up. This is not the way for this Nation to get the economy moving again.

We as a fiscally conservative minority have come together to stand behind a package of tax cuts that would immediately allow people to spend and invest their own money, to save or to spend it, to create jobs as they wish. We as a fiscally conservative minority have few opportunities in the House to speak directly to the American people, so this opportunity we have here today to talk about teen violence and to think about the safety and security of future generations is one of the few opportunities we have, Mr. Lewis, to lay out in all sincerity a very earnest and heartfelt, principle-based difference of opinion with the liberal majority, that we want to see this Nation succeed and be prosperous. And we know in our hearts, common sense tells us, that the way to prosperity is not through more spending based on debt. The way back to prosperity is by cutting profligate spending and cutting taxes so the American people have more of their own money to invest and save and to create jobs for the future.

Madam Speaker, I am glad that we are considering this legislation today, which will be helpful to local law enforcement agencies who are such a vital part of our homeland security. We have, in Congress, I think, for too many years not done enough to bring local law enforcement into the homeland security network that's essential to protecting this Nation against attack from terrorists, people who would enter this country to hurt us, crossing our borders. I am although strenuously opposed to the scale of this spending bill that the liberal majority has pushed through this House with so little public input, so little public notice, so few public hearings. The scale of the bill is one that we in the long term, I think, will find a crushing burden on our kids and grandchildren. At least the legislation includes some small fraction of money for ports of entry. I understand the legislation includes funding to help strengthen airport security. However, the Democrat, the liberal stimulus bill does not include funding for expanding and building more rapidly the border fence, as it should.

This so-called stimulus bill of almost $1.3 trillion spending spree that we have seen in the first 17 days of this new majority in Congress, the money that is spent in this stimulus bill only focuses on the little piece that focuses on homeland security, focuses on land ports of entry and airports. I would certainly encourage the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee to work with our subcommittee on appropriations. I serve on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. We would like to work with you in finding ways to send more funding to our local border sheriffs, to our local law enforcement agencies that are working along the border to secure this country against narcoterrorists and extremist Islamic terrorists coming across our border, southern and northern. We need to do far more to work in cooperation with these local law enforcement agencies. And the precious dollars that we spend in this Congress, the hard-earned tax dollars of our constituents, when we do need to spend them, should be focused on things like national security, like protecting the security of this Nation when it comes to the border.

It's just inexcusable that this profligate stimulus bill that the majority has put together, has things utterly unrelated to job growth, such as neighborhood stabilization activities, $4.19 billion for groups like ACORN. How desperately that money is needed to strengthening our southern border, to helping reimburse local law enforcement agencies for housing foreign nationals in county jails, the SCAP program, the State and County Alien Assistance Program, to help the local taxpayers pay for the cost of housing foreign nationals who are in this country illegally and arrested by local sheriffs and housed in county jails at massive expense. Why aren't we helping these local taxpayers and local jailers who are doing their part for Homeland Security instead of spending money on ACORN neighborhood stabilization activities? $3 billion for prevention and wellness programs utterly unrelated to job growth. If we were spending some of this money for local jails to house criminal foreign nationals, they would be hiring more local, more law enforcement officials in that local jail, that would at least be some job growth and help make the streets of our communities safer when it comes to homeland security.

$400 million for climate change research? What's that got to do with the short-term recovery of the economy of the United States?

Our highest priority today, as we stand here today, at the beginning of February 2009, is to reassure the American public that we are being responsible with their tax dollars and doing everything in our power to strengthen the economy and be sure that people are going to have a paycheck and a job next month.

Will the gentleman from Pennsylvania yield for a brief question?

And I can ask at the end of your statement?

Would the gentleman yield for a brief question?

Thank you, Mr. Carney. I wanted to ask if you could please, sir, I would like to know how spending $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts and $3 billion on sexually transmitted diseases is going to stimulate the economy in Pennsylvania or anywhere else. How will spending money on the NEA and sexually transmitted diseases stimulate the economy in Pennsylvania?

The National Endowment of the Arts funding, the prevention and wellness programs, $3 billion. How will spending $3 billion on prevention and wellness programs stimulate the economy in Pennsylvania?

Mr. Chairman, this magnificent Capitol Building houses the greatest legislative bodies ever created in the history of humanity, which were created because of a terrible abuse of power in this Nation's history. And this legislation we are being asked to vote on today, this 647-page bill, represents one of the worst abuses of power I think that we've probably ever seen in the history of the Congress.

The legislative process has been terribly abused in the creation of this bill because in a short 15-day legislative period, a short 21 days, the new ruling majority of Congress has in a single bill spent more money than the entire annual budget of the United States. In a short 21-day period, with virtually no committee hearings and a hearing in the Appropriations Committee which lasted a matter of hours and a hearing in Ways and Means which lasted a matter of hours, they've created a bill which spends over $800 billion. In a period of 21 days, the new majority, this new President has spent about $1.5 trillion, in the first 21 days. That's the change America, unfortunately, has to look forward to.

We already face, Mr. Chairman, in this country an $11 trillion national debt, a $1.5 trillion deficit, about $60 trillion in unfunded liabilities. The most urgent question facing us as a Nation is how do we pay for this massive accumulation of debt? A debt-based economy, as my friend Dennis Kucinich said, who often votes on the other end of the spectrum but shares with me the concern I have for the debt we are passing on to our kids.

And it is utterly irresponsible, it is immensely destructive to the financial health of our Nation to govern in a way that shuts out the American people. Shutting out the minority doesn't mean shutting out a representative. It means shutting out the people we represent.

You're not shutting out John Culberson or Jerry Lewis or Jack Kingston. You're shutting out the 651,000 people that I represent. Every one of us has a job description as representative, an obligation to be accountable, open, responsive, transparent to our constituents. This legislative process works best when the American people are truly involved and have an opportunity to be educated and told what we are voting on. And this bill was written in secret by dedicated professional staff people but not with the involvement of the American people.

We have already been notified formally by Moody's that they're considering beginning the process of downgrading the AAA bond rating of the United States. And before you reach the merits of the bill, Mr. Chairman, we must remember the process that we all have a sacred obligation to preserve. The involvement, the advice, the input of the American people is essential.

I urge the majority to stand by their promise to be open, accountable, and transparent. Lay it all out there on the Internet for everyone to see. What are you afraid of? You've got the votes. Give the public a chance to be heard. Let them read the bill.

Madam Speaker, the most open, allegedly transparent Congress in the history of America has begun this session by throwing out a bill that may cost upwards of $100 billion over 10 years that was written in secret. This bill has never had a committee hearing, not allowed amendments. There are no amendments allowed on the floor of the House.

No one would consider buying a house, buying a car without reading the contract; yet you're asking the American people to spend borrowed money, up to $100 billion of borrowed money--every dollar we spend from this day forward is borrowed money--asking us to spend up to $100 billion over 10 years and not knowing what's in the bill. This is a blind ``yes'' vote for all of you.

We all support health insurance for children, but we must remember the $62 trillion of unfunded liability that our children and grandchildren are facing today. The money we spend today is going to be passed on to future generations, and it's essential that the public be given the right to read these bills. This bill was not even posted up on the Web site publicly until about 24 hours ago. What are you afraid of?

Let the sunshine in and let the public read your legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the City of Bellaire's 100th Anniversary. The prosperous and tranquil neighborhoods of Bellaire, Texas exemplify why so many new people and businesses move to Texas every day. The people of Bellaire take pride in their thriving city, which was founded in 1908 alongside the City of Houston. I grew up in West University Place, right next door, and I experienced what every young person in Bellaire enjoys today--the comfort and joy of growing up in a small town, even though we were in the middle of one of the biggest cities in America.

One of Houston's greatest strengths is the small town feel of neighborhoods all over Harris County, and nowhere is that small town safety, security, and prosperity stronger than Bellaire. The people of Bellaire look after one another, and take pride in their city and their neighborhoods and fill up every parking spot for blocks around whenever there is a parent meeting at a local school.

When Hurricane Ike knocked down trees and damaged property and knocked out the power, the people of Bellaire showed once again why their beautiful city is so successful. They did not sit around and wait for the federal government to help them. Neighbors simply pulled out their chain saws, and their hammers and tools and walked door to door on their street to see who needed help. Elderly or infirm residents were helped by their next door neighbors in the very best spirit of America.

Bellaire's small town roots go back to its founding six miles outside of Houston in 1908 by William Wright Baldwin. In 1918, when Bellaire was incorporated as an independent city, its population was 200, and during World War II the city grew rapidly. By 1948, the City of Houston had completely surrounded Bellaire, yet Bellaire has always maintained its independence as a home rule city.

Bellaire's fire and police departments are among the best in Texas. Building on a strong foundation of neighbors helping neighbors, Bellaire's firemen and policemen have helped make Bellaire one of the safest cities in America. People from all over Texas and America continue to vote with their feet and their dollars by moving their homes and businesses to Bellaire at a time when other communities across the nation are shrinking.

Bellaire was a part of the Seventh Congressional District in 1966 when the District's first Congressman was future President George H. W. Bush, who was followed by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Bill Archer. Population growth in the greater Houston area caused District 7 to be drawn farther west until 2006, when Bellaire once again became part of this historic congressional district.

As someone who grew up next door in West University, with many fond memories of Bellaire, I am especially proud to represent the people of this great city as their Congressman in Washington, D.C. It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the people of Bellaire on building one of the safest, most prosperous, and most pleasant cities in America over the last 100 years, and I will always do everything I can to preserve, protect, and defend Bellaire's wonderful quality of life for the generations that will follow us in the next 100 years.

Congratulations Bellaire.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to point out that this legislation is giving us the choice between bankrupting our children or bankrupting a few of these big financial institutions on Wall Street that made bad decisions. Now, my daughter didn't do anything to deserve this. I know what the banks on Wall Street did.

Look at the bill itself. Let me just point to a couple of sections in the brief 2 minutes that I've got to see that the Secretary of the Treasury is being given authority absolutely unprecedented in the history of this Nation. We're essentially creating a King Henry here who is going to be able to buy any type of financial instrument he wants from any financial institution anywhere in the world, anywhere in the world owned by anybody, the Secretary can step in using his authority to buy any troubled asset he wishes--not just limited to residential mortgage-backed securities--any financial

instrument owned by any foreign entity, any American entity anywhere in the world and, quote, the Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out this act.

It is also unprecedented that you can't sue him to stop him. The judicial review section of this bill says that if you attempt to sue the Secretary, you can only overturn his decision if he does something that's arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion, essentially something that's completely irrational. That's an absolutely unbelievable standard that gives the Secretary unbridled discretion, and you'll never be able to overturn or go after what he's doing in court.

It also allows the Federal Government for the first time, quoting from the bill here, page 28, the Federal property manager who holds, owns or controls mortgages even has the authority to get into negotiating and changing the terms of individual mortgages. It is an unprecedented, unaffordable and unacceptable expansion of Federal power that our kids cannot afford, that we have never seen in the history of this country, and I urge the Members to remember that there's a better alternative.

We, fiscal conservatives in the House, laid out sound alternatives that we need to take time to breathe and think about this and consider thoughtfully in committee. For example, just changing the mark-to- market accounting rule would make a tremendous difference. We could go in and examine, for example, why don't we repeal the capital gains tax and take it to zero as they do in so many other successful economies?

Don't vote to bankrupt our kids at the expense of saving some of the big Wall Street banks.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of Bill Number: H.R. 2638--The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638--The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

Account: U.S. Army, Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account, Medical

Advanced Technology, line 30, PE #0603002A.

Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Dr. Mauro Ferrari, President, Alliance for NanoHealth, 1825 Pressler Street, Suite 537C, Houston, Texas 77030.

Description of Request: Provides $3,200,000 to the Alliance for NanoHealth for advancing the state of nanomedicine through innovative peer reviewed grant programs and infrastructure development projects to identify and cure human diseases at the earliest stages. The Alliance for NanoHealth is one of the Nation's leading institutional collaborations dedicated to applying nanotechnology to solve some of medicine's most compelling questions. Principal to the mission of the Alliance is facilitating the translation of nanotechnology from the laboratory to clinical practice by leveraging the world renowned clinical and scientific resources of the Texas Medical Center. The Alliance is committed to advancing the state of nanomedicine through innovative seed grant programs and infrastructure development projects to facilitate ``proof-of-concept'' research and advance nanomedicine from concept to therapeutic and pharmaceutical solutions to disease. $3,000,000 would be used as seed grant for research funding, and $1 million will be used for core facility infrastructure development.

Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638--The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

Account: U.S. Air Force's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account, Materials, line 8, PE #0602102F.

Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005.

Description of Request: Provides $2,400,000 for the armchair quantum wire project to dramatically improve the ability of the Air Force and other services to fulfill their missions, increase the energy industry's ability to generate, store and transmit electricity, enhance the oil & gas companies' ability to find and extract gas and petroleum, and build new industries and jobs. armchair quantum wire is wire made from special Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) and takes advantage of the ultra-high strength and conductivity of SWNT to make order-of- magnitude improvements in materials and electronics. SWNTs are one- sixth the weight and at least ten times the strength of steel. Materials made with armchair quantum wire--which is a special combination of SWNTs--will make airplanes stronger and lighter, make new armor possible, and make entirely new weapons and defense systems possible. The funding provided by the Federal Government is being matched on a 2-1 basis by local sources.

Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson.

Bill Number: H.R. 2638--The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009.

Account: U.S. Army's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation account, Medical Advanced Technology, line 28, PE #0602787A.

Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: The Methodist Hospital System, 8060 El Rio, Houston, Texas 77054.

Description of Request: Provides $1,600,000 for developing nano- imaging agents to ensure drug delivery devices reach targeted cells. Recent progress in nanomedicine research has created a new wave of innovation in medical diagnosis and treatment. Currently, no research institute or university has a Good Manufacturing Process (GMP) facility to produce nano-sized imaging agents. GMP is a term that refers to manufacturing standards and quality control testing for products. Regulation for quality generally includes requirements related to the methods and facilities used for designing, manufacturing, storing etc. of medical devices and drugs intended for human use. All military branches faces shortages of enlisted and officer personnel. Diseases that can be impacted at the cellular level and corrected at that level permit personnel to function longer and more effectively without turnover related to medical issues. The project could lead to earlier, targeted diagnosis and intervention that would reduce medically-related turnover in personnel. The funds will be used to purchase two Good Manufacturing Process manufacturing work stations at $400,000 each; for a quality control laboratory work station at $800,000; and for a general preparation work station at $400,000.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 6947, the FY2009 Homeland Security Appropriations bill:

Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson.

Bill Number: H.R. 6947, the FY2009 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

Account: Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Predisaster Mitigation.

Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Harris County Flood Control District, 9900 Northwest Freeway, Suite 220, Houston, Texas 77092.

Description of Request: Provides $1,000,000 (to the Harris County Flood Control District. It is my understanding that 100 percent of the funding would be used for the construction of one small structural project as well as the acquisition and demolition of approximately 38 homes located deep within the floodplain and floodway of the White Oak Watershed of Harris County. This request is consistent with the intended and authorized purpose of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Predisaster Mitigation Account. These projects improve flood reduction and flood mitigation efforts by saving National Flood Insurance Program payments from repetitive flood loss properties. The Harris County Flood Control District will spend approximately $2,000,000, derived primarily from a dedicated ad valorem property tax and through a capital project agreement with Harris County.

Requesting Member: Congressman John Culberson.

Bill Number: H.R. 6947, the FY2009 Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

Account: Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Bridge Replacement.

Legal Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard Bridge Administration Office, Washington, DC; and the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association, 2010 Butler Drive, Friendswood, Texas 77546.

Description of Request: Provides $5,000,000 for the Galveston Causeway Railroad Bridge Replacement. Today, 21 thousand barges move 29 million tons of cargo worth $10 billion through the Galveston Bridge each year. In 2001, after a lengthy review process, the bridge was declared a hazard to navigation by the Coast Guard under the Truman Hobbs Act. The current estimated cost of replacement is almost $68 million. This request is consistent with the intended and authorized purpose of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, under the Truman Hobbs Act. Under the Truman Hobbs Act, the Federal Government pays 90 percent of replacement cost and the bridge owner-- Galveston County--pays 10 percent.

Mr. Speaker, I want to urge the Speaker of the House to join with our leader, John Boehner, in lowering the price of gasoline. They can do it immediately simply by holding a press conference and announcing we're going to work together in a nonpartisan way for the good of America to open up domestic energy sources by drilling in the United States. We're the only Nation on the face of the Earth that will not use our own natural resources. This is just fundamental common sense. Schlumberger and Shell have said that there is more shale oil in three Western States than all the oil in the Middle East combined.

We could open up the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Congress now can move, and in a bipartisan way, to bring down the price of oil simply by announcing we're moving to open up these domestic sources. The marketplace will respond and the price of gas and the price of oil will drop. This is so simple, it's so easy, it's so good for America.

Let's all stand together without regard to party for the benefit of this Nation, which is hurting so much from high gas prices, and say we are going to use American resources for America to create good, high- paying American jobs.

Drill in America in a safe, environmentally clean way, and bring down the price of gas today.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues. Our pride and support for NASA is, indeed, bipartisan. Without regard to where we come from in this Nation or our party origins, we share that great pride in the accomplishments of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. They've touched our lives in so many ways. I have always admired NASA, particularly as an amateur astronomer, as a native Houstonian.

Mr. Price is right. I have passed this bill the last two Congresses, and for whatever reason, it has had problem escaping the gravitational pull of the Senate. And with the help of my good friend, Al Green, and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee we passed it again this year.

This is going to be a remarkable and beautiful coin set that will contain a $50 high relief gold coin commemorating the lives lost in space. Those astronauts who gave their lives will be honored and recognized in that $50 high relief gold coin, with on the front coin a scientifically accurate image of the Sun and the reverse, a design commemorating those astronauts' sacrifice.

The other coins will represent each one of the planets in the solar system, with the front of the coin with a scientifically accurate image of that planet and then the reverse of the coin with a design honoring the NASA flight center that was responsible for missions to that planet.

And then, of course, now that Pluto has been called a dwarf planet, the Pluto coin will have a reverse that honors the Hubble telescope and the Goddard Space Flight Center and the remarkable achievements of the Hubble telescope.

The proceeds of this coin will go to fund the NASA Families Assistance Fund. Those families who have lost a loved one in the space program will benefit directly from the sale of these coins.

The Ronald McNair Education Science Literary Foundation will benefit from the sale of these coins. The Challenger Center for Space Science Education to increase interest in math, science and technology will benefit from the sale of this coin. And then finally, the Smithsonian Institute, National Air and Space Museum, will benefit from the sale of this coin.

And because of the difficulties with the gravitational pull of the Senate, as my friend Mr. Price so eloquently points out, because this authorization bill is coming out a little late this year, the changes the Senate made are good ones, and that is to allow the Mint to sell the coins this year through December 31 of 2008, but to continue to mint them through next year so that people will have a chance to order them and the Mint will have plenty of time to complete the designs and to market them.

It is going to be a beautiful set that the Mint estimates will raise a great deal of money for the benefit of the families, the benefit of these educational funds, and for the benefit of the National Air and Space Museum.

I'm very grateful to my colleagues from Texas, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, my good friend Al Green, and my good friend Congressman Tom Price of the Georgia delegation, next to Texas my favorite delegation in the United States Congress.

Will the gentleman yield?

I thank the gentleman for yielding because I wanted to point out to the House some of the remarkable research that NASA is doing. In fact, at Rice University in Houston, Texas that my friend Al Green and I and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee are proud to represent Rice University, they're developing a quantum wire, with the help of NASA, using carbon nanotubes that transmit electricity ballistically with zero resistance, essentially room temperature superconductors that will allow the storage and transmission of electricity in ways we cannot even imagine today, carrying electricity in a wire the width of your little finger 10 to 20 times the electricity carried in those giant overhead power lines from Los Angeles to New York with no loss of electricity.

NASA research at Rice University with the quantum wire and carbon nanotubes will increase the efficiency of solar cells so dramatically that, for example, when you put carbon nanotubes into a solar cell, you increase the efficiency to 60 and 70 percent.

So commemorating NASA today, we're commemorating the great technological advances that NASA has

brought to all of us as Americans today. My wife often teases me about all these electronic devices I carry to communicate with my district on Quick.com and Twiter.com--and let me see, I've got one in this pocket right here.

We all benefit from the technological research that NASA does, but the future holds greater promise for us, with the carbon nanotube work and combining that with solar cell technology, truly holds the promise of making America energy independent in the years to come.

But in the meantime, my friend from Georgia is exactly right, we need to drill here, drill now, and we will certainly pay less. And the Congress is all that's standing in the way of drilling here and drilling now. And I hope they will give us a vote on that.

But in the meantime, today we can honor the great technological achievements of NASA and the carbon nanotube research that holds the promise for making America energy independent in the long term.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Speaker Cuellar, it's perfectly appropriate that you're in the chair today because you and I have served together in the Texas House, and we have worked together, Mr. Speaker, in cooperation with our friend, Congressman Ciro Rodriguez of Del Rio. You and I and Ciro have worked together to successfully implement a program that I want to single out for praise tonight.

In the Laredo sector and the Del Rio sector, the immigration laws of this country are being enforced with a zero tolerance in a program called Operation Streamline. With the full support of the local community that you represent, Mr. Speaker, because the crime rate in Laredo has dropped 70 percent--excuse me; in Del Rio we have seen a 70 percent drop. I think you have seen about a 60 percent drop in the crime rate in the Laredo sector as a direct result of simply enforcing existing law in a team effort, Mr. Speaker, between the Border Patrol, the U.S. Marshals, the prosecutors, the judges, the magistrates, and the sheriffs, with their local Congressman, Congressman Cuellar. You, Mr. Speaker, Ciro Rodriguez, and myself on the Appropriations Committee, we have been able to bring together that team approach in a bipartisan way that has resulted in a dramatic decline in the crime rate. The illegal crossings in the Del Rio sector are now at the lowest level they have been since the Border Patrol started keeping statistics in 1973.

I bring this to the attention of the House tonight, Mr. Speaker, first of all, to congratulate and praise those fine men and women in the law enforcement community of the Border Patrol in Del Rio and Laredo, also in the Yuma sector, where this is working so well. In particular, in the Laredo and Del Rio sectors we have seen real success because of the teamwork of those law enforcement officers and the judges and the cooperation we have seen at an unprecedented level between members of both parties in making sure the community and the Nation are safe in those sectors.

I am working with you now, Mr. Speaker, as well as with the local Members of Congress in rolling out Operation Streamline, it's called, the zero tolerance program, in the Rio Grande Valley sector. So that the goal is, of course, from the mouth of the Rio Grande now, up through the Del Rio sector, Lake Amastad, that the border will be secure.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, it is a very different story in Tucson, Arizona. In Tucson, Arizona, the local U.S. Attorney refuses to enforce existing law, and in Tucson, if you are arrested by the Border Patrol, for example, in Del Rio or Laredo, you have a 100 percent chance of being prosecuted and serving some time in jail, obviously

with the exception of women and children. The officer will use their good judgment and their good heart.

But if you're arrest in Del Rio or Laredo, you're going to jail. If you're arrested in Tucson, Arizona, Mr. Speaker, carrying less than a quarter ton of dope, you have a 99.6 percent chance of nerve going to jail, and you will probably be home in time for dinner.

It's an unbelievable and outrageous situation that I have worked on behind the scenes as quietly as I can with the Department of Justice, with the U.S. Attorney out there, Diane Humetewa, who refuses to met with me, who refuses to talk to me, who refuses to cooperate. She, to this day, Mr. Speaker, refuses to do anything to improve the prosecution rate in the Arizona sector of the border. As a result, those officers' lives are in danger. As a result of her refusal to enforce the law, the lives of the people of Arizona are in danger. This Nation is in danger because of the refusal of the U.S. Attorney in Arizona, Diane Humetewa, to do her job.

Frankly, I am sick and tired of it, and it needs to be brought to the attention of the American people here on the floor because we have found a bipartisan solution to this. We have found a solution that people on the border support.

You represent the Laredo sector, Mr. Speaker. I know your community, the people you represent are thrilled with the reduction in the crime rate. It has been a team effort. There are no party labels when it comes to Texans. My good friend, Sheila Jackson-Lee, will be speaking in a moment, and we are Texans first. There are no party labels when it comes to what is good for Texas and the Nation.

We have found a solution, Mr. Speaker, in Operation Streamline and the Zero Tolerance Program, enforcing existing law with existing resources and existing personnel in a unified team effort, and it's about time for the U.S. Attorney in Arizona to get with the program and recognize that she has an essential role in protecting this Nation.

Frankly, Mr. Speaker, if the U.S. Attorney in Arizona will not enforce the law and live up to her oath of office, I think she ought to find another job. It's about time for her to just step aside. It's unacceptable for a U.S. Attorney to refuse to enforce the law. Those officers' lives are in danger.

We on the Appropriations Committee, I serve on the Homeland Security subcommittee, Mr. Speaker, we sent 40 additional U.S. Attorneys, prosecutors to the southwest border with specific instructions that those attorneys be used to prosecute border crime. The U.S. Attorney in Arizona got 21 of them, and she will not use them to protect the border or this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, we have done great work in Laredo and Del Rio, and the U.S. Attorney in Arizona needs to get with the program and enforce the law with zero tolerance or find another job.

Mr. Speaker, at a time of record national debt and deficit, at a time when gasoline prices are now well over $4, when oil is over $130 a barrel and Mexico is sitting on one of the largest oil reserves in the world, it is inexcusable, it is intolerable for us to send one dime to the Mexican Government when they can afford to pay for this equipment themselves.

But even more importantly than that, our southern border not secure. We should not send a dime to Mexico until our own American law enforcement officers have the resources they need to secure the border once and for all; not one dime to Mexico until the American border is secure.

I am going to call for a record vote on this bill, because we need to defeat this legislation until our southern border is secure.

Mr. Speaker, I think it's important for the American people to understand that throughout the history of this Congress and this Nation that party divisions in time of war have always ended at the water's edge, until today.

Tragically, for this Congress, for this House, for the Appropriations Committee, the Speaker of the House has decided to unilaterally impose on the will of the entire Nation this appropriations bill without the benefit of a hearing, without the benefit of amendments, without the benefit of input not just from the Republican Members, Mr. Speaker, but from the Democrat Members.

It's, I think, a terrible precedent to set for this great committee that I am so proud to be a member of. I know that my colleague, Mr. Lewis, and my colleague, Chairman Obey, are both men of good will and good hearts. I know this is, I think, a particularly sad day for the institution and the Nation where 300 million Americans are not given an opportunity to be heard on a question of national security as important as the issue of funding our troops is. Never before in the history of this institution have the entire committees, the Congress been shut out of this process.

On the aftermath of 9/11, when you could stand in front of the Capitol Building and still smell the Pentagon burning, the Congress came together and by unanimous consent agreed to approve a supplemental appropriations bill to help pay for the costs of the war. In a time of emergency with the hurricane damage in New Orleans and across the South, we all came together and agreed to do this.

But this is done unilaterally, without the consent of both sides, in a time of national emergency, and it is a travesty, Mr. Speaker. It contains provisions that have nothing to do with our troops' survival and safety in the field. To burden our troops with pork, with tax increases, with special provisions that have nothing to do with the war, adds to, I think, the obvious misuse of the process, and I urge Members to vote against the pork and support our troops.

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, there's a number of unnecessary provisions in this bill.

Well, why are we separating out----

Why are we----

Why are we passing provisions in this bill----

Madam Speaker, on March 22nd, the people of Taiwan elected a new President with an impressive voter turnout of 76 percent. Outgoing President Chen Shui-bian and his administration pledged to transfer power peacefully to the new administration. This free and democratic transition could never have happened on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, which is why we must stand with Taiwan and guarantee its survival against threats from communist China.

Today Taiwan is a prosperous democracy that serves as a model for countries throughout the region and the developing world. Unfortunately, Taiwan faces a constant threat from the Chinese mainland. Right now there are over a thousand Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan. The Chinese government has threatened to use force against Taiwan by passing the provocative Anti-Secession Law in 2005. The Chinese military buildup along the Taiwan Strait and the Anti-Secession Law threaten peace and democracy in the region. Madame Speaker, I hope you will join me in commending the Taiwanese people for their strength and refusal to allow mainland China to determine their future by force.

The Taiwan Relations Act forms the bedrock of our Taiwan policy and affirms that the future of Taiwan should be determined by peaceful means. The United States should continue to preserve and enhance the human rights of the people of Taiwan. As we bid farewell to President Chen and his administration this month, I know my colleagues will join me in reaffirming our commitment to preserve the peace, prosperity and liberty of the free people of Taiwan.